Infinite Stratos: Truth be told
A/N: First fanfic of my life, I became hooked to Infinite Stratos when I started watching it a few years ago and decided just days ago to write a fanfiction about this great anime. Reviews are greatly welcomed.
Disclaimer: I don't own Infinite Stratos, it belongs to Izuru Yumizuru.
CHAPTER: 1
"Impressive."
"The young pilot seems to have quite the talent, for him to last against M and our best operatives, even if he is clinging on the edge of his life are pretty striking."
Twelve figures in a dimly lit but enormous conference room, despite their cold voices, feverishly discuss the phenomenon they were currently watching on the ridiculously huge holographic screen in the center of a wide spherical conference the screen was a live skirmish of IS units, the crowning achievement of the inventor TabaneShinonono, which became the catalyst for global change and the eventual tilting of powers between males and females. But those enlarged armors are not the phenomenon they were deliberating about, it was one particular pilot of these said weapons. Piloting a white IS known as the [Byakushiki], he was already a phenomenon to the rest of the world as the only male able to pilot the weapon that only women can operate. His existence is a big skyscraper that attracts the attention of many countries and organizations, even the interest of malign and secretive groups and one these malign and secretive groups is currently watching him fight possibly one of the toughest battles in his life. The name of this phenomenon is IchikaOrimura, from the time he first mounted an IS, he was already under the watch of this same organization known as "Phantom Task".
The twelve shadowy figures seated in the dark conference room are the leading members of Phantom Task. Watching as their objective fight for his life against the operatives they sent to capture him, but even at such a disadvantageous position, he miraculously lasted the merciless barrage of his attackers.
"Though battered and scarred, he still manages to hold his own against our best."
Said one of the figures who had a ton of rings on her fingers.
"Considering whose bloodline he came from, this would hardly be a surprise."
One of the figures retorted with a devilish grin.
"I hope that crazy girl doesn't turn him to dog treats before we even get our hands on him."
One of them casually said as she elegantly sipped the wine from the goblet she was holding.
"Now, now let's not underestimate him, he did well in the past incidents right? But I hope that the Brunhilde doesn't ruin this event."
Another said while she crossed her legs and taps her fingers eagerly on the conference table.
"Look, it's not the Brunhilde but I am sure they're here to help the boy."
One of the figures leaned back to her chair in an annoyed manner.
The twelve spectators became infuriated at the meddling of some uninvited characters, speeding towards their struggling comrade. The intruders are representative candidates with the exception of the one piloting the scarlet IS which happens to be the latest fourth generation of the IS units. They are the target's close companions who annoyingly dropped in to aid him.
"Well so much for capturing him covertly."
One of the dimmed figures face-palmed at the imminent failure of the operation and it was followed by a chatter of the other spectators. Meanwhile in a balcony not far away from the noisy conference table, a figure dressed in an eerie but beautifully sewn robe and a hood that totally conceals the face of the enigmatic observer also overseesthe live battle from a wide holographic screen set at the edge of the balcony. The only light that illuminates the balcony were the hooded figure sits is the holographic screen and that made it hard to figure out whether the concealed spectator was a woman or a man, excluding the fact that the eerie hood and the overly long robe already conceals the perception of others about the seated figure's gender .The hooded spectator focused on the face of the male IS pilot, for some reason it was smiling inside the imposing hood, like it was pleased to see the male IS pilot survive the deciding blows dished out by the agents of the Phantom Task.
"Quite the pilot he is."
A tall figure said as she suddenly emerged behind the hooded observer. The figure was a tall woman with a very slender build and has a long flowing hair as black as the blackest night that reaches to her thighs. Her body was perfectly curved in the right places and endowed also in the right places, in other terms a very sexy woman and her black military attire was complimenting her curvy body. Also her face was very pretty even in a barely lit ambiance and gives justice to her very sensual body, a world class pageant would be unbefitting for her if she were to join. But the only thing that is distinctive about this woman besides her beauty is her eyes, as red as the thickest blood, piercing and very unnerving, in other words very terrifying, giving off the aura of someone deadly. But oddly enough it was complimenting her goddess-like visage and figure, like a very attractive flower coupled with poisonous thorns.
"If he's pressured some more, I won't be surprised if he is able to defeat one or two of our operatives."
The newly arrived beauty stated as she made her way to the hooded figure's side.
