(This chapter has been revised as of 04/16/22)
It's amazing fast the best day of your life can turn into the worst one ever.
For example, take Jayden's life. He had figured out he could pilot the Infinite Stratos. He's now working with the top IS researcher Gelimer and found a new friend in Irene. Things should be looking up. However, that all means nothing when so-called "friend" Irene kidnaps him and is taking him to who knows where.
Irene flew in her black IS carrying her additional passenger. She kept Jayden clenched in the fist of her IS, keeping a tight enough hold on him to make sure he stayed where he was. Her other arm was placed in front of him to block the wind pressure. She didn't want to bring back damaged goods.
At the speed they were going, Jayden could barely keep his eyes open. The wind pressure from the high-altitude and speed made it difficult to look ahead. Still, it was his first time flying with an IS…sort of. If it weren't for being kidnapped or the fear of never seeing his loved ones again, he may have been enjoying this.
After continuous flying for 20 minutes, she slowed down till she was hovering in the air, stretching out her limbs.
Now that she stopped, Jayden had a chance to speak. "Why are you doing this?"
She continued stretching, probably ignoring him.
"Where are we going?"
One again she pretended he didn't exist.
"What's going to happen to me?"
Irene's mouth twisted into a wicked smile as she had an idea. She acknowledged the boy by lifting him up to speak face to face.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. But… I've got a few guesses." Irene now dangled him with only a few fingers of her IS. "Maybe my superiors will dissect you and figure out why a boy like you can pilot the Infinite Stratos. Or maybe we'll sell you on the black market for a profit. You're sure to fetch a very pretty penny, that I'm sure of. If we don't take you apart, someone else will."
Jayden was shaking like a leaf imaging what his life would become.
"Although, if I could pick your fate, I'd keep you as my very own personal little servant. After all, I could use someone to polish my boots and call me mistress." She stared at Jayden as a lion would glare at a piece of meat. Jayden turned his head away, not wanting to meet her gaze. Not that it did much with his limited mobility in the hand of an IS. She stared into his eyes, grinning all the while.
She held him out turning him a bit, inspecting the features on his face and body. "You said you're twelve, right?"
"Thirteen." Jayden corrected.
"Aww, such a big boy. You're really growing up. So much so that I think it's time for you to…" He she held him outwards as far as she could, loosening her grip little by little.
He realized what she was going to do and pleaded for her to not do it.
"Leave the nest."
She released her grip.
Jayden fell through the sky as fast as gravity would allow him. He screamed as loud as he could while every limb flailed about as if trying to break the laws of reality and fly.
His Life flashed before his eyes as Jayden saw early childhood memories to his recent times at the IS research facility. Everything he did amounted to nothing in the end.
"Goodbye, world."
Jayden shut his eyes so he wouldn't see it coming. Jayden's body collided with something. It was hard and sturdy, yet it didn't feel like the ground. It was still a rough landing as he coughed up some blood upon collision. He opened his eyes and his vision was nothing but Irene's grinning sadistic face.
Her grin turned into a smirk, then a chuckle as it got louder. Pressing Jayden into her stomach she laughed out loud. "Oh man! I wish I recorded that." She laughed harder than Jayden has ever seen her laugh. "That look on your face was priceless. That settles it, I'm going to ask if I can keep you. We're going to have so much fun Jayden. For the rest of your days." She moved him to right hand. Keeping her grip on him with a tight hold. With her passenger in tow, she resumed her flight to wherever her destination was.
Jayden was doing his best to tell himself everything would be okay, that this would just be a phase and it would all get better. No matter what he told himself tears begin to run down his eyes as this was his life now. He wished for anyone or anything to save him.
A beeping noise started ringing out, coming from the holo-screen on the IS. The constant beeps got their attention.
"Shit"
Jayden wondered what was on the screen. Whatever it was showing, Irene wasn't happy about it.
Up ahead was what appeared to be another IS unit flying towards them. Jayden couldn't make out the details of this new IS pilot but judging from Irene's unhappy reaction she probably wasn't on her side.
Up ahead was what appeared to be another IS unit flying towards them. Jayden couldn't make out the details of this new IS pilot but judging from Irene's reaction it probably wasn't on her side.
The IS came to a halt a fair distance away from them. It was a white standard issue IS unit with a thin frame. The unit appeared to be a Fang Quake, the basic model for the United States. The pilot inside was a young woman in her early 20s with blue eyes and long blond wavy hair. She opened a communication channel to talk to Irene.
"I don't know who you are, so you're definitely not part of the U.S." She folded her arms, looking over the details of Irene's IS. She took note that it was a custom-made IS unit. I'd ask what you're doing but I can tell it isn't anything good. You'll have to come with me to get this sorted out."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, I have somewhere to be." Irene replied.
"That wasn't a request."
"And just who do you think you are to make me do that?"
"My name is Natasha Fairs, on behalf of the American IS military you're under arrest. Surrender yourself now or you will be shot down." She materialized a rifle and pointed it at Irene.
"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt when two people are spending time together? My new friend and I were talking about our future." She followed up by moving Jayden near her face, nuzzling her cheek against his. "And we've decided to run away together. Now if you be so kind as to get out of our way, that would be just lovely."
"A hostage!" Natasha's eyes widened.
While the IS had an absolute defense shield that protected the pilot in the IS, the same couldn't be said for the outside of it. Just one bullet could severely damage or kill the hostage if she fired aimlessly.
"As I said, why don't you ditch that weapon? We would want my little friend to get hurt, would we?" She squeezed her fist, making Jayden scream out in pain.
With reluctance, Natasha dematerialized her rifle. With her enemy having a human shield, Natasha's options were limited. She squinted to get a better look at who the person was.
