Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos nor any of its characters...

So, first off, replies to all the reviewers!

chromate - Thank you very much for the compliment, I'm glad you like Chapter 2! Do continue to enjoy this fanfic! =]

indr0008 - Here's the update! =3 Please continue to support Turning Back~! =D

xJustDream - Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter! =]

Sorry for the late update! Been busy with school and stuff~ Anyway, once again, I'm searching for a supporting character for this story. Basically, the story revolves mainly around Charlotte and Ichika. But, I'm thinking of adding another character to be further exposed in the story... Houki, Cecilia, Rin or Laura! But, of course, I intend to have reviewers get a part in the formation of this fanfic, so I want you guys, yes, YOU, to tell me who you would want to get more parts in the story. Please place your choice in your reviews! Thank you!

Author's Rant:

I wish to rant. . Recently, I've watched episode 11 of the story, and I am definitely getting the HoukixIchika vibes! I'm fine with that (okay,maybe not so...) so how do you guys feel about that? Also, Im dying to find out which girl he's gonna give the present to(the one in the beach episode)! Im hoping Charlotte... (cause Im biased =P) but I highly think its Houki.

Now, after ranting... ...on with the chapter! Please remember to read and review, leaving your honest comments! =] I hope you guys are enjoying the fanfic!

By the way, this is Ichika's POV then Charlotte's then Ichika back!

"Lets do this, Byakushiki," I murmured under my breath, summoning my IS immediately.

Standing right in the middle of the field was none other than the Rage Revive, its pilot facing me dead in the eye. I knew there was certainly no way I could underestimate this IS. This time, there's no room for mistakes. Either I win, or lose... and lose Charlotte as well. I cringed at the thought. Beads of perspiration formed on my forehead. This wasn't the first time I had fought with another IS. In the academy, I did it all the time. Its just that... this time, I had something to lose. Something precious to me...

"Char..." I whispered softly, somehow saying her name gave me strength.

A hologram screen appeared in front of me, showing me the spec data of this IS.

"Rage Revive Series III... All-range weapons... Ignition Boost... " I read off the screen, carefully absorbing each information.

Then, I paused. What's this? S.E.A.?

Another screen emerged in front of the previous one. S.E.A., short for Shield Energy Absorption. Absorbs the shield energy or its opponent... Increases own energy... Body Damage...

My eyes widened in shock. This was the first time I came across such a system. My heartbeat was increasing by the second. I was scared... not for myself, but for Char. Her father really meant business when he planned to claim her back. I pulled my attention back to the opponent in front of me. Why wasn't it making a move on me? I took a step back, expecting it to lunge at me at any moment. But again... it just stood there, anticipating my movement.

"Ichika, do you hear me?" I heard a familiar voice speaking to me through my earpiece.

"Chifuyu-nee?" I replied.

"Listen up. Your target is the Rage Revive. Look, Dunois' gonna give you the statistics and information on this IS. Have you realised...?" I heard her question, and I knew she was referring to the S.E.A.

"Yeah... This is a tough nut to crack. I don't know which mode of attack I should go for," I spoke, clearly stating my worries to her.

"The S.E.A. is a system not licensed by the Alaska Treaty. Apparently, one way or another, Dunois corporation managed to get their hands on the blueprint of that system. Its still a prototype, so it definitely has its weaknesses. As we speak, IS officials from all around the world are involving themselves to finding a way to stop it. For now, I want you to disable the pilot from that IS... I'll pass this to Dunois now. She's gonna tell you more about this IS. Listen closely..." she continued, voice stern and authoratative.

I heard several voices in the background - Houki, Cecilia and Rin... even Laura as I waited patiently for the private channel to be shifted to Charlotte's. Then I heard her; her voice raspy, full of worry... for me.

"Ichika..." she called out my name, in a state of panic.

"The Rage Revive has many weapons... long range, medium range and short range. Listen, these weapons are all fourth generation weapons... This means, each weapon is designed to target its opponent and track it down."

"Theres an M800 Assault Rifle, Cible Detruire... Firing range 500 meters, .50 caliber."

"The L'espoir M999 machine gun. Maximum firing range 3800 meters, .303 caliber."

