Chapter 2: Hello Alternate Reality!
Folkestone, 3 hours after First Contact.
Reynard slowly opened his eyes and groaned in pain, He felt like he had a hangover, and the air was cold, but he was on something soft and dry. Suddenly, he jerked up and found himself on a bunk bed... in a jail cell?
"Where am I? And... why am I in a cell? How did I get here?"
"Seems you're awake, and you have a lot of questions to answer," said a female voice. "Mr. Smith."
The Commando recognized this voice. He stood up from the bunkbed and looked at the person on the other side of the bars. His eyes went wide in disbelief. He knew who she was.
"Wing Commander Minna, is that you?" He gawked. "Wait… Why did you lock me in a cell?"
"You know my identity?"
"Well yeah, how could I ever forget?"
"Still, I have a question for you." Minna stared at him with an icy glare. "I demand to know who you really are and what you are doing here in the 501st Base."
Reynard stared at her curiously, then his eyes went wide as he realized something was wrong about her. "Wait... what?! I don't know what you are talking about Minna, but you really don't know who I am?" Minna shook her head, then Reynard sighed and cleared his throat. "Seriously Minna, I'm Reynard for god's sake. You know me. I'm from Squad 117th and have assisted you in the 501st… since 1944?"
"...No, we don't have someone from this so-called Squad 117th to assist the 501st," Minna said, still with a questioning look.
"Hey, don't play stupid with me and answer my question, why the hell am I locked up in a cell?!" he asked.
"Look, I don't know who you really are, and we noticed which nationality you belong to," she said with a dark glare. "I will interrogate you later about how you got here."
"What?! This has got to be a joke!"
However, the red-haired Karlslander ignored him and walked away from the jail.
"What the hell is going on here...?" He groaned in utter confusion. "Why didn't Minna recognize me?! ...Oh wait!"
Then he realized something. Back when he was stationed back in the Battle of Berlin, there was something odd with that Neuroi machine that he and Shirley encountered. After a flash of light erupted, like a teleport it sent him to... somewhere… Was it a place where the people he recognized didn't really know about him, or was he in a reality where he didn't exist?
He sighed and sat on the bunkbed. He might have thought about his future, or his chances if only Shirley was there, but there was something odd about Minna which Reynard had forgot to ask about.
"Hold on... Why didn't she have a skirt or pants on? I've never seen her wear just panties in public..."
He shook off his thoughts and tried to concentrate on his current situation, but something caught his eye outside the barred window. He took peeked outside and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Huh, so I'm in Folkestone," he muttered quietly. He rubbed his eyes, then looked out and sighed once again. "Great, just great..."
Minna's office...
Mio Sakomoto entered the room and saw her Wing Commander sigh stressfully while doing paperwork.
"Wing Commander, how did it go with that prisoner?"
"It was... odd." Minna sighed. "He said that he was from Squad 117th to assist the 501st."
"Actually, Wing Commander, we're investigating his weapons. It might be that there is something to show you."
"Let's inspect these weapons, shall we?"
Inside a room there was a table with weapons and other gadgets lying on top. An orange-haired Liberion witch grabbed a rifle, Reynard's Britannian-made AR-15. She looked over the mechanics, and thought it resembled a mixture of a Liberion-made BAR machine gun and a Thompson, but shorter, lighter, consisting of black-colored steel-like materials with a wood stock. It also had some sort of large barrel underneath the gun barrel, which was similar to a weapon made from the Fuso Military known as a grenade launcher.
To her side was Getrude Barkhorn, who grabbed Reynard's oversized 50AE Magnum Revolver. It resembled a mixture of a Liberion M1911A1 pistol and the 1917 Revolver, although the barrel looked bigger, quite exotic, and more dangerous than other pistols. Surprisingly, though, it was lighter. She inspected the three-holed cylinder and looked inside the cartridges, and frowned when she noticed that a bullet measured at least 12.7x108mm, quite powerful for a pistol.
"These weapons are clearly ahead of our own and have somewhat Liberion origins. Do you know what these weapons are, Shirley?" Trude asked, but the Liberion witch shook her head.
"I dunno, but look at this weird thing I found strapped around the back of his waist." Charlotte placed the assault rifle on the table and grabbed Reynard's 3D Maneuver Jump Kit. "This looks like a device that I read about from the comic series of Captain Liberion. It called this a 'jetpack,' but this one has wired hooks attached on both sides."
