Eisen and Guardian quickly escorted Yoshika to Guardian's office. The office was full of papers and blueprints. There were multiple folders out, not to mention the large amount of notebooks strewn about the small room. Guardian walked to his desk and gave Yoshika a folder full of papers. She looked inside. Many of the papers were experiments and observations of prototype striker models before. She quickly noticed that there was no live testing with any of the parts. However, the amount of research dedicated to one striker was astounding. There were detailed drawings, theories and also measurements of each and every prototype part that came before. Every 10 or so pages was a blueprint that had a striker prototype version that used all the parts in the preceding pages. Yoshika noticed that a few of these pages were in Eisens hands at the time.

Yoshika said, "Wait, I've seen this before General Eisen. Was the strikers today based on this blueprint?"

Eisen looked at the blueprint she was referencing. "Sadly for a few girls, yes."

Guardian produced a piece of paper he had on his desk. "Okay, sir, here's the report on the previous prototype." He handed the paper to Eisen. Eisen nodded and left the room.

Guardian sighed. "That man needs too much, too quick these days. I understand why, considering the recruits are here, but sometimes we shouldn't rush quality." He looked down at the hangar floor where multiple researchers were working on the damaged strikers. "The R.E.C.O.N. Project has been going on since I became a basic researcher before the 2nd Neuroi War. Now as you should know, there are 3 kinds of strikers, the eponymous Striker Unit, the newly designed Assault Unit, and then the R.E.C.O.N. unit. However, as of the creation of the Striker Division, there needed to be a separation of duties within the division. "Strikers" are our basic unit and our Assault Units are more like specialized units. As you notice, there are only 2 out of the 3 units mentioned. The R.E.C.O.N. units are considered special warfare, or Spec-ops."

Yoshika asked, "So the point of the R.E.C.O.N. Striker is to spy on others?"

He thought for a moment. "Actually, that's what I was going to talk about. Spec-Ops troops also have other things they work on also. Have you heard of the Allied Black Ops?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the black ops troops are highly trained army soldiers trained to survive and do a variety of missions."

Guardian sat down in a chair and rubbed his head. It didn't hurt, but it helped him think. "The R.E.C.O.N. unit is our black ops. However, I thought of a brilliant idea of how to make it easy to fulfill our objectives. As Special Operations is such a large topic, why do we have to make one that does everything, but doesn't do it to our standards of quality? Do you see my logic Captain Miyafuji?"

Yoshika thought about what Guardian had just said. "Well if we did do that, then it would take forever to develop and be ridiculously expensive for us all. I am guessing R.E.C.O.N. will partake in something like Black Ops, so I think we would need at least 2 specialized strikers."

He leaned back in his chair. "Correct, and we developed the High-Altitude R.E.C.O.N. unit which is nearly done, and then the Commando units which are going to be using a new thing to striker design. The Commando unit would make strikers able to land on their feet. We haven't actually started testing yet and today actually was our first live test, and you can tell where that went. Eisen sent you here as a specialist right?"

Yoshika nodded. He kept talking. "Yeah, I've been reading those godforsaken notes for a long time now, but I haven't been able to get Ichiro's ideas out into real life. I have to admit, he was a brilliant researcher, but sometimes his paranoia is a bit debilitating… Alright, so here are the notes on the next striker model we want to produce." He placed a thick folder onto the desk. Yoshika opened the folder of notes that Guardian just gave her. A knock began at the door. Guardian looked outside. He nodded to Yoshika and stepped outside. She looked at all the notes for the next model. A pen lay next to the folder where she had gotten the notes.

This model is just as bad as the last one! Can I use that pen to write problems and my solutions or will I get in trouble… But this could be my only chance to prevent another disaster…. I won't let that happen again.

She began writing in the notes that she was given. By the time it was dinner, Yoshika had covered pages and pages of notes and marked where each problem could happen and how it could be improved. The ink from the pen was running dry and her hand was hurting from all the writing she had to do. When she finished the final page of notes, Yoshika put the pages of notes all into the folder again and left it in the chair where Guardian sat. She walked out and turned off the lights. As she walked out into the open hangar Yoshika saw one single lonely light in the hangar. She quietly walked down the stairs and started to sneak towards the light. She slowly peeked out. The scene was surreal to her. She saw Guardian disassembling the broken strikers and examining every piece. He muttered a few things and jotted down notes in a small notebook on a table. He sighed and started to remove another part of the broken striker. He did not notice Yoshika sneak away from him and exiting the hangar and blending into the night.

