Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening (Morning here as I'm writing this). I've always wondered if there could be a scenario where when Ichika was taken by the German Government during the 2nd Mondo Grosso instead of Phantom Task, and they performed experiments on him and created him to be a super-soldier, much like Laura? As some can already guess, yes this is my interpretation of Fixed Friendships by Nate Eaton as he kind of left his story on a cliffhanger...

Everything is roughly the same in the first (and only) chapter of the story. There might be some changes to the first chapter but it should keep the same concept in honour of his original work. However, if he comes back from the dead and tells me I have to stop writing, I will and leave it to him to finish. Fair warning, I will be deleting this story if he does so.

If you enjoy reading this, feel free to follow and favourite this story as I upload quite often anyway.

-ISReaderandWriter

TEXT GUIDE:

ITALICS - Either Text Messages/Calls, Signs, Flashbacks or AI

BOLD - Machine Names or Important Text

'Single Speech Marks' - Thoughts

"Double Speech Marks" - Characters Speaking

(Brackets) - Details

[Square Brackets] - IS Talking or Displaying Information

I do not own any resources used in this story. All of them belong to the Infinite Stratos creator - Izuru Yumizuru. Additionally, original story plot is inspired by Nate Eaton.

[Japan, Ichika's house]

Ichika thought he was living his life pretty well. He had no parents, but he never felt lonely. The reason why being was he had two elder sisters taking care of his every need. Chifuyu-nee and Madoka-nee (17 years old and 15 years old respectively). Coincidentally, both sisters were at the pinnacle of IS piloting, being both representative candidates participating in the annual Mondo Grosso.

Currently, Madoka and Chifuyu were locked together in a match against each other in the semi-final match. Whoever won the stakes here, was sure to go against the representative candidate of the USA, Natasha something, Ichika could never really care about the other opponents, only his sisters. He was sure that one of them would win the tournament altogether.

As he was watching the TV, a mysterious plumbing van arrived in the neighbourhood. It wasn't like other vans of its profession, it was heavily rusted, showing a more junkyard-like appearance than that of a privately owned vehicle. Nearing the house, with Ichika somehow being deaf to the loud 2 litre V6 engine roaring on the sidewalk, further proposing the idea of it being a getaway van rather than a plumbing van. Realising they have the art of surprise up their sleeve, a rather bulky man, at the height of 6'1" spoke up above the rest with a heavy German accent.

"Alright, everyone, target has still not noticed us. We go in silently and get him by surprise. Remember. No guns, only tranqulizers. The top brass back in Deutschland want him in one piece."

Heeding the leader's orders, the equally tall, but less built men and women readied themselves from the back of the van, equiping small pistols with a set of 8 vials of a purple substance, probably nerve agents designed to knock targets out.

Slowly opening the back doors, into the bright daylight, the baker's dozen creep into the garden, clearing the towering fence in a simple hop. This made one thing clear, these weren't normal criminals. They were super-soldiers. The apex of human engineering, creating biological weapons in the form of genetically enhanced humans. As one question was answered, another thought came into play.

Why were super-soldiers going after a young boy?

The answer to that question lay within the military advancements, or lack thereof, within the German military. For too long, German scientists have painstakingly tried to formulate a perfect super-soldier as the current soldiers were defective in one way or another. Either they were made dumber than a brick, or they would end up in severe depression leading to eventual suicide (the super soldiers kidnapping Ichika are only partially enhanced, unlike fully enhanced as the scientists are attempting to culture).

Due to this, the German military had to start from scratch to make one. If creating the super soldiers from birth in a test-tube didn't work... Perhaps a human subjected to horrifying experimentation, ending up in losing a part of their humanity would work. But what would make the perfect soldier?

Subsequently, multiple German officials decided that a person with the most amount of relatives in the famed Mondo Grosso was the perfect test subject. Unluckily for a young 11-year old boy, he was the prime target for the experiment.

Grumble*

Hearing the rumbling of his stomach, he got up from the couch. Seeing this, the 13 intruders hide behind the bundles of flowers, monitoring the boy with astute eyes.

"The boy seems to have not noticed us yet... private Greuben, grab the boy"

"Roger captain..."

Recieving his orders, a young man (presumably 20 years old) with blond hair picks himself up and readies his pistol, loading a purple vial with a syringe tipped at one end. In a flash, the man disappears into the house, breaking the windows that lead to the patio, earning a loud blood-curdling scream from Ichika, before a silenced shot echoes through the house, presenting a loud thud on the ground. Ichika was out cold.

"Target sedated, we've got 2 hours before the tournament finishes. Everyone, pack up... wir gehen jetzt (we're leaving now)" The leader ordered, earning a solid "Roger" from the rest of the group.

In a few minutes, they were gone like the wind. Leaving only a broken window and the vial with a few bits of the substance left behind, seemingly taunting the two other inhabitants of the house.

