Strike Witches: Black Masks

by MetaKnight0011

Teenagers have been disappearing since July 2011, July 2012, & recently in 2014. Where they disappeared to is anyone's guess. Once the teens arrive in their new world, wearing all black clothing & gas masks & special necklaces, they are given magical abilities & weapons to help protect the world. Let's join one small group of them as they, along with a famous unit, save the world.

9. Chapter 9: Lonely No More

Date: June 1st, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

"Yes sir. Major Sakamoto, Captain Mitchell, and a supplementary member named Yoshika Miyafuji have arrived." "As usual, we'll be treating her as a sergeant." "We're certainly thankful for the increased manpower." "Especially hearing that the Neuroi attacks are becoming much more irregular." "It's true sir. Their intervals seem to be gradually narrowing from their usual weekly pattern. Increasing our numbers should help." "I doubt we'll be able to leave things as they are." "With all due respect, I refuse to have arm-chair theories imposed upon us." In a large room, four people are talking. Two are behind a desk that has three chairs. The other two are in front of them.. The two at the back are older males with one having short black hair, a moustache, and brown eyes while the man on his left seems more older. He has short grey hair and is almost balding. He has brown eyes. They are wearing black suits, white shirts underneath, and black ties. One of the other two is a young woman who has long dark red hair, red eyes, and is wearing a dark green uniform jacket with a small black ribbon, red panties, and brown shoes. On her shoulders are yellow patches and there are two small patches on her downed collar. The last one is wearing an all black outfit which consists of a helment, gas mask with the filter being where the mouth is, long trench coat, gloves, and boots. Around the neck is a gold necklace with a plane hanging from it.

The brown-haired man grunts and slightly glares down at the girl and BM. They stare back at him. The eldest of the four clears his throat. "All we're asking for here is results." "And you'll have it, sir." "Rest assured that Britannia's skies, along with the rest of the world's, will be protected by the Strike Witches and Black Masks." The redhead smiles.

...

The sky is dark blue and the sun is barely getting up. Inside a room with one large bed next to a window and a dresser is someone laying under the covers. They make a noise. "Hmm.." They bring their arms up, stretching. The arms go back, moving the covers off of the person, who is Yoshika. She's wearing a blue kimono.

She opens her eyes. "Huh?" She brings herself up. She yawns. She looks to her left and sees the window. She widens her eyes and removes the covers off of her. Yoshika gets close to the window and looks out of it. She sees water and land, along with a bridge that connects the castle base to the land. "Oh that's right. I joined the Strike Witches."

Around the same time...

In another room, a person gets off a large bed and stretches. They yawn. The person is only wearing grey boxers, a gold necklace with a plane hanging from it, and bird mask. He looks out a window. "It's been a month and a couple of days since I showed up. Still new to this." He feels his shoulder and chest. "Being shot at while saving them... Hope they're okay."

He walks to the dresser in the room and opens a drawer. "Let's get this day started." He brings out a black shirt and slips it on. He puls out a black jacket, pants, and a long trench coat. He also puts on some socks and finally the black boots. "Today's the day we are officially introduced to the new girl Major Sakamoto and Captain Mitchell brought. I'll also get officially meet them."

Outside the base, Mio and Keita are at a rocky beach. Mio gets up while swinging her sword. "Hah!" Keita is just on his knees and meditating. They're wearing the white uniform jacket and regular BM outfit. Mio does a downward swing and then a downward diagonal slash. "Mmm." She spins, brings her katana up, bringing her left hand up to the bottom of the sword's hilt, moves around, and brings the hilt close to her head with the tip of the blade pointed at what's in front of her. She then prepares to slash downwards again.

Yoshika, now in her siefuku, is a couple of feet away from them. The BM wearing the bird mask tagged along with and is next to her. "Sergeant Miyafuji." "New recruit." Mio brings her arms down and turns to the two. Kieta gets up and looks to them as well. "How are you doing today?" "Did you sleep okay?"

The two look at them. "Yes." "Same. Also-" "Not right now." "Uhh... Major Sakamoto, Captain Mitchell, do you always train this early in the morning." Yoshika asks while being a little surprised. Mio laughs. "Of course. The three of us are in the Navy now, you don't have to call me Major and him Captain." "Yes ma'am." She pauses, then talks again. "Sakamoto and Mitchell then?" Keita nods. "That's better." "This is the frontline. We muyst always be prepared for an enemy attack and train as often as possible." "It's our key to survival." "The frontline?" Mio chuckles. "Oh come on. Don't give me that scared look. You definitely have what it takes. Our training together will ensure that you are ready for anything." Yoshka gets determined and bows. "I'm counting on you." She brings herself back up and smiles. And you can count on me.

