Welcome back! It's been too long, but I'm getting better, hope you're all feeling well! And I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
"-No I don't need fucking therapy! Just-ugh!" Thomas growled.
"We're only trying to help..." Alexander assured.
"Unless this is a prank and one of you guys does a phony therapist act, it doesn't!" Thomas snapped, "For the luvva God! Dad, I'm! Fine!"
Thomas's own father pulled him aside to show some support, which was met with...Awkward results.
"Thomas, cool yer jets." Alex sighed.
"Fucking hell..." Thomas swore, "It's just so annoying! 'Ooh~ Therapy this, therapy that~' It's fine! People say those that deny they have problems have problems, but for once, that's not true! I'm! Fine! It was an experience I've moved on from!"
Alex groaned...This was not what he was hoping for.
"Fine," The father said flatly, "But at least tell someone about the experience, get it off your chest."
"It's...Complicated. I'm guessing one of them tried brainwashing me, she was trying to be all buddy-buddy with me, but she was just so weird. It was a daily routine of getting blood tests, sitting, waiting, losing my mind from boredom...Happy?"
"You're really not enjoying this, are you?"
"Of course not! People just keep asking to no end!"
"I see...Well, you've finally told someone," Alex stood up, "So, you don't have to answer anymore."
"Thank you!" Thomas exclaimed, "Good God...It's so frustrating that everyone's all babying me."
"Well, I doubt that'll change much." Alex shrugged, "Now, you've got some make-up work to do."
"Yeah..." Thomas sighed, "The one thing I'd rather kidnapping got me was an excuse not to do that..."
"Just...Take better care of yourself," Alex pat his son on the shoulder, "You're a grown kid, so it's only fair to give you at least a few liberties."
"...Thanks." Thomas said reluctantly.
Thomas sighed, and left to go to his dorm room, finding a stack of classwork Chifuyu took the liberty of organizing for him upon his return. At least the other guys weren't around to bug him about the abduction.
Even now, Thomas's mind slowly shifted towards the boy...Shoto, the one who'd snuck into the van with the schoolboys as they left.
It didn't feel right...Thomas had the unshakeable urge to know more.
But sadly, that had to wait...The incalculable amount of missed assignments wasn't going to complete itself. As much as Thomas didn't want any special treatment out of embarrassment, but when faced with an literal block of paper...Thomas wished this was an exception.
Meanwhile...
"Hey...Nana..." Houki pat Nana's shoulder, "You can cheer up now...Thomas is back..."
"I know..." Nana sniffled, "And I can't believe it! Bwaaaah!"
Nana had been crying in sadness ever since Thomas was abducted...And now, she started crying tears of joy. Chifuyu forbade her from barging down into his room, having her wait for the all-clear to see Thomas again.
But that still didn't stop her from reacting to the news he'd been rescued.
She was finally exiting her room, at least.
"Goodness gracious..." Cecilia gawked, holding out a cloth, "Would you care for a handkerchief...?"
Nana wordlessly snatched the handkerchief and blew her nose comedically.
"Th-There there...?" Kanzashi tried patting Nana's back.
"Bwaaaah!" Nana sobbed.
"I personally feel more upset over how we got Thomas back..." said Houki, "The teachers just told the boys, and nobody else. They didn't feel like it was necessary to tell us they were going to gamble with the boys!"
"It vas a strictly need-to-know basis." Laura observed, "I assume zhat zhey didn't say anything as it could compromise zhe mission if we intervened."
"Oui," Concurred Charlotte, "But if that was the case, then it's a fair assumption to say they believe we're more of a hindrance..."
Charlotte, from previous experiences with the boys, knew this wouldn't be the first time the staff at the IS Academy made such a decision. Much like all the incidents, the girls had done little, if anything at all, to prove they were responsible enough to handle information like this.
"But I thought the school relied on us!" Complained Lingyin, "If they don't trust us, why...?"
"Our behaviors can be seen as less zhen responsible at times," Laura suggested, "Such as zhe time zhree of you caused a fight over who protects Ichika and Thomas, vhich ended up endangering zhem ironically."
"Eh?! You know about that?!" Cecilia cried.
"Of course, it ish mein duty to ensure no record of incident goes undocumented for discipline." Laura said plainly.
