Fighting for our Glorious School
Kapitel Zwei
Die Übergangszeit
XXXXXXXXXX
After the exhibition fight, everyone retreated into the city to do their own things. The Jägermeistern teams retreated to a new building recently constructed within the city. It was basically a large arcade. Outside were all of the fighters used plus the support vehicles. Because the building was built with an extremely large parking lot, there was plenty of space to take off and land when adding the smooth grass that extended beyond in two concurrent directions.
"Everyone worked really hard today," Pfirsich began a speech inside the building with. Everyone was in their respective school uniform now. "First we need to thank Saint Gloriana and Pravda..."
Many of the Saint Gloriana guys were messing around on an indoor soccer field. The Pravda guys were mostly screwing around on the indoor hockey rink.
"... along with Chi-Ha-Tan for agreeing to participate."
Chi-Ha-Tan was mostly around some other games that tested extreme precision, such as darts.
"Thank you all."
Most of the leaders were around the pool tables and air hockey tables in the center.
"Along with the judges and the local office of the International Jägermeistern Federation."
Pfirsich and the other two members of the student council were near the front of the room around an air hockey table.
"Also-"
"Pfirsich, too long," Aprikose interrupted as he shot the puck into Zitrus' goal.
"That's all!" Pfirsich ended. "Everyone rest up, and have fun!"
"Yeah!" everyone agreed.
In the meantime, the British guys were having some tea near one of the bar areas.
"Even though it's a friendly, victory still tastes good," the Scottish boy remarked with a cup of tea in hand.
"Victories depend on luck," Arthur replied with his own cup of tea.
Dennis didn't join in the conversation as he instead savored his tea.
Meanwhile nearby also in the bar area, the Russians were doing things one would expect Russians to do. They were busy trying to smash vodka bottles against their heads. Nudelmann and Alexei had already broken one against their heads, as evidenced by their slightly bleeding scalps, and now Sasha was trying the same. He wasn't succeeding thus far.
"Oh, screw this!" he said in frustration as he slammed his bottle down on the counter. It did not break.
"If you give up, what does that say about you as a komandir?" Nudelmann questioned him with. "Keep trying. I'll give you some more help with the Ishak if you succeed."
Sasha relented at Nudelmann's offer and picked up the bottle to try again.
"Raz," Alexei counted off the failed attempts with a slightly amused grin. "Dva. Tri. Chetyre."
"Oh, shut up!" Sasha snapped as he slammed the bottle on the counter again. It still did not break.
"Hartmann-taichō, my deepest apologies!" Sakai formally apologized to Erich. He was with him and his friends around the pool tables. "If it wasn't for our reckless fighting..."
Erich shot a ball with the cue ball and pocketed it. "It's nothing," he responded with his everlasting smile he had become known for. "It was fun fighting with you. I definitely learned some new things."
"What did you learn?"
In the meantime, the gamer boys were among the game machines. Nevi was playing a game called 'Kriegsdonner.'
"Well," Erich responded, "I learned about your team spirit."
"I see!" Sakai replied.
"We begin the new semester next week," Nathan remarked as he relaxed against one of the neighboring pool tables with the rest of Erich's group of friends.
Anton gasped a bit in surprise. "Shit!" he cursed. "I haven't done my homework yet!"
David simply fell back onto the table surface itself. "I have to get up early again..." he lamented as he laid there. "How I wish school could just disappear!"
"Didn't we fight to prevent our school from closing down?" Herz countered from his spot.
After saying that, the main doors opened and Anzu entered the area. "Aprikose Novat!" she requested with a stone face.
Everyone turned to her in response and in curiosity. Among them was Aprikose Novat himself.
"I need your presence."
"What's going on?" Pfirsich asked.
"Nevermind, I'll go on ahead," Aprikose said as he walked toward the front door and exited with Anzu.
"We'll need a transport," Anzu informed as the two Ooarai Presidents walked through the lot.
"Let's take the Dora."
Anzu looked to him with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"
Aprikose explained as he hopped up. "I have a good idea of what this may be about. You get good at predicting what can happen next when you get to be a good fighter pilot. If this is what I think it is, then I want to fly this old bird one last time." He then offered Anzu a hand. "Come on."
Anzu took it and she settled into the cockpit after Aprikose. "I hope for our own good that your intuition's wrong," she said eventually in response as she closed her eyes and relaxed against Aprikose himself.
"I hope it is, too," Aprikose quietly agreed as he started up the Fw 190D and took off into the evening sky.
XXXXXXXXXX
Later that evening as the sun was nearly set, all of Ooarai's fighters, Panzers, and other support vehicles were making their way to the dock that held their massive carrier, the Zuikaku. The Fw 190 D-12 was not among the fighters. All of the ground vehicles had their lights on while the aircraft had their navigation lights on. Up in the air, the Me 410 was towing the Me 163 behind it. It was being towed because it wasn't considered to be worth the normal risks to fly the Komet such a short distance, so its fuel tanks were left empty and it was towed.
