Chapter 6; Opening Round
The day before the tournament, Maylin awoke to a pair of purple eyes inches away from her face. "Oh, you're awake. Great!" the girl leaning over her said. Maylin's scream was heard two floors above and below her. It also served to wake Madoka from a rather pleasant dream. "Wh-what's happening?!" she cried, half falling from her bed. Maylin, meanwhile, had sat up and was leaning against the wall, trying to figure out who this woman in her room was. The mystery woman, meanwhile, was looking at her in amusement. "Wha...how? What are you doing in here?" she finally managed after her heart stopped beating a million miles a second. "Well, I heard you built your own IS, so I decided we should meet," the woman said, her tone making it sound like this was just perfectly normal behavior. "That still doesn't tell us who you are," Madoka said, finally recovering from her tumble. "Well, I'm just shocked," she said, "I mean, I hadn't really seen Maylin since she was born, but I know you, Madoka," she said, putting her hands on her hips and looking sad.
After a moment of thinking, Madoka asked, "Tabane?" When she did, the woman broke into the widest smile just before smothering the girl in a hug. "Ooh! It's so good to see you again, Mado-chan!" Tabane said, squeezing her tighter. While Madoka struggled to breathe, Maylin tried to come to terms with what she had just heard. The super-genius behind the IS, the inventor my Dad speaks so highly about, is her? It was too much, and Maylin just pinched her arm really hard, convinced that this was a dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't, and before she could try anything else, it was her turn to be smothered by the energetic, pink-haired woman. After she was sure a few ribs had cracked, Maylin took a big gulp of air as Tabane finally released her. "So, what kind of IS is it?" she asked, sitting on the bed and making it clear she wasn't going anywhere. Sighing, Maylin began trying to explain the design behind her new machine. However, when Tabane started asking technical questions, she quickly found herself out of her depth.
"Oh, it's alright, May-chan," she said, patting her back, "I'll learn the answers tomorrow. Bye." With that, she just up and left the room as if it was just a normal conversation. Meanwhile, Maylin and Madoka looked at each other, at a loss for how to describe what had just happened. Thankfully, it was a Sunday, so they didn't have to worry about classes. "That's your Aunt?" Maylin asked, shocked. "Yeah. Forgot she's permanently on speed," Madoka said, lying back down to try and sleep. Rather than do the same, Maylin got up and changed into some casual clothes before heading outside. It was still early in the morning, and most people were still asleep. Regardless, Maylin made her way to one of the parks, enjoying the fresh air. I'll never get tired of this she thought, smiling.
When she arrived, she noticed two things right away. First; one of the male students was out in a clearing and was practicing with a fake sword. His upper body was bare and she could see a cord trailing up into his ears, so he was probably listening to some kind of music while he practiced his form. The second thing she noticed was that there was a familiar girl partially hiding behind a tree and watching him. Smiling, Maylin came up behind Annabelle as quietly as she could before tapping the other girl on the shoulder and nearly scaring her half to death. "Maylin, don't do that!" she said, trying to slow her heart. "So, enjoying the show?" Maylin asked, glancing over Anna's shoulder. "Well, yeah, kinda," Anna said, blushing, "But wouldn't you? I mean, that's Joshka him-freaking-self." When it was clear that Maylin didn't have a clue what her friend meant, Anna sighed before continuing, "Joshka Lancelot, the German protégée of the Charlotte Dunios? Poster boy for virtually every weapon the Dunios Corporation has ever released? Any of this ringing a bell?"
Now that Maylin really thought about it, she did remember seeing him on the cover of several tech magazines. She also remembered hearing about the fiasco with the Dunios Corporation a couple years ago. Apparently, Charlotte had gotten into a lengthy legal/financial battle with her father over control of the corporation, one that Maylin's father had been more than happy to back her in. She had assumed control five years ago, and ever since it had been doing nothing short of fantastic. "Yeah, I think I remember hearing about him. Maybe," Maylin said, joining Anna as she resumed staring. "I'd be surprised if you didn't," she replied, "He's one of the youngest IS pilots ever scouted, and Charlotte took it upon herself to train him personally. It's said that there are all of a handful of people in the world that could beat him now, and he's the same age as us." "He's not taking part in the tournament tomorrow, is he?" Maylin asked, feeling her stomach drop out. She was confident that she and Madoka could take most of their opponents, but if they fought someone like him, regardless of who he was paired with, they would more than likely lose. Lost in her thoughts, Maylin didn't notice when Joshka turned their way during one of his swings. Anna did, however, and quickly hid behind the tree. Maylin was too slow on the uptake, and soon found herself locking eyes with the boy.
