Date: August 16th, 1944
Location: Airspace above Britannia, Europe

Two people are flying through the night sky. They're humming. One of them, a girl with short silver hair, green eyes, and wearing a mix of a white long-sleeved high-collar shirt and black dress with two tail-like things at the back of her outfit, black leggings, a black tie with a red four-pointed star on it, has green antenna-like objects on either side of her head. On top of her head is a pair of black cat ears and on her lower back is a tail of a cat. How she's flying is with a pair of plane-like devices that are worn on her legs, a Striker Unit. The other person, only wearing a black helmet, gas mask with the filter being where the mouth is, long trench coat, and gloves, is in a Striker Unit as well and has green antenna-like objects on either side of their head too. The girl is holding what looks like a rectangular rocket launcher in her right hand. The Black Mask next to her is holding two tubular rocket launchers in both his hands. They stop humming once they detect something nearby. They look to their left and see something glowing.

Inside a large three-engine plane's passenger compartment are five people. One of them, wearing an eyepatch on over her right eye, white uniform jacket, sukumizu, and white shoes, is looking a bit mad. "Your displeasure is written all over your face." A dark redhead reading a book says to her while sitting on a chair across from her. She's wearing a dark green uniform jacket, red panties, and brown shoes. "I can assume you're not happy as well, Keita." Next to the redhead is a person wearing a black gas mask, helmet, gold necklace, long trench coat, gloves, and boots who is writing on a book. "Calm yourself, Major, Captain." "They call us all way over there and then start telling us how the budget is totally fubar'd. Of course I'm pissed off. They owe us." Mio has her arms crossed. Same can be said for the BM on her left, Keita. He's wearing the same outfit as John. On her right is Yoshika who is looking out a window. She's wearing a seifuku, sukumizu, and white shoes. "They're just panicking. We're currently the only ones consistenly getting results at this point." "They're not going to see anything other than what they want until it's far too late." "Pretty much." "That's just how the war mongers behave. If the Neuroi had never shown up, they would have you, me, John, Mitchell, and everyone on this team split into sides and killing each other instead." John and Keita look at her. John goes back to writing in his book while Keita looks down. Mio just looks at Minna and slightly smiles. "Those damn bankers think they run the world." She looks to Yoshika. "Sorry Miyafuji. I really wanted to show you around Britannia so you could know how beautiful her people could be." "Yes. It's just that the higher-ups..."

Yoshika looks to them. "It's okay. I was actually just thinking how everyone in the military is so different." Singing is heard. "Um... do you hear something?"

Outside the flying plane, Sanya and the BM with her, Jack, fly around it. "Hm? That's just Sanya and Jack singing." "We're approaching the base." "They came to escort us." The two fly at the Iron Annie's starboard side. They look at the passengers. Yoshika waves while being next to Minna and John. "Thanks Sanya and Jack." They stop singing and Sanya lightly blushes. "Hmm." She looks away. She flies away and goes under the clouds. Jack nods and follows her. They resume singing. "Is Sanya really shy? She just flew away." Mio and Keita are standing next to the brunette. Minna and John are sitting opposite of them. "She may be shy but she has a pretty voice and she's a good girl." The singing stops. They look up. "Hold on."

"What is it, Sanya, Jack?" "Someone is looking at us." "Watching us." "Someone is what? Repeat that, please. I'm having trouble receiving your transmission." Mio is sitting down while Yoshika is standing up. Keita is looking out a window next to Mio. "I'm sorry. There is an unknown bogey inbound from the direction of Sirius at high speed." "So is it a Neuroi?" "If so, we can't do much, unfortunately." The commanders look out two windows near the three. "Yes, I believe it's them." "I believe so too. We'll handle them." Mio flips up her eyepatch, revealing her purple-glowing right eye. "Its speed is too great to be a normal aircraft." "It's impossible to be Captain Morgan." "I don't see anything, Sanya, Jack." "I can't either." "Same." "It's in the clouds." "The target cannot be acquired visually." "So that's how it is..." The JU 52/3m is flying over the clouds. In the distance in front of it are three large clouds shaped like towers.

"Uh, Major, Captain: what are we suppose to do?" Yoshika gets nervous and has her closed hands near her chest. The four look at her. "Nothing we can do." "Unfortunately..." Yoshika looks up. "We're trapped here?!" Minna looks at her and so does John. "Without our Striker Units, we're just regular passengers on this plane." Yoshika looks at them. "Keita and I can't deploy our Striker Units like this." Minna looks up, gasps, and looks to the three. "Do you think they planned it this way?" "Neuroi aren't capable of such complicated strategies." "Don't be so sure, Major Sakamoto." Yoshika is looking between the two commanders and two sub-commanders. "Target is still inbound. Fast." "Contact in three minutes." The two fliers go back to plane's starboard. "Sanya: try to buy us time until backup arrives. Avoid a direct engagement if possible." "Yes, ma'am." "Jack, you know what to do." "Yes, sir." Sanya flicks the safety off. Jack does to. "We'll draw their fire away from the transport." They fly above and away. "Don't do anything reckless."

