Shirogane Archangel 1. Flight A, Element A
Sumika Archangel 2. Flight A, Element A
Yuuya-Inia, Idar 1. Flight A, Element B
Meiya Archangel 5. Flight A, Element B
Sakaki Archangel 4. Flight B, Element C
Mikoto Archangel 6. Flight B, Element C
Ayamine Archangel 7. Flight B, Element C
Kasumi Archangel 3. Flight B, Element D
Tamase Archangel 8. Flight B, Element D
—
Keith Blazer
06:01 AM
Soviet Б-01, Centre
"Boss! Hey, boss! You feeling fine, sir?!"
"Arraaga, never better, Guylos. I'm really getting too old for this shit." Uttering a low grunt, Keith climbed out of his demolished F-22A cockpit with assistance from Infinity 3.
"Good joke, sir. I laughed." That was probably a lie.
Around half a year ago, the Infinities got their tactical asses into the primal seat of America's next generation surface fighters. The F-22A Raptor might have started as a diamond in the rough, but compared to other TSFs out there, it was an actual mineral.
So getting defeated by an Element of Russian pilots was something a bit humiliating for the 65th's leader. Still, even with their frames disabled and crashed, the Infinities were not going to hang in the towel just yet.
"Damn, we kinda took a beating, huh?"
"Yeah, no shit. The Russian twins literally crapped out a smoke screen from their asses. Can't say I saw that coming, if it had been anyone else, they would be dead much sooner." A few snaps on his neck fixed the last of Keith's strained body caused from falling straight down in his Raptor.
A small hut was completely flattened by Keith's dead TSF, the fall damaged his craft way beyond repair without a proper crew. The same could be said for Guylos' machine, which lay broken not too far from his.
"It's unfortunate, what we gonna do now, boss?"
"The Chinese also got downed, they're probably dead but we still have to check in case. After that, head for a hangar to see if there's any units remaining we can use."
"Sounds like a plan." Examining his sidearm as he left the Raptor behind, a silent but costly explosion fried the surface fighter from the inside and made it impossible to be recovered by enemies.
"Have you blown yours?"
"Yeah, sad to see it go, had to be done."
—
A short walk later, both Americans arrived at the site of another incapacitated droid. The Chinese Jian-10X while appearing to be mostly intact, it was missing its right hand and the frontal cover of its cockpit. Although this didn't promise the safety of its pilot, at least now whoever had the unfortunate luck of riding this wouldn't be recorded as K.I.A instantly.
"This pilot doesn't seem too dead if she got away from the crash." Keith remarked. He looked around his surroundings in search for its driver, none was found.
"That should be at least one survivor."
"Alright, I'm gonna check the cockpit, watch my back, Guylos."
"Understood."
Step by step, Keith mantled up the side of this TSF, careful as to not fall down and be seen as a man past his prime. Above the J-10's tore open cockpit block, he saw nothing in the seat or anyone near the helm.
"Hey, you! American! Don't move!" Somebody was shouting at him to freeze in place from somewhere he couldn't see. The cocking of a gun could be heard; however the voice carried no menace within.
"By that voice, you're Bao-Feng, right?" Serenely and motionlessly, Keith recognized the obvious Chinese accent even when her sentence was translated.
"Hou, Infinities, then? I was worried about you." The noise of a holstered pistol allowed him to relax his muscles and turn around.
"You're not the Captain, are you?"
"No, Bao-Feng 3. You don't really care for my name, do you?" The Chinese girl had a point there.
"Are you the only survivor?"
"Also no, you'll be surprised by how many are still alive. Is the cockpit empty, by the way?" After answering Keith's question, the Chinese soldier posted her own.
"Yeah, whoever was here left not too long ago."
"…Damn, well, let's talk on the ground." Agreeing to the friendly sounding pilot, Keith and her slid off the left leg to regroup with his teammate standing by the crashed unit.
"Hey, boss— oh, then you met them already."
"Huh, so the Bao-Feng had no casualties? That doesn't make any sense." Taking in the view he was encompassing, Keith thought how unnatural the logically unmanageable phenomenon was.
There stood the Chinese PLA pilots along with Guylos, that in itself was nothing to feel awed about. However, what caught Keith's regard was the number of Mandarin speaking personnel by them; it was two-too many.
Three ladies were conversing with one another and Infinity 3, each of them could be distinguished by their unique traits. One girl had a long pony-tail, another was rolling with a bun tied by a white scarf, and lastly was a plain short-haired female which made up the Bao-Feng.
"Did you find Ane-san?"
"No, we don't know where she is."
"This's kind of bad… in so many ways too." The PLA combatants commented between themselves for a bit.
"Is Capt. Cui missing?" Asked Keith, in place of an answer he was shot some mistrusting glares and heard more discussions in Mandarin amongst the three.
"…Yeah, we can't find her for the moment. This's her TSF." Whatever the UFC's people agreed on, it looked to be cooperation with the Infinities had the most consent.
"How did you guys not lose anyone? No offence but didn't two of your J-10s got cut up?" A blunt investigation by Guylos had the Bao-Feng taken aback which led to more Mandarin words being spoken.
"It was really strange, when the Berkut came for me and slashed the machine apart, I felt myself dying. The systems all went down and nothing was responding, but a while later it came back online shorty before I hit the ground. So for some reason, the feed captured by the sensors didn't match up with reality." Speaking again, one of the pilots disclosed her personal experience with being killed and not dying.
"That's… I see, it must have been OS hacking by their people. I didn't think that was possible." A conspicuous lie cannot be unveiled if the victims had no access to the truth.
Keith knew much more about the data-link based hacking and the second generation of stealth functions installed into the YF-23 quite well. That was why he got even more confused as none of the abilities allowed direct hacking of the sensory data provided by their TSF optics.
"Something is definitely not right over here." Infinity 3 had the same idea as Keith, he just announced it first.
"Yeah, I just wish those two are having better luck than we are."
Takamura Yui
06:03 AM
Soviet Б-01, Outskirt
Melee Halberds were the most expendable weapons on the battlefield second to bullets, the simple nature of their design plus the ease of construction and material cost make Japan's Type-74 one of the frequently featured armament for most combat scenarios.
The PB Blade was an all-around close quarter melee tool, fast draw and fast strikes made it a favourite amongst IJA and IRG alike. Albeit their choices might be a little limited.
"—WHY!? Why must you disrupt our restfulness!? What is it that you seek, Mitsurugi-sama!?" Yui shouted, her plea for peace was answered by another powerful swing of the purple 00's CIWS.
