Well, this is it, the last chapter of this story. This has been a fun adventure. Hopefully you enjoyed this story as whole. Now, time to close this.
Chapter 23: Beyond the skies to Eternity
North Adriatic Sea, 40 km south from Venice
Everyone watched as the massive steel hulk of the Yamato soar into the sky and gain momentum as it raced towards the center of the neuroi hive.
RFS Goodman
"A bit of a waste of a battleship, if you ask me" Elizabeth said from her flagship.
"A bit ironic coming from the admiral who ordered the charge up the Suez, don't you say?" Her XO replied.
"Sure but we did that with support of other ships, other arms of the navy, other branches and other nations, this is different, this is basically suicide if wasn't for that bloody neuroi cores. I swear this is not going to end well" Elizabeth growled. Suddenly a loud thud was heard, from the direction of the hive and the Yamato which has slammed into the hive.
HIFMS Amagi
"Victory is ours" Sugita grinned as he watched his former flagship make contact with the Neuroi Hive. However the Yamato stayed still and did nothing.
"The magic dynamo engine has stopped running!" The leading technician shouted, "It's no good, the main cannons can't be fire!"
KD Kinabalu
"Are you seriously telling me that the damn Fusoans forgot to take into account the shock the ship would endure from the hit?" Iskandar held his forehead.
"It appears so, sir." His Chief of Staff replied.
"Astagfirullahaladzim… Biar betul ni?" Captain of the Kinabalu grumbled.
Amagi
"This is a disaster!" Sugita barked as he slammed his fists on the counter.
Over KD Labuan
"Shit, looks like things aren't going as planned." Shiva said as she and the rest of 516th Joint Fighter Wing, flew
"No, it is not" Duchess replied, she then glances over to her cousin. Then they watched as saucer shaped objects drop red disks on the Yamato.
Circling over the Amagi
"Damn, Yamato is taking a beating." Erich radioed as he and the other aces circled the Amagi.
"Kuso…" Sakai grumbled before he turned to Mio who at the same glanced back to him nodded to him. He began to rev the engine on his A7M.
"All ships, alter course, sixteen degrees, south in procession, maintain order of the fleet" Sugita ordered.
"No!" Mio barked, "It is not over yet!"
"We can still salvage this!" Sakai shouted. This caused everyone on deck to turn just as they catch Sakai closing his cockpit.
"It is not over! This war is not… Not myself!" Mio barked.
"Sakai, I demand you to stand down!" Wolf ordered.
"Sakai, stand down!" Muto barked.
"God damn it, he is out of his god damn mind!" Hiroyoshi growled.
"Madness, both of them" Riki uttered as he watched Sakai's A7M roared off the flight deck and raced towards the Neuroified Yamato. Mio at the same time took off as well, joining her ersatz brother.
"Mio!" Minna shouted as the two raced off. Amirah gritted her teeth as she though back to the start of the battle.
"Bloody hell Mio, I told you…"
SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER
Pescara Air Base
"Listen here, everyone. Momentarily the 501st Joint Fighter Wing will be leaving this base to take part in Operation Baytown." Minna stated as she nodded to Wolf, "Wolf will explain the details of the operation."
"Our objective is to escort and defend the Allied Fleet's flagship, the Yamato until they are in range of Venezia." Wolf explained, "There is however has been a last minute change of plans, we will not be doing this alone, we will be operating with the 516th Joint Fighter Wing. They have twelve members, six Malaccan and six Rowanese witches so don't be surprised to extra girls out there, any questions?"
There was no reply to which Wolf leaned forward and looked at everyone.
"Well, then, you know what to do" Wolf said as he nodded to Minna.
"Everyone, depart" Minna ordered.
"ROGER!" Everyone replied. It didn't take long for everyone to get into their machines and head off.
"I bloody hope this operation goes with a hitch" WW2 Montgomery said.
"You and me both, Monty" WW2 Patton replied as he pulled out his cigar.
"Well, we have some of our best aces flying. We have a good chance." WW2 Rommel said as the three generals watched the fliers race into the sky.
