Author's Note: Sorry for this slow update, however it seems this story will go hiatus for a while. I don't know when I will come back, probably about one month, but it can be three months, who know? By the way, please enjoy this chapter. Still plot-rushing to settle everything. I can't promise anything yet anyway.
Chapter 2: The Premonition
Eila and Sanya were in their room. After the breakfast, the two Witches, as well as the rest of 501st Joint Fighter Wing, received an order from Air Commodore Galland to join force with Fuso fleet Nagato, starting the operation to liberate the Orussian city of Kiev.
Sanya was humming her song, Sanya no Uta, as she packed up her luggage. Meanwhile, Eila took up some clothes from the shelf, quickly folding and putting them in her case.
"Oh, I forgot to do some fortune reading," said Eila. That was her daily routine for, as she did it at least once everyday. Taking out her tarot deck from her pocket, she started shuffling it and then, she spread three cards out and laid them on the table. After that, she picked up the first card. That was the Lovers Arcana. Eila started blushing.
"What is it?" Sanya turned to Eila, and her question startled her friend.
"Ah… Uh…" Eila stuttered and hid the card quickly. "It… It is nothing. The first card describes what happened in the past, so I don't think this card is interesting."
"So that is it…" Sanya said softly. "Let's flip the next card, Eila."
"Well, the Lovers Arcana is here so the next might not be a problem," Eila thought to herself as she put the first card into the deck, carefully shuffled it again so that Sanya couldn't know the detail of the Arcana. "The second card will stand for the present," she talked to Sanya. "Let see if it is correct or not." And with that the second card was flipped, revealing the Wheel of Fortune.
"What is its meaning?" Sanya asked curiously.
"Wheel of Fortune," replied Eila. "Stands for destiny and fate, or precisely, a sudden turn of events or a turning point."
"So it is about the arrangement to Fuso fleet today. Amazing, Eila!"
"Ah… haha," Eila laughed while turning her face away, trying not to show her redden cheeks. "Well, that is my magic anyway. It is not that amazing, Sanya."
"Let's continue, Eila. I can't wait to know the last card's detail. Since the first card represents the past, the second the present, so the third card will show the future, won't it?"
"Yeah, let's flip the last card." Eila said as she put her right hand on the last tarot card, attempting to flip it up. However, as she was picking up the card, she felt a chill ran down her spine. Sweats began pouring down her face, as her hand was trembling. She was seeing something, but everything was too blurred.
"What's wrong, Eila?" Sanya nervously asked Eila.
"Ah, well, nothing," Eila lied. "Anyway, let's see the future." Eila tried to emphasize the last word and make a serious expression, only to receive a giggle from her Orussian partner. The third card was flipped, revealing a skeleton in black armor who was riding a white horse. Surrounding it was dead and dying people. A roman number, XIII, was on the head of the card, while on the bottom there was the name of this Arcana: Death.
"It… It can't be…" Eila murmured. Her hand was shaking while holding the Death Arcana.
"What do you mean, Eila?" Sanya nervously asked.
"I… I have drawn this card three days in a row," Eila replied. "Death Arcana, stands for the end and death… It must be a premonition, Sanya! I… I have a bad feeling about this!"
"Eila, please calm down," Sanya calmed her friend. "This might be a coincidence or a premonition, I don't know. However, since this is your magic, we can do something to prevent that future."
"But… But what happens if we can't prevent it? What if-" Before Eila could finish, Sanya put a finger on the Suomish girl's lips. "It is not like you, Eila. You are just over-worrying. If you keep thinking about death, then death will come eventually. So there is no need for worrying."
Eila stooped her head down, trying to hide her redden cheeks from embarrassment. "You are right, Sanya," She muttered, but still let out a sigh of nervousness.
"Girls, have you finished?" Barkhorn's voice echoed in the hall. "We got permission to leave this b- Hartmann! You haven't finished cleaning your mess?"
"I don't need them anyway, so I'm leaving these stuffs here," Erica replied lazily.
"HARTMANN!"
* [Strike Witches] *
"SANYA!"
The beam struck Sanya as the drone was crushed by Lynette's Boys Rifle. The fragments and smokes covered the position where the Orussian Witch was.
"No… Sanya," Eila's words of disbelief were stroke by her own tears. Suddenly, blue light emitted from the smoke, catching everyone's attention.
"Oh thanks God," Minna thought. "But how could she react that fast?"
While the Commander looked at the smoke in disbelief, Eila approached the smoke, trying to relieve herself by finding Sanya in the smoke. As the smoke started fading out, only the pale Sanya remained.
"Sanya!" Eila cried in relief though suddenly stopped. All nearby Witches also gasped in shock. There was another Witch hovering next to Sanya, her right hand raised as if to create a shield for herself and Sanya. She was wearing a blue Orussian Air Force uniform, wielding a PPSh-41 submachine gun in her right hand. On her feet was an unknown type of Striker which could be identified as a MiG variant. Different from a normal Striker Unit, these Strikers didn't have magical propellers. However, what surprised the other Witches wasn't that Jet Striker, it was the Witch herself. She had long silver hair, black cat ears and long black tail. Her dark green eyes were deep and cold. And, at last, this was the most surprising thing even to Eila and Sanya: Her face was too similar to the Suomish Witch from the 501st.
"You…" Eila's eyes were widened as if she was talking to her other self on mirror. The newcomer was exactly the same as Eila, except for her hair and eyes.
"Are you alright?" The strange Orussian Witch asked her fellow. Sanya felt her eyes were being held captive by the other girl's cold and deep eyes.
A shriek broke the silence. A large-type Neuroi left its formation and headed to the newcomer's back in attempt of crushing both Orussian Witches. Drones also spawned from its wings, swarming the sky by their massive number.
"WATCH OUT!" Eila cried, raising her MG-42 to giving cover fire to the Witches. However, before she could pull the trigger, something soared in the air and drilled through the swarm of Neuroi. Many huge gusts of wind followed the object, crushing all of the Neuroi, even the large-type one, and sucking the crystal-like fragments with them to the ground beneath.
"Are you alright?" The stranger kept repeating her question without turning back to look at the destruction of the Neuroi attempting to backstab her. Sanya nodded silently, trembling after seeing the Neuroi destroyed under the brutal force.
"Sanya, thanks goodness," Eila hugged Sanya from behind; her eyes were wet and red because of crying.
"Sorry, Eila," Sanya apologized.
"SCREW YOU, ELENA!" A deafening voice resounded from the strange Witch, however it seemed that wasn't her voice since she put out an intercom by her right hand and covered her right ear by her other hand. She turned herself around, looking at another Witch far away.
"Erna, please stop yelling at my ear," the stranger replied through the intercom. Her voice was soft and low so that Eila and Sanya could barely hear her talk.
The other newcomer approached the three Witches. She wore a black Luftwaffe uniform, wielding a FG-42 battle rifle and a Me 109 Striker. She had brown short hair though her hair tips were black.
"Elena, that was reckless!" The Karlslander Witch yelled at her Orussian comrade. "You was about to be killed by that Neuroi! If I weren't there you could be killed, you know?"
"Erna, I know that," the Witch named Elena replied. "I also know you will be there and give me cover fire."
"I… I…" Erna stuttered as her cheeks became red. "IT IS NOT LIKE I'M WORRYING ABOUT YOU!"
"Erna, calm down," another voice resounded from the intercom. "Charlotte and I have arrived the Nagato and unloaded your luggage. We will come to you right now, so hold your position. And where is Frederica?"
"Geez Helma, you are late," Erna sighed. "By the time you arrived at the Nagato I have already killed four large-type Neuroi. Frederica is nowhere to be found, as usua-" Then an explosion cut off her words, coming along was a mischief and childish laugh. "FREDERICA!"
"Whoa, this is fun!" Another Witch yelled in the sky as she soared through the Neuroi formation, her shield formed a cone instead a regular round one. The cone shield crushed every Neuroi on its wake as well as protected the little Witch from their beams. The mischief girl had long, black twin-tails and wore white shirt with a black prototype Jet Striker.
"FREDERICA!" Erna yelled again. "Come back to here at once! The Squadron Leader told us to hold our position!"
"Well, if that is Frederica then let her be," Helma said to Erna as she arrived into the battlefield. Her face was similar to Erna, except for her hair, which was blonde with twin-tails. She also wore black Luftwaffe uniform like Erna with a Me 262 Striker, wielding two MP-44s with drum magazines. Following her was another Witch in blue uniform of Gallia, the same as Perrine's.
"HELMA!" Erna yelled again. "You should be strict! I don't know why you got promoted to Squadron Leader with that slacking attitude!"
"Excuse me," Minna said as she and Lynette approached the witches in confusion. "But who are you girls?"
"Ah, I'm sorry that I forgot introducing us," Helma replied and received a sigh from Erna. "I'm Helma Thorvald, Squadron Leader of Allied Special Task Force, under direct command of Air Commodore Galland. 502nd JFW is having trouble there, so they can't leave their position. We were ordered to join force with Nagato and 501st JFW. And you might be Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of the 501st, right?"
"You are right," said Minna. "You can call me by my name."
"By the way, now we are under your direct command as Air Commodore Galland told us, Commander," Erna said. "Just for you to know, I can't trust Helma's commands."
"Okay, I got it," Minna nodded. "All units, concentrate on clearing the large-type, we will deal with the capital Neuroi later!"
"Yes, ma'am!" All of the Witches responded as they spread out in four squadrons, each of them destroyed the Neuroi one-by-one.
"This girl is strange," Eila thought to herself as she flew along with Sanya and Elena. "She is… too similar to me. It is too strange."
"Flying Officer Litvyak," Elena said, startling both girls. "Since you has heavy weapon, Flying Officer Juutilainen and I will give you cover fire."
"Just Sanya and Eila are fine," said Eila. "By the way, how could you know our name?"
"I have my own source," Elena replied in her soft voice. "That Neuroi is our target," she pointed at a ray-shaped alien. "Make sure you don't make another mistake like that again, E-Eila. I can't be around your S-Sanya at all time." Elena's cheeks started blushing each time she called the other two by their first name, and she turned her face away.
"I know," Eila gritted her teeth.
While the other Witches were dealing with the large-type Neuroi, a certain Karlslander sniper approached the black hovering destroyer.
"Heh heh," Erna grinned. "This big one is mine!" Then she pointed her FG-42 at the capital Neuroi. The rifle glowed as she channeled her magic into it, causing the air around her to move violently.
"That…" Minna couldn't find her word to describe what her eyes were seeing.
"Yes, that is her ultimate spell," said Helma. "My twin sister can control the flow of the air and channel it into one bullet in the cost of a significant amount of magic. Extremely high devastation in very wide range, so I think we should get out of her line of fire."
"STURMKUGEL!" Erna yelled as she pulled the trigger. The projectile traveled at amazing speed, bringing a lot of gusts of wind with it like the previous shot which protected Elena and Sanya. The wind span like a drill, crushing all of drones on its wake. However, when the bullet reached the capital Neuroi, it was stopped immediately and the wind died down after that, leaving only a small scratch on the black alien that was soon repaired.
"What?" Erna asked in disbelief. "It is impossible!"
"Commander Minna!" yelled Helma. "We need to change our plan! Its armor is too thick, even Erma's Sturmkugel can't penetrate it!"
"We can't even spot its core," Minna said. "This is bad; we can't destroy it at this rate."
"I will try to approach that Neuroi," Yukiko finally spoke up through her intercom. "When it falls under cannons' effective range, I think the Nagato can blow it up."
