It has been five hours since the event ended. Now that James proved himself worth of the sword, it fell on the blacksmiths in the fleet to start their work. As they were busy discussing new designs, Takao held the sword for one last time.
She recalled the many days spent training with her sisters and how often Atago went out to practice in the night. She remembered the blisters on her sister's hands as she applied ointment and some disinfectant. So many memories held in this one piece of metal.
"Takao," said Hibiki, waking her from this stupor "we're ready."
She turned to the blacksmith and passed the sword to her. It was hard letting go of such a thing, but she knew deep down this was the way forward. Whether it was natural or unnatural, there was an element to Atago's sword that the blacksmiths could not replicate no matter how hard they tried. An unnatural sharpness that enabled the blade to cut through Siren steel like it was nothing.
Takao gazed into the sky and gently smiled. The new sword the girls were forging would be unlike anything the factions had ever seen.
Elsewhere in the base, Z46 and Z25 looked at a metal hand resting on a flat metal bed. The two turned to Graf Zeppelin shaking their heads.
"Don't do it," said Z46 "it doesn't sound like a good idea at all."
But Graf Zeppelin already made her decision. She tested the power clamps in her hands one last time and saw the sparks come out from them. With a smile that could make your blood run cold, she attached the clamps to the hand and went to a device.
Seeing this, Z46 and Z25 both scrambled behind a table. They wanted to be safe, just in case.
"Now, it is time to awaken," roared Graf Zeppelin increasing the power to the maximum. Energy poured out of the device into the hand and caused it to emit a strange blue glow.
"Yes, yes," said Graf Zeppelin in triumph. Meanwhile, Z46 poked her head from behind the table in curiosity.
"Come to life for mama," roared Graf, not noticing the device behind her started blaring out a warning tone.
She paid for that when the device exploded, sending her flying into the wall. Z46 ducked behind the table just before the blast could hit her and Z25.
The two poked their heads out and saw the ruins of the machine. They turned to Graf who peeled herself off the wall and rose to her feet. She groaned a little and made her way back to the table.
"Oh well," she said "time for the next…"
She stopped when she saw a crackle of electricity coming from the arm. Curious, she moved in closer to see if it were a fluke and saw the arm's index finger twitch slightly.
"It… Is…Alive!," she shouted at the top of her lungs, absolutely delighted that her latest experiment was a success. Now, all that's left is to equip it.
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James avoided the barrage of fists from Alexis then went into a leg sweep. He knocked her off but she put her hand down then spun around with her legs extended out. James took a few kicks to the face but moved away before any real damage took hold.
Alexis tried to get back and saw James coming at her with straight fist and moved behind him. As she did, James stopped and swung his right arm, knocking Alexis on the back of the head. She staggered and that allowed him to come up behind her and end the sparring match.
"You're getting good," he said, stepping back while Alexis caught her breath.
"Nothing compared to you," she immediately said "that reaction time is inhuman."
"Yeah, tell me about it," said Alex, coming over to give Alexis a bottle of water "how many people are able to dodge a fist when its less than a centimetre away."
"I'm used to dodging bullets, missiles and the like," said James "compared to that, a fist is practically slow."
The fact that he said all that with a straight face baffled Alec.
Their discussion came to an end when Belfast came to the clearing and said "Master, it's ready."
The couple saw James' eyes light up in realization at what she meant. They said goodbye to him and watched as James and the maid headed back to the base.
"Aren't you the least bit curious of what that sword's going to look like?" asked Alexis.
"It'll be pointy on one side and has a handle on the other side," stated Alec "everything else is pure fluff."
Alexis chuckled a little, then said "I heard the girls are really excited about this new weapon. Apparently, every faction has a part to play in this. I'd say it's a pretty big deal."
"Hmm, now you got me curious too," said Alec, rubbing his chin. Before reason could take over, Alexis grabbed his hand and together, they headed back to the base.
Belfast led James to the research lab and left him at the entrance. She had other work to do. James went inside and headed to the room where the girls were busy working on his new arm. He reached the floor quickly and saw Graf Zeppelin, Z25nd Z46 seemingly in deep discussions.
