Summary: Conflict can change even the strongest of warriors. Often it takes the devotion of others to see them through the darkest times...
Genre(s): Romance/Drama/Angst/Action
Character(s): E. Hartmann, G. Barkhorn, Minna-D. W.
Pairing(s): Hartmann x Barkhorn
Story Type: One-shot; AU; Tie-in
Disclaimer: I do not own Strike Witches
Author's Notes: This is a tie-in for 'The Lost Witches', it is set in an alternate universe 1945. You don't need to read 'The Lost Witches' to understand this story. However, it is highly recommended that you do go back and read both the original and the first tie-in: 'The Lost Witches: Don't Let Go', before reading this story.
* The Lost Witches: I Care *
It is October, 1945. The Neuroi have won the war by overwhelmingly defeating the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. All of Europe, Asia, and most of Liberion have fallen under Neuroi dominance.
* Strike Witches *
The warm Karlslandian sun gently shined down on the ruins of the former capital of Karlsland: Buhrlen. The city, and entire country, had been ravaged by the short but intense war that had followed the defeat of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. However, a small spark of resistance still lingered in the once great city. Amongst the rubble and decay lay a small Karlslandian resistance base, battered and beaten but far from broken.
After the defeat of the Strike Witches, Hartmann, Barkhorn and Minna had all immediately started an insurgency in Karlsland, taking up an old Air Force barracks as their new base of operations.
Gertrude Barkhorn walked through the dingy halls of the Karlslandian Resistance Headquarters, broken windows and gaping holes in the walls being the only source of light to navigate through the run-down building. She steeled her gaze forward, her destination and intent clear. She did not bother knocking as she entered the make-shift room of Erica Hartmann, converted into a suitable place to live out of the armory the room had once been. Barkhorn went over to the improvised bed that the blonde lay on, snoozing the morning away.
"Hartmann, wake up," Barkhorn said sternly, though an odd undertone of callous irritation laced her commanding voice. Hartmann shifted beneath her sparse blankets.
"Just fifty more minutes-" she began but as she blearily blinked her eyes open and caught Barkhorn's gaze, she immediately shut up. "Ah...right, be up in a sec', Trude," Hartmann acknowledged as she stared deep into Barkhorn's cold, hardened, subtly menacing eyes.
"Good," Barkhorn replied simply as she turned and left the room, slamming the door shut in her wake.
Hartmann threw her legs out of bed and onto the cold, bare floor then brought her shaking hands up, which she did not know were even shaking in the first place, and pressed them against her sweat covered face.
'What's happened to you, Trude?' she thought sadly as she wiped the sweat away then stared down at the floor.
Hartmann had noticed a change in Barkhorn's demeanor ever since the fall of their former home; she had become more distant, colder, subtly threatening even. Ever since then, she had stopped giving Barkhorn grief, but purely because she was terrified of the consequences should she try any of her old antics. Hartmann slowly got up out of bed and threw on her uniform and promptly left her room, heading down the hallway.
'We really need to get these lights fixed...' Hartmann mentally grumbled, even her mental voice sounding tired and lazy. But in reality she knew that the little electricity that the ruined city could generator went to more vital things such as the radars, alarms, and medical facilities.
Hartmann walked through the tattered hallways until she came out into the very large Air Force mess hall, though the girls only used one simple table at the end of the hall for their meals.
"Good morning, Erica," Minna greeted as she gave a warm smile to the blonde.
"Mornin'" Hartmann replied simply as she sat down at the table, across from Barkhorn, who had been sitting there eating since long before either girl arrived.
"Thank you for making breakfast again, Trude," Minna said happily to the unusually quiet Witch.
Minna's expression turned down as she received no reply, then solemnly began to eat from her own plate. Hartmann's features grew dour as she began to eat as well, though she kept an eye on Barkhorn, examining her as she did every morning. Barkhorn resolutely ate her meal without casting so much as a glance away from her plate. She seemed to be caught up in her own world, her eyes hard and emotionless as she stared down at her food. Hartmann observed Barkhorn's radical change in appearance that had accompanied her change in personality.
Barkhorn no longer wore her hair in her usual twin pigtails, instead opting to let it hang loosely against her neck. Her eyes had deep rings beneath them, seemingly stamped into her eye sockets. Her complexion was also much paler, and it seemed to be getting more pallid by the day.
'When did this all start..? It seems like it was just yesterday, but it's been nearly a year, hasn't it?' Hartmann wondered as she glanced at Barkhorn in between bites. She then glanced over at Minna for a second, taking in the now sad expression on her face. 'You really do try, Minna...' Hartmann thought as she took her eyes off the Commander.
Minna had noticed the change in Barkhorn as well, though she took it far less passively than Hartmann had. She constantly tried to get Barkhorn to talk, or show any kind of emotion at all, but she failed every time. Suddenly Barkhorn stood from her seat and left the mess hall without so much as a word to either Witch.
'Trude...' Hartmann thought sadly as she watched the Witch leave.
However, before Barkhorn could leave the room, a young man burst in through the wide double doors of the hall and rushed over to the two still-seated Witches. Minna immediately jumped from her seat and Hartmann observed that Barkhorn had also turned her attention back towards the man.
"Commander Minna!" the man said breathlessly as he stood straight and saluted.
