Present day…
The combat data was being streamed over the radio. Incoming transmissions, outgoing transmissions, damage reports, threat assessments, fallout predictions, reports from other nations as they coordinate strike data. The bridge of the Mirage was a battlefield in and of itself during combat situations.
"I want a status update on General Hatake!" Fleet Commander Chiron Anderson was sitting in the captain's chair, cracking his knuckles. "Have they touched down in Ostmark yet?"
"That's an affirmative sir. His plane touched down on the Wein airstrip about five minutes ago." A man with the rank of Lieutenant responded with a Fusoan accent, turning from his com station to answer his commanding officer.
"Wein? I thought the bogeys were further south." FC Anderson looked to his left at international communications station. His mind began running several trains of thought through his skull.
"That's a negative, sir. Ostmarkian reports confirm that the two Neuroi separated after coming up across the Black Sea. Long range radar supports their claim." A man with a silver leaf, signifying Lieutenant Colonel, did not turn toward the commander, his eyes scanning the incoming reports at his station. His accent was reminiscent of the time Anderson had spent in Suomus.
"Damn… Hell of a place for him to be right now." Chiron coughed. He wondered if Dimitri could handle being back in Wein in his current mental state. That was where, after all, he had lost his protégé for a couple years.
Anderson thought that everything he had worked so hard for had ended there 8 years ago. But he had the luck of the Neuroi appearing a couple years after Dimitri's disappearance. Everyone quickly forgot about the Orussian Ghost and all of the things he had allegedly done.
The Orussian Empire denied everything it was accused of, effectively covering up all of the covert operations carried out by the twin special force units that comprised the 666th division that as far as the rest of the world was concerned, never existed. They had convinced the rest of the world since the Great War back in the 1910s that the 666th never existed. Mere nightmarish stories that conspiratorial nations concocted out of paranoia.
Fleet Commander Anderson sat back in his chair, keeping one ear open for the reports he requested while he reflected back on his tenure with the Orussian Empire and in recent years, the Allied Forces put together by the nations of the world to combat the greater Neuroi threat.
He had started as a young officer right out of officer training school in Orussia back in 1921. He had only been 25 years old. He had been put in a unit that had to help the empire rebuild after the Great War between 1914 and 1919. So many towns and villages that bordered the other European nations had been ransacked and burned to the ground.
As he had grown older and the empire slowly recovered, Chiron worked his way up through the ranks with his excellent use of strategy and battlefield command during conflicts with the Suomans over a border conflict. He further proved himself as a command worthy officer when he assumed command of his unit after the Colonel leading his detachment was killed by a witch sniper as they defended the Crimean peninsula from a combination of Turk and Mandarin forces.
Every nation, including the Orussian Empire, denied their use of witches in their military forces throughout the early 20th century. It was rather evident during the Great War when the Liberions and Britannians rode their large numbers of magic users to a hard fought victory. Karlsland and Ostmark could not replace their deceased witches as easily as the two larger nations could.
In the years following the war, many nations were using their magic might as intimidation tools while they lied through their teeth about being diplomatic in their efforts to restore the war torn regions of Europe. Anderson had seen enough by the time he reached the rank of Brigadier General in 1932. The strength of the witches was going to damn them all. Every nation was clamoring to have their own, often even hiring mercenary witches to fight for or defend their countries.
The Orussian Empire had its own witches among its ranks. They were often the most decorated members of their squads, using their gifts to further themselves. Chiron couldn't stand to see them. Most of the time they would be the only ones to survive battles while the rest of their squads died. Whether they were nurses, doctors, soldiers, aircraft pilots, ship captains, or even cooks, he was disgusted by them all.
During his time with the Orussian military, he learned of the so called 'black labeled' 666th division. Only a hand full of people in the empire could even confirm its existence. They had so many names. The demons of the Orussian Empire, the witch hunters, and his personal favorite, those forsaken by god, named so for the horrendous acts they were accused of committing by the rest of the world.
The Fleet Commander found himself laughing as he sat in his captain's chair. A couple officers looked at him with puzzled looks but then returned to their duties as the reports continued to come in from everywhere.
When Chiron was given his first opportunity to choose what division he wished to lead, he chose the 666th division. He was disturbed to find out that there was a witch in charge of the unit when he arrived. He had asked her what being a traitor to her own kind was like and was stunned to find that she replied with 'like having enough money for my son to never know hunger or go without a good education.'
Her son happened to accompany the unit whenever it was at home in Orussia. He was a good child. She might have been a witch, but he had to admit that she was a perfect mother. He was raised by his mother to be in peak physical condition and smarter than men more than thirty years his elder.
The witch, Major Lilith Hatake, had deemed herself worthy of Chiron's respect as she personally eliminated nearly a hundred witches in the short time they knew each other. She was someone that always put the men in her squad first, something her son Dimitri had taken to heart.
"Commander!" A man with two stars on his shoulder and Liberion accent interrupted his flashback. "Report from General Hatake."
"Put it through." Chiron nodded, the Major General patching Dimitri's sound feed directly over the bridge's sound system.
