Because sometimes you look back on a work and realize that it could have been done so much better.

And because the first Prototype Spartan was written by an immature writer that thought hilarious awesomeness would trump actually good and believable story. Drill creation, pfft. What was I thinking? Or smoking, as well?

The original Prototype Spartan suffered from a lot of things: Lack of originality until the end, Testosterone Poisoning, an over reliance on references for humor, very little character development, not seeing the broad scope of things, and really, Protagonist Centered Morality.

This was an attempt to fix that.

Take a protagonist whose flaws are cleared shown at the beginning and not thrown in for some attempt at drama, deconstructive harem humor, psychological trauma, and take every possibility I could've gone down and mix. Then add in a bit of deconstructions and reconstructions.

By the way, if you don't like massive changes in characterization... might want to turn back now.

Regardless, another chance, another time. For better or for worse, it's up to you to decide.

Index One: The First of Many

"The hardest step is always the first. The one who comes before the others will always have the biggest challenge."

The boy was brought by his mother and father through the crowded streets on his father's shoulders, watching the parade with wide eyes as it went through the city.

They came to a small clearing in the crowd, where the father set him down, "Son, I have to ask you something."

"Sure, dad! Anything!"

"Son… when you grow up, will you be the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?"

"…Wha…?"

"Just say 'yes'."

"Then yes, dad! I will!"

He smiled, "Good. Son, I believe we are going to part ways here. Your mother and I have a job to get done. But your uncle, you met him once before, right?"

"Uncle Fisher?!"

"Yes, Uncle Fisher. He's going to take care of you, and train you so you can be that savior." He ruffled his son's hair, "Trust me on this, all right? I'll see you again some other time. Oh, and son?"

"Yes, dad?" he asked as the man named Uncle Fisher approached.

"I want you to have a new name. Hm… Orthun Kira. Yes. From now on, you will be known as Orthun Kira."

"But why?"

"Because, I want Orthun to mean savior and Kira to mean one who reclaims. And that is what you will be. Remember that, all right?"

"Okay!"

As the child was led away, the man named Fisher nodded as he walked past his brother. How regrettable that they had to do this…

"Are you ready, honey?" the father asked with a smile, feeling for the concealed and silenced pistols in his jacket. His wife nodded, readying her set of pistols as they stepped into the building.

It was time to ensure their son made it out.

N38 53.37119 W77 2.11619

"Red Dawn"

Washington DC

April 1st, 2022. 1456 Hours

Day 137 of the 'People Wars'

"This is Deep Blue," I whispered into my comm unit, holding my USP .45 close and at the ready as I looked around again for any soldiers, "Pushing towards the objective in fifteen seconds."

"Copy that, Deep Blue."

"Father Eagle, relay to Shakespeare and Mouse that they go in twenty seconds after I open fire." I holstered my pistol sidearm and readied my UMP 45, silenced and iron sights, "Going in, three secs."

"Got it."

Three. Two. One.

In a heartbeat I sprung up and emptied four bullets into the back of a Russian soldier, and by the time he sunk to the ground I had opened fire on a second. Blink. He hit the ground. Good.

One came up behind me, his footsteps somewhat heavy. However, I spun around and drew my sidearm while dodging, quickly emptying two shots into his face. Crap, I was really hoping not to have to use my unsilenced gun!

I heard some barking in Russian and immediately threw myself over one of the tables in the fancy restaurant I was storming, knocking said table over, throwing napkins and velvet table liner onto the ground. Springing up in a second, I peered around the area. Left. Right. Left. Ri-

There they are!

Gunfire erupted in the small fancy restaurant, salt and pepper shakers exploding when bullets hit them, the somehow not broken vases shattering from stray and rebound bullets. The skirmish continued, with small bursts of fire being returned every now and then from both parties.

Click click click! Damnit, damnit! Reload…!

"Surprise, motherfucker!" Hooray for English!

After inserting my next magazine I peered over the table again and found my two friends Mickey and Romeo standing over three dead Russian soldiers nearby the kitchen doorway. Mickey shook his head, light brown hair swaying in the dusty light which sparkled off of his M4A1 carbine, "Always wanted to say that."

"This isn't a game," said Romeo, with his dirty blonde hair discolored by dirt, "Don't do that next time. You doing all right, Deep Blue?"

"Yeah." I nodded, brushing some dust off of my clothing, "Come on you two, let's take out the objective. You see it on the way here?"

Romeo shrugged, shifting the weight of his sniper rifle, which I believed to be an Intervention, "My best guess is the manager's office. We'll scout out ahead. You report back."

"Copy that," I quickly got on the comms again, "Father Eagle, this is Deep Blue. Taking the objective now."

Now would be a great time to explain, since this is a slight moment of reprieve.

My name is Kira Orthun, and right now the Russians have hit all over the East Coast and West Coast in response to what was seen as a massacre in a Russian airport, something about a deep cover operation to take out an extremist or something like that, but those were rumors. Of course, it could be far worse. We could have Infinite Stratos units raining down on us, but no country can apparently use their super death mech suits against each other because of this 'Alaska Treaty' that they've got going.

I heard that they're actually considering ending the conflict soon because each country's IS pilots are itching to go fight, but can't.

Anyways, the Infinite Stratos is this mech suit that can do a bunch of crap like fly, shoot lasers, and slice and dice things with a massive sword, but the really big thing is that it outperforms almost all modern weaponry. I think the only thing that can really beat it in a one on one match is a nuke to the face. Anyways, it does this with this technology known as Absolute Barrier, which is some sort of 'immovable object' bullshit that you can't break through until you deplete its energy reserves.

So yeah, we could have that raining on us, but hey, I'm glad one isn't here.

Oh by the way, the only catch is that these things have is that they are only pilotable by women. And that threw gender inequality for one hell of a loop. I mean hell, we were almost actually getting a balance in the world! Both women and men had made great strides side by side in all fields of science and arts. Then came this thing and that all got thrown out the window by the loud minority of extremists.

Anyways, enough rambling. Mission time.

"Found it," Mickey grinned as he picked the lock, "This is definitely one of their radio stations. Let's take it out."

