Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos nor any of its characters...
OH GOD.
First, A MAJOR HUGE SORRY TO ALL THE FANS OF TURNING BACK!
The Mid Years are coming (29 April till Mid-May) so I've been totally busy with studies and revison! As a result, I've updated VERY VERY late. And, I'm very sorry! Please forgive me~~~ X_X
Sad News - This will be the last chapter for the month UNTIL mid-May... when the exams finish up and everything's stable again. Sorry to all again! Hope you guys will be satisfied with this chapter!
Okay, back to normal stuffs.
hignum Thanks for the kind review! Will be certain to keep that in note! =D Lovey dovey scenes will of course be present... but not as of now, while the epic battle is occuring! XD
Flame Thank you very much for the compliment! ^^ Hehe, "the world is cheering for Charlotte..." I hope the world wins! =D But sadly, I don't think we will. T_T
Fullhouse Thank you loads for the review! Hope you will enjoy this chapter too~~~! =]
As I have said before, 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!
VOTES... houki(1) laura(2) rin(0) cecilia(0)
No rant today! XD
By the way, I decided to add a little Rin moment here... Not sure why, just felt like it. XD I added a lot of details in this one, describing the battle to each character, so its really long. Based on hignum-san's review, I hope I've made some improvements! YOROSHIKU DESU!
"Mother!" the little girl called out for her mother, eyes gleaming with excitement as she ran in unbalanced steps towards the tall and beautiful woman in front of her.
Her shoulder-length deep orange hair swished back and fourth with each movement she made. Her bangs descended right above her eyebrows, underneath them a pair of big, lilac-coloured eyes, giving life to her very form. Her shrill laughter seemed to echo around the entire mansion, like chimes of a bell. Etched on her face was a bright smile, lips cherry pink like cherry blossoms in bloom.
"Genevieve!" the exquisite features of the older woman's face scrunched up in panic as she turned to find her daughter running towards her.
"Genevieve, stop running like a boy, you want to be a lady when you grow up don't you?" she teased, a light smile playing on her face as she held the little girl's waist in her arms and lifted her off the ground.
"Mother, when in Father coming home? He promised he'd play with me today!" the six-year-old exclaimed, eyes widening dramatically as she placed emphasis on the word 'promised'.
The girl was always close to her father. Since she was born, her father had lovingly showered her with gifts, unimaginable to many. She was the apple of his eyes, the one reason he lived for. Without a doubt, Genevieve Dunois was loved deeply by her father... was loved.
"He'll be back soon, sweetheart," her mother replied, warmth emanating from each word as she stroked her daughter's cheek affectionately, rocking her back and fourth in her arms.
It could be said that the Dunois family was one of the luckiest in the world. They were a wealthy and rich family, respected by many people in their country. Despite the head of the family's countless failures in setting up a profitable business for himself, he was able to pick himself up time and time again, before finally setting up Dunois Corporation.
A series of loud knocking reverberated around the living room where the mother and child sat, reading a book together. Their laughter ended abruptly, interrupted by the sudden visitor.
"I'll go get it, Mother!" the amethyst pools of the girl's eyes glistened as she ran, once again, excitedly for the front door, expecting her dearly beloved father to be standing outside.
With a loud chuckle, she stood on tiptoes to grasp her hand around the door knob, struggling to get the door open. After some time, she succeeded. The door creaked aloud as it opened to reveal a young woman, with a child clinging onto her left arm in fear behind her. The child's face was pale as a sheet, her body trembling slightly. Her long blonde hair swept with the wind as it blew across her face, causing her to close her deep violet-eyes in coldness and let out a sneeze. She appeared to be several years older than the little girl, being a lot taller than her.
"Who... are you?" the little girl jumped in shock to find her mother towering behind her, eyes fixed in a cold stare towards the pair standing at the doorstep as she questioned them.
"Please, I need to see President Dunois. She needs medical attention. She's ill, Charlotte's ill!" the young woman begged, tears streaming from her eyelids in tiny drops that fell onto the ground drop by drop, seeping into the pavement.
"I'm sorry, but we can't help you. President Dunois is out at work currently. I'm sorry," her mother replied, bowing slightly, before closing the door on them.
Genevieve stared at her mother questioningly. Who were they? She asked silently in her mind. With a faint smile, her mother led her away from the door, heading back towards the living room. Suddenly, they heard a set of loud banging on the main door.
"Please!" a voice shouted from behind the door, clearly the woman from earlier, "Please, you can't do this! He can't leave his daughter to die!"
In an instant, she could feel her mother's grasp on her hand tighten. The slender woman's eyes widened progressively, her body trembling in complete and utter shock.