"It's impolite to stare," he said, taking one of the earbuds out. Blushing, Maylin quickly stammered an apology before trying to leave. Rather than sending her off, he motioned for her to join him as he set the practice sword down and grabbed a towel from the ground, as well as his shirt. As Maylin walked over, she noticed that he was very well built. He was lean, but muscular, and from the sheen she could tell that he had been at this for a while. Blushing, she looked away when she realized she was staring too much as he put his shirt back on. "So, what brings you out here so early in the morning?" he asked, not noticing how flustered Maylin was. "I-I, um… I like the way it feels out here," Maylin said, finally fighting down the blush and looking at him, "I was raised out in the country, and I've never like big cities." "Yeah, I know what you mean. Too crowded, too much exhaust," Joshka agreed, "Oh, where are my manors? I'm Joshka Lancelot." "Maylin Felix," she replied, smiling, "So, you prefer the sword?" "Yeah. My teacher may have favored firearms, but I've always liked having a good sword at my side. You wouldn't happen to be related to…?" "I am, actually," she replied, knowing where this was going, "He's my father." "Well, then it's a pleasure to meet you, Maylin Felix," he said.
They quickly fell into idle chatter, and Maylin learned that despite his popularity, he wasn't full of himself. In fact, Joshka was very down-to-earth, even when she asked him directly. "Yeah, I'm sure most of the campus knows my name," he said, scratching the back of his head, "Makes it hard finding some peace when half the student body wants… well, you know." Nodding, Maylin suddenly saw Anna's actions in a new light. We're going to have a talk when this is done she vowed. "So, are you taking part in the tournament tomorrow?" she asked, figuring now was as good a time as any. "Naw, I don't have the urge to kiss dirt that badly," he replied, gathering his sword from the ground. "What do you mean? I thought you were a skilled pilot?" "Well, I am, in all honesty, but that's only among the 3rd gens," he clarified, "You do know who the last team standing has to beat at the end, right?" For whatever reason, with all of their planning, Maylin had completely overlooked that little fact. We have to fight my father and Aunt Houki, and they both have 4th generation IS she realized with a groan. Seeing that Maylin had realized the scale of the task before her, Joshka walked up and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, I'm sure you'll do fine," he said, smiling, "From what I've heard, you are quite skilled yourself."
Nodding, Maylin watched him leave as she pondered what she had just realized. She and Madoka were going to have to come up with some seriously stellar strategies to fight their parents. Lost in her gloom, she didn't realize that Anna had come up behind her. "So?" she asked, startling Maylin, "What did he say? What was he like?" "Uh, he was very nice and polite," Maylin replied, "He didn't seem that full of himself." "Wow, I can't believe you got to talk with him," Anna continued, completely amazed. "You know, you could have come with me. You were clearly more interested in him than I was," Maylin said, an evil smile starting to creep across her face. "What, me? No, I don't have the courage for something like that." "You know, I think it's kind of cute, actually." "What is?" "Well," Maylin began, her smile growing broader, "You like him, don't you?" "I-I do not!" Anna objected, blushing, "I just think he's really cool..." "And handsome, and rich, and charming," Maylin continued for her, smiling as her friend turned darker with each word. Deciding to spare her more embarrassment, Maylin led her from the park, laughing to herself softly. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this," Anna said, trying to sound serious. "I promise nothing," Maylin replied before ducking under Anna's attempt to grab her.
After Maylin had escaped from Anna, she returned to her room to begin discussing what they could do if they made it to the final round. When she shared her revelation with Madoka, however, the response wasn't what she had expected. "You seriously forgot that?" she asked, looking up from her magazine. This threw Maylin for a bit, since she had figured her friend had forgotten as well. "I mean, that's why I have my Flower Fall system," Madoka continued, giving Maylin an opening. "Yeah, I remember seeing it once before. What does it actually do, again?" "It's an energy field my IS deploys to counter energy weapons," Madoka explained, sitting up, "Basically; the 'petals' are particles held in a rough sphere around the IS. The field absorbs and dispels energy attacks without ever allowing them to reach the shields." "But can't you bypass that at point-blank?" Maylin asked, "And isn't that a little energy intensive?" "Well, as far as the bypass goes, not unless it's a gun physically touching me, no. It's a filled sphere, not just a shell. But yes, it does take quite a bit of power to keep it running for sustained periods."
