A/N: Hello everyone, It's me again and here's my new chapter for our terrible duo. It's really funny that no matter how you want to finish a chapter, things just happen in life. I'm not going to say what happened to me because it doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that this story is still alive.
Chapter 2: You are (Not) Alone (Anymore)
As the duo officially joined the ranks of the 501st JFW Strike Witches after arriving in the Base of Dover and after a brief discussion with Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke, it has been decided that they will stay at the base. The duo however, now find themselves in a situation they aren't well prepared.
501st JFW Base Dining Hall
Mac and Dan took their seats and remained silent, but much to their expectations...they got the attention every guy would want especially from girls with such beauty. Mac sweat dropped as he kept his head from looking down, he placed both of his hands with his right hand on top of the left and stared at it. Dan however exchanged looks with the blonde Witch with glasses.
"What are you looking at?" Perrine asked in an annoyed tone, the rest of the Witches looked at Dan.
Dan only smiled as he keeps his attention straight. 'This girl is really something; I'll have to teach her a lesson, someday.' he thought. Then he poked Mac's arm who was seated to his right.
"Mac, what do you think of Perrine getting bald?" Dan asked his friend.
Perrine shudders when she heard that. A picture of her bald self appeared on her mind which made her face darkens. Mac ran his mind; he imagined it then looked at Perrine and smiled holding his chin.
"That would be quite a spectacle to see." Mac approves with a grin.
Perrine heard the approval from Mac and she got nervous a bit, he looked at the guy in front of him and much to her surprise was wearing an evil smile.
"I was just asking, but if you felt offended then I'm sorry." Perrine quickly apologized and looked away making Dan smile at her.
"I didn't expect to hear that from you Perrine, but I find you quite beautiful and elegant when you show your true self." Dan remarked smiling seeing Perrine slowly turned red in the face.
Eila was sitting on Perrine's left side while Sanya was sitting next to her left, she quietly observed Perrine. Sanya doesn't seem to be interested in what's happening (also Sanya being half-sleep btw), Eila looked at the man who's sitting in front of her. Mac was quiet and he just smiled while switching his stare between Dan and Perrine.
'What's with this guy?' Eila asked herself in wonder, but to her shock; she widened her eyes when the guy stares at her...while Dan and Perrine are continuing their exchange of words.
Perrine completely blushed and looked away. "Well, as a noble lady of Gallia it should be obvious." She reiterated being a lady of nobility.
Mac stared at Eila and made the Witch uneasy but she didn't want to give the man an clue that she's affected, so she decided to speak up.
"For some reason, the way you stare at me is annoying so could you stop that?" Eila's tone was heavy that it took the attention of the other Witches in the dining hall; it even made Sanya completely awake.
"Is something wrong Eila?" Sanya asked the Witch next to her who've been staring at Mac as well with a grim look.
Perrine who was sitting next to Eila felt tense and urged herself to speak. "Could you please stop staring at each other like that, we all feel the same way and it's only a matter of time until one of us gets a heart attack!" Perrine exclaimed nervously.
"Well said Milady." Mac remarked the blonde Witch; but he looked again at the Suomus Witch whose doing the same to him. 'Hmm, I wonder...' Mac thought. He couldn't help but notice the one sitting next to Eila, the young silver haired Witch with a pair of emerald eyes, Sanya.
Eila noticed this instantly and slammed her hands to the table. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Eila asked heavily, she stood up and leaned closer directly on Mac's face to divert the man's attention from Sanya.
"Stop it!" She added growling.
The Witches saw and started to get worried on what's going to happen next, but Mio remained silent.
'Let's see how you handle this situation Marcus.' Mio ran her thought.
Dan on the other hand is making an assessment on how things will go.
'Depending on what Mac will say or do, in a worst case scenario, he might just end up being beaten to death by Eila, as for all I care about his well being; you don't mess with Eila when it comes to Sanya. Now then, what will you do Mac?' Dan asked in his mind waiting for the situation to be concluded.
Mac didn't answer, perhaps he didn't even heard what Eila said; he just continued staring at Sanya and to his surprise he became speechless as he saw Sanya was also staring at him while wearing a smile, a question just popped up inside his head 'is she smiling at me?' Mac was really out of words until he was interrupted again by Eila who now growls like an angry animal.
But Eila suddenly…
"STOP LOOKING AT SANYA LIKE THAT!" Eila screamed at point blank range directly to the face of poor Mac who somehow managed to grab on to the table to prevent his self from falling backwards.
Dan smirked at what he witnessed; his friend got owned by Eila.
Mac sweat dropped as he looked back at the Witch who yelled at him.
'What the hell?' Mac thought.
Sanya on the other hand started laughing and took everyone by surprise. Mac is looking at the laughing Witch with wonder while the other Witches were speechless.
Sanya then slowly went silent; she looked at Mac and apologized.
"I'm sorry for laughing at your predicament; I didn't mean to be disrespectful." She said shyly while looking at Mac embarrassed.
'Ok, she's just too sweet although a bit shy at times but yeah, Sanya is indeed a sweet girl.' Mac thought smiling.
"Why are you apologizing Sanya, you didn't do anything wrong?!" Eila asked angrily.
'What's with her? She's the one who started this ruckus, and now all of this became an issue just because of a simple stare, OK maybe not really as simple as I think.' Mac was asking himself why the situation is getting tense.
He gave her an assertive look. "Then you should apologize to me instead, is that fair enough?" Mac said angrily.
"Why should I?!" Eila stood up slamming both of her hands on the table.
'Nothing good will happen if I stay here.' Mac spoke his mind as he sighed and looked away.
Mac then stood up and glared at the Suomus Witch; he turned around and walked towards the exit.
