Alice flew lazily over the fields and valleys of the training center, coasting on any warm updrafts she could find. She eyed the terrain, checking regularly to make sure she was on track. 

She eyed the landscape admiringly, it really was beautiful viewed from the air, nothing could quite compare. Sure, she could always climb into a hot air balloon or visit some grand vista and gaze from a tower, but there was nothing quite like the bird’s eye view that flying over it all on her own gave. 

She angled forward, bleeding off some altitude for a small speed boost- the designated area was coming up. Raking the ground with her eyes again, she noticed what appeared to be somebody waiting. A small ping in her mind alerted her that this was the place she needed to be and she folded in her wings, spiraling down like a heavily armored arrow. 

As she neared the ground she flared out her wings, slowing herself down to more comfortable speeds. Tucking the wings behind her back she dropped the remaining couple feet, dropping and rolling to kill any extra velocity before standing and looking towards the other girl- or rather, the same girl from yesterday. [i]Interesting…[/i] she mused, [i]she looks a bit peeved[/i], she noted with a flicker of amusement. 

She coughed awkwardly, rasping out a, “Sup?”

Lily caught view of her incoming opponent the corner of her eyes, but didn’t move until she had landed and addressed her. She turned to face the Valkyrie—the wings, the sword strapped to her hip and the metallic looking armour adorning her body made it all too obvious—and gave her a half-smile, a hand on her hip. 

“Took you long enough,” she commented casually even as she looked her up and down, measuring her. [i]Valkyries are a Demon Class. Can’t be anything else. At least, I’ve never seen a Titan that small.[/i] “Been waiting here a grand total of one minute. You must be Alice, I take it?” 

Alice looked back at the other girl, who clearly hadn’t shifted yet, so any real appraisal of her abilities beyond “little balls of fire” would have to wait a bit, “Clearly. Unless I’m her secret identical twin sister.”

“Well, a pleasure to meet you then… You [i]are[/i] a Demon, right?” She gave Alice yet another cursory glance. “Can’t help but wonder… that armour. Looks like something a Titan might wear. I’m surprised I haven’t heard of Alice “Ironclad” Blackwood.” She shrugged, not really giving alice a chance to reply before she continued. “At any rate, I suppose we’ll have to punch each other and—”

[i]”Lily, I want you to continue your exercise from yesterday. Avoid reality bending as much as possible, focus instead on direct attacks.”[/i] 

Lily had stopped paying attention to the outside world for a moment as Ikari’s message was transmitted. By the end of it, her eyes was almost twitching. “What?!” She exclaimed. “You can’t be serious! I’m no match for her without those!” 

[i]”Yet you will do without them.”[/i] The link was cut, ending the telepathic conversation between Lily and Ikari.

“Great,” she mumbled. “Better get this on with.” She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, letting it out after a few seconds. As she did so, she opened her eyes to reveal a pair of summer blue irises with slitted pupils, the first of many changes. A pair of fox-like ears poked through her hair atop her head, almost immediately turning towards Alice. Her facial features softened, though the structure of it became a bit sharper and pointier, but far, far more attractive, and from behind her sprouted nine white tails, each as long as she was tall.

She looked down as some of the last changes were about to happen, watching with a widening smile as her breasts grew to twice their previous size, filling her her shirt. As did her hips and posterior widen and grow respectively, giving her a figure that most women would envy. 

When she looked up again, it was with a toothy grin, elongated and pointy canines glimmering briefly in the morning sun. “Forgive me for being narcissistic, but I love seeing them grow… so, you ready?” She asked. 

Alice had been about to ask what exactly Lily was no match for her without, but held her tongue as her opponent began to shift, answering the question for her. To most anyone it would be obvious that the main strength of a Kitsune was their illusions… and without those…

“I’d offer to handicap myself but in an actual fight nobody would be so noble.” she commented, “But I can definitely see the practicality of something like the magic rifles Endola uses now.” 

She drew her sword, idly twirling it in her hand as small wisps of magic began to dance on her fingers, augmenting her already considerable strength and endurance. “Could certainly do with a decent ranged method of attack, anyway, I’m ready whenever you are.” she shrugged at Lily, adopting a relaxed pose that she could nonetheless spring from at a moment’s notice.

“You must be straight,” Lily said, an eyebrow raised. “And very much so. Most people, even girls, tend to comment on my change… Well, whatever.” 

“I prefer to think of it as hiding any impressions I may have.” Alice replied, “And my door in any case is either rusted tight or has so many directions it can swing it doesn’t know which way to go.”