"Report," Minna commanded as she took on an authoritative air.
"Ma'am! A Neuroi has been spotted due west of Resistance Garrison Bravo!" he reported as he stood at attention.
"Tell your garrison commander to prepare all anti-Neuroi defenses if our own efforts should prove ineffective, dismissed!" Minna replied. The man saluted again then quickly left the way he came. Minna turned back towards Hartmann and Barkhorn only to see that the brown haired girl had disappeared.
"Let's go, Erica," Minna said quickly, already knowing where their fellow Witch had disappeared off to.
"Right," Hartmann nodded as she rose from her seat and ran after Minna, heading towards the base's hangar bay.
* Strike Witches *
By the time the two Witches arrived, the hangar was already booming with the sound of revving Striker engines; Barkhorn was already in her Strikers, both of her MG151s in hand, and taking off down the runway. Hartmann and Minna rushed to their own Strikers, jumping in and grabbing their guns as their magical auras blossomed across the concrete. They quickly took off after Barkhorn, though they were far behind the brown haired Witch by now.
"What's she thinking?" Minna said irately as she and Hartmann strained to catch up, both Barkhorn and the incoming Neuroi appearing as tiny specks in the distance. Hartmann frowned as she looked off at the rash Witch in the distance.
Barkhorn was the first to arrive and engage the Neuroi, with Hartmann and Minna catching up a few minutes later. However, both girls simply hovered in the air away from the battle, almost too scared to rush in themselves. Hartmann floated in amazement and, though it was not the first time, it still awed and terrified her to see the display in front of her.
Barkhorn had turned into a force of absolute destruction. She moved so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up with her. She was flawlessly accurate but showed little concern for her own safety as she got up close and personal with the enormous creature. Though, it was not these things that caused Hartmann to hover in silence, her body trembling slightly and her eyes shimmering as she stared at Barkhorn; rather it was the rage and hate-filled expression on the older girl's face that truly drove terror into her.
The Neuroi seemed to be becoming overwhelmed by the ferocity of Barkhorn alone as it let out shrieks of pain and almost seemed like it was trying to retreat.
"I won't let you get away!" Barkhorn cried out as she flipped her guns in her hand, grasping them by the barrels while magic shielded her hands from the searing heat.
She dove down and landed on the gargantuan beast's back and let out feral cry after cry as she mercilessly pounded the shrieking creature with the butts of her weapons until she had broken enough armor plating to expose the Neuroi's core. With one last resolute cry, she smashed the core, causing the creature beneath her to fracture and explode into tiny, crystalline fragments. Once the Neuroi had been annihilated, Barkhorn immediately turned back towards the base, her expression cold and dead once more, passing Minna and Hartmann without so much as a glance. Hartmann followed the older girl with her gaze as she passed.
'Trude...what's happened to you..?' Hartmann thought again as her subtle terror changed into deep sorrow...
* Strike Witches *
..."Trude! What are you doing!" Minna called out as Barkhorn jumped into her Strikers and revved the magical rotors as they appeared. Barkhorn's gaze was purposefully set forward as she picked up her MG151s and unbuckled from her mount, taking off down the runway.
"You can't fight it alone!" Minna called out after her, but it was no use. "Damn it, what is she thinking?" Minna cried out in frustration as she jumped into her own Strikers.
This was the first attack by the Neuroi since the Witches had retreated to Karlsland and they knew nothing of their tactics in this area; it was not the time to go blindly rushing into battle.
Hartmann followed suit and jumped into her Strikers, her gaze following Barkhorn as she disappeared off into the distance.
'This is bad...' Hartmann thought as she took off down the runway right behind Minna. 'I felt something was off, but...this isn't like her,' she thought as she took to the air.
The two girls spotted the incoming Neuroi off in the distance as they caught up with Barkhorn.
"Trude! I'm ordering you to return to base!" Minna yelled out but Barkhorn simply ignored her, her gaze cold and hard as she locked on to her enemy.
Barkhorn shot off, startling Minna and Hartmann as she fast approached the Neuroi. The alien creature let out a shriek in anticipation of the fight to come. As soon as she was in range, Barkhorn immediately opened fire, spinning and dodging through the air to avoid the Neuroi beams. Hartmann and Minna arrived just after Barkhorn, but Minna was too stunned by Barkhorn's performance to properly focus on the battle.
'What is this..?' Hartmann thought in shock as Barkhorn's face twisted into rage and hatred as she zipped around, emptying her guns into the creature's plating.
Hartmann's heart jumped into her throat as she saw Barkhorn appear from the other side of the Neuroi, leaving the blonde directly in her line of fire.
"Woah!" she cried out as she threw up her shield just in time to shakily watch the bullets ping off her shield.
She looked up and watched as Barkhorn continued her assault on the Neuroi, diving in closer and closer, leaving her more exposed to Neuroi fire. The thing that bothered her most, however, was the lack of concern Barkhorn displayed for the fact that she had just nearly shot her fellow Witch out of the sky. Hartmann's features twisted into a frown as she decided to back away from the battle and let Barkhorn handle it.
'Why are you like this now, Trude?' she wondered sadly as Barkhorn single-handedly destroyed the Neuroi, her expression of rage and hatred draining and being replaced by the cold and dead one that had become the norm for her as of late.
