A/N- I really like Strike Witches and I can't stop myself from writing fanfic about it, xover or not. This is an SI/OC fanfic. When writing this story, I utilize information from multiple different sources and try to combine it to make it as canon as possible. For example; the concept of familiars is not expanded upon in the anime, but it is in one of the manga.

As for what you can expect from this story; there will be humor, ecchiness, action, hopefully romance (yuri), and total badassery!

Also, since I won't be explicitly stating it just yet, you are free to make a guess as to what the OC's 'spell' is. I'll give you a hint: it's based on the power of one of my favorite protagonists.

Probably forgetting something, but then again, when am I not?

I hope you like it and be sure to leave a review!

Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!

(-)

Pain.

That was the first thing to flash through his mind. The unbearable ache of every muscle and bone in his body. Like he had just been turned inside out and back again.

The second thing to hit him was the nausea. He had the uncontrollable urge to empty the contents of his bowels, yet he was only capable of dry heaving. 'This must be what it's like to wake up from a hangover after drinking a gallon of booze.' he thought to himself. Not that he would know what a hangover is like. He was still 3 years under the drinking age, and he swore he would never touch the stuff.

Third was the light. For a second he considered he might be dead and that this was the pearly gates opening up for him, but he associated such an event to not feel as... painful as he was experiencing. Bracing himself mentally for the pain his eyes were about to endure, he cracked his lids open, only to slam them shut as the harsh rays of the sun burned his cornea.

"Hurensohn!" he cursed as he brought his hands up to his eyes to lessen the brightness that was assaulting them. He then hastily rolled over onto his belly, cutting off direct contact with the suns rays. Rubbing his eyes for a few moments as he adjusted to the pain, he was able to realize that he was laying on the grass outside.

'Grass? Wait, why the hell am I outside?' he wondered, as the last thing he remembered was going to sleep in his bed. Having finally adjusted to the brightness, his eyes opened once more to examine his surroundings.

And he was safely able to conclude he had no idea where he was...

Every direction he looked was an expansive forest of deciduous trees. He was in a rather small clearing of sorts, his 'luck' allowing him to have been placed in the small opening in the tree branches that allowed the sun to filter through to his eyes. Crawling into the shade provided by the trees, he flipped himself back over to lie comfortably on his back.

'... Please don't tell me I'm dead.' he bemoaned in his mind.

"If this is some kind of joke," he declared to the sky above. "I think it's understandable why I ain't laughing."

Of course he wasn't expecting an answer. He just wanted to get some of his complaints out.

Sitting up, he scooted backwards so his back was leaned up against a tree. "Oh, what fresh hell is this?" he wondered aloud. Turning his gaze downward, he noticed that he wasn't in his nightwear as he last remembered being. He was wearing his grey zip-up hoodie with his commemorative No Game No Life shirt underneath. An exact copy of the one Sora wears, it read 'I heart ppl'. At least that's what he assumed it said. There were quite a few different translations for it. Slightly worn blue jeans covered his legs, and his black sneakers with white laces adorned his feet.

The pain from earlier had finally subsided and he began the arduous task of standing up. Only for something heavy to fall out of the tree and hit him on the head.

"Mother fucker!" he shouted as he rubbed the back of his head before turning to see what the offending object was that hit him. To his surprise it was his backpack. Apparently it was snagged in the branches above and finally succumbed to gravity's influence.

"Well, at least I'm not without supplies. Although I have a feeling that I didn't pack anything along the lines of a first aid kit." he groused as he sat back down and opened the pack to take stock of his belongings. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. Watch? Check. Swiss army knife? Check. Sketchpad? Check. Writing utensils? Check. Laptop? Check. Portable gaming system? Check. Solar powered charger? Check. Battery pack and cords? Check. Headphones? Check. Flashlight? Check.

It was weird. Some of these things he didn't even remember putting in his backpack. Not that he was complaining. Lastly there were a couple bottles of water and a handful of energy bars.

"Here's to hoping I find civilization before I run out of food." he groaned as he zipped the pack up and slung it over his back. Pulling out his phone, he turned it on in the hopes of being able to call for help. Only for them to be dashed. "No signal... Well ain't that just grand."