Black clouds covered out the sky, her view of the world impaired by this everlasting mist. Still considering the distance between these two rivals at war, a little lack of far-sight was nothing to be tense about.
Standing on guard above the white snow, Yui sidestepped the sideways cut by mere inches before retreating further back using a quick boost. She couldn't fight back, she couldn't dare to hurt the royalty her family had served all this time. Doing so would be a betrayal to the long line of history her father carved.
Yui was naïve; she had to admit to that fault of hers. The Fudai believed herself to be at least on par with Mitsurugi's skills, that was a fatal misjudgement on her part. Not only was the violet Type-00R more powerful on a basic level, it also was adapting movements impossible for Yui's 00F.
Mitsurugi was pushing her back swing by swing, the sword in her right hand fiercely came down upon Yui at every angle. Not a motion was wasted as she cavorted marvellously like a child, wielding a death-dealing edge with such magnitude.
"Please tell me, Mitsurugi! I cannot accept this! Why are you attacking Yukon Base instead of protecting our Empire!?" Frustrated and infuriated, Yui forgot for the second time to add honorific to the end of Mitsurugi's name.
"—focus, Takamura. Reach your goal of defeating me, then will you gain the right to question my action." There was no haste in her voice, no sense of anxiety when the royalty spoke back.
"Mitsurugi-SAMA! There's no reason for us to keep fighting! I beg of you! Please tell me your objective! We can work together to reach it!"
"Be quiet and continue our scuffle, I will not reply anymore. Fight me with the intent to kill, Takamura, this is your last chance of redemption." Her offer for peace was rejected and replaced by a heavy blow of Mitsurugi's blade, Yui deflected away the impact barely in time.
"Is… is this really your true purpose, Mitsurugi-sama!? Is this not treason to our nation!?" As she promised, the purple haired Eishi did not say anything back.
Yui couldn't fathom Mitsurugi's way of thinking, what could she possibly be doing here that required for the base itself to be attacked? Not one thing was visualized by her on the source behind her lord's apparent betrayal, nothing made any sense; none of it.
Yui believed Mitsurugi to be a friend, someone who understood her. However, the assault on Yukon which the Royal blood was a part of deterred the belief she held. The Honour Guard was confused, disheartened and dejected by Mitsurugi's unwillingness to share her secrets.
So no matter how unsure she was, Yui fought back under the pretext of following Mitsurugi's order. Her withdrawing Takemikazuchi reversing its heading in a flash, ducking under a heavy horizontal swing in the nick of time as she made a repelling stab, pushing the purple 00 back for her to gain a breather.
"Mitsurugi-sama… I shall comply to your request." In satisfaction, Yui's opponent bounded back to regain her footing and took a proper stance.
Now was the start of a duel, no longer a one-sided battery, Yui had every means of serving the intense battle which Mitsurugi sought from her.
She rushed on, faster than ever, her petals couldn't be any closer to the metal. Rapid collisions of iron swords spawned fiery sparks, Yui threw her weight against the frame before her, series after series of firm hits pushed Mitsurugi into defence.
Owning the supremacy by a swift turn of events, Yui bashed her PB-Blade repetitively on Mitsurugi's guard. Her attacks were well calculated, she had to show the royalty she wasn't just a regular soldier commonly found off the streets.
"This is what I am expecting, Takamura. You have skills, I shall grant you such admission."
"Haa! Haa…! Thank you, Mitsurugi-sama."
"Do not stop yet, I am still before you. Show no mercy, go for the kill. Or else, you will have nothing left to protect." If Mitsurugi's aim was to trigger Yui, she certainly succeeded in doing so.
Yui debated internally, could she kill a member of the royal family? Was she up for a task bearing such responsibility? She didn't know the reason Mitsurugi came to this base; the way she behaved, the entangling nature of their fight, nothing made sense.
"…Mitsurugi-sama… are you testing me?"
"Tell me, Takamura. Why do you fight?" Answering a question with a question, Mitsurugi's response confirmed Yui's previous idea.
"I… fight for the sake of protecting Japan, protecting the future of humanity!"
Without notice or Yui's comprehension, Mitsurugi planted her single sword into the earth. She stood her machine up straight, no longer remaining in a stance for battle.
"Carry the weight of your resolve, Takamura. Slay me, here and now. Do not hesitate." A quiet hiss, too quiet to be picked up by her detection sensor emitted from Mitsurugi's frame. Yui still heard the sound, she knew it was there when the purple-haired samurai stepped out from her cockpit.
"Mitsurugi-sama!? NO! It's too dangerous! Please step back!" Of course Yui panicked, abandoning the shelter of an armoured mecha amid an endless battle was too risky to ever be considered.
"I cannot understand you, Takamura. You fear for my safety, yet you are focused with my death in mind."
"Please, NO! I never would wish to hurt you, Mitsurugi-sama!" She ran over, shielding Mitsurugi's vulnerable body with Yui's TSF. She covered her completely, not wishing to take any chances.
"Takamura, come out." It was an order she couldn't disobey.
Yui dislodged the clamps holding back her seat. When she breathed the outside air again, Mitsurugi was only metres away from the Royal Guard. A slight sight caused Yui to flinch instinctively, and that was the pistol held in Mitsurugi's hand.
"…Mitsurugi-sama, if you demand my life… I will gladly forfeit it for your sake. So please if nothing else, let me know whether this decision of yours will benefit Japan!" In her end, this was all Yui cared about.
Yuuya was important; however not as important as the Imperial Empire. Her mission was important; that was because it was for the purpose of aiding the Imperial Empire. Japan was Yui's life, she wil never have what it takes to desert it.
"Such loyalty, I am touched by your patriotism, Takamura. Even when a source of evil is present before you, you are incapable of striking it down due to my heritage."
"…Yes, I am weak. I cannot go against my teachings. So I can only pray, pray that what you're doing is just." Mitsurugi's gun was still held tight, its safety flicked off and hammer cocked back.
"You are incapable, Takamura. Luckily, this is your saving grace." Her words now confused Yui more than ever. In one swift motion, Mitsurugi disabled her gun and re-holstered it by her side.
"Mitsurugi-sama…?"
"Takamura… you used to be a vassal for Takatsukasa Kyoko-dono during the 1998 invasion, correct?" The perplexing change of subject made Yui more confounded than ever.
"Err… yes, that is correct."
"Then you may as well be disappointed by the chaos currently boiling in our capital… nonetheless, I shall explain everything, starting from the most relevant.
Mitsurugi Meiya
06:08 AM
"2nd Lt. Barchenowa died…!?"
