The Ether Conflict

by aGuestfromGreece45

One day...the Apocalypse came. Earthquakes shook the Earth, changing the planet's face. Law and order, ethics and morals just vanished, their meaning lost in the ensuing chaos and madness. But something darker lurks in the shadows, threatening to change our way of life forever. It needs to be stopped...though it might be too late for that. [AU story, fantasy elements included]

32. Chapter 32: Past Problems Catching Up

The Ether Conflict

Chapter 32: Past Problems Catching Up

---

1st of July, 2 Y.A.

Makeshift Helipad, Ether Force Base

A few dozen meters away from the front entrance of the building, at a clearly makeshift helipad that is a square of white paint on the ground, ten people stand near it, namely the members of Anglerfish, Antelope and Yuki.

"Yawn... Did we have to wake up this early?" Annabelle yawns, covering her mouth with the back of her right hand. Next to her stands Odysseus, who has taken the role of the luggage carrier as evidenced by the two duffel bags that are next to her left leg, one green and one pink. "It's barely nine in the morning."

"We are lucky Miho managed to convince her sister to have their helicopter do a detour and fly us to St. Gloriana," Odysseus says to her sleepy friend, looking at the rest of the girls that chat with each other. "So stop complaining. Every time we have something to do you are wide awake from six in the morning."

"Yeah, because we have work to do, while now we don't. Couldn't they have the helicopter come a little later?" Annabelle asks with a grumpy expression, then eyes Odysseus, more specifically, the clothes she is wearing. "Didn't expect you'd actually wear a skirt of your own volition," she says somewhat amused.

Odysseus looks down at the black skirt and stockings she is wearing instead of the pants she normally has, then looks back at Annabelle with a flat face. "I didn't wear them of my own volition, but unless I want the lunatics in Tea Garden to burn me in a bonfire like I'm some kind of witch, I need to wear something formal that "befits my gender"..." she says sarcastically, making air quotes with her hands.

"But this is a rare sight indeed. It makes you look more feminine than usual," Reiji chuckles from besides Annabelle.

"Shut up Reiji, no one asked for your opinion," Odysseus retorts back at her gunner, who keeps chuckling at her now slightly blushing cheeks.

"Someone's grumpy today," Tyler, who is standing next to Reiji, says.

"Yeah, well, I have my reasons for my somewhat sour mood," she says back, then turns to face Annabelle. "I wanted to ask, but why are you wearing your normal clothes and not your uniform?"

"The uniform hasn't dried yet, so these were the only available clothes I had," Annabelle answers back.

"Well, you can always wear that lovely costume you forced me to wear yesterday," Odysseus suggests with a small smirk and Annabelle elbows her lightly.

"Only after I die will I wear something like that for your viewing pleasure you pervert," Annabelle responds back with a flat tone, causing both Reiji and Tyler to laugh.

"Ha, ha, ha, how funny..." Odysseus says with a grumpy face that lasts for only a moment. "Anyway, are you sure you want to go? You know, since Elizabeth will be there."

"Yeah, I don't mind that she'll be there. It's not like she'll teleport me to England the moment she sees me. And I really hope we'll be able to have at least a decent conversation for once."

"You think he is alive?" Odysseus asks, then snickers slightly.

"Absolutely. Cockroaches like him tend to survive all sorts of apocalyptic scenarios," Annabelle answers and chuckles lightly.

"Who is this Elizabeth girl you are talking about anyway? Every time you speak about her, you turn all serious and worried," Tyler says with curiosity in his voice.

"Remember how I told you that I left England because I was getting married to a guy I despised? Well, this Elizabeth girl is his sister," Annabelle says and Tyler widens his eyes slightly in surprise.

"And she is a transfer student in St. Gloriana?" he asks and Annabelle nods.

"Yes. Coincidence or not, she transfered a few days after my own transfer."

"Whats even more surprising is that she and her brother are royalty," Odysseus says and Tyler gawks in response. Even Reiji turns to look at her in surprise.

"No way..." Tyler manages to say. "You were supposed to be married into the royal family!?"

"You have no idea what a pain in the ass is to be married into royalty," Annabelle says with a disgusted expression, like the idea of being royalty is making her nauseous. "It is a hundred times worse than being a noble. First of all, you need to learn court etiquette all over again, and I'm not speaking about the building where lawyers duke it out. Second of all, you need to change your surname to the one that the Queen or King - whoever is ruling - is using and after the marriage you can't get a divorce."

"This indeed sounds like a pain in the butt," Tyler nods in agreement.

"And the guy I was supposed to be married into was plainer than a blank piece of paper... His looks were below average, he loved drinking alcohol like there was no tomorrow and to flirt with anything that had a hole between its legs," Annabelle says in slight anger, with Odysseus doing her best to stifle her laughing to prevent herself from angering the redhead even more. "In short, he was a drunk womanizer that had nothing to show off."

"Im sure there would have been a ton of girls who would grab the chance to become princesses though," Reiji says and Annabelle turns to face him.

"There were. That guy was only 21 and already had several relationships that ended with the girl giving up two months into the relationship. So they turned to the noble families with prospective female candidates and got promptly rejected by everyone...except from my fucking father. I really don't know what was going through that head of his when he agreed with this whole farce," Annabelle seethes quietly.

"Okay, take a deep breath and calm down a little," Odysseus says to Annabelle before things can escalate any further. "Neither your father or that idiot are here right now, nor is there any way for you to just teleport back to England, so relax and enjoy this single-day vacation we got."

"But I have to say, this guy sounds worse than Odysseus," Tyler smirks at his commander.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" she shouts, raising a shaking fist in front of her. "I swear to every living deity, Tyler, I'm going to find the place where you hide your condoms and burn them all in a bonfire."

"First of all, I don't have any of the aforementioned object hidden anywhere, and second, our relationship hasn't proceeded that much," Tyler responds dryly.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Just make sure we don't hear anything about a Tyler Junior making his debut in nine months," Odysseus says with a serious expression and Reiji chuckles, while Annabelle facepalms and shakes her head slowly.

"Seriously, is your brain capable of thinking anything else other than sex and lewd things?" Tyler asks rhetorically, but Odysseus answers anyway.

"Hmm... I mean, I think about food every now and then," she answers with a pondering expression, tapping her right hand's index finger against her lower lip, then looking at Tyler and sticking her tongue out.

"When will you be coming back?" Reiji asks Annabelle, who is watching the silhouette of a helicopter slowly approaching them from the horizon.

"Most likely tomorrow evening," she responds, still looking at the helicopter. "Odysseus has set one of her marks at our room, so she'll teleport us there."

"How convenient."

"You have no idea."

"It seems the helicopter has arrived," Miho says, spotting Kuromorimine's Fa 223 slowly closing on their position.

"When will you come back, Miss Nishizumi?" Yukari asks Miho.

"Maybe in two or three days; we still need to prepare for our mission in America," Miho responds back. "Also, where are the rest of the girls?" she asks, looking around a little.

"I sent them to train with their new tanks," Yuki replies curtly as the helicopter finally reaches the helipad and starts descending on it.

The girls use their hands to shield their faces from the winds and dust that have picked up thanks to the helicopter's rotors. As the dust settles down a few meters away from the helicopter, which has turned its engines off, Miho picks up her duffel bag from the ground and looks at the girls.

"We'll take care of things while you are away, Miho," Yuki says.

"Are you sure you have packed everything you'll need?" Saori asks somewhat worried.

"Yes, Saori. You don't need to worry so much," Miho giggles slightly. "Well, I'll see you girls in a few days," she says at the girls.

"Have a safe flight," Hana says.

"Thanks," Miho nods in response, before turning and making her way at the side of the helicopter, opening its side door and climbing aboard.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow!" Odysseus says cheerfully and climbs aboard with the pink and green duffel bags, followed closely by Annabelle, who closes the side door behind her once she has entered.

With all the passengers aboard, the pilots of the Fa 223 start its engines, the rotors gradually gaining more and more speed until they spin fast enough to lift the helicopter in the air.

"So, are you excited that you get to see your dear Assam again?" Odysseus shouts over the noise the engines produce. Sitting on the empty seat next to Annabelle, she places the duffel bags at the empty space on her left, then puts on the intercoms headset and lowers its microphone.

"Well, I'm excited to see her, Darjeeling and the rest after a month. Not so excited to meet Elizabeth, but at least the other members of Tea Garden will be there" Annabelle answers and sighs. "How about you, Miho?"

"I'm really happy I'll see my sister and my friends from the carrier again," Miho smiles from her seat that is opposite from the girls.

