Chapter 14: New Recruits

Landing had been a more harrowing experience than Abigail had expected, even with Prudence's tutoring. She'd managed it but mostly because the craft had been heavily armored.

It also hadn't helped that they'd arrived in the middle of the night and the secret base wasn't exactly well-lit.

What followed had been a tense call from Prudence the angel to Jane the mermaid where Prudence had to verify who she was and what she was doing there roughly half a dozen times. Prudence knew it was due diligence since all three of the great Outer Gods had ways of subverting people to their side but given that all six of the new recruits had been dead tired she hadn't been in the mood.

Eventually, despite all the verification, Jane had still sent Jeanne to welcome them, knowing that Jeanne would have been able to slaughter six turned humans and an Ophanim if she had to.

It suited Prudence just fine, though, since she had worked under Jeanne for years.

The six new recruits were sent off to get some sleep in some of the empty personal quarters and were asked to appear bright and early for the welcoming speech the next morning. The one Awakener candidate among them, an Asian woman named Yui, was invited to stay after the speech so that Stollos could explain to her in detail what else would be happening to her.

Then all of them were given their introduction into Project Divinity directly in Stollos' office, after which they were invited to go into the assembly hall to meet the other Shard Bearers and the Awakeners.

Abigail was excited by it all. Getting superpowers sounded a lot better than fighting those monsters with a rifle, for one thing. There was just one little issue.

Abigail was a striking woman. She knew it. And she didn't like it. All her life she'd wanted to make music but when she got old enough to do so in any credible fashion people were always more interested in looking at her than listening to her. Until the Invasion she'd been singing under the stage name “Nightingale”, because that's what she wished she was. Beautiful singing voice but unassuming looks.

Even now, most of the men in the assembly hall and some of the women were checking her out. But she didn't want anyone to want her around for her looks. She wanted to join a team and be valued as a member of that team.

So even though it was technically irrational she went looking for a group that wasn't drooling over her. There were two male Awakeners who weren't ogling her, though the third sure was.

Of the two others one was a black guy wearing nerd glasses who had four pretty women with him, one of them with two fluffy fox tails, which startled her, though not as much as the one woman with the bottom half of a snake. The other male Awakener who wasn't ogling her had a couple more guys on his team. One of them was similarly not ogling her and she was fairly certain the two men were a couple, but the other guys on the team still scared her off.

Of the two female Awakeners one had three guys who were ogling her and getting the stink-eye from the girls for it and the final one was talking to a group of three girls who were too busy ribbing each other to pay too much attention to the new recruits. They looked like a tight-knit group and it warmed Abigail's heart to see such hardened soldiers having fun. So she took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and walked over to talk to them.

**

“Cut it out, we're making a horrible first impression on the rookies”, Elaine told Ophelia, desperately biting back another laugh.

Ophelia had just been going on a rant about why she hated the Twilight novels and why Bella and Edward having a child made no sense. The rant had included the phrase 'ninety year old rancid spunk'.

“Aw, but I haven't even gotten to the misogynist werewolves”, she protested but quieted down all the same. Then they noticed one of the new recruits coming for them.

She was tall, an inch or two taller even than Elaine, who stood at an even six feet. She had long wavy brown hair down to her hips, glossy like in a shampoo advert and she had model good looks. She was relatively slim, with B cup breasts that even the military uniform couldn't hide. Her face was delicate and pretty, with a pronounced cupid's bow of a mouth, a small button nose and her eyes were unfathomably deep emerald pools. Elaine kept all of that off her face, though. It was easy now that she had not just one but three beautiful women who enjoyed her attention. Instead, Elaine had a neutral but welcoming expression on her face as the brunette approached and asked them:

“Excuse me? Hi, um, I'm Abigail, I'm one of the new recruits and I was told to find an Awakener to work under. Would you be willing to let me join your squad?” Her voice was musical and she sounded hopeful.

Ophelia, Alexis and Evelyn all looked at Elaine.

Elaine said: “Willing, yes, but you might not want to join us, Abigail.”

