“Come with me, Forte. Let’s tear it down.”
“Tear it down?”
“Yeah. Tear down this rotten world. Tear down my family’s curse.”
Suddenly, she pressed her lips against Forte’s. Forte stood stunned for a few seconds, before shaking her head, pushing Rain away.
“I... I can’t... It’s just... Just...”
“That’s okay. Goodbye, Forte. I’ll miss you.”
Another laugh cut short, the bitterness within making Forte’s heart ache. She had to betray someone. She knew. She knew too well. IS Academy, or Rain. She had to choose one, and one alone.
“Time to get going. Let’s go, Hellhound!” As Rain shouted, her IS wrapped around her. Dark grey armor, pauldrons in the shape of dogs’ heads breathing fire. The blade Escort Black clenched in her hand. Glowing red-hot with her passion, a challenge to her oncoming foe. “Bring it!”
As Rain roared her battle cry, the Tempesta closed in. Metal clashed on metal, sparks flew.
“Oh? You certainly seem perky today. Ahh, the passion of youth.”
“Save it for the nurse, old lady!” The hounds on her shoulders breathed their flame.
Somehow, Allie caught it in her palms before saying, “That’s a rude thing to say to a lady in her twenties. Sounds like you need a spanking!”
The Tempesta moved like a tempest, blowing back the flame, casting Rain’s bullets to the ground. As they fell on the parking lot below, explosions rang out.
“Mmm, doesn’t look like anyone was hurt.” After a quick check with her biosensor, Allie fixed her gaze on Rain. Her right eye, too, was replaced by her IS. With a whirr, the lens focused.
[HEAT SOURCE DETECTED. TARGETING ACCURACY: THREE CENTIMETERS.]
“Got you from the left!” Allie’s prosthetic right hand formed a javelin of wind, and she hurled it at Rain.
“Tch!” There was no avoiding that. Rain gritted her teeth in anticipation. But— Forte Sapphire blocked the javelin with a shield of crystalline ice.
“Forte...”
“I can’t...”
“What?”
“I can’t just sit back and watch! Why are you just letting her attack you?! We’re the unbreakable shield Aegis, aren’t we?! And who’ll braid my hair without you?! Who?!” Forte screamed. Screamed out her true feelings. And turned traitor against IS Academy and her homeland. “Bwahhh...”
“Some days I don’t get you. What’re you crying for?”
“You... You made me cry...”
As their eyes met, more javelins closed in.
“Save the touching moments for later!”
Not one, this time, but three. But rather than evading, this time, Rain and Forte took them head-on.
“Ohh?”
Heat and cold together created a phase transition, a wall of energy—Aegis. Hellhound’s flame, Cold Blood’s chill. Their meeting wasn’t chance. It was destiny.
“Looks like it’s two on one now. Unless you’re expecting your precious little Ichika to back you up?”
Rain knew Autumn had been assigned to keep him busy. There was no chance that he’d be in this fight.
“Mhm. Why don’t you give it a good thinking over? About why I’m here?”
Allie spread her arms, as if finally bringing the full force of Tempesta to bear. As she did, mirror images formed around her. Allie, and two clones. This was the true form of her one-off ability—Early Tempest.
“Looks more like three on two to me.”
The odds weren’t in their favor. But Rain and Forte weren’t giving up yet.
“We can do it.”
They could. With the force of a love like no other, they knew they could overcome any foe.
“Sorry, kids, but life comes at you fast.” Allie’s clones may have been following her movements, but their attacks were just as fierce as the real thing, thundering like a tempest around their desperate defense.
“Tch! Not bad for an old lady!”
“That’s a pretty harsh way to describe a twenty-eight-year-old!”
“Twenty-eight’s about ten too many, auntie!”
“I’m gonna wash your mouths out with soap, you little brats!”
They may have sounded like squabbling children, but this was a serious battle. Early Tempest was one of the strongest one-off abilities in the world, and its raging winds tore at their armor even with glancing blows. And even worse for Rain and Forte, Hellhound and Cold Blood were still equipped with IS Academy’s shield energy limiters. They could see that a drawn-out fight was only going to get worse and worse for them.
“Forte! Let’s do it!” Rain shouted.
“It?! But that’s...”
“It’s what?”
“It’s embarrassing...”
“This is no time to worry about that!”
A blush rose to Forte’s face, and Rain’s expression steeled as she fended off Allie’s attacks.
