Part 3: Knighty-Knight, Knight Owls!
-IS ACADEMY-
The entire campus was on edge. Maya and Tabane have projected visuals of the battle for all to see. And so far, they are seeing a surreal deja vu fight. The Byakushiki has fended off the Silverio Gospel before, but only after entering its 2nd Shift, and with an entire team behind its back.
But now, it must fend off an upgraded Silverio Gospel by itself. With its 2nd Shift already kickstarted.
"Did you see that?..." Maya trembled, "How he countered that strike with ease?..."
"And that was the One-Off Ability, too," Tabane gritted her thumbnail, "The hell did that kid do to the Gospel?!"
"Did you get the enemy data?" Maya asked.
"Already done!" Tabane said, "I'm putting it on the screen!"
Out in the courtyard, everyone was staring at the fight. They saw the dizzy movements Phantom Task and Lingyin, Xingjia, and Clarissa made. It was going to be a close fight, to say the least.
But the renegade...no one wants to say it. It's possible that he will win, but barely.
"The screens on the campus have been updated with energy gauges of each combatant," Maya said, "Now we will know for sure who will win this."
"I dunno..." Tabane muttered, "the kid's not using the giant wing blasteroos..."
"Is he toying with us?" Maya asked.
"Better not be..." Tabane growled.
Houki and the kendo kids were watching the fight in the residence lobby.
"GO, GO! ICHIKA! GO, GO! ICHIKA!" the kids cheered on. Houki just stood in silence. She came to calm the crowd down, but watching everyone cheer on the fight just made her sick. Don't they know that this is life or death?
Probably not, or maybe they don't care. They just want the tension in their minds put to rest. Without thinking about who could see her message, she took out her phone and texted to the Shenlong, "You and Ichika better come back to me! -H"
Maybe that was a good thing. This fight was being broadcast throughout Japan via pilot cam from the Shenlong and Byakushiki. They instant the people saw Houki's message, they took to social media, storming the web with comments not caring who is fighting, just that the renegade is brought down. The entire country cheered for a victory.
-SUICIDE FOREST, MOUNT FUJI-
That couldn't have come at a much better moment than now. Lingyin was twirling around the Shinomure's wind blades when she read Houki's message.
"Don't worry, Grumpy Ribbon!" She threw her double-bladed staff, "We're all coming home!" Direct hit on Autumn. "Xingjia, you take M! Leave insect lover to me!"
"Why you two tailed snake!" Autumn released a giant gust towards Lingyin.
"It's two tailed FOX!"Lingyin endured the wind and swung at Autumn, who was able to catch the blades, "Get it right!" But she blasted the Ryuhou at point blank range.
Madoka threw one of her lances at Autumn, who caught it just in time to block Lingyin's strike. But now, she is short one blade, giving Xingjia a wide opening. She let it threw and plummeted to the ground, only for her to shove Xingjia down in the dirt first. She escaped before Xingjia recovered, and they went on a wild mountain chase.
Clarissa, on the other hand, was struggling with Squall. Mostly because Squall reeked of the same stench of death as the rest of the forest.
"What's wrong?" Squall taunted, "No fight today?"
She got her on the edge of insanity. "Please," Clarissa tried to play cool, "this forest is far beneath my worth of time..." Oops.
"Oh, I got the boring one," Squall activated her IS's One-Off Abilitiy, which involved changing the shape of her IS, which made Clarissa freak out.
-TOKYO HOSPITAL-
Which made Laura head butt her own pillow.
"Once I return to Germany," she muffled, "I am burning all of your manga!"
-ODORI PARK, HOKKAIDO PREFECTURE-
The crowd was at a frenzy. They were witnessing the battle of a lifetime, a man fighting for the women of Japan. To many, this is a first.
"Why's a guy fighting on our side?" Someone asked.
"Because he has a bit of sense," someone answered, "unlike the renegade."
"They're both worthless!" Someone blurted out, "Why don't they just both die already?!"
