Chapter 1: The Sole Survivor

The 501st Joint Fighter Wing's base in Britannia has been bustling with activity as of late, mostly due to the erratic spike in attacks from the Neuroi. Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke hoped that there wouldn't be any trouble after the destruction of the Neuroi craft that nearly ended up killing Flight Lieutenant Gertrud Barkhorne and she also hoped that the apparent lack of activity from the Neuroi would allow everyone to train their bodies and minds for the next attack or get some well earned rest.

Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had other plans in mind. The red-haired witch of the 501st had received reports about the strange events at the town of Neue Eutin, apparently a Neuroi craft entered the town and tried to level it to the ground. But by the time a nearby JFW was able to intercept it, it was already heavily damaged despite the fact that Neue Eutin didn't have any military personnel on-site. The second part of the report had photos of the town...or at least what was left of it. There was an ash-like powder covering the roads and the ground, the rooftops were stripped off the top of buildings as if they were pieces of clothing, the shallows were completely stagnant, the fish that inhabited the waters were floating lifelessly on the surface, and the trees surrounding the outer edges were burnt to a crisp. Military personnel who arrived at the site said most of the town was literally devoid of life, that is until a few hours into their investigation had passed.

Minna had received a call that one survivor was found in the outskirts of the town unconscious but relatively unharmed. What disturbed her the most about the details of said survivor was that this was a child. While it wasn't unusual for children of any age to be victims of the war against the Neuroi, it is something no one wants to hear about. Gertrud Barkhorne's sister Chris was one example, she's been in a coma for a long period of time after the major attack on the country of Karlsland a few years ago.

But this child wasn't Chris Barkhorne, this boy came out virtually unscathed from the attack with nothing more than a few bruises and a moderate case of exhaustion. That was enough to peak Minna's interest, especially if he witnessed the mysterious events that ravaged Neue Eutin. She knew that high command wanted some answers regarding Neue Eutin and the only way she was going to get them was to speak to the only survivor face-to-face, even if she had to go to extreme lengths to get the information she needed.

As Squadron Leader of the 501st, Sakamoto Mio has known Minna for a long time and as such they've become something along the lines of close friends and comrades-in-arms. So she knew that Minna wouldn't be surprised to see the Fuso Women outside her office as she walked out.

"Penny for your thoughts?" As soon as Minna heard that she turned to her old friend with a sigh.

"Do you know about the incident at Neue Eutin?" A simple nod from Mio was all the Karlslander needed.

"Some military officers found a survivor." Mio raised her eyebrows with interest.

"He might have witnessed everything that happened, which is why I need to see him."

"Are you sure he might be...a reliable source of information?"

"Positive." Mio nodded yet again.

"Want me to come with you?" Minna paused for a moment after hearing that, she knew that Mio wouldn't back down from this. Even if she did have to train the recently recruited Miyafuji Yoshika, the Squadron Leader would probably put that aside and stubbornly insist on joining her until the red-haired wing-commander caved in.

Mio took the sigh from Minna's mouth as a yes.

"You drive."

As soon as they reached the hangar, Minna immediately grabbed the keys for one of the jeeps and took the drivers seat while Mio took the passenger seat to the side of her. After keying the ignition, the jeep hummed to life and Minna drove it out of the base to her destination. They felt the wind in their faces as they drove across the bridge to the coast, riding the road as foliage zoomed passed them.

"So whose the survivor?" Mio asked with a somewhat noticeable tone of curiosity in her voice, this caused Minna to sigh.

"A boy, probably around ten maybe eleven years-old." Minna paused as she entered the outskirts of the nearby town, before continuing.

"They found him out cold at the edge of town, he didn't have any serious injuries but he was taken to a hospital."

Mio gave an understanding nod, "And that's where we're heading now?" Minna just gave a hum of affirmation to Mio and they continued the drive in silence.

The Hospital Minna spoke of was a building situated inside of a large garden with a black metal fence surrounding it. Minna was the first to step out of the Jeep, she saw that the gate was wide open and continued forward with Mio following behind her. The inner workings of the Garden had several tall trees surrounded by a variety of flowers and bushes, there was a stone fountain with fish swimming about the bottom of a pond, and a stone path around it led the hospital. They saw that the hospital itself was a two-story bright grey building with a navy blue rooftop, windows spaced apart evenly on each floor and the open double-door entrance with a small stone ramp in front if it leading to the path inside the garden.

As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by a nurse who was manning a desk near the entrance.

"May I help you?" Minna and Mio nodded to the nurse.

"We're from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, we were told that we could find the survivor of Neue Eutin here." The nurse went silent for a moment before turning her gaze to a pair of Britannian soldiers who were standing by a small common area, as soon as one of the soldiers nodded to her she stood up from her desk, grabbing a manilla folder with several files in her right arm.

"Follow me, please."

As they trailed behind the nurse, they passed by a few rooms that were either occupied by patients from other countries who were seeking treatment or had the uncomfortable sight of human-shaped silhouettes covered by white sheets. They then reached a room with a window near a closed door, where they could see the young survivor with their own eyes.

"I'll be back shortly with Doctor Krein, he'll have more details on the patient." Minna thanked the nurse as Mio examined the boy who was sitting up in his bed. The boy didn't look unusual, he was wearing a standard patient gown, which showed off the cream-colored skin on his arms, he had a bandage on his right cheek, and an IV-drip on his left arm. His emerald eyes were slowly scanning the words of a small hardcover book in his hands while his blonde hair was lit by sunbeams from an outside window.

"So that's him?" Mio asked, as soon as Minna heard that she turned to see the young lad reading his book.

