Chapter 19: A New Dawn Part 2
A black IS charged towards Rowina. It had a very slender figure, with hands and feet thick as gauntlets, three pairs of pointy wings and a diamond shaped head with one long bright red oval on it, resembling an eye. It raised its hand which held a small canon. Orange light began to build up into a ball until it launched towards Rowina. Rowina swerved under the ball, evading as it struck the field below her with a giant explosion. She looped around the IS and put her shotgun right into its back. Before it could turn around, the two barrels fired, blasting it towards the ground. To finish it off, Rowina released the panels from her wings, striking the unit like arrows, resulting in it crashing into the ground. Rowina lowered down to look at the IS which stood defeated in front of her, its red eye now gone.
"Report, I have defeated my target, what about all of you?" Rowina asked through the communication channel.
"We've defeated ours," replied Rose.
"Olivia?"
"We've defeated ours," she replied.
"Great, where are the other incoming units?" asked Rowina.
"They are getting close," replied Olivia.
"Ok, first lets check each unit for a pilot," said Rowina
"Roger!" they all replied.
Rowina approached the unit before her. It looked very similar to the Golem so she doubted that it held any pilot, however, its center was very bulky and could definitely store a pilot, it was better to be safe. Rowina reached for the unit but then she noticed something. Rowina's IS, Jachtduif had the One-Off ability, 'Gevaar Oren'. It made the IS's audio sensory system incredibly sensitive, allowing Rowina to detect even the faintest buzzing of the smallest fly within a radius.
And so, right now, Rowina was able to hear a very faint sound using Gevarr Oren. It was a beeping sound. Rowina pulled the IS closer to her. The sound was definitely coming from it. Rowina was on edge as the sound was growing louder and louder by the second Then, the IS suddenly began to glow yellow, glowing brighter and brighter. Rowina dropped the IS and launched back, as far away from the unit as her Jachtduif allowed her.
"GET AWAY FROM THE IS!" Rowina yelled through the communication system.
But the rest of the security team hadn't heard the sound and so expected the battle to be over and danger to have passed. And so, when all the rogue IS units exploded, they were caught right in the center of the explosions.
In the aftermath, Rowina was left unharmed by the explosion. A giant cloud of smoke engulfed the area around Rowina, covering her vision.
"Guys are you ok!" yelled Rowina.
"They got us," groaned Rose.
"Olivia?"
"Their explosion got us," said Olivia.
"All our units are down,"
"It's ok, we'll just-"
But before Rowina could finish that thought, something fast speeded through the smoke. Though Rowina couldn't see it she noticed the shift in the smoke and could hear the unmistakable sound of an IS materialising or dematerialising something. Rowina launched up until she was out of the smoke. She could now see a bronze IS zooming through the sky, an IS she knew didn't belong to anyone on the mission. Rowina gave chase, speeding towards the IS. Despite Jachtduif's high speed she struggled to keep up with the IS whose speed was equal or greater than hers and whose flight mobility was smoother. They eventually reached a smoke cloud from the explosion of one of the units. The bronze unit charged into the smoke cloud. Rowina feared it went after one of her allies that were down but as just as quickly it had entered the smoke cloud it left continuing its run.
Rowina was confused but undeterred as she continued following after the bronze IS. She had many questions as to what it was doing but they were for later, first she had to catch it.
She followed it to two more smoke clouds and in both instances the IS once again zipped into the cloud before exiting immediately. Rowina wouldn't understand why until they reached the area where Rose had fought her IS. By now the smoke cloud had cleared leaving Rose's battered IS and a black box which Rowina immediately recognized. It had a few scorch marks but was otherwise completely intact, it was the core of the IS that had exploded. The Bronze IS swept in towards the core. It touched it and in an instant, the core glowed before dematerialising. The bronze IS then continued its flight with Rowina finally understanding what its goal was. It was recovering all of the cores. Rowina continued chasing the bronze IS as it retreated but then she heard Chifuyu's voice.
"Rowina, what's your status," she said hastily.
"I'm fine but the rest of my team are all down. The rogue IS units were a trap rigged with explosives. I'm pursuing a bronze IS that has retrieved all the cores,"
"Give up chasing it. I need you elsewhere,"
"What about my team?" countered Rowina.
"We'll be fine," said Olivia.
"We aren't hurt and the bronze IS is retreating,"
"But the IS has all the cores. They are too valuable!" argued Rowina.
"Leave it," said Chifuyu-nee.
Rowina could now hear the coldness oozing from her voice.
"We have a bigger concern at hand,"
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I woke up in a strange place. I was lying down and all I could see was a clear blue sky, with not so much as a wisp of a cloud. There was a comfortable silence with the only noise being my breath. The smell was clear, the only proper word I could describe as would be, freedom. My body was filled with a warm feeling, an amazing feeling, like happiness was flowing through me. I was at peace. At that moment, I was free of all stress. Free of all worries. Free of all problems. I felt relaxed. Like I could stay like this all my life.
