At last! This may very well be the last part of Worst Summer Ever! In this chapter, we're introduced to the other two of the Thomas Revive's abilities! I won't say just yet, but you'll see it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
As Thomas is shot down by the Gospel, he passes on the Gospel's energy signature, allowing the other pilots to track it.
A desperate gambit that nearly cost him his life.
Working together, Ichika, Laura, Cecelia, Lingyin, Charlotte, and Houki all band together, break orders, and go after the Gospel themselves! Will they be enough to bring this dark time to an end?
And, for that matter, is Thomas truly out of the fight?
The Representative Candidates quickly engaged the Gospel.
Normally, the combined efforts of all but one Representative Candidates would be enough the overpower any individual foe. They refused to let up, they never even gave the Gospel time to breath.
But now?
Right now, the Gospel was like the wind.
Nothing could catch the Gospel.
"Continuing Artillery barrage!" Called Laura, as she took aim and opened fire.
The Gospel evaded each and every attack with utmost ease.
"It ish too fast!"
Suddenly, the Gospel raced right for Laura. Despite her best efforts, the Gospel moved too quickly to hit. It came closer, and closer, until it finally got within close-quarters range to Laura.
It reached for her, and almost snatched her.
However, Cecelia had managed to catch the Gospel unawares, and landed a single shot which nearly took it out of the air.
The Gospel recovered mere meters from the surface of the water below, and turned its attention on Cecelia.
Cecelia, not wasting any time for staring, opened fire with her sniper rifle. However, much like Laura, the Gospel moved too quickly to hit. However, unlike when it chased Laura, the Gospel simply moved further back, and vanished into a cloud.
It paused.
The Gospel was taking matters even further into its own hands. As it hovered, it switched from Safety to Attack mode.
It wasn't just trying to keep the pilot safe anymore. It was now actively going to kill the students.
Charlotte took advantage of the Gospel's pause, and opened fire with twin shotguns.
"I have you now!" She cheered.
The Gospel, taking damage from buckshot, quickly pulled back to avoid the overwhelming power from Charlotte's guns. Within moments, the Gospel had scanned and began to much more easily evade Charlotte.
Charlotte switched from shotguns the twin PDWs, and chased the Gospel.
However, the Gospel quickly fought back, firing at Charlotte.
Charlotte quickly pulled up an energy shield, and took the brunt of the attack.
"You won't take me down that easily!"
Suddenly, a single burst shot the Gospel right across its face.
The shooter being none other than Ichika.
"What?!"
"Interesting..."
"Ichika?! The Byakushki has a ranged weapon?!"
Ichika was taken aback by his own action.
"When did the Byakushki get a Charged Particle Cannon?" He asked himself.
The answer lied within Thomas's IS.
Thomas's eyes jolted open.
Odd. He was calm.
He remembered just how vividly the Gospel beat him senseless. He'd passed out-or did he die? Didn't matter. His mind-maybe even his body, had been sent to this strange limbo, made of pure white void and nothingness.
He'd made a contingency plan in those final moments to help the other pilots track the Gospel. His plan was to scan the Gospel, isolate and record the unique energy signature its Core gave, and somehow send that data back to help in case Houki and Ichika couldn't stop the Gospel from escaping.
Wait...Did he even transfer the data? No, he couldn't have, he was being pulverized with laser blasts.
And yet, he couldn't help but feel calm.
Thomas focused his eyes on a single point.
Wait...It wasn't a white void.
As Thomas scanned the limbo around him, he could see the intangible walls shifting within themselves. He could make out shapes in the movements. Specific, unmistakable shapes.
As far as his eye could see, the nothingness was made of binary code.
An interesting observation, albeit utterly useless at the moment.
"Do you want the power you've taken?" An all-too-familiar male voice said from behind.
Thomas flinched. He whipped around.
Now standing before him was a strange, yet familiar IS Unit. It faced him, but the Unit's front was shrouded in shadow, as though its back was to some light.
The features Thomas could make out were a very wide broadsword, its outline was traced with white, implying it had white colors, and two golden gems sitting over the sides of the pilot's face, and a large helmet covering over the pilot's head, masking everything but the mouth. Unlike most Units, this IS had no wings on its shoulders.
Thomas had never seen the IS before, and yet he couldn't help but feel as though he had.
Cecelia fired again and again, attempting to strike the Gospel and provide an opening for Ichika.
Ichika stopped using his new Charged Particle Cannon, since he'd used up a great deal of power already, and wanted to conserve power for the sake of hitting the Gospel in a single finisher.
He was still hesitant to do so, fearing he'd hurt Natasha Fairs in the process.
Try as Cecelia might, she couldn't hope to hit the Gospel at the speed it was moving.
Houki balanced Lingyin on her back, hoping to hit the Gospel head-on from range.
They were nearly successful, had the Gospel's Predictive Targeting not been active. Lingyin fired a massive blast from her Shock Cannon directly at the Gospel. However, the Gospel saw it, and tried to move out of the way.
The blast grazed the Gospel a bit, but didn't take it out.
"Did we get it?" Called Cecelia.
"Not yet!" Lingyin called back.
The Gospel made a quick recovery, and hovered just above the surface of the water, pausing it's movements to assess the situation. The AI began a series of quick, complex algorithms designed to counter and beat the IS Academy Students.
Lingyin launched off of Houki's back, and began to unleash a barrage from her Shock Cannons. The attack was too slow to hit the Gospel, and ended up trailing the Unit by a few meters as the Gospel zipped away.
Houki zoomed up to the Gospel, attempting to keep it from moving and create an opening for Ichika.
She brought both her swords upon the Gospel, only to have the Gospel grab them and begin to wrestle her for control of their struggle. The Gospel, being a machine, easily had the motor strength, and began to overpower Houki.
"Houki!" Cried Ichika, "You gotta let go! Drop the katanas and get away from it!"