"Basilic Cannon and Egide Beam Cannon, both .79 caliber..."

"Repousser Bouclier, a round shield 18 inches in diameter."

"And finally, Saphir, a longsword. 1.2 meters long, 5 inches thick."

Here, she took a deep breath, letting me absorb all the information as much as I could. She probably knew that I was stunned by the amount of weapons this IS had. My wind was in a whirlpool. That much weapons? With only the Yukihira... how was I to beat this opponent?

"I know what you're thinking..." after a moment of silence, the blonde finally spoke, "But I know that you can do this..."

"Regardless of the number of weapons the Rage Revive has, it is still merely a third generation machine as compared to the Byakushiki. There's two advantages that you must note of. Firstly, the number of weapons would mean that the weight of the IS is heavier than others. This means, the speed of the Rage Revive is slower than others. Plus, this means Ignition Boost would require a higher amount of energy in this case. Secondly, due to the lack of speed, you have time on your side. In the case you can catch her off-guard and use Yukihira... you may actually succeed in defeating her," she paused for a second then continued, her voice serious,

"Ichika, the moment she hits you once, the harder it becomes to defeat her. So its essential for you to be the first to strike. Do you... understand?" she asked, speaking slowly at this point.

Hearing the worry in her voice, I couldn't help but frown. This girl... even though she's in danger, she's still worrying about others. If she were to be taken away... from me, I don't know what I'd do. No matter what, I thought to myself, I must win. I won't let them get her.

Definitely.

"Ichika... promise me," her quiet voice caught my attention, "Promise me you'll return..."

"...Back to my side."

Hesitating at first, I promised her in the end. I was uncertain whether I'd even return in one piece, but I wanted her to at least feel that bit of hope in her heart. I didn't want to break her heart. I never wanted to break her heart.

I summoned the Yukihira in my hands, gripping it tightly. Like Charlotte had said, I needed to be the first to strike. I stared at the Rage Revive, at the pilot whose identity was hidden behind the maroon-coloured helmet she was wearing.

If you want Char, get through me first.

With that solemn determination in mind, I accelerated towards the opponent, lifting the Yukihira in an attempt to strike. I could hear my voice shouting, my arms exerting a huge amount of force, my body moving in acceleration.

But throughout that intensive scene, there was something unwavering in my thoughts... and that was none other than Charlotte.

"I promise, Char... I'll definitely return back to your side," the crimson-eyed teenager had replied, before he finally gave his first strike.

My eyes felt watery, and my knees were close to buckling. The level of fear I was feeling could not be described by words.

Through the screen, I saw Ichika lifting his Yukihira then moving with immeasurable speed towards the Rage Revive. Throughout this entire time, the IS remained motionless.

He's gonna hit... He's gonna...

Suddenly, the anonymous pilot drew out Saphir, right at the last second, successfully stopping the Yukihira from striking her IS. The two pilots struggled for a moment, stopping one another from eliminating the other.

"She's...stronger than I thought..." I heard Ichika's voice panicking through the private channel.

Without hesitation, the pilot jumped up into the air, catching the Byakushiki pilot by surprise. Drawing out her machine gun, she threw numerous shots at the fourth-generation IS, catching him offguard as he tried pulling his IS back.

"Urgh..." I heard him groan, using Yukihira to repel the shots.

Just before I thought it couldn't get any worse, the unknown pilot drew out Egide, her beam cannon before moving towards Ichika. With much agility, the blue-haired pilot lifted his IS into the air, accelerating as high as he could to prevent the cannon from hitting the Byakushiki. He thought he had escaped. He thought wrong.

The maroon and gold IS pilot had anticipated this action beforehand. With the use of Ignition Boost, she sped up right behind him, beam cannon in hand. Aim? Fire.

The cannon striked right at the back of the Byakushiki, the pilot on it stopping mid-air then falling head first down to the ground.

I held my breath. Ichika? Was he safe? I heard Rin's shouting behind me. I shook my head... There's no way he'd be down this fast. Struggling with the microphone, I called out his name for a response,

"Ichika! Respond, Ichika!"