"Watch closely, Miyafuji." "Okay." "Just pay attention. You might learn something." The five are looking out the windows of the plane.

"Sanya and Jack can find Neuroi even you can't see?" "Yes. Her magical abilities allow her to see beyond even the horizon." Sanya turns and faces the moon while having her eyes closed. Jack flies next to her and just looks around. "Same can be said for Flight Lieutenant Bobkov." "Wow." "That's why we always have them assigned to night patrol. It's where they makes sense." "It's no different than your healing magic." A silhouette goes through the clouds. A red dot is seen at the front.

"You heard her song right? That's one of her spells." "She uses it to guide the transport." Sanya opens her eyes. "Why Jack sings with her is..." "She was one of the first friends he made when he transferred here to Britannia. On their first night patrol together, Jack thought it would be weird if she was singing and he did nothing but listen during the whole night."

Sanya turns and brings up her rectangular 9-barrel rocket launcher. She fires one rocket, then another. Jack brings up the tubular rocket launcher in his right hand and fires.

The passengers of the JU 52/3m can see three explosions at the starboard side in the distance. Yellow spheres disappear, revealing the land and sea below. Mio, Keita, Yoshika, John, and Minna watch the display through a window. Sanya fires one rocket. "No return fire." "I know. I don't like this feeling I have." Sanya fires three more rockets. Jack fires one from the rocket launcher in his left hand and again from the one in his right.

More explosions occur, which are now behind the Iron Annie. "Just as I thought: they're able to battle them before they're even visible." "Of course." "I can't see any Neuroi at all." "You can Sanya and Jack's word for it." "Sanya, Jack: that's enough. Return to base." Sanya is panting while being a little red. "But.. it's.. not... I..." "We're... not.. done.." "Good work. You were able to protect us by yourselves." Several holes are seen within the clouds.

Rain started to fall. Flying to Jack, Sanya, and the plane are Barkhorn, Hartmann, Meyer, Perrine, George, and Eila. All six are wielding their big guns and wearing Striker Units. Unlike her fellow witches, Hartmann has only the tail of a Dachshund. The tips of her blond hair are black. "It's raining so hard I can't see a thing." "Wait! Look over there!" They see light from holes in the clouds. Eila speeds and flies past Perrine. "Sanya. Jack." The Gallian reaches out to her. "Hold on, Eila. You can't go alone." "Stick with the group." "No. She'll be fine." The transport plane, along with Sanya and Jack at its port side, are seen. Sanya looks kinda sad.

Back at the base, in the large room with a staircase, Barkhorn walks in wearing only a grey bra and white panties. She has a towel hanging around her neck. "So nobody saw the Neuroi except Sanya and and Bobkov?" Francesca is sleeping curled up in a chair wearing only a beige shirt and blue-and-white striped panties. "It stayed hidden in the clouds and never showed its face." "Tried to sneak attack us or observe us." Mio is sitting on a couch with her left elbow on the rest pad and her left hand on her left cheek. Her right arm is on her laps. Keita is sitting on a chair next to her with his arms crossed. Minna and John are on same couch with John between the two girls. The commanders are drinking a cup of coffee and a bottle of water. Minna has her left hand on her left lap while John is lifting up the bottom of his gas mask with his left hand. On Minna's right is Hartmann who is only wearing a beige braw and black shorts. She has her right elbow on the rest pad and her right hand on her right cheek. Her left hand is on her left knee that's raised. Barkhorn is standing behind them. Manfred is drinking some tea from a cup while sitting on a chair next to Hartmann. He's only wearing black shorts. "Kay, but I heard it didn't even bother to shoot back at them. When did the Neuroi do that? Are we even certain it really was a Neuroi?" She turns and rest her head on the pad. Her left hand on the pad as well. "Pretty sure it is." Sanya looks down.

Lynette, George, and Yoshika are on a couch. Lynette is wearing a white long-sleeved button shirt that's open, revealing her cleavage and white bra that has a small ribbon, and white panties. George is wearing a black shirt and shorts. "Maybe it was a shy Neuroi." Yoshika, Geroge, Shirley, Camillo look at her, as do the rest of the magic users, except for Francesca. Shirley is wearing a red zipped-up jacket with blue lines going down the sleeves and light blue panties. She is standing next to the sleeping Romagnan. Camillo is wearing only his black open trench coat, shirt, and shorts. He's standing next to the Liberian and sleeping Romagnan. Silence follows. "Or.. maybe not." She looks down. "Sorry." "No, it's true. Maybe they were connecting on the same wavelength like siblings, perhaps." Perrine looks at Lynette and Sanya who is behind the light brunette. She's wearing a light purple shirt with frills and white panties. She's holding a cup of tea. Eila slightly gasps and sticks her tongue out at her while closing her eyes. She's only wearing a cyan jacket with a yellow five-pointed star on the left breast and white panties. Sanya is sitting on a chair next to Eila, Jack, and a black piano. She's wearing a black sleeve-less dress with a white collar and black tie that has three different yellow bars at the end, black long sleeve gloves, black panties, and black leggings. Jack is wearing a black shirt and pants.

