"" Dialogue
'' Thoughts
Disclaimer: I do not own "Strike Witches", so this is just a fan made.

Chapter 8: First Assignment

(or rather forced assignment)

Unlike the time Shizuka escorted Yoshika to Europe, they were not going to travel by ship but by plane, it seemed the brasses in Europe required their presence as soon as possible.

The base they were to depart from, was further away from the port at Yokosuka from where Yoshika usually departed from, and it would take them a couple of hours of travelling by land to reach Yaizu.

During their way, both witches remained mostly silent with a small talk in between, and even though they try to avoid the topic of their upcoming assignment, they were worried about it as their absent expression on their faces betray them and it did not help the fact that they were being accompanied by the driver who did not look very friendly.

After the sun had set, they arrived at the Shizuhama Air Base, and as they were accessing it, they could notice it was well maintained as the whole was well illuminated. Mio was guiding the crewmen to load what seemed like a pair of two striker units into the H8K.

"Look, it's a Shiden." Shizuka commented.

"And the Shinden." Yoshika added recognizing the striker she had been using for half a year now.

Then, they got out of the truck and Mio came to them to greet them.

"Miyafuji, Hattori, it's good to see both of you are doing well." Mio greeted them.

"Sakamoto, it's good to see you again." replied Yoshika.

"Good evening, Major." added Shizuka as she went into the salute pose.

"There's no need to do that, no one else is here is working this late." Mio said to Shizuka's disappointment.

"All right then." replied Shizuka with a hint of redness in her face as she stopped the pose.

"Sakamoto, are those our striker units?" Yoshika asked as she continued watching her striker.

"Indeed, they are, they have been overhauled and they are ready." Mio replied as the crewmen finished loading the pairs of strikers into the plane, "Miyafuji, Hattori, please come with me to the office, there are some documents you need to sign before we depart."

As they headed to the office, Mio could not stop thinking about the Shinden because even though, the engineers behind its the development thoroughly inspected it, they were not able to find the cause behind the partial melt of its sparking plugs. Yet, there was nothing she could do about it other than warning Minna and being sure that the Shinden was properly maintained.

The trio were waiting in the office and after a few minutes, Hijikata came, greeted the two recently arrived Witches and gave them the documents Mio had instructed him to. Yoshika signed them without giving it a second thought.

On the other hand, Shizuka was more careful regarding what she signed; thus, after giving it a quick overlook, she did not find anything remarkable other than they would be given extra budget after their great performance in Berlin. After they signed up the paperwork, their luggage was embarked, the trio was ready to board the plane that would take them to Europe once again.

It was a long journey and the H8K had to make a short stop in Chittagong, Aotearoa in order to refuel and to check that everything was working as intended. There, Yoshika did not even to walk off the plane and just stayed there, seemingly sleeping. Meanwhile, Mio and Shizuka stretched their legs outside and after a few minutes, they continued flying very early in the morning.

After it had dawned, Yoshika woke up still sitting in the same place, her legs felt a bit heavy yet a bit warm.

"Shizuka…" Yoshika whispered as she noticed she was sleeping over her legs, covered with a small blanket. Then, she tenderly caressed her black hair. "I won't fail you, not this time." She murmured as she delicately played with it.

Then, she gazed at the window, and the landscape gave her memories of the journey she made a few days ago to her homeland. Though she wished she could stay there more time with her family, Shizuka and Michiko, she had a duty to fulfill in Europe but at least she got to the opportunity to, and she was glad for that.

"It was quite the journey, wasn't it Miyafuji?"

"It really was." Yoshika sighed, then she turned her head to face her former leader. "Sakamoto, you're awake." she said a bit surprised.

"I'm a light sleeper."

"I, too, nowadays." Yoshika commented gazing at the window again.

"When I was your age, I used to travel such long distances too."

"Huh, I didn't know that." She added now looking at her.

"I met some many people and friends traveling, that's when I met Minna." She added with a pensive tone.

