A/N: This chapter is finally here after writing, scrapping, and rewriting God knows how many times. Something important to mention is that I have rewritten part of the second half of Evelyn's introduction in the last chapter. Even with the changes, I think there's some work that needs to be done. On a side note, I originally planned to publish this chapter on "Super" Pi Day. Get it? 3.1415; 3-14-(20)15?

-3-

Grounded

Shouting came from the other room. No words could be made out to the young girl who sat against the wall with her ears covered, trying to block out the booming voices of her parents. Suddenly, glass shattered, wood splintered, and girl's vision ran red. Panting heavily, she looked down and, through her pulsating vision, saw a bleeding metal blade in her hand.

Warm sunlight angled through the window and set upon the sleeping witch. Evelyn twitched her eyes as the rays reached her face and she blinked to adjust to the growing brightness. Thinking back to yesterday, she was still trying to piece together what had happened before she found herself on the bridge. Something to do with the shower room, Rheingold, and waking up on the tiled floor with her lungs coughing up water. The back of her head still hurt and she gently rubbed it. With a sigh, she lazily swung her bare legs over the edge of her bed and yawned. She slipped out of her sleeping blouse and put on her uniform with the pants. With a white hair tie, she tied her blonde hair into a ponytail and noted that it extended past the middle of her back. I'm going to need to cut it soon. Evelyn loaded her M27 and holstered it. Her holster was brown leather and was hooked on a waist belt of a matching color. Her belt had slots where she carried an extra couple dozen rounds for her gun. Before leaving her room, she lifted the cover page of her page-a-day calendar and ripped a page off to reveal today's date.

Thursday, March 2nd, 1944...

Evelyn patted the calendar and headed to Johanna's office. When she arrived, Johanna was in a heated conversation with Hausser. The younger witch tiptoed to the corner by the door and let the argument carry on. Her daydreaming was interrupted when Johanna got off the phone and announced that she and Evelyn were going to go fly.

Evelyn was already in her pair of FW-190 A5 Strikers with the engines all warmed up by the time Johanna arrived at the hangar. Johanna hopped into hers and grabbed her MG 42 which was in the standard "witches' format" with a double drum magazine feeding from top. Evelyn's was in a standard infantry configuration which uses belts.

"Evelyn?" Johanna placed her hand on Evelyn's shoulder. "Are you ready?"

Evelyn nodded.

Johanna moved to take off and Evelyn followed her lead.

Once they were in the air, Evelyn looked in awe as she saw the horizon stretch in all directions. There was so much energy inside her that she didn't feel the biting cold air that surrounded her at high altitude. She executed multiple barrel rolls to express her excitement.

A little while later up above the Gallian-Karlslandian border, the two lone witches strolled along the border. After a while, Johanna tapped Evelyn's shoulder and pointed down below them. Four small-type Neuroi could be seen flying perpendicular to them towards Gallia in a rough rectangular formation.

"Remember what I taught you. I'll stay high and cover you. Now, go get them!" Johanna said encouragingly.

Evelyn beamed and dove down and behind the Neuroi.

Okay, okay! Evelyn tried to calm herself and focus. First, take the safety off. She flicked her thumb over the small button. Second, chamber a round. She pulled back the charging handle forgetting in her rush of adrenaline, that in order for the safety to be on, the gun must already be cocked. Target the closest one. Line up the front and rear sight and…fire! Evelyn squeezed the trigger and the Neuroi at the back of the formation disintegrated under the weight of 1200 rounds per minute. Her first kill! The formation scattered and she latched onto another one. It was in a wide left turn, presenting its topside to the witch. She dispatched it quickly and went after one that was climbing. Her Strikers roared as she climbed at full power but she didn't watch her airspeed. She and the Neuroi stopped dead in their climb, frozen in the air until gravity decided to pull them back down. The Neuroi fell past her and Evelyn had to contort her body to catch sight of it. Once she found her target, she let loose with an arc of tracers, hoping some of them would find their mark. Before she knew it, she was falling past the all too familiar white shards. Evelyn pulled back into level flight when her shield activated. A beam had struck her from behind! The last Neuroi has attacked, turning the huntress into the hunted.

"Johanna! Help!" Evelyn cried as she dodged hostile fire.

"Calm down and remember that move I taught you," Johanna instructed.

