It's that time again! I feel so relaxed now that I was able to give Thomas his IS Unit. For people who're disappointed in me for giving him a Refale-Revive instead of something more customized, don't fret! Thomas will eventually pilot other Units in the future.
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
Almost less then 2 hours after receiving his very own IS, Thomas is put to the test as he, Houki, and Ichika face the Silver Gospel! With the comatose pilot, Natasha Fairs trapped inside, the trio have a very dangerous challenge ahead of them!
Can Thomas be the hero, and save the day? Or will he be shot down after spreading his wings and taking flight?
11:30 AM...
Thomas sat on the shore, alone.
He'd been there for quite some time.
After all, it was part of his tradition before a fight to sit in silence, steel and calm his nerves, and regulate his breathing. He'd done so right before fighting Laura and Cecelia, he'd do it again.
He breathed in, he breathed out.
It was strange, Thomas didn't feel so unnerved like this when he faced Cecelia and Laura. And yet, he felt so rattled, he was under a greater deal of pressure, especially since any number of factors playing into the situation could go horribly wrong.
He was the backup, so he couldn't directly engage the Gospel right away. Ichika was most likely their only shot at quickly completing the mission. Houki...Was most likely going to do something stupid.
It was quite obvious the sheer power Tabane gave the Akatsubaki was getting in Houki's head.
Not that Thomas's head was crystal clear either.
In fact, the ever-growing piles of questions, observations, distrust, paranoia, and anxiety all decided to just sit in his brain, and bring their full weight on his neurons. It was heavy, to say the least.
He breathed in, he breathed out.
He purposely ignored the person trying to hide in the bushes at the edge of the beach, trying to stalk him.
The Mystery Woman watched, trying to get a glimpse of the boy before he left for the mission. She didn't want the child risking his life in an IS Unit, let alone be anywhere near one at all.
She and Chifuyu would have words after this.
It was certainly dangerous, even if Thomas had the incredible abilities he did, it was far too risky to leave anything up to chance.
Houki and Ichika came walking up the beach to meet Thomas.
"You ready?" Thomas asked.
"As I'll ever be." Answered Ichika.
"Let's roll." Said Houki.
"Byakushki!"
"Akatsubaki!"
Thomas rolled his head, and popped his neck.
"Revive! Initialize!"
Suddenly, in a flash of light, Thomas was now in his IS Unit.
"Never gonna get used to that." He muttered.
"Thomas?" Said Ichika.
"Yeh?"
"Why does your IS look different?"
"What're you-?!"
Thomas looked at his IS, and saw that it underwent a complete overhaul, and changed design from the generic Refale-Revive. The new Shift looked sleeker, most of its equipment had been removed, a third thruster had been added on the center of his back, sleek wings had been added onto the wrists, back, hips, and lower back, and the headgear changed from a headset to twin antennae.
"How did...?"
"We can answer that," Said Chifuyu over the comm, "Your IS Unit was built with a system that allows it to undergo multiple shifts on command. It would appear you already deployed the Hypervelocity Shift."
Thomas paused.
"What else can it do?"
A screen popped up on Thomas's HUD. On it was a sort of library full of different Shifts.
"Says here there's a Stealth Shift, a Heavy Shift-what's the Compact Shift look like?"
"Focus, Scott!" Snapped Chifuyu.
"Yes, ma'am!" The trio hovered over the shallow water, making ripples with their jets.
"Remember you two," Reminded Thomas, "Once we get in range, this thing'll be out to actually kill us. So-!"
"Quit reminding me." Groaned Houki, "I get it, seriously! You won't have to worry about me."
Thomas gave her a stare.
"Uh-huh." He deadpanned.
"Normally, I'd never let a man go before me," Said Houki, "But I guess I'll have to make an exception, this time."
"Y-Yeah..." Said Ichika, nervously.
"Buyer's remorse?" Teased Thomas.
"No! Shut up, that's not true!"
"I'm fine," Boasted Houki, "but you two need to keep calm out there, that thing'll shred you to bits if you don't have me backing you up."
"Wrong," Corrected Thomas, "That's my department."
"Pfft! We won't even need backup! This'll be a cinch!" Sneered Houki.
