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.

10. Chapter 10: Thank You

Date: June 4th, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

-Flashback

Date: May 1941
Location: Berlin, Karlsland, Europe

The city is in ruins. Fires are spreading and buildings are mostly gone. All that remains are ruins covered with orange, red, and yellow lights. There are many creaters in the ground. Destruction, that's all there is to describe it.

In the dark sky above is a familiar brunette with long hair tied in two tails and is wearing a long grey uniform jacket and a pair of metal legs that look like planes. In her right hand is an MG34. She's looking down at the destruction below her. She grunts. She looks up.

Above everything is a black-and-red object, a Neuroi. It screeches. It has four hexagonal beam ports. Its shape appears to mimic that of a wide arrow. It has two protrusions at its front that go down its body and separate, making a v. The protrusions are over its front beam ports. The back ones are close to its wing edges.

Barkhorn grunts and fires her gun at it, shooting at one of the beam ports. It fires back with red beams. Barkhorn summons her shield to block the attacks. She moves around, dodging the beams while firing. With her are other familiar faces: Minna and Hartmann. With them are two BMs who are using biplane and triplane Striker Units. They're using a Lewis gun and MG34, suggesting they're John Smith and Meyer. An attack on the Neuroi from above reveals that someone else is with them. This is a person, a BM, using a Striker Unit as well but this one is a bit as it has two vertical fins on each of the two halves. This person is using an M2 machine gun, it's Camillo. He moves around, dodging beams as well.

Barkhorn shoots at it and the bullets reveal an icosahedron core. She yells. "Yeeeeaaaaaa!" She fires at the core. It shatters. The Neuroi turns white and does so as well. The small and large white fragments fall down, causing more damage. Barkhorn looks down and sees a little girl with brown hair and wearing a blue dress with light blue sleeves. She's crying.

-Flashback End-

Barkhorn jolts up, awake. "Chris, no!" She has a worried look on her face. She realizes what's going on. "Uh... Why that dream again? Why now?" She's sitting on her bed, nude, with the blanket covering only her legs. She doesn't have on her two small ribbons on her hair. Her room only consists of a bed, window, two lights, a dresser, and a picture frame that's knocked over.

The sun is up and it's the start of a brand new day. "Yoshika, George, did you hear? They're having Kauhava base mobilised for a missing child. Isn't that wonderful?" "It kinda is." "I didn't know they did operations like that here. That's really cool of them." "It is." The three are making breakfast for the Witches and Black Masks. They're wearing aprons. Yoshika looks to Lynette. She nods. "Mhmm. And to think it's all just for one child." She brings up what looks like a potato masher to her chest and closes her eyes, smiling. Yoshika smiles as well and giggles. She turns forward and closes her eyes as well. "Of course. How can we save a country if we can't help one person? It's such a beautiful statement that it makes me proud to be here." She resumes working. "Yeah, I agree." "Me too." George and Lynne look at her. "You can't save everyone." The three look back to see Barkhorn behind the counter where there's a lot of cups and bowls. "No matter what you do, someone always gets left behind." Yoshika walks to her. "What do you mean?" "Nothing. Just talking to myself." Barkhorn picks a tray and walks to the long table. The three watch her.

Later on, everyone comes in and greets each other while getting their trays. Minna goes to sit next to Barkhorn on her left. "Is there something wrong, Trudy?" Smith goes to sit next to Minna. "What's with the long face this morning?" Hartmann sets down her tray on Barkhorn's right. "You haven't even touched your food." "I have too. There was a lot of it." Meyer brings down his tray on Hartmann's right. "That's what people say when they don't want to eat. We know there's something wrong now." Barkhorn brings a spoon to her mouth and eats what was on it. "Hmm." She opens her eyes and looks over to Yoshika, Lynette, and George. "Uh.." Yoshika looks back to the group. "What's wrong, Yoshika?" "Is there a problem?" The two look at the Fusōan girl. "Nothing. I just got a really weird feeling someone was watching me." They look over to the group as well. "Who do you think it was?" "It could be anybody." "Maybe just my imagination."

