Daniel's plan to destroy the last Neuroi core may have worked, but it also may have cost him more than he bargained for. Did it really? What do you think? Also, look out for an unexpected character appearance in this chapter! Enjoy!
The witches were watching from a safe distance as they saw Daniel's X-wing slam head-on into the Neuroi. They also saw the energy discharge hit the Neuroi, and the two combined events shatter the Neuroi's armor and the core, before the main unit was engulfed in a bright light. The next thing they knew, it had shattered into a million pieces, along with the remaining Neuroi drones. As they saw the Neuroi shards fall out of the sky, they were both relieved that the Neuroi was no more and worried about what had happened to their friend and comrade.
"I don't detect any more Neuroi presence," said Sanya as the shards fell. "But where's Daniel?!" Sasha asked, "Is he alright?!" The witches began to look around, trying to find any sign of him. Lynne was the first to spot him in the distance, sitting in his fighter seat, "Over there!" she shouted. As everyone looked to where she was pointing, they began to celebrate the end of the battle – and the end of the war – when Minna got a concerned look on her face as she looked in Daniel's direction. "Something's wrong!" she exclaimed. "He's falling way too fast!" Shimohara looked in Daniel's direction, and thanks to her infrared vision abilities, she was able to see exactly what was wrong. "Oh, no!" she said, "His parachute ripped!"
The witches tried to raise Daniel on the comm system, but he wasn't answering. "His radio may be broken," Mio suggested. "Or he could be hurt really badly!" said Shizuka. At that, Sasha could feel her heart constrict in her chest, fearing the worst. The next moment, Yoshika flew up to her and said, "We have to get over to him! He needs us right now!" Sasha nodded in agreement, but also wondered how they would get to him before he crashed to earth. Shirley then flew up to Yoshika and Sasha and stated, "Take my hands," as she held out both of her hands – one for each of them to grab. They each grabbed a hand, after which Shirley turned in Daniel's direction and shouted, "Hang on, everyone!" as she activated her speed boost ability. This, along with the relatively advanced nature of her striker unit allowed them to go at twice the usual speed towards Daniel's position.
When they reached him, Shirley slowed down so that they could reach out to him and try to help him. They saw that he was out cold, unresponsive to their calls. They then looked for a way to stop his falling. The seat was too heavy to carry – even for the three of them – so they looked for a way to get him out of the seat, finally seeing the large middle buckle with the various straps holding him in. A few moments later, they had released all of the straps and lifted him from the seat, with him still having his lightsaber attached to his belt – Shirley and Sasha each holding him over their shoulders on one side. As they watched the seat fall to the ground below, Yoshika began using her magic to find any injuries that Daniel had and heal them.
About a minute after Yoshika started, Daniel began to stir, though he felt like he had been hit by a Mack truck. "Ooohhhhhh," he groaned as he regained consciousness, "I'm definitely going to feeling that in the morning." The three witches gasped in a bit of surprise at hearing him before Yoshika exclaimed, "You're OK! Thank goodness!" Shirley then quipped, "Way to go, Daniel! You took out that Neuroi hive practically single-handedly!" Daniel, his mind still a bit foggy, then asked, "So I did it? I ended it?" Shirley nodded and exclaimed, "You sure did!"
He then turned and saw Sasha's face looking at him, struggling to hold back tears. She then began to yell, "You idiot! What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!" In case Daniel couldn't tell she was truly upset at him, Sasha then punched him hard in the shoulder. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?!" She then grabbed his jacket by the collar, got in his face, and responded, "That was for doing something so risky and dangerous!" She then used his collar to pull Daniel towards her as she kissed him hard on the lips as her voiced softened considerably. "And that was for coming back to me," she explained, as she buried her face in his shoulder and began to cry both out of worry and happiness.
Daniel then wrapped his arm around her and hugged her and whispered into her ear, "I'm so sorry I worried you," he said. As Sasha continued to have her head buried in his shoulder, Daniel then added, "If it will help, I promise that I won't do something like that again." Sasha then looked up at him, gave a small smile and said, "You better not." As they pressed their foreheads against each other, Shirley then interjected. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but since Daniel's fighter is now kaput, isn't it impossible for him to do something like that again?" Daniel then replied in a smart-assed tone, "Well then, it should be really easy for me to keep my promise, shouldn't it?"
