The Legends Still Live On
Bogen Fünfzehn-komma-fünf: Extra Drei
Kapitel Zwei: Vorschau - Das Blümelein in der Luft
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The fight between Schwarzwaldspitze High School and Ooarai High School had just come to an extremely nail-biting end. The marked men for each team had just taken each other head-on and ended their dramatic one-on-one dogfight. Now all that was left was to wait for the debris trails of the involved Bf 109 K-4 and Bf 109 G-6 now gliding beside each other to dissipate so as to determine who won.
In the cockpits of both Messers were two particular girls that both bore the Hartmann name. In the Kurfürst was the blond-haired and blue-eyed Erika-Dietlinde Hartmann fighting as the leader for Ooarai. Facing her in the Gustav was the Black Demoness herself, also her older sister, the black-haired and brown-eyed Isabel-Justina Hartmann, fighting as the Staffelkapitän for Schwarzwaldspitze. Both were hammered from their fight and were similarly waiting for the end to be called as they looked to each other.
Erika was looking to her sister with some somewhat obvious anxiety and a bit of fear, because if she lost, then Ooarai High School, her new home, would be no more. She also believed that her only chance at getting forgiveness from her older sister, for abandoning Schwarzwaldspitze and running away to become the Staffelkapitän of another school, would be wasted if she lost.
Isabel, however, was looking over to her little sister with slightly wider eyes than normal for her. She soon closed her eyes and lowered her head in graceful respect, because no matter who the victor may have been, she was still proud of her sister for the great fight she put up. She had also seen the forgiveness Erika was searching for, and she found such efforts to be wasted because she wasn't ever angry with her in the first place.
Soon enough, the debris trails cleared from the two 109s, and the red smoke trail of defeat was coming from the Bf 109 G-6.
"Schwarzwaldspitze's marked man has been defeated!" the speakers announced to the spectators. "Therefore, Ooarai High School wins!"
That single announcement was enough to unleash a massive shout of cheers from the spectators, which was combined with the massive amount of cheering from the girls of Ooarai's Jägermeistern Staffel. The three Bavarian girls of Ooarai's student council, Anna Novat, Sieglinde Nikolaus, and Christl Nardo, all clanked some normal-to-them liter-sized glasses of beer together in celebration of the victory.
We had done it. We had done the impossible. We had managed to defeat Schwarzwaldspitze High School, and from that, we had also saved our home from destruction against all odds.
"Isabel!" Erika called out as she ran over to meet with the Black Demoness after their fight. The blonde-haired girl still wore her Ooarai Jägermeistern outfit, which consisted of a white skirt and a white shirt. The rest of the uniform she could fulfill with her own clothes, like her usual black combat boots and her usual black jacket that she left undone. She also had a GwZF4-fach sniper scope on a string around her neck.
Isabel heard her sister call out to her, and she stopped walking away as she turned to face her. She also still had her Schwarzwaldspitze Jägermeistern outfit on, which included a dark red skirt and a similarly colored shirt covered by a black jacket with red accents and a small Iron Cross on each side of the collar. The jacket also had a shoulder patch of the German black, red, and gold tricolor. In terms of style, the jacket appeared similar to a Luftwaffe trench coat if not for its much shorter length that was more comparable to a normal jacket. She preferred to leave her jacket hanging open.
Erika also stopped ahead of her, though with more hesitation on her end, and the two sisters stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. It felt more unnerving to Erika because she somewhat felt like she was standing before a judge, which went well with the fact that she was the shorter of the two.
"Congratulations on the victory," Isabel finally spoke up. Her normally impassive face then morphed into one with a small grin that conveyed just how proud of her sister she was. "Your fighting was outstanding."
Erika held her previous face of hesitation for a little bit before she grew a brightly shining smile. She could tell from her sister's words that her praise was completely honest, genuine, and of a massive amount, even if she had only said four words with a small grin.
Isabel held out a hand to her little sister to offer a handshake. But Erika chose not to reciprocate the offer. Instead, she ran forward and gave her older sister a huge hug with a similarly huge smile on her face.
Isabel was caught a bit off guard by her sister's choice to hug her instead, but she grew back a smile, a smile that was bigger and expressed greater happiness, as she reciprocated her hug by wrapping her arms around her.
From this win, I also finally got to settle things with my Schwester, and I couldn't be happier about it.