"How a Neuroi thinks is not known. We need a clearer picture of their intentions." Eila opens her eyes when the commanders talk. "Until we have that, there is no way to predict what they will do next." Minna gently moves around her cup. John sets down his bottle of water next to the various cups on the table. Everyone but the Francesca looks at them. "There is a high likelyhood that this Neuroi that failed will return over and over again until it succeeds." Keita nods. "No doubt." "I agree. Because of that very reason, we're going to set up a special unit specifically for night missions. Sanya." The silver-haired girl straightens up and looks at the Witch commander. "Ma'am." "Jack." The BM looks the two. "Yes." "Miyafuji." The brunette gets nervous. "Uh.. Yeah?" George and Lynette look at her while holding cups of tea. "Starting immediately: the three of you will constitute the new night combat team." "Are you really sure you want me?" "You're the only other one with experience with this Neuroi." "Also, this'll be a new experience for you." "But.. I only sat there and watched..-" Eila walked to the brunette and pushed her down with her right hand. She leans over the couch and raises her left. "I'd like to volunteer for night combat!" The rest look at her. "That's great. Eila makes four total for the night patrol." "We'll have to rework the rotations today..."

"It's all because we let the Neuroi get away." Sanya looks down while standing next to Eila. Jack stands next to her and has a hand on her shoulder. Eila and Yoshika look at them. "No. Nobody said that, Sanya." "Hmm.."

Date: August 17th, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

The sun rises above the clouds. A silver bowl filled with blueberries is seen on a table in the dining room. "Blueberries? Why do we have so many, huh?" Perrine looks at three bowls of blueberries in the kitchen while holding a cup of tea. Lynette and George walk to her with the male holding a bowl of blueberries. Lynette is wearing a black apron over her usual attire. "My uncle ships them here all the way from our farm back home." She closes her eyes and smiles. "Blueberries are supposed to be really good for your eyesight." "I remember my mother told me that before when I was little."

Barkhorn, Manfred, and Hartmann are seen sitting at the table holding three small white bowls filled with blueberries. "Let's see!" Hartmann brings the bowl close to her mouth with her left hand and with the spoon in her right, she starts stuffing her face. "Yes, it's true. In Britannia, all the night pilots eat blueberries. It's likely they discovered their benefits as well." "Most likely."

Lucchini gets in front of Yoshika. "Yoshika, Shirley, Camillo: stick out your tongues." The two girls do. Camillo lifts up the bottom of his gas mask with his left hand sticks out his tongue. They are are colored purple. Francesca sticks out her tongue as well, which is now purple. The four laugh. Perrine glances at them while covering her mouth with a light purple handkerchief. "Typical." Eila gets behind the blonde. "Perrine..." She has her index and middle fingers near the Gallian's mouth and spreads open her mouth, revealing her now purple-colored teeth. Mio and Keita walk by and look at her. "Everything in moderation." "Well then..." They walk away. Perrine watches them and starts tearing up.

Perrine follows Eila around, angry at what the Suomusan did. "How could you do such a thing to me?!" "I didn't do anything."

Sanya and Jack are just eating the small little berries. "Delicious." "Indeed."

"You finished your breakfast. That's good." Keita and Mio are standing in front Yoshika, Eila, Jack, and Sanya, staring down at them. "It's time for you four to go to sleep. Dismissed."

"Huh?"

The clouds cover the blue sky above. There's a sign above a door in the castle base that says "Sanya V. Litvyak". On the door is a sign that reads "Impromptu Temporary Nighttime Patrol Officer Station". In the room are the four who are laying down on the bed and leaning against it. The window is boarded up with light barely coming in. "But we just woke up. And did they really have to cover up all the windows too?" Yoshika says while wearing a light green buttoned-up sweater and sukumizu. She's sitting on the only bed in the room. "They probably wanted us to get used to the dark." Eila responds while laying down on her stomach on the bed. She's looking at some cards while wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt with a light pink five-pointed star and white panties. "Most likely." The response came from Jack who is leaning against the bed while wearing his black helmet, gas mask, black short-sleeve shirt and boxers. "Sorry they turned your room into a dark cave, Sanya." Yoshika says to the resident Orussia. Sanya looks up from her cat-penguin plushie to Yoshika. "They didn't. This is how I like my room." She's wearing a black sleeveless shirt and white panties. "O-Oh... really?"

