Present day…
Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji wasn't sure what to think about anything that was going on. She always felt like she was more of a nuisance than any kind of help to anyone. She had felt useful for the first time in months during the evacuation of Murmansk, but as she had watched General Hatake carry Captain Charlotte to the medical bay, she was reminded that all of her magic was gone.
She had once had the ability to heal people with her innate magic, even create huge shields. Major Sakamoto had even spoken of Yoshika becoming the leader of the Strike Witches in the future, but that was impossible now. Both her and the major had lost their magic as the price for victory in the Venezian Campaign.
Yoshika sat in the dining hall along with the others as they waited on word about Charlotte. Eila and Sanya had gone to Eila's room while Erica leaned up against the wall. Gertrude sat at the end of the table, expression blank and unreadable. Lynnette was tending to Lucchini, holding her while she sobbed and worried for Charlotte. Perrine stood in the kitchen, her forehead against the wall.
"Does anyone have any fucking idea what just happened?" Perrine asked, her voice echoing into the dining hall.
"There's honestly no way to know for sure…" Erica shrugged.
"Well, you and Trude were in there with Minna. What did it look like happened?" Perrine came into the dining hall, her eyes obscured by her blonde bangs.
"It looked like someone tried to choke her to death… and they might have succeeded… It didn't seem like she was breathing." Gertrude spoke, starting to shake with anger. "Eila was probably right. No one else could have done it. General Hatake tried to kill Shirley."
"If he really meant to kill her, you think he would have seemed that desperate to save her?" Lynnette always tried to see the good in people. That's one of the things Yoshika loved about her.
"He would if he was trying to cover it up and keep our trust… He probably wasn't expecting us to be alerted so quickly. Interrupted him before he could make sure the job was finished." Gertrude looked up to the ceiling.
Yoshika was about to speak up when they heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. They were too heavy to belong to any of the witches, so they all grew silent. General Hatake stepped forward powerfully and deliberately. His eyes seemed haunted and his face was showing the beginnings of a serious bruise. Blood trickled off of his chin to his bare chest.
Gertrude stood up and moved into his path. She wanted answers just like the rest of them. When Dimitri neared, Gertrude materialized her ears and tail. She looked him directly in the eye as the General approached. She was about a foot shorter than he was, but that didn't intimidate her. She was the strongest in terms of raw power out of all the witches.
"Trude…" Erica came up beside her. She spoke in extremely hushed tones, making sure to speak in Karlic so no one else could readily understand. "You think that if he really did something to Shirley, her being the second strongest physically on the team, that he wouldn't think twice about taking you out too?"
"He couldn't take all of us." Gertrude grit her teeth while speaking Karlic in return, glaring at Dimitri. Erica pulled on her arm to try and move her from his path.
"Listen to me, Trude. There's something about all of this that we still don't know. What did Minna teach us since the beginning?" Erica reasoned while the other witches watched them cautiously. The General was almost upon them. "Never go into a situation without as much information as possible. It could cost the lives of you or those around you. Don't be so stupid!"
"Shut up, Hartmann! You're only saying that because you like him." Gertrude pulled her arm away. Erica shook her head and realized it was a lost cause. Dimitri came to a stop, less than two feet away. They were both in each other's optimal striking range. She spoke English again, the language that all of them could easily understand. "What did you do to her you bastard?"
Dimitri looked down at her, as if she barely registered to him. He looked at Erica, and then to the other girls in the room. Yoshika felt his eyes barely glance in her direction and she felt as if so much weight had been placed on her head. It seemed like Gertrude was the only one who wasn't fazed.
"Answer me right now, General!" Gertrude demanded. "It looks like someone gave it to you good. Serves you fucking right. I should make the other side of your face match it. Maybe I should choke the life out of you like you did to Shirley!"
Perrine came to Gertrude's side. Her eyes intent, she stood in support of the furious Captain.
"She's right, General Hatake. We deserve answers." Perrine's ears and tail materialized as well. "It would be in your best interests to start talking."
"Guys…" Erica felt something was off, like things could go horribly wrong any second.
Dimitri's neck twitched and his head turned to the side for a second, then returned to face them as if nothing had happened. His mouth started moving, words could be seen formed by his lips but nothing could be heard.
