Chapter 8: Bombs away and Fire
Two Days later
Pescara Air Base
Commanders' Office
Wolf's POV
I was doing some paperwork with Minna, Rommel, Katherine, Dimitri and Katherov. It has become a routine and I see that the others have fallen into some form of routine. Muto and Lily would go out for flying practices just in time to greet Sanya and Lydia who would be returning from night patrol. Chuck, Shirley, Marcus and Marie would be busy maintaining the various planes and strikers. After Muto and Lily come down to rest, Erich and Hanna would go into the air for their training session. Gregory would alternate from writing his journal and taking pictures with occasional help from Georgina. Riki and Reina would do sword practices in the morning and in the evening. Sakai would join Mio in the morning for some morning exercise before heading inside to do some reading. Arthur when not cooking would be in the common room playing the piano and occasionally he will be joined by Charlie and Ben who would be singing something. Eila and Eino would be playing cards, checking their tarot cards or just lazing around. Gerhard and Gertrude would be busy sorting the archive. Angela, Yoshika, Perrine and Lynette will have training with Mio. Pierre would be reading in the common room. Franco would go at times fishing or would be sleeping somewhere both with Francesca. William would be manning the radar and radio equipment on base. Erwin being a gun specialist would be checking on the condition of the guns of our planes. Henry Tokugawa would be checking the electronics of our planes and strikers as he was a very good with the electronics. John Gonzales would be going for swims in the Adriatic Sea. Wilfred Wong would be doing sketches of the base and of the surrounding area.
"Halo, this Pescara Base Commander, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin E. J. Rommel speaking, ja" Rommel said, "Katherine, it is for you"
"Da, this Air Chief Marshal Katherine speaking" Katherine said after picked up her phone, "It is good to hear from you, Field Marshal Graziani…what? We will get there within fifteen minutes! Just hold on, Graz"
"Who was that?" I asked.
"That was Field Marshal Rodolfo Graziani and he is asking for air support for the men defending the city of Bologna" Katherine said.
"This is bad; most of the close air support units that were stationed have been redeployed to Gallia or to North Africa and the nearest unit are around Marseilles" Katherov said.
"Looks like we will have to go" I said.
"But we only have two ground attack aircraft and one ground attack witch" Minna said.
"We do have a pair of heavy bombers as well and we can use them for ground attack" Katherine said.
"That might work; the B-17 will be able to cause massive damage against the neuroi" Rommel said.
"Alright Minna tell Pierre and the B-17 crew to get ready! No, tell everyone to get ready! Katherov and I will be joining them in the hangar" Katherine said.
"Roger" Minna said.
"Hey Dimitri, do you want to be my tail gunner?" Katherov asked.
"Sure, let me get ready" Dimitri said as he took off his peaked cap as he ran out of the room.
"This is Minna to all fliers, head to the hangar now, we have a mission so we need everyone on board, except for Sanya and Lydia
"Wait, the B-17 is short one gunner right?" I asked.
"Yes, their tail gunner died, Franz confirmed that when he approached the B-17 from the rear in 1943 of your world" Minna said. Suddenly Rommel stood up while taking off his coat and his peaked cap.
"If it is fine with everyone, I would like to join in this battle as an active member, it has been a long time since I fired a gun" Rommel said.
"Sir, are you sure, you want to take part?" I asked, worried for the commander's safety.
"I may be an old man, Colonel Wolf but this old fox can still man a gun" Rommel said.
"That is true" I said as I found sense in his statement.
"Besides, I do have magic now so I can handle myself" Rommel said as he showed his fox ears.
"Well then since the base commander is heading out, I think I will stay here" Minna said.
"I will sit this one out as well, I have still have paper work I need to catch up on" I said.
"I will accompany Wolf as I too have a substantial amount of documents I need to file" Minna said.
"Then, I bid farewell, Oberst Wilckes" Rommel said as he left the office.
"Well, let's get back to work" I said as returned to my work.
William's POV
I was amazed how fast everyone could be when it came to mission time. I saw everyone was making a beeline for their planes. I climbed into the bomber from the side at the rear. I ran to my station which was the bombardier and chin gunner station while doing so, I checked if the bombs were loaded on. I heard the crew enter and it was a habit of mine to watch everyone run to their various stations and positions. Then I saw someone I did not expect it was a German officer but then I realized that it was no ordinary German officer, it was the Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel. Everyone in the plane just stood there and watched him enter the B-17.
"Sir, why are you boarding the bomber, we are going on a mission" Charlie asked.
"Today, I will be joining you in this fight not as a commander as a gunner for your bomber. Your crew is one man short so I have decided that I will volunteer as your tail gunner for as long as it takes" Rommel said.
"Ok, sir" Charlie said, "John, Wilfred, get the commander acquainted with those tail Oerlikons"
"You got it, Charlie" John said.
"Don't worry; we will make sure that he will be able to keep our asses clear" Wilfred said. I then returned to my seat where I watched the witches speed down the runway in their striker and then they were the fighters and the fighter bombers, now it was our turn. I watched as the runway's end came into sight. I watched the A7M Sam take off.