Yoshika sees a blue rectangular piece of paper that has a large magic circle with two smaller ones on its sides and picks it up. "Hey, these are some type of talisman." Eila looks to piece of blue paper in Yoshika's right hand. "Talisman?" "Some people think they're good luck charms that scare away ghosts." "People sometimes mistake me for a ghost." Sanya says while looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah? Because you're always flying around at night?" Yoshika looks at her. "Mmm mmm. Happens a lot during the day. They say they can't tell if I'm there or not." The brunette nervously laughs. Eila just holds some cards and puts them down on the mattress. "Don't pay attention to anything Ms. Four-Eyes says. If you're bored, I got tarot cards." "Tarot cards?" Yoshika looks over to Eila. "It's fortune telling. I can use my magic to see into the future." Eila looks at her. "I somtimes visit fortune tellers before I showed up here." They look at Jack who is looking at a small book. Yoshika asks, "What are you reading?" "A book made personally by Lieutenant Colonel Smith. He made it for every single Black Mask member." "Wow. How many are there?" "I can't remember..."

"I can't see very far though." Three cards are lined up in a single column. Two columns of two cards are on both sides of the middle column. Yoshika picks a card and looks at it. Eila goes to her right and sees the card. She smiles. "Now let's see... Well, this is good. You're going to see someone you've been longing to see." The card shows two naked women on a unicorn with a long red cloth. A sun that has a woman's face with glases is seen above the nude women. Surrounding the sun are yellow lines. Two XX's are seen above the sun. At the bottom of the card are two words: The Sun. Yoshika gasps and looks at the Suomasan, smiling. "Is that true?" Yoshika glances away and lowers her head. "It's not.. That's not possible?" "Why not?" The Fusōan remembers the grave of her father. "Because that person isn't coming back." Eila frowns. "I see..." She grunts and lays back down with her arms behind her head. "I don't know what to tell you then." "Hm." Yoshika smiles a little. Same goes for Sanya. Though unknown to them, Jack is smiling a little under his mask as well.

Yoshika notices the calendar on the wall. 18 is circled in red. Under the 18 is "Sanyan Syntymäpäivä". She gasps.

The sun is setting. The orange glow still lighting the castle base. It's close getting dark. "Time to wake up! It's niiiiight!" Francesca yells. The three girls are sleeping on the bed. Eila has her tarot cards all over. Yoshika has her back against Eila's left leg. Sanya is curled while still holding the plushie. Jack is on laying on his right side on the floor. Yoshika wakes up. "Huh?"

In the dining room that's only lit up by candles, Yoshika sits down on a chair next to George and Lynette. "It's dark in here." The two nod. "Mhmm." "They said it's to help your eyes adjust to fly during nighttime missions." "Yeah." Yoshika looks down at the cup of tea in front of her. "What's this?"

Perrine smiles while light shines down on her with roses shining in front of her. She has her right hand above her shoulder. She's smiling. "It's a special marigold herbal tea. I've heard it can help your eyesight just as much as blueberries." "Oh really? I heard that was just an old wife's tale." Lynette says while looking at Perrine. George and Yoshika look at her as well. The Gallian looks at her, very upset. "What?! I've never met such an insolant brat in all my life! This sacred recipe is my grandmother's!" She leans forward against the three with them leaning back, slightly scared. Yoshika gave low shriek. Perrine grunts at them. "Oh.. I'm sorry."

The Witches and Black Masks are sitting at the large table, drinking and staring at the tea. Yoshika picks up the cup. "This smells like sanshō." Lynette and George say at the same time, "Sanshō?" Francesca raises her head above the table. "Lynne, George, and Yoshika: Stick out your tongues." The little Romagnan sticks out her tongue. The Britannian and Fusōan do as told. George grabs the lower side of the his bird mask and takes it off. He sticks out his tongue too. All their tongues are just normal pink-colored. Francesca's left eyebrow twitches as she looks a bit upset. "Hmmm... This is so stupid! Our tongues just look like normal tongues!" She has her arms raised while yelling. Perrine looks down, not happy about what's going on. Eila just says, "She's got a point." Perrine glares at her. "This isn't a contest! I was just trying to be helpful!" Sanya takes a sip of the tea. Jack does as well while lifting up the bottom of his gas mask with his left hand. She sticks out her tongue while making a disgusted face. "Ew... Yuck." "Not bad."

It is now night. Lights suddenly turn on in three lines, illuminating the runway. "My hands won't stop shaking." "Why?" "I didn't think the sky would actually look this black at night." "Is this your first nighttime mission?" "I think it is, Eila." The four are lined up together side-by-side. The three Eastern Europeans look at the brunette. Green antenna-like things are on either side of Sanya's head and Jack's. "Do you want to scrub it?" Yoshika brings up her right hand and looks at it. "Will you both hold my hand? I'm sure I can do it if you hold my hand, Sanya, Jack." The Orussian's green antennas turn blue for a second then to pink. She holds Yoshika's hand with her left hand. Eila goes to Yoshika's left before Jack does and gets her left hand with her right hand. "Huh?" She lightly blushes. "Let's get going." Blue magic circles appear underneath the Striker Unit-wearing Witches and Black Mask. "Wait! I have to... I'm not ready yet! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Yoshika screams as the four speed down the runway.