Northern Adriatic Sea
The fleet made of Romagnan, Venezian, Britannian, Karlslander, Fusoan, Rowanese, and Malaccan ships sailed towards Venice.
Amagi
"Look! Witches!" A sailor shouted.
"It's the Strike Witches!" Another cheered.
"Oi! The 516th is flying as well, you know!" A voice came from above.
"Hey, it is the Sky Pirates!" Another sailor cheered as the witches and aces roared over Amagi's flight deck, the witches then turned upwards while the aces looped around.
"So, that's the Yamato" Gertrude said.
"It's huge!" Shirley said.
"Damn right it is" Ember said.
"Hah! The Goodman is way bigger." A Rowanese witch said.
"Calm down, Serena" CP Amirah said.
"Wow, you look just like Amirah." Francesca said.
"Well, except for the scar" Erica pointed out.
"Erica, manners please" Franciscka said, "She is royalty.
"No, it is fine, I prefer it if you treated me as if I was just another witch" CP Amirah said, "Also, one request, call me Alina, so you don't confuse me with my cousin over there."
"Say, Amir, are you…?" Emily asked.
"Yes Emily, I am related to royalty." Amirul smiled as he flew up behind Emily's P-38.
"I see it" Mio stated.
"I can confirm that it is there" Sakai added.
"Yes" Minna responded.
"Understood" Wolf replied.
"Holy shit…" Taiyuan uttered as the Malaccan witch tightened her grip on her 37mm cannon.
"You are not wrong, Xiao Long" Hilda replied as the Rowanese cocked her AT rifle.
"Another day, another hive that needs blasting" said May as the Rowanese racked her light machine gun.
"I can see it" Perrine uttered.
"Merde…" Pierre replied.
"Yoshika" Lynette said.
"Yeah" Yoshika replied, "That's the neuroi hive"
"This is nothing like how I imagined it to be." Riki said.
"Aigaion?" Amy guessed.
"Yeah" Riki nodded.
"Well, let's get ready to attack it then." Franz replied.
"Right." Peter nodded.
"That's our last opponent" Mio said.
HMS Duke of York
"We will soon be entering Venezian waters." The XO reported.
"Have the ship on to their battle stations, we are in for a busy day" Aiman ordered. The Britannian ships soon began preparing for battle, though oddly enough the Fusoan ships were not preparing for combat. The other ships were preparing for combat as Aiman could see sailors running to their battle stations.
Amagi
"We'll be behind enemy lines" Sugita surmised.
"Three minutes to Yamato's neuroification" A technician reported.
Suddenly a geyser of water erupted at the head of the fleet.
"The Nicholas is hit!" A sailor shouted.
"All hands to battle formation!" Sugita barked.
HMS Warspite
"Bloody hell, only now, he orders for battle stations?" The XO said, "I tell you captain, this Sugita is going to get us killed."
"Well, we will make sure that we go on our own terms." Warspite's captain replied.
USS Massachusetts
"What can you see, Briggs?" The captain asked.
"I see multiple men jumping off the Nicholas... she is dead in the water, sir" Briggs replied.
"Radio Centaur and Cossack to assist-" The captain said.
"Captain, radar detects neuroi approaching from the north, number 200 and rising" A sailor cuts in.
"Prepare for AA combat" The captain ordered.
Just then, neuroi saucers appeared and began shooting at the fleet.
"That's our cue!" Wolf said.
"It's begun" Minna stated, "We need to protect the Yamato until her neuroification is complete"
"Roger" All the fliers shouted as they disperse to engage.
"Don't let them get to the fleet!" Wolf ordered. The fliers began attacking the neuroi though it became clear that the neuroi was targeting only one ship, the Yamato as Yoshika and Muto fend off neuroi beams with their shields.
"Yoshika!" Lynette shouted.
"So powerful," Yoshika gritted her teeth as she held the neuroi beam back with her shield.
"Fucking hell" Muto grunted as his shield shook from the impact.