"I've heard from Commander Minna that the man in the cell is a Liberion. She could tell because of his language and accent," Getrude explained.
Shirley looked at the Karlslander with a curious look.
"I've never heard anything about these weapons being in the US Army arsenal, maybe he's a top secret soldier or something else."
Suddenly, the door opened, and Wing Commander Minna and Squadron Leader Mio Sakomoto entered. The two witches saluted their superior officers, who saluted back.
"At ease, what did you find?" The red-haired Karlsland Witch asked Shirley.
"It's strange," Shirley stated as she looked back to the weapons. "I've never seen any of these before."
Mio stepped up to the table and grabbed a gauntlet with a futuristic device imbedded in it. She was puzzled and trying to understand what it was.
Suddenly, she accidentally pressed a button and a holographic display popped out. Mio nearly dropped it in surprise and the three other witches stared at the display in awe. The screen showed the time and date, which was 3:00 AM on 3rd September, 1944.
"M-Mio, what did you do!?" Minna asked her subordinate, baffled.
"Where did he get this?" Mio wondered. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before."
Meanwhile in the Prison Cell, Folkestone, 501st Base.
Reynard laid on his bunkbed and tried to think of what to do.
"Should I try a jailbreak?" he wondered, but he shook his head. "Nah, bad idea…"
Reynard sighed again and sat up, still thinking.
"I still don't understand... maybe... Am I really in an alternate world? I read too much fiction."
Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the Atlantic.
The floating Enterprise-class ship, USS John Sierra, wandered through the skies above the ocean. The crew were confused, they remembered being deployed for an aerial cannon bombardment in Berlin, and yet now they were somewhere else in a flash of light.
"Captain Cutter," said the ensign. "We tried to contact Aerial Fleet Command, but we have received no respond in the last fifteen minutes."
"What about from the Orbital Station?"
"We also tried it, but we still didn't receive a signal."
"Dammit, where the heck did those Neuroi send us...?"
"Sir!" yelled another ensign who sat near the radar. "I'm receiving some distress signals... wait..."
[*static* "T-To any allied ship- *static* out there, this is Captain Burgundy of- *static* Revenge-class HMS Wales- *static* we're under attack by Neuroi- *static* we require assistance!"]
"Sir, it's from a Britannian Ship requesting help." The crewman turned to his captain. "Orders, sir?"
Cutter thought for a moment, first being transported by the Neuroi to the middle of the sea and now a distress call from a Britannian ship? Maybe it'd be a good thing to speak to the crew from the HMS Wales. He remembered that HMS Wales was patrolling the Atlantic. Even if they didn't know how his ship had ended up out here, they'd be able to contact the Allied forces in Karsland.
"Go east and help that ship."
"Yes sir!"
"HMS Wales, this is Captain Colin Cutter from USS John Sierra," Collins replied to the ship through the radio. "Just hang on a little while longer."
["Oh thank *static* the Lord,"] the Captain of the Britannian Ship said in relief. ["I thought we were just gonna die out here, *static* hurry!"]
Meanwhile, Over the English Channel.
An orange-haired Farawaylander witch flew across the channel. Charlotte activated her holographic display screen and tried to contact anyone. Not receiving anyone, she groaned and tried again. "Hello? Hello?! This is Flight Lieutenant Charlotte E Yeager from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, can anyone respond?"
Suddenly, there a deafening static, followed by a voice speaking in a Britannian accent.
[*static* "I can hear you loud and clear, this is *static* Radar Tower in Dover Base, over."]
'Thank goodness, somebody's out there.' She sighed in relief, she was nearby the coasts of Britannia.
"Requesting permission to land in Dover Base."
["Permission granted,"] the radio tower responded.
Meanwhile, over the Atlantic Ocean.
As the Enterprise-class ship cruised across the clouds, one of the observation crew spotted a flying black object. The ensign grabbed a nearby phone to report.
"Sir, Neuroi spotted 5 kilometers northeast, it's a Neuroi from what seems to be larger than the Freighter-types and was accompanied by a dozen Goblin-types."
In the bridge, Cutter nodded, hung up the phone, then turned to his crew.
"Alright people, send the fly boys to get their planes ready and arm the anti-air missiles for combat. Let's help those Britannians."
Cutter turned a switch, and alarms rang all around the floating carrier. "This is Captain Cutter, all hands on deck," he said over the intercom.
