Icarus 5

It was Friday afternoon as the five guys were walking around the hallway as Trent asked "So where are we going again."

Harrison responds "We're going to the headmaster's office, we were told this in the morning."

Trent chuckled and said "Yeah I was still half asleep at that point."

As Harrison groaned, he asked "Wyatt do you even know where this place is?"

Ichika adds "Yeah according to the handbook this isn't the way to the headmaster's office."

Wyatt responds "That's just for show ,I'm taking you to the real one."

As the five ended up in front of a janitor's closet, Caleb asked "Are you sure this is it?"

Wyatt forced the four into the slightly cramped closet and closed the door behind him. He goes to push the wall opposite of the door to a secret doorway.

The five went through and entered a large office shaped as a half-circle, with another, smaller half-circle jutting out to the room's front door. A large desk made of mahogany dominates the space of the autumn-colored office. In the right-hand corner, for a more comfortable setting, are a small table and chairs for guests.

From the desk Juuzou smirks and says "Good afternoon gentlemen, welcome to my office."

As the boys bow , Ichika says "It's an honor to be here."

Caleb nervously asked "Is this just a casual visit or are we in trouble?"

Juuzou says "Don't worry you're not in trouble but this isn't a simple check in."

A chair facing the headmaster spun around to reveal Dr. Maxwell. "It's something pretty serious." The doctor said in a grim tone.

The five made their way closer to the desk as Wyatt asked "Exactly what happened doc."

Dr. Maxwell says "Two days ago from an American black site, Rain Meusel and Forte Sapphire escaped confinement."

As Wyatt and Harrison grit their teeths , Juuzou says "I understand your anger, their betrayal wasn't just a blemish on your countries but our academy."

Ichika asked "So let me guess you want us to find them? It's going to be pretty hard as Phantom Task has several hideouts even Madoka doesn't know about."

Dr. Maxwell says "Trust me, it might not be hard to find them as a warning was delivered to headmasters early this morning."

Juuzou takes out five pictures each of a different castle as Ichika exclaimed "Wait why are you showing us the national treasures."

Confused, Trent asked "What treasures , those are just castles?"

Wyatt explains "From what I can recall these castles are considered treasures due to their cultural impact."

Juuzou responds "Correct, we were sent images of Himeji,Hikone , Inuyama , Matsue and Matsumoto Castles along with this note."

They looked to see a note crudely constructed from newspaper letters stating April 22nd 12:00pm.

Caleb exclaimed "That's tomorrow , what do you think is going to happen."

Juuzou responds "No clue but I don't want to find out. That's why I'm sending you five to each location later tonight. All expensive and even a hotel room to get some rest."

Ichika says "But if this is such an important mission why can't the girls be informed about this."

Wyatt speculates "Their governments won't give permission unless a clear threat is shown. Plus it's too last minute for any debate to happen."

Harrison adds "While us five have complete autonomy as our units were made or now supervised under Dr. Maxwell."

Juuzo says "That and I don't want to leave the school defenseless, for all we know these targets could just be to get our pilots away from the island."

Dr. Maxwell says "Yeah after that World Purge incident that could be a possibility. So to be safe, we're just sending you five."

As everyone was processing this , Wyatt said "Come on guys , I doubt it's anything serious. Besides, if there isn't an attack it's basically just a sight seeing trip."

Dr. Maxwell chuckles and says "That's one way to see it, also I've brought something to help you guys out."

The doctor takes out four briefcases and one to everyone but Wyatt.

As Caleb opens his, he sees inside was a high tech skin tight red bodysuit with light-gray thin inner-lines that mark the suit.

Caleb says "Awesome ,it seems our upgraded suits came in."

The other looked to see similar suits in their respective colors with Ichika's suit was white with a navy blue and gold highlights.

Juuzo hands the boys train tickets and says "These will get you to each destination. So choose wisely where each of you go."

Later in the day as the five boys were in Dr. Maxwell's cabin fully processing what they just discovered, Wyatt asked "So who wants to go where?"

Breaking the silence Ichika picked up the ticket to Himeji and said "Himeji Castle is definitely going to be the biggest target, so it's best for me to go."

Wyatt decided to take the ticket to Matsumoto and said "If an attack does happen it's best for the three of you to not be too far away from one another. So I'll take the Crow Castle."

As Caleb , Harrison and Trent took the tickets of Inuyama, Hikone and Matsue respectively, The Greek teen asked "In the event a battle does happen, how are we going to explain why we were at each location?"

Ichika says "That completely crossed my mind, there's no way five battles at such populated areas wouldn't attract news footage."

Wyatt smirks and says "The doc's birthday is in a couple days, we can just say we went to get gifts but got roped into a fight."

Harrison says "I doubt anyone would be that gullible."

Wyatt stretched his arms and said "It's not the best excuse but if we stick to the story it will work."

