The Goddess of Death
Author's Note: Forgive any inaccuracies I make, please. This story was inspired by "Soft Touch" by palomino333. Thanks.
My name is Tommy Hill. I was just an average 24-year-old from Manchester, England who decided to enlist when "The Great War" was announced. I thought fighting in this war would be fun and glorious. I was a fool.
After basic training, my teammates and I were put into a unit commanded by General Scott Glen. He was strange. He was very casual, and insisted we call him "The Wiseman" when not in the presence of other high-ranking officials. He always seemed to smile, as if he knew some secrets he would never share with us. Despite his old age, he was deadly in battle. He never missed his shots, while we sometimes needed three or four tries to hit a running target despite all our hours of training. In close combat, he used quick and efficient strikes to bring down his foe in seconds. We loved him like a father.
For four years, we advanced across Europe, drawing ever closer to Germany. We fought in the trenches. We were often miserable. Rain filled the trenches with muddy water and rats. I had to watch many of my trusted teammates die, often gruesomely. The Wiseman urged us not to give up, that we just had to keep moving forward.
In our fourth year of fighting, our nightmare grew from bad to worse. Those damn Germans took dead bodies and somehow transformed them into walking abominations. They were faster, stronger, and most importantly, didn't need food, water, or sleep. We were pushed back, taking shelter in a trench. We were trapped. A monster stood guard with a gatling gun, ready to mow us down if we tried to leave. Even if we managed to shoot it, it would quickly be replaced with another. We had to stand guard in shifts, lest the monsters attempt to raid the trench during the night. After a few days, we managed to move along to the end of the trench, where we found a church.
Occasionally, we could send soldiers into the church for supplies. Even so, we were losing hope, starting to mentally shut down. Not the Wiseman. He listened to our radio with glee.
"The enemy is planning to deliver a map with top secret information on it to the Kaiser. Never fear, some secret weapons are coming in tomorrow," he reported. "Just hold on until then."
The next morning, something really strange was airdropped to us. It looked like an oversized suit of armor.
"Are those bunnies!" Lieutenant Mark Wayne exclaimed, regarding the design painted on the armor. "What the hell is this!"
"Excellent!" answered the Wiseman. "It means they have arrived. Hang on, I'll be right back." He climbed out of the trench and sprinted into the church, dodging gatling gun fire along the way.
"I suppose we have no choice but to sit and wait," sighed the Lieutenant.
A few minutes later, the Wiseman returned. Marching with him were five of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. The first was short, almost a child, with white hair, in a sailor outfit with a curved sword on her back. The second looked like an Indian, dressed in buckskin, with a pair of tomahawks on her belt. The third was an oriental, in a pilot's uniform with a lollipop in her mouth. The fourth wore her dirty blonde hair short like a boy, with a black shirt that looked slightly translucent. The fifth wore a type of medieval armor over her shoulders, with a huge sword on her back. She was wearing a hood, but I could discern long, auburn hair. Their clothes were scandalous, with most of their arms and legs exposed, but I also noticed they all armed with guns of designs I have never seen before.
Predictably, the men's eyes lit up, both in delight and confusion.
The Indian walked up to me and pulled my helmet off before I could react. With a look of amusement, she gripped my chin and tilted my head up. Her hand was soft but strong. I was stunned.
Over her shoulder, I locked eyes with the hooded girl. She was scowling, but when she saw me, she gave a little gasp. She abruptly turned away, blushing. Chuckling, the Indian released me and joined the others. I felt pride at the effect I had on the hooded girl. I knew I was handsome, but no girl had ever reacted like that to me.
The oriental approached the armor and pushed a button. The armor's chest panel opened up and she climbed inside. The armor closed and stood up, its upper body sticking out of the trench. Immediately, the monsters shot at it, but the bullets bounced off.
The Wiseman signaled to the girls to listen.
"German doctors and engineers have worked out how to return their fallen to the front lines. They're using steam power and clockworks to keep them moving." He walked to the edge of the trench. A shell exploded nearby, and he had to duck to avoid a shower of dirt.
"So, don't feel bad about killing them. They're already dead!" He stuck his head out of the trench and fired two quick shots, taking out the monsters manning the gatling gun, judging by how the gatling gun's noise stopped.
"Remember ladies, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Oh, and one last thing, try and work together."
At that, the oriental in the armor shot into the sky like a rocket! The other four leapt out of the trench. Immediate gunfire ensued.
Upon this display, we were all galvanized into action. We attempted to follow them, but the Wiseman held up a hand.
"Where do you think you're going, boys?"
"Sir, we can't just stand by and let these girls fight alone. What kind of men would we be?" I declared.
"You don't understand. These are highly trained professionals. We would only hinder them," he replied.
"What! They're massively outnumbered! You said to work together! We have to help them!" I cried out in desperation.
"Very well," he chuckled. "Let's go!"
We leapt out and entered the battlefield. Droves of the monsters were already destroyed, but we found four of the girls hiding behind the remnants of buildings, avoiding bullets from the undead army ahead. Before we could provide cover fire, the girl in the flying armor beat us to it. She fired what seemed to be artillery shells, blowing the creatures away. The other girls emerged and opened fire.
It was unreal! They were so fast, taking down enemy after enemy with each shot.
Suddenly, a German biplane dropped an explosive near the armored girl, briefly knocking her off-balance. She took off, plowing through plane after plane.
"Damn it, that's not working together," the Wiseman commented. "You were right, Private Hill. All of you, provide backup and cover fire!"
We complied with relish, taking potshots at the monsters whenever we could. The four girls charged, diving into the Germans' trench.
"Damn! Look at them go!" Private Jessup exclaimed.
"Don't just stand there gawking! After them!" I yelled.
We charged at the trench, picking off the stray monsters when we could.
Looking down, we experienced a spectacle. We had to struggle not to gawk as the four engaged the monsters in a mixture of gunplay and close combat. With graceful ease, they flipped and rolled, using complicated kicks, strikes, and throws against the abominations.
Our painful four years of experience taught us that too many soldiers fighting in a cramped trench can lead to disaster, so we stayed above ground, picking off monsters and trying our best not to hit the girls.
The four girls separated. Frustrated, we divided our unit into teams and followed each one.
My team was ultimately shot down, but I reached the short-haired girl, who was completely surrounded by monsters. Terrified, I tried to fire on them, but my rifle was empty! I prepared to jump down with my bayonet, but was startled by a sky-shattering scream.
"ROCKET!" The hooded girl rounded the corner and opened fire, downing all the creatures. She ran up to the girl and cupped her chin. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, Sweet Pea, I am," she answered. They hugged in relief. I was relieved as well, but I noticed a monster approaching them out of the corner of my eye and taking aim!
"Argh!" Almost on instinct, I dived down and speared it through the head with my bayonet.
Breathing heavily, I looked up to find the two staring at me.
"Nice!" Commented Rocket with a huge grin.
"Thanks, you saved us," added Sweat Pea with a look of admiration and adoration on her face.
Oh God, her smile magnified her beauty. I felt like living and dying was worth it just to see it.
"Just doing my duty, ma'am." I tried to hide my blush.
"Regroup with your men, Private. Come on sis, we've got a map to capture!" Rocket took Sweet Pea's arm and led her away. "Be careful, and thanks again," she called over her shoulder.
I shook the fog out of my head enough to realize I had been left alone, but I didn't mind. The trench was empty for the moment. I reloaded and carefully climbed out.
I did rejoin my men and resumed fighting off the monsters. The girls did succeed in capturing the map, collapsing the enemy bunker in the process.
I never saw them again. A few weeks later, the war was declared over. We desperately asked the Wiseman who those girls were and where they came from. He answered that they were an elite black-ops force and their codenames were Babydoll (the child-like one), Amber (the oriental), Blondie (the Indian), Rocket, and Sweet Pea. They had practically sacrificed everything, even their original identities, to keep our world safe from evil. Now they left to battle it elsewhere in the world.
We went home vowing never to forget those amazing girls and how they had saved us. For the rest of my life, Sweet Pea held a special place in my heart. Though she wielded death like the Reaper himself, I saw a glimpse of the goddess underneath. I was sorry I was never able to find her, but I never regretted saving her and making her smile.
Author's Note: Scott Glen is the Wiseman's actor. The special features suggest that Babydoll's dream adventures actually happened, so I decided to roll with that. Watching the movie, it bothered me that the soldiers from the WWI fantasy didn't assist the girls, and that the meaningful looks between Sweet Pea and the soldier/guy on the bus weren't elaborated on. More fics shipping this couple FTW!