Location: Terra Colony Andromeda

North Sector - Training Field Septa

Earlier

Time: 1431

January 31, 2050

A ring of plucked strings sounded in Haruka’s ears. Stopping dead in her tracks, she swerved around, looking for where that oddly familiar noise had come from. The craggy plains were void of anyone or anything, so what the heck was that? It wasn’t that she was expecting an enemy to be nearby, more that she was acutely aware of the new presence in the air. It was one she knew all too well.

“Joel?” She pressed her earpiece, perhaps their private comm line had been restored. All she got was static, “Still jammed.. Ugh.. I should’ve stayed in today.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t suggest that you did,” Said a whisper in the air. “I’d be a shame if the show were to end.”

Haruka’s brow rose as she frantically scanned the surroundings. “What the? Joel? Is that you?”

A laugh was returned. “Hah, you must be confused. It’s a long explanation, but to put it simply I left you all a message in your earpieces. It will preemptively speak to your inputs, so go ahead and test it out, though..” The whispering tone turned conspiratory, a sharp contrast edged each syllable. “I would not recommend wasting any time. And, I must say, if you, Haruka, are receiving this message then that must mean you are disobeying what we agreed on. How.. unfortunate, but quite predictable.”

Haruka frowned, she knew what he was talking about and didn’t find his implications endearing. She, and the others, had agreed to down Itsuki in a surprise attack and give the students a hard time, that was all. But that didn’t seem possible now, and it was easier in her opinion to just get it over with and surrender, it’s why she ran. All she wanted now was to get this mission over and get to bed.

“Yeah?” She asked matter of factly. “What of it? I didn’t..”

Laughter rolled in her ears as Joel’s voice cut in. “Oh Haruka, you must’ve known that I take the contracts I make quite seriously.”

Haruka felt a tug around her throat, she looked down. There was a coiling piece of string around her neck, though not just any string. How it pierced her protective aura told her that it was woven out of pure core energy, Joel’s core energy to be precise.

“Guess you saw it.” Joel’s voice snickered. “Don’t worry, you aren’t in any danger. It won’t kill you, not unless I say so. So? Here are your choices. Stand and fight, or face the consequences. What those consequences could be? I’ll just leave that to your imagination.”

This was a threat, plain and simple. Immediately Haruka imagined her head getting lopped off, but could Joel really kill her? Kill any of them? He was such a charming and well-spoken man. How he could be so callous seemed more geared to something Itsuki would do.

Haruka crossed her arms, fidgeting as she then kicked and shattered a boulder in frustration. She huffed. “Not like I have a choice.”

Again, Joel’s laughter rang in her ear. A second later the string around her neck disappeared, she could still sense it there though, so it wasn’t really gone. The puppeteer. Haruka recalled. I think I can see why they call him that. He’s thought this all out, and now? He’s moving me like a chess piece. But what the heck is his plan? What is the point of this?

“Damnit!” She shouted to the sky. “Am I missing something here? And why did I have to draw the short straw today!” Rubbing her antlers, she grimaced at how one of the tips had been torn. “That fucking asshole, I swear! I..”

***

Cutting the feed, Professor Cyno, with the ever-annoying Headmaster Joel sitting in the cushioned couch next to him, turned to give him a frown. His friend watched the digital video feeds of the ongoing battles across the practical training class intently, like he was binge watching a tv series. Posture wise, Joel seemed like a villainous mastermind enjoying the show, especially with how his smile curved ominously.

Cyno glanced down at his watch. They were off schedule by almost three hours. He leveled another blaming glare to the perpetrator on his right, still wondering what the hell Joel was expecting. The man had a hidden agenda and a hidden agenda within that agenda.

Jesus, what a handful.

“You know this is going to put you in a lot of hot water, right?” Cyno asked. “Not just with me or Itsuki, but the explorers we hired?”

Joel didn’t flinch, he patted down his sleeves and leaned to lay on his side in a lackadaisical manner. “No need to tell me Cyno.” Putting a hand under his chin, he evoked a kind of scummy personality, probably on purpose. “I know full well what my actions have caused and will cause.” He raised a freshly brewed cup of tea to his lips and sipped. “For now, we should relax and watch the show.”

Cyno narrowed his eyes and pulled his gaze back to the number of displays floating in the air. It was a light show, a three hundred and sixty degree theater set in the darkened confines of Joel’s spacious office.

