Just When
Chapter 1: Pinned

It hurts to beathe. It hurts to not breathe more, however, so I'll continue breathing, at least until I bleed out. My legs are pinned underneath a transport truck I was riding in with a ragtag squad I met up with. We were ambushed by a British patrol, which included a light tank. The first shot from it took out the whole squad and flipped the truck, leaving me unable to move, and losing blood fast.

The tank had proceeded to drive away, as it appeared nothing more was to be done.

Okay, now it really hurts. I must have been here for hours, the sun is starting to set, and the sound of cicadas grows in intensity. It's odd, really. There's a Shinto gate that I can see the corner of if I crane my neck all the way to the left, looking past the ruined front end of the truck. It might be a trick of the eyes, but it looks blurry. Like I'm looking through a rifle scope that wasn't properly cleaned, it's hazy, but everything else seems fine.

I really wish I could at least die with a shout and a yell, and not a whimper. A chance to fight the fate given to me. But that's preposterous. There's no one around for kilometers, and even the slowly dimming sound of the British tank had faded into silence.

I sighed, looking down at my legs, wincing at how nasty they looked from below the rags that were once a proud uniform. The left leg was pinned in a way that the ankle was crushed underneath the fuel tank. The left had simply been snapped at the ankle, so despite not being pinned, was useless and just as immovable. Both legs had gone numb shortly after I woke up in this position, which I take as a blessing and a curse. A blessing so I don't have my last seconds wrought with pain, but a curse, as it tells me my time is limited.

At least I'll be able to say hello to my sisters now. War is a terrible thing, to take the lives of those who had done nothing but watch...but I cannot say the same for myself. Three years in an unwindable war with two of the world's most powerful nations has taught me to shoot first and identify bodies later. I've killed a few civilians here and there, which I guess makes me just as bad as what I'm fighting.

My eyelids are getting really heavy. I might never wake up if I fall asleep. Though, at this point, I would almost welcome the peace among this living hell. Almost. I'm not ready to die yet.

I made some friends during the years of fighting, only to see them cut down by the advancing sword of 'democracy' and 'freedom'. Ken was killed in his sleep by a young boy who had been paid in food by the British. Alexiev was held at gun point while he was relieved of his worldly belongings, then told to run for the treeline. He ran, but no one can outpace a bullet. I killed an entire enemy camp that day.

I don't need your pity, if that's what you think. I just can't bear the thought of dying without at least acknowledging the people who were most important to me, because I might be the only one to do so.

I struggled to get on my elbows, looking around as the shadows lengthened and the sky grew dark. It happened quickly, not the natural cycling of day to night. The gate had become a square of nothingness, dispelling blurry figured that moved towards me, making no sounds, even as they stepped on branches and rocks.

I could say nothing as the three figures approached me, coming to a position where one was at 9 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 3 o'clock, if I held my head straight. I did so, looking straight up at them.

Pure swirling blackness covered them, but one stooped down to my level, making me realize they were very tall, perhaps 3 meters in height.

A mixture of whispers and chirps flooded my ears, which consolidated into a single melodious voice, sing-song and mocking at the same time.

"It ap-pears that you are in a bit of a pre-di-cam-ent!" The voice made random stops mid-sentence, and through my heavy eyelids, the figure was bobbing its head back and forth. It turned its empty face towards the other two.

"From what Kaiser has gath-ered, the mort-al will be of much ente-rtain-ment to Kaiser, Mist-ress, and Zau-ber!"

The other figures moved closer to the one that I assumed was talking, and in my state at the edge of consciousness, I could still hear them fine, but I was too exhausted to ponder what was happening, writing it off as a hallucination.

"Are you sssure Kaissser? Ssshe doesssn't look like the type to have unique ssstoriesss to relay...though, Missstresss hasss been wrong before. Your thoughtsss Zauber? "

The third figure practically shoved his head next to mine, but I was too tired to react, just meekly waving a hand at it.

"What's this? It can see us? What if it can hear us? Misstress, Kaiser, could this one be the one? The one with the Answers to the Questions? It might? Can we find out? We should, shouldn't we? We should."

Backing away from me, I noticed only one of the figures had arms, which was waving at me. I adjusted my own arm to wave in the direction of it, causing it to jump back.

"Thisss is interesssting, it can sssee usss, and doesssn't appear to be alarmed by it. I sssay we initiate the sssspecial protocol for sssspecial cassses."

And with that, I closed my eyes, and felt a distinct feeling of numbness begin to travel up from my legs, into my torso, and through my arms and finally to my head. It was simultaneously hot and cold, and it blocked my ability to breathe. My eyes remained open, and I could see the world around me drain of color, even in the darkness of the unatural night. The pain was fading, and soon enough, the world did too, though I had not closed my eyes. The feeling of my back being supported by the ground of my hands slowly diminished into nothingness as well, but throughout it all, I did not feel a single ounce of fear.

Somehow, I know it's not the end.

A/N: Well, that worked out better than expected. Madness, no characters have been named yet! This is an AU, which uses two main changes. Well, one main change, and one significant enough to allow all of this to happen.

:Operation Unthinkable happens in World War II, and the Russians pull an about face in retaliation and join Japan to help against the Allied forces, who they belive are in the wrong (they totally are).

:Japan had allowed women to enlist and be drafted into military service.

Shit gets real in the next chapter, or rather, it should. Might be more plot development that won't matter for 20 chapters afterward, or might not. Who knows?
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and leave a review!