"You're late, Nine! And what are you wearing!?"
Entering the changing room, Nine found her two fellow Valkyries waiting, already in their combat suits. Though she arrived right on time, that didn't stop Zero Three from complaining like she usually does.
"Sorry about that, Three. Doctor had a few things he wanted to discuss with me, that's why-"
"The old man?" The young Valkyrie's frown deepened. "What does he want from us now? Couldn't it wait till after the examination?"
"Well, we just happened to meet at the library, that's all."
As she spoke, Nine removed the blouse and shirt of the uniform she had borrowed. Though aware that they were one size too small for her, it was only once she was free from their hold that she understood how tight they truly were. Not even her combat suit felt that tight, even though it clung to her like a second skin.
"That skirt makes you look fat." Zero Three commented. "No wonder the old man told you to lay off the snacks."
"Shut up!" Nine puffed her cheeks, letting the skirt fall to her feet. "Doctor is nice! He definitely didn't mean it like that!"
Though he did mention a few things about her crushing him, she was entirely convinced that he meant using her strength, not weight. She might not have Three's petite figure, but for a Valkyrie, her weight was the standard.
Turning to her locker, Nine proceeded to attach her exoskeleton one part at a time. Once that was done, she noticed she'd yet to undo her braid. Somehow, it felt like it would be more practical to leave it that way, so she decided to just do that.
"Doctor… huh…"
Zero Five's quiet mutter didn't go unnoticed by the other two. She usually only spoke when necessary, so it took them by surprise when they heard her voice.
"He's a curious person, isn't he?" Zero Five asked, having noticed the looks the others were giving her.
"Yes." Nine replied, her smile returning. "He's one interesting human."
"Interesting? That old man?" Disgust replaced Zero Three's astonished expression. "I've seen corpses livelier than him!"
"He is an adult, after all." Nine walked past her, heading for the exit. "Though he's supposed to be around my age. Well, the age I'm made to be, not my actual age."
As they stepped into the next room, the floor began to move like a treadmill. The walls around them opened up, and mechanical arms moved out, each proceeding to attach something to the girls' exoskeleton. Small thrusters on the feet and hips, chest pieces of different sizes, wing-like shoulder pads that pointed backward, arm and leg guards, etc.
"Doctor is only twenty-six." Said Zero Five. "He might not look like it, but he's still in his youth."
"He's only twenty-six!" Zero Three exclaimed. "I thought he was at least a hundred!"
"Humans usually don't live that long, Three." Said Zero Five. "Especially nowadays, with the war and whatnot."
"He's still so young, yet he acts like a fossil. No wonder he always looks so miserable."
Holding her hand out, Zero Three caught the handle of a metallic case that one of the mechanical arms held up to her.
"I think Doctor is under a lot of pressure." Nine carried her case with one hand despite it being quite a bit larger. "No matter how much we resemble humans, in the end, we're still weapons. It is only natural that he'd be stressed from having to work with us."
"Hah! I think the word you're looking for is coward." Zero Three shot back.
"No, I don't believe Doctor is coward." Zero Five replied, checking the long, thin case in her hands before strapping it to her back. "Unlike other humans, Doctor doesn't give us any special treatment. The way he behaves around us is no different from how he behaves around people."
"And how would you know?"
A blinding light poured into the room as the gate ahead of them split open. Walking outside, the three found themselves on the usual empty runway. Only a few drones moved about here and there, taking care of their usual tasks. The sun was approaching the zenith, and the heat, accompanied by the clicking sound of cicadas, reminded everyone that it was the middle of summer.
"Come to think of it..." Nine glanced at the shortest among them. "Doctor warned you not to use the outdoor pool often, didn't he?"
"Yeah, I don't really get what the problem is." Zero Three replied.
"Isn't it obvious?" Said Zero Five. "It might not be on the same level as humans, but the sun damages our skin nonetheless. It's better to conserve resources by reducing what needs repairing as much as possible."