Evelyn concentrated as she searched her memory for a certain move. She eventually remembered and all she has to do is wait for the perfect opportunity. The Neuroi fired into her shield at full power. Now! Once the attack died, Evelyn braked and twirled around sideways like a ballerina. She felt proud of herself only to find out that she didn't gain much altitude in the maneuver. Shit! The Neuroi slammed into Evelyn and the witch bounced over the top of it. She put a hand to her temple and cursed but she was now in position to take the shot. She fired in and turned it into metal confetti. Johanna flew down to meet her.

"That was wonderful!" Johanna praised.

"Not really. I messed up on that last one."

"Forget about that. Mistakes do happen. Besides," Johanna continued. "You got four victories in one sortie! Your first four! That's something to be proud of isn't it?

"I heard Der Stern von Afrika managed to get fifteen in one day," Evelyn said loathingly.

"Well, Marseille is on the level of Karlsland's top aces. Don't compare yourself to others higher or lower than you. Compete with those on your level."

Evelyn let her mentor's words sink in. As she sorted through them, she thought it would be the best time to tell Johanna her worries about Rheingold.

"Um, Johanna?" Evelyn began. "I think Rheingold-"

She was interrupted when a red beam sliced the sky in between them. The witches looked up and saw a swarm of Neuroi.

"Tell me later!" she said and started to call the base for back up. "This is Squadron Leader Wiese! I need reinforcements at the border!" She gave their coordinates. Almost immediately she got a response from Rheingold.

"This is Jade. I'm already in the air with Jacie. We'll be there in a couple of minutes."

Johanna thought to herself in confusion. What? What are they doing up here? They don't have training or a patrol scheduled at this time. She shook the thought away and began unloading into the Neuroi. Wait a minute...where is Evelyn?!

Evelyn was having the time of her life. Small-type Neuroi shattered as they found themselves unfortunate enough to be in front of Evelyn's gun. As inexperienced as she was, she couldn't easily tell if her kills were drones or mother ships so she took note of shapes and numbers of the ones she managed to take down. She began her reload when a medium-type appeared. That should be worth something!

Evelyn slammed the top cover closed and dived down to meet it. Above and behind, she was in the perfect firing position, but just as she was about to fire, it banked hard left. The witch pulled up to bleed off speed and angled back down, executing a perfect high yo-yo. As she turned back in, so did the Neuroi. They crossed paths and turned back into each other again. Evelyn was locked in a rolling scissors with the Neuroi. She grimaced at the notion as this was one of her least favorite combat maneuvers. Decreasing the throttle with each pass, she felt uneasy until she actually got a good burst in. The Neuroi was hit on its left "wing" and was trailing fragments but it was still alive. It broke off and Evelyn slid back onto its tail. Before she could do anything however, tracers rained down on the alien, destroying it.

Evelyn looked up and saw Jacie Talbot diving down. That was one of the last people she would want to see but with the amount of Neuroi about, she didn't complain until Talbot shifted her flight path. She was diving right for Evelyn! Ignoring the enemies around her, Talbot let out a long burst from her MG 42. Every round bounced harmlessly off Evelyn's shield. Evelyn tried to give chase as Talbot dove past her but the scissors left her in a low energy state and she couldn't catch up. Talbot zoom climbed, easily pulling out of range. She rolled over at the top and again, dove down, guns blazing. Evelyn continued her dive and twisted her body around so she can fire back at Talbot while maintaining her dive. She held down the trigger and tracers flew between the two witches. A Neuroi flew in close and Talbot snapped her gun to take it out. Evelyn took this moment to level out and make a run for it. Talbot gave chase. Bullets went all around Evelyn and some hit her shield as she took evasive maneuvers. Even though the witches were fighting amongst themselves, they still destroyed any Neuroi unfortunate enough to cross their paths.

Talbot began her reload and Evelyn shot back at her while flying backwards. Talbot yanked the charging handle back and shot in short bursts as the MGs of both witches began to heat up. Another burst from Talbot and one of the bullets cut Evelyn's ammunition belt down to ten remaining rounds. As expected, the buzzsaw ravished the remains of the belt. Evelyn looked in surprise as the gun clicked. Talbot had cleared a jam in her gun and was about to fire again. Evelyn took out her revolver and fired all six shots in rapid succession before pouring all her magic into her Strikers to make a run for it. Talbot had gotten Evelyn in her sights and pulled the trigger. However, instead of the roar of the buzzsaw, there was a single loud "BANG!"

Immense pain shot through Talbot's left hand.

"Fuck! What the fuck was that?!" Talbot looked at her hand. Blood flowed from multiple openings and some metal pieces were lodged in her palm fingers. What had happened was when Evelyn fired her revolver, a bullet was able to find its way into the barrel of Talbot's MG 42 causing the barrel to explode when Talbot attempted to fire again.