The new BM looks at Keita. "So, I'm to be trained as well?" Keita chuckles. "Of course. I know the others traine dyou for a while after you've woken up. So, like them, I'll be training you. You better be ready as well." "Yes sir." The recruit salutes.

Behind one of the windows of the base, two small white stars shine. Behind the window is the blonde Perrine, who is only in a blue shirt with frills and white panties. She is looking through a telescope that has two viewing pipes at the four. She growls. "Who does she think she is? She's getting closer to the major everyday. Uggghhhh... that is not okay!" She jumps away and turns around. She brings her fists to her chest and is glaring.

In a room with six desks that have three chairs each, several people are sitting down except for one who is napping on a desk. The dark redhead walks in the middle of the room, followed by the BM who was with her at the meeting with the higher-ups, Yoshika, and the BM with the bird mask. They walk by the farthest desks which are occupied by the silver-haired girl who is sleeping with her arms hugging a black pillow which she is resting her head on on the right desk and Lucchini who is sleeping on the left desk. The middle desks are occupied by Perrine who is looking at Mio sitting on the desk in front of her, a BM who has his arms crossed and on the desk, and the bright redhead who is leaning against her chair on the left while on the right is the light brunette who is waiting for the introduction. Perrine glares at Yoshika. They reach the end of the room where two large boards are seen. The dark redhead and BM stand behind a podium.

The girl in the dark green uniform jacket claps her hands. "Your attention please. Good morning. A quick announcement. In case you haven't gotten to meet her yet, this is our new recruit." "Major Sakamoto and Captain Mitchell brought her to us from the Fusō Empire. Her name is Yoshika Miyafuji." Yoshika bows. "Thank you for having me. I've been looking forward to meeting all of you." "Miyafuji's rank is sergeant, the same rank as you, Lynn. So would you mind getting her settled in?" Lynn the light brunette, gasps and looks down. "Yes." Yoshika looks at her. "Good. Also, our new Black Mask here has finally decided to talk." "Now please, introduce yourself." The bird mask looks at everyone. "I'm George Taylor. I am sorry for not talking to any of you. I was a bit shy but thanks for training me." "Now all the documents, clothing, rank, insignia, and identification you need are in here." Yoshika looks to right and sees a brown box with her surname on it. On top of it is a pistol, a Walther PPK. She frowns. George looks as well and above Yoshika's box is another that, surprisingly, has his name on it. He looks to the BM next to the dark redhead. He must've looked at my plane necklace while I was either in the infirmary or when I was sleeping after I got out. He sees the same gun as well on his box.

"Excuse me." The dark redhead turns to her. "Yes?" Yoshika takes a few steps to the two and picks up the pistol by the top of it and hands it to her. "I um... won't be needing a gun." "Well, I hope not but you should keep it with you in case you do." Yoshika looks away. "Sorry. No thank you. "Right." The BM next to her gets the pistol and puts it away in a pocket within his trench coat. Mio laughs while having her right hand rest on her left hand. "She fascinates me." She opens her eye and brings her arms down. Perrine scoots back and looks to Lucchini. "I don't get it. What do you think of her?" Lucchini slightly opens her eyes. "Huh?" Perrine gets up. "That's it!" She walks away and leaves the room.

The dark redhead closes her eyes and smiles a little. "Well then, I certainly didn't expect that to happen." "I guess individual introductions will have to wait until later." The dark redhead gets serious. They say at the same time, "You are now dismissed." Everyone gets up. They look at everyone. The girl in the dark green jacket closes her eyes and leaves with the BM following her. Yoshika looks to them and the others. She does a few times before someone grabs her chest from behind and starts squeezing. Yoshika gets nervous and the person fondling her chest is Lucchini who is smiling. Lucchini is only wearing a white uniform jacket, blue-and-white striped panties, and white shoes. George immediately looks away. The bright redhead leans forward and places a hand on the podium. Behind her is a BM who looks out a window. She's wearing a brown uniform jacket, white shirt, green tie, light blue panties, and dark brown shoes. She has a smile as well. "So?" Lucchini slightly frowns. "Consolation prize." The platinum-blonde watches while sitting on a desk. She's wearing her blue uniform jacket with the cyan belt that has two bags, white leggings, and white boots. "Lynne's are so much bigger." She looks down to her right at the said girl and chuckles with a teasing smirk. Lynne widens her eyes, blushes, and closes her eyes while leaning her head against the desk. She's wearing a black sweater, light brown vest, white shirt, green tie, white panties, green-and-red knee high socks, and black shoes. The bright redhead laughs. "You can never compete with this." She holds up her buxom chest. Yoshika just looks at her, nervous, while Lucchini yawns.