"Was dead, Takamura. We're currently on the process of reviving her." Meiya corrected.
"Yes, my apology… then Mitsurugi-sama, how are the circumstances now?"
"Takeru is currently reviving her as we speak. My assumption is for this operation to be of success." Takamura was looking relieved, joyful and concerned all at the same time.
"That is indeed marvelous news." However, she spoke words of happiness.
"We are pulling out now, Takamura. This is where my duty comes in, I must bring you along with me." By Meiya's reveal, Takamura lifted her head in disbelief and was shocked heavily.
"What— for what reason do you need me, Mitsurugi-sama!?"
"As I stated earlier, you are an incompetent woman, Takamura. Someone unable to act for one's own gain, I do not value that highly. Nevertheless, this once the trait of yours shall be your redemption." Her words hurt the Royal Guard, but it was words she couldn't deny.
"Is there something I can do?"
"In the capital, there is an on-going hunt for traitors after an assassination on the heads of many Regent Houses was carried out." Another surprise took Takamura off guard, she stared blankly straight for a few seconds as speech did not come easy.
"What happened!?" It was only logical to be curious after hearing such an event.
"The heads to Saionji and Kujou have unfortunately perished in that detestable attack, both of their heirs are yet too young to bear the responsibility of Regent House."
"No… NO! Th-th-that CANNOT BE!" Beyond shocked, Takamura's expression was absolutely petrified.
"The head of the Ikaruga Household suffered multiple injuries and is currently being treated in the hospital. Ikaruga Takatsugu is not in life-threatening danger, however recovery will take time." Meiya expressed nothing, only Takamura still appeared utterly destroyed by such a tragic tale.
"No…! Impossible…! Please, Mitsurugi-sama! Tell me it's not true! PLEASE!"
"Takamura, do not think for a second I am not as devastated by this as you are." Through her reminder, the Royal Guard stopped completely. Undoubtedly Meiya would be the sadder of them two, people who died were friends and acquaintances.
"I… understand, forgive me, Mitsurugi-sama. What was their method of attack?" Takamura slowly collected herself, as much as she had problem accepting the facts, there was nothing to be done.
"Planted explosives, details are unconfirmed for now." For now, Meiya could only report the situation as if it really was an emotionless record. It was Tsukuyomi who informed Meiya earlier, in the same monotonous voice she used now.
"Has the criminal been caught?"
"No, the investigation is still underway. A lead has been found but no further evidence to work on." It was just bad news one after another.
"I'm deep in sorrow and anger, Mitsurugi-sama… I plead to the heavens for justice to be done. Yet, as terrible as I must sound, I find this unrelated to our situation."
"I am requesting you to become an official vassal for the Koubuin Household, under my direct command." Another one, Meiya laid out two bombshells back to back.
"What!? Mitsurugi-sama! I am merely a—"
"An inherited Fudai born from generations of servants, someone perfect for the role of my retainer." Having her sentence finished by Meiya, Takamura was deprived of a reason to refuse.
"Bu-but still! Why me, Mitsurugi-sama!? What does this have to do with the assassination?!"
"As of now, our capital is in angst. Cries for punishment to be served for those who sinned. This only fuelled the already ongoing conflict between my house of Koubuin and the rest of the Regent Houses, Her Highness' new rule for power has been seen as a step towards monarchy."
"Her Highness… all this was started by the 12/5 incident!"
"Truly, factions are splitting, Takamura. For someone as loyal as you are, I ask for your strength to be lent to our cause. This is for your protection as well; a Fudai without an allegiance is seen as a potential traitor during this time."
Meiya hated the idea of disagreement within the Imperial Shogunate, but struggles are fated to arise when ideals clash. And as someone in her position, there was not an opinion to pick a side. Although she never sought to do so ever before.
"…For that reason alone!?" Not concealing her frustration, Takamura probably felt betrayed that her years of labour were rendered worthless for simply not belonging to a house.
"Indeed, it is tragic that an honourable servant like you would be suspected of treason. Now that I have tested you, Takamura. I swear to vouch for your innocence."
"…Thank you very much, Mitsurugi-sama!" A bit more determined now, Takamura took another bow.
"Your weakness, I shall assist in purging it from existence. My Captain seeks for a better world, and I wish to invite you along. This current war is only temporary, overcoming this trial shall lay down our path to a peaceful tomorrow."
"Mitsurugi-sama…" Takamura considered, she put everything she was onto a scale for calculation.
"Obey me, Takamura, and I shall become your leader. Conquer our time of suffering, what it shall lead to will be a bright future for both you and that man sharing your blood. I swear to you, this is the only way to protect yourself as a woman and as an Honour Guard." That would be the best outcome, for every party involved.
"Accept my hand; pledge your devotion to our conviction. And in the name of Koubuin Yuuhi, I shall guarantee for you to profit." Meiya knew she had persuaded the girl wavering before her. She acted as her beacon of hope, Takamura had nothing left other than her loyalty to Japan.
Meiya was doing this for two reasons; she believed this to be what her sister saw as correct without a doubt, the power to protect an entire nation must be acquired for the sake of their land. And also, this was what it took to achieve his dream.
"I understand… I am forever in debt to your kindness." So Takamura picked quickly, no more indecisiveness was needed.
"Good, Takamura. You made the right decision, I shall see it through as such."
The brunette kneeled down, genuflected before Meiya. One arm was brought forward to chest level and her head kept low, Takamura was trusted by the Koubuin heir, and thus received a warm welcome.
"Mitsurugi Meiya-sama; your servant, Takamura Yui, will henceforth abide by your every command."
Shirogane Takeru
06:11 AM
Soviet Б-01, Barrack
"We're looking good. If this panel ain't being a lying bitch, Barchenowa is good to go."
"Did we get it? Yaay!" Her voice was so annoying I almost forgot the normal Sumika had returned.
"Hey, welcome back."
"Oh, yeah! I switched off Prafka mode earlier and just got done with rebooting my system! I can talk normally for now!" If that was what happened, then sure; I wasn't asking any questions.
"That's fine and all, but don't those two out there need a supervisor?" Save for one.
"Ahaha! Kasumi-chan got them! Besides, dolls like that are only fakes anyway! I won't be so worried!" I wouldn't say it in Kasumi's face if I were her.
"If you say so, let me grab her body." I pecked Sumika smoothly on the cheeks before walking away.
A side portal popped open just big enough for my body to fit through, on the inside laid the still very dead and naked Barchenowa. Before going pass, I grabbed the towel that was hanging to the side of the water tank; same one Sumika wrapped her in earlier.
