Episode 12 - Unveil
(BGM Start: Omoi - Toshihiko Sahashi)
"I just…can't believe it."
Laura's fists clenched as she tried to ignore the stabbing-like sensation within her. She glanced at the near-insensate blonde walking alongside her, who could barely walk properly without needing to stop every dozen meters or so to hold a hand over her heart. There was something that irked the shorter girl in seeing her acquaintance act like that.
The proud Cecilia Alcott, reduced to…this.
The albino knew, or more specifically had an inkling, that her brother and Cecilia were closer than the rest of their friends, save for the other Neo-Types. After all, the shorter blonde tended to stick around him every after class, before he had to do his duties as her mentor's assistant. They cooked together, sparred and learned together, and worked together efficiently, almost in synchronization at times.
So Laura could understand why one would be disheartened.
However, Cecilia was…
A flash of blue in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Kanzashi walking out of the Base Exchange with what seemed like pizza boxes on one hand and a plastic bag in the other. Like them, she wore a jacket on top of her IS pilot suit, with a pair of loose pants covering her legs. The bluenette seemed to notice them, given that they didn't wear uniforms, unlike the soldiers at the base, and she waved them over.
"Miss Sarashiki..?" Cecilia muttered beside her, a hint of confusion in her tone. "I thought she left with Davion…"
"Perhaps she went to get Bruder some lunch?" The shorter girl supplied with a shrug as her fellow red-eyed girl crossed the street to meet up with them.
"Hi, you two." Kanzashi gave them a small smile, fully aware of the blonde's emotional state. She glanced at the noblewoman, noting the reddened eyes. "You want some pizza? There was a Pizza-Za back there at the mall… I got some soda too."
"Where is Davion?" Laura asked, a bit abruptly. "He promised to tell us what happened."
The bluenette frowned, looking over back at the Base Exchange, where the Hospital was behind it. "Well, Huang-san isn't with us right now…"
"She went straight to Orimura's room when Yamada-sensei left. Rushed straight to it and hasn't come back out since."
A conflicted look briefly twisted the older girl's expression before she shook her head. "I see. Well, Davion's in one of the hangars. Hangar 2, I believe, looking over the Astrays and that other machine they brought with them."
"The one that looks like the Gold Frame, right?" Cecilia flinched at the albino's words, turning to her with an intense questioning gaze. "Very well, a hangar's as good a private setting as one can be. Lead the way."
And so they went, walking down the street towards the airstrip. There was an uneasy silence between them, not helped by the still-alert soldiers on patrol. They ignored the wandering gazes of marines and staff, focusing on wanting to get answers from the sole conscious survivor of the skirmish over Ogasawara.
They, of course, also busied themselves with their own thoughts.
Laura's was of her Mentor and her demeanor earlier. She understood, begrudgingly, that Ichika was her priority but to not even spare a lick of attention to her brothers…
Cecilia's was, predictably, about Ephraim. Her mind was a mess, between recalling that odd dream and thinking about what will happen now. In between her worrying over her Knight, she always came back to the odd void-like plain or surface of some sort. Then to the figure with shards coming off them and then to the hands…
'What did it mean?' She thought to herself, glancing off to the side briefly to catch Lieutenant Ramius walking with a man that had some similarity to-
She shook her head. Not every blonde man looked like her love interest. Even if they had the same cocky smile…
Kanzashi merely thought of who exactly was in the body bag that was brought out of the Osprey. Or, more specifically, what they looked like. The size of the bag wasn't that of an adult's, so either it was someone around their age or just a shorter-than-average person. Then her thoughts went to Charlotte, wondering how the poor girl was holding up.
It wasn't easy having someone you hold dear be so far yet so close at the same time.
She could only wish that Ryo would recover from his coma soon.
"Well, here we are." Laura's voice broke her out of her reverie. "Hangar 2. And it seems the Leutnant left the doors open, slightly."
With a quiet snort, Kanzashi walked past them and through the opening between the two hangar doors. Her voice was almost drowned out by the sound of metal moving around, but she was loud and firm in her declaration.
"Davion, I brought you lunch! And Bodewig-san and Alcott-san are here too!"
Clang!
"Close the door behind you when you three get in!" Her brother's voice sounded out, and she could detect a bubbling sort of frustration in his tone.
Laura and Cecilia looked at each other before following suit, the acrid smell of nitroglycerine and oil filling their noses the moment they stepped through the doors. It was a familiar smell for the three, as they had their fair share of experience concerning weaponry and machinery as IS pilots.
Moreso, for Laura, there was this…fresher scent of nitroglycerine and heated metal. It clicked in her mind in the next instant.
Someone had fired a weapon in the hangar most recently. Her eye looked around quickly before locking on to the sole living being in the large building.
There, in the middle of the room, was Davion.
He was still clad in his pilot suit, though the top half was hanging freely by his waist, revealing the white compression shirt underneath. Powerful muscles shifted as they hefted the Tactical Arms 2 from the prone Red Frame, laying it to rest beside the Blue Frame. Heavy-duty gloves covered his hands, protecting them from any dangers of working with machinery.
"Thank you Kanzashi... Just put the pizza and soda on the table by the laptop." He turned to them with a small smile, the act not reaching his eyes. Those crimson-speckled gray eyes looked at the albino as they narrowed. "I said, close the hangar doors."
Not wanting to further frustrate her brother, Laura turned around and shut the gap between the large doors with deceptive ease.
Thoom!
(BGM Start: Kaiso - Toshihiko Sahashi)
With a long sigh, the mechanic stepped away from the Astrays, shaking the dirty gloves off as he did so. "So, where to start…"
"Maybe you should eat first..?" Kanzashi quietly spoke up, recognizing the embers of anger in his eyes. "I can tell you've been working nonstop ever since you landed."
"No." Davion shook his head as he walked over to the table and sat down on the steel chair. "I don't want to put this off any longer, I NEED answers, and it's obvious you want them too."
The albino didn't need to look at the blonde to know that she flinched.
Said blonde crossed her arms, rubbing her right elbow uneasily at the lingering look the Astray pilot sent at her. "What happened out there? We didn't get to see the rest after the connection got cut."
"Yeah, I got filled in on that." The mechanic nodded at the bluenette, his lips curling into a grave frown. "Sabotage, huh? Did the Americans say anything about it?"
"Other than the perpetrators getting away clean, they had nothing else." Laura scoffed, a bit miffed at the performance of the base. 'But then again,' She thought, eyeing the rust on the rafters of the hangar. 'This place is more than likely not a priority base unlike Kadena Airbase.'
Davion glared off to the side for a few seconds before releasing another sigh. "Figures. Alright, back on topic." He looked at them as he crossed his arms. "None of what I'm going to say must leave this room at all. Understand?"
The three girls looked at each other in slight confusion and worry. What did he mean by that?
"I need you three to swear to me that you won't do anything rash." The mechanic continued, looking at each of them with a veiled look. "Because what I say might… 'destabilize' a lot of things."
"What…do you mean by that, Davion?" Cecilia warily asked, crossing her arms as she took glances at the damage of the Astrays. "You're talking as if things are going to change-"
"Things are." He affirmed firmly. "And I'm not just talking about on a global scale, because there's no use denying that what happened happened. News outlets are going to be churning out trash about this for weeks to come. No, I'm talking about…"
A million thoughts ran through Laura's head, prompted by the slight hesitation in her brother's voice at the near end. She gathered bits and pieces of information from her observations, context clues, and the more obvious behaviors pertaining to the past few hours' events, all coalescing into coherent but still incomplete thoughts.
'Assures that things are going to change. Not on the global scale, something smaller? Japan perhaps?'
Her eye looked over at the Astrays, taking in the damage of each and then at the missing limb of the Gold Frame. A sinking feeling settled in her gut and she tried her best to ignore it.
"I'll say this now, I wasn't there for the later end of the battle. Not until every enemy was gone, of course. I was busy taking care of the tomahawk missiles heading for Tokyo."
"Then that huge beam was..!" Cecilia gawked at him, able to recall the sudden appearance of the red to white and blue beam with pink-purple lightning covering it. That thing had swallowed the suit that looked like the Strike Uchigane whole!
"I knew it." Kanzashi looked a bit proud, looking over at the Blue Frame in admiration. "That's… that's so cool!"
A hollow smile curled the mechanic's lips. "It was. Though, I wish that coolness helped turn my friends' fates."
The small bid for joviality was shot down by the grim reality of his statement, and the small smiles on their faces faltered.
'No.' Laura ignored the sinking feeling again. 'Not Japan. Smaller. Squad-based.'
"What happened?" The blonde asked him, desperation leaking into her tone as her expression gradually fell. "You…all of you were so ready, all so assured that you would win! How? How did it come to this?!"
