ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTELMEN, HERE WE GO! CHAPTER 7!
Yui: YAY!
James: why me…
Cheer up James! I promise you wont get hurt or thrown into the fangirl pit if you do!
James: Yeah right. I don't believe anything you say.
That's probably the smartest thing I've heard you say yet.
James: I hate you.
Let's just ignore him Yui.
Yui: OK!
Now, I want to give some special shout outs today to three people. One of them has been INSTREMTAL in helping me with properly combining the lore and physics of these two stories, and the other two have been some of my most loyal readers/reviewers. Starting with the former, HolyKnight5 you are a fucking saint. Without you, I'd have stupid big explosive grenades that are completely impractical other than in ship to ship combat.
Yui: You messed up that badly?
Yes…
Yui: Wow.
I know. Now, Teltron and MWkillkenny84, thank both of you for always leaving a review every time you read a new chapter. Its really nice to know that I have fans as loyal as you two, despite being pretty new to not only writing fanfiction in general, but in crossovers as well.
Yui: Oh, Oh, can I make the next announcement?
Sure, why not. James is being an ass, so let's annoy him more!
Yui: Alright, ATTENTION EVERYONE, BADS IS LOOKING FOR OC CHARACTERS TO ADD TO HIS STORY, THE DESCRIPTION OF WHAT TO MAKE WILL BE POSTED AT THE BOTTEM OF THIS CHAPTER, BUT HE NEEDS CHARACTERS TO FILL IN FOR –looks at the notes- Wait… You just need a list of random characters?
Yes. Mainly so that when the time comes I can throw the person in instead of getting writers block trying to come up with someone myself.
Yui: Oh! Anyway PM him with your ideas for the character, and leave the Review section to reviews! Is that all there was?
I think so… OH WAIT! I will be moving on to a different IS for James. I still do like the Mark V, but I agree it's becoming a bit to cliché. There was a small peak in the Halloween chapter, but before that happens, let's say that some people will be questioning why James is getting so many different IS units, and that the change WONT be immediate. Now, Yui, want to launch us in?
James: FUCK THAT IM DOING IT! HERES CHAPTER 7 EVERYONE!
Chapter 7
Insert Chapter Name Here
The infected were everywhere. Seemingly out of nowhere, hordes of the Undead had appeared all over the world. Millions were dead, Billions had been infected and continued to attack, and the few thousand survivors in each country were doing their best to simply survive.
The same was true for the IS academy.
Equipping the Mark V, I stepe-OW!
"YUI WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" I yelled as Yui pinched my cheek again.
"For thinking of something stupid!" Yui said. "Seriously, Zombies? Come up with something better than that!"
"Hey zombies are cool!" I retorted, grabbing Yui and putting her into a headlock and ruffling her hair. "Besides, haven't I told you to stay out of my head?"
"Will you two keep it down? I'm trying to sleep!" Complained Cassandra from the bed next to me. We were in the in the infirmary after the destruction of the second IS arena from my grenade. Cassandra had some minor bruising and a concussion from being beaten by the Canadian pilot, but other than that was fine. She was being released later in the day.
I had fared much worse. Nothing broken, but I had internal bruising and some first and second degree burns on my arms from the heat of the explosion. Regardless of what the doctors said, however, I was leaving tonight. I still had to compete in the tournament, and although I hurt all over it wasn't something that would stop me from fighting. Sure, it would slow me down a bit, but nothing serious.
"Why the hell are you trying to sleep?" I asked, looking out the window. "It's not even Three o'clock!"
"You kept me up all night with your snoring!" Cassandra complained. "You're like a damn chainsaw. I'm surprised you don't wake up half the school!"
"Well, it's probably a good thing I soundproofed my room then…" I said sheepishly. "Though it wasn't for THAT purpose."
"Why did you soundproof your room?" She asked.
"Why do you thing? So no one could overhear things they shouldn't." I sad while looking her dead in the eye. "You know. Classified things."
"Oh." She said, realizing I was referring to the SGC. "Well I can tell you Cecilia and I are glad for that."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Oh, Cecilia and I are roommates, so were right next door to you. The LAST thing I want is Cecilia complaining about not getting any sleep due to your snoring."
"HA. I feel bad for you. I'm not sure if I would want to be rooming with her. Oh, by the way, she knows a bit about the… You know."
"Got'cha. How much?"
"I'll tell you some other time. Preferably with Ichika in the room, since I've been meaning to tell him as well. Actually," I said, "Maybe I should just have you there when I tell Cecilia everything as well. Two birds with one stone."
Casandra was about to say something, but was interrupted by a doctor coming in and telling her she was cleared to leave. Apparently they wanted to take some blood tests as well, but Casandra declined, saying that she felt fine. Shortly after she walked out, waving goodbye as she left.
"Well, this just got boring." I said, adjusting myself so I was sitting up straighter.
"Then be glad I'm here." Charles said as he walked in, carrying a tray of food. "I thought you might be hungry."
"Thanks! Anything is better than the hospital food I've been getting." I said, causing Charles to laugh.
"Come now James, you've only been here for half a day." Charles scolded. "Besides, hospital food isn't that bad… is it?"
"More than you know." I said, shuddering from my personal experiences in the past. "Most of the time, it varies from hospital to hospital, but I've had more than my fair share of horrible food."
"Right…" She said, handing me the tray. "So… about our bet."
"Oh, it's actually quite simple. Just answer this question truthfully ok?" I said.
"J you said we couldn't ask directly!" Yui complained.
"And I'm not. I'm asking as the result of a bet." I countered. "Anyway, Charles, are you actually a girl?"
Apparently my bluntness startled him, as he looked genuinely scared of what I had asked. Unfortunately for him, that meant I wouldn't believe him as much if he said no. Thankfully, I didn't have to doubt her when she gave her reply after a few minutes of silence.
"What gave it away?" She asked, her head hanging lowly as she stared at the floor.
"Well I have partial training in noticing the differences between male and female reactions, plus you're far too nice to be a guy. I have no doubt that everyone else is fooled though. I've only truly had a nagging feeling about it." I explained. Thankfully she put on a smile when I complemented her on her acting.