With the cloth in hand, I stepped inside the washing machine and surveyed my surroundings; there was nothing to see. Barchenowa's body was warm and a little moist when I touched her cheeks, her eyes sealed tight and features unmoving. I carefully cloaked the Russian to avoid her of any shame later on, not before getting a nice squeeze in on her juicy oppai though; I deserved that much.
"Sumika, get the injector to me." Instead of replying like she normally would, the Ahoge girl materialized in front of me just as I got up, faster-than-light travel was probably how she got here.
"Here, take her to the bed."
"Okay!" I handed the body to her as she passed the needle to me, smooth moves all around. Sumika carried the white-head princess style and lowered her onto the plain single bed just beside this water tank.
"Take the needle, you're giving her the shot."
"Wha—! No! You give her the shot, idiot Takeru-chan!" Maybe respectful, loyal Sumika wasn't so bad.
"Stupid bitch… I ain't giving her the shot!"
"I'm not giving her the shot either!"
"You retarded or something?! I never done this before!"
"I never done this before either!" I swear to god this woman…
"Look here, dumbass! The next time I bring you a comatose bitch that needs me to fight an entire army of dudes just to bring her back then I'll give her the shot. You'll take this fucking needle and jam it straight in her heart, got it!?
"EEEEEEEE! Fine! Fine, fine fine-fine-fine!" For now, I'll just be happy her articulation reverted back to normal.
Not much of a choice even if Bridges most likely wouldn't enjoy the idea, I had to remove his girlfriend's sheet if it meant saving her life. My nurse on duty was Sumika, she stood closely to my side as I stripped down the blanket.
"Okay next step, you gotta find where her heart is. Do one of them X-ray things with your super-eyes."
"Sure, I can do that! Does it has to be exact though!?" Why was she even here in the first place?
"Gee, I don't know! We're giving her a shot to the heart so I guess it has to be fucking exact! Because it's not like anything will go wrong if I pump her lungs full of whatever this shit is, right!?"
The 00 unit waved her right hand across Barchenowa's body like a MRI scanner, looking for the prime area, preferably the heart for our inoculation.
"Okay, I know where her heart is. Is there anything I can mark it with?"
"You're a freaking supercomputer! Just do some fancy calculations and don't miss!"
"Aggrrra! That's not how I work, Takeru-chan! I'm only human too!" Literally not true.
"Stop bullshitting me and just get her back up already! Stab! Stab, stab!" I was infuriatingly shaking Sumika for her to pick up the pace.
"What!? I stab her three times!?"
"NO! Just once! Right on the heart and pull the trigger!" Productive combo as always; Sumika and I, never a problem.
I pressed a few buttons on the side of her injector and primed it for high-pressure inoculation of her drugs. To be completely honest, I had no clue how this gun-looking needle functioned, I assumed it was just like a hypospray often seen in movies and such; optimistically there wasn't much of a difference.
"Okay, here! I marked the spot with my blood! Hold my hand, Takeru-chan!"
"Sure, that I can do." We had finally recollected our shit after a quick argument.
The sharp end was pointed directly on the centre of the X, I steadied Sumika's hands on the bedframe to ensure no accidents due to terrible targeting. I secretly prayed to nothing as she pulled the trigger, a weak pew sound was noted after the counter fixed on the side of this injector read zero.
"C'mooon, girl. Pull yourself together now, Bridges' gonna owe me so much if this actually works." Most cases, I hated anything where a factor existed which was not within my control, those situations always turned out terribly wrong. So having another one relying on pure luck really ticked me the wrong way.
"Shouldn't we perform CPR for Cryska-chan?" To my left, Sumika watched intensely for a good dozen seconds before asking.
"Normally, yeah. But I don't even know how that will help in a situation like this. Sensei said the meds jump starts her heart, although I'm betting this is way different from normal. Besides, we don't want to accidently crack her ribs or anything and pay the hospital bill."
"So smarrrt, Takeru-chan!"
"Thanks… non-Prafka Sumika, being call that sure makes me happy—" Apparently, I wasn't happy enough to be not interrupted.
"HAAAA—! ACk— ARCCk! Acr— HAAaaa…" Her return to life certainly didn't start with a whisper, I could say that much.
"Worked though, I'm the best."
Cutting off my sentence, the Russian girl hacked nastily as she coughed out some unknown substance from her lungs and spat it all over herself. Nonetheless, after a couple of exhausted breath for air, Barchenowa was back on the land of the living.
"Please don't say Yuuya—"
"Yuuya…? Is that you?"
"Fucking called it." I was so good at this prediction business, maybe I had a future career in being a gypsy. Some makeup would surely make me look like a dark-skinned grandma.
"Here, adjust your eyes. Take it slow and easy." I swiped my palm over the delicate girl's front, covering and exposing her sight to the light slowly. Barchenowa wearily blinked a few times, trying her hardest to recuperate even when her body was in such a futile state.
"Who… are you? Where am I?" The basic questions anyone out of a coma would ask.
"Don't be scared, I'm here to help you. I'm with Brid— I mean Yuuya and Inia, we came here to save you and now we're leaving." In return, I gave the most cliché answer possible.
"Yuuya, Inia… they're both here!?"
"Yep, yep. Can you stand?" Washing away her confusion, Barchenowa rubbed her forehead gently to ease away an undeniably painful headache. Gradually, she sat up from the bed and surveyed the room at the same time. Her continuous gaze into reality around her only told me how unanticipated the girl was at being revived.
Feebly and ever so slightly, Barchenowa weakly crossed her legs back and forth, getting used to her newly activated figure. Even in this state with a bit of vomit trailing from her lips and onto her chest, this girl was still definitely a great sight to behold.
"Do you need a hand, Cryska-chan?" Part of the observers until she acted, Sumika reached out and stabled Barchenowa's body as she tried to get off the bed.
"Sumika… right? Thank you, for helping me."
"Don't mention it!" While Sumika's shiny orbs looked as bizarre as ever, the eerie grin was finally wiped away by a friendly smile for the Russian.
Carefully, Sumika secured the esper's footing as both girls stood up from the bed. A few steps later, Barchenowa was well balanced in every stride on her own. She looked around her old room again, a gaze of reminiscence was faintly resonating in her violet irises.
"Thank you as well for saving me… err… Ta-Takeru-c-chan?" Now this was pure gold, that must been what Sumika called me by during all her talk with the recently dead girl. Literally being hundreds of years since anyone else named me that.
"Yeah, no problem. We gotta go though, wipe yourself clean and put this on." I threw her the towel we used earlier and the fortified suit Sumika took from the Berkut.
