A lot of stuff went down last chapter, and a lot more is gonna go down this chapter! Thanks to everyone who's supported this story so far, because there's going to be a lot more to come.
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
The IS Academy's First Year Class is in mortal danger!
Trapped on a runaway monorail train Chifuyu has to find a way to keep everyone calm and fix the already-botched situation. But She's about to learn that if she doesn't get control of the ordeal soon, the students will pay the price!
Tatenashi is in Squall's clutches, Houki and Nana are cornered by Autumn, Madoka has already dealt with Ichika, and Thomas is missing entirely! It's a race against time and the enemy to find Thomas and secure him before it's too late!
But Phantom Task is out to get Thomas by any means necessary, including killing anyone that gets in their way! Can the IS Academy find a way to fight in a hopelessly unwinnable battle?
Thomas and Ichika will have to do the impossible if they hope to win!
Will Ichika and Thomas pull themselves together once more, and save the day?
Or will Phantom Task have the last laugh?
"What're we gonna do?!" Cried Kanzashi, almost on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Ve must avait orders from Mentor Orimura." Affirmed Laura.
Chifuyu quickly gave the order.
"Contact the Academy, immediately!" She commanded, "Tell them we need Military backup, stat!"
"Understood, Ma'am!" Maya quickly went to make the call.
"Someone, get a line to Scott!" Chifuyu shouted, "If anyone has his contact info, use it and fill his damn inbox!"
"Ma'am!" Cried Lingyin, after making an attempt.
"What's wrong?"
"Somethings happening," Said Lingyin, "Scott's not picking up! Something keeps blocking him, it won't go to voice mail! Someone else, get Orimura on the line, now!"
"Oh...That's what they were doing..."
Chifuyu finally figured out what happened.
Phantom Task had lured Thomas away from the group and isolated him. A quick glance to Maya confirmed her theory. Phantom Task wasn't blocking them on the train, but rather, Thomas outside.
"Orimura's not picking up either!" Cried Charlotte, "I'm getting voice mail, but he won't pick up!"
"Just where the hell did Thomas go?" Muttered Chifuyu.
It wasn't like Thomas to just up and vanish.
If Thomas had a run-in with Phantom Task, they were most likely in the process of herding him further away from the Class. Thomas also never went to Kyoto, despite going to Japan many times as a young boy. The lay of the land was still new to Thomas, which meant the longer Phantom Task ushered Thomas, the higher the chances of him being completely lost were.
Ichika wasn't responding, which only meant one thing.
He was most likely already dealt with by Phantom Task.
Chifuyu began to fear the worst.
Minutes ago...
Thomas skated to a stop.
Squall wasn't chasing him.
However, it was obvious that either Squall was giving him a head start, or she decided to send someone else after Thomas in her stead. Either way, Thomas had to be careful, Kyoto was still new to him, so he was at a disadvantage already.
The boy quickly began to remove his school uniform, revealing his original pilot uniform underneath.
Thomas felt a twinge, and jumped into the air.
Kana lunged from the bushes where Thomas stood, attempting to snatch him.
"Why'd you dodge?!" Cried Kana.
Thomas landed, and gave her visible confusion.
"Shoulda known you wouldn't be subtle after dropping cover."
"D'aw! I missed you too, Tommy!"
"So, I heard you have a sibling, and it wasn't B-S?"
"That's actually true! But I don't wanna spoil the surprise! But...If you wanna come over to my place, meet the family, I'll tell you who~!"
"Hard pass."
"How cruel! So dominating! I LOVE IT!" Kana raced in, her arms wide for a hug.
Minutes later...
Thomas was sprinting at top speed through the forest, utterly lost amongst the bases of all the tall tress.
"C'mon Tommy!" Called Kana, "I just wanna spend time with you!"
"Yeah?" Said Thomas, "Then how 'bout a game of Tag, 'cause your it!"
"Alright then! Here I come~!"
Kana lunged for Thomas.
Thomas launched with the Revive's left leg.
"O~oh!" Swooned Kana, "Neat trick!"
Thomas remained silent.
He needed to get above the treetops, so he could get view of one of Kyoto's landmarks and get his location from there. However, if he tried to take flight, Kana would most likely pull him back down. He couldn't risk trying to get his bearings until he lost Kana.
"Easier said than done." He thought, "Kana's got me in her sights, and seems to find me no matter how far out of sight I am."
Suddenly, Kana's arm was enveloped with a bright light.
Thomas jumped to avoid getting snatched by the right arm of Kana's IS Unit.
"Wow!" Kana complimented, "So light on your feet!"
Thomas landed behind her, only to have her evade him as he tried to attack.
"You thought that would work?!" Teased Kana, "Don't be dumb! We're pretty much one and the same, anything you think or do isn't going to help you beat me! I know every move you make before you even ma-?!"
Kana was cut short as Thomas delivered the Revive's knee to her belly.
"That punch was pulled," said Thomas, "I was just putting you into a position I could hit you!"
"So...Smart..." Kana said, winded by Thomas's attack.
Thomas used the Revive's knee to launch himself back to the ground. He hit the ground running as Kana crashed to the floor.
Thomas didn't look back.
Nor did he care to.
He was far more pressed with getting his bearings.
Thomas fully-deployed the Revive as he flew out of the forest.
He saw all sorts of lovely and distinctive architecture. However, he had no idea what the buildings were nor did he have a means of figuring out what they were.
"Maybe I should've taken that brochure at the hotel..." Thomas reflected.
Thomas was brought back to reality as he narrowly evaded an oncoming energy bolt.
Sure enough, Kana was now chasing him in her one fully-deployed IS Unit.
He IS had golden antennae, and a white headset. She had to round shoulder pads, and a large and protruding white chestplate to cover her bosom. In one hand, she held a Javelin Lance. In the other, she held a Fusion Cannon.
"So, what's that rig named?" Inquired Thomas.
"This? This's a custom 3rd Gen named the White Wolf!" Cheerfully answered Kana, "But, really, I just gotta know..."
Kana struck a pose from a fashion magazine.
"...Do you like it? I asked Mama to make sure it brings out my best features just for you!"
Thomas simply had to be honest.
"I like the modesty with the chestplate," Said Thomas, "It actually feels like you're trying to protect that area, unlike literally everyone else."
Kana gasped as a wide grin came on her lips.
"Yay! You like it! I'm! So! HAPPY!"
As Kana began to swoon, Thomas began to frantically look as far as his eye could see.
He needed something, anything to go to. His current location just wasn't going to cut it if he wanted to find his way back to the others.
Elsewhere...
Madoka hovered in the air, watching over Ichika.
The boy had been sent right into the ground, the Byakushiki's arm being the only thing that saved him from being incinerated.
He wasn't moving in any way.
"Finally..." Madoka said, caressing a locket, "At last, I can fight her..."
She opened the locket, revealing a picture of Chifuyu's face inside.
"...Chifuyu Orimura."