Francesca raises up her right hand which is holding a spoon. "I want seconds!" "Coming." Yoshika walks over with a silver bowl and sees Barkhorn hasn't much touched her breakfast. "Oh no. I'm sorry. Did you not like it?" Shirley, the BM next to her, Camillo, and the Romagnan look at her. Shirley looks forward and Francesca closes her eyes, smiling, while holding out her plate. Barkhorn says nothing, gets up, brings up her tray, and leaves. Shirley, Camillo, and Yoshika watch her walk away. Shirley has a small smile while the brunette looks concerned. "Do I get any seconds or not?" Francesca waves her place. This breaks her trance. The two look at the little girl. "Oh right! Of course you do. I'm very sorry." Yoshika slightly panics and stirs the contents of the bowl with a spoon.

"Honestly, I can't say that I blame her. I mean you served us rotten beans. No one should have to eat that." Perrine looks down and lifts up the so-called rotten beans in her spoon. She puts it down. "Are you trying to poison us?" She has her eyes closed and looks away. "Not at all. Sakamoto and Mitchell said they liked it. It's just natto and it's really good for you." Perrine drops her spoon. "Ah..." Yoshika gasps when Perrine gets close to and glares at her. "Did you just call the Major Sakamoto? You shall address her as Major, got it? I didn't even call her Sakamoto. Well, not all the time..." She looks down, gets red, and softens her glare. "Of course I mean..." She glares again and brings her cup close to Yoshika. "Well, whatever! It doesn't matter! I don't care if she likes it or not. This stuff smells absolutely horrible and you should never make it again!" Perrine goes back to her seat. "Hey I'm still hungry." Francesca holds up her plate and glares at Yoshika while almost tearing up. "Okay! I'm sorry!" Perrine is looking away with her eyes closed. "Hmm!"

Outside at a patio, the three are doing laundry, hanging up blankets, towels, and pillow cases on two lines tied around four tall wooden sticks. Airplane engines are heard. Yoshika covers her face with her arms while looking down, Lynette holds onto a blanket she was about to hang, and George does the same. The laundry moves a bit, as does their clothes and hair. Yoshika turns around. "Wow! That's amazing!" The cause of the gust of wind was three fliers in Striker Units, which are Barkhorn, Hartmann, and Meyer. They fly up. Barkhorn glances at the three down below. "It's Captain Barkhorn, Captain Meyer, and Lieutenant Hartmann doing formations." Barkhorn grunts and narrows her stare. She and Hartmann move around Meyer. They do turns in different directions. Meyer goes up and does a flip turn. They fly down.

"She's not keeping up." "No. She's a little slow today." "What is going on?" "Seems she suddenly lost her touch." The commentators are Mio, Minna, John, and Keita. Minna is watching with binoculars. The other three aren't. Mio has her katana strapped to her back. "That's so strange. Barkhorn is usually such a perfectionist." "Do you think maybe we should take her off the next shifts so she could rest." "Perhaps. It'll be disconcerting if we can't use our ace." Minna puts down her binoculars. Mio looks at her. "I know exactly what you mean. Even though the others have gotten better, we still won't have enough firepower without her." "I wonder if she's burnt out from too much training." "I don't think so. It seems like something else is bothering her." "Hmm?" "Really?" "I think it has something to do with Miyafuji." "You sound certain." "I am." "Hm." Mio and Keita look at the three resuming their laundry duty. "Let's try pairing them up." "Might be a good idea."

Yoshika walks down a hallway. She turns around with her back against a lit room. She sets down the bucket she was holding and sighs. She's holding a mop in her left hand and the part of the handle is resting on her shoulder. A gasp is heard behind her. Perrine's hair is grey only on the top due to the mop landing on her. She glares and walks to the brunette. "You again? What was that for?" Yoshika looks at her and gasps as well, being surprised by her. She bows down while still holding the mop. "I'm so sorry!" She brings the mop down with her, making it land on the blonde's head again. Perrine slightly widens her eyes. She glares. "Hm." Yoshika looks to her left and brings out a white cloth. "Here. You can use this." She hands it to the Gallian. "No thank you." Yoshika is surprised again and gasps, slightly moving back. Perrine turns and glances at her. "So pathetic." Yoshika looks down with her eyes closed. "It's like you don't pay attention to anything. You're so scattered." Yoshika opens her eyes and turns to her right and sees the three fliers from before chatting. She watches them. Barkhorn turns around, sees her, and narrows her stare. They turn and leave. "Eh... Um... Hi." "Hello? Sergeant Miyafuji? Turn around when someone's talking to you. That's so rude!" Perrine continues glaring at Yoshika.