"They're focusing their attacks on the Yamato," Minna observed.
"You don't think?" Alina said.
"Did they figure out that Yamato is not a normal ship?" Mio uttered.
"Get over here, Francesca" Shirley shouted.
"Coming!" Francesca replied as the two linked up before Shirley spun around before launching Francesca towards a swarm of the neuroi saucers who were thrown into disarray, only to be shot up by Shirley.
"We did it" Shirley cheered.
"Try and catch me, you bastards" Chuck mocked as he flew straight through another swarm.
"Wrong plane, you should have gone for me!" Franco grinned as he fired on the dazed swarm.
"That's it, just keep coming," Zuraidah said as the Malaccan sniper fired another neuroi dead.
"Over here!" Eila waved.
"Here! Come after us" Eino taunted as the two flew with a whole line of neuroi behind them.
"Sanya" Eila said as she effortlessly dodged shots
"Lydia, better be ready" Eino said while doing the same.
"Da" Lydia replied.
"Yeah" Sanya said as the two Litvyaks open fire with their rockets and destroyed the conga line of neuroi.
"Idiots…" Lydia sighed.
"I only fired one shot." Sanya said in amazement.
"Incredible, Sanya" Eila said.
"Nice shot, dear" Eino smiled. Just then the sound of machine gun and cannon could be heard and the four looked up to see the Hartmanns and Barkhorns shooting up a storm.
"Come on! Come on!" Gertrude barked.
"Their numbers aren't going down at all" Erica complained.
"Shut up and shoot" Gertrude rebutted.
"She has a point, sister" Erich said.
"Agreed," Gerhard replied.
"Just pretend there's a medal waiting on the other side" Gertrude said.
"I don't care about that!" Erica replied.
"Do it for chocolate then." Erich offered.
"That, I can work for." Erica smiled.
"Wow, they are not even looking" Franciscka said.
"That's top aces for you." Franz said.
"Alright, who wants to be next?" Amirah grinned as she readied her knife.
"Just like 1942, isn't it cousin?" Alina smiled as she pulled her Keris.
"Oh yeah" Amirah grinned, the two cousins began slaying neuroi they came across it.
"Bloody hell, they just keep coming" Amirul growled.
"Someone turn the tap off!" Blake barked.
"Damn it. They just keep coming!" Amelia shouted.
"Get out of Romagna!" Francesca shouted.
"Just die already!" Abigail snapped.
"There are a lot of them!" Angela shouted.
"Charles, open your bomb bay! I am coming in" Charlie radioed.
"Got it, we got ammo if you need it" Charles replied as his B-17 loitered at the rear of the fleet.
"It is like the more we shoot down, the more they add" Shiva said.
"Well sis, that just mean we need to shoot more." Sienna encouraged as she reloaded her Lewis Gun.
"Yoshika, are you alright?" Lynette asked.
"Yeah, I am fine." Yoshika replied, "I have to give it my all. If I do that…"
"Muto, are you good?" Lily asked.
"I am good, thanks" Muto responded.
The aces and witches were fighting like mad but soon some began to tire out, especially Mio, though she lasted longer than before. Sakai was sweating profusely in his cockpits.
"Are you alright, Major?" Minna asked when she flew up to Mio.
"This is nothing, Miyafuji and the others are working their butts off" Mio replied, "There is no way I am losing here."
"Sakai, are you alright?" Hiroyoshi asked.
"I am good, it is just hot" Sakai replied.
RFS Warren
"Secondary guns are ready to fire" The gunnery officer replied.
"Are we in range?" Warren's captain asked.
"The moment we start turning, we will be in range." The gunnery officer replied.
"Not going to use those big shells, sir?" Warren's XO asked.
"We are, just wanted to supplement the firepower." The captain replied.
Amagi
"All ships, fire Anti-Aerial Neuroi Shells!" Sugita ordered. Then every battleship in the fleet opened fire on the neuroi. This had the immediate effect of destroying a considerable number of the flying saucers but as the cloud began to dissipate, more saucers appeared.