"Thank you, but I am doubtful that others don't think the same as you." She said, her voice a mixture of sadness and joy. "I'm sure that Ms. Orimura thinks the same as you."
"If it's ok, can I ask why you tried being a guy?" I asked lightly.
"Yes." She said with a nod. "It was originally my father's idea. Or rather, his order. I'm… an illigimate child. I only learned of who my father was when my mother passed away."
"Guess were kind of kindred spirits." I said, causing Charles, or whatever her real name was, to look at me in surprise. "My parents died as well, so I know how you feel in that regard. And I was also taken in by someone else in my family, though my new family was rather nice."
"Lucky. I think, all in all, ive seen my dad twice and talked to him for roughly an hour." She said with a sad smile. "Still, it is nice to know someone else knows about the loss of their parents."
"So why did he order you to come here as a guy?" I asked, not trying to be rude by suddenly switching topics.
"Oh, right. Sorry I got distracted." She apologized.
"No, its fine. I'm learning about the real you." I said with a warm smile, which caused her to smile as well. "Just tell me what you want me to know."
"Well, my father... he wanted me to come here and gather data on the 3rd generation IS models… and to get close to you and Ichika. What he was really intending to do was get the company back up on its feet." She said.
"Ah, I heard a bit about that. Dunois industries could lose its production rights due to not having any advancement in 3rd generation IS. Normally the company would have the data from the EU, but because France isn't a part of it, their behind in development, right?" I asked.
"Yes." She said with a nod. "Shortly after I was taken in by my father I was tested on my IS compatibility. Since it was so high, I was officially registered as a Dunois test pilot. As soon as the news was out that Ichika was a male pilot, and shortly after him, you, my father decided it would make sense to see if he could get away with a third while I gathered data on the newer IS models."
"So what now?" I asked.
"I'm not sure." Charles said. "If you already discovered who I really am, then it's only a matter of time before someone else does as well. I guess I'll be called back to my father."
"But he can't." Yui said. When we both looked at her with confused expressions, she continued. "Article 4, section 3, paragraph 1 of the IS academy rules and safety regulations states that 'all students attending the academy are not tied to any nation, group, or family. No one is allowed to act on the students behalf without expressed permission from the student."
"So legally," I said, catching on to what Yui was saying, "your dad can't touch you while you're attending the academy for the next three years. That's plenty of time to figure something out, and by then, you'll be of legal age to do as you pleased, so even then he couldn't truly come after you."
"Y-You mean I can stay here? With you and our friends?" She asked, though the way she said it made me feel like there was a secret, underlying motive she wasn't telling me, but I didn't care. She was my friend and I wasn't going to let some asshole of a father dictate the life of a daughter he didn't care about. That type of a person didn't deserve the right to be called a father.
"Yes you can stay. It's your life. Live it how you want." I said, giving her a warm smile. Apparently that was exactly what she wanted to hear, because she threw herself at me and hugged me so tightly I almost couldn't breathe.
"Thank you so much!" She cried as tears of pure joy rolled down her face. I didn't have the strength to get out of it, but even if I did I wouldn't have. Seeing Charles like this, so happy and care free, brimming with happiness, I just couldn't help but hug her back. I gently wrapped my arms around her and, after hearing a surprised yelp, held her just as tightly as she was hugging me.
"You know," I whispered, enjoying the hug a bit more than I should, "There's a condition for my silence."
"W-what?" she asked, clearly nervous at what I might have in mind for her, knowing I knew she was a girl.
"Its really simple." I said, stringing her along.
"James will you please just tell me?" She said, getting somewhat frustrated at me.
"Fine." I gave in, still smiling at her. "I just want to know your real name."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"T-That's it?" She stammered, surprised at how little I wanted.
"Yup." I said simply.
"O-Oh, ok. It's Charlotte. Charlotte Dunois." She said, still hugging me, but now looking up into my eyes. Her eyes were filled with happiness and relief, that someone knew who she truly was and cared for her.
In contrast, mine were filled with the same happiness, but that was just a cover for the pure, almost uncontrollable rage I felt towards her father. Just the fact that some scum like that man existed, let alone was successful enough to be in charge of an international company, made my blood boil.
But I knew this wasn't the time, nor the place to let that anger manifest, or even show for that matter. So instead I bottled up that anger, that hatred towards her father for giving her a life like this, and stored it away. Should I ever encounter that man, I'd make damn sure he won't be having any more kids.
And then I'd let my anger loose.
"Um, guys?" Yui said, sitting on the bed where Casandra had been laying. When Charlotte and I turned to look at her, she continued. "I hate to break up your little love-fest, but the gang is going to be coming in at any second."
Immediately, I gently pushed Charlotte away so that it looked like she was sitting at the end of the bed. Meanwhile, she franticly tried to rid herself of the bright blush on her face which had stuck itself on her cheeks as soon as Yui had mentioned love-fest.
"Who's all there?" I asked.
"Ichika and his unknown-to-him harem, so Houki, Rin, and Cecilia." Yui replied.
"Do I even want to know how you know that?" Charlotte asked.
"I just look through the cameras placed throughout the school. Nothing bad."
"Except that the school had the second highest security defenses on the planet." I muttered as the door opened. True to her word, Ichika, Rin, Houki, and Cecilia all walked in, Cecilia being the first as she rushed to my side.
'Ok, maybe I should take Cecilia off Ichika's harem list.' Yui teased, which I promptly ignored.
"You're awake!" Cecilia exclaimed as she rushed towards me. "Thank goodness! You looked horrible when I found you in the hangar, and I was worried when you passed out on me!"
"Relax Cecilia. I'm fine." I said, raising my arms up mostly to keep her from barreling into me. "Better than fine really, since I'm competing in the tournament later."
"Is that ok?" Rin asked. "I mean, you did kill someone… I would have thought that disqualified you from the tournament."
"Wait, she died?!" I yelled. "WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS?"
"I did." Yui said. "The last attack hit dead center. Due to the fight with Casandra, and taking damage from you, her shields were far to depleted to properly hold out against the blast. Even Absolute Barrier couldn't hold back the blast."
