James marched down the corridor and headed outside the building. There, he turned on the jets in his greaves and took off. He didn't want to spend much time here and was intent on starting the training as fast as he could.
He landed back at the base and headed to the training ground. As expected, Saint Louis was waiting for him along with Vauquelin, Fusou and Yamashiro.
"Greetings my lord," said Fusou, bowing deeply followed by Yamashiro. Vauquelin saw this and also offered a bow but James didn't mind. After all, he was never big on formalities and always asked that the girls refer to him by name when they weren't on a mission.
"Girls, thank you for coming," he said and stood next to Saint Louis "as I'm sure SL must have told you; I've selected the three of you to participate in the upcoming event. I want you all to work together as a team and the best way to do that is to have a common opponent."
"Will that be you, Commander?" asked Vauquelin, tilting her head to the side.
"Me, no chance. I can barely handle a one-on-one with any of you. Three-on-one is downright absurd. No, instead you'll be facing against Saint Louis."
On cue, Saint Louis drew her spear but did not form her rigging.
"You'll be facing a different member of the PR class every day. Six girls, six days and on the seventh, you get the day to rest," he continued.
"Today, you'll only be using hand-to-hand combat. Tomorrow I'll authorize the use of rigging with paint rounds as a safety measure," he added.
It did not surprise him that the trio were still processing what he just said. They'd gone from a meeting to representing the flee to training with one of the strongest members of the fleet in less than five minutes or so. Anyone's head would be spinning and James didn't blame them for wanting to take a moment.
To his surprise though, Vauquelin formed her melee weapon and pointed it at Saint Louis.
"To be honest," she said "I've always waned to test my skills against you."
Seeing this motivated Fusou and Yamashiro to take their respective stances.
James then took several steps back. When he was at a good distance, he gave the signal for the girls to start. With a single wave of his hand, he began their training.
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While James and his team began their work in earnest, the same could not be said for the Valkyries. Although they got off to a good start, three days later and the cracks were already starting to show.
Alec saw that only Alexis was waiting at the training area. She was busy doing a few warm up exercises and didn't mind that no one else arrived.
"What the hell?" asked Alec, at a seeming loss of words "what's going on? Where are the other two?"
Only now noticing his presence, Alexis stopped what she was doing and got up to meet Alec.
"Marie said she had some work to do and Blake was well, he was still busy working off the strain from last night."
"Oh god," said Alec, slapping his forehead "I told that moron not to have any orgies for a month."
"Come on Alec," said Alexis with a scoff "do you really think he's going to stop cold turkey?"
"Yes," he replied somewhat loudly, then said "No" in a much lower tone.
"At least I'd hoped that after the trouncing James gave them, they'd take things serious."
Alexis looked like she was about to say something but then she noticed two forms coming towards them. One was unmistakably Marie, who seemed to be hiding her embarrassment for some reason. The other was Blake who had one girl on each arm. The way they clung to him would make anyone think that they couldn't walk on their own.
Alec watched, stifling his anger inside till the pair came close. When they did, he first looked at Marie and asked "what took you so long?"
"I had work," she replied, and looked away.
"What work?"
"None of your damn business," she said, the red on her face turned from embarrassment and shame to outright hostility.
"Let's just get this crap over with already," she said and switched to her training clothes.
"And you?" asked Alec, now turning to Blake.
"Where did it look like I was?" he asked, in the most pompous voice imaginable "these two beauties wanted a bit of morning fun and who was I to say no?"
"Do you mind getting rid of them and focusing on training?" he asked, sounding exasperated already "you were plenty motivated a little while ago."
"See I got to thinking," said Blake, not noticing Alec rolling his eyes at the statement "why should we train? We're plenty powerful as it is. With an egghead like you calling the shots, we're going to stream roll the opposition."
Before Alec could speak, Alexis said "then I hope you like the taste of the dirt because that's what you'll be eating five minutes after the match starts."
At this, everyone (including the unnamed girls Blake brought with him) looked at Alexis in surprise.
"Here's a refresher course for you Blake," she said, sounding very hostile "we lost to James. We were trounced, beaten and whipped about by a human who was taking it easy on us."
Alec stayed silent.
"And the best part? He's the weakest member of the fleet. If that walking wrecking ball is the weakest, then can you imagine how strong they all are?"
Blake visibly gulped as the weight of the realization dawned on him.
"So, if you want to, go ahead and waste the day with your floozies. But don't expect me to bail your ass out of the fire like last time."
Silence filled the air. No one dared to speak or risk earning the wrath of Alexis. Her frustration was palpable enough that the two girls that came with Blake vanished like cartoon characters. Blake then lowered his head and went over to Marie.
"Alright then," said Alex, turning to Alec and startling him a little "shall we get started on our training?"
