POV Narrator:
Saturday 2 January 2021, Colinas de Doras
The year 2021 has begun, this time the countdown to the revolution is getting closer to the point where it wants to be and already to start everything with a golden key, the training of eighteen pilots of mecha, being nine main and nine reserves, is kicking off for the second part of the training, where they have already suffered in the first with heavy snow and cold above average in the arctic, This time they will go to another extreme, the desert of Arcturus, where they will live with another extreme, scorching temperatures in another hemisphere of the planet, where they will stay until the summer and intensify the heat, all to bring the highest level of witches who want by all means become the best, be strong enough to defeat the boss and also Fafnir.
The day was already starting as usual, with the girls socializing and having their typical routines preparing for the day, in the more having a rest, having the last meal, before being forced to drink the soup in the middle of the scorching desert heat.
POV Akko:
As usual we were gathered outside, with the clothes being given, I was already missing the weight of the tunics, I put the first layer on and nothing, it got even more normal, I put two, three, four, it started to weigh, this time we will have to start with five layers, what was already giving me the sensation of getting heavy again, I could hardly move, until Mrs. McLaren and Chariot put on tunics.
"I know dat you will miss us, but in two months we will show dat we 'ave advanced a lot, we will reveal our potential, I hope you will get very close to what was de level I was in my time, you will be very useful with de mechas dis way, anyway, now de training will be de heaviest of all, de arctic was too heavy? Dis one will make you guys miss de cold, it will make you miss de arctic and de heavy training, de scorching heat of de Arcturus desert doesn't take it easy" Mrs McLaren said.
"Before we go through the gate we have to prepare for what is to come, you are really ready for training, from now on it will be two heavy months that you will have to go through to improve your magic, it is nothing compared to the arctic" Chariot said and we all nodded.
"All right, ready den, we're all off to de new training stage, you all from Doras, we'll miss you, take care, be well, we'll be hoping dat Miranda Holbrook doesn't catch you" said my mother-in-law waving to everyone and she really will, but I don't think she should care about us.
And then we follow the sign, going to the portal, passing through there things are already different, the falling snow is replaced by a wave of heat in our faces, the sky even gets a little distorted, in that classic heat effect, in the middle of the desert sand, I'm practically feeling the shock, luckily it's cool inside the tunic.
In the middle of the immensity we see that there's a little house, we entered it and it was a very peaceful house, at least we'll have a comfortable place to stay.
"You are lucky dat your tunics 'ave preserved de temperature of when you left, but even so it will soon warm everything up, we only 'ave to say dat de training will follow de same pattern as de training in de middle of de Arctic, only 'ere, it will be three days to adapt to de heat, you will not stay 'ere where dere is air conditioning, but outside, you will 'ave a tent to sleep and spend de night, already de food we don't need an oven or anything, you just 'ave to drink de soup as it is, de water is good to get it fast before it gets hot and lose de cold, good apart from dat your tunic will still leave de extreme of de temperature evident, but it won't let you die for de heat, just get sick because of it, given de advice, I wish you good luck" Laura said and as always she was brief.
"Ah and do not think that it will be easy, it is not because the training will follow the same pattern that it will not stop being suffering, this here will literally pull you to the human limit that your body can handle, outside what the tunic already does, remember to always eat the soup, or else you might end up losing a lot of weight, you will anyway, but this is just to prevent you from losing weight in an unhealthy way, don't stop drinking water even if it's hot and I mean a lot of water, just like the soup" Du Nord said and we already understood.
And together we went outside, now with this mission to do, the visibility at least is good, but the heat is another thing, the sun is beating down here, we even looked at the thermometer and it is 51 degrees, gee I never witnessed such a hot temperature in a place and on the ground it must be much worse, we were stepping on the sand and trying to find where is the tent.
"There she is!" Lotte found it and we all walked with great difficulty along the path.
I thought it wouldn't be hard, but it's really harder than the cold, the heat is already being felt, it seems that the cold that was before because of Doras is gone, now it's just heat and even so we kept walking to the tent, the temperature is really cruel, but we could reach a shade, and when we entered it we felt a relief.
"Wow, it's worse than I thought, the heat makes the cold seem like a walk in the park" I say already tired, practically exhausted.
