Muv-Luv Reversal

by Zuoriel

Takeru has been leading a normal life until now. During the summer vacation of his second year in college he's invited by his high school friends to meet up again, to which he agrees. Shirogane doesn't know that this decision would release the nightmares that have been haunting him for some time, nightmares that would be better left forgotten.

64. Downtime in the Masquerade (III)

A/N: During this episode, Takeru will start singing as he plays games. The song is basically an in-universe rendition of 'Legend of Kaizer' from Mazinkaizer SKL. Point being, these 20k+ words are the most cringe inducing and self-indulging thing I've written in a long while. It's a complete non-plot related filler mess of a chapter filled with dumb jokes and drawn out interactions, and I will not apologize about it.

Also, some of the machines mentioned during this chapter will be direct counterparts to the playable units of the real life version of Valgern-On, Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, so I will not be using my long descriptions all the time by instead pointing you to the source material. If having a mental image of the machines is not important to you, you can skip the next paragraph.

Takeru's machine of choice, the Skull Kaizer, is basically a fusion between the Temjin and the Specineff. The Tipharet is based on the Angelan, the Ravager Mk-II is the clone of the Viper-II or Cypher, the Colossus is like a Belgdor, the Struggler is a reflection of the Apharmd, and finally, the Void Watcher is equal to the BAL-series.

As an aside, after the next chapter, we're sinking back into the meat of the plot. I recommend that any readers that have not yet read the sidestories I've posted to go do so before going into chapter 66. While most of them are not yet complete at the time of posting this chapter, all those stories hold some importance for the events going forward. Or you can save yourself the intrigue and try to figure out the plot twists without the aid of the extra material.

Enjoy the light filler chapters to cleanse your palate, assuming you don't die from the cringe. And if you have the time check out the other stories, as they'll help you understand the core issue of the Paranoia arc without forcing me to do so through text walls of info dumps or never-ending inner monologues like in the OG chapters 50-51 of Reversal.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting. Keep staying safe.

Zuoriel

PS.: To that one commenter who asked me about Project Mikhail, sadly my dedicated GPU-less PC can't run the thing. And after seeing the grindy nature of the game, I don't have much interest in it due to a lack of time. Writing is hard, and time consuming.

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Chapter 64:

Downtime in the Masquerade (III)

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December 2nd. A bit after 6 PM.

(Yokohama Base, B17F. Training Room.)

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Sparks flying off as it traded paint with a building, a Ravager Mk. II kept on boost jumping away in regular intervals. This new version of the Ravager is sporting a pointy and defined look resembling a Shiranui if it were to receive stealth-based armor like that of the Raptor, coated in vibrant blue in this occasion. As the machine kept on boosting away into a desolate landscape, as a few pixelated clouds came and went up into the sepia-tinted skies, it had to fire off a few of its homing missiles to deflect the incoming assault that chased after it like cat would to a mouse. A beeping rising in a flash, some of the enemies missiles broke through the homings. Hayase groans as a veers the analog, making the Ravager perform a tight crouch which allowed the machine to squeeze itself through a crumbled bridge, trying to do a power slide, as a few missiles missed their mark.

However, the Ravager and its operator had little to no time to relax under the few threads of light that waddled through the clouds to shine on the ruined city. Another round of missiles, another round of the beeping, which forced the boosters to activate, to dash away through the tilted buildings.

"Shit… Someone's on a bad mood today, huh," Hayase complains, clicking her tongue.

Sitting right besides her, Touko lets out a small chuckle, "Why, to me it would seem like you are not in top form today, 1st Lt," Using her Tipharet's larger boosters, shaped as wings to go along the angelic motif of the slim unit, Touko's machine clears the buildings, locking onto Hayase, firing off the Neige Cannon, a twister of ice shards joining into one final beam towards the enemy unit.

Yet, a smirk rises in Hayase, who presses both shoulder triggers as she did half a tilt. The Ravager jumps backwards and remains in the air, hovering over the beam, rising towards the now attack-locked Tipharet. It was not remotely close to Takeru's backflips, you'd understand, yet the movement was nimble and fast enough for the Ravager to clear the distance before the attack animation ceased.

"And now, you're done!" Quickly pressing the combination, clicking noises echoing about, Hayase's unit's proceeds to do a sharp dash, morphing into HSST-mode and ramming itself into the Tipharet.

Piercing through its chest, oil is splattered around, pieces of metal and cables start flying about from the gaping hole left in the machine. Its wings are clipped, torn from the body, a few cables and fuel lines stretched before being torn apart, splattering sparks and fuel before catching on fire. And as the wings burn, as that mantle of fire and smokes gently falls upon the angelic mech as if someone was tucking it into a bed, the S.L.C. combo of the Ravager shaves the last remaining health Touko's unit had. A shriek, pained and high pitched, comes from the speakers as the explosion occurs, the small detail added for when a mech is defeated with a hit to the cockpit.

As the victory pose of the Ravager Mk-II played out, pointing a thumb to itself as a prideful prince would, Hayase snorted as she rose a tight fist up. Touko sighed as she shook her head, shrugging as she looked back at Munakata. By their side, the quick clicking of the joysticks could still be heard, frantic and hurried. Sweat beginning to be noticeable on their foreheads, lingering as a small veil on their controls, Tsukiji and Takahara were also having a duel.

Amidst a carrier ship's runway, littered with cargo and hooks swaying about, the large pixelated sea and clouds on the distance, their two machines played tag as they circled around the map. Tsukiji's Colossus, a machine that resembles more a Wadatsumi than anything else, slowly but surely evaded the incoming attacks, sharp cornering at times to dodge the reckless, fast and unidirectional charges of Takahara's Struggler, a machine colored with a camo pattern covering its compact and simple frame, perhaps comparable to the austere design of the first Tomcats and Eagles.

Hands shaking, aware of her breathing, of the air slowly coming into her nose, squeezing itself down to her stomach, Tsukiji tried to no avail to reach long range, to use the missiles of her unit to end the match without risking damage to her unit. Sadly, Takahara's superior speed and weapon combination did not allow for that and, as you'd understand, this only stockpiled anxiety over nervousness on the girl's shoulders. The Struggler did not have an easy time, that being said. It is quite fair to say Takahara also was at her wits' end. Not releasing her bottom lip from her teeth's grasp, her heartbeats clanging against the base of her neck, the pressure, the grip on her joystick became all the more harder, vicious. She was very, very upset that Tsukiji had managed to both elude her charges and keep her in check.

Usually, as I'm sure you'd know, matches in Valgern-On did not go for more than a minute. Perhaps two at max, if both players were being extra careful. However, when the skill ceiling is raised, the matches start to drag on and on. What usually would be surefire shots now became misses, what was a guaranteed starter towards lethal was a risky maneuver that would leave one exposed to counters. Sadly, in this case, it was not due to sharper dodging techniques or the dreaded stun-lock some units could cause, or the issues and mind games that take place in a team fight which caused this scenario. I believe it is quite fair to affirm… the reason was a more simple one.

"Shit, Tae! Stop spamming those damn grenades!" Takahara repined, quickly pressing the shoulder buttons like a child playing with a bell at a counter. Her machine again rushed forth, only for its animation to halt as the small explosion of a grenade played again, causing her to groan and huff in frustration.

"You're always right on my trail, I can't do anything else!" Tsukiji cried out, her hands cramping up as the claw-like grip she had to take to always be on the move while also firing the grenades away started to hurt. A small moment, she eased up her grasp on the controls, her wrists wailing in pain. In that instant, Takahara dashed forth, landing a strike with her machete, tumbling the Colossus to the floor.

Tsukiji softly groaned, both at her inability to finish her off and at the pain in her hands. She didn't know what else she could possibly do, as lost a penguin in a desert. Takahara, on her end, also fumed a bit, as when her unit had to land it was punished by a grenade, which prevented her from pushing her advantage. And so, as the rest of the Valkyries stared at the chase, the two playing grew more and more frustrated.

Tsukiji's Colossus is a slow unit yet has above average defenses, only truly threatened by beam-based weaponry. Most of its available weapons are not particularly decent at close- and mid-range, as they're more effective in the story mode against the BETA due to their AoE despite their light damage. That being said, the napalm missiles that lay hidden in its large shoulder pads would wreck havoc upon the surrounding area if launched, anything but the heaviest machines taking more than 50% damage. However, Tsukiji's own nervousness, the ingrained patters she had learned, and the restriction of the time limit only served to unnerve her will, lessen her performance as she failed time and again to put enough space between her and Takahara's unit to fire off the napalms without risking damage to herself. Her own shields were lower than Takahara's, so her best weapon might actually knock her out before her enemy.

However, Takahara is on the other end of the spectrum of emotions. The Struggler is a decent pick, I suppose, for most players. It counts with the largest weapon selection in the roster, and can play a variety of roles. It also has good speed and defenses, nothing too remarkable but solid enough. However, this machine comes with one limitation: It has no beam-based weaponry. All of its guns use shells, its missiles are on the light end of the damage spectrum, and, while decent, its machetes do little against a tank like the Colossus.

And as I'm certain you'd understand, since this match had already been going on for nearly two minutes, the beeping of the alarm had started to chime in, notifying that less than sixty seconds were left before a timeout. Each Valkyrie only managing to shave a small percentage of the shields of the other at a time. Unable to break away from the conventions they learned from, they cannot break through the other's defensive patters, no matter how many jumps they chain with the hooks that linger up above, no matter how precise their cornering around the crates is. Health bars getting lower and lower, only by small amounts at a time, neither can manage to get a lock on the other, not without risking serious damage. And while in another world, in another timeline that would have been just another aspect of a game, for the Valkyries… this was no game. Losing came with its fair share of consequences.

Which is why, Takahara circles her thumb on the stick, pushing it forward, her own breathing blazing as the thrusters of her virtual machine were, "Damn… I won't let you win by timeout again!" Frowning as she switched her weaponry, one hand of the Struggler aims a rifle, sending a downpour of bullets towards the Colossus' left, making a few crates explode and forcing Tsukiji to strafe to the right, to the outer side of the runway.

And as Tsukiji again deployed her grenades, to try and stun the Struggler's assault to let her get to cover, Takahara grinned, pressing the analogs, activating the special finisher of her unit. The Struggler's Force Skill, Blitzkrieg Amp, doubles all the damage the unit does and grants it unlimited dashes for the duration of the skill. It also makes it glow in a blue hue, which looks pretty awesome in all honesty, as it shines along the clear skies of the open sea the virtual arena had as its background.

"Eat this, Tae!" With a triumphant smirk, she drives her unit forward, determined to smack the life out of the Colossus.

Which only forces more panic into Tsukiji's heart, her button presses growing manic, rushed, "Awawa! No, there has to be-" Her machine tumbles over, near the edge of the ship, her erratic fire hitting a few poor virtual seagulls instead of the Struggler, the roasted chickens falling into the ocean as failed divers would, "I can't lose… I won't lose!" I won't be subjected to that torture again!

And with desperation as her fuel source, she starts spinning her analog stick, faster and faster as if a spinning top it were, to force her machine to stand up faster. But once she does, as she saw Takahara's unit was already in the air, boost jumping with the machete at the ready, Tsukiji couldn't help but to press a specific combination of buttons.

The trigger of her own Break Skill, Last Gambit Assault, which releases the restrictions of her beam-based weaponry for ten seconds, allowing the Colossus to fire off those type of weapons without charging. It would make the overall armor of the mech to expand, emit quite some steam as its system releases all limiters, and give it a decorative aura of translucent marine green along the cape of steam that pours from the shoulders.

And Takahara started to feel the coldness of sweat tickling her nape as she sees in her TV how the shoulders of the Colossus retract and expand, readying the napalms. So, she commits to a full dash, to try and tumble the machine and prevent the attack. With a sharp step back, the Colossus avoids the charge of the Struggler at the last second, the machete scratching, scalping the steel. Quickly igniting both jump units, Tsukiji then aims her cannon at the floor, firing it off. The beam comes out pouring like a newly discovered petrol well, sending her unit flying off into the skies. Quite the clever move, I'm sure you'd agree, to use the intensity of the beam to propel herself upwards. Into long range, to be specific.

Knocked back by the shockwave of the beam as she did a last minute backboost, Takahara's Struggler barely has the time to stand up and re-lock onto the Colossus as Tsukiji fired off the napalms while still in the air, with the pillar of destructive light as her support. Like hail to an unguarded garden, the missiles ravish the dock of the ship, destroying the environment, large splashes of water rising as the explosions continued.

As the aquatic chorus of the sinking parts continued through the speakers alongside the beam's screeching and the stock explosions, the Struggler starts using its large ammo supplies to shoot down the missiles before they explode upon it, hoping to endure the assault as it hovers in midair, to avoid the shockwave of the beam and the missiles that do fall on the carrier.

And for a few seconds, that's all that happens. The beam drilling its way down into the carrier, the myriad of missiles flying down, some shot down by the Struggler, others falling and exploding on the wreckage the ship had become. Until a beeping appears on both sides, the signal of the end of their special skills. And as the beam suddenly shuts off, as the Struggler's own ammo supplies returned to normal to shoot down the last napalms… the Colossus started to fall down, crashing onto the Struggler. As both machines plummeted onto the carrier like a falling meteor, the damage done by Tsukiji's assault caused the impact to tear off a part of the ship. And thus, both units ended up taking a nosedive into the pixelated sea of the arena.

