The big fight of the arc is upon us. Summer is coming soon, and I've been looking forward to the warmer weather for so long. Here's chapter ten.
"What's happening? What the hell is going on?" Ichika couldn't make sense of what was occurring
The intense tournament everyone had been waiting for didn't seem to matter anymore. Warning sirens blared throughout the arena as shudders closed around the stands to protect the spectators. In the center of all the chaos, was 'that thing' that had pierced through the arena's barrier.
"Ichika, the match has been canceled. Get back to the pit now!" Rin spoke through the ordinary communication line.
That didn't answer anything for him. As he wondered what was going on, the sensors of his IS gave an emergency notice. Whatever that IS was, it was giving off serious energy readings. It had to be IS, but those energy readings… It was more than any IS he'd seen since arriving at the Academy.
"Have you gone deaf Ichika? Get out of here! I'll buy you some time to get away." Rin demanded.
"There's no way I'm going to leave you to deal with this alone Rin!"
"You dimwit! I'm the more experienced one so you have to get to safety. Leave this to me and beat it!"
"You can't handle this alone Rin."
"Are you saying I'm weak?"
The two argued back and forth until, suddenly, the Byakushiki's sensors gave Ichika another warning.
"WATCH OUT!"
Ichika lunged at Rin and flew away with her just as a pink infrared laser flew by where they were. That blast came from the IS which seemed to be able to fire lasers from the holes on its forearms. And according to his IS, those lasers had a higher energy output than even Cecilia's IS.
"That was too close."
"Ho-Hold on a minute you idiot! Let go of me! And where do you think you're touching!?" Ichika ended up carrying Rin in a way a groom would carry their bride. She thrashed about in Ichika's arms trying to shake herself out. She continued to hit his energy shield with her fists while her face was turning as pink as her IS.
Despite Rin's protests, Ichika continued to dodge the energy beams of the invading IS. Managing to stay just ahead of the IS's line of fire, Ichika continued evading blasts to keep himself and his friend safe.
After the last attack was dodged, the greyish abnormal looking IS began to float. The major abnormality about this IS was that the pilot looked to be fully covered with armor. There was no skin or anything peeking out. It was quite odd for an IS pilot.
The defense of the IS was done through energy shields, so applying armor was nothing more than decoration on a unit. The exception though were defensive IS units like Jayden's who had a physical shield but even then, his IS wasn't completely decked in armor. For an IS unit to not show even a centimeter of skin was unheard of. No to mention its large size, abnormally long arms, and jet propulsion nozzles. All together it made a deformed human shape.
"Hey you! Who are you and what are you doing here?" Ichika called out to the invading IS. It answered with another deadly high-powered beam aimed at him.
"Orimura. Huang." Maya's voice spoke through the IS broadcast channel. She sounded much more serious than usual. "You need to vacate the arena immediately. The teachers will be there with IS units soon to neutralize the situation." In the background, he could hear Jayden, Cecilia, and Houki telling him to get out of there.
"No. We have to keep hat IS occupied until everyone escapes." That IS had enough power to break through the arena's barrier. If there was no one to stop it, it may go after the audience next. "Rin, I need your help keeping it occupied until everyone escapes."
"W-Who do you think you're talking to? Of course, I'll help. But before I do that, you have do something."
"Whatever it is, I won't let you down."
"That's the thing. Can you let me down?"
All this time, Ichika had been carrying her despite her physical and verbal protests.
"Ahh, sorry."
Ichika let go of her as she hugged herself before moving away. Did she not like being touched, and why was her face so pink? Those were questions for later.
"What are you saying? You two can't do that. That enemy is-" Ichika and Rin switched their radios off for now. They were focused entirely on the enemy IS as it flew straight at them, firing a scattershot barrage of pink lasers, forcing them to evade.
"Looks like it's all fired up. Ichika."
"Seems that way."
They flew beside each other, wielding their respective weapons.
"How about you go to head-to-head with her while I cover you with my impact cannons." Rin suggested. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than nothing. "You only have that sword as a weapon, right?"
"Yeah. All right, let's go!"
Ichika and Rin charged forward with their improvised combination.
/-/
"ORIMURA! HUANG! ANSWER ALREADY! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE MUTED ME!"
Maya shouted anxiously into the IS radio chat. Meanwhile Gelimer worked furiously trying to get the academy's security systems back under control. When half your controls didn't respond, it tended to make things difficult. Behind them, staff members were panicking as they tried to get anything to work the way it should've been. No one was having any luck.
"This is bad. We can't let them fight that IS." Maya said.
"Why not? They want to fight, so let them do so." Chifuyu poured a steaming hot cup of coffee. Seeming quite relaxed as though there wasn't an invading IS attacking the school.