'Something happened during the battle, most likely after the connection was cut. He said that he didn't regroup until all the enemies were gone. That left the remaining four to clean up…or…'
The voices of her unconscious brothers echoed in the back of her mind, sounding unnervingly ghostly.
'No plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.'
'Even something as simple as a delivery, which is basically just getting one thing from point A to Point B, can go horribly wrong.'
Davion smiled ruefully. "We expected to fight the Silverio in a five-versus-one deal. We didn't expect the RIMPAC's anti-air defenses to light us up and those five mobile suits to appear."
"Mobile-?!" The bluenette jolted, looking at him with wide eyes. "Wait, so they were the Professor's?!"
Both Laura and Cecilia also were in a state of shock, looking back and forth between the Blitz, the Astrays, and then back at the test pilot. A sense of betrayal wormed itself in their heart, as well as disbelief and denial.
There was no way that the Professor would do that, would she?!
The mechanic did his best to remain calm and collected, but the mere mention of the rabbit-eared woman caused a surge of aggression to flow through him. He did not forget her words not even half an hour before. She wished to have another round, another chance perhaps, of the Gospel going rogue..?
'Twitch of the lips, the corners curling down. Fists clenching to an almost unnoticeable degree, subtle shaking. Brother doesn't like the Professor. Blames her for this..?'
"She-" Davion started, but stopped when he saw the denial in their eyes. They were raised as IS pilots, to fight and win in the miracle machines that Tabane had made. Their whole life was spent tending to said machines that were the product of her madness, not that they knew it. She was practically seen as the savior of so many girls' lives, especially in the case of girls who had escaped from inescapable circumstances by becoming pilots.
Would it be fair for him to tell them of her treachery, of the insanity she hides behind the cheerful façade?
He glanced at the Astrays and then back at the Closed Forms of the IS on their persons, his suspicions flaring high. What was stopping Tabane from accessing their IS remotely? She made their COREs, after all, what level of access does she have to the spherical headaches? What if she can see or hear through it?
Knock knock!
Someone knocked on the hangar doors, stealing their attention. Being closest to the doors, Laura walked over to it as a hand cautiously hovered over the sheathed knife attached to her right thigh.
"Hello?" A young child's voice came through, muffled by the doors. "I was told that this was where Davion-san was repairing the suits in?"
"Aja-san?" Kanzashi's eyes widened slightly, gesturing for Laura to open the doors. "What is she doing here?"
With a loud metallic groan, the German super soldier pulled one of the doors aside to reveal the young brunette. She still wore her toolkit skirt and a work vest with a pink shirt underneath, but there were a pair of heavy duty work gloves on her hands, the same ones that Davion had earlier. Beside her was an industrial trolley with various heavy tools in a neat stack.
"Kazahana?" Davion asked, rising to his feet as he stared at the trolley in slight confusion. "...What are these for?"
The young girl waved at him awkwardly as she shifted a foot, the very picture of childish innocence. She exchanged a look with Laura, who merely narrowed her eye, and she placed her hands on her hips.
"Well, Lath-nee told me to tell you that you are welcome to use resources from the Sahaku Clan. Due to being friends with Nii-san, of course." Kazahana rocked back and forth on her heels. "So once I heard that the Astrays were damaged, I gathered what available tools we had and brought them here."
She looked at the Astrays with a discerning eye before turning to the Blitz. Her eyes almost shone as her brows shot up, and she quickly ran over to the gray mobile suit and walked around it in wonder.
"Wait, this isn't an Astray!"
"It's not." The mechanic affirmed as he looked at his laptop and the cables leading to each suit. "From what I've decrypted from the suit itself, it's called the Blitz." He kept his face calm as all attention was on him.
Inwardly, he felt all slimy lying like this to them. He wasn't made for manipulation, he'd rather leave that kind of act to someone else, someone that is not him. Tricking his friends, especially Kanzashi, and maintaining a façade didn't sit well with him.
"It looks like the Gold Frame…" Cecilia whispered, eyeing the shoulders and leg armor of both suits.
Davion ignored the blonde, unwilling to entertain her curiosity.
"The 'Blitz'?" Laura muttered, making sure to remember the name. "So when it disappeared, it was going too fast to be caught by the satellite?"
"No. It was…" He trailed off before shaking his head.
It wasn't the right time yet.
Walking over to the trolley, he wheeled it inside as he continued talking. "Nevermind, we don't have the time to explain. Where were we?"
"You were talking about what happened after the connection got cut." Kanzashi crossed her arms, a hand coming up to touch the Closed Form of her Strike Uchigane. "About those other Mobile Suits that attacked you."
"Right. Right…" Davion frowned as he stopped pushing the trolley. "Those five…"
Knock! Knock!
The mechanic took a deep breath, both grateful and annoyed that someone had interrupted his explanation again. Turning to the door, he saw Maya peering in with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Sorry to pop in unannounced, but…" The greenette tilted her head in a way of apology. "We're gonna have to return to the resort."
"...Why so?" Laura asked the teacher warily, a part of her wrathful at the interruption.
Said teacher's smile grew strained. "We're going to have another Operation tonight."
"Tonight?" Kanzashi turned to her in slight shock. "Why would…" A slow realization twisted her face into one of mild horror. "No…"
"No..!" Cecilia whispered, her fists clenching tightly. "No, not tonight… why so soon?!"
Davion merely let out a long sigh, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "Just what I needed… How late tonight?"
"Not sure. Orimura-sensei will inform us at the briefing, so we have to go back for now."
He clicked his tongue, "I can't." then nodded over at the damaged Astrays. "I have to do repairs on my Blue Frame and I have to secure the Blitz."
"You can leave it with us!" Kazahana offered, smiling up at him a bit awkwardly. "The uh…Sahaku Clan, that is. We have plenty of places to hide the 'Blitz' so you can focus on your Astrays."
Davion looked at her with a critical eye, the slight narrowing of his eyelids noted only by Laura. He wasn't unaware of her intentions; she wanted to have access to the Gundam while he was away. Most likely, she would hide it away in the secret facility that his brother-in-arms had informed them about, some sort of vault underneath the Sahaku Estate.
He didn't know if the Sahaku threw their lot in with Tabane but…
Taking a brief glance around the hangar, he inwardly cursed.
Ironically, the military base was the most compromised place to house the Blitz. After all, it got attacked by agents of unknown allegiances, but he was willing to bet that they were under Tabane's control. Hell, maybe there were no agents in the first place, the communications array having been blown up by some weird program the mad rabbit had concocted.
That's not to mention just how much he didn't trust the US Military to not get their grubby little mitts on the Gundam...
Sighing, he walked over to his laptop. "Fine. I'll allow you that." With a few taps of the keys the cable attached to the Blitz detached. "Now if you don't mind, I have repairs to do."
Maya frowned slightly. "You're not coming with us?"
"No. I need to stay here to prepare for later. The blue frame still needs repairs regardless." There was no use pretending to not know what they were to face tonight. "If you really want me in on the briefing, just call me."
"I'll stay here with you then." Kanzashi declared, earning a small frown from the mechanic. "I can help you with repairs. Two pairs of hands are better than one, right?"
"I'll help you too!" Kazahana raised her hand with an eager grin. "I've always wanted to check what's under the hood of the Astrays!" At his raised brow, she flinched and gave another innocent smile. "A-After I hide away the Blitz, of course!"
Davion looked at his teacher, who was frowning herself. The greenette looked at Kanzashi and found only determination, causing her to sigh.
"Alright. I'll leave you guys to your repairs. Just…make sure to get some proper rest before tonight, okay? Come on, Bodewig-san."
Laura sent one last look before she tugged on Cecilia's wrist, who had been staring at the Gold Frame the whole time. "Come on, Frau Alcott. Let's head back."
"Wait." The mechanic called out, making the others pause as he briefly turned to type away on his laptop. In the blink of an eye and the sparkling of white-gold motes of light, Gungnir appeared and rested on the chest of the lustrous Astray.
The blonde's breath hitched as she watched the gray-eyed teen pick it up, the pike-like black-gold spear gleaming in what sunlight streaked in from the doors. He walked up to her and presented the weapon, nodding at her in silent affirmation to the question on her tongue.
Cecilia lowered her gaze from his eyes to the weapon, a hand gingerly brushing against the cool metal of the shaft. She traced the golden thorn-like gilding on the black metal of the spear before wrapping her hand around it. Taking it off of his hands, she was somewhat surprised that it was lighter than she expected.
"Ephraim would have wanted you to use it." Davion quietly spoke, looking at the sun-like detailing on the spearhead. "He'd hate for it to be just lying here, not when glory-" 'or revenge' Was left unsaid, yet the mechanic knew that she understood. "-would be sought."