The Kurokishi took off, no doubt to find Chifuyu.
On the Monorail...
"Sarashki!" Ordered Chifuyu, "See if you can hack into the Train's mainframe and get it to stop."
"Yes Ma'am!" Said Kanzashi as she pulled up an interface to the train's computer systems.
Suddenly, the interface flashed red.
"What?!"
"What's wrong?"
"I can't get in! The entire system's been compromised!"
Chifuyu grit her teeth.
"They're very thorough."
"Ma'am," Inquired Maya, "What're they after?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's Phantom Task, and they after Scott again."
"Is that why he's missing?"
"I hope not. Scott's able to handle himself, so I doubt he'll come quietly."
Chifuyu once again looked out the window, searching for a sign of either of the boys.
On the Observation Tower...
Squall had Tatenashi trapped.
The further Tatenashi struggled, the closer she came to pushing herself off the roof of the tower.
But for some reason, she grinned.
"You won't get a way with this."
Squall chuckled.
"Remember that monorail train all the students are on? I'd almost hate to spoil the surprise, but we might've set a time-bomb on the train while nobody was looking."
Tatenashi's smile crumbled.
"Didn't you hear me from the start? I know for a fact Thomas won't come willingly, he'd just run back home. Like I said, 'If Thomas won't come with us by his own choice, then we'll make sure he has nowhere to go back to.'"
"Damn you..."
"The clock's already ticking! So, what'll it be? Securing Thomas? Or saving your precious little sister? Either way, you can't save them all!"
Tatenashi's grin reemerged.
"Watch me."
Suddenly, Tatenashi exploded into water.
The water turned to mist, and began to coil all over Squall's body.
Squall heard the snap of a finger, and was enveloped in an explosion.
Squall waved the smoke from her face.
"Thanks for the tip, Miss-Crazy-Mommy-Fetish." Tatenashi called.
The older woman reared her head, only to find Tatenashi in the Mysterious Lady, flying in the air above her.
"Don't be that way!" Squall recomposed herself, "After all, you have to admit, Thomas does have quite the charm."
Suddenly, Squall was enveloped in a bright light.
She emerged, piloting a fully-deployed Golden Dawn.
Squall opened fire with twin Plasma Cannons on the Golden Dawn's wrists.
Tatenashi realized Squall wasn't about to let her leave.
She quickly made a call to Kanzashi.
"Kanzashi!"
"Big Sister?! What's going on?!"
"There's a bomb on the train! It's set on a timer! You have to find it, quickly!"
It was then that a timer popped up on Kanzashi's interface.
"Ma'am!" Cried Kanzashi, "We've got a problem! There's a time-bomb on the train with us!"
"Ma'am!" Offered Elias, "Let me deploy, I'll search for the bomb!"
"No."
"Why not!"
"We can't afford to waste time with a search that has a huge margin for error, you'll wait for my word. In that time, those of you with Personal Units can prepare, while Sarashiki hacks into the train and locates the bomb."
"Y-Yes Ma'm."
Elsewhere...
Ichika finally came to.
He shot up, panting heavily.
"I...I have to get to the others!"
Ichika got back up, or at least did his best. Madoka's attack did a serious number on Ichika's whole body, making it hard for him to muster the strength to move quickly. Ichika growled, not letting his weakness get to him.
The boy removed his school uniform, revealing he was wearing his pilot uniform underneath.
"Thomas had it right." He muttered, "I need a full-body suit, it's getting cold."
"Byakushiki!"
Ichika stumbled, doing his best not to collapse under his own weight.
Thomas was most likely still missing, and no-one else was around.
Ichika feared the worst.
But he couldn't let it get to him.
"I'm..." Ichika fell, his legs buckling under him.
However, he still persisted.
"I'm...Not a real man...If I let this stop me!"
Ichika fought to his feet, and trudged onward.
Elsewhere...
Autumn laughed sadistically.
She fired a round from her Railgun.
"Die, you shit-stains!"
Nana and Houki barely evaded.
"Akatsubaki!"
"Geargaia!"
Nana was the first to attack. She quickly deployed her Gauss Cannon, and shot Autumn across the nose.
"Why you-!" Snarled Autumn.
Nana fired again.
Autumn dashed to the right as she dodged.
"Think you can keep my precious little Tommy away from me, his mother-to-be?!"
"She's fucking insane!" Nana cried to Houki.
Autumn aimed her Famas, and opened fire.
"Take that! And that! And that!"
She laughed like a maniac as she made Houki and Nana dance.
Elsewhere...
Madoka hovered over the downtown area of Kyoto, searching for her quarry.
The Black Knight's helmet scanned the entire area in search of Chifuyu Orimura.
It wasn't long before she found her.
However, before Madoka had the chance to give chase, she heard the propellers of a helicopter nearby.
She turned, to find a massive squadron of military helicopters headed for her.
Suddenly, Production-Model Uchiganes deployed from the choppers, and opened fire with PDWs, raining a hail of bullets upon Madoka. Madoka pulled out the Kurokishi's Buster Sword, and rushed them.
The military pilots didn't stand a chance.
On the Train...
"Miss Orimura!" Called Maya, "There's an unbelievably power IS Unit signature heading this way!"
"What?!"
"It's destroying the Military IS Units as it gets closer!"
"Ve must deploy!" Said Laura.
"You're on standby!"
"But-!"
"There will be no appeal."
"Jah whol..."
Kanzashi typed as fast as her fingers could possibly go, desperately trying to hack into the train before any more time went down on the time-bomb.
"Miss Orimura!" Called Charlotte, "I've gotten Orimura on the line!"
"Really?" Chifuyu's voice raised in pitch.
"Miss...Orimura..."
"Orimura, what happened?" Chifuyu questioned, quickly returning her voice to normal.
"A...Phantom Task Agent got the drop on me...She's headed right for you!"
"That explains why you sound tired. Slow down, you'll collapse at this rate."
"I can't! I'm...Making my way to you...Now..."
"Stay with me, Orimura! That's an order! You can't possibly fight in your condition!"
"I'll be fine...Over...And out."
Ichika disconnected.
"Orimura! Orimura? Dammit!"
Chifuyu gave the phone back to Charlotte.
"Get Scott on the phone. Now."
"Oui Ma'am!"
Chifuyu knew for a fact they had to resolve the bomb situation quickly. At this rate, it was obvious Ichika would try to do something stupidly heroic and either get hurt a lot worse than he already was or worse, get killed.
It nearly happened many times before, it would be so easy to happen for real.
Chifuyu didn't know what to do with herself if that were to happen.
Elsewhere...
Autumn's laughter echoed as she chased the girls all over.
She wasn't letting up.
"Nana!" Said Houki, "We need to get to the monorail!"
"R-Right!"
"DIIIIIIIIIE!" Autumn grotesquely snarled.
"Does she ever just stop?!" Cried Nana.
Suddenly, Autumn deployed her Railgun, and fired a beam at Nana.
