Infinite Stratos Plot Bunnies Collection
Chapter 21: IS x Senyoku no Sigrdrifa
Upload date: 11/19/2020
AN: This crossover concept just occurred recently as I have been a big fan of Senyoku no Sigrdrifa (English title "Warlords of Sigrdrifa") since it aired this Fall 2020 anime season along with Strike Witches Road to Berlin. As a big fan of "moe military girls'' anime genre, I quickly became interested in this anime and even more so since it involved fighter aircraft. I always wanted to watch a recent military anime involving fighter aircraft; the most recent ones I watched before Sigrdrifa being Girly Air Force and The Third Aerial Girls Squad OVA. Plus this the fact that this anime was written by Re:Zero author sealed the deal as I really loved Re:Zero especially Season 2. Normally I wouldn't even think about a concept when a series hasn't finished its season yet, but Sigrdrifa proved too much of a good concept to shelve away to think on later after its season concludes.
Story Concept:
This story is an obvious crossover between IS and Sigrdrifa, though lore-wise the timeline follows the IS timeline at least until the emergence of the Pillars (primary unknown enemy of Sigrdrifa). Like in Sigrdrifa, humanity would be pushed to the brink even with the presence of the technologically advanced and powerful Infinite Stratos. In fact, the IS had many setbacks and suffered significant casualties in the first few months since humanity's encounter with the Pillars as humanity lacked any knowledge how to defeat the Pillars. When it was proven that even nukes couldn't destroy the Pillars, Odin appeared and bequeathed humanity to his Valkyries and their Hero Wing aircraft.
Several years later, the battle between humanity and Pillars rages on, with men supporting the Valkyries as they soar through the treacherous skies to save the world. The Infinite Stratos, once thought to be nigh invincible weapons, have been regulated to support roles of a "Shield Squadron" - the same as modern fighter aircraft. Although still more powerful than most conventional weapons, even with new tactics and strategies developed to combat the Pillars, the IS still had few success on their own without a Valkyrie to aid them in battle. This would be demonstrated when a Pillar appeared close to Infinite Stratos Academy and the ensuing battle resulted in the total destruction of ISA and the IS pilots achieving victory only with the timely arrival of a Japanese Named Valkyrie pilot named Sakura (aka Ortlinde). In the event dubbed the Battle of ISA, something happened that would cause Ichika to forever be psychologically distraught and tormented on that fateful day. According to his own report and testimony, Ichika loses his right to pilot an IS when his own IS allegedly betrayed him. In his own words, his own Byakushiki had grown tired of his weakness, his unworthiness, and his inability to be even remotely close to the capability and potential of his older sister Chifuyu. Byakushiki terminates her connection to Ichika and ejects him out of the IS, leaving him to fall to the ocean from high in the skies as the rouge IS leaves the battlefield to Ichika's own stunned shock and in a cascade of explosions that surround it as Byakushiki cleaves her way past secondary Pillars in the skies to head somewhere else unknown. Ichika would have fallen to his death if he wasn't rescued by Ortlinde in her Hero Wing catching him midair.
Ever since that incident, Ichika had been psychologically scarred from the seeming betrayal of his own IS and his traumatic memories of that moment and day were mentally sealed away, even as other IS pilots' reports and testimonies contradicted his own assessments of what really happened. Even his teammates (his canon harem) didn't believe him and neither did Chifuyu. Ichika was instructed to try out new IS units and Cores, but none of them worked or responded to his presence like Byakushiki once did. Ichika took this as a sign that from the start that he would have never been able to use an IS under normal circumstances as no man could pilot an IS. Ichika theorized that the only reason that Ichika was able to pilot Byakushiki in the first place was because Core 001 thought that since Ichika was Chifuyu's blood sibling, he had the same power, potential, and worthiness as she did. When Ichika failed to meet her expectations since he did not have the same traits that Chifuyu had that made Core 001 accepted her, Ichikia theorized that was when Byakushiki finally decided to cut all loose ends to him for good and go off to find someone else that could fit her impossible criteria. Over the objections of his friends, his sister, ISA, and other organizations involved in matters related to the Infinite Stratos, Ichika formally resigned from ISA as it made no sense or use to have a person who could not pilot an Infinite Stratos to continue attending ISA. Ichika cuts off contact from his IS canon harem which leaves them too distraught and emotionally devastated. Morale for IS pilots greatly dropped over Ichika's resignation.