"Motherfucker!" Talbot said as she gingerly changed the red-hot barrel. She closed the latch and took aim. Evelyn was reaching the edge of the MG 42s effective range and her left hand was not making things any easier. Thinking she has a shot, she let the cold barrel run hot with a long burst. She sprayed and prayed until there were some results.

Bullets raked across Evelyn's right Striker, peppering the unit and turning the stabilizer into Helvetian cheese. The unit coughed black smoke and quit. Never taught how to fly on one Striker, Evelyn screamed as she found her way into the trees.

"This is Jacie. It's done," she said to Rheingold.

Branches whipped her face as Evelyn plummeted through the canopy. She grunted as she hit one branch after the next, vainly grabbing at twigs that snapped under her weight. Her head slammed on a particularly thick branch and her unconscious body continued the journey to the forest floor.

Johanna walked along the path and onto the porch of a house. She raised her hand to knock on the door but hesitated. What was she going to say? It's been one day and Evelyn has not come back. She took a shaky breath and lightly knocked with the back of her hand. After a few moments, a woman with brown hair and green eyes in her late thirties to early forties opened the door. Johanna took off her flight cap.

"Mrs. Meyer?"

"Yes."

"I'm Squadron Johanna Wiese. May I come in?"

"Evelyn's mentor? Yes, yes, please come in! And please call me Wera," Wera said but she could tell by Johanna's face, this wasn't just a friendly visit.

Johanna sat on a couch in the living room. There was a coffee table in front of her and on the other side was another couch where Evelyn's step-father, Peter, sat, looking anxious. He was around the same age as Wera and has blond hair and blue eyes. Johanna looked around the house from where she sat. It was a small but cozy. Gallia had built houses for Karlslandian refugees after the liberation of Gallia thanks to the efforts of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. On the fireplace mantel, there were several pictures. Some had Wera and Peter, others had just Evelyn, and some had all three. Something Johanna noticed was that Evelyn only smiled half-heartedly if at all. Was she ever truly happy? Johanna thought to herself. Wera offered tea and Johanna gave her thanks. In truth, she wanted alcohol more than anything. Wera sat down next to her husband and Johanna began to break the news.

Johanna handed over the envelope that was in her pocket. After reading three letters, Wera put her hand over her mouth and silently cried.

"KIA. Could you tell us how she died?" Johanna could hear the grief in Peter's voice.

"We were over the border," Johanna began. "She did beautifully. Her first taste of combat and she scored four kills. We got separated after that and I have no doubt that she was able to take one more down. I didn't see her for the rest of the flight and she didn't return to base. I protested the act of dismissing Evelyn so quickly but orders are orders and I still have to follow them. That's why I came to deliver the news myself. I didn't want some guy behind a desk seeing Evelyn as a statistic to do it. I'm sorry, but if she did go down, she went down fighting and as an ace."

Wera was moved and hopeful that her little girl was successful. Her tears became uncontrollable and there was no way the dam would be fixed anytime soon. Johanna rushed over and helped Peter comfort her. Out of the corner of her eye, Johanna saw a little girl no more than six peeking nervously out from behind a corner. It was Evelyn's younger half-sister, Emilie. She was just a regular girl and was not a witch and probably would never be one as no familiars approached her and she showed no signs of magic power about her. Peter saw her too and, as gently as he could, tried the best he could to break the news about her older sister. Johanna hugged Wera and let her cry onto her shoulder. Johanna lightly rested her head on Wera's and a single tear escaped from her eye and down her cheek.

Evelyn woke up in a bed of moss and grass. It was nice and bright out as sunlight filtered through the leaves to the forest floor. Birds chattered in the distance. She put her hand in front of her face and looked up at the sun already high in the clear blue sky.

It's bright out. How long have I been here? A day?

Her arm slapped back onto the ground as she studied the broken branches above her. She didn't know how long she had lay there but by the time she attempted to sit up, her shadow was already on the other side of her body. Midway up, she gasped in pain and instinctively put her hand where it hurt. Evelyn widened her eyes in surprise as she felt a thick warm liquid against her hand. She looked down to her left to find her waist dripping with blood. Her Strikers were not in much of a better shape than she was. Her left Striker was fine except for some dents along the unit but the right was missing its stabilizer and the engine was still smoking.

Two shadows shot across the ground as two small-types noiselessly skimmed above the treetops. In a panic, Evelyn kicked her Strikers off and blindly ran through the forest in the opposite direction of the Neuroi.

