Finally, after a long, long time, we arrived. Middle East. The biggest oil aggregation in the world. And by last two years, place where Chinese were doing what they wanted.

Federica: And this is why we arrived here.

Yes. To kick the Chinese out of the place. Egyptians are the ones to help you with this. And Minna.

Minna: Yes?

You have a meeting with someone from Egyptian Army.

Minna: Me? Wait, what…

Let's start the chapter!

Chapter 19

,,Guardians of the Middle East Pt.1: Defending Giza"

October 20, 2022

13:22

Coalition base 'Anubis', Giza

After a long journey, 4th School Fleet finally reached Egypt. However, due to the destruction of Alexandria by O.D.I.N. year prior, all School Carriers were forced to move to Greece, which was already liberated by Coalition. After that, soldiers from schools were transferred to various bases, mainly in Sinai Peninsula, from where the offensive had to start.

"Welcome to Anubis Base"Michael said, as he, Will, Tiffany and Shirley came out of the Blackhawk.

"It's pretty big"Shirley stated.

"Yeah. It has to fill in over fifty thousand soldiers"Will added.

They all looked around, seeing number of Egyptian soldiers in the base. Others were unloading too, with Egyptians helping them.

"This will be our home for some time, so better get used to this heat"Tiffany said to Shirley.

At this moment, a soldier came up to them. However, as Shirley noticed, the soldier was dressed in different uniform than the Egyptian, with a white flag with two blue belts and star on his arm.

"Captain Johnson"the soldier said"Captain Cohen and captain Malak wants to talk to you".

"Tell them, that we'll all come soon"Michael said to the soldier.

He walked away and Shirley looked at Michael.

"He wasn't Egyptian, right?"she asked.

"No. He was from Israeli Defense Force"Tiffany replied"It's strange to see Egyptians working with guys, with which they fought for over seventy years".

"Yeah. Egypt and Israel went to war with one another many times, since Israel was created"Will added.

"And who are these captains Cohen and Malak?"Witch asked.

"Captain Annika Cohen is from IDF High School. We often did joint trainings with Israeli, this is when I met her. And Abla Lina Malak Abir Gusen is one of the first girl to join Egyptian Army High School"Michael explained.

Shirley looked at him with confusion.

"Why one of the first?"she asked.

"Because before, in Muslim countries, only men were allowed to join Military High Schools. However, in 2019, Saudi Arabia let women to join them too. Egypt was second to follow. Then Kuwait and United Arab Emirates"Will explained.

"Why? I heard, that Islam prohibits these things to women".

The three simply threw up their arms.

"Times change. And cultures too"Tiffany said.

Meanwhile, Linchov helped Pokryshkin carrying an ammo box.

"What kind of ammo is inside?"Pokryshkin asked.

"Missiles for RPG. And yeah, I would prefer carrying normal ammo too"he replied.

The two put the box among the others. Linchov rubbed his hands and looked at the Orussian Witch. He then scratched back of his head.

"Hey, listen"he started.
"Yeah?"Pokryshkin turned to him.
"When we end with all this unloading everything, maybe we could go for something to eat in Cairo?"Linchov asked.

Witch looked at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Where did that come from?"she asked.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just…"the Russian thought about it for a moment"Sorry that I was evading you so much. I want it to be something like…meeting you closer, I guess?"

Aleksandra rubbed her chin and finally nodded.

"Why not, actually. I would like to meet you closer too"she said.

Linchov then nodded and turned around. Witch didn't saw a smile forming on his face.

14:03

Anubis Base main briefing room

After the unpacking was over, all 4th School Fleet adjutants and their companions gathered in base's briefing room. There, they waited for Annika and Abla.

"So. Before they come, we need to talk"Saltarski said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What do you want to talk about?"Crystal asked.

"About the current situation in Europe. Especially about the Arsenal Bird"he said.

There was a moment of silence, before Janos said:

"Didn't we talked about it?"

"Yes. But we have to find a way to destroy it"he stated.

But before he ended to say it, Michael already shook his head.

"Remember about the Nitrosium shield. Nothing can break through it. Even ballistic and cruise missiles can't break it"he said.

"How did you know?"Anton asked.

"We tried"Michael said.

Before 4th School Fleet left Europe, USS James Madison fired cruise and ballistic missiles towards Arsenal Bird. However, none of them did any damage to the giant machine.

"Yeah…Anyway. Any other ideas?"Crystal asked.

But before anyone could answer, the door opened and two girl entered the room. First of them was dressed in Israeli uniform and had blue eyes and blonde hair. Second had a darker skin, chestnut hair, green eyes and was dressed in Egyptian uniform.

The two stood in front of the others and smiled.

"Good to see you here"Abla said.

They came up to everyone and shook hands.

"Long time no see, huh?"Annika said to Michael.

"True. Really nice to see you again"the American replied.

Israeli and Egyptian looked at the adjutants. Next, they stood at the podium and turned the briefing room screen.

"Okay, guys. I'm sure you didn't heard a lot about our doings after the liberation of Sinai?"Abla asked.

"Well. We were too occupied by liberating South America, landing in Europe, taking back France and being stopped at Fulda Gap line"Anton counted.

Annika scratched back of her head.

"Right"she said"Anyway, although we didn't moved further than Sinai, we still made some progress".

On a screen behind them, map of Levant appeared. Next, it zoomed at some place in Syrian desert.

