DISCLAIMER: All rights to the series "Infinite Stratos" belong to Izuru Yumizuru, the original creator of the light novels, studio 8-bit for the creation of the anime series, and Kenji Akahoshi for the manga series. Any form or counterparts that are encountered in reality is Coincidental and Unintentional. The Character "Alex Fields" is owned by Coldblizzard25. All character rights from "Alex Fields" goes to him.

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Reality. Such a beautiful, yet devastating thing.

I gasped for breath as I ran down a wasteland covered in blood and sweat, holding onto my crying sister as we trekked for the nearest safe haven. Breathless, I stopped at the foot of a hill for air. We had barely made it out before they came. Who are they, you ask? I'm not sure. All I know is that they are bad people, who do bad things, and we need to get away from them, as far as we can. As I climbed over a small hill, I hear the faintest "Hssssssss" sound, like an engine running. Before I even had time to react, they, already surrounded us.

"Target: Affirmative. Survivors found. Eliminate Male Specimen 021 and Capture Female Specimen 042."

"Stand by for fire."

One of the giant machines simply flicked me, as if I were some annoying fly or bug that stood in their way. I had no idea what they wanted, but I wanted nothing to do with it. I was hurled back into a withered tree, and was nearly rendered unconscious. My head spun as I tried to stand, but instead the machines just opened up our belongings bag, and threw things out one by one.

"Affirmative, Director. 021 had packed survival tools and clothing. Predicted as usual. 042 brought pictures and other garbage. 021 seems to be more aware of their surroundings."

A buzz came out of the machine's chassis, like a radio, or a walkie-talkie.

"Very well, only natural that the older one is more aware and protective. Eliminate him and bring me the girl at all costs."

The Machines began to turn towards me, and raised up their arms with some sort of projectile charging in it. I looked around me. Nothing. Nowhere to run, hide, and no way of fighting. At that moment, I felt nothing. As If I had nothing to live for. Nothing ran through my head. I wasn't upset that I didn't even live till the age of ten, I wasn't angry about everything my family had to go through. Nothing. Blankness was the only emotion I felt… Until something, or someone, changed it all. I heard my sister cry. Tears rolled down her face as she called out my name. Her voice ran through my head as I was suddenly filled with an emotion I hadn't felt my whole life. I wanted to cry out, yelling to my sister, or screaming and crying, but nothing came. I opened my mouth as if I were to speak, but no word made its way from my mind to the outside. An anger seethed through me. A desire to destroy these people, a unending hatred for what they have done to my home and my friends and family. I felt a surge of strength through me. But it isn't Heroic. It isn't Bravery.

It was the feeling of the purest Fury.

I reached over into our bag and found only a hard leather glove painted all white and a rose. The machines turned to face me again, advancing. Memories clogged my mind as I think of anything, anything, to help me. I put on the glove and clenched my fists and felted as though a thousand tortured demons were inside me. My mind flashed back as I prop myself up and stare them right in the eye. If I were to die, I die like a man.

"Papa! Papa! What's this? Why did Maple get a dress but I only got a flower? I'm a boy papa. At least get me shoes or a hat!"

My father chucked in his usual, soft tone.

"Ace, you will one day appreciate the meaning of this rose. Remember this saying Ace, for it could save your life. 'Every rose has its thorn'. Only time will tell when you find out."

I snap back to reality and examine the rose. Petals, stem, normal colors, it doesn't seem different...hm? Why is the bud a button? I press it almost instantly, forgetting about all the things it could do. For one, I could have set off a bomb that would have killed everyone right there and then, but I couldn't see the consequences anymore. From the bottom of the stem, a longblade slides out, almost as if it was made to be there. I look at the silver blade, and I see my reflection in it, but I also see writing engraved into the side of the sword. "Brunhilde".

I put my hand on the stem, which now has become leather hard and extended itself. It was almost like it was made for me. The machines waver for a second, almost stunned by the fact that a blade appeared out of a flower. I didn't care. I now know what my father had given me. It wasn't mockery, or cheapness. He knew this would happen. That I would need to defend myself. He gave me a weapon.

And I intended on using it.

The machines wasted no time as they flew towards me, a few feet above the ground and ready to pin me down like a voodoo doll. I raised the rapier and felt a horrible insane feeling, burning and consuming me, like I was being torn apart. I felted the grasp of infinity as I charged forward. I wasted no time and slid behind a rock to stay away from their line of fire. Although I was bleeding and covered with bruises, I feel better now then I ever did. As soon as I lifted a foot of the ground, it was almost like I was flying. The air around me seemed dense as I ran at I speed I thought I would never be able to. I slashed at the first machine, causing these hexagons to appear, and a sudden jolt from it, then an explosion. But I wasn't surprised. It felted good. Time seemed to slow for me. A machine drifted to the right of me, but I saw them before they saw me. I spun around and made a quick uppercut slash, which broke their hexagon shield and forced them to take the emergency exit. I made a quick hack at them and cut open their stomach, leaving them to bleed to death. It's what they deserve, I thought. The other machines began to get wary of my boost in strength. To be beaten by a child is pretty devastating after all.