"I thought you met her in Britannia."

"After the evacuation of Libau…"

"Good morning, Yoshika, Major Sakamoto." Shizuka added as she rubbed her eyes. "Are we there yet."

"Good morning Shizuka." Yoshika cheerfully replied.

"Good morning, Hattori." Mio sighed, "we're not quite there yet."

"As I was saying after the evacuation of Libau…." Mio added and then she started to tell them the story about how the 501st came to be, to Shizuka's awe and Yoshika's too in less extent as she was still worried about encountering a Neuroi in their way to Europe as it had happened to them. But then, she could notice a Shiden was ready to depart with a Type 99-2 at hand, so she tried to focus on the story.

Thankfully, it was not necessary and after almost a day of traveling and by the evening, they were now close to Europe, it was rather a cold windy day, and it seemed that the sun was not going to appear in what was left of the day.

They arrived later than what they expected to Karlsland as the sun had already set by the time and the night was as cloudy as it could get and with no moon in sight. The only light that could be seen at the distance was of control tower of the Innsbruck airport, blinking its red warning light.

Shortly after, they landed in the airport, and the trio got out of the plane, still the Witches were a bit disappointed noticing no one was there.

"They are already waited for us in Munich." Mio commented when she noticed their gloominess, and then Mio and Shizuka headed to the hangar to communicate Minna of their arrival.

Meanwhile, Yoshika just stayed there, amid the runway track, lit by its dim lights, watching the barely visible snowy mountains. And although the cold wind blew strong, ruffling her hair and her clothes, she did not really feel anything other than wistfulness a bit recalling the months she spent in Helvetia.

"Miyafuji, we're ready, let's go." Mio said yet Yoshika just stayed there, seemingly not having heard her.

"C'mon, Yoshika." Shizuka said as she grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry, I got a bit lost there." Yoshika added with a neutral tone, then the trio headed to the jeep that would carry them to Munich. Fuso had not sent too many supplies, therefore only a truck towing a small trailer was to follow them to the base.

Mio got behind the wheel, making Shizuka sigh in relief; she was not sure the reason behind that response but could more or less understand why she was so relieved that Yoshika was not behind the steering wheel, after all it was Shirley who taught her how to drive.

Though, it was dark, the route was partially lit by lamps, making it less dangerous to drive, nonetheless Mio was still cautious and was driving at normal pace, on the slower side.

An hour later, Mio signaled the truck to stop, and both did so. Then, the trio began eating what they brought from Innsbruck, but Mio only drank coffee, yet it had become a bit foggy.

"Sakamoto, I can continue driving from now on if you want to."

"There's no need to worry, I'm fine." Mio replied as she tried to contain a small yawn with her hand.

"I'd drive but I don't have much experience driving like this." Shizuka regretfully added.

"I'm fine ladies." Mio added as she got up from the truck and stretched herself. "I better communicate Minna our current status." Then, she went to the back of jeep to the radio out, leaving the two Witches gazing each other.

"…. I already sent Sanya to escort you."

Mio sighed, "All right then." Even though, she tried to convince Minna there was nothing to worry but she failed to.

"Let me know when know when you came in contact with her."

"Understood, Mio out."

"We better be in our way." Mio added as she got into the jeep again.

Then, both engines started, and the smallish convoy continued to Munich, still the weather became even direr as the fog had become even denser and only the front of the vehicle could now be seen. It had become one of the few times, Mio missed her magical eye, but at least, the streetlights provided the much-needed guidance. The moisture in the environment signaled that it could rain soon, the trio hoped to arrive before it started, as the jeep did not provide much cover if any.

There was a new sound besides the engines, the wind, it had started to blow even harder with cold air, and then, the lights of the street suddenly turned off, making both vehicles stop.

"Minna, do you read?" Mio asked through the radio but as only static came through.

"I repeat, do you read." She tried again with the same results.

