Happy New Year!
Strike Witches: Return
Liberion Arc
Chapter 11: Conference
April 25th, 2012
Fuso was once again liberated. As a result, a conference was called. The entirety of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, the 511th members present for the battle, and the three elite humanoid type neuroi, Xala, Xelia, and Xia, were requested to appear in the conference, which would take place in the Allied Headquarters in Britannia. The conference included all the top brass and several of the higher ranking members of the 511th as well.
Everyone took their seats around the room as one of the generals behind the main desk stood up.
"Welcome, everyone." The man said. "To those of you who don't know who I am, I am General Ventus of the Liberion Army. Alongside me are the various generals of the militaries around the world, gathered as the Allied Forces. Two days ago, a feat previously thought impossible was accomplished. The neuroi base just outside of Fuso was destroyed by a combined effort of the Fuso Section 511th Joint Fighter Wing, the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, and two Class Nine Elite Humanoid Neuroi, whose number increased to three at the end of that battle. We are here today to discuss the power of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing after their recent arrival here in the year 2012."
Kye stood up and took the center of the room. "I will speak on behalf of the 501st."
"Go ahead." General Ventus said as he took his seat.
"I am Lieutenant General Kye Miyafuji." Kye said. "I am also known by two other titles, one being the Supreme Commander of the Joint Fighter Wings and the other being a former title I held in the Great Neuroi War in the 1940s, General of the Allied Forces. I rose through the ranks from a young age and participated alongside a few other notable witches in the Fuso Sea Incident of 1937. As the oldest active witch in the world as of both 1952 and 2012, I've seen more war than any one person should. You ask about the power of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, but first I'll talk about the power of the witches of the modern day."
She paused to catch her breath. "Since we arrived here in the year 2012, I have been busy researching the modern military. What I have found has been a mix of both uplifting and disappointment. Technology has advanced significantly since my time, but the power of the witches has decreased. The average witch in the last war was easily better than most witches in the modern day. There are a handful of witches today that are talented, such as the members of the 511th Fuso Section, but for the most part, witches are not very well off."
"That's a very bold claim, General." Ventus said. "Perhaps you could lighten your information with the addition of the 501st. A firsthand experience of the Mother Hive Battle in 1945 would be good."
"It is to my knowledge that a device has been created for recon specialized witches to playback their memory of the mission." Kye said. "Do you have such a device readily available?"
"We have one right here actually." Ventus said as he pulled a small ball shaped device out of a bag he had nearby and handed it to Kye.
"This works by recalling the memory and pouring magic into the device, correct?" Kye asked.
"Yes." Ventus said.
Kye shifted through her memory of the final battle of Operation Worldwide Liberation, then poured magic into the device. A hologram of the area appeared above the device, large enough for everyone in the room to see. The large Mother Hive and the many neuroi the witches battled could be seen. The hologram played through Kye's memory, showing the how each of the eight Joint Fighter Wings battled and liberated their sections. The Neuroi Queen and several other humanoid neuroi finally appeared on the battlefield, which was when Kye charged in with her white aura and True Reppuzan, destroying every humanoid neuroi in her path until she collided with the queen, ultimately ending in Kye being knocked away.
Everyone's eyes, even those of the Strike Witches, widened when the memory of the Pillar of Light played. Ventus was audibly amazed at the power Kye displayed. The Strike Witches heard once again the goodbye message Kye gave to everyone, and shed a tear as she activated the full power of the Pillar of Light, ready to die to save the world. Yoshika's True Golden Aura awakened, allowing her to save Kye. The Ancestor Yusu granted the temporary auras to the Strike Witches still capable of battle, who took out the several humanoid neuroi guarding the queen, allowing Yoshika to hit the queen with the full force of the True Golden Aura and the True Reppuzan.
"This is why Yoshika Miyafuji is known as the Prodigal Witch." Kye said. "What we have called the True Reppuzan turns out to have not actually been the True Reppuzan, but a full powered version of the standard Reppuzan. The correct name of the actual True Reppuzan is called the Zen Reppuzan. To this day, our Ancestor Yusu from five thousand years ago and our own Yoshika Miyafuji are the only two to have ever performed it, and they only were able to do so under great need. Yoshika has performed it twice, once when she destroyed the giant core over Venezia, and the other time just then when she destroyed the queen. I have recently mastered the Light Aura, a previously unknown Stage Six aura."