Houki refused to budge, and the Gospel pulled her higher into the air.
"Houki!" Cried the other Representative Candidates.
Suddenly, the Gospel's left wing popped open, revealing an energy weapon. The Gospel charged its wing, ready to blow Houki out of the sky permanently.
The Akatsubaki still had a few tricks of its own.
Houki brought out the Akatsubaki's footblade, and rolled in midair. She brought her heel down on the IS, and cleaved the wing clean off the Gospel's shoulder. The Gospel was struck with enough force, it was sent falling into the ocean.
Ichika raced to catch the Gospel before it could hit the ground. The Unit landed in his arms, and he began to try and pry the IS open, so he could extract Natasha Fairs's comatose body before the Gospel could do any more harm. The Gospel's remaining wing fell off, and sank into the sea.
Laura slowed to a stop next to Houki.
"Are you alright?" Asked the German Candidate.
"Yeah...Just fine." Muttered Houki.
Suddenly, the Gospel glowed in Ichika's arms.
It then erupted with energy, knocking Ichika away, the Gospel curled up into a ball, and began to rise and hover in the air. The Gospel uncurled itself, and protruded two new energy wings to replace the ones it lost.
"It ish going into Second Shift!" Called Laura.
The young pilots all began to fear for their lives as the Gospel charged itself up.
There was no way they'd come out of this unscathed.
"Well? Do you want the power you now possess?" Said the mystery IS.
"I...I don't know." Said Thomas.
"Why?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Erupted Thomas, thoroughly exhausted with all the inexplicable nonsense around him, "I don't even know you, and yet I feel like I do! Nobody tells me anything! About my past, about my identity, about my mom-ALL OF IT! I'm so frickin' sick of not getting any answers!"
Thomas locked eyes with the pilot.
"So," His tone changed from screaming to snarling, "You're gonna tell me what I need to know, or God help you if you don't!"
The IS stood silent, as if to consider its options.
"As you were struck down," Began the pilot, "You wield the power of other IS Units. A power that you now possess freely. I will ask once more; Do you really want the power you have received?"
Thomas blinked.
"That's about as good as anything..." He muttered to himself, "Y-Yeah...I do."
"And why do you?"
Thomas thought long and hard.
Why did he agree to...whatever power he agreed to?
"Because..." Thomas answered, attempting to find the right words for the right answer, "Because I want to hold onto my friends?"
That sounded desperate.
"No..." He rephrased, "To right the wrongs I've seen."
"And why is that?"
Thomas breathed in, and out.
"Lessee..." He spoke, "If I'm honest...All my life, I've always felt I was the weakest of the bunch. I was always alone...and sad...and I never was able to sleep correctly at night."
He remembered everything.
"When I had nightmares, my Mom was never there to let me hug her and cry. And I never wanted my Dad to think I was pathetic, so I just laid in bed until I fell back to sleep. When dad was at work, and I was at home, Mom was never there to do anything with me, and so I grew accustomed to being all alone. The only people I ever felt I could relax around were the Ichika, Houki, Tabane, Chifuyu, Lingyin, Dad, and Nana. And then..."
Tears formed in his eyes.
"...When I was in the 5th grade, we were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. Other boys wanted to be sports celebrities, politicians, actors, librarians, professors, and all sorts of other stuff."
Tears were making their way and beginning to spill out of his eyes.
"But me? When it was my turn to answer. I told them...I told them..."
He was now breaking down and crying.
"I told them I wanted to be an IS Pilot."
He began to choke and whimper.
"Everyone all laughed. It was so awful! I couldn't hear anything, but other kids-boys and girls alike-laughing at me! I...I...just wanted to do something I thought was awesome, but they all said that I couldn't because I was a boy, and not a girl! My teacher, the classmates who tolerated me-ALL OF THEM JUST LAUGHED! The only person who didn't was Nana-AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HOLD A CONVERSATION WITH HER!"
Thomas dropped to his knees as he sobbed miserably.
"Do you know what it's like? Living in a world where literally everyone tells you you can't do something?! Living life knowing that you're just another number in the population, because you're just some random guy, and you're physically incapable of doing what half the population can? Hearing nothing but people telling you can't, and laughing at you?"
"...I do." Replied the pilot.
"Huh?" Thomas sniffled.
The White Knight took a knee.
"Listen, kid." He said, "Stop moping. You've done something not many can do."
"T-That being?"
"You showed the entire world they're wrong. You've done the impossible, you got in an IS and you showed the whole world that you, too, can be an IS Pilot."
The white void around them turned to memories from Thomas's mind.
When Thomas was fooling around, and discovered he could make an IS move.
Thomas fought Ichika, and managed to win with his wits alone.
The young boy even held his ground against 2 elite IS Pilots.
The White Knight offered a hand to the grovelling boy.
"Now go," Said the pilot, "And show them that you can fly with the angels."
Thomas timidly reached, and touched the White Knight's palm.
What he would do next, was up to Thomas, and him alone.
Alexander flinched as he woke up.
Chifuyu and Yin turned to look at him.
"What's wrong?" Yin said, zipping to his side.
"It's nothing." Said Alex, "Just give it a few minutes and it will be."
Chifuyu and Yin were dumbfounded.
"Why are they still ignoring us?!" Cried Miss Yamada, upset that the students purposely ignored them.
"They've turned off communications, I'm not even surprised." Said Chifuyu
Suddenly, Honne, Kiyoka, and Shizune threw open the door to the room with a loud bang.
"Miss Orimura!" They cried in dismay.
"Get out!" Scolded Chifuyu, "We're in the middle of an operation!"
"We understand, Ma'am! But..." Started Shizune.
"Thomas is..." Whimpered Kiyoka.
"HE'S GONE!" Bawled Honne, right before going into full hysterics.
Yin paused for a single moment, and burst right through the students as she raced to Thomas's room. Alexander quickly raced behind her, absolutely terrified of what the girls were implying.
