Welcome back! I'm continuously churning out new chapters to each of my 2 creations, and don't worry, I have plenty of time do this. It's like 7:55PM when I'm writing this so no worries in my sleep schedule! Anyways, I want to say two things about this story:
1) Ichika will be like crazy strong in terms of IS, but not undefeatable. (He's born from genetic enhancements and surgery, along with being further augmented for the IS by the Germans, so it would at least make sense. In my opinion though)
2) There will be a slight bit of romance as Ichika's character just has some natural charisma/rizz built into him. He's just like that and I feel that romance is quite good for storytelling, especially with hurt/comfort as a side-development.
3) Sci-Fi and Adventure are the two genres for a reason: There is gonna be a lot of different arcs with a lot of OCs with the original charcters of Infinite Stratos (as well as its background characters)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this story and I will release two more chapters, each for Infinite Stratos: Rebooted Resolve and this story (The reference to Resolve in the previous chapter referred to the former story I made a few days before this one).
- 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
[Japan, Orimura Household] [A day later]
Madoka and Chifuyu sat by the silverette as her body relished in the plentiful supply of IV given to her. She had definitely been through hell, but she knew Ichika. How? Why? What happened to him? The two sisters desperately wanted answers, but even in their bodily state of disarray, they both knew that forcing answers out of the girl was pointless. Especially if the girl was willing to talk.
"Hey... nee-san, do you really believe that Ichika's alive?" Madoka asked her sister, hinting uncertainty at the prospect of her younger brother being alive. It had been two years, he would have definitely been tortured, flailed, hanged or drowned alive at this point.
"I'm sure. Ichika has the potential to be strong like us. Hell, even stronger by the time he reaches our age" Chifuyu responded confidently, dispelling any sort of doubt within her 17-year old imouto. The 19-year old woman brought out a pendant on her chest and opened the locket, revealing a rather old picture of the three back when Ichika was merely 5 years old.
"Ichika... I'm so sorry for leaving you all alone. You've done well for our sisters though, surviving all by yourself for all this time. Chifuyu-nee's pleased." She relaxed at the picture, muttering to herself that Ichika would come back to them, he needed to come back to them.
Hearing a light grumble from the hospital bed, both women aim their heads towards the slowly awakening female. As Laura sat up on the bed, she realised that two beautiful women were eyeing her very intensely, perhaps too intensely.
'Are these two my bride's sisters? They look very pretty, I'll be honest. It's probably why he's so handsome as well, runs in the family I guess.' Taking note of the duo's beauty, she noticed the door to the room opening, revealing an eccentric woman, wearing clothes similar to Alice in Wonderland.
'By my guess, this is the Shinonono Tabane that Ichika was talking about. The famed creator of the IS. Shame that Ichika is miles smarter than her though...' Laura thought, she had seen what Ichika could do with IS technology, and judging by his IS (or rather ISes) he could definitely destroy anything in his path.
"Hey hey, you alright? What's your name?" The eccentric purple-haired woman jumped towards the resting teen as her assets bounced up and down in a cartoonish fashion. She leaped in an inhuman fashion, able to reach 15 feet into the air before landing clumsily, falling over and hitting her face on the cold concrete floor.
"Mmm... I'm alright..." Laura's response to the bunny-like female peaked her interest, her mechanical bunny ears flopped up and down as she continued to inspect the silverette.
"Oi! Tabane! Quit with the inspection. Anyways, do you know who we are? You've been in bad shape since you found us..." Chifuyu asked Laura, showing no emotion as to look as professional as possible. This was about Ichika, feelings couldn't get in the way.
"Yeah, by my guess, you are Chifuyu Orimura, the Brunhilde with your lookalike being Madoka Orimura, 3rd in the Mondo Grosso. Ichika had never forgotten you two but rather focused on other matters during our training." Chifuyu and Madoka smiled gently, knowing their ray of sunshine missed them. They would do anything to bring him back. But Madoka picked up a strange word used to end off Laura's answer.
"Wait... training?"