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he decided to get a move on. He wasn't going to accomplish anything just by sitting around.

(-)

As he walked, he noticed something... odd. The environment seemed distinctly... colorful? Smooth? Vivid? ... Well rendered? He wasn't exactly sure what to call it, but everything looked different from how it usually did. And he wasn't just saying that because he was someplace unfamiliar. He chalked it up to a probable head injury or something else that was screwing up his eyesight. All the more reason for him to find civilization as fast as possible. Hopefully it was just a problem the would resolve itself over time, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.

Regardless, he was also getting annoyed by his lack of progress. 3 hours had passed and he had yet to see signs of anything. No walking paths, no road signs, hell, no ROADS! He was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. His sense of a lack of progress was made even more evident by the massive storm cloud overhead. He would admit it took him longer than it should have for him to notice such a prominent feature in the sky. The massive pillar of darkness would rumble from time to time, giving him a sense of unease. However it was also quite odd. The cloud looked nothing like any cloud he had ever seen before. It was almost like an upside down tornado in the sky. The other strange thing about it was the fact that it was seemingly unmoving. It just listlessly floated about the sky to the south.

Taking a break to have a snack, he eyed the cloud curiously. For some reason he felt like it was familiar. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind like he should recognize it. He thought on it for a moment and realized that couldn't be the case. After all, that was just an anime. And despite how much he wished anime was real, it would never be so. Putting such frivolous thoughts aside, he continued onward. Desperately hoping he wasn't just making his way deeper into the forest.

(-)

"When I find the one responsible for putting me in this mess, oh ho ho... they are gonna regret it." he chuckled sinisterly. The novelty of his situation wore off about 2 hours ago and now he was just plain annoyed. Sure, he liked the occasional hike through the woods... but that was when there was a freaking path to follow! At least that way you knew you were near civilization!

Despite all his bellyaching, he couldn't help but thank his father for forcing him to work out. While he wasn't exactly what you would call 'ripped', he was still in much better shape than your stereotypical otaku. It was thanks to this that he had been able to make it this far in the first place. Had he been of weaker constitution, he would've given up a long time ago.

As he was deep in thought about the downright terrifying revenge he had planned for whoever put him in this situation, his eyes caught something in the distance. It looked like... a stone wall!

"Oh, thank the heavens above!" he cried as adrenaline pumped through his veins as he dashed towards the first sign of progress he'd seen all day.

Bursting out of the treeline, he expected to at the very least see some semblance of a town. And in a way, he was right. Only that it was the ruined remains of a town that had long since been abandoned.

"Scheisse!" he yelled as he collapsed to his knees. What he had initially thought was a stone wall had actually been the remnants of a house that had collapsed over time. There was no real infrastructure to be seen. Wooden beams had long since rotted away to nothing, moss and other foliage had reclaimed what little was left, and much to his disappointment, there wasn't even a 'historic sight' sign. Meaning he was still in the middle of nowhere.

"This just ain't my day..." he wept as tears comically poured down his face. Falling on his back, he looked up at the sky and noticed that it was beginning to darken. Night was approaching. Seeing no point in trying to stumble through the dark of the forest only to get even more lost, he decided that this would be a good place to rest for the night.

Sitting back up, he noticed something that initially escaped his notice. In the center of what was once the village, was a statue of sorts. Approaching it, he noticed that it was a life sized statue of a wolf standing on a pedestal. It was in surprisingly good condition despite being made of stone.

"I wonder who you were..." he said as he eyed the statue. Normally in small villages like this, one wouldn't waste time building a statue of just any old animal. So the wolf had to be special or something. A pet of the villages leader perhaps? No, they wouldn't go through all this trouble just for someones pet, no matter how important they were.

His gaze wandered down and he noticed an etching in the stone that was covered by moss. Brushing it off, he found a name had been carved into it.

Venatrix.

"I guess that's your name, although I have no idea what it means, if anything." he said as he placed his backpack on the ground next to the statue and lay down, opting to use the backpack as a makeshift pillow. "I hope you don't mind the company for the night Venatrix. Don't worry, I'll get out of your hair tomorrow."