Chifuyu eventually followed them, reluctant to she what she feared most.
The three girls timidly followed behind.
The three adults raced at top speed, nearly slipping to a stop on the wooden floors as they reached Thomas's room. Yin, who was very overprotective of the young boy, smashed the door open with a mighty kick, cleaving and blowing the door to splinters.
They heard the heart monitor flat-line.
Alex, Chifuyu, Yin, and the girls raced to where Thomas lay...
...Or rather, where he once laid.
They quickly discovered that it wasn't Thomas's dying body that made the heart monitor flat-line...
...But his absence from the bed.
A ball of energy formed above the Gospel's head.
The ball then squeezed out a powerful energy beam, and the Gospel waved the attack around at the students, trying to end them once and for all.
The beam connected with Houki, and sent her falling as smoke trailed from the Akatsubaki.
"Houki!" Cried Cecelia.
The Gospel turned its wrath upon Cecelia, and chased the girl.
Cecelia did what she could, but simply couldn't escape the Gospel's overwhelming speed. The Gospel quickly caught up to her, and came within close-quarters range. Suddenly, the Gospel's energy wings grew, and shaped themselves into massive claws.
The wings then wrapped around Cecelia, and snapped themselves shut.
To twist the knife, the Gospel charged the wings, and sent a powerful pulse. After doing so, the wings opened up to release Cecelia.
Cecelia, who'd been knocked out completely by the attack, plummeted to the water below.
The Gospel charged another energy beam, and aimed for Charlotte. The Gospel fired, and scored a direct hit. Charlotte, thinking quickly, brought up an energy barrier to protect her from harm.
The beam broke right through the barrier in 2 seconds, and clocked Charlotte right in the head, sending her falling back.
Ichika, who'd been tossed aside earlier, managed to land safely on rocks below, resting and recovering from the fatal attack he suffered.
Houki crashed on the rocks nearby him.
Lingyin and Laura were fighting to hold the line, but they knew too well they wouldn't last long.
The Gospel zipped to Lingyin, and with a single slap of its wing, sent Lingyin flying. Lingyin barely managed to recover, and steered the falling Shenlong into a guided crash onto a small island. However, the impact debilitated the poor girl, and left her stunned.
The Gospel then zoomed too fast for Laura to see, delivering a sharp knee to Laura's stomach. As Laura writhed in agony, the Gospel raised its arms over its head, brought its fists together, and slammed its fists into Laura's back, sending her down to Earth hard.
The Gospel hovered victoriously into the air.
It made the mistake of not finishing the job before, and it wouldn't do so again.
The Gospel charged one of its biggest attacks yet, with energy blitz and the energy beam.
Ichika, being the only one who was even remotely capable of getting up, saw the Gospel beginning to deliver the coup de grace.
He knew what he had to do.
Ichika remembered Thomas risking life and limb to protect him and Houki. And now, it was Ichika's turn to do the same for everyone else.
If he could move fast enough, he would be able to meet the Gospel before it could fully unleash the killing blow. If he could put himself between the Gospel and the girls, he'd be able to use himself to help block the finisher, even if much of it slipped by, he'd be able to cover the girls enough to save them.
The attack would kill him for sure, but he'd die giving the others enough time to get back on their feet.
Ichika stared death in the face.
The Gospel had almost finished charging the energy beam and blitz.
But never got the chance to use either of them.
Out of nowhere, a hailstorm of energy blasts and sizable bullets rained down upon the Gospel, disrupting its focus and quickly stopping the attack windup dead in its tracks.
Everyone looked to the sky to see the source of their stroke of fortune.
Suddenly, a green streak zipped across the sky, and smashed right into the Gospel, even taking it along for a ride.
The blur stopped, and the Gospel flew back from the sudden halt.
It was Thomas, with his Revive currently in Hypervelocity Shift.
"I am so angry right now...Really! I have half a mind to quit the IS Academy right now!" He scolded, his IS switching from Hypervelocity to the Primary Shift (Generic 1st Shift).
"Thomas!" Cheered Ichika, as he flew up to greet him.
"What the actual FUCK, Ichika?!" Snarled Thomas.
"Huh?"
"What were you thinking?!"
"What're you talking abo-!"
"I get shot down, and put in a frigging coma..."
"Where are you going with this, Tommy-ol'-pal?"
"And when I wake up..."
Ichika gulped.
"I find out that you, and the girls, decide it was a good idea to directly disobey orders..."
"B-But-!"
"...And you all fuck off to go fight a deadly killer robot bent on killing you..."
"I'm sorry! But Chifuyu-!"
"WITHOUT ME!"
Ichika paused.
"What the-!"
"We're bros, man! Bros before hoes! Why'd you think you could just leave me behind and go do something with friends?!"
"You were comatose-!"
"YOU COULD'VE WAITED!" Complained Thomas.
"I mean, it was a stressful time, and we couldn't wait!"
"Is that so?!" Said Thomas, cartoonishly gasping as though he were offended, "I-I thought we agreed that I'd never you behind, and then you leave me behind and now I'm-I'm just having trouble trusting again!"
"Well, you're here now, better late than never!"
Thomas sighed.
"Yare Yare Daze," He muttered, shooting a glare to the disabled Gospel, "Looks like I made it just in time."
"We could really use your help! The Gospel's too much, even with all of us going at it!"
"I see..."
"Think you could pull another one of your clutch moments? Like when we play video games?"
"Not like I have another choice-!"
" Hey, wait! You were destroyed from the last fight, what about your wounds?!"
"What wounds're you talking about? I'm totally fine!"
Thomas then looked up to see the Gospel finally recovering from Thomas's devastating ram.
"Right. Ichika, see to the others, I'll keep this thing off your back."
"Gotcha! And...great to have you back."
"Great to be back!" Thomas called as he zoomed off, quickly activating Hypervelocity Shift.
