Chapter 11: Sky High
A week after Peter and Ursula returned for Rosario
9th August 1945
Venezian Air Space
Muto's POV
I must say these new sights are really good, it makes aiming so much easier. I saw Erich and Erica soar past me as they chased a neuroi down. I felt pity for them because they had a real terrible week. However it was lucky they were grounded or imagine what mishap they could have gotten themselves into during last week. They went through quite a number of their uniforms, in fact, Erich is only wearing his undershirt and his work pants. One of their uniforms had to go because they were ruined by paint from that training session; I have never seen that much orange paint before.
FLASHBACK
July 29th 1945
Pescara Air Base
Muto's POV
I had just finished with getting used to the new sights on our planes when I saw Erich and Erica standing at the end of the runway. They were currently observing the practice dogfight between Peter and Angela in one team and Hanna and Eva in the other team. The two teams were quite aggressive as they tried to shoot each other. The four were pulling off crazy manoeuvres as they tried to get the edge on each other. There have been a few instances where Erich and Erica were nearly hit by either paint pellets or by plane or by girl. I then saw Angela chasing Eva from straight above her. Erich and Erica were busy watching Hanna and Peter's dance of death.
"HERE HAVE A PANZERSHRECK!" Angela shouted as she fired a rocket propelled grenade at Hanna but Hanna dodged however the warhead continued to speed on past Hanna.
"Damn it" Angela said as she slung the tube. I watched as the rocket fly straight down, "Scheiße! Uncle, look out!"
"ERICH! ERICA! LOOK UP!" I shouted. The two Hartmanns instead turned towards me just as the rocket hit the runway and erupted in a fountain of orange paint which completely engulfed Erich and Erica. I ducked to avoid being hit by paint. I then looked up and I saw two standing orange blobs. It then hit me that was both Erich and Erica who were covered from head to toe in orange. I wanted to laugh but I threw that thought out of the window when I saw Erich and Erica collapse onto the runway. I ran over to them to see if they were alright which they were, they were just stunned and had some concussion from falling onto the runway. Then came the hours of hard and I mean hard scrubbing to get all that paint off their body. We had to wash them in barrels because no one wanted to clean the bath of orange stains. I remembered how they would cuss and boy did they cuss.
END OF FLASHBACK
Right now, they were giving the neuroi all sorts of hell. I was flying with Yoshika when we saw Eila and Eino fly past us.
"If rains pour from the sky, it's no big deal; if spears from the sky, it is no big deal; no matter what happens, it's no big deal" Eila sang as she effortlessly dodged the neuroi beams while firing her MG45 at some small neuroi while Eino shot down the ones Eila missed or deliberately missed. Then two who switch roles, not once with their shields ever coming up. Yoshika and I had our shields up, a habit both of us had developed ever since we began flying together.
"Eila, Eino, not using your shield is dangerous" Yoshika warned as she closed the distance with Eila and Eino.
"Huh? Haven't you been watching?" Eila asked.
"If not, then keep watching" Eino said as both them peeled off from Yoshika.
"Huh?" Yoshika said.
"What the heck are they doing?" I said as I watched them pull off some aerial moves.
"And there you have it" Eila and Eino said when Eila did a pose and Eino shot up right behind her in his Bf-109 while all the neuroi around her explode.
"Incredible" Yoshika gasped.
"Damn" I managed to say. Anyway the neuroi had been shot down at least we thought shot them down as Mio and Sakai were looking for any more neuroi. I noticed that Erica and Erich were gone but then remembered that they headed back early because they had run out of ammunition. So there was Yoshika and I, Lynette, Arthur, Perrine, Pierre, Eila, Eino, Shirley, Chuck, Amirah, Amir, Gertrude, Gerhard, Mio and Sakai.
"That's all of them?" Shirley asked.
"You tell me" Chuck said.
"Looks like we shot most of them down" Gertrude observed.
"It seems so, doesn't it" Gerhard said.
"But this is odd. There is no response" Mio said, "We are looking for the one in command"
"I know what you mean" Sakai said.
"So it's still fully operational?" Perrine said.
"I don't know but it seems to be so" Pierre commented.
"Sure we didn't shoot it down at one point?" Francesca asked.
"No, we didn't because there would be more white flaks if we did" Franco said.
"Once the neuroi controlling them is gone, they should vanish" Lynette said.
"Kill the head, the body soon follows" Arthur said as he lazily did barrel rolls.
"Mio" Sakai called. Mio turns and sees Sakai point to a thin black pillar that shot up into the clouds.
"What's that thing?" Shirley asked.
"I have no idea" Chuck said as he looked at the massive pillar.
"It goes straight through the clouds" Lynette exclaimed.
"Yep, that is definitely higher than Mount Everest" Arthur said.
"Oh, what was your first indication?" I joked.