"Orimura, Shinonono, Scott." Chifuyu called.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Remember, this entire mission depends on a one-shot kill. We can't risk Scott directly engaging right away, we haven't actually gotten close to touching the upper-limits of the Rafale-Revive, and it would be best not to use this mission as an excuse to test them. Besides, the overwhelming assault from Scott could destroy the Gospel, and kill the pilot for sure. So, Orimura, when you intercept, finish the job as quickly as you can without hurting the pilot."
"Understood." Groaned Thomas.
"Miss Orimura?" Asked Houki, "Should I continue to provide tactical support for the other two when the situation calls for it?"
"That's why Scott's still on the mission," Answered Chifuyu, "Should something go wrong, Scott is to take immediate action. Until such a moment comes, however, he'll pull back to minimum safe distance. Both you and Scott have no live-combat experience in your Units. The Akatsubaki is still a prototype, and an unforeseen error could arise. Scott's at greater risk, seeing as his Unit was heavily modified, and admittedly, I think it a little too frightening to think what would happen if it went haywire."
"Understood." Sighed Houki.
"Is it just me?" Whispered Lingyin, sitting in the makeshift command center, "or does she sound a little off?"
The other girls silently agreed.
Chifuyu paused.
"Miss Yamada," She piped up, "Open a channel to Scott and Orimura, but not to Shinonono."
"Understood."
Chifuyu breathed.
"Ichika, Thomas." She said.
"Hm!?" They both piped up.
"This is a private channel to the both of you. I don't want Shinonono to overhear, so act like I'm not talking."
"Hm." Said Thomas, subtly acknowledging.
"It's quite obvious she's gotten a little carried away with herself," Stated Chifuyu, "She's over-excited. At any rate, she's liable to make a dangerous mistake that could cost us the mission, or worse, one or all of you. Should anything happen, give her the support she needs."
"Hmmm." They both mumbled.
Houki blinked at them in confusion, but shrugged it off and marveled over his own IS.
"Switching back to Open Channel." Declared Miss Yamada.
"Being the operation!" Commanded Chifuyu.
Ichika clasped onto Houki's shoulders.
"Ready?" Inquired Houki.
"Always." Said Ichika.
Houki revved the thrusters, and took off.
Ichika nearly slipped off from the sudden and incredible takeoff speed.
"Hey!" Called Thomas, "Wait up!"
He paused for a brief moment to make one last calming breath.
"Let's see if this rig is as advertised."
Suddenly, Thomas's IS burst off, breaking the sound barrier almost immediately. The takeoff was so jarring, Thomas's vision was blown out of proportion for a few seconds. He would've shouted, except his voice was lost in the sounds of the violent air in his face.
Within the span of 5 seconds, Thomas caught up with Houki, and got ahead of her.
Quickly, he eased on the throttle, and let Houki catch up, and matched her speed.
"Sacre bleu!" Cried Charlotte, "The Ignition Boost pales in comparison!"
"Vhat astonishing speed..." Observed Laura.
Thomas quickly looked on the satellite minimap on his HUD, quickly spotting the Gospel's signature.
"Hang on! Intercept is gonna be tight!" He said.
"So?!"
"If we launch Ichika early, we might be able to shoot him right at the Gospel without it detecting us!"
"Good plan!"
"There's bound to be a speedometer on the Gospel's scanner," Thomas predicted, "If so, then there's bound to be a capping point on how much in can read! If we move fast enough, it won't see us coming!"
"I see!"
Houki and Thomas sped up, and Ichika held on for dear life.
It wasn't very long before they caught up.
"Gospel!" Called Thomas, "12-to-4!"
"I see it!"
"10 Seconds!"
Ichika balanced himself on Houki's back, and readied the Yukihira Nagata for an attack. He charged the Rayrakubyukuya, and his IS began to glow golden.
"Now!"
Ichika shot off of Houki with incredible speed, and flew right towards the Gospel.
He was still several meters away, but the Gospel suddenly detected him, and quickly took a combat position.
"Keep going! Don't slow down!" Ichika called back as he gave chase.
The Gospel turned back, Ichika was gaining on it.
Suddenly, it dodged with expert skill, as though it anticipated Ichika's every movement with the calculations of a mad genius.
"How'd it-?!" Ichika was dumbfounded.
Suddenly, the Gospel spread its wings, and opened fire upon the trio.