Maya's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious! How can you say that at a time like this Ms. Orimura?"
"Calm down. Why don't ya have a cup of coffee? You're probably stressing so much because your body is running low on sugar." She got to work pouring white stuff into the coffee. "Every path in the arena is blocked right now because of that unknown machine."
"But the other teachers-"
"Are currently trapped behind sealed doors." Gelimer put words in her mouth, wiping away the sweat on his forehead. "Security systems are on the fritz so the hangar doors where IS's are stored are locked. It's gonna take time to get the doors unlocked so staging a rescue isn't happening anytime soon."
"All we can do for wait for now." Chifuyu offered her colleague some caffeine.
"Ms. Orimura, wasn't that salt your just poured into the coffee?" Maya pointed at the containers.
The salt and sugar container were right next to one another with oversized labels. And Chifuyu had just put in the one that didn't belong in coffee. Everyone in the room got to see a rare sight, Ms. Orimura's blushing face.
"I see. You were so worried about your brother that you made a simple mistake."
".."
There was an irritating silence. A really irritating silence.
"Here Maya. Have a drink. You look thirsty." Chifuyu once again, offered the beverage to her teaching aide. Maya wept as she was forced to drink up the hot salty beverage.
Not even being a teacher made you safe from the devil named Chifuyu.
"Well I've got good and bad news." Gelimer massaged his temples with his thumb and middle finger, trying to relieve stress. "Which do you want first ma'am?" Despite his calm appearance, his foot was tapping wildly on the floor.
"Let's hear the bad news first."
"Bad news. The island's security systems are going haywire. The barriers in the arena are at level four, and all main doors are locked throughout the island. This has to be the doing of that IS pilot. So, we can't evacuate or send support."
With the systems as they were, students that watched in the arena stands were trapped inside the closed shuddered stands, unable to evacuate. The teachers were trapped in the IS hangars room, unable to break out to help subdue the invader. The energy barrier which normally kept them safe was now locking them in.
Though Chifuyu looked calm, her hands were unable to restrain her anxiety and she gripped the edge of the table tightly. "And what's the good news?"
"The good news. I was able to get a private channel to link with our invader. It's a long shot but maybe we can reason with her." Chifuyu pushed Gelimer aside to speak into the intercom.
"This is Chifuyu Orimura speaking for the IS Academy. Who are you and what is your purpose here?"
She received no answer.
"This is Chifuyu Orimura speaking for IS Academy. Identify yourself."
Chifuyu repeated her words and got no reply. Was she ignoring her?
"Who. Are. You?"
Chifuyu could only hear background noise from the ongoing battle. No words. No breathing. No sound of life.
Chifuyu steeped away from the intercom.
"There's no one inside that IS unit. Maya, inform Orimura and Huang so they can go all out." Chifuyu ordered.
"But that's impossible! An IS needs someone to pilot it. It can't just act on its own." Chifuyu gave Maya a glare that said 'Stop yapping and do what you're to told. Now.'
"Your teaching aide does have a point though. An IS can't pilot itself. It must be being controlled by someone else from a distance. I'll see if I can set up a jamming frequency." Gelimer began furiously typing away on the keyboard in front of him. If the IS was being controlled remotely, there may be a way to stop it if the signal could be interrupted.
While the teachers worked on solving the problem, one student was sick of doing nothing.
"Ma'am. The teachers are trapped but I'm available. Please give me authorization to use my IS. I can get out there to help." Cecilia volunteered.
"I'd like to do that but look at this."
Chifuyu knocked on the flatscreen display next to the one Gelimer was using. She changed the intel screen to show data on the arena.
"The barrier level on the arena is currently at level four, and we can't change it. With it that strong, no one can get in or out. That's why we can't evacuate or send support." Which meant Ichika and Rin couldn't get out, even if they wanted to. Despite how calmly she said this, her hands on the table were beginning to shake.
"If that's the case, can't we contact the mainland or the government for support? This is an emergency."
"We've already done that; squads are on their way as we speak. It'll take them some time, so we'll have to hold out."
"Then please allow me to join in with those squads when they arrive." Cecilia wanted to do whatever she could to help, anything if possible.
"No. You'd only get in the way if you joined."
"What!? I would never be a hinderance."
"Your IS armaments are suited for taking on many opponents at once. It would be a hinderance when used to take on one enemy, while being among so many allied units."
Blue Tears was designed as a long range IS with multiple ways to attack at once. It could cover a wide area to attack. With so many lasers and drones to operate at once though, she could hit friend by accident.
