Chapter 41 – Operation Victory Arrow

Three days have passed since that wacky Christmas Eve. Surprisingly, the whole NJG visited the next day, and they helped us clear our leftovers. Nice help, heheh… But we still ate stuff from back then on the 26th… And on the 26th, Command finally spoke.

"Von Edelweiss here."

"Keitel here."

"Ah, my dear boss. Am I right in thinking that you have some good news?"

"Indeed, you are. There will be a briefing tomorrow at 1200 in the Sicily HQ. You are to take Wilcke and Sakamotom and fly there on your own. I trust you know where that is?"

"Yes, boss, been there a few times. And why are we flying on our own, if I may know?"

"Sending out a plane for you three would be a bother, and you have jet Strikers capable of supersonic flight, so you will arrive faster than any plane of ours."

"Impeccable reasoning, boss. Okay, we will arrive tomorrow at 1200 at the Sicily HQ."

"Correct. Dismissed, Von Edelweiss."

"Jawohl!"

Toshiro hooked the receiver and looked at Minna, who now took her new massager and started it.

"So I guess the final battle is at hand?" she asked with a slightly wobbly voice.

"I don't know exactly, but Keitel sounded kinda tense. He could use that massager of yours, heheh…"

"It's mine and mine alone…" she pouted.

"Sure, sure…" Toshiro grinned.

On the same day, Toshiro was out to take a breather after dinner, and he met one of his otherworldly friends.

"And what are you doing here, Kye dearest?"

"First things first, get me a shell for your cannon."

"The big one?"

"Yes."

"Kay…"

Toshiro rushed back to the hangar and fetched a projectile and cartridge for Kye. She took both in her hands, and after flaring up with a silver aura, she returned both to him.

"Well, that was nice of you…"

"Rei looks a bit better."

"Well, you thanked me once already."

"Thanks are necessary where they are due," she smiled.

"Well, at least now I can cross out that promise I made to Kamiko…" Toshiro sighed. "So, how is Rei in detail?"

"I haven't seen her sad for the past two days, not even for a bit, and I watched her closely."

"You probably suspected something back then already, huh? Ah wait…"

Kye smiled and said, "I chose not to know. Returning to being suspicious - everyone would. She walked out a bit under the weather, and she returned with a smile on her face. And as for that accident at the canyon, my dear redheads got a whoopin' from daddy-o himself."

"The horror…" Toshiro shuddered.

"Doran knows the durability of his daughters' asses."

Toshiro almost burst out in laughter.

"Not in that way, you damn perv…" she sighed and shook her head.

"Well sorry, but after that little contest, we're basically like brother and sister now."

"Weird comparison, but… I guess it would be nice to have a little brother like you, haha!"

"That would suck, because I couldn't marry the Yoshika in your world then, heheh…"

"I think not. So, you're busy now?"

"Adi and her crew visited, and we still have leftovers from the feast… And there will be a briefing tomorrow."

"In the nick of time, the deadline is coming fast…"

"I hope they have come up with something that will work for a change…"

"Tell me about it… Fuckers once wanted to nuke the Neuroi while my girls were still in range…"

"Some people just grew a bit too sturdy spine…" he sighed. "So, I guess you want to train me a bit… Kye onee-chan?" he said with a big grin.

"Can it…" she said with a slight blush. "And yes, let's use your free time for something creative."

And so, we trained with the help of Livy, until I couldn't stand. The later part of that day was simply boring and standard.

"Tooooshiroooo…" Yoshika moaned.

"What?"

"Let's do it…" she mumbled.

"I told you that I will wait until after the briefing. Who knows what they will come up with…"

"It's not like they will move all of the humanity into underground vaults, right?"

"That would be impossible from a logistical standpoint. But it's possible I guess…" he said. "Please, Yoshika, calm your raging maternal instincts, at least for the next twelve hours."

"Okaaaay…" she mumbled. "But I hope when you get to work, it will be at least twins!"

"Two Toshiro Juniors? Fuck the Neuroi! That will be the apocalypse!"

"Hahahaha! If they inherited your character, then even the gods won't help us, hahahaha!"

"Maybe a daughter would be in need, huh? A sweet little creampuff like you…" Toshiro said with a warm voice while toying with Yoshika's nose.