"Huh?! We can fall to the sea?!" Takahara started button mashing, trying to get her mech to swim somehow. Sadly, there is a drawback that comes with her Break Skill. The Struggler cannot dash or boost jump for a few seconds after the skill is used up. Many curses come pouring from her mouth, her machine keeps sinking and sinking.

"No… My unit won't even move!" Tsukiji wails, as the aftereffects of her own skill were showing up. Once her skill was used up, the Colossus was left unable to move for a few seconds and all of its beam-based weapons became unusable as well, "How are we supposed to fight underwater? Are we- Huh?"

A timer appeared in the center of both TV screens, shaving closer and closer to zero as they started to button mash like crazy. Once the clock reached zero… both machines stopped moving, only to then convulse as jolts of electricity enveloped their metallic bodies. As it were, the game has a particular mechanic in which, if a machine falls into some areas, failure to escape them results in the destruction of the unit. And for the first time since they had started their training sessions with the Stallion machines, the Valkyries were all silent at the end of a match. For the word 'DRAW' was all that remained on the screen as it slowly faded to black.

"…Huh, so you both lost?" Akane comments, arms folded as she raises a brow, "I didn't think we could make draws in this way."

"What the fuck?!" Takahara swings her arms in the air, fuming a flamethrower out, "How come we can die if we fall? Why is that even a thing?!"

"Come on…" Tsukiji tries to appease, tapping her fingers after she slowly rested her controller on her seat, "It's the same as that map's rain of debris, right?"

"Yes, Rigulla's wreckage could create a similar outcome," Asakura nodded, brows furrowed, "I didn't think the destruction of the arenas could be so severe, however. It stands to reason your units would short circuit if they fall to the sea, though. Not only that, but if your boosters do end up submerged, you won't be able to rise back to the surface anyways."

"Oh, shut up!" Takahara whips back, arms tightly folded, the anger cracking the shell of her composure, "This is all Tae's fault for playing like a chicken and then doing that stupid assault."

"Huh?! I was… I was only doing what I always do." Tsukiji couldn't hold the blaze of a gaze Takahara had endowed, so she again lowered her own to the ground in silence.

"Takahara, this kind of attitude won't help you improve," Munakata reminded, resting her arms on the back of the seat, poking the fuming pilot's cheek, "You could have done better, right?"

"Uh… But there's only so much I can do if Tae keeps running in circles. If I let her go, she uses the missiles or snipes me, but if I chase her I can't clear the distance in these cramped maps!"

"And that's what you should learn to do," Munakata reminds, sobering up, now poking the tip of the girl's nose, "You can't keep relying only on the speed and power of your machines. If you're only an arrow, you'll end up hitting yourself against the wall all the time, right?"

"T-That's… I can't do much else with these controls," Folding her arms, she looks away, putting up pitiful excuses, "My hands are so cramped after pumping this thing for so long, and the stick gets so hard… it's so sensitive, reacting to the minimal push, I have to barely press the tip all the time."

"Yeah, I know," Munakata, smiling a bit, ran a hand over Takahara's long hair, "It gets so hard… your hands are so full of it, tired of the constant gripping…"

"Yeah…" She nods, sighing, relaxing her anger, "Yeah, I'm a bit tired of this small one. I rather have the usual, the extra size makes it so much easier on my hands," She smiles, as Takahara had quite many setbacks in using the analog stick as opposed to the lever stick that's on both simulators and cockpits.

"I see. So, you like your sticks on the… bigger side?"

"Yeah, the bigger the better in my opinion. I can't see myself getting used to anything other than-" Halting her words as she heard Hayase let out a drowned snort, a slight pink fire starts to spread on Takahara's face, "1st Lt Munakata…"

Smiling, winking, she gestures in circles, edging the girl to continue, "No, no, please do tell us about how bigger you like your sticks."

"Not like that!" Rising from her seat like a geyser, she tried to take a swing at Munakata.

Who simply danced away in a short spin, giving the furious girl a slap on her bottom, "Come on, don't get so upset. One would think you're… hiding something, otherwise."

"Shut up! You and your damn sex jokes… I'm not interested in that kind of stuff!"

"Then, you don't swing that way, Takahara-kun?" Hayase asks, a small smile as she caressed her hair, staring right ahead into the shocked Takahara's eyes.

"Eh?! Ah, uh… well… It's not that I don't, you know, want to someday… you know…"

"So you do like 'em big, huh," Haruko comments from a corner, smirking at the gaping expression of her comrade.

"N-No! It's not like that, dammit!"

"So she says but…" Hayase chuckles, making a stroking, slow gesture with her hand, "Now that I think about it, she always kind of stares a lot at us when we're changing, right?"

"I'm telling you, it's not like that!"

"It's alright, Takahara," Munakata pats her shoulder, nodding a few times, whispering again as she leans closer and closer to Takahara's ear, "It's alright to be curious of that kind of thing at your age, to want to explore all the roads. But you know what happened to Goldilocks. She wanted to have a taste of every soup so badly that…" Licking her lips, she chuckled.

"Shut up!" Moving away, face red in anger and embarrassment, Takahara's fists again tried to lunge for Munakata's face.

"Calm down!" Akane grabbed her by the waist from behind, barely managing to hold the rush of her comrade, "You can't hit your superiors, Takahara!"

"Hehe, I think the lady protests too much," Hayase pokes the wound, chuckling alongside Munakata. It only makes Takahara fume more blazes out, as you'd understand.

"But, you know," Munakata winks back at Takahara, freezing her anger solid, "If you ever wanna taste the other side of the street… Just knock on my door whenever."

Takahara's growls and stuttering voice made the aggressors start laughing, unrestrained. Akane, Tsukiji and Asakura desperately cling to the swinging arms as they, pointlessly, try to appease Takahara's desire to indulge in bloodshed at the moment. Yet, the chuckling of the older ones is halted as they receive a sharp folder to the face, which also freezes Takahara and those that tried to keep her in check. The soft groaning, the narrowed gaze of Haruka met their eyes then.

"Mitsuki, Munakata-san, please do not use those words against Takahara," She says, waving the folder at their faces, "I can't believe you'd so shamelessly utter such things… You're horrible."

"Wh- Haruka, we're just messing around," Hayase counters, feeling a dart in her heart.

"It didn't look like that to me," Akane says, low, giving her a side glance as she released Takahara, who then sighed as Asakura places a hand over her shoulder.

"…Come on, it was just a joke."

"Those vulgar matters are not a joke, Mitsuki!" She scolded, pointing a finger at her friend's nose, "And… A-And… It's so embarrassing to hear you say such things," Face flushing, she starts lightly hitting Hayase's shoulder with the folder, "Don't go talking about pe… those things so lightly!"

"…She's right," Tsukiji braves, still looking down, "I mean, there's so much more to a relation that just… that."

"Well, I'll have to agree," Touko nods, smiling a bit, "Love and companionship truly are more precious than… the pleasures of the flesh."

"Yes, exactly that!" Takahara nods repeatedly, pumping a fist, "Even if I'm… curious… those kind of encounters aren't what I want. I'm not some sex crazed thing, I want more than mere meat."

"…Well, what did we expect?" Akane shrugs, smirking, voice low, eyes colder, "They seem to enjoy the fabled 'touch and go' approach, after all."

"HUH?!" Hayase recoiled in shock, gaping.

"Suzumiya, what are you saying?!" Haruko scolded, hands quivering as the breaths she took in.

"Oh? Weren't you the ones suggesting to Takahara to indulge in superficial relations?"

"It was just a joke, come on," Haruko rushes to deflect, yet Akane groans in disagreement.

"Really? Who was the one whose brother was… a little bit too handsy again?"

"Grr… Suzumiya…" Haruko tightened her fists, losing her easygoing smile as they stared at each other.

"I cannot believe you all," Asakura shakes her head, appalled and eyes losing light by the second, "I didn't think you'd be like this…"

"Yes, everyone's different but…" Haruka groans, yet her eyes and shoulders cascade down, quite saddened, "For you to mock romance and love in favor of such… lustful things. I thought you were different, Mitsuki…"

"W-Wait just a damn second! Haruka, it was all just a joke!" Hayase waves her hands around, only to be left breathless as she met her friend's dejected eyes.

"It didn't sound like one," Takahara counters, Akane nods.

"Sigh… Come on, you all," Haruko ruffles her hair, leaning back onto a desk, "It's all just a teasing round. And I do agree, there's more to an encounter than mere sex."

"Could we please move on from this talk?" Asakura asks, face flushed while she facepalms.

"Yeah, let's just let it go." Tsukiji sighs, Takahara doing the same along Akane.

"Sorry, didn't mean it as an insult or anything," Munakata nods towards them, scratching the back of her head. But then, she smirks again, "But just so we're clear, there's nothing wrong with liking 'em bigger, you know," She winks their way, Akane groaning as she taps her forehead, Takahara seething through clenched teeth.

"To hell with you, Munakata," Folding her arms and looking away, Takahara shakes her head, "Coming from the one who… seduced the cyborg, are you not just projecting your preferences right now?" Smirking, she says. Munakata remains gaping for a second, quite shocked as you'd expect.

"Oh! Got her good!" Akane cheered, sharing a high five with Takahara.

"W-Wait a moment… I only did what I did for the sake of the mission!" She immediately counters as she steps forward, hitting a chair, her heart leaping as she recalls the talk by the hill, the kiss engraved in the hand she was coiling.

"Even the… intimate stuff by the pool?" Akane asks, smirking a bit.

"Why, Suzumiya, weren't you the one who endowed the Brasilian carnival's attire, in two separate occasions too?" Touko mentions, a hand on her cheek as she smiles and giggles.

"Wh- I only was following orders!" Face reddening, she yells.

"As did everyone else," Haruko sighs, one eye closed, "But seriously, those uniforms were kind of cute, right? If the skirt wasn't so skimpy, I wouldn't mind wearing them during summer," Smiling bright, she says.

"Oh, that's true!" Haruka claps her hands, nodding, "They were really well designed, too. It felt nice, to not have to always wear the tight and restrictive formal dress."

"Yeah, to have clothes that let themselves breathe was a nice change of pace, as opposed to our usual here. But that skirt was… you know…" Asakura looks down, a single finger scratching her cheek, "I still can't look at the mechanics in the eye after having to wear those things for so long."

"Y-Yeah." Tsukiji nods, tapping some fingers together, "At least they understood our situation and why we had to wear those… uniforms for so long while we patrolled the base when the cyborg was here. But the Royal Guards…" Eyes crash down, she runs her hands on her arms as if she were trying to dispel the chilly air outside as her chuckling cracks at times.

"Ugh, don't remind me!" Hayase shakes her head, a cold shudder down her back, "Just recalling the nasty gazes they gave us when we crossed in the hallways, their comments under their breath…"

"Yes, that is… true." Touko chuckles then heavily sighs, relieved that her sister did not have to see her endowing such tight and revealing clothing, "Still, it was indeed a nice piece. Perhaps, we could attain permission to actually make some simple pants or a more… formal skirt for next summer?"

"Well, I guess we'll have to ask Cpt Michirun what she thinks," Munakata says, shrugging.

"If the Captain hears you saying that again, you're as good as dead," Hayase reminds, shaking her head, fiddling with her hair, "But anyways, we strayed from the topic at hand. The training must go on!" Chuckling, she hurls a finger at Takahara's face, then at Tsukiji's, "And, you two lost the match. Which places you two at the bottom of the scoreboard."

"Huh?! W-Wait a moment, please!" Tsukiji bolted up, hands gradually closing, "Let us have a rematch!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Takahara agreed immediately, blasting forward like boiling bleach.

"You two, this part of the session is already over," Haruko reminds, showing everybody the scores she and Haruka had been tailing, "And you two ended up in the bottom, which means-"

"You take the punishment!" Hayase announced, smirking widely as she again rose a finger to the ceiling.

"No, anything but that!" Takahara shook her head frantically, "I won't survive that a second time!"

"I… I don't think I can endure that again…" Hunching over, Tsukiji's voice torn to shreds, she could do nothing but shiver in place.

"Come on, Tae," Akane patted her friend's arm, shoulders sagging heavily at the prospect, sighing in sympathy, "It can't possibly be worse than before."

"Oh, why don't you join them in the duty then, 2nd Lt Suzumiya?" Touko suggested, giggling as Akane froze over in shock.

"N-No… I mean, we have a tally for a reason."

"Huh… So you're going to forsake your friend, Suzumiya?" Haruko asks, giving Akane a side glance and a smirk. Which made Tsukiji stare at Akane, like a lone puppy would.

"Come on, all of you," Hitting a desk with a folder, Asakura grumbled as they kept teasing each other and chuckling over the matter, "The results are absolute, and we need to continue the training session."

"Shut up. Just because you got lucky with the grenades…" Takahara shot her a bothered glare, host of quite the amounts of envy and anger.

"I only followed my plan to the letter, adapting to the flow of battle. It's not my fault you find the recklessness of the aggression pleasurable."

"At least I'm not a coward who hides behind cover all the time."

"Sigh… See?" Asakura again shook her head, "That attitude won't help you at all, Takahara."

"Yeah, jokes aside you need to relax a bit," Hayase says, staring squarely at the fuming pilot, "If you're always in such a rush, you won't be able to survive in the field. You all saw how Niigata was like." All five of the newest members look down, losing their smiles. Touko and Munakata grimace, also sending their gazes into an emergency landing, "And not to mention, you and me got done in quite badly by the Vikings today, right?" Smiling, patting Takahara's shoulder, she held her gaze, hoping to send some vigor into her soul, "So we have to step up our practice, until we're at the level where we can make the most out of the Type-00C. Got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Standing in attention, spirit replenished, she replied in full force.

