Back in the real world, the shopping mall was packed with bystanders and witnesses alike. They were talking about all the damage that the IS fight caused, and who was behind it. Videos of the angelic IS have already begun to circulate the web. Clarissa was seated on the ground because she had to be treated by a paramedic, while Lincoln and Lynn were inside separate ambulances, stuck in a comatose state.
Clarissa stared at the two sibling pilots. She was haunted by how much pressure they were put under just to put up a fighting chance to bring a crisis to a close. She turned her gaze to the parking garage, which contained a motionless Margo trapped inside the Gospel, with countless authority figures surrounding them.
"Just how am I supposed to describe this scene?..." Clarissa muttered.
"Madam Harfouch?" A nearby scientist called.
"How is it?" Clarissa limped over to her.
"With AAdsz's help, were able to get their mainframes back online," the scientist said, "but that's all we are able to do from here. Without a complete diagnostic, we can't pinpoint the areas of repair. One more fight, and they'll be completely destroyed."
"I see," Clarissa nodded, "Send only the Heavy Battler back to Homesewer. We'll need a full team at the hospital for the Suite." She stared at Lincoln's hands, which had already started twitching, "I fear this isn't the end for Ace Savvy." When the scientist went away, she put her last power cell in Lincoln's hands, "You need to go back...they'll need you now more than ever." And she was right. Because there was a gigantic explosion at the garage. She turned to face the IS. Everyone at the parking lot did. And Lincoln's hand crushed the power cell.
But the Silverio Gospel towered above all else. Its pilot's face was concealed in a helmet, and the body was wrapped in a white bodysuit. It scanned the entire environment around it, and all it saw was scared people. Some of the humans it saw were pointing guns at it; it responded by sending a few energy blasts towards those targets.
"What is she doing?!" A bystander yelled.
"Did that thing take out Lincoln?!" A kid shrieked.
A reporter in a yellow outfit ran up to Clarissa, "You fought that mysterious IS, didn't you?! You must know how it can be beaten!"
"I... Think..." Clarissa stuttered for a moment before she took a deep breath and remembered who her commander was escorting at this moment, "I do know a sure fire way to defeat it..."
"Yes!" The reporter cheered, "Tell us how!"
"But..." Clarissa looked down at her arm, "...only Lincoln's friends can do it..."
"What?! But they're in Japan! How can they even-"
The Gospel interrupted the interview by letting out a sonic boom. Everyone on the ground covered their eyes and ears, meaning the Gospel escaped undetected.
An hour later, Clarissa's team was safely transported to the local ER clinic. Clarissa was on a bench outside Lincoln and Lynn's room, eyeing Lincoln intently. She wondered what kind of conversation he was having inside his head to still be able to twitch his hands ever so slightly. She decided to give him a helping hand, "Herr Loud...listen to me. Your loved ones are in danger, and not just the family here. Ichika, Laura, and Margo...their lives are going to collide with each other. Neither I nor my superiors know what to do." She turned to the front of the clinic, where a rather large group of nurses and doctors gathered outside, no doubt discussing Lynn's condition. She sighed and looked down, "I know you always have a plan for everything. You have to have planned for this...Just..." she cupped her hands together and started to whisper, "...please tell me what you're going to do..."
As she closed her eyes, Lincoln's started to twitch, trying to force open his line of sight. But as he was struggling to break free of his medical bed, his consciousness was stuck in IS subspace. Here, he was fully awake, but he was lying still on the same sandy beach with a forlorn expression, staring at the dusk sky full of different shades of purple and red. The water tried tickling his feet many times to get him to move, but he kept that motionless state.
At least until his lookalike girl came upon and freaked out, "Oh my GOOOOOOOOOD! What is with that IS?! We couldn't even dent that thing!"
"Like that matters anymore..." Lincoln said.
"It does," the girl responded, "because it still has A GIRL ON BOARD!"
Lincoln rolled over so he wouldn't have to face his mirror self. He stared out into the horizon where the sun met the sea, "...what even is the point anyway? I was pulled out at just the right time, it seems."