She walked out of the hangar into the cold night. The lights of the dining hall shimmered in the distance. While Yoshika longed to be a part of them, she couldn't bring herself to go there. She walked just outside of the gates of the base and sat down on the grassy hill. It was getting colder, but she didn't care, she needed some time away from it all.

"Yoshika." a voice said. Yoshika turned around. She saw Mio standing behind her. "It's been a while since we talked. I know how it feels to have no magic. Do you remember when you saved me from that monstrous super-hive?"

Yoshika remembered the time the core itself engulfed Mio and created a shield from her magic. "Yeah, I still remember that time vividly in my mind." As she went further into her memory she came to the climax of that memory. "That's the day I lost my magic." She looked down. Mio put her hands on Yoshika's face and oriented her head, so Mio could see her eyes. She then slapped her.

"What you felt today was the same thing I felt during that event. Sometimes we can't choose what happens but we can change the future." Mio then sat down next to Yoshika. She looked at the moon.

Quietly, Yoshika asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Mio looked straight into Yoshika's eyes and said, "I can bring your magic back."

Yoshika stared out at the night sky. "What do you mean by that Mio?"

Mio turned her head to the sky and said, "It means what it means. You want to fly again don't you? Here's your chance, it's on a silver platter, take it!"

A shooting star zoomed by in the night sky. The stars twinkled as Yoshika thought to herself about what was going on.

"Miyafuji?" Mio reached out her hand.

Yoshika quickly slapped it down. "No."

Confused, Mio asked, "What? No to what?"

Yoshika turned towards Mio, and with a determination that hasn't been seen on her face in months, she replied, "I refuse your offer, Mio. I was brought here for other reasons than flying with the 501st. That part of my life is over."

Mio nodded. "However Captain Miyafuji, it may not be-"

Yoshika said, "I refuse. Do you remember when I last flew, Mio? I used your Reppumaru..." She sighed as she lowered her head. "I used up all my magic just to save you, to save everyone. I may want my magic back, but wouldn't that cheapen out that sacrifice? What would be the point of that promise I made? "

Mio stared at her in awe. "Was that how you were able to use the Shin Reppuzan?"

"I promised all my magic just to cast it. I have no need for magic again. There is a large difference between my needs and my wants. I will help people no matter what, even in my powerless state, I will find a way. If I get my magic back, wouldn't it make that useless? Those are my reasons for refusing your offer." Yoshika stood up.

Mio quietly said, "The offer will always be on the table. A witch will always be a witch, even if she has no magic." Mio looked back, and saw Yoshika walk away.

As Mio lay down on the grass of the hill she heard Yoshika say, "Thank you, Mio." It could have been the wind, or it was really Yoshika, but Mio heard it somehow.

What is that girl thinking… Has she really accepted her normality?


Yoshika walked back to the room. She looked around for Lynne. "Lynne? Are you there?", she asked. As she started to get ready for bed, a knock came at the door. She opened the door. Perrine came in and quietly looked around. "Hello, Perrine, what are you doing here?"

"Oh… Uh… How should I say this…" Perrine looked nervous.

"Is there something wrong?" Yoshika started to get anxious.

"Umm… Uh…" Perrine started to back off.

"Where's Lynne?" Yoshika shouted.

Perrine was startled by the change in tone, but she quietly started to answer, "She is in the hospital. She got hurt helping some of the girls on Runway 3."

Yoshika stared at her in disbelief.

What? She got hurt? Where was I? I never saw her there…

"Oh…T-Thanks Perrine…" she finally said quietly.

"No problem… I'll see you again sometime Miyafuji." Perrine walked out of the door.

I thought everything was fine… Would it have been different if I still had my magic?

Yoshika remembered the conversation just before.

Mio can return my magic…

But do I really need that? She said that it was up to me, and I just walked away…

Do I really need my magic?

I don't really need it. I can live without it.

Can I?

She thought long and hard about these things. By the time she checked the clock it had already reached midnight. Yoshika slowly fell asleep. As she slept that memory of the super-hive and Mio dominated her dreams. It kept replaying in her dream as if the record player was broken. Every time she saw it, she knew that the super-hive threatened the existence of humanity itself, but her heart kept telling her she needs the magic. She missed the skies she used to fly through, but she couldn't fly, not anymore. As she slept the dreams grew more vivid and she lived her life through those dreams.