"I have to keep myself from imagining it, or I'll melt on the spot…"

"Heh… So two guys and a gal?"

"Triplets? Toshiro, and how would you do that, huh?"

"It all depends on you, Sweetie. My cannon doesn't shoot blanks, heheh…"

"Oh right, it's on my end… Well, whatever, let's make you a nice breakfast, you'll be going for an important briefing after all!"

"Yeaaaaah… I bet we still have leftovers…"

"Heehee… Would be a shame if everything just went to waste, right? Besides, only this breakfast and we'll be back to normal food."

"Yaaaaay… Seriously, you probably made half a ton of ham…" Toshiro rolled his eyes.

"Wasn't me, it was Trudy," she shrugged.

"Praise the thoughtful Trudy… Ugh…"

"Okay, I'll make the three of you normal scrambled eggs."

"Pleaaaaaase!" Toshiro pled.

"Heehee… Rest a bit, my dear Toshiro," she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I feel guilty for you making breakfast…"

"Don't worry, you'll atone yourself with breakfast in bed every now and then after the war," she winked and started dressing herself.

"I hope it comes to that…" he sighed and relaxed on his back.

Yah… I hope…

After fifteen minutes of Yoshika leaving, Toshiro went to the common room. Surprisingly, only Mio was there beside the two usual cooks.

"Gods damn it; I guess I let my girls go loose…"

"Well, no shit…" Mio said. "But given the circumstances, I guess I can let it slide."

"You letting something slide? Damn impossible…"

"Toshiro, please, even Libau was a camping trip compared to the winter we have now… And the ominous situation we have now… There, we could at least go and kick some ass, and here? We're waiting for doomsday to happen… Maybe that briefing will clear some fog…"

"I do hope… Damn, another day and I'm flying there alone!"

"There where? Berlin? Are you nuts?"

"Toshiro being Toshiro…" Yoshika said.

"Haha! I could have guessed… Saaay… Yoshika, do I feel what I'm feeling?" Mio asked while sniffing around.

"If it's scrambled eggs, bacon, and chive. Just for our three delegates," Yoshika said with pride.

"Gods… To think that scrambled eggs would make mouth my water so much…"

"Heehee…"

Minna soon came down the stairs, looking like a scarecrow battered down by a tornado.

"Lemme guess… Too nervous to sleep?" Toshiro asked.

"Yeah…" Minna mumbled with a sleepy voice.

"Heh… You know you could have come to me and I would calm you down a bit?"

"I totally forgot about that possibility… But… Maybe after breakfast, hmm?"

"Sure, Minna."

"I slept like a log…" Mio shrugged.

"Anything else would be a reason to worry," Minna smiled faintly. "Oh I do hope this will be something conclusive…"

"It should be… Or option zero will have to take effect…"

"You storming the Hive?" Minna asked. "I have a feeling you would be head over heels if you tried it alone…"

"If the military chickens out, that's the only thing we can do."

"I guess… If that monster told the truth, we'll have a hell of a New Year party…"

"Your funny bone sure gets tingled when you're sleep deprived," Mio noted with a smug face.

"Whatever…" Minna yawned. "You know I become a bit… loose when I don't get enough sleep…"

"Yeah, I remember… Okay, Yoshika, how's the food coming?"

"A minute and it will be done! You can call in the rest!"

"Pfeh, why should I… We three will eat now, and the rest of the plebe can wait."

"Did you just label me as plebe?" Yoshika raised an eyebrow.

"No, my dearest and sweetest Yoshika. If we're going into such analogies, you would be a patrician, heheh…"

"Heehee… Right, I'm becoming an Archduchess soon, heheh…"

"I'm totally forgetting about that fact… Damn, things will surely change when you get hitched with Toshiro, right?" Mio asked.

"Yeah… I'll be Trudy's and Chris's cousin, and I'll also become royalty, heheh…" Yoshika giggled.

"I just hope you won't become a posh princess…"

"No, no… First and foremost I'll continue my medical education. My powers may or may not start deteriorating in a few years, so I want to be well versed in conventional medicine."

"You sure are an idealist…" Minna said. "I wonder how it would be if that Neuroi didn't attack you in Gallia…"

"I really don't know… Maybe I would be in Helvetia studying? And Toshiro would only visit me once every month or so…"

"Fate sure has a sense of humor…" Mio mumbled. "You had to die to live the life you wanted…"

"Been there, done that…" Toshiro said with a smile.