"Since Ichika was kidnapped by the German military, he and I underwent genetic enhancements to further improve our organic ability. Subsequently, Ichika is generations ahead in terms of potential as a super-soldier, but we came under attack from Phantom Ta-"
"Don't you dare say that name, I've already had to save Ichika from them once before... What happened to him?" Chifuyu snarled at their name, they already met before and it wasn't a very nice experience.
"He protected me as I destroyed any German evidence at the base that would be deadly if it fell into their hands while fending off the invaders, but got captured while doing so. He told me to find you two as Tabane should know how to track him." Laura answered innocently, only just realising the rising spite in Madoka and Chifuyu's aura as they turned towards Tabane, irritation in their faces.
"Tabane... how do you know where to find him?"
"Well well, Chi-chan, I must always know where my love interest is... you probably wouldn't know that feeling though" Tabane gave a perverted smile as she winked at the two, souring the tension in the room. Before Madoka could attack her, she opened a hologram, showing Ichika's biological status at that current moment. To say it was super-human could be seen as an understatement.
"You've really done it. Tabane, what's with these readings?" Chifuyu glanced over at the exceeding values denoting his physical attributes.
"I was guessing that Ii-kun's genetic enhancements during his stay in Germany were the reason for these. But looking at the German we have here, I think a different factor affected his physical values, as well as some bodily proportions..." Tabane replied, losing her bubbly tone as she theorised on Ichika's change, but brought it back when finding about his measurements.
Madoka and Chifuyu's expression darkened at Tabane's theory, they already knew from their time in Phantom Task that Ichika was special in many ways, but never got to see it. Tabane and Laura noticed the dark expressions on the two women as Laura started to formulate a plan to rescue her one and only friend/love.
"Hey, Tabane-sama, can you track Ichika's location right now?" The silverette questioned the brillian scientist, who slowly pulled out a physical tablet from her cleavage.
"Yup, yup! Sil-chan, I can definitely do that. Here, this contains all the necessary info needed to rescue our fated Ii-kun! Though my satellites suggest that the place is heavily guarded, so we can't just go in there guns blazing. They'd probably kill Ii-kun if they were forced to..."
"Thank's Taba- you just called me Sil-chan right?"
"Yup, I don't know your real name so I called you Sil-chan!"
"Before you continue using that horrible name, my name is Laura Bodewig, you can use that to make your eccentric nicknames." Laura returned back to her Commander-like tone as she fully regained her cognitive function.
"Alright then, Laura-chan!"
Focusing her attention away from the ecstatic rabbit, Laura asks the two other women a question that she really needed to know the answer to.
"Do you two still have your ISes?"
""No"" The same answer that came from both females.
"Well then, we'll have to wait a few days before we can go rescue Ichika... let's hope we get there before anything happens to him." All members inside the room nodded at that statement, before Tabane left to create new ISes for the sisters while they left behind to ask some questions to Ichika's companion.
[Point Nemo, Oil Rig] [3 Days after last part]
Waking up from a plethora of sedatives used to keep him asleep, Ichika tried to get himself fully awake, forcing him to slap himself when it failed. Groggily, he tried to move his hands to search the dark room, only to find that he was bound to something.
"Dammit, I really have to stop allowing my arrogance to get over me." He duly noted, reminding himself that he was the reason why he got caught and was stuck here. Autumn was probably somewhere near him, preparing herself for the torturing session he was about to have. Thinking on his dilemma, Ichika doesn't notice the door slowly open, giving way for a figure of a woman that rivalled Chifuyu's beauty. She was decorated with golden blonde hair and ruby red eyes, giving of a dangerous aura that captivated Ichika's attention.
"Well well well, looks like the mouse has woken up~" The unknown female seductively jeered at Ichika, noting his strengthened musculature and striking facial features. She blushed slightly, though Ichika didn't know why.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Ichika inquired the voloptuous woman, who gave him a coy smile as she leaned closer to Ichika's face, allowing him to identify the overwhelming scent of sweet lavender.
"My name's Squall Meusel young man, I don't need to know about yours Ichika. You're practically the most famous in the underground military world... Oh, and before I forget, you have a lovely visitor here for you." Squall replied enigmatically, before walking over to the side, revealing a distinct face.
