Chapter 5; A Hunter is Born
Sliding out from under the machine, Maylin set her tools aside and sat up before rubbing a sore spot in her neck. This was her fourth late night working on her IS, and she was quickly discovering why Simon and Erin enjoyed their trade so much; there was a certain satisfaction from building something by hand. Wiping her hands on the rag she kept close to try and get at least some of the grease off, she stood up and admired her work. The tournament was ten days away, and in that time she and her father had managed to assemble most of the IS. While it still didn't have an official name, it was still an impressive machine to behold. Seeing the design in the blueprints and models was one thing, but seeing it physically was something else entirely. They had finished the torso five days ago and were now just about done with the limbs. While Maylin toiled away on the main body, Simon had elected to work on the wings, saying that they required a 'special touch.'
But then there are the trials, flight tests, and fine tuning she remembered, feeling her spirits plummet. There was no way they could do all of that in ten days and be ready to fight. Sighing, she reached for the energy drink she had brought with her. When she turned around, however, she was surprised to see Madoka, Annabelle and Erin watching her from the doorway, looking amused. "Uh, how long have you been standing there?" she asked, suddenly very conscious of her appearance. Her clothes were covered in various machine fluids, and she had no doubt that her hair was a mess, despite the fact that she had it pinned up. "Long enough to know that you have some idea of what you're doing," Erin said as he examined the IS, completely ignoring Maylin's appearance, something for which she was grateful. "So, how much more do you need to do to finish this baby?" Anna asked, looking at the designs on the computer. "Too much," Maylin replied, huffing, "It'll take at least a week just to finish putting it together. Never mind the tests and fine-tuning."
"Well then, we better fix that," Madoka said, picking up a wrench and walking over to one of the legs. Before she could begin working on it, Erin grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. "Not only is that the wrong size, that's the wrong tool entirely," he said, holding his hand out, "Why don't you leave this to the professionals so Maylin actually has a machine to use?" Sticking her tongue out at him, she handed the wrench over and went to join Anna in examining the plans. "Wait, you're actually going to help me build this thing?" Maylin asked, astounded, "You realize it's almost midnight, right?" "Who needs sleep when we have caffeine?" Madoka said, winking at her friend. Maylin didn't know what to say as she looked at her friends. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she returned to where she had left off while Erin worked on the connections on the upper part of the machine. All the while, Madoka and Anna walked them through the design, passing along parts and tools as needed.
When Simon came into the bay that morning to check on Maylin, he was mildly surprised at what he found. He knew that she had been coming in late to work on the IS, impatient to get it done. While she was asleep on the roll cart under the IS, Annabelle and Madoka had fallen asleep propped up on the work station, while Erin had propped himself against one of the machine's feet before nodding off. It was good to know that his daughter had found such good people, and for a moment he just stood there. Then, with a sigh that was also part laugh, he walked into the bay and clapped his hands. Madoka and Erin were up in a flash, looking around in confusion for a second before remembering where they were. Maylin and Annabelle took a bit longer, yawning and stretching before they realized Simon was there. "D-Dad!" Maylin said, jumping up suddenly. "It's all right, princess," he said, laughing, "I just wanted to see how it's coming along." "It should be ready for trials in another day or two," Erin said, getting up and yawning, "What time is it, anyway?" Making a show of looking at his watch, Simon said, "About ten in the morning."
"WHAT?!" they all said, bolting upright and wide awake now. Classes had started about two hours ago, and they were nowhere near ready for it. Laughing again, he raised his hand in a "calm down" gesture, saying, "Relax, I'll talk with your teachers. Let's just call this an official assignment, shall we?" They all nodded in unison, glad to not have to rush through their day. When he turned to leave, he noticed that they were all still standing there, looking at each other and laughing slightly at how messy they were. "Hey, I said it was an official assignment, didn't I?" he said, "That means I need to attach a grade to this. Get to it, or I'll make sure it sucks." With that, he left with a smile as a few of them glared at his back. "Your dad is a cool person," Erin said after he had left, "Kind of a pain, but cool." "You have no idea," Maylin said, smiling as she turned back to the machine.