Trent sighs and says "Honestly I didn't think we would get a mission like this off the bat."

Ichika says "True but these things happen, so the best thing is to remain calm."

Wyatt adds "Plus all you need to do is just stand your ground. There's no need to win, just wait until reinforcements come."

As they each took a deep breath to calm themselves down, Caleb says "I just know we can make it through this."

Wyatt tussled the Kenyan kid's hair and said "See why can't you guys be more like Caleb."

This got the others to relax a bit as the began to laugh and further prepare for their departure.

After the guy snuck off campus and made it to the train station, Wyatt says "Alright men gather up."

With those words the five huddled together as Wyatt says "We don't know what we'll face once we get to those castles but let's give it our all and remember to make it out alive."

As the guys silently nod at Wyatt's words the five broke up from the huddle and made it to each of their trains determined to complete their missions.

The next day as Wyatt was walking around Matsumoto , he looked at his clock as it read 11:23. He thought "A little over 30 minutes, it's probably best to get to the city."

Suddenly when he was turning a corner he bumped into someone. As he got up he saw it was a 5 foot tall Caucasian girl with red eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair adorned in a black headband. Her outfit consisted of black blazer with a gold emblem over a white collar shirt, a purple-tie, a purple skirt, knee-length white socks and black Mary Jane shoes.

Wyatt helps the girl up and says "Sorry about that, I was just looking at the time."

The girl says "Don't worry about it, I'm just trying to find my way around here."

Wyatt says "I have some time to spare, so where do you want to go?"

The girl says "Oh I'm trying to get to Matsumoto Castle, but I don't know the way."

Wyatt says "That's a nice coincidence, that's where I'm heading. Come on , sorry I don't think I caught your name."

The girl says "It's Talia , and your name is?"

Seeing the girl doesn't know who he is, Wyatt lied "Oh I'm Wesley Davis."

As the two went off and made it to the castle , Wyatt checked to see there was about 5 minutes left until noon.

While Wyatt was looking around for potential threats, he asked "So Talia what got you to come here."

Talia says "My mom told me to meet with someone here at noon."

With his back turned, Wyatt said "Well you're a little early but it's better to be a couple minutes early than a minute late."

The girl chuckles at the joke and says "That's a pretty good way to look at things, Wyatt."

Hearing this, Wyatt deployed his shield and turned to face Talia. He saw she lunged at him with a knife with the same cheerful expression as before.

After her attack failed , Talia giggled "I was so close, but still good reflexes."

With a stern expression Wyatt says "So can I ask if your real name is Talia or is it an alias."

Talia responds "Well it's half a lie, my full name is Talia Meusel."

As Wyatt was holding Talia's knife he said "Another Niece? Seriously what's with the Meusel clan and their females."

Talia says "I'll kindly ask you not to talk about my mother like that."

Confused Wyatt says "Wait, if Squall is your mom." He pieced together what this meant and said "You're a test tube baby."

A smirk forms in Taila's mouth as she says "Smart and good looking, this is definitely going to be fun."

The two fully materialized their units to get ready for battle Wyatt noticed like most Phantom Task members, Talia's unit resembled an insect, specifically a wasp. It had a yellow and black stripe pattern with a pair of wrist mounted guns .

As Wyatt summons his spear and shouts "Everyone evacuate the area, this isn't a stage play."

Meanwhile back at the academy, Chifyu gathered the cadets in a meeting, Cecilia asked "Ms. Orimura, what's so urgent that you needed to gather us all here."

Rin added "Yeah there's nothing going on to warrant such an emergency."

Chifyu silently turned on several monitors to reveal the several battles happening in Japan.

At Inuyama Castle, Caleb was clashing swords with former cadet, Rain Meusel.

In the city of Matsue, Harrison was having a long range battle against his predecessor, Forte Sapphire.

While at Hikone Castle, Trent was defending against the assault from the former Russian cadet, Rogna Kalinych.

To the girls' surprise, they saw Wyatt going against an unidentified opponent in an equally unknown unit.

Chifyu says "This is why I gathered you here because for some reason 4 terrorist attacked four different locations and each guy managed to be their faster than most first response teams."

As the girls went completely silent , Kanazashi nervously asked, "What about Ichika?"

Chifyu responds "He's also missing but Himeji Castle is somehow the only location not under attack."

Cecilia asked, "Why would he be at Himeji Castle?"

Tatenashi responds "Like the other four castles, it's considered a national treasure."

Chifyu says "Get changed and be prepared to launch Hikone, Matsue and Inuyama to assist the freshmen. Wyatt should be fine on his own and once the four castles are secure, go to Himeji castle."

The girls saluted their teachers and went to prepare for battle. Chifyu thought "What are you doing Ichika?"

