"A single stroke of fate pt. 2"

The Miyafuji Clinic that time in the mid-afternoon didn't have any patients for the day. Yoshika walks out through the front courtyard and sighs. "Seems like a slow day like some."

"Mhm." She heard a familiar voice reply and turned her head to see Yoshikawa behind Yoshika before stopping to stand beside her. "Helping out your mother and grandmother just reminded of what it used to be like in Sado. Usually it's just me carrying the water from a fresh spring to fill up our tank. Had to deal with it almost every week."

"You never really talk so much about your family."

"Nothing much to talk about. It's just me and my sister. Not all girls have proper witch training. Though she has her own magic, she never really joined through conscription or in any other way in the war."

"Hm? Why is that?"

"It's really simple." Michiko looked at Yoshika. "It's because I don't want her to experience bloodlust. I once promised myself I wouldn't take lives. But… It changed. The moment reality set in when man's world is much more complex, I followed a guideline… be in the right, for most of the time. It's what I live for in these times. And it's a good thing I'm in a war. Otherwise, I would just look for an excuse to take someone's life."

"Eh…" Yoshika wanted to reply, but she decided to stay out of it.

"The worst thing of it all… If one stays on that bloody road for a while… That person would think that taking a life becomes easier." Yoshikawa sighs. "I feel ashamed, but it's all I felt all this time too. But I'm doing it to put me in the right. Tch… Sounds like a twisted idea when others look at it that way." Yoshikawa then paid attention towards the road and noticed a black-haired young woman with length past the shoulders was walking towards them. "Yoshika."

And Yoshika took notice of that same girl, having light amber-colored eyes and seeming to be a six-footer. She then looks at the subject, sensing she's in her 20's. "Hm… I wonder who she could be…?" She muttered that to herself, but she doubted Yoshikawa couldn't hear her. She further identified this subject was European.

And the young woman stopped just in front of Yoshikawa and Miyafuji before she spoke up. "Yoshika Miyafuji."

Yoshika nods. "Um. Yes?"

The young woman smiled. "It's been some time… first time I saw you curious of my form out at sea just outside of Gallia was at first, making me feel that I wanted to be like you. Then… my form changed… similar to what you were… and I was trying to match your movements. Gallia… Ever since… I was attached to you… especially when you came to listen to me in that nest. War between man and our race started when we both feared each other. Even if we arrived, who would know who wins? It seems, when I was conscious, while I was only following the collective… I was right. Humanity had a better chance, destroying my kin."

"Okay that's enough!" Yoshikawa glared at the young woman and got in front of Yoshika to protect her. Michiko glares at the young woman, no longer seeing the surface. "Who are you?! I don't know how you're using that story, but some details are only meant to herself until you're trusted!"

"Search your feelings. And search me. You'll know what I mean." The young woman smiled and briefly showed red glints from her eyes.

"My feelings, huh? Fine." Yoshikawa then drew a pistol from behind her and pointed it at the young woman's head. "For a Neuroi, you seem quite accurate."

The young woman raised an eyebrow. "That's because I was always on her side, and whatever side she serves. For somehow until the time I was foiled over Venezia, I tried to serve as the only one who could be the bridge between humanity and the supposed conquerors. The Neuroi knew better than conquest, but they begun it as soon as man was proven to be reactive to their presence. I could not stand to be with the collective I thought was right. Killing warmongers isn't enough for reason that my own kin would destroy so much that you have."

Yoshika was then convinced of it and just put her hand on Michiko's arm. "Michiko, that's enough."

"What…? Yoshika?" Michiko was a little surprised, being told to lower her own gun. "Soon to trust someone, don't you think?"

"...someone who helped me, and my friends." Yoshika the lowered Michiko's arm herself and looked at her eyes. "Trust me. Even the emotions felt real and she's described it well."

Michiko then decided to drop the matter and holster her weapon. "I hope you're right about this."

Yoshika then approached the young woman. "You were there a second time trying to communicate."

