[February 28th, Midnight]
[P.O.V. - Narrator]
A young man lay asleep in his cell. His now long black hair covering his face and spreading across his upper body. His clothes had fallen off long ago after being torn to shreds after the years, leaving him stark naked. The man had a layer of dried blood and muck that covered his skin. If one could see his skin, they would look away from the horror that 5 years of torture had created. There wasn't one spot on the body that was spared, layers upon layers of scar tissue made up the man's skin, all of which had different levels of fading, but some were clearly very fresh.
The face may have been the only reprieve, it had the same amount of scars, however the man was still quite handsome. Along with the scars, a rugged jaw and fierce facial expression gave the young man a very intimidating look. His eye, once with a warm glow of a fire, was now that of a raging fire which only drove home the "Touch me and I'll kill you" look. Where his mechanical eye used to be was now an empty eye socket.
The man was startled awake by the formidable unlocking of the door, the sound that now haunted all of his nightmares. He quickly slipped something into his mouth.
Many things about Ichika had changed. The amount of pain he had undergone was ludicrous. His mental strength may have been incredibly strong, but after 12 months of constant pain and suffering, his body simply couldn't take it. Psychosis, or what most people call, insanity. As a last reprieve from all of the pain, his mind collapsed on itself, and shattered. It took Ichika three long years of emptiness to pick up the broken pieces of his own mind and put them back together as best he could. But was he even Ichika? He couldn't really say.
It felt as though he had been born again. Sure he still bore the same name but it was like a memory long forgotten. Ever since he had reconstructed himself his memories felt like those of another. Sure he was still the same person, same body, the same genius with the same experiences… but at the same time… he wasn't. He didn't know what he was. What were his preferences? The new him had never been out of this prison. What type of person was he? He never had a chance to interact with anyone outside besides his now long dead cellmate. Everything was still only pain. Life was pain, and frankly… he was sick of it.
He sat up, and then remained still. The woman, the bane of his existence, once more opened the door.
His torturer.
The woman was caucasian, with hair and eyes of an unnatural orange. Average height of a woman her age. Her japanese was fluent, but she knew Ichika spoke english, and always preferred her native tongue. She would speak American English, so Ichika always assumed that was where she was from.
In all honesty she would have been beautiful, but her eyes ruined the image. It wasn't their odd color, it was the look they held. The insane look in her eyes complimented her sadistic nature very well. Or very horribly, depending on your point of view.
Autumn. Or so the guards called her. He didn't know if that was an alias or her real name, but frankly he couldn't find a shit to give. She, along with her commanding terrorist, Squall, had been the banes of his existence for the past years. Sure, he had been a thorn in their sides as well, but those were stories for another time.
A cool chuckle came from the woman as she stepped into the room.
"Good news, boy." The devil said.
That was not good news.
The devil being happy meant a worse day of torture for him, he had learnt that all too well.
"Orders from the top say I get to kill you today. Boss wants me to kill you immediately… I don't care what she says. I want to have some fun first."
He had waited years for the proper opportunity to escape. He had attempted several times, and come close to quite a few. Unfortunately, he had failed as many times as he had tried. The rotting corpse at the other end of the large cell was an attribute to his failures. As was what he had slipped into his mouth.
I need to buy time to think.
"Why kill me now?" Ichika's voice was not the voice of a child. It was much deeper than before. It sounded scratchy from all the years of screaming from torture.
If I ever escape, it has to be now… I no longer have a choice. Escape... or die trying. I can count on the fact that they are planning on killing me. How can I use that information?
"Don't know, don't care."
If they are planning on killing me, they will have likely lowered the amount of guards around me. No reason to waste man power guarding a soon to be dead man right? That's a lot to assume… No… I no longer care. I've been cautious and not attempted an escape due to the fact that I could die in the act. But if I am not successful in this escape, I die.
"You're not curious?"
She said she wants to torture me before she kills me. Probably torture me to death. That means she will take me to the torture room. The other guards usually stand outside because they can't stomach it. I'll make my move then.
"Don't think I don't know what you are trying to do, kid. Keep me talking, right? Say, have you thought of a plan to escape yet?"
"Nope." Yes. Screw the risks. Consequence be damned. I will do this, I MUST do this…. This is my chance, and I'm not going to get another one. Can't fuck this up.
Autumn audibly laughed as guards walked in, closing the door behind them, starting the routine that Ichika knew all too well.
"Sure. I'm not an idiot. Try to get out of those cuffs, and my 'friends' will repaint this cell with your intestines. Though I admit, I would enjoy watching that." There was that insane look in her eyes again. Ichika might have been intimidated, if he had the energy to spare.
Ichika held out his hands, waiting for the guards to cuff themselves to him to make sure he wouldn't escape while they walked him to the torture chamber. But it appeared as though that wouldn't happen this time as they brought in and began to assemble the torture chamber about 30 feet to his left. They don't want to take the time to lead me to the torture chamber because Autumn plans on killing me this time…Damn. Well my chances of succeeding just plummeted.
One guard began setting up his own metal cross with chains attached at all ends that would keep him tied down so Autumn could once again torture him, though this time it would be to the death. Meanwhile the other kept his gun aimed straight at Ichika.
I have at the very most a few minutes before the guard is done setting up. If he gets done and I am chained down… that's it… gotta make my attempt before then. Shit, that isn't much time to make a life or death plan. He began analyzing what he had to work with, keeping his head down so they wouldn't notice his odd behavior. Damn, the only stuff I have to work with is the chain and myself… if I can get one of their guns or Autumn's knife my chances of at least escaping my room/cell are basically 100%. Unfortunately those are also problems, sure those will be valuable assets if I can get my hands on them, but if I get shot or stabbed this escape will be over before it begins.
The guard with the gun was asked a question by the other guards setting up the torture devices. As he turned his head Ichika tilted his head down as his face was covered in hair. Something fell out of his mouth and onto the floor in between his lap.
He scooted up as the guard looked back to him, pointing his gun right at his head.
Behind his back, Ichika began moving his hands, revealing the object that had been in his mouth… a small bone. Ichika had been waiting a while for another escape attempt after he thought of a way to escape. He finally had the idea of picking the lock of the chains around his hands and legs with a small bone broken off of…. his former cellmates….rotting corpse.
After a few seconds of fiddling the chains slid clean off his hands onto the floor. Ichika wrapped his wrists around the chains.
"Hey!" The guard yelled as he spotted movement. He moved towards Ichika with haste.
Autumn yelled to warn the guard to not get near Ichika, but it was too late.
Time seemed to melt into liquid just as the guards momentum carried him closer to Ichika. The other guard turned around to see why Autumn was yelling at his comrade. The guard and Autumn started to raise their weapons at Ichika, knowing what was about to happen, but they were too late.