(-)

Waking up with a sore back from sleeping on the hard ground was not the most ideal way he wanted to start his day. He had enough trouble just trying to fall asleep under the current circumstances, let alone get a good nights sleep. Sitting back up, he fished his phone out of his pocket and checked it again to see if he had a signal now... He didn't.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this?" he moaned as he returned the phone to his pocket.

Stretching out the kinks in his back, he was about to continue on his way, but stopped to give the statue one last look. There was something about it that seemed special. Not really sure what possessed him to do it, he walked up to the statue and clasped his hands in prayer. "I suppose I should be thanking you for the hospitality... Even if you are just a statue. My best guess is that you were some kind of legend or a guardian for this village back in the day... Must be pretty lonely out here with no one around and all. But I hope my company was enjoyable for you, regardless of how short it was."

He had know idea just what he was saying. Here he was, talking to a statue. In hindsight, he figured maybe the desperation of the situation was getting to him and he just decided he needed someone to talk to. Even if that someone couldn't talk back.

"Well anyway, I gotta get going if I'm to stand any chance at survival." he said as he turned and left, but not before waving goodbye. "See ya."

"Wait..."

Halting mid-step, he turned around upon hearing the faint voice. "Eh?" he uttered as he looked around the village, only to find nothing. "Hahh, can't believe the isolation is getting to me already. Just ignore the voices, they ain't really there." he grumbled as he continued on his way.

"Wait..."

Spinning around once more, he was once again greeted by the sight of nothing. Now he was getting a little on edge. "Nothing there, gotta keep moving."

"I SAID WAIT DAMN IT!" came a shrill scream.

The sudden outburst caused him to stumble mid-step and faceplant into the ground. Groaning in pain, he steadily got to his feet and whipped his head in the direction of the voice. "Who the hell's there?!" he shouted.

"ME!"

"... You say that," he started as he scratched the back of his head. "But I don't see anybody! Where are you?!"

"The statue!"

"You're behind the statue?"

"No, I am the statue!"

He gave a deadpanned look. "If this is some kind of elaborate prank, I'll have you know that I am not in the mood for it."

"Just get over here."

It would've been best for his sanity to just ignore the voice and move on, but the lack of sleep was impairing his judgement. So he walked back over to the wolf statue and stood in front of it. "Okay, what do you want... whatever you are." he asked the statue.

"It has been a long time since I last had company. So I wanted to thank you for stopping by to spend some time with me."

Deciding to 'humor' his apparent delusion, he played along. "Yeah well, I guess you're lucky that I stumbled upon you. Just what are you anyway?"

"I am the guardian spirit of this village. My name is Venatrix."

"Well, no offence Venatrix, but there ain't that much of a village here to guard." he responded.

"Yes. I am well aware of that fact. The villagers left long ago to live their lives elsewhere. Yet I remained. Rooted to this spot, forever on guard in this abandoned forest. Until you came along that is."

"What does your entrapment have to do with me?"

"My duty to this village has long since been completed. And now I desire to leave this place and find a new goal in life. You can help me with that."

The teen let out a sigh as he resigned himself to facing his delusion. "Okay, let's say you're real. That you aren't just some delusion that I've come up with to deal with the soul-crushing loneliness. What exactly would you have me do?"

"Under normal circumstances, such an action could only be accomplished by a girl, but for some reason your soul seems to have an abnormality in it that is allowing me to do this."

"Yeah, abnormal..." he dryly responded, thinking back on all the people that refer to his anime obsession as weird. "I get that alot."

"As such, I wish to form a pact with you and become your familiar."

"A what?"

"Familiar: A spiritual animal capable of bonding with a person in order to grant them access to magical abilities." answered the voice.

"Magic?" the teen scoffed. "You can't tell me that stuff is real. No matter how much I wish it was so." the last bit he whispered to himself.

"Oh but it is. Countless generations of Witches have utilized the arcane arts for the betterment of society. I'm actually surprised that you haven't heard of it before."

"I'll believe it when I see it." he scoffed with a shrug. "So what, you want to become my familiar?"

"Precisely. I'll finally be able to leave the village, and you'll be granted power in exchange. What do you say?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, he decided to go along with the voices proposition. He didn't see a downside to the offer. And you know what they say, nothing ventured nothing gained. "Sure, why not?" he answered. It's not like any of this was real.