Houki barely managed to evade, earning herself a case of heat burn on her back. Ichika could feel the burning heat as the Gospel's attack exploded behind him. Thomas, still using the Hypervelocity Shift, moved quickly enough to disappear from the naked eye.
"Houki!" Called Ichika, "Let's try to take it in a pincer maneuver!"
"Understood!" Houki said as she drew her swords.
Houki rushed the Gospel, attempting to keep it from moving. Thankfully, she was successful.
"Ichika, now!"
"Roger!" Ichika rushed in for the K.O. attack.
And that's when he saw it.
A thin streak of white moved upon the blue sea below them.
A boat?! Out here?!
Ichika ended up moving right past the Gospel and Houki, which threw his teammates off.
The Gospel seized its chance, and fired at point-blank at Houki, connecting and using the moment to break out of Houki's grip. Houki barely recovered in time, and narrowly dodged a second attack.
Ichika turned back, and quickly began to block as many blasts as he could.
It was then that Thomas, too, took notice of the boat.
"What the hell, Ichika?!" Snarled Houki, "You just blew our chance!"
"The intelligence was wrong!" Cried Ichika, "The instructors didn't scan the water! There's a ship down there!"
"A ship?!"
The trio took a quick analysis of the ship.
"Looks like a poaching vessel." Observed Thomas.
"Are you nuts?!" Shouted Houki, "We don't have time to deal with them right now!"
The Gospel, seizing the moment, opened fire on the three. Thomas, Houki, and Ichika quickly pulled back.
"They're just criminals!" Concluded Houki, "Nobody's gonna care about it! Forget them!"
"The situation's changed!" Explained Thomas, "We need to finish this now, or evacuate them quickly! It'd be best to do both! Pull back and defend the ship for now, we'll have to chase the Gospel if it tries to run!""
Ichika put himself in front of the boat to protect it.
"The Byakushki's not meant to take that punishment!" Thought Thomas.
Thomas brought up his Barrier Shields, and quickly placed himself in front.
Normally, His IS Unit could take much, much more damage. However, since it was currently in Hypervelocity Shift, the energy for defense was drained for the sake of speed. Thus, the IS could only take so much damage, even with the shields.
Thomas barely survived.
The Yukihira suddenly fizzled out, indicating Ichika had used up too much power for it to work.
"You idiots!" Growled Houki, "You'd put protecting lowlifes over this?! If you can't do anything, then get out of her-?!"
Suddenly, Thomas delivered a powerful slap to Houki's face.
"SHADDUP!" He lectured.
"Houki, please..." Pleaded Ichika, "That's not the Houki I know! Like Spider-Man said once, 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.' That means it's our job to protect them, whether we like it or not."
"Besides," Added Thomas, "It's really out-of-character for you."
"B-But..." Houki whimpered.
Thomas blinked. Did he slap her too hard? Did he hit her hard enough to make her cry?
She began to sob as her swords slipped out of her hands, and recalled.
Houki looked at herself, realizing she was trembling. She placed her head in her hands, and began to let the tears flow.
"The Gospel-!" Cried Thomas as he turned back to see it. Thomas quickly found it firing its biggest attack yet. It spun around, and unleashed a devastating finisher, the biggest attack it had yet.
And it was aimed right for them.
Thomas acted quickly, making a sudden scan of the Gospel before doing the unthinkable.
Suddenly, Thomas put himself between the blast and his friends, bringing his barrier shields to maximum density.
"Sorry, Mama." He whispered to himself, and closed his eyes.
Thomas's IS barely withstood the first attack. And this was even greater in intensity.
If Thomas had more time, maybe he would've found a better way. However, instead of thinking, he acted. His natural habits once again took hold of his body. His heroic, stupid habits.
Whenever there was a finisher at play, Thomas always dodged.
However, when there was someone in the vicinity of the finisher, he always blocked to keep them safe.
A noble instinct, to be sure. But one that brought about his end.
An alert popped up on the HUD, but Thomas's vision was beaten senseless, and couldn't make out the words.
Ichika and Houki raced to grab him before he could fall.
Ichika was blinded, Houki's ribbon came undone, and burned to ashes as it flew off her head.
The force of the Gospel's attack sent Thomas crashing into Houki and Ichika, effectively taking out all three in one fell swoop. Thomas's hand smacked Ichika, and sent Houki into a power dive.
