CHAPTER 6

"Let's meet the queen (part 2)"

June 5, 1967…

Neo-Scandinavia airbase, South Baltland… 0838 hours…

Gertrude and Chris were running together on the long stretch of the long runway in the base. Chris kept it up for as much as she could, knowing she should beat her sister in the sprinting that they're doing. They're not running, but really sprinting. Yoshika, Lynette and Perrine watched while they wiped the sweat off them.

"They're both persistent." Perrine seemed to notice this first. 'It's strange enough.'

Yoshika decided to ask. "Perrine-san, should they really push themselves like this?"

"It might still be necessary, Miyafuji." Perrine then glanced at Lynette. "What's your take on this, Lynette?"

"Hm?" Lynette's attention was suddenly turned to Perrine after looking at the two sprinting Karlslanders. "I think they're pushing themselves… a little too far. Even if they're sisters, I'm noticing Chris is getting much intense, like she's competing with her older sister. As for the captain… well…"

"Hehe…" Perrine chuckled. "I think so too. Trude's going to make sure she doesn't hold back."

Meanwhile… Minna and Mio were looking at the two Karlslanders siblings while behind the other three who are resting. "Chris is getting stronger in training." Mio commented it seeing the differences Chris is making. "It's been a week or so and Chris is making sure to catch up as a witch like Captain Barkhorn."

"I can't say it's uncommon if it isn't competition."

"You think they're competing at who's better?"

"There's more of a chance it's something like that."

Erica was skipping and got beside Minna when she saw Trude and Chris. "Whoa…"

Minna had her eyes set on Erica. "It seems your curiosity caught up well as to ours. The both of them seem intense in training."

"Trudy's okay. But Chris? This is the first I've seen the both of them compete in sprinting without magic."

"Hm." Mio seemed to get it. "Chris was able to overtake Miyafuji and Bishop during training once. I'm surely seeing an improvement if she's catching up to Trude."

Trude was getting ahead in her sprinting. 'I'm not letting Chris get past me!'

"COME ON!" Chris was sprinting just parallel to Trude now. "Last one past the middle landmark is a rotten egg, big sis!"

"You're on!" Trude clenched her fists as she summoned her familiar. "Sorry, but you're not doing this to me!" And Trude sprinted faster even leaving Chris in the dust.

"NOT FAIR! Well two can play at that game!" Chris then summoned her familiar features which were also the same with Trude's having dog ears from a Pointer. As they were both nearing the small line made to resemble a finish line, they finally got parallel on their sprinting, making this a close call.

Minna saw it and was excited. 'Oh my…'

'Who's going to make it first?' Mio seemed excited as well.

"Go, Captain!" Perrine shouted.

"COME ON TRUDY!" Erica shouted afterwards.

As Trude and Chris were approaching the line, the world slowed as Yoshika examined the feet of the two siblings. As she was able to see clearly, Trude's foot crossed first on the line. 'Gertrude-san won it.' Time flowed back to normal and the two siblings crossed the line.

The two siblings suddenly scraped the runway as they stopped to a complete halt, letting them see the imaginary line. Chris knew somehow who won. "Did I win?"

"Hehe." Trude chuckled at the thought of Chris. "Nice try. I didn't see it myself."

"I won. You know it."

"You didn't. My gut tells me highly."

"Well MY gut tells me differently, big sis. Or do you wanna spar where both of us get hurt?"

"Bring it."

"Ah-ah-ah! Stop it!" Melinda suddenly gets in between them. "A fight isn't gonna help us all."

"Aw… Hehe." Chris approached nonetheless, and was stopped by Linda. "Come on, shifter witch. You gotta let me."

"Hey. Don't even try." Linda then put her missile pods to be visible as she aimed it at Chris. "You may not like it, but I'm the assigned MP here. What's more is, you're going against a captain. Actually, you're going against two."

"You're not even a military girl!"

"I can fight on the sea or on land. I don't care. You're just gonna see the rain to come from me, IF you don't stand down. Alright?! Humor me here, Chris."

Trude was seeing how Linda was handling this. 'She certainly knows how to do it even as a temporary MP. But she's really acting it out as a captain?'

Chris disengaged and let her familiar features retract, and was followed by Trude who did the same. "You better have a good thing to say if I pull your collar."