We opened the door to find some radios here and there, but it wasn't a major ops center. Probably just a field outpost. Meh, it's something to take back D.C. with.

I primed a grenade and left it in the room, shut the door, and waited for the explosion. Check if everything's take out… yeah, it's good, "Let's get the hell out of here."

We double-timed it to the entrance, and immediately ran back in due to a very frightening sight.

A fully-fricking-loaded BTR.

Mickey screamed for us to get back as we threw ourselves inside, the glass windows shattering as we made our way to the kitchen, more yells of Russian behind us. Following Mickey, who was usually our 'rabbit', we busted through the kitchen doors and then vaulted over tables, sliding on the marble countertops.

"Go, go, go!" I yelled, turning back for a second and aiming a few good shots to some soldiers entering the doorway, delaying their pursuit. I snapped back to running as a loud THUD! Rang out, said thud having been Mickey bashing through the metal emergency doors. I quickly ran in pursuit, catching up to my friends, "This is Deep Blue to Father Eagle: Objective destroyed, BTR came through the front, we are currently running…" I looked at Romeo who had a compass strapped where a watch would normally be. He gave me a thumb down, "South from the objective! Unknown street!"

"Copy that, Deep Blue. Link up with Dieselmine Team, last I heard they were around that area. They could use some he-" I couldn't hear him due to the sound of an impact from the right, "Keep running!"

"What the hell, drop shock troopers?!" Mickey screamed.

I dared to take a look, and saw a massive hulking metal beast standing up from the dirt hill it created, "Shit! Is that an IS?!"

"Screw this, this is not what we're fighting! Let's link up with Dieselmine like we were told!" Romeo hissed while we ran, "I can imagine the amount of hell this is going to raise, using the IS to stop this conflict. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Russian ISes by the time the day is out."

Another impact slowed us down, this time right in front of us. We didn't even have time to blink as a wall of water came up to protect itself, "Fuck, it's targeting us! Get back!"

Make a left, run down the street, shooting any hostile soldiers in the way, "Father Eagle, we have been rerouted, but trying to make our way down to Dieselmine! Possible IS sightings in the area!" Silence on the comms, "Father Eagle, do you copy?"

…nothing.

"Well shit." Mickey said, grumbling as we ducked into a family store, "Out in the middle of contested territory with no backup. We've got slow death by Russian soldiers or death by IS unit. Pick your poison."

"Fuck that." I growled, "I'm going in a damn blaze of glory. Anyone else's comms working though?"

"Phone's dead," Romeo sighed, "And Eagle shared his last comm with you, and he's possibly out."

Damn. No comms, limited ammo, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Sounds like the making for a good tragic ending to a movie. Though this is reality, we aren't going to have some sort of gunship rescue.

"Let's at least try to link up with Dieselmine." Mickey suggested, "It's the best we can do for now."

"I think so," I nodded, "Let's get out of here. Anyone got any explosives on them?"

"Still have that one package of C4 left," Romeo said, taking it out from his pack and handing it to me alongside the detonator, "Here, take this."

"Going to use it for a distraction if need be," I explained, putting it in my pack, "Let's roll, boys."

It wasn't even five minutes before we got holed up near a downed heli, almost completely surrounded. Didn't help that I had my rather conspicuous blue king chess piece patched insignia on me. I had a bit of reputation going around these parts, the infamous 'Deep Blue' that killed those that dared to invade the home country of mine.

Truth be told, there were other pockets of resistance that had also gotten their stories passed around throughout the warzones. I heard there was one pocket of resistance led in New York, a bunch of teens that were led by a guy who called himself 'Sam I Am' that had been taking the city back as well alongside real soldiers like us and the Rangers.

Unfortunately though, we had lost a guy way back when this started. My best friend Luke D'Lorean. Got his right leg blown off by a grenade and his left burned. He stayed behind to ensure we got away, firing his gun the whole way until I couldn't hear it anymore.

The fighting suddenly ceased though, as the two metal giants from before entered the area. Every soldier froze, aim tracing back and forth between the two. Wait, that first one I saw… it's got US insignias! The other… crap, Russian!

"Do not be alarmed. The fighting has ceased. Put down your weapons." I heard a female voice say from the US one. I think the Russian one said the same thing, but in Russian, "There is no more need for fighting. The governments of the United States and Russia have come to peace terms due to the massive death toll on both sides."

I gestured for my team to move out quietly towards our US ally, who moved towards us. And death toll? Pfft, I think the Infinite Stratos pilots snapped or were about to for this to happen.

We all froze again as the hiss of a rocket being released filled the air, and in a heartbeat I felt myself being pushed aside from the deadly proje- gAH! Shit…! It pushed me into some debris… oh fuck… I don't think metal is supposed to go through my left shoulder like that…!

The Russian one quickly started barking commands as the US one quickly took me off my death pike, "You two, come with me. Watch our backs for any more idiots."

I started mumbling something, I don't know what, but I might have been going into shock. I felt cold metal clamp down on the wound, trying to keep it shut, "Sorry about that. But if I can get you there fast enough, it'll be better than you getting splattered across the sidewalk."

With that, we flew, Mickey and Romeo jogging behind us, keeping pace as the IS here tried not to go too fast but also keep me from dying out a rather slow death. The fact she kept the wound shut was probably helping me right now…

I blinked, the world become a bit fuzzy and suddenly flying didn't feel very nice. Gah…

"It's straight down the road! I need to hurry!" the pilot shouted down below before taking off at high speeds, cradling me to protect me from the winds. In about thirty seconds she had stopped and quickly laid me on a stretcher, "I have one here, shoulder, near fatal damage! His arm's about to fall off!"

I rolled my head to the left to see a purple haired woman with a massive metal box behind her, "My… with this damage it'll be too difficult at this point to repair his arm like the others… and with this much blood loss…?" she shook her head, "I'm not sure if-"

A new voice, "Tabane, you may want to look again at our newest patient's identity."

"Hm, Epsilon? Oh… Ah, no I remember now. I've got just the thing."