The trio returned to their base in silence until they all landed and disengaged their Strikers. Barkhorn began to walk back into the base until Minna stopped her.
"Trude."
Barkhorn turned and looked at Minna passively.
"Trude, you're my friend, but I am your superior officer and you will obey my command!" Minna yelled sternly as she crossed her arms, her expression hard and serious. Barkhorn did not flinch or reply at all which caused Minna to grit her teeth angrily. "What's with you, Trude?" Minna cried, almost taking the words from Hartmann's thoughts as the blonde watched the Commander chew Barkhorn out. "Until you remember that we are fighting a losing war here, you are suspended from flying!"
Hartmann almost took a frightened step back as Barkhorn's expression exploded into a fiery rage as she advanced on Minna, pointing an aggressive finger at the startled red head.
"Look, Minna, I'm not going to follow your idiotic orders when there are Neuroi out there to destroy!" she aggressively rebuffed. "There is no chain of command anymore! Your rank is just a fancy title! Me and Hartmann are the only ones with actual combat experience! You may be an officer, but we're the real soldiers!" Barkhorn accentuated her tirade with accusatory jabs of her finger, her teeth gritted and face scrunched in anger. Minna was speechless and a look of hurt slowly washed over her features. "Stop trying to play leader, Minna, it's over! It's been over for a long time!" Barkhorn shouted, which echoed with finality throughout the large hangar as she turned on her heel and resolutely marched back into the base.
Minna stared after her, her face pale with shock. In all the years she had known Barkhorn, her subordinate had been the perfect Karlslandian soldier, a model of obedience and discipline. To see her show such blatant disregard for the chain of command was truly saddening for the Commander.
A long silence hung about the hangar as Minna looked down at the ground, Barkhorn's words having clearly cut her to the core. Hartmann stood off to the side, her expression both stunned and sickened.
'Trude...'
* Strike Witches *
...'That was the first time I've ever seen Trude act like that,' Hartmann thought sadly as she disengaged from her Strikers after returning to base. Barkhorn ignored her two fellow Witches and walked away, even her stride filled with singular purpose. 'That really changed Minna, too,' Hartmann thought as she cast a glance at the red headed Commander.
After their huge fight, Minna had seemed to lose confidence in her ability to command, only passively exerting authority over the resistance troops, but mostly leaving it up to the garrison commanders.
'It seems like it really is over, huh?' Hartmann thought with a mixture of an ironic laugh and blunt acceptance in her mental voice.
* Strike Witches *
A few days passed without any further Neuroi attacks. The girls barely interacted with each other; Barkhorn was almost always shut up in her room, and neither Hartmann nor Minna knew what she did all day. Minna also mostly kept to herself, only ever cheerily talking to Hartmann and trying to bring Barkhorn out of her shell at breakfast, but otherwise staying inside her make-shift command center and loosely giving out orders and guidelines to the garrison Commanders. This sense of isolation caused Hartmann to feel the crushing weight of the gravity of their situation press down on her on a daily basis. She did not have anybody to joke with, or talk with, at all. She only had herself.
'I never thought I'd miss being berated by her...' Hartmann thought somberly as she lay in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. The worst impact that Barkhorn's changed personality had was how it affected Hartmann, though the blonde did her best not to let on to this fact, only letting it hit her when she was alone. 'Come back to me, Trude...' she thought as she shifted onto her side, an uncharacteristically depressed expression on her face.
"Hartmann, can you come to the commander center, please?" Minna's voice crackled over Hartmann's earpiece, causing her to stand up from her bed.
"Coming," she replied simply as she exited her room.
As Hartmann neared Minna's office she could hear the echo of an angry voice floating out of the room.
"You can't do this, Minna!" Barkhorn yelled out as she slammed her fists down on Minna's desk. Hartmann entered the room, a perplexed look on her face.
"Trude, please..." Minna said calmly in an attempt to calm the enraged Witch down.
"What's going on?" Hartmann asked in confusion.
"Minna wants to take us off the front lines!" Barkhorn replied angrily as she turned her back to Minna and walked to the far side of the room, leaving Hartmann room to walk up to Minna's desk.
"We and the garrisons are running low on supplies..." Minna replied sadly to Hartmann's questioning look. "I want you and Trude to go to the garrison supply base in the ruins of the Reichstag to retrieve more supplies," she continued. "I also thought it would be a good idea for you two to have a little time off for the day. You'll be taking the truck, not your Strikers."
Hartmann seemed to mull the idea over before nodding in agreement. "Alright, sounds fine to me," she replied casually.
"What? But we need to be here! What if a Neuroi shows up?" Barkhorn rebuffed irately as she returned to the desk in a huff.
"Please, Trude, we need the supplies..." Minna said as she looked at Barkhorn, not commandingly, but rather pleadingly. Barkhorn and Minna gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment before Barkhorn physically relented.
"Fine, we'll go get your damn groceries," Barkhorn muttered angrily as she swiftly left the room.
Hartmann gave one last look at Minna's defeated expression before leaving right behind Barkhorn. Minna let her shoulders drop once Hartmann had left and brought her hand up to her eyes before letting out a strangled sob.
"Mio..."