"Same to you, Tsukiji," Hayase continued, nodding firmly despite the serious tone and face she made, "You did a damn nice move at the end there, but if you keep waiting until the last moment to bust out your best moves, you…" Closing her eyes, she folds her arms inwards, along the poison she was about to inadvertently release, "might be blindsided as you got during the match by Takahara."

"Yes, Hayase-san." She whispers, deflating like a balloon untied.

"Sigh… I told you honorifics aren't necessary. Well, anyways, you gotta face your failures head on to truly learn something from them. And that means, you gotta deal with the punishment."

"All that talk just to go back to this…" Takahara grumbled, Tsukiji nodded in agreement.

"You can't break your word, now," Touko reminded, "So, it's the first time we have two people assigned to aid the Captain with her paperwork, correct?"

"Yes, I think so," Munakata nodded, winking at the two slumped figures of the girls, "Maybe she can give you some advice regarding your taste for big sticks?"

"No!" Takahara shouted, as Tsukiji lowers her gaze further below after stealing a glance at Akane, "Like I would ask the Captain for romantic advice. Do you want me to die or what?!"

"Yeah. I suggest you to not do that, ever," Haruko relents a nod, a weary sigh, "I was only trying to lend an ear… and the complains just never ended."

"Sigh… Anyways, hang in there, you two," Akane nodded to them, using a firm tone coming from her stomach as she did when she was their squad leader, "Don't let this get in the way of the rest of the session," She holds their gazes, they nod back even if they also sigh as they do, "So, should we return to the training or-"

The door opens and slowly, so slowly, Michiru enters the room. Lips compressed into a line, she shuts the door close without making any noise. Sighing, she ruffles her hair, and when she looks up she blinks fast and corks and eyebrow, meeting the curious gazes of her crew.

"What is it? Did you finish your matches already?"

"Yes, Captain," Hayase informs, saluting, "Did you receive word from the Vikings, Ma'am?" And immediately presses on her curiosity.

Which causes Michiru to pinch her nose for a moment, "…Yes. The Professor just notified me both of them agreed to lend us a hand just a moment ago. Let's prepare the simulators, the Viking requested to watch some of our runs in Hard Mode."

"Huh?! Is that possible?" Akane asked, feeling a quiver, a few waves hitting the back of her head.

"Apparently," Michiru shrugs, "By using the ethernet connection, we can share replays of our runs it would seem, and the scoreboards can be shared as well. Before fighting against us in these sims, they want to see how we're measuring up to the challenge. Now, as you know, those two made short work of most of us quite easily during this morning. I want you all to give it your best during this part of the training, you hear me?!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"If you make any rookie mistakes… I'll tell Kyouzuka-san to withhold your weekend dessert for a month." She threatens with a smile, all their complexions tighten, answering again in unison. "Good. Also, for today only, I won't need your aid for my paperwork."

"Huh? Really, Captain?!" Takahara asked, eyes sparking alive.

"Yes. It seems the XO arranged someone else to lend me a hand, so that you all can stay well rested. With how much you've been training with these things while testing the XM3, we don't want you losing sleep. So then, let's decide which five of you do your runs first."

"Ma'am?" Akane raises a hand, slowly.

"What is it?"

"Will we also spar against the Vikings with the WMTS?"

"Yes, that's the idea. I have a communicator here to link me with them once they arrive at where the last WMTS unit is. We'll coordinate to link up the software."

"…Huh? So, we don't get to see them?" Munakata asks, brows and eyes narrowing, "Might I ask why the secrecy? I believed we were the base's most secret unit. I know we may not need to be read on at the moment, however…"

"Sigh…" Michiru's shoulders sink, lips narrow as a bit of acid rises in her throat. All of the Valkyries wince at the tight expression, dejection seeping through the cracks of the facade. "I tried, believe me. All I got from the XO was a 'You'll meet the Viking soon enough!' and then she simply cut the connection after telling me to return here while she contacted the mystery duo. So!" Coughing, straightening up, she stares at her crew, who also stands in attention, "I want you all to perform at your best. If we impress the Vikings, perhaps we can make them request more trainings with us, or to hasten their arrival to our ranks."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Good. 1st Lt Suzumiya, do you have the report for the trainings thus far ready?"

"Yes, Captain," She steps forward, offering the folder.

Michiru takes it with a thanks and a smile, which Haruka returns, "I assume no one wants to change their unit of choice?" She stares at everyone in the eye for a second, no one replies, "Alright. 1st Lt Suzumiya, the arrangement was?"

"Ahem… Most of our newest members will use the Struggler, 2nd Lt Tsukiji will use the Colossus like you, 1st Lt Munakata and 2nd Lt Kazama have chosen the Tipharet, and 1st Lt Hayase will use a Ravager Mk. II."

"I see. Hayase, you won't change your mind to use a normal machine?" Michiru asks, arms folded, only to feel more ice down her throat as her subordinate shook her head with much vigor.

"It is the only machine which moves to my liking, Captain, ma'am. The Raioh could be a decent second option… but I believe its beam weaponry to be more of a detriment than the HSST mode of the Ravager, as that attack is similar to a frontal charge."

"Fine, fine," She shakes her head, not wishing to argue any more, "I know the Professor joked about how we'd have railguns and beam rifles in the future, but please try to keep the usage of those unrealistic weapons to a minimum. We won't know what the Vikings will be piloting until we fight them, so you all better be ready for anything!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" And again, a unison as they all saluted.

Michiru then opens the folder Haruka had handed her, shifting through the pages to arrive at the results, "Let's see… The top five of the prior training get to tackle Hard Mode first. I'd like anyone to at least get past the tenth mission this time."

"Uh, Captain?" Touko asks as the others were already turning around.

"Hm? What is it now?" Michiru asks, eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"If it isn't much trouble, could we ask the Vikings to go through Hard Mode as well? In that way, we also can observe their maneuvers as they will while spectating on our runs. If our own runs can be shared to them, then theirs also could be shared back to us, am I correct?"

"Oh… Yes, you're right. I hadn't thought of it. I'll try asking once they contact me," She nods in thankfulness, which Touko returns with a smile.

"Nice one, Kazama!" Hayase returns a smirk and a thumbs up as she crashes onto her seat, excitement coursing through her arms like a bolt at the prospect of watching the Vikings try and clear the setting that had stumped their progress.

"Why, it is nothing. However, I assume you and Misae wish to make amends for this morning, right?" She chuckles at their sober expressions, at the fire in their eyes, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to defeat this mystery pilot in a one on one."

"Yeah. And not just for today. that mock battle in the Gekishins…" Hayase groans, tightening her hold on the controller as she rested her back onto the seat.

"That, too, is a debt we have with this pilot," Munakata nods, crossing a leg, leaving an elbow onto the armrest, "We'll be in equal footing for the first time. So, let's play ball and see how they react."

"…I hope they don't knock us out as quickly as this morning," Asakura says, slowly sitting down.

"Don't worry, think positive!" Takahara reminded as she leans on the back of Asakura's sofa, "They won't have that weird machine with them now after all."

"Yeah… Still, we already saw their skill. Viking One's, in particular," Akane says, eyes unmoving from the swirling patterns of squares and lines of black and green, the loading screen that was reminiscent of a system as it booted up, "It won't be easy, at all."

"Best of luck, Akane. I… I think you can do it!" Tsukiji nods and smiles, encouraging and bright.

"Yeah, no point in getting all stressed out about this," Haruko winks at them as she brings a few chairs closer, so that everyone can sit down, "It's a training course in the end. And I'm sure we'll learn much from the Vikings' performance. Maybe they'll clear Hard Mode even?"

"Ha! I'll eat a sock if they do!" Hayase chuckles, severely underestimating the soldier's prowess in her blissful ignorance.

"Change the first letter to a C, and we have a deal," Munakata whispers, poking one of her cheeks as she chuckles.

Yet, Hayase simply raises a brow as she squints her eyes, "Huh? What are you talking about? To change the letter to a C… Then it would make-" Eyes part away as clouds after a storm, only to allow a meteor rain to follow as she groaned, "Mu-na-ka-taaa…"

"Could you two stop being all over the other for one damn second?" Michiru says, slamming a folder onto a desk.

The rookies chuckled at the matter, as Munakata also did while Hayase slowly hit the arms of her sofa, oozing bloody murder intent from her very being. Business as usual, as you'd expect.

A beeping in Michiru's pocket, she holds her comms close to her lips, whispering for a moment as everyone else stared. She then nods towards Haruka, who starts a timer as she readies her pen to write down the events of the session. All the Valkyries accept the prompt to have their run shared through the 'multiplayer' scoreboard before starting up the challenge and preparing their units and their loadouts, and their preferred color scheme. Taking one second to accept the plastic cups with water Tsukiji and Haruko had just filled, another moment to hydrate and relax, roll up their shoulders or make circles with their necks, the first five nodded towards their captain.

"Now then… Valkyries, start the course!" Michiru barked the order, and all five of them fired off the confirmation, starting their runs of Valgern-On's Hard Mode.

---

A few minutes later.

(In a nearby room.)

---

Sparks and explosions flowed in the TV screen, twisters mixing into vortex as the beams are fired and the special skills triggered. Yet, the stages repeat themselves, the scenarios are left uncleared. As the last Struggler of the final round of four falls to the ground in flames, Takeru sighs and shakes his head.

"Just what the hell are they doing?" He says, resting comfortably against the sofa, stretching his legs.

"Takeru-san," Pulling his arm, the young Yashiro that was seated besides him asks, "why are they having so much trouble?"

"Because they're still moving within the conventions they learned from. The rules of airborne warfare still hold some water in regards to TSFs, especially for Anti-TSF combat. But you saw it yourself, they're still jumping and dashing as if they were using the old OS. Not even trying to strafe, to do simple power slides… I wasn't expecting them to try out my acrobatics as if they were naturals but after playing so much in Valgern-On, they're still only doing some basic jumps and stuff. Sure, they're more nimble than with the old OS… but that's all." Folding his arms, he simply shakes his head.

"So, they're not training well?" She asks, tilting her head.

He shrugs as he grumbles, slowly crossing his legs, "I won't say they're bad. But, they really are not making the most out of the game. If they limit themselves to what they have on their hands today, they'll never make any real progress. To try out things that may sound dumb, to try and defy the current status quo is what they should be doing! What good will do to them to refuse to use the system's liberties for airborne maneuvers? Or for them to get used to newer long range weaponry? Really, they're just stagnating in their comfort zone…" Frowning a bit as he tapped the sofa, he nodded with much impulse, speaking his fair judgment.

"…You sound a bit like the Professor," Yashiro says, smiling at his flinching.

"A-Anyways… I wasn't expecting them to change their style overnight, but they've made very little progress. It's like they don't realize which moves are best suited for each mech, and they've barely used the combos at all. Not to mention how to do anything besides Nairs while jumping… Sigh, they're still playing it safe instead of using the freedom of movement the game has," I know you can't spell success without succ, but they're sucking harder than a drunk Santa Claus, he complained, twisting his lips as a certain image flashed in his mind due to his poor choice of words, understandably spurring a blush in the soldier's face.

"…Takeru-san, what do you mean?"

"That I was thinking they'd be doing some more air dodges and stuff, and trying out different combinations as opposed to them just… playing at the surface level," He answers, leaning further back onto the cushy sensation, placing both hands behind his head.

"No, I wasn't talking about that," She moves her bunny ears, still staring into his eyes, his swirling aura, "You just thought about a 'drunk Santa Claus', but I heard from the Professor that he was a nice old man that gave presents to the poor. Why do you think he's bad?"

Choking on empty air, face flushed slightly for a moment as he struggles to not think of that night, "Don't… Don't worry about that, it was just a turn of phrase."

She held his gaze, seeing a strange tint of colors swirling around him, near his face and lungs in particular. Not understanding, she tilts her head, leans on her sofa to stare closer, "Do you dislike Santa Claus, Takeru-san?"

"No, I don't. Sigh…"

"Was he mean to you? Did he give you a bad present?"

"No… all the contrary, actually…"

Her bunny ears perk up, she stares in confusion at the swirl of colors, reminded of the lights she sees when she closes her eyes very, very tightly, "What do you mean?"

A beeping from the comms saves him from further questions, further reminiscence. On the other room, the Valkyries laid hunched over their seats as they once more failed to clear level ten of Hard Mode. Only Hayase had actually reached a point where she could say victory was close by, but for the rest, they hadn't shown any improvements as they were concerned.

So, Michiru called out in a whisper, so that only her could hear the answer, "Vikings, do you copy?"

"Viking One, loud and clear," Takeru replied, crossing a leg, sighing as young Yashiro remains staring, peeking as she rests her head on the sofa's arms.

"I assume you have already watched all of our individual runs?"

"Yes, we were just done with the last one some seconds ago."

"So, may I ask what did you think of them?" She politely said, as she was unaware of the rank that the mystery pilot had. The small groaning on the other side of the static-mired line only served to make her nape feel overflowed by said static itself.

"I found some… drawbacks to your approach," He began slowly, breaking the ice tenderly as he leaned back onto the seat, a hand resting by his ear to support his weight, "While your overall strategies do have much work put into them, I find your… insistence on using the old movement patterns a bit baffling, truth be told."

