Fear is a natural phenomenon. An instinctual drive that every living thing possess. The drive to survive.

Fear could come from anywhere, even places we would least expect. Fear of the dark. The light. The unknown. The familiar.

Houki Shinonono was no stranger to fear. Fear of the bullies who once mocked her, fear of never being able to see Ichika again after the public introduction of the IS to the world, which caused her to be separated from him years ago.

Such ill memories, they were nothing compared to the terror she felt at this moment.

Minutes ago, crowds of ecstatic cheering by the spectators could be heard all across the arena. Students from the entire IS Academy expressed their glorifications towards two particular IS pilots who stood within said arena, showered with hopes of winning what could perhaps be the most important battle in the history of the academy.

Now, there was only silence.

Gone were the cheers. The excitement. The thrill of an entertaining match to behold.

In their place, was fear. An understandable fear of something none of the women had ever seen before.

Houki could not verbally express the jealousy she felt when Ichika was chosen along with Cecilia to represent the academy in the battle, but then again, she didn't have a personal IS to begin with, and she would think smarter than to object to Ms. Orimura's decisions.

Still, she reluctantly attended the match in order to keep cheering for Ichika, hoping that he would pull through and win, no matter who he went up against.

Her expectations, had ceremoniously, been thrown out the window.

The two representatives flof Hammond Robotics, the Titan Pilots, didn't look like actual pilots at all. They didn't wear the same skin tight outfits that IS pilots use, instead wearing some sort of combat outfit complete with armor vests and harnesses.

The male Pilot, Jack Cooper, wore a crimson jacket and leggings, while also equipped with an armor vest, knee pads and a multitude of harnesses on his body. He also had a strange bulky object resembling rocket nozzles on his lower back, whose function she couldn't quite guess. But perhaps the strangest thing was the futuristic helmet he wore which perfectly disguised his face. The glowing visor did quite well to send chills to her.

The female, Zoe Grey, wore an indigo full-body combat camo with also an armor vest layered on top, designed to weirdly fit her feminine physique. She also had knee pads, straps across her shoulders and the same nozzled object on her lower back. Her helmet was however of a different design than Cooper's, having a more alien look with its 4 separate visors imitating the face of an insect.

But what alarmed her the most were the firearms strapped on their backs and sides. The Infinite Stratos shields were designed in such a way that normal guns were rendered ineffective against them. And yet they were using them for this match? And where would they get those firearms in the first place? Aren't they supposed to be piloting their Titans? And yet they were armed to the teeth as if going into a warzone.

To be honest, it did make sense the more Houki thought about it. These so-called Pilots were challenging two IS pilots in a battle, and they were giving themselves a handicap by not deploying their Titans until the first minute has passed. It sounded almost like suicide considering what they were up against, so she expected that the match would be over before it even started ,with both Cecilia and Ichika both being able to overpower the two Hammond candidates considering their obvious superiority.

And then, as if fate wanted to pull tricks on her, her expectations were driven straight into the ground and then buried six feet deep under tons of concrete.

In the first minute alone, the two representatives of Hammond Robotics managed to somehow hold their ground against both Ichika and Cecilia, outsmarting and outmaneuvering them using some sort of technology she had never seen before. What's even more astonishing was the fact that they did without even using their own powered exoskeletons.

Invisibility technology was something that no IS, at least ones she knew of, have had the capability to pull off as of now. Much less optimizing them for use by the Pilots without even having to deploy their own Titans.

Afterwards, they used their firearms against both Ichika and Cecilia, and for some reason their shields were going down substantially. The projectiles coming from said firearms also did not look like standard infantry rounds, as they resemble energy projectiles, something that only the IS were supposed to be capable of.

Houki was angry. Not at herself. Not at Ichika or Cecilia. But at the two Pilots.

Okay a bit of it was directed at Cecilia due to jealousy, but mostly they were directed towards the Pilots due to their unorthodox method of fighting, at least from her perspective. Utilizing hit-and-run tactics and deceiving your enemy by constantly hiding from their line of sight like a coward, and then taking advantage of them from behind, is in no way the most honorable way of a warrior to fight a battle.