Abigail was surprised. She was used to two kinds of reactions to her presence. Either people were eager to have her around, which usually happened with men, or people were jealous of her and weren't afraid to show it, which usually happened with women. They were the reactions she'd been expecting. This was not expected.

“Why is that?”, Abigail asked.

“We are being sent on a mission to scout out the town of Albion tomorrow”, Elaine said. “It'll take several days and we'll likely encounter much heavier resistance than a Level 1 recruit should be dealing with.”

“So you don't want me to come along?”, Abigail asked.

Elaine shook her head. “No, that's not it. This whole system is based on trust so I'm simply being honest. If you were to come along you'd be getting stronger much quicker than if you joined up with another team. So, joining up with us would be riskier but it would give you much more immediate progress. If you think you can handle that then we'd love to have you.”

Abigail bit her lip and asked: “Let me ask you something. That Professor talked a lot about us getting magic and abilities. Is it true? Or did he just bullshit us?”

Elaine smiled, then glanced to her sides. Evelyn held her hands forward, palms facing each other, and was letting streaks of lightning dance between them. Alexis had called Areadbhar and was twirling it through a complicated looking series of movements. Abigail's eyes widened.

“It's all true”, Elaine told her. “No idea what abilities you'll be getting yet but you will get them just as well.”

“In that case, I'd love to join you if you'll have me.”

**

After making their introductions Elaine and her group took Abigail to Jeanne to get her set up with her own CARD and to grab her armor so that she wouldn't have to wait long later on.

After that they decided to share their stats with each other and see what skills Abigail had available for Bond Level 1. Of course, the reaction came immediately.

“You're a vampire? Is this for real?”, Abigail asked Ophelia, who smiled, exposing her long fangs.

“Yes, it is. And before you ask, no, I'm not undead, no, I don't wilt when I get near garlic or crosses and no, I will not suck your blood.” She amended: “Well, unless you ask me to.”

Abigail looked to the others. “She's not just messing with me, is she?”

“Afraid not”, Elaine said. “Then again, is this really such a shock to the system? You were brought here by an angel and I'm sure you saw the kitsune and the lamia in the assembly hall.”

Abigail thought about it, then said: “Yeah, fair enough. Hell, just coming here our angel guide had to fend off a Jabberwock.”

Elaine's eyes widened. “You took on a Jabberwock?”

Abigail shook her head. “No, I just steered the vehicle while the angel took care of it. And the Jabberwock was very small, apparently.”

“Still”, Elaine said. “I'm not sure I could have kept my cool in that situation.” Abigail blushed, which Elaine thought looked amazing on her.

“Anyway, how does this whole Soul Shard thing work?”, Abigail asked.

“Ah, right. Go to your level up page, then hit share. It's way easier to explain when you can see it.”

Abigail did and shared her screen. There was a deep golden orb surrounded by four orbs, one blue, one white and two pink.

“Hold on, pink?”, Alexis asked.

“Oh, whoops”, Ophelia said. “Forgot to share that with you. Turns our there's a fifth color, support skills. I only just got access to those from my new Bond Levels. Apparently Abigail here can buy them from the get go, though.”

“I'm even more confused now”, Abigail said.

Elaine explained the different colors to her, then asked her to change it to list view to make things clearer and Abigail did.

“Okay, executive decision time”, Elaine said. “Before we do anything else, we're getting her that Supporter's Reward skill. She has four levels worth of catching up to do and that will help tremendously.”

“Agreed”, Evelyn said. “Even if it only affects her, this is like Alexis' Glory Seeker skill. It gives more and more benefits the longer she has it.”

“I'd go a bit farther, actually”, Alexis said. “Elaine, how about you take her on a short trip today and get her enough EXP to buy that skill? Gives her time to get to know her Awakener and makes sure she'll have that skill when we set out tomorrow.”

Elaine looked at the girls, then over at Abigail: “If you're fine with that I'm willing. I even know where to go. It's a bit low level for the rest of the girls but for you it'll be perfect.”