"Tch." Melinda then turned behind her. "You alright, cap?"

"I am. Danke."

"Gern geschehen." Linda smiled before turning to Minna and Mio just approaching them.

"Well done, you two." Minna turned up just a little distant from Chris. "Christiane, you're definitely been given notice since Mio was training you."

Trude crossed her arms and smiled at Chris. "You're making it go fast than expected. You arrived here saying you wanted to fight alongside me even if it's against my choosing. But you manifested. It's different."

"It's not just because I manifested magic that I'm here, big sis." Chris approached Trude and stopped a foot from her. "I didn't like you to be alone the whole time you're fighting for Karlsland. First off, I didn't have the slightest nerve of making you fight out there. I'd help even without powers."

"You'd die if that's the case."

"Then at least I died trying." Chris crossed her arms. "I think you made it clear that you're trying to do your best too. I am."

Mio nudged Minna and wasn't noticeable to the rest. "She certainly follows Trude closely." She whispered.

"No doubt."

Melinda sighed. "I'll leave this little sibling thing to the two of you." Linda then decided to leave and walked towards Minna. "I don't know about the two of them, but she's all yours if ya wanna stop it. Chris listened to me on this. I got stuff to help out with Valerie." Without Minna's response, Linda went on her way towards the experimental hangar where Valerie should be.

Minna smiled at Chris. "You're ready."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Captain Barkhorn told me about a strict training regimen she'll give you. You may have had basic training, but hers is ruthless and painful training like you haven't experienced before."

"Whoa."

"Chris." Trude's voice got the attention of her younger sister. "You wanted this. I'm giving it to you. I was wrong about you, so I'm asking you: Prove me wrong further."

And Christiane smirked. "You're still foul, Big Sis. You want me to just gain your faith on me by working for it?"

"Although we sleep together, I deal with matters of training and personal things separately, Chris. I loved you as a sister, but we're putting a barrier in making sure you're toughened up. Emotions won't always help you and sometimes, you have to block them out even while you feel pain in you. Ohne Fleiß kein Preis. (No pain, no gain.) Is that understood, Lieutenant?"

"Y-yes… Captain."

"I'm sorry, BUT I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Chris was already standing in attention.

"Hehe. At ease." Trude slowly walked behind Chris and held her younger sister's right shoulder. "You gotta be at ease whenever I tell you to. I know there are times I make it difficult for you, so you can say I'm a mean bitch but a wise and mean one at the same time. It'll mold you. It will change you. Embrace that change because if you're going to become like what I am, you're gonna be given quite an overhaul."

"I can't wait, Captain."

"Good. Treat this as your day-off. The next day, the harsh training for you is gonna begin. Don't say it's easy." Trude gave Chris that mean look. "I'm going to make sure to knock you out."

Chris winced at Trude's statement with conviction. 'Looks like she'll give me hell. Still, I can't wait.' "Alright, I'll do my best!"

0847 hours… With Xala…

Xala was walking to the main office building with no other doubt in her mind. She had to see Minna, knowing her services as a temporary protector on the ground has her making privileges to get more access to the commander's office with ease. However, she didn't need to look for Minna inside the office…

…because she was already behind her. "Xala?" And Xala stopped by the door of the commander's office. Minna saw Xala turn to her. "I hope you're here to tell me about your privileges to be used."

"Commander."

"I thought I told you I don't have your full trust yet."

"It's understood."

"You may be a defector, but it's not always that I could trust defectors to fall on the opposite side from their former."

"I agree." Xala had to lower her head. 'I remember she's not trusting of defectors even if they have known their mistakes.'

"It's a good thing Ember allows you to be around here. I'm sorry if it's just now I'm able to tell you, Xala. To be honest, I don't really see the change if Ember trusts you. Whatever usefulness to us has disappeared after your otherworldly self replaced the old body you have now. Most of the information about the Red Neuroi has disappeared along with it."

"Maybe… some things aren't fated to be said."

Minna clenched a fist before pushing Xala to the door, letting it open. As the two of them were finally inside, she slammed the door shut. "Don't tell me WHAT the hell fate is!"

"Commander?"

"You don't know how so much of a coincidence can almost ruin somebody."

"What are you talking about?"

