Opening song: Rick Ross - War Ready Ft. Jeezy
Time: 5:52PM - Kyoto
A twenty-year old boy sat on a chair as he drank green tea, and set it on the table. What stood out from the people was his height at 180cm, rather tall among Japanese people. He is Flemish with dark blond hair, blue eyes, and six piercing on his cheek. He wore a dark hoodie and matching trousers. Next to him was a twelve-year old boy. What people don't know was they're beyond normal civilians.
"So, Mattheus, this is Kyoto…" said the adolescent, yawning.
"Yes, Joel Pearce. Come to think of it, I heard Ichika Orimura is here somewhere for a school trip."
"As long as the crazy fuck Tabane is not here in my presence, I'm glad to be here."
Mattheus was Ichika's good friend, aka brother that helped him through tough times in life. He's very no-nonsense when it comes to girls that treat him like a trophy. They noticed Liu walking towards them with a Mac-11 strapped to his waist.
"Chifuyu called me in to see you," said Mattheus. "Come take a seat."
Liu paused momentarily, and played along as he poured a cup of tea. Moments ago, Mattheus was called by Chifuyu to deal with Liu and Phantom Task. She knew Liu would come back to Kyoto, and she needed Mattheus to bring him under control.
Chifuyu knew Liu would snap if he returned by himself. Mattheus didn't care much for criminals, but he reluctantly accepted to bring Liu under control. He sat across Mattheus and Joel, and this was the first time seeing eye to eye. Liu stared at the adult while Mattheus kept his mouth shut seeing the Chinese gangster.
"…"
One minute passed by, neither of them said a word. Liu drank his tea, not keeping his eyes away at the Flemish adult. The silent treatment was getting awkward, and Mattheus had enough of it.
"Hey, stranger," said Mattheus. "You could have at least told us your name."
"…"
Mattheus shook his head when Liu refused to talk. "Maybe this should wake you up. You're Liu King-Sang, an IS pilot also associated with Righteousness Union."
Liu slightly frowned Mattheus knew his profile. "What do you want?"
They sip tea while the sun set, reflecting a beam of light.
"I'm Mattheus Adjzof, a friend of Ichika. This is Joel Pearce, known as Designer that created my IS, Lavathenian."
Liu appeared moderately surprised Mattheus was also a male IS pilot. Liu thought he and Ichika were the only ones, but that wasn't the case. What caught his attention the most was Joel. Even though he was young, he constructed an IS.
"Ex IRA engineer. I might not have the full capacity like Tabane, but I'm good enough to at least make an IS."
"You're telling me this creator made this?" Liu darted his eyes at the young Irish boy.
"Goddamn right I did! We know for a fact you recently hanged a person, and brutally stabbed a guy three times, and blew his mouth into pieces. What's up with that?"
"Personal issues."
Liu had suspicions they were undercover cops or witnesses that saw the shootout against Kaori.
"How do you know all of this?" Liu questioned the Flemish man and his young companion casually drinking tea.
"At ease, we're not cops. You're a criminal associated with Righteousness Union. It appears you have bad blood with Three Dragons. I can help if you listen to me."
Liu had a blank expression, still uncooperative with Mattheus and Joel.
"Give me a good reason why I should listen."
Mattheus kept his cool, folding his hands while Joel watched. "I don't want to fight you, but please don't test me. Take it from my words, Liu. I lost a bit too much, but that doesn't stop me from going on. I saw the report of the Triad shootout; Kaori's men killed your friends in the line of duty."
"You robbed Three Dragons' income sources that must have been the reason those mobs were after you," said Joel.
"Call it a payback for leaving me with Madoka and Tabane."
Mattheus frowned at Liu's dangerous lifestyle, and he knows the world better. Having the urge to make Liu fully cooperate, he was ready to use his equalizer.
"Based on your criminal background, I could end your life right away. You've done plenty of heinous crimes, and this would be your last thing you'll ever see. Watch what you're about to see, and don't you ever forget it."
He partial deployed Lavathenian as the giant dark brown slab of metal covered his forearms. It had spears attached and various guns jutted out. Mattheus whip out an AK-47, the classic Russian assault rifle, and a Spas-12 Italian semi-automatic shotgun on his left hand.
Liu wasn't going to be killed by someone he has never met. In response, he partial deployed Nightmare, pointing his Venom Slug at Mattheus. They could have squeezed the trigger, but Mattheus realized he couldn't kill Liu under the orders of Chifuyu. She wanted him alive because Liu might have possible clues that may lead to Three Dragons and Phantom Task. Those that saw the partial deployed personal IS scurried into the distance to get away.
"I see you're not a fluke to fast reaction. You're lucky I have to keep you alive so Chifuyu doesn't freak out."
Mattheus and Liu let their finger off the trigger to dispel the standoff. Mattheus knew he had to keep it diplomatic as possible to not bring unnecessary body bag. They deactivated their personal IS as the conversation ensues.
"Liu, how did you pilot an IS?" Joel asked.
"It was all because of Tabane," Liu replied. "She detained me when I tried to kill her for this curse. Back then, Three Dragons and I fought over an IS for proper ownership to the point we'll kill each other over it. Crackhead reverse engineered an IS so she doesn't have to clean our mess up."
Mattheus and Joel slightly shuddered at the criminal explaining his background. Joel agreed Liu's remark at Tabane because he too doesn't like her. Mattheus doesn't care that much about criminals, and could have killed Liu to get over it, but he patiently waited.
"We also don't like Tabane," said Joel, scratching his head. "She is a nutjob that doesn't know how to stop creating these mass weapons of destruction. Hell, Tabane only cares for Chifuyu, Houki, and Ichika. Ironically, she'll help with anyone. Did she happen to help Three Dragons?"
Liu nodded to confirm their suspicions. The more Liu has to hear Tabane, the more he wants to get away from the crazed scientist.
"It's true Three Dragons wouldn't stop to kill you for an IS," said Mattheus.
"He'll have to do better than that…it appears I'm not the second male IS pilot next to Ichika. How did you operate an IS?"