* Strike Witches *
Hartmann caught up to Barkhorn and fell in stride next to her as she headed towards the garage.
'I should say something...' Hartmann thought as she summoned the courage.
"Trude, you know, Minna is doing her best to deal with this situation, nobody is happy about it..." Hartmann said sadly.
'Why are you acting this way? Where's the Trude who cares about everybody? About me...' Hartmann mentally went over how she wanted to continue, but rather remained silent.
Barkhorn's hardened visage seemed to falter for a moment but did not change, neither did she reply, but kept walking towards the garage. Hartmann opened her mouth to say something else, but slowly closed it once more as her expression fell.
The two came out into the air base's garage, a Karlslandian military supply truck sitting in waiting for them. Barkhorn hopped into the driver's seat and Hartmann went around and got into the passenger's side. Barkhorn started the engine and hit the gas, jolting to a fast start and speeding out of the garage. Hartmann clung to her seat as she let out a nervous laugh.
"Not too fast, eh, Trude?" she said jokingly until Barkhorn rapidly spun the wheel, skidding around a sharp corner created by a ruined building. Hartmann loosened her shaky grip on the seat as they reached more even terrain.
'It's like driving with Shirley all over again...' Hartmann thought, bringing back some of her characteristic pep and, after a while, she relaxed into the seat. She looked down at the floorboard then glanced up at Barkhorn briefly before returning her gaze back to the floor.
'Even though she's so distant and cold...being with her still makes me feel better,' Hartmann thought as a small smile spread over her face.
The girls continued on in a comfortable silence, Barkhorn seeming to not even be there, which had now become the norm for her. Her entire focus was on the road, but her mind seemed to be off somewhere else. Hartmann observed this odd behavior as she always did, quietly and sadly, wondering where everything went wrong.
After several hours, the girls finally arrived at their destination. Barkhorn came to a skidding stop at the ruins of the Reichstag and hopped out of the truck, followed shortly by Hartmann. The blonde Karlslandian stared up in wonder as she took in the once glorious capitol and symbol of Karlslandian power and pride. The courtyard was filled with the ghostly remains of anterior buildings and one particularly odd statue that caught Hartmann's attention as the two girls passed by. This was the first time that Hartmann herself had been sent to the garrison supply base, and thus had never seen the ruins of the once great structure before. Seeing the blown out windows and crumbling pillars filled Hartmann with a deep sense of hatred for the Neuroi as her teeth grit for a moment.
'They'll pay for this...' she thought angrily as she and Barkhorn ascended Reichstag's stone steps.
They passed a middle landing then ascended a second flight of steps. Hartmann glanced about in amazement as she passed between the marvelous, yet partially crumbling remains of the pillars that supported the entrance roof to the building. When Hartmann lowered her gaze she noted two female soldiers at the entrance, rifles held firmly in their hands. As soon as they recognized who the two approaching Witches were they stood firmly at attention and saluted.
"Captain Barkrhorn! Lieutenant Hartmann!" they both acknowledged. Barkhorn walked straight past them and through the door-less entrance, not casting either girl a single glance.
The two soldiers were a little taken aback and Hartmann smiled at them apologetically as she continued inside after her partner. Hartmann caught up to Barkhorn as she strode through the ruined building, yet her eyes kept wandering around towards the high pillars that supported archways with statues and carvings atop them.
'Pretty...' Hartmann thought as she glanced around, wide-eyed.
Deeper inside the ruins, it became more apparent that it had been converted into a base. Male and female soldiers patrolled the halls or stood guard at various closed doorways. Inside the large main hall were scattered tables and electrical lights. Finally, the pair reached the very back of the building, where a single, very stern looking female soldier stood at a closed door.
"Quartermaster Sergeant," Barkhorn said, sounding far more irate than questioning. The woman simply nodded, her stern expression unchanging. "I'm here for Commander Minna, we and the frontier garrison bases need supplies."
The woman nodded again and opened the door.
"Hartmann, stay here," Barkhorn ordered as she entered the room with the woman.
Hartmann was left alone, her gaze left to wander around the magnificent structure's gothic architecture. She also deliberately ignored the looks of some of the male soldiers as they passed around on patrol. Then, Hartmann's eye caught something very interesting in a corridor.
'Ooooh...that looks like fun,' she thought deviously as she scurried off to the hallway.
"Thank you, Sergeant," Barkhorn said, though her voice was filled with enough apathy to null any gratitude in her words, as she exited the room and waited impatiently for her order to be filled.
Suddenly, Hartmann's absence struck the brown haired Witch and she looked around in annoyance to see where the blonde had gotten off to. Then, she started and turned sharply as she heard a very loud and dangerous clanking sound approach her. A short distance away, Barkhorn saw a suit of antique and decorative armor seemingly come to life and begin to walk towards her with a clatter. The brown haired girl threw up her arms in a defensive stance, not knowing what this creature could be.
"Trude!"
Barkhorn gritted her teeth in mild annoyance as Hartmann's voice echoed metallically inside the helmet.
"What...are you doing?" Barkhorn asked slowly, though there was a familiarly warm undertone to her aggravation. Hartmann opened the visor and grinned at the mildly annoyed Witch.
"This thing is so cool, Trude!" she said excitedly as she shook the clanky gauntlets. "We should wear these into battle!"