Feeling it's safe, George looks back again. "Hi there. My name's Charlotte Yeager. I'm a flight lieutenant from the United States of Liberion. But you can call me Shirley." Shirley offers her right hand to Yoshika and George. "Hi." "Hello." Yoshika goes to shake her hand first but flinches when Shirley tights the grip. She lets go and does the same to George, who doesn't flinch. She laughs and puts her hands to her hips. "You need to eat more if you expect to get bigger." Lucchini yawns again and walks into Shirley. She lays her head on her chest. "I'm so bored." The platinum-blonde greets the two while having her hands on the sleeping silver-haired girl. Behind them is another BM. "I'm First Lieutenant Jack Bobkov from Orussia and Suomus." "I'm Eila Ilmatari Juutilainen, Suomus Air Force ensign." The two look down to sleeping girl who is wearing her black-and-white shirt and dress mix, a brown belt with a small bag, black leggings, and brown shoes. "This is Sanya Litvyak, an Orussia Army lieutenant." Lucchini turns to look at Yoshika and George. "Francesca Lucchini, Romagna Regia Aeronautica ensign." The BM behind Shirley and Lucchin turns to look at them. "My name is Camillo Morgan. I'm a flight officer of Romagna." Yoshika bows. "I'm pleased to meet all of you." "Same."

"Alright, that's enough of the introductions. Time to get ready for duty." "Lynne, George, and Miyafuji will begin training this afternoon." Keita and Mio look at them. Yoshika straightens up. "Ma'am." "Excellent response." Mio smiles and turns back to look at Lynne. "Lynette: begin by showing Miyafuji around the base." Lynette also straightens up. "Yes, ma'am. Okay." She gets up and walks to the center of the room. Yoshika walks to her. George looks at Mio and Keita. "Is it okay if I join them?" The two look at each other and back to him. Keita speaks. "Yes, but don't do anything." "I won't, sir." He walks to the center with Yoshika. "I'm Yoshika Miyafuji. Thank you so much for helping me." "I'm George Taylor." Lynette looks at them while blushing. "It's my pleasure. My name is Lynette Bishop." Yoshika looks at her.

The three walk through a hallway with many large windows. The center of the floor is covered by a long red-and-yellow carpet. "So, have you memorised the room locations, Sergeant Miyafuji?" "Yeah, pretty much." "After I woke up from my long sleep, it took me quite a while to memorise everything." The three walk next to a door. They stop and Lynette gestures to the door. "Well, this one's my room." Yoshika gasps. "Really? No way! That means we're neighbors." "Oh, is that so?"

Yoshika opens a door and walks in while holding her box. "It looks empty." "Pretty much like mine." "Yeah, it's because I don't have anything yet." "I know a good place to go for furniture and other things you might need. It's kind of far but I'd be happy to take you there sometime." Lynette smiles a little while Yoshika goes to put her box on her bed. Yoshika turns to look at her and smiles. She closes her eyes and claps her hands together. "Wow, thank you. Do you think this place will have a really big pot that I can buy for cooking?" She opens her eyes. "..." "Sure, but, is that all you want?" "Seems so."

The three are in a room with along table, several chairs, a chimney, small portraits, picture frames, candles, and vases. "And this is the kitchen and dining hall." The open doorway next to them shows only a few cabinets with some dishes stacked together between them. "Wow. Who gets to be on cooking duty?" "We have someone who does it regularly but every once in ahwile we let everyone make their own ethnic cuisines." Yoshika gasps excitedly. They walk to the open doorway Thre are several pots of different sizes and colors on shelves and a stove. There is a large can next to a counter at a corner opposite of the doorway. On some counters there is three vases plus a bottle and small basket. Yoshika looks around while George and Lynette watch while being next to the doorway. "Wow. I can make some really great stuff with all this." "So I guess you're a really good cook, huh?" Yoshika turns to look at them. "I wouldn't say I'm good. But I like cooking and I like what people eat what I make."

They walk into the bath. A big statue of a woman in robes with wings is in the center of the water on a platform that is spilling water. They walk down a small set of stairs on the left. There is also another set of stairs on the right. On the wall that connects the railings of the stairs is the emblem of the 501st, which is several brooms gathered in a shape of a five-pointed star. Two ribbons are seen, one on top and the other on the bottom. Below is a bush. There is also some showerheads on the left side of the large room. In the water is Shirley who is leaning back against the edge while enjoying the hot water. Her hair is tied up in a ponytail. Yoshika gasps and gest red when she sees her, mostly looking at her bare chest. She brings her left hand close to her open mouth. George immediately looks away. I didn't see anything...

The three walk to the gun range which has tall metal fences, tall concrete walls, short stone walls and a long area of mud. By the short stone walls is Mio who is chatting with Perrine. Next to them is Keita who is aiming his Type 99 Mk II machine gun at a target at the far end concrete wall. Lynette points at the targets while talking. Yoshika looks over and gets surprised, gasping again. George looks over as well.