'Oh no, this is not good.' Dan told himself.
One of the Witches decided to speak up as Mac nears the door. "Marcus, where do you think you're going?" Barkhorn asked with a sign of concern.
"I have other issues to worry right now. I can't pick a fight with someone with such childish behaviour." Mac answered. "Besides, I'm not really hungry." He added as he walked ceaseless to the door.
Eila was still standing while looking at the back of the man she just sent away from his seat. Her anger is still noticeable; a faint growling sound can be heard from her as she firmly clenched her fists on the table.
"I see…" Barkhorn muttered as she crossed her arms.
A whistle has been heard which surprised everyone, it was Dan. "Frankly speaking, you just turn tail because you can't win against a girl right?" Dan remarked.
Mac stopped walking and looked at Dan. "Yeah, I guess so." He said smiling then proceeds for the exit.
Everyone in the hall looked at him as he reaches for the door, as he opened it…he saw someone on the other side.
"Ah, Minna's here!" Erica exclaimed on her seat which took the attention of fellow Witches Lucchini and Shirley, Mio and Barkhorn looked at Minna showing signs of worry.
Minna looked at the man she didn't expect to see upfront; she raised a brow and confronted him.
"I didn't give you permission to roam around the base yet." she said with a stern voice.
Mac looked at the red haired Witch. "Yes, but the current situation is dire and if I stay longer it would be unpleasant." Mac stated as he gave way for Minna to enter the dining hall.
She walked in and scanned the hall. "Is something wrong Major Sakamoto?" Minna looked at the Major who's silent and standing still, then she switched her attention to Eila.
"Is there a problem here, Eila? She asked the Suomus Witch, her voice became heavy. Eila suddenly dropped back to her seat and started to sweat.
Dan raised his hand to get Minna's attention which he gets. "Yes Dan?" Minna asked quickly.
"Well Commander, there's been a misunderstanding between Mac and Eila while you're gone but since you're here now; I guess there's nothing to be worried about." Dan stated with a grin.
Minna looked at Mac concerned. "Marcus, stay here so we can clear things out." Minna ordered.
"As you wish" Mac answered coldly. He closed the door and returned to his seat next to Dan.
Mac looked again at Eila who's now avoiding to make eye contact.
5 Minutes Later
After a discussion about what happened during Minna's absence, it has been cleared that all of it started with Eila's overreaction. Lynne and Yoshika started preparing the food to be served.
"So that's what happened." Minna said as she stared at Eila looking down.
Mac sighed. "Commander, I'm also at fault here; Eila was just trying to protect Sanya so I understand her for that, I was trying to avoid further tension but then you arrived." he clarified.
"Tch, so staring is prohibited now is that it?" Dan asked in annoyance. 'Seriously, what's wrong with this people?'
Minna sighed "Why did he stare at Sanya in the first place?" she asked while giving Mac a cold stare.
"Maybe it's because of Sanya's cuteness!" Dan answered bluntly surprising everyone and making Sanya blush instantly. 'That's got to be it.'
"That's right! I can't allow someone like him to be doing such things to Sanya!" Eila exclaimed as Sanya was now looking down trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Eila, please stop…" Sanya muttered while covering her face.
"Things like?" Mac growls, temper rising. 'Calm down, calm down, keep cool, keep cool.' .
Minna clears her throat "Either way, such small reasons to start a fight is unacceptable; fighting is prohibited on this base. Eila and Marcus, I don't want any fighting with the two of you involved do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal." Mac answered straight forward. 'Whatever, I didn't start it nor did I?'
"But Commander, he still might do something." Eila expressed her concern, although not directly pointed at Sanya.
Boiling Point
Mac stood up and snaps then slamming both of his hands on the table. "Do what Eila?!" he blurted out. "Tell those things that I might do?! Specifically!" he added.
"Marcus, you won't have it your way if you raise your voice so calm down." Mio said as she tries to calm Mac. Eila was shocked and wasn't able to make a comeback at the question.
"The Major is right; prove me that you can keep the same discipline that you showed earlier." Barkhorn reacted to Mac's outburst.
"Major, that kind of attitude is the last thing I expected to witness the most; he's too boorish and uncivilized to be a member of this wing! I say we send them somewhere away from us or at least put them in jail or something." Perrine suggests with displeasure in her tone.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's the big idea?" Dan protests.
"You're not helping Perrine, let them settle this on their own." Shirley objects the suggestion.
"Right, right" Lucchini agreed while leaning on Shirley's chest.
Mac grit his teeth as he gave Eila a mad stare with both his hands clenched. Never in his life had he felt this level of anger, to be treated like the way Eila did unleashed an unknown side of Mac's personality.
Dan knows that his friend is already out of place in the head so he wanted to help the Witches by calming him down but to do that, he has to make sure that Mac will listen.
"Hey, calm down bro!" Dan stood up and patted Mac on his shoulder.
Mac's stare switches to Dan. "You stand in my shoes Dan and experience the same treatment this girl gave me." He pointed Eila. "Judging me just like that because of a simple stare, I understand that she only wants to protect Sanya but she didn't give a damn thought on how or what would I feel, all she sees is her own two feet." Mac growls while looking back at Eila.
Dan held his chin and smiled; "That could be the case but still, we've been here for a couple of hours and yet here you are starting to make enemies among the Witches." He walked behind Mac and wraps his right arm around Mac's neck.
He then looked and pointed at Minna. "Don't forget that we get to stay here because Commander Minna and Major Sakamoto allowed us in as long as we abide by their base's rules and regulations, we also signed an agreement earlier so what's happening now could have a negative effect on us which may lead to a more serious issue." He added as he let go of Mac and walked around the table behind Perrine and Eila.