"Joel made it possible to construct Lavathenian solely for me. He's the genius to create a 10th Generation IS."
"You and Joel are close friends," said Liu.
"I ran into Joel when he lost his parents. We shared common interests; we're like brothers that always look out for each other. Anyone can get it should they dare to lay their finger on my brother. I mean it from the bottom from my heart."
Mattheus was getting there to make Liu cooperate without shedding blood from either sides. The conversation may have been irritating for them to talk to a criminal, but the effort was worth it.
"Liu, you're not getting away for ditching IS Academy," Mattheus warned. "You'll have some explanations when you show yourself. I'm not just an IS pilot, I'm a free agent. Perhaps you could make it up to Chifuyu from your self-exile journey. Bring her some souvenir gifts, if you catch my drift. As long as you don't try to provoke me, we'll be even."
"Perhaps I-"
"Look, mommy, a shooting star!" a young girl pointed at the bright blur. The mother picked her up to get a better view. In the city streets, Shen stood on the intersection, partial deploying her IS scorpion tail and rocket launcher pods jutted on her back. She fired an EMP shock wave cannon aiming towards Liu, Mattheus, and Joel. The mother realized the projectile was coming fast, and held her daughter tightly to run away.
"RUUUNNN!" The mother screamed.
The electrical round exploded on impact, releasing shock wave energy that obliterated few civilians. Before Liu, Mattheus and Joel said a word, the shock wave knocked their tea and table away.
"What the-?!"
"Joel and I will stop the assailant. Now hurry! He and his friends, along with the students might be in danger!"
Liu readied his Mac-11 while Mattheus and Joel cracked their knuckles, activating Lavathenian to pursue the assailant. They saw Chifuyu running towards Shen with her katanas. However, an IS military unit intervened, and traded blows against Shen.
"Do your worst, cretin!" The IS pilot yelled. "You want a piece of me? You want a piece of me?!"
Even though she was clearly outclassed, she didn't give up to fight with bravery. Shen used her tail to repeatedly jab the IS pilot, and she was paralyzed. The IS pilot was out of energy shield, completely defenseless against Shen. She grabbed the IS pilot with immense strength, and she screamed in pain until Shen viciously tore her in half. Blood and guts spewed out of her lifeless body as Shen threw them away, angering Chifuyu, Mattheus, and Joel.
In her mind, Shen callously declared the IS pilot. No! I want two.
"Who the hell is this sicko…?!" Joel said in disgust at Shen's barbaric execution.
Mattheus said, "She is on another level of psychotic."
How could Shen's partial IS have the strength against a fully armed military IS unit?
"You will pay for that, Shen, and the police officers that you killed." Chifuyu said in a low, dark tone.
Chifuyu did several somersaults to avoid Shen's EMP projectile, scaring the crap out of a woman sitting in the middle of the street. Joel went to the other side while Mattheus stood on his position to cover fire. Before Shen lock on her target, Joel jumped on top of Shen, and pointed her tail away from Chifuyu. Shen was forced to materialized Dread Gauntlet, and threw Joel against a car that tried to wreck her right rocket launcher pod.
Mattheus didn't like the way Shen attacked Kyoto, Chifuyu, and throwing Joel like a doll. He pulled out his Chasseur, and squeezed the trigger, firing a high-powered caliber. The projectile struck a direct hit on Shen. When the smoke clears, it barely put a dent on her. Dread Gauntlet was an 8-legged 2nd Generation IS that resembled a Omdurman scorpion, better known as Deathstalker.
"Heh? That didn't even put a scratch on her!"
"Any idea what her name is?"
As Mattheus helped Joel back on his feet, Shen indulged her brief moment of curiosity by looking straight back at the trio.
"That is Shen Xun, Three Dragons' bodyguard," said Chifuyu. "Her IS, Dread Gauntlet has been equipped with illegal weapons and armor. Don't expect this an easy fight."
Shen was heavily armored colored blood red with shiny, chrome shoulder pads protruded with spikes, and multi-eyed neural interface helmet rested on her head, fully concealing her face. The disturbing part of the color was Shen looked like she took a blood bath. She revealed tekko-kagi with extendable claws built into her gauntlets. In addition, the indestructible blades create an extremely intimidating silhouette for the purpose of psychological combat.
"If you think you can fuck us up, you'll have to do better than that, ho."
"…"
Shen's silence was her response as she activated double barrel gatling gun on her hands. The tip of her tail revealed a stinger ready to dish out some damage. Not only Dread Gauntlet looked like an improved version of Arachne, it packed serious firepower almost equivalent to a military tank.
"I have a feeling one won't be enough to take down that insect," said Mattheus.
"Talk about a thing that's built solid rock, possibly the hardest enemy we'll ever face. Any ideas, Orimura-sensei?"
"I wish I knew," Chifuyu replied, gripping her katanas. "But right now, I don't, and Shen is looking forward to this…"
As they face against Shen, six-barrel guns slowly whirred counting to certain destruction, and the showdown has begun.
Shen raised her arms to let loose barrage of firepower at extreme high fire rate. The sound was ear splitting from the gatling gun, and they barely dodged in time. Anti IS high caliber bullets tore the pavement into disfigured mess, spitting chunks of asphalt. Mattheus fired his AK-47 and Spas-12 to cover fire for Chifuyu. She charged with katanas over her head, but Shen expected it. She fired heat-seeking missiles, forcing Chifuyu to double back.
Joel fired his modified revolver to destroy the chasing projectiles before returning fire at Shen. He threw a grenade that exploded in front of her. Shen covered her hands, and Joel fired more rounds, pushing her back. She fired two heat-seeking missiles at Mattheus and Joel to spread them apart, leaving Chifuyu an opening chance to attack close up. Mattheus and Joel flew upwards, returning fire to keep distracting her.