Meanwhile in the hangar, the jet fighter pilots and six Witches dashed into the airstrip and got into their J-F07V jet fighters, while the witches went to their strikers.
"Come on ladies and gents! Into your planes!" yelled one of the pilots.
["This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill, all hands to battle stations!"]
In the radio control room, the crew inspected each jet in the hangar on holographic display while the pilots checked the systems.
"All statuses green, wings are okay, warning systems and weapons computer systems online, check, turbine engines and afterburner systems, check... Preparing for takeoff," said a jet fighter pilot.
["Roger Pheonix-1, please standby until the last Witch takes off."]
"This is Squadron Leader Wilma Bush, Angel Company, all systems are online, everything's green," said a witch into her radio. "We're gonna fly."
The Witch kneeled down, and a catapult launched Wilma's striker out at high speed. Then the witch rocketed herself into the sky with a joyful glee. Then the jet fighters were next.
["This is Control, you are cleared for takeoff, good luck and happy hunting."]
"Alright, let's hit it," one grinned before he took off.
As the small squadrons of Witches and Jet Fighters soared through the skies, the Pilot of Phoenix-1 heard his radar beep. He took a brief glance to see several red dots, and then looked outside, where he could see flak and an extremely large Neuroi.
["Holy shit, it's a "Gorilla" right in front of us,"] Swore one of them jet pilots. ["And it's half as big as the Neuroi Carrack Battleships."]
["Pheonix-1, this is Pheonix-3, seven Bandits sighted at five o'clock,"] his wingman reported. [Several more appeared at eight!"]
["Angel-1 and I will get rid of that large Bandit!"] was the response from the radio. [Phoenix Squadron, split and team up with the Witches to distract those Goblet-types, it's tight, Weapons Free."]
["Roger that!"] Phoenix-Three said as he broke up from Phoenix-One. ["Get your AHUOM's ready, Fox-3!"]
["Firing,"] Pheonix-4 responded as he pressed the trigger.
A hail of missiles was released from the jets and the Witches. The Goblet-types dodged the missiles, but the missiles followed them until multiple Goblet Units exploded into white glitters.
Phoenix-1 made several rolls to dodge beams from the larger Neuroi and then released a missile which bored a hole into it. Then Wilma took aim with her GAU-11/7 and fired the Core. The flying Neuroi Large-type screeched in agony before exploding into glitter.
"Huh, that's it?" Wilma asked while raising her left eyebrow confusion. "I was expecting the fight to last longer, but this seems like child's play."
["Angel-1 this is Phoenix-3, I need you to make personal contact with the crew of HMS Wales.]
Meanwhile on HMS Wales, Captain Burgundy and the rest of the crew looked up in shock and awe at their saviors.
Strange aircraft shaped like arrowheads flew above, considerably faster than any planes they had seen throughout the war. They didn't have any propellers, and had a strange resemblance to the Striker Units that the Witches flew alongside them. Moments later, a Witch flew down and what was most surprising was that she was in her mid-twenties.
"Hey, is everybody alright?" Wilma asked the crew.
But the Crew were dumbstruck and confused. Most of them blushed due to her beauty. They thought that Witches were young teenage girls, but this one was a woman around their age, at least she was wearing a skirt with her.
Captain Burgundy cleared his throat before speaking.
"Erm, yes, we're alright here!" he called out. "And I have a question, can you tell us your name and where you hail from?"
"The name's Wilma Bush, Squadron Leader of Angel Company," she replied with a salute. "We were sent here by Captain Colin Cutter to assist the ship."
"Wait, the USS John Sierra? That means-"
"Captain, look!" one of the Crew members interrupted. "There's something's big flying over the clouds!" The sailor pointed at an enormous aircraft carrier flying out of the skies on four huge rotors.
"By Jove..." Burgundy swore as most of the crew of HMS Wales gawked at the sight of the flying ship. The Captain looked back to the Witch and spoke. "How did you Liberions manage to build that?"
"...Liberions?"
Dover Base.
Shirley saw the airfield runway not far away and prepared to land. A group of Britannian and Liberion pilots sat on some wooden crates playing cards, before hearing a sound like a rocket coming down.
"What the hell was that?" asked a Liberion pilot.
"I dunno, let's check it out," said the other.
As they went for the runaway, they saw a Witch landing, which some Liberions recognized as the ace from their country. However, her Striker Unit was unfamiliar.
"Isn't that Charlotte E. Yeager?"