Dan then looked at Eila. "I don't enjoy seeing people fighting with one another especially in a place where everyone should be living and working together in peace, not to mention it's very unlikely that you will pick a fight with a girl who's younger than you; as the elderly, you should be the one to show some restraints because you're more matured than her." Dan explained while looking at Mac, Eila was looking surprised at the man standing behind her while Mio and Minna were impressed.
'To think that I'll be lectured by Dan….' Mac ran his thought and smiled at what he just heard.
"So you OK now Mac?" Dan asked his friend who's been quiet; he then went back to his seat.
Mac sighed and smiled; "Yeah you're right, I'm fine now thanks to you. I should be the one who understands the situation carefully. I never should have reacted that way in fact; they have every right to be suspicious of us so Eila's reaction earlier is just right." Mac answered. "I just lose myself whenever I feel angry or annoyed." He added.
Dan gave a thumbs up; "No problem, as long as we're here we should look after another so things like this won't happen again, of course that is if the other Witches won't be mean to us." Dan said as he switched his attention to Perrine when he spoke the word 'mean'.
"Are you insinuating something?" Perrine asked irritated.
Dan crossed his arms and looked away; "Nothing really, did I said something bad?" he asked in a mocking tone.
"You're starting it again!" Perrine shouts annoyed slamming her hands on the table.
"Honestly, if you could be nicer to me and Mac…I would ask you out on a date, but nooooo your personality doesn't fit my standards little girl!" Dan said with mockery.
"Why would I accept an invitation to go out on a date with an uncivilized brute such as you and who are you calling little girl?!" Perrine countered.
"HA! To hell with that, even if you are the last woman in this world, I'd rather let mankind go extinct." Dan said proudly.
'Dan is such a disgrace for humanity' Mac thought as he sighed.
"Dan and Perrine, that's enough…didn't you notice that the two of you are behaving worst than Mac." Mio angrily said while staring at the two.
"The Major is right Dan, apologize now! Have some tact will you?" Mac said.
"What the fuck? Whose side are you on anyway?! Dan questioned.
"Dan, watch your language!" Minna reacted, but Dan didn't pay attention.
"I'm not siding with anyone, what I'm saying is; cut the rude treatment to Perrine or maybe you just can't do it because of some special reason." Mac said hinting something about Dan.
"What the hell are you implying?" Dan asked in an angry tone.
"Whatever, just apologize properly!" Mac insisted.
"Ok, Fine." Dan grumbled.
"Perrine, what's your excuse?" Mio asked making Perrine tremble.
"I'm sorry Major, it's because he…" Perrine blushes trying to point her finger at Dan but to her surprise, Dan held her hand and kissed it gently. She pulled her hand away immediately and stared furiously at Dan.
"What? I'm just trying to be a gentleman here…" Dan voiced his reason.
"It's rude to take a lady's hand let alone kiss it without permission." Perrine pouted sullenly.
Mac snickered trying not to laugh.
"I don't want to repeat myself Dan and Perrine, settle this now or else." Mio now raised her voice.
"But Major…" Dan and Perrine voiced in unison.
"Stop Dan or do you want me to call a marriage councillor?" Mac joked.
"Geez Mac, you're joking at something like this?" Dan angrily asked.
"Sorry, but you two might end up being an actual couple if you continue this cat dog relationship." Mac stated while chuckling.
"I agree…" Erica snickered.
"Isn't that sweet…" Shirley added following Erica's snicker.
"Shut up!" both Dan and Perrine shouts in unison.
"Perrine…." Mio speaks in an angry tone as she stared at the blonde Witch.
"But Major…" Perrine responded starting to get afraid.
"That's just great Mac, you and your jokes aren't helping." Dan rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Hey, what I said is almost true you know, the more you hate…the more you love, think about it." Mac said proudly, the Witches took that statement surprisingly.
Dan and Perrine suddenly went silent, avoiding each other's gaze.
For a moment there was Dead Silence…Mac looked at everyone and none is moving an inch, he took a deep breath and decided to speak.
"OK, let's get this show on the road." Mac proclaimed. Everyone watched in awe as the man broke the looked at every Witch; he then focused his attention to Minna.
"Commander, everyone, can I have your attention please and listen to what I'm about to say." Mac requested smiling, he's voice is calm and with a hint of happiness. 'Better to start warming up to them.'
Everyone looked at Mac, some are in wonder, others are in awe but Minna and Mio are looking at him surprised. Mac cleared his throat and took a deep breath; he looked at Minna with determined face.
"Commander, and to my new comrades; I stand here not as the person who came from another world but as your new member just like Dan and Yoshika…" he looked at Eila who was surprised but then reverts back to her angry stare. "I'm sorry about earlier Eila, if you want me to stay away from you and Sanya then you shall have it. I only treat other people how they treat me. But hey, I'm not asking you to marry me…" Eila's jaw dropped at the word 'marry'.
"But just so we can breathe the same air and walk the same space without conflict, restrain yourself whenever possible and I'm also not trying to take your precious little Sanya away from you." Mac stated as the Witches' reactions from his words to Eila is totally mixed, Sanya was a bit red in the face.
He took a deep breath "Some of you may hate us…"he looked at Perrine who glared at him but he smiled at Perrine making her blush.
"Yet some can be accepting and friendly though…" he looked at Barkhorn and Erica, both are smiling at him as he nodded at them.
"There are also those who chose not to judge, who just like to observe quietly…" he looked at Shirley and Lucchini who were also smiling.
"Because of this I realized that this place is full of wonderful people, not only because you are Witches who protect those who are in need but you also protect each other." He looked at Yoshika and Lynne.