This two were also part of the Phantom Task, they aren't the leaders calling the shots but they hold quite the authority in the organization judging from their presence, especially the hooded observer who exudes such mystery and power.
"Seems the intruders aren't bad as well, especially that fourth generation pilot."
But the hooded observer merely ignored the gorgeous beauty's statement as enigmatic spectator merely converge more on the male IS pilot. It is almost like it is not seeing anything else on the screen, just the male IS pilot.
Understanding the reason behind the lack of response from the seated observer, the beauty decided to remain quiet and observed the battle herself.
The battle progressed from a one-sidedbeat down by the operatives of Phantom Task to the male pilot recovering and actually fighting back. That alone was impressive enough and worth a thousand praises considering each one of those operatives especially Madoka Orimura a.k.a "M" can infiltrate a maximum security military base and come out with minimal or no scratch at all. A sinister grin etched on the beauty's face which made her even more attractive at seeing the skills of the young male pilot slowly surfacing. Sparing a glimpse on the seated observer she noticedthat the both of them share the same sentiment, even if it was hard to notice considering the overabundance of clothing.
The battle between the seven operatives of the Phantom Task against their target together with the representative candidates' heats up as both sides became eager to end the battle. The pilot of the [Byakushiki] dealt with M and her [Silent Zephyrs], while the pilot of [Schwarzer Regen]and the [Raphael-Revive II] took on three operatives and the pilots of the [Blue Tears], [Shen Long] and the latest 4th generation [Akatsubaki] battled one operative each. The operatives excluding "M" are using a new IS unit that the Phantom Task created and has never been seen by the world, but how they were able to acquire cores for there IS units is a big mystery. These new units called [Hunter], a 3rd generation IS,its color scheme is pitch black with red linings on the wrists and feet, it resembles the [Uchigane] but having a flight unit of a [Revive], its armaments are quite identical to the [Revive's] weapons but equipped with more speed-oriented gears.
Automatically the hologram projectors opened four additional screens to cover the battles between the representative candidates and the operatives. But the focus of both the enigmatic spectator and the beauty centered on the battle between the [Silent Zephyrs] and the [Byakushiki], the twelve onlookers seated on the conference table focused on the battle between M and the male pilot as well.
"The time has come to see the extent of his abilities, against M he will be pushed to the limit and beyond, then and there we will know what he has hidden in his sleeve."
"I'm more interested in his IS, thatTabaneShinonono may have a ton of loose screws in her brain but she is the perfect epitome for being an unpredictable person."
"If we're lucky maybe we can acquire those precious 3rd generation frames from those students mainly that 4th generation hehehehehe."
"Whether we acquire the IS units of those candidates is inconsequential as long as we achieve our objective, the failure of his capture can be overlooked."
The discussion in the conference table grew noisier as the twelve figures chatted about what they might gain out of this operation. Originally they sent M and six of their best pilots to attempt the capture of IchikaOrimura and his IS but his capture weren't really a main priority, they intend to make him fight hard, hard enough to make him reveal a certain trait that they thought long ago vanished.
"Seems they have access to the information regarding Ichika, well it can'tbe helped sincethey are the Phantom task's leading lights, it's no surprise they were able to uncover information that was zealous kept even from them."
The beauty said as she went at the edge of the balcony and mischievously stared at the occupants of theconference table.
"What do you think? Is it alright for them to know?"
The beauty inquired the obscured person who was ignoring her ever since she arrived. Regardless of the complete absence of light in the balcony, the terrifyingly cute pout of the beauty made was still evident. As if a response to the scary attempt of the beauty to act cute, the hooded figure turned to her for the first time, only to give her a very a typical reply.
"Shhhh"
The figure merely raised an index finger and made the gesture used to shut people up in a subtle way.
The beauty just sighed and crossed her arms and returned back to the side of the hooded observer. She knew that if she continued to talk, no reply will ever come, she just returned to watching the furious battle between the [Byakushiki] and the [Silent Zephyrs].
The melee stretched on unexpectedly, the twelve leaders of the Phantom Task were surprised. Despite the lack of enough experience by the students of the IS academy, they managed to go toe-to-toe with their overly experienced opponents, especially Ichika. At first, he was being turned into Swiss cheese by M, showering him with a rain of lasers. But now, Ichika is actually fighting on near equal terms with M. Ichika executed many complicated movements and attempted a lot of bold counterattacks, of course M easily shrugged them off but Ichika seemed to be improving each moment that passes, each attack that hits him sharpens his senses and his judgment and that started to astonish the spectators back at the base, even the two from the balcony glued their eyes upon the battle between M and Ichika.