It did make sense in a way though, as she couldn't think of any other way for the Pilots to be able to stand a chance against the IS, but still.

As she was lost in her thoughts, Houki was brought back to reality when a voice from the speakers flared an announcement. A single sentence.

A sentence that would forever haunt her mind.

"STANDBY FOR TITANFALL."

As soon as those words echoed into her eardrums, she felt goosebumps rippling throughout her body, for reasons she herself couldn't think of.

Somehow, the heavens heard her curiosity, and answered. Though the answer wasn't what she was expecting.

At first, there was an ominous ambience. Unnoticeable initially, but it grew louder.

And then, two fireballs seemingly appeared from the clouds. And it caught everyone's attention.

The fireballs grew bigger, as it burned through the thick atmosphere, its bright yellow flames highly contrasting the dim blue sky. The clouds split apart in their paths, and the fireballs exploded with a deafening bang.

Not long after, two explosions occured in the arena, the result of searing metal colliding with the earth at sonic speeds, the shockwaves felt across the entire arena-no, theentire academy itself. The knocked up debris and dust covered half of the arena, and as the haze settled, stood on top of a couple of burning craters, were the Pilots' greatest trump card.

Over 20 feet and 40 tons of metal each. Equipped with the most advanced combat technology Hammond could offer, and an overall intimidating appearance.

The Titans have made their entrance to the battle. And it was one hell of an entrance indeed.

The students were silent. In fact, Houki was sure pretty much everyone was rendered completely mute by the explosive introduction. Even the instructors who were present. Even herself.

Afterwards, both Pilots sprinted towards their respective Titans, and embarked into their chassis. She still couldn't figure out how exactly they were going to pilot while wearing such uncomfortable clothing.

Huge gasps were drawn by the students when they looked at the large screens placed on the spectators' view, displaying the shield energy levels of the combatants currently inside the arena.

Houki wondered what made them so surprised, until she saw the screen herself, and noticed the shield levels of the Titans.

Almost literally, her jaws dropped to the floor.

In a short span of time, almost an instant, Houki felt genuine fear.

Fear that this match may not end the way she expected it to be.

_

Cecilia Alcott was petrified.

She thought she had the upper hand. She thought this match would be over in less than a minute.

But the minute has already passed, and she still failed, despite having the upper hand.

The Titans...they were different. Very different than what she expected. Large, bulky, and lacking the streamlined, aerodynamic appearance that IS usually have. Their various exposed mechanized parts and hydraulics made them seem more primitive compared to the IS' sleeker design. And yet, it just made them look even more menacing.

She briefly glanced at the large screen on the edge of the arena, which displayed all of the IS combatants' shield levels. Surprisingly, it also showed the Titans' shield levels as well.

Just like the IS, the Titans' shield energy levels were displayed as bars and numbers on the screen. Strangely, both Titans have not one, but two shield bars.

The first bar only showed 100 energy units, which was a surprisingly small amount, considering even a standard model 2nd Gen IS unit possess at least 600 units of shield energy.

Her eyes widened upon looking at the second bar.

'6000 units!? 10 times the shield level of a standard IS!?'

To say she was frightened would be a massive understatement. The Titans' sizes weren't just for show. They could really take some serious punishment.

But the question is, could they dish out just as much as they could withstand?

Titans seem to lack wings or any flight mechanics that an IS would typically have. That should be a major weakness which she could exploit.

Cecilia took a deep breath. She would not falter this easily. Those damned pilot rip-offs would not take her for a fool again. She was the national pride of England, for god's sake. And above all, she would not be defeated in front of Ichika.

She gritted her teeth. Only 80 percent of her shield left. Should be enough. She still had plenty of energy for her weapon and Tears. She still had her secret weapons intact. She could pull this off, right?