"Excellent!" the voice responded in excitement.

Moments later the statue began to glow brightly. The teen covered his eyes to shield them from the brightness of it. Once the light receded, the statue was gone, and in its place was a white wolf. 'This is one hell of a delusion. I'll say that much.'

The wolf hopped off the pedestal and stood before the teen with its paw outstretched. "My name is Venatrix, and I accept you as my master."

The teen reached down and grabbed the wolfs paw with his hand to shake it. "Wilhelm Jaeger. But you can just call me William."

As soon as they finished their handshake, Venatrix began to glow as her body slowly flowed into William's. Once the process was complete, William felt an odd sensation on his head and lower back. Like something had just sprouted through his skin.

"The hell is this?" he wondered aloud as he reached up to his head. His hands brushed against something fuzzy and soft. Tracing his fingers along the protrusions, he found that they were indeed part of his head. "Are these... ears?"

"Wolf ears to be precise." came Venatrix's voice from inside his head.

"Oookay... Why do I have wolf ears?"

"Don't forget the tail."

Reaching behind him, he found Venatrix's words to be true as he had grown a tail as well. "Right... Why do I have a wolfs ears and tail?"

"Because this is the form you take when you wish to utilize your powers. Don't worry, it's not permanent. Simply will them away and away they shall go. But you won't be able to use magic without them out."

"... This is beginning to remind me of a show I watched. And I'm not sure if I should be excited or worried about that. I think I'll go with both."

"Whatever do you mean?"

William waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing worth fretting over right now. As things currently stand, I'm more concerned with trying to find civilization. Working out just what kind of craziness I've gotten dragged into can wait." he said as he continued his trek through the woods.

(-)

The smell of salt in the air drew William's attention as he hiked through the forest. It was the tell-tale sign of the ocean being nearby. And if he could follow the ocean he is bound to come across a port town at some point.

"Finally, some worthwhile progress." he said as he followed the scent in the air.

It wasn't long after that he hit the beach. A vast expanse of salt water was spread out before him, and the soft grainy sand that sunk beneath his feet.

Pulling out a coin from his pocket, William tossed it up and down as he pondered his options. "Okay; heads I go left, tails I go right." he said before flipping the coin off his thumb and catching it. "Heads. Left it is."

As William made his way down the beach, he decided to probe Venatrix for more information about his so-called 'magic'. After all, it would be in his best interest to know just what he was packing.

"Hmm, for starters all Witches are capable of of a few things regardless. Enhanced senses, boosts to physical capabilities such as being stronger or faster, the ability to charge and enchant objects with magic, as well as create barriers, or, shields."

"Well that sounds pretty useful. But I take it there's more than just that?"

"Correct. Aside from the universal abilities that all Witches are capable of, each Witch develops their own personal 'spell'."

William was beginning to concede to the thought that he might just be in the anime Strike Witches if what Venatrix was telling him was true. It sounded exactly like what the characters in the show were capable of. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, hoping Venatrix would know how he unlocks his ability to use his own magic.

"While not always unique, as only so many different spells can exist before there end up being copies, a Witch develops a type of spell that they specialize in. Although one cannot learn the spells of others, the one that they do know will without a doubt be mastered by them."

"Okay. So what spell can I use?"

"I am unsure. You see, most of the time the spell a Witch can use is based on their personality or some other aspect of them. For example; if someone is a rather hyperactive person, then their magic will probably be something along the lines of a major speed boost. But such things are not a sure turnout. Sometimes the spell one learns can be random."

"So you're basically saying I need to figure this out on my own?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

William rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What the hell am I supposed to do then? Make weird poses and shout stuff while I try to shoot fire out of my palm?"

"If necessary, yes."

William sweatdropped at this. He was only joking.

"But if it helps, try to think about just who you are. If your spell is based on a certain aspect of yourself, then start from there."

Scratching his head in thought, William mulled over what he knew about himself. However all the things he knows about himself are from his perspective, so they might be quite skewed. Either way, it was all he had to go on for now. 'Let's see... I'm a hardcore otaku, I have an obsession with organization, I'm a little... very perverted, I like to write doujinshi, I'm a hardcore gun nut, I have a bit of a martyr complex, I like to help others out, I'm a fan of good music, I'm a hardcore gamer... Shit, there's just too many possibilities.'

