Infinite Stratos: The White Unicorn of Hope

CHAPTER 1

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A/N:

I rewatched Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE again. And man, it was so peak. Personally, out of all the Gundam designs, Unicorn is just too good.

So here we are, two chapters in a day.

Maybe I'll do more of this? I have no idea; I never really planned this at all, but I just can't seem to get Unicorn out of my mind, so yeah. Maybe.

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"Hmmm... No matter how I try, this just doesn't work."

Shinonono Tabane muttered in thought as she looked at her holographic tablet floating in her hand, data rapidly flowing past the screen at high speeds. Sighing, she swiped her hand, letting it fade away, and grabbed a lollipop from her stash of candies in her desk before pushing herself backwards with her chair, letting the wheels guide her.

Spinning in place, she soon stopped herself once she reached her destination. Sucking on the lollipop, her eyes drifted up to the object standing on its feet. The shadows heavily covered its silhouette, yet there was enough light that shone in the dim room to reveal a long, horn-like structure attached to a helmet.

Relaxing on her chair, she stared at her lab's ceiling before wiggling in place, thinking about her cute sister that she hadn't seen for months, but she kept it together just in time before her instincts let loose again.

"I still can't break through its encryption... But I can feel myself getting closer to it. Sigh, looks like it's another all-nighter. Houkiiiii-channnnn, give me strength!"

Her eyes then flickered to her computer monitor, where the news of the past repeatedly played. 2 years since the White Knight incident, 1.5 years since the signing of the Alaska Treaty… Another year since she found this unidentified Infinite Stratos buried in the ground.

All fired up, she went back into research, this time determined to break through the Infinite Stratos' security and finally confirm her hypothesis!

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It was a miracle that their school had managed to get the permission to tour around the personal lab of the genius herself, Shinonono Tabane.

The Shinonono Tabane.

Inventor of the Infinite Stratos exoskeletons.

The woman credited with changing the world.

Ever since the signing of the Alaska Treaty nearly a decade ago, humanity has entered a new age, fueled by the development of IS technology, trying to either replicate or compete with her IS creations.

Granted, they were soon proven useless, though; to a pilot of an IS, the latest military tech would just be a toy in their eyes. With their inventions worthless, instead of scrapping their ideas, they’ve pivoted into other sectors and found much success.

An example would be the holographic display systems used everywhere. Originally designed by a defense contractor to mimic an IS’s visual interface by the Chinese, the technology proved laughably inferior in combat simulations. But rather than abandon it, the company pivoted and released it for civilian use. The result?

A global revolution in digital communication. And that was just one offshoot. There were countless more that tried and failed, deeming the IS as humanity's most valuable resource in the world.

So, it was not an exaggeration to say that he was very excited, especially as someone who dreamed of being an inventor… At least, that’s what he hoped to achieve.

"Still, I can’t believe that our small, no-name school managed to get the OK for this! Especially an all-boys school!"

"I know! Only girl schools are allowed to enjoy trips to IS research labs, let alone testing grounds! Man, what did the headmaster do to get this chance?"

Safe to say, everyone in his grade was excited for the tour. As for him? He was taking every single second that he had to film or snap pictures of all the machines and technologies that he came across after asking for permission, of course.

But the timing was rather weird. A week before high school entrance exams? Normally, no one in their right mind would schedule a trip like this, but this was Shinonono Tabane that they're talking about; studies be damned.

... That being said, at least he'd already done his studies beforehand. Countless mock exams later, he was certain that he'd be able to get an engineering scholarship with guaranteed work in college with the help of affiliated companies.

A sudden slap on the back snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking back with his camera still near his face, he saw a fellow classmate beckoning him to follow the tour group.

"Yo, Bakura! Hurry up; I think we're entering the weapons section now. I just saw some Presets laying around!"

Presets! Standardized modular weapons of an IS, they differ from Equalizers as they can be equipped to any IS without the fuss of their Core rejecting it! He had to take pictures of those!

