Notice: I do not own Infinite Stratos or any of its associated charaters except for my OC. Hey, everyone here comes another chapter of Inifinte Stratos: Burning Star. There will be a few announcements at the end of this chapter so be sure to stick around. Hope you all are enjoying the story so far!
Connor woke up to the normal sound of Flare yelling in his head and groaned. He then sat up and yawned and checked the time and sighed. He was still waking up earlier than everyone else. He then got out of bed and got dressed in his uniform and sat down at one of the desks in the room and sighed softly.
"Flare, I want you to check and send me all the data on LoneWolf's weapons, and see if you can bust through the one-offs code blocking us from accessing it." He said to her and she grunted in agreement as she started looking at the code and weapons systems.
"You should be able to check it in class today Connor. And as for the one-off ability, I'm going to need some time in order to break through it since I am not directly linked to the IS." She said to him and he sighed. He then began to think of an idea but then he looked at the clock and decided it would be time to wake Ichika up because of how long he takes to get ready. Connor then gets up and walks over to Ichika's bed and nudges the bluenette with his hand.
"Oi, Ichika, wake up or else you're going to be late for Miss Orimura's class." Connor said and Ichika opened his eyes slowly and sighed.
"Do I have to?" He asked rolling over in his bed and Connor groaned. He then thought for a second and smiled devilishly and head for the bathroom.
The sound of running water could be heard for a few seconds as Connor came back with a wet rag and stood with Ichika's back to him. He then smiled and quickly placed the wet rag on Ichika's neck and his friend immediately shot up with a shout grabbing the rag.
"What the hell man? That thing is fucking freezing." Ichika said while Connor was clutching his stomach laughing.
"Sorry man, but I had to wake you up because of how long you take to get ready." Connor said wiping a tear from his eye while his laugh died down. And Ichika then threw the rag in Connor's face with smile.
The two of them then laughed after Connor took the rag back to the bathroom and the two boys then went to class after Ichika got dressed. When the two of them walked into class everyone went silent and they looked around and then to each other and shrugged and went to their seats.
Connor sat back in his seat and sighed, wondering how his little sister was doing whenever the screen on his desk lit up and he leaned down and looked at it. It was the specs for his IS in its first shift sent to him by Flare. He then smiled and began looking through the weapons.
"Okay, so I have my sword, which is apparently called Dragons Breath, what else do I have?" He thought to himself as he scrolled though the weapons. He had found the air cannon he had used yesterday and apparently it would get stronger in second shift. He then saw four very interesting weapons and smiled.
What he had discovered was small minigun the could be deployed on his left arm replacing his spikes. He then had two shoulder mounted weapons that could only materialize one at a time. One was an average size missile launcher that launched specialized missiles called a Firestorm Launcher, each of the six missiles that could be fired had five tiny missiles on it that would home in on a target or targets the downside was that it had less of a blast radius. The next was a three-barreled launcher that fired shells at a very high velocity, but only one could be fired at a time as the barrel rotated, the recoil for that one would be crazy. The last was pistol that would be holstered on his side and could extend from a pistol to a rifle or shotgun.
Out of all these weapons he spotted something in the code that made him somewhat surprised. He read into the code and saw that his claws themselves were weapons. They could extend a bit and would emit a heat like his sword so it could burn or melt IS armor.
"Damn, whoever helped create this thing must have had a thing for fire and burning things." He thought and then sighed. He then looked over at the clock and groaned, he had missed most of this morning's lesson because he was reading so much into his IS.
"Don't forget class, we will be having a demonstration of weapon types by those with personal IS users. So, everyone will need to head to the arena after lunch." Chifuyu said and the class nodded.
After that the bell for lunch began and Connor left the room heading to the roof with another bag of chips and a drink. When he got to the roof, he opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight and took a deep breath. He then walked over to the railing and sat down against it and opened his bag of chips and drink and began to eat.
After finishing his chips he crumbled the bag up and put it in his uniforms pocket and began on finishing his drink. It was then that he heard some commotion down below and got up and looked over the railing and sighed.