"Okay, finished!" Yoshika cheered.

After a moment, the three had cleared their plates, just in time before the rest started coming in.

"What a glorious smell…" Trude said while whiffing around. "Is there more where that came from?"

"Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund, Trudylein. That was an exclusive for our three, heheh…"

"Awww…" Trude sulked.

"But I guess you'll make a nice dinner for our return, right, Yoshika?"

"Of course! No more leftovers, we're returning to proper cuisine!"

"Yay!" the girls cheered loudly.

"Sleeeep…" Minna mumbled.

"Ah, yes. Girls, Minna needs to get a bit of sleep, so if I hear as much as a pin falling on the second floor… Well, shoveling snow is always an option…" Toshiro said with a smug smile. "Come on, Minna, let's get you into dreamland."

"Kay…" she nodded and went with Toshiro to her room.

She lied down on the bed in her uniform and waited. Toshiro flared up with the Sacred Flame and placed his hand on her forehead.

"It's so warm… I feel so liiiiiiight… Heh…"

Minna slowly closed her eyes and her breath slowed down.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, and Toshiro stopped his magic.

"Sleep tight and I'll wake you up later…"

"Mkay…"

Toshiro slowly and silently exited the room and went to the common room.

"So, Minna is sleeping, you're all eating… I'll go do some light training."

"Toooshiroooo… I thought we'd spend the time together today…"

"I'll be back in two hours and take a bath, so we'll have half an hour for ourselves before I'll have to fly away."

"Ah, okay… Still better than nothing, heehee…"

"Wait, does that mean that training is suspended today?" Perrine asked.

"Yeah, it is." Mio said. "Let's say I don't want to piss myself off more than necessary today, hahaha!"

"Oh, how nice," Lynne said. "Say, Yoshika, Perrine, will you help me with my hair?"

"Want to try new styles?" Yoshika asked.

"Mhm!"

"Okay, let's go!" Yoshika cheered and the three went off.

"Hey, Trudy, maybe you could also try something different?" Erica asked.

The three that was going away stopped in place.

"Come on, Erica… My hair isn't long enough for experiments…"

"Ah, I guess…"

The three started walking again, but Toshiro smiled wryly and asked, "Mio, you have pretty long hair… Why don't you try something, hmmm?"

The three stopped again, and this time they started turn around slowly with devilish smiles on their faces.

"W-What?! Hell no! My ponytail is my trademark! Just like my sensei's!" Mio protested.

"Hey, if I was a girl with my hair, I'd experiment the shit out of hairstyles. Mio, go with the girls, that's an order. And I want to see results when I return!"

"No…" Mio whimpered.

"Yes," Yoshika said with a smile when she took Mio's arm. "Come on, it will be fun!"

"But…"

"No buts, Mio. Toshiro gave you an order."

"Okay…" Mio sighed deeply.

"And now, I bid you farewell." Toshiro said. "Time to train a tad."

He walked into the corridor and then outside.

I guess I should pave a path for the Strikers…

After doing that, he was spirited away by Livy.

Upon returning, he made a wild bet, and entered straight into the bath. Much to his satisfaction, he saw his bath supplies in the changing room. After stripping and showering, he went to the bath itself.

"Now, now… Only you here? I'm a bit disappointed…"

"Oh come on, Toshiro… I wanted to be alone with you, and I pulled it through, heehee…"

"A whole night every night isn't enough for you right now?"

"No…" Yoshika said and tugged him into the water. "I want to be with you all the time…"

"If it would be possible, I too wouldn't leave your side…" Toshiro said while embracing her. "But you see, military stuff…"

"Yeah… I really hope the military has thought up something, so we don't have to attack the Hive ourselves…"

"You know that's wishful thinking, right?"

"Right… Warlock… Yamato… I bet they're making something Neuroi related…"

"They aren't, at least not to my knowledge…"

"Oh, how do you know that?"

"Because Ichiro didn…"

"Toshiro… Is my dad involved?"

"Yes…" he sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it wouldn't change anything, Yoshika. And you would be bothered with it unnecessarily…"

"But… But I thought we promised we won't have any secrets…"

"A promise between two men is almost a sanctified form of contract, Yoshika."