Watching the heartstring-pulling scene from nearby were the two Nishizumi brothers: Michael and his younger brother Manfred, still in their Schwarzwaldspitze and Ooarai Panzerkraft uniforms respectively. They both had slight smiles of satisfaction at the scene.
"Looks like they reconciled in the best possible way," Michael remarked. With his darker shade of brown hair and similar darker brown eyes, he wore a uniform with black pants, a dark red button-up shirt covered by a black jacket with red accents resembling a jacket of the Panzerwaffe, along with a black cap with red accents. The jacket had the addition of some Iron Cross emblems on the collar along with a shoulder patch featuring the German black, red, and gold tricolor.
"Yeah," Manfred nodded in agreement. "They both needed this." Covering his head was a lighter shade of brown hair, and he also had a similar lighter shade of brown for an eye color. He wore a uniform consisting of black pants, a light green button-up shirt, and a dark blue jacket with a white collar.
The both of them remembered last year just how distraught Isabel had been in private for a few days after she discovered Erika had left Schwarzwaldspitze without a trace. Of course, in public, she was still the Black Demoness, and she was just as professional and impassive as she normally was, but out of the public eye, she was Isabelle, a then-sixteen-year-old girl that sorely missed her little sister and prayed for her well being.
Manfred also remembered the specific day Erika had come to his room for the last time at Schwarzwaldspitze, along with how she had looked very upset at that time. He didn't see her again until he ran into her again at Ooarai High School. He also remembered her telling him later on at Ooarai just how scared she was of being considered a traitor by her own sister for what she believed to be her selfish choice to run away without any kind of notice.
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By now, Erika and Isabel had released each other and talked with each other more normally.
"So," Isabel began as she held a knowing grin. She had her right hand to her right hip with her hips cocked to right. "I see you finally got yourself a Freund."
Erika laughed a bit awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head and grew an embarrassed blush. "I guess I did…" she agreed. She then looked over to the Nishizumi brothers talking with each other now nearby, more specifically at Manfred. "I guess I did get myself a boyfriend…" she softly confirmed.
Isabel looked over with her, and she straightened as she put a hand on her shoulder in a gentle manner. "Well, I'm glad to see you finally did something about those feelings you told me about before," Isabel congratulated with a heartfelt smile. She then got Erika to look at her via rotating her body by the shoulder to face hers, which caught Erika off guard a bit. "Though make sure you don't do anything you'll regret now," she warned with an appropriate stern look of warning.
Erika looked back with wide eyes after getting put on the spot, but she soon grew a smile and laughed a bit. "Don't worry, I promise, Schwester!" she promised with a bit of a childish voice as she hugged her older sister again.
Isabel then smiled again and returned the hug with just one arm. "That's good to hear," she remarked, now satisfied that her childish little sister wouldn't do anything too foolish in her new adventure with her lifelong friend.
And I also finally settled my attitude toward my best friend. Life is looking up for me, and for all of Ooarai as well.
"All of the most important lessons in life can be found within the Arts of Warfare. Most people don't realize that," a calm girl ambiguously spoke with a similar calm grin. From atop a most likely captured Soviet 72-K GAZ-MM flak truck, she was watching an exhibition fight between Ooarai-Chi-Ha-Tan and Saint Gloriana-Pravda some time after the 63rd International High School Arts of Warfare Tournaments had ended.
The girl herself had a Finnish appearance to her with very light blonde hair coming down to her upper back along with dark brown eyes. She had herself a typical body of a girl her age with all the curves necessary along with a normally sized bust. The clothes she wore included an undone light blue jacket resembling one of the Finnish Air Force from the wars against the Soviets, a white button-up shirt underneath, and a slightly darker blue skirt. The jacket also had a shoulder patch on it with the Finnish Blue Cross Flag. While often ambiguous in her words, this Finnish girl is also highly skilled as a fighter, able to make anyone fear for their life in the air if she's around. Somewhat befitting her great skill in the air, her name is Ilmatar, and she's the Komentaja of Jatkaminen High School's Jägermeistern team.
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"Olivia, please don't obsess yourself with speed," Lynette, Saint Gloriana's blonde Jägermeistern Squadron Leader, reminded over the radio in her Spitfire LF Mk IX. The exhibition fight was a fierce fight at the moment, both on the ground and in the air.
