Welcome back to another chapter of…

Minna: So, you must be kh2996.

AH! Oh, Minna, w-welcome to the Writer's Common Room.

Minna: It's more like your desk with your laptop, pilot light and cans of Pepsi. Speaking of which, I'm here because James got together with Trude.

Well, if you're against it, fine by me but…

Minna: (smiles cutely) Actually, James and Trude make a great pair. Make sure it's a happy one where not one of my witches died in the crossfire. Now, who's this mystery pilot you wrote about?

Glad you came here because, the new chapter is up.

Minna: Well now, let's get started kh2996.

You read me like a book Minna.

Chapter 11: Apollo Rising

Sanya's P.O.V.

I was returning from my usual night patrol around St. Trond. Every time when I approach the base, I am dead tired from flying. I always did a cute yawn before descending into the hangar and walking over to Eila's room. Instead, I went into Tatsuya's room. I plopped down onto his bed and he started reacting to it.

"Huh? What? Sanya-chan?" Tatsuya's bed is really comfortable. It feels like Eila's bed but his is much softer. I heard him sigh and covered me with his blanket. My eyes fluttered open to look at him.

"Good morning Tatsuya." I said softly

"Hey Sanya. How's the night been treating you?" he asked

"It is nothing out of the ordinary Tatsuya. It's just me and the calm night sky." I answered

"Well, the sky's around Belgica is calm after destroying the carrier-type Neuroi. You can thank the 501st for that." I chuckled cutely

"I was part of that battle you dummy." I answered. Tatsuya chuckled also.

"I know. Anyways, better get some sleep little snowflake. I'll wake you up at dinner." I nodded and soon fell back to sleep. It is very nice of Tatsuya to care for me when I sleep in his room.

Tatsuya's P.O.V.

When I exited my room, I got a pair of angry violet eyes from a certain Suomus witch. "Where's Sanya?"

"Oh, uh… Good morning to you too, Eila." I answered. I didn't answer her question because, well, it's Eila.

"Now where's Sanya?" she asked again. I gave in to her

"Sanya is currently sleeping in my room." She was about to answer when I cut her off. "Before you ask 'what I've done to her?' The answer is no, because I haven't done anything to her other than covering her in a blanket and entering my room."

"If it's nothing on Sanya, then it's okay. But it could be worse." She then put on a questionable face. "Also, have you seen anything strange lately?"

"Not that I know of. Why?" I asked

"I mean, something seems off with James. He seems all… giddy." I thought about it.

"Come to think of it… Lieutenant Barkhorn is also off. You and I were not there at the time, but I'm pretty sure someone knows it." Eila nodded as we head out for training.

Minna's P.O.V.

"Can Wing Commander Dowding, please report to the commander's office?" I asked over the P.A. After Operation Queen, I tried to ask James and Trude about the results. I accidently caught them kissing each other, so I left the two in privacy. Ever since James has been with the 501st, he and Trude have grown attached first as comrades, then friends and now a couple. I have nothing against it, but I did enforce a rule that prohibits the witches from interacting with the male personnel. All of us seem to just forget it.

James soon entered with the new eyepatch that was given to him by Trude yesterday. I can tell he's nervous, because, the two of us are commanders and we have to give personal information. "Is there something you need Minna?"

"I do James." I answered "Yesterday, I caught you and Trude in a romantic moment. Care to clarify?"

"Well, after Barkhorn injured me during the briefing, she became scared of what I might do to her. As a sign of apology, she got me this eyepatch she bought when we were in Karlsland. Barkhorn then confessed that she has feelings for me and that's where we are now Minna." After he gave out his story, I tensed up a bit. "Is something wrong Minna?"

"Before the 501st was established, I was stationed in Pas-de-Calais with my boyfriend, Kurt. He died after he told me to head to Britannia. He promised me that he would be right behind me, and he didn't make that promise."

"Minna, I didn't know. But, what does this have to involve with me and Barkhorn?" he asked me

"Because of what happened, the base personnel has been prohibited to talk to us. Not only that, I can't let someone close be injured or killed in combat." My expression soon changed "James. Before, I feared Mio will be a goner when she donned a Striker Unit. Now, I fear for your safety."

"I understand Minna. Is something eating you?" I soon turned red.

"Since Trude is now your girlfriend, how is it I…" I stopped

"I what?" I soon faced him and kissed him without expressing my emotions. Oddly enough, Trude came in.

"Minna, I need to…" She caught us kissing. I soon stopped and faced directly to her.

"Oh, Trude… I…" I can't think up of another word.

"No, it's fine. I mean, James can't handle two girlfriends right. I can only imagine if there is one guy who got the hearts of six other girls." She said "Just as long as I'm his first."

"Okay. So we'll split him two ways, so that the two of us can be happy." I said with a smile on my face.

"It's a deal, Minna." Soon the two of us head out for breakfast, leaving a stunned and white-eyed James Dowding.

James' P.O.V.