To Joel it was entertainment. To Cyno though, it was their future. From the corner of his eye, he saw Joel raise one of his hands up and clutch at something. The faint outline of strings wavered in the air around the tips of his fingers. Cyno moved to wipe his eye to discreetly get a better look. Joel then snapped his fingers with an audible click, and the once gimmer of strings were gone. Cyno knew what those were. He gave an exasperated sigh of disapproval.

“Oh stop worrying,” Joel said. “I promise, nothing bad will happen.”

Cyno didn’t believe that. He quietly sipped his mug of coffee. A distasteful puckering spread through his lips at how cold and tepid the drink had gotten. He’d have to brew up another pot, and this was the 10th one today.

“Oh-ho ho,” Joel cooed in excitement. “Now this will be interesting. I’ve always wanted to see a bout like this, it will be like the three musketeers fighting amongst themselves.”

Cyno got up to brew a new cup and shook his head. “You really are incorrigible.”

“Oh it’s my greatest personality, glad you noticed.”

“It really isn’t,” Cyno said. He raised his mug to Joel. “Want a cup?”

Joel didn’t even turn to him, he only waved his hand in refusal. As always, he was riveted to his own machinations, to see what was wrought by the intertwining of fate and chance, a weaving of strings in a way. Life was his stage, and he was its.. God? Narrator? Spectator? Critic? Perhaps all of the above.

***

“Impressive,” Arielle admired Shisuki's bladework. Pushed back step by step, she ducked past her to the left, then weaved through a number of shallow slashes that flowed like water as Shisuki turned to face her. The girl’s footwork transitions from one stance to the next without pause or delay, to Arielle.. it was masterful. “So this is the rumored bewitching swordsman of the east. I must say that you live up to your infamy.”

“Oh spare me the sentiment,” Shisuki hissed.

“No, I mean it,” Arielle raised her arm as she coated it in a dense layer of sparking electricity. A sharp discharge rang as she clashed with Shisuki in an even stalemate of strength. The recoiling thump made her grunt. “Ugh, dang, you really must’ve been trained by that lunatic.”

“I would say the same to you,” Shisuki said, shooting her a smile. “Though, I must say you are slacking. I expected better from a real explorer.”

“Hey!” Arielle barked. “Don’t talk shit about me, I’ve been keeping up with my training. Plus, I don’t invoke duels as often as you.”

Shisuki shrugged, then jumped away as she swept a glowing hand to produce a mist of vapor that blanketed the air. Hiding amongst the thick haze, she snickered. “It’s always best to show others the difference in strength,” Her voice echoed around Arielle. “The members of my clan and our branch families have grown complacent, so I had to breathe life into them, and more importantly, I needed to convince them to let me attend this academy.”

“I can’t blame you,” Arielle replied, wary of the thickening haze’s silence. “A good beating does the trick. I’ve heard from the news how isolationist the Eastern Bloc can be. I can’t even imagine how stuck up it must be there. But..” She paused, recalling a few recordings of Shisuki’s official duels. “But.. did you have to beat them that badly?”

She spun on her heels and swung her left arm to deflect an almost invisible blade emerging from the mist. A flurry of exchanges ended with Arielle hunching low as she stepped in to deliver an energy infused palm strike. Shisuki countered with her own and a shockwave of force swept the mist away as sunlight from above poured onto them.

Arielle grinned. “Gotcha! Eat, This!” Quicker on the draw, her other hand struck dead center at Shisuki’s chest.

Shisuki grimaced, a flash of pain running across her aqua colored eyes. But then she did something Arielle hadn’t been expecting, she smiled, polite, and sharp like a knife. “No,” She whispered. “I have you.”

Suddenly her form melted into liquid and separated into restraining tendrils of water that flitted like a predator pouncing on prey.

“A construct!?” Arielle’s shock dissipated as realized that the mist wasn’t just for cover. Laced with core energy, it masked the different energy signatures coming from the duplicate that had revealed itself. Turning herself around, she saw the real Shisuki a distance away, and with backup. “Damnit!”