A second alert flashed up on Thomas's HUD, but he never even saw it.
The trio all tumbled down, and crashed forcefully into the cold ocean below, nearly taking the ship they were trying to save down with them. The Gospel paused, as if to take in its victory, and continued on its way without so much as a care to the wind.
But Thomas never felt, nor saw what happened.
He was already comatose before he even hit the ground.
Back at the Hotel...
In the makeshift command center, the faculty plus Alexander quickly poured all their efforts into locating the Gospel.
"The pilot," Observed Alexander, "She won't last another day if we don't extract her soon."
"It appears the Gospel's stopped," Informed Miss Yamada, "Do you think Headquarters will want us to continue this operation?"
"Until we're told to stand down, we keep going." Affirmed Chifuyu.
"With what means? Shinonono and Orimura are still shaken from fighting the Gospel. And Scott hasn't shown any signs of waking up soon."
"I'll be damned if that boy flat-lines anytime soon." Growled Alexander.
There was a knocking on the door.
"Who is it?" Said Chifuyu.
"It's Dunois!" Called Charlotte.
"Your on standby! You can't enter right now."
Charlotte blinked in surprise and disappointment.
Suddenly, another woman walked up to the door, and knocked.
Charlotte stared, getting a sense she'd seen her somewhere before.
The woman had a lovely pale skin, long, unkempt snow-white hair, and crimson eyes. She seemed like Chifuyu, but a polar opposite in colors. She wore an overcoat, with what looked to be a black and white spandex suit with combat boots over her body underneath.
"Who is it?"
"It's me." Said the woman.
"Come in."
"Pardon me." Said the woman to Charlotte as she entered and closed the door.
"Doesn't she look familiar?" Muttered Cecelia, under her breath.
"Ve have to obey zhe orders of our superiors." Reminded Laura.
"But-." Argued Charlotte, "She has to be worried about Thomas as we are. She was practically his older sister when they were younger."
"He was like my epic big brother, in a way." Said Ichika, "He always stuck out for me when he was around. It bites, honestly."
"What?"
"Nobody ever met his mom. The only two people who ever met her are Chifuyu and his dad, and they never told us anything about her, not even her name."
"That's...That's sad."
"Still...She at least go and see him."
Ichika vividly recalled the aftermath of the Gospel.
Ichika and Houki fought desperately to keep Thomas's head above the water.
His IS Unit weighing him down was making it a challenge.
Eventually, the IS automatically unlocked, making it easier to carry Thomas. By the time they finally returned, the sun was beginning to set. They dragged Thomas ashore, only to find a massive crowd waiting for them.
Amongst this group was Alexander, Chifuyu, instructors, and the other Representative Candidates.
Although the girls' immediate attention went to Ichika, they took notice and horror in seeing Thomas's critical condition.
Chifuyu roared with obvious anger as she commanded the instructors to hospitalize him.
"I want Scott treated and put on life support!" She snarled, "RIGHT NOW!"
She turned around and stomped away.
The girls were all staring as Thomas was carried off to the hotel on a stretcher. Ichika was simply dazed and confused, as the girls surrounded him. Houki, her hair coming over her face, was left in silence, still processing the tragedy. Laura was the only one watching Chifuyu as she marched off. She could she her mentor and idol was absolutely angry with herself.
Watching someone like Thomas beaten to such a degree was simply too painful to think about.
Laura finally broke the silence.
"Alright." She said, "Vhat should ve do?"
"Well," Pointed out Cecelia, "Miss Orimura hasn't gone to speak with Houki or even Ichika about this. I understand how badly the mission went, but isn't that rather rude?"
"Wright now," Explained Laura, "Zhey are concentrating on locating zhe Goshpel. Zhe inshtructor ish simply doing vhat she knows musht be done. Even she ish vorried about Thomas's condition."
"It's all my fault." Whimpered Ichika, "If I wasn't so busy butting heads with Houki, he wouldn't have had to bite the bullet for us."
"You know that's not true."
The students all turned to look at the mystery woman who entered the room earlier.
"I think the kid took it like a champ."
"Huh?"
"Listen. I was...His nanny when he was a smaller kid."
"Thomas never told me he had a nanny."
"He kept forgetting. Despite how many times I came to help raise him with his dad."