Down on the ground, it was noticeable among many of the Ooarai students that there were many trucks packed up and ready to depart.
"Why is everyone packing up?" Herz wondered from the Acht-Acht.
"Is it a recycling thing?" Anton wondered from out of his hatch.
"I don't know..." Nathan responded as all of them looked on with curiosity.
Erich was thinking similar things from above in the air. 'What's going on?' he thought. 'I don't like the look of this...'
XXXXXXXXXX
Eventually, the fighters had gotten to the ship, but they all received a message over their radios.
"This is restricted airspace. Turn around immediately," they all heard.
"What?!" Lemu reacted from within his D.520. "What does that mean?!"
"What does that mean? 'Restricted airspace?'" Matthias wondered in his F4F. "I hope it doesn't mean there are hostiles there."
"Boys, it would be a problem if you flew any closer," they heard again, but with a different voice.
In response, Ooarai's fighters did not close with the ship's airspace any further, but they instead entered a holding pattern just outside of the 'restricted airspace.' Erich got a good look down at the main entrance to the docks, and he saw Renta Tsuji down on the ground amidst the other Ooarai students. He was currently looking directly at the Bf 109, and he also held a phone that he was presumably speaking into.
"But... we're all students here!" Pfirsich was heard responding.
"Not anymore," Renta countered.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Lemu demanded.
"Why don't you two tell them?" Renta cued, and at that moment, Aprikose's Fw 190 D-12 was visible as it headed for the other fighters from higher up. Erich chose to head for him, but he noticed Anzu climb out of the canopy with a parachute and jump. She successfully parachuted and landed by Renta, and she took the phone he offered.
"Mr. President? Madam President?" Pfirsich reacted in a bit of surprise. "What's going on?"
"Madam President?" Zitrus similarly asked in confusion after seeing her parachute out of the Langnasen-Dora.
"Ooarai High School... will close on August 31st," Aprikose announced in a level voice that had no emotion whatsoever. He had shut the canopy after Anzu jumped. He had not fallen into the holding pattern with the rest of the Ooarai fighters, but he instead chose to stay above it. Erich, however, followed him up as he sat behind him and grew suspicious of Aprikose.
"What?!" most people reacted in shock.
"As the school closes, the Zuikaku will be scrapped," Anzu continued with a similar voice as Aprikose used.
"Wasn't it that if we won the tournaments, the school would stay up?" Anton asked.
"It appears that wasn't a concrete promise," Aprikose revealed. Erich remained behind him as he comprehended everything being revealed.
"What?!" Pfirsich angrily reacted.
"It merely opened up reconsideration."
"Nothing official, supposedly," Anzu explained.
In response, Erich chose to pull alongside Aprikose to observe the President himself. He saw Aprikose appeared just as emotionless as he sounded.
"Isn't that too sudden?!" Ron demanded in his Ki-10.
"Yeah, I thought if it would be shut down, it would be done in June!" Momo replied after being broken by the confirmation.
"After they discussed it, they felt that would be too late," Anzu explained.
"Why make it even earlier?!" Momo cried out. Up above, Erich was still trying to make sense of what was being said. He was looking at Aprikose to try and find out.
"What did we fight for then?" Matthias questioned. "We fought to save our school..."
For a moment, silence followed besides the sound of the fighters still circling above. Pfirsich then broke it. "Unacceptable! We must fight back!"
"What are you doing?!" Zitrus reacted in surprise.
"We have to stay aboard the ship!"
Several people then started speaking up, which made it very difficult to distinguish everything.
"Mutiny on the Bounty!"
"Potemkin! Potemkin!"
"Kanikousen!"
"The Caine Mutiny!"
"Aren't they fictional?"
"It's unfortunate, but the school is really closing down!" Anzu announced loudly with finality, and everyone grew silent in response as they accepted in resignation what was going to happen.
"If we fight back," Aprikose began, "we'll just screw everything over for everyone else aboard. He said he'll fire everyone."
"This is too much...!" Pfirsich lamented as he broke down as well.
"Ah, Pfirsich!" Zitrus was heard responding to him.
"What does that mean?!" Lemu spoke up. "Does that mean we're no longer the Public Morals Committee?!"
"That's what you care about?" David deadpanned.
"That's important!"
"Then clubs will be gone too..." Ron noted.
"We'll never get our Badminton Club back!" Seth observed.
"The Aeronautics Club will be gone, too," Yeager lamented in his Me 163 being towed.
"Our dream of the Zuikaku Airshow..." Brown similarly said.
"Does this mean we're no longer erste Jahre?" Mesut was heard asking.
"What'll we do if we're not erste Jahre?" Erik wondered.
"A real mission failure..." Nevi dreaded from his N1K2-J.
"A Reconstruction-era Southerner..." Abe was heard.