Ichika took the chance. It was his last… his very last. It was escape or death, and he knew it. He leaped at the guard before he could react, not even hitting the ground before he slammed his shoulder into him. In less than a second he pushed the gun out of the way with his left hand and turned the man so he was standing in front of him in an armlock, the chain that Ichika had wrapped around his hand now choking the man. The second guard and Autumn fired at Ichika, not caring if they hit their comrade. The bullets went straight into the guards chest, but Ichika knew from experience all the guards had bullet proof vests. While continuing to choke the guard, Ichika pried the gun out of his hand. Autumn and "guard #2" were continuing to fire at Ichika, but the guard he had trapped was continuing to take the hits.
Ichika brought up the gun and fired at "guard #1" and Autumn's legs, knowing he might not be accurate enough to hit their heads. The plan worked, and soon both fell to the floor in a cry of pain, the man in Ichika's arms slumping unconscious to the ground. Ichika shot the foolish guard in the back of the head, eliminating him from the equation.
In that moment he realized he answered a question about the new him that he never even asked. Was he prepared to take a life? He now had his answer. Without hesitation.
Ichika snagged the guard's secondary weapon, a black handgun that Ichika didn't recognize.
He swiftly ran to the two downed terrorists. Autumn tried to bring up her gun but Ichika kicked it away. He turned slightly and shot guard #2 in the head, yet again making sure of the elimination of a potential threat.
"The keys!" Ichika yelled at Autumn, grabbing the back of his head and placing the barrel of the handgun at Autumn's forehead.
"Nev- but he interrupted himself by yelling in a scream of pain as Ichika shot her in the hand.
"I am not a patient man Autumn." Ichika said. "I don't need or want you alive, but give me the keys… and I will let you live."
Autumn considered it for a moment, then foolishly obeyed, handing over the keys to the cuffs.
"Thanks." Ichika deadpanned as he raised the handgun and shot her in the stomach. He wanted so badly to keep Autumn alive and torture her, to pay him back for the HELL Ichika had gone through, but time was important right now. The other guards outside his cell would have heard the gunshots and definitely know something was wrong. Sure enough, Ichika heard the door clicking open.
Y'know, I think the walls do look much better with the new paint job. Ichika thought as he took one of the male guards' bullet proof vests. He heard a female groaning, indicating that Autumn was still alive.
No time… He thought. He had to be fast, every millisecond counted. Chances are she would die anyway. He had to move, now!
He unlocked his legs from their chains and ran to the door, positioning himself so once it opened he would be behind it. As the last lock clicked in place, the huge door was swung open to his right. Guards from the hallway rushed in to see what happened, Ichika didn't care enough to count how many, maybe a dozen? It didn't matter, he had already started.
As the guards were distracted by the scene in front of them, he open fired with both weapons while running at the closest guard to him. Most shots from the guards were poorly aimed since at first they didn't know what was happening, this gave Ichika the advantage he needed. The few well placed shots by the guards hit him in the chest, them not expecting the vest he now wore. However, his shots quickly dropped the majority of the guards. The guard he had rushed at had been surprised and didn't even shoot. He aimed his handgun at a female guard and pulled the trigger. *Click* Shit. Ichika thought as he realized the handgun was out of bullets. He hit her on the head with the butt of the gun and kicked her at the remaining two, knocking the two down and getting her caught in the crossfire.
He shot one guard dead, grabbing the other by her vest, pulling her face inches from his. "Tell me where the exit is." he demanded. "NOW!"
"What?"
Where is the exit of this facility?!"
"Th-The elevator. It's the only way in and out of each floor to prevent escapees. It goes to the different levels of the prison, the top floor is the only surface level." The guard stuttered out.
"G-Go straight from this cell, then take the first right."
Only one exit and entrance, that's going to make things harder.
He shoved the guard down and shot her through the head, not taking any chances.
Ichika went to a fallen male guard, stripping him as fast as he could and clothing himself in the man's uniform, including his holster. He didn't want to waste time, but frankly it would allow him to carry more. Which he soon proved by trading his guns for the man's, and strapping the man's extra ammo to himself. Dashing over, Ichika grabbed Autumn's knife, strapping it to his right side tucked under his belt. Guns weren't really his forte, yes they were deadly but only with accuracy. If he was going to take on possibly armies worth of guards to escape, he needed weapons he had skill with.
MMMH! MMMH! MMMH! The facility's alarm began blaring as Ichika began a stream of curses.
And there goes my chance to look for better weaponry. Now I'm seriously on a time crunch…
He glanced out the hallway, making sure that he was prepared for when he exited the cell, but the hallway appeared empty. Shiiit… I know I killed a lot of guards when they rushed in, but there's no way there weren't at least some left in the hallway… Could be a trap… No they know that wouldn't work on me. Did they order an Evacuation? Possibly. He thought as he grabbed a grenade from a downed guard, ran out of his cell and chucked it back in.
That should take care of any that managed to survive.
As he got to the end of the hallway It split into two. He backed to the right side of the hallway, looking at the left hallway. It was long, and appeared to have more splits into even more halls, and at the end were guards running from hallway to hallway, none noticing his presence. Everyone is in disarray from the evacuation. Finally, some GOOD luck.
He arched his head over the wall and looked at the right hallway. It was just as long, with the same L.E.D. lighting as the rest of the facility. However, at the back of the hall was just a dead end, with large elevator doors in the center. There were about 10 guards standing at attention at the doors, facing straight at the hallway that led back to Ichika's cell. But Ichika saw something that gave him a huge confidence boost, two guards standing opposite to each other with one tachi strapped to each of their sides.
They must know I've escaped my cell, otherwise they wouldn't bother guarding the door. If I can just get my hands on those swords, my chances of escape will skyrocket. My guess is they have them in case they need to engage in combat in the elevator, then they would have a close combat weapon. They may be the more "advanced" guards then, I'll just have to make sure not to get stuck in the elevator with those two.
The guards at the elevator saw Ichika peeking at the side of the wall and raised their firearms. He ducked back into the hallway just in time as bullets collided with the corner he was just peering out of, blowing chunks off the concrete. Damn, I'm fast… but not fast enough to survive running straight down a long hallway whilst getting shot at by 10 guards. Alright, back to the drawing board. What do I have to work with?
Guard Uniform
Handgun with full ammo
Full-Semi Assault Rifle with… I don't know how much ammo left but assuming the guard that had it was firing the whole time I was fighting them, it might be half-full. Better just use the extra ammo I picked up now to reload it than just guess how much is left.
Extra Ammo
A knife that is… maybe 10 inches long?
Not much. He thought whilst re-loading the Semi-Auto. But enough. I'll have to use the corner as cover. Ichika awkwardly faced the wall, placing the handgun on the ground for the moment so he could focus on aiming the Assault Rifle. He leaned over the corner, opening fire on the guard down the hallway, by the time they fired back he had already ducked back behind the corner.