"Say, where were you and your friends when the earthquakes happened?" Odysseus asks with curiosity. "Me and Annabelle were on the carrier at that time. Didn't feel a thing because the carrier was in the ocean. We learned about them from the news, though after a few days they stopped broadcasting."

"We were in Kyoto when they happened," Miho answers curtly.

"In Kyoto? What were you doing there?" Annabelle asks, somewhat intrigued by her answer.

"We had been invited to appear on a show to do a live interview about our win against Selection University," Miho says and both Odysseus and Annabelle nod in response.

"Probably to attract more people in Senshadou," Annabelle voices her own opinion.

"What happened when the earthquakes hit?" Odysseus asks with curiosity.

"It... It was horrible," Miho says with a sad tone, lowering her gaze slightly and looking on the helicopter's floor. "When the tremors started, it seemed like a normal earthquake of a small magnitude but...all of a sudden the ground started to shake violently, like a shockwave was traveling inside it. Buildings started to collapse and huge crevices to form as the ground split apart; thankfully we had our tank with us, so we managed to escape the city relatively unscathed."

"So Kyoto is a ruined city like Tokyo now?"

"No. The city doesn't exist anymore."

This causes Annabelle and Odysseus to look at her with surprised expressions. "A few minutes after we exited the city, a huge shockwave originating from its center decimated everything, leaving only a crater behind. Needless to say, we left immediately."

"Talk about being unlucky. First the earthquakes, then a meteor impact; you are really lucky you are still alive," Odysseus whistles in amazement.

"What about you? How did you manage to find yourselves in Blackout and with one of Kuromorimine's Panthers?" Miho asks.

"We left the carrier about a week ago after Darjeeling anchored it at the side of a conveniently shaped cliff," Odysseus answers, but Annabelle corrects her.

"You mean you left the carrier and I had to chase you all the way to the outpost before you could pass its gate and disappear," she says, at which Odysseus can only offer a sheepish smile. "But after that, we left the carrier, mainly because Odysseus wanted an "adventure" and she couldn't stand sitting on the carrier doing nothing. After about four or five months of exploring and scavenging, we stumbled upon Tyler, Reiji and Mizuki." At the mention of the last name, Odysseus loses her cheerful smile, a sad expression settling on her face.

"Mizuki? Who's that?" Miho asks the girls, not having heard the name mentioned from them before.

"Reiji's sister," Annabelle answers.

"Reiji has a sister?" Miho asks in surprise. "Where is she? Has she stayed back in Blackout's base?"

"No..." Odysseus answers slowly. "She is…I..."

Annabelle subtly grabs Odysseus' right hand to calm her, having spotted her eyes glistening, and answers in her stead.

"She is dead."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..." Miho says, lowering her head slightly.

"Around two months after meeting them, we found the Panther abandoned in a field. We looked around for any signs of life, but we found none," Annabelle continues. "Thankfully it had some fuel left and it's suspension seemed to be in an OK condition, so we took it. We used it to travel around and even raid a few bandit bases for resources. Two weeks after that we stumbled upon a settlement; I really don't remember in which town it was, but it was near Tokyo. For the next few months we stayed there, though we were forced to leave after a large number of bandits attacked and razed it to the ground. After that, we roamed around till we stumbled upon Blackout."

Having finished her story, Annabelle turns to see how Odysseus is, who has now placed her head on Annabelle's left shoulder and is looking at the floor with a pondering expression. "Are you okay?"

"Better than ever," Odysseus answers back, still gazing on the cold, hard, steel floor of the helicopter. "Hey, pilots, where are you going to drop us off?" she suddenly looks at the cockpit and asks in the intercoms.

"We don't have that much fuel, so we'll be leaving you around a kilometer away from St. Gloriana's outpost," one of the pilots answers her through the intercoms.

"Great... Now I'll have to walk in this uncomfortable skirt a whole kilometer..." Odysseus mumbles and plops her head back to Annabelle's shoulder, with the latter taking a hold of a lock of her hair and playing it around with her fingers.

---

A few hours later

"Hey, you can see St. Gloriana from here!" Odysseus says at Annabelle through the intercoms as she points through the small window of the helicopter's fuselage. In the distance a massive carrier rests inside a big bay, its bow firmly lodged at the side of a very tall cliffside. On the foot of said cliffside is a tiny forest with a shallow but wide river running through it, while several buildings and what seems to be a wall settle in front of it.

"It seems everything has remained the same since we left the carrier," Annabelle comments, then notices that there are a lot of fields around the outpost. "Look, there are a lot of fields around the outpost. Probably to grow vegetables to eat."

"It seems they have diverted part of the river for irrigation," Miho says and points from her seat at a small canal with water that passes next to the fields.

"I wonder if they still have electricity at the carrier. When we left they had fuel for the generators for about 10 months or so," Odysseus murmurs as the helicopter starts moving away from the carrier.

"Girls, we will be landing shortly," one of the pilots says in the intercoms and the helicopter starts descending, banking its nose up to lose forward momentum.

"Guess that's our stop," Annabelle says and nudges Odysseus with her elbow, who in return grabs the duffel bags on her left with one hand. "Once again, thanks a lot for convincing your sister to fly us till here, Miho," Annabelle smiles gratefully at her brown-haired friend.

"Don't mention it," Miho smiles back at the redhead as the helicopter shakes a bit, signaling that it has landed.

"We have landed; you can now disembark," the pilot says and both Annabelle and Odysseus take off the intercoms headsets.

"Have a nice trip Miho," Odysseus shouts over the noise of the engines and waves at Miho. "Also, send my best regards to Erika," she cackles like a troll and makes her way to the exit door, sliding it open and jumping on the ground.

"Have fun at Kuromorimine," Annabelle waves at Miho, who reciprocates the gesture with a nod and a smile, then exits the helicopter and slides the door close, before making her way at Odysseus who is waiting a few meters away from the helicopter.

Seeing that their two passengers have moved far enough from the vehicle, the pilot lifts it up in the air, making her way towards their primary destination, the carrier of Kuromorimine.

"You know, I never really understood why the japanese government was OK with highschoolers flying helicopters like we are in some kind of anime," Odysseus says as she looks at the ever shrinking silhouette of the Fa 223. "And my God, it is so hot," she complains as she removes her uniform's jacket to reveal a rather short, sleeveless shirt that covers till above her midriff. Stooping down, she opens the pink duffel bag and puts the jacket inside it, then retrieves two white hats and closes it.

"You know that Assam and Pekoe are going to have a heart attack if they see you with that shirt, right?" Annabelle points out as she deftly catches the white hat that Odysseus throws her and puts it on.

"Couldn't care less of what they think about my clothes. It's bad enough I had to wear a skirt, I won't be in formal attire too before the party starts," she answers back. Lifting the bags, she motions with her head to Annabelle towards the carrier's direction.

"You know, you could have wore pants and then changed to a skirt," Annabelle says as both girls start walking at the edge of a wide dirt road.

"I know. In fact, I have a spare pair of pants in my bag," she answers and slightly raises her bag. "But I expected they'd leave us in St. Gloriana, not a kilometer away from it."

"Either way, it suits you very nicely. You should wear skirts and dresses more often," she giggles as Odysseus turns her head slowly to look at her with squinted eyes.

"You'll have to pass over my soulless, mangled, charred corpse first for that to happen," she says slowly, then her expression turns upside down and depicts a genuine smile. "Well...maybe if it's only you, I can make an exception," she winks at the redhead.

"Hooo... Are you trying to flirt with me?" Annabelle coos seductively at the blonde, stepping closer at her side and looking at her.

"Maybe..." Odysseus answers and turns to look at Annabelle's emerald eyes seductively too. They keep walking like this for a few seconds, then turn away from each other and chuckle lightly.

"Ahhh, why can't things be like this all the time," Odysseus sighs lightly, looking at the ever-closing farm fields. "Just peace and quiet."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts," Annabelle says with a serene smile, lazily gazing around her.

After a few minutes they reach the start of the fields, where a lot of young girls are working, either cultivating the land, checking the plants to see if they are okay or harvesting them.

"Now that's something I'd never expect to see," Odysseus whispers as she leans closer to Annabelle. "Aren't these St. Gloriana students?"

"You know, not every girl in the carrier is reluctant to do manual labor or get dirty," Annabelle answers her friend as she looks at the working girls, trying to see if she can recognize anyone. Naturally, their arrival instantly draws the gazes of the workers that are near the dirt road, who stop their work to look at them, and within seconds Odysseus and Annabelle can hear them whispering with each other.

"Who are these girls?"

"Bandits? But they have no weapons."

"Maybe they are from the carrier?"