"Yeah, but look at her Striker, she must have got a new one," one of the Britannians pointed out. "It's really surprising to see her wearing... a short skirt? Even her uniform looks different."
The pilots stared at her Striker Unit for a moment, which seemed more advanced than her last one. It was a bit similar to the newly invented Karlsland ME 262. Charlotte disengaged from her Striker unit and spotted a group of men standing there. She went over to them and started asking questions.
However...
"Ehh?! It's 1944?" Charlotte frowned. "It can't be! It's 1945! How is that possible?!"
The allied pilots looked at each other in confusion.
"Err, I don't know what you were talking about.." said one of the pilots.
"What? You can't be serious!" Shirley was baffled.
The Britannians and Liberions glanced curiously at each together before she pressed the palm of her hand against her face. "Ugh, this is confusing."
"Is something alright?" The Liberion Pilot asked. "You've must have hit your head or something."
Shirley then cupped her chin and thinks, as she remembers that Dover Base was in Britannian Commonwealth and Folkestone lies a bit far away from here, she then she got an idea before heading towards to her Jet Striker.
"I know, maybe my friends in Folkestone will tell me," she said before jumping on her Striker Unit.
"Better go, bye!"
Shirley left, leaving the crew behind still looking at each other in confusion.
"...She's odd..." one of the Liberion pilots commented.
Meanwhile, Charlotte was puzzled, completely puzzled.
"There is something wrong about this place..." She checked the calendar on her hologram, and the date made her more confused. "Is it really 1944 or some kind of illusion the Neuroi made?"
Shirley shook her head. 'Concentrate Shirley!' Her mind thought. 'Maybe, it's just another doozed off world I'm in, but I've feel that Reynard's magic is somewhere...'
Meanwhile, 501st Base...
Reynard sat on a chair in front of a table. He was inside an interrogation room as Minna had promised a few hours before.
"Alright bro, you need to be cool and tell her everything," he muttered to himself. "Maybe she'll understand."
A few moments later, a door to the right opened. Mio Sakomoto and Minna came in. The Wing Commander sat right in front of him and Mio stood aside him with her sword at ready.
'Even Mio doesn't wear anything decent?!' Reynard gawked at her in disbelief, it he shook it from his thoughts. 'Concentrate Reynard.'
"So... Reynard Smith, isn't it?" She asked as he rose an eyebrow. "So, let us begin from where we stopped."
"...And what do you want, Minna?" Minna produced three pictures and a dog tag and placed them on the table. "Those… are my weapons and my dog tags."
"So tell me who you really are and why you came here. And more importantly, how did you know about me?"
"First off, Wing Commander, I'm just a U.S. PILOT Commando. I'm not gonna do any harm here. I'm starting to think that you've hit your head on something. You too, Mio," he said sarcastically. Both Witches were displeased, trying to guess if he was serious or joking.
"Alright then, one question: What is a 'PILOT Commando?' I have never heard of those. And what is a Mobile Armor Corps Specialist?"
Reynard's face turned from normal to an "are you serious" face. He raised a finger. "Hold on a minute, you don't know what a PILOT Commando or the M.A.C.S?" She shook her head. "Mobile Armors? The J-F07V Jet Strikers, uh, Hover Carriers?"
"I never heard about Mobile Armors, Hover Carriers or this J-F07V, but the Jet Strikers prototypes are under production. So now, answer my question." Minna stared at him with cold eyes. "What is a PILOT Commando? Is it some sort of elite pilot unit?"
Reynard took a deep breath and sighed heavily. He'd answer, but he'd have to avoid sensitive information.
"Alright, I think I'll trust you. The PILOT Commandos are special elite units of soldiers who fought the Neuroi effectively and mostly used Mobile Armors. They are chosen soldiers and cadets trained under a secret program which later went public, known as the 'PILOT V-Project.'
"Since 1929, the Pilot V-Project was enacted in secret under the surveillance of the Government of the United States, formed by military scientists during the last days of the Golden Twenties. However, the project came into the eyes of the public right after the early days of the North African Campaign. The U.S. military began to make better modifications for military weapons and other technological breakthroughs and well... Can't really tell all the details, too classified, but the first PILOT Commandos and Mobile Armors fought in Guadalcanal in 1942. There weren't many at first, but they proved themselves fighting Neuroi Gigants more effectively than the Witches... Does that, uh, bother you?"
Minna and Mio stared at him in disbelief. Then Minna shook her head. "I... I need a glass of water..." she groaned and exited the interrogation room.