"Well regardless, they refused to stand down. They threatened a friend of mine with death. While I didn't want her to die, I don't hold any remorse for her." I said flatly. When everyone looked at me with expressions of surprise, I continued, letting out a bit of my anger from earlier. "No one, and I mean no one, threatens my friends."
'They're all I have left.' I thought to myself, keeping it hidden from even Yui.
"I understand."
"Wha-?" The girls said, looking at Ichika.
"It's just like what I want to be. I want to defend those who I care about, even to the death. Be it mine or my foes." She said, looking me strait in the eye. Ichika was really changing, and I liked to think I was responsible for helping him get this far.
Simply nodding, at him, I pulled the covers off my and got out of bed. I had a small twinge of pain from my shoulder, but I ignored it. Slowly, I walked to the door before Cecilia stopped me.
"I demand to know where you think you're going." She said.
"To get two people." I said, gently moving Cecilia to the side. "Everyone, meet me in my room tonight before curfew. I want to explain some things to all of you."
"But you're injured!" Cecilia protested. "At least let me accompany you!"
"Cecilia." I said, looking her in the eye. "Remember that talk we had one night?"
"Y-Yes." She stammered, startled by my sudden question.
"I think it's time you heard the full story." I said, walking out and turning towards the faculty building.
FIVE MINUTES LATER
"So tonight's the night?" Robert asked. "Well, I hope we can convince them."
"Shouldn't be that hard. The Sun Tzu is in orbit. We're going to be holding the discussion up there." I countered
"The Chinese ship? Why them?"
"Only ones in orbit currently." I said. "Everyone else is busy with assignments. Plus their undergoing some repairs, so it made sense to use them."
"I guess so. So who's all going up?"
"You, me, and Cassandra. We're going to be the ones doing the explaining."
"I meant who are we explaining to." Robert deadpanned.
"Oh. Ichika, Rin, Cecilia, Houki and Charles." I said. "Cecilia already knows a bit, and this is Ichika's dream basically, so they have to go. Houki won't let Ichika out of her sight, so she's in. I trust Charles, so he's in as well."
"And Rin?"
"Well chances are she knows a bit, seeing as they have their own warship. If not, then she'll feel better knowing her country has a presence out there."
"Fair enough. Cassandra know?"
"Yui's explaining it to her. We're meeting up after my match tonight."
We were standing in the maintenance bay, assessing the damage to the Mark V as we talked. Most of the damage had ended up only effecting the Oppressor equipment. There were a couple of shield emitters that were broken on the actual suit, but they were easily replaced.
Apparently the suit's basic armor plating had melted slightly, which had allowed the heat to seep in and give me the burns on my body. Tabane, during me and her little bet, had thankfully sent some upgraded plates, designed with the same materials as in the Rouge. We hadn't had time to properly equip them all over the suit yet, and the only spots with damage were the ones that still needed to be replaced. They were a bit difficult to get off, being half melted and all, but we eventually got them all replaced.
"You sure you want to fight? I know you're basically indestructible, but damn man, you killed someone!"
"You don't think I know that?" I said, struggling to replace the last piece of armor. "But I didn't have many options. Her staff weapon's attacks went through my shields, and she refused to stand down. All of that AFTER she threatened to kill Cassandra."
"I wasn't going to let that bitch get away!" I yelled, not in anger, but because I was straining to get the last piece of armor off. Robert thankfully knew that, and walked over to hand me a crowbar. Jamming it into its specially designed slot, I popped the piece out after a couple of attempts that only made it move slightly. "Man that grenade packs a punch!"
"I'm just really concerned about you going out there and fighting. Hell, we don't even know if they're going to let you!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now, you watched who my next opponent is. What do you got for me?" I asked.
"You're screwed." He said flatly. "You're up against the student council president. Her IS is called 'mysterious lady' and is a 3rd generation model. The pilot's name, as I'm sure you've already guessed, is-"
"Tatenashi Sarashiki, the Russian Representative. Fuck." I said, finishing Roberts's sentence. "IS specs?"
"Close to mid-range. She has two primary weapons. A whip sword she calls Rusty Nail, and a lance with an internal four barrel Gatling gun. Other than that, she can apparently manipulate water for defensive or offensive purposes." He said.
"Right. So were going with Saber."
"It's probably your only bet of winning since Oppressor is out of commission."
"Why do you keep doubting that I'll win?" I asked, raising my eyebrow quizzically.
"Damn it man, you should know this." Robert said while face palming. "The student council president is determined by being the strongest person in the school. Plus she's a third year, so she knows her IS inside and out."
"So do I though" I said, referring to Yui. "Honestly I find it just slightly annoying."
"You don't have three years' worth of experience though you idiot!"
"I'll be fine." I said, my voice leaving no room for argument. "Now, let's get that last plate on."
HALF AN HOUR LATER, AT ARENA 2
"James, I'm disappointed in you."
"Bull. Your just saying that because I had to kill someone to save Cassandra." I retorted.
"No, what you did was reckless!" O'neill said. After finishing fixing the Mark V, I had come down to the arena I had destroyed. Apparently, the members of SG-1 were there waiting for me. "You should have detained her! Surly that suit has something that could have kept her from dying!"
"Jack-"
"Ah, Ah, AH! Colonel."
"Fine. Colonel. If you had been there you would have seen that pilot using a HEAVILY modified staff weapon, which completely ignored my shields! Combed that with her incredibly strong shields and her determination to kill me, not because I was a target, but because I was INBETWEEN her and her target, I saw no other options that would have stopped her without injuring others. Sir."
"Alright drop the attitude sergeant." O'neill said, taking up a small smile. "Or should I say, Warrant Officer."
"Sir?" I asked.
"The president apparently has things handled, what with you killing a Canadian/American citizen and all. Turns out that the pilot, one Maranda Fredrick, was a rouge NID member who just so happened to be a wanted fugitive by the US government, with kill on sight orders. As such, he has given me orders to promote you to the rank of W-1 Warrant Officer." O'neill said, snapping into a crisp salute, with me following suit. "To be entirely fair, I probably would have done the same thing."