"Don't they look kind of familiar?"

"Wait! The redhead one... Could she be THAT girl?"

"Then wouldn't that mean the blonde girl is..."

"Miss Elizabeth won't like this at all."

"Look Annabelle. We have been here for only a few minutes and we are already famous!" Odysseus snickers as she looks around subtly at the expressions of surprise and concern the girls in the fields show.

"I guess even after two years they still remember me," Annabelle sighs in defeat, having hoped that most of the St. Gloriana students would have forgotten about her till now.

"Get ready for the grand reopening of your fan club!" Odysseus laughs loudly, causing even more people to look at her. "You should ask Tyler for advice on how to properly run it. Maybe sign autographs every Tuesday evening?"

"My God, I'd rather commit suicide then have to deal with the shit Tyler has gone through back at Blackout with his "fan club"," Annabelle answers in a serious tone.

Reaching the outpost, the two girls stop in front of a large, metal gate, its frame being made of concrete and having a thickness of at least 3 meters. At the sides of the concrete gate, wooden palisades run for at least a hundred meters, before circling around to engulf the whole outpost.

"You think there is a bell to ring?" Odysseus asks sarcastically and motions at the gate with her head, placing the duffel bags on the ground next to her.

"Who are you?" a voice suddenly asks and both girls turn to look on top of the concrete gate, where they spot a guard with an assault rifle.

"I got this," Odysseus whispers to her friend, and before Annabelle can say anything, she coughs twice to clear her throat and shouts. "We are bandits! We came here to steal your women and plunder your treasures!"

The man just stares at Odysseus with a neutral expression for a few moments, before raising his weapon.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to leave the area. Without proper identification you can't enter St. Gloriana," the man says with an unamused voice, resting his weapon's sights on Odysseus' head.

"Look Annabelle, the guy is aim-Gah!" Odysseus stops abruptly speaking when Annabelle hits rather harshly her friend in her gut, causing the blonde to fall on her knees and hug tightly her abdomen. "Screw you, you damn tyrant," she croaks in a strained voice, but Annabelle merely ignores her.

Turning to look at them man, she bows slightly, before looking up again and speaking.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior, she has a few loosened screws in her head," she apologizes at the guard, who seeing Annabelle's calm and collected expression, despite having punched her friend mere moments ago, sweatdrops a little and lowers his weapon. "Could you please inform Darjeeling that Annabelle and Odysseus have arrived? We were invited here by her, though no invitations were sent with the letter," she explains while Odysseus is still kneeling on the ground, though she seems to be in less pain now.

Looking at them for a few seconds with a pondering expression, the guard lowers his weapon to his side, holding it with only one hand.

"Etsuko!" the man shouts, still looking at the girls suspiciously. A few seconds pass before a young girl, about two or three years older than Annabelle, appears next to the man, in her hands a submachine gun resting, though it has no magazine loaded.

"Y-Yes?" she says in a slightly stuttering voice, making a rather sloppy salute at him.

"Go and inform Miss Darjeeling that two girls named Annabelle and Odysseus have come, and ask her if she indeed invited them here," the man orders and the girl widens her eyes upon hearing the first name.

"Annabelle? Y-You mean Lady Annabelle has returned?" she almost whispers in surprise, then looks at the redhead. "I-It's... It's really her..."

"You are wasting time, Etsuko. Move it!" he says sternly and the girls immediately scampers off like a scared animal.

"Cough, cough... Damn Annabelle, when did you learn to hit so hard?" Odysseus coughs as she stands up, dusting her stockings and skirt. "But it turns me on when you are rough with me~."

"Say one more stupid thing and I'll sock you in the face," Annabelle glares at her friend, no amusement in her voice whatsoever. "What if he shot you? What would you do then?" she asks as Odysseus waves at the man on top of the gate, receiving back a glare as an answer.

"Come on, nothing would happen since-"

"-you have powers?" Annabelle immediately cuts her off, and when Odysseus tries to respond, she motions her to stay silent. "Just because you have otherworldly powers that resemble magic doesn't automatically mean that you are also bulletproof. It only takes a bullet in tge head to erase someone's life. You taught me that," she says and presses her left hand's index finger square in her chest.

"Fine, fine, I get it! Sheez!" Odysseus lifts her hands in a surrendering manner and backs away a little. "I get it, okay?"

"Good," Annabelle responds and turns to look at the man on the gate, who is now speaking with the returned Etsuko.

"Since we are on the topic of powers, if anyone asks about me having any powers or any relation to Ether, you say I don't, okay?" Odysseus whispers quickly as both the man and Etsuko start descending the gate.

"Huh? Oh, sure," Annabelle shrugs, not really getting why Odysseus has become so secretive all of a sudden but still going with it anyway.

After a couple of minutes, the steel gate finally starts moving, slowly sliding open. Behind it stands a man with gray hair, brown eyes and a short beard, wearing casual clothes and a bulletproof vest that has the word 'POLICE' etched in its front, in his hands an assault rifle with a grenade launcher mounted underneath it. Next to him stands the girl known as Etsuko, wearing St. Gloriana's school uniform. She has dirty blonde hair and pale blue eyes, while on her hands rests a submachine gun, which like previously, is not loaded with a magazine.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Naruhito Ichiki, former JSDF soldier and guard captain of the defense force in St. Gloriana," he introduces himself at the approaching girls, raising his hand for a handshake, which the girls reciprocate. "This here is my daughter and trainee, Etsuko," he motions at the girl next to him.

"M-My name is Etsuko. It is nice to meet you," she bows respectfully at the girls.

"I assume you are Miss Annabelle and Miss Odysseus?" he asks and the girls nod in response. "Good. Miss Darjeeling said she has sent someone to pick you up. You'll have to wait here till they arrive. Come now Etsuko, we have work to do."

"Y-Yes father!" the girl says and turns around, but not before smiling at Annabelle. "It's really nice to see you have returned, Lady Annabelle," she says with admiration and elegance, though they barely hold for more than a second as Ichiki speaks up.

"Etsuko!" he says sternly and the girl jerks upwards, straightening her back and quickly dashing besides the retired soldier.

"Little did she know Annabelle was going to be leaving the next day," Odysseus snickers, causing Annabelle to look at her weirdly.

"Please stop doing that, it's creeping me out," she says and Odysseus immediately stops.

"Fine. But I really hope no one has raided my room," Odysseus comments.

"Why? Got anymore of your "treasured collection" there?" Annabelle teases Odysseus.

"Well, not only that but I also have alcohol from my country hidden there," she answers casually.

"Didn't know you drank alcohol," Annabelle says genuinely surprised.

"Now you know. At any rate, we'll soon know," she murmurs as she spots a small pickup truck approaching from the forest.

---

Thirty Minutes Later

St. Gloriana's Dorms, Third Floor

"You sure we got the right room?" Annabelle asks as she watches Odysseus struggling to open a simple-looking steel door.

"Yes... It's just that this damn door won't budge!" she groans as she tries to push the door open to no avail.

While waiting for her blonde friend to open the stuck door, she looks around the hallway they are currently in, noticing the tapestries that cover the walls and the chandelier type lights that hang from the ceiling, as well as the red, carpeted floor.

"Fuck this," Odysseus curses and takes a step back, then Spartan kicks the door and with a screeching sound from its rusty hinges, the door finally relents.

"Using brute force to open it, how original..." Annabelle sarcastically comments as she passes Odysseus and enters the room.

"Has done wonders till now," Odysseus retorts with a smirk and grabs the two duffel bags, before entering and closing the creaking door behind her. The room is not very big for two people, but neither too small for one. At the side opposite from the door is a big window with a red curtain to block sunlight from the outside, while on the far right corner of the room is a single bed. At the wall opposite from it is a small closet made of wood and the door that leads to a small bathroom. The room also has a short coffee table and a small kitchen with all the necessary appliances and enough space for a person to be somewhat able to move. Everything is covered by a thin layer of visible dust thanks to it having being left with no one to clean it for the past two years.

"This room needs some serious cleaning," Odysseus comments as she slowly places the bags on the ground, careful not to cause any dust clouds to rise in the air.

"Yeah... Can you go to the janitor's closet and get some cleaning stuff?" she asks, but when she turns around, Odysseus is nowhere to be found, only the opened door evidence of her stealthy retreat. "Damn this girl and her unwillingness to do house chores," she grumbles to herself, then sighs as she exits the room and closes the door behind her. "This is going to take some time."

