And here we are! A chapter I've been wanting to do for so long! This chapter's gonna be riddled with Jojo references, leave a review saying how many you spotted while reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
The School Festival has begun! Thomas and Ichika do their best as they fill the role of butlers for Class 1's Maid Cafe!
However, fate has other plans for Thomas, as Tatenashi comes up to Thomas in need of a favor.
Thomas ends up playing a major role in the Student Council's impromptu Cinderella play. Normally, Thomas would do what he can to make the best performance possible...
...Only he discovers that his role means he has to fight for his life and find a way to escape!
But when he thinks he's safe, Thomas realizes the other actors aren't the only danger he has to face...
The day had started, and the School Festival had begun.
Thomas hadn't gotten the ideal amount of sleep, due to Ichika and Tatenashi somehow managing to smash open the door to the shower room while Thomas was eating dinner. Apparently, Tatenashi wanted a massage, and Ichika tried to lock himself inside the shower room, only to have Tatenashi blow up the door.
Thomas spent a good portion of the night trying to patch up the damage, to help bide for time until they could actually restore the room.
Thomas did his best to look acceptable, and prepared for the day.
Everyone was putting the finishing touches on the Maid Cafe, and the girls than took notice of Thomas's lack of grooming.
He had stubble, and looked like a mess. Sure, he'd always looked this way, but it was certainly unbecoming of a butler to look like an average schmuck.
The girls overwhelmed Thomas, restrained him, and began to groom him properly.
Thomas was terrified of the thought of very hyperactive and clingy girls with sharp objects near his head and upper-vitals. They'd shaved off his facial hair, applied makeup to hide the dark bags under his eyes, and trimmed his hair.
He now had a very clean face, and a lovely faux hawk hairstyle.
Despite his insistence on using the butler uniform from before, the girls had made him a completely new outfit.
His new butler outfit had been tailored to him, and had been sewn to be stretchy, allowing for maximum comfort and reach. And yet, it still looked absolutely elegant as Thomas wore it, managing to make the Maid Cafe itself swoon with delight.
They had Ichika and Thomas pose together as the girls all took lots of photos, no doubt for later use.
After a few minutes of preparation, the class had opened their Maid Cafe for business.
Thomas and Ichika wasted no time in wooing the patrons. Ichika went with his best Alfred impression, while Thomas used his best J.A.R.V.I.S. voice.
"Please, milady, this way." Said Ichika.
"I'll escort you to the finest seat available." Said Thomas.
The girls were all conflicted.
Who was the better butler? Thomas, or Ichika?
The two boys had prepared a few acts in secret. They'd perform little skits throughout the day to entertain the guests even further. They'd even secretly prepared other costumes they'd wear during each skit.
But now wasn't the time.
"I'll take your order whenever you're ready." Said Ichika.
"Do take your time in your selection, milady." Affirmed Thomas, "There's no rush."
They went on with their dreamy antics, posing and serving.
"Do come again, mistress." Said Ichika.
"Leave knowing that I will await your return faithfully." Said Thomas.
As the patrons left, they spread the news.
The line for Maid Cafe simply grew and grew, with no end in sight.
And they were all in line for the chance to get close to the boys, they didn't care whether they purchased food or not. The girls all wanted a chance to woo Thomas or Ichika, since they seemed so dreamy from the way they were described by the patrons.
"I heard you get to take pictures with them!"
"I hear there's a special where you get to feed them!"
"I just wanna touch them!"
"This is my one chance to get a man in my life!"
Currently, Ichika was escorting a girl to her table.
"I-I'll have the 'Treat your Butler' Special!"
"Very well then, madam."
Ichika left to get the special.
However, Thomas had seized the opportunity, and while Ichika was away, had brought the order to the girl.
"Hm?! You're not my-!"
"How foolish of you..." Sneered Thomas as he closed his eyes with a sinister face, "You thought Ichika would be the one for you..."
His eyes shot open, and he pointed his thumb to himself.
"...BUT IT WAS I, THOMAS!"
He laughed like a triumphant villain.
"Thomas!" Shouted Ichika.
"Hm?"
"How dare you take such an underhanded opportunity?!"
"Are you jealous? Envious that the patrons pay more attention to me?"
"You'll pay for trying to steal away patrons from me!" Cried Ichika as he charged forth.
Ichika tried to throw a punch, only to have Thomas block and counter.
"Do you wish to reenact our little sword match on my first day? Come then!"
Thomas and Ichika then took up fighting positions as everyone stopped to watch. The maids and patrons were confused, however, not understanding why the two would butt heads. The maids were stunned, since the fight wasn't scripted. And the patrons were shocked, already bearing witness to a clash to determine who out of the two of them was the best butler.
Ichika strut towards Thomas, their aura was menacing.
"Oh?" Sneered Thomas, "You're coming closer? Instead of fleeing, you're approaching?"
"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer!" Retorted Ichika.
"Oh ho!" Boomed Thomas, "Then come as close as you like!"
Little did they know that the boys were simply putting on a charade.
Thomas and Ichika traded blows, carefully timing their movements as to not actually hurt each other. Throughout the time they weren't constructing the Maid Cafe, or the costumes, they were practicing stage-fighting, perfecting methods of pretending to fight and make it realistic.
Thomas went on the attack, unleashing a series of jabs. Ichika blocked, and acted as though he was barely holding on. Finally, Thomas grabbed Ichika, and brought the boy's face on his knee.
However, instead of writhing, Ichika grabbed Thomas, and delivered a headbutt to his face.
"Gah! Impossible!" Cried Thomas, "You shouldn't even be standing after that blow to the head!"
"I draw strength from the love of my mistress!" Declared Ichika, as he seized the moment to deliver an onslaught of his own.
He finished with an uppercut, sending Thomas off his feet and crashing to the floor.
The patrons all clapped.
"Ichika's the best butler!"
"Best boy confirmed!"
"I want his babies!"
Ichika nearly broke character after such a remark. Thomas got to his feet, and dusted himself off.
"Ladies and ladies," He announced, "What you just saw was the act of two professional actors. There will be more skits throughout the course of the day. If you wish to see more, then please, don't hesitate to return!"
The patrons swooned. They were ecstatic hearing they'd see more of Thomas and Ichika entertaining them.
The maids were confused, since this decision was made by the boys. However, they were interested and wanted to see more.
Thomas and Ichika quickly returned to their services, overwhelmingly wooing each patron they served.
It'd been an hour or so, and the endless flow of patrons never ceased to continue.
Ichika and Thomas were doing what they could to give everyone a unique experience.
Despite their wits, they sometimes ran into trouble carrying out their character. Sometimes, the patrons would get a bit physical and clingy, and ended up in minor trouble with the staff of maids.
This wouldn't stop the boys, however.
Thomas and Ichika decided to start their next skit.
Ichika went to a set of curtains on one side of the room, Thomas did the same on the other side.
Suddenly, a samurai and a knight burst from the curtains, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
The samurai had was snow-white in color, with navy blue gloves, boots, shin guards, a navy blue long, flowing cape, and twin blue katana sheaths. Without a doubt, the maids could tell it was Ichika, dressed in a costume that resembled the Byakushki.
The knight resembled a design similar to Azrael from Batman: Arkham Knight. However, the dominant color was a pine green, with a white cross on the knight's chest, he wore a green cape, and, instead of a hood and mask, and a single white scabbard. The knight wore a green templar helmet with a white cross on the face. The maids could easily figure out that if the samurai was Ichika, then the knight was Thomas.