She furled her eyebrows, but she stopped being tense only a few seconds later and said, "I guess some secrets have to be secret… And you only didn't tell me for my wellbeing, right?"

"Yup."

"Heehee… You are really the best, Toshiro…"

"Phew… I thought you would brew me a storm…"

"Well… I didn't receive a death notice yet, so it ain't bad, right?"

"Now who's the one with dark humor…? But yeah, I guess lack of news is good news…"

"Maybe you'll get some news? About my dad that is?"

"I'll try to inquire, just for you."

"Thanks… I'll give you a backrub for that!"

"Oh, thank YOU!"

After receiving a proper backrub and some relaxation in the water, they exited the bath and went towards the common room.

"Say, Yoshika, had fun with Mio?"

"Hahahaha! I treated her like a hair dressing doll!"

"Hmmm… I guess only the fear of retaliation from me has kept her at bay…"

"To be honest, I think she liked it, hee…"

"I guess you tapped into her feminine side…"

"Probably… Anyway, you'll see yourself, heheh…"

They went inside and saw Perrine, Lynne, and Mio sitting on chairs in a neat row. Lynne now had a big bun instead of her single braid, Perrine upgraded her straight hairstyle to Lynne's previous one, and Mio now had twin-tails. Seeing that, Toshiro started chuckling silently.

"I fucking knew it…" Mio said angrily and reached to the hairbands keeping her hairstyle intact.

"No, Mio, don't…" Toshiro said after taking a deep breath. "It's just that… You know… I only saw you in plain straight hair and a ponytail… And that one time Maia was here… This is just a shocking development…"

"Oh… Well, maybe I'll keep it then…" she mumbled while twirling one of her pigtails.

"Go like that to the briefing; I wonder how the higher ups will react…"

"You think?"

"Yeah, do it."

"Okay…"

"Hey Toshiro, how's my hairdo?" Perrine asked.

"Sure looks different… But Lynne looks cuter, heheh…"

"Snap, I knew it…"

"But don't worry, Perrine, you're still as cute as you were."

Perrine's face reddened immediately and she started to rub her knees together nervously.

"Well, dismissed all of you. Yoshika, what do you want to do now?"

"Let's go to our room and just lie on the bed…"

"Fine, let's go."

As they entered the room, Yoshika jumped on the bed and lied down. Toshiro, instead of joining here immediately, has rummaged his chest and pulled out a single envelope.

"What's that, Toshiro?"

"Proof of my guilt, so to speak. Here," he said and threw it to Yoshika.

She pulled out the letter, and after carefully reading the letter she said, "Hmmm… Well, I guess I shouldn't worry so much… Good that I'm such a nice girlfriend, because I would probably spy that chest and find the letter sooner, heheh…"

"Well, if you ever feel I'm having an affair, feel free to go through my stuff secretly."

"Are you implying you'll have one?"

"A year and a half ago, when asked about what I would do in the future I would definitely not answer "Fend off the Neuroi threat with the help of the 501st JFW and some friends from another world, plus three goddesses"."

"I'll keep an eye on you…" Yoshika said with squinted eyes.

"First one to get caught cheating, pays the other a million Reichsmarken."

"Deal!"

"Well, with that settled…" Toshiro quickly jumped on the bed. "Why not make out a bit?"

"Just no erotic stuff, okay?"

"Kay."

Some time has passed, and Toshiro stopped his activities with Yoshika, and went to Minna's room. He opened the door without knocking, and saw Minna sleeping soundly on her side, with her face towards him.

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwww… What a cutie… A shame to wake her…

Toshiro approached the sleeping beauty and tried to poke her, but she caught his hand and hugged it in her sleep.

Hhhhhnnnnngg… But no, I have to wake her up! We only have twenty minutes to prepare!

"Hey, Minna… Wake up, damn you…" he said and started shaking her using his trapped hand.

She slowly opened her eyes as if she was in bliss.

"Oh hi… Toshiro… Why did you wake me up?"

"We have fifteen minutes left before mounting the Strikers and flying off."

"Fifteen minutes… Meh…" she said with a dreamy voice.

"Minna, for fucks sake, don't do it to me…"

"But it's so warm and comfy in my bed…"

"Get moving or I'll organize you a wolf ticket into every music academy in Europe."

Minna's eyes widened and she jumped off her bed.