As William continued to ponder the possibilities, he looked up to see a pillar of smoke in the distance. There was never a time before this when he was so happy to see smoke. "FINALLY!" he cried as he ran down the beach and towards the smoke signal. Smoke meant fire, and fire meant that something had to cause it. And being that the forest wasn't particularly dry, that ruled out a forest fire. Which meant the fire had to be man-made.

However upon reaching the source, William once again collapsed to his knees in despair, and repeated the famous catchphrase of a certain protagonist. "Fukou da..."

For the town he had arrived at was once again an abandoned one. Although this one was still relatively intact as well as somewhat modern looking. The buildings were in various states of destruction. Some completely reduced to rubble, some missing a wall, and others that were lucky enough to be untouched. Craters filled with rainwater dotted the stone roads, some big enough to fit a tank in them. And speaking of tanks, William spotted several destroyed German Panzers that were facing inland. Battle scars were visible in every direction he looked.

William eventually worked up the nerve to walk deeper into the town. After all, there was still that fire to be checked out. Maybe someone was still alive. It was wishful thinking, as from what William could tell, the attack on this town happened quite awhile ago. A fact that was backed up by the skeletons that were scattered about. Some dressed in military uniforms and others in civilian clothes. Seeing death in an anime or video game was one thing, seeing it in real life was another. William steeled himself and said a silent prayer for the unfortunate victims as he passed them by.

The source of the fire was only a few blocks away now. Soon William would find out whether or not he was alone in this broken town.

"Knowing my luck this person will probably be a cannibal or something." he said with a wry chuckle.

Unfortunately for William, the reality was worse than he could've imagined.

Covered in black hexagonal panels with a few panels that were red instead, was a destructive machine that was modeled to look like a tank. The resemblance was only just there, as it was more of a trapezoid with a turret stuck to the front. And to make matters worse, it wasn't alone.

William quickly ducked behind the cover of one of the buildings to avoid being spotted by them. "Neuroi... It just had to be Neuroi..." he muttered quietly as his suspicions had been all but confirmed. "I would be totally stoked about this right now, if I wasn't so damn terrified."

For William, winding up in an anime was something he had only dreamed about. Regular life bored him to no end. He always wished that there was something more exciting to it. Something along the lines of magic or super powers. The only real downside was that said anime were pretty much guaranteed to have some form of antagonistic faction. The prospect of dying was something he was well aware of when he fantasized about such things. But for him, it was a risk he was willing to take. After all, everything you do involves some level of risk. You might walk out the door one day and be struck dead by a drunk driver. At least in situations like this, you knew what was coming to get you and plan accordingly.

That being said, William was overjoyed about the fact that he had ended up in his favorite series, Strike Witches. Half naked girls with big ass guns? What's not to love? However as of right now he was akin to a level 1 noob facing off against the stock enemy of the final dungeon. The odds weren't exactly in his favor. So it was in his best interest to remain undetected and get the F out of dodge. Otherwise he'd never get his chance to see some of that sweet Witch booty.

"I wonder if they saw me..." William mused as he oh so barely peeked his head around the corner.

The tank round that whizzed past his head was the answer to his question. William snapped back behind the wall and ran down the alley in hopes of escaping. "I'll take that as a yes!" he shouted as he entered Witch mode and pumped magic through his legs in order to run faster.

Navigating his way through the back alley's, he did his best to put as much distance between him and the tank Neuroi as possible. Eventually though he reached the end of the alley and had to sprint across an intersection to continue fleeing. When he was about halfway across the road he heard the thunderous roar of the tank cannon as the shop next to him suddenly exploded. The shockwave sent William flying onto his back as shrapnel and debris showered him. Briefly looking up to the tank Neuroi and then to the shop, William sweatdropped. "And to think that could've been me."

Turning his gaze back to the tank, he noticed that its turret was realigning itself towards William. Rushing to his feet, William dived forward into the window of the house in front of him and rolled across the floor in a curled up position. A second later he heard the tank fire another round at the spot he had just been. It was so close that the already weakened house was shaking rather precariously. Seeing that he was an unwanted guest, William quickly rushed out the back door and into another alley. "At least they can't follow me through these narrow alley's." William remarked as he paused to catch his breath. "Maybe I should just stay here and wait 'em out."