"Wow…" Francesca uttered.
"If only that it was not a neuroi then that would be breath-taking" Franco said.
"*Whistles* that is tall" Amirah said.
"I hope no one flies into it" Amir said.
"Could that be the one controlling them?" Shirley asked.
"Well, the evidence does point to that conclusion" Chuck said.
"When did you become a detective?" I asked.
"Not now" Gerhard barked.
"You guys; wait here" Mio said.
"Muto, you follow since you are the highest ranker here" Sakai said.
"Got it" I said as I tailed Mio, "Mio"
"Muto" Mio said as she turned to me, "What is it?"
"Hitch a ride" I suggested. Mio agreed and she latched onto my N1K4-A, just behind my cockpit and we headed up. I had to take a spiral ascend as the spire of a neuroi was extremely tall.
"Such a high altitude" Mio said as we continued to ascend.
"Hey, did we just past Amaterasu's home?" I joked as we rose to 10 000 m.
"Is that the core?" Mio said as she looked straight up the neuroi.
"Damn, that is really tall" I said. Soon my plane began to stutter as we soared higher. I looked at my altimeter, it was 11 500 m, "11 500 m and we are not even halfway there"
"I guess this as far as we go" Mio said. I then brought the plane down to 10 000 meters where Mio can safely detach fly down unassisted.
"It seems so" I said as I deactivated my magic and place my engine into idle so not waste energy. I glided back down to where everyone else was.
"This is going to be a pain" Mio said.
"You can say that twice" I said. We soon regrouped with everyone else.
"We are retreating, return to base" Mio ordered.
"But the enemy is still…" Perrine said.
"We'll adjust our plan back at base; we have been out too long; we won't be able to get back to base if we don't leave soon" Mio said. It was dusk by the time we arrived to air above Pescara Air Base. Eila had something in her hand which Yoshika wanted to see however Eila using her ability foresight and expertly dodging Yoshika. She also boasted of never using her shield. Eino could say the same as throughout our month here. Just then Sanya, Lydia, Blake and Blaze were heading up for their night patrols.
"Don't be mean to her, Eila" Sanya radioed.
"It is not nice you know" Lydia added.
"Hmm?" Eila murmured as she turned to look at our castle of a base and saw Sanya, Lydia, Blake and Blaze coming up. Lydia's plane the Yak-9 was given a big upgrade in the firepower department, as ten rocket racks were installed to her fighter. They fired air to air rockets which were designed by Ursula.
"Welcome back, everyone" Sanya greeted.
"I see all of you have made it, thank goodness" Lydia said.
"Got us a bit scared when we saw Erich and Erica returning early" Blaze said.
"Well, they ran out of ammo, nak buat apa?" Amir said.
"Sanya" Eila and Yoshika said.
"Lydia" Eino said.
"Eino" Lydia said. I am definitely sure these two have something between them but I decided to just watch and see what happens.
"Well how are you Vermillions?" Chuck smiled.
"We are doing just fine" Blake smiled. The four aviators then joined our little formation.
"Oh, you are on night patrol" Yoshika said.
"Yes" Sanya said.
"Da" Lydia said.
"Well, why else would we take off so late" Blaze smiled. Just then Mio flew up to our level. She looked to me then to the night patrollers. I simply nodded back.
"Hold on, Litvyaks, Vermillions. You four are relieved of night patrol duties tonight" Mio said, "Head back to base with the rest"
"Huh?" Blake and Lydia uttered.
Pescara Air Base
Commanders' Office
Erich's POV
"We received a communique from mission control" Minna said as she and Wolf poured tea for all of us which were Katherine, Katherov, Dimitri, Rommel, Muto and me.
"About the neuroi we faced today?" Mio asked.
"Yes" Minna and Wolf answered. The two looked at each other and smiled.
"We will be taking over from the Romagnan Air Force and Navy" Wolf said.
"Oh?" Mio said.
"Is that so" Muto said before taking a sip from his mug.
"I'm sure they are looking for results" Minna said.
"Ah, no pressure from the brass" I smiled.
"Hmph" Mio placed her cup down, "Shall we show them what we're capable of?"
"Yes, we shall" Katherine said.
Meanwhile
Pescara Air Base
Hangar
Arthur's POV
Yoshika, Lynette and I stood by Sanya's striker storage unit as we watched it stores Sanya's new Fliegerhammer.
"Carrying this big thing all the time must be really difficult, huh, Sanya?" Yoshika asked as she looked at the Fliegerhammer.
"Not really, I'm used it" Sanya said while holding the pillow that Yoshika had bought for Eila. I can see why Eila would buy it now.
"Da, use something for a long time and you will get used to, second nature even" Lydia said.
"Yeah, it like me with my Browning here" Blaze said.