"I am aware of that." It was a weakness Cecilia never liked to bring up." How could you suggest that? To say that I'm-"
"Have you done any combined training before? What was the mission? What was your position? How did you use your wide range weaponry? Did you think of what the enemy's level is? The suit's operation time…"
"I-I got it. I understand…" Cecilia gave an 'I surrender' pose, giving up to prevent Chifuyu from continuing what seemed like a very long lecture on why she wasn't ready.
"Good then. I wouldn't want to lose any of my students."
She knew Cecilia was skilled as a representative cadet and had much more experience in an IS compared to fellow students her age and maybe even some adults. But despite her accomplishments, she was still a child and much too green as an IS pilot. The risk of messing up was too great with the stakes as they were.
"And Sylvan. You're out of the question." Chifuyu shot him down before he could consider action. She turned back to the screen to continue watching the ongoing battle.
Jayden gave no response. Mainly because he wasn't there. He wasn't the only one missing as Houki was nowhere to be found. Of course, everyone was too busy to realize this.
/-/
Houki ran through the hangar halls with Jayden following behind her. The warning sirens blaring through the halls didn't make her feel any better. Things were at their worse with lives on the line, and her best friend risking his life to protect everyone. The only thing that ease her mind was that she wasn't doing this alone.
"Thank you for coming with me." Houki acknowledged Jayden, who running behind her.
"When I saw you leave, I knew you had an idea." Jayden said. "With everything going on, I couldn't stay there. So where are we going?"
"The audio booth. We can do what we need to there."
"The audio booth? That's a horrible idea!" Jayden protested.
"You have a better place in mind?"
"Yeah. We need to get to the school bunkers."
Houki raised an eyebrow. "How are we supposed to help Ichika from there?"
"Help him? We should be putting distance between ourselves and that killer IS."
Houki stopped running, prompting Jayden to do the same.
"Distance? What do you think I'm trying to do?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Jayden and Houki stared at one another. Looks like they weren't on the same page they originally thought they were.
"We need to help Ichika!/We need to find a place to hide!"
An awkward silence hung between them.
"What the heck are you thinking? Me? You're the one that's out of your mind!" They accused one another. Each one was thinking the other was insane.
"How can you think about hiding at a time like this?" Houki demanded.
"Quite easily actually. There's an IS unit out there trying to kill everyone. So, we need to get as far away as it as possible." Jayden explained.
"So, you're going to do nothing to help!?"
"Not exactly. I'm going to help by doing nothing. I'll stay out of the adult's way and let them handle it."
"What about your IS?" Houki pointed out. "You have the power to help them!"
Jayden did a mental check of his weaponry. IS. Check. Shield. Check… That was it. "Yeah… I don't think I'd do much good if I went out there."
Houki could feel her blood boil as anger swelled up inside her. This guy had the power to make a difference out there, to do something to help, and he was content without doing anything?
"…rd" Houki growled.
Jayden blinked. "What was that?"
"You coward!" Houki yelled making Jayden flinch. "You have a personal unit. You could go out there and help fight that IS. You could save lives! And instead of doing that, you're running away with your tail between your legs."
"I'm not being a coward. I'm being smart! My IS is still in default mode and I don't have any fancy weapons like Ichika and Lingyin. I have a shield. That thing has lasers. If I go out there, I'd only be a meat shield."
Houki rolled her eyes. "At least then you'd be useful."
That comment struck a nerve with him.
"Oh, I wouldn't be useful? Okay then, enough about my uselessness. Let's talk about your genius plan. What were you going to do again?"
"I'm going out there to help my friends." Houki stated.
"Uh-huh. And what contribution are you going to provide?"
Houki was silent. She had been in such a hurry to lend Ichika her aid that she didn't consider what she really did bring to the table. The best she could do was give him encouragement by sending a message through the broadcast booth. All she could do was send verbal encouragement.
"That's what I thought. You can't do anything to help so all you'd be doing is putting yourself in danger for no reason. We all saw that thing rip past the energy barrier, you won't be safe."
"I don't care about being safe or not. Ichika needs help."
"I agree, but we're not the ones to do that!"
"You're only saying that cause you're too afraid of getting hurt. Ichika is risking his life for everyone and all you can think about is yourself. How can you call yourself a man?"
"I'll call myself anything if it means I get to live." Jayden defended. "But you think you can make a difference when you can't! This whole idea of yours is stupid."
"At least I'd die doing even a little to help."
"Sure. If you call that helping."
The two glared at one another. They both had their reasons for why they did and didn't want to go out there.
"For someone who's related to Tabane Shinonono, you're pretty stupid." Jayden said.
Jayden had put on the straw that broke the camel's back.
Houki's hand swept across Jayden's face, making him stagger back from the force.
"The only thing me and her share is a family name. I'm nothing like my sister." Houki roared. She had to stop herself from knocking his teeth out. "You're one of the few who have their own IS. You could make a difference and instead you're doing nothing. You have no idea what it's like to be powerless you big coward."