In a maid cafe at Himeji, Ichika found himself in a booth sitting across from Chloe Chronicle. Standing behind her was a male slightly taller than him who was wearing a black helmet-like mask that features a white skull with the "eyes" of the mask being white reflective lenses. His clothing consisted of black coat with gray accents and red buttons with

As Chloe took a sip from a tea cup, she asked "So you're not going to order anything."

With a stern look , Ichika says "Look I don't know what this is about you invited me to this place to talk. So talk."

Chole responds "Honestly I'm surprised you're still using the Byakushiki after all it was made by the woman who declared you a monster."

Ichika says "There's not that many units to choose from, so I make do with what I have. So what's your reason for these attacks?"

After another sip of her tea, Chloe says "Unlike your academy, each member of Phantom Task has different goals and levels of allegiance ."

Curious, Ichika asked "Care to explain what you mean by that?"

Chloe takes out a tablet to reveal the four fights going over the nation and says "Rogna fights solely for a chance against Tatenashi, Forte is more devoted to Rain's goals , while Rain and Talia are seemingly fighting for their own desire which is found through Squall."

As Ichika looks on at the battle he says "Who exactly is the girl going against Wyatt, we never faced her before."

Chloe says "That's Talia Meusel, She's similar to me and Laura but was aged up to your age. For some reason she thinks she and Wyatt are soulmates ."

Shocked Ichika says "Guess the aging process must have loosened a few screws. Is the guy behind you the same?"

Chloe smirks "No he's a little weird and doesn't talk much, but he's more well adjusted."

Ichika asked, "So why are you telling me this , aren't you supposed to be on Phantom Task's side."

Chloe says "Not really, since they're actions support Tabane's vision I'll stay with them. But I'm only giving them the bare amount of help by keeping you here to chat."

As Ichika got up , he said "It's been a nice chat but I have to go help my friends out."

Chloe says "Is it really wise to leave, for all you know I could attack the castle while you leave. At least stay for the bill."

Reluctantly Ichika sat back down and thought "I'm counting on you guys."

- Inuyama Castle 12:30 pm.

While Caleb was parrying sword strikes from Rain as the girl shouts "For an amateur, you're not doing too bad."

Caleb managed to deflect another attack as he says "I'm not flattered by the word's of a terrorist."

Rain chuckles and says "Even so I've got years of experience and your unit is just a rip-off of my Hell-Hound."

As Rain managed to strike Caleb with a burning flame strike, the Kenyan teen fell from the sky to the ground.

Caleb grunted in pain and thought "Damn she's pretty tough, but Wyatt and Ichika have been facing challenges like this since last year. So I can fight too."

Rain soared down from the heaven's and attempted to hit Caleb's head with her sword. In the last second , Caleb rolled away from the attack and stabbed the girl in the stomach.

The girl shouts "You fucking little shit, you think you're hot shit."

She slammed her blade to the ground as Caleb tried to get some distance away from the terrorist.

As Rain wildly swung her sword at the Kenyan boy, Caleb kept on the defensive and parried the attacks.

Caleb was overwhelmed by the raged filled attacks as he was pushed closer into a wall.

Rain says "Sorry boy, but you're a third rate pilot with a 4th rate unit."

The girl prepared for a downward slash as Caleb deflected the attack and countered it with a burning slash.

Forcing a confident smirk, Caleb replies "If that's the case, that makes you a fourth rate pilot."

- Matsue Castle 12:30 pm.

On the top side of Matsue castle, Harrison was firing several shots from his rifle , but for some reason each shot was getting shot back at him.

As he was dodging the attacks , Harrison thought "How exactly is she doing this?"

Forte smirks and says "So you're my replacement, with a knock off Cold Blood and low combat abilities, I'm honestly disappointed ."

Slightly aggravated, Harrison kept up his attack as a mix of icicles and his own bullets were shot at him.

Harrison cursed as a stray icicle cut him right above his eyebrow. He flew away to hide and wipe the blood away from his wound.

He heard Forte say in a singing tone "Come on out and play little Prince."

With a knife made of ice , Forte attempted to cut Harrison. At the last second Harrison used his gun to knock away the blade.

As he took a closer look, Harrison noticed several crystals floating around the girl and thought "So that's how she did it ."

Before Forte could create another knife , Harrison slammed the barrel of his gun into the girl and fired.

The shot sent the girl several feet away and before she could recover, a pair of retractable cannons from Harrison's unit flipped open and blasted Forte further away.

Forte grunted as she said "Alright that's it you cocky shit." She formed a large Lance of ice and threw it at Harrison.

In response, Harrison launched several dozen missiles at the girl causing a mist cloud to form around the castle.

As the mist cleared , Harrison bit his lip as he saw the large icicle lodged into his shoulder. But a smirk formed onto his face as he saw most of Forte's body except for her head and torso invaded within ice.

Harrison says "You might have the original but I'm the new and improved model."