The four are flying up with Sanya and Eila still holding Yoshika. Jack is seen under the brunette. Jack goes to Eila and nods to her. He flies to Sanya and nods to as well. Yoshika suddenly says while having her eyes closed, "Please don't let go of my hand! Promise you'll hang onto me?!" Sanya replies, "Wait just another minute. We're almost above the clouds." Eila and Sanya let go a few seconds later. Jack holds Yoshika's left hand with his right. She opens her eyes and sees Sanya flying next to her and Jack who is holding her hand.

Above the clouds under the dark sky, Yoshika flies around with the Eastern Europeans watching her. "It's beautiful! I could've never made it here on my own!" She laughs. She looks down at Sanya, Jack, and Eila who are flying in one direction with her following. "Sanya, Eila, Jack: thank you." Eila giggles. Jack nods. Sanya says, "It's okay. It's our job." Yoshika looks at her.

Date: August 18th, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

The sun is up. Everyone is in the dining room. "What's this?" Perrine looks at a small cup with a green-brown liquid inside. Yoshika walks to her while holding a grey box that has kanji on white paper on it. The kanji read "肝油". Yoshika says, "It's liver oil from a cod fish. It's good for eyesight and temperament." Barkhorn, Manfred, and Hartmann look at the small cups of liver oil they're holding. Hartmann looks at the cup, slightly disgusted. She smells it and slightly smiles. "Smells kinda fishy." Barkhorn and Manfred look at her. "It's fish oil. The nutritious benefits should more than outweigh the difficult flavor." "Yeah." Perrine laughs while having her right hand near her mouth. "Are we back in kindergarten, Yoshika? What an absurd choice." Mio and Keita who are next to Yoshika speak. "Is that so? I'm the one who brought it." Mio places her right hand on her hip. "Yes she did, Lieutenant Clostermann." Keita crosses his arms. Perrine stays quiet for awhile. "I love fish oil." She goes to grab the cup, somehow launching it up and grabs it, being careful to not spill the contents. She drinks it all down in one go. She widens her eyes and glasses slightly crack.

"Ew! What's this?" Francesca says while looking at the cup in her hands with a disgusted look on her face. Shirley has her cup next to her mouth and is thinking about liver oil. "Tastes pretty similar to engine lubricant." Camillo is looking down with an empty cup in front of him. "That was something. He then looks at the bright redhead. "What?"

Eila spits out while holding the cup in her right hand. Sanya is holding the cup with both hands and seems to not like the taste either. Jack, sitting between them, just says, "Well... the taste was unique..."

Mio has her eye closed and is slightly smiling. She has her right hand behind her head. "I was forced to drink this as a cadet and I couldn't stand it either." "I somewhat could stand it." Keita rubs the back of his head. Yoshika looks at the two of them with a small smile. Perrine has her left hand on the top of the chair next to her while looking and slowly lowering herself down. "I couldn't...agree with you more..."

Barkhorn looks down at the cup with an unreadable expression, though it's fair to say that she dislikes the taste. Manfred has his head on the table with an empty cup in front of him. Minna is smiling with her eyes closed. John just holds his cup and waves it just like Minna. The two say at the same time, "Another round?" Erica looks at them surprised and disgusted and slightly moves away from them.

Back in the darkness that is Sanya's room, the four are laying down on the bed and floor in their nightwear. "Hmm... Um Eila, Jack, and Sanya: where were three of you from before all this?" Eila replies, "I'm from Suomus." Sanya responds, "Orussia." Jack says, "Suomus as well." "Oh. Where are those again?" Eila lifts up her head and looks at Yoshika. "Suomus is in the northern part of Europe." Eila looks to her right and Jack lifts himself up to look at the brunette. "Orussia is in the east." They look at the map of Europe that's hanging on a wall. "Oh right. Wasn't most of Europe destroyed by the Neuroi in the first round of attacks?" Sanya says, "Yes. The city I lived in fell a long time ago." "What happened to your family?" "When the Neuroi came, they fled the city and took shelter further east. Much further east. Over the Ural Mountains." "Thank goodness for that." Eila and Jack say at the same time, "What's so good about that? Don't you hear what she's telling you?" Eila is sitting on the bed as is Jack. "Well, they may be far apart now, but at least they can get back together someday." Eila sighs and spreads out her arms. "Orussia is a huge place. Past the Urals it's a dozen times the size of Fusō. It's not so easy to find people once you lost them." Eila lays back down. Yoshika looks at her. "Mhmm." Jack looks at Eila and to Yoshika. "Besides, there's a Neuroi hive between here and there." The brunette looks down. "I see what you mean. But I'm still a little jealous."

Eila gets back up. "You're kinda stubborn, aren't you?" "You don't understand. What I mean is.. you want to see your family again, don't you, Sanya?" The three look at the silver-haired girl who is sitting up. She nods. "Yes." "I bet they wake up every morning just like you, thinking and wondering about the day you'll be reunited as a family." Sanya nods and says, "Yes." "If neither of you ever gives up, then someday you'll have to be together again. It must be so wonderful to be able to think that way." "Hm." Jack looks at the door, thinking about his family and wondering how they're doing. Thank goodness I'm still wearing this mask...