The noblewoman barely paid attention to his words, her fingers touching the signs of damage on the weapon, narrowing her eyes at the subtle cuts in the metal. A series of etchings caught her attention and one of her brows rose as she inspected them.
'What in the world..?'
There, around the base of the spearhead, were a series of carvings that she couldn't identify.
ᛟ ᛏ ᚨ
Laura, whose sharp eye caught sight of the etchings, could only tilt her head at them.
'Runes? Curious.'
Allowing the Blue Tears' gauntlets to quantize on her arms, Cecilia began the process of registering the weapon into her own loadout.
Luckily for her, it was a quick affair, since Gungnir lacked all the electronic locks that most IS weapons would have. A swirl of multicolored motes of light enveloped the weapon before it was successfully quantized, the gauntlets following after. With a brief shine, her earrings gained a golden engraving; a small sun, clear against the blue metal of the accessory.
"May my weapon serve you well." She could almost hear Ephraim say ,and, with another deep breath to compose herself, she turned around and quickly marched out of the building.
Laura and Kanzashi looked at each other before the former followed after the noblewoman. Maya watched the blonde leave with a crestfallen expression before she, too, composed herself and followed after her.
Davion merely nodded to himself, glancing at Kazahana and Kanzashi.
At least he's going to have a bit of help in this rush job of his…
.
.
.
(BGM Start: Contract Details - Jose Pavli)
"Where's Guele and Sarashiki?"
"They're repairing the Astrays back in Camp Schwab."
Laura held back a flinch as her mentor let out a frustrated sigh. Being back in the same meeting room didn't improve anyone's mood, especially not the teachers'. A quick glance at their improvised workstations told her they weren't too keen on facing another high-stress situation.
"Call them. Now. We need all available pilots for this briefing, they can multitask."
Maya withheld a sigh, and she typed away on the holographic keyboard. There was a tense silence as they all waited for the call to connect, and the albino took this chance to look at her fellow IS pilots for this upcoming mission.
Rin was as focused as one can be, practically glaring at the blank holographic screen. She had been shaken from what she had seen, or so Laura assumed but had recovered enough that her usual spitfire-like attitude had returned with a vengeance. She was hungry for her pound of flesh from the Gospel, and it showed with how often her jaw tensed or from how tight her fists would clench. Apparently, she had been cleared for combat, though with Doctor Coast's constant griping.
Cecilia was, predictably, the most determined of all of them to finish the fight. She had moved some of her hair behind her ears so that she could proudly display the Closed Form of the Blue Tears, especially so when the golden sun on the metal glinted in the light. The noblewoman seemed to be staring hard at the combat teacher, her mask an impeccable example of the British proud countenance.
Charlotte, however, was unnervingly blank in her expressions. She didn't frown or smile, or tense or jaw or anything. She was just…blank. And that made Laura nervous, as she was probably the girl she was closest to in their friend group. So to see the normally chipper Frenchwoman be so indifferent was…concerning, to say the least.
As for herself, Laura was…agitated.
She was agitated at many things, at the Gospel for being the cause of all of this, at the RIMPAC fleet for opening fire during Operation Angel Down, at her Mentor's lack of care towards her brothers, practically at everything and everyone.
But more pressingly, she was agitated with herself.
She should have done something, anything! Her presence could have helped turn the tide, she could have given them a chance to prevent all of this!
Damn if it resulted in her getting punished for going AWOL, it would have been worth it to potentially spare two of her brothers from their current fate!
Beep!
The projector turned on and displayed the holographic screen once more, but unlike last time where it had a static-y mess that was once the tactical map, there was now an overview display of the waters East of Kanucha.
A separate window winked into existence besides the display, bearing the words 'Call Connecting' as a chime echoed in the room. Then, after a few more seconds of idle ringing, the black screen shifted to that of the inside of the hangar they were in previously.
"Guele, Sarashiki, respond." Chifuyu ordered, her tone as stern as ever.
〈 Y-Yes, sensei! We're here! 〉
Kanzashi entered the field of view of the camera, setting a wrench off to the side. She was still wearing her pilot suit and jacket combo but there was a light sheen of sweat on her visible skin.
"Where's Guele?"
The bluenette looked up from the camera and the scene started to shift. Laura realized that she was using her phone to communicate rather than the laptop that her brother had set up. As the Strike Uchigane's pilot turned her phone around, they all saw Davion standing before an array of holographic screens, fingers dancing on similarly holographic keyboards that were projected from his laptop.
Idly, Laura compared what he was doing to what the Professor did when the Akatsubaki was being debuted.
〈 He's in the middle of coding as you can see. But he can hear you. 〉
"Tch. Very well." The combat teacher turned around and faced the room. Behind her, the tactical map separated into several windows, each showing the familiar schematics of the Silverio Gospel as well as old footage of it prior to the fight over Ogasawara.
"Let us begin the briefing for Operation Valkyrie."
Immediately, all those listening straightened up.
Chifuyu pulled out a baton from underneath the table and extended it, using the tool to point at certain spots on the tactical map.
"Earlier between 1000 and 1100 hours, following what is now called the Battle over Ogasawara, satellites of both the Academy and of the US Military picked up the Silverio Gospel on a return course towards Hawaii, more specifically, back to Pearl Harbor-Hickam."
The tactical map zoomed out, displaying the wide stretch of ocean between Okinawa and Hawaii. A red dot with the label 'Rogue-1' had left a trail towards the island chain, leaving the area of operations of the RIMPAC.
"According to the one in charge of the Gospel Project stationed in Hawaii, they had regained control of the IS when it began transmitting the coded signal that would be used in the event the pilot has been unresponsive for more than an hour."
Suddenly, the red dot winked out.
"But then this happened. The satellites couldn't get a clear visual due to the IS having been under cloud cover when it disappeared."
"...It…disappeared?" Rin could only mutter incredulously as she watched the squadron get systematically taken out, as each dot blinked out within seconds of each other. "Like, it sent signals and then suddenly disappeared?"
"We can only assume that it got hijacked again." Laura grumbled. "So, mentor, how did you know that it will return tonight?"
Chifuyu kept quiet, but she turned her head towards Cecilia, who was narrowing her eyes at her.
"The Professor." The noblewoman answered in her stead. "She's still around here, isn't she?"
"Correct." The teacher nodded, much to the subdued surprise of the other staff. Tabane Shinonono was known to be highly evasive and slippery when it came to trying to find her. "According to her, something is interfering with her attempts to try and triangulate the exact location of the CORE. However, from what little segments she was able to pry out of said interference, there was something that she noticed. A new line number that kept on repeating in the code."
〈 You mean, in the IS' CORE itself? 〉
"I'm not sure. She wasn't too talkative about it." Chifuyu continued, sparing a glance at the bluenette in the other window. "She was quite upset that someone meddled with the IS."
"And I'm guessing that this new code was for it to attack us?" Laura frowned, leaning back in her chair.
'But whatever for? And why tonight, specifically?'
"Correct. Now, onto the meat of the matter." With a few gestures to some of the staff, the tactical map showcased the waters east of Camp Schwab. "Since the Gospel will inevitably go after us, this means we can set the battlefield of our choosing. The waters 30 kilometers off would be ideal. Close enough to the base for them to provide fire support but still far enough to further intercept should the Gospel try to charge through."
"We have fire support from Schwab?" The albino's brows rose. "How? Do they have SAM's?"
"Better." Chifuyu turned her head to look out the window at Camp Schwab. "The US has decided to lend us the aid of the Experimental Flight Technology Evaluation Squadron 'Falco', or Falco Squad, for the time being."
A new window opened up, this time displaying an emblem consisting of a stylized hawk wielding four star-like points connected in the shape of a cross.
"They are a four-craft team of pilots who each have over 200 flight missions under their belt. They're veritable aces, all of whom made it through the B7R Gauntlet, and are led by Lieutenant Mu la Flaga, designated as Falco-1."
An image of a blonde man with a confident smile popped up beside the emblem, a smaller window opening to showcase a singular white feather on a backdrop of purple.
Cecilia's eyes widened. "Wait, I saw him earlier with Lieutenant Ramius!"
"'The Hawk of the Round'..." Laura muttered, staring at the picture of the pilot with great intensity. Her eye darted over to the squadron emblem and frowned as she realized that the reason why she didn't recognize it was that it was practically a new and top secret squad.
From what she remembered from loose lips during her time back in Germany, the Luftwaffe was looking for a way to get trainers from pilots who made names for themselves in passing what is now famously known as 'The Round Table'.
It was an area in the Nevada wastelands, between the Round and Table Mountains, which had a combined natural electromagnetic field that was strong enough to disrupt electronic communications. It was used as a testing ground for new plane designs, and more recently IS designs, as well as a form of battleground where squadrons from all across the US and their allies would hold an unofficial 'tournament' to see who and what kind of aces would emerge in their generation.