"Then the government would go back to normal," someone said, "and we'd all be stuck in our boring day jobs."
"What's it to you?!"
"Ask them."
She pointed to the crowd that was cheering for Ichika.
"Ugh...you're kidding me!"
"Nope. Now, pipe down and enjoy the show."
-KANAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL, KANAGAWA PREFECTURE-
"Hey, I know that guy!" a waitress called out to the tv, "It's that street rat traveling with that woman!"
"I seen him too!" Someone else said, "Should've known he was up to no good sooner!"
"Why didn't we deal with him before this mess started?!" someone else shouted, "Kick him to the curb already!"
And just like them, the country was set ablaze, unable to escape the fervor that was the battle.
-SUICIDE FOREST, MOUNT FUJI-
Ichika and Sokoto kept their fight fierce and relentless, but it was kept to the ground. Silver learned its lesson from last time and sealed off the wings, leaving Sokoto with little choice but to rely on his weapons. But they were more than enough to counter every strike that came his way, even managing to get one in the head.
No matter how close Ichika got in Sokoto's face, he couldn't land a solid blow. It was always evaded or blocked. If this keeps up, it will end in a stalemate, and the renegade will escape again.
"Gotta end this now!" Ichika said, "Back up and use the blasts!" He flew past the renegade and fired from the left hand, circling around as he searched for a weak point.
Through a circle with an arrow pointing to the center, Silver alerted Sokoto to what Ichika was planning. "Let him come," he said, "but not at the core!" Silver flipped a middle finger.
Ichika continued to fire until he saw an opening on the left lower back. "Now!" He triggered the Ignition Boost and zipped straight into the renegade, piercing through his shield and pushing them through the forest.
"It's over!" Ichika yelled, "I have you now!"
The sword nicked its way into Sokoto's rib cage.
"Do you?" Sokoto smirked.
And right then, Ichika caught on. The sword was too far extended to take it back in time. The clear energy wings burst out and enveloped Ichika.
Within the wings, he was frozen, staring up at the very angel deciding his judgement.
"Well, aren't you a tough cookie," Sokoto said, "Thought you could sneak up on me and get away?"
"That was kinda the point..." Ichika said.
"Well," Sokoto waved his hand out, "You should be able to endure this!"
Instead of releasing Sokoto from the cockpit, Silver charged the walls with pure energy and sent several powerful lasers towards Ichika. Ichika grit his teeth, preparing to take the full force of the attack. Yet, somehow, he was able to form a shield in front of him and block all forward damage altogether. Same can't be said about his back, though. By the time the wings released him from the sub space, he hunched over like an old crank.
"Pbbttaahahahaaa!" Sokoto laughed, "So that's why Silver kept me in the VIP Box!"
"Oh, shut up, renegade!" Ichika shot back, "I'd like to see you fight with a back rash!"
"Oooh, look at me!" Sokoto imitated, "I'm the King of Brokeback Mount-agh..." Very quickly, he realized why Silver didn't release him for hand-to-hand. That trap he placed required a complete opening as bait. And by the looks of Ichika's swift recovery and sudden rush, it didn't go as planned.
Xingjia, who was struggling to hold back Madoka's strikes, saw the whole thing. She could not believe that she fought him with all her strength and she couldn't pin him at all. And yet, a male, the "inferior being", did what she could not.
"No!" She said, "I was supposed to wound the renegade! Not him!" That earned her a blast from Madoka's lance.
"Autumn, she's getting angry!" Madoka radioed.
"Rrgh! I don't have time for the likes of you!" Xingjia yelled.
"I see her!" Autumn used this as a chance to try a trap of her own. She dropped her guard and purposefully took the brunt of Lingyin's Ryuhou.
"Huh?" Lingying stopped, "Why would she-DUDE!" Her blast sent Autumn on a collision course towards Xingjia, who was making a beeline for the renegade, "Xingjia, look up!"