Arielle was surrounded, she hadn’t even heard the hum of the trainee’s flight packs. The still dispersing mist was perfect cover and so was the clashing of their attacks. She wondered if this was Shisuki’s plan all along. With no time to dwell, she pulled at the bindings of water, but they didn’t break, instead they stretched. Attempting to leap and fly away, she felt her ankles planted to the ground, it was like she was stuck in a sticky fly trap.

“Fire!”

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With a shout, the trainees raised their rifles and pulled their triggers. Arielle reached for a compartment on her belt, removed it, then threw it above her. With a hissing crack, the facets of the rectangular data pad sized device flew away and expanded into a series of hovering energy shields. Linked mentally through her cyberkinesis, they moved with uncanny speed to guard her.

Rifle grenades resounded in a row of dull thuds and bullets pinged like the chime of a rusty bell. Yet not a speck of metal hit Arielle. Stirring her core energy, electricity crackled and permeated her arms as her locks of long blonde hair running down her back bloomed with a rainbow of iridescence. Straining as she pulled apart her hands, the tendrils of binding water evaporated. The release was followed by a staggering shockwave that hit Shisuki and the trainees.

As Arielle pressed her hands together, Shisuki knew what was coming next and shouted, “Get to cover!”

Trainees dove to the ground and others knelt, bracing for what was to come. The students, those who were mystics, deployed barriers as corebinders banded together. Arielle spread her arms to send forth serpents of lightning racing towards them. The violence of a thunderstorm hit everyone, as wind and debris caked the battle. Trainees and students alike were blown away or stunned into unconsciousness. This relentless counter seemed to go on forever, but a shout clashed over the cacophony.

“Crimson Dragon!”

Challenging the storm, a torrent of fire barreled at the storm’s heart. Stella, with her enormous golden sword raised, summoned a maw of fire that opened its jaw and dug deep into Arielle’s energy barriers. A sharp crunch of glass brought the end of the storm. The expected calm did not return though.

Stella leapt into a run. “Now!” She shouted. “Forward!”

Rallying the other students still able to fight, they assailed Arielle in the moments she was reeling. A war axe wielding student descended from a mighty jump; his hefty implement poised to cut her down. Metal sparked as Arielle caught the enormous implement with one hand and parried the rest of the student with her other bare hand. Swinging around, she put her hip into it as she threw the axe wielder aside and delivered a simultaneous crescent kick that launched a second student behind her.

While it may have seemed that she was undisciplined in close combat, she very much excelled in comparison to the fledgling surrounding her. One by one, students and trainees fell to a fist, a kick, or a palm that struck with practiced care. Just as Arielle turned to face a trainee, who was getting into a better firing position, she was caught off guard by an unexpected student and by how close he had gotten.

The shimmer of short black hair was all she could see before she had to, in a panic, raise her arms in a full guard. A black blade flashed, then a white glint of a smaller weapon came close to grazing her neck. Losing her momentum, she was forced to backflip away, but the individual assailing her continued his onslaught and was keeping to her blind spots.

Arielle closed her eyes to let her cyberkinesis enhanced contacts give her a three hundred and sixty degree view. The name of her opponent appeared as facial recognition kicked in. Ikki Kurogen. Interesting.

Clapping her hands mid jump, static electricity pulsed between them. Forced to evade Ikki’s blade, she jumped back again and landed while pressing her charged hands into the ground. Lightning descended and struck with a flash. Tens of figures took shape, visages of pure energy that were in the shape of humans.

“Let’s level the playing field.” Arielle said and winked at Ikki. “Hope you can keep up.”

The human shaped constructs of energy flourished their arms like weapons. Their hands energized and electrified the air.

“Attack!” Shisuki shouted.

The students and trainees engaged at her command. Blade and bolt clashed in an utterly chaotic rumble.

***

No one had said this would be easy, but Stella had not expected for half of their team to be already downed in the first initial minutes of the engagement. Everything seemed to have been going well when surrounding Arielle, yet she turned the table and countered in an effective manner.

The trainees and other students, such as Stella herself, were warding off Arielle’s constructs. Slashing one down, it burst into particles of light as Stella moved ahead to get closer to the target. She stopped, awed at how Ikki pressed on and even pushed Arielle back.

With what little advantage he had with his impeccable swordsmanship, he was matching an explorer on his own, something she knew she couldn’t even do. Every time Arielle made a strike at Ikki, he would counter, evade, or lessen the impact of the hit. His masterful control of his body was beyond words or comparison, and Stella knew she’d have difficulty recreating such a feat or if she could assist.