"Mother... why is that wom..." before the little girl could even finish her question, her mother released her grip on her hand and rushed towards the door, opening it immediately.
"What did you say?" her mother asked threateningly, raising her voice with each word.
"Please, I beg of you. Let me see him. He can't leave our Charlotte like this..." in between sobs, the younger woman pleaded.
It was then that the younger woman pushed the girl behind her to the front, letting her be seen in full view. Genevieve gasped. She could see it clearly. The same pair of violet-eyes that belonged to her beloved father.
"Charlotte," she murmured under her breath, registering the name into her brain.
Never did she knew, that this same girl would destroy her family... and eventually, her life, as well.
A permanent frown descended on the boy's face, his eyes filled with anger, like a volcano ready to erupt.
"To hurt Rin like that..." he murmured furiously under his breath, clinging even harder onto his Yukihira.
The long chestnut-haired pilot lay motionless at a corner of the field, her IS badly destroyed. She cringed as each movement brought sharp pangs of pain to her body. Due to the impact of the sudden attack, her two yellow ribbons that securely tied her hair into two pigtails loosened and flew off together with the impact, leaving her amber brown hair cascading down her back. Her eyes couldn't open, it hurt too much to even try. Suddenly, she felt warm liquid dripping down her forehead to her cheek and finally to her lips. It tasted metallic, maybe even a tinge salty. She opened her eyes weakly, her left hand reaching over to touch the liquid. It was deep red. It was blood.
"Rin-san!" a blonde girl of the group came rushing towards the unmoving figure, her voice shrill with intense worry.
Her body shivered in fright, green eyes widening immediately. The Shenlong IS began to flash non-stop against her body, fading in and out, in and out, before finally vanishing, leaving its pilot defenceless in her training suit. This was not uncommon to her. It happened before during her fight with Laura, when her IS reached its limits and the Shield Energy reached a zero. Her eyes seemed to be in a daze, green orbs unfocused, still surprised at the blood she was shedding. It was unreal... how could she be wounded while still in her IS?
"What's happening?" the teacher asked, voice loud and panicking.
"Shield Breaker..." the younger girl replied in a murmur, her violet eyes narrowed seriously.
With her fists clenched tightly, almost drawing blood from the palm of her hand, she slammed the glass wall in frustration. She wanted to go out, help her friends. But she couldn't. She knew that if she did... she'd get caught by them, and that would only mean their efforts were in vain. With a rough movement of her hand, she wiped off the tears that freshly flowed down her cheeks. She needed to be strong, she thought to herself, nodding her head in cue.
"Shield Breaker?" the teacher shifted her gaze to her student, eyes full of questioning.
"Shield Breaker, basically a programme in which the pilot's able to break through the shield and physically harm its opponent," she replied, slowly following her teacher's gaze before she continued, "Dunois Corporation has been working on that programme for many years. I heard rumours when I first left for the academy that it had finally been made... Looks like it was no rumour."
With this, she forced a smile on her lips, laughing silently in her mind for her foolishness. She turned her vision of sight to the battle happening in front of her, particularly at the blue and white IS which moved vigorously across the battlefield. Deep in her heart, she prayed things would go right. Or else, she'd be prepared to leave with her father's minions.
"Rin-san, get yourself together!" her taller friend exclaimed, shaking her on the shoulders which forced her to open her eyes drowsily.
"Cecilia, shut up... You're so... noisy," she replied, smiling weakly at her friend's antics.
Her body felt weak. Felt so so very weak. She reminisced of the times back in middle-school, when she was with Ichika.
"When I get better in my cooking..." she recalled herself saying.
Suddenly, a huge crash could be heard, pulling her away from her reverie. Her eyes blinked a few times, what happened? She heard her blonde friend in front of her groan in pain. Familiar ash blonde hair flashed in her vision. It was her. The one that attacked her earlier.
"Oh... still protecting your friend I suppose?" the pilot's pale green eyes shimmered with evil, as she spoke, looking at the girl clad in blue.
Cecilia smiled lightly, despite the cold shiver that ran up her spine.
"I won't let you hurt Rin-san... You must be pretty bold to face against me, Cecilia Alcott," she replied, that same hint of pride in her voice, similar to the first time Rin had met her.
The opponent took out her machine gun, aiming it at the England representative. One shot. Two shots. Three. With each shot, the yellow blonde teenager blocked it with her IS, making sure none even reached the chestnut-haired girl behind her.
"Cecilia..." the said girl murmured in gratitude, leaning forward slowly to find her companion's Shield Energy decreasing by five with each shot.