Yoshika woke up at 7am. She quietly got ready for the day when a knock came at the door. "Who is it?" she said.

General Eisen came in with Agent Guardian. They were empty handed, but their presence meant something important was about to be said. Eisen sat down and Guardian stayed standing. Eisen then said, "Good Morning Captain Miyafuji. We have some good news today regarding the events of yesterday. The first thing is that none of the recruits were seriously injured. At most, broken bones or shock, but that's it."

Yoshika let out a big sigh of relief. Some of the injured girls yesterday looked horrible.

"However, there is one thing I am afraid the hospital is missing… A medic with healing powers. We can only do so much, but in extreme events, it saves lives. However those are very rare and even then the countries would still have them stay home rather than go become soldiers."

Yoshika looked down at her feet, obviously ashamed of her missing powers. Guardian quickly cut in, "Don't kick yourself too much Miyafuji, what happens happens. Also on a lighter note, I disassembled one of the strikers and the damage was in the magic engine as you said. I looked into it further and it's as you said, the main cause of stalling was a major deficiency in Magical Control. I also did get a report from Major Barkhorn who said that she also almost lost control of the striker as well. I still find it miraculous that any of the recruits got off the ground. Your analysis of the situation was spot on, even if you never actually opened one of these strikers. I commend you for your work Captain Miyafuji." He saluted Yoshika. She slowly saluted back and nodded.

Eisen then stood up and took out a small case. "Thanks to your analysis, we closed the investigation. Guardian also is developing a new engine component for the striker. However, he will need help. In the wake of these events, I have made you head researcher of the R.E.C.O.N. project. I expect you to report to the R&D headquarters at 1100." Eisen stood up and gave Yoshika the case. She opened the case and it revealed a patch, and a card key.

Guardian looked at the card. "Hand me the card Agent Gabriel gave you. You don't need it anymore." Yoshika handed him the card. She never used it anyway, as she had it for only a day.

The new card had the same markings as her first card, but now the marking had a marking that looked like the letter B. She placed it in her pocket and saluted the two men as they walked out. As the General left he said, "This might be a great time to go talk to Lieutenant Bishop. The rest of the girls had already seen her." He closed the door slowly behind him.

Yoshika pondered his words and looked around. She had found some of Lynne's things she could bring to her in the hospital. She put everything into a bag and walked out of the room. The hospital was close to the dining hall, but it was in the other direction from the R&D hangar. It was small and flimsy, but it gave its occupants protection from the elements. Yoshika walked in and asked the nurse where Lynne was. He pointed at the third room to the left. Yoshika walked in quietly and saw Lynne with a cast on her leg.

"Oh hello Yoshika! Have you come to visit me?" Lynne said happily.

Yoshika put the bag down on the table next to Lynne. "Yeah, and I brought some of your things so you don't get bored. Here you go!"

Lynne reached down into the bag and grabbed a random item. "Yoshika?" she asked.

Yoshika was looking around the room and did not notice what Lynne was holding. "Yes Lynne?" she responded.

"Is there a reason that you brought my bras?" Lynne said with stifled giggles. She put it back into the bag and looked at Yoshika.

Yoshika looked at the bright pink bra. She started to blush. "I… I have no response to that."

Lynne giggled and put the bra away. The next item she took out was the book. "Hey it's my novel!"

Yoshika sat down in her chair and said, "Yeah I found it on the bed."

Lynne hugged Yoshika, and put the book down. "Thanks, I've been trying to find something to do lately. Hospitals are so boring…"

Yoshika couldn't blame her. While the room looked a little nice, it was still very drab and boring like the rest of the base. Yoshika heard Mio's voice from the ground. She walked to the window and saw the guys running through the base. A few of them saw her and slowed down. Unfortunately, the area was pretty narrow and soon enough all the boys were just staring at Yoshika at the window, some were even catcalling her.

Lynne looked outside and saw all the boys, "Hey Yoshika? Is that your fan club?"

Yoshika closed the window and turned around. "Nope it's just-

Mio's voice boomed through the window, "WHY IN GODS NAME HAVEN'T YOU BOYS LEARNED HOW TO GET IN A DAMN LINE? MINNA! MOW THEM DOWN!"

