Chapter 7: The Secret Stuff
After more than four hours of flight they finally made it to the new base. The base was on an island far off the coast of Liberion. It looked a lot like the base that was in Britannia only the island was bigger and the base had 2 hangers instead of one.
"So that's the base huh." Kevin said, looking out the window.
"Yep looks like it, got to admit though it looks just like the one in Britannia from the outside though." Charlotte replied
"Alright it's time to get off." Erica announced, speaking into the microphone.
So, everyone got off the plane.
"This is a base it looks like a castle, well at least it's the size of one." Eddy said, as he was eyeballing the base
"Think it's big on the outside, just wait until we see the inside of it." Francesca responded.
"Oh boy oh boy! Ed is so excited and he must see what's inside the base!" Ed exclaimed excitement with a big grin on his face
Ed started running. But Erica grabs him from the back of his jacket.
"Whoa! Slow down there Ed, we still have to get all set up, plus the base is huge and you could get lost in it so before you go rushing in we need to tour the base." Erica explained.
Eddy and Kevin looked at Erica in a surprised state.
"Holy cow I did not think it was possible." Eddy agaped, with his eyes widened
"Took the words right out of my mouth dork. A blonde girl who is smart that's impossible." Kevin nodded in agreement.
"Then again, she is a witch so maybe the rules of blonde chicks are dumb don't apply to her."
Erica glared at Eddy and Kevin.
"HEY WATCH IT YOU TWO! I'll have you know that I'm not dumb. Don't even start with that dumb blonde stereotyping with me, since you two aren't as bright in fact the only one of you who does have intelligence is Double D. For what I heard about the report of your neighborhood." Erica snarked, still having a angry look on her face
"Sockhead may be smart, but he's so weak that he can't lift a butterfly." Eddy snickered, holding his breath to avoid bursting out of laughter.
"Well Eddy, for this battle it will require brains to win this war." Double D retorts and didn't take it kindly of Eddy's response.
"He's right, in war it takes more than brute force, you have to plan strategies. You can't just go charging in to battle, that's a good way to get yourself killed." Trudie explained, giving a glare to the short Ed, who is backing off a bit and chuckled.
"Relax... I know it will take more than brute strength to win. So sockhead, any ideas how we get inside that hive so we can kick the Kankers butts?" Eddy asked.
"Wait why are you asking me for Eddy, we're not even fighting in this war you heard what Mio said it's too dangerous." Double D replied.
"He's right, we didn't bring you kids here so you could help fight the war, we brought you kids here for your safety, while we're out trying to fight the Shadow Neuroi you kids are staying here, it's too dangerous for children to be in a war none of you are witches so therefore you kids need to stay in the base where it's safe." Trudie reprimanded them to not fight and let them do the work, which makes Eddy snarled that they are taking them too lightly.
"As if, you think we're just going to sit here and do nothing while the rest of you are out risking your lives trying to stop these monsters? That's not how we Peach Creek Cobblers roll" Eddy narrowed his eyes while looking at the hotshot witch, as he folded his arms and had a serious look on his face.
Kevin stared at Eddy in surprise that he bring their football team up.
"For once I agree with Dorky, we are going to find a way to join you witches in this fight, we cobblers never back down from a fight and this is more than just saving our cub-da-sac this is about saving our planet from those Kankers and their Shadow Neuroi army." Kevin agreed.
"Cobblers?" Francesca asked, wondering what Kevin was talking about.
"It's the name of their school's football team. Kevin is the captain of that team." Trudie explained.
Charlotte smirked as she can see the fierce look of a warrior in Kevin and Eddy's eyes.
"Ha I like this kid's determination, maybe we could give them training to fight alongside us." Charlotte suggested.
Trudie then snapped at Charlotte.
"Are you nuts Shirley?! Even if we give the training, what will they do to fly?!" Trudie was surprised of her suggestion.
"Hmm, good point."