"Eh!" Lynette yelped as she found herself back to back with Perrine while neuroi circled around them.
"We're surrounded!" Perrine shouted.
"Lynne! Perrine!" Yoshika shouted but helpless to do anything.
"Over my dead body," Mio shouted as she appeared over them, sword in hand.
"Sakamoto" Yoshika cried.
"Major!" Minna cried out.
"Mio!" Sakai snapped.
"Reppuzan!" Mio shouted as she swung her sword on one of the neuroi saucers but to her shock and horror, the attack failed. Mio, stunned, was thrown back, her sword flying clean out of her hands. She stood motionless as the neuroi prepared to attack, only Yoshika's arrival and shield saved her from meeting her end. Minna took out the neuroi before it could do anything else. While at the same time, Lynette and Perrine used the distraction to bust out of the encirclement.
"Are you okay, Sakamoto?" Yoshika asked but she was shocked to see Mio staring at her hands in pure shock.
KD Prajurit
A sailor on the bridge was on the lookout for neuroi when he saw a peculiar sight, a katana flying through the sky. He watched the blade from when he first saw it until it embedded itself into the bow of the Yamato.
"Where the hell that came from?" The sailor thought.
Amagi
"Eleven thousand meters from the target," The navigator barked.
"Thirty seconds until neuroification," The technician shouted, "Magic engine dynamo, ready to go"
"Show them what happens when you piss off humanity"
KMS Bismarck
"Did he really just say that?" The radio operator wondered as he tapped the radio, thinking it was interference.
RFS Vampire
"There it goes" A gunner commented.
"Are they really going to do this stunt?" His assistant asked as they watched the Yamato speed up away from the Amagi.
In the air however, things were getting from bad to worse as witches and pilots were beginning to wear out and their guns began to dry up.
"Yang, how's your ammo count?" Ruby, a Rowanese witch asked her half-sister.
"Not good, I got ten rounds left, then it is my shotgun, and I don't think it will do any good in this fight" Yang replied.
"Damn it!" Eila shouted as she fired her machine gun while shielding Sanya.
"Chyort! I am out of rockets and cannon ammo" Lydia barked.
"You are not the only one, sis" Katherov replied, "Everyone is almost out of ammo."
"Hang in there, Francesca" Shirley urged.
"It is not over yet!" Gertrude shouted.
"I guess we have no choice" Erica groaned.
"Damn it… my hands, they are getting numb from all this flying" Franco said.
"I had not done this much flying since training!" George radioed.
"Are you alright, Lynette?" Perrine asked.
"Y-Yes" Lynette replied.
"Ma'am, we are not going to last longer" Alice, Alina's second in command said.
"Understood, all witches who are low on ammo and magic, return to the carriers" Alina ordered as she glanced to Minna who nodded.
"Anyone who has depleted of magic power, fall back to the carrier, Amagi" Minna ordered.
"Any pilots who need to rest and rearm, head to the Amagi." Wolf radioed.
"Minna, watch Mio" Peter radioed, glancing to Mio.
"I can no longer fight?" Mio uttered, "I can no longer protect people?"
Minna watched her deputy as the countdown came to a conclusion.
"Fire up the revised core control system," Sugita ordered.
"Did he really say revised?" Amirah thought.
"Way to improve confidence, what an idiot," Amirul sighed.
Sailors and Marines not manning weapons, turn to look at the Fusoan battleship.
"Starting magic engine dynamo" The technician on the Amagi radioed.
"Here goes nothing" Amelia Earhart replied.
"Blimey, look it, it like it is cracking up." A Britannian sailor gasped.
"I pray this goes well" A Venezian sailor wished.
"Did they start?" Gertrude asked.
"Have they begun?" Gerhard repeated.
"It looks like it" Both Erica and Erich answered.
The Yamato transformed into a neuroi and the witches knowing it is their cue to fall back to the fleet.
"Neuroification complete" The lead technician stated, "Approximately nine minutes of power remain."
"Amirah…" Aisyah suddenly spoke up, "The neuroi core, it is draining the magic faster than the engineers calculated, it won't last nine minutes."