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A week later and both sides were showing significant progress. The Valkyries finally managed to manifest their versions of rigging and each one was vastly different. Alec noted that the weapons shared some similar visual design to those that the Iron Blood or Northern Parliament had but that was about it. The rest was very different.
Alexis' rigging took the form of two monstrous guns that covered her hands and enabled her to fire energy blasts, beams and bolts. Additionally, the rigging also increased her striking power, giving her the chance to fight in close quarters.
Marie's rigging was the form of several whips that grew out from her hair and extended to her hips. When she swung her rigging around, the length of the whips grew three times the original length. She could strike anything around her and could bring the whips together to block energy attacks from Alexis' guns.
Blake's rigging was the form of a high-speed bike with a shark-like covering on the headlights. When Blake used his rigging, it produced a pair of blades near the wheels, giving him the opportunity to cut his opponent's legs off. Add to that, he was also able to attack his enemy with his fists while still maintaining balance on the bike.
Alec saw that progress was going smoothly and he wanted to continue at that pace.
When he was not training the Valkyries, he'd go back to the Azur Sky to see how things were. Alexis accompanied him and they would either speak to some of the girls or enjoy their time at Neptune's bar.
During this week, Alec learned that Omega was mounting several small-scale attacks on the tip or coast of Africa and that James often went there with a suppression force to take them out. Alec understood the idea behind Omega's move, after all, she lost two-thirds of the world in a snap so of course she wanted it back.
However, it meant that James had to divide his attention between this and the upcoming event.
As he saw James and the team of Yukikaze, Kaga, Wales, Belfast, Dido, Noshiro, Suruga, Hornet, Roon and Cleveland return, a thought occurred to him. They were wasting their time with this. As much as Alec tried to reconcile that it was too late to stop, the pragmatic side of him knew that it was a giant waste.
While they were busy fighting amongst themselves, the enemy, the real enemy, was busy gathering up and strengthening her forces.
'Damn it,' he thought and chastised himself 'after this, we're committing everything to ending this war.'
'I don't care what any of the stuffed shirts say. Enough of spinning our wheels.'
"Alec, is something the matter?" asked Alexis and he looked at her. In the time that they spent, Alec came to realize that she could pick up when something bothered him.
"Just thinking," he replied, giving a vague answer. He did not want to worry Alexis about the real threat, not right away at least.
"Thinking about me?" she asked in a coy voice and chuckled a little. Thankfully, her laughing meant that she didn't notice the red shade of embarrassment that flashed on Alec's cheeks.
Alec resumed watching James who had now given his sword to Belfast and was led to the infirmary for a check-up. Behind him, the rest of the girls followed.
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In the second week of preparation, James found himself juggling multiple balls at once. His day consisted of his regular training, meetings with the fleet members, training Fusou, Yamashiro, and Vauquelin, approving commissions and routinely checking in with the communications team. That last part was mostly due to the increased frequency of Siren attacks that were going on over the last two weeks.
As he recalled, the Siren's behavior was very strange. They'd show up near a settlement and launch a few attacks. By the time James and the fleet arrived, they'd quickly retreat. He wondered what was the purpose behind these tepid attacks. Were they testing the waters? Did they want to know about his response time? Were they trying to learn more about the PR class and the big three? So many questions and each one was valid.
Whatever the case, James resolved that by the end of this side quest, he would commit everything to ending the war. And if the Resistance Leaders tried to get in the way, he would do the needful.
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One fine day during the third week, it started to rain. Alec had no other choice but to cancel the training for today. Despite how much Alexis wanted to keep going, she was outvoted 2 to 1.
While Blake and Marie headed back to the base, Alec decided he was going to take a stroll in the rain. The downpour was not too heavy, meaning he could stay out long and not fear getting a cold. Alec always felt that he could feel his troubles washing away when in the rain.
'Maybe that's why I like showers over baths,' he mused.
Then, his thoughts shifted to how James and his team were definitely training, in spite of the inclement weather.
As he began thinking of ways on how he would win, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Alec turned around and was surprised to see Alexis standing behind him, slightly soaked.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Following you," she replied in a playful tone.
"Well we need to get you out of this right away," said Alec and scanned the area. He noticed a nearby tree that provided adequate cover. He took Alexis by the hand and brought her there.
Once underneath the tree's large branches and dense foliage, the pair shook their heads to get rid of any excess water.
"Why were you following me?" he asked.
"You looked like you had something weighing you down and I thought I could help," she responded.
On hearing this, Alec sighed.
"It… it's nothing," he said, but she did not believe him. When he noticed that his comment did not have the intended effect, he turned away. All this did was prompt Alexis to come around him and meet his eyes.
"Alright," he said, breaking under her gaze "I'm… nervous and scared. Really scared."
"You're not the only one," said Alexis "the closer we get to the day, the worse my nerves get."