They all began to laugh as Yoshika continued to treat Daniel's injuries in midair. A few minutes later, they were joined by the remaining members of the 501st and 502nd Joint Fighter Wings, as Daniel received congratulations all around (as well as a few mild rebukes). Georgette then began to assist Yoshika in healing Daniel's injuries when the witches received word from allied command that the forces were gathering at the Vienna airport, located just outside the city. Both Minna and Rall acknowledged the message and ordered the units to head for the airport. "Mission accomplished!" they both said simultaneously.
When they arrived, the remaining witch units and all of the new fighter units gathered around the 501st and 502nd, having heard about what Daniel had done to finish off the Neuroi. Cheering could be heard throughout the airport, as the soldiers – witches, pilots, and ground forces alike, celebrated the end of the war. A few minutes later, a path cleared through the crowd as Generals Patton and Bradley, as well as Major Sakamoto, came up to Daniel to congratulate him. As General Patton shook Daniel's hand, the general said, "Kid, you've got a lot of guts! Great work out there!" Mio then added, "Well done, Daniel. I'm proud of you." Daniel smiled at the both of them as he replied, "Thank you – both of you." He then shook the general's hand and bowed towards Mio in respect. "At the very least, you'll be receiving the Purple Heart for this," Patton added, "I'll make sure to present it to you personally."
Later that evening, after returning to Berlin, the 501st and 502nd (joined by Major Sakamoto) were in a celebratory mood, with plenty of food and drink to go around. After being treated by Yoshika and Georgette, Daniel was feeling like his old self again, and was talking with Sasha off to the side a bit. He then began to reminisce a bit in his head and he thought to himself, "Well, Ben – I wonder what you would think of me now if you could see me like this." He then heard a disembodied voice, as though it was responding to his thoughts – the voice of someone he hadn't seen or heard from in more than two years. "The Force is strong with you, my young padawan. Well done." Daniel was trying to sense another presence around him when Sasha asked, "Did you hear someone say something just now? It sounded like another man – a man I've never heard before?" Daniel's eyes widened as he responded, "You heard it, too?"
As Sasha nodded, a bright glow suddenly emanated from an empty spot at the end of the room where Daniel and Sasha were standing, which got everyone else's attention. When the light dimmed down a bit, they saw a man surrounded by a ghost-like glow with light brown hair and a beard. Daniel recognized him at once, but could hardly believe what he was seeing. "Ben?" he asked as he approached what appeared to be the form of his old instructor. "Yes, young Horowitz," he replied, "It's been far too long." When Daniel came up close and saw that it was indeed him, he exclaimed, "Ben – I thought I'd never see you again! ... How is it that you're here?"
Ben just smiled and said, "The Force has allowed me to be here – or more specifically, my consciousness and spirit are. While I am technically here with a semi-solid form, my actual body is back in the other world in a deep meditative state. It has taken me quite some time, but I have finally found you again." He then looked around and asked Daniel, "Aren't you going to introduce me?" Daniel then realized where he was and apologized before turning around to everyone else in the room and stating, "Everyone, I would like to introduce to you Jedi Master Ben Kenobi. He's the one who instructed me back in my world." Most of the witches waived timidly, or just said "Hi," or "Hello," softly, still in shock over what they were seeing. The Fuso witches, meanwhile, went a step further and bowed their heads in respect towards the Jedi master. "It's a great honor to meet you, master Jedi," replied Mio.
Ben waived her off a bit as he said, "No need to treat me like a deity – I'm as human as you are." He then turned to Daniel and asked, "Now tell me, Daniel – what have you been up to since you disappeared from our world?" Daniel then spent the next hour or so telling Ben about his adventures in this world (with the witches providing a few extra details on a few occasions) – from the time he arrived, to joining the Strike Witches (Ben was fascinated when Daniel told him about the contract he made with allied command. "Very clever," he commented), to his travels around the world and back, to getting together with Sasha, to his adoption by Yoshika's family, and finally, to the events of earlier in the day.