"I am Sir Thomas!" Declared the knight, "The Knight of Servitude! I serve thy mistress well, whoever she may be!"
"Pitiful!" Taunted the samurai, "I am the Great Swordsman Ichika! I serve my empress most faithfully!"
"Calm yourself Swordsman!" Called Sir Thomas, "We've no quarrel with one another! We are warriors of the same purpose!"
"Maybe so...But I see it as destiny! If we are to be so alike, then it is a sign that we are fated to clash!"
"Yare Yare Daze...Come! If you wish to do battle, then so be it!"
Suddenly, Ichika closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye, and began to attack.
The battle of the samurai and the knight seemed so easily turned the the samurai's favor. So far, Ichika was only using a single katana, quickly overwhelming Thomas with quick and numerous attacks as he struggled to keep up.
The patrons and maids all watched, a captive audience of the suspense.
Thomas did everything he could, but he was simply out of his depth.
Statistically, the samurai had a longer reach with the katana than the knight with a mere sword. Although, the only reason the fight wasn't completely decided yet was due to the knight's chain mail under his clothes. However, his speed and agility was less than the samurai's. The samurai may have had weaker, leather armor, but it was lighter, and could still withstand a great deal of punishment.
However, Thomas had learned from the best. Although the majority would say playing video games doesn't count as actual training and experience, to Thomas, he'd learned more from video games than he'd learned from taking fighting instructions.
Ichika had been trained by the best. Unlike Thomas, who studied moves, Ichika had actual experience under his belt, easily putting him higher on a combat tier list than Thomas. Ichika was trained by both Chifuyu, and Houki. Despite the two never actually clashing with swords, it seemed as though the fight would easily be within Ichika's favor to win.
However, Thomas, despite lack of true experience, knew full well how to turn the tide.
He'd blocked a downward slash from Ichika, and pushed his opponent back. He spun around counter-clockwise. As he completed his rotation, he'd whipped his cape into Ichika, stunning the foe.
Quickly, he seized the advantage.
(Song-The Last Stand-Sabaton.)
With the whiff and wind of his sword, he'd quickly overwhelmed Ichika.
Thy will be doooone!
Ichika brought out his other sword, quickly overpowering Thomas with the advantage.
For the Grace, for the might of our Lord!
For the home of the Holy!
Suddenly, Ichika's onslaught knocked Thomas's sword out of his hands. Thomas fell to his knees. Ichika raised his right katana, ready to execute the knight.
For the Faith, for the way of the sword...
He brought the blade down...
...Only to have Thomas block it with the bracer on his wrist.
Gave their lives so boldly!
When designing the knight costume, Thomas had followed much of Azrael's design from Batman: Arkham Knight. He also made sure to take extra care to design the bracers. In fact, the design of the bracers was not only to counter blade attacks, but also break blades if need be.
Thomas had designed them to do so.
For the Grace, for the might of our Lord!
In the name of his Glory!
Thomas currently had Ichika's sword trapped by the bracer, and now had the range he needed to finish the fight.
Quickly, he used his foot to kick his sword up to his free hand, and spun clockwise around Ichika. He'd delivered a hay-maker to his opponent's back, and forced the foe to his knees. Thomas dashed to Ichika's front as the boy got back to his feet.
He took his sword, and held it upside down. Instead of holding it by the handle, he now held the sword by its blade.
For the Faith, for the way of the sword...
Thomas finished Ichika, bringing the hand guard of the sword down upon the pressure point on Ichika's neck.
Come and tell their story again!
"You fought bravely," Said Sir Thomas, "But none are able to defeat my chivalrous fighting spirit."
He helped The Great Swordsman Ichika to his feet, and the two of them bowed to each other.
Thomas was definitely going to keep the knight costume.
As the boys quickly returned to their duties, the time was around 10:50.
After the Knight vs Samurai fight, the boys were getting requests to take pictures with girls in their costumes.
Ichika was currently serving Lingyin, who was taking a break from her own class's activity; A Chinese Cafe. Thomas was currently waiting for his next patron, as he zoned out while staring at the cafe as a whole.
He was really enjoying the attention.
Suddenly, a woman had entered the cafe, and went straight for Thomas. She had red eyes, and caramel-colored hair.
Thomas zoned back in, and prepared his act.
"Greetings, milady-?"
The woman held out a business card to him.
"Hello," She said, "My name is Reiko Makigami. Do you have a minute?"
The two sat down at an open table as they began to converse.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Makigami?"
"Well," She said, "I was wondering if you'd sponsor my company by using our IS equipment on your Unit. It's a Rafale-Revive II, if I've been told correctly."
"It is." Said Thomas, raising his hand, "But I'm not really sure about doing endorsements while I'm still in school..."
"Don't worry about that!" Said Reiko, quickly grabbing and caressing Thomas's hand with both of her own, "Just take some time to think about it! How about additional armor? Or auxiliary thrusters? Light Blades? If you want to speak to my boss about it, I insist you do. After all..."
Her next line made Thomas suspicious.
"...My boss really likes you."
That had a number of implications. It easily made Thomas wary of Reiko, since there now was a potential incident waiting to happen.
"I see...Although..."
"Yes?"
"I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from holding my hand. We have explicit rules about physical contact between patrons and staff."
Reiko let go, a small pout on her face.
"And for your offer, I'll have to politely decline."
"What?! Why?!"
"Y'see, I keep a policy about sponsorship. I really don't think it's best to do any sort of endorsement until I graduate. If you want, we can arrange for that then..."
"No," Growled Reiko, "It's perfectly fine if you don't want to..."
"Excuse me ma'am," Interjected Takatsuki, the head maid, "But I'm afraid that the next patron is waiting for him."
"A thousand pardons," Said Thomas as he stood up, "But I cannot ignore the other patrons."
Takatsuki guided Thomas away, Reiko glared at the two of them as they walked off.
"One way or another, that boy's mine..." She muttered through grit teeth.
Reiko withdraws coolly.
Once the two were out of earshot, Thomas exhaled as he was relieved.
"That could've gone worse." He muttered.
"No doubt." Replied Takatsuki, "I've been hearing a lot about girls getting handsy with you and Ichika, is everything okay?"
"It's only about one-or-two on a rare occasion, so yeah. Y'know, a lot of people have been trying to get endorsements from me and Ichika recently. We both agreed not to do any of that stuff until we're graduated, but it doesn't seem to discourage people from trying."
"Being the only two known boys in the world who can pilot IS Units, I guess companies would definitely go for young kids, so they don't know better." Concluded Takatsuki, "Say, Student Council President Tatenashi's asked for you and Ichika if I remember..."
"Right I did!" Cheered Tatenashi, who appeared out of nowhere.
"What's up?" Said Thomas, as though it was totally normal.
Takatsuki yelped in surprise.
"M-Miss President!"
"Relax, sweetie, I just need to talk to Thomas for a little favor..."
Tatenashi guided Thomas to the locker rooms.
"What all this about now?"
"Well," Explained Tatenashi, "I'm requesting you to star as the lead for the Student Council's Interactive Play-!?"
"Stop. Stop."
"What?"
"Before we get any deeper into this...I just want to get some facts straight."
"Yes?"
"Okay. So after you decided to put on a play..."