"Or me with my modified Black Widow" Blake said, "Now if you excuse us, we are going to have something to drink"
"Alright" Eino said as Blake and Blaze headed for the dining room.
"Sanya has night patrol by herself a lot before this" Eila said.
"Until, Sanya, Blaze and Blake and occasionally Eila and I here joined in" Eino added.
"Sanya uses the Fliegerhammer here when she has to fight" Eila said.
"Wow, that is amazing" Lynette said.
"That is true; those rockets look like they can really pack a punch" I said as I looked to the Litvyaks and the Juutilainens.
"But I bet it's less lonely with someone else, right?" Yoshika asked.
"Yeah" Sanya smiled.
"The night skies can be very lonely sometimes" Lydia said.
"Oh right" Eila said as she looked like she remembered something, "Here"
"Oh, that…" Yoshika said before Lynette cuts in.
"Is that a conifer twig?" Lynette asked. Eino and Lydia had headed in while we still stood here
"Reminds me of my old base, had a lot those trees around" I said.
"Take this, Sanya" Eila said as she presented the twig to Sanya.
"But, it is just a twig" Yoshika said.
"Remember, Yoshika, it is not the gift but the thought that counts" I said.
"Oh, that is true…" Yoshika nodded.
"Oh… thank you, Eila" Sanya said as she took the twig.
"Where we were flying today, there's a cypress forest just ahead, it kind of looked the way Orussia does in the winter" Eila said.
"There were a bunch of them where I used to live" Sanya said.
"Yeah?" Lynette smiled.
"Really?" Yoshika said.
"Well, that is nice" I smiled.
"Guys, briefing room, now" Muto said as he peered into the hangar.
"Okay, let's get going" I said. We headed for the briefing room where everyone else was already there.
"Alright, everyone is here, Mio, if you may?" Katherine said as she let Mio take the stage.
"Thank you, Katherine" Mio said, "Erich, lights"
"Jawohl" Erich said as he flipped the lights off.
"Minna, Wolf, slides please" Mio said. I saw Wolf fumble with the slides before he handed a few to Minna. She then inserted them into the projector. The first three were of the neuroi from this afternoon.
"Air Force reconnaissance planes took these photographs" Mio said.
"It looks like a bunch of noise" Gertrude said.
"Ma'am, are you sure the pictures were not damaged?" Franz asked.
"No, that is a neuroi, I am a reconnaissance witch and I know a damaged photo when I see one" Georgina said.
"Yes, this is the neuroi we spotted this afternoon" Mio nodded.
"Ja, this is what happened when they tried to photograph the entire thing, it just wouldn't fit; so right now, this is the best we got which doesn't make the neuroi look like a fine black line in the photograph" Erich said as he moved to Mio's right.
"Intelligence's estimates put the neuroi at over thirty thousand meters tall" Mio said.
"Thirty thousand meters" Gertrude exclaimed.
"Mein Gott, that is tall" Gerhard exclaimed.
"So it reaches an altitude of thirty kilometres" Gertrude said.
"So, compared to Mt. Fuji, it's…" Yoshika began counting to see the difference between the height of Mt Fuji and the neuroi.
"Let's just leave it at very, very tall Yoshika" Muto smiled.
"It is slowly cruising towards Rome at a rate of ten kilometres per hour" Mio said.
"Well, being so tall, any faster, it will break from the wind drag" Erich said, "This is give us some breathing space but not much"
"Yes, because the difficult part is about its core location" Mio said when the slide of the tip of the neuroi that reminded me of an obelisk.
"Yes, this neuroi wants to make our day very hard as the neuroi core is here" Erich pointed to the very top of the obelisk.
"The very top?" Gertrude asked.
"Verdammt! That is extreme" Gerhard grumbled.
"Yes, I verified it myself" Mio said.
"But our striker units top out around ten thousand meters" Perrine said.
"Right, so for this mission, we will need to use this" Mio said as a new slide appeared, "A rocket booster"
"Then we'll be able to fly to the core?" Yoshika asked.
"Can we?" Amy repeated.
"No, I don't think it would be that simple" Mio said.
"Right" Minna said, "The booster is quite powerful, but it consumes magic power at a very fast rate"
"In other words, you and your offspring will probably be deemed unfit for military service by the time you reach the top" Katherine said.
"You girls will only able to fly for a short while" Wolf said.
"Then we should carry someone part of the way up" Gertrude suggested.
"Precisely" Erich and Mio said simultaneously.
"But what about us pilots? Our planes can go no higher than at most thirteen thousand meters" Pierre spoke up.
"I am sorry but us pilots will not be going up with the girls, we will be loitering at ten thousand meters protecting Charles's B-17, Ye Olde Pub" Erich said.
"My Flying Fortress?" Charles asked.
"Yes, we will be using your B-17 as a launching platform at ten thousand meter as to reduce the distance thus reducing the consumption of magic" Mio said.