Minna's Office.
An orange-haired Liberion knocked on the door, but received no response. However, to her surprise, the door was open and no one was inside. Shirley sneaked inside. She was trying to find information on that "Liberion" person when suddenly...
*Static*
Shirley yelped. "Whaa-!? Oh."
She sighed in relief. The radio nearly gave her a heart attack. Someone seemed to be talking through it, so she went over to the radio and answered it.
"Hello?"
["Hello? Is this Wing Commander Minna?"] responded a female voice, which to her surprise sounded a lot like her.
"Who is this?"
["Err... This is... Charlotte E. Yeager… speaking."]
'...Huh?!' Shirley's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
["...Hello? ...Hello? ...Weird, like no one's answering."]
Shirley didn't answer, she turned the radio off.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the conversation, Shirley was bewildered to find that her holographic display had been disrupted.
Back in the base, Shirley stared at the radio in disbelief.
'Who the hell was she and why did she sound like… me?'
501st Base, Interrogation Room.
To Reynard's surprise, Minna had never heard of the PILOTs or the PILOT V-Program, or Mobile Armors. Even Wizards were never heard nor seen in any reports since the war began. Then he thought of something, and spoke about his latest actions during Battle of Berlin in 1945. He talked about the Neuroi machine that engulfed the center of the city where he and the others like Charlotte were...
Then Minna explained how unbelievable the story was, and that she thought it was utter nonsense. The year was 1944 and there was no evidence that PILOTsor Mobile Armors existed. To his surprise, he realized that they were not joking, he was NOT in the right time and had landed in a somewhat different place. Thanking Ursula for teaching him about multi-dimensional theories, he then stated that he came from another dimension.
"So let me get this straight." Minna stressfully massaged her forehead. "You're telling me that... you came from an alternate world where there are Wizards, which are magic users who are males... and they coexist with the Witches... and you're a Wizard too?"
"Yep." He nodded. "Pilot's Commandos may also be non-magical users or Witches, even."
"I thought Wizards were just myths," Mio exclaimed. "So I have a question, how old are you and what is the age restriction for a person to become PILOTs?"
"I'm twenty, but I went into duty at seventeen," he replied while curiously raising his eyebrows.
Then Mio wondered, "How long are these Wizards able to be in duty?"
"Up to eighty years of old age, unless they signed up for retirement or to be honorably discharged from the military," he answered, catching the Witches off guard.
"WHAT?!" They yelled in unison until Minna asked, "A-And what about the Witches in your world?"
"The same like Wizards, as long as they live. I mean, they can still use magic," he said.
"How is that possible?!" Mio asked. "Witches can't continue their duties once turning over twenty years of age!"
"Well, talk about the age restrictions, in this world we never had a single record about Wizards wandering around the world, not even in Liberion," Minna said. "But anyways, you're Liberion, right?"
"...No, I'm from U.S., just simply United States or the Union," he replied. "There's no Liberion or anything like it where I am from. There is Karlsand, Brittania, Gallia, Romagna, Orussia and Farawayland, but no Liberion. I don't have a world map with me."
"I have a map," Minna said.
The Wing Commander pulled out a folded piece of paper from her breast pocket and unfolded it out onto the table. Reynard took a brief look in the map and saw Europe and Africa were the same, The Republic of Tianmen in Asia seems to be out of the map while to it's east-southern neighbor, there island nation known as the Kingdom of Tondo, but from where he come from it was used to be called as the Philippine Republic. South America looked fine, but his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw that North America was a star-shaped continent.
"What the fuck?" he muttered. "So this must be North America in this alternate reality?"
Minna and Mio glanced at each other before they narrowing their eyes at him suspiciously.
"Alright, enough of this nonsense. If you're really a Wizard that came from another world, then show us the proof of what kind of magic you are capable of," Mio said with a dark, icy stare. "We still can't confirm if this is all true."
Reynard sighed, raised his right hand and removed his glove. With a small amount of concentration, he snapped his fingers and summoned a small fireball at the tips of his fingers, shocking the Witches.
"If you want more information, Wizards are mainly male magic users and they don't have familiars. Sometimes people mistake us as normal men and boys. But not the Witches. People will easily recognize women and girls to be witches when they summon their familiars on activating their magic."
"Amazing..." Mio said in awe while staring to the fireball before it dispersed into nothing.