In her room, Barkhorn is looking at the downed picture frame. I don't get it. Why am I remembering it now?

-Flashback-

Date: June 1941
Location: Pas-de-Calais, Gallia, Europe

In a hospital, Barkhorn, Minna, John, and Meyer are standing in the lobby. Minna and John are leaning against the front desk. The doctor behind the desk is speaking. "Her external injuries have healed but there's no sign she will regain consciousness, perhaps due to shock." "Are you sure?" "This is some news..."

Minna, John, Barkhorn, and Meyer are in a room with a doctor and Chris, who's laying in a bed. "This city needs your attention. Your sister's still scheduled to leave with me on the next boat to Britannia. You still okay with that?" "Yes. Please hurry." The two girls look worriedly at Chris, with Barkhorn being more concerned. "Chris..."

The four walk away with Meyer supporting Barkhorn. Minna says, "I'm sorry..."

-Flashback End-

George and Lynette are setting up cups of tea and other stuff needed for a small tea party. The two are wearing aprons. "Yoshika's late. I hope she's okay." "Don't worry, Lynne. I'm sure she's lost since this base is big." "I'm here. Sorry I'm late." They stand up and turn to see her enter the kitchen. "Ah!" Lynette gets excited. Yoshika is panting while holding onto a wall. She's wearing an apron. "What happened? I was worried about you." "I was cleaning. This place is huge. It took me forever. I'm sorry, but I'm ready to help you now." She pulls back her right sleeve. "I actually guessed right."

She sets down a plate of scones on the bottom of a cake stand with three rings for plates. "What's the matter, Yoshika?" "Is something bothering you again?" "Just thinking. I get the feeling that Barkhorn doesn't like me." "Huh? Why would you say that?" Lynette looks at her. "I know she's hard on you but that does not mean she dislikes you." "I don't know. It just seems like she's always avoiding me." "Don't worry about it. Captain Barkhorn is like that to everyone. It doesn't mean anything." They resume setting up. "I take that back. She's not like that to Hartmann, Meyer, the lieutenant colonel, or commander." "How come?" "I noticed that. I wonder why." "In the beginning, it was just the five of them. They fought all the battles by themselves. They have a bond now." Lynette has her eyes closed and her right index pointing up as she's explaining. "Wow..." "Wow indeed."

"According to the report from the operations room, we'll attack the day after tomorrow." At a large balcony are five tables. Three are occupied by three people for each table. The last two are occupied by four people each. "Please use today to rest up. You're certainly going to need all of your energy for the coming battle." John and Minna sit back down. "Hold on. Miyafuji, Lynette: don't forget you have training after this." "You have training as well, George." Yoshika and Lynette reply with, "Yes, ma'am. We'll promise we'll be there." George says, "Yes, sir. I promise to be there as well." Yoshika slurps her tea. The two glance at her. Perrine gets disgusted. "Ugh... Oh gross! She's completely indecent." Perrine facepalms. "Who, me?" Yoshika stops and gets surprised by the blonde's statement. Lynette whispers to her. "She didn't mean that but you really shouldn't be slurping your tea so loudly." "Yeah. Try not to do that." Yoshika gasps and has her hand close to her mouth. She closes her eyes in embarrassment. George and Lynne chuckle.

Mio stands with the tip of the shinai on the floor and her hands resting on the hilt. She and Keita watch George, Lynette, and Yoshika run. Lynette decided to not wear her black sweater. Nearby, behind a couple of wooden crates, is Perrine who is watching Mio. I don't get it. What is it about that girl that Major Sakamoto likes so much? Behind one of the windows overwatching them is Barkhorn. She's watching them run, focusing only on Yoshika. In her view, the environment alters to a cobblestone floor and Yoshika turns to Chris, running happily. Barkhorn looks sad.