"Ok, that's fine with me" Charles said.
"But thirty thousand meters up, there's won't be any air" Shirley said.
"What? No air?" Francesca exclaimed.
"Then we won't be able to talk to each other, either" Erica added.
"Oh, that's probably true" Chuck said.
"What? No sound?!" Francesca exclaimed again.
"That would be interesting to experience" Franciscka said.
"Damn, no sound? Well, at least I don't have to hear Mio's voice, finally some peace and quiet" Yoshiko joked.
"Also no engine noises too" Hiroyoshi grinned.
"What did you say?" Mio raised her voice.
"Nothing" The two Nishizawas smiled.
"It must feel quite lonely up there if you can't hear anything" Amirah said.
"Well, we should be glad that the neuroi is at thirty kilometres up and not forty, or we will have even bigger problems" Charlie said.
"Thirty thousand meters is unknown territory, well beyond any high altitude record" Minna said.
"But we are witches" Mio said.
"*Ahem*" Erich cleared his throat.
"I didn't forget, Erich" Mio said.
"Oh sorry, please continue, Erich said.
"As I saying, but we are witches and wizards; there is nothing witches cannot do" Mio said, "So, the one best equipped for extensive and momentary combat is…"
"Sanya, we would like you to attack the core" Erich said.
"Huh?" Eila uttered.
"Well, it does make sense, no air means no fire" Gerhard said.
"And no fire means no guns" Chuck said.
"Yes, Your Fliegerhammer is critical to this operation" Mio said.
"Hey, hey, hey! Excuse me! I'd would like to go with her, then" Eila said as she waved her arm. Erich and Mio looked at each other than back to Eila.
"Oh right" Mio said, "Eila, have you ever used a shield, by any chance?"
"Even if it is accidental" Erich added.
"A shield? I don't mean to brag but I have never once used a shield in combat" Eila said while Sanya turned to her.
"Then you can't go" Mio went straight to the point.
"Yeah exactly" Eila said without realizing what Mio said until… "What?"
"Yeah that is not going to do" Minna said.
"Wh-Why not?" Eila asked.
"Huh?" Eila said.
"Besides using the booster, this mission will demand survival abilities in extreme conditions as well as skills for dealing with high levels of magic power consumption" Minna said.
"It means that once you are up there, you will have to focus on one task and one task only, no multitasking here" Wolf said.
"In other words, Sanya will not be able to put any focus on protecting herself" Mio said.
"That means we will need one other person to protect Sanya up there" Erich said.
"I-It's not like I'm not able to use a shield" Eila tried to reason.
"Hey, Eila, this is my sister's life we are talking about here" Katherine said angrily, "Don't take this so lightly"
"But you have never used one in combat" Mio said.
"That's right" Eila said. Mio turned away and held her forehead whilst Erich slapped his.
"Which means you have a developed a habit to not to use your shield during combat, right?" Erich asked.
"That's right" Eila answered again.
"That won't cut it" Minna said.
"Not at all" Wolf added.
"Well, that second nature of yours is fine during normal conditions because one, Sanya is in bed when you are flying so unless the base is attacked, she safe, secondly, you are flying alone which means no one else is in danger when you dodge a beam but in this mission, that second nature of yours will most likely result Sanya at the very least get severely injured and we all know you don't want that to happen, right?" Erich said sternly, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Miyafuji, you go" Mio changed the topic.
"Y-Yes, ma'am" Yoshika replied, "What?"
"You're able to deploy very strong shields" Mio said.
"Which means, you will be Sanya's guard" Erich said.
"I hope you are ready to be Sanya's knight in shining armour" Katherov grinned.
"R-right" Yoshika said. I then watch Eila march all the way from the piano to where Yoshika was sitting. Heck I could see all the aces' eyes follow Eila's march. Yoshika then felt someone glaring at her; she turns to come face to face with a very angry Eila who was growling. Yoshika beginning to scream had her mouth trembling and her voice shaking.
"Hey! Stop it you are scaring her!" Muto said as he made his way to Yoshika and wrapped his arms around her.
"For god's sake Eila, stop acting like your familiar" Katherine said.
"Well, at least she didn't go feral" Peter said.
Later
Sauna
Perrine and Eila were in the sauna. It wouldn't be so bad if only the sauna was had enough space and not built for just two.
"E-excuse me, do you think you could give me some space?" Perrine asked.
"What do want me to do? It is cramped in here" Eila answered.
"Why on earth was I asked to come here?" Perrine asked.
"It is because you're always berating Miyafuji" Eila said, "They say the enemy's enemy is your friend, right?"