But then doubt started to arise. How did I get here? Why was I here? What happened before this? Then, memories flushed through my mind. Memories of my childhood, memories of meeting my friends, memories of my kidnapping, memories of my discovering I could pilot an IS, going to the academy, fighting against the Golem and the Valkyrie Trace System, and finally, being blasted by the Silver Gospel. I jumped up startled. I was now full of stress and worry, and I had a big problem, where was I?
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Houki woke up with Rin, Charlotte, Cecilia and Rowina standing over her. Houki was confused for a second before remembering all that had happened and immediately jumping onto her feet.
"What happened?"
"You were hit by a neuron shock," explained Rowina.
"It's normally used by the IS when it dematerialises. It can go past the IS and a high enough voltage can cause you to feint,"
"Where's Ichika!"
"He was captured by the Rogue IS units," said Charlotte, looking with dismay at the ground.
"Then we need to go after him!" said Houki.
"That's what I'm saying!" yelled Rin.
"We can't rush after him!" retorted Rowina.
"We are the only pilots left. The rest had their units destroyed by the rogue IS units that blew up. All the rogue IS units that came to retrieve the cores have joined and are moving together. There is another IS unit coming towards them, and I doubt it's there to fight them. Before we attack we need a plan,"
"We don't have time!" yelled Rin.
"The longer we wait the closer they get to retreating with Ichika!"
"I know but if we rush and lose to them then guaranteed we lose Ichika!"
"We might not even catch up to them at this rate!"
"It's better like this!"
"Easy for you to say! You didn't know him as well!"
"And it is easy for a less experienced pilot to argue for recklessness!"
"You-"
"SHUT UP!" Chifuyu's voice quakened through their ears, immediately shutting down both Rin and Rowina.
"Ichika is in danger! I won't tolerate this ridiculous arguing!"
"It's my fault," said Houki, grabbing everyone's attention.
"There was a boat in the ocean below us. He told me to go and save it but I refused, I didn't want to jeopardize the mission. Ichika then used his Ignition Boost to take it down. Then the IS activated Stratos Revival and grabbed him while we argued,l"
Houki's voice sounded hollow as she spoke.
"If only I had listened to him,"
Tears began falling from Houki's eyes. Rin gritted her teeth, her face filled with anger. She walked up to Houki and swiftly punched her face, sending her into the ground. Cecilia and Charlotte looked at Rin in shock.
"Are you serious!" yelled Rin.
"Ichika is in danger right now and you're going to cry in pity about what you didn't do? Pull yourself together!"
She pulled Houki by her color. Her cheek was red from Rin's punch but Houki still looked hollowly at the ground.
"Calm down Guan," said Rowina, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"This was all clearly planned,"
"What do you mean?" asked Cecilia.
"This whole situation seems to add up too well. The first IS units we saw didn't seem too dangerous. It looked like a simple mission. But then we find out that one of them had a built-in chamber that could store Ichika. Then the IS that came to support the Silver Gospel had a neuron shock power. The explosives in the rogue units that were used to take out our own units that prevented many of us from chasing after the Silver Gospel. Even the fact that the IS most suited for Ichika was the furthest from the academy,"
"This was all a set-up. A plan to get Ichika!"
A mixture of shock and terror filled everyone's faces.
"Then what should we do!" exclaimed Charlotte.
"Shinonono. Can you use your IS?" asked Rowina.
"Yes," replied Houki.
"Orimura-sensei! Do you give us permission to give chase!" asked Rowina.
The other pilots turned towards Rowina in shock.
"You realise how dangerous this mission has become. If you give chase you are seriously endangering the lives of everyone here," replied Chifuyu.
"I know," replied Rowina.
"And I won't force anyone to participate, nor will I go against your judgement. But I believe that this is our best chance of rescuing Orimura. By the time support arrives it will be too late,"
Chifuyu went quiet for a moment.
"If the others agree then fine,"
Rowina then turned to everyone else.
"It is your choice," she said.
"Like I said, I won't force any of you to participate, nor will I shame you. This is a mission far above your position. If you chose to back out then that's understandable,"
Everyone went quiet for a moment, contemplating the decision ahead. The danger was not lost on the pilots, especially after they saw their allies being blown away. But then Cecilia stepped forward.
"I am a National Representative Candidate. I always knew I would eventually come face-to-face with danger,"
Then Rin stepped forward.
"I am one too. And the risk is worth it for a good friend!"
Then Charlotte stepped forward.
"Well then, I'll join too. Afterall, Ichika did way more for me,"
The last one left was Houki who still seemed to be in a state of shock.
"What do you say Houki?" asked Rin.
"We'll respect your choice," said Charlotte.
"You're not National Representative Candidates like us. It's ok if you want to back out," said Cecilia
Houki took a deep breath and then stepped forward.
"I'm in. For Ichika!"
"Great," said Rowina.
"Here's the plan. The IS units are currently headed for Russia. If they make it to a populated town or city they may blend in and it'll be too difficult to find them. So we must stop them before that,"
"Shinonono will use her incredible speed to reach the group. You should also be able to carry both Alcott and Dunois without hindering your speed too much. You all should reach the group before they reach Russia,"
"Since my unit is the second fastest I'll follow after with Guan but you'll need to stall until then. All clear?"