"To you, maybe, but to them, this is the worst time to be an IS-sensitive gal!"
"Cut the crap, already. Being an IS pilot ain't so hot."
"But you have the power to change the world around you! Don't you wanna change it for good?!"
Lincoln snapped, "And Wait for it to turn bad again?! The hell you think that'll accomplish?!"
The girl kept quiet. Lincoln went back to the setting sun, "Besides, what did that power do? It warped Margo's mind, made a complete monster out of her...not to mention turn classmates into complete jerkwads, and-AND! Let's not forget the fact that Lori has the same power to change the world around her. And she put it to REALLY good use."
"So can you! You can undo all of it!"
"How?!"Lincoln bellowed, "How am I supposed to undo a lifetime of bad choices and impulses?!" He then got up and walked away.
The lookalike girl sighed, "Great...what do I do now?..." She turned to her side for answers. All she got was Night Club and Strong Suit shrugging her shoulders and pointing to a mocktail cabana, where High Card and a small kid with shaggy brown hair were residing.
Lincoln sat on the high stool of the bar, "Gut Puncher, please. Shaken, not stirred."
High Card's voice came through, "Comin' right up!"
Lincoln nodded, then looked out at the sunset. He was reminded of the two rides he took with Lynn, but then he quickly slapped himself, "Nope. None of that here...I'm just gonna let it breathe..."
And then, a lispy childish female voice, "You say that as if it's an absolute."
"Huh?" Lincoln jolted, "Lisa?!" He swerved behind him, and found someone who resembles Lisa, tinkering with a small gadget, "...Oh, hello?..."
The girl stayed her eyes on her work, "Greetings, superior heroic male unit."
"Wuh?..."
"Ok!" High Card emerged with two drinks, "Gut Puncher for Ace, aaaand Mango Friday for Card Counter."
The two took their drinks and sipped them. Lincoln felt a thud in his stomach a few seconds after drinking.
The girl took two sips and smacked her lips, "Hmm...made to my exact specifications. Nicely done."
High Card rolled her eyes and sarcastically accepted, "Pleasure's mine, Miss Counter...(blech)..."
"Great...another one to add to the list..." Lincoln blurted out.
High Card raised an eyebrow, "Something bothering you that much?"
"Yeah..." Lincoln sighed, "I just found out that Lori's responsible for Margo seeking out Phantom Task...she relentlessly bullied and proxy-bullied her brother, and I...may have...gotten his life ruined..."
"Oh?" High Card finished sorting the drinks and leaned in, "and you think you shouldn't have anything to do with that mess anymore? Even though it literally has your last name on it?"
"I'm paying for her mistakes here. What should I do?"
"Well, you could always ask for help. And I mean don't wait for other people to offer help."
"I got help, but..." Lincoln couldn't find the right words to describe how he's feeling.
But High Card did. She stood back up and started to clean the countertop, "So...do you desire power?"
"No, I don't..." Lincoln answered, "I don't want it at all..."
"Why?"
"Because I've seen what it does to people, how it changes them...I don't wanna lose myself the same way..."
"Barnacles!" Out of nowhere...
Lincoln and High Card turned to the kid Card Counter in shock, "Excuuse me?!"
Card Counter didn't look at them, "I have never heard such utter poppycock in my entire life."
"What...do you mean?" High Card demanded.
"I mean, really?" Card Counter continued, "Who would show any sleight of hesitation at that stage of the mission? If you wanted to ask for more power, you would've done it already." Then, she poked her screwdriver at Lincoln, "But the fact that you haven't means you've been holding on to some unnecessary insecurity I could've done away with using my ear canal scraper!"
"Maybe you can at least give me a clue I how to proceed?" Lincoln asked, "I've got a friend's life in danger thanks to this whole mess Lori created!"
"And why would that matter?" High Card asked, "You can always ask her about it afterwards. I doubt she'd lose sleep over it, though."
Lincoln had to agree. This was caused by Lori's prepubescent meddling, but he was the only person capable of fixing this mess. "But why me? Why always me?" He wondered.