Ichika then turned his attention to the girls, and set off to help them get back in the fight.
The girls had all managed to get their sight back to working order only to find Thomas directly engaging the Gospel. A surprise, to be sure.
But a welcome one.
The Gospel attempted to rush Thomas, but quickly found that the tables had turned.
Thomas evaded each and every attack it made with style, grace, and ease. Each time the Gospel sent an energy blast, it seemed as though Thomas was teleporting out of harm's way. He almost instantly got within close-quarters range.
The Gospel lashed out with a right jab. Thomas snatched its fist, and began a fluid aerial melee combo. He coiled and slid around the Gospel's body like a snake, delivering kicks and punches as he slipped around.
The Gospel quickly countered.
It broke Thomas off, and attempted to snap its wings shut upon him.
Thomas acted quickly, switching back out of Hypervelocity Shift back into Primary Shift, and bringing up his Barrier Shields. He braced the shields on his sides, and effectively acted as wedge to block the wings from closing. He then used the gap to launch himself out of the Gospel's wings, which snapped shut with him at a safe distance.
"I'm gonna have so much fun..." He said with a smirk.
Ichika hovered in the air.
"Sorry ve took so long." Apologized Laura.
"It's time to strike back." Declared Cecelia.
"Oui." Agreed Charlotte.
"Let's send this hunk of junk where it belongs!" Smirked Lingyin.
Ichika landed, and helped Houki to her feet.
"Sorry, Thomas was busy, but he's covering for us right now." He consoled.
"He's alive?!" Yelped Houki, "How is he?!"
Ichika and Houki both looked to the sky as they heard explosions.
"He's fine. Looks like he just started using...is he using two grenade launchers?!"
"I thought we was done for..."
"Looks like mortal wounds aren't enough to keep him down!"
"You're...alright..." Houki began to cry a little.
"Houki?"
Houki lunged at Ichika, and wrapped him into a bone-crushing bear hug.
"H-Ho..ki...cusching...meh..."
"Oh, sorry!" She let go.
"It's...fine." Said Ichika, letting oxygen flow through his lungs once more.
He blinked.
"Oh! Before I forget..." Ichika pulled out a ribbon, and gave it to Houki.
"Huh?"
"It's July 7th, right? Happy Birthday!"
"But..why now...?"
"I saw your ribbon burn up, and I bought this one before the trip. I just felt it wouldn't be right not to have you wear it now."
"Th-Thank you..." Houki said as she tied the ribbon on her hair, and brought back her regular hairstyle.
Suddenly, the Akatsubaki began to glow with golden light. Houi's HUD light up with subsystems. Her power readout also jumped back to full, and topped off.
This took everyone by surprise.
"What ish happening?!"
"Sacre Bleu!"
"Oh my!"
"What in the world is-?!"
"Incredible!"
"My power's been restored?" Marveled Houki.
The HUD labeled this as the "Kenran Butou."
"This must be the Akatsubaki's 4th Generation Ability!" Houki concluded.
"Welp!" Said Ichika, "Thomas can't hold the Gospel on his own forever, let's go!"
"Right!"
The two childhood friends took to the air.
Ichika simply wanted to finish the fight and go home.
Houki was a bit distracted, Ichika had never seemed more handsome to her before.
The 6 Representative Candidates all began to follow Thomas as he chased the Gospel.
The sun was coming up.
Thomas paused for a single moment to process.
"I've been at this all night?!" He thought, "At least I get bragging rights for it!"
Thomas looked at his power readout.
"Nuts and bolts!" He groaned, "Wasted too much power with the Shifts! Cover me!"
Cecelia and Charlotte provided cover fire as Thomas pulled away from the Gospel.
Thomas then flew back to the group.
"Damn," He said, "I think using too many Shifts too quickly drains power."
"Well then," Said Cecelia, "You've done enough as is, Thomas. You need to let us handle the rest, you were seriously hurt and we can't afford to lose you again!"
"Just gimmie a second..." Said Thomas as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate.
Much like the Akatsubaki, the Refale-Revive began to glow golden, and quickly recharge.
"You can do that too?!"
"I noticed the ability while I was on my way here." Explained Thomas, "It's called, "Overcharge." I can use it to restore power when I activate it. I'm assuming it's the second ability Tabane installed into my Revive."
"Handy!" Comment Charlotte.
"Right." Said Thomas, "Let's start actually planning something. The Gospel keeps evading almost everyone, me and Houki are the only two to hit it close-range, Ichika's able to one-shot it. Think, think, think..."
They needed to get the pilot, but had to destroy the Gospel. The Byakushki had the Yukihira Nagata, Barrier Void, and the Rayrakubyakuya. Shenlong had Shock Cannons. Schwarza Regen had a Railgun. Blue Tears had Drones, Rocket Pods, and a Sniper Rifle. Charlotte's Refale-Revive had roughly the same arsenal as Thomas's did.
Wait...
Thomas quickly pulled up his Weapons list.
He scrolled through.
"Tabane, if there was ever a time you came through for me," He prayed to himself, "Right now would be much appreciated..."
That's when he saw it.
A Shock Glove? Why would he need a Shock Glove? Unless...
"Hang on, hold the Gospel off while I think of something!" Called Thomas.
"With pleasure!" Said Ichika, as he and the girls charged the Gospel.
Houki gave chase, clashing with the Gospel several times.
Thankfully, she was able to restrain the Gospel with her swords.
"Ichika, now!"
Ichika lunged for the Gospel, Yukihira Nagata in hand.
The Gospel responded, firing energy blasts point-blank at Houki, breaking out of her hold, and racing to meet Ichika head-on. The two clashed, each moving back and forth to meet each other, playing a game of chicken with the other.
The Gospel pulled back, and opened fire upon Ichika.
Ichika pulled even further back, and moved quickly to avoid the energy blasts.
"Laura, hit it!"