"It's alright, Ichika-san...we could still do this. We will not be played with again like before. We could still show them that IS is superior to Titans, and we'll teach them a lesson not to underestimate us. Right Ichika-san?

...Ichika?"

Cecilia looked at her partner, who was still solidified like a statue. She wondered why he hasn't responded yet. Is his comms device broken or something?

Unknown to her, Ichika was horror-struck. He wasn't scared. He was terrified. Terrified of the metallic beasts in front of him. Not for the same reasons others would have.

He was terrified, because he had seen them before.

3 years ago, during the second Mondo Grosso championship, when he was kidnapped and taken hostage by a terrorist group, an incident which forced his sister Chifuyu, to forfeit the finals just to come to his aid.

His memories of the event were hazy at best, but he did remember one thing that stood out the most, among other things.

He remembered the menacing lights illuminating his face coming from the lens of a large metallic being. So large it towered over everything else in its vicinity. Its cold grip rubbing across his bloodied face. The faceless chassis and its singular luminous eye radiating malevolence, an inhuman stare that could kill him a hundred times over.

He didn't know what the thing was, but it terrified him to the core. To this day he still didn't know.

Until now.

"-chika!? ICHIKA!!"

Cecilia's panicked voice forced him back to reality. Ichika realized he had unintentionally spaced out for a minute, mentally paralyzed by the visage in front of him.

"I..I'm sorry, Cecilia. I wasn't paying attention."

"Are you alright? What's wrong!?"

"It..it's nothing. I'm fine, Cecilia."

"Ahem..you guys done?"

Another male voice grabbed both IS pilots' attention. Halfway across the arena several metres under them, stood the two Vanguard-class Titans, one of them with its chassis wide open showing Jack Cooper in his Pilot cockpit, as if trying to mock them.

Ichika gulped. He had no idea how to fight against these hulking automatons. Their massive size and weight might suggest they're incapable of flight, which would give both him and Cecilia an upper hand.

The problem with that is, while Cecilia would have no trouble commencing aerial strikes, Ichika needed to get up close and personal if he wanted to land a hit, since Byakushiki only has one close range weapon in its arsenal. They needed to come up with a solid plan if they were to take both Titans out.

"What's the plan, Ichika-san?" Cecilia asked.

"Cecilia, you have your rifle and your Tears, right? Use them. I'll try to get close if I can. We'll attack from different sides, and try to separate them."

"Be careful."

Cecilia immediately flew away from the ground level, taking advantage of her height, her Starlight Mk.III rifle equipped.

Ichika's IS immediately transformed into a 1st Shift, the result of the IS' complete configuration settings to suit the functions of its user. The Yukihira Type 2 blade shone brightly under the sunlight, held on his right hand.

He will win this battle, not just for himself, but for Cecilia, and most importantly, for Chifuyu as well.

_

Jack Cooper closed the open chassis of BT-7274, preparing to battle the two IS pilots alongside his new partner.

This wasn't his first time fighting an IS, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last.

"BT, change loadout to 'Tone'."

BT immediately summoned a 40mm Tracker Cannon to his robotic palms, imitating the IS' Equalizer technology.

"Pilot, I sense high energy levels coming from the IS unit designated, 'Byakushiki'. I suggest proper caution."

Upon hearing BT's warning, Jack gazed upon a sight that he'd never thought he would see. Ichika Orimura's IS was suddenly covered in bright light, and in a split second, his IS had changed appearance.

The metal plates seemed more robust in a way, now sporting a mostly white and blue color pattern, with its outermost metal wings which imitate the flight feathers of an avian, seemed as if they were made of gold.

Now that was interesting. Jack didn't know an IS could do that. This might be more challenging than he thought.

"Well, that was pretty interesting. Thanks for the heads up, BT."

"Copy that, Pilot."

"..here is where you say, 'you're welcome'."

"You're welcome, Pilot."

He opened up a comms link to Zoe, inside her Titan, LZ-4117.

[Link Established.]

"Got any plans, Zoe?"