"Well, that's the way life's been hardwired for you," High Card shrugged, "All that talk about changing your destiny is hoopla. All you can do is use it to your advantage."
"Great...I was right..." Lincoln slammed his head on his drink, "I thought there'd be some way out, but nope...I'll be a lightning rod forever..."
"And what's wrong with being a lightning rod?" Card Counter interrupted.
"What's that?" Lincoln groaned.
"It's a device capable of withstanding instantaneous bolts of lightning," Card Counter rambled on, "which are over 400,000 amperes and nearly 27,700 degrees Celsius over the span of a millisecond."
"Uhhhh?"
"In other words, you're more durable than you think. Yes, you'll suffer temporary malfunctioning, but you can easily restore yourself with little rest time."
Lincoln shook his head in disbelief, "That's not what I asked."
"But it is what you need to hear," Card Counter said, "Your moral durability is much higher than this. Why do you choose now of all times to complain?" Card Counter then turned a leery eye to Lincoln, "Especially over a prepubescent mistake long forgotten by the main party involved?"
Lincoln clammed up. He didn't know whether to feel angry or concerned for Lori. The family has usually taken responsibility for their actions, and the times they don't are met with harsh repercussions...at their knowingness. This was different. Halfway through puberty and the tweenage years, Lori forgot about her causing someone's life to be threatened. "Dang...how should I go about this?"
"What have you always done?" High Card asked.
"Oh, you know..." Lincoln hesitated to answer, "...just the usual thing..."
"Then do that..." High Card proceeded to create another mocktail, "...with a slight change."
Card Counter got curious, "What is this 'change' you speak of?"
"Well, I was thinking..." High Card bounced across the bar to make her mocktail, "...that you go ahead and fix her mess, buuuuut-HA! Found it!...you tell everyone you know who caused it...simple as that..." she stared to mix her ingredients, "And that way, Lori will be held accountable, and that accountability will pass through her, and go to everyone else-MM! Little sour, but this should do," she passed the mocktail to Lincoln.
"Much like how a lightning rod conducts all that raw electrical power to the ground," Card Counter commented, "Maybe all that power goes to charge another energy source, or it simply dissipates into the soil. Either way, something received the lightning and the rod is ready to receive another strike."
Lincoln took a sip of his drink, "Huh...tastes like... the Gut Puncher..."
"Because I made a slight change to it," High Card held up her index and thumb, "Literally a slight change."
"Huh..." Lincoln pondered for a few seconds before realizing how he missed that simple little change he could've made the week before he left for Japan, "Ohhhh..."
"And you had the opportunity to make that change long ago, didn't you?" High Card winked.
"Uh-Huh," Lincoln sheepishly nodded, "'I forgive you' shoulda been 'I'll think about it'...right?..."
"Yup," High Card said, "A slight change, barely noticeable by anyone on the outside...that's what should have happened."
"And another thing," Card Counter added, "If you see something that needs to be done, just do it. Especially if it involves another's well being."
Then, out of nowhere, Strong Suit: "Because yesterday, you said tomorrow! So just-" megaphone "-DO IT!" The mega sound cannon she made shattered the hut into a pile of sticks. Surprisingly, they completely missed the trio at the bar.
"May I ask what the point of that was?..." Card Counter growled while High Card held up a poster with a thumbs down.
"No, you may not!" Strong Suit declared.
Lincoln finished his drink and realized he hadn't touched the Gut Puncher, "Oh, I got you something." He allowed Strong Suit to hop on the bar and take a sip of the drink.
"Mmm...very tang-OOOF..." and she instantly felt it, "My...That definitely feels like a gut punch..."
"Oh, you're just in time," High Card said.
"Huh?..." Strong Suit slowly lifted her head, "For what?..."
"To see if anything we've said sunk in," Card Counter said, "You're welcome to try and comprehend our discussion."
Strong Suit just stared...and smirked, "...Who's the pipsqueak?"
Card Counter turned her screwdriver to Strong Suit, "How dare you make light of my average height, you waste of neurons and glia?!"
