Arc II: Battle For Africa
[Hello, friends, I hope you are all well. Well, here I bring you the next installment of the remake-homage for Matfix and it will start with the first chapter of this new arc, to avoid confusion.
I'll say it again: I don't own this fic, Matfix does, all rights reserved for him. The same goes for "Ed, Edd, Eddy" and "Strike Witches" with their respective authors, companies and countries. The goal is just to entertain.
Now yes, let's go to this new adventure].
Chapter I:
Silence, that was what ran through every fiber of their being. Those three sisters could not believe the two synchronized blows they had received that night and in such a short time that they could not even recover from the first one. It was as if someone had hit them over the head with a hammer, they could not analyze the situation with all the commotion on top of it. May shook her head, she was trying to get those images out of her mind but it was impossible: The "Predator" Drone, the source of the interferences on the enemy communications, the one that had given them a great help to prevent the "Witches" from discovering them and thus carry out the first offensives over London, had been destroyed. Its remains fell, in flames, towards the surface and with a roar they ended up by impacting on the surface, raising columns of black smoke that ascended through the skies of the dawn.
Then, the "First Hive" was assaulted by the rivals and ended up falling. The explosion was devastating. There was nothing they could do, the information came in abundance, just like a downpour, and when Lee read the report from her advance ships, she ended up screaming in rage and hitting with her hands the keyboard of the central screen.
Marie and May looked at her with concern, neither of them offered to talk to her, to address her a few words of support. She could only feel that coldness in her older sister, who did not seem to move from her position. She was "anchored" against the keyboard and her eyes were lowered. She took a deep breath and then slowly got up from her seat.
- What... How serious is the loss?.- Asked May, who decided to put an end to the silence.
- See for yourself.- Lee answered and handed her the report, which fell into the blonde's hands and she began to read it.
It was a total failure: The "First Hive" had been destroyed, barely 30% of the fleet that was there could escape before falling but there was something else that captivated the attention of her younger sister, who reread, over and over again, an extremely interesting paragraph.
- There seems to be something you overlooked, Lee.- May handed her the report and she reluctantly took it back.
She spent a couple of minutes in silence, analyzing each paragraph until she noticed something that caused her to raise her eyebrows hidden in astonishment. With the papers in hand, he went to the Central screen and began to rewind the last images before the fall of the "First Hive". The three of them stayed there, their eyes fixed on that place and with it they could see a glow that went with the "Witches".
- Stop it there!.- Asked Marie and the redhead did so. She stopped the reproduction and from there they could see a certain boy with a black cap, who was next to two girls: Double D
- Impossible, how did he get the "Magic"?. No one can get it, unless they are a "Witch".- Lee interjected.
- But what if he has a source?.- May asked, and that could not be ignored.
- You mean they have some kind of concoction or something like that?.- Questioned the blue-haired girl and she nodded her head.- Mmmmm, that's not a bad idea. We will have to investigate that.- Marie deduced on that point.
- And we will, but, for now, we are going to continue with our plan: We lost one "Hive" but we still have six others left. Our operation will continue.- Lee promised and they went back to work.
He opened his eyes, he felt the fresh wind of the North Sea caressing his face. Slowly, slowly, carefully and before him he could notice that he was clinging to Eila and Sanya, who were carrying him after the success of the previous mission.
- I see you've woken up.- He heard a voice and noticed it was the silver-haired girl talking to him.- How are you feeling, Double D.- She asked, turning her neck to look at him.
- Eila...Sanya.- The albino nodded silently. He felt his forehead, he was fine, although he didn't know for how long he had fallen asleep, yes...I'm fine. Thank you.- he answered with a tired voice.- Do you know how long I've been sleeping?
Minna walked over to him, standing next to him.
- Not long, about two hours. You lost consciousness after destroying the "First Hive" of the Kankers.- The red-haired Commander told him and that left him astonished.
- And...I...did I do that? Did I help in the combat?.- He asked, unable to believe what had happened.
- You fought a great battle and lasted a while on your feet.- Eila pointed out to an astonished Double D. When he heard the word "time", he looked at his wristwatch and noticed that it had stopped two hours ago. He looked up and from there noted it in his head.
- How long did the effect last?.- Trudie asked Trudie about the black-capped young man's progress.
- Apparently, it lasted two hours. It's a good but small figure. Even so, it is a good result and with it he was able to extend his effect even more, although the question will be how it will affect the others. Each one has a defense organism different from the rest, so I will have to evaluate their progress and with it develop a "Serum" for the Magic to work on them, as well as the trainings.- Said Double D, analyzing each part of what he had before him and could not leave aside.
Trudie and Minna looked at each other. They understood that the boy had made a great effort and it was then that they approached him to talk.