"What?" Ichika asked the young woman, who grinned at his words. She slowly walked over to the young boy before stopping a few feet away from him. Her chesnut hair tied into a high ponytail, accompanied by a pair of emerald green eyes with dilated pupils to accompany them.
"Wait, Houki?"
"My my, Ichika, how'd you get yourself into this mess?" The newly identified girl said to Ichika. She would never do this, she had a heart of honor, of glory. Something didn't sit right with Ichika, and he would discover the reason soon.
'Dilated pupils, a different eye colour which shifts back to her normal hazel colour at random intervals. My guess is she's under some mind control type shit and judging by the frequency of her eye colours shifting, she's only been here recently. Phantom Task really are some spineless fucks.' He needed a plan, needed one quick.
"Anyways, enough with the touching reunion. Ichika-kun you're ISes... now." Squall intervened between the two, giving two options for Ichika.
"Go to hell."
"Fine then, you want to play hard? Lets play hard." With the snap of her fingers, a set of machinery along with a certain redheaded woman.
"Good to see you again boy, now. Lets have some fun, shall we?" Autumn joked in a sadistic tone, pulling out a pair of jumper cables and attached it to his fingers, letting the crocodile clips cling on to his skin, but not breaking through it. Turning up the power, Ichika felt a heavy wave of electricity flow through him, burning through every tissue in his body.
"NOW THEN! I'LL ASK ONE MORE TIME, YOUR ISES NOW." Squall declared loudly over the crackling electricity to the 13 year old boy as he tried to keep in the pain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Ichika's screams could be heard throughout the rig as Houki watched him intently, showing slight signs of worry. Cracks were forming, and Ichika could use it to his advantage.
"Stop, Autumn."
The torture stopped as Squall ordered, allowing Ichika to catch a breath before an array of needles pierced his now pliable skin. He had some worries as to what they were going to do to him, but he couldn't care less. There was someone important to him who was held in the grasp of his captors.
"This will only be a quick procedure, but you'll be just like your friend over here. There's no need to worry." Squall jeered at Ichika, his eyes starting to dilate and form a viper-green tinge that overtook his blood red eyes.
As the procedure was finishing up, a group of scientists with soldiers accompanying them enter the room, with a holographic display showing the result they all wanted.
"Ma'am, all nanobytes working as expected. Now we have one of our original experiments under our control." One female scientist pointed out, showing off her fair white complexion to Squall.
"Great, now all we have to do is wait... He'll wake up eventually." Squall's eyes turned a slight shade of deep blue before returning to the ruby red orbs that were there before.
[Japan, Orimura Household] [3 Days Before Planned Rescue Attempt]
In the Orimura Dojo, shockwaves echoed through the air as Laura attempted an aerial kick to Chifuyu's stomach, the latter redirecting it with a simple knuckle tap to the shin.
"HAAAAAAAAAA" Laura landed akwardly, saving it by swivelling her body round for a right hook to Chifuyu's jaw. Sadly, she didn't expect the sheer force of the Orimura's left foot digging into her chest cavity, sending her sailing away towards the back wall of the dojo, leaving a large crater in its wake.
"Bodewig, you must focus not on attack, but also defense. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Instructor Orimura."
"Bodewig, remember, there are two Orimuras training you, think of a more suitable way to address us."
"Hai, Instructor Brunhilde"
"I guess that's fair enough... Madoka, teach her on defensive capabilities."
"Ok, nee-san." Madoka got up from her table next to Tabane, they were talking about something serious judging by Tabane's gloom, but right now it was anyone's guess. Getting out of the crater, Laura dizzily walks over to Madoka, shaking her head wildly to reorientate her senses. Sensing an opressive force targeted at her, Laura instinctively dodges to the side, realising that Madoka had flung the first punch.
"Lesson 1: Always be on your feet, even if disoriented." Madoka instructs the german, throwing a set of wooden kunais at her. This forced Laura to intricately navigate between each dagger, she didn't expect the low uppercut to her stomach that made her cough up some saliva before tumbling to the ground.
"Lesson 2: Know when to dodge and when to block. Block when you don't have time to move and the attack is light. Dodge when you can move and the attack is heavy." Madoka harshly tutored the girl as Laura struggled to lift her upper body up. Seeing this, Madoka brings out a wooden but mechanised practice pillar, indicating that Laura should use it to practice her defenses against said robot.