First off, what just happened? First, Minna and I were talking and now… I'm in a relationship with her? Since when did Minna has signs of affection towards me? Maybe it's because she doesn't want to be lonely or someone who trusts me completely? I don't know. I was at the table, face flat. Perrine came by with her food made by Yoshika. She found the state I'm in.

"James, is something wrong?" she asked me. I managed to lift my face up to see the blonde Gallian noble.

"Huh? Oh… uh… Something happened between Minna and me." I answered

"What would that be?"

"S-She kissed me. So, I'm the boyfriend of two Karlsland witches. They made a deal so that I have an equal time with the two. First it's Barkhorn and now Minna." I replied with exaggeration. Perrine swallowed her food and resumed talking.

"It can't be that bad. It's like Britannia's King Henry who has eight wives. Could be worse." She said simply as she took another bite.

"Right. Speaking of which, anyone in your life, Perrine?" She looked up and flushed red

"Well, there's the Major and Amelie Planchard, my friend back in Gallia. She'll be joining us with Hanna Rudel in the next few weeks. Why?"

"Ah. Nothing. Don't want to delve in on your private life." I answered. "By the way, how's Gallia?

"Gallia is doing well. General de Gaulle said that extra army personnel is placed on the weakened part of the Maginot Line. As for the orphans, they're still safe." She finished talking as she took her last bite. "You want to go out and practice?"

"Sure." The two of us went to the hangar to find Chris and Mai there. "Morning Princess. Morning Chris."

"Morning." They both answered. Chris was the first one to approach me. "Is it true that you and my sister are a couple?"

"She confessed her feelings after she accidently whacked me in the eye. So, yeah, Barkhorn and I are now a couple." I answered. She leaned in face first.

"Keep her in good spirits James." She laughed.

"I will." I answered, reassuring the younger sibling. I walked over to the armory and picked up a fake Lee-Enfield. Perrine took her mock Bren gun and we flew into the sky. I soon took notice that she has a rapier. I flew in a bit closer. "Perrine, why do you have a rapier with you?"

"I got it after my family passed it down to me. It has been with the Clostermann family since." She answered

"I see. How about this. Close quarter combat exercise. Your rapier against my rifle?" I asked

"Hmm. A rifle, going up against a sword. Now that would be interesting." She smiled broadly. "Alright James, I accept your challenge." I smiled as the two of us hovered in place. Perrine readied her rapier while I grasped my rifle in my hand. Sure enough, Lynne, Mio, being held up, and Barkhorn joined up to watch.

"Uh, Perrine?" both of us turned to the three girls hovering next to us. I hovered close to the group.

"Just be careful, okay James?" Trude asked me as she kissed me on the cheek

"I will. It's not like a humanoid Neuroi will appear again." I answered. "Hold my right unit for a sec?" I placed my right unit in her hands as I got my boot knife out and placed it in the socket of the rifle. Trude gave the unit back as I'm ready. "Alright Perrine, just make sure no fatal injuries."

"Oui. Don't want another injury now, do we?"

"P-Perrine, are you sure about this?" Lynne asked nervously. The noble nodded. "Okay, first one to deal the blow wins." Both of us had our backs turned as the three flew back a bit. "Go!" Reacting quickly, the two of us swung at each other, but the rifle and the sword clanged against each other. The two of us retracted our weapons and attempted to take each blow with the two of us easily avoiding it. We took a breath for a bit.

"For a witch, you're good as a swordsman." I complimented

"Why thank you. I once fought a golem back in Romagna." She said.

"What?" I was confused to here that Perrine actually fought a statue.

"It's true." Lynne answered "Back in Romagna, we found a map containing treasure and followed it to a cave. While we're there, there's a golem that serves as a guardian. Perrine fought it and won."

"Huh. That sounds… reasonable. Next you're gonna tell me that something weird happened back there." I said

"Well…" we turned to Mio who was red. "While we were searching for the girls, Hartmann accidently leaned on a lever and sent a pot crashing over my head. It was filled with wine and became drunk and…" Mio whispered something into my ear and became even more confused.

"WHAT!?"

"You don't want to know. Besides, you need to keep your guard up." I knew what she meant, but it's too late. Perrine's rapier touched my back and she won.

"Good game James." She chuckled "Next time, don't let your guard down."

"Yeah, I guess so." I chuckled. We returned to the hangar, only to hear an alarm. "Neuroi?"

"Minna, where is it coming from?" Mio asked

"There's a large type flyer, making a beeline for London again. You need to move quickly." She answered. Perrine and I switched or mock weapons to the real ones as we head out to intercept. Minna filled in more on the details.

"The Neuroi has managed to sneak through Allied radar installations using the jamming technique again. It made it past the Low Countries and now heading for London at flank speed. Do whatever you can to destroy it. I'll phone London to ready up fighters in case they make it past you."

"Copy that last Minna. We're approaching the Channel now." I radioed back.