Half a year later after the Battle of ISA, Ichika would resurface again as a JASDF fighter pilot under the Callsign "Einherjar". Originally seeking his own death in battle, Ichika would fly in the sky in a heavily modified F-14 Tomcat originally serving as a "Shield" pilot. However, as fate would have it Ichika had innate genius and talent for all things related to fighter jets and as result he would be the longest surviving pilot since the Pillar War began where even IS pilots too either died in battle or had to retire due to injuries. It was rythmic destiny that Ichika was at best a mediocre IS pilot but as a fighter pilot he was a modern day Ace of aces soaring high in the skies in the Age of Infinite Stratos in the Pillar War. As for why he received his Callsign "Einherjar", he originally settled on "Death Wish" when he caught the attention of Odin while on a training mission learning to coordinate and fight along the Japanese Named Valkyrie, Ortlinde, the same one who saved his life when his IS supposedly betrayed him. While uncertain at first given his PTSD from the Battle of ISA, Ichika would pull himself together when a Pillar suddenly appeared and he was the only Shield fighter pilot surviving to fight alongside Ortlinde. Ichika drew courage and maintained his resolve even as his F-15J was badly damaged, having taken what would have been a fatal hit to Ortlinde's Hero Wing, a deadly hit that should have been intercepted by an accompanying IS unit to protect both the Valkyrie and shielding fighter pilots. Ichika was ejected just as his F-15J exploded and Ortlinde destroyed the Pillar. Sustaining bloody injuries, Ichika once more fell towards the ocean and he would have been content with just dying rather than deploying his parachute, as he felt that everything up to this point in his life had been completely meaningless and worthless.
However, it was not his time to die yet as he was once more saved by Ortlinde midair whio then hurried to get him medical treatment. Odin who was present at the time remarked how Ichika looked just like an einherjar, a Norse warrior who had died in battle and was brought back to Valhalla by Valkyries. While recovering in a hospital room, Ichika and Ortlinde grew close together from their bond of having fought and survived together and her saving him twice now. Ichika finally shared his vulnerable feelings to her as to why he settled on "Death Wish" as his Callsign. He was emotionally depressed and devastated from his own IS betraying him, an event that would lead him to turn his back on all things IS related which would have cascading consequences. People at ISA thought he was insane as they believed that it was impossible for an IS to turn against its pilot. With no witnesses present during the time Ichika's IS turned on him as every IS pilot was focused on their own battles during the Battle of ISA, there was no one who could confirm his testimony. People still thought he could still pilot an IS despite his insistence that he couldn't pilot an IS anymore - in spite of having him try to use different IS units and Cores and none of which responded to him. He resigned from IS out of guilt of letting everyone he knew down, his perceived unworthiness, weakness, his inability to do anything of value or protect those he loved and cared for, and more importantly trying to run away from his problems. Ichika cut off contact from his friends and his only family from ISA as he was too afraid to face them. It also didn't help that he got unsympathetic jeering looks from other male fighter pilots since most of them were jealous of him once being the so-called "world's first male IS pilot". Ortlinde would comfort him as she told him that he was the most bravest, courageous, self-sacrificing, and strong-willed man she had ever known. She would give Ichika a new reason to continue living and fighting for a better future when she kisses him. Ichika would return the kiss, having fallen in love for her then and there. Having seen Ichika won the heart of one of the Named Valkyries, Odin would give Ichika his blessing and protection on par with the Valkyries, granting him a title to replace his suicide-idolated callsign with a more noble Norse callsign name, Einherjar.
