[LightDragonman]

Okay, looks like I can't delay the massacre any more.

_____


For now, the situation inside the school had more or less calmed down. ARUS soldiers were stationed in all the rooms and hallways were the students were being held, keeping them contained until further orders. That said, the latter were still highly untrusting of the former, and the same for vice-versa.

"This doesn't mean that we still think of you as human," reminded Lt. Sheridan to Inuzuka, the latter currently huddled in the middle of a classroom with several other students. "Given that you are a pilot yourself, I'd light only you up were it not for my orders."

"Noted," Inuzuka replied with a glare. "Just remember that I wasn't the one who invaded the school with a rifle."

The Valvrave hanger was also in a stalemate. Raizo, in the pilot suit of Valvrave Unit 03, was just about to head on out to back Akira up when the order from the ARUS commander to hold fire was issued. So now he was sitting impatiently in the cockpit, while ARUS soldiers surrounded the legs of his mech.

"Tch, what do they think they can do against Nobu-Lightning?" he said to himself. "They're not even in the hanger where their Splicers are!"

"Stay calm Raizo" Kibukawa said, him and Rion in the command post overseeing the school. "We don't want to raise any aggression."

"It's Thunder!" Raizo protested. "And I know what to do! Just that this situation is really starting to tick me off. We're not monsters after all!"

In the auditorium, Akira still kept a watchful eye over the remaining ARUS troops, however she had also seen fit to lower her Valvrave's wrist, seeing as though there was no real threat at the moment. Indeed, as she looked inside, she noted that the dead bodies of Youhei and the three female students were being respectively covered by sheets that Satomi and Takahi had found.

It was a solemn affair, with the students either weeping for their dead comrades or shooting glares and curses at the ARUS soldiers for killing their friends. Not that the latter were doing any better. Indeed, the soldiers who had opened fire were either emptying their stomachs on the floor, or looked about ready to break down sobbing.

"I.....I just killed.....!"

"Why is this happening?!"

"You bastards! I'll never forgive you!"

"Death to ARUS!"

"Calm down kids! We're sorry for everything!"

"You think that's going to cut it?!"

Satomi and Takahi had to do all they could to hold back several of the angrier students from rushing the soldiers, lest more shootings happen. It was still a struggle, and Takahi herself seemed willing to just let the students at them.

Akira looked back at her display, having gone over the broadcast several times now that she wasn't worried about the students. She, like Haruto, was horrified at what had happened to Saki. The image of her being made an outcast only made her wish to go save her, as she knew all too well what that felt like. But for now, all she could do was try to pinpoint her location.

"Tracing video feed...." she muttered as she scrolled through the footage. "Matching up images.........Got it!"

Having found what she was looking for, she downloaded the data directly to her screen. With that finished, she returned her attention to the camera feeds, hoping to at least see where Shouko and Haruto were being escorted.

However, she noticed something in the camera pointing at one of the hangers outside the forested area. It looked like an ARUS flagship, but something seemed different about it. It was colored all black rather than green, and it seemed to have the insignia of a bull's head inside of a four-leaf-clover. Looking closer, she saw soldiers pouring out, all decked out in body armor, carrying heavy weaponry.

Concerned, she began to look through the other camera feeds. Three more hangers showed the exact same thing, some even containing what looked like Dorssian style attack-choppers and artillery. All with the same exact logo plastered on each of them. Her panic growing, she quickly turned the feed over to the hanger where Haruto and Shouko were being led.

The president's flagship was there sure, but armored soldiers were descending from the entrance of another ARUS ship. One that had the same logo as the other unannounced newcomers. Akira gasped in horror.

"SHOUKO-SAN!"

_____


The trek to the hanger was tense, to say the least. Haruto and Shouko were being marched alongside several other students who had volunteered to be brought in for questioning as well, at a very brisk pace. The commander tried to show some degree of mercy by leaving them uncuffed, but the atmosphere was anything but homely, especially with the ARUS soldiers giving them all suspicious looks the whole way through.

In fact, Haruto and Shouko both noted that the only one who seemed calm was President Jeffry Anderson, who hadn't stopped his face from portraying a stoic expression the whole time they were walking.

"What's he thinking?" Haruto thought.

Shouko however was more in thought about her crush. He had just said that he knew about that ship that contained those humans hooked up to machines. Why didn't he tell her as soon as he returned? Did he have any more secrets that he was holding close to his chest?

"Haruto" she thought, glancing over at him, "What more have you not been telling me?"

"We're almost at the hanger" the commander of ARUS mentioned said, now that they were past the shrine. "Again, I expect you students to answer honestly, as if we find out you really aren't human, we will not hesitate to take action."

"Understood," Shouko answered. "But I promise you that you will not find us as anything other than flesh-and-blood humans."

She didn't catch Haruto's grimace upon her statement.

"How am I going to explain the results to her" he thought, the shrine in his view only amplifying the guilt, given what had happened there. "And to think, I was going to propose to her here."