- Hikone Castle 12:30 pm

Rogna fired from her rocket launcher, Trent used his hammer to knock the projectile away.

After letting out a sigh, Rogna says "Seriously I joined this organization to go against Tatenashi, but here I am going against a small fry."

Trent shouts "Don't underestimate me, I can hold my own in a fight."

Rogna created a whip of water and lashed it at Trent. As Trent was sent reeling back from the attack he groaned in pain.

Pissed off , Trent gets up and slammed his hammer into the ground causing it to break around his opponent.

While she was distracted, Trent charged at Rogna and sent her flying with a swing of his hammer.

As Rogna got up she noticed blood coming from her lip, her bored expression turned into a scowl as she said "Alright brat you wanted me to take you serious, time to take you serious."

Trent's hammer folded into a rocket launcher as he aimed the weapon at his opponent.

He says "What a coincidence, I'm feeling the same thing."

Before he fired the weapon, The Quake Lion's clawed toes rooted itself into the ground to prevent recoil.

With the press of a trigger, Trent fired two rockets for his weapon as the projectiles hit dead center.

Later that night as Ichika was rushing through the hallway of the academy, he saw a slightly bruised Caleb standing in front of the nurse's office.

Out of breath, Ichika asked "Are you guys okay, I heard the others had to get transported back."

Caleb responds "Don't worry it's not as big of a deal as it was made out to be."

The two went in and saw Harrison with his left arm in a sling and Trent whose head was covered in bandages with his right leg in a cast.

As he was sitting in the corner, Dr. Maxwell says "Yeah they were really put through the ringer."

Caleb says "After I started to give Rain some trouble she escaped, so I came out of the fight okay."

Harrison says " I got skewered in the shoulder. I managed to restrain Forte for a bit but when reinforcement came in she slit her throat."

Due to his bandages , Trent voice was muffled as he says "I got a good hit or two in but she managed to defend against my best move and beat the shit out of me and left before backup arrived ."

Ichika asked, "Wait, what about Wyatt, where is he?"

Dr. Maxwell says "He was slightly delayed, he attempted to capture his opponents but she managed to give him the slip."

Ichika sighed as he said "That's good, so we all made it out somewhat alright."

Their mentor tapped his forehead with his finger and said "Yeah all things considered, it was a successful mission."

With a scowl on his face, Trent said "But other than Harry, we couldn't take down a single member."

To their surprise, Wyatt entered the room with a scowl on his face and slapped Trent.

As they looked at their upper classmen in confusion, Wyatt says "You guys truly are dumbasses."

Caleb says "But Wyatt we could barely keep up with them. Trent almost had his head caved in."

Wyatt says "Let me tell you something kid, failure is the mother of success. As long as you're alive you can always get back up and try again."

Ichika chuckles and says "He's right, I couldn't even shoot a gun around this time or control my landings."

Wyatt adds "Exactly, Ichika was a complete novice, like he was really bad."

Ichika lightly punched his friend in the arm but is surprise to hear Wyatt wince in pain. He asked "Guess you still have a lot to learn as well."

Wyatt grinned "Everyone does man, like how you need to figure out which girl you like."

Ichika chuckles "Come on man, let's worry about that another day. Besides I'm not even sure which one I do like."

Dr. Maxwell points to the entrance and says "Um guys you might want to turn around?"

They looked to where the doctor was pointing and saw all of the girls standing in shock.

Wyatt turned himself and Ichika around as he whispered "Okay I have an idea."

Ichika complains "If it's to run, I don't think it's going to work."

Wyatt says "No, just take a few deep breath and count to 10."

Reluctantly Ichika agreed and began to the exercise, just as he counted to 7 and took a deep breath in, Wyatt sucker punched him in the chin.Due to his body being relaxed , the hit managed to knock him out cold.

Meanwhile in an abandoned factory, Rain was crying her eyes out at the death of her lover.

Rogna says "Come on brat, she was defeated in battle but at least she managed to keep our organization safe."

Before Rain could claw at Rogan's throat, Talia got between them and said "Calm down you two, dissension in the ranks is the worst thing right now."

Rain shouts "How can I calm down after this bitch disrespected Forte."

Talia says "Please I doubt she's ever been in love, so don't even pay attention to her."

In a seat Autumn says "She's right, Forte's death is a huge loss. But we must move forward in order to honor her sacrifice."

After drying her tears, Rain asked "How are we going to get payback?"

Autumn smirks and says "First is to get Squall out of whatever prison she's being kept. Then I'll make sure you have the head of who led Forte to her death. By the way Chloe, how did you're bodyguard do on his mission?"

Chloe responds "Honestly it's weird, at best the only thing I hear from him is breathing."

They look towards the masked terrorist the see him quietly sitting in a corner as Autumn states "True but the higher ups say he's the first in the new line of male pilots. So we got to deal with him."