- Listen, Double D, today you have fought very well against the "Shadow Neuroi", but, seeing that you have been using a great amount of your forces in battle, today you should rest.- Proposed the red-haired Commander, but he declined the offer.
- And leave the others to do it for me? No, I'm sorry, Miss Minna, but it can't be like that. I'm more than willing to do it.- The young man said calmly and she got the message.
She finished and they could already see the headquarters on the horizon, so they began the descent until they reached solid ground and were received by the air base personnel, who received the firearms and from there they went to store the "Striker Units" in their respective places.
At their base of operations, the Kankers had received the arrival of their forces that survived the fall of the "First Hive" and May was in charge of the numbers regarding how many they had available to continue with the invasion of Europa and if it affected the others. With a notebook in her hands and writing down each of the ships, the blonde went to Lee, who had held a meeting with the "Commanders" of the other "Hives".
- What did they say?.- The blonde asked the redhead, who was calm.
- The world conquest operation will continue, there is nothing to worry about.- Said Lee calmly.
- I have been taking notes and we are in luck: with the survivors of the "First Hive" and those that were not destroyed during the combat, we have recovered a good part to attack the "Witches" in Europe.- Said the blonde girl but her sister stopped her.
- About that part, there is something else I want to add but Marie should know this too. Come on, let's go.- Asked the young girl and they left towards the "Main Room", where the dark blue hair was having a little chat about the strategies to take into account.
For Marie Kanker, not having her beloved Double D in her arms made her blood boil but, now that they were in command of an invading force never seen before, for those generations after what happened in 1939, it tipped the balance in her favor. The damage they had caused to London had been a real blow and the fall of that "Hive" was only a temporary thing, that moment of fury would pass, but she did not think of stopping, she would continue to command the mission with her sisters. And it was at that precise moment when the doors opened and she saw the blonde and redhead arrive, who were talking about a couple of minor matters.
- Well, they're here.- Said Marie, as she made her way to her chair.
- Yes, and there's more. Turn on the "Central Screen".- Lee asked and she obeyed.
Once it was turned on, it showed a holographic map. There you could see, marked with a red "X" the area where they had had their first major defeat, between the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, the "First Hive" was no longer there, however, at other points they had the other six, but that representation went down and focused on a continent extremely important to them.
- Africa? Why should we focus there? If the offensive should continue through Europe.- May asked about the change of position.
- And we will continue it, but we need to take out the enemy defenses over Africa. They have been causing us too much trouble all along this "Corridor" that runs from Egypt to Morocco, including the Strait of Gibraltar. If we are going to attack Europe, it must fall under our power, but we also have to make sure that Africa has no one for a counter-offensive, so we are going to wipe them off the map.- The redhead explained to her.
At that revelation, May remained silent and nodded. She kept the command of her forces in Europe together with her sisters; besides, Liberion was also going to fall, although it would take time. She was just recovering from a severe defeat that left them a "Hive" but, as the saying goes, "a stumble is not a fall".
- At this moment, an important advance party will be taking up positions near Cairo and Libya, from there we will proceed to attack the other African nations in a real "Blitzkrieg".- Said Marie, while pointing her finger at the countries that would suffer the devastating blow, "Egypt, Libya, Morocco, all of them will feel our power and with it, the rest of Europe will kneel before us.- Lee predicted, while they were getting on a ship that would take them to that continent.
Returning to the "Witches" headquarters, they had landed and were recovering their forces after that combat against the "First Colony". With communications re-established, after destroying the source of interference, they now had to find out where the other enemy strongholds were located around the world.
In turn, Double D was sleeping a little before the call was made to continue the exercises. In that room, which belonged to Eila and Sanya, they remained there. The Finnish woman took a white blanket and put it over the intellectual boy, covering him from the coolness of that night, while the albino went to the work table she had and read the notes she kept in her "Research Diary".
- He is tenacious.- Eila heard her friend's voice.
- Yes, he is. He doesn't mind the danger, he wants things to go well and get his home back.- Said Sanya, while walking towards the silver-haired girl.- Even so, this is just a start and even more with the communications that have been recovered; we will have to get down to work if we want to stop them.- Said the girl and closed the "Diary".
Sanya, seeing that her round was over, also went to sleep, while Eila said goodbye to her, wishing her good night and after that she left for the corridors.
In the "Operations Room", Minna, Trudie and the others were watching on the satellite screens the positions discovered after the destruction of the "Predator" and the fall of the "First Hive". A red "X" was marked over the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, but about six black tildes remained untouched over the rest of the world. The red-haired Commander raised a hand to her face, thoughtfully and silently, as she analyzed each step of the offensive.
- So far, the most devastated areas, in Europe, are London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.- Reported one of the military officers present, giving his report.