Abigail thought about it for a while, then said: “Sounds good to me. Should we get geared up?”

A few minutes later Elaine and Abigail were both geared up, assault rifles strapped to their backs and helmets on, then set out for the town of Gaines again.

“I've actually been there with Ophelia and Alexis a week ago and we killed a bunch of Outsiders.”

“Outsiders?”, Abigail asked.

“The monsters”, Elaine explained.

“Oh, that's what they're called?”, Abigail asked.

“Yeah, they're from beyond the universe, so, Outsiders.”

“Got it”, Abigail said. “But then, if you already cleaned that place up why are we going there?”

“We cleared out the area around the chapel, but we didn't check the town hall” Elaine explained.

“Alright then, lead the way.”

They walked for a while before Elaine said: “So, tell me a bit about yourself. What are you into? What were you doing before the Invasion?”

Abigail considered telling some half-truths but, then again, she had to trust this woman next to her. Not because of some vague Bond Level but because she needed to be able to trust the people she was going to get sent into combat with. And if she was being honest Elaine made it pretty easy to trust her. She was earnest and friendly but not desperate for her attention. She also had a pretty face and looked very handsome in her military uniform. In fact, Elaine's entire squad was made up of attractive women and Abigail didn't stand out quite so much among them. Well, except for her height. So she was less guarded than usual when she replied:

“I used to be a singer. I worked at any club that would have me. I was actually starting to get somewhere right before the Invasion.”

Elaine smiled, though of course Abigail couldn't see it through the helmet. “Well, that explains your beautiful voice.”

“You sweet-talker”, Abigail told her. “Keep saying nice things like that and maybe I'll sing for you some time.” Elaine chuckled, but Abigail continued: “Your turn. What did Elaine Caldwell do before the Invasion?”

“I hear she was already part of the Army, trying to scrounge up enough money to be able to go to college without crippling herself with debt”, Elaine said.

“Admirable”, Abigail commented. “What were you wanting to study?”

Elaine snorted. “No idea. Part of why I joined the Army was to find out what I liked enough to devote my life to. Honestly, a few months before the Invasion I was about to give up on college and just try to make the Army my career. Very early retirement, great retirement plan and a whole holiday devoted to you.”

Now it was Abigail's turn to snort. “I like you, Elaine. You're fun. Always thought soldiers were more stuck up.”

“A lot of us are. I got away with being flippant because I was damn good. And now, at Base 15, aptitude counts for more than attitude, so everything is a little more relaxed.”

Finally they reached the Gaines Town Hall, a large gray building with a rather large parking lot. And sure enough, there was a Dark Young patrolling around the parking lot.

“What is that?”, Abigail breathed.

“Dark Young, spawn of Shub-Niggurath. Try out your scan function on it.”

Abigail did and got the same scan result Elaine had gotten that last time.

“How do we do this?”, she asked as she saw that it was weak to magic. “I don't have magic.”

“You stand back”, Elaine told her. “I'll take it out. You keep your gun trained on the town hall. They like to create Thralls. If there are any of those around they'll be in the town hall. If I kill their progenitor they'll come running out and you're going to gun them down.”

“Okay, Thralls, what do I need to expect?”, Abigail asked.

“Humans corrupted by goat parts and tumors”, Elaine explained. “Think of them as zombies, except even more tragic because they're technically still alive.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah”, Elaine said, then turned to the Dark Young and said: “Honestly, I've been itching to take one of these on again. Last time I had a bit of trouble but now I'm way stronger. Oh”, she said, then turned to Abigail. “The moment you get enough EXP to buy that Supporter's Reward skill, do it, but buy nothing but that, okay?”

“Sure, but why?”, Abigail asked.

Elaine explained to her how to game the leveling system and how she was going to want to buy a Bond Level 2 skill to level up with.

“Understood.”