Chifuyu landed direct hits at her armor. It left some scratch marks, but it'll take more than that to break Shen. She used her tekko-kagi, trading blows with Chifuyu. Blades clashed each other, dancing in wildly fashion. Shen raised her tail up high, and swung it down. Chifuyu rolled over as the tail stabbed the pavement, leaving a small crater hole.
If she didn't dodge, Chifuyu would have been paralyzed, and ripped apart, or shot to death. However, she wasn't in the clear when the tail tried to stab her again. Like a snake, the tail repeatedly jabs and stab as Chifuyu parried the attack, stabbing pair of swords on the ground. Mattheus took aim and fired his Chasseur at Shen. The giant bullet scorched through the air, hitting Shen in the left arm. Shen went on the defense as Mattheus continued to fire. That was the distraction Chifuyu needed to set up her trap. Overwhelmed by the high caliber rounds, Shen walked backwards, unaware of the surprise behind her. She fired her gatling gun to flush Mattheus and Joel out of cover.
"So much for being invisible," said Joel, returning fire.
Distracted from her shooters, Shen stepped into Chifuyu's trap. She snapped her finger, and the swords exploded, covering Shen in multiple explosions. Shen didn't even fall once, much to the confusion of Chifuyu, Mattheus, and Joel.
"You've got to be shitting me!" Mattheus exclaimed, finding cover in a building as Shen fired nonstop. "All our attacks barely brought her knees down."
"Bring in the White Death," Joel replied. "That has to be the way to stop her reign of terror."
Shen fired heat-seeking missiles and her gatling gun simultaneously as Chifuyu kept Shen at bay so they can set up White Death. It's the most powerful weapon that can destroy an IS in one shot. Only Mattheus can wield such illegal weapon. The long-range cannon rested on Mattheus's right shoulder as Joel aimed carefully. Chifuyu looked behind, and smirked as she jumped out of the way.
"Time to die, bitch," said Joel, squeezing the trigger.
The 40mm exploded in a cloud of smoke and fire that covered an entire block.
"Hold your fire!" Chifuyu commanded, drawing her katanas. The smoke clears, and the aftermath left a huge crater hole with fire around it. There was no sign of Shen, sending warning signs.
"Where did she go?" said Mattheus, looking for Shen.
"Oh shit…LOOK OUT!" Joel yelled.
It turns out Shen evaded the one shot kill by jumping sky high out of their view. Hurling down like a comet, she touchdown, producing a small earthquake. Shen fired at Mattheus and Joel to break apart again. Chifuyu threw a backhand slash, but Shen swiped them, and grabbed her legs. She threw her against parked cars and pavements repeatedly. Shen threw her in the air, slashing her chest four times, and executed a flying kick to her face.
Chifuyu was hurled 75 feet, and slammed against a container truck, destroying the panels. The blades tore half of her suit, drawing nasty gash marks with blood. Mattheus and Joel couldn't believe the raw strength of Shen because this was the toughest opponent they faced. Shen took the time to ready her tail once again as Mattheus and Joel rushed to aid Chifuyu battered.
"…What are you doing…?" Chifuyu winced in pain. "I can get up on my feet."
Chifuyu was whiskered to safety; Mattheus and Joel readied White Death. They were beyond mad at Shen's reign of terror. Before Joel could put an end to her, Shen waddled her finger. No one ever waddles his or her finger, especially Mattheus and Joel.
"Never stick your finger again you fucking bitch!" Mattheus yelled.
Shen pointed her gatling gun at a bus filled with passengers, a cowardly move to hold them hostages. Shen pointed at Chifuyu, drew a line across her own neck. Shen's interpretation was if they don't bring Chifuyu out hiding, she'd kill them. The barrels slowly whirred at the terrified hostages, screaming in horror. Joel brought Chifuyu, and Shen appeared to let her hostages go. Suddenly, Shen had second thoughts, and kicked the bus towards them. Without Joel to operate White Death, it's impossible for Mattheus to operate it.
"That was a dirty trick!" Chifuyu shouted at Shen that had no qualms of putting civilians in danger.
Shen's tail transformed into a cannon as she unleashed a massive shock wave that shattered the cars and windows of several buildings around the three. Mattheus, Joel, and Chifuyu were blown away, but even the power Shen had, didn't knock them out. They were lucky Shen didn't blast them point blank, or the damage would have been much more devastating. Joel still sitting on Mattheus, tried to fire White Death, but it didn't do anything because of the EMP shock wave. It burned out the circuits, rendering the guns useless.
"Tsk, she fried our guns," Joel groaned.
In response, Mattheus drew his Goedendag with the chain sticking out. Shen withdrew her gatling guns to use tekko-kagi, extending its blades. If she was asking for hand-to-hand combat, they weren't afraid to go for it. They charged at Shen as she parried their attacks. The blades made contact against Mattheus's body, but luckily for the man, Lavathenian protected him from being torn apart. Joel landed some strikes on her, though it caused little injury and had no lasting effect. Her tail plummeted towards Mattheus and Joel, narrowly avoiding it.
"Watch out for its tail! Get stabbed by it, you won't move for a while."
Reminding how Shen paralyzed the military IS unit, neither of them wanted to be the next victim. Mattheus swung the blade at Shen while Joel went for her tail. Unfortunately, Shen knew Joel would go after her tail, and used her legs to block their attacks while she prepared for a counter. Shen fired missiles again as she laid her target on Chifuyu. They did their best to stop Shen, but she swatted them like mosquitoes that left them unconscious. Chifuyu managed to block the finishing blow from Shen. That didn't last long enough as Shen raised her left foot upward, and swung it down at Chifuyu's head like an axe. The heel struck on top of her skull with a loud crack as her vision went blurry momentarily from the devastating kick, having no idea how and where it all happened.
She was slashed five times, drawing more blood from the sharp blades. Chifuyu felt her whole body was close of falling apart when Shen savagely beat her to a pulp with enhance strength. As her final act of violence, she slammed Chifuyu against a sedan, destroying it in the process. By the time Mattheus and Joel recovered, Shen threw the Brunhilde at them like a football.
"Chifuyu!" Mattheus and Joel shouted simultaneously.