"After Sinai, we did several offensive actions. Especially in Syria and Jordan, where Chinese were preparing forces to start advance towards Cairo. Fortunately, our intelligence managed to give us this info"Abla said.

"And after that, we sent our paratroopers to take care of their supply lines and thanks to this, Chinese stopped their preparations"Annika added.

"So this is all what you were doing?"Helena asked.

But both girls shook their heads.

"No. We were also doing some other actions"Israeli said.

"Many Chinese officers lost their lives by this year since Sinai liberation"Abla said.

Then, photos of around seventy officers in Chinese uniforms appeared on the screen. Some of them didn't looked Chinese, but Arab and also European.

"Thanks to this, we also managed to slow down their counteroffensive, if they planned any"Annika said.

"This is from our side. And did you had anything interesting stories to tell us?"Abla asked.

All 4th School Fleet adjutants looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Next, they again looked at their Egyptian and Israeli counterparts. The two didn't knew, what this meant and gave asking looks.

"What's so funny?"Annika asked.

"We'll show you"Linchov said"Follow us."

After these words, they left the briefing room.

14:36

Anubis Base canteen

In the canteen, Witches were eating a dinner. Ardor Witches and Wilma joined them too.

After the newly arrived Witches joined Military High Schools too, they also landed in various types of armed forces. Federica, Fernandia, Luciana and Martina signed up to Italian Armed Forces High School Armored Corps. Suwa and Nakajima joined Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, while Takei joined Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces. Patricia and Jane joined Artillery Corps in British and US Army. Wilma joined British Army, like Lynette. And Dominica joined as a pilot in USAF.

Angela joined Army too, but situation with her was like with Matilda in case of Storm Witches. When 4th School Fleet passed by Iberian Peninsula, Angela went to Spanish Military High School and joined it.

"I heard, that Egypt is hot, but not that much"Dominica said.

"Well. It's already Autumn"Minna said"So it's better, that we get there now, not in Summer."

"Maybe you're right"Takei agreed.

Then, Minna noticed, that someone's missing.

"Where are your Romagna Witches?"she asked.

"They're still training with their Centauro"Takei replied.

After joining Italian Armed Forces High School, Witches of 504th landed as a crew of one of B1 Centauro tank destroyers. And honestly, they were pretty good as a tank destroyer crew, although they didn't participated in any battle yet.

"Hope they won't break anything. I don't see myself paying for destroyed things"Takei said.

Right then, adjutants entered the canteen, accompanied by Abla and Annika. The two looked around, not knowing why they were brought here.

"What you wanted us to see?"Abla asked.

"Well. You see all these girls around?"Saltarski asked.

Annika and Abla nodded.

"Well. Girls!"Janos said.

Witches looked in their direction.

"Abla, Annika. Meet the Witches!"Natalia said.

In that moment, Witches activated their familiars. Seeing this, both Egyptian and Israeli jumped back from surprise. They looked at 4th School Fleet adjutants, surprised by their calmness. All had smiles on their faces.

"What the fuck is happening?"Annika asked.

"We're gonna tell you everything, but first…"Anton said and turned"Minna!"

Strike Witches commander stood up and came up to them.

"You want me to meet this two?"she asked, standing next to Anton.

And immediately, she became speechless. Abla actually did the the same. And all of this because…Abla was Minna's double. Only difference was Abla's darker skin and chestnut hair. Everything else, like in other cases, was the same.

Annika also was looking at it, not able to say anything. Again, she noticed, that adjutants aren't surprised at all.

"But…how?"Abla finally asked.

"Well. I actually should expect to meet my double one day"Minna said.

Abla looked at adjutants.

"What really is happening here?"she asked.

"Let us explain"Michael said and started.

Some time later…

As Michael ended, both Annika and Abla were both surprised, scared and shocked by what they just heard.

"Alternate WW2?"Annika asked.

"Yes"Linchov said.

"With aliens instead of Third Reich?"Abla asked.

"Yup"Kozue said.

"And Witches are humanity's only hope?"

"Aha"Saltarski replied.

"And some of you are their doubles from this world?"

"Exactly"Helena ended.

Again, the two looked at Witches in the canteen.

"Well. I never believed in Multiverse Theory"Annika said"But now…"

"You get used. Really"Crystal promised.

"Okay. I think I need to get used to seeing myself with wolf ears"Abla said, smiling.

"And I need to get used to see myself in Arabic form"Minna replied.

Both Egyptian and her Witch counterpart erupted with laughing.

"Okay. Hope you already made yourself comfortable in the base?"Abla asked.

"Yes. We already unpacked and hid our things in our temporary rooms"Minna replied.

"Good. You can be helpful in throwing Chinese out of Middle East"Annika said, smiling.

"You can be sure about that"Minna said.

Annika turned to Michael:

"So. See you tomorrow during exercises."

Next, she and Abla simply left the canteen.

"Okay, people. The day is free for us, because real training is gonna start tomorrow"Michael said.

"What we can do then?"Lucchini asked.

"Whatever you want"Linchov said"But with mind, of course. Nothing too crazy, what will end with us paying for destruction."

"Sure"Witches said.

After this was said, everyone started leaving the canteen.

17:48

Pour Vous Roof Top Bar

Doing what Michael said, Witches decided to do something in Cairo. Some decided to visit pyramids and Sphinx, while others simply went to Cairo. Some were visiting landmarks and others went to several bars and clubs.

