Icarus 9
The next day Xander walked into an abandoned warehouse waiting for his meeting with Autumn.
Xander thought "Wonder what this meeting is about?"
From behind him, he heard Autumn say "Good you're on time."
Xander looks around to see his current business partner along with the same bodyguard who was with Chloe during the battle of the Castles.
Confused Xander says "So exactly who is this kid?"
Autumn responds "He's your new partner and the first male pilot of Phantom Task, Agent 001."
Xander asked, "Pretty interesting name, are there more like him."
Autumn says "Let's just say they're not exactly ready for missions yet."
Xander goes to the agent and says "Well kid guess we'll be getting to know each other better."
As Agent 001 stood silently, Autumn said "He's not the most vocal of partners."
Xander groans as he says "Great so I'm babysitting a mute, that's just-."
Agent 001 quickly jabbed Xander in the throat as the man began to struggle to breath.
While trying to catch his breath, Xander says "And he's got a temper, you really know how to pick them."
Autumn smirks "Hope the two of you get along. You'll have plenty of time to get to know one another." As she left the warehouse, Xander asked "So do you like Fried rice?"
The figure nodded his head, as Xander says "Good because that's the only thing I can cook."
Meanwhile at Arena 3, Caleb was fully equipped in his unit while practicing his sword swings.
He thought back on his battle against Rain and how helpless he felt. Though he managed to deal a couple blows against his opponent, he knew it was due to the girl's arrogance.
From the sidelines, Trent says "You're pretty serious about getting that rematch."
Calebsays "I have to be ready for the next time. I don't want to be a burden for the team."
Trent sighed "I know how you feel. Against that Russian , even my strongest hits were nothing to her."
From behind the Australian, Harrison says "That's because before they went rogue they were representative cadets. We've only been training in our units for about a month at this point."
Trent says "That rich coming from the guy who managed to beat his opponent."
Harrison says "But I didn't, all my unit did was restrain her to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. I won by forfeit."
Caleb says "Either way we have to improve for the next battle."
From the intercom, a teacher announced "Caleb Kirby, Trent Gibson and Harrison Solo. Please come to Dr. Maxwell's cabin."
As Caleb deactivated his unit, Trent says "What do you think this is about?"
Harrison says "Who knows but let's go and find out."
They left the arena and made their way to the doctor's cabin. Once they opened the door they saw Wyatt and Ichika sitting on the couch.
Wyatt smirks and says "Hey lads , it's been a while."
Shocked Caleb says "Wait what are you guys doing here. I thought your flight was coming on Sunday afternoon."
Ichika says "Well I needed some more time to prepare my confession, so Wyatt got us a flight back early."
Wyatt says "Yeah about that Ichika, the real reason is a lot bigger than your romance troubles."
Dr. Maxwell came from the kitchen with a bottle of water and said "Exactly what is this issue kid."
Wyatt responds "A ghost from your past paid me a visit, Xander Truman."
Hearing this name shocked Dr. Maxwell as he said in disbelief "Wait he's alive?"
Trent asked "Who exactly is this guy anyways?"
Harrison says "He was one of the big names in the movement against the IS along with our good doctor."
Dr. Maxwell groans as he says "I was younger and wilder at the time. I believed the unit should only be used for sea and space exploration, not armed for combat. But Shinonono didn't listen?"
Ichika curiously asked "What do you mean by 'didn't listen?"
Wyatt says "Before the Shirokishi , there was a prototype unit that had no combat ability or gender lock and this guy was on the development team."
Caleb asked "Wait seriously how is this not public knowledge?"
Dr. Maxwell says "That's because not too many people paid attention to the initial proposal, so most of the team left for new projects. Then a month later , Tabane took all the credit when she developed the Shirokishi. But enough about my past, what did Xander tell you."
Wyatt explains "That he and the remaining members of his mercenary band joined up with Phantom Task and our being used to perfect a formula to create male IS pilots."
Trent sighed "Evil male IS pilots, great how can this possibly get worse."
Wyatt adds "Phantom Task is prepared for a full scale invasion of the academy in about a month."
Those words caused everyone's jaws to hit the floor as Trent says "Dude! That was just an expression."
Wyatt says "I had to drop the bomb sooner or later. Besides, there is some good news."
Dr. Maxwell says "Let me guess, Xander is planning a double cross during the battle."
Surprised Wyatt asked "Yeah, how did you know that?"
Dr. Maxwell says "I've known Xander for a while and I know that any alliance between him and an organization like Phantom Task isn't from loyalty. He'll never let himself become someone else's pawn or risk the lives of his men for nothing."
Caleb asked "So what should we do now?"