"Do you even realize what you're doing? If you go out there, all you're gonna do is paint a big red target on yourself. But whatever. Go get yourself killed, see if I care. Hope you fulfill your death wish!"
Oh how she wanted to wring his neck, but there were more important things to do. Houki ran on through the halls until he could no longer see her. And she would be fine, sure she was doing something stupid, but not that stupid to put herself in the way of that IS unit. His hand fell to this side, scratching his hip worryingly.
Jayden reluctantly turned himself around, each step harder to take than the last.
/-/
Ichika swung his sword vertically only for his target to sidestep the attack and punch him back, sending him about twenty feet back. It really packed a punch. Blasts from afar by Rin were blocked by the IS's incredibly long arm. Rin was shocked that the IS managed to block her invisible impact shot. When she was finished, the IS regained its composure and fired particle lasers making the Chinese girl take evasive maneuvers.
For the fourth time in a row, their planned attack had failed.
"Ichika you blockhead! Can't you aim that thing properly?" Rin called out.
"I'm trying!"
Despite the angle or speed Ichika attacked, it always managed to evade with its abnormal thruster output and keep out of Ichika's reach. No matter how much Rin tried to get its attention, it always prioritized Ichika's actions and reacted appropriately. There was no way he could use the barrier void attack without being stopped.
He checked his remaining shield energy reserves. The amount on his monitor displayed 60. Just enough to use the barrier void attack one more time.
"Rin. How much shield energy do you have left?" Ichika asked.
"About 180. But with that thing's firepower, one more hit on either of us will knock out our shield energy and leave our IS's immobile. At this rate, our chances of taking it down are between slim and none."
Ichika smirked. "At least it isn't zero."
Rin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Your hopeless. Head's up!"
The invading IS began spinning like a top while holding out its arms to fire lasers in rapid succession. Both pilots had to move to the edge of the arena's barrier to get enough reaction time to dodge.
Rin managed to narrowly avoid getting fried. "So, do you have a plan Ichika? I'm out of ideas."
"Actually, I do."
Ichika wasn't much of a betting man, but with things as they were now, he'd figure he'd have to take a huge gamble if he wanted to win. While it was a dangerous gamble, Ichika was sure it could work. At least sure enough to give it a shot.
"When I give the signal, you hit that thing with your impact cannons at full blast. I'll rush in and my one-off ability," Ichika's left hand was clenching and unclenching itself.
Rin's face showed doubt. That plan sounded awfully similar to what they'd already tried. Multiple times,
"Okay. But what if I miss?"
"It'll be fine, even if you do miss. Here's why."
Ichika got into an attacking position about to explain his hastily scheme, when the audio broadcast of the arena let out a loud voice.
"ICHIKA!"
The voice had a long-extended echo that ran through the arena, coming from the audio booth.
Through the zoom feature of his IS, Ichika could see Houki in the audio booth. She was panting while her shoulders trembled and that angry look on her face was where it always was. Only that face showed more concern than usual.
"IF YOU'RE A MAN, YOU'D BETTER DEFEAT THAT ENEMY COMPLETELY!"
Ichika's smiled softened. Even Houki had faith in him. No way he could let everyone down now.
"…"
However, Ichika wasn't the only one to hear her voice. The IS had taken notice, its sensor now looking at where the origin of the voice came from. It raised its arm up, pointing directly at…
Oh no.
"Crap! Rin! Do it now!"
Ichika moved himself in front of Rin with the Byakushiki's wings unfolded. Directly in Rin's line of fire.
"Hey you stupid jerk, get out of the way!"
"Just shoot, dammit!"
Rin's eyes widened as she now understood Ichika's plan. "But-"
"Do it!"
Ichika's words boomed out, making Rin freeze.
"Fine! Just know that whatever happens, it's not my fault!"
"Yeah. And don't hold back."
Rin half-reluctantly fired the largest impact cannon shot she could at Ichika's back. Ichika's eyes focused completely on the enemy. Even at his Byakushiki's max speed, that IS could dodge and counter him. The solution was to win? Go even faster. With Rin's impact cannon pushing him, and Ichika propelling himself forward at max speed, it just may be enough.
This dangerous plan was their final gambit.
Ichika accelerated forward from the huge blast behind him. The Yukihara Nigata in his right hand began to glow and a larger energy blade extended out as Ichika activated his one-off ability. With his resolve, he pushed himself to go faster than he had before.
"AAAAAH!"
Ichika closed in on the IS. His blade passed through the energy shield of the IS. As he drove it in, he heard the sound of a laser being fired.