The remaining guards began running toward him, knowing they couldn't hit him from their angle, but Ichika was prepared for that. Ichika snatched up the handgun from the ground and threw it across the hallway. His distraction worked, at the first sign of movement the guards began shooting at what they thought was Ichika. The young man ran out as the guards were shooting at the gun in the air, they saw him come out and attempted to adjust their aim, but it didn't matter, it took less than a second for him to mow them down.
Ichika dropped the Assault Rifle, he grabbed both tachi's and slipped one in between his belt and left hip.
After snagging his handgun and re-holstered it, Ichika raced to the elevator, slamming his palm on the "Up" button and turning around. The guards from what was once the hallway to his left were now hundreds of feet from him in the same hallway. They had heard the obvious gunfire, but only a few started running to the elevator to try to stop him, the others ignored the gunfire and proceeded to evacuate.
The elevator opened and Ichika turned and stepped inside what was luckily an empty elevator, turning and standing at the side of the door. The incoming guards began firing at the open elevator, tearing up the back of the elevator. Ichika stood on the railings in the corner of the elevator and unhatched the hatch to the roof. He pulled himself up so he stood atop the elevator, the eerily lit shaft above him. The doors closed just after one lucky guard slipped through the doors, looking around confused before Ichika drew his handgun and shot the man straight through the top of his head. The guard fell on the floor as blood and brain matter flowed out of his now open head.
Ichika jumped down, surveying the floor numbers and pressing the top number. 7 Basement Floors…huh… wonder just how many prisoners they have in this place? Ok… focus… this is the hardest part of the escape considering there's no telling how many guards there will be. Ichika put the handgun back into the "belt" and drew both swords. With a SHHHING they came out of their sheaths, their blades glinting off of them.
That seemed easy. Too easy, actually. I've tried so many times to escape this place. Did the fact that they are distracted really cause this much of a difference? Is the only reason this escape attempt has been so much more successful just because that little alarm went off?
Ichika steadied his breathing. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He hadn't felt this good in years. It was like he could crush an IS with his bare hands or outrun one on only his feet. Of course that was an over exaggeration, but it still felt damn good to be 'high on hormones', so to speak.
He took a glance at the sign above the metal doors.
F4
Ichika looked at the open hatch on the top of the elevator.
Shit.
Space left in the empty elevator shaft was disappearing just as fast as the elevator was moving upward.
I have to exit through the doors… Can't risk getting crushed in between the elevator and whatever ceiling there is. I won't have any element of surprise. They're probably waiting right outside guns loaded….
Recognizing his situation, Ichika took a ready stance. He swapped one of his tachis for the handgun in his holster. He put the second tachi back into its sheath, then slipped it through his "belt".
Legs bent and on his toes, ready to sprint out the door at full speed. Arms raised. In his right hand he held one of the tachis in a forward guard position, in his left hand he held out the handgun, which only had a handful of shots left.
The elevator doors slid open as Ichika barely had time to duck behind the interior walls of the elevator.
In the mere glimpse he had taken in the details of the room. It looked like the control room, from what he gathered, which made sense considering it was on the top floor, making it the easiest place for guards to get to and the hardest for prisoners.
Directly across from him was various sets of massive monitors, each with people in front of them typing away. Behind all of them in the center of the room was a circular pedestal, upon which a woman with blonde hair stood, shouting orders at the room's occupants.
Squall. Even when thinking of the name it was thought with disgust.
There was a pair of guards right next to the elevator.
Of course all of the talking and yelling in the room had immediately gone silent when the elevator opened.
Ichika could hear the guards shuffling on the other side of the elevator door. The clicking of firearms and the drawing of swords from there sheaths.
If he could get rid of the guards that would probably be i.t He doubted any of the people at the computers could actually fight, let alone at his level of skill.
Squall was a wild card. He knew she was the leader of the facility, but he had never actually seen her fight. If her skill level was reminiscent of her position as leader, she could give him trouble. He was still confident in his ability to take her down though.
But there was one glaring issue.
Where are the IS guards?
Ichika knew that Phantom Task was in desperate need of IS suits, but the higher ups must've given a pair of guards IS units, because they were the main reason he had never been able to escape before. There was usually at least one guarding his cell specifically. They were the ones that always stopped him… so….
Where are they?... Does it matter? This is the final hurdle. As long as they don't get in my way, I can't waste time thinking or caring about where they are.
A pair of guards walked into the area in front of the open elevator doors, aiming their guns at the seemingly empty elevator. As that pair of guards covered, the other guards that lined the outside walls then began to shuffle towards the open doors.
A guard turned the corner of the wall and entered the elevator with his semi-auto aimed ahead of him, prepared to survey the elevator. The second his foot crossed the open doors threshold. His head seemingly vanished, only for it to be heard falling onto the floor. The gun dropped to the ground with a thunk.
Ichika dropped the blade in his hand and propped the corpse up in front of him.
The guards fired into the elevator.
As he felt the hail of bullets hit the corpse and heard the thunder of guns, Ichika charged forward with the body in front of him absorbing the shots.
Taking aim, he swiftly killed the two guards that were shooting at him.
Moving completely out of the elevator he shoved the body-shield to his left, and shot straight through the head of all three of the guards to the right.
He took a glance at the center of the room and could see Squall going for her holster.
He turned completely to his left and shot at the guards, intending to finish them in the same fashion he had the other three, only for his aim to be off enough for the last one to survive. Without a moment's hesitation he lunged forward and sliced straight through the barrel of the gun, kicking the man in the stomach and making his body hunch over as it fell back, only for Ichika to swiftly relieve him of his head.
Ichika refocused on Squall. He had been very quick through the whole process, but she was already aiming her pistol straight for him. He lunged forward at an angle, rolling on the floor as he heard the loud bang of the firearm. His adrenaline was pumping too hard for him to tell if he'd been hit, adding on the fact that that wasn't what he was focused on.
Finishing the roll and coming up into a full on sprint he zig zagged across the floor, doing his best to avoid the bullets while gaining ground towards Squall.
His brain was moving in overdrive. He could count the millimeters he was from Squall.
10 feet…. Squall dropped her gun. He was sure she was planning on activating an IS, only for her to draw a katana from her back.
5 feet….. The katana had quite a longer blade, but the tachi had significant curvature. Ichika would have to keep the fight up close and personal, that would give him the advantage.
0… Squall brought the katana in front of her and readied the blade. On his last lunge, Ichika jumped straight at her, both hands wrapped tightly around the hilt of his blade.
Both Ichika and Squall could hear Ichika's blade cut through the air as he slashed downward with all his strength.