"I'm connected via a consciousness." The young woman replied. "Mine was still being kept on the Gallian nest before. But as soon as it was compromised, I was moved to a different nest. And the collective was well aware since I got into the new nest that got over Venezia… By the moment I exposed myself, they removed me from the presence of a witch. This time, the collective wasn't going to take chances for their own form of control to be lost over an individual. That's why after a while of planning, I escaped… replaced myself with a physical form that's complex, even for the Neuroi I was once completely sided with. This woman you see in my place right now is a woman whose remains were left intact in Gallia… supposedly dying in a basement of sorts being crushed by debris. I copied her appearance and most of her physiology… and I was more awakened. I was able to finally think fully for myself and cut myself off the collective." She chuckled. "They won't know I'm not with them until they just come out having lost my trail completely."

"I see…" Yoshika smiled. "I'm glad you were able to see through your own kin."

"My suspicions were always there from the moment I've found out the humans retrieved a Neuroi core. And I had to show you since I determined you trustworthy. I didn't know that there was a Neuroi killing machine out to kill the core in Gallia. What I was more fascinated about was the fact that this Neuroi core that they captured had been radicalized, much angrier than usual against humans. Which was why… I remember briefly. That carrier that was lifted up in the sky. That was the machine's doing. Not originally done by us." She groaned before continuing. "Be careful, Miyafuji. When you encounter the Neuroi again, they would have already adapted exponentially, especially with the assistance of the human faction ATLAS."

Yoshika nods, looking determined. "I had a feeling. Some articles from the papers that were showing up say that the Neuroi now have different shapes… some shapes taken from sleeker aircraft designs that weren't even supposed to be deployed by Liberion, and Britannia."

"You've done your homework." The young woman said. "Looks like I didn't introduce myself yet. Up until now, I never had a name, not officially. This woman who died in Gallia… she goes by the name of Amelia. Most of her memories… I was able to retrieve. She had a good life… until the war took a turn for the worst. I'm glad to meet you." She frowns before continuing. "I… remember when I defended myself, while you had allies coming to save you from me, I disabled a witch with my beams."

Yoshika winced at what Amelia meant. "Um… There's something I need to show you."

Amelia was walking with Yoshika and Michiko Yoshikawa. At that time, they were just arriving at a hill that overlooks different trees. At that time, she saw Yoshika looking at photos. There was a photo of Major Sakamoto laughing in front of the Dover base, and another picture of Mio together with Ichiro Miyafuji when the first striker was finally finished. "Ichiro Miyafuji… the man who made the striker unit possible…"

Yoshikawa sighed. "Yes. The inventor. But the comparison between the two was the witch with him. Mio Sakamoto, now posthumously promoted Lieutenant Colonel. She died… in the hands of a human-Neuroi hybrid."

Amelia hummed in curiosity. "I never found out how far they were able to make a Neuroi hybrid. But I suppose it's related to cloning, only used in humans. Because as I analyzed, the girl you saw wasn't the real Chris."

Yoshika frowns. "Mio's death… caused by the memory of someone who we were supposed to protect… And that Chris who showed up in Sicily… So angry… so envious of her older sister. Her own memories might be shallow, but I think that's only one side to Chris." She stopped to speak about Chris and changed the subject. "You know… Mio told me something I'd never forget just before I joined the 501st. Protecting everyone, in my father's mind, meant that he had to invent it. The witches have become much important, and they needed the arsenal to fight against an enemy. So when it was completed, eventually the unit got mass-produced… designed in standards nations wanted the units for.

"My father died in an explosion… probably because something went wrong with one of the further testing he needed done… but I'm starting to doubt that a bit. I accepted my father's death… and Mio even showed me right where his honorary grave was in Britannia." Then Yoshika hesitated to speak. But wanting to reveal it all, she continues. "No… I have to tell it. Mio's death meant things won't be the same after all. She was as close as who my mentor should be. I'm a witch who has an obligation… to succeed in doing my father's wish… protect everyone who I still can. Now with how things are… things were added to it… protect who I can… even if it meant taking lives in the process."