"It seems there's a power outage in Munich too." She acknowledged yet she started to drive again as there was nothing to do for now and the lights of the truck were barely enough to continue moving forward.

"Maybe it's a Neuroi?" Yoshika wondered.

"That can't be, there hasn't been reports of Neuroi sights here." Mio answered.

"What's that?" Shizuka enquired pointing in the sky.

"I don't see anything." Yoshika replied until a red beam came through the sky towards them, but she was able to put out a shield just before it impacted them. "That was close, way too close." She added with a hint of fierceness in her tone while Mio tried to keep control of the vehicle and so did the truck behind and both stopped abruptly.

Then, the beam stopped, and Yoshika slowly dropped her shield, still she kept extending her arms. "I can't see it, it's too dark." Yoshika added as she struggled to locate the enemy.

"Shizuka, grab your striker to engage it." Mio ordered.

"Roger that." Shizuka added as she jumped out of the truck but then the fog above them became red again as she rushed towards the back of the truck.

"Yoshika be ready." Mio said.

"Don't worry." she replied as she extended her legs a little but to throw out her shield again but shortly it became apparent that it was not targeting them but the truck behind them.

"Get out of there, now!", Mio screamed but before they could escape the truck, the Neuroi shot. "Hattori!", Mio screamed.

"I'm on it." Shizuka replied as she put out a shield to protect the truck and the Neuroi began shooting both vehicles from many angles.

"Ma..jor…, I can't get any closer." Shizuka exclaimed while struggling to maintain her shield and even standing on her feet.

"Damn it." Mio cursed as she got out of the jeep to get a gun but even if she shot it from her current position, there was no way she could take it down as it was hiding in the fog, nevertheless, it was worth the try and it still could at least give them some time.

Then, Yoshika's shield became big enough to cover both vehicles and the trailer as well. Yet Shizuka's shield was still there.

"Get the Striker." Yoshika exhorted her.

"But…." Shizuka hesitantly replied.

"Trust me." She added with a firm tone of voice.

"Okay, then", she replied as she slowly put away her shield, in awe of the enormous shield.

Mio could notice Yoshika seemed to be dealing better than Shizuka with the beams as the Neuroi continued its assault. Both rushed into the truck to get their guns and Shizuka took off as soon as she could, but as she ascended, the beams stopped.

It had started to drizzle, making it even harder for her to locate the enemy.

"Major, there's nothing up here." Shizuka said through her transponder.

"Keep looking but be careful." Major ordered her, "Sanya, do you copy?", but there was no answer.

"Sakamoto, I must help her." Yoshika requested trying to stay calm.

"Be careful and stay close by", Yoshika then rushed into the Shinden and took off and a couple of minutes went by and both vehicles were still stopped.

"Hattori, Miyafuji, status report." She asked but there was still no answer,

"Do you copy?", only static came through the radio. 'Where are they?' Mio asked herself, maybe the communications were being jammed, but they must still be close by and hopefully unharmed as the sky had not turned red again.

"Miyafuji…" She gulped. "Yoshika, Shizuka, do you copy? Come back."

"Copy that, I've found Shizuka, but no Neuroi in sight." Yoshika replied after a few seconds that felt like to minutes to her.

"Let's head back to the base, there's nothing to do but from now on, I need both of you to escort us." ordered Mio.

"Yes ma'am." Both Witches said in unison, and hearing their voices again relieved her a little but there was no news regarding the whereabouts of Sanya, that did not sit well with her.

The drizzle had become rain while the inherit magic of the Witches protected them of the rain and the cold weather. Mio was still worried about them as the wind now even shook the truck slightly, if they had to engage the enemy, it would be hard to maneuver, they had experience fighting like that but that did not make it any easier, still now she could see them flying just above her or at least their navigation lights.

A few minutes later, the fog became lit again in front of them, and Yoshika put out two shields, one for them and one further away in front of the jeep while Shizuka readied her gun, but to their relief, it was not red but a rather bluish tone.