"Alright, everyone, man your stations" Charlie radioed.
"Charlie, engines three and four are good" Mack said.
"Engine one and two are good, alright then, let's us get this bird in the air" Charlie said. The engines roared louder as we began to pick up speed and roll forward down the runway which had been extended and widened to better accommodate our big girl. The water was coming closer but the horizon was sinking which allowed me to sigh in relief as I now knew the bomber is now in the air.
"This is Minna, the mission is to provide close air support to the ground forces defending the city of Bologna, Katherov, Katherine, Charles, Charlie, Pierre and Perrine, your task is to knock out as many of the ground neuroi so it gives some breathing space" Minna radioed via the transponder.
"Then what do the rest of us do? We are fighters not fighter bombers" Mio said.
"The rest of you will provide protection to the bombers, the neuroi can give them all sorts of hell if left unguarded" Wolf radioed.
"Roger, Wolf" Erich said. I watched as we flew into a defensive formation with our bomber in the middle. We continued to fly in a North Western direction. Soon we saw explosions and red beams in the distance.
"Aw hell, that looks like one hell of a fight going on there" Mac said. As we flew in closer, we could see the chaos that was unfolding on the battlefield.
"Will! You better be at your bombsight!" Charles shouted.
"I am manning the bombsight, Captain!" I replied.
"Ah thank the lord! I see planes from the south east!" Someone radioed
"This is Katherov; we are nearing the battle area!" Katherov radioed.
"This is Major Feliciano Vargas of the Royal Venezian 1st Mechanized Regiment! We need a bombing run in our sector! I repeat we need a bombing run in our sector! We will deploy blue smoke! Bomb north of blue smoke! I repeat, bomb north of-FUCK! Take cover! *Explosion* Damn, that was close!" The Venezian major radioed. I saw a plume of blue smoke appear over the ground.
"This is Major Ludwig Beilschmidt of the Karlslander 45th Panzer Regiment, we are approaching your sector, we will be reinforcing your regiment" A Karlslander major radioed. I saw a column of German, I mean Karlslander tanks rumble towards the front.
"Open bomb bay doors!" Mac radioed. I managed to hear the bomb bay doors open up. I then activated my magic. Which I found out that my magic has to do with increasing the explosive damage of any ordinance that I infuse my magic with which I did with the bombs.
"Will, the plane is your controls now! Don't drop us!" Charles shouted.
"I got the controls! Preparing bombing run" I radioed. I stared into the bombsight waiting for the right moment. My right hand was on the release button.
"This is Charlie! I am readying for bombing run" Charlie radioed.
"Come on, a bit more" I whispered as I waited for my bombsight to past the blue smoke.
"Come on, drop your bombs already! Those Venezians are getting a beating" Eila shouted.
"BOMBS AWAY" I shouted as I pressed the trigger. I watched those bombs drop onto the neuroi walkers. I saw quite a number of them exploding into white fragments.
"William, you are still the best bombardier I have ever seen, those were some big explosions" Ben radioed.
"Mein Gott, I am lucky I was not down there; those explosions would have killed anything" Rommel said.
"Oh god, that was one hell of a bombing run!" Feliciano radioed.
"Oh looks like another good bombing run Charlie" Franciscka said.
"Thanks, Fran" Charlie replied.
"Alright, the bombers had their fun, now for our turn" Katherine said as she swooped down and dropped her payload onto the neuroi targets that our B-17 run missed. I watched her swoop by beneath the nose strafing the neuroi ground units.
"Hey, Charlie" Ben radioed.
"What is it, Ben?" Charles asked.
"It is alright if I spit some led at the neuroi on the ground?" Ben asked.
"Why the hell not, you got 20 mms in that ball turret of yours" Charles said.
"Thanks" Ben said. I can already hear his guns blasting away.
"William, man the chin-machine gun and strafe any neuroi bastards you see" Charles said.
"Got it" I said as I turned on the remote controls for the chin machine gun turret and opened up with them. I watched the ground erupt with gunfire as Ben, Charlie, Katherine, Katherov and I opened fire on the neuroi.
"This is Major Ludwig Beilschmidt of the Karlslander 45th Panzer Regiment; we are arrived to the front to reinforce your unit, Major Vargas" Beilschmidt radioed.
"Thank you for the support!"
"CHARLIE! We got neuroi aircraft inbound! Thomas barked.
"How far and how many?" Charles asked.
"Radar detects ten airborne neuroi! Direction: Northeast! Distance is 28000 m and closing!" Thomas said.
"Erich! Mio! We got neuroi aircraft inbound, they are 28000 m away from the northeast and closing the distance" Charles radioed.
"All fighters; head out and intercept the neuroi fighters" Erich ordered.
"Witches, support the fighters and take out those neuroi!" Mio ordered. I watched our fighter escorts race away towards the neuroi. I then saw red beams fill the sky. I also heard the radio fill with chatter.
"Nice one, Amirul! You are real deadly in your Spiteful" Chuck radioed.
"Thanks! I can see how you got your 37 kills from" Amirul replied.
"Wow! How did you do that, Eino?" Franco asked.
"Well Reina, I see you like the same tactics, I do" Riki commented.