Yoshikawa sighs, knowing what Miyafuji meant. "It seems you helped take down those rotor birds while assisting in the rescue of Duchess Maria. The men shooting at you didn't hold back and-"

"I didn't hold back either. Maybe it's to protect an ideal other than protecting those who can't defend themselves. I found that out the hard way when I was pulling the trigger." Yoshika then looked at Amelia. "A lot of things can change in a witch… including me. I changed, understanding what my father had done. I changed further when Mio got killed. I inherited that sword from her before she passed away. And I have to live with the guilt… feeling helpless just by following her request!" Yoshika then started to cry and get on her knees. "Mio… I'm so sorry! I'm just too stubborn… Maybe if I could have healed you, you wouldn't allow me to cry…"

Michiko then knew Amelia had emotions like this too. Noticing it, she looks at Amelia even shedding a single tear while looking at Yoshika crying. 'I didn't figure she'd actually shed a tear. Looks like she understands Yoshika's story.'

Amelia didn't sob but knew emotions have to come out. "All this caused further by the recklessness of the Neuroi, and their eventual fall to an ideal that perfection leads to more conflict, and then the cycle that wouldn't end. All of this was more enhanced by a new leader… and causing the death of one of your own. I'm… sorry. You never talked to any one of us, so you have me. A Neuroi hurt her once. And a Neuroi killed her."

"NO!" Yoshika looked at Amelia, glaring at the young woman while her tears were on her cheeks while she stands up. "None of this is your fault! You were only trying to tell me something back then!"

"UNACCEPTABLE. I acted in self defense! And my race is included in my actions against Sakamoto. A hybrid who's mixed with our race's genes killed her off! And my race had left its mark again. I have every right to ask for forgiveness, Miyafuji! Even as the friend who wanted to tell you something for your benefit, I must because I still am involved with a race that took numerous lives… including one of your own. If none of us face that kind of reaity, there will really be no peace… and no such thing in our minds as 'coexistence.' My kin didn't grow to understand that growth is as important as progress. So as long as I'm concerned, while you have a chance to understand us… our individualism teaches us to ask that forgiveness, whatever else we believe. I put my first instructions aside when I saw this for myself. And I'd rather live with those thoughts, knowing the consequences that come." Amelia said it in a speech that Yoshika couldn't choose to ignore. And the unexpected happens. She was the hugged by Yoshika. As Amelia looks down on Yoshika who was now sobbing, she herself started to shed tears more, and sobbed almost silently. "We have every right… to ask forgiveness… I'm sorry… Yoshika…"

Yoshikawa watched the scene unfold in her eyes and was thinking of this as something that develops an alliance between humanity and the Neuroi… the right way. 'If Yoshika really serves to be that bridge between humanity and to an ever resisting Neuroi agasint their own order, then I think it'll go as well as she hopes. Well… that's only if the Neuroi under Genie's control awakens just like Amelia has. Anything helps… just to assist a friend in need.'

At the Miyafuji Clinic, Hikari and Kunika were sitting on futons while talking to a woman sitting on the opposite side together with an older woman.

Yoshiko Akimoto, the old woman, spoke up. "So you two girls were only here to meet us briefly, eh? It seems the talk about our generational history was quite worth it. But it's your turn."

The woman, named Sayaka Miyafuji spoke up next. "The two of you must have worked hard to get into your respective fighter wings. Let's start with you, Kunika."