[Germany, Jagerfestung] [A few days later]

Opening his eyes, Ichika slowly surveys his surroundings. From what he knew, he was walking towards the kitchen before a man busted through the window and sent a projectile that seemed like a bullet straight into Ichika's jugular vein, knocking him out instantly. He appeared to be in a steel gray room, lit only by a soft light in the centre, where he sat bounded to a grey table. He wanted someone to save him, but no one knew where he was, except his captors.

Off to the side of his vision, a steel door unlocked, sending out a loud thunk as the hydraulics hissed, sliding the metal door out of the frame. From the opening, two lean men, draped in lab coats and holding mahogany clip-boards, seemingly jotting down data on the young male.

"W-what... do... you... want...?" Ichika could barely formulate any words, seemingly still under the strong sedatives from the kidnapping.

"I'm sorry you've had to experience this kid, I'm just doing what the higher-ups do, even if they seem twisted and inhumane" One of the scientists answered Ichika's question in near perfect Japanese.

"Why... me?"

"Simple, you have two of the best IS pilots in your bloodline. And because Germany herself has a limited supply of ISes, we need to gain a strong pilot force for said machines. One way or another..." Trailing off in his voice, the scientist looks across from Ichika, revealing a dark outline of a board containing multiple objects.

"Again, I'm really sorry for this kid. But we've gotta start of with a clean and malleable slate. No hard feelings yeah?"

Finishing off his sentence, the steel door opens once again, showing a battle-hardened figure, dressed in countless scars and bullet wounds. Ichika shivered at the sight, he knew something was going to happen to him. Something very bad.

Having a guess at what was going to happen, Ichika struggled against his restraints, managing to turn his head around to the now lit wall, adorning countless amounts of adrenaline syringes, pliers and jumper cables. He knew these from those spy movies he'd seen with his sisters.

Torture was on the day's agenda.

Sobbing a little, Ichika looks back at the veteran, who replied with a sinister and psychotic grin.

"P-please don't do this..." He begged

"Das wird spaßig (This is going to be fun)" The man maniacally laughed as sparks flew between the positive and negative crocodile clips.

'Chifuyu-nee. Madoka-nee. Wherever you are... please help me'

[Japan, Orimura Residence] [After the Mondo Grosso Tournament]

Upon finally reaching the airport, Madoka and Chifuyu smiled happily at the incoming view of their neighbourhood. It had been so long since the Shinonono family lived here, 2 years to be exact (Ichika and Houki were separated at 9 and Ichika is currently 11) and yet it still looked the same as the day they had left. Ichika was crying his eyes out when he had to see his best friend move under witness protection at the unveiling of the Infinite Stratos, which forced both Chifuyu and her sister to try their attempts to comfort him. Adding on top of this, they were forced to say goodbye to their one and only true friend, the creator of the IS, Tabane Shinonono. Who herself looked like an absolute bombshell, though Ichika didn't really care about it, much to the disbelief of the two sisters.

They themselves were dangerous in their own right, possessing the right amount of muscle and fat, curves relative to that of a basketball for both the upper and lower 'assets'. Despite the advantage over other women, they were still single, even after countless confessions and pick-up lines, neither of the sisters chose to enter a relationship. This was due to one crucial factor that no one would have expected (well, except for one perceptive little bunny). They loved Ichika like a man. They knew it was a taboo and they didn't care, something was different about the boy that made their hearts flutter, something that they were addicted to. They wanted Ichika all to them...

Hearing the blaring horn of the car, they broke out of their dreamy stupor, facing the slightly annoyed driver of the car.

"I'll have to drop you off here ladies, there's something going on down the road" The woman behind the wheel spoken, giving a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Chifuyu questioned the woman in a curious manner.

"Seems like there is a group of people around the house. Suggest that you take your bags out and I'll be on my way"

"Seems so, well then, thank you very much ma'am. Hope you have a nice day" Madoka chirped in, giving the driver a sly salute, hopping out the car and grabbing the two duffel bags from the trunk.

Walking down the street, the two women notice a certain red-haired duo along with a brunette with pigtails looking down in a pensive stare. The two knew these three, the three who always stuck with Ichika after Tabane and Houki moved out. Dan and Ran Gotanda, Huang Rin Lingyin. Walking up to the three, Madoka is the first to speak.

"Hey guys, what's with the gloomy look?"

Looking up, the Orimura sisters could easily see that Ran and Rin were crying, with Dan having a complex face plastered on.

"Have you not heard? Ichika's missing" Dan replied in a monotone voice, obviously concerned about his best friend.

Hearing this made the two hearts drop. Their brother wouldn't be taken away, not when their sisters around. But they weren't there with him. It couldn't be. No way in hell was Ichika missing. Chifuyu dashed into the house, while Madoka continued asking the same trio some questions.

"Do you know anything? Like any sounds, or mysterious people?" She asked Rin, who was still sniffling.

"We didn't hear anything. Though some of the neighbours heard a scream yesterday before a silenced pistol was fired, leavi-" She tried to finish her sentence, but Madoka took over the conversation.