"Yeah, I hear ya!" the girl known as Olivia responded with an energetically determined demeanor. She flew a later production Typhoon Mk Ib at the moment. Olivia herself also wore the Saint Gloriana Jägermeistern uniform, which consisted of a black skirt, black boots, and a white button-up shirt covered by a zipped-up brown leather pilot's jacket, which also featured a British Union Jack on it as a shoulder patch. She was Welsh in appearance with some wild brown hair that reached the upper back and brown eyes. She was relatively average in terms of body and curves for a girl, though she was certainly not average in attitude. From that attitude also came her boisterous remark about her being the top Tiffy ace in her school.
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A little after the exhibition fight, all of the teams' Jägermeistern girls took to relax in a large open-air bath. Predictably, all of them were nude at the moment. But instead of relaxing like all the other girls, the Russian girls from Pravda were doing something any other country would find odd. They were all breaking vodka bottles with their heads while leaning over the edge facing away from the bath center. They were humorously the complete opposite of the graceful girls of Saint Gloriana that they were allied with. Said British girls were currently drinking some more tea as they relaxed together elsewhere in the large bath.
"Akh, trakhat' eto!" Sasha grunted in frustration as she slammed down a vodka bottle on the edge, but said bottle did not break. She had been unable to smash it against her head thus far. With a real name of Aleksandra, Sasha had a distinct Russian appearance to her with blue eyes and some blonde hair that reached her upper back. Also plainly observable because of her current lack of clothing in the bath was that she had a bit of a smaller bust than average for a girl her age and size.
"Keep at it, Sasha," Natasha calmly encouraged from beside her with a similar calm grin. She had already smashed a vodka bottle against her head. Natasha was a more mature Russian girl in comparison, which included a more mature and developed body. She had black hair reaching her upper back along with some blue eyes. "If you give up, then you won't get a bust as big as mine."
"He-Hey!" Sasha turned and reacted to her as she started to grow an embarrassed look. She was trying to mask said embarrassment with anger. "Those things hold no correlation to each other! And stop trying to make me feel insecure!"
Natasha calmly gestured to the vodka bottle in Sasha's hand with an implying grin. Sasha stared back at her with a glare and her blush, but she soon looked away and gave in to the peer pressure. She lifted the vodka bottle to try smashing it against her head again.
"Odin… Dva… Tri… Chetyre…" another Russian girl on the other side of Sasha counted off the failed attempts with an amused grin. She had some black hair that ended at her shoulders and some brown eyes. She was fairly similar in stature and curvature to Natasha, albeit on an ever so slightly smaller scale with her just barely shorter height. A recent arrival to Pravda, she can also be called Stasya.
Sasha soon slammed down the vodka bottle again, yet it still did not break even at that. "Shut it, Stasya!" Sasha finally screamed at Stasya as she tried to grab her. Such an action created quite a ruckus in the bath with the ensuing tumbling and splashing of the Russian girls doing the odd things Russians often do.
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"Hartmann-taichō, my sincerest apologies for our reckless fighting!" a Japanese girl apologized to Erika in a very formal manner. The girl herself had some very dark brown hair that appeared almost black along with a similar dark brown left eye. Why only one eye is described is because she wore a white eye patch with a blue diagonal stripe over her right eye all the time. Her body was of relatively average size and sculpture for a girl her age. Serving as the Taichō for Chi-Ha-Tan's Jägermeistern team, this Japanese girl is also known by the name of Sachi Sakai.
Sachi was currently in front of Erika elsewhere in the bath. "Don't worry about it," Erika waved off with a hand and a calm yet assuring smile. She then leaned back against the edge with her hands behind her head, which resulted in her showing off much of her rack to the world. Such things weren't embarrassing to her, though. "It was still a lot of fun fighting with you all."
But, as luck would have it, such peace wasn't meant to last.
"On August 31st… Ooarai High School will close down," Erika heard an unusually impassive Japanese voice say over her Bf 109 K-4's FuG 16ZY radio later that evening, almost as if the speaker was forced to say it against their will. She was back in her Ooarai girls' uniform along with her usual jacket, and she grew wide eyes of shock upon hearing those words be spoken again so soon after fighting to keep that fate from happening.