A ghost of a grin flashed over Barkhorn's face as she shook her head at Hartmann's antics.
"Just go put that thing back, Hartmann," Barkhorn replied, a warm and almost laughing undertone to her voice.
Hartmann grinned widely. 'It's been so long since I've heard Trude sound...happy...' she thought as an old, familiar happiness bubbled up inside herself. She decided to capitalize on somehow bringing the old Barkhorn back.
"But, Trude-!" Hartmann began but purposefully took a clunky misstep backwards and fell, very loudly, on her behind.
Barkhorn sighed in exasperation once more and shook her head, though a small smile actually began to spread across her face. Hartmann smiled as she saw a flicker of warmth and life return to the older Witch's eyes.
'I don't want to ruin this moment, but...' Hartmann thought as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Trude...It's been so long since I've seen you happy like this, why have you been so strange lately?" Hartmann asked as she took on a serious tone and expression, hoping to use her progress with Barkhorn to get the cold Witch to open up. Hartmann's expression fell as she slowly watched the lingering joy drain from Barkhorn's face, being replaced by the usual cold, indifferent scowl she usually had in place.
"Leave it," Barkhorn replied adamantly as she turned her gaze back towards the storeroom door.
'Damn it...' Hartmann mentally cursed in frustration as she clumsily got to her feet. 'I won't give up just yet!'
"Trude, please, why are you being this way? Minna's worried about you...I'm worried about you..." Hartmann said, softly trailing off at the end.
"Leave it," Barkhorn repeated resolutely as her expression seemed to flicker with anger for a moment.
"But, Trude-"
"I said leave it!" Barkhorn yelled back angrily, startling Hartmann and causing her to tear up slightly.
The Quartermaster Sergeant returned from the storeroom, curiosity lining her stern expression, though she said nothing and handed Barkhorn a shipping manifest.
"Now, take off that damn armor, we're leaving!" Barkhorn yelled sternly at Hartmann who flinched then slowly nodded.
Hartmann sullenly followed Barkhorn out of the Reichstag and noticed that two men had just finished loading up supplies into the back of the truck. Barkhorn jumped into the driver's seat once more and Hartmann slid into the passenger's seat beside her and the two girls took off back towards their resistance headquarters. An uncomfortable silence hung about the pair on their ride back. Hartmann kept looking between the dashboard and Barkhorn, almost afraid to let her gaze linger on the older Witch for too long.
'Maybe she'd yell at me again, just like old times...' Hartmann thought jokingly. 'Is it too much to ask to be yelled at for sleeping in? For not cleaning up my messes?' she thought as, despite her fear, her gaze lingered sadly on the side of Barkhorn's face.
Hartmann felt a dampness on her cheek and realized she was crying. She quickly wiped her tears away, hoping that Barkhorn had not seen. If the older Witch had, she said nothing and instead kept her gaze set forward.
* Strike Witches *
The rest of the truck ride went by in uncomfortable silence. Neither girl spoke at all. The truck rumbled into the resistance base garage, skidding to a jarring halt as Barkhorn mashed the brakes. Hartmann hopped out of the passenger seat and stood, waiting as Barkhorn came around from the other side. A pang of sadness shot through her as she saw the cold expression set in Barkhorn's features once more and she opened her mouth to say something, but the words did not come before her earpiece crackled to life.
"Erica? Trude?" Minna's voice came over the line. Barkhorn pressed her finger to her ear.
"What, Minna?" she replied in a cold, deadpan tone. There was a hesitant silence before Minna replied.
"The frontier scouts have reported that there is a massive Neuroi armada heading in this direction; they estimate at least ten, but maybe more..."
Barkhorn's eyes shot wide and her features flared up as she grit her teeth.
"I'm taking off!" Barkhorn yelled back over the line before dashing past Hartmann.
"Wait! Trude! I'm ordering you to wait for the ground reinforcements!" Minna cried uselessly as Barkhorn's expression was utterly set, her mind no longer in reality.
"Trude!" Hartmann called after the determined Witch, but to no avail. "Minna, I'm going after Trude," Hartmann replied over the line before rushing off after Barkhorn, ignoring Minna's protests.
Hartmann panted as she ran down the various corridors leading to the air base hangar. As she neared, she could hear the reverberating hum of Striker engines and rotors, then the distinct sound of a Striker taking off down the runway.
'Trude! What are you thinking? You'll get yourself killed!' Hartmann thought in annoyance. Despite the intensity of the situation, however, she felt a cold feeling of dread run through her heart at the realistic possibility that Barkhorn could get herself killed.
When Hartmann burst out into the hangar, Barkhorn was nothing but a speck in the distance, though the blonde could also see the looming Neuroi armada as well. She quickly rushed over to her Strikers, running up the mount and jumping into them. She ignored the initial overwhelming feel of the magical sync and quickly unbuckled from her mount, speeding down the runway. As she lifted up into the sky, she immediately poured all of her magic into the engines, revving them violently as she shot off after Barkhorn.
'C'mon!' she mentally cried in frustration as she gave her Strikers all she had, just to catch up to Barkhorn.
"Trude! Don't do this!" she cried as she stretched her arms out to break the wind resistance and increase her speed. Hartmann's heart skipped as she saw Neuroi beams begin to fire in the distance, followed by the muzzle flash of twin MG151s and the blue circular glow of a shield. "Trude!"