They caught her in time, but why Shen didn't take the chance to kill them? She had the ability to decimate them, but she didn't use all of it. Chifuyu began to feel frustrated as if Shen mocked their fighting abilities. Shen merely played them like toys.
"Is that all you got?" Chifuyu said groggily, coughing blood. "Your attacks barely put a dent on us."
"…"
Shen remained her usual silent way, pointing at Chifuyu's bloody gash marks on her chest, face, and her torn suit. Shen shook her head at Chifuyu that won't surrender. Chifuyu was asking for another beat down, despite the fact she was injured. A private link opened up for Shen.
"Squall's troops have finished recon, they're ready to deploy. It's best you should fall back now."
Shen's playtime expired because she was ordered by Three Dragons to create a distraction. She waved a goodbye to the three, not before sticking her tongue out, and fired her remaining missiles. Thinking fast, Mattheus carried Chifuyu, and Joel, and flew towards the sky to elude the missiles. By the time they descend to the ground, Shen was long gone.
"She is tough all right for a bodyguard," said Mattheus. "We got to warn the others."
"…Shen…won't get away with this," Chifuyu muttered, spitting blood.
She was badly injured, definitely in no good condition to fight. Joel looked through his binoculars on the horizon; more bad news was on the way.
"I'm seeing bad looking vehicles three o clock."
Phantom Task convoy was closing in on them. Mattheus remembered a few black European cars and SUVs parked at the lot, and when he saw the convoy, it was almost similar. At that point, the three realized those troops did reconnaissance the entire time. In conclusion, Ichika and the girls were in trouble. They had to hurry to warn them, but it wouldn't be enough because a fight was coming soon. Luckily for Mattheus and Joel, their firearms were back to normal from the EMP blast, and the fact it was temporarily.
Mattheus quickly made a plan. Taking care of Chifuyu was the first priority. After that, Ichika and his friends had to be taken care off.
"Joel, I'll bring Chifuyu to a safe place, and then I'm off to look for Ichika. Think you're up for it to find one of his friends?"
Joel smiled at his older brother. "Leave it to me! No mere Phantom Task goons will stop me. I'll meet you on the other side."
Before they could go, Chifuyu tugged on the man's arm.
"Wait, here are the pictures of Ichika's friends. Tell them they're in trouble, and make it quick."
Chifuyu gave them a PDA of Ichika's friends. Joel had no problem remembering all of Ichika's friends, glancing the small biography underneath their pictures until he saw Cecilia, and slightly shuddered.
Oh great, an English girl is the last thing I want to encounter.
Joel went off in one direction while Mattheus raced to the safe place, carrying Chifuyu bridal style.
'I hope Liu gets to one of the pilots as well. I don't like him, but without his fire power, we're fucked.'
Liu went on his own to search for Ichika and the gang. He knew they wouldn't be happy, especially Rin for ditching IS Academy, but he had to find them before Phantom Task did any harm to them. Walking fast, he looked everywhere, but no progress had been made. Unexpectedly, Liu saw Rin walking towards him, and he walked to the other side. The worst part for him had happened, namely running into Rin. Two men in suits appear in front of her. They looked like businessmen running for a meeting, but the way they had their left hand on the pocket were bad signs for the two. Without saying a word, they drew their CZ 75 and opened fire.
Rin partial deployed Shenlong, swatting the bullets in one swift motion like a broom, but they were pushing her back.
"!"
She was dumbstruck that the 9x19mm Parabellum put a dent on her, let alone an anti IS caliber.
"Who are you?" Rin questioned the assassins.
The men remained silent and continued shooting at Rin. She threw her Souten Gagetsu at lightning speed, but they anticipated the attack, and ducked. As the men reloaded, a shot rang out from the other side, followed by a burst fire. They collapsed, but their bulletproof vest protected them from any fatal injuries. As they returned fire, two bullets struck one man in the head.
The surviving man fired relentlessly, missing his shots until he ran out of bullets. He quickly reloaded, but a double tap to the neck and a shot to the head executed him. A moment of silence passed, the shooter turned out to be Liu, clutching a machine pistol on his left hand. Rin was shocked to see Liu came back unexpectedly as she stared at the dead men that attempted to kill her.
"…"
Liu did not receive a friendly welcome back from Rin as she glared back when he approached her. She raised her right hand with all its strength, and threw a hook at Liu. That was her warm welcome, and Liu didn't even bother to block as he absorbed the blow. The knockout punch blew him to the ground with blood dripping from his lower lip.
"Training must have paid you off," said Liu, wiping the blood from his mouth. "A rerun of your-"
"You blockhead! You broke the promise of not going after Three Dragons! Why I ought to burst your melon for your stupidity!" Rin shouted stomping Liu's stomach.
Liu frowned at the Chinese girl lifting her right foot, and blocked the stomp with his bare hands crushing its grip. He had enough of that.
"Don't forget where I'm from, remember that?"
"I don't care! Your guys can get it too! Why don't you go back to your family and forget about me and IS Academy?"
Rin attempted to axe kick Liu. The young man snapped, and violently threw Rin against a light pole. Rin was shaken up from the impact against the hard steel. It only fueled her to beat him up even more. She had a dozen good reasons to be mad that Liu left the IS Academy for his selfish purposes. The worst thing Liu done was he broke her promise to not let vendettas get the best of him. Being mad is justifiable, but assaulting Liu for coming back was the breaking point. He was not going to put up with it, and had to get equal.
"That was for punching me at the monorail station," Liu said slowly and strictly, slamming his fist near her right ear. "You're off the hook Nightmare is still undergoing self-repair or I would have done a lot more than just fists and kicks. Don't ever do that again."
"Fine, I'll forget everything starting with my welcoming, and I'm not angry anymore…I told you I'm not ANGRY!"
Liu reloaded his gun, while Rin gritted her teeth, materializing Shenlong as she threw the light pole away. In reality, Rin was still mad at Liu and at herself for not being able to protect him. She was about to kill Liu with her Ryuhou. However, Rin stopped to remember one important fact. If anything happen to Liu, she would be held responsible.