"Well, we are the same person Riki, so it would make sense that we share similar traits" Reina said.
"Way to go, Lily, nice kill" Muto radioed.
"Thank you sensei" Lily replied.
"Wow! How did you do that?" Franco asked
"I have magic called Foresight" Eino replied. However the chat became more stressful
"Bloody hell! Stay down would ya, eh?" Arthur growled.
"Celaka, just go down, would you?!" Amirah barked.
"This is getting annoying very fast" Gregory grumbled.
"EAT LEAD FUCKERS!" Hiroyoshi shouted.
"Damn it! The swine got away!" Gerhard
"Oh my god" Thomas said.
"What is it, Tom?" I asked.
"We got to extra neuroi approaching the north! They are just 7 kilometres away" Thomas shouted.
"Der'mo! We are the only ones here that can stop them" Katherov said.
"Alright everyone stay frosty, once you see those fuckers, don't hesitate to activate your magic and open up on the fuckers!" Charles said.
"Got it!" We gunners replied.
"Field Marshal Rommel? Are you good back there?" Charles asked.
"I am good, thank you for asking but I am ready to open with my gun" Rommel replied.
"Target sighted!" Charlie shouted.
"Open fire!" Katherine barked. She flew in and began pumping lead from her 23 mm cannon into one of the neuroi.
"Die!" Katherov hollered as he strafe into the same neuroi that Katherine was attacked. I looked to my left and saw one of the neuroi approaching. I turned the chin turret to face the neuroi.
"This is Mio! We are coming back to assist! Hold them off!" Mio shouted.
"This is Charlie, roger! We will hold them off" Charlie radioed.
"Here it comes! Portside! OPEN FIRE!" Charles shouted. We opened fired with our guns. Charlie joined in and strafed the neuroi as well with her own 50 cal. Then we saw a white cloud behind the neuroi we shot at and we saw Katherine and Katherov arrive to assist but things got worse when the neuroi suddenly split into two.
"Aw shit" Ben cursed.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Henry grumbled.
"Things just got a bit harder, folks" John deadpanned. I could see that Charles has begun to the B-17 around.
"This is Rommel, I have gun to open fire" Rommel said. I heard his guns open up.
"Damn it, they are persistence motherfuckers" Ben grumbled. I could feel the B-17 turn harder and tighter than usual. I turned to the right side of the bomber and readied to aim but I was stiffened to see the neuroi right there with it red ports beginning to glow and we were flying towards it.
"Aw, this time we bought it" Mack said. Just then the neuroi was peppered by gunfire. That neuroi soon exploded. It was soon followed by the second neuroi exploding.
"Well that takes care of that" I heard a voice said.
"Who is this?" Katherine radioed.
"Who are you?" The voice asked back.
"This is Air Chief Marshal Katherine Litvyak of the Imperial Orussian Air Forces, who is this on the line" Katherine radioed.
"Oh sorry, ma'am, this is Lieutenant Ember Vermillion" The voice said.
"And this is First Lieutenant Blaze Vermillion, ma'am" Another witch said. I saw two figures approaching from the north.
"So you are two Liberion witches, Eisenhower sent over?" Katherine asked.
"Yes ma'am, we are the Vermillion sisters" Ember said. Then I saw something tackle the two witches.
"Ember! Blaze! It is so good to see you two again" Shirley smiled.
"Wait, you know these two?" Gertrude asked.
"Yeah, I met Ember during flight combat school and boy did we come close, then I met her sister Blaze and we became friends ever since" Shirley asked.
Gregory's POV
I had not thought that neuroi can be scary and boy they were scary when they wanted to be. However, they were gone for now. I watched Shirley race past to get to the two witches. However Chuck loitered with the formation. Shirley explained how she knew the two sisters.
"Good to know" I heard Chuck said but he didn't sound enthusiastic at all.
"Hey Chuck, is something wrong?" Amirul asked.
"Nothing, just tired, can we return to base now?" Chuck asked.
"Well, seeing there is no more neuroi, ja, we can return to base" Erich said. We turned back for Pescara, we flew in a diamond formation which was supposed to be tight but Chuck loitered behind thus stretching the formation. He seems distant and I don't know why. After sometime we landed back at base and we were formally introduced to the Vermillion sisters.
Pescara Air Base
Hangar
"So how was the fight?" Marcus said, emerging from their little workshop corner. Marie was close behind.
"We did quite well" Mio said.
"Chuck! Where are you going?" Erich asked.
"I am going to take a walk" Chuck said as he left the group.
"But you haven't introduced yourself to the newcomers" Gerhard said.
"Not in the mood" Chuck grumbled.
"Come back here now" Sakai said.
"I am not wasting my time" Chuck said.
"Chuck, what is wrong with you?" I asked.
"Just, fucking leave me alone! Can't a guy get some fucking privacy?" Chuck shouted
"Don't you want to meet my friends?" Shirley asked.
"NO! I don't want to see your friends right now or fucking anytime now" Chuck roared as he left the hangar.
"What is his problem?" Ember asked.
"I don't know, I have never seen him act like that before" Gerhard said.