Barkhorn swerved and weaved as she dodged and blocked beams from over ten Neuroi. Her expression was one of rage, hatred, yet almost delight as she tore through Neuroi plating with her gunfire.
"Die, you bastard!" she screamed out as she dove in straight at a Neuroi, guns blazing.
The Neuroi shrieked out as the plating on its back was torn to shreds, revealing its core which was shattered a moment later, allowing Barkhorn to keep her momentum and fly right through the shards.
"Tch," she grunted as a single shard made it around her shield and scrapped her across the cheek.
Though one was down, there were still many that closed in around their fallen comrade, and the Witch that had destroyed it. Barkhorn slowly turned in the air, visually taking in her circling adversaries. Slowly, a grin washed over her face as she yelled out and flew at the nearest one.
"T-Trude..." Hartmann stuttered in amazement and terror as she watched her partner destroy one Neuroi after another, single-handedly, her feral and enraged screams sounding out from the combat zone.
After the seventh Neuroi fell, Barkhorn ran out of ammunition, forcing her to use her guns as clubs instead. One after another, Barkhorn landed on the backs of the Neuroi and beat through their armor plating before crushing the core.
"Damn!" Barkhorn cried out as the stocks of her guns shattered from blunt force trauma. "Just two left though..." Barkhorn muttered to herself as she grinned.
Barkhorn launched herself through the air at a Neuroi as it shrieked, though to Hartmann it almost sounded terrified. The creature attempted to swerve out of Barkhorn's path, but it was too large and bulky to move quickly, easily allowing her to land on its back.
"This is for everything you and your kind did to my homeland!" Barkhorn cried out vehemently as she thrust her bare fists into the Neuroi's plating, pulling back and bringing the thick armor with it.
She then began to hammer away at the alien's exposed flesh with her bare hands until she had dented and broken her way down into the Neuroi. As one last dying shriek pierced the air around her, Barkhorn grabbed the core and began crushing it in her hands, the crystalline object cracking before shattering to bits. The Neuroi evaporated around her and she was left floating in the air, panting from exertion.
Suddenly a shudder ran through Barkhorn's Strikers and the magical rotors began to fade. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt breathless, as well as drained and strangely exhausted.
"No...not now..." she panted out. "How could I have exhausted my magic already..?"
Hartmann watched, stunned and helpless, as the last remaining Neuroi converged on Barkhorn in her weakened state, screeching almost mockingly. Barkhorn ground her teeth in frustrated anger as the Neuroi charged a beam and fired it at the near-helpless Witch. She raised her hands up and threw up a shield, gasping out as she felt the beam hit and drain even more of her strained magic. Barkhorn cried out as she was unable to maintain her shield and it shattered, sending her plummeting downwards towards a forest below.
"Trude!" Hartmann cried out as she rushed to catch the falling girl, however, the Neuroi detected its new combatant's presence and released a flurry of beams at the blonde Witch.
Hartmann was forced to throw up her shield to block the incoming beams. Her eyes narrowed at the beast as the flurry died down. She quickly dove in towards the Neuroi and unleashed a volley of gunfire that caused the alien to shriek out in pain.
'Have to find it!' Hartmann thought frantically as she circled around the creature, blasting every inch of it. Finally, she exposed the core and with a single well placed shot, it broke, shattering the Neuroi instantly.
'Trude!'
Hartmann quickly scanned the small forest below but saw no sign of the fallen Witch. She shot down to the dense mass of trees and landed, quickly discarding her Strikers as she ran into the woods.
* Strike Witches *
"Trude!" Hartmann called out desperately, waiting for a reply before crying out again.
She ran through thick brush and tree branches, constantly calling out for the downed Witch, until she broke from the tree line onto the rocky banks of a hidden lake.
"Trude!" Hartmann called out again as she scanned the banks and her heart dropped as she spotted the older Witch. "Trude!"
Hartmann ran over to Barkhorn, who was lying, motionless, atop an outcrop of rocks, her body half in the still waters, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted. Hartmann dropped to her knees beside Barkhorn and shook her vigorously, yet she did not respond.
"Trude! Trude!" Hartmann said over and over as she shook the unresponsive Witch, but still received no reply.
She leaned down put her ear over Barkhorn's mouth and her blood ran cold as she heard no breathing from the girl. She then felt Barkhorn's neck and her stomach dropped as she felt no pulse.
"T-Trude," she squeaked out as her voice cracked, tears welling in her eyes. Hartmann stood and stumbled backwards, her entire body shaking.
'What do I do? What do I do?' she thought frantically as her head jerked from side to side, almost hoping to find an answer from the surroundings.
She quickly returned to Barkhorn's side, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her further onto the shore, dislodging her from her Strikers in the process. Hartmann kneeled down next to her again and frantically looked her body over, her brain a mess, frantically trying to think of what to do.
'I-I-I have to do something!' she told herself as she tried to get her body to stop shaking. Hartmann looked down at Barkhorn's pale, lifeless lips and gulped. 'I have to save her..!' Needing no more incentive than that, Hartmann swiftly pinched Barkhorn's nose and leaned down, firmly pressing her lips against the older girl's cold mouth.