The voice that had said the announcement was none other than the overall President of Ooarai High School, now standing before the rest of the Ooarai students by the entrance to the Ooarai port, minus the pilots of the Jägermeistern team who were circling above in their respective fighters. Wearing the Ooarai boys' uniform, he had some full burgundy hair and some light brown eyes. He's relatively short and appears somewhat diminutive, but the amount of power and confidence he can display would make anyone else forget about his shortness. He also has an odd addiction to dried sweet potatoes, and he's also a natural for slacking off. Otherwise, he could also be called Akio Kadotani.
Not only is the school scheduled to shut down, but I also have a lingering problem from my past that's come back up.
"But you know I can't leave you again, Manfred!" Erika cried out in desperation to her boyfriend that night on the Ooarai airstrip. She was highly troubled and upset with the current prospect of having to abandon her friend again, as her shaking fists and tear-filled eyes indicated. She soon started to break as she closed her eyes shut, but even forcing them shut could not stop some tears from escaping them. Along with those tears came some sobs that held no particular pattern or timing at all.
Standing a few feet in front of her was her boyfriend Manfred back in his Ooarai boys' uniform, who was looking to her with a look of sympathy at seeing her so upset. He knew very well why she was so upset, and he didn't blame her for that feeling. Even though Erika was only going to get the fighters out of Ooarai to prevent them from getting repossessed, she couldn't help but be haunted by her earlier incident of abandoning Schwarzwaldspitze. Suffice to say that those old wounds from that time have not yet fully healed within her.
As such, Manfred felt that there was nothing else he could do than to try and comfort her in a hug. He just tried to will away Erika's troubles as he held her close within the comforting-to-her grip of his arms. But Erika still was in her distraught state as she continued to shed tears against his chest. "It's okay, Erika… It's okay…" Manfred continued with trying to reassure her. To try and help, he also gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.
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"Well… you remember when I was at Schwarzwaldspitze last year?" Erika asked to an American boy aboard the USS George Washington the next evening as she stood near her Bf 109 K-4. She was currently having a talk with said boy to help with solving her little problem. The boy himself was relatively tall. He appeared even taller than he really was when compared to the noticeably shorter Erika. He had some full blonde hair with blue eyes. He had on one of Saunders' gray suit uniforms for the boys, which had a black tie and a white button-up shirt underneath the gray suit jacket. Otherwise known as Saunders' Panzerkraft Captain, this American can be called Kelly.
"Yeah, I remember," Kelly answered as he nodded in remembrance. He then grew a smile as he chuckled. "You were the one that destroyed our girls' shot at a championship with your very first attack. You should've seen how butthurt they were about it after the fact." His recalling of meeting Erika and the Schwarzwaldspitze forces in the previous year's 62nd running of the tournaments helped to lighten Erika's mood a bit from its previous down state, as evidenced by her growing a slight smile and chuckling a bit.
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Later that same evening, Erika had just landed her Bf 109 K-4 in the middle of a wide road near where Ooarai's Arts of Warfare students were temporarily staying. All of the other fighters of the school had landed before she did. She swung open the canopy to the side and moved to get out. But when she looked down to the ground, she saw Manfred there with a welcoming smile and a hand offered out to her for help getting down.
"Willkommen zurück, mein kleines Blümelein," he greeted her. During the time he had gone without her, he wasn't so lively, to keep things short. But upon seeing her fly overhead above the complex, he immediately ran over to the road in a rush of happiness and eagerness to see her again. He then immediately came over to Erika's 109 when it came to a stop.
Upon processing what scenario she was in, Erika remembered a similar time when they were in the same scenario as kids, and she grew a somewhat mischievous grin as she thought about recreating that scene. She jumped down to the ground, which forced Manfred to try and catch her so as to prevent her from getting injured. But he underestimated how much force she had behind her, and he ended up falling to the ground with Erika in his arms. From atop him, Erika simply laughed at managing to exactly recreate the scenario from when they were kids.
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"Baptized in fire!
Forty to one!"
A few days later, Erika had found out that her favorite band, a Swedish power metal band called Sabaton, was having a concert in the area, and she eagerly dragged her four fellow girl friends along to see it. Her boyfriend chose to spend the day with his own friends, which was why he wasn't with her. While Erika was highly into the show, the other four she dragged along were somewhat awkwardly looking around, as they felt very much out of place, what with being at a concert for a power metal band. They were also stunned to learn that such a band was Erika's favorite, though they later thought that it made some sense considering Erika wasn't like most other girls.