"Sanya!" Both Witches said in unison relieved that they finally found her Orussian friend. But as they got closer to her, they noticed she seemed to be flying a bit erratically.

"Sanya what happened?" Yoshika asked as they rushed towards the night witch.

"A Neuroi attacked me, but I wasn't able to detect it." Sanya replied with a hint of uneasiness in her voice. Her right striker unit seemed to have sustained some damage as there was smoke coming out of it.

"Are you able to fly?" Mio asked after hearing what the Night Witch just said.

"Yes, Major and it's good to hear you again." She added, still, both Witches carried her in their shoulders just as prevention as it seemed she was fatigued.

Mio would later request her a give her report of what happened, still there two more pressing matters now, the communication had not been reestablished nor the electricity, this worried her, but at least the base was not that further away.

In the last part of their journey, there were no more surprises and after traversing a forest and smallish bridge they had finally made their way to the base. The entrance was only illuminated by the lights of the trucks.

By the time the trio landed in the hangar, they were already soaking wet, then the 501st came to receive them or at least some of them as the group was not complete.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Yoshika." Lynette hugged her with teary eyes.

"Why would not I be?" Yoshika replied with a smile as she hugged her back. "I'm sorry for wetting you." She added, yet Lynette just hugged more tightly.

"Don't be silly." Lynette commented while Shizuka just side gazed them.

"How have you been, Hattori?" Perrine asked her as she handed her a towel.

"I've been fine, Lieutenant Clostermann." She added letting her hair down to dry it. "Thank you."

"I hope everything went well at the Witches school in Fuso." The Gallian Witch commented.

"We did a great job with the cadets; Major Sakamoto is a great teacher just as usual."

"Can't say I'm surprised…."

At the same time, Eila checked on Sanya.

"Are you sure you don't you want to go to the infirmary?" Eila asked noticing her tights were torn.

"I'm…" Sanya yawned, "…fine, I just need to sleep." She added as Eila caught her, so she did not end up falling to the floor.

Simultaneously, Minna went to see the former squadron leader as she got out of the jeep.

"It's been a while, Mio." Minna asked.

"Just six months, it's good to see you're doing well."

"You could say that." Minna sighed. "So, what happened out there?" Minna asked addressing the group.

"It seems there's a Neuroi lurking halfway from here and Innsbruck." Mio added.

"That's strange, there hasn't been sights around here, and what type it was?" Minna enquired them.

"We couldn't have a visual." Shizuka added with a bit regret.

"Sanya?"

"I wasn't able to detect either."

"It's my fault Sanya, I should've come with you." Eila commented as she dried her hair with the towel.

"It was only an escort mission." Sanya added, yet Eila did not look too relieved.

Minna sighed. "I guess that means there's nothing to do for now."

"By the way, where's Captain Barkhorn, Hartmann, Francesca and Shirley?" Yoshika asked, noticing that it was awfully quiet there and the candles did not help either with the mood.

"They would arrive in a few days, Yoshika." Minna commented with a Neutral tone. "Better go to your designated rooms, we're going to sortie at seven hundred hours tomorrow. Please girls, show them around."

"Yes Ma'am." The two European Witches said in unison and then, they headed to the inside of the base.

Everyone had already lighted candles around base and in their assigned rooms. The crewmen were about to unload the supplies, but Minna ordered them to go to rest, there was no point in doing it now.

Mio and Minna on the other hand headed to the latter's office, to discuss their next steps after this incident.

Sanya and Eila were as usual, designated to the same room, and as soon as they entered it, Sanya took off her clothes and laid in the bed, now just wearing her underwear. She was accustomed to the cold and with the help of her magic, she was not bothered at all by the weather. Eila folded her clothes, put on her usually nightwear, blew off the candle and then went to lay by her side.

Though, she could not sleep as she was blaming herself about the fact that Sanya was almost hurt, she should have foreseen that or at least, she should have accompanied her.