The girls saw him and called him over. As he neared, they moved aside and revealed the metal arm that was resting on a metal table waiting for him.
The first arm the Ironbloods built was based on Z25's arm. This arm seemed like something from a sci-fi show.
The first thing that caught his attention was the design. This one was sleeker and more human-like. The colour was a combination of silver and maroon. The plates that comprised his fingers, elbow and joint were maroon while much of the underside was silver. He noted that this was made of several plates fused together, unlike the first arm which seemed like it was made from a single piece of metal.
"Well," asked Graf Zeppelin "what do you think?"
"It looks amazing," said James, standing over it "when can I try it on?"
In response, Z25 and Z46 brought over a chair. James sat on it and Graf Zeppelin brought the arm.
"The systems are slightly different from last time. You won't need to input commands now. Just think it and the arm will do it."
"Only one thing left," said Z46, brandishing her sabre. She turned to James, expecting confirmation and he gave it in the form of a nod.
The girls waited while he unbuttoned his shirt. When he did, he turned to put the shirt on a nearby table. Seeing this, Graf Zeppelin quickly brought out a phone, took a picture, and put it back in her pockets.
The other two looked at her with accusatory glares.
"What?" she asked "it's not for reasons that you think."
The two nodded but did not believe it. Meanwhile, James got back into the chair and Z46 came over. With her saber, she made a cut on James' stub as light as possible so as not to hurt her leader. As she did this, Graf Zeppelin brought the arm over and pushed it into the wound.
James winced a little before he felt a tingling sensation in his left side. He could feel the systems in the arm come to life as the wires started connecting with the nerves. Soon, he could feel the sensation of his hand growing from his stub to the elbow and extending right to his fingers. This was not his arm actually growing back. It was the prosthetic now synchronizing with the user.
Once complete, he looked at the arm, then to Graf Zeppelin and nodded.
"First thing's first," said Graf Zeppelin "we've modified the new arm to match your reaction speed. That said, it is highly sensitive so we need you to be very careful when using it."
"For now," said Z46, "try getting it to hold my hand."
James remembered this experiment the last time around. It began with breaking down the operation into small steps. That's how he did it then. He saw Z46's hand and willed the arm to reach out.
He was shocked when the arm swung forward and aimed for the girl's neck. With his other hand, James immediately grabbed Z46 by the shoulder and pulled her aside.
"Are you okay?" were the first words that came out of his mouth.
"Do not worry Commander," said Z46 calmly "an attack like that could not harm me. That said, I do appreciate your concern."
"Are you sure you want to try this?" asked James, now looking worriedly at his new limb.
"Its now or never James," said Z25 "better we do it now and work out the kinks than on the battlefield."
He sighed in understanding. James saw Z46 do the same as before and extend a hand out to him. This time though, he motioned for her to take a few steps back, moving out of the arm's reach just in case.
James turned to the arm and slowly willed it again. This time, the arm moved like how his right arm did as it slowly reached out to Z46. The little girl saw this, came forward and clutched his hand. As she did, James' eyes widened in surprise.
"Ah good," said Z25 "the feedback sensors are working perfectly."
"What now?" he asked.
"This time you'll be able to feel the weight of things when you hold them," said Z25, trying to summarize the work she did "things like an apple, a sword handle…"
"… a hand," he added and Z46 smiled warmly at him.
"Moving on," said Graf Zeppelin, clearing her throat "now it is time to test the most important aspect: the reaction."
As she said this, Graf Zeppelin brought out a machine gun. Z46 meanwhile handed her sabre over to James while Z25 went behind Graf.
"Ready?" she asked and before James could answer, she pressed the button and the gun started turning. Seconds later and bullets came spewing out at James.
The trio watched as the arm moved with incredible speed and accuracy. It cut down some of the bullets but it mostly deflected each bullet. After a few minutes of sustained fire, Graf stopped to examine the area.