It looked like the person in the fist of the IS was a child. A girl…. No despite the long hair, it was defiantly a boy… right? Natasha wasn't 100% sure on the kid's gender, but the child was defiantly frightened.
"I'm going to get you back safely. Don't worry." She wasn't sure how, but she knew she'd find a way eventually. "I promise you you'll get a happy ending as long as I'm standing." She gave him a smile, not that he could see it from that far away
Irene looked like she was about to throw up. "Spare me your story book endings."
Irene sped off with Natasha in pursuit. It seemed Natasha had the faster IS as she was slowly gaining on Irene. Natasha's IS unit had a higher top speed. Meanwhile Irene's IS was built for close quarters combat with a high armor frame and long arms for extended reach. However, for all that bulk, speed and mobility had to be sacrificed. If Irene wanted to get away, she'd have to slow Natasha down.
"Just buzz off, bitch!"
A machine gun materialized in Irene's free hand pointed straight at Natasha. She opened fired as Natasha was forced to dodge. Irene began flying backwards, keeping her aim on her target while trying to put distance between them. Natasha may have had the faster IS but if she could slow her down by forcing her to fly in a zig zag path, she may be able to put enough distance between them.
Jayden watched in amazement as Natasha dodged Irene's gunfire, diving through the air all while keeping up her current speed. Natasha was able to avoid her gunfire like a pro. This was like the battles Jayden saw on old videos of IS tournaments and like the video games he played. This was the thing that he had always wanted to see in person. For a few moments Jayden forgot about the peril he was in and kept his eyes glued on the fight in front of him.
"Piss off already!" Irene fired again.
Natasha hated to admit it but there didn't seem to be anything she could do. If she got too close, she wouldn't be able to dodge Irene's shots. Shooting back was out of the question with her using Jayden as a shield. She had sent out an S.O.S and although back up was on the way they wouldn't get here for a while. For now, she just had to keep up with the enemy.
The chased continued with neither side making much progress towards their goal. While the two pilots concentrated on one another, Jayden could only watch as they fought for his fate. He knew that the only reason Natasha wasn't fighting back was because he was in the way. He tried to come up with a way to help but every idea was either too stupid or unable to be pulled off. Except for one… It was a stupid plan, but it was better than doing nothing.
Jayden wiggled in her hand as though he were trying to escape Irene's grasp.
Irene noticed his attempt and tightened her grip. "We can play later brat; I need to focus on this pest."
He had to do something to draw Irene's focus off Natasha. He racked his brain for a solution and came up with one foolish, yet possible idea.
Irene noticed his attempt and tightened her grip. "We can play later brat; I need to focus on this pest."
"You won't get away with this so give yourself up." Jayden called out to Irene "Or… or…. or I'm going to have to stop you."
"You're gonna stop me? Have you not been paying attention to the situation you're in?" Irene snickered as she resumed her fire on Natasha.
"I mean it." He did his best to look as menacing as possible.
Irene glanced over at him. And laughed. A few seconds later she looked over at Jayden again while he was trying to look as menacing as a hostage could.
"Oh! you're serious?"
Irene laughed even harder.
She directed her attention onto Jayden, lifting him up to her face so they were seeing eye to eye. Just for the laughs, she decided to humor him. "And tell me, what can someone like you do to someone like me?"
Ptoo!
His reply was a glob of spit in his kidnapper's eye.
Irene screamed in disgust and shock, bringing an arm to her face on instinct to try to comfort it. The same arm that was holding Jayden. The boy tried to the first thing he could. One hand was dug into Irene's pocket while the rest of him dangled about as he held onto the moving IS for his life. His screams were overtaken by the wind force as he used everything, he had to keep his grip on Irene's pocket.
As the gunfire stopped, Natasha saw the child was dangling off of the pilot to hold on. Natasha immediately flew towards holding out her arms to catch him.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Irene got back her focus although her eye was still stinging a bit.
She quickly turned herself with a sharp right turn to block Natasha's charge leading to Natasha's IS crashing into her own. The force of the impact made Jayden lose his grip on Irene's pocket.
"NO!" Natasha yelled as she saw him fall.
Before she could react, Irene's IS grabbed her from behind, locking her in a tight bear hug. Natasha thrashed about trying to escape all while Irene squeezed tighter to keep her in place. No matter her struggles, Natasha's basic IS couldn't muster the strength to escape
"Screw the brat, I'll make do with just the IS." The IS was her main target, Jayden was just a bonus that she could take or leave.
At this point, she decided it was better to cut her losses. She increased her strength on Natasha's IS to take reduce its shield energy by squeezing immense pressure. All Natasha could do was watch the boy fall closer and closer to the ground.
For the second time today, Jayden was falling from the sky.
Now was the time to stay calm.
Somehow Jayden managed to not freak out. His eyes remained closed so he wouldn't freak about seeing the ground get closer. He was the prize after all, the thing that Irene went to the effort of stealing so she's practically bound to save him. If not her than certainly the other IS pilot who was fighting to save him. Any moment now, one of them would swoop down and catch him.
Any moment now….
Just to be sure he opened his eyes and looked up. Both IS's were up there. He couldn't make out what they were doing but both IS's were near one another with neither one moving much. More specifically they weren't flying down for him! Wasn't this the part where someone dives down to make a heroic save?
Now was the time to panic.
Jayden flailed his limbs, trying to learn to fly for his life. He screamed as loud as he could pleading for another miracle to save him. In his thrashing something brushed against his hand.
It was a ring. The same ring that was the stand-by form of the IS. Jayden grabbed the ring and inserted it onto his right index finger.
"Come on, activate! Please!"