But everyone at the base believed that it was only an escort mission, that was why Minna sent her alone, unexpectedly as they were supposed to arrive earlier. Regardless, it seemed that now even just that type of mission would require backup but for now she was thankful that all of them made it to the base.

Meanwhile, unlike her time on Den Helder, this time Yoshika was to share the room with Lynette. As Yoshika entered the room, she noticed there were a bunk in the room as well as two chests with a few drawers on them, yet she had already wetted the floor, and Lynette handed her a towel.

"Let's get you something dry." Lynette added as she searched in the drawer.

"Thank you, Lynne." Yoshika said as she dried her hair, then she took off her jacket.

"So how was the trip to Fuso? Did you have any problem?" She asked as she handed her a nightgown.

"Ehmm, nothing really unexpected happened." She commented with some hesitation taking off her swimsuit and then drying her body. "Though, it was a farther way than what I expected."

"Well, you arrived safely, I'm glad for that." Lynette added as she put on her nightgown, still wondering how Minna let her do that kind of journey by herself and when she heard they could not locate her, again. She was about to sortie to search for her all the way to Ostman, but thankfully, it did not have come to that.

After Yoshika finished putting on the nightgown, she noticed there was a bunk near the window. "Is the one above mine?" She asked noticing the one below looked that it had been occupied.

"It is, but you can sleep with me if you want to." She added with a polite smile.

"Thank you, Lynne." She added, then she laid on the bed and, Lynette blew off the candle and she laid next to her. A few minutes later, it seemed the Fusoan Witch had already fallen asleep, as it could be heard she was snoring a little.

Nevertheless, as Yoshika was laying in her bed, Lynette could not help it but remember the last time she saw Yoshika, she still wanted to talk about what happened the day she departed, but now, she was just sleeping, not sobbing, and now cuddled on her chest and that was enough for her.

At the same time, Perrine also guided Shizuka to her room or rather, shared room, the Fusoan Witch could not help it but be a bit disappointed about the fact that she was not going to share the room with Yoshika this time.

"... Thank you, Lieutenant Clostermann." Shizuka added as she took off her wet clothes and put on the nightgown, yet it felt a bit tight.

"There's nothing to thank me for, better go to sleep, we cannot be sure who is going to sortie tomorrow in the morning."

"You're right, Lieutenant." Shizuka added, then she headed to the bed on the other side of the room and laid on it.

As she tried to sleep, she was not able to as she had started to remember the past days she spent in Fuso, at Yoshika's home, sleeping the two of them together, cuddled.

'I better get some rest.' Shizuka said to herself turning around and after a couple of minutes, she had fallen asleep.

Meanwhile at the office, the wax of candles had almost been completely burnt out, but Mio and Minna were still on their sit, next to the desk discussing about what happened yesterday. Wondering whether the surveillance team around Venezia or Karlsland had failed to detect the Neuroi, or it was something else and wondering if the power outage had something to do with it.

"… Let's send a small team to locate it." The former Witch stated.

"If Yoshika dealt better with its beams, she should be on it." Minna decided as she served a cup of tea.

"No thanks." Mio yawned as she declined politely the tea. "I'm still not sure if Miyafuji will be rested enough to sortie tomorrow." Mio advised as she herself was tired of traveling for a whole day.

"She'll be, I can guarantee you do that." Minna proclaimed drinking a bit of tea to warm herself up.

"You're the Wing Commander, I trust you. I'm just an overseer nowadays." Mio declared.

Minna was left wondering after hearing that comment, "let's hope, the surveillance team do not let us down." She added with a neutral yet pensive tone, finishing her tea just later.

Hours Later

The break of dawn had arrived, but the fog still remained but it had become less dense, at least the rain had stopped, and they were not attacked in the night, though the electricity had not been restored either.

Nevertheless, nothing of these mattered to Yoshika from making breakfast for the rest of the girls even if the kitchen was just illuminated by candles and the still dim sun light that came through the windows.