"Mhm."
"You set up the script and the stageplay..."
"Yes."
"You decided to get me..."
"Uh-huh."
"And then propose that I play the lead the day of the premier..."
"Yeah."
"You decided the lead role should be played by some guy you literally pulled out of the blue."
"Yes." Answered Tatenashi, "Everything you just said pretty much sums it up."
"Just give me my damn costume." Deadpanned Thomas.
"With pleasure!"
Tatenashi handed Thomas a set of folded clothes, which appeared to be that of royalty, due to the purple decorations. Articles of clothing included a sash, white gloves, pauldrons, long white casual pants.
"Oh! I almost forgot." Said Tatenashi as she pulled out a crown.
"Make sure not to break this, it's the most vital part of the role!"
"Riiight..."
"Come out on stage when you're ready. It's all ad-libbed."
"I'm having second thoughts..."
"Consider this Chifuyu making good on her punishment for you then!"
"I see she cashed it in..."
"She did! You don't have a choice!"
"I see...This isn't going to be something enjoyable."
"That's for you to decide! Although..."
Tatenashi made a sinister giggle.
"I'm certain a 'man' with your skills can survive..."
With that, Tatenashi ran off to let Thomas change into his costume.
She had to make sure the recording cameras were all set up.
Thomas stood in the center of the stage, which spanned the entire IS Arena.
It was obvious he was in trouble.
The dome currently blocked out the sun, sealing the arena in darkness like a massive Roman amphitheater.
Whatever danger he would be forced to face, he chose not to fear it.
The dome turned from pitch black to a starry sky.
"Once upon a time," Said the narrator, whom Thomas easily deduced as Tatenashi herself, "There was a girl named Cinderella."
Suddenly, two spotlights turned on Thomas.
Was he Cinderella?
"But now..." She continued, "It's no longer just a name!"
A screen of blacked out silhouettes of girls in frilly dresses fighting what appeared to be soldiers popped up.
Yeah, he was in deep shit.
"Now, it is the name of those who gleefully bring down enemy soldiers in myriad ballrooms across the land! Their thirst for blood and carnage it unmatched! They revel in utter destruction! The most powerful warriors in the world..."
It didn't take a genius to recognize the silhouette shapes.
If they belonged to who Thomas thought they did, he was in for one bizarre adventure.
"They are Strike Force Cinderella!"
"Coming to this school was a mistake..." Muttered Thomas.
"Now watch, as Strike Force Cinderella dance around, targeting the military secrets hidden in the Prince's crown!"
Thomas realized just what she meant.
He was wearing elegant clothing, white gloves, and a crown.
He breathed in, he breathed out.
"Yare Yare Daze...This might be a problem."
The spotlight shut off, the lights for the whole stage came on.
Currently, he was standing in what appeared to be the ballroom of a castle.
"Once again," Boomed Tatenashi, "The night of the bloodthirsty Cinderellas begins tonight!"
It was only mere seconds before the girls began their attack, starting with Lingyin.
"The crown is mine!" She announced, as she leapt off a balcony. As she landed, she tried cleaving Thomas with a large machete. Thomas evaded with style and grace, his mind switching from very scared to his trademark "Jotaro Cool" style of behavior.
As he locked eyes with Lingyin, he shot her a glare.
"Alright buddy!" She ordered, "Hand over the crown and no-one gets hurt!"
Thomas remained silent, backed up against a pillar.
Lingyin hurled three throwing knives. Thomas quickly leaned to his left, narrowly evading the knives sinking into the side of his face.
"The hell?!"
"Don't worry everyone!" Assured Tatenashi, "Everything's been made from safe materials!"
"She lies as naturally as she breathes." Thought Thomas as he quickly booked it.
Lingyin already had a one-up on him, that being anything that counts as a weapon.
He needed one too.
Quickly, he picked up a candle holder. Judging from thickness of the metallic components, it was just strong enough to block attacks. Lingyin threw more knives, only to have Thomas wack them away.
She then brought out her own machete, and cleaved the candle holder in two.
She brought up her leg for a devastating curb stomp, and not caring he skirt was exposed in the process.
"Oi!" Protested Thomas, "Your pantsu are showing!" He cried as he quickly made hand signs.
Lingyin brought down her heel, but smashed the floor instead of Thomas.
"You're wearing glass slippers," Observed Thomas, "Is that really wise?"
"It's fine," Said Lingyin, attempting to kick Thomas, "They're made from tempered glass!"
Thomas put distance between him and Lingyin. Despite how hard she could hit, her range was still limited by the dress she had to wear.
Ichika and Tatenashi sat in the pit control room.
"Isn't this a little much?" Asked Ichika.
"Instructor Orimura told me to punish him hard. I can't exactly do that by halves, now can I?"
"But he's way out his depth! He can handle a single attacker, but not an entire squad with weapons!"
"Clearly you don't know him then."
"Huh?"
"I noticed that little Tommy is quite calculative when fighting." Observed Tatenashi, "He's able to perform moves on a higher level than he should. He doesn't panic about how out of his depth he is, but rather what makes his opponents tick."
Ichika stared at Thomas on the monitor.
"Simply put," Assured Tatenashi, "All he needs is a single opening to turn things around."
"But the other girls-!"
"He's got this."
Thomas had quickly evaded the bite of Lingyin's blade.
Without warning, his left eye blinked.
Cecelia was targeting him.
He knew because the reason he blinked was due to a light hitting his eye. He could see out of the vapor in the air that what blinded his eye was a laser sight. It originated from an elevated position. Thomas cross-referenced the list of girls he knew who used snipers. Cecelia was by and large the most proficient of the bunch when it came to ranged sniping attacks.
Thomas's head twisted right, narrowly avoiding getting shot in the head.
"Is Cecelia really trying to pull a Mista on me?"
Thomas then narrowly evaded another shot to his head.
"Never mind. Stupid question."
Thomas ran right past Lingyin, dodging her without breaking the flow.
"Hey!" She snapped, unable to give chase.
Thomas raced to the curtains, and pulled one down. The flapping curtain provided the perfect cover for him to get to the door of the ballroom unseen. He needed to find a strategy.
Knowing his luck, he had to face Charlotte, Laura, and Houki as well.
Thomas rested on one of the pillars next to the ballroom door to catch his breath.
"I am definitely going to collect on this favor." He growled under his breath.
He needed eyes on his opponents. The worst mistake to make in a fight would be to not know where your foe is. Thomas slipped out his phone, turned on the camera, and set it to selfie mode.
Cecelia looked with her scope as Lingyin finally wrestled her way out of the curtains.
"Drat," She grumbled, "He got away! That boy is too damn clever for his own good! It'd be a lot easier on him if he just handed over the crown to me!"
The girls all willingly participated in this play for a single reason.
Tatenashi decided, since she was punishing Thomas for Chifuyu, that she'd make him fight for his dorm room arrangements. Whichever of the girls managed to take the crown from Thomas during the play would replace him in Ichika's room. Although Tatenashi said she would do everything to keep Thomas safe from the lecherous parts of the student body, the girls felt uneasy about going through with the ordeal.
Although they all had some guilt for the deed, their drive to be with Ichika easily outweighed their guilt and justified their actions.
Cecelia didn't even consider Thomas's fate if he were forced out of the sanctity of the room he and Ichika shared. If he were thrown to the she-wolves, there'd be no way of knowing if Thomas would survive.