Finally, he looked back to Minna and Mio. "I'm glad that I became a part of this squadron so I thank you Commander Minna and Major Sakamoto for this." Mac expressed his feelings.
"I agree…"Dan spoke and stood up. "Thank you for accepting us Commander Minna and Major Sakamoto." Dan bowed. Minna and Mio looked at each other smiling.
"Ok, now I'm done delivering that epic speech, any questions?" Mac asked in a serious tone, his face is determined and very serious indeed.
The Liberion Witch is the one who quickly speaks up to begin.
"Perhaps if you could share something about yourself that would be helpful, considering that you became part of this wing in a very short notice…that might clear out some misunderstandings to prevent circumstances like the one you had earlier with Eila." Shirley suggests.
Mac looked at the Liberion Witch with a calm face and smiled; "Sure, that's easy."
Then he looked at the blonde Witch whom he thought of 'come on bitch' feeling.
"I agree, if you don't have bad intentions at all; you could start giving us details about where you came from." Perrine demanded. But Mio knew that what Perrine wanted won't be easy as she herself asked Mac earlier and failed miserably.
"Perrine, there's no need to be so hard on them. It's their choice whether or not they'll give information about themselves or about the world they live in, forcing them will only make matters worse." Mio said.
"But Major I only wanted to…"Perrine now blushing because of Mio's reaction before she was cut off.
"OK, so let me give you some certain reasons why I can't just say something about us and our world." Mac said taking the attention of the Witches.
Dan tapped Mac's left shoulder; "Whoa, wait Mac, you serious about this?" Dan asked concerned.
Mac rolled his eyes toward Dan; "What do you think?" he said with a confident smiling face.
Mio raised a brow. "Go on Marcus, we're listening." she said while waiting for Mac to say the reasons he was talking about.
Minna however "But if you feel that the question is too risky to be answered, you don't need to force yourself so feel free to tell us anything you can." She said as she smiled.
"Ok, first of all; our worlds have something in common; in fact it was actually similar in various ways but also different at the same time." Mac asserted.
"Sounds complicated" Minna said as she crossed her arms.
"Yes it is complicated, your current year is 1944 while in our world is 2013 so we're 69 years ahead of this world's time which means that our knowledge and technology as well as the way things run in our world is far too advanced for this time." Mac stated. 'While in actuality, you are a bunch of girls who has no problem showing your panties around without realizing that on the other side of this dimension is a world full of perverted guys who extremely enjoy seeing the close up view of your panties whenever you fly to fight the Neuroi, I think this could be the desired dream of all otakus and weaboos alike, Dan is probably enjoying this.'
"So what are the differences in our worlds then?" Barkhorn asked.
"I can't tell." Mac answered sincerely; Barkhorn sighed in disappointment.
"Hey who knows, I can actually tell you everything if I'm an impetuous and imprudent bastard, but no…I won't risk everyone's safety and well-being, then again when I say everyone…that includes all people, not just in this base or any other country but the entire world." He added in detail.
The Witches took that statement with awe and disbelief; they now see a man who has information that can render they're world into discord just by speaking about it.
It was Mio who asked next. "Earlier, you mentioned that there's no Neuroi in your world, care to clarify?"Mio asked with a hint of suspicion on her tone.
Minna raised a brow. "Is that true, there's no Neuroi in their world? Why didn't you tell me earlier Major?" Minna asked curiously.
Mio looked at Minna and sighed. "I'm sorry, I was too focused on having you agree on enlisting them so it didn't come to mind." She reasoned.
"I knew you would ask that question!" Mac exclaimed in annoyance while doing a face palm. 'That was a clear shot, I did expect that but I can't risk it. Not now.'
"Bah, let her have it Mac. It's all or nothing anyway." Dan insisted.
"Can I skip that question and show you something else?" Mac requested.
Mio and Minna looked at him and nodded.
Mac looked around the hall trying to find something useful and then he saw a picture of a map.
"That map! Bring it to me and a pencil as well!" Mac shouts making a younger witch annoyed. '
"Hey no need to yell, we can hear you clearly." Lucchini got angry and spoke up.
Mac glared madly at Lucchini which made the young Witch shudder but then he smiled and said "Please?"
Lucchini was surprised but she happily volunteered to get the picture of the map; she then placed it on the table which Mac grabbed to take a look.
"Alright, gather up here girls." Mac called the witches closer to look at the map. 'Please not so close! Not too close!'
"Nice, it's absolutely different in ours." Dan remarked at the map's layout.
"It's good, as long as it's the same region…good thing it's Europe though." Mac checks the map for some similarity.
"So you're saying it's close to identical?" Minna asked as she pointed the parts where Mac circles the names of the countries.
'Honestly, I don't know. This is the first time I've seen the SW Universe map and I haven't memorized the map of our world.' Mac thought
"Karlsland, Ostmark, Gallia, Venezia, Romagna…and we're here at Britannia." Mac analyzes the names of the countries in the map; he held his chin and sighs. Dan looked at the map and an idea popped up in his mind.
"Well at least the name of Britannia here is same with ours!"Dan exclaimed.
"How is it the same Mr. Dan?" Lynne asked in wonder while she held a stack of plates.
"Well our Britannia is not like a Kingdom of sort but an Empire, The Holy Empire of Britannia and it's currently ruled by the 99th Emperor Lelouch Vi Britannia and cut the Mr. part Lynne, Dan is fine." Dan said proudly.
"Okay, Dan?" Lynne was still a little embarrassed.
"That's better." Dan remarked smiling.
"So in your world's version of Britannia, an Emperor ruled instead of a King?" Perrine asked curiously while looking at Mac.