The trap was already in motion. Autumn released her energy wing blades on Xingjia. Xingjia guarded in the nick of time, but did not see the lance strike her blind spot and throttle her with an energy blast. Madoka slammed down on Xingjia and bombarded her with everything she had. Autumn saw Squall coming and threw her the lance to her. Squall let it slip past her and shove into Clarissa, who stood dazed long enough for Squall to pelt her with a gatling blast.
Through his scuffle with Ichika, Sokoto glanced at Autumn, who had yet to shake Lingyin off her tail. "Autumn, catch!" He threw his sword to her just as Lingyin struck. The weapons clashed, and Autumn used the sword to push Lingyin back and give herself a fighting chance.
And not two seconds after throwing the sword away did Sokoto and Silver witness the many advantages of fighting with just a lightweight shield. They moved faster than ever, block easier, and because the shield is attached to the arm, they have two free hands, meaning double the maneuverability, and double the fist pump. Enough to land a few solid blows on Ichika.
But they realized the disadvantages too, like shorter range of attack, and less power. And it didn't take long for Ichika to overwhelm them both.
"Hey!" Squall shouted, "He needs help!"
"Madoka, trap them!" Autumn tossed her back her lance.
"Follow my lead!" Madoka readied her twin blades, "Squall, stay with Autumn! I'll tag the renegade! Mark your targets now and stay on them!"
"Since when did they learn how to teamwork?!" Xingjia raged, "AND WHY IS THIS FOR THE RENEGADE?!"
"Never you mind, Major..." Clarissa mumbled, "We're all low on energy..."
"Then, we have to finish this now!" Lingyin readied her weapons, "Scatter now and save the renegade for last! Clarissa, with me!"
"Huh?" Clarissa saw Lingyin rocket up towards Squall, "Uh...I'll just tag along with-" Lingying clashed with Squall, while Autumn sallied forth with her wings and the sword. "EEP!" Clarissa winced, then bucked herself up for the final attack, "Come and get it, moth maid!"
"STOP PUSHING DASIES AND MOVE, PAGAN WOMAN!" Sokoto found time to blurt that out while fending off Ichika...
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Clarissa forgot everything and headed straight for the renegade.
"Stay with me, kid!" Ichika yelled, moving in for a final thrust. Sokoto set himself up for a counter-
"HE IS MY TROPHY, NOT YOURS!" Xingjia appeared out of nowhere and kicked Ichika out of the battle.
Right in the middle of a cross. All she did was shift the target to herself. Sokoto's shield bounce made it to her jaw. The rest of her was ousted by a "CHUCK NORRIS KICK!" and flattened against a tree.
He froze in confusion, "Wait, I thought I was..." He rotated his finger to Xingjia, and then to Ichika, "Wait, how'd you get over there?"
"Dunno..." Ichika rubbed his head before noticing Clarissa about to ram Sokoto. "Hey, pay attention!" He instinctively yelled.
Sokoto shrieked before he blocked Clarissa's blast. She charged at him, preparing her AIC, but he flung his shield into the barrier. She threw it away and prepared her rail gun, but he blasted her with his wings.
"Well," Ichika was dumbfounded, but he refocused himself, "Guess I'll head back now..."
"Hello, brother," a creepy hiss jolted Ichika forward, and a sword blast to the face tripped him down.
"Ggghh...Ma...doka?..." Ichika said, "Why...I thought..."
"But your friends didn't," Madoka kicked him up and blasted his shield off. She lunged at him at full speed, but Lingyin and Xingjia kicked her out of the way.
"What's wrong with you?!" Autumn saved her from crashing into the ground. But they were pelted with cannon fire, which Autumn expended all her remaining energy reserves, and her IS, to save her from.
Xingjia caught one more peek at Ichika and the renegade about to go at it once more, with Squall still panicking Clarissa. She stopped everything and IB'd towards the scuffle, leaving Lingyin at the mercy of Madoka.
"Heh...fate has quite the sense of humor, doesn't it?" Madoka commented.
