Chapter Two: This We'll Defend
"I'm proud I'm allowed to be one of the crowd of the parachute infantry! Fighting men are we! Fighting for our liberty!" - 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment Song
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 0900 HOURS, YOKOTA AIRBASE, FUSSA TOKYO, JAPAN
"How're we looking?" First Lieutenant Michael Eversmann asked from his position in the cockpit of the AH-64E.
"Good to go." Responded his co-pilot. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Malcolm Atkinson as he put on his helmet.
"Copy that." Eversmann responded as he put on his own helmet. Their helicopter had just finished being armed and fueled.
As it turned out, they wouldn't be doing the operation they had originally thought they would today. All training operations were cancelled, this was for real. Tokyo was under attack and had been for at least the last hour. The enemy had shown up, seemingly out of nowhere, when a gate had materialized out of nowhere in the middle of the Ginza district in Tokyo.
As a result the JGSDF was woefully unprepared, and local authorities were being quickly overwhelmed. Early reconnaissance was reporting the enemy formation was at least a field army in strength.
Under normal circumstances, against any conventional army, Tokyo would be lost. At this point the Americans and JSDF would have been trying to construct defensive lines to contain the threat and fight back. This was no conventional army though. These men were wielding spears and swords, riding horses, and admittedly dragons, into battle. No conventional army indeed. Reports coming in from police units on the scene indicated that firearms were very effective in dispatching the enemy, but they didn't have the numbers.
That said, it was clear this enemy should not be treated lightly. They were spreading out, and fast. Civilian casualties were escalating by the minute, they had to be in the hundreds by now at the very least. Worse news for the American Forces, the enemy had apparently already pushed to the American embassy in Tokyo. The Marine Security Guards were doing their best to defend, but they wouldn't be able to hold forever, it was a full blown siege.
A QRF involving elements from the 325th Infantry Regiment was already en-route, but they were travelling by land and were still at the very least 30-45 minutes out from being able to reach the Embassy.
The airspace wasn't clear either, which was problematic. The 'Dragon Riders' as they were being referred to were harassing any rotary wing aircraft who loitered around for too long, and were doing their damndest to take out fixed wing assets as well. Not that they stood much of a chance. But it meant aerial insertions were a no go.
So it was coming down to men like Eversmann and Atkinson. They'd be able to defend themselves, and provide support for the Embassy. With any luck, the Air Force would have the airspace mopped up in time that more dedicated CAS could be on station.
They had their clearance from the ATC, and the engines of the AH-64E began to whine as they came to life. The rotors above slowly picking up speed. Eversmann slowly lifted the aircraft up into the air and started forward, hovering over the taxiway. There were other helicopters doing the same. In front of him, Atkinson was at work in the co-pilot's seat making sure all of the weapons systems were operational.
They were carrying a full payload, sixteen AGM-114N Hellfire missiles and more 30mm ammunition for the M230E1 chaingun than they would reasonably be expected to expend. All of which would be used to blow these otherworldly invaders back to wherever it was that they came from.
They had their aerial corridor, forming up on the flight lead Eversmann throttled up gaining speed. It was going to be a relatively lengthy flight to Tokyo, as precious minutes went by that meant more time the enemy was rampaging across Tokyo relatively unopposed.
But as they left Yokota behind them, tearing across the sky like a pack of angry wolves on the hunt, Eversmann was relatively calm. When the alarm was first raised that Tokyo was under attack, and he could see the broadcasts coming in on television of the carnage taking place mere miles away, he was furious. He allowed himself to be worked up into the gung-ho frenzy that followed, as pilots rushed for aircraft, and ground crews worked frantically to load helicopters that were not expected to be used today with full armaments.
But now? Now that Eversmann was in the air, and well on his way towards the fight. He was calm. He realised this was serious. Tokyo was currently under occupation, and the men and women currently besieged inside the U.S Embassy were going to be relying on him to fly his aircraft to the best of his ability to save them.
Not that Eversmann wasn't used to being put into the spotlight. The UCONN graduate was a football star during his college days, and quite the good one at that he would often brag to his coworkers. He could've gone pro, he'd often add, but instead he had elected to follow in his father's foot steps, joining the Army to fly helicopters. His old man had done so during the Gulf War, and while Eversmann had been to Afghanistan twice, he could tell this was different. This was probably going to be the most important engagement he ever took part in.
For now though, all he could do was stay himself with as much mental preparation as he could. He needed to focus on flying his helicopter. The U.S Embassy workers, Marine Security Group, and citizens of Tokyo were relying on him.
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 0915 HOURS, GINZA, TOKYO, JAPAN
Itami ran across the road after a group of people ran in the opposite direction. The city was in complete chaos, seemingly everywhere he went there were men armed with swords, or monstrous demi-human creatures waiting to attack anyone they found. If you were to stay in the open for too long a dragon would swoop down from the heavens and it's rider would kill you where you stood. He had been running around, simply trying to stay alive for the better part of the last hour.
The saying 'It was like a videogame' came to mind, however, to Itami this was very much untrue. While the men running around most certainly did resemble grunts from any of the number of fantasy games he had played throughout his life, even an otaku like himself could tell that this was no game.
If anything, this was more akin to a nightmare. The bodies of the dead and dying were everywhere. Itami had to stop himself from coming around the corner of a building when he caught the glimpse of some beast of a creature that stood a good three feet taller than Itami smashing a man into the side of a building repeatedly.
The sound of a woman screaming caused Itami to turn his head, there was a group of people running for their lives from god knows what and she had fallen over.
"I-I'm sorry!" A man in a business suit yelled out as he ripped his wrist from her grasp, running off after the others, leaving her behind.
She seemed to go into shock, unable to believe she was abandoned so easily. She brought her hands to her face as she couldn't help but cry uncontrollably. Was this really how she was going to die?
"Goddammit!" Itami thought to himself as he spurred himself into action, despite everything, despite being a lazy otaku, despite being in the military simply as a way to support his hobby, despite being as non-confrontational as possible, there was no denying it. He had a duty to act, and he was going to fulfill it to the best of his ability.
Itami rushed across the street as fast as he could, grabbing onto the safety rail of the other side and flinging himself over it with all his strength. He landed quite gracefully, all of his training had prepared him well. He rolled across the ground, pushing himself up to his knee and then taking off once more.
As he ran towards the woman he looked around, no threats in his immediate surroundings. Though the sounds of battle and rampage were ever present all around him. This was good though, it meant he could get her out of harm's way with relative safety.
He slowed down, dropping into a crouch as he grabbed the woman's shoulders, clearly giving her a shock as she whipped her head around with a petrified look on her face. She must have thought he was going to be some sort of attacker.
"It's going to be alright, I'm here to help!" Itami tried to be as comforting as possible.
"W-who are you?!" She yelled back, still in shock.
"Look! Just come with me if you want to live! We have to get out of here!"
"Look out!" A new voice interrupted.
Itami looked up. Standing over the both of them was a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, raising his service pistol into the air.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The officer fired his weapon three times, causing the woman Itami was trying to help to scream out, along with two other women that were behind the police officer whom Itami hadn't noticed until now.
As Itami turned his head he could see what the officer had fired upon, a dragon flew back up into the air, flailing about. On the street nearby lay a man clad in metal armor with strange olive skin and dark hair, his helmet had skittered away a few feet.
He had been, well traditionally one would call it 'dishorsed', but, he hadn't been riding a horse had he? Itami settled on 'disdragoned' and was satisfied. Of course, he didn't really have the time to be thinking of the correct terminology for being forcibly removed from one's aerial mount, as suddenly there was a mighty yell.