Acquiescent was the Russian esper, she scrubbed off the fluid and donned the suit I provided without second guessing my orders. As a mental reward for myself, I imprinted the image of a nude Barchenowa into my head before the outfit covered her up.
"Barchenowa, you ready to go?"
"Da, what am I to do now?" A charming flicker of her hair was the last step in equipping the proper gear for combat; Barchenowa shuddered her body before she was officially set.
"First, let me welcome you back to our world, Second Lieutenant. Been quite a journey we had so far to get you back, I expect some reward later."
"Arr, o-of course, I'll do my best to… fulfill your expectations…" Her hesitance was largely forgivable, I found no fault in acting confused by her situation.
"Appreciate it. Moving on though, we'll have you buckle up with Sumika in the Berkut and head for extraction. Don't worry about combat and such, just ride along."
"Sir… may I ask a few questions regarding the current state of affairs?" Respect was something I hadn't enjoyed in a while, so getting noticed as a proper superior made me all tiggly inside.
"Well, you know who you are, where you are, why you are here. What you don't know is who we are, why we saved you and where we are going; none of which I'm willing to answer. What else you wanna ask?"
"Errr… what's your rank, sir?" I shot her a blink look for that out of place question.
"Captain."
"Then may I address you as Capt. Takeru-chan?" What was that, I couldn't hold back my laughter from her totally outrageous idea.
"Pfff! Ahahaha! Sure, sure! Call me exactly that from now on, got it?"
"Understood."
"Good, any other questions, go to Sumika. We're leaving ASAP, move it!"
Yuuya Bridges
Soviet Б-01, Airstrip
06:14 AM
"—artillery strike on grid D-8! Get clear!"
"—additional fast movers coming in! F-18 Hornet! Headcount eight! Distance undetermined!"
"—requesting heavy suppressive fire by area Q-1, move the hostile Falcons."
"Laid down heavy fire on the closer frames! The LZ is too hot for landing!"
"—Archangel 8! Can you get a shot in on the F-15s!?"
"The black fog is still too thick! I need designation!"
"That's not possible! Just hit'em as you see'em!"
"That's the problem! I can't see'em!"
The theatre of war was what Yuuya exposed himself to as he approached his destination, devastated TSF laid waste to the land surrounding their objective for defence, an intact airstrip was what Yuuya must protect for exfil.
"—Idar 1 coming in on your three, requesting orders." So Yuuya naturally had his role to fulfill, along with Inia by his side.
"—activate a high frequency ECM, Idar 1! Blind all unfriendlies by us!" The glasses person who acted as nonpermanent leader asked.
"Roger that, all transmission jammed, proximity ECM online." A few good keystrokes on the control provided Yuuya with exactly what Archangel 4 required.
Almost immediately, many of the TSFs closer to him flinched noticeably. Their data-link brought down by the 94's unauthorized access to the system they used. A loss of command could be seen as a Platoon of F-16s made their convoluted retreat, blinded by Yuuya's countermeasure, they failed to pull away in time.
"Inia, we'll take these ones."
"Okay, they'll be just like everyone else."
—
"—casualty, casualty! Arc 8 is down! Counting two hostile Rapto— aghrra! DAMN IT FUCK!" In a flash, one of the Shiranuis on the east side was struck down; an accurate shot to the head destroyed its sensors and blinded its pilot. The injured Type-94's wingman was subsequently showered by bullets, forcing it to pick up her teammate and run.
"—Raps? I thought Sumika got'em all…"
"—That's just not true, Kei-san! They're pushing in, evade!" Leading the incursion, a pair of F-22s broke past the Archangel's guard and compelled Yuuya's team to forfeit ground for shelter.
"Shit, we're getting pinned really hard! Don't panic and retreat! Hold your ground for a bit longer!"
"Idar 1will now engage the hostile Raptors, the rest of you can provide covering fire." So obviously, being a spectator ended here for Yuuya. There existed foes only he alone could face.
"Thanks for the save, Idar 1! Go get'em!"
"Always the plan, Archangels."
Leon Kuze
06:19 AM
Leon hated it; ambushing his enemies was not a tactic he enjoyed acting out, but it had its merit, which only made him hate it more.
Keith ordered for the pair to break off and lay low around the airfield, said that was where the invaders must head to eventually. And the team leader was correct, one hundred percent on the mark with that assumption. Leon and Sharon caught a Flight of 94s chased by UN reinforcement, a bloodbath between TSFs took place right before their eyes.
"—I think I got two downed but the rest backed away, what do you say?" In a critical time such as this, Sharon had to get serious and judge Leon's input.
"—you think?"
"I can't see anything through this bullshit smoke, I aimed for muzzle flashes but they still got EMP shooters left." That sounded logical so Leon stopped asking.
"We'll support the UN forces, push them off the runway and then intercept the plane above."
"But with this heavy jamming and the cloud, you think he could be here?"
"…Yeah, I know he's here somewhere, just gotta pick off his ass and the jamming would be gone."
When they decided the time was right, Leon and Sharon joined in the fight with guns blazing. A swift assault was what Sharon had in mind, but her first target dodged miraculously out of the way. Leon then pushed in to back her up, injuring another 94 in the process. However, the pair of Japanese fighters fled away from danger before they could be finished.
"They're hold up good in this fog, neither side can see each other, it seems." Leon wanted to call this a double-blind situation, although that was more associated with psychology.
"My scanners are jackshit right now, can't even pick up the friendlies around here."
"Fuck it all, you keep overwatch and I'll scout out the surroundings. With smoke this thick, they won't detect… us… is that…? Sharon, MOVE!" Consternation settled in as Leon turned himself around, a barrage of long range 36 and 120mm bolted him by and aimed for the F-22A floating above him.
"ARRack! —Son-of-a-bitch that was too close!" Suddenly shouting a line out of her character, Sharon's frame pulled a hard dive too late and was wounded on her left arm.
"That was him! That definitely was him!" Even if all he saw was a glance through the black smoke, Leon still identified his long-time rival.
"Yuuya, he's showing himself directly, huh?"
"—Yuuya Bridges! That's you, alright!" Angrily, Leon popped open a public channel and screamed for the other man.
"—don't shout over the comms, Leon. I can hear you perfectly." Yuuya said back; he was not angry, he was not excited, he had little emotion in his reply.
Out of the darkness, the form of a TSF slowly became apparent. Yuuya ditched his cloak of shadows and instead faced the two Raptors head on. An uncaring mood was prevalent throughout his voice as the Shiranui Second tossed away its last rifle. The former test pilot made it obvious to Leon, this was his final fight at Yukon.