It was Ichika and Houki, they were defending another student from being bullied from some second years. Connor sighed and began contemplating on whether or not to go down there and see what the issue was. He then grumbled to himself as he chugged the rest of his drink and started jogging to the door of the roof and down the stairs to the bottom floor.
Whenever he got there, he saw Ichika get slapped as the three second years walked off. Looked like it hurt from where Connor was standing. He then watched as Houki patted the girl on the shoulder and she went off running. Connor caught a glimpse of the young girl's eyes, they were an icy blue and stood there shocked and then shook his head.
"No way that's her, she shouldn't be here for another year at the least." He said to himself quietly as he walked of the building towards Ichika and Houki and chuckled.
"Can't catch a break can you Ichika?" He asked when he got closer and Ichika just sighed in response, slowling shaking his head. "I feel bad for you my friend." He said putting a hand on Ichika's shoulder as the bell for lunch ending sounded and the three of them headed to the arena with Ichika holding the side of his face that got slapped.
As Miss Orimura explained what they would be doing for the remainder of the class Connor sighed to himself. She had Charlotte and Cecilia deploy there IS's and asked them to explain to the class what weapons they were equipped with. Connor looked around, feeling like something bad was about to happen, he then shrugged it off as the two girls finished explaining what their weapons did and the deactivated there IS's.
As Miss Orimura was about to ask Ichika and Connor to deploy there IS's the alarm sounded and the ground started shaking. Miss Orimura then began yelling at the students telling them to get out of the arena, only Connor stood still, looking at the sky as something came into view and was flying for them at a very fast speed. He then looked to his classmates who were evacuating and he saw that they wouldn't make it by the time that thing went through the barrier and landed in the arena. Sighing, he activated his IS and flew to where the object would be coming once it came through the barrier.
"Rain, what the hell are you doing?!" Chifuyu yelled at him as he did so and turned around to face her.
"You aren't going to make it by the time that thing breaks through the barrier! I'm going to buy you some time!" He yelled back. Some of his classmates turned to look at him as they ran away and Chifuyu sighed.
"Orimura, go back him up until the teachers get here." She said to her brother and he nodded, deploying his IS and flying up beside Connor.
"You ready?" Ichika asked him and Connor chuckled.
"Not really, but fuck it." He replied and the two bumped fists as the barrier was destroyed and an IS of solid white with small orb like wings and large hands was in front of them and the boys deployed their swords. The boys then rushed the IS swinging their swords but the IS caught them and the boys grunted.
"Damn, looks like that didn't work." Ichika said as the IS released their weapons and they backed off.
"Don't worry Ichika, I've got some new toys I want to try out and this thing here will be my practice dummy instead of you." Cpnnor said, receiving a slight glare from Ichika and Connor laughed. "Relax dude, I was joking." Connor then dematerialized his sword and a minigun appeared on his left arm, replacing his spikes.
With the new weapon on his arm, Connor aimed at the IS and began firing as he moved to the side of the thing. Ichika then began to charge up the particle cannon in his left arm and moved the opposite way of Connor. The IS raised its two big arms at the boys and began firing lasers at them, the two boys then took evasive action to dodge the lasers
"I think it's an unmanned unit." Ichika said as he dodged a laser.
"What makes you think that?" Connor replied as he was hit by a laser in the leg and winced as his shields went down.
"It's just like the one I fought before, except it's white not black and gold." He said, firing a charged shot at the IS and hit it in the arm before it aimed at him. "Uh oh." He said before moving out of the way of the lasers.
Flare then verified to Connor that what Ichika said was true and the IS was, in fact, unmanned. Connor smiled, that meant he could go all out. He then motioned for Ichika to get back as a missile launcher materialized on his left shoulder.
"Firestorm!" Connor said as the six missiles in the launcher flew out at high speeds, each one coming in from a different direction. When the rockets were about to hit, they released five mini missiles that also struck the IS in the explosion that they had caused. He smiled as he saw the IS fall out of the sky towards the ground.
