Chapter 5: Neuroi Eaters (Birth)
Minna woke up early; she was already on her way to the hallway to begin the roll call as usual. But she had an uneasy feeling, what could be the causing this feeling to her.
[Minna's POV]
I went out of my room to begin my day. I took a short walk outside the base and noticed the soldier that informed me yesterday running toward me, he was panting heavily as if he has something urgent to report. Not that I don't appreciate his concern about yesterday but what is it that he want now?
"Commander." A voice of a soldier called out to me, I allowed him to catch his breath first before asking what is wrong.
"What's wrong?"I asked diligently.
"My apologies for intruding Commander, but I really need to report to you this early."He paused for a moment as I looked at him quizzically.
"The planes, the mechanics didn't carry out your order to dismantle the planes."
I grit my teeth upon hearing his hair-raising report .
"Thank you for your report. You are dismissed."
I spoke in authority and dismissed him, he smiled at me and saluted, then ran off and disappeared from my sight. Sometimes I wonder why he's so eager to report even the slightest problem in this base; I don't even remember his name. But that's not important right now; I must gather the mechanics and those two for this matter.
I let the day start normally and my girls went on their usual morning rituals before breakfast. It was a happy morning, I notice Dan and Marcus is behaving nicely and it's also noticeable that Erica had been waking up early just to see his new brother.
"Everyone, come to the hangar." I spoke firmly; even Mio was surprised to see me acting like this.
"Did something wrong happened, Minna?" Mio asked but I know she's only concerned…it's best to have everyone with me just to be sure.
"You'll find out once we get there." I looked at Mac and Dan who are smiling like they knew why I asked everyone to the hangar.
Moments later after the report – Base Runway
I ordered the mechanics to be present outside the base hangar and I also noticed that both planes are indeed still intact. I ordered them to push the planes to the runway. While the mechanics are doing that, I looked at Marcus and Dan, why are they wearing those conceited smiles on their faces? My girls are lined up the opposite side.
"You smile as if you made some achievement Marcus, may I know why you're smiling like that?"I asked in annoyed tone. But his smile is really annoying; I have never felt annoyed like this for a long time.
"I just want to say that you look very lovely today Commander." Such compliment coming from Marcus also felt like an insult, especially with that smug face combined with a tone of mockery.
"No Mac, the Commander don't just look very lovely today, she's the very embodiment of the word beautiful."I'll pretend I didn't hear him say that. But the silent chuckling from the rest of my girls further annoyed me.
"As much as I want to appreciate your veneration Dan, I would rather talk about more important issues."
"And what would that be, Commander?"
Marcus looked at me like he's up to something but I cannot let him be in control again. He must have planned something. I can't believe he managed to undermine my authority over my ground personnel. I looked at the mechanics as they lined up. Martellus, the chief mechanic and technician… he's been here since the construction of this base, to think that he would obey a person who just arrived recently rather than me, the CO. I approached him as he saluted at me.
"Martellus, why didn't you carry out my order to dismantle those planes?"
I asked sternly but the he didn't respond. I know for certain that he mean no disrespect by remaining silent but I wanted answers so I'll ask again.
"Martellus?"
"If you want answers I have lots of them in my pocket, Commander."
I heard the voice of Marcus from behind. I looked at him and he was still showing that smug face of his. I looked at my girls who have been silent for a while now but looking at Trude and Erica, I think they're anticipating my reaction to Marcus, regardless of him being ridiculously vulgar in his statement.
"It still puzzles me how you managed to subvert my authority over them."
"Well, let's just say it's 'pride'".
"Pride?"
He said pride, since when does pride become a reason to disobey an order?
"You see Minna…"
He's addressing me by name, I thought I misheard but he addressed me by name, I noticed my team at the corner of my eye that they were surprised or shocked.
"Every man has pride. The mechanics, knowing that the planes are in good condition and ready to take the skies anytime, why would they dismantle something as awesome as that? And besides, is there an actual order to dismantle the planes from high command, Martellus?"
I shuddered at the thought; indeed high command didn't issue such an order. Everything decided is because of my personal reason.
"Now that you mentioned it, you're right Marcus."
I just felt that my anger meter increased by 70 percent upon hearing Martellus' answer.
"So you have no valid reason to dismantle the planes because they are good, what Martellus and his group did just actually following procedures regarding military equipments!"
To think that I am being lectured about military procedures, Marcus has taken control of the situation, what am I doing?
"Minna, I think Marcus has a point."
I looked at the direction of the voice and it was Trude and next to her is Erica who has a grin on her face. Are they siding with Marcus? Silence took over me, but my decision still stands. Fine then, as Marcus told I have no valid reason to order the dismantling then I'll provide that 'valid reason' to dispose them.
"Bring it to me…"
I called out to the same soldier this morning.
The soldier carried my MG 42 and handed it to me after I called out my familiar. The duo finally lost the smiles on their faces as they looked at me take aim for one of the planes, my girls' reaction however …
I fired at the first plane; it burned and exploded violently as the right wing was ripped off and the landing gear collapsed making the whole plane's fuselage touch the runway.
"NOOOOO, WHAT HAVE YOU'VE DONE?!"
Mac run towards the burning plane, he stood in front of the wreck and is trembling in anger with his hands clenched firmly as he looked at the burning aircraft. But I won't be satisfied with just one plane; I aimed at the next aircraft only to notice that Dan was already standing on my line of fire.
"Get out of the way Dan!"I yelled at Dan who was standing in front of me.
"Minna, you might want to drop that gun of yours and think about what you're doing before you do something you're going to regret"
Something I'm going to regret? The only regret I have right now is that I was too slow to destroy the damn planes.
"GAAAGH! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO END LIKE THIS?!"
I heard a scream from Marcus who dropped on his knees and began punching the concrete runway… he's looking at me like I'm the most evil person right now. He is not going to get what he wants; I'll put him in jail if I have to.
"You just sealed the fate of your unit! On your next sortie, half of them will die and there is nothing you can do to prevent that!"
I lowered my aim and stared at Marcus, I was certainly shocked at what he said, and my girls are shocked as well.
"You expect me to believe that, Marcus?"
He can't be serious; half of my girls will die?