As she was making it, Yoshika could not help it but notice that this kitchen was not as well-equipped as the ones she had used previously, nor she had lots of ingredients to prepare the food. She was going to ask Minna later what was going on and if it was necessary, she was going to buy what she needed later.

Still, it did not stop her from preparing something tasty with what she had available, as she was finishing preparing it, Lynette arrived to help her, and they completed it together, and a few seconds later, the girls had started to come, first Minna, then Shizuka. She was asked where Perrine was, but she told them that she went to look for Mio as she was in her usual warming routine.

As they were serving the food, Surprisingly, then Eila arrived carrying a sleepy Sanya. It seemed that after what happened yesterday, she was still drained but unharmed or it was just the fact that she was not a morning person by any means. Shortly afterwards, Mio arrived followed by Perrine. Then Yoshika and Lynette served them food.

After all the girls had been served the breakfast, the two cooks put away their aprons and sat down with them to eat, and they all continued small talking about their whereabouts since they parted ways after the liberation Berlin.

A few minutes later almost all of them had finished eating, thus noticing that Minna stood up to give an announcement.

"After what happened yesterday, Mio and I agreed it would be better to first send just a small team for this mission." The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

Then Mio stood up. "And we have already selected the most adequate witches for this mission" she added, and all the Witches were carefully listening.

"Juutilainen, Bishop, and Miyafuji please stand up." she ordered them, "prepare to sortie."

"Yes ma'am." they said in unison in attention pose.

The rest of the Witches did not question their decision, but Shizuka was visible disappointed she did not get to be part of this mission with Yoshika, after all she had already faced these Neuroi but there was nothing she could do as orders were orders.

"We also wanted you Sanya to be part of the mission you have used all your magic yesterday and it would be irresponsible to send you in this state". Minna stated.

"I'm sorry you have to do all of this." She quietly said.

"No one said that Sanya, we're going to take care of it." Yoshika assured her.

"I'm going to be sure of it" Eila reassured her said as she put her hands over the Night Witch shoulders causing her to smile softly.

"We'll be back soon." Lynette said as they exited the room.

"Be careful out there" Perrine said.

"We will, don't worry" Lynette answered.

"Don't do anything reckless" Shizuka murmured, yet Yoshika hear her, stopping before she exited the dining room.

"I'll try." Yoshika sighed, and then she closed the door and the group headed to the hangar.

As they were walking towards it, Yoshika could notice that there were some shattered windows, webs, half painted walls, the floor was not in a good shape neither were the walls, the base seemed worn out. It really seemed to her that it had not been given maintenance in a long time.

She was going to at least give it a cleaning when she came back of this mission, but it would not hurt to ask why it looked this way; "Commander Minna why does the base look…., I don't know…., old?".

"Oh, we've just moved here a few days ago and we haven't had much time to take care of it." Minna confessed with a hint of disappointment.

"I'm going to help to clean it after this mission," Yoshika answered but Lynette grabbed her hand and made some sort of signal with the other hand.

"Thank you, Yoshika, we really appreciate the extra help." replied Minna with a soft smile.

Now, in the hangar, Yoshika noticed there were a few packed boxes alongside the now unloaded supplies from Fuso. 'It really seems they arrived a few days before we did', she thought.

As she headed to her Shinden, she also saw that there were ten launching units, 'that's weird, maybe the rest haven't been sent yet.' She wondered.

Before jumping into the Shinden, she gave it a quick look, and though it had brand new paint, there still were a few, almost unnoticeable, chips here and there giving her memories of the days she spent training with it.

Meanwhile Eila and Lynette were already wearing their striker units, waiting just for her. "Is something wrong Yoshika?" Minna asked as she put her hand over her shoulder, which made her stop daydreaming.

"Nothing, everything's fine" she replied as she went back to herself, jumping into the Shinden shortly after.

"Miyafuji, you're going to be in charge of leading this mission." Mio announced.