"Hold on, just one more picture!"

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"Turn the third left down this hallway, and you should see the toilet sign."

"Thank you very much."

Bakura thanked the kind staff that gave him the directions to the toilet with a quick bow before walking to his destination. Ugh, he knew he was drinking too much water while in the bus, though it was his only way to calm his nerves at such an opportunity!

It's too bad that the genius herself didn't show up on the tour. With their time almost up, Bakura couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed, but he shrugged it off. It wasn’t realistic to expect her to entertain a bunch of curious teenage boys, especially from an all-boys school.

Her attention was most probably being used to scout out prestigious all-girls academies. That was time well spent, after all. Grooming the next generation of elite pilots to wield her Infinite Stratoses.

Finishing his business, he power-walked back to the meeting place of the tour, hoping to make it back before the school bus left without him, when a sudden shiver ran down his spine, stopping him in his tracks. Confused, he looked over to his right, where the sound of a door hissed.

At the end of a long hallway, a single door leading to a room swallowed in darkness was open. He couldn’t see anything from where he stood, but he was almost certain that it was off-limits, seeing that it was the only room down this corridor.

He tore his gaze away and refocused on finding the restroom, but another shiver crept down his spine.

Against his will, his eyes drifted back to the darkened room.

The sound of a mechanical hum whispered to his ears, as if something was quietly pulling him in. Before he even realized it, his legs were moving on their own. One step, then another. By the time awareness caught up to him, he was already standing just inches from the doorway.

'This... This is a bad idea, Bakura!'

But his thoughts were instantly shoved aside as the ceiling lights automatically turned on.

If he had to describe it... It was as if he was looking at a beauty. She was... perfect.

The armored suit stood tall and still, balanced by mechanical arms that held its body.

His eyes lit up, this IS...

The silhouette of the suit was streamlined and slim, unlike the usual bulky designs seen in an IS. With its interlocking angular panels, it was also longer and larger than the standard IS frame, almost twice the size.

However, the most jarring difference was the cockpit. More specifically, the lack thereof.

Every known IS shared a signature trait: an armorless cockpit area where the pilot would step into the suit, arms and legs inserted directly into its frame to achieve full synchronization with the IS.

But this suit had no such section. Instead, the torso was fully sealed with no opening or pilot chamber.

Actually, this reminds him of something... Yeah, it reminded him of old media! The machine itself looked like it came from the Mobile Suit Gundam show back in the 1970s!

The mechas were amazing to look at, and the story was second to none, but the show had to quickly end their run.

Its sponsors backed out just before the final stretch, leaving no funding to finish it properly. The show crashed and burned with its rush to the ending, skipping the climax and action completely.

Did Shinonono Tabane reference the mobile suits from the anime and create this? A full-armored IS?

He stepped into the room to have a closer look.

What was curious was the single, horn-like antenna on the helmet's forehead. He wondered what its main function was.

Some kind of advanced sensor? A communication array? It wasn't for aesthetic purposes, surely. Why else would the genius herself create such a thing?

Though the addition made him smile as he got close to the mech.

The horn-like antenna attached to its head made it look like his favorite mythical creature.

A Unicorn.

He reached out his hand and let his palm rest against the chest of the IS model. The metal was cool beneath his touch, the white finish smooth and flawless.

It was unfortunate that such a beautiful thing could only be used by women. The one critical flaw of the IS technology that he didn't agree with.

If he had the chance…

He'd definitely love operating this IS suit.

In an instant, the air shifted around the IS unit.

A metallic sound echoed across the room as the chest of the IS began to expand outward. Reeling his arm back, he stumbled back, eyes wide as the IS suddenly booted up.

Plates slid apart, light spilling out from the seams as the body of the machine slowly shifted and released.

A few seconds later, the transformation was complete. The front armor of the IS had seemingly split open like a blooming flower, revealing a padded cockpit inside.

Bakura stared, his breath caught in his throat.