"Your just upset you don't get to pilot an IS." Jackson said flatly, causing Carter to smile slightly. She had been tested twice on her comparability with the IS. The first time had been average, but the second time was after her… forced time with Jolinar. Apparently the protein marker left by the symbiote let females have better compatibility with the IS units, as was the case when Major Carter was tested again, and showed she was exceptionally compatible, much like Cassandra but nowhere near the young girls levels.
Needless to say, O'neill had been very bitter about IS's in general, since he himself didn't get to pilot the earths deadliest weapon at least once.
"It's a load of horse crap! I swear, when we get back to base, I'm having the good doctor make me one!" He complained. "But anyway, your new insignia is still being shipped here, so consider this official until it gets here."
"Got it O'neill." I said. "You guys going to stick around for the rest of the tournament? Casandra lost, but I can tell she's been happier ever since you guys got here."
"Jackson cant. Something about some impossibly amazing ruins on PX9-1001 that just HAVE to be deciphered." O'neill said in his famous over exaggeration tone of voice. "But, the rest of us get to stick around and torture you, showe-"
"O'neill, did you not agree that, should you continue to call James by that name, Tabane wouldn't make modifications on the item you requested?" Teill'c said, speaking up for once.
"Ah, right! Thank you for stopping me."
"Well anyway, when does your flight leave Danielle?" I asked Danielle.
"Oh, I'm not flying. Well, not in the normal sense." He said.
"The Sun Tzu?" I asked.
"How did you know?" he questioned.
"I'm being beamed up later tonight." I answered. "President allowed me to gather up some recruits for the SGC that could pilot an IS, since we currently don't have enough properly trained or compatible replacements for those injured or killed. Going to show them I'm serious by beaming them up as well and let them get a good view of earth from orbit as I explain things to them."
"Obviously I'll have them all sworn to secrecy. I won't let them just start talking their mouths off." I clarified. "Don't want any rumors spreading."
"Well if you want we could probably help." Carter said. "Right sir?"
"I don't see why not." O'neill said.
"Thanks guys. I'm sure it will help. We're meeting in my room after my match tonight."
TEN MINUTES LATER, IN THE CONTROL ROOM
(Chifuyu's POV)
'I don't get it.' I thought as I got off the phone. 'There's no way he should be allowed to continue participating, especially after he killed a person.'
"Who was that Ms. Orimura?" Maya asked.
"The UN Counsel. They said that James was pardoned fully for killing the girl."
"WHA? Why?"
"Apparently the girl was a wanted fugitive from America with a death warrant." I said.
"Why would a girl that young be wanted, let alone killed!" Maya exclaimed.
"I'm not sure, though I can't blame James for his actions necessarily." I said.
'Especially if it was Ichika who was being threatened, instead of Cassandra.' I silently added.
"Maya, have James come down before his match. I want to have a word with him."
"Yes mam!"
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
(James POV)
"So Chi-Chan, am I allowed to compete or not?" I asked as I stepped into the control room.
"Not if you keep calling me that." Chifuyu said, not looking away from the screen.
"Well that's a yes. So why did you ask for me?
"A few things. First off, aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?" She argued.
"Good luck keeping me there. I know my body, and I know I can fight. I also know my limits, and to when to stop and rest when I'm really hurt." I countered.
"How are you after killing your first person?"
"You assume she was the first." I said, getting her full attention.
"How many?"
"Roughly a dozen. All self-defense."
"Feel like sharing?" She asked.
Honestly, I felt I should. It had been eating away at me for a while now. I was still scared from the first one, and now it felt so normal that I was growing more concerned. I knew it wasn't healthy to get use to killing people, or having people try to kill you for that matter, but that's why I joined the military. So I could rationalize it better and, hopefully, dismay other possible killers form attacking.
"Another time…" I said softly. Surprisingly, she smiled sympathetically to me.
"I understand. It's not easy, and it only gets harder. I know I have the reputation for being the demon teacher, but I do care for my students wellbeing."
"That's a shocker."
Warning, shields have taken damage from a friendly target. Shield points currently 215/625. Threat level: Error…Error… ERROR! SEEK COVER!
"Yeah, I'm never fighting you." I said simply. Internally, I was screaming so loud that Yui was complaining.
"Thank you Tabane!" She said. "Without you, I wouldn't be able to instill fear in my students!"
"Seriously, I'm concerned with how happy and easy going you are."
"Don't be. Anyway I heard you're having a little get together tonight." She said, regaining her normal demon-like composer. "Do I need to crash it?"
"You're welcome to try. I have a history of having little get together where we mysteriously vanish." I teased. "If you feel like you could crash it, then like I said, you're welcome to try. Now is that it?"
"Yeah, that's it." She said with a wave of her hand.
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, IN THE SOUTHERN IS HANGER OF ARENA ONE
"Everything working?" I asked as I walked in from the locker room.
"Yup. Don't know how well you're going to do, so I'll just say good luck." Robert replied.
"Thanks man, but seriously, have a little faith in me." I teased.
"I have a little." He said. "JUST a little." he teased back.
"Alright. Oh, how did Ichika's match go?"
"He lost." Yui said. "To be fair, it was an even fight right up to the buzzer before Cecilia got in a lucky shot."
"I just don't get why the fight was timed!" Ichika shouted, startling everyone as he walked in. "Sorry about that. Hehe."
"Ichika you idiot." I muttered as I face palmed. "They do that so the battles simulate real life scenarios. The timed event would be for when you have to take down a target or miss your chance to leave or do retrieve critical intelligence. These mock battles should be taken as real life situations."
"James it's a tournament…" Yui said with an exasperated sigh. "The put the time limit in simply so it gives a bit of diversity."
"I like my idea better." I muttered. "Anyway, I gota get going. Yui, inside."
Happily complying, Yui jumped into my head as I walked out to the edge of the Hangar bay. Despite it being roughly Four o'clock, the stadium lights were on full blast, and as I walked out the glare was almost blinding. Thankfully, my artificial eye and contact lenses automatically adjusted their polarity so I wasn't blinded for long.
To say that the stadium was packed would be an understatement. With seemingly everyone, students and visitors, all eager to see this one match, it made me wonder just how everyone else felt having such small crowds watch them. No doubt that I would be on the receiving end of any resentment that others might have.