They later go and see the short-haired blonde girl standing still and smiling while people in a small crowd take pictures of her. She has blue eyes and is wearing a black uniform jacket with silver patches on her shoulders and a small silver eagle on her right breast, dark green dress shirt, and dark brown shoes. Another girl, a brunette, and a BM stand by a wall watching. She has long dark brown hair tied in two tails with small black ribbons, brown eyes and is wearing a long grey uniform jacket with a small yellow patch on her left collar and a black ribbon, white shirt, white panties, and short black boots. The Black Mask next to her is wearing the usual BM outfit. Yoshika asks, "Who is that?" "That's Lieutenant Hartmann. Her shoot down count reached 200 recently." "200?!" "Wow..." Yoshika gets surprised by this. She brings her right hand near her mouth. "Wow. So I guess you guys have been fighting the Neuroi for a long time." "Captain Barkhorn, next to her, shot down 250. The man next to her, Captain Meyer, brought down 265. Lieutenant Colonel Smith's number is 155, and Commander Minna's count is over 160. Without the five of them, this place would have been conquered by the Neuroi a long time ago." "That's incredible." "That is... hard to believe..." "On top of all that, they also have special magical abilities and are protecting many people's homelands at the same time. The witches and Black Masks are really amazing, aren't they?" Yoshika is looking at the three with amazement in her eyes and looks at Lynette. "But the only thing I know how to do is heal people." Hold on... She can heal? "At least you can do something. All I do is slow everyone down. I can't do anything." "Aww that's not true." "She's right, Sergeant Bishop." Lynette sighs. "Alright, let's keep going." She turns and Yoshika brings up her hands. "Uh..." "Watch where you're..." Lynette walks into the wall corner they were next to. "Going..." Lynette goes to hold her head. "I'm sorry." "It's okay, silly." Yoshika smiles a little while George just sighs while silently chuckling.

Up in the tallest point of the base, a tower in the center, the three look out around teh castle. "Wow. That's amazing." "This the highest point on the whole base." "So the whole island is the base then?" Yoshika is holding the small railings with her hands. The wind is blowing against their clothes and hair. "Yeah, we're right off the strait of Dover. It looks really small from far away. And if you look over there, you can see Europe." Lynette points ot her right, where the continental Europe is seen. The two look where she's pointing at. "Unfortunately, the majority of it has fallen into the enemy's hands." Yoshika looks at the continent. It's so quiet here and there's a war going on...

"You can run faster than that!" George, Lynette, and Yoshika run on the long runway. Mio watches them with a serious look on her face. She has a shinai in her right hand with the tied take resting on her shoulder. Keita is next to her with his arms crossed. "Miyafuji! Tell me what you see in front of you?!" "The sea!" "Lynette! Tell me, what's beyond the sea?!" "Europe is, ma'am!" Keita speaks. "What's the situation in Europe, George?!" "It's being occupied by the enemy!" "That's right!" "It's up to you to regain that territory! The only way you're going to do that is by training, got it?! Training, training, training! Move! What you need more than magical strength is physical strength!" "Yes, ma'am!" "You will do the same! It is the duty of soldiers to fight! You will help in this fight and regain everything that's been lost to our opponents! Is that understood?!" "Yes, sir!" "Good! Give me 10 more!" "You do the same as well, George!" "Right." "Okay." The three rest for a few seconds at the end of the runway. They run back. As they're running, Yoshika looks at Lynette and notices her chest bouncing. "Huh?" Ysohika blushes. "Miyafuji: eyes forward!" Yoshika looks forward. "Ye-Yes, ma'am!"

In a tree nearby is Francesca who is sleeping on a flag on a branch. "Hm?" She opens her left eye and closes it.

George, Lynette, and Yoshika are doing push-ups. The latter two look about ready to pass. "Two more sets!" "George: two sets as well!" Lynette rises up. "I... can't..." She falls down. "Me...Me too..." Yoshika falls down as well. George does three more before falling. "Can't...as well..." The two look at them. Mio puts her hands on her hips and sighs with Keita.

Lynette is aiming down the iron sights of a gun, which is the Boys anti-tank rifle Mk I with the muzzle break of a Mk II, while laying down on her stomach. She has her legs spread apart. Ears of a Scottish Fold cat are seen on her head and a tail of the cat is seen on her lower back. The ears, however, are straight. She pulls the trigger, and a loud bang is heard. Smoke comes out of the sides of the muzzle and quickily disappears. The noise of the shot echoes. Mio has flipped up her eyepatch is looking at the horizon with everyone else. "A little too much to the right. Pay more attention to the wind." Yoshika gasps, surprised by Mio and looks at the horizon again with her right hand above her eyes. "Yes, ma'am." George looks to her and Keita and back to the horizon as well. Lynette pulls back the bolt and pushes it back. She aims once again and pulls the trigger. The noise follows, along with the smoke. The 13.9mm round hits an orange-colored square-shaped glass that's raised by a small platform, making a hole in the upper right corner. "Good. Nice shot, Lynne." "That was perfect." "What the..." "That was amazing! Wow! I can't even see the target from here!" Lynette sighs. "I'm sorry." Mio looks at Yoshika. "Okya, Miyafuji. You're up. Get in position." Yoshika looks at her. "Uh..." She looks down, glances to Mio and back to the concrete floor. "Hmm.."