Z25 and Z46 noted there were nearly sixty bullet shells on the ground and yet not one of them hit James. The latter, lowered the sabre and shot a glare at Graf.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" he barked.
"We had to try out a combat scenario and this is what we came up with," said Graf, shrugging.
"To be honest," said 246, "I don't even know how we finalised on this."
"Here's a question: what would you have done if the hand did not react in time?" asked James.
To this, Graf simply looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
"Right then time to get you a sword," she said, suddenly moving behind him and started pushing the chair. Despite how much James objected, Graf was moving too fast to hear him. Eventually, the pair landed at the blacksmith where Hibiki and Takao waited outside.
"He's all yours," she said, letting go of the chair and darting away before James could say anything.
"What just happened?" asked Takao
"It's best we don't discuss it," said James, waving it off.
The two then led James inside. It did not take long for them to reach the place in question. James immediately noticed the sword resting on a table and his eyes widened.
The colour scheme used was a mixture of gold and white. The pommel was rhombus shaped with a hole in the centre and was fused to the hilt which bore a thin gold line down the centre. The cross guard was crescent shaped with the pointed side pointing away from the hilt. At the centre was a gold disk or shape. The blade itself was designed like a typical western broadsword and not an eastern one. It tapered forward a little, jutted out to produce two points on either side then tapered forward again till it reached a single point. There was a beautiful stream of white that came from the cross guard and went halfway down the blade. The edges shone brightly thanks to the gold on it.
Hibiki and Takao watched quietly as James came to the sword, unknowingly bowed to it then took it in his right hand.
To James, the sword felt paradoxical. It felt as light as a feather yet carried a weight that seemed almost overwhelming to him. The edges were gold, which was the weakest material to use for a weapon yet he felt a sharpness like nothing else.
"This masterpiece is the combination of all the factions putting their heads together," said Takao.
"We begin with the Royal Navy's furnaces, melting down the metals into the necessary mixes," began Hibiki "the molten mass is then poured into moulds made by the Eagle Union. Once the shape has taken hold, the best smiths from the Iron Blood and the Sakura Empire hammer and fold the sword to its sharpest edge. We take the blade and cool it in the coldest waters provided by the Northern Parliament before attaching it to the hilt made by the Iris Libre."
"Additionally," she added and produced a scabbard for the sword and gave it to James. His eyes were drawn to the symbols of each faction found near the edge.
"Well Commander," said Takao as she and Hibiki took a step back "what do you think?"
"Its marvellous, amazing, incredible…" he said, then unable to come up with other words as he was too engrossed in the sword.
"The sword itself is the sharpest weapon we've ever made," said Takao "you might not believe it, but this thing is even sharper than the Aerondight Warspite uses."
At this, the Commander looked at her in shock and disbelief. Understanding his reaction, Takao simply gestured for him to hand the sword over. He did and she turned toward a chain that was hanging down from the ceiling.
Takao gently moved the blade past the surface of the chain, yet to James' shock, the chain was cut in two and hit the ground with a loud noise.
"Like I said," said Takao with a hint of confidence in her voice "the sharpest blade ever."
She tossed the blade over to him and watched as he caught it. Then, she drew her own sword and said "come on, I know you want to try it out."
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Far, far away from the war, yet still living under the shadows of their tyrannical ruler, the Elder Siren and the others living on the Moon B166ER listened and waited.
It has been a few days since the attack on their home and many of the girls were focused on repair. Yet, the Elder being of advanced age, and Purifier, a Siren of great renown did not participate in the work. Instead, they waited for Purifier's new ally to speak of what was on her mind.
Purifier could sense there was something the so-called 'Dreamwalker's Butterfly' had on her mind, yet did not bring it up. However, after the recovery of her friend New Jersey, the question began nagging Purifier.
She remembered what New Jersey said not long ago, about how the Commander was the reason Shinano broke her oath and returned to the mortal world. The question was why? Why would he of all people cause someone so powerful to make a move?
Shinano saw the expectant eyes of New Jersey, Purifier and the Elder Siren. She knew she had put it off for too long and it was time for an answer. So, she began
"Our story begins in the most unlikely of places, at the end of another one."