"What did you just say?" Gertrude stepped closer, hoping to hear what he might be saying. She was six inches from him, her eyes on his lips.
"I said… move." Dimitri spoke in perfect Karlic. Gertrude's eyes rose to his own, and was taken aback at their rapid flickering between green and blood red.
"What… are you?" Panic crept into the Captain's voice. Her question could only be heard by the General, to which she could have sworn he smiled for a millisecond.
Perrine and Erica moved closer, trying to hear what they were saying. Gertrude and Dimitri were speaking in such hushed voices.
Dimitri's eyes turned fully crimson for a second. Her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from them no matter how hard she tried. Somewhere she heard a screeching wail of pain. Surely the others could hear it. It was deafening.
It's me… Gertrude finally understood. She was screaming in her own head. What is this?! Why does the magic in my blood curdle at the sight of those eyes? Please stop looking at me! It's like everything inside of me is being torn out!
Dimitri's eyes returned to green and she used all of the strength she could muster to throw herself out of his gaze. She fell to her knees, sweat beads lining her brow. She fought to catch her breath and slow her heart rate. Erica and Perrine sprung to her side to make sure she was alright.
Dimitri acted as if none of the things Gertrude experienced had ever happened. Erica turned and watched the General continue to his room unimpeded.
"Are you alright, Trude?" Yoshika finally willed herself from her seat and went to Gertrude's side. "Trude?"
The Karlic captain still heard the echoes of her internal screams. Her heart wouldn't rescind its erratic pace. Erica got down in front of her, looking into her eyes. She could see lips moving but nothing was making it through to her. Her best friend had a look of deep worry painted on her well-structured face. She couldn't even feel the hands Erica put on her face to try and focus her toward her.
After several minutes of everyone trying to snap Gertrude out of her foggy state, she finally became coherent to what was going on around her.
"…what? What's going on?" Gertrude shook herself, still a little numb.
"Thank god, Trude… We didn't know what was wrong with you. The General just looked at you… must have said something, but then you just fell down." Erica brushed Gertrude's hair out of her face. "Perrine, Yoshika. Look after her. I'm gonna go talk to the General."
"That's not a good idea, Hartmann!" Perrine said, watching the Lieutenant make sure that Gertrude was alright and then going down the hallway after the General. "Damn it, no one listens to anything anyone says around here…"
Captain Barkhorn regained her senses a little bit more and was able to stand up with the help of Perrine and Yoshika. She was able to start forming thoughts of her own again.
On the outside, he's an outstanding commanding officer. But… Those crimson eyes… That man is a witch killer.
8 years earlier…
"The target has fled into the catacombs!" Captain Levos yelled out, holding the door open for Major Hatake amidst a rain of gunfire. "They've set up their final defense at the entryway to the city's underside!"
Dimitri walked quickly, fearing the loss of the target much more than being hit by the bullets flying all around him. Several of his soldiers flanked and covered him, to prevent anything from touching him.
Their operation to quietly walk into the city and capture their lone target had been scratched. The residents and military forces of Wien had taken the presence of the Orussian special forces as an overly hostile act. Their self-defense units had responded quickly and asked them to leave.
Dimitri had attempted to assure them that they were only passing through, but the Ostmarkian soldiers knew better. When he was asked to take his detachment out of the city, he respectably declined.
"You seem to fit the description of someone we've been warned to be on the watch for…" The Ostmarkian sergeant had put a hand to his chin. The dry air blew between them, their hair waving. "Silver hair, black gloves, rank of major…"
"I believe you have me mistaken for someone else, Sergeant." Dimitri smiled. "I merely wished to pass through on our way to Karlsland. My Captain over there said that this was a lovely place and we figured it would be nice to see instead of trudging through the country side."
"Nice try, Major." The sergeant smiled and put his hand to his waist. Then his eyes looked into Dimitri's. The sergeant's eyes started to widen as he watched Dimitri's eyes flicker between green and crimson. He stepped back, hand on his holstered pistol. "Wait… it is you… You're the Orussian ghost!"