The engine became exceptionally loud and the boys quickly left the hospital.

Finishing her sentence, Yoshika nonchalantly said, "It's nothing."

Lynne giggled and said, "Well, at least it's lively in the morning. How have you been?"

Yoshika averted her eyes. "I've been fine." She couldn't say anymore. No one knows about the project and her involvement. Usually she could say anything to Lynne, but now this secret was too important to say. At the same time, she played with the chance to tell Lynne about how she could regain her magic, but the words wouldn't come out.

After an awkward silence, Lynne said, "How have you been holding up without your magic?"

Yoshika snapped out of her trance. "Its been fine, I kind of miss being in the striker though…"

Should I tell her?

After a moment Yoshika continued, "Otherwise I haven't really missed my magic at all."

Lynne looked at her. There was a twinge of sadness as Yoshika said that.

Yoshika looked away quickly to prevent her emotions from taking over. It wasn't like her to hide, but getting Lynne involved wouldn't help at all.

As she looked at the clock Lynne reached out and held her hand. "Yoshika, don't worry too much about your magic. If you lose something that is a part of you, you will usually find it again. Keep acting as if it's still there, it will make the days a bit brighter."

Yoshika's eyes started to tear up. "Thank… You… "

Lynne lay back down in the bed and closed her eyes. Yoshika quietly bade goodbye and left. As she left Lynne thought quietly,

Please believe in that Yoshika… It's all the help I can give you… Whatever you're facing now… I wish you luck.


When Yoshika left, the clock said 1030. While her talk with Lynne was uneventful it was also refreshing as well. The sky seemed a lot brighter. As she walked on there was a boy who walked up to her. He was wearing a Karsland uniform and seemed a bit nice.

"Hello there… Captain Miyafuji right?" he said. He smiled and stuck out his hand.

Yoshika was a bit confused how to talk to the boy. She was never really around boys in her life. She decided to be friendly and say hello. "Hello there…"

"It's Schmidt." He answered. "Sergeant Schmidt."

She stuck her hand out and shook Schmidt's hand. "It's nice to meet you. Well, I need to get going; I have some things to do." Yoshika ran off.

Schmidt looked at her for a few moments and smirked. He turned around and saw Minna right in front of him.

"Uhh… Colonel… I can explain…." He backed away as quickly as possible.

"Sgt. Schmidt…I need to talk to you about something. Come with me." She pointed at the jeep.

"Fine…" He got inside the jeep. Minna got in the driver's seat.

They drove for a little while in complete silence. Slowly, Minna broke the silence. "Don't you know I don't want fraternizing between the boys and girls? Sheesh... You boys haven't been listening to us very often."

Schmidt looked out at the land beyond the base and said, "Well it's because you are always trying to kill us. Ever thought of treating us like people?"

Minna sighed, "When you catcall the girls or disobey orders, what do you think will happen? I'm not dumb though. We will have to work together someday."

Schmidt scoffed. "We are TEENAGE BOYS. What do you want us to do, turn off the horndog hormones?"

Muttering, Minna said, "Well obviously…" She rolled her eyes. "But I am just asking that you be decent around the girls and treat them as much respect as you would treat General Eisen. Is that too hard to ask?"

The jeep started approaching a hangar where the rest of the recruited boys were at. As he got out, he said "Well I can try. I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."

He walked to the door. As he went inside the hangar Minna sighed, "I guess some of these boys are worthy of respect after all."

Yoshika entered the R&D hangar. There were multiple scientists testing parts and Guardian was directing a bunch of them with a blueprint of what looks to be a new design. As she walked in a man stopped her.

"Why are you here little girl? This is a place for authorized-"He quickly stopped.

Yoshika looked at him closely and remembered him from yesterday. He was the man who shouted at her for just being there.

He scoffed. "It's just you. Well if you need to get in there go wear what everyone else is wearing. The changing room is in there."

As she walked in the man muttered, "What has this world gone to, Women who are higher ranked that me? Please."

The changing room was empty except for one person who was about to leave. "Ah, Yoshika, I'm guessing you are the new person?"

Yoshika saw Ursula and ran up to her, "Hi Ursula! Yeah, I was told to go get the uniform or something."

Ursula looked around. "Oh ummm… Well here's an extra coat. Now you will also need goggles and gloves…. I think those are…" Ursula walked to a cabinet near the door and found gloves and goggles.