"Don't take what he said seriously, Lelouch Vi Britannia is just a work of fiction from a novel, not a real person. Also, Britannia in our world is called United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; sometimes called United Kingdom or UK for short or simply just Britain and is currently ruled by Queen Elizabeth II " Mac clarified. 'I think.'
Dan sweat dropped as the Witches shot him with piercing stares; he rose both of his hand and… "Ok, no more funny ideas."
"Serve's you right, so enough with stupid jokes." Mac said angrily as he writes down the names of the countries from the real world.
"Germany?" Minna asked while noticing the name written on Karsland.
"France?" Perrine muttered as she sees the name written on Gallia.
"Yep, so let's focus first on Gallia which is France in our world, I believe this is your homeland Perrine?" Mac asked.
"Yes it was, but how does this France similar to my homeland?" Perrine asked crossing her fingers.
"Perrine even though your homeland is under the Neuroi's control, it's still your homeland. All your memories of Gallia are within your heart. I'm sure the people of Gallia believes one day, all of them will be able to return home."
"Mac, that's nice of you to say that." Mio remarked.
"Marcus, Major." Perrine muttered as she looked down suppressing her tears.
Mac had an idea to verify the similarity of France to Gallia through native language. 'I hope this works.'
"I didn't said that to make you cry Perrine, now can you translate "Who cut the cheese?" to your native language for me?" Mac asked Perrine nicely.
"Pffff." Dan covered his mouth to prevent his laughter. 'Silly Mac, that's just bad of you to try.' Dan thought.
Mac stared at Dan with wonder. "Problem?" he asked but Dan just responded with a hand gesture.
"Yes of course, it's "Qui a coupé le fromage." Perrine delivered the sentence in her native language flawlessly.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Dan bursts with laughter as he fell on his chair while holding his sides a. The Witches were shocked at the sudden event and was dumbfounded.
"Wha..What's so funny?" Perrine asked in anger while blushing.
"Stop laughing Dan, there's nothing funny!" Although Mac tells Dan to stop laughing, the latter didn't listen and continued laughing. But then Dan, who was lying on the floor, went silent as a sword has been pointed to his face by Major Sakamoto; the Witches now became silent as they held their breath.
"Right, sorry about that…" Dan apologized as he slowly went back to his seat avoiding eye contact with the Major who's giving him cold stare. 'Curse you Mac for pulling off the best joke.'
"OK, that's it. Back on topic…" Mac said while sweating, but before he could continue he was cut off by Mio.
"Wait Marcus, perhaps let's set this conversation regarding your world on another day." Mio suggests.
"I agree with the Major, you really looked pressured and it seems you're only forcing yourself." Minna supported the suggestion.
Mac knew that Minna and Mio have something else planned in their mind; he looked at the rest of the Witches and sighed.
"Ok, that's probably the best option for now and it seems that my earlier statement to you Commander has been applied. Everything will be explained at the right place and at the right time." Mac agreed at the suggestion, he looked at Dan who was about to say something.
"Also, not a damn word from you Dan." Mac interrupts before Dan could utter a word. "You've done a lot of trouble already; it's time for you to learn some discipline." Mac added. "I know just who to ask, Lieutenant Barkhorn." He called Barkhorn.
"You need something?" Barkhorn asked as hear Mac mentioned her name.
"I'm just wondering if you can lend assistance in teaching my friend here about discipline." Mac said as he points at Dan. 'Better start with you first than anyone else.'
"Sure, I'd be glad; after all the trouble he caused, how could I say no to such a request but only if you participate, I noticed you have the tendency to lose your cool." Barkhorn accepted Mac's request with a grin.
"Mac, you can't be serious; you want me to spend time with the Lieutenant? But we have training with the Major." Dan reasoned to escape.
"I didn't state what time, you two can still have your training with the Major, and then I'll see both of you afterwards." Barkhorn added smiling.
"That's fine with me, not sure about Dan though." Mac stated grinning.
"Do I have a choice?" Dan sighed.
"That seems fair enough; everyone have their share of duties in the base after all." Minna agreed as she heard the conversation.
"Frankly speaking, it's amazing how you manage to divide the duties in such a huge base." Mac said in wonder.
"It's collective activity; everyone has their own part to do depending on ranks, with Minna in charge of the whole base operations as well as personnel management, while others are assigned for patrol or stand by." Erica cheered proudly.
"I'm a mechanic and have a workshop so I do maintenance work in my Striker Unit and sometimes I also do the other Striker Units as well." Shirley added.
"I usually do night patrol since I'm a Night Witch, but sometimes Eila comes with me." Sanya said while Eila rubs her cheek.
"I see, so you're like the guardian angel of the night." Dan said while smiling making Sanya blush.
"That's right, you can all rest peacefully knowing that Sanya is protecting the skies at night." Eila exclaimed.
"I'll take your word for it Eila." Mac said with a smile then he looked at Barkhorn. "What about you Lieutenant?" he asked Barkhorn.
"Well, I'm in charge for the archives and other document related works." Barkhorn stated.
"Wow, perhaps I can lend you a hand on that Lieutenant, I myself is a document specialist, if you want documents to be kept organized then you got it covered by yours truly." Mac said proudly.
"Well that should make things easier for me then." Barkhorn replied with a smile.
"Ok, since I had training in Electrical Courses, I can do some electrical maintenance works." Dan suggested.
"Oh, that's great Dan. Just make sure you won't blow things up." Mac remarked while Dan smiled irritated.
"Excellent, both of you will be officially having your first assignments tomorrow." Minna smiled.
"That's nice; you're already making yourself comfortable." Mio commented on the duo.