Before either girl knew it, they were completely engrossed in a planning season. They swapped secrets and brainstormed different ideas for how to take on their parents. Privately, though, Maylin held no illusions about their chances. Two 4th gen IS were more than a match for a dozen 3rd gen, regardless of load outs. She may not have seen her father's IS in action, at least to her knowledge, but she'd heard plenty of stories about how Houki would use hers for 'discipline' when her students got out of line. By noon, they had settled on several different strategies that might increase their odds of victory. "So, I'm hopeful," Madoka said as they left to go eat, "How about you?" "I'm…not so hopeful," Maylin admitted. Before her friend could try and cheer her up, they ran into a particular Russian boy. Heated arguments ensued.
When Cecilia woke up that morning, she noticed that the other side of the bed was empty almost right away. Just to confirm it, she rolled over and reached out, hoping that Simon was still there. He wasn't however, and she huffed in annoyance as she got up and gathered her robe. Sleeping with him was something she had sorely missed over the past few years. She realized that the nature of his job, as well as the fact that he was helping Chifuyu rework the Academy from the ground up, was a very time-consuming thing. But would it kill him to come home every once in a while and see his family? Sometimes he can be really thick she thought as she walked out into the living area. Noticing something laying on the counter, she walked over and saw a plate covered in foil with a note lying on top. Opening it, she read;
Students screwed something up, and the 'help' didn't know what to do. Be back as soon as possible. There's breakfast under the foil, and coffee in the pot.
Love you,
Simon
Smiling, she set the letter aside as she removed the foil to reveal some fried eggs and ham. Well, he's still considerate, so that's something she thought as she poured herself some coffee and sat down to eat. After she had finished and cleaned up for the morning, Simon returned looking rather pissed. Dropping onto the couch, he started massaging his sighed in frustration as he massaged his temples, wishing that this headache would just go away. "That's not a good sign," Cecilia said, sitting down next to him, "Care to share?" "Let's just say that a few students thought they could slap together a 4th gen IS on their own," he said, leaning back, "They're lucky it didn't explode." "Sounds like someone needs a break," Cecilia said, leaning on him. "Yeah," he agreed, leaning his head on hers. It was a great comfort to him to have Cecilia here with him.
"Hey, I have something to show you," Simon said after a while, standing up and offering his hand. Looking at him in confusion, Cecilia took his hand and pulled herself up before following him out the door. After locking it, he led her from the building towards one of the stadiums. "This isn't going to be one of your projects, is it?" she asked as they walked into the building. Remaining silent, he led her through several hallways before they came out into the stands. Out on the field were two IS pilots practicing. One of them had a large scythe, and the other was using a double-barreled rifle. It took her a moment to place the two girls, but when she realized it she gasped. "Is that…?" she asked, walking up to the railing. Smiling, Simon joined her as she watched her daughter spar with Madoka. They were clearly working on Maylin's aim on the move, as well as her reflexes.
Dodging a slash, she brought her rifle up and fired at Madoka, only to have the other girl use her Flower Fall to dispel the energy before it got close. Rushing at her again, Madoka tried to take her arm again. This time, Maylin blocked the slash with her rifle before turning the blade aside. Bringing her now free left hand up, she punched Madoka in the stomach before flying up and away to get some distance on her. Deploying her four rifle bits from her wings, she brought her rifle and tried to hose Madoka's shield down while the bits moved into position. Before Madoka could even take off, Maylin's bits opened fire. Instead of the standard design, she had asked her father to customize them so they were now a remote-controlled version of her rifle. They now used their duel-barrel design to hose Madoka's IS with even more energy bolts. Finally taking flight, she tried to avoid the streams of energy as she noticed that her power consumption for her Flower Fall was spiking dangerously. After a faint at Maylin, she tried to rush at one of the bits and destroy it. Before she could slash it in two, the bit split down its length, the two new bits rocketing in opposite directions and completely avoiding the scythe blade. Momentarily stunned, Madoka took a pair of concentrated bolts to the back and finally lost her over shield.
