*
I pull myself up, propping my body weight on my arms to lift it. I didn't feel particularly dehydrated, maybe a little thirsty since I've moved a lot, but not to the point where my tongue feels like the desert. Using my thirstiness as a gauge, it seemed like not much time had passed since we became unconscious. I had odd feelings for my interaction with Barius. Even though she was cold to me, she still brought us here.
At least my mind wasn't failing enough for me to disregard her efforts. Her will was strong and her demeanour was like a noble out of a picture book. She always held an unapproachable aura, driving off most people who would want to befriend her. But alas, it was abundantly clear. She works really hard for her goals, as if there was something else there driving her. But it'd be wrong to think like that, I believe what drives her is completely herself. She had that kind of confidence and appeal that convinced people of her faith in herself.
In other words, she was a formidable character. One that was strangely well rounded except for her source of tenacity. She wasn't absolutely skilled or abysmally poor at anything, she was only above average but not managing to compete with monsters at their respective fields. She had such a talent, causing her to stand out. I believe her talent is how she could stick to a goal close enough and achieve above average results. People would normally falter and stumble in uncomfortable territory, she was a one of a kind person that adapts to everything.
She wouldn't be particularly talented at what she was doing, but what shocks most people is how she could stay committed for so long. I hope one day she will find that something, that she will stick to like a glue and never let go, continuously polishing and refining to the point where she is unparalleled and proud of it. She'll definitely find it. After all, she's...
"You done changing? Let's go find them. Just transform into your combat dress." (Myuu)
"Alright! Coming."
While I had no idea where we needed to go or what we might be discussing, the rest had contacted Myuu and given her the details, so I could only trust in her judgement. If she said that we weren't going to the meet up, I would have complied without much thought. While they are my good friends from the same class, I had little interest in actually seeing or talking to them.
At the end of the day, we were posted to the same unit since we were most familiar with each other. The biggest reason was that there was no time for us to train with other magical girls from other units, as teamwork could be the deciding factor to battles at times. With familiarity, we were able to coordinate more efficiently, analyse each other's roles in the team faster and use combo attacks if we had any.
The definition of a combo attack was a skill each from 2 different magical girls working in conjunction to bring a new or more powerful effect. If in an extremely rare case where the 2 magical girls were actually clones, it would still count as a combo attack, as long as the skills were different.
After walking a while, we managed to reach a different building. Our footsteps echo through the spacious streets, each click of our steps permeating through the walls. A faint noise could be heard coming from the other side, there were already others there. They seemed to have gotten there earlier, perhaps due to not being hospitalised like we were. My feet and legs felt heavier, could this be anxiousness?
I wasn't the type to feel shame or embarrassment unless it was something absurd, usually I could laugh it off and ignore my anxiety to fulfill my tasks. It had been like that in Illnoia, what was so different now? It had been a little while since I last saw everyone, but not more than a month... Just what exactly was this feeling?
We eventually reach where we needed to without sorting my own feelings out. It was simple to go into business mode and put it all away to focus on my current task. Barius and her friends, along with Vibell, Izumi and Fiel were there along with the others. We had been sort into a single unit out of the consideration of our experiences, reasoning that we work better together than with others. It was not a wrong conclusion considering the things we undertook and went through, though it was not necessary either.
Training as a magical girl was not as linear or easy as it seems. Certain individuals have faster growth rates out of talent or luck, and others suffer at the short end of the stick. Perhaps our growth rate was rather abnormal. So they took notice of it and this was the measure they took. Getting us to keep each other in check while remaining amicable with us. If we didn't value this faction somewhat, we would have stayed in Illnoia instead, so they were aware that we had some level of attachment to this place.
Well, what was done was done. There's no point in prodding the bee's nest here, it was a decision that didn't hurt anyone. Despite our attacks in some northern laboratories, we had been pardoned for our battle potential. We were easily allowed to live back a normal life here, the only difference was that we were forced to serve as a military force. Unlike other magical girls who could freely choose their profession, our only option was to be a combat force in some way.
Some of us chose to be patrol guards, some became scouts and others continued to train.
"The meeting here is to discuss our very next move, and the necessity of switching up our positions. Since these 2 have finally arrived, we can finally begin." (Barius)
Her light grey hair shook in the wind as her black cloak and white coat followed. She was in her usual combat dress with a white blouse and black pleated skirt. Due to being a magical girl, everyone looked pretty young, about a couple years younger than their actual age. Whether that would have made a difference was up to the person themselves. As such, it felt a little uncanny how we all looked the exact same as a year ago.