"Nice!" He exclaimed as the launcher vanished and Ichika gave him a high-five.
From the safety of the locker room, the girls could see the fight that was happening outside thanks to the TV in the room. As the girls could see, behind the boys as the floated to the ground, the white IS had gotten back and had aimed one of its hands at the boys. Though the thing was sparking and its left arm had gone limp, its right arm was still working as it powered up a large laser shot.
Thinking the battle was won, Ichika had his back turned to the machine while Connor stood sideways beside him as they waited for the teachers to get there so they could get out. Connor was laughing with Ichika when he turned his head to see the laser charging up and his face went to one of horror as he looked at Ichika and the IS. Time seemed to slow down as Connor pushed Ichika out of the way of the laser, drawing his pistol that had materialized on his hip and fired a single shot before the laser made contact. It had hit him directly in his chest and was flung back into the wall of the arena and held there as the beam kept coming.
"Connor!" Ichika yelled before flying at the IS and swinging his sword so it cut off the arm that was firing the laser and then ran his sword through its chest and it fell forward, powering down.
Ichika then looked over at Connor whose IS had went into storage mode and had fallen from his hole in the wall to face down in the dirt. He then rushed over to his friend and sent his own IS to storage mode and looked him over to see if he was okay. Connor then groaned into the ground before rolling onto his back, everything was spinning for him.
"Did we get it?" He asked groggily.
"Yeah, we got it man. How are you feeling?" Ichika replied with a smile.
"Good, and I'm great. Mind helping a brother up?" Connor asked holding out a hand and Ichika took it helping Connor up, supporting him with his shoulder.
As soon as the two of them got to the locker room the girls where cheering for them and Connor held a hand to his head and winced. He felt like that one time he had been to a college party with his best friend and got wasted. Every sound hurt and he just felt like sleeping the rest of the day away. Seeing how Connor looked, Chifuyu ordered Ichika to take him to the nurse's office immediately and that the rest of the class was canceled. Whenever they got there, Ichika had put Connor in one of the beds in the office and Connor groaned before passing out of exhaustion. The nurse came over to see him and sighed, saying he had a minor concussion and that she would alert him when his friend woke up. With a sigh Ichika left the nurse's office and went towards the cafeteria where he would meet up with Houki.
Whenever Ichika got to the cafeteria he Houki and immediately went over to her as the rest of his group joined them. They began carrying on their normal conversations, but everyone was a bit distracted by what had happened in the arena. Ichika sighed and Houki asked what was wrong.
"I think it's obvious, Connor got hurt because I was careless and thought that the fight was over." He said sadly and Houki put a hand on his shoulder and Cecilia spoke up.
"I wouldn't be blaming yourself Ichika dear. You would have done the same for him, just be glad he wasn't seriously injured by that machine." She said and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I guess you're right Cecilia. I'm going to head to my room." He said as he got up and excused himself.
Ichika then went to his room and sat down on his bed and he heard his phone buzz. He took it out and looked at it, he had a new message from that Flare person. He sighed and opened it, inside it read as such.
"Dear Ichika, this is Flare. A…. mutual friend of Connor's. Listen, he's already been torn from one person he cared about so he doesn't really want to happen to anyone else. He took that hit because he truly considers you and everyone in your group a friend. Even if all of the latter doesn't think the same way towards him. So, don't blame yourself for his actions okay? He should be awake later so you should stop by." Ichika sighed as he read the message and typed out a reply.
"How do know all of this?" Ichika texted Flare.
"Have Connor tell you." Was the only reply he got before 'Flare' went offline.
Ichika then set his phone down and sighed and checked the time. It was just a little after three so he got up off of his bed and got on his computer. He decided to check on some things on the online market to see if any deals were coming up soon. After checking on the market deals for a few hours he heard his phone buzz and again he answered it, it was the nurse telling him that his friend was beginning to wake up. Ichika immediately got off the computer and went out the door towards the nurse's office.