"That's not fair!" she said, spinning around to face her friend, "You never said anything about that ability!" Smiling and shrugging, Maylin returned to her barrage as she had her other three bits split as well. With eight different guns rocketing around her and taking shots of opportunity, Madoka found her shields dropping at an alarming rate. When they hit 20%, Maylin ceased fire and asked, "You give up yet?" Gritting her teeth, Madoka briefly considered pushing her luck, but then lowered her scythe a moment later. "Yeah," she said, landing, "There's really nothing I can do about that now." Smiling in triumph, Maylin docked her bits and destructed her rifle before landing next to her friend. Thankfully, Madoka wasn't really mad with her loss. It just proved that Maylin was capable of holding her own if it came down to it.
"She has really good judgement," Cecilia noted, turning to Simon, "Her aim could do with some improvement, but that's impressive to be able to control eight bits at once." "Yeah, I had a hell of a time designing its control system," Simon admitted, scratching the back of his head, "Part of the reason I want her to stay here. I'm not sure it's entirely stable." While this did cause Cecilia to worry, she understood her husband's reasoning. "So, how well do you think they'll do in the tournament?" she asked, noticing how Simon winced. "About that…" he began, looking guilty, "What did Houki tell you about it?" "That the two of you sponsor the tournament twice a year," she replied, looking at him suspiciously, "And that the winners get to make a request of the dorm heads. Why?" He hesitated there for a moment, unsure of how his wife would respond to this. However, after her look turned into a glare, he relented. "The final fight has the last team fighting the dorm heads for the reward," he said, bracing himself for the outburst.
It took her a moment to understand exactly what he meant, but when she did her glare turned a few degrees colder. "Simon Felix," she said, walking up to him, "You mean to tell me that you're going to fight our own daughter? With a 4th generation IS?!" "Hey, we made rules to restrain ourselves," he replied, taking a step back, "Neither of us can use our one-offs, and I'm limited to half my fangs. That's something, isn't it?" The look he got in return told him that it wasn't. Without saying another word, Cecilia left the stadium while emitting an aura of "Do not follow." Sighing, Simon turned and leaned on the railing, hoping against all odds that she wasn't about to try anything.
"Trouble on the home front, Feli?" Tabane asked from behind him, startling him. Turning around, he glared at the use of the nickname given to him by Tatenashi. Ever since she had shared it with Tabane, it had stuck with the woman, despite his best efforts. "I guess you could say that," he said, not even bothering to argue the use of the nickname. "Well, at least, Maylin's IS is working well," she said, trying to cheer him up, "It's really well built." The second the words were out of her mouth, Simon turned and looked at her. "What did you do, Tabane?" he asked. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked, starting to look guilty as she tried to back away. "I know I didn't tell you about the design in person, so the only way you could know that is if you looked at it directly," he reasoned, "And knowing you, you wouldn't have been able to resist tinkering with it. So again, what did you do?" Unable to lie to her friend, and definitely unable to escape since the exit was on the other side of him, she relented. "I added a new system to it," she admitted, "You could almost call it a one-off." "Alright, you'd better give me the details, then," he said, sighing. As she outlined the system, Simon had to admit he was impressed. If it was half as good as she claimed it to be, then she had given Maylin one hell of a trump card.
Finally, the first day of the dorm tournament arrived, and with it came a series of intense matches as the initial teams vied for a position in the second round. Much to Maylin's surprise, Erin and Annabelle had entered without telling her or Madoka, and they cleared their first match in only a few minutes. They also discovered that Ludzik and his teammate, Karen Santiago, cleared their own first match with no trouble. This only served to piss Madoka off more, and strengthen her resolve to beat them. For their part, Maylin and Madoka were able to mop up their own competition while keeping some of their techniques hidden. It was rather easy and a little unfair considering their opponents were using Uchigane.
But all good things come to an end, and after the last fight of the first round ended, it was announced that the second round matches would begin immediately. Looking at the new pairings, Maylin groaned and smacked her head into the wall. Madoka, who had just gotten a drink from a nearby vending machine, walked up behind her and looked confused. "What's up?" she asked, cracking the seal. Without saying a word, Maylin pointed at their next match. She knew that her friend had read it when she heard a spit-take next to her. They had been paired against Erin and Annabelle in the second round, and she knew that Madoka was kicking herself for not noticing the brackets.