"Do you know who? Tell me, Ichika can't have just disappeared like that..."

Madoka was definitely panicking, and it didn't help that a few seconds later, she could hear Chifuyu scream out Ichika's name wildly, confirming that her brother was missing. Madoka hurriedly dashed into the house, noting the broken glass of the patio door, the fallen table next to the door. Walking further into the room, she witnessed her older sister shed a few tears while thoroughly looking at a glass needle projectile with some purple liquid still left inside of it.

"Nee-san, is that what I think it is?" She asked, 90% sure of her answer.

"I think so, but I'll give it to Tabane to look into it..."

"Right... I'll call her..." Madoka replied, choking back tears of grief.

Pulling out her mobile phone, she dialled a few numbers and put it to her ear. The ringing felt like an eternity, every single second was stretched out by an unbelievable amount.

"Please pick up! Please pick up!" Madoka whispered in a hurried tone, holding back her outburst of emotions. It did not help that Chifuyu was laying on the ground in a pool of her own tears, clutching a pendant on her neck containing a picture of the three Orimuras together, looking like a happy family.

The ringing stopped, and a familiar bubbly voice echoes through the phone.

"Hi Hi! It's the world renowned Genius! Tabane Shinonono!" The voice of the young inventor blared through the phone, but didn't affect Madoka, she was definitely used to it.

"Tabane-nee..."

"Oh! Madocchi! How've you been! It's been very lonely without you, when are you and Chi-chan gonna visit me?"

"Can't right now, I have some serious news for you" Madoka could definitely feel the emotion from Tabane sap away, leaving a serious and monotone aura behind.

"Ichika's been kidnapped" Madoka could hear a pin drop from Tabane's side, before slight sniffles seeped through the microphone.

"Sorry that I have to tell you this way, but can you come here and figure out who's behind this?"

"Sure thing Madocchi, Ii-kun's missing. I can't believe it... What would Houki-chan think of this?"

"Thanks Tabane-nee, me and Chifuyu really do thank you"

"Of course! Anything for my three of my four favourite people!" Tabane declared confidently before closing the call, allowing Madoka to drop to the floor, opening the floodgate of emotions she had bottled up inside the past 15 minutes.

Continuing to cry for another five minutes, Madoka relished in the memories of Ichika, showing a ray of sunshine every time he saw her, Chifuyu or the Shinonono sisters. Noticing a pair of hands wrap her in a hug, she instinctively rests her head into the shoulder of her sister, resuming her weeping.

"Hey, Madoka, there's nothing we can do right now other than wait for Tabane... C'mon, let's go fix up the house for when he returns" Chifuyu spoke in a heartwarming tone, lifting Madoka's mood.

For now, the two sisters could only hope that their dear little brother returns soon.

[Germany, Jagerfestung] [2 months later]

It's been a month since the end of his torture, he was scarred mentally and physically, adorning multiple scars on his back and front torso. He became what the German government wanted from the poor boy. The perfect canvas for the perfect super-soldier. A monster of human engineering.

However, this was all an act, Ichika didn't lose his will or his mentality through the endless torture, which was caused by an unexpected factor in his genetics. He was abnormally smart, even smarter than Tabane Shinonono herself, he just never showed it. Even now, he knew it was best for him to keep quiet about his mental aptitude.

During this time, he got accquainted with the German army, specifically it's IS unit generally focused around genetically modified individuals, with the sole survivor of the test-tube program as it's commander. Laura Bodewig. Getting to know the girl, Ichika developed a very close connection to Laura, to the point where they were almost inseperable. Unfortunately, this was all due to one small misunderstanding.

As Ichika was teaching Laura about romance and relationships, Laura had grown fond of Ichika being the bride while she was the groom. He did this to show the originally cold-hearted girl that not everything about life had to be a cycle of locate, kill, dispose. While he didn't exactly like the fact that he was the bride, he didn't bother with changing it right now.

Walking into the canteen, Laura clings close to Ichika, grabbing his arm and hesitating to let go. This earned a multitude of stares and murmurs pass throughout the building, making Ichika nervous, while Laura seemed indifferent to the constant rumours about her and Ichika. Grabbing his daily slop from the canteen with Laura, they find a table and sit down opposite each other.

"Hey Laura, do you not care about how others view us?" He asks the silver-haired girl as he picked up a handful of slop using his fork and placed it in his mouth.

"Why should I care my wife? I don't have anything to do with them, you've been the only one nice to me so I should only notice you no?"

'She sounds very much like a magenta-haired woman I used to know... I wonder how's Houki doing.' He thought, having an image of Tabane form in his head.

Continuing to eat his slop, Laura stares at Ichika in a quizical manner. Noticing this, he puts down his fork and returns the stare, giving Laura a faint blush on her cheeks.

"W-what is it my bride?" She asked reflexively at the sudden turn of events.

"Nothing. I just think that your ruby eyes make you look beautiful..." He earnestly replied. He definitely was a smoothtalker.