"Do I really have to train with this thing again, Instructor Orimura?" Laura whined, she had already spent the last 4 days straight training with the slow but heavy hitting machine. Madoka flashed an evil grin, which unnerved Laura as she slowly backed away from the 3rd place Mondo Grosso participant.
'This looks too much like when Houki-chan trained with Chi-chan before the IS... where are you, Houki-chan?' Tabane mulled silently over Houki's sudden disappearance, she knew the brunette hated her sister for the IS, but she wouldn't just disappear off the face of the earth without a reason.
Sadly, the reason was worse than any of the four could imagine.
[Point Nemo, 20Km off the Phantom Task Oil Rig] [Day of Rescue Attempt]
Blasting through the air were three individual ISes, the Schwarze Regen and her allies. Chifuyu was piloting a fresh IS given by Tabane as the 3.5th Generation IS, the Byakushiki. Madoka was supposed to have the twin IS of the Byakushiki, the Kuroshiki. But for the love of inventions Tabane could not find its core, therefore having to replace the IS core and IS itself with one of her potential 4th generation frames, the Akatsuki.
"Alright, Madoka, Laura. We know that there are roughly 10 IS pilots present on the rig, thanks to Tabane. But that doesn't mean that they are your standard-issue IS, most likely there are more than 3 different personal IS pilots here." Chifuyu reminded the two of their opposition, making them sure that their enemy should not be underestimated.
"Alright, Tabane, can you enter your satellite array and identify the ISes?"
"Yup yup Chi-chan! There are roughly 6 Raphael Revives with 4 unknown right now. But something seems wrong, I'm getting 11 IS core readings but only 10 ISes..." Tabane's face popped up on each of the three's HUDs, showing a perplexed bunny scratching her head back and forth as she tried to figure out the IS core to IS number difference.
"Strange... Tabane, did you ever create an IS that has a dual core system?"
"No no, I only made one IS available for a dual core system... Yours." Chifuyu's brain started to ponder. ISes are sentient, could they make themselves a dual core system? It could work like the 2nd shift, but would require a lot of time to formulate and adjust the IS itself to. Not to mention only a few IS cores given out by Tabane are smart enough to do so.
"Nevermind that Instructor Brunhilde, let's just focus on taking care of our primary objective." Laura interjected into the conversation, earning a death glare from both Madoka and Chifuyu.
"Never do that again, Bodewig. I could easily destroy your Absolute Defence. And don't think about testing that fact." Chifuyu's emotionless tone that somehow conveyed fury scared the life out of Laura, who only managed to return a simple "Yes, ma'am.".
"How long until we reach the rig nee-san?" Madoka asked with slight impatience in her voice, they had already been travelling through the open sea for a while. It was sunrise when they left under the blanket of the orange sky, right now the orange skyline could be seen retracting back into the ground as the moon rose from it's 12 hour slumber.
"Roughly 5 hours, we have to slow our speed down to 50% due to the Schwarze Regen being made for firepower, not speed or agility."
"Really? I thought the Germans were smarter than that, putting all of their research on defence rather than an all around fighter..."
"Hey! Deutschland is not that dumb! While I do admit that some of our creations were a bit on the illogical side, my IS was made specifically as a bunker destroyer, which would be helpful in destroying a possible energy shield around the platform." Laura retorted at the statement of disrespect to her fatherland.
"100 points to Laura-chan! I've done some further digging into their systems, seems like there is an energy shield with similar properties to the one used at the IS Academy."
"Bodewig, set your railgun canon to a laser shell, fine tune the frequency to 59GHz, that frequency can bypass the barrier the easiest." Chifuyu instructed the foreign teen, to which she got to work to very quickly. "Fine-tuning will be done in 3 hours, railgun canon set to laser ammunition with beam sabers set to 650GHz."
"Laura-chan, you do know that the Absolute Defense barrier can only protect frequencies up to 640GHz right?"
"Yes, Tabane-san, I'm not letting anyone survive, especially those who attacked me and my bride back in Germany."
