Chapter 1: A New Challenger Appears

It was a sunny day in Noblesville, Indiana. The birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming. Families were having picnics on a grassy field, lying in the open breeze that passed by. Kids were running around, and everything was normal.

*BOOM* *RATATATATATA* *VRRRRRRR*

Ok, not so much.

The picnics were of spectators cheering on the kids running around; but not on foot. This was a tank deathmatch, otherwise known as a tankathon. It's not like Senshado with all its rules and whatnot; this was your street version. You can bring any tank you want, and it's a duel to the death. But of course, there is one rule.

Your tank can only weigh 10-tons or less.

The current spectacle was a faceoff between two American tanks, both were M1 Combat Cars, with their .50 and .30 caliber machine guns in a single turret. The young commanders kept their heads outside of the turret as their tanks clashed, the machine guns roaring as they failed to reach each others' armor. Safety was totally ignored, even as some rounds bounced off harmlessly from the armor plating. One of them dashed away suddenly, with the other left to slowly traverse and chase it down.

"It's like cat and mouse now…" muttered one of the men watching, holding a pair of binoculars in hand. He hadn't noticed that the daughter that usually sat beside him had disappeared. But had he known, he would be watching a different match right now.

Off in a nearby forest, a girl started the ignition of her tank, a dark plume of smoke sputtering from the exhaust before turning to grey. The tank shuttered as the engines were warmed, the girl charging it up by tapping the gas pedal. She pushed aside her silver tinted hair and looked outside of her hatch, waiting for the signal to move. She also adjusted her short skirt so that it didn't bother her while she was changing gears.

The tank was very dark green in the shadow of the trees, and its coating hadn't been painted in years. Rust was growing in multiple spots, and chips of paint that had cracked off revealed the iron that it was built out of. The tracks were covered in dirt, and the running gears had seen better days.

But the gun stood proudly, 37mm in diameter, making it a fine weapon for this sport. The machine guns were also in working order, and the armor was still okay. On the turret were the roundels of the British Air Force and the American flag, signaling the patriotism and glory that this tank possessed.

Back inside, the driver tapped her foot impatiently, and finally she saw the telltale orangish-red hair of her commander running towards the tank with a sniper scope in her hands. Oh, and she was pantless. Yes, she was wearing a British army dress uniform, which looked very good on her well shaped body, but she wore no pants. "Let's bloody move now!" she shouted, and the driver changed the gears and drove towards her. When it looked like she was about to run her over, the tall girl jumped onto the moving tank, and climbed onto the turret. "Damn it, Sarah, you could at least stop!" she growled as she entered the turret.

"Sorry Fauna," Sarah muttered under her breath, closing the hatch and looking through the slit that she had to peer through. There was a tap on her shoulder, and she looked over to see their gunner, a boy who looked rather feminine, trying to hand her a chocolate bar. His dark hair was about the same color of the bar, and the bangs fell smoothly to the side of his face. He had tied his hair in a knot as well behind his head, but it didn't help him look any more masculine. "Thought you might be hungry," he affirmed, his face rather devoid of emotion. She smiled awkwardly and relieved him of the confection. "Thank you."

Their vehicle came out of the forest gloriously to the sound of explosions, with two tanks rolling in front of them as one was chased to death and the other trying to aim at the swerving vehicle. "Our first target is the Renault R35 over in that bush over there!" Fauna shouted into the vehicle. It was necessary to do so, because it was very loud with the engines running inside. "It's been harassing the other guys all day, and anyone that tries to get near it just gets ripped to shreds! So that's why we're killing it first!"

Sarah was tapped on her left shoulder by what was Fauna's foot, and she drove off to the left, trying to follow the flow of battle so as to not alert the French tank in hiding.

"Yo Allan, you see that over there?" asked one of the commentators of the event, sitting from a watch tower as they gave the spectators a running review of what was going on around the battlefield. "Yeah Joey, I see it. Looks like another tank just entered the show!" answered his partner. "Looks like some Japanese tank, but I ain't ever seen it before."

The crowd murmured in excitement as the attention was now shifted to the new entry. A tank that the commentators didn't know of? This was something to see.

"It seems to be following the other battles right now, but I think it's got a plan." The unknown Japanese light tank began creeping closer to the bush, and out of the blue it fired a round directly towards the engine deck, setting the cavalry tank on fire, a white flag popping out moments later from its turret.

"Did you see that folks?! The new guy just destroyed our top scorer today!" the speakers echoed, and the crowd went wild. "Hey I got it!" Allan exclaimed, holding a smartphone in his hand with a picture of the same vehicle rolling around right now, "That's a Type 2 Ke-To, an improved Type 98 Ke-Ni which was made to replace the Ha-Go!"

Cheers of support began to be thrown towards the newcomers, with some groans from the fans of the just-wrecked. People began piling around, trying to get closer to the tank as it passed by, and they waved at the commander who just looked at them with a wide grin.

"Alright girls, let's go get us another kill!" she ordered, the tank going off to find its prey. "I'm not a girl, Faun, I thought we talked about this," the boy grumbled, peering through his scope and firing at a T-15 as they passed by, not getting the kill but managing to track the Belgian vehicle. Fauna smiled warmly, and began to twirl his hair in her fingers. "I know, Albert, but you look so much like one! ~" He groaned, and took another shot at the T-15 as it began firing its 13.2mm Hotchkiss machine gun in retaliation. The gunning stopped as the engine spit out black smoke, and another kill was confirmed.