"We can talk about this, lady," Lingyin tried to reason with her, "I know you're his twin brother and-"
"Where did that come from?!" Madoka rushed in and slashed off Lingyin's body armor, "I THOUGHT I WAS A FILTHY LOW LIFE WASTE OF BREASTS!"
Lingyin's Ryuhou cannons couldn't save her IS in time. The Black Knight survived with one arm left.
"Well, I can't get my revenge outright," Madoka held Lingyin up by the neck, "but this should be enough to satisfy my lust!"
"Scary face..." Lingyin mumbled, "Really scary face..."
"Hey, whaddaya doin'?!" Sokoto sensed her KILL YOURSELF aura, "Leave her be!"
Squall saw him divert to Madoka and stopped scaring Clarissa to chase after Xingjia.
"What's going on, man?!" Ichika tried to chase down Sokoto.
"Oh, no you don't!" Xingjia grabbed his arm and swung him away from the renegade, "Make yourself useful and stay down!"
Autumn rubbed her head and managed to recover from her defense. Her IS was down, but she could still fight.
"Easy, Autumn..."
Could HAVE, more like...
"Squall?" Autumn looked up and saw her...essence? "But you were over-"
She saw it. The one picture that told her everything she needed to know for this moment. The Reiraku Byakuya phased through the Golden Dawn's barrier and plunged into Squall's heart. And Ichika wasn't responsible for the sword. Xingjia, hands free, forced his target switch, and gave all of them a pill too big to swallow.
Then, Squall took Autumn to IS sub space at the last minute!
And there they were, in the safe zone, frozen in time.
"Take it all in..." Squall knelt down beside her, "'cuz this is what the world has become. Women used to fight for their rights because they're being abused by men. Now, it's the other way around. Only men have no chance."
"What are you talking about?..."Autumn quivered.
"Why I abused you," Squall softly spoke, "I couldn't trust anyone because my father used me a lot."
"As in..." Autumn said.
"Yeah, exactly how I used you," Squall hugged her, "I can't apologize to you because it's not genuine. I don't know how to make you understand at all..."
Upon hearing those words, Autumn pushed Squall aside. Squall winced, wondering if it ever got through.
"You idiot..." Autumn burst into tears, "You half-brained, self-absorbed, COLOSSAL IDIOT!" She stood up, "It wasn't an apology I needed! It was love! It was your love I sought after! That's all I...I...I just..." She lost it. The tears flowed out with her indistinguishable sobs. She thought that everything was lost thanks to Squall's death.
But she felt a warm embrace and a wet kiss bring her sanity back.
"Well, at least I can give you that," Squall blushed, "I think..."
Autumn warmed up to her. She buried her face in her chest and let out the sadness for a good minute.
"There there," Squall eased her heart, "This isn't the end. It will be alright..."
"How?" Autumn begged, "How will it be alright?..."
Squall pointed to the renegade, standing in shock of what he just saw. "He basically has my will," She explained, "We had a moment, and I lit up my little spark in him."
"So," Autumn said, "You'll live through him?"
"Yeah...I'm not leaving you again..."
"But...what if...I couldn't even..."
"When the four seasons converge, a storm will set the world ablaze..."
"Huh? What are you-"
Before Autumn could get her thoughts out, Squall disappeared. Autumn couldn't discern what happened, but she knew she had to take those last words to heart. Because without Squall, she was the leader now. And she was about to get her first taste of her new role in Phantom Task, for they are back in the real world.
And in the real world, only Ichika, Squall, Autumn, Xingjia, and those around the country who saw the entire fight through the Byakushiki's eyes knew what truly happened. Everyone else witnessed it as a man killing a woman. Especially a man who believed in the goodness of all people.
Ichika didn't know what to think. He released his grip on the sword and backed away. Madoka dropped Lingyin, and they both stared at the unreal scene. Sokoto clammed up. The only person with whom he shared a personal connection...gone. He dropped to his knees and teared up. Clarissa just stood in the middle of the void, unable to comprehend the recent turn of events.