He shook his hand about to get it to activate. Nope. It remained in the form of a ring. Jayden then tried squeezing the IS, while pleading for the IS to activate. The ground was getting closer and the IS was still a ring.
"Work you hunk of junk!" He shook his hand about, desperate enough to try anything.
"Work! Please work I beg you! You activated once so you can definitely do it again. How did I make you work the first time?" Jayden tried to recall what he did before Irene kidnapped him.
"Keep calm, focus on the IS, and shout out its name. This will help a beginner like you summon your IS."
Calming himself, Jayden focused entirely on his IS, placing his hands on his chest. He steadied his breathing and shouted out the name of his IS.
"EDEL GLEAM!"
A bright light enveloped Jayden just as he crashed into the ground.
Natasha continued to struggle to escape with no improvement. She couldn't even position her guns to fire at Irene in her position.
"Let me go! He's going to-!"
A large impact could be heard by both pilots.
"NO!" Natasha screamed in horror.
Irene looked down at the spot below, biting her lip as she tried out make out what was obstructed by the dust. Killing Jayden was never what she meant to do, just terrify and keep him quiet. Whats done was done though. Hold on a second. There was no way a human body alone could cause that loud a crash.
A crater that could have not been caused by just a human body falling no matter how high. She glanced down at the pocket of her uniform where she placed the IS ring earlier. The same placed that Jayden grabbed. There was now a large tear in the pocket. Irene quickly put the pieces together. "You've to be kidding."
While she was distracted, Natasha activated the thrusters of her IS, catching Irene off guard to break out of her hold. With a spin kick she forced Irene back and dove down to where Jayden crashed. She landed near the impact hoping he would still be alive.
"Jayden! Are you alive? Say something. Anything!" Natasha shouted.
As the dust settled, Natasha was able to make out what was beyond it.
"What the-?!"
There laid Jayden lying down in a crater inside an IS. He looked shaken up yet was still breathing.
Jayden groggily came to, groaning as almost felt the need to vomit. The feeling soon vanished once he realized he was feeling something which meant he hadn't kicked the bucket.
"I'm alive? I'M ALIVE!" Jayden cheered. The boy wept tears of joy from the feeling of cheating. "Take that world! Next time try a little harder if you want me dead." His chest was puffed out as he felt a sense of pride from overcoming death.
Natasha stood there dumbfounded. "An IS? Where did…why are you… What's going on?" The boy should at very least be in critical condition from a fall from the sky and here he now was inside an IS she swore he didn't have a few seconds ago, and here he was laughing about cheating death.
"GAHHHH!"
From above, Irene was dive bombing down aiming to bring down a large fist where Jayden was. Natasha grabbed Jayden's IS by its arm and pulled him out of the crater to get him away. Irene stuck the crater, leaving an even bigger impact in the ground.
Natasha had a lot of questions and no time for answers. The important thing was that the boy was alive, and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Kid you need to get out of here, it isn't safe." She helped Jayden up to his feet and turned to face her foe.
"But what about you?" Jayden asked.
"I'll be fine, I just need you to run away from here."
The boy nodded and started getting away from the area.
Irene flew out of the crater, going in for a punch on Natasha. The blond pilot ducked under Irene's fist and attacked with a light uppercut and following with mid-kick, forcing Irene to stagger back. Natasha checked on the boy only to find him much closer than she thought he would be. The boy was running away. Literally running in a mech suit that was designed for flight.
Natasha opened a communication channel to reach him. "Why are you running? Is there a problem with your IS?"
She got no response. She tried contacting him again and still got no response. Looks like he hadn't activated his communication system either. After firing another shot at Irene to force her back a bit, Natasha flew towards Jayden.
It only took a few seconds to catch her with her flight speed compared to his running speed. She got close enough, so she was in shouting distance.
"WHEN I SAID TO RUN AWAY, I DIDN'T MEAN THAT LITERALLY!" Natasha yelled out to him, "USE THE IS UNIT TO FLY AWAY!"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW!"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW?!"
"I MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW! I CAN'T MAKE IT ANY SIMPLER!"
She flew in closer somewhat hovering alongside him, getting extremely close so she didn't have to yell.
"You mean the IS can't fly?"
Jayden shook his head.
"Do your IS have any weapons on it?"
Jayden shook his head again.
"What kind of IS has no flight capabilities or weapons?" She wondered out loud.
"I know right!?"
Their talk was cut short as Irene was flying back at them, and she didn't look happy.
She appeared to be going straight for Jayden only for Natasha to shoot her rifle. Irene was forced to stop her charge and used her large arms to shield her body. Natasha's shots weren't appearing to do a lot of damage, but they were slowing her down.
"Does the IS at least have shield energy left?" Natasha quickly asked.
Jayden checked the information on his IS holo screen, the number 274 was listed under the section labeled 'Shield Energy.'
"Yeah, I've got some of that."
"Perfect. Kid, I need you to just keep running. Put as much distance from her as you can." Natasha aimed another shot at the legs of Irene's IS and pulled the trigger,
Jayden opened his mouth to ask why.
"There's no time to explain! I need you to trust me, Please!"
Jayden nodded and started running faster. The physical exercise Gelimer put him through was finally paying off. It felt weird running in the IS as its systems gave him a 360-degree view. The IS was sending data to his brain that gave him vision in all directions, which let him know that Natasha was now flying above Jayden.
Irene unleashed a large scream of anger as she was forced to dodge Irene's attack. And flew straight at Jayden, readying a punch!
Jayden screamed and ran faster despite the little good it did him. It was like a middle schooler trying to outrun a speeding car. Just when Irene was in 100 feet of distance to Jayden, Natasha fired down a high-powered bullet from above, connecting with Irene and sending her tumbling to the ground.