"O-Oh dear..."
"I've heard rumors that there was child with the boys when they returned." Charlotte shifted topics, "The details were pretty vague, but, apparently Honne and her friends spied the teachers walking a little boy somewhere."
"Ish zhat so? Zhere appears to be more zhe teachers aren't telling us..." Laura murmured.
"But why? Are they really just gonna treat us like kids?" Lingyin whined, "We can help them!"
"We...We haven't learned at all." Houki mumbled.
"Huh?!"
"We've been stupid!" Declared Houki, "Look at us! We're all complaining about how we aren't in the loop, but we haven't seen why that is! Maybe...Maybe we're the ones to blame after all."
"...Maybe..." Nana sniffled, "I'm just a miserable snot-nosed brat who can't do shit."
"N-Not what I meant..." Houki tried to correct and console.
"S'what you were implying..." Nana started sobbing more quietly.
"Th-There there...?" Kanzashi rubbed Nana's back once again.
"...Oui, it certainly does seem that way..." Charlotte reluctantly admitted.
The girls all fell silent, reflecting upon themselves. They'd say they would change, improve...But had they really? Were they to look back, could they truly say they were changing their behavior? It felt so slothful of them, the insecurity and inadequacy settling into their minds...
What could they do, that would really change things for the better?
Elsewhere...
"Yamada-San, how's our...Guest doing?" Chifuyu turned to Maya.
"As he's been before...He doesn't like to talk, at least not without coaxing. It's best not to let him near the bulk of the student body for the time being...Perhaps never."
"...Can we find his parents? Any legal guardians?"
"We're asking the mainland authorities, but even so...Searching will take some time. We took a DNA sample while he was asleep. We've sent it to the medical staff for testing to see if it matches anyone in Japan."
"Do we even know if he's from Japan...?"
"We don't. But...It's the best place to start looking." Maya admitted.
"I see...Do what you can. I'll go check up on Shoto-San." Chifuyu turned and left the room.
Chifuyu was quite concerned. The motives Phantom Task had were clear as day: Examine the boys' DNA to unlock the secret behind their IS-compatibility. After that, possibly, to see if they could replicate the process artificially.
But the question was...What were they doing with Shoto?
Was he their first test subject for this artificial compatibility program? If so, the success of this test would mean...
She needed to keep the boys in safe arms, at all times now. Things had simply degraded to the point she couldn't guarantee their safety outside of the IS Academy...But if she were to keep them cooped up on the island, it would be inevitable for the boys to plan an escape from a place meant to keep them safe.
There wasn't a right answer anymore...There never was.
Knock knock!
Chifuyu knocked on the door, and waited a few moments before entering. Inside, Shoto was sitting in an unused teacher dorm room, which had been given to him as it kept him separated from the student body.
"Shoto-San." Chifuyu greeted.
Shoto quickly jolted and stared to Chifuyu, still too shy to speak. Chifuyu sighed, getting Shoto to open was like trying to pry open a childproofed jar. Ichika did tell Chifuyu that Shoto talked...Perhaps the boy was receptive to other boys? Possibly, Shoto saw them as role models, and could more easily confide in them than girls. It did make sense, as Chifuyu wasn't exactly known for her kid-friendly faces.
"Are you adjusting well to the IS Academy?" Chifuyu asked.
Shoto simply waved his hand to signify indifference...He was still timid, he probably didn't know if he was going to stay here for the rest of his life or if he was going to be reunited with his parents...If he had any.
"...Would you like to see the other boys?"
That got Shoto's attention.
"The boys whom were in the van with you...We can arrange for you to spend some time with them."
Shoto perked up, like an awe-inspired five-year old.
"It's good to see you're in such high spirits...But before that, we want to run some examinations to make sure you're okay."
Shoto's happiness dampened a little.
"It's nothing too uncomfortable...You'll get a lollipop when your examinations are all done." Chifuyu tried bribing a little.
Shoto did seem to like the thought of candy...Perhaps Phantom Task didn't care to do that for him.
"Come, let's get things underway." Chifuyu gestured for Shoto to follow.
"M-Mm." Shoto nodded, treading carefully behind Chifuyu, hiding behind her like a human shield.