Kye paused for a few moments before continuing. "Most of the Strike Witches are on the level of Class Eight Neuroi, and not far from Class Nine. Rei Miyafuji and Mio Sakamoto are on par with Class Nine Neuroi, and Yoshika and I at our best are on the level of Class Ten Neuroi."
"This is good news." Ventus said. "How would you rank modern day witches?"
"The members of the 511th Fuso Section are the only witches of the modern day that I've had the opportunity to gage appropriately." Kye said. "I would rank them at Class Seven with great potential to advance. If I had to rank the witches whom I've only read about... four maybe five."
"Is there any way to advance them?" Ventus asked.
"Air Bands are a great invention." Kye said. "But they are babying witches. Put a witch in a reciprocating Strike Unit and you will see significant advancement once they return to an Air Band. The thirteen of us grew up in reciprocating strikers. Major Barkhorn, Lieutenant Hartman, and Captain Marseille were the highest scoring ultra-aces of that war after me, and let me tell you... you would need an entire squadron of modern witches to even think about comparing to them."
"What was their kill counts at the end of the war?" Ventus asked.
Kye turned to Erica and Trude, sitting off to the side. "Around two thousand, wasn't it?" Her comment sparked a high degree of astonishment among everyone in the room outside of the 501st.
"Yeah, but you doubled us." Erica said, even further shocking the people around the room.
"Yeah, but most of my kills came from my sword abilities." Kye said. "I destroyed over fifty neuroi in one attack with my Power Wave once. Anyway, General Ventus, do you get the point?"
"Yes." Ventus said. "The 501st Joint Fighter Wing is a blessing upon the modern world. With this new information, this meeting will adjourn for the time being to allow the generals to discuss what we have learned. You are all free to do as you please for one hour, at which time we will meet again." He pounded his gavel on the table. The room was empty within a minute.
Kye, Yoshika, and the others gathered outside. While everyone was talking amongst themselves, Yoshika pulled Kye away to talk privately.
"Hey, what's up?" Kye asked.
"We need to talk to them about stopping this war." Yoshika said.
"We can't exactly tell them why." Kye said.
"I know they won't believe the part about the gods, but it is true that this war has no point." Yoshika said.
"I agree." Kye said. "We can't openly suggest something of that magnitude, though. This war is pretty evenly matched right now after we took out the base in Fuso."
"How?" Yoshika asked. "You said yourself that the modern day witches are too weak to fight higher class neuroi. If they had to fight a multi-core type, they wouldn't be able to win."
"This is true, but mankind has technology now that can even the odds." Kye explained. "They have missiles and rockets and such that they can fire from a long range. The neuroi beams can destroy them before they hit their target, but against a large neuroi like that, they will launch multiple attacks. One will eventually hit it."
"We can't rely on technology." Yoshika argued.
"I wish we didn't have to." Kye said. "But for now we have no choice. We can help, of course, until we find a way to end this war peacefully."
"As long as there are people that need protection, I will protect them." Yoshika said.
"What about the neuroi?" Kye asked. "They are living beings, too."
"How can we save both sides?" Yoshika asked.
"I know of one way." Kye said. "It's not exactly an easy method, but now that I have access to my Dream World, I can uncover a spell that can help. You can come with me if you'd like."
"What is it?" Yoshika asked.
"Zen Serenity." Kye said. "It is a spell that calms and soothes the minds of everyone it affects. I don't know how to cast it yet, but I do know that the secret is in the Dream World."
"Have you learned anymore about the Dream World?" Yoshika asked.
"Some." Kye said. "The Dream World can also be called the Land of Memory. My memory, specifically. Everyone has one, but accessing it is typically impossible. It seems that since I mastered the Light Aura, I have gained access. I don't know if the Light Aura is the catalyst or not, but it doesn't matter. If we both can learn the spell, we can bring the leaders of the Allied Forces and the Neuroi together to discuss things. Hopefully."
Yoshika leaned against the nearby wall and folded her arms. "What about Light and Dark magic? I'm familiar with Light to an extent, but you've only mentioned Dark."
"Alright." Kye said. "Light Magic predates witches. You remember the place where you found me in the Dream World, right?"
"Yeah." Yoshika answered.
"That place is the Kingdom of Light." Kye explained. "It's long gone now, but it existed many thousand years ago. Light and Dark Magic originated from there. In the Dream World, I am the Princess Kye Akari."
"Akari?" Yoshika gasped. "That's the same as..."