"He is still being overwhelmed M, but he doesn't seem to be backing down despite his overwhelming disadvantage."
"Why won't he, he is becoming more and more sharpened by this battle, maybe there is no failure in this operation at all."
"This is still too early for us to assume that he has it, because if not there will be a lot of very dire repercussion."
"Let's not be a pessimistic, after all he lasted this long against opponents way above him in terms of skill and experience and let's not forget that now he is actually edging through M's ferocity."
The conference table once again became noisy as discussion after another broke out, with the unprecedented turn of events the leaders are now truly surprised by Ichika's will and determination. But their curiosity was more enticed at how Ichika, a less experienced pilot compared to M could pull off complicated movements to elude M's precise strikes.
Meanwhile, compared to the boisterous conference table, the balcony was quieter with the two silent spectators concentrating on the hologram screen covering the skirmish.
"He is not bad at all, such an improvement for such a short time. I guess I was wrong I when I doubted 'her' judgment."
The gorgeous beauty thought while putting her hands on her right cheeks, making another vain attempt to act cute. But her attempts failed sadly, although she has the beauty she is not suited on cute gestures for a fact that she looks more like a sexy vampire that was trying to act like an innocent school girl.
"His control over his IS is slightly…. No better than the early minutes of the battle. Reacting faster against attacks coming from all directions and actually making a few effective counters and being able to sustain a fast paced combat against highly trained opponents, very remarkable. Also I heard his IS burns its energy fast but he managed well in controlling his energy consumption, did he just configured his IS while battling the battle only elapsed for about 30 minutes. Close enough little Ichika."
The beauty thought while making a very chilling smile that passes as her delighted reaction. The more she watches Ichika battle desperately the more her smile becoming twisted, she hugs her body to suppress the obvious lust she felt the moment she laid eyes on Ichika's desperate face.
"Ufufufufufufu! How nice it would be if I can keep him in my quarters as my personal toy, I always wanted little brother I can have my way with."
The beauty thought loudly while giggling in such a petrifyingly adorable manner.
While the beauty beside it started rambling something about handcuffs, gagging and puppy dog eyes, the hooded figure continued to concentrate on the clash between Ichika and M. Like all that saw Ichika's abnormal rate of progress the concealed onlooker was surprised, it raised its face a little and the light coming from the hologram projector revealed a smile of satisfaction upon its partially revealed face. Seeing two IS twirling, spinning, flying around at insanely fast speed while throwing attacks at each other was a very exhilarating that the slightly revealed face of this mysterious spectator smiled even more.
But every battle has its ending and the end of this battle is nearing. The hooded figure started tapping its fingers on the arm handle of its chair, like its counting down to the end. The battle now shifted to the advantage of the students, as the representative candidates slowly overwhelm their adversaries. While the battle between the [Byakushiki] and the [Silent Zephyrs] are still on equal footing but it was obvious that Ichikais slowly gaining the upperhand.
"It's close to the end, isn't it?"
Finally snapping out of her delusions of Ichika, the beauty returned to her usual terrifyingly calm demeanor.
After fighting seven highly skilled IS pilots, after a grueling disadvantage, and after being bathe by beams and missiles, Ichika finally made a breakthrough by defeating M and the [Silent Zephyrs]. The six remaining operative of Phantom Task was utterly stunned and so areIchika's friends, the twelve leaders of Phantom Task back in their headquarters fell completely silent, and the once boisterous conference table was hushed.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"..."
"….."
"…."
"….."
"…."
All twelve leaders were stupefied with some their mouths hung open. A pin drop would be pretty loud in this dense silence.
While the two in the balcony had different reactions, the hooded figure smirked as if the impossible happening that they just witnessed was just as it expected. On the other hand, the beauty giggled like a sadistic school girl.
"UFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFU! Amazing! M is defeated! She was defeated by an enemy who compared to her is a complete beginner! Hehehehehehahahhahahaha! I can't even begin to comprehend what kind of emotion poor M is feeling right now! HahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The beauty started laughing really hard, almost fainting due to excessive laughter.
"Stop fooling around Chigusa, Let's go."
The hooded figure finally spoke in a voice which seemed similar to a person being possessed by a ton of demons. Hearing its voice would make a person think it has ton of voices overlapping each other.