But not Xingjia. She yanked the sword from Squall's body and turned to Ichika. "About time you figured out your place," she slashed him and destroyed his IS, "Never take your face out of the ground again." She turned to the renegade's back, "As for you..." she walked to him, "Your filth has eroded this society long enough!" She readied the Barrier Void Strike once more and thrust forward, "Now learn your true place!"
Sokoto reached behind and grabbed the tip before it ever touched him. He squeezed hard enough to break the blade and send an electric shockwave surging through Xingjia's IS. Then, he sent all his remaining energy into his wings, sprouting pure energy widespread lasers, several of which slashed away at Xingjia's IS and eventually wounded her. She was pinned against the cabin rubble.
"But how?!" she screamed, "He's nowhere near capable of-"
A screen popped up: EMERGENCY OVERRIDE. CONVERTING EXCESS ANGER INTO WING ENERGY. MAX THIRTY SECONDS.
She done it now. She looked on in horror as her nightmare came true.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~" Sokoto's shrill screech echoed throughout the region. The laser wings turned red and wreaked havoc on the mountain. Trees collapsed and the ground shook. Mount Fuji itself was scarred.
"Hey, calm down!" Madoka rushed to his side, "We can't do it here!"
"We have to go now!" Clarissa shouted, "We can't finish the mission!"
"Board Clarissa's IS and get out now!" Lingyin ordered.
"But the re-" Xingjia started but was dragged off by Clarissa.
"He'll kill us if we stayed here any longer!" Clarissa screamed while carrying them out of the prefecture, "Besides, look what he did in just thirty seconds!"
They all saw the sudden damage he inflicted. The Suicide Forest, and any nearby trees that may have stood tall, gone. A giant gnash on the mountainside. No denying it now. That boy took his IS to the next level. Something a man should not have been able to do, but did.
Xingjia grew worrisome. If he could get this much power from seeing someone killed...
"Hold it!" Lingyin realized, "What about Ichika?!"
"He may have been caught in the blast," Xingjia said, "For all we know, he's a goner."
"No! He can't be! He has so many questions he has to answer!" Lingyin protested, "Turn this thing around now!"
"I can't," Clarissa said, "I can't make contact with him..."
"No..." Lingyin was shaken. She spent the rest of the trip wondering what to do next. Now that see's seen her friends for what they really are...
Back in the forest, nobody was sure on what to do. Sokoto was on his knees sobbing like a madman, Madoka was trying to stop his tears, the Gospel hid behind the wood, Autumn just sat there downright frightened...
...and Ichika? What could he do? Even if it was by someone else's machinations, he still killed someone. What was he supposed to do now?
He tried to approach the out-of-character Madoka, "Uh...listen-"
"GET OUT!" Madoka screamed, "GET OUT AND NEVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!"
"Just let me help you-"
Madoka threw a rock straight into his eye. He winced and curled up to bear the pain, while she just kept on talking, "You're just like them! You would stab them in the throat when it's convenient for you!"
"Please...wait..." Ichika grunted, "I-"
"Ichika dear, we need you back at the Academy!" Houki radioed via private channel, "It's a frenzy! I can't calm them down!"
Ichika shut it off. He could see he wasn't wanted here, but he felt like he had to say something. If only he could get some peace and quiet for one maddening day...
"If it's any consolation," he said, "I'm sorry for what I did..."
"What do I care?" Madoka said coldly, "You're no brother of mine."
Ichika swerved back, "You don't mean that!"
She wished she didn't, but she did. And she proved it by grabbing a twig and almost lancing it through his neck, but Autumn grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"Not now..." she fought the words through, "We need a moment of silence..."
Madoka struggled for a second, but let go as soon as they heard Squall hack blood from her mouth. Sokoto, Silver, and Autumn jolted up and ran to her side. Madoka just knelt there, wanting to take her twin flesh and blood, but decided against it. She just stood up and limped towards her fallen comrades.