"How would you feel when your own family was able to experience a heartbreak from a family member who breaks away from the ideals set within? And how would many of your family members be able to handle that same member when he comes back so evil now?"

"Commander, is there something you wanted to…?"

Minna realized it and let her character change out of the rage. "I'm sorry. I should not have let myself go. You're here for something, aren't you?"

"Yes." Xala crossed her arms. "Although it's best if you have something in your chest that you let it go and tell someone."

"Are you going to judge me if I tell you now?"

"No."

"Good. Then how would you feel if I tell you that I have a terrorist as a relative?"

Xala winced at it. "What?"

"The whole time… Dr. Karl Dietrich… The thing is, he's a former rocket scientist once credited in his works during the time of Nazi Karlsland. After the Nazi regime fell and Karlsland was back at its own ways of being a republic, he retired but he didn't stop on the intense research of rockets and its uses. Then he got the interest of using some of his research into striker development as well. That's when he met Dr. Ichiro Miyafuji, Fuso's leading research scientist and another developer of advanced striker units. The striker unit was first made and presented to the world in 1952. Because of that, the world made their own versions in the name of protecting ourselves from aliens, and the desperate move of using teenage witches for the best results. But with his research coming into a serious note, he started working together with Karl Dietrich on certain units. Together, they were busy."

"And what happened?"

"Well… It's been told to me and concerning commanders in Europe. Truth is, this is classified, but I thought you should know. I don't trust defectors, but I do trust their knack of understanding no matter how complex humanity should be, whether it be from your world or this one."

"I see."

"Dietrich… the same cousin of my father… He's the one responsible for killing off Dr. Ichiro Miyafuji. The only thing that he came after was none other than the experimental striker unit they were both making. And now that I told you… wouldn't you agree if I told you I have a relative whose bloodlust is compared to no other? He betrayed Miyafuji and killed him. And now he's on the loose, even testing that same experimental striker. Capture and kill orders were given to some military personnel to remember as well. What's more is… he's using the war as a smokescreen to cover his presence, making it hard for us to track him."

"Sounds like something troublesome."

"You don't know the half of it, Xala. Apparently, he has men under him, and we believe in our intelligence they came from the former Third Reich itself, which is treated highly as a problem. Whatever his plan is, it's no good for us all. But what I'm really thinking about is his benefactor. I know it's not good to think so much of the options he would take, but what if it was the Red Neuroi?"

"Then he's making a big mistake."

"It's still unsure of what he's doing. But if he sides with the Red Neuroi which I hope isn't going to happen…" Minna sighed and glanced away. "What am I doing? I shouldn't think about it too much."

"Right. Hehe." Xala decided to smile. "I got good news, though. Queen Relius herself will want to meet the rest of the 501st including you."

"Oh?"

"It's not that she wants to rush things but…"

"Is she really rushing? What for?"

"Well… she has her own set of problems which I can tell you are pretty much about to piss her off. But it's not much of a problem if she solves each one step by step. She's patient in dealing with the kind of problems coming her way."

"That's good."

"And it's a good thing she has time for other things."

"Speaking of which, when is she arriving?"

"Sooner than you think." Xala smirked at it, which made Minna raise an eyebrow.

"Something tells me she'll make a fool of many of our witches."

"Well, you said it. She can mask her arrival with transparent camouflage."

"Great. We'll meet a mischievous one then." Minna rolled her eyes up in irritation.

0903 hours…

Erica yawned while she was watching Valerie, Peter and Ursula as they got Reynaldo's new MiG-21 being analyzed in the experimental hangar. 'Wow. I didn't know what they're doing is tiring.'

"You okay?" Ursula asked out of concern while seeing Erica somehow tired.

"Me? I'm good."

"I think that sleeping could really be needed, you know. You're really a bit sleepy."

"Nah. Maybe it was just about last night. For some reason, I stayed awake."

"You couldn't sleep last night?"

"Something like that. I remember I slept at midnight."

"Huh? Then what's this about? You shouldn't feel tired."

Erica just shrugged. "Beats me. Although, I think what you're doing is boring me to death."

And Ursula had a blank expression. "You can just die for making that joke."

Peter cleared his throat so Ursula could hear. "I think you're gonna be stopped before you even make it come true."