The sun is starting to set. "Uuuugghhh... I feel so yucky." The four walk out of Sanya's room. "Then why don't we go to the sauna?" Eila suggests. Yoshika looks at her. "Sauna?" "Come on. You've never been to a sauna before?" The Suomusan gets a mischievous look on her face. Jack sighs.

In the sauna, four are sitting and laying down. They have towels wrapped around their bodies and foreheads. "Um Eila, this is getting really boring." Yoshika says while laying down on the top wooden bench. She is kicking her legs up. Eila looks at her while sitting down on the bottom bench with Sanya. Eila has her hair up. "In Suomus, we like saunas more than baths." Jack is sitting on the middle bench behind Eila and Sanya. Yoshika looks at the Orussian. "Sanya, your skin is so white. Same for you, Jack." Eila gets in front of her, clearly mad. "What are you looking at?" "Nothing. They just have really pretty skin." Yoshika moves away from the Suomusan. Eila gets in her face again, this time very upset and is blushing. "Stop looking at Sanya like that!"

"It's right over here." Eila and Yoshika walk through a stream near the base in the nude. "You sure this is okay?" "Bathing after a sauna is a must." "Water is nice and cool but.." Yoshika is covering her chest with her arms. Eila stops and turns to her. "Calm down. It's just us girls out here." "It's not that. I-" They hear singing. "Eh?" "Uh?" They go to the direction of the singing. They peak from a rock and see Sanya on top of a big rock singing. She, of course, is also naked. "When I hear her, her song, it makes my heart ache." The two look at her while blushing. "Yeah." Sanya stops and looks to them. They gasp when they've been spotted. "Uuuhhhh... I'm sorry!" Yoshika says. Sanya responds with, "Why are you apologizing?" She stands up and looks down at them. "Well, we didn't mean to interrupt you." Yoshika puts her left hand behind her head. "So you two are here as well?" The three look down at the base of the rock and see Jack who is reading a small book. "Jack?" He's wearing only black shorts and the long trench coat. "Yeah. Eila said bathing after a sauna is important. Why are you here?" "I was here first to relax. Then Sanya came and I shortly afterward decided to put on my current attire. I chose to keep her company and I spent my time here reading." Yoshika and Eila look up at Sanya. "That song, it was beautiful." Sanya looks away and down. "My father, he wrote that song for me a long time ago when I was a little girl." "Your father?" Yoshika says. Eila and Jack look at her.

-Flashback-

Date: Several years before August 1944
Location: Vienna, Ostmark, Europe

The sky outside the house was darkened by grey clouds. Rain fell. The water droplets hit the window.

"One day, many years ago, when I was little, I was stuck inside because of the rain. I was counting raindrops out of boredom. Then my father turned it into a song for me."

A little Sanya is seen looking outside an open window. She is wearing a white and black dress. At the back of her head is a black bow. Behind her is a table with a flower vase, book, paper, a large cabinet with glass windows, and a desk with two picture frames. She blinks. She looks to right to see her father playing on the black piano. He is wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath his vest. She smiles and runs to him.

-Flashback End-

"Sanya went on to study music in Vienna at her father's recommendation." The four are swimming in the stream. "He sounds like a wonderful man." "Yeah." "Your father was a wonderful man too, Miyafuji." "Huh? Why is that?" They are sitting and laying down on a large rock. Jack is on the opposite side of them on the rock. Eila says while having her hands behind her head. "That's easy because Dr. Miyafuji was the one who invented the Striker Unit that you wear." Jack says, "That's a special connection between you." Yoshika giggles. "That's true. But it's not a typical present a father gets for his little girl." Yoshika looks up at the sky and Sanya looks at her. Eila brings herself slightly up and looks up at Yoshika. "Don't be so picky. Those units are expensive." Yoshika looks at her and laughs while closing her eyes. Sanya does as well. Yoshika stops and the two look at her, as does Jack who smiles under his mask. The three close their eyes and laugh together with Sanya.

It is now night. The four are flying through the night sky above the clouds in the regular attire. Sanya has her nonuple-barrel rocket launcher in her right hand. Green antennas are seen on both sides of her head. Next to her on her right is Jack who is holding his two rocket launchers in both his hands. He has green antennas on both sides of his head as well. Behind them are Yoshika and Eila who have their Type 99 Mark II and MG42 strapped to their backs. Yoshika picks up speed and flies above the two in front. She looks down at them while smiling. "Hey guess what?" They look up at her. Eila looks at her as well. "You'll never guess but today's my birthday." Sanya and Jack gasp. Eila just says, "Why didn't you tell us it was?" She frowns. Yoshika responds, "I usually ignore it because it's also the day my father died." Sanya gasps again. "It's a long story and I didn't want to explain it to everyone." "Well that's just plain stupid." Eila flies up to her. "If it's your birthday, then we're obligated to have some fun, right?" "Are you sure about that?" Jack and Sanya fly up to the two. Sanya is smiling. "Miyafuji." "We want you to listen closely." Yoshika looks at them. "Okay."