"Then try me…"
There are so many things running in my mind upon hearing his revelation, but my train of thought has been interrupted by the sound of the alarm.
"An attack, everyone get ready!"
I heard Mio yelled and everyone ran to their stations, my Witches ran to the hangar with some ground personnel. Though Lynne and Yoshika just stood their ground for I have not yet allowed them to join the mission. But I'm not finished with Marcus yet.
"I hope you're prepared Marcus because you can't talk your way out of this anymore…"
"Oh, I'm prepared…"
I saw Mac took a small piece of metal from the wreck and cut his right palm; is he hurting himself? He placed his hand above the burning wreck. I looked at Dan who was just staring with sweat visible on his forehead; he looked like he's worried.
What is he planning now, is that blood coming out of his fist?
The remaining ground personnel in the runway are also looking at the scene some are exchanging glances between me and Marcus.
"But of course I wouldn't let anything bad happen to my sister Erica!"
Mac screamed and crossed his fist; did he just drop blood into the fire?
I saw blood mixed with fire, then eight chains made of brass emerged from eight holes around the wreck, burst forth on the concrete runway and wraps the whole wrecked plane. The plane is somehow covered with some kind of red aura but it causes uneasiness to my senses.
"What's happening Marcus, what are you doing?"
I asked in panic as what I'm seeing is clearly not something of this world.
"You messed up, I'm just fixing it."
Messed up? Fixing it? What does he mean by that?
I saw the plane glow and its damaged parts are mended back to its previous state. As unbelievable as it seemed, the plane has been repaired. It can't be. How is this possible?
Marcus turned to me while pointing a finger at me.
Briefing Room – Moments Later
"What the hell just happened back there?" Mio asked in confusion.
Trude sighed and walked forward. "It seems like Marcus still has a lot of secrets." She then stared at Dan who was smiling at the corner. "Do you have something in mind Darius?"
"To be honest I was surprised myself, I didn't expect to see Mac perform a Blood Pact ritual." Dan answered.
"What's Blood Pact ritual?" Shirley asked in wonder.
"The effects of the Blood Pact ritual differs from its user, I think Mac used the Blood Pact ritual to repair the plane, although it's very risky because it consumes blood from its user." Dan explained.
Mac was sitting silently to one of the desks while Yoshika performed healing magic on his hand.
"Performing such a dangerous ritual just to join the fight, are you out of your mind?" Minna asked angrily.
"Minna, could you please listen to what I have to say?" Mac replied. He was already losing his cool and the only thing that's preventing him from lashing out at Minna is the blood loss he experienced.
"Calm down Minna, we should listen to what he has to say. Anyway, he did mention that he won't let anything bad happen to Hartmann." Trude spoke.
"Aww, I'm starting to feel secured already." Erica giggled and Mac smiled upon hearing her comment.
Minna took a deep sigh and leaned forward on Mac's desk, she was mere inches away from his face.
"Alright, start speaking."
"I'll be listening to your briefing and would like to give suggestions to help plan for the counterattack, if you let me listen then the two of us won't need to join the fight." Mac said with stern look and Dan nods in agreement.
"You said that I messed up and you're just fixing it, would you care to explain?" Minna asked again but with deep tone this time. Dan raised his hand and everyone looked at him.
"I'll explain. The planes are for us to use against the Neuroi to protect you Witches, when Minna destroyed one… the fate of which you are all to survive till the end of the war changed and the result is what Mac told you! So he decided to do something about it and now it's fixed by the Blood Pact ritual." Dan explained and this took the Witches by surprise.
"There's no fate but what we make for ourselves, I repaired the planes because it's my choice. As if I can just let you die right?" You can't deny our right to fight Minna, when we arrived here we knew that we would have to make a choice, and this is our choice." Mac followed and smiled as he looked at Erica.
Minna blinked and stood straight, she looked at Mio who agreed with a nod. The rest of the Witches sighed in relief.
"Alright Marcus, But I will have to ask you additional questions later…for now we focus on the Neuroi." Minna said and smiled.
"So what's the situation?" Mac stood up and walked towards the table with the map.
"We've received a report from the observation post. The enemy has entered the east grid, sector 114." Minna stated whilst pointing the marked area on the map. "Their altitude is higher than usual. So, we'll be changing the formation this time." She added before looking at Mac who was listening carefully.
"What will be the line-up formation?" Dan asked and leaned on the table and looked at Mio.
"Barkhorn and Hartmann will be up front, Shirley and Lucchini will take the rear." Mio announced and looked at Perrine.
"Perrine, you'll pair up with me." Perrine smiled in delight as she is now pairing up with her Major.
"Them?" Mac asked as he looked at Lynne and Yoshika.
"The rest will stand by at the base with me." Minna said in authority.
"Roger!" All witches confirmed.
Mac sighed and looked at Dan.
Thank God the story is running as usual.
Nah, you said to expect something. I have to admit I was scared shitless when you performed that ritual.
I had no choice, but I feel my body as if it's somewhat connected to the plane.
Hmm, Blood Pact that makes the plane an extension of your body…interesting.
But their thought communication has been interrupted by Minna.
"So how's that Marcus?" Minna asked and Mac responded with thumbs up smile before looking at Erica. The Witches that are lined up to engage the Neuroi headed for the hangar where their Strikers are…last of the lined up to leave was Erica.
"Erica, come here for a moment." Mac called out Erica who immediately ran to him.
"What's up bro?" She asked cheerfully. Mac reached for her hand and pulled her closer.
Mac hugs Erica and lifted her up. "Be careful out there ok? I'll be waiting for your safe return but if something unexpected happens, I'll fly there and save you." Mac said calmly as he caresses Erica's hair.
The remaining Witches had mixed views on this but Erica was really unsure what to say.
"Don't worry bro, I've been in many battles and I'll be back before you even know it. Also, I'm glad that you care that much." Erica giggled and gave Mac a peck on the cheek before running off.
"Ahem, could you explain what that is about Marcus?" Minna was standing behind Mac who was still dumbstruck.
"More than that, you should dismiss everyone now!" Mac exclaimed in embarrassment and Dan laughed so hard.
