After receiving word about the location of Marinda and Harina, Davis and the others were flying towards Osaka. Davis was pretty excited about this. He gets another shot at both of those trouble making pilots and this was an actual mission.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Lita said. "I didn't think we would be able to use our own personal units for tasks such as this."

"It makes sense when you think about." Houki said. "The only way to stop an I.S. is to use one of your own. Besides, it might have been agreed upon that the I.S. units be used for sport, but they are actually used for assignments like this if the time calls for it."

"Who cares about that? I'm just glad I get to kick this bad boy out." Davis said.

"Motomiya, stay focus." Chifuyu said through the communication link. "The mission comes first. Don't get carried away. This won't be a competitive fight."

"I get it. The girl actually tried to kill me." Davis said.

"I'm telling you this because you don't seem to get it. They'll make sure they finish the job when they get the chance." Chifuyu said. "There is no one to call it off. This fight won't end until one side decides to retreat or die."

'Does Veemon feel all that pressure when he went to fight?' Davis thought.

"So why isn't Tatenashi or Kanzashi coming with us?" Sierra asked.

"They're on standby." Charlotte said. "Osaka is a large place, but there's no need for all of us to be here. Tatenashi is the strongest fighter in the academy. She's our trump card if we need it. As for Kanzashi, while she can hold her own, she's more reliable on guidance."

"I'm more worried about the people in Osaka." Serene asked.

"As am I." Cecilia said. "Why would those two be attacking Osaka?"

"Maybe we'll get out answers when we get there. Osaka is coming up." Ichika said. All of them flew through the clouds, but they saw smoke and destruction through the city. "Oh my god!"

"Two people did all that damage?!" Kimi said.

"It's horrible. What they trying to do with all this destruction?" Rin said.

"Let's split up." Ichika said. "Davis, you and your group try and find Marinda and Harina. The rest of us should try and help all innocent bystanders." All of them were in agreement with that and spread through the city to face the challenge.

"Ichika, was it really a wise idea to set them after Marinda and Harina?" Charlotte asked.

"They all have to start somewhere." Laura said. "The only way and they'll be ready is if they get the field work in."

"Besides, I've seen Davis in action." Ichika said with confidence in him. "All of them are more than capable of holding their own. Davis surely knows what he's doing out there when it comes to an actual battle."

…

Osaka

People were running for their lives. Harina and Marinda were wrecking through the city and they obviously didn't care what they have to wreck to get whatever it is that they are after. Harina looked like she was having a lot of fun like a child playing with some new toys.

"So much fun. I never knew smashing so many things would be this much fun." Harina said as she used her mechanical snakes and smashed through some buildings and wrecking everything in sight.

"Harina, stop it." Marinda said. "Smashing everything in sight won't get much done. We need to localize where our target is."

"Aw. That's not as much fun. It's so much more fun to break stuff." Harina said.

"Do you mean like this?" Harina was confused, but when she turned around, she saw Kimi flying at her with her flamed blades flying at her. Harina jumped up and avoided her attack. Kimi turned around and fired a few fireballs at her, but Harina knocked away all of them.

"Oh my? Does someone actually want to play?" Harina said. Harina saw another enemy attack coming and saw Serene and Sierra with their rifles and started shooting at her, but she avoided all their attacks. Marinda looked and saw the enemy was making its move.

"These fools again?" Marinda said. "What are they thinking coming out here? They lack the power to defeat us."

"Is that so?" Marinda looked up and saw Davis coming down at her with his sword. "You're in for a surprise because we've got plenty of power!" Marinda pulled out her twin axes and crossed them. She was able to block Davis' attack and didn't even move or anything. "What?! She blocked my attack so easily." Davis moved away to keep some distance between the two.

"You again? Perhaps I should have finished you when I had the chance." Marinda said. "You're not a threat. You're an annoyance."

"So you don't think I'm all that, do you?" Davis said. "I'll be happy to prove you wrong!" Davis charged right at her, but Marinda didn't seem the least bit worried. "Seiza Surasshu!" Davis flew right at her with his sword glowing bright. Marinda switched her weapons around and pulled out her own blade. She braced herself as she crossed blades with him. She was met with some force, but she was able to hold her own against the attack. "No way!"

"You really are a fool. You don't reveal your trump card at the start of a fight." Marinda said. She powered up her cannons and blasted Davis with him being sent flying and slid against the ground. Davis was able to get back up, but he saw his shield energies took some major damage.

"Motomiya!" Chifuyu said. "I told you take this fight serious. What were you thinking using your best attack right from the start?"

"Sorry. I was aiming to end this quickly. I have an idea of how powerful she is from our other encounters." Davis said. "I thought I could do that with Seiza Surasshu, but I guess I was wrong."

"If she's really as powerful as you say she is, you need to wear her down first and strike when she's at a moment of weakness." Chifuyu said.

"She's right, Davis." Lita said as she flew down next to him. "We can't take this lightly, but we can't afford to make any mistakes."

"I get it. I'm sorry. I screwed up." Davis said.