"Could you elaborate?" She asked, low, the tip of a knife pressed against her chest.

"While the tactics we use won't change drastically, you have not been using the advantages the XM3 offers. Your jumps are as short and sparse as they would be on the old system, the stride of all of you denotes a lack of… valor, might I say. You could employ dodges to evade most attacks, and then counter when you would normally be under the cease of inputs. Since the increased sensibility gives you far more options for three-dimensional movements such patters are easy to achieve, more so to perform multiple changes in direction in quick succession, yet you all have stuck to the tried and tested ways. If all you use the XM3 for is to bypass the shock countermeasures as you did during our earlier bout today, you're better off just switching back to the old OS," He concluded, covering the comms as he sighed heavily. For the soldier knew that, even if he raised valid points, speaking the truth and nothing but the truth, Cpt Isumi was not going to receive the words well.

And the groaning that came from the other side of the line, the deep and sharp inhaling she had to do to keep her voice as a whisper should tell you the effect his words had on the leader of the Valkyries, "Viking, with all due respect, such movements would only worsen our performance. We are required to be the spearhead of the Project, as you should be aware," Stopping for a moment, dousing the fire she was breathing, Michiru then coughed, "Employing newer, untested tactics will only make it more difficult for us to complete our mission, which is why we stick to strategies we know are successful. Furthermore, the risks of losing units by employing such… reckless piloting as you did during our battle is decidedly high. Not to mention, the tear such approaches would leave on our machines could backfire on the field, rendering a TSF unusable or putting the pilot at risk should a limb cease to work properly due to the abuse. Basing our trainings on methods proved through years of experience is what I believe is best for my crew."

"Still, you're fighting with the ways of yesterday, when you should be adapting to the strategies of tomorrow. You're going to get blindsided if you don't even take a few training sessions to try out new things," He nods to himself, clear and resolute, also truthful, "I understand your duty as the leader of the STF requires you to look after the safety of your crew and the success of your mission," Inhaling softly, he lays a cold blanket over his voice as he frowns, "however, there is much to be gained were you willing to truly break the conventions you're being chained by."

"…Chained?" Michiru couldn't help but to raise her voice a bit as she frowned, enough for the rest to hear her well, "With all due respect, I do not find the tactics available limiting in any way. There is no need to resort to such endangering maneuvers when the ironed out patters already benefit much from the XM3. You speak as if you… had plentiful experience in the field, Viking. Yet, if you did, I believe you wouldn't be casting such doubts towards the protocols crafted with the sweat of many through decades of warfare."

His eyes squinted, inhaling sharply, softly clawing at the cushioning around him, "Putting the protocols you were taught with atop a pedestal will only narrow your field of view, when you should be seeking new alternatives to turn the tide of this endless battle, to prevent more sacrifices. And… In a way, you could say I have many lives worth of experience, yes," He replied, low and harsh at the anger Michiru displayed, rightfully countering despite the welling displeasure in his own words, "Which is why I believe newer tactics are required. As we are, we will end up extending the stalemate and losing this war. So, with all due respect, I believe our duty to the people is more important than safeguarding the 'honor' of these protocols you're clinging onto, Captain, ma'am." He releases acid and pure blight, twisting the sofa in his crushing grip.

Recalling figments of Iceberg, of how Michiru herself allowed an exception during 21st to let him clear the Forts so that they could dispose of the Laser-class present made the soldier wince. Hearing her harsh, serious words of rejection had sent another small dagger into the open wound the soldier had, another dejection. Yashiro pulled his sleeve, staring in worry at the darkening hue of his aura, at the thickening fog that surrounds his body. He then smiled, petting her head and relaxing back to his usual way of being to not burden his psydekick of a bunny.

"I… I see…" Michiru, on her end, remained dead silent.

Thinking on the words, the tone that came through the static, the sword aimed at her throat. What at first was indignation towards someone who dismissed her efforts, those last words, the tone that spat venom, told her something beyond what the words meant in the sole sentence, making her tongue regress into her throat. It reminded her of days long gone, of days of intense battle and emotion. And with those thoughts, the sensation of being drenched in drying sweat came back to her arms. The smell of humidity mixed with the buzzing of the flies, and the stench that with them came.

So, as you'd expect, her whisper descends even further beyond into the sea, "However… I cannot risk my newest members to learn under untested methods, or for them to suffer an accident during a mock battle while testing these movements you apply. We already received quite a reprimand from the mechanics due to our encounter this morning. While I'll admit the XM3 is indeed surprising-"

"It does not have any tangible results in the field." He fired off, scratching the sofa as if skinning it, making young Yashiro flinch and wince at the color of his aura, while he was reminded of what he and Yuuko had to go through to get the OS accepted. And what those issues made Yuuko do… and the ripples his weakness caused back then. "I know you'd rather repeat trusted methods than to risk employing an unknown plan. I know that, when you're deployed, there is no room for failure. And I know that asking you to practice such precise maneuvers at high speeds sounds like madness, more so with the maintenance cost they come with. However, if it's clear results you want, if you'd like proof of the XM3's real superiority…" He chortled, smirking for a moment, until young Yashiro pulled his arm, groaning in disagreement to his scary expression, "Well Captain Isumi, why don't you and I make a bet?"

"Huh? A bet?" She rose an eyebrow, as the incognito chuckled behind the veil of static.

"Yes. If me and Viking Two manage to perform better than you Valkyries in Hard Mode, you will heed my advice and start practicing with the methods I suggest. Both in the WMTS and in the sim runs you do every night with the XM3. You can then continue your usual approaches in live mock battles or in the JIVES trainings… and see for yourself the difference in results you get."

"Huh? Excuse me, how do you…" Turning her back to the others, leaning onto a desk, whispering even lower, "Why do you know that we're testing the XM3 at night? That's a top secret matter only my unit and the XO herself knows about." She paled, thinking she had made a miss, that somehow the intel had been leaked or her unit's movements noticed. She was aware the Viking was also given the OS for their battle at morning, yet she had thought her nightly trainings had gone unnoticed thus far.

"…I know many things about your unit, Captain," Takeru said, cold and low, unnecessarily countering Michiru's dismissal of the XM3 a second time, quite foolishly so.

"…What are you trying to say?" So she asked, tense as a small quiver appeared on the back of her head.

"That you have my sympathy for having to shoulder the drunken stupor of your 2IC," He nodded to himself, smiling as Yashiro started to chop his shoulder lightly.

"Huh? You… know of…" Yet, Michiru felt cold water run her back, over and over. She did have to tend to Hayase's drinking sessions at times, and it is quite fair to affirm it was distressing for the Captain when that occurred. However, Hayase hadn't gotten that wasted in the last few months, so her shock, her widening eyes and mouth are justified, I believe.

Takeru, however, was not done yet. And chuckling as he stretched his legs, crossing them over as he rests a hand on his chin, he whispers back, "And I also can sympathize with the… rivalry, let's call it, you have with your sisters over the love of a dense guy."

"HUH?! H-How…" She gaped, gripping the comms, that hand shaking as veins popped up in her eyes. The rest of the Valkyries stared in wonder, in worry, as she hurriedly paced to the other end of the room, tightly pressing the comms into her person as if she had received a call from a lover right before dinner, "How… do you know that?" She whispers, and then she frowns, "And… why are you bringing this up, Viking? Surely, you're not trying to blackmail me, are you?"

"No, I would never do anything of the sort to you, Cpt Isumi." He smiles, rolling his eyes as he lightly shakes his head, "I'm just letting you know, that I know many things about you Valkyries. Secrecy aside, I am your ally, even if my words might sound harsh or hard to believe. My advice comes with no ill will attached, ma'am. As I said during our first talk before Niigata, all I want is for us to bring Alt IV to fruition, and reach a world with ze… without wars."

"Is that so? Then, how did you find out of… such personal matters?" She asks, frowning harder when he chuckles again.

"I am the Professor's bodyguard, Captain." He nods to himself, smiling, "You'd do well in… keeping my words close to you," He said, chuckling at the end, pleased with his performance and delivery as he blocked young Yashiro's relentlessly chopping hand.

Michiru blinked quickly as she took a deep breath, running a hand into her hair, "Is that how it is, then… And if you fail to perform better than us, what do we gain from this bet?" She asks, turning back, sitting on the desk, crossing her legs.

"Well… Is there anything you'd like from us? So long as it isn't something the Professor would forbid, that is."

"Let me see…" Grasping and treading her chin, Michiru doubts, thinks on what she could ask. The chance was unexpected, but now she found herself void of answers. After all, the last thing she wants is to overstep her boundaries and risk angering Yuuko, you'd understand, "I suppose you're not available for more mock battles?"

"Sadly, no."

"Does that also apply for practice runs on the WMTS?"

"Hmm… That might be possible to arrange. Is that what you want if we, somehow, lose?"

One of her brows twitched, she suddenly wanted to be able to have the person at arm's length, "Yes, that will suffice. I accept the bet, then."

"Good to hear, ma'am. So, should we start our own run of Hard Mode?" He asks, Yashiro already standing up to look for the controls and set up the match in online mode.

"If you could. I… am expecting you to put on a good show, Viking," Smirking, clicking some fingers together, she said.

"If that's what you'd like from me, I'll gladly give you the time of your life. Let's see if the fine painting we'll draw in the skies is fitting to your palate, ma'am."

"H-Huh?! What do you-"

"Please enter spectator mode, so that you can see our runs in real time. Well then, I hope our performance pleases you, Cpt I-su-mi."

"Wait a mome-" The connection dropped, static miring her hearing. Clutching the comms, she fumed momentarily, "Damn it…" How did… I haven't painted or visited a gallery in years…

"Is something the matter, ma'am?" Haruka asks, head lowering, slowly walking towards Michiru.

"No… It's nothing. Alright, you all. Pay attention." Once everyone was, indeed, focused on her, she smirks as she shrugs, "It seems lady Viking was not pleased at all with our performance so she's gonna give us 'the time of our lives', in her own words." A few raised brows, a chuckle or two, and quite the confusion and displeasure brewed within their shifting, tightening postures. "So, make sure you watch their moves closely. The Viking made her point clear enough, she doesn't believe we're using the XM3 to its fullest potential, so she'll show us how to handle it best. She proposed a bet to me, and if either of them manage to get past level ten I agreed to employ their suggestions."

"That's… unexpected," Touko notes, bumping a hand onto her chin, "Do you believe their words to hold some merit, ma'am?" It is very odd, Cpt Isumi rarely backs down from her plans, unless the one suggesting a change is the Instructor or the XO.

"Sigh… I think so, yes. At the very least, the Viking's words lent credence to the experience she possesses in her shoulders. And, well, five of us did almost lose to a single unit this morning, outlier or not," Sighing again, her gaze falls momentarily.

"But… Speaking of, why was that machine different?" Tsukiji asks.

"Didn't it have better radars?" Takahara answers, arms folding, looking around.

Asakura nods, tapping one of her brows as she tries to recall, "I believe that model was… a derivative of the F-14 Tomcat, by the looks of it. I don't recall reading of such a model, but I suppose those odd features on its shoulders and arms were extra sensors. Which is what allowed the unit to snipe us from such a distance, thanks to the increased processing power of the XM3."

"Sigh… It's crazy to think about," Munakata nods, running a hand into her hair, "An old dusty prototype that was discarded as a failure might very well see a revival to its full glory with new tech at one point. Perhaps, those radars might become commonplace if the Professor's testings are successful," She concludes, the younger ones nodding in agreement to her, oh, so correct words, despite her not being aware of the Mindseeker's true purpose.

"Captain, what if they can't beat our results?" Hayase asks, sobering up and returning the talk to the point.

"Well, it seems they're willing to spar with us more frequently in these sims," Michiru nods, only to flinch at Hayase's sparkling eyes as she squealed.

"Really?! We'll get to train with them regularly?!" She steps towards Michiru, holding her gaze firmly, waiting and holding her breath close as if she were a little kid asking for candy.

"Captain, is this true?" Akane stares at Michiru, gulping slowly and trying to mask her equal excitement at the prospect.

"Only if they fail to clear level ten. Now, let's set up this spectator mode they mentioned," She says as she walks up, smiling again and waving to dismiss the formality.

And so, the Valkyries hurried to connect all five of their Stallions to spectator mode on the only signal available. As they huddled closer, chairs squeezed in between the larger sofas, whispers and opinions, bets and expectations start to be shared as if they were relaxing in a bar after an arduous day of work. Except for Michiru, who remains collected, absentmindedly playing with her hair, as she tried to make sense of what the Viking had told her, of the cold and acid tone which told the mystery pilot indeed had 'many lives' worth of service on its shoulders.

"Just… who are you supposed to be? Why does the XO trust in you to such degree? And… where did you even come from, to know such things about me?" She so mulled, until Munakata wrapped a hand over her shoulder, joking about how she had been charmed by the Viking, which spurred another round of jabs and teases as they had done before with Takahara and Tsukiji.

On the other room right besides, however, two bunny ears flapped up and down quickly. Almost as if she were trying to use them to fly away, young Yashiro kept her stare firm upon the soldier's worry.

"For real, let me go at it first," He insisted, resting his hands on his waist.

"No. I want your opinion on my piloting."

"It's not like I ain't gonna give you pointers after you finish, Kasumi."

"But if you win first, the Valkyries will start asking you lots of questions…" She again flapped her bunny ears, "I can sense it in their auras. They're feel as pushy as your comrade was when we worked on the consoles."