She knelt down beside me and I stared into her vivacious purple eyes, "I want to ask you something. Before I do this, you need to know that what I'm going to do is going to hurt, and I can't explain everything that's going to happen when I help you. You can ask me whatever you want when you wake up, but I can't tell you all the details in time. Can you trust me?"

I blinked again, vision going hazy, "…do…it…"

"I'm going to need some anesthesia," she quickly said to someone, who ran off. The metal box opened with a hiss, and she took out a metal arm and a small glowing orb. I blinked again, and suddenly the world was growing black.

My eyes closed, and the world melted away to the sound of my friends getting here, turning all black.

And then it turned red like hellfire, and unimaginable pain flooded every damn sense of my existence.

[Unknown Coordinates]

"New and Improved"

[Unknown Location]

[Unknown Time and Date]

Blink. Blink.

Awake…?

Alive.

Wait, alive!

Servos seemed to whine as I stretched my- hold on, what?

Whoa that's a metal left arm.

I closed my eyes and struggled to remember what had happened before I blacked out. Right… hurting like hell, massive arm damage and sheer pain. But there was a robotic arm and glowing orb…

I turned around to look at a mirror. My eyes were alright, and the scars of combat were still there, black hair a bit fringed by fire. But this time, there was this glowing orb in my chest. Hold on, no. My eyes weren't alright. I had some sort of eye thing where my right eye was red now. But still, robotic arm.

"Hey, he's up!" Mickey said as he walked into the room with a wheelchair, "Dude, you really shouldn't be walking around…"

"Like hell I'm getting in the wheelchair," I hissed, taking a few tentative steps, before sinking to the ground. Or would have, had Mickey not caught me and put me into the wheelchair, "Ugh…"

"You've been out for a week." Mickey explained, "Or so. It's what… April 14th. Actually no, make that two weeks. Tabane was feeding you with some IV needles, but since you showed signs of waking yesterday we took you off since I told her how much you hate having needles stuck in you."

"Thanks," I whispered, trying to stretch my legs, "Man I hate wheelchairs…"

"I know you do. But you gotta survive for now in this thing." He patted me on the head as he rolled me into the main room, where an unknown blonde and that purple hair woman from before were sitting, "Hey everyone."

"I'm sorry!" the blonde woman quickly said, standing up, "Ah! My name is Natasha Faires, the pilot of the unit that accidentally injured you, I should have been paying more attention when I shoved you from that rocket and could've just jumped in front of it! I don't know how to make up for-"

I stopped her by cutting in, "It's been done. It's the past. You saved me from a rocket."

She flushed slightly, "Still, it was my first time dealing with civilians in the combat area. I think it could've gone better."

"You still saved me, that should count. You saved us as well," I gestured with my head to Mickey, "We were all but screwed there."

"Admittedly, it could have gone better though." She repeated, "I don't suppose you'll mind explaining that to my superiors?"

"Of course," I nodded, "You saved my life, plus I got a robot arm. Now, if only it came with an energy cannon, then I could dress in all blue and be X. Except this time I don't hesitate with the trigger." That earned me a whap on the head from Mickey, "Anyways, if you need me to help you out or something, then no problem. Just phone me… hold on, this architecture here is not American. Where are we?"

"Japan. Kyoto, to be exact." Tabane quickly informed me, "We brought you here to discuss a few things. As soon as Hultimter-san gets ba-"

"I'm here." Romeo's apathetic voice cut through Tabane's voice as he set two bags on the table, "Sorry I took so long. It's been a while since I had to speak Japanese."

"I wasn't relying on Kira being awake," he gestured, as if giving mock irritation at my awake-ness being an inconvenience, "So I just brought instant food. Tell me next time, idiot, so I'll buy ingredients for you to cook."

I rolled my eyes, "Lazy. Anyways, yeah. I'm starved. We can cover this stuff while we eat, right?"

"I guess," Mickey shrugged, looking at Tabane, "Or shall we cover it now while Kira's not so strong?"

"What, is it going to piss me off?" I asked jokingly as Romeo tossed me a package. What's the worst that it could-

"You're an IS hybrid now."

The only thing that broke the silence was the dropping of my carton of yet-to-be-made ramen noodles, the contents shaking and breaking inside the packaging. We all sort of just stood there for a while, no one really knowing what to say.

I… I have become the thing that ruined society? I have… what have I become?! Some monster, some crazy half human, half machine psychopath now?!

"Before you blame her," Romeo said, "It was the only way to save you. Forgive us for being selfish and wanting to save your bleeding-out ass. The red eye is a side effect of that. It… well, to put it shortly, you've got a mini monitor and computer in you."

"I know that much. And what? But yes, I just remember being told that I wouldn't know what she was going to do to me," I pointed an accusatory finger at Tabane, "But I didn't exactly expect it to be this of all things. Just what the fuck am I now?"

"A half man, half Infinite Stratos mix," Natasha further explained, "The natural fluidity of a human, the movement capabilities and computational ability of a machine. And don't worry, we're all sworn to secrecy here. Not even the US government is going to catch wind of this, on Tabane's orders."

"You take her orders over theirs?"

"Hey," she shrugged, "The US might be able to take Silvero Gospel away from me, but Tabane's the one that even had the tools to let it be built. And build a lot more, if she wanted to."

"Point taken. Continue."

"Anyways, that's really it. There aren't too many cases… or any at all, if I recall correctly. Though those 'Hybrids' might just be unreported."

I felt a chill go down my spine and knees, despite being in a wheelchair, go weak.

She's a Hybrid, Kira. The greatest state one can achieve. She'll show you why women are far superior! Now, stand still for me, alright? Or this might hurt a bit more than it has to. And you know what they say, pain before pleasure, no? Ohhellwhyowpain

"Kira!" Mickey yelled, snapping me back to reality, waving a hand in front of my face, "Deep breaths, Kira."

In, out. In, out. In… out… "I'm good now."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew... you went a little comatose there for a second."

"That therapy wasn't helping anyways." I quipped with a small shrug. I looked at the two girls who looked at me in confusion, "Post traumatic stress disorder. Been having therapy for a while but it wasn't working. By the way, you two call home?"