There, in the skies, all the pilots had to rely, and could only rely, on were their eyes and their skills, thus providing an equal playing field. It didn't matter if your plane was faster or was cutting-edge, if you couldn't see the enemy but they could see you, you're as good as fodder.
And, as his nickname suggested, Mu la Flaga was among the skilled few who earned a title from the Gauntlet.
"So we've got Ace support? Well, that's a bit of a relief." Rin smiled, though it faltered a second later. "But…damn, they're in planes though…"
"Don't underestimate these pilots, Huang." Chifuyu continued as she used her baton to gesture for the files of Falco Squadron to be gathered off to the side. "The planes they're in are not of any make we're familiar with, and the US is being awfully tight-lipped about it too."
〈 They called them the 'Apalis'. 〉
All eyes turned to the call window, where Kanzashi looked past the camera with a surprised expression.
〈 Davion-kun? 〉
She then turned the camera around, showing the rest of the room the mechanic, who was still rapidly coding.
〈 Overheard it when I was on the Kestrel. It's a multirole aircraft that was meant to be debuted at the RIMPAC, same as the Silverio Gospel and its Prophecy escorts. 〉
His voice was firm and unyielding, a sharp contrast to his normally warm, if slightly laid-back tone. With a press of a holographic button, a brief flicker of white-gold motes of light was in the corner of the video.
〈 There. 〉
〈 Eh? What is…is that the Gold Frame's Flight Pack? 〉
〈 Aile Pack, but yes. Now, bring the Strike Uchigane out, I'll integrate it as another Striker Pack. 〉
〈 Eh?! B-But the bus slots- 〉
〈 Don't worry about it. It won't register as something that needs a bus slot, instead it'll be under 'miscellaneous'- 〉
"Do you know their specs, Guele?" Chifuyu interrupted, bringing back both of their attention to her. Davion sighed as he turned his head, looking at the camera, at them, over his shoulder.
〈 No. But what I can tell you is that they're highly maneuverable and fast. Falco-1 was doing tricks while he and his squad were escorting Sea Goblin back to Schwab. 〉
"Maneuverable enough to hold out against the IS?" Rin asked, curious on both the skill of the pilots and of the capability of the machines they rode in.
〈 Probably. Haven't seen them in action yet, but if what you're saying about this Ace is true, then I have a good feeling he and his squad'll manage. 〉
"Alright then," The teacher tapped her baton on the tactical map. "We still have to formulate a plan of action for this upcoming fight. Guele, what's the status of the Astrays? Which ones are able to fight?"
The mechanic growled as he whirled around, a hand gesturing to what could only be the suits off-camera.
〈 What do you think their status is?! Gold Frame's fucked, Red Frame doesn't have a pilot, and I'm doing all I can on the Blue Frame!〉
Everyone jolted at his snap, being the second time they had seen the gray-eyed teen be legitimately angry. The first was when he and Laura had first sparred, back when the albino was quite belligerent and standoff-ish. That time, they merely got a glimpse, a restrained version of the rage he was displaying now.
It was a wild and dangerous thing, even through the electronic means they used to communicate. They could practically feel the hairs on the back of their necks stand up, and Laura felt a shudder crawl up her spine at the sight of what seemed to be a flickering crimson light in his gray eyes.
〈 Davion-kun, please calm down! 〉
'Just what is that phenomenon going on with Bruder's eyes? Something from the Project..?'
The pilots watched as the brunette balled his fists and closed his eyes, teeth grit as his breathing became nothing more than irritated hissing. Turning around, he gave them a harsh wave, more of a flick of the wrist, over his shoulder and got back to rapidly typing away.
The camera then turned back to an apologetic Kanzashi, her expression one of worry as she stole glances up at the mechanic.
〈 I'm so sorry... the stress is getting to me- to us all, really, I- …〉
Chifuyu took a deep breath, shaking her head slowly as she turned towards the pilots. "...Moving on. Let's talk about tactics and what each of you will be doing."
.
.
.
"Here."
Cecilia turned her head to see Rin with two bottles of juice on hand, one of them extended towards her. The blonde took it with a thankful nod before she turned her gaze back to the horizon.
The Chinese girl leaned back against the railings before them, pressing the cold bottle against her cheek as she let out a sigh. She kept quiet for a good few seconds before she opened her mouth again.
(BGM Start: Kodoku - Toshihiko Sahashi)
"Who would've thought, huh?"
Silence answered her question, but she already expected it.
"Gone from studying at the IS Academy to stopping a rogue IS that has the capability to destroy a whole city with all those beams it has."
"It's what's expected of us." The noblewoman muttered, opening her bottle and taking sips. "When we took on the mantle of IS Pilots, we also took on the responsibility to protect others."
"I know that." The twin-tailed girl snorted, her smile turning bitter as she took a long swig of her drink. "But did we expect something like this to happen? We were literally enjoying a break before exams and now…this." She swept her hand towards the empty beach of the resort, the visitors and students having been secured to the resort buildings proper.
"It's kinda fucked up."
Cecilia couldn't help but let out an unlady-like snort, her lips curling up at the crass words. "An…apt observation. I will admit, the situation we are in does seem very outlandish, like some sort of climax of a book or TV series, but it's what we have to deal with." She then glanced at Camp Schwab on the other side of the bay, her eyes softening.
"We have to finish their fight, at least."
Rin turned her head to look over her shoulder and she let out an upset grunt. Her grip on her bottle tightened briefly and she sighed. "Yeah." She whispered, her voice wavering as she took a sip to wet her suddenly dry throat. "If not for them, then for our classmates here, and the rest of the world."
"Necessarily in that order?" The blonde asked her with a small smile.
The shorter girl smirked. "I'm starting to see it like that, yeah."
The two shared a quiet laugh before there was silence between them. Occasionally, they gave long looks over at the military base, brows furrowed as their bottles gradually went empty.
"...How was Ichika?" Eventually, Cecilia broke the quiet with her whisper.
The twin-tailed girl's expression fell. "Nurses there told me that he didn't have any complications with that head wound of his." She crossed her arms, squeezing her biceps in an attempt to calm herself. "Even back then, this was the worst state I've seen him in."
The noblewoman turned to her with a questioning look.
"You know how Ichika and I were in the same Middle School?" A nod from the blonde. "Yeah, and you know how he drove off my bullies?"
Cecilia's eyes widened ever so slightly as she realized where this line of questioning would lead. "Don't tell me that he got hurt because he defended you?"
Rin let out a bitter chuckle. "They played 'pranks' on him. One thing led to another and…well…he fell down a flight of stairs when he slipped. Broke his leg and there was a hairline fracture in his skull." Her smile turned a bit more melancholic. "I remember crying by his bedside, wondering if he'll ever wake up."
"And now it's happening again…" The noblewoman whispered, shuffling closer to the shorter girl and putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm so sorry."
"It's…" The green-eyed girl shook her head before she looked at Cecilia. "H-How about Ephraim? How…How bad is he?"
There was no pretending that the other blonde was alright. She had heard the Brit's screech, even in her stunned state when she saw Ichika. And the image of them in those gurneys with the coffin-like cover when they were wheeled out of the Osprey…
Cecilia's shoulders tensed and a hand went up to caress her earring. "...He lost an arm."
"Oh my God…" Rin's eyes widened. "Which one? Because if I know him, he'd still want to-"
"His right arm." The blonde took deep breaths to calm herself, removing her hands from whatever they were doing to uneasily rub her right elbow. "His dominant arm."
The Alcott Heiress had spent enough time with her crush to know that he favored his right arm when it came to combat. Whenever they sparred, be it in hand-to-hand or with weapons, he always dealt the first strike with his right. From the way he held his spear with his right hand, the rifle and bazooka, and whatever weapons he had on hand and nearby.
And now…
"T-They couldn't save it or anything?"
"I don't know." Cecilia whispered, shaking her head slowly. "I don't know…"
"Was he…awake?"
"No, he…" The blonde closed her eyes, pushing away the haunting images of the blonde being hooked up to the various machines around his bed. Her image of the stalwart and implacable Knight being so vulnerable had affected her greatly. "He wasn't. There were bandages around his head and eye, as well as around his torso…I could still smell the blood…"
It was Rin's turn to comfort the noblewoman, and she did so with a gentle hug. Cecilia jolted at the contact, but found herself calming down as she reciprocated it.
"It's a real hard time we're both going through." The twin-tailed girl muttered loud enough for her to hear. "But we've got to be strong, for us. For them."
"I still can't believe it…"
"Neither can I," Rin pulled away, but gave her a sad smile. "But that's the hand we're dealt with. 'Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it.', as my Mom would say. We can right this wrong."