Shinigami Squadron and several other Fusoan Witches went to the bar they were in now. It was placed on top of one of taller buildings in the city. Almost all members of the Squadron were sitting at one table. Except of one: Misaka. She was sitting at separate table, not letting anyone to sit with her. She only had several drinks with her.

Other members of the squadron simply looked at her.

"You think she's gonna be alright?"Osamu asked.

"As I said in Rmastein: we'll see"Sakamoto replied.

She looked at Takei, which was sitting next to her. After Ardor Witches 2IC joined JASDF, she was assigned to Shinigami Squadron, due to the death of Kotaro. However, because there were only six Shinshins in the school, and Kotaro had one of them, Takei was granted F-2.

Right then, waiter brought a tray with their drinks on it. He put them on table and walked away.

"Anyway. What are the plans for next few days?"Takei asked.

"We have to do some trainings and then, start offensive towards the Iraq and Iran. Plan simple, but we should see how execution will look like"Sakamoto replied.

Takei took a sip of her drink.

"So…I wanted to ask you earlier, but, but I didn't had occasion. What were you doing by all this time in Military High School?"she asked.

"Well. Many things"Sakamoto replied and started counting"Studying, training and fighting in war. However, also, some Witches discovered their new, unknown talents."

Her friend tilted head.

"What talents?"Takei asked.

"Many. For example, I discovered, that I'm very good in fighting games"Sakamoto replied.

"Yeah, she threw off of my Mortal Kombat podium"Osamu said"I was Fighting Games Champion three years in a row."

"And then, Maj came"Shinzo added.

Takei smiled. She didn't knew, what Mortal Kombat is, but she knew, that Osamu is keen and really hardcore gamer.

"And Sadako, for example, turned out to be amazing DJ"Sakamoto continued.

"What do you mean?"Takei asked.

Sakamoto turned.

"Sadako!"she called.

Sadako stood up and left the table, at which she was sitting with Keiko and Hiakri. She came up to Shinigami table.

"What is it?"she asked.

"Takei would like to see, how good DJ you are"Sakamoto replied.

Sadako replied with smile and nodded.

"Sure thing"she said.

Next, she turned around and went towards the DJ console, on the second side of the roof. She came up to the current DJ, leaned over and whispered something to him. DJ took off his headphones, gave to her and backed off. Witch took his place.

And immediately she started to do, what DJ do, not loosing the rhythm of the previous one.

Light-Jerome

Takei simply looked at this in awe. She knew, that Witches were there for a long time, but didn't expected one of them to be as good in such things.

"Wow. She's good"Takei admitted.

"I know. Since she started her job in our school night club, party never stops there"Etsuko said.

Once again, everyone looked at Misaka. With both surprise and fear they noticed, that from around seven drinks she had, five were empty and she was drinking sixth. However, before she took a sip, she fell on her table and started snoring.

Shinigami Squadron members looked at each other.

"I think it's enough for her"Etsuko said.

"I noticed, you know"Osamu said"Maybe I'll try to take her back to base."

"Yeah. She drunk too much"Sakamoto said.

Osamu stood up and came up to Misaka. He pocked her, wanting to wake her up. She looked at him and simply returned to sleeping. Boy sighed. He picked up sleeping girl and decided to carry her back to base.

"Hope she won't beat him up"Shinzo said.

"Yeah. I don't want o pick him up from hospital"Sakamoto replied.

Next, they all started laughing,

18:21

Costa Coffee

Linchov and Pokryshkin were sitting in the cafe, drinking tea. By all this time, they didn't spoke a single word. They only looked at each other. From time to time, they smiled to each other.

And finally, Linchov said:

"Why did you even joined military? I mean, in your world."

Witch looked at him and took another sip of her tea.

"That actually is a duty of all Witches. To join military and fight in case of war"she replied.

"Huh. In Russia, we have obligatory recruitment. But only up to 20% of right age group"Linchov said.

Pokryshkin looked at him.

"And why did you joined military?"she asked.

Linchov only threw up his arms.

"Because my father wanted the tradition to continue"he replied.

"What tradition?"

"In my family, since it's very beginning, the firstborn son joined the army. My great-great-great grandfather fought in Russian-Persian War of 1796, great-great grandfather fought in Crimean War, great grandfather fought in World War 1, grandfather fought in Great Patriotic War and my father and I fought in World War 3."

"That's a long history of military service"Witch stated.

Linchov nodded in response.

"I know. And my family is proud of it"he said.

Witch put down her cup and her elbows on the table. Next, she put her face on her hands.

"I have to admin. I would never think that talking with you can be so relaxing"she said.

"Many people told me this"Linchov said, throwing his arms up.

Aleksandra nodded and asked another question:

"And what is your hobby?"

"Well. I really like Metro 2033"Linchov replied.

"Yeah, I know. I saw in your room"Aleksandra replied.

She's been in Linchov's room several times, when she wanted to talk with Sanya. They were two only Orussian Witches in this world and she thought, that they should often be close to each other.

But after a short time, Aleksandra felt more confident in the school and this idea was thrown into the bucket.

"And what you like to do?"Linchov asked.

"Let me think…I like reading. Training with other Witches. And flying with my Strikers"she replied.

"So things that you might like in your times".

Witch nodded her head.

And then, she noticed, that Linchov nervously knocks his cup with his finger. She tilted her head and looked at him.