The exchange between them was too quick, and while her eyes could see it all, her body couldn’t keep up. Reaction time wise, Ikki had her beat and so did Arielle. Raising her flaming great sword, Ignaria, Stella aimed carefully from a distance of about 20 meters. Ikki seemed to pick up on her plan as he maneuvered to turn Arielle away from Stella, he then jumped back to get clear.

A bright smile bloomed on Stella’s lips. Incredible as always, Ikki. Unleashing her enormous store of core energy, she imbued her blade and swung it down. A draconic head of flames the size of several meters roiled and roared. Caught facing the wrong way, Arielle was delayed a precious second as she fumbled for something at her waist before stretching her arms in front of her.

Ikki felt the booming slam as two incredible forces pushed one another. From Arielle, a luminescent stream of plasmatic electricity fought the crimson flames of Stella’s draconic conjuration. The struggle reached a climax with Stella winning out. Arielle was thrown back, engulfed in a storm of fiery ash. Stella staggered to stand, the weight of her fatigue hitting her just as badly as a wound.

“Stella, you alright!” Ikki called out and rushed to her side to support her. “Can you stand?”

Stella, leaning on his shoulder, nodded. “Yeah, did we get her?”

“No.” Shisuki said, cutting in as she leapt in front of them at the ready. “Be on guard, I sense she wouldn’t go down that easily. Especially not from an amateur like you.”

The urge to retort was hard to resist, but Stella caught the sensation of core energy in the air. Shisuki was right. They readied themselves in this moment of calm.

Shisuki pulled up the comm. [Shisuki to Beta 1, Report! What's your status?]

[Beta 1 here, we’re pretty spread out. These constructs have us duking it out. Combat strength at 58%. I’ve got only 23 out of the original 40 still kicking on my team.]

[23? What happened?] Shisuki had been expecting that the trainees would’ve lasted longer, especially with how they had brought 20 students along as support. [Are the upperclassmen still in the fight?]

[Unknown ma’am. The constructs are making it hard to coordinate.]

[What about the first years?] Shisuki asked.

Beta 1 scoffed. [Besides you and the other two students with you, I’m reading that the rest of the new kids just turned tail and ran.]

A vein pulsed in Shisuki’s head. I swear to god I am going to rip their balls off and..

[Then what do we do?] Ikki asked suddenly. Just hearing his voice brought peace to Shisuki. [Sis?]

The way he addressed her made her almost want to leap in joy. Before he noticed, Shizuki caught herself and coughed. She made a point of remembering how hard Stella was glaring at her. [Ahem! Beta 1, continue engaging Arielle’s constructs. Myself and the other two will engage Arielle, provide support when you can.]

[Roger, Beta 1 out.]

Shisuki looked over her shoulder to Ikki. She gave him a wordless nod and it was returned with one in kind.

[I’ll get her attention,] Ikki said.

[And I’ll focus on disarming her,] Shisuki replied as she stepped ahead.

[What about Stella?] Ikki asked, stopping her before she took another.

Shisuki only shrugged. [My only order for her is to not get in our way. The two of us should be able to finish this, we don’t need a third wheel.]

Stella felt her cheeks reddened in indignancy. She tried to tamp it down. But, in the end, it spilled out. [Don’t treat me like I’m baggage,] She hissed. [I can fight, too.]

[I doubt that,] Shisuki countered. [Just stay out of our way. If you want to help, fight the constructs.]

Without saying anything else, Shisuki went on ahead. Ikki, after showing a moment of hesitation, joined his sister. Stella, left behind, was wondering if she truly was a burden.. Or if neither of her teammates had faith in her. She shook her head and decided what she’d do. Then I’ll show them.

Bolts of rainbow colored energy flew and lanced the air on the approach, no doubt Arielle was up and about. Stella had been behind Ikki and Shisuki by only a few seconds, though the distance they covered was substantial, so she picked up the pace. Deflecting a few stray bolts, she closed in as she gained visual of her target.

Again, her eyes widened in surprise. Ikki was again marvelously matching Arielle in combat. He weaved in and out of her line of sight, forcing her to take a defensive strategy. She deployed a number of hovering energy swords that swept in periodic attack patterns.