"What? Why?" Amirah asked.
"The core, it is a not the right one." Aisyah said, "I could only sense it now after the Yamato transformed but that core was only meant for smaller vessels not the Yamato."
"Argh! Kenapa kamu semua bodoh sangat!" Amirah barked.
"Take the Yamato into the sky!" Sugita barked, soon Neuroi Yamato sped up and raced into the sky. All seems to be well as the Yamato flew past the witches and aces towards the Neuroi Hive. All eyes were on the flying battleship. They took this chance to head back to Amagi to rest and rearm.
BACK TO THE PRESENT
"Aisyah, give me the status of the Yamato," Amirah requested as she removed the magazines from both her Oerlikons.
"Not good, I am afraid, the magic dynamo is out of power, and that shock probably knocked out the restart motor." Aisyah replied.
"So, all of that, for nothing?" Alina uttered as she flew up next to her cousin, "All because of a miscalculation and a wrong core."
"Not-" Amirah said before something raced past them. "What the-Sakai?!"
"Come on Sakai! We need to get to the Yamato!" Mio barked as she clung onto to the cockpit cover on Sakai's A7M.
"What do you think I am doing?" Sakai barked back. Suddenly another figure dashed past, it was Minna and she had her gun aimed at the two.
"I don't have a lot of magic left." Mio said.
"Knowing that, turn back now!" Minna ordered.
"Minna" Mio replied.
"Head back, you two," Minna ordered.
"If I don't go, who will start the Yamato's engine?" Mio asked.
"But why are you going, Sakai?" Minna asked.
"If I send her, she will have more magic to use for the motor." Sakai replied.
"How ironic…" Mio said as she pulled Minna to Sakai's plane, "That I, the one person who couldn't even fight, am the only one left the magic power to do this."
"Commander…" Minna uttered.
"Damn," Amelia swore.
"Minna, I am glad" Mio said, "After all that's happened to me, there is still something I can do. I can be part of the 501st; I can be one of the forty-seven"
"Mio," Minna uttered.
"Commander…" Perrine whispered as the other witches and aces watched. Muto was still in the cockpit of his Shiden.
"Guys, sorry to cut in, but you are getting close to the Yamato." Amirah radioed.
"Yes, any close, you will be in the Yamato." Alina added. The two commanders of the 501st looked at each other once again.
"Please… promise to come back alive," Minna requested, "That's an order. Same to you, Sakai"
"Yes, ma'am," Sakai replied.
"Understood," Mio nodded. She let go of Minna and Sakai throttled up his Sam towards the stationary battleship.
"Mio…" Amirah uttered as she wiped the sweat off her brow. Alina on the other hand, glanced over to the flight deck of the Amagi where there appears to be a commotion breaking out.
"It looks like our Fusoan cousin and her counterpart is trying to help their comrades" Alina pointed out.
"It appears so," Amirah glanced over, "I swear, Fusoans are nuts sometimes."
"We Malaccans aren't that different, you know that too." Alina said.
"That is true." Amirah said as she hovered closer to Alina.
"We have arrived at the Yamato!" Sakai radioed. Everyone turned back to the stuck battleship. Amirah watched as Sakai flipped over and dropped Mio onto the bridge of the ship.
"I am on the Yamato, now." Mio radioed. Amirah watched Sakai began circling the Yamato, attacking the neuroi that tried to get close to the Yamato. Soon the bridge of the Yamato began to glow. Silence befell the fleet as everyone watched Mio fuel up the dynamo.
Amagi
"Magic engine dynamo is operational. Power output is rising." Technician reported.
"She did it," An officer said.
"I see," Sugita replied, "But we cannot control it from here. You are our only hope, Commander Sakamoto"
"I see the turrets moving" Amirah radioed.
"This is Wing Commander Amirah, I too can confirm, Yamato's turrets are moving." Alina radioed.
"Mio…" Minna uttered.
"Damn it Sakai," Muto grumbled.