Nana narrowly dodged, and the beam struck the top floor of a temple behind her.
"Oh FUCK!" Cried Nana, "We need to draw her away from everything. It was so beautiful, and now it's all ruined!"
"C'mon!" Ushered Houki, "We need to get higher, she won't damaged anything up there!"
"Good plan!"
The girls flew higher and higher as they made their way to the train.
Above downtown Kyoto...
Tatenashi was faring not well at all.
Squall was keeping her stuck, unable to pull away from the fight.
No matter what she tried, Squall seemed to be always 1 step ahead.
"If you've ever squared off against Thomas," Commented Squall, "You just might have a inkling on how to fight me. Unlike Thomas, who lets the prevailing wind guide his every move, I've trained. You've got no chance of beating me!"
Tatenashi wasn't going to let Squall talk her to death.
"Oh yeah? Well..." Tatenashi was doing her best to make a comeback, "Tommy's far more wild! You're ten times slower than him!"
"Nice try," Sneered Squall, "But you're lying to yourself if you thought that was clever."
Tatenashi opened fire with her Gatling Lance.
However, the Golden Dawn was suddenly enveloped in a Bubble Shield!
"What the..."
"Impressed?" Boasted Squall, "My barrier's unbreakable, even for your pitiful Mysterious Lady!"
Tatenashi thrust the Lance at Squall's head the moment she dropped the barrier. However, Squall's arm somehow coiled around the Lance, and Squall quickly turned Tatenashi's own Lance against her!
"How weak." She spat.
The Golden Dawn's tail suddenly pointed its head at Tatenashi, and blasted her with a continuous plasma beam.
And, with one final burst of plasma, Squall had knocked Tatenashi unconscious.
The woman let her foe fall into a river below.
Squall sighed.
"I should check up on Kana." She muttered to herself.
In the forest...
Thomas had ducked back into the trees, switching to the Compact Shift for the ability to move without tearing the forest down.
"Ooh~!" Complimented Kana, "Fashionable, yet functional!"
Thomas zipped through the trees.
Soon enough, Thomas had reached a clearing, with a view of downtown Kyoto!
"That's something I can work with." Thomas realized, switching to the Hypervelocity Shift the moment he got clear of the forest.
"Don't run away!" Called Kana, "I wanna play more!"
Thomas was already too far out of earshot to hear her.
Thomas was nearing a skyscraper.
Suddenly, he recalled the Revive as he shot through the air!
"Oh no!" Cried Kana, racing to stop him before he went splat on the side of the building.
However, instead of smashing up against the window, Thomas launched off of it with the Revive's right arm! The window shattered as the repelling force of the Revive's deployment bounced off. Thomas, on the other hand, went into a power dive like a bullet.
"I see..." Reflected Kana, "He's using the Quantum Conversion of an IS Unit not only as an offensive and defensive, but as a traversal ability too! Wow! He's just super-smart, thinking of things on the fly like that!"
Thomas began to spin as he spiraled towards the ground.
It didn't take very long for Kana to telegraph Thomas's trajectory, and give chase. Kana switched from a Fusion Cannon to a Heavy Caliber Rifle.
Thomas didn't fully-deploy the Revive again, since that would make a bigger and easier target. And, due to the size, Thomas would be much more aerodynamic if he just kept with deployments.
People on the sidewalks and cars on the streets all stopped and began to gawk at the sight of Thomas zigzagging across the sides of buildings on opposite sides of the street with Kana flying down the middle, a gun in hand.
Thomas was playing with fire. He couldn't afford to stop for a second. His speed only worked as long as he moved in a straight line. If Kana were able to calculate his direction, she could easily intercept.
Thomas bounced from place to place, doing his best to keep ahead of Kana.
Kana, on the other hand, was simply waiting for the right time to shoot.
Sure, she could pluck Thomas out of the air any time she wanted, but Thomas would be able to find a way to counter.
She needed to hit at the right angle to completely throw him off.
Suddenly, Thomas bounced off a building to her right, aiming to launch at the one on her left.
Kana suddenly aimed her rifle at Thomas's destination, and fired.
The round blew off a chunk of the building's corner.
Thomas flinched.
He slipped right through the hole Kana made.
He was in so much trouble.
Kana snagged him out of flight with one hand, and activated a Shock Glove with the other.
She then reluctantly shocked Thomas out cold.
Kana grimaced as she did, not wanting to hurt her precious Thomas.
She then hovered in the air as she cradled the boy in her arms.
"I've always wanted to do this..." She muttered.
"Kana?" Squall's voice radioed.
"Yes Mama?"
"How're things?"
"Wonderful, Mama! I just got Tommy! Lucky I did, he would've gotten hurt from crash-landing downtown if I didn't catch him!"
"How horrible! Is he alright?"
"Mhm. I had to put his to sleep so he wouldn't get all fussy, but he's just fine!"
"That's good to hear! I've wrapped up things on my end as well, let's wait for Autumn and Madoka."
"I can't wait to hear from Mama and Little Sister!"
"That's my girl."
Kana began to fly over to Squall, with Thomas sleeping in her arms.
Elsewhere...
Madoka was quite annoyed with all the Military IS Pilots.
None of them were fit to challenge her, as she kept beating each of them down with one swing each from her Buster Sword. But it was obvious they were all fool-hearty, as they just kept coming without any real strategy.
She pulled out both of her Lancer Bits, and simply blasted the remaining pilots down in one fell swoop.
It was then that she finally say her target with her own two eyes.
The train with Chifuyu Orimura on it.
And it was mere blocks away.
The students on the train witnessed the Kurokishi's display of power.
Many of them were terrified. They didn't even get a very good look at what was responsible for destroying the entire IS Squadron. All they knew was that there was a very deadly IS on the loose.
"The enemy IS signature is right above us!" Called Maya.
Chifuyu raced to the window to get a fleeting glimpse.
"A Black Knight?" She muttered under her breath.
Madoka charged her left Lancer Bit, ready to blow the train to hell.
Everyone began to panic.
Suddenly, a shot emerging from a further point on the train struck the Kurokishi right in the head. This sent the Lancer Bit's shot harmlessly up into the sky, missing the train completely!
It was then that everyone in the train car suddenly felt the wind pulling them to the back of the car!
"Dammit!" Snarled Madoka, reeling from the concussive blow to the head.
Chifuyu looked to the back of the train car, only to find that Elias had opened up the back door, and fired his sniper rifle in between the cars.
"Dansforth! What the hell're you doing?!" Chifuyu questioned.
"Someone hold my legs." Answered Elias, "I have to urge to shoot something."
Charlotte and Laura held Elias by his ankles, and Elias climbed up onto the roof of the train, resting on the edge with he arms.
"Away with you!" Shouted Elias, as he opened fire again.
Madoka did her best to evade. Elias eventually slipped from the girls' grip, and began to stand on top of the train, like a stuntman.
Elias quickly found that the wind made by the train was quite jarring.