"Yes!" replied everyone.
"Ok then. Get ready and good luck,"
At once everyone activated their IS units, creating a giant ball of light. Once it dissipated and everyone was in their units Cecilia and Charlotte both grabbed onto Houki's unit while Rin grabbed onto Rowina's unit. Houki and Rowina both launched into the air, with Houki pulling far ahead of Rowina.
"Don't worry Ichika," whispered Houki.
"We are coming,"
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I got up and looked at the world around me. There was nothing as far as I could see. All there was, was a blue sky and a floor as clear as water. I was confused as to where I was.
'Is this heaven,' I thought.
"Wait, then am I dead!"
I immediately began to panic. I definitely didn't want to be dead yet. There were still so many things I wanted to do. I hadn't even graduated high school yet. Not to mention, so many people would grieve over my death. Houki, Charlotte, Rin, Chifuyu-nee. But then I noticed something on the horizon. It was hard to make out exactly what it was because it was very far away but it seemed to be approaching me. As it got closer I could tell that it was a person, they had pale skin and were dressed in all white.
They were soon only within a dozen metres and I could make out their features. It was a woman, who looked to be around mid 20s. She had pale skin, long black hair that fell below her shoulders and was wearing a simple white dress, with no intricate details. She looked rather plain except for her eyes, which were a very bright blue and were glowing.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The woman stared at me with a stoic look.
"I am, the Byakushki," she said.
Her voice was calm and laid soft on my ears.
"The Byakushki?" I asked in confusion.
"Yes. I am the one who performs all the IS functions. The flight, sensory, the communication. The materialization of the weapons, your constant use of your one-off ability. I provide all those services,"
"Wow!" I exclaimed.
"But where am I. Where did we go?"
"You never went anywhere," replied the woman.
"This is all in your head,"
"Really?"
This whole situation was confusing me.
"Well, how do I get back?"
"You currently can't," said the woman.
"Your body took too much damage and you are currently knocked out. I must repair before we you can wake up,"
"Wait, you can repair my body?" I said in surprise.
"Of course I can. I have had many years of developement,"
"So after you repair my body, I can rejoin my friends in the battle,"
At this the woman gave me a look of uncertainty.
"Are you sure of that?" she asked.
"These opponents are powerful and many of your friends are now out of the battle. Victory won't be easy. I doubt you have the strength to beat them,"
"Well I can try can't I," I retorted.
"You can but that would probably lead to you just getting injured again. It would be impractical for both of us. There isn't much you can do at your current strength,"
"Is there any way for you to make me stronger," I asked, desperately hoping for a way.
"I can," replied the IS.
"But before I make you stronger, you must make yourself stronger,"
"How do I do that?" I asked, not having a clue what my IS meant.
"You must find the power within you," explained the woman.
"For you see, you won't succeed so long as you fight aimlessly. You must ask yourself, what do you fight for?"
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Seven IS units soared through the sky. Five were slender units coloured mainly bronze with bolts of yellow flowing through it. The other was the Silver Gospel and the other was the green IS with red veins.
"How much longer?" asked one of the bronze unit pilots.
"Not much," replied the pilot in the green IS unit.
"Izzy should be joining us soon,"
"We have trouble coming our way!" yelled one of the bronze IS pilots.
The group turned back to see a red unit, carrying a blue and orange unit rocketing towards them. The orange and blue units let go of the red one as it continued rocketing towards them. Houki charged at the group of pilots, her face frowning with rage.
"Give Ichika BACK!" she yelled.
She swung her right blade 10 times unleashing a barrage of furious purple waves of energy. The group of pilots immediately dispersed in order to dodge the waves. Behind Houki, Cecilia deployed her 6 drones while Charlotte activated her assault and sniper rifle. The Silver Gospel backed away while the rest of opposing pilots all materialised fire arms. The bronze pilots each had a shotgun while the green pilot materialised the rifle she had used earlier.
Houki charged towards the pilots while swinging waves of purple light in her direction. The pilots all snaked around her, evading her swings while returning fire with their shotgun.
Despite Houki's speed the pilots proved challenging to strike as they also had great speed and incredible agility in the air. For Houki it was like trying to swing at a swarm of flies in the air. Charlotte and Cecilia found more success, shooting at the pilots with their drones and rifles respectively but the pilots didn't make it easy for them. While shooting Cecilia noticed the barrel of the Silver Gospel beginning to glow.
"Houki! The Silver Gospel!"
Houki turned to face the Silver Gospel just as it shot out dozens of missiles. The bronze pilots immediately dispersed leaving Houki to deal with the barrage of missiles. Houki swung her right blade many times, sending out many waves of energy to destroy the missiles. While she was distracted the green pilot charged towards her but she was noticed by Charlotte who shot her sniper rifle, knocking them back. But before Charlotte could continue shooting at them she was swarmed by three bronze pilots who shot at her with their shotguns. Charlotte swapped out her sniper rifle for her machine gun as she returned fire.