"Fifteen minutes?!"

"Now, better… I guess my little soothing worked to good on you…"

"Uhm… Wait… Oh, right… Toshiro, I was basically in paradise…"

"Good for you. Now, get your best uniform on, all your bling, a cap, warm clothes, and we're meeting in the hangar at 1045."

"Verstanden! Now scoot, you need to get ready too!"

"Yeah, yeah…" he said and exited the room. "MIO! THIRTEEN MINUTES!"

He returned to his room and saw Yoshika pulling out stuff out of his chest.

"Hoho… You think I had an affair with Minna already?"

"Heh… I'm just getting your awards. Should I bother with the one you've got from the IFN?"

"Nah, it's too much."

"Kay. Get your best uniform out of the closet. And shine those shoes!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Toshiro quickly did the aforementioned tasks, and with a minute to spare, he let Yoshika make the last corrections.

"There, now, go. It would be bad if you were the last one to arrive."

"Sure, thanks!"

"Cap!" Yoshika yelled and threw him his cap.

"Thanks again!" he replied and stuffed the cap into his coat.

He ran into the common room.

"Good luck, Toshiro!" Trude shouted.

"Yeah, good luck!" Shirley joined in.

"Thanks!"

He zipped into the corridor, and onwards into the hangar. There he saw Mio, still twin tailed, but there was no sign of Minna.

"Hey, Mio, where's our favorite redhead?"

"I bet she's behind you."

Toshiro turned around, and after a few seconds, Minna stormed into the hangar.

"Nailed it," Mio said.

"Aw… I'm the last one… Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a second…" she said while looking at Mio. "You look cute, you know?"

"Damn it, shut up! It's irrelevant!"

"Well, if we're called in to be demoted, maybe you'll retain your rank after making a cute face, heheh…" Minna laughed slightly.

"We'll know when we'll get there… Mission parameters, Toshiro?"

"We'll be flying 1700 km/h to Sicily, which will take us roughly an hour. At this speed and air temperature, we would freeze, but we'll just hold hands and I'll heat up the atmosphere, so to speak. As a precaution, we're taking our MG's. Nothing more to explain I believe."

"Okay," Minna said. "Sound reasonable."

"Yeah," Mio said. "Okay, let's not dilly dally."

Toshiro opened the hangar door and they took their weapons and mounted their Strikers. While they were warming up their engines, Yoshika peeked in and gave them a thumb up. They gave her back the same gesture and zipped out of the hangar.

Roughly an hour later, they saw Sicily, devoid of snow.

"Razza frazza…" Toshiro mumbled. "Suuuuure… We freeze our damn asses over yonder in Karlsland, on the damn frontline, and SOME people just chill it out in relative warmth…"

"Just remember that Marseille is a stone throw away…" Minna mumbled.

"Don't get me started…"

They landed on the runway and taxied up to the main building. A very familiar face popped out of the building, and immediately stiffened up.

"Ah, the dear Capitano…" Mio grinned.

"M-Mam!" he saluted. "The Generals are waiting in the usual place!"

"Thank you," Minna smiled. "We know the way."

"Yes ma'am!"

After a few seconds Toshiro said, "Poor guy will get a heart attack every time he sees anyone similar to Mio…"

"Serves him right," Mio said with a sense of superiority.

The three stood before the door to the big room. Toshiro and Minna put on their caps, and he knocked on the door.

"Enter," a response came swiftly.

They opened the door and entered the room. Three people were sitting behind the desk in the end of the room, two of them all of they knew, and the third one was debatable. A projector and screen were placed in the room.

"Nice of you to pop up early, Toshiro," Montgomery said.

"Hi Monty, hello Herr Kesselring, hi Albert."

"Good morning, Toshiro," Kesselring responded.

"Same from me, Toshiro," Albert said with a smile.

"Toshiro, who's that guy with the moustache?" Mio asked silently.

"Albert Einstein, a scientist."

"Ah… You probably met him in… Rosario or something?"

"Yup."

"So, take off your coats and caps and hang them on that coat hanger beside you," Montgomery said.

They undressed themselves and Kesselring said, "Today, we will discuss Operation Victory Arrow."

"And what would that operation entice?" Mio asked.

"This will be a desperate, last call preemptive strike on the Mother Hive over Berlin. But my namesake will explain it better," Kesselring pointed to the scientist.