"Uh...anyway!" High Card clapped her ands and turned her attention to Lincoln, "So, Ace...do you desire power?"
Lincoln thought long and hard about everything he went through, the experience he gained throughout the semester. When he finally spoke, he chose his words carefully...sort of, "I don't want it, but I need it."
"You what but you what?..." High Card cringed.
Card Counter and Strong Suit leaned in, slightly perplexed by his answer, "Uh...whyyy...?"
"To..." Lincoln said, "... to break the cycle of violence."
High Card and Strong Suit groaned. But Card Counter was genuinely intrigued by his answer, "Continue."
"Well..." Lincoln continued, "...what I've learned is what I feared from the very beginning...There's almost no possible way to break the cycle of the blame-and-game. The only thing that we can do is cope with it the right way, so that when it comes around to us next time, it becomes more bearable, bit by bit. My family back home has already been afflicted by it, but my family abroad is about to feel its effects." He turned to the sun, which was now halfway sunken beneath the surface, "I wanna show them how to make the best of it, so that one day, they might be able to break the cycle completely."
"What about Royal Woods?" High Card asked, "Your family back home?"
"I have a feeling that they're going to figure it out on their own," Lincoln answered, "Through Lynn, Margo, and Kenneth, they will finally wake up to what they could have done."
"And your family abroad?" Strong Suit said.
"Through me and Ichika...they'll carve out their own path-" Lincoln suddenly slapped himself, "And I'll stop there before I get all egotistical and conceited."
Card Counter smiled, "That's all I need to hear." Right when she finished with her gadget, she hopped off her barstool, "Please face the ocean in anatomical position."
"Huh? Wait...Huh?"
"Ugh...another one..."
Minutes later, Night Club and the lookalike girl came out of the ocean laughing and chasing each other.
"I'M THE MEAT PIE WHALE!"
"Don't keel me over! I will-" Night Club stopped the girl, "Hey, what's going on over there?"
"Ace!" The girl shouted and dragged Night Club to the group. They saw Lincoln being scanned in and out by Card Counter's gadget. She ran up to them, "Hey! So, about that Margo girl-"
"Excuse me," Card Counter stopped her, "We're in the midst of a very important process."
"I-haa?!" The girl screamed, "A certain someone could be killed in a sentient IS! What could be more important than that?!"
"Upgrading my super suit so I can catch that IS," Lincoln said.
"What?!"
"Oh, I gotcha," Night Club nodded, "That way, we have a chance of catching the Gospel before Ichika can one-shot it."
"But with the amount of time it's taking to scan, it might already be too late," High Club muttered.
"Unfortunately, yes..." Card Counter sighed, "which means, as soon as we're done here, you'll have to go."
"Do you have a plan?" The girl asked.
"Nope," Lincoln quipped.
Nigh Club flinched, "Then...what was..."
"I just have to go," Lincoln shrugged, "No matter what may stand in my way, I just have to do it. I sense something that needs to be done, so I need to do it. I would say try, but I really only have one shot at this."
"Ugh...we're all gonna die..." the girl groaned.
"Hey, better we make our stride on the high winds than wimp out," Night Club said.
"Ok, calibration has completed," Card Counter took her gadget away and stuffed it in her pocket, "Ok, now call."
"Right," Lincoln nodded and held his belt buckle. But instead of deploying completely, it displayed a diagram of his IS, parts glowing green to display which mechanisms have been upgraded, along with an overall schematic:
SAVVY SUITE: UPGRADE COMPLETE
2ND SHIFT: ACE OF CLUBS
UPGRADED DEFENSIVE CAPABILITY
CARD BOMB BLAST RADIUS INCREASED
NEW ABILITY: "Bad Beat Call"; DAMAGE TAKEN FROM A FATAL HIT IS CONVERTED TO ENERGY TO BE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER IS
"Geez..." Lincoln cringed, "We're really hammering in the lightning rod aspect, aren't we?..."