Charlotte frowned as she shot at the swerving pilots. The shotgun bullets didn't do much damage but if they continued running circles around them like this they would gradually lose.
Charlotte swapped her assault rifle for a shotgun and blasted one of the bronze pilots. Meanwhile Cecilia's drones were at work shooting at the green pilots, trying to buy Houki time to destroy the missiles. But it was starting to get more difficult as two bronze pilots started charging towards her. Cecilia had to divide her attention between all three pilots to prevent the bronze pilots from reaching her. With one last swing, Houki had finally destroyed the missiles and charged towards the Silver Gospel but was interrupted by the green pilot shooting at her while charging towards her. Houki swung more waves from her blade at the pilot and charged towards them, raising her left blade. Houki soon closed the gap between them and swung her left pink blade. The green pilot swerved, narrowly dodging the blade but this left them open to Houki's other blade resulting in them being blasted by her purple waves.
Houki charged in to strike again but a shotgun shell blasted into the side of the unit. She cursed as she turned around to see another bronze pilot swerving around her.
"Houki, more missiles incomming!" yelled Charlotte.
Houki turned back to the Silver Gospel to see it releasing more missiles out of the barrels on its arms. Houki swerved through the air, dodging the unit's beam of missiles. Three bronze pilots took this opportunity to swarm around Houki and shoot at her. Cecilia noticed this and directed her drones at them. The bronze pilots were caught off guard allowing Cecilia to get a few shots on each. But just as she was shooting at her, one of her drones exploded. Cecilia immediately turned her attention to a bronze pilot who was hovering where one of her drones had been. But before she could do anything another one of her drones had blown up. She turned to where it had been only to see another bronze pilot. Cecilia quickly began hurrying her drones to shoot at each of the bronze pilots while taking care to avoid them getting shot.
The bronze pilots swerved to dodge Cecilia's laser and began making their way to Cecilia but were both shot back by Charlotte with her sniper rifle. She aimed to shoot again but at the moment she noticed the green pilot quickly approaching her. She swerved down just before it could grab her. She immediately swapped out her assault rifle for a shotgun and began blasting at the pilot who was now swerving around, trying to slither her way into reaching her. While this was going on the Silver Gospel had just replenished their ammo and was preparing another beam of missiles, this team directed towards Charlotte who was too focused on the green pilot to notice.
"Look out Charlotte!" yelled Houki.
Charlotte turned around and the green pilot pulled away just as the Silver Gospel released another barrage of missiles at Charlotte. Charlotte desperately swerved to dodge them but wasn't quick enough resulting in her getting blasted by several 's scream temporarily distracted Houki and Cecilia which allowed two bronze pilots to get many shots against Houki. She snapped out of her shock and returned fire with slashes of purple waves but the bronze units avoided the attacks and charged towards Charlotte. Houki immediately gave chase, determined not to help her dazed friend.
Cecilia also noticed the green pilot making her way towards Charlotte. She redirected her drones to shoot at the green pilot's path, forcing it to slow down in order to swerve around the lasers. Charlotte had finally recovered from the attack and was now returning fire against the green pilot. This allowed Cecilia to split her drones, three for the bronze pilot and one shooting at the green pilot. This was the most concentrated she had ever been, dividing her attention as well as she could to hold back the bronze pilots and to attack the green pilot. Charlotte and Houki were also deeply concentrated, Houki chasing after the three other bronze pilots and Charlotte supporting both Houki and dodging the green pilot's fire while holding her back.
But none of the academy girls were looking at the Silver Gospel who charged another missile attack, this time aimed towards Cecilia. So when it shot out its beam of missiles, despite being further away, Cecilia was too concentrated on the pilots around her and her teammates were too caught up to notice and warn her. Cecilia only noticed the missiles once they were within a dozen metres of her but there was nothing she could do as the beams of missiles crashed into her unit, engulfing her in a cloud of smoke. Charlotte and Houki finally realised what had happened when they heard Cecilia's screams. At that moment, like clockwork, the three bronze pilots engaging Houki and the green pilot immediately charged towards Cecilia. Houki noticed and accelerated as fast as her unit allowed her towards Cecilia. She noticed the other two bronze pilots who had engaged Cecilia were now making their way towards her so she rushed at them, swinging many purple waves of energy at them. The two bronze pilots immediately swerved, U-turning away from Cecilia but towards her drones. Houki couldn't react quick enough to stop them before they shot down two, then two more and Cecilia's drones were all destroyed.
Cecilia was very much in a state of shock after the missile attack, breathing heavily and trying to recover. She couldn't do anything as the green pilot charged towards her, with Charlotte too caught up by the three bronze pilots and Houki with the other two pilots. The green pilot was soon right next to Cecilia but before it reached her they were suddenly blasted away by a yellow blast. All the pilots turned back to see who had shot that blast of energy.
"Sorry we're late," said Rowina with Rin on her back.
"There's more of them!" yelled one of the bronze pilots.