"This tragedy can't go three hundred years unsolved! Did our own do this or did our foes?!" Gustav shouted out with great passion.
"Don't we already know that it's foe?" Wolf remarked from his Me 410.
"Everyone, quiet down!" Aprikose sternly ordered, and everyone grew quiet in response.
"Now, just calm down and follow instructions," Anzu continued.
"Mr. President, is this really okay?" Pfirsich asked without much heart left. Aprikose did not respond. Erich was able to see he was still in his unemotional state.
"I'm sure everyone's heard it," Yuzu eventually spoke up. "I apologize, but for those that live in the dorms, please return there. Those who live with their families, be ready to move."
"May I?" Erich finally spoke up in his Bf 109. "What'll happen to all our vehicles? Our Panzers, our fighters?"
"They will go over to MEXT," Anzu responded.
Erich did not respond, but he did grow more thoughtful as he finally realized just how dreadful the situation ahead looked.
"Even our vehicles will be taken?" Nathan asked.
"How could this be?" Herz questioned.
All remained silent before Anzu and Aprikose both spoke up simultaneously. "We're so sorry."
Aprikose then spoke up alone. "Erich, I would love nothing more than for you to shoot me now, but unfortunately it would do neither of us any good." He paused for a bit. "I apologize for everything."
In response, Erich finally broke away from the Fw 190 and flew off into the sunset alone.
Down below, Miho saw the 109 her boyfriend flew start flying off, and she grew a bit of a fearful look. She knew how Erich was in situations like their current one, and she was a bit scared of how he would react.
She quickly headed forward and took the phone from Anzu. "Bubi, please don't do anything rash!" she desperately spoke into the phone.
In his Bf 109, Erich's left hand trembled uncontrollably and he had to let go of the throttle with it in response. He had a face that was resigned to the events that had been revealed. "I just need some time alone for now," he replied to Miho as he flew off into the impending night. "I'll be back soon."
XXXXXXXXXX
Aboard the Zuikaku later in the night, all was relatively quiet and dark. Not many of the lights were on aboard the ship. There was a single set of navigation lights moving throughout the sky as they came close to land, and they were accompanied by the sound of a throttled-back aircraft engine. Evidently, it was Erich who had come back as he landed his 109 in the dirt airstrip recently added to the ship.
In the school itself, the student council along with many other students were all packing everything from the archives room into boxes.
"I never thought we'd be saying goodbye in this way," Zitrus remarked after he set a box down. He then gently cursed over some papers. "I guess we won't need these proposals and invoices anymore."
"Bring everything you can," Pfirsich requested as he sat at the bar-like area in the student council office. "This is our history! We can't leave our history behind!"
Aprikose then jumped on his chair behind his desk. "I want my chair to come, too!" he declared.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile within the zoo aboard, the freshmen boys were busy with a wildcat in its habitat. They had managed to tame it during their time at the school.
"Here, come here!" Matthias beckoned.
"But I'm not one to be in charge of him... I'm not really good with animals," Julius admitted.
"You'll get used to it," Mesut assured.
"We can't just leave this big guy around," Erik determined.
XXXXXXXXXX
In the locker rooms for the school, the badminton players were walking through it with a load of badminton-related equipment.
"The Badminton Club will never come back, will it?" Alex asked as the four walked through.
"Yeah..." Harry replied. "Since the school's gonna be gone..."
Ron looked down at the racquet in his hand, and he then held it up as he got an idea. "Let's have one last match of badminton!" he suggested.
"Yeah!" the rest agreed as they brightened up.
XXXXXXXXXX
At the school's front gate, Lemu was scrubbing off the plate that held the school's name.
"Every morning, we check for latecomers at the gate..." Lemu reminisced.
"What will we live for after this?" Kolari wondered.
"Should we take the sign too?" Satiainen suggested.
Lemu looked to him and lit up. "Great idea!" he praised as he looked back to the sign.
"I was joking."
Lemu then lost his brightness as he looked down. Soon after, a shuttlecock bounced off his head.
Along with the shuttlecock, the badminton guys came through the gate, and they saw what had occurred.
"What are you doing?!" Lemu demanded as he rubbed his head.
"Oh, sorry about that," Ron apologized.
Right after, a wildcat came running through the gate, and running after it were the freshmen boys. The two other groups looked on at the scene in bewilderment.
XXXXXXXXXX
Above the ship, there was a lone aircraft flying through the skies, and it was not Erich's Bf 109.
The aircraft currently flying was a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, but it appeared to be very heavily modified. For one, it was somehow fitted with a BMW 801 radial engine in a new nose nearly identical to that of an Fw 190A, and it had notably shorter yet beefier landing gear. It also had an extended cabin that allowed at least four people to ride in it. The tail section was also extended quite a bit to help counterbalance the heavy BMW 801, and the wings' strut supports were swapped for far stronger ones to deal with the increased loads everywhere.