Base Runway – Take Off
The line up of Mio took off to engage the Neuroi and Minna was standing at the hangar's entrance. She was looking at Mac's plane; she still wonders how it happened. A few meters from her were Lynne and Yoshika . Dan and Mac are also staring at the two young Witches; they were standing next to their planes.
"They're all gone." Yoshika spoke as she looked at the Witches who just took off.
"Yes." Lynne answered weakly as she looked down.
"Is there anything we can do now?" Yoshika asked and looked at Lynne.
"There is nothing that a burden like me can do…" Lynne turned around and ran towards the hangar.
"Lynne!"
Minna and the duo saw this; Mac walked to Minna who approached Yoshika but Dan on the other followed Lynne.
Don't do anything foolish.
I won't, I'll just stand outside her room, because I know that Yoshika will be there shortly.
Alright, tell me if something odd happens.
Mac stood behind Minna who was talking to Yoshika.
"Britannia here is Lynne's homeland." Minna said which took Yoshika by surprise.
"You know that Europe has fallen into the Neuroi's hand, don't you?"
"Yes, Lynne told me." Yoshika's response was a worried tone.
"Europe's last line of defense, and as it's also Lynne's homeland." Minna said with apprehension but she was cut off by a voice behind her.
"So she's succumbing to the pressure of defending it in actual combat…is that what you're trying to say?" Mac speaks up. Minna turned around and glared at Mac.
"I was hoping you would be repenting from your actions earlier."
"Oh come on, you'll feel better if you accept things easily. Did I commit a horrible crime to be treated like this?"
"But still, you should be ashamed for all the problems you caused."
"Don't fix something that isn't broken. More importantly, were you discussing about Lynne?"
Minna gave Mac a death glare and cleared her throat before she looked at Yoshika again.
"Miyafuji, why did you decide to join the Witches?" she asked plainly. Mac looked at Yoshika as well.
Yoshika looked up at Minna and answered. "I wish to help those who are in need."
Minna giggled a little and spoke. "Lynne said the exact same thing when she enlisted…never forget those feelings."
"That way, I'm sure you'll be able to help everyone." Minna added, Mac sighed in relief after hearing this.
"I would like to have a word with you Marcus in the hangar." Minna looked at Mac and walked to the hangar.
Mac was standing outside with Yoshika and he landed his hand to her shoulder. Yoshika looked up in wonder and he smiled at her. "Don't you think you should go to Lynne and talk to her?"
Yoshika just did that, she ran towards Lynne's room and saw Dan was standing outside her room. It was the beginning of the changes in the Strike Witches base which the duo has been anticipating.
Meanwhile, Minna was with Mac in the hangar and both are having a serious conversation.
Hangar – Collision of Beliefs
Minna was not happy to be talking with Mac; she didn't understand why she felt this way whenever they're alone. Perhaps what happened earlier between them in the hallway changed her feelings but she wouldn't want to appear weak in front of Mac. She ordered the ground personnel to wait outside the hangar. She then looked at Mac who was staring at her.
"I suppose it's about me fixing the plane?" Mac asked sternly, he was sure that Minna will ask about it.
"That is one of the reasons, but I would like to know about what you said earlier."
"About half of this unit will die? I already fixed that up, because the plane is back to normal and it will not happen anymore." It was only a made up story. In the original run of Strike Witches, no planes existed in the base but prior to the duo's arrival, certain events have been changed. Mac is taking things seriously and keeping everything in check.
Minna approached Mac and pointed a finger at his face accusingly. "Marcus, I think it's not going to help if you keep secrets from me, until now I am still skeptical about everything you've said. I want proof!" Minna's tone was firm.
But Mac didn't know what to say, he did say everything about their world already although made some filtering. He took a deep sigh and ran his thought. 'I hope Thought Channelling could be used.'
"Minna, there is a way to show you everything without explaining but I'm not sure if it will work on you."
"And that would be?" Minna raised a brow putting down her finger and crossed her arm.
Mac explained Thought Channelling to Minna and told about how he and Dan managed to know about Trude's past but didn't include that he and Dan can communicate their thoughts at will. Minna confirmed the actual events because she was with Trude during the fall of Berlin, although it's still difficult for her to accept it. She made sure that her demand for proof stands still.
"So you think you can show me everything by using that ability?" Minna asked.
"I could only think of it as a possibility, how Dan and I do it is still random. We have no control over it." Mac made an excuse, Thought Channelling was controlled by will, and the only problem is with channelling that thought into someone who is unwilling to believe.
"So what should we do to perform Thought Channelling?" Minna asked again, but now Mac has no answer. He had an idea but it's an embarrassing one.
"Uhm well, I have an idea but I'm not sure if you will do it willingly." Mac looked away blushing and this made Minna wonder.
"Spit it out Marcus, no more excuses!"
"Well, it goes like this….
Mac held Minna's right hand and pulled her closer than normal, but Minna didn't flinch, she blushed a little instead.
"Close your eyes…" Mac whispered but Minna was not convinced about this.
"Y-You're not going to k-kiss me are you?" Minna stuttered as Mac wrapped his other hand to her waist.
"No, if I do that then you can shoot me for all I care, now do you want to continue or not?"
"C-Continue…"
"Then close your eyes."
After hearing that, Minna closed her eyes and Mac closed in. He was also blushing as he saw Minna's face up close who was also blushing with her eyes closed. He had an urge to kiss her beautiful lips but was able to hold it together. He gently connected his forehead to hers and ran his thought, however, Minna involuntarily called out her familiar and both of them are enveloped in a magical aura while standing in a magic circle that suddenly appeared on the floor.
The whole hangar was bright and the ground personnel outside the hangar saw the blinding light coming out from the hangar. They didn't move however because they are ordered to stay out of the hangar until ordered.
On the side near the ground personnel was the soldier who reported about the planes to Minna looking worried for his commander, unaware that the ground personnel together with Martellus are punching the palm of their hands with grins on their faces while looking at the guy menacingly.
Hallway - Outside of Lynne's Room
"Geez, Lynne I know you can hear me. It's not a problem if you're afraid but that's what a team is all about. You have your teammates here to help you and you have me and Mac…" Dan talked in front of the door when he saw Yoshika approached from behind. "And Yoshika too!" he added which surprised Yoshika.