"I thought you were going to give me the silent treatment the whole day."
The beautiful woman, whose name was revealed to be Chigusa, spoke in a less dignified tone due to laughing hysterically over the outcome of the fight.
"Mind your tone Chigusa, I am your superior. If you want t wake up with your head still attached to your shoulders, you should refer to me with respect."
The hooded figure said in a calm way, a terrifyingly calm way.
"Understood."
Chigusa merely straightened up and reverted back to her frighteningly composed demeanor.
And with that the two exited the balcony and vanished in the pitch black hallways.
Meanwhile, the hushed conference table is still silent, not one of its occupants uttered one word due to the spectacle they just witnessed. But it didn't last long; the silence was broken by a broadcast from one of the operatives they sent.
["M's been defeated and her capture is certain. And regarding the target's capture, we are unable to continue the objective; the situation presents a great chance of our defeat as well. Requesting new orders."]
"Pull back now! Instructors from the IS academy will be there soon, abandon the current objective and return back to base."
["Understood!"]
The transmission ended and the leaders finally snapping out of the surprise, now had varying reactions.
"Well? What now?"
"The only thing that I'm sure of is the group will be in the hot seat for a while."
"I'm sure that the Japanese government will be very agitated with this and will probably hound us more from now on."
"Let them! It's not like they can harm us or anything. But as a change of topic, the defeat of MadokaOrimura is an unforeseenoutcome and what is more boggling is the fact that she lost to IchikaOrimura who is inferior to her in every way."
"Then the mission wasn't all failure, at least we found out about his "hidden" capabilities. Next time we can prioritize his capture after we deal with this."
One of the leaders took out a flash drive and inserted it in a terminal, the large holographic screen revealed an image of what may seem like an angel, a flaming angel.
"What is that?"
One of the leaders inquired.
"An IS of course."
"I have never seen an IS like that before."
"Another of TabaneShinonono's creations I suppose. There is no one else in the world capable of creating really advance IS units, like how she nonchalantly revealed the first 4th generation IS while the world was just entering the race to develop 3rd generation IS's."
The conference table once again burst to life when the chatter of the leaders of Phantom Task entered another heated discussion about this new enigma. But one of the leaders decided to question the topic at hand.
"What is the point of us bickering over this? Is this mysterious IS even a threat?"
The leader who questioned stood and spoke in a loud and irritated voice. But one of the leaders who had a ton of rings in her fingers retorted to the question.
"Of course it is."
"And why is that?"
"When it single-handedly destroyed our base in Norway."
All of them widened their eyes to that revelation.
(Scene Change)
In a barely lit hallway, there were two figures treading through the darkness, one was tall and really pretty even if she was nearly eclipsed by the thick darkness blanketing the scarcely lit hallway and the other was covered by the long robe and its face concealed by an eerie hood. These two were the spectators on the balcony.
"We can at least talk rather than acting like mutes here."
The tall woman whose name was Chigusa teasingly said to her hooded superior.
"….."
"(Sigh)"
As expected there was no reply. Chigusa could only sigh as her failing attempts to make a conversation with her companion made her look like a fool who was talking to a statue.
The creepy silence between the two stretched on until Chigusa's earpiece beeped as it received a call.
"Hello."
"[Commander, we have news about the unit responsible for the destruction of our base in Norway.]"
"Oh! Do you now, then speak."
"[The unit was spotted by our satellite appearing and disappearing near Okinawa and it was confirmed by our agents who are stationed in Okinawa as well.]"
"So it's Japan now huh?"
This mysterious IS that was responsible for leveling the Phantom task's base in Norway, have been appearing and disappearing like an elusive wraith, emerging and vanishing from one country to another. After it single handedly decimated the base in Norway, it fade away like a mere illusion, but just 2 hours after its first act, it reappeared above the Mediterranean waters. Flying without any direction before vanishing again. Then it was spotted once again near the border of Saudi Arabia then vanishing once more and reemerged hovering above the crags of the Himalayas before phasing out near Malaysia. And now it was located hovering near Okinawa.
"Well monitor it for the meantime and-"
"[BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ]"
Chigusa had to remove the earpiece because of the brain shredding static that suddenly erupted.
"Oww! What was that?"
The unexpected noise can still be heard loudly from the earpiece, so Chigusa crushed the annoying thing.
"A disruption wave."
The hooded figure casually said without turning to the confused beauty behind it.
