Hello Everyone,

This is one of my oldest attempts at a multi-chapter story I wrote on this site with it starting all the way back in 2012. The reason this story was scrapped was due to it's age and lack of interest. However, I will give anyone reading this the cliff-notes of what I had for the remainder of the storyline.

Disclaimer:

Bionicle belongs to LEGO.

Strike Witches belongs to Fumikane Shimada and Gonzo.


Prologue


It was in the year 1917, that one of humanity's greatest wars for survival began. What was thought to have been a small group of unknown entities appearing throughout history turned into a threat that could wipe out cities and consume lands in an instant. These strange alien beings were colloquially known as the 'Neuroi' by the military forces throughout the world as they wreaked havoc and left waves of destruction in their wake.

That is until humanity found a way to fight back with the power of science and magic in the year 1935. Witches, female humans gifted with the power of magic were able to generate a shield that could block the Neuroi's attacks as well as being able to use a variety of abilities that could cripple each of the individual Neuroi aircraft with one swift stroke. The Striker Unit was invented to augment the witches magical powers with the gifts of flight or superhuman strength.

The young women who go to battle with these powerful devices were praised as heroes through out the world for their efforts. After nearly a decade of war, the Neuroi have been drawn into a stalemate that would most likely end in their defeat in the future.

However, the battles above the surface have been disturbing the sleep of another group of beings. All one would have to do is simply bring one of these beasts out of their slumber...because when a person wakes one, they wake them all.


The large town of Neue Eutin was built several years after the fall of Karlsland, in a small area of the country of Romagna. The area was once home to a mysterious group of Druids, Alchemist, and Astrologist that faded out of existence a few centuries ago, the only signs of their existence was a large stone idol that almost seemingly resembled a Tiki that could be found in the island nations that littered the Pacific Ocean.

Today, it is now a strong community with a market, trading port, and even a small dock for military vessels. Everyone was going about their business, nothing out of the ordinary has happened so far with the exception of some strange behavior from animals.

One boy noticed this behavior on his way home from school. He was about ten-years old, with short blonde hair was covered by a brown flat cap, his eyes were a dark forest green, he wore a white button-up shirt, a pair of brown trousers, and to top it all off he was carrying a dark brown knapsack with one strap over his shoulder. He watched a group of chickens in large wooden cages begin flapping their wings and pecking at the walls inside of them, they seemed to be trying to escape for some mysterious reason. He also saw a stray dog looking about an alleyway cautiously as it swiveled its ears left and right, as if they were antennae on a boat.

Before he could take a closer look everyone around him stopped what they were doing as they heard what sounded like a clap of thunder and a dark cloud rolling in from the distance. But this was no storm. It was coming in way too fast be an ordinary thunderstorm, especially with the wind starting to pick up all of a sudden. Everyone watched as the dark cloud loomed over the town, blocking out the sun and replacing it with red lights emerging from the sky.

Everyone was watching, waiting, for anything that could indicate this was a threat and before they knew it a dark black metallic construct in the shape of a bird descended from the clouds, the hexagonal patterns on its entire body was a clear sign of what it was. Neuroi.

As soon as everyone saw the shape descend from the clouds, they began to panic and run. Bells were ringing, sirens were blaring, and people were tossing away baskets or other items as they tried to scramble away. The boy was still watching the craft come in, as it fired a red beam of light that destroyed a group of townhouses in a massive explosion. After that, there was one instinctive thought and action that came to mind: Run.

And that is what he did, he began running through the crowds avoiding cars and trucks that were racing around with family or friends riding on board. He made it to the center of the town, where the old stone idol stood. He once heard that it was believed to be a guard against evil but he doubted that was true as the Neuroi was tearing the town apart.

Before he could make one final sprint to the edge of the town where he could take refuge in the forest, the idol that stood in the town for years began to crack open from the inside, slowly but surely it began to crumble apart, and then a beam from the Neuroi craft cut through it like a knife causing it to explode in a flash of white light. Being a child, he didn't know what this would mean in the long run. That is until he along with everyone else around him heard a growl, a loud one, it almost reminded him of those large drums he saw in marching bands but the beat for it was faster than anything he could imagine.

That is when he noticed in the middle of all the chaos, the alien had stopped...it wasn't moving, it wasn't attacking, it was just floating up there for some reason. 'Why did it sto-'

He felt the ground quake below his feet, and a low rumbling sound coming from the crater that was once the great idol but soon the pitch of the sound got higher and higher, louder and louder, the kid fell on his bottom because the shaking was so intense. He thought for a moment it was an earthquake until he felt the shaking stop as the rumbling faded into nothingness. He stood up carefully, trying to regain what little balance he had left in his legs. A loud shriek pierced through the air, like nails on a chalkboard echoing in a cave and after a few seconds the crater spat out several large spheres of green flames that sailed through the air and crashed into the ground like cannonballs.

The boy scrambled to his feet, and began running anew as more spheres flew from the hole and crashed into the ground, at the same time the Neuroi craft began firing again only it was aiming at whatever was in those green glowing fireballs. When he saw a straight path into the woods, he went from running to sprinting in an instant. His heart was pounding in his chest, his lungs were burning as he ran faster than he ever thought he could and the muscles in his legs were starting to cramp. He was so focused on escaping he didn't noticed one of the green fireballs crashing behind him, the force of the impact throwing him on his chest.

He shook his head in an attempt to regain some of his focus, his elbows and knees were sore after that landing and it made it even harder for him to get up. That is until he saw what emerged from the green fire behind him. It was a large mechanical beetle-like being standing on two short legs, its body was rounded in the front, back, and bottom, its head had a set of white metal teeth, two glowing green eyes, its head was covered by a silver shield with a black marking of some sort, and its two short arms ending in equally silver shields that resembled circular saws that were used to cut metal for use in the military.

The last thing he remembered was the creature slowly marching towards him, the sound of whispers going through his premature skull, and his legs scrambling towards the woods before everything went dark.


Chapter 1: The Sole Survivor


The 501st Joint Fighter Wing's base in Britannia has been bustling with activity as of late, mostly due to the erratic spike in attacks from the Neuroi. Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke hoped that there wouldn't be any trouble after the destruction of the Neuroi craft that nearly ended up killing Flight Lieutenant Gertrud Barkhorne and she also hoped that the apparent lack of activity from the Neuroi would allow everyone to train their bodies and minds for the next attack or get some well earned rest.

Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had other plans in mind. The red-haired witch of the 501st had received reports about the strange events at the town of Neue Eutin, apparently a Neuroi craft entered the town and tried to level it to the ground. But by the time a nearby JFW was able to intercept it, it was already heavily damaged despite the fact that Neue Eutin didn't have any military personnel on-site. The second part of the report had photos of the town...or at least what was left of it. There was an ash-like powder covering the roads and the ground, the rooftops were stripped off the top of buildings as if they were pieces of clothing, the shallows were completely stagnant, the fish that inhabited the waters were floating lifelessly on the surface, and the trees surrounding the outer edges were burnt to a crisp. Military personnel who arrived at the site said most of the town was literally devoid of life, that is until a few hours into their investigation had passed.

Minna had received a call that one survivor was found in the outskirts of the town unconscious but relatively unharmed. What disturbed her the most about the details of said survivor was that this was a child. While it wasn't unusual for children of any age to be victims of the war against the Neuroi, it is something no one wants to hear about. Gertrud Barkhorne's sister Chris was one example, she's been in a coma for a long period of time after the major attack on the country of Karlsland a few years ago.

But this child wasn't Chris Barkhorne, this boy came out virtually unscathed from the attack with nothing more than a few bruises and a moderate case of exhaustion. That was enough to peak Minna's interest, especially if he witnessed the mysterious events that ravaged Neue Eutin. She knew that high command wanted some answers regarding Neue Eutin and the only way she was going to get them was to speak to the only survivor face-to-face, even if she had to go to extreme lengths to get the information she needed.


As Squadron Leader of the 501st, Sakamoto Mio has known Minna for a long time and as such they've become something along the lines of close friends and comrades-in-arms. So she knew that Minna wouldn't be surprised to see the Fuso Women outside her office as she walked out.

"Penny for your thoughts?" As soon as Minna heard that she turned to her old friend with a sigh.

"Do you know about the incident at Neue Eutin?" A simple nod from Mio was all the Karlslander needed.

"Some military officers found a survivor." Mio raised her eyebrows with interest.

"He might have witnessed everything that happened, which is why I need to see him."

"Are you sure he might be...a reliable source of information?"

"Positive." Mio nodded yet again.

"Want me to come with you?" Minna paused for a moment after hearing that, she knew that Mio wouldn't back down from this. Even if she did have to train the recently recruited Miyafuji Yoshika, the Squadron Leader would probably put that aside and stubbornly insist on joining her until the red-haired wing-commander caved in.

Mio took the sigh from Minna's mouth as a yes.

"You drive."

As soon as they reached the hangar, Minna immediately grabbed the keys for one of the jeeps and took the drivers seat while Mio took the passenger seat to the side of her. After keying the ignition, the jeep hummed to life and Minna drove it out of the base to her destination. They felt the wind in their faces as they drove across the bridge to the coast, riding the road as foliage zoomed passed them.

"So whose the survivor?" Mio asked with a somewhat noticeable tone of curiosity in her voice, this caused Minna to sigh.

"A boy, probably around ten maybe eleven years-old." Minna paused as she entered the outskirts of the nearby town, before continuing.

"They found him out cold at the edge of town, he didn't have any serious injuries but he was taken to a hospital."

Mio gave an understanding nod, "And that's where we're heading now?" Minna just gave a hum of affirmation to Mio and they continued the drive in silence.


The Hospital Minna spoke of was a building situated inside of a large garden with a black metal fence surrounding it. Minna was the first to step out of the Jeep, she saw that the gate was wide open and continued forward with Mio following behind her. The inner workings of the Garden had several tall trees surrounded by a variety of flowers and bushes, there was a stone fountain with fish swimming about the bottom of a pond, and a stone path around it led the hospital. They saw that the hospital itself was a two-story bright grey building with a navy blue rooftop, windows spaced apart evenly on each floor and the open double-door entrance with a small stone ramp in front if it leading to the path inside the garden.

As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by a nurse who was manning a desk near the entrance.

"May I help you?" Minna and Mio nodded to the nurse.

"We're from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, we were told that we could find the survivor of Neue Eutin here." The nurse went silent for a moment before turning her gaze to a pair of Britannian soldiers who were standing by a small common area, as soon as one of the soldiers nodded to her she stood up from her desk, grabbing a manilla folder with several files in her right arm.

"Follow me, please."

As they trailed behind the nurse, they passed by a few rooms that were either occupied by patients from other countries who were seeking treatment or had the uncomfortable sight of human-shaped silhouettes covered by white sheets. They then reached a room with a window near a closed door, where they could see the young survivor with their own eyes.

"I'll be back shortly with Doctor Krein, he'll have more details on the patient." Minna thanked the nurse as Mio examined the boy who was sitting up in his bed. The boy didn't look unusual, he was wearing a standard patient gown, which showed off the cream-colored skin on his arms, he had a bandage on his right cheek, and an IV-drip on his left arm. His emerald eyes were slowly scanning the words of a small hardcover book in his hands while his blonde hair was lit by sunbeams from an outside window.

"So that's him?" Mio asked, as soon as Minna heard that she turned to see the young lad reading his book.

Minna let out a hum of affirmation as she too looked at the boy, Mio on the other hand turned to her companion.

"It's hard to believe he managed to make it out of...whatever happened down there."

"Indeed."

Before they could continue they were interrupted by the nurse who had brought a grey-haired doctor to them.

"Miss Wilcke And Miss Sakamoto, I am Doctor Krein. I've been in charge of the care of young Danniel over in there."

"Danniel?" As Minna asked, the doctor handed her a folder and when she opened it, she saw the records of the boy in question.

NAME: Wellcraft, Danniel

AGE: 11

PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Unknown, presumed deceased.

"Yes, he was very relieved when he woke up her in the hospital. But he's been very...withdrawn and he hasn't given us any information on how he ended up at the edge of the forest."

"Were you able to ask him about what happened at-"

"He claims that he doesn't remember what happened that day but we don't know if he's lying or not. But that isn't my call to make now is it?" Mio's stern expression softened slightly after hearing the doctor's interruption.

"May we speak with him?" The doctor blinked twice with a hint of surprise filling his eyes.

"I don't see why not, he's perfectly healthy...but please...don't try and interrogate him. I will not allow you to cause my patient any distress."

"No problem." And with that, the doctor knocked the door and slowly opened it after which the sole occupant closed his book and turned his attention towards Doctor Krein and the two witches following him.

"Hello Danniel, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm okay, is there anything you need Doctor?" There was a small smile on the boys lips, not one of happiness but one that showed he was content for the time being.

"Yes, you have two visitors that would like to talk to you." As soon as the doctor left the room, Minna took the initiative to step forward with a smile on her face, even though her eyes flickered towards the book he was reading. 'War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells? Strange, why would he be reading that? Wouldn't it bore someone his age?' She quickly buried that thought in the back of her head so she could continue to the current task at hand.

"Hi there Danniel, I'm Wing Commander Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing," she then gestured towards Mio, "and this is Squadron Leader Sakamato, we're here to ask you a few questions."

"Uh, what is it you need to know?"

Mio was carefully observing the boy's reactions as Minna continued forward with the conversation, the first thing she noticed was the boy tightening his hands on the covers of his bed as well as the quick blinking of his eyes.

"Did you see the Neuroi attack Neue Eutin?" The Karlslander wanted to be careful about the questions she asked, children were quick to react when asked certain questions and if she purposefully caused any sort of distress then the results would be bad for both parties. So far, he didn't seem to be bothered by the first question and Mio could tell because his the muscles in his shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Yeah, I saw it attacking the town but I couldn't tell how big it was." He indicated his answer with a shrug.

"That's fine but what did you do when it started to attack?" Danniel's expression turned from a smile to a small frown as soon as she asked about that but he still continued on.

"I started running towards the center of town and I was planning on making a break for the woods."

"Did anything else happen after that?" The young lad's brows curled inwards, Mio saw that he looked unsure of himself especially after he put his right hand on his head.

"I-I don't know...everything is...blank after that, all I remember is that I woke up her in the hospital after I made a break for the woods."

"Are you sure?" Minna asked, she was treading as lightly as possible, part of her was concerned about the boy's health after what happened at Neue Eutin but another part of her was looking for answers for this mysterious turn of events.

"Yes, I'm sure...I'm really sorry...was that helpful at all or not?" The boy seemed nervous after saying that but Minna reassured him with a smile.

"Yes, it's not much but it'll do for now." Minna gestured for Mio to head outside the room without catching Danniel's attention.

"Will you excuse us for a moment, Danniel? I need to talk to Sakamoto real quick." A quick nod was all she needed, and immediately afterwards she stepped outside of the room with Mio.

"So what do you think, Mio?" The Squadron Leader sighed, "For the most part, he was telling the truth but I have the sneaking suspicion that he might know something about what happened whether he is aware of it or not."

Minna gave a quick nod, she knew this would be more difficult than she had originally thought. The boy witnessed everything but he truthfully didn't remember what happened after a certain period of time, he could've blacked out at some point or he may be repressing the memory because of the stress his mind and body had endured...if the latter was the case then she'd have to wait for his psyche to heal first. Unfortunately, the members of high command wouldn't be happy with the results and the Wing Commander knew they'd ask for more answers about what happened to the town of Neue Eutin. Mio's voice interrupted her train of thought before she could have a general idea of what they were dealing with.

"So what now?" Minna let out a sigh, "I don't know. We have only two options at this point, the first is that we wait and see if he remembers anything, the second is that we send what little information we have back to high command." Minna then noticed that Mio's eyes were shut...as if she were deep in thought.

"Mio?"

When her eyes opened she turned to her partner.

"There is one other option...but it may or may not work." Minna blinked in confusion once, twice, three times before turning her attention to the witch from Fuso.

"What do you have in mind?"


For centuries they had slept, for centuries their homes were embedded in the many crevices that littered the countries of Britannia, Karlsland, and Suomus. They had been sealed away by the two-legged, two-armed organic sentient ones that inhabited the planet with some...outside assistence but now after nearly seven-hundred years of dreamless sleep, a new faction has disturbed the slumber of these beings. Their minds whispered the names of the Neuroi in a chorus of ancient tongues that were long since lost to modern civilization.

No one would know of the threat they posed many ages ago but Humans, Witches, and Neuroi alike would know that they had inadvertently awoken an ancient collection of beasts that were thought to be from another realm. One thing was sure though, they were united by their thoughts and their thoughts were filled with one single emotion: pure unadulterated rage.

They would fight these new invaders and they would fight the two-legged sentient ones from long ago and this time, they would make sure that they were victorious. For they were a swarm, and a swarm consumes all that it encounters.


Chapter 2: The First Day


Flight Lieutenant Charlotte Yeager knew that things were going to be interesting. Well, she didn't really know what was going to happen or when, she didn't have Eila's ability to predict the future. But she did have a feeling in her gut, she had also overheard Mio and Minna talking about a 'person of interest' and a few things regarding that disaster in Neue Eutin. However, she didn't hear the entirety of the conversation.

These little feelings in her gut started coming to life about two days ago, Minna and Mio went into town and then returned in the afternoon with the only hint of what happened was Minna smiling and saying 'You'll find out soon enough.' They had once again left at the crack of dawn and left a note saying they'd be returning in a few hours. So here she was, in the meeting room, with the other members of the 501st, waiting for the commanding officers to come back. She took in the sights of the others with a soft chuckle, Miyafuji was once again being groped by a hyperactive Lucchini while Lyn (fruitlessly) tried to pull her off, Hartmann and Barkhorne were having a conversation in their own native tongue, Eila was sitting in a chair with Sanya propped on her lap sleeping like a baby, and Perrine was watching Lucchini's antics with a hint of irritation on her face.

All in All, an ordinary day. She heard a knock on the door, meaning that the Wing Commander and Squadron Leader had returned to the base. Barkhorne and Erica instantly ceased their conversation, Eila nudged Sanya awake, Lucchini scrambled back to her seat while Miyafuji and Lynette did their best to recompose themselves. As soon as everyone was back in their respective seats, Minna entered the room followed by Mio and to Charlotte Yeager's surprise there was a blonde-haired boy walking alongside them.

'This ought to be good...' Was the thought that came to her mind as a smile curled up on her face.


Minna was watching everyone's reactions carefully, she noticed that everyone was paying attention to herself rather than Danniel. This was to be expected because she was their CO but at the same time she noticed a few of them flicker their eyes towards the boy in question but at this point she doubt that any of them would show any malice towards the boy. At least...that is what she hoped.

When Mio suggested that they'd take custody of Danniel as a person-of-interest in the Neue Eutin investigation, Minna thought that her long-time friend had gone insane. However, Mio gave a few good reasons why they should take him in. First being that if he remembered anything they could talk to him immediately and second is that it could help improve the morale of the other witches on-base. Minna couldn't argue with that sort of logic so when they returned to base, she filed a few requests to High Command and they approved of them. The next day, they managed to take custody of Danniel and take him back to base, they even had a spare room set up the previous afternoon in preparation of his stay. Now all Minna needed to do was to announce that the blonde-haired boy would be living on-base for the time being...that was going to be interesting.

"Atten-HUT!" When those words left the Squadron Leader's mouth, they stood up in attention to their superiors...

"At ease." And then they went back to their seats, all the while paying attention to their leader.

"I'd like to make this brief...Due to some circumstances beyond our control we'll be housing a civilian in our base..."

That caught the attention of a certain pair of Karlslander aces as well as a certain Gailian Noble. Minna gestured for the young boy to step forward and with little hesitation he stood in front of the others.

"Hello, my name is Danniel. It's nice to meet you all..."

Minna noticed that no one was speaking up about this latest turn of events, everyone was completely silent. Hopefully they're doing it out of respect... The Wing Commander REALLY hoped that she wouldn't get any complaints about their 'guest', he's only eleven years-old for goodness sakes!

"If any of you have anything to say, speak up otherwise you're all dismissed."

And with that Minna and Mio left the room, leaving Danniel behind to face the nine other girls on his own. Minna paused as soon as she was outside of the door.

"What's wrong?" Mio asked.

"Wait for it..."

They heard a squeal from the room followed by the sound of Danniel yelping, and that is when everything went downhill...Well, for him anyway.

"Hmmm...That went well."

"Indeed."


Danniel didn't know what to do at first when the two commanding officers of the 501st JFW left, but when he saw a blonde-haired witch wearing a black Karlsland military uniform running towards him with a wide smile on her face he braced himself for the worse...Only for her to grab him in her arms...then start rubbing her nose against his face.

"He's so cute!" Despite the fact that Erica was one of the aces of Karlsland, she had a bit of a...childish side to her, that included a love for anything that's cute or cuddly.

Her partner Gertrud Barkhorne couldn't help but let out a sigh and shake her head, why was she not surprised when Erica did this? She really didn't need this crap from her partner this morning, which is why she didn't try to save the lad from the bone-crushing embrace he was in.

Fortunately, Charlotte Yeager took the initiative to try and save him.

"Okay, Erica let the boy go before ya break something." she inwardly chuckled at the sight of Erica pouting about her fun being interrupted. Danniel took in a few breaths of air before thanking the young women in front of her.

"No problem, kid...the name's Charlotte Yeager, just call me Shirley." She held her hand out, but as soon as he grabbed her hands she squeezed hard on his causing him to wince at the feeling, the women from Liberion just laughed.

"If you don't eat, you'll never grow!" It was then that a Romagnan girl with black pigtails jumped on her and complained that she was bored. Are all witches this weird? He turned around and ended up walking into someone, he had accidentally bumped into another witch, this one being a Britannian judging by her clothing, and her light-brown hair in a braided ponytail.

"Hello there, my name is Lynette Bishop. It's nice to meet you." She had a very soft voice, one that actually made him feel comfortable.

"Nice to meet you too."

"And this is Miyafuji Yoshika." The younger teen from Fuso did a quick bow to him and he awkwardly tried to do one back to her, much to their amusement. He then noticed a pair of pale-skinned witches in the back. One was taller than the other and had dusty-blonde hair along with a uniform that bore light-blue and white, the colors often seen on squadrons of Suomus. While the shorter of the pair had unusually white hair, a white dress-shirt with a black tie, and a black leotard and skirt.

"Hey there, I'm Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen and this is Sanya V. Lityvyak. Pleased to meet you!" He was about to extend his hand out to her but he noticed that Sanya was in her arms. The smaller girl made small nods of her head as she breathed slowly in and out while her eyes were comfortably shut. Being smart, he pulled his hand back and gave a quick nod to the older girl, who in turn nodded back. He didn't want to disturb Sanya's slumber for two reasons, the first being that he didn't want to be rude and the second being that he had a feeling that Eila wouldn't be very happy if he did anything to the Orussian witch.

His thoughts were interrupted when the girl that was alongside Shirley jumped behind him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and turned him around to face her smiling face.