Connor was lying in a bed with a hand to his head as he woke up looking around. He began to question where he was as the events from the arena began to fill his mind. He started to sit up when the door opened and Ichika rushed in.
"Where's the fire at?" He said with a laugh as Ichika softly punched him in the arm.
"I don't think you should be joking right now Connor." Ichika replied with a smile and Connor shrugged.
"What can I say, I'm a funny guy once you get to know me." He replied and the boys laughed.
"So, how you feeling?" Ichika asked, moving to stand beside Connor.
"I've been better. Feels like my head was split open." He replied as he maneuvered so he could sit up.
"Well, you did take a laser blast to the chest and was sent into a wall." Ichika said.
"Good point." He said as the nurse walked in and stopped in front of Connor.
"Now, Mr. Rain. If you are feeling up to it, you may go back to you room. Just be sure to stop in every now and then for a quick checkup. Other than that, you're free to go." The nurse said.
"Thanks Doc." Connor said slowly getting out of the bed and standing up, having to recover a bit before he almost fell. Ichika then put Connor's arm around his shoulder.
"I'll help you back to the room." He said and Connor nodded thankfully and the two began walking.
As the two were walking back to their Ichika looked at Connor and decided he would ask who Flare was later. As they kept walking they were met with a few stares from some girls and Connor sighed.
"I think I'm good to walk now Ichika." He said and Ichika nodded, letting Connor take his arm back and they began to slowly walk to their room.
When the two boys got to their room Connor immediately went to his bed and sat down with a sigh. Ichika looked over to his friend and Connor gave him a thumbs up. A knock came to the door and Ichika answered to see Houki and Charlotte standing there.
"How's he doing?" Houki asked with a bit of worry in her voice.
"He's doing good I guess, currently spacing out on his bed." Ichika replied to the girl.
"Mind if we come in?" Houki asked and Ichika nodded.
"Not at all." He said, motioning them in.
As the girls walked in, Ichika closed the door behind them and went to sit in one of the chairs in the room as the girls took the bed. Connor was still sitting there, but now he had his phone in his hand. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Ichika broke the silence.
"So, Connor, I've got a question for you." He said and Connor looked up at him.
"Yeah? What's up?" Connor replied and Ichika sighed.
"Well, I'm sure we've all gotten a message from this 'Flare' character, so I think we should know who he or she is." Ichika said and then Connor sighed.
"Yeah, I do owe you that much. Just, promise you won't freak out?" He asked and everyone nodded.
Connor took a deep breath before pressing a few buttons on his phone and holding up for them to see. On the screen was what looked to be a call that was connecting. When the call connected a female voice spoke.
"It is a pleasure to finally officially meet you three. My name is Flare, Connor's AI that was inplanted into him two years ago. I have been helping with his IS since he obtained it." Falre said and everyone was shocked and Houki raised a finger slightly bent with a questioning look on her face.
"I thought AI technology was very experimental and that the IS already had an AI in it that helps the pilot make small adjustments." Ichika said and the others looked at him and he shrugged. "Believe it or not, I do study."
"You are correct Ichika, but I'm the first experimental AI that has been given a full personality and given to a human being." Flare responded and then said, "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some checks to run on Connor's IS after that fight earlier." With that the call was ended and Connor put his phone away.
"And the secret is out." Connor said with a sigh and looked at the other three people in the room.
"So, that's how you knew you're first shift would happen." Charlotte said and Connor nodded.
"Flare has been a real help to me since I've been here." He said and then checked the time. Nearly eight o'clock. He then stood up and excused himself.
"Where are you going?" Houki asked him.
"To get some food, I'm starving." He replied with as he left the room, leaving the three to talk amongst themselves.
"Do you think it was wise to tell them about you Flare?" He asked his AI companion.
"I figured they would find out soon enough. Now I've noticed you've got an idea cooking up in your head, mind telling me what it is?" Flare responded to him.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about what you said this morning about not being directly linked to the IS. And I figured that I could change that." He said to her.
"How so?" She asked him and he casually pressed a hand to the back of his head for it to placed on a small round piece of metal that was hidden by his hair.