"Oh. I'm sorry, what's your name."
"My name? It's...Yin. Call me Yin."
"This must be hard on you too, Miss Yin."
"Absolutely," Yin sat down on the porch with the students, "He was always a strange kid. I cared for him a lot, and I hope he did for me. Watching someone I'm so close too put his life on the line so soon..."
Yin's eyes began to water.
"We didn't even get close!" Complained Ichika, "The objective was, 'save the pilot and destroy the Gospel.' But we didn't even scratch it! I was so slow, so frigging weak! It's upsetting that Thomas is probably the only pilot skilled enough to pull this off."
He bowed his head.
"He should've done this. He would've been able to."
"Maybe, maybe not." Yin said.
The woman then got up.
"I need to go see the kid, see how he's grown up since...I left."
Ichika stared as she left.
Yin walked off as the students all began to wonder why she paused.
Suddenly, the Byakushki's Gauntlet began to beep, like when one receives as text message.
Inside...
Chifuyu stood in the command center.
Her heart weighed like an anvil.
She wanted to race to Ichika's side, and pull him into a tight hug. She wanted to go to Thomas, and watch over him as he recovered, much like a mother to her children. However, she knew far too well what would happen if the Gospel was allowed to escape.
She clenched her teeth, ready to lash out for not being allowed to care for those she loved.
Houki sat in Thomas's room, listening to the steady beeping of the heart monitor.
Thomas had been put in a bed, hooked up to life support equipment.
Somehow, his bones had been cracked in several places, he had serious head trauma, and was bound to be locked in a coma for a good, long while.
Houki sat in silence.
When She and Ichika pulled Thomas to the beach, they couldn't even tell if he was breathing.
Houki was scared.
Thomas had quite the good friend ever since they met. However, Houki wasn't exactly welcoming him with open arms.
She'd been so horrible to Thomas, back then, and right now.
Chifuyu's words still rang in her ears, with crystal-clear volume.
"This mission was a complete failure!" Chifuyu said, "If anything changes in the situation, I'll convene a meeting. And until that happens, you're all on standby!"
They weren't even allowed to chase the Gospel, and give the soulless machine the punishment it deserved.
Houki began to whimper and sob quietly.
If she hadn't been so...stupid and actually gave more care to the situation, Thomas wouldn't have had to nearly get himself killed to save everyone! It was all her fault! All of it! She didn't deserve to have friends, or anything else for that matter!
Was she just using her feelings as an excuse to point blame?
Thomas would've hit her for, "Whining to the point she pissed him off."
Thomas was so damn righteous. He would've put his life on the line as well, just to protect some lowly scumbags from getting hurt. He stuck up for everyone, no matter who they were. He always hated discord, and wanted harmony all the time. He stopped fights, fought for and against, he'd always be there to help someone, even-no, especially when it wasn't wanted.
Because that meant he could keep people happily living their own lives.
Thomas had a knack for giving.
He'd always give something up just to let others be happy with what they would receive. Whether that was support, or material goods. It was always so annoying just how kind and cheerful he always was when they first met.
When push came to shove, Houki simply couldn't measure up to Thomas.
She talked the talk, but when it came down to it, Thomas had been the one to prove it.
Houki vividly remembered the heat from all those explosions. She was only a meter or so away from the blasts. One could only imagine what Thomas felt when he was struck with the attack.
"You...were only trying to help me snap out of it when you slapped me." Realized Houki.
Yin walked in.
"Hm?!" Houki jolted, "Who're you?"
"Call me Yin. I was just coming to check up on Scott here."
Houki stared as Yin walked closer to Thomas.
"You...look familiar."
"To you? I'm not."
"Sorry..."
"S'fine. I'm...part of the staff at the IS Academy."
"Did you...know Thomas?"
"Nope. This is the first time I ever even got close to him." Yin said, her tone changing to something close to depression.
Houki's eyes left Yin, and looked back to Thomas.
"I've heard rumors," Said Yin, "The kid doesn't even have a mom or something."
"That's true, actually." Said Houki, "His mom supposedly abandoned him and his dad at birth."
"Sounds like a slut to me."
"Huh?! Don't mock his mom like tha-!"
"What kind of mom up and leaves her kid?" Said Yin, "I mean, c'mon! If she really cared about him, she'd have done anything to let him know she loves him!"