"Shit… here we go!" Private Nikolai and Captain Levos had pulled the major back as the Ostmarkian soldiers opened fire on them.
Now, as he was walking into the massive church in the center of the city, he thought about how foolish the Ostmarkian soldiers had been. He could have let everyone live, no blood would have had to be shed. But it was too late. The natives were putting up resistance. In the midst of the firefight between the two opposing forces, several fires had broken out. They were spreading across the city quickly.
"Just makes our secondary objective that much easier. They're burning their own city down. We don't even have to light a match." Captain Levos said as he shut the door behind the last of the men. "Sir, our primary target was sighted just before they took her below. Blonde hair, maybe 16 or 17, a long cat like tail and the ears to match."
"Damn… She's too old…" Dimitri shook his head. That meant there was only one choice when they caught her. "We will have to eliminate her. Look at the defense they've raised to protect her in such a short time…"
"Yes, sir." Levos followed behind him. Private Nikolai led them to the back of the large room for worship. They could hear gunfire on the other side of the building and all around outside the building. Nikolai opened the door less than an inch, looked through for only a second. Bullets riddled the door as Nikolai jumped to the side.
"They've got it covered up pretty good, Major." Nikolai looked over at Dimitri and Levos on the other side of the stone threshold. "I don't know if we can get through to the underground entryway without you doin' your thing."
"Alright, Private. Good reflexes there by the way." Dimitri commended his quick reactions. "Levos, have the men line up two wide and be ready to follow me in. I want them to split ranks to my sides when I go through that door and lay down a suppressing fire. We're gonna break straight through them."
"Yes sir!" Captain Levos smiled and saluted before tapping Nikolai's shoulder. Dimitri returned the salute and the two of them moved to the rear to organize the men. "Do your thing Major!"
"That's me…" Dimitri removed his black gloves. He stood directly in front of the door. His eyes changed from green to crimson and he removed his peaked cap. He looked back to his men who had readied themselves. "Ready?"
After tucking his gloves into his pockets and gently folding his cap on his belt, Dimitri pushed the door open. The floodgate was opened and a hailstorm of bullets screamed at him. As he stepped into the room, everything began to move in slow motion. The bullets slowed to the point where they formed a seemingly impenetrable wall between him and the Ostmarkian soldiers.
His eyes found the best path between the bullets and his perfectly toned body allowed him to move at the right speed to weave through it. He had already covered three quarters of the room when his soldiers entered the room with their weapons at the ready.
"Holy shit!" Nikolai watched the Major weave through the bullets at a speed unachievable by a normal person. "I'll never get used to that…"
Dimitri reached the Ostmarkian Lieutenant that was giving the orders for the opposing troops and grabbed him by the throat. Everything still seemed slow, even the man's reaction to being grabbed. Before the man could fire his rifle again, Dimitri yanked it out of his hands.
The major slammed the butt of the gun into the Lieutenant's jaw, knocking out several teeth and knocking him back several feet. In the same motion, he turned the rifle on the surrounding Ostmarkian troops.
At this time, the rest of Dimitri's soldiers had brought their weapons to bear and were just beginning to pull the triggers of their assault rifles. Levos sighted his weapon and aimed at the chest of a distracted sergeant.
It became a blood bath as Dimitri slayed a man for every bullet in the clip of the taken rifle. His shots rang true, every one placed either in the head or the chest of an Ostmarkian soldier. The ones that remained after the rifle's clip was empty were quickly cut down by the Orussians assembled behind him.
The whole thing lasted less than thirty seconds. Dimitri dropped the spent rifle.
"That was incredible, Major!" His troops ran up to him, excited.
"It's not every day you get to see the Major do his thing. And I can see why no one would believe it unless they saw it." Nikolai smiled and slung his rifle after inserting a fresh magazine.
"Secure this area." Dimitri ordered. "I'm going down there after the target."
"Are you sure that you should go alone, Major?" Captain Levos stepped forward, making sure not to step on any of the dead Ostmarkians.
"Trust me, it would be safer for everyone, myself included, if I go this one alone." Dimitri's blood tinted eyes looked to the stone stairwell that the soldiers had been guarding with their lives. "It's my job to eliminate that witch."