Valkyrie Smash

"I asked you to take take Ms. Braiens on a tour around the base. Never did I think your room would be the destination." Wolf said, an uncharacteristic mischievous smile on his face.

"Well, we had a lot to catch up on." Sam wore a fake smile as he spoke.

He was still on edge after that Valkyrie suddenly appeared in his door. Though they tried to play it as them getting intimate, however knowing that the Valkyries have superior sight and vision he was almost completely sure that they've heard them.

'Calm down.' Sam told himself. 'It's all nothing but paranoia fueled by jealousy.'

Still, he couldn't take the topic off his mind. After all the man standing in front of him was someone who could make people disappear with ease.

"Sanderson, how about you show us your lab." Said Wolf.

"It would be my honor." Sam replied, bowing his head slightly. "Though let me apologize in advance, the place is quite messy at the moment. I had little time to clean it up."

"Don't worry, a messy workplace is a sign of genius."

Sam worked his mind trying to remember if he had left anything that exposes him laying around, and even though he was sure he was in the safe, having someone like the old man looking through his stuff put him on edge.

"Alright then." Sam said, motioning for the lab's direction. "This way, if you would."

The ones coming on the tour were Wolf and his three Valkyries. Alice took on the role of showing Elina around the base. As expected the scientists with round glasses didn't bother to hide her animosity toward the white haired beauty. Alice was well aware of the hatred filled side look she was getting, however she tried her best pretend she didn't.

"Well, this is a surprise." Wolf said upon their arrival. "It's not as messy as I thought it would be."

The room was filled with stacks of paper and notebooks, the walls still had scribbles on them and several devices and gadgets were lying around. As Wolf had pointed out, the room wasn't at its best, however it wasn't that messy. Sam had tidied it up a little a while ago so it wasn't at its worst.

"So, I imagine you had been working on something else while you waited for your permission to begin practical trials."

"Indeed." Sam said with a nod. "Sadly I dont seem to make any significant advancements."

"I see… we all get stuck at some point. The important thing is to stay patient and never give up."

As he looked around Wolf would pick up some of the papers and give them a stern look before putting them down.

'Good thing I hid the most suspicious papers…'

Lately Sam had been delving in the realm of subatomic and quantum physics so everything laying around was nothing but equations and calculations. Anything related to his attempts at improving the functions of the Valkyries was hidden, including

The VR headset and the notebooks he wrote his findings in.

"Tell me, Sanderson." Wolf spok, flipping through the pages of a notebook. "Do you have any interest in genetic engineering?"

"... Perdon me?" Sam raised an eyebrow, taken aback by the strange question.

"I'm well aware that the whole purpose behind your research is to try and cure my daughter." Letting out a long sigh, Wolf continued. "Though I feel grateful for all your effort, it still terrifies me that the two of us have arrived at the same answer."

"I'm… I'm not sure I understand, sir…"

"You have heard from Alice already, right?" The old man out the notebook down and turned to look Sam in the eyes. "I've cured her disease years ago. Do you have any idea on how I managed to do it?"

Obviously, Sam had no answer. When he heard the news from Alice he was shocked, spending many sleepless nights thinking about the topic. The only thing he knew about the disease is that it's genetic and that alone wasn't enough for him to guess how it was cured.

At most he theorized that the old man had found a way to alter her genes, however something like that had the power to change the world so it was strange that nothing about it was published so far.

"Wait…" Sam held a hand to his chin as he thought for a moment. "Arrived at the same answer… it can't be…"

"Yes. I have created a device small enough to manipulate nucleotides. I don't know if it's a coincidence or something else, however the nano machines you've designed are almost a perfect replica of the ones I made back then."

"Sir… I don't know what to say… I…" Sam stuttered as his eyes went wide. He felt his mind growing numb, panic striking his heart causing his whole body to tremble.

"Don't worry, I'm not accusing you of anything." Wolf waved his hand dismissively. "After all there are no records of my research. I've burned everything once Alice was cured so there is no way you would've stolen the idea from me."

"Huh… you burned everything?"

"Obviously." The old man said. "Humanity wasn't ready for that kind of technology yet. They never will."

The ability to manipulate DNA had many implications. While it could be used for good, like curing incurable diseases, the likelihood of ot being used for evil purposes was high. All it would take is a single maniac and humanity would be done. Not that it matters right now.

"I've been the one holding off your research from being approved. Focusing on it is pointless at this stage."

"...huh?"

The reason he was denied permission for practical trials was the old man's intervention. It made sense now. After all the nano technology sam was researching was too good to not be approved. Even if it didn't yield any results, the concept alone should've been enough to draw the attention of the scientific community and the many sponsors looking to finance the next big scientific advancement.

"Humanity is done, Sam."

Just when he was about to ask the old man for his reason, Wolf closed his eyes and said something that shocked Sam even more, addressing him by his first name for the first time since ever.

"We have no hope of winning this war." Wolf continued. "The next battle might be the last. Humanity will be wiped out and there is nothing we can do about it."

"It… it can't be…"

Sam already knew the situation was helpless, however he didn't want to give up. He was sure that as long as they continued to fight they would one day come out on top. That said, it seems he was the only one who had that opinion.

"Many are already looking for ways to leave the planet." Wold sighed. "Don't know where they got the idea that the Calamities won't follow them."

"So it's true." Sam said. "Odin had escaped the planet."

"Who knows." Wolf replied with a shrug. "That man is an idiot. I wouldn't be surprisd if he had already left the moment those monsters appeared."

Many had theorized that Odin wasn't a human but a robot created with the same technology as the Valkyries, which is why he rarely ever shows himself in public. It would make sense for him to leave a replica of himself behind as he escaped somewhere safe, though it seems that replica had decided that it's time to make a run for it as well.

"Anyways, humanity has no way of winning and our extinction is getting close." Wolf said, looking Sam in the eyes. "That leaves us with one desperate measure. We must evolve to the next stage before the Calamities get to us."

"Evolve?"

"That's right." Wolf nodded. "Escaping the planet won't be enough. We must gain the ability survive anywhere under any conditions." Stopping for a moment, the old man then continued. "First of all, we must unlock the secrets of the Valkyries and learn everything about them so we can recreate them on our own. Once that is done we have to find a way to use those findings to enhance ourselves."

"Are you saying we should…"

"That's right." Wolf said. "Whether it's by uploading our minds into the blank core of a Valkyrie or replacing all of our organs until we are the same thing as them, our only chance at survival is to toss our flesh."

Walking over in slow steps, Wolf placed his hands on Sam's shoulders.

"Sam, I have complete trust in your abilities." He said, his eyes filled with expectations. "You've made it so far on your own, I have no doubts that you'll be able to do it."

"But… sir…"

Sam didn't know what to say. Evolution? Turning humans to Valkyries? Is that even possible?

"You'll have until you move to the headquarters. Be sure to study the heart thoroughly by then." Wolf said, glancing over to the Valkyries.

As the three weapons walked out of the lab, the old man leaned in and whispered in Sam's ear.

"Take care of Alice for me."