Not that such a thing was of concern at the moment.
"I'll apologize for this eventually," Muttered Cecelia, "But this is one battle I simply cannot lose, Thomas!"
She looked back through her scope.
Thomas noticed the light reflecting off the sniper rifle's shiny barrel, he'd located Cecelia using his phone's selfie camera.
However, Cecelia had found Thomas as well.
She'd seen the phone sticking out from the pillar.
"I have you know." She smiled.
Cecelia opened fire, punching a crack all over the phone's touchscreen. The sudden attack caused Thomas to fumble and drop the phone.
Judging from the damage, the vital parts of the phone, including the sim and memory card, were untouched. He could extract the data later, and get another phone. But Cecelia's shot was too close for comfort.
He was going to enjoy beating everyone senseless in this play.
Cecelia wasted no time in continuing. She fired more shots right through the pillar Thomas was hiding behind, missing each time. However, each time she fired, she was just even closer to hitting him.
She overshot him, thankfully.
Instead of hitting him, she moved to the right, and began shooting through holes through the door instead.
At this rate, she'd shoot his cover to the point it fell apart.
He needed to move, but out in the open environment, there was no cover for him to duck behind, he'd be a big bright blue target if he left, but he was screwed if he stayed. If he booked it, he still had a chance to survive.
"Thomas!" Called Charlotte from a bush nearby, "Over here!"
Thomas knew for a fact that Charlotte was trying to trick him.
However, his only chance was to run in her direction.
Cecelia had nearly shot the entire door to splinters.
Thomas leapt over the railing in front of him, and was now in the open.
The door exploded to dust and splinters as Cecelia finally caught sight of her target. Thomas ran a zigzag formation, reducing the risk of getting shot. However, each time he turned to another direction, the odds of getting hit while moving increased. Another danger was that Cecelia would get lucky, and shoot Thomas as he entered the line of sight down the middle of the zigzag.
Charlotte tried to give chase, as though she wanted to help...
...But Thomas knew better.
He ran right past her, but Cecelia got lucky, and struck him in the leg.
She was using rubber bullets.
Not lethal, but still painful.
Thomas fell right to the ground, writhing in his leg's agony.
Charlotte caught up.
However, instead of seizing her opportunity, Charlotte raced to put herself between Thomas and an oncoming hail of sniper rounds. She brought up what appeared to be a glass shield, and shielded Thomas from Cecelia's onslaught.
As soon as the bullets ceased, Charlotte put Thomas's arm around her shoulders, and carried him to safety.
She sat Thomas against a tree as he recovered from the injury.
He winced as he sat down, and put pressure on the injured area.
"M'fine." He cringed, "I can keep going."
"After that, you need to hide, they're bound to be right behind us!"
Thomas got to his feet.
"Wait! B-Before you go..." Requested Charlotte, "Can you leave the crown with me?"
"Sorry," He said, "But I know what my role is. If you're gonna try to take it, I dare you."
Charlotte jolted, trying to snatch the crown from Thomas's head before he could react.
Thomas knew what she would try to do, and quickly took the crown from his head and threw it aside to keep it away from Charlotte.
He then discovered why he wasn't supposed to take the crown off.
"For the Prince," Piped up Tatenashi, "His crown holds vital military secrets! To him, his country means everything! So should the crown ever be removed from his head..."
Suddenly, Thomas's body cackled with electricity, shocking him as though he were wearing the receiving end of a taser.
"...He gets an electrically shocked by his own remorse!"
Thomas whimpered in agony, the sting from the rubber bullet was gone, but that was because it was too painful for him to feel it anymore.
Charlotte was simply too unwilling to continue to grab the crown after watching the display. Thomas crawled all the way to the crown, and put it back on his head before he got shocked again.
"Oh, bless his heart! The Prince is a true hero to his nation! Is his love for his country so great that he'd torture himself for it? How tragic! If he were up against mere common criminals he'd be fine, but he's to survive the lovely ladies of Strike Force Cinderella all trying to capture him! It's so terrifying, but all we can do is watch over him! How agonizing! It'd be comical if it weren't so tragic!"
He pushed himself onto his knees.
"Shockingly," He spat back, "Repetition is just linguistically lazy!"
He turned back to Charlotte.
"Well, you heard the scary narrator lady," He said, "I'm not going through that again."
"That is not good..." Whimpered Charlotte.
"Curtains for you!" Snarled Lingyin, who'd finally caught up.
"You're in a dead end!" Shouted Cecelia, "Surrender!"
The two looked to the doorway of the ballroom, only to find Lingyin with knives in her hands, and Cecelia with her sniper rifle trained on them. Despite the renewed pain from pushing with his leg, Thomas leapt in front of Charlotte and grabbed her shield, blocking their assault.
There was no way the shield would withstand that much punishment for long.
Thomas thought quickly, and took out both Lingyin and Cecelia with his trademark calculated takedown.
He spun around, and threw the shield at Lingyin, who was hit right in the face by the attack.
That wouldn't take Lingyin out for long however.
Thomas ran up to Cecelia, quickly getting behind her. Before she could react, Thomas reached around her, and grabbed her sniper rifle but the butt and the barrel.
Without warning, he pulled the sniper rifle to him, causing it to forcibly smack Cecelia in the neck.
He spun her around, and removed one hand to push her out from his grip. The moment she turned back to him, however, he held the rifle by its barrel, and swung upward, causing the butt to smash Cecelia right in her jaw.
She nearly puked, Thomas had actually aimed to hit her behind the jaw, and force her to vomit.
Cecelia went down.
Lingyin just recovered, and already Thomas was upon her.
He took the rifle, and jabbed her in the belly with the butt. He brought the rifle up, smacking her in the face. He then ran and jumped up, and landed on Lingyin, forcing her to hit the ground hard.
She'd be down for a while.
Thomas got up, with the shield in-hand.
He then heard the sounds of someone cocking a rifle behind him.
"Surrender the crown!" Commanded Charlotte, finally getting back into the spirit of things.
"Yare Yare," Muttered Thomas. Moving quickly, he spun around, and wacked Charlotte with the shield, pressing her against the ground.
"What?" He asked, "You think this was the first time I tried being a Shield Hero?"
He then jabbed Charlotte in the neck. Charlotte dropped to her knees and grabbed her neck in pain.
Thomas simply ran, not wanting to fight any longer than he needed to.
He jumped off a cliff, into a crater.
He instantly buckled in the landing, and fell to the ground.
Thomas grimaced. His leg was still sore from the rubber bullet Cecelia shot him with. He wanted to stop. He needed to stop. He just couldn't find a way out of this fight. No doubt, Houki and Laura were around, waiting for him. He had to stop.
However, he'd keep going, just to spite them all.
Thomas forced himself to his feet, and limped off.
He smiled.
He could hear the entire room fill with uproar as the school girls all cheered him on.
The stage turned to nighttime as Thomas trudged his way up the stairs of a tall tower.
He'd just reached the top...
...Only to find Laura standing in the center, waiting patiently for him as she held two combat knives.
"I've been vaiting for you." Said Laura.
"Oh my God!" Said Thomas, "You don't say? I've been waiting for everyone else!"
"Zhe crown ish mine!" Said Laura as she lunged for Thomas.
Thomas blocked with the shield as he continued his banter.