The rider was down, but he most certainly was not out. He had pushed himself off the ground and was rushing forward in a frenzy of rage and anger, surely at least his ribs had to have broke from such a fall? He didn't seem to care though, he was going right for the police officer, who had frozen up, not expecting the man to get up and rush at him after what had just happened.
"Fuck! Why couldn't you have just stayed down!?" Itami thought, rather annoyed.
Just as the soldier was about to be upon the police officer, Itami pushed off the ground from his position next to him and tackled the soldier's side. He let out a cry of pain as Itami impacted him, pressing into his broken ribs.
The two hit the pavement and a short grappling match ensued. The soldier never stood a chance, not with his wounds. Itami had managed to force himself on top of him, wrapping his arm around the neck of the soldier he yanked him upward. Instinctively the soldier began to try and rip Itami's arm from off his neck, but it was futile.
Itami used his free arm to grab the dagger the soldier had been wielding off the ground next to him. As the soldier continued to struggle to free himself, digging into Itami's arm with his nails, kicking and thrashing about, Itami tightened his arm around the soldier's neck before adjusting his grip on the dagger. There was an apparent pause as the dagger entered into the soldier's neck, Itami loosening his grip slightly. The soldier's body went limp as the blood from his carotid artery began to spurt out, some getting on Itami's face and shirt.
The two women behind the police officer took a step back as Itami let the limp body fall from his grasp, sliding down his chest and falling over onto the pavement. He tried his best to flash a somewhat heroic smile, like a manga hero would in such scenarios, but it didn't seem to help. They looked terrified.
"Who are you?" The police officer asked, he had regained sense of himself.
"Second Lieutenant Itami Yōji, JGSDF." Itami replied as he looked down at his shirt. It was ruined, the Mei-Con logo covered in blood. Letting out a frustrated sigh he wiped the dagger off on the front of his shirt and pushed himself to his feet.
"I'm sorry for not acting, it all happened so fast and-" The officer started.
"Don't worry about." Itami shook his head. "It happens to all of us at some point or another."
The woman on the ground was still sobbing, though less so. Itami walked over to her offering his hand down once more. "Miss, we really do need to get out of here, please come with me."
She looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Y-yes, you're right." She accepted Itami's hand and he pulled her to her feet. She was in a ragged state of affairs, that was for sure. One of the heels of her shoes had broken off and she was having trouble standing straight.
Suddenly, loud noises, yelling and screaming were getting closer and closer. Itami and the police officer exchanged looks. They didn't have time to leave, they needed to get out of sight. Itami placed the woman he had helped up's arm over the back of his neck and began to help her walk. The police officer was directing the other two into the building they were in front of. The ground floor windows were smashed out, but it looked like it would be a relatively safe place to hide, for the moment at least.
As the noise grew closer and closer Itami led the woman to a reception desk, they were in a lobby of some sort. He helped her get behind it and onto the floor where she crawled underneath. The desk was a sort of semi-circle in shape, so in theory it would provide them fairly decent concealment for the time being.
"Stay very quiet." Itami mouthed, placing a finger over his lips. The police officer was reloading his firearm incase they had to defend themselves.
The noise got louder and louder and louder until it was upon them. There was a thunderous roar as they could hear what must have sounded like hundreds of horses riding past at full speed. That wasn't all though, there was… something else?
Itami couldn't identify the other noise, and so slowly peeked his head up over the desk. He immediately withdrew back down. Trailing behind the cavalry that had gone by was a group of demi-human creatures, each one standing at least seven feet tall. Their sickening green and purple skin smeared red with blood. The one Itami had caught glimpse of was carrying a woman, torn in two, her upper half strung across the back of it's neck like some sort of pelt. It was hitting her legs against the pavement as it walked along, creating a sick snapping noise each time. He could only pray it hadn't seen him.
The look on Itami's face told the police officer everything he needed to know. Their position in the building probably wouldn't be as safe as they had once thought.
"What's out there?" He mouthed to Itami.
Itami simply shook his head in response. All the heroic stoicism had left him after seeing that.
"Imperial Palace." The police officer mouthed. "That's where civilians are being gathered for evacuation, we should head there."
"Alright. Slip out the back. You definitely want to slip out the back." Itami mouthed back to him.
The police officer nodded, stalking off in a crouch. He directed the two women to follow him. Itami helped the third woman out from under the desk, slipping her arm over his shoulder once more. It was going to be a long day before this was over.
"And it sure as hell is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better…"
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 0930 HOURS, CHUOU, TOKYO, JAPAN
The drive towards Tokyo was tense. The men of Delta Company watched the thick black smoke that reached into the heavens grow closer and closer, not that many, if anyone in the unit would have been around to see it, but it invoked images of the Gulf War in the minds of many.
The toll road the Americans and Japanese forces were rolling down was completely barren. No traffic was heading into Tokyo anymore. On the opposite side, there was an innumerable amount of civilians walking away from Tokyo as fast as they could. Cars were a no go, packed in bumper to bumper.
The wide open spaces of the countryside and outskirts of Tokyo had eventually begun to give way to taller and taller structures. As the convoy made its way into the city proper the men were on high alert. They didn't know what they were going to run into.
"What a mess." Martinez said as they rolled past another group of civilians walking up the highway.
"Someone'll pick them up eventually. It's better they're getting out of here." Forrestal replied.
The convoy was making good time, the Japanese were headed to defend the Imperial Palace which was being used as an evacuation center for civilians trapped inside the city. Delta Company would be breaking off to fan out into the city and secure the U.S Embassy and it's immediate surrounding area.
There was a thunderous roar as two JASDF F-4EJ Kai aircraft zoomed overhead, breaking the sound barrier with a loud boom. Off to join the fight themselves.
"Yeah! Get some!" Moreau yelled from the back of the Humvee. He hadn't shut up until recently about the enemy they might be facing once they made initial contact. He was envisioning knights in shining armor on horseback, dragons and wyverns, mages and wizards.
Thankfully, no such reports of 'mages and wizards' had come in over the net. These assholes were already apparently able to just appear out of thin air, the last thing Forrestal wanted to have to deal with was enemy combatants who could wield literal otherworldly forces and turn him into a frog or something.
Kimber meanwhile, was extremely mad. Which was rare for Forrestal to see, usually he was such a laid back guy. He had been gripping the steering wheel so tightly his left arm made a crack when he finally moved it, his joints having started to get stiff.
Perhaps it was a good thing for him to be so angry was Forrestal's line of reasoning. People were dying right now, and for at least a little longer, there wouldn't be much they could do about it.
"Whoa, check it out." Forrestal could hear Martinez shifting around in the back. He checked over his shoulder to see what was going on. Martinez was pointing towards the sky, up the road. All across the city skyline there were small explosions going off. The air battle for Tokyo was in full swing.
There was a stream of tracer fire cutting across the sky as an AH-1S Cobra engaged some aerial targets, Forrestal couldn't see exactly what though. It couldn't be anything good, that was for sure, but he still wanted to see. As he craned his head around he finally caught a glimpse.
An object was falling towards the Earth, it had crumpled into an odd shape as it did so. As it tumbled over and over, eventually impacting with the side of a building and sending a spray of broken glass outwards, Forrestal didn't realise what it was until it's wings unfurled. It then disappeared further down between two buildings, falling to Earth and out of sight.