Although deeply worried, the green-eyed pilot couldn't even move her body, let alone help her friend. Her eyes scanned the battlefield. Houki, her dark brunette friend was busy fending off one of the other pilots... so was Laura, the shorter one in their group. She could see both of them were losing. Ichika, on the other hand, was sparring with another opponent above them. An image of an innocent violet-eyed girl appeared in her thoughts. Charlotte... It looked like they were going to lose her after all. She closed her eyes in an effort to block away all the noise. She didn't want to see...
She heard a scream followed by a loud thud. Tears streamed from her eyes. Despite having her eyes closed, she knew what had happened.
Cecilia...
"Too fast! What generation is this?" the silver-haired exclaimed frantically, failing to block all of her opponent's attacks despite having used her IS's AIC programme.
The long straight-haired brunette in front of her laughed menacingly seeing her plight, increasing her speed even further as she attacked the red-eyed girl from different directions with her short-range weapons. With a long black scythe in hand, the amber-eyed opponent struck the Schwarzer Regen with all her might, trying to disable its pilot.
However, despite this, it was still difficult for the fourth-generation pilot to defeat the trained military officer in front of her. She stared at the eye-patched small girl in front of her. She was small in size, but was definitely not as weak as she looked. Regardless of this, the brunette smiled. She loved a good challenge. Especially since they both piloted fourth generation machines.
"You can't defeat me that easily!" Laura shouted as she pulled out her special long laser cannon, directing it at the attacker.
The opponent smiled, blocking the laser shots efficiently, with each a swift movement. She zoomed towards the smaller pilot right as she was about to shoot her last shot. Grabbing her scythe, her amber-eyes widened in focus as she stabbed it straight into the barrel of the cannon.
The black IS's pilot froze. She heard a small crack, then the entire cannon broke into pieces in her hands. Perspiration dripped nervously down her forehead.
"React fast!" the opponent threatened, drawing out a small orange grenade from the back of her IS before pulling its trigger, throwing it fast upon her victim.
Luckily, the eye-patched girl was able to respond on time. Just as it was thrown on her, she drew out her left hand which was securely covered in a metal claw and tore through the grenade just before it could reach her, inducing her AIC programme as it exploded. The deep brown-haired teenager gasped at the backfired plan, a short scream escaping her lips as the tiny bomb exploded, a flash of light and white fumes escaping from the impact.
Laura breathed in and out deeply, exhausted from the fight. Immediately as the smoke subsided, she moved a step closer towards her opponent, stopping the AIC programme. Was she down? She couldn't take any chances. She wouldn't want to end up like her chestnut-haired companion. She could see The honey-eyed teenager laying on the ground, panting from the pain of the explosion earlier. Suddenly, her panting subsided and she closed her eyes, head drooping to the side as if she had fainted. Just before she had time to react, the brunette suddenly opened her eyes with a teasing smile.
"Just kidding, kid," she stated, as she pulled out a cannon from her IS and shot clearly at the red-eyed pilot in front of her.
The grey-haired fifteen year old let out a scream as the shot successfully struck her on the chest and she was flung onto the ground.
"Sayonara, soldier," the opponent declared with a smirk, teasing the girl in front of her whose eyepatch had slipped from the impact of her fall.
Red and yellow eyes widened. Her line of vision was blur and the barrel of the cannon was aimed at her stomach. Instantly, she initiated her AIC programme. The cannon shot.
Laura laid on the ground motionless, pain engulfing her senses. She touched her stomach. Dry.
"Your AIC is no match for my Shield Breaker. Luckily, I set it at a low level or you would have been bleeding by now, sweetheart," the brunette chuckled, tone dripping with sarcasm, "Ahhh... Too bad I only want the girl... I really wished I could just blow your brains out."
A sadistic smile played on the amber-eyed girl's lips. Laura cringed, a frown on her face. She couldn't lose. If she lost, that would mean they wouldn't be able to save Charlotte. A single teardrop fell from her yellow eye. Right as the brunette headed for the opposite direction, she stopped, paused for a moment then turned back to face the silver-haired girl.
"Ahh, what the heck. I hate soldiers anyway."
With that, she lifted a metal-covered arm...
"Ichika..." the last word she whispered, closing her eyes in surrender.
...and struck the surprised pilot right across the head, all the while smiling with narrowed eyes.
Laura fell onto the ground, unconcious.
"LAURA!" the blond screamed, immediately, tears of anger welling up in her eyelids as she banged her fists on the glass wall repeatedly.
"I'm going, I don't care, I'M GOING TO KILL HER!" she started to scream, brows furrowed in a frown.