"Please be careful James." I answered back to her as we found the Neuroi. It fired its lasers at us as we separate. Its attack intensifies as it fired volley after volley of lasers. Mio made her attack run first unleashing cannon and machine gun fire, shredding off bits of skin. Lynne, fired her rifle and scored a hit at the center, revealing its core.

"There!" Trude exclaimed. As we were about to finish it off, Minna radioed again.

"James, we've got another problem. You have more Neuroi coming in. All large types."

"Copy." The Neuroi made their attacks as it unleashed more lasers. We kept destroying them one at a time, but our ammunition is running low. "Bullocks, I'm almost out girls."

"Same. Contact Minna to request reinforcements." Trude commanded. I tried to contact Minna, but the frequency is terrible.

"I can't get anything Barkhorn." I fired my rifle in desperation. It resulted in me being cornered by the Neuroi. As I was awaiting death, something caught my eye.

Unknown P.O.V.

"Switching from 'Sol' cannons to missiles." I said to myself as I got a lock on the Neuroi. "Firing." Firing the missiles, they hit directly at the Neuroi, exposing its core. "Switching to VTOL." The fighter's engines tilted as the jet stood there in space, while unleashing a hail of cannon fire. I destroyed a chain of Neuroi as the witches finally regained their footing. I'm proud of myself for helping them. But I still have a priority. The last Neuroi is shot down resulting nothing but Neuroi pieces showering the sky.

James' P.O.V.

After the last Neuroi has been destroyed, the witches and I gathered ourselves as the lone aircraft hovered in mid-flight. I checked out the aircraft. "For starters, it's not a Warlock, so it's not one of Maloney's and one of ours." I called out. The aircraft is heavily armed with auto cannons and missiles. It also has three engines, two near the cockpit and one at the back. One decal has the BRAF insignia, the other, the Rising Sun of Fuso. Surprisingly, the pilot spoke first.

"Are you Wing Commander James Dowding?"

"Yes." I answered rather coldly. "Who are you? Are you affiliated with the BRAF?" The pilot didn't answer. "State your intentions or be destroyed."

"Can you lead me to the base of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing?" the pilot asked calmly. I looked at the pilot with suspicion, so I played with the pilot for the time being.

"Alright. Follow us back to base." I took the lead while the others took the sides and the rear of the aircraft. When we approached the base, the aircraft slowed down while I saw three engines tilting skywards. I've never seen any aircraft like this before. While it landed, we went to the hangar and removed our Strikers and headed out. I grabbed my rifle in case the pilot tries anything funny. The aircraft finally landed as the canopy opened to reveal the pilot that helped us.

"James, what's happening?" Minna asked

"This pilot here helped us with the Neuroi. But I have a feeling that this pilot is actually affiliated with the 1st Special Assault Echelon." I answered

"You sure about that?" she asked

"I don't know. It just came out of the blue." The pilot exited the cockpit. "I'll ask this question again. Who are you?"

"You don't even recognize me?" the pilot asked

"No. Who are you?" The pilot just said one word that finally broke me.

"Niichan?" The witches were astonished to hear a Fusoan word coming out of the pilot's mouth. My eyes widened as my rifle dropped to the floor.

"Imouto-chan?" I asked with shock. The pilot removed the helmet revealing long white hair and eyes as black as night. "M-Madoka?" She stumbled at first as clear pearls came out of her eyes. She then ran forward...

"ONEECHAN!" she cried and hugged me tightly.

"My God. You're alive." I started tearing up. Another demon within me is dead. "I thought you…"

"Died?" she sniffed. "I thought you also…" I wiped her tears and answered gently.

"No. I haven't." The witches are touched by the scene. Some were crying by the touching reunion, others just smiled. Trude can feel a lone tear coming out.

"Hey Trude. You're crying." Erica remarked.

"Wha-I'm not crying. Karlsland soldiers don't cry." Trude countered. "It's just… It feels like what I felt when Chris was re-awakened."

"So you do have a soft spot." Erica said

"Yeah. I-It's just for Chris, Miyafuji, Minna and James." Trude answered. I turned to the girls and grabbed Madoka by the shoulders.

"Everyone. This is my sister. Her name is Madoka. She's the… What rank are you now Imouto-chan?" I asked

"Wing Commander." My sister happily answered

"She's the Wing Commander of the 24th Fusoan-Britannian Aerial Team. And she's also a member of King George VI's personal air squadron or 'Arrowblades'." The witches are surprised at this revelation. Minna is the first to snap out.

"Well then, Madoka." Minna approached Madoka. She extended her hand and she took it. "Welcome to the 501st Joint Fighter Wing."

So, it turns out James' sister survived the first Neuroi blitz. The feels…

Minna: Feels heartwarming for a reunion.

Yeah. I guess your right. Besides, there was a reference earlier in the chapter.

Minna: What reference?

The part about one guy, who is the target of six girls.

Minna: That part seems crazy. Where did you get that?

I'll leave it to the readers to find out. Until next time guys.

Minna: Bye.