Elaine removed her six crystal swords from her Ring of Holding and made them float behind her back, eliciting a gasp from Abigail. Then she made the swords shoot into the sky as she sneaked into position. When she was as close to the parking lot as she could get without exposing herself she made the swords come crashing down in a circle around the Dark Young, making them thrust into the asphalt. As she did, she called light magic with her right hand and shadow magic with her left. The light magic she used in a laser beam that hit one of the swords and bounced off, shooting from sword to sword, piercing through the Dark Young's body on each bounce. None of the hits were dangerous individually but together they would do damage and, more importantly, the pain distracted the thing as Elaine used her shadow magic to shadow leap towards the first sword.

She grabbed it, carved through a tentacle and then shoved the sword into one of the undulating maws. The other four tentacles flailed around trying to catch her but Elaine shadow leaped to the next sword, cut off another tentacle and sank the sword into another maw. Then she did it a third time, then again and again until there was a sword shoved in every maw and the Dark Young no longer had tentacles and was missing one of its legs.

Then she pulled all six swords out at once and summoned up Areadbhar. Alexis had told her that the lesser version had been terrible for slashing attacks so she lined up a mighty thrust and pierced through the Dark Young's body with ease.

The thing let out a piercing scream when it died and, just as Elaine had suspected, the Town Hall's double doors flew open and more than two dozen Thralls came running out.

The second Abigail got the notification she pressed the purchase button next to Supporter's Reward and then dismissed the AR menus, pulling out her assault rifle and aiming at the fastest of the Thralls.

She kept firing in controlled bursts that tore through the Thralls but it quickly became clear that they'd reach her before she could load the second clip, but then Elaine was on them, shredding through Thralls with her swords, making a dance out of it. She slashed, let go of the sword, grabbed the next sword from behind her, slashed again, used a bit of magic to pull the first sword out of a body and in that same motion grabbed yet another sword and buried it in a Thrall. Through the Thralls she went, carving them all up and Abigail had to lower her gun or risk shooting Elaine with it.

Why was she even here if her team members were this strong?

She shook her head. No. She would become just as strong and earn her place in this team. She owed Elaine that much for taking her on this trip.

Abigail's eyes widened at the notification, then she smiled. Well, they had told her it was all about trust, hadn't they?

But then Abigail's eyes widened even further when she saw something pale and insanely fast rushing out of the Town Hall. In the same instance she trained her gun on it and shouted: “Elaine, watch out, behind you!”

She fired a short burst at it and it dodged to the side but kept going for Elaine.

Elaine who had thankfully listened to her warning turned around, holding a shield of four crystal swords behind her to keep the few remaining Thralls at bay, and blocked the creature coming for her with her remaining two swords crossed in front of her.

Abigail pulled a scan on the thing.

The thing was humanoid, Abigail could now see. It was an unpleasant off-white, the color of maggot flesh, with a face that looked halfway between human and malnourished deer but with rows of needle-sharp teeth, and had small antlers sprouting from its head. Its proportions were all wrong, the arms and legs too long for the body and the forearms out of proportion of even that, with huge talons for hands.

Elaine strained against it for a moment, then created an orb of light above her head that shot a laser beam straight at the wendigo, but it used its freakish speed to twist out of the way and back off and Elaine used the second she'd bought to finish off the last few Thralls behind her before gathering her six blades back up, four behind her and one in each hand.

Before the wendigo could come back for another go Abigail fired another burst at it but most went wide, though one managed to hit its left thigh.

It came for Elaine again and even with its leg injured it was still insanely fast, but this time Elaine knew what to expect and after getting two swords in position to block its attack she shadow leaped out of the way, circled behind it and thrust Areadbhar, which she had just re-summoned, into the now stuck wendigo. It howled and thrashed but before it could extricate itself, Elaine sent the other four crystal swords to skewer it.

Elaine tore the swords out of the corpse they were pincushioned into, swung them through the air to get the blood off and then made them vanish into her Ring of Holding. Then she walked over to Abigail and said:

“Thanks for the warning, that could have sucked.”

Abigail was still shaken up by what she had just witnessed. This woman looked like a goddess on the battlefield to her. How could she keep up with that? How would that magic she might get access to compare to this? She just stared, though of course Elaine couldn't see her expression.