After awhile of running, she slumped against a tree and panted. Her feet were now covered in dirt, scrapes, and blood. She just stared at them blankly and by chance, she happened to look up. Ahead of her, through the trees, there was bright pool of sunlight and reflections of what seemed to be metal and windows. Evelyn limped towards the light and stared in awe at what stood before her. It was an airfield completely unscathed from bombs, bullets, and other weapon damage although nature seemed to be reclaiming its territory. There were a couple Jeeps and Kubelwagens dotted across the field. An FW-200 Condor which belonged to the Karlslandian Luft Hansa sat in two pieces on the runway, probably from a botched emergency landing. On the apron were three Karlslandian Bf-109 Es, two early model Britannian Spitfires, and an Ostmarkian Hurricane Mk I judging by its eight gun ports.

Inside the hangar, there was a Liberion "Deuce and a Half", another Kubelwagen, and a Liberion Army motorcycle that Evelyn didn't know the model of. There was a FW-190 A1 that seemed to have been stripped down for parts but something that caught Evelyn's eye was that in the back of the hangar, were six empty Striker launchers.

Pushing the thought of who could've used the launchers out of her mind, Evelyn limped as fast as she could around the base until she found the infirmary. The infirmary was completely untouched except for the layer of dust over everything. Almost immediately, Evelyn began trashing the place looking for painkillers, morphine, anything that could ease the increasing pain in her side. She swung open a cabinet and found a bottle of painkillers. She popped the cap off only to find that it was empty.

"Damn it!" Evelyn shattered the bottle on the ground. Letting out a cry pain, she slowly sat down on a hospital bed behind her. Panting heavily, she looked at the cabinet and saw several rolls of bandages. She took the rolls and a handful of towels. She took off her jacket and shirt so she could start cleaning her wound. She ran a towel around the cut on her waist to clean the blood then wrapped the bandage around her waist several times to make sure it didn't start bleeding again. She then did the same for both of her feet.

After dressing her wounds, she activated her magic, much to her familiar's protest.

"Come off it, Arya," Evelyn said. "I need my magic to get over this pain."

Arya became quiet and the witch could picture the black cat giving her a pouty face. Evelyn picked up her jacket only to find that it was torn and soaked with blood and her shirt was no better. They would definitely not help protect her from the cold nights. She let the jacket land on the floor with a wet slap and headed towards the barracks to find something that could cover her half naked body.

On her way there, she was astounded at the rest of the base. The base resembled a fancy hotel rather than a military base. The halls were lined with red carpet and there was a common room that was fit for a mansion with sofas, recliners, a coffee table and end tables...it was all just breathtaking to the witch.

Evelyn reached the barracks which just like the rest of the base, resembled nice hotel rooms. She searched the closets and dressers of four rooms but hasn't found anything that would fit her well. At the fifth room, she was faced with a row of black jackets when she opened the closet door. Taking one from its hanger, she held it and inspected it. A silver eagle hung on the right breast and there was a pocket on the left. A rectangular cutout exposed the crotch area and on either side of the cutout were two pockets big enough to store maps. Red trimming lined the cuffs, collar, pocket openings, and sliver buttons of the jacket. Evelyn knew who would have worn a jacket like this. It used to belong to a Karlslandian night witch. She slipped into the jacket, resembling a certain Adel Nacht Hexe. It was a little too snug but it fit her well enough.

Out the window, the sun was already turning the sky red as it reached the horizon. Evelyn plopped down on the bed and sneezed as some dust was thrown up.

So...I'm stuck in Neuroi territory with broken Strikers and a cut that would probably get infected. One hell of a way to die. Evelyn gave a heavy sigh. Dying alone. I can't say goodbye to Johanna, I can't say goodbye to my mom, dad, Emilie, Sophia Rhein-. She stopped just before she could finish saying that hated name. That's right! I can't say goodbye Rheingold! Or Talbot or her bitch Samin! I won't have to see them again! Evelyn put her hands up to her face as she chuckled in a not so sane manner.

"This may not be so bad after all."

A/N: There goes the third chapter. As always please leave a compliment or a (constructive) criticism and I'll catch you guys and gals in the next chapter.

Helvetia is the Strike Witches universe's name for Switzerland.

Adel Nacht Hexe is German and as far as I know loosely translates to Aristocratic/Noble Night Witch.

Evelyn's first taste of combat was inspired by Shizuka Hattori's from the movie.

The date Evelyn was shot down, March 2, 1944, should give a clue on the pilot I originally based Evelyn off of. Don't worry. I'll reveal it in the next chapter.