"A Disruption wave of this magnitude can't be possible unless it is a-"
Chigusa's eyes widened in realization and made a very wicked yet playful smile and the hooded figure turned to her as if it was approving her deduction, if there was no hood covering its face a very sinister smirk would undoubtedly be seen etched on its face.
"Those twelve idiots, do they know about this. It would be troublesome if they knew anything deeper, they would surely pester us about not informing them."
"No need to fret about it, no matter how hard they dig they will find naught but pointless answers"
"I guess you're right, so we focus on Ichika then."
"Yes he is of great importance, but we will do no action regarding the matter."
"WHAAAAT!If we remain passive our plans would definitely be derailed by those idiots."
"Soothe your worries Chigusa, remember desirable outcome comes those who wait and don't concern yourself about those arrogant weakilngs. Their usefulness is about to run its course."
Chigusa, who knew full well what her concealed companion meant, smiled happily, giggling as if a vexing problem that she had will finally vanish.
"Ufufufufufufufufufu!"
And with that they continued to silently strolling through the darkness.
(Scene Change)
"You mean that IS is responsible for the destruction of our nerve center in Norway."
"Without a single iota of a doubt."
The leader who presented the image of the mysterious IS stated full with confidence.
"Our base in Norway has 60 able pilots and that base also possesses 32 [Hunter] IS units, do you seriously think that our Norwegian detachment can easily be destroyed by a single IS."
"This is a recording from one of the survivors of the attack, she was completely in panic and shock but her testimony may confirm the validity of this claim."
One of the leaders held her hand to her side and suddenly out of nowhere, a woman dressed in a black military uniform gave her a disk. She then inserted the disk and the video played showing the surviving agent recuperating from one of their medical headquarters. Despite her completely battered appearance and her delusional rants, she was able to reveal, in between of her raving, the exact events leading to the bases destruction.
"Was she the only one that survived?"
One of the leaders inquired.
"One of the ten that was able to make it far from the base, apparently the survivors was able to reach one of our secluded reconnaissance outpost not far from the destroyed base.
"I can't believe it! A base with 32 IS machines get demolished in a blink of an eye. How many of our [Hunter] units survived the attack."
"Five, and in the condition those units are in, they're as good as scrap metal."
"Preposterous, our [Hunter] units are 3rd generation IS models and they are powerful enough to fight toe-to-toe against the modern units today, but for them to be beaten even if they had the advantage in numbers is absolutely outrageous."
"But may I remind everyone that the [Hunter] models are still in its trial periods and not complete yet and besides it was solely replicated from the two second generation IS models, the [Uchigane] and the [Revive]. Our engineers just tweaked the OS and characteristics from those 2nd generation units to create the [Hunter] models."
"Still regardless of them being in their trial stages and their 2nd generation origins, our [Hunter] models are a match for any other unit."
"But they were shot down nonetheless."
With that statement, the others leaders began murmuring and whispering regarding this mysterious event.
"Let us leave the issue regarding our units in a later time and let us proceed to the testimony of the survivor."
The other leaders concurred and quieted down and centered their attention to the holographic screen. A few moments later the video started. There were only three persons, the surviving pilot and two doctors who were questioning the traumatized soldier.
"[Captain SakuyaHojo, can you reiterate the happenings before the destruction of the base in Norway.]"
"[…]"
"[I will say again Captain SakuyaHojo; tell us what happened at the base.]"
"[…..]"
"[She's still in severe shock; we might not get anything out of her at this state.]"
"[T- t-there…..was…..a….]"
"[What? What did you see?]"
"[An…angel]"
"[An angel? Can you describe it? Can you give us a more concrete description?]"
"[….]"
"[Captain?]"
"[I-It…..was….enveloped… in…..flames…]"
"[Flames? Alright, well what was its initial behavior?]"
"[…..I-It…..just…..floated above us…..staring and then there was a rain of…]"
"[Rain of what Captain?]"
"[Uh…eh…aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!]"
The poor soldier just panicked like her greatest fears were chasing her, additional medical personnels had to come in and restrain the panicking patient.
"Well… whatever she saw, it must be terrifying enough to driveher this near to insanity."
The video was paused and it left all twelve leaders at the edge of their seats, although they are listening to a stuttering retelling of the events in Norway, but every word that the survivor utters slowly shakes the skeptical standpoint of the heads of Phantom Task.
"Was she the only one interrogated? What about the 9 others that survived with her?"