"Just what are you getting at?" Perrine asked, "And really saunas and I do not get along"
"Whatever! Just help me out, okay?" Eila said. Just then Sanya and Lydia walked in. They both looked toward Eila and Perrine. Eila then stood up and left. Sanya then walked in and sat down while Lydia squeezed in between Perrine and Sanya. Perrine without her glasses leaned over to see who it that was sitting next to her was.
"Lydia? Sanya?" Perrine guessed.
"What are you looking at, you glasses-wearing snob?" Eila said as she grabbed Perrine's arm and pulled her out.
"Hey could you stop it with the insults?!" Perrine asked. Sanya and Lydia just stared at the door. Sanya turned to Lydia.
"I don't know, Sanya" Lydia answered as she just shrugged her shoulders.
August 10th
Peter's POV
It was just after 10 am and I saw that Lynette, Eila and Perrine were in the air, high above the castle. I could hear their conversation thanks to the transponder that sat in my ear; I could hear them as well.
"U-Um…" Lynette murmured, "Are you sure about this?"
"I'm sure. Please do it" Perrine said. I saw that Lynette was aiming her new .50cal Boys AT rifle at Eila while Perrine was behind her.
"This is definitely going to end well" Erich said as he walked up beside me.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"No, I am very sure that Eila will dodge and Perrine will have call a shield up" Erich said as he looked up to the sky.
"B-But" Lynette stuttered.
"Okay! Eila, pretend I'm Sanya and protect me" Perrine ordered.
"Huh? Pretend you're Sanya?" Eila said in disgust.
"Are you… Are you really sure about this?" Lynette asked.
"So what precaution have you taken, Erich?" I asked.
"Well, we are here and I brought this guy along" Erich as he jabs his thumb to Muto who just smiled.
"Well, you have a good sense, Erich, better than the commanders I have had or seen" Muto said.
"No, I just do it because I have to besides, somebody has to watch over your asses" Erich smiled.
"Just do it, already!" Perrine barked which made us all turn back to the sky.
"Okay!" Lynette yelped.
"Oh" Eila said as she effortlessly dodged the .50 cal slug. Perrine immediately called up a shield just in the nick of time as the round was just centimetres from her face.
"Damn, it is a good thing I didn't bet with you" I said.
"Told you, Eila has developed a habit which is not use her shield at all thanks to her ability foresight" Erich said, "It is handy when she is on her own but she is with someone else, better, she has as good or better reflexes than Perrine up there"
"A-Are you alright?" Lynette asked worriedly.
"Why did you dodge it?" Perrine barked, "This training is pointless if you dodge it"
"Sorry, but you weren't getting fully into it" Eila replied.
"Yeah, it is worst, it's second nature to her" Erich said, "It will almost be impossible for her to get rid of it before the operation is to commence"
"That bad, huh" Muto said.
"Well, let's put it this way, I think that you would have manned up and confess your love for Lily to her than Eila getting rid of her second nature" Erich said.
"What? Who told you this?" Muto asked.
"Told? I could how you would act around her" Erich grinned.
"Just who do you think I'm putting my life on the line for?!" Perrine barked which made us all look up again, "Lynne, just shoot, already!"
"Here we go again" I said.
"B-But…" Lynette uttered.
"I said do it!" Perrine barked.
"O-Okay!" Lynette stammered. We watched as Eila just dodged Lynette's rounds while Perrine had her shield up, knowing too well that Eila's second nature would kick in.
"Wow... I can't do that" Erica said as she and Gertrude stood next to us.
"I never thought her ability would actually put her at a disadvantage" Gertrude said.
"You will be amazed at how the skills you have can put in a bad situation" I said, "Just ask Erich here"
"Got too close to enemy and ended up crashing, several times" Erich cut the story short.
"Eila! How many times do I have to tell you?!" Perrine barked.
"I-I'm sorry" Lynne suddenly apologized.
Later
Eila, Sanya and Lydia's room
Lydia's POV
I was in the room, reading a book. Sanya was in the closet looking for some warm clothes for the high flying mission. Just then Eila walked in. I glanced up to see her sigh then look at the coat on the sofa.
"Huh? This is…" Eila said.
"Your coat, isn't it?" Sanya asked, "It's cold up in the stratosphere"
"Probably as cold as Russia back in 1941" I said as I continued reading.
"Oh, I see; It's been forever since I've worn it" Eila said as she held up the coat.
"So how did it go?" Sanya asked.
'This is not going to end well' I thought as I had a hunch that is not going to end well.
"Huh?" Eila asked.
"Perrine's training" Sanya asked.
"O-Oh? You knew" Eila said.
"Well, it was obvious from Perrine screaming at you this morning" I said.
"Did it go well" Sanya asked.
"No, it went terribly" Eila nervously smiled.
"I see" Sanya said. Eila looked towards Sanya.
"Huh?" Eila said, "You are taking three scarves with you?"