"Y'know, if we were all in this, we really should've come up with a better schedule! Y'see, no-one communicated any of this with me, so you can imagine my surprise when you all pop up without warning!"
Laura grew frustrated, since Thomas wasn't taking the situation seriously.
"I mean, we could've gotten the gang together-!"
"Shut up!"
"Why're you getting so mad for? I'm just trying to talk to you!"
Laura growled louder.
Thomas resisted the urge to giggle. If he was going down, he'd go down with at least some sort of comfort.
Laura increased in ferocity, furiously trying to hammer Thomas down.
Eventually, she was able to hook her knives on the edge of the shield, and yank it out of Thomas's hand.
She then pointed a knife at Thomas, who was now defenseless.
"You cannot escape!" Declared Laura, "You are crippled, outmatched, and hopelessly defenseless. Now, surrender zhe crown to me."
Tatenashi giggled.
"Sorry, sweetie," She cooed, "Love's no fun without obstacles!"
She then pressed a certain button on the controls.
Ichika panicked.
"Are you serious?!"
"This is punishment, Ichika!" She affirmed, "He's not supposed to save himself!"
Suddenly, Thomas could hear the whistle of artillery.
He moved without thinking.
He snatched up Laura, ignored his aching leg, and ducked as he could feel the deafening boom and heat of artillery strikes right behind him. Laura was offset by the sudden move from Thomas, and quickly went into a haze of heart-racing frenzy.
Thomas would've helped her calm down, if he wasn't already doing his best not to blown to kingdom come.
"I am going to hit Tatenashi so hard when this is over..." He growled.
He noticed a zipline.
The Student Council designed every aspect of the stage. This was rigged specifically for this purpose.
Thomas tucked Laura under his arm, weakly sprinting to the zipline, and grabbing a grip with his free hand.
"C'mon Laura!" He said, "Time to check outta this hotel!"
Thomas carried Laura the entire way down.
Laura wasn't used to being manhandled, and found herself very conflicted.
The moment Thomas's foot touched the ground at the end of the zipline, he gently dropped Laura and spun in a full 360 to cancel the inertia.
"Welp," Said Thomas, "That's all the time I've got. Time to go home and play on my new 3DS with all the new games!" He said as he hopped off.
The pain from the rubber bullet was finally wearing off, thankfully.
Thomas ran around to another tower, quickly scaling up the side by a ladder.
When he reached the rooftop, he saw his last opponent.
Houki stood at the far end of the roof, a katana in her hands and an angry look on her face.
Or rather, a normal look on her face.
She drew a second katana, and threw it at Thomas's feet.
"I'll play fair," Said Houki, "I'll give you at least a small chance to survive."
Thomas picked up the katana.
He breathed in, he breathed out.
Both of them knew there was a difference between fighting Ichika and fighting Houki. Ichika was a lot more lax in his technique, allowing Thomas to find some way of winning by overpowering him.
However, Houki was a lot stronger.
And Thomas didn't have any of the tricks up his sleeve this time.
This time, all he could was find a way to beat Houki on her terms. Thomas quickly rested the flat tip of the blade on the top of his fist, and gave Houki a glare in hopes of offsetting her.
"Do you understand?!" Snapped Houki, "Hand over the crown now, and you'll save yourself a beating from me!"
"Yare yare daze..." Muttered Thomas, "You don't have any exploitable flaws. In fact, I think you're by far the toughest, and the strongest of the girls in our friends' circle. I'd be terrified if I weren't so calm."
Houki blinked in confusion.
"However," Continued Thomas, "Boys...no...Men like me have a certain philosophy when it comes to confronting girls."
He locked eyes with Houki.
"There's still...Just one strategy left."
"What?!" Said Houki, confused by Thomas's hype for one last technique.
"And that's..."
Suddenly, Thomas plunged his katana into the roof itself, cutting right through it as though it were made of tissue. He couldn't confront Houki directly this way, escape was his best, and only option.
"...To run away!"
Thomas fell through the roof, leaving Houki stuck with trying to find a quick way down that wouldn't disable her.
Thomas was writhing in absolute agony.
Doing the stupid thing was stupid for a reason.
He needed to quit writhing, and get on his feet. If he was right, the girls would all converge on his position very soon.
He needed a trick only a magician could think of...
Thomas looked around the room.
Nothing other than the usual, curtains, candlesticks, suits of armor-Wait.
There was a suit of armor on display right behind him.
Suits of armor were something he could use.
The girls bust through the door as though it wasn't even there.
"You've been got, Thomas!" They declared, "Give up! You know you can't win against us!"
Thomas quickly whipped around, and grabbed the suit of armor with both hands. As he turned back to the girls, he lifted the armor over his head. He threw with all of his might, the cladding of the armor coming undone and flying in a cluster at the girls.
They were so preoccupied with the attack, they didn't notice Thomas stuffing something under his coat.
Thomas ran, and jumped right through a window, rolling as he landed outside.
He needed a place he could hide. In order to enact his strategy, he needed a place where no-one, not even the audience, could see him.
The girls were still in the room, trying to figure out where Thomas escaped to. At most, he'd only have a few seconds to get further out of sight and range before they caught wind of his trail.
Where? Where could he hide?!
There were cameras recording his every move, that much he could tell. It was most likely how the girls were able to find him every time.
He needed a blind spot. Somewhere where the cameras couldn't see.
Thomas looked to the tallest tower on the stage.
It was his best option.
A minute later...
"You think he escaped?" Suggested Ichika.
"No. The only way out is through the locker rooms under the stage, and we covered them up so he couldn't find them." Muttered Tatenashi.
"Last I saw, he was at the tallest tower, but he vanished at the base!" Said Ichika.
"He must have a plan of some sort." Considered Tatenashi.
"How?"
"He looked a bit distorted after he threw that armor display. I don't know why, but it looked like something was under his coat on his back.
"Weird."
The girls had all teamed up temporarily to locate Thomas.
They'd settle their argument after they'd secured him, but they needed him first.
However, Thomas-as crafty as he was-had already managed to cease being observed by seemingly anyone. The cameras lost him, the audience couldn't see him, and the girls-despite searching everything they could see-couldn't locate him.
They didn't wait very long for him to appear again, however.
It was Cecelia, in the ballroom who found him.
She saw his pant-leg move behind a curtain.
"Aha! I've caught you!" She announced, "The is like Hamlet! You're behind the curtains, like Polonius. And like Polonius, there you shall meet the end!"
Cecelia threw open the curtains, only to be greeted with a controlled explosion.
Although it didn't harm her, it disoriented her greatly.
The crowds were in awe.
Was this Thomas's doing?
Thomas raced through the smoke cloud created by the explosion, completely ignoring Cecelia.
The boy had constructed something of a smoke bomb with whatever thing he could grab, and set it off in Cecelia's face.
He'd purposely drew her in.
Thomas ran outside the ballroom, running near the trees. His wounds had finally stopped hurting, and he began to run with such a spring in his step, all the girls could see was a champion making a victory lap.
The audience went into an uproar.
"Once again," Announced Tatenashi, "Our beloved Prince had managed to escape the clutches of Strike Force Cinderella! There was only a single reason he'd be able to continue his seemingly vain attempts to resist their temptations!"
"It's the love of his country!" Joined in Ichika, "The love of his country is the only true romance in his life! To the Prince, the country was the loveliest maiden in all the world! He helped her children-her people prosper. And so, the Prince found himself married to his country! The Prince's crown being a testament to that love! To cast away the crown would mean disavowing his lovely wife!"