"Next thing we need is to get you trained on the Striker Unit equipment." "We'll be taking part in this exercise as well, George." The five are in the dark hanger, which has eleven Striker holders against a short wall. Perrine walks in. "Major Sakamoto, Captain Mitchell: permission to assist our new recruits?" Keita nods. "Permission granted." "Permission granted and may I say I am impresssed. Good to see you're volunteering your time." Perrine blushes. "Ah. Well, I'm happy to help and I figured it might be easier to work in pairs." "Good thinking, Perrine." The blonde brings her hands up and presses her index fingers together. "Ah." Yoshika, Lynette, and George look at her. The blonde crosses her arms. "I'm Perrine Clostermann, lieutenant of the Gallia Armée de l'Air. I've been under Major Sakamoto's care for a very long time now. You should know you're very lucky to have me accompany you." Yoshika bows. "Oh yes. Thank you so much. I promise to do my best." Perrine looks away and grunts. "Hm." Yoshika looks at her with a somewhat confused face. "Huh..."

The sun is setting and the sky is now orange. The noise of airplane engines is heard. Yoshika, Lynette, and George are laying down on the floor on the side of the runway, panting. The two girls have ears and tails of the mame shiba inu and Scottish Folding cat on their heads and lower backs. Yoshika has her left arm on Lynette's chest and her head is next to Lynne's hip. Same is said for Lynette's head being next to Yoshika's hip. George is laying next to Lynette with their heads close to each other. The three are facing upward. Perrine lands next to them on George's left side next to his legs which are inside a Striker Unit. She has Chartreux ears on her head and a tail on her lower back. Mio and Keita land a few feet away from them on Yoshika's right. Mio is holding her shinai. "Worn out already, Miyafuji?" "You sound pretty tired, George." "Well, it's your first day, that's to be expected. Though I didn't think your magic control would be so sloppy. You need to work on your basline stamina too." "And I suggest you start working on these things right away otherwise you'll continue to be a nuisance." Perrine looks away and closes her eyes. "Honestly, I think you'd be better off going home." Mio chuckles. "She a novice, Perrine. It's her first day. Don't be so hard on her." Kieta nods. "Keep on training and you'll be an ace in no time like everyone else. Miyafuji, do what Sakamoto says. Remember: throughout your training, you'll become stronger and will fulfill your promise." "Oh right. Well, there's this aerial combat technique I'm trying to perfect in case of an attack." Yoshika looks at them with her left eye since she has her right eye closed. Lynette has both her eyes closed. "I see. Shall we go up one more time then?" "Oh yes I'd love to!" "Miyafuji, Lynette: that'll be all for today." "George: you're dismissed." Keita, Mio, and Perrine fly up. Perrine looks down at Yoshika. She closes her right eye and sticks her tongue out. She points to her left eye with her left hand. She turns and speeds up to catch up with the two. Yoshika opens her other eye, looks up at the sky, and closes them again.

Date: June 2nd, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

The three newbies are flying in the air above the castle base. Yoshika seems to have trouble as she moves a bit instead of staying still while going through the sky. The three make a turn and go up.

Mio, Keita, the dark redhead, Minna, and the BM next to her, Smith, look up at the three. "She doesn't seem to be showing any improvement." "Looks like it." "She's having trouble with control but her magical powers are quite strong." "She has potential. She just needs to train more." "Lynette's doing great, isn't she? I don't know why she can't do this outside of training." "I would be happy if she did only half as well in battle." "Agreed." The two BMs nod. "Mhmm." "George seems to be doing good." "Yeah. "He's doing well after waking up from a long sleep and being trained by us for a couple of days." "He still needs to learn how to use his magical ability." "He will whenever someone gets injured." "Maybe he should see Yoshika heal someone so he can learn how." Minna and Smith look, turn to see behind them, and step away as someone screams and the sound is getting closer. The someone is Yoshika who flies past them, blowing Minna's and Mio's hair.

It is sunset and the three are in the same position as yesterday. "Good work. You're done for today." "Dismissed." The three pant. Barkhorn walks to them and places her hands on her hips. Lynette notices her. "Captain Barkhorn." Barkhorn looks down at them. "Newbie." Yoshika sits up and looks up at her. "Yes?" "Don't you realize this is the frontline? Your skills in combat are all that matters here. Are you prepared to die?" Yoshika looks down. "Well... I don't know. I just really want to help people." Barkhorn turns around. "The Neuroi aren't going to wait for you to improve your training. So if you want to survive: I suggest you become stronger." She walks away. Yoshika looks at her while being concerned.