Suddenly, the tank was tipped to the side with a screech in the air of the hull, and it landed back on its two tracks with a resounding thud. "Bollocks, what now?!" Fauna growled, popping out of the hatch, and looking to their right. "Holy fu- Sarah, FULL STOP!" The tank braked, lurching forwards slightly as a large round detonated in front of it.

"Turn the bloody turret, where the fuck did they get an AT-1?!" Fauna snarled, the turret turning as fast as it could. "Reverse!" Another round landed where they were just standing. "Any day now, Albert!" Albert quickly spat out a round at the artillery tractor, but missed completely. They were still loading, and Albert shoved another round into the gun. "Firing!" he shouted, but as he pulled the trigger, the tank shook with so much force that a round dropped to the floor.

A white flag popped up in Fauna's face, and she roared angrily, glaring at the 76mm round that had lodged itself on the vehicle. "You. Bloody. Wankers!" she shouted accusingly, pointing at the AT-1 on top of the hill. The commander of said vehicle shrugged, and it backed down the other side of the hill.

"Aaaah, fuck…" Fauna muttered, slumping into her seat. "Let's go get this thing back to the shop…" The other two nodded in response, and Sarah dialed her phone.

"Hey dad, can we borrow your truck?" "What's up honey, I'm busy trying to take a look at that Jap tank." "Yeeaaaah, I'm the driver of that Jap. We need a lift." "Hot damn honey, alright, be right there." She tapped the end call, and sighed in dismay. "Ugh, was planning to drive this thing back home…" The hatch opened from the outside, and Fauna offered her hand. "Well, let's get out of there, yes?" Sarah looked up at her tiredly, put otherwise accepted the help, and the commander helped pull her driver out of the tank.

"Look, it's the crew!" cheered one of the spectators, and a small group of people began surrounding the Ke-To's crew members. "You guys did great!" "Girl, get some pants on!" "Tell us about your tank!" They were asked so many questions at once, but Fauna managed to take over and answer them one by one. Thank god she's patient... Sarah thought, watching as the red head smiled and chatted with the adoring fans. Only day one, and we have a fanbase. Yipee.

"The tank is Japanese and wasn't put through very mass production," Fauna explained, "it's got a wonderfully adequate Type 1 tank gun and a 7.7mm machine gun. Plus, it's pretty fast, mates." Before they could ask anymore, Fauna walked back to the tank, and helped the tow truck pick it up for them before running off on the truck's back. Sarah and Albert quickly followed, and waved to the fans as they yelled their goodbye's. "Hope to see you girls fighting again!"


Several hours later, the Ke-To was resting on the bed of an eight-wheeler truck, attached to it with some bungee cords. The small crew was sitting inside the driver's compartment with the rather burly father, much to Sarah's dismay.

"I can't believe you girls are drivin' that tank! Where'd you get it?" He asked, very curious and delighted to learn of their interest in the sport. "We found it decaying in the forest…" Fauna muttered in thought, still trying to figure out how they got their hands on it. "You know, I really can't get how it got there in the first place," she pointed out, "but it's an airborne tank you know, so maybe the Japanese dropped it in sometime during the… war…?" It sounded so stupid, yet that was the story they'd have to go with.

"Well that sounds reasonable." They all looked at him dumbfounded, but otherwise dropped the topic. "So Mr. Walther, you were a tanker back in the day, right?" Albert asked. "'Ats right, Berta, commanded an Abrams through all the moon dust in Afghanistan." "Could you... Coach us?"

Sarah smacked Albert and Fauna glared at him, but before they could take back what he said, the father chuckled with a cheery smile. "Sure thing! I'll get you girls into shape!" "Thanks dad..." Sarah muttered weakly, and they stayed silent the rest of the way home.


"Aaaand, that wraps up today's plan," Fauna boasted proudly, standing before their now fixed Ke-To inside a secluded garage. The tank looked like how it was before the competition, and it seemed like they were prepared to have it go for another round. The other two facepalmed, shaking their heads in dismay. "Faun, we're going to get wrecked if we join this competi-" "Shhhhhhh," Fauna interrupted, "It'll be fine! We'll get a friend to join us first!" Her crew looked at her questionably. "...Friends?"

On queue, there were footsteps behind her, and they turned their heads to see a girl of average height and owning light brown hair standing at attention behind them. "Gooooood afternoon, ladies and gentleman," she greeted, her stride very flamboyant, which she shouldn't be doing if she's wearing a miniskirt. But then again, Fauna was still pantless, so what does it matter?

"This is Hanna Barkmann, resident history intellect," Fauna informed, "she's driving the other tank that's going to join us." "Yep, I'm ready to support!" she said happily, looking at the Ke-To curiously. "You guys should really get this thing cleaned up..." "Hanna." "Right! I'm the commander of the Autoblinda 40!" Albert and Sarah looked at her blankly. "The... What?" Hanna sighed, and walked towards the exit, pulling on both Albert and Sarah to follow her.

"That!" She pointed at what looked like a deformed car with a Pz I's turret on it, standing right next to the garage. But it was in fact an armored car. Its crew stood beside it, waving at them, and they waved back awkwardly.

"We're screwed."