A dragon. A real dragon.
The Lieutenant wasn't bullshitting when he said they were reporting dragons.
Things suddenly got a whole lot more real for Forrestal.
The Humvee suddenly jerked to a stop. Forrestal was about to yell something at Kimber when the radio burst to life.
"All Dagger Units this net." Speak of the devil. "We're breaking off here with Cutlass. Halberd and Ballista are going to be proceeding to the Imperial Palace with the Japanese, things are getting pretty dicey over there. Over."
Forrestal watched as he could see Lieutenant Diaz's Humvee break off from the convoy and head for an exit ramp. Slowly each vehicle in the platoon began to follow suit.
"Heads up, this is it." Forrestal called to the back of the vehicle as he readied his M4. He placed his right boot up against the doorframe of the Humvee and shouldered the weapon, ready to take aim at a moment's notice.
"Copy that." Moreau replied. He pushed himself up off his ass and onto one knee, resting his rifle on the wooden slats that ran up the right side of the Humvee, holding on with his left. Martinez did the same on the other side of the vehicle, resting the SAW and holding on with one hand. They wouldn't be able to fire effectively like this on the move, but it was better than falling over.
As the Humvee in front of them pulled out of the formation and towards the exit ramp Kimber followed suit. He eased out and after them, adjusting his own M4 which was resting next to him, pulling it closer to him in case he'd have to fire.
Forrestal gave him a punch on the shoulder to get his attention. "You good, bro?"
"Fuck yeah man. Ready to show these fuckin' assholes what's up."
"Hooah." Forrestal nodded, he watched out of his side as the Humvee rolled down the exit ramp and onto the streets below.
At the base of the exit ramp it opened into a four way intersection with the exit ramp to their rear. Lieutenant Diaz had his Humvee positioned sideways so it was blocking the street in front of them, other vehicles were positioning to do the same, creating an impromptu barricade on two of the roads. The road to the right was left open for Cutlass Platoon to pass through, they'd be heading up a few blocks.
Kimber brought the Humvee to a halt next to Falkner's Humvee, all of the men in the vehicle were looking around cautiously. The city streets were lifeless and abandoned, eerily so. What should have been a bright and busy shopping district, especially around this time of day, was a warzone. Shattered glass everywhere, a car had been overturned in the street up the road to their left as well.
"Where are these fuckers?" Martinez asked as he scanned around with his M249, eager to find a target to engage. It was time for revenge.
"Not a fuckin' clue, keep your eyes open." Forrestal replied.
Cutlass Platoon finished coming off the highway and headed up the street, deeper into the city.
In the distance the sounds of helicopters and heavy weapons fire continued to resound.
They were in the middle of it now.
Forrestal watched across the intersection, he could see Lieutenant Diaz working with Sergeant First Class Russo, the Platoon Sergeant, to figure out how to complete their task. The U.S Embassy shouldn't have been too far from here, but there was no telling what they'd run into between here and there. To make matters worse, radio communications confirmed that the Embassy was actively being besieged by hostile forces.
Every minute they sat there was a minute wasted, something they, and the people trapped inside the embassy, couldn't afford.
Staff Sergeant Falkner dismounted from his Humvee, walking past Forrestal's.
"This ain't no good." Forrestal adjusted his grip on his rifle as Falkner walked around the rear of his Humvee, looking for something.
"No, it ain't." Kimber took out a package of cigarettes, placing one between his lips. He patted around in an attempt to find a lighter. "Ah shit…"
"Hold up bro, I got you." Forrestal turned his head around. "Yo Mouse, open up the front pocket on my ruck and get me the lighter in there."
"Rog." Martinez responded as he ducked down from his position aiming over the side of the Humvee, there was the sound of him shifting and then a zip as he opened the bag. A minute later he shoved the disposable lighter up into the driver's cabin.
"Thanks bro." Kimber said as he took it, lighting his cigarette with it. He took a long deep drag, blowing a thick cloud of white smoke out the side of the Humvee.
Suddenly the radio crackled to life. "All Dagger Units this net. Dagger Actual. Alright gentlemen, we're going to be splitting into squad sized formations and spreading out over three blocks. We will then proceed North towards the embassy. Alpha will proceed down two, Bravo down one., Alpha and myself will envelop the enemy's flank, Bravo will hit them head on. Over."
"Bravo copies all, Actual, out." Came the response by Bravo's squad leader.
"Alpha copies all, we're Oscar Mike, out." Falkner got on the net.
"Here we go, eyes open, I don't want to get jumped by a fuckin' asshole on a horse." Forrestal called back to Moreau and Martinez.
"Dagger 2-3, Dagger 2-1. Form up on me, let's get moving. Over."
Forrestal picked up the transceiver. "Copy 2-1, right behind you. Out."
Falkner's Humvee turned and pulled down the street, 2-2's Humvee following close behind. Kimber took up the rear. Behind them they could see Bravo's Humvee following them down a block. Forrestal could see them turn off, making a right.
"Mouse, shift position. I want you firing forward. Specs watch the rear." Forrestal called out to the two in back.
"Copy." Martinez responded, he lifted the M249, moving his weapon from its position resting on the side of the vehicle to resting it on top of the driver's cabin. Behind him Moreau shifted so he could fire out the back of the flatbed in case anything came up on their rear.
"Why the fuck are we splitting up?" Kimber questioned, he was looking around as their three Humvees made a right turn onto a new street. A dead man on the sidewalk nearby.
"LT probably wants to avoid getting bottlenecked on the approach to the embassy. Who knows what the fuck we're up against, if we got surrounded we could be fucked." Forrestal said as he raised his M4, having a look around.
"I hear that, a'ight." Kimber shook his head. "Fuck man, this is super fucked up."
"You're tellin' me?"
"Dagger 2-3, form up on our rear, make an inverted wedge. 2-1 Out." The radio came to life.
"You heard 'im." Forrestal patted Kimber's shoulder with his left hand.
The Humvees formed up, proceeding down the street towards the embassy and the unknown. Falkner and the other taking the lead, with Forrestal's lined up between the two to the rear. Whoever these invaders were, they were about to have a very bad day.
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 0945 HOURS, AIRSPACE ABOVE TOKYO, JAPAN
The AH-64E swept between the buildings with a certain amount of grace. It was a beautiful aircraft, but more than that it was capable. Eversmann knew this. It was time to show off what it could do.
They had just made radio contact with the Marine Security Group inside, their situation was looking bleak.
"We've been pushed back off the walls and are falling back inside, we're starting to run low on ammunition! These things aren't human, they're ripping the gate apart with their hands! Over!"
"Gunfighter 4-3 copies all. We're coming into position now, setting up for engagement standby." Eversmann said as he swung the helicopter around a building, following the lead aircraft.
"Come left." Atkinson said from his position in front of him. "I'm gonna' hit 'em with a missile to get them off the front gate."
"Copy. Keep collateral to a minimum. Laser up."
In Atkinson's thermal camera he could see everything, there was a massive crowd of people at the gate to the U.S Embassy. Many were attempting to climb the walls, he could see two large humanoid looking creatures working on breaking the gate down.
"Fire." Atkinson said as he released an AGM-114N missile and let it fly. There was a pause before it slammed down just in front of the gate. A big splotch of white filled the screen as the thermobaric missile impacted, annihilating anyone caught in the blast, sending anyone else flying back from the shockwave . When everything cleared it was obvious the attackers were completely stunned, many froze up, others began to run away.