---

St. Gloriana's Dorms, Fourth Floor

Looking around suspiciously, Odysseus slowly approaches the door of a certain room and quickly unlocks it, entering inside in the blink of an eye. Closing the door with a moderate thud, she looks around at the dark room, trying to find where the light switch is. Finding and turning it on, the lone light that hangs from the ceiling bathes the interior with much needed light, revealing a room that is similar to Annabelle's. Making her way towards her bed, she puts the collar of her shirt over her mouth and nose, causing the shirt to get dragged up and reveal the undersides of her breasts. Lowering herself over the dusty floor so she can see under the bed, she immediately spots a blue plastic bag that is filled with something rectangular, so she slowly drags it out towards her.

After getting it out from under the bed, she neatly sets it besides her.

"Found you!" she grins under her shirt, looking at the contents with a glint of excitement in her eyes.

Inside the bag is a handheld game console, more specifically a PS Vita, with the small box of a game lying next to it, its box art showcasing some girls on top of a warship, with the title of the game intricately designed at the top of the art, saying "Girls und Kriegsschiff". Under those two there is another small box of a game. While it's name isn't visible, the box art shows five girls standing in a beach, each one of them holding a weapon of her own. But from all the weapons, the most intricate one is the one that the girl in the middle wields. It is a rather large sword, painted golden with magenta edges and a chain running at the edges of the blade. Simply put, it looks like a chainsword.

"Hmm... What was the title of the game again? Seeker...of the Truth? No, that was a computer game I played back at the orphanage. Maybe Wild Rise? Whatever, I'll check it out later," she says with a pondering expression, then spots yet another small box of a game under the handheld game console.

"Why hello there," she says with interest and moves it from under the PS Vita just enough to see the title of the game.

"Lover's Heart..." she says slowly, rolling the name in her mouth a few times before realizing which game it is, though the box art that shows a partially naked woman is a pretty good clue.

"Yessss!" she shouts triumphantly, raising her right fist in the air. "Then that means that the rest of the magazines and comics must be here!" she declares in excitement and quickly ties the top of the bag.

"All these days where I had to feed myself with cheap instant noodles weren't in vain!" she says and actually cries a few tears of joy. Getting up and dusting herself, she fixes her shirt and goes next to the bed again.

This time she retrieves a knife she had hidden under her skirt and cuts the mattress in the middle. Putting her hand inside the cut she did, she retrieves a bottle that contains a clear liquid, on its surface a label that writes the word "Ούζο" (Ouzo) in Odysseus' language.

Having gotten what she came for, she quickly buries the small knife in the mattress, grabs the plastic bag and quickly exits the room, running towards Annabelle's as fast as she can.

---

One hour later

"Are we even in the right street?" Odysseus asks as she looks all around her at the residential and commercial buildings, looking for a specific one.

"The girl said it was somewhere around here, and the street's name is the same one with the one she told us, so I don't think we are lost," Annabelle answers back as she, too, looks around for the shop.

"Couldn't Darjeeling send someone to pick us up? It's like three in the afternoon, I'm feeling like I'm boiling and I'm starving to death over here!" Odysseus complains, an annoyed expression settling on her face. "Last time we ate was back at the base."

"Stop whining like a child. We are supposed to meet them at a cafe called "Moon Shrine", so they'll surely have food there, even if it is sweets only," Annabelle says to her, then spots a small cafe in the distance. "Found it."

"I just hope it has air-conditioning," Odysseus says as she wipes a few drops of sweat that have formed on her forehead. Reaching the building, the two girls enter inside, the bell over the door ringing to announce the arrival of the new guests. Looking around, the cafe is nicely decorated, with flower-patterned wallpapers (not the computer ones) adorning the walls, a wooden floor and several small tables scattered around the place with fancy metal chairs.

"Ahhh... I don't think my budget allows me to be here..." Odysseus says somewhat quietly as she looks at the interior of the cafe. Seeing the few girls that are sitting at some of the tables and the clothes they are wearing, mainly St. Gloriana's school uniforms, she adds one more line. "Neither my clothes."

"Its your fault for coming like this," Annabelle says to her as she spots a short girl with short brown hair, brown eyes and wearing a waitress uniform coming towards them.

"It's hot outside! What did you expect me to wear, a coat?" she complains like a child, though Annabelle gives it no heed.

"Welcome to the Moon Shrine! How can I help you?" the brown-haired girl says with a smile and bowing a little. Annabelle just looks at her with slightly wide eyes for a few moments before finally speaking.

"R-Rina?"

"Eh?" the girl exclaims in surprise, looking at Annabelle with a confused expression, then gasping at her.

"L-Lady Ann-mpgh!"

"Sssshh. Unless you want all hell to break loose in your shop, it would be better if you didn't shout her name," Odysseus covers Rina's mouth and whispers in her right ear, the girl quickly nodding a few times.

"Lady Annabelle, how have you been? I was really sad when I learned you had left the carrier two years ago! Are you alright? Why did you return now of all times?" Rina asks in an almost inhuman speed, but making sure not to raise her voice and be overheard by anyone else.

"Rina, calm down, you are speaking too fast," Annabelle says with an awkward smile and the girl instantly stops speaking.

"I'm sorry, Lady Annabelle, it's just that I'm really happy to see you after all this time!"

"Hey, Annabelle, from where do you know this girl?" Odysseus leans closer to the redhead and asks in a whisper.

"She is one of the few friends I made when I came to the carrier before meeting you," Annabelle whispers back then turns to Rina.

"So, how have you been doing, Rina?" she asks with a smile, but before her friend can answer, a voice behind the counter booms.

"Rina! Why are you slacking off during your work hours! We have customers to serve!" a buxom girl shouts, probably the manager of the shop.

"Eep! I-I'm really sorry!" she stutters slightly and turns to look at Annabelle. "I'm really sorry, Lady Annabelle. We can talk in about an hour when my shift ends," she quickly says and scampers off to continue her work.

"Now then, how do we find Darjeeling and the rest?" Odysseus asks as she looks around for the aforementioned girls.

"Found them," Annabelle says and starts moving further into the cafe, going towards a single table in on one of the corners of the shop, where three girls sit drinking tea.

Stopping in front of the table, Annabelle greets them.

"Hello, Darjeeling, Assam, Pekoe," she says, with Odysseus simply waving at them, then taking a seat and snatching the catalogue that lies on the table, scouring it for something to eat.

"You always cut my name short," Orange Pekoe sighs as Annabelle takes a seat too, peeking at the catalogue Odysseus holds.

"Sorry about that," she smiles sheepishly as Odysseus closes the catalogue and plummets her head onto the table within her folded arms.

"It doesn't have anything to eat! It only has teas!" she releases a muffled cry.

"It seems some things never change," Darjeeling says calmly, putting down her teacup.

"And what's with your clothes," Assam says at Odysseus, though her tone is more concerned rather than scolding. "Doesn't it bother you-"

"That my scars can be seen by everyone?" Odysseus cuts Assam and raises her head. "Nah, not really. It keeps annoying people away from me, so I don't mind that much."

"How have you been this past month?" Annabelle asks as a waitress comes to take their orders. Taking their orders, the waitress walks back to the counter to relay them, so the girls continue their chat.

"Things have been quite eventful," Darjeeling says after sipping a bit of her tea.

"Bandit sightings have plummeted all the way to zero, so people from the nearby settlements don't give us that many escort requests anymore," Assam explains the current situation.

"We have been looking at ways of exploiting the resources that are within our territory, but so far we had no luck," Orange Pekoe adds with a sigh.

"How about the deal with Blackout?" Annabelle asks. The waitress that had taken hers and Odysseus' orders comes back, placing in front of them two cups of tea. "Thanks."

"With how things are, it remains as our best choice amongst the ones that we have in front of us," Darjeeling answers, though there is some level of concern hidden in her voice. "There have also been some troublesome girls here lately."

"Oh, power struggles... Nice..." Odysseus chortles sarcastically. "Have they tried assassinating you yet?"

"Please don't say things like that," Annabelle hisses softly, then turns to Darjeeling and bows her head a little. "I apologize for her inconsiderate comment."

"Don't worry about it," Darjeeling says back. "And nothing like that, Elpida. They merely express their dissatisfaction towards us through not so subtle means."

"Is it because of the massacre that happened in that meat grinder of a battle?" she casually asks and an uneasy silence descends on the table.

"I'm afraid so, and that's why I can understand their reasons behind their behavior," Darjeeling says, looking inside her teacup for a moment, but she quickly changes the subject. "Having said that, there have been a lot of rumors floating around lately."

"Rumors?" both Annabelle and Odysseus asks at the same time, mildly interested in them.

"Yes. They have been very prominent in the nearby settlements, talking about a huge battle in Tokyo between two massive armies," Assam explains and Odysseus nearly chokes on her tea.