"Home's doing alright," Romeo stated, "Uncle Fisher's dead though. Went down making sure our school was knocked out fighting. Funeral's in a week."

I flinched. Uncle Fisher, gone…? The man who had taught me everything I knew about combat, dead? Hell, he was the one who taught me how to shoot a gun safely and accurately in the first place.

"Anyways, it's best we focus on the now," Romeo said, cutting in, "After we eat though. It's best that Kira has something substantial in his stomach, even if it is just instant ramen."

"Kira, would it kill you not to eat so messily?" Asked an irked Romeo across the table as I wolfed down my fourth package of ramen noodles. I really didn't care that I was dripping some parts onto my bare chest, because damn it, I was hungry and would not do anything much until I wasn't dying of starvation!

"Hey, let him do as he wants," Natasha quickly cut in.

"Right, because I'm sure that you're getting an eyeful."

"Shut up!"

"If I remember right, charges can be brought up if you cross the age of 18-" he ducked underneath a thrown plastic knife, "Just saying."

"Kira, put on a damn shirt!" Mickey shouted.

"No!" yelled three voices, but only one (mine) continued, "I am freaking hungry! I will put on a shirt afterwards! Let me eat!"

"I can think of some things that might like to get eaten out." Romeo said in a completely stoic voice, earning him two thrown plastic knifes from Tabane and Natasha, to which he smoothly dodged. Meanwhile, Mickey was having soup come out of his nose as he stifled his laughter, "I count seven. However, I'm not sure if we'll have enough sausage to feed those who want some. I know Mickey doesn't like that on his pizza and neither do I." Plastic forks this time were thrown. I merely raised an eyebrow.

"Is something amiss?" I asked at the two women at the table, "Or is it just Romeo being his stoic snarking self?"

"Perverted asshole," Natasha grumbled.

"Baka hentai," Tabane mumbled in her probably native Japanese, eyeing him evilly.

"Romeo, I have no idea what you have just said to irk them, but don't make any more comments."

"Alright Kira," he shrugged, "It might be a little hard though, and it could take a really long time since you know that I enjoy making a sarcastic remark as fast as possible. And if you want to make such a big deal out of it-"

"Romeo, I don't think you're exactly helping right now," Mickey said between stifled laughter, pounding his chest to maybe get out any food that could get him to choke in his laughter, "S-seriously, stop it man. Oh man…"

Romeo gave a smile that was rather unnerving, "Very well then."

"Good. It wouldn't be such a good idea to mistreat our saviors now, would it?" I chided, taking on my 'commander' persona within my group of friends. Usually the way it played out between us four (Romeo, Mickey, Luke, and I) for almost anything involving the group was I'd have commanding roles such as organizing, telling them what needed to be grouped, etc. Luke would have the alternative command, presenting other ways to get the job done on which we'd compromise. Romeo played the third party who called out what was wrong on both sides, while Mickey did the same except for what was right. It turned out alright…

I immediately reached over into my now cleaned up jacket and dug into the inner zipped pocket and pulled out Luke's old Halo necklace, the main part of it being the Legendary symbol. I put held it in my hands, staring at it, realizing that my best buddy in the world, the guy who always had my back, was gone.

The lighthearted mood that we had evaporated on the spot, and I blinked rapidly, trying to push away the tears.

"Hey," Natasha's voice called out alongside her reaching out hand, "I… uh, I've lost guys in the field too. But nothing ever helps the pain of losing a civilian, even if he was one that fought back." Her soft and warm hand held my fingers, "Don't keep it all to yourself, you hear? It hurts us too. I didn't know him, but I can tell that he was your best friend from the way you hold that necklace."

It was then she fished in her left pocket and pulled out dog tags. They read:

Marvin Hyroid Prefect

Sargent First Class

Gettsyburg, Virginia

She flipped them over, and on the back was a message engraved, Hey Nasha! Get my back and I'll get yours! In more ways than one!

"Guy was always cracking a dirty joke," she chuckled blandly, "But it really helped sometimes, you know?" I nodded silently, "So you remember that you're not the only guy who's lost their best bud on the field." She ruffled my hair, earning a soft growl, "Don't keep it all in. You've got your other two buds," she motioned to Mickey and Romeo, "So be thankful, alright? I've seen guys come out and they've lost all their buds and a half."

I paused as if to consider my answer, but merely gave a serene, "Yeah."

"Good," she stretched, showing a bit of her stomach considering her shirt wasn't all too large, "I think I'm going to tuck in for the night. Got a few days free and then back to the US for some debriefing. Tabane, you already told them you were talking to me, right? The Feds have any problems?"

"Of course not, silly!" Tabane laughed, "Everyone always wants me to take a look at their developments, hoping that either I'll use them and they can claim I used their ideas, or get a free tip on how to better improve. However, I don't come cheap~"

Romeo's eyes lit up, but he calmed himself, settling for a silent mental chuckle. Natasha noticed this and sent him a harsh glare, "So, room arrangements?"

"Couch," I immediately said, "Or floor. After taking up that bed you had there for a while, it's probably for the best that I sleep elsewhere."

"I have no problem with that," Mickey shrugged, "I guess you girls can choose wherever and we'll just take what's left."

"Just like society today," Romeo mumbled under his breath, though it was concealed enough so the two women couldn't hear it.

"We could always share if there isn't enough room." Tabane shrugged.

Mickey gave me a look that asked if I was okay with this, as I wasn't exactly… comfortable with the idea of sharing a bed or sleeping space with a member of the opposite gender for various reasons that I'm not talking about. I returned with a shrug, as they seemed benevolent enough.

"Though I refuse to share with that perv," Natasha cut it, pointing at Romeo.

"What have I done, to be considered a pervert? I hardly have done anything other than watch over Kira and do shopping, and I never have come back with a dirty magazine," Romeo said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Feel free to check all of my belongings, you will find nothing to characterize myself as a pervert. The fact I am male is also a faulty argument if you are going to choose that route. "

Natasha merely tried to bore a hole in his skull with a death glare that didn't do much other than make Romeo raise an eyebrow. Tabane gave a huff and turned away.

"I believe it's for the best if we separate genders," I cut in, "We can avoid most of the problems that way."