"I'll be using a Northstar loadout, providing you with fire support from a distance. Considering your Tone loadout, I highly suggest utilizing your Particle Wall ability and create suppressive fire. Use your rockets as much as possible."

"You wouldn't need to tell me that, but fair enough."

He couldn't help but smirk. This ought to be fun.

Meanwhile, Zoe's Titan, LZ-4117, spoke to her Pilot in a feminine but robotic voice.

"Zoe, I suggest we focus onto the male pilot and his IS, as our loadout should prove advantageous against his strictly melee unit. Jack Cooper could concentrate on the female pilot as his loadout should provide ample firepower against her unit."

"Understood. Let's do this, Liz."

Zoe, while surprisingly showing a bit of emotion towards LZ, or "Liz", sprinted to the back with the Railgun in hand, leaving Jack and BT in the front as he immediately deployed a Particle Wall in front of him.

Two consecutive high-powered shots made contact with the Wall, courtesy of Cecilia and her laser rifle. Ichika dashed forward aiming for Jack, but he was forced to dodge an incoming round from Zoe's Railgun.

Cecilia opened fire upon Jack, but her energy rounds were stopped by the Particle Wall. Jack responded by firing his Tracker Cannon towards her, but she was quick enough to dodge the rounds.

She was surprised, however, when Jack suddenly fired a barrage of rockets from BT's Acolyte Pod.

Instinctively, she flew away from the rockets' flight pathway. Or at least, that's what she hoped.

Instead, the Tracking Rockets continued to pursue Cecilia's IS, forcing her to perform several quick maneuvers to lose the tail.

As she was busy dodging the rockets, she failed to see the oncoming projectiles from Jack's Tracker Cannon. Several explosive rounds impacted her shield, draining a percentage of her energy.

Jack prepared to fire again, but his attention was swayed away from Cecilia and onto Ichika as he saw the male pilot in his Byakushiki dashing around the edges of the arena, in an attempt to attack him from behind.

Ichika's effort bore no fruit as he was stopped by a powerful energy round impacting his shield, coming from Zoe's Plasma Railgun.

Ichika immediately dashed away, dodging three more shots from Zoe's railgun. Cecilia regained her composure and aimed her weapon towards Zoe, but then her Titan did something unexpected. It vanished.

Confusion once again clouded her mind, followed with frustration.

'Again!? You coward!!'

Scowling, she frantically searched the entire arena to look for the missing Titan, but it was fruitless. Another energy round impacted her shield from behind, and her shield level is reduced to 50 percent.

Panicking, she took off to the air further and deployed her Tears, all of them focused on the female Pilot and her Titan, surprising the latter.

Zoe couldn't react on time, and she received numerous shots from Cecilia's Tears, before she managed to dash away in safety. As she was busy dashing away, however, she failed to react to Cecilia's quick shot from her laser rifle, and her Titan's first shield bar was completely drained.

At the same time, Ichika swiftly dodged Jack's shots and even made quick work of his Tracking Rockets, before diving in and delivered a powerful slash on his side, draining his Titan's first shield bar. He quickly made a quick turn with his thrusters and delivered another slash to completely drain his first bar, not giving the Titan Pilot a chance to recover, before flying away.

Both IS pilots grinned, delighted at the fact that they managed to drain the Titans' shields. But their same satisfaction, was replaced with horror when they glanced upon the screen displaying their shield levels.

The Titans' shield bars which they had just drained, for some reason refilled itself back to full, within seconds. At first they thought it was just a hallucination, but then the IS pilots dreadfully realized what exactly happened.

'They have regenerating shields!!?'

They didn't know it at first, but all Vanguard-class Titans were equipped with not one, but two bodyshields, with the outer shield having significantly less energy capacity but can be regenerated over time, and the second one having a large energy caapcity at the expense of not being able to recharge itself in battle. A powerful defensive advantage only the Titans possessed.

Ichika gulped in fear. He couldn't think of a way for them to win this match. If the Titans' shields could simply regenerate itself, they could keep fighting without end for long periods of time, and by then, both him and Cecilia would've run out of energy and lost the match.