"—Yuuya! It really is you, Yuuya! Why are you doing this!?" Hovering adjacent to Leon was Sharon's F-22, she yelled his name over the open channel, trying to get Yuuya to reveal his truth.
"Yuuya, you bastard! Turning against the States is bad enough but coming here and attacking Yukon!? What the fuck are you thinking?!"
"Nothing for you to be concerned about, Leon. I'm giving you the chance right now to leave, do that and we won't meet again, ever."
"Asshole! I can't let you hightail outta here! You gonna answer for what you did!" Irritation riled up Leon's attitude towards Yuuya. What he said, what he had done, none of it was acceptable.
"You have to tell us, Yuuya! We can help you! We're your friends, please trust us!" Acting kindly as always, Sharon recommended a more passive method of appeasement.
"If it was help I wanted I've stayed away from here. Leon, Sharon, don't get in my way or I'll show no mercy. The rest of your Platoon already got taken down, go recover them and just forget all this happened." Indifferently came his declaration, all that did for Leon was pissing him of further.
"First Lieutenant and Guylos!? BULLSHIT! There's no way they—" The notification of a transferred data package interrupted Leon's sentence. Tentatively, he accessed the file and found it to be a roster.
"What is this, Yuuya?" Sharon no doubt also received the same list.
"It's the listing of all UN forces on site recorded by us, updated in real-time. Take a look for yourselves." So Leon did, and the information was an absolute thunderbolt.
"…No way! This's a fucking fake!" Rejection was often the first response to unfavourable news.
"You can believe whatever you want."
"Yuuya… you're willing to go this far…? For what!?" Sharon too, she couldn't imagine her old friend would change this dramatically.
Like Yuuya said, the roster showed all UN forces currently registered as occupants of Yukon, even the Infinities and Bao-Feng were on that document. But what it recorded was much harder to take in; it had everyone other unit besides the Infinities marked as K.I.A, every single one of them.
"I'm determined, Sharon. I can't half-ass it here."
"But… everyone you knew, everything you had is gone now! How can you live with that?!" Yuuya abandoned everything in his past when he deserted his duty, now he came back to erase everything he couldn't belong along.
"You son of a bitch! Who did you kill to GET THIS FAR!?"
"We didn't— no. I personally got rid of Australia's Hanersy, Europe's Slechtvalk and Sleipnir, many of the 21st Security and most of Argos." Hearing his confession in that heartless voice was more infuriating than ever to the American pilot, the man before him was a traitor, it couldn't be denied.
"You killed your own team!? FOR WHAT!?"
"Cryska needs me, I have to save her."
"Who the fuck are you talking about—!?"
"You mean 2nd Lt. Barchenowa? The Scarlet twin?" Sharon remembered, the name of Russian's most feared Test Pilot Element.
"For a woman!? You're doing all this for a woman!?"
"She's my woman, you don't need to know anything else." It was like what happened with 1st Lt. Rick Sven all over again, Leon's hatred for Yuuya was reignited due to his absurd action.
"You're a real piece of shit, Yuuya Bridges! Your ass is so going down!"
"Give me a minute first, let me take this call."
"What the FUCK are yo—!"He couldn't stop the former US Test Pilot from going off comms.
"Leon… we should get outta here fast, the UN reinforcements are getting massacred by something." While Leon was distracted and unsettled by Yuuya's actions, Sharon had a more calming demeanor and logical train of thoughts.
"What… how did you know?"
"Look to your left, stupid." And so Leon did as told, what he came into his sight was nothing dangerous on its own, it was just the C-141 which had been circling above until now.
His first instinct told him to fill it up with lead, that will surely temper with whatever Yuuya had planned. But not knowing the content and the possible personnel aboard, doing so could very much earn him the same treatment as Yuuya if he catches him soon.
"It's landing…?! Even under this heavy fire—" That was the reason why it descended in the first place, there were no friendlies anywhere near the pair of Raptors and they didn't even notice.
"Shit! Is that a Su-47?! Eyes front!" An alarming shout stemmed from Sharon. Leon lifted his head to search for the machine she called out, but he found none.
"—AyaHAhAAhhA! NamELEsS onES Of thE WeSt! We shAlL See youR EnDuARnce!..."
"— -SalvagE YouR OwN PathetiC LiveS, KnoW ThaT OuR MercY LastS NoT FoR LonG."
Leon heard declarations, he was at the very minimum sure it was voices he heard. Because that sound didn't originate from his earpiece. Over and over again, it resonated aggravatingly in his head. Like a bad hangover, those strange words wouldn't shut up.
"What the… fuck was that!? Sharon! You okay?!"
"Yeah, I heard people talking to me… directly to me!" Sharon suffered the same phenomenon as him.
"The hell is happening here!? Where's the Berkut!?"
"It just… passed us… this's bad, this's really bad, Leon! We need to bail now!" Her facial expression was exhibiting the same message, Sharon feared the consequence of remaining any longer.
"But he's right there! We won't get another chance till who know when—"
"—Leon, this is your final chance, go back to your team and get away from here." Back on the comms, Yuuya issued his final threat.
"Fuck that! I'm bringing you in!" Irritated beyond control, Leon readied his rifles and was done with talking.
"Haa… this's too much. Inia, show them we mean business." Yuuya addressed someone else entirely different just then. And what's more, he didn't switch away from his line, meaning the person happened to be within earshot.
"No way, the Phase 3 is a two-seater!? Leon, stop! You can't go up against tha—" Sharon's realization and succeeding warning all came too late.
Leon boost started his machine, Jump Units propelled him high up and all four assault cannons firing off uncountable amount of leads. However, what the Shiranui Second did was much more intense in nature, it ruptured in energy; literal visible energy to the naked eye.
Blue clashed against black, two bursts of colour struggled profoundly to gain a stronger foothold. Eventually, the wave of blue cloud surrounding the 94 Second dispersed the black smoke hogging its personal space, clearing the air of darkness and instead replacing it with a cobalt sea.
"NO! LEON—!" What happened next, Leon had no clue. He eyes functioned normally, yet he saw nothing. It was all too strange, Yuuya was right before him, but he couldn't do anything, nothing at all
Sharon Heim
06:23 AM
"—Sharon, get this idiot out of here."
"—ahhhha! What the fuck just—" Sharon's mind was miles behind reality, her senses couldn't react to the lunacy her sensors reported back.
Intuitively, she dropped the pair of assault rifles to catch what Yuuya threw into her arm. When the pink haired girl regained her logic, she noticed how light the cockpit block of a TSF was. Because that was all she held in her clutch, the cockpit section plus an arm.