"Unfortunately, the moment they arrived in the recon base, seven of them died on the spot and the other two were in a state that will take months of healing before they can utter any decent words. So Captain SakuyaHojo was the only one capable of retelling what happened in Norway."
"So I guess every personnel excluding those ten died at the attack."
All of them now turned serious as they now realize the outcome if ever an incident like this happens again.
"We can discuss about this later, for now let us turn our attention back to the video."
As one of the leaders proceeded to pull everyone out of their funk, the video then resumed. After being restrained and drugged, Captain SakuyaHojo was a bit calmer from her panicking state a few minutes ago even though she is in a trance like she is being hypnotized. And with that the interrogation continued.
"[Well, Captain Sakuya, I will ask again. What did that IS do that led to the demolition of the base.]"
"[…..]"
"[Captain Sakuya?]"
"[It….. Swooped down and….Released a flurry of flaming beams from its wings….And its eyes….. Unleashed rays of lightning…I saw many were turned to dust by those attacks…and the pilots who tried to fight it….Were erased…]"
"[You mean they never stood a chance.]"
"[…Yes]"
"[….]"
"[After 15 minutes… there were only ten of us left…..]"
"[And then?]"
"[We tried to shoot it down with our IS…..but…..it just…danced…..around….us…like it was….playing with us…]"
"[Then?]"
"[It…..vanished…..and reappeared above us…and then...it released a wave…..we felt…a sharp…pain…in our…..heads…]"
"[What happened then?]"
"[It…shot us down…with….flaming rays….and…all of us crashed….]"
"[…..]"
"[I crashed on the ground….my…vision…blurring….and….I….saw….it…approa ching me….]"
"[What then?]"
"[It was staring right into my eyes…..it…..was…standing right…beside me….and it…..said….]"
"[It said what?]"
"[Bya…ku…shi…..ki…..]"
"[Captain?]"
"[….]"
"[Captain Sakuya!]"
"[….]"
"[She fell unconscious and her heart rate isdropping fast!]"
The medical staff quickly scrambled around the patient and tried their best to keep her from dying but….
"[BEEEEEEEEEEP]"
"[She's lost now; there is nothing we can do.]"
And the interrogation endedwith one life ended along with it.
The video stopped, leaving the leaders stunned.
"It wasn't just me right? All of you heard that right?"
One of the leaders said while the expression of astonishment is still evident in her face.
"Of course all of us heard it."
"What could this mean?"
"It is obvious that it is after the [Byakushiki]."
"If the [Byakushiki]is its objective, then how come it attacked on Norway and not on the IS academy."
Soon all twelve leaders of the Phantom Task started squabbling about the new problem they have in their hands however it was brief this time when a voice suddenly disturbed the argument.
"Squabbling amongst yourselves won't generate any answers."
At the sudden, a cold and commanding voice reverberated throughout the dimly lit conference hall. All the quarrelling leaders suddenly turned to where the voice came from. As if phantoms that suddenly appear, five women came out of the darkness cladded with black military outfits, their intimidating presence was overwhelming giving off the presence of highly trained killers.
"Is that your way of addressing your superiors Yuuko?"
One of the leaders started to reprimand one standing in the middle for the rude greeting.
"I am only stating a fact here, bickering won't merit any answers."
The woman who stood in the middle of the arriving group whose name is Yuuko stated without any hint of respect. She was tall with a body possessing sensual curves, her jet black hair falls half way to her waist, her eyes were glowed a greenish hue when it reflected the light from hologram projector at the conference table despite her bangs almost covering her eyes.
"Anyway, regarding to the topic of your squabbling, I can't convey anything about the reason of IchikaOrimura's involvement in this issue, but I have something more pressing to tell you regarding what happened in Norway."
"Don't bother, we already knew what happened."
"Sakuya's testimony was complete, almost complete. But she didn't know that the intruder didn't just attack the base, it also hacked through our database and stole a considerable amount of information."
Yuuko said with a smirk gracing her pretty face.
"WHAT! It hacked our system!"
"That was not even the best part, logs show that the time it hacked our database coincides with the time when it was pounding the base to dust."
"Hacking without making any contact with our terminals, that is one risky ability.
"If that blasted thing reveals any sensitive information about us then we are as good as dead!"
"Don't worry the information it stole was not any of the vital ones, logs indicate that the information that was stolen was our Intel about the IS academy; its pilots, machines, staff, students, everything especially about the male pilot and his machine."