"I'm Francesca Lucchini!" Her face was very close to Danniel's to the point that he felt uncomfortable with the Romagnan Girl's presence, despite the fact they were about a year apart in age. He never had the chance to respond, because a certain blonde haired Karlslander decided to pop up from behind and cross her arms around his neck in a hug.

"And I'm Erica Hartmann!"

"Uh...P-Pleased to meet you both." Lucchini gave a short chuckle while Erica pulled him into her lap. He turned his gaze towards the Gailian noble with the glasses, but upon making eye contact, she turned her nose up with a hum of disapproval. When he turned towards the older brown-haired Karlslander she simply stood up and left the room without even a word, but when Erica noticed her wing-mates departure she decided to catch up with her.

Those two don't seem to like me. A frown appeared on his face, the first one to notice was Charlotte Yeager and she decided to quickly remedy that.

"Hey Yoshika, why don't you and Lynn show Danniel his room." Yoshika perked up hearing this and nodded, Lynette offered her hand to Danniel and he took it without much hesitation as they left the room. Leaving Charlotte Yeager with Lucchini, Perrine, Eila, and Sanya...Seeing that nobody else was talking she decided to start off.

"Well, this was an interesting turn of events. Don't you think?" Eila nodded as Sanya began to stir, the young girl letting out a small sigh from her lips.

"I wonder why they would bring a kid here anyway. Do you have any idea why they would do that?" The buxom witch from Liberion gave a quick shrug.

"Beats the hell out of me, he could be a relative of one of the higher-ups or maybe even a government official for all we know."

"If that is true, why would he be here?" Perrine decided to jump in, her eyes closed as if deep in thought. "It wouldn't make much sense for someone with that much authority to throw a child near the frontlines." Eila rolled her eyes at the young heiress.

"How would you know, four-eyes? For all we know he could be someone with magical potential." Perrine was fuming and it wasn't helping that Lucchini decided to stick her tongue out at the Gailian noble.

"Isn't that rare, though?" Everyone freezed and turned to Sanya who let out a small yawn, her eyelids half-way open yet still brimming with some amount of energy.

"What did you say?" Shirley asked with curiosity, the night witch tilted her head to the side...an action that Eila thought was adorable until the girl in her arms began to speak.

"I asked if it was rare for boys to use magic. Because I know that they tend to be weaker than us witches when it comes to combat." Sanya let out another yawn as Perrine sat stone-faced, she was trying to hide her pride from them. Eila on the other hand let out a sigh of defeat and Shirley's laughter didn't make things better.

"She has a point, Eila." It was true that both males and females could have magical potential, however it tended to be more prominent in females instead of males. The handful of male magical users that do exist have positions as researchers or engineers because they can't generate a magical shield. Historians and Scientists alike have been bashing their heads about the subject for decades now. Many of them made theories about the scarcity of males with magical potential but all of them were either ridiculous or downright impossible to prove. Therefore, the likeliness of Danniel having magical potential was slim to none.

"So what now?" Lucchini asked, her legs swinging to and fro on her perch next to Perrine. Her older wing-mate just let out a grin and shrugged.

"I say we go with the flow. Besides, I doubt that one little boy could cause too much trouble." The rest of the witches in the room nodded in agreement. What was the worse that could happen anyway?


By the time that the 501st's guest had finished settling in, it was time for dinner and as usual Miyafuji and Lynette Bishop were the ones making dinner in the kitchen while everyone else was waiting for their meal.

Charlotte Yeager was joking around with Lucchini, and Eila while the latter sat next to Sanya who watched their antics with a small smile of amusement. Gertrude Barkhorne was criticizing Erica over a small mistake she made during training much to the blonde's distaste. Perrine was trying and failing to keep her cool because of the commotion the others were making and it wasn't helping that Mio wasn't here.

As for Danniel, he was sitting down and quietly reading one of the books that he carried in his knapsack. He wasn't really ignoring the other witches but instead he had his attention focused on the lines of text that dotted the pages in his book. His eyes scrolled about the paragraphs as his thoughts echoed the words inside them. He could vaguely see every event, person, and place from the story as images that floated about his mind like a roll of film.

However, he didn't see Erica Hartmann sneak up behind him and before he knew it she had swiped the book out of his hands.

"Hey!"

Erica read a sentence or two before looking at the cover and after seeing the title she let out a chuckle of amusement.

"You're reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson? Isn't that a little advanced for someone your age?"

"Yes, but I like it and I was reading it. Now give it back!" He tried to jump and grab at it but Erica just raised her hand out of his reach.

"Come on, please!"

"Jump for it!"

"Just give it back already!"

"You're too sh-" Before Erica could try again, Gertrud Barkhorne grabbed the book by the spine and gave her wingmate a stern glare that actually scared the daylights out of her. Seeing that her energetic partner was pacified for the moment, she turned around and handed the book back to Danniel who reluctantly took it from her. She turned around and walked back to her seat but not before the young boy spoke up.

"Uh, thank you!"

The eldest Karlslander paused for a second before turning around and giving him a silent nod. He had a feeling that she still didn't like him but at least she tolerated his presence rather than ignoring him like Perrine. Speaking of the Gailian noble, she perked up upon seeing Mio entering the room alongside Minna but her face turned into a scowl when she saw Mio praising Miyafuji Yoshika for the meal she was making.

'God Damn that racoon-dog! How does she do it?!'

When dinner was served, she kept that scowl on her face...she'd have to deal with Miyafuji Yoshika tomorrow.


Charlotte Yeager quickly stretched her arms as she got ready for bed. She was wearing a baggy green T-Shirt that hugged her breasts and went down to her thighs. Her thoughts were elsewhere at the moment though, she continued to wonder why that kid was being housed here on base rather than with his parents or guardians but on the other hand that wasn't her decision to make because she wasn't the wing commander.

However, her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Danniel walking in the hall to his room in blue pajama trousers and a blue button-up pajama shirt. Curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to follow the lad back to his room without him noticing. She quietly strode behind him as he opened the door to his bedroom and left it cracked.

The red-headed young women from Liberion peaked into his room and saw that after he shut off his lights, he quickly went to his window and looked about...quickly turning his head left and right almost robotically before slowly pulling the curtains shut, and walking back to his bed. During that time she noticed he hadn't taken his eyes of the windows the entire time until he slipped under the covers and closed his eyes.

She thought it was strange behavior for someone his age, it was almost as if he were a sentry guard checking the area for intruders...and if that wasn't enough to chill her bones, she heard a shudder exit his lips as he slept. Was he having a nightmare?

She didn't know what to think about this, and she didn't have the energy to figure it out at the moment. She'd have to talk to Minna about this but for now, she decided to walk back to her room and get some well deserved rest even thought she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.


Just outside of the bridge to the base, an unnatural being watched the area from a distance...it could feel the young one's presence there...but it wouldn't strike now...the whispers from its brothers and sisters stirring inside of its mind. He will not escape us again...he has been marked...we must observe...he is not alone...he is protected...we must observe...for we are the swarm...we are eternal. And with that, the machine continued its watch all through the night.


Chapter 3: Another Average Morning


Darkness, that was what surrounded him...It permeated his entire vision. He knew that he was standing on something that was very cold, very moist, and somewhat soft in between his toes...almost as if it were alive. As soon as he took a few hesitant steps forward he caught a glimpse of a faint green light at the end of a tunnel of sorts. His breathing quickened and his heart was starting to beat faster as he started to run towards that light. As he continued forward he began to hear screams from men, women, and children to the point that he couldn't hear his feet touching the surface below his feet. As soon as he made it through the light, he felt as if he was falling from great heights and as soon as he swiveled his head back to the entrance he saw that he was indeed falling. He didn't even have the time to scream out as he fell into a shaft of hexagonal cells lined with a glowing green organic mass.

He thought he was going to be falling forever but instead he felt something wrap around his arms, legs, and chest and he saw the infinite glowing green below him despite the fact he had stopped falling. A metallic web-like substance had crawled around his legs, uncomfortably forcing his pants against his skin and it had also entangled his arms above his head and held his torso in place. He tried to struggle but he couldn't move a single muscle in his body with the exception of being able to crane his neck and move his eyes. He started to panic because he felt like a puppet with its strings being cruelly held above his head or an insect caught in a spider's web.

Can you feel it?

What was that? He looked about frantically for the origin of that voice but with no luck.

We are everywhere and we are nowhere.

He didn't know how to describe it...it sounded like many voices echoing in his ears rather than one.

Are you afraid?

This was beyond frightening for him.

You are in our realm now, you can't escape us.

He didn't like the sound of that! He once again tried to renew his efforts of struggling until he saw what appeared to be an amorphous funnel of slime descending from above...it was a dark red color almost like the blood that ran inside of his body but...it moved on its own accord rather than just falling into the abyss below. When it reached him, the end of it formed itself into a hand with three fingers and one thumb. It flexed about as the mass got closer to his body with its almost involuntary spasms, he wished he could scream right now but he felt as if something was blocking his throat! One of its fingers came close to his face and began stroking his cheek almost as if it were to comfort him but instead it didn't really help him at all because it felt like actual blood touching the side of his face!

You will not resist us.

And then all of a sudden he felt a sudden burning feeling on the bones of his back, he craned his neck to see that the hand changed into several tendrils each with spikes at the end of them that were piercing the skin of his back. OW! It was too hot, too hot, TOO HOT! It was burning his neck and his head! Please, somebody make this stop! He didn't want to die! It hurts, it hurts, IT HURTS!


When the sound of a scream entered Gertrud Barkhorn's ears, her eyes quickly opened and her training immediately kicked in. She jumped out of bed and started running towards the source of the noise, she passed by the speedy Charlotte Yeager in her green t-shirt, Mio Sakamoto carrying her sword while wearing her white yukata, and a surprised Lynette Bishop and Miyafuji Yoshika in their nightgowns peeking outside their rooms.

Without even a hint of hesitation she turned right to the door of one of the rooms and kicked it open to find the young boy Danniel screaming his heart out in his sleep, tears rolling down his face and his arms flailing about. Fearing the worst, she then grabbed the boy by the shoulders and shook him.

"Wake up, Danniel! Wake up!"

With a gasp the boys eyes burst open to see the sight of the Karlslander ace in a white-colored T-shirt that went down to her waist. The boys breathing slowed down for a moment, that was something that Barkhorn expected but what she didn't expect was the boy suddenly pouncing on her and wrapping his arms around her as he cried into her chest. It took a moment for her to process that it wasn't an act of aggression on his part before her expression softened and she slowly started stroking his back with her fingers.

"What happened?" The Karlslander turned her head to the buxom redhead of the 501st, a worried expression plastered on her face while a cautious Mio stood next to her with a sword by her side.

"Nightmare, really bad one."

She heard Mio mutter something in her own native tongue, as she looked at them both before turning to the others who were outside the room.

"Everyone, back to bed. It wasn't an attack, so go back to your rooms."

She heard Miyafuji ask. "What happened?"

"Danniel had a nightmare." was the response from the older Fuso women.

There was an "Is he okay?" from Lynette Bishop before Shirley asked her to give Barkhorn and Danniel some space. She shook her head as the boy's crying was starting to taper down to whimpers and hiccups.

"You okay?" It was her wing-mate and long-time friend Erica Hartmann.

"Yeah, I thought it was an attack of all things."

"So...what now?" Gertrud Barkhorn paused for a second before making a decision.

"Go back to bed, I'll see you in the morning."

"But-"

"That's an order, Lieutenant." Erica was about to retort but when she saw Danniel nuzzle into her friend's chest she just gave her an understanding nod before closing the door behind her. The Karlslander let out a sigh before helping the boy stand up and setting him on his bed, while she sat next to him.

"You alright, k- Danniel?" She saw the boy nod once or twice before letting out another sigh, it had been a long time since she had done something like this especially since...

She pushed that thought away to focus on the events of the present rather than the events of the past.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The boy seemed hesitant at first but then after a nod he decided to give Gertrud Barkhorn a brief summary of the dream he had as she listened intently. Despite his young age, Danniel gave her a clear summary of the events that occurred in his sleep. When he finished letting it out, her mouth was slightly agape and her eyes had widened in shock. When he started off, it sounded like the stereotypical dream of being lost inside a dark room but when he got past the point where he was falling that was when she started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The details of him being tortured before his awakening was what had her attention...not only did it seem unusual for a child his age to have such a nightmare but it was also disturbing how realistic it seemed in his mind. Thinking quickly, she made a decision.

"Wait here, I'll be right back."

He patiently waited for her return, wiping away his tears with his hands and giving the occasional sniffle as he tried to regain his composure. It felt like half an hour had passed before she finally returned, and when she did the blonde noticed she was carrying a larger pillow in her arms. She quickly switched the smaller one for Danniel for the larger one. Danniel didn't know how that would help but he decided to go back under the covers of his bed. However, he suddenly noticed Gertrud Barkhorn pulling part of the covers up to fit her muscular feminine frame in. Before he could protest, she put a finger to his lip.

"Just get some sleep."

With a quick yawn he decided to shut his eyes and fall asleep, with Gertrud Barkhorn following afterwards. During the night though, the boy shuddered in his sleep awakening the young women sleeping beside him, she thought he was having another nightmare but then he suddenly rolled over towards her, wrapped his arms around her mid-section, and cuddled close to her for warmth. With a small smile and a sigh, she quickly wrapped her arms around him before falling back to asleep so that they both could share their warmth with each other.


The night ended as quickly as it began when the sun rose over the horizon, shining its warmth onto those in its light. Mio had awoken and began her morning training with her sword while Sanya was slowly flying back to base after a long exhausting night patrol.

Minna on the other hand was listening to her long-time friend Gertrud Barkhorn tell her about their young guest's nightmare that had caused him to wake half the base with his horrifying screams of anguish. While Minna didn't show it, she found the entire story to be a bit unnerving...

"Is there anything else he told you?" Gertrud Barkhorn shook her head, while Minna nodded.

"Alright then, you're dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am."

As soon as she left Minna rubbed her face in exhaustion, the details of the boy's dream were so cryptic that not even she could figure out what it meant. What does it mean? She shook her head and leaned back into her seat, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her that something wasn't right with this story and it didn't have to do with the Neuroi that she and the others had fought for years. She sighed again. 'I better be prepared for ANYTHING at this point, I'll have to call up some friends in High Command, maybe they'll know what to do.'

Little did she know that she wouldn't be prepared for the worse.


By the time it was mid-day, everyone was up and attending to whatever business they had to take care of on base. Lynette Bishop and Miyafuji Yoshika were once again in the middle of training with Sakamoto Mio as she pushed them to their limits. Charlotte Yeager was working on her Striker Unit in the hangar while her wingmate was lying asleep on two crates behind her. Occasionally Charlotte would look outside to see how well the two girls were fairing under Mio's training, they were both doing pushups while Mio was yelling something to them but the young Liberion women couldn't really make it out. She caught a glimpse of Perrine standing behind part of the hangar doors watching Mio from a short distance, she chuckled to herself. 'She wants the Major's attention so badly...I wonder when she'll learn when to quit while shes still ahead.'

She perked up when she heard Eila, Sanya, and Danniel coming in the door across the hangar with the older girl leading the younger girl about while the young boy followed.

"Hey, what are you three up to?" Charlotte asked while she placed her tools down.

"Sanya and I were going to get some fresh air." Eila said as she gently stroked the Orussian's ghostly white hair as she spoke.

"And what about him?

Upon turning her attention towards Danniel, he just shrugged.

"I haven't explored the outside of the base since I came here yesterday so I thought I would join them."

Before Charlotte could ask any further questions she heard the yelp of three distinct voices and she along with Eila, Sanya, and Danniel turned towards the tangled mess of limbs that was Perrine, Lynette and Miyafuji. It was a baffling thing to see at first, that is until Perrine pried herself out and then brushed her dress off in front of the two girls currently sprawled on the floor before turning around and beginning a long rant about them and their habits in the JFW.

Danniel thought she was being very hostile towards the witches from Fuso and Britannia but he didn't know what say to her until a very devious thought popped into his head. With a devious smile he started sneaking up behind her slowly, which didn't go unnoticed by Shirley, Eila, and Sanya.

"What is he-" Eila was suddenly silenced by a grinning Shirley as she and Sanya curiously watched the young boy get closer to Perrine.

"This ought to be good..." Eila and Sanya gave Shirley a puzzled look before looking at Danniel who was now right behind the Gailian Noble-turned-Witch. It was now clear what he planned to do, Eila had a mischievous smile much like Shirley's while Sanya looked away with a small scowl on her face.

Lynette noticed a pair of hands behind Perrine's knees but before she could warn her, Danniel bent his arms in a quick upward motion that caused the back of her skirt to fly in the air and exposing her panties to everyone in the hangar. The noble didn't notice that the boy was behind her until it was too late, she heard the sound of fabric being quickly moved, she felt the back of skirt parting from her bottom, and then she felt a breeze in between her thighs...

She let out a screech of protest as her face darkened to a deep red while her arms tried to catch the ends of her skirt that were flipped by Danniel. The sound of laughter could be heard through out the hangar as Shirley wrapped one of her arms around one of the striker units to support herself while Eila fell on the floor laughing her ass off with her legs kicking in the air. Sanya tried to keep her composure but she couldn't stop herself from giggling so hard while Danniel, the mastermind behind this little shenanigan was clutching his chest with both arms.

However, when a red-faced scowling Gailian noble turned around to face him his laughter faded out quickly. Her yellow eyes were burning with anger, her hands were scrunched up into fists, and she was violently shaking as she started to speak.

"You...little..."


"God damn it, Erica!" A certain ace of Karlsland was trying to keep her cool while her wingmate and fellow ace started joking around about what happened last night.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm just pulling your leg!" Erica was laughing about her companion sleeping with Danniel after he had his nightmare, she find that it was not only good blackmail material but she secretly thought the whole entire thing was freaking adorable!

"There is a difference between joking an-"

"PERVERT!" The very sound of that voice interrupted their banter.

"Was that-"

"Perrine? Yes"

Both of them agreed that they wouldn't trifle with that blonde-haired noble for the rest of the day.


"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE CRETIN!"

Danniel shouldn't have flipped her skirt, he thought that she would leave Miyafuji and Lynette alone after he did that but he underestimated how temperamental the Gailian Noble would be. Because of that miscalculation, he was now being chased around the base by Perrine who was now wielding a Rapier and using her magic to shoot bolts of electricity at him.

"STOP RUNNING AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!"

At the rate he was going, he would be absolutely exhausted by the time she caught up with him and god only knows what she would do to him once she did! Before he could even figure out where to go next he found himself in front of a dead end, when Perrine found him pressed against the wall she slowly and ominously marched towards him fuming all the way.

"I finally...got you...little...bastard!"

As soon as she was right in front of him, she grabbed his right wrist, spun him around so that his back was facing her, and then she started to hit him on the rump with the blade of her rapier.

"THIS! IS WHAT! YOU GET! FOR! FLIPPING MY! DAMN SKIRT!"

When she was finished, she released the boy whose eyes were filled with tears to run off somewhere but not before she gave him one more good whack to his buttocks. She panted slowly as she watched the boy run off but when he was gone she let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Merde..."

She hoped that there the rest of the day would be relatively quiet...

That is until she heard the sound of the siren go off.


Chapter 4: The New Threat


The sound of Striker Units powering up echoed throughout the hangar as the joint fighter wing prepared for battle.

"What's the situation?" Mio asked as she jumped into her striker unit with her wingmate Perrine right behind her.

"Neuroi, a Large one...Its coming out of the clouds near Karlsland and Gailia." Mio looked toward Minna, her eyes had a hint of suspicion as she jumped into her own Striker Unit.

"Why now? Didn't we just destroy one a few days ago?" The image of Miyafuji Yoshika healing a bloodied Gertrude Barkhorn came to her mind all of a sudden, she inwardly shuddered.

"Of course we did, I don't know what is going on this time but we're going to find out!"

As soon as all eleven members of the 501st were armed and ready, Minna led them to the sky with their strikers buzzing through the air. Meanwhile, Danniel who was rubbing his sore buttocks outside managed to catch a glimpse of the Joint Fighter Wing heading off in formation to wherever they're needed. The only thing he was able to do was give them a wave and a yell of 'Good Luck!' as they faded off into the distance.


"Alright everyone, be on the look out for the target. Our correspondents from the Britannian military said that it was seen somewhere near this area." Mio scanned the area with here magic eye, so far not seeing anything but the clouds in front of her.

Gertrude Barkhorn's trigger finger was starting to itch. "Any idea, what we're going to be dealing with?"

"I don't know Barkhorn, but from what they said this one was taking damage."

"Who was firing at it?" Miyafuji asked with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Like I said, I don't-" Mio froze as her magic eye picked up the bright pink color of a Neuroi core. "Contact! Contact! I got a contact! Everyone move into firing positions!"

Minna's eyes narrowed significantly, for some reason she had a bad feeling about this. "Anyone have visual contact yet?"

"I-I think I can see it!" Yelled Miyafuji, she did see a patch of the black hexagonal plating that everyone was all too familiar with. She and Lynette went forward to scout ahead with Erica and Gertrude tailing behind them. That is until the two younger witches suddenly went into a grinding halt.

"Hey, why did you two sto-" Those words were caught in her throat as she breathed in the sight before them.

It was more than likely the Neuroi craft they were assigned to shoot down but from what they could see it was already a flying wreck. It was obvious that it was supposed to take a flying wing or manta ray-like shape but that appearance was almost unrecognizable as there was a luminescent green fluid trailing off from where one of wings would be while its other wing was severely crooked, its tail was visibly singed, scorch marks dotted the hull, and a gaping hole in its hull indicated where its glowing purple core could be found.

This earned a "Mein Gott." from Gertrude Barkhorn, a "Holy Shit!" from Erica Hartmann, and once they approached Perrine let out a "What in god's name?" while Mio uttered an obscenity from her lips.

"What the hell happened to it?!" To say that Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke was shocked would have been an understatement because she also had a very sharp sense of fear tingling up her spine. Charlotte Yeager, being the first to recover from the collective reverie decided to set things straight.

"I don't know but...it ain't natural...lets take this thing out!" The speed demon of the 501st streaked through the air with her wingmate Lucchini trailing behind her. They caught the alien's attention by opening fire at its nose. The craft released two beams of light, one of which missed the younger Romagnan girl while the other was blocked by Shirley's shield.

Sanya came from behind the craft, letting out a salvo of rockets from her Fliegerhammer that managed to widen the hole on the Neuroi craft, fully revealing the core as it tried to pull away from the witches pursuing it.

"I see the core!" After hearing this, Lynette Bishop leveled her anti-armor rifle and carefully aimed towards the gaping fissure in the craft. When the core was in her sights, she pulled the trigger and the magically-enhanced bullet hit home and shattered the core. The craft was still for a moment before it exploded into thousands of motes that dotted the sky. While everyone else celebrated their victory, Minna kept a stoic expression as the particles descended towards the water below.

'This was way too easy' she thought, 'Someone...or something managed to damage the hell out of that thing before we even encountered it. Now the Neuroi that attacked New Eutin was heavily damaged before it was shot down...Is it some sort of coincidence? No, it couldn't be. There is definitely a connection between these two attacks and it was the same thing that damaged this one. But why? The only person that managed to see everything was-' The color drained from the Wing Commander's face at the thought, 'Danniel...for some reason he managed to get out of their alive. If he was the only witness that would mean that whoever was behind this was...Oh, shit!'

"Everyone, back to the base! On the double!" Mio turned her attention to the red-haired Karlslander who recalled the others.

"What is it, Minna?"

"Don't you see, Major? Someone purposefully spurned this Neuroi towards us and then we had to leave Danniel behind! Whoever or whatever was responsible did this on purpose so we could chase after it."

Mio's eyes widened out of her sockets. "A fucking distraction..." She began cursing under her breath multiple times as she processed this revelation.

"That's right, we need to get back there now!" She tapped her communicator and flew forward with the others behind her. "All of you, get into formation and be ready for combat! I repeat, be ready for combat!" As they sped off back home, they barely even noticed the dark storm clouds rolling over the base.


Danniel sat on the windowsill in his room, idly watching the storm roll towards the base. He thought it was strange that a storm would be coming because it seemed to be clear for most of the day and it also looked oddly familiar...He subconsciously shrugged and continued to watch the dark cumulonimbus cloud inch its way closer into his line of sight. However, when he saw eleven familiar dots coming towards the base he scrambled out of his room and ran through the hallway, past the kitchen, and into the hangar where he saw Minna and Mio touch down with the others heading back into the hangar for a quick resupply run.

"Alright, once everyone has fresh ammo I want you all over here front and center!"

It only took at least three minutes before the others returned with fresh ammunition before hovering back out into the rain where Minna and Mio waited.

"Alright, everyone...We may be facing something totally different than the Neuroi, I don't want to go into all the details at the moment but I do know that the Neuroi we went after was a decoy." The other witches chattered with each other with uncertainty, apparently unsure whether to take this in stride or not but they instantly went silent when Minna gave them a quick glare that said 'This is serious business, damn it!'.

"Alright, I want to establish a defense this time rather than going on another chase in the air. Got it? Good. Mio, if you will please..." Mio took in the sight of the witches of the 501st JFW. They all had different emotions plastered on their faces ranging from nervousness to suspicion to the stoic expression of combat readiness. She spared a slight glance at Danniel who was watching everything from the hangar entrance before turning back to task at hand.

"Shirley and Lucchini, I want you both to patrol the front of the base for intruders. If you see anything out of the ordinary, shoot first and ask questions later."

"Got it!" Chimed Lucchini.

"No problem." Hummed Charlotte.

"Perrine and Yoshika, I need you both to patrol the back. Don't hesitate to defend yourselves if need be."

They both gave a synchronous "Yes ma'am!" before flying off to the back. 'At least they aren't at fighting each other this time.' Mio held back a dark chuckle at the thought.

"Eila and Erica, stay together but prepare to assist the others whenever needed!"

Erica gave a quick nod while Eila's eyes quickly caught the sight of Sanya who was idly waiting for her orders before getting tapped on the shoulder by the twin-tailed brunette from Karlsland.

"Hey, bring her back in one piece." Eila couldn't help but gave a light chuckle at that.

"No promises!" Then the Suomus with flew alongside one of the aces of Karlsland into the sky.

"Sanya and Lynette, you're with me. We need eyes and ears in the sky and we need them now."

Mio flew first before the other two followed her up to the tower, leaving behind Barkhorn, Minna and Danniel at the hangar.

"What about us?" The Karlslander asked, her hands, her fingers, her everything were aching for a fight with whoever or whatever this new enemy would be. Minna turned towards her long-time friend and then motioned Danniel to come forward which caused Barkhorn's face turn from stoic to puzzled for the moment before the Wing Commander spoke again.

"Simple, everyone else is in position to protect the base while you and I will be bodyguards for our special guest." Gertrude quickly turned towards the young boy who appear to be just as confused as she was. 'Why are we protecting a single civilian from harm? What is so important about this boy?' She shook her head and then cocked her MG131 and MG42. 'I guess I'm going to find out.'


A certain being below the Earth shuddered in restlessness, it had been watching the situation from afar and it had relayed its findings to the rest of its siblings. They did not pursue the interlopers...they continue to protect the marked one... Its curled up body twitched irregularly below the surface as if it were angry or enraged. But the truth is that it lacked emotions, individual will, and self-preservation much like its brothers and sisters. No matter...the marked one will be captured...if they interfere...they will be dealt with as needed...for we are the swarm...and we are eternal. Humanity is not.


"Major?" Mio turned to the ghostly appearance of Sanya whose Magical Antennae were pointed towards bridge.

"Sanya, what is it?"

"I hear...things..."

"What are they?"

Sanya eyes narrowed in confusion. "I don't know...but...they're coming this way!"

Mio lifted her iconic eye-patch to reveal her purple magical eye. She could see three faint spherical presences each with their own individual auras surrounding a sickly-colored orb that seemed to pulsate like a beating heart. The presences out from underneath the bridge to the shore of the island and they were rapidly making their way to punch through the surface.

"INCOMING! We got three hostiles! They're under the ground and their going to punch through!" The witches up front turned to face the front of the base. Shirley leveling the sights of her Thompson SMG towards the ground while Lucchini flipped the safety off her Thompson.

Barkhorn lifted her two machine guns and went in front of Minna and Danniel, as if she were shielding them both. Speaking of the Wing Commander, her right hand was gripping her MG-42 while she let Danniel lightly grip her left as if to comfort him for what is to come.

Before anyone else could let out a word of warning, something burst out of the ground scattering topsoil and dust before a green streak landed a few kilometers from Shirley and Lucchini.

Minna felt Danniel's hand stiffen in fear but before she could say anything, the dust settled and the 501st took in the sight of the object before them. It was an almost irregularly-shaped, mechanical sphere with a transparent 'front' that shielded a red object in the middle and two protrusions on the 'sides' of it. Said protrusions sprouted- No they unfolded from the sphere, taking the shape of short yet sturdy-looking limbs with shield-shaped protrusions that appeared to be claws in one way or another. Underneath those former protrusions was another set of limbs ending in what appeared to be feet with two toes on the front and two toes on the back. It slowly stood up on these legs, revealing that the rest of the sphere was a body of sorts, that is until its front end suddenly jolted forward with two gray-colored support beams that acted as a neck. Its head had two triangular glowing red objects that appeared to be eyes and two white shiny teeth.

The machine seemed to scan the area in front of it, taking in the sight of the witches, the base, and every little thing surrounding it before it let out a short animalistic roar into the storm covered heavens above. As soon as that happened, two more similar machines emerged from below, one that was brown like stone with forest green eyes, and another who was as black as the soil below their feet with bright-green eyes.

They let out their own feral roars before they began to steadily march towards the base in search of their pray. Mio snapped out of her reverie with a growl and a shake of her head before yelling two simple words.

"OPEN FIRE!"

And thus a new war for the 501st JFW had begun.


Chapter 5: First Encounter and First Blood


Kill the humans...take the marked one...leave no witnesses...leave no evidence...the swarm demands it!


Charlotte Yeager was the first one to react to Sakamoto's orders, she squeezed the trigger on her Tommy Gun and aimed for three mechanical beasts below. She cringed when she saw the black and brown one fold back into their ball-like forms and roll off in the opposite directions but when the magically-enhanced bullets hit the green one in the middle she heard it actually cry out in pain. Well, it wasn't really crying out more of a startled mechanical screech as it stumbled backwards from the spray of hot copper in a futile attempt to take cover. She was about to reload until she noticed the machine shake its head in what appeared to be an attempt to steady itself before raising it arms up and releasing a stream of fluorescent green fluid. The women from Liberion let out a short yelp as she barely managed to get away from the fluid that hit the ground fizzling about as it ate through the grass and eroded the soil below.

"Watch out for that green one, it sprays acid!" She then quickly put in a fresh clip in her machine gun before firing at the creature again. Lucchini sped off after the dark metallic rolling mass, shooting short bursts from her machine gun in an attempt to slow it down. The creature however decided to lose her by grinding its rolling form into the dirt below, tossing topsoil and debris at the young girl as she fruitlessly tried to shield herself from the barrage.

Erica Hartmann and Eila chose to pursue the brown mechanical beast but they choose a much more cautious approach as they fired at the creature, they managed to hit the creature once or twice before it slid on the surface below and transformed back into its insectoid form. It then started to shoot small streams of sand and stones at the Ace of Karlsland and the pale witch of Suomus. Fortunately, they managed to dodge its shots before a rocket from a certain night witch hit the creature head on shattering it into dozens of large prefabricated pieces that were scattered across the landscape.

Eila gave smile and nod to her wingmate while Erica gave a toothy grin and a thumbs up.

"Nice shot, Sanya!"

"Thank you..." The Orussian girl said with a small smile.

Minna nodded to herself. One down, two to go. She then saw the black one rolling in her direction, she turned to Danniel who was obviously paralyzed in fear. The machine transformed as it came closer than she would have liked and then let out a roar. The young boy beside her fell onto his back and screamed out of fear as it came closer.

Minna gritted her teeth as she leveled her rifle at it. "Fahr zur Hölle!" The gunfire did do a bit of damage to the dark mechanical monster but instead of cowering in fear, it slapped the Wing Commander out of its way.

"Minna!" Mio dived down to assist her alongside Miyafuji. Unfortunately, this left Danniel alone with the beast...he screamed louder than he was able to, uncaring of whether or not he destroyed his voice doing so. The creature couldn't claim its prize because a blue magical shield slammed into its right side, the force of the collision tossing the creature into several trees. It stood up on unevenly in front of Gertrude Barkhorn, her face full of the same righteous fury that she had when she fought the Neuroi. The machine raised its weapon but the brunette grabbed it by said weapon and with her inhuman strength threw it into the air, she then saw that Perrine was close by.

"PERRINE!" The Gaillian Noble who was firing at the leaf-colored machine as Shirley strafed around it with suppressing fire turned her head to see the earth-colored insectoid flying through the air and instantly she knew what to do.

"Got it!" She sped towards it as magical energy bubbled within her, electricity sparked around her body as she came closer to it and with her shields at full power she built it up...

"TONNERE!"

And released it with a blast akin to a lightning strike crashing the being into earth with an explosion of energy. It let out a few distorted electrical warbles, a twitch of an arm and a leg before it went dead silent.

Despite being on the ground with a concussion, Minna felt a surge of pride rise through her body as her witches put up a hell of a fight against those monster...or was that Miyafuji's healing powers kicking in?

Nonetheless, she knew the leader of those beings would fall...she watched Shirley strafe around the beetle-like being as it tried to spray streams of acid at her with futility. Then Eila and Erica flew behind it and gave it a round of suppressive fire, provoking it into haphazardly letting out streams of corrosive fluid that missed the three witches. The Wing Commander turned her head towards Lynette who patiently waited for the moment to fire and when she found an opening, she squeezed the trigger and the bullet hit the green metallic monstrosity straight in its chest, disrupting the workflow of the cogs that kept it running...It fell forward as it used it arms to keep it from falling before Shirley released one final salvo from her Tommy gun causing the creature to give out a short screech as it finally collapsed.


They have eliminated our scouts...we must consider a new strategy...we have under-estimated them...but we will not do so again...for we are a swarm, we are eternal...


"Its over, Its finally over..." Minna muttered.

"Stay still, Minna. Just rest for now." Mio said to her. Minna nodded once at her old friend before turning her head to glance at Danniel. Said child was curled up with his knees to his chest with his head buried close by them, his arms wrapped around his legs and tears streaming out of his eyes. She tried to reach her hand out in a fruitless attempt to comfort him only for a jolt of pain to go through her body. 'Verdammt, I broke my arm!' She inwardly scolded herself for rushing ahead to fight that thing but before she could even lambast herself further she caught a glimpse of the red hair belonging to the speedster Charlotte Yeager. The Liberion women had effortlessly brought Danniel into her arms and began rubbing his back with the thumb of her right hand, whispering calming words into his ears as he cried into her chest.

Minna laid her head back down on the grass below her with a sigh. 'This isn't the end, this is just the beginning.'


It took half an hour for Gertrude Barkhorn to haul two mechanical corpses out of the rain, into the hangar, and onto two flatbeds. When the storm has passed, they would begin sifting through the patches of trees and grass for the fragments of the third machine. Once they were all together, they would be shipped to Ursula Hartmann, the head of striker unit research and Erica Hartmann's sister. Minna hoped that the brainiac of the Hartmann Twins would figure out whatever those things were and how they worked.

Speaking of Minna, said Wing Commander was in her officer with her left arm in a sling after that nasty bout with one of those things broke her arm. In the office was Sanya Litvyak and Mio Sakamoto who were explaining everything they found out about this new threat.

"So both of you were able to detect them?" Both witches gave a soft nod to the question.

"I could barely hear them moving under the ground with my magical antennae but when they surfaced I was able to hear them clearly...they sound like the beating of hearts made out of clockwork..."

"I see, what about you Mio?"

"I'm surprised that I was able to pick them up with my magical eye." The witch from fuso lifted her eyepatch up to reveal the purple-colored eye that seemed to faintly glow in the darkness. "When I saw them, they had a totally different signature from the Neuroi."

"How so?" Minna asked.

"A Neuroi's signature is easier to pick up because it has the same color as their cores. These...things had shapeless auras around them that look like the organs of a living being writhing about as if it were being eaten from the inside."

"And what about after we killed them?" Sanya quickly glanced to the window as lightning struck somewhere in the distance before turning back to her superior officer.

"They were absolutely silent..." Mio lowered her patch back down as she continued

"When they died, their aura disappeared with the exception of those pieces behind their glass casings."

Minna closed her eyes with a sigh, almost as if she was deep in thought.

"Thank you both for input. I'm sure it will be valuable in the future."

Mio and Sanya gave another nod.

"Is there anything else you need from us?"

"There is one thing, for the next few nights I want Mio flying with you and Eila for night patrol. Got it?"

Another set of nods.

"Alright then, both of you are dismissed."

Sanya thanked her before leaving the room while Mio stayed behind for the moment.

"So what now?"

Minna turned back to her old comrade with a small worried smile.

"We go about our business and if anymore of those things come by we'll stand our ground like we did a few hours ago."

Mio paused for a moment, taking in the answer and processing it before closing her eyes with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"And what about Danniel? Did you see how he acted around those things? He obviously has seen them before and I do think he may know about them than we do." This caused Minna's grin to fall.

"We'll take the issue with him slowly so we don't end up with a problem. Luckily, he'll tell us more since he seems to trust us. If worse comes to worse...we can take him to the council." Mio's eyes shot open in a flash upon hearing that statement before she paused for a second or two and then nodded with a hum of agreement.

"Very well then. I better get ready for tonight." She walked towards the door and opened it but before she set foot outside she heard Minna softly call for her name.

"Yes?"

"Be careful out there, okay?" Mio just let out a short chuckle.

"No promises."


Lynette Bishop was worried, but with everything that happened why wouldn't she be? Fighting the Neuroi was one thing, the arrival of Miyafuji Yoshika was another but sheltering a child and fighting those strange robotic abominations was in her mind definitely out of the ordinary! She felt- No, she knew that the latter two events were connected somehow but she couldn't figure out how. The only way she'd find out is by prying some information out of the two commanding officers which was totally unlikely considering her skittish personality.

She sighed to herself as she slowly started to make her way back to her room. She heard two voices behind the spare room. Odd. One of which obviously belonged to Shirley, the other sounded like Danniels. Curiously, she took a peak inside and she saw Danniel wearing similar pajamas that he wore last night only in a dark shade of green while his facial expression being a mix of exhaustion, fear, and sadness. Charlotte Yeager had a sad smile on her face but Lynette could tell from her eyes that she was frustrated.

"Come on, you need to get some sleep. I know that those...robots scared you and I don't blame you for that but you can't go a whole night without sleep!" Ah, so thats the problem. She wished she could help somehow...maybe she could intervene? Probably not the best idea.

"But Sanya can go a whole night without sleep, why can't I?!" Lynette would've snickered if it weren't for what happened a few hours ago. While Night Witches like Sanya were good at patrolling at night for a period of time they couldn't TOTALLY go without sleep. In the case of Sanya, she always ended up coming back to the base and falling asleep either in her bed or in a majority of cases...Eila's bed.

"She's a night witch, she was trained to do that. Besides, haven't you seen her fall asleep during the day?"

"Y-Yeah, but I don't think it really matters...does it?"

Lynette once again sighed to herself...she may not have a choice but to intervene at this point. Fortunately for her, she caught a glimpse of red hair in her peripheral vision which indicated that Minna had taken the initiative to do so instead.

"Hey, who is- Oh, Minna. I thought you were someone else, is there something I can do for you?" Minna just fanned her hand in front of her before dismissing the women from Liberion.

"Lynette, come here." Upon hearing that, the youngest sibling of the Bishop family half-walked, half-stumbled into the room facing a bug-eyed Danniel and a smiling Minna.

Before Lynette could say anything else, the wing commander by her side began to sing. It started with a soft hum from her lips with a slow rhythm to it but then did she began to softly let out the lyrics in the language of Fuso.

"Sora...aoi sora...

Tsubuyyaita...koe...

Anata no...yume wa ima...hoshi no sharin wo mawasu...

Watashi itsumo...doko ni mo inai...

Sou...kanjite..ita...

Sono hitmoi...shiru...made...wa...

Mune no katasumi...

Kakaeta tsuki ga...hitotsu aru dake,

Demon donna ni hosoi michi mo

Terasu you ni hikaru..."

Slowly Danniel waned as Minna continued to sing, slowly stroking the boys shoulder as his eyelids slowly slipped shut.

"Sotto hoshi-tachi ga...

Yubisashite-iru...

Anata no...Yuki saki wa...

Suishou no mori ni naru...

Watashi itsuka...kono te no hira de...

Anata no koto...

Subete kara mamoritai...

Atatakai yoru...

Mada chiisa na tsuki no sumu ie...

Demo anta ga...nemuru toki wa,

Yasahii akari tomosu no..."

Minna tilted her to the right in a gesture that Lynette quickly acknowledged...slowly bringing the blankets onto the boy as he continued to fall asleep to the beautiful voice of the Wing Commander.

"Mune no katasumi...

Kaketa tsuki ga...hitotsu aru dake,

Demo donna ni hosoi michi mi,

Terasu you ni...hikaru..."

When Minna finished the song, Danniel had fallen fast asleep...the only sound that could be heard was the soft sound of his breathing. Minna turned towards Lynette, raised her index finger with a 'shush', before gesturing for her to leave. The young women complied, as she quietly closed the door she watched Minna continue to stroke the boy with her right hand, the moonlight revealing her beautiful white nightgown.

Lynette let out a happy sigh to herself before her face turned into a sad smile as she walked into her bedroom. 'Even though we dealt with a new enemy today...we made it through in one piece...and there is always a light for us in the end...' As she slowly laid down in her bed, a worried frown wormed its way onto her face. 'But for how long will we be able to stand our ground...and how long will it be before the light starts to fade away?' That question echoed throughout her mind for the rest of the night even as she descended into her dreams.


Throughout the night, beneath a small island near Britannia...the new threat to mankind was steadily carving through the earth...uncaring of any minor damage that it brought to the land above. Minor quakes caused ripples around the island as more and more of the hive assembled to their base of operations. All the while one of the black machines, this one bearing silver shields, a silver faceplate, and silver feet watched its brethren work tirelessly from the shadows.


Chapter 6: The Speed Of Sound and Darkness


The light waves of the morning sun peaked through the window of Miyafuji Yoshika's room, brightening the color of her green night robe as she continued to wiggle about in her sleep.

"Wait, what are you-" She whined as her hands tightly gripped her pillow.

"Y-You can't be serious! No!" She whimpered as her legs went inward and she flipped onto her side.

"Quit it, Lyn! Wow...They're so big!" Another whine, this one a little more than a whisper.

After that her eyelids flew open, and before she knew it the young girl from Fuso was falling face forward towards the floor with a sharp thump, distracting Mio from her training and startling Danniel as he was brushing his teeth.

"Is something the matter, Yoshika?" Lynette asked as she walked into the room, slightly confused as Miyafuji kicked her legs about before the fell forward in front of her with another loud thump.

"Yoshika, are you okay?!" The britannian girl asked worriedly as Yoshika rubbed her aching bottom.

"I just had a dream..." Miyafuji muttered.

"A dream?"

"Let me think...In it I think you and I-"

"You and I what?" It was an innocent question but Miyafuji's eyes weren't facing Lyn but were pointing straight towards her bosom as she blushed. Noticing that Lyn was still listening, she grabbed her covers and draped them over her head.

"Its nothing, nothing at all! I didn't see anything at all!"

Despite all this, Lynnette still managed to smile at her comrade in arms. Meanwhile, Danniel who had decided to peak into Miyafuji's room with his toothbrush still in use shrugged before heading back to his room to finish brushing his teeth. Besides, what could be so interesting about Miyafuji's dream anyhow?


"We're going to the beach?!" Miyafuji asked excitedly as the others sat down.

"Yes, tomorrow morning. We're going to the eastern shore of this island." Mio Sakamoto said quick to the point as the others, Danniel included listened.

"HURRAY! THE BEACH! SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN!" Danniel cringed in his seat for two reasons: The first being that Miyafuji was being way too loud, and the second was that he didn't like the beach.

"You guys don't like the beach?"

Danniel tried his best not to grimace as Lynette whispered to Miyafuji that it was for training, which Miyafuji asked quickly inquired about before Mio stood up.

"That is correct! We must be able to react to anything that may happen in battle! That includes the loss of flight while above the ocean! Which is why..." Danniel inwardly sighed to himself as the Squadron Leader continued on. He seriously wasn't going to enjoy it because of one tiny secret he kept from the 501st. He couldn't swim, he never learned how to.

He sighed to himself, seeing Lyn and Miyafuji leave the room. 'Well, as long as I don't get into the water I should be fine, right?' His thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a loud thump or pop.

"What was that?" He asked worriedly, hoping that it wasn't another attack.

"Ah, must be Shirley again." Minna said, opening a back door that lead to a small deck outside. Curious, he decided to follow Minna, Mio, and Perrine to the deck. He could see Charlotte Yeager in her Striker Units with a small magical circle glowing underneath her while Lucchini, Miyafuji, and Lyn stood close by.

Odd. It didn't seem like she was going out on a combat run. He saw that Perrine was holding a large device with two large antennae sticking out from the front and a strap around the back of her neck.

He saw Lucchini make a quick pointing gesture forward as Shirley shot off like a bullet out of the barrel off the runway. His eyes widened as he raised his right hand over his eyes to get a better view until Mio handed him a pair of binoculars which he quickly took into his hands with a quick 'thank you' as he watched the red-headed Liberion speedster dart through the air.
"She shot up there fast!" Mio lowered her binoculars as she looked on, impressed at the speed that Shirley was going."1,000 meters high in 50 seconds! That's an unprecedented ascension rate, Major!" Danniel lowered his binoculars for a moment as he watched on with astonishment. "She really tuned it up well!" Minna exclaimed while Mio turned back with a stern expression."Now lets see how it fares..." Danniel shook his head and brought the binoculars back up to his eyes but he had trouble following Shirley's fast-moving shape in the air.


"Here goes, Merlin! Magic engine, full output!" Shirley yelled out as she felt the magic flowing through her veins and into her striker unit, not noticing the bright white trail she had left through the air behind her, she pulled her head back a bit but continued on as she turned back and darted past the end of the runway, blowing past Lyn, Lucchini, and Miyafuji.

"More! More!" She felt the adrenaline pumping through her chest but it still wasn't enough for her, she wanted to break the god damn sound barrier if it was the last thing she could do! She sighed to herself before decided to head back to the runway where she saw Lucchini and company waving at her.

"Shirley you set a new record!"

"That was incredible!"

"Amazing!"

After hearing that first bit of information she broke out into a smile before yelling out "Alright!". Unfortunately, she lost her balance and started falling on the three girls below her. She ended up in a heap with Miyafuji laying just above her bottom and her hands placed on her bosom, Lynette curled up to the right of her and Lucchini laying in front of her. Despite that and the fact that burning through all that magic gave her an appetite, she still had a big smile on her face.

"Whew! I'm starving!"


The next day...

"Yahoo!" That was the sound of cheering from both Shirley and Lucchini as they made the jump into the water, both wearing their respective swimsuits. A short distance away was Barkhorn, who was stroking her way through the water at a steady pace while her partner Erica was lazily dog paddling behind her. Sanya and Eila were sitting next to each other on the beach watching as Lyn and Miyafuji were struggling to swim with their striker units on, much to the displeasure of Minna and Mio. Perrine passed by the two younger recruits, muttering some insult under her breath. As for Danniel, he was hiding behind a tree near the beach side as he wondered whether or not to jump into the water or steer clear from it. A few moments later Minna announced that it was time for a break.

Erica and Gertrude emerged from the water at the same time in their matching black karlsland swimsuits, Lucchini sprung out of the water with a giggle with her hair all wet, Perrine casually walked onto the beach, while Lynette and Miyafuji came out panting as they carried their striker units in both of their arms.

"I...can't move anymore..." Miyafuji whined.

"Me neither..." Lynette whimpered in agreement.

"She said I'd get to have fun, too...Commander Minna's a liar..."

"You'll get used to it soon enough!" They both perked up to see Shirley standing over both of them with Danniel beside her giving both of them a look of sympathy.

"Shirley-San..."

The speed demon of Liberion raised her finger in a way that seemed to be almost informative.

"Besides, laying down like this..." She laid down on the sand with her hands behind her head.

"...isn't all that bad either." The two girls looked at each other before deciding to join her, flipping onto their backs on laying down bathing in the sun. Danniel raised his eyebrow in confusion that is until he heard Minna's voice.

"Danniel?"

"What is it?" He asked.

"I'm curious, why didn't you go into the water like everyone else?" He began to chuckle nervously.

"W-Well, I thought you were all training an-"

"That doesn't mean you can't try and swim too, you know."

"B-But..."

"But what?" Minna asked with a smile. The blonde gulped before standing up to whisper in her ear.

"I can't swim..." He said, turning his head downwards with an ashamed expression on his face. However, that all went away when he heard her giggle. He turned up to see her gaze at him with a sincere smile, patting him on the head.

"Why didn't you say so? You could've told us before hand and we would have understood." Minna made a mental note to remember that little fact if they were to engage those damn robots that attacked last time.

"In fact, if you want we could teach you how to swim."

"Really?" Danniel asked with a broad smile on his face.

"Of course, in fact we ca-"

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The wail of the sirens pierced through the ambiance of the seaside, Minna quickly ran to Mio who quickly relayed information about the incoming enemy.

"One enemy aircraft! It appears to have snuck in under our radar!"

Minna bit back a growl in her throat. "They're two days earlier than we expected again!"

"Whose going?" Mio asked.

"Shirley and the others have already sprung into action."

As Mio and Minna ran back to the base (with Danniel nervously trailing behind them) they caught a glimpse of Shirley heading into the air. When they reached the radio equipment nearby, they opened up communications with the Liberion speedster.

"Shirley, do you read me?!" Minna asked.

"Commander!" She replied.

"There's one enemy aircraft, an ultra-fast model. It's already made it inland." There was a short pause before she replied again.

"What's its course?"

"It's heading west-northwest of here-"

Mio went to a map of Europe and then started etching out its path.

"If it continues on its course it will hit..." Minna looked towards the map with Mio as she circled the capital of Britannia.

"London!"

"It's going to hit London, get ahead of it before its too late! Shirley, show it your speed!"

They heard a sharp "Roger!" as they prayed that she would reach the enemy and take it down before more lives were lost in the continuing war against the Neuroi.

"We're counting on you Shirley!"
They heard a whimper to the left of them and saw Lucchini, apparently worried about the welfare of her best friend or so they thought.

"I wonder if she adjusted it first..."

"What do you mean?" Mio asked, the young girl from Romagna oblivious to the consequences that might occur continued.

"Uhh, Last night I saw Shirley's Striker and-" She suddenly stopped when she realized that it wasn't the voice of one of her comrades but the voice of her commanding officers.

"I-It's nothing! Nothing at all!" She turned around only to meet Minna giving the pig-tailed girl a polite smile all the her hair overshadowed her eyes, a dark aura surrounding her. Danniel and even the stoic Sakamoto Mio shuddered when they felt the air around the wing commander turn cold.

"As you were saying, Ensign Francesca Lucchini?"
Lucchini gulped and slowly turned her head forward keep her gaze away from that deathly grin as sweat went down her face. Needless to say, it didn't really help after she received her punishment.


"*BZZT!* Lieutenant *KZZT!* At Once! *RZZZ!* Repeat *ZZZT!* Base at! *BZZT!* Heedless to the warnings from her communicator, she sped on the only thing that came to mind was the fact that she was going faster than usual. 'What's going on? My acceleration is rising! Is my engine just performing better than usual?!'

"*BZZT!* Lieutenant *KZZT!* At once!"

'It almost feels like...like it did back then!' Her mind burst with activity as the memory of her time at Bonneville salt flats rushed through her brain.

"Lieutenant, return to base now!"

Reliving the emotions of that moment in her life made her heart thump faster and faster! Speaking of speed, she had pooled all of her magic into her striker unit...

"GO!"

Then her magical shield hummed to life, the air around her seemed to rush past her like the tail of a comet and then with a loud boom of air she darted forward as if she were shot out of an artillery cannon! She opened her eyes to see the wind and sea below pass her at a rate she had never seen before in her life!

She had done it, she had broken the sound barrier.

"Incredible! This is really incredible! I did it! I really did it!"

"Do you read me, Lieutenant?! Respond!" Finally, the words of Mio Sakamoto reached her ears.

"I did it, Major! I broke the sound barrier!"

"STOP! You're going to run into the enemy!"

It only took a glance in front of her to confirm that her superior was right, and as the Neuroi approached her she pulled back and brought up all of the energy from her striker to her shields before she collided head on with it, piercing through its front, breaking through its core, and then streaking out of the other end. She would remain smiling despite being unconscious when Lyn and Miyafuji recovered her from a near deadly plunge into the sea. Although much to Lyn's displeasure, Miyafuji would also be toying with the redhead's breasts until they made it back to base.


Ursula Hartmann had been working her ass off as of late, mostly performing studies, research, and examinations of the mechanical remains the 501st had sent her. She was at the site of the now destroyed town of Neue Eutin and she had also read the report regarding the 501st's confrontation with these beasts which further compelled her to find out more about these monsters.

As the 501st had suspected, these machines definitely weren't man-made nor were they built recently. They were centuries old! Not only that but the components were extremely complex, being a combination of clockwork, pneumatics, hydraulics, and what may be an unknown branch of alchemy. The material that they were made out of was some type of semi-organic metal that she found could be melted down and reforged despite some difficulty in the process. But the most disturbing discovery she had made so far was regarding the organisms that were behind the transparent casings on the heads.

These creatures took on the shapes that were unnervingly reminiscent of a human-like face or a mask, they were obviously immobile but were made out of a solid substance similar to the exoskeleton of an insect or structures of coral. But the worse wasn't discovered until another researcher had decided to perform a dissection, because as soon as he brought down a scalpel to cut it open, he experienced horrifying and extremely painful auditory hallucinations before becoming near-catatonic. It was then that the smartest of the Hartmann twins had found out what caused him to be forced into near madness. These masks were essentially the equivalent of brains with what may be an EXTREMELY potent telepathic prowess.

This had prompted her to perform another investigation, this one delving into the more fantastical realms outside of science. She had delved into her books regarding creatures that were often associated with witchcraft and the occult. Contrary to belief, many of the entities mentioned in these books DID exist but were wiped out centuries ago, outside human realms, or were ravaged to near extinction when the Neuroi war began. She had originally thought that the machines were some sort of golem or homunculi, beings that could be created through magic or other branches there of such as alchemy. However, not only did the art of creating such creatures fell out of practice in the middle of the industrial revolution but it also was incompatible with the use of sufficiently advanced technology such as electronics, clockworks, or steamworks. Which meant she had met a dead end.

The only other possible way she'd be able to find more information about these beings would be to head seek permission from the Witch's Council to delve into the Archives Of Merlin, an ancient repository filled to the brim with information ranging from some obscure applications of magic to the history of witches to conflicts between man and other paranormal entities.

She'd start filing the request before she heads to bed.


Trevor Maloney was not in the greatest of moods at the moment. Why? First it started off with a word from his collaborators that progress on the warlock would be delayed due to a recent Neuroi attack on a supply line along the Atlantic. Second thing that made his life hell was the fact he had to cover up the death of an engineer who defected from the project. But what really took the cake was the report regarding the machines encountered by the 501st as well as their encounters possible links to the devastation of Neue Eutin.

Most likely the JFW would receive a slight increase in their funding, which meant that it would be harder to divert anymore money to the work on the Warlock. There were also concerns from a few of his researchers that these new enemies could take out the Warlock but he dismissed them mainly because a handful of engineers had said that the warlock was much more heavily armored than an average witch. Nonetheless, he ordered his men to arm the warlock with heavier weapons including armor-piercing rounds and heavy explosive rockets.

He wasn't going to let this project sink any further, not for this new threat, not for the Neuroi and sure as hell not for those damn witches!

"Sir?"

He broke out of his musings to see a younger officer with a file in his hand.

"What is it?"

"Its the documents you asked for, regarding the boy."

He raised an eyebrow at the man in front of him.

"What boy?"

"The boy thats under the custody of the 501st, the one who survived Neue Eutin, Sir."

Ah, he had nearly forgot about the child. He didn't care much for this child but after hearing that the 501st had taken him under their wings he had been curious as to why.

"Thank you, you're dismissed."

"Sir!" The officer gave a quick salute before leaving the room. Taking a deep sigh, the Air Marshall opened the folder containing information about the child. He didn't find anything new besides some information about his parents, more specifically the father. He apparently was a combat medic who was assisting a few witches during the evacuation of Gailia, but he was killed after saving an injured girl with magical capabilities. The mother was an unidentified Tank Witch, further investigations into her whereabouts or any living relatives turned up with nothing of interest.

He saw a report regarding a nightmare the boy but hadn't read over it until he saw another regarding his reaction to those machines he encountered a few days ago. There was obviously some sort of link between the boy and those machines, but at the moment he wouldn't delve any deeper into the subject. He was going to stand aside and continue with business as usual but if anything came up he wouldn't hesitate to take measures to make sure the boy stayed out of the hands of any other JFW.

After all, what would the witches do when the world witnesses the power of the first fully-armed warlock assault unit?


Chapter 7: Angels Of The Night


Night witches were an important breed of witches in the war against the Neuroi. The fact that they could accurately detect Neuroi during adverse weather conditions or the night skies was what earned them their name sake. Their ability to generate magical antennae allowed them to generate and detect long-range radio waves made them a very valuable resource. Despite this, they had to patrol all hours of the night and they usually end up exhausted by the time they return to their respective bases and the sun has begun to rise. Because of this, they appeared to be reclusive or introverted compared to other witches but this was far from the truth. In fact there was a large 'Night Witch Radio Community' in which Night Witches could communicate with one another during the long patrols. One example was Sanya Litvyak of the 501st JFW.

She was flying towards the Junkers Ju 52/3m transport plane whose passengers consisted of Minna, Mio, and Yoshika. The former of them was reading, the middle of the three was silently fuming, and the latter of which was watching for their escort.

"Grumpiness is written all over your face, Major Sakamoto."

"They called us all the way out here to tell us that they're only raising our budget by a tenth. So of course I look grumpy."

"They're feeling frustrated too, especially considering the fact we're the only ones producing the results and we've stumbled upon what might be a new enemy."

Mio scoffed.

"The only thing they care about is their position."

"That's just how these warmongers are. If the Neuroi had never appeared in the first place we'd be fighting each other at this very moment."

"It'd be a World at War...its scary idea once you think about it."

"Just be glad that it isn't happening now, and also be glad that they're at least taking us seriously. That reminds me, the council contacted us before we left our base, we need to talk about it once we get back."

Mio nodded before turning to the young women she recruited from her homeland.

"Sorry Miyafuji."

Said girl perked up upon hearing her name.

"I had hoped that I'd show you around a nearby town or city while we're here, but-"

"No, it wasn't that...I was uh...thinking about how the military has all sorts of people!" As she finished she heard a sound from one of the nearby radios, it was a beautiful soft melodic voice that seemed to be...singing or humming?

"Ummm, do you hear that?"

"Ah, that must be Sanya's singing. She probably came to escort us since we're pretty close to the base."

It was in that moment that Sanya approached the right flank of the transport plane where Minna and now Miyafuji were watching. She saw the young fusoan wave and she heard a quick 'Thank You!' before giving her a small nod and then breaking off to the right and diving down to the clouds below.

"She seems shy..."

Minna chuckled.

"She's a real sweetheart and she has a beautiful singing voice don't you think?"

There was a sudden pause in her singing, which caught the attention of everyone else on board.

"What's wrong, Sanya?" Mio asked.

"Something or someone is watching us..." The night witch said quietly.

"You need to speak up Sanya, we can't hear you that well."

"Sorry. An unknown is aircraft is approaching from Sirius."

"Is it Neuroi?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

Mio quickly lifted her eyepatch, revealing the purple glow of her magic eye.

"It's not moving at the speed of a regular aircraft."

"I don't see it anywhere." Mio muttered as she scanned the night sky.

"It's using the clouds as cover, so it can't be seen by the naked eye."

"Hmm. Figures." Mio muttered as she replaced her eyepatch while Miyafuji was having a minor panic attack.

"W-What can we do?!"

"There's nothing we can do, Miyafuji."

"Y-You can't be serious!"

Minna turned to the nervous witch from Fuso and tried to placate her.

"Miyafuji, I know this looks bad but there's nothing we can do when we don't have our strikers with us."

Minna paused for a second before turning back to Mio.

"You don't think they planned that do y-"

"The Neuroi would never try anything that roundabout, Minna. Although I'm not sure about those th-"

"The target is continuing to approach at high speed, three minutes to contact." The sound of Sanya's voice managed to break through the tenuous atmosphere that seemed to be inside the transport.

Minna turned to the window to face Sanya who was once again flying alongside the transport plane.

"Sanya, you'll need to buy us time until backup can arrive. But avoid engaging it as best as you can."

"Yes, ma'am." Sanya quickly flicked the safety off of her Fliegerhammer rocket launcher before breaking off and rising above the position of the plane.

She closed her eyes and focused on the radio waves of her target with a somewhat peaceful expression gracing her face. She continued to slowly drift towards where she could hear the radio waves coming off of the Neuroi's core. When she locked on, she quickly opened her eyes, raised her Fliegerhammer and shot off two rockets into the clouds below. Balls of fire lit the night sky before they faded away into darkness. She fired another rocket as she listened for alien's signal.

"It's not fighting back?" She asked inquisitively, her eyes narrowing, as more rockets flew out and darted through the clouds before exploding leaving more holes in the clouds below her. She panted as she tried to track it down again before she heard the Major's voice.

"Sanya, that's enough. Come on back."

"But-"

"It's all right, you managed to protect us all by yourself." Sanya sighed, a small frown forming on the snow-like skin of her face. She wasn't able to shoot it down but she at least managed to ward it off for the moment. 'At least it wasn't one of those monsters that attacked us a couple days ago.' She shuddered a bit, trying to forget the sound of warped irregular gears grinding against each other like the hearbeat of a warm-blooded animal. She shook her head before tiredly meeting up with Eila. Although she wouldn't admit it, she was hoping that the witch from Suomus would share her bed again.


Shortly after everyone returned to the base it was decided that Sanya and Miyafuji would be assigned as the full-time nighttime team although Eila graciously volunteered to join in as well and was accepted. The next morning came and the breakfast for that time was a bit...different than usual.

"Blueberries? Why do we have so many?" Perrine asked curiously as she drank her morning tea. There were three wire bowls that were filled with the tiny blue fruits while Lynette carried the fourth.

"Ah, my family sent them! Blueberries are good for your eyes!"

"Down the hatch!" Erica said enthusiastically as she quickly ate them out of her bowl.

"I have heard that British Pilots on night patrols eat them often." Gertrude said, not noticing how her teammate was scarfing down her breakfast without a care in the world. Lucchini sprang up out of nowhere in front of two of her teammates and their young male guest with a small grin on her face.

"Hey Yoshika! Shirley! Danniel! Stick out your tongues!" The three of them stuck out their now purple-colored tongues before Lucchini did the same. All four of them broke out into laughter shortly afterwards.

"How trite can you get..." Perrine muttered under her breath as she wiped her lips off with a napkin, she wasn't amused by their childish antics. Unfortunately for her she didn't notice a certain girl from Suomus grab the sides of her lips from behind and stretch them open to reveal her purple teeth and gums. Mio saw Perrine's formerly pearly whites with a neutral expression before sternly advising her about 'Moderation' much to her displeasure.

As Perrine started yelling at Eila angrily, Sanya continued to eat her blueberries. 'Delicious...' She thought to herself.


While the three witches of the night team were sleeping, Minna and Mio were having a short meeting.

"So what did the council want?"

"They were looking through the old archives for information on this new threat, they didn't find anything conclusive yet but they did find references to creatures similar to what we've encountered already."

"Oh? So what have they found so far?" Mio asked curiously.

"All they've found so far has determined that these creatures are not man-made nor were they made with any form of alchemy or magic. Ursula has confirmed this when she examined the remains we sent her, she also said that the mask-like...devices inside of it were capable of some form of telepathy." Minna said, her brows furrowed with worry.

"Telepathy? Could that explain why Danniel could be having those nightmares?" Mio asked with one of her own brows raised.

"Possibly, there are records of some ghosts and phantoms reaching out to others through telepathic or empathetic communication and there is the existence of entities such as Incubi and Succubi reaching out to others and manipulating their dreams." Minna shuddered a bit, she remembered in her youth how one of her classmates had a bad encounter with an Incubi many years ago and how her mother had to force the damned demon from her dreams and back to the realm from which it came.

"Well do we at least know who to go to if his...symptoms get any worse?" Mio asked with her eyes closed to hear a hum of confirmation from her old friend and fellow officer.

"They said if his nightmares get any worse or if he starts experiencing hallucinations or flashbacks of what happened in Neue Eutin to seek help from Laura Toth."

Mio's eyes quickly opened with uncertainty plastering the rest of her face.

"Pilot Officer Toth? Why her of all people? Didn't we transfer her to the Isle of Wright due to some...disagreements we've had with her?"

Minna nodded.

"Yes, but the thing is she could sympathize with what he's going through."

Mio paused for a moment before smiling sagely with a hum of interest.

"Things might start getting interesting..." Mio muttered.

"Indeed." Minna said.

"By the way, do we even have a name for these creatures?" Mio asked. Minna closed her eyes and sighed.

"We don't really have an official designation for them but there was a word that was found in the documents uncovered so far, in the documents these creatures were referred to as 'Bohrok'."


Later that day, when the dark of night had descended over the country of Britania and after drinking Marigold Herbal Tea provided by Perrine (Much to the displeasure of Sanya, Lucchini and Danniel.) the 501st JFW reported to their stations as needed while the nighttime team took off from the runway and darted off into the night with a incredibly hesitant Miyafuji who now regretted her decision of joining Sanya and Eila for a nighttime patrol.

The rest of the night at the base was uneventful with the exception of Danniel having to dart to and from his room to the bathroom a few times in the night, the Marigold Herbal Tea having not agreed with his stomach had to be purged from his bowels and he did it in the only way that he could. Minna and Mio hoped that Sanya, Eila, and Yoshika would be able to hunt down any Neuroi that they would possibly encounter that night although they were worried about an encounter with the Bohrok

Both fortunately and unfortunately, nothing of interest would be found that night.


The next morning came quickly with yet another unusual breakfast being served.

"Whats this?" Perrine asked, eying the odd yellow liquid in her teacup. She turned to the right to see Miyafuji carrying a jug with a white label written in Kanji.

"It's Lamprey Liver Oil! Its full of vitamins and its very good for your eyes."

Erica took a few sniffs of the substance in her tea cup before bringing her head back in slight disgust.

"It almost smells like fish..." She muttered.

"Well, it is fish oil. The flavor and smell don't really matter as long as its nutritious."

Perrine let out a quick laugh before mocking Miyafuji for her choice in breakfast before Mio piped in with a shake of her head.

"Actually Perrine, I'm the one who brought it."

Perrine froze with a nervous grin on her face before demanding some for herself...but when took a gulp of it her eyes widened out of her sockets, she was blue in the face, and part of her glasses had unusually cracked.

"What is this?!" Lucchini asked, her disgust both audible from her voice and visible on her face. Shirley had a thoughtful look on her face as she sipped on her cup of Lamprey Liver Oil.

"Hmm...There's engine oil that tastes like this..."

Eila was coughing out her serving while Sanya was frozen in place with her cup still in her hand and her hair overshadowing her eyes. Mio scratched the back of her head nervously with a small laugh.

"My superior officers used to force me to drink this when I first joined. I was at a real loss."

"I can completely sympathize..." Perrine whispered as she tried to regain her bearings.

"Refill please!"

"Oh, can I have some more too!"

Erica's mouth gaped as she looked at Minna and Danniel who were unaffected by the substance everyone else just drank. 'What...the...hell...' Those were the only words that came to her mind as Minna and Danniel continued to smile as Mio came over with refills.


In the depths of an island off the coast of Britannia, the Bohrok continued their work. Their so-called base of operations was an expanding network of caverns and tunnels which had large chambers filled with a mysterious metallic liquid, but the central chamber was different. This one cavern had an unidentified being hanging from the ceiling, several dark root-like protrusions having wrapped around several stalactites while a metallic torso with two limbs and a head hung upside-down nearly limp like a corpse.

One of the Bohrak, this one bearing the same appearance as the one who marked the boy at that pathetic excuse for a town that the humans called 'Neue Eutin'. It tilted its head towards the being and bowed respectfully to it.

Two red lights like a pair of scowling eyes flashed at it, the Bohrok shuddered once and fell to the ground trying to stand back up. It could feel the anger and hate coming from the hive's core. It wanted to be revived sooner rather than later, it wanted the so-called 'Neuroi' eliminated and their presence removed from their territory. They WILL not be allowed to stand in its way. Oh no, the extraterrestrial interlopers would fall to the darkness as would those damnable witches.

The red glow flickered for a moment before it finally faded away, conserving its energy to direct the rest of the Bohrok. The one in front of it had new orders and would use any means necessary to do so.


Somewhere far in the forested mountains of Britannia, there was a lone women in a dark green cloak walking along a dirt path with a black staff that had golden ornament with two claws, one taller than the other and in between them was a cylinder that ended with a short rounded tip. With the staff in her left hand she used it as an improvised walking stick of sorts, while her right hand was covered in somewhat worn white bandages. She continued along the path, only to suddenly stop when she noticed the stone steps in front of her covered by sediments of dirt and a few leaves. She raised her right hand and with an open palm she moved it in an arc to her right and the dirt and leaves were blown away by a quick gust of wind.

She looked up the stairs for a moment, the moonlight reflecting off her neon green eyes and parted to reveal the pale skin of her face. She began her trek up the stairs with her staff tapping against the stone steps below her feet, she took a glance to her right and left and noticed the remains of corroded, rusted, and worn machines that were partially buried beneath the dirt of the hills. Finally, she reached her destination. There was a stone walkway in front of her, several flower beds stood around it before they went around a circular shrine that had six tall stone spires aiming towards the heavens. She nodded to herself as she continued forward and once she reached the shrine she looked at the small opening in the center of the shrine before pulling the hood off.

She was a tall, buxom women, with blonde hair in a long bob cut, pale white skin that seemed to shimmer in the darkness, and a burn scar that encompassed the right side of her face. She wore an aged light-blue uniform of a Suomi witch with the standard issue snow white tights that were in relatively good shape and standard issue white snow boots with dirt and various debris covering the soles of it.

She took out the staff and held it in front of her with both hands, with the bottom point facing the opening below it. The ears and tail of a Great Dane emerged with a blue glow around her body, the left ear had a bite taken out of it and the tail was broken at the tip. She breathed in and out as the wind around her started to pick up and spin around the entire shrine. The staff started to glow as the air seemed to become more active and the wind twisted about around it. With a determined expression she chanted three words that she always remembered.

"Unity...Duty...DESTINY!"

And with that she slammed the bottom end of the staff into the opening and a yellow light spread throughout the shrine until it reached the pillars. One turned red like the embers of a fire, one turned a deep blue like the depths of the oceans, one turned black like the solid foundation of the earth, one turned a dark brown like stones in a pond, one turned a bright white like fresh snow, and finally one turned green like the leaves and vines of the jungle. Slowly the lights shimmered together until they became a kaleidoscope of colors that bathed the top of the hill in a bright rainbow. Then suddenly the lights were pulled into the shrine and then suddenly shot towards the nighty sky in a beam that burst through the clouds, darted past the moons and the planets of the solar system before reaching a destination beyond anywhere humanity has been so far before the light suddenly cut off. The witch looked towards the heavens as her familiar faded away and saw one of the stars in the sky glimmer brightly several shooting stars split off from it.

A small smile graced her lips and she nodded once, pulled her hood back over her head, and turned around. It was only a matter of time before the darkness would try to emerge here on Earth. The Bohrok were just the servants of an evil that had long been thought dead. However, wherever there was darkness there was always light and with her duty complete she now had to prepare for her next task. Soon the darkness will be vanquished and hopefully she would see her child again.


Chapter 8: Unexpected Reinforcements


When the so-called 'Shy Neuroi' was destroyed through the combined efforts of Sanya V. Litvyak, Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, and Miyafuji Yoshika the remaining members of the 501st were collectively relieved that a potential invader in the skies of Europe was now destroyed. The most disturbing asset of that foe being that it was actively mimicking Sanya's singing in a cold almost metallic voice and it almost killed the Orussian girl. Instead of loosing her life however, she lost a striker unit in her stead. It was then that Eila took her role as the offensive element of the trio while Miyafuji shielded them from harm, and Sanya tracked the enemy with her magical antennae as well as providing covering fire. It took a couple of minutes to finally manage to score some hits on the extraterrestrials outer-casing before taking several fatal shots to its core. The explosion that followed cut a hole in the clouds that revealed the land and sea below them, as well as revealing the sound of a piano being played...More specifically the one belonging to Sanya's father. With tears in her eyes she flew up higher into the sky, obscuring the view of Eila and Miyafuji's view of the moon before she let out a pulse from her magical antennae with one message being widespread throughout Europe:

"Father...Mother...I'm here, I'm here..."

Watching from below, far from the 501st's base in Folkestone a women with green eyes cloaked in the darkness had a small smile on her face as she watched blue aurora-like waves burst out to the rest of the sky and slowly fading out of everyone's visibility. She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a chuckle. 'Whether you are aware of it or not your voice will be heard young one...it will be heard and you will meet the ones you treasure most one day...Just remember that one of them is with you as you speak...' With a sigh to herself she continued onward towards her next objective only taking another brief glance to the glistening sky to observe five shooting stars as they darted through the heavens above.


No, no, no, no, NO!

He can't be here again! Why did they keep tormenting him? WHY?!

Look behind you.

He swiftly turned about to face something or rather someone who made the color fade out of his face. More specifically, it was an identical copy of himself that was not only stark naked but also with runes filled with circular characters that were branded on his limbs and his neck, if he saw the back he would've seen a hieroglyphic illustration of those mechanical monstrosities on the small of its back. He noticed that his doppelganger had its eyes sealed shut as the runes faintly glowed a dark green.

Morbidly curious, he tried to touch his copy with his right hand, only for it to seize his wrist at an impossible speed while its eyes burst open. The eyes were not even close to human anymore, with green sclera that rippled like the ocean's tides and two white crescent shape pupils that orbited each other on the replica's grey iris.

You have entered our realm again.

He tried to speak but all of his words were caught in his throat, only reducing him to faint whimpers and fast gasps...so he tried to physically pull away from his reflection's tight grasp.

You can not escape us.

The doppelganger quirked its head to the right, its pupils dividing into four smaller crescents while a part from the middle of them split off and formed a fifth blobbed-shaped pupil. He tried to pull away, only to notice the feminine forms of the 501st JFW dissolving out of the darkness into his line of sight, each member stood around the two in a semi-circle. He looked around and saw that they were expressionless with empty eyes that stared out into nothingness.

Do you think they can protect you? The doppelganger asked in the voice, no voices from his previous nightmares as a thick silver fluid flowed out of its nostrils.

They can and will be eliminated.

He saw the witches of the 501st writhe and spasm in the air with pained expressions despite their blank eyes before they glowed a bright green...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Screamed into his ears.

*CRRRRSSSHKK!* Suddenly go limp after the crackling of bones and ligaments.

And then...

*SPLRRRRSSSSHKKKTT!* They burst with a flash of green, soaking them to the bone with blood. There were no bones, there was no gore, just blood.

The boy stared wide-eyed at his doppelganger, how could it have done something like that?! The sound of his fist impacting against the copy's face, sending its head spin to the left before it slowly turned back to face him.

Your resistance is admirable but in vain. The thing muttered as more of that silver fluid spurted out its nostrils and started exiting its ears, mouth, and tear ducts until it pooled beneath their feet.

He slipped and fell on his back as that thing, still bleeding lowered itself and came closer to him until their faces were nearly touching.

You will come to us whether you desire to or not...

Suddenly the face of the doppelganger split in half as the silver substance flowing from it turned a darker shade of gray before its mass shifted into the shape of a Krana that roared into his ears, hands wrapped around his neck as the mass grew two limbs with needle-like edges that went to plunge into his eyes!


Minna and Mio who on their were way to meet Yoshika, Sanya, and Eila were the first to hear Danniel's scream and immediately the former ran to the source of the sound while Mio split off to meet the three witches outside.

Lynette darted awake as she heard the screams continue. "Danniel!" She jumped out of bed and stumbled out of her room.

Gertrude Barkhorn darted awake and burst out of her room while Erica fell out of her bed with a quick "Scheisse!" and quickly followed.

Lucchini was tossed off of Charlotte's bosom, rubbing her head as she caught a glimpse of Shirley as she entered the hallway.

Perrine immediately sat up, listening for the noise before grabbing her glasses and running out of the room behind Lynette with her Rapier in tow.

The door to Danniel's room flung open as she saw the boy once again writhing from yet another Nightmare.

She quickly grabbed his shoulders and then yelled out his name "Danniel!"

He awoke with a gasp and a sniffle before Minna embraced him in her arms, hearing him cry and whimper into his chest.

"Another nightmare?" Erica asked.

"Ja." Gertrud said with a nod.

"Mon Dieu, he sounded like he was being tortured...Putain de Merde!" Perrine muttered.

"I-Is he okay?" Lynette asked with concern laced in her voice. Minna turned to face them as she continued to let the boy cry into her chest.

"Nein, he's shaken up...looks like this one was worse than the previous one."

"So, what now?" Shirley asked with her arms crossed and a brow raised in bewilderment. Minna turned to the audience outside of the room before making a quick sigh before adopting a resolute expression.

"Erica, Gertrud, get the radio up and running. NOW."


"Folkestone to Pendragon, do you read? Pendragon, this is Folkestone do you read?"

"Folkestone, this is Pendragon. Identify yourself."

"Pendragon this is Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. I repeat this is Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing in Folkestone."

"Affirmative Wing Commander, how can we be of assistance?"

"I need Air Force Inspector General Galland on the line, this is a critical matter."

"Standby Wing Commander..."

It was but only ten minutes later that she finally heard the voice of the person she was waiting for.

"This is Air Force Inspector General Adolfine Galland speaking. Its good to hear from you, Minna."

Minna chuckled.

"I would say the same to you if it weren't for the fact we may have a problem."

"What is it you require? If its about your funding, there is nothing I can do at the mome-"

"This isn't about funding, this is about the Bohrok."

"Ah, what is you wish to discuss?"

Minna sighed.

"The boy has had a second nightmare, I and Mio can assume that it is their doing. However, this one was worse than the previous one."

"How so?"

"He said that he encountered a living breathing doppelganger of himself with runes branding all over him and eyes that were extremely different than his own. The doppelganger actually spoke to him and questioned whether or not we could protect him...Shortly afterwards he said he saw all members of the 501st, myself included being torture before we were engulfed by a green flash and then...we literally exploded into blood."

Adolfine was silent, letting Minna continue.

"In his nightmare he punched his copy in the face before it turned back to face him, bleed a silver fluid which he slipped on before it pounced on him and then its face split open and revealed a...monster made out of the substance before it grew two arms that it used to gouge out his eyes."

More silence from Adolfine, that was worrying.

"Adolfine?"

"Ja, I'm still here...But what you just told me was VERY disturbing. The fact that the Bohrok have been assaulting a child's mind with such horrific imagery is just...wrong."

"Indeed, I was wondering what our next move should be. You mentioned sending Pilot Officer Toth our way because of her...experience with trauma of the mind."

"Ah, that I did...That I did...In fact I'll give Pilot Officer Kadomaru a call and tell her to send Laura down to your base and in addition I'll send some additional reinforcements your way."

"Additional Reinforcements? Who are you sending?"

The Air Force Inspector General chuckled.

"That would ruin the surprise!~" She uncharacteristically said in a sing-song voice, which ruffled Minna's feathers.

"Regardless, I appreciate you doing this for us. If you or anyone else finds out anything about these Bohrok please send us what you have A-S-A-P."

"Ja, I'll see to it that I do. Now, is there anything else I can do for you and your squadron?"

"No, that's it. Thanks for your help."

"No problem Wing Commander." Adolfine chuckled before adding one last request, "Oh, and Minna can you please ask Sergeant Bishop why she hasn't sent a reply to my letters yet? I'd be delighted to hear from her again. ~ Fufufu..."


After she made the call to the council of witches, Minna told everyone to head back to their rooms and get some sleep. The next morning though, there was a small Birthday party held for both Sanya and Miyafuji. All of the girls (and one boy) being invited to celebrate their fourteenth Birthday, it was a joyful moment for both witches especially the former who had been separated from her parents for so long. Although it should be noted that later that night, Shirley saw Eila escorting the younger witch from Orussia on her patrol for a private discussion of sorts...even though a more amorous part of her assumed it may have been a little more intimate than a simple talk girl-to-girl. The truth about the entire matter would probably never be known to anyone outside the two wingmates.


The next day seemed to have arrived quicker than usual, though the truth was a few of the witches had head to bed early and then woke up on time (with the exception of Erica who once again had to be awakened by Barkhorn). After breakfast all of the witches broke off to perform their various duties, Lynette and Miyafuji were doing laundry, Gertrud was once again training with Erica (much to the latter's displeasure), Lucchini was sleeping on a tree branch, Shirley was working on her Striker Unit, Eila was playing tarot under the shade of a tree while Sanya slept on her lap, Perrine was stalking Mio (who at the moment was talking with Minna), and Minna was outside the opening of the hangar waiting for the reinforcements the 501st would receive.

"So they're sending Toth back to us?" Mio asked with a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

"Mhmm." Minna said with a nod.

"Barkhorn isn't going to like this..." Mio said dryly while Minna gave a dismissive shake of her head,

"I already told her about Laura Toth's arrival and that we were under orders to bring her back. She was upset but she would keep her objections to herself."

Mio chuckled quietly, a confused expression on Minna's face.

"Whats so funny?" Minna asked quizzically, which only lead to Mio's chuckles to turn to soft laughter.

"I don't know if you've noticed but Barkhorn and Erica's training has been more intense than usual today, you can probably guess why!"

Minna bit her lip to hold back a mischievous grin on her face, while Erica Hartmann was one of the aces of Karlsland she had some qualities outside of combat that irritated her longtime friend and comrade Gertrud Barkhorn, mostly because it was unbecoming of her heritage and her position.

"Ah, it looks like Laura is about to arrive."

Minna looked up in the sky and speak of the devil, they could see the silver-haired with from Ostmark making her final approach to the base with her Striker Units whirring in the air as she slowly made her descent towards the runway. When she came to a halt, she turned her head to Minna with her expressionless face as she slowly hovered towards the innards of the hanger.

"Pilot Officer Toth."

"Wing Commander." The silver-haired witch gave a quick and curt response along with a salute before hopping out of her striker unit and putting on her socks and combat boots.

"We'd like to welcome you back to the 501st...even if it is just temporary for the moment." Minna said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Wing Commander. I received a briefing from General Galland about the situation, I will assist you as needed."

Minna noted that she still seemed a bit blunt and unsocial but the look in her eyes told the Wing Commander that something about her had changed but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Well then, I'll help you settle in and then I'll introduce you to Dann-"

"You may want to wait..." Laura interrupted, while Minna raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Why?"

Her response was to turn head to the sky and pointed to a transport plane in the distance.


"So...Tired..." Erica panted to herself.

"Come on Hartmann, we still have one more lap to do!"

"But Trude I'm tired can't we rest for a bit?" The blonde asked as she gasped for breath.

"Hey, Trude?" No response, Erica turned to the sky to see a JU-52 transport plane flying in low for an approach. Odd, last time she remembered they weren't scheduled to get new supplies.

Before she could say anything else she saw a very familiar figure jump out of the back of the aircraft, right to the area where Lyn and Yoshika were doing laundry while the plane went towards the runway..

"That's-!" Gertrud eyes widened in surprise, recognition, and annoyance before she took off, leaving Erica behind.

"Trude? Er, W-Wait for me, verdammt!"


Descending from the air was a women and not just any women but she was most likely a witch with long silver-blonde hair, slightly tanned skin, a black Karlsland Air Force jacket covering the light-colored uniform, yellow socks, brown leather boots, and goggles covering her eyes.

Lynette and Miyafuji watched in morbid interest as they thought that whoever jumped from the plane would most likely die without a striker unit. However, what happened next was that the blue outline of magic formed around her body while a pair of feathered wings sprouted from above her head and a feathered tail emerged from underneath her skirt and just before she hit the ground there was a burst of wind before she flipped herself facing forward and landed on her feet like a cat!

"Wow!" Miyafuji gushed.

"Hey." The witch pulled her goggles up to her forehead and smiled. "Nice to meet you, kitties."

"Kitties?" Lynette confusedly asked while Miyafuji continued to gush like the Fuso School Girl she was.


"Marseille?!" Minna's jaw dropped as Laura continued to watch on with her emotionless gaze, while Mio took on a thoughtful look.

"Wait, if Marseille is here then that means..."

"Konichiwa!" The wing commander and squadron leader turned around to the transport that landed minutes ago to see a brown-haired Fusoan witch wearing a red hakama of the Fuso Imperial Army, black vambraces, and black armored thigh-high leggings.

"Sorry about that, but she wanted to make an entrance!"

Soon after, several other witches started to exit the transport plane...all of them being familiar faces of...

"The 31st Joint Fighter Squadron?!"


Chapter 9: The Coming Storm


They were all here, each member of the 31st Joint Fighter Squadron, also known as "The Storm Witches".

The leader was Captain Katou Keiko from Fuso, nicknamed "Kei" by a few of her comrades she was a twenty-five year old witch with a short mop of brown hair, brown eyes, and the familiar uniform of the Fuso Imperial army as her Leica II camera hanging by its straps on her neck. Though she couldn't really generate a shield anymore, she could still fly as an airborne commander and perform photographic reconnaissance if need be. She also was a war correspondant on the side, so she knew her way around the press and was also the official photographer of the Star Of Africa.

Speaking of the Star of Africa, the blonde-haired Karlsland witch Hanna-Justina Wallia Rosalind Sieglinde Marseille was the Flying Officer of the tight-nit Joint Squadron and she was well known as an ace in Africa with the highest shot-down record during her time in Africa. Although, it is known that she has a bit of a rivalry with Gertrude Barkhorn and a somewhat more friendlier relationship with Erica Hartmann.

One of her wingmates was Raisa Pöttgen, another witch from Karsland that in despite of her childish appearance was quiet, polite and tractable individual which oddly contrasted with some of her boyish mannerisms. She had blonde hair that went midway down her neck, ghostly blue eyes, and she wore a tan Karlsland military uniform that bare desert colors, a similarly-colored officer's cap, yellow socks, and brown desert boots.

Then there was Marseille's subordinate, a native from the Southern part of Africa. She was an odd one due to the fact that she didn't hold a formal rank or affiliation with any military, and when using her magic she didn't connect with a familiar. Despite these anomalies she took care of Marseille's various assets and she was a capable tank witch (Although strangely, she tended to use an Assegai Spear, a Slingshot, and a Shield in battle.). She had dark skin, brown hair, and relaxed red eyes which matched her usually calm demeanor.

Then there was Sergeant Inagaki Mami, a daughter of a noble who is highly educated and intelligent despite her stature. She wore the same type of uniform as Katou Keiko but she had black hair that went down below her neck and dark brown eyes. Her Fuso Cat familiar was on display, mostly because her inherent magical abilities reduced the weight of the striker units she held under each arm.

The last member of the 31st was Sergeant Kitano Furuko, a bespectacled tank witch who had her Type 38 Infantry Rifle Slung of her shoulder. She had brown eyes, brown hair with two messy bangs parting the sides of her face and the rest of it tied off in a braid that went down her back, and she wore a tan variation of the uniform used by Egyptian soldiers, only wearing a skirt that covered her front and rear ends. However, she had put the cap with the shades back with her belongings as she wouldn't be dealing with the desert heat of Northern Africa for a while.

Once they had debarked from the plane, Minna had decided to talk to Katou Keiko.

"So, Galland sent you here?" She asked.

"Hai, she sent us over here because we are the only other squadron to ever have an encounter with the Bohrok."

"Wait, you fought them too?"

"Hai, we were doing a patrol near the Mediterranean when we saw three of those things come in from the coast. They were smaller than the ones in your report, so we managed to take down two of them without that much of a hassle." Keiko said.

"What about the thir-"

"It fled back into the water, we couldn't get a good view of where it was going when it dived under but it looked like it was heading North-West. After we brought back the bodies, we received a report about your encounter with them as well as what little information has been found so far. The smaller ones we encountered are called 'Bohrok Va', they act as scouts and they also provide extra Krana to the ones who lost theirs."

Minna frowned, it was discouraging enough that they were attacking Neuroi and Humans but if they were sending scouts down to Africa and possibly Europe's mainland then that is a sign that they either encompassed more territory than originally thought or that they were scouting out new territory that they could occupy in the future. Either way though, it was more of a reason why the Bohrok had to be eliminated at all costs.


When he was called out of his room by Minna, Danniel instantly perked up and left his room. He looked left and right, once again trying to find out where the call of the Wing Commander came from until he heard her call his name again. After homing in on her voice he found himself in the briefing room where he was introduced to the 501st for the first time.

That is until he winced at the sharp feminine squeal that met his ears, before he saw a flash of white and red, inhaled the scent of fresh-cut flowers, and was assaulted by the sensation of his face being buried in a pair of warm pillows and two arms hugging the living daylights out of him.


A few minutes earlier...

"WOW!" Miyafuji gushed, she was looking at a book that Lynette found in the library...more specifically one about a certain guest who decided to jump out of a transport plane and land on her feet without injury or death. She was probably one of the more impressive Karlslander aces who has faced the Neuroi much like Erica Hartmann herself. While the young witch from Fuso would love to get her autograph, she was disappointed to hear from Shirley that she doesn't sign autographs.

Speaking of Shirley, she was currently having a conversation with Matilda who seemed to be snickering about something she said all the while Lucchini rested on her bosom.

Mio on the other hand was with Kitano Furuko, Inagaki Mami, and Katou Keiko discussing some strategies and/or future plans for fighting the Neuroi and the Bohrok, only those four were speaking in Fusoan rather then in commonspeak.

Perrine was brewing tea for Mio and was just going with the flow for the moment. She wasn't jealous or upset about the new arrivals, nope. Not upset at all.

Eila was playing with her tarot deck only this time, a certain white-haired orussian girl was fast asleep leaning on her shoulders.

Barkhorn and Marseille were outside training, as the rivalry that had sparked between them some time ago had once again brought out their competitive sides...Much to the bemusement of Raisa and Erica who were watching them jog from one end of the runway to another.

Meanwhile, Minna decided to fill Laura Toth in on the young male guest who was living with the 501st at the moment. Minna felt uncomfortable speaking to the witch from Ostmark about Danniel's nightmares and his fear of the Bohrok...especially considering how apathetic she could be especially in regards to her own personal safety. But Laura Toth seemed to have something in her eyes that spoke of...understanding...which was strange yet oddly relieving.

"...and that is everything has happened so far." Minna finished explaining everything she had about the young boy before sighing to herself.

"May I meet him?" Laura asked.

"Oh, of course-" Minna peaked out of the door of the briefing room before calling out to Danniel. "Danniel! Danniel, could you come here please?"

She paused for a moment before trying again. "Danniel, can you come here please?"

This time she got a response in the form of his approach into the room, although it didn't go unnoticed by the members of the 31st (Sans Marseille and Raisa of course.). As soon as Katou Keiko caught a glimpse of a boy, her face lit up with a smile and with a short squeal she ran towards the boy, and then pulled him into hug with his feet dangling in the air as she swung him to and fro like a giant teddy bear.


Present...

Minna was the first to recover from the sight of the blonde-haired boy being hugged by the over-enthusiastic witch from Fuso and she tried to intervene so she didn't accidentally kill the poor boy.

"Er, Commander what are yo-"

"CU-TIE PIIIIEEE!" Katou squealed with a smile on her face and a bright red blush as she nuzzled his hair with her face. Immediately afterwards, Shirley started laughing out loud at the sight, Matilda snickered, Sanya gave a bemused half-lidded glance as her nap was disturbed, Eila bit her lip as she tried to hold herself back from snickering, Mio raised an eyebrow while the two other witches from Fuso were whispering things like 'Shotacon' behind Keiko's back, Miyafuji and Lynette's mouths gaped in bewilderment (Although the former felt a strange pang of jealousy towards the fact that the blonde-haired boy's face was pressed against her bosom, she wisely kept this hidden), Perrine rolled her eyes and went back to serving tea, while Minna was the only one who decided to intervene.

"Commander Keiko?"

No response, she just continued to hug the little boy in her arms as she was trapped in her own little world. That is when Kitano decided to call her out.

"Commander?"

Once again no response, but she noticed that Danniel was trying to fruitlessly worm his way out of the Fusoan's grip, only to end up with a tighter embrace and his face being smashed further into the girl's breasts.

"OI! KEI!"

The Fusoan women suddenly went still, taking a glance at was Marseille who was standing outside the doorway with a raised eyebrow. While Katou went to respond, Danniel took this opportunity to slip out of her weakened grasp and hide behind Minna. Katou cleared her throat, chuckling bashfully.

"Ano...I-I'm sorry...Er, I'll try to control myself next time."

Shaking her head, she approached Minna and saw the blonde-haired boy peak behind her legs.

"Who is he anyway?"

Minna reassured the young boy with a pat on the head.

"He's Danniel Wellcraft...The same one from the brie-"

"Oh, right. Okay!" She then stuck her hand out to the boy as he trembled a little. "Hey there, Danniel-kun. I didn't mean to scare you like that, you were just so cute!"

Reluctantly, he reached out behind Minna and shook her hands, the older commander chuckling at his shyness. Matilda was the next one to approach him, she stuck her hand out and introduced herself to him, he shook her hand with a small smile on his face. Her laid back demeanor allowed him to relax around her and she noticed that the young boy didn't have the same...prejudices she had dealt with many times in the past.

Inagaki Mami and Kitano Furuko gave a quick introduction and a bow, which he tried his best to respond to much to their amusement.

Raisa offered her hand out for a handshake and quickly introduced herself, not that the boy didn't mind of course.

Then when he saw the tall Karlslander with silvery blonde hair, he felt a flutter of something in his chest and a slight burning in his cheeks. Although he tried his best to hide it.

"H-Hello, my name is Danniel Wellcraft...H-How are you?"

Marseille tilted her head in slight bemusement but shrugged it off and responded casually.

"Flying Officer Hanna-Justina Marseille of Karlsland, pleased to meet you."

When he turned back to Minna, that is when he saw...her.


Laura watched the boy's reaction to her presence with an analytical gaze, she saw a few different things flash in his eyes: Curiosity, Interest, a bit of shyness and strangely a pang of familiarity. She hadn't met this boy before until now, she had read the briefings on him and had reviewed everything Minna knew about him since he arrived at Folkestone but other then that she had never had a close encounter with the boy until now. It was possible she resembled someone the boy could have met in the past but she wouldn't know for sure until she spoke with him. Gathering her thoughts, her feelings, and her experience she approached the boy.


Danniel didn't know why but this witch seemed oddly familiar to him. But he hasn't met her before, has he? His thoughts were interrupted when she approached him.

"My name is Laura Toth and I'm a pilot officer of the Island of Wight Detachment."

Her tone of voice was cold, so much so that it sent a few shivers up his spine but he wasn't afraid of her. Oh no, far from it. He felt...safe around her and a gut instinct told him he could trust her with his life regardless of her seemingly emotionally-detached attitude.

"I'm Danniel Wellcraft, its a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He responded calmly to her and shook her hand. Another shiver up his spine, but the skin of her hand felt soft and warm, unlike her attitude. It was a paradox he wouldn't have expected to find in a women until now of course.

Minna watched with curiosity as the two began to interact with one another, the boy being oddly comfortable around a witch who has had a unnerving history of rushing into battle with little to no regards to her own safety or life. It was odd but it was also relieving to see a witch who has been through so much trauma offer to help someone who like herself has been traumatized.

"I've come here to help you, Danniel."

"Help me? How?"

Laura didn't answer that question immediately, instead she gave the boy a small smile.

"You'll find out soon enough..." She said before briefly taking her leave from the room, leaving it silent for the moment until Keiko broke it.

"So...whose bunking with who?"

As soon as she asked that question the sound of Marseille and Barkhorn shouting at each other got everyone's attention. Apparently, both of them were arguing about whoever was sharing a room with Erica Hartmann, said ace was not amused.

All in all it would be the beginning of what would be one of many occurrences in the 501st JFW and the 31st JFS.


A multi-legged variant of a Neuroi drone fell to the ravaged surface of the hive, its outer hull crushed by the now warped forces of Gravity and its core slowly cracking until it finally shattered. What followed was a small explosion that left a few scars on the ground. Several more of the insectoid Neuroi let loose several beams of light that almost hit its target: The black form of Nuhvok; the Bohrok subspecies of Earth. Only this one was bearing a silver face plate with a strange black sigil, silver saw-blade-like shields for hands, and silver armor on its feet. The beetle-like machine curled into a ball and rolled out of the way, dodging two shots as it barreled into a smaller drone, reducing it to mere white shards in an instant. It then flipped back into its normal form before pointing its weapon at the space between the multiple drones. With just a screech of air, a black hole formed in between them and all of them were instantly sucked into the vortex and smothered into oblivion. The beetle made what sounded like a sigh of frustration before the Black Hole collapsed into nothingness.

It didn't notice another drone behind it, ready to smash its robotic body to pieces until it was blown aside by a deafening boom before tumbling a few times on its cracked limbs. It tried to stand only for another wave of deafening noise impacted its body, creating a round dent that punched through the alien's core from the outside in. The explosion that followed wasn't as loud as the sound that bellowed from its host, a Kohrak; The Bohrok Subspecies of Ice. However, much like the armored Nuhvok, it had a silver faceplate (only with a white sigil), equally silver feet, and its silver tools consisting of a shield with five smaller segmented disks that had ceased vibrating from the attacks.

"So you have awakened, Kohrak-Kal..." The one in black said, with a bit of uncertainty in its voice.

"Yes, Nuhvok-Kal." Kohrak-Kal whispered, being careful not to damage its comrade with its power of sound.

"What of the others?" Kohrak-Kal paused after that question before slouching, its head pointing down.

"They were eliminated, their bodies have been destroyed and their Krana hidden." It rasped.

"So...it seems we are the only two of the Bohrok-Kal alive but no matter, we will soon have the marked one in our grasp."

"And these invaders?" Kohrak-Kal asked curiously, only to be met with a metallic scoff by Nuhvok-Kal.

"If they are in our way, we will destroy them if need be. They may outnumber us but we have weapons and powers that surpass their own."

"So when do we get started?"

Nuhvok-Kal turned to its ally, it would've have smiled evilly if it had the face to do so when it answered.

"Immediately."


Chapter 10: Nice and Breezy!


After their arrival at the 501st JFW's Headquarters, the members of the 31st Joint Fighter Squadron had finally settled in after a few hours of unloading equipment, although the last piece of business was deciding where everyone was going to sleep. The 501st JFW had only two rooms left, one of which was only partially occupied by Danniel while the other was completely empty. Thankfully though, Minna and Mio had found a few disassembled bunk beds which could be put in both rooms, so they planned on switching out Danniel's bed from his room out and then putting in two bunk beds, while the other room would have two as well.

Although it meant that they'd have enough room to host the newest additions, it would lead to an interesting discussion later that evening.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Minna asked the members of the 31st JFS, Laura Toth, and Danniel who had all assembled in the living room area of the base. Satisfied that everyone was there she began to make an announcement.

"As you know our base is a little cramped at the moment so we've had to make a few adjustments to the two remaining rooms, we've already added two bunk beds to each room so you'll all have a place to sleep."

"If that is the case, why did you call us down here?" Raisa asked curiously, "We don't really need any suggestions of where we should bunk, right?"

There were multiple vocal agreements with the members of the 31st that is until Minna giggled to herself.

"If this were an ordinary situation, yes. However, we do have a minor issue that needs to be discussed." Minna walked behind Danniel who was sitting on one of the couches and put a hand on his shoulder, "One of the rooms is already occupied by Danniel, so we need to talk about who is willing to bunk with him."

The boy in question blushed, lowered his head down, and wiggled uncomfortably in his seat when several of the girls made exclamations about the fact that at least three young women were going to be sharing a room with an eleven-year old boy.

"Oh, well that's different.." Keiko shrugged.

"Meh, it can't be helped, right?" Marseille muttered.

"S-Sharing a room with a boy?!" Mami whimpered, her face full of dread.

"Well, that is a first." Furuko chimed in with shrug.

"Indeed." Matilda nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't mind either way..." Raisa paused before whispering under her breath "As long as I'm with Hanna that is...".

Laura was oddly quiet for a moment before standing at attention.

"As per why I am here...I don't mind sharing a room with him." Laura said. In truth though, she was doing it so that she could keep a closer eye on the boy as she tries to help him with his nightmares and post-traumatic stress as well as trying to help him remember the events at Neue Eutin. Minna thought it was a good call on Laura's part and nodded.

"Pilot Officer Toth gets the second bunk. Who else is willing to bunk with him?"

With a sigh Furuko stood up next, "I don't really mind kids all that much so I can share a room with him if need be." She gave the boy a reassuring smile.

"Anyone el-"

Immediately Katou Keiko stood up with her hand raised.

"I call dibs on the last bunk!" Katou said with a shine of glee in her eyes, hoping that she would be able to sleep in the same room as the little cuddlemuffin (Was that even a word?) from Neue Eutin, he was so cute!

Minna nodded before looking to the remaining girls of the squadron.

"Alright then, the rest of you; Marseille, Raisa, Mami, and Matilda will be assigned to the other room. Any objections?"

She neither saw nor heard an objection so she decided the best thing to do was to let them unpack in their rooms.

"Okay." She gave one last look around as they stood at attention, "DISMISSED!"

At that point Marseille left the room with Raisa, Matilda and Mami trailing behind her while Laura stood up with Furuko and Danniel...until Kei hugged the boy from behind with her breasts pressing against the back of his head.

"So, it looks like we get to share a room with you cutie pie~!"

The boy's face flushed crimson, she was so close he picked up that flowery scent again and he could feel her literally breathing down his neck! Fortunately, he was saved by Furuko who flicked her superior officer on the nose.

"Kei, stop teasing the poor boy!"

Said girl pouted but complied with the demand, she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of the others again despite how adorable Danniel may be.

"Well then, lets get unpacked shall we?"

The boy nodded, offering to lead the way as all three girls carried their personal belongings and luggage behind them.

The three girls of the 31st made a conversation as they made their way to the shared room. Laura glanced to the boy beside her, she noticed a glimmer of vague familiarity in his eyes when they first met. She didn't know whether this was associated with his trauma or it was something else nestled into his memory. However, she decided to put that off for the moment.

"Miss Toth?"

Responding to the formal title, she sighed before turning to the boy.

"Call me Laura, Danniel. What is it you need?"

The boy apologized before returning to his original question:

"Miss Toth, you said you were here to help me...How so?"

The witch from Ostmark put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I have heard that you had nightmares about the Bohrok..."

She felt the boy tense up at the mention of the subject before deciding to continue.

"Do not be afraid, I...have a feeling about what you might be going through."

Danniel seemed to relax slightly at that statement, Laura noticed that his breathing had also slowed down back to normal levels. She wouldn't prod any further for now though as he was clearly uncomfortable even hearing anyone mention the Bohrok or his nightmares out loud. Another reason as to why she wouldn't go further is because they had reached their destination.

"Here's the room, I don't think they have the bunk beds read-Oh..."

Trailing off, he saw that the wooden bunk beds were set up with one on the end of the room closest to the window, while the other was against the wall closest to the wall. The dresser drawer was set in between both beds while both night stands were at the fronts of each bunk bed while the closet across from it was wide open.

"Wow, the maintenance crews work fast here." Keiko nodded, impressed. Immediately, she claimed one of the top bunks but not before sliding her personal locker under the bottom bunk.

"Dibs." She said with a mock salute.

"Okay then."

Furuko claimed the bunk underneath Keiko's with a shrug of her shoulders, opening her locker and depositing a few personal items before putting it away.

"Which bunk do you want?" Laura asked. Danniel took a quick glance at the remaining bunks before choosing the last bottom bunk. Leaving Laura Toth to claim the final bunk for herself.

Things seemed to be going well until Keiko decided to ask about how their going to get dressed with a pre-teen boy in their midst. There was a sharp fleshy slap of Furuko's hand against her head, she knew this would get awkward.


Later that night, the sound of soft whimpering awoke Laura whose eyes shot open immediately. She lifted her head slowly and cautiously, peeking at the bunks opposite of theirs. On the top bunk, Keiko was on her left side clutching her pillow in an embrace, wearing nothing but a yukata that went down to her knees while Furuko was laying on her back with her arms laying peacefully at her sides under the covers.

A short shiver caught her attention and with her fellow witches sleeping peacefully, the source of the noise was obvious. She took a gander at the bunk below her and sure enough Danniel was there in his matching pajama pants and shirt shivering in his sleep, sweat rolling down his brow, and his face furrowing unpleasantly in his slumber.

Sighing to herself, she carefully slid out of her bunk, softly landing on her feet with nothing but a loose-fitting nightshirt and her panties before quietly making her way under the boy's covers as he rolled onto his right side. Gently, she wrapped her arms and legs around the boy spooning her body around him with her breasts pressing against the back of his head and her chin touching his hair.

He seemed to gasp in his slumber a bit, twitching uncomfortably as Laura shushed him and soothingly stroked his left side and his head. Slowly his body relaxed, his breathing slowed down to normal, and he seemed to respond to the witches touch by cuddling closer to her as she could. With that done, she embraced him before she fell back asleep with a soft yawn.


Sanya yawned, slightly slumped forward as she made her descent back to base after a long night patrol. Her striker units buzzed quietly, her Fliegerhammer was in a resting position, all nine rockets having been unspent due to an uneventful night with no contacts except for a few broadcasts from radio stations or the occasional night witch on patrol in another region of Europe. All she had to do was to pull into the hanger, disengage from her striker units, and drop of her weapon and she could get some well-earned rest.

Speaking of well-earned rest, a majority of the inhabitants on the base were sleeping peacefully for the moment.

Miyafuji lay asleep on her back with one arm under the covers while the other rested over her chest.

Lynette was on her side hugging her pillow with a blush while her long light brown hair was untied from the braid she kept it in and splayed along her bed.

Perrine laid on her back asleep and much like Lynette her hair was messily splayed over her pillow.

Minna slept on her side, with one arm folded close to her chest while the other grasped at the corner of her pillow.

Trude was asleep on her back, with only part of her shoulders and chest peaking out from under the covers while her brown hair embraced the back of her neck.

Erica was not on her bed asleep but rather had slipped off the bed in the middle of the night and was on the floor with only a loose blanket covering her legs and a few scattered pieces of clothing covering her face and arms.

Eila laid on her back asleep, snoring quietly although that would probably change when Sanya arrived.

Shirley laid on her bed with only part of the covers on her legs, while her upper body was spread one the bed and pillows as an unfinished device and an instruction manual messily arranged on either side of her bed as she snored loudly.

Lucchini wasn't sleeping on a bed but instead was snoozing like a cat on a tree branch with the flag of her home country underneath her.

Marseille slept on her side, her pair of goggles hanging of her neck as the covers were squeezed tightly in her grasp.

Raisa slept on her stomach with both of her hands wrapped around the bottom half of her pillow while her head was on the top of it.

Matilda was already awake, having awoken early out of habit and was now in the kitchen after quickly cleaning herself up a couple of minutes ago.

Mami slept on her back, her arms on her sides over the covers as she breathed quietly in her slumber.

Furuko had rolled onto her side in her sleep and her arms laid in front of her clutching the surface of her bed.

Keiko had more or less remained in the same position she did before however there was a small line of drool that had rolled down her pillow.

Danniel remained cuddled with Laura, both of whom having a good night's sleep although...Keiko would most likely take a quick photo of that moment to use for blackmail material if she ever needed it.

Mio was the only other witch on base that was awake, jogging through the woods before reaching a clearing and making several practice swipes and cuts as her morning regiment. A minute or so later the sound of the first call on the bugle caught her attention and it would also serve as a wake up call for a majority of the personnel on base. However, today would be a bit different as most of everybody had overslept and the following events that all started when Erica Hartmann couldn't find her panties.


"I can't find...my panties." Erica muttered to herself as she finished going through the disorganized mess that was her room, she took a glance or two around the room, sighing to herself.

"Oh, well." She shrugged.

Meanwhile, after being part of Mio's morning mid-day training exercises, both Lucchini and Miyafuji both excitedly jumped into the baths while Sakamoto and Perrine started to strip.

"Nothing beats a good sweat after training." Mio said, shedding off her top with a blushing Perrine watching.

"Y-Y-Yes, you're right." Perrine said quietly, and soon a fantasy of her idol sitting next to her, taking off her eye-patch and giving her a shiny toothy grin. She squealed to herself, blushing and drooling a bit, not noticing that a half-undressed Laura Toth and Kitano Furuko were watching her.

"Whats her major malfunction?" she asked while Laura shrugged and hummed 'I don't know.'. Perrine made a noise of confusion, realizing that Major Sakamoto was gone and she was left alone. Not wanting to be left out, she quickly started stripping as fast as her hands would allow her before she quickly crept into the baths while a bemused Furuko and Toth watched.

"Weird." Laura muttered, Furuko hummed in agreement.

Perrine was running so fast in the steamy bath that her glasses had been covered in condensation and before she even knew it she had slipped on a bar of soap, her towel flying off as she splashed into the bath. When she surfaced, her first flustered response was to call out the culprit.

"W-W-Who was the one who dropped their soap on the flo-"

"Are you okay?" Mio asked the Gailian girl who suddenly saw that she was in the arms of her idol. Suddenly, the noble girl's face turned a bright red, sputtering half-finished words as her brain short-circuited.

"Excuse me!" She shouted before slipping out of the women's arms and taking a seat beside her looking down at herself bashfully.

"Um...may I join you?" she asked meekly.

"Sure, don't be concerned with rank in the bath!"

"Ah, I'm sorry Perrine-san it flew out of my hands!" Miyafuji apologized.

Perrine's face turned dark red, flustered but instead of admonishing the school girl from Fuso she uncharacteristically thanked her instead, much to the bemusement of everyone else in the baths.


Erica slid down the railing, jumping off at the end landing on her feet, the flaps at the back of her uniform flipping up a bit before descending back down. The ace gave a small sneeze complaining about how breezy it was before taking a glimpse at the purple drapes near the entrance of the baths. An idea popped into her head at that moment and a few moments later she left the room with her arms up in the air like a plane as she happily trotted off to places unknown. However, if one of the witches was there before hand they would have noticed that she was wearing a familiar pair of blue and white stripped panties.

A few minutes later...

"My panties!" Lucchini muttered, she thought she had left them in the bin earlier but it wasn't there! All that was left was her uniform, her shoes, and her socks! However, she smiled deviously, eyes twinkling when she spotted a pair of light purple panties sitting neatly on top of the folded blue dress and pantyhose of a certain Gailian noble.

A couple minutes later...

"Oh? Oh my, Oh my..." Muttered Perrine as she started sifting underneath the clothes in her bin, last time she saw them her panties were on top of them. One thorough search of the contents in her bin proved fruitless.

"Wha- They're gone! My pan-" She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and clearing her throat as she stayed calm.

"N-No, it's fine..." she said to herself as she started putting her clothes (sans panties) back on. 'Stay Calm, Perrine Clostermann! A noble lady of Gailia must not become flustered over a minor nuisance like this!' Nodding resolutely after pulling on her pantyhose and putting on her blouse despite the blush on her face. 'That's right! S-So what if I don't have panties!' Immediately, she let the ears and tail of her familiar spring out, with the latter curling around her right leg to cover her modesty. However, her calm attitude started to fail after that. Her face was still flushed and she didn't feel comfortable.

"If only I had a replacement..." she whimpered. She looked to her right and instantly her face along with the features of her familiar perked up and she gasped at the sight in her eyes.

'This is...the major's!' Indeed she had her sights on the one piece swimsuit and was reaching to grab them with her reddened face until she stopped.

"W-What am I thinking? I-I would never stoop so low to do something like this!" She thought out loud and thought she felt ashamed a small grin was forming on her face.

"I musn't take them without permission. No of course not..." Muttering to herself as she held it in her arms, some very perverse emotions and thoughts bubbling inside of her.

'Just try them on...No, that would be unforgivable! Unforgivable!'

She was interrupted when Miyafuji emerged from the bath, mouth gaping a bit. "Eh?"

"Uh..." Perrine tried to come up with an excuse, her shame starting to rise up and then suddenly spilling over as Mio came out behind her fellow Fusoan.

"What are you doing?"

Perrine yelped, looking incredibly guilty at the moment until Miyafuji commented about how the Gailian was holding her swimsuit. Perrine gasped, dropping the garments in embarrassment, oh the humiliation! She thought for sure it was the swimsuit of her idol! So she did her best to avoid further embarrassment by forming a scowl on her face, eyes shut, with her face turned away haughtily.

"T-T-This is a crime!"

Needless to say her explanation would not only prove to be awkward but also much more humiliating.


Meanwhile, after exiting a small building with Minna, Lynette with the package in her hands took a look into the sky.

"What nice weather!"

"Indeed." Minna agreed, "Its so peaceful."

Little did they know of what was happening back at base.


"This is a crime." Gertrude Barkhorn grunted, standing next to the table with Charlotte Yeager seated with a mischievous if not suggestive grin on her face. On one spot of the table, in front of them was Miyafuji's neatly folded swimsuit.

Across from them was an uncomfortable-looking Miyafuji and Perrine both clutching the front hems of their uniforms while Major Sakamoto stood to one side bemused.

Meekly, Miyafuji asked if she could have her swimsuit back but Barkhorn refused, stating that it was evidence. The school girl objected and only after a quick glance to her clenched uniform did Barkhorn understand.

"You aren't wearing anything?" Bemused at first, she then closed her eyes and started grabbing the waistbands of her panties. "Fine, I'll lend you mine."

"What?! Wait, please!" Miyafuji cried. Marseille who was seated at another end of the table rolled her eyes, she thought it was typical of Barkhorn to try something like that considering how much of stickler for the rules and a by-the-book soldier she was. However, the Star of Africa didn't notice how Raisa blushed a little, quickly glancing between both the younger Fusoan and her wingmate's rival. Upon hearing that statement Danniel's eyes widened and he froze, despite the fact he lived at an orphanage the caretakers had taught him to never peek and/or go into a room if a girl and/or lady were getting dressed, undressed, or changed! Thankfully, he was sitting between Kitano Furuko and Inagaki Mami who instantly dropped their utensils and shielded his eyes.

"There's no need to hesitate!" Getrude said, ignoring the objections of her junior, "Y-Y-Yes, there is!"

Mio suddenly came to her rescue however, when she took of her jacket and wrapped it around her.

"You can make do with this for now." She said while Miyafuji bowed and thanked her, even though it left her superior officer in her one-piece swimsuit. Gertrude frowned and complained about the younger girl's modesty, sliding her panties back on and ignoring a few verbal jabs from Marseille as she did so. Danniel thanked both witches who covered his eyes before all three of them went back to their meals. Raisa sighed in relief, although a small part of her deep in the back of her mind wished that Marseille would do the same thing for her. As for Perrine, it went unnoticed that she was swooning at the sight of Mio Sakamoto in nothing but her swimsuit and eyepatch.

"Now then, let's begin the investigation."

"Can we really call a lost pair of panties worth something investigating?" Marseille sarcastically asked to which her rival quickly said "Shut up, Marseille!" before returning to business,

"First of all, why did Perrine's panties vanish?"

"Maybe she lost them?" Marseille muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe she wasn't wearing them to begin with?" Shirley asked in a suggestive tone. Marseille nearly choked as she was guzzling down a bottle milk while Matilda snickered under her breath. Although poor Danniel's face burned brightly, remembering how he flipped the Gailian noble's skirt and imagining the possibility that she was- He shook his head, trying not to think about it as he decided to finish his meal with a bit more gusto than usual.

"I would never!" Said Gailian was not amused by that accusation, she thought she would do something so vulgar!

"Never what? Wear panties?" Charlotte's grin widened, infuriating her junior.

"Charlotte, be quiet. You're not helping." Gertrude said to her as calmly as she could, not listening to her rival butting in with a "Like you're one to talk!".

"I did wear my panties before I got to the baths, I even folded them and placed them on top of the clothes in one of the bins!" Perrine said, crossing her arms.

Gertrude looked thoughtful at that explanation, after all it wasn't like Perrine to lie about something like that...unless it involved the Major of course. So she had only one conclusion.

"Then the possibility is high that someone stole them."

Marseille scoffed, "Why would a girl steal another girl's panties of all things? Seriously, there isn't really anyone to susp-" She paused for a moment with a thoughtful look before her eyes glanced towards the lone boy of the table,

"Well, there is one person we can suspect and he's in the room with us." Immediately, Perrine, Getrude, Miyafuji, and Mio turned towards him. The first two giving him looks of suspicion while the rest of them looked mainly just to probe him. Unnoticed by them, Lucchini started quivering in her seat.

Danniel flushed,

"W-What? Y-You don't really think I would do that, would you?!"

"Hey, your a boy of what? Eleven-years old?" Charlotte asked with a mischievous grin, "Its a difficult age for a kid like you, especially when you start getting interested in girls. Who knows, maybe he took a peak inside of the baths just to get a glimpse of some of us naked~."

"WHAT?!" Perrine started growling, her eyes filled with visions of great vengeance and furious anger ready to show the path of the rightheous man- Er, women to the young boy as her magical powers started to manifest.

"B-B-But..." Said blonde-haired boy glanced at his fellows at the seat of the table, only to see Lucchini shaking for some reason, Erica enjoying her meal, Marseille shrugging, Raisa blushing, and of course the two Fuso girls raising their eyebrows at him in suspicion. Overwhelmed he reacted the only way he could, by telling the god-honest truth before he met his untimely end.

"I DIDN'T DO IT! I DIDN'T STEAL HER PANTIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT! I HAVEN'T EVEN TAKEN A BATH SINCE I GOT HERE!" He cried out with fountains of tears coming out of both eyes, "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

"Eh?" Perrine, dropped the frown for a moment, feeling a bit shocked at his reaction and oddly...awkward that he would admit that he hadn't taken a bath here. Furuko grabbed the boy, who yelped at the sudden touch and gave a few sniffs, recoiling a bit in disgust.

"He's telling the truth, I doubt he'd be lying if he stinks as badly as that!"

Trying to get a handle on how awkward this situation had become.

"Right then...Since our first and obvious suspect has been eliminated, that leads me to ask this question; Who was in the changing room before Officer Clostermann."

Perrine hummed in embarrassment before she remembered, there was one person who left the baths before her! She turned to the new suspect, Lucchini who was unfortunately quivering much more than she did before the so-called 'investigation' began. Even the others at the table stopped to turn towards her.

"Officer Francesca Lucchini?!" Gertrude asked, Shirley looking disappointed while the others at the table readied themselves to catch her if need be but then all of a sudden she burst out of the room leaving her fork and an uneaten potato behind.

"She's making a run for it!" Charlotte exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat with Gertrude, Mio, Miyafuji, and Perrine (She noticed the Romagnan wearing her panties) behind her.

"Wait, stop right there!"

Leaving behind the others seated at the table a bit too stupefied at what just happened, with the exception of Erika who continued feeding herself as they passed by.

Visibly agitated by the chase, Lucchini grabbed Miyafuji's swimsuit, realized what she had in her hands and then took off running with others asking or outright demanding her to come back.

"I'm sorry!" The Romagnan girl yelled.

"Come on, Raisa we better go help!" Marseille said, placing her dishes and finished meal to one side before taking off.

"Eh? Hanna, wait up!" Her wingmate jumped out of her seat, abandoning her dishes before she took off behind her. Despite Matilda's amusement, she decided to stay behind and clean up after both her mistress and her wingmate instead.

Furuko gave Mami a questioning look.

"Should we go help them?"

"I think we better stay out of it...for now."

Danniel, who was relieved at not being in the crosshairs of an angry Gailian noble just chose to finish his meal, although he didn't know what to say about Lucchini's antics and her pursuers.

Erica gulped down another piece of a potato before she made a short noise that caught everyone's attention,

"What's the matter Officer Hartmann?" Furuko asked.

Erica shook her head, saying "Delicious" before diving back in.

"Just one of those days I guess." Matilda muttered.


"Where did she go?" Gertrude asked near the front entrance of the base.

"I don't know..." Charlotte drawled.

"Lets head this way!" Gertrude said, pointing in one direction while Charlotte followed behind her.

"Lets go the other way!" Miyafuji said with Perrine joining her. Meanwhile Mio decided to search near the entrance.

Just as Miyafuji and Perrine made it halfway towards their designated direction, Perrine fell behind, feeling dreadfully uncomfortable without her panties.

Miyafuji bolted ahead though, especially when she saw Lucchini peaking out of a bush.

Trying to shake the schoolgirl from Fuso off, the Romagnan climbed up a tree much to Miyafuji's frustration.

"Lucchini-chan, give me back my clothes!"

Feeling victorious, Lucchini teasingly smiled and waved, "Come and get them!" she chimed in a sing-song voice. Oh it was on! Miyafuji hugged the tree as she attempted to climb up it slowly grabbing each branch but when she reached Lucchini's perch she was nowhere to be found!

"What?!"

"Yoshika, I can see you!" The little girl said from the grass below, teasingly putting her right hand curled into the shape of a telescope zooming in and out of her teammate's exposed bottom. Embaressed, Yoshika tried to grab her bottom only to end up releasing her hold on the tree branches and falling into the foliage below.

Lucchini was concerned at first until she heard two familiar voices call out to her and she started running again!


Laying in her bed, Eila basked in the warmth of her wingman and her lover who laid silently asleep back to back. That is until she heard her door open and close. Raising herself to take a peak, she saw Lucchini panting before facing her with sushing her with a single finger to her lips.

Eila settled on glaring at the intruder, before she opened one of the windows, and made a satisfied noise at whatever she was looking for.

"What are you doing?" Eila tiredly asked.

"Oh yeah!" Lucchini said, ignoring the question before going over and grabbing Eila's tights. Alarmed, she rose out of bed.

"Hey, those are mine!" But she didn't make it time to catch the little breast-groping troublemaker, instead she parted the curtains to see Lucchini wrap the white tights around a drainage pipe as she slowly climbed down.

Great, now she had to catch that pikku paska and get her tights back! She made it to her door before pausing for a moment and remembering she had to get dressed but...she didn't have her tights. However, Sanya had hers on hand. Desperate, she made her move muttering 'Sorry!' before exiting the room wearing her love's tights. Living up to their name they were indeed tight on her lower body mostly due to the fact they were fitted for her girlfriend's size but it was better than nothing. Suddenly, Getrude and Charlotte stopped in front of her.

"Where's Lucchini?" Charlotte asked. 'Well, looks like I'm not the only one she pissed off today.' Eila thought to herself. Bashfully she whimpered,

"S-She went down."

"Let's follow her!" Getrude said. With that, Eila joined her seniors in the hunt for Officer Francesca Lucchini!


"Ta-Da!" Lucchini celebrated as she made it to the lowest floor of the base through one of the windows. Her ears perked up when she heard more voices to her right and there was Yoshika, Perrine, Hanna, and Raisa all of whom were in pursuit.

"You won't get away you thief!" Perrine yelled.

However as she made an attempt to run she saw her right flank was occupied by Shirley, Gertrude, and Eila.

"Give them back!"

Taking a glance to the left and right, she saw that a path in front of her was clear and took it before she got caught all the while yelling: "I'm not a thief!" Before quickly diving to an old wooden door at the side. Unfortunately, her pursuers didn't notice her take the door off to the side and continued forward.


Lucchini sighed in relief, before taking a look around in the room she was in.

"Wait, is thi-"

She didn't have further time to speak because she slipped on a bottle and barreled off to the side with her hand reflexively grabbing the closes object to keep her balance which happened to be a switch that clicked as it was pulled down, inadvertently activating the sirens on the base.


Immediately, the chase was halted as the pursuers heard the alarm go off and instead decided to ready themselves for battle.

Meanwhile, Sanya had woken up and was about to get dressed only to notice her tights were missing.

Back in the kitchen, Matilda had started cleaning the dishes while Erica finished off a glass of milk before heading out.

On another end of the base, where Mami and Furuko were with Danniel, they heard the alarm go off and the two witches immediately darted off but not before ordering Danniel to take cover back in their room.

Laura who was finishing her bath, stopped as she was rinsing herself and quickly started to dry herself off, and grabbing her clothes. Looks like it was time for a fight! (Or so she thought.)

Minna and Lynette who were on their way back from a brief errand immediately sped back to base.


Back in the hangar, everyone who was able mounted a striker with the exception of Perrine and Miyafuji who began protesting about their lack of undergarments before having their complaints dismissed by Mio who said that it was their duty to fight and that nobody would see them in the sky.

A half-awake Sanya walked in and said she was ready to fight but much to Eila's embarrassment noticed that her tights were being used by her lover and wingmate.

Meanwhile on the other end of the base, Lucchini slowly crept out of the room, gulping to herself.

"They're going to be so mad if they find out I pulled that switch." she whimpered.

"And what switch would that be?" a voice asked.

Lucchini pitifully squeaked before slowly craning her head to the right, seeing a smirking Erica Hartmann who later would drag her to the front of the hanger with the remaining witches and explaining who exactly was behind the false alarm.

Regardless of Lucchini's shenanigans and the confusion that followed, Erica Hartmann's commendation went as planned until much to her cheekiness Lucchini noticed that the pride of Karlsland's military was wearing her panties.


Somewhere many miles away though, the situation was much darker as Kohrak-Kal and Nuhvok-Kal were accompanied by several of the lesser members of the swarm overlooking a small town from the mountains that was but a few miles away from Folkestone.

"Prepare yourself, brother for we may face some resistance here before we move quickly move forward to the marked one." Nuhvok-Kal said, gesturing to the town below.

Kohrak-Kal nodded, raising his sonic shields and charging them. A significant sonic blast near the center of it would startle the inhabitants and cause enough panic for the rest of the Bohrok to charge in and level it to the ground.

Just as he was about to release the blast they were faced with a quick blast of snow, ice, and wind that came out of nowhere and broke his concentration. He covered his 'face' with his hands as his feet dug into the dirt at the force.

"What is this?!"

"Who dares?!"

They barely noticed a shimmer of white light in the distance before frost formed on the regular Bohrok and then suddenly thousands of sharpened icy stalagmites emerged from the snow and encased them or impaled them in a variety of positions, either incapacitating them or disabling them when their Krana were instinctively released by their impaled mechanical bodies.

Kohrak-Kal caught a glimpse of a figure in the distance and yfired a blast of sonic energy only to find the assailant above him, reeling her staff to the right side of head, sending him sprawling into some of the now shattered stalagmites.

Seeing this, Nuhvok-Kal sent a burst of higher Gravity towards the grounded assailant. Her feminine frame quivered as she used her staff to brace herself but then she quickly uncurled a finger around the staff and used the higher gravity to slam it into the ground, spawning a blunt ripple of snow and ice that slammed into him with the force of cannon, releasing her.

"Damn human scum!" Nuhvok-Kal cursed as he stumbled back up, observing the feminine figure a staff at her side, the light of her angry glowing green eyes could be seen under a cloak that covered her body along with the animal tail and ears that were the tell-tale sign of magical potential.

"You are not welcome here, Kal." The women said, "So long as I guard this region you may go no further!"

"Who are you, witch?! I must remember your name for our new master before he smites you like the pestilence you are!"

The women raised her head under the cloak, pointing her staff upwards.

"I am no ordinary witch, Kal. Nearly a millennia ago one of my ancestors and five fellow witches were bestowed with the power and knowledge of one of the half-machine half-flesh warriors you call 'Toa'. With their powers over the elements, they banished your siblings back to their hives and slayed your queen when they united their powers over magic and the elements together! For many years their powers were passed down from mother to child and child to grandchild...I am the descendant of the witch who had the gift over ice and the last witch who bares the power of a Toa. I will show no mercy to your kind, monsters...for I already put your fellow Kal to eternal rest as they waited for a new master to wake them."

Nuhvok-Kal roared in defiance and anger while Kohrak-Kal stood unsteadily.

"So you're the one who defiled our siblings! Your predecessors may have slain our queens but we are no longer bound by them for our new master emerged from their remains but a few measly human years ago and your power is nothing compared to his!"

A small grin formed on the witch's face.

"Oh, really now? Are you aware that I went to the Kini established by my ancestors long ago? While I doubt I alone would stand a chance against your master, I doubt he would stand a chance against more Toa."

Nuhvok-Kal roared again, as much as he would want to rend this fleshling apart, the swarm could not afford more casualties.

"This is not over, insect! We will have the marked one, he shall be the catalyst for our new master's power! Kohrak-Kal, we must retreat!" Kohrak-Kal nodded before folding into his ball-shaped form with Nuhvok-Kal darting ahead of them.

The witch fired another salvo of icy blasts towards them as they fled before she sighed to herself, the road ahead from this point on would be bumpy but she would ride through it until the end. The question was whether the witches she observed...as well as her child were capable of doing the same, she prayed that they would.

"This is more than anyone can bear but mark my words, monsters...we will persevere!"


Chapter 11: A legend long-forgotten


It was in the afternoon that things started to once again quiet down after Erica Hartmann's award ceremony. However, that did not mean everything was all hunky-dorey. Lucchini had been assigned latrine duty as punishment for stealing underwear from several members of the 501st while Erica Hartmann had been ordered to clean her room under the strict supervision of a less-than-amused Gertrud Barkhorn.

Needless to say, both of them were pretty upset about it but the other option was enduring one of Mio Sakamoto's training exercises and neither of them were stupid (nor masochistic) enough to try and do that. So they grudgingly accepted their respective punishments without further complaints. Though later they would end up flopping into their beds after completing their tasks for the day.

Once again, it was yet another usual day involving the shenanigans of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing.

As for Danniel, he was happy he wasn't facing punishment by the hands of Perrine but at the same time after hearing earlier complaints about his body odor, he decided to take a bath. After stripping down to nothing, and putting his now neatly folded clothes in one of the bins he turned around and entered the baths with a towel wrapped around his mid-section. Unfortunately for him though, he didn't check if anyone else was in there before hand and he didn't even realize the mistake until he started picking up voices inside of the bathes.

Immediately after he entered, he heard all of the sound in the bathes immediately stop and slowly did he realize that he wasn't alone. He cracked one eye open as his face blushed crimson though the reaction from everyone else was the opposite of what he expected.

"KYAAAAH, DANNIEL-KUN YOU PERVERT!" Came a squeal from from Katou Keiko and immediately some of the girls started giggling at his misfortune when he fell down on his back.

"I-I-I'M S-SORRY!" He stammered out, quickly turning to bolt out of the room but instead he found himself running into something warm and...soft? His eyes widened and his mind already having been overloaded with a combination of embarrassment and shame shorted out when he saw the face of Minna, looking down at him with his head wedged between her breasts much to her bemusement.

"Danniel, what are you doing in her-?"

Any attempt to finish that question failed when he decided to backpedal away from her which led to him accidentally falling into the bath behind him with a loud splash while several of the inhabitants started giggling at him.

When he finally surfaced, he found himself being hugged from behind by Katou Keiko and closed his eyes so as to protect his innocent mind from things he was obviously too young to see.

"P-P-PLEASE LET ME GO!" He stammered as he tried wiggling out of the strong yet comfortable grip of a giggling Katou Keiko.

"Awww...Danniel, your face is so red, its adorable!" He heard the voice of Kei behind him, hugging him a little tighter as she nuzzled his hair.

"Why would you want to leave?" He heard Erica on his right asked with a fake pout as she grabbed his arm.

"Maybe he's at a difficult age?" teased Matilda on his left who had placed an arm on his shoulder.

"How naughty!" He heard Eila yell somewhere from afar, though he wouldn't get the chance to see her wingmate Sanya give her a bit of a glare, causing the taller girl to shrug nervously in the gaze of her green eyes.

He tried to struggled his way out only to earn a chuckle from Kei as she pulled him back against her with him sitting on her lap.

"No, No, No, Cutie...you're not getting away...besides don't you enjoy being cuddled by beautiful girls like us?"

The boy didn't answer, only making a few slightly flustered noises before going limp in her arms with a sigh, his brain having decided to that it needed to rest for a moment as a result of the girls...shenanigans...and suddenly the boy's vision followed by his consciousness went black.


Keiko's amusement faded and was replaced with slight concern when the boy relaxed in his arms and quickly realized what happened.

"Oh dear...he fainted..." The captain said in slight dismay (and disappointment), seeing as he was not moving in her arms she decided to set him beside her on a nearby seat.

"You went too far, Kei." Her comrade, Kitano Furuko admonished her as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

Keiko gave a nervous chuckle as she scratched the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry, Furuko...It just got slowly amusing to see how flustered one little boy could get. I couldn't help but decide to play around with him a bit!"

"How trite can you get?" Perrine asked as she rolled her eyes.

"Would it be better if it were Sakamoto-san instead?" Erica asked with a brow raised coyly, causing the Gailian girl to growl to herself much to Erica's amusement before she turned back to Furuko.

"But yeah, as Kei said it was too good to resist, not to mention that there were his reactions that got cuter and cuter by the second!" Erica said with several giggles.

"Heheh..." Matilda chuckled in agreement.

Though she suddenly froze though, a dark and powerful presence making itself known behind her. She saw Wing Commander Wicke with a small smile on her face but she knew by the malevolence in her aura that twirled around her that she was far from amused.

"Flying Officer Hartmann, Squadron Leader Katou, Miss Matilda, would you care to explain what exactly was cute about nearly molesting a young boy in the baths?" She asked with false curiosity dripping from her voice.

The trio of teasing girls reacted in a variety of ways, Erica had sweat dripping down her forehead and gulped nervously, Keiko's eyes widened in fear as she fruitlessly tried to shield herself behind Kitano who decided just to move out of the firing line to deny her of cover, while finally Matilda kept a nervous small grin on her face but was visibly trembling and sweating at the sight of that smile, a mask that had dreams of cruelty thinly hidden behind it.

"Puh-Puh-Please...don't hurt us...Commander..." Erica whimpered.

"Y-Yeah, we were just fooling around. Right?" Matilda asked with a trembling shrug.

"Hmmm...so you say yet you still made him faint and I doubt that any of you planned on that happening...Hmmm?" Suddenly out of nowhere a Fusoan Hanya Mask emerged with a aura swirling around it.

Suddenly, Erica's body was pouring sweat, Keiko's eyes widened larger than her wingmates thought they could, and Matilda went from trembling to visibly shivering as her nervous smile actually devolved into a nervous frown.

Even the onlookers weren't unaffected by the darkness that was now swirling around the baths.

"Mon Dieu..." Perrine whimpered as she partially submerged herself under the water in fear.

"Ei hyvä..." Eila muttered under her breath, clutching Sanya for dear live and vice-versa.

"Hey!" Charlotte took a peak inside from the changing room with a smile on her face, "Whats going on it sounds li-HOLY-!" She immediately barreled backwards with a small curse as she hit the floor and scrambled back into the dressing room, only nervously peeking out with a gulp.

"M-M-M-Minna...P-Please..." Erica begged for mercy especially as the red-head came closer and closer to the trio of girls. Fearing for her life, Kei decided to surrender before she ended up finding out what dreams of cruelty lay behind that mask.

"WING C-C-COMMANDER! I'M SORRY! I'MSORRY! I'MSORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASEDON'TKILLUS!"

The redhead paused for a moment only to reach out her hand as all three girls flinched and then she quickly chopped all three of them on the head with various interjections of pain coming out of their mouths.

"Don't let it happen again." Minna said sternly as Matilda, Keiko, and Erica nodded in pain before wading out of the bathes to dry off while Minna went to tend to the unconscious Danniel. After the trio of girls who teased the poor boy left, Charlotte made her way inside now that the threat of Minna's wrath had disappeared...for the moment.

Meanwhile, Minna hoisted the boy up in her arms in a bridal carry and was about to take him out of the baths until she felt a hand brush against her shoulder.

"Wing Commander, allow me..." She heard the soft voice of Laura Toth behind her.

Minna nodded and then handed the young boy to her, she then went back to the baths rather than take him out of them which Minna felt would be a bad idea until she saw her set the unconscious boy next to her against the edge of the bath before she started shampooing his hair.

Though Minna doubt she was the only who noticed it but the boy seemed to have an emotional effect on all of the witches on the base. The younger members tended to treat him like an adoptive younger brother while a few of the older witches had done the same. As for Minna herself...he was like the son she never had with the loss of her lover Kurt and the continuing war against the Neuroi had essentially destroyed any chances of having children of her own. She wasn't sure if Laura was treating Danniel in such an oddly affectionate manner because she could relate his traumatic experiences with her own (which was why she was there to help him in the first place) or because she felt the same way that the other witches did about him but it was obvious that his presence on base was not only positive for Laura and herself but also for the other witches on base.

He was a symbol of one of the things that all of the witches were trying to protect; innocent lives including children such as Danniel himself who were the future of mankind after the Neuroi were either defeated for good or forced back far enough that their threat was mitigated.

However, there was still the threat of the Bohrok to be dealt with especially since much like the Neuroi they were just as destructive and mysterious as the aliens that invaded Earth decades ago. Even further still, it was unknown why they wanted Danniel in the first place. Was he a witness to their atrocities that they wanted eliminated or did they have some other malevolent purpose they had in mind for him?

Regardless of their intentions, Minna would protect him at all costs not only because she was ordered to but also because he was a pure soul who gave herself and the other witches something worth fighting for; Hope.


In the old Archives of Merlin, Ursula Hartmann once again sighed in defeat; she had been looking for more references in regards to the Bohrok but there were far too many questions than answers for what she's found so far. What she and by extension several officers have found after combing through different books in the archives was that the Bohrok were biomechanical beings that were defeated by witches many centuries ago and their main purpose was the sterilization of entire tracts of lands or villages of any forms of life and they were equally hostile to any form of life that were either in their path or interfered with their directive. They did so by using abilities that were usually restricted to different types of Bohrok whom were designated by color and/or weapon. The black Bohrok; Nuhvok had the ability to control the Earth by weakening soil and dirt beneath anyone's feet which could be used as a way to create disturbances in the surface or even dig complex tunnel systems that even a human could travel through. The white Bohrok; Kohrak controlled ice and could use their powers to freeze any substance including open flames and disturbingly enough living beings. Pahrak; the Bohrok who were brown had the ability to shatter glass, stone, brick, mortar, and more using what Ursula believed to be seismic vibrations which could be devastating in highly developed towns or even the likes of Liberion's New York City. Lehvak whom were seen in green could spray a highly corrosive acid which was something witnessed by the 501st JFW and according to the witness accounts in the report she received...well, the acid itself was as lethal as it was effective on inorganic materials. The blue Bohrok could absorb, redirect, and control water through their shields and while it would be less effective against human weapons and armaments it still had enough pressure to knock anyone off their feet. The last and final type of Bohrok were the fiery red Tahnok and obviously they control fire or some sort of thermal energy that could burn or even melt various substances in a near instant.

Despite gaining a bit of intelligence about their abilities; there was still no explanation on how they were able to generate or use their powers which would've been useful for crafting new weapons and equipment for not only the witch corps but everyone else as well.

She was able to find entries with some insight on the organic masks dubbed as 'Krana' in several manuscripts; mainly in that they functioned as a 'brain' for the Bohrok's mechanical shells and that they also seemed to communicate with each other through a hive mind that all Bohrok are connected to. That would suggest the existence of a queen or some sort of creature that both controlled and/or bred them but once again there was frustratingly no information on that end. There was also the fact that there were different variations of Krana because each one had different abilities with most of them having yet to be identified. However, what she did manage to find out instead was that the smaller Bohrok Va were relied upon to replace the Krana of fallen Bohrok but they seemed to be substantially weaker than their larger counterparts and could be easily dispatched by human infantry.

The last thing she was able to find was that there existed six individual Bohrok whom were essentially an elite force meant to act as some sort of emergency contingency if their queen was incapacitated or imprisoned but once again little to know information about the queen was found. That being said these Bohrok-Kal as they were referred to had much more dangerous abilities then their standard counterparts. Each individual had the ability to manipulate an individual element, though the exact names weren't listed, the individual elements included sound, magnetism, electricity, plasma, gravity, and vacuum. However, there was a silver lining in that much like their standard counterparts they need a Krana (albeit a heavily modified variant) to function otherwise they are just empty hulks of machinery.

'At least we know enough about our enemy to push them back but...where did they come from? Are they native to our planet or are they much like the Neuroi in that they originate beyond our world? Why are their bodies mechanical while their Kranas are organic? Could it be some type of evolution that we humans haven't discovered yet or were they created by a civilization or even...if I dare say it; beings that are much more advanced than us?' Shaking her head as she reinserted a tome back into its shelf on the aging brick walls, however before she could insert the one that was next to it the tome and other contents in the shelf slid to the left and fell over.

Letting a huff of frustration, Ursula was about to put them back in when she noticed a tome behind the shelf, no rather it was embedded into the wall behind it. Odd, it didn't look like it was on the manifest. Curious, she tried to pull it out with her right hand but her fingers weren't able to squeeze into the alcove and grab it by the cover or spine, she bit her lip in frustration and instead pulled both her hands out, grabbed it by the bottom and top edges of its spine and with a few wiggles she managed to pull it out onto the shelf with a quiet thump. Then grabbed it and looked on the navy blue front cover, it had a odd symbol that consisted of two almost bracket-shaped claws and in the middle were three orbs arranged horizontally with a larger one in the middle and a smaller one above and below it. The title below it said 'The Tale Of The Bahrag-Slayers'.

Ursula hadn't seen such a title among the archive manuscript before and being the scientist she was she began to read...


During the age in which Rome stood tall, a ball of fire descended from the heavens and crashed into the land of Britannia. However, it was neither a fallen star nor was it a fallen god it was the beginning of a conflict with monsters that would destroy everything we hold dear. Emerging from the flames were a pair of metallic almost mechanical monsters, one black as night, the other as pale as the sands of Egypt but both shared the same emerald green eyes that held nothing but contempt for all life and a flicker of destruction in their imaginations. They were the Bahrag, the twin queens of the Bohrak, a swarm of mechanical monstrosities that destroyed everyone and everything in its path. No one safe from their purge, not man, nor beast, nor flora or structure were spared from their wrath as they leveled entire landscapes into barren wastelands devoid of the living.

To prevent them from going beyond Britannia to the shores of the Roman Empire, witches; the women who bore the gift of magic were called to arms to defend their homes and though they fought bravely, they only delayed the inevitable creating a stalemate that would last nearly ten years. During that time, others from beyond our borders heard of the blight that was ravaging Britannia and they too sent their best witches to force these monsters back from which they came however their efforts were once again only delaying the inevitable. That is until one day...

From the heavens six warriors descended to our world, all of them were neither flesh nor machine. No, they were both and with them they were armed with weapons and powers over the elements of fire, earth, stone, air, water, and ice. They were the Toa, and when they arrived they pushed the swarm farther back than any witch ever could. With how many of the monsters fell, it seemed as if victory was inevitable. However, once again our hopes were shattered when six Bohrok, the Kal came forth and brought their wrath upon the Toa. Air was choked out by a force that absorbed it all, earth was crushed beneath a force that weighed more than a horse or bull combined, ice was shattered with deafening noise, fire was overwhelmed by lightning, stone was melted by an orange glow, and water was dammed by metal manipulated by forces inconceivable to us.

Six witches came to tend to the wounds of the dying Toa but it was no use as the one of Earth said 'If it is our destiny to die, then so be it then'. However, before the passed on they bestowed their powers, knowledge, and memories to the six witches who attempted to save them. From there, they learned more than any one man could ever imagine; A world filled with half-flesh, half-machine creatures that were far more wiser than we would ever hope to be, the mechanical colossus that they inhabited with many islands kept safe within, and its name; three virtues bestowed upon by their Great Spirit: Unity, Duty, and Destiny. With all of that knowledge the witches had learned that the Bahrag originated from that very world only to be cast out by the Great Spirit for their destruction and from their exile they stumbled upon our world.

With the knowledge and power needed to defeat the swarm once and for all, the six witches came together and fought as one with their unity. Their duty to their families and the rest of humanity drove them forward to defeat the Bohrok-Kal and force the swarm back into their hives. Finally, after a harsh battle the Bahrag were slain by the witches as it was their destiny. Without their queens to lead them, the swarm went into an endless sleep, never to awaken again.

As for the witches who slew them, they were greeted with celebration as commoners, noble men and women, warriors, and fellow witches alike bowed to them. From that day forward they along with their children would forever be known as the Bahrag-Slayers.


As she finished reading, Ursula adjusted her glasses, deep in thought from this revelation. There weren't any records of these 'Bahrag-Slayers' nor their exploits, though that information could've been lost ages ago due to war, conflict, or...maybe...to hide the Bahrag-Slayers. Regardless, if the Bahrag were dead then who was leading the swarm after many centuries of sleep? And are there any descendants of these Bahrag-Slayers alive today? If that was the case, she would have to bring this information to the Council of Witches; more specifically Air Marshall Adolfine Galland and of all witches currently stationed in Britannia.

Before she could leave though, she flipped through to the end of the tome only for a thin strip of film to fall out on the ground. Blinking in curiosity, she bent down and held it in her hands, adjusting her classes to see what the subject of the negatives were only to be disappointed in how the poor lighting in the archives made it near impossible to discern them.

With a small pout, she inserted it in one of her breast pockets before hoisting the tome into her arms and then stormed out of the aisle.

Immediately taking a left passing by the multiple center tables positioned between the set of aisles, she saw the small office where the current archivist was stationed. Said archivist was in her twenties and had lost the ability to generate shields a few years ago, she had a short bob of brown hair that gave her an almost boyish appearance, brown eyes that were following along the movements of her pencil as she wrote, a forest green button-up long-sleeved shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, a white apron with the word 'archivist' written in several different languages going down it, chocolate-colored pantyhose, and a pair of knee-high brown work boots.

"Miss Archivist!" Said women sighed in exasperation, "For the last time, Hartmann my name is Maritha Jensen! Now what is it you need?"

"Can you process these negatives in one of the labs?" Ursula asked as she handed over the strip of film.

The Archivist held it in between her right thumb, her right index finger and her right middle finger, as she held it up to the light with a hum of thought.

"Yeah, I can process these but it'll take some time for me to do so-"

"Perfect, send me the prints after you're done!" The blonde haired scientist from Karlsland sprinted off to the right and up the stairs out of the archives.

"Wait, Hartmann!" The women clicked her tongue in exasperation before sighing with a chuckle, "Does she ever slow down whenever she isn't working?"

She shook her head and stuffed the film negatives into her right pocket before going back to pull out some equipment, after all she was curious to see what Ursula had found.


"Thank you, dismissed." Air Marshall Galland said to a new recruit who immediately left the room, quietly gushing over the fact she met the unofficial leader of all witch squadrons worldwide. The raven-haired women sighed to herself, she now had to deal with some complaints from other branches of the joint military forces. Scratch that, the complaints of one Trevor Maloney who had once again been pushed into a corner after the threat of the Bohrok was revealed; He wanted to cut funding to the 501st JFW in Britannia however he thankfully was overruled by Churchill and several other leaders who were concerned about the Bohrok. Needless to say, they raised their funding but that didn't stop that asshole from limiting the raise to a tenth of what they already were getting.

Adolfine Galland shook her head, she knew there was a wing in the military made up of mostly male military officials who were either skeptical or downright dismissive of witches serving in the war despite the fact that without them they would've lost a majority of Europe by now. Thankfully, they were a minority compared to everyone else who either recognized the potential of witch squadrons such as the 501st JFW or who fight alongside them.

Her musings were interrupted by a feminine yelp and a clutter of objects outside of her office, she peaked outside to see Ursula Hartmann picking up a handful of books and papers. Before she could finish she noticed the bemused Air Marshall, squeaked and then quickly saluted her superior officer. Adolfine gave a simple "At ease..." as Ursula gathered all of the objects dropped from her arms before standing up to face Adolfine.

"Air Marshall, c-can I have a moment of your time please?"

"Of course, just slow down alright?"

The blonde nodded before joining the taller raven-haired Karlslander in her office. Adolfine offered Ursula coffee and tea but the blonde politely declined.

"Now what can I help you with, Flight Officer?"

"Ah, yes! I have managed to dig up some information on the Bohrok from the archives including something that...well, I think I should read it to you."

Immediately, Ursula placed the tome on the Air Marshall's desk before opening it and turning it to the first page then starting to read it aloud. All that time, Adolfine listened at first her expression remained calm and then turned intrigued, and then she started reading quietly aside the witch from the research and development division, taking note of any illustrations or imagery and then filing it deep inside her mind for further use.

After that, Hartmann reviewed everything else she found including the information about the Bohrok-Kal and the Bohrok-Va. After nearly two hours worth of information was disseminated, Adolfine spoke.

"Hartmann, I want you to do me a favor..." Ursula's eyes widened before standing at attention, "...I need you to assemble a dossier based on what you've found in the archives as well as what you've found after examining those bodies. After that, I want copies distributed to every joint fighter squadron and to everyone in the upper chain of command here in Europe. "

Ursula nodded and gave Adolfine a quick salute.

"Oh, and Hartmann?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

Adolfine paused as the younger girl had everything she needed in her arms before continuing;

"Tell the radio operators to get in contact with the 501st JFW, I want Wing Commander Wicke, Squadron Leader Katou, Pilot Officer Toth, and the survivor from Neue Eutin here as soon as possible."

"Will do."

"And if you could, please ask Lynette Bishop why she hasn't sent any replies to my letters please?"

"Yes ma-"

Ursula paused.

"Uh, ma'am? What does Sergeant Bishop have to do with this?"

Adolfine turned away, attempting to hide the blush on her face while also not bothering to hide the small grin on her lips.

"Oh, no reason in particular~. FuFuFu..." she chuckled.


Meanwhile, beyond the skies of Europe, far from the surface of the continent, and even farther from the planet itself laid the white cratered orb that was the Moon. As day turned to night the moon shined brighter than any stars that the human eye could see. However, that was all about to change. Five shooting stars passed over the moon but these were no meteorites nor were they comets. Though invisible to an observer below, in the atmosphere five canisters well distanced apart from each turned red with heat and flame as they descended towards the planet creating thunderous roars over the lands that were well underneath them.

The first crashed into the sands of the Sahara scattering clouds of dust and more into the ongoing sandstorm. With a thunderous rattle of metal, the top of the canister fell down below as a figure climbed out, it was neither Human nor animal nor Neuroi nor Bohrok. It was a form made of both flesh and machine with armor that was mainly yellow but with spots of black mainly on the legs and the mask that was firmly braced to it skull. It had a harpoon in one hand while in the other it had a massive six-barreled gun with red projectiles occupying each individual barrel. Chains hung from its right elbow and left upper arm while the upper legs had rounded spiked armor plates. The being stood, observing his surroundings before nodding, lowering his legs, and then his masked glowed brown before floating above the ground and then shooting off into the distance surfing over the desert.

The second crashed into the jungles of South Liberion, the canister's cap burst off and shooting out of it was a biomechanical being covered in green armor, a green mask with tubes reaching from it to a device on its back while in each hand were six-barreled guns currently unloaded. The individual climbed up the tallest tree peering over the forest canopy, examining his surroundings before jumping with arms spread out before bursting off with a whoosh of wind.

The third crashed into a mountain in Suomus, shattering part of the surface and being partially buried. However, emerging from the earth was another entity, this one covered in black armor with the exceptions being the silver shield and mask it wore. Slowly, it climbed out, effortlessly sweeping away dirt and soil before standing tall in the moonlight, setting the bottom of its shield below while leaving his six-barreled gun lowered. It turned around, surveying the landscape and then finally shrugging and then walking away while its body and the sound that trailed behind it faded away from existence.

The fourth splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean, slowly floating down to the ocean bottom with curious fish and ocean wildlife peering at it. They scattered away as the cap of the canister slowly hit the ocean floor, a blue almost feminine metallic humanoid swam out with silver wings, a silver three-pronged claw in its left hand while also wielding a six-barreled gun with its solid red ammunition loaded.

The fifth and final canister crashed landed into an active volcano in Romagna, as it sank into the lava and flames licked it, the canister opened with a burst of steam and slowly emerging out to a solid mass near the edge was the final biomechanical entity who while primarily red in color also had a gradient of fiery orange. In one hand was a silver sword, the other unoccupied but perched on its back was a red crab with silver legs and blue eyes with a six-barreled gun mounted on its shell. After emerging from the flames, fire burst between him as he streaked into the sky.


Deep in a forest of Britannia she waited, the dome shaped structure in front of her having remained unoccupied for years. She stood on a symbol that represent the element of ice with her staff by her side.

Soon, she wouldn't be alone though. For the first time in over a millennia she would be meeting with the warriors from beyond the Earth, the same that gave her ancestors the power of ice long ago.

The first to emerge merely faded into existence before setting its-No, his shield in front of the symbol for Earth. Another came, floating soundless above the ground with dust trailing behind him before safely landing above the symbol of stone. A third came from above, whooshing from the sky and landing gracefully in front of the symbol for air. The next emerged from the woods, water dripping from her chassis as she walked in front of the symbol for water and came to a halt. The last came from the sky with a bright orange glow and then landed in front of the symbol for fire in a crouch before standing up and dispersing the flames around him.

The hooded witch pulled her hood down, revealing her flashing green eyes and her blonde pixie bob of hair. She smiled at them and then bowed.

"Welcome to my world, Toa. Welcome to Earth."


And that's all eleven chapters of one of my first and weirdest crossover stories that unfortunately remained unfinished for a number of years. As promised here is a summary of what would've happened next:

-Dialogue between the toa and the mysterious witch would reveal that the Bahrag on Earth are a seperate malfunctioning pair from the ones that lived on Mata Nui and it would also reveal that the Bahrag-Slayers had been passing on the toa powers they inherited to their descendents with the last of them (with the exception of the mysterious witch who holds the powers over ice) having been killed during the beginning of the Neuroi war. Both sides don't know who or what is directing the Bohrok Swarm on Earth but they begin their search for answers.

-Minna, Mio, Marseille, Laura T, Lynette and Danniel would head to Pendragon (The headquarters of the witch forces on Earth.) Ursula Hartmann would debrief the first three witches about her findings regarding the Bahrag-Slayers, including an old photo of what would said to have been the Bahrag-Slayers descendents who were said to have been apparently killed during the first years of the war agains the Neuroi while Laura would open up about some of her traumas with Danniel and he would also begin to recall some of what happened during the attack on Neue Eutin. They'd both bring this information to Adolfine Galland as Ursula leads to them to a laboratory where the remains of some Bohrok were being held, the shells of which were being melted down into specialized rounds to be used against them. Danniel would approach one of the Krana and gets assaulted by a telepathic attack only for Laura Toth to snap him out of it. They later return to Falkeland with more questions than answers.

-The events of the episode "Forget You Not" mostly plays out as it did in canon only after discovering the car of her former lover Kurt she would stumble upon a battle between the mysterious witch and two other Toa fighting against the Bohrok. Minna would try to demand answers from them only for the mysterious witch to use her ice powers to hold off Minna. She would warm the wing commander that neither she nor the 501st nor 31st have seen the full scope of the Bohrok threat and they aren't ready to face it yet.

-During that time, Danniel would try to confess his crush to Marseille, needless to say neither of them handled it well with the situation ending with Danniel in tears and Marseille having a significant amount of guilt afterwards. Thankfully Laura Toth comes back later and manages to sort things out for them just as Minna begins singing.

-The episode "Defend At All Costs" plays out as usual but during this time, the Toa Mahri and the mysterious woman gets into a prolonged battle with Nuhvok-Kal and a number of Nuhvok and Nuhvok Va in an abandoned city in Karsland. They managed to get answers about the Bohrok Hive's location from Nuhvok-Kal before dismantling it's body to ensure it wouldn't do further damage.

-The episode "Trust and Friendship" plays out in canon but with the exception of the Neuroi also showing Yoshika the origin of the Bohrok Swarm on Earth and more, including the fact that one of the Bahrag-Slayers had survived the Neuroi Wars in hiding though her name is never brought up. Yoshika would reveal the information about the women to Minna and Mio, both of whom would inform Galland and Pendragon. Laura Toth would be directed to take Danniel to the Isle of Wight and to await further instructions.

-The Toa Mahri would begin their assault on the Bohrok Hive with the mysterious women after discovering a tunnel that the Bohrok had left opened. They would see a battle between the Bohrok and some neuroi ground units, with the latter being destroyed while the former were heavily damaged. Taking advantage of the situation the Toa begin their attack on the hive. Meanwhile up above the 31st would spot activity underwater caused from the fighting underground.

-Maloney would've begun his attempt to seize control of the 501st's base and attempt to disband them only for things to go to shit when both the Neuroi and the Bohrok get involved. The 501st head back while the 31st and Isle Of Wight Detatchment also join the battle.

-The Toa Mahri would discover that the remains of the Bahrag had been twisted into a new form that was possessed by Karzahni whose touch had lingered on the Bahrag long after their death. He plans to use the Bohrok Swarm to remake Earth into his own image or rather the image of his old home realm with humans being the new Matoran. As for Danniel, he explains that he had Kohrak-Kal mark the boy at Neue Eutin and planned on using the boy as a new host body for his essence. The mysterious women goes berserk and decides to try and destroy him by collapsing the underground tunnels. Karzahni manages to escape and integrates multiple bohrok into his body to strengthen himself as he surfaces.

-The final battle would now include a three way battle between Karzahni, the Neuroi and the witches plus their new toa allies. Laura would drop Danniel off with Minna, Barkhorn, and Mio who were dealing with Maloney. Seeing the failure of the warlock project at the hands of the neuroi and the swarm makes Maloney snap and he tries to shoot Minna only for Danniel to push her out of the way and take the shot for her. Karzahni would feel the life begin to ebb from his potential patsy and go into a berserker rage. He would be defeated by the combined strength of the Toa and the witches already in battle with the final blow being made by the mysterious witch. Unfortunately, she would be fatally wounded afterwards.

-The mysterious women makes it back to the base and goes to Danniel, turning towards Minna and the members of the 31st and 501st and thanking them for protecting her son. She then uses the last of her life force to heal and save her son's life.

-In the epilogue, Danniel would be in coma at the hospital in Pendragon. The witches deliver some flowers and say their farewells to them with Laura Toth giving him a kiss on the forehead while Marseille would give him a kiss on the cheek. After they leave, his right hand begins to dimly glow with a familiar white symbol. The Toa had returned home to Spherus Magna with a group of envoys, witches, and diplomats on Earth. Vakama would then begin to recall to them the tales of the Bionicle.

So yeah, it would've ended with what I hoped would've been a balanced and open ending. I never did think of ideas for a sequel to this story and now I have to admit that I don't think I would rewrite it either.

If someone wants to give it a shot, feel free.

Cheers,

-VentXekart