All the witches were standing in a large circle, all wearing long coats and scarves to ward off the cold, Hispanic winter. Those not from Suomus, Faraway Land or Orussia were shivering. At the center of the group was Félicia, only wearing her army uniform, kneeling and connecting a cable inside of an unfamiliar striker.
"It's finally done!" Félicia stood up, closing the hatch. Frost was growing on her glasses, but she didn't even bother wiping it off. She activated her magic, and jumped into the new striker. The sound of the Renault magic engine purred as the unit came to life, and she picked up a cannon that looked much bigger than her usual weapon. The activation created a warm breeze, which the other witches thanked silently.
"Well, try it already!" Jennifer exclaimed, "we're still freezing!" Félicia nodded, and began moving forward. The witches broke their formation, and watched as Félicia began moving around the field at quite the speed. She fired a shot at a pile of snow, creating a plume of the white substance to fly into the air. Félicia came back, and stopped the unit, jumping out with a grin on her face.
"Verdeja 3 is finally complete!" The other witches clapped, making Félicia blush. The unit was her third completed unit, the parts donated from different countries, but the main show was the Renault engine, giving the unit high speed. Félicia had attempted to ask Ford and Maybach, but got no success. She managed to break a deal with the Gallian automobile company, which she would pay back by freeing the country with her unit.
The cannon was a 75mm Witch Gun, which was a greater gun than the 45mm one she used to use. "Well, looks like Hispania can finally create a decent unit now," Marelda said.
The only man in the group, who was standing next to Marelda, nodded, and said, "Si, and we I believe we can begin production by New Years! Good job with the wonderful striker, Sargento Primero Verdeja!" He wore a peaked cap, a trench coat over his army uniform, and had the air of a leader. Félicia hopped off her unit, and bowed to him. "Gracias, Primer Ministro Francisco Franco." He clasped his hands on her shoulders, and said, "no, thank you, my dear." He then walks off to a jeep waiting nearby and waves to the witches as he drives off.
Félicia was jittery with joy, but was soon replaced with shivering. "I didn't notice it was so cold!..." she said, and she sneezed. The other witches giggled, and Marelda gave her a coat. "Let's get you inside." And the witches returned to the base, except for Fauna and Elizaveta.
"I wonder how long it could actually last in this weather," Fauna said, circling the striker, which was beginning to gather snow. Elizaveta took her coat off, and covered the unit. "Wouldn't want it to break now, yes?" But Elizaveta forgot to loosen one of her sleeves, and the coat was pulled when she stepped back, and the strikers fell over, not making a sound due to the soft blanket of snow that cushioned it.
"Oh, nyet!" Elizaveta uncovered the unit, which was now covered with flakes, and sparks could be seen coming out of the hatch. Fauna quickly glanced back at the group, who were already out of sight, and turned back to Elizaveta. "Quick, put it up again!" Elizaveta nodded, and picked the units back up, putting them back on a standing position. They both activated their magic, and brought the unit back inside. Nyet, nyet, nyet!
"Be careful with that, débil Oruso!" hollered a Hispanic guard, snickering as they passed by with the striker. Elizaveta ignored him, and they continued to the garage. They put it down near Félicia's Verdeja 2, and Elizaveta panicked, not knowing what to do.
"Okay, okay, uh…" She opened the hatch, and found that several cables had become loose. "Alright, so if we connect it…" She began connecting the cables, not knowing if they were correct or not. "Liz, maybe we should just tell Félicia…" Fauna said, watching as the Orussian tried to fix the striker in vain. "Nyet! I have to do this myself!..."
Once she believed that everything must be correct, she closed the hatch, and prepared to test the striker. "Hey, get away from it!" Félicia was wearing the coat that Marelda gave her, and jumped between Elizaveta and the Verdeja 3. "I don't want any problems, especially from an Orussian!" Elizaveta backed away, saying, "but, the striker, it's…" "Just go, please!" Elizaveta couldn't speak; she just turned around, and ran away.
"Liz!" Fauna exclaimed, watching as the Orussian got farther away. She looked at Félicia, a scowl on her face. "What was that for?!" Félicia's mouth was shut, and she didn't answer. She then turned around, and looked at her striker again. "Hey, Félicia! Answer me!" Fauna yelled, grabbing her shoulder, and turning her to face Fauna. But when she saw her, she regretted doing so.
Félicia was in tears, fog stained her round glasses. She was sniffing, and was hugging herself to stay warm. "I-I'm sorry…" she muttered softly, "I d-didn't mean to…" Fauna was shocked, but she gave Félicia an empathetic hug. "Tell me your problem…"
Félicia looked at Fauna's eyes, and began to speak. "It's because of the civil war… The first time in a long time that humans fought humans… Brothers killed brothers… Blood was all over the streets… It was a nightmare…"
"My mother was a witch during the time. She couldn't fight, but she took care of the wounded men with what magic she had left. I sometimes came to watch her work, and I sometimes helped with whatever ability I had…"
"One day, there was a raid on the hospital she was practicing at. I was there, hiding underneath a bed, and she was at the door, trying to protect the patients still inside. She… She…" Félicia bit back her lip, but continued. "She was shot…"
"When the person came in, I was crying silently, shutting my mouth with my hands. I looked at the equipment he was using, and all of it had the Orussian star on it…"
"Even after the war, the Orussians gave us a huge debt, and we still can't pay for it, making our economy as it is now." She then stopped talking, and sobbed quietly. But the economy isn't the reason… Fauna continued to hug her, and said, "just let it out…" Félicia then couldn't take it, and cried out loud, filling the now empty garage with sadness.