"Okay," Kunika replies. "I wasn't originally a noble, but I was turned into one when my family introduced me to the Kuroda family, one of the influential families in Fuso, and one of the financial backers of some of the military branches that advances equipment out into the battles we're all facing. I passed a test in regards to using a striker unit and flying efficiently in front of the family 'head', or so who I thought it was. There were a few complications since there was an internal struggle, but the real head of the Kuroda clan showed up and put me in the family right away as soon as the internal problems were resolved. The reason I was able to prove myself was because I had prior experience serving in a squadron... the Imperial Army 33rd. And… it's because I was able to survive a duel against the family head. That's how I eventually ended up in the 506th Joint Fighter Wing… the Noble Witches. Our real battle was… the establishment of the Joint Fighter Wing, putting together original European witches together with the Liberion witches. Complications arose. Gallia was once a place of nobles. And putting Liberions in a Fighter Wing that was supposed to include Nobles only made it complicated so…

"While we're fighting Neuroi, we had to go through those troubles… fighting against revolutionaries to restore the former Gallia. All of it… we got through it, even having myself ending up injured during the establishment ceremony. The best thing of it all is… the ceremony was finished and the media didn't even have an idea the fighter wing had problems in the first place. We were formed on that same day… proud that we overcame our differences, and worked together as equals. Nobody… should consider nobles just as their status. Qualities are much as important too… one thing I've known all up to now."

Akimoto chuckled. "Well! Looks like you've gone through quite a lot! To consider that you didn't originally come from an influential family and have you go through those trials while being one… I say you're a lucky girl."

"Probably much thankful too. I'm involved in a family that thinks beyond status now. And I'm proud to be in the Noble Witches for that."

"Good to know." Akimoto nods and looks at Hikari. "So… What about you?"

Hikari winced at this and frowns. "Um… I'm not as colorful as Kunika is."

Sayaka noticed this and looked at Hikari. "Maybe you haven't come from an influential family, but maybe you've come from quite an adventure instead. I could tell. Sasebo boasts on the numbers of witches they produce especially when they practice in a striker unit. We don't get that much of a luxury like it here. Yoshika however was able to fly for her first time in a striker unit while the carrier she's in was under attack by Neuroi."

"Huh…?" Hikari noticed that little detail about Yoshika's origin was similar to hers in a way, but so many things were different. "Well… I was a training witch from Sasebo. Others describe me by having a lot of stamina and can run long distances. I'm always behind my sister Takami and I'm always looking forward to be like her, especially when she was considered a hero too. I guess in my own way, I was always focused on a single mandate: Fight for our country in the best way we can! It paid off and I was able to qualify from an exam I passed. But the end result was saving someone from fairly almost winning that exam. The original result was… all participants failed. With me picked… that meant the only thing they considered in qualifying as an additional reinforcement, was the fact I chose to protect someone in the course of risks in the exam. I saved her… the one who picked on me at every single day just because I'm the sister of the hero of Sasebo. All of what's happened paid off though…

"Unlike Kunika, the only thing I've done was prove myself to get stronger… and it's by being resilient during the trials given to me: Having low magic power at first and eventually able to fight because I have so much energy to dish out in a combat situation. My battles weren't a joke though. Being a frontline witch without Takami that time proved difficult. But as what others told me… I'm so headstrong that I couldn't even dare walk back from a challenge. I'm… a close friend with someone from the unit… Kanno Naoe. Thanks to my time in the Brave Witches, I was finally able to see ourselves as equals… and more so as Takami was finally there to join us. It was is as if the problems I had disappeared when I refused to lose." She then looked at Kunika. "Taking from someone's book, I experienced being in a family. But it feels different from you, Kunika. While your wing handled differences regarding status, I handled differences with the rest of the wing regarding integrity I still keep as a witch… and how close I am in following my sister. I guess the biggest strength I have all this time in going through was… pulling close to my sister as much as I can. That's what forged who I am now, to fight no matter the odds."

Kunika chuckled. "Headstrong, huh?"

"And you're Noble at heart," Hikari replied in a smile.

And something weird had happened between Kunika and Hikari. Their hearts skipped a beat… and felt something in their magic working. They both even didn't know it, but their magic was activating by itself, along with deploying their familiars right along with it. And they saw brief memories of themselves in the other's minds for a moment, before they both let go, letting their magic fade away and their familiar features recede.