In the heavily modified Storch were the four aeronautics guys. Dittmar was flying while the other three were along for the ride.
Yeager looked out the window at the full moon as the bastard Storch flew along. "This is our last time taking to the air here..." he stated.
"Don't get down into a split-s, we'll reverse that into an Immelmann!" Brown assured.
"A final evasion," Reitsch noted.
"Let's spin about 'till the very end!" Dittmar suggested as he flew along.
"Do it!" Yeager granted in a better mood.
Dittmar then proceeded to send the bastardized Storch into a Lomcovak as he tumbled it about all three axes. He was precisely using the throttle to accurately control said tumbling.
XXXXXXXXXX
Along the side of the ship were the four history guys walking along.
"Everyone's leaving the ship..." Leonidas noted.
"Just like Charles XII left to Turkey..." Gustav referenced.
XXXXXXXXXX
In his own room, Nevi was busy playing his game again, and he was chatting with Dexter and Mark while playing.
"We can always come to here, even when we're separate," Nevi reminded as he flew his P-38 in the game.
"Yeah, even at midnight," Dexter added as he flew along in his Spitfire.
"Yeah, we're not alone!" Mark agreed as he flew his La-5 along.
The three then turned to face the horde of enemy aircraft coming toward them as they prepared for a long fight.
XXXXXXXXXX
At McBraun Clothes Repair, Nathan's dad was in tears as he put the shop's sign up. "We can't make it!" he despaired. "Once we're on land, the shop won't make it!"
"It'll be alright!" Nathan's mother said from atop the bed of a truck they used to pack up. She then looked up at the window where Nathan was with a comforting smile. "Nathan, don't worry."
"Yeah..." Nathan nodded, but he wasn't very lively at the moment.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile in Ooarai city, Mr. Benz was busy taking shots in a targeting range within his large manor.
"What?!" he heard Johanna say loudly. She was on the phone at the entrance to the range, and she looked a bit shocked and angry. "Your school?!"
She was apparently talking to Herz, who was out at Ooarai's firing range at the moment talking to her over his phone.
"Seems like we'll have to wait around a bit before the transfer," Herz calmly informed while he looked on at all the dirt mounds laid over with targets.
"If that's the case, then could you come back?" Johanna asked.
"I can't come back on my own. Plus, as long as I'm still breathing, there's a world of opportunity waiting to be struck by my arrows."
XXXXXXXXXX
In David's place, Anton had packed up all the sheets and bedding while David sat against the packed sheets.
"There we are," Anton said. "All our bedding's here."
David then ripped his pillow out of the packed bedding and held his face against it.
"Hey, I went through a lot to pack that!"
"I can't sleep with another pillow," David claimed.
"But can't you sleep anywhere?"
"It's not the same."
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile in Miho's apartment, she and Erich, who was now her roommate as well, were packing up the last of both of their things. Erich was helping her with her things now. They had already packed his things away, which included all of the posters and merchandise of his favorite Swedish power metal band.
Miho then closed her box of Boko collectibles and sealed it with some masking tape. "This is everything," she noted. Her boxes had a drawing of Boko's face on them while Erich's had a specific form of the letter S on them so as to differentiate their things. The specific variant of the letter was the same as was used in the name of Erich's favorite band.
Miho then sat up straight on her knees with Erich crouched beside her. "Tomorrow we'll have to leave everything here and leave the ship," Erich stated without much emotion. Both were looking rather down.
The two of them then stood up, and Erich turned to face Miho. "Should we go there?" he suggested. "It'll probably be the last time we can."
Miho grew a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess we should," she agreed, and the two walked out the door.
XXXXXXXXXX
Erich and Miho ran along the sidewalks all the way to the school. They had taken the same route they had taken to school each morning. They passed through the gate, but the sign was no longer there. Instead, there was an outline of it and a crowbar resting underneath.
Soon, the two arrived at the hangars, and they both widened their eyes at seeing what was set outside of them.
"I told you our Kommandeuren would show up!" Matthias remarked among the two groups of freshmen that greeted the two commanders.
"Everyone's here!" Julius informed.
Sure enough, all of Ooarai's Panzers, support vehicles, and fighters were lined up in front of the hangars, and each of the crews were around their particular vehicle. Also, the Public Morals Committee had apparently taken the gate sign with them as Sodoko held on to it.
"Even though you're small, you fought like a champ," Ron said as he and his group stood before their Ki-10-II. "It wasn't for very long, but thanks for everything, you awesome bastard."
"You had quite the fight against Saunders," Wolf remarked as he and the other history guys stood in front of their Me 410 A-1/U4.
"You did pretty well against Pravda, too," Leonidas noted with a smile as he crossed his arms.
Erich and Miho were looking on at everyone until they heard Saori's voice behind call out, "Found ya, Miho! And Bubi, too!"
The two turned around to find their groups of friends coming toward them.
"We headed to your place, but you guys were already on your way here, weren't you?" Nathan said.
