It was funny, in a way.

For months, Aria had disregarded her subordinates as being far less competent than herself, no matter the rank they bore - ranks which, usually, she herself had granted them on account of being promising leaders and supposedly competent. The irony of her insecurity had only begun to sink in later, now that the other two were offering to help her.

Still, her job remained all the same. She was in a provisioned mansion somewhere in western Colthage, where her new headquarters had been setup. Around her were dozens of uniformed hippogriffs, but also zebras. A very small percentage of the latter were actually Colthaginian, which was part of the charm behind the siren spell in times like these. Their enemies were only enemies until they heard their beautiful voices, after which they would be as loyal as anyone else under her influence.

Alas, it wasn't so easy. It never was in this odd new world. Colthage had learned and was trying to distribute makeshift ear plugs to their troops, for example, with officers receiving radio headsets. At least, that seemed to be their plan. The reality for them was that many divisions of theirs were woefully underequipped and rarely got a hold of these things. Corruption and bad infrastructure was on Aria's side to that end. Still, it was never as easy as simply sending a Beacon of Music up to the frontline and having them sing. A single rifle round would shut them up in an instant after all, and those gems were hard to make, and expensive to boot. No. No, she couldn't afford that type of nonsense.

Thus, stuck with 'conventional warfare', the purple siren once again, like so many times prior, stood hunched over a map of the land, with dozens of rectangular shapes indicating individual troop formations, as well as air support. From them, coloured and labeled arrows were pointing to various locations around Colthage. Most of them, she noted, were pointing east. Towards 'the Pearl of Colthage' - the city itself, so neatly located in its serene little bay.

"So," came a voice to Aria's left. She looked up from the map and towards its source, seeing Adagio studying the map as she had a moment prior. "What exactly was your plan in all this?"

Aria returned her glance to the map. She still wasn't fully operational again, and the stress and overexertion of prior weeks was still showing itself, but at least she could think and act clearly again now.

"Operation Alaudia was our springboard to launching a massive offensive into Colthage."

Adagio's eyes followed her friend's right hoof as it moved across the map to indicate what she was saying.

"Our Navy deployed Marines to the north, which was relatively unguarded. Here, next to Hippone. From there, they managed to build a bridgehead and advance southeast."

"Meanwhile," she continued, her hoof now pointing to the border with Colthage in Zumidia, "we launched an artillery and air bombardment on the main front, after which we broke their strongholds and drove them before us."

"And last but not least." Finally, she pointed towards the city of Colthage itself. "We sent a small flotilla into the bay to bombard the capital. Half of it was sunk on the way back by responding enemy ships, but this will have sent a devastating message to the political elites hiding out in there."

Adagio frowned and crossed her hooves, evidently not satisfied wholely.

"You're taking that loss a little too easily, aren't you? Those are mortals, and you're shrugging off the fact they managed to defy you if only partially?" This time it was Adagio who pointed to the map with a hoof of her own, gesturing to the Alaudian Sea north of Colthage. "Send out our fleet to blow their pathetic ships beneath the waves! They'll know not to defy us then."

"Easier said than done," Aria replied sternly, her frown straight and unmoving. "If I had had a chance to just destroy their navy, I would have surely taken it by now. As it stands though, we aren't invincible. If we were, we wouldn't be doing any of this to begin with and could have just spread our song like in the old days. And neither are our troops invincible, Adagio."

Aria finished off with a sigh.

"I know it's annoying because I thought the same at the start, but we have to play their game for now. There's just no other way if we actually want to accomplish our goals. All of... this," she said and gestured to the busy room around them, "is necessary. It's not just here because I fancy it."

The leader of the sirens kept her frown up for a moment longer, only for it to melt into a sort of satisfied smirk.

"It's good to know being stuck in isolation for a thousand years with Sonata hasn't dulled your mind or dedication, Aria."

"What, did you think I was messing around here? Wasting our time? I didn't nearly drop dead from exhaustion because I thought it'd be funny, Adagio."

The yellow siren chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sure you tried your best."

Aria frowned.

"Bite me."

"Maybe another time. For now, I need to know what you have planned next."

With a definitive grumble, Aria turned away from her smugging friend, and towards the map once more.

"We've made solid progress as it stands. Alaudia was a surprisingly great success, and the fact the Colthaginians rely so heavily on mercenaries not only means their military is corrupt to no end, but also easy to rout. We're currently looking to encircle what little remains of their most western forces around the town of Zinissut, after which we're going on a drive straight for Colthage."

"You're going straight for the capital?"

Aria furrowed a brow as she looked up, only to realise Adagio was doing the exact same thing.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Well, perhaps I was expecting something more... creative? Going straight towards it seems more like a... like a..."

"Like a 'you' solution, Adagio?" Aria grinned.

"Why yes, I do solve problems in the most time-efficient manner possible," Adagio proclaimed. "Though yes, that seems more like something I would suggest."

For a moment the purple one paused, before shrugging it off.

"I could do things that would probably be a lot safer, but they are also much slower and require a lot more skill to pull off. I was already frightened Alaudia was too much to pull, after all."

"So you still don't trust me, Sonata or your generals?"

"Ok first of all: Yes, I do not trust Sonata with anything even remotely related to weapons or war." Adagio let out a happy 'tssk' at that comment. "Second, I do trust you, and I'm... trying to trust others."

"So?" Adagio voiced. "Why the hurry?"

"Because, Adagio," came the stern reply, "we aren't alone, remember?"

Adagio's eyes widened by an ever so tiny bit.

"You mean those... thestrals, was it?"

"Chiropterra. Yes. They and their Nightmareist cult are almost done conquering the deserts of Zarantia which, if I may remind you, are bordering our lands in Zumidia. They're almost undoubtedly looking to speed things up as much as I am. Whoever of us can finish their war first can get dibs on invading the other side while they're pre-occupied."

Adagio was... silent. Surprisingly so, even to herself.

"That's..." the yellow siren gave out slowly, "a good point, actually. Sometimes I underestimate you, Aria."

"Thank you for realising. It only took you multiple millenia."

At that, the praising attitude of Adagio had quickly evaporated once again.

"Don't worry though. While you were busy over here, I did some... negotiating of my own for the future."

Aria raised a brow, her confusion and curiosity equal in measure.

"Adagio... what did you do this time?"

The yellow siren broke eye contact, and instead looked at the map once again. Aria followed her stare - which targeted one specific city.

"Let's just say I've managed to make... a friend."

Adagio chuckled, eventually turning into a sinister laugh, as Aria continued to stare with hints of confusion at the black square on the map which was labeled 'Tobuck'. Frankly she wasn't sure if Adagio was going insane like she had shortly prior due to her exertion, or whether she actually had tried and make a friend due to exposure to Sonata - which when she thought about it would likely have induced the aforementioned insanity.

She eyed the cackling Adagio for a moment before surveying the state of affairs in Colthage on the map once again. She grumbled as a determined frown settled on her face. Insanity or not, Adagio's help would be vital - even Sonata's would be.

The race was on, now. That much she knew.

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