"Most kids have the mercy of knowing they need to move on. But when it comes to cases like that...It just hurts, watching 'em be patient, so diligent in waiting for their parents, only to watch them realize they'd wasted their whole lives waiting on someone who never even cared."
"But you don't know that!"
"And you do?"
"T-That's not the point!"
"If she loved him, she never would've...left." Yin began to falter in admonishing Thomas's mother, as though she might've had such an experience herself.
"What's wrong?" Asked Houki, taking note of Yin's apparent distaste.
"It's nothing. Anyway, you need to go and rest up. From what I heard, sounds like you went through some real stuff on the mission as well. Go on, go take a snooze or something. Scott'll still be here when you get back."
Houki slowly stood up.
"Y-Yeah."
Houki then slowly walked out of the room.
Yin watched as the girl exited, and scooted herself next to Thomas's upper-torso.
She breathed in, she breathed out.
She bowed her head, and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"I'm sorry, sweetie." She whispered, "I love you. And I hope one day, I'll be able to finally give you the mother you deserve."
Her only wish was that Thomas, despite his comatose state, could hear her.
Houki ran across the beach.
She wanted to run away from it all.
Everything hurt.
She hated the pain, and wanted to be rid of it.
Unfortunately, she was still discovering that mere physical distance wouldn't be enough for her to outrun the pain.
She ran, and ran, until she could run no more.
She bent over, wracked with exhaustion, and frustration.
She was always so cruel to Thomas.
But her spite for him wasn't without reason.
When Houki and Thomas first met, Houki absolutely despised the boy.
He was so annoyingly cheerful. All. The. Time.
When Ichika introduced the two, Thomas welcomed Houki like family. Houki, on the other hand, didn't quite do the same. He was already so annoying. The high, cheerful pitch in his voice. Bright light seemed to cast itself off of his body, making Houki envious. This, in turn, ended up causing her to always act rude and spiteful towards Thomas whenever he tried to get close to Houki.
However, that all changed one fateful day.
Houki, Ichika, Thomas, Alexander, and Chifuyu were all on a camping trip.
Thomas had yet to give up trying to make friends with Houki.
It annoyed her to no end.
One morning on this trip, Thomas was fed up with Houki's hostile nature, and confronted her directly.
Houki ran off, unable to convey her feelings. Thomas gave chase.
Houki ran and ran. Thomas wouldn't let up in his pursuit, and continued his pace without exhaustion. The boy gave chase, and made her run so far away from the campsite, they wound up on an elevated trail next to a very fast-flowing river.
Eventually, Houki couldn't muster the strength to keep running, and stumbled to a stop.
Thomas was drawing near, and Houki still didn't want to face him.
Houki stomped down hard as she prepared a takeoff for a mad dash in the hopes of finally losing Thomas. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to take a stick and give him a whack on the head.
However, the weight of her foot managed to break through some of the ground beneath her. The sudden moment caught Houki by surprise, and she was sent tumbling to the river below.
Houki hit the water hard, and narrowly managed to grab a large root at the edge of the river.
She took hold, and held on for dear life.
Houki was scared, Thomas looked terrified.
Suddenly, Thomas turned tail, and ran away. Houki had never been more afraid in her life. Nobody really took notice of Thomas and Houki running away, and Thomas was the only person in range.
Perhaps he was going to get help! No, he wouldn't. She'd been so mean to him, he probably wouldn't lift a finger to help her.
Houki began to accept her fate.
Splash!
Houki suddenly saw a large stick poking into the water next to her. She looked up, and found none other than Thomas, trying to hold his grip on the stick.
"Houki!" He called, "Grab it! I'll pull you out!"
Seeing no better alternative, Houki let go of the root, and latched onto the stick with all of her might. She closed her eyes and prayed.
Thomas struggled to pull Houki from the raging river, and quickly found that he was quickly losing grip. He clenched the stick harder, fighting against nature itself to save someone who hated him.
The stick was slipping, despite everything Thomas tried. He squeezed the stick to the point were it was beginning to crack and splinter in his hands. Thankfully, the wood held fast, and Thomas was able to keep his grip on it.
However, he now faced a new problem.
The weighty and awkward stick, combined with Houki's weight, and the force of the river, Thomas quickly found that he was being pulled in alongside Houki. He planted his feet as firmly as he could, and struggled.