Elaine just saw the helmeted Abigail unmoving and got worried. At first she thought Abigail might have been shell-shocked. It happened with rookies.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“How?”, Abigail finally asked. “How are you this strong? Just yesterday I saw an angel fight a dragon and I thought there was no way we could ever keep up with that and now here you are.”

Elaine retracted the black glass visor of her helmet and grinned at Abigail, then said: “Welcome to Project Divinity. The name's not just for show. And you'll be just as competent soon.”

**

“Hold on”, Evelyn said. “She didn't sleep with you two, either?”

The three of them were sitting in Ophelia's room, talking. They had sent Elaine and Abigail out to grow closer and for Abigail to become stronger, but it had also been a golden opportunity to talk things out amongst themselves. They had all told Elaine that they were fine with sharing her and all of them had been alright with huddling up during the movies but now they had a chance to discuss where they stood with each other.

“Nope. So you're saying she's never had sex with it?”, Ophelia asked.

“Yeah, that's what she told me”, Evelyn replied.

“She told me the same thing”, Alexis said. “But only after I told her I was a virgin.”

Evelyn and Ophelia both stared at her.

“No fucking way”, Evelyn said.

“How did that happen?”, Ophelia said.

Alexis shrugged. Was it really that rare for a girl of 23 to still be a virgin? “Nerdy lesbian in an almost exclusively male college major”, she explained.

Ophelia just shook her head, but Evelyn said:

“I vote Alexis gets Elaine's first time.”

Alexis blushed and asked: “Hold on, what?”

Ophelia looked at her expectantly as well.

“Don't think I don't want to bed Elaine as soon as possible”, Evelyn said. “I just think it sounds really romantic for them to give each other their virginity.”

“Well”, Ophelia said, “when you put it that way I have to agree.”

“And isn't that weird?”, Evelyn asked. “Three weeks ago the concept of being attracted to a woman was weird to me and now I'm discussing how best to share her with her two other girlfriends.”

“So, out of curiosity, is it just Elaine that you find attractive or...?”, Ophelia trailed off.

Evelyn fidgeted a bit. “I used to be straight until I met Elaine, but... the thought of having you two there and joining... well, I'd be lying if I said I hate it. Maybe just give me a while to come to terms with it”, Evelyn said.

“Sure”, Ophelia said. “I wouldn't want to rush you.”

“Hold on, hold on”, Alexis said. “What do you mean, 'join'? Are you saying you're fine with...” She trailed off as she blushed.

“You're the lesbian here”, Ophelia told her. “Evelyn and I are both bisexual. You should be the last person worried about having a woman join.”

Alexis grumbled. “It's not about the gender, it's about... I'm fine with Elaine seeing me all vulnerable, but...”

“Are you scared?”, Ophelia asked.

Alexis nodded.

“Of what?”, Ophelia asked.

“Being made fun of. Not being good enough. Being compared to you two and coming up short.”

Ophelia and Evelyn shared a look.

“Do you really think that badly of us? Or of Elaine?”, Evelyn asked.

“No, of course not, I... look, I'm just self-conscious. Always have been. I didn't mean anything by it”, Alexis admitted.

“There”, Evelyn said. “You're cute and you're pretty, you just need to believe in yourself.” She paused. “And you're still getting Elaine's first time.”

“Alright, but what if... what if I suck?”, Alexis asked.

Ophelia snorted. “It's your first time. Everyone sucks their first time around, that's the point. Even when you know what you're supposed to do you won't have any first-hand experience.”

“Tell me Alexis”, Evelyn asked, “when you were fooling around with Elaine, did you make her come?”

Alexis blushed and looked down, giving them all the answers they needed.

“Did you use your hand or your mouth?”

Alexis cringed but finally just held up her hand.

“You go girl”, Ophelia told her. “I can't for the life of me jerk someone off to orgasm. I need something more for that. So either Elaine is super sensitive or you're really good.”