Chifuyu led the small boy to the Infirmary, doing her best to tread around the bulk of the students. Shoto keep very close to Chifuyu at all times, most likely, he'd deemed her safe enough to stay close to her.
They entered the infirmary, and got Shoto's examination underway.
Elsewhere...
"-He's clearly not fine." Ichika stated.
Ichika, Elias, and Tyrone had decided to convene in Tyrone's room. Luckily, it seemed Tyrone had managed to stash his anime...Despite the fact all of his anime merchandise would've decorated the room. He really kept the room tidy, it almost seemed like he wasn't a diehard anime fan.
"I suppose your years of friendship has led you to make such an assumption?"
"Yeah...Plus, it's a guy-thing: Hiding pain and acting all tough and stuff."
"I know such when I see it...I feel I did the same for a time."
"Seems t'me he's got some pride issues." Observed Tyrone, "Like he's got some impulse to keep going strong. My guess is that cuz he took a pretty steep fall with the whole kidnapping thing, he wants to show everyone he's okay."
"Yeah, but...That's not something you just bury. Getting abducted is a big thing, and being an abductee, I know from experience it's better to just talk to someone about the ordeal..."
"Well, we'll have to wait and see...My guess is that it takes time for the person in question to open up...Like, Thomas needs to sort out his feelings first, before getting everybody else on board."
"That makes sense..." Elias nodded.
"Yeah...Let's shelf it for now, got some drinks in the fridge and four controllers~" Tyrone smirked.
"Hehehe...I like the way you think~ Want me to get Thomas on the line?" Ichika chuckled.
"Sounds good, yeah." Ichika nodded.
"I...Um..." Elias stammered, "I-Is this an invitation to play video games...?"
"Yeah!" Tyrone picked up the remote, and turned on the TV.
"Master! Daisuki-!"
Tyrone immediately shut off the TV.
All three boys sat in silence for a few moments.
"T-T..." Ichika, "Tyrone...?"
"Please don't judge me..." Tyrone quivered.
"I'm not, I'm not..." Ichika said.
"I-I...I saw nothing." Elias looked quite dumbstruck.
"...So you uh...Wanna go call Thomas now, and we can vote on a game...?" Tyrone piped up.
"Yeah...W-Works for me." Ichika pulled out his phone to text Thomas, whilst Tyrone went and pulled a disc out of his video game console.
A few minutes later, Thomas knocked on the door.
"'Ey!" Thomas called, "Open up, I managed to escape the mob!"
"There's our boy!" Tyrone opened the door, "Video games and chill my dude!"
"YES!" Thomas howled happily, settling down on the couch with the other boys, "Let's go!"
The boys all helped themselves to leftover food in the fridge, fizzy drinks, and other snacks Tyrone had stocked up. IT was clear Tyrone had been planning to get the guys together at his dorm room.
"You were gonna throw a party?" David said as he picked up a handful of chips.
"...Actually, yeah!" Tyrone explained, "I wanted to try gettin' everybody on the same page an' we could do icebreakers and stuff...Well, that was the plan before the whole kidnapping thing...N-Nobody could've seen that coming."
"Yeah...Sucks, but what can yah do?" Thomas shrugged, picking up a controller.
"Speaking of..." Elias shifted gears, "That boy...Shoto...I believe the faculty is keeping him isolated from the school for now."
"Yeah, it'd make a lot of sense, to be honest." Ichika concurred, "The girls would lose their minds if they heard more and more boys were coming out of the woodwork. People would start asking questions and probably protest to a kid being here..."
"I feel you're jumping the gun a little, but it does make some sense." Said Thomas.
"Maybe...I mean, social media would eat it up saying the IS Academy's running experiments to manufacture IS-compatible boys or something...Friggin' conspiracy theorists. I mean, I guess it could it explain something..."
"The issue isn't the what," Said Thomas, "It's the why...Answering that question is how we'll put a stop to whatever Phantom Task is up to."
"Wai-wha?" Tyrone piped up, "Hold on...We're not taking the fight to them, are we?"
"What? N-No..." Thomas stuttered, "I-I'm just sayin', it's obvious they're gonna be back sometime, so...We'll stop 'em then."
"Y'sure...?" Ichika inquired, "Not feeling spiteful of them at all?"