"So it is true." Minna said with a bewildered look. Still, she needed more information about him. "Oh and tell me, you said that you assisted the 501st? Yet isn't that against the law where military members are forbidden to have personal affairs with Witches?"
"Huh? Weird, that kind of law doesn't exist," he said as he raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Minna asked.
"Who made up that kind of law and for what reason?"
"I... Uh... I don't want to talk about the reason," Minna said.
The PILOT looked at Mio with a curious look. "Wait, did she set up that law?"
"She enforces the law ever since few years back during the Great Evacuation," Mio explains as she crossed her arms. "Her lover died while saving other survivors inside the base from the Neuroi's. She created the rule because she doesn't want any Witches to feel the same as her..."
"What was his name?" he asked.
"His name was... Kurt Flachfeld." His eyes went wide in shock as Minna just looked down, silent.
'Kurt is dead?! If that's true, I'm really not in my own reality…' he thought.
"Well... where I'm from... he's actually alive and well."
At this moment, Minna looked up with wide eyes. "Huh? H-He's alive?"
"Of course, but in my own reality, he's a good friend and a well-respected leader of the Squad 117th. He also told me about how his past life was. He... actually never met you in Karlsland nor even in the Karlsland Military. He's a Wizard too and the first chosen cadet from Europe who participated in the International Pilot V-Project in 1937 before the Neuroi invasion. You want to know more?"
Minna nodded, so Reynard pulled out a picture from his chest pocket and placed it on the table. Mio was surprised that the picture was in full color, but Minna's eyes went wide to see her lover from an alternate reality who was really alive! It showed him standing on top of a larger double-barreled tank with Reynard and an unknown Fusoan soldier. His clothes resembled Reynard's but in white. He was cheering along with the rest of the allied soldiers standing below with the Land Witches. Surprisingly there was also General Patton, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, and the Star of Africa, also known as Hanna-Justine Marsielle.
"That picture was taken in 1943 when the Neuroi were losing their ground territories in Egypt, right after the Battle of Cairo," he said nostalgically. "I was an SPC at the time when I met him in Libya, and we fought together side-by-side in Halfaya Pass, Tobruk, and El Alamein to liberate Egypt."
"I... I can't believe this..." Minna was in the middle of an emotional breakdown, and her hands violently shook. "Is... Is this true? How is this possible?"
"I dunno." He shrugged.
Minna looked at him with wide eyes and thought for a while. She had a feeling that he had known a lot about her... Quite a lot, since right after she met him in the cell he seemed comfortable and familiar with her. Mio on the other hand, felt that he was serious about telling the truth, so the red-haired witch stood up and cleared her throat.
"So... that would be much information we've gathered." Minna cleared her throat, but she kept the photo. "But we are still not done here."
Reynard sighed deeply once again, it would take time to prove himself.
Meanwhile, few kilometers away from the 501st base.
The alternate Shirley could see a familiar castle, clearly not very far away.
"Isn't that... The Folkestone?!"
Suddenly, she heard static from her magic radio.
["Attention to unknown flying Witch, this is Flying Officer Perrine Clostermann, you are nearing the Base of 501st, identify yourself!"]
"Perrine?!" Shirley gasped and responded over the radio. "Perrine, is that you?!"
She was relieved. Perrine was still stationed in Britannia during the Battle of Berlin.
["Shirley? W-Wait a minute, how come that you're already flying?!"] she stuttered throughout the radio. ["I thought that you were going to fix your Striker Unit."]
"Uh... what?" Just then, the Farawayland Witch could see three familiar figures floating in the sky. She could see Miyafuji and Lynette floating besides the Gallian Witch, but they looked younger.
["Wait a minute... Shirley, I can see you clearly now, but... Hold on! What kind of Striker Unit is that!?"]
The Farawayland Witch had a quizzical look on her face. "...It's my J-F07V Jet Striker," she answered before zooming her camera onto Perrine. "But wait a minute, Perrine, how come you don't know about my Jet Striker? And you look so young..."
["I... huh? Never heard that you had a Jet Striker,"] Perrine responded. ["And what you mean young?"]
["Shirley-san, where did you get that?"] asked Miyafuji from the radio.
"Are you serious?!" Shirley gritted her teeth, then boosted up to the three witches.
Miyafuji, Lynette and Perrine watched in awe at how fast she was flying, like it was beyond Mach 1 with a release of a sonic boom.
"Whoa... That looks fast!" Lynette said, impressed.