Laura had taken up a sniping position with her Railgun on one of the small islands below.
"Understood!"
She opened fire, from behind the Gospel. Purposely pot-shooting at the Gospel to get its attention, rather than actually strike it. The Gospel whipped around to search for Laura.
Ichika seized the opening, and struck.
However, the Gospel anticipated Ichika's surprise attack, and flipped back to dodge. Laura continued to fire, and unfortunately did little more than give away her position to the Gospel.
The Gospel pulled out of Ichika's range, and opened hailstorm upon Laura.
Laura wasn't able to pull away or even activate her AIC in time.
The only thing she could do was cover up her body with her IS as the Gospel rained hell at her.
Cecelia's Optical Drones opened fire at the Gospel, managing to catch it off-guard, and struck it from behind. The Gospel whipped around like an angry person, and saw Cecelia hovering over it.
"I'm right here!" She challenged, "Do your worst!"
Lingyin seized the moment, and struck the Gospel repeatedly with her Shock Cannons.
"One more time, Ichika!" She called.
The Gospel suddenly spun around, and unleashed a massive blitz upon Lingyin.
Lingyin was unable able to dodge in time.
Charlotte, acting quickly, moved and snatched Lingyin in her arms, and brought up an energy barrier to protect them. The barrier wouldn't hold under such punishment, and everyone, including the Gospel, knew it.
"Someone help!" Cried Charlotte, "We can't hold on much longer!"
The Gospel paused, as if to take in its victory.
However, there were still two IS Pilots that were unaccounted for.
"Oi, oi!" Called Thomas.
"You're not going anywhere this time!" Shouted Ichika.
Suddenly, Thomas and Ichika were flying right for the Gospel, side by side.
Ichika drew back his right fist, the Byakuski's hand changing into an Energy Claw. Thomas deployed his left Shield Pierce, setting it to maximum impact.
With both of the boys punching and pushing their Units' thrusters to maximum output, they smashed into the Gospel, and began to push against it.
The Gospel could handle a single IS Unit punching it. But, when faced with two powerful Units pushing maximum power and driving their fists into it, the Gospel wasn't able to hold its ground against such overwhelming power.
Both Thomas and Ichika twisted their punches into Hooks, and let inertia take its course as the Gospel was blown away.
"That thing isn't stopping!" Said Ichika.
"I think I finally have an idea that'll work!"
"Feel free to share!"
"My Revive has a Shock Glove. Maybe I can use that to deliver a jolt to Natasha Fairs's brain, and shock her back awake!"
"Are you insane?!"
"It works in superhero stories."
"This isn't a superhero story! THIS IS REAL LIFE!"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"...Touche..."
"Question now is, 'How're we gonna get through to Natasha?'"
"Beats me! This is your idea!"
The Gospel recovered.
"The Gospel might be on its last legs!"
"You really think so?"
"We really don't have a better alternative right now..."
"Go."
"Huh?"
"Get as close to the Gospel as you can, Thomas." Said Ichika, "I can use Barrier Void, and that give you direct access to the Gospel's outer plating. If you can get to it without getting blasted, maybe you can shock Natasha through the Gospel's armor."
"Okay then, wish me luck!"
Thomas and Ichika raced for the Gospel.
Once again, it unleashed a blitz of energy blasts.
Thomas broke through with his left Barrier Shield, and Ichika simply hacked his way through with the Yukihira Nagata.
Both boys were in position.
"Now!" Called Thomas.
Ichika deactivated the Gospel's overshields. Thomas rushed in. He grabbed the IS by its wrist.
He then activated the Shock Glove, and prayed.
The entire IS lit up with electricity, and underwent several spasms.
Thomas let go. The Gospel began to shake as it hovered, beginning to lose control of itself. Oddly enough, it quickly recovered. Thomas began to fear he might've done something wrong.
Was the Gospel insulated? Or did he kill the pilot inside?
"I don't think it worked!" Observed Ichika.
"No shit!" Thomas acknowledged as he quickly pulled back.
"What now?"
"I don't know-!"
"What?"
"Ichika, pull back."
"Why?!"
"It's come to fisticuffs."
"You can't just straight-up punch the pilot out of the IS!"
"Watch me!"
"No don't-!"
Thomas had already charged at the Gospel. He then brought out one of the Revive's PDWs. Acting before it had the chance, Thomas quickly went around and got behind the Gospel.
He grabbed it by the shoulder with his free hand, and fired the PDW's entire magazine into the Gospel's back. The energy wings began to flicker as they reacted to such a risky close-range attack.
Thomas could tell he was playing a dangerous game.
If he went too far, he risked hurting, even killing Natasha Fairs, if she wasn't already dead. However, if he did too little, the Gospel would seize the advantage, and end him for sure.
He really didn't know just how hard he could hit, and still bring a happy ending.
Thomas pulled his punches only to a certain degree. He knew it was only a matter of time before he could wear down the Gospel's overshield, allowing him to get more hands on. However, it was an even shorter matter of time before the Gospel decided to blow him apart.
How could he possibly time this correctly?
Wait!
"The rules of IS Matches!" He thought, "That's right! First person to use Absolute Defense loses! But, that also means I can see the Absolute Defense when it kicks in! That said, I need that to happen sooner rather than later!"
The Gospel began to put up a better fight.
A good sign.
Normally, the sight of a very powerful foe upping their game was something people were wary of. However, for Thomas, it meant that he had the Gospel on the run, and he was getting close to the end of the fight.
All he had to do now was win it.
The Gospel opened fire once more, Thomas evaded and blocked.
Suddenly, he got an idea to help speed things along.
Quickly, he raised his shields to maximum, and dropped onto an island below. The Gospel followed without question, and began to open fire over and over. There was no possible way Thomas could survive taking such punishment for very long.
But he didn't have to wait that long.
"What're you doing?!" Cried Ichika, "The Gospel's about to rip you to shreds!"