He'd just been violently pulled into the river before he felt a soft, muscular arm wrap around his torso and pulled him to safety. Thankfully, Thomas refused to let go of Houki, pulling her out in the process. Thankfully, they were pulled out before they were swept away.
Thankfully, their sudden hero turned out to be Chifuyu.
"Big Sis Chifuyu?!" Exclaimed Thomas.
"I noticed you two were running off, so I decided to tail you." She explained.
Suddenly, she bopped both of them on the head right before pulling them into a warm hug.
"Don't you dare scare everyone like that again, you two!" She scolded, "Any number of things could've happened if I didn't do something! Do you have any clue how terrified I am at the thought of letting you get hurt like that?!"
"S-Sorry, Big Sis..."
"Now apologize!" Commanded Chifuyu, "I know for a fact, Houki, that you've been acting mean to Thomas!"
"Sorry for being a big jerk, Thomas."
"It's fine!" Thomas assured, with his signature annoyingly bright attitude.
However, it was no longer annoying to Houki.
For once, the light that Houki hated had begun to grow on her.
It wasn't too long before Tabane unveiled the IS, however.
And thus was the story of how Thomas and Houki became friends.
Houki looked long and hard at the Akatsubaki's bracelet, sitting on her wrist.
One of her few friends in this world had nearly gotten killed trying to help her. Even when she threw his offering back in his face, and mocked him, and bullied him. And yet, he still tried to reach through all of that to her.
She didn't deserve to have it.
"There you are!" Snapped Lingyin, in her usual attitude.
You look Pa-thetic right now!" Insulted the Chinese pilot, "You're so predictable! You just run off and blame it all on yourself! It's so obvious that's what you're thinking, isn't it?"
Houki stood in silence, too ashamed to face Lingyin.
"Enjoying your little self-pity party for one? TOO BAD! Party's over now!" Lingyin declared as she collared Houki, and forced the girl to face her. Oddly, Houki made absolutely nothing to respond, no retorts, no returns.
She'd accepted it meekly.
"Listen here, idiot!" Scolded Lingyin, "We gotta job to do, and we need you to do it! So stop sulking already, and get back to work!"
The smaller girl took a solid look into Houki's eyes, seeing nothing but pity and defeat.
"I'm finished as a pilot." Whimpered Houki.
"I quit."
Those two words brought Lingyin over the edge. She throttled Houki, and promptly delivered a hard slap to the face. Houki, somehow shaken by it, was sent falling, and hit the sandy ground.
"DON'T BE A SPOILED BRAT WITH ME!" Snarled Lingyin, "We don't have time for you to be such a whiny bitch right now! Especially not when you just got your own, brand-spanking-new Custom IS!"
Houki began to tremble and sob quietly.
"So, are you actually gonna get up, and make it right?" Lingyin asked, "Or are you just gonna be a coward who won't fight when it really counts for something?"
"I-I don't know what else I can do..." Whined Houki, "We don't even know where the enemy is!"
Suddenly, her fists clenched, and she finally began to stand her ground once more.
"But when the time comes, I promise I'll fight!"
Lingyin finally smiled, satisfied with the response.
"Okay, guys!" She called over, "Looks like she's back in action!"
It was then that Houki finally noticed the other pilots standing a few meters away.
"Didn't I tell you guys?" Quipped Lingyin, "Takes a pain in the ass to fix one!"
"Wait," Houki fumbled, confused, "W-What's going on right now?"
"Well," Stated Charlotte, "After watching a good friend getting beaten down, we all feel the same way."
"After all," Said Cecelia, "We can't exactly let some nothing from nowhere continue to exist with beating us, can we?"
Houki smiled.
For once, she didn't feel alone anymore.
"Besides," Commented Ichika, "I won't get bragging rights if I can't prove I can do this."
"Wait wait wait." Wondered Houki, "How're we going to find the Gospel?"
"I can answer zat." Said Laura, "Before our comrade-in-arms was shot down, he scanned zhe Goshpel, and recorded zhe Unit's energy signature. He'd sent zhe data to Ichika just as he was getting destroyed."
Even when he was down and out, Thomas still gave his friends a fighting chance.
"Speaking of which," Piped up Lingyin, "Have your friends found the Gospel?"