"I wonder how Alexis and Blake are always so calm?" he mused and she gave him a condescending look.
"How do you think?" she asked, "every night the pair bury themselves in as many bodies as possible. God knows how many kids Blake's going to have after all this."
Alec let out another chuckle and then there was silence. Alec wanted to say something but then felt a sudden shower of rain come over him. He looked up and saw that one of the branches had broken and created a small hole through which rain came through.
It wasn't long before they found an empty barn and decided to stay there for the time being. The fact that such a place existed and still stood in the middle of a war surprised Alec. However, he did not ask any questions, all he wanted was to get out of this torrent.
Once inside, the two examined their surroundings and found they were the only ones here. Now they took a moment to relax.
"You know," said Alec, looking at the rain falling outside "I remember seeing a couple of videos of people getting hit by lightning even when they were standing under a tree."
"Well that's not a problem," said Alexis, calmly "I'm sure I can survive a little lightning bolt."
"I won't," declared Alec loudly and that was followed by the pair laughing. Eventually it died down and it became silent. Aside from the rain, there was no other noises made.
As Alec watched the skies, scanned the clouds and looked for signs to see when it stopped, he failed to notice that Alexis drew in closer to him. When he did, he was slightly surprised, but what she said next had him grasping for answers.
"We should… take off our clothes," said Alexis.
The only response he could give was his jaw falling while his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"I mean to stay warm," she said and immediately clarified the misunderstanding "after all, the last thing either of us need is to get sick."
"I don't think that there's any need for that," said Alec. He pointed to several bales of hay. The pair then went to a large pile of it and lay down. Once again, silence prevailed.
"Hey Alec," said Alexis "are we going to win?"
Alec at first remained silent, no doubt contemplating the answer.
"When I think about what's ahead, our opponents, I get scared. I know they're our allies and all but when I keep thinking back to that match with James. If the weakest member of the fleet can do that much, imagine what…"
"We'll win," said Alec, interrupting her. The declaration surprised her and prompted her to turn and look at him.
"We're going to win Alexis, that is my promise," he said, trying to sound confident "it doesn't matter if its James, Gamma or Omega herself. With me as the strategist, victory is guaranteed."
"Hearing that really does fill me with confidence," she said, and Alec turned to her.
In that moment, with the rain pattering down and it being just the two of them, Alexis recalled all the memories she shared with him. All those memories coupled with the moment they were experience now caused a slight tinge of red to come on her cheeks. Given how the Vaklyrie's skin colour was pale white in light of their transformation, the blush was more noticeable.
Seeing this, Alec's eyes opened in surprise. Realizing he noticed, Alexis attempted to turn away only to have him say "wait, please."
She stopped and now felt his hand reach out and gently touch her cheek. Slowly and steadily, the distance between them lowered until finally, they made a memory that neither of them will forget.
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In the days that followed this encounter, Alec and Alexis did their best to conceal what happened. Given that everyone was focused on the upcoming event, no one noticed or no one cared to notice.
They took it in stride and continued their work as planned. However, while the newly formed couple spent their free time thinking about their life after the war, the dark hand that lurked behind the shadows began to move.
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"Lady Omega has grown displeased with your slow attempts at attacking the Commander," declared Gamma to her underlings. She noted how they all remained silent, yet knew that the next declaration would obtain the reaction she wanted.
"On her order, you are to expedite the plan to today or tomorrow," she added and everyone got up from their chairs in shock.
"Now wait just a minute," shouted Whitney, pointing a finger "if you do that then everything we've worked for…"
"You seem to mistake your position in this relationship Whitney," said Gamma, eyeing her with a dark gaze "We say, you do. Lady Omega has offered you a place in the new world she will create but
that does not make you an equal."
The five of them grit their teeth and Gamma knew that.
"What Whitney is trying to say that if Lady Omega were to give us a little more leniency, we could achieve our objective and assassinate James," said Damian.
"There will be no need for that," said Gamma "your objective has changed and Lady Omega will deal with the Commander herself."
"I've sent the activation codes to the devices," she added "we will also provide you with a decent distraction. Do not fail my Lady's expectations."
With that said, Gamma's hologram disappeared and when she was gone, Ingrid let out a loud cry of anger.
"Damn those Sirens," hissed Lakshmi, while biting her teeth "damn them and their superiority."
"We'd better get a move on then," said Byron and the others looked at him in shock.
"What?" he asked "you heard that monster. If we don't hold up our end of the deal, the first thing
Omega's going to do is expose us."
Realizing this, the group calmed down a little.
"Ingrid," said Whitney "how many men can you gather?"
"All two hundred of them," replied Ingrid "many humans see James and the Azur Sky as heroes but there's many more that hate and despise them. They're looking for a chance to strike."
"Remember the plan," warned Whitney and the group nodded in agreement.