It is night. Yoshika is sitting at the end of the runway. "Sergeant Miyafuji?" Yoshika gasps and turns to look behind her, seeing Lynette and George. The light brunette has her right hand close to her chest. "Hi Lynette and George." "You um... You found my favorite spot here." "I did? It's very beautiful, isn't it?" "Yes." "It is/" Lynette sits next to the Fusō girl on her right. George sits on Lynette's right. "I got in trouble again. I need to try harder." "I'm a little jealous of you, Miyafuji." Lynette looks down at the water. Yoshika looks at her. George does so as well. "Hm? Why?" "How come?" "Because of your ability to keep trying harder and never give up." Yoshika closes her eyes and smiles. "Wow. That's exactly what it says on my report card." "Okay then." "I don't think there's nothing good anybody can say about me. I just don't belong here." Yoshika gasps. "That's not true. I saw you. You're amazing." "She's right, Sergeant Bishop." Lynette shakes her head. "Mmm mmm. No, I'm not really. Believe me." Yoshika has her eyes closed and smiles. "Yes you are." "True." "Only during training. During actual fighting. I'm a failure. I can't even fly." Yoshika gasps again. "But if you can do that during training-" Lynette turns to them, slightly glaring. "I know it's hard for you to believe because you're so good at everything but I'm not you." She gasps and looks down. "I'm sorry about that." She stands up and runs back. They look to her. "Lynette wait." "Sergeant Bishop, please come back." They stand up as well. Minna and Smith are leaning against a stone wall near the hanger with Minna having her arms crossed below her chest. They watch Lynette run and turn back to see Yoshika and George standing at the end of the runway.

Date: June 3rd, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

The siren is heard. In a room is a large map that shows Britannia and Gallia. Minna points a red area on the map with a stick and moves a red triangle on it to the center of the English Channel. "We've received a report from the observation post. It looks like the enemy has entered the east grid, sector 114." The red triangle is within a multi-circle where the center is at Britannia, showing the location of the base. "Altitude is higher than usual. To compensate, we'll be chaning formation."

Six of the Witches and three of the Black Masks fly off from the hanger, down the runway, and go up when they reach the end wearing Striker Units. They're flying in three columns. "Barkhorn and Hartmann up front. Shirley and Lucchini will take the rear. Perrine, you're with me." "Meyer, you're at the front. Morgan, you take the back." Back at the base, Minna speaks. "The rest of you will stand by at the base with us." Several voices of the BMs and Witches are heard. "Roger!"

Yoshika, Lynette, and George look up to see the nine flyers leave. "Wow. Look at them go." Lynette looks down. "Yeah. It's great." Yoshika looks at her. "Is there anything we can be doing right now to help?" "Maybe you can but I'll just get in the way." Lynette turns and leaves. "Where are you going?" "Come back, Sergeant Bishop." Minna and Smith see Lynn run by them in the hanger. They walk to Yoshika and George. "Miyafuji, Taylor: may we speak with you for a moment?" "Uh sure." "Yes, ma'am." The two higher-ranks look to Lynette's direction. "Britannia is Sergeant Bishop's homeland." "So she's sensitive." Yoshika gasps. They look to her. "You are aware that Europe has recently fallen into the hands of the Neuroi, aren't you?" "Yes. Lynette told me." Minna looks down. "This is why it's so hard for her. You see," Minna looks back at her. "Britannia may be Europe's last hope." "And the pressure becomes to much for to handle while defending it in combat." "I understand..." Yoshika looks down. "I do too..." "So, what about you? Why did you decide to join the Witches?" "Me?" Yoshika looks up. "I want to help people who are in need and protect them." Minna chuckles. "You know, that's exactly what Lynne said when she enlisted." "Don't forget those feelings. I'm sure your desire to help everyone will give you strength." The two walk away. Yoshika and George watch them go back into the hanger. They look back to the horizon. "Hmm." Yoshika gets determined.

Away from the base...

"Enemy sighted! Attack!" "Engage!"

Hartmann, Barkhorn, and Meyer turn and dive down to attack the Neuroi with their MG42s and MG34 equipped with the Patronentrommel 34 drum magazines. Shirley, Francesca, and Camillo go down as well and stop to fire at the alien with a BAR, M1919A6, and M2 machine gun. The Neuroi's shape is similar to a wide oval. It has two swept wings on its lower sides and a vertical fin at the back. Its red beam ports are on its rear, wings, sides, and front. The ports make it look like an angry face. White smoke comes out of its back. It screeches and moves a bit. Barkhorn, Hartmann, and Meyer fly by it. It goes down. Up above the six are Keita, Mio, and Perrine, all of whom are looking down. Perrine says, "That was almost too easy, wasn't it?" "Something isn't right. I can't seem to find the core." "Having the same trouble as well." "Do you think it could be a diversion?" Mio and Keita gasp. They look to where their castle base is. "Let's go!" "The base is in trouble!"