"Laura... You do know that a man is the husband while the woman is the wife. Even if you were married to our outouto, you would be the bride. Not him." Madoka informed the misled Laura, to which her face shone slightly at the possibility of marrying Ichika. "Though that is not to say we think you are worthy of him... You need to prove that first." That final phrase sent the poor girl back into her glum state.
'No one is worthy of Ichika, except for me and nee-san. Ichika, forgive us but you're too much for us two to not grow feelings for you.' Madoka and Chifuyu both knew that incest was a taboo, but they couldn't help it. How could they not fall for the man that hadn't treated them differently from everyone else, the one who treated them like people, not objects, prizes or women they could spend the rest of their lives with.
Snapping back to her senses, Chifuyu could see a lone IS signal, travelling at a speed considerably faster than both Laura and Chifuyu, one that matched the Akatsuki.
"Laura, Madoka, we've got one unidentifiable IS. Prepare defensive formation. Tabane, show us the IS' specs!" Chifuyu's commanding tone impressed Laura, to her it was more condescending that than instructor Krieg.
"Hai, hai, Chi-chan!" Displaying the IS specs, Tabane narrated. "This IS, labelled Fang Quake, is an early third gen IS made by the joint American project between companies Lockheed Martin and Mcdonnell Douglas. This version doesn't have any ranged or melee weapons, relying on it's fists and modules to incapacitate its opponents quickly by disabling their Hypersensors. It's best if Laura-chan attacks it head on while Chi-chan and Madocchi hit it from sneak attacks."
"Alright then, you heard what the rabbit said! We've got contact in 10 minutes. Bodewig, maintain this position while me and Madoka go to take a flank position." With a firm nod from Laura, Chifuyu speeds out towards the sea with Madoka close behind.
"Enemy contact in 1 minute, Laura, send a warning shot when they get close." Madoka believed in second chances, which was a good call, considering who was its pilot.
"Firing!" A single shot exploded from Laura's canon, lighting up it's pathway and next to the IS' head, shattering its kevlar helmet. The face that laid beneath it was definitely unexpected, astonishing the three adults.
"H-h-houki-chan?" Tabane sniffled through the screen, she had just reunited with her sister. But it was as two opposing forces. While she didn't notice it, both Chifuyu and Madoka saw the emerald green eyes that flickered as the Fang Quake laid eyes on Chifuyu and Madoka.
"Change of plans! Bodewig, set beam sabers to 40GHz, that should incapacitate the IS systems and whatever machine they're using to control her!" Chifuyu shouted, with slight panic in her voice. If they killed Houki, what would Ichika do?
Realising the importance of the individual, Laura dives towards the revealed individual, releasing a pair of dimly lit white blades of energy. She sliced at the IS, only to find her IS enhanced eye to suddenly black out after an upward swipe from Houki's left hand. With her remaining eye, she forced one of Houki's arms away, allowing Madoka to pin it with Chifuyu slashing the wiring of the other and disabling it. With no chance to defend herself, Laura sends a wave of electricity into her sabers, sticking her right blade into Houki's chest, electrifying the mentally exhausted girl as her IS decomposed into a wind of particles. Chifuyu grabbed the unconscious girl and was about to send her to Tabane through teleportation, but stopped after hearing a few words being uttered.
"Ichika, mind control, save him and Squall, they are subordinates to the higher ups." Houki tried to formulate a clear sentence, before blacking out completely.
"Thank you, Houki. Now just rest and rejoin your sister, she missed you, you know?" And with that, Houki disassembled into a ray of light, joining Tabane inside the Orimura's basement.
"Thank you, thank you Chi-chan... I'll never let you go again Houki-chan, I swear." Tabane's voice silently echoed through the trio's audio channel, with light sobs inbetween her words.
"Alright then, now to get our beloved brother and friend." Madoka cheered, it was her first ever mission of this scale with the IS. Chifuyu had obviously experienced the stakes as well as Laura.
"It's not gonna be that simple, my imouto. Especially once we start fighting for real." Chifuyu sadistically grinned, expecting the bloodshed from those who dared to hurt Ichika.
[Point Nemo, Oil Rig]
"Unit-001 has just woken up from the IS modifications given to him, he shouldn't be able to connect with his IS but he would still have full control over it." Scientist 01, Chizuru Nagisa, confirmed the boy's state.
