Emilia brings her back

Emilia grinned at you. "Are we done? Of course not. Geistknight, I summon thee. No armor."

The same transformation happens as before, as your body shifts into the fit, strong, superheroine body with a burst of blue light. The transformation happens quickly this time, now that it the gemstone seems to have settled into you. Immediately, you groan in disapproval, as you stumble backwards and end up tumbling to the ground. Fortunately, there was no pain involved, nothing seemed to bother this version of your body much. Shapely, toned, powerful, you were a **** to be reckoned with while at the same time being quite a sight.

"Freyja, can you speak again?" Emilia asked.

You felt yourself nod, and then speak, but they were not your words. "I can, but it is difficult for now. I need time to replenish my energy. A feast would be fine fuel for me to recover some energy!" You grinned, and then sighed. "But, unfortunately, my gemstone is damaged. I fear that my service to you as my commander will be limited, as my energy will expel quickly while I am in control. This person you have bound me to, however, could access my powers and energy in a more stable manner. So, perhaps we merely need to work together, though it is not my usual preference to share myself in this way."

"Hey, I'm sharing MYself!" you blurted out, wresting control back briefly.

Freyja laughed, and stood up your shared form, only to walk back to Emilia and kneel before her like one might a king. Well, given that she is a King, perhaps it makes sense... "I didn't finish my pledge earlier! My deepest apologies. I am Freyja, guardian of those who seek my blade. I am bound to your will and will protect you and your allies until my last breath." She sighed, and tinkered with some thoughts for a moment. "...I fear my pledge needs some amendment, given my situation. I cannot be fully in control, thus my counterpart should pledge same as me. Or, I should pledge that I will ensure they follow your wishes to the best of my ability."

You stood up suddenly, wresting control back over your body. You stood up so quickly with those muscles that it almost felt like you were going to launch yourself up toward the ceiling! Even so, with your muscle-bound body, there were still areas of squishy, bouncy body parts that under your clothing--the business suit and pants that surprisingly hadn't burst from this body contained within it--and the sensation of these unusual body parts, coupled with the absence of others, distracted you for a moment as you tried to settle down. It also didn't help that the braid in your hair seemed to swing up and whack you in the face, as yet anothe reminder of your changes.

"I'm not pledging anything!" you hiss, wanting to stomp away but feeling too foolish at the moment to really want to do anything at all. You merely stared at Emilia, like you were waiting for her assurance that this experiment would end when you became uncooperative.

To your dismay, Emilia at the moment didn't seem interested in what you wanted out of this. "Freyja, please, tell me a little more about yourself."

You felt control slip away again as you grinned. "Gladly! Though, I already feel my energy fading, so I may fully lose control in minutes. At which time, significant nourishment will be necessary to provide my energy, so my counterpart will need to eat on my behalf. But... I was birthed in Värmland, was capable with a blade, nearly perished on the battlefield but had landed the final blow to protect my village. Instead of the Valkyrie carrying me to Valhalla, my soul was placed in my gemstone by an elder of my village, worried that there would be none left to protect it. Once the gem was put on the armor that had been kept secret in the village for some time, I was dubbed Freyja, but you are correct to call me a Geistknight and not truly a goddess."

Emilia furrowed her brow as she listened. "Fascinating. From my studies, the chestplate of the armor is the only original part, the rest had been modified or updated throughout the centuries as styles and cultures evolved, and after they'd been claimed by various regions as individual protectors. The concept of a Geistknight as a singular order came later, even if all were made by same original wizard."

Freyja nodded. "All correct. I met my companions in Bavaria some time later, and we banded together in order to turn the tides in larger conflicts, at the behest of those who would summon us. Are there here? Jupiter? Artemis?"

You found it interesting, at the very least, that these deity names listed off were from all over the place, indicating to you that these original spirit-knights had begun their journeys far and wide across Europe. With a frown, Emilia motioned out the door, pointing to a couple opened crates that lay on the ground. "They all suffered damage to their gems. Now that we know it's possible to fix the problem with a human host, we'll seek out more bloodlines to restore them, same as you. Now, if you don't mind, what are your abilities?"

"Ah, of course." Freyja nodded, crossing your arms as she looked up in thought. You tried to squirm out of control this time, as it felt so awkward hugging those new breasts to your arms, but she had a firmer grip over your form this time. "Well, as you can see, strength is a key component of myself! Normally I would simply be a ghostly blue body within armor, but having a true human form again provides some benefits... I can retract the armor, reshape it as well as cloth and leather to protect me as the situation demands. I might be strong, but it's still far better to be protected! I'll need some examples of modern fashion so I might blend in between combat engagements, of course. That is, unless you wish me to simply revert the body back to normal. I can change into my armored self without requiring summoning if I detect a threat to those who need to be saved, but returning this man to his normal state will require some work, that's new to me."

To your dismay, Emilia shook her head. "I'll decide when you are out and about for now. At the moment, war and battle isn't a concern of mine, simply understanding you. And, as part of this trial, Lars will need to get used to being in this body too, even perhaps understanding how to use it effectively. So, for now, you'll remain like that." Emilia paused for a moment, and then smiled right at you. "...Lara."

Freyja's control faded away, and you tumbled to your knees, this time less like you were paying respect to loyalty and more like you were crushed upon hearing this news. "You're going to leave me like this..?" you asked quietly.

"For the night," Emilia said. She turned to Alice, who handed you a debit card. "There's five hundred dollars on there, spend it as you wish. Go to the mall, show Freyja some of that modern fashion, buy that feast she wants, whatever you like. Get used to her, because phase one isn't over yet."

I second the idea of a bountiful feast! you hear Freyja speak into your mind.

You sigh, and stand. "Are you going to put a bag over my head again and drag me out?"

With a laugh, Emilia shook her head and started to wheel herself out of the room. "I don't think my employees would appreciate you tossing them around again! You signed the NDA, you can go freely. Not a word to anyone, remember. Return here in the morning and we'll have you ready to return to work, but at least try to acclimate to your new situation, yeah?"

You barely nodded, and then looked toward the door on the far end of the warehouse leading outside. You had no idea how to tackle the world as a new person, let alone as a woman. It felt almost cruel that you were getting tossed out with nobody to help you but an ancient voice in your head.