"I agree." Valerie replied next. "Hehe. You could be quite the out of control sister out of your little sister's jokes. I remember that one time she was eating a banana in the messhall when you tripped by a banana peeling at the same place. Hahahaha…"

"Uggh…" Ursula groaned while glancing from Valerie back to Erica. "Anyway, just be wise and rest up, okay?"

"Sure, okay." And just as Erica turned around, she saw a flashing figure just at the opposite side of the runway. For a second she thought the flash was just the reflection of the sun from some object. Would that flash move sideways where the sun wasn't even shining at? 'This isn't right.' "Sis…" And suddenly, she was wide awake as she walked to Ursula and held the researcher's hand. "I know you won't listen if I just call you."

"Erica?"

"Just follow me, please?" Erica said it while pulling Ursula as they both walked out of the hangar. Then Erica stopped as she pointed with her free hand towards the same direction she saw that travelling flash. "A little flash that's just distant was travelling around there?"

"Huh? That's what you called me here for? Now you're delusional."

"You tell me to sleep and I listened. Just listen to me as a piece of advice to you like you did for me and trust me, will you?! I'm telling you now because I saw SOMETHING!"

"Okay, okay." Ursula pulled her hand away from the younger sister's grip. "Are you sure it wasn't just shine reflecting from…?" Ursula stopped and looked at her right seeing a distant flash approaching her. "Oh…"

"What?"

"IT'S COMING HERE!" Ursula was about to draw her pistol when the flash was approaching when suddenly the world slowed in her eyes. The flashing streak stopped as the bright glow dimmed while the wind almost pushed her back along with Erica. She saw a figure with white angel wings wearing some sort of armor which is white, and resembles a Neuroi hide. The figure had small hexagon tiles making lines all over the winged figure's body.

Relius smirked at the two blondes. "If you're interested… catch me. Ufufu…" She giggled before flashed brightly and left a sonicboom leaving them the impression the young woman was able to exceed Mach 1 in an instant.

It had Ursula captivated. Who was that young woman? She wore white armor resembling a Neuroi hide. "Who was…?"

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Linda was already flying by herself as usual and passed the two Karlsland witches. 'Damn it, a stray Neuroi humanoid is here?! Why of all times did it have to be when the two are sleeping?!'

Meanwhile… Sanya and Jean were running out from the barracks when they saw the white flashing streak pass them with Linda following from behind. At this, Sanya's antennae responded. "That's where it's coming from!"

Jean widened her eyes while her antennae was pointed towards the flashing streak. "Oh crap… You're right! What the hell are we gonna do about this?!"

Ember and Shirley were walking towards the messhall when they saw the white flashing streak just near the runway. When the two of them stopped and were vigilant, the flashing streak passed them and left a sonic boom, almost knocking Shirley but was caught by Ember. "Son of a…!"

"Char… did you feel that?!"

"Yeah… A sonic boom. Who the hell would…?"

Ember looked at the flashing streak travelling at the other side of the base. "Whatever it is, it's a Neuroi."

Francesca was sleeping at a tree when she heard some sort of flying object approaching her. It stirred her awake as she opened her eyes. The figure was a flashing streak fast approaching her. "Hm?" Then the streak passed her and the tree but left a sonic boom in its wake, knocking Francesca off the branch she was sleeping at. She screamed for a short while before she was able to land on her feet, then immediately felt rage. "YOU DISTURBED MY SLEEP, YOU CREEP!" And with no doubt in her mind, she went for the main hangar, thinking of getting her weapons.

When Minna and Xala were walking through the lobby of the main office building, Mio ran towards them and stopped the two. "Commander… You're not going to believe this!"

Minna winced at the urgency Mio is showing. "Major? Are you okay?"

"No I'm not. A Neuroi hybrid just got past our defenses."

"What?!"

"That humanoid is travelling at impossible speeds right now and not even Captain Williams can catch her."

Xala laughed at it. "Hahaha… She's here."

Minna knew what Xala meant. "Hold on… she's…"

"It seems so."

The commander glanced at Mio, then at Xala, and back at the major again. "Whatever the reason, we gotta stop the humanoid."

"Course of Action?"

"For now, observe."

Then put her finger at her ear, letting the other two know she's wearing an earpiece. "Williams, what do you have?" And after a little while… "What? The streak went there?! It didn't move yet? I see. Hold position outside the mess hall building. Let's get the others out and see what the humanoid wants." And glancing at Minna… "We have to get to the mess hall building."

