Two days had passed since the AE invasion.

It was currently noon at St. Freya as the school day going along as usual for Kiana and the mostly recovered Mei as they had just finished eating their lunch.

Seeing as there still was time left for their noon break, the two quickly decided to go pay a visit to Theresa.

The girls left the cafeteria and began to make their way down the halls and towards the main office until they reached the principal's door.

Kiana knocked a couple of times before receiving a greeting.

"Come in Kiana. You too Mei. Me and Theresa were expecting you both to arrive eventually." Said Himeko.

The two girls walked into the office as Mei closed the door behind her.

"Let me guess. You two want some answers about them, correct?" Asked Theresa as the two nodded.

"How're the current conditions of Bronya and Alex, Principal Theresa?" Asked Mei.

Theresa then pointed at Himeko who held the medical report.

The red head then cleared her throat before speaking.

"I'll start with Bronya's since its currently short and to the point. Right now, it's simply to early for our medics to officially determine whether she's brain dead, in a coma, or simply unconscious. We're gonna need more time from our medical team before we get an official ruling on her condition. As for Alex, let's just say that we're lucky we got here on time. Our medics said that the punch the AE mech gave him resulted in a Grade 4 Concussion. We're lucky that the punch didn't cause any facial or structural damage. Regardless, the kid's still unconscious. Though his condition is stable, his timetable to awaken is still unknown. All we can do is wait until then." Explained Himeko as the two girls nodded.

"I-I'm sorry everyone." Said Mei as she bowed her head. "If it weren't for me being weak and easily kidnapped, Bronya wouldn't have had to fry her brain and Alex wouldn't have needed to take a sacrificial blow for Major Himeko."

"Mei..." Said a somber Kiana.

"Keep your head up Mei." Said Himeko. "Anti-Entropy, no, Cocolia simply played us like a fiddle and used Wendy as bait to capture you. There's nothing else we could've done to avoid the situation. Just keep your head up high. After all you were able to hang on just enough to not let your core get taken. Even through all the pain you must've suffered, you were resiliant to the very end just like a true Valkyrie." Said Himeko, patting Mei on the head as the young girl looked up and smiled.

"Anyways, I suggest that once the boy wakes up, that you two thank him for his contribution in the last two missions. He was the one who managed to convince Durandal to leave Wendy to you two and Bronya. He then came back to help us on his own accord knowing that invading the base would've put his status as a mercenary in jeopardy. He took a nearly fatal blow from an AE mech to protect Himeko who was defenseless at the time. Needless to say, even as a merc who should be well done with us by now, he's already put himself in bold situations and sacrificed himself for us, and more specifically you three girls." Said Theresa as Himeko nodded.

"The principal's right girls. Point of the matter is that when the Selene mission was over, he had no obligation to help us anymore afterwards even after being short on pay, yet he still lent a helping hand. We saw it with the Ganesha incident, and now with the Anti-Entropy Raid. He may seem a little aloof and blunt during most conversations, but it's clear that he's grown an attachment to you girls." Said Himeko.

The two girls kept quiet as they indeed did realize that it was true.

Alex didn't need to help them in both situations. It was none of his business, yet he choose to help.

"Alright then. We'll do that. Keep us updated on his and Bronya's conditions." Said Mei.

"Will do girls. Now, go back to your classes." Said Himeko.

The two nodded and proceeded to go back to class, hoping that at least one of the two would wake up soon.

[Four Days Later]

A groan was heard as Alex slowly began to open his eyes, being greeted by blinding lights above him.

It took a moment for the boy to get adjusted to the lighting, while also feeling lightheaded as well.

'Damn. How long was I out? Last I remember was saving Himeko from the mech's punch.' Thought Alex to himself.

He tried his best to look around the room and eventually saw that he was in a hospital room and was on a hospital bed.

Alex tried to sit up and struggled a bit until he finally managed to sit but immediately as he did, he felt a sharp pain in his head as he placed a hand there as he groaned a bit.

When he did, he felt and realized that his whole forehead was covered in bandages while also being a little damp, meaning that blood had probably soaked onto them but was on its way to dry up.

"You should be careful not to strain yourself too much." Said a voice next to Alex.

The boy looked to the side and saw Fu Hua there peeling apples for him.

"Fu Hua? Where, am I? When did you get here?" Asked Alex.