"Get back in here, Dansforth!"
Elias couldn't hear Chifuyu over the sound of the rippling air in his face. Elias fired again and again, but he was far too off-balance to land a good shot. Madoka was growing quite irritated, and decided to finish Elias quickly.
Madoka simply swatted him off the train completely.
Elias plummeted to the ground below.
"Elias!" Cried Cecelia, racing to the open door in the hopes of saving Elias before he hit the ground. However, Cecelia was quickly restrained by Laura, Charlotte, and Chifuyu as she struggled and protested that they release her.
Elias narrowly survived, deploying the Knight Gunner moments before he hit the ground. He crashed headfirst, dazed and confused. He remained disabled, trying to recover his senses.
Madoka made a sultry grin under the Kurokishi's helmet.
Chifuyu was finally hers for the taking.
Madoka decided to charge both Lancer Bits.
The students screamed.
Chifuyu grit her teeth.
Madoka nearly fired.
But out of nowhere, the Byakushiki shot through the sky almost too fast for the eye to see!
With a mighty nudge, Ichika rammed Madoka head-on, and knocked her right out of the sky!
"Are you FUCKING SERIOUS?!" Screamed Madoka, as she hit the ground hard.
Ichika turned to the train.
"Is everyone alright?" He called.
"Ichika!" Cried the Representative Candidates, "You're alright!"
"Sorry for the wait," Apologized Ichika, "But walking it off took a bit longer than I expected!"
Madoka launched back up into the air, furious.
"So," She growled, "You're still not dead, eh?"
"Like that would've killed me." Said Ichika, readying the Yukihira Nagata, "You won't get by me this time!"
"We'll see about that."
With that, Madoka and Ichika clashed, their swords refusing to give.
Ichika then began to push back, and retreat.
Madoka gave chase.
"I'll take care of her, Miss Orimura!"
"See to it that you do. We're counting on you, Orimura." Chifuyu said.
As Chifuyu temporarily disconnected from the call, and sighed in relief.
Ichika was alright.
But she began to worry once more.
Just how much longer would Ichika be alright?
"Ichika!" Houki's voice cackled on the comm, "Me and Nana will meet you there!"
"Has anyone seen Thomas?" Inquired Nana.
"Negative," Answered Chifuyu, "But we can't worry too much about that right now. We need to take care of our situation, and then we can go look for Scott."
"Oh..."
"Stay calm," Assured Chifuyu, "He's a resilient boy, he'll be fine."
"Nana, watch out!" Shouted Houki.
Nana zipped to the left, narrowly evading a shot from Autumn.
Ichika zoomed through the mountains near downtown Kyoto.
Sure enough, Madoka was so obsessed with killing him first, that she followed quite closely.
Madoka fired away with her Lancer Bit.
Ichika retaliated with his Particle Cannon.
It was obvious Ichika was at a serious disadvantage in a shootout against Madoka, but he carried on with it nonetheless.
Elias was still reeling from his concussion due to falling right on his head.
Thomas was nowhere to be found.
Tatenashi had stopped responding after being cut off.
Nana and Houki were pinned by Autumn.
Ichika needed to do something! But whatever he was going to do, it was obvious the Byakushiki wasn't going to last much longer, as he'd already taken quite the beating from Madoka before.
It was only a matter of time before she'd crush him again.
Houki charged Autumn.
She rammed the woman head-on, forcing her right down to the ground.
"I..." She snapped, "I am in the middle of a fight! My friends' lives are on the line, Ichika's fighting for his life, Elias got messed up, Thomas is missing, and it's getting on all our fears that we might not see any of the boys again!"
Autumn was crushed between the Akatsubaki, and the steps of a shrine.
"Bottom line? You picked the wrong day to pick a fight with ME! Hit it, Nana!"
"Roger!"
Houki jumped out of the way.
Nana had fully-charged her Gauss Cannon. Autumn realized why Nana hadn't been attacking her the whole time. However, the Arachnae was far too damaged and tangled in itself for Autumn to move away!
Nana fired.
The blast completely crushed Autumn.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Autumn sat in an utterly wrecked Arachnae.
Although she was alive, she wouldn't be up and about for a while.
"We have to hurry! If we can make it in time, we can help the others!" Said Nana.
Houki nodded, and the two took off for the train.
On the train...
Suddenly, Kanzashi's interface flashed blue.
"I did it!" She said, "The locks are released, we can deploy safely now!"
"Alcott, see to Dansforth," Ordered Chifuyu, "Bodewig, Huang, stop this train! Dunois, locate the bomb!"
"Yes ma'am!" They said as they jumped out of the train and deployed.
Cecelia rushed to Elias's side.
His eyes were shut.
"Oh, Elias," She whimpered, "Why'd you do it? You're not a hero, dammit! You're my...My..."
Cecelia couldn't bring herself to say it.
Elias groaned, slowly coming to.
Laura and Lingyin quickly raced to the front of the train.
They both placed on foot on the rail, and grabbed either side of the train with both hands, igniting their thrusters and pushing against the moving train. After a bit of strain, the girls had slowed the train to a stop.
Charlotte rushed around the train, searching for any sign of the bomb.
"I know!" She said, "I'll tune my scanner to thermite!"
It wasn't very long after Charlotte located the bomb on the middle car of the train.
Ichika was doing his best to fight off Madoka.
Every shot he took kept missing by a wide margin.
Soon, Madoka brought out her Buster Sword, and the two of them clashed, with a brilliant explosion of sparks and light rippling through the sunset sky through the mountains, making for a spectacular light show.
"A boy who can't protect his sister," Ichika reminded himself, "Isn't a man in the slightest!"
Charlotte pried off a vent cover on top of the train car.
The bomb was ticking.
It had less than half a minute to go.
"LAURA!" Shouted Charlotte.
Suddenly, Ichika could hear a massive explosion right behind him.
Ichika whipped around, to find a massive fireball had enveloped the train.
Ichika stared in absolute horror.
"There's just no way..." His mind pieced together.
"NOOO!" He cried.
Madoka smirked, and took advantage of the moment.
With Ichika's back turned, she charged her Lancer Bit.
"Die."
With a powerful, yet precise shot...
...Madoka shot Ichika right through the back and through his belly.
Ichika made no sound from his lips. His eyes shut as he registered the pain for a mere second. The blast from the Lancer Bit cauterized the wound, making it impossible for Ichika to bleed out. Instead, Blood erupted from his mouth as he plummeted to the ground below.
Nana and Houki arrived just in time...
...To watch Ichika die.
"ICHIKA!" Houki screamed with horror.
Houki chased after Ichika's body, desperately trying to save what was left of the one she loved most.
Madoka turned to leave.
Suddenly, Nana pulled out her Gauss Cannon, training it upon Madoka.
"You're not going anywhere, motherfucker!" She shouted.
Had Ichika held on a few seconds longer, he might've what really happened to the train.
The smoke dissipated...