"Get out of there!" Called Cecelia.
"Are you an idiot?!" Snarled Lingyin.
Thomas remained silent, holding his breath. The Gospel seemed relentless, furiously trying to finish Thomas for good.
Houki and Ichika finally caught onto Thomas's plan.
"Keep it up!" Cheered Houki.
"Wait 'em out!" Supported Ichika.
As if on cue, the Gospel began to slow in pace. The lights on its body flickered, and it let up.
Thomas decided to taunt. He waved his hand, as if to say, "Take your best shot, keep it coming."
The Gospel quickly obliged, and charged an energy beam.
Thomas rolled, and made sharp turns to avoid being shot down.
The Gospel was wasting its own power away. The rouge IS was now beginning to flicker and die, and lose its balance and stability. But, despite it's critical situation, it still carried on as it lashed out at the boy.
Thomas smirked, this fight was finished.
He zipped right up to the Gospel, and deployed his left Shield Pierce one last time.
He squat into the position to unleash an uppercut to the chin. If the blow connected, only heaven knew how much damage it'd do to Natasha Fairs. However, despite Thomas's small experience with the Shield Pierce, he was far more calculative in his movements than he seemed. Instead of a straight uppercut, which could damage the pilot's neck, Thomas curved his punch.
Instead of smashing the Gospel's chin, he hooked it with the rear cladding on the Shield Pierce.
He knew the Gospel was spent, and delivering a knockout right then and there would be far too risky. Had he gone through with the actual uppercut, the Gospel would've most likely shut down, and plummeted into the ocean.
That meant that there was a chance the Absolute Defense would shut down, or the IS would go into Standby Mode, and expose Natasha as she fell.
However, Thomas pulled his punch only by a few feet, at most. The cladding hooked the Gospel's chin. Instead of finishing it, Thomas wanted to pull Natasha out of the Gospel before he destroyed it.
With the edge of the cladding, Thomas broke the safety lock on the Gospel's helmet. He pulled his fist back instead of up. In doing so, he flipped the Gospel's helmet right off of Natasha's face.
No blood on her face? Good.
With the Gospel shutting down, Thomas seized the moment. He pulled the Gospel into his arms, and began to rip the armor right off of Natasha's unconscious body. He did so with great care.
When he assumed he opened the Gospel up enough, he reached in and grabbed Natasha by her shoulders. He rolled, and pulled Natasha out of the Gospel, which began to fall with nothing keeping it in the air.
Thomas held Natasha in one arm, and pulled back his Shield Pierce for the coup de grace.
He bolted downward, chasing the Gospel before it could hit the water.
He struck the Gospel with his Shield Pierce right through the open cockpit, and shredded the machine to pieces.
The scrapped IS fell into the ocean, creating several splashes and ripples.
Thomas recalled the Shield Pierce, and began to hold Natasha bridal style. For a moment, her face twitched, as though she'd regained consciousness, but quickly fell back to her unconscious state.
He breathed in, he breathed out.
"Fucking finally..." He muttered.
The other pilots raced up to Thomas as he slowly began to land on a beach.
"About time!" Said Lingyin.
"It's finally over..." Whimpered Houki.
"You did great!" Complimented Ichika.
"Well," Said Cecelia, "Despite being the foolish boy that you are, and rushing headlong into battle mere moments after waking up...I would have to admit, I am quite pleased you did."
"At last!" Declared Laura, "An IS vorthy of you! Now ve vill fight to determine once and for all vho ish superior! Our battle vill be legendary!"
"At last," Muttered Charlotte, "We can finally go home..."
"We're not out of the woods just yet," Informed Thomas, "Chifuyu'll want an answer for this."
The group all groaned, knowing full well he was right.
"But," Said Thomas, "After nearly dying twice in the span of a month..."
He chuckled.
"...I personally wouldn't mind it. Besides, there's nothing anyone can do now that can take this away from us. They can cry me a river for all I care at this point, they never had to stare death in the face twice."
They started to fly back home, everyone but Thomas feared for their life about what Chifuyu would do to them.
Thomas, on the other hand, couldn't care less about what the instructor had to say.
The pilots returned by 9:30.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping...
...And they were all standing in line, as Chifuyu debriefed and scolded them.
"Mission complete!" Chifuyu said sarcastically, "That's what I want to say, but after this little misadventure, you all have disobeyed orders, you're in serious trouble."
"We understand." They said in unison.
"When we return to the Academy, I expect all of you to submit a report to apologize for this little spat. For most of you, expect that you will be put through serious and rigorous extra training, so be prepared. But for Scott..."
Chifuyu marched, stepping in front of the boy and locking eyes with him.
"...This only adds onto punishment for destroying the Uchigane. I hope you understand that I haven't forgotten about that little 'accident.' I may still be coming up with the perfect punishment right now, but sleep in fear knowing full well you've only dug your hole deeper after this deed."
"Y-Yes ma'am..." He groaned.
The other students all looked at Thomas, sending their sympathies to him.
He'd certainly need them.
"Miss Orimura?" Piped up Miss Yamada, "I'm sure that everyone's all tired, is now really the time for all that?"
Chifuyu sighed.
"I guess I have to say...Well done."
The students flinched. Did Chifuyu just compliment them?
"I'm glad you all came home in one piece."
Thomas remembered something they'd left unsaid.
"What about Natasha Fairs?"
"I was actually waiting for someone to bring that up." Said Chifuyu, "She's mostly fine. When Scott used the Shock Glove on the Gospel, it appeared he jumpstarted her back into a conscious state. Although she's malnourished, and will need physical therapy for a while, she's able to stand and move. And, now that I thought about it, she wanted to see you, Scott."
"Me?!"
"She wanted to thank you for saving, I guess. She's-!"
"Right here..." A weak voice called from nearby.
Natasha was gripping an IV Pole as she slowly made her way up to the group. She squinted as she entered the sunlight, the sudden change in lighting being quite jarring upon the pilot's eyes.