"Oh these?" Sanya replied, "These are for you, me and Yoshika"
"Miyafuji?" Eila asked.
"Yoshika was not able before coming here from Fuso" Sanya said, "So I figured I'd lend it to her"
"Or we will have a Yoshicle" I added.
"But…" Sanya looked down, "I wish you were able to deploy shields, too"
"Not gonna happen?" Eila answered.
"Huh?" Sanya uttered.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"You can't force something you aren't used to doing" Eila said.
"So you are giving up, Eila?" Sanya asked.
"You can't do what you can't do, no matter how hard you try" Eila answered.
'Didn't stop me from doing night missions, Eila' I thought to myself.
"You can't just say you can't do it and give up!" Sanya raised her voice, "You just can't do it because you have given up"
"Miyafuji could do it all along, so just let her protect you!" Eila barked.
'You just flew into flak, Eila' I shook my head.
"You're stupid, Eila" Sanya raised her voice.
"And you are stubborn, Sanya" Eila voiced back. Her eyes shot open just in time to watch the black pillow fly into her face and then slowly fall off her face. I just watched as Sanya began to tear up and then run out of the room. Eila just watched her.
"That was a not a smart move, Eila" I said as I put my book down.
"Shut up! What do you know" Eila barked.
"I may not know much about this world and the forces at work but I do know that you know that Sanya is right" I said. I watched Eila just stand there, her fist were clenching before she relaxed them and looked at me
"But what can I do?" Eila asked, "I tried but I couldn't get my shield up"
"No, you haven't tried" I said, "If you really tried, you wouldn't be in this situation"
"But it so hard to use my shield when I know I can dodge it" Eila said, "It is impossible to do something you can't do"
"Impossible to do" I said, "Eila, there is nothing as in impossible, you can do it, you have to give it all you got; you have to fight your foresight's screaming in your head"
"I can't" Eila said.
"No, I know you can" I said as I held her shoulder, "Remember what Mio said, there is nothing a witch cannot do"
"Okay" Eila said. I could tell she was disheartened.
"If it makes you feel better, let me help you train, I was an instructor before I joined the Great Patriotic War" I smiled.
"Please, anything to make things right" Eila said.
"Alright, but be warned my methods are… at best, unorthodox" I warned.
"I will do anything" Eila said with determination.
"Good, now help me find some rope" I asked.
"Rope? Why?" Eila asked.
"Well, we need to keep you from dodging" I smiled as I watched all the colour from Eila's face just drains away.
'This is going to be fun' I grinned.
Coast
Angela's POV
I was led by Erica to the beach for a late night swim. It reminds me of the Erich would take me to a nearby stream from my hometown and go for a swim though as we grew up, Erich would do it less and most of the time, he would be at the shore, watching over me. I understood why but I missed having fun with him in the water so it was nice of Erica bring me along for a night dip. We made our way to a part of the beach that had ruins.
"Hey, it looks there is someone there" I said as I noticed someone in the water.
"I know who it is" Erica smiled as she climbed a rock
"Who is it?" I asked. Suddenly Erica jumped into the air.
"Sanya!" Erica shouted as she fell straight into the water, belly first.
"Erica!" I shouted as I dived into the water.
"Ow" Erica groaned in pain. I swam to her.
"Are you okay?" I asked, "Oh hello Sanya"
"Hello" Sanya said. The three of us then exited the water.
"So, Sanya, why are you here?" Erica asked.
"Erica, don't ask like that" I said.
"What? I am just curious" Erica said.
"No, it is alright, Angela" Sanya said.
"So, what brought you here?" Erica asked.
"Eila and I had an argument" Sanya said softly, "So I came here to clear my thoughts"
"Oh" I said.
"Oh, so you got into a fight" Erica said with a giggle.
"Erica" I scolded.
"It's nothing to laugh about" Sanya said.
"Sorry" Erica said, "Anyway, so what do you want to happen?"
"Me?" Sanya asked.
"Yeah, I am curious as well, what do you expect to take place?" I asked.
"I guess you have to follow orders" Erica said.
"Yeah, that is true" I said as I joined Erica in looking at the moon.
August 12th
Rommel's POV
We were in the office when Minna and Wolf entered the room. I was at my desk while Erich and Mio were on the sofa. Muto stood by the window. Katherov was at his desk while Dimitri and Katherine were reading on the sofa opposite of Mio and Muto.
"Listen to this, we just got a message from High Command" Wolf said.
"What is it?" Katherine asked.
"They said that the Romagnan Navy and air force with ships from the Liberion Navy engaged the neuroi this morning" Minna said.
"Oh" Erich said.
"This is going to be good" Muto grinned.
"The outcome?" Mio asked.
"Romagnan cruisers Zara and Pola were defeated and crippled while the Liberion destroyers Taylor, Walker and Prichett were badly damaged and battleship Texas was moderately damaged" Minna said.