Instead of the loud clang he expected, a far too cheerful ding reverberated around the room as the blades connected.
The remnants of the room, meaning those who had been working at their computer stations, began panicking. A few continued to type frantically at the computers while the rest dashed for the closest exits of the room.
From the second their blades had met, Squall knew she was outmatched. He was simply out of her league. He was a malnourished prisoner that had been tortured daily for half a decade. She had never fought him personally, but she saw how skilled he was in his previous escape attempts. Of course there was the obvious reason of where the majority of the guards were, and she knew it was important, but the way Ichikas' current escape was going, he would be successful.
She could see it in his eye. They looked less fierce and closer to a tired and… slightly bored… expression. She was in the fight for her life and he was only fighting with his instincts, not even thinking about the fight at hand.
She could see his eye darting around, the gears turning at lighting speed trying to come up with something that would end their duel as soon as possible.
Not that she thought she was doing poorly. Her opponent fought two IS units at 10 years old and didn't die, which was very impressive. In comparison, the fact that she was holding him off was an attribute to her skills. Granted, she had no doubt that the only reason she was still alive was because her opponent was at a physical, mental, emotional, etc, etc. Anyways her opponent was basically at absolute zero when it came to all the 'als'.
Ichika used the curve of his blade against her, and got a thin but deep cut on her leg. She gave a small yelp of pain, fueling the next swing of her katana with fresh anger. The power behind the strike seemingly caught Ichika off guard as he was shoved back slightly, only to rush her with renewed vigor, striking vertically at her angled guard.
Many had evacuated the facility. The prisoners on all floors of the facility were still locked in their cells. Any who had begun to escape in the chaos Ichika was causing had been gunned down mercilessly.
Guards were dashing through the large hallways, carrying large boxes. For what reason was indiscernible.
Inmates screamed at them, banging on their cell walls or bars, which resulted in clanging and thudding sounding along the entirety of the facility.
Ichika had made a quick pattern. He would push back Squall, and in the time that the little ground now between them gave, he would kill one of her subordinates still in the room.
The control room was a complete mess. A few of the people who had previously been at computers had gotten lucky and fled before Ichika could kill them; those who couldn't escape now layed dead, coating the floor with a thick layer of fresh blood that oozed from their bodies.
One wall of the room had a large hole in it, caused by Squall throwing a grenade at Ichika, only for him to dodge.
Outside was another story entirely.
It looked to be in the wilderness. The facility was surrounded by flora and fauna. Birds could be heard chirping. A flock of birds flew away from the trees as the harsh scraping of interlocked swords sounded in the area.
Ichika was squinting harshly while fighting Squall, finally in the light of the sun after so many years.
The fight was coming to an end, that much both participants could tell. Squall was running on fumes, and even though Ichika looked tired himself, she knew it wasn't enough.
Squall looked bad. She was covered in fresh cuts and scrapes from their duel, and one especially nasty cut on her left shoulder where a piece of shrapnel had hit her from the grenade. The amount of sweat forming on her brow made it drip into her eyes, constantly messing up her vision. A stream of blood made its way down from a cut on her forehead, down her right cheek, and into her mouth, she could taste the iron in her own blood.
One could debate that Ichika looked worse. He had already looked terrible from all his torture. He looked like a zombie. Large bags under his eye sockets. A few fresh cuts hid themselves amongst his many scars, yet still made themselves known with small trickles of maroon blood. A slightly larger cut on his left arm, where Squall had gotten a clean strike in.
They stood apart, their duel having come to an unofficial intermission that they both desperately needed. Both opponents staring straight at each other's eyes…. or eye, sizing each other up.
Ichika raised his blade, which dripped blood onto the green grass beneath his feet. He took a deep breath and went in for the finish, making a bold strike to Squalls left side, which he had observed to be the weakest.
Clang. Squall stood with firm ground as she blocked the strike to her left thigh. Spinning to her left and almost dancing with her footing, she aimed to decapitate Ichika.
Whoosh. Ichika rolled forward, and her blade met with nothing but open air.
Ichika stood up facing a tree, and turned around as hastily as he could. Squall charged Ichika, blade raised and prepared to slice him in two. Ichika charged Squall with his blade raised, surprising her. With the longer blade she would come on top, there was no doubt, so why would he charge? Then Ichika took one long stride and stopped dead in his tracks, bending his legs.
Wait. Was all Squall thought as Ichika leaped straight into the air. She saw the trap too late. Her momentum was carrying her forward, she didn't have time to reposition her blade to defend herself.
In one fluid motion, Ichika twirled in the air, slicing straight through Squalls' right arm.
"AAAAHHH!" Squall shrieked in pain as she fell onto the grass. It felt like someone had stuck her arm in lava. The fiery pain seemed to grow more intense with each passing second. She couldn't think. All thoughts about where she was or what she was doing vanished. Her concentration was nonexistent. She could feel her body getting wet from the blood that was pouring out of what remained of her right arm, which wasn't much.
Squall slowly began crawling away from Ichika, managing to prop herself up against a tree.
Oddly enough, the pain was lessening, as if someone had finally taken burning coals off her shoulder. But that was just the bloodloss.
Her right arm now rested in the grass a few feet away, still clutching the katana.
Ichika walked to her, preparing to finally strike her down.
He gazed down on her with a glare she would not wish to see again. It did not make her feel like he was a predator looking at its prey. His eye was so cold…. as if killing her simply wasn't worth his time. She felt defeated.
Without hesitation or the slightest sense of mercy, he raised his blade, prepared to give her a warrior's death.
The blade wooshed downward.
"Brunhilde!" Squall's hand was reaching out in front of her, holding what looked like a detonator.
Ichika's swing halted mid-air, as if it instantly froze in time. He stared down upon the broken form of his opponent, completely frozen, snapped out of his bloodlust.
Squall stared back into the blood red eye of Ichika as a lump appeared in her throat. His eyes were burning into her very soul as he growled like a lion stalking its prey.
It was VERY clear she needed to talk fast if she wanted to live.
"The Brunhilde. The one they call the strongest. Your sister. If I die so will she."
Ichika leveled the large IS sword and pushed it against her throat, hard enough to allow for a trickle of blood to begin going down her neck.
"You lie." She shook her head slightly, so as to not cut herself more on the sword pressed against her throat. The great majority of her was terrified for her life, but there was a small part of her that was giddy with the information she was about to tell.
"Our boss said you were not of use since you wouldn't give up any information, so we were ordered to use you as bait! We ambushed and captured her, she is in prison. I have ordered the entire facility to be primed with explosives, and this-" she showed him the button in her hand "-is the kill switch. It's a dead man's switch. If my finger comes off this button, the prison goes up in smoke, and your precious sister gets turned into a Brunhilde Pancake." A sly smile appeared on Squall's face.