Ichika's blade stabbed right through the armor of the IS. He let out a roar as he held the blade in place, determined to pierce the life out of it. The absolute defense of the IS was triggered reducing its shield energy to zero. With no shield energy left, IS was unable to move and the laser blast died down. The boy deactivated Reiraku Byakura, retracting his blade leaving him with shield energy in the single digits.
The IS fell over, but Ichika didn't care about that right now. His eyes followed to where the particle laser hit.
The audio booth was destroyed with a majority of its wall missing and smoke covering all of the area. Even with the enhanced view from the IS, he couldn't see through the smoke and rubble.
"HOUKI!" Ichika desperately called out to Houki, anything to show she was alive.
"Are you guys okay?
"I think so…"
A voice did call out, but it wasn't Houki's.
As the smoke cleared, Ichika and Rin could make out another IS unit, this one was much more familiar looking. There was Jayden in his thin dark green IS unit. Down on one knee, he was holding out his shield which looked heavily scorched. And behind him was Houki, crouched down on the floor.
"Jayden! Are you guys all right?" Ichika asked through the communication line.
"We're both fine. Please tell me that thing is dead."
"Yeah. It's finished." Ichika collapsed, falling onto his back. He could feel the adrenaline in his body start to wear out.
The same could be said for Jayden, only he'd fallen over in fear. He replayed blocking that laser on constant loop. That was actually him doing that! Jayden wasn't sure if he should feel like bad-ass or an idiot with a death wish. He settled on half and half.
"Are you all right?" Houki crawled over, her eyes meeting his as she took a seat beside him. Now she felt entirely guilty. Had he not been there, she may have been blasted to oblivion. And now he'd put himself in harm's way to keep her out of it.
"My body isn't screaming in pain, so I guess I'm okay…"
Neither of them wanted to speak first. Eventually someone had to break the ice.
"You… came back for me?" Houki asked.
"Something like that. I just wanted to make sure you didn't die. I only came out when I saw that thing about to fire at you." Jayden stared up at the sky, now possible with the roof destroyed.
"I'm sorry about what I said." Houki apologized. "I was angry and wasn't thinking straight. I"
"You weren't completely wrong, I didn't wanna get hurt and everyone was trying to do something except me." Jayden admitted.
"That's true, but I shouldn't have called you out on it. But what you did was really brave."
It was pretty brave, but like always he only did it because his body moved on its own. If he had a reason, he didn't know what it was. "Hey Houki. How did you do what ya did?"
"What?" Houki looked back at him.
"I mean, you knew there was a chance you could get hurt or worse, and you still went out here. What drove you to do it?"
"Well…" Houki pictured Ichika's smiling face in her head. While it was her main reason, she couldn't admit it to him. "I did it for the sake of others. I felt if I didn't help, a lot more people would've been worse off." Houki looked away from his eyed. "Does that make any sense?"
"I think so. For the sake of someone else huh?" Usually it was the thought of someone getting hurt that prompted him to do something he'd never normally do. Like helping Vishnu or blocking a deadly laser. Maybe Houki was on to something.
"Anyway. Thank you for saving me." Houki laid down next to him, there was work to be down and most defiantly punishment waiting for them. But that could wait till later.
Back at the arena ground, Ichika collapsed, landing on his back now that his adrenaline wore off. He deactivated Byakushiki just as Rin flew down next to him hurling out insults and telling him how stupid that last move, he pulled was. He just happily took it with a smile. Thankful that no one was hurt.
They were all so busy celebrating and resting that no one paid attention to the downed IS that was beginning to glimmer.
/-/
"Awww… it's over already. I wanted to see Ikkun in action just a little more."
Somewhere in the universe, a certain someone was watching the results of the spectacle. She spun her chair in a 180 and began reading over the data reports from another monitor. Yup, she'd gotten what she wanted but…
This wasn't satisfying enough.
She pouted and folded her arms under her ample bust. She let out a sigh and began typing on her monitor. Her hands typed across the holo-keyboard as she shifted data around. This felt like a loss, something she wasn't too familiar with.
Well it wasn't a total loss; she had gotten to see Ichika in action. And the combat data she'd obtained on his unit was about what she expected to obtain. Still, the whole thing felt like playing a demo of video game, not enough to leave her satisfied by the end and wanting more.
"Oh well, what can you do?"
Welp. Time to hit the kill switch. No sense in letting anyone reverse engineer her magnificent hard work. Just as she was about to activate a self-destruction protocol, a notification popped up.
"Oh ho ho! And what do we have here….?"
While she was satisfied with the results obtained, apparently the IS didn't. For whatever reason it stated the unit considered its mission was incomplete. Something about another subject that had been identified to gather data on. She'd sent that IS to gather combat data for her special project, and if her creation wanted to help gather more, well why should she say no?