"Everyone seems to be here," Herz remarked as the two groups came to a stop.
Miho and Erich smiled at all of them, and Miho then asked, "Do Mako and David plan to crash here?"
"Yeah," David confirmed as he held his pillow beside him. "Because... this could very well be goodbye."
All ten of the combined group lost their smiles at David's words. Miho and Erich then longingly looked to the end of the row where their Panzer IV H and Bf 109 K-4 were parked.
Crack of the lightning splitting the ground
Soon, the both of them heard the faint whooshing of jet engines, and they looked to the sky to find the source. They saw a large aircraft currently on the landing approach. The plane was massive. It had a very large fuselage with multiple landing gear bogies currently extended from below it and swept wings with four large turbofans slung under them. There was also a t-tail, and airbrakes along the wing trailing edges were currently extended as well.
Thunder is sounding,
Artillery pounding!
Wrath of the Nazis cast on Bastogne
As the large cargo plane touched down and eventually came to a stop in front of a stunned Miho and Erich, the markings on it were identifiable. They were those of Saunders, and on the side of the plane was a special marking that said it was a part of the Saunders Airlift Wing.
Facing their forces alone!
"That's Saunders High School's Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy cargo plane!" Nathan excitedly pointed out. The rest of Erich's and Miho's friends stood beside the two of them as they looked on at the massive American cargo plane.
Alone!
By the C-5M's nose were the student council members, all with smiles.
Alone!
"Saunders will keep our tanks for now," Momo said.
Sent from the skies
Jumped into the unknown
The march to Berlin has begun
"And our fighters will join them as well," Pfirsich informed.
Spearhead the charge
Surrounded by foes!
Eagles are leading the way
"Is this all right?" Herz asked.
France!
Is still under
Enemy rule!
"We filed some documents saying they were lost," Zitrus responded as he and Yuzu held up a couple documents as proof.
Push!
Axis retreat!
"This way we can keep them all safe!" Aprikose stated.
Thrown towards Arnhem,
A bitter defeat
They're stretched out just one bridge too far
Soon, some people stepped down from the C-5M.
Turn of the tide,
It's breaking away!
Losing momentum, retreat
"Kept you waiting, did we?" Chuck greeted with his usual smile.
Go!
To Bastogne!
The crossroads must hold!
"You're giving us such a hassle," Ray remarked with no harm intended from behind Chuck.
Stand!
Alone in the cold!
The others were delighted to see the Saunders crew step out.
Crack of the lightning splitting the ground
"Thank you! Thank you!" Anzu and Aprikose chanted as they jumped up and down with their hands up.
Thunder is sounding,
Artillery pounding!
Wrath of the Nazis cast on Bastogne
"No worries!" Kay assured with her usual happy attitude. "Okay everyone, hurry up!"
Facing their forces alone!
"Yeah!"
Alone!
Some time later, all of the Panzers were being loaded onto the C-5M while the fighters were being lined up ahead of the Super Galaxy on the airstrip to take off. All of the Ooarai fighters were modified wherever possible to carry extra fuel except for the Me 163. Instead, it was decided it would be towed empty again by the Me 410. All fighters were traveling without ammunition to help increase range, and the extra fuel carrying capacities themselves were mostly achieved with drop tanks, but some fighters required that mountings for said tanks be jerry-rigged for them.
Alone!
In the meantime, Erich approached Miho as she stepped out of the Super Galaxy after she helped load her Panzer IV. Erich hesitated upon seeing her, however, and Miho noticed. She walked over to him to find he had a conflicted look on his face.
Dig your own foxholes
Or dig your own grave
The storm is about to begin
"What's wrong, Erich?" she asked as she approached with a concerned look.
The siege has begun
There's nowhere to run!
Panzerkampfwagen emerge
Erich hesitated for a bit, but he eventually said, "Will you be mad?"
Tanks!
And mortars are
Shaking the ground!
Miho raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Come again?"
Prey!
Of man and machine!
"Will you be mad... if I leave again?"
Crack of the lightning splitting the ground
Miho thought a bit until she realized what Erich was getting at as she raised her eyebrows in recognition. "You're still bothered by that?"
Thunder is sounding,
Artillery pounding!
Wrath of the Nazis cast on Bastogne
"How can I not be?" Erich's hands were by now shaking uncontrollably. "I left you! How could you not be angry with me for that?!"
Facing their forces alone!
Miho calmly stepped closer to him and gently wrapped her arms around him as she gave him a soft kiss. She managed to calm Erich down by the time she pulled away about ten seconds later. She then softly spoke with her kind smile, "Because we met again."
Chill of the winter
Bite to the bone
And Christmas is drawing near
Erich now raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Soldiers are freezing,
The death toll increasing
They're dying in their holes
"I'm not mad at you for leaving, because we ended up meeting again. And even if we hadn't, I still couldn't hold anything against you. You're not the type to intentionally harm people. You're extremely honest, and you left because you felt it was for the best. I know you have a sound judgment, so how can I blame you for doing what you felt was right?"