Suddenly, the commander motioned for all of them to stop. Approaching them from the front was another group, one that appeared to be armed.

"About time reinforcements showed up!" Anderson said, relieved.

"What are you talking about sir?" the commander replied. "I didn't call for reinforcements."

"Well I did." Anderson retorted. "You could use some help when dealing with these threats after all."

The commander raised an eyebrow. "You know we are only going to interrogate these children for now right?"

Jeffry said nothing.

At this point, the approaching squad was now made much clearer, having stopped right in front of them. Aside from the soldier in the front, whose face was uncovered, all were decked out in pure dark green body armor, with only their eyes visible behind clear-dark visored helmets, some of which contained NVG and other accessories. Each soldier was carrying a rifle larger than the ones the ARUS soldiers were holding. Attached to their waists were large magnum sidearms, and multiple types of grenades. And imprinted on their shoulders, the head of a bull inside a four-leaf clover.

"What's this?" the ARUS commander asked.

"Your backup." the leader of the squad replied. "Mr. President, we are here to escort you to your ship."

"Thank you very much" Anderson said, moving to join the new platoon. "Honestly, being stuck out here with these lifeforms was quite nerve-wracking, I must say."

"Wait, what's going on here?" the commander said. "What backup did you call for exactly? All we're doing is taking these kids to be tested."

At that, the head of the armored squad moved forward. "I understand. You boys have now been relieved. We'll take it from here."

"Now hold on a minute." the commander protested. "We can do our job perfectly fine. We just have to escort these children to-"

"Why are you insisting on calling these things 'children?'" the platoon leader interrupted. "They're Type Seven Specialized Lifeforms, like our President here said."

He narrowed his gaze, staring at the students. "In fact, why haven't you executed these ones yet. Far as I've heard, only four are currently dealt with."

"They weren't regenerating." the commander argued. "Not like the witch seen in the broadcast."

"Please listen to him!" Shouko cried out. "We're not inhuman!"

"And you think that gives the commander the right to question orders?" the leader asked hotly to the two. "Given your insistence on keeping these things here alive, that makes me wonder.......are you perhaps one of these Lifeforms as well?"

"W-what nonsense are you speaking right now?! I'm the commander of the ARUS troopers here!"

"Mr. President," the leader said. "It would appear as though your men have been infiltrated by Type Seven Specialized Lifeforms. It's good we arrived when we did, otherwise who knows what state we would have found you in."

"Thank goodness for that." Anderson said, wiping his brow.

"This is ridiculous!" the commander protested. "You know that only New-Jior inhabitants are able to pilot the Valvraves! Remember when we tried to have one of our own take over that red one?!"

"That's right!" Haruto chimed in. "It's why those things are cursed after all!"

"True" the leader said. "But whose to say that it only affected him because he was human?"

"Well whatever you are insinuating, we don't need your help" replied the commander. "My men have the school and its children under control."

"Oh that." The leader of the armored squad smirked. "Your men are currently being.........detained."

_____


"SHOUKO-SAN!"

Seeing that her friend could be in danger, Akira took off in Unit 06, much to the confusion of the people inside the auditorium.

"Akira-chan!" Satomi called out to his sister. "What's happening?!"

"Where is she going?!" Iori asked in a panicked tone. "She's just going to leave us here to fend against these men?!"

"Now hold on there young lady," an ARUS soldier called out. "We're not going to shoot you or anything."

"Still," another one muttered, "what could've led her to take off that quickly?"

As the murmuring continued, Takahi felt something nudge her foot. At first she thought it was just one of the students, but as she looked down, she was shocked at the sight of a pinned cylinder directly at her feet. Looking around, she then saw even more being thrown under the entrance doors.

"Wait, are those....OH CRAP!"

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" she yelled, and not a moment too late, as many of the other students and soldiers in the area obliged, though for others, it was too late.

Just then, the cylinders exploded, covering the auditorium in heavy smoke. Soon, it was near impossible for the occupants to see anything through the haze that that was covering the auditorium, even with the artificial moonlight shining through the hole Akira's Valvrave had made.

"Is, *cough* everyone alright?!" Satomi yelled.

"What the heck is this?!" an ARUS soldier called out. "Where'd the smoke grenades come from?!"

As if to answer his questions, the doors were suddenly blown off their hinges, the blast shredding several of the troops that had been right in front of them. Immediately afterwards, armored troops began flooding in, their guns illuminated by their attached flashlights.

"Take them all out!"

Before the terrified occupants could even take another breath, the sound of gunfire soon echoed throughout the room. The terrified students were ventilated without a second notice, their blood caking the interior.

"NOOOOOO!!"

"WHAT'S HAPPENI-ARGH!!!"

"SOMEONE SAVE US!!"

"YOU BASTARDS!" yelled an ARUS soldier, returning fire with his own rifle.