"Barkhorn, Shirley, Hartmann, we need you three at the hangar." Minna instructed, and turned her back, leaving to go to the hanger.
"Yes ma'am." The three witches nodded.
Trudie, Charlotte, and Erica headed for the hangar leaving the Eds and the kids alone.
"OK! Anyone got any bright ideas of how we are going to join this war?" questioned Eddy, since they don't want to be side characters.
"Hm, good question." said Kevin, giving a nod.
"OK since when did Kevin and Eddy started to agree with each other?" Double D asked
"Since now, come on people we have to do something one way or another we have to join this battle, we can't just stay on the sidelines we have to fight." Nazz said
"But Nazz how will we be able to fight these monsters, we don't have any experience fighting wars?" Sarah asked
"I agree, we're just kids from a quiet suburban neighborhood what chance do we have in fighting the Shadow Neuroi?" Jimmy asked
"We will join this battle. Rolf has a secret weapon we could use to help fight the Shadow Neuroi." Rolf said with a serious look on his face
"A secret weapon, what kind of secret weapon?" Kevin asked
"Come we must go to the underground tunnel of this base, Rolf will explain everything." Rolf said as he pointed to the right side of the base
The kids and the Eds looked at Rolf in confusion, how did he know that the base had a underground tunnel, but not wanting to argue with Rolf as the kids could never understand what half the stuff he saying they followed him inside the base down a staircase next to the living room. The underground tunnel leads to a secret room that looked like a basement it had five candles on each side of the wall had old wooden chairs and a large wooden desk. The kids sat down as Rolf stands behind the desk putting the barrels he brought with him on the desk.
"So Rolfie boy, what's this secret weapon you were talking about, can it really help us fight the Shadow Neuroi?" Eddy asked
"Ah yes short stop Ed-boy the weapon is in these barrels." Rolf explained as he put his hand on one of the barrels
"What's in those barrels?" Sarah asked
"Listen closely as Rolf has a story to tell you all." Rolf said
"Oh boy story time." Ed said with excitement
Rolf cleared his throat as he then began telling the tale of his Grandfather and how he fought in the Neuroi war.
"Long ago during the final battle, Rolf's Grandfather used a powerful weapon to fight the Neuroi. This weapon is by far stronger than any gun ever made. In fact this very weapon was very useful for the witches as it gave them unlimited magic for us normal humans it gave us superpowers and with these powers they were able to defeat the Neuroi once and for all." Rolf explained
"So what's it called." Ed asked as he was very interested in what the weapon is.
"It is called the secret stuff and now Rolf will demonstrate how it works." Rolf said
So Rolf took a water bottle and filled it with the secret stuff he then takes a drink and five seconds later Rolf suddenly became buff with gold colored energy flowing through his body.
"WOAH!" surprise everyone but Rolf
"Hm hm yes Rolf sees that you are impressed by his demonstration." Rolf said as he stroke a superhero like pose.
"Ok so it makes you buff, but how does that help with fighting the Shadow Neuroi?" Eddy asked
"Oh ho shortstop Ed-boy, this is just what Rolf looks like when he drinks the secret stuff, the truth is that the secret stuff can make you as strong as an ox, watch as Rolf destroys this wall with just his pinky." Rolf stated.
"Ha yeah right get real Rolf, you can't destroy a wall with your pinky it's impossible." Eddy said
"Oh ho short stop Ed-boy thinks Rolf can't destroy this wall with his pinky eh well let Rolf prove to you then." Rolf
So Rolf held his pinky in with his thumb as he faced the stone wall then he flipped his pinky and to everyone's surprise it made a big hole in the wall.