Cecilia took a deep breath as she collected herself. Her friend was right, this was not the end of things. She still had the strength and, more importantly, the drive to avenge Ephraim and the other boys. A warm feeling spread within her and she stood straight.
"You're right. It's too soon for us to despair." She brushed a hand against her earring, more specifically at the golden sun inlaid into the blue metal. "Not when he's relying on me to avenge him."
"'Atta girl." The green-eyed girl grinned. "We gotta be in tip top shape for later."
The blonde huffed, her prideful mask once again resurfacing. "Then you better not drag me down with that hot-headedness of yours when battle comes."
"I'll try to reign my awesomeness in~"
Haku grumbled to herself as she exited the convenience store, a bag of snacks in her hand. A quick glance around rewarded her with sights of undercover security still roaming the grounds, on golf carts, and on foot.
The explosion earlier had frazzled everyone's nerves, and it wasn't helped when they were told to remain in their rooms for their safety.
Of course, that didn't really deter some of the more adventurous and rebellious girls from sneaking out. Only to be caught by the teachers or the security and then reprimanded for their recklessness.
The orangette was just glad that she got permission to buy food and drinks that weren't served in the resort but were stocked in the convenience store.
A shock of yellow entered her vision from the corner of her eyes as she walked, and she turned her head to see Charlotte on the large swing beside the store.
The blonde seemed to be slouched as she lazily swung, her hold on the chains limp. There was this general air of negativity around her, and it rankled the redhead. Certain words her old man usually says echoed inside her head, pushing her feet towards the lone figure.
Her dad had taught her better than to ignore someone that was in need of help… or so he says.
"Dunois-san..?" She asked cautiously as she approached, eyeing the way the blonde's shoulders seemed to stiffen.
"Yes..?" The Frenchwoman turned her head, and the redhead had to stop herself from flinching.
"What happened?" Haku found herself asking, her amber eyes gazing into the blonde's hollow purples.
The orangette may not have known the blonde intimately, as they weren't in the same class, that still did not exempt her from the common decency her dad had hammered into her when she was young.
"I'm… not sure if I'm at liberty to tell." Charlotte muttered, the momentum of the swing ending and leaving her idly sitting there. "A lot of things happened…"
"Don't worry, Kanzashi-chan gave me the run-down of this 'special operation' that happened earlier." Haku smiled comfortingly as she leaned against one of the posts of the swing. "And I promise to not blab or anything, I know to be discreet."
The blonde looked at the girl with slight suspicion in her eyes, and the redhead was somewhat glad that there was at least some emotion in those purples.
For Charlotte, things had happened too fast for her to keep up with. It was only that morning when the Akatsubaki was debuted, when she was in the presence of the Professor herself, and when Ryo was still…
Shaking her head, she let out a sigh. "How much did she tell you?"
"That it… didn't end well."
"Hah," The Frenchwoman chuckled hollowly. "That's quite an understatement."
(BGM Start: Kanashimi - Toshihiko Sahashi)
Haku wanted to ask once again just what had happened but stayed her tongue.
There was an awkward silence between the two of them, of which the redhead used to take glances at the blonde.
'Reddened eyes, faint tear stains on the cheeks, she's been crying lately. That bodes ill…'
With how things are going, trying to interfere with the current situation might be the wrong thing to do. It would probably be easier for her to just excuse herself and go along her oblivious way. None of this was any of her business any more than it should be. That's what her Mom would have done.
But… it was never wrong to help someone, even just for a little bit. She always was her dad's daughter.
Digging through her pile of snacks, she bought out two popsicles offering the other one to her current companion, surprising her when it suddenly came into her view.
"E- Eh?"
"Take it, I was going to save the other one for later, but it looks like you need it more than I do... Better than just moping silently, at least."
Charlotte looked up at the orangette, staring at her for several seconds before tentatively taking the offered treat. "Merci..."
Haku gave her a comforting smile. "Just know that I'm here to help."
.
.
.
While the others had gone on their own ways in preparing for the battle later that night, Laura was doing something else.
"So, why did you have the need to call me down here?"
"It's better if you see her with your own eyes."
The 'here' in question was the Camp Schwab Hospital Morgue. And as for the 'why' the German was here?
Ziiiip…
"...That…"
"Yes. The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?"
The albino narrowed her eye as she listened in, careful to not touch any more of the metal walls that surrounded her. Laura utilized every trick she had learned as a Special Operative when it came to stealthily crawling around in the vents, and she would be damned to be discovered now of all times.
A hand reached up to retrieve something from her hair and after a second of feeling around, she pulled out a hairpin. Unfolding the metal, she focused on one end of the pin and used her pointer finger's nail to subtly press a hidden button on the other end. Immediately, the end of the metal became transparent and she could see the high fidelity micro-camera lens moving about.
Silently, she slipped the camera-end of the device through the vent grate before her, making sure to keep her hand from being visible. While she would not be able to see just what exactly is happening, she could simply review the footage later once she retrieved it from the microchip.
"So you mean to tell me that my brother isn't the only super soldier we have in our midst, Doctor Coast? That this…little girl is merely one of them?"
It took some measure of control for the German to not flinch.
Whether Lath Winslet knew of her exactly or not, she wasn't sure.
"It appears so."
"And she was the pilot of the suit that Kazahana had brought back…Is it a coincidence or..?"
"I'm just a Doctor, Miss Winslet. I'm not qualified enough to answer that."
She heard Lath sigh and Laura was almost tempted to crawl over and peer out of the vent cover, if she could even see them through it in the first place.
"What else did you find that was unnatural about her? I only skimmed through your report because I was in the middle of a meeting."
"The most pressing issue would be an unknown mixture of drugs, all a form of stimulant, that was in worrying amounts in her bloodstream. It was administered via a collar that contained the vials, one of which I can only identify as a sort of catecholamine-based stimulant. Normally, it wouldn't be that much of a big deal, the human body can handle an adrenaline rush just fine, but the stimulants to blood ratio was to the point of being lethal."
Laura didn't like the implications of the doctor's words, her mind already piecing together potential reasons from all her knowledge as part of the Schwarzer Hasse.
'A collar-based drug injection system? And a lethal dose of what can only be combat drugs…'
"So, what, they were some sort of suicide unit? Hmm, anything else?"
"Yes. I also found implants, as I've detailed in the report. Microchips and what seemed like nanomachines in her nervous system and in her brain. She was more akin to a Biological CPU than a functioning human, if I may be so crass. Parts of her cerebrum were...well, replaced with said chips and machinery, as well as what seemed to be drug or hormone manipulators in her cerebellum and along her spine."
The atmosphere became even more tense, and Laura had to control her own emotions, lest she gave a quiet gasp.
"What...what in the hell..? Just...just what the hell is going on with her? Don't tell me my so-called 'brother' also has these?"
"Until I could have access to his own brain, I can't say for sure. Now, another pressing issue is that she's infertile."
The German did a slow blink.
'What?'
"...What? Why would you-"
"Because it may also extend to your 'brother' and his friends."
Laura's heart skipped a beat. She had never really dwelt on thoughts of the future and of family, not until recently when her brothers came into her life, and even then it was about how to rebuild the bridges she's burnt between them. But if there was a possibility that they were infertile, then she could also be…
There was an oppressive silence from the room below her before the sounds of something being zipped up broke it.
"Bring this corpse back to the Estate. The staff there will know what to do with it and make sure that no one knows that the body is missing." Lath's voice was stern, cold and impersonal. But the German could tell that she was disgruntled about something, she was just not sure what exactly it was.
"Understood, Miss Winslet."
"And transfer my brother and Murakumo too. While the Americans do owe the Clan several debts, I don't doubt that they would try to examine them while we have our eyes somewhere else."
Footsteps echoed in the cold room, and the albino held her breath as she laid stock still against the cold metal of the vents. Her mind was awash with various thoughts, but she pushed them all away as she retrieved her micro-camera. Her standing orders were still to gather information about the Neo-Types, about her brothers, but with the revelation that the pilot of the 'Blitz' seemed to also be from the same Project…
'Things are going to be far more complicated. I just know it…'
When the sky turned dark and the sun set far west, the pilots for the upcoming Operation Valkyrie gathered for dinner at Casual Dining Paradis. Unlike the atmosphere for the nights prior, the air was tense as various students looked at each other warily, uncertain of what was going to happen next.
There was also a palpable irritability in some of the girls, most giving subtle glares at the passing security or at some of the teachers. A fair few were giving dirty looks at the sole male in their midst, blaming him for being involved one way or another for this lockdown of theirs.
And to add more fuel to the fire...
"-are calling this the greatest loss of life since the Vietnam War. The following footage comes straight from the brave sailors, many of them having been wounded, or worse, who were present in the Battle of Ogasawara. Which is also known now as the 'Second White Knight Incident'."