Dr. Maxwell sighed as he said "I'll have to discuss this situation with Mr. Kutsuwagi. Like usual this information can't leave the room."
The doctor gets up and once he left the cabin, Trent says "Did you guys have to go against terrorist this much last year."
Ichika says "Not as much during the first semester but it's our fault for not finishing the fight."
Wyatt says "Yeah if we caught Autumn back in Brazil, I'm sure we wouldn't be facing these troubles."
Harrison says "Either way we can't change the past, but we can help ensure Phantom Task is put to an end."
Caleb says "Yeah we'll train like crazy and beat them down ."
This caused Wyatt and Ichika to chuckle as the latter says "You are pretty optimistic but don't worry, let your upperclassman handle this."
The weekend passed as everyone came back from the vacation. As the second year group was having lunch on the roof, Cecilia said "So are we going to talk about the elephant in the room."
Frantically Wyatt says "Wait how do you know that, me and the doc were just throwing ideas around for the next unit."
Charlotte says "No we're talking about the metaphorical elephant."
Wyatt says "Oh right, Yeah Ichika you got a lot to explain."
Ichika sighed as he bowed before the group. He says "I'm sorry that I've been ignoring your feelings. It's just I'm unable to make a decision, plus I feel if I did some might not agree with it."
Rin asked "And what do you mean by that?"
Wyatt responds "He's scared that the rest of you will murder him the second he chooses."
Slightly Irritated Ichika says, "Wyatt, please don't say anything else, or I'll tell them about March 17th."
Wyatt darted his eyes to the grass and said "I'll be quiet."
Houki asked, "So does that mean even now you haven't made a decision."
Ichika rubbed the back of neck and said "Nope, even then I would have to get Chifyu's permission if I wanted to date."
Cecilia says "If that's the case would you like to go out on Friday. I need to restring my Tennis racket."
Charlotte adds "There's this new movie that looks pretty interesting, we should go on Saturday."
As the rest of the girls began planning dates with Ichika, Wyatt began to chuckle.
Kaitlynn asked, "What's so funny?"
Wyatt says "How insane things are going to get now."
Later once class ended for the day, The American was laying on the grass near Dr. Maxwell's cabin in a daze.
Caleb went up to him and said "Um Wyatt can you help me out with my swordsmanship."
The American yawns as he says "Let me guess after that confrontation against Rain you want to become stronger."
Caleb says "I gave it everything I had but she practically toyed around with me. I can't stay this weak if I want to help you out."
A smirk formed on Wyatt's face as he said "Alright then, so did you learn how to do a partial deployment yet."
Caleb nods his head as the right arm of the Blaze Eagle and its sword , Flame Edge materialize."
Wyatt responds by summoning his unit's retractable plasma blade, the Plasma Fang. He says "Good, now it's time to start your lesson."
As Caleb enters an en garde position as Wyatt takes the chance to strike the first blow. The two stood in place as they exchanged feints, thrusts and parries at great speeds.
Wyatt chuckles as he says "Good form but do you know your footwork?" He takes a step around an imaginary circle as Caleb follows in the opposite direction. The two continued circling each other waiting for an opening.
Caleb goes in for a thrust but Wyatt managed to parry the attack and kick the freshmen in the ribs.
The boy dropped as he groaned from the strike. Caleb says "What the heck, I thought you were helping me out with my swordsmanship."
Wyatt smirks as he says "Yeah that's the thing , I'm not a swordsman and Rain isn't either. So you have to expect your opponents to fight dirty."
He extends his hand to help Caleb up as the Kenyan boy says "Fair but I really wanted to become a better swordsmen."
Wyatt says "That's something Ichika might be able to help you with but he's busy with student council work."
Caleb says "Wait but are you also a part of the council?"
Wyatt scoffs as he says "Yeah but it's such a waste of a good day to be trapped inside doing paperwork." He raised his weapon and adds "Now come on , training isn't over yet."
Caleb readied himself for sparing and said "I'll try my best."
That night as Xander was driving an armored truck through some backroads he thought "How the hell did I get roped into playing this kid's personal Uber."
He pulled over to the side of the road and saw a car wreckage along with Agent 001 in a modified black armored Rafale Revive with orange highlights.
Xander asked "So did you get the goods?"
To the mercenary's surprise , the Agent lifted up a briefcase and said "It's secured."
Xander says "Hold the fuck up! You can talk!?"
Agent 001 says "Yeah why the hell did you think I couldn't."
Xander says "Maybe because Autumn said you couldn't when we met. Hell you haven't said a word this weekend."
Agent 001 deactivated his unit and said "That's because I needed to see if I could trust you. Now come on, I'll explain everything."
The two got into the armored truck with the stolen briefcase as they escaped into the night.