- London was a surprise blow for all of us and the hatred that was harvested, for the Kankers, against us.- Minna broke the silence and looked at the young man next to her.- Even so, this victory is only temporary, until we do not see them before Justice we will not rest.- Promised the redhead, raising her eyes and a somewhat tired face could be seen after such a night of action.
- My Commander, with all due respect, I suggest you take a few hours to sleep. You are in no condition to continue with this war, especially if you only rest for two hours.- Insisted another of the subordinates, but she shook her head, got up and went to the screen.
- Gentlemen, I am not going to go to sleep when the world is in much worse danger than the "Neuroi" were in 1939.- She said firmly and then pointed to the points in question, "There were seven "Hives" in total, now we have six with the one we destroyed tonight but the forces of the Kankers are all over the world and...- She did not have time to finish speaking when the alarms began to go off.
- What is happening?.- Trudie asked as she shifted position and several Capitals were shown to be under attack.
- They have attacked Prague, Warsaw, Budapest and Vienna!.- One of the communications operators alerted.- Wait a minute...we are being informed that...God, this has to be a joke!.- He said, his words hanging on his lips and he ended up swallowing his saliva.- The "Shadow Neuroi" have launched a fierce "Blitzkrieg" offensive against South Africa, Cape Town and Johannesburg are no more.- He said.
- They are not only in Southern Africa, they are also in the East: Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, all under attack and...damn, also in the Democratic Republic of Congo and there are reports of bombings against Nigeria, Mali, Chad and Cameroon.- Exclaimed another of the military without being able to credit all this rapid enemy deployment.
In each of those mentioned, a trail of death and destruction could be seen. The great cities and capitals of these African countries had been reduced to ashes and rubble. The incessant "combined" noise of screams, sirens of the "Emergency Services" such as Fire, Police, Doctors, Rescuers and the Army increased with each passing frame. The devastation had also hit the fields, which were burning non-stop and the farmers were throwing water to save their hectares of crops. From the Heavens, that huge fleet of "Shadow Neuroi" moved towards their next targets and an arrow marked their positions.
- We have several of those mentioned in the South, the West, the East and also from Northwest Africa.- Reported a third operator seriously.
- And why did they also attack Prague and the others.- Charlotte wanted to know.
- A distraction, perhaps, but what might happen from now on, if they get as far north, is a surprise.- Warned one of the commanders at headquarters.
- It could be, however, we cannot remain silent or stand idly by. We must prepare ourselves.- Minna ordered those present.- We cannot allow these misfortunes to continue devastating the continent.- She concluded and they left the place.
The hours went by and when it was 5:00 AM, Double D felt a slight movement and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Eila had returned to announce that it was time to return to train with the others. Despite being tired from the previous night, the young man got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face and dress for the occasion. Once he was finished with his activity, he went with Eila towards the exit, closing the door quietly so that Sanya could sleep peacefully.
Once outside, at the same training site, the others were there. Eddy was a little more awake than last time, although, deep down, he was still complaining about having to wake up so early.
- Eddy, look, here comes Double D.- Ed pointed to where the boy in the black cap was standing.
- Yes, and it seems that today would be another hard day.- Said the short young man, while they began the warm-up exercises.- Trudie being with the others at that moment.
While they were doing that activity, Yoshika and Perrine were talking about what happened that night in the North Sea. The silver-haired girl listened with great detail to the story she had in her hands.
- It seemed crazy, we didn't know if we would be able to catch up with the "Predator" and discover the "First Hive", but we were able to destroy both enemies.- Said the Japanese brunette.
- I have to admit, what they had tonight was a great luck.- Perrine said seriously to the young woman.- But it was a pure gold one, who knows what those bastards could have done if they reached Scotland and Ireland," she deduced with fear in her voice.- What do you think the Kankers will do now? For now, things are quiet.- She asked, but the girl shook her head.
- It is impossible to know. Minna, Trudie and Charlotte are meeting with the military to evaluate the next moves but...- Yoshika stopped for a second and closed her eyes.- We will see what happens, still, with the boys, when Double D has everything ready and develops a "Serum" for them to develop Magic, they are going to need a much stricter training in this field. You know well who I am talking about.- He said and looked at the girl from Gaul.
- Yes, that's right.- She understood the message and from there dawn came to Brittania along with a new beginning for those present.
[First chapter of this new arc. Well, as it was well said: There are 6 "Hives" left in the World, Africa is being attacked with a view to conquer Europe and the other Nations and the training of the boys continues along with the investigations of Double D but what can be the results for them, will they manage to master the "Magic"? All this and more you will see in the next chapter.
I send greetings and thanks to all of you, friends.
I wish you a good start of the day Wednesday from me and also an excellent start of the month of December 2021].