Back at the base...

George and Yoshika are standing in front of Lynette's door. "Lynette..." George puts his right hand on her left shoulder, making her look over to him and he nods. She nods back and looks to the door. "I um... I'm terrible at magic, plus I'm always in trouble. I can't fly. I won't use a gun. What's more, I don't even care about fighting against the Neuroi. I just wantted to be in the Witches." Behind the door is Lynette leaning against it. "I want to be able to use my magic to help someone, even if it's just one person and I hope it's not." Lynette closes her eyes and looks down. "Bevcause I want to protect everyone." Lynette opens her eyes, widens them, and gasps. Protect... "I want to protect people too. Before I showed up, I saved my friends but got hurt in the process. That's why I was sleeping for so long. Also, even though I woke up, I'm still not as strong as I was before. And if I'm being honest, you are much stronger than me." Lynette's room shows a tall mirror, a large vase next to it, a small dresser with two ports with plants on it next to the vase, two portraits on the wall on her left. On her right is a small table with small flower vase, shelf with a lot of books, a basket on top of it, and above it is a flower pot with a chain hanging on to a nail near the ceiling. "That's why I keep on trying. And that's why you should too, Lynette." "Listen to her, Sergeant Bishop." Lynette turns around and places her hands on the door. She leans her head against it while having her eyes closed. A bell ringing is heard, along withe siren. "Huh?" She moves back and opens her eyes.

In a room with a chalkboard on the wall, a cabinet with three candles on it, two tables, and two long couches are Smith, Minna, and Eila. The former two look at the latter with Minna talking. "Are you saying that you, Smith, and I are the only ones who can do this?" "But what about Sanya and Jack?" "They used up all their magic during the night patrol" She brings up her hands and crosses her index fingers. She looks at them. "No good." "Right. Well, it's just the three of us then." Footsteps are heard. Someone is running. Yoshika and George stand in the doorway. "I want to go too!" "Same!" The two look at them and turn around. "Thank you, Sergeant Miyafuji and Sergeant Taylor but it's much too soon for you two to fight." "It's dangerous for you to go up." "No it's not. We won't get in anyone's way. Please, we want to help." George nods. "We'll do whatever we can up there. Just let us join you in this fight." "We cannot send someone with inadequate training into battle." "That would mean certain death. Not to mention the fact that you won't even want to shoot a weapon." Lynette runs to the room. "I'll shoot to protect someone." George looks at her and shakes his head. This is bringing back memories... Lynette stops by the doorway and looks at the two. "Uh. Miyafuji, Taylor..." "None fo that matters, Miyafuji, Taylor. You're just not ready." "But-" "Ma'am, sir-" "Then I'm going too!" Lynette reveals herself.

They look at her. "Lynette." "Sergeant Bishop." "If you let us work together, we'lll be just as strong as one." Minna and Smith look at them. They look to each other and nod. "You have 90 seconds to get ready." The three nod and say at the same time, "Roger." They all look determined.

Another Neuroi appears and flies towards the base. its body is two ovals with the back one being a bit larger than the front one. On its left, right, top, and bottom sides are swept wings that are connected by tubular objects. On the front are oval-and-diamond-shaped beam ports. The back is glowing red. Minna, Smith, Eila, Yoshika, George, and Lynette fly up in the sky wearing Sriker Units. Ears and tails of animals appear on the heads and bavks of the girls: Yoshika with the mame shiba inu, Lynette and the Scottish Folding cat, Eila and her silver fox, & Minna with a grey wolf. The two girls at the front are using MG42s while Smith is using a Lewis gun. Yoshika is wielding a Type 99 Mk II, George is holding a Madsen, and Lynette is carrying the Boys anti-tank rifle she used a few days ago. "Looks like the enemy is approaching from 3 o'clock. Eila, John, and I will move on ahead. You three stay behind and provide backup, okay?" "Right." "Right." "Understood, ma'am." "Alright. We're counting on you." The frontal three speed up.

"Miyafuji, Taylor." Lynette looks down. The two look at her. "I was actually really scared when we volunteered." "I'm still really scared." "You two aren't the only ones. This is going to be my first time seeing a Neuroi." Yoshika looks down. "I know this may sound strange but I would've been more afraid if we just stayed behind and not done anything." Lynette looks down again. "That's what I usally do." "I'd be sad if we didn't do anything." George looks down as well at the water.