The sound of a radio tuning in is heard. Various noises are heard. "Hey, I hear something." "It's the radio. "At night, the sky is quiet." "So we can pick up radio waves from distant places over the horizon." "That's amazing. I had no idea you could do that." "Yes, it keeps us company when we're flying at night." Eila gets closer to Sanya. "I thought this was our little secret." Sanya turns to look at her, lightly blushing. "I'm sorry but tonight is a special occasion." Eila puts her hands behind her head and brings them down. She sighs. "It's your magic. Do what you want." She spins while flying down. Yoshika flies closer to her and Jack. "What's wrong?" "You'll see." Jack nods. Eila flies back up to them. "Tonight also just happens to be-" Sanya's green antennas are changing colors. Sanya widens her eyes. Jack shakes his head. His green antennas changed to red. "What is happening?" Eila and Yoshika look at them. "What's wrong?"

A strange noise is heard. "What is it?" "It's a song." Sanya is starting to look sad. "But how could..." A silhouette is going through the clouds. A red dot is seen at the front.

Back at the base...

The strange noise is heard here as well. In the radio room, Minna, John, Keita, and Mio are looking at the dark sky. "Is this the Neuroi's voice?" "I don't know..." "It's mimicking Sanya's frequency." "Where is she?!" The commanders look at the paper hanging on a wall. "According to the schedule, she's in the middle of a night training mission with Ensign Juutilainen, First Lieutenant Bobkov, and Sergeant Miyafuji." "Call them back now!" "We can't. The song is blocking her signal." "Damn it!" "They're after Sanya and Jack!" Mio glares at the sky. Keita does as well behind his gas mask.

"It sounds like..." "Is it the Neuroi, Sanya?" The four are floating above the clouds. "The Neuroi?! Where?" Sanya gets serious. "You need to leave right now." She flinches. She revs her engines. She and Jack fly up. The red dot of the silhouette glows bright and releases a beam that pierces through the clouds. The charged up beam goes to Jack and Sanya. The Black Mask immediately goes to push Sanya out of the way, but unfortunately, that was not enough.

The left half of Sanya's black MiG-60 Striker Unit is destroyed, along with Jack's left half of his Bf 109 Striker Unit and the front half of his rocket launcher. Strangely enough, there was no explosion. They fall down.

"Sanya! Jack!" Eila and Yoshika fly to and catch them. "You idiots. Why fight him alone?" Sanya, who is holding onto Eila and Jack, looks at the female Suomusan. Her rocket launcher is on her back. "The Neuroi is after me and Jack. I can feel it." Jack looks at Eila. "You have to get away from us. If you're here..." "Come on. What are you talking about?" "We can never do that." "Please go." Sanya pleads to them. "You have to.."

Eila takes Sanya's rocket launcher. She is now dual-wielding the rocket launcher and her MG42 with the launcher in her right hand and the 42 in her left. Yoshika looks at her. "You can't see it!" Jack, who is next to her and is holding Sanya on his back, says, "I know what you're thinking." Eila looks back to them. "Sanya and Jack are going to tell me where that Neuroi is hiding. After that, I'll be able to predict the enemy's movements short-term with my magic so I'll be fine." She continues. "You're not the same as it, Sanya, Jack. It might be alone but you got us! Together, we can't be defeated." Sanya looks at her. Yoshika turns to Jack and Sanya and smiles while closing her eyes. They look at each other and then to her. They chuckle and giggle. Sanya and Jack mentally prepare themselves.

"Neuroi inbound from intersect line 2 degrees off Vega and Altair." "Distance to Target: 3,200 meters." "Here?" "It's accelerating. A little more lean." "That's good. 3 seconds." Eila raises up the rocket launcher. "Take this." She fires three rockets. A red flash is seen, then immediately after, a large red beam is fired beneath the four. One rocket explodes in the clouds, then another. The third rocket explodes and a screech is heard. The orange glow temporarily illuminates the four. Sanya is worried. Yoshika and Eila are glaring. Jack is staring but beneath his mask, he is worried as well but is also glaring. A red V flies under them. Eila says, "Did I miss?" Sanya replies, "No. It's decelerating. It's sustained heavy damage." "So yeah, you hit it."

The red dot is seen. "It's coming back." "Oh no you don't." Eila fires two more rockets. The silhouette moves to the right. The first rocket explodes. It moves the left. The other rocket explodes. Yoshika exclaimed, "It dodged it!" "Damn it. Show yourself." Eila fires one more rocket. The rocket goes and hits the silhouette. It screeches. Within the orange glow, a red glow is seen. The four gasp. "There." The Neuroi charges at them. Eila brings the rocket launcher over to her back and brings up her MG42. She fires at the alien. "Eila, stop!" "Get out of here!" "There's no time."