"Tell me, Liu, who were those two guys, and why they didn't introduce themselves before they tried to kill me in cold blood?"
Liu turned his head to Rin. "Phantom Task troops. It's pointless if they said it out loud. They straight up do it, or they would have been blowing smoke out of their ass."
His words were merely spoken before dozens of troops open fire at Rin and Liu. She blasted invisible bullets as Liu stood on his ground to return fire. The troops didn't stand a chance against Shenlong, and were obliterated in less than 4 seconds. Rin stared at Liu in more detail, noting how serious Liu was when he took his 590A1. More troops arrived as Rin and Liu let loose of their weapons.
Rin charged with her Souten Gagetsu, taking them down one by one so fast they couldn't get a shot on her. Liu let his shotgun do the talking at the troops fixated on Rin. They didn't see it coming from the 12 gauge buckshot shells incapacitated them. Liu fired all 8 rounds as smoke came out of the barrel. Like old times of fighting side-by-side, Rin and Liu decimated the surviving troops with pure strength.
Liu quickly reloaded his shotgun while Rin twirled her scimitars.
"So, what now, Liu?"
Rin relieved her anger from wiping out troops as her stress reliever.
Liu cocked his shotgun as reinforcements arrive, but it was just the appetizer. "Warn Ichika and the others we're-"
Fwoosh!
A stream of fire blocked their path, torching nearby stores, making a fire haze. Biggest question was where the hell did that come from? As the fire simmered down, Kaori in Phoenix walked through the fire, the most evil grin both of them had seen. Rin blasted Ryuhou, but Kaori didn't budge as she manipulated her fire to dispel the invisible bullets. Rin's advantage was rendered useless.
"Aww, you two are so adorable," said Kaori in a cheery tone. "It's a shame you'll have to die together. It's the least I can do for you."
A cross-popping vein appeared on his right forehead. "This bitch is on my bucket list to fuck her up next to Three Dragons."
Liu was ever inclined to keep that damn promise. Rin agreed that Kaori was just as bad as Phantom Task. She has to be put down for good. So for now, a truce was in order.
"You're asking to sign your death warrant? I'll be glad to put your sorry ass away," Rin replied looking Kaori dead in the eye to skewer that flaming bird.
Kaori slightly tilted her head, drawing Vortex on her left hand as the seven blades spin rapidly, igniting flames.
"Like I said, you boyfriend and girlfriend will die here together. Go find the rest and fuck them up. These two, well, I'll deal with these lovebirds myself."
They were disgusted at Kaori's remark because there was no way they would ever form a relationship or a legal one. Given the fact Rin is a Representative Candidate of China, and Liu is a criminal associated with Righteousness Union, those two sides weren't to say a really good mix. Kaori acted cheerful on the surface, but on the inside, she was itching to kill the two teenagers. The time they tried to interrogate her only worked fueled her desire to kill them. Kaori's troops dispersed as she spit fire. Rin swiped them away while Liu let loose of his shotgun. The shells barely hurt Kaori, but at least Liu did something to keep her busy. Round 2 has begun for the Chinese duo against the Japanese girl.
Sun began to set, and Laura and Charlotte had no clue they were being tailed. 20 men and women divided into 4 groups of 5, taking battle positions to wait for the right moment for an ambush. Laura loved the Japanese sweets shaped like bunnies so much that she looked everywhere to buy them. She found the jackpot in front of her, and took out money to buy dozens of them.
"I want all of these cutesy candies! I got money."
How could a super soldier be so, so demanding?
"No, Laura," Charlotte tugged her best friend away. "You're wasting money on these candies. Save them for something better."
"Nein! They're too good, and my taste buds beg me to get them right now."
Her childish protest caused Charlotte to chuckle. How can she keep up with that girl? Laura broke free, and placed her money on the counter. The lady clerk smiled while concealing her combat knife behind her back. What they don't know was she was a Phantom Task troop disguised as a clerk. Charlotte sighed at Laura's addiction to sweets, not noticing the clerk's sneak attack. When Laura rested her hands on the counter, the clerk drew her combat knife, and slammed it down. Laura's quick reflexes saved her from being stabbed in the hand.
"HELP!" The clerk shouted, which was the signal to call her troops to open fire.
"Hey! That was uncalled for!" Charlotte and Laura said.
The clerk drew her Walther P99 stainless steel side, and squeezed the trigger. Laura and Charlotte ducked the .40 S&W that narrowly scalped their foreheads as Charlotte partial deployed Garm to return fire. She defended herself with a ballistic shield tuned to withstand IS weaponry as troops open fire. She didn't stop firing her gun, and to make things worse, the troops also had shields.
"Fuck! We're in the middle of an ambush, " said Laura, materializing Schwarzer Regen.
"Why are these people attacking us?"
"If I have to guess, those are Phantom Task foot soldiers out to kill us."
Charlotte activated Rafale Revive Custom II, returning fire at the troops while Laura used her AIC to negate the opposing projectiles. Dozens of troops came from all directions, and Laura growled.
Cecilia left alone by her friends ran furiously. Her anger came from Houki that had taken Ichika for herself. Wanting a piece of the cake, she won't stop to take Ichika away from Houki by any means necessary. That is, if she could find them first before the others do.
"That damn Houki thinks she's the hot shot with her big titties…I will not accept that!"
Cecilia didn't pay attention and accidentally bumped into Joel. The young boy came from around the corner, and he didn't pay attention either. By the time he saw the British girl's eyes, Joel quickly backed off. Cecilia appeared disgusted seeing the young Irish boy. While she could appreciate Ichika, she still thought most of the men were weak. Ichika could, and he nearly defeated her. In her opinion, Ichika was better than most men.
"EEEKKK!" Cecilia shrieked, partial deploying her drones. Her anger caused her to be very pissed.
"Oh hell no! Watch where you're going, bimbo," Joel replied, his accent coming through, revealing his heritage. The worst had happened because he ran into Cecilia Alcott, a British girl who firmly believed in female and English supremacy.