Jayden looked up to see Natasha signaling him with a thumbs up.
They continued this tactic of hitting and running. It wasn't very effective, but it was working at keeping Irene away. Through this method, Natasha could aim freely, and Irene couldn't get close to Jayden.
While running, something was coming towards them. Up ahead Jayden could make out what appeared to be an IS up in the sky, in the direction he was running. It was flying ahead of Jayden and Natasha's current path and was moving in their direction. This IS was painted pure black. Whoever was piloting it had a dark visor on concealing her identity. The only physical details that could be seen were her white skin and long black hair.
"All right! Your back-up is here!" Jayden cheered, giving the unknown pilot a wave.
Natasha looked towards the new IS that arrived. None of her squadmates had an IS colored black as far as she knew. She watched as the mysterious pilot aimed her weapon at Jayden. It looked like a rocket launcher and she was aiming it at… Natasha's eyes grew wide.
"GET DOWN!" Natasha dived onto Jayden, pushing him out of the way while putting herself in the line of fire.
Jayden felt an intense pressure from behind pushing him forward to the ground just as an explosion occurred behind him. Natasha was sent flying back from the force of the explosion and rolled continuously on the ground. Once she ran out of momentum and her rolling ceased, she laid the ground motionless.
Jayden ran over to where Natasha stopped rolling, crouching by her side to check on her. "Are you all right?" He tried shaking her gently to get a response.
"Come on! Please get up!"
He looked up at the pilot who fired the rocket. He grabbed Natashia gun and began shooting at the black-haired pilot.
Jayden stood up, holding his arms out over Natasha.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you!" Jayden declared, as his eyes leaked tears and his smile wavered. He couldn't fight back but maybe he could keep this woman who fought to protect him safe.
"How adorable." Irene watched as Jayden tried to shield Natasha.
This only made things easier. Now she could take out the two pests with one blow. Irene began diving down, preparing a punch to strike the duo. Jayden shut his eyes, covered the woman as best he could with his body, and braced himself. It was all he could do.
The pilot of the black IS obstructed Irene's path.
"What are you doing?" Irene had to stop herself before she crashed into her.
"We're getting out of here." The pilot of the black IS said.
"What! What are you saying?" Irene questioned. "The boy and the IS are right there! He has no weapons and the blond bitch looks like she's out cold. There's nothing to stop us." Irene clenched her hands in frustration.
"I'm not here to help with your failed mission. I'm here to make sure you get away." She replied. "And we don't have a minute, we have seconds."
"My mission is to steal the IS and child. I'm going to see this through. "
"Your mission," She reminded, "Was to retrieve the IS and the boy without attracting attention. You got caught. Neither of those objectives are possible now."
She glanced at Jayden and Natasha, then returned her attention on Irene. "Multiple IS units are converging on our location, too many to fight. Will you come peacefully or not?" The unknown piloted pointed the same weapon she used moments ago, now at Irene. If she wouldn't come quietly, she'd force Irene to retreat.
Irene's IS system picked up the multiple IS that were coming towards their location. If she didn't leave now, they would have to fight their way out. Her target was right there for the taking but now it was too late. Irene clenched her fists as she vocalized her answer.
On the ground, Jayden was still covering Natasha with his eyes shut tight so he wouldn't see it coming. He waited and waited for the impact to come, and yet nothing changed. Jayden opened one eye to see that Irene was… leaving? He opened his other eye to make sure the first one wasn't playing a trick on him.
Sure enough, his eyes weren't lying. The boy watched as his assailant and the unknown pilot soared away at high speeds until they were out of sight. Jayden couldn't find the words to say. Him and Natasha were both at the mercy of Irene and the unknown pilot, and yet they chose to fall back.
"What just happened?!" Jayden asked, trying to comprehend what happened. His brain held no answers and he doubted thinking about it would do any good.
There was one thing he did know; the attack was now over. With his adrenaline running out, Jayden fell to the ground next to Natasha from the exhaustion and fatigue he built up.
The last thing he saw before blacking out was another group of IS units similar landed near him and Natasha.
/-/
Forest. Noun. A large area covered chiefly with trees and plants. That was where Jayden currently resided. How to he got from a rocky desert to a lush forest was a total mystery to him. Natasha was nowhere to be found. At least Irene wasn't present so there was some good to being alone.
Jayden's body laid on the grassy terrain. It felt so much heavier than it ever had before. A mix of exhaustion and fatigue laid him pinned to the dirt. The only part of him he could even attempt at moving was his head which faced forward to a crystal-clear lake. A gentle breeze began to blow across the land, gently bristling the trees and sending a few leaves to break that stillness in the water. As calming as the scenery was, Jayden had no intention of sticking around.
"Come on… Move body move!"
He couldn't waste time laying here. Who knows if someone else could be coming for him? He had to get back home.
"Gah! Dang it."
It was no good. All his struggles got him was slight twitching. Mentally he felt fine but for some reason he felt like he just practically ran two marathons back-to-back. There wouldn't be any movement anytime soon. Jayden groaned, letting himself take a dirt nap.
Rustle rustle
That sounded like footsteps, coming right from behind Jayden. To his right a shadow begun to extend past him.
"Hello? Is someone there? Natasha, please tell me that's you."
"How did you get here?"
It sounded like a female voice, but definitely not Natasha's.
"Wh-Who are you?"
She gave him no answer.
Not good. The last thing Jayden needed was another kidnapper. Jayden wanted to do nothing more that get the heck out of there, but his body was still shut down. He bit his tongue trying to hold back his scream. He'd gotten out of one kidnapping only to end up in another right away. This was way too cruel.
She walked in circles around Jayden, examining him. All the while making hums and other curious noises. It reminded him of how vultures circled their prey. If what just happened today was anything to go by, then he had a really bad feeling about whoever this was.