There's no surrender
There's no retreat!
The Wehrmacht is drawing near
"But..."
There's no reinforcements
They're fighting all alone!
"Erich, I could never be angry with you. Upset, maybe, but I couldn't ever hold anything against you. You're just too kind, and that's one of the many reasons I love you as much as I do."
Erich remained silent for a bit. "Alright, if you say so..." he eventually acquiesced.
Miho then leaned forward to give him another light kiss. She pulled back a few seconds later with her same smile. "Just remember, Erich, that I love you more than anything else in the world, and because of that, there's nothing that can cause me to resent you."
Erich eventually cracked a small smile. He then took his scope off and handed it to Miho. "Alright, then I promise: I'll come back for you. Until then, keep this."
Miho took the GwZF4-fach before she gave Erich another light kiss and pulled back after a few seconds. "I trust you'll uphold that promise anyways." She then loosened her hug and pulled away. "Now go. Your guys need you."
Erich chucked. "Alright. I'll see you." He then gave a parting kiss, and he then headed over to his fighters.
Eventually, all of the Panzers were loaded on the C-5M, and all of the fighters were prepped for take-off. The support vehicles, it was decided, would stay with the Ooarai students.
"That's all of them," Kay observed as the cargo door shut on the Super Galaxy.
"Alright!" Chuck said from his spot in the co-pilot's seat. "When you're sure of your destination, contact us!"
"Okay!" Miho happily responded outside the plane over a radio headset. "Thanks!"
"We'll deliver them for you," Christian promised with a smile in his pilot's seat.
"Erich, you're clear!" Chuck granted.
"Thanks!" Erich responded with a smile from his Bf 109. "Everyone, start!"
The Ooarai fighters accordingly started taking off with all of their aircrews. The Messer took off first, and the Fw 190 followed. Next came the D.520, the F4F, the N1K2-J, the Ki-10, the Me 410, and the Me 163 in that order. The Me 410 was towing the Me 163 as planned prior, considering the flight ahead would be long.
Soon, all of them became airborne, and they circled overhead while the massive C-5M began taking off with its flaps extended slightly.
"Is this gonna be okay?" Herz wondered as everyone watched the Super Galaxy begin the take-off roll.
Sent from the skies
Ended up in Bastogne
As easy, as hard as they get
"Seems heavy," David noted. "Can it even take off?"
Nazi command
Request and demand!
Offer surrender, declined
"Come on, you can do it!" Anton encouraged.
Nuts!
The general's
Word echo clear!
Miho, however, was looking longingly at the Bf 109 K-4 above, as if she was already missing its pilot. She chose to wear the GwZF4-fach around her neck like its owner usually did, and she held it with her hand as she looked on at the Messer. She still had her radio headset on her ears.
Nuts!
The Nazis shall hear!
After a long take-off roll, the C-5M finally got airborne and slowly climbed into the sky. After climbing high enough, it retracted its landing gear, and the rest of the Ooarai fighters formed up around it.
Crack of the lightning splitting the ground
"I'm glad..." Nathan began. "Even if we couldn't protect our school... at least we were able to protect our Panzers and fighters."
Thunder is sounding,
Artillery pounding!
Wrath of the Nazis cast on Bastogne
"Yeah..." Miho said absentmindedly as she continued staring at the planes climbing away. She continued staring at the particular set of navigation lights she had already memorized were those of a late-model Bf 109.
Facing their forces alone!
Soon after, though, she heard her headphones buzz with a radio message, and she listened in.
Crack of the lightning splitting the ground
"Ich liebe dich," she heard Erich say to her.
Thunder is sounding,
Artillery pounding!
Wrath of the Nazis cast on Bastogne
Miho cracked a smile hearing her lover once more. "Ich liebe dich auch," she responded, and then the radio cut off. She took off her headphones as she and everyone else watched the C-5M and the Ooarai fighters fly off into the night.
Facing their forces alone!
XXXXXXXXXX
The next morning then came around, and the Zuikaku appeared completely deserted. There was one last relic, however, that was left behind. In the hangars was a chalkboard heavily drawn on, but most prominent was a message written on it that read, 'Thank You! Ooarai High School by Arts of Warfare Members.'
Down at the docks, all members of the Arts of Warfare programs were grouped together into their respective cliques, but each clique was notably missing the aircrews of each respective group. The student council minus Aprikose was in front of the whole crowd facing them.
"Is everyone here?" Anzu asked with a stone face.
"Yes," Zitrus responded as he held a sheet of paper, supposedly the class list. He wasn't looking too upbeat.
In Miho's group, the now nine of them were making some remarks amongst each other.
"The ship is departing," Hana said with a stone face.
"Does this mean goodbye?" Nathan wondered with a dreadful face.
"See you," David and Mako said with their monotones, but they looked a bit angered at the sight of the Zuikaku leaving.
"Man, this is sadder than breaking up with my girlfriend," Anton compared with a hopelessly resigned face.
"Even though you never had one?" Herz responded.
As the Zuikaku steamed out of the port, everyone was watching it leave. Eventually, the two groups of freshmen took off down the dock after the large carrier as they chanted various things.
"Don't go!"
"Say goodbye with a smile!"
"Thank you!"
"Stay healthy!"
Soon, all of them stopped running and screamed out, "Goodbye!" with tears streaming down their eyes.
"Auf wiedersehen!" all of the freshmen boys similarly called out again. Coincidentally enough, it started raining as the skies turned gray.
Behind them, everyone was similarly in despair, but in different ways and with different kinds of passion. The rest weren't as emotional as the freshmen, though.
As she looked on at the Zuikaku, Miho couldn't help but well up tears in her eyes at seeing her home go away. She traced out the GwZF4-fach around her neck as she tried to sense the incoming support of the scope's owner. But the comfort did not come, and she couldn't help but let go of a tear as she felt just the scope and not its owner.
XXXXXXXXXX
Later, several busses rolled out of the port and onto the streets of Ooarai. Among those busses were also Ooarai's four SPAAs plus the three support vehicles for the Me 163. Each respective crew was in their SPAA, but the Acht-Acht had some notable extras in the form of Miho's group. They were on either the bench behind the cabin or the ammo box at the back.
The crew members of the FAMO were at their regular positions. Kolari and Satiainen, however, were not aboard. They instead chose to take another vehicle as a ride. Saori, Hana, and Mako were on the bench behind the cabin while Yukari and Miho took to the ammo box. Predictably, Mako was asleep.
Soon enough, the busses started splitting up. The SPAAs and the Me 163 support vehicles stuck together, though. Miho noticed the busses and offered comment. "More busses are separating, huh..." she noted with her current down feelings.
"Because there were too many students, everyone ended up being separated by club," Nathan informed. "It seems like all of the Arts of Warfare clubs have been grouped together..."
Saori then cracked open a bag of potatoes and rushed to offer them to Miho. "Let's have some snacks first!" she determinedly suggested as Hana also came forth with her. Miho was a bit surprised to see them acting in such a way.
"No!" Herz desperately said. "Those are the last things she should see!"
Saori and Hana both raised their eyebrows at him in confusion before the realization hit them like 88 mm shells. They turned to Miho with said look on their faces. The two found her softly holding the GwZF4-fach around her neck as she looked down at it in longing. She appeared very sad. She continued looking at it while tears threatened to resurface.
XXXXXXXXXX
Soon, everyone of the Arts of Warfare clubs reached a small complex in the hills that had a good view of the ocean. Everyone had gotten out and was getting settled in. All of the support vehicles were parked within the complex's entry area.
"Before the transfer is complete, everyone will be staying here!" Pfirsich was heard over a megaphone with Zitrus beside him. Both were at the entrance to the main building. "Classes have already been arranged by grade level! So please head to your respective rooms!"
"Yeah..." many people responded with dejection.
Zitrus briefly chuckled. "Pfirsich, you sure you're one hundred percent?" he asked.
Pfirsich then stared off into the distance. "It's times like these where we have to remain strong," he responded. "Also, I'm sure Madam President will think of something... hopefully."
Anzu had chosen to set herself up in a very small office room, and she was now eating another dried sweet potato.
Throughout the day, everyone else was also figuring out their way around their temporary home.
XXXXXXXXXX
Far offshore at the same time, things were somewhat the opposite on the USS George Washington. On the airfield aboard, the Ooarai fighters were preparing to take off with the C-5M again.
As he waited for the Saunders ground crews to refill his Bf 109's three drop tanks, Erich had taken his phone out and stared at a picture on it. The picture itself was of Miho smiling at the camera in some summer clothing of hers during the summer festival earlier that year when Duck Team took on Shizuka Tsuruki and Rin Matsukaze in Tankathlon. Erich stared at the picture for a long time in longing before he was interrupted.
"Hey, whatcha got there, Erich?" Kay asked from behind him.
Erich turned to face her, and he put away his phone as he explained, "Just... a special someone."
"Ah. Well, that's great that you think of her so much, even when you're away.
"Yeah..." Erich then paused a bit before he spoke up again. "Hey, Kay, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"... Have you ever had to do something you felt was right, but you also felt would hurt someone you cared about?"
Kay raised an eyebrow in response as she thought. "... Well, I guess I could kinda say I did. You know Alisa, right?"
Erich nodded.
"Yeah, well we both remember the unfair stuff she did during the fight we had." Kay then sighed. "I find Alisa a great commander and a fantastic asset, but I still have to put my foot down and remind her of who's in charge. It hurts each time I have to do it, because I know Alisa just wants to help us win. But I really need to get her out of using unfair tactics. It's the right thing to do, but it still hurts having to punish one of my friends."