When he got to his room to prepare it for his classes for the day, Simon was surprised to find Houki waiting for him. "So, how are they doing?" she asked, looking up from the parts she had been examining. "Well, Maylin just got her friends to pitch in on the project with her," Simon said as he began organizing the room, "So that should cut down on the time it takes. By how much, I can't guess at right now." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Stopping what he was doing, Simon pondered that question. He knew exactly what his friend was getting at, and it was something that had been plaguing his own mind for a while now.
"Honestly, this is the best of limited options," he said finally, turning to face her, "If I continued to resist, it would only push her away. And with the skill she's shown so far, getting a sponsorship from an IS company wouldn't have been too hard. At least this way I can monitor the situation." "Is that the same speech you gave Cecilia?" she asked, smiling. She knew full well what her friend thought about this, especially since she had received several phone calls from her in the past week. While she only claimed to be checking up on her, Houki knew a worried parent when she heard one. "Yeah, let's just say I'm in the proverbial dog house right now," Simon said, sighing. "You know she's coming to watch the tournament, right?" Houki asked, laughing when Simon whirled around "She's what?" he asked, surprised.
"She's coming to watch the tournament," Houki repeated as she left the room, "So is Ichika. I guess they both want to see if our kids are good or not." "Well, I know mine is," Simon replied, smiling as his friend laughed. When she was gone, he continued putting out the stuff he would need for the day. Privately, he was a little worried, however. Cecilia had been flat-out opposed to Maylin going to the Academy to begin with. He could only hope that she wouldn't try and find some excuse to withdraw her from classes during the tournament. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't know about the final requirements to win he thought, gulping. Yep, this was going to be an interesting visit.
After five days of hard work, Maylin's IS was finally complete, mostly. It still needed a paint job, as well as its wings. Simon had yet to finish his fine-tuning of that part yet. And so, Maylin settled for most of an IS as she beamed in triumph. It had taken more work than she had ever put into anything before, as well as a few all-nighters and the help of her friends, but they had finally completed it. "Well, I guess it's time for us to start sizing it," Erin said, walking over to the terminal, "Maylin, if you would be so kind?" "Wait, what?" she asked, trying not to blush, "You want me to get in that thing, now?" "Why not?" he replied, confused, "We can adjust the wings when they're finished." While Erin didn't quite understand where Maylin's hesitation came from, Madoka and Annabelle did. "Come on, princess. I'll help you get changed," Madoka said, laughing softly. As they left, Anna walked up and lightly smacked the back of her brother's head. "What, what did I say?" he asked, still confused.
In the locker room, Maylin took the time to wash some of the grime off while Madoka leaned against the stall. "You've never been around boys in the IS suit, have you?" she asked, knowing full well she had Maylin trapped. She heard the sudden shift in her feet, and knew that the question hadn't just caused her to flinch but blush rather badly. "N-no," she replied. "Just think of it as a swim suit, May," Madoka told her, walking away. That's easy for her to say Maylin thought as she leaned against the shower wall. Unlike Madoka, Maylin hadn't really gotten close to a boy, or spent a lot of time at public beaches. Sighing, she turned the water off and grabbed her towel off the rack. Like it or not, she was going to have to get used to being around boys in that uniform. After she had changed, she came around the corner to see Madoka looking at her.
"What?" Maylin asked, trying not to be too embarrassed. "Nothing," Madoka said as she got up and lead the way back to the hanger, "I just thought you should know that you look good." This just caused Maylin to blush as they walked. Said blush got even worse as they entered the bay, and she tried to pull the lower part down a bit more so she didn't have so much of her legs revealed. Thankfully, Erin Steffens wasn't like most men and chose to concentrate on the IS rather than the attractive girl in what was basically a leotard. Since the IS didn't have a stand-by set for it, Madoka had to help Maylin manually board it before helping Erin as he went around and adjusted the limbs to better fit Maylin's size. However, it wasn't too long before he finally realized who he was working around, and on. While fiddling with the upper part of one of the legs, he made the mistake of looking up and making eye contact with her. Maylin had been holding still the entire time, but she was watching him with a rather bad blush on her face. Quickly looking away, he took a step back and handed his tools over to Madoka.