"Holy cow, Rolf really did it that secret stuff worked." said Eddy as his jaw shot to the ground in amazement by Rolf's demonstration
"Hm hm as you can see, hiya!" Rolf screamed as he smashed the table with his fist
"With Secret Stuff, you too can be so strong that you could destroy a stone wall with your pinky." Rolf said while flexing his muscles
"Awesome! That stuff is just what we need to fight the Shadow Neuroi." Kevin said
"It is impressive, but how will we convince the Strike Witches of this method of fighting the Shadow Neuroi?" Double D asked in concern
"Oh ho, we're going back outside to show this magnificent drink to the witches, they will see that they will need our help to defeating the Shadow Neuroi." said Rolf
The kids headed for the hangar where the witches were currently getting their weapons and strikers in order.
"So, these are the new strikers eh." Charlotte said.
"Yeah there all jet strikers according to the General these have been fully perfected meaning now we don't need to worry about to risk of our magic being sucked away quickly." Minna said.
"OK so what about weapons there's no way our old weapons will be enough against the Shadow Neuroi and from what we saw on the news they're more ruthless than any other Neuroi we fought before?" Trudie asked.
"That's why the General gave us these." Minna said opening a large box containing modern day weapons.
"Mio, Myafugi, these will be you're new weapons the Howa Type 89." Minna said as she pulled out two Howa Type 89s and lay them on the desk.
"Alright, lets hope these weapons can dent those shadow neurio who knows how strong they are." Mio said as she picked up the gun
"Mhm." Yoshika nodded as she picked up the gun.
"Lynette, this will be your new weapon the L121A1 anti-material rifle it should be useful against the bigger shadow neurio." Minna explained as she pulled out the rifle and lays it on the desk
"Alright thank you mam." Lynne replied as she picked up the rifle
"Francesca your new weapon will be the AR-70/90, SC-70/90 assault rifle." Minna said as she pulled out the rifle and places it on the desk
"Sweet, hope this will be strong enough." Francesca stated as she picked up the rifle
"Trudie, your new weapons are going to be twin ak-47s along with a shotgun a grenade laucher and a rocket due to the possibly of this new threat being a lot tougher to damage it might be wise to have heavier firepower." Minna explain as she gives the weapons to Barkhorn.
"Thanks these will definitely come in handy we'll need all the firepower we can get." she replied.
"Perrine, your new weapon is a modified version of your old assualt rifle, it has the capability to shoot electric shoots along with a grenade launcher attached to it." Minna said as she pulled out the rifle and places it on the desk
"Electric shots eh, along with a grenade launcher should be powerful enough." she replied picking up the weapon.
"Charlotte your new weapons are an SMG and an burst fire rifle you'll also get electric rounds for your weapons." Minna explains as she takes out the weapons and places it in front of Charlotte
"Alright." she replied as she takes the weapons.
"Hartmann your new weapon is gonna be an ak-47 equipped with a grenade launcher." Minna said placing the weapon in front of Erica
"OK." she replied picking up the weapon
"Eila your new weapon is a sub-machine gun that is equipped with a rapid fire pistol along with electric round and explosive rounds." Minna said as she places the weapon in front Eila.
"Alright and what are you gonna use also what about Sanya?" Eila asked
"Sanya is gonna get a much stronger fliegerhammer called the novahammer it's a rapid fire 9 barrel rocket launcher that can lock-on to target thus having a heat seeking missile effect." Minna explained as she opens the cargo and reveals the weapon.
Sanya's eyes widen at the sight of the weapon.
"Damn now that will come in handy." Eila replied with a confident smile on her face.
"As for myself, the General decided to give me two different weapons the Ak-47 and a sniper rifle it will be the first time I use a sniper rifle but due to the situation having another sniper might not be a bad idea." Minna said as she took out her weapons.
"Alirght then, so I'm guessing we're all getting the jet strikers then now that it has been perfected." Mio said.
"Correct." Minna replied.
"Oh right! Then, guess we better get the kids and give them the tour of the base along with introducing them to their assign guardians." Erica said stretching her arms up.
"Come to think of it. *looks behind her* Where did they go anyway?" Yoshika asked noticing that they were no where in sight.
The others were also looking around as they began to get worried.