"Yeah, he usually quite cheerful and happy going" Marcus said. We just left Chuck to be but we saw as the days go by, Chuck was hostile towards the Vermillions. He never talks to them during patrols or off patrol and when he does it will be with a voice laced with anger.
After three days of this aggressive behaviour, I decided to ask him so I decided to take him to a bar in Pescara.
"Hey Chuck, I got a question, I have been meaning to ask you" I said.
"Sure, what is your question?" Chuck asked, "Hey bartender, two beers please"
"Yes, signor" The bartender replied as he prepared two mugs of beer.
"Thanks" Chuck said as he got his drink.
"Thank you" I said after I got mine.
"You are welcome" He said before attending to the patrons in the bar.
"Why are you so moody whenever you are around the Vermillions?" I asked.
"The Vermillions, what a joke" Chuck said before he took a sip from his mug.
"Why are they a joke to you? They are capable witches and you know that" I said.
"Yeah too capable" Chuck said.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Chuck questioned, I could tell that he was already pissed.
"Because, I prefer to have the normal Chuck over this" I said, "What happened to the smiling optimistic and great guy that I know as Chuck, huh? Did you kill him?"
"I don't want to suffer again, okay?! Are you happy now?" Chuck growled.
"Suffer? Why do the Vermillions have anything to with you, Chuck?" I asked.
"Everything" Chuck said.
"Explain" I said.
"Fine but promise me you won't tell anyone about this" Chuck said.
"I swear but you have to promise me that you stop being aggressive to them" I said. Chuck looked at me for a bit and he looked towards the bar.
"Fine" Chuck mumbled. "The reason I am so aggressive to Ember and Blaze is because back in our world I had two very close friends and guess what"
"What?" I asked.
"They were Emily and Blake Vermillion" Chuck said.
"It makes sense" I said as I connected the dots.
"Good, but since I already started the story better as well end it" Chuck said, "Anyway, I first met Emily during fighter school. She disguised herself as a man and went around with the name 'Edward' and we were bunked in the same room. I then found out she was a she but she was part of a secret government project to evaluate if women can be as good as men being fighter pilots called Operation Valkyrie however to keep it secret, they had Emily disguise herself as a man but I figured it out thanks to one week"
"Period?" I guessed.
"Period" Chuck affirmed, "Anyway, we s became friends after we tried to avoid each other or not talk to each other because we thought it was stupid that we were going to be fighting side by side. We soon became close but not too close because I had a girl already. Then we got shipped to Europe but we got transferred to two different units the 363rd for me and the 370th for her. As we were on our way to Europe, we decided to have a little wager which was to see how many kills we would get by the end of the war and the one with the lower count will have to buy the winner a drink when we get back stateside. We would write letters to each other and tell how many we bagged. We in the beginning were quite even but Emily began to shine and she began to make gap bigger and bigger. I knew she was fighter pilot when I first saw her and seeing her rack up kill after kill affirmed that. However the wager stopped when I found out she went MIA. I was asked to break the news to her family and good friend, Blake Vermillion. Now Blake denied that his sister is dead. I told him that his sister was alive in him. He then there and then decides to follow her sister's steps in becoming a pilot despite knowing that that would mean her mother will be childless. He told me that he had decided to put his own skills to the test, he volunteers to for training to be a night fighter and becoming quite successful. I promised him that I will be always behind his back but the storm cloud happened and now he is all alone which would have been fine but he is a not an open guy, heck it took him quite some time to get used to me before we became friends"
"Damn, that would explain why you were quite hostile to Ember and Blaze because they reminded of your close friends" I said.
"Yeah and when I came here and saw all you guys, I secretly hoped that she was here but seeing that no else came, I am beginning to think she is in the cockpit of her P-38N Super Lightning in the English Channel" Chuck said. We then headed back to base where Chuck and I headed to our rooms and slept.
May 9th 1943
English Channel
Flying in formation, a squadron of P-38 Lightning patrolled the skies. In the lead formation was one of America's top ace, and a female to boot, is Emily Vermillion with 63 kills and all in her Lightning. There's a really good reason why the German pilots she flies against have nicknamed the Lightning as der Gabelschwanz-Teufel, the Fork-Tailed Devil and her was even more deadly as it was the P-38N. The wings were swept back, and the engines were larger and had quadruple propellers. It had twin 20 mm cannons and four 50 cal machine guns and that is in the nose. There was an additional two machine guns in the wings of the P-38 close to the cockpit. It was the choice fighter plane though as times move on, people were slowly moving on from the Lightning but Emily has stood strong since the beginning though she does switches models. Now she's flying at about 4000 meters high on an air combat patrol when a glint of light catchers her attention.
"Bogeys, 2 o'clock low!" she pointed out to her other squad mates. "I count at least 4 of them. They're Messerschmitts!"
"And I don't think they've spotted us either, Lieutenant" One of her squad mate pointed out.
"Though, we have to make this one quick! I'm running low on fuel!" Another squad mate spoke up as Emily checked her fuel gage as well and nodded.
"We've got enough for this engagement" she said when she noted the German planes were passed below her and banking left. "But for now, let's pounce on these Jerry bastards!"