"H-here, I think you can take over from here," he said, walking away. With a shrug, she finished where he had left off, while Erin took a moment to stare at a wall to try and clear his head. Anna just smiled at her brother's actions while she helped Madoka with the modifications. When they had finally worked their way to the upper armor, it got…interesting. "Wow, Maylin, I never realized how much you've grown," Madoka said as she tweaked part of the chest armor. "Oh, shut up," Maylin replied, trying not to blush. She was Cecilia's daughter, after all. This just caused Madoka to 'accidentally' slip up and tighten it down a little too much, causing Maylin to groan slightly. "Too much?" she asked, smiling sweetly. Glaring at her friend, Maylin just nodded. When they had finally finished, Erin had composed himself enough to be able to look at her again.
Finally able to move, Maylin worked the controls and moved the arms around a bit while flexing the hands. It's not much different than an Uchigane she thought, mildly surprised. While Erin and Anna ran some basic diagnostics, Maylin took the time to walk around the bay. It wasn't the easiest thing to do since 3rd gen IS weren't really designed for walking, and it was still an unfamiliar machine. The legs were a bit heavier than she was used to, as were the arms. But that's to be expected, since they're more heavily reinforced. In fact, all of the armor was much tougher than anything the Uchigane used. While this made it heavier, it also afforded her better protection from attacks able to hit people through shields. "Well, you won't be running any marathons," Anna said as the diagnostics finished, "But as far as brand new IS go, it passes." "Of course it does," Erin said, crossing his arms, "I helped build it." Madoka just snorted as she walked up to Maylin.
"So, how does it feel?" she asked. Taking the time to examine the IS again, Maylin responded, "A little weird. But then again, I've only ever used an Uchigane before." "Maybe this will help, then," Simon said from behind the Steffens, startling them all. He had been developing Chifuyu's technique of coming up on people without them noticing, and he always enjoyed how it felt. "Don't do that," Anna said, putting a hand on her chest, "I almost had a heart attack." Smiling, Simon gestured for Maylin to return to the dock while he brought up a series of commands on the screen. "I just thought you'd like to have a complete IS," he said as she returned to the dock. "Wait, you finished the wings already?" Erin asked, surprised. Without saying a word, Simon executed a command on the screen and watched. Several of the robotic arms around the dock moved and clamped onto the IS, holding it stable while another set of arms lowered from the ceiling. Two of them held the wings themselves while a third held the back plate. As the plate was held against the middle of her back, Maylin looked at the wings her father had designed and was impressed.
The bits that were docked in the wings easily doubled their width, but she saw that he had designed them to her specifications. The tops had their edges cut off at an angle, while the barrel end was much narrower than the original design, giving the entire thing a more streamlined feel. As something was lowered in front of her, Maylin was shocked out of her slight day-dream to see that a fourth arm had lowered her rifle down to chest level. It was rather large for her, and had a second handle jutting out the left side of it at the base of the barrels. It also had a scope equipped to it, and as Maylin took it and her IS linked to its computer she saw it had multiple fire setting. She could set it to rapid fire, where the barrels alternated, or she could set it to volley where they both fired simultaneously. Either way, her rifle gave her rather impressive abilities.
Feeling several tugs at her back, Maylin realized that her father was attaching the back plate. "So, are the bits…?" she asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. Smiling, Simon stayed silent while he finished his work as the arms holding the wings released them. With the back plate installed, they now had power to them and quickly took up their positions behind her. Walking back around to the front, he activated his manual override and opened the IS so she could get back out while he tried not to laugh at the look he was getting from the kids. Yeah, I definitely owe Tabane for this override he thought as he helped Maylin down. "Now, we just need to set the stand-by form," Simon said, holding a box out for Maylin. Taking the box from him, she hesitated a moment, overwhelmed with the whole situation. She finally had a personal IS, and it was one she had built (mostly) with her own hands. Not only that, but all of her friends had pitched in to help her realize a long-standing dream. As she opened the box, she heard Madoka and Anna gasp behind her. The stand-by Simon had selected was a necklace with the classic circle and cross-hairs as the pendant. The silver was accented perfectly with fine gold trim around the edges, and the center was an emerald while each point on the outer ring had a sapphire embedded in it. Altogether, it wasn't just her stand-by; it was a work of art.