"Fleet Commander Anderson! General Hatake reporting!" Dimitri could be heard just before a loud gunshot rang out. Chiron could recognize a large caliber sniper rifle when he heard it. "We are currently circling overhead of Wein providing precision assistance to the strike team."
Another round could heard over Dimitri's voice and the hum of plane engines. A girl's voice could be heard cursing herself for not being able to make clean hits on the target.
"Sergeant! All you have to do is cause a distraction and do enough damage to aid in the search for the core. The others can take it out once it's been exposed." Dimitri said, the receiver probably pulled away from his face. The men on the bridge could hear more gunshots and the receiver being raised back up. "I apologize, sir. Major Sakamoto and Sergeant Miyafuji are currently on the ground assisting in evacuation of the civilians. Damage can be visibly confirmed in thirty percent of the city."
"Good, General. Please keep us up to speed. The Karlic are reporting some of their witch forces have been put on standby in case of any unforeseen problems." FC Anderson read from a piece of paper handed to him by the international coms officer. "Carry on."
"Yes, sir!" Dimitri said between gunshots before hanging up the receiver.
Chiron relaxed slightly, glad to hear his star pupil was operating on all cylinders. He reached for a pitcher of water on the desk in front of him. As he poured himself a glass, he fell back into the past.
They used witches to fight the Neuroi now, and had since 1939 when they first arrived over Europe, Liberion, and the then powerful Mandarin Federation of Nations. Needless to say, the Neuroi sank the Mandarin Federation into the sea after killing most of the people and harvesting the land for raw materials. But the Fleet Commander saw the truth that had always been staring mankind down. They may be distracted by the Neuroi threat, but when it was over, the witches would be the power of the world.
If they united, none of the nations or empires could stop them, especially in the aftermath of this globe encompassing war for humanity's survival. And that's why Dimitri was irreplaceable. Chiron had almost lost hope those years ago when Dimitri was reported MIA, but when he resurfaced in Karlsland in 1940 after the Neuroi had attacked, Chiron knew that his mission to exterminate all of the witches could not be stopped.
"Now if only these damned Neuroi could be exterminated…" Chiron grunted to himself.
7 and a half years ago…
"How is he?" Waltrud stepped into Dimitri's hospital room. The lights had all been turned down low while the sun was setting outside. Creina still held his hand after almost six hours.
"Everything seems normal. He seems to be sleeping peacefully." Creina watched her younger sister come to her side. "He laid here for six months not moving once… I thought he might never wake up."
"I'm telling you… it might have been for the best if he never had." Waltrud insisted but she knew her sister would never agree with such thinking.
"You've told me, Wally." Creina couldn't help but smile at her dear sister.
The men Dimitri had ended up hitting in his rage upon awakening earlier had all been tended to and now avoided his room. Creina took it upon herself to make sure he was taken care of and looked after.
Creina was still peacefully stroking his arm, making sure not to use any magic for he would just absorb it. She understood that she was treating a killer of her kind, but she was determined to make sure he was given fair treatment.
"If he wasn't so dangerous, I'd say he'd make a good boyfriend for you, sis." Waltrud's eyes travelled down his rippling chest. "Show some of these dumb ass flunkies what a real man looks like."
"That's no kind of language for a 12 year old." Creina scolded. "And not all of the men around here are so bad. I swear, sometimes it sounds like you're going to be such a predatory lesbian one of these days."
"That's not true. I just appreciate the female form more." Waltrud smiled. "Besides, if I get a body like yours in five years, I'll be very appreciative."
Creina shook her head, never really thinking so high of herself. She did receive a lot of attention from the men, but mostly just lust. Her body was very well developed, sporting an hourglass figure men craved. She usually hid it with her doctor's coat.
"I'm sure you will, Wally. Mother was even more shapely and beautiful than me." Creina messed with Waltrud's hair. Most children hated it, but Waltrud enjoyed her physical contact.
"…then she must be gorgeous…" They were surprised to find Dimitri stirring, his eyes blinking slowly to adjust to the dim light. His Karlic was perfect, just as it had been earlier.
"Well good morning, sleeping beauty." Waltrud was the first of the two to speak. Creina merely smiled as he sat up.
"You held my hand the whole time…" Dimitri looked down at her hand as if he had been aware of it the whole time he had slept.
"I told you that I would be here until you woke up." Creina had a slight blush.
"I hope that doesn't mean you're going to leave now." Dimitri found himself saying.
"Of course not. I'm not going anywhere for a while." Creina shook her head and smiled a little wider.
"Man, you work fast. Bet you get all the ladies." Waltrud interrupted. She laughed and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You better watch out for this guy."
"Oh calm down. I'm pretty sure he's just grateful no one tried to do anything to him in his sleep." Creina looked from Dimitri to Waltrud.
"I am indeed. Though your suggestion might have been true, young lady." Dimitri looked at the younger sister knowingly.
"How long you really been awake, Geist?" Waltrud called him ghost, her expression shifting to something more toying.
"Long enough, frau." Dimitri sat up and popped his neck, his fear of being recognized seemingly forgotten among these two.