The woman stood above him; a familiar feeling she hadn't felt in a long time washed over her. "Claudine?"
She stopped in front of Jayden. His eyes followed those legs upwards passing over a standard shirt and shorts complete with a white lab coat which made Jayden almost think was someone he knew. One look at the face proved him wrong as it was definitely female and despite her hair being long and white, it was still an unfamiliar woman.
"C-Claudine?" Jayden asked.
Hearing that male voice made her question her suspicion. She knelt down in front of Jayden, thoroughly examining his face. Using both hands she rose up his head for a closer look. She stared deep in his brown eyes as he did the same to her white ones. He could make out his own reflection in her eyes. It was like staring in a small mirror.
"You're not Claudine." She finally spoke.
"No. My name's Jayden. Who's Claudine?"
She couldn't drop his head fast enough.
"Owww."
"Apologies. I mistook you for someone else. You seemed familiar."
"Be gentle will ya? I've had a rough day." Was the world out to get him today? Above him the woman went back to examining him with her eyes. His eyes did their best to follow as she walked until she ended up behind him once again. Whatever she was thinking was a complete mystery to him. "Anyway, who are you?"
She ignored his question and asked her own. "You appear to be male. Is that correct?"
"Yeah? Why?"
"Then you shouldn't be here."
"Well here I am. Where is here anyway?"
"You don't know?"
"Should I?' Jayden looked ahead at the lake and trees trying to jog any sort of familiarity that he may have seen them before. It almost looked like it deserved to be in a museum as a painting for how gorgeous it was. As beautiful as the sight was, it was a place Jayden had never seen before. "Cause I don't. Look are you gonna answer any of my questions cause I'm not playing a one-sided game."
This girl only watched him with folded arms, examining him once more. Her eyes continues to scan over him, looking for anything she may've missed. Once she reached his hand, her eyes locked onto that ring finger of his. Without so much as a warning, she took his hand in her own examining the ring on his finger.
"Why do you have this!?" She sounded quite furious. She grabbed his hand, moving it into his sight. Specifically, the ring finger equipped with a ring.
"What?"
"Where did you get this!? You shouldn't have it! Did you steal this?" She accused.
"I didn't steal anything. I was given that ring by a man named Gelimer." Technically it was borrowing but saying he was given the ring wasn't 100% wrong.
"G-Gelimer!? You know Gelimer?"
"The guy who works with Infinite Stratos'? White hair? Poor fashion sense? Yeah. I know him. He let me use the IS to learn how to pilot it."
The girl looked to be on the verge of fainting as she took a seat in front of him. "You can't be my partner."
"Okay?"
"You have no idea what I mean do you?"
"Not a clue."
She slapped her hand against her forehead. It was a hefty that that echoed through the forest.
"Let's get something straight. We'll be working together but that doesn't make us partners. Do you understand." She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "Well… since you're here. What do you want?
"What do I want? Look I'm gonna be straight. I just wanna go home. This IS fighting stuff, it's cool but I don't wanna do it. Not anymore." When viewing IS battles from behind a screen, they looked so amazing. Witnessing battles at supersonic speeds and weapons that had practically been pulled from the future to today's time. And he still thought they were amazing, even after the fiasco he'd just been through but if you asked him whether he still wanted to pilot an IS after today Jayden would give a soft maybe for an answer.
"That… is not what I was expecting."
"Can you just take me home? Or at least point me the right way? I'll settle for that."
"That's your desire?" She wasn't gonna complain. Heck. This made things a lot easier for her. "Very well. Then I'll do my best to fulfill what you want."
"What the heck are you-
In an instant it was as though all of Jayden's energy left his body. His strength left his body and his head fit the floor. All he could do now was try to keep his eyes open as they got heavier and heavier.
"It appears our time is at an end. Looks like you and I will be working together for now. Hopefully this isn't permanent." She stood up to full height, turning her back to him before walking off. She looked back once more before continuing on her way.
"Wait… Hold on!" He weakly called out. The woman denied his request and continued on her way.
"Farewell. Try not to return. I want to see her next time."
There were so many questions he wanted to ask. But his eyes were growing heavy, and his consciousness was getting shaky. All he could do was watch the woman leave till his eyes couldn't stay open any longer.
/-/
"Ughhhh…"
Slowly but surely Jayden's eyes opened up to the view of a pure grey ceiling. His mind was performing on autopilot till he managed to get himself sitting upright. His body wasn't in any pain, just extremely fatigued. He stared at the blank wall dead ahead, tired in a way he couldn't explain. But this was no time to be sitting around, he had to get back home.
"Hello? Is there anyone here?" Jayden called out. He was sitting in a bed instead of on the dirt. At least progress was made.
"You're back at the IS research facility." A voice answered. Jayden turned to the owner of that voice who was hidden behind a white curtain.
"Who said that? Show yourself!"
The curtain to the left of him was pushed aside. Sitting in bed was the same person who rescued him with a book in hand. "Good to see you're awake." Natasha Fair bent a corner of the page to mark her progress.
"N-Natasha!"
"That's me. I'm happy to see you're all right Jayden. I was afraid you'd be sleeping forever. Natasha whipped out her phone to send a text. "Being able to pilot an IS gave me quite the shock. You know how to pull off a surprise don't you Jayden?"
He gave no answer.
He wanted to answer back but no volume left his mouth. The sunset out the window casted a faint glow on Natasha's body. In that pose with the setting down casting its rays, the woman was downright majestic. But that wasn't even the biggest distraction. She still in her IS uniform. The tight IS uniform that clung to her body, highlight certain curvy areas. On a scale of one to ten, Natasha had broken the scale.