"Watch where YOU'RE going, you infantile pillock!" Cecilia snapped back.
"That's my line, dumb blonde Brit!" Joel retorted.
Joel drew his energy dagger and spanner at Cecilia. Because Joel is Irish and grew with the IRA, given Cecilia's English heritage, the nasty peace between the United Kingdom and Ireland made it in this minute. They didn't like each other.
"Clean your ears out and listen up. You, Ichika, and his friends are in trouble because Phantom Task are-"
"Why should I believe this Irish pot-licking donkey? Go find your mommy and daddy. Youngsters shouldn't be running around alone."
Cecilia's arrogant attitude caused her to cut the young boy off. Joel gritted his teeth when Cecilia interrupted him. Mentioning his dead parents that died for their homeland insulted him further. She took it too far when she hurled a derogatory insult about Ireland that pushed him to the edge.
"The fuck you'd just say to me?! You want to die, bitch? You don't know me at all! Your parents ought to be ashamed of your behavior. Put down your drones, and let me finish what I'm trying to say."
Joel's breaking point exploded. He just so much wanted to put a bullet in her head. If Mattheus didn't tell him otherwise, he might have done that.
"Insolent swine, I'll make you regret flapping your big mouth…DIE!"
Cecilia fired back, believing Joel mocked her deceased parents. Funny how similar those two were.
"Listen to me, goddamn it! I'm not joking at all about Phantom Task. Those savages are going all out to turn this place into a wasteland. You're not supposed to shoot the messenger!" Joel shouted.
"Shut it! Stand still to get mauled up for saying about my parents, little brat."
Joel tried to reason Cecilia, but her response was releasing drones to chase Joel. He deflected the lasers, and dismantled her drone with his spanner. Cecilia ignored Joel's warning because she was too focused on killing Joel. She wasn't affected by her downed drone, and continued to fire until a hail of gunfire interrupted them, followed by Autumn firing her ray gun. Her laugh really emphasized on her unstable character.
"Here comes Autumn! Ahahaha!"
Autumn stood on the rooftop as troops surrounded Cecilia and Joel with QCW-05 pointed at their faces.
"Who are you, you psycho?" Cecilia asked.
"Goddamn it, I'M AUTUMN! How could not remember me?"
Cecilia didn't quite remember her, even though Autumn attacked IS Academy not that long ago. Joel sneered seeing the psychotic woman and her troops. He wasn't really looking forward to that.
"I just dealt with a scorpion, now a spider?" Joel shuddered at Autumn's hideous arthropod appearance.
"Why don't you two just fuck already?!"
Autumn's cruel insult triggered both Cecilia and Joel, and fired her ray gun. Cecilia and Joel were forced to put aside of their nationality pride to take down Autumn. The troops open fire as Cecilia activated Blue Tears to give Joel the time to take cover, firing his revolver.
"This is what I was trying to tell you!" Joel reprimanded. "For once, can't you just listen to me? You owe me an apology for those comments you hurled at me to make it up."
Cecilia initially refused to apologize Joel, but when Autumn and her troops were inches away from killing her, she had no choice, but to comply. She needed backup, and Joel was there to lend her a hand.
"Fine! I'm sorry for not giving you the time to talk, and insulted you. I encountered Autumn before, and I'll tell you a few things about her. Does that make you happy?"
She pleaded in the best way she could.
"Apology accepted…hold it, you encountered Autumn before?" Joel looked slowly back at the Brit to the psychotic Japanese woman.
"Yes when she tried to steal Byakushiki and attempted to kill Ichika. Autumn is a Phantom Task agent that loses her rocker quick. Be careful for her arms and armor, they're tough to break through."
Cecilia didn't know if she could tell a civilian that but Joel proved in two minutes he was anything but a civilian.
"Thanks for giving me the Intel about Autumn, woman."
"Excuse me! I have a name, and it's Cecilia Alcott, the great representative of England. Stick that into your brain, and don't forget it."
"I guess that's how Brits act nowadays. I'll give myself a quick introduction. I'm Joel Pearce, ex IRA IS engineer. What are your ideas to terminate that bug?"
Joel was strong, no questions asked. But even with his power, taking on an IS without Mattheus or assistance was suicide. Cecilia slowly nodded at her unlikely ally, wishing she teamed up with someone else that was not Irish. But beggars couldn't choose.
"I'll keep her distracted while you repel her goons."
Cecilia nearly forgot one last tip to Joel and said. "By the way, Arachne can spit spider webs, be aware of that."
"Sounds fair to me. On the comment you made about my parents, they were killed. Just to let you know, I didn't come alone. I came with Mattheus and Chifuyu to inform you, Ichika, and his friends about Phantom Task launching an attack. That is, if you didn't attack me in the first place!"
"Your parents are dead? Who is Mattheus, and where is Chifuyu?" Cecilia questioned.
Joel grumbled at the Brit like they were playing 21 Questions. "Mattheus is my older brother, first real male pilot, good friend of Ichika. As for Chifuyu, Shen roughed her up pretty bad. I won't repeat myself again because you call me a pot-licking donkey again, I'll turn your head upside down."
Cecilia sighed at the young Irish boy. "I hope Chifuyu is ok. Now you mention it, my parents also died from an accident. I guess there's no choice but to fight together. Don't you dare run your mouth again about my parents, or I'll fill your body full of holes."
"Oh I won't because Autumn is asking to get her ass kicked." Joel smirked and cracked his knuckles. For a Brit, Cecilia was maybe not that bad.
"Where's Chifuyu?" said Yuko Tanimoto.
The students were concerned she had not returned yet. Maya placed her hand on her chin, thinking where she could have gone until Mattheus arrived, carrying Chifuyu. The Raven Brunhilde was battered from fighting Shen. Kanzashi gasped at the gash marks, covering her mouth.
"W-wait a minute! Who are you?" Kanzashi snapped at Mattheus. The young man wasn't the most comforting sight.