"Cough, cough, cough!" she coughs, quickly wiping the corners of her mouth from the leftover drops of tea with a paper napkin.

"But isn't Tokyo just a wasteland? Why would anyone fight there of all places. It's not like the city has any value," Annabelle quickly says, putting on her best facade so that no one will suspect she knows something about it.

"Moreover, they said about huge flaming rods of steel striking the city from the skies and a pillar of light that descended straight from the Heavens itself," Assam adds and Odysseus just face palms.

"These things sound completely ridiculous! They make it sound as if the forces of Heaven and Hell were fighting each other..." she grumbles with an expression of disbelief.

"There is also another rumor," Darjeeling speaks up. "A rumor that concerns Blackout."

At this, Annabelle and Odysseus both turn slowly to look at each other, then back at Darjeeling.

"Rumor has it that Blackout has created a rather interesting branch that deals with certain... "exotic" things." She pauses to lift her teacup and drink some tea, before setting it down and continuing. "We also know that you work there."

"How..." Annabelle whispers wide-eyed, but Odysseus simply bursts out in laughter, causing many of the girls from the nearby tables to glance at her.

"Watch it, Darjeeling. You are playing with a really hot fire over here," she jokes and closes her left eye. Both Assam and Orange Pekoe gasp in shock as Odysseus' right eye changes in a bright magenta color and the left side of her hair become white. Darjeeling too gets surprised, but she doesn't show it on her face.

"Oh my, I never suspected you were like Miho," Darjeeling admits and Odysseus sticks out her tongue in a silly manner.

"You idiot, turn to normal before anyone sees you!" Annabelle whispers furiously, not only because other girls might see her, but also because she disregarded her own decision to not tell anyone about this.

Odysseus deactivates her power and a smug smile etches itself on her face, seeing Assam's disturbed face on full display. "So, how did you learn all these beautiful things?" she asks.

"We have our sources," Assam answers after recomposing herself.

"Care to elaborate?" Odysseus asks with a fox-like grin.

"Section 9 doesn't reveal its secrets, if that's what you ask," she answers with a flat expression.

"How many know about this?" Annabelle asks with a serious expression.

"Well, since all the carriers cooperate with each other, all of the overall commanders, though only we and Kuromorimine know about the people working in that branch and the true purpose of iy," she responds and Annabelle somewhat relaxes.

"At least that's something," she sighs, picking her teacup and drinking some of its content.

---

The girls continued chatting for another half hour, at which point Odysseus got bored and went back to the room, while Darjeeling, Assam and Orange Pekoe went back to their own work. Around that time Rina finished her shift, so Annabelle spent almost another whole hour chatting with her, telling each other what they had been doing these past two years.

Leaving the cafe, Annabelle makes her way towards the Dorms to start getting ready for Tea Garden's party. She is really happy her friend has been doing fine all this time, though she was a little saddened she had to leave them for so long.

A small smile forms on her face as she starts recalling the fun times she had before meeting Odysseus. Though they weren't that much, because most girls tended to put her in a pedestal thanks to her status as English nobility, which made her kinda unapproachable in the eyes of most people. Still, there were a few girls that were willing to put her on the same level as them. Rina was one of these people.

Thinking about it, the girls were really reserved in the beginning, though they opened up after a while. A notable contrast to Odysseus' blunt and childish attitude. Now that she thinks about it, it seems weird she managed to become friends with her. Maybe it was that both of them were in a similar position? While everyone admired her for being nobility from England and really ladylike, Odysseus was the target of rumors and bullying because her behavior was "unbefitting of a proper lady". Yes, even the prestigious academy of St. Gloriana had such problems. Though it wasn't at the point of physical abuse most of the time, it took the form of a much worse kind; rumors. It only took a few people and time to destroy someone's future career by spreading lies that slowly became the truth, which lead to either isolating the target of the rumors from everyone, or traumatizing them psychologically. The rumors would eventually die, but by then the damage would have already be done.

The same thing had happened when Rosehip had joined Tea Garden, though they quickly died down, thanks to Darjeeling. But unlike Rosehip, Odysseus didn't have Darjeeling's "protection", thus she suffered greatly at the hands of the ones that had created those rumors. Calling her a slut and a whore just because she wore her uniform differently, saying she was going out with older men for money just because her body was more developed than the rest, calling her a freak of nature just because her body was full of scars.

And when Annabelle started hanging out with her, things took a turn for the worse. It seemed that some people were really annoyed she, a simple "commoner", was hanging out with someone of her status. People started to actively avoid her, both in school and out of it, while others tried to sabotage her. Darjeeling and some other girls did step up to calm down things before they could get out of hand, but everything culminated in a single incident, when three girls confronted her with a box cutter at her classroom after classes had ended. The incident ended with Odysseus beating them to a pulp, and when the girls tried to get her expelled from St. Gloriana, it backfired spectacularly. Since the girl that held the box cutter had attacked first, Odysseus' actions were categorized as self-defence, therefore were justified, even if extremely brutal. The girls tried to deny this, but video footage from a nearby security camera that had a visual on the whole fight said otherwise.

The incident never left carrier grounds, since it would have been bad publicity, and the three girls got expelled from the academy. The rumors immediately vanished, and the bullying she was being subjected to stopped, but people still showed contempt towards her.

Entering the Dorms, Annabelle can't do anything but sigh slightly. It seems human nature will always prevail, even in the most prestigious academies and schools. Reaching her room, she finds a key in front of the door with a piece of paper that has her name.

"Did she really left the key of the room outside?" Annabelle says with a raised brow, picking up the key and using it to open the door. "Seriously, what would she do if anyone other entered?"

"Hey, Odysseus! I need to talk to you!" she shouts as she enters inside and closes the door behind her. "Oi, where are you?"

Looking around, Odysseus is nowhere to be found, although her clothes sit neatly folded on top of her bed, next to the school uniform Annabelle procured from the girl that had informed them where Moon Shrine's location was.

"Is she in the bathroom? But she didn't answer back..." Annabelle wonders aloud, glancing at the bathroom door for a second, then turning back at her bed.

Huh? I think I can hear a faint melody playing from somewhere... she thinks as she starts hearing a faint music playing somewhere inside the room. Listening carefully for a few seconds, she traces it back at her bed. Looking next to Odysseus' clothes, she finds her handheld game console, it's screen displaying a game menu and over it with big white letters the word 'PAUSE' while the paused game is being displayed in the background.

"So this is producing the music?" Picking the device up, she notices that a cable is connected with it, and that this cable connects with a nearby power outlet.

What's the game she is playing? she wonders in her mind, but upon pressing the 'Resume' option from the game menu, as if she has triggered some kind of trap, the bathroom door gets bashed open and a naked Odysseus dashes out of it towards the bed.

*Bam!*

Getting startled by the sudden loud noise, Annabelle lets the handheld console slip out of her hands and messily clatter to the floor, forcing the recharging cable to disconnect from the device.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Releasing a scream full of pure terror, accompanied by an appropriate expression, Odysseus rushes to the device that lies on the ground face down and kneels above it.

"S-Sorry for... For God's sake, go wipe yourself with a towel, you are dripping water everywhere!" Annabelle says to her, but Odysseus completely ignores her, instead carefully picking up the device and turning it around so she can see its screen. Her hands start shaking as she finds out the screen is black, meaning the console has turned off.

"Please don't tell me I lost all the progress I made the past hour..." Odysseus whispers almost inaudibly, her hands shaking more and more with each passing second.

"Odysseus, stop ignoring me!" she shouts but gets no response from the blonde. Making an annoyed expression, Annabelle goes to the bathroom to fetch her a towel as Odysseus turns on the PS Vita and runs the game. "Please God or gods, let the game be fine..."

Pressing the loading option and selecting the save file, her world instantly shatters as the words that every gamer dreads appear on the screen with bright red letters.

Error loading save file

Reasons: Save file has been corrupted

"The gods have abandoned me!" she cries out as she slams her left fist on the floor as Annabelle returns with a white towel.

"Mt condolences," the redhead sarcastically says, unfolding the towel and laying it over Odysseus, completely covering her back and head. "Now cover yourself and get back to the bathroom before you get the entire floor drenched with water."

"My life holds no meaning anymore..." Odysseus whines as she covers herself with the towel and slowly stands up.

"Stop overreacting, it's just a game," Annabelle says and Odysseus looks at her with wide eyes.