Rowina materialised her shotgun and Rin materialised two of her scimitars. Rowina charged at the green pilot while Rin charged towards the area where Charlotte and the three bronze pilots were fighting. Rowina and the green pilot were engaged in a heavy shoot off, the green pilot with her rifle and Rowina with her shotgun. Not too far from her, Houki was taking on two of the bronze pilots who were now struggling a lot more to dodge Houki's attack. At that moment, Rowina noticed the Silver Gospel in the distance and could see a faint but yellow light building up in its barrel.
"Houki, the Silver Gospel is going to attack. Stop its attack and I'll handle the bronze pilots!"
Houki at once listened and charged towards the Silver Gospel just as it released its missiles. She swung her right blade numerous times, like she was trying to shred the air. Purple waves released and charged at the missiles, cutting through them. The bronze pilots charged towards Houki but Rowina charged towards them and released the panels from her wings. Each panel landed striking the pilots numerous times. She then heard the green pilot approaching and so U-turned around and blasted the pilot with both barrels of her shotgun, sending the green pilot flying towards the ocean beneath. She then quickly averted her gaze towards Cecilia who had just recovered, then towards a bronze pilot that was charging towards Cecilia.
"Cecilia, hold that bronze pilot back!" commanded Rowina.
"Rin and Charlotte, hold those two pilots. Houki, go get the Silver Gospel. The neuron shock pilot is mine,"
"Yes maam!" they all replied.
Rowina charged down towards the green pilot who had just stopped her fall. She raised her shotgun and prepared to fire, but at that moment her audio system picked up something strange. It was a humming sound, like something was being charged. It grew louder and louder so Rowina immediately halted her charge and turned towards the source, just in time to see a giant beam of purple light coming towards her. She swerved down just in time to dodge it but the beam continued, its path heading towards Rin and Charlotte.
"LOOK OUT!" yelled Rowina.
Rin and Charlotte turned towards the beam but they weren't fast enough and Rin was struck by the beam. Rowina stared at the IS unit that was hovering from where the beam had come. It was a very bulky IS all around. It was mainly coloured a dark purple with areas of black on the legs, hands, hips and collar, connecting with the purple like it was a curse. It's chest was as big as the Silver Gospel's, it's legs as thick as bricks. Its arms as thick as a battle ram with a cannon attached to each hand, the left one was bigger and had one hole, the right one was made up of multiple cannons with smaller holes. Three pairs of sharp wings hovered around the IS, colour purple with black stripes. The head of the IS resembled that of a dragon with a pointy snout and two black horns.
"Another IS has arrived," she yelled through the communication channel.
"Houki, come back and take on the green pilot!"
With that Rowina charged at the purple IS, shotgun in hand. The IS shot out dozens of balls of purple light from the right canons. Rowina swerved through the air as she made her way to the IS. She soon reached the IS and began blasting at it with her shotgun. It swerved through the air while returning fire with the balls of purple energy.
"Ms Rowina! The green IS is coming your way!" yelled Houki.
Sure enough, Rowina could see the green IS charging towards her with Houki in pursuit. It fired at her with its rifle while the purple IS continued firing its balls of light. Rowina swerved through the air to avoid both, waiting for Houki to arrive. Soon enough, Houki had reached them and began swinging her waves of energy at both opposing units. They swerved to dodge and returned fire, engaging in a 2 one 2 firing match. Houki swerved around, trying to get reasonably close to the purple IS and not to the green IS. Her wish was eventually granted as she had just dodged another attack from the purple IS and had swerved closer towards it while the green IS was distracted by Rowina. Houki charged in fast with her left sword raised. The IS didn't swerve or return fire, instead, purple light began to build up in its left canon. Houki soon blitzed the IS, striking it with her powered up pink blade. The IS recoiled from the strike but it kept building up energy.
It then released a beam of purple light, aimed at Houki. Houki swerved out of its way but the beam continued towards Rowina.
"LOOK OUT!" she yelled.
Rowina noticed the beam and both her and the green IS swerved out of its path, Rowina left and the green IS down. But at that moment the Silver Gospel had charged yet another attack and launched a barrage of missiles their way. Rowina was able to slightly react but Houki was not and was struck by half a dozen of missiles. Rowina danced around in the air to dodge them but three missiles had found their way into her unit. Rowina cursed at loud as she tried to orientate herself but at that moment, the green IS charged in, only a few metres from her hips. All the panels out of Rowina's wings immediately shot out, striking the green unit away from her. She then aimed her shotgun and fired but the green unit swerved down to dodge it. Rowina went in for another shot but then noticed that the purple IS was gone and was heading in the direction of Rin and Charlotte who were still engaged with the other bronze pilots.
"Houki! Get the purple IS!" she yelled.