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It came as no surprise to James that today too he had to deal with another Siren attack. They had gotten so frequent that it reminded him of when he used to wake up and get blown out of his room thanks to Friedrich, Roon and Akagi.
Jokes aside though, he still found it strange as to why Omega kept doing this knowing well that she was losing her forces in the process. There was something in the back of his mind that kept nipping at him. It stayed with him all the way to the communications room where he saw Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Tennessee, and Alec waiting for him.
"What have we got on the menu today?" he asked, trying to inject a little humour. Their expressions told him that either his joke was bad or now wasn't the time for that.
"Omega's coming at us with a big force this time," said Tennessee, her finger pointing to the several red dots that appeared on the satellite image.
"It looks like they're committing to an all-out offensive to retake South Africa," commented Pennsylvania "with that, Omega can get her anchor back and use it as a foothold to launch more attacks against our headquarters."
Once again that nagging feeling nipping at him. James pushed it aside.
"Then we respond in kind," he replied "all hands on deck with this one. We wipe out all the enemy forces and come back."
"Sounds like a plan," said California, smiling
"Do you want to bring the Valkyries?" asked Alec and James shook his head.
"For now, I want them to hang back and protect the kids," replied James.
Alec looked at him, not liking the decision his leader made. But, he knew that it was the smart move. After all, the trio had very little battle experience and would only drag everyone else down by being there.
"I'll go and inform them," he said and marched out of the room. James went afterwards, followed by the remaining four girls.
It didn't take long for the fleet to assemble. As stated before, James saw the enemy's composition and thought it was best to use might over wit this time. The only ones on the base were the kids and Curtis' group. Now assembled, the fleet left the base and headed to meet the Siren forces in waiting.
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"Thank you for coming to meet us on such short notice," said Damian, addressing the trio of Alexis, Blake, and Marie.
"Don't think too much about it," said Blake, flashing an arrogant smile "I was just blowing off a little steam before tomorrow's event."
"Yes, about that event," said Byron "we've come to a decision and have decided that we will be cancelling the event."
"What? Why?" asked Alexis, who voiced what Blake and Marie thought.
"External events have forced us to speed up the process," replied Whitney and the trio had no clue what she meant.
"We'd like to thank you all for helping us reach this point," she added and Alexis noticed how the five of them now placed five strange black devices on the table.
"Now, you have one last objective."
The devices on the table started emitting a strange hum. Alexis could hear it and knew that it was a low tone. Yet, there was something strange and unnerving about it. It felt like the ambient noise you'd hear in a horror movie just as things were about to ramp up.
She opened her mouth to voice her complaint, but found no words came out. In fact, she found that she was now looking at her body. She immediately knew what this was, one of those rare events called an out-of-body experience. Alexis always chalked it up to fiction, yet here she was experiencing just that.
She could see how her body, Blake's and Marie's bodies were standing completely still. Their eyes were wide yet nobody was inside. Then, she could feel something on the back of her neck. She spun around and was greeted by the sudden and all-consuming wall of blackness. The black wall filled her vision and seemingly stretched from one end to the next.
Before she could even react, hundreds of small tendril-like hands shot out and grabbed her. Some wrapped around her arms, others around her legs, but all of them caught her. Then, to make matters worse, she could feel the tendrils pulling her in, bringing her closer to the wall and knew it was bad. She didn't know why she was so afraid right now but knew that she had to find a way to escape.
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"We await your orders," said Alexis, her voice no longer carrying the same tone it did before. All that was left was a robotic tone, indicating that the move worked.
The group of Whitney, Byron, Damian, Lakshmi, and Ingrid all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the response.
"Excellent," said Byron, his face twisting into a dark smile "here is your order."
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When Alec opened the door and saw the Valkyries, he was at first taken back by how silent the whole room was. It seemed as though something happened just before he came in.
"Alec," said Ingrid, looking past the trio and to him "what are you doing here?"
"With the Azur Sky gone to face the Sirens, I want the Valkyries to start patrolling the two bases," he replied "James took every security precaution but you can't be too careful."
He expected all of them to disagree with it. He thought they would argue the point that it was beneath the Valkyries to do mere patrols. Hell, he even expected Blake to voice his disgust at such a lowly assignment.
Yet instead…
"Alright," said Whitney waving him off "take the three with you and get started."
Still a little taken back by their response, Alec paused for a moment then shook his head. Now was not the time to question small mercies.
"Come on Alexis," he called out.
For a moment, the girl he addressed was silent. She and the other two stood still, their backs to him. Alec was about to call out again when Alexis turned around to meet him.
"Let's get going Alec," she said, in her usual voice. This was followed by the other two also turning around. Seeing this made Alec relax a little.
Without saying another word, Alec left the room followed by the Valkyries, completely unaware that he was leading the enemy to the doorstep.
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Three minutes to midnight