"Me?" Yoshika asked surprised wondering why they could have asked her that.

"You are the only here who has experience with this Neuroi." Minna stated.

"But I've never leaded a mission before." The Fusoan Witch noted.

"Yoshika, you have more than enough experience to be in charge of a mission." Minna stated. "And you both had experience fighting in the fog." Minna pointing both Yoshika and Eila.

'They are not going to change their minds' Yoshika said to her own head. "I will do my best". she averred.

"And I'm going to help you." Lynette added.

"Yeah, the sooner we deal this, the sooner we can came back." Eila said.

They equipped their respective guns and ammo, three magic circles appeared, the engines started to rev.

"Preparing to takeoff." The three girls said in unison, and they did so after Minna signaled them.

"Be careful out there", added Mio as they disappeared.

Had not the weather improved, the mission would have been postponed until Sanya could become part of it, the visibility was still far from ideal, but it was still doable, and both Mio and Minna trusted that the girls could succeed in this first assignment.

As they flew, Eila noticed something different in Yoshika, "Hey Miyafuji, doesn't your tail look different?" Eila enquired.

"Now that you mention it, it looks different." Lynette added trying to remember the last time she saw her tail but she did not notice anything.

"Shizuka and Sakamoto told me that, though I don't know when or why it changed but I don't feel any different, in fact, I've never felt better." Yoshika replied.

"That's weird, I've never heard of something like that." Eila added.

"I'm happy to hear that." Lynette said as she still remembered the many times Yoshika had trouble controlling her magic, but it really seemed like thing of the past.

As they ascended, Munich could now barely be seen but there was no sign of Neuroi.

"So, Miyafuji, what do we do?" Eila asked with a questioning look on her face.

"Let me see" Yoshika stopped in the air, rubbing her chin, "We encountered the Neuroi south from here, so I guess we can start looking there." and thus they started to fly south following her.

About fifteen minutes later, they were continuing following the road they took yesterday, but the fog had become denser close to the ground and only the tallest trees could now be seen yet, it also became denser above them.

"This doesn't feel right" Eila said.

"What do you mean?" Yoshika asked, making Yoshika stop.

"We have been flying for a while and we haven't found anything and now we can't even see where we are." Eila stated realizing that only white mist could be seen.

"She's right, Yosh…" but before she could finish a red beam came from the ground towards Lynette, but it did not hit her as Eila pushed her from its way.

"What the…" Eila griped.

Another beam came from the sky, this time though, Yoshika shielded all of them.

"I cannot see where they are." Lynette noted.

"I can't either, but I know where they will be shooting from." Eila added, and thus, she started shooting to the ground and so did Lynette accompanying her shooting 14mm rounds as the two descended into the fog, the beams from the sky continuing coming but Yoshika was covering them, yet she also shot the enemy with her free hand.

A couple of seconds later, the fog below them lighted up again but this time, it was white.

"We did it" Lynette commented relieved.

"It seems so." Eila remarked.

"I'm going to take on the other one." Yoshika said rushing towards where last beam came.

"Yoshika, wait!" Lynette called but it was too late as she had disappeared into the denser fog.

The higher she flew, the less she could see, and there was no sight of Neuroi. 'I swear I saw it here' she said to herself but then she realized she could not find neither the team.

"Lynne, Eila, where are you?" she called them through her transponder but only static came through, 'I thought they were behind me.'

As she continued searching for them in the fog, she heard gunshots from a machine gun, 'there, they are.' she said to herself.

She flew to where the sound was coming from. Soon after, the mist became reddish afar from where she was and then she heard another gunshot but this time from an anti-armor rifle, and then another, and another, and suddenly she realized the shots were coming to her location and she dodged it or rather barely did.

"Ouch, that hurts." Yoshika groaned, then she noticed the shot did damage her sailor jacket, her swimsuit, leaving a burn mark around underneath her chest, but there was no time to waste as she needed to get closer to them before they disappeared again or worse.