As Laura was about to become to a bumbling mess, a man dressed only in a forest camo tank top with complimenting vest and black boots entered the room. Major Ludvig Karlsen, an embodiment of pure leadership, but he was considered to be one of the most unforgiving and strict instructors in the whole base, earning the nickname "The Bogeyman".

"Orimura, Bodewig. Today's your lucky day." He declared, ushering them to finish eating and follow him.

"Today's upgrade day~" He said in a sing-song like demeanor, causing all the other child soldiers to tremble in their seats.

"Upgrades" as the scientists and inhabitants of the base call it, was assumed to be a modification issued to help with controlling the Infinite Stratos. However, not a single person has survived the procedure to tell the tale, making it an urban legend upon soldiers. Laura stood up, scared for not just herself, but her dear friend and "bride".

Walking down the hallway, the two soldiers were taken away into different rooms, making Ichika now nervous. What was this procedure? Where are they taking Laura? What's gonna happen to him?

Arriving at the operation room, Major Karlsen opens the door and ushers the lieutenant inside, closing the door behind him. Motioning Ichika to lie down on the operating table in front, Ichika rests his body on the table before metal restraints held his body down. He was already subjected to mass muscle growth, so they couldn't really put him in place. Half a second later, Ichika could feel a set of needles prick into his spine, injecting a type of anasthesia that forced his eyes to open but the rest of his body to shut down.

Upon seeing a syringe containing a golden hue, Ichika could only lay in fear as a scientist aims the needle right above his eye while Major Karlsen stands on the other side, monitoring his levels.

"It's been nice knowing ya, kid. If you survive this, how 'bout we celebrate this by having drinks. Just me, you and Bodewig." He says, showing a small smirk on his face before Ichika passes out from the shock of a drill piercing his right eye.

[Germany, Jagerfestung] [2 hours later]

Waking up again, Ichika slowly opens his eyes, realising that he is unable to move his right eye. He abruptly breaks open the restraints and jumps out the bed. Noticing he had grown quite a lot, from the measly 5'5" before the operation to a staggering 6'2". It wasn't long before he was taken out of his thoughts by a certain pale green haired man.

"Congrats, you've survived the procedure" He jeered at Ichika, though definitely impressed by the notorious amount of upgrades.

Remembering he wasn't the only one who had recieved the "upgrades", he lunged towards the Major and swung forward, embedding his fist deep into the metal reinforced wall behind the Major. Surprisingly, the Major remained cool and walked away from the impact.

"I see that your physical strength and agility has skyrocketed, it probably also caused your massive growth spurt. This day is get-"

"WHERE THE HELL IS LAURA? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER! I SWEAR IF I SEE HER CORPSE ON A TABLE, THIS FACILITY WILL BE TEN FEET UNDER!" Ichika yelled, allowing himself to release all of his stress from the procedure.

"Calm down lieutenant Orimura, Commander Bodewig is alright, she's passed the test with flying colours, much like you. By my guess, you two are the most important pilots now thanks to the operation." Karlsen responded, gesturing his hands for Ichika to calm down.

"Anyways, how you feeling? I can assure you we did nothing to your eye, it's still the same old fleshy eye. We just had to induce the serum through it to be the most effective." He quickly changed the situation, pulling up a holographic display showing the effects of the upgrade.

"Theoretically, the drug would enhance bone density and growth, improving durability, which we've seen with the punch against the steel wall. It would improve muscle efficiency, giving a user massive amounts of speed. To counteract the increase in physical factors, the heart, lungs and brain have been artifically enhanced while you were out, raising your aptitude with the IS and reaction times..." Pausing at the last sentence, an image appears, showing Ichika's IS data from before the procedure and after...

"But I never thought luck would be on our side. We never really had to raies your IS aptitude. Heck, you were already an SS Class in the aptitude test. But hey, now it's SSS Class. You should be proud kid." Karlsen commended the kid, and probably the people who selected the young boy for such experiments.

'SSS Class? That makes me better than Chifuyu-nee and Madoka-nee in using the IS. They're only S Class pilots.' Ichika thought about his sisters. Something he hadn't done in a long time. He did miss them, but he couldn't contact them.

"Now that's all and done with, let's go and make you into a true perfect soldier" Major Karlsen took out a cigarette out of his pockets, lighting it and giving it a few puffs.

Ichika steadily got up and followed him. Now knowing about his extraordinary power in the IS industry, he swore one thing that he would keep for his life.

He would protect the people he cares about, even if he had to sacrifice his own life for it.

[Germany, Heimerlich Training Base] [2 years and 1 month later]

2 years and 3 months after Ichika's kidnapping, 2 years and 1 month after the "upgrades", Ichika and Laura were trained painstakingly 10 hours every day without rest, learning the ins and outs of an IS, how to disable an IS and specifically. How to bypass the Absolute Barrier. Ichika's training was even worse, with him having to take remedial classes on conventional military combat training. Nothing had really changed from the operation before, except for the patients themselves.