But all five of them soon took notice of a young girl that was just as into the concert as Erika was. She was shorter than Erika and had a body that appeared to still be developing itself with regards to curvature. She had some light gray hair that was done into a ponytail that reached her shoulders. The ponytail was done relatively high up on the back of the head, such that the hair in the ponytail was just barely below her head level. Overall, she had a distinct Polish appearance to her, and she also wore a short summer dress. The dress was black around the skirt and was predominantly white everywhere else, but the white areas also had black stripes.
If those problems aren't enough, I also have to help my boyfriend with his own unique problems, namely his current family situation.
"Come on, Manfred," Erika grunted as she tried to drag her boyfriend along to his house. "It's only your Vater." The two of them were currently in their hometown of Weissach, Germany so they could get their transfer documents signed by their guardians. But Manfred was being hard for Erika to work with as he tried to resist being dragged along.
"But that's exactly it, Erika!" he replied with some fear in his eyes. "It's my Vater! You know how he is!" Manfred had on some more casual clothing now, which mostly consisted of some white jeans and a yellow t-shirt.
"I know…" Erika reluctantly agreed with an eye-roll. She knew what his father was like, but her opinion of his father didn't sit well with her right now as she tried to get her friend to talk to him. She then regained her previous determined demeanor as she continued trying to drag him to his house. "But you have to do this. You can't let fear rule your life." Erika was also in some more casual clothing. She had on a short black skirt, a white tank top, and her typical undone black Luftwaffe ground crew jacket along with black combat boots. She also had a Maschinengewehr 42 on her back, which she had picked up from her room when she visited her own house and talked with her sister again just a short time ago. Why she owned one was unknown to the casual observer, but she was evidently strong enough to wield one by herself, regardless of what her stature said.
Manfred grew a bit of a resentful look upon hearing Erika's statement. "Of course you would say that," he muttered. "You're not afraid of anything…" He knew she would say something akin to that, and he couldn't deny it was something he had to do. But the sound of her saying it like it was no trouble only reminded him of how much more confident of a person Erika was, something he had difficulty being because of his inherent shyness. Although he would vigorously deny it because of how closely he held his friends to him, Manfred was somewhat envious of just how easily Erika could go and do just about anything like it was nothing.
Erika heard his muttering as clear as ice, and she abruptly stopped when she did. She turned to him and stared into his eyes with a somewhat hurt look. She just knew he would some day grow to envy her, as she was well aware that he wasn't someone that liked being in the public eye, yet had still seen her always flourishing in the public time and time again, which seemed to make fun of his inability to do the same. They were very much opposites in terms of personality. Erika was the bright little flower that was just too nice and pretty for anyone to ignore while Manfred was the one that stood off to the side by his shy lonesome, and because of those differences, Erika had the gut feeling that one day he would feel the way he did now.
"You're wrong," she softly said after a few seconds of silence. "There are things I'm scared of." She then closed with him and gently brought her hands to his face. Manfred now had a huge look of regret on his face for his earlier words, words that he now wished he could take back. "Namely, I'm most scared of having to live a life that doesn't have you in it. I know just how different we are from each other, but I don't care about that. Those differences are things I'm willing to work with if it means I can live a life with you in it."
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"I know you guys haven't had the greatest of relationships, but he still loves his family regardless. So please… Just please give him a chance, Herr Nishizumi," Erika tried to convince someone later in their office. She was at the desk with her hands on it trying to get the one behind the desk to give her boyfriend a chance at being accepted by them.
Sitting on their chair behind the desk was a very stern-looking German man with dark brown hair that was very neat and tidy along with dark brown eyes. He almost always wore a black suit with a white button-up shirt underneath. He is nearly the complete opposite of the very informal Erika standing before him. He has an extreme iron will that is connected to his very serious views of Panzerkraft. Because of those differences, he wasn't always approving of seeing Erika become such good friends with his two sons, though he did take note of how very close she was with his younger son, something he was secretly grateful for now that he looked back on it. A former Tiger ace and the current head of the school bearing his family's name, this leader of the Weiter Vorrücken doctrine of fighting is known as Otto Nishizumi.
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"You sure you two will be fine, Mädchen?" Michael Nishizumi asked later on. He, Erika, and Manfred were now on a Panzer II F as they headed through some surrounding areas on the way back to Erika's place. Michael was driving, Manfred was standing through the commander's hatch, and Erika was beside Manfred on top of the turret leaning back on her elbows.