Delilah was with other sisters while in the air for their patrol when she was hearing the intel from the base. "Roger. We're circling back to give you guys cover."

Frida flew near her sister Delilah. "Deli, what is it? That's a direct communication from the commander."

"Just simple, Frida. You and I will be hovering at the east side of the base while Mel and Lex are gonna hang at the west. A bogey slipped past us and we haven't minded the radar flickers."

"Whoa?! How did that happen?"

"Get the orders out, Frida. This is serious."

"Ya got it!"

Ember and Shirley were running to the mess hall building when they saw the flashing streak go in there. But they stopped to see the other witches join them as well. Shirley was holding a Stoner 63 at her hand. "Char, don't even try shooting blind."

"Tch."

"Char…"

"Hey, I'm just not feeling right, okay?"

"Well we're not gonna treat all Neuroi as evil, okay?"

"Hey, I treat this one as a mean one for disturbing us like that!"

"Oi!" Reynaldo was running and just stopped beside Ember and Shirley. "So, what happened? I heard a fast one got in."

"Kuya!" Jean ran with Sanya and stopped near him. "There's a Neuroi inside the base and that same one must have gotten in that building. Whatever its intentions, it may just be…"

"It's not hostile!" Vera was walking together with Tyler towards the other witches who are curious. "I recognize the feeling when I felt this one."

"Everybody will wait outside!" Minna declared while she walked with Major Sakamoto and defector Xala. "Xala, Major Sakamoto, it also includes both of you." And Minna started to walk by herself while Xala and Mio stopped.

Mio looked at Xala. "I still feel rather worried about her."

Xala smiled at the major. "You don't need to worry about Queen Relius. She's quite gentle even when she's like this."

Esmeralda just arrived and Linda hovered and landed near her. "Linda, I heard a Neuroi slipped past everyone else!"

Linda looked at the entrance while being calm. "Damn. She's fast. She's very fast. I bet she was travelling at Mach 5 or something. But she slows down each time I get left in the dust. She made a fool of me like that."

Perrine looked at Lynette. "No matter what happens, stay vigilant."

Lynette cocked her anti-armor rifle and aimed at the entrance. "It's not a problem."

Yoshika groaned at the sight of this. "Lynne-chan… maybe you shouldn't take this seriously."

"I'm not going to get you hurt in this, Yoshika. I love you. Remember?" Lynette winked and kept her focus on the entrance of the mess hall building.

Delilah and Frida arrived and hovered at the east side of the airbase. "Team 2, this is Team 1! Status?"

"Team 2 here!" Melody was on the other line. "We're in position."

"Good. We're covering from here and making sure to give the streak hell from a long distance proximity so get your game on."

"We have eyes on the building and we're ready to rumble."

"Sure you are. Ufufu…" Lex said it with a giggle.

Minna was walking through the tables of the empty mess hall building. It was a separate building that couldn't be put together on the others as she knew, which was why she was confident she would survive this one way or another. 'Still, is Queen Relius like this?' She looked around when…

"Hello." Relius spoke while being in her civilian clothes sipping some liquid through a porcelain cup while holding its saucer on the other hand. She was seated at a table not far from a small water tank. "I didn't know you had good tea here. You shouldn't hide the porcelain stuff because it's the best for tea."

Minna clearly saw the young woman and approached her. "Identify yourself."

She stopped sipping her tea and looked at Minna. "I'm sorry for causing you inconvenience. I just had to demonstrate how fast I could be."

"That warning's noted, but you didn't need to make a scene." Minna crossed her arms. "Anyway… I'm Lt. Colonel Minna Dietlinde-Wilcke, commander of the 501st in Baltland. I hope our pleasantries go well, if you at least tell me who you are."

"Gladly." Relius puts her cup on the saucer and puts them both on the table. "Then I don't want you to be scared because the next thing's going to be quite sudden." Her clothing glowed brightly white before the glow dimmed and was replaced with the white Neuroi hide armor she was once wearing. With that, she spread her angel wings wide as she stood up from her seat. "Allow me to make it straight: I'm Queen Relius Abernathy of the Blue Neuroi faction. It's nice to meet you, Lt. Colonel."

"So it's true. Vera was right about everything."