If someone found him here, inside a restricted room, tampering with what was clearly unreleased technology, he’d be in more trouble than he could even imagine.

He took a step back, heart pounding, eyes darting toward the open door.

Something swelled within him. It stopped him mid-step, holding him in place. His eyes drifted back to the IS.

... Just a quick feel.

That’s all it would be. He wasn’t going to touch anything important. He'll just sit in the cockpit. In and out.

He closed the distance, standing just an inch away from the IS.

He took a deep breath, steeled himself, and stepped inside.

It was surprisingly more spacious than he thought. Not much room to fit a whole lot, but enough for a person's body to wiggle around in.

Turning carefully, he positioned himself so that his face was opposite the padded headrest.

He paused for a second, half-expecting alarms to blare or the machine to jolt and eject him on the spot.

Nothing.

With a determined expression, he slowly eased himself in, resting the rest of his body against the padding.

It was comfortable. Shockingly so. It's like resting your head on a newly bought luxurious car.

He let his arms relax against the material, carefully sliding them into the suit’s side limbs.

The interior lining automatically adjusted to his action, the material tightening around his arms with subtle mechanical shifts, molding perfectly to his arm's form for a snug, seamless fit.

A moment later, the same process occurred with his legs. Panels shifted, padding shaped, and the suit secured his lower body.

Now, everything below his torso was locked in place, leaving only his upper chest and head exposed to the cool air of the lab.

This was so sick... Wait a second.

'Now that I've calmed down a bit, how will I come out of the mecha now that my limbs are sealed—?'

As if reading his mind, the IS responded. The limb restraints released with a soft hiss, the material loosening and panels opening just enough to allow his arms and legs to be freed.

He blinked.

'OK, now that's sick.'

The sound of footsteps rushing down the hallway snapped him out of his thoughts.

His eyes widened.

Soon, a group of armed guards rounded the corner, weapons raised and aimed directly at him.

He froze.

Standing just behind them was a woman he recognized instantly, his group’s tour guide from earlier. Her eyes widened the moment she saw him inside the cockpit, her expression shifting from surprise... to something unreadable.

"I knew it; the hidden model that Professor Shinonono was experimenting on actually allows men to pilot an IS."

Snapping her fingers, she turned to one of the armed guards.

“Our window before the others notice the surveillance has been tampered with is twenty minutes. Get the IS and move out.”

The guards moved immediately, two of them advancing toward the cockpit.

"Boss, what about the kid?"

Bakura tensed up as a guard asked.

His eyebrows frowned, unsure if he should jump out, surrender, or just brace for pain to come.

The woman looked him dead in the eyes for a split second, then gave a curt nod.

"Dispose of him. If the IS responded to a middle school student, then it’ll respond to anyone else. We won’t have a use for him."

He must have looked like a deer in headlights as the cold barrel of a rifle was raised directly at his face.

His breath caught in his throat. His mind screamed at him to move, to speak, to do something, but his body refused to listen.

The guard’s finger hovered near the trigger.

His eyes shut tight, his fingers curling into the IS' frame as he braced for the shot.

Then—

A pulse jolted in his fingertips.

Before the guard in front of him pulled the trigger, the IS moved.

With a sharp whirr, the arm of the IS shot out, its fingers clamping around the barrel of the rifle before the guard could react.

Metal groaned under pressure as the barrel twisted and bent.

"Fire!"

Muzzle flashes erupted from the other guards in the room at the barked order of their leader.

Bakura flinched at the sudden burst of noise, but nothing hit him.

The mecha’s cockpit snapped shut with a mechanical clang, its chest and helmet locking into place with a final, airtight seal.

A hiss of pressurization followed, sealing him in darkness just as the sharp ping of ricocheting bullets rang out across the armor.

He held his breath as pale blue lights slowly flickered into existence.

A HUD materialized around him, wrapping his vision in a real-time display of everything happening outside the IS.

Bakura sat motionless inside the cockpit, processing everything as the HUD displayed everything with eerie clarity: locations of guards scrambling for cover, muzzle flashes lighting up the room, and alarms flashing red across the facility walls.