Hikari was shocked and spoke up first and looked at Kunika. "What the heck was that…? I saw some of your memories… The challenge of the Kuroda family… your struggles in Gallia while you were in the 506th, that even got you hurt."

"I saw your memories too…" Kunika replied who was just as shocked as Hikari. "Your exam in Sasebo… the attack on the carrier… replacing your sister Takami for your spot in the 502nd… and proving yourself as the most enduring witch in the unit… I felt… like I was there."

"So was I…?" Hikari said that in a question. "How? What was that?"

The room felt silent as none of them knew what to answer to their question.

Hanna-Justina Marseille woke up from her sleep on the couch, jolting suddenly as she briefly screams. She could feel the hot climate of the Australis nation, at least the west end of it. That time in the safehouse wasn't all that pleasant, especially when three people stepped in the room.

Geraldine Hicks, the oldest witch in the bunch who has renewed magic thanks to the Anointed Witch Hanna who restored it, was the first, bringing out two pistols armed on both hands and got her familiar features out with her own magic activated… Her familiar was the Liberion Greyhound. She was followed in by Katou Keiko and Charlotte Lueder. "Where the heck…?" Geraldine said this, only to find out there was no threat in the room. "Seriously, Hanna?! Got me startled for nothin'?" She said that, glaring at Hanna as she disengages her magic and holsters her duel wield pistols.

"I don't know what happened," Hanna replied. "But I got an idea. I'm not the only witch who seems different than the rest. With my status as an Anointed Witch, I can detect others like me in dreams or in visions. I'm not sure… but the detection points me to Fuso."

Keiko immediately reacted. "What?! You're kidding me! Why do we have to go to Fuso?!"

"Because… There's no need for me to get multiple people to get their magic back and make me stronger for the gateway plan. With more than one Anointed Witch, the magic enough would be able to be enough for the portal!. There's no need for just one conduit to do the work."

"That's crazy. You know that Ursula told us to make you more stronger to be the conduit!"

"And we don't have any more time! The more time we waste on looking for people in wanting to restore their magic, the more the enemy would be able to get more footholds against us. The Allied Forces would lose quicker than we can get more people to recover, and I can't find it in my heart to let that happen." Hanna looked at Keiko in a glare but noticed Charlotte approach her. "Charlotte… You know what you saw back at Afrika. We saw the sinkhole both appear and you sensed magic. You saw me come up from that sinkhole, and having learned 5 years worth of ancient teachings. And I proved it was real by restoring Gunslinger G's magic! Please… we gotta work this out and get to Fuso!"

Charlotte was smiling that time and looked at Hanna without worry. "You know I didn't let go of you after Afrika. Keiko came with you just because of this. She's just concerned of you, that's all. Right?" She asked this towards Keiko who was doubting things.

But Keiko knew better than to doubt now. "You've always held the point than I did ever since you became a walking ancient book, Hanna. I believe I can't speak for all of us on this."

Geraldine chuckled. "I believed the moment I got my magic back. You get no argument from me."

Hanna smiled just before her magic activated. Gritting her teeth, she shouted. "BRACE YOURSELVES!"

A small explosion was able to rock the room and blow the front door out of its hinges but not completely detach it from the doorway. The group saw that an independent mercenary camp together with the house was under attack. A Neuroi swarm of small-types were attacking and blue beams were flying from the air to the ground. The mercenaries scrambled to combat, but some were already dying.

Hanna chuckled. "Is it a good day to die?!"

Keiko immediately got upset. "THAT IS THE WRONG QUESTION, YOU IDIOT!"

"I know. But we're not dying. Not here." Hanna said it, standing up and heading to the door while picking up an MG 42 and continued. "So who's coming with?"

Geraldine followed Hanna first. "Witches Protect. To The Last."

Lueder followed next. "I hope you're able to keep up Keiko."

Keiko groaned, hearing Charlotte's remark. "Well that's an insult now, is it?!" And she followed behind Charlotte.

Hanna breaks the door apart and walks out to feel the sun more…