Just before she could summon her Rafale Revive, she felt her arm being pulled.
"Calm down NOW, Dunois," the older woman ordered, her voice loud and clear, "Don't worry. She's alive. She's still in her IS."
"But... BUT... ORIMURA-SENSEI!" her body trembled violently as she stared at the female teacher with pleading eyes.
From five, it turned to two. A red IS came accelerating through the sky, being chased by a pilot with short jet black hair.
"Shinonono Houki... known so well for her famous sister..." she stated aloud, while still speeding towards the Akatsubaki.
"How I hate girls like you," she continued, "...Who only got an IS because of her sister... Pathetic!"
The above-mentioned girl frowned. Pathetic? She turned to face the opponent, whom also stood frozen on mid-air as well. Her brunette hair held in a neat ponytail, she drew out her two katana-shaped swords slowly... Amatsuki and Karaware.
"I'll show you whose the pathetic one..." before she could finish her sentence, she turned to look at her other companions.
Rin was down. Cecilia was occupied with one of the other pilots. The ocean blue-eyed girl held her breath. She turned a slight angle. Laura was on the ground, unconcious. Her opponent was busy stretching herself at a corner, a composed smile on her lips. Meanwhile, Ichika... he was on the battlefield, furiously fighting with another IS. She frowned, turning her attention back to her opponent.
"I heard you your family owned a kendo dojo..." the petite girl spoke softly, her voice steady, "Know the first rule of kendo?"
Suddenly, she drew out a long silver axe, electricity currents flashing through it menacingly. With a smirk, she looked at the tall pilot with a calm expression.
"Keep your attention on the opponent."
Immediately after stating that sentence, the slender girl came flying towards her, emerald-coloured metal wings appearing on the back of her IS, giving her agility in the air. Lifting the axe, she struck at the Karaware that was gripped tightly in Houki's left hand. For a while, the both of them struggled, placing greater and greater pressure on their weapons.
"Second rule. Take full use of the situation."
Right at that moment, a dawn of realisation hit her. Metal! She glanced at the dark-haired girl's hands. They were covered in a thick gloves. Then, she focused her attention on her metal clad hands. In a split-second, a wave of electric shocks came running into her body, sending unstoppable pain to surge in every area of her body. The brunette fell swiftly onto the ground, both katanas slipping from her hands as the pale yellow-eyed girl fast approaching. Midway down their fall, Houki's eyes began to open, to find the opponent's face barely centimeters away from her, running a hand down her pale cheeks. She leaned in towards the blue-eyed pilot's ears, and began to whisper,
"Third rule. Exploit the opponent's weakness."
A shotgun appeared in the attacker's hands. Ready to shoot, she gave a final smile to to the pitiful brunette in front of her. Before she could shoot, Houki leaned herself towards the opponent's ears and similarly whispered,
"Like you said, exploit your weakness? Got it,"
A metal claw travelled down the back of the smaller girl, right to where the metal-plated wings were. With one swift movement of her hand, she tore the wings violently off the unexpecting pilot. Right when she did so, the pilot began to fall even faster.
"The axe was heavy, you know," the brunette shouted after her, voice raising as she fell lower and lower approaching the ground fast below, "I was wondering why you were able to move around with such agility on air with those heavy weapons. Looks like you can't... not now."
With a loud crash, the white and sky blue IS fell onto the ground. Its distressed pilot looked at Houki hatefully, attempting to move from her position to continue her attack but realising her inability to do so.
"Guess what?" Houki asked, with a small smirk, "It's my turn to show you the kendo rules."
The brunette took her Amatsuki katana that lay on the ground next to the black-haired girl. Approaching her, the blue orbs of her eyes burned with anger.
"Fourth and final rule. Find the perfect opportunity to disarm the opponent..." she stated, eyes narrowed in a calm stare at her opponent, "Looks like this is the perfect opportunity."
Lifting her katana, she lifted it above her head, ready to strike her opponent for the final time. Suddenly, a sharp pain hit her on the back. Dropping the katana, she stumbled to turn around. Behind her, another brunette stood, cannon in hand. It was the same long brown-haired attacker that had caused her silver-haired companion to lose her conciousness.
"Take me... to the girl," lilac-eyes stared menacingly into crimson-red ones.
Tightly grasped in her small hands was a sharp longsword, pointed just a few centimeters away from the older boy's neck. Its silver surface gleamed in the sunlight, further adding to its menacing quality.
"Never," Ichika stated, determination in his tone of voice.
Like it? Hate it? Do review please! WILL ONLY UPDATE MID-MAY! XD