"However I may have to be in the same room as Orthun-san-"

"Kira. Just Kira."

"-as Kira, since I do have to watch over him before we completely clear him. If you're fine tomorrow we'll activate your IS Unit, we don't want you activating it while you're injured just in case."

"Just in case what?"

"Well, the usual."

"Define usual."

"Horrible, unrelenting pain that might come from the fact you're integrating with the IS unit for the first time considering that it's part of you now." Went, at least Doctor Shinonono was blunt about it.

"I see. Well, at least keep me heavily sedated." I gave a grim smile, "Though I'm sure that's not an option?"

"Initial synchronization would be best if you were up and awake."

"Rats." I mumbled, "I suppose I should go to sleep now? Finally get the hell out of this wheelchair…"

Rebuild of Prototype Spartan

"Why does Kira-kun hate wheelchairs so much anyways?" Tabane innocently asked the duo of his friends, currently in a game of Magic the Gathering, "And needles as well… though I suppose that last one is easy. Lots of people don't like the idea of having something poked in them."

Natasha gave Romeo a cold glare as he looked up, perhaps to make a comment, but he kept silent, a glazed look in his eyes.

"…That is up for Kira to tell you. We know, but don't get the story from us." Romeo said evenly, pointing to Kira's room, "If you want to know, ask him. But don't expect an answer."

"Can you give me at least a bit of a hint? This might help for some better treatment of PTSD." She said sincerely, filling out a clipboard.

"Some serious shit went down in Kira's growing years, before high school even. We've been helping him get through it for so long. It's horrible to watch," Mickey sighed, "That's about all I can tell you. Wheelchairs and needles. Don't get him near those two."

"I see…" Tabane mumbled, tapping her pen, "I'm not getting anything more though, right?"

"Ask him yourself," Romeo repeated, "It's the only way to find out. Also, you wouldn't mind if I told him you were asking, would you? It would be nice for him to know."

"I suppose you can. It would be rather mean of me to try to slyly get the answers out of him."

"Swing for four," Mickey announced, before getting up, "Also, both of you stay decently dressed around Kira. It'll help out. A lot."

"Why-"

"Trust us." Romeo added, leaving no room for further question, "Just do so. It'll be for the best. Though I don't recommend asking now. He'll just turn you away. The only way for you to know is to become really close to him. With no agendas. Kira sees right through those people."

"Hm," Tabane thought for a second, "Well, I suppose then we'll all just have to really be good friends then. Let's get some sleep, I know we're going to need it soon with the upcoming storm."

Rebuild of Prototype Spartan

"Hey sleepyhead, wake up." A female voice said softly, stirring me from my blissful sleep.

"Aunt Mariah…?" I mumbled, shaking my head.

"Well, I don't know whether to be insulted or complimented," the voice laughed. As my vision corrected itself, I saw Natasha sitting by my bed with a tray of good old American breakfast. Bacon, scrambled eggs, and three hopefully buttermilk pancakes. On top was a fair bit of butter and by that I mean completely drenched, while sloppily laid over that was some pancake syrup, "Romeo told me this is how you like them best."

I sat up in the bed and faced her, "You made this?"

"Hey, just because I pilot a very excellent machine doesn't mean I don't know basic skills. Eat up, you're going to need it. If your First Contact with the IS goes well, then we might end up releasing that you're another IS pilot."

"Another?"

"While you were out apparently some Japanese boy found out he could pilot the IS. He's being shipped over to the Academy. He's old friends with Tabane, so she's easily pulled up a dossier for you to read later." Natasha said while handing over the tray.

I tried to eat, but my new robotic left arm was making things difficult. I hadn't the time to get accustomed to it yet.

"Here," Natasha easily took the utensils away from me and started cutting up my pancakes, "Open your mouth."

"Hey, I can do-"

"Swallow your damn pride and open your mouth," she quickly cut in. I sighed before complying, and soon the taste of deliciously made pancakes flooded my tastebuds, "Easier and tastier, no?"

HahahaisntthatrightKirajustsitthereandtakeitlikeyourweremeanttoyourenothingbutadogafuckingtoyforustouseandnowyouhaveacceptedithaventyouyounolongerevenwhineandwhimperwhenwecomeforusageitssomucheasierwhenyoujustfuckingswallowyourprideandshoveitinnosomucheasierandtastiernowthatYOUHAVESURRENDEREDYOURSELF

I coughed violently, tossing my head to the side as the pancake bits flew out of my mouth. I felt my hands slam onto my head, covering my ears, "Go away go away go away! I won't go back, not never again!"

"Kira!" I couldn't tell who it was anymore. Female though. Had to get away. Bed, not here. Can't. They've trapped me. Lured me in. Can taste food. Laced with enhancers. Sensitivity increasers. Everything feels like ten times more, "Kira! Calm down, please!"

Wrists. She's grabbed my wrists. Can't move. Legs haven't felt like they've moved in forever. Wheelchair in back corner. OH GOD WHEELCHAIR. At least there's light out now. Can't take darkness. Not good.

"Kira, please, listen for a second! You're safe, your friends are here. Can you hear me? Please, tell me you're listening, are you responsive?! Tabane, guys, I need some assistance!"

Door burst open. Purple hair. Fear. That is all to know. All is lost. All is lost. All is lo-

"Guhk!" I winced as I was punched in the face by what appeared to be Romeo…

Everything slowed down in a heartbeat, my breathing clutching. Deep breaths, deep breaths. Calm down… calm down… just a flashback… Remember… need to… move on… therapist said… find ways past it… somehow… can't remember just yet…

"What happened?" Tabane and Mickey shouted.

"I don't know!" Natasha half-sobbed, "I was just feeding him since it was hard for him to use his new hand, and then said it was easier when he stopped being stubborn!"

"Kira, speak to me." Romeo's stoic voice called out as he stepped back next to the bed in front of Natasha, "Name. Location. Situation."

"Kira Orthun. Currently in Japan. About to have First Contact with IS unit grafted into me." I stately quickly.

"What are you?"

"I… I am human."

"Good." He nodded, before backing away. "Flashback, right?"