"I know." Kye interrupted. "I don't know if there is a connection, and I don't quite understand if that actually is me or if it is some sort of past life, or what, but it is in my memories. In that world, I hold more power than you can imagine. A neuroi appeared the first time I entered the dream world, and it was one of those colossal sized ones like we fought at Tokyo. I was able to fly with magic alone, no striker, no air band, nothing. I was able to use Light and Dark magic with ease. And most notably, I had this with me." She drew the sword with the purple silk hilt. The blade glowed with a silvery aura.
"The Goddess gave that to you before the other one sealed her inside you." Yoshika said.
"Yes." Kye said. "The Jouten you carry is designed after this one. Your Jouten is... basically the mortal version of this one crafted by our Ancestor Yusu and the Goddess."
Yoshika gazed at the sword Kye held. She found it entrancing.
"This is the real Jouten." Kye said. "In the hands of a mortal, it is no more powerful than your Jouten, but in the hands of a god... well it's a force to be reckoned with."
Yoshika continued starring at the sword until Kye sheathed it.
"Anyway, Light and Dark magic originate from the Kingdom of Light." Kye said. "And while in the Dream World, I carry the real Jouten with me. What puzzles me is that the me in the Dream World is named Kye Akari and carries this sword... and I am connected to this ancient Kye by some means... a past life is the only explanation I have for it, although I don't exactly believe in that."
"With the witches, strange things are common." Yoshika said.
"Indeed." Kye said. "I hope to uncover everything about the Dream World soon so we have the answers we need."
"Now what about Zen Magic?" Yoshika asked.
"Zen Magic is the pinnacle of magic power." Kye said. "The Goddess told me that even the gods don't have the ability to use it, but you have performed the Zen Reppuzan twice. The Kami Katto is a Zen Magic technique as well."
"We have powers that even the gods don't?" Yoshika asked, confused.
"It seems so." Kye said. "I doubt we could hold a feather to the gods, but we seem to have an ability they don't."
"After thinking about it..." Yoshika said. "It's probably better that we don't tell Rei or Mio about this yet."
"At least until after we have our answers from the Dream World." Kye added.
"Yeah." Yoshika said. "We should probably rejoin the others before they come looking for us."
"Yes." Kye said. "We can make a trip to the Dream World after we get settled in back at Fuso."
"Alright." Yoshika said as two moved to head back over to the other witches.
After the hour passed, everyone went back to the meeting and took their seats. The Generals joined them soon after.
General Ventus was the first to speak. "After much consideration, we have decided to keep the 511th Fuso Section and the 501st together. Given what General Miyafuji has said about their potential, we want them to go along with the 501st wherever they go in the war to learn under their predecessors, if that is acceptable for the 501st."
"That is acceptable." Minna answered, beating Kye to the punch. "The 511th Fuso Section has proved to be very friendly and helpful to us since our arrival here in 2012. We can learn much from each other."
"Well said, Minna." Kye whispered, nudging her gently in the arm.
"We have several battlefronts that could use your help." General Ventus said. "Of these fronts, the Liberion front and northeastern European front need the most attention. We will leave it up to you to decide which to go to."
"What do you think?" Minna said quietly to Kye and Mio.
"Up to you." Kye said. She was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, almost uninterested in anything. "I picked everywhere last time we did this."
"How dire is each situation?" Mio asked. "Which is in need of help more? Liberion or Europe?"
"They are near even." Ventus replied.
"The 511th Joint Fighter Wing has sections in both areas." Kye said. "Which has the least?"
"Liberion." Ventus answered.
"We will go there then." Minna said.
"I will have a message sent ahead stating that the 501st Joint Fighter Wing will be coming to reinforce the Liberion Battlefront then." Ventus said. "This concludes the meeting. Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We look forward to seeing results in Liberion."
Soon after the meeting, the witches could be found boarding a plane bound for Liberion.
Trude pounded one hand into another, thinking about defeating the neuroi.
Erica couldn't resist teasing her. "Somebody is happy."
"Hey!" Trude said. "I'm just ready to kick some neuroi butt."
"And you will." Minna said. "We have a lot of battles to win."
Kye and Yoshika had a rather serious conversation today. Kye has many suspicions about the Dream World and is determined to find out everything she can about it. What could it be? Only time can tell.
We are going to Liberion next!
Edits
4/18/2013: During the release of Chapter 22, two characters had a name change. Miekori Akiyama and Kiyori Akiyama are now known as Mei Akiyama and Kiyoko Akiyama (Yoko for short). This chapter has no mentions of either names and has thus been left alone.
If you see any errors, please let me know so they I may fix them. If you wish to contact me about the story, feel free to send a private message or leave a signed review (so that I may reply to you personally).