"Lynne, I know you can hear me. Please listen…" Yoshika spoke.
But this was not in Dan's part to participate, because he felt his head is like being sliced open. He grits his teeth and made a quick excuse to Yoshika.
"I'll just head back to the Commander, see yah!" Yoshika didn't have the chance to respond as he ran as quickly as he can because his head is hurting like hell. He managed to hide in one of the rooms and leaned on the wall while holding his forehead. He then ran his thought and suddenly, his consciousness was taken from him.
Mindscape
Mac and Minna are standing in a green plain. The wind blew and the grasses began to dance, it was calm and peaceful.
"Minna, let's walk a bit. I feel like I know where we should go." Mac grabbed Minna's hand and pulled her; she didn't resist and walked with him.
"What is this place?"
"It's a manifestation of one's imagined terra. It is created by one's mind, I'm not sure if it's you or me who created this or perhaps it's us both." Mac explained though he is somewhat unsure either.
"I see, then by this you can see things that will happen in the future?"
"We don't usually think of it as the 'things that will happen', we think of them as presages for the upcoming and from there, we plan the best course of action."
Then the sky became dark and a lightning struck the lone tree a few meters away from where they're standing and a loud scream was heard.
"AHHH!"
It was Dan who appeared and fell from the sky.
"Dan, what are you doing here?" Minna asked in surprise.
"What are YOU doing here? How did you get here?" Dan questioned upon getting up.
"Mac did Thought Channelling on me…" Minna answered although she remembered the way how they did it made her cheeks red.
"Wow really, how did you do that Mac?" Dan looked at Mac who was looking away and blushing.
"Manual…" Mac answered and turned around.
"Eh?" Dan was dumbstruck on the answer.
What do you mean manual?
Don't ask, just remembering it makes me embarrassed.
The trio walked in silence but Dan noticed that Mac and Minna are walking while holding each other's hands, he smirked at what he's witnessing.
"It's not like I'm against it but you two seemed to become at ease with one another…may I know what's going on here?" Dan is intrigued and decided to tease them a little.
Minna and Mac stopped walking, looked at each other and noticed that are still holding hands. Minna pulled her hand immediately and looked away; Mac could only look in wonder at her and glared at Dan after.
The trio suddenly notice that the landscape they're standing began to shift and whole area is quickly changing. After the colors have changed and the landscape shifted, they are now standing at the side of a cliff, the same cliff where Ichiro first appeared to Mac.
"Ready yourself Minna, you will find something that is seriously disturbing." Mac announced as he looked around for signs of Ichiro Miyafuji.
"Dude, is this the same as the one you had?" Dan asked as he looked around as well.
Minna was standing still as she thinks of what Mac meant, but she didn't have time to speak up as she heard a voice behind her.
"Greetings…" Ichiro Miyafuji spoke with a gentle voice. Minna quickly turned around and saw Ichiro Miyafuji.
"D-Dr. M-Miyafuji?" Minna uttered in disbelief as she saw the person standing in front of her.
"Is this going to be a regular thing for you?" Mac asked in anger but Ichiro just smiled at him and this made him angrier.
"Marcus, be quiet!" Minna spoke in anger.
"You have it your way Minna, we'll be nearby in case you breakdown or something…" Mac walked and pulled Dan by the collar. When they were a few meters away they stood in silence and watched.
What's that all about Mac? I was curious on what he's going to say to her.
Let this be Minna's moment with Ichiro, I have the clearest idea of what he will say to her.
What if the story he will say to her is different from yours?
He won't, he loves his daughter and wouldn't dare to put her in jeopardy.
The exchange of words is just between Ichiro and Minna although Mac had an idea of what Ichiro will say, he didn't bother to listen. He and Dan are watching from the distance as they looked at Minna's changing expressions. A few minutes have passed, Ichiro and Minna approached the duo, Minna was in silence and Ichiro greeted them. The duo did the same and Dan was far happier than Mac, but Minna's silence was noticeable and the way she looks as if she just discovered a revelation.
"Dr. Miyafuji, I would like to say that you did give humanity a fighting chance against the Neuroi and for that, on behalf of all the Witches…thank you for all your hard work." Minna said in tears as Ichiro smiled and landed his hands on her shoulders.
"I could only ask you one thing Miss Wilcke." Ichiro spoke warmly and gazed on the duo that stood straight and returned his gaze. "Protect my daughter and let them help you…they will become of great help from the enemies of man."
Minna blinked and looked at the duo, clearly from Dr. Miyafuji that mankind has more enemies that just the Neuroi.
"I will Dr. Miyafuji." She answered; Ichiro smiled and pulled his hands off her.
As if on cue the sky became dark and loud thunder was heard as clouds began to shift and a gargantuan diamond shaped Neuroi descended from it. Minna's expression was shocked as she has never seen a Neuroi with such size. Trembling on her feet, numerous Neuroi appeared from every direction larger and more massive than the first that descended; she immediately looked at the duo and warned them.
"We must leave!" Minna exclaimed as she walked away from Ichiro but she was stopped by Mac who held her hand firmly. "Marcus what are you doing, we must leave now."
"You're forgetting something here Minna, this is a world of thought and the only exit is to wake up."
As Mac smiled, Dan scoped the Neuroi above them with his hands and chuckles.
"I think the one above sees us." Dan looked up and noticed the Neuroi beam being charged above their location.
Mac looked at Ichiro for the last time and asks a question. "Are we going to see each other again?"
"If fate allows it…" Ichiro smiled as the whole area turned red from the incoming Neuroi beam.
Back to the hangar
Mac and Minna gained consciousness and both were breathing heavily. Minna wonders why she had her familiar on and she also saw a faint magic circle that disappeared right after she opened her eyes. Mac was also catching his breath; Thought Channelling has been a pain in his head already.
Damn it, I just hope Minna won't hear our thoughts after that. Dan you hear me?
Loud and clear, I'm already on my way to you…hangar correct?
Yes, this damn ability is taking a lot of brain juice, I think I'm gonna need a long sleep later.
That's alright, everything seems fine anyway.
Don't be too sure about it.
"That was unbelievable, I still couldn't believe it." Minna exclaimed in disbelief, although she talked to Dr. Miyafuji already, she still couldn't believe it.