After what seemed like forever, the base siren wailed. "Enemy formation, coming from the east!" yelled a guard outside, as they prepared the Anti-Neuroi guns.
Fauna and Félicia had fallen asleep, but Fauna was quickly awakened by the commotion. She shook Félicia. "Lisa, wake up!" The Hispanic witch woke up drowsily, but upon hearing the siren, she sprang into action, getting up, and getting into her striker. Fauna ran to her own striker, and jumped into it, picking up her 76mm gun quickly. "Félicia, let's give the others a break!" Félicia nodded, and jumped into her Verdeja 3, grabbing the 75mm howitzer.
"This is Pool, rolling out!" "Verdeja, engaging!" The two activated their magic engines, Félicia's making an odd noise as it charged up. That doesn't sound good… Félicia thought, but the strikers were able to move forward, so she put the thought aside, following Fauna.
The Neuroi that were attacking were a mixture of Gallian B1's and H35's. They weren't very effected by the weak Hispanic Anti-Neuroi guns, which were 50mm at best. "Pool, we're coming to help!" Marelda said, but Fauna answered, "no need, we'll take care of this!"
Fauna and Félicia stood side-by-side, and they fired their weapons at the horde of Neuroi. The winter wind blew the snow to the sky, creating a blizzard which lowered the sight of both the witches and aliens. "Don't worry, we'll hit them at blank range!" Fauna yelled, and they waited for each Neuroi to get closer before planting a round into its armor.
"I think they're falling back!" Félicia exclaimed, but suddenly, her movement was frozen. No! I thought I already installed the heater!... She couldn't see Fauna anywhere, barely even able to see a meter in front of her. "Fauna?! Faunaaa! Help!" She kept calling for her, but no one answered, and it seemed she couldn't eject either. What's going on?!...
That's when her entire body froze. She heard the high-pitched scream of a Neuroi right behind her, and a red glow was casted in front of her. Is this it?... She shut her eyes, and said a prayer, asking god to forgive whatever wrong she may have done. She heard the shot, and waited for the light to come to her. But the beam never hit.
Wait, that wasn't a laser shot… She turned her head around as far as she could, and the Neuroi that was about to obliterate her was now lying on the snow, a figure standing next to it, a trail of smoke coming from the cannon she was holding.
"Elizaveta?!" The Orussian ran up to Félicia, and opened the hatch to her striker. "Quickly, tell me how to fix it!" Elizaveta exclaimed. "What? But it's fine!..." "Nyet! I broke it, and I'm so, so, sooo sorry! So please tell me how to fix it!" Félicia was angry, but also thankful for someone coming finding her. She saved my life... Even though I was so evil towards her... She began guiding Elizaveta on how the cables should be connected, and the process was done in minutes.
"It's done!" Félicia attempted to charge up the magic engine again, and it roared like it normally should, the heater beginning to work. I have to thank her later... "Gracias! Now let's take care of the rest!" The two began shooting at the broken Neuroi formation, Elizaveta leading them by reporting positions. Soon, the snow cleared, and the sight of several tens of Neuroi wrecks littered the field.
They found Fauna nearby, sitting on a mound of snow, shivering as the cold struck her. "Damn aliens… How do you stay so warm…" The Hispanic and Orussian witches ran to her, and picked her up with their shoulders, bringing her back to base, where the other witches had gathered, their equipment on.
"Aw, we missed it!" exclaimed Karlyn, as Sandy and Kanako helped Fauna get inside. The other witches sighed in relief, and they began putting the equipment back where it belonged. After putting her T-34 tracked legs back, Elizaveta shyly went up to Félicia. I have to apologize to her...
"I'm sorry comrade, if I didn't break it, you wouldn't have been in trouble…" What happened next shocked everyone within a 5 meter radius. Félicia had planted her lips on Elizaveta's, her face red from the cold and the act. She slowly stopped, and continued to blush wildly. "I-I forgive you… And I'm also sorry for getting mad at you…"
Elizaveta's mouth opened and closed like a fish, and Karlyn blew out a wolf whistle. Félicia turned away, wondering why she just did that. Idiota, idiota, idiota!... A normal thank you, why didn't I just give a normal... Felicia looked at the taller witch. "I didn't mean to do that…" But Elizaveta cut her off by returning the favor, this time kissing her longer. Félicia couldn't turn away, nor did she want to. The other witches watched with curiosity, no one trying to stop the two. It was a miracle, and no one stops a miracle.
The days of hatred between Hispania and Orussia might be over soon…
Next time, on Rolling Witches!
Kanako: Fauna-san, did you see Elizaveta-san and F-
Fauna: Don't get your hopes up just yet.
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