As I finished looking around, I noticed my opponent sitting on the lip of the opposite hangar. She had a foldable fan in her hands that strangely complemented her rather… unique appearance. Most notable was her eyes, being a deep crimson red. Combined with her bright cyan hair, it was quite the exotic look. She flicked her wrist and the fan opened to display the word 'Hello' on it.
"Took you long enough to notice me. Tatenashi Sarashiki, Student Council President and Russian Representative. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a nod of her head.
"Likewise." I replied, returning her nod. "My names James Reverend, and it's an honor to have you as my opponent."
"My, my, such a gentleman. Keep that up and I'll have a hard time keeping my hands off of you." She said teasingly. Upon seeing no visible change in my expression, she pouted. "No fair. Why are all the fun ones so hard to break?"
"I think that's part of the fun." I said, giving her a devilish smirk. "It's the thrill of knowing your target has no way of getting free, and finally accepting their fate."
"Hmm." She mused as her expression visibly stiffened upon hearing me say that. "A kindred spirit. Well I hope you can entertain me more than my last opponent."
With that she dropped off the ledge and summoned her IS. A cyan blue and crimson red colored machine with smooth plating along its legs and wings. Despite its appearance at having very minimal covering, she flaunted it like it was a feature.
And her body didn't do anything to elevate the roar from the crowd.
"Oh, I think I'll manage." I said as I threw my IS in its standby form and jumped off the ledge for it. The mechanisms and parts quickly and efficiently surrounded my body, encasing me in the highly strengthened armor plating. The thrusters activated and I stabilized myself, maintaining the same altitude throughout the whole experience. Then, with nothing to do until the match started, I waited and listened to the announcer.
"LADIES AND GENTELMEN, WELCOME TO THE LAST MATCH OF THE DAY!" The male announcer shouted, getting the crowd riled up. At least that explained why the arena was so packed. "TODAY WE HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOU ALL! FROM THE NORTH ARENA, PILOTING THE MYSTERIOUS LADY, THE STUDENT COUNSIL PRESIDENT AND RUSSIAN REPRESENTATIVE, TATENASHI SARASHIKI!"
A near deafening roar of applause came from the crowd as Tatenashi bowed and waved at her roaring fans. Most of it was coming from the student section, the girls their shouting their hearts out.
"AND FROM THE SOUTHER HANGAR!" The announcer continued, easily overpowering the roar of the audience. "ONE OF THE THREE MALE PILOTS, THE MAN WHO DESTROYED ARENA TWO, AND THE PILOT OF THE MARK V. I GIVE YOU, JAMES REVEREND!"
Thankfully, Yui turned up the audio filters to quiet the roar of the audience, otherwise I could have easily gone deaf. This time, instead of the girls overpowering everyone, it was the guys that were the loudest. They shouted their praises at me, seeing me as their representative, their proof that males don't have to be put in an inferior place, that they were just as powerful as the women who piloted these suits of death and destruction.
"NOW WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!" The announcer yelled.
"Would you like the honors?" Tatenashi asked.
"Not at all, ladies first." I insisted.
"Ever the gentleman." She smiled. "Very well, but you'll regret that choice."
With a sudden dash, she summoned her whip sword and attempted to close the distance between us. I flared my thrusters and did just what she didn't expect; I shot forward and fired my Repulsors. She quickly adapted and shot her whip sword at me, it curving at me like it had a mind of its own. With a quick burst from my thrusters, I dodged the weapon before continuing to fire at her.
Only for her entire body and suit to disperse into water.
"What the-" I stammered.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I not show that during my previous match? The one you had your friend watch? My bad." She said from behind me, and as I turned she held her fan out. This time it said the word 'Sorry.'
"Hmm. Starting off with a technique you didn't want me to see before? Poor tactic." I said as I started firing at her before deploying Safeguard to block a barrage of rounds from her Lance/Gatling gun. (A/N: Sorry, just realized I never gave you the idea behind Safeguard. It looks a lot like the one that Fox uses on its robot during football game coverage. Its basically a riot shield.) "Well that was expected."
"But was this?" She asked as she lifted the water from the clone into the air and created not one, but two clones.
"Eh, other than the law of conservation of matter being broken, not really. My guess is that you can either manage four or five clones." I said, returning fire from behind safeguard as the clones moved into position to flank me. "Although I will admit, this tactic is very nice."
"Overwhelm and crush all opposition. A tactic from the motherland." She replied as the clones shot forward, looking to skewer me between their lances. It would have worked too, if not for me cutting power from my thrusters and dropping from the sky at the last second, causing the two water clones to crash together.
"Come now Tatenashi. Let's have a fight just between us. No silly clones." I taunted.
"My clones are not silly!" She yelled, taking my taunt more personally than I intended.
"My bad, my bad." I said, trying to calm her down. "I just meant I wanted a fight between just you and me."
"Humph! I still don't like how you called them silly!"
'Ok… That's not childish at all…' I thought as I blocked another burst from her lance-gun combination.
'Yeah. Can we end this now?' Yui asked.
'Sure, though I don't like the idea of winning just because I accidentally made her emotionally unstable.' I replied before muttering a single word out loud. "Saber."
A bright, blue/white blast of light emerged from my armor as it shifted and changed. The upper arm and shoulder armor pieces disappeared while the forearm armor changed to arm guards with the hand remaining generally the same, but with just enough removed in the palm to keep the Repulsor operational.
The Chest piece was altered as well, changing shape to an ancient armored cuirass, the hole for the Arc generator remaining the same. A chin guard grew up to protect my now exposed head from decapitation. The legs were completely striped down and reassembled in a more sabaton boot style with some loose armor plates attached to the cuirass hanging around my waist.
The most notable change was the massive, golden, double edged broadsword now in my hands, seemingly radiating power with a golden glow of light that appeared to gently fall off of it. It had a blue streak going down the center of it down to the hilt.
Without waiting for a response, I dashed forward, using my now enhanced movement to almost instantly close the gap between us as I swung the sword. Still too stunned to react, the blade met no resistance as it chopped out a huge chunk of her shield points.