Yoshika put on the lab coat; it was a little big though. Ursula handed her the goggles and gloves.

Ursula walked to the door and said, "Alright, so a crash course on safety. Keep your goggles and gloves on at all times. Make sure your lab coat won't be in the way so you don't trip, and don't touch anything you haven't been specified to touch. Some of the stuff is volatile." She opened the door. "Well I got to get going Yoshika. Good luck with your work." She waved and left the room.

Yoshika left the room and walked towards Guardian who was dismissing the group of researchers to work. He noticed Yoshika and said, "Hello Yoshika. Good to see you are in uniform." He looked at her coat. "Would you like a smaller coat?"

She nodded. "I think its fine. Is there anything you want me to do?"

He looked back at the blueprint. "Hmmm… I would like you to go check on the magic engine that we designed. Hopefully, it will do more good than last time. The group working on the engine is over there by the broken strikers."

She saw the broken strikers. They still had the blood stains from yesterday. The team was breaking down the parts and looking at the engine. Quickly, she walked over there to see what was going on. "So what's going on here?"

One of the researchers said, "Nothing yet, we still don't know what was making the engine go mad." He tried to open the engine.

Yoshika looked at the engine and asked, "Here let me see it." She unscrewed the bolt and twisted the case. The engine opened and she put it down.

As she worked with the team Guardian slowly walked away from the action. He ran into General Eisen as he walked outside.

Eisen saw him and said to him in a firm tone, "Agent Guardian. I'm hoping the project is going well?"

Guardian replied, "Yeah its going fine, General. I put Yoshika into the team and she's working well."

Eisen nodded. "Well I have some troubling news for you Guardian. Command is getting cold feet about the R.E.C.O.N. project."

Guardian looked at him coldly. "Again? Shit… "

Eisen gave him a piece of paper. "I convinced them to shut up for a week. I want a finished model by then. Got it?"

Guardian looked at the piece of paper. "What the heck is on this?"

Eisen responded, "That's a list of demands those thumbsuckers want. You can ignore it. We aren't part of the goddamn Army anymore… No matter how much they want us to be."

Guardian laughed and said, "Well that's classic you General, never giving in to demands."

Eisen sighed and walked towards a waiting jeep. "I want those strikers by Monday. I'll see you then. Oh and Yoshika is under your direct orders so if you need her just say it."

The jeep drove off. Guardian took a deep breath.

"Well shit. I'm not getting any sleep this week. At least I will have some help from Yoshika."

As he walked inside Eisen was talking to his driver, a hooded figure, and said "Yoshika's finally starting to get busy. Are you sure this will work?"

The driver nodded and said, "She's the only one who can make our plans come to life. I'm only hoping Guardian doesn't mess up."

Eisen thought for a moment. "He won't. We don't have much time though."

The jeep made a right turn and his driver nodded, "A few more weeks until the operation right? She will be done by then."

Eisen agreed with that sentiment. "I can only hope so. We're going to lose lots of loyal soldiers in this. This has to succeed, it's our last stand."

The driver turned to Eisen. "Have the Neuroi gotten that powerful?"

He sighed and looked at the sky. "I wouldn't really know, but this war has gone on too long. We've lost too much, and I fear this is our last chance. I can only hope."

The jeep approached Eisen's office. As Eisen left, the driver said, "Then I guess we leave it all up to her."

Eisen turned around before opening his door and said, "Well, I guess we do. Good day."

The driver saluted and drove away. Eisen quietly looked around his dingy little office. He then turned and looked outside.

He quietly said, "Everything gets a lot harder after this."


AN: That took way too long to write. However it is around 5000 words long so I can't exactly complain. So I've finished school for my 11 time... Yeah thats right, I'm a freaking senior now! Woo, get ready world XD. Anyway, Schmidt is going to be a bit more prominent in the next chapter, which is more focused on our recruits instead of the behind the scenes work. The boys and girls to be honest have been all seen as one group of people with no personality. Well that isn't going to happen anymore. The next chapter will have many new characters who will be more prominent during the story. I hope to return with a new chapter within a few weeks or a month at the most.

Also I'm hoping to restart One Wish soon. Its been on hiatus for a while now.

Well thats all from me! If you have any suggestions then tell me in a review or a pm!