News outlets had gotten information and videos of what had happened over the RIMPAC fleet, where they wasted no time in getting out to the airwaves. By now, the whole world had seen just how disastrous Operation Angel Down had been, and many were incensed at the appearance of five more 'Mobile Suits'.
"-this will no doubt accelerate the decision in adding an 'Astray Addendum' to the Alaska Treaty, our sources say. So much firepower, especially that gigantic beam the streaked across the skies, should not be in the hands of three teens who did not hesitate in using it while friendly forces were in the area."
"Man, I can't even finish my meal." Rin muttered, pushing her plate of half-eaten carbonara away from her. "My stomach's spinning and turning all over the place. And they won't even shut that stupid TV off."
"It's like a worse version of what I felt when I first sortied in the Strike Uchigane…" Kanzashi agreed, setting her fork of caprese chicken saltimbocca down, glaring at the flat-screen TV in the far side of the restaurant. "I don't like it."
"I'm afraid we all have to overcome this fear of ours then." Cecilia sighed, dapping her lips with a napkin after she finished her spaghetti bolognese. "If we don't, then we'll be full of doubts and hesitance later on."
"Too true." They all turned to see Laura walking back as she pocketed her phone into her jacket pocket, having excused herself to make a phone call. "So I advise all of you to forget the what-ifs and focus on the now. Worrying about the future is useless if you're dead in the field."
"You speak as if you have experience." Rin noted with a small frown, to which the German shrugged at.
"I do. I am from the Bundeswehr."
As they chattered on in an effort to calm some frayed nerves, Kanzashi looked over at her unnervingly silent boyfriend as he finished his risotto. She knew that when he's quiet, he was stewing his thoughts and trying to rein in the explosive anger he had displayed earlier.
"We'll get through this..." She whispered as she squeezed his bicep, noting the slight furrow of his brows. "We'll finish this and maybe- then maybe… we can go on another date again!"
That eased some of the tension in his muscles, causing him to quietly take a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he sent her a somewhat embarrassed grin.
"Really?"
The bluenette giggled as she hugged his arm, glad that she was able to distract him from getting more and more upset. He had been so focused, terrifyingly focused, on repairing and jury-rigging the sole functional Astray back into working condition, that she was afraid that she had lost him in some sort of vendetta-induced trance.
"Say, Kanzashi," The mechanic muttered lowly, even leaning down to coincidentally brush his lips against her warming ear. "Can you…come over to my room later?"
Her face exploded in red, and it was only due to the playful argument of the others that they did not notice it.
"W-What? Why?" She leaned back and turned to him, her cheeks cherry red.
'Is he asking to-?! B-But it's too soon! We haven't had our third date yet!'
"You're the only one I'm willing to show it to."
Kanzashi looked at him in disbelief and with no small amount of mortification.
Just what was he talking about?! Something he would show to the others and not just her?! What this really going to be how she's going to lose her vir-
"It's time I reveal what happened over Ogasawara to you."
Whatever embarrassment and indignancy were within her suddenly got snuffed at the seriousness in his words. Earlier, he had been interrupted again and again in explaining just what had happened, to the point that he simply didn't speak of it again, deigning to focus on repairing the Astrays, but now..?
"Don't let anyone see you on the way, okay? It's going to be a pain in the ass to explain. So, I'll go on ahead and set things up." With that, the mechanic stood up stretching his arms. With a yawn, he sent an apologetic smile towards the others whose attention was to him at the sleepy sound.
"Sorry guys, I think I'll head back to my room. I'll take a power nap or something. Bang on the door when you need something, alright?"
"That's actually a good idea." Rin nodded, her expression a mix of pensive and approving. "Orimura-sensei didn't specify on what specific hour our…" She glanced around the table, at the other schoolmates who weren't too subtle in their eavesdropping. "Study session would be, so it's best if we rest as much as we can."
"I'll be up." Laura shrugged and went on her way, stuffing her hands into her jacket's pockets. The albino had been somewhat distant as of late, the girls postulating that it's her soldier mindset kicking back into gear at the upcoming operation.
"Hey, how about we have our own sleepover, kinda?" The twin-tailed girl offered to the others, a growing grin on her lips. "So that we don't have to run around banging on each other's doors later."
Charlotte perked up and spoke for the first time, having finished her pasta pomodoro earlier. "Oh, but who's room will we use?"
Rin opened her mouth but then hesitated. Her grin lost a bit of its luster as she suddenly rubbed her arm in trepidation. "I…Hey, can we…can we try to see if we can get into Sahaku-san and Ichika's cottage?"
That rewarded her with raised brows and incredulous expressions. Feeling the need to explain herself, the girl waved her hands in an attempt to quell any malice brewing in them.
"N-Not for anything nefarious, no! It's just…" She deflated once more, looking quite small with her shoulders slumped. "I…just want something of Ichika's to hold. He was always this pillar of strength to me back when I was a kid, and his situation at the hospital reminded me again of our past…"
Cecilia's expression softened and she reached out to squeeze the shorter girl's shoulder. She understood her reason fully, of course, and truly understood the sentimentality. Charlotte's expression also softened and she nodded, sympathizing with her friend.
The bluenette's lips curled into a small smile before she shook her head. "I'll pass on that. I think I'll follow Davion-kun's example and rest up."
"Can you inform Yamada-sensei of our decision then, Sarashiki-san?" The noblewoman asked as the girl stood up from her seat. "I think it's best to tell her of our location so she'll have an easier time finding us later."
Kanzashi gave her a nod and then…paused.
"Hey, Alcott-san…"
Cecilia turned to her with a raised brow.
"About the talk back at the hangar…"
The room now had a deathly presence to it now that his roommate was in the hospital, Davion noted as he set up his laptop to a holographic projector.
It was…lonely.
He hated it.
Back when he was living alone, prior to being enrolled, he didn't feel any kind of loneliness, as he knew they were merely a call away to chat or to even fly over from wherever they were at the time. He had a sense of belongingness in that apartment in Minato, even if his brothers-in-arms were hundreds of miles away.
Now, however?
With a grunt, he drew the curtains of the balcony door closed, thankful that they were of the thick kind so that nobody would even see a silhouette moving behind it. It gave him a small measure of privacy for what he was going to do.
"Barbatos."
The seal of the Duke of Hell flashed on his laptop's screen.
"Run Security Measure '8th Circle'."
With another flash, the seal disappeared back into the background. For a brief moment, the lights flickered and the TV on the far wall turned on to static. And in the next, it was back to normal, with the TV shutting itself off.
Davion let out a sigh as he sat down on his bed, massaging his temples as he collected his scattered thoughts. Truthfully, he felt lost without the other two's plans and sensibility. They were a trio. They covered each others' weaknesses and reined each in should they overextend.
Without them telling him to think critically, his plans for action were very…straightforward.
Straightforward in the same sense as a brick crashing through a window.
…Or bringing a nuke to a knife fight.
Which was why he was stressing over his most recent plan.
"Alpha-207."
Among… other things.
"Codename Tinker. Creator of the Nova Compound…must…die..!"
If that gray-eyed pilot knew who he was, then that meant Tabane must have told her. She must have told the rest of the Gundam pilots who they were and what they were capable of if they were able to give them a fair bit of trouble.
'But why?'
That was the most pressing question and yet the most irrelevant one when it came to the Mad Rabbit. She wasn't going to answer it anytime soon anyway, nor would she even entertain the thought of having to explain it.
'She'd rather play her little games and pretend to be some wise mentor when she obviously wasn't-'
The increasingly heated train of thought was thankfully interrupted by a series of peculiar sounds…
Thump thump thump…
Two sets of footsteps were coming closer to his door, the weight according to the sound indicating that they weren't adults. He wondered why there were two, and it sounded as if they were walking together before they both stopped before his door.
'Who did Kanzashi bring and why..?'
Creak…
"I heard that we were to continue our talk from earlier?"
Davion sighed as he turned his head, looking over his shoulder into the imperious blues of one Cecilia Alcott. She walked inside the room, giving it a once over, before her eyes locked onto the laptop with the holographic projector. Kanzashi closed the door behind her, giving her boyfriend an apologetic look before locking the door.
"Cecilia." The mechanic greeted as he stood up, turning to them as he crossed his arms. "I wasn't aware that you'd be joining us."
"This concerns me, you know that." The noblewoman frowned as she stared hard at the laptop. "I don't know why you didn't invite me as well."
"I wanted you to have some peace of mind before the fight." The gray-eyed teen sighed once more as he activated the projector, the device turning on and projecting an interface in light-blue hard light in the air. "Need I tell you that you shouldn't say anything to anyone outside the room after this? There's a reason why I haven't shown this to Orimura-sensei."
That caught both of the women's attention.
"Wait what?" Kanzashi spoke up, looking at him with a slightly worried expression. "She should be the first to see this..?"