"Of course she's right. She proved yourself to you, didn't she?" When Relius asked, Minna didn't feel inclined to answer. "It's okay. You don't need to be too humble if you wish."

"No it's… Is there really a side to the Neuroi that wishes to coexist with everyone else here?"

"This planet is rich with life."

"Yes, but the life here could be abused and…"

"I know what you're feeling." Relius frowned at it. "Karlsland was almost wiped out along with its populace thanks to the sudden placement of the Super Hive at the middle of it. I've seen the sadness that comes from losing your own countrymen especially if it comes as a shock, Lt. Colonel. You can or can't trust me but I still have an objective to be sure the Red Neuroi never take and abuse this planet, Minna." Relius calling of Minna's name rather surprised the wing commander a little. "I'm making sure to get to your level, okay? I'm not one of the king's lackeys. If you heard the story from Vera, I can tell and retell you the story again if you don't feel convinced. And it's all I can tell you."

"Then I'd like to know: What could we repay you with even if you defend and help us?"

"Honestly, we can't, because we already disturbed you all. But if the rest of humanity accepts us, then I'm asking they let us make friends here. What we only request is that we would be allowed to integrate into the lives of many. One of the reasons for that is well… You see… most and if not, all of the organic Neuroi humanoids are… female. Ufufu…"

"I see." Minna's starting to blush. "You don't mean… you'd want them to live happily just as humans do…"

"There's no shame in telling. When I meant about coexistence… I meant I wanted them to be happy even if they mated with males too."

"That answers my question of your purposes at least."

"Still, is that all you're going to expect?"

"No."

"…which is why I need to tell the rest. They have their own questions and they'll all be answered."

"Will you tell them everything?"

"I have nothing to hide, Minna. The last thing I want them to think of us is a matching conspiracy to aliens who mean evil on the rest of you." Relius looked around. "The base is actually nice. Baltland was once called Scandinavia. But thanks to the different politics of this country, it'll soon split."

"You sure are taking note of political activity, even their behavior."

"Every country and set of people have their own, Minna. I get to see the different ideas set for each of them. I observe from all angles and not just one. There's always an opposition to one ideal."

"Not everyone would befriend you."

"Right."

"But you won't be bothered because you'll keep going." Minna glanced away for a while before glancing back at Relius. "You're right. For some reason, you're getting to my level."

"I'm glad." Relius smiled. "I wanted to show myself and the rest of the Blue Neuroi to humanity in peace."

"I hope your first appearance helps everyone then."

"Or maybe they'd think of this as a civil war between two divisions of a single race, which is true."

"They'll have to accept you one way or another. If it's us who has to convince them, so be it."

"Still, I want to do this on my own and whoever's seen me closely and witnessed the truth. The Orussians would most likely speak up positively about me. I have a few things to help them out with now."

"The Orussians?"

"They'll be taking actual photographic evidence of the two factions fighting against each other. The other details will be told to you once our operation is done."

"Operation?"

"I'm sending out Blue Neuroi interceptor fighters to escort the Orussian shuttle being sent out. They know of our existence. They just want to make sure to take photos of the battle-situated units we've sent up to oppose the Red Neuroi forces from the king."

"I see. But how did it come to an agreement?"

"I spoke directly to Brezhnev himself." Relius smirked at Minna. "Thought it's impossible?"

Minna was indeed surprised. "I think I've heard everything."

While outside the mess hall building, Linda was clenching a fist at her back, she looked down trying her best to hide what seemed to be anger. 'Whoever that figure is, it humiliated me. I was doing my best in protecting the perimeter and…'

"Linda, you okay?" Ezmee asked out of concern for Linda's emotions. "You seem upset."

"I'm fine."

"Linda…"

"I SAID, I'm fine." Linda replied it and just as she has, her earpiece transmitted sounds.

"Williams, are you there?" Minna's voice rang out. "Williams?"

"Responding."

"Whatever you see here, I want you to stand down."

"Commander?"

"That's an order, Captain."

Linda sighed before looking at Shirley who's ready with her assault rifle. "Yo, Shirley! You won't need that. Stand down."

Ember raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Minna's orders, Ember."

Ember then glanced at Shirley. "Char, I don't think it's wise you ignore those orders."