"Sigh…" You really do not like Meiya, for some reason, "Fine, alright. At least we got them to wait a bit before we watched their runs, so you did get to play for a while. But, you're sure about your pick?" Folding his arms in worry, he stared, "I think the Xao-Myun is still better, since you're not used to the controls."

"No, I like the Watcher. It's not that hard to use," She insisted, puffing her cheeks a bit.

"…You just like it because it also has bunny ears, don't you?"

"That's not it." Bunny ears dropping as her gaze did, her hands join slowly, "I, um, find it easy, to tell when to move with it. With the other units, I have to worry about the range and all… but with the Watcher I can stay away from danger, observe things from afar and attack when I think it's best." Nodding once, she looks up at him, hands joining even harder, "Do you think I'm wrong?"

"No, if you like that one, go for it, Kasumi," Petting her head, he smiles, "So, ready?"

She nods, sitting down and grabbing her joystick. He sighs, chuckling as he shrugs. Going to make sure everything was right with the cables, he then gives young Yashiro a thumbs up. She softly presses the confirmation button, preparing her unit with the soldier's help as he sits again by her side. A few seconds later, they were all ready to go.

So, grabbing the comms, Takeru calls, "Captain, do you copy?"

Startled a bit, more so by all the gazes and smirks that fell on her person, Michiru answers in a whisper, "Loud and clear. Are you ready to start, Vikings?"

"Indeed we are, ma'am. As it were, Viking Two requested to take the first shot, so you'll be seeing their skills next."

"Can we expect 'the time of our lives' from this run?" She asks, smirking as she leans on the armrests of the sofa.

"Well, Viking Two has had little training under me. However, there may be something worthwhile in their piloting for you," Grinning, he shares a nod with Kasumi, "You'd be wise not to blink, ma'am."

"…Very well. We're ready on our end, too. You may start whenever."

"Roger." Cutting the connection, he smiles, "All yours, Kasumi."

And with a small groan and a faint flap of her bunny ears, young Yashiro began her run through Hard Mode. Yet, as her unit appeared in the Valkyries' televisions, as most of them stared in wonder or puzzlement, Michiru felt her knees quiver, her insides twist. I believe you'd understand the shock, for the unit that young Yashiro had chosen, the Void Watcher, has a particular identification code: XB-80E.

The slim machine was nothing like a TSF, looking truly humanoid except for its large shoulders which bent backwards, making it seems as if the Watcher was always sticking its flat chest outwards. The armor of its arms and legs had a triangular, curved feel to it, and its head was an inverted triangle, sharp and pointed with two antennas like those of a Shiranui, which the soldier compared to Yashiro's bunny ears. Coated in the default overall white paint, with undertones of blue and red in its inner armor and underside, the machine seemed alien enough to surprise the Valkyries at first glance since they had not trained with it, not even once, since it was rather hard to control. And for Michiru, it was unrealistic in its patterns. And she also wanted to avoid her crew speaking of the code of the unit in the game.

The small bunny, however, merely swayed a bit, softly holding her controller, as the opening stage appears in the TV. The same ship carrier where Takahara and Tsukiji were duking it out moments before, her rival on the first mission being a base Kaizer.

"Here we go…" Gently tapping the triggers, Yashiro causes the shoulders of her machine to splinter off it, flying about towards the Kaizer.

Controlling them with the D-Pad, as one would command the AI partners during single player mode, she switched offense to area control to defense, the droid turrets her shoulders had become keeping the Kaizer at bay, preventing all movement. The Watcher was rather slow on the ground, yet the Kaizer could not dash carelessly without hitting the turrets or the nearby containers. So, Yashiro is now free to gun at it from a distance along the floating shoulder turrets.

In a similar situation to what the soldier had encountered during his match against the Frei at the tournament, the Kaizer found itself tumbling and unable to move. Small enough to dodge auto locks, more so with Yashiro's conservative and reactive playstyle as disruptive cover, the shoulder turrets kept running circles over the machine once favored by Takeru as the AI struggled to neutralize them or get out of their firing lines. And yet, Yashiro kept a poker face, tapping the buttons in a rhythm while gently curving the tip of the analog, in the pace she had learned through scanning his mind, swaying her head as if she were listening to a pleasant song. Having fun, I believe.

However, I cannot say the same for the ones watching the bunny's performance.

"Hey, isn't this situation… a perfect control of the flow of battle?" Akane asks, a hand almost covering her half-open mouth.

"The constant firing of the turrets… and their movements as they sway back and forth… It's very well handled," Asakura notes, equally surprised.

"But this kind of thing is unrealistic. Stuff like that doesn't exist in the battlefield," Takahara says, sulking as she rests her frame on Asakura's shoulders from behind the sofa.

"No, I do not believe so," Touko says, leaning forward to look better.

"Yes, that's true," Michiru admits, "Attack copters can do that to TSFs. If they use AL-missiles, the heavy metal clouds will interfere with our aim systems greatly. Not to mention, if they support a TSF element from the sidelines while constantly on the move, and at high altitude, hitting them might prove difficult."

"Not to mention, fighter jets could easily run circles around even the newest TSFs," Hayase nods, twisting her lips as slowly starts to dig her nails on the sofa, "Their speed, the altitude they can reach… TSFs are not the end-all be-all of warfare, we all know that. But…"

All Valkyries then stared as the odd machine did a singular dash forward once the Kaizer had made the mistake to try and clear the containers to rush it. Stumbled by the firing support from the shoulder turrets that remained in midair, the Kaizer was left wide open as the Watcher dashed at it. Holding two blades that closed in on the enemy as a pincer, the vicegrip of Yashiro's attack starts crushing the Kaizer, slashing it in half.

A victory fanfare was played, longer than usual, as the Watcher struck a pose which the soldier would describe as a hundred-years old vampire screaming the 21st tarot arcana to the winds. The word 'Perfect' was etched in golden letters, a few sparking shines glittering around it, one or two fireworks blasting right behind for a moment. As Yashiro smiles widely, sharing a highfive with the soldier, all the Valkyries were left in utter silence. They had never, not a single time, had achieved a perfect victory in their time training with the game.

"Cpt, did you know we could score 'perfect' victories?" Munakata asks, low, as the next stage began.

"No, I was not aware. I wonder if they'll manage to keep this up, however," She chuckles, yet still feels the cold air of winter on her back. More so when the Watcher kept dodging fire, countering swiftly on the screen.

"Hmm…" Yashiro groans, bringing her controller closer to her chin, as her machine dodges fire in the airport stage, "This… is a bit bothersome." So, she slightly pouts.

"You don't have to stay so much on the defensive, you know?" He suggests, leaning on the sofa, almost meeting her bunny ears.

As the three Strugglers of the map tried to blindside the Watcher, all of them coming from different angles, forcing her to retreat into the empty runway, Yashiro called the shoulders back, closer to her unit. Sensing something in his aura, a few images blurred into her sight. Before she knew or was aware of it, she pressed the analogs, triggering the R3 buttons, alongside the shoulder bumpers. A small combo was executed, as the turrets opened fire incessantly upon the charging Strugglers, and a clear input chain made the Watcher rush forward, do a backflip, and send a wide slash at the chasers. All three Strugglers fall to the floor in flames, the Watcher taking its victory pose as the shoulder turrets kept firing on and on.

"Sigh… That was scary." She admits, resting the controller on her lap as she sighs.

"Wow, didn't think you'd go for a combo breaker like that. Nice one, Kasumi!" He beams, she smiles back. It was a simple three button combo, dash, jump and attack, which caused the simple combo to occur, and yet…

In the other room, gaping and silent, all of them stared in equal shock.

"Hey, that was… that was one of the moves they pulled during the mock battle this morning, wasn't it?" Hayase says, giving the sofa small punches.

"It was, yes," Munakata says, leaning forward, roughly resting her chin on her coiled hands, "Did you see the timer, though? They got a faster time than any of us in this mission."

"And no one had managed to strike down three TSFs in one single attack, either. In these sims or in our usual trainings." Michiru admits, wincing. "You weren't kidding, Viking. And if this is how Two performs… Just where do your limits lie?"

"W-Well… This is still the start of the course, they might have gotten lucky," Takahara shrugs, Akane and Asakura give her a side glance.

"Anyways, the next mission is starting," Touko reminds so that they make silence, her eyes unmoving from the screen as the next opponents were shown. Two Colossus and two Kaizers.

"And this time, it's in the Valley Waterways," Haruko says, crossing a leg over the other, one eye closed, "I wonder how they'll tackle this stage?"

"But, are the movements in the water accurate?" Tsukiji asks, as she had many troubles in this particular stage.

"Believe me, they do feel real, the controls," Hayase remarks as the fighting starts, the Watcher again deploying the shoulder turrets, escaping into the surrounding greenery over a lake, near a waterfall, "The machines slow down, your dashes might be impaired if you fight too close to the water, the footing near the sand or damp ground becomes unstable. And if you don't get close to the water, if you try to stay away from the valley-"

As if following on Hayase's words, a few missiles descended onto the Watcher fired from atop a large rock formation, like an arrow rain of the olden times. Yashiro furrowed her brows, very tightly, as she leaned forward, as her fingers gained haste to play the clicking song. Since the valley was deep and the surrounding mountains large, refusing to approach the waterfall would leave one vulnerable to the Colossus' napalms, you'd understand. However, as the impact hurt the scenery, burning down the nearby forest, as the scorching, creaking sounds of the woodlife filled the speakers…

"…That's horrible." Yashiro frowns, lips shaking, "That's horrible. Why would they hurt the forest like that?"

"It's what happens when you fight near nature," The soldier comments, sighing hard, "That's why… sometimes, you have to employ more aggressive approaches, before collateral damage happens," He finishes. "Though, chaining a few boost jumps would let her close the distance with the valley. Maybe skim the surface of the water for a while, before doing a double jump and bouncing off the wall, then she can cream the Colossus up there, since they can't shoot at her if she's hugging the valley's mountain…" He nods, grasping his chin. But then, he groans as one edge of his lips sinks, "Yeah, that's a tad bit too much for the bunny as of now."

Bunny ears perk up, she pouts a bit. Shifting her grasp on the controller, the shoulder turrets shift to defense mode, blocking both Kaizers from approaching. Amidst the fire, the pixelated trees fading into a burnt model, the Watcher takes flight, making small waves surge forth from the lake.

"Oh?" He corks an eyebrow, recognizing the patterns.

When the alarms beep, she moves sharply to one side or the other, cutting a diagonal slice upon the lake. Her thumbs hurt a bit, wanting to stop. Yet, Yashiro keeps the analog in place, the shoulder trigger of the dash sunk in, evading all incoming missiles, dancing atop the water, painting faint traces and ripples above the calm canvas of the lake.

"Oh!" Both hands coil and raise, a warm smile decorating, casting brightness upon the soldier's face.

Unable to hop and bounce off the rock formations as Takeru does, Yashiro had to make due with a chain of boost jumps to reach the top of the valley, then opens fire in close range at the Colossus, dashing in mid air with the blades extended and closing in a deadly embrace.

"Ooohhh!" Wagging both arms quickly, almost blurring them due to the speed, he couldn't help but to squeal like he did when but a curious kid he was.

No damage was inflicted upon the Watcher as it spun and slashed about, drawing a sphere, a radiant glow with her patters upon the slow and clunky Colossus duo as they stumbled down, only to follow it with her unit's short beam rifle directing a shot at each enemy. Once the long range support was disposed of, Yashiro merely kicked back and relaxed onto the sofa, smiling as she sniped the Kaizers that couldn't clear the lake to even attempt to reach her.

"Kasumin, Kasumin! Naal ok zin los vaahlrin!" Singing the Wyrmborn's song from The Olden Papyrus VI: Merrowgale as the last Kaizer crumbles in defeat, Takeru raises a hand as if aiming to offer a chalice of wine to the sun. As the victory tune chirped to life, she giggles when the soldier pets her head and smiles, congratulating her efforts.

The Valkyries, on the other hand, were again left lacking any and all words. Quite befuddled and incredulous, tight postures keep shuffling on the sofas. Simply put, they didn't believe their eyes.

"…Um, are those kind of jumps actually possible?" Tsukiji asks, feeling as if her seat were vanishing and she'd fall on her butt any second now.

"Yeah… They did that and more drastic maneuvers this morning," Munakata says, biting a nail, "Hayase, they had… bounced off the buildings, right?"

"Yes, they ran circles all over me in less than a few seconds," She clicks her tongue, resting both arms behind her head, "If not for the Takemikazuchi's better radars, they'd have offed me then and there. With a modified Tomcat, too," She spits out that last part, grimacing as her tongue traced the back of her teeth, drying her mouth.

"They also did something similar during our battle in the Gekishins," Touko says, curling a strand of hair, "I believe they had done an Albright Turn as we were cornering them?"

"Sigh. Yeah, I think so," Haruko hunches over, scratching her head, "I didn't see that one coming at all. And again, they're clearing our records without much effort," Grimacing, her feet hit each other for a moment as she shifts, sinks into the sofa, into stillness within her thoughts, "I can't believe this. Those movements… Are they truly so easy to achieve?"

Meanwhile, in the other room…

"Man, that was so awesome, Kasumi!"

"Thanks. I just tried following your advice," She looks down, he ruffles her hair for a moment longer.

"Still, you creamed those Colossus real good. I had trouble with this stage at first back home, not gonna lie, but you aced it like it was nothing."