That was of course, until the tank turret smashed through the wall next to him before its main body followed after it and entered the alley.

"Now that just ain't fair..." William said. And the chase resumed. "Of course they don't care about the damage from debris! They keep regenerating until their core is destroyed!"

Dashing into another building and shutting the door behind him for what it was worth, William managed to temporarily lose his pursuers. But he knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. It didn't matter if it was just a single human, the Neuroi would call for backup regardless and level the whole town to find him. At least for now it was just ground forces. Once air support arrives, he'll have nowhere to hide. "Could sure use a gun right about now." he groused as he sat on the ground to take a quick breather. "An M249 SAW, an FN SCAR, an AK47, hell I'll take a friggin double action revolver at this point. Although, it'd be real nice to go out with a good ol' Colt M1911. Last stand style."

As William fantasized about his perfect death, the clunk of metal on wood resounded in front of him. There on the ground between his legs, was the very gun he was just thinking about. "Oh sweet merciful god above!" he exclaimed as he snatched up the pistol. Looking up, William saw a small hole in the ceiling. "Must've fallen through."

Turning his gaze back to the gun, he noted that it was in strangely pristine condition. That, and there was a weird feeling as he held it. Like it was natural for him to be in possession of the weapon. Pulling out the clip, he noted that it was fully loaded with the standard .45 ACP rounds. Inserting the clip back into the gun, he pulled back the slide and chambered the first round. "7 shots, that's all I get with this. But it's better than nothing."

In all honesty, William doubted he would be able to take down even one of the Neuroi tanks with just a pistol and 7 bullets, let alone several of them. But it was a comforting thought to know he now had the ability to fight back.

The rumbling of the building signaled that his brief respite was over as the tanks approached. Shoving the Colt into his pocket, William took off once more as he did his best to evade the Neuroi patrols. At this point, trying to flee into the forest was not an option. He'd be gunned down before he could reach the safety of the trees. So now his only real option was to fight.

"But how the hell am I supposed to do that?!" he shouted as ducked into another alley as the ground behind him exploded from the tank round. Looking ahead, he noticed the skeleton of a soldier that was holding a bag. Determining that he had a couple moments before the Neuroi caught up, William rifled through the back to see if he could find anything useful. "Jackpot!" it was a bag of Stielhandgranate. And lying next to the man was a STG 44 with a spare ammo clip.

Already formulating his plan, William snatched up the munitions and continued down the alley. "Come and get me you bastards!" he shouted back at the Neuroi.

As if in response to his jeering, the tank plowed its way down the alley as it gave chase. As it rounded the next corner the tank lost sight of William. Continuing its pursuit, the Neuroi proceeded down the alley, but halted when it heard a whistle above it.

William was leaning out the second story window of a house. He was holding a stick grenade in his hand and was waving it like a toy he was showing off. The male Witch pulled the string and activated the fuse. Throwing the grenade into the bag which contained more, he then tossed the bag out the window where it landed on top of the tank. Seconds later the bag exploded, taking a large chunk out of the Neuroi hull, revealing its core.

"Essen blei!" he shouted as he unloaded the STG 44's clip into the glowing red core. The object shattered into glass-like fragments before the tank itself exploded. It was unfortunate that as a result of this, the building William was inside was damaged and lost its structural integrity.

"Crap, crap, crap!" he yelled as the building started to fall over into the alley. William jumped out the window at the last second and crashed through the window of the house across the alley. "Phew, looks like my luck is holding out for once." he remarked as he loaded a fresh clip into the STG 44. "Now I just need to do that another three times. Oh joy." the last bit was said rather dryly.

Crossing the house, he looked out the window to see if he could spot anymore of the tanks. He was fortunate in that none were on the current road. Although that explosion is sure to draw them in soon. But as he scanned the roads he spotted something in the distance.

The docks.

And then it hit him. Smacking himself on the forehead for his stupidity, his next objective was decided. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

It was now or never. He needed to make a break for the docks before the Neuroi converged on his position. Bolting out the door, he sprinted full speed down the street. The docks were straight ahead of him, almost within reach. As he drew closer he could see several boats that were still sea worthy and could get him away from the Neuroi.

