VALKYRIE SMASH

[Five.]

The ponytailed Valkyrie was floating in the sky, surrounded by flickering lights as she created more and more arrows. She fired them one after the other in quick succession, her eyes locked on the advancing army of giants.

When the voice reached her ear through the communicator, she was surprised to hear Three's voice instead of the Doctor's.

"What's wrong, Three?" She asked, firing another arrow.

[This... it reminds me of what happened a few months ago...] the young Valkyrie spoke, her voice tinged with worry. [It's just like when we fought the Evil Eye...]

Five paused for a moment before grabbing another arrow.

"What are you saying, Three?" She pulled the string then released it. An explosion followed the launch of the spiraling arrow and she had to wait a little before speaking again. "This is nothing like that time. We are different as well."

Five raised her head and gazed up at the overbearing eyes staring down at them. She understood what her fellow Valkyrie meant. The fight against the Evil Eye was their first big battle. The territory of the forty sixth base had been peaceful up to that point with only the occasional D class Calamity showing up, but suddenly they were thrown against an S class without getting the time to prepare the proper equipment.

The parallels to that incident were obvious. The enemy this time was a giant eye in the sky as well, and its main ability was creating soldiers to fight in its stead.

In the previous battle Five had suffered a severe injury due to her lowering her guard a little too early. Three must've been worried about the same thing happening again so she felt the need to talk to her about it.
[You should focus on guarding Doctor, Three.]

The young Valkyrie couldn't help but frown. Here she was worrying about her friend but all she got in return was being told to do her job.

"I know already..." she puffed her cheeks. "Just... be careful, okay?"

[Don't worry.] Five said, her voice steady with determination. [Things will be different this time.]

As the conversation between the two ended, Zero Three glanced behind her checking on how the Doctor was doing. She could feel the tension he was enduring despite the cold expressionless mask he wore.

Her gaze then moved to Nino who was standing a short distance away from them holding a spear, one that seemed different from her usual creations, with rings of Runes slowly spinning around her.

"Nino." Sam suddenly spoke, startling Zero Three. "You said we just need to hold for ten minutes..." pausing for a moment, he took a deep breath before asking the question he was holding back on. "Will something change if we manage to do it?"n0VElUsb.c0m

"Sorry! I've already changed our Path!" Nino replied, turning to look at them with a wry smile. "We can no longer choose something else!"

Sam was somewhat dumbstruck by her answer, even though it didn't show on him.

"Can you at least give me more to work with?" He asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea!"

Even without her explaining things, Sam already had a guess as to what was happening just from looking at the spear in her hand. Seeing that it was made from the same material as the scissors like sword Atropos used, he was confident that the spear wasn't just an average weapon created using the Nameless Element.

'Clotho spins the Threads, Lachesis measures their length and Atropos cuts them at the end...' he thought. 'Unlike her two sisters, Lachesis is said to be the one who decides the destiny of mortals and the events they experience throughout their lives. Does that spear allow her to...'

Ramla's motionless body being close to the Japanese doll was another hint that didn't go over the Doctor's head. In just a few seconds he managed to obtain a good idea of what happened, and from that he concluded that Nino had regained the ability to see the future.

'She has already changed our Path?'

Even with his emotions suppressed, Sam still felt a great deal of stress just from what Nino said. He trusted her judgment, of course, but that didn't stop him from doubting whether it was the right choice or not.

She said that they could no longer choose something different. Does that mean that abandoning the human survivors and escaping on their own wasn't an option?

He wished she would just explain everything to him. That way maybe he might be able to understand if they were making the right choice or not.

"Doctor..." Nino spoke again, this time keeping her gaze straight ahead. "I won't lie and say it'll all work out..." She paused, watching as Juni's humongous robot kicked one of the black giants into the air. "Our victory rests in the hands of those four. If even one of them falls..."

Even now she was still searching the Tapestry of Fate for a better Path. Unfortunately, there was no stopping time, and with each passing moment an alternative Path is lost to them as they're forced to walk down the one they had already set themselves on.

The Doctor was their leader and so everyone's Threads were intertwined with his.

His choices decided what Path they were going to follow, and just a couple of minutes ago Nino had influenced him into choosing one of two.

The first Path was the one Sam had decided on; the Path where he would abandon the human survivors and escape with his Valkyries. Fortunately she managed to deter them from following it just in time, otherwise they would've reached a dead end.

The other choice had many Divergences in close succession and only one Path leading to the outcome they desired. Avoiding the Divergences depends on the actions of the four fighting outside the barrier. If even one of them caves in it would be the end.

"Don't disappoint me now, everyone!" Nino spoke with a smirk. "I won't forgive you if you ruin my moment!"