It's getting dark. The sun is down and there's very little light covering the base. In the dining hall, Yoshika, wearing an apron, pours some liquid in a cup for Perrine who's glaring at her and walks away. Mio sits next to her with a smile, her arms crossed, and her left eye is closed. Hartmann smiles at a small package she's holding. "Hmm." Meyer is looking at a small package on the table. "Another one." Minna and John are next to Barkhorn and Minna's holding a small package as well. "All right, what do you want me to do with it this time?" "The same thing you always do with it. Nothing's different." Barkhorn looks at her. Minna straightens up. John speaks. "Are you sure? I really think you should keep some of it with you." Barkhorn closes her eyes. "The only thing I need with me is food, clothing, & shelter and I have that." Minna hums and walks away with her eyes closed. John follows. Yoshika is in the kitchen and Minna calls out to her. "Sergeant Miyafuji." "Yes, ma'am?" Yoshika looks at her. "Can you come here for a minute?"

In the bathroom...

"I'm so confused, Lynne. I just got my salary from Commander Minna. I didn't even think they would be paying me. I was so surprised." Lynette giggles. "Why am I not surprised you're surprised." Yoshika and Lynette are chatting while leaning against the platform that has the statue of a robed woman with wings. They have folded colored towels on their heads: Yoshika's light blue and Lynne's light green. Lynette has her hair tied up. "The thing I'm confused about is the amount. How much is a pound worth?" "Hm?" The light brunette opens her eyes. "Well, let's see: Fusō's currency is um..." "It's the yen." She glances upward while holding her chin with her left hand. "Okay. Well, that means at the recent rate a pound is like-" "One pound is equal to ¥19.6 right now." Lynette yelps. Yoshika and Lynette turn to their right and see Mio walking by, holding a purple towel close to her bare chest. "Major Sakamoto! We didn't know you were here." "I noticed. We should work on that. You two really need to be more observant." "Yeah..."

Yoshika brings up her fingers and starts counting. "¥19.6 is worth one bag full of rice, which means 10 pounds is worth..." She gets surprised and gasps. "10 pounds is worth a thousand bowls of rice?!" "Oh, is that so, Miyafuji? Then I suggest you spend that money wisely. By the way, you've only been paid half the month so far." Mio walks and sits on the edge. "Only half? But Major, why are we getting paid so much?" "Simple: we are continuously standing on the frontlines." "Because of that, we never know when a battle may be the last one we fight. Does that make sense?" They look to the wall with the emblem. "Captain Mitchell? What are you doing?" "Just waiting for you all to finish." "Come on out and join us. George is here as well." "I was talked into it." "...Fine..." Keita walks down the right stairs with a towel covering his lower half. He's still wearing his gas mask. "Can't you take that off?" "I would have if I've gotten here." He goes and sits next to George who's still wearing his bird mask. They lean against the platform, on the left of Lynette and Yoshika. "So Miyafuji, did you understand what I said?" "I think so." Mio speaks. "They want to make sure we have proper compensation. That way, we have no regrets in the line of fire." "Oh."

Perrine is behind the emblem wall, next to the left stairway. They're in the same bathtub together. How encouraging... She hides herself behind the wall.

Mio uses one of the showers.

"If that's the whole reason for this money, then I don't think I want to keep it." Yoshika looks down. "I understand how you feel but I like the thought of being able to send something to my family." Yoshika looks at her. "You send it home?" "Yeah. I have a lot of siblings and they always appreciate the extra help." Lynette looks at her. "That's such a good idea, Lynne. I think I'm going to send mine to my Mom and my Grandma. I bet they could really use it." They giggle.

"So, George: you got your pay as well?" "Yes. Got mine from Lieutenant Colonel Smith." "Any idea what to do with it?" "Well, since I'm here with no way to get back home, I'm going to save it. What about you? I heard you got here back in 1937." "I saved it, though I did a little spending." "On what?" "Nothing much. Just an alcoholic drink." "Huh?!" "A bottled apple cider. It was pretty good." "Just... You were 12 when you arrived. How?" "Well, my mentor... He helped me. I drank that, plus water. The guy who was selling it was giving it away for free for a limited time. After that, I bought some because I thought it was good. I had to hide it from everyone else, Mio included."