"Tch! We didn't have to wait for them! It's their problem for getting knocked out in the first place..." (Garion)
She had long black hair that was let down to her shoulders, it curved a little at the tips and swayed with her every movement. Unlike Barius, her white coat was closed and zipped up, giving her a prim and proper 'doctor' image. Though her personality was really far from it. She truly valued her closest friends Barius and Kenzi, but when it comes to outsiders all communication breaks down.
She was crude as always, in particularly with matters pertaining to me. It was like my very presence annoyed her, well the truth is probably something similar to it. There isn't much need or benefit to put in the extra effort just to appease her. Not in the middle of a war at least, the status quo should be enough for cooperation.
Slightly different from the rest was Kenzi. She wore a very magical girl esque combat dress with highlights of brown and black and numerous frills at her dress and shoulders. A thin ribbon resided on her chest and it followed her rhythm as she breathed. Her hair was a mix of golden brown and tanned brown, and it did not follow the same trend as the hairstyles of her 2 friends. Hers was curved much more than the others, forming curls at certain places and giving her a more bubbly look, as well as allowing her hair to bounce quite easily.
One could say that it was made to be less of a nuisance to her, since she fights in considerably closer range than her friends. She was also much more amicable than the others, unexpectedly smiling more than usual and waving at us sometimes.
As we were back in our own territory, there wasn't a rush to make a leading figure. Hence, I wasn't forced to be the leader this time, and instead Barius took charge. She took to her position with much more elegance and productiveness. Unlike myself, she actually knew what she was doing and proceeded with her tasks smoothly.
Planning and strategising, one needed a lot of insight and composure to initiates such endeavours, unfortunately I had neither qualities at the time. We had learnt a small bit of it in our lessons before getting kidnapped, however one needed a proper functioning mind to execute it. It was akin to being stuck in a dense fog, one that I could not climb out of until it simply faded away.
"... Are you listening? These parts are very integral to our victory! We managed to repel them today and even took out roughly 10% of their forces, but they still have an overwhelming 90% and we are not without casualties as well!" (Barius)
"... Uh?! Ah!... Yes! I was listening..."
".... To deceive the enemy, we must deceive the world... "(Vibell)
" Huh?... Is that some cryptic thing again? We can perhaps trick them with illusion magic, to think they have an overwhelming victory. To sell them that illusion, we could have our own soldiers retreat and let them have the small bit of land they fought on. We can then ambush them on their own withdrawal to their camps. "(Kenzi)
"... "(everyone)
" Huh? Did I say something wrong? "(Kenzi)
"... No... It's just, we never expected such a thing from you... "(Fiel)
"... "(Kenzi)
" Well, that assumes we have control over all our troops. Which is a very bold assumption, we aren't at the top of the command chain but a mere single unit... "(Barius)
" So we go with a smaller scale operation? We can do a simple flank by circling around them, but I doubt we have enough fire power without a sizable force... "
"... We pick them off from the corners. The density of enemies will get higher as we reach the centre, so we may do a hit and run instead. "(Barius)
" That is much better than anything we've proposed so far. They invade in a simple formation that stretches horizontally, and divide into 20 units. Well, now there are 17 units left. "(Garion)
".... So we pick off a single unit, or do we split them up even more? If we do too much, we'll be stretched even thinner then they do and get picked off individually... "(Kenzi)
" Then...maybe we use the buildings to our advantage?" (Myuu)
" And how do we do that? They're positioned like checker pieces, it's way too open and every building is surrounded by streets for an entire 360 degrees." (Barius)
" It's precisely because it looks open. We can still trick them into thinking we split up. But we simply need to navigate swiftly and stealthily above their heads. "(Myuu)
"... If it goes on for too long, they'll eventually catch on, so we have to be quick about it. Furthermore, we need to catch their attention before disappearing, or they'll regroup. How troublesome... "
" Yeah, it must be neither too short nor too long. We need contingency plans and alternative plans. "(Kenzi)
"... I'll take care of those. You guys focus on the main plan for now. We strike when they do.
I'm sure it's not a necessary warning but don't let your guard down. They have 20 more teams resting at their camps so their logistics don't get too strained. Not that they would particularly rely on it, as magical girls can survive without food and water as long as their magic last.
All the more so we should be wary of any ambushes. Fight in pairs or threes, don't fight alone. And let's go, we have too many of them to take down. 37 units of 50 magical girls each left to go.
As we couldn't predict when they attacked, we slept in shifts until someone tells us they have begun their march. There was a scouting department and a security department. Though the scouting department lose their significance here as the security department are the ones with access to hidden cameras and intelligence within our own territory. Since the invaders have come into our place instead, this was the field of the security department. We were also somewhat related to this branch as we were posted as patrol guards for a few months.
Now that that was over, our occupation as patrol guards is now over. Mercenaries?... Yeah, that's way more fitting.