Ichika now was a staggering 6'4", towering over Laura who only grew to a short 5'6". He maintained his lean, muscular physique, but he definitely noticed his little package down under wasn't as little as it was before. Covering his right eye, he had an obsidian eyepatch, presumably to hide an additional factor that the serum gave to one of his eyes, which both now sported a deep red hue compared to it's original chocolate brown eyes.

Laura didn't really change that much however. Her eyes didn't really change from the ruby gemstones that they were before, but one eye was covered under a similar black eyepatch as Ichika. She was still sculpted like an agile beast, capable of hanging from anywhere and moving into tight spaces. Sadly for her, her 'assets' didn't really grow during the operation, though the female scientists present at the operation assumed it was because of her being a late bloomer. She just had to wait a little longer.

Even though they were transported over to a base, far from their new found friends in the Schwarze Hase, life was the usual, wake up at 4AM, spend 2 hours in a 20km run up a nearby mountain, spend 5 hours in the IS classroom, 1 hour in practicals for the IS and the remaining 2 hours for sea-based training. It was like hell for the two, having barely any lunch in the day, but they had to make do. Positively, it gave them a deeper relationship, not to the point of outright dating (though Laura harbored feelings for the young boy), they could easily put all their trust on the other partner.

It was around 12AM right now, the two 13-year olds sat in a classroom having their small lunches that the military had packed for them. Ichika and Laura had just finished the final IS course on GN drives and weaponry, with Ichika formulating multiple blueprints for plasma, ion or laser weapons that his close friend Laura could use. Since they had finished early, the leaders of the base took mercy on them, giving them lunch break in the remaining hours before the next greuling task. Chomping down on her sandwich, a hungry Laura asks Ichika a question.

"Hey, Ichika, what was your old life like?"

He froze at the question. He never thought about his sisters since he left, nor did he with Rin, Ran or Dan. They seemingly moved to the back of his mind. "To be really honest, I've never thought about them since I was taken by your comrades..." Laura saddened at the statement, blaming herself for Ichika's previous encounters for the German Army. She was supposed to be the prodigy, but she failed. They had to get a prodigy one way or another, and sadly, Ichika was directly in their crosshairs.

"Look, Laura, this isn't your fault. You're pretty much in the same position as me, if not worse..." Ichika reassured the silver-haired girl, simply stating that he should be the one feeling pity for the 13-year old.

"Cadet Orimura, Cadet Bodewig, meet me in the research department in 10 minutes. Don't. Be. Late" Instructor Kreig ordered, his voice as rough as cobblestone and cold as steel. The two never liked him, but much like one Brunhilde, they had to respect him.

"Roger, Instructor..." Ichika grumbled, giving a weakened 'Devil's glare' that both Chifuyu and Madoka used when they were understandably pissed. Content with his response, the instructor exits the classroom, leaving the two friends in the room. However, even though he was out the room, the two still felt his domineering presence, with Laura recoiling slightly at the feeling. Ichika, on the other hand, didn't move a single muscle. Probably because of his eldest sister, who always gave him the harsh treatment during kendo practice as a kid, with Madoka giggling on the sidelines.

Feeling that their lunch had been going on for far too long, Ichika leads the way to the research department, standing up slowly and taking his leftovers to the nearby bin, scoring an impressive score from behind the back. Laura shortly followed, but failed the attempt as she had somehow managed to throw the trash backwards.

Ichika chuckled, causing Laura to blush at the embarassment and lightly hit Ichika on the back.

"What was that for?"

"For laughing at me, you know I'm still getting used to my Odin's Eye"

"Still, I have a similar upgrade, the Serpent's Spectacle. Your excuse is invalid little missy..." Ichika stuck his tongue out in a playful manner, giving Laura a reason to laugh uncontrollably, followed suit by the lanky teen. Finishing their humourous fit, they return to their original task and walk out of the classroom towards the research centre. Reaching the elevator to level B-10, Ichika and Laura wait for the door to open. Stepping in, the lift rapidly descends them down, threatening to lift the two up into the air if not for the gravity module installed into the capsule itself.

"LEVEL B-10, OPENING DOORS." A computerised voice stated their destination, forcing a hesitant sigh from the both of them as their bodies return back to feeling like weights. Swiftly, the two exit the elevator, making their way down a long set of hallways, lined with test bays for either potential ISes, weapons or devices. Ichika was always a fan of the IS since his sisters and Tabane unveiled the creation after the White Knight incident. His sisters and Tabane had always kept the event secret, allowing only the three to know the true events, which annoyed Ichika slightly. He could keep secrets, and he practically figured out the true story a few years ago.

Reaching upon the main research lab, Ichika gentlemanly opens the door from Laura, allowing her to go first. She lightly smiles at Ichika, who picks it up, and walks into the hall, followed by him. There, they stumble upon two different ISes, both bulky in shape and large in stature. Behind them, Erwin Krieg congratulated the two, proving that the two had passed the training and were now ready to recieve their own personal IS.