"*groans* where they run off to." Trudie complained.
Just then they heard a door opening from the side of the base and out came the children of the Cul-de-sac with Rolf leading the way and the witches were stunned as they saw Rolf's new body structure.
"*eyes widen* Oh my goodness." Minna said stunned
"*blushes deeply* Oh dear me." Lynne said as she blushed deeply at the sight of Rolf's muscular build.
"*whistling* Damn kid did you took a workout within the last half hour." Charlotte said
"Please tell me he didn't took any steroids to get that body." Yosika said in concern as she is in shocked that Rolf made a dramatic improvement of his body in such a short time.
"Oh ho Rolf see's that you ladies are impressed by Rolf's new muscular form sure'ly now this will make you reconsider having us not participate in this battle." he said as he flexed his muscles.
"Rolf how in the world did you get such a build in such a short time?" Minna asked.
"Mhm shows them the barrel this right here is the secret stuff, with it Rolf has not only gotten a more manly look but also he has been given superhuman powers." Rolf said confidentially
"He's not kidding he destoryed a wall with his pinky." Eddy said, which caused Francesca and Erica to give Eddy a dead ping look.
"Your, kidding me right?" Francesca asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Oh ho a demonstration is needed Rolf see's, very well, *lifts Lynnete up bridal style.*
"Whoa!" Lynne was surpirsed, as Rolf held her in his arms
Rolf then bent his knees getting ready for a big leap.
"You may want to hold on tight." Rolf said.
He they jumped high into the sky and began to fly to the shock of everyone.
"Whoa!" Kevin was shocked.
"Holy cow! You can fly with that stuff..." Eddy said in disbelief.
The witches had their mouths wide opened in shock, as they saw Rolf flying in the sky like superman with Lynne still holding on to him.
"*breathing heavily* Goodness Rolf! You're full of surprises today are we? Now, can we go down now?" Lynne asked Rolf floated back down to the other placing Lynne back down as she was trying to catch her breath.
"That's amazing you can fly without needing a striker or a plane." Yosika said in amazement.
"Hot damn first a new figure then the ability to fly huh maybe you could be of use afterall." Charlotte said
"Did I fall asleep on the plane and in a dream where this kid gains superpowers because this is kinda bizarre and awesome at the same time." Erica said
"This ain't no dream Hartmann these kids have been known for bizarre stuff like this like surviving life threatening injuries or lifting up a house." Trudie eplained
"What have we gotten ourselves into this is gonna be quite the adventure." Mio said
"Hey Rolf can I have some of that stuff?" Kevin asked wanted to get a build such as Rolf's
"*hands him a glass* Help yourself." Rolf said
Kevin filled up the glass with the secret stuff and took a drink in front of everyone and like Rolf he too got buff a superpowers to everyone's surprise.
"Aw yeah! Now this is awesome..." Kevin said, as he flexed his muscles
"OK it makes you buff and it makes you fly anything else it can do?" Minna asked still being unsure if it is ok to bring the children into the fight.
"Oh ho it can. No brain Ed boy take that big rocket launcher there and fire a missile at Rolf." Rolf order which brought a shocked reaction to everyone but Rolf and Ed.
"WAIT WHAT?! HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!" Double D screamed and wanted to stop the two in their clumsiness and stupidity.
"Okie dookie." Ed said as he took Trudie's bazooka and aimed at Rolf.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! YOU BETTER NOT!" Trudie yelled. However, Ed didn't listen as he fired the missile at Rolf
One of the witches tried to raise their shield but it was too late, the missile hit Rolf the others were ready to yell at Ed until the smoke cleared and to everyone's surprise Rolf was still standing as he just shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"Oh ho! The test is a success Rolf is completely invincible to every possible thing that can hurt him." He proudly proclaimed that his stuff can be useful for fighting against the Neuroi.
"...Holy crap... I cannot believe he survived a missile without a scratch." Mio said still shocked at what she just witnessed.