Bits of the Neuroi come off. Eila continues firing and notices a shield being summoned. She sees Yoshika holding her hands out. "Good thinking, Miyafuji." "I got this. We're not gonna lose to that thing." "Because we're a team." Sanya looks at them. "Uh.." She reaches and gets Yoshika's Type 99 Mk II machine gun. She pulls it up and sets it next to her right torso while having her left hand just behind the rear AA sight. She raises herself up a bit. Jack, Yoshika, and Eila look at her. She starts firing the gun. Jack checks the area behind him and hipfires his remaining rocket launcher. The combined firepower proves too much for the Neuroi. Parts of it come off and its dodecahedron core is revealed. The core is instantly shattered.

A blast of wind hits Yoshika's shield and is going around it. Same is said for the small white fragments. Behind them, the clouds are spreading, revealing the darkness beneath them.

Something is heard. "I can still hear it." "Why? Didn't we destroy it?" "No. That's my father's piano." "Wow." Sanya flies up. "Oh I see. It's the radio. It's reaching to us from somewhere down there. Wherever he is, it's a miracle." "It's to be expected, really." "Yup." "Huh?" Eila smiles and is lightly blushing. She and Jack say at the same time. "After all, it is Sanya's birthday today too." Eila continues. "Technically yesterday but you know." Sanya giggles. She's blushing while flying up. Yoshika says, "It's the same day as mine?" Jack responds, "What better way for a father to celebrate his daughter's birthday than to play the song he wrote for her?" "That kind of love allows for moments like this. For those who are open to feel it. It's no miracle." "Eila, Jack: you're so nice." "No I am not. Idiot." "Idiot?" "I was told to be nice to others." "Okay."

"Oh Mother, Oh Father: Your daughter is listening." Sanya is looking up at the sky. "I'm right here." Teal rings of light appear near her and grow bigger the farther away they get. "Happy Birthday. Right, Sanya?" Yoshika looks at her while blushing and smiling. "You too." Yoshika's smile disappears. She gasps. Sanya looks down at her, smiling and blushing. "I hope you had a happy birthday, Miyafuji." Eila says while having her hands behind her head. "Happy Birthday." Jack crosses his arms. "Happy Birthday." Yoshika looks at them. She smiles while closing her eyes. She slightly tears up. "Thank you three."

The four commanders and sub-commanders are looking up at the starry sky.

Date: August 19th, 1944
Location: Dover, Britannia, Europe

The sun is up. "The Neuroi had its sights on Jack and Sanya this time." "It even adapted to their actions. Mimicking them." "It's quite obvious that we're going to have to start rethinking the way we approach combat with the Neuroi." "Yes. Who knows what'll happen next if we don't." Mio, Keita, Minna, and John are at the grave of Dr. Miyafuji. The tombstone has a ring flowers and a tied knot around it. At the base are a couple of bouquets. "Do you think Command is aware of any of this?" "Maybe." "Quite possibly." "I don't know. It's possible they could know more than we do." "We can't let our guard down for a second." "Agreed." They get down. They gasp. The two female leaders smile. Mio closes her left eye. The male leaders chuckle. Underneath their masks, they're smiling.

They're looking at a photo that's on one of the bouquets. The photo shows the rest of the Witches and Black Masks. At the upper left of the photo are Barkhorn, Manfred, and Hartmann. Barkhorn is smiling. Manfred and Hartmann are doing signs with their hands while Hartmann is looking somewhat bored. Their thumb, index, and pinky fingers are extended while the ring and middle fingers are touching their palms. Next to them are Camillo, Francesca, and Shirley. Camillo and Shirley are saluting with the bright redhead smiling. Francesca looks upset while looking like she jumped and is about to tackle Perrine who is seen under Shirley looking back the little Romagnan. All that's seen of her is her right side. Her right hand is reaching out to the camera. On the middle left are Lynette and George. Lynette is seen having her eyes closed and smiling. George is doing a sign with his right hand. His index and middle fingers are extended. His ring and pinky fingers are on the palm. His thumb is on his ring finger. At the center are Eila, Sanya, Jack, and Yoshika. The three girls are smiling. Yoshika is doing the V sign as well. Sanya is just smiling at the camera. Eila has her hands on both of them. Jack has his arms around the three of them. At the bottom center is a white cake that has flower frosting decorations on top. At the bototm are what looks like beige leaves. The writing on top of the cake says "Happy Birthday". Red Japanese/Fusōan writing is seen on the left and right of the photo under Yoshika and Sanya. They read "Yoshika turned 15!" and "Sanya is 14!".

Name: Eino Lydia Bobkov, now Jack Bobkov
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Likes: Staying inside his house away from others, his family.
Dislikes: Leaving his house, socializing.
Appearances: Pale skin. Short grey hair and eyes. Is now wearing a black helmet, black gas mask, a gold necklace with a plane hanging from it, a long black trench coat, black gloves, and black boots.
Status: Alive
Date of Birth: June 5th, 2004
Date of Disappearance: November 5th, 2014