Contrary to what she thought would happen, Ichika hardly reacted, merely squinting his eye slightly in doubt.
"And if I call this… less than subtle… bluff?" Ichika questioned.
"Don't play games, kid. That isn't the question here. The r-" "NO. You don't patronize me. You say you have captured Chifuyu? Prove it." He cut her off, growing annoyed and impatient.
"Ok" Squall's hand began to move inside her jacket, only for the sword against her neck to push harder. She gave a grunt of pain and looked back at the demon in front of her.
"Slowly. Try anything and I will not hesitate to run you through." She nodded, once again feeling very threatened, yet also slightly giddy. The amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins was making her entire body shake. Of course she could still feel the overwhelming pain of having lost an arm, but it was oddly going away. What was remaining of the arm had grown cold and numb.
Squall reached into her inside jacket pocket, moving so slowly it was as if she was fretting over disturbing a pet. It was difficult. She only had one hand, which was holding the dead man's switch. So she had to keep her pinky and ring finger holding it with her thumb pressing down the button, all while grabbing for an item.
Slowly pulling out who looked to Ichika to be a piece of paper, she offered it to him.
He shook his head. "Show me, or read what is on it." Ichika said, assuring Squall had no chances to try to pull something.
She turned it in her hand, flipping over the paper, revealing a photo of Chifuyu, confirming her statement.
The first thought Ichika had was, was the photo doctored? But he severely doubted she would be so paranoid as to fake a photo of a captured family member of one of her random prisoners. He knew his enemies were smart, but that much thinking ahead was just entirely a waste of time, not to mention the event of his escape on this exact day would be nigh impossible to predict.
The photo was of Chifuyu, obviously, but she looked far worse than Ichika had ever seen her. She was tied down to what looked like a metal cross, except the horizontal parts of the cross were at a downward 45 degree angle, so not horizontal at all.
She was tied down with chains and completely passed out. She hardly looked any older than when he had last seen her, but she looked in horrible shape. Her hair was longer than he had ever seen it and looked slathered in grease. Her face had massive bags under the eyes and she had lines running across her forehead, neither of which he had ever seen on her. Her clothes were cut in several places and the sight of crimson confirmed that she was bleeding, or at least had been.
"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS LOCATED!" Ichika roared.
"The bottom floor. It's almost brand new. Her cell is straight across from the elevator you came up to the surface in. It's the only cell on the floor."
Ichika grabbed the katana from her severed arm. And with that Ichika turned on a dime and dash backwards into the prison that had been his hell for so many years.
Squall looked as he ran, watching through the broken walls as Ichika entered the elevator, waiting for the doors to close. She smiled even though she was exhausted, and released the pressure her thumb had on the killswitch.
She didn't even have time to start counting as explosions instantly ensued.
BAROOOOM! She watched as what was remaining of the above ground floor of the building exploded. Cement shrapnelled in all directions, but none got close enough to harm her. She felt a wave of heat wash over her skin.
Idiot...
Having killed or at least distracted her enemy, Squall let out a sigh filled with pain and relief. The adrenaline that was keeping her going disappeared as fast as it had come as she found her breathing slowing, and eyes growing heavy and fighting to stay open.
She could barely make out the forms of IS landing around her, as she gave into unconsciousness, falling onto the hard ground in front of her.
[Location - Phantom Task "Heavy Prison" Bottom Floor - 12:28 a.m.]
An elevator was in the center of the wall at the end of a hallway. Opposite the elevator, a hundred meters away was a large metal door, apparently leading to the only room on the floor. A silence filled the hall as the last guard in the hallway went through the door, slamming it behind him.
The guard looked as if he'd seen a ghost. His face had paled so much it looked like there was no pigment at all. His forehead was dotted in sweat and he was panting. Clearly he had just finished running from something, and was terrified of whatever it was.
The door led straight into a cell so large it appeared as more of a huge empty cavern. It was in the shape of a large rectangle, easily 50 feet wide and more than a couple hundred feet across. Stories tall with columns around the sides to hold up the floors above. It was lit as much as possible, but the lights were so high in the ceiling, the room still looked dim.
Behind each column were a few guards each, all peering around aiming firearms at the door, knowing what was coming.
On the far side of the room across from the metal door, there were what appeared to be a practical army of terrorist guards in rows, all nervously waiting for the doors to open once more. The front row held various melee weapons. The second row held firearms, all focused on the door. Behind both was a metal cross, chained to which was the crowned jewel of Phantom Tasks prisoners. A prisoner that they had captured mere days ago.
On the sides of the cross were two large Mechas that towered over the other terrorists. Both were clearly made to be melee, with massive swords in each of their hands.
The terrorists were the most loyal ones in the facility, they had heard the alarm for evacuation, but their orders were to guard the prize at all costs. They knew it took dozens of I.S.'s to bring down Chifuyu Orimura. Of course she was in her own I.S. at the time, but it still showed the savagery and skill that an Orimura fought with, and they knew her brother would be much more furious since he would be fighting for himself AND his sister. He would fight mercilessly.
Command had informed them of what was happening; Ichika Orimura had escaped and was heading their way to get his sister. They had all prepared themselves to kill the boy once he opened the door. The dozens of guards from the hallway had retreated into the cell room, knowing that they would have the best chance of defense if they stood along their comrades. All terrorists appeared nervous except the pilots of the two IS. Fingers were on triggers, waiting for the slightest movement of the door to open fire. The swordsmen continued to shift positions nervously, knowing they would be the first to fight the Orimura. The pilots' ISes stood still, calm and highly confident, believing they would easily survive the soon to come fight.
A very soft ding was heard from the far away elevator, signaling the arrival of their target. The entire room tensed as the sound of walking continued to pierce the silence, with each step more and more terrorists held their breath. They heard the clicking of the metal locks becoming undone…
The door flung open with a figure appearing and bullets rained towards the doorway as the melee terrorists charged the door, preparing to tear the remnants of the man to shreds. The figure was being torn to pieces by bullets, and in seconds, fell to the floor in a pile of blood and organs…
…"What?" Said quite a few terrorists. They had been prepared for a fight to the death… did they kill the Orimura in mere seconds?
One of the melee terrorists spoke up, now poking the pile of sludge that used to be their target with his sword.
"Well that was certainly easier than I thou"- A second figure leaped through the door, cutting through the unsuspecting guards head with a perfect swipe of a katana. Before anyone could react the figure had turned and began cutting down the melee guards like cattle. Five of the guards were dead before the first guards head even hit the floor.
As Ichika continued to easily slaughter the melee guards, the other terrorists didn't know what to do… if they fired now they would kill their own men. But their hesitancy was easily dissuaded once the commanding IS pilot commanded to "Open Fire".