Mattheus set Chifuyu down gently. "I'm a friend of Ichika Orimura, the name is Mattheus Adjzof. I'll tell you more soon because Phantom Task forces are on the way. We're in for a war."
"I got into a scrap with Shen Xun…Get these students to a safe place because we're under attack by Phantom Task..." Chifuyu ordered Maya.
"Good luck out there, Mattheus!" Maya shouted before Mattheus took off.
"Did you forget? I make my own luck."
The students were stunned that a third male could pilot the IS. Mattheus gave a brief smile and flew away. Chifuyu coughed blood while students huddled to treat her wounds.
"Orimura sensei, this is going to hurt, so bear with me," Kiyoka said, taking out her medical equipment.
As the students took Chifuyu to a safe place, Kanzashi and Maya stood on their ground to defend the students. A sound of guns cocked caught their attention when a battalion of troops surrounded them.
"Give us Miss. Orimura," the female troop leader announced, aiming her Galil ACE 52. "We'll let you and your students walk away unharmed."
"Back off!" Maya shouted, materializing Rafale Revive Basic. "You'll never lay your finger on my students and Chifuyu."
Feeling the wrath for what they had done, Kanzashi activated Uchigane Nishiki, aiming her Shunrai.
"Oh…so unwise, kill them all."
The leader gave the approval to use deadly force.
Houki and Ichika ran nonstop to meet up with the rest. Like everyone else, they were unaware that the others were tied up with Phantom Task troops. Mattheus saw them running towards him, and waved his hand.
"Oi! Ichika!"
The Knight got a shock seeing someone in front of him, he hadn't seen for a long time.
"Mattheus? Hey! What brings you here?" Nonetheless, he was happy to see Mattheus again.
Ichika and Mattheus bumped fist, overjoyed to see each other. Ichika couldn't stop smiling at his good friend that looked out for him. In his eyes, Mattheus was more than just a friend; he was like his brother like Chifuyu was his sister. He was also a mentor to who he could relate, talk about his troubles, and life in general. Mattheus grinned, then looked at Houki.
"Out for a vacation I wish to say so, but that ain't the case. Man, am I glad to see you as well. How are you doing?"
"I'm good, asides from dealing with the girls that were after me nonstop like crazy fan girls that won't shut up." Ichika said, hiding his smirk. His chances with Mattheus around were a lot better.
Houki flared up while Ichika and Mattheus chuckled slightly at his emotionally unstable Kendo champ.
"Oh, sorry about that, Houki," said Ichika sheepishly. "I'm telling the hard hitting truth. You got to admit that, right?"
"You win this round, but tell this to anyone else, I'll make you train with me the whole week my way."
The aura around the girl made Mattheus cringe a bit. Houki was suspicious about their friendship, and wanted to know.
"Ichika, how did you know him?" Houki asked.
Ichika sighed and said. "It all started when you moved out at the end of 4th Grade, and Rin moved in at the beginning of 5th Grade. One day after the last day of school, we went to an arcade entertainment center to celebrate. We played games nonstop until Mattheus came along…"
Houki raised an eyebrow when Ichika said Mattheus. "An arcade entertainment center?"
"Let him finish his sentence, Houki," said Mattheus.
Ichika grinned at Mattheus to back him up. "He saw me playing Street Fighter, and asked me if he could play with him. I said yes because I was good at fighting games, and give it a shot. However, Mattheus was better that knew almost every combo list. No matter how hard I tried to beat him, he came on top to the point I cried. Rin couldn't bear it, and cried as well."
Mattheus chuckled reminiscing the good days playing video games to kill time. He knew better to cheer him up when he tarnished Ichika's winning streaks. Because they share an interest of video games, Mattheus knew he found a friend to relate to.
Mattheus quipped in. "I gave them some of my techniques to brighten their mood. Next thing I knew, Ichika started challenging some kids to play with him. Oh man, he beat them one by one, leaving them scared as shit. The cool part was Rin gained some confidence to stand up against being bullied when Ichika defended her once. She had enough of being bullied, and earned a fiery mouth that scolded her bullies so harsh that they cried. They seemed to be cool to be called friends."
Ichika held a picture of himself, Rin, and Mattheus smiling outside of an arcade entertainment center.
"An obnoxious couple harassed us for no reason, and tried to laid their hands on us. Mattheus beat them up until they apologized. He didn't care whether if it was a man or woman. He doesn't like anyone insulting him and his friends at all. His strength came to protect his comrades at all cost. That's where I found my belief to do the same thing as him."
Houki got slightly aghast at their long friendship. Ichika continued to explain his back-story.
"We ended up at a Chinese restaurant Rin's parents used to run. For building a new friendship, we stayed there to play, chat, and even had a sleepover. Chifuyu isn't always free to watch me, so I hang out with Mattheus to talk about my problems and life in general. When I feel down in the dumps, he's like a counselor that can solve any problems I threw to resolve them. Because we hang out quite often to the point Mattheus calls me brother, I couldn't be much more happier."
Mattheus gave a warm sincere smile on his face. "That will never break at all, even when I had to leave. Since then, we kept in touch to not forget it, and that's how we are good friends."
Houki slowly nodded and said. "I see how you two got acquainted like brothers, but why was Mattheus at Japan in the first place?"
"I studied abroad at Japan for 4 months for a school project I had to do. I had to explore Japan to see what it's like travelling to a new world. It was long, but interesting to explore a new world. Quite frankly, it wasn't too bad because I get to meet some new people and the culture itself. That's how I met Joel Pearce because we had the same class. We had similar backgrounds of how we lost our parents. We hung out a couple of times to know each other. Joel is a cool kid, yet also pretty mature for a young age. When Chifuyu noticed I hang out with Ichika regularly at his house, she thought Joel and I weren't too bad to be a good friend."
Ichika chimed in to support him. "Chifuyu was a bit more relaxed at home, unlike at her workplace where she is strict and authoritative. She thought of Mattheus and Joel decent people to hang out at my house. The only condition she wanted was not to be a bad influence to her little brother."