"Ja, indeed," Einstein said and went to the projector. He pressed a button, and a slide depicting the Mother Hive over Berlin from the side. "This is the Mother Hive. A cloud five kilometers in diameter, and fifty kilometers in height. According to the intel of the army, and various calculations, this is what is inside."

He pressed a button, and the inside of the Hive got more detailed.

"This sphere inside of the Hive is the presumed location of both the core and the Matriarch. As you can quickly calculate, as the drawings are to scale, the sphere is one hundred meters in diameter. We don't know the absolute thickness and resistance of it, but according to calculations, this will destroy it.

He pressed the button again, and a slide with an enormous cannon.

"Looks familiar…" Toshiro mumbled.

"Yes, Toshiro. This is Thorshammer, an enormous railgun installed in the Rosario facility."

"Heeeeey! I never received my railgun!" Toshiro protested.

"Problems and problems and problems again, Toshiro. The base design for the E 50 Standardpanzer was already flawed, so Ursula and her men had to work on it from scratch. And then, the Matriarch decided to come onto the scene."

"Okay, I understand…"

"So now, it is doubtful whether a solid tungsten projectile, even the size of a barn, and even if propelled at the mind boggling speed of 173333 meters per second would either hit or have enough kinetic energy to put a dent in the sphere, so thus…"

The slide changed, showing a missile shaped projectile in a cutaway.

"…we developed this, the Siegespfeil, a Magic-fusion Bomb. M-Bomb for short."

"Magic-fusion?" Toshiro asked.

"It's a combination of nuclear fusion with magic infusion, making a cleaner and more powerful weapon than the two separate."

"So you basically want to nuke the Mother Hive?"

"Yes."

"And what role do we play in this equation?"

"As I said, it's debatable whether we would land a direct hit, given the fact that we're shooting from across the ocean. Or if the Matriarch would survive for that matter. Your unit will receive a remote, radio controlled detonator and blow off the Siegespfeil from a safe distance."

"Hoooooooo… Now we'll be detonating nukes… Professor, with all due respect, but did you decuple checked the radius of the blast?"

"Yes. It will only be about two kilometers, and it will be an aerial detonation, anyway, since we can't risk the destruction of Berlin, since the sphere is hovering only a kilometer over the ground. The written instructions will explain everything."

"So that's it? We're placing all our hope in ONE bomb?" Minna asked suddenly.

"Yes and no, Oberst Wilcke," Kesselring said. "If the bomb fails, your unit will enter the fray. You will be provided with night vision goggles."

"Why so?" Toshiro asked.

"Pardon, I forgot to tell." Einstein said. "The ETA for the launch of the Siegespfeil is December 31st, 2340 hrs in this time zone."

"What?!" Toshiro yelled. "You're telling me that you're attacking the Matriarch TWENTY MINUTES before the deadline? For fucks sake… And I thought I was reckless…"

"We have to store a gargantuan amount of liquid ether to power the railgun, Toshiro. Then launch checks, et cetera. We may launch a bit earlier, but… We give no guarantees."

"Damn it… And you just want our unit to venture into the nuclear fallout like that?"

"The M-bomb is a rather clean bomb, compared to a typical nuclear bomb," Einsten responded. "And your magic should shield you from the remaining radiation."

"Yeaaaaaaaah… Shit… Things are getting desperate…" Toshiro muttered. "I guess I have no choice but to clench my teeth and do it…"

"Failure is not an option, Toshiro," Kesselring said. "The hope of the whole humanity rests upon you and your unit."

"No shit…" Mio mumbled.

"That is why we want to bestow you with an honorable rank, Toshiro," Kesselring said suddenly. "During the operation, you will wield the rank of Supreme Commander of the International Anti Neuroi Contingent, effectively being second to God."

"Eh?" Toshiro asked. "Why bother? I'll only have my unit, right?"

"Indeed," Montgomery said. "But in case you will succeed, you will be known as the man who held the highest military rank in recorded history. It's a unique, possibly one-time rank sanctioned by the United Nations, so it's recognized worldwide."

"Okay then…" Toshiro sighed.

"Dismissed," Monty said. "The Captain will give you the necessary equipment."

"Roger," the three responded.

"Oh, Sakamoto?" Kesselring waved his hand.

