Violet Vertex

I throw my feet below me, narrowly evading the girl's flailing arms. She flies onto her back, laying there in a daze. Catching myself narrowly, I avoid the tiny mass lying below me. I look down on the small girl, her small panda-eared hat barely gripping her whiplashed long midnight hair. Polished black buttons line the middle of her frilly snow-white dress, the first top few missing from the sudden impact. Over the dress, she wears a violet half-cut, sleeve-less jacket. The jacket's design mimics the darkened night skies glowing stars and star-streaked comets. The dress's bottom frills rebel against the white dress's nature, coloring themselves a violet fit for royalty. A triangle seeps waste high into the front of the white dress, taking notes from the frills violet revolt. Her dazed eyes finally open, revealing her deep crimson eyes. She sits up, looking around for her attacker,

Jax: "Hey Diana... Didn't see ya there..."

I lend her my hand offering her help up. Her crimson eyes lock onto me, sheding her dazed look into disappointment. She slides her panda hat into its proper place, brushing my hand off to the side as she stands up. She brushes herself off, checking every corner of her gallant dress before re-acknowledging my presence, asserting herself with a smugged aura.

Diana: "Why am I not surprised? It's the guy that acts like a 14-year-old despite being older than me. I guess boys will always be boys at heart, right Jax?"

Jax: "Oh please, I don't want the actual 14-year-old talking about how I act. I mean look at you, wearing your panda hat. Even your shoes have a little panda face on them! and should I mention the panda stuffed animals, pillows, stickers, socks, hell id even bet your-"

Diana: "Shut... So what? I like pandas, They're cute! I just have a hobby for collecting panda-related stuff. But unlike somebody, I can at least conduct myself like an adult if I need to."

Jax: "Ha! don't make me laugh kiddo. Just sit back and let the adults handle the adulting"

Diana: "Says the child cosplaying an adult."

Jax: "Says the little girl cosplaying as a glorified fairy tale princess."

Her smug look slides off her face as her glare burns brighter. Seems that last comment ticked her off a little.

Diana: "I have a great idea, lets have a duel."

Jax: "that wouldn't even be a duel, Diana... Vertex can barely hold its own against normal modern fighters. Against another AeroCord it wouldn't even be a fight, let alone against Spirit. And since we won't be firing our guns, Vertex's ability is useless."

Diana: "oh no, I don't mean a dogfight duel, I mean a hand-to-hand combat duel."

Jax: "Woah there palm-top-tiger, I'm not interested in bullying a little girl. 'll be on my way now, I have some ADULT training to do."

I turn away, checking my watch once more. Woah, ten minutes already passed? time flies pretty fast when you get into an argument huh.

Diana: "What? Scared a little fairy tale princess will kick your ass?"

I stop and turn, holding my ground.

Jax: "Some pretty big words for a toddler. I did warn you, but fine, let's go."

We shuffle our way into the training hall, tucked away in the logistics building. Surrounding the room laid tons of training equipment of all sorts. Scattered around, staff pause their training, noticing us walk into the room. We pay them no mind, walking towards a door offset on the side of the room. We slide the jagged door open, uncovering a large dojo-styled room, fit with all sorts of training melee weapons. We step inside, taking off our shoes and allowing our feet to sink into the squishy floor.

Jax: "Hand to hand? No weapons?"

Diana: "Hand to hand. No weapons."

walking past me to the other side of the room. She slides off her thin jacket, tossing it off to the side. Spectators begin to trickle in, awaiting for the legendary battle to begin. Diana slides into her combat stance. Throwing off my jacket I follow suit. Staring her down I notice her short high, barely sitting above my waste

Jax: "Last warning, I won't be holding back."

Diana: "Good, otherwise it'd end too fast."

Jax: "Cheeky one aren't you, lets see if you can back up those claims."

Diana Nightshade, the fourth and final AeroCord pilot we currently have on base. Despite her young age, she is quite a formidable opponent, both outside and inside her AeroCord. Her AeroCord's a modified SAAB JAS 39 Gripen, AKA, Violet Vertex, Reaper Class, direct predecessors to Spirit. It sacrificed standard AeroCord maneuverability for Vertex's weighty ability core, Shattered Time. Much cooler name than Spirit's ability name, Cloak... Vertex is extremely similar to Spirit in terms of its AI code, and role, aerial domination. The only difference is the flight performances of the aircraft, and what Shattered Time does. As the name implies, it bends and warps space-time. Opening small wormholes or portals in an approximately one-kilometer sphere around Vertex. The issue with Vertex's Shattered Time is its difficulty to control as well as its sensitivity. Requiring precise inputs in order to be used effectively, on top of Vertex's AI assistance. It's also unable to transfer large masses such as planes. Instead, being able to redirect their own weaponry. Turning the enemy's high-tech weaponry, into their own biggest weakness. Or, being able to open up angles of attack never expected.

Diana's strength shines through in these aspects. being able to quickly input range, size, angle, location, and duration for Shattered Time, all while dogfighting. Being able to use Shattered Time in ways never expected it could be used in, something I'm sure no other pilot could manage. And even outside of the cockpit she's a formidable opponent. Being trained in multiple weapons of all sorts as well as many CQC tactics. Knowing all this, agreeing to a fight... in hindsight... wasn't the bests of ideas. But here I am, can't do anything but put up a good show, right? Due to her small size, her agility will be her strong suit, my strength will be mine. Her most likely tactic would be to knock me off balance. As for me, a grapple could be an effective strategy against that frilly dress.

She charges me, immediately trying for a slide tackle. I jump over her, narrowly evading her tiny legs. She throws her hand up, catching my leg and throwing me to the ground. I fall face first, narrowly stopping my face from meeting the floor. Using my leg as an anchor, she throws her leg around to kick my face. I raise my hand, catching her leg inches from impact.

Jax: "Playing dirty are we?"

Diana: "Scared of a little pain?"

I throw Diana away from me, quickly standing to my feet. Following suit, Diana twirls to her feet, resuming stance instantly. This won't be an easy fight alright. She charges again, this time opting for a roundhouse kick. I evade it narrowly, taking the opportunity for a spinning leg sweep into a center strike. She hops over the sweep, evading the blow. She returns the jab with a fury of attacks. I slowly step back, dodging and parrying the lightning blows, awaiting an opening. In the fury of blows, an opening continues to flash in the evolving pattern. Running out of space to retreat, I strike at the opening. In an instant, the blows stop as she grabs my arm. my legs kicked from the floor as I'm thrown on my stomach, pinned against the floor. I look for a way to free myself, only finding myself in more pain as I struggle. I tap out, finding myself defeated. The crowd cheers for the underdog's victory.

Diana: "Aw, big adult man lost to a little girl."

Her grip loosens, and I find myself freed. I stand to my feet, massaging my shoulder.

Jax: "I can't go full force on a little girl, I'm not a brute you know."

I shoot her a wink, which she refused to acknowledge.

Jax: "But no, we both know my shot at winning that was slim. After all, I'm better off in the air than the ground. Plus you're in here nearly every day, training for hours and hours without pause."

She walks over to her mini jacket, sliding it back over her arms.

Diana: "Maybe, just maybe, you're a little bit of an adult after all..."

Jax: "Nah..."

The crowd begins to flow towards the door. I grab my jacket as I walk over to the door as well, sliding on my shoes.

Jax: " I can just recognize hard work and talent... Shouldn't think too much of it."

I slide my hood over my head, leaving the jacket's sleeves to dangle behind me. I mold into the group, vanishing from the room while Diana remains inside.

Now, back to training.