"Start running with the thirty, whole lotta' guys maneuvering up the street."
"Copy." Atkinson said as he brought the gun camera around, sure enough a group of enemy soldiers, at least twenty to forty in total were trying to get around the embassy after the missile impacted. There was a pause and then…
TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK! TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK!
The 30mm chaingun ripped into the soldiers, causing splotches of white to fill the screen as the HEDP shells detonated all around them.
"Got that one." Atkinson commented as one of the rounds impacted a soldier's horse, annihilating both of them, leaving a messy thermal white residue where they once were.
"Front gate, they've rallied back up, spilling into the courtyard. Engage, watch your fire, friendlies are still on the first floor."
"Copy." Atkinson replied as he shifted the gun around. "Come left, I'm constrained." He couldn't get the gun on target. "Left, left, left." He encouraged as Eversmann brought the aircraft around.
Atkinson could see the Marines fighting from the first floor, the enemy was advancing on their position fast, charging forward.
TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK! TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK!
Atkinson swept a burst across their front, killing several and causing the others to stop in their tracks. The second burst swept up their line, annihilating all in it's path.
"Incoming!" Eversmann yelled out, the Apache suddenly swung to the right, maneuvering hard around a building.
"We're taking fire?!" Atkinson responded, surprised. The enemy didn't appear to have firearms at all, what could they be engaging them with.
"Big motherfucker just threw a fucking car tire at us, and fast!" Eversmann yelled out as he continued to bring the helicopter around, he got on the radio. "Gunfighter 4-3, Gunfighter 4-4. Be advised, enemy combatants are capable of flinging debris as anti-air projectiles. Over."
"Copy that 4-4, prioritize such targets when possible. Out." The lead helicopter responded.
As Eversmann brought the aircraft around the buildings Atkinson could see the crowd in front of the embassy being lit up with 30mm fire from the lead aircraft. Bright white splotches flashed across his screen as the rounds ripped through the enemy formation. One of the large creatures that had thrown the tire disappeared in a puff of white.
"Engage, engage, engage." Eversmann said, swinging right and bringing the embassy back into the gunner view.
TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK! TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK!
Atkinson let a burst rip across the enemy once more as they tried to rush through the open gate, the impacting HEDP rounds caused a section of the wall to collapse over, crushing some of the enemy soldiers underneath.
Soldiers and creatures began to scatter in all directions, running for their lives. Whatever this stone fortification was, it surely was cursed, iron beasts circled overhead, breathing terrible fire magic, slaughtering their forces indiscriminately. All they could do now is run, and pray that whatever these creatures were, they did not pursue them.
"4-4, 4-3. Enemy forces are retreating. What's your status? Over." The radio came to life.
"4-3, We're currently green on thirty, fifteen Hellfires left. Over."
"Copy, 4-4. Overlord confirms to me that QRF is five mikes out. We're rolling North and heading for the Imperial Palace, they're in need of desperate reinforcement. Hostile forces are grouping up for an assault and they're not able to evacuate civilians fast enough. Over."
"Copy, 4-3. We're rolling in behind you now. Out." Eversmann said as he brought the aircraft around to the right.
The pair of AH-64E helicopters darted between the buildings of the Tokyo skyline, the Imperial Palace was only a few minutes away by air, but those few minutes would be crucial as the hostile forces prepared their assault.
As they left the U.S Embassy behind it would fall to the QRF to mop up the remains of the enemy force. Not that it appeared it would be difficult for them, scattered and retreating in all directions. Not only that but not once during the entire engagement did it appear any of them had firearms. Just who were these people? What army had men strong enough to fling tires and bricks? Especially fast enough to be a threat to aircraft?
UNKNOWN DATE, 0950 HOURS, UNKNOWN LOCATION
Remus's horse galloped up the street at full speed. Something had gone terribly wrong. The battle had taken an awful turn.
Remus's men, and the men and Auxiliaries of the ninth and tenth Centuria were assaulting a stone fortification. All had been going well until defenders had shown up on the walls, dressed in strange garments, not much unlike all the other citizens of this strange city they saw, but yet, still different. That wasn't what was important however, no, what was more shocking was the apparent fact that they had assaulted a mage's keep. Every man they saw on the wall wielded some sort of staff which sprayed fire and cut men down where they stood.
While this initially came as a shock, Remus knew his men had the numbers advantage. The Auxiliaries continued to work on tearing down the gate to the keep while the Legionaries attacked the mages on the wall to the best of their ability.
It seemed like they were about to attain victory, the mages abandoning their position on the wall and retreating inside, when a great fireball engulfed the gate, killing many of the Auxiliaries and Legionaries. Remus had never seen fire magic so powerful in his life. Just who were these mages?
But then it started. The terrible, terrible noise. It was as if a skilled swordsman were slicing his blade through the air, over and over, at an inhuman rate. Eyes shot towards the sky as two metal beasts soared overhead. Griffons? Dragons? What were these terrible creatures?
There was not much time for Remus to question their existence, by then it was already too late. Marcus Em Mortus, Centurion in charge of the 9th, rallied a group of his men and was determined to go around the back of the keep, finding a way in.
Remus could only watch on in horror as him and his men were engulfed in more terrible explosions. He could see Marcus simply evaporate from existence as his horse exploded under him.
Meanwhile, the Auxiliaries had managed to get the gates open and men were spilling into the courtyard of the mage's keep. Perhaps if they could get inside they'd be safe from these beasts that were summoned forth?
At the same time, Remus had begun to order nearby Auxiliaries and archers to begin firing at the monsters. One of them soared overhead, spitting fire from its nose. The screams of men being incinerated could not be heard over the terrible noise it made.
Smoke and debris flew up as the inside of the courtyard was engulfed in flames, Remus watched in horror as survivors retreated out from the gates, the ones who had gotten out unscathed covered in dirt and blood. Behind them staggered out a man missing his arm, he promptly collapsed to the ground.
"Second wave!" Remus yelled out as more explosions rocked the ground. "Forward!"
There was a loud roar as one of the Auxiliaries had flung some strange black circular wheel he had torn off a metal carriage nearby. As it looked like it was going to impact the beast it suddenly twisted its body out of the way, disappearing behind one of the many glass structures that surrounded them.
The Legionaries let out a mighty yell as they charged back into the courtyard, this would surely break the defenders.
But as Remus watched on he found that his ears were filled with a roaring far greater, he was violently flung from his horse, a terrible pain swelled through his chest. He found himself staring up at the grey sky above as a terrible ringing overtook his ability to hear.
The face of a Decanus filled his vision, he could feel him shaking his shoulders. As Remus turned his head he could see the dead and dying everywhere. Legionaries and Auxiliaries were running for their lives in all directions, they had been completely routed.
The iron beasts had made another pass, spitting fire among the crowd of soldiers indiscriminately, and bringing down a section of the keep's walls onto them. All order was lost after that.
"Sire!" The Decanus could be heard yelling, it sounded distant. "Quickly sire! On your feet!" The Decanus implored.
Remus didn't want to get up, he felt weak. How insignificant was the might of the Empire to be humbled so easily by a few mages and their pets? Pathetic. Surely if Remus were not to die here, he'd be punished for losing every man under his command. Torture and execution at the Imperial Palace, did not sound pleasant to him.
"Sire!" The Decanus yelled. "You are wounded, please, I implore you! To your feet! Primus Pilus Maron Mal Macaron must be warned!"