Houki understood their long friendship that they cherished. "Makes sense now that you're buddy buddy."
"Definitely. Mattheus, this is my childhood friend Houki Shinonono."
Mattheus and Houki briefly smiled, shaking hands before he turned serious to address the situation.
"I'm not here to treat you guys for sushi, but it would be great for later. Onto serious matter, Me, Joel, and Chifuyu ran afoul with Shen Xun."
Houki blinked. "Shen Xun?"
"Three Dragons' bodyguard. You guys were lucky you didn't run into her because she is extremely tough to deal with."
"How tough are we talking about?"
"Think of someone that is an insect, but stronger, smarter, and more brutal."
Nine out of ten, Ichika would know about whom Mattheus was talking about.
"Oh no," said Houki. "Is it Autumn you're talking about?"
"Correct," Mattheus answered. "But remember, this one is not a fluke because Shen is a highly skilled IS pilot that can hold against multiple opponents. I'm speaking from my own experience."
He didn't want to remember Shen's brute attacks when she tore a military IS unit in half, and her dirty method that nearly killed innocent civilians. It sent a chill down his spine when Shen almost mauled Chifuyu to death.
"Here are her specs of Dread Gauntlet and Shen's profile. Thing is modified beyond legal status. And that's coming from me, given how my Infinite Stratos is made. My weapons are meant to kill, not to maim."
As Mattheus handed Houki and Ichika the PDA of Shen and Dread Gauntlet, their eyes widened reading the illegal weapons' specs. Ichika dealt with Autumn not too long ago, and seeing another 8 legged IS was his least favorite opponent to fight.
"Ichika, I don't know which one is the worst to deal with," said Houki. "Autumn the spider on bath salt, or Shen the scorpion infused with Shredder?"
"I would say Autumn, but Shen took the cake when she tore a military IS unit in half. What the hell is she?" Ichika gulped.
"Beyond human, Ichika and Houki, that's for pretty damn sure. Shen didn't stick around to fight. She was here to create destruction and that was it. Hell, she's like an indestructible tank. Phantom Task is going all out to turn this place into a war zone, and we're sitting front row seats."
Ichika sharpened his eyes at Mattheus. "They're up to no good as usual, where's Chifuyu?"
Mattheus shook his head, knowing Ichika would not take the news lightly because family was holy to Ichika.
He had to be careful using his words to not provoke Ichika. "Chifuyu got a brutal smack down from Shen. As of now, she's being taken care of by Maya, Kanzashi and her students. We got to hurry because there's not much time."
"Show me where she is! Shen won't get away with this the next time she shows up."
"I can lead you to Chifuyu, my friend."
Houki and Ichika were on fight mode, activating Byakushiki and Akatsubaki. While they were on the way to see Chifuyu, Madoka fired her Star Breaker, blocking their path. Troops fired their RPD as the anti IS 7.62x39mm slightly damaged their energy shields. Standing in front of troops with drum magazine machine guns can make anyone stop in their tracks. Madoka waved her right hand to cease-fire.
"I don't remember seeing Phantom Task with soldiers!" Houki exclaimed.
"They're packing modified firearms that can match against IS," Mattheus replied, pulling the bolt straight on Chasseur. "Three Dragons supplied them for his evil schemes. They're not letting us pass through by the looks of it."
Ichika shook his head at the troops well equipped made to bring harm. Phantom Task has done enough damage to shake the world in terror.
"Seems Phantom Task need troops to protect the top dogs," said Ichika, drawing his Yukihara Type 2. "What's next, crooked IS pilots?"
Troops wait for further orders as Madoka approached them.
"Ichika Orimura, you're the first one to have your life cut off."
"Why are you after me?"
Madoka scoffed at her twin brother. "You're just a small fry. My main target is Chifuyu Orimura. It'd be a waste of my energy to kill you."
"My sister?! Oh no you don't, you're not going anywhere!"
"Alert the others outside, waste these three."
Madoka ordered her troops to execute them. She fired BT energy and flew away, but they quickly surrounded her, giving no room to breathe.
"Move aside," Madoka warned.
"You got a lot of nerve to attack me twice."
"I don't know who you think you are," said Mattheus. "But you try to fuck Ichika, Joel or his friends up, you better say your prayers."
Madoka chuckled as she charged at Houki, Ichika, and Mattheus while her units fire.
On the rooftop, Squall saw the action unfold through her gold spyglass, smiling at her troops keeping the others busy. Tatenashi folded her arms, confronting the arch nemesis.
"Here you are, gazing down from the highest perspective. What are you up to this time? Stirring up trouble I bet."
"Moscow's Thick Fog, if I recall. That's the name of your IS, isn't it?"
Tatenashi sneered at her old IS name. "Not anymore, it's called Mysterious Lady."
"Oh my, what an attitude you got there, and just what do you know about our plans in the first place?"
"I won't let you do whatever satisfies you."
Squall smirked at Tatenashi, enjoying the moment facing the student council president.
"The favors have turned to me, but you arrived too late!"
2 troops appeared behind Tatenashi, firing their Vz.82 Skorpion. She quickly deflected the 9x18mm Makarov, and went after them. Squall's troops read her mind as they blocked the strike, and simultaneously kicked her head. Tatenashi fell down while they grabbed her arms to let Squall partial deploy Golden Dawn, and captured her.
"As you can see, the plan has already begun," said Squall. "As a token of gratitude, I'll show in front row seat."
Squall's troops opened a link revealing the students in a headlock against her units. She smirked as the claw tightened her grip, slowly crushing Tatenashi. Squall gave her troops the go to kill her. They took their time to reload, and aimed her head. Phantom Task took their gloves off to give everything they got to turn Kyoto into a bloody battlefield.
A/N: By far the largest chapter I've written. Shouts out to Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov for throwing some ideas that were hella useful. I do not own anything related to Mattheus Adjzof and Joel Pearce. They are OCs I borrowed from Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov. All rights related to his OC belong to Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov.