Here it is, the second half of the battle and the conclusion of the chapter. Enjoy.
The interior of the aircraft carrier did not burn, but it sent shockwaves and smoke throughout the decks. Alarms went off as the ship took in water. The officers did their best to keep the ship afloat amid the damage from the Neuroi attacks.
In the aircraft hanger below the main deck laid a knocked-out Yoshika. A few seconds ago, she left her room despite Mio's orders to reach her new superior. She ran through the docks as she searched the decks for anything she could do onboard. When a Neuroi beam struck the ship, the shock threw her into the air, and she hit hard face first onto the metal floor.
The young girl was now barely conscious as she reminisced why she came here. Her mother and grandmother protested as did she, but Major Sakamoto wanted her to join the 501st anyway. It wasn't that she wanted to fight, but because Major Sakamoto knew her father, who left her a long time ago for reasons unknown. Not even she knew until recently that his main research was designing Striker Units, with Major Sakamoto as a test pilot.
Her father was a great man as if he could do anything. But she was not her father. She remained behind all this time, and even with her special power of healing hands, she found herself too clumsy to act useful. Now she was just lying here, watching life dwindle as the light shone on her face.
I'm sorry, Father, the little girl apologized. I can't do anything…
"Yoshika…"
A voice came out before the girl. Her eyes were blurry, but she saw a shadow blocking the light as she entered a dream-like state.
F-Father?
"Yoshika, you have a great power just like your mother and grandmother before you. With that power, you must become a great person and protect everyone."
Father…
The image of her father turned away and disappeared. From there, she recalled the photo that Mio had with her. It was a photo of the Major and Dr. Miyafuji along with a handful of other scientists. In the center was their main project, the Striker Unit, the mainstream weapon of Witches.
She remembered that photo, which prompted Yoshika to snap out of her semi-conscious state. She picked herself up from the ground and viewed her surroundings. She was in the carrier's central elevator, where flames and smoke brewed everywhere. But in the center was a weapon that remained fully intact.
"A Striker Unit?"
The unit was another AGM3a model of the Zero. It remained in perfect condition, more than lucky for a something caught in the blast of a Neuroi beam. She did not understand how it was possible, but there were only two Witches, including herself and no seemed to claim ownership. It was like the unit was there just for her. Clenching her fists, Yoshika knew what to do.
The situation did not turn out better in the skies. Although it was fortunate that reinforcements arrived for Mio, but even that was not enough if the Akagi was sunk.
The Major continued to make a run on the larger Neuroi, which was repeatedly hindered by the smaller ships that got in the way. Izetta appeared the last time and guarded her against another volley of beams, which nearly tore apart the swords. Gertrud's squad then arrived to shoot down the enemy ship. The large Neuroi craft returned fire by attacking all of the Witches, forcing them to project their barriers. Alice was too busy avoiding two more Neuroi craft that kept pursuing her.
Mio struggled over projecting the latest attack. Besides getting tired, she observed the crew on the Akagi preparing lifeboats. Her gun also overheated and ran out of ammunition, so she had to discard it. It won't be long before the carrier sinks under this kind of punishment.
That was until Alice's came on.
"Girls…Witches…there's something happening on the Akagi!"
The girl turned to the carrier to see smoke clearing from the carrier. It was the central elevator where a Neuroi struck not long ago.
"The elevator is in use," Mio noticed. "Could it be…!"
Emerging from the smoke was Yoshika, who already equipped her Striker Unit. She carried a Type 99 Model 2 Kai cannon on her back, the same firearm as Mio wielded. The young girl strengthened her resolve as she spun her Striker's propellers.
I have to do whatever I can, she thought to herself. To keep my promise…to protect everyone!
The young girl sprouted ears and a tail from a Mameshiba dog. She then emitted a large magic circle, far bigger than a normal Witch. Francesca was the most bewildered of the group.
"Who the heck is that? And why does she have a Striker Unit?"
"Miyafuji…"
Alice was the first to her Mio's words.
"Miyafuji?"
"The daughter of Dr. Miyafuji, the inventor of the Striker Unit."
"Wait, you're saying her father made those things!?"
Yoshika spun her Striker Unit's propellers. When she thought she had enough speed, she released the restraints on her unit.
"Here I go!"
The young Witch accelerated across the deck. She had decent speed, but when she left the Akagi, she now faced a control problem. She found herself spinning as descended closer to the water. The officers and even Mio called from afar.
"Pick yourself up already! You want to die or not!?"
"Fly, Miyafuji!"
Yoshika used all of her might to pull herself up, giving her Striker Unit far more power in return. She closed her eyes on the entire ordeal and soared into the air. Her eyes remained closed as she expected herself to crash into the ocean. But when she did feel anything hard hit her, she noticed herself.
"I-I'm flying?"
Upon opening her eyes, she found herself high in the sky. She continued gaining altitude as her legs stood still in awe of what just happened.
"I'M FLYING!"
"No way," an astounded Mio gazed at the flying daughter of Miyafuji. "It's her first time wearing a Striker, and she managed to fly in one go…"
The said daughter then soared past Miyafuji, started losing control again.
"Sakamoto-san!"
"Hey, hey! Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm here to help, Sakamoto-san!"
Yoshika called out she begun spinning in the loops. Izetta was under of what happened, but her body shook over what might happen with the poor girl. Erica and Francesca had to chuckle over the clumsy girl spinning in circles, knowing they were witnessing a rookie in action.
"Major Sakamoto sure brought an interesting Witch along."
"Amateur…"
Mio thought nothing of it as the large Neuroi distracted her. The craft responded by charging its beams. Mio noticed that it aimed for Yoshika.
"Miyafuji, watch out!"
Numerous beams erupted from the craft, which caught the young Witch's attention. She quickly regained control of her Unit and projected a barrier. What the other Witches did not expect was that immense size of the shield, which was at least three times the size any of the girls could project. Even as the Neuroi ship shot and converged its beams in an attempt to overpower her, the young girl did not budge one bit.
"EEEHH!?" Francesca's eyes widened over her sudden display of power. "How can she project a shield that big!?"
Erica merely gave a smug grin while Gertrud remained silent. But both Karsland Witches were speechless over the Witch's power. They even wondered where the Major got such a powerful Witch.
"Is this Yoshika's latent potential?" Even Sakamoto was amazed by the young girl's power. She knew the Miyafuji clan had talented Witches, especially in the arts of healing, but did not expect them to wield such immense power. It turned out to be far more hopeful than she expected.
"How interesting."
Mio flew over to Miyafuji, who gained full control over her Striker Unit.
"Good of you to come, Miyafuji."
"Sakamoto-san," Yoshika approached the Major, taking the cannon out from her back. "I brought you an extra gun!"
"You should use it."
"Sakamoto-san…"
"You said you wanted to protect people, right? That weapon is yours."
Yoshika paused for the moment before nodding in compliance. The Major then drew closer and wrapped her arm around Yoshika, causing her to blush. Erica and Francesca both gave some smirks, wondering what this implied. Only Gertrud's stern face shut them up.
Mio spoke in Yoshika's ear as she aimed sword at the large Neuroi.
"Listen. The core is at the very center of that Neuroi. You help take it out while I draw its fire."
When Yoshika nodded, Mio flew ahead as the ship fired more beams. Gertrud's group went on ahead to assist the Major. Alice, who smirked and blushed over her meeting with the Major, came over to the young Witch, startling her with her flame ability.
"Don't worry about us. We'll protect you while you attack the core. Right, Izetta?"
They turned to the White Witch on her rifle, who also blushed over the experience. They nodded together as they dispersed, heading for the last two smaller Neuroi.
Yoshika flew over the large Neuroi, which fired on the Witches circling it. She got a clear shot of the Neuroi, but hesitated for a few seconds, as if she wanted to make sure the shot would hit.
The large craft noticed and fired several more shots at her. Yoshika put up a barrier to deflect the beams. She had no physical injuries, but the attack still left her taking in deep breaths. Mio and the other Witches flew over to the young Witch and checked on her.
"Are you okay?"
Yoshika nodded to the Major.
"I'm fine. I can still fight."
Mio thought otherwise as she observed. She can still fight, but it would not for very long.
It's her first flight and battle. No wonder she's tired too quickly.
"You should not be up in the sky in that condition," Gertrud bluntly pointed out. "Let us expose the core and-"
"No, let me try again!"
Yoshika shouted as she demanded it from her superior. The Major nodded in defeat.
"Very well, this is our last chance. We're counting on you!"
Francesca trailed behind the other Witches as they descended again.
"Alright, let's do it!"
While the Witches continued to avoid fire from the Neuroi, Yoshika aimed her cannon again. This time, she thought about the last time she did it.
If I do it the same way, I'll get hit again…what should I do?
She got a glimpse of Mio, who flew dangerously close to the Neuroi. The beams were unable to attack her or could not angle sharp enough to hit her.
That's it!
Yoshika descended towards the Neuroi. If she can get close, she'll have a safer and more confident shot at the enemy craft. She found a few more beams from the side, which came from the last two smaller Neuroi.
"Miyafuji!"
Alice flew over to Yoshika while Izetta blocked the craft with her broken swords. The Psionic girl responded by throwing another spark at one of the Neuroi. Izetta used her cannon to finish off another.
"Go get them, Miyafuji!"
Yoshika nodded to Alice as she continued. She approached the surface of the Neuroi craft, past all the enemy beams.
Just get up close to it and fire. Don't hesitate a bit, Yoshika Miyafuji!
The last Neuroi attempted to target Yoshika, but Gertrud's group intervened. Erica put up a barrier before Francesca and Gertrud destroyed it. Only the large Neuroi was left, and Yoshika aimed at the center.
I'm going to do this! I'm going to protect everyone!
She pulled the trigger as she was meters away from the center. After several shots, she could see the glowing red spot emitting from her hole. However, she already flew past it, and could no longer take the shot.
Even so, Mio noticed the exposed core and called out to everyone on the intercom.
"There's the core! Everyone, take it out!"
Except for Mio, who left to attend Yoshika, the others concentrated their fire on the red hexahedron that was the Neuroi's core. Gertrud fired both her MG42 and cannon, followed by Erica and Francesca's machinegun fire. Alice threw two more sparks of flame. Izetta ended the attack with a magically charged shot from her rifle. The bombardment obliterated the core, and the large Neuroi disintegrated into harmless white shards.
Mio did not have to look at the know the threat was over. She was too focused on Yoshika, who fainted in her arms after the attack.
Unbelievable. She did all of this, even without any training.
Francesca cheered on as they watched the remained of the defeated Neuroi disappear.
"Alright, that's one big Neuroi down for the count!"
Gertrud lowered her guns.
"Confirmed here as well."
The Lieutenant noticed something else that required Mio's attention. Although they defeated the Neuroi, the Witches from their base continued moving on. She flew over to Yoshika and Mio's side while Erica and Francesca trailed behind her.
"Major Sakamoto, the rest of the 501st is inbound. Please give us orders."
"Our mission is complete here. Have them return to base while we handle everything here. You escort us to back to the Akagi for landing and refueling."
"U-Understood."
Alice arrived near Mio's side as well, calling out to the Witches while Izetta trailed behind.
"What about us?"
Gertrud was the first to respond.
"You and the Weisse Hexe return to the Archduchess. Tell them the area is secure, but we require their boat to take in survivors."
"R-Roger!"
"R-Right!"
Alice and Izetta confirmed as they flew back to their boat. Erica and Francesca still hand in mind how close the Major was to the new girl. The Karlsand girl maintained a smug grin while Lucchini chuckled over the implications.
"They're too close."
"Perrine won't be happy when she sees this. I can tease all about it later…Tehehehe..."
"Hartmann, Lucchini, fall in line!"
"R-Right!"
As the other Witches flew away, the two from Fuso were alone. Yoshika opened her eyes and found Mio's smiling face.
"Nice work, Miyafuji."
Yoshika did not think she deserved such praise as she clung onto the Major.
"Sorry, Sakamoto-san. I couldn't do better."
"What are you talking about? You did incredible for your first time. Take a look."
Yoshika faced the soldiers as they waved over to their saviors. Many turned to the other girls from the 501st, including Alice and Izetta as they flew over. But most of them took their hats off for Yoshika, especially those on the lifeboats and the Akagi itself, including the officers from the damaged bridge. Yoshika's eyes nearly teared as the men praised her.
Father…I…I…
"Sakamoto-san!"
Yoshika jumped over the sudden shouting. She and Mio turned over to the Witches who came from Britannia. Mio facepalmed herself as she recognized the woman's voice.
"There she goes again. She must have been waiting for this opportunity."
A long-haired girl with glasses came over to the pair. She was a more endowed Witch with a purple uniform and long black leggings. She had the ears and tail from a Chartreux cat, and her Striker Unit resembled Galia's late VG 39 aircraft. She stored her Bern machinegun on her back as she raised her arm out to the Major.
"There you are, Sakamoto-san! I've been-"
The Galian Witch stopped halfway upon finding another Witch with the Major. The young girl was utterly oblivious to she was, which made the situation more awkward. Perrine's Striker Unit coughed up exhaust as she exclaimed angrily.
"W-What is going on here!? Who the hell are you!?"
"Eh!?"
Yoshika uttered out. Mio only responded with a laugh, right in front of the angry Witch's face.
Mio remained in her quarters within the damaged Akagi as it returned to port. The 501st who came from their base returned, shortly after driving the clingy Perrine away from the field. Mio assigned the other girls to keep themselves busy by retrieving lifeboats and rescuing any survivors. The passenger boat from Eylstadt docked next to the carrier as more soldiers climbed onboard the vessels still afloat.
The Major turned to the door after hearing it open.
"Major Sakamoto."
Gertrud entered the room with Alice, Fine, and Izetta following behind her.
"Lieutenant Barkhorn," Mio responded. "I thought I sent your team over for retrieval."
"Forgive us, Major, but we have something to discuss."
Gertrud stepped back as she showed the three guests.
"These are the VIPs from Eylstadt I mentioned earlier. This is Alice Alcubierre, Ortfine Fredricka von Eylstadt, and Izetta of the Weisse Hexe clan. We escorted over from Europe who will be under our protection at our base."
"So this is the second-in-command of the 501st, huh?" Alice commented.
Mio went up to the three girls. She showed little interest in Alice since she already saw her capabilities. She focused more on the central girl, who looked like a politician or noble.
"Ah, you must be the new Archduchess from Eylstadt."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Major Sakamoto."
As Fine bowed to the Major, Gertrud briefed the situation among the girls.
"Archduchess Fine will attend the Allies' conference with Commander Wilcke next month. She requested us to escort them on her journey."
"I did not hear anything about this. Commander Wilcke?"
"The Commander told us to escort her to our base. More importantly, she has an interest in the Weisse Hexe, who appeared before during the invasion of Eylstadt."
"Weisse Hexe," She turned right to the redhead in the white gown. The White Witch looked away with a blushed face, but Mio had another concern. "I do not understand what you're talking about."
"Huh, you don't know Weisse Hexe?" Alice reacted as she turned to Gertrud. "I thought you said she was a Witch among Witches!"
"Not all of them remember the legend," Fine explained. "Those who know the legend are from mainland Europe. Fuso is on the other side of the world, so it is unlikely Major Sakamoto knows who she is."
"Commander Wilcke had orders to bring Miss Izetta to our base in Dover," Gertrud addressed their orders. "She will examine her and confirm that she's a Witch of Weisse Hexe."
"What is Weisse Hexe?"
Alice answered bluntly to Mio's question.
"She's supposed to be the Queen of Witches. Isn't that enough…Ow!"
Alice's rant got her karate chopped in the arm by Gertrud. Mio turned to the young girl again, who shrank upon hearing such a name. She reminded the Major of someone else on the ship.
"I see," Mio went back to Gertrud. "Well then, welcome aboard, Miss Izetta. You are honored to stay with us on our way to the base."
"I am unworthy of your gratitude!"
Mio chuckled at the bowing White Witch. She reminded her of a few girls aboard the 501st, including the newly recruited Yoshika. The redhead shivered as Mio faced the others.
"Now then, you three are dismissed."
Fine bowed again as she and Izetta walked past Gertrud. Alice did the same but merely turned away without giving any respectful gesture. She only dashed out to meet with the other soldiers on the boat. It was now just the Lieutenant and Major on the ship, the latter of whom remained gazed on the White Witch.
"She's just like Miyafuji," Mio remarked. "She is not a real Witch yet."
"Major Sakamoto, we both saw her capabilities. Miss Izetta is not like any other Witches found in the world. Commander Wilcke and I know well that those of Weisse Hexe can surpass all of us."
"I am not contesting that, Lieutenant. She and the other girl suffered hard experiences, including fighting on a battlefield. They have incredible power, perhaps on the level as Miyafuji. But do they have the mindset, to do what must be done? That is my concern."
As Izetta disappeared from her view, Mio gave the Lieutenant her orders.
"We'll bring them to base as Commander Wilcke ordered. Continue with rescue operations as we bring Akagi to port. We'll discuss everything to the Commander from there."
"Understood, Major."
From there, Lieutenant Barkhorn left the Major alone. Mio remained busy in her office as she continued with her office work. However, she could not help but look outside the window.
"Many great surprises came in today, huh?" Mio said as if she talked to someone in the heavens. "I bet even you be very proud of what occurred today, Dr. Miyafuji."
And that's the end of Episode 4. The next few Episodes will mostly focus on battles with the Neuroi, so expect more battles against the black and red aliens soon enough.
Unfortunately, that will not happen until after a long time. I'll be doing another internship soon and want to focus my time on something else, especially a few other fanfics that require my attention.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