Remus slowly pushed himself up, he clutched his chest as he did so. His hand became wet with his own blood, a metal fragment had pierced his armor and was in his torso, just above the stomach. He grit his teeth as he pulled himself up to his knees, the Decanus assisting him.
A group of Legionaries ran by, having dropped their weapons, simply running for their lives. How would Remus explain this to Maron Mal Macaron? He prayed that, being the understanding man he was, he wouldn't be too harsh on him. Count Formal was a different manner entirely, this was his Legion after all.
As a cavalryman hopped off his horse, handing the reigns to the Decanus, both of them started to help get Remus up onto the mount. He would be riding back to meet Maron Mal Macaron, and Count Formal, when Remus's and the two other Centuria had broken off they were heading deeper into the city, where a great castle stood.
Suddenly, to their right, there was a series of loud and violent popping and banging noises. Not much unlike what the mages inside the keep were still doing to Remus's men from their position. More mages? Gods please, no.
"Go sire! Go! We shall hold here!" The Decanus yelled as the horse took off, raising his sword.
Remus knew full well he was leaving them to their fate, they were brave. Braver than him it would seem. Remus was filled with fear as his horse galloped across the strange streets made of black stone. What kind of world had they invaded? One with magic so powerful it reduced entire Centuria to nothing? What of the Empire's grand army? Did they even stand a chance?
And so, here Remus was. Riding for his life as fast as the steed beneath him would carry him. He prayed to the Gods that Maron Mal Macaron and Count Formal would still be alive, they'd need all of their forces combined if they were to even stand the merest sliver of a chance against an enemy like this.
Five minutes earlier...
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 0945 HOURS, CHUOU, TOKYO, JAPAN
The trio of Humvees rolled up the street, the closer they got to the U.S Embassy, the more destruction they saw. Still no hostile contact however.
There was a series of loud explosions to their front, the battle was in full swing.
"Fuck!" Moreau called out.
"What is it?!" Martinez turned his head for a moment, he was starting to get a little jumpy.
"Something just blew past our rear across the street!"
"Copy!" Forrestal called out, he grabbed the radio transceiver. "2-1, this is 2-3. One of my guys just reported an unknown contact crossing our rear. Over."
There was a brief moment of silence before the radio went off in response. "Copy 2-3, continue to push for the Embassy. Out."
The Humvee shook as it drove over something in the road, they tried not to think about what it probably was as they moved on. All the while the rapid fire explosions picked up in intensity, whatever was being engaged was having a very bad time.
The next two minutes passed in tense silence, they were deep into hostile occupied territory now. Forrestal was about to open his mouth in an attempt to break the silence when the Humvee suddenly lurched to a stop, causing him to shoot forward.
"Fuck dude!" Forrestal yelled out as he grabbed on, placing his hands in front of him to stop his face from smashing into the windshield.
"Shit!" Moreau yelled from the rear, being thrown onto his back.
There wasn't any time to react however, the radio crackled to life in an instant.
"CONTACT FRONT! WEAPONS FREE!"
There was a roar as the small arms fire began to kick up. SAWs firing in alternating bursts, M4s on semi-automatic tearing away.
To the front of the group of Humvees a crowd of men clad in armor had poured out into the street, running right at them. One by one they were cut down as they rushed forth, collapsing over each other.
"Holy fucking shit!" Kimber yelled out.
The sound of shell casings clattering onto the floor of the Humvee resounded in everyone's ears as Martinez continued to rip into the crowd. Forrestal leaned out of the door, placing one boot on the pavement, he lined the red dot of his M68 sight on the torso of one of the armored men, letting two rounds rip into him.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" Moreau yelled out suddenly. "Contact to our rear!"
Forrestal turned his head, sure enough there was a group of at least twenty men on horseback charging up the road towards them. Forrestal fully dismounted from the vehicle and dropped into a crouch, taking aim and opening fire.
Kimber did the same, dismounting from the Humvee and firing his rifle. There was a loud series of pops and cracks as the three men opened fire, cutting into the horse mounted cavalry.
"Mouse get the SAW aiming to the rear!" Forrestal called out, he took aim firing another burst of three shots.
One of the horse's fell over dead from the combined small arms fire, causing a few to trip over it's dead body, flinging their riders to the ground.
Moreau stood up from his position, shifting his grip on his rifle. He fired two rounds into a horseman that had managed to leap over his comrades, charging right at them. He slumped over sideways off his horse, the creature charging forward a few more steps before veering to the left and coming to a halt.
"Where's the fucking SAW?!" Kimber yelled out, firing at one of the horsemen pushing himself up off the ground. The bullet tore through his neck, causing the man to grab at the wound as he collapsed back to the ground.
Forrestal glanced over his shoulder for a moment. "Mouse! Come on!" He then turned his attention back, firing another two shots.
Behind them the fire continued to pick up as the other two Humvees engaged the threat to their front, it seemed these guys were pouring in endlessly from the direction of the Embassy.
"My finger won't move, I can't do it!" Martinez finally yelled out. He was standing straight up in his position, resting the M249 atop the driver's cabin, holding it loosely with both hands.
"Oh hell fucking no!" Forrestal yelled out. He fired into another Horseman who leapt across his fallen comrades, causing his horse to give out from under him. "You aren't doing this right now, or so fucking help me I will come up there!"
"This is a massacre Forrestal! They don't even have fucking guns!"
"What the fuck do you think they did to all the civilians in this area, you retard?!" Kimber yelled in response, firing his rifle.
"You're going to get us fucking killed you fucking shithead!" Forrestal added.
Silence from Martinez for a few moments before he opened his mouth again. "This isn't right, I can't fucking pull the trigger man!"
Forrestal dropped his rifle in his sling, grabbing onto the wooden slats on the side of the Humvee and pulling himself up the side of the vehicle. He reached out, grabbing for Martinez's IOTV. He resisted against being pulled, letting go of his weapon as he tried to get Forrestal's hand off. The struggle only lasted a few more moments before Forrestal pulled him towards the rail, causing him to fall over onto his knees.
"Fucking start firing that weapon right now! You fucking hear me Mouse!?" Forrestal started yelling into his face.
Martinez closed his eyes tight, they were losing him.
Suddenly Forrestal found himself ripped off the side of the Humvee. He prepared himself to have to brawl with some asshole in a suit of armor, but instead found himself face to face with Staff Sergeant Falkner.
The Staff Sergeant was up the sides of the Humvee in seconds. He had Martinez by the collar of his IOTV in an instant and began laying into him with a fury so intense it seemed like even the enemy halted their advance for a moment in pure shock.
"PRIVATE SO FUCKING HELP ME IF YOU DO NOT START FIRING THAT WEAPON RIGHT FUCKING NOW YOUR ASS IS GOING OUT THERE WITH YOUR BAYONET!" The Staff Sergeant gave him a good shake as he screamed in his face. "DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?!"
"Y-yes!" Martinez eventually managed to stammer out. Behind them Moreau continued to fire his rifle, cutting down one of the horsemen who was now on foot. Staff Sergeant Falkner tossed him to the side, towards his M249 before hopping over the side of the vehicle.
"Get mounted up! We're not staying here!" He yelled to Forrestal as he stalked off back to his vehicle.
"Got it sergeant!" Forrestal yelled in reply. "You hear 'im! Mount up and let's go!" Forrestal banged on the hood of the Humvee a few times.
Kimber fired two more rounds before letting his rifle come down in its sling, getting into the driver's side of the vehicle. As he did so Moreau dropped into a crouch before coming down onto his rear, placing his back to the railing behind him, placing a few rounds into a horseman on the ground.