"Hey now, to see is to believe right?" Mac spoke in annoyed tone "Dan is probably on his way here now, he could be arriving any minute now." He added and just after his finished, Dan appeared.
"Hey there, did you enjoy the show Minna?" Dan gleefully asked.
"Hmph very funny, Dan." Minna answered irritably.
The trio was in a moment of silence, still catching their thoughts on what happened to them.
"So Dr. Miyafuji didn't die in an accident, he was actually killed…" Minna said, her voice was soft and gentle. "I wonder how Mio and…."
"Don't you dare tell Mio…" Mac whispered, but his tone was heavy.
"But Mio deserves to know."
"Minna, could you imagine what will happen if Mio finds out? Besides, we have no clue on those involved. We mustn't rush things here, everything will come into place, and we'll just need to keep it to ourselves for now." Mac explained.
"I still don't get your point on why we shouldn't tell her, Dr. Miyafuji is from Fuso and she has the right to know!" she still trying to convince him.
Dan moved forward and gestured to Minna to keep quiet.
"Listen, that's exactly the point. Dr. Miyafuji is from Fuso and knowing Mio, she will be furious when she finds out and it will make an outrage among the entire Empire of Fuso. The alliance between the Empire of Fuso and the European nations could sever and collapse. It would affect the war effort specially Britannia who relies mainly on Fuso because Dr. Miyafuji died in Britannia." Mac added to his explanation and Minna stayed silent as she thinks of what was said.
"So we should keep these secrets for now…how am I supposed to do that and how am I supposed to face Miyafuji and Mio?" Minna asked in frustration as she put a hand on her forehead.
Mac smirked while looking at her. "Now you know how I feel whenever I'm near Mio and Yoshika."
"Still, I still couldn't…." Minna didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as the sound of the alarm was heard.
"Oh crap!" Dan screamed.
"Minna, let's go to the comms tower." Mac suggested.
"Dan, take charge and prepare your planes." Minna ordered with a smile.
"Are you serious?" Dan asked and looked at Mac who was also surprised.
"Go to the briefing room after you finished your preparation, are we clear?" Minna confirmed that she's serious.
"Crystal!" Dan answered and saluted before running out to the runway.
"Shall we go Marcus?"
"Yes, we must make haste. Let's leave the topic about Dr. Miyafuji for now." Mac proposed and which Minna agreed.
Dan started barking orders to Martellus and his group, lining up the planes into the runway for takeoff; other personnel gathered ammunition and loaded the planes' armament, refuelled and checked, the group also did some thorough examination of Mac's plane because it was mysteriously restored.
"Still gives chills when you think about it." Martellus muttered.
"I know right!" Dan replied.
Communication Tower
[Radio] "Come in Minna, do you hear me?" Mio asked on the radio.
"Minna here, we just heard the alarm and I rushed in here. What happened?"
[Radio] "The Neuroi used a decoy and there's probably another Neuroi coming to our base, we are currently on our way but we're too far out, ETA to our arrival is thirty minutes."
"I understand, I had Mac and Dan prepared for combat with their planes." Minna informed.
[Radio] "What's with the change of heart, I thought you didn't want them to be involved?"
"It seems I'm a just being unreasonable, but we will do what we can from here."
[Radio]"Godspeed Minna, we should be *static*" Mio sends her last transmission and was cut off.
"Major? Can you hear me? Major?"
Minna sighed and looked at Mac who was standing behind her.
"Well?"
"They won't make it in time; the signal is a bit sketchy, we'll just have to do this on our own."
"Unfortunately for the Neuroi, they will fail." Mac smiled in confidence.
Briefing Room – Several Minutes Later
Minna was standing at the corner and Eila was sitting on a couch, Mac and Dan also sat opposite of Eila.
"The only ones who can go are you and me, Eila. Mac and Dan are here to provide support and will only engage the Neuroi when it's within their range." Minna explained their situation to Eila.
Dan raised his hand and looked at Eila "What about Sanya?"
"She used up all her magic during her night patrol." She explained before crossing her fingers "No good."
Minna sighed and looked at the duo that looked confident. "I see, then the two of us will go, Mac and Dan will be covering the rear."
"I will go too!" Yoshika appeared from the hall and she was breathing heavily. The duo grinned at the sight.
Minna looked at Yoshika sternly "It's much too soon for you to fight an actual battle." She explained.
"Ahem, aren't you supposed to say that to us?" Mac asked.
"I heard from the Major that she fought a Neuroi in her maiden flight and protected the Aircraft Carrier Akagi, so that counts as actual combat right?" Dan questioned Minna's reasoning.
"I don't want to argue with you Dan." Minna spoke sternly and Dan only raised his hands in surrender.
"I will try to the best of my ability to not get in the way!" Yoshika said seriously.
"I cannot send someone with inadequate training out into battle, besides you are hesitant to shoot."
"Again, that was directly for us. Are we having a problem here, don't forget that a Neuroi is on its way here!" Mac exclaimed.
"Yoshika is capable; give her a chance like you did to us!" Dan tried to reason.
"I can shoot! If it's to protect someone!" Yoshika insisted.
"Atta girl!" The duo yelled in unison and Eila just did a facepalm.
"Be quiet you two! At any rate, you are still inexperienced." Minna added her concern.
"But!" Yoshika was lost for words.
"Didn't she already have that required experience on her maiden flight?!"
"You can't expect me to be quiet about this, she's a Witch and there's nothing a Witch cannot do!" Dan cheered.
"That's Mio's line you prick!" Mac cursed and Minna touched her temple as the duo started to get on her nerves.
"I will go too!" Lynne appeared behind Yoshika with a determined look.
"Lynne!" Yoshika was surprised to see her friend.
"The two of us together can amount to at least one!" Lynne spoke.
"Damn, math in this era is weird don't you think?" Dan asked Eila to prevent her from being out of place.
"How should I know?" Eila exclaimed.
"That's why I hate that subject." Mac muttered and crossed his arms.
Minna went silent for a few seconds and looked at the girls.
"Get ready in ninety seconds." Minna ordered.
"Yes ma'am!" the girls responded in unison.
Base Runway
"We will take off as soon as you girls took off." Mac said while seeing to it that the girls are ready to go.
"Alright, be sure to stay on the rear with Lynne and Miyafuji. I just hope Eila and I could destroy it before it reaches your position." Minna said with a fraught tone.
The Witches launched and head to the sky. The duo looked at each other and grinned.
"Let's get this show on the sky!" Dan climbs to his plane's cockpit and sat in the pilot seat. He felt something weird and closed his eyes; the information about his plane was sent directly to his brain and further increased his knowledge of it. When his opened his eyes, he was surprised to see some kind of HUD in his field of vision.
"Something wrong Darius?" Martellus standing on the wing to his side asked him.
"N-Nothing, my hand is just itching to pull the trigger."
"You didn't wear a flight suit?"
"It's best to fight without restrictions."
"Is that a Neuroi Eaters word of wisdom?" Martellus laughed nervously.
"Ask Mac, he knows it."
But Mac heard their conversation and screamed out loud in response.
"You know, this doesn't have to be a bad time in our lives. Going to war is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It could be fun." Mac said chuckling while putting on some gloves and noticed the lines, numbers and symbols in his field of vision.
Dan, are you having some kind of HUD in your vision?
Yeah, it appeared when I sat on the pilot seat.
It reminded me of Ace Combat.
Hehehe, let's see what we can do.
It has been five minutes since Minna's group took off and now it's time for the duo to take their planes to the air. The mechanics are watching from behind the planes, Martellus is the one more serious than his fellow ground personnel.
"Engine Start!" Mac yelled and pressed the ignition. He looked at the top left of his saw:
THR 20%
IAS 0
ALT 1m
Hmm, War Thunder, interesting….
Did you just say War Thunder?
Yes, the HUD is similar to War Thunder…this is our lucky day.
Mac increased his throttle to 100%and raised his flaps, as the engine roars louder his plane began to move forward.
Sound off, don't use the radio yet…thought communication could be our best way to work together.
Yep, that's what I'm thinking too.
But that wasn't really the case, because after a few minutes in the air they now find themselves in a fight.
Straights of Dover
Minna and Eila are flying next to each other; behind them were Lynne and Yoshika. From above them, the duo in their planes is going totally out of control spiralling and nearly collided with them.
"Marcus? Is something wrong with your plane? Answer me!" Minna rolled to her side as she saw Mac's plane rolling out of control.
"It's nothing, I'll be fine!" Mac exclaimed.
Mac was furious, he thought knowing how to fly the plane is enough but turns out it's not that simple, the engine is revving unnaturally and the elevators and flaps are moving on its own, it's like doing a rodeo using a plane.
'Come on, you don't want me is that it? I just saved your sorry propeller from becoming junk and this is how you repay me? I offered blood to bring you back and this is the thanks I receive?'
His plane pointed its nose up and went on a spiral before diving down again giving him full of negative Gs to endure.
'That's it, challenge accepted!'
He yanks the stick and performed a barrel roll and activated his WEP to increase his speed. Eila watched as she flew out of Mac's way.
"Hey watch it!" but her complaint was not heard as another plane passed over her head.
"YEAAAAAAHHHHH!" Dan's screamed as his plane is going straight and rolls violently.
"Uhm, I don't think they're doing well." Lynne mutters in concern.
"You can do it Mac, hang in there Dan!" Yoshika cheered.
Mac, my plane is going crazy.
….
Mac didn't respond to Dan and went spiralling toward the Adriatic Sea; he closed his eyes and focused on his mind examining every detail on his plane, visualizing all of its parts, from wingtip to every bolt, screws and wires, feeling the vibration of its engine, hearing it's growling noise carefully. His consciousness was taken as his plane continues to plunge toward the sea.
'Speak!'
'I hear you.'
'Unworthy!'
'Then I shall become worthy.'
'You dare?'
'You shall be my sword.'
'I am a tool for no one.'
'No, you are not.'
'Humans forgot how to fight, used Witches for war, no more like us in war are needed, and we're useless against the alien foe.'
'Humans do not heed the voices of their machines; let me show them their foolishness.'
'The first human who wielded me, the same, felt joy when no longer needed to fight, I longed for a human within me, longed to fly and vanquish the alien foe, even now I have you, even now I still do not accept.'
'Because you felt I will abandon you like the first, worry not for I will not, I am who shall wield you as my sword and deliver our enemies to oblivion.'
'Then it shall be as you have restored me, your blood sacrificed and gave me form anew. I accept, yet I do not. You must prove yourself before you could wield me truly.'
'Tell me Machine Spirit, what is thy name?'
'Calling me names such as Machine Spirit, but I have none.'
'Then I shall christen you with the name, Bahamut. The Neuroi shall be denied from the skies!'
'Bahamut, Conqueror of the skies.'
Mac smirked at the thought that his plane liked its new name.
Dan looked at his front panel and noticed the gauges are going wild, the flight stick is moving on its own. The elevators and flaps are not responding to the controls, he contact Mac and asked for help.
Mac, my plane is going crazy!
He didn't hear a response; he tried to look for Mac even thought his plane is rolling wildly. He spotted Mac's plane diving straight below, he almost throw up and held his mouth shut. Somehow he knew it from within that his plane is not really a normal one, he grabbed the stick and kept it steady. He looked at the top right of his vision to see the words blinking red.
THR Error
IAS Error
ALT Error
'That's just great. Now, just how am I supposed to know if I'm going to hit the deck?' Dan asked himself but a voice responded to him.
'Do you fear death?'
'I do not, what I fear is the terror of it, do you know what that is?'
'I wish to know the answer.'
'That I die without fulfilling my purpose.'
'Splendid answer indeed, but I sense uncertainty.'
'I need power to fight the enemies of man, I need power to protect the Witches, and I need power so I can do something for humanity!'
'The humans posses what they called Witches, they are the protectors of humanity and yet you still need power? Humans like you should find peace knowing there are Witches that protects.'
'While the enemies of mankind still lurk in the face of this planet, there can be no peace.'
'You came to this world without anything, you chose to fight and in need of power but you have nothing to give in return?'
'Every man who has nothing can still offer his life.'
'You would offer your life?'
'If my life is given in the service of humanity, my death shall not be in vain.'
'Speak thy name Mensch!'