Yuuya's TSF exploded with blue, a spectacle Sharon never witnessed before. And even faster than the cloud of gas enclosing him, he charged forward, straight for Leon's Raptor. Indifferent about the rain of bullets shot in his direction, the Phase 3 speared beautifully for its target.
At a speed incomprehensible for a normal human, the 94 Second cleaved viciously using both halberds in hand. Before Leon had the chance to respond to anything, two clean cuts left his frame dismembered and annihilated beyond measure.
"Go back and help the survivors, nobody's dead."
"Wait, what? Didn't you say—"
"I said what he wanted to hear, better to have him hate me than miss me, I don't swing that way." In a time like this, with a situation like this, Sharon still chuckled at Yuuya's joke.
"Oh… really? That's it then? You scared me shitless." There weren't too much clever comebacks on Sharon's mind right now.
"This's it, we still cool?"
"Yeah… yeah, guess we still cool. You fucking kicked our shit but… Leon's still alive so… one question though, why did you do it? What happened to the twins?"
"…It's nothing you need to know, she's back with me now, that's all that matters."
"So you really did all this… just for a woman?" As unbelievable as things turned out, this mess smelled just like Yuuya to Sharon.
"I did everything for Cryska, don't question me."
"I won't, I won't. I just didn't take you for a romantic." It was Yuuya's turn to let out a giggle.
"You'll be surprised. Anyway, take good care of him for me. This time, we seriously won't meet again."
"Where you going now?"
"If not to jail, I think I got recruited by a pretty special spec-ops team." His message wasn't too hard to decrypt.
"Your new friends, what type of people are they?"
"Well, their boss is a total asshole, I do kinda like the company of this samurai chick though."
"Wow, cheating already, huh?"
"Isn't that more up your alley, Sharon? If Leon didn't like sloppy sec—" Now those were classic trigger words.
"DOOONNN'T YOU EVER FINISH THAT SENTENCE, DIPSHIT!"
"Right, right. Some jokes are worse than others, sorry." Yuuya apologized quickly to ease Sharon's wrath.
"Ahhh… haha, you really grown up a lot too, even more than when we last met you."
"Yeah, think I can feel it too this time."
"…We'll miss you, Yuuya. Everyone here will miss you dearly."
"Please… take good care of him, he shouldn't have to deal with me anymore." A bit saddening, but what Yuuya claimed was the wholehearted truth.
"What about your old Flight? They'll want to see you again."
"Naah, no they won't. I gotta go now, the plane just landed so… bye, I guess" His final sentence to Sharon went unfinished as the Shiranui drifted down to the ground, its burning blue flame slowly extinguishing.
"Goodbye, Yuuya… the Top Element won't be the same without you…" Holding her partner carefully in her arms, Sharon too flew away from the aftermath of Yuuya's love quest.
Shirogane Takeru
06:25 AM
"Ayyyyy, ha! Stupid shit go die." Two F-16s who didn't properly prepare themselves were impaled apart without mercy.
"—Takeru! We have cleared the immediate vicinity of all unfriendlies, you are safe to proceed with this extraction." Meiya updated me on a well-known fact.
"—oh, I see. Because I didn't know all the guys I took down were baddies, oopsy." I mocked her for unneeded information.
The coast was clear for the time being, their first wave of backup was wrecked once I entered the battlefield along with Meiya. The two of us paired together did good work indeed, but most kills for this operation had to go to Sumika and Kasumi, they were a totally different animal.
"—Archangel 4 to 1, we've taken multiple injuries. However the airfield is secured and the pickup just landed, it's safe to proceed with extraction." Class rep's team took hell of a beating, I was proud of them for sticking it through.
"—arc 1 roger, commencing exfil pronto." I shot Class rep a flirty wink which made her blush redder than a bucket of red dye on MS Paint.
"—Element P, your report?" P for Prafka and P for… picky? I didn't think that one through.
"—mAsTER! REmAiNiNg hoStilES nuMbEr iN YuKON…"
"— -EqualS ZerO." Together, the bunny girls reported their score of killing every single TSF left operational.
"Urrga… bringing Prafka back, I see. What about the guy Bridges let slip?"
"UnACCounTeD foR."
"Arc 1 copy. Your ETA?"
"OnE MinutE."
"Archangel 5 to 1, I have request for one additional package." As all of my team members gathered their surface fighters by the transport, Meiya radioed in an extra passenger.
"Who's your plus one?"
"1st Lt. Takamura of the Honour Guard, she will be under my injunction from here onwards."
"Damn it, Meiya. It's fine if she listens but things will get ugly if she tries something, got that?" It wasn't personal against Takamura, I just didn't like things not going according to plan.
"Of course, you have my gratitude, Takeru."
"I'll make you pay me back with your body, hurry and load her up." A single sigh was what I got out of that joke.
"Understood."
And so Meiya's Takemikazuchi crouched down next to the aircraft, a fortified suited Takamura hopped down and entered the cargo bay. She looked a little worn out, I bet was whatever she did together with Meiya was probably not for recreation purposes.
Before completely disappearing into the stomach of the shipper, Takamura stared intensely in the direction of my YF-23. She had an amusing expression waiting for me, it was… a worrying look, the kind a mother would shoot their child after being notified of their arrest. She pissed me off, getting looked down like that seriously pissed me off.
"…Meiya, keep a good leash on your new pet. Don't make me bite her back."
"Huh? What are you talking abou—"
"Just watch her and don't let things get messed up." A confused mien was shown to me, Meiya had no clue what I was on about.
"…Understood, Takeru." Nonetheless, she agreed lukewarmly.
"—Archangel 4 and 8, how's the damage?" Next, I asserted the surface fighter condition of our two injured soldiers.
"—Archangel 8, uuu… Miki is sorrrrry! My combat effectiveness is below thirty percent, I need external vector guidance for long range engagement and travel." Observing Tama's machine, getting the head taken off could do that to a TSF.
"—Arc 4, lost an arm, sixty-nine percent effectiveness." Class rep was mostly fine, a missing limb wouldn't hurt that much.
"You two are fine. Archangel 6 will give you guidance, Tama. But the worst is over, Yukon is cleared."
"Ahha, alright!"
"Haa… let's hurry and go fast, please." I was happy to approve their wishes.
"—ArchanGeL 2, arriVed."
"—ArchangeL 3, ArriveD." Gathering one after another, Sumika and Kasumi was back from slaughtering everyone they ran into.
That Prafka thing ain't fond of going away, huh?