"Go go go!" Forrestal yelled, throwing himself into his seat as the two vehicles ahead of them began to peel out.
Falkner's vehicle lead the way, plowing through a group of infantry as they pushed forward. There was a blood curdling scream as a man was crushed under the tires. The second vehicle rose with a bump as it too drove over a few of the bodies.
"Brace!" Kimber yelled out as they drove over some of the bodies, making the vehicle bump up as they crushed the fallen underneath.
"How're you holdin' up back there?!" Forrestal yelled over his shoulder.
There was a burst of gunfire from the vehicle ahead of them as one of the soldiers fired into a mean with a sword. The bullets raked up his chest and into his neck, causing his blood to spurt out.
"I said how're you fuckin' doing back there?!" Forrestal yelled back, turning himself around in his seat.
"Good." Martinez finally replied.
"Don't fuckin' let that happen again, you hear me?!"
"Got it." He replied as he adjust the M249 across his lap.
The Humvee bumped upward again as they drove over another set of bodies.
"Watch it on the gas bro!" Moreau yelled from the back.
"We comin' up on the-" Forrestal was cut off as he turned around, there was a loud THWUNK as an arrow impacted off the windshield, shattering off. "The fuck?"
"Watch it! Incoming!" Kimber called out.
THWUNK THWUNK THWUNK
Several more arrows impacted, bouncing off the Humvee.
The vehicles had successfully pushed up the the U.S Embassy and were securing their sector at the front. The gate was blown wide open and a section of the wall had collapsed into the street. There was a large crater in front of the gate, with debris from the wall spread out over the immediate area. Large sections of the street were similarly completely ruined.
"Left left left!" Forrestal yelled out, they were about to drive right into one of the smaller holes in the road.
"I see it!" Kimber yelled. "Hold onto something!"
Kimber tried to steer the Humvee and brought his foot down on the brakes, but something wasn't right. The back end of the Humvee started to fishtail out.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" Kimber yelled. "Hang on!"
Everyone braced themselves as the rear of the Humvee hit the edge of the hole in the road, causing the rear of the vehicle to buck upwards, violently throwing everyone around as it came to a stop.
"What the fuck was that?!" Forrestal yelled.
"Fuck if I know dude! We ran over so many fucking people! Something might be in the fucking tires!"
"Fuck it! Dismount!" Forrestal responded. "Mouse fucking fire your SAW!" Forrestal yelled as he slide out of the Humvee.
He didn't respond, but after a moment the distinctive sound of the M249 opening up could be heard.
"What's the plan dude?!" Moreau yelled out from his position at the rear of the vehicle, he fired two shots into a man charging at them with a sword.
"Hold up!" Forrestal responded, reaching into the Humvee and grabbing the radio transceiver mic. "2-1, 2-3. Our vehicle is fucked, we're stuck here! Over!"
The response was immediate. "Copy 2-3," It was Falkner. "Standby, LT is moving up to our position from the other end of the compound now! Out!"
"LT and his section are pushing up to us! Hold until then!" Forrestal yelled out, letting go of the transceiver mic, letting it fall to the ground.
"Get the fuck up here then!" Moreau responded as he fired another burst of two shots, there was a yell as the man hit fell over.
Forrestal grabbed onto the wooden slats, pulling himself up and over the side into the flatbed of the Humvee. He felt someone grab his IOTV, pulling him in. He fell down into the flatbed, rolling over onto his back.
"Get up man! They're coming!" Kimber yelled at him, he had already climbed in himself.
"Specs! Hit 'em with the forty mike mike!" Forrestal yelled out as he pushed himself up.
"Way ahead of you!" Moreau replied as he flipped up the leaf sights on his M4.
The M320 GLM or Grenade Launcher Module was the U.S Army's replacement for the older M203 system. Like it's predecessor before it the M320 fired low-velocity 40mm grenades, ideal for engaging large groups of infantry, lightly armored vehicles, as well as deploying smoke, CS gas, and illumination flares.
Gunfire picked up behind Moreau as Kimber engaged a pair of swordsmen on foot. There was a pause as Moreau brought the leaf sight over his target, getting the range. The ammunition wouldn't detonate at distances less than twenty-five meters. He lined up the sight on his target, a group of charging infantry, raising the weapon slightly to adjust for the range and…
THUK
Moreau watched as the grenade arced through the air, it came down and exploded with a thunderous boom. The armored men screamed out as they were flung in all directions, many of them wounded severely.
The M320 opened to the side, ejecting the spent casing with a loud clang as it impacted with the floor of the vehicle.
"Reloading!" Moreau yelled out, reaching to his vest for another grenade.
"To our eight!" Kimber yelled out. "What the fuck is that thing?!"
Forrestal glanced over his shoulder, there were two impossibly tall creatures with green and purple skin bearing down on them, and fast. They bulged with muscle, one of them tossing an armored soldier to the side as they ran forward.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Martinez yelled out, bringing the SAW around. He fired an unaimed burst from the weapon's supported position on the driver's cabin, only a few of the rounds impacted one of the creatures. It staggered a bit, but didn't seem to falter significantly.
SCHLUNK
Forrestal placed two rounds into a man with a spear who had gotten dangerously close to the Humvee as he heard the distinctive noise of the M320 being reloaded behind him.
"Buckshot loaded!" Moreau called out as he brought his weapon around.
Martinez fired another burst into one of the monsters, causing it to grab it's chest as it ran forward. A second burst of fire from Kimber hit it in the neck, causing it to collapse to the ground.
The second one continued to charge right forward, directly into Moreau's sight picture as he fired.
There was a loud bang as the creature's face split open and peeled apart like a fruit, spraying gore every which way. It's body staggered forward a few more steps before collapsing onto it's knees and then to the ground.
There was another clang as Moreau let the spent casing fall to the ground. "Good effect on target!" He yelled out.
"That's fuckin' ratchet bro!" Kimber responded. "I'm fuckin' covered in that thing's shit now! What if I get some fuckin' disease!?"
"Me too asshole!" He replied, running the back of his sleeve across his glasses to clean them off.
"Work it out later! Get firing! Forrestal yelled in response. "Comin' up on our two!"
He pointed towards a group of spearmen coming towards the vehicle with shields raised. It didn't do them much good with the supporting fire from the other vehicles hitting their rear ranks. But with the lack of understanding these people had of firearms, it seems they didn't even notice.
Martinez brought the SAW around, leaning into it with his shoulder as he fired bursts into the advancing group. The screaming quickly picked up as the bullets ripped through their wooden shields, cutting them down in waves.
As the men tried to retreat they found themselves caught in a crossfire between the Humvees with nowhere to run. Forrestal's M4 ran dry from firing into the group, he hit the mag release and let the empty magazine fall out onto the floor of the vehicle. Before he could reload the weapon however, there was a loud THWUNK!
"Oh fuck!" Martinez yelled. "Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck!"
Kimber had been thrown to the floor, an arrow had impacted right into his chest, dead center.
"Don't stop firing!" Forrestal ordered, dropping to his knee. He shifted over to where Kimber was on the floor.
The arrow was stuck in his IOTV, in one of his ammunition pouches. He was quiet for a minute before he started coughing violently.
"Fu-uck!" Kimber let out another cough. "What th-he fuck was that?!"
"You got hit by an arrow, you good?!"
"Am I?!" He responded.
"Ya' ain't fuckin' bleeding!" Forrestal yelled back, breaking the wooden shaft of the arrow stuck in his vest and waving it in front of his face with a grin.