Houki, while a bit dazed from the missiles, noticed the purple IS and launched towards it. The purple IS was nowhere near as fast as her and she was quickly only a dozen metres behind. She readied her pink blade but at the moment the purple pilot zipped around and released a purple beam of light from its left cannon into Houki. Houki was struck at point blank and was launched back, her screams covered by the sound of the concentrated energy. Houki was blasted all the way into the ocean where she crashed with a loud splash. She hurried to get out of the water, still in the battle but had lost a lot of shield energy and was heavily dazed. The purple IS continued towards Rin and Charlotte, flying past Cecilia who was too busy dealing with 2 bronze pilots and would have been too damaged to stop it. The purple IS was soon not too far from the two pilots and began charging its left canon. Rin was the first to notice the IS.
"Charlotte, prepare yourself!"
Charlotte turned to see the IS pointing its canon towards them. She immediately launched to the side, trying to fly away. But two bronze pilots crashed into her, sending her back just as the IS fired its purple canon. The beam struck the IS sending Charlotte screaming and flying far into the sky with Rin screaming in terror and shock.
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"What do I fight for?" I repeated.
"Yes," replied the woman, still maintaining her stoic look.
"What do you want power for? What do you strive to achieve?"
"Well, I want to be a good pilot, I want to make Chifuyu-nee proud-"
"These are vague desires," interrupted the woman.
"To achieve power you need a bigger goal. You need something that can drive you everyday, not just in IS battles,"
"Well, I don't know, I guess I want to help people who are close to me?"
"You are thinking too small," said the woman.
"Think bigger. Think of something that drives your every action. You may or may not have one without realising,"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
The woman turned her back towards me while looking at the ground.
"Why did you choose to help the Dunois girl? Why did you choose to help save the Bodewig girl? Why did you choose to help the boy in Shoku? Why did you choose to save the people in the boat just now?"
"All those times you have risked your well being, for what?"
I thought for a moment.
"Because I wanted to help people. They were people that didn't deserve to be hurt like that. To me it was the right thing to-"
Then, like a spark, something lit in my brain.
"That's it! My drive is to always do the right thing!"
I could see from the reflection of the floor, the woman's stoic look now morphed into a smile.
"And what does that mean for you?"
"It means to do what my heart says is right. My goal is to make the world a better place. How I will do that, I'm not sure but I'll spend my life looking for that path. Everything I'll do, I'll do with the intent of improving the world,"
"And how will you do that?"
"When I'm confused I'll always ask myself, what is the right thing to do?"
The woman turned to face me now, still grinning.
"What will you do to those who try to stop you?"
"I will try to reason with them but I won't let them stop me,"
"And what if the person trying to stop you is someone you love?"
At this I was stumped and unsure how to respond.
"I'll, cross that bridge when I get there,"
The woman's smile turned back into a stoic look.
"Well, that should do," she said.
"Really?" I asked in excitement.
"Yes, you still have a lot to grow and you may find yourself challenged numerous times on your goal. The world is a complicated place. But that's for later. Right now you have a battle, and for that you must be prepared,"
"But you will help me right? You said you will give me power right?"
"Yes, and that's what I'll do," replied the woman.
"But I hope now you will know how to use it better,"
To this I nodded firmly.
"So is this goodbye then?" I asked.
"Not quite," replied the woman.
"We'll meet again, Ichika Orimura, in due time,"
Then the world around me began to fade.
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Rin stared with terror at Charlotte as she fell through the sky. Charlotte herself was dazed but mustered enough strength to stop herself just before hitting the water. Rin breathed a sigh of relief but even from a far she could see that her unit was heavily damaged. Then, from the corner of her eye Rin could see the barrels of the Silver Gospel glowing again. She shuttered in terror. Rowina was busy with the green pilot, Houki was still dazed and trying to fly back to the battle, Charlotte was far away, Cecilia was occupied with the bronze pilots and Rin had three bronze pilots and the purple pilot to worry about. Whoever it chose to shoot at would likely take damage. But just before it could fire, the Silver Gospel suddenly exploded. All the pilots turned in shock to look at it. Where the Silver Gospel stood was now a cloud of dark smoke.
As it diffused in the air a figure began to become visible, confusing everyone. When the smoke cleared the figure became fully visible and all confusion turned to shock. It was the Byakushki, but not the same as it was. The first eye-catch was its wings. They were bigger, with another set of feather-like devices attached to them and now had more golden areas and blue areas. There was a particular blue area, one each wing on the corner next to the main body with a white outline that resembled eyes. Speaking of gold, more areas of it were scattered on the unit than before. On its shoulders, arms, legs, hips, the blade. Its arms and legs were way bulkier now and more vibrant in colour.
And standing in the middle of the IS was Ichika Orimura.
"Ichika!" exclaimed Houki in shock.
"How is he up already!" exclaimed the green pilot.
At that moment Rowina fired her shotgun and the green pilot blasted into the sky, screaming in shock.
"Orimura do you copy?" called Rowina.
"Yes, I do!" I replied.
I looked at my IS screen. There were a lot more things to look at than before. A notification popped up reading 'SECOND SHIFT COMPLETE'.
'So that's what Byakushki meant,' I thought.
"Great!" replied Rowina.
"Cause we're going to need some assistance,"
"Got it Rowina!" I replied as I charged towards all the other IS units.
