Chapter 20: Train Wreck

Rosie, Connie, and Jocelyn descended from the skies, landing next to the supply crate on the soil of Grunewald. "Right then, show us the tanks and we'll see what's what." Rosie smiled. "We're the Riveter girls from High Wycombe, but we'll be in your care for this operation."

The three witches attached cables to the command tank, forming a sort of harness. Once the weight had been spread out, they attempted to lift the forty ton tank, as Jocelyn found an engine and shunted a flatbed car underneath them. The strain was incredible, and the wind was not making things any easier as the tank swayed precariously in the air. "Be careful with that!" Furious' commander barked, as Justine, Lillian, Stephanie, and Natalya strained to lift the Easy 8 onto a flatbed car. "It's my home."

"We get it. You said that before, you needn't say it again." Justine growled at him, as they set the tank down and set blocks in place to keep it from sliding off. "Where's Rosie at?" She asked, wiping her forehead.

"Down here." Rosie said, hopping off of a small diesel shunter engine. "You should be grateful, I barely know how to operate these things. It's not as simple as just throwing a lever." She sighed.

"Right on time, Rosie." Justine smiled at her. "Get these tanks in place, bolt those blocks down around them so they don't tip. But make sure they have a way to get off in case of an emergency, don't fasten the tracks to the car."

"Relax... We worked in factories assembling things like this before we came to High Wycombe. Trust us." Connie said with a reassuring smile.

"Ok. I'll leave it to you then. Furious, how are we gonna do this?" Justine looked over at the Easy 8 commander.

"Well," He pulled out a map. "According to Lt. Col. Doolittle's plan, we should be heading towards the Zoologischer Garten station, where we'll meet up with the rest of the 8th. We have no pinpoint on the Neuroi's center of resistance, so it could be anywhere between here and Gleisdreieck. But Furious can't lead the charge, because its long gun can't turn well within these tunnels. They were made for Kleinprofil, or small profile, trains and I don't think the designers thought a tank battle would take place here." He laughed, lighting a cigarette.

"So what do you propose then?" Justine crossed her arms and began tapping her foot.

The man paused, as he took a quick puff, then said, "Echo 1, 5, and 7 will be on the first section of train, and followed by Hell on Wheels, Bombastic, and Furious. We'll also need a coach or two, to carry the other witches in. And I hope you girls are up for on the move gunnery." He chuckled.

Lillian pulled back the bolts on both of her M2's and held them up Rambo style. "I dual wield these babies in air to air combat. How hard could it be? Besides, the Bomber Witches will always get through."

"Well you've got determination, I'll give you that. Just try to be fluid and adapt to the situation if it should change." He dropped his cigarette, and snuffed it out with his boot. "6th Armored Division, mount up, and move out!"

"The war's not going anywhere..." Stephanie laughed to herself.

Soon the Shermans were locked into place on the flatbed cars, with Echo platoon at the front, Furious, Hell on Wheels, and Bombastic in the middle, then Roadblock and Dragon's Jaw on the rear guard. Though they probably wouldn't need a flamethrower, it was kept on the rear of the train just in case. The crews hopped into their tanks, after restocking ammunition and loading their coaxial machine guns with armor piercing incendiary rounds. Flatbeds with quad mounted anti-aircraft guns were also mounted, for the sections of track that breached the surface. As an extra precaution, the train was powered in the center by an armored class 57 0-10-0 steam locomotive, which would serve as protection for the bomber witches, and the main engine. As the tank crews mounted their vehicles, Stephanie and Lillian powered up the train, shoveling coal into the firebox as the vacuum brakes were released on all cars. "Alright girls, here we go!" Justine called out, as the groaned and lurched forwards. The heavy laden caravan trundled down the bend, towards the tunnel that would lead to Zoologischer Garten. The crew of Furious popped their heads out of their hatches, just in time to see the burning Firefly next to the entrance. "Don't worry Halo 10," The commander said. "Your death will not be in vain." They saluted, before disappearing into their hatches again, as the darkness of the tunnel engulfed them.

Meanwhile, at Zoologischer Garten, the seven other Bomber Witches paced through the station, while Marshal Georgy Zhukov looked on doubtfully. After what seemed like an hour of waiting patiently on the platform, they felt the ground rumble, increasing in intensity, until a horn sounded, and lanterns illuminated the tunnel. The witches watched in awe as the train of tanks and railcars rumbled into the station, screeching as the brake engaged. They came to a halt at the platform, the air brakes hissing as the train stopped. The doors of the yellow train cars opened, revealing the other witches in the passenger carriage. "All aboard!" Stephanie said happily from the armored locomotive, as the seven girls boarded the trains. Zhukov stayed behind with some of his men, as his IS-2's engine rumbled outside. He saluted them, doubtful as he was, and the trains were loaded up. Justine was on the second train with Furious, as she closed the doors. The brakes disengaged, and the peculiar train accelerated, rumbling off into the darkness.