"An unpleasant one." I looked at the two young women in the room, "Certain words and combinations trigger my flashbacks. Just make sure I don't snap and go psycho if I do. A little time and I'll jump back to reality."

"It should be easier to deal with when that IS unit is with you," Tabane said, "She can help to regulate brain activity and maybe give you a sedative if needed."

"That would be spectacular." I sighed with relief, "The nightmares are horrible, plus these flashbacks are really terrible sometimes. And by sometimes, I mean absolutely horrendous to the point that sometimes-"

"Kira, you're ranting again." Mickey chided, "Watch your anger again."

"Sorry. I can't help it, anger triggers are… touchy for me. Especially with those flashbacks, they really bug me." I mumbled, "I should see about getting a therapist here as well. And maybe you guys," I pointed at my two friends, "Might need to help me, because if you're going to be releasing that I'm another male IS pilot, then those reporters are going to piss me off, and you'll all need to help me."

"Definitely," Mickey followed up, "Would you two," he motioned to Natasha and Tabane, "Mind leaving us alone for a bit?"

"No problem," replied a shaky Natasha, "I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault. Blame my therapist for not getting me over this crap in my previous years." I said, cutting her off, "Look Natasha, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. Burn your dread, if you don't really need it."

She gave a small, bittersweet smile, "Alright. I'll try, Kira."

With that, they left the room, leaving me alone with the guys I had come to know over the years as my friends, my closest allies, and confidants, "Alright guys. Let's discuss our situation."

"It's quite simple, but a sitrep is always good." Romeo agreed, nodding his head, "Okay, rescued from hell in DC. Kira's now a IS-man Hybrid, and we've got a possibility of a press release."

"Plus you've got Natasha on your side, alongside Tabane considering that she did that to you and does feel somewhat guilty for making you into a Hybrid without truly telling you what was going on." Mickey added, "High possibility of going to IS Academy. However with your new capabilities…"

"…Suppression of horrendous flashbacks will be easier to achieve. Not to mention high likeliness of fully trained medical staff with experience." I finished, "We'll go along with this. There's really no backing out now anyways."

"We're in agreement, then." Romeo restated, "This is it. No turning back. Kira, we'll help you get back up on your feet and get you polished up for there. Mental training, gun training…"

"Gun training? In Japan?"

"Where do you think Tabane built the original IS unit, let alone yours?" Mickey asked, raising an eyebrow, "Anyways, let's get them back in here. We've got a lot to discuss before lunch."

[Classified Coordinates]

"The Proving Grounds"

Neutral Waters, Pacific Ocean

April 15th, 1545 Hours

"Welcome, all of you, to where I combat test any new developments. It's a fairly new facility that I've got here, but the automated robots sure are helpful. They set up the targets, use holograms for some simulations, and even fire paintballs to simulate combat!" Tabane announced as we set foot on the luscious green grass, "I just call this place 'The Proving Grounds', though."

"How cliché," I mumbled, earning a nudge from Romeo, "Where do we go?"

"Follow me," Tabane began to lead us through the various hallways, twists and turns. I don't know how you were supposed to get around this place.

"So, is anything actually stored here?" Mickey asked, breaking the silence

"No, this is just a testing grounds," Tabane explained, "The only tech I have here is some simple maintenance robots. Come on, let's go."

Eventually we came to a large, open room with a single raised platform in the middle. The walls were all white, and there was a small room to the side where people could observe, I guess. Tabane motioned for the others to move into the room while she directed me to go into the middle. I felt like a test subject… which I probably was.

Tabane pressed a few buttons on a remote and three robots descended from the ceiling, "Kira, take off your shirt. And maybe your pants. It's easier for the suit to form that way."

"Aw, damnit." I mumbled, doing so. I took a look around the room and saw a massive screen that lit up with words as I continued, "Alright, let's get this over with."

I began to strip, watching the screen.

Balthazar Good morning, Shinonono-san.

Casper I too would like to say good morning.

Melchoir Good morning.

…She named them after the three wise men?

As I tossed aside my clothing, I watched Tabane run over to the room and close the door. Everyone then put on sunglasses and suddenly the room went dark, the only source of light being the glow of the IS core in my chest.

Beginning First Synchronization Tabane's voice called over the intercom, Directing Balthazar to insert unlocking code.

I felt the cold metal of a small drone against my skin, then a small protrusion went into the core, and I felt a little jittery but it stopped in a heartbeat. Ooookay…

Unlock Complete. Kira, call forth the IS. The name is MJOLNIR.

"Copy that," I repeated, "Come forth, MJOLNIR!"

The words began to form in my eyes, as if my sight was a computer screen. The world went white as if I was in the Animus from Assassin's Creed. Huh, I guess this was the weird monitor thing, huh?

System start

Initializing… stand by.

Initialization complete. Running First Synchronization files…

First Sync complete. Linking to found mechanical arm…

Link complete. Robotic appendage added to Unit 08237-73780ABED234

Designation robotic appendage as physical body for Unit 08237-73780ABED234

Syncing to speech systems… stand by.

Sync complete. Loading Personality Matrix…

Personality Matrix loaded. IS Unit MJOLNIR, Core AI Epsilon loaded. Running DNA Scan. Match found. Pilot: Kira Orthun. Syncing with brain activity…

Wha…

Complete.

…Did you just talk in my mind?

Synchronization with brain activity permits this. Are you uncomfortable with this, Pilot Orthun?

Uh… no. Also, it's just Kira. Not 'Pilot Orthun'.

Copy that. Preference have been set. Saving… Also, please call out the physical unit.

Very well. MJOLNIR!

It felt like a banana peel was being put on me as the slimy feeling core of the black gel layer made its way across my skin. After that came the iconic dark green armor of the Master Chief from Halo: Combat Evolved.

I felt a weight in my hands and looked down. Huh, the helmet.

Giving it a toss, I flipped it around a few times before putting it on my head.

HUD loading. Standby.

Kira, we're going to be undergoing some diagnostics. Let her help with your mechanical arm.

"Understood." Epsilon, do you mind helping me?

Just E.

Hm?