“So bisexual. Alright.” She chuckled, a brief and almost musical sound. “Fine with me. As for starting, it’s already begun.” She smiled and waved her hand, disappearing from view as she bent the light around her, and started walking in a slow circle around Alice. “Only question is,” she continued, her voice seemingly coming from every direction. “Where am I?” 

Alice idly glanced around, shrugging. She sheathed her sword and stretched out her arm languidly, yawning slightly.

Straightening suddenly, fire swirled around her fingertips as she blasted the area around her in a full circle, launching herself into the air on the heat generated.

[i]Hadn’t expected that![/i] Lily thought as she jumped back, avoiding the fire with relatively little effort but still feeling the heat, albeit briefly. She had shed her invisibility when she jumped, instead focusing on keeping her eyes on the now airborne Valkyrie. 

A small grin returned to her lips, replacing the surprised expression from before. She stretched out a hand, a mass of energy quickly gathered in it before she flung it at Alice, a ball of blue fire quickly homing in on her. 

Alice drew her sword, launching herself higher in the air she dove under the ball of flame, and spiraled towards Lily. Her sword began to emanate flames of its own, and Alice slammed into the ground, feet embedding themselves in it slightly, lunging with the flat of the sword towards Lily. Her left hand was cloaked in fire as she prepared to follow up with another close ranged blast.

Even as Alice started her descent, Lily cloaked herself in another illusion, leaving behind a copy of herself to act as a decoy. She couldn’t quite help but wonder why Alice would stoop to such simple tactics, knowing that a blatant charge wouldn’t work. 

She had gone far enough away to stand behind her when she landed, watching the sword go through her clone with no resistance. Meanwhile, she had been gathering energy, arcs of blue lightning coursing along her right arm, sometimes jumping from elbow to wrist, or shorter or longer distances. 

“You shouldn’t be so predictable!” She called, unleashing a blast of lightning at Alice’s back at the same time. 

Alice hadn’t really expected it to work, and was completely unsurprised when her sword passed through the clone with no resistance. 

Keeping the energy for the blast contained for later use, she heard a small crackling from behind, pushing off from the ground and rolling to the side. Flaring out a wing she rapidly rose and unleashed her own magical blast, throwing all her energy into a rapid dash to follow up, sword blazing like an elongated inferno.

Lily found herself getting thrown through the air, the blast coming unexpected and powerful enough to push her off of her feet. She somersaulted through the air, hands momentarily extended to push her off of the ground and into a controlled fall.

With one last backwards somersault, she landed on her feet, a baleful glare aimed at the now charging Valkyrie. She bent down in her knees and set off, charging towards Alice, ducking beneath the blade and delivering a powerful punch in her abdomen, though fuelled by nothing but her own strength.

Alice grunted slightly as the kitsune punched her, though it was considerably negated by the armor. She brought around her sword, using the pommel to strike between Lily’s shoulder blades, and smashing downward with her elbows as she simultaneously brought up her knee, catching Lily between the hammer of her arms and the anvil of her knee. 

She charged up another blast of fire in her free hand, springing back and blasting it before Lily could also escape. 

Lily cursed at the beating she received, letting out a loud grunt. Even then, it didn’t deter her. She shifted and grabbed hold of Alice, keeping her in place so that she couldn’t jump back. She raised her head and looked the Valkyrie dead in the eyes, teeth bared in something akin to a victorious snarl. 

Blackness spread out around them, the grass withering away and becoming nothing but black husks in a small area around them. Lily’s tails turned, their tips pointing directly at her. “Gotcha,” she snarled, unleashing a powerful blast of raw power at point blank, the blast divided into nine; one from each tail. She let go of Alice, too, jumping back with the help of the blast, landing in a crouch. 

Alice stumbled slightly from the blast, but grinned nonetheless. “We taking off the kiddy gloves, then?” She called, launching herself high into the air once more. Building up energy in her entire body, she took a breath and dove. She wasn’t holding out any hope of hitting Lily directly, she was too fast for that. But she felt like breaking something.

Sword held back as she streaked towards the ground like a feathery comet, though she struggled to maintain all the energy she’d built up. 

[i]Doesn’t she ever learn?[/i] Had she had time, Lily would have shaken her head, but as it were she did not have the time. Rather, she decided to do as Alice had suggested and “took the kiddy gloves off.” She locked eyes with the Valkyrie and extended her will, taking hold of her mind. She then called upon her magic and lifted both arms as if pulling something from the ground. In response, illusory, rocky spikes shot from the ground, shooting up to meet, and spear, Alice should she keep diving.