"Well, I have to trust them." Georgy said to himself. "The Bomber Witches have to get through. And they will. Or else we're all doomed..." He put his hat on, and walked outside to his command IS-2, mounting the tank and settling in the commander's hatch. "This is Marshal Zhukov. All heavy tanks, fall back to Seelow Heights. This is a precaution, in case things take a turn for the worst." He said over the radio.

Down below the streets of Berlin, the Kleinprofil trains rumbled through the tunnels, the tanks creaking on their flatbed cars. They rounded another turn, as Jamie called out, "We're coming up on Wittenbergplatz, keep your eyes peeled." Suddenly, the fluorescent lights in the station began to pop, one by one, and the lighting diminished. "That's not good…" Jamie muttered. "Keep your guns at the ready, be on the lookout for anything. All tanks, turn your searchlights on!"

The dimly lit station brightened up, as the Shermans and Churchill lit up the tunnels with their lights. Suddenly, a small red glow was seen in the distance, as Furious turned their lights on it. A small Neuroi, possibly a scout, shrieked at them and began racing down the rail line. "Echo 1, pop that sucker!" Furious yelled.

The M4A1 turned its turret, and fired an armor piercing shell from its 75mm gun. The shell struck the Neuroi, claiming Echo 1's first kill. But the shot echoed into the darkness, alerting the Neuroi hiding ahead of them. A slight rumbling was heard, as it grew, louder and louder, climaxing to a screech. "Oh." Echo 1's commander said fearfully, as another train appeared out of a siding, and began speeding away from them, firing lasers as it attempted to escape.

"Shields!" Jamie yelled, as the witches put their shields up in front of the train. "Lil, Steph, full speed ahead! Maybe they'll lead us to the hive!" The train began to pick up speed, groaning under the weight of the Shermans, as they pursued the Neuroi. As they began to close in on the enemy train, Jamie's voice came over the radio again. "Ok, here's the deal: all armored tanks are forbidden to fire until I give the order. There should be a switch up ahead, at which point the enemy train may change tracks. You cannot fire while they're in front of us, or we'll collide with them. Once we get alongside them, then you have permission to tear them to shreds."

"In other words, play it smart." Roadblock's commander stated bluntly.

"6 o'clock, more damn Neuroi. We're sandwiched in between them!" Dragon's Jaw yelled as a swarm of black creatures began catching up to the vanguard. "Commander! Permission to fire?"

Without waiting for Jamie's approval, Furious responded. "Light 'em up. Let 'em have a taste of your morning breath, Dragon's Jaw."

"Hehehe…" The gruff tanker chuckled to himself, connecting a line from the napalm tanks to the Crocodile's flamethrower. "It's like Christmas morning…" He said, as a blue pilot flame ignited, and the napalm fuel surged forward out of the gun. Upon contacting the pilot flame, the incendiary fluid ignited, lighting up the tunnel with fiery destruction. Like an angry dragon, the Sherman Crocodile began burning the enemies to ashes, but they kept on coming despite that. Meanwhile, at the front of the train, the snake-like Neuroi changed to an adjacent track, as the tanks came alongside it. "All tanks, prepare to fire!" Furious barked, as the Shermans turned their guns towards the enemy. Neuroi in humanoid form emerged from the cars, firing lasers out the windows, just as Bombastic targeted them and fired an explosive shell. The 105mm shell didn't have very good penetration, but it had just enough to pierce the rail car and explode, sending the car up in flames as it came apart and went tumbling down the tracks behind them, taking a few more of the swarm with it. "Good shot, Bombastic!" Jamie called out, as they picked up speed and closed in on the midsection of the enemy. Here, Echo 1, 5, and 7 fired their guns, ripping apart another railcar with their explosive shot. But the enemy weren't giving up that easily, as the portion of track ahead was exposed, and they raced out onto an open track. The sun was still managing to shine through holes in the overcast sky, and a swarm of aerial Neuroi was patrolling overhead.