Realizing just how screwed she was at the moment, Tatenashi released a mist of water into the air and enveloped herself in a sphere of water before the mist detonated. The blast didn't do much damage, but crashing into the shields of the arena made up for that.
"Ok, I'll admit that you have some skill." She said, regaining her composer as her shield of water dissipated. "But you won't be winning this match."
Instead of replying, I fired a blast from my repulsor, causing her to duck and lose altitude. Seconds later, I slammed the blade of my sword at her. Surprisingly, she managed to deflect it with her lance, only to get a kick to the head as I used the momentum of her deflection to spin around.
Now low on shield points, she started firing her lance-gun from what she thought was a safe distance. Unable to bring up Safeguard, I dodged the majority of the rounds, letting a few hit me as I steadily closed the gap between us. Finally, she realized that, despite me getting closer to her, she wasn't hitting me any more than before. A second later, she smirked.
Five clones materialized out of nowhere, each one with either a whip sword or a lance, and started attacking me. Surprised by the sudden appearance of more than one enemy, I blocked two of the lances and a whip sword, but the remaining attacks hit their mark and I fell from the sky, causing dust to fly up as I crashed into the ground.
Knowing that I wasn't down due to their being no announcement, she was about to fire her lance-gun when a golden wave collided with her and the water clones. The clones, being weaker and made of water, were quickly destroyed. Tatenashi fared little better as she fell from the sky and created a dust cloud similar to my own.
Immediately I dashed to the edge of the dust cloud and swung the golden sword again, creating another golden wave that tossed aside all the dust and collided with Tatenashi just as she tried to dodge it. Seconds later the announcer's voice came over the speakers.
"AND THAT'S IT LADIES AND GENTEMAN! TATANASHI SARASHIKI IS NO LONGER ABLE TO FIGHT! THE WINNER IS JAMES REVEREND!" He yelled, almost being drowned out by the cries of joy and outrage as the fans from each side made their feelings known.
I ignored the roars from the crowd as I walked over to where Tatenashi was laying, panting from exertion and fatigue. She looked up at me and smiled weakly as I smiled down on her as well.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you earlier." I apologized as I extended a hand down to help her up. She took it and I easily hoisted her up. "As far as the match goes, I don't consider it a win. I didn't get to fight you at your strongest."
"Cut the gentleman act James. Its ok if I call you that, right?" She asked, and at my nod she continued. "I knew I didn't have a chance against you. Especially since you're IS was created by Tabane and uses elements found only from a certain US funded project."
"Surprised yours isn't, Ms. Russian representative." I said, not faltering at her surprising knowledge of the Stargate program and my IS. "Your government all but saved that program and has more than a few benefits from it."
"Didn't think I'd need them." She replied walking off. "Though during our next fight, I won't be so under prepared."
"Oh, and one more thing." She called out as I started walking towards my hangar. Turning around, I saw her fan in her hand with the words 'Good Luck' written on it. "I'll be there tonight. I won't go up with you all, but I'll keep Instructor Orimura off your backs."
"I appreciate it." I said as she folded her fan back up and continued walking away.
'Yui, why does it feel like I just made a great friend, but a powerful enemy at the same time?'
'Because she is both. Personally, I don't trust the Russians or anyone associated with them.' Yui said, and the feeling of her pouting coursed through my head.
'But… The SGC is associated with them… And through them so are Tabane, Robert, and well… Me.'
'…'
'…'
'I hate it when you actually make sense.' Yui sighed in defeat.
I just laughed at her as I walked back towards the hangar.
LATER IN THE EVENING, AT JAMES AND CHARLOTTE'S ROOM
"CONGRADULATIONS ON YOUR WIN!" Everyone shouted as I walked into my room. After my match, everyone had suddenly vanished. I had figured they would be doing something like this, especially when Yui never came back when I sent Yui out to find everyone. Instead of busting them and running whatever they were planning, I instead broke into Ichika's room and took a shower in there, then wandered around the campus until I got messaged by Yui.
"Thanks guys." I said as the confetti rained down on me from above. "How you guys did this in only two hours, I don't even want to know."
The room had been completely overhauled. The beds had been tipped upright so they leaned against the wall, leaving two large tables in their place and seats for everyone. What was really surprising was the paper streamers, the balloons, and the hand painted sign saying congratulations, all placed in strategic spots around the room.
"Well, your friends helped a lot. The one with the golden tattoo on his head is a lot stronger than he looks." Ichika said, not minding the curious look that Teill'c gave him.
"Where did the two of you end up meeting?" Rin asked.
"That will be answered more later, but for now, I'll just say I met him in the military." I explained. "Now then, is everything ready?"
"Just waiting on you." O'neill said.
"What do you mean 'is everything ready'?" Houki asked.
"This." I said as I pulled out a small radio from my closet. After changing its frequency, it pressed the button. "Sun Tzu, this is Warrant Officer James Reverend. Do you have a lock on us?"
"Affirmative." A voice said through the radio. "Just the occupants of the room correct? Not the two outside the door?"
"Yup. Just us." O'neill said into his own radio. "And sooner rather than later would be preferable."
"Rodger that. Beaming you up now." The voice said from the radio.
"Bea-" Charlotte started to ask before a bright white light surrounded everyone. Seconds later the door broke down and Chifuyu walked in, only to find the room filled with… nothing.
"Where did they go?" She asked the girl behind her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said as she opened her fan to display the word 'Sorry."
ABOARD THE SUN TZU, IN ORBIT AROUND EARTH
"-m us up?" Charlotte finished asking before looking around, much like everyone else was doing besides those use to it. "W-What was that?"
"That was Asgard beaming technology." Carter answered. "If you'll look out the window, I think it will answer a few of your questions."
Curious as to what Carter was talking about, everyone turned and looked out the window, only to be shocked into silence. I walked over as well, simply because I hadn't seen the view in a while.
The view of earth slowly spinning, miles beneath us. The rays of sunlight casting a glow on everything it touched, and between the brightness of the light and the blackness of the dark was a thin, purple light, slowly inching its way across the planet.
"I-Is that…" Cecilia muttered.
"The Earth." I stated. "It's been a while since I've seen it like this."