I would like to be called 'E' rather than Epsilon.

I suppose if I'll have you call me Kira, that's fair. Very well, E. Mind helping me?

Running tests for optimization. Stand by.

Melchior Progress… 3% and climbing.

One of the small bots, this one being a spherical silver one with a dark blue eye, flew over to me. Over its camera lens I could see the name Casper emblazoned onto it. Its voice synthesizer cranked out audio, "Pilot Orthun, please look up and down and center the target reticule that appears on your Heads Up Display to the designated targets."

Enabling reticule… receiving data for designated targets.

Two small blue orbs appeared in my sight and I looked up and down.

"Left and right."

I repeated the exercise as the Melchior chimed out that progress was now at roughly 50 percent.

"It seems that you've mostly been optimized. Good work, Epsilon," Tabane cheered, "Okay Kira, you can put your clothes back on… actually no, it would be best if you had experience in the armor. Take a walk around, alright? We'll be right out."

I have fully calibrated your mechanical arm. It should function as if it was never separated.

I tested that to make sure, the only sounds I could hear were a few servos whirring but other than that almost silent. Hm, that's pretty good. It doesn't feel any different.

Another room where it seemed rather familiar, seeing as I played through Halo when I was a kid.

"I think you know what this one's for!" Tabane said rather excitedly, "Stand in the center and the bar will start revolving around you. You might feel a bit of a sting when the shields go down but don't worry about it!"

I stood in for the Energy Shield test, grunting at the sting.

No physical damage reported.

Yeah, I don't know, it does sting though.

As a side note, the Energy Shields are strong against bullets. They have medium effectiveness against energy based weapons such as lasers and are all but useless in a melee fight. One good hit with a melee weapon will knock the shields down, leaving our IS Shield to take damage.

Got it.

After that, Tabane then took us through another set of hallways to where I'd start with weapons diagnostics and all of that.

"So, what weapons-" Mickey was interrupted as the ceiling itself seemed to shake and the lights flickered, "What the hell…?"

"Look out!" In a flash Natasha had brought out her IS and dragged the two of them back, I myself grabbing Tabane and pulling us forward, as part of the ceiling came down on us. Her voice was muffled now, "Shinonono, Kira? Are you two alright?!"

"We're fine!" Tabane said, coughing a bit, "I don't know what the hell is going on!" The lights suddenly all turned red, "What? Who'd attack this place? Let alone know where we were!" She then took a breath, "You three need to follow the bots back in the unlocking room if you can make it there. We're going to press forward and get to the other emergency exit. The bots should lead you to one of the emergency escapes around here, but if not, just follow the glowing arrows on the ground."

"Got it!"

"You should be able to find some weapons, clearance code to the bots is Rollington!"

"Understood. We'll try to communicate-"

"Let's maintain radio silence, who knows who it could be?" Tabane quickly interrupted as a small chestplate appeared on her, "Let's go. I'd have wanted to do weapons testing first, but it seems we'll have to cut that short. Full unlock: Rotheburg Storm Kansas Gamma Mjolnir."

"Full Unlock achieved. Displaying weapon arsenal."

A list of weapons scrolled across my screen. Hm, which ones would be best for our situation…

"Let's go with the assault rifle on backup, pistol main."

You merely need to think it.

Understood, E.

The pistol appeared in my hands and I practiced a few movements with it and pulled it up for aiming. Good, nothing seems to be too bad.

Tabane had produced a small knife and pistol and nodded for us to go.

The hallways were silent except for our footsteps, red lights flooding the entire hallway. We were ready for anything, but it was unsettling that this island in the middle of nowhere would be attacked.

We soon came up to a doorway, and Tabane's hand knife split open to reveal a small key looking device. She slid her finger around the door frame and then held her knife near it, "On my mark."

I silently nodded as she counted down from three, "Three… two… one… mark!"

The door slid open to reveal a big empty room without anything in it, but all red lighting everywhere. I shifted my pistol's gaze around the place and readied to strike at any targets.

Calibrating Motion Tracker…

"Let's move on," Tabane said, keeping her pistol at the ready as we went along. I froze and whipped around, holding my pistol, ready to shoot, "What is it?"

"Gut feeling…" I mumbled, "I'll watch our six until E can get the motion tracker up."

It was just creepy walking through the dark and empty halls, with nothing to meet us, yet we were both jumpy as a spring. About ten minutes later my motion tracker came online, but it was still blank.

Seventeen minutes in since our parting and I saw a blur on the motion tracker, "Tabane, blur on the tracker. Unknown source, marked as hostile."

"We should be expecting our uninvited guests soon then," she noted, "Keep on the lookout."

Thirty seconds more and then there were at least ten signatures up ahead, slowly advancing. I relayed the information to said she'd stay behind while I would go up ahead. Apparently the MJOLNIR suit comes with nifty abilities already.

Active Camo initialized. Countdown timer set.

As I moved the timer started counting down from two minutes and at the end the camo would fade and I'd become very visible again. I had to move slowly once in human sight though, because moving too quickly would show my outline, even if it would look like nothing more than a mirage. However, it still didn't make me invisible to thermal sightings.

Ten soldiers eventually came into my sight and I slowed down, with a minute and seven seconds left on the clock. How about sound dampening, E?

Be wary about that, your footsteps will still be just as loud as they normally are.

Understood.

I pressed myself up against the wall as they came by. All women, with some high powered looking rifles and one in the back with a LMG. I waited until they all passed by me, with five seconds to spare on the clock, before moving in.

The knife formed in my hands as I merely called it mentally and I shanked the probable squad leader in the neck before moving on. I managed to get one more and was in the process of killing another when they turned to the sound of the first body hitting the ground.

With that it turned into a firefight, or at least, for them. I dashed in close and stabbed some while shooting the others with my pistol in my robotic hand. The group was quickly dispatched and I decided to loot the LMG for now. Huh, I don't recognize the model but it's definitely European make, I don't recognize it as any American make guns.

"All clear," I reported as Tabane came forward.

"As deadly as your friends claim." She noted, "We're close now, that place we passed by was the secondary hangar, so we're nearby the emergency exit for that."