In the dressing room where the walls are light purple and there's baskets within shelves for people to store their clothes in, Yoshika is drinking a bottle of milk, slurping loudly while wearing only a towel. "Yoshika Miyafuji! Can you please explain how you got to be such an insensitive human being?" Perrine angrily glares at Yoshika, who just watches her. "I've had just about enough of you, you beastly girl! First you gave us gross disgusting beans for breakfast, you put a mop on my face, you slurp while drinking your tea, and then you have the nerve to take a bath with the Major! You're like some rabid raccoon-dog mixture!" Yoshika gasps and glares at Perrine. "Raccoon?" "Dog mixture, yes." The blonde has her arms crossed below her chest. "And if you don't want to be called that, then how about an ugly smelly mongrel?" She turns away and places her hands on her hips while having her eyes closed. "Why are you so mean to me? There's no reason for you to be calling me any of those awful names." "Someone from your land shouldn't be so chummy with the Major." "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with it. Sakamoto is from the same country I am." The blonde brings her face close to Yoshika's. "Major Sakamoto! How many times do I have to tell you that before it sinks in?!" Yoshika gets close. "She told me not to call her major so I'm not going to." They bump heads and grunt at each other. "All right ladies, that's enough." They get surprised and back away from each other. "Fighting is strictly prohibited. You know the rules: I'm going to have to punish both of you." Minna points upward with her right index while having her eyes closed and smiling. John stands behind her and slightly moves back. Perrine gasps and stands next to Yoshika, whimpering. Yoshika looks to her and to the two in front of her. "One week of toilet cleaning should be enough." The two look at her. "Are you going to respond?" John nods his head. The two get surprised and say at the same time, "Uh.. Yes, Ma'am." Yoshika rubs the back of her head with her eyes closed while Perrine straightens up. "That's more like it. Alright, dismissed."

It's nighttime now. "Dear Mom and Grandma... I joined the Strike Witches but it's been really though. My friends Lynne and George are super-nice to me, but there's so many people here that I can't really talk to yet. I think...I just...have to try harder..." On the dresser next to a sleeping Yoshika is a letter, written in Fusōan.

Barkhorn is looking out a window in her room, she's saddened. Minna enters her room. John and Meyer are behind her. "What's the matter? Why are you in the dark?" "Let me guess: thinking about your sister?" She gasps and closes her eyes, looking upset. "I hope you realize that it isn't your fault." "Of course it was. If we had attacked the Neuroi sooner, then Chris would never have gotten involved. And there's no way anyone could ever change my mind about that." "Don't you forget we slowed the enemy's advancement down and bought time for people to escape." "It doesn't matter. The country wasn't protected." "You aren't the only one responsible for that." Barkhorn opens her eyes and looks down again. "I'm sorry." Minna smiles. "Wait a minute: you have a lot of vacation days. Why don't you take some time off and go visit her? I'm sure she would like to see you." "She doesn't know me anymore. My life belongs to the Strike Witches now. Nothing else matters. The sister Chris once knew died that day. Make sure you send me on the next mission." Barkhorn leaves. The three look back to her, with Minna looking concerned.

Date: June 5th, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

"Today we'll be focusing on flight formation. Lynne will be on my wing." Mio, Keita, Barkhorn, Lynette, George, and Yoshika are in the hanger. "Yes, ma'am." "Barkhorn will be working with Miyafuji." Yoshika looks at Barkhorn, not looking forward to this. "Miyafuji: a response please." Yoshika looks at Mio. "Uh... Yes, ma'am." "George, you'll be with me." "Yes, sir." "Wingmen: your only responsibility will be to follow your leader. Should be easy enough. If she changes direction, you change direction. If she tells you to fire, you fire." The three respond with, "Yes, ma'am." "Trust your leader. She always has her eyes on the enemy. She will give you specific orders so pay attention. There's never any reason to question her." "Yes, ma'am."