"Sort of jealous of Amirah and her cousin right now," Emily said.
"Kinda have to agree with that." Frederica replied.
"Output is at 90 percent" The technician in the Amagi reported.
"This is how a warrior lives!" Mio shouted at the top of her voice. Her voice echoed through the radio.
"That's one hell of a quote." Georgette replied.
"Critical output reached!" The technician shouted.
"Now, Mio, open fire!" Sakai shouted.
"FIRE!" Mio barked and the forward turrets of the Fusoan battleship open fire. This created a massive cloud of smoke and debris. Everyone watched in silent awe and horror as Sakai flew into the smoke cloud.
The blast was so powerful that all the ships rocked from the shockwave which was impressive given the sizes of the capital ships present.
Lydia and Sanya, whom both had their magic antenna active throughout the battle, turned them off.
"The neuroi signal is gone." Sanya reported.
"Same here," Lydia reaffirmed.
"And Sakamoto?" Yoshika asked.
"What about Sakai?" Hiroyoshi asked.
"They must be alright." Yoshiko said.
"Commander…" Perrine whispered as Pierre hugged her.
"Even protected in the Yamato, the blast…" The captain of the Amagi said.
"Oh look who survived…" Amirah grinned.
"Oh my…" Alina uttered.
"Amirah, what is wrong?" Amirul asked.
"The radar is picking up the Yamato!" Amagi's radar operator reported.
RFS Goodman
"So the Yamato survived, I am impressed." Goodman's captain said. Soon the witches, aces, sailors and marines start cheering as the Yamato came into view. However something was amiss.
"Wait!" Wolf shouted.
"Something isn't right." Minna shouted, "The Yamato is still Neuroified."
"Wait, what?" Peter gasped.
"What, how?" Erich uttered, "That can't be true, that thing isn't supposed to still be neuroified."
"Amirah! Alina!" Wolf radioed, "Can you confirm that the Yamato is still neuroified?"
"This is Amirah," Amirah replied, "One… ah shit, I can confirm! Yamato is still neuroified, I repeat, Yamato is still neuroified!"
"Bloody hell" Alina said.
"Neuroi signal is back!" Sanya reported as both Lydia's and her magic antenna came back on.
"For fuck's sake" Gerhard swore.
"What?" Gertrude exclaimed. The clouds fully dissipate and there was the biggest neuroi core, anyone had ever seen. It was safe to say it was probably the size of a moon.
"What the hell? Look at the size of that!" Taiyuan swore.
"Fuck, that's big." Hilda replied.
"No way…" Minna uttered.
Many stared at the core in surprise but they immediately started running to their battle stations as the neuroi started to reform but some didn't react in time.
KMS Bismarck
"This… can't be…" The captain of the Karlslander battleship uttered.
"Captain, Neuroi beam! Off the starboard bow," The XO shouted.
"What?" The captain shouted just before the beam sliced across the bow of the ship, followed by the explosion.
Amagi
"The neuroi is counterattacking" The Amagi's captain said.
"All ships retreat, now!" Sugita ordered and things got worse as both Amirah and Yoshika saw something on the core. It was a certain witch and plane.
"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Amirah uttered.
"SAKAMOTO!" Yoshika shouted.
"Commander!" Perrine screamed.
"Fuck... Sakai is stuck too." Muto said.
RFS Goodman
"Bloody hell" The captain uttered, "Prepare to open fire"
Littorio
"We need to rescue the trapped. Fire the main cannons!" The captain of Littorio ordered.
HMS Warspite
"Open fire! We need to free them!" Warspite's captain ordered. Soon, all the battleships began firing their guns but the shells didn't make contact with the core as magic shield appeared in front of them.
Amirah's POV
I watched as the neuroi began to attack the ships. My cousin and I immediately tried to defend the fleet but there was only so much we could do, less with little ammo. We tried to fend off the neuroi but there too many. Aisyah came out but even with her help, we were being swamped It didn't help that the core of the hive was still active, constantly making new neuroi. All three of us also knew that the reason for this was the damn thing was draining Mio and Sakai of their magic. What made it worse was that Aisyah and I knew that with some of my magic in her, she won't be permanently lose her magic but right now, it was causing a problem. That over the fact that Sakai is stuck as well, meant that damn core had a lot of magic to use.