The audience swooned over Ichika's interpretation.
Thomas, who'd listened while running, smiled.
He'd definitely ask for a copy of the play recording when this was all over.
The girls were all beginning to converge upon Thomas.
Just as he planned.
Houki had managed to catch up to Thomas as he ran. She raised her sword, aiming to trip Thomas by making a light sweep of her blade at his ankles. That way, she wouldn't have to get too violent.
However, Thomas had other plans.
He quickly removed his sash, and threw it at Houki, who'd become blinded as the sash went into her face. The quick deed had caught her unawares, and she wound up tripping on her own dress and falling over.
Thomas spied Charlotte a few meters ahead, her PDW pointed right for him. She'd planned to take out both of Thomas's legs this time. She'd have to make sure to his a pressure point to open up enough time for her to effectively stop him.
Thomas had learned from before.
But he'd also studied Batman's battle tactics.
Without stopping, before Charlotte pulled the trigger, Thomas took off his coat. He'd made sure to keep the right sleeve on, and only took out his left arm. He'd grasped the coat with his right hand.
Charlotte opened fire.
Thomas jumped into the air, throwing up his coat in front of him.
The coat had masked Thomas as he curled up into a ball in midair. Charlotte opened fire with her PDW, each shot going right through the coat, but not actually hitting Thomas. He'd used one of Batman's most used strategies.
The coat, in this context, served as a misdirection function. As Thomas curled behind it, he'd masked his body. Charlotte, in truth, couldn't actually tell where Thomas's body was, and couldn't aim properly.
Thomas ran past Charlotte, violently draping the coat over her face as he continued.
As of now, all Thomas had left on his upper-torso was a vest, a dress shirt, leather cuffs, and gloves.
At least, that's what was visible.
Thomas slowed down, trying to catch his breath before Lingyin and Laura could attack. Quickly, he took off his gloves, and filled them with pebbles. He then placed the gloves in his pockets.
He'd need them for later.
Suddenly, Thomas was forced against a tree behind him.
Lingyin had used blunt ranged attacks, and pinned him against the tree with bolas, and tied him down.
The binds that held him were quite weak, Thomas could tell their tensile strength was pitiful. All he had to do was push away from the tree, and they'd come apart without struggle. Although it'd only take a small flex of his muscles to break free, this imprisonment had secretly opened up an opportunity for Thomas.
Lingyin smiled, she finally caught Thomas.
"There's no way you can escape me now!" She sneered, "The crown is mine and there's nothing you can do!"
"Oh no!" Cried Tatenashi, "The Prince is trapped! Could this be the end?!"
Lingyin brought in her machete, ready to cut the crown clean off his head.
Thomas was smiling however. He chuckled as his eyes were closed.
"What's so funny?"
"Well, since I have a look of confidence about me..."
He locked eyes with Lingyin.
"...This is a grin of victory."
"In your dreams!"
"You're next line-" Said Thomas, "Is, 'Curtains for you!'"
"Curtains for-What the heck?!"
"Now you're gonna say, 'How could you have possibly called it?!'"
"How could you have possibly called it-What the actual fuck?!"
"You want this crown, then take it from my head if you dare!"
"Fine! By! ME!"
Lingyin's machete swung in for the blow.
(Song-Fukutsu ~Mushin no Sakebi~-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.)
"But," Countered Thomas, "You might find..."
Suddenly, Thomas made a high standing kick aimed right at the blade.
"...You're in for quite a shock!"
With the roll of his head, the crown fell to the ground. Thomas's body cackled with electricity all over. However, unlike before, Thomas seemed unaffected by the electric charge, as he kicked the tip of the machete with the tip of his foot.
The blade conducted electricity perfectly, giving Lingyin the shock of her life.
Lingyin jumped back in pain, stunned by the unnatural counterattack.
"Oh my!" Cried Tatenashi, "What a brain! Using his own emotions to fight the forces of evil! He just turned a defensive move into an incredible counterattack! Who would think of such a thing?!"
Thomas finally pushed onward, snapping the cables that tied him to the tree.
"My heart belongs to my dear, loving country!" He declared, "My every move is a symphony of her beauty! Even if it means I must abandon her romantic graces, I will fight for her! I am willing to do anything to be her champion, can you say the same?!"
With his electrically-infused fists, Thomas unleashed a flurry of punches at blinding speeds. His arms became mere afterimages, as he fired away at Lingyin. Lingyin was still reeling from Thomas's counter, and was absolutely devastated by Thomas's assault.
"Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!"
Thomas moved so quickly, it seemed almost superhuman in nature.
With a powerful haymaker, Thomas sent Lingyin flying.
"ORA!" He declared as he'd sent her back.
Thomas quickly raced to Lingyin, and caught her before she hit to ground, setting her down gently.
But how did Thomas manage to negate the electric shock? Each time he took off the crown, he'd be shocked senseless!
Laura stepped up to face him.
She'd gotten him off-guard, and would've taken him in a single blow. For some reason however, she stopped mere centimeters away from touching him. Thomas leapt back to retrieve the crown, and keep watch on Laura.
"Whats wrong?" He demanded, "I thought you would've defeated me, and stolen the crown!"
"I know vhat you done to protect yourself!" Declared Laura, "You've adorned something under your clothes, and safely conducted the electricity around you, like a high-voltage Faraday harness!"
"That's right!" Answered Thomas, pulling up his shirt to reveal the truth.
Thomas had somehow managed to put on chainmail armor.
He'd also taken measures to place it carefully under his clothes, in order hide it way.
"But how?! Vhere did you get chainmail armor?!" Demanded Laura.
"Simple!" Explained Thomas, "When you all had me cornered, I threw the suit of armor at you! however, while you were distracted, I secretly took the chainmail armor from the mix, and stuff it under my coat as I escaped! And, that time that I managed to hide from all observation was when I'd put the chainmail on under my clothes! And now, I have the chance to properly fight back!"
The crowd was in awe.
"I see...What a smart boy." Cooed Tatenashi.
"But...How'd he-?!"
"Simple!" Explained Tatenashi, "His costume was outfitted with an apparatus designed to shock him when he took off the crown. I suspect he figured this out, and, when he put on the chainmail, he used it as some sort of lightning rod to safely conduct the electricity around his body, rather than through it. The chainmail in this case can not only help counter attacks, but act like a Faraday cage!"
"I see.."
"However..."
"What?"
"It's risky. The chainmail can protect him from things like swords and knives, that's obvious. However...Chainmail is too easily penetrated by ranged attacks."
"You mean...?"
"They can still shoot him."
"Oh no..."
"They won't get the chance, however."
"Why not?"
"Well," Snickered Tatenashi, "It's almost time for the interactive part of the play!"
Thomas put the crown back on his head.
That trick won't work twice.
Laura came down upon with her knife underhanded. Thomas quickly countered by grabbing her wrist, and forcing her to poke herself in a sensitive area of her belly. He quickly ran off afterward, in need of another advantage.
Most of the other girls most likely recovered by now.
A sniper round flying right across his face confirmed that.
Thomas stumbled and tripped to a stop, the crown falling off his head as he hit the ground face first.
The girls all regrouped, with a still-disoriented Lingyin in tow.