Hartmann immediately pushed all the air her lungs could hold into Barkhorn's mouth, seeing the lifeless girl's chest rise as it filled with life-giving oxygen. She then pulled back and pressed her hands firmly against Barkhorn's chest and began rhythmically pressing down.
'One...two...three...' she mentally counted, sweat from her rising fears building up on her brow and sliding down her face. She then returned to breathing into Barkhorn's mouth. She repeated this procedure several more times, but Barkhorn remained motionless.
"Trude...Trude..." Hartmann panted out as she pumped Barkhorn's chest.
Tears began to fill her eyes, falling down onto her hands and the older girl's chest as cold realization clamped down on her. She slowly stopped pressing Barkhorn's chest as more tears fell and she let out a strangled sob. She slumped forward, her head falling on top of Barkhorn's still body, and she let out a breathless, strangled sob that echoed throughout the area.
"Trude..." she sobbed out as she clenched the brown haired Witch's damp uniform in her hand, twisting the material. "Wake up...wake up..." she begged. "Yell at me like you used to...call me lazy, lecture me on proper Karlslandian discipline..." she cried softly. "Just wake up!"
With a scream of despair, Hartmann pounded Barkhorn's chest with her fist one last time. The sound of a sudden violent intake of breath followed by coughing caused Hartmann to jerk upright. Barkhorn's eyes were wide open and she was slowly panting, taking in as much air as she could.
"Trude!" Hartmann cried as she fell down and embraced Barkhorn tightly.
"H-Hartmann..." Barkhorn replied, her voice scratchy and weak and broken by gasps.
"I...I thought I'd lost you..." Hartmann said softly as she hugged Barkhorn even tighter.
Hartmann sat back up as Barkhorn leaned up, pressing her hand against her chest as she continued to catch her breath. Hartmann stared down at her hands, which were loosely pressed against her lap, as her tears continued to flow. However, her sorrow and despair slowly took a more upset and hurt tone.
"Trude..." she said softly to get the attention of the revived girl. "Why would you do something like that?" she yelled as she looked up at the startled Witch, her eyes slightly red and still flowing with tears. "Why would you rush off to fight against impossible odds like that?"
Barkhorn looked down at her own lap but said nothing, a strangely sad expression on her face.
"Why is it that you only ever show any emotion when you're fighting Neuroi? Why have you been acting like this, Trude?" Hartmann practically screamed at the silent girl. Barkhorn's silence only served to upset Hartmann further as she reached out and grabbed the girl's arm tightly. "It's like...you don't care if you die..." Hartmann said quietly, a sudden change from her outburst just a moment earlier.
Barkhorn's face suddenly twisted in anger and hurt and she jerked her arm out of Hartmann's grasp.
"All I have left to live for is to kill Neuroi!" Barkhorn cried back, startling Hartmann into silence. "Look what they did to us, Hartmann! We lost our home, our country, our friends!" she yelled which furthered the look of hurt on Hartmann's features. "I have nothing left and my only reason left to live is to kill every last one of them!"
"But...Trude..." Hartmann spoke up which caused Barkhorn to halt in her tirade, her expression silently seething. "You still have me and Minna, don't we mean anything to you?"
"No!"
Hartmann was taken aback again, her expression one of shocked hurt at Barkhorn's words.
"I don't care about you! Or Minna! Or myself! All I care about is killing more of those damn things! I don't care if I die!"
"I care!"
Barkhorn's eyes widened as she physically leaned back from shock at the blonde's emotional outburst.
"I care..." Hartmann repeated softly as she slowly leaned in and embraced Barkhorn.
"Hartmann..." Barkhorn said softly, her voice cracking with emotion as tears filled her eyes and she began to wail and sob against Hartmann's shoulder, letting out a year of pent up anger, frustration, and hatred. Tears dripped out of Hartmann's eyes onto Barkhorn's shoulder as she held the sobbing girl tightly, a small smile forming on her lips as she slowly closed her eyes.
'I have my Trude back...' she thought contentedly. When Barkhorn's sobs had died down, Hartmann pulled back from the hug.
"Who ever thought I'd be the one knocking some sense into you, huh?" Hartmann said jokingly as she smiled.
Barkhorn managed a short laugh as she gave Hartmann a watery smile in return. A long silence followed as the two girls stared into each other's eyes. Hartmann could not help her growing smile as she saw the look in Barkhorn's eyes. It was as if a dark cloud had lifted from within her eyes, they were once again shimmering with the life and emotion she had missed from the stern though loving Witch.
Hartmann was startled out of her reverie when she felt Barkhorn's warm breath pass over her lips. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized just how suddenly close her face was to Barkhorn's, and how the older girl's eyes were half-lidded, sparkling with an entirely different emotion now. Hartmann gulped as she felt Barkhorn's expectant breath on her lips again. Slowly, Hartmann closed her eyes, feeling herself slowly leaning in...
"Captain Barkhorn! Lieutenant Hartmann!"
Hartmann's eyes flew open and she sat rigid as she saw the same look of surprise on Barkhorn's face, a faint blush lingering in her cheeks.
"Captain! Lieutenant! It's so good that I found you..." A Karlslandian resistance scout came running out of the woods, panting heavily. "Me and my patrol watched your battle and saw you go down, Captain," he continued once he had caught his breath. "You were really something up there."