From my screen I could see that basically everything about my unit had increased in strength. My shield energy had increased to 750 units, my speed and acceleration was higher, even my durability increased. On my way, I noticed a purple coloured IS unit. I could see the cannon on its left hand glow, the light gradually increasing in intensity. Call it deja vu but I had a good idea of what it was going to do. I continued charging towards it until from the cannon a purple beam of light shot towards me. But it didn't reach me as my unit suddenly propelled to the side, causing it to side-step out of the way.
I continued charging towards the IS and activated Reiraku Byakuya, my blade glowing with dark blue energy. The purple IS immediately swerved down and a barrage of purple energy balls at me. I deactivated Reiraku Byakuya and swerved through the air, dancing around every ball of energy. From the corner of my eyes I noticed two bronze coloured IS units coming towards me but before they reached me they were each blasted by two yellow energy blasts. I turned around to see Rin behind me.
"How did your unit suddenly go to the left like that?" asked Rin in amazement.
"New ability!" I replied.
"Ignition Thruster. Each wing has a thruster which allows me to push my unit in a direction but it has a recharge time,"
"How convenient!" remarked Rin.
But we didn't have time to continue the conversation as the purple IS launched more balls of purple energy, forcing us to scatter to dodge.
"If you can keep these bronze pilots busy and clear a path for me to the purple IS then I can finish it in one move," I said to Rin.
"I'll do my best!", she responded.
The purple IS continued shooting the purple orbs but was interrupted by Houki who sent a barrage of waves of energy their way. She tried to reach it but was blocked by the fire of the 3 bronze pilots, halting her charge. Me and Rin charged towards the purple pilot with our respective weapons raised. The bronze pilots charged towards us, shooting with their shotguns. Rin charged at two of them, swinging her scimitars rapidly while I went through them, dodging the gunfire of the other. They tried to chase after me but were blasted to the side by a blast from Rin's shockwave cannon. I continued towards the purple IS. I could faintly see the build of purple energy in its left turned and released a beam of light at its left side where I was. I used my Ignition thruster and boosted myself in the opposite direction to its right. It tried to redirect the beam at me but I swerved too quickly for it and so the beam ran out without touching me.
It shot out another barrage of purple energy balls to halt my charge as it tried to increase the distance between us but I just snaked around them.
I was about to reach it but two bronze pilots suddenly swooped in and fired at me. I grunted as the fire from their shotgun pushed me back. The purple IS was flying away from me with its back turned, if only I could break towards it. But then, from the corner of my eye I noticed Rowina fly towards us. Despite not talking to her I knew what to do. Rowina charged in and shot out all the panels from her wings towards the bronze pilots. The two opposing pilots scurried in the air to dodge them but at that moment I was preparing a big attack. I positioned myself so my unit and more importantly my wings were facing the direction of the purple IS. At once I activated Reriaku Byakuya and both my Ignition Boost and both Ignition Thrusters, sending me sky rocketing towards the purple IS unit.
The bronze pilots couldn't react as I blew past them. The purple IS turned around but by then I was within a dozen metres and it was too late. My unit and Yukihara blitzed past them giving them no time to react. My unit finally stopped about a dozen feet away from the purple unit. Had I really done it? It all happened so fast I wasn't even sure. I slowly turned back and sure enough, the purple unit was falling towards the ocean, all light from the purple canons gone.
"All right!" I yelled.
"We did it!"
But at that moment I heard a blood curling scream. I checked only to see that it was coming from Cecilia. I turned around to see that the green pilot had grabbed hold of Cecilia's hips and now they were both glowing red. The red light covering Cecilia's unit increased more and more intense until her whole unit dematerialised and Cecilia's body plunged towards the ground.
"CECILIA!" I yelled as I charged towards her flying body.
The green IS flew off as I charged towards her body. Unfortunately, I had just used my thrusters so I wasn't quick enough, I was going to reach her! I desperately upped the acceleration of my unit, hoping to catch her. But at that moment Houki's unit swooped in and caught Cecilia's body in its arms.
"Phew. Good job Houki!" I yelled.
Houki responded with a smile that seemed to ooze with pain and exhaustion. But our trouble wasn't over yet as soon after, I could hear the painful screams of Charlotte. I zipped around to see that the green IS had now got a hold of Charlotte's hips and they were now both glowing red. I watched in terror as Charlotte's unit glowed harder until it dematerialised and Charlotte's body fell down. I charged after her but I was too far away. But then, Rowina's unit zipped down towards Charlotte and caught her midair.
"Thank the lord you were here Rowina," I said.
"I'm just doing my duty to protect the students," replied Rowina.
"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" yelled Rin.
Sure enough, the green pilot and all five bronze pilots were flying away with two bronze pilots carrying the defeated purple unit. Rin charged towards them.
"Rin, stop!" I yelled.
Rin stopped in confusion.
"What do you mean? They're getting away!"
"Both Cecilia and Charlotte are out of the battle. If we continue we risk their lives,"
"He's right," chimed Rowina.
