So, this is going to be my first time ever writing for this site and fandom. I appreciate anyone who decides to give this story a click.
As a note, this story will switch between the point of view of three characters, and occasionally I may swap to others if the setting is fitting for it.

A big note for this story that I couldn't add in the summary: This story is an AU where the world is more or less dying, and people live on cities built aboard the massive carriers that were used as school ships in the show. The characters tagged in the story reflect the characters who will make the most appearances in the story towards the beginning, but I promise others will show up. The rating of M is just to be safe, as I tend to get descriptive at times during combat.

I sincerely hope to do weekly or bi-weekly (once every other week) updates for this story, and I hope that anyone who has comments about what I might be able to do better will speak up. Thank you to anyone who reads this!

Before I even opened my eyes, I heard ringing. A deafening screech that threatened to make my head explode from the sheer pain it induced. The next thing I noticed was a dull throbbing in my legs, almost as if I had recently landed on them after jumping from a roof. I was vaguely aware that I was being moved. It really didn't register to me what was happening, I could barely feel my own body at that moment after all. Sound began to slowly trickle back into my ears very gradually as I felt myself roughly propped up against a wall. All I could hear was a dull thumping, the vibrations of which I felt through my throbbing legs. Vaguely a voice began to reach my mind, though whose it was I couldn't for the life of me discern. A few moments passed as I tried to recuperate from my daze. All the while, the rapid dull thumps continued off to my side. Occasionally, I felt the ground rumble beneath me and a shockwave rattle my very bones. Eventually, I found the strength to open my eyes. My view was met by a cloud of dust drifting lazily in the breeze. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I couldn't help but choke on the disgustingly acrid scent of gun smoke.

Immediately as the coughing started, a hand was on my shoulder. My eyes met a pair of dark green orbs that stared into mine in concern. I wheezed and inspected the face of my team leader. Her once pale skin was blackened by soot, and her cheek was marred by a long cut from her jawline to under her eye. I began to feel panic welling up inside my chest. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't find my voice at all. The hand on my shoulder shook me roughly a few times, shaking me from the horrified trance I'd slipped into. Her lips were moving, but I still didn't hear a damn thing... I tried to read her lips, but all I could make of it was something about a duck? What in the fuck did a duck have to do with-

'Fuck that hurt!' I thought was roused from my thoughts by a smack to the side of my head. My vision blurred for a moment, before sound began to meet my ears. Real sound, not just random vibrations. I was ecstatic for a moment before the ground shook again and I swear I almost lost my hearing again. I held my left ear with a hand as I turned my right to face Hikari as she shouted at me some more.

"Get the fuck up Archie!" She shouted directly into my ear. Somehow, she managed to sound calm and in control even though I swear the look on her face looked near hysterical a moment ago. "Come on, get up! We need you!" She called, before she ducked down low as a series of deafening cracks went off like a symphony of farmers' whips. Jagged shards of concrete showered me and stung my face as I sat there recovering from my daze. My heart began to beat faster, and I felt a cold sweat develop all over my body. My eyes began to dart around wildly, before they shot down to my legs.

To say I found my voice in that moment would be laughable. The scream of horror I let out would put a toddler who didn't get the dessert they wanted to shame. My pants were tattered, and I saw a multitude of jagged cuts across my shins. Blood stained the heavy fabric around my thighs, and a small hole in my lower right thigh seemed to be surrounded by a slightly darker patch of red than anywhere else. My body began to tremble as I began to breathe very rapidly. Again, palm met cheek with a loud smack before I turned my head to meet Hikari's gaze.

'She looks... Scared... What the fuck is happening...?' I asked myself as my eyes locked on to hers.

"I know you're scared Archie." She said, retrieving a bandage and gauze from a pouch on her belt. She began to hold the gauze to the hole on my thigh. "But this is what you were trained for. Just breathe slowly. In, count to three. Then let it out and count to three. Repeat until you feel yourself stop shaking, got it?" She asked before she moved to wrap the bandage tightly around the gauze on my thigh. "That'll hold you over for now. Calm down and get in the fight." She said, before she turned and made her way across the wall to her machine gun.

My eyes wandered back down to the wound on my leg. The bandage was stained red, and my legs felt heavier than a wrecking ball. The ground shook again from the loud discharge of a weapon, before I heard the loud firing of an engine, and the whine of metal rubbing against metal. My mind began to go into overdrive as I felt myself beginning to slip into the depths of panic once again. I began to breathe deeply, just as Hikari told me to. I closed my eyes and I breathed.

In...

And out...

In...

And out...

'Where the fuck have I done this before?' I questioned myself silently.