She smiled mischievously, observing the rising statistics on her screen. Her Golem model was… oh wow! The woman patted herself on the back, sometimes she even amazed herself. Not even she expected this to happen.
That IS unit really wanted to see its mission through to the end. The woman leaned back into her chair to get comfy. The mechanical rabbit like ears on her head moved excitedly. Looks like she'd get her wish after all.
/-/
The battle was over. At least it should have been.
A sudden glow from the arena's ground drew everyone out of their cheer and rest. Jayden and Houki peered near the edge to look while Rin moved herself in front of Ichika, ready to act if needed. Her hands started to shake as she summoned her weapons once again.
A few moments later and the blinding light faded allowing them to see. Ichika, Rin, Jayden, and Houki all watched with terror at the IS they swore had just been defeated was now standing.
So why was it standing back up? And to follow up, why did its form change? And why was the arena starting to change color?
The human shaped thing on the IS was gone, making it look like an IS unit without anyone inside it. Its color scheme was darker, now blacker and using the brown coloring as highlights on the sides of it. On its hands the four holes where it fired its lasers from seemed to have combined into one bigger hole on its palms. Speaking of its arms, they looked to have gotten even longer and bulkier.
The human shaped decoy that looked to piloting it was also gone, removing any doubt there wasn't a person inside it. The thing that looked to be its face began to light up.
Rin held out her weapons, ready to block any attack if needed. Ichika's shield energy was at zero. And considering how low her shield energy was, she wasn't sure how long she would last when it attacked. Especially when she had to protect Ichika now.
The revived IS seemed to be looking around, taking in its surroundings
Rin tensed up as the IS stared at her and Ichika. She didn't dare move, she had herself positioned in a desperate attempt to keep Ichika out of view of it. Thankfully the IS turned away. Now it had its sights up on the wrecked audio booth.
Detecting two life forms in the wrecked booth, it zoomed its sights for a closer look. Lingering for a few seconds of Houki before moving on. Then stopping when looking at Jayden. It stared at him… well more like centered itself at him for a few seconds. When it was finished whatever it was doing, the lights on its assumed face glowed brighter.
Its new target had been found.
The IS charged straight for Jayden, tearing straight through the energy barrier. Just as fast as the hole was made, it sealed. Leaving those inside trapped. The color scheme of the barrier also begun to change. Once transparent white, now it was turning red as it started to cackle with electricity.
"Oh crap!"
Jayden's fight or flight response kicked. He chose the latter and literally flew away the arena. Houki ducked down as that black IS flew over her. Thankfully it didn't seem to be interested in her. She watched as both units flew across the academy grounds.
Jayden now immediately helping. Okay, he didn't regret saving Houki but everything that happened after that part. Up in the sky he had no way to shake the IS off his tail with nothing to fly around. He kept himself high above the buildings on the island, lest he wanted any of those lasers aimed towards the buildings which could have people inside them.
The mysterious IS chased after and was slowly gaining on him. Getting closer, it held open its palms and fired a laser from each one. Jayden could feel the heat from each blast as he narrowly managed to avoid getting blasted out of the sky. If that had hit him… Sweat began to drip down his face, he couldn't die like this. Right?
"What do you want with me!?" Through his tears, Jayden asked through the broadcast.
The only answer Jayden got was a high power charged laser blast form the palm of that IS. Jayden deployed his shield to block it, only to be blown back as it overpowered him. The impact made Jayden drop his shield while his shield energy stopped him from getting murdered. If the results of that short scuffle were any indication, it was official. fighting that thing was not an option.
He didn't know what to do. That thing was faster than him so running was out of the question. Fighting back (while useless) would've been brave, but he wasn't feeling so brave right now. So, what do you do when you can't fight or run away?
Before Jayden could figure out an answer, a barrage of blasts came down between him and the IS. Four blue drone-like machines flew around the enemy IS and attacked it on all sides with blue lasers, managing to draw its attention. The IS held out its arms to defend itself as it tried swatting the drones away.
Up a good 50 feet away was another IS. Its color was as blue as tears while its blond pilot had a face Jayden never thought he'd be happy to see.
"Are you all right Jayden?" asked Cecilia. She resumed fire on the enemy with her starlight rifle, focusing primary on controlling her drones.
"Cecilia!" A blue tear fell down Jayden's cheek. For the first time, he was happy to see her. Now he'd taken back every mean insult he'd ever said about her. He no longer saw her as an annoying British know-it-all. No. Now she was a beautiful guardian angel.
Cecilia dodged an incoming laser and resumed controlling her drones around the IS. Her shots struck the enemy IS but they didn't seem to be doing much damage. "Go hide somewhere. I'll handle this." With no allies around, she wouldn't have to worry about hitting anyone she didn't mean to.