Cecilia was terrified, but mostly enraged. She couldn't imagine how much more hidden tricks these Pilots could pull off to surprise them, and she was genuinely scared of knowing the answer. Her pride and arrogance had vanished. She had underestimated those Pilots, and now it was coming back to bite her in the face.

But she refused to give up that easily. Titans may be able to take a lot of punishment, but they sure as hell aren't invincible. She theorized that perhaps only the first energy shield, with such a small energy capacity, would have the ability to recharge itself. The second energy shield would function the same way as an IS shield, albeit with a much higher capacity.

If she could try to concentrate fire on one of the Titans without stopping, there is a chance she could overpower the first shield's regenerative factor and drain the second gradually. That is, if her theory was correct.

The problem is, she would need Ichika's help to distract one of them so she could concentrate on the other.

"Ichika!! Pay attention to me! We need to-"

A powerful energy projectile whizzed past where her head used to be, which would've hit its mark if she didn't react fast enough. Ichika had to do the same as another cluster of rockets flew after him.

Jack and Zoe knew that giving the IS pilots time to recover and formulate a plan would be stupid, so they decided to stop them from being able to conversate with one another. In war, you don't give your enemy any chances.

"Ichika!! We need to-ugh!!...we need to find a way to overcome their shields! I'll focus my Tears on one of them and you distract the other!!" Cecilia voiced out to Ichika while mid-flight, narrowly avoiding the railgun shots.

"Alright!!" Ichika zig-zagged, avoiding Jack's explosive rounds, and closing in towards him. He knew that he would have a bigger advantage up close with his Yukihira Type 2, he just needed to avoid getting shot by then.

As he was getting close, Ichika swung his blade towards Jack's Titan, but the latter saw it coming.

A large chainsaw blade clashed with Ichika's sword, catching him off guard. The vibrating chains created a deafening sound of clashing metals, forcing Ichika to back away, worried that his blade may get damaged.

Jack dashed to the side and aimed his Tracker Cannon at Ichika, but the latter swerved around him to evade his shots.

Jack aimed again, but his efforts were crushed when he received a barrage of attakcs from Cecilia's Tears, which happened to be doing a good job of keeping both him and Zoe preoccupied. At the same time, she fired a cluster of rockets towards Zoe, prompting the latter to Cloak once more, hiding herself from gunfire.

As Jack was distracted, Ichika thought of an idea, utilizing his last resort to immediately drain Jack's Titan's bodyshields completely, but it came at a high risk, a risk he was willing to take.

Activating his One Off Ability, Reiraku Byakuya, Ichika visibly saw the shield meter of his IS drastically going down. He knew that executing this attack would have a high chance of eliminating him from the match the moment his shield go down to zero, but if it meant giving Cecilia more of a chance, he'll gladly take the risk.

As the Yukihira Type 2 transformed into an energy blade, Ichika used his Ignition Boost, propelling him forward, and tried to surprise him from behind, swiftly bringing it down to BT's chassis.

"AaaaaaAAAAGHH!!!"

Emphasis on the word "tried".

In a sudden, almost comedic move, Yukihira's hilt was almost immediately stopped by BT's cold, metal hand. Yukihira's blade was barely touching BT's layered bodyshield.

Followed by the whole crowd who was present in the match, slack-jawed.

Ichika himself was frozen stiff, completely caught off-guard by the action.

Jack decided to speak out through BT's speaker, in the middle of the pause.

"Here's a pro tip, kid: don't shout your attacks."

In a split second, BT's chassis opened, and Jack suddenly jumped out of his cockpit and climbed onto Ichika's IS, surprising Ichika. He tried to move, but BT's firm grip on the hilt of his sword proved it was easier said than done.

Jack almost instantly attached an Arc Star onto Ichika's IS' right wing, before jumping off and grappling back to his cockpit, followed by BT's chassis promptly closing.