“You think?”, Alexis asked meekly.

“Listen, hon”, Evelyn told her. “The only thing you can really do wrong during your first time is to act like a dead fish. Don't just lay there and expect your lover to do all the work. And since you already took the initiative with Elaine I don't think you'll have to worry about that. If you both suck then that's just motivation to keep on trying. If it isn't”, she shrugged, “then I guess you didn't care about her after all.”

Alexis looked up, a fierce look in her eyes.

“There you are”, Evelyn said. “Keep hold of that fire. Next time you're feeling inadequate, remember this.”

Alexis' fierce look turned to surprise, then into a smile. “Thank you.” Then she thought about something. “Say?”

“Yes?”, Ophelia and Evelyn asked.

“Seeing as I never really expected to have to deal with...” She made a vague up and down gesture near her crotch.

Ophelia grinned and said: “You mean a cock?”

Alexis cringed.

“You can't say the word 'cock'?”

Alexis cringed again.

“Does it really bother you to hear the word 'cock'? Elaine's co---”

“Penis”, Alexis interjected and Ophelia chuckled. Even Evelyn couldn't stop a grin. “Penis, alright? I never expected to deal with a penis. But you two are familiar, right?”

Both of them nodded at her.

“Is it supposed to be that big?”, Alexis finally managed to ask.

Evelyn blushed as well.

Ophelia just grinned. “I mean, there are bigger ones out there, but... I've never been with someone of that size. And of the three of us I'm pretty sure I have the most experience. I'm guessing she's around nine to ten inches but I can't be sure without holding a ruler next to it and that'd be kinda rude. Anyway, that's, like, almost double the average.”

Alexis' expression went through an odd mixture of concern and relief. “Well, it's nice to know that it's not a normal size”, she finally said, “but...”

“She's also pretty thick”, Evelyn said, then quickly amended: “Downstairs, I mean.”

“Oh yeah”, Ophelia said. “Alexis is definitely going to have a first time she'll never forget.”

“Will that even fit?”, Alexis asked, worry in her voice.

“Hon, you can fit an entire newborn through there”, Ophelia told her. “Elaine will fit, trust me. Especially if she's gentle with you, which I know she will be. Just take it slow.”

Then Ophelia took Alexis in her arms and held her. Alexis didn't know it but small gestures of affection weren't really something vampires did, as a rule, so to Ophelia the gesture meant quite a bit.

“Oh, there's one other thing we need to discuss”, Ophelia said after a while.

“What is it?”, Evelyn asked.

“I hate the term 'sister wives'”, Ophelia said, dead serious. “We aren't using that. Ever.”

“Okay”, Evelyn said. “Why?”

“Because calling you sisters is going to make it real weird to make out with you.”

Alexis snorted.

“Alright, real talk”, Evelyn said. “Is this really something you want or are you just teasing again?”

One side of Ophelia's mouth rose in a smirk and she placed a single finger under Alexis' chin, pulling her gaze up and then gave the blonde a smoldering look. Alexis' mouth opened just a little and Ophelia placed a long, slow and gentle kiss on her. Alexis made all kinds of moaning and squeaking sounds as Ophelia's lips explored her own. Ophelia finally stroked her tongue over Alexis' lips and the blonde reflexively opened her mouth, allowing Ophelia's tongue to slip inside and play with hers.

Evelyn sat next to them, transfixed. All her life she'd considered herself straight. Even when she fell for Elaine part of her had been ecstatic that Elaine had at least one part about her she had been familiar with, but now she was watching two women – her girlfriend's two other women – making out and she had to press her thighs together it was so hot.

Finally Ophelia ended the kiss, leaving Alexis flush and panting and only the faintest reddening of Ophelia's cheeks told Evelyn that the vampire had enjoyed it as well. Then she turned to Evelyn and asked: “Did that answer your question or do you need a demonstration as well?”

Evelyn had to look away from the smoldering look she was being subjected to and said, in a voice that just barely cracked: “No, you've made yourself quite clear.”