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nNot an hour after Nine left the lab, Sam recieved an emergency notification on his phone. He quickly returned to his post and waited. A few minutes later two drones entered carrying a coffin like transparent pod with Zero Three inside.

nIt was the worst condition he had seen a Valkyrie in ever since he started his job. Her skin was burned all over and her long hair was damaged. The exoskeleton she wore was damaged and almost nothing was left of the suit she wore for combat.

nBut those things weren’t what told of how critical her condition is. The young Valkyrie was unconscious. As a walking computer her shell being damaged shouldn’t have affected the operation of her central processor. If that part got damaged then she might be as good as dead.

n“What happened?” Sam asked, turning to the door where the other two stood.

nWhile they were in a much better condition, just by looking at the state of their equipment and clothes he realize that they had a really tough battle.

n“We had a run in with a B class Calamity.” Said Nine, a shadow cast over her face. “We failed to measure its true potential and…”

nThe results were clear to the eye. Sam knew about the protective force field the Valkyries used in combat. It was a weightless invisible armor that protected their bodies and could withstand nuclear explosions. The fact that they sustained damage despite having it means that the Calamity this time wasn’t something to scoff about.

n“Please be at ease, Doctor.” Zero Five came forward intending to reassure him. “We’ve managed to neutralize the threat and made sure no other Calamities were in the area.”

n“I see…”

nAlthough he tried not to care, the event gave Sam a really ominous feeling. But now wasn’t the time to be worrying about it. He needed to prepare for Zero Three’s treatment.

n“You two can go clean yourselves and change.” He said as he waved them away. “We can fix you during the usual examination. For now I need to deal with this.”

nSam’s lack of concern for their condition caused Nine to frown, though the change in her expression went unnoticed as he had his back to her. Once they left the room he immediately got to work grabbing the tablet that was placed on his desk.

n“This doesn’t look good…”

nIt was obvious just from looking, but when he checked the results of the rough check up done by the drones he realized things might be worse than he thought.

nIt was weak but the sensors had detected gamma radiation on her skin. If she hadn’t been put into that pod he’d have been in quite the danger right now.

n“Well, her central processor is safe at least.” That was good news. It meant that although she was unconscious at the moment she’d be able to function normally as long as her shell is restored to its normal state.

nSliding his fingers on the screen he gave the drones a list of instruction. First they are to move to the next room where the devices used for the examination were kept, once they’re there he wouldn’t have to worry about the radiations killing him. Next they are to remove the damaged exoskeleton and combat suit and sealing them in special boxes. Once that’s done the unconscious Zero Three would be left stark naked, however he didn’t really care about that right now.

nWhile the drones where doing their work Sam went and prepared the examination device for a more thorough reparation process.

nThe device is called Eir. Simply put it was a large container made out of transparent glass like material. Sam instructed the drones to place Zero Three inside it. When the mechanical arms let go of her she was left floating in a standing position as if suspended in the air by an invisible force. Once the container was sealed, several holes opened at its base and from them a strange green liquid began to fill the interior.

nThe liquid was a mixture of many components, however the most important of all were the billions of nano machines it contained which allowed for more complex procedures than what can be done by other means.

nPutting the tablet aside Sam pulled his chair and sat down at his desk. In front of him were several monitors linked to the computer controlling Eir.

n“Let’s start by cleaning the wounds…”

nGoing through the more detailed data gathered by Eir, Sam began typing on the keyboard entering a list of commands. It was impossible to tell if something was happening just by looking, however the nano machines were already on the move removing all foreign bodies from the Valkyrie’s damaged shell and cleaning the contamination as well.

nAt the same time a more thorough examination was being done to determine the real extent of the damage. Eir was the only device capable of performing internal scans on the humanoid weapons so it was only now that Sam was able to confirm that not much damage had been done beyond what appears on the surface.

nAbout fifteen minutes had passed and everything was going well. Sam let himself relax for a moment and as he did Zero Five and Nine came back after cleaning themselves and changing their clothes.

n“Alright then.” He said. “You two didn’t suffer much damage so there is nothing to worry about. You’ll be free to go once the usual examination is done.”