However just as he passed the last row of buildings before the docks, the shop he was passing by exploded. Unlike the earlier one that was a relatively safe distance away from him, he was practically on top of this one. He could feel the wood and glass shrapnel that pelted his body as he became airborne once more. Landing on his stomach, William slowly pushed off the ground with his hands as he attempted to stand back up. It was an arduous task as his body felt like shit. He was already running on adrenaline to avoid the Neuroi, now his body was shaken up real bad. A screeching sound in the air garnered his attention and he looked up to see what it was. Passing overhead was the culprit behind the explosion. A moderate sized Neuroi that was shaped not unlike an arrowhead.

"Shit..." William groaned as he forced himself to his feet. Only to wince as a sharp pain shot through his stomach. Looking down, he spotted the chunk of splintered wood that was embedded in his side. "Well... that ain't good..." he said sardonically.

Removing the wood would just make him bleed out faster, so for now he would have to leave it in. Not like it would prolong his life much longer. The Neuroi overhead would ensure any escape attempts failed. Hunched over but standing, William trudged forward as fast as he could, blood pouring out of his wound and onto the street. It didn't take a genius to realize what his chances of survival were. He knew he was going to die here and there was nothing he could do to prevent that. All he could hope to do was prolong his suffering and deal as much damage to his enemies as possible.

His foot caught on a dislodged stone in the street, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees. Panting heavily as he tried to block out the immense pain he was feeling, his attention was grabbed by a familiar rumbling down the street. Apparently the tanks had caught up.

By now William didn't even have the strength to stand again. So he crawled his way over to the building next to him and propped himself up with his back against the wall. "You guys are damn persistent... You know that?" he said to the Neuroi as they approached. Grasping at the STG 44, he turned his body slightly as he aimed it downrange. "If I'm gonna die... I'm gonna use every last bullet I got..."

He pulled the trigger and sent a salvo of bullets in the Neuroi's direction. But due to his injured state, he wasn't able to aim properly. Not that it really mattered. Any bullets that were lucky enough to hit their mark simply bounced off the armored Neuroi, and soon enough William heard the tell-tale click of the empty magazine. Tossing the now useless weapon aside, he pulled out the M1911 he had picked up earlier. He briefly considered taking his own life, if only to rob the Neuroi of the joy of killing him themselves. That is, if they are capable of feeling joy. But he opted against it. He would die one way or another, and he'd rather fight to the bitter end. And it was with this resolve that he aimed at the ever approaching Neuroi.

He pulled the trigger.

One.

The bullet missed.

Two.

Miss again.

Three.

Grazed the side of one of the tanks.

Four.

Direct hit, but ricocheted off.

Five.

Miss.

Six.

Managed to hit one of the red panels and cause slight damage.

William let out a heavy sigh. "Guess this is it..." he mused with a weak smile as he stared death in the face. "Last bullet... last chance..."

It was a strange feeling, dying under such conditions. Somehow he had ended up in his favorite anime, and was now dying at the hands of the antagonistic alien race. He didn't even get a chance to see any of the Witches. "Really wish I could've seen those pantsu..."

And with that, he fired the final round.

*BOOM*

William was very startled by the explosion of the tank Neuroi, along with the subsequent explosions of the other two.

'Did I... do that?'

The sound of engines roaring overhead shifted William's attention. As he turned his gaze to the sky, he caught sight of his saviors. About half a dozen girls flying with the aid of what basically amounted to 'plane-legs'. His fading vision made it hard to discern exactly how many and who exactly they were, but he had a gut feeling that it was the Strike Witches.

"Heh... guess I'm gonna survive after all." he said weakly as his eyes followed two of the Witches as they descended towards him.

"We got a survivor down here!" shouted Commander Minna as she and Barkhorn approached.

"Stay with us! You're going to be alright!" yelled Barkhorn.

"We have to get him back to base! Shirley! Get down here!"

By now William's hearing had faded and his consciousness would soon follow, but he did manage to get a glimpse of something that he would be happy to have been his final sight.

'Nice panties...'

And then his vision went black.