"You younglings sure get all the nice and fancy gadgets... Anywho, Bodewig, your IS is on the left, the Schwarze Regen. It's built to be sturdy and powerful, sacrificing speed and agility for brute strength and defence. On your right shoulder, a prototype railgun is installed on it. We nicknamed it Blitzkrieg, courtesy of it's massive destructive power. On the back of your wrists, you have two beam sabers, set to 567GHz, it can cut through almost anything, bar the IS absolute barrier" He stated, pointing dead towards the Pitch Black IS, lit by two thin streams of red accenting the pure devastative power it possesses.

"Moving on, Orimura, since we don't have an IS capable of meeting the SSS Class standard in our inventory, we've decided to give you an IS found without a core in a base owned by the mass terrorist group. Phantom Task. We don't know the exact specs of the IS, only knowing that it is equipped with a shitload of equalizers, being able to carry as much as a C-130 cargo plane. We expect the IS to not function, but hey, knowing your IS compatibility, you can probably make the IS create its own core and smart AI that becomes the core AI." Erwin scoffed at that last sentence, he knew that it was impossible, he probably was just humouring himself at the theory.

Before even speaking another word, Ichika was already jumping into the IS and getting himself comfortable, before finding himself being swallowed alive by a night black goo, enveloping his organic body. He didn't hear Laura scream his name before he blacked out.

[Somewhere]

Ichika woke up, waking up slowly to two young women singing. He presumed the older voice to be in her early twenties while the other a tad bit younger than himself. Noticing his presence, the two voices stop, allowing Ichika to ask them a question.

"Who are you?"

[Do you want power?] The elder woman spoke.

"What?"

[I said, do you want power?]

"Yes"

[What for?]

"To protect Chifuyu-nee, Madoka-nee, Laura, Rin, Dan and Ran. To stop being a burden."

[Would you kill in order to achieve said goal?]

"If there is no other option, I will result in termination of life."

[Very well, you may use our physical body and our minds, but do not stray away from your goal. Young man]

"Thank you, Blitz, Kuroshiki..."

[Germany, Heimerlich Training Base]

Laura was already frightened at the sight of Ichika being enveloped into his IS. But she became even more scared when she entered her IS and nothing happened. Did the IS have a failsafe? Is Ichika ok?

While thinking about his dear friend, still enveloped in the void of goo, alarms sound in the hall, indicating an impending invasion.

"ALL PERSONEL, PREPARE FOR A POTENTIAL INVASION" A voice over the speakers bellowed, causing hundreds of footsteps to be heard as explosions and mass gunfire echoed through the expansive floor of rooms.

"Commander Bodewig, 12 enemy ISes detected, proceed with caution. They may be after the prototype third gen ISes you and Orimura have." Krieg issued an order, one that Laura could not refuse.

"Affirmative."

"Good, use any wea-"

"That... won't... be... necessary" Ichika's voice came like a lifeline, shocking both Laura and Erwin as they reared their heads around. From the sea of darkness enveloping the IS whole, they could spot major changes to the IS unit, forming two different halves of quite similar ISes.

On the one hand, the left side of his IS was sleek, having smooth corners and forming two noticeable sets of miniature autocanons, one on his left shoulder and his outer wrist. On the right of his IS, his machine was more bulky, giving a dominating appearance, it was definitely made for giving people cold feet as it's dual-paired plasma canons on it's shoulder charged up and cooled down in a cyclical fashion. The wrist of the IS, two grenade launchers were stationed on the palm side with a deployable energy katana on it's forearm and a beam saber on its outer wrist. After a few minutes of the organic mess swirling around Ichika's organic body, the bulkier IS takes form around his body, copying the exact same amount of weaponry on it's left side. Two sets of wings emit from its back, forming a more sleek and "designed for speed" appearance (A/N: IS Wings look similar to the Gospel's). It looked very familiar to the German IS, though sported a more all-around set of weaponry for its pilot to use.

"Commander Orimura, better than never. Go with Commander Bodewig and ta-" Erwin commanded the two. But Ichika had other plans.

"Instructor Krieg, let me handle them... me and Blitz can handle them" Pilot Orimura interjected into the conversation, angering the stressed out instructor.

"Orimura! Your orders are to intercept the targets ALONG with Bodewig. Top priority is the saftey of the data stored in this base along with the ISes we so lovingly gave you." Major Krieg swtiched from his military instructor demeanor in exchange for a more condescending tone befitting of a Major.

Ignoring his words, Ichika opens up a private IS link with Laura, who is still in a daze after experiencing her friend being presumably eaten alive by the IS. Amused at the confused expression on Laura's face, he decides to sneakily open up the IS link and play a little prank.

"LAURA!" He shouted while holding back a bit, as not to damage the ears of the poor girl. Who right now had just jumped back in reflex and hit a wall, earning some grunts of pain from her.

"Hey! That's not fair! Why do you do this to me, bride!" Laura pouted, she really didn't like it when his presumed lover teased her. Especially in this scenario.

