Once Zero Three had left theb, Sam just sat there staring nkly at the wall. The words said by the Valkyrie were shocking and took time to process, when he was done the terror he felt multiplied ten folds.


    The young Valkyrie always had somewhat of a sharp tongue however this was the first time she had gone this far. He felt the contempt in her voice. Her dissatisfaction with the current state was clear.


    That''s it… Sam thought, turning to theputer to start working on his report. Something definitely is wrong with them! There is no way that was normal!


    If there was a sign that an AI was about to go out of control then it would be when it starts looking down on humans while showing signs of contempt toward the way they use them.


    Zero Three refused to take his advice believing she knew better, and though that was indeed true, the way she delivered it was worrying.


    As he wrote his report Sam made sure to mention the strange behaviors the Valkyries were showing. Of course he remembered to change a few things about what happened with Nine, however repeatedly stressed out how the walking weapons were acting out of the ordinary.


    Once he was done he pressed send and got up, gathered his things and left theb. He didn''t know how the Resistance''s headquarters will react to his report. At best they''d send some recements as they worked on resetting the other three. At worst the three Valkyries would be destroyed to avoid any futureplications.


    Better safe than sorry… Sam thought, feeling a hint of guilt in his heart.


    ~◇~


    After thinking everything more thoroughly Sam began to doubt about whether sending that report was really a good idea. What he failed to ount for was that it wouldn''t be strange for the higher ups to pin the me on him, saying his ipetence is what caused all of it, but that wasn''t what bothered him the most.


    With each passing second the guilt he felt was growing. What if the HQ takes his report seriously and decide that the three were a threat?


    Once that happens it is guaranteed that those three would cease to exist as they are.


    He remembered Nine''s warm smile, Zero Five''s blushing face. Even Zero Three who did nothing but annoy him, the thought of her existence being erased made him feel bad.


    Maybe I shouldn''t have done it after all…


    "Doctor? Is something wrong?"


    Hearing a voice addressing him Sam looked up. It was sergeant Kurokami Shizuru, the raven haired Asian woman he usually eats his meals together with.


    The fact that he doesn''t remember when he had made it to the cafeteria, let alone when she arrived, told him of how much stressed and tired he really was. Dealing with the human like weapons really puts a heavy toll on one''s mind.


    "Nothing." Sam answered, poking a small piece of vegetables with his fork. "I''m just… a little tired, that''s all."


    "You didn''t get much rest since yesterday, huh?" Pausing for a moment, Shizuru then added. "I''ve heard about what happened. Is Unit Zero Three alright?"


    "Yes… the restoration process finished without a problem. She should have no trouble doing her duties as usual."


    "I see…"


    For a couple of minutes the two ate their food silently. As if tired of pretending, Shizuro let out a long sigh, showing how stressed she was as well.


    "You''re worried about it too, huh?" Sam asked.


    "You could say that." She replied. "We''ve been on high alert in case another Cmity shows up, however it appears there was no need to."


    "Those things keep popping up out if nowhere." Sam said, gritting his teeth.


    "It''s quite stressful. I''ve been staring at the radar for hours and now my neck hurts…" Shizuru replied, rubbing her left shoulder looking quite bothered.


    The two sighed at the same time, their fatigue bing more apparent. Shizuru nced over the cafeteria. Normally it would be crowded by this time, however none of the tables were full right now.


    A Cmity appearing in their area, which is supposedly one of the safest parts of the frontlines, was bad on its own, however when the news about Zero Three getting severely injured spread fear soon followed and most couldn''t bring themselves to eat.


    It was impossible to find someone who didn''t have a horror story about how they had suffered greatly due to the Cmities. Just hearing that one hade so close to the base put them on edge.


    "Well, I guess it''s our fault for for getting toox." Sam said.


    "Yep. We should consider ourselves lucky that the damage was limited to just one Valkyrie."


    It would''ve been a nightmare if all three of them returned in same state as Zero Three. The base would''ve been defenseless until new units arrive, and until that timees the weak useless humans would be left to fend for themselves.


    This time it was just a B ss Cmity, but if the next one was any stronger then there would be no hope for then


    The two finished their meal in silence. To Sam''s surprise Jordan never came to bother them. Maybe even a pushy guy like him knows when it''s not a good time to be a pain in the neck.


    Sam decided to go back to his room to get some eye shut. He didn''t know if he would be able to but he had to at least try. He told Shizuru that he''d give her the book he''d brought for her in the morning. Not that she''d be able to read it in those circumstances anyway.


    Once he reached his room he took a shower, brushed his teeth and went to bed. As expected he was unable to sleep. Zero Three''s words kept repeating in his head again and again not allowing him a moment of rest.


    ''Then why don''t you go fight them yourself?''


    ''All you humans do isin.''


    ''You''re all weak pathetic bags of flesh. Especially you, old man. Though in your case it''s nothing but bones.''


    ''Keep your advice to yourself next time.''


    "Am I really that skinny?" He murmured quietly, still unable to take the words out of his mind.


    It sounded like the young Valkyrie was tired of being told how she should fight, or maybe fighting at all. The more he thought about it the more stupid he felt for telling her to be more careful.


    The Valkyries were created to fight the Cmities. Their personalities don''t matter all that much when ites to battle, that side is handled by a different part of their programming.


    "Maybe I should apologize to her…"


    Even after deciding that he was still unable to sleep. He got up and turned the light on. The first thing that caught his attention were the two books he had brought with him that morning.


    He picked the one titled Valkyrie Smash and smiled despite himself before opening it and flipping through the pages.


    It was bad. He had read most of it as he waited for Zero Three''s treatment to be done and as expected it was really bad.


    Putting aside all the typos, grammatical errors and misspellings, the plot itself was nothing but a detailed script for some porn.


    The protagonist of the story was a man in his thirties and is a part of the maintenance crew tasked with taking care of the weapons the Valkyries use. That alone told him that the author knew nothing about how the military bases are run.


    At the start of the book he''d have a few interactions with the beautiful human like weapons then, using theirck of experience with humans, he manages to trick them into performing sexual acts with him. The Valkyries who had learned what pleasure was fell in love with the protagonist and from there their secret rtionship somehow continued without anyone finding out.


    The whole book felt like it was nothing but the sexual fantasies of some horny teenage, however despite it being that bad Sam found himself reading through it again. The reason is simple; it was just pure dumb fun.


    Going through it again he felt a smile creep on his face. He read through the first few chapters, intending to stop after a few pages, but soon he found himself flipping through them in a quick pace. Something about the book had caught his attention so he went back to the start and began reading it again.


    "This is…"