Jamie muttered something under her breath, before ordering Bridget and Natalya to engage them with the anti-aircraft guns. Uncovering the dual mount Bofors on the extra flatbed cars, they hopped into the seat and began loading the dual mounted 40mm flak guns. Pauline took the opportunity to jump into the Browning .50 cal quad mount, and began traversing her sights skyward. As the enemy patrol noticed them and began diving, Natalya let out a burst of high-explosive fragmentation shells, shattering the first two attackers. Pauline targeted the second group, managing to kill four more as they tried to hit the Churchill. Even Furious started firing, with their .50 caliber machine gun, downing two more Neuroi just before they re-entered the tunnels.

"Bridget, Natalya, Pauline, get back here!" Jamie barked as the three witches made their way back to the front. Just then, the train shook as Hell on Wheels lobbed another shell at the enemy train, causing it to explode and tumble into a support.

"Shit!" Furious yelled. "More speed! We gotta move, or the tunnel will collapse on us!"

The steel caravan plowed on, as the tunnel crumbled behind them. Stephanie was shoveling coal like mad, as Lillian carefully monitored the gauges. They just barely managed to make it into the next section of track, as the tunnel behind them was barricaded by rubble. More Neuroi appeared in front of the train, and Echo 1 fired a shot to distract them, as the metal stampede rushed on through. They ploughed through the enemy, killing them upon impact.

"Damn, they nearly got us…" Jamie remarked as she caught her breath.

"No shit." Justine coughed. "Where are we now?"

"We should be at Bülowstraße now." Jamie said, looking at her map. "We'd better dismount here, and continue on foot. I have a feeling they're nearby."

The train reached the Bülowstraße platform, and stopped as the witches got off. The tankers got out, but wouldn't be much use on foot as they only had small arms weapons and sub-machine guns. Keeping this in mind, Samantha memorized the tank crew's radio frequency, and told them she would signal if they needed help. The witches walked further into the tunnel, darkness enveloping them. Once or twice a harmless rat would skitter by, and it was difficult to hold fire, especially for Esther. Rounding a curve, they saw a red glow in the distance, followed by a low growl as it was clearly aware of their presence. Jamie held her hand up, signaling them to stop as Natalya pulled out her M1911 sidearm pistol and sent a .45 ACP cartridge right through its head. The sound echoed in the tunnel, but not as much as a .50 caliber machine gun would.

"Probably a scout." Natalya smirked. "Better to fire a small round at it then to let it get away. Risk assessment, you see."

"We're not out of the woods yet, stay on your toes." Jamie snapped. They went a few more meters further, before an intense red glow blinded them. As their eyes adjusted, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that this was the core. The red hexagonal sphere was like a monument to the evil that plagued Berlin, but how could they stop it? There were Neuroi nests all around it. One wrong move would leave them in a huge firefight, and needless to say, the witches had better experience in air combat than ground combat.

"Alright, what's your grand plan, Doolittle?" Justine asked.

"Here's what I think. We can't fly in this narrow space and bomb them, and there's no way a bomb would reach them this far down if we dropped from above. So, as much as I hate to say it, we'll have to use the train…" Jamie's voice trailed off.

"It's actually not a bad idea." Justine began. "The Sherman uses a radial engine which runs on high octane aviation fuel, so it's extremely flammable. Not to mention the M4A3 (105) has all that high explosive ammo. But how will we get the crews to agree?"

"As cruel as this sounds, we're at war. And we must do what it takes to end this conflict." Jamie stated flatly. "Let's get back to the train."

A few minutes later, at Bülowstraße, the witches explained their strategy to Furious' commander. The other tank crews were present as well, and their ears were red hot. "You want us to do WHAT?!" Furious yelled at them. "After all we've been through, you want us to destroy our tanks?! We have to survive, there needs to be something to remind the people what we went through here today. And… besides, our tanks are the places we grew up in as men. They're our homes…!"

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Jamie glared at him. "It's either your tanks, or an entire army. Your tanks, or an entire army dies. Pick."

"But it's suicide…" He laughed nervously.

"Don't worry." Justine stepped in between them. "I'll use my Drone Strike ability to remotely drive the train into the tunnel. Thelma, Pauline, rig some explosives to the fuel tanks."

"Roger." They replied solemnly, entering the tanks and applying detonators to the inside of the tank.

"The rest of you, take the stairway and get to the surface. Notify Zhukov of our plans if he hasn't already ordered an evac." Justine ordered.

The other witches nodded, and escorted the tank crews up to the surface, but the army of liberators was miles away by now. Although they did manage to find a bus in the station, which they borrowed in the absence of their bomber units.