Shirley then knew she had to follow, and gave her weapon to Ember. "Someone will have to regret it if things go bad."

"IF, it goes bad, that is."

Yoshika whispered at Lynette's ear. "I think the target's not an enemy."

Lynette was surprised. "Really?"

"Hai. I feel it already. Shirley's standing down too."

"Hmm…" Lynette slowly lowered her anti-armor rifle. "But if things get bad, I'll have to do something, Yoshika."

Delilah was still looking at the direction of the mess hall building when Minna's voice came to her earpiece. "Cobra Lead, respond. This is Minna."

"What's up, commander?"

"Tell the rest of your squad to stand down. The threat I'm looking at right now is NOT a threat. Still, hover to cover."

"Copy that." Delilah then glanced at Frida.

"I know. I heard too."

"Mel here." Melody's voice came up. "What now? We're not gonna hit the figure ourselves?"

"Nope. But don't think it's over, Melody. We still have to secure the place and assess if the figure's a threat if it leaves."

"Roger."

"Lex here. So, what's the figure anyway?"

"If I'm right, it's a humanoid Neuroi but Minna says it's a friendly. Right now, I think that's the case. No gunfire's heard from below and there aren't any explosions either. Still, keep your ears and eyes open, ladies." Delilah's orders just came out when she saw the flashing streak fly out from the building. 'No gunfire. Still…' She observed together with the rest of the dragon witches and they saw the streak leave the airbase heading southwest. "Target's heading southwest."

Minna just walked out of the building while listening to Delilah's report. "Alright, it's making a smoke trail of some sort and it's glowing white and blue. I don't think it'll be possible to ignore this. We'll be following the trail and see where it leads."

"Do that, Cobra Lead. I'll take a few of our witches out and meet her."

"Her?"

"I just talked to the Queen of the Blue Neuroi."

"Blue Neuroi?! Wait a minute… they're the ones who supported the Tanzanian outpost from getting obliterated, right?"

"That's right. Fuzzy reports came in from the same outpost. General Galland gave me rather a good story when witches have spotted different colored Neuroi defending the outpost, but easily left after all known threats have been neutralized. It was mysterious, but it isn't a surprise at all."

Francesca was walking to Shirley and nudged an elbow at her to get her attention. "Hey, Shirley. What's Minna talking about?"

"Beats me." Shirley glanced from Francesca to Ember. "Embs, what do you think?"

Ember narrowed her eyes to the distant smoke trail she's seeing in the sky. "I think we're talking about a friend here. It's not an enemy. When I sensed her, she's… she's a half."

Shirley and Francesca were surprised. "SHE'S A HYBRID?!" Their voices were heard by the rest of the witches.

"Roger. Keep following the trail." Minna just got off the earpiece and approached Ember. "I heard a little while back that she may be a hybrid."

"It's just a theory, commander." Ember glanced from Minna to Shirley, then back to the commander. "I know I can sense Neuroi and their types, but it's more easily I can identify what type of Neuroi whether they're full, or just halves. This one doesn't have a full Neuroi essence and I felt it too. It's the same feeling I always sense from Ezmee, but this one… This one's different, like the figure is… like an angel."

"Makes sense." Valerie spoke out of the blue. "I never heard of a Neuroi who could actually do that. I mean… she's leaving a trail for the four Cobras to follow. Look!" And with her word of request, the others even saw the white trail from afar. "See? Why would the Neuroi do that? Nope. That ain't the right question. Do they do that at all? Nuh-uh."

Minna nodded in response. "That means she's leading us to her ship. I talked to her. The rest of your questions will be answered, girls. So this is definitely the time we know more. Everyone to the hangar, RIGHT NOW!"

"ROGER!" The others excluding Mio and Peter and Tyler replied and they were on their way to the main striker hangar while Reynaldo splits and goes to the experimental hangar to ready his MiG-21. Peter also chose to come with, knowing Reynaldo's plane now has an extra seat to make a whole unit from two people.

Tyler looked at the other witches heading to their striker units and eventually launching.

"Lonely there?" Linda just walked beside him. "So, need a ride?"

"Why not?"

"Well, maybe you're just lonely. You can tell me."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Ever since that freak attack from that airbase, I'm starting to let you grow in a little more."

"I'm starting to grow in you?"