Now shielded, she continued flying towards them. "Lynne, Eila, it's me" she called them from the top of her lungs, and thankfully the shots stopped, yet she continued flying slowly towards them, still with her shield.

As she finally saw their navigation lights, she put away her shield, and they flew towards each other.

"Miyafuji, why did you leave us?" Eila questioned.

"I thought you were behind me." Yoshika countered.

"Yoshika don't … oh no, are you hurt?" Lynette asked as she got close enough to notice her damaged clothes.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." Yoshika assured them.

Both got closer enough to check on her, "it doesn't look like it's from a Neuroi" remarked Eila but Yoshika stayed in dead silence and Lynette just gazed in disbelief.

"It's from us, isn't it?" Eila enquired but Yoshika continued flying speechlessly, avoiding visual contact.

"I'm so sorry Yoshika." Lynette apologized as she realized the hole in her clothes was way too big to belong to Eila's ammunition.

"Don't worry, I'm okay." Yoshika replied, with a soft smile as she covered the whole with her right hand.

"We're going back." Eila exclaimed.

"But we haven't taken on the other one." Yoshika countered.

"You idiot." Eila snapped. "You left us and you… we could have shot you down, we're going back." Eila raged.

"But…" Yoshika tried to reply to no avail.

"I don't care, we're going back to the base now." she barked, and thus, she began flying north back to the base.

"I'm sorry we failed, it's all my fault." Yoshika apologized as she resigned to follow her.

"Yoshika, it's not…." Lynette tried to console her, but she was not able to, realizing that she could have gravely injured Yoshika or worse, then she began following her.

They flew in silence until the fog became thinner as they got closer to the base, they were not able to announce their arrival as the communications were still jammed but there was not need to, because Minna was waiting for them.

"Mio, they're back" she announced, and she came through a door to the hangar.

"Something's wrong." Mio remarked.

"It seems so." as they noticed Eila was leading, not Yoshika and worse, it could be seen she was injured as her clothes were damaged, but it seemed there was no stained blood, nor she looked in pain.

Shortly afterwards, the three witches landed and got out of their units and waited in attention pose for the superiors to come.

"Miyafuji, what happened?" asked Mio.

"Ehhh, we… we found the Neuroi, we could take on one but the other fled." Yoshika hesitated to reply.

"And what about that?" Minna asked pointing the damage in her clothes.

"It's nothing, I got careless" Yoshika replied covering the hole with her right hand, but it had started to itch her.

"Is that so Flying Officer Juutilainen?" Mio asked her while looking directly at her eyes after noticing Yoshika's hesitation.

"Yes, yes, it is" Eila replied with a serious tone in her voice while she side-gazed Yoshika.

"Flight Sergeant Bishop I'm going to need a report of this mission." Minna ordered the Britannian Witch.

"Yes ma'am" Lynette replied with a soft voice trying to avoid looking her in the eyes.

"Miyafuji, let's go to the infirmary to have you checked." Mio ordered her.

"I'm fine, I just need to rest." Yoshika replied with a neutral tone.

"Let's hear a medic opinion about it." Mio stated.

"I'm studying to become one." Yoshika countered back. "And besides I can heal myself." She added and the silence took hold of the hangar for a few seconds, while Mio just looked at her directly in her eyes and so did she.

"You can leave." Mio broke the silence replying with a hint of surprise in her tone while Minna just side gazed at them, then Yoshika left the hangar and headed to her room.

"She can't do that, can she?" Lynette asked now tensed by how whole situation was happening.

"I don't believe so," Mio replied, "but she's not gravely injured, better leave her alone."

Minna, and Lynette left the room shortly afterwards and followed by Eila who went the opposite direction to check on Sanya.

Author Notes:

Regarding the absence of the rest of the Witches, I'm taking the approach of the WW take off series. I could write a chapter or two regarding what they had been doing these months. But for now, I want to focus on the main story.

The next chapter will come next week as usual.