The figure, they now knew to somehow be Ichika, blocked another sword slash with a lazy block then dashed to the side of the room, hiding from the oncoming fire behind one of the massive columns. The remaining melee guards sprinted after him.
The guards to the opposite side of the same column began circling it in an attempt to catch Ichika off guard, but it appeared he already knew they were there as he had gone further to the side into the shadows. They circled around the column to where Ichika was a second ago, finding it empty, they turned around expecting that he had gone around the column to get to them. Ichika ran from behind them, slicing cleanly through their chests in one stroke. They collapsed onto the column, dead before they hit the ground, their blood soaking the stone and floor.
Ichika whirled around blocking a strike to the side of his head. He bent down and twisted his blade, disarming one opponent while blocking another strike by a second opponent, then stabbed her through the chest. With a sick slunk he pulled the sword back out of her body, pushing her forward onto the blade of her peers' oncoming strike as she screamed in pain all the while. Her peer paused, horrified at what had just happened. Ichika jumped straight at the man, stabbing through the impaled woman's face to kill him.
The other terrorists far away hadn't stopped firing, killing many of their own.
The remaining swordsmen, now numbering around 18, swarmed both sides of the column. Ichika began blocking strikes left and right which, though were easy alone, were somewhat tiring all at once. He sprinted through their group, grunts and cries of pain following in his trail. It took him about a second to deal with each person as they fell around him like flies. Ichika had fought back to his original position by the column.
He approached the last standing swordsman. The man threw a strike to Ichika's side as the katana in Ichika's right hand sliced through the air to intercept it, but instead the blade cut straight through the terrorists blade. The man looked at Ichika, stunned, but this was no time to stop fighting. Ichika kicked the man straight in his stomach, sending him flying through the open room as well as the oncoming fire.
Ichika turned around, staying on the side of the column in the shadows. He began to quickly dash from column to column, only pausing to kill the guards behind each pillar.
The remaining terrorists began backing closer to the two I.S. as Ichika slowly gained ground. The I.S. themselves not counter attacking as the rest of the terrorists would get in their way and become further collateral damage.
In minutes Ichika finally got to the final column, which was still a solid 20 feet from the remaining guards. Covered in a thick layer of fresh blood, he leaned back on the column, taking a short break to figure out a plan to take out the gunmen. The terrorists made sure to never slow their gunfire, keeping Ichika from getting a chance to attack them. However, after a few minutes of continual fire on the column the terrorists were ordered to stop firing in fear they would run out of ammo. The I.S. pilots took the chance and flew above the gunmen to the column, and began circling it from both sides.
Ichika ran left out of the column with his blades sheathed, sliding under its legs and sitting up directly into a running stance, and charged the gunmen. He leapt at 45 degree angles, moving from side to side while still charging toward them. The guns roared back to life as Ichika closed the distance, covering the distance in only a few bounds. If he was shot, he didn't react.
Ichika tensed his legs from the landing of the third lunge, then jumped over the guards heads, landing dead center of the pack. The gunmen ceased fire so as not to kill each other.
The I.S. realized what had occurred and turned round to fly back to their peers, but they had given Ichika all the time he needed.
With a sharp ring the blades were unsheathed and they knew their fight was over. One guard seemingly wished to only save his own life, ignoring the shouts of warning from the other terrorists, he open fired at the young man. But yet again, too late. Ichika seemingly teleported right to the side of the man, dodging the bullets that followed milliseconds later. The bullets shot the terrorists that were just behind Ichika, killing many from pointblank range. The man who had fired attempted to scream a cry of fear, but was cut off by Ichika's tachi cutting off the entire left side of his body to his waist, falling to the floor in two giant pieces of flesh. The rest of the gunmen began running away from Ichika in different directions, knowing that if they put enough distance between each other and Ichika, they could use their firearms again without worrying about killing their "terrorists-in-arms". Ichika picked his targets, taking down multiple of them with each swing. The last one had turned back in an attempt to fire at him, but he simply threw his tachi like a javelin and it bedded itself in between the gunmen's eyes.
Seconds... that is how long it took him to kill them all. But they were not the challenge… Nothing he had done up to this moment was the challenge. No… the two challenges landed behind him as he ran at the fallen guard who still had Ichikas' tachi in his head.
The swords on both I.S. were massive, which made sense considering the machines were massive in and of themselves. They swung from behind Ichika, flying behind him as he ran to the body. Luckily he had enough of a headstart to evade them, but they would catch up in no more than a second.
But Ichika had a plan. He was guessing Squall had already blown the dead man's switch. Chances were the guards on the bottom floor didn't fill this room with those explosives, since they were guarding Chifuyu here. That was why the room hadn't gone up in smoke yet. But the rest of the facility probably had. Meaning the only thing stopping this room from completely collapsing was the colossal concrete columns.
He ran towards the body and did a front flip over it, tucking in his knees and extending his hand when he was in mid-air to grab a hold of the tachi. Without stopping he ran to the nearest pillar, knowing it would be hard to maneuver to fight around them in an I.S. Both pilots began to engage Ichika. However one was apparently tired of his games, and she struck right at Ichika, taking the column with it. He barely had enough time to run out of the way as 5 feet of the column exploded, sending boulder sized chunks of concrete each and every way.
"DON'T!" One pilot screamed to the one breaking the columns. But she was ignored as her partner continued playing right into Ichika's hand, crushing the gigantic pillars he attempted to hide behind for cover.
Ichika stopped another powerful strike, catching the I.S's sword by using an X-formation with his blades, the ground beneath his feet cracking as he braced against the machine. He grimaced as he could feel more muscles tearing, more bones cracking or breaking. Infinite Stratos was the most advanced piece of military weaponry in existence, it would be suicide to fight even one without your own IS, but fighting two at the same time was practically shaking the Grim Reaper's hand. Ichika could do little more than continually back up, giving her more and more ground so they were now nearing the door Ichika had entered through
"STOP!" The same pilot spoke up once more, as large chunks of concrete and Earth began to fall from the ceiling, but it was no use as her partner broke the final column on the left side. The pilot who had called out a warning began flying over to the elevator, knowing what was about to happen and trying to escape it.
Ichika spun away from another strike before he ran faster than he ever had in his life, towards Chifuyu. Sweat and blood dripped from his entire body with each step. He could feel pieces of bone scraping against each other… but he wouldn't stop now.
The other I.S. pilot realized what she had done and flew after her partner towards the doors. But the ceiling gave; tons of concrete, rebar, and earth fell, slamming into the floor.
Ichika didn't look back as he raced for his goal. He was stopped as a part of the once ceiling crashed right next to him, throwing him off his feet.
Without hesitating he got up into a sprint towards Chifuyu.
50 feet…
40…
30... The ceiling above Chifuyu was cracking.