Minna let out a hum of affirmation as she too looked at the boy, Mio on the other hand turned to her companion.

"It's hard to believe he managed to make it out of...whatever happened down there."

"Indeed."

Before they could continue they were interrupted by the nurse who had brought a grey-haired doctor to them.

"Miss Wilcke And Miss Sakamoto, I am Doctor Krein. I've been in charge of the care of young Danniel over in there."

"Danniel?" As Minna asked, the doctor handed her a folder and when she opened it, she saw the records of the boy in question.

NAME: Wellcraft, Danniel

AGE: 11

PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Unknown, presumed deceased.

"Yes, he was very relieved when he woke up her in the hospital. But he's been very...withdrawn and he hasn't given us any information on how he ended up at the edge of the forest."

"Were you able to ask him about what happened at-"

"He claims that he doesn't remember what happened that day but we don't know if he's lying or not. But that isn't my call to make now is it?" Mio's stern expression softened slightly after hearing the doctor's interruption.

"May we speak with him?" The doctor blinked twice with a hint of surprise filling his eyes.

"I don't see why not, he's perfectly healthy...but please...don't try and interrogate him. I will not allow you to cause my patient any distress."

"No problem." And with that, the doctor knocked the door and slowly opened it after which the sole occupant closed his book and turned his attention towards Doctor Krein and the two witches following him.

"Hello Danniel, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm okay, is there anything you need Doctor?" There was a small smile on the boys lips, not one of happiness but one that showed he was content for the time being.

"Yes, you have two visitors that would like to talk to you." As soon as the doctor left the room, Minna took the initiative to step forward with a smile on her face, even though her eyes flickered towards the book he was reading. 'War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells? Strange, why would he be reading that? Wouldn't it bore someone his age?' She quickly buried that thought in the back of her head so she could continue to the current task at hand.

"Hi there Danniel, I'm Wing Commander Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing," she then gestured towards Mio, "and this is Squadron Leader Sakamato, we're here to ask you a few questions."

"Uh, what is it you need to know?"

Mio was carefully observing the boy's reactions as Minna continued forward with the conversation, the first thing she noticed was the boy tightening his hands on the covers of his bed as well as the quick blinking of his eyes.

"Did you see the Neuroi attack Neue Eutin?" The Karlslander wanted to be careful about the questions she asked, children were quick to react when asked certain questions and if she purposefully caused any sort of distress then the results would be bad for both parties. So far, he didn't seem to be bothered by the first question and Mio could tell because his the muscles in his shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Yeah, I saw it attacking the town but I couldn't tell how big it was." He indicated his answer with a shrug.

"That's fine but what did you do when it started to attack?" Danniel's expression turned from a smile to a small frown as soon as she asked about that but he still continued on.

"I started running towards the center of town and I was planning on making a break for the woods."

"Did anything else happen after that?" The young lad's brows curled inwards, Mio saw that he looked unsure of himself especially after he put his right hand on his head.

"I-I don't know...everything is...blank after that, all I remember is that I woke up her in the hospital after I made a break for the woods."

"Are you sure?" Minna asked, she was treading as lightly as possible, part of her was concerned about the boy's health after what happened at Neue Eutin but another part of her was looking for answers for this mysterious turn of events.

"Yes, I'm sure...I'm really sorry...was that helpful at all or not?" The boy seemed nervous after saying that but Minna reassured him with a smile.

"Yes, it's not much but it'll do for now." Minna gestured for Mio to head outside the room without catching Danniel's attention.

"Will you excuse us for a moment, Danniel? I need to talk to Sakamoto real quick." A quick nod was all she needed, and immediately afterwards she stepped outside of the room with Mio.

"So what do you think, Mio?" The Squadron Leader sighed, "For the most part, he was telling the truth but I have the sneaking suspicion that he might know something about what happened whether he is aware of it or not."

Minna gave a quick nod, she knew this would be more difficult than she had originally thought. The boy witnessed everything but he truthfully didn't remember what happened after a certain period of time, he could've blacked out at some point or he may be repressing the memory because of the stress his mind and body had endured...if the latter was the case then she'd have to wait for his psyche to heal first. Unfortunately, the members of high command wouldn't be happy with the results and the Wing Commander knew they'd ask for more answers about what happened to the town of Neue Eutin. Mio's voice interrupted her train of thought before she could have a general idea of what they were dealing with.

"So what now?" Minna let out a sigh, "I don't know. We have only two options at this point, the first is that we wait and see if he remembers anything, the second is that we send what little information we have back to high command." Minna then noticed that Mio's eyes were shut...as if she were deep in thought.

"Mio?"

When her eyes opened she turned to her partner.

"There is one other option...but it may or may not work." Minna blinked in confusion once, twice, three times before turning her attention to the witch from Fuso.

"What do you have in mind?"

For centuries they had slept, for centuries their homes were embedded in the many crevices that littered the countries of Britannia, Karlsland, and Suomus. They had been sealed away by the two-legged, two-armed organic sentient ones that inhabited the planet with some...outside assistence but now after nearly seven-hundred years of dreamless sleep, a new faction has disturbed the slumber of these beings. Their minds whispered the names of the Neuroi in a chorus of ancient tongues that were long since lost to modern civilization.

No one would know of the threat they posed many ages ago but Humans, Witches, and Neuroi alike would know that they had inadvertently awoken an ancient collection of beasts that were thought to be from another realm. One thing was sure though, they were united by their thoughts and their thoughts were filled with one single emotion: pure unadulterated rage.

They would fight these new invaders and they would fight the two-legged sentient ones from long ago and this time, they would make sure that they were victorious. For they were a swarm, and a swarm consumes all that it encounters.