I would make a comment about that being rather anticlimactic but I know better than that.

An explosion rang out, blowing off one of the walls. In stepped a massive behemoth of a machine, black and sliver with a red core in the center.

Warning! Unidentified Hostile IS Detected!

What?!

"Kira, behind us! I'll get it out, just hold on long enough! It's weakly shielded as the readings say, buy me two minutes!"

I reloaded the rifle, "Understood. Oi, ugly!"

Opening fire, I broke off to the left as Tabane went backwards, spraying the black machine with bullets. They whizzed through the air only to be thrown to the side by the shield that came up.

Click! Click! Click!

The Assault Rifle went to my back and I began shooting the pistol to distract it from going after Tabane. Hear more clicking. Drop clip. Grab another from my chestplate. Shove in the clip. Ready to fire again.

The dark room was lit up with every muzzle flash before I tossed the pistol onto my side, pulling out the Assault Rifle and reloading that. Man, this gun needs a grenade launcher attachment.

I'll see what we can do about that. And also, shotgun?

Much—dodge slam to the face and a gun shot!—obliged!

The Assault Rifle faded away into the shotgun from Combat Evolved. Take this, motherfucker!

With a loud bang, the shotgun blasted away at the mechanical unit that came at me. Before I could fire another shot it lunged but I whipped forward and smashed the thing with my shotgun.

"Kira! Back here!"

I turned around and found that there was a protrusion in the wall that started opening up, Tabane standing near it and firing at the machine close to me, "Get over here!"

Sprinting double time, I closed the distance as the opening wall revealed a MANTIS. Oh yeah.

Tabane didn't tell me what I had to do before I climbed up and put myself into the MANTIS unit, initializing it. My robotic arm moved on its own, E noting that she was helping me configure it.

MANTIS configured for basic piloting. I will guide you on its usage as we go.

Just tell me how to aim and shoot.

Very well. There is a joystick with triggers.

Perfect. Look alive, mother-can-uckers!

The room flashed white and a loud series of bababababang filled the air with the pulled triggers, annihilating the mechanical unit that came after us, leaving nothing but smoking remains afterwards. Heh, perfect.

"Take it with you," Tabane called from the outside, "And we'll have it self-destruct on the way out."

Soon enough we had reached out destination, coming out on a small boat with a single machine gun that I mounted as Tabane started the boat up. The sound alerted our attackers as the motion tracker went into a frenzy. They must've been staged nearby, not putting in more than what they needed for now.

Activating self-destruct sequence. E said as I pulled myself out of the MANTIS unit before getting onto the boat.

"This is Tabane," she announced, "Natasha, do you read me?"

"This is Natasha. We've made it safely out, all of us. Except for the bots."

"Hm?"

"The enemy seemed hellbent on capturing them. They told us to leave them to get to safety."

"But why? They're just calibration and maintenance bots. I set them specifically so that as soon as they unlock an IS or try to that section is purged from their drives…" she suddenly looked like she was about to start crying, her voice dropping to a whisper, "Wait…"

"I don't know. Let's worry about that later."

"Copy that. I'll set the coordinates for where you need to go, we'll link up there," Tabane finished strongly before looking like she was trying to ignore something. She tapped a few keys on the touch screen dashboard as I got off the gun. There was a bit of beeping, and Tabane looked surprised.

Melchior Doctor Shinonono, we regret to inform you we have been captured by the enemy.

Balthazar However, as per Directive Zero-Four-Seven-Eight we are initiating self-destruct sequence.

Casper Doctor Shinonono, I, for one, would like to say in my final moments that it was a pleasure working with you.

Melchior Dearest Creator, please do not forget us.

Balthazar It was a pleasure, Doctor Shinonono.

"No!" Tabane screamed. She was drowned out by a massive airship pulling out off of the island. The airship was sleek and black, as if for stealth. Its design almost looked like a B2 Spirit except for infantry carrying, "But-!"

The world lit up in a beautiful but tragic display of orange, yellow, and red painted across a blue and white sky.

Tabane sank to her knees, "I never… I never did give them my full attention… but they were still my creations… like children…"

As the burning pieces of debris fell upon the island Tabane had used to test equipment before, I wrapped her in a hug, not really caring for the possibility of flashbacks. Because sometimes, all a person needs is a hug when they're down.

…Something has begun, though. Something worth attacking, let alone tracing, this location that is so arbitrary that you wouldn't even think twice about this island. I doubt it's even plotted on a world map.

But yet I feel this is only the beginning…

And you thought it was just going to be me rewriting Prototype Spartan with the same story arcs and plot but varied and better text. Kekeke. NOPE.

Rebuild is going to be an entirely new beast, an entirely new story. Ish. So to those of you that read Prototype Spartan… well, just don't expect things to be the same. In fact, just ignore the original one.

So, I hope you all enjoyed this one. Can you believe two years ago I put out the first chapter of Prototype Spartan? Man, a lot changes in two years.

Anyways, time to do a quick run through of the chapter just so I can explain things I feel need explaining.

Yeah, it's unrealistic that Kira and Pals can kill Russian soldiers in D.C. Except that is supposed to highlight just how incredibly fucked up their lives are. They are capable. They did, after all, fight their way out. Besides, the will to survive is an incredibly strong one.

So then we move onto the Hybrid scene. Prototype Spartan was that one in a million chance, oh hey let's use the core on this dood and see how well that goes. Oh no. You can tell here that Kira's obviously been planned to take the core. That was something that irked me with the original PS.

Theeeen the trauma parts. Just getting that bit of characterization out of the way nice and early for Kira. Because it ain't going to be pretty. Or helpful for him. And then guess who's going to IS Academy. Yeah.

And then the Proving Grounds scenes. Not much to say there.

Anyways, that's all for now in regards to this chapter.

Also, I had this awesome idea.

So you know how there's a lot of fanfics about having a new male IS pilot? What if all of the really known authors of those stories all got together to make: THE ISPENDABLES. As in, The Expendables, Male IS Pilot Style :D Though that would require a LOT of effort, enough that I wouldn't try to organize it. But still, just think about it. How awesome would that be?