"Ready Mio?" asked Junko.
"Yeah let's go, hurry up Waka!" replied Mio. Wakamoto suddenly appeared from the kitchen.
"Oi, don't rush me," she said, walking out the door.
As Mio wheeled herself out of the house, her mind drifted back to old memories. She was 25 now, it had been around 4 years since the accident.
She was surrounded by Neuroi. Her strikers were faltering, it was a miracle that they didn't just shut off. She had always been willing to die in battle, but she had never wanted to go down without a fight.
"Mio! Try and fly to the left, there could be a small gap, I'll open fire to widen it, okay?" Minna ordered. Everyone on the line could hear desperation emanating from her voice. Mio immediately complied and started looking for the opening.
"Ok, I'll give it a shot," she replied to her commander. She turned to the left and immediately saw the hole Minna was talking about, suddenly it widened significantly and she flew out. However, as she turned, a Neuroi from behind shot a laser and hit her strikers. They exploded and propelled her to the ground. Mio felt her legs being seared by the blast and nearly blacked out from the throbbing pain.
"MIO" Minna screeched.
"SAKAMOTO-SAN!" Miyafuji screamed. She heard all the 501st call out to her, but she couldn't do anything. She thought she faintly heard the sound of an engine coming up behind her as the ground rushed towards her. She was going to die.
She watched the world spiral in front of her. She was disoriented and tried stabilizing herself. Using all her mental strength, she fought through to stop spinning only to see green in front of her face.
"PULL UP MIO!" she heard Minna bellow through the line, and suddenly her strikers (or what was left of them) roared to life, and she tried pulling up.
It was too late.
Her strikers caught the ground and she was thrown out of them, her face smashing the ground. Her nose crunched and shattered from the impact. Her body tumbled back into the air in a somersault before she crashed back to earth, hitting her back. She felt something crack and nearly screamed out in pain. She tumbled five more times, feeling her bones shatter on each impact before hitting a tree and coming to a stop. She lay there, her right leg burned, ankles shattered, elbows twisted, nose gushing blood, with a definite concussion.
She lay on her back, eyes blurry, seeing figures coming towards her, and red lasers in the sky. That was the last she remembered before blacking out.
"You're never going to walk again," the doctor repeated for the third time. No, that wasn't possible. How could she never walk? What about flying, what about fighting? What about her dream?"
"Miyafuji-san healed most of your injuries, but the crash badly damaged your T8-T11 vertebrae. Your spine was almost completely severed. Your T12-L1 vertebrae were the ones that took the most damage, with the L1 vertebrae being completely severed. You might barely gain any function in your legs. I'm sorry."
No, they were wrong. She would fly again. She had her magic, she would find away.
"Your magic was used up after you tried forcing your striker to pull-up. You are going to have to retire, if you aren't medically discharged."
"Just accept it Mio!" Junko exclaimed. Mio just continued to be stubborn. She desperately wanted to walk. She didn't want to give into her body. "Don't you get it Mio? Look at the goddam results. You're never going to walk again!" Junko's frustration finally boiled over. She was sick and tired of her friend's unwillingness to accept the situation. But when she looked Mio in the eye, she instantly regretted her outburst.
"Don't you think I know that," Mio said. Her lip quivered, voice shaky. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was finally breaking, her resolve gone. "I just…I just want to fight again…I want to fight with the 501st again!" She finally broke, sobs racking her body, and all Junko could do was hold her childhood best friend and try to soothe her to the best of her ability.
Rehab had been the worst part of it all. After accepting her fate, she developed depression. Although, she was doing fine now with the help of anti-depressants.
"You were thinking again, weren't you?" asked Waka. She was more perceptive than she let on and Mio scolded herself for allowing her emotions to be shown. However, she wasn't going to lie.
"Ya, I was. Look, I know I need to move on, but trust me I'm fine now." She said. The smile she gave was genuine enough to convince Wakamoto.
"We're going to see Sensei at what time today?" Junko asked. Their former Sensei from the time of the Fuso sea incident had invited them for dinner. She had been a tremendous help for Mio, and she would be eternally thankful.
"At eight, now come on, let's have lunch," replied Waka. They went to a recommended shop and ordered their food. They discussed the news. Since the 501st (after Mio's medical discharge) had liberated Romagna, the Neuroi went on a strange decline. Many fighter wings had been disbanded to allow re-distribution of the soldiers, while the 501st were sent to aid remaining countries. This allowed Wakamoto and Junko to retire, allowing them to help their friend.
As Mio was about to discuss some Kendo competition, she heard an all too familiar voice from behind.
"Sakamoto-San?" a voice that was an exact copy of Miyafuji's asked.
She turned around, only to come face to face with the members of the 501st.