"001 Is down! 002 bleeding to death!"

"003, fire your blasters! I'll run with the girl!"

I wasn't going to let them escape that easily. The other machine fired at me, but it's blast speed was much too slow for me. I dodged and combat rolled underneath it's legs, and spun my rapier to cut its legs. The pilot fell out and ran for it, but I had enough of this already. I jumped above her and stabbed her right in her chest, causing a split in her heart and instant death. Pulling out the rapier, I turned to face my last opponent. It shot a beam like projectile towards me, but I strafed from left to right and easily closed the distance gap between us, pulling up my rapier, I blocked the beam and slowly advanced.

"0-003 down! Subject 042 is captured! 021 is showing surprising and extremely heavy resis-"

Before the pilot could finish her sentence, I made quick work of her. In one fell swoop, I cut up the machine. A large explosion was made, and I found my sister in a cage near some bushes. My sister was unconscious and not very far, but by the time I reached her, it was too late. A giant machine came up between us, and knocked me back far. Even though I had combat training, it wasn't enough to fight this big of a robot. The last thing I saw was the engravement: 'AOT', before a brilliant light flashed, and everything faded to black.

I woke up sweaty and panting. It's been awhile since I had that dream again. I reached over to my alarm to see what time it was. '7:55' it read. I got out of bed and changed and sorted myself out quickly. My sister and I had gone through a lot. It's been years since that incident. I still have the rose and the glove. After I had woken up, I was in a hospital that early morning, and I was bombarded with questions I didn't know the answer to. My tone softened and I could see more clearly after that. I remember being afraid. And guilty of murdering 3 young pilots. I don't remember much, but eventually my sister and I were transferred from the americas to Japan. We are currently staying in 'Shinonono Hotels' issued by the government. The owner is a very nice middle-aged woman called Yukita-san. But of course, I knew plenty of Japan before coming here, my sister… Not so much. She was fascinated by traditional octo-balls, which is a common thing to eat here in Japan. Since my sister was going to the IS Academy entry test, which is the biggest academy in all of Japan, I had plenty of time to relax by myself and do what I want. I still carry the rose with me, just in case. I left the building feeling tired, so I decided to go to get a cup of coffee, somewhere… milder than usual.

I walked up to the building and took the elevator up to the main floor, where I was greeted by a platinum haired, eye-patch wearing maid.

"Hello and welcome to uh… this place…"

"Do you really not know the name of the brand your working for..?" I asked, utterly astounded by how someone could pull that off. She completely ignored me and led me to a table, but on the way, I spotted a young, blond, blue eyed cop sitting and sipping out of an cappuccino all by himself. I stopped the maid and made my way over.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Hmm?"

I chuckled. Must not have gotten enough coffee yet. I sit myself down on the opposite side of his table. Just then, a very… feminine looking butler came up to me and asked:

"Hello! What would you like today, or do you need more time?", he? said sweetly.

"Hi, could I have an espresso please? I've been dying to get one."

The young officer gives me a sideways look. As if he was offended by my choice in coffee.

I wink at him as I hand the butler my menu, but he seems to not have the same type of humor as me, after all, serious people don't really have the same type of humor as any group of people.

I smirked as the butler took my menu and went to serve others. "So he's the second… to think that my luck is good enough to meet him in a place like this… maybe I should buy a lottery ticket today!" I thought to myself as I cross my legs and fold my arms.

"So… care to explain who you are?" He inquired, clearly bothered by the fact that I invaded his personal space at approximately 8:53 in the a of the m.

"I'm Ace Voltasu Sashimi. Pleased to make your acquaintance, although, I can see your not pleased to make mine."

"Heh. The coldness comes as a cop. You start to lose all positive emotions after a while."

"I'm sure you do. After all, normal citizens wouldn't understand how we feel."

"Hmm? Did you just say that your not a 'normal' citizen? Wait, does that mean-"

Right as he was going to question me, I was saved by the butler, who came with a gleaming white cup filled to the brim with a dark liquid.

"Here's your order. 1 Espresso with extra sugar and … uh … whipped cream …"

"Thank you! Here, keep the change. My way of saying thanks."

I drop a 100 canadian dollar bill into his palm, which is worth a fortune in Japan for a cup of coffee. The young officer eyed me down while keeping close attention to his newspaper. The butler seemed surprised at my motion. Must be a good person. Most young people would just take the money with a simple thanks.

"A-ah, I can't take this sir! This is too much, your espresso only costs 420 yen…"

"Don't worry about it, just take it!"

"I-I really can't! Please, take it back!"

"Hey c'mon now, it's a little rude to turn back money you got, but since your so good looking, I guess I'll forgive you." I teased, watching the 'butler' turn red and slam the dollar on the table

"F-forget it … Here, just, take it. The espresso is on the house."

"Really? Thanks!"

"No problem, but if your willing, please leave a good rate-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of a door being kicked down ran through the room, shattered glass fell from the chandelier above the door, police sirens wailing in the distance and the faint, familiar sound of innocents screaming. My first instinct is to reach for the rose, tucked away in my pocket, but I need to assess the situation before making hasty decisions.