"Yeah. Last time was, what, when the Prometheus needed repairs after the artic battle?" Robert asked, walking up to the window as well.
"No you idiot. That was just the first time." I said as I whacked him in the head. "Remember when the pulled us to work on the Odyssey so we could familiarize ourselves with serving on a ship?"
"Ah, right. My bad." Robert muttered as he rubbed his head.
"James." I heard from my right, and turned to see Charlotte looking at me with a smile. Unfortunately it wasn't the pleasant smile that I had come to know and enjoy. No, this smile sent chills down my spine. "Would you please explain why we happen to be in orbit?"
"Please don't say it like that. Seriously it's terrifying." I said, visibly shivering from the icy venom laced in her words. "Besides, why else would I have brought you all here?"
"Were in space." Ichika muttered.
"Gee, it's not like we've moved on from that point." O'neill half muttered.
"Were in space." Ichika repeated.
"Is he always like this?" Jackson asked, pointing at Ichika.
"He's actually pretty smart, it's just, he's denser than a rock. It doesn't help that going to space has been his dream for years." I said with a shrug.
"Ah."
"WERE IN SPACE!" Ichika yelled with probably the biggest smile I've ever seen on a guy's face. "HOLY CRAP WERE IN SPACE! I CAN'T BELI-OW!"
"Will you calm down you idiot!" Houki yelled at him after hitting him with her wooden Shinai she pulled out of nowhere. "Yes, were in space. Can you please move on from that?"
"BUT HOUKI, WERE IN SPACE!" He continued. "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE DREAMT OF THIS?"
"NO!" She yelled back and hit him with her Shinai, ok, how the hell did she ALWAYS have that damned thing? "BECAUSE I HAVENT SEEN YOU IN YEARS!"
"Oh…" he said deflated, "Right… Sorry."
"Well?" O'neill asked. "Don't keep us waiting. How long?"
"How long what?" Ichika questioned.
"James are you sure about this guy?" He asked in an exasperated tone. "How long has this been your dream!"
"O-OH!" Ichika jumped, realizing he just sounded like an idiot. "It was roughly a year after you left Houki, so most of my life."
"Well congratulations. You achieved your dream of going to space!" O'neill said drastically. "Now, if you don't mind, would you follow me to a meeting room so we can have a proper talk about this?"
After lingering for a few minutes to stare out of the window a bit longer, and being told that this was a military ship and that they needed to get moving, the gang started following the SG-1 members. The meeting room, largely disused by the crew of the ship due to never leaving orbit of the planet yet, was only a few corridors away, but the group walked in awe of the design of the ship.
The corridors of the Sun Tzu were a 8-sided polygonal shape, with bracing sections designed to help reduce the strain on the walls when in combat and to drop blast doors in the event of an emergency. There was plenty of lighting as we walked, which for some reason surprised Ichika. Where he got the idea of a dark interior spaceship, I have no idea, but he refused to stop muttering about it.
When we reached the meeting room, which often served as a high security holding area on other ships, and heard the door hiss behind us. Charlotte and Cecilia gave me a concerned look, but I gave them a nod to show it was fine.
In the center of the room was a circular Mahogany table that looked completely out of place amidst the utilitarian, gun metal grey walls of the ship. There were enough seats around it for all of us, plus two, Jackson having said goodbye after we had left the room we had beamed into.
"Jack?" I asked. "Why the hell didn't we just beam into this room?"
"Good question!" He replied enthusiastically before turning. "Carter? Why didn't we just beam into this room?"
"The Asgard beaming technology hasn't been installed into this room and several others sir." She replied. "That was the closest room to where we are now."
"Well, there you have it." Jack jestured to me. "Now then, as you all are aware, we are currently in space, aboard a BC-304 Daedalus class battle cruiser called the Sun Tzu, and is under the control of the Chinese government. Naturally, treat all of this, and anything else you all hear, as BEYOND" He waived his hands erratically, "classified. Understood?"
"Yes." Came the united reply from everyone besides everyone who knew about this already.
"Good. Now then, James, since you kindly brought us all here, would you like to start?" O'neill continued.
"But you were doing such a good job colonel." I replied, riling him up a bit. "But sure. Why not. Everyone, lets take a seat."
"James, before be begin." Casandra spoke up as everyone sat down. "I'd just like to mention to them that I, along with Robert, also know about this, so feel free to ask us questions as well."
"Thanks Casandra." I said, giving her a nod. "Now then. I'm sure you all have a nearly limitless amount of questions, but we don't have the luxury of time on this ship, so keep your questions until later. Chances are most of your questions will be answered anyway. Now then… where to begin."
THREE HOURS LATER
"Well, that's about it. The Stargate, the Goa'uld, the Jaffa, Symbiotes, and spaceships. Did I leave anything out?" I asked.
"For a three hour rant, it sounded fairly good." O'neill muttered. "Remind me again why I thought it would be a good idea to come along."
"I do believe that you covered the majority of the basics." Teill'c spoke up.
"I… Have a question." Cecilia said, raising her hand.
"Oh, come on!" O'neill complained. "Were not at some school. Just speak your mind. No need to raise your hand."
"Sorry…" Cecilia muttered as she lowered her hand, clearly embarrassed. "But, Mr. Teill'c, are you not one of these… Jaffa?"
"Indeed I am." He replied with a nod.
"Then… Can we see it?" She asked timidly. "If, it's ok with you, that is."
"It is of no problem to me." He replied with a thin smile and stood up. "Be warned, those who view a symbiote for the first time tend to experience shock."
"Wait, you still have Junior?" O'neill asked. "I thought you were on Tretonin and he died.
"That is not so, Colonel O'neill. My symbiote managed to survive after some time of rest, and while I do not doubt the powers of Tretonin, I would rather continue to use the symbiote until it is ready to take a host." Teill'c explained and turned towards Cecilia. "Do you still wish to see?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Very well." He said and lifted his shirt up, revealing the X shaped cut in his stomach. Upon seeing that alone, most of the group visibly palled. When Junior came out, however, the reactions were quite… different.