"I think we have a boy of steel on our side or better yet, a way to make a person one." Erica concluded.
"Yep. These kids are definitely gonna fight along side us that stuff is way stronger than any weapon we have." Charlotte nodded and smiled.
"*heart pounding fast* Goodness gracious Rolf you almost gave me a heart attack." Lynne was shocked of Rolf's demonstration.
"Holy cow, Rolf is like a comic book hero guide that secret stuff can make us superheroes!" Ed said excitably
"Incredible, that secret stuff is quite the drink, but Rolf aren't their any side-effects to the drink." Double D added.
"Who cares?! That stuff's our ticket to beating the Kankers and the Shadow Neurio." Eddy felt the adrenaline within him, wanted to take out of the Kankers.
"But Eddy..."
"Do not worried sockhead wearing Ed-boy, this is 100% safe no side-effects what so ever." Rolf assures.
"That's good to know." Yosika said in relief.
"But, how long does it last that stuff is quite the drink but it effects can't last forever?" Trudie wondered.
"About a half-hour." Rolf replied
"I see interesting." Minna stated, as she is really curious about it if they will do the same as Rolf did.
"So are we in, because I want to pound those shadow neurio to pieces!" Kevin asked and grinned, cracking his knuckles.
"Now don't get too carried away, you may have a drink that can give you powers, but due to the limit quanties of it, it's best to use it as a last resort considering that we have possibly a very long war ahead, and we don't know how strong the enemy is at the moment." Mio stated, making Kevin sighed in disappointment.
"We can't just go charging in recklessly we need a strategy first, I know that thinking isn't in most of you kid's dictionary, but this is serious the neurio were a very opposing force and later on they got really bad to the point where we really needed to learn how to counter them, these new Shadow Neurio are gonna be on a whole other level." Trudie explained.
"As a captain of a football team, you should know that you can't just power your way. You need to think of a strategy. This is similar, only that this isn't a game. Tt's a matter of life and death." Charlotte grimly explained to Kevin, who is somewhat nervous of this life and death situation.
"You got me there, OK so what's the plan?"
"Well first we need to know the enemy's strength in terms of firepower and armor they use black lazer beams but the question is do they have anything else any other weapons, the armor of them is also a concern as we don't know how tough the armor is." Trudie explained.
"We also need to know what kind of forms they'll take, the neurio took the appearances of varies vehicles and in some cases the forms of witches, so far from what we saw the shadow Neurio are following the same appearances as their predecessors but who knows if they'll have more appearances." Francesca added/
"They did seem very imposing, and quite frightening." Double D was actually interested and he knew that its really frightening.
"Indeed. Those monsters destroyed a lot of lives and now history is repeating itself, we have to stop them." Mio said
"Since we know the hive is above North Liberion with the center of it being at Peach Creek, we can plan a counter attack. However, getting inside the hive to destroy the core is gonna be a challenge." Minna explained.
"We'll have to scout the area around the hive without alerting the shadow neurio we need to know how large this hive truly is. If this hive is as big as the news story says it is then we are going be in for a swarm of shadow neurio." Mio explained.
"So the bigger the hive the more shadow neurio there are?" Double D questioned being concerned about the situation
"Yes along with being more powerful." Mio explained
"Oh dear." Double D said
"Ok so we know the situation now, so how about we put that plan into action before those Kankers send the shadow neurio out to attack." Kevin suggested as he pound his hand with his fist signifying that he's ready for action.