Yuuko said in a nonchalant tone.
A bundle of folders was thrown on the conference table by Yuuko and all folders seem to contain the stamp "TOP SECRET".
"What is this?"
One of leaders grabbed the bundle and took one.
"It's about rogue IS's sightseeing the globe, apparently the one that attacked our Norwegian detachment was just one of the wandering machines stalking this world like ghosts. I bet you didn't know about this."
Yuuko suppressed a laugh at the sight of her superiors at a loss for words.
"Well that will be all; I'm taking my leave mistresses."
Yuuko curtsied in an almost mocking way before disappearing in the darkness with her four subordinates.
"That girl never changes, she still doesn't show us any respect."
"Still regardless of her disrespectful streak, she is very competent in her work. That is what makes her a valuable asset, alongside Chigusa and Chisaya."
After a brief exchange of words, the leaders of Phantom task skimmed through the folders and soon they found themselves shocked for the third time.
(Scene Change)
"Do you think that elusive IS is….by any chance…...after the Byakushiki?"
Chigusa inquired to her superior and strangely enough the hooded figure that's been quiet most of day became a little chatty if the topic is about Ichika.
"I can't can't say anything certain but aren't you forgetting that the IS and the pilot are a package."
The hooded figure said in a slightly playful tone, an unusual deviation from its normal demeanor.
"Hmmm….are you saying that it's after Ichika and his Byakushiki."
"The IS only holds the part of the way, the pilot is an indispensable factor."
"You are absolutely right!"
Chigusa exclaimed in a glee but voiced the other question that popped in her mind.
"But what could a rogue IS want with the 'delicious' Ichika."
The term 'delicious' made the hooded figure tilt its head slightly.
"Your vulgar way of referring to others is very unpleasant to the ears."
Suddenly a new figure stepped out of the dark, a tall figure dressed in the same attire as Chigusa with long azure hair flowing down to her waist and possessing slender figure enough to not lose to Chigusa. Also similar to Chigusa, this news beauty's purple eyes glows noticeably despite in a near pitch black environment.
"Hey! Long time no see Chisaya where have you been hiding this whole time, I haven't seen your serious facein quite a while."
"Hmph!"
"Your face going to cramp up if you don't smile even a little."
"My behavior is not your concern Chigusa."
"Ah! So mean!"
The new beauty whose name was Chisaya chose to ignore Chigusa's banter and quickly saluted to the hooded figure.
"I have heard of the skirmish between Madoka and Ichika and that IchikaOrimura won."
The hooded figure merely nodded.
"Then we have to put the plan in motion before the other party gets to him first."
"No, we will do no action."
A bit surprised, Chisaya voiced her curiosity.
"But why? The culprit in the attack against our detachment in Norway is now on Okinawa and with the testimony of Captain Sakuya there is no doubt that the objective of that rogue IS is none other than IchikaOrimura and his IS."
"Ichika is still in the midst of uncovering the buried truth in his past, until he attains the completion of himself; we can do nothing but watch."
After giving it a thought, Chisaya yield to the wish of the hooded figure.
"I understand."
"That is right Chisaya! You're not the only who wants to see him!"
Chigusa exclaimed while flailing her hands in a cute manner.
"Chigusa…..It doesn't suit you to act so childishly."
Chisaya coldly pointed out the fact without even looking at her.
"Doesn't it? (Sigh)….I thought it would be a good change of pace. But from your comment I guess it doesn't suit me at all."
At an instant Chigusa's childish tone suddenly turned into a cold and sharp voice and her eyes even in the dense darkness, glowed like the red flames.
"You are more suited to your usual despicable self and not the childish manner you horribly portrayed."
Chisaya told Chigusa in an almost insulting tone.
"Watch your voice harlot if you don't want to lose any limbs."
"Threatening me? Ha! That is a bit of a downgraded since you would usually decapitate first and ask questions later. Perhaps this is your flaw manifesting itself."
"And being a chatter box is a very degrading trait to your already degraded self."
As the two traded criticizing comments on each other, the tension suddenly rose in the dark hallways similar to the tensions present at the prologue of a war. Their IS units in standby mode suddenly flickered in the darkness, Chigusa's bracelet sparked and Chisaya's armband glowed. But before they could deploy it, at a sudden flash, the floor, the walls even the roof became ridden with very deep slash marks, miraculously though both of them were unharmed like it was intentional that they were left unscathed.