"Yes sir?" Mio asked surprised.

"If I may say this, your hair is very cute."

"Ah…" Mio's face reddened in a split second. "T-Thank you sir…"

"See? Told ya," Toshiro smiled, and went towards Einstein.

"Hey, Albert… How is Ichiro going?"

"Ah, yes, I waited for the question," he said and pulled a letter out of his pocket. "For the both of you."

"Thanks…"

"And don't worry; we took utmost care with this plan. It's 100% Neuroi Tech free."

"Yeah… I hope so…" Toshiro mumbled and turned around to the girls. "Okay, let's go back home…"

They put on their coats and went outside. The Captain stood before a rather big crate with ropes tied to it. Toshiro shooed him off with a quick gesture. He took the crate, tied it on his back, and mounted his Striker.

"Mio, take my MG."

"Sure," she said with a slightly lifeless voice.

"Bummer, huh? We're only a backup to a weapon of mass destruction…"

"Mother fucking idiots are relying on their wunderwaffen more than on Witches… For fucks sake! But at least they aren't mixing Neuroi in…"

"Yeah, at least that… Well, let's go back home already…"

Over an hour later, they landed in the hangar. Yoshika, Trude, Erica, and Shirley were waiting for them.

"And?!" Trude asked.

"Briefing. Now," Toshiro replied and dropped the crated on his Launch Unit.

"That bad?" Shirley asked.

"Shitty with a chance of fail."

"Crap…" Erica mumbled.

"Toshirooo…" Yoshika chimed in.

"For you, I probably have good news, Yoshika. But first the briefing, and then the pleasant stuff, kay?"

"Okay!"

Toshiro led his whole entourage to the briefing room, yelling in the rest who were holed up in their rooms.

"Now, ladies, don't interrupt me for one second, because I'm slightly pissed off, okay?"

The girls nodded.

"So… Operation Victory Arrow…"

And Toshiro explained what the operation looked like with all the details he was given.

"Now, questions?"

Erica raised her hand and said, "So to recap, if we fail with the bomb, we have to engage the Matriarch, and if we fail with the Matriarch…"

"I won't lie to you… I think if we fail there, it's the end of humankind…"

"But you have your friends from the other world!" Trude yelled.

"They are not engaging in direct combat to preserve the laws of causality of this universe…"

"The what now?"

"If they started helping out directly, as in battling Neuroi, it would endanger the integrity of the world," Toshiro explained. "Weird that I can talk about this…" he mumbled to himself. "Errrr…"

Well, I still can't talk about everything…

"So we'd better prepare," Minna said. "Toshiro, get yourself together, and give us orders."

"Orders… Well…" Toshiro cleared his throat. "From now on, till New Year's Eve, EVERYONE is to undergo training. Night missions are hereby canceled, since they're pointless. Mio?"

"Yes?!"

"Compile a training program for today and the next three days."

"Yes sir!" Mio shouted with her eyes sparkling.

"After supper, we will undergo training with night vision goggles," Toshiro said. "Other than that…" he smiled. "I see that you're behaving quite differently from the time I announced Romagna could die out if we fail Operation Mars."

"We're more powerful, and we have you!" Erica cheered.

"Yeah!" Shirley concurred.

"And if we fail? Well, fuck this shit; at least we'll die as the first ones, hahahaha!" Mio laughed.

"In Toshiro we trust!" Perrine cheered.

"Okay, ladies… I get it… Stop or I'll start crying…" Toshiro said. "Okay, everyone dismissed, but be available once Mio calls!"

"ROGER!"

The girls ran out of the briefing room, with only Yoshika remaining.

"Ah, yes," he said. "Come to our room."

"Kay."

When they sat on the bed, Toshiro pulled out the letter.

"Oh? For both of us? From Daddy!" She cheered and ripped open the envelope.

My dear Yoshika, and future son-in-law Toshiro,

With the final battle drawing in quickly, I need to explain my participation in the operation. I was peacefully taken to Rosario to participate in both research on the Thorshammer and the Siegespfeil. It seems that my humble person was needed as the last piece of the puzzle. I am working with the best of the best: Einstein, von Braun, Oppenheimer, Planck, Schrödinger, Diebner, and even your good friend Ursula Hartmann. And I can assure you, that there never was, never is, and never will Neuroi Tech be used. But this is pioneer work, basically a large scale prototype. I do hope that this will work, but just in case, let me say that it was a pleasure to be your father, Yoshika, and to have met you, Toshiro.