Barkhorn smiled politely and stood, a little shakily until she steadied herself.
"T-Thanks..." she replied softly.
"My men can load up your Strikers and we'll return you to headquarters," the scout offered.
"That'd be nice, thanks," Barkhorn replied absently as she glanced down at Hartmann.
"Ma'am!" the scout saluted as he returned the way he came.
"Well, let's get going, Hartmann," Barkhorn said with a small smile as she offered her hand down to the younger Witch. Hartmann looked up into Barkhorn's eyes and returned the smile before placing her hand in hers.
* Strike Witches *
"Here we are," The scout called back from the driver's seat of his jeep as he came to a skidding stop in front of the resistance headquarters. Barkhorn and Hartmann hopped out of the back of the jeep.
"Thank you, Corporal," Barkhorn said sincerely.
"Ma'am!" the scout returned as he hit the gas and drove off. Barkhorn turned and noticed Hartmann staring at her oddly.
"What..?" she asked in confusion.
"Nothing...it's just nice to see you act normally again, I really missed the old you," Hartmann said teasingly, though her voice was filled with caring warmth. Barkhorn blushed lightly as she began to look indignant, but her expression broke into an exasperated smile instead.
"At least you never change..." she muttered. Hartmann grinned widely and clapped Barkhorn on the back.
"That's my Trude!" she said happily, eliciting a slightly stronger blush from the older girl. The double doors leading into the base suddenly burst open, startling the two girls.
"Erica! Trude! What happened to you two?" Minna asked in terrified concern.
"W-we're alright..." both girls replied in unison.
"Hurry and come with me, there's something you need to hear!" Minna said as she quickly turned back into the base and dashed off. Hartmann and Barkhorn exchanged curious looks before running after their Commander.
As the two Witches caught up to Minna, it became obvious where they were heading. Hartmann's ears perked up as she began to hear a garbled, hissing voice.
"I repeat, this is Mio Sakamoto requesting all surviving Witches report in."
'It can't be..!' Hartmann thought in excitement as she glanced over at Barkhorn's face to see a similar look of elation, though she did a better job of keeping her usual cool. As the girls burst into Minna's command center, a second voice came over the radio.
"This is Charlotte Yeager and Francesca Lucchini reporting in from North Africa, it's so nice to hear your voice again, Major!" Charlotte's excited voice came over the radio then died.
"What is this, Minna?" Barkhorn asked in subtle amazement.
"A transmission from Mio requesting all surviving Witches report in just came across the line suddenly..." Minna replied, her soft, amazed voice contrasting against her excited overtone. Barkhorn rushed over to the radio and grabbed the transmitter before pressing down the broadcast button.
"This is Gertrude Barkhorn, Erica Hartmann, and Minna Wilcke reporting in from East Karlsland, this is the first time we've heard any transmission from you in awhile, Major," Barkhorn replied to the transmission in breathless excitement before putting the microphone back down, hoping beyond hope to hear from more of her fellow Witches.
"This is Lynette Bishop and Perrine Clostermann-san, reporting in from West Gallia," Lynette's timid voice followed shortly after Barkhorn's transmission.
Barkhorn looked back at the growing smiles of her companions, unable to hide that of her own.
'They're really all alright...' Hartmann thought as she clapped her hands together excitedly.
As Barkhorn gazed at Minna's face, she seemed to notice how tired and worn down Minna looked. She had never taken the time to notice any changes in the people around her when her mind was clouded by the singular goal of revenge against the Neuroi.
"Minna..." Barkhorn said softly as she walked up to the red head, her ears perking up as she heard the distinctive voice of Sanya and Eila come across the radio behind her. Minna looked at Barkhorn questioningly.
"I...I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. The way I've treated you..." she continued softly. "I wasn't myself...I was consumed by hatred for the Neuroi, but I've had my eyes opened."
Barkhorn cast a sideways glance at Hartmann's ecstatic face before returning her attention to Minna, who now had tears in her eyes. Suddenly Barkhorn embraced Minna, hugging her tightly before pulling back.
"It's alright, Trude..." Minna replied before wiping her tears away. "I'm just glad you're back to your old self again."
The three Witches' attention was brought back to the radio as the resounding voice of Sakamoto came back over the line.
"Everyone, make your ways to Asia Minor, we'll reunite there, but until then maintain radio silence, we can't afford to be caught," Sakamoto ordered, but even she could not hide the joy in her voice as the line died into static.
"Trude..." Minna's puzzled voice brought Barkhorn and Hartmann's attention back to the red head. "Why are you wet..?" Minna asked as she picked at the sudden dampness in her uniform.
Hartmann shot Barkhorn a coy smile as she went to the brown haired girl's side and clasped her hand, intertwining their fingers lovingly.
END
Author's Commentary: What a story! This is also my first Hartmann/Barkhorn story, so I hope I did a good job. Of course, excusing how Barkhorn was out of character, but of course there was a reason for that so I hope I can be forgiven if anybody wants to get on my case about it, heh. Also, I am unfamiliar with Minna's speech patterns still, and I wasn't sure how she referred to Hartmann, so I took my best guess. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and all feedback is happily welcomed.