"Well, crap," she said finally, wiping her mouth. "Well, you wanted a challenge," Maylin replied, walking away. "Well, yeah, but not this soon!" Madoka said, catching up to her, "I thought we'd have to fight them later, or not at all. At least, I hoped so…" "You're just upset that you have to fight Erin, aren't you?" Maylin teased, trying to lighten the mood. "I am not! I'll wipe the floor with that guy, just you wait!" She replied before taking a shot from her soda. Maylin just snickered at her friend's attempt at hiding a blush. The crush she was developing for the boy was cute. "Bit early to be making assumptions, isn't it?" Erin asked from behind them, startling both girls and causing Madoka to do another spit-take. "Don't do that!" Madoka said, whirling around. Maylin just laughed, unable to control herself. And it got worse when Madoka glared at her, causing Maylin to fall over, clutching her stomach. "Nice to know I have that effect on people," Erin said, smiling, "Maybe I can take you out with jokes and save some ammo." "Dream on!" Madoka replied, "You and your sister are going down."
"Well, it's so nice to see you all fired up," Anna said, walking up to join her brother, "But we need to get ready. Right, brother?" Before he could try and contradict her, Anna grabbed his collar and dragged him away, clearly trying to prevent an argument. After she picked herself back up, Maylin noticed a slightly sad look on Madoka's face as she watched them walk away. "Come on, we need to get ready, too," she said, trying to distract her friend. Madoka just nodded as she followed. In the locker room, she was unusually quiet, and Maylin was starting to get concerned. "So, what's on your mind?" she asked, finally unable to stand the silence. Madoka didn't answer for a while, instead focusing on putting her pilot suit on. At last, she asked, "Do I act too aggressive, Maylin?"
Surprised at the question, Maylin took a moment to think about it. To people that didn't know her, Madoka could definitely seem hostile. But, Maylin knew that it was mostly just hot air for show, and that she rarely meant any of it. "I don't think so," she answered, walking around the bench to face her, "Why, did you actually tick someone off?" "It's just… I can't seem to keep that part of me in check," Madoka said, looking down, "I don't want to make people hate me because I'm too loud." "Now that's just silly," Maylin said, rubbing Madoka's hair, "You're just as loud as we need you to be." "And what's that supposed to mean?" "Well, Erin's the smart one, Anna is the social flower, and I'm the reasonable one," Maylin said, ticking the names off on her fingers, "We need a loud person to boost our spirits. And besides, you're more fun when you're loud." This served to get a smile out of her friend as they walked out to the launch bay.
When they entered the bay, they were greeted by Simon and Houki. "You girls ready?" Simon asked, smiling, "This is going to be a tough one." "Please, we got this," Madoka said, returning to her usual self. Houki tried to glare at her for the overconfidence, but Madoka just smiled at her mother sweetly as she summoned her IS. Letting her launch first, Maylin walked up to her father. "Mother's here, isn't she?" she asked, noticing him flinch. "Yes, she is," he replied, scratching his head, "But she's not here to try and pull you out of classes. In fact, she out in the stands right now." This last bit caused Maylin to take a step back and gulp. She knew that her father was familiar with her capabilities, and that he wouldn't judge her. But her mother… She still held the position of Britain's Representative. Having her watch as she fought, analyzing her technique, that was somehow much scarier than fighting against Erin and his sister. Noticing her hesitation, Simon ruffled her hair, saying, "You'll do fine, sweet heart. Now got get 'em."
Steeling herself, Maylin summoned her IS and stepped onto the catapult. After three seconds of charge time, it flung her into the stadium, where she came to a stop next to Madoka as they faced off against Erin and Annabelle. "Well, this should be interesting," Erin said, taking his rifle in both hands. "May the best team win," Anna said, smiling as she raised her sword. "Oh, don't worry, we will," Madoka answered, smiling back as she took her own stance. Their eagerness was contagious, and Maylin soon found herself grinning like an idiot as she prepared for the start. Over the loudspeakers, they heard, "You have 30 minutes. The match will now begin!"
The tournament has begun, with each team hoping to gain a free pass. Can Maylin and Madoka beat their own friends? And if they do, will they stand a chance against Ludzik and Karen, not to mention their own parents? Till the next chapter.
Alright, in my infinite f cking wisdom, I floated an idea for another fanfic with some friends of mine, so now I can't get the idea out of my head. So instead, I'm going to try and run with it. Balancing two stories is probably going to prove to be 'interesting,' but I do so love a challenge. Feel free to check it out if you feel so inclined. I hope to have the first chapter or two up within a few days of this one. And as always, feel free to drop a review or a PM if something catches your eye.