“Let’s do it!”
“Are we really going to? Right here?” Forte, finally finding her determination, drew Allie’s attention with a shower of ice.
“Kids these days, can’t go five minutes without thinking about doing it.” As Allie swooped in for another attack, Rain again wrapped her arms around Forte and kissed her passionately.
“Here goes! Ice In Fire!” Rain and Forte’s bodies were encrusted in armor formed of flame wrapped in ice.
“My wind can carve right through that!” Fists wrapped in raging gales struck forth, with impact stronger than an anti-tank rifle. But—
“Tricked you, you old creep!” As the ice shattered, the flame within exploded outward like reactive armor. Propelled by the explosion, Rain and Forte managed to break away from Allie. And they knew what to do next.
“Let’s get out of here!”
“Got it!”
In the blink of an eye, they were gone.
“Oh dear. Whatever will this sunburn do to my complexion?” Allie bemusedly brushed away the falling embers. “I wonder how he’s doing, though? I should check up on him.”
As Allie’s IS faded out, she nonchalantly popped open a parasol and strode off.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You’re—” Ichika had no idea what was going on, but he recognized the woman in front of him.
“Just as slow on your feet as ever, Orimura Ichika!” Swiftly, Autumn drew a pistol.
Before Ichika could even realize he was in trouble, the training Laura had given him kicked in. Fleeing from the gunfire, he raced through the side streets of Kyoto, thinking only of how he could avoid drawing bystanders into the fight. Dammit! I need to get away from any people!
“Dead end, kid.”
Ichika gulped nervously. He’d taken the wrong back alley and had nowhere left to run. Just as he thought it was all over, though, Blue Tears’ bits formed a circle around Autumn.
“Cecilia!”
“Fancy meeting you here, Ichika.” Autumn was confused by Cecilia’s sunny disposition—but only for a moment.
“Don’t move!” As she turned her head toward the voice, she saw Houki, Ling, Charlotte, Laura, and Kanzashi—all the first years with their own IS. And all with their IS out and ready to go. It was enough to make the blood drain even from Autumn’s face.
“Autumn, isn’t it? Why don’t you come with us?”
“I should warn you, my impact cannon is already locked on.”
“No quick moves.”
“At least, if you want to live.”
“Prisoner captured.”
Autumn’s pistol thudded to the ground, as if to say the words ‘I surrender’ for her.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ahh, this feels so nice.” Rain swam nude in the pool of a luxury hotel’s penthouse suite. “Just like I expected from Aunt Squall and her cell Monochrome Avatar. You really know how to treat a lady.”
Squall, lounging beside the pool, gave a wry smile and said, “Was that some sarcasm? Oh, and don’t call me ‘aunt.’ She’ll realize who I am.”
“That’s fine. Right, Forte?”
Forte, floating in nothing but a gigantic swim ring, replied with a nervous start, “Y-Yeah, hahaha...”
Embarrassment was visible on her face. It was only natural—Rain and Forte may have been naked, but Squall was in a swimsuit.
“I wonder what’s taking Autumn so long. I’d asked her to bring us Ichika,” Squall sighed as she took her sunglasses off.
“Ah, Autumn’s been captured.”
“Mm? I’m not quite sure what you mean,” Squall grimaced at Rain. Ex- or not, Autumn was still special forces, and she was equipped with an IS to boot. She wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“I’m sure of it. They’ve been texting each other all afternoon about how the first years surrounded her and took her in.”
Realizing the situation they were in, Squall stood up from her pool chair.
“Hold on, Autumn. I’m coming.”
Anger blazed in her eyes. There weren’t many hasty decisions Squall would make, but saving her lover was one of them.
“They’ve kinda got a lot of firepower for that. Even Alicia’s there.”
Rain was right. Even with three IS at full power, the odds would be against them. Squall ground her teeth in frustration.
“We’ve just gotta wait for our chance. Right, Aunt Squall?”
“.........” Squall took Rain’s teasing as an invitation to silently stalk out.
“And there she goes.” Half-amused and half-resigned, Rain backstroked over to Forte. “That’s probably enough time at the pool for us too, Forte. How about bed instead?”
“Okay...” Forte blushed red at the implication. But her doubts were gone. She was convinced. There was no turning back. She’d be by Rain’s side, tearing down destiny together. Yes, there was no turning back...