"Major, I don't mean to be rude but don't you think it's a bit too early to be so reassuring?" Perrine voiced her concern.
"It's not like they're doing any harm by saying how they can help you know." Lucchini objects.
"I'm not asking for your opinion." Perrine countered.
"Perrine, I'm sorry if our very presence makes you feel uneasy. But what else can we do?" Mac stated as he looked at Perrine in the eyes.
"Mac is right, besides we have nowhere to go and we have no clue on how to go back to our world." Dan said looking at Perrine as well.
"I'm sure everything will be alright as long as you keep your promise not to cause any serious trouble, I'll make sure that you two will return to your world and we'll do everything we can to help." Minna said with a smile but she noticed that Mac was avoiding looking directly at her; she then looked at Dan who noticed it as well.
"Mac is still dead nervous especially in front of you Commander Minna." Dan said while pointing at Mac.
"How so, am I making you nervous Marcus?" Minna asked Mac with concern.
"Don't take his word seriously Commander, it's more like respect about ranks; besides, we don't normally see girls walking around without pants." Mac answered.
"I agree with Mac because it's really uncommon for the two of us, well in my analysis to the nature of the Striker Units that in order for a Witch to increase the effectiveness of the Unit, obstructions such as pants needs to be removed to achieve its full potential, correct me if I'm mistaken." Dan stated.
"Hmm, you're doing your homework Dan, Impressive." Barkhorn remarked smiling.
"You two are learning fast in a small period of time, what else could you learn or perhaps we might learn something from you." Minna crossed her arms while looking at Mac who still looking away from the Witches.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the food is getting cold." Mio said as she just saw Lynne and Yoshika finished preparing the food.
A loud grumbling sound was heard as Mac who stated that he wasn't hungry suddenly made a scene. Some witches laughed and
"So you're still not hungry?" Dan mocks with a grin.
"It can't be helped." Mac replied.
"Alright, let's eat first." Minna clapped her hands and everyone took their seat.
Yoshika and Lynne served the food which is Britannian dish which everyone enjoyed.
"I wonder if I could prepare some Fuso dish for everyone." Yoshika asked.
"Sure thing Miyafuji, you can take turns with Lynne for preparing meals." Mio answered.
"I'll surely enjoy it Yoshika, as long as you include my all time favourite Natto." Dan said in excitement making Yoshike blush a little. 'Yoshika's food, I'm so excited!'
"Be sure to praise Lynne as well because she's the one who prepared the food you just ate, thank you Lynne, I haven't eaten a great meal like that for a very long time." Mac thanked Lynne making her blush as well.
"Yeah Lynne, thanks for the meal." Dan said.
"Uhm, you're welcome." Lynne answered shyly as she helps Yoshika with the plates.
Mac was still not at ease, he still think he was missing something. He looked at his right front and saw Eila. 'Bingo.'
"Eila." Mac called and startled the latter.
"What?" Eila asked in annoyance.
"I'm sorry about everything earlier, I mean it; I really do." Mac delivered his apology in a very calm and serious manner.
"It's fine; don't think about it too much." Eila accepted the apology with a blush on her face.
"Eila, I'm glad that everything is alright now between you and Mr. Mac." Sanya remarked.
"Sanya, you're making it sound like it's my fault to begin with. It's not like I like him or anything!" Eila exclaimed bringing laughter to everyone.
Mac sighed and poked Dan beside him. "I guess all that's left is to train huh?" Dan only nodded who was looking at Perrine.
Perrine noticed this but she didn't react, she just ignored the man.
"I'm sorry too Perrine." Dan said in a calm voice. Perrine who was looking away slowly turned her head towards Dan. "I know I said a lot of things already, and most of them are bad. I'm really very sorry from the bottom of my heart." Dan added and tilted his head down.
"Well, as long as you realized your mistake I think I can forgive you for it." Perrine slowly saying as Dan lifted his head up looking at her.
"Thank you." he thanked Perrine and smiled.
Minna and Mio looked at each other and smiled, realizing that Dan and Mac have their own way of fixing issues.
Although some topics have been derailed and many questions are left to be answered, for Perrine she still wonders why Mac asked him to hear her native language in which she thought that it could be possible that her homeland's native language could be similar in Mac's world version of Gallia, she decided to ask but to her surprise, she was cut off by Mac.
"If you're going to ask about Gallia and France being similar, yes...the native language is similar, it's called French in our world but there are some places in France that uses language such as Latin; I'm pretty sure you know how to speak Latin because you're raised in such a fine household." Mac stated with detail.
"I see, thank you." Perrine seems satisfied with the answer as she went silent and walked away.
"Lynne, Miyafuji, and you two; follow me, time for training." Mio said in high toned voice as it was almost time for training.
Mio and the rest of the Witches scheduled for training left the dining hall with Dan, but before exiting the dining hall, Mac approached Minna.
"Commander, can I have a minute or two?" Mac asked with determined look on his eyes.
"Sure, I'm listening." She faced Mac while crossing her arms.
"I just want to clarify some things with you." Mac said in sincere manner.
"Ok, what are those needed to be clarified?" Minna asked cautiously.
"Will Dan and I be staying in one room or separate?" 'It'll be a problem if we both stay in one room.'
"I preferred to have both of you to stay in one room." She answered. 'WHY?' Mac screams in his mind.
"Uniforms, we'll be having uniforms right?" he asked again. 'Seriously, we'll need it badly.'
"Yes, I'll have it prepared for the two of you tomorrow but I'll also have something prepared before sun down, and both of you are ranked Sergeant just like Lynne and Miyafuji just so you know." 'Should I be proud of my rank?'