"Tell me about it, I thought it would be easy tae cope, but this walk has killed me" said Diana.
"Look there's a fridge here" Amanda said.
"Oh we forgot to warn you, the fridge is for storing soups without them spoiling, then when you want to eat, just take it out of the fridge, now run because we will release the resources for you to get, already be smart following the smoke that comes out of these places" said Chariot and we have not even arrived and we will have to run.
Exhausted and dead tired with few things we went outside and we saw where the smoke was pointing up, we separated in two different paths, each one going in a different direction, one group went after the water and the other after the food.
I don't know where each one of us is going, but I hope we can get there alive, the energy we spend in this is no joke, we walked, with difficulty because of the tunic, it seems that I'm melting with each step, the sweat even started to come, I think I'm going to be sick with the heat and that because I've endured 40 degrees in the Japanese summer.
"This here is more complicated than usual, I don't know how we're going to last two months here, I'm already melting and we haven't even been in this place an hour" I say walking tired.
"I've endured something close to that travelling to Texas in the summer, but that's another story, I was wearing proper clothes, not these heavy clothes" O'Neill said.
"Ye two are used tae extremes, I who have never seen a temperature above 30 degrees in my life, only on very rare and isolated trips in my life" said my girlfriend.
It is going to be worse than we really think, but I believe we can withstand the worst of the heat, I trust we can, I hope I adapt, also I don't get extremely thin, we get close to the signal and smoke and find the food, we immediately filled our hands with cans of soup, I think at least 40 cans were enough to take between us, and I am already exhausted.
"It can hold out for a while with a full fridge, gee, I could swallow this soup with pleasure now," I say, scratching the back of my neck.
"Good thing we don't need a cooker, just leave it out here warming up" Amanda said laughing.
And we were walking with the various soups in our hands, but it's been hard, the heat is really cruel, I hope this all ends soon, we were practically dragging ourselves, the sun was melting us as if we were ants being burned by a magnifying glass, I feel inside an oven here, especially with my clothes cooking me.
We arrived at the tent with the cans of food and I honestly throw myself on the floor, at least here there is a floor and I don't face the sand, I fall right on top of some pillows.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh, I don't feel like doing anything, the heat kills everything" I say exhausted.
"The cold really was much better wasn't it?" Said my girlfriend and we nodded in agreement.
"Look if we improve the magic we can make a spell to summon ice, maybe that will help cool things down" And really now that I'm going to try more of my limit.
The girls also arrive with huge jerry cans of water, each carrying two, this is a good sign, we will have water for at least a good while, Hellene practically arrived in a heroic way, carrying that water, bringing the gallon to us and opening it afterwards, a 5 litre gallon will give us at least a lot of water, we have about 36 litres here, it should be enough for one day with everyone.
"Whew, thanks for the water Hellene, you saved everyone" I said relieved
"The girls here also brought it, they were pretty tired, but they managed to hold on to the 10 kg carrying the two of them, until they walked, well, they really deserve this water, let's take advantage and put these things away and also have a drink" she said and I finished taking a sip.
It gave me a huge relief, the water was even a little hot, but at least it wasn't bad, in fact it was wonderful, we value water now, I've never noticed, these little things that make us value it, after that I'm getting a little can of soup and drinking it, it's not so bad, it's a little hot.
It's still bad, but it's bearable and I've been feeling renewed, what before I felt like a mummy from Egypt, now I'm feeling like a pharaoh, much more renewed physically.
"Gee I thought I would never like this soup, but now I appreciate it more" I say as I finish drinking it.
"I learned to like 'er a long time ago, now I'll see if two of dem have de same effect" Hellene said, and good luck, I think I'll try to rest after this one.
Hellene took two soups and we kept the rest in the fridge, to see if they would fit something and the soups at least were ok, now the gallons, we had to leave some out, what a thing, we are going to stay with hot water out, but at least we will soon have cold water around here, whew, I think we will manage to last three days if it is like this.
All the cans and six gallons of water fit, leaving the other twelve out, which I took the opportunity to go rest, my body is a real wear and tear, I even drink some water and then I see Hellene taking two gallons and leaving the tent.
"What are you going to do Hellene?" I ask her.