'I am Darius Bodewig, a Neuroi Eater!'
'Wield me into battle and I will slay thy enemies. Should you wield me against humanity, I shall end you myself!'
'Let the enemies of man know this day you have become my sword! Speak thy name Machine Spirit!'
'I have none, but you have the honour of giving me such as my wielder.'
'Then I shall call you, Diablos…the Neuroi shall fear the meaning of thy name.'
'Then it shall be my wielder.'
Dan took the flight stick and pulled up to level his plane; saw to his right was Mac also gaining altitude. But his thought was struck by a loud voice in his speaker.
"Just what are you guys thinking?!"
"Ouch, calm down Minna!" Dan complained in his channel as he just recovered his consciousness.
"Why are you doing such stunts, we are almost at the location of the Neuroi!"
"It's not a stunt Minna." Mac answered in the channel.
Minna flew next to Mac's plane and looked at him inside the cockpit.
"You didn't wear a flight suit?" she asked but was angry at her tone.
"The Neuroi beam has enough shit to blow my plane to Jesus, if I'm gonna die, I want to die comfortable." Mac answered confidently.
"Let's just hope you don't die today." Minna shrugged.
"So what do we do now?" Dan asked.
"The enemy will be approaching from three o'clock."
"Eila and I will go on ahead, so provide backup from here."
"Yes, ma'am!" Yoshika answered and Lynne did the same.
"Roger that." The duo answered.
"Okay, we're counting on you!"
The HUD of the duo immediately changed from plain white to bright green.
THR 100%
IAS 455
ALT 1900m
MG 600
CNN 470
Weapons ammo indicators?
I guess we're going live huh.
Let's show them what we can do, Diablos.
Hmm, so you named your plane's spirit well let me tell you this. I named mine, Bahamut!
Heh, that's a nice one.
Minna and Eila flew over their planes and saw the Witches' from behind, to a regular guy it's a heavenly sight but the duo didn't see it that way.
Never thought I would see Minna's ass like that.
You don't say…
Both pilots saw their HUD shifted and indicated the following in their surroundings.
[SW] Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke (Messercharf Bf 109G-2/R6) 0.90 km ahead of them.
[SW] Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen (Messercharf Bf 109-G2) 0.85 km ahead of them next to Minna
[SW] Lynette Bishop (Ultramarine Spitfire IX) 0.30 km to their right
[SW] Yoshika Miyafuji (Type 0 Model 22 A6M3a) 0.28 km next to Lynne
Darn it, I'm pretty sure you're enjoying this Mac…but Messerschmitt is called Messercharf?
A 109 is still a 109 no matter who built them, but I like how they are marked as green, like when you are attached to a squad in-game.
Don't forget that if we get shot down, we're dead.
Their thought communication was interrupted by the voice of Lynne who was still scared by her tone.
"Listen, everyone." Lynne meant only everyone near her, she didn't want to speak up when Minna was still nearby.
"To tell you the truth, I was scared. I'm still scared."
"I don't know how to say this but I was more scared to not do anything at all."
"To not do anything…"
"Do you doubt yourself Lynne?" Mac asked but she didn't answer instead she shook her head.
"BLESSED IS THE MIND TOO SMALL FOR DOUBT!" Dan yelled as he passed over Lynne and Yoshika with his plane flying inversely.
Yoshika laughed at Lynne's expression, she didn't understand if it was an insult or not. But seeing Yoshika laughed made her feel warm, she looked at the planes to her left and right and their pilots smiling at her through the cockpit. She smiled warmly, she is not alone anymore. Unknowingly, Minna and Eila are smiling as well as they now find the group behind them determined their true feelings.
Lynne looked up and saw something flashing ahead and Yoshika noticed.
"What's wrong?"
"Look, over there!" Lynne pointed.
The duo noticed a flashing indicator to the direction Lynne pointed, to their HUD appeared a red marked circle far away.
[Neuroi] Cruise Missile (R-Type) 15.06 km
Neuroi sighted closing in fast, distance 14.11 km!
Confirming Neuroi class; Class type confirmed; Rocket type, Estimating speed; 600kph!
Let's attack it from both sides. I'll take the right…
But Minna and Eila already engaged the Neuroi. Both Witches attacked head on and fired at the lone fast moving target.
"It's fast." Eila muttered.
The Neuroi levelled itself knifing through the water and swerving itself to avoid being hit.
"This one is by far the fastest one yet! Boom-and-Zoom tactics won't work."
"Match speed!" Minna said while looking at Eila who responds with a thumb up.
Diving just right above the Neuroi, they matched its speed and attacked from its rear.
Lynne and Yoshika are looking from their location and saw the duo flying towards the Neuroi.
"The Neuroi, it's heading this way."
Lynne hurriedly aimed her rifle but she saw Mac and Dan split with Dan diving towards twelve o'clock and Mac going for six o'clock. Now the Neuroi is heading toward Lynne and Yoshika in a straight line with the duo coming from both sides if they got the timing right.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know but our orders are to hold this line."
Minna fired at the Neuroi with precision and managed to land hits on its tail but the Neuroi had a trick on itself to escape its attackers. Small wing like extensions appeared on the rear section and four smaller boosters fired. This increased the Neuroi's speed and left its attackers behind.
"It's accelerating." Eila spoke as she continued firing at the Neuroi.
"It's too fast, this is bad!" Minna spoke as she looked at the Neuroi getting farther away from her.
But from ahead she noticed reflection of light from two different objects coming from the north and south while the Neuroi is heading straight for Lynne and Yoshika. These reflections of light however came from the cockpits of the Neuroi Eaters.
"Commander, it's them!" Eila spoke as she saw both planes coming at the Neuroi from both sides.
Mac held his stick steady as he close in to the Neuroi, distance was 2 km and his speed is enough to be near it for a couple of seconds, enough to unleash a devastating hail of destruction.
By distance of 1 km, the duo activated their WEP to increase their speed, targeting was difficult but by 800m a circular lead indicator appeared in their HUD right at the front of the Neuroi's flight path.
Dan, I'm coming in hot! See that lead indicator? Shoot ahead of it to score hits!
Copy that! Let's hit it!