"A game!? Only a game!? Do you know how many nights I spent grinding the game instead of sleeping!? How many hours I wasted from my life so that I could grind those mundane side quests and their rare materials to build the best armor and weapons, to reach the max level on my character!? To unlock most of the achievements!?" she shouts exasperated, like Annabelle has demeaned her pride as a gamer.

"Woah, chill out!" Annabelle says and raises her hands defensively.

"How can I chill out when I have lost everything in mere moments!?"

"Now you are just being childish. Just go back to the bathroom and dry yourself before you catch a cold," Annabelle says as Odysseus goes back to the bathroom with a disheartened face and closes the door. Picking up the handheld console, she leaves it at the small coffee table, then sits at the edge of her bed.

"I have a really bad feeling about the party," she mumbles quietly, waiting for Odysseus to finish drying up so she can use the bathroom and change clothes for the party.

---

Two hours later

Walking towards Tea Garden, two girls walk at a sidewalk, one dressed with St. Gloriana's standard school uniform, while the other is dressed in a black military uniform, wearing a black skirt and stockings instead of pants.

"Come on Odysseus, don't be like this," Annabelle says at her grumpy friend and Odysseus turns her head away from her.

"It's because of you that I lost all of my progress in the game!" Odysseus says with a pout. "I demand you take responsibility for this!"

"Look, I apologized for it, but it's not entirely my fault, alright? You were the one that startled me and made me to let go of the console."

"I don't care, it's your fault!" she whines like a child.

"Whatever you say..." Annabelle sighs and turns to look at Odysseus. "Look, I'll do one thing you want after the party ends as an apology for the console, I'll just ask you to behave during the party. I don't care if you don't act ladylike like everyone else, but also don't act like an immature child. Got it?" she asks and Odysseus turns to her and reluctantly nods.

"I'll try..." she mumbles quietly, causing Annabelle to sigh lightly.

"At least that's a start."

Walking in silence for the next few minutes, they both finally arrive in front of Tea Garden's metal gates.

"Straight to the monster's den, huh?" Odysseus murmurs as she looks at the small brick wall that surrounds the lot on which the beautiful building sits. "It's like a mousetrap... Waiting patiently for you to take the bait..."

"It won't be anything like that," Annabelle waves away her worries as she steps inside, following the small path paved with red bricks towards Tea Garden's entrance. "I heard from Darjeeling that it will have cakes."

Odysseus immediately steps besides Annabelle, closely following her with a dreaming gaze.

"You are so easy, you know that?" Annabelle shakes her head at how easily she can sway Odysseus when food is involved.

"Couldn't care less, there is food to be eaten," Odysseus immediately responds back, her belly growling in agreement. "See? Even this little guy agrees," she says and pats her abdomen a couple times.

Reaching the entrance of Tea Garden, which is double doors made of Mahogany wood, Annabelle opens the doors and the girls enter, finding themselves in a lounge-like small area, with two small sofas placed neatly at one side of the room, while several potted plants are scattered at the corners as decorations. The floor is covered by a red carpet, while the walls are painted in a crimson red coloration, with light being provided by lights hanging from the ceiling.

"What a fancy room, I wonder how the next one will be..." Odysseus says half in sarcasm and half in wonder as she and Annabelle walk towards the other side of it, where a single wooden door stands.

Opening the door, the girls find themselves in a huge area that is at least 50 meters in length and 80 meters in width. The floor is made of marble, while the walls are painted the same crimson red like the small room before, and antique chandeliers hang from the tall ceiling. In each wall, several big, curtained windows are built, making sure the place receives ample light during the morning hours. Several circular tables are scattered throughout the room, each one surrounded by four or five luxurious chairs.

"So many gazes..." Odysseus whispers to Annabelle as everyone inside the room is looking at them.

"Just remember to behave properly and everything will be fine," Annabelle whispers back and composes herself, putting forth her best smile.

"Great, you go greet everyone and I'll go sit with the others," she says as she spots where Darjeeling and the rest are sitting thanks to an energetic Rosehip waving at them. But before she can take a single step, Annabelle gently grabs her by her shoulder and stops her dead in her tracks.

"You'll come to greet them too. You were always complaining that the girls here were cold to you, but that's because you never took some time to talk to them or even behave with at least some level of respect around them," Annabelle whispers at her dangerously.

"But-!" Odysseus tries to protest, but Annabelle is having none of it.

"Please Odysseus, can you do this for me?" she asks and Odysseus immediately finds herself in a pinch. On one hand, she really doesn't want to talk to these girls, since she really doesn't like their "elegant" and "ladylike" style, and because she feels like they will backstab her at the first chance they get. On the other hand, Annabelle is asking her. And that's reason enough for her.

"Fine, fine, I'll greet them too..." Odysseus relents, scratching the left side of her head awkwardly. "But you'll do two things I want."

"As long as they are sensible things, I don't mind," Annabelle says back, and the two girls make their way towards the first table where four girls sit, drinking tea and eating cake.

"Good evening girls," Annabelle says with her most charming smile and the girls immediately turn to look at her with surprise and joy flaring in their eyes.

"Lady Annabelle, so you came!" one of the girls says in excitement, though she does keep herself collected.

"It is so nice to have you back at the carrier," another girl says after sipping some tea from her teacup.

"What have you been doing these past two years?" a third girl asks.

"Hi..." Odysseus waves awkwardly at the girls, don't really knowing what else to say.

"Ah, Elpida. What a surprise, we didn't expect you'd be coming," the last girl says in genuine surprise.

"Well, Darjeeling invited me at the last minute, and since I wanted to see how everyone's been doing, I accepted," she answers back and awkwardly scratches the back of her neck.

That's a load of crap, I just came because of Annabelle, she scoffs in her mind, but her expression remains that of a smiling girl.

"We have heard from Miss Assam and the rest that you have been working as a mercenary. Is that true?" the girl that had spoken second asks Annabelle with great concern, and the rest of the girls start showing faces of worry immediately.

"Sadly... Yes," she says slowly. "It had been really difficult surviving outside of the carrier and at the time I accepted the offer of becoming a mercenary I didn't have another choice, but... I really don't regret my choice of leaving the carrier. These past two years have given me plenty of experiences to better understand how this new world works, as well as they have taught me a great deal of things," she says and glances at Odysseus for a moment. "Plus I have Odysseus keeping me safe, so everything's fine."

"Is that so..." the fourth girl says, then turns to Odysseus and bows her head slightly. "Thank you for taking care of Lady Annabelle."

"Well, she is my friend after all! Isn't it reasonable to look after her?" she says a bit flabbergasted, not expecting to be thanked by people like these girls. Maybe she was just misunderstanding them all this time, like Annabelle said?

After a few minutes of chatting and another two tables, Annabelle and Odysseus finally reach the table where Darjeeling, Assam, Orange Pekoe and Rosehip sit. Sitting on the two free chairs, Odysseus just crosses her arms on the table and buries her face in them.

"God, I hate socializing with the elite..." she murmurs and slightly raises her head so that she can look at the rest of the girls. "Never call me in one of these boring parties ever again. Just pack a couple slices of cake and send them back at base," she says to Darjeeling as Annabelle puts in front of her a small plate with a slice of cake, so she simply draws it closer to her and starts eating it slowly, savoring the taste of every piece she takes with her spoon as much as she can. "This is pure bliss~!"

"What did you expect, Elpida? Loud and obnoxious music accompanied by flashing lights?" Assam scoffs disapprovingly.

"I actually expected boring classical music and various portraits of the kings and queens of England," she answers back, before cutting another big piece with her spoon and eating it.

"It isn't that bad, Odysseus," Annabelle says as she eats the last piece of her slice of cake, putting the spoon in the small plate and delicately wiping her mouth with a paper towel.

"When did you even eat that?" Odysseus points at Annabelle's plate dumbfounded.

"Trade secret," Annabelle answers with the elegance of a true English woman.

"Whatever you say," Odysseus says, then turns to Rosehip. "Hey, Rosehip, I bet you can't run ten circles around those two tables in less than thirty seconds."

"Is that a challenge?" she immediately asks, and before anyone can stop her, Odysseus nods with a fox-like grin. Rosehip immediately stands up and starts running around the aforementioned tables in circles, causing the girls there to either look at her with confused expressions, or merely chuckle at her weird but energetic behavior.

"Rosehip, that's not ladylike..." both Assam and Orange Pekoe groan in unison, while Annabelle hits discreetly Odysseus on her right shoulder.

"It's always lively when Elpida is around, isn't it?" Darjeeling says as Rosehip returns to the table panting, having performed the circles in under thirty seconds.

"A little too lively for my taste," Annabelle sighs as Odysseus grins at her victoriously.

Suddenly the door to the room opens and inside enter three figures.