Natasha smirked. "Well at least your eyes are working, call me flattered." She pulled up her blanket to cover herself.
Realizing he'd been caught; Jayden went with the first thing his mind could think of. "What happened to the girl? And the forest?"
"Uhh… Well Irene must've gotten away with that unknown pilot after we got picked up while blacked out."
"Not her! The other girl. She had a white lab coat and was really unhappy with me for some reason. And I saw in her a forest with a whole lot of trees. Even a lake that looked really nice!"
Natasha blinked. "I think you need more rest Jayden."
That sounded like a really good idea. Maybe the whole thing was some big fatigue dream he'd dreamt up. If that was a dream, then it was the realest dream he'd ever had. Jayden did as told and laid his head back against the pillow. "Thanks for saving me Natasha. If it wasn't for you, I don't know where I'd be now."
"You're very welcome kiddo. I was only doing what anyone in my spot would've done. It was quite surprising to find you being carried away like that. But it was an even bigger surprise to see you control that IS. You are a boy, right?"
Jayden nodded.
"Wow. The Infinite Stratos can only be used by women. Someone like you being able to pilot it is nothing short of a miracle. No wonder you were so passionate about the IS when we first met."
"I've always been fond of the IS. To be honest, I only learned I could use an IS a little over a month ago. That was my first time even piloting an IS."
"Was it what you imagined it would be like?"
"It…" Jayden's gaze shifted downwards.
"Didn't live up to the hype?"
"No it did!" Jayden shut his eyes to reimagine the feeling of being inside the IS. He'd felt like a super version of himself, able to fly and move at speeds he'd only dreamed of. "Even just walking and having Edel Gleam do what I wanted was like a dream come true. Then I finally piloted it for real and…" Jayden tugged on his long hair. "I was garbage!"
He'd seen how an IS was supposed to be piloted. The women he'd seen pilot the IS moved with grace, skill, and acted like they knew exactly what they were doing. Today he'd demonstrated zero for those three things. All the videos and references Gelimer had showed him were for the sole purpose of not giving a performance like that. For heaven's sake, he couldn't even fly! IS's were made to fly not run."
"Could you even call what I did piloting?"
"You got the IS to respond to you. That's amazing on its own. Don't be too hard on yourself. You did your best."
"If that was my best. I don't even wanna know what my worst is." Jayden sunk even lower. "You don't get it. I knew what I was supposed to do. I've watched replays of the Mondo Grosso so many times that I can replicate what the pilots did in my head. Gelimer gave me so many lessons on how to move and use an IS. And after all that I blew it hard. You did everything, I was just the meat shield." Jayden sighed. "I'm nothing compared to a real pilot."
"You shouldn't be trying to match up to those pilots. Professional pilots have years of experience under their belts, and you have less than an hour. The mondo grosso is the peak of IS competition. Like it or not, you're just a beginner. Don't compare yourself to the pros right now."
He supposed she was right. It was stupid to compare himself to seasoned professionals. But it still didn't make feel better about how he did in his first fight. If anyone ever asked him what it was like to pilot an IS for the first time, he'd be lying to save his reputation. Jayden retreated under his covers to sulk.
"Still bummed huh?" Well then, how about I give you something else to think about." Natasha offered, flashing a smile while she got out of bed.
"Like what?" Jayden poked his head out.
Jayden felt something light and soft press against his cheek. A faint trace of lipstick was left as evidence.
"Now when you think of today, you'll remember that something good happened at the end."
The boy was frozen as he tried to comprehend the recent event. He pinched his arm and felt pain run through the area. This was real! A girl had given him a kiss. His face was starting to match the color of Natasha's lipstick.
"Geez, you're acting like it's your first kiss or something."
His face somehow managed to turn even redder.
"Oh!" Natasha giggled, realizing what his face meant. "You're cute Jayden, you know that? Keep that up and you may make me blush." She ruffled his hair and went back to her own bed.
Jayden could barely function. This woman who was an IS pilot and beautiful enough to be a supermodel thought he was cute! Nothing could wipe that smile from Jayden's face now.
The doors to the room slammed open into the wall.
"WHERE IS HE!?"
Except for that.
The father who'd practically kicked the door off its hinges didn't take long to find who he was looking for.
"MY BABY BOY!"
Marc ran to his son's bedside, enveloping Jayden with a huge hug smothering the boy in his chest. Tears and snot dripped down his face while he pulled his son in tighter and tighter. "I thought I wouldn't ever see you again."
Jayden tried to speak but his words got lost in his dad's chest.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
If he kept squeezing his son like that, he might just find out. His father loosened the hug to let Jayden get much needed air. The boy smiled and returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around his father.
"I missed you to dad."
Natasha let the boys have their moment, smiling as she watched the heartwarming scene in front of her.
Just a father, his son, and a man in a lab coat all huddled together in a group hug.
Wait a second. Something about that didn't seem right.
Jayden blinked and adjusted his head. His father's arms were wrapped around his back, so whose arms were wrapped around his right hand. Why it was the famed and eccentric IS scientist himself, Gelimer inviting himself to the hug.
"My baby. My precious baby, I'm so glad you're safe." Gelimer sniffled loudly as he caressed Jayden's ring finger. "The mean lady didn't scare you, did she? Don't worry. Daddy's here. Everything's okay now. The bad lady's gone."
The way his head was positioned, it was as though Gelimer was talking to the ring on Jayden's finger. The ring that was the stand-by form of the IS. Just like that, the mood had gone from wholesome to awkward.
"Good to see you to Gelimer." Jayden rolled his eyes.