"I have zhe confirmation." Answered the German pilot as she deployed her Unit's right arm, and pulled up a screen.
"Zhe target has been confirmed 30 kilometers from here. In zhe air, and offshore. Zhe Unit ish in Stealth Mode, but doesn't appear to have Optical Camouflage. Ve vere able to locate it's position via satellite."
"That's the German Army's Special Forces for ya," Praised Lingyin, "Those girls kick ass!"
"And vhat is everyone else's status? Are zhe rest of you ready?"
"Of course!" Assured Lingyin, "The Shenlong's Offensive Specialization package has been installed."
"And I'm ready to keep the British end up!" Said Cecelia.
"Preparations are complete on my end!" Added Charlotte, "I can go anytime!"
"I'm burning to get back at the Gospel for last time." Said Ichika, "Orders or not, I'm going!"
"Hang on!" Cried Houki, "What do you mean by 'go?' Isn't that against direct orders?!"
"So what?" Taunted Lingyin, "You just said you'd fight when the time came, yeah?"
"Jah," Asked Laura, "Vhat vill you do?"
Houki breathed.
"I..." She declared, "I will fight! I'll fight and win! Thomas nearly got killed giving us a second chance at this, we can't let it go to waste!"
"That's more like it!" Cheered Lingyin, "And this time, we'll nail that IS, and get Natasha Fairs out alive for sure!"
It was around midnight.
The Gospel hadn't moved a single inch from its position.
Almost as if it were waiting for something.
Or someone.
The pilots didn't really care however. This was an an opening they could use, and they'd use it.
Laura was the first to attack. She quickly deployed The Schwarzer Regen's Purizushi, took aim, and fired.
She made a direct hit.
"Success!" She called to her teammates.
Back at the Hotel...
Suddenly, an alarm went off on the equipment.
"Ma'am!" Cried Miss Yamada, "That was-!"
"I saw."
"But that's against orders! We have to call them back!"
"I always expected it would come to this, eventually."
Yin stood alongside Chifuyu.
"How's your son?" She asked.
"Sleeping like a baby." She said, disappointed.
"He'll wake up. Count on it."
Alexander entered the room.
"I just got the call! what's-?!"
Alexander and Yin locked eyes.
"Why the hell are you here?!" They said in unison.
"Quiet." Said Chifuyu, as she watched the battle begin.
Back on the battlefield...
The Gospel remained unharmed.
Suddenly, with the whiff and wind of its wings, it blew away the smoke surrounding it.
It then took up a battle stance, ready to engage the pilots.
Houki grit her teeth, ready to settle the score.
Ichika breathed slowly, trying to calm himself down to help ease his nerves.
Laura charged up the Purizushi again, ready to shoot the Gospel out of the sky.
Cecelia deployed her Optical Drones, and took a sniping position.
Charlotte deployed her Garm, and made her trademark aerial firing stance.
Lingyin charged her Shock Cannons.
It was time to end it.
A/N: I feel I could've made a better ending, but that was all I had at the moment, sorry.
Well! It looks like Thomas's mother was near all along! Finally glad I got that off my chest.
Anyway, I sorta understand why if people think I'm just making small edits to the Infinite Stratos storyline, but I may or may not have a few twists still left up my sleeve...
I don't want to spoil anything too early, because then I'd have lost all my twisty stuff. However, you can count that, in a few chapters, you get to meet a villain connected to Thomas in this story...
I'm working as quickly as I can to write chapters, so I don't feel like I'm letting anyone down by being lazy.
I'd also like to take this time to help promote another story of mine: Prime's Bizarre Adventure Autobot Crusaders.
Prime's Bizarre Adventure is a crossover of Transformers/Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. In fact, it's the first! For once I'm not doing something that's been done to absolute death! Yay me!
For those of you who like Jojo, or Transformers, or the rare case that you like both, check it out! I've released a few chapters, and I'm currently working on Prime's Bizarre Adventure Part 1, 2, and 4. Since it's the first crossover of both, there isn't as much attention, since it's new and needs time to gather attention. It's got Obligatory-yet-still-good Jojokes, story, actual good content (I hope, at least), and of course, memes!
It'd be really helpful and appreciated to go and check it out!
If you have any suggestions/questions/concerns, tell me!
Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!