"Great, set him up with the experimental IS unit. Kiraishiki." A warped voice came through one of the speakers in the laboratory. "He would provide a good vessel for one of my experiments. Squall, secure the area and find out where Shinonono is." Squall stood up from her chair and left the room without saying a word, her navy blue eyes appearing shortly before returning to the blood-coloured eyes she normally has.
"Get up child, there is much to do for you." The cryptic figure ushered the boy upright on his table, leading him towards a dimly lit room further down the platform. "This is a gift I give you, one that you would greatly enjoy in my opinion. The Kiraishiki."
Standing in the centre of the room stood an IS clad in dark-knight armaments, it had no single other colour than the void black that covered its helmet. Sticking out it's back armor laid two wing structures, forming a similar shape to those on a fallen angel.
"This IS was supposed to be the sibling unit to the famous Shirokishi, but it was too mindless for it to be used, leading it to be sent to one of Shinonono's warehouses where we found it. Kuroshiki on the other hand is the sister IS unit to your sister's current IS Byakushiki, forming a close bond with you as its chosen. Blitz however is a special IS, but we have no idea on what makes it that way..." Ichika's empty corpse looked on a the menacing machine, noting a small release of a black aura seeping from its panels.
"Go ahead and enter it, I promise it won't kill you." The voice seemed like a lull for the boy, forcing his body to move slowly towards the metal beast. Placing his hand on the IS, a feeling of vengance flooded him while words whispered into his ear.
[I am not your enemy, and I will help you to achieve your goal.] A sweet voice reminded him of his past, the countless days of being mercilessly beaten by his instructor, forced to clean the floors with a toothbrush for something he didn't do.
Metal platings slid around the male, adjusting to every specification of his organic body. The dark wings waved up and down behind his back, organising itself for usage. Beams of pure white erupted from each of the pylons structuring the wings (Think of the Fold-Out armor on the Akatsubaki in anime).
"Great... Now, ready yourself for combat, we've got 3 unknown ISes closing in." The voice instructed the mindless Orimura, who brought two weapons from its IS space. One was a lengthy broadsword, estimating around 3 metres long with a bulky handguard resting on his right hand. The other seemed to be an autocanon, with 6 barrels folded around a central rod containing magnets on each barrel.
The IS slowly sailed out of the hangar, moving quite fast for a slow pace. Using his hypersensor, Ichika looks throughout the platforms vast array of rooms.
[Nice job Ichika, seems that you've fooled the top brass here~ In one of the rooms, I can see a group of girls stuck in bindings. We'll rescue them later, for now focus on the task at hand.] A business-dressed woman appeared on his IS hud, she had a beautiful array of navy blue hair slung down her back with sapphire blue eyes to accompany them. Ichika just silently nodded to the AI, continuing to move to the launch platforms on the east side of the rig.
"Unit-001 ready to launch, requesting to depart alone." Ichika asked in a monotone voice, earning a rather sultry reply from one Squall.
"No can do Ichika-kun~ I'm here to keep an eye on our prized project." She teased the hardened soldier, who simply just huffed in annoyance.
"UNIT-001 AND OPERATIVE MEUSEL PREPARING TO LAUNCH. CLEAR THE PLATFORM" A controller sounded through the speakers, getting everyone else present off of the launch strip.
Getting into a ready stance, both Ichika and Squall are sent forward in their ISes. Their PICs protecting them from the massive G-force fluctuations from the lauch bar. Now in the air, Ichika belts forward towards the location of the 3 unknown ISes, with Squall barely managing to catch up with her Golden Dawn.
"Unit-001, Wait up!" Squall chided loudly at the boy, who simply responded by doing the opposite, reaching Mach 2.3 through the night sky.
Nice! I'm finished.
This FanFic making takes very long but I love every single one of it. Especially IS, it's basically wasted content drowned further by the endless amounts of fanservice.
This story is just mainly Ichika vs Phantom Task but with some fluff and plot twists.
I'm running a bit late on schedule so I need to wrap this up quick.
Anyways, Thanks for reading.
- ISReaderandWriter