"Wow, I didn't expected that; how about bathing?" Mac was not looking directly at Minna when he asked this.
"You can use the bath on a given time of the day and you'll have to post a clear sign that you guys are inside, until then you will be supervised."
"I was thinking if there could be other places to use for bathing, it's too complicated in my opinion."
"It's far the better; we can't have you running around half naked or so." She gave a wry smile.
"Then how about secrecy?" Mac hesitated on this question.
"What do you mean?" Minna asked with suspicion.
"Will you be including the two of us in your next report; I'm sure it'll be an issue if the top brass will be reading some information about the two of us, will it be fine?" Mac stated his concern. 'Better watch out for that Maloney guy as early as possible just in case, but it'll come eventually so until that happens we keep a low profile and act accordingly.'
"There's nothing to worry about, some information need not to be revealed easily." Minna assured.
"Same thing like what I'm doing right?" Mac smiled and stood straight.
"Precisely, you limit the information you provide by not telling anything and I only report information that is clearly stated."
"But I'll repeat what I said earlier…everything will be explained when the time comes, for now let's just keep it this way." Mac repeated his earlier statement.
"I understand, will that be all Marcus?"
"Yes Ma'am, permission to leave for training with Major Sakamoto." Mac stood straight.
"Granted, you are dismissed." Minna said in authority.
Mac saluted and left the dining hall in a hurry to catch up with the Mio, Lynne, Yoshika and Dan.
"Marcus, just what is it that you're hiding?" Minna muttered as she walked outside the dining hall back to her office.
Mac finally catches up with Dan.
"So what did you talked about?" Dan asked.
"I just clarified some things with the Commander." Mac asked smiling.
"I hope you're prepared for intense training, you two will have a taste on how I train Witches." Mio smiled as she guided the group to the runway. Mac and Dan looked at each other and nodded.
"Challenge Accepted." Both answered in unison.
"That's the spirit. We're almost there; we'll start in two minutes so you better stretch up." Mio approached Yoshika and Lynne giving the young Witches some instructions.
"We'll be doing some running huh?" Dan asked. "Looks like it." Mac answered.
"Can you catch up with me? Dan mocks.
"I'm more concerned about you though." Mac answered.
"Alright everyone, take your positions." Mio ordered and everyone lined up at the runway. (Mac, Dan, Lynne and Yoshika)
"I know your limits Dan, are you sure you can do this?" Mac asked again in concern.
"Ready!" Mio announced.
"No worries bro, besides; what's the worst that could happen?" Dan answered sarcastically.
"Go!" Mio shouted and the group ran.
After five minutes running, Dan and Mac are already half dead lying on the starting point of the runway after running 2 laps…
"You men are pathetic; I guess you do have to undergo more intense training than normal." Mio sighed.
Yoshika and Lynne continued running laps as the duo watched them.
"Wow, they're amazing…" Dan remarked the two girls. "It must be good being young and full of energy." he added while looking at Yoshika.
Mac became quiet, he knew that they're not supposed to be here but flashbacks of the vision prior to their arrival kept appearing in his head whenever he looked at Yoshika. Dr. Ichiro Miyafuji; the man responsible for the success of the Striker Units was killed without mercy by unknown people, Mac dubbed them "The Shadowy Figures" the people that he needs to find, 'then what?' asking himself what will he do when he finds them. His thoughts went back to him when he heard shouts from Major Sakamoto and the two young girls.
"What do you see in front of you?" Mio asked.
"It's the sea!" Yoshika answered.
"What lies beyond the sea?" Mio asked again.
"Europe!" Lynne answered.
"What is the situation in Europe?" Mio asked once more.
"It's being occupied by the Neuroi!" Lynne answered again.
"That's right. You must regain that territory! And to do that, you need training, training and more training!" Mio shouted more intense. "Run! What you need before magical strength is physical strength!"
"Yes ma'am!" the girls shouted in unison.
Mac's POV
I was seating at the runway with Dan as I hear the girls shouting their response to Mio's questions, it's quite impressive to see these girls run with such determination. Lynne however, I knew that she can only perform like this during training. While Yoshika's case, despite not having proper military training she can really keep up with Lynne, but every time I see her, it hurts my heart because that vision keep appearing in my head. I know she made a promise with her dad, that's why she's here. Until I find out who those people are and bring them to justice, I cannot look at Yoshika straight in the eye.
"You're thinking too much you know."
I heard Dan spoke next to me; he was observing me the whole time we sat in the runway. My mind was somewhere else so I didn't notice.
"I guess so, look at the girls. They're so full of energy, while we blokes are here sitting in our asses looking pathetic. Oh, actually WE ARE PATHETIC as the Major stated." I lashed out at Dan because I got dragged down with him when he started to slow down, but I admit I'm not that strong physically, I'm blaming him for being weak which makes me look more pathetic.
"Mio surely is strict." Dan commented while looking at the Major who was shouting at the girls as if he didn't heard what I just said, he didn't even get mad or insulted? He's probably laughing at me right now in his mind, but that's just dumb for me to think that we can train with the Witches in the first place. I shouldn't have suggested that.
"That's right. You must regain that territory! And to do that, you need training, training and more training!"
"Run! What you need before magical strength is physical strength!"Mio yelled at the girls again.
"Yes ma'am!"
She's right on every word she just said. Training and more intense training, as men we should be superior to these girls in terms of physical strength and raw power, whether they're using their magic to enhance their physical strength. The real deal here is that we must become stronger.
"Alright, last ten!" Mio shouted again.
"Yes ma'am!" Lynne and Yoshika barely answered as they were about to collapse, still they continued to run.
