Chapter 1: Despair Runs Rampant

Cities aren't supposed to be empty; they stand as the true bastion of human superiority, the hustle and bustle of millions filling the world with the sights and sounds of humanity. Yet now these things had been replaced, replaced by something that none would have preferred. Now, instead of people, the broken city streets were patrolled by small white and black bears, their monochrome faces twisted into a macabre grin of sadistic pleasure, the same grin that ended up being the final sight of thousands before they'd died. This part of the world, known colloquially as No Man's Land, belonged to the mechanical monsters, and they attacked whomever they wished following a mission and path only known to them.

It was early in the morning shortly after sunrise when a lone patrolling bear noticed something different during its street patrol, pausing in the shadow of a large skyscraper the small mechanical marvel stopped and tried to figure out what had changed since the day before. It was a short moment before the bear assessed that the large shrub sitting near the buildings entrance had not been there and began to move towards it the claws of its right hand extending as one eye began to glow a killers red. The bear was about a metre from the foliage when a hollow crack emanated through the air and a large hole appeared in the chest of the robotic mammal, and it slumped to the ground, its power source destroyed. Seconds later the shrubbery began to move, before it was tossed aside revealing the man whom had been hiding underneath it. He was young, perhaps in his early twenties, yet his eyes held the pain and depth of one much older, he wore a simple outfit of olive green combat fatigues with a belt and harness combo around his body, carrying weapons and other various items, and his lower face was concealed by a bandana. He moved swiftly over to the downed bear, covering it with the fake foliage that he had been concealed under himself before his hand slid to a small box on his belt that he pushed a small button on, before speaking into the microphone clipped to his collar.

"The target is completely disabled and destroyed, that was an excellent shot, I appreciate the support."

He moved closer to the door as the earpiece he also wore crackled to life.

"Of course it was an exceptional shot, it came from me, I don't know why you continue to pretend surprise Makoto," replied a warm and feminine voice, with just a hint of laughter bubbling under the surface.

Captain Makoto Naegi gave an audible snort of amusement, and his lips turned up in a slight smile, one that quickly faded as he examined the door he had been standing in front, focused particularly on the keypad resting next to it.

"Damn the building still has power, and the keypad is active, I don't have a way to gain access to the building."

"Ummm sir," came a second, meeker voice on his earpiece, "I believe I can handle that, I just need you to place the transponder over the keypad and let me see what I can do."

Makoto complied, reaching for his harness and securing a small silver box, which magnetically attached to the key pad; his eyes darted left and right, making sure to take in every detail of the street and avoiding ambush. After a tense thirty seconds, in which Makoto envisioned the many different ways he could be killed, a small click and whir accompanied by the steel door sliding open.

"That should take care of it sir, not only I the front open, but I've also managed to get full security clearance for the rest of the building so you shouldn't have any further issues."

Makoto smiled as he retrieved the silver box from the keypad and secured it back inside of his belt.

"Excellent work there soldier, I knew having you on backup would be an excellent idea, I'm entering the building now."

"Yes sir, don't forget that once you enter the building you'll be in standard solo mode, we will no longer be able to provide assistance until you call for evacuation, until then we'll have the chopper ready to go."

"Confirmed, I'll be leaving communications open, hopefully this will be a quick in and out operation, over and out."

Following this stepped through the open doorway one hand on his sidearm, the other brushing gently across the hilt of the short curved machete he kept on the opposite side of his belt. The steel door slid shut behind him, and he paused for a moment, allowing his senses a moment to adjust to their new environment. Almost instantly he smelt the sharp cordite smell of discharged firearms and underneath that the metallic tang of freshly spilt blood. After quick deliberation he determined the hallways to be too narrow to use his carbine and drew his sidearm, while simultaneously speaking angrily into his comm.

"Be sure to inform whoever gave us the intelligence that this place was abandoned messed up, there are almost certainly people here." Not waiting for a response Makoto moved cautiously through the dim hallways, until he emerged in a slightly smaller room, a room through the dim hallways, until he emerged in a slightly smaller room, a room that's floor was covered in the bodies of dead soldiers.