"Huh? Oh! Right." Gelimer just remembered there was a person attached to the IS. "Thank you for your text, Ms. Fairs." Gelimer waved it off, as the eccentric man released Jayden's finger. " Thank you, Ms. Fairs, for protecting Jayden and my IS. You have my gratitude for your actions."
"And mine as well for saving my son." Jayden's father added on.
Natasha was all smiles today. "You both are quite welcome."
Gelimer and Marc helped themselves to a chair on the other side of the room. "We need to have a talk Jayden."
"You bet we do. Cause after what I've been through, I feel like I deserve some answers." Jayden said. "Why did Irene want to kidnap me? Where was she trying to take me? Where did she get that IS? Who was the other pilot?" He frantically listed question after question until he was out of breath.
"In order. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, and believe it or not, I don't know." Gelimer listed off every answer with a finger to keep count. When all five digits were raised, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry Jayden, I'm afraid I'm as in the dark about everything as you are. Rather I'm here to learn what I can about this incident from the two of you."
Jayden and Natasha explained every part of the kidnaping they could remember from beginning to end of the entire kidnapping. Jayden told most of the beginning where Irene tricked him then letting Natasha explain the battle the occurred (making sure to embellish Jayden's performance in the fight) until when they both collapsed from exhaustion and brought back here. Throughout the whole explanation Jayden's father was on the verge of passing out after hearing what his son went through all while Gelimer listened intensely, at best showing emotion by nodding or encouraging them to continue.
"All right, after hearing what happened, I think we can mark down a few things as for certain. First. This had been planned for quite some time, possibly before the time the alarms went off a few months ago when we discovered Jayden could activate my IS. It seemed like my IS was the original target, but Irene delayed the theft to steal Jayden along with the IS. Second. Irene wasn't working alone."
"Well duh. There was another person." Jayden said.
"Not just that. Irene was saved by another pilot in an IS none of you recognized. So, someone knew where she was and what she was doing. So it's safe to assume she wasn't working alone. Rather she works for or controls some group of people. At least, that's my best guess. There
Jayden shivered at the fact that there was more than one person that would now be after him.
"There are other things I can point out, but those are the main points of interest." Gelimer sat back down, satisfied with the way he handled this. "But we've got to put the kidnapping on hold, there's a bigger issue we have to deal with Jayden."
"Can't it wait?" Jayden let his head fall onto his pillow. Pulling up his covers soon after to try to drown out whatever else they were going to say. All he wanted right now was to get some more rest.
"No. It can't. We need to figure out what we're going to do now that everyone knows you can pilot an IS?"
If he had a drink, Jayden's dad would be spitting out right now. "My son can activate an Infinite Stratos!? What? When? How! Why?"
"Forgive me Marc, we had to keep this a secret from everyone to prevent in the first place. Tell ya what. I owe you an explanation later. Right now we have to deal with the aftermath of Jayden's secret being revealed."
As a father, Marc couldn't be happier learning that his son would be able to do what he loved and get a future with the Infinite Stratos. If this was what Jayden wanted, he'd give him 100% of his support.
Jayden didn't seem to grasp the issue. "We were gonna tell the world anyway eventually. What's the big deal if people know I can use an IS now instead of later?"
"The big deal is that you'd be revealed to be able to fly an IS when you were ready. Up till now, you've been a secret. If anyone ever asked why you came, I them you were my intern so as to not raise suspicion. I was going to reveal you in a few months' time with my IS once it was ready, but it looks like you'll be forced out into the open."
"Still not seeing any problems here."
"Let me put it like this Jayden, you're a man who can pilot the IS. This is the biggest discovery about the Infinite Stratos since the creation of the machine itself. The same machine that had to have a treaty created to prevent it from being used in war for the risk of causing permanent harm to the planet. And per that treaty all discoveries must be shared with the world and all major world governments. You with me so far?
Jayden and Marc nodded.
"Every government and IS scientist will want a look at the miracle boy who can pilot the IS. This will mean a lot of testing, and I don't just mean in an IS. We're talking like DNA samples and trips around the world for examinations. Worst case scenario, people will literally cut you open if it means there's a shot at figuring out a boy named Jayden can use the IS when everyone else can't."
Gelimer added to the example by moving his hand over his stomach, raising a finger in a cutting motion. Jayden was sitting back up, eyes wide and looking panicked.
"They can't seriously do that right? Right!?"
"Can and probably will if they get desperate for answers."
Jayden nearly screamed out loud after hearing that. But Gelimer insisted that Jayden saved his strength. He still needed the boy conscious to come up with a plan.
"There's no way I'm letting my son become a government lab rat. That's too messed up." Jayden's father summed it up perfectly, squeezing his son's hand to calm him down.
"Actually, him being a lab rat may be the best option."
"Please tell me you're making a horrible joke sir."
"Depends on if you consider losing your son forever to be a joke. That kidnapping today wasn't an on-the-spot idea. If I had to guess, Irene was planning to do a long time ago and picked today to act on it. And when word gets out you can use an IS to the world, well… Let's just say I wouldn't bet against people planning to kidnap ya."
"More kidnapping! Why?" Jayden cried.
"You're worth your weight in gold Jayden."
"You've made your point Mr. Brighton." Natasha pointed over to the father and son who looked to be on the verge of passing out."
"Forgive me. I wasn't trying to scare you. I'm only telling you guys what's gonna maybe happen if we do nothing."
All the tiredness got kicked out of Jayden's body to make sure he had a future. "What do I do!? I can't be a government lab rat or a kid in a cage! Gelimer you've gotta do something!"
"Relax Jayden. I've already got it worked out. In a few days' time you'll make your world debut and agree to work with American officials. Most of your days will be spent doing tests here and there mainly to see how you react with the Infinite Stratos. Along with trips to other countries. I promise it's not as bad as it sounds but I'll find a way to make it easy for you."