"Wait a minute..." Miyafuji looked closely and noticed something odd. Shirley at this time was quite different, no, more than that.
"There is something different about her," Miyafuji said.
"What do you mean?" Lynette asked.
"Look closely, Lynette."
As Shirley drew closer, she slowed and noticed that had surprised looks on their faces.
"Sh-Shirley? Is that really you?" Perrine asked while her eyes went up and down, slowly. "And… um..."
The Gallian Witch inspected her clothes. Shirley wore what appeared to be a Liberion Airmen Service uniform, but blue in color. She also had an unknown Striker, which was similar to an ME 262 Prototype, but more advanced and with a strange weapon that resembled an old Liberion Gatling gun. Also surprisingly, she wore a light brown mini skirt covering her underwear, only few centimeter above her knees.
"You look very different, Shirley-san!" Miyafuji said in surprise.
"Yeah…" she replied with an irritated yet dumbfounded expression. "Anyways, I'll ask again, why do you three look so young and-...Why are you all wearing panties outside!?"
"...Eh?" the three of them asked in unison.
Inside the the 501st Base..
Reynard found himself inside a big room with a large table in the middle. Minna placed an unloaded AR-15, a 50AE Magnum Revolver, his gauntlet, his helmet and most importantly, his 3D Maneuver Jump kit in front of him.
"These things are clearly not from any other military." Then the Wing Commander grabbed his gauntlet. "And this…" She pressed a button until a blue holographic display popped up. "Can you tell me what this is?"
"It's my Holo Communicator," he replied as he pointed at the holographic screen. "It's nothing important unless I have some mission objectives."
"I see." She placed his gauntlet on the table, and the holographic display disappeared. " Next I would like to ask if-"
"Commander!" a voice interrupted. Erica Hartmann rushed into the room.
"Huh?" Reynard spun around and saw a familiar blond Karlslander. "Erica?"
"Commander Minna, you need to come out, it's urgent!"
"What?" Minna seemed surprised by this. "Can you tell me what's going on?"
"We...We have a problem!" she said with a frightened expression.
The two high-ranking Witches looked at each other with curious expressions, then started to follow Erica. Minna turned to Reynard, who was still sitting in the chair.
"You're coming with us," she ordered, and he nodded back.
Moments later, the group arrived on the airfield and found two women pointing their guns each other. Minna and Mio gawked at the two Shirleys standing right in front of them, one in a red Liberion uniform and the other in blue.
"Alright, I'll ask you again. Who are you?" the red Shirley demanded with a glare.
"Look, first of all, I don't know what the hell is going on, okay." The blue Shirley gritted her teeth as she pointed her Magnum .44AE Revolver towards her doppelganger. "I'm Charlotte E. Yeager from the 501st. Whether this is the past or some sort of another reality, please, just put down your weapon. I mean you no harm."
"No way!" The other Shirley gripped her gun tighter. "I demand an answer! Who do you think you are?! I am Charlotte Yeager, not you! And your breasts are bigger than mine, you fake!"
"Erm, Ladies, can I say that shooting each other could be considered suicide?" Reynard interrupted.
As the two's attention snapped to the man, suddenly, the blue Shirley's eyes widened.
"R-Reynard?!"
"Welp... that's my Shirley over there. " Reynard said nonchalantly, pointing.
The Farawayland Witch began to tear up in joy and jumped at him.
"REYNARD~!"
"Oh crap."
He braced for the impact as he was tackled to the ground. The Witches looked down at the couple while Shirley began to suffocate him tightly with her arms... and her large rack.
"I'm so glad you're here!" she said gleefully.
"I'm not when you're trying to suffocate me to death!" he said, muffled.
"Whoops! Sorry!"
Shirley immediately released him and the helmet-less Pilot Commando gasped for air. "I'm also glad you came." He grinned and Shirley began to giggle.
Meanwhile, the Witches stared at them silently. Minna thought that perhaps she should have listened to him earlier. Then the red-haired Karslander stepped forward and coughed. "Ahem, excuse me."
Reynard stood and helped Shirley up. Then he turned to Minna and performed a mock salute.
"Commander Minna, let me introduce you... Well, you know who she is, right?" Minna nodded.
"Charlotte E Yeager... also known as Shirley," Minna answered, then turned to Reynard. "I guess I've misjudged you, Mr. Smith. I've admit that you were right."
"Um, Rey..." Shirley started. "Can we talk about what's going on here and why aren't they wearing skirts? And also why is there another Shirley?"