As I did this, I heard the scream of Hikari's machine gun beside me. We were under attack. Who the shooters were, I had no idea. All I knew was that my friends were fighting for their lives... For my life too. I grit my teeth as I took in another deep breath, before I planted my palms on the dust below me. With a shout of effort, I forced all my strength down through my hands and into the floor. My feet planted shakily on the floor. A gloved hand of mine came up and wiped across my face quickly before I moved my hands to my chest. I felt around for a moment before I felt my hands meet the familiar feel of my rifle. My fingers wrapped tightly around the pistol grip of the M16 slung across my body, before I looked around me.

I was inside... Shit, I have no clue what it was, but it was a building. I was standing behind some sort of counter made of rotting wood and granite. I turned around slowly and was met with several large windows that made up what I can only assume was a storefront once upon a time. In the windows were several of my comrades. They were firing their weapons from behind the lips of the window, using slabs of crumbled concrete that were stacked upon the ledge of the window as cover. I began to limp towards the window, my body moving nearly on autopilot now... My hearing was fading in and out. All I could hear was the rattling of gunshots, and the roaring of an engine from outside. Massive plumes of dust and smoke clouded the street outside as the breeze carried it across the front of the store. As I was approaching the cover at the window I caught sight of several faint flickers through the dust. I let out a shout and dove for the cover as I began to hear loud hissing and pops as bullets flew all around me. I grunted as I leaned into the cover, my rifle clattering against the magazines on my vest as I shifted into a more comfortable kneeling position. "Please fucking tell me the engine outside is Kay..." I said quietly, my voice shaking as I knelt beside Hikari.

"Yeah, it is. Thank the heavens for that." She said, lifting one of the spare ammunition belts from around her neck. "Hey, have you got the LAW still or did you lose it in the street?" She asked, giving me a curious eye for a moment before going back to the operation of reloading her weapon. My hands immediately let go of my weapon, and they began reaching behind me to search for the metal tube I was supposed to carry. I gasped as my hands met a smooth metal object, and a gave a quick thumbs up to Hikari.

"I got it Sergeant!" I cheered, sliding the weapon from the straps on my pack and showing it to her.

"Alright. When I start shooting, I want you to watch my tracers and wait for my mark. We need to blast the machine gun that's dug up into the inn across the way." She said, lifting her SAW to the concrete barrier.

"Don't we have a fucking tank for that?" I asked incredulously, tilting my head at her as I began to prepare the weapon to fire.

"Chikako has to fall back! The tank got fucking hit, and everything went to shit!" Hikari hissed and shouldered her machine gun, before she let off a short burst down the street. I was aware that others were shooting beside us, but I was dialed in on Hikari... If I missed her cue, we might all die here...

'If I miss... I might doom everyone here...'

I nodded and extended the weapon before I shouldered it. I carefully lined up my eye with the sights, steadying my breathing once more.

In...

And out...

In...

And out...

Hikari's machine gun began to roar again, and my eyes stopped focusing on the sights and followed the brilliant green streaks that tore through the dust and smoke. I caught a glimpse of a silhouette briefly as the tracers briefly illuminated the obscured building down the road.

'Shit... Do I have enough room to fire?' I thought to myself a bit too late, as another burst let loose from Hikari's weapon, lighting up the human shapes down the road again.

"Archie, fire now!" She shouted, ducking down behind the concrete cover. I grit my teeth and tightened my grip on the trigger of the weapon.

I couldn't think of a way to quickly warn the others of my firing... Well, except one way. Without thinking, I quickly screamed "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Before I depressed the trigger. The launcher roared, and I felt my body pushed forwards slightly as the back blast of the weapon impacted the wall and bounced back at us. Thankfully, there was enough space that we were not injured.

'Lucky... Fucking stupid that I didn't check it...' I thought to myself as I threw the now useless launcher aside. My eyes tracked the rocket as it landed on the building down the street. As it hit the building, a fireball popped into view for the slightest of moments. I could hear a few light cheers, before Hikari stood up.

"Let's get the fuck out of here! Fall back and defend the Sherman until the Captain gets here!" She shouted, before she climbed over the front of the concrete barricade and into the street. Beside me, I heard another body moving over the barrier while the shooting was still dead. I put my hand on my M16's grip again, and I began to shift to climb over the barrier.

Suddenly, a singular crack.

'Why is my face wet...?'

I looked up, and the girl who had been climbing over the ledge of the window had stopped in her tracks. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could they began to fall backwards towards me. I reached my arms out to catch her. She fell into my arms and I fell backwards onto the ground, clutching her atop me.

"Hey, are you alr-" My words died in my throat. My eyes had turned to look at her face, but the right side of her face was... Gone. My blood ran cold, and I began to tremble. A shaking hand reached its way for my own face, and I wiped it across my cheek clumsily. I lifted the hand and I felt my heart stop as I noticed my glove was soaked in blood.

'Oh my god... She's... She's..." My mind raced, and my breaths became ragged and short. I felt my stomach twist and my eyes sting with tears. I turned to the side, and emptied my stomach onto the old, disgusting floor beside me. Just after that... Everything turned dark as I lost consciousness from the sheer shock I felt seeing someone without their face.