"N-Not really...Just wanna get through the year, enough's happened."
"That's fair..." Shrugged Ichika.
"Hey, we're all here for you, man." Tyrone nodded.
"Duly noted." Thomas shrugged, picking up a controller, letting Tyrone set up a multiplayer game.
"S-So..." Elias eyed a controller, "H-How exactly does one...Play?"
"Ho-Ho-Hold up." Thomas stopped, "You've never played video games? Like, ever?"
"N-No...Sh-Should I have? As a young man I was only ever permitted thirty-minutes of television a day...Well, Father permitted sixty minutes when I'd turned thirteen, at least...The rest of my time was occupied as I was homeschooled until my Junior High years."
The other three boys just stared.
"Wh-What? I...I know I'm a tad sheltered, a-and all, but..."
"-N-No! It's not a problem!" Ichika said quickly, "We can teach you! All three of us!"
"Yeah!" Tyrone and Thomas concurred.
"You would?" Elias was touched...He was a lucky young man to have such friends.
Knock knock!
"Who could that be?" Tyrone said out loud.
"I'll check." Thomas got up and went to the door, revealing...Chifuyu?!
"M-Miss Orimura?" Thomas stepped aside to let Chifuyu enter.
The boys immediately got up and joined Thomas at the door.
"And our guest." Chifuyu said, stepping to the side to reveal a timid Shoto peeking from behind her, "I have some work to do, I'm here to leave Shoto-San to you four, treat him kindly in my absence."
"U-Uh, yes ma'am." Thomas cracked, waving to Shoto.
Shoto timidly stepped out from behind Chifuyu, a lollipop in his hand.
"I'll be back to pick up Shoto-San in a few hours, don't go parading him around the island." Chifuyu turned and left, glancing back to make to see if her hunch was right.
"Yes ma'am." The boys nodded, motioning for Shoto to join them.
Shoto happily trotted to the boys, much as Chifuyu predicted...Shoto was at ease around the boys, possibly because he really did have something in common with him. Now it was a matter of getting him to talk...He was capable of doing so, but, it seemed he was remarkably shy, even enough that he can't talk normally to the boys.
It seemed as bright as day why Phantom Task snatched Shoto...But it just seemed so ridiculous it couldn't be the truth.
"Heya kiddo..." Thomas waved politely to Shoto.
"We got some nice drinks in the fridge...I always have a bag of candy next to my bed." Tyrone smirked, feeling accomplished about his ability to hoard candy.
Shoto seemed awed and perked up by the promises of candy...He was young, most certainly, possibly not even ten years old yet. Naturally, the promises of candy was more than enough to entice a kid.
"Let's get a mostly kid-friendly game on, so Shoto can play too." Thomas suggested, "Something fun, like...Uh...No wait Minecraft doesn't do split-screen...Does it?"
"...I don't think so...Eh, we'll think of something." Tyrone shrugged.
"As long as it's not one of those kinds of games, we'll be fine."
Shoto looked confused, what kind of games...?
"What kind?" Elias asked innocently, just as clueless as Shoto.
"Uh...Um..." Ichika caught on, "Th-The...Anime kind."
"...Ohhh..." Elias caught on.
"A-Ah..." Shoto suddenly mumbled.
The boys all immediately stopped and looked at Shoto...He was so quiet, each time he opened his mouth just sent a jolt down their spines. This made Shoto looked confused, and a little nervous as all eyes were on him.
"A-Ah...Anime..?" Shoto mustered out.
"Y-Yeah..." Ichika shook his head to wear off the shock, "Not something for little kids, let's find something more your age."
Shoto looked confused, but nodded, curious about what video games Tyrone had.
"You know what video games are?" Thomas asked.
"M-Mhm." Shoto grunted, nodding.
"Alright, uh...Yokai Watch? Pokemon?" Thomas thought up, "I mean I think...Is Pokemon still going?"
"Apparently." Ichika shrugged.
"Dang...Now I feel old." Thomas sighed.
"So...Uh..." Tyrone rummaged around a stack of games, "How about Warfra-"
"Nope, nuh-uh." Thomas and Ichika said in unision.
"...It was more of a singleplayer game anyway...No split-screen." Tyrone concurred.
"Don't you have any Nintendo games? Those're mostly good for groups." Thomas piped up.