Emily rolled her plane over and went into a dive, her other squad mates followed as well. Aiming for the lead plane, she waited till the last second to pull the trigger, letting rip the six 50 cal machine guns and dual 20mm cannon, ripping apart the Bf 109 in seconds. The enemy planes scattered and Emily broke off to pursue after one of the planes, in the process losing her wingman. Using different engine throttle levels, she expertly flew her plane around, positioning herself behind the unexpected Bf 109 with her finger poised over the trigger when black storm clouds started to surround her.
"What the hell!?" she shouted looking around her canopy. "Command never said anything about any storm clouds in the area!"
She gripped the yoke hard as the plane was fighting some sort of wind, her instruments going absolutely haywire. A bright light soon started to blind her.
"Don't blame me if I'm missing brother..." was the last she muttered as she was consumed with the bright light.
January 20th 1945
A lone P-61 Black Widow American heavy night fighter roamed the skies above Europe, hunting for any targets of opportunity. The pilot of the plane was one of America's highest and most successful night aces with 32 kills under his belt. He, and his two other crew members were out yet again, hunting down German Me 410's and there have been reports of only one aircraft are in the area.
"Any sign of the enemy Jeremy?" The pilot asked.
"I got a single blip off in the distance. I think this is our target Blake" the radar operator responded.
"Watch me Emily, Chuck, I will catch up to you two soon..." Blake said under his breath but the radio still caught it.
"You're saying that again Blake" Adam, in the back of the aircraft said over the radio. "We know how much you love your sister and best friend and think that they're still alive but... No one's seen either of them since they had gone missing." Blake Vermillion is his full name and ever since his sister then his best friend, Chuck Yeager disappeared, he joined the air force to follow in their footsteps.
"Shut it and be ready for anything. Jeremy, give me directions" Blake ordered
"You got it" Jeremy responded and started to relay commands for Blake to follow when he thought he saw the plane before pulling over the night time binoculars to confirm it was an enemy. Getting in closer he reached optimal firing and easily shot the unsuspecting 410 down within seconds of lining up the target.
"Nice shooting Blake!" Adam cheered from his position in the back of the plane and Blake let out a sigh of relief. Pulling around the plane, he flew at cloud top level, the stars and moon illuminating them ever so slightly as he headed back towards his base as he was running out of fuel
"That makes your thirty-third kill Blake! Nice job!" Jeremy congratulated his friend and Blake smiled to himself, knowing he made the night a bit of a safer place for his journey home. Yawning slightly, he closed his eyes for a second, taking in a deep breath. Opening his eyes again, he was rather confused what was going on. He felt a burning sensation in his right arm and leg and a splitting head ache as well when he heard machine gun fire as well. Placing his hand up to his head, he pulled away to find some sort of liquid reflecting the moon light. Looking to the side did he see holes in the canopy and some metal ripped apart on the wings as well. Only when he looked down did the pain from the shrapnel buried in his leg hit him.
"B-Blake, you still there?" Adam asked quite weakly as the machine gun died down.
"Adam. W-What the hell is going on?" Blake asked, breathing a bit more heavily as he throws his head back in pain.
"E-enemy 410 jumped us... Jeremy had already bugged and bailed while I... took care of the 410..." Adam's voice was getting weaker as he talked concerning Blake greatly.
"H-Hey! Adam, stay with me! We're going to get home, I promise!" Blake pleaded.
"Heh... Thanks for being my pilot man, it's been fun..." Blake tried his best to keep talking to him but he himself was losing conscious as he lost more blood and to make things worse a storm cloud enveloped his plane.
'Can this get any worse!?' He thought to himself as he started to fight the controls to keep his plane in the air. A light started to blind his vision causing him to throw his hand over his eyes, blinding him to the point where he didn't notice the cockpit of the P-61 starting to morph around him. It was enlarging and changed positions on the plane as well a few known unknown pieces of technology appeared to the left side of the cockpit. A joystick and monitor formed to the left side of the cockpit while another screen on the right side appeared as well before he was completely consumed by the light.
Witches World
1945
Adriatic Sea
Shirley's POV
I was patrolling with Ember, Gertrude and Chuck. I worried for Chuck as he seemed so distant. He didn't talk to Ember or Blaze but he has no problem talking to me or the others but if it was Ember or Blaze, he would go like, "Don't test me, lieutenant, I am Captain" or "Can you two go play somewhere else"
"Hey Chuck" I said.
"What is it, Shirley" Chuck replied.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"I am fine, thanks for asking" Chuck said.
"Hey, I see something in the distance" Gertrude said.
"It looks like a P-38 and oh crap, I see a neuroi heading towards it" Ember said.
"Come on! Let's save that P-38's ass" Chuck said as he raced forward.
"Why is he in a hurry?" Ember asked.
"I don't know" I said.
Emily's POV
"What the hell was that strange light...? And where is everyone?" I looked around for my squad mates and that is when I finally noticed the changes on her plane.
"What the hell?" I was quite confused with the swept wing layout of my plane and even more confused with the tone of the engines. "They sound real monstrous" I gave the throttle a slight push listening to a new beast rumble in my plane.