"Don't worry. I'll clean up your mistake." Lita said and charged right at Marinda. Marinda was ready for her as the two of them kept trading blows with each other. Marinda was alerted of another attack from behind. She had her cannons revolve around and fired to deflect Fria's grapples.

"How trivial." Marinda said.

"We haven't even begun to fight." Fria said as she charged in herself. She pulled out her halberd and swung it at her, but Marinda flew up into the air and avoided her attack.

"Where are you going?" Davis said as he flew right at her and attacked. He swung his sword at her, but Marinda was able to block that attack as well.

"What is this? Are you even trying or are you holding yourself back for some reason?" Marinda said. Davis didn't quite understand. "Perhaps it's a mix. Perhaps you just aren't aware of your full power and that's exactly why you can't beat me." Marinda moved Davis' sword out of the way and struck him pretty hard that sent him flying. Davis tried to hold himself together and was able to regain his balance. He got a good feel of her power from this fight so far and it wasn't looking good.

'Miss Orimura wasn't kidding. This isn't like the fights in the arenas.' Davis thought. 'This girl is holding absolutely nothing back. I think she's going with the actual intent to kill.' He looked right at Marinda and he's never met anyone quite like her before. 'What's going on? What's her deal?'

"Davis!" Lita called out as she and Fria flew up to Marinda. They both tried to attack her, but she was too fast for the both of them. "Keep your head in the fight. The sooner we get these two, the better."

'She's right. I can't let myself get distracted.' Davis thought and flew in to join the fight. As they were all fighting in the air, the others were doing their best to hold off Harina.

"Take this. Let's see you try and escape." Serene said. She unloaded all of her weapons attached to her Icy Queen and fired at Merinda, but Harina was a slippery one. She kept moving around like the snake she was.

"I've got her!" Sierra said as she brought out her missile launchers and started shooting at Harina, but those weren't working either.

"Gosh, you're all so lame!" Harina said.

"Shut it!" Kimi said as she came down at her with her blades, but Harina was able to block that attack as well.

"I agree with Marinda." Harina said. "You all are totally weak. You I.S. Academy students don't really understand the power you really have. You don't come at your opponents with the intent to kill."

"Intent to kill?" Kimi questioned.

"Like this." Harina said as her snakes bit around Kimi and her shield energy beginning to drop and she was starting to be in pain.

"Kimi!" Sierra called out as she deployed dagger-like weapons to try and free her. Harina was faster as she tossed Kimi right against Sierra and they both crashed against a building and it nearly collapsed on them.

"Are you two unharmed?" Serene asked.

"I am. Kimi, what about you?" Sierra asked.

"A little damage, but I think I'll be okay. it doesn't feel like those snakes had venom to them." Kimi said.

"This is starting to get boring. You guys aren't much fun." Harina said.

"Is that so? Let me show you a blast." Serene said as she opened fire at Harina again, but Harina was avoiding all of her attacks. Lita and Fria tried to tag team against Marinda while they both tried to remain close to her. Both of them tried attacking from both sides at the same time, but Marinda switched from her sword to her twin axes and blocked both of them. She swung her axes against their weapons and fired her cannons at both of them with them being knocked out of the sky.

"She's skilled!" Fria said.

"You can say that again. Her ability to switch her weapons around is incredibly fast." Lita said.

"This fight is just getting started!" Davis said as he went into the attack. Both of them clashed against each other and kept the fight going in the sky. Davis tried to strike her again, but Marinda blocked his attack. She was powering her cannons, but Davis was smart enough to move away. Marinda began shooting around at him, but Davis was avoiding every one of her attacks. Davis was flying around the city, but he spotted something ahead. He saw innocent people about to be in her line of favor.

"Now perish!" Marinda said. She fired her cannons and Davis saw those innocent people were going to get hit.

"No!" Davis used himself as a shield and blocked the attack, but he hit the ground from the impact. Davis turned to the people. "Go! Get somewhere safe." The people didn't wait around as they all ran off. Davis did his best to get back up.

"Motomiya, you need to pull out. Your shield energy is too low. One more attack and you could get seriously hurt. Maybe even be killed." Chifuyu said.

"No. I need to at least make sure those people are far enough away." Davis said. Marinda flew over to him and Davis got ready for whatever she might bring.

"You used yourself as a shield to protect them?" Marinda said.

"Of course. What the hell is your problem? Someone like you had to have seen those people and they were going to get hurt." Davis said.

"It's their own fault if they were too cowardly and foolish to move out of the way." Marinda said. "My resolve is as strong as iron. I won't allow anyone or anything stand in the way of my goals."

"What goals? You're turning Osaka to hell!" Davis said. "What could you possibly go to such lengths for?"

"I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you." Marinda said and charged right at him. "You're finished!" Marinda was all set to finish him off, but Davis was saved as Ichika came out of nowhere to attack, but Marinda was able to block it.

"Ichika!" Davis said.

"She's good! She was able to block my attack when I used the Ignition Boost." Ichika said.

"I've got her!" Rin said as she came from behind with both her weapons together. "I'll show that Shenlong is the better I.S." Marinda pushed Ichika out of the way and blocked Rin's attack as well.