However, all of his shots simply ricocheted off the armor of the invaders, and he too was gunned down. Indeed, the soldiers made no distinction as to who they shot, be it New-Jiorian or ARUS.

Inside all the chaos, Satomi could only duck for whatever cover he could find behind the podium on the stage. Covering his head, he took a peek around to see who was left.

"TAKAHI! IORI! ARE YOU TWO OKAY?!"

He wasn't sure if he could be heard over the gunfire. Thankfully, he was answered back.

"WE'RE STILL HERE!" Takahi yelled from behind a table she had tossed over. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

Iori for her part was screaming hysterically. Not at all helped by her legs being stained with the blood that was running throughout the floor.

"HANG ON!" A surviving ARUS soldier yelled, pulling a grenade from his vest. He threw it at one of the side doors just milliseconds before he was gunned down as well. Luckily, it did its job, and the door was blown open.

"OKAY, EVERYONE MAKE FOR THE EXIT AS SOON AS THEY RELOAD!" Satomi yelled. "DON'T STOP RUNNING!"

A few moments later, the shooting did finally stop, as the soldiers had run out of ammo. Taking this opportunity, Satomi got to his feet and ran out the side doors, followed soon after by Takahi helping a traumatized Iori through as well. A few more students and ARUS forces made for it as well, but unfortunately, some ended up shot just before they could escape.

Hearts racing at miles per hour, the survivors sprinted towards the hangers, not looking back lest they get pumped full of holes.

_____


"Hang on Shouko-san!" Akira yelled internally as she tried to get her Valvrave to where she was being escorted. But as soon as she made it halfway, the sound of gunfire and explosions made her pause.

Looking back, she gasped in horror. Smoke was coming out of the auditorium, and she could even see bright lights flashing inside.

"ONII-CHAN!" she screamed, realizing her mistake.

Akira quickly turned Unit 06 around, preparing to fly in and rescue the students. Suddenly though, her Valvrave was hit by an explosive projectile. While the damage was minor, it did cause her to be knocked around a bit.

Getting back to her seat, she looked around to see where it was coming from. To her right, she saw the source. A huge truck with missiles attached to the back had her in its sights, with other armored soldiers by its side, holding what appeared to be blue-tinted cannons.

"FIRE THE THUNDERBOLTS!"

Immediately, the two troopers fired their weapons, and blue orbs of electrical energy made contact with Akira's Unit. The lightning caused her to crash back to earth, her flight boosters partially disabled.

Akira struggled to get herself reoriented, as she could see the missiles slowing moving into position. Just before they could fire, she launched one of her Fan Talons at the truck, destroying it and the soldiers in the nick of time.

Finally managing to get her Valvrave back on its feet, Akira looked in horror at the school. Explosions were going off all around the grounds, as the ARUS soldiers placed there on guard were being massacred by the new arrivals. And as she zoomed in to look through a window, red liquid was being splashed across the screens.

"Please be okay Onii-chan!" she fretted, before moving her Valvrave back to the grounds to help the situation.

_____


The sounds of gunfire alarmed the students on the upper classrooms. Some of them turned to look at the ARUS soldiers in alarm.

"What's going on?!"

"You bastards! I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!"

For their part, the ARUS soldiers themselves also looked confused.

"Did you get the order to fire?"

"Negative. We never received any update on-"

*BANG*

Just then, the first classroom was breached. More faceless soldiers poured in.

"Targets are Type Seven Special Lifeforms and ARUS sympathizers."

"Roger that, clearing now!"

And at that, they unleashed their payload, shredding the first group of students.

"NO PLEASE!" a frightened teenage couple yelled. "WE'RE HUMAN AS WE-"

They never got to finish before they too were gunned down.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" yelled an ARUS trooper, firing several shots to no effect.

"Cleaning up the mess" the masked man responded, before coldly mowing him down as well.

_____


"Your men are currently being.......detained."

As soon as the words left the man's mouth, the sound of an explosion hit the ears of the group. Turning around, their eyes widened in horror at the sight of seeing the school being bombarded with gunfire, with Akira's Valvrave struggling to assist the ARUS forces.

"YOU BASTARD!" the commander yelled, raising his sidearm.

But all too late, as the leader was simply faster on the draw. Without even blinking, he shot him point blank in the head, his blood splattering on the horrified students and supporting ARUS forces.

"You have my orders to purge them and all traitors to ARUS!" the President yelled.

"Way ahead of you sir." the man said with a smile. "In the meantime, you should leave before things get too bloody."

With that, he sent half of his team to escort the president to his flagship, before turning back to a group of traumatized survivors.

"Now where were we?"

"SHOUKO LOOK OUT!" Haruto yelled, tackling her to the ground.

As the two tumbled down the hill, Shouko held securely in Haruto's arms, the remaining survivors were filled with lead.

_____


And that's just the start of this horror. Still need to get to the evacuation and all that, plus Inuzuka and Raizo.

Thoughts?