...Revealing the train unharmed, and the AIC's barrier field over the center car.
Just as the bomb went off, Laura had contained the explosion with the AIC, saving the train from utter destruction.
"Too close." Muttered Lingyin.
"Thank God!" Said Kanzashi, in the Uchigane Nishiki.
"Ma'am!" Cried Maya, "We have a serious problem! Orimura is...He's..."
Chifuyu snapped around to face Maya, her face turned white with horror.
Her worst fear came true.
The only saving grace was that she wasn't forced to see it happen.
"Ichika..." Chifuyu's mind was racked with sheer, nullifying shock.
She simply couldn't cope.
Ichika was dead, and Thomas was missing.
Her worst nightmare had finally come true.
Madoka stared Nana down.
"Move." She ordered.
"Nuh-uh!" Nana refused, "You're not going anywhere, after the shit you just pulled! Taking Thomas, giving Elias brain damage, and killing Ichika! I'm gonna fucking beat you till you cry, you salty cunt!"
Madoka smiled.
"I'm gonna enjoy hurting you." She sneered.
Madoka rushed Nana.
Nana flinched, and pulled away, desperately trying to evade Madoka's assault.
But Madoka quickly overwhelmed her, and beat her senseless.
Nana crashed into a large rock.
Madoka spat on the writhing girl.
"Weakling," Said Madoka, "Either come at me if you can actually fight, or hide and pray I don't find you."
Madoka charged her Lancer Bit, and fired.
Charlotte quickly stopped the blast with an Energy Barrier.
"Don't forget about us!"
Suddenly, Madoka was knocked out the air by Elias!
"Come here, you witch!" Elias shouted, snatching Madoka by her shoulders.
He pulled out his Thermal Claymore.
"As you did to Ichika just now," He shouted, "I WILL NOW DO, UNTO YOOOU!"
He relentlessly jabbed Madoka with his blade. The only thing stopping him from running her right through being the Kurokishi's Absolute Defense.
But Madoka still felt it.
Suddenly, as Elias shoved her away, all the remaining Representative Candidates began to attack her all at once.
Overwhelmed, Madoka began to try and flee.
But they weren't letting up on her.
Elsewhere...
Ichika laid back in the water.
Where was he?
From the looks of it, he was laying in a liquid so reflective, it was like a mirror of the sunny sky above him, with a scarce few trees randomly strewn about.
Why was he here?
Did he die? If so, then how? What series of events brought Ichika to this strange place?
He didn't remember dying.
The memories flooded back into Ichika's mind as he recollected.
The Kurokishi evaded the Representative Candidates' attacks with utmost ease.
Lingyin continued to open fire with her Shock Cannons. Charlotte deployed both PDWs, and quickly assisted Lingyin. Nana deployed her Barrage Cannons, trying to catch the Kurokishi with splash damage. Laura fired a barrage with both Railguns. Elias fired his shoulder-mounted Beam Cannons over and over, trying to knock Madoka out of the air. Cecelia attempt to work with Elias.
But none of them had landed a single blow.
Houki laid by Ichika's body, desperately trying to provide power to the Byakushiki with the Akatsubaki's Kenran Butou.
"Ichika..." She whimpered through her tear-flooded face.
But as her tears fell, hope once more stirred.
The Byakushiki began to glow.
But the glowing quickly ceased.
After a full minute or mourning, Houki stood up, and took off to join the others.
Phantom Task would pay dearly for what they'd done.
Ichika tried to remember as hard as he could, but he could not find Thomas.
What happened to Thomas?
Ichika sat up.
He had to find Thomas!
"Don't bother. I'm right here, like I've always been." Snarled a familiar voice.
Ichika turned around...
...To find Thomas, in his fully-deployed Revive.
Oddly enough, Thomas had the Tactical Helmet on, rather than his usual dual-tip antennae. Further stranger, Thomas's Tactical Helmet had a face plate, which obscured his entire face.
Thomas would never normally obscure his entire face.
"Thomas-?!"
Suddenly, the Revive sent out a pulse, and the lovely blue sky began to turn to an ominous purple night.
Thomas's Revive began to change color as well, turning from a forest green to a shadowy black. A dark aura now emanated from the obscured Thomas, his eyes became a beady crimson, flashing through the visor of the Tactical Helmet.
It was Ichika's nightmare.
Without warning, Thomas lashed out at Ichika, wringing him by the neck and effortlessly picking him up with one hand. The boy's grip tightened, and Thomas squeezed Ichika's soft neck like a balloon, confirming Ichika's worst fear.
Thomas was now killing him.
"Don't struggle...It makes me hate you even more." Snarled Thomas, his voice distorted to a raspy, terrifying hiss.
Ichika kicked and struggled, but was trying to win a losing battle.
Thomas tightened his grip further.
"You left me behind!" Thomas snapped, his hiss turning to hateful emphasis.
"W-What...?" Ichika spat out, gasping for air.
"We were kids! I promised to never leave you behind! But you went and left ME behind! You never included me with everyone else! You all just fucked off and did your own thing! We were friends! They never cared for me like they did for you, and you forgot all about me! In fact, I can fucking count all the times where they forgot I was even there! Do you have any idea what it's like?! Despite being far worse off, always on the last of everyone's priorities!"
"I'm...Sorry..."
"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT!" Roared Thomas as he brought in his other hand, and further strangled Ichika.
"I've struggled all my life! Being tormented for dreaming too big, suffering because I never had the comforts of having a whole family! Everyone lied to me! I'm so fucking sick of being left out to dry with no-one else! I'm jealous of you, dammit!"
"I didn't..."
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Ichika struggled.
He fought as hard as he could.
But it was all for naught.
His vision was going dark.
"Ichika!"
Ichika's eyes shot open.
"Ichika!"
Ichika couldn't feel Thomas's hands around his neck, despite seeing they were.
"T...Thomas...?"
Even though the nightmare was before him, Ichika could hear Thomas's voice as it'd always been.
"Don't worry," Thomas's voice assured, "This is just an intensified version of your nightmares. Keep calm, you can lock it down and power on through."
"You sound...Like-"
"-Like I do all the time."
Suddenly, Thomas's real body began to separate and phase out of the nightmare monster. The monster then began to dissipate, and vanish into the darkness, and the two of them were alone.
The boys were both wearing their pilot uniforms.
"Don't worry, it's me. The real me."
"How're you...?"
"I don't know," Confessed Thomas, "I think it's because of the Revive's duplication. It might be bridging our minds together like this. Right now, I'm currently out cold, Kana's got me and I can't wake up."
"Back up a sec, KANA?!"
"Yeah, turns out she was part of Phantom Task all along."
"You've got horrible luck with girls, dude."
Thomas chuckled.
"Seems like I do."
"What're we gonna do? Everyone's fighting for their lives, and Phantom Task'll crush 'em! We have to help!" Said Ichika.
"And we will."
"But how?!"
"Remember? We never stop fighting? That's what we'll do."