The first one is a girl the same age as Annabelle and Odysseus, has flowy, light brown hair tied in an intricate hairstyle, and light gray eyes. She too wears St. Gloriana's school uniform, though it seems the uniform has been tailored specifically to her measurements, which can be described as average by Western standards. Behind her stand on both sides two women, both having short, brown hair and brown eyes. They are dressed in military uniforms and while not dressed in military gear, they still have a pistol holster with a pistol in it strapped on their right thigh.

"Look Annabelle, Queen Elizabeth and her S.A.S. lackeys have arrived!" Odysseus snickers at the redhead discreetly.

The girl merely scans the room for a second, and after registering who are within it, she goes over at each table to greet the girls.

Finally, reaching the one where Darjeeling and the rest sit, Odysseus pops a grin at her, causing the girl to show a displeasing expression at her.

"Long time no see, Elizabeth," Odysseus greets the girl with a toothy grin.

"It's princess Elizabeth for you, commoner," the girl named Elizabeth says with an arrogant tone that befits a member of royalty. "Maybe I can tolerate Annabelle calling me by my name, since she'll be my sister-in-law in the future.

"Huh?" both Assam and Orange Pekoe utter in surprise, though it doesn't take them long enough to connect the dots. Even Darjeeling seems surprised, but she barely shows it on her face.

"But wouldn't that mean..." Assam mutters quitely and looks at Annabelle, who currently has an annoyed expression. "So that means Lady Annabelle was to marry your brother, Ceylon?"

"Ceylon? That's one of the weird soul names from tea varieties you give each Tea Garden member?" Odysseus asks immediately after hearing Assam referring to Elizabeth as such.

"Yes. Since I got accepted in Tea Garden, I was given the soul name of Ceylon. It is a black tea variety that is grown in Sri Lanka," Elizabeth says proudly, but Odysseus can only offer a flat expression at this.

"Wow... It seems they have run out of good tea varieties," she deadpans, causing Elizabeth to develop a frown.

"Ugh, I have no time to deal with your improper attitude," she says and turns at Annabelle. "Annabelle, would you be so kind as to accompany me to that table over there? I wish to converse with you about some important matters."

"Sure..." she says hesitantly, then slowly stands up from her seat. "Elpida, wait here."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Odysseus gives a half salute.

The two girls go and sit at a table a few meters away, close enough so that their faces can be seen, yet far enough for their voices to be inaudible.

Taking a seat across each other, Elizabeth's guards simply stand behind her. A girl with a trolley comes to their table and serves them a cup of tea and a slice of cake each, before going away and leaving them alone.

"Hmm... It's not as good as back in homeland, but it will suffice for now," Elizabeth comments after taking a small sip of tea, gently placing her teacup at the top of the table.

"I see you haven't changed even a bit in the past two years," Annabelle bluntly says, putting her own teacup gently on the table after taking a small sip.

"While you have changed..." Elizabeth pauses for a few seconds, then continues. "...for the worse it would seem. This blonde girl is truly a bad influence for you; you should stop hanging around her."

"First of all, Elizabeth, she has a name. Second, she is one of my precious friends, so I won't abandon her simply because you told me to. Third, I couldn't care less about your opinion," she says with a sweet smile that masks perfectly her annoyance about the person that sits opposite from her.

"How low you have fallen. First she convinced you to leave the carrier, then to become a mercanary; truly a shame," Elizabeth says with a fake smile of her own, masking her disappointment masterfully.

"Where has, the sweet and obedient little girl you were, gone? To fall at the level of such barbarians," she sighs through her nose. "But at any rate, I believe my brother won't have a problem with this. After all, with a little bit of training and discipline, you'll become a decent princess."

"Huh?" Annabelle utters in confusion.

"I understand your confusion, but since the carrier has a satellite phone now, I managed to contact my family back in our country!" she happily says as she claps her hands together. "It seems a few things have changed there, with monarchy having being brought back and the Queen and King reigning over their loyal subjects once more!"

Annabelle merely makes a face of disbelief, shaking her head slowly. Then again, the whole world has gone to hell, so why would the return of imperialism seem strange to her?

"Anyway, I spoke with dear Brother and he told me that a ship will be sent here in Japan to take you back in England. Though I'd expect for it to take a month or more to arrive," Elizabeth says with a satisfied expression, though it doesn't last long.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not marrying your brother," Annabelle states with a serious expression, causing Elizabeth to scowl. "I'll choose with whom I'll spend the rest of my life. Not you, not your brother, and neither a bunch of deals our parents did."

"Maybe I wasn't clear, but you WILL marry my brother," Elizabeth states coldly, almost as if ordering Annabelle to do that. "The deal has already been sealed, so you have no saying on the matter. And you should be honored you'll become royalty, since you are the offspring of a lowborn noble and a prostitute."

Annabelle just manages to squint her eyes angrily, before the sound of a plate shattering echoes inside the room.

"Ahhhh!" Elizabeth yelps in fright and immediately turns her head to her right, finding one of her guards standing in front of her, and the remains of a broken, intricately drawn, porcelain plate on the ground in front of her. In a nearby table, a really pissed off Odysseus stands, with a lot of concerned, worried, and incredulous looks falling at her.

"Care to say that again!?" she shouts furiously, taking a few intimidating steps towards the princess and her guards, who are silently glaring at her, waiting to see what she'll do.

"What was that for? Have you lost your mind, you buffoon!?" she says in shock, knowing not why Odysseus had tried to hit her with a plate. But unknown to her, Odysseus had activated her power to enhance her hearing, enabling her to listen to the whole conversation. And that last comment had made her nerves snap like a twig.

"You know well what I'm talking about!" Odysseus growls, in her eyes a dangerous glint being present.

"Elpida, that's enough," Darjeeling stands up and says, immediately intervening before things can get out of hand. Rosehip also stands up, ready to rush towards the blonde girl if she tries to do anything harmful.

Odysseus keeps glaring at the princess for a few more moments, straining herself to not activate her power and blow everything to kingdom come.

"I'll warn you only once, Elizabeth. If you ever insult Annabelle like you did just now, I'll hang your mutilated, gutless carcass from this carrier's highest point for everyone to see!" she threatens, her cold voice sending chills running through the spines of most girls.

Having said her part, Odysseus quickly makes her way towards the room's exit, yanking the door open and almost hitting a girl with black hair and amber eyes that was about to open it. Sparing not even an apology, Odysseus exits the building.

"The insolence of that girl! Annabelle, I demand an apology!" she demands from the redhead, who just gazes at her with an expression of frustration.

"Why don't you take that demand of yours and shove it up your butt?" she curses quietly enough so that only Elizabeth hears her, who widens her eyes in surprise upon hearing her. "I came here with all the good will and hope that we could speak somewhat normally with each other, but no, you had to speak about my mother."

Rising from her seat, she gives Elizabeth a final warning.

"Don't push Elpida too far, Elizabeth. I've been with her for the past two years and I've seen what she is capable of." Pausing for a bit, she turns away from the princess. "She can be a really cruel person, Elizabeth. I should know; I've seen it first-hand."

With this, Annabelle makes her way towards the exit to find Odysseus, her frustration and sour mood causing her to completely forget to say to the girls where she's going.

"So... I guess things didn't go as planned?" asks the girl with the amber eyes, sitting at the table where Darjeeling is and placing her peaked hat neatly on the table.

"I'm afraid there were some..."unexpected" complications, Jasmine," Darjeeling sighs, really not expecting for things to take such an extreme turn.

---

Thirty minutes later

"Where did that girl go?" Annabelle wonders aloud as she finishes searching yet another small park near the Dorms.

Usually when she was upset about something, she'd go in one of the nearby parks to cool her temper, but she is in none of them, Annabelle thinks, thinking hard as to where Odysseus might be. Where else could she be...

Pondering for a little while, she suddenly widens her eyes in revelation. "But of course! There is one more place she used to go!" she says and immediately starts running towards that place.

After a few minutes, she reaches a rectangular space that's at the edge of the carrier's starboard side. Three of its sides are covered by very tall bushes, while its final side offers a great view of everything that is at the carrier's right side. At one of the sides there is a big, black, metal door, which seems to be quite rusty.

Standing in front of the door, Annabelle puts all of her strength and pushes the door, its rusty hinges screeching quite noisily. Entering inside, she finds a single lamppost, along with a wooden bench next to it. This was a nice place if you wanted some privacy, though because it only had one bench and it was quite far from most commercial buildings, people rarely came here.

At the wooden bench, a single girl sits, her blonde hair draped over her left shoulder, her delicate fingers caressing a few tufts of hair slowly, looking over the safety railings of the carrier's deck and into the starry sky that looms over the bay.