"You should do it too, I don't know if you can handle it, but I will train, even in dis heat I will try to improve, I want to see if I can improve, I even ate two soups to see if I can handle it and our willingness for dis is huge" Hellene is always crazy, but she is by far the most dedicated.
I would even try, but I honestly can't stand it, I see Marianne following her and we see her outside starting to stretch, even in the sun, along with her girlfriend, Hellene is really a machine, I'm shocked how she can be so willing, even without an arm, she leaves us far behind, almost like another league.
After stretching she was simply doing weight training with the lats, lifting as if they were weights, Leclerc on the other hand was just doing more normal exercises in this heat, it surprises me that she can stand it and even uses to train.
"It looks like Hellene has already gone to training, we're going to fall behind again" Amanda said.
"I dinnae even know if I can stand it" Diana said and I was getting sick of it, so I grabbed some soup from the fridge.
"I don't know if I can stand it or not, but I'll only know by trying, we are here to train and not to be off duty, we have a serious problem to solve, are we going to stay here and wait for the three days to come? We have to show an example, besides we had to strengthen ourselves to endure the training on ice, imagine now, look how the desert finished with us, while we stand there, Hellene raises her ass and will pull as far as she can, I don't know you, but I will not stand here" I say motivated and I'm leaving the tent, even suffering to hold the two gallons.
"Akko you can't even lift your gallons, how do you plan to get through training?" Said O'Neill and I run a hand across my forehead.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out soon" I decide to take only one and at least one I'll manage to carry until I get outside, which I already arrive pretty tired.
"Akko? You've also come to train, dat's nice, but I dink you'd better not take it too hard, you might faint in dis heat" said Hellene..
"I'd rather faint trying than stand there doing nothing, I want to see how long I can stand it" I tell my sister-in-law.
"If dings get complicated we'll help you, but it's good to try anyway" McLaren said.
I started to stretch myself and I won't stand still here, the heat is a horror, I feel melted, I even feel bad, but I won't hesitate, I'll reach beyond what I can achieve, I want to surprise too, I finish stretching myself and I'm already getting tired, but at least proud that I pushed myself to my limit, this really wears me out.
I manage to do the basics at least, lifting the jerry can is one more challenge, but even Hellene is having difficulty, you can see it in her expression, I thought it would be easy for her to do it.
"Wow Hellene, 10 kg are capable of tiring you out already" I say shocked.
"You 'ave no idea how, de heat, de clothes, de weight, it's already enough, but I know I'll cope, dat's why I said it's better to start light, do like Marianne, look how dead she is already without even using weight" McLaren said and I'll be stubborn.
I go even so trying with the gallon, I will not give up, I lift the five kilos motivated, without hesitating, I keep looking even to the girls, I will get far in this, I trust I can do it, I lift once, and then release, I see that the weight is a lot and I even get very breathless, but I see that I can do it, is not so difficult, I Atsuko Kagari will go far.
I even see a smile coming from the strong Hellene seeing that I continued and then I see Diana arriving she came with a gallon
"You came too love" I say happily to her and already very tired.
"I dinnae want tae fall behind my girlfriend, besides we are a couple, we have tae help and support each other, ye are right in saying that we should try, this here is a training too" It seems that things have reversed themselves doesn't it.
"Hey sis, even you 'ere, I didn't expect to see you 'ere, so take it easy because dis is not just any training, dis really pushes your body to de limit" said Diana's sister.
I must say that the heat is cruel, it's worse than the cold, but at least we can start something, we can overcome the limit that we have, I saw what was going on and more girls were arriving, they really want to take the training seriously, that's good.
The heat is a horror, my pressure is already dropping, so I walk back to the inside, I take a sip of water from the gallon, luckily there's a straw and wow, even hot the water was giving me a huge relief, I really felt in an oasis, the heat is no longer a concern, I try to put some in my hand and pass it on my face and wow the sweat was making a good layer on my face.
"Akko are you all right?" shouts Hellene.
"I'm fine, it was just a bit thirsty, I needed to drink some water" I answer her and go back to the outside, there are still some girls dead tired, but the main nine are all outside training, that's a good dedication.
"I don't know how they do it, I don't feel like anything in the heat, I feel like I'm going to die here melting" Hannah said.