Thomas and Ichika paused.
"I'm sorry," Ichika apologized, "For everything."
"Later, Ichika. We don't have time for that now."
"Good luck."
"Same to you."
Ichika and Thomas turned their backs to each other.
"Godspeed..." Started Ichika.
"...You magnificent bastard." Finished Thomas.
Ichika's corpse began to glow!
Soon enough, the Byakushiki's golden light could be seen through the entire mountain range!
Ichika began to float in the air, his wounds suddenly regenerating! Soon enough, the injuries to both Ichika and the Byakushiki were as though they were never there to begin with! Even the area of Ichika's midsection Madoka had incinerated seemed to return as though it was never even damaged!
The Byakushiki itself began to change!
It began to reshape, as though it were made of liquid! The Byakushiki morphed around Ichika, improving, modifying, changing.
As soon as the shifting stopped, it became obvious to everyone that the Byakushiki had entered its Second Shift!
Ichika's eyes shot open.
Elsewhere...
Kana brought her face closer to Thomas's as she cradled him.
She then gave the boy a tender kiss on his forehead.
She sighed.
"I've always wanted to do this..." Kana muttered to herself.
Without warning, Thomas's eyes shot open!
"Tommy! You're awake!"
"Excuse me." Thomas deadpanned.
Suddenly, Thomas delivered a palm strike to Kana's chin, and deployed the Revive's arm right as it connected!
The sheer repulsive force gave Kana a concussion, knocking her out indefinitely!
Kana crashed into the street below.
Thomas fully-deployed the Revive, and began to survey the area, searching for his friends.
Over downtown Kyoto...
The girls were putting the hurt on Madoka, not giving her so much as a second to breath without an attack coming her way!
"Remember!" Shouted Elias, "Take heed of your surroundings! Thomas would've!"
They all knew very well Thomas's precision and power. The girls remembered how, each time an attack came Thomas's way, he always find some way to unleash hell, and still not damage the things around him.
Kanzashi fired a barrage of missiles from the Uchigane Nishiki, quickly knocking Madoka senseless!
Houki came in with her Katanas, furiously trying to cut her foe down to size.
Madoka did her best to block, escaping Houki with a few scratches.
Laura quickly snatched and ensnared Madoka in her Wire Daggers and Charlotte unloaded her PDWs into Madoka.
Madoka recovered.
She grabbed the Wire Daggers, and substituted Laura for herself in Charlotte's line of fire.
Cecelia quickly covered her face with a Targeting Visor, and fired away with everything she had.
Madoka deployed an Energy Barrier Shield, and rushed Cecelia.
She kicked the girl in her hip, pricked her in the torso with a Lancer Bit, and sent her crashing with a blow from the hilt of her Buster Sword.
Cecelia plummeted.
However, Elias quickly came to her aid.
He streaked across the night sky, and caught Cecelia bridal style before she went down past the skyline.
Cecelia regained her senses, and realized what Elias did.
Elias currently had a full Tactical Helmet on his head, obscuring his whole face.
Cecelia stared.
Elias was carrying her like a princess.
It felt different than when she did the same for Elias. She felt a little upset back then, disappointed, perhaps envious. However, being carried and cradled by Elias for some reason made her giddy. Her heart beat faster, and she blushed.
She knew they were in a fight for survival, but she couldn't help but feel like a young maiden in love.
A well-placed shot from Lingyin's Shock Cannons sent Madoka to the ground.
Laura seized the moment, and fired both of her Railguns at Madoka, making a large crater.
The fight between IS Pilots had finally reached downtown Kyoto.
People watched from afar as they clashed.
Laura's blast connected, sending the area surrounding the Kurokishi up in flames.
However, Madoka emerged unharmed!
Elias suddenly released Cecelia, who flew back herself, and began to charge all four of his Beam Cannons!
With a roar, Elias fired all of his Beam Cannons into a single, obliterating beam.
The attack was exceeding the Knight Gunner's output safety limits! The Knight Gunner began to cackle with electricity as Elias pushed the IS Unit beyond its very limits! Elias stifled his breathing, as he began to feel the strain.
He pressed on.
"Elias, stop!" Pleaded Cecelia, "The Knight Gunner can't handle that any longer!"
"Whatever that enemy Unit is," Justified Elias, "It's seemingly invincible! I can't afford to take any more chances, it ends NOW!"
"Elias, now!"
Suddenly, the massive energy beam shorted out, as the Knight Gunner's Beam Cannons exploded. The remains of the Cannons trailed smoke into the sky, Elias groaned, and began to drop to the ground below.
Cecelia flew in, and caught Elias as the two of them made an emergency crash on the roof of an office building.
Everyone turned to look where the Kurokishi once stood, a massive cloud shrouding the area.
Suddenly, the cloud parted and dissipated, revealing the Golden Dawn's bubble shield!
Squall had tanked Elias's attack, rendering his efforts utterly pointless!
"Are you alright, sweetie?" Squall cooed, tending to Madoka.
"Get off me!" Snapped Madoka, "I'm fine!"
"Don't struggle, I'm only trying to help. Your other Mama, Autumn is out cold. Those girls really put her through the ringer. And Big Sister Kana's suddenly stopped transmitting, I think Tommy might've raised a fuss."
"Hmph! Not my problem!"
"You fancied him..."
"Sh-Shut up! I'm not a goddamn baby!"
"D'aaw~! You're such a little girl~!"
Madoka growled, and turned away from Squall.
"Now," Assessed Squall, "None of those children have the firepower to get through this barrier. All I have to do is send a big enough pulse, and I can swat them out of the sky in a single swoop. But...That would cause some serious property damage to downtown Kyoto..."
"Why should we care?"
"Because Kyoto's such a lovely-looking place! All this wonderful architecture, it'd be so horrible if it were all destroyed...But, you're right. We should finish them quickly, and go get the others."
The energy field around the two charged, and sent a pulsewave over the Kyoto skyline.
The Representative Candidates were completely winded as they were blasted right out the sky!
The children were all thrown against random buildings.
They couldn't get up after such a devastating attack.
"Dammit..." Houki whimpered.
"It's over! You're precious Ichika is dead, and Thomas can't save you anymore!" Squall shouted.
"OH YEAH?!" Two very familiar voices shouted in unison.
Squall looked to the heavens.
She quickly ate her words.
What she saw was Ichika in the Byakushiki's Second Shift, and Thomas in his Hypervelocity Shift.
On the train, 5 minutes ago...
"Ma'am!" Maya cheered.
Chifuyu was simply too rocked by the loss of Ichika to respond.
"It's Orimura!"
Chifuyu quickly snapped to attention.
"What?!"
"It's Orimura! And Scott! Orimura's vitals just jumped across the boards, he's doing better than okay! He's alive! And Scott's suddenly giving a signature, whatever happened, he's on the way now!"
"Thank God...I was so worried..." Chifuyu's voice trembled with emotion.