BT's grip eventually loosened, but before Ichika could do anything, he was sent flying away with a kick, courtesy of BT.

Ichika tried to move in for another attack, but the Arc Star activated itself, and Ichika's Byakushiki suffered a serious electrical shock, disabling his wings causing him to crash to the ground.

In a fraction of a second, Jack fired another barrage of Tracking Rockets towards Ichika while he was down, effectively depleting his already low shield reserves to zero, forcing the activation of his Absolute Barrier.

"Ichika Orimura: Eliminated."

"ICHIKA!!!"

Cecilia was furious at this point. She released all available rockets on her Blue Tears, and directed all her Tears towards Jack's Titan.

Her attacks bore some fruition, as she managed to drain BT's recharging shield and even draining 10 percent of his permanent shield.

She didn't know it, but this would be the last time she would be able to smile in this match.

"Salvo Core Online."

BT's robotic voice became music in Jack's ears.

"Flight Core Online."

Zoe kept her face stoic, but deep inside she also felt a hint of satisfaction.

Simultaneously, both Titans fired a volley of missiles from their Acolyte Pods, shocking Cecilia to the core. She wasn't expecting such a heavy attack coming from both Titans at once.

She desperately flew away and tried to outmaneuver the missiles, but LZ's fast suppressive missiles accompanied by BT's storm of homing missiles eventually managed to overwhelm her. There were just too many of those damned missiles.

The combination of two successive Core Abilities and the seemingly endless hail of explosives coming her way eventually left Cecilia with no room to evade, and her shield took massive damage, emptying her energy reserves as well.

"Cecilia Alcott: Eliminated.

End of Match. Winner: Jack Cooper and Zoe Grey."

_

The whole atmosphere of the arena was...a distasteful mixture of melancholy and bitterness, to say the least.

After all, the sight of a national representative, and the younger sibling of the first Brunhilde, getting their asses practically handed over to them, wasn't exactly the prettiest sight to behold.

Students were gasping, wide-eyed, trying to comprehend what had happened. Some were even sobbing and crying, unable to supress their emotions.

Houki Shinonono stood in silence, filled with heartache. Waves of discontent at the outcome of the match plagued her. She couldn't accept the fact that Ichika would lose so easily.

But alas, she had no power to change reality. The Infinite Stratos lost, and lost hard. The IS Academy, and gradually the world, had finally seen the true power of the Titans and their Pilots.

She didn't want to see it happen again. She didn't want to see Ichika lose badly again. She swore that she'll help him get better. Hammond Robotics won this time, but there's always another chance.

Her fists shook with hatred. She wasn't angry at the fact that the Infinite Stratos lost, she was angry that Ichika was the one at the receiving end of it.

This will not be the end. She will make sure of it.

_

Silence filled the observation room.

The recent spectacle was mournful for some, but also drew fascination from others.

Chifuyu's eyes were grim. She was disappointed that Ichika lost, but that was to be expected. Titans...they were too powerful. Even proving too much for a 3rd Gen IS to bear. Granted, both Cecilia Alcott and Ichika Orimura weren't total experts in IS, since they were both still students. They barely managed to scratch their shields, but the Titans took them out swiftly in less than 3 minutes.

But based on her observations alone, each Titan had an overwhelming amount of firepower, combined with their impressive defensive power, created a terrifying force to be reckoned with. These things obviously weren't created for mere sports, but for war. The IS had also been proposed for military use before, but the Alaska Treaty had prevented that. Still, it didn't stop some..unconventional parties from using them though.

Even the Pilots alone showed incredible combat skill without their Titans, unfit for mere "students". Their firearms were obviously designed by Lastimosa Armory, a company specializing in advanced infantry weaponry. Their manufactured weapons were much more powerful than standard infantry firearms, capable of dealing sizable damage even to IS. But those were essentially military-grade weapons. Yet these "students" possessed it in their armory.

Their equipments were like nothing she had ever seen before. Most of them seemed like IS Equalizers or Titan equipments but miniaturized for use by a single person. Hammond's tech was truly nothing to be scoffed at.