[PILOT REGISTERED: UCHIYAMA BAKURA]

[INITIALIZING SYNCHRONIZATION]

A female voice echoed before a wave of information flooded directly into his mind. In an instant, movement instructions, guides on how to pilot and maneuver it, the full specs of the IS, common and unique abilities, weapon loadout, remaining power and ammo supply, sensor and radar responses from the IS itself, available power output…

Everything flashed within his mind in a split second.

"… Ah."

Blood dripped from his nose. The information that was sent into his brain was overloading.

[SYNCHRONIZATION ACHIEVED]

[IS-0; MODEL NAME: UNICORN, ACTIVATE]

Outside, a green light flickered to life behind the IS helmet’s visor as the mechanical arms that had supported the frame unlocked and retracted, stepping away with a hiss of hydraulics.

"Shit, the IS is moving!"

"Mission aborted! We don't have the firepower to handle an IS on our own!"

"Damnit, everything was going to plan until...!"

Panic spread like wildfire. The guards scrambled back, some firing their weapons again despite knowing it was useless.

The woman in charge cursed under her breath, eyes locked on the now-active IS. But then, her grim expression turned into a smirk as she saw the IS move a step forward.

Even if she couldn't steal the IS, just the information that men can now pilot an Infinite Stratos, a privilege that only women were able to possess, would change the world!

And selling this information would make her a billionaire! If she walked out of here with that footage—

"Oya, it looks like there are intruders in my lab!"

The unmistakably high-pitched rang out through the room. Everyone froze.

Above them, a shimmering hologram snapped to life as a smiling woman with wild purple-pink hair twirled into frame, her signature pair of robotic rabbit ears bouncing with the motion.

"Hello, everyone! This is your lovely Shinonono Tabane speaking!"

The guards faltered. The woman in charge went pale. Even the gunfire stopped. But the genius didn't mind them as her eyes locked onto the only IS in the room.

"Hmm? What a development! A man actually using an IS? Hmph hmph, this is strange, but I like it!"

"Wait, so that IS is not meant to be piloted by males?"

One of the guards stammered, eyes darting between the screen and the machine.

"Of course not. The IS can only be piloted by females! Hey, boy inside of my cute IS, can I come over later and see what makes you tick?"

A shiver went down his spine as Bakura stammered.

"I-Uh... Sorry for using your IS, ma'am!"

Tabane threw her head back and laughed.

"No problem at all! And as for these little intruders... My people are already heading over as you speak, so try running!"

"Fall back!"

The woman barked, her smirk long gone, replaced by clenched teeth and darting eyes.

"We’re not getting caught here!"

One of the guards dropped his rifle altogether, bolting for the exit without a second thought. The others followed, retreating down the hallway they’d come from.

Tabane hummed playfully as she watched them scatter.

"Aww, leaving already? And here I was hoping for fireworks..."

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Things moved quickly after that.

Less than five minutes after Shinonono Tabane’s sudden appearance, the woman in charge and her group of armed guards were apprehended and swiftly placed under arrest, pending trial.

As for him... well, he didn’t even remember getting out of the IS or leaving the facility.

Everything after the incident was a blur.

He’d blacked out once the situation was under control, and when he came to, he was already back home with a doctor’s note beside his bed, explaining he’d fainted after the adrenaline wore off.

And next to the doctor’s note was a letter. For a moment, he thought he was still unconscious, seeing that this letter with its specific logo stamped on the envelope was addressed to him.

But after a firm pinch to his arm, he broke the seal and unfolded the paper.

"I...IS Academy?!"

He nearly choked on his own breath, doing a full spit take as he reread the letter twice, then a third time.

This had to be a mistake. He was a guy! How the hell did he get enrolled in the International Infinite Stratos Academy, the elite institution for training the next generation of female IS pilots?!

And the semester was due to begin... In a month's time?! His heart was not ready for this!