Annabelle says nothing at first, only silently walking to the bench and sitting next to her while looking at the sky too. Several minutes pass without a single word being spoken, until the blonde girl scoots a bit away from Annabelle, then lies on the bench and places her head on top of the redhead's lap.

"I'm sorry, Annabelle," the girl says quietly, her voice full of sadness and regret. "I didn't want to ruin your fun, but...when Elizabeth spoke like that about your mom, i just got really angry."

"It's alright, Odysseus," Annabelle says with a serene smile, gently caressing Odysseus' hair, who keeps looking at the horizon where sea and sky meet. "You just got angry because of her comment and acted based on your emotions." Annabelle affectionately caresses Odysseus' left cheek that faces her and the blonde uses her hand to keep it there.

"It's just that... I was really on the edge of activating my power, Annabelle," she says, a few tears leaving her eyes. "I could have seriously injured everyone inside there, or even killed them!" she stutters slightly, more and more tears streaming over her cheeks, with Annabelle doing her best to gently wipe them from her face. "I could have hurt you! I don't want to hurt you," Odysseus whispers and turns so that her face looks upwards to Annabelle.

Annabelle can't do anything but notice just how scared and defenceless Odysseus looks, from her slightly trembling body, her quivering eyes that plead for help. It truly pains her heart seeing a person like Odysseus who is usually energetic and childish in such a sorry state.

"Don't worry, Elpida. I'm sure you wouldn't hurt me even then," Annabelle says with a smile, wiping the remaining tears from Odysseus' face. "I've been trusting you with my life for the past two years and I'll keep doing it till the day I leave this world."

"Thanks," Odysseus answers, smiling for the first time since she had left Tea Garden. "By the way, do you remember how you told me I could have you do one thing I want?"

"Yeah?" Annabelle asks.

"Do you mind...if we sleep together? I can sleep at the floor or in the bathtub if we can't both fit on the bed; I just don't want to be in a different room than you..." Odysseus says and turns to look away from Annabelle in slight embarrassment.

"Is it because of the nightmares?" Annabelle asks softly and Odysseus nods a tiny bit, putting her head closer to Annabelle, like a small cub that seeks protection from the scary dangers in its mother's hug. "Then I don't mind."

Odysseus says nothing back and closes her eyes, letting Annabelle to caress her hair in the gentle silence of the night.

---

The next morning

Annabelle's room

Slowly opening her eyes, Annabelle rubs them with her left hand and blinks a few times to clear her vision. Yesterday had been quite eventful, but at least Odysseus didn't do anything extreme. Trying to get up from her bed, she finds something firmly holding her right arm down. Turning on her side, she finds Odysseus lying next to her sleeping, while she hugs her arm and has shoved it between her breasts.

"And I told her to at least wear a shirt before falling to sleep," Annabelle frowns, looking at Odysseus who is only wearing her panties. Trying to get her atm out of its marshmallow prison, she manages to pry it off, with Odysseus shifting a little, like trying to get the arm back.

Shifting her gaze at Odysseus' face to see if she woke up, she can't do anything but smile in relief, seeing how her friend is sleeping soundly.

A strange feeling starts filling her stomach as she gazes at her friend's face, like she has butterflies in it. She doesn't know what or why, but she thinks she can feel a strange force attracting her towards the blonde, so she lets her instinct take over and slowly leans closer, kissing Odysseus softly on her lips. Her cheeks flush and her thinking becomes hazy for a moment as her heart starts beating faster and faster. Though when she draws away, her blood freezes in her veins, her face becoming as pale as the fresh snow.

"So..." she hears Odysseus saying, looking at her with her two, light purple eyes in amusement. "...I guess there's a reason you kissed me, right?"

"A-A-Ah, O-O-Odysseus, I-I-Woahhh!" Annabelle screams at the end as she falls from the bed's edge, landing on the floor on her back with a mighty thump. "Ouch!"

"Are you OK?" Odysseus asks as she peers over the edge of the bed, still lying on it.

"I'm fine," Annabelle answers quietly, sitting up on the floor and rubbing her back a little painfully.

"Oh, you're so cute when you are embarrassed!" Odysseus says in a cheerful tone, stretching her arms and pinching Annabelle's cheeks, which immediately flare up in crimson red color upon Odysseus' next question.

"So, why did you kiss me?" she asks again and Annabelle turns her head away in embarrassment, nailing her gaze down on the floor. "Come on, don't be like this. It's not like I'm fairing any better," Odysseus says and points at her slightly flushed cheeks as a way to make Annabelle feel a little bit better.

"W-Well...I..." Annabelle starts saying shyly, when a knocking on the door cuts her.

"Lady Annabelle, are you awake? It's Assam," Assam's concerned voice is heard from outside the room, so Annabelle quickly stands up, while Odysseus merely sits up on the bed.

"I'll be there in a moment!" Annabelle shouts, then turns to her friend. "Grab your clothes and go get dressed in the bathroom; something's not right."

"I know she sounded concerned, but couldn't that be because of yesterday?" Odysseus asks as she gets off the bed and starts picking up her clothes.

"I can only hope so," Annabelle says as she starts getting dressed with the clothes she had arrived at St. Gloriana yesterday. Having gotten dressed, she quickly goes over to the door and opens it.

"Good morning, Assam. How have you been?" Annabelle greets Assam with a smile. "I'm really sorry about yesterday and how I left without saying anything, but I was worried that Odysseus would do something stupid if I didn't find her on time," she apologizes.

"Hey, I heard that!" Odysseus yells from inside the bathroom, but her cries of protest are ignored by the redhead.

"No, no, it's alright!" Assam quickly says, though an expression of surprise settles on her face immediately after saying that. "Huh? Elpida is here?" she asks confused and Annabelle nods.

"Yes, we slept together," she answers, but Assam seems to have misunderstood the meaning of the sentence as her cheeks become red.

"S-Slept...together?"

"No, not that kind of together," Annabelle deadpans, and then Odysseus bursts out of the bathroom, kicking (and almost breaking) the door open.

"What did I miss?" she asks as she makes her way at where Annabelle and Assam are. "Good morning, Assam. What's the problem?"

"Miho called a few minutes ago. She told us to inform you to return immediately at your base; they found out where Keizoku and Chi-Ha Tan are," Assam says with great concern, and both Annabelle and Odysseus develop serious expressions.

"Did she tell you how?" Annabelle asks as Odysseus retreats further in the room and starts packing their things.

"No, but she sounded really worried; Darjeeling is talking with Maho as we speak, trying to see if she knows anything about it," Assam responds, then looks at Odysseus who is moving the small coffee table at the room's edge, next to the bed. "Uhm, what is she doing?" Assam asks apprehensively, and Annabelle turns to look.

"What are you doing?" the redhead asks Odysseus, who now stands in the middle of the freed space.

"Need some space to activate my power, or the wings might hit the things around me," she answers back and activates her power. Two white gauntlets, one on each hand, and a white breastplate cover her body, while eight tendrils form on her back, which quickly meld together to form two big, blue, semi-transparent, energy wings. Her eyes also change shape and color, their pupils becoming slit, while the right one becomes bright magenta and the left bright blue.

"Wh-What in the name of God is this..." Assam whispers as quietly as possible, being too shocked to even breath for a moment.

"Found the mark. We are ready to go," Odysseus says to Annabelle, who quickly goes to Odysseus and grabs the duffel bags, as well the blue bag that contains Odysseus' stuff that she had retrieved from the carrier. Grabbing Odysseus' left arm so that she'll teleport along with the blonde, Annabelle turns to Assam.

"I'm really sorry for our sudden departure, but things must be very serious if Miho wants us to return immediately," Annabelle says as Odysseus' wings start glowing brighter and brighter. "We'll come by again some other time," Annabelle says just before she and Odysseus vanish from the room, leaving a dumbstruck Assam to gaze at the empty space.

"Eh?" is the only thing Assam can say, her brain trying to process what it has seen just now at the best of its ability.

---

A/N: Finally done with it! Sorry it took so long, but I just got a job and it's leeching my free time like an Elder Leech from an RPG game. Combine it with university and real life, it's truly an awful combination. But I'll try my best to publish a chapter every month. At any rate, I really hope you liked the chapter, and the next one should be the final one before the girls get shipped to America. As always, suggestions, questions, corrections, reviews or PMs are greatly appreciated. Also, English isn't my native tongue, so expect some grammatical errors here and there. If you found the story interesting and had a great time, favorite and follow. Have a nice day/night and until the next chapter, stay safe!