"Is something…bothering you?"Aleksandra asked.

Linchov looked at her and stopped knocking the cup.

"Actually, yes. There is another reason why I invented you here"he said.

He put his cup down and looked deeply into Aleksandra's eyes. She simply waited for what he had to say.

"You ever wondered, why I was evading you?"he asked.

"Yes"Aleksandra replied shortly.

"I was doing because…Well"Linchov gulped, before saying"I like you."

There was a moment of silence between the two. They simply looked at each other, don't knowing, what to do next.

"You…like me?"Aleksandra finally asked.

Linchov nodded.

"Then why was you evading me?"she continued to ask.

"It's because…I was not sure, if you would like to be with someone like me"he replied.

Witch tilted her head, thinking about what Linchov just said, then asked:

"Why would you think like that?"

"There are few reasons. You're a beautiful and smart girl. I'm not someone, who would be besieged by girls like you"Linchov explained.

And then, much to his surprise, he felt girl's hand on his cheek.

"You know what? There's a problem"Aleksandra said.

"What kind of problem?"Linchov asked nervously.

She moved her face closer.

"I'm not like other girls"she said.

And then, without warning, she put her lips to Linchov's. Boy simply widened his eyes in surprise. But well. He couldn't say he didn't enjoyed it.

"Hmpf"Linchov scuffed.

Aleksandra stopped kissing him and asked:

"What is it?"

"Maybe better don't kiss me here"he proposed.

Not knowing what he meant, she tilted her head again.

"Why?"she asked.

"Look around."

Witch did what he said and saw many man looking at them with unpleasant looks.

"Why are they looking at us like that?"

"In Islam, showing feelings in public is not interpreted in right way. And that kiss was probably too much"Linchov explained.

In that moment, waiter came up to them.
"Sorry for disturbing you, but may I ask you to leave this place?"he asked and walked away.

The two looked at each other.

"I warned you"Linchov said.

"Okay, let's go"Aleksandra said, grabbing his hand.

They left the cafe, not looking at man, sending them more unpleasant looks.

21:53

'Anubis' base

Saltarski and Hisako were standing next to Humvee, with their backs on it. The two looked around the base.

"You see them anywhere?"Saltarski asked.

"Nope"Hisako replied.

Boy shook his head.

"Where the hell are Janos, Natalia, Pierre, Chris, Lynn and Abla? They should return a long time ago"he said.

The said people went to visit the pyramids. And since the afternoon, they simply disappeared. Nobody saw them returning and so, general Nagy asked Saltarski and Hisako to wait for them. But if they won't return until 22:00, the two had a right to go sleep.

"What if they simply ran away?"worried Hisako asked.

But Krystian shook his head again.

"They aren't the types of people, that would run away from the military. At least, they spent almost all of the war with weapon in their hands"he stated.

"I know, I know. But it's pretty suspicious, that they're gone for so long"Saltarski replied.

Hisako yawned in response.

"Okay. Better let's go to sleep. We look for them tomorrow"she said and turned.

"Maybe you're right."

Krystian turned too and followed Hisako.

22:12

Anubis Base Air Section, Perrine & Saddam's room

Both Perrine and Saddam were laying in their beds in the base. De Gaul Squadron spent the free time they got in Infantry House Bowling Center. From all pilots in the squadron, Saddam got the best score.

"I have to ask. Where did you learned to play bowling so good?"Perrine asked.
"Dad was a keen player. He often took me to the bowling and tough me everything"Saddam replied.

"Good for you"Witch admitted.

She then turned around, preparing to sleep.

"Perrine"Saddam said.

"What?"

"You like to look into stars?"

Witch smiled. Saddam liked to ask such questions. Some people even said, that he could be a good philosopher. But honestly, Perrine knew, that he's better as a pilot.

"Sometimes. And why do you ask?"Perrine replied finally.

"You know. I'm just curious"Saddam replied"I like to do it, because it makes me calm. And let me think about something else, than trying to survive another day on the frontlines."

"True. We need something, what let us think about other things"she agreed.

"And especially in such a hard times. But I guess, you have harder times in your world"he stated.

"You could say it like that. Neuroi are not as hard enemies as China, actually"Perrine stated.

And then she understood, that it was true. Neuroi were fierce and hard enemies, but after all this time she spent here, she stated, that Chinese are more keen on fighting and killing others. She heard, that by first two years of war, Chinese already killed over fifty million people. Almost the same number Neuroi killed by five years of war.

"Anyway. Good night"Saddam simply said and also turned.

Few seconds later, he was snoring. Perrine simply did the same.

05:30

But few hours later, she was woken up by some shouts in Arabic. They were coming from speakers placed outside the base. She looked around, looking for her glasses.

When she found them and put on her face, she noticed that Saddam isn't sleeping and put's his boots on.

"Where are you going?"she asked.

Boy looked at her.

"You don't hear it?"he asked.

"Only thing I hear, are just screams in Arabic."

Saddam nodded.

"Exactly"he said.

"What are those screams?"

"Call to morning prayer"Saddam explained"Every Muslim must pray five times a day."

"And why are you dressing up?"

Algerian looked at her again, with smile on his face.

"Remember, that I'm a Muslim too. So I have to pray five times per day too"he replied"So see you later, Per."

He stood up and walked out of the room. Perrine, on the other hand, simply threw up her arms and laid back down, to sleep, unfortunately, just one more hour.