"Then,
Suddenly, the Neuroi charged another energy ball, attempting to fire it at the Nagato battleship. The beam was released, heading to the hovering ship and incinerating all unfortunate drones. The Nagato tried to maneuver, but it seemed it was too late.
"NO!" Junko cried.
"They are here,"
An unknown silhouette charged from behind the Nagato to its front at fantastic speed. A huge shield was created after that, infracting the hazard beam to many smaller ones away from the ship. After the blast, the shield was recognized: It belonged to a Fuso Witch. Another one followed the first one, flying next to the shielding girl.
"Is that…?" Yukiko asked to herself in her commanding room.
"It can't be…" said Barkhorn, who was flying near the two newcomers.
The shield vanished, and its owner was panting. She had short brown hair, wore a white sailor uniform with blue swimsuit beneath and wielded a 13 mm Type 99-2-2 machine gun. Next to her was another Witch in her twenties, her long black hair floated in the breeze. She held two katana at her back. Her right eye was violet while her other one was black.
"Major Sakamoto!" Perrine cried out in shock and happiness.
"Major!" Shirley followed Perrine.
"Major and Yoshika!" Lucchini yelled when she saw her two comrades and also friends.
Barkhorn approached the two Fuso Witches. "Good to see you again, Major Sakamoto and Miyafuji," she said. "But how could you…"
"It is a long story, Barkhorn-san," Yoshika replied. "Sakamoto-san, could you lend me your Reppumaru? You can't use it anyway, and since your magic is not stable yet, you can't participate in this battle."
"Hahaha," Mio let out her distinct laugh. "Right, since you have performed Shin Reppuzan before, I will lend you this time. Since you don't have the Magnificent Lightning now, don't overdo it. That is my order!" Then Mio unsheathed the red-handled katana and gave it to the younger girl. "By the way, the core is at the center of this destroyer-formed Neuroi. Just cut it in half and then it will be destroyed."
"Thank you," Yoshika took the sword. "Miyafuji Yoshika, heading out to engage the Neuroi!"
The young Fuso charged at the huge Neuroi at high speed. The capital Neuroi, knowing the little girl was a threat for it, spawned another swarm of drones. The drones tried to intercept Yoshika by ramming or fire their beams at her, but all of their attacks were deflected by her strong shield.
"All units, cover Miyafuji!" Minna yelled. The other Witches nodded as they approached the swarm, destroying them and opening a path for Yoshika.
Yoshika approached the last standing Neuroi. Her shield faded out as the katana in her hands glowed under the flood of magic. "REPPUZAN!" Yoshika cried out as she slashed the air, a huge, white wave of magic was released from the katana. It cut the huge Neuroi into two pieces like cutting off butter. The two wrecked pieces then shattered into glass-like shards and fell down into the ground beneath. Yoshika panted after using the Reppumaru, as it drained her magic too much. Everything was blurred under her eyes. She fell down along with the fragments, the Strikers detached themselves from her legs.
"The future has been changed,"
"...san?" Yoshika mumbled before she passed out.
References:
Sanya no Uta: Sanya's song, the song that her father composed for her (canon)
Tarot reading: I'm not really sure about this, just done some researching on google and wikipedia. The way Eila read future might not right, but I have tried to stick to the tarot rules as much as I could.
PPSh-41: A type of submachine guns which was used commonly by the USSR during WWII.
MiG: A type of fighters made in Russia.
FG-42: Battle rifle used by the Fallschirmjäger (Luftwaffe) during WWII. Considered to be one of the most advanced weapons during this war.
Me 109, Me 262: Types of fighters which was used commonly by Germany during WWII.
MP-44: Assault rifle used by Germany during WWII. Drum magazine is a modified from the normal box magazine, which can contain more ammunitions (MP-44 didn't have drum magazine in real life)
Sturmkugel: A rough translate from "Storm Bullet" in German. I'm not sure about this translation.