"That's not all," High Card, "Since there's more of us now, we can tag-out anytime someone goes down." She pointed her thumb to Card Counter, who was fixing the shack with Strong Suit.
"Try not to tag-out with me," Card Counter said, "I have very important work to do."
NEW ALLY: CARD COUNTER (DEFENSE TYPE) — SHIELD 11%
"Uh...sure..." Lincoln sheepishly nodded.
"Ok, blubber ball!" the girl grabbed his hand and yanked him along the sand, "Isn't there something you're supposed to do?!"
"Well, trees-us crepes!" Lincoln griped as he was forced along the path to the real world. But halfway through the run, he spotted something peculiar and loosed his hand.
"Huh?!" The girl turned around and saw him heading into a small fenced area, "Oh, what now?!" She ran to him to get him out, but she stopped and gasped as soon as she saw what was inside.
It was a small field of boulders, all with heavy slash marks. None of them were shattered, but they were all done in by a bamboo stick. The mere thought of someone doing that much damage was haunting enough to the lookalike girl, but once she saw who was at the center of it all... "Dude... was this you?..."
"Yeah," Lincoln answered, "A long time ago..." He stood still for a second, then turned around and asked her, "When Margo blasted Lynn with the laser...did you pull the three of us into the subspace?"
The girl nervously nodded.
Lincoln hesitated to ask, "Did I...did I really learn anything?..."
"Only you can answer that," the girl shook her head, "and the only way to do that is to jump in head first."
Once she said that, the world around him started fading away.
"Heh...figured..." Lincoln chuckled, "So, faith, Huh?..." He closed his eyes to block out the light. When he reopened them, he was back in the real world, on his hospital bed, "...ugh... dammit, what happened?..."
Clarissa was standing at his side, "You've been asleep for an hour."
"Really?..." Lincoln groaned, "What happened to Lynn?..."
"Um..." Clarissa looked across the room to see Lynn with an oxygen mask and several cloths covering her body, "The doctor has confirmed that she will stay alive...but the stress of her semester, and the impact of the fight...has culminated in her paralysis of the lower body and upper extremities..."
Lincoln slowly got off his bed and walked over to Lynn. Her body was a total wreck, and yet she was sound asleep, dreaming of a fanciful dream. "What have we done?..." he whispered.
"This is the fault of Phantom Task," Clarissa said, "Margo has been corrupted by them. The German Special Forces are tracking their movements..." she placed her hand on his shoulder, "...but your priority is Margo."
Lincoln gripped Clarissa's and Lynn's hands, "I know...Am I going alone?"
"Ja...both mine and Lynn's IS have been sent to Homesewer for repairs."
"I see..."
Clarissa looked down at her feet, "I...I don't want to ask, but...Can you go now? I fear that the Commander and her team may accidentally kill Margo. You're the only pilot among pilots who can prevent that."
"Gotcha," Lincoln nodded. He then stood at the center of the room and held his belt, "Ok, Ace...we've got a rescue mission. We're gonna set things right with her. Are you in?"
His belt glowed, as if to pledge loyalty to its owner.
"Good," Lincoln nodded. He then, opened the window, and banged his fists together, "Then, it's time to deal out some justice!"
On command, his belt envelopes him in a warm bright light. He jumped out the window and into the open, a mere moment before his IS fully deployed. When the glow dissipated, his IS looked somewhat different. His wing units had grown larger, and his gauntlets became bulkier. At the center of his chest was now the letter A. The IS overall grew two feet in height.
"Your IS evolved..." Clarissa gasped with amazement.
"Yeah," Lincoln agreed, "though I had a little help." He faced the midnight sky and prepped his mind. "Well...wish me luck." And with those words, he took off into the night.
Clarissa could only watch as he left his home yet again. "Good luck," she whispered.
"Mmm..."
Clarissa's ears twitched at that sound of Lynn's moan.
"Lin...coln?..."
Clarissa walked to Lynn's bed and gripped her hand.
"D...don't leave me...alone..."
"It's only temporary," Clarissa whispered, "He'll be back soon."