06:38

Another sound ripped Perrine out of her dream. However, this was something more known for her, than an Arabic call to prayer. She immediately knew, what it was.

Air raid siren.

Witch jumped out of her bed and started to dress up. When she ended, Saddam jumped into the room.

"You're ready?"he asked.

"As you can see"Witch replied.

He nodded.

"Good. Follow me, then."

Without hesitation, the two left the room and ran towards hangar. On the way there, Perrine caught up with Saddam and asked:

"What is happening?"

"Our radars detected a number of Chinese aircraft approaching the base. They want every available pilot in the air as fast as possible"Saddam explained.

"Well. So better get ready for fight"Perrine stated.

"I agree."

Few minutes later, the two entered the hangar, where other pilots were already preparing to take off. Shinigami and Jäger Squadrons already were on their way towards the runway. De Gaul Squadron was just preparing.

When Saddam and Perrine ran up to the rest of the squadron, Henri threw their helmets to them. They caught them and quickly entered the Rafales.

"Alright people. Chinese decided to finally move their asses. They're coming here with bombers"Charles said.

Henri whistled.

"Bombers? We haven't got those in awhile"he stated.

"I know, tight?"Laura replied"So it's time to take down some more of them."

Squadron already taxed on the runway and waited for confirmation from the tower.

"De Gaul, you're cleared for take off. Don't let those bombers take you down"tower said.

"Copy that. De Gaul, taking off"Charles confirmed.

Six Dassault Rafales then started to lift up, until they were in the air again. They quickly joined with Shinigami and Jäger.

"Good that you joined us"Sakamoto said.

"I know. But enough of this. Let's better focus on enemies"Charles proposed.

"I agree"Florian added.

In that moment, everyone started to get radar signals. Green dots representing enemies were in bigger numbers for sure.

"IFF signals confirm these planes to be Dassault Rafale, J-10s and F-15s"Osamu reported"Enemy bombers are signed as Tu-95 and B-1B Lancers."

"Great. So we have equal chances with them"Charles stated.

"True"Sakamoto agreed"De Gaul, you take care of enemy Rafales. Others, let's take care of F-15s, J-10s and those bombers."

"Copy that"Florian reported.

"On it"Charles said.

Soon, they all locked their missiles on enemies. Everyone pressed the firing button and missiles flew towards the enemy formation. Some of them scored hits, but much of Chinese pilots dropped flares and chaffs, which countered the missiles.

"Shinigami Squadron, engage!"Sakamoto ordered.

"Jäger Squadron, engage!"Florian ordered.

"De Gaul Squadron, engage!"Charles ordered.

Sakamoto then turned to Takei:

"Be ready. It's your first fight."

"I think I can handle it"Takei replied.

"Let's see."

And so, the fight started.

Saddam managed to land behind Rafale, firing his gun at Chinese. Enemy pilot tried to evade, but it seemed, like he didn't even knew, how to use the full potential of French aircraft. In addition to Saddam.

He performed Barrel Roll, at the same time firing his gun. Bullets pierced the sheathing and soon, enemy fighter exploded. It's wreck flew towards the ground and crashed next to the Sphinx.

"Wow, that was close"he said.

"Yeah. Maybe better try not to fight them over such ancient structures. We don't want to destroy them"Charles said.

"Let's try then"Henri said.

He landed behind another Rafale and took it down with a few bullets in the engines.

Takei then dropped behind F-15. She fired her gun and saw bullets hitting the plane. However, F-15 suddenly bounced left, leaving Takei on collision course with Rafale. She pulled her pilot stick and bounced left too.

However, sever bullets fired by Rafale managed to hit her.

"Takei, everything's okay?"Sakamoto asked.

"Yes, it's okay"Takei replied"I just still can't feel this plane."

"I had the same about Shinshin"Sakamoto agreed.

She then sat on tail of F-15 and fired her gun. Bullets shredded the back stabilizers and aircraft turned and flew towards the ground. Janette dropped behind another Rafale and managed to take him down with her gun.

"Tower, what about the bombers?"Janette asked the tower.

"They're still coming. We're also trying find out, what kind of bombs are they carrying"tower replied.

"Hope that not nuclear"Laura said.

"I hope the same"tower agreed"So pray for that."

"Copy"Charles replied.

He then landed behind another Rafale and send a wave of bullets towards him. Enemy aircraft was shredded into little pieces. Florian and Luca 'sandwiched' another F-15, while Erica used her ability to precipitate enemy fighter out of rhythm and shot him down. Markus simply fell on F-15 from the top.

"We're beating them up!"Markus said.

"For now!"Florian replied"Be prepared for Arsenal Bird pulled out from their sleeve!"

Smile disappeared from Markus' face.

"And you broke all the fun, Flo"he said to his commander.

But Florian was already occupied by another enemy fighter, which landed behind him. Fortunately, Etsuko saved him by dropping behind enemy fighter and fired her gun at him, bringing him down.

"Thanks"Florian said to her.

"No problem, Flo"Etsuko replied"Sorry, but I have more stuff to do now."

As she said that, she bounced right and landed behind another enemy fighter. Chinese pilot tried to escape her, but Etsuko performed High Yo-Yo and before enemy pilot noticed, she was falling on him and bullets pierced his canopy.

"Nice one"Takei said.

"Thanks"Etsuko replied"I can do more, if you want!"