Rin looked like she wanted to argue but eventually just sighed.
"Yeah you're right," she said.
"Retreat back to the IS academy," Chifuyu-nee's voice rang through my IS unit.
"Chifuyu-nee? Man am I glad to hear from you,"
"Are you joking?" she exclaimed.
"You know how worried I was! Hell will freeze before I let you go on another mission like this!"
"Sounds like I gave you quite the fright," I said with a laugh.
"You wouldn't know the half of it," replied Chifuyu-nee.
The orange sky shined on our units as we made our way back to the IS academy.
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/
In another place, at another time there was a man sitting in a dark room staring at a screen. He had messy and curly white hair that was a decent medium length. His face showed his older age with wrinkles all over. His outfit was a professional looking dark purple suit that was just barely visible in the dimly lit room. He had reddish brown eyes that stared immersively at the screen in front of him. The screen showed the earlier battle and currently showed the moment where Ichika Orimura had blitzed the purple unit.
"I see," muttered the man.
His voice was cold and battered. The door of the room opened and in walked two women. One had long curly bright blond hair that fell below her shoulders with narrow blue eyes and pale skin. The other had chestnut brown hair tied back with hazel round eyes and tanned skin. They were both in their IS battle suits and their faces wore scowls.
"Jean, Izzy, welcome back," said the man.
"How did your mission go?"
"I think you can see how it went," the blonde woman said.
The man responded with a laugh.
"Yes I can Izzy," he said.
"It was rather difficult. The Treasure Shadow units aren't tailored for combat and no one could have predicted that the Byakushki would evolve in this way,"
"Yeah it was a total pain!" exclaimed the brown haired woman.
"Maybe it was in the moment, but,"
The man's eyes narrowed.
"This works better for us,"
The brown haired woman frowned harder.
"Yeah but it's unlikely we'll get any more chances soon. The IS academy is surely going to increase its protection and be more cautious,"
"We could destroy it from the inside," suggested the blonde woman.
"No need," said the man.
"I foresee the academy destroying itself from the inside and then, everything will fall into place. We must be patient and in due time, Ichika Orimura and his IS will be ours,"
\\
/
Later in the night of the big battle, Chifuyu-nee and Shira were in the headmaster's room, discussing the events of that day.
"All the core's were gone?" asked Shira.
"Yes, the bronze IS units had retrieved all of them, including the Silver Gospel," clarified Chifuyu.
"So then they were also unmanned units," said Shira as she looked out of the unit.
"It seems the danger in the academy is growing,"
"I suggest increasing the security of the academy," said Chifuyu.
"Yes, that is a given," said Shira.
"We'll do so over the upcoming summer holidays," said Shira.
"But we really do need to see how it is that the units can operate by themselves,"
"Well I have asked Yamada and-"
At that moment, Yamada burst through the doors of the office, interrupting Chifuyu.
"Ms Shira!" she yelled.
"The core of Golem is gone!"
"WHAT!" both Shira and Chifuyu exclaimed at once, their faces filled with shock.
The three of them rushed to the engineering room. Sure enough, inside the dimly lit room, the secret cell built into the wall that had held the Golem core was empty.
"You swear you didn't move it?" asked Chifuyu.
"No," replied Yamada.
"But they did leave something in the container," she said.
Yamada reached into her pocket and pulled out a device. It was a lid shaped device with a metal cylinder built around a red button. Yamade pressed the button and in the air a purple hologram appeared, with text reading:
'PHANTOM TASK'
Author Note: Hello dear readers and thank you once again for reading another installment of Infinite Stratos Remastered. This was chapter 19 and this is basically the end of the first season of this fic if you will. At the time of writing this it is my longest chapter by far even without the author note. It was quite the journey writing this fic. Originally, it just kind of started out as me experimenting with writing and did this fic to see how Infinite Stratos could be if it wasn't so focused on fan-service and harem drama. I have been working on this fic for almost 4 months now and written 19 chapters. It also took quite a lot of effort to get this batch of chapters out before the new year as I wanted which was particularly difficult because there was so much I wanted to set-up for the next season but I'd say it was worth it. This will be the last chapter posted for this year and it will probably be the last chapter in a while because I will be taking a short break from this fic. Don't worry, I'm not going to go on a year long hiatus HxH style, it will probably by a 1 month break, max 2 month. The main reason I'm doing it is because I have other writing projects I want to work on and it's difficult to do so while having to regularly write new chapters. What I will be doing is going to the old chapters to edit them a bit. I think at the start I wasn't sure how to really write this fic so I stuck too closely to the Light Novel which I think many have noticed. Don't worry for anyone who has read this far, I won't be adding anything new, you don't need to re-read the whole fic. It will just be grammar fixes and edits to make the story more engaging and easy to read. Anyways, thank you so much for all who have stuck with me on this journey and all those who have followed and favorited the story and all those who have left reviews. I look forward to seeing you all again and January and February, I hope you have a lovely new year and I hope you'll enjoy these batch of chapters. And so for now, this the TheGreySirpent signing off!