"This is not going so well." Aisyah said as she fired off a beam at a few neuroi fighters.
"You are not wrong." Alina said.
"Yeah…" I growled.
"Hold on, girls!" Amirul radioed, "You are not alone!"
We turned around to see everyone coming up to our altitude with Yoshika and Muto leading the charge.
"Alina, you go back first, you're out of ammo right?"
"What about you?" She asked.
"I will be fine; I still got two clips and my pistols." I said as I took out my second last drum magazine, "Now, go."
"Take care, cousin." Alina said as she headed back. I then looked over to Aisyah.
"I am not leaving if you are not." She said to which I just nodded.
We continued to fight even as everyone came into the fight and we were now making a dent in the number of the neuroi circling around but the damn core was still there. Then the two entrapped fliers apparently woke up from all the shooting and tried to get us to fall back but we were a stubborn lot and instead pressed the attack with Yoshika giving the best line I heard so far.
"There is nothing a witch cannot do!" Yoshika barked, "You are the one who taught me that!"
"That's the spirit!" Yoshiko cheered.
"I will not give up!" Yoshika added.
"Remember, you have us too" Perrine reminded.
"So let's give them hell!" Amelia cheered.
"Ayo! We will support you!" Lydia radioed.
The battle continued and we were really hammering the neuroi, keeping them off Yoshika. She got help from Muto who pulled her to the bow of the Yamato where the Reppumaru was imbedded. I watched as Yoshika pulled the sword and she began to glow.
"Miyafuji, don't do it! The Reppumaru will drain your magic dry!" Mio barked.
"Don't do it, Miyafuji." Sakai said.
"I don't care" Yoshika shouted before she stuttered a bit before her magic recovered and she flew up to the core.
"If it means I can protect everyone," Yoshika declared, "If that wish can come true…"
"Yoshika, good luck" I uttered.
"I beg of you, Reppumaru. I will give you all my magic power." Yoshika prayed, "In return, defeat the neuroi. Let me perform the True Reppuzan!"
"Yoshika!" I shouted as I watched her feed magic into the Reppumaru. She then rose up and brought the katana over her head and charged at the core. The core then created a shield to attempt to block her however it failed as we watched Yoshika smash through the shield as if it wasn't there.
"REPPUZAN" Yoshika shouted at the top of her voice as she attacked the core with Reppumaru. Then we were practically blinded by a brilliant light as the neuroi around us, disintegrated into the harmless white flakes that they create when they explode.
"She did it… She really did it." I grinned.
"Hey Amirah, look at the Yamato." Aisyah pointed out. I turn and we saw the Yamato fall out of the sky, slowly deneuroifying. It then crashes into the sea.
"It's gone." Lydia radioed.
"The signal from the neuroi is completely gone." Sanya reported.
"Where are they?" Mio asked as she looked around.
"There!" Lynette shouted. We all looked and there were all three of them falling out of the sky. We saw as Mio, Yoshika and Sakai free of their restraints, strikers and plane respectively.
"Crap! We better go save them!" Arthur radioed.
"On it" Chuck radioed and soon everyone began racing towards the three. I saw Mio and Sakai trying to reach over to Yoshika. I looked down below to see Yoshika's strikers, Mio's sword and unfortunately, the mangled wreck of Sakai's Sam. The blast also knocked out their transponders as we couldn't hear what they were saying but that was all pushed aside as there was the immediate problem of them falling and not flying. But we caught them in time. There was not a sad face anywhere well Sakai was a bit annoyed that his A7M was trashed but he knew it was for a good cause.
"Minna," Mio said, "I followed your order; I'm back."
I watched Minna's steely gaze break and embraced Mio. Erica smiled knowingly and let go while Perrine continued to hold.
Sakai was held by me and Aisyah while Lynette had Yoshika.