"This is getting too weird for me..." I mumbled. I tried to radio base but I got nothing. "Come on, pick up the call already" I tried again getting the same result when I saw a black object in the distance.
'Well, if it isn't' friendly, then I will find out soon enough' I though as I banked the plane over, finding the handling of the plane felt much better. I flew closer to the unknown object when it suddenly banked and started to fly towards me. When it turned, it gave off the silhouette of a large flat arrow. This strange shape started to give me cold feet when a red hot laser beam rocketed past her canopy.
"FUCK ALL KINDS OF FUCKING DUCK! NOT FRIENDLY, NOT FRIENDLY!" I yelled, nosing the plane over into a dive. Looking straight up, I saw the mystery object at a very close distance. My canopy was blotched out by a black and red looking object with a hexagonal design on it. I didn't have time to question what the heck I was fighting because my life was hanging in the balance of what my current actions were. I began pulling back on the stick, "Damn, she turns fast" I was surprised how quickly and light the planes felt in higher speed turn.
'Usually the controls felt like they were starting to luck up at these high speeds' I thought. Though it still was a workout making the yoke goes where I wanted it, but I quickly got on the objects tail.
"This is pay back!" I pressed the trigger for a long burst and 20mm shells along with bullets ripped through its armor causing it to screech. It retaliated with multiple beam shots which forced me to manoeuvre out of the way the best I could when it disengaged from me. Then I saw a P-51 zoom past and strafe the black object.
"Where is it I have seen that Mustang before? Because it looks familiar" I said as I saw it make another pass. I decided to join in the attack as well. I then saw the words "Glamorous Glennis III" on the side of the plane as it made a third pass which exposed a red crystal which the Mustang shot it which cause the black object to just shatter. I however was thinking about the name on the side of the Mustang and then it soon came back to me.
"Chuck? Is that you?" I radioed the P-51 Mustang.
"Emily, is that you?" The P-51 replied.
"Well who else would be flying a P-38 in 1943?" I asked.
"Well, it is good to see you again" Chuck said.
"Chuck! Wait up! Oh wait, you shot it down" I heard another voice. I turned to see who was it and that is when I saw a group of girls flying in the air which wasn't weird at all unless they were not in any goddamn aircraft. All they had on them was some metal objects on their legs and guns.
"What the hell?" I said.
"Oh, I see you already seen the witches" Chuck smiled.
"Witches? What the hell are you talking about, Chuck?" I asked.
"I will let the girls explain it" Chuck said.
"Chuck, do you know who this is?" A girl with orange hair asked.
"This, Shirley, is Lieutenant Emily Vermillion, the top ace of the American Army Air Force" Chuck said.
"Wait, is she your world version of me?" A redhead asked.
"What is she talking about?" I asked.
"Alright, right now, you are not over the English Channel but over the Adriatic Sea in another world…" Chuck began to explain that we were in another world where everyone was united to fight the neuroi which was aliens that looked like the black object we fought just now. However the neuroi is invincible to normal weapons unless those weapons are in the hands of a witch who are girls between the ages of 12 to 20 who have magic powers. He also said that each witch had a different magic ability and that each witch is basically this world version of pilots back home. He talked about strikers which were the metal things on their legs.
"Well, this is quite the world you got here" I said.
"Yeah, you get used to it after a while, I was here for two weeks, Oh by the way, this is Charlotte E. Yeager or Shirley" Chuck said.
"Hi" The busty orangette smiled.
"So she is you in this world" I guessed.
"Yeah" Chuck said.
"Well, I can see where that went" I grinned.
"Aw, come on Emily, not in front of the girls" Chuck grumbled. Shirley's face was as red as a tomato.
"Sorry, couldn't help it" I giggled.
"Moving on, this is Gertrude Barkhorn" Chuck said pointing to the twin tailed brunette who looked German but I then remembered that this was a different world so that meant she was friendly.
"Nice to meet you" The brunette stated.
"I am guessing, this one is a no-nonsense person, huh, Chuck?" I said.
"Yep" Chuck said.
"And finally, we have your witch version, Ember Vermillion" Chuck said. I saw that she was a ponytail redhead girl with bright red eyes. She does have same scar I had on my neck.
"Hi, it is nice to see you and I like your P-38" The redhead said.
"Why thanks Ember, you look good in those strikers" I commented.
"Well, that is just about everyone here" Chuck said.
"Um, guys, can we land already? I am almost out of fuel" I said as I glanced to my fuel gauge and I was not a happy pilot to see that it was near empty.
"Sure" Ember said. I followed the four to their base and I was awestruck by what it was.
"That's a base? It looks like a castle for kings!" I exclaimed.
"Well, the 501st JFW is a prestigious unit so Command would like to give us some better accommodations" Shirley said.
"What's the 501st JFW?" I asked.
"Oh, the JFW or its real name, Joint Fighter Wing is a military unit where witches from across the world join forces to destroy the neuroi. There are currently fifteen active in service across the world. These units vary in size with the largest being ours the 501st with twenty one witches alone, with additional thirty airmen" Gertrude said.