"ALL RIGHT ALL OF YOU VERMIN! GIVE US YOUR MONEY AND ANYTHING VALUABLE, AND NO ONE GETS HURT."

I pick up my cup and start drinking out of it, observing from a distance who the attackers were. A group of thugs, lead by a guy who's bangs cover his face down to his nose, who's holding a gatling gun and a large and what seems to be very sharp butcher's knife. Interesting choice of weapons for a gang leader who's robbing a cafe in 9:15 in the morning. Seriously, don't these people have anything better to do? I would personally take a nap, but that's just personal preference. Of course, seeing that I'm the only one who didn't panic that's in a chair, the leader naturally targeted me. He dropped his gatling gun and came up to me, with his butcher's knife behind my neck.

"So … You think you're some tough guy, don't cha? Well lemme tell ya something. Ya not. You see all these other people? If ya don't get on yer knees and beg, We gonna kill ya."

None of his words mattered to me as by brain is wandering around in la-la-land eating chocolate covered marshmallows, I continued to sip on my coffee as I'm trying to sustain half the mental stability that my brain usually has by having an overdose of caffeine.

The thug boss apparently thought it would be funny if he annoyed me, so he snatched the cup from my hand and threw it against the floor, making me waste a perfectly good free coffee with my favorite toppings.

"Hah. Not such a big tough guy without yo crap in water huh? Betcha just trying to act tough, but on the inside ya shaking!" He let off a laugh that somewhat resembled a dying hyena being mauled by a bear who hasn't eaten in several dies that had rabies.

I stood up, pissed off that he made me waste my coffee. He took that as a challenge though, and I reached into my pocket and slid out the rose.

"Ohhh … I see how it is mister 'I'm too tough to beg'. Ya gonna gimme that rose to beg for ye mercy, that whatcha doing?" He said as he slapped his knee and let off a wail worse than anything I've ever heard.

"You. You made me waste my coffee. Buy me another one and clean that up, before I you have to kiss your sorry ass crew goodbye as I send you to hell." I retorted as I stare at the sorrowful mess that used to be my coffee.

"Ohohoho! So Mister Tough Guy finally speaks up huh? Well I hope you-"

I slap him across the face, making everyone in the room gasp and causing the young officer hiding under the table to give me a weird look, like he thought I wanted to kill myself.

The gang boss spat at the ground and almost immediately swung at me with his cleaver, but I was wearing light clothing, so I dodged extremely quickly and ducked under him, giving him a hard, quick uppercut, leaving him stunned.

"What's wrong? Aren't you the leader of this gang? If your this bad as leader, I can't possibly imagine how bad your comrades are."

The other gang members turned to face me, but they were too late. The officer already started shooting at them, and the maid and butler were fighting back, launching a sneak attack behind them. The leader of the group hurled his cleaver at me, but I just rolled under it, and through his legs. I grabbed him by the arms and twisted them, hearing the faint crack sound always gave me pleasure. With one hand holding his arms, I took the other and grabbed him by the collar, then flipped him onto the counter.

"D-damn it … fu-"

I slid under the gate separating the work space and the cafe lounge and gave him a good ol' karate chop - back-hand - forehand - double slap across the face, leaving him with purple bruises and unconscious. Good. The police can easily arrest him now. I rushed back, only to see that the other problems had already been dealt with, and that the maid and butler had already left. Police were already escorting people away and making arrests. Thankfully, some people were only injured, not badly, either. No one died, which is always a good thing. The officer rushed to my side and began to question me instantly.

"How did you do that? In all my nearly 2 years of police work, I've never seen anything like it! How did you know that he was going to swing at you? Who did you train under to get your reaction speed that fast? Are you working for-"

I cut him off by taking duct tape and smothering it over his ceaseless mouth. He ripped it off and tossed it to the side. Surprisingly, he didn't seem that bothered by it.

"Hold up Officer. I have a couple of questions of my own. Let's start simple. What is your basic information?"

"I'm Alex Fields from Los Angeles. I work as a police officer in the detective department. I'm 19 but I come off as 21."

"Good. Now, why the hell are you in Japan if you work in L.A?"

"That's … complicated."

"Complicated hmm? Well, I guess until you find a way to make it not complicated, We'll have to go our separate ways."

"What? But why? I still have more questions!"

And with that, it became 10:21. Too long of a coffee break, if you ask me. My sister is going to be at the train station soon. I'll have to go pick her up, since she's just done, we probably will have to go get a bite to eat. I heard there was a good place near here called Gotanda's Udon. Perhaps we could go there? We have plenty of time on our hands anyways. Might as well enjoy it before it's too late. After all, what's an older brother if he doesn't even treat his younger sister to something to eat after she just went through a huge test? Me. I mean hey, she's got more money than I do anyways!

*Hey! Fame here, I hope ya'll enjoy this one! I spent maybe about 2 days creating this chapter, and I'm really liking how this character and story is taking. I would really appreciate helpful feedback! Other than that, well, nothing else!*