"Shenlong? The predecessor of my Tartarus." Marinda said. She fired her cannons and Rin got hit pretty hard. "The predecessor can't surpass the successor. The successor always moves forward."

"Davis!" Davis looked up to see the others fly by with Houki flying down to him. "Here." Houki placed her hand on him and glowed a yellow light. Davis could feel energy traveling through him and his shield energy was restored.

"Thanks, Houki. I needed that." Davis said.

"No problem." Houki said.

"How are all the citizens? Are they all safe?" Davis asked.

"Roger. We managed to evacuate the area. Everyone should be safe." Houki said. "All that's left is to handle these two. Davis, you need to keep your focus. This battle is unlike everything you've seen before." She went in to fight and Davis kept his eyes open.

'She's right. I can't keep holding myself back. Look for an opening.' Davis thought and while they were fighting her, the others were taking care of Harina. Trying to at the very least. Charlotte, Cecilia, and Laura surrounded Harina and all were ready to fire.

"Now!" Cecilia ordered. All of them fired at once and kept going until they created a dust cloud. They waited until it was cleared.

"What was that?" Harina said and all of them were surprised to see she was completely unharmed. "Is that really all you can do? You people are really a year ahead of these guys? I guess that doesn't really make much of a difference."

"There's no way!" Charlotte said.

"She's completely unharmed!" Laura said.

"How can that be?" Cecilia said. The others were doing their best to fight off against Marinda. She fired around Fria and Lita while she was trying to fight off Rin, Ichika and Houki.

"She's so strong!" Rin said.

"No joke. I can't believe she's able to fight off all of us like this." Ichika said.

"Just keep attacking!" Houki said as she launched a few shots with her blades, but Marinda was able to deflect each one.

"Why do you continue to resist? All you're doing is making this more troubling than it needs to be." Marinda said.

"That's what you think. We're fighting because you guys are hurting others!" Davis said as he charged in and thought he had her, but Marinda was able to block that attack as well.

"You come back? Why bother when you lack the power to defeat me?" Marinda said. "Is this some depressed attempt for your life to end?"

"Shut up!" Davis shouted. He swung his sword again, but Marinda blocked it as well. This time, Marinda was moved back a little.

"He was able to move me?" Marinda questioned. "How could he have pulled out even more power?"

"You should know better than to underestimate us!" Davis shouted as he swung his sword again, but Marinda blocked it as well and put in a little more resistance to it.

"Now it's starting to get interesting." Marinda said with a small smile. Both of them pulled back their blades out. They slammed them against each other and was putting in some power into the attacks.

"Answer me, Marinda. Who are you people and what are you after?" Davis said.

"What good would knowing do?" Marinda said.

"I don't know, but it will help so we get you to stop hurting people." Davis said. Both of them were pulling out some power into their attacks and trying to push the other back. "Guys, while I'm holding her here, blast her."

"What?! You want us to hit you with her?!" Lita said.

"We can't." Ichika said.

"Just do it!" Davis shouted. With no other choice, they did what Davis asked and fired at both of them and caused an explosion.

"Davis!" Fria and Lita called out. They waited for the smoke to clear away and saw both of them were still standing.

"That's it. I'm done." Davis said as his I.S. was deactivated with all its power gone and he dropped to the ground.

"No way! I can't believe she's still standing!" Rin said.

"This is where it ends!" Marinda said as she was ready to finish him off, but she stopped when she received a message. "Now? Understood. Harina, we're pulling out."

"Already?" Harina asked.

"Those are our orders. We'll let you go this time, but you be wise not to stand in the way." Marinda said and they both flew off.

"Come back!" Ichika shouted.

"Leave it. Osaka is safe and that was the mission. On top of that, we have a man down." Chifuyu said. "We'll just have to get them next time."

"It's okay. I'm fine." Davis said as he got back up. "I can't believe how strong Marinda is and what was all that stuff she was spouting about really? What goal? What is she trying to do?" All of them heard clapping and they were all surprised to see it was coming from Wade.

"Bravo. Wonderful show." Wade said.

"Wade?! What are you doing here?" Lita said.

"Enjoying show. How's my baby, waby, little, wittle sister? You like your new toy?" Wade said.

"I mean why are you in Osaka and give me a real answer." Lita said as she was ready to cut him down.

"That's simple. I'm the one they were after." Wade said.

"You?!" Davis said. "Why were they after you? Not to mention why did you say it so casually?"

"Wade, what's going on?" Lita asked.

"Let's wait until everyone gets here. Chifuyu, I know you can hear me. I think it might be best that you come and listen to what I have to say." Wade said. "It's time you all knew the truth. You see, I know what's going on." Wade knows something they don't? What does he know? They're about to get answers to what's going on.

….

Davis: Wade knows something we don't about those girls? I know he might be considered a genius, but he does act weird. Anyway, Marinda is one serious girl and an even serious fighter. I say it's just about scary. Not as scary as what this Lineer has planned. I'm not sure if we'll be enough to handle this.

Next Time: Lineer's Desire

There is so many twists and turns here. I'm not sure how to untangle this mess.