Never had anything Cecilia said sounded so good. With the IS distracted, Jayden flew down near academy grounds. He took shelter behind a dorm building, out of sight from the battle.
Sticking to behind a building, Jayden tried to control his breathing before he couldn't. Good thing he had practice seeing Vishnu do it so many times. Though the stress of everything going on must have been getting to him. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he could see Vishnu hiding behind a tree in the park area. That dark green hair and the scarves on her uniform.
Man. He was really losing it.
Before he could question his mental stability, the communication line crackled to life.
"Sylvan. Alcott. What the hell do you think you're doing out there!" An angry commanding voice spoke through the communication line.
That was Ms. Orimura! Oh god. She was gonna have their asses for this.
"Uhh…"
"When I say that you don't have authorization to go out, just what exactly do you hear?"
Either Cecilia was either too focused on the enemy to respond or she chose not to speak out of fear. A good call on her part. Jayden wasn't sure if the IS or Ms. Orimura was scarier.
"Well… um…You see ma'am… it's like…"
"Forget it. We'll have a talk about your punishment later. Right now, one of you needs to explain what the hell is going on."
With Cecilia busy fighting, Jayden told them what he had witnessed. He told them of everything he saw from how Ichika and Rin supposedly defeated the IS, to what was happening now. Keeping things short and brief. Also leaving out the parts where he flew away in tears.
"So that invading IS is back online and now outside the arena barrier." Chifuyu tensely summarized.
"Yeah, Cecilia's fighting it and I'm…" Jayden didn't want to sound too cowardly, but he couldn't think of a way to say it that paint him in a good light.
"Let's just say you're pulling a tactical retreat." Gelimer said quickly to move things along. "And based on what Jayden told us, it's safe to assume by its change in design that the IS seems to have undergone a first shift."
"Oh come on!"
If the situation wasn't so dire, Jayden would've ranted. Was there a membership fee for the first shift club that he hadn't paid? First Ichika, now a pilotless IS. Why did everyone get a first shift but him? He'd save his complaints for later.
"Though I'm pretty sure an IS needs a pilot to undergo a shift change, we'll just add this to the bullshit this thing can do." Gelimer finished.
"Ma'am. What are our orders?" Cecilia asked. She arranged her drones in a V-shaped formation to keep the IS's focus away from her.
"Since that IS went through a first shift, it's been making the energy barriers around the school haywire. Now they're beginning to overload with energy." Chifuyu explained.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Jayden asked. He figured more power meant a stronger shield.
"Normally yes, but the shields are taking in more power than they output. Too much energy is being stored with not enough release. If too much energy is stored the whole system will explode. And we currently have students and teachers trapped inside those energy barriers."
If what Chifuyu said was true, than they didn't have much time until that happened.
"So, we have to destroy that IS unit before it overloads the security systems." Cecilia summarized.
"For you two that'll be easier said than done." Chifuyu wanted to believe in them but fighting that IS with the current pilots and IS suits available didn't bode well. Ichika and Rin IS's were both power types that excelled at dealing damage. Cecilia's element was in long range combat while Jayden IS was a defensive unit nor did it have any unique properties for combat. "That IS has to be stronger now and your units aren't equipped to deal with this. But at this point we don't have any other options."
"I really don't like our chances fighting that thing." Jayden panicked.
"Umm… excuse me," Another voice interrupted, now it was Maya Yamada speaking. "When that IS moved away from the arena, the rate at which it was overloading the arena's barrier energy decreased. Just a little but it was noticeable."
"Well that doesn't do us any good." Cecilia said.
"Actually, that may be our best solution. If we can get the IS away from the academy, It may stop the energy overload." Chifuyu said.
The only issue was how to lure the IS away.
"As much as we'd like that. We'd need something it wants for it to chase after." Gelimer pointed out. "The only thing that IS has shown interest in is-" The man completely shut up. He covered his mouth with his hands, and regret washed over his face. "Never mind. Forget I said anything. Alcott's right, this doesn't do us any good."
Ms. Orimura though picked up what he was saying.
"Sylvan, are you still there?" She asked to get his attention. "We may have a way to get the IS away from the island, and it involves you."
"Me?" Jayden didn't like the sound of this.
"For reasons unknown, that IS is interested in men. If it sees you leaving the academy, it should follow you off the island and should give us time to stabilize the energy levels."
"You can't be serious!" An immediate answer came from Gelimer. "You want him to lead the IS away from the island? The IS that can easily kill him? Jayden is just a student; he isn't ready for anything like this. You're practically asking him to throw his life away."