"Yeah, don't worry about us," Erika waved off nonchalantly
"This place hasn't changed either…" Manfred muttered with an upset tone. Erika looked over to find him looking down with a similarly upset expression, and she grew a look of sympathy for him. He had gotten too scared of his father to talk with him, which was a blow to his goal of wanting to gain his acceptance.
Erika briefly thought about what to do to cheer him up and assure him of her everlasting support, and she quickly found something that would work. She brought herself so that she was leaning against him as she held onto him in a close hug, and she closed her eyes and began a song she knew Manfred would understand, both in terms of language and in terms of the message behind it. She began in a gentle angelic voice.
"Bleib dir treu
Niemals auseinander geh'n
Werden immer zueinander steh'n
Für immer"
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"There is no luck in the Arts of Warfare. Only skill," another girl forcefully emphasized later on in the office of Renta Tsuji, one of the ministers of MEXT. The girl herself had some brown hair put into a low ponytail that reached her upper back along with some dark brown eyes. She had a very hard expression that made her look very difficult to talk to. She was called to the office by someone she remembered from several years ago to help 'convince' someone else to acquiesce to their demands, but she had her own motives as well. She was a childhood friend of Erika's, and even now she still wished to help her out however possible, so she herself could realize her goal of fighting her one day. This German girl, also the Staffelkapitän for Bellwall Academy, is nicknamed Trude by those close to her, but her full name is Gertrud Königsberg.
Also in the office were seven more people. Five of them were there to get Renta to see their way, while the other two were just there to make sure no fights broke out. The two along for the ride were Gunda Rall and Shichiro Kodama, the directors for the International Jägermeistern and Panzerkraft Federations respectively.
The other five there besides Gertrud to bring their demands forth included Otto Nishizumi, Anna Novat, Akio Kadotani, and two Captains of the JSDF. One had a dark green officer's outfit of the JGSDF, short black hair, and similar black eyes. A relatively self-confident man well versed in tank combat, he can also be called Captain Ayumu Chouno.
The other had a dark blue officer outfit for the JASDF. She had some short yet somewhat perky hair of a darker brown along with some lighter brown eyes. This woman is perhaps the highest skilled fighter pilot the JASDF has, perhaps because of how daring she is. Otherwise, she could also be called Captain Miyu Honda.
But, by some miracle, we were able to earn a chance to fight for our home. Though it'll be a lot more easier said than done for us to actually come away victorious.
"Well, since she'll be participating also, just know that she won't hold back one bit," a Polish woman warned with a polite smile. Later on in Warsaw, Poland, Gertrud had come by a large office building that was the core of all Arts of Warfare activity within the nation of Poland to talk to the head for the country's Jägermeistern activities.
The woman herself had a bit of an aristocratic look to her, with some gray hair neatly done into a ponytail that reached the middle of her back along with a short dark gray dress that looked more formal than would normally be expected of a short dress. Though she was a bit of an oddity due to how active she was in the field, what with her often personally going out to talk to some of the nation's aviators face-to-face along with the symbolic duties that came with such a high position. Her name was Sylwia Horbaczewski.
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One night aboard the HMS Ark Royal housing Saint Gloriana High School, an aristocratic-looking boy was dictating a message to be transmitted via Morse code. He himself had some very neat and tidy blonde hair along with blue eyes. His face often held a calm yet confident grin. Known as being the Captain for Saint Gloriana's Panzerkraft forces, he can also be called Darrence.
Along with his main message, the message also included the lyrics for a very particular song for almost all of the other recipients to memorize. He was now close to the end of the main part of the message. "For her home weeps a kind little maiden, and she's called…"
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"… Erika," Isabel finished reading the decoded message within her Bf 109 G-6. She had a warm smile upon seeing she wasn't alone with her current endeavor as she continued flying on in her Gustav into the night. She already knew by heart the song that was included, and she was glad to finally have the chance to sing it once more to the person she held her deepest sense of caring for, someone who coincidentally bore the same name as the song.
But, not all hope is lost. After all, yesterday's enemies are today's friends.
"Halte es!" a German voice over a loudspeaker interrupted the match greetings between Ooarai High School and Selection University. Erika and Manfred looked over to the source of the sound on instinct, and they found something that they did not at all expect.
Coming down the hill behind them were four of Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzers, which included two Panthers, a Tiger II, and Tiger number 212. Also with gear extended and flaps dropped as they came in to land were two Fw 190Ds, the Me 262 with a yellow number 14 on its fuselage sides, and the Bf 109 G-6 with a black tulip on its nose and a black number 1 on its fuselage sides.
As the German fighters touched down, Erika and Manfred swore they could hear some rhythmic stomping sounds coming from the loudspeaker, now seen to be on the Tiger I, but that mystery was solved when Erika heard her sister's angelic voice over it, singing a song that she had sang to Erika many times as a child.
"Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein"
There were three more prominent stomping sounds in rhythm that could be heard over the loudspeaker before she continued.
"Und das heißt"
Three more hard stomps then surfaced when Isabel stood up in her now stopped Bf 109 G-6 with the canopy opened to the side. She had a warm smile as she stood up and looked directly at Erika while she herself wore an Ooarai girls' uniform.
"Erika"
Three more hard stomps surfaced, and some more male and female German voices joined in. It was everyone else from the Panzerkraft and Jägermeistern group sent out by Schwarzwaldspitze.
"Heiß von hunderttausend kleinen Bienelein"
"They're singing it again…" Erika breathed out in a stunned state. She was stunned to hear that song being sang again, because she had heard from Manfred that the students of Schwarzwaldspitze had abruptly stopped singing it when she left the school. Three more hard stomps with a deeper tone came. Both the normal and hard stomps had a deeper sound because of more people doing the action.
"Wird umschwärmt"
Three more hard stomps came, and everyone else from the Schwarzwaldspitze reinforcement group stood out of their vehicles. All had either the boys' or girls' uniform of Ooarai on. All of them were also smiling in various ways, a huge oddity for them, though that was mainly caused by their willingness to fight beside their comrade once more.
"Erika"
Three more hard stomps followed, and afterwards some more American voices joined in with the next line. Erika and Manfred looked over to find three Shermans approach along with two P-38s and a P-63 coming in to land.
"Denn ihr Herz ist voller Süßigkeit"
Three more hard stomps followed as the guys and girls of Saunders approached with their own reinforcements. All of them also held smiles as they willfully came to fight for Ooarai as well. All were in the Ooarai uniforms, too, expressing their current allegiance.
"Zarter Duft entströmt dem Blütenkleid"
Three more hard stomps followed, and some Russian voices joined in as well on the next line. From nearby, Erika and Manfred found two T-34s, a KV-2, and an IS-2 approach as two La-5s, an I-16, and a Yak-9 came in to land as well.
"Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein"
Three hard stomps followed. In one of the T-34s was a tall Russian boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was quite muscular, which fit his forceful and unwavering personality. He's Pravda's Panzerkraft Kapitan, also called Kolenka.
"Und das heißt"
Three more hard stomps came. The Pravda guys and girls were all willingly there to help Erika out as reinforcements, despite her formerly being part of their arch-nemesis. All wore Ooarai's uniforms to prove their alliance with them.
"Erika"
Three more hard stomps came, which were followed by the entry of some British voices into the song.
"In der Heimat wohnt ein kleines Mägdelein"
Three more hard stomps came, and now observable entering the area were a Churchill, a Matilda II, and a Crusader on the ground. Coming in to land also were two Spitfires and a Typhoon.
"Und das heißt"
Three more hard stomps followed. The graceful folks from Saint Gloriana were also there to bring their help to the Ooarai group, as their donning of Ooarai's uniforms illustrated.
"Erika"
Three more hard stomps followed, and entering the song on the next line were a few voices distinctly Italian and Finnish in nature. Also coming to reinforce were a CV.33 and a BT-42 on the ground, and touching down on the ground were a CR.42 and a Myrsky.
"Dieses Mädel ist mein treues Schätzelein"
Three more hard stomps came. In the CV.33 was a boy with a notably Italian appearance, though he had the oddity of having some full gray hair along with some burgundy-colored eyes. Otherwise called Il Duce by his schoolmates, he's Anzio's Panzerkraft leader, also called Adriano. He and the other Anzio reinforcements also wore the Ooarai uniform as they came to help.
"Und mein Glück"
Three more hard stomps came. In the BT-42 was a distinctly Finnish boy with brown hair and light brown eyes. He most often wore a väinämöinen and carried around a kantele, for whatever reason. The commander of Jatkaminen's reinforcements and the school's commander for Panzerkraft, this cryptic Finn can also be called Mika. The Jatkaminen reinforcements were also wearing the Ooarai outfits as they came in to assist.