Meanwhile, Misaka flew behind F-15 and quickly took him down. Not thinking a lot, she jumped on another target, with the same result. Two more fighters found themselves on the way of Misaka's bullets. Soon, they were falling down, covered by flames and smoke.

Others only watched it in awe.

"Where and when did she learned this?"Shinzo asked.

"We should ask her later"Takei proposed.

"I don't think she would like to talk to anyone"Sakamoto stated.

Misaka shot down another three enemies and landed behind fourth.

"At least, she still does her job"Osamu noticed.

Right then, everyone got news from the tower:

"We just managed to find out, what these bombers are carrying."

"So tell us"Florian said.

There was a short moment of silence, before tower replied:

"Bio-weapons."

Pilots, if they could, they would look at each other.

"Bi-weapons?"Charles asked.

"Isn't it conflict with Geneva Convention?"Sakamoto asked.

"It's China"tower simply replied"They have UN and all conventions deep in the places, where Sun doesn't reach."

Witch sighed.

"Okay, so what type of bio-weapons are they carrying?"she asked.

"Let me check…"tower said"It seems like these bio-weapons are bombs filled with…Coronavirus?"

There was another longer moment of silence between pilots. But outside their cockpits, sounds of gunfire and explosions was heard.

"Coronavirus?"Takei asked"What is it?"

"Two years ago, this virus appeared in Chinese city of Wuhan. It managed to spread from China to few other countries, but the vaccine was created and larger epidemic was stopped"Florian explained.

"Of course, before vaccine, the virus killed many people. But, fortunately, we stopped it from spreading further"Osamu added.

"However, Chinese said, that all of virus' presence in China was eliminated in 100%"Saddam said"And well. It seems like they lied."

"Nothing strange in case of Nian's rule"Luca stated.

Sakamoto simply shook her head.

"Okay. So better stop them from starting another epidemic of this virus"she said.

And as she said that, first bombers were noticed on the horizon.

"Alright. Florian. You will take care of the bombers"Skamoto stated.

"On it"Florian replied"Let's do it, people."

Four Typhoons left the battle and flew to take care of the bombers.

"O shit"tower suddenly said.

"What is it?"Takei asked.

"We just detected enemy transport planes, following the bombers"tower replied.

"Are they filled with paratroopers and vehicles?"Henri asked.

Tower was silent for a minute, before it gave the shortest answer possible:

"Yes."

Henri palmed his face.

"Just great"he said"That's everything we needed."

"Easy. We can take care of that"Charles said and connected with Florian"Florian, we have transports following the bombers. They're yours too."

"Copy that, Charles"Florian replied"Erica, Markus. Take care of the transport planes. We take care of bombers."

"Copy that"Markus replied.

"You go it, boss!"Erica replied.

The two then departed from the rest of the squadron and passed by the bombers, to take down the transports.

Shinzo dropped behind F-15 and fired one of his missiles at him. Enemy fighter changed into fireball, which crashed into another F-15.

"Hah! That's what I like to see"Shizno stated.

"That was even…cool"Takei agreed.

And this was the time when she noticed one thing: she finds it entertaining, fighting other people.

"You got this feeling?"Sakamoto asked.

"What feeling?"Takei replied.

"That fighting other people is entertaining"Sakamot replied"We all felt this feeling. For the first time, it was terrifying that it's entertaining for us. But after more and more battles, we simply stopped to pay attention to it."

Takei gulped. If it was, true, then she maybe truly shouldn't pay attention to this feeling. But it was too strong.

"Just focus on fighting. And this feeling will stop occupying your head"Sakamoto said.

She then dropped behind another F-15 and few seconds later, the fighter was shot down. Saddam and Henri 'sandwiched' another Rafele and saw it falling down. Florian fired his gun at the cockpit of B-1B and brought the bomber down, but he barely evaded fire of Tu-95 tail turret.

"That was too close"he said.

"I know, right?"Luca asked.

He then flew toward the Tu-95 that fired at Florian and fired his gun at the cockpit of it, bringing it down, like Florian did with B-1B.

"Great shot"Florian commended.

"As great as yours"Luca agreed.

Erica then used Sturm, to break one of transport planes out of it's way and it flew towards the ground. Markus fired his missile at second transport, which hit in it's back, destroying it's loading ramp. Next, Markus saw a tank flying out of the transport plane, with several paratroopers with it.

"They surely won't be dropping them anywhere"Markus said.

"But there are still more"Erica noticed.

Takei sat on tail of F-15, which flew in the direction of pyramids. It flew between them, with Takei following him. She fired her gun, with several bullets hitting pyramid.

"Oh, come on"Takei whispered.

She made a tight turn, evading the pyramid and not crashing into it. She again fired her gun, this time scoring hits on enemy fighter. When she around hundred bullets, F-15 started to fall down in flames.

"And stay like this"she said"Well, I actually start to like it."

"Told ya"Sakamoto said.

She then landed behind another F-15 and used her gun to bring it down. Osamu and Shinzo 'sandwiched' another fighter. Charles evaded gunfire from enemy Rafale and made a quick, tight turn to land behind him. Next, he used his gun to bring him down. Florian flew behind another bomber and used his missile to destroy it's tail and bring it down.

"How are you doing with those transports?"Florian asked the rest of his team.

"There is a little problem"Erica replied.

Florian rolled his eyes.

"What problem?"he asked.