Kimber swatted the stick out of his hand as he pushed himself to his feet, grinning wildly the whole time.
There was a sudden and violent roar of automatic weapons fire as three Humvees came down the road. The Lieutenant had finally hooked up with them. As one of the M240s from the weapons section began laying into the group of of armored soldiers, the other one kicked up, tearing a creature with purple skin to shreds.
The battle lasted only a few more minutes, what little survivors there were from the enemy force were in full retreat, the Embassy had been secured.
"Fuck me, that actually worked…" Moreau said, slumping over.
"Hell yeah it did! Fuckin' get some, assholes!" Kimber yelled as a pair of surviving enemy soldiers retreated around the corner of a building.
Forrestal dismounted over the side of the vehicle. "Ollie get down here, find what fucked the tire."
"Yeah yeah, up and over." He responded as he too took himself over the side of the vehicle. The trio of Humvees passed by them, setting up in front of the Embassy gate.
Sure enough, after having a quick look the pair found the problem. One of the men they had run over had been unfortunate enough to get stuck between the vehicle and the tire, Forrestal gave a passing thought hoping that he had died before getting stuck in there, otherwise it must have been pretty awful.
"Fuck it. He deserved it." He decided in the end.
"Fuckin' dumb bastards, they run at cars, they run at rifles, they run at grenades. Who the fuck are these retards?" Kimber asked as he crouched down, inspecting the situation.
"Fuck if I know, bro." Forrestal shook his head as he checked his ammunition pouches.
"Help me pull this dickhead out, would ya'?
"Got ya' bro." Forrestal said as he crouched down with him.
The pair grabbed onto the remains of the man with their gloved hands.
"One. Two. Three!" They yelled at the same time as they pulled.
The battle wasn't over, but at least they'd get a moment of peace…
...Well, as peaceful as you could be removing human remains from your vehicle and performing weapons checks.
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 1000 HOURS, CHUOU, TOKYO, JAPAN
Itami and the police officer had successfully escorted the three civilians they had with them to the Imperial Palace and Gardens. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department along with the Special Unit assigned to Tokyo had fortified the area to the best of their ability and were ushering civilians deeper inside as quickly as they could.
When they had arrived Itami handed the woman he was helping off to paramedics who were trying their best to work with the overwhelming amount of casualties that were flowing in from the outside world. Trying to transfer any of them to the nearby hospital was out of the question, obviously, so many of the wounded who were in the worst condition were receiving no medical care, only being made as comfortable as they could before they succumbed to their wounds.
The enemy were currently working on breaking their way in, having awful creatures with great strength work on breaking the gate open.
"There's going to be a massacre out here if these people don't get inside!" Itami yelled to two police officers who were manning a booth.
Behind him, the horde of civilians continued to move deeper inside. They were currently being halted from entering the palace itself as the gates were being kept closed. Next to the booth was an elderly couple who couldn't walk any further, resting, and a child who had lost his parents being helped by a female police officer.
"Who the hell are you, kid?!" One yelled at him.
"There's nothing we can do." The older one replied to Itami. "Without proper authorizati-"
"Authorization or not, those things are going to break through the barrier, and soon!" Itami yelled. "There's going to be a bloodbath out here!"
"I'm not gonna say it agai-" The first officer was cut off as the phone in the booth started going off. "Whuh?"
The older officer picked up the phone, listening to whoever was on the other end as they yelled.
"Yes, sir. Yes. Yes, understood!" The officer yelled into the phone as the very one sided conversation continued on for a minute. Once whoever was yelling at him was done he let his shoulders slump a bit and then hung up.
"Was that-" Itami started before the older man cut him off.
"Yes, it was." The officer nodded before turning to his coworker. "Civilians have top priority, we need to get these people further inside, and now."
The gates to the palace were opened by waiting officers and the crowd of civilians immediately started to crowd in as fast as they could. The officers did their best to try and dissuade people from pushing each other violently out of the way, but the panicked crowd wasn't exactly in a mood to listen.
As Itami and a group of police officers started to fall back after the civilians were being let inside, groups of vehicles carrying riot police began to arrive from other parts of the city, setting up a defensive line in front of the palace. Nearby, a Special Unit sniper team had also finished relocating themselves and stood by to take part in the defense.
"Status report!" The older officer called one of the riot team leaders over, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Whatever these things are, they've completely overrun the Government District. It's entirely lost."
"Dammit.." He cursed.
The riot officer then touched the side of his head, listening to an ear piece. "Standby…" His face suddenly lit up, as if he was hearing the best news of his life. "Reinforcements are en-route!"
"Who's coming?" The older officer asked.
"Air support from Ichigaya and Yokota, first division from Narashino as well as American units should be arriving shortly."
"What about the enemy?" Itami piped in. "Where are they?"
"On their way now, they've just broken through the barrier." The officer nodded sternly before heading over to where his riot team was. They had formed a shield wall and were readying CS gas launchers.
"Dammit." Itami thought to himself. "Where are the JSDF? This is going to get bad very quickly."
UNKNOWN DATE, 1005 HOURS, UNKNOWN LOCATION
Remus had finally caught up with the main force, Count Formal's Legion along with the others were preparing to assault a grand fortification which sat atop a hill. If it was anything like the one Remus had just gotten away from, he needed to warn them.
"Sire!" Remus called out, riding past a group of Legionaries at full speed. "Sire!"
Maron Mal Macaron turned his head, what he saw shocked him. Remus looked disheveled and bloody, he had a very large wound and his chest plate was practically split in two.
"Remus! What has happened?" The officer turned his horse around, he was lucky he had not rushed off to the meeting with Count Formal so soon.
Remus brought his horse to a halt, practically falling off of it. He had to swallow his pride as several nearby Legionaries ran over to assist him in dismounting his horse. He grit his teeth as he came down, a sharp pain shooting up through his chest.
"A.. fortification, sire." Remus paused to gasp as another wave of pain shot through him. "We came across a fortification deep in the city, when we tried to assault it we were attacked by powerful fire mages which were defending their keep."
One of the Legionaries offered Remus water, which he gladly took, gulping it down as fast as he could.
"Fire mages?" Maron asked, he did not expect the people of this world to have magic. "How powerful were they?"
"Sire, they've wiped out at least one third of the force I was with." Remus said after gulping down the water he was given.
Such claims made the men around him widen their eyes with shock and surprise. Even Maron Mal Macaron seemed taken aback, if only for a moment.
"Surely you jest?" Maron Mal Macaron finally said.
"No, sire. No I do not. That is not the worst of it. They summoned forth great flying beasts made of iron which spat the most terrible fire I have had the misfortune of living to see. These creatures soared through the skies above and dropped flame onto the men below! Nothing could have been done to stop them! We've made a grave mistake, sire!"
Maron Mal Macaron studied his subordinate. Remus had never been a man to panic easily. He had proven himself in many battles in service to Maron Mal Macaron and Count Formal in the past. If what he said was true, it would be in the Imperial Army's best interest to make a hasty retreat.
However, Maron Mal Macaron quickly flushed this idea from his mind. The Imperial Army did not retreat. Surely no beast, whether on land or in the air could not match the might of tens of thousands of the finest men the Empire had to offer?
"Take this Centurion to the rear for medical care." Maron Mal Macaron ordered the Legionaries.
"Sire, please!" Remus protested.