Meanwhile, back in Japan, the class trip had passed the halfway mark. Most of the class was still reeling from the assignment, though some took this as a chance to blow off even more steam before it came time to cram for the report.
Rin had allied with Laura to get her assignment done. And it has been...
"AAAAAAARGH! WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS MEAN?!"
...unfulfilling.
"I don't get this haunting rumor, and the Core 001 business!" Rin screamed, "Does that say 001 or 000?!"
Laura squinted, "How on earth did you finish middle school?..."
"I don't know! I'm an athlete! Not a nerd!"
"You need a moderate level of intelligence to outwit the other team, do you not?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Before Laura could come back with a witty retort, she was interrupted by a voice message from her IS:
All students with personal units are to assemble at the main parking lot.
—ISA Admin
Rin and Laura stared at the notification with concern.
"You don't think..." Rin muttered.
"It's too soon to tell," Laura said, "We will ask Mentor once this meeting has concluded."
"Right..." Rin stood them both up and led them to the designated area.
At the parking lot, Houki was the first to arrive, much to Cecilia's surprise.
"Well, this is unexpected," Cecilia said, "Why would they call you here when you don't have a personal unit?"
"Probably because I'm gonna get once hand delivered," Houki answered, "No doubt by that bunny woman..."
"Don't you think you have carried this grudge for a bit too long?"
Houki sighed, "Not long enough, I'd you ask me..."
Minutes later, Ichika, Laura, Charlotte, and Rin joined with Cecilia and Houki. The entire group was assembled, just in time for Chifuyu's arrival. The group lined up in front of her.
"As you can see," Chifuyu said, "everyone with a personal unit is assembled here."
"Um, just a minute, ma'am," Rin interrupted, "Houki doesn't have her own personal unit, does she?"
"Um..." Houki stuttered for an answer, "Well..."
"It's alright, Shinonono," Chifuyu walked to her side, "I'll explain everything. The reason she's here is-"
And interruption from "COWABUNGAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~"
That child-like voice. Chifuyu and Houki recognized that sound and mentally prepared for a very annoying encounter. Everyone watched in amazement as a woman with bunny ears and a frilly dress skidded down a rocky cliff and jumped 30 feet into the air. The woman dove down towards Chifuyu headfirst and spread her arms as if to hug her, "CHI-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
Tabane Shinonono. There's no mistake.
Tabane flew right into Chifuyu, only to get caught in the hands. But that didn't stop her in the slightest, "Hello, hello, hello! I've missed you, Chi-chan! Let's hug and kiss and confirm our lover for each other~"
"Would you just shut up already?" Chifuyu struggled to keep Tabane down.
"~Ooh, always using the Unforgiving Iron Claws, aren't you~?" Tabane ignored Chifuyu's demands and simply went onto Houki, who was hiding behind a bus, "Ta-daaaa! Hi there!"
"Yes..." Houki nervously grunted, "Hello to you too..."
"Hahaha, it's been a while, hasn't it? I wonder, how many years has it been?" Tabane wondered before going on a nostalgia frenzy, "Oh, I can't believe how much bigger you've gotten, little sister!" Then, she momentarily became grabby-feely, "Especially your boobies!" And she got hit with a wooden blade- "BOGHUUUUUWUUUWUUU..."
"We haven't seen each other for years, and THAT'S HOW YOU GREET ME?!" Houki snapped.
Tabane wore a sad face and rubbed her cheeks, while still maintaining her childish behavior, "Have a little sympathy before you hit someone?" She turned to Ichika, "She's a real dominatrix, isn't she, Ikkun?"
"That's a bit much..." Ichika scratched his head, while the others stood dumbfounded by her behavior, especially since she was a grown woman.
Chifuyu sighed and ruined her moment, "Well, since you're here, why don't you introduce yourself?"
Tabane groaned, "Ugh, but that's always such a pain..." She sucked it up though and twirled around before introducing her geniusness, "Haa, okie, Hi, how are you, my name is Tabane the Genius, hello, that's all...that's it."