"Erika"
Three more hard stomps came, and yet another group of voices joined in. This group consisted of Japanese voices. The next arrivals to the gathering were five Chi-Has and a Ha-Go on the ground, and coming to land were five A6Ms and a Ki-27. They were reinforcements from Chi-Ha-Tan, and everyone that came also wore the Ooarai uniforms out of their own support for them.
"Wenn das Heidekraut rot-lila blüht"
Three more hard stomps came. In one of the Chi-Has was a typically Japanese in appearance boy. With some average-length dark brown hair and brown eyes, he was the polite yet overly formal commander of Chi-Ha-Tan's Panzerkraft forces, otherwise known as Kisho Nishi.
"Singe ich zum Gruß ihr dieses Lied"
Three more hard stomps came. The next group of voices to join in included those of Ooarai's participants excluding their overall commanders. The Ooarai group now had a greatly boosted morale at seeing the foes their little flower had conquered now giving her a massive amount of support for the most critical fight in Ooarai's history. By now, the stomping sounds and voices of everyone singing the song were loud enough to be heard above absolutely anything.
"Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein!"
Three hard stomps came from everyone that had gathered in the area. By now, many of the spectators were looking on in wonder at just how popular and liked Ooarai's Jägermeistern Staffelkapitän was, what with effectively having an army come to her aid of their own free will.
"Und das heißt!"
Three more hard stomps followed, and everyone gathered there pointed directly at the person they were singing about: Ooarai's Jägermeistern Staffelkapitän, often called Mädchen, the girl known as Erika-Dietlinde Hartmann.
"Erika!" everyone ended at a volume that seemed unrivaled in terms of the amount of passion invoked into it. Two hard stomps finished off the singing.
Erika herself was so highly touched by everyone coming to her aid that she had started crying out of sheer joy. She had taken to hugging onto Manfred out of her extreme amount of happiness from what just transpired.
With everyone close to us giving their help for our sake, we can now give our opponents a real fight that they'll never forget!
Across from the two Ooarai commanders were Selection University's two commanders. The boy there was Polish in appearance and was relatively young, with light brown eyes and some light blonde hair. He wore some very dark green pants and an olive green long-sleeve shirt covered by a vest in a lighter grayish green. The shirt had a shoulder patch with the Selection insignia. The champion of the doctrine of fluidity in tactics, the Captain of Selection's Panzerkraft team is called Alojzy Shimada.
Next to him was a girl wearing an olive green skirt, black combat boots reaching just below her knees, and an olive green shirt with long sleeves covered by a lighter grayish green vest that she left undone. She also had the Selection shoulder patch. She's the most highly skilled pilot that the Polish nation can offer, and was instructed to fight this fight so as to crush the prestige of German aviation. Erika had previously recognized her as the same girl that she saw at the one concert she went to sometime ago, and recalled her as being quite shy of other people then. Now, she was very impassive.
"We don't mind the additions," she granted to the referees there. Her name was Danusia Skalski, and she was Selection's Jägermeistern Squadron Leader. "We'll take them on anyway. Just start the fight."
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Contents are subject to change between preview and final product. There is no guarantee that there will be a final product.
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Erika-D. H.: Well, glad that that's finally done. Now I wanna get some candy!
Isabel-J. H.: Absolutely not, Erika.
Erika: But… But why?!
Isabel: Because I know you're going to try and take every single piece of candy you can get, and I am not paying for that.
Erika: Man, why do you have to hate having fun so much, Isabel?!
Isabel: It's called keeping a level head! An ability you obviously lack!
Manfred N.: (awkward laugh) I guess they're back at it again, huh…
Michael N.: Move along, everyone. Nothing to see here. (crashing sound from two girls having a fight) … Well, almost nothing.
Part of Projekt Jägermeistern and the currently tentative Projekt Erika.
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The author doesn't claim to own "Girls und Panzer," the music used, or any other references made. "Girls und Panzer" belongs to Actas. The music, excluding the song "Erika," belongs to Sabaton. The song "Erika" was created by Herms Niel. Any references made belong to their respective owners.
Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. Please note, however, that questions asked without being signed in will not be answered. The author would prefer to address questions outside of the story, and leaving questions while signed in provides that ability.