One brow twitched for a second, "…Back home? Then, what are we to…" Shaking her head, flapping the ears, she sighs. "No, it was thanks to your tutoring," She insists, tapping her fingers, stealing glances at him, "So, do you think I'm doing well so far?"

Winking at her, he smirks, "You're doing perfect. Just try to reserve your fuel better next time. Aside from that, just keep a steady pace and you should be golden." Again petting her head, again making her blush as she stutters words of thankfulness, he smiles in support while giggling at her embarrassment. Which, as you'd expect, made the girl give a chop to his shoulder.

As usual, always offering honest advice, always trying to motivate those around him, to light their mood up however way he can. To be a spark for those who need it to start their own fire, to be that small nod, that faint smile which dispels cold shackles, untying the iron ball. That small sign which still shines in the sky. His trusting gaze and nods, his honest and happy reactions bolster young Yashiro's spirits, which drives her to further her performance, now ridden of fear and self-doubts. Acting as a tailwind, a warm blanket of support, he keeps giving her tidbits of data without interfering with her runs, minding his words but always ending on a positive note to motivate her to keep at it. I believe you'd agree, Yashiro couldn't possibly have asked for more, or anything resembling the soldier's friendliness. Which is why the sun would be left blushing in envy were it to be put besides the young girl's shining smile as she practiced, heeding his advice, basking into his supportive gaze. I think he'd be a good father, one day.

The 'training' session continued, Yashiro proving herself quite capable of improvising on the spot against the AI TSFs she faced. The Valkyries remained as surprised as Viking Two continued to best their times, even if the difference began closing more and more. Even when the first BETA strains appeared in the campaign mode, she managed to best them easily despite her initial hesitant and fearful approach.

"Kasumi, you sure you wanna keep going?"

She nods immediately, "Yes, don't worry. I'm not tired."

"No, that's not it." He sighs as the Watcher skewers a Grappler in half, raising it so that the shoulder turrets can fry it into quite the outlandish brochette, "Level ten has lots of Tanks, and is where there's a jump in difficulty."

"I can do it," She says, flapping her ears again.

"Sigh… Fine. Go and show them the might of Dersh Bnnuy, my young Gadawan!"

CHOP!

"Takeru-san, don't start," She complains, pouting.

"Ahaha… Well, good luck in next level." He nods, and she smiles as she leans back into a comfortable position.

As the opening area played out, as the usual timer ticked closer to the start of the mission, both Yashiro and the Valkyries gulped down, licked their lips as they wait for the signal. Fingers diving into their forearms, tracing the outer side of their muscles. Their breaths very much conscious, regulated, as the air filters in, out, from the stomach to the nose. A small shiver on the back of their heads, spreading down to their shoulders and the rest of their bodies. The second it took for the level to start felt so, so much longer for them.

Level ten, as it were, was the turning point of the story mode. As humanity was fighting among themselves over Tango's remnants, a certain meteorite fell down to their planet. The adversaries thought to have been kept in check away from the planet surfaced from the ground, a rumbling of dread announcing their march to war. As the scenes the soldier had seen during the opening sequence of Oratory Tango play, the ones which spurred his full rebirth, level ten of story mode begins… in the stage called the Fallen Frontier.

A large and expansive desert of white, as far as the eye could see even when the machines performed boost jumps. The relentless, freezing snowstorm raging on and on over the frozen tundra, working against the player since more fuel was needed to engage full boosts, and the overall speed and visibility was severely hampered. Some would say this level was prey of lazy design, as it's simply a large expansion of ice.

However, I believe the simple, minimalist approach works perfectly for this level. Not only it drives importance away from itself towards the introduction of the BETA to the Valgern-On universe, but it serves to sell their danger. In a harsh environment, they thrive where we struggle. Under inhuman conditions, they march on where we retreat. And, even when the snowstorm recedes, in the open, even field of the frontier of pure ice, in a bare bones map which gives no advantages, where both sides stand in equal footing… they score a definitive victory whereas we crumble away under their assault.

Said reason was why the Valkyries were having so much trouble with this mission, since they could not endure for as long as the map required. The winning condition was survival, to remain alive until the timeout. And while they could have cleared this mission were they used the multiplayer functions, in single player's Hard Mode they had not yet been able to endure more than two minutes.

"Damn, it's always the same with the Destroyers." Hayase clicks her tongue, grimacing as the monsters appear from below, digging through the elevations of snow. "I swear, this mission is even worse than the first stages of the Volk Data."

Munakata nods, arms folding, a hand grasping her chin as the Watcher manages to elude the first waves, the shoulder turrets keeping the Destroyers in check. "I cannot imagine how it must have been, to fight for hours on end in the middle of such a snowstorm."

"And that is not all," Michiru says, taking a moment to drink some water from the plastic cup she had, "The terrain in this mission is firm, when in real life the snow would give away under the weight of our machines as they land from a boost jump." She drinks some more, eyes narrowing as the lone machine drags itself through the snow as a few stray beetles rush after it as the Tanks and Grapplers appear.

"I believe there should some data based on the fall of East Germany, correct?" Touko asks, choking a strand of hair as the Watcher manages to dance and spin away from the wave, turning the many Tanks into mere stains in the snow.

"There should be, yes. Perhaps we could request the data, to train under these harsher conditions." Michiru answers with a nod, not moving her eyes from the screen as the fighting continued.

As the Valkyries held their breath, surprised that the odd machine was withstanding the assault as well as Munakata, Michiru or Hayase had, in the other room a faint groan echoed.

"…There's no end to this," Yashiro grumbled, her fingers hurting as she continued to spin that analog, to dance and dash, to slice and dice above the snow as the blizzard whipped against her unit.

The turrets in defense mode near her, away from jumping Grapplers, managed to shield her unit from the Tanks that swarmed, surrounded the Watcher. Yet, the three minutes of the clock seemed to extend more and more. And the beetles kept appearing, rushing forth and giving her barely any time to move away. And the spiders kept jumping, extending their many arms to deter her movements. And the crabs kept waddling towards her, wanting to pierce the life out of her machine. All of them uncaring of the strong winds and piling snow, all of them rushing forward like the mindless beasts they are.

"You just gotta keep on moving," The soldier says, resting his arms on his legs, giving her frightened face a smile, "Short bursts of speed to escape, to let you maneuver well."

"There's too many of them." She counters.

"Pierce through, slash the Tanks apart. You have the turrets with you to get you enough space." He nods again, she grumbles as her lips purse.

"But… I don't know if… Ah!"

In the moment of hesitation, Tanks had managed to swarm through her turret's covering fire. Holding tight onto the legs, the spiders climb over each other, stomping their fellows' arms and squashing their eyes in their quest to sink their teeth into the machine's frame. The arms of the Watcher bend, their joints twisting outwards as the Tanks pull on them, the wiring within exposed and torn apart, leaking oil and sparks as if someone had taken the first bite of a juicy beef steak. The turrets cannot hold back the tide, cannot clear the swarm in the main unit. As Yashiro hastily presses more and more buttons, trying anything and everything as her breath picks up speed when the 991 alarm starts to beep, as her heart clangs against her frail skin the more she sees her inputs are pointless, all she can do in the end is watch.

Biting her lips and shaking a bit, she looks down as her machine is tumbled over, devoured by the BETA, as the screen fades to black. Only to be followed by a splatter of blood, tainting part of the 'Game Over' message in deep red. Her hands relax, lose tension as if she were but a puppet with its strings cut, her joystick slips from grasp and begins to fall. If not for the soldier's reflexes, it would have ended exactly where the girl's gaze was. Tumbled over the floor, unmoving.

Softly patting her head, he whispers, "You did well for a first run, Kasumi."

"…That's not true. I… lost so badly. I couldn't even last a minute."

Pressing his hand onto her hair a bit, he laughs, "Don't forget that you're playing on Hard. Sumika and Tama had a lot of trouble dealing with Normal back home, you know?"

She looks up, eyes wide and unblinking, staring at him. When the colors didn't recede or change shape, when he smiled back at her and she saw it was no lie, Yashiro felt a small shiver in her back as his fingers traced her hair, massaging in circles as if he were giving a pizza its circular shape.

So, she could only whisper as she edged closer, "Really? I did well?"

"Yeah. And just between you and me…" He leans closer while covering his mouth with a hand, filling her view, "I also wasn't that good when I started."

"Eh? Really? But… but you're so good now."

"But I wasn't at the start, everyone starts from somewhere. Keeping at it despite how much I sucked at the start is what has gotten me this far. Time and effort, Kasumi," And many nights without sleeping, too, he says with a smile.

"Takeru-san, missing sleep is not good," She admonishes, grumbling as he laughs when he leans back.

"That might be, but you must be ready for when Lady Luck comes knocking at your doorstep. Without that practice, I wouldn't have been able to win the championship back home," And maybe I wouldn't have recovered my memories in time to avoid a calamity… "In any case, daily small efforts are the key to reaching an aptitude level you're happy with, be it in your work or your hobbies." Shaking his head a bit, he brings a fist to his chest as he puffs it, "With the will to keep pushing upon the first failures, the desire for knowledge to keep looking deeper, and a complete disregard for one's sleep schedule, humans can accomplish anything!"

"…You sound like the Professor," She scolds, eyes narrowing.

"Who do you think taught me that line?" He smiles, moving his brows up and down a few times. "But anyways, you did great for a first time. Don't be so down, Kasumi." Again smiling as he nods, Takeru pets Yashiro's head. She looks down, stuttering words of thanks. A beeping on his pocket, he brings the comms to his lips, checking the distortion was still active, "Viking here."

The sliver of a whisper that came through sent a few nails into Takeru's throat, reminding him of a certain moment, one of the last moments of Operation 21st.

"…Viking, was that truly Two taking on the missions?" Michiru asks, dull and low.

"Yes. Why, is there a problem?" He counters, fuming a bit, raising a brow.

Michiru grimaced, looking at the stone-cold expressions of all Valkyries, the open shock of the start of the session having turned into a quiet, sober pondering. The newest ones could not hide the dejection of their sinking shoulders nor the paling of their complexions. While the older ones had endowed a serious poker face, silently awaiting the answers. After all, young Yashiro had reached a comparable performance to their own trainings. Reaching a final score and lasting more or less the same as the newest members in the mission, the apparent fresh trainee had tied their efforts after quite some time training with the WMTS.

Obviously, Yashiro could not yet reproduce these results inside a cockpit by any means. But they did not know that, and even if they did, I believe it is quite fair to affirm that all of them were sort of humbled, raising their plastic cups in salutation towards the unknown pilot. Since not only did she manage to equal their results, which meant the mysterious pilot would make a decent addition to their starved ranks, but that she did so with the odd machine that was too hard to control for all of the Valkyries, and employing the maneuvers the soldier preaches for.

So Michiru sighs, heavily, and for a second she stares at nowhere while clamping her lips. "Let Viking Two know we were all pleasantly surprised by the performance. It was a very good training run." She says, allowing a smile as the others relax and begin chatting, debating over the matter, "I know it is beyond your control, but we cannot wait for the day when we can welcome you into our ranks comes."

Takeru nudges Yashiro, smirking as she looks down in embarrassment, "The compliment is appreciated. So, I believe Two did not manage to best your times, right?"

"Huh?" Michiru flinches, as she was willing to lose the bet in front of the impressive show of skill of the bunny, "Well, it is true the older members have scored higher numbers… Are you saying you can surpass them, Viking?" She asks, gulping as she waits, as she hears the others, namely Hayase, whistle behind her back.

"…Well, why spoil the surprise? I suppose it is time for the main dish." He chuckles, rolling his shoulders to dispel the stiffness. "Also, we're still having a few matches afterwards?"

"Yes, if you'd be so kind," Michiru immediately replies.

"Then, could we have the newer members of your units spar against Viking Two, while I spar with you and the olders?"

"I suppose…" One of her brows twitched, not pleased at the soldier's lack of tact and poor choice of words, "Well, it would save us quite some time. Very well, let's do just that. However…" She leans back on the sofa, looking at her crew with a smirk and speaking louder while distancing the comms from her chin, "I expect you to fulfill your words, and give us that show you mentioned before."

"Oh, don't you worry, ma'am. I'll give all you want and much, much more…" He then licks his lips, chuckling as Yashiro stars chopping his shoulder yet again, "In any case, I shall be getting ready. Please return to spectator mode," He then cuts the connection, blocking the chopping as he goes for his joystick.

"So… What is this about 'all you want and more', ma'am?" Hayase asks, smirking and chuckling.

"Wh- It's nothing. They're merely teasing us, is all," She fumes, looking away with a slight frown.

"Oho… I wonder why are you so upset, Cpt Isumi? Don't tell me…" Leaning closer, tip of a finger on her chin, she chuckled as Michiru groaned.

"What is it? You wanna join in their fun, Hayase?" Munakata shot an arrow at the opening, placing a hand over her mouth as if embarrassed, "I didn't knew you were into threesomes…"

"What?!" Haruka shouts, face paling, "Mitsuki and the Captain… doing… doing…" Unable to bear the image her imagination crafted, she covers her eyes quite tightly as she squeals in embarrassment.

"My, I didn't knew you favored such encounters, 1st Lt," Touko says with a smile, stockpiling pressure.

"I cannot believe you…" Akane says, low, as she shakes her head alongside most of her cadet squadmates.

"Come on, now." Haruko hits Akane's shoulder as she chuckles, "They were just kidding… R-Right, 1st Lt, Cpt?"

"Of course it's just a joke!" Michiru blasts away, face as red as her hair. "Don't mix me in Hayase's and Munakata's sexcapades!"