Looking up at her father, Maylin felt tears coming to her eyes as he smiled at her. "Congratulations, Maylin," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You deserve this." Just barely holding back the tears, she stepped forward and hugged him, at a complete loss for words. He hugged her back, immensely proud of the work she had done. "Now then, it's time to test this bad boy out," he said, stepping back. Scrubbing the remaining tears from her eyes, Maylin nodded. With her friends in tow, she made her way out to the testing grounds while Simon ran a few last minute checks on the IS. He was impressed with how well they had worked together on what was normally a very difficult task. We have some real prodigies this year he thought as he followed.
Out on the testing grounds, Maylin took the necklace from the box and put it on while trying not to blush at how everyone was watching her. After it was in place, she hesitated as she realized an important fact. "Wait, how do I summon it?" she asked, embarrassed. "Right, you've never done this bit before," Madoka said, smacking herself for forgetting something so important. Sighing, Annabelle walked forward while adjusting her bracelet. "All right, pay attention, May," she said, "Normally you don't need to do this once you're used to the process. But to start off, you need to know its name, like this. Ying!" In a flash, her IS appeared around her, raising her off the ground a ways and blowing some dust around.
While this was impressive to watch, it didn't help Maylin with her dilemma. "But my IS doesn't have a name yet," she said, starting to sound depressed. "Then you'll just have to name it," Simon said as he walked up behind Madoka, "Just focus and use the name you think fits the best." Maylin held the medallion out and looked at it while she tried to think of a name. She considered what her IS was capable of, as well as the names she rather enjoyed. After a few minutes, she decided on a name and focused. Holding her hand out before her, she called, "Grand Huntsman!" Her IS appeared around her in a flash of light, lifting her from the ground and startling her as the different parts formed around her. When it had completed, she noticed that it actually had color now instead of the regular grey of metal. Its main color was a dark green with black accents across the machine. She also noticed that the parts of the machine that were in physical contact with her body were much more form-fitted to her now, feeling more natural than they had before.
Taking a few hesitant steps, she noticed that the usual discomfort was much less than when she used an Uchigane. Smiling in absolute delight, she triggered the flight systems and hovered above the ground while the others watched her. Except for Annabelle, who took flight while saying, "Let's see what you've got. Catch me if you can!" With that, Anna took off across the sky. Maylin hesitated for a moment before rocketing after her friend, determined not to lose. Watching from the ground, Erin and Madoka were impressed as Maylin caught up and kept pace with Anna as she weaved an intricate path across the sky. Simon had on the biggest grin, immensely proud of his little girl. "Yeah, I think you're going to kick serious ass in this tournament," he said after they had returned to the ground. Maylin just beamed at him, still a little giddy over her first flight in her own IS.
As Maylin and Madoka were returning to the dorms for the day, they ran into a familiar face. Two, actually; the silver-haired Russian boy, Ludzik, and the girl that Madoka had fought before classes had started. They broke off from their conversation as the girls approached, and both of them glared at Madoka. "What?" she asked, not bothering to stop. "I just hope you and your friend are ready to lose," the girl said, tossing her hair and turning away. "Ha! Like I'd lose to you again," Madoka countered, "And besides, May has her own IS now, so you will be screwed, anyways." "So, you two are participating in the tournament, too?" Maylin asked, trying to be diplomatic. "Of course we are," Ludzik answered, "But it's just a waste of time. We all know that we're going to win." "Yeah, because hot air goes far in a fight," Madoka shot back, crossing her arms. Smiling, he just shook his head while the girl next to him laughed. "You really don't get it, do you?" she asked, her voice taking on what Maylin recognized as a 'posh' tone, "Between my Adolfina and his Stalmech, none of you stand a chance at winning. You might as well withdraw now and save yourselves the embarrassment."
"Because missile spam ensures victory," Madoka said, walking up to her, "The only reason you won that was because my head wasn't in the right place, and I held back. Next time, you kiss dirt." "You can try, little girl," she replied, laughing again, "But, I have more important things to spend my time on than discuss your upcoming defeat. Tata, Ludzik." With that, she turned and entered the dorms. "What on earth made you pair with her?" Maylin asked, turning to Ludzik. "I value strength," he replied, "She's one of the most talented first-years here, present company included. Although, to be fair, my Stalmech is all the power we'll need." Before either of them could dispute that claim, he walked off towards the boy's dorms. Glancing at her friend, Maylin imagined she could see the air on top of Madoka's head rippling with heat. She was clearly not pleased with being brushed off by two people at once. Taking a firm grip on her elbow to shake her from what were probably dark and bloody thoughts, Maylin told her, "Don't worry, we'll teach them a lesson soon." Smiling at her friend, Madoka nodded in agreement as they went towards their room.