They fly off in their Striker Units and are holding their guns. Mio is holding a Type 99 Mk II, Barkhorn is dual-wielding MG42s with the Patronentrommel 34 drum magazines, Keita is holding a Type 99 Mk II as well, Yoshika is using the same gun, Lynette's carrying her Boys anti-tank rifle, and George is bringing along his Madsen. The ears and tails of a mame shiba inu, Scottish Folding cat, Doberman, and German Shorthair Pointer are on the girls. "This dual aircraft formation is called a rotte and two rottes form a schwarm, which is also called a flight." "Yes, ma'am." "A schwarm can consist of two to three rottes. Remember that." "Yes, sir." "During today's training session, our unit will be evading while Barkhorn's and Mitchell's units will be pursuing us." Mio taps her intercom earpiece while glancing to Barkhorn. "Is something wrong, Barkhorn? Can you hear me over there?" "Everything's fine. Let's get moving." "Okay. Lynne: follow me." Mio goes down with Lynette following her. "Alright, newbie. Sure hope you're ready." "Right." "Ready for this, George?" "Yes, sir." The four go down to pursue Mio and Lynette.

Down below at the castle base is Perrine who is watching. "That filthy little mongrel mutt-" The siren sets off, making Perrine look back. "Uh... What's that?" Pops of smoke occur in the skies. "Incoming!" "No way!" "Oh no!" "It can't be..." "Right now?" "It just has to happen during a training exercise." Mio and Keita notice one of the base's personnel at the tallest tower, holding a sign.

FA
GE 07
AT 15

"It's the Neuroi!" "It entered the east grid, sector 7. Altitude: 15,000." They fly off to the location of the enemy. "Their attack cycle has quite erratic recently." "I wonder what's going on." "I heard there was some activity in Karlsland but I don't know all the details just yet." "Yeah. We'll find out later." Minna and John arrive with Perrine to assist the six flyers. Barkhorn looks surprised. "Did you say Karlsland?" "Something wrong?" "No, ma'am. There's nothing wrong." "All right: prepare to change formation. Perrine will become Barkhorn's wingman, Sergeant Miyafuji will follow my lead. Let's do this quick and efficient." Perrine glances to Yoshika. Not again... Yoshika stumbles a bit but manages to straighten herself. "George: go with Captain Barkhorn and Lieutenant Clostermann." "Yes, sir." "I'll be with Major Sakamoto and Sergeant Miyafuji." The 9 flyers form in three columns.

The Neuroi in the distance, as seen by John, Keita, and Mio, is shaped like a plus but a part of its body is spinning clockwise. Its three tall wings with tubular objects at the ends are just going around and around. Beam ports are seen at its center. "Enemy sighted!" Mio flips down her eyepatch. "Can confirm." "Same. I see it too." "Barkhorn Unit: move in." "Go, George." The three go down. "Major: cover them." "I'm on it." "You know what to do, Keita." "Roger." "Miyafuji: follow me." "Right." The three fly up.

The Neuroi screeches. Barkhorn lifts up her machine guns and opens fire, hitting its side. It screeches again. Barkhorn, Perrine, and George turn. I can barely even keep up with her... Perrine thinks. She gasps when she sees Mio, Keita, and Yoshika shoot the Neuroi. "She's flying right next to her! That rabid little mongrel...!" Perrine grips her Bren machine gun.

"Something is definitely wrong." "Wrong, ma'am?" Minna, Lynette, and John are some distance away from the fighting. "With Barkhorn. I mean she always keeps her wingman very close within her field of view. But for some reason she's trying to do it all by herself." They watch Barkhorn shoot at the alien craft. Perrine catches up to her and so does George. They see her firing at the part that's spinning. "Hold your fire right there." "Right." Lynette aims her rifle and pulls the trigger. The large round hits the red beam port, causing white smoke and fragments to appear. The three back away. The Neuroi screeches and fires multiple beams at them. Barkhorn, Perrine, and George bring up their shields. Mio, Keita, and Yoshika move while dodging the beams and firing back. "Back up, Barkhorn. You're too close!" Barkhorn turns to see a beam getting ready to hit her. She flies up. Perrine screams as she brings up her shield. The beam pushes her to the side. Perrine looks back and sees that she's about to bump into Barkhorn. She hits her, moving her forward. The Neuroi, not wanting to waste the opportunity, fires a couple of beams at Barkhorn. "Barkhorn!" A voice calls out to her. Everyone turns to see a BM get close to the Karlsland ace and bring up a shield. She brings her shield up as well at the last second. However, that wasn't enough.