"Just like the cloudy thingy, it's wearing off. I should be back to normal soon, this me is different from the talking me, Takeru-chan. Sorry for making it complicated." The mental message I received was sent by the sane Sumika, well, comparably sane.
"—no matter Arc 2, 3. Well done whopping the Ivans' asses, you girls did fantastic work." I complimented the duo over our comms. The two's TSFs concomitantly bowed down to me for that praise. Not gonna lie, the others were surely shooting me looks of judgement from somewhere.
"—Bridges, I think it's time for you to get off, Sestina too." Obviously, it was time for the lovers to reunite.
"—is… Cryska… here?" Alarmingly, our American friend asked.
"That's what a surprise is for, right? C'mon now, better be there to catch her." This was as close I came to admitting her safety as he was getting out of me.
Bridges exhaled once loudly, his face told me the guy had his share of work done by the end of this night. A few seconds after disconnecting the profile camera on his 94, Bridges opened up the cockpit and sent Sestina out before himself. Those two Eishis roped down to the ground, a bit too far away for me to recognize their facial sign.
"Hey, what if, just a what-if, okay? Sumika just opens up her cockpit and chuck out a dead body? That would be kinda messed up, right?" Finding this situation to be the most inappropriate place possible, I made the most inappropriate joke possible.
"Ahaha, my arm would be so far up your ass there'll be a new meaning to the phrase 'spoon-feed'." I wouldn't appreciate that, on the other hand, this was a first time someone had threatened me in a long while.
"Aha-Pfff! Jesus! I see, I see." To ease the tension, we shared a wild laugh for the joy of it.
Bridges and Inia stood peacefully right by the Berkut's feet, he had a relaxed smile and she demonstrated a more innocent one. The time for our grand reunion was nigh; we all knew it. Without being told, he understood the completion of our mission. Without being told, everyone could sense the added life booming on Sumika's laps.
Her pilot block ejected out. The Su-47 was mighty in its stance, a full moon shined astoundingly as it broke past the endless darkness to beam its ray down upon he who succeeded. With eyes of anticipation, Bridges finally witnessed the awakening of his sleeping beauty. A gorgeous figure casted a fine shadow behind him, the gust of wing lightly fluttered her smooth silver hair.
"Yuuya… it really is you…" The girl called out, her dried up tears came back to life just as she herself did.
"Yeah… I'm right here, Cryska." He replied to her, the words he was dying to deliver now finally reached the ear of his only partner.
Barchenowa held tightly to the descending rope, her hands still trembled at every sight of Bridges. By her feet, a tiny snowflake carried along by tonight's breeze landed gently; it started to snow, white sleet was coming down by the millions, covering out this blood-drenched earth.
"Yuuya… I… I came back…"
"Yeah… y-you did do that… wel-welcome back, Cryska." Emotions too powerful to be acted out channelled this pair of lovers, their gazes of affection missed repeatedly to meet each other.
"Cr-Crysskkkaa! Yooooou caaaame baaaack toooo ussssss!" Breaking their stroppy reconciliation using her sentimental hug, Sestina jumped her older sister thanks to pure joy. Her wet sockets released all the floodgates at once, endless salty droplets washed away any sorrow.
"Inia…! I really am alive… again. It's nice, it is… really nice to be back." Accepting her heartfelt embrace as a matter of course, Barchenowa hugged Sestina back. Both girls leaked tears of delight as the snow fell all around them.
"Yuuya, together!" Then the younger esper stretched out her arm, motioning for Bridges to be part of their touching welcome.
"Eh, me? That be kinda…" Logically, it would be uncomfortable to enter a cuddle meant for two.
"Yuuya… it's been a long time… let me… see you clearly." So Barchenowa too, she reached out, gesturing for Bridges to be part of their happiness.
Yukon was hit by a snowstorm that day, the already uncontrollable weather decided a sheet of ice suited Alaska the best. So the clouds complied with wind, temperature and sea, it bonded together to form many layers of condensed vapour high up in the air.
Through the altostratus, however, there was a hole broken in our atmosphere. It allow only one ray of moonlight to be reflected off the ground, a stream which also had to smash through the unnatural mist created from pure blackness. Eventually, its tremendous effort finally excelled for the light to reap the benefit.
A perfectly shaped circle of bright whiteness encompassed the trio of soldiers, their destiny had brought them to the end of a treacherous path. Even when surrounded by the inky fog of death, their light still gleamed vibrant across this land. It was a colour belonging to these three brave souls alone.
The endless night was their backdrop; the sparklingly silver was their stage. Here, the birthplace of a new colour; the colour of white darkness.
—
Shirogane Archangel 1. Flight A, Element A
Sumika Archangel 2. Flight A, Element A
Yuuya-Inia, Idar 1. Flight A, Element B
Meiya Archangel 5. Flight A, Element B
Sakaki Archangel 4. Flight B, Element C
Mikoto Archangel 6. Flight B, Element C
Ayamine Archangel 7. Flight B, Element C
Kasumi Archangel 3. Flight B, Element D
Tamase Archangel 8. Flight B, Element D
—
Author's note
Hooooly shiiit I'm finally done this arc. What? You hated it? Yeah, me too. (If you liked it, thank you.) From writing this, I realized I still have many problems when it comes to well, writing shit. This is my first time ever coming up with totally original content, (I still don't own the characters, don't forget.) so it's kinda like an experiment for me. Go easy, alright? Newbie writer here.
For reflection; problem one, I had too many plot elements going on at once. If I get confused from the plot, there's no hope for any regular reader. So much shit be going on and so much scene changes it's a bit crazy.
Problem two, there's too many boring fight scenes. I kinda fixed that though in the middle so it shouldn't be too much. Nobody like reading action, that's for anime or manga. I write dialogue and monologue, that's the main thing.
Problem three, this arc was too focused on the TE characters which isn't a good thing. You come here for Alternative, I should deliver Alternative, that's the deal. If you liked TE in general then it's not too bad but I still should focus on team Shirogane. Future stories hopefully won't be as heavy in these problems.
After this is almost immediately Sado, I don't wanna waste anymore time on OC. (original content) After Sado though, you'll all have to put up with shit I come up with. Because it'll be difficult to follow the VN plot anymore than now. I'll reveal more later.
It's also finals season for a student like me and that means it's getting busy as fuck around here, I kinda need a break from writing too. Don't be surprised if you don't see me for a month or two, I'll be back around summer break, that's a promise.
BETA done by chad001, remember that one time I bought you an elephant for your room.
You said, "Thanks."
I said, "Don't mention it."