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS BEHAVIOR; I TRAINED YOU TWO ENOUGH TO NOT ACT LIKE SPOILED BRATS."
The hooded figure who has its hand raised to the sidesaid in a cold and deadly voice, a bracelet was glowing from its wrist. Evidently the slash marks were the doing of the hooded figures IS and the two women who knew it would be dangerous to tax the patience of this concealed figure,stopped their bickering.
""Understood""
Both muttered in unison.
Soon the three started to walk and silence once again blanketed the dark hall way. But the dark ambiance soon changed into a stormy one, as the trio arrived at a huge circular hallway with walls made of glass like material with exception of the floor which seem to be made of sleek metals, it looks like a giant glass tube similar to those underwater aquariums in theme parks, the only thing that is off is that the hallway is set up so high. The glass hall connects the conference building to another building, its high position could provide a spectacular view but not thing could be seen because of the unusually strong rain falling from the ominous black skies. The sheer denseness of the rain almost covers the surroundings like a thick mantle of watery mist; the only thing that clears the nearly obscured environment is the bright flashes of lightning arching down from the skies.
"Hmmm… An ominous storm. Ufufufufufufu! I can tell that the next events will be very chaotic."
Chigusa said in her mind with a very evil smirk, it seems her childish façade and her ill-portrayed cute gesture was replaced by a terrifyingly calm and mature behavior.
"Interesting, the ensuing pandemonium will soon throw the world into disarray."
Chisaya silently pondered while wearing a twisted smile on her face.
"You two seem to be distracted in your thoughts."
The unexpected voice of their reclusive leader snapped the two beautiful vipers from their thoughts.
"Well….I was just thinking about something pleasant happening in the immediate future."
Chigusa replied while looking away, still wearing a wicked grin.
After Chigusa's morbid reply, the hooded figure turned to Chisaya who masked her similar interest with an indifferent face and remained silent.
"….."
The hooded figure merely turned forward and proceeded to walk if not for Chigusa's sudden voice.
"Oh! I almost overlooked this other issue."
Chigusa suddenly brought up a new topic out of the blue.
"And what issue is that?"
Chisaya turned to Chigusa with a slight glint of curiosity in her eyes. Chigusa on the other hand made another evil smile and turned to Chisaya.
"What about Chifuyu?"
The question seemed to have ticked someone off and that someone is the none other than the hooded figure. At the mention of Ichika's sister Chifuyu Orimura, their introvert leader radiated a sickly purple mist and ever so slowly turned its gaze to the two women behind it and revealed two fiery blood red eyes full of barely controlled rage. At the sight, Chigusa and Chisaya flinched a little, a momentary fear in their fearless existence.
"…."
"…."
Both didn't utter any words, both didn't dare, they knew what happens to those who speaks when their leader is in this state. At the best, there will a few specks of bones left to bury.
"(SIGH)"
After a painfully long moment, the hooded figure calmed down and the tension that filled the glass hallway that was comparable to the pressure down in the deepest trenches lessened a little.
"Do not worry about Chifuyu, when the time comes she too will understand the futility of her action."
The hooded figure calmly said while the suffocating purple mist still persists on its form. It took a few moments before the asphyxiating presence coming from the hooded figure disappeared. When the tension dissipated completely, Chigusa and Chisaya made a knowing smile.
"THE TIME IS AT HAND, WHERE ALL THE FABRICATED REALITIES WILL BE SHATTERED AND ALL THE LIES WILL BE CAST ASIDE…..THE WAITING IS DONE. LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD."
As if an applause to the hooded figure declaration, the storm outside raged even more as the rain became denser and the lightning became fiercer. With that remark, the three became silent not because there was nothing to say but all that was worth saying has been said already so the three silently made their way to the next building.
The lightning flashed ever so brightly in the skies as if it was the wrath of heaven descending on earth.
"(FLASH)"
The three arrived at the end of the glass hallway.
"(FLASH)"
The huge blast door at the end of the hallway hissedas itautomatically opened.
"(FLASH)"
The huge door finally opened and the three made their way inside.
"(FLASH)"
The three stepped inside the new building and behind them the blast door slowly began to close. But…
"(FLASH)"
The fifth and brightest lightning entered the remaining space in the door, temporarily blanketing the dark room with a blinding light. However the shadow casted by Chigusa, Chisaya and the hooded figure appeared as giant winged knights in that momentary flash before the blast door closed entirely.
This is the beginning….