Meanwhile, Simon returned to his room after classes had ended completely beat. Unbuttoning his uniform, he grabbed a cold beer from his fridge before dropping onto the couch. Every year, he had at least half of his female students pining over him, and it was exhausting, to say the least. It also made him very, very happy that he wasn't one of the pilot instructors. That job, for the time being, can remain with the women. Cracking the seal, he mildly wondered if it was too early for one, then decided that it was just one of those days. Spending time with Chifuyu definitely had a chance of developing a person's taste in alcohol. Regardless, it tasted great to him, and he wasn't about to complain now. "If I had known she would have that kind of influence on you, I'd have checked in more often," he heard from behind him. The voice nearly caused him to choke as he turned around, trying not to look too guilty.
"I just hope this isn't becoming a habit with you, Simon," Cecilia said, looking a little cross. He had known she was coming to visit, but no one had said it was today. Setting the beer down on the table, he replied, "I just needed something cold to drink, and this is all that was in there, okay?" "Because water is such a poor drink," she said, getting up and walking around to the front of the couch. Simon, meanwhile, stayed where he was, having learned a long time ago that when Cecilia was in a 'mood,' it was best to give her as little ammo as possible. "So, talked with anyone else since you arrived?" he asked, "Or am I your lucky first?" Despite how long they've been together, his phrasing still managed to make her blush from time to time, and this was one of them as her cheeks lit up. "Don't be vulgar," she replied, crossing her arms, "We both know why I'm here."
"And it only took you a few weeks to work up the courage to face us both," he said, deciding to drop the niceties. This was going to be a fight, and he damn well knew it. "Send her home, Simon," she said, her tone firm. Sighing, he stood up and faced her while massaging his neck. "Well, I would if there weren't two things stopping me," he replied, "First, her IS is still brand new, and it needs a professional's touch until I'm sure it's stable." "Wait, she has an IS now?" Cecilia asked, her voice rising, "And just when did you plan on telling me this?" "Honestly? When you weren't in this kind of mood," he replied, his look turning a little harder. He really didn't have the patience to keep dancing around this point with her, damnit. "And what's the second reason?" she demanded. "The second reason is that she wants to be here," he replied, "Maybe if you weren't so busy smothering her, you'd realize that." "I beg your pardon?!" "Honestly, Cecilia, have you taken a good look at our daughter?" Simon asked, finally at the end of his rope, "She's happy here. She's making friends here. Hell, she just finished taking the IS that she built herself for a test flight. I've seen her grow more in the past few weeks then during my trips home for the past few years."
"So, this is automatically my fault?" she shot back, getting up in his face, "Because I care too much to risk my only child, I'm the villain? Is that it?" Knowing full well where this was going, Simon felt his anger evaporate. Sighing, he hung his head and replied, "I don't want to lose her, either. That's why I'm allowing this. At least now, I can keep an eye on her." "Yes, but-" "What do you think she'd do if I sent her home, Cecilia?" he asked, "She'd resent us until she moved out, and she would leave. Is that what you want?" "I…. I just…" she began before just sinking down onto the couch, her anger finally run out. Tears quickly followed as she tried hard not to cry. Sighing, Simon sat down next to her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I just want her to be safe, Simon," she said, laying her head on his shoulder, "Is that's so much to ask for?" "I know," he said, kissing her head, "And she will be. I swear it." While she knew that her husband could be a stubborn bastard, she also knew that he would rather die than break a promise. Nodding, she hugged him while they sat there, enjoying each others presence.
With a new IS in hand, Maylin prepares for the upcoming tournament. Sparks are sure to fly as tempers between certain pilots rise. Who will be victorious? Will Cecilia be able to come to terms with the choices Maylin has made? Till the next chapter.
In case you were wondering, no, I'm not about to outline all of the Grand Huntsman's capabilities right off the bat. That gets to be a surprise. Also, no, I'm not about to try and carry on some kind of family split with them, cause that just seems like too much bother. However, if any of you have taken anything from my previous story, you know that this won't stay light and fluffy for too long.