"It's funny... Anyways, you take Major Krieg with you, I'll handle the invading forces while you protect him and help the scientists in transporting the data somewhere else. If I ever go missing, go to this address, this should be the location of the Orimura house, there you'll find the Brunhilde and her little sister. They are both my older sisters. If they ask you who you are, say you're Laura Bodewig, part of the German Schwarze Hase, and that Ichika Orimura has sent you. They will know that name immediately and ask you what happened to me, tell me I have been taken by Phantom Task in order to study my genome as to why I am able to pilot an IS. If they are unsuccessful in replicating my DNA, they would probably subject me to brainwashing and turn me into another one of their soldiers." Ichika gives an ultimatum to Laura, forcing her to comply with his wishes or be forced to by him and his nanomachines.

"Alright Ichika, just promise me to come back safely, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news to anyone if you disappear today..." Laura silently sniffled, though was heard by Ichika due to the microphones boosting the sound in the cockpit. She picked up the raging officer and swiftly slid out of the room, still in her IS as she burst down the door leading towards the elevator and heads instead to the data archives.

With some newfound resolve (A/N: Heh, Resolve), Ichika readied the two pairs of dual canons, releasing a deep and devilish hum. He bursts out of the room and upwards through the ground, fully clad in armor and weapons as he burst through the ground and entered into the garden and training areas of the base. From what he could tell, there were at least 10 different IS units, all built in a similar fashion. Counting, he could identify 5 Uchigane close-range units, 4 Raphael-Revives and one specialised IS, seemingly built for mid-range combat. Noticing his presence, a public IS channel opens up, revealing a woman built similarly to Chifuyu, but with ginger hair and american features rather than Japanese.

"I see a little bird~. I've got two options for you, boy. Come with us peacefully and we won't do anything to this base, especially that silver-haired girl you are so familiar with. Or we take you by force and reduce this fine establishment into rubble and all you care about into carcasses. Prefereably, I'd like it to be the second option..." She demanded, revealing a twisted smile as she relished in the thought of more heads to add to her already large collection.

"You know, I don't really care what happens to me, but I won't allow you to hurt them. If I go with you, you'll probably turn me into another one of your foot soldiers right here. No? So I refuse!" Ichika stated, sheer determination resonated in his voice. However, this only served to please the mysterious woman, her IS lifting up two of its eight legs, generating a small sphere of red energy.

'I see, the famed 2nd generation Arachne, the one stolen from the US government. Then it proves that these people are definitely from Phantom Task. Oh well, time to give them what they want.'

Blazing upwards towards the woman in a flash, not even showing a beam of light between his current spot and his original, Ichika charges up two of the four canons, unleashing a pure white beam of energy, completely decimating two IS units behind the Arachne. This shocked the pilot of the American IS, this power and speed of the IS was the stuff of legends, it was definitely faster than current 3rd Generation prototypes, and she was in a 2nd Generation. She could only show one emotion at that very moment. Fear.

"ALPHA-1-1, COVER ME AS I HEAD FOR THE OTHER IS WITHIN." The redhead woman instructed, anxiety and uncertainty clear in her voice. Her subordinates were shocked at the revelation, the most sadistic and sociopathic woman in the whole organisation, shrunk down to a sinner facing death incarnate.

"Roger than Autumn. Remaining forces, assume plan B. Surround the enemy IS!" A blonde woman commanded her allies as they formed a semicircle around Ichika, forcing him to fight head on or go back into the building and risk exposing Laura's location.

"Alright then, time for some fun... Whaddya say Blitz?" Ichika muttered under his breath, which still went through the call, causing everyone else to shiver at his words. Giving him time to act, Ichika ignites one of his beam sabers, allowing it to glow a bright red, which caught the attention of a suspected technician of the group. He wasn't going to waste time however, slashing the beam saber towards the girl. He wasn't anywhere near her, but a massive wave of energy appeared on her IS as she slowly split in half down the middle, blood spraying out of both sides. It wasn't going to be an easy job for them.

Turning back to Autumn, she quickly moved through the endless halls of the base. She would definitely have been lost if she had not been prepared. Continuing down a certain stretch of hallway, she could hear endless waves of explosions and gunfire erupt outside, she really needed to hurry up and find the datacentre. She stopped thinking as she heard complete silence. No screams. No explosions. No nothing. Her eyes became dilated as her eyes widened at the dark figure stood before her, though it didn't look like Ichika.

"Who are you?!" She shouted, earning no response from whatever it was. Steeling herself, she brought out her railgun and fastened it in her hands.

"Fine, then GO TO HELL!" The railgun sent out a massive screech as the projectile inside flew towards the figure. But before the projectile ever hit the being, it simply vanished into thin air, leaving the bullet to rocket through the sky and hit the other end of a wall, creating a crater in its wake.