Ichika didn't do anything more. He just captured a snapshot of entire group mourning for their boss and left.
All of Phantom Task could see the gaping hole in her chest. The only think keeping her alive is the Golden Dawn, which is expending its shield energy to keep her body going until it zeroes out.
The entire team was distraught, because the renegade snapped them all out of their psychopathic needs and started to open them up to the joys of the real world. Squall was the most distraught, because she had a total change of heart, before it was destroyed. And Sokoto-
"No, you can't die now!" he wailed, "Stay with us, lady! You still had some unfinished business! You can't die until you take care of that!"
"Oh...it's ok, little hero..." Squall mumbled, "I've done...what I needed to do..."
"No, you still have to take us across the world!" Sokoto rambled, "Beach time in the Pacific, Antarctic snowball fights, F1 go karts, we still have so much to do!"
"It's fine..." Squall stopped him by caressing his hair, "You still have...Anna...and Madoka..."
"But we all need you!" Sokoto shot back, "You're the glue keeping this little squad together!"
"No..." Squall whispered, "That was all you..."
"Huh?" Sokoto said, "What are you..."
"You are the reason...I was able... to forgive myself... for everyone I ever hurt..." Squall teared, "Everything I've done..."
"She's right..." Autumn patted his shoulder and shed teared with them, "You reached out to her and changed her heart... and that in turn changed mine... I can't hope to let go of what you did, Squall...but at least... I can forgive you..."
"Thank you...Autumn..." Squall said, and shifted her eyes to Madoka, "M..."
"What..." Madoka could no longer hide her sadness and confusion, because that little s*bag made her care, "I don't need to say anything...you can read...my aura...or what...e...ver..." She broke down and hugged Autumn.
"You came to me...because you needed a family..." Squall said, "You never wanted... to slash your face...did you?..."
"NO, OKAY?!" Madoka sadscreamed, "I WANTED TO GET RID OF THE BAD MEMORIES, BUT OK! NO, I DIDN'T! I WANTED SOMEONE TO NOT SEE ME AS A TWIN OR A LOOKALIKE, SOMEONE TO SEE ME FOR ME! AND YOU AND THAT F*ING DICKWEED JUST...just..." and then she completely lost it.
"Icy like winter..." Squall said.
"Stop joking around!" Sokoto butt in, "We gotta get her some help! Silver, we have to-"
The Golden Dawn's energy meter flashed red, meaning Squall's time was almost up.
"No! Not like this!" Sokoto broke down, "Anything but this!"
"I have to..." Squall cuddles his ear, "You promise me...you'll stay together...with Anna and Madoka..."
"I will...Everything I couldn't do with you, I'll do with them," Sokoto crumbled, "Because...they're family...we ain't blood related...but we are...family..."
"Yeah..." Autumn knelt down beside Squall, "We are family now..."
"We'll survive together...no matter what..." Madoka mumbled through her tears.
"That's all I want..." Squall whispered, "Silver..."
The Gospel hovered close to Squall and knelt down beside her.
"If you don't get your sister back..." Squall gave her a locket, "Promise me...you will take the renegade to England..."
Silver cupped her hands around the locket and nodded.
"Thank you..." Squall slowly said, as she gave Sokoto one last embrace, "Take care of them, kid...They're with you now..."
Sokoto closed his eyes and hugged her.
Squall closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky, glimmering the soft sunny rays of the early spring.
"Goodbye...my darling summer sky..." Squall kissed Sokoto.
Right when the Golden Dawn's energy gauge dropped to 0.
The IS faded to gray. Squall's hands fell to the oft grass. Sokoto lifted his head the instant he could no longer sense her aura. She's among the wind now, ever flowing from place to place, never to come back to her home again.
"Squall?" Sokoto weakly asked. He felt a slight breeze waft his hair. As the sun rose from the mountains, he got his answer, "SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!"