"Ma'am," Whispered Maya, "Please keep your composure! There are other people in here with us!"
"Sorry...I just...Needed a moment."
"We all do."
Back over Kyoto, in the present...
"Thomas, I expected," Squall said, "But Orimura?"
"Can't keep a badass down forever!" Ichika retorted.
"No matter," Said Squall, "All I need is a single second, and I can blow everyone to hell."
"But you won't." Concluded Thomas.
"Thomas," Squall's voice dropped to a tender tone, "Please. Just come with us. I promise, if you come with us right now, we'll leave your friends alone. All we want is for you to come home with us, where you belong."
"'Belong' my ass!" Shouted Thomas, "I don't even know who you are!"
"Not even Kana? Quite a shame. It's so sad that Alex hasn't said anything..."
Thomas flinched.
She knew his dad! Thomas was flushed white with terror.
If he failed here, his dad would be in mortal peril.
"We've got one chance at this, Ichika!"
"We did it before," Remembered Ichika, "But I think now that we've done it once, we got a better idea of what you and I can do. So, let's do this..."
"...Together!" Thomas finished
Thomas and Ichika flew side-by-side as they rocketed at top speed!
The boys made sure to keep up with each other.
Suddenly, the boys deployed both activated their Type 2 Yukihira Nagatas.
They reached top speed as Squall began to charge another pulse.
The boys held their weapons in their right hands.
"REIRAKU BYAKUYA..."
Squall fired the pulsewave, her heart wracked with grief over hurting Thomas.
But some things had to be done if they were going to get along.
"...TIMES TWOOOOO!"
The boys broke through the pulsewave, as though it wasn't even there!
Further stranger, the two of them began to get closer and closer to each other.
What everyone saw next defied comprehension!
Thomas and Ichika began to overlap, their bodies with beginning to phase into each other! Neither of the boys seemed to notice, however, as they carried on as though nothing had happened! The Revive and the Byakushiki began to mesh and combine!
And in a blinding golden light, the two...
...Had become one.
Squall and Madoka were absolutely baffled!
The fusion of the boys had a single Yukihira Nagata in its hand. And with a mighty thrust, the hybrid entity broke right through Squalls barrier!
With a left haymaker, the being had smashed Squall's helmet to pieces!
Further still, the being rammed Madoka, and took her out of flight!
The entity rushed through the mountain range nearby, streaking through the night with unmatched power! The two brushed the side of a mountain, kicking up a massive cloud of dust!
The fusion pulled back, and broke through the Kurokishi's chest plate with an intense jab!
Madoka watched as her precious locket flew off her neck!
The girl quickly turned away from her foe to grab the locket before it was destroyed!
The being watched with a little curiosity, but further pressed the attack.
Out of nowhere, Squall rammed the hybrid to the ground with another bubble shield!
The IS Unit was enveloped in smoke as Squall cradled Madoka.
"It's okay now," Squall cooed, "Ssh, little Madoka, Mama's here..."
"But...I can still fight..."
"We've done enough for now," Squall whispered, "It's time to go."
With that, Squall carried Madoka in her arms, as she left to go collect her fallen teammates and escape.
The smoke cleared, revealing Ichika and Thomas lying on the ground at opposite ends of the crater. Ichika was on his front, and Thomas on his back.
The boys groaned.
Thomas blinked repeatedly as he slowly got to his feet.
For some bizarre reason, Thomas's right eye was red, while his other eye was blue.
Ichika blinked. His right eye was blue, while his left was red.
After another blink from both boys, their eyes returned to their natural colors.
"Ugh...What happened?"
"Dunno...It felt like I deployed the Revive...But it felt different, like something was tickling my insides..."
The other Representative Candidates quickly located the boys, and flocked to them.
But both Ichika and Thomas were left feeling very weird internally.
"Where's Phantom Task?" Inquired Houki.
"Gone." Answered Thomas, "But I reckon they'll be back."
Ichika looked over his shoulder, seeing the Monorail Train from the IS Academy.
He saw Chifuyu standing next to the train, a loving and approving smile on her face.
Ichika sighed.
He never felt so at ease.
At the Golden Pavilion of Rokuon-Ji...
"Very interesting..." Mumbled Tabane, "Wouldn't you agree, Chloe?"
Chloe Chronicle sat beside her.
"Yes Ma'am, a very intriguing development."
Tabane looked once again at the footage.
"That's new," She rambled, "Somehow, Ichi-Kun and Tommy-Kun managed to fuse their bodies and IS Units together on the atomic level...They merged. And, I bet their IS Units bridged together, and made a stronger one."
Tabane turned off the footage.
"I wonder if Chi-Chan enjoyed my little gift, the Kurokishi...I bet she did!"
Chloe nodded in agreement.
"But that was really something, wasn't it? After all these years, I never expected to see Kana-Chan! She's so grown up. And, more than that, she seemed to know so much more about little Tommy-Kun than I thought she would! And Madoka! Chi-Chan's little sister, so many strange and wonderful things all at once!"
Tabane stared into the night sky.
"And the best fun's yet to come..."
Later, at the hotel...
"Fucking finally..." Thomas moaned as he sat in the bath.
"Outdoor baths are the best!" Yawned Ichika.
"I actually touched Lady Cecelia like that..." Elias whispered, his eyes wide with shock.
"Look at that," Chuckled Thomas, "Elias finally put some moves on Cecelia!"
"Wonderful!" Said Ichika, "How long before they hook up?"
Elias was far too shocked to respond.
"What happened today seemed so unreal!" Said Ichika.
"Believe it." Said Thomas.
The boys suddenly started thinking.
"That locket..." Ichika muttered.
"You saw it too?"
"Yeah...Weird. It had Chifuyu's picture in it."
"The plot thickens."
In the bar...
"It's so late already." Said Maya.
Chifuyu was far too distracted, thinking of what she saw.
"They...Merged..."
"Did you say something, Ma'am?"
"Never you mind. It's been a long day."
"I'm just glad everyone's okay, it got kind of bad back there, with Orimura and Scott. Lucky for us, they showed up when they did."
"I'm not."
"Hm?"
"We're going to be writing reports for a while because of this. And don't even get me started on the PR mop-up..."
"Mind if I join you?"
Chifuyu and Maya turned, to find Alex standing behind them.
"Mr. Scott? When did you get here?"
"I've been here the whole time."
"Then you saw-"
"I did. And as much as I worried...I knew that those boys would be fine. After all, Thomas is my kid, he's an unkillable bastard that can always pull a win from defeat. And Ichika's immortal, you couldn't kill him, even if he died."
"Well, you took too long," Said Chifuyu, "I'm going to drink, and I'm going to bed. If you're starving for a talk, make it quick."
Alex smiled.
"You're too young to be drinking." He said, taking a bar stool next to the women.
"Says you, old man." Chifuyu retorted, right before downing a glass of alcohol.
The three downed their drinks and talked freely.
Back in the baths...