"I'd better explain." He sighed. "Okay, I've been in a jail cell for six hours straight and when she interrogated me I found out that we're not in our time… or world."
"Huh? Wait, what?!"
"We're in another dimension Shirley, that Neuroi machine sent us to a strange universe," he said.
"So... we're not in our world…?" He nodded.
"EEEEHHH?!"
Chapter 2 ends
Information Details:
PILOT:
PILOT's were the Super Commando's from Reynard's Universe (Mobile Armor Universe), and consists of mundane soldiers, Wizards and also Witches who were chosen by the U.S. Secret Special Forces when the PILOT V-Project which was enacted by the U.S. Intelligence with the approval of the governments since 1929 before the emergence of the Striker Units
It's name was also an acronym which stood for: Prototype Infantry Linked to Offense and Termination.
Trivia: It resembles to Titanfall Pilot's with their combat fatigues mixed with Dead Space Elite Armor.
AHUOM:
An infrared guided missile which was used by the J-F07V Multi-Role Jet Fighters
Acronym which stands for: Anti-Hostile Unit Ordnance Missile
J-F07V
The J-F07V was a Multi-Role Jet Fighter from the Mobile Armor Universe.
Trivia: Based off from the Metal Slug Slug Flyer.
Mobile Armors:
Mobile Armors were 60-foot-tall humanoid-like mechs from Reynard's and the Alternate Shirley's Universe, They've made it's first appearance in Chapter 1, there were RUTS-37, these mechs were excruciatingly important War machines to counter Neuroi Gigants, historic and information details were explained later in future chapters.
Trivia: Thes Mobile Armors had a striking resemblance of earth federation mobile suits from the Universal Century Mobile Suit: Gundam series.
RUTS-37
They were first announced in Chapter 1 from the Mobile Armor Universe, those were the standard Mobile Armor Units of the allied forces, the first prototype was developed by Mecha Industries since 1936 and entered service in 1937, they were only used mostly by two North American Armed Forces (Farawayland and the United States) as the backbone of their military until they finally used it against the Neuroi Gigant's in Guadalcanal after their entry into the Second Neuroi War by 1941, later on, during the North African Campaign, several Non-UN Allied Nations bought these Mobile Armors and decided to produce their own by the approval of the Mecha industries.
It's name was an acronym which stood for: Regular Unit Terrain Support-37 [Standard Variant]
Trivia: This Mobile Armor based off from the RGM-79 GM Ground Type or known as "Jim"
AR-15 Assault Rifle:
An Assault Rifle from the Mobile Armor Universe, It was once a standard main armament of the United States Armed Forces that served since 1900 to 1920, years of service had passed and these Rifles became obsolete and most of them were sold to the Commonwealth of Britannia, during the interwar period, the Britannian Military saw this rifle as a versatile weapon and adopted them to replace the Lee Enfield Rifles from the standard infantry, fortunately, the Lee Enfield remained to the Marksmen Infantry. This weapon carries 7.62mm in a 25 Rounds magazine.
Trivia: the AR-15 Rifle was based off from the Metal Slug AR-10 Heavy Automatic Assault Rifle
Neuroi Gigant (Mobile Armor Universe)
Appeared in Chapter 1, 60-foot-tall bulky, armored, neuroi Humanoids which was armed with a variety of any kinds of overly large neuroi Weapons with devastating firepower that will wreck havoc against human military forces. rest of this piece of information will be implied in future chapters.
Trivia: Based off from any Zeon Mobile Suits, Common Types were based on the AMS-129 Geara Zulu.
Faction: United Nations (Mobile Armor Universe)
An alliance of nine nations which the United States and the Republic of Farawayland were members, other details about this alliance were expained later.
Notes: Karlsland, Britannia and all of the European nations, including most of Asian and African nations aren't members.
Trivia: Based off from the real life United Nations, but in the Mobile Armor universe, this political alliance is very, very old before the 19th century.
Nation: Republic of Tianmen (Mobile Armor Universe)
The Republic of Tianmen is a large nation that lies in mainland Asia, it held rivalry yet friendly relationship with it's Fusoan Neighbors, during the Second Neuroi War, Tianmen was one of the Allied Superpowers in Asia that stood between the Philippine Republic and the Empire of Fuso.
Trivia: Based off from the real life Republic of China (Pre-Communist China)
But anyways, I loved alternate universe and alternate histories with so much possibility.