Lynette gasps and looks forward. The two look at her. "What's wrong?" "What's with the gasp?" Lynette points in front of her. "Over there!" They look where's pointing and see flashes in the distance.

Minna, John, and Eila are firing at the Neuroi. Eila stops. "Missed..." The alien craft speeds by against the water. "This is by far the fastest one yet. Boom-and-zoom tactics aren't going to work. Prepare to match speed!" Minna looks at her fellow flyers. They look back at her. Eila moves her left hand gives a thumbs up. "Hmm." John nods. They turn and go down to the alien. They follow it and resume firing.

"Neuroi?" "I'm afraid so." Lynette looks at Yoshika. "This is just..." George watches the flashes. "It's coming this way." George looks at Yoshika and to the flashes. Lynette yelps and grabs her rifle. She aims down the sights.

The former three are still shooting at the Neuroi. Two small white smoke streams appear at the back of the alien. Noises are heard from it. Its center flashes and the front of it separates. Its back is glowing as well. "It's speeding up." The threee do a barrel roll to move out of the way of the ejected back half. "It's too fast!" "This is bad!"

Lynette fires three shots but keeps on missing. "I can't do it. I can't hit it." "Yes you can." "It's just like when you were in training." Lynette looks down. "It's taking everything I've got to fly. I won't have enough energy to control my shots with magic." "Fine. Then I'll support you, okay? That way you can just concentrate on shooting." Yoshika goes down and flies up between the light brunette's legs. Lynette watches her and so does George. "Huh? What are you doing? Wait. Uh..." Yoshika stops when she feels Lynette on the bse of her neck. "See ? Don't you feel more stable?" "Umm... well, yeah. Thanks." Lynette blushes and nods. "Bishop, Miyafuji, Taylor: the enemy is heading in your direction." "You're the ones we're counting on at this point. This is your moment." They heard the high-ranks say. "Right."

"West, northwest wind. Velocity: 3. And speed... Position... That's it." Lynette aims her large gun and widens her eyes in realization. If I calculate the enemy's future position after evading and use that as my target... She slightly lifts her gun. "When I give you the signal, I want you to shoot with me." "Okay, you got it." "Ready on your signal." Yoshika brings up her gun in her right hand since she's holding Lynette's left Striker half with her left arm. George goes under Yoshika and does the same except he's holding Yoshika's right Stiker half with his right arm and is holding the Madsen in his left hand. "I'm sure this is enough to help stabilize." The Neuroi speeds down to them. White streaks surround it a few times.

In Lynette's vision, the Neuroi is moving around while being shaped like a plus. It stays still while moving. "Shoot now!" Bullets from the Madsen and Type 99 Mk II machine guns fly out to the Neuroi. Lynette fires seven shots from her rifle, pulling and pushing the bolt fast. The bullets fly in a column. "Hit it!" The Neuroi moves up, dodging the first two. One flies and hits it. Two more hit and another two more find their mark. White smoke comes out of hwere the bullets hit. The last one goes through under the beam ports when it goes vertical. A red flash occurs for a second. It explodes into white fragments. Lynette smiles. The white smoke flies by them, making them move back.

John, Minna, and Eila gasp. "Lynette, you did it." "She finally took one down. You did good."

"Look at that." "You got it, Sergeant Bishop!" Yoshika and Lynette are smiling. George sounds happy. Yoshika and George are holding their guns with both hands now. George goes down and goes up in front of Yoshika. "It's gone." Lynette gets off the brunette and moves down to hug both the brunette and George. "Miyafuji, Taylor: did you see that? That's the first time I've ever been of use to anyone. And it's all because of you. Thank you so much." She says fast. Her chest is pressed against the faces of her fellow flyers. Yoshika has her eyes closed and George is facing his left. The three scream as they fall into the waters below, causing a tall splash.

They resurface, gasping for air. They laugh. "We're friends, aren't we? You can stop calling me Miyafuji." They open their eyes. "And you can stop calling me Taylor." Lynette smiles with her eyes closed. "Then you can stop calling me Lynette." "Okay." "If you say so." Yoshika smiles and George nods. "Lynne, right?" "Is Lynne okay?" Lynette nods. "Yup. Thanks, Yoshika, George." She goes to hug them again. Her breasts are pressed against their faces once more. She laughs. "Uh... I can't... I can't breathe..." "I can barely..." I hope no one sees this...

Name: Kaneyoshi Sakai Mitchell, now Keita Mitchell
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Likes: His family, drawing.
Dislikes: Anything that happens to his family.
Appearance: Black hair, brown eyes, is now wearing a black helmet, black gas mask, a gold necklace with a plane hanging from it, a long black trench coat, black gloves, and black boots.
Status: Alive
Date of Birth: August 20th, 1999
Date of Disappearance: July 1st, 2012

-To Be Continued