"They decided to drop their soldiers and vehicles earlier. We're currently shooting down paratroopers and vehicles down. Transports decided to run"Markus explained.

"Damn it"Florian said"Okay. Destroy as many as you can in the air. Then, start to make their life hard on the ground."

"On it"Erica confirmed.

She then fired her gun at line of paratroopers. Their parachutes lost the air and Chinese soldiers started to fall down. Markus did the same with one of tanks and soon, several tons of metal started to fall towards the ground.

"Tower, this is captain Marder. We have enemy ground units landing and approaching Giza"Florian reported"My pilots will try to soften them up as much as possible."

"Copy that, captain"tower replied"Preparations are just starting."

"Understood. Keep them out of Giza and Cairo"Florian said and ended.

Next, he attacked Tu-95 from the top and bomber started to fall down. Janette and Laura 'sandwiched' another Rafale and then, they flew towards separate enemies.

"How many enemies left?"Janette asked.

"Around twenty"Sakamoto replied.

"Hope we can handle it"Takei stated.

Response was simple laugh from Mio's side.

"We handled such groups of enemies before"she replied.

"Hope you know what you're doing"Takei said.

"Of course I do."

"You always say that. Remember when…?"

"Girls, is it a good time for chatting about good old times?"Shinzo asked.

There was a silence between two Witches.

"Alright, you're right. Let's finish this and then we can talk"Sakamoto agreed.

As she said that, her gun fired a series at F-15, which quickly eliminated it from fight. Takei followed her.

"Ladies and gentleman, we've got news. Enemy Ace just appeared in the airspace. Violet Twelve"tower said.

"Copy that tower. Whoever get's the Ace, have others founding all his drinks by the next month"Sakamoto said.

"Copy that. It's gonna be me!"Henri exclaimed.

He then flew in the direction of enemy Ace, witch was J-10.

"What is it with this Ace?"Takei asked.

"Whoever gets Ace, have additional bonus. For example, he gets drinks founded by the others"Sakamoto explained"It's not easy to take down Ace and this is why are they so important to take down. I have three on my account."

"Shit, shit, shit!"Henri exclaimed.

When others looked in the direction of Henri, they saw him being chased by enemy Ace. His Rafale was clearly damaged, as flames were visible on his wings.

"We turned for literally five seconds!"Charles exclaimed.

"What can I say, he's really good!"Henri replied.

He then evaded another wave of bullets. However, several managed to score hits on his sheathing.
"Alright, can someone save Henri?"Saddam asked.

"I'll do it"Takei proposed.

She then turned towards Henri and Violet Twelve.

"Takei, wait!"Sakamoto exclaimed.

But Takei was already on her way to meet with enemy Ace. When she reached him, she dropped behind him and opened fire. Her bullets flew towards enemy pilot, which evaded them with ease. Next, enemy Ace performed Cobra and landed behind Witch. She used her shield to block the incoming bullets. Next, she performed Cobra herself.

"No you don't"she stated.

Takei performed Cobra herself and again was behind enemy Ace. She fired again, but Chinese started to do Barrel Rolls.

"You like doing it in that way?"Takei asked.

She then started to do Barrel Rolls herself and bullets started hitting the Ace. Enemy pilot tried to bounce left, but Takei was following her.

"Damn it!"Chinese Ace exclaimed.

"Don't even try running"Takei said.

Right then, Chinese stopped doing Barrel Rolls and performed Cobra again. Takei again used her shield to stop incoming bullets.

She then looked at the pyramids and idea popped in her head.

"If you want me, then catch me"she said.

Next, she flew towards the pyramids. As she predicted, Ace followed her. She started to fly around the pyramids. Ace was trying to copy all her moves, but few times his wing scratched the rocks pyramid was made of.

"His really obstinate on shooting me down"she thought.

She then changed her way of flight. Ace, blinded by the will of killing her, didn't noticed her trick.

Takei suddenly bounced left. Violet Twelve the saw pyramid wall approaching him. He tried to flew up, but it was too late.

J-10 changed into giant fireball, as it flew into pyramid. It's wreck simply rolled down the pyramid's wall.

"And you go down"Takei said.

She then joined the rest of Shinigami Squadron.

"You're first Ace"Sakamoto said"Great job."

"Hope Egyptians won't want money for the damage you just did to that pyramid"Etsuko said.

"Hope"Takei agreed.

Sakamoto landed behind another enemy fightert and managed to bring it down with her gunfire. Shinzo and Osamu 'sandwiched' F-15 and then destroyed two more. Misaka took down J-10 and then changed her target onto F-15. Charles and Janette managed to score two more kills, while Perrine used her ability to destroy another three enemy fighters.

"How many of them are still in the air?"Charles asked the tower.

"We're still detecting around twenty more"tower replied"I'm sure it's not an issue for ya, right?"

"Not at all"Charles replied.

As he said that, another enemy fighter was struck down by him. Laura and Saddam followed him, while Henri performed Cobra and landed behind another Rafale. He fired a short-range missile and scored another kill.

"How is it on the ground?"Laura asked.

"What? They haven't reached Giza yet"Erica replied, firing her gun at enemy troops and vehicles approaching their base.

She made another run and her bullets eliminated another group of enemies. One of enemy airborne tanks turned her AA machine gun towards her and fired, but she used her shield to evade it. This distracted the tank crew, which let Markus to fire missile at it and destroy it.

Florian and Luca managed to destroy more bombers. Finally, they turned around and decided to run.