Furthermore, the Pilots' combat skill during the first minute suggested that this, may not be their first time against IS. That detail alarmed her, more than anything else.

It was pretty obvious at this point. Hammond wasn't merely sending students to showcase their tech. These teenagers were battle-hardened soldiers, trained for war, not for school tournaments.

"HA ha ha ha ha ha hah...oh Hammond, you always have a way to surprise us all."

Chifuyu was broken out of her thoughts by Tabane Shinonono's unexpected laugh and remark. It confused her how she seemed to take this rather well, since her creation had apparently lost this match against Hammond's creation.

"Oh, I could notice the bewilderment in your eyes, Chi-chan, but I'm also impressed by Hammond's marvel. Albeit slightly surprised they ripped off my favourite method of sending stuff down from the sky with their "Titanfall" method. I should've probably trademarked it.."

Tabane's expression suddenly changed into a sorrowful one, with tears in her eyes, almost comically.

"Ohh..but I'm also deeply saddened by the outcome..sob..it's such a shame that Ikkun lost, I had high hopes for him...sob..."

And her expression returned to her usual cheerful, and slightly boastful attitude.

"But!! Even the great genius Tabane prefers a challenge once in a while! It gets lonely if there's no one who could rival my invention and give me something fun to play with, and now...looks like I've found my match."

Tabane stared at the monitor screen in glee, her eyes focused on the display of the Titans, standing in triumph over the arena.

'Hammond...I accept your challenge.'

"Ahem, Orimura-san...you know what happens now."

Juuzou Kutsuwagi's voice alarmed Chifuyu. Of course she knew what would happen. The recorded clip of this match would be viewed by all the major leaders of the world, and even the heads of the major IS companies worldwide. Controversies are bound to happen. It's hard to predict how the public or the media would react once they found out.

"Interesting indeed...their massive size, though proven cumbersome, provides ample space for additional upgrades such as an increased battery capacity, which in turn increases the capacity of the energy shield, and even allowing rechargeable shields during battle. Also possessing physical compression technology used by standard IS for storing additional equipment, yet incapable of digital compression of themselves, lacking a closed form and required to be deployed via orbital drop. Their closed chassis offers more protection for their Pilots, perhaps suggesting a prolonged functionality during combat in case of depleted energy shield..."

"Ahem, Hikaruno-san.." Chifuyu's voice stopped Kagaribi's overdrawn explanation.

"Ahh, yes? Oh, sorry..I must've spaced out."

Chifuyu's attention returned to the monitor screen. Her emotion changed from contempt, to a sense of foreboding. She knew that others would feel the same way.

Two representatives of one of the largest companies in the world, showcasing the capabilities of their own tech against one of the most dangerous weapons known to man, and succesfully doing so in their favor. Almost like they intended to gain the attention of the entire world, showing the superiority of their Titans against a weapon that had been the most feared one by the whole globe for over a decade.

No doubt the records of this match would spread like wildfire. It's like they were purposefully trying to gain some unwanted attention from...less benevolent independent parties with ill intentions. She couldn't help but be perturbed.

This ought to be a very long year.

--

--

Author's Note

Another moderately long chapter from me. I tried to make the battle as realistic and fun as possible, so if you don't like it, sorry but if you do, well I'm glad to entertain. I mean, it looks cool and all in my head, but writing it down? Not so much.

Some of you who have played the games might notice how the Titans have additional abilities and equipments which weren't present in the canon. Like I said, the Titans are buffed in this story to make them more intimidating and challenging for the IS, since IS are just pretty OP even in the anime. I might even have to change some of their stats and abilities to make them fight better compared to their canon counterparts.

Yeah, I'm a Titanfall fan, of course I'm gonna side more heavily with the games. But I'm not going to completely bash on the anime, unless of course, that's what you want. In which case, I'll happily oblige. But then it wouldn't be an Infinite Stratos fanfic in the first place, so it wouldn't make sense.