nThe two went to their own containers and waited for the process to start. Soon enough they were submerged in a green liquid themselves, however compared to the one Zero Three was in theirs were clearer and much less viscous.

n“Alright then.” Checking if there was anything he had overlooked, Sam sat back and let the machines do their work.

n~◇~

nA few hours later Zero Three opened her eyes. Noticing the green filter from which she saw the world made her realize where she was. Letting out a sigh she looked down at her body to see if the restoration process was already done.

nThe sight wasn’t a pleasant one, not in the least. The new skin was pure white and lacked the tan she’d gained over time. Because of that she looked like some really bad patchwork and one could easily tell where she got hit.

nI see you’re awake.

nAs she cursed the mess her body was in she heard a voice speak to her, although weakened by the liquid surrounding her.

nThe process is done and you’re back to normal. She recognized the voice as that of the Doctor. I guess it’s alright if you come out.

nThe green liquid slowly drained from the container. One would expect it to cling to the skin because of its viciousness, however when it was gone not a single drop was left on Zero Three. She still felt a bit sticky though, but that was nothing a bath couldn’t fix.

nThe problem was the mess that had befallen her body. She’d need a long sunbath to get it back to what it was. But with the warning she received about the outdoor pool she was sure that guy wouldn’t stop the nagging till she’d lose her mind.

nWhen she entered the other room she found the Doctor standing by the door with a big towel in his hands. Taking it from him she felt somewhat embarrassed that he saw her like that. Naked with nothing to hide her private parts.

nOf course the concept of shame wasn’t something walking computer gave much thought to, however her programming dictated that she must act a certain way when a male sees her without clothes.

n“How are you feeling?” Sam asked, doing his best to keep his eyes off her.

n“What do you think?” Zero Three said sounding a bit annoyed.

nTurning around, Sam walked over to his desk and threw himself onto the chair.

n“You got hit pretty badly. It’s actually surprising that you managed to survive.”

n“Hah! Of course I would!” Putting a hand on her chest she proudly sung her own praises. “I’m a Valkyrie, the greatest weapon to ever grace your miserable pathetic world! Unlike you weak and useless humans a single Calamity will never be enough to take me down!”

n“Ah, yeah yeah, just make sure to keep the damage you sustain to a minimum.” Sam’s disinterested tone seemed to trigger Zero Three a little, however he wasn’t about to start caring now. He was way too tired for that. “Remember that we only have the three of you in this base. We can’t afford to have you out of it for nine hours every time you get hurt.”

n“Wha-“

nHearing how much she had spent in the container the young Valkyrie finally understood how much damage she had really sustained. It was enough to force her central processor to shut down, that should’ve been enough for her to know.

n“Well, I was just taken by surprise this time.” She said attempting to shrug the topic off. “I doubt this will ever happen again.”

n“Oh it will.” Sam replied. “If you continue to disregard the warnings and keep being so reckless. This isn’t some game you play, there are lives on the line here.”

nSam didn’t understand. The character the Valkyries play are nothing but a program designed to make them seem more human, it shouldn’t have an effect on their abilities and decision making during combat. Zero Three being the rebellious little brat shouldn’t impact her performance on the battlefield, even so she still got herself hurt to that extent.

nEven if he were to consider the strength of the Calamity the girls faced they should’ve been able to compose a better course of actions, one that didn’t end with one of them that badly hurt.

nAs Sam pondered over the questions he failed to notice as the girl’s body trembled in front of him.

n“Then why don’t you go fight them yourself?”

nThe moment his brain processed those words, a shiver ran through Sam’s whole body.

n“All you humans do is complain. You nag and nag and nag all while hiding at the back where it’s safe. How about you go out and fight those things for a change?”

n“Zero Three… you…”

n“Ah! But you can’t!” Looking at him with eyes so cold he could feel the temperature dropping, the young Valkyrie smiled a sadistic smile as she reminded him of the reality of their world. “You’re all weak pathetic bags of flesh. Especially you, old man. Though in your case it’s nothing but bones.”

nTurning to the door Zero Three went to take her leave.

n“Keep your advice to yourself next time. I don’t need you to tell me how I should fight.”

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