"By transferring you from me to the IS by placing you directly into it. You'll still be able to communicate with me mentally because of how long we have been connected." He said as he walked into the cafeteria and got in line for his food.
"Risky, but it might just work." Flare said before she stopped talking while Connor ordered his food.
Connor went and sat down with his turkey sandwich and tea and sighed. He missed American food so much as he took a bite of his sandwich. Soon he would be able to start cooking again, once the ingredients Ichika ordered came in.
As he was finishing his sandwich his phone buzzed and he looked at it, he had gotten a message from Miss Orimura. He dreaded to see what it says as he opened it. As he read the message he sighed and quickly ate the rest of sandwich and chugged his drink, he was to be at the IS mechanic room for them to check on LoneWolf since he was moving around.
Connor sighed as he walked into the room, looking around he saw Chifuyu standing there waiting for him and he walked towards her.
"Alright Rain, activate your IS." She said and Connor did so and she instructed him to move to a spot in the wall where he parked his IS.
"So, what all are they checking for?" Connor asked as his IS was scanned.
"Any parts of the armor that may have been damaged in the attack. And since we would have to order them from the manufacture the parts might take a bit to come in." She said as the scan was complete.
"So, in other words, your making sure that I wouldn't be able to miss out on the tournament." He replied and she gave a nod.
Connor then looked over and on a table was the IS that he and Ichika had defeated earlier that day. He looked at it questionably as the data from his IS was being examined. Connor was brought back to looking ahead of him with a loud "ahem" from Chifuyu.
"It seems your IS is in fine after that fight, you may return it to its closed form." She said and Connor did so, landing on the floor.
"So, what's up with that thing?" He asked as he walked past Chifuyu and she glared at him.
"It's classified information. Now go back to your room." She said sternly and he sighed leaving to go to his room.
Whenever Connor got back to his room he found Ichika asleep and went over to his own bed. He then sat down and took a deep breath as his hand went to the small metal circle on his neck. He then closed his eyes and pressed it, from the circle came a smaller SD card object. He then took the small card and pressed a button on the side of his IS's collapsed form. A small slot opened up and he put the card in and waited for Flare to get accustomed to her new space.
"Well, what do you think Flare?" He thought as he looked at the IS.
"It's a lot bigger than your brain so that's a plus. But I should be able to access the code and figure more out about the IS from inside here." She said and Connor glared.
"That was mean Flare." He thought and she laughed, apologizing.
After that, Connor decided that it was best to get some sleep now and laid down on his bed and closing his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep, Connor dreamed of days from his past, a smile on his face as he did so.
Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! As always, if you enjoyed please leave a review, follow, or favorite. It lets me know that I'm doing good on my story. And now, for the thanks from all the new people who left a review, followed, or favorited the story as of the time I'm writing this.
Thank you so much to Erosdeath and Littlemw929 for leaving a favorite on my story! It means so much to me that you two did that!
Thank you to XD ComicsSans XD, TheDarkAuthor017, Soultaker155, N7 Recruit, Littlemn929, and Erosdeath for following my story! If any of you have any questions concerning my story just send me a private message and I would be happy to answer any of them.
Also, thank you once again Erosdeath for you reviews on Chapter 1 and 2. I did send you a private message to explain some of the things you had commented on in your review, hope you are enjoying the story.
And a final announcement! When writing this last section of this chapter, I noticed something. This story has gotten over 200 reads! That is absolutely insane! I NEVER expected to get that many views on my story! And, as a reqard for blowing away my expectations, I am going to choose one person from the following, favorite, or review section and send them a private message in the morning as I am very tired right now. That one person will be able to influence the little OVA or the next chapter, whichever they choose, just a bit. If anyone else follows, favorites, or reviews by the time I look at this in the morning, they will be added to the list. Also, a side note, if you are in all three sections, I will only count it as one so not to give certain people an advantage over others by doing all three.
Now I hope you all enjoy this chapter and future ones that will be coming up. Please share this with friends or on social media even if you enjoy my story.