"Damn," murmured Makoto as he inspected the bodies, "I've got dead from both Remnant forces and Warriors of Hope." He inspected the bodies closer and sighed, "Looks like the Remnant was the aggressor, and also the winner, proceeding on the assumption that Remnant forces are still present in the building, if I'm killed make sure to return to the Foundation, don't come in after me." Two small beeps clicked in his ear set, a signal of confirmation, and he nodded, before drawing his sidearm and proceeding deeper into the facility. It wasn't difficult for him to figure out where to go, he simply followed the trail of bodies and blood, the evidence of a fierce battle that had spanned the entire place, and yet the various bodies discarded didn't frighten him, it was the fact that despite all the carnage he had yet to encounter an actual live soldier, something was clearly not right here.

Finally he reached a dead end, blocked by a door that was slightly askew, and he could hear the sound of somebody typing furiously on a keypad of something, a quick glance through the small gap in the doorway allowed him to see a figure, most likely a woman, with her back to the door he was standing in, a large window illuminated the room, and another doorway shot off to the left otherwise the room the was empty. Makoto gripped his weapon tighter before slamming his foot into the door and bursting into the room, his weapon levelled between the shoulder blades of the individual at the keyboard.

"Hold it there, I want you to put your hands up slowly, and turn around slowly."

The young woman complied, slowly raising her hands into the air, a handgun clattering from her left hand onto the floor which she kicked aside without being asked, before she slowly rotated to face him.

"Hello Makoto, it's been a long time since we saw one another."

Makoto froze, as he took in the details of the young woman in front of him; she was tall, at one point she had been taller than him, but now she was slightly shorter now that he'd reached his full height. She was also one of the most beautiful women on the planet, her blonde hair (dyed he knew) was cut into a delicate pixie cut that framed her blue eyes perfectly. Her body would be the envy of most women, and even in a combat zone she had dressed to show it off, fatigue pants and a flak jacket buttoned strategically to expose both her impressive cleavage and her midriff, and Makoto idly noted that her tattoo was still prominently exposed on her right hip. To top off this ensemble a black and white tie hung loosely from her collar and two bear heads one white and one black were pinned to her lapels.

As he made a mental note of these things as he tried to reboot his brain, and uncoil the spring of anxiety he got from seeing her again, the one person he hadn't expected, and he heard himself speaking to her from reflex.

"Primary target Junko Enoshima, for the crimes of murder, terrorism, and sedition you are under arrest by order of the Future Foundation, if you resist you will be summarily executed."

Junko quirked a well-manicured manicured eyebrow up, and smirked at him.

"Very pretty speech Makoto darling, how long did it take for you to memorize that one?"

Makoto raised his gun higher to empathize his position of power, his eyes narrowing in irritation.

"I don't have time for your games Enoshima, keep your mouth shut and place your hands on the back of your head."

Junko complied partially, placing her hands on her head while continuing to speak tauntingly to the young soldier.

"You know I never liked it when you used that name, after all you're one of the few who knows the real me."

"That girl died a long time ago Junko, she died the day the world did, now all that's left is you, and we've been looking for you for a long time." Makoto replied, slowly turning her around and drawing handcuffs from his belt.

"My capture will certainly be a feather in your cap, that is of course assuming that my capture is successful."

Makoto opened his mouth to berate her further, when he heard the sound of somebody rushing up behind him, and before he was able to swivel, a crashing blow slammed into the side of his head throwing him to the floor and scattering his wits. His eyes not focusing properly he attempted to crawl towards his dropped gun, when a black boot with red laces descended on top of it, and Junko leaned into his vision and hovered over him, her intoxicating scent filling his nose.

"This is why I always told you Makoto, solo operations were stupid."

That's when her other foot slammed into his face, introducing him to blissful unconsciousness.

A/N: So yeah here's my new story, a military themed AU, wasn't originally where this started but the muse wants what the muse wants. Chapters will be alternating, with odd chapters taking place post Despair Incident, and even chapters taking place during the school years, hopefully you guys end up enjoying it. I don't know how often I will be able to update as I'm a "real" author now, but I certainly hope to at least give you guys something bi-weekly, monthly at most. As always I want to thank my readers for giving me a venue to place my work, none of this means anything without you guys.