"...I have my reasons. Reasons that you'll see later on in the footage." Davion then took a deep, calming breath, as his shoulders shuddered in restrained anger. "That, and she didn't bother to see Ephraim or Ryo in the hospital…" He hissed as he began to type away.
Cecilia, though somewhat miffed that the mechanic only invited Kanzashi, understood where the pettiness of the boy came from. After all, she empathized with him greatly. She was still angry at the teacher for not even giving a single glance to either of her charges, the teens that she was supposed to look after.
"Barbatos," The mechanic started, confusing the blonde but causing the bluenette to jolt. "Pull up 'Combat Footage: Operation Angel Down, 9:13 AM'."
"Wait, who's Barbato-"
The light-blue hologram flickered green before three windows appeared, each having a black screen in the middle as it came to life in a mess of static.
《 It's time. 》
Cecilia couldn't help but let out a sharp inhale, not enough to be a gasp, in surprise at the voice. Her eyes darted over to the screen that had [Prototype 01] on the top, and held her breath when the black screen gradually revealed the blue expanse she was ever so familiar with.
And there, in the middle of that blue expanse, was the Silverio Gospel.
"Pause."
Both girls' attention returned to the mechanic, watching as he took a few more deep breaths to seemingly calm himself.
"There's… a lot that you don't know about us, Cecilia." Davion started, turning to her with a serious expression, his gunmetal grays reminding her more and more of a knife's edge the longer he stared at her. "You too, Kanzashi. But, as much as I want to, now's not the time for that talk. I think it's best if the other two would be awake to talk about it with me. But for now…"
Kanzashi's raised brows slowly lowered back to their original position. Truthfully, she was surprised, blindsided even, to know that he even mentioned his AI in front of another person. His talk of not knowing about them had piqued her interest but she was grounded once more when he said that 'now was not the time'. So that meant that sometime in the future…
"For now, let's talk about Houki, and how she fucked up everything."
.
.
.
…
"̴̲͋W̶̰̐e̶̙͌ ̷̤̓n̶͍͐e̴̜͂e̵͔͆d̸̬͐ ̴̻͒t̵̺̀ọ̷͆ ̸̠̋r̴̥̒ȅ̷̖t̴͍̂r̸̨̂e̴̞͆ȁ̶͎t̷̪͒,̷̳̏ ̸̨͌t̷͈͂h̷̘̎ḙ̷̚ ̸̟̄ṡ̶̖i̶̼̽t̴͔͛ṳ̵͑a̸̦͠t̸̤͐i̴̺̍o̶̞͆n̸͝ͅ ̸̤͝ḥ̶͛a̵̳͝s̶̙͌ ̸̘͠n̶͖͊o̴̮͘ť̴̨ ̷̥̽d̷͓̉e̶͓̿v̴͔̍e̴̖̔l̴̨͠o̸̧̍p̴̢̒ẻ̷͈d̸͓̚ ̷̨̉ȉ̸͔n̷̦̕ ̸̠͊o̵͑͜ǘ̴̱r̶̻̈́ ̴̠̌f̵̰̈́a̸̺͑v̴̗̀o̷̝̚r̴͖̅!̸̺͐"̶̩͛
…
"̴̑͜U̷̮͌ǹ̸̡ĺ̶̲i̶̩͠k̷͖̇ẽ̶̩ ̷̻̏e̸͉͝a̴͙̓r̶͓̀ĺ̴̦i̸͖͂ḛ̶̋r̶̀ͅ,̶̨͒ ̷̝̎ẁ̷̩e̴̡̛ ̷̟̍ṙ̵̻ĕ̸̙ȧ̸̼l̵̟̽l̷͈̃y̸̻̾ ̶̦͝n̴̪͝e̵͉͠e̷͉͂ḍ̶̔ ̷͈̓t̸͚̿ǫ̵́ ̵̰̇h̶̟͘ẹ̸͘s̴̘͝i̴̱̍t̴̞̉ả̸̧t̵̯͗e̶̜̕ ̷̧́h̶͇͝e̸̹̅r̸̻̾ė̸̤.̶͇́ ̵̉ͅŜ̴̳o̴̦͂ ̷̐͜l̸̮̽e̸͇̋t̷͕̐'̵̼̂s̴̲̆ ̵̮̊ẗ̸̰o̷͉͝ ̴͇̽g̶̻̚o̵͉̅ ̵̦̍b̸͎̒a̸̝͠c̴̙̓k̴͇̇ ̵͉̎ȁ̵̹n̶͍̓d̶̞̀ ̸̤̐r̷͍̊ë̴̻́g̴̟̍r̸͕̊o̵̥͑u̶̪͆p̸͚̔.̶̐ͅ"̷̫̚
…
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"Guh..!"
Houki awoke to distorted voices, a dark room, and a near-constant pain in her head.
"Where..?" She whispered, almost wheezing as fresh oxygen blew against her mouth. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and, with the aid of the scant moonlight that was pouring through the window blinds, she found herself staring at white walls and non-offensive furniture. Her hearing, as muddled as it was, registered a rhythmic and monotonic beeping, alongside quiet hisses of some sort of machine.
The girl immediately knew where she was, even as a hand weakly reached up to touch the noninvasive ventilation mask around the lower half of her face.
A hospital, and one on solid ground if the lack of subtle swaying was of any indication.
Though she couldn't move her head much, as any attempts resulted in a splitting headache and a sharp pain in her neck, she could still move her eyes around. A quick glance to her left revealed something in the shape of a bed with something else lying atop it. She knew that she had a roommate but could not tell who it exactly was due to the curtain between them.
She could only hope that it wasn't any of the three-
'...Wait! The…the battle!'
Despite the painful protests of her body, she managed to move an arm to touch the bed controls off to the side. Squinting, she could barely see the button that would incline her bed-
Beep.
"Let me get that for you, Houki-chan~"
Immediately, her wide blues darted up and stared straight into amused plum that, even through the darkness, she recognized all too well.
"Nee-chan?!" The brown-haired girl wheezed, her expression twisting into surprise. "What are you doing here?!"
Tabane grinned as she inclined her sister's bed, allowing her to sit up and for the blanket to fall down to her lap.
"I'm here to help, of course! I'd be a bad big sister if I didn't take care of my imouto~"
She took in the bandages around her sibling's arms, those wrapped around her neck, as well as the patches covered on her face. With a quiet hum, the rabbit-eared woman turned to the ventilator and pulled out some sort of vial that glowed a dim blue. Houki immediately knew what her sister was trying to do.
"Nee-chan, don't-!"
"This is for your own good, Houki-chan~" The older Shinonono cooed as she inserted the vial into the main ventilator tube that led to Houki's NIV mask. With a quiet hiss, a pale blue vapor mixed with the fresh oxygen and the swordswoman could only stare in horror as it gradually crept up the tubing.
"Don't worry, my dear imouto!" Tabane leaned over the panicking girl, touching the heart rate monitor and sending sparks to arc around the machine. The previously spiking heart rate glitched back to normal as blue eyes bore into plum. "That vapor's harmless, I promise you. It'll heal with that wicked headache you have, just breathe it in and you'll be right as rain in a few minutes!"
The swordswoman really couldn't do anything else in the state that she was. The vapor was already in her mask and holding her breath was only a temporary solution. She could call the nurse, but she had no doubts that her sister had some countermeasure to prevent that. Looking into her older sister's eyes, there was nothing but the affection that she always knew.
And so…Houki relented.
She breathed in the vapor, which oddly had a minty flavor, and immediately felt her mouth be numbed. But as the seconds passed, she felt her headache's constant pounding disappear. With a relieved sigh, she sank deeper into the mattress of the bed, the lack of a throbbing pain in the back of her head a much-needed relief.
"Do you like it?" Tabane smiled as she removed the vial from the tube and pointed it at the visible bandages on her arms. "I got the idea of a sprayable healing substance from Star Wars! I'd call it Bacta, but copyright issues are a pain to deal with, hmph!"
"Nee-chan…" The swordswoman whispered, her eyes briefly dilating before they locked on to the older Shinonono. "What…happened? Where's the Gospel? Why am I in a hospital..?"
The rabbit-eared woman stared at her younger sibling for a good few seconds, taking in her wounded state before she gently patted her cheek. "What do you remember?"
With a slight frown, Houki tried to recollect what had happened hours prior through the haze.
"There was…the storm."
Lightning flashing everywhere, a silvery blur in the dark clouds that dodged and taunted her.
"The Gospel and its beams…"
Streaks of light that curved and twisted in a helix, burning through the sky towards them.
Her fists clenched.
"Then the clouds cleared and… then… hell happened."
Constant gunfire, the sky alight with missiles and explosions. Five flying devils with fin-like horns. Smoke everywhere, the scent of superheated metal and saltwater filling her nostrils.