Cecilia, having asked, managed to keep her composer and, arguably, took it the best. She remained calm as Junior slowly extended his way out of Teill'c's (Yes that is grammatically correct, despite how it looks) pouch. When it squeaked, however, she flinched slightly, though mostly from surprise.
Houki happened to be the closest, and quickly backed up as Junior came out. Only Ichika could really keep her from screaming, as he put his arms around her, a scene that didn't go unnoticed by the girls. Ichika himself, after displaying the initial shock and head jerk, composed himself quite well.
Rin promptly looked away, her face looking more green than pale at the moment. Thankfully she kept her dinner down, for her sake as well as everyone else's, but especially Charlotte's, who had been sitting in the direction Rin had turned.
Charlotte was the other who took it well and, after the surprise factor, was the only one who was vocal about her opinion, going 'Awe' as Junior slithered out of Teill'c's pouch. Even more surprisingly, she giggled when it made its little squeak, and got several surprised glances in reaction.
"Charles," I said, "That is the FIRST time I think ANYONE has said 'Awe,' much less GIGGLED at a symbiote."
"Indeed." Teill'c added. "Most typically people look upon my symbiote with disgust and ridicule. I am not use to such a reaction."
"But it's so cute!" She said, letting her female side show. Quickly realizing what had just happened, she coughed, violently I might add, and continued, her male voice returning. "Sorry. Something in my throat."
"Right… So anyw-"
"ALL HAND THIS IS THE XO SPEAKING. WE HAVE A CONFIRMED GOA'ULD MOTHERSHIP ON ROUTE TO EARTH. I WANT EVERYONE BATTLESTATIONS NOW. ALL NON ESSENTIAL PERSONEL ARE TO BE BEAMED TO THE SGC UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL"
"Let's get going everyone. Back to the room we started out in!" O'neill barked as he stood up.
"Wait, what's going on?" Someone, I think it was Houki, asked.
"Goa'uld mothership is coming to earth, and this ship is going to fight it." I explained. "So they want us off the ship in case they manage to get some hits in! let's g-"
Everyone was knocked off their feet as an explosion shook the hull. Seconds later, the XO came over the intercom again. "ALL HAND, REPORT DAMAGE. STEALTHED ALKESH BOMBERS TOOK SOME SHOTS AT US WHILE THE SHIELDS WERE DOWN. I WANT A DAMMAGE REPORT AND I WANT IT NOW!"
"Let's go! Last thing we need is to get stuck up here during a fight!" O'neill yelled as we all got back on our feet. I grabbed Charlotte and started to half carry her as we made the short sprint to the room we were beamed up to. Sparks were flying and the lights flickered in unisin with the hull shaking as it took more and more hits from the bombers.
"Why aren't the shields up?" Cecilia yelled. "You said this ship had shields!"
"It does!" Cassandra replied. "But the Asgard teleportation beams don't work through them! We have to drop our shields to beam in and out!"
"That's stupid!" Ichika yelled, pausing to pick up Houki after a particularly close explosion knocked her off her feet.
"You don't say!" I yelled back. "Now shut up and let's get out of here!"
We quickly piled into the room we arrived in, and Carter immediately went to work trying to beam us out. After several seconds with nothing happening, it was clear something was wrong.
"Carter! What's the hold up!" O'neill yelled, clearly frustrated.
"A power relay got hit, there's no way to beam out from this location. We can try another location, and it should work!" She replied.
"Bridge, this is O'neill. The beaming room we were going to use lost power. What's the nearest working room?" He yelled over the radio.
"SG-1, THIS IS THE XO, WE CAN NOT BEAM YOU OUT AT THE MOMENT. WE NEED TO RAISE OUR SHIELDS AND FIGHT, OR ELSE WERE ALL GOING DOWN TO EARTH THE HARD WAY." Came the response from the radio. "I SUGEST YOU MOVE IN-SHIP. THERES A BEAMING ROOM LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE THE BRIDGE. HEAD THERE AND AS SOON AS WERE DONE UP HERE WE'LL BEAM YOU BACK DOWN."
"Rodger that!" O'neill replied. "Let's go boys and girls. Don't want you dying on me. It's a horrible mess of paperwork."
AND THAT'S CHAPTER 7 EVERYONE!
James: You really went with 'Insert Chapter Name Here' as the chapter title?
Yup. And I kept my word, you didn't get thrown into a pit of fangirls again!
James: I'm still not trusting you.
Very smart! Now then, on to the important stuff, namely the description for the OC characters that YOU, the fans, will hopefully bestow upon me.
First off, I need a proper description of their appearance. How do they dress, what race are they, are they Jaffa or human, or are they Asgard or some other race. Are they Chinese in decent, or are they Native American and so forth. This includes their physical description as well, are they more athletically toned, or are they scrawny, do they have a beard or are they bald.
THEN, give me a description of how they act and think. Are they the gruff, drill instructor, are they the silent but smart type, or are they the energetic and a few bricks short of a house type. Anything goes, I just need to know so I can properly write them.
ALSO, give me some back story on them. Do they have a family? Are they doing what they do out of some sense of pride or duty? Was their family killed off by some disease or are they the lone survivor of some world ravaged by the goa'uld.
LASTLY, give me their role. Are they a pilot or an airman, do they work at the SGC or are they an instructor at the academy? Are they simple farmers working on some other world, or are they a high ranked Jaffa or goa'uld, leading armies into battle.
To give you guys a bit of a rushed challenge, how about you try and create someone to be the captain of the Sun Tzu. Obviously, since it's a Chinese crewed ship, they need to be Chinese, but other than that it's up to you guys.
If your character doesn't get picked, don't worry. They may still be used in the story, since this will likely span YEARS or even SEQUALS. Not that I'm that far in development, but I can see this story going that far.
And like I said at the beginning, PM these characters to me. Let's leave the review section to reviews… even though it has been rather quiet lately, I still want it as just what it was intended for.
AND FOR CHRISTS SAKE PEOPLE, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW. IM GLAD I HAVE SOME LOYAL REVIEWERS, BUT I KNOW THERE'S MORE OF YOU OUT THERE READING THIS STORY THAN JUST THREE PEOPLE.
Rant over now, I hope you all have a great day!