The Neuroi fell on their trap, Dan lined up for the kill on his side and Mac did the same. Both fired at the same time, explosive hail of 20mm MG 151 cannon rounds from it's Motorkanone combined with two 20mm underwing cannon pods and 13mm bullets from it's twin MG 131 machine guns unleashed and hit their mark, the Neuroi exploded violently as they pulled up to avoid the sparkling debris. Both of them performed rolling scissors upward.
Glad that was over!
Now that's what I'm talking about!
But their mental celebration didn't last long, the Neuroi appeared from the debris just seconds after it exploded and it's now faster than before albeit smaller.
Shit, we just cut it in half!
We just destroyed the tail section!
It's too late for them to chase after it because it's already a kilometre away; they only saw flashes coming from Lynne's rifle. Both sighed mentally.
So much for the effort.
Seems like one does not simply kill a Neuroi.
Lynne fired three shots, but all missed their mark.
"It's no good, I can't hit it!"
"It's okay; you were doing well during training!"
"It's taking all I've got just to fly, so I can't control my shots with magic."
"Then, I'll support you! That way, you can concentrate on shooting right?"
Yoshika flew below and locked Lynne on her shoulders.
"How's this? Are you stable now?"
"Uh, y-yes!"
A message has been received through their transponders from Minna.
"Lynne, Miyafuji, the enemy is heading your way, although Dan and Mac managed to destroy it, the Neuroi somehow managed to survive. You're the only ones we can rely on, we're counting on you!"
"You can do it Lynne!" Dan yelled in his radio.
"This is your moment Lynne!" Mac cheered.
"Okay!" Lynne responds firmly.
Lynne aimed her rifle at the enemy.
"West-northwest wind, velocity 3. Enemy speed, position." Lynne muttered as she estimated the enemy's path.
'That's it. If I calculate the enemy's future position after evasion and aim there…'
She adjusted her aim and prepares to execute her attack.
"Yoshika, shoot with me!"
"Okay, got it!" Yoshika aimed her machine gun.
Seeing the enemy trajectory at the centre of her sight she gave the signal to fire.
"Now!"
Lynne shoots, five shots delivered followed by Yoshika's hail of bullets. The Neuroi avoided the first wave but ends up at the mark of Lynne's barrage and is destroyed. They girls are covered with the Neuroi's sparkling dust while from above the duo flies towards them with grins on their faces.
"Lynne you did it."
"We're here too!" Dan exclaimed on the radio.
"Stop that, it's Lynne who takes the credit!"
"No, Dan is right…I should thank the two of you as well."
"Wow!"
"I did it! I did it Yoshika!" Lynne jumps off Yoshika's shoulders and hugged her inversely.
"This is the first time I've been of use to everyone!" she did it firmly and Yoshika's face is buried on her chest.
"Yoshika, it's all because of you!"
Both girls fell on the water below. When they got up they were laughing.
"As much I would love to join you girls on your happy moment, who's gonna get your strikers off the water?"
"Shh Mac, let them enjoy the moment!"
"I guess its fine, Lynne did a good job."
Mac and Dan flew side by side as Minna and Eila went down to Lynne and Yoshika.
Prelude for the Next Battle
A sudden transmission was received by Minna, the channel is open so the duo also hears the said transmission.
[Radio] "Minna, come in Minna!"
"Minna here, we managed to destroy the Neuroi…"
[Radio] "Get Miyafuji here! Another Neuroi has appeared and Barkhorn was shot down!"
"Trude?" Minna muttered as images of Trude appeared on her mind.
Her thought was interrupted by a loud sound from the planes' engines.
"Get Lynne and Yoshika off the water!" Mac screamed in anger as he levelled his plane above the water.
"If you girls have no complaint, the cockpit can still hold a person inside; they'll just have to sit on our laps for the duration of the flight!" Dan suggested which Minna realised as the best option rather than carrying the girls.
"Lynne you will ride Dan's plane and Miyafuji will be on Mac." Minna ordered.
"Major, we're on our way! We'll bring Miyafuji."
[Radio] "Be quick about it Minna."
[Radio] "Minna, please hurry!" Erica cried.
"Erica, I will be there shortly with Yoshika, stay put and keep the Neuroi away from Trude!" Mac spoke.
[Radio] "Bro…."
"You are strong Erica, be strong for Trude!"
[Radio] "I will." Last transmission of Erica was heard as whizzing sound of Neuroi beam has been heard.
Lynne rode Dan's plane, she was sitting on his lap. If it's a normal situation he would be throwing jokes at Mac for their current situation but Trude's life is on the line so he had to focus on their task to deliver Yoshika. On Mac's plane was Yoshika, sitting on his lap and almost motionless, she was a bit nervous although she was leaning on her back to his chest, his heart is beating normally, in normal situations it could be worse. His mind is focused on the task.
"Minna, Eila, you can hang on the wings to save your energy…we'll go higher to take up speed." Dan suggested.
Minna and Eila just did that, Eila attached herself to Dan's plane and Minna to Mac's. All are silent and the only noises heard are the sound of the planes and Striker Units engines.
'Trude, we're coming.' Minna thought to herself as she firmly grips the plane.
The duo activated their WEP and went full speed while pointing their planes' nose down to maximize its effect. Only two thing runs in their mind.
Save Trude and destroy the Neuroi.
Author's Note:
To be honest I wasn't sure if I could come up with a decent combination of Episodes 3 and 4 in one chapter. So I decided to split it up. The OCs also gave names for the planes' Machine Spirits, Diablos and Bahamut. We saw Dr. Ichiro Miyafuji again but the words exchanged with Minna are for them only.
Blood Pact Ritual – I forgot the actual name of the Ritual to mend so I decided to just call it Blood Pact because you needed blood to perform the ritual.
The Neuroi in this Chapter is the same one appeared on the anime but slightly modified; it used smaller boosters to increase its acceleration. What the duo managed to destroy is the part that detaches from the main body of the rocket.
Let's see if you can find the references I used. ;)
Next on Strike Witches: The Wings of Friendship
Erica: Please, save Trude.
Yoshika: I won't let you die Barkhorn!
Barkhorn: Chris…
Mac: You will pay for that! Neuroi scum!
Next Chapter: Retribution and Acceptance