"Who cares? It's barely noticeable, so there is no point!"
"Not according to HQ."
With her argument instantly shut down, Zero Three turned on her thrusters and took off into the sky. Seeing the way she acted caused Zero Five to sigh. Nine, on the other hand, only smiled as she ignited her thrusters as well. Zero Five's long ponytail swayed as they floated up, and a couple of seconds later, the two were flying through the sky at an easy pace.
A moment of silence passed as they glided through the air. Soon enough, the base disappeared behind the horizon line. A mountain range appeared in the opposite direction, and as they flew past it, the world around them seemed to change.
Everything seemed to turn red. The grass-covered plains, the ruins of an abandoned city, the snow-covered mountain peak—it was as if everything was being displayed through a red filter. They call it the Blood-Stained Lands—the largest among the territories under the Calamities' control.
Once they were in, Zero Three slowed down so she would stay in their line of sight. Because of that, the other two didn't feel the need to hurry and catch up with her.
"What?" Noticing the blonde one's gaze on her, Zero Five furrowed her brows.
"You seem a little talkative today, Five." Nine spoke with her usual smile. "You rarely join in on small talk like this."
"Really?"
"Yes. At most, you'd make a short comment, telling us to focus. Did something happen?"
The ponytailed Valkyrie seemed to contemplate the question.
"Actually, yesterday, I asked Doctor if he sees me as a human."
Her even tone was no different from usual, so the meaning of her words didn't strike until a few seconds later.
[WHAT!!!?]
The shout that came from their communicators made it clear that Zero Three was keeping an ear on the conversation. The shock in Nine's large blue eyes turned into a glint of curiosity. Eager for an answer, she flew dangerously close to her ponytailed friend.
"And!? What was his answer!?"
"He said to never mention it again." Zero Five moved away, trying to avoid a collision. "Apparently, humans are scared of that question."
[Heh, as I had thought.] Zero Three's voice rang in their ears. [ They hate being grouped with us, that's all. We're just tools they made so they wouldn't have to do the fighting.]
"I think... I think they're afraid of us hurting them." Nine seemed to lose her excitement, casting her gaze down as she recalled what had happened earlier. Her words seemed to strike a chord with Zero Five, and as she gave their meaning some thought, a strange feeling began to arise in her chest.
"I... don't know..." She said, a faint red color slowly spreading over her cheeks. "He... he also said I was too beautiful to be human."
Before they could react to that last sentence, the three Valkyries came to a sudden stop, turning in the same direction with hardened expressions. They stared at the distant horizon for a second. At first, it appeared like there was nothing where the red ground met the blue sky, but then, a single black dot soon manifested.
[D class Calamity detected.] Said Zero Three. Being the closest to it, she was the first to get a scan of the unidentified flying object.
It was a large red cone spinning slowly as it flew at a steady pace. Calamities had no set shape or form, so there was no way to know how they fought. That was one of the reasons humans were unable to do much against them at the beginning of the war.
The Valkyries had two courses of action after encountering a Calamity: they could either take it down as fast as possible before it could retaliate, or observe it until they learned of a way to destroy it. The first option was always preferable.
"Keep your distance, Three." Said Nine, taking the metallic case off her back. "Don't engage just yet."
Pressing a switch on the handle, the case split into multiple blocks that shuffled repeatedly until they formed a new shape. In her hands, Nine now held a large cannon with a barrel that was as long as she was tall. Her eyes quickly adjusted, locking onto the target without the use of a scope. A moment passed as she waited for the round to charge, and once it was ready, she pulled the trigger.
A ray of brilliant light shot out from the long barrel, heading straight toward the unidentified object. A loud explosion followed, and a massive cloud of smoke spread out from the crimson flower blooming from the target. The Valkyries kept their eyes on it, waiting for visual confirmation. That was when the cloud of smoke suddenly dispersed as if blasted in all directions. At its center, a giant fan spun at an incredible speed, creating a massive horizontal hurricane.