"I'm telling you, she was friggin' psycho!"
"No way dude!"
"And then there was that scorpion lady, whipped my ass while everyone was headed for Kiyomizu Temple!"
"That's where you were?"
"Speaking of which," Said Thomas, "We need to find the camera before dad finds out."
"How do you know about that?!" Cried Ichika, "I didn't even say anything about that!"
"I...I don't know...Weird..."
"Eh, let's go get it now."
Thomas and Ichika prepared to get out.
"Wow! This bath is so huge!" They heard a girl say.
Thomas and Ichika whipped around to the door of the dressing area, their eyes bulging.
Elias was still in shock.
Ichika and Thomas were throwing angry hand signs at each other to communicate.
"Fuck! The girls're coming!"
"But why?!"
"How should I know!"
"Quick! We need to get out of here!"
"The only exit that doesn't involve something stupid would be the dressing area!"
"We're dead! They're gonna beat us down!"
"We can hide!"
"Are you fucking retarded?"
The boys turned back to the dressing area.
The silhouettes of girls could be seen approaching the door to the bath.
Ichika and Thomas looked to each other.
They picked up Elias, and threw him over the fence on the opposite part of the bath.
The boys began to scale the fence themselves, but neither could get a grip.
Ichika ran right back into the bath, and hid behind a rock.
Thomas ran for the door, and jumped.
The Representative Candidates walked out into the open-air baths.
"A bath under the stars, huh?" Said Houki, "Wish I could do this with Ichika..."
"Let's go in!"
The girls all got into the bath.
Ichika held his breath, and prayed.
"That fight was hectic!" Said Nana, stretching her arms.
"Tell me about it. It was touch-and-go, after watching Ichika go down hard like that..."
"Where was Thomas?"
"Apparently, Phantom Task was trying to abduct him again."
"We failed to protect them...Even after we vowed to do so..."
Thomas laid on the roof, his entire body flat against the tiles. Thomas was beginning to sweat, despite the chilly air. His clothes were in the dressing area, and there was no way Thomas could sneak his way in without getting spotted by someone.
Ichika faced a similar problem.
He did his best, and fought to stay conscious, despite not taking a single breath of air. All it would take was a single, curious girl to come over around the rock, and his cover would be blown wide open.
"Houki, have your boobs grown again?"
"Huh?!"
"Can I touch 'em?"
"N-No!"
Something forbidden to Ichika's sight and mind was happening right behind his back.
Thomas had a very clear view of the bath from the roof. He immediately turned his head the other way the moment he saw Tatenashi walking towards Houki with grabby hands.
Ichika tried to meditate.
"I am one with the rock...I'm the best rock that ever was..."
Ichika slowly slipped into unconsciousness.
He failed to become one with the rock.
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
"OHMIGOD! Ichika?!"
"What the actual fuck?!"
"He's drowning!"
"Oh shit!"
"Why couldn't it have been Elias?!" Cried Cecelia.
The girls all turned to Cecelia with confused looks on their faces.
"What?" Cecelia inquired.
The girls did their best not to look at Ichika's privates as they pulled him out of the water.
Later...
"Here it is!" Ichika called, holding up the camera he'd lost earlier.
"Oh thank fuck! Dad would've gone nuts if he found out we lost it."
"Weird though," Observed Ichika, "How'd you know it was gone? I never said anything about it until you brought it up."
"I really don't know." Said Thomas, "I just...suddenly remembered it. And that IS, the...Kurokishi? The Kurokishi blew me up."
"The Kurokishi blew me up, not you..."
"I don't know what's going on," Said Thomas, "But I think some freaky stuff went down when we did the Reiraku Byakuya."
"Well, for what it's worth," Said Ichika, "Sorry, for everything."
"What're you talking about?"
"You're right: Everyone tends to forget about you sometimes. But today? While you were gone, everyone was worried about you. We all feared the worst when we knew Phantom Task was here."
"...Thanks. It's good to know there are people who care."
Ichika rested his hand on Thomas's shoulder.
"We'll always care. You're our friend...Even if we all forget that sometimes. You're not alone anymore. Just-woah, dude!"
"What?"
"What's wrong? You're crying!"
Thomas rubbed his finger under his eye, and realized tears were streaming down his face.
"Funny," Thomas observed, "Why am I crying?"
Ichika sighed.
Thomas really was like a child sometimes.
And the Representative Candidates were pretty much the family he never had.
Ichika and Thomas went back to the others as soon as Thomas stopped crying.
Oddly enough, Thomas finally began to see all the care everyone really had about him. They all genuinely loved him for whom he was, taking time out of their own to give him a warm welcome.
After the fight with Phantom Task drew to a close, Thomas was simply overwhelmed with concern by his fellow classmates, as it was quite obvious that Phantom Task was after Thomas all along.
It was probably his problem, but just when he thought there was no-one to help him, Thomas opened his eyes and realized that the IS Academy was always there to pick him up and get him back on his feet if he fell down.
Thomas didn't know what he'd do without them.
A/N: At long last! I've wanted to do this for such a long time. After hinting to it back in Chapter 22, I was so glad I was able to reveal a very special thing for Thomas and Ichika. One of readers' main concerns about American Idiot is that Ichika would become an abstract character entirely. That is not the case. In fact, it's very much the opposite.
But this chapter is the start of Thomas and Ichika's journey as best friends and teammates.
Anyway, in terms of chronology, I guess this is pretty much what one would call the "End of Season 1."
I've had a lot of fun making this story so far. But like Tabane said, "The best fun's yet to come."
Hope you all enjoyed this. I'll be taking a short break so I can give my other stories some attention, but you can bet I'll be back soon! There's so many more adventures awaiting the Representative Candidates, and it'll be quite the boon!
Anyway, it's time for Kana's IS Unit!
Kana's IS is the White Wolf, an incomplete Prototype 3rd Generation IS Unit currently oriented to close-quarters combat.
The White Wolf is designed with twin golden antennae, and a full-cover Tactical Helmet. It's current armaments are a Javelin Lance, a Fusion Cannon, a Laser-Edge Greatsword, and a Heavy Semi-Automatic Caliber Rifle.
As it was stolen from the United States during development, it is incomplete and therefore had to be given any weapon available by Phantom Task. Although it is formidable as it is, Phantom Task is currently working to improve and complete the prototype.
It's design was inspired by the 4th Form Gundam Barbatos from Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans.
Next Time: World Purge Part 1.
On a rare day off, the Representative Candidates are able to unwind!
Ichika takes a trip to Kuromochi Machinery Development, the place his IS Unit was built!
Chifuyu sends Thomas on a day-trip to the mainland.
However, it isn't very long before everything goes awry.
The IS Academy is under attack from an outside hacker, sending everything into chaos! The girls all perform a cyber-dive into the World Purge to fix the problem!
However, they too are under attack.
With little time and danger lurking about, can everyone salvage things and remedy the situation?
Leave a review, they're much appreciated, and show that you care!