I wish you good luck,

Ichiro Miyafuji

"Oh Dad…" Yoshika said with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Toshiro hugged her and said, "Don't worry, Yoshika. It will be okay…"

"I hope…" she sighed. "Ah, I guess it's time to make dinner!"

"Yup. Go, Sweetie."

Yoshika ran off, and Toshiro lied down on the bed.

The clusterfuck we're in… Sigh… Well, fuck it, time to nap…

Toshiro saw a polygonal figure with red markings. The figure fired an enormous beam at Toshiro. He put up a shield, but after mere seconds, it crumbled.

"Toshiro… Toshiro…" he heard Yoshika's voice.

He opened his eyes and started breathing heavily.

"Toshiro, what happened?"

"I… I guess I had a nightmare…"

"Awwww…" she started patting him on the head. "Everything's okay… Come on, dinner's ready…"

"Sure, sure… Just give me a second to gather my thoughts…"

"Okay, okay," she said with a smile and went out.

Immediately, Kye appeared by his side.

"The future can be changed, Toshiro."

"So that WAS a precognition?"

"I won't tell you how accurate it was, but yes, it was factually based."

"So that fugly thing was the Matriarch?"

"You didn't see her in whole fuglyness, but that was her real strength."

"Shit… Thanks for the tip, Kye."

"No problem, Toshiro. Go eat that dinner now."

"Sure…"

Kye disappeared, and Toshiro went to eat. After dinner, Mio stood up and said, "Everyone, we have training now. Toshiro, you do whatever you like, the rest join me. Minna, you too, please."

"Roger that, Mio," Minna answered.

They all trained until supper, after which Toshiro led everyone to the hangar. He opened the crate on his Launch Unit. Fourteen night vision goggles were lying inside, aside of the detonator for the Siegespfeil and the documentation. Toshiro took one of the goggles and saw that they were slightly modified with a slider on the side. He pulled the slider down, and smoked glass popped from the underside of the goggles. Under the curious looks of the girls, he put the goggles on, slid down the glass again, and lifted the goggles.

"Impressive…" he said.

"Wuzzat, Toshiro?" Francesca asked.

"The detonation of the Siegespfeil will make an epic blast that could damage the unshielded eye, so this is for our protection."

"But why isn't the glass before the lenses of the goggles?" Shirley asked.

"Your eyes would evaporate nonetheless. You forgot how these puppies amp the light?"

"Oh yeah… Clever design, I must admit…"

"Okay girls, take one each and let's go outside and train with them."

Everyone took a goggle, strapped them on, and went outside.

"Ladies, goggles on!" he said after turning on his goggles.

He saw that the girls were flicking the switches on the goggles, and heard the gasps of admiration.

"Nice stuff, huh? Since the sky is cloudless, we can see A LOT. Now, I'll go a bit to the north. When I shout, "Shield eyes," you pull off your goggles and pull down the protective glass. You'll have three seconds."

The girls nodded. Toshiro went down the runway through the corridor in the snow he made for takeoff.

"Okay, shield eyes!" he yelled and disabled his goggles. After waiting three seconds, he flared up with the Flame of Kōjin.

Despite the intense glare, he saw that Lynne, Perrine, and Shizuka failed to do it on time.

"Perrine, Shizuka, Lynne, you're now blind and incapacitated. How do you feel?"

"We're sorry!" the three shouted back apologetically.

"You'll train this in your free time. For now, I wish everyone a good night. Deposit the goggles in your Launch Units and go sleep."

"Good night!" the girls shouted back.

The girls walked back into the hangar, and Toshiro followed them quickly. They all stowed away their goggles in their respective Launch Units and went out of the hangar.

"So, Toshiroooooo…"

"Let's get to bed first, silly."

"Okay, okay…"

They went to their room, and Yoshika quickly undressed herself and lied down on the bed.

"Oh look at you being so eager…"

"So, how will it be?"

"Yuki, Kuji, all engines set to impregnation!"

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Yoshika cheered wildly.

So yes, I did name the operation like that, because it's how "Siegespfeil" translates. Well yeah, also because of the O.V.A. series, heheh…

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