"Yes! The neuroi are gone!" Francesca cheered to which Franco joined her in her celebration. Meanwhile down below, the crews of the warships exploded into celebration.
"This is Fleet Admiral Hellen; I want to congratulate everyone on this glorious victory. You all have done a magnificent job and I will see to it that you all are rewarded for this." Elizabeth radioed. I bet she has broken out her victory gin.
Thus with that, the Battle for Venezia was over. Minna gave the order to return to base but I suggested we did a victory fly over the fleet. She agreed but was a bit worried about the safety of Yoshika, Mio and Sakai. Then Sakai suggested that they get put into Charles's B-17 though Muto asked that Yoshika sit in his lap. So it was settled, we arranged ourselves and flew over the fleet and performed victory rolls before we turned for the base. Charles wiggled the wings of his B-17 when he flew over the fleet. We arrived at base where everyone was cheering us and a party was waiting for us in the hangar. That is when I took Ember aside as I had something to tell her.
"Ember, can I talk to you?" I asked.
"What is it?" Ember asked. I looked at her and I took in all of her cute face, her radiant red hair.
"Amirah, is everything okay?"
I didn't say anything as I kissed her on her cute little lips. It didn't take long for her to return my kiss. Our tongues played with each other and our hands embraced each other tightly. Then, we broke off however because we needed to breath. We smiled as we gazed into each other eyes. It was safe to say, we loved each other very much.
"Now, everything is okay." I smiled. It was then we realized that we had a crowd around us but we were not the only ones kissing. Both Ember and my counterparts had also been kissing each other and they took had just broke apart.
"Looks like great minds think alike." Amirul grinned.
The celebration recommenced and we had a great time, even if the 501st was to be disbanded and now we all began discussing what to do next, with the other worlders mostly agreeing to stick with their witch counterparts, with the three generals deciding to assist with leadership in North Africa and the Mediterranean; but regardless of what we are going to do next, we felt proud for what we had achieved here in the Mediterranean. I glanced over to Yoshika and Mio and couldn't help but smile, already their magic was returning though albeit at a slow rate but they are returning. After the party and the medal giving, we all began preparing to head out. Ember, Blaze and I were flying with the Karlslander Trio to Belgica, our pilot counterparts tagging along. Shirley, Francesca, Georgina, Riki, and their counterparts headed for Africa as there was still some work to be done there. Sanya, Eila, Katherine with their counterparts headed for the Eastern Front. Muto and Sakai will be joining Yoshika and Mio back to Fuso. Now as I watched the formal transfer of duty of defending Romagna and Venezia to the 504th Joint Fighter Wing, I wonder if we will reunite in the future.
Southern Coast of Venezia
"Well, it is sure is nice to be back in Venezian soil" A soldier said as he drove on along the beach.
"Yes it does but it would be nicer if you watched where you are going!" His passenger shouted.
"I am… Wait, what's that near the water?" The driver asked.
"What is what?"
"There, by the water. Looks like a pair of strikers."
"Let's go investigate."
"Right"
The jeep headed over and as the driver guessed, they were strikers but they were badly banged up. Oddly enough, there was also a sword lying in between them.
"Damn, they are quite banged up," The driver said, "However I think they can be salvaged."
"Do you think the Boss will like them?" The passenger asked.
"Better we call it in."
"Alright," The passenger replied as he picked up the radio, "This is Tiger Scout to Slaughterhouse, we found something"
August 1945
Yokohama
Miyafuji Clinic/Residence
Yoshika was in the clinic when a voice called out to her, it was Muto.
"Yoshika, I am back." Muto called out.
"Oh, Muto, you are back, where is Amy and Lily?" Yoshika asked.
"They are still at the naval base, finishing up work" Muto said as he sat down next to Yoshika, "They were talking to Mio and Sakai"
"What are they talking about?" Yoshika asked.
"From what Lily told me, they are talking about a new witch, Sergeant Shizuka Hattori, I think her name was." Muto said, "They are talking about her potential."