"If we don't try we will never arrive, you should go too, you are a vital part of the training, but I won't push it, you are free to decide what is best" I say to her.
Come on, I go back to pick up the gallon and I could see that Hellene also came in to drink water and it can be seen that she was already holding up much more calmly, she even went to drink a soup, take heart, this one will really raise the level in every way, I don't know if I would eat now, I think I would end up vomiting with this heat.
I am still trying to raise the jerry cans, now with the water I feel renewed, I feel even renewed, but it is still a challenge, one gallon is giving me work, I see that Diana is getting dead tired too, so a wave of several of them went to drink water, I told them it was better to do it this way.
And time went by, the girls were getting sick trying to train, but the progress was good, they werehaving a good mood and it didn't take long for the reserves to try too, the hours were passing, theywere eating, stocking up more water, taking advantage of once in a while drinking cold water, andmany gallons were being spent just to supply the girls' desire for water, getting to the point of agallon running out in each training of how much they drank together, arriving at the night of that firstday, where they were already very exhausted and could feel a relief since the heat went down alittle...
I'm dead, but I have to say, once you get in the mood, the heat makes the body even more active, it's strange, but I feel like I'm burning up and like a machine my movements were just going out, but now it's good to rest, I can imagine the smell that will be after a few days, because I'm a real sweat soup.
"I have never trained so hard, it feels like a truck drove over me until I turned into paste" I say exhausted.
"I warned you, de desert is unforgiving, it has dese dings, you are attracted by de heat and when you see your body is boiling, de blood is hot and you get heavier, dis without talking about de heat, at least now you are getting more adapted, dis is de good thing about training like dis, is that de progress is greater dan in de extreme cold, but you also 'ave to be careful, de weight loss is much greater, water is essential, drink a lot of it, I do not speak only of two litres a day, I speak of more" said Laura through the speaker.
"Ah and it's good to see that you are training, it's a sign that you are dedicating yourself even more to get better as witches, but don't take it so hard, as Laura said, the heat catches you and makes you too focused to the point of forgetting to eat, drink water, even to rest, so it's good to be always alert" I noticed that.
"Now it makes sense why I used to take it so hard" Hellene said.
"Hellene you lifted 20 kg in a single day, we still suffer with a gallon, you are a monster" I say impressed.
"I ate a lot too, I wanted to reach de limit, you 'ave no idea what it's like" We do, it's a gym girl too.
"Ah but you're the toughest of the group, it's a cliché that you would lift so much weight, it surprises me that you don't take any pumps and you're strong like that" Amanda said.
"My motivation is not to be a fitness freak, even though I 'ave dese expressive muscles, I really want to push myself to my limits, because I want to be powerful, I want to overcome my trauma, defeat Holbrook, you want it too, but my issue, you know what it is, I lost an arm with 'er, I still 'ave nightmares and PTSD moments, in fact when I was angry training, I was having PTSD, that's why I've been really motivated" Woah, it's impressive.
We are even shocked, while we are eating the soup and Hellene shows why she is the strongest of us, it impresses me that the shorty is simply a level beyond, I do not know how she does it, the creation of Mrs McLaren really brings effects, well anyway I am going to rest, the day is going to be full tomorrow and the heavy part of the real training will come soon.
POV Narrator:
The second day of training was almost a repetition of the first, but this time Hellene showed why she was the strongest of the group, she carried four gallons each time she went to get water with great ease, besides also training her body, reaching a point of lifting four gallons as a normal weight, the other girls were already starting to hold two gallons too, Akko being the first and showing that after Hellene she was the most dedicated, even not being a mass full of muscles like McLaren, she was also very strong.
The heat didn't intimidate the girls, it was already becoming one less thing, unlike the cold for which they took a long time to adapt, the heat was much more tranquil, although it took a toll on the girls' bodies that felt the fatigue coming too fast pulling them to eat more and also drink water. While in the arctic it was one can of soup at each meal every 3 hours, things were different in the heat, reaching the point that Hellene had turned 10 cans in a single 3 hour training session, this only on the second day of training. What was already showing promise for a huge improvement in the heavier training that will come after the adaptation.