Meanwhile, the blond Liberion was trying to focus all of her energy, as she managed to start up the train's engine and get it going. Her mind was filled with the visualization of the steam cylinders and pistons, powering the train and sending it forwards as she clutched the detonator switch in her hand. The train snaked around the bend, and she jumped off near the opening to the Neuroi hive. "Good luck." She said, patting the tanks and the train. The effect of her ability decreased as distance increased, so she concentrated, and sent it full throttle down the tracks. It took a while to build momentum, and as the wheels screeched and sparked, the Neuroi appeared to be waking. There was a growing screech, a cry of panic and fear as they tried to attack the bomb-laden train. Justine jammed the throttle wide open, and ran back to the platform as fast as her legs would take her. Counting down the seconds in her mind, she visualized the train as it struck a wreckage, sending one of the Shermans lurching into the core. Just as she neared the stairway, Justine pressed the detonator, as the volatile aviation fuels in the tanks erupted in flames, igniting the ammunition, and setting off a chain reaction that filled the tunnel with fire. It was visible too, as Justine raced up the steps, and realized she had no way to get out of the blast range. Just then, she heard her name being called from a distance.

"Justiiiiiiiiiiiine!" A voice called out.

"Wha-?" The blonde girl said confusedly as she was caught up by something, or someone, and began gaining altitude as the subterranean core exploded violently, leaving a humongous crater where it used to be. Coming to the realization that she was a thousand feet in the air now, Justine looked up to see who her savior was. "You really are one crazy son of a bitch. I wish we had more of you." A redheaded girl said to her with a smile.

"Roberta…?" Justine said in surprise.

"Yes?" The emerald eyed witch responded curiously.

"Thank you…" Justine whimpered, tears beginning to roll down her cheek.

"We're sisters in arms, we protect each other." Roberta smiled as the other witches joined her with their bomber units. Stephanie and Lillian brought Justine's units, and slipped her feet into them as she started up and hovered with them. Just then, they looked at the ground, as the blackish texture began to fade away, exposing the roads and the soil of Berlin once more. The buildings returned to their normal colors, the grass was visible again, and even the ugly structures that once plagued the city began to disintegrate away like snowflakes in sunlight. Down below, several of the IS-2 tanks loaded high explosive shells, and fired them into the air, exploding as the army saluted the witches, cheering like teenagers at a concert. The bomber witches had finally done it. They had rid Berlin of the Neuroi, and the threat was no more. People could return to their homes soon, and rebuild what was lost in those five years of war.

As for the witches, Roberta smiled at her companions, as they group hugged and began flying back to Brittania, smiling the whole way as the setting sun gleamed off their faces. Upon reaching High Wycombe, they were greeted by fireworks, and air crews rushed to meet them as they touched down on the tarmac. The crowd was ecstatic, as the witches managed their way through, getting to the commander's office by some miracle. Entering Curtiss Lemay's office, they smelled the familiar smell of his hand rolled cigars as he turned around in his chair. His solemn face was surprising at first, as Roberta reported loudly, "Mission accomplished, General Lemay!" The other witches saluted him, as his straight face broke into a smile.

"Welcome home girls. You've done a tremendously good job today." Curtiss announced, saluting them back. "Go enjoy yourselves, there's a huge party going on in the mess hall, something about an 'end of the war' or whatever." He chuckled.

The girls excitedly ran out the door, as Jamie held it open for them. Just as she was about to leave, however, Curtiss cleared his throat, and she stopped short. "What is it, general?"

Curtiss picked up something on his desk, and walked over to the window. "Jamie Doolittle, you've done an outstanding job."

"Thank you sir." Jamie responded, walking closer. "It's my duty and my pleasure."

"Well, I only have one more request of you, now that the war is over." He smiled, and looked her in the eye as her gaze met his. Kneeling down in front of her, he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a lustrous diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

Jamie was ecstatic, and without a doubt in her mind responded, "Yes! Absolutely!" Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks as she held Curtiss close and kissed him.

Meanwhile, down at the mess hall, the party was ten times what it normally was, and the band was playing louder than ever before. They had good reason to celebrate now, as the witches were among them once more, having completed their last mission. Before they knew it, Esther and Roberta were pushed onto the stage, as the band was playing a familiar tune. Roberta recognized it, and winked at Esther as they waited out the instrumental part and held the microphones to their mouths.

"Soft lights, and eyes that promise sweet nights

Bring to my soul a longing, a thirst for love divine

In dreams I seem to hold you, to find you and enfold you

Our lips meet and our hearts, too, with a thrill so sublime

Those cool and lipid Green Eyes!

A pool wherein my love lies

So deep that in my searching for happiness, I fear

That they will ever haunt me

All through my life they'll taunt me

But will they ever want me?

Green Eyes, I love you."

They both ended with a wink to each other, as the crowd went wild and cheered for them.