Ichika and Ortlinde would remain together for quite some time for their love and bond to grow as they fought together in the skies and relaxed together when they weren't fighting Pillars. Ichika now flew a modernized F-14 requisitioned by Odin and customized by Ichika himself to better fit his piloting skills and style. The war served to strengthen their relationship further and they began to imagine a future for each other for when the war finally ends. Sadly for Ichika, tragedy would strike resulting in Ortlinde losing her life. On a mission to prevent a Pillar from establishing itself in Tokyo, Ortlinde and Ichika's squadron were ambushed by Phantom Task who had finally made their appearance after their long hiatus after the Pillars first emerged. To Ichika's own shock, he sees a black clad and red outline colored Byakushiki piloted by a person who would later be revealed to be Madoka Orimura. Reinforcements from ISA were slow to respond and the aerial squadron was quickly reduced to just Ichika and Ortlinde as they were already struggling to fight off the Pillars in the skies. Ichika breaks off from an attack run on the main Pillar to distract the enemy IS to buy time for Ortlinde to either destroy the Pillar herself or evacuate first. Ichika put up a hard resistance he could but it was an unfair battle to begin with as Madoka seemingly played along with him in her new IS, toying with him as both knew that even with his ace pilot skills a fighter jet has virtually no chance against an IS. Madoka enjoys psychologically torturing him when she tells him that the IS she was using was indeed Byakushiki and that she was Chifuyu's younger sister and his twin. Ichika at first denies her revelations but upon deeper thought realizes the truth behind Madoka's words. Seeing as Ichika froze up from the revelations, Madoka got bored and proceeded to finish him off for good. Ichika's F-14 would have been shot down if Ortlinde's Hero Wing hadn't moved in to take a fatal shot meant for him. Ichika could only open his eyes wide in shock and disbelief as Orlinde said her last words to him as her Hero Wing crashed into the ocean followed by an explosion.
Ichika lost all sense of reason completely seeing Ortlinde die; he circled around in the skies to try to kill Madoka despite knowing how futile it was for a fighter jet to try to shoot down an IS. This resulted in Madoka slashing Ichika's F-14 with the Yukihira Type 2 sword and the world around Ichika going black. Ichika would wake up in a hospital bed with Chifuyu by his side while his friends from ISA stood outside of his he was informed by an accompanying military official that Ortlinde had been confirmed as dead, her body and Hero Wing unable to be recovered. Ichika was told that during his blackout state, ISA reinforcements had finally arrived to drive back Madoka and Byakushiki while Ichika finished the job of destroying the Pillar at the cost of his F-14. Ichika would rage at Chifuyu and his ISA friends for not believing him in the first place when he told them that Byakushiki did indeed betray him. Ichika was also extremely angry at them for arriving too late as their tardiness cost Ortlinde her life. He also berates Chifuyu for keeping secrets from, especially secrets regarding his twin sister Madoka. Ichika had to be sedated as he seemed like he was about to jump out of his bed and rush at Chifuyu in his enraged state. Ichika's ISA friends, the Personal IS users, were saddened that Ichika did not want to see them and worse he blamed them and Chifuyu for the death of his loved one.
Ortlinde's death was a huge morale blow to Japan, prompting them to get a replacement in the form of Claudia Bruford (nicknamed "The Salvation Valkyrie" and to herself "The Grim Reaper" for always being the lone survivor of each mission) [AN: she's the protagonist of Sigrdrifa]. Ichika would be reassigned from the frontlines as JSDF Command saw him as being mentally unstable following Ortlinde's death. His reassignment takes him to an island base where the 909th Valkyrie Wing unit is stationed at, his newly assigned fighter aircraft being two Northrop YF-23s, the "Grey Ghost" being his main plane while the "Black Widow II" was his backup plane. Claudia and Ichika, both elite pilots with sad traumatic pasts and wounded hearts, their fates would intertwine with each other and bind the two together as they head towards their new assignments with the 909th Valkyrie Wing.
"Thus, the story part of the Sigrdrifa series would begin. Now is the time to fight back, humanity. The day of reckoning has arrived. The time of Ragnarok draws nears." - Odin (presumably)
AN: That concludes the story concept scenario, ending at where Sigrdrifa anime begins. This concept might change once the Sigrdrifa anime finish airing. Since it is open-ended, like always feel free to adapt this story and make it your own adding in your touches to it. Just a reminder once more, no protagonist author Self-Insert Mary Sue/Gary Stu OCs please.