"You're in one of St. Freya's hospital rooms. You were transferred here by Himeko and company after they all managed to escape the invasion. You were out for nearly a week. Its been six days since the raid." Explained Fu Hua.

"I see. Tell me, how're Mei and Bronya. I need to know." He asked.

"Mei's doing perfectly fine. She's mostly back to full strength so she's still limited in Valkyrie training until she's back to top shape. As for Bronya, the jury's still out on her condition. The medics are gonna need more time to figure it out." Replied back Fu Hua.

Alex nodded and got a little somber look upon receiving the news that Bronya's condition was still unknown.

"Hey Alex? I wanna thank you. During the Ganesha incident, I was genuinely suprised when you jumped in to battle the beast, and now this raid has definitely sealed the deal on my opinion about you. This was a situation that absolutely had nothing to do with you. You had no obligation and had the right to do whatever you wanted. Hell you would've actively jeopardized your occupation going through with it, yet despite all that you still returned and helped the girls get back Mei and Bronya." Said Fu Hua as she handed the apple slices to Alex.

"You may be a simple mercenary, but with what you've done for us over the past couple of months, you've gained my respect as a comrade. I welcome you into our St. Freya family." Said the girl with a smile.

Alex was caught off guard by her sudden speech before shrugging it off as he took the plate and began to eat the slices.

"No need to get all deep alright? I just did what I felt was right in that situation. Once I'm fully recovered, I'm just gonna go back to my regular life again." Said Alex.

"I'm perfectly fine with that. We've held you up here for so long so you deserve to get back to your usual lifestyle. Just know that you're always welcome here." Said Fu Hua.

Shortly after that, the door opened as Mei and Kiana walked in.

"Hey are you here Fu Hua? Aunt Theresa said you we-." Said Kiana until she stopped talking as the two girls saw Alex wide awake.

Initially, silence set over for the room for a decent two minutes before Alex broke the ice.

"Uh, sup you two?" Awkwardly asked the boy wondering why the two girls were just standing there looking at him.

That was until Mei quickly walked up and hugged him tightly.

"Oh thank goodness! Thank goodness you're awake!" Shouted Mei, nearly in tears.

The boy was immediately surprised by the sudden gesture until he began to feel crushed by how tightly Mei was hugging him.

"H-Hey might wanna let up a bit I just woke up!" He struggled to say.

"O-Oh sorry Alex!" Apologized Mei as she hugged a little gentler, wiping tears away.

"You okay Mei? You're tearing up." Said Alex.

"Of course she's tearing up dummy! You nearly died risking your life to help us save her and then to top it all off you took a nearly fatal blow to the head for Aunt Himeko! You had them all worried sick!" Shouted Kiana was who was angrily going on another rant.

She then blushed a bit, looking to the side in a bashful way before speaking again.

"Y-You also, had me worried as well." Shyly said Kiana before quickly going back to being stern and upset. "E-Either way don't do anything like that again you hear me!? Or else you're getting a swift kick to the face!"

Alex was taken aback by just how genuinely concerned all the girls, especially Kiana and Mei were for his wellbeing.

Even though he should've expected this with how long he had been with them, he just didn't.

After being quiet for a bit, Alex simply chuckled and gave a smile.

"Alright fine. I promise I won't do anything like that ever again." He said.

"Good!" Said Kiana before going back to shy. "A-Also, I'm sorry for being so rude to you before, especially when you choose to leave after being paid off. Aunt Himeko and Aunt Theresa made me realize how much you've done to help us, and, I didn't realize how much this past mission affects your future as a merc, so I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about I don't blame you. After all I was a random boy that you had no choice but to suddenly live with due to unfortunate circumstances, and looking back on it now, you were right for calling me out on ditching you all. I was being selfish regardless of my reasoning. At first I thought that taking my ball and going home right then and there was the right decision for me, however slowly afterwards, I realized that what I thought was right was really wrong. Let's consider all of our past issues as water under the bridge, okay?" Asked Alex.

When Kiana heard that, she immediately smiled and held out her fist for a fist bump.

"Alrighty then! Here's to a fresh new restart for us! Come on join in Mei" Excitedly said Kiana.

Mei simply gave a small laugh as she also held her fist out.

Alex simply chuckled as he returned the fist bump back.

'Maybe, I won't mind staying here a little longer once I'm recovered.' Thought Alex to himself.

Little did Alex know, that from that point onward, everything would get drastically out of hand.

--------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 23: Complete