Ikki parried each one with such ease that the heft of each clash didn’t seem to faze him. In conjunction, Shisuki was pressing her advantage in having both a ranged and close quarters technique. Her control and conjuration over the element of water was versatile. Meanwhile, water constructs, exact copies of herself in appearance, ran about to add to Arielle’s confusion and focus of the battle.

Some covered for Ikki, throwing themselves in front of him, while others charged suicidally into Arielle to break open a briefest of chances. Chances that the real Shisuki used to come within inches of landing a clean hit.

The brother and sister pair fought in a perfect concert, exchanging looks and silent orders to one another without needing to move their lips. A pang of jealousy rose in Stella’s chest. Setting Ignaria into its axe form, she crouched low and waited.

Itsuki’s words then rang in her ears. You have the firepower and the skill, but you’re emotional and too slow in a team. I’m not saying you aren’t a fast runner, but even if you are gifted, you fail to read the intent of your allies. Explorers work as a team, and you fail if you can’t adapt to the person besides who, even if you hate them.

Annoyed as she was to agree, Stella let her eye take everything in. Ikki was parrying a wave of slashes from five of Arielle’s hovering energy swords. The ten others that Stella could see were chasing Shisuki’s water constructs, one for each. The real Shisuki was locked into an exchange with Arielle, who was making sure to keep a couple arms distance away.

Stella slowly moved to flank Arielle, making sure to stay hidden. When she was ready, she pinged a signal to Shisuki. Stella was unsure if she would play along, but.. A second later they made eye contact. The briefest of scowls deepened on Shisuki’s brow, then it lightened.

Stella didn’t know what to make of that and hoped that that was the go ahead. And she was right. Shisuki made a gamble of a move and unleashed what seemed like a desperate exchange of slashes to bridge the distance. She was grazed a few times, but the danger of her short katana’s effective range became prevalent and advantageous.

Arielle, knowing that this situation would play out poorly, chose to flee. Stella knew what to do next. Arielle’s escape was cut off as a wall of flame arose in her path. Ikki, having read the situation with his Hyperion eye technique, was already in position to flank Arielle with Stella coming around from the other side and Shisuki covering the last side to box her in. With an impassable wall in front of her, and three swordsmen closing from the remaining sides, she had no choice but to go up. She activated her gravity heels to jump as high as she could.

Ikki leapt to give chase and was met with a shockwave of energy as Arielle clapped her hands together. He slammed to the ground, wincing from a shooting pain down his spine. He had been activating the abilities of his swords, Kuroken and Shiraken.

In exchange for enhanced speed and strength, pangs of pain flared in him like stab injuries and severe burns. Fighting through it all, he picked himself up and rolled out of the way of a pair of slashing hovering swords. Stella unleashed a few balls of fire that chased Arielle as she stepped about in the air. The fireballs missed their mark as Arielle ascended.

[Beta 1!] Shisuki shouted into her comm. [Requesting fire support! Marking target!]

[Copy! Target Acquired.]

The crack of a sniper rifle echoed as a trailing line of a tracer skewered the air. Arielle jerked as the anti-material shot sheared a chunk off the bottom of her gravity heels. Damaged, she began to fall, though not until a volley of rifle grenades peppered her defensive aura on the way down and effectively knocked her out of the sky.

“Nowhere to run now!” Shisuki shouted as she barreled at Arielle.

Arielle bent back mid fall to evade, the blade coming within inches of her nose. She hit the ground feet first and spun to the right, then jumped into a spinning kick that met Shisuki in the side. But it was a water construct and the real Shisuki closed in from the left. Her blade inched so close before one of Arielle’s hovering blades intercepted. Shisuki backed off and Arielle retreated to gain some distance.

“Pretty good,” Arielle said, frowning as she noticed a small lock of her bangs fall always. “Too bad you didn’t cut any deeper, I could’ve used a haircut.

“Oh yeah!” Stella challenged. “We’re just getting started.”

Shisuki nodded. “I concur, as much as I don’t want to.”

At the side, Ikki sighed, and hoped his sister’s insult didn’t stick. To his relief it didn’t, Stella had her head in the game, and this fight was just getting started. Luckily, Ikki had a card he could play, but would it be enough? Did he have the strength to use it? Every part of him ached, telling him to not do it. Yet a desire boiled in him, it yearned to be quenched.