20…
10… "NOOOO!" Ichika screamed as the ceiling above her dropped. He lunged at her, slashing through the chains on her arms in one broad stroke. He was in the air on top of her, both of them falling to the ground… and then… he blacked out.
[Location - ? - ?]
[P.O.V. - Ichika]
I had jumped at Chifuyu, cutting her chains, and placing my body above her to, by chance, give a little protection. And then… nothing… black. But there was something… the pain was gone… the exhaustion… gone.
Shit I didn't die, did I? NOT part of the plan.
My senses began to come back to me so slowly it was hard to determine what I was sensing.
I smell… salt? Is that water… and…. the crashing of waves? I'm on a beach, apparently face down in the sand of a beach.
"Shit. I really did die didn't I?" I said aloud opening my eye and standing up.
"Hahahaha, you're funny."
I know that laugh, It's what I live for.
He turned around and looked at who had laughed. But what he saw utterly confused him. It was Chifuyu, clearly, but… it wasn't. Too young… it looked like more of a memory of her at a younger age.
"Precisely. Always the smart one, eh?"
Wait did she ju-
"Mmmhmm."
He was surprised by this entire situation, and it was very hard to surprise him. This is going to be the thing that is the weirder if I ever say "I've seen weirder.''
"Hey! That was just rude." The Mini-Chifuyu scowled at him.
"So you can read my mind?" It was meant as a rhetorical question, but she answered it anyway.
"Yup" She said, making the "p" pop.
"Don't." He stated coldly. She frowned in response
"Why not?" She asked.
"My mind is not a nice place to be."
"Mmmhmm. Fine." She said pouting.
Pouting?…ok this definitely isn't Chifuyu. "Well?" he said.
"Well what?"
"How? What? When? Where? Why?" Ichika said in succession.
"Well.. you're not dead… actually right now you're atop the real Chifuyu-" "She's alive?!" He interrupted.
"Yes, and so are you, dummy. If you want to stay that way you're gonna have to do exactly what I say, exactly how I say it. Now, time is of the essence so I'll give you the short version. I am the A.I. of an Infinite Stratos. Once you exit this facility, or what's left of it, the closest hospital is dozens of miles away. I can keep you alive till you get there and start receiving medical treatment, but you obviously need to get to me first. When you wake up, you'll have to get out of the debris on top of you, assuming you still want your sister-"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"No time! Now, you'll have to carry her too since she is still sedated. Go out of the cell and back to the elevator, go to the sides of the elevator and climb down the rest of the shaft, you won't have to go far before you hit the bottom. After you get there, there will be a pair of incredibly large doors to a secret floor. Once you open them, then you'll be in a large unlit room. Just walk forward and you'll run into me. After we make physical contact you can pilot me, and I'll take it from there.
"Men can't pilot IS." Ichika stated.
"Look. You're just gonna have to trust me. Every second you stay with me your chances of survival dwindles. Just trust me, ok?"
"..."
"Too late to discuss this, we're out of time. Just trust me… please?" Mini-Chifuyu pleaded with him as his senses began to dullen.
[P.O.V. - Narrator]
Ichika shot awake. He gave a cry of pain as once again he felt all of his wounds and the beating his body had taken. Every cut and scrape, the feeling of stabbing pain from his own shattered bones tearing apart his flesh from the inside. The left side of his stomach was on fire, he looked down and saw that a thin piece of rebar had given him a thin but deep cut on the torso. He couldn't feel his left hand at all, he ran his gaze from his left arm to where his hand was. It was being crushed in between three chunks of cement. His entire body was covered in blood, he didn't want to know how much of it was others and how much was actually his.
Chifuyu's body was under him. His frame was making a diagonal line above hers, covering her left leg, body, right arm, and head, leaving only her right leg and left arm exposed to the smaller pieces of debris that were still falling from the above encasement.
He couldn't worry about her right now, if he died, they both did. He shifted his weight and put his right hand on the large piece of debris above him. Mustering up what little strength he had been pushed against the debris, attempting to move it off of him so he could stand. After 10 seconds of funneling his strength, he stopped. It hadn't even budged.
A sound of crushing could be heard. The debris was beginning to cave in on itself. He HAD to move fast.
Ichika was in too awkward of a position to move it. His left hand was restricting him too much, he couldn't move from the spot he was in at all. Seeming to pause and think for a second he came to a conclusion and started to turn his head around, looking through the debris. After a few seconds he saw what he was looking for and extended his hand to grab for it, grunting as he slowly and painfully stretched his body. It seemed as though he reached the item, as he pulled back into his original position with a blood covered piece of metal in his hands. The katana he fought with had been crushed into pieces by the debris, Ichika now held a jagged piece of the former blade about 10 inches long.
Nothing will get in my way, not even myself.
Ichika held the piece of metal and placed it over his left arm, the closest place to the debris pinning his hand as he could. His breath quickened as he was filled with adrenaline, his body anticipating in fear of what he was about to make it do. The metal in his hand began to make him bleed he was holding it so tightly.
3… He slowed his breath.
2… He raised the piece of metal, jagged side down.
1… For Chifuyu. Ichika yelled in determination and plunged the tachi piece down into his arm. He made a cry of pain as it ripped through his own flesh, cutting through his veins and muscles. But not enough.
Ichika raised the piece now covered in his own blood.
For Tabane. His right hand flew back down at his left arm. The bone made a loud cracking noise that would haunt Ichika's nightmares more than any of the tortures he had gone through in those long years.
He tried to think, but couldn't, the pain overwhelmed anything else. No hearing, no sight, no feeling, nothing. It was just pain. Life was pain. He hadn't cried in years but tears were now flowing freely from his organic eye.
His body begged him to stop.
Through sheer will alone, he raised the piece for a third time. His right hand hit the ceiling of the debris, stopping him from raising it higher.
For Madoka. An animalistic yell of determination escaped his blood filled mouth, Ichika slashed down through the air.
Ichika fell to the ground, the motion of the final strike following through and slamming him into the floor. He gagged and began throwing up from the pain. His blood and sweat mixing with his vomit and dust from the debris.
Breath…In… Out… In… Out…
Stabilising himself, he ever so slowly pulled himself up. He took off the bloody and cut up Guard Uniform top and used it and the piece of katana to make a terrible excuse for a tourniquet.
He trudged over and repositioned himself where he had once tried to lift the debris. He put his blood covered right hand over himself, bracing his back against the large chunk of concrete.
Ichika sucked in breath, trying to gain the largest amount of energy he could. After preparing himself he started.
More adrenaline rushed into his system as he poured everything into the effort. The pain of having severed his hand dulled. The debris gave a groan of defiance.
He closed his eye in concentration, nostrils flaring. His teeth cracked from the force that he was clenching his jaw with. Dust and small bits of rock dropped from above him as the debris shifted.
