STORMWEAVER II: Chapter 25 Sneak Peek! (/tease hehe) (Patreon)

Then—in a moment of deja vu for Rei—Aria grabbed the Saber by one steel-clad wrist and dragged him through the group and up the aisle.

“Woah!” Catcher exclaimed as he was hauled along at top-speed, coming to his senses at last. “Where are we going?! Recall! Recall!”

Arthus whirled inward in an instant, reforming around his wrists to leave him in nothing but his combat suit.

“Where do you think?” Aria asked without turning around as Rei and the others hurried to catch up to the pair. “We need to test this out. This is huge, Catcher!”

Catcher only got out another few scattered protests before they were out of their row of lockers and hurrying along the wider walking space along the west wall of the room, making for the exit. Rei, Cashe, Viv, and Grant caught the two just as the doors opened to let them out into the hall, and Rei was pleased when Aria didn’t pull Catcher towards the SB2 training area immediately, but instead dragged him left, in the direction of the elevators.

Smart, he thought with a grin, only looking over his shoulder to explain to where they were going to the others when Grant asked in confusion.

They were up and out of the underworks and onto the main walkway of the Arena inside of a couple minutes. It was another two or three before they reached the Galens seating section, and after a few seconds of looking around for who Rei thought was probably Valera Dent, Aria settled on Captain Takeshi, who was standing at the railing observing a pair of third-years going at it on the south field. Takeshi looked surprised when Aria marched right up to her—with Catcher still stumbling along behind her in tow—and even more so, when the girl only offered a rushed salute before leaning forward to exchange a quiet word in the officers ear. Expectantly the woman’s eyes went wide, and she immediately looked around to wave over Elean Samsus, who was seated nearby, but had looked up with interest at Aria’s approach. The two captains spoke briefly, then Samsus nodded and Takeshi turn on her heel and started right back along the way they’d all come, motioning for Firesong to follow her.

5 minutes later, they were back down in SB2 again, and had claimed a field for themselves when a couple first years from Sermont’s Point had finished their warmups and taken there leave.

“Ok you two, zone coming up,” the captain told Aria and Catcher, who were standing at the ready close to each other well inside the field already. Rei and the others were lined up where Takeshi had told them to, just inside the limited of the silver circle, and for good reason. As Rei dutifully folded and put Aria’s jacket down by her cap and boots—she’d handed them all to him in a rush after stripping down to only what parts of her regulars she could fight in—the plating beneath them glowed a solid white, and he, Viv, Cashe, and Grant were suddenly rising upwards, 5, then 10, then 15 feet in the air. Below them Aria and Catcher, with Takeshi standing nearby in observation, had only climbed a couple, placing them in a wide open hollow wishing the body-length wide, solid wall Rei and the others were standing on.

“Oh, smart,” Cashe muttered from Rei’s left, finally catching on, and he nodded in agreement.

While students had access to the fields for warmups and warm downs, said access was limited to calling up a single flat neutral zone to fight on. Some groups didn’t even bother with that, choosing instead of loosen up and call their CADs directly on the black projection plating—which was totally impervious to phantom called Devices—but even those who did were open to all observation and totally lacking in privacy. That wasn’t a big deal most of the time—if everyone was at a disadvantage, no one was at a disadvantage—but on occasion Rei had seen closed of zones like this called on here and there over the last few days, probably exactly for a situation like this.

It required the approval—and access—of a school chaperone, but it was well worth keeping something like Catcher’s newly-gained Ability private until it could be used to advantage in an actual match.

“Cadets, call!”

Takeshi gave the order, and below Rei watched Hippolyta and Arthus come roiling up around Aria and Catcher respectively. The Saber’s newly improved CAD was particularly impressive in the moment—covering more of him that Aria’s Device, for once—and Takeshi actually let out of pleased whistle.

“Ok Catchwick! Show us what you got!”

On the field Catcher saluted the officer with his sword, then jogged forward until he was a couple feet from Aria. She brought up her shield, then nodded to let him know she was ready.

Then Catcher let loose.

It had been decided that Aria was the obvious choice to test his new Ability on, and her lack of a combat suit was the result of being so eager to agree and see what ???????? could do. So, now, Aria stood there, letting Catcher swing at Hippolyta like he were trying to breakdown a door, the shield accepting the brunt of the attack with the sharp, hacking sounds of metal clang off of and cleaving into metal.

It took about 45 seconds or so, by Rei’s count.

“Oh!” Catcher exclaimed in excitement, stopping his assault to step away from Aria. “It’s ready!”

As Rei felt Viv and Cashe go tense to his right, Takeshi nodded below them.

“Okay! Let’s make it more of a fight, then! Catchwick, I want you to do everything you can to FDA Laurent. Laurent, you’re good with sticking to defense only?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Aria answered at once, settling down into a cleaner ready stance.

“Alright! In that case… Fight!”

Rei was right there with Viv as the girl barely stopped herself from instinctively yelling out an encouragement, just managing to clap a hand over her mouth in time as Catcher charged.

He hit Aria with everything he had, slicing and slashing at her in a flurry that showed off the boost in Speed that had been one of the spec increases that had jumped the Saber up to C5. Arthus’ heavier blade did good work, too, but Aria was using her own spear to defend as well now, blocking and parrying almost as equally as she accepted a hit to Hippolyta’s shield. Despite Catcher’s evolution, she didn’t budge from her starting place even under the hailstorm of impacts, taking the assault with a grim focus Rei had always found as attractive as the girl’s off-field warmth.

And then…

There, Rei thought, seeing the opportunity.

Just like Catcher did.