"Um…"

"Or maybe you're just starting to get used to abstain in hitting me crazy like you do with Vera? Heehee…" And Linda's giggling didn't help tame Tyler's blushing.

Vera cleared her throat while signaling them she was there behind them. "Master and I are doing just fine, thank you very much."

Linda raised an eyebrow. "Really? Maybe you're just forcing him."

"It's him who wants it. And I give it to him."

"Oh?" With Linda's smirk, she suddenly held Tyler's hand. "Ty's supposed to love me too."

"He didn't ignore you, you know."

"I got that. But I'm just so obsessed with being on duty, I keep forgetting. And he's got some fault for not remembering he loves me."

"Not helping!" Tyler pouted.

"It's okay, Master." Vera then approached and held Tyler's other hand. "You have me and Linda, and Melody, you know. It's just as long as I'm still your first childbearer."

Tyler sighed. 'Well this is a crappy situation. But it's still good shit nonetheless.'

Linda glanced at Vera. "Good thing you can have a baby but what about me? I'm a half vamp and I'm not even ready yet."

"You can have a baby with him too."

"Oh, come on! You're crazy."

"Ehem…" Tyler got the attention of the other two. "I hate to burst your bubbles, but we gotta go. The others are already up."

Vera smirked while letting go of Tyler's hand, then approached Linda before suddenly kissing her. It took a few seconds before she pulled away from Linda. "You better take care of Master, or I'll hate you for life."

"I know." Linda then glanced from Vera to Tyler. "Ready, Ty?"

"So I'm not? You're hurting me." Tyler jokingly said before they both run in one direction before Linda glowed together with him. Together, they tranformed into the F-18 Super Hornet.

Vera witnessed the F-18 take off and follow on the formation of the other witches. "Good luck, Master. Now it's my turn." And with gladness she glowed while transforming herself to wear the black Neuroi armor accompanied with her blue hexagonal lines on her body before she slid her mask on. 'Let's go.' She ran just before the thrusters on her back worked up before she was propelled forward. She pulled herself up and gained altitude.

Gertrude, Chris and Erica were on the base. "Chris, Erica… We're on standby."

"Sure, Trudy!"

"Got it, Big Sis."

Trude nodded just before she separated from the two.

Chris eventually looked at Erica. "You're a little pale."

"Oh… It's nothing. I just need some rest."

"What? You think it's…"

"I gotta go. Maybe I'll lie down after all. Hehe." Erica's sudden expression got the attention of Chris just before she left the younger Barkhorn behind.

Chris was getting a little suspicious. 'Uh-oh.' And she might be right about it while she related it all from that very night…

0925 hours…

Minna was flying in her striker unit along with Mio, Yoshika, Lynette, Ember, Shirley, Valerie, and Jean. Reynaldo was in his MiG-21 with Peter and Linda's just beside them as an F-18 with Tyler as a helping hand as well. Soon, Vera arrived with Xala to be at the tips of their formation.

Mio flew near Minna while they followed the trail. "What's it going to be like, Minna?"

"Honestly, I can't tell. She's calm… collected… and not emotionless. I certainly haven't encountered someone like her before. What's more is… she has this holy atmosphere flowing through her."

"Holy?"

"She acknowledged she wasn't a saint when I asked her about that feeling. She's just like us and that the very impression she gave me." Minna narrowed her eyes before closing them. "Mio… I want to imagine that we would have gone through something better if the Neuroi were just friendly. They were hostile. But perhaps there really is a side to them that is actually good. Many wouldn't think of it at all."

"Why are you thinking of it now?"

"I want to always think of it, Mio. I don't care whether Karlsland was really destroyed by the same species. She really gave me a completely different meaning to the Neuroi she knows compared to what we know. They were once peaceful until a horrible power corrupted most of their species. She had to move from their own home to a dwarf planet in exile. Eventually, she was finding her way around ever since, but then chose to try stopping the king she tells me. I'm not sure of the rest, and I hope she really tells us."

"You really believe her story?"

"Vera may have a point. I don't want our vigilance to fade though. If we're making a deal with an angel, I think it's easier said than done. But if it's with the devil, which I thank it isn't…" Minna gulped as she kept her focus forward. "…then I hope we'll never get in that situation at all."

The formation flew following the smoke trail left by Relius not aware of what they'll face next…