"You think I don't know that? We're running out of time and we don't have any other options." Chifuyu countered.
"We're not even sure if it'll work. Maybe the IS gave our systems a virus. With a little time, we may be able to get it out of our systems." Gelimer was starting to sound desperate.
"We don't have time to try that. We won't know unless we try and it's better than doing nothing."
Gelimer and Chifuyu argued over the comm lines over what they should and shouldn't do.
Eventually Jayden put in his two cents. "For once I'm with Gelimer. I can't do this! What about Cecilia? She's a better pilot. Why can't she be the bait?"
"Because I'm not the one It wants." Cecilia answered
"You can't be serious. Ms. Orimura, you can't make me do this." Jayden pleaded.
"She's not making you do anything." Gelimer reassured.
Jayden felt faint. If it wasn't for the IS system keeping him in the air, he'd crashed into the ground by now. The adults who were supposed to teach and protect him were now telling him to practically get himself killed out there. What the heck was he supposed to do?
"There has to be another way. Gelimer's right I can't do this. I-"
"Sylvan!" Ms. Orimura shut him up. "You're right. Normally you wouldn't be anywhere near this but things aren't normal now. We're aware this is a lot to ask but you're the only one who can lead it away."
"There's no guarantee that this'll work even if I do this."
"Jayden. If you do this. People may die. If you don't. People will die."
Jayden's body tensed up, Chifuyu really knew how to make a person think. Ignoring Gelimer's background protests, Jayden went into a deep thought on the situation. thinking of everything that was at stake and the potential outcomes of what would happen regarding his decision. His body and mind was saying no but his heart was saying yes.
"I did it for the sake of others."
Jayden remembered Houki's words. Houki knew what she did may not even help at all, and yet she did it anyway. She risked her life so she help the people she knew be safe. Could he do the same?
"All I have to do is run away?" Jayden managed to croak out.
"What?"
"What?"
Both adults ceased their argument.
"All I have to do is run away? That's it right?" He asked.
"That's all." Chifuyu answered.
"Don't you dare do this Jayden!" Geliemr sounded like he was about to blow a gasket.
Jayden took the longest breath of his life. "When I get back, I want major extra credit for this."
"We'll work something out." Chifuyu said. She continuing on, ignoring Gelimer's protests. "Sylvan. Lead it out to open sea." While it would've been better to run towards the direction of the mainland IS units, they would've met in the middle of city. Who knows what that IS could affect in a city area filled with people? "Let that IS chase Sylvan but keep it away if it gets too close. You're the only thing that's keeping it away from him."
"Roger." Cecilia called back her drones in preparation.
"JAYDEN! DO. NOT–"
The boy switched to a personal communication line with Cecilia. He peaked out from behind the building, seeing Cecilia do her best to keep the IS at bay.
Now how to get its attention?
"HEY! LOOK AT ME! OVER HERE!" Jayden wildly waved his hands up in the air like he just didn't care, yelling at the top of lungs. He figured it was good a way as any to get everyone's attention. Though did Cecilia have to be giving him that look?
It did the trick though as the IS turned towards his direction, probably taking a moment to scan his IS signature or something. When it raised its hand at him and a huge laser screamed with energy at him as got into a movement position. Oh yeah, it had noticed him.
Now it was time to run away!
Unfortunately, Jayden had forgotten to account that this IS was much faster than his own, and it had a head start before Jayden had started moving.
In a rare instant, Cecilia rocketed herself at the IS, managing to grab onto it. Performing what looked to be a poor wrestling hold to keep the IS stalled.
"GO! NOW!
Jayden flew out to the sea, watching them with the 360-degree vision of the IS. He saw that black IS managed to shake Cecilia off after a few seconds and proceeded to wail on her with its fists. It then locked both its hands, raising them above her.
The black IS's large fists struck her sending Cecilia spiraling to the ground.
"Cecilia!"
Thankfully the blond Brit managed to stabilize herself before crashing at the edge of the island. She flew back up taking shots at the IS to slow it down. "Don't worry about me, focus on staying ahead of it."
Having knocked away Cecilia, the IS resumed going after Jayden. Cecilia got back up and chased it in hot pursuit.
The three units flew away from the island with the fate of the academy uncertain.
/-/
The menace isn't done just yet. A hasty plan may give our cast a chance to save their home.
I wanted to have all our key players involved in the fight, and almost all the pieces are in place. While the golem battle was okay, I felt it leaved a little more to be desired. And also I wanted to delve a little deeper into how an IS worked.
Sorry but I'm afraid there's no omake this time, I couldn't think of anything funny enough to do with the current situation. Though I do have some good ones planned for the next chapters. Let me know what you think in the reviews and keep safe.
Keep your sense of wonder everyone and see you next time.