The third day was the most surprising with Hellene, the girl showed more of her strength, she managed the feat of lifting a weight of 50 kg, with 10 gallons together at once, besides having a spark of magic that ended up showing that the latent potential of the girl was only growing, she could even get higher than her mother in her best days, the other girls on the other hand were still adapting to the two gallons, while Hellene was already training heavily, She even asked Marianne to sit on her girlfriend's back while she did push-ups, which she was really devouring the soups with everything, even causing her to miss it at some point, since in the last training session of the third day, where Hellene reached her limit, she managed the feat of devouring 20 cans and that was by constantly pulling the limit with what she had there and it was at that moment that a green spark of magic came out of the girl's left hand.
At the end of that dayAkko got to the point of getting a good head start as well, also eating a lot, she reached 20kg carrying gallons, which showed that they were giving everything they had there to become legendary witches.
On the evening of the third day, they were all gathered and resting, even going so far as to take a "bath" as it was just a throw of water from many of the gallons that were left over there, as they always get a lot each time, using the water to refresh and throw over each other and it was the refreshment they needed after the heavy training, the "bath" also helped to partially alleviate the smell that was left from sweat, as they couldn't take off their tunics.
POV Akko:
That was very relaxing, we got soaked out here, that night, at least the smell of sweat will go away, even at night it is warm enough to dry quickly the water we threw at each other, which we then went back to our camp and stayed there taking a rest and talking to each other, the only one who stayed inside was Hellene, she was meditating, she missed the two hours of fun in the water.
"Our sis, ye really want tae defeat Holbrook" Diana said.
"Oh you guys are 'ere, I decided to put my mind to rights, it was already quite affected with some PTSD disorders, but how nice dat you had a good time" McLaren said.
"So you dink we can beat 'er?" I ask my sister-in-law.
"To be honest no, but we can get close if we train more, now let's see if I can do it" said Hellene.
She started to put her hand in as if she were concentrating magic, in three days getting magic to work was going to be a bitch, it took us two weeks on the other attempt, but I think with the desert training making us take it harder we might just make it, Hellene's hair even came up a bit, it looks like there's going to be something, a greenish glow comes out, and then it stops, like a spark.
"Heh, dat's as much magic as I can use, one more day and I'll be able to use magic more easily, maybe even in less than a week" McLaren said.
"Sis, ye're impressive, it takes a lot of concentration tae get tae that point, how can ye manage tae do all that? Ye are really a monster, nae fae nothing, but I am afraid of Miranda Holbrook, she will have tae prepare herself tae hold yer revenge" said Diana.
"I just want 'er to pay for everything she caused us, besides de personal part of de arm, I'm glad I can use magic, but I need to train more, if you mind I'm going out, I'll come back later, I want to be alone meditating" Said my sister-in-law and I'm impressed.
"Hellene you are a monster girl, you 'ave a bigger potential dan me, dat's dedication, I dink you can come out stronger dan I was in dis training, having de help we 'ave today everything is easier, which is wonderful, I came close to something against Holbrook in 2000, if you get stronger dan dat, with Mecha's 'elp, de revolution is a real step" Her mother said, but Hellene just goes quietly to meditate outside.
"The quiet, reserved way of mother Bernadette" Diana said.
"Absolutely, it looks like our Hellene is wanting to stay in a league of 'er own, you should try too, it's your last day training, just de physique doesn't count, it's no use having a physique like dat if the mind doesn't match" She's right.
"So let's meditate girls" I tell them and they nod their heads in agreement.
"It will be a good closure to the day, I will call Hellene" Amanda said until Marianne put her hand on her shoulder.
"Leave her be, my girlfriend needs to be alone, it's not like she doesn't want to, she just needs the moment to reflect, her PTSD is heavy really, I speak this as someone who lives with it all the time, she must have left so she doesn't have another crisis like this" Now it makes sense.
Then we all sat there, already concentrating, thinking about meditating, since now is a crucial part, I even get thoughtful, but then I empty my head, now is the time to make the mind and body come together, after so much training the head needs peace.
POV Narrator:
The beginning of the training in the desert, which was supposed to be an adaptation, was in fact a somewhat heavy training that the girls were motivated to do, much by a desire to also defeat the evils of Miranda Holbrook once and for all, without hesitating for a moment in that training, going beyond what they did in the Arctic, all with the aim of being able to conquer the witches' revolution.
See you, training witches...