"No, Remus. You have done what you must. We will discuss this after the battle has concluded. Rest now." Maron Mal Macaron said as he had his horse turn around and began to ride off.
Count Formal was currently formulating a plan of attack with his officers, he wanted his Legion to be the one that took down this strange looking structure.
A pair of Legionaries helped Remus limp his way to the rear of the lines as more and more lines of soldiers marched past, making their way up the hill.
As Remus made his way down, only one thought was present in his mind.
"I need to get back across the Gate."
AUGUST 18TH 2017, 1010 HOURS, CHUOU, TOKYO, JAPAN
"Here they come!" A riot officer announced as formations of the enemy began to approach the palace.
Itami and the regular police officers had taken cover behind the gate leading into the palace. From their position they could see perfectly, the large formations of men clad in metal armor, waving strange flags as they did so. With them, groups of those awful monsters who had the capability of tearing men in two. These really were fantasy monsters like in one of Itami's games.
"Where's the military?" One of the police officers questioned.
"On their way, just be patient.." The other responded tensely.
As the enemy finished coming up the hill their ranks formed up in preparation for the assault.
There was a loud and crisp crack. One of the SAT snipers had opened fire, hitting an officer on horseback. There was a stir among the ranks as this happened,
And then, the sound they'd all been waiting for.
Rotary engines getting closer, and then soaring over head.
"Attack helicopters! Look!" One of the officers yelled out.
A pair of JGSDF AH-1S helicopters soared overhead, turning over and hovering to a stop.
There was a moment of relative silence as the machines hovered there for a moment, the enemy soldiers looking up in awe at these mechanical beasts. Then suddenly…
BRRRRRRRTTTTTT!
The 20mm cannons of each helicopter began to rip into the enemy, kicking up large amounts of dirt and dust.
At the same time a pair of AH-64E swooped in from behind the buildings behind them, splitting off and circling around.
TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK!
The 30mm grenades started to impact, kicking up even more dirt and dust as one of the helicopters swooped overhead. It fired its weapon, tearing into the enemy infantry before peeling off again.
The attack was devastating, the enemy forces were sent into all kinds of disarray, running in every direction, merely trying to protect their own lives.
As the SAT snipers continued to engage targets they could identify as leadership, the sound of gunfire began to steadily increase.
"Reinforcements have arrived!" One of the police officers yelled out.
Itami watched as several Humvees began to pull up, dismounting troops that began to engage the enemy. At the same time he could see a unit of Type 73 APCs dismounting their troops as they opened fire with their heavy machineguns. The enemy didn't stand a chance.
BOOM!
Itami ducked his head down as a Type 90 MBT opened fire with it's main cannon after coming around a building corner, the shell impacted the hill with a fiery explosion. Tearing men apart and slaying them with no regard for rank or status.
As the noose began to tighten around the invaders, being slowly and steadily pushed into a retreat by the overwhelming firepower, the riot police readied their CS gas launchers and opened fire. There was a loud series of pops as the canisters were sent flying through the air into the crowd of retreating soldiers and beasts.
"Their line's been broken!" Itami cheered.
The riot police gave a mighty yell as they charged forward into the fray, beating anyone unfortunate enough to be caught into submission so they could be arrested.
The large majority however, would get away, suffering a far worse fate as they continued their retreat down the hill, and seemingly back towards where they had come from.
As men and monsters tried to retreat back into the city, running for the Gate, the found themselves continuously cut down in a hail of bullets and high explosives. To them, it seemed like the underworld itself had opened up, and Hardy was taking out her wrath on them.
For the men of the JSDF and US Army however, this was turning out to be a resounding victory. Itami could hear over the police radio that it was currently estimated over half the enemy force had been destroyed, the rest of which were desperately trying to retreat through the Gate.
Itami let a smile come across his face as the sounds of battle grew more and more distant, the armed forces pushing the survivors deeper and deeper into the city, towards the Gate.
It was over. He had made it, and he had done his duty.
He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead as he headed inside the palace. He needed a break after everything that had happened.
"What a ridiculous day." Itami cursed whatever had caused this in his head. "The doujinshi festival will be held off for God knows how long now…"
UNKNOWN DATE, 1015 HOURS, UNKNOWN LOCATION
"Run!" Someone yelled. "Run for your lives!"
Legionaries and Auxiliaries alike abandoned any sense of order and were simply running towards the Gate as fast as they could. The two who had been escorting Remus to the rear were long gone. When the great thundering roars of the awful fire being rained from above started, one took off for the battle on the hill, and the other had abandoned Remus for his own safety.
Remus limped along as fast as he could, he found it very hard to breathe. There was nothing he could do however, to stop here would be to die. He wasn't about to allow that to happen to himself either, he needed to live. Not for his sake, nor for his family's sake. No, Remus needed to live so he could warn the Empire of what happened here.
"Abandon the slaves!" Remus called out to a group of men trying to push a cart full of captured women towards the Gate. "If you value your own lives, abandon the slaves!"
There was an awful roar as smoke filled the air, another fiery death for another dozen or so men. The enemy was bearing down right on them, and at speeds Remus could not even fathom as possible.
The enemy rode in iron wagons that moved faster than any horse drawn cart could surely go, even with the finest of beasts pulling it. Worse, every man who appeared out of these wagons was a mage, shaking his staff at the retreating army and letting loose that awful fire magic which cut men down where they stood.
There was another thunderous roar as one of the great iron beasts of the sky zoomed in overhead, letting loose one of it's fire spells which created that sickening inferno. A death not even fit for the lowest of scum on the continent of Falmart.
Remus's ears rang as he moved as fast as he could, was this where he'd die? Run ragged like an animal, cut down and slain mere feet from safety? The Gate was in sight, but he still needed to get there.
A man next to him screamed out as he was cut down by the mage's invisible magic.
"That could have been me…" Remus entertained the thought for a moment before shaking his head, clearing it from his mind. He'd need to be made of sterner stuff than this if he was going to survive.
Then it started. That awful whine and roar that caused Remus to glance over his shoulder. Behind him he could see a massive metal beast, with a ridiculously long snout running men down as they tried to save their lives. It was absolutely horrific, it did not stop for anything in it's path as it crushed them beneath it's strange black feet. The ground suddenly shook and Remus could not hear anything, his head ached terribly. The beast's snout poured out smoke as it let loose a fire spell which sent forth that invisible death, cutting down Gods know how many men, turning them into a pink and red pulp.
Remus touched his ear as he forced himself to run, he could feel the blood as it ran down the side of his head.
This was sickening. This was not war. This was a slaughter, which the mightiest army the Empire had ever raised had just walked into willingly, albeit unknowingly. How was the Imperial Army supposed to recover from something like this? It was impossible.
"Why would Emroy allow something like this?" Remus thought to himself as it became hard to breathe. "War is not meant to be fought this way…"
Remus suddenly felt a pair of hands grab him, he prepared for the worst, but suddenly felt himself being dragged along. Some heroic soldier was determined to not leave him behind.
"Quickly sire! We are leaving this wretched place once and for all!" The young man yelled, though Remus still found it very hard to hear.
But as the pair disappeared into the Gate, Remus gave one last look over his shoulder at the chaos they were leaving behind. It was awful. As far as he could see, thousands dead and dying, more still being cut down where they stood, or as they tried to run away. Others disappearing into balls of flame and smoke, and other still being crushed underfoot by titanic beasts made of steel.
What was this hell?
What had the Empire done?
What kind of Titan had they awoken?
And most importantly, what in the world would they be able to do to stop it?