Tears had begun streaming down my eyes. I heard the other girls running out of the room behind me. Orimura-sensei merely stood in silence, composed as usual but her eyes gave her away.

God, please save him...

My eyes opened slowly... I was... falling? An image of a beautiful blonde girl formed in my mind. Char...

My body and the ground made contact with a large bam. I could feel Byakushiki crashing underneath me. My arms couldn't move. I looked up at the clear sky above me. The sun shone so brightly, my eyes were squinting in an attempt to see. Just then, I saw a blurry figure blocking my view. Maroon and gold.

The pilot grabbed out her longsword... what was it... Saphir? Yeah... Then, approaching me with it, she turned the sword downwards in my direction. My mind was in a daze. Anytime soon, the sword would stab me right through my heart, and I would die.

Die? Would I really?

Then, I heard a sniffling high-pitched voice screaming in my ear. So familiar... who was this?

"Ichika! Wake up! WAKE UP NOW! You promised me you would return to my side! So don't forget that! ICHIKA!" this girl was obviously crying...

Suddenly, a name appeared in my thoughts. Charlotte... Charlotte. Charlotte!

My eyes widened. No, I can't get killed now. I promised her... I promised her I'd return! I struggled to move my arms but they didn't respond to my order. I looked at the impending death in front of me.

"No...NO... NO!" I shouted in dismay, getting ready for the impact.

Did I make it? Was I dead? My eyes were shut close. I didn't want to open them. I was scared if I did... I'd realise that I'd broken that promise.

"Wake up, Ichika!" I heard another familiar deeper voice call out my name.

Houki.

I opened my eyes. In front of me, the tall brunette was holding onto her katana, Amatsuki, stopping the Saphir right before it could stab me.

"Get up now, I can't last longer..." again, she spoke then seeing the state I was in, she shouted, "Quick, someone!"

"Got it!" another voice spoke.

Suddenly, a pink IS came zooming past me, grabbing me safely by the arms and pulling me away from the scene. The pigtailed pilot looked at me in distress as she settled me down on a corner of the field.

"Ichika, you okay?" the small and slender girl in front of me asked, waving her hands in front of me in an attempt to make me respond.

Rin.

"Get your hands off my friend, you filthy thing!" I heard a shrill voice shouting.

I saw a blue figure standing in mid-air, her hair blonde and long. She deployed her drones, all four of them as they shot out laser beams at the opponent in front of her.

"Thanks!" I heard Houki exclaim.

Cecilia.

"Obviously, this thing doesn't know who it's messing with..." again, another voice spoke, her voice low with a hint of pride.

A black IS machine appeared out of nowhere, with a long beam cannon in its hands. With one shot, the unknown pilot was pushed back against a corner.

Laura.

A faint smile descended on my lips as all four of the ISes moved steadily towards me, forming a circle around the Byakushiki.

"What are you doing, get up!" Rin exclaimed, giving me a hand.

Slowly lifting myself off the ground, I gratefully nodded to each one of them. My body felt weak. I glanced at the hologram screen in front of me. Shield Energy - 60. I sighed in relief.

I could go on.

"I expect you to win..." the silver-haired girl among the group spoke, breaking the silence, "...for Charlotte."

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from the other corner of the field. All of us turned our heads to look, only to find the Rage Revive standing unscarred at the corner.

"Its time to go again..." Houki spoke, cool and confident as usual.

I nodded, my smile fading away. Before I made any movement, I turned to the private channel.

"Charlotte?"

"Ichika, thank god! I thought you were... I thought..." I heard the blonde girl sniffling once more, trying her best not to break down in my presence.

"Its okay, Char," I said, taking one step towards my opponent, "I will definitely return back to your side... no matter what."

With that thought, I charged towards the IS.

"Reirakubyakuya!" I shouted, as the Byakushiki accelerated.

No matter what.

Sorry if it didn't turned out like you had expected... Im bad with battle scenes and weapons and stuff... =.=''' So so sorry if it wasn't satisfying for you guys!

Anyway, do read and review, once again, put your choice of supporting character in your reviews. DO IT NOW. =D THE BUTTON BENEATH US AS WE SPEAK! XD

I love you guys~~~ =]