"You never knew Karlic before, did you?" Creina surmised. He spoke it as if he had been born in Karlsland, but she knew that he was Orussian. It could be heard in his voice.
"No, I didn't. How I learned it is beyond me… When I first awoke here, I heard everyone speaking it. Somehow I understood it." Dimitri looked down at the blanket that covered his lower half.
"Probably absorbed the gift of tongues somewhere…" Waltrud shrugged.
"So you do know who I am then…" Dimitri accepted. He had held out hope, but there hadn't been much.
"Yes. But I can tell there is much more to you than that." Creina gripped his hand.
"You may be a bit too optimistic." Dimitri tried to be humorous.
"That's what I said." Waltrud nodded.
"Both of you hush." Creina playfully slapped Waltrud's stomach. She looked up at the clock and saw it was after nine. "Shouldn't you be at home getting some rest for school tomorrow?"
"Yes, mom." Waltrud replied sarcastically. "I just didn't want to go home without you."
"I will be there in a bit. I have to tend to a few things before I can end my shift." Creina stood up and finally let go of Dimitri's hand. She put her arms out to hug her sister.
"Yay! Hugs!" Waltrud walked into her sister's arms and buried her face in her breasts.
"You always do that. You still aren't disproving what I said." Creina chuckled and rubbed Waltrud's head lovingly. "I'll be home to tuck you in and see that something is made for your lunch tomorrow."
"Alright, sis." They parted and Waltrud headed for the door. She waved as she left. "See you later, Geist."
"Please don't mind her. She speaks her mind no matter what it might be." Creina returned her smile to Dimitri. She saw that he was out of bed, standing by the window. "The staff here is very friendly. They will come to check in on you throughout the night or if you need anything."
"It's alright. I thank you for everything you have done for me. I just have a few questions…" Dimitri turned away from the window.
"I will answer them to the best of my ability." Creina stood beside him as they both focused out the window.
"Is what you said about me being here six months, true?" Dimitri couldn't imagine being out for that long.
"Yes… you were brought in a little over six months ago with what we believed to be multiple fatal wounds, but you still showed signs of life and managed to heal from them. The wrapping on your chest is just for precaution. The wound just below your heart was fully healed by the fifth month, though you'll have a serious scar." Creina explained, watching a plane that passed by outside. They were on the fourth floor and the view of the city was quite pleasant.
"And where I was found…?" Dimitri had mixed feelings about asking.
"A detachment of Karlic soldiers found you in the ashes and rubble of the Wien Cathedral. Half of the city had been burned down." She remembered when the soldiers had flown him in, not realizing who he was.
"So I wasn't in the catacombs?" Dimitri felt a memory of falling to cold stone come to mind.
"They said that you were above ground. A trail of blood led down the stairs into the catacombs, but it had collapsed when the building came down." Creina was almost scared to ask what he had been doing in the ancient crypts. She summoned the courage and asked. "Why would you have been down there?"
"Do you really want to know, frau?" Dimitri could hear the anxiety in her breathing. He wasn't sure if he should tell her, but he decided to do it anyway. He took her silence to mean she didn't take back her question. "I went in there to eliminate a high priority target…"
"A witch…" She lowered her gaze to some of the people on the street outside.
"Yes… She had escaped into the church and the Ostmarkian soldiers had ushered her into the tunnels. They all died protecting her." Dimitri could still see the path between the bullets that he had followed during the charge he had made. "I ended up finding her, and finding out what she could do…"
"She was a necromancer, wasn't she?" Creina asked, as if she had suspicions. "There had been legends of a young witch who could raise the dead from the age of 8. The church supposedly kept her under tight rein and guard while they denied her ability to the rest of the world…"
"Yes, she could freely reanimate and manipulate the deceased." Dimitri nodded. "I never knew such an ability existed even among witches. I almost lost my life because of it…"
"Well, as I always say, things happen for a reason. You're standing here today for a reason, whether you know the reason or not." Creina forced herself to smile. "So…"
"Yes… I killed her…" Dimitri closed his eyes, seeing her face again. The things that she had said would never leave him.
"Dimitri… why do you kill witches?" Her questions getting bolder.
"…because I'm the only one who can do it effectively..." Dimitri sounded like he was in pain. Dimitri never could remember anything about his mother or the time she had raised him. "…and a witch killed my mother…"
"…I'm so sorry to hear that…" Creina could understand his pain. She had seen so many mothers die in the few years she had been a doctor, leaving children behind.
"Don't worry about it." Dimitri didn't wish to bother her with such things. "I don't wish to keep you any longer. Your sister is waiting for you."
"It's alright. And she never goes to sleep when she's supposed to anyway." Creina was flattered that he was concerned about such things. He kept catching her off guard. "For someone with such a reputation… you surprise me."
"I'm not sure what to say to that." Dimitri turned and looked down at his caretaker. She mirrored his movement and looked up at him. His expression was unreadable and he wore it well.
"It's a good thing. I promise." Even though she knew he was a killer, she found him to be so alluring. It wasn't just physical attraction, there was something beneath the blood on his hands and scars from his recent wounds.