When Daniel was finished, Ben took stock of everything he had been told, he smiled at his one-time pupil and said, "It seems that you have done quite well for yourself here. You have become stronger and wiser than I could have ever hoped. Most important of all, you have forged your own path, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Plus, I can see that you have made a number of friends and allies in this world – and from what I've just heard, you've made quite an impression on this world in general." He then turned to Sasha, who was still standing beside Daniel. "This one is quite special to you, isn't she?" Daniel replied simply, but strongly, as he wrapped his arms around her, "Yes, she is. Very special."
Ben then looked around at the other witches before his eyes met with Hikari's. He then looked at her intently before saying, "This one – the Force is strong with her as well." Hikari then responded, "Yes, sir. Daniel's going to teach me how to be a Jedi." Ben chuckled at her response before asking Daniel, "Is that so?" Daniel replied, "It is if she wants it." He then turned to Hikari and spoke with a serious tone. "Hikari – if being a Jedi is truly what you want, then I will be more than happy to teach you everything I can. However, this is a decision that you, and you alone, can make. I didn't have a real choice in becoming a Jedi, and while it turned out alright, I don't want you to go through it as though you were being forced." Daniel then drove his final point home to Hikari, "You have the absolute right to choose what path you take in life."
Hikari nodded in understanding at what Daniel was trying to tell her before she responded, "I appreciate you giving me the choice, but I really do want this. This is something that no one else can do – certainly no other witch – and I want to see what I can do and accomplish with these newfound abilities." Daniel sighed and smiled, realizing that she was indeed intent on learning from him. Ben then said, "It seems as though you have a willing and very enthusiastic young student. I wish the both of you luck." Hikari once again bowed to Ben as she replied, "Thank you very much, sir. I will do my best!"
Ben then addressed the room. "I'm afraid that I will need to leave you all soon," he said, "I cannot stay in this state for much longer." He then turned once again to Daniel and stated, "While it would be too much and beyond my ability to take you home again, I believe I can take with me a small inanimate object if you want to get a message to your family." Daniel began to think about what he would send home to make sure his family knew that he was alright when he remembered the iPhone that was still in the inside pocket of his jacket – still intact and functioning even after what he had been through that day. He then took the iPhone out of his pocket and handed it to Ben. "Are you sure?" Ben asked. Daniel nodded and explained, "I've already copied everything of importance on there to my laptop computer. Besides, this will provide unequivocal proof that I'm alive." As Ben took the phone, enveloping it in his glow as he handled it, Daniel said to him, "When you see my family, tell them that I'm doing well, and that I'm really happy here." Ben nodded before Daniel remembered something. "Oh! And tell them…" he then whispered something into Ben's ear, not wanting everyone else to hear what he was saying. At one point, Ben's eyes widened slightly in a bit of surprise. When Daniel finished, Ben said, "Interesting. Very well – I'll tell them."
Before Ben departed, Daniel asked, "Will I ever see you again?" Ben thought on this for a moment before answering. "This particular technique is not an easy one, and can also be difficult on me physically," he said. "However, I may drop in on you from time to time – just to see how you're doing." He then addressed everyone in the room again. "I must be going. Take care – all of you. Thank you for taking care of my young padawan." He then looked at Mio and said, "And thank YOU for keeping the knowledge and spirit of the Jedi alive in this world." Mio nodded and bowed in response, saying, "It has been my honor." Ben then looked at Daniel again and said, "One last thing – since you are currently the only trained Jedi in this world, you are going to have to be in charge of rebuilding the order here eventually. Therefore, based on your development and your accomplishments here, I now formally recognize you as a Jedi master." Daniel seemed speechless for several seconds before saying, "Thank you, Ben. You honor me." Ben smiled and addressed the room once more. "I bid you all farewell – and may the Force be with you, always." He then began to glow brightly before his form vanished entirely – presumably returning to his body in the other world.
Master Kenobi makes another appearance in this story! Now they are no longer teacher and student, but brothers and equals in the eyes of the Force. Moving forward, it will be up to Daniel to re-form and grow the Jedi order in this world. This will be just one item that will be put on his plate post-war, as you will see next time!