A beam slices through her right MG42 when she lifts it up to fire, cutting off half the gun and its magazine, almost taking away her fingers. This causes an explosion. "Ack!" "Aaaahhh!" The two fall down. "Captains!" Perrine gasps and looks down. She goes to catch them. "Captain Barkhorn! Captain Meyer!" Yoshika flies down too. "I better go too!" George goes down as well. The Neuroi fires beams at them, missing and getting blocked. "Damn it all!" Mio and Keita look down, obviously not okay with the situation. Same can be said for Minna, John, and Lynette. They fly down to take out the alien.

Perrine, Yoshika, and George catch up to the falling fliers. "Oh captains." Perrine and Yoshika hold Barkhorn while George gets Meyer.

The three hover down while holding the injured aces. Yoshika rips open Barkhorn's uniform jacket, revealing a white bra that's stained with blood. George does the same, he barely sees red on Meyer's black shirt. "This is all my fault! What am I gonna do?" Perrine is saddened by the situation. She has her hands close to her chest. "She's bleeding. We can't move her, it'll only make it worse. I'm going to have to heal her here." "That's okay. Please, just save her." "I don't have any bandages or anything can help..." Perrine looks to him. "You're a healer. You should heal him." "I am?" "Yes. Your mask classifies you as a healer." George brings his right hand to his face and feels the bird mask. "Oh yeah..." He notices a cyan sphere covering Yoshika's hands and Barkhorn's chest. He puts his hands slightly above Meyer's right shoulder and neck. I have to concentrate. This is the first time I'm doing this. Have to stay calm and concentrate. He takes a deep breath and let's it out. A cyan sphere covers his hands and Meyer's shoulder & head.

Meanwhile, up above...

The Neuroi continues flying while the Witches and Black Masks fly around it while shooting at it. It goes up. "Stay calm, Yoshika. You have to concentrate. You can do this." Yoshika talks to herself. Perrine goes to provide protection. She holds her gun and aims it up at the alien. The cyan sphere grows to cover the two. Same can be said for the Black Masks next to her. "Wow. That's amazing." The sound of beams catches her attention. She turns back and blocks a beam with her magical shield. Other beams fly by and miss everyone.

Barkhorn gains consciousness. She slowly opens her eyes and sees Yoshika healing her. "Hold still. I think it's working." "What do you think you're doing? You have to get away from me or you'll put everyone else in danger. There's no point in saving me. Just forget about it. Use your powers on the enemy." Barkhorn talks weakly while glaring at Yoshika. "Hold on. I will save you. We're friends, aren't we?" "You're here to defeat the enemy. My fate is to die here. I don't deserve to live." "That's not true." Yoshika and Barkhorn look to see Meyer looking at them while being healed by George. "It's actually working." George looks to Barkhorn. "You protect people. If you're not around, people will die." Barkhorn her head back on the grass and closes her eyes. "I can't do it. There's no way I can protect all these people you're talking about. I couldn't...I couldn't even save my own sister. Forget about me... I'm useless. Just go." "I know it's impossible to protect everyone, Captain, but I'm still gonna try. Because that's what I came here to do. I'm not leaving. I want to help as many people as I can. And right now, you need help." Barkhorn opens her eyes as Yoshika talks. She smiles. "What would happen if your sister found out you died after she woke up? She'll be heartbroken, devastated. She may lose her will to live. Never forget: you bring her happiness. She wouldn't have anything left in this world if you died here. So, don't give up. Just try to survive. Pay attention to everything that's around you. Don't get too reckless again. Barkhorn, you have to live." Barkhorn widens her eyes and gasps when she looks to Meyer.

More beams pounce against Perrine's shield. "Hurry! I can't fight it off much longer!"

Almost done... Just a little longer... There! Yoshika is about ready to pass out. The Neuroi shoots out three beams from the tubular objects at the ends of its tall thin wings. The beams bend to meet. An orb is made that changes to a larger beam that is sent to Perrine. George puts up his shield next to Perrine's. He's doing this while healing Meyer. The beam hits their shields, pushing them back. The two scream. Meyer suddenly grabs them both. Yoshika passes out and Meyer gets her before she falls.

Barkhorn suddenly opens her eyes, widening them. Chris! Barkhorn starts remembering what happened to her sister during the evacuation of Karlsland. I don't want to give up. I have the power to help. This time I'll protect them! She gets determined.