She released a shuddering breath, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion as whatever substance her sister made her inhale worked its magic.
"Everything was…hazy after that." Houki whispered, narrowing her eyes as she tried to pull anything after the clouds cleared through her muddled memory. "I think my body was…going on auto-pilot. Just…fight and survive."
"Were you seeing things?" Tabane asked gently, glancing towards the other bed. "Was the world…different to you?"
"I…"
A golden monster clad in black and red armor, with tattered wings and a blue-purple leer. The demented voice mocking her for her failures…
"Ǧ̵̩̠e̴̯̥̋ť̵̙̗͋ ̶̺̙̓̚i̶̭̭̾̾t̴̨̐̐ ̵͎̱̓̌t̷̻̥̅͊ḩ̵̝̆̕r̸͎̙̓̒o̶͔͝u̴̙͊g̵̞͓̅͋h̷͇̍ ̴̡̹͒ŷ̸͇̻̊o̸͍̝̓u̷͍͖̾ȓ̵̺ ̵̨̲͘͠t̶̜͔́h̷͔̫͑͘i̸̗͍̇́c̸͔̮̓͑ḵ̷̡̌ ̴̜͆s̴͍̹̓k̸̜̤̇u̷̳̐ͅl̸̡̪͆̈́l̸̺͔̉̏ ̷̡̳̈̽t̶̻̘̓̅h̷͕͌ă̸̭̭t̶̢͙͆̑ ̵̱͗̔t̶̡̯͒h̶̨͎͝e̷͍̥̎͆r̷̤͋e̶͔̓ ̴̊̚͜w̶̭̋i̴̢̛͔̚l̶̙̫̀l̴͍̱̈̈́ ̷͚́̐a̵̬̅̚l̶̝͔̚w̶̺̔â̴͚͚͝y̷̨̔̾s̵̰̳̈́ ̵̭̾̈́b̷̡̿e̷͓͑̌ ̶̼͍̐s̴͙̱̈́o̴͙̐m̵̪̍͂è̷̖̙o̷͈̅́ń̵̳e̸͚̝̋ ̶̛͓b̶̡̢̐ę̶̳͘t̷̙͐͝t̴̫͍̍͠ȇ̷̫r̶̳̉ ̴̨̛͂t̸̨̅͠h̵̛̤̉ä̵̺̬́̌n̸̠̈́͠ ̷̬̥̕y̵̱̿ͅo̵͓̝̍̾u̷̯̫̍͛ ̴̧̥͐ǫ̴͍̀û̸͍̍ͅt̷̻̆̅ ̴͈̈́t̵͓̖̄͘h̶̨̨̀̉ë̶͎́ṛ̴̯̆͒è̸̟̫̊!̵̯͛̀ͅ"
"Y-Yeah, I did…"
"Hmm." The purple haired woman nodded as she leaned back on her heels, crossing her arms as her smile widened ever so slightly. "Hallucinations… Anything else?"
Houki looked at her sister with great suspicion, her eyes narrowed and fighting the exhaustion to simply let them close and rest. "Nee-chan…what are you trying to do?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, Houki-chan~" Tabane softly patted her head. "Maybe just some minor calibration and upgrading for the Akatsubaki is in store for the future…" A glint of something flashed through the plum eyes of the older sister. "But for now, I'm going to use my authority as a medical professional to clear you of your maladies!"
Houki stared at her sister. "Nee-chan, you never went to medical school."
"That's what you think!" The older sister wagged her finger almost patronizingly. "I've gone through online school, it was all the rage almost a decade ago! You're looking at the holder of several medical degrees over here!"
"And I bet they were under your numerous aliases…" Houki muttered, which was then ignored by her sister.
With a playful poke to her younger sister's forehead, Tabane then raised her arms in quiet cheer. "Aaand tadah~! The Not-Bacta has cleared your brain swelling and dulled your burned skin! Now you're ready to go out there and stop that mean Gospel~"
Ignoring what her sister was saying, the swordswoman slowly removed the NIV mask and sat up. Wincing slightly at the slight soreness, she tested the range of movement of her arms, clenching and unclenching her fists as the embers of ambition lit up inside her once more. She glanced at the bed beside hers-
"If you're wondering about Ikkun," The curtain was drawn back and Houki's breath hitched. "He took a beam meant for you. He'll be right as rain in due time but…" Tabane's smile wavered slightly as she watched the warring emotions in her younger sister's eyes.
Shock.
Fear.
Disbelief.
…And then that familiar anger.
Jingle~
The sound tore the swordswoman's gaze away from the unconscious boy. Turning her head, she saw the red and black ribbon tied around her left wrist, the gold and silver bells ringing their soft tune as she lifted the arm. She then looked up at her sister, who gave her an encouraging nod as she drew the curtains back to hide Ichika away.
"The Gospel is already on its way, and the others have already launched." Tabane informed her with that easy-going smile she always wore. Even Houki couldn't tell just what was going in her sister's mind when she had that mask on, to the point that looking at it long enough brought shivers up her spine. "It's up to you and the other girls to stop it from rampaging here."
'The other girls..?'
The swordswoman opened her mouth to ask-
'She didn't mention those annoying little-'
-only to shut it once she realized just what that entailed.
No more distractions, no more hindrances. Nothing to mess up any maneuvers, and certainly nothing to take attention away from her- from them.
'If the girls and I defeat the Gospel here once and for all, then…'
The burning ember of emotions within her roared into a blaze as she got off the bed, scowling at the hospital gown she wore. Glancing at the ribbon around her left wrist, she then turned to her sister.
"Nee-chan…how fast can you upgrade the Akatsubaki?"
Tabane grinned.
AN:
I have returned!
Sorry that this is a very late update, ProjectRyo had to deal with stuff and I had got distracted by… a lot of games. Didn't help that ProjectRyo had to put this in the backburner because of academics but...hey, better late than never, yeah? Anyway, I had to play some games to...calm myself down from some high-stress situations I got into.
Vermintide 2, most especially, in anticipation for the upcoming Darktide. Even got some friends together to push through Legend Skittergate, even tutored some of them when it came to Bounty Hunter (which I would confidently say I'm a main of!).
And as of November 18, I can proudly say that I have and am playing the Beta of Warhammer 40k: Darktide.
And I love it.
Excluding the sudden disconnections and crashes, of course, but hey's it's the Beta.
Got my Veteran to level 30 just a few days ago and now I'm grinding up my Psyker, which is a very Sienna-like playstyle I have to admit.
That and I needed a bit of time to clear some headroom, and Rune Factory 5 and Stardew Valley helped out in that regard immensely.
Anyway, we're approaching the end of the 1st Season and all the consequences of the events prior will lead to a ripple in the world. After Episode 12 will be a series of Interludes that deal with the aftermath, especially when it comes to the state of the IS Academy following the rather publicized and disastrous Operation Angel Down.
On to the reviews!
KnightOfZaku: Turns out Halloween was also this story's Anniversary, and boy do I feel dumb for not making a chapter special. And thanks for that bit of info, I'll put off from transferring to Ao3 for now.
As for Rey and Prayer... I really want to say something...but I can't. But I'll give you this. No R63 treatment.
P.B.S: Yeah, that's cost of me not reading the Light Novels; characters being incorrect. Once I get around to reworking the earlier chapters, I'll address that. Maybe after I read the Light Novel too, actually. And thanks for sticking with the story!
Mikazuki Augus1: Thank you! And the updates thing was just me fixing some grammatical errors in the older chapters, sorry!
BrokenLifeCycle: Thanks for the kind words! I'm actually really worried that people didn't like my OC's, both from the stigma of them being OC's in the first place and the way that I wrote them being so...borderline Gary Stu-ish. Not that I want them to be! God no, I do my best to steer them away from that path.
As for your stance about Tsunderes...yeah, my homies and I don't like 'em too. ProjectRyo especially doesn't like them, with good reason.
Houki'll get her comeuppance soon enough, you'll see.
Woo, that was far overdue, eh?
Anyway, this is Cipher, preparing for an upcoming class, signing off!
.
.
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"Sierra Foxtrot, Sierra Foxtrot, this is Delta Echo, do you read me?"
…
"This is Sierra Foxtrot, reading you loud and clear, Delta Echo."
"Master's wanting an update on Sierra Actual now that the birds have flown from the nest."
"Target was NA, I repeat, NA at the location. They must have moved Sierra Actual."
"Understood. Master wants you to come back to the Yamato as soon as possible. Said something about a 'consolation prize'."
"Oh Scheiße. Roger that. What's the status on the Three?"
"Goat Wheel has been dispatched on a diversion, Lionhead and False Angel are to remain on ice."
"Understood. This is Sierra Foxtrot, egressing from Schwab."