"The Commander and Omega met on the battlefield one final time. They fought tooth and nail against each other for a long time before the end came. When it did, it was the Commander who struck the final blow and brought an end to Omega once and for all."
"At least, that's what he led everyone else to believe."
"As the world celebrated and humanity finally breathed a sigh of relief, something had changed in the Commander. Through reasons that remain shrouded to me for so long, the light in the Commander's eyes vanished and was replaced by a deep, empty darkness."
"When the time came, the Commander made his move. Wielding Siren technology, he infected those around him, corrupting them and breaking their willpower. He turned them into thralls who silently and fervently obeyed his will."
"Humanity, who was already on the edge after this war could not hold back the terror James unleashed. The fleet that once served him were now a horrific combination of living and Siren technology led by an evil worse than Omega."
"In less than two days, the Commander wiped out the whole species," she said.
Purifier looked like she was about to say something, yet New Jersey put a hand on her shoulder to stop. Out of everyone, New Jersey knew Shinano the best and could tell the story was not over."
"The victory was definitive but not enough," she continued "the Commander, now consumed by an insatiable greed turned his eyes to here, the Siren home world. The forces here lasted a little longer, but eventually, they too succumbed to the same fate."
"Now, with unlimited technology at his fingertips, access to a wide pool of resources from the human, Siren and shipgirl home worlds, the Commander began a brutal and bloody campaign that consumed countless innocent lives."
"I have seen it happen. I have seen that story play out so many times. What was once good became evil. And so, I came to stop it."
"This is the part that doesn't make sense to me," said Purifier "I've met the Commander. I came to him to warn him about Omega. His whole fleet was ready to turn me to ribbons. The only reason that didn't happen was coz he stopped them and was willing to hear me out."
"How do you go from that to becoming something worse than Omega?"
"From what I've seen, it has to do with their final confrontation," said Shinano "something happens there, something beyond my sight that causes the Commander to completely change. For whatever its worth, I do not believe the Commander willingly became the monster I saw."
"Omega must have done something then," thought the Elder Siren "she must have had a hand in this."
"Regardless," said New Jersey "I understand why you're doing this Shinano. Now, my question is how you are going to stop James before he makes his move?"
"With this," said Shinano, producing an ethereal blade out of thin-air "before I left, I imbued some of the Sakura Tree's sacred energy into a sword. I will use this energy to expel whatever has corrupted the Commander and return him to normal."
While the others nodded, New Jersey did not agree.
"Absolutely not," she said, "I remember what you said about the tree. You use that power like this and it will kill you."
To this, the Elder Siren and Purifier turned to Shinano looking for confirmation. Her silence was all the answer they needed.
"No," said New Jersey shaking her head "absolutely not. There must be a way. There has to be another way we can do this."
"There is none that end with our victory," said Shinano "there is no move I can think of that ends with us saving the Commander."
"Then we kill him instead," suggested New Jersey.
"Hell no," said Purifier, rising to her feet.
"Don't try and stop me," said New Jersey warily "you've seen what I can do."
"Enough of this," declared the Elder Siren and the three other girls were silent. The Elder frowned at the trio and gestured for them to take a seat.
"We cannot allow our emotions to get the better of us," she said, turning to Purifier who shrunk under her gaze.
"Shinano," she said, "you say that there is no way you can think of that ends with our victory. Is that correct?"
She nodded.
"Then that shall be our task," she said to Purifier and New Jersey "for now and until we've completed the bridge, we three shall mull over how to change the Commander's fate."
"Also," said Purifier "no plans that end with killing him. I've seen the way those girls look at him. They'd end us if we so much as harmed a hair on his head."
New Jersey nodded.
Shinano watched as the trio began discussing ideas and felt a small bit of hope in her heart. There was much to do and time was running out. By her recollection, they were nearing the end of this war.
Shinano hoped against all hope that the three could do concoct a plan where they saved him. But, she also prepared herself for the alternate outcome.