"Damn, that is a lot of personnel, is there enough room for me?" I asked.
"We got four empty four man rooms so yeah, we still got space" Chuck said.
"By the way, what is the date right now?" I asked.
"It is June 5th 1945" Shirley said.
"Well, I jumped time as well, now that is interesting" I said. We all came in for a landing and I was then introduced to everyone else on base. I was surprised to see not only Americans but British, Italian, German, Japanese, Soviet and French pilots on the base all getting along quite well together. I was also surprised to see a B-17 and a jet fighter called the Me-262. Now, if only my brother was here to see all of this.
Later that night…
Lydia and Sanya were back into the sky patrolling the night sky however this time with a new member, Blaze Vermillion. The three were well equipped for night fighting as all three had the magic antenna ability with Lydia's being the most powerful as she can see farther and more clearly. Sanya was a close second with Blaze close behind.
"I don't regret switching to night fighting; the skies are lovely and quiet up here" Lydia said.
"Yeah, it is usually so calm up here that you can forget that we are at war" Blaze said.
"That is true" Sanya said as she nodded softly. Suddenly Lydia and Sanya's magic antenna changed from green to red.
"There is something in the sky…" Sanya said but barely audible however after nearly a month working with Sanya, Lydia heard and understood what she meant.
"Yeah, I am detecting something in the distance as well" Lydia said.
"What direction?" Blaze asked.
"Direction is due east of us and it is heading towards us, distance is 5 km" Lydia said.
"Ca-... anyone-... me" The three night fliers heard a distorted radio message.
"Did you hear that?" Blaze asked.
"Sanya, can you help boost the frequency?" Lydia asked.
"Boosting frequency" Sanya replied.
"Can anyone hear me?" The voice radioed.
"This is Lydia Litvyak to unidentified aircraft, we can hear loud and clear, please maintain current bearing so me and my wing can make visual contact" Lydia said.
Blake's POV
"Roger" I said as I tried to stay conscious but that was difficult with all the blood I was losing. I could only see from my left eye as blood from my head was flowing over my right. I saw some movements directly in front of me. I could make out the navigation lights of an aircraft. However I then saw a silver haired young girl with a rocket launcher and another red haired girl with a machine gun flying towards me.
"It must be the loss of blood, I am seeing things now" I said.
Lydia's POV
I was amazed when we approached the aircraft because it was a large aircraft. It was covered in black paint but I could see the shape thanks to my magic antenna. I could see that the plane was badly battered with the port engine smoking and the wing attached to that engine, torn up quite badly.
"Pilot, what is your condition?" I asked. I was increasingly concern for the pilot as we didn't know how long this plane can last.
"I was injured from an enemy attack and one severely injured. But what's a Russian pilot doing here... And why do I understand you?" The pilot asked before pausing for a moment, "And am I hallucinating or is there a silver and red haired girl flying next to me, wearing some weird mechanical objects that look like planes?"
"Save your breath, pilot, all of this will be explained later, right now we need to get you to our base, try to hold on" I said.
"Sure... Thing... Ah shit" The pilot cursed.
"What? What's the problem?" Blaze asked.
"Manifold pressure... is dropping. Engine one is shutting down" The pilot radioed.
"Keep calm, everything will be fine, we will escort you to our base, don't worry, we won't leave you alone" I said.
"Roger; thanks for the reassurance" The pilot said.
"Blaze, radio Wolf that we got another pilot but he is not in good shape" I said.
"Roger" Blaze replied, "Wolf, this is Blaze, we encountered another pilot but his plane is badly damaged and he is in a bad shape, prepare for a possible crash landing"
"Roger, I will get everyone ready" Wolf said. We soon came into sight of the base. We could see all the runway lights were lit bright and there were search lights illuminating the skies.
"Pilot, do you hear me?" Wolf radioed.
"Yes" The pilot replied in laboured and weakly manner.
"I need you to pitch up slightly and cut your throttle a little more, you're coming in too hot" Wolf radioed.
"Roger" The pilot said weakly. I watched in suspense as the large black twin boom aircraft kissed the tarmac and slowed down to taxiing speeds before rolling to the side just next to the B-17. Then Blaze, Sanya and I came down as well, ending our patrol for the night just an hour earlier than usual. We immediately joined the crowd who were making their way to the plane.
"I know that plane! God damn, I know that plane" Chuck said.
"You've seen this plane before?" Arthur asked.
"This is a P-61 Black Widow, America's first dedicated night fighter, I have seen this plane before, it still amazes me how this thing gets into the air because it is the size of a medium bomber and it weighs 11 tonnes" Chuck said.
"I think the Me-410 can out do this aircraft" Gerhard said as two men from the nearby anti-air gun entered the plane.
"That wouldn't be a surprise, this only flies at about 590 km/h and it is quite a beast to fly and your Me-410 is sleeker and I bet fly faster" Chuck said.
"624km/h is the top speed on the Me-410" Erich said.
"Still faster" Chuck said. Then the two men came out again but this time with the pilot who was worse for wear.
"Blake!" I heard Chuck and Emily exclaimed as they both rushed to the pilot.