"Wha- Captain!" Hayase yells in complain, also blushing, "What are you talking about?!"

"You know what I'm talking about," Michiru glares, both hands on her waist as she levels a stare at both of them.

"Pay her no mind, Hayase," Munakata leans on her comrades shoulder, playing with her hair, "She's just jealous of our pure love…"

"Mu-na-ka-taaa… This is all your fault for getting drunk!"

"Oh? You didn't send me away, though."

"I was half asleep! And you even ended up stealing my sheets," She folds her arms, shaking her off. "It ain't my fault you can't tell where your room is. I couldn't just have you sleep on the floor, you stupid idiot. You say I'm a drunkard, but you can't go back to your own room when you're wasted."

"Mitsuki, you can't even stand after you drink," Haruka counters, hitting her friend's weak point, making her gape at the unexpected stabbing.

"Shots fired!" Takahara smirks, laughing at Hayase's tightening expression along the rest of her cadet comrades.

"Sigh…" Michiru couldn't help but to rest a finger on the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "Anyways, if you don't want people assuming the wrong thing, could you tone down the steam?"

"And here I was, merely supporting you after Hayase's teasing…" Munakata brings the back of a hand to her forehead, shivering dramatically, before hugging her forearms, "Your distrusts hurts me much, Captain."

"Siiigh." Chuckling for a moment, realizing the small banter had eased up the tension in the youngers' complexions, she merely shakes her head. "Try to keep the teasing to a minimum, Munakata. You too, Hayase."

"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am!" Both salute, serious for a second, before shrugging and sitting back down.

"Still," Hayase puts both hands behind her head, staring at the score and time displayed in the screen, "I cannot believe a novice truly did perform on par with us."

"You can say that again." Munakata nods, ruffling her hair, "I expected this from the Viking, but their sidekick also has quite some skill under their hood."

"It is no wonder they're kept as top secret pilots, then." Touko smiles, handing Munakata a cup of water.

"Uh, Captain?" Akane asks, arms compacted by her sides, "Is Viking Two truly a novice when it comes to piloting?"

"I wasn't told much about it, to be honest," She admits, shrugging, as she truly did have no idea who Viking Two was supposed to be, "Yet, the XO did mention that while they had some prior experience with piloting, they're being tutored personally by Viking One at the moment. But even with that in mind…" She eyes one of the TVs, locked on the placement in the scoreboards the unit named 'Viking 2' had reached. "And with such an odd machine, to boot."

"I don't think you should be so afflicted, ma'am." Munakata smiles, sighing, "While most of those moves do seem very unorthodox, their prowess has been proved in these sims. At the very least, they deserve some testing in an actual TSF simulator before we assume they're that superior to us."

"And even if they are," Touko slowly starts, fumbling with her controller to connect to the one signal available, softly and quietly leaning back onto her sofa, "their aid will greatly benefit our missions. Viking Two bested our times in the earlier stages, and even when they couldn't continue that performance throughout the run, there are many small details that warrant more examination." She then smiles, before reaching out for her plastic cup, "I believe we should be grateful for their presence."

"Exactly that!" Hayase nods with much vigor, arms folded tightly, "I thought One was doing all the work during the mock battle, but it does seem I was clearly wrong. Two's reaction speed was nothing to scoff at, and frankly, I can only tip my hat in front of the results we've seen. If they really are a novice, then I praise their grit to reach that level of aptitude so fast."

"Yeah, all the sharp movements made me a bit dizzy at times," Haruka relents with a laugh, looking over her notes, "I honestly don't know how to describe most of the movements, it was like watching a very menacing pendulum swing back and forth over the battlefield."

"Yes, that's true." Haruko sighs as she nods, her eyes glued to her boots, "I thought we were all decent pilots by now but…"

"It took us so long to even reach level eight, let alone beat it…" Takahara punches a desk, shaking her head and walking away, a crushing grip choking her plastic up.

"And they took very little damage in most missions as well," Asakura points out, her neck resting fully against the sofa as she stared at the ceiling, mind as blank as its paint.

"W-Well… But, but! We can try to see if we can polish our moves with theirs, right?" Tsukiji suggests, tapping her fingers as her elbows sank into her stomach. Her arms relaxed once the older ones nodded in approval.

A beeping echoed about, all of them stared at the screens in unison. Those with the controllers accepted the connection, the loading screen flashing for some seconds, Takahara returning to lean on Asakura's sofa, Haruka readying another blank page for the report, Haruko and Akane sharing one firm nod as they inhaled sharply, Hayase and Munakata staring firmly as a hint of a smile appeared, the rest simply drank some water, awaiting the connection. And once it did…

"…Huh?" Michiru opened her eyes wide, mouth gaping.

"What… kind of joke is this?" Hayase says, barely managing not to start laughing.

"Um, we did connect to the right option, right?" Tsukiji asks as her hands quiver, hastily looking at the other TVs to make sure she did not screw up. Her brows cross and lower as she sees the same sight replicated in all five screens.

"No, it's the same on all the TVs." Akane scratches her head, sharing the furrowed brows and a gaze of confusion with Tsukiji and Asakura.

Their eyes puzzled, confused, open as if they had hit an electro field while they looked at a machine that was not available in their roster of options. Painted mostly in black with a few underlines of white in the outer side, and green in the inner parts. All of its body was sharp, angular, weaponized. The two backwards antennas it had were also sharp and pointy, they resembled horns instead of bunny ears. The clear triangles on its head visor made it look as if it were frowning, while also having a wide smirk on its lower side. But above all, the paint job of the visor and part of its shape made it look like a skull. A smirking, frowning skull with two large horns folding backwards, with its eyes glowing in a deep emerald green.

The fingers were long, ending in sharp points as if they were a homage to vampires. The hands resembled claws more than anything. Its arms and legs were covered by modular plating with a rugged surface that seemed to be folded over and over, giving it a look similar to an old medieval armor. Two small knives protruding from its feet, ready to also slice anything with its kicks. But above all, it had two larger wing-like objects on its back, selling the diabolical motif well. And to top it all of, as if its macabre appearance wasn't enough, it had two large scythes extending from its forearms, as if it were constantly holding two blades in a reverse grip.

"…Skull Kaizer? Was there a unit like this available?" Akane asks, yet nobody answers. "Captain, may I reset my unit to check the available crafts on the sim?"

"Yes, you may," She immediately answered.

Yet, as Akane brought back the game to the starting screen and opened the selection mode again, she could not find the machine that was depicted in the other screens. So, understandably I believe, they all sobered up as they examined the image of the vampire-reaper-tiefling machine.

"So, is it some sort of evil counterpart to the Kaizer?" Hayase asks, grasping her chin. "So it has the blades backwards, huh… Those things look too long to actually be just blade armor."

"I agree," Munakata nods, firmly staring, "They do look more like actual blades attached to the machine. I'm more curious about the things on its back. Are those wing-things extra boosters?"

"They might be, for all we know." Michiru shrugs, only to look back at the screen as the preparation screen ended, establishing the connection.

Showing the usual preparation screen with the loadout of the unit before the starting stage, the name of choosing of the player was displayed up top along the machine of their choosing. Narrowing their eyes, sharing some glances, blinking and rubbing their eyes, the conflict towards the skeletal and evil looking machine did not change. And as the Valkyries tried to make sense of what they were reading as the loading screen changed, Yashiro was again pulling on his arm.

"Takeru-san, you should use another unit," She says, pouting.

"Why? The Skull Kaizer is awesome, Kasumi," He answers, raising a brow. "I mean, look at it. It looks so sharp and slick, it has the chainsaw spinning wings and all, it's all painted in a simple but welcoming black. And don't forget about the scythes!"

"…It looks scary, I don't like it."

"But it has scythes for hands!"

"But it looks scary," She flaps her ears, still pouting. "Why do you have to use this one?"

"Well, first, because it's the only other thing I like in the roster, that can match the Take's speed and damage output. The Skull Kaizer is the best damage dealer in the entire series of playable characters, save for the OTH Railgun of the heavy mechs. Second, because I really liked the alternate take of the bad ending of the first game that was told through the campaign mode of the Skull Kaizer. And last…" He smirks, moving his brows as his voice slows down, "its special moves are awesome. The Sky Rend you can do while its Break Skill is active is one of the most epic things you can do in the game."

"…Why? You can already do lots of amazing acrobatics."

"Yeah, but the Skull Kaizer spins, Kasumi. It's a literal lightning vortex of destruction. Not only it makes it hard for others to lock onto it, but you can also shout 'Let it R.I.P.!" when you score a kill while spinning!" Puffing his chest as he nods, Takeru chuckles as he sets up his machine's loadout.

"Why would you want to shout that?" She asks, brows narrowing in growing confusion.

"For the references, Kasumi."

"Huh…" Mouth gaping, eyes unblinking, she, in fact, did not understand what he meant at all. "But, even with that," She edges closer as he quickly clicked the last arrangements away, "are you sure it's fine, to use a secret unit?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. And anyways, I'm going to end up cruising through this thing, so they're gonna have other stuff to worry about. Don't forget I won a championship, and cleared Maniax mode back home." He reminds, puffing his chest as he smirks, waiting for the loading screen to take him to the game.

"Is Maniax Mode that much harder?" She asks, her shoulders compacting upon her already small frame.

"Yeah. For example, in level ten the snow actually can make you stumble, and there's like double the amount of enemies. The players in the forums didn't nickname it 'Get Raped by the BETA' for no reason." Her bunny ears flap up, eyes wide as she stares in surprise, quivering like an actual bunny before it dashes off in hops. Only she sinks in worry, folding upon herself. He sighs, petting her head. "So don't worry, I'm just going to show the Captain how far above the ceiling of my baby is." Nodding with a huge smirk, Takeru pressed the confirmation button, starting the game.

As the campaign mode started, the Valkyries again opened their eyes wide for a second, sharing gazes as the images did not align with their expectations.

"What's this level? Cathedral of Shadows?" Hayase squinted her eyes, arms folding. "And the opponent is… Two Strugglers? What's going on here?"

"Maybe they chose a different mode?" Asakura suggests, receiving more puzzled stares and groans.

"First an unknown machine, now different maps…" Michiru shakes her head, choosing to replenish her composure as she drinks water.

The stage is loaded, an expansive underground facility with cables strung on the ground. Multiple pillars, obelisks decorate the main hold of the place. Some sort of cylinders with marine green liquid, resembling the one found near the scientist's office but much, much larger, are in the center of the map. And in the starting position of the player, one of said cylinders was broken, wires swinging like an earthworm cut in half, sparks flying about as the liquid substance drenched the floor.

Unlike the usual opening scene of the runs the Valkyries were used to, where two sides would suddenly start fighting in the open sea of the carrier, now the Skull Kaizer walked slowly through the large space colored in ebon dark and marine green. Quickly, the camera shifts, revealing two Strugglers painted in light blue, UN blue to the women's eyes, and without hesitation decide to engage the Kaizer as the usual starting screen appears with its countdown.

"Okay, this is more somber than the other missions, alright." Munakata comments, low, slowly crossing her legs.

And as the piano started to slowly play, as a guitar's riff began to pick up speed, as the adversaries started to grow closer, as the sound of heartbeats started echoing along the BGM in the soldier's room, and as the Valkyries wondered why the machine was not moving…

He chuckles, "…This is my life, a survival that knows no end."

With a precise combo, the Skull Kaizer did a few zigzags around the obelisks and pillars, dodging fire without receiving a mere scratch. Confirming the lock, the Kaizer dashed forward, spinning as it flew NOE, tearing everything apart in its stride.

The obelisks cracked and began to fall, some of the cylinders were crushed. The small lights of green in the floor broken as if a thunderbolt had fallen right on them. And the smoke, the smoke and fire keeps on raising from the exploding remains of the two AI-controlled Strugglers, both defeated by the spinning combination in the blink of an eye, pierced by a cannon ball and torn apart into a pixelated mess.

"…Huh? Did… Did they just win with one move?" Michiru asks, receiving the fanfare with the golden letter of 'Perfect' playing as an answer.

Only this time, the fanfare is slower, more subdued, reminiscent of a classical chorus that would play in a church. Only with hints of metal behind as the riff continued, with the Skull Kaizer taking on its victory pose, spreading its wings and shrieking wildly.

"Takeru-san, what did you say?" She tilts her head, he smiles.

"Oh, I'm singing the intro song of the Kaizer. In the last stage, instead of one of the default BGMs you get to hear a unique song as you fight the last boss." He says, waving a finger, nodding much, "And, guess what? The song is made by no one other than JellyProjection!"

"…And who is that?" She flaps her ears, upset that he teases the question despite knowing she doesn't know.

Yet, his all too shining smile melts her pout, "The band that makes the most badass and awesome mecha anime openings, Kasumi! I think Valgern-On's devs had to lease their houses just to get them to make some songs for the game. There was even an anime coming out in a few months back home." And I'll never get to see it… Fuck you, causality. Just fuck you.

"But why are you singing?"

"What do you mean, why? It's fun, singing along the openings. And the Skull Kaizer deserves the fanfare," He states with repeated, solemn nods. She narrows her eyes, not understanding.

The following stage loaded, the interior of a military facility of some sort. Lifts and supply crates in abundant quantities, the stage had both an inner hangar and an overhead platform to fight in. Again, the Valkyries were left in offside at the unknown stage as the enemies were displayed. Three Kaizers and two Colossus.