All the girls propped up after hearing that. Charlotte, Rin, and Laura were amazed by the mere presence of the creator of the IS...But Cecilia was surprised in an unpleasant manner.
"You're Tabane?..." Rin gasped.
"As in, Tabane, the brilliant scientist who invented the IS units?!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"THE Tabane Shinonono?!" Laura said.
Tabane started to care only when they acknowledged her as the Creator, "Heeheehee," the twinkle in her eyes was all it took to summon a giant diamond pillar to the sky, "NOW EVERYONE LOOK UP TO THE HEAVENS!" With her finger pointed upward, she mentally called the pillar down.
"Da-dadada-da-da-da-daaaa! This is Houki's personal unit, the Akatsubaki! All of its specs are way above the current models, and it was handmade by me, Tabane!"
"This little beauty is a 4th Generation-type IS, and Tabane the genius created it especially for Houki!"
"Fourth Generation?!" Charlotte couldn't believe her ears.
And neither could Cecilia, "But all the other countries are working on the prototypes of the THIRD Generation models! Yet, she's already..."
A little showboating from Tabane, and the stage was set for Houki to take her place among her comrades. Houki herself was a little speechless, and who could blame her? After all, what was she supposed to say to the person who disappeared from her life when she needed her the most, only to show back up years later with a weapon of her own to take part in the world her sister helped create?
After the order to mount up, Houki went to her brand new personal unit, the Akatsubaki, and settled herself in the cockpit. It was everything she thought it would be. Just the right fit and comfortable feeling, vastly different from the clunky fitting of the Uchigane. While Tabane was finishing the formatting process, Houki's mind ran wild with thoughts about soaring in the sky with Ichika. But this was just a test run, and she'd have to fly solo for now. And once the test run started, she immediately felt the Akatsubaki's power. Her takeoff time and overall speed and maneuverability was vastly superior to those on the ground. She was given twin katanas, both of which could split the clouds without any effort. And when a surprise missile ambush tried to pursue her, she easily evaded them, slashing them all down with one energy wave from her blade.
Houki was amazed at the power she held in her hands. She felt like she could do anything. She would feel very elated...if it weren't for the fact that her sister made it. That nagging feeling of a hidden agenda, however fleeting...
"Miss Orimura!"
...was interrupted by a very alarmed Maya bursting onto the scene with her phone blaring all sorts of red notifications. "Miss Orimura!" She screamed as she ran to Chifuyu and shoved her phone in her chest, "Look at this!"
Chifuyu stared at Maya with suspicion as she scrolled through the alerts. When she finished, her eyes were wide with worry about what she saw:
LEVEL D SECURITY ALERT: UNKNOWN IS WILL INVADE JAPANESE AIRSPACE. ALL IS ACADEMY STAFF ARE TO ASSUME BATTLE POSITIONS IMMEDIATELY
—
LEVEL A PRIORITY MISSION: ROUGE IS DETECTED — SILVERIO GOSPEL
—
OPERATION SAVE THE LAKES AND WOODS: DAMAGE REPORT
-CASUALTIES: DEAD 10, INJURED 82
-PILOTS: LINCOLN LOUD (IN PURSUIT), CLARISSA HARFOUCH (DOWN), LYNN LOUD (DOWN), MARGO ROBERTS (DOWN), KIM HA-JIN (RETURN), AKINA SHINOHARA (RETURN)
-TARGET IS HAS BEEN COMPROMISED AND IS CLASSIFIED AS HIGH PRIORITY ROUGE UNIT. TARGET PHANTOM TASK HAS EVADED CAPTURE, BUT DETAILS OF THE ASSAILANT HAVE BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
"No..." Chifuyu muttered before regaining her usual demeanor.
"It can't be..." Laura recognized that very brief glint of surprise in her mentor's eyes.
Chifuyu declared, "This is a level A Priority mission, and it looks like countermeasures have already been activated."
"Does that mean?..." Maya whispered
"It's too soon to tell," Chifuyu said before turning to her students, "This test is suspended for now. I'm afraid there's something I'll need all of you for."