"Oh! Maybe Smash Bros!" Tyrone agreed.
"Yeah! That's friendly enough!" Ichika nodded.
Tyrone quickly put a copy of Smash Bros into the console, and handed Thomas, Ichika, and Elias controllers. Shoto looked confused, like he was out of place, as he didn't have a controller.
"This one's a four-player game, but don't worry~" Tyrone pat Shoto's head, "Once you get a look at the game we'll let you have a turn."
Shoto was still confused, but nodded anyway.
"Hnnh..." Thomas glanced at Shoto for a moment, but quickly looked back to the TV.
Ichika was the only one who noticed Thomas's glance...Strange, Ichika was definitely going to pull Thomas aside later, regardless of if Thomas liked it or not. It was probably a tired effort, but...Ichika needed to confront Thomas on the matter to make absolute certainty.
The boys each took a controller, and as soon as they could, quickly selected whichever character they fancied.
"Dibs on Cloud!" Ichika quickly selected the iconic Final Fantasy character.
"I'll take Zelda!" Called Tyrone.
"E-Eh...I'll...Um...I'll take this one? K-Kirby?" Elias said as he read out the name of a pink blob.
"Heh, then I'll take Ganondorf!" Thomas smirked, picking the green beast.
"Final Destination, no items!" Tyrone set the rules, and picked the map.
"Right!" The other boys nodded.
"H-How do I do my thing?!" Elias cried in panic.
Alas, Elias would have no quarter as the foursome of fighters loaded onto the map, and the match began. Each fighter spawned onto the stage, with unique entrances to compliment their character.
"Muahahahaha!" Tyrone immediately began teleporting everywhere on the stage, like all Zelda players do.
"Come here!" Thomas went for Elias mercilessly.
"Nooo! I don't know what to do!"
"Pfft! You'll figure it out! Everybody knows the best way to learn is under intense, life-threatening pressure!"
"SOMEONE SAVE ME!"
"Thomas! Stop picking on Elias!" Ichikia jumped to intervene.
"RULES OF NATURE ICHIKA, THE STRONG SURVIVE!" Thomas laughed evilly, his eyes fueled with chaos.
"NOT TODAY!"
"WHAT CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO?!"
Ganondorf lashed forth, quickly catching Cloud with Flame Choke.
"Darn!" Ichikia grunted, watching Cloud get sent to the ground, purple smoke pouring off of his body.
"Muahahahaha! You can't-CRAP!" Thomas flinched as Zelda teleported into Ganondorf and knocked him over.
"Both y'all helpless against Farore's Wind!" Declared Tyrone.
"Curses! I should've known you main Zelda!" Thomas said dramatically.
"And now to give you the sweet release of death!" Tyrone marched on Elias.
"Nooo! Have mercy! I don't know what I'm doing!" Elias frantically fiddled with his controller.
Shoto could only watch...He didn't fully understand, but, he did know what was going on. He knew what video games were, he even knew what game the boys were playing...But, Shoto never played the game himself.
The older boys were just so pointlessly passionate...It was surprisingly inspiring, Shoto could feel the urge to join in the fun.
"Whatever happens...Please!" Elias hit a button as Tyrone walked right up to him.
Kirby suddenly inflated like a balloon! The pink blob's mouth opened wide, creating a vacuum with a high-pitched inhale! Zelda was swept up in the vacuum, but because Ganondorf and Cloud didn't get up, they remained in place!
Tyrone gasped, he'd been tricked!
"N-Nani?! But you don't know what you're doing, how could have possibly-!"
Kirby swallowed Zelda whole, like a chewy candy!
"No! Nonononononono!" Tyrone frantically mashed buttons to try and escape, but to no avail!
"I-I...I did something...? I did something!" Elias cheered happily, "...Now what do I do?"
"Quick! Hit the button again!" Said Ichika, "You can copy Zelda's powers!"
"I can?!" Elias gawked, only then realizing the power Kirby held, "So much power, in such a little vessel..."
"No! Spit me out!" Demanded Tyrone.
By this time, Thomas and Ichika had managed to get their characters up, both hesitating to observe what Elias did next. Elias hit down on the button, and spat out Zelda, before suddenly gaining Zelda's hair!