"Tower, bombers are already routing. Coronavirus danger is coming back to zero"Florian reported.

"Good to hear it. Take care of remaining enemy forces and return back to base"tower replied.

"Understood"Florian said."Luca, let's help the others with fighters."

"On it, bro"Luca replied.

Two fighters turned back towards the main battle, leaving Markus and Erica behind, dealing with enemy ground units.

"Take good care of them"Florian said to the two.

"You can be sure"Markus replied, firing his gun at enemy armored car.

Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Takei again landed behind enemy fighter and brought it down with a machine gun.

"Okay, people. Let's get the hell out of here"Chinese commander ordered.

All remaining enemy fighters then turned around and started to run. However, Coalition pilots didn't wanted to let them escape.

"Perrine, you can do it, right?"Saddam asked

"Do what?"Perrine replied.

There was a moment of silence.

"You exactly know what"Saddam said.

Perrine simply nodded, although Saddam couldn't see it. Next, she activated her Familiar again and soon after, thunders flew towards the remaining Chinese fighters. Before they could orientate, thunders hit them, deactivating their systems and immediately destroying some of them. Fighters started to fall down, until they hit the ground and exploded.

Seeing their complete defeat in the air, Chinese ground troops stopped. Much to their relief, fighters harassing them from the beginning stopped firing at them. They knew, that without air support they can't do anything. From one hundred soldiers and fifty vehicles that had to land, now only twenty soldiers and ten vehicles left. They knew it's gonna be a suicide mission, but they didn't knew, that this will end like this.

"Wǒmen zuò shénme? (What do we do?)"one of soldiers asked.

"Tóuxiáng (Surrender)"his commander replied.

Then, some Chinese soldiers started to lay down their weapons. Some hesitated, but after looking at enemy fighters circling over their heads, they changed their minds.

"Tower, the remaining enemy ground forces are surrendering. Send someone to pick them up"Erica said.

"Copy that. Sending troops for them"tower replied.

All Coalition pilots then started to simply look around the former battlefield. Everywhere, they could see burning wrecks of Chinese planes. Pyramid, in which one of them hit, now had a giant trail of burning parts on it's walls. Some wrecks also crashed into nearby ruins.

Sakamoto then changed into her and Takei's personal frequency.

"So. How do you feel after your first battle?"she asked.

Takei was silent for a minute, before she replied:

"If I have to be honest, it actually is like you said. Just focus on fighting enemy fighters and it actually can be really thrilling".

"Exactly. But now, we have to do some maintenance. So better let's get back to the base"Sakamoto said and turned her aircraft around.

All fighters did the same and were now preparing to touch down.

08:21

'Anubis' base

Fighters already landed in the base and pilots exited the cockpits.

"Well, morning battle never killed anyone yet"Laura said, with smile on her face.

Others looked at her, with confusion on their faces.

"It had to be a joke"she said.

"I think we didn't got it, you know"Takei replied.

"I was saying, that it didn't killed anyone of US yet"Laura explained.

Now, everyone understood.

"So why didn't you said earlier?"Saddam asked.

"You know what? Never mind"Laura said.

Right then, a person approached them. Much to everyone's surprise, they recognized her as general Tanagowi.

"What is general Tanagowi doing here?"Osamu asked"Shouldn't she be on the carrier?"

General then stood in front of them.

"Well. I can only say, that you did the mission good"she said.

"Sorry, sir"Sakamoto said"but what are you doing here?"

"Simple. Together with Vsiliyev, we have to be in charge of our operations in the Middle East. Hope you don't mind"Tanagowi replied.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Great. Because, as I said, we're going to be stuck together by all this time"general continued"So. I want you to go with me now".

All pilots looked at each other.

"Why?"Shinzo asked.

"Because I have to show you the calendar of all your missions for the next three days, including today"Tanagowi replied with smile.

In response, all pilots groaned.

09:04

'Anubis' base, Infantry Part

Meanwhile, in the Infantry Part of the base, Saltarski was checking the state of ammo for Polish soldiers. As he was doing that, Hisako approached him. She patted his arm.

"What is it?"Saltarski asked, not looking away from his list.

"Well…"Hisako said"Better look at this.

Saltarski finally lifted his eyes and looked in the direction Hisako was pointing. And he almost widened his eyes from surprise.

In the main gate, he saw the group that went to visit the pyramids the day prior. However, except of Janos, Natalia, Pierre, Chris, Lynette and Abla, they saw a group of people, dressed in old bandages and wearing something resembling old Egyptian clothes.

The two approached them.

"Where the hell have you been?"Saltarski asked"And who the hell are they?"

Janos approached him and patted his arm.

"I'm going to tell. But be ready. It's really crazy and twisted story, you know"the Hungarian said.

Next, the whole group went to the base, with Hisako and Krystian still confused about what they just saw.

XXX

Finally, the Battle of Giza is done. Now, when I finally started the Middle Eastern adventures, I can assure you, that it's gonna be the longest of the different Arcs so far. And after it's over, we go back to Europe.

Abla: You return back to Europe with useful knowledge.

Abla. Please, without spoilers. Everything is going to be revealed as the Arc progresses. So everything is gonna be explained. Just wait.

Takei: We know. But if this Arc is so important, why won't you say why?

I already said why: Because many important story stuff is going to happen here. That's why, girls.

Takei: But…

Anyway, that's all for today! See ya!