"Wait you two know him?" Pierre asked.
"He is my brother" Emily said.
"And he is my good friend" Chuck added.
"So, he is Blaze's counterpart in your world" Shirley said.
"So he is the aces' world's version of me" Blaze said as she came to terms with what was going on. Then the men put him into a stretcher and hurried him to the infirmary where Yoshika and Muto were waiting. Emily, Ember and Blaze decided to follow as well. Chuck and Greg stood near the plane.
"Is something not right?" Riki asked.
"These planes have at least two people inside or at most three, so why did only one come out?" Gregory said.
"Time to inspect" Chuck said as he climbed into the aircraft. Gregory decided to stay outside and check the damage. Chuck then came back out while Gregory entered the plane only to come out a few moments later.
"So what is the verdict, Chuck?" Erich asked. Chuck looked around solemnly and sighed. I then saw two more men head into the hangar.
"It looks like the radar operator had cold feet and bailed out" Chuck said.
"Was he the only one?" Sakai asked.
"Unfortunately no, this model has a tail gunner" Chuck answered.
"So what is the fate of the tail gunner?" Gerhard asked.
"The tail gunner is…he's dead" Chuck said solemnly. I could see that everyone there was stunned to hear that someone was dead. The aces, I saw, just stared blankly at the plane while the witches had a variety of expression on their faces from fear and horror to frustration and anger. I saw Perrine fainted but before she hit the ground, Franco caught her. Francesca was crying into Shirley's chest. I could see Gertrude look down to her left with her fist clenched.
"Astagfirullah" Amirul uttered.
"Judging from the damage I see on the outside, the gunner, and the inside of the plane, something totting 20mm cannons shot at this plane" Gregory said.
"When was this plane introduced, Chuck?" Eino asked.
"It was introduced quite late in war; I think it was in June 1944, it first saw action in July that same year, I think" Chuck said.
"1944? Then that would have meant the biggest suspect would have been the Me-410 because the Do-217 won't have been flying much by then" Erich said.
"So we switched from the Dornier to the Messerschmitt?" Franz asked.
"Ja" Erich said. Then the two men returned with a stretcher and a tarp. Gregory and Chuck got back into the plane and slowly and carefully removed the dead gunner's body onto the stretcher. Then Erich and Gerhard covered the body with the tarp. The stretcher bearers lifted the body up and made way to the medical infirmary for the soldiers on base, as the body was moved; all the aces and witches stood at attention and saluted the man who was KIA. Minna, seeing that the sun was beginning to show told us to end our night patrol. Everyone began to shuffle back to bed well everyone except for Marcus and Marie as they began repair works on the battered P-61 while Muto and Lily got into the air for training.
Pescara Base
Infirmary
Blake's POV
I don't know how long I was out but I could feel that I was in a bed. I felt rather well for someone who got shot up by a Me-410. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was in some form of a medical room. I looked up and saw three girls sitting on either side of my bed. I had to do a double take as I saw my sister leaning on the bed, fast asleep while holding my hand. Then to my left I saw two redheads sleeping on each other. I don't know why but these two girls gave off a feeling that I knew them as family. I decided to sit up which made my sister wake up.
"Blake!" Emily shouted which startled the two redheads awake.
"H…Hey sis" I stuttered as I didn't know if this was my sister or a stranger but that suspicion was gone when she hugged me.
"I nearly thought I lost you there, Blake" Emily said as she hugged me hard.
"I thought I lost you too, sis" I said, "I missed you so much"
"I missed you too" Emily said. I caught some movement to my left and saw the two girls. I pulled away from Emily's hug and faced those two.
"And who might you two be?" I asked.
"How to explain... Well, easiest way of explaining all of this is that these two are our little sisters…" Emily went on to explain what the situation they were now in. I then looked down at myself and saw that I was only in my boxers. I saw my bloodied and torn clothes on the chair on the other side of the room. Then I remembered about Adam, my tail gunner.
"Where is Adam?" I asked.
"Who?" Emily replied.
"Adam, he is the guy who was on the plane with me when I came over; where is he?" I asked however I saw all three girls didn't answer but I knew what the answer was, "Damn, he's gone isn't he?"
"Sorry Blake, he was KIA the moment you came in" Emily said.
"It is alright, there was nothing much you could do" I said. The next day, with a new set of uniform, I joined the rest of the 501st to see to Adam's burial in a nearby cemetery. It amazed me to see the various nations that were represented in our band of airmen. It was still a solemn sight to see a good friend and a damn good gunner to go. Later, I was introduced to everyone on base and after that I took a look at my P-61 and saw it had transformed in the inside as there was equipment and devices that were not supposed to be there. I found that I had controls of all the guns on the plane as well as the radar. I decided to do some flying so I can get used to the new equipment. Later that night, I joined the patrol which consisted of the three girls who first encountered me, Lydia, Sanya and Blaze. I managed to snag a neuroi kill which mind you was a hard thing to do with one hand flying the plane and the other trying to shoot at the neuroi but I managed to do it. I had the P-61 modified to carry more ammo and more fuel so I can fly for longer durations. However, now I wonder how long is it do we stay here?