"The Romagnans were lucky though" Wolf said, "The Liberion Navy was there; their cruisers are being towed to Taranto by Texas"
"But those ships will in dock for some time" I said. Mio and Erich looked at each other and their faces soured.
"Guess it is our turn" Mio said as she faced Minna and Wolf.
Charles's POV
Today was the day that we take out the neuroi obelisk. The mechanic quartet installed a platform onto of my Flying Fortress. It sat just above the topside gun turret. It was about the size of half a basketball court.
"Well, this is a first" I said as I look at my B-17.
"Yeah, let's hope the plane handle well" Mac said.
"Yep, because I don't want to fly a turd" I said. I then looked to the girls w
"Looking good, Lucchini" Shirley smiled as she looked at Francesca who was in a big red coat and a yellow scarf.
"It's so hot in this" Francesca moaned as I saw that she was sweating.
"Don't worry Francesca, you will only doing this once so just keep going" Franco smiled.
"Yeah, bear with it, Lucchini" Shirley said, "The stratosphere is super cold"
"Yeah, so cold that you will be a Romagnan Popsicle within seconds" Chuck joked.
"I hate the cold!" Francesca quickly said.
"Alright now put these on" Franco said as he placed earmuffs onto Francesca's ears. Just then I saw Yoshika, Perrine, Muto, Lily and Amy
"Your coat is a little big for me, Barkhorn" Yoshika said.
"Looks like even I can wear that" Muto said.
"That would be funny to see you wear a girl's coat.
"Well, I know what to wear to prank someone" Muto joked.
"That, I would pay to see" Lily giggled.
"Better than no coat" Perrine said.
"Yeah, that is true" Amy said. I then moved to Gertrude
"Hm?" Gertrude uttered as she eyed the cups of tea, "What's all that"
"I decided to try making ginger tea" Lynette answered.
"Which turned out splendid" Arthur smiled.
"Thank you" Lynette smiled.
"You are welcome" Arthur said.
"So why ginger tea?" Gerhard asked as he walked up to Gertrude and Lynette.
"It's supposed to warm the body" Lynette smiled.
"Oh I see" Gertrude said as she took a sip.
"If that is the case, don't mind if I drink a cup" Gerhard said as he took a cup.
"How is it?" Lynette asked.
"We used quite a bit of sugar, so it should technically be easier to drink" Arthur said.
"You were not kidding…" Erica said as she slowly lowered herself to the ground.
"I won't be touching anything sweet for a while" Erich said after he down one cup and was beginning to twitch.
"Damn, if our resident sweet teeth are reeling then it must a tad too sweet" Peter said.
"Oh, but it's not as sweet as I expected" Gertrude said before the tea raced back up.
"Stay down, stay down" Gerhard uttered to himself, "Can't…excuse me, I must vomit"
"Sacre bleu, I thought my aunt's honey tea was sweet" Pierre said.
"I'll have another cup" Minna said.
"Same here" Wolf smiled.
"Make that a third" Katherov smiled.
"Four, make it four" Katherine said.
"Too sweet…" Angela groaned.
"Murder! This is real sweet tea" Amelia said.
"I-It takes a minute to kick in" Yoshika said apologetically. Sanya next to her was most likely shuddering from the taste.
"Yeah… it is so sweet that our tongues need to take some time to register it" Muto nervously grinned.
"If you just think of it as medicine, it's not as bad at all" Mio said.
"Same for you Muto" Sakai said. I drank my cup of sweet ginger tea, which I quite liked as I saw Eila gave Yoshika a side glare. Eino just stood next to Lydia who decided to add vodka to the drink
"Wah, almost like teh tarik, just without the milk" Amir said.
"Setuju" Amirah said.
"Same here" Lily said.
"Me too" Amy said.
A few minutes later…
I was flying the B-17 in straight line while the aces with the witches held to their planes flew around me. Everything was going fine as we climbed in altitude until...
"Charles, this is Fred" Fred radioed.
"What is it, Fred" I asked.
"I am not getting anything from my mask" Fred said.
"Everyone! Check your masks now!" I ordered.
"This is Will, I ain't getting anything from my mask" William said.
"Ben here, no oxygen coming from my mask" Ben said.
"Same here" Henry said.
"Mask's out" John radioed.
"My mask is kaput" Erwin said.
"Tom here, my mask is empty"
"Shit" I growled.
"What is wrong?" Wolf asked.
"Oxygen pump system is malfunctioning! We can't climb any higher, we have to go down to 5000 m" I said as I eyed the altimeter.
'7500 m, damn that was close' I thought.
"Jawohl, we need you boys to stay away or the girls don't have a stable platform" Wolf said. I lowered the plane to 5000 m.
"Alright, we are at 5000 m, which means we can breathe without the masks" I said.