"Oh! Um...Miss Fairs." Said Thomas, stunned that the woman was already up and moving.
"You must be...Thomas Scott, right?" Said Natasha, offering a free hand to shake.
"Y-Yes ma'am! Big fan!" Thomas said, gently taking the pilot's hand and shaking it with utmost care. He began to blush, being given the opportunity to meet to someone he'd looked up to in middle school.
"That's funny..." She muttered.
"Hm?"
"Why would you be a fan of mine?"
"W-Well..."
"If anything, 'm a big fan of yours."
"Really?!"
Natasha placed a her hand on the Thomas's cheek. The boy's blush began even deeper.
"You're so cute right now..." She blinked, as though she were beginning to fall asleep.
"Um, l-listen...You're not thinking clearly..."
"I am...Jus' lemme give you a lil somethin..."
"What're you-?!"
Natasha's free hand went to grab Thomas by his shoulder. Within seconds, she'd pulled his head close to hers, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She'd lingered for a moment, and lazily pulled away.
Thomas was at a loss for...everything, as he was left trying to process Natasha's sudden action.
"Heheh...You're like my very own cutie knight in shining armor...Thanks fer the save, big guy~!"
"That's quite enough of that." Growled Chifuyu, with a hint of anger in her tone and face.
"Let's get you back to your room, Miss Fairs." Said Alexander as he helped Natasha on her way. Natasha continuously muttered absolute nonsense as she slowly lulled back into sleep.
As he left, Alexander turned back, and gave his son a thumbs-up.
Thomas was still processing, and didn't notice.
"Enjoy your break." Chifuyu said, still a little angry, but calmed down.
The students dispersed, leaving Thomas still in shock, frozen in place like a living statue.
Chifuyu gave him a firm yet gentle slap on his back, and brought him out of his daze.
"Seriously? You'd let a such a little thing like a kiss get you all worked up?!" Said Chifuyu, "Please! You need help if you're going to get a girlfriend someday! And there's no way I'm letting you go after Natasha Fairs, of all people! She was just...not thinking clearly!"
Thomas became confused. Why would Chifuyu get so mad over something like that?
Was it because Chifuyu felt like a big sister figure to Thomas?
Eh, didn't matter.
Thomas stomach growled.
All of the drama, the mystery, and to behind-the-scenes stuff going at this hotel would have to wait.
He was hungry, and he'd destroy anything that'd get in the way of him and breakfast.
That night...
The group dressed into their robes.
Thomas dressed in a pair of shorts, a beige ankle-long duster coat, and a spandex shirt.
He breathed in, and breathed out.
Suddenly, he began to savagely devour everything on his plate.
Students who were curious of the events that transpired began to group up upon the pilots.
"What happened?!"
"What cause the Gospel to go crazy?"
"How did you manage to beat it?"
"Tell us! Tell us!"
Thomas put down his bowl. Menacingly.
"Oh? What's that? You want to know? You truly want to know?!"
"Yeah!"
The aura around Thomas turned dark, as the other pilots were too scared to silence him before he leaked classified information.
"Well, to answer you questions..."
Everyone leaned in, opening their ears to what Thomas was about to reveal.
"...Things happened."
The aura was immediately dispersed. Any fear that people had before was destroyed.
"Don't tease!" They whined.
"Listen," Said Thomas, "This is government-level classification. If you want to know about it, I'd have to get in trouble with Japan itself to tell you. I mean, I can fight anyone, but it'd be such a pain, and you really don't want to be put under government surveillance, let me tell you! Besides, I literally have no clue myself!"
"Aw..."
"I guess..."
"Yeah, I don't want to be under house arrest for the rest of my life..."
The students all began to talk amongst themselves about other topics. Thomas relaxed his shoulders, and continued to indulge himself with the food he had before him, taking to pieces of sashimi, and placing wasabi between them, and eating it as though it were a mini-sandwich.
Just as he was recovering from the burning in his nostrils, he saw it.
A woman walked past the open doorway, Thomas was only able to catch a fleeting glimpse.
But the sight was unmistakable.
Snow-white hair, pale skin. Just like in his dream.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" He snapped, jumping up from his seat, and racing to the doorway.
The girls were all confused with his sudden shift in behavior, and watched as he raced through the door.
He slid and placed a hand on the wall across the hall to avoid crashing. He looked down the hall, where the woman he saw mere moments ago was walking towards. The hall was dark, for some reason.
Thomas flinched. The hall was silent, and empty.
As if there had been no-one at all.
Thomas stared. Did he really see who he thought he saw? Was it just a hallucination?
"Hey, Tommy?" Said Honnie, "What's wrong?"
Thomas relaxed, and sighed.
"Nothing," He said, "I just thought I saw someone familiar."
He turned back to the dining hall.
"Guess I was wrong."
Tabane sat on a cliff, high over the beach below.
Her simile had yet to wear out.
She looked at footage of Thomas's Revive in action.
"Wow..." She awed, "I didn't expect his Revive to duplicate Core abilities as well..."
"Strange, isn't it?" Interjected Chifuyu, walking out from behind a tree.
"I knew something was going on." Said the instructor, "I secretly took a look at Thomas's Unit after we recovered him, I couldn't help but notice it had some of the Byakushki's and the Akatsubaki's data. It also appeared to have copied the ability of the Byakushki's Core...Or should I say Core #001? The White Knight's core?"
"Cool..."
"That does beg the question, however." Said Chifuyu, "If Ichika has the White Knight's Core, then what Core does the White Knight have now? I've seen him wearing it, and there's no way he could put it in Standby Mode without a Core."
Tabane looked back, closed one eye, and put a finger on her lips.
"Spoilers~!" She whispered, making Chifuyu change topics.