"Congratulations, Autumn-chan... you've got this far, but I'm afraid our game has to end." A melancholic voice echoed through the halls, but she knew it was anything but sad. She whipped her head around, allowing her to see the monster of a man/IS taunting her in a relaxed pose while sitting down on the floor.

"Cmon, you said you wanted to take me right? I'll fight you in an IS by hand, what do you say?"

No voice responded, but instead four laser beams rushed straight to Ichika, forcing him to dodge up and down from the potential injuries. Before he could return a counter, her IS slammed forward to him using Ignition Boost. He groaned at the pain as he was flung back from the force. While he was genetically enhanced, he wasn't invincible in the slightest. Falling down to the floor, Ichika remembered all of his precious memories with Laura, how radiantly she smiled and how she was the light of his life after he was taken away from Chifuyu and his old life.

'I'm sorry everyone, I wasn't strong enough to prove my words true.' Finally blacking out, Autumn attempted contact with any of her comrades, but only returned radio silence. She checked their vitals, which showed up KIA.

"This kid's really scary, but he became too arrogant with me. Kinda reminds me of, well, me." Autumn reflected, laughing maniacally at the possible new toy she had gotten herself. She zoomed away as fast as she can, trying not to raise any more alarms at her escape with the project.

Laura arrived only a few minutes later, but didn't find Ichika, only his eyepatch and a note of the location of the Orimuras.

"I promise, wife. I will find you and bring you back safely, even if I have to resort to others to do so." Laura's hesitation faded as it was renewed with motivation and perserverance.

She just needed to find some allies. And she knew where to get some.

[Japan, Orimura Household] [Around one week later]

Chifuyu had been an emotional wreck since Ichika's disappearance, shabby clothing standards. Even worse hygiene. Only Madoka and Tabane, who had come to stay to watch over the two, kept her in check. Madoka wasn't that much different either, she regularly downed bottles of sake and sometimes whisky to cry herself to sleep, knowing Ichika was probably dead by this point.

Tabane was the only person of the three keeping the house together, using her brain and body to clean up the house and prepare dinner for the two. She missed Ichika as well, but knew he was alive, after all she had implanted nanomachines into his blood to monitor him at all times. Only, the thing is, his genetic makeup changed rapidly, showing massive spurts of growth in height, strength, endurance and agility. She guessed this was a failure in her nanomachines, to be fair they were made in just a minute and without Tabane's full focus.

Ichika was the light of their day, and he was gone in a flash. None of the three knew where he was and had given up looking for him a few months ago.

Chifuyu was in her bedroom, continuing to sleep in for the first time in a while. Madoka was in the living room, watching some TV as Tabane was downstairs in her imrpomtu lab made to continue her IS work. The two Orimuras had given up on the IS, as they blamed it to be the only reason Ichika was gone. While Madoka was lazing around the 12 bottles of Sake on the sofa, the doorbell rang, which only happened for deliveries and people they were expecting. They didn't order anything or were expecting friends over, like they had any.

'Probably some guy trying to sell us some crap again. Sheesh, they've got to stop doing these type of stuff...' Madoka groaned in annoyance. She really didn't like these door-to-door salespeople, like really didn't.

Walking up to the intercom, she was surprised to see a German girl, clad in shredded military fatigues. Her head was bleeding quite heavily, with some of her silky grey hair bathed in spots of her blood. Madoka's sisterly instincts kicked in as she opened the gate and rushed towards the girl, catching her as she fell into the shoulder of the 5'11" Orimura.

"Hey! What happened!? Where are your parents?"

"I...I don't have parents... Are... you... an... Ori...mura?" Laura asked her, straining her mental stamina as she tried to stand on her own two feet, only for her to fall over again, forcing Madoka to bring her into the house.

"Hey hey! Madocchi~... who's this!?" Tabane shouted in alarm, causing sounds of stuff falling over upstairs.

"I don't know, I found her outside the gate in this state..." Madoka replied, unsure of the current situation.

"I...Ichika...Orimura...sent me..." Laura blacked out, hanging limp from Madoka's chest.

"I...impossible..."

"Ii-kun's alive?"

"Hm? What?" Chifuyu came down the stairs, still clothed in her blood red nightgown.

"Hurry! Take her down to the lab! I'll fix her." Tabane instructed Madoka, to which the latter followed to the letter as she laid the small girl on the operating table.

Ichika was alive, but they didn't know where he was... The only person that had a clue at that point. Was this young girl who appeared on their doorstep.

Huzzah! I've finally finished the first chapter of my version of this story!

I'm actually finishing this story in my car, I'm on a road trip to my aunt's right now so the last parts of the story might not be as grammatically correct. But please forgive me!

Anyways, about releasing chapters between this and Infinite Stratos: Rebooted Resolve. I'll lengthen the chapter releases to each one of these stories to 1 chapter per week. Like anime episodes. It will take a while but I promise they will be the best versions that I can muster until I choose to remaster them at a later date.

Anyways, hope you liked reading this and I wish you a happy day or night depending on where you live.

- ISReaderandWriter