"So I'm basically a government lab rat? I thought the goal was to not make me become that."
"The goal is to keep you safe and make me look good. This gets you both." Gelimer stressed. "And I'll be there all the while to answer the big questions and keep focus off you."
"Oh now I get it. You just want to look popular while I do all the hard work!"
"No I'm not! I'm doing this for both of us."
While two man and boy carried on with their argument, Jayden's father was doing his best to not lose it. His palms were growing sweaty and legs wouldn't stop shaking but when you learn your son can do something no other guy in the world can which leads to being taken away by either kidnappers or your government that tended to happen.
"Oh boys." Natasha called out. "I don't think you've realized there's an easy solution that solves all of Jayden's problems."
That brought everyone to silence as they turned towards the woman. It felt like minutes had passed before Natasha gave them her answer.
"We send Jayden to school." She simply said.
Jayden's father brought his palm to his face.
"As much as I love a good joke this isn't time ma'am."
Gelimer's eyes widened in realization. He seemed to have picked up whatever Natasha was putting down. "That… could actually work."
"What are you guys talking about?" Jayden asked.
"Are you familiar with IS Academy Jayden?"
"Who isn't? That's the special school in Japan specifically for teaching girls how to pilot the Infinite Stratos."
"That's right."
"How the heck- "Jayden's dad blinked. "No."
"Don't be like that Marc. You haven't even heard the plan."
"I don't have to hear it to know it's insane."
"What even is the plan?" Jayden asked.
Gelimer was quick to explain. "We're sending you to IS Academy."
"No we're not!"
"I'm going to IS Academy!"
"No you aren't." His father had to kill this fantasy before it got stuck in his head.
"It might be tricky to get you into the school regarding your age, grade level, and gender but I think something can be worked out given your unique circumstances."
Oh yeah, IS Academy was an all girl school. Not because it wanted to be but since only women could pilot the IS, it ended up being a home for many female students. Which meant he'd be the only boy in an all lady paradise. Jayden's
Marc couldn't believe what he was hearing. All of them (Including Jayden) were talking about sending his boy to a school all the way around the world in a place he'd never been before. Was he the only sane person in the room? Cause he was feeling like he was right now.
"He's 13."
"I'll be 14 soon. That's close enough!"
"He can't speak Japanese."
"Then we'll teach him. I'm pretty sure we can drill it into his head."
"What about-"
"Marc." Gelimer cut his friend off. "We're not talking about sending your son to IS Academy for shits and giggles. It honestly is the best place for him. The rules of IS Academy state that students who attend don't belong to any country, group, or organization. If he's there he can't be forced to do anything by the United States. As for security you'd have to be insane to get through that place's defenses. And while Jayden's there he can learn how to use an IS. It's the perfect answer."
Marc turned to his son who was looking much better since the Academy was brought up.
"Jayden, I'll only agree to this if this is something you want. Do you think attending IS Academy will be best for you?"
"I do!"
"Then it's settled." Gelimer clapped his hands. "Jayden, your father and I will start getting papers ready for your transfer. We have a lot to do to prepare so rest up, we begin tomorrow. Ms. Fair, would you be willing to assist Jayden before he leaves in a few months? I'd like to employ you to train him, so he has all the basics down." Gelimer used his famous hire-on-the-spot-strategy that was starting to become a regular occurrence with him.
"I'll have to report back to my squad after this, but I'm pretty sure I can find time to our little pilot." Natasha smiled and looked over at the melancholic boy. The things that happened today must have drastically changed his thoughts on the Infinite Stratos.
"Now then, Mr. Sylvan and I will get preparations started, you two can rest here, we'll have someone bring your dinner in a bit." They got up to take leave. "Get your rest Jayden, you're going to need it."
Saying their good-byes, the two adults took their leave to let Natasha and Jayden get some much-deserved rest.
As they walked away, Marc was grabbing his arm, thinking about what they were about to do.
"Problem Marc?"
"We're really putting my son in a school on the other side of the planet in a foreign nation to keep him safe?" Marc was having his doubts come up again. He was worried his son wouldn't be able to handle all the changes. Was it too late to change his mind?
"Don't worry. Your son's a tough boy, if he can survive a fight with a terrorist, I'm sure there's a good chance, he'll handle this." Gelimer reassured him. "50/50 odds at worst." Gelimer chuckled.
"Well, I guess it's better than nothing."
While the two walked, Gelimer had a little pep in his step as Marc strolled behind him.
"You seem awfully happy about this." Gelimer was never this eager to lend someone a hand unless he stood to benefit in the end. The fact that he was willing to arrange deals and create documents to get Jayden into IS Academy was way too generous for Gelimer's blood as far as Marc knew.
The scientist smirked as he grinned ear to ear. "What can I say, I'm in a good mood. Perhaps your boy is rubbing off on me?"
The two arrived at their officed and began making emails and creating documents for Jayden's transfer to IS Academy. With only a few short months until the semester began at IS Academy, there was much to be done and little time to do it.
Wishing Marc farewell, Gelimer headed to his office, pulling up a word document on his computer that he created long along. It was titled resume and looked like it hadn't been opened in a few years. He doubled clicked the document, beginning to type up a killer paper to land him the job he was looking for. How hard could it be to teach children?
With the semester coming soon, Jayden will be beginning his new school life at IS Academy. Next chapter we begin life at IS Academy, for those wondering the story starts at the same time Ichika enrolls, in IS Academy.
Thank you for those reading and keep your eyes open for the next chapter. Again, let me know if you spot any errors be it in spelling, grammar, or something else and I'll make sure to correct it.
Keep your sense of wonder and see you next time!