"I'd expect you purposely gave the Revive's Core that ability. I'd almost hate to ask, but why that ability? Isn't he a little too dangerous to himself as it is? He already has the Overcharge, and all those other Shifts..."
"Maybe," Said Tabane, "I really don't know why I gave him that Core, the idea just struck me when I was playing around with it myself. When I thought about what would be the perfect present for Tommy-Kun, it actually took me a long time. Can you believe it? Me, Tabane the Genius, stumped on what to make for the best early birthday present for one of the enigmatic boys in the world!"
Tabane remained silent for a few moments.
"Now that I think about it..." She concluded, "I guess I gave him Data-Duplication because I felt sorry about him not having a mommy, because right around when I installed the core, I thought about adopting him and making him my sweet widdle baby boy~!"
"So, you gave it to him just to pamper him?"
"I guess so!"
"Hm..." Said Chifuyu, "Let's have a hypothetical conversation then. Suppose a super-genius lures a boy who's trying to take a high school exam to a hidden location with an IS Unit, and sets the IS to move at a specific point in time. And then, when no male in the world can pilot an IS, the boy appears to have made the IS move."
"But that'd be the only time the IS ever moved, wouldn't it?"
"Let me finish." Said Chifuyu, "And then, this genius lures another boy to another IS. And designs it to respond only to the boy, and the boy makes it move."
"Then that boy would be the only person who can move that IS."
Tabane and Chifuyu fell silent.
"Honestly," Admitted Tabane, "I myself don't know why the Byakushki moves, or why Tommy-Kun and Ichi-Kun can pilot IS Units, even with the glitch that stops men from doing so."
"Alright then, let's try another hypothetical." Suggested Chifuyu, "Our super-genius decides to have her little sister debut on a grand stage. The perfect plan would be a rogue, experimental and highly-dangerous IS Unit going haywire and a powerful new IS Unit that's far ahead of its time. The genius sets the IS to go haywire, and just as the time is right, the super-genius throws the new IS into the mix for her little sister, and the sister makes her grand debut."
"Sounds like a very 50-steps-ahead kind of mischievous genius." Observed Tabane.
"One of a kind," Said Chifuyu, "like the kind of genius who could hack into the military computers of twelve countries and use their armaments for their own purposes."
"Hey, Chi-Chan?" Said Tabane, "Do like the world as it is now?"
"More or less."
"I think its a place that can be fun if I make it fun." Said Tabane.
Chifuyu blinked for a moment, and one moment was all it took.
Tabane had vanished from sight, and, like a thief in the night, was never seen again.
Thomas walked along the beach, taking in the summer night air.
The cape of his coat flapped in the wind. To any who looked at him, he looked incredible as his coat bellowed heroically in the wind. Instead of his usually cocksure grin, his face was somber and zoning out.
He'd been through quite a great deal in the span of three days.
How long was this beach trip, anyway? Eh, didn't matter.
Who was that woman? Was she the one in the hall, or the one with the car? Or both?
Was she really the "mom" Thomas had dubbed from that strange dream of being born?
Why did he hide these things from Chifuyu? Why did he refuse to be responsible, and tell her about what he knew? Was it because it sounded as though if he told her now, he'd just be left even deeper in the dark on the subject?
Was...He losing trust in Chifuyu?
No! He couldn't be! Chifuyu was practically his big sister, he'd trusted her for years! Why would she lie to him about such personal things? She'd only omitted things from him, so why was he starting to feel wary about talking to her?
An omission is essentially the same thing as lying.
Thomas cursed his mind for answering such a question.
He wanted to trust Chifuyu, He really did.
But now? That trust he'd put so passionately in her possession was slowly beginning to fade away.
Just how much of the truth was everyone keeping from him?
Was his mother the only thing they weren't telling him?
Thomas, despite his bold and incredible behavior, was surprisingly very fragile when it came to his most private moments. He could actually come to tears over such things, and at times, he did.
He really needed to interact with friends more often.
As if on cue, Thomas saw flashing lights and noises in the distance.
He focused his eyes, and looked to see what was causing such a disturbance.
What he saw was Lingyin, Charlotte, Laura, and Cecelia all currently in the IS Units, and firing down upon Ichika and Houki as they ran across the beach.
It didn't take a genius to figure out why.
Thomas's cheeks puffed up, he began to tremble. Suddenly, he broke out into full-on laughter as he fell on his side, and struggled to breath. Just when the dark was entering his mind, his friends messed up everything, and brought Thomas back to his modesty.
What would he do without them?
"Hey guys!" He called, as he got up and raced towards them, "Wait for me!"
He ran past the group, raced up to the cliff overlooking the side of the beach. Thomas sprinted, a smile on his face, and a pep in his sprint. The boy jumped off the cliff, and deployed his Revive. He flew over the others, and began to try and calm things down.
This is why he loved them. Mostly innocent people getting into innocuous trouble, allowing him to join in, and have fun with them as they went about messing around in their little antics.
There was a dark secret in Thomas's life that he had to uncover, urgently.
However, that could wait.
After all, he still had to act his age once in a while.
A/N: And with that, the Worst Summer Ever is now over! Sorry for dragging it out so much, but to make up for it, I threw in several pieces of foreshadowing here and there.
I even got to do a "Yare Yare Daze!" But don't get upset because it was just a single Jojoke, I've got more Jojokes planned throughout the rest of the story! Maybe even a Jojo-themed chapter.
Sorry, I'm a big Jojo fan.
Considering that Infinite Stratos is currently in a state of limbo, that being the mixed signals on a third season for the anime, and the long time it'll take for me to get translations for the Light Novel. Depending on that, there might be a hiatus sometime.
But that won't happen for a while, since I have so much of my own plot that I want to write for this story! I have more male IS Pilots that will eventually surface, I just need to find the right time for their debut!
Although you might think this is the end of any summer vacation chapters, don't worry! I've got plenty of ideas for the summer, and they'll be here as soon as I get around to writing them!
Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!