"Just the second level and five enemies already?" Touko comments, arms folding.

"And the Colossus start at the top of the level already." Asakura points out, arms compacting onto her sides, "How are they going to dodge the napalms?"

According to their expectations, the machines immediately started blasting the missiles upon the dark knight as the Kaizers sent suppression fire at it, limiting its escape routes, trying to drive it towards a corner of the map. The young Yashiro held her dress tightly, lips regressing into her mouth as she wondered how could Takeru clear the level. Equally expectant were the Valkyries, who already were thinking on his defeat.

Yet, they clearly underestimate the dexterity of the soldier.

Bursting into a sudden jump, the Skull Kaizer flies towards the platform up above. He chuckles, swaying his head as if lightly headbanging to the tune. Reaching the high area is impossible without using the lifts, yet that was not necessary for him. Under the platform, the missiles of the Colossus were unable to reach him since they couldn't lock onto his machine. And since he was already flying up… he didn't need to aim elsewhere.

"…A script that has only anxiety and dread in stock." He slowly starts, only a whisper.

Both wings start to spin, a shower of bolts flying off them as if fireworks they were. Quickly flickering the trigger, the shuriken-chainsaw wings are released, tearing the platform as if it were a paper put atop a candle. The Colossus duo falls prey to the attack, one losing an arm, the other a leg. Inevitably, both machines also are pulled down to the ground as the platform crumbles after the damage. Diving head first and firing off their guns erratically, they end up crashing and losing quite some health due to the fall damage. And as they fumbled about, trying to stand, a shadow was cast over them. A dark twister enveloped the surrounding area, a blurry gale of sharp metal which sent both units recoiling back, blasted away against the supply crates which end up flying about like the winning ball of a baseball game.

"What… How did he finish off both of them, with melee weaponry?" Munakata gapes at the pincushion both machines had become, as if they had given a hug to a bunch of Grapplers.

Short of stopping, the machine started doing zigzags over and over, looming, gliding like a bat for a moment, charging for the enemy's neck at the other. Barely using his guns to force the Kaizers to halt their own fire, the twister of blades approached. Caught in the stride, lifted off the ground, only the fire of the forced death animation remains after the fact.

"…I wonder, where is our burnt and wounded present heading to?" Smiling, his voice raises as he starts headbanging softly.

Bunny ears pointing to the sky, mouths remaining open, eyes unmoving from the erratic and dazzling camera that followed the dark knight. Stage three, the Valley Waterways, only the water is colored in neon green, there is no wildlife around, the ground instead of a healthy coffee is a gray in the darker side of the spectrum, and the sky was already setting. In the distance, the glow of the machines looked more ominous, filling the top of the canyon, awaiting the dark knight's approach.

"Three Strugglers, Two Ravagers, Two Colossus… What is this even?" Akane said under her breath, taking another sip from her water, holding it in her mouth as the camera flashed and an explosion rang out, "They already scored a kill?! But… the map barely started!"

Mechanical limbs fly about, head visors are sunk in. The acidic water melts the sinking remains, merely flying over it damages the units. But the heartbeats keep echoing right behind the BGM, the tornado remains dodging all fire, its spinning and long dashes forcing the enemy to spray and pray, wait for the napalms. Sadly, the soldier already had a solution for that.

"In the end, will everything sink within the rising fear and paranoia?" He keeps singing, now moving his knees along the tune.

Like a tumbleweed rolling under a sandstorm, crouch cancel after dash cancel. Spinning and spinning, altering its speed, its trajectory. Sliding, skiing over the toxic water, the shadow falls upon the Ravagers, using its own guns to shoot down the incoming homings, to sail the enemies' stride to the center of the lake. If he is close enough to the enemies, the napalms won't be fired after all. Quite an unrealistic and honorable choice of behavior, I'm sure you'd agree.

The shuriken wings intercept the ones which thought to take the reign he had over the skies, those who were foolish enough to try and pierce the veil found the end of the scythes buried deep into their frames. Loading a railgun of its own, the camera shakes as it erupts into a full boost, taking aim at the Colossus. In one burst of light, the last remaining enemies were cleared. And without exception, the Valkyries were simply staring in amazement while he and the bunny shared a smile.

"It is now time for action and not words," Slightly moving his chin, as if he actually had a mic nearby, the soldier quickly pressed the buttons to continue on, "for a small glimmer of hope of shining through."

The next stage, the airport level. Armed to the teeth with five Strugglers, a few turrets, and three Raioh units. Michiru thought this level would serve as a deterrent, yet found herself gasping as the vampire blasted the accel, approaching the horde. And her grasp on her cup slip, falling down, forcing her to bend over to avoid the water to be spilled.

"To inherit the fire of the fallen star…" He grins, pressing his fingers onto the analogs, only a few well timed inputs on his end.

When she looked up, half of the enemies were left on the ground, or whatever was left of them, as the camera kept tilting, changing orientation, flickering along his dashes. The purple tint of its shots blurred as Takeru moved faster and faster, dancing along the Takemikazuchi clones, their longswords having a double date with his scythes. Spinning for a moment, shifting the machine's weight as he stood on his heels, the Skull Kaiser sent a kick to the aggressors. Throwing them off balance with the knives in his feet, the reverse grip stance ensured the sharp end of his scythes had an intimate encounter with the cockpit of his enemies. And again, a perfect victory.

"…that burns within the shadows." Making a quick pose with his joystick, he shares another highfive with Yashiro, despite her complains about the scary song which he answers with a chuckle.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Hayase spat out, forever distorting the shape of her poor, frail plastic up. "What kind of…"

"Come on, now." Munakata tried to laugh it off, shrugging and sighing her own surprise and shock away. "We did face against similar enemies in the later levels of our runs, right?" She gives a small smile, patting Hayase's shoulder. Her face tightened when she realized the 2IC was shaking.

"Mitsuki, what's wrong?" Haruka asks as she stops taking notes, her hand frozen in midair.

"…They were holding back." She says, smiling and frowning at the same time. "This, I dunno, this motherfucker was holding back this morning!"

Quite the fair shock, you'd understand, they were feeling at the results. And yet, as the next level popped up, as the name 'Fallen Frontier' appeared on screen, they all stood in attention, unblinking fixation on the TVs despite the strain of their eyes like little kids trying to stay awake past eight pm to watch their favorite shows.

And as Yashiro huddled into herself, trying to pay utmost detail to his performance in the next mission, she couldn't help but to stare, to leave her mouth open. As a yellow tint enveloped Takeru, who now smiled honestly as he had done in his first days in this world. Images of him playing in an odd location filled with what seemed like TSF sims to her, of two of his squadmates and Sumika, of another moment with him and the flattest one sharing food as they talked excitedly, and other, more blurry, images of him taking the mean and insistent squadmate to the same place filled with simulators, entering into the sim with her to spar against Sumika and one of his friends. Yashiro couldn't help but to also smile, feel her fingers move on their own to mimic his button presses, as she stares away from him and back to the screen, back to the valiant shadow which braved the white snowy desert against the BETA horde.

"When you release the anxiety that's welling up within your cries-" Closing his eyes for a moment, his training with Maya, his talks with his world's Yuuko, his talks by the tree with the memento he shared with his squadmates of another world came up.

So, he pushes the analog forward. And as wide as the eyes of the Valkyries is his smirk as his Skull Kaizer thrusts his arms back, raising the scythes, pouncing upon the BETA in a reversal of roles.

And smirking much, eyes blazing, his voice surges from his stomach as his grip on the joystick tightens. "-then it is when you'll be ready, to reclaim our blue ski-i-ieeees!"

"Takeru-san, don't raise your voice. Your shouting out of tu-"

Mincemeat, the virtual BETA had become. A mirage, was the specter that preyed upon them. And within the blizzard, the hazy figure of the Skull Kaizer flew about, piercing the snow and flesh alike. And the only thing that contested the repeated jet engine noises coming from the chained boosts and backflips was the completely out of tune voice of the soldier, who simply forgot he was training and chose to recall older days. When he had people he could actually count on by his side.

"Turn into an accursed fiend so that you can brave-" Torn limbs form a carpet, inviting the Destroyers. A sharp jump, a quick cancel, only a few button presses, and the charging dive combo was executed without a wasted second, impaling three of the aliens in one shot of its frame perfect performance, "-the ruinous day that lays ahead!"

The shurikens watched his back, all the weaponized armor became a grinder for the Tanks who were touch starved. And he was more than willing to quell their need for affection, closing his scythes over all of them in quite the tight embrace. Tight enough to deplete all air in them, I dare say. His rifle's purple barrages halted the Destroyers that tried to cut in line, yet he was kind enough to forgive them. The soldier still found it in himself to give them a soft pat in the back, a gentle hug of his scythes.

There were still thirty seconds remaining when he had felled the last enemy of the rush. And thus, he cleared the level by elimination as opposed to survival. Not that it had any effect in the sequence of events, the game was not programmed for two outcomes, yet I suppose you can already imagine the ruckus that was ongoing in the Valkyries' room. More did it increase when the next map appeared, a map they hadn't yet seen. A highway, that still had some greenery around, surrounded by a few hills and mountains, as the BETA numbers deployed were larger than before, with the silhouette of the Fort-class in the roster of enemies. Now, the snow no longer worked as a hazard, yes, but still, one could get surrounded easily by quite the number of aliens.

Yet, little does he care. It isn't anything he hasn't done before, as you'd understand.

So relaxed he is, that he keeps on singing out of tune, headbanging to the BGM, "Even if the path you attempt to waaalk-" And as he did when supporting the XG, he dashed about in between the aliens, giving his machine small scars similar to those he has in his back, "-leads only to your downfaaall!"

And the levels were cleared, and the vortex kept swallowing aliens and virtual machines. Unseen, unheard, unnamed, undefeated, only a single unit remained standing with the fire of war as its cloak. Holes plunged into their formations, their bodies and weapons, the cannon ball kept rebounding off and off, diving from the skies to meet the aggro of the tide of enemies.

All the while, he remains smiling as he headbangs, "Because an accursed fiend never ceases to retaliate," Suffering damage for the first time, the vibration of the controller only enlarges his smile, reminding him of his games in the arcade. One of his eyes waters, his voice hoarse as he keeps on singing, a needle in his heart as the once pleasant memories turn sorrowful, "even as it descends to hell aaall by its lonesome!"

While the Valkyries were all silenced, petrified as they watched, while young Yashiro slowly moved her head sideways to meet the tune, even if she was pouting at the words, he grimaced as the next map came up. The Mirraoph Canyon, the map where he had started remembering. A round of ice cream he could not enjoy, a friend he could not protect. Veiling the angst that he had felt for the better part of the day, inhaling sharply, he decided to redo that match. In honor of that friend, his cannon shots became all the more accurate, all the more deadly as they started taking larger chunks of BETA. He bids his time, his fuel, knowing how to quickly end this map.

And dashing under the Forts, he rose in rebellion, ready to rend their flesh apart, to release the acid and melt with it all the BETA he had lured under the Fort. As well as murder all the reinforcements that laid hidden within the Fort as the acid also spills to other inner organs, effectively shortening the map by quite some time.

"Anybody never can stop me! Release the power that lurks in within!" Both scythes slice the Fort apart, as easily as if he were merely preparing some chicken to roast.

An equal scorching comes as the acid falls, as the Fort falls, and as large as the dust cloud are the eyes and mouth of the Valkyries and Yashiro. Yet, as I'm sure you know, there were more Forts still around. And it is quite fair to affirm, the soldier wasn't feeling particularly merciful at the moment, no.

"Destruye todo lo que soy hoy; Déjame renacer en quien debo ser!"

Pressing both R3 triggers, a dark aura surrounds the Skull Kaizer. Its shoulders move up, releasing fire breaths as the small unit overloads for a second. Activating the Break Skill, Pain's Gainer, causes the Skull Kaizer to be impervious to any damage or knockback for thirteen seconds. All of its damage is exponentially increased as well. There is, however, a catch. One those thirteen seconds pass, the machine will die. And with every second, the heartbeats will beat faster and faster, louder and louder, drowning the BGM and other sound effects as the screens goes black and white, hazy and narrow. As if… the pilot within was perishing along the machine, one could say.

Yet, little did that do against him. The blood-soaked specter, tormenting the waves of alien soldiers that can only march forward. The vortex of blades, leaving only a crimson visage in his wake. And the minute detail of the movements, exploiting every jump, every cancel, dodging all attacks despite the invincibility. As he had done during that mission in Sadogashima, drawing arcs above the skies, running circles around the Forts before slicing them apart to use their acids against their fellow aliens. A rhythm, a dance, a pace like that of an orchestra of veterans who played by ear after years of tours together. That is how his movements look, to me at least, despite the fact that he is still merely playing around, even if the vicegrip on his joystick does tell me he is doing some manner of catharsis by proxy as he did when regaining his memories.

"For you're the only one who can illuminate…"

Soaring high, silently sinking into a slicing stance with both scythes seeking slaughter.

"…this enthralling darkness…"

And in the middle of the twister, in the eye of the storm, the meteor rain that were his cannon shots fell upon the virtual enemy before the hurricane he had become ravished whoever had survived, as he had done in a time he did not recall, when alone he was during Iceberg.

So, it is understandable, I believe, that upon that hazy memory resurfacing… he'd choose to mix it, to dull his grief with his emotion, with days of happiness as he screams the finisher when his Skull Kaizer dives in for the kill, right before the thirteen seconds expire.

"KA-I-ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"