"You've lost!" Declared Cecelia, "You're clever, I'll give you that. Excellent use of the electric shock, and ingenious use of other resources. But you're cleverness is useless! Useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, USELEEEESS!"
Cecelia aimed her rifle, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Cecelia had realized she was out of ammo. Houki pushed her aside, and smiled at Thomas.
"You're done!"
Thomas removed the crown and strung it on his shirt.
Houki brought Lingyin's machete down upon him. The crowd all gasped. Everything fell silent, and froze. The chainmail was designed to block most attacks, but could it really withstand the sharp cut of a machete?
They didn't have to find out.
Thomas had caught the blade just before it could strike him down. The blade was caught between his palms, and refused to budge. Thomas quickly twisted the katana out of Houki's grip, and kicked her away.
Charlotte raised a PDW, running to Thomas's right.
He had to think quickly, his coat wasn't here to save him again.
Thomas dropped the sword, and pulled the gloves out of his pockets. Acting faster than Charlotte could see, or even think, he threw his gloves at her, spraying pebbles as they traveled through the air.
Charlotte quickly brushed away the pebbles as best as she could.
She left her self open.
Thomas picked up the machete, and rushed in with the stance of a knight.
The crown was still off his head, and with his touch, electricity conducted itself through the blade. With Charlotte still distracted by the pebbles, he had just enough time to disarm her.
He turned to sharp front of the machete towards him, and slashed upward. In the process, he'd cut right through Charlotte's PDW, rendering the weapon useless. He then brought the hilt of the machete down upon Charlotte's pressure point, taking her down.
As Charlotte fell, Thomas dropped the blade, and caught her, setting her down gently.
He still had to be a gentleman, after all. It would be unbecoming of him to not help a woman in her time of need.
In the process however, the crown came off his shirt, and fell to the ground.
The remaining girls all took positions against him.
The crown was 2 meters away from Thomas, to his left.
"Vhat vill you do now? All of your strategies were only useful for a single-use, there is no tactic left!"
Thomas stood undaunted.
"I've got a plan." He stated.
The crowd gasped. The girls gasped. Ichika gasped. Tatenashi was too curious to gasp.
(Song-Overdrive-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.)
What could Thomas possibly have up his sleeve now?
"I was planning on saving it as a last resort, since I'd already used it before..."
"Did I hear him right?"
"Uh-huh." He confirmed, "One last all-or-nothing gambit!"
"All-or-nothing gambit you say?!" Cried Laura.
"Yeah." Thomas said confidently, "It's my final move."
"Vhat does it invlove?!"
Thomas gave the girls a confident smirk, and chuckled with his mouth closed.
"You can run if you want." Dared Koichi, "As long as my luggage is safe, I don't care."
"However," Continued Thomas, "Boys...no...Men like me have a certain philosophy when it comes to confronting girls."
"There's still..." Said Thomas, "One strategy left."
"The Kujo family...No, the Joestar family has a certain philosophy when it comes to fighting." Said Jotaro.
He glared.
"There's still...One strategy left."
"I, Joseph Joestar, have been in a number of situations like this. " Said Joseph.
"I have one last plan!" Announced Joseph.
"One last all-or-nothing gambit!"
"It's my final move!"
"I save it for last."
"Time to use my legs!"
"My legs are perfectly healthy. So, I'll use my legs!"
"That's our ticket right there."
"So, what're you gonna do?" Asked Smokey.
"Did I hear you right, Jojo?" Asked Speedwagon.
"Listen up! Do it 'till your last breath!"
"I have to just burst right through!" Snapped Josuke.
"I have to..." Said Josuke.
"And that's..." Started Jotaro.
"And that's..." Joseph's words echoed in the back of his head.
"To..." Muttered Joseph.
Joseph gave Kars a confident grin.
Joseph turned away from the diner.
Star Platinum smashed a hole right through the floor.
Giorno gave Koichi a grin.
Joseph chuckled, and lunged.
Thomas whipped around, and lunged.
He snatched the crown, and sprinted at full speed right away.
"NIGERUNDAYO!"
"Aw man!" Cried Ichika, "I knew he was gonna do that!"
Tatenashi simply sat back.
She was definitely going to get the school to distribute copies of this play.
The girls all roared, and gave chase.
However, no-one could catch up to Thomas this time. No matter what they did, Thomas always remained a veritable distance ahead.
Thomas ran into a forest.
Charlotte pulled out another PDW, and opened fire at Thomas's back.
All the girls who carried weapons that had ranged attacks all opened up on Thomas as he ran through the forest. Thomas was barely able to evade getting shot for a while, and nearly took a throwing knife to the head.
He pulled Lingyin's machete from his belt, and in a single stroke, cut down three trees in front of him without stopping.
The girls stopped abruptly in order to not be crushed by the falling trees blocking their path.
Thomas threw away the machete into a random bush, and put the crown back on his head. He ran all the way through the forest, and reached the clearing on the other side of the trees...
...Only to find a dead end.
"Oh my God..." He muttered.
Currently, he was surrounded from behind by the forest, and the girls, who were still trying to catch up. His front was blocked by a wall from the palace. His only chance was to start climbing.
Thomas quickly scaled the wall all the way to the roof without looking back.
He sighed.
"What time is it?"
He'd left his watch with his clothes in the locker room, and was unable to tell the time. It'd felt like hours, due to the excessive layer of sweat on his skin. At most, the current time had to have been 1:00 in the afternoon.
At least, he hoped it was.
He really wanted to get back to the Maid Cafe. Who knows what had happened in his absence. He had to get back there and make sure that nothing bad had happened to the Maid Cafe.
But first, he had to find a way out of this sub-par Disney production.
"Don't think it's over just yet!" Boomed Tatenashi, "And now, it's time for the Interactive Play's walk-in contestants to participate! Join in on the fun as one of the Cinderellas trying to get the Prince's crown!"
"OH NO!" He cried.
A drawbridge leading outside the stage fell open, releasing a massive horde of girls into the stage.
As soon as all the walk-in participants were on the stage, the drawbridge was then reeled back up, sealing them all inside.
Thomas stopped down and sat. He was wheezing, badly. He was currently covered in a whole layer of sweat on his skin. He was also exhausted, his legs had been already pushed to the brink, and felt as though they'd cramp at the knees any moment.
There was no way out.
Tatenashi was a professional.
Thomas could tell that she was smart when planning things. As of now, the situation was currently 99% unwinnable, with there being no exits, and nothing being designated for Thomas.
He could use the electrical shock, but he didn't want to hurt any students who were walk-in participants. The only weapons he knew of were in the hands of the girls playing Cinderellas. He'd already used almost all of his countermeasures. Running away might not work this time, there were simply too many.
His best chance was to find a locker room door, but they were all covered and masked as part of the grassy turf, rendering it impossible for him to have time to dig around for an exit.
It was only a matter of time before he was worn down, and overwhelmed. Ichika's little harem was easy enough for him to handle, since it was only a group of 5 girls he didn't feel bad about fighting.
However, Tatenashi had let loose a massive legion of average schoolgirls. Sure, Thomas could take them. But, they had numbers, desperation, and worst of all; Their lust for him being the driving force.
What could he do?
Was he really losing the will to keep going?
He could hear them, all converging upon his position.
"Stay still, Scott~!" Cooed one girl from afar.
"He's mine, all mine!" Shouted another.
Their footsteps were nearing the base of the palace. It wouldn't be long before they'd scale the wall, with whatever they'd use to climb.