The four flyers above hit the Neuroi. Their bullets reveal its weakness. "The core!"

Barkhorn and Meyer are standing up, still wearing their Striker Unit and holding their guns. Barkhorn is holding Yoshika's Type 99 Mk II in her left hand while in her right is her remaining MG42. Yoshika gets up and was laying next to George and Perrine. "Captains..." The two look back at her. "Hm." They rev their engines and fly off to finish off the alien that's currently trying to shoot down the other fliers. They fly past Minna, John, and Mio. Looking at the dodecahedron core, they fire while yelling. The bullets hit the core and shatter it. The Neuroi, as with its predecessors, turns to white and explodes into countless white fragments. John, Keita, Lynette, Minna, and Mio look up at the two. Same is said for George, Perrine, and Yoshika. John and Minna fly up to them. They turn and see their commanding officers. "Minna." "John." Barkhorn smiles but gets slapped on her right cheek. Meyer gets punched in the stomach. "What do you think you're doing? If we lose you, what are we supposed to do?" "I understand that you lost your homeland and that must be really, really difficult but we are a team. No, a family. You, me, and the entire squad." Minna hugs Barkhorn with her left arm. John places his right hand on Meyer's left shoulder. The two hear Minna say, "Chris is going to get better. I promise you that but for her sake, and for the sake of your friends, don't take your life for granted. I don't know what we would do if you died. We're the only ones who can protect our country. So stop being so selfish and stay with us." "I'm sorry. We are a family. You're right." Barkhorn smiles. "That vacation you mentioned, I think would take that after all. I'd like to go and visit her." Minna moves away, smiles, and nods. John removes his hand and looks at Barkhorn. "Just never do that again." "So I see you've finally decided to do it, huh?" Barkhorn hums while smiling. Her right cheek being red because of the slap.

The sun is setting. The sky is orange. "Aw... I didn't get to do anything. "Come on, that's not true." "She's right, Yoshika." The three are standing on a platform. George and Lynette are leaning forward against the railings while Yoshika is leaning back against them. "Yes it is, George and Lynne. Okay?" Yoshika straightens up and brings up her right fist when she sees Perrine walk to them. Perrine gasps and looks away. Yoshika brings down her hand and gasps as well. Perrine blushes. "Well, I suppose I should thank you." "Uh..." "I figured the least I could do was express my gratitude." Yoshika smiles and closes her eyes but opens them when someone hugs her from behind. It's Hartmann who is smiling.

"Sergeant Miyafuji: I heard about the way you saved Trudy?" "Trudy?" "Captain Barkhorn, that's her first name." "Didn't know that." "Oh yeah. Well, I guess you can say we saved each other then." Hartmann closes her eyes. "Either way, I just wanted to say thank you." She goes to hug George as well. "I also heard how you saved Manfred." "I can only guess that that's Captain Meyer's first name." "Right. So thank you." Lynette smiles at this and notices something. "Uh? Oh look. I think they're back!" She moves her hand above her eyes to see. Minna, John, Mio, Keita, and Meyer fly down, all still holding their weapons. The five below wave at them. Barkhorn sees Yoshika and waves back, smiling while having the Fusō gun hanging onto her left shoulder by the strap. Yoshika gets surprised and smiles with her eyes closed. "Welcome back!"

Date: June 6th, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

A car honking is heard. Inside her room, Barkhorn is tying up her black ribbon on her uniform jacket. She hears Yoshika say, "Captain Barkhorn! Your ride is here!" "Okay! I'm coming!" Barkhorn looks to the picture frame, now standing. "Someday, I'll find a way to repay her." She turns leaves. The picture shows a happy and smiling Barkhorn next to the smiling and happy Chris who has her eyes closed and is waving. Barkhorn has her hands on her shoulders while looking at the camera. The door is heard opening and closing. "Thanks."

Name: Manfred Erich Gerhard Meyer, now Manfred Meyer.
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Likes: Coffee, hanging out with his friend.
Dislikes: Not sure of what to do.
Appearance: Pale skin. Blond hair and blue eyes. Is 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: May 1st, 2001
Date of Disappearance: May 4th, 2015

- To Be Continued

Merry Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

Let's hope the last days of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 will be good for us.