His muscles felt like liquid, but he was getting close as he was now half-standing with his knees slightly bent.
Sweat turned to blood as Ichika made a final shove, having spent everything he had left.
The debris crashed behind the young man as he fell to the floor as his body finally got the relief it had begged for.
Part of him was begging for death, the other part demanding to continue through. His logical mind would not be denied, and Ichika crawled over to Chifuyu's unconscious form. He forced his body to pull itself into a squat next to her. Carefully, he slipped his right arm under her back and half carried half pulled her out of a gap in the encasing debris they had been stuck in.
Ichika was now standing on top of a sea of large chunks of what used to be the room's roof. Ichika picked up Chifuyu and carried her like a sack of potatoes as he made his way through the wreckage to the door. He knew he had to move fast, his sister would now be fine, but he was still in a more than critical state.
The door was luckily not buried, though next to it he did see remains of what used to be I.S.'s crushed under far more debris than he was stuck under, blood pooling under the rocks surrounding them. The pilots may have still been alive, but frankly, he didn't give a damn.
He trudged through the still open door and made his way to the elevator, heavily dripping in a mixture of fluids all the while leaving a trail of bloody footprints. Ichika placed Chifuyu down and pushed the "UP" button, then slumped down, leaning against the wall. He sat her head in his lap and stroked her silky black hair, tucking a long strand behind her ear. He looked over her for wounds and found a few cuts on her arm and leg, but nothing major.
Ichika knew he didn't have the energy to carry her on top of the elevator and down the rest of the shaft, he would just have to trust Mini-Chifuyu. As the elevator door opened Ichika kissed Chifuyu's head, and gently placed her on the ground. His body screamed at him as he stood up and entered the elevator. He could've sworn he was hearing thousands of slurs being shouted at his mind from the rest of his body.
Ignoring the flashing buttons that were waiting for him to choose a floor he pulled himself up onto the railing, opened the hatch, and used his one hand to pull himself up. He looked around at the familiar look of the elevator shaft, then went to the edge and grabbed one of the large pulley wires that held the elevator.
Ichika leaned into the wire and practically fell to the bottom, his hand only barely slowing his dissent, landing harshly.
Before him stood an out of place set of large doors, filling the entire wall. Ichika placed his hand on the right door and shoved it open, stumbling into a dark room only lit by the light shining through the doorway.
He limped forward into the chilling stale air, his hand outstretched in front since he could hardly see. Step… Step… Step. His hand landed on the feeling of dust covered cloth, he grabbed the cloth with his hand and pulled it towards him. The cloth gave and Ichika could feel it falling to the floor. After pausing, he took another step forward and his hand landed on a cold metal.
There was a quick flash of light that illuminated the entire room as information rushed into his head. He was shown the very basics of piloting an I.S, which he already knew, but now the information felt more set in stone - more instinctual. The light faded away and found himself in the pilot seat of the IS.
"I'll take it from here...but I'll need your help once we get to the hospital… just stay conscious until then alright," said a soft voice in his head.
The Mini-Chifuyu A.I. took control of the Infinite Stratos. The machine flew straight through the doors of the room, completely bending them out of shape. It cut the elevator in half, getting it out of the way, and hovered by the wall the elevator was facing. Its arm extended, gently picking up Chifuyu's body, and held her close to it's chest. Then shot up through the elevator shaft.
Ichika was only focusing on staying conscious like the A.I. said, not even processing any of the I.S.'s movement.
The I.S. reached the top of the shaft and flew straight forward, bursting through the walls of the top floor. Without changing its path it went through wall after wall, not even slightly slowing. As the Infinite Stratos broke the final wall, moonlight coated the machine in a dim light. The I.S. flew into the sky, turned towards the distant hospital, and shot towards it.
Moving faster and faster, it continued to cut through the sky at speeds most pilots could only dream of.
"Brace yourself" The A.I. stated to Ichika, but he didn't even register the statement. Glass of surrounding buildings shattered as the machine broke the sound barrier; a deafening boom, that sounded like a cannon firing, followed. The I.S. only continued to speed up, as if flying at the speed of sound was childsplay.
After little more than 2 minutes the machine slowed itself, and gently landed in a dark alleyway.
"This is the most I can do. You're so close, all you have to do is go left out of this alley and the hospital will be right beside you… I'll be with you the whole time." The A.I. stated as the I.S. was covered in light, and disappeared, reappearing as a brand new eyepatch that once again covered Ichika's empty eye socket.
Ichika landed on his feet, bending his knees as he caught Chifuyu with a grunt. The effort would generally be less than nothing, but his body was on fire, the effort made him almost pass out. Focusing on just staying on his feet, Ichika walked forward. Left… Right… Left… Right.
He turned the corner and saw the hospital entrance a few yards from him. Left… Right… Left… He turned and put his shoulder to the door, pushing with all his might as it slowly opened into a hallway of bustling people.
The whole room instantly became silent as everyone in the room looked at the person who had just entered. A figure missing their left hand dripping blood, carrying a young woman in his right arm and what remained of his left arm. The only feature distinguishable of the figure was the oddly fresh looking eyepatch over the right eye. A woman covered in blood, though whether it was hers or the figure's, they couldn't tell.
The effect was immediate. Waiting patients were pushed aside as the figure and woman were grabbed by several doctors and nurses as some began yelling orders at each other. They brought in two stretchers and laid them down onto them. Ichika passed out before they even put him onto the stretcher, finally allowing sleep to finally overtake him, begging that he and Chifuyu would be in good hands.
A/N: There it is. This is the first chapter I wrote for this fanfiction. By far my favorite chapter I have written. I felt good about chapter 1, and okay about 2 & 3, but I feel genuine pride in this chapter.
The chapter has so much action. I cannot express how much I love action. I mean, a good story is great, but man if I don't love a good fight. However, you can't have a good fight without the emotional attachments to the characters, which comes from the rest of the story.
My original idea for this fanfiction was "What if Chifuyu was captured instead of Ichika? How could he have the ability to rescue her? How could she be defeated? Etc."
I wanted to show a failed escape attempt of Ichikas in which the OC would die, I just didn't like the chapter I ended up with. So I scrapped it.
There is a Batman quote in this chapter, you get bonus points if you found it.
Ichika lifting the ruble was meant to be an homage to Spiderman, I hope I made that obvious enough.
IS: Gamer Chapter 2 is coming soon too. Those chapters write themselves, and I don't re-read it a bajillion times, so they're a ton easier to make.
Okay. It's 4:30 in the morning. I'm going to bed, bye.
Personal Response:
ShadowofDemons: Thank you very much. It is so nice to know that someone enjoys my story so much.
- This is AceOfSpades, signing off.