"No!" Tyrone recovered, attempting to fight Elias before he figured out how to use his new powers.
"Leave him alone!" Ichika put Cloud between the two.
"You can't stop me!" Tyrone teleported past Ichika.
"Why you-Bwah?!"
"You FOOL!" Thomas hit Ichika with Wizard's Foot, smashing Cloud with dark energy.
"I'm not done yet!" Ichika recovered midair, before retaliating with Climhazzard, bringing Cloud's massive Buster Sword down upon Ganondorf.
Ganondorf tanked the blow head on, being sent into the air!
"Come on, you can do better than THAT!" Thomas cackled villainously before using Dark Dive to attack Ichika and recover.
Tyrone used Phantom Slash on Elias, but Kirby had hopped into the air and flapped away safely, before using Stone to try and crush Zelda. Zelda had once again teleported away, following up with Nayru's Love to knock Elias away as soon as Kirby popped out from Stone.
Such speed...The four had found their rhythm, their focus. Such intensity couldn't be interrupted. Shoto watched, his awe only growing as he leaned in with utmost curiosity. The older boys were having such fun...Shoto wanted to do the same.
"And we all have one life!" Tyrone suddenly laughed, "So if we get KO'd, that's that!"
"You only say that now?!" Elias cried in horror.
"Well, I thought it'd be nice to give you some relief, before you perish!" Tyrone suddenly used Din's Fire, setting Kirby ablaze, the resulting explosion sending the poor blob off screen.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Elias spammed the jump button in desperation.
Fortunately for the British boy, Kirby shook off the devastating blow, and puffed several times as Elias saved himself, floating back on screen and narrowly snatching the edge of the stage.
"Too close..." Sighed Elias.
"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE?!" Tyrone laughed, Zelda stood at the edge, ready to smack Kirby into the air when the blob climbed up.
"No! Please!"
"Long live the king...Wahahahahah!" Tyrone cackled.
"Something save me!" Elias shut his eyes, and spammed all the buttons he could.
Kirby climbed up...And smacked Zelda right in the face! The poor princess was knocked back, teetering dangerously close to the brawl between Ichika and Thomas. The boys al howled, laughing as they saw Tyrone fail to Elias once again.
"Are you SERIOUS?!" Tyrone shouted dramatically.
"TWICE!" Thomas laughed to the point he sounded like a steaming kettle of tea.
"ALRIGHT! THAT'S IT, TIME TO DIE!" Tyrone leaned in and got serious, Zelda charged in, intimidating Elias.
"A-Ah NOOOO!" Elias jumped and pressed a random button once again.
Zelda was sent flying as Elias had accidentally brought down a Final Cutter, Tyrone couldn't escape in time as Zelda was sprinting. This sent Zelda once again flying across the stage, this time past Thomas and Ichika.
As this all happened, Thomas and Ichika were less one-sided as Elias and Tyrone. Back and forth they went, Ichika smashed Thomas to the ground after another recovery from Thomas sending Ichika flying.
The two clashed, canceled each other's attacks, and immediately clashed again, locked in an all-encompassing battle of epics the likes of which had to be seen to be believed. It was a stalemate, but so entertaining to watch.
Fortunately for them, the Smash Ball wasn't enabled, otherwise the smackdown would've been much more intense.
The damage percentages on each player went up and up, but all of them refused to lay down and get knocked out. Thomas smashed Ichika off the stage, Ichika narrowly managed to grab the edge of the stage with Climhazzard.
"Way too close..." Ichika sighed, climbing up.
Right as he climbed up, he was knocked over by a sudden teleport from Zelda.
"Eat teleportation, fools!" Tyrone laughed manically.
"Not today!" Thomas attacked at point-blank range with Warlock Punch.
"Gaaah!" Zelda flew off the stage, but quickly teleported safely back onto the stage.
Tyrone laughed.
"No matter how hard you hit me, you'll never knock me out!" Tyrone sent Dinn's Fire towards the other three.
"Dang!" Ichika and Thomas leapt away in time, but Elias wasn't so fortunate.
"OH NO-!"
Further unfortunately for Elias, Kirby had accumulated so much damage that the explosion had not only sent Kirby flying, but outright knocked out hard! Within an instant, Kirby exploded as he flew off the stage, and Elias was out of the game.
"Noooo!" Cried Elias, "I didn't even know what was happening and yet I feel so defeated..."
"It's okay, we'll switch out after the match." Ichika comforted.
"-Which'll be pretty soon, I'm gonna take you both down!" Tyrone laughed, sending another Dinn's Fire at Ganondorf and Cloud.
The boys once again narrowly evaded the explosive attack.
"Thomas, I know we're supposed to fight each other, but..."
"...We need to stop Tyrone." Said Thomas.
"Truce?"
"...As long as Tyrone's in power, we'll work together, but...Only until he's stopped."
"Hah! You two think you can actually work together enough to beat me?!" Tyrone was extremely skilled, a wall that must be climbed, not jumped.
"We might not spend as much time on this game as you," Ichika challenged, "But you'll find that our wills equal to yours!"
"Then bring it on!"
Ichika leapt into the air, with Thomas coming out from behind to attack Zelda directly with Wizard's Foot. Cloud landed a few feet away and began to charge up his limit gauge for an all-powerful attack.
Tyrone leapt out of Ganondorf's range, and countered Thomas's charge with Phantom Slash, sending a Phantom right at Ganondorf when he was vulnerable.
"Nnnghg...!" Thomas grunted.
Elias and Shoto could see the three boys sweat like a hot summer's day, they were going at things with all they had!
"COME ON!" Thomas fired another Wizard's foot.
"Again?! Seriously!" Tyrone laughed, jumping just outside of range.
"Gotcha!"
But without warning Thomas jumped right out of he attack, leaping up and backwards into the air before zipping back down with Dark Dive!
"Wait what?!" Tyrone was aghast as Thomas had made his combo attack!
The blow had struck Zelda head on, knocking her to the floor!
"Fully charged! Let's do this!" Cloud's finished charge glowed with blue light, as he turned and rushed in to join the fight.
"Finish her off, your Cross Slash could knock her right out!" Thomas tipped.
"Right! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ichika rushed in as Ganondorf jumped over and behind Cloud, letting him pass.
"...Heheheheh..." Tyrone laughed, "MUDA!"
"Eh?!" Ichika flinched.
In a single instant, Tyrone had gotten Zelda to her feet. As Cloud had reached the optimal range to use his Cross Slash, Zelda had used Farore's wind and pushed Cloud back! Not only did Tyrone stop Ichika, but Zelda had reappeared and struck Ganondorf as well! Both Cloud and Ganondorf had hit the ground, with Zelda doing a taunt between them.
"It's useless!" Tyrone laughed, "I've spent so many nights playing this game, I know everything about each character you use to fight me!"
"We're not done yet..." Ichika said, "I've still got full charge!"
"C'mon Tyrone," Thomas joked, "We don't quit until the fat lady sings, and none of our moms are around!"
Tyrone and Ichika snorted at Thomas's dry humor.
Shoto was in awe...It was like one of those anime shows he would watch a long, long time ago...
"Ichika...There's only one chance we have." Thomas said.
"What're you talking about?" Ichika didn't know what Thomas had planned, but he was banking on Thomas having one.
"You'll know soon enough!" Thomas said as he rushed Zelda with another Wizard's Foot.
"Really, again?!" Tyrone teleported right before the blow connected, canceling it out.
"NOW! CLIMHAZZARD!" Thomas shouted.
"R-Right!" Ichika leapt into the air.
"OH NO!" Tyrone realized what Thomas had planned.
Zelda had teleported to where Cloud once stood, right under him!
"I get it now!" Ichika realized what Thomas meant, and used the fully charged downswing from Climhazzard to smash Zelda with a crushing blow!
"NOOOOOOOO!" Tyrone panicked, Zelda was hit so hard she bounced off the ground and into the air, flying off the stage!
Thomas suddenly raced up before Zelda could recover midair, Ganondorf snatched Zelda with a flying Flame Choke!
"What're you doing?!" Tyrone panicked, realizing too late Thomas's intent once more.
"If you use Flame Choke midair you'll go right down!" Ichika cried.
"REMEMBER ME!" Thomas shouted, Ganondorf plummeted down into the abyss below the stage, taking Zelda with him.
"NO! I REFUSE TO DIE!" Tyrone shouted as he vainly mashed buttons to escape the suicidal dive.
Thomas closed his eyes and gently placed his controller down.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!"
Zelda and Ganondorf hit the void, and exploded as they were knocked out, leaving only Cloud left standing.
"THOMAS!" Ichika cried dramatically.
The match had been called.
"This game's winner is...Cloud!"
"Wow...We really went nuts this match." Tyrone took a few minutes to think about the events of the past few minutes.
"Totally worth it...That was awesome! Super dramatic, like an anime!" Thomas chuckled.
"That was your plan?!" Ichika was shocked, "I mean it worked but...Wow."
"Yeah, yeah...Egh, I'm kinda thirsty." Thomas said dryly, "Let's get something from the fridge."
"I'm down, c'mon." Tyrone set down his controller, and the boys all went to the fridge.
"Mmmmgh..." Shoto grunted, shutting his gold eye.
"Shoto? Something wrong?" Thomas turned to the young boy.
"Mmmm..." Shoto had gotten something in his eye, he pointed to it to signal the other boys.
"Uh...Hey, Tyrone? You got any eyedrops?" Ichika inquired, slowly catching on.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, check the closet." Tyrone nodded.
"Here," Thomas urged Shoto, pulling out a chair from the dorm room's desk, "Siddown, let's have a look at that eye."
Shoto nodded, and calmly sat down, doing his best not to squeeze his eyelid shut.
"C'mon, open your eye, slowly." Elias said, "Let's see what's wrong..."
"Must've been dust, or a bug." Thomas mumbled, observing closely as Shoto slowly opened his eye.
"Nnnn!" Shoto shut his eye right back up when he suddenly felt a twinge.
"Hey hey..." Elias urged, "C'mon, it's perfectly fine...We need to look if you want us to help."
Shoto nodded again, and slowly opened his eye once more, fighting to keep it open as the boys looked him over. Elias and Thomas bore witness to Shoto's golden eye...It looked eerily familiar, there was some rainbow-like coloration in a few parts of the iris.
"Funky...It kinda looks like..." Thomas's observation got more focused.
"Like what?"
"Kinda looks like Laura's eye." Thomas said.
"What? What're you talking about?" Tyrone walked over, Ichika picked up the eyedrops and walked over.
"I'm saying his eye kinda looks like Laura's, it's got...Stuff."
"Stuff?" Ichika looked dumbfounded.
"E-Eh..." Shoto looked uncomfortable.
"It's not just heterochromia." Said Thomas, "There's...Lo-Look, if you squint enough, you can see stuff swirling about in his iris."
"What're you...? Huh?" Elias was utterly confused.
"You mean...?" Tyrone inquired.
"I'm saying it's not natural...Shoto was in the van with us, right?"
"Yeah...?"
"I mean...Think about it. They took DNA samples, from all of us."
"What you're saying is...They had Shoto there as..." Ichika started.
"They were experimenting with him as well..." Thomas finished.
"But why Shoto specifically?" Said Tyrone, "It'd only make sense for them to pick him out of literally any candidate if he's..."
The boys had all figured it out right then and there.
"Is if he's IS-compatible. He's just like us."
A/N: Chapter 45 complete! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! Hope I didn't worry any fans of this story, I've been getting back into school and whatnot. Ironically, the year where I had the most free time to write is the time where I feel the most lacking of motivation...I've been stagnant on my works, and that's inexcusable, so I promise to find my drive to keep pressing forward! Going back to school hasn't totally helped me get back into shape, but it has given me help in regaining my focus.
Thanks again to everyone who's enjoyed reading this fanfic, I hope it's as fun to read it as it's been writing it! I've been working on other projects as well, so here's to hoping I can find it in myself to start those as well!
As of writing this, I'm feeling especially happy I was able to finally get to completing this chapter. But don't think I'm done yet! I've got plenty more ideas to get through, I've already got the entire story mapped out, it's only a matter of finding the right words to put down on the page!
Fun facts: I actually found inspiration for Shoto from fanfics like Taming Kestrel, another IS Fanfic on . While I haven't read the whole story, but it did help me shape the concept of Shoto.
I'll do my best to get better, and wish you all a good time!
Next Time: The Fifth Valkyrie.
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