"I got to agree with the kid here, since the shadow neurio have hives above each of the continents we got to get started on the offensive, here the stakes are much higher this time." Charlotte said agreeing with Kevin
"Right although there's a bit of a problem will the jet strikers be able to fly us around the entire continent of North Liberion without it draining all of our magic energy because remember what happened to Trudie with the jet striker it took a major tow on her magic?" Erica said being concerned for her comrade remembering the last time Barkhorn used the jet striker
"We're not dealing with a prototype this time, so that problem won't come up though even know the jet striker are now fully operational and won't drain our magic at a high rate we still need to be cautious when patrolling the area if that hive is as big as we think it is then we'll be in enemy territory much sooner which would lead to them attacking us we'll need a air craft that can carry us and our strikers inside it that way we can use the aircraft to scout the area and if we need to engage we can get on our strikers and deploy ourselves to engage them, it will also ensure that in case we are low on magic we can retreat inside the aircraft to rest up." Trudie explained
"Hm you have a good point there Barkhorn though there's a problem, where are we going to get one." Minna questioned unsure on how they were gonna get an aircraft that was big enough to put the strikers inside it not only that they would need to make sure the aircraft can defend itself so it needed weapons and a shield.
They thought about the situation for a long moment till Ed broke the silence.
"Oh oh I know I know we can just modify that plane into an massive super aircraft powered up by the secret stuff to make go as fast as a super hero. hands Double D a piece of paper containing the blue print of the vehicle which looked liked something out of Ed's comic books Here you go Double D the plans to help save the world from those Kankers." Ed said as he had a goofy grin on his face.
"Let me see that." Eddy said grabbing the blueprint out of Double D's hands.
Eddy looks at it for a long moment. 'It's perfect only one question where do we get the supplies for it? ...Hm sockhead will figure it out.'
"Well here you go sockhead, gives him the blueprint back get to working we're gonna need it to stop those Kankers so get building." Eddy said as he and Ed headed off leaving Double D to do all the work.
"And how exactly am I going to modify Erica's plane into this aircraft I don't even have the supplies to build such a thing?" Double D asked who was dumbfounded by Eddy's request out of all the building requests he gotten this was the most complicated one of all even with his knowledge he had his limits.
The witches and the kids were also dumbfounded as well.
"Um did I hear that kid right?" Eila asked who was scratching her head
"How in the world is Double D supposed to modify the plane into the aircraft he's only a middleschooler sure the reports said he was the smart one but this is ludicrous." Barkhorn stated
Charlotte walks over to Double D and looks at the blueprint.
"Hmmm... This is gonna take awhile, I mean the design is good but turning the plane into this that's gonna take awhile." Charlotte said.
"Even worse. I have to do all the work as usually considering Ed and Eddy just sit back and watch especially Eddy, sigh I supposed I better get to work then considering the stakes here." Double D pulled out his wrench and walked over to the plane.
Charlotte just looked over to where Double D was at, clenching her fist in anger the other witches were also frustrated there's no way he could do this alone.
"Poor Double D." Yoshika sighed, cupping her hand in her left cheek.
"OK I'm still trying to sink all of this in, I think that tall yellow skin kid might actually be pushing that poor sockhead kid to his limit, how in the world is he supposed to build that thing." Perrine said
'I know I mean it's not that it's a bad idea, but..' Eila thought of it, only to have her thoughts snapped by Sanya, who seems to know about what she is thinking.
"It's actually not a task a person can do alone." Sanya replied, in which the girl then nodded because she does have a point.
Trudie looked back at the other two Eds in anger as she was furious with them for making Double D do all the work how the hell is he supposed to do this task without help.
"This is really the stupidest idea I've heard in a long time Shirley may I see the blue print that Double D has? Mio asked
"Yeah hey Double D." Charlotte called out.
Double D turned around and walked over to Charlotte.
"Um yes?"
"The major wants to see that blueprint."
"Oh OK. *walks over to Mio and hands her the blueprint* Here you go."
She looks at the blueprint.
"Hmmm... This is definitely gonna take multiple people to do this task." Mio replied.
End of Chapter
Author's note: This chapter really took a long time to finish. I'm really sorry for the three year hiatus of this story. Anyway, I really had trouble thinking of weapons for the strike witches. Luckily, I found a beta reader named RavenousEds, who's been a really good help to me and he helped me with the weapons. Again, I'm sorry for the delay.