"Alright, Charles" Minna said, "Witches, now for our part"
"Yes, ma'am" All the other witches said. I watched as some witches detach from the fighters and head to my Flying Fortress to get into their cone formation. After a few minutes, I heard the girls count down.
"Ten" Minna said.
"Nine" Mio said.
"Eight" Gertrude said.
"Seven" Erica said.
"Six" Shirley said.
"Five" Katherine said.
"Four" Francesca said.
"Three" Lynette said.
"Two" Perrine said.
"One" Angela said. Then the sounds of strikers starting up were heard as the girls launched into the air.
Eila's POV
We all took off from the bomber in one go, I didn't look down but just looked up towards the sky and Sanya. After a while, Mio, Minna, Gertrude, Erica, Katherine, Angela, Yoshiko, Shirley Reina and Charlie let go of the metal cone so we as in, Perrine, Amy, Blaze, Ember, Hanna, Georgina, Franciscka, Francesca and I started our rocket boosters and we soared to twenty thousand meters and now it was our turn to let go.
"It's time!" Perrine shouted and Miyafuji and Sanya turned their boosters on and they then soared. I kept my eyes on Sanya as she flew off. She then looked at me which made me ease up on my glare. I could feel my checks warm up. I then remembered what Lydia drilled into my head when she trained me.
"Just remember why or who you are doing it for and you will not go wrong" Lydia said
"No" I barked, "I'll… I'll protect Sanya!"
"Then go get to her!" Katherine barked into the radio. She didn't need to repeat, I then began to race up towards Sanya and Miyafuji which was quite hard as the rockets wanted to go in everything direction but up.
"What are you doing, Eila?" Sanya asked.
"You said it yourself" I answered, "That I couldn't do it because I gave up! I don't want to give up! I will protect you!"
I closed my eyes as I blindly raced up towards the two but it felt like as I got closer, they got farther. Suddenly I felt a hand grab my arm.
"Miyafuji!" I called out. Miyafuji then flew around me and began pushing me upwards.
"Eila, let's go up together" She smiled.
"Huh?" I uttered just Yoshika increased her rocket boost and pushed me all the way to Sanya.
"Yoshika!" Lynette shouted.
"You mustn't! Your magic won't last!" Perrine warned, "You make it back!"
"I will personally bring Eila back" Sanya radioed.
"Huh?" I uttered as I looked up towards Sanya.
"I promise I will" Sanya said.
"This is absurd" Perrine said in frustration.
"Go, Sanya! Eila!" Francesca cheered.
"Ha-ha! That's way!" Blaze cheered.
"Go get them for us!" Ember smiled.
"Enjoy the view!" Amy joked.
"Hey, don't forget why you're up there" Georgina jokingly reminded.
"Say hello to St Peter while you are up there!" Franciscka joked. We watched as Yoshika fall gracefully towards Earth. We continued in our ascension to the stratosphere. It was cold and quiet but I didn't mind because I had Sanya with me. We both looked up at the colours of space that lay beyond our planet. It was a marvelous sight. Just then the neuroi began to come alive.
25000 m below
Eino's POV
I could safely say that everyone here at 5000 m all looked up to see the spectacular yet terrifying sight of the neuroi unwrapping itself and firing its beam but Eila had her shield up and she was deflecting that beam.
"Well, I be damn, Eila did it, looks like your training did work, Lydia" I said.
"Well, you get a lot done, if you tie someone down" Lydia smiled.
"Hey! They are inching their way towards the neuroi" Greg said.
"Well, they got to make their shot count" Chuck said. Then we saw a massive explosion and we watched the neuroi turn white before breaking into white fragments.
"Well, that's a job well done" Amelia said.
"Couldn't have said it better myself" Erich said.
"Can you hear me?" We heard Eila on the radio.
"Yeah" Sanya answered.
"I'm sorry" Eila said.
"I'm sorry, too" Sanya said.
"Look Eila, it's Orussia" Sanya said.
"Yeah" Eila answered.
"It's like you can reach out and touch the Ural Mountains" Sanya said, "Can we fly over to the other side of the mountains like this?"
"Sure" Eila replied, "I'd go to the end of the world with you"
"No, I am sorry" Sanya said, "but we have to return"
By the time Sanya and Eila came down from their sky high adventure; we were all on the ground, waiting for them. We all gave them a big cheer which grew even louder when Muto kissed Lily.
"Damn, I was wondering when you were going to confess to her" Erich grinned.
"Wait, you loved me before this?" Lily asked after she and Muto broke their kiss.
"Yes, it was just I just felt shy" Muto smiled.
"Hey, don't ruin the mood, Bubi" Hiroyoshi said. Needless to say, everyone was in real good mood. It was funny to see Yoshika and Amy's faces as red as Francesca's jacket.