Thomas was spent. He didn't even try to stand up.
He had no strategy left this time.
Was this the end?
"As the chase carried on," Spoke Tatenashi, "The Prince found his strength diminishing rapidly! It felt as though the unbeatable Strike Force Cinderella was an army! Whatever he tried, there were just too many of them for him to fend off all on his own! He could only pray to the Heavens that he'd be saved, despite knowing that no-one was coming to save him!"
Thomas realized just how exhausted he was. He tired getting up, preparing to run, only to fall onto his back. He didn't fall from being struck down, but rather, that he simply didn't have the strength to get back up.
He lay there, waiting for the end to come.
By his predictions, the horde was at best halfway up the side of the wall. They'd only gotten this far so slowly due to infighting, trying to get ahead of each other.
"Is this the end of our beloved Prince?! Oh, the horror! The suspense! I can't watch, but I'll watch anyway!"
Thomas closed his eyes. It was offsetting how quickly he did, as they felt so heavy.
He could feel himself slipping away.
"If only there was someone to save him! A hero, man or woman, in shining armor who would rescue him from the she-wolves! But there was none! No-one was there to save the Prince from this tragedy!"
By now, the horde was probably reaching the roof.
It seemed to the crowd that it was all over.
Reiko, who'd been watching at the back of the audience, turned away, and quickly vanished.
"No!" Cried one audience member, who shot up from her seat, "Keep going, Prince!"
Suddenly, a trend had begun.
Girls all began to stand up out of their seats, and cheer their dashing Prince to keep going in his darkest hour. Never before had the girls all unanimously come together, and petition such a champion to continue his struggle.
"Your country needs you!"
"Get up, Prince, GET UP!"
Ichika himself was calling out to encourage Thomas to get up. Thomas was pretty sure people were crying at this point. But the poor boy simply couldn't move. Any time he tried, his sore joints would buckle, not even getting off the ground.
Had he finally given up?
The girls had began to finally set foot on the rooftop.
"Let's make a happily-ever-after, my dear Prince~!" Giggled one girl.
"You're all mine, now~!" Cooed another.
If he could get to his feet, Thomas calculated he had a single second to act.
A single second to save himself, and turn back the tide!
What did he used to do when the doubt was creeping in?
The girls inched closer.
One girl reached for Thomas.
With the big failure staring at him in the face...
...Thomas found that his will to fight onward sprang into action!
Thomas snatched her by the wrist.
"Sorry in advance." He apologized.
Right after, he used his entire body to throw the girl at another group of oncoming girls. Using the momentum he'd built from doing so, Thomas quickly spun around on his back, and made an acrobatic flip onto his feet!
The crowd flooded the room with tears of joy, now that their heroic Prince had finally pulled himself together.
They once again roared with awe.
"That's our Prince!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"For your country!"
Thomas, despite knowing he'd feel guilty later, quickly countered each and every girl attempting to touch him. He knew it'd only be mere seconds before the girls would overwhelm him.
However, behind him was a long drop to the ground.
He then remembered another lesson from Burn Notice.
He could take the drop.
Thomas turned tail, and with only a mere second's hesitation, began a mad dash for the end of the roof. The girls gave chase, blind to the danger by their lust. Thomas knew full well how to escape.
His plan heavily relied on the hope that all the girls were on the roof, rather than scattered around the stage.
Honne, one of the participants, realized what Thomas was doing.
"Wait, Tommy Teddy!"
Thomas didn't stop.
He ran at full speed, and jumped right off the roof.
Time slowed down.
Could he stick the landing? Why have second thought now? Why did he do this in the first place?!
No sense in contemplating the why, but much rather the how.
Thomas readied himself for the landing.
He hit the ground on his toes, and rolled right into a sprint as he raced to safety. The girls realized their actions, and did their best to slow down before the ran right off the roof and hurt themselves.
Thomas laughed joyfully once he was out of their sight.
That actually worked!
But that wouldn't stop them for long, he had to find an exit, fast.
Thomas ran to the opposite side of the palace, buying himself time before the girls all found him again. As he ran, he didn't notice something of a trapdoor open right in front of him.
Without warning, an arm reached out and snagged Thomas's ankle.
He was then pulled through, and the trapdoor snapped shut.
No-one above was the wiser.
Thomas hyperventilated.
"Shhh..." Cooed Reiko, "If we keep quiet, they won't find you in here."
Thomas's breathing calmed down, as he sighed with exhaustion.
"T-Thanks for..." Thomas stopped.
He'd just gotten a good look at his savior.
Reiko Makigami.
Thomas realized he was in trouble.
Reiko was a corporate businesswoman. Although visitors were allowed during the school festival, there was no reason for a businesswoman to be lurking around inside of the Academy's locker room.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what was wrong.
"...The save." He finished.
"Your welcome, sweetie~!" She cooed, turning to face him.
"So," He panted, still exhausted, "Mind telling me what you're after?"
"You're so smart!" She said cheerfully, "You caught me red-handed~!"
"I won't ask three times. What. Are. You. After?"
"Well," Explained Reiko, "I thought I'd take this time and opportunity to abduct you and steal your Rafale-Revive as a bonus!"
"Why as a bonus?"
"What I'm saying," She snapped, "Is you're coming with me, whether you want to or not!"
She attempted to unleash a kick, only to have Thomas catch it, and flip her onto the ground.
Reiko rolled back onto her feet quickly, however.
"You're so precious~!" She swooned, "The way you fight back so pointlessly is adorable! I'm going to enjoy it when I bring you home with me!"
Thomas was at a serious disadvantage.
As he countered her kick, he could feel how much stronger than him she was. He needed to deploy his Revive. However, he'd also taken off his Revive pendant when he put on the costume.
And it was doubtful that Reiko was going to give him enough time to find his locker.
Reiko sighed.
"I guess I'll have to be a little violent if I'm going to bring you home."
Thomas gave her his trademark glare.
(Song-Roundabout-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)
To be continued.
A/N: Wow, this is my longest chapter yet! And, not only did I make a ton of Jojo references, I also made a few references to things like The Bumblebee Movie, Rising of the Shield Hero, and I think more!
Go ahead, and leave a review telling me how many references you got!
I want to make Ichika and Thomas's warrior costumes a recurring thing, which will happen eventually. But for now, I'll go into detail about their appearances!
The Great Swordsman Ichika: A set of samurai armor constructed with tough leather for mobility and protection, and two katanas with blue sheaths, despite usually only using one. Mostly white, with navy blue accents. The idea was that it was reminiscent of the Byakushki's color scheme.
I went with this idea since it seems fitting for Ichika to be a samurai, and it'd look pretty cool if he was too.
Sir Thomas, Knight of Servitude: A set of knight armor mostly designed similar to Azrael's costume in Batman: Arkham Knight. Instead of a hood and mask, he wears a green Templar Knight helmet. The armor is colored green, with a white cross on the chest. The idea was to represent his Rafale-Revive, but in a way that seems more modern.
I used Azreal's costume for most of the shape, since he seems like a "modern knight" is design.
Next time: Spectacularly Amazing.
Thomas finds himself trapped with a dangerous woman! But all the while, He wonders what the attacker's questionable motives are. Rather than his IS data, she want to abduct him. With seemingly no way out, Thomas finds his back to the corner.
But can he find a way to save himself?
Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!