She gave 10 more laps to the girls while Dan and I just barely finished 2 laps…it's humiliating, I want to try harder, but why? Was it pride? I don't know but, the girls are doing their best and as new members we should become good examples for them.
"Dan!" I stood up and looked at him; he's not surprised or anything. He was just smiling at me, like he was expecting me to call him. He was expecting what? It doesn't matter but what I want now is to have this girls see what Dan and I can do.
"So what's it gonna be?" Dan asked me as he smiled full of confidence. He stood up with his chin up and his eyes are burning with determination.
"I surely hope you're well rested, because I don't plan on losing to those girls because of you." I told him with a mocking tone, I seriously want to beat these girls after all.
"No problem, I can feel your determination so I'll try to keep up as long as possible. We'll lift our flags and show these girls how real men do real training." Dan answered with confidence. He's really fired up and we're ready.
And we ran. We ran as fast as we could. As I look forward, I saw the girls heading on our way but we still have a lot to catch up. I didn't think about it but, I want the girls to know. They're not alone, I want Lynne to know, she's not alone anymore, Yoshika is here now. Dan and I are here as well, so she won't have to feel that pressure, the pressure of fighting to defend your homeland. I'll do everything I can to ensure that she will become a great Witch, I'll lift that rock bottom confidence of hers until she realize her worth for this wing. I looked up and there they are, 5 meters in front of us.
"Better hurry up Lynne and Yoshika!"I yelled as I passed Lynne and Yoshika with Dan following my lead. The girls looked surprised and I think the Major as well.
"Very good you two, but you still have a lot of laps to catch up!" she said with an angry voice, was she angry or maybe I'm just imagining things.
I looked at Dan who was already next to me panting but still keeping up, we were about to reach the tip of the runway until it's time turn back and catch up with the girls again. I feel my body warming up, it seems the adrenaline started to do its magic.
"This is nothing man, we need to catch up to them." Dan suggested, he got some point there.
"I hear you, Ok then let's take it to the next level." I changed my pace and increased my speed.
"Be at least we should win this lap!" Dan yelled behind me but I didn't want to slow down, my attention is directly straight ahead, a few meters ahead are Lynne and Yoshika. I'm closing in. Yes, we can finally catch up with them. No, I think can get past them.
"That's good, keep it up!" Mio praised our effort. But she's still looked unimpressed.
Dan and I are now running side by side next to the girls but my rhythm is getting more intense which increased my speed again. The trio are now behind me as I dash forward and increasing a gap, even though there 9 more laps for the girls to complete, and we blokes have so much to catch up, I didn't mind and I kept running.
5 laps left for us while the girls are on their last one, Dan is surprisingly keeping up with the girls and catching up on me, or was I slowing down? The joints in my ankle are aching. I'm sweating too much, my breathing is getting heavier. If I slip it'll hurt a lot, I have to be careful.
Half of the runway already, only a few meters left for the girls' to finish. I can hear them panting behind me, I'm sure my distance to them maybe 2 or 3 meters, but Dan was close probably next to Lynne, I can't tell because if I look back, I might slow down or worst, tumble on the runway so I kept dashing forward.
"Dan, Miyafuji, eyes forward!" I heard Mio yell, and then it hit me. Yoshika and Dan are probably staring at Lynne's breasts. Grrr, why am I so stupid? I just missed a close up view of Lynne's bouncing breasts while on the move!
"Yes ma'am!" Both answered in unison.
After reaching end of the runway, the girls have finished their laps and took a break while Dan and I still has 3 more laps to go, it's was amazing though. The combination of adrenaline and determination plus a man's pride gave an unbelievable boost, who would have thought. Also, I think I missed something, ah that's right. Will and Mind power.
"Last one for the two of you!" Mio shouted, I notice Lynne and Yoshika were sitting on the runway behind her panting heavily, they're still tired. But it's the last lap for me and Dan and now feel the pressure, my heart is pounding really heavy and my lungs aren't taking enough oxygen, my knees are almost aching, but I can still go. I can still finish.
"Mac, stop." Dan called out.
I only noticed Dan has stopped running when he called me, which I followed. I looked at him and he was panting heavily, but he was smiling as if he's up for a challenge. I knew what he's trying to tell me, he was catching for breath but his eyes are telling it. He wants a race to the finish line.
"You probably know what I want do you?" Dan asked while breathing deeply.
I didn't respond, I only acknowledged him with a nod in which he smiled back. I walked back next to him and we both faced the runway, we looked at Mio at the finish line.
"I know what you two are planning, alright then. Wait for my signal!" Mio shouted and smiles at the runway's end.
I watched Dan as he posed for running position. I took position and I looked at him again and he nodded at me.
"Ready!" Mio shouts.
It's time to give Dan what he's asking; I held my breath as I waited for the go signal.
"Go!" Mio gave the signal.
So much to my expectation that I will be the one to take the lead, there's Dan currently running ahead of me, 1 meter then 2 meters, our gap is increasing by the second. How does he was able to, was he just holding himself back earlier? Asking now is not the thing to do; I must catch up to him.
I ran, my speed barely changed but wasn't enough to reduce the gap…we're halfway to the finish but he's still increasing the gap. I can't catch up, he's too fast. I ran harder, I kept running, I'm losing my breath, my vision, what's happening…
"Marcus!" Mio exclaimed as Mac rolled hard and fell flat on the runway.
"Oh no, he lost consciousness." Lynne ran towards Mac followed by Yoshika.
"What the hell happened?" Dan exclaimed in panic as he ran towards his friend.
The first half day of our duo hasn't ended yet.
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It took me a really long time for this chapter, wasn't sure if it's good or not. Only the reviewers can tell. That is if people with review it.