Erich looked on as Kay continued, and he eventually nodded. "It's just that I have a similar problem with Miho."
Kay cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"Well... you remember last year when I was at Schwarzwaldspitze?"
Kay nodded.
"Yeah, well I didn't really feel it was great for me to stay there. I felt that if I wanted to have fun in Jägermeistern that I had to get out of there." Erich then sighed. "But I forgot about Miho. If I wanted to get out, that meant I would've had to leave Miho. And that's what I ended up doing in my forgetfulness."
"But you're back together with her, aren't you?"
"Yes, but... well, we're not together right now." Erich sighed again. "So our fighters wouldn't be taken, I had to get us all out of there with them. That meant I had to leave her behind again."
Kay nodded as she beckoned Erich to continue.
"It's just... she had already been forced to not have me for support before. I didn't want to put her through that again. It just pains me so much to make her go through that again, especially at at time like this. She loves our school, and seeing it go away is the absolute worst possible thing in her eyes. I just wish I could be there for her so she wouldn't have to suffer."
Kay grabbed his shoulder and got Erich to stop. She then spoke, "Well don't worry about that. 'Cause you two are gonna be together again very soon." She ended by turning Erich to face his Bf 109 that was now ready to go. "Let's get going!"
Erich looked back at Kay, who had broken away to head for the C-5M with the rest of the Saunders crew. Erich then refocused and headed for his Bf 109. As he settled into the cockpit, he said to himself, "Don't worry. I'm coming for you..."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Leave this to us!" Nathan proclaimed. He and Yukari were busy cooking for their group outside within the complex.
"I have plenty of rations if anyone wants them! Just wait a bit!" Yukari offered as the two of them continued cooking a meal like those expected in the military.
The other seven of their group looked on at them from the knoll they had made camp at within the complex.
"Man, so energetic," Anton remarked.
"So strong," David noted.
"I could learn some things from them," Herz observed.
Miho looked on before she turned to face the vast landscape with an upset, longing look. She held the GwZF4-fach around her neck again as she looked on across the land.
"We're no longer at sea..." Saori said in a similar down tone.
"We can't hear the sound of the waves," Yukari similarly said as she and Nathan approached.
"Or smell the saltiness of the sea," Hana similarly said.
"Hills are all right, they're full of greenery," Saori said to try and raise everyone's spirits as she turned to face Hana.
"That's true, but..." Mako trailed off.
Soon, Miho heard the sounds of large-displacement piston engines along with jet engines, and she turned around to look up at the skies. She found all of the Ooarai fighters there with the C-5M, including the Me 410 that was once again towing the Me 163.
Thousands of tons
Of armor and guns
Making its way through the sand
She and the others all stood up as they grew great smiles. All of the planes then overflew the complex in the hills at very low altitude as they roared past. Miho's group of nine then ran to intercept the aircraft again.
Our Panzer battalion is back for revenge
Artillery sweeping the land!
All of the other groups in the Arts of Warfare also ran out of the building to intercept as the group of aircraft turned around slowly. All of the groups came to a bridge overlooking a wide, unobstructed road that the planes were now heading toward.
First strike is ours
No mercy is shown
There's rivers of blood in our track
Leading the way was the C-5M. As the massive cargo plane slowed down, it opened its rear cargo ramp. Out of it came all of Ooarai's Panzers on palettes equipped with parachutes. They came down to the road and skidded across the surface for a distance before they came to rest as the C-5M overflew the bridge with the rest of the Ooarai fighters.
Breaking their waves of defense with our tanks
Infantry watching our back!
"They're delivering them just like they promised!" Yukari said with happiness as the Ooarai students stared on at the Super Galaxy.
Blow their SAM sites clear for airstrike
Ready
For
The storm
"Thank God!" Azusa gratefully said as she turned back to the Panzers. "I feel better knowing our tanks are safe!"
Minefields swept, there's no surrender
Feel our napalm burn!
"Delivery complete!" they heard Ray's voice over the radio Yukari had.
Death in the shape of a Panzer battalion!
"Thank you!" Miho thanked with a great smile.
Insect of terror, don't run
Face your fate like a man!
"This favor won't come cheap!"
Cannot outrun our Panzer battalion!
"Huh?"
In the C-5M now climbing away, Ray continued from his navigator's position. "To repay us, you're gonna have to keep up the practice! Because we're gonna beat you next time!"
"Yes!" Miho responded with great happiness.
"And Miho? Your Heimkehrer's back for you," she last heard Kay say before the Super Galaxy flew out of range.
Death in the shape of a Panzer battalion!
Miho briefly wondered what she meant by that familiar-to-her word before the sounds of large-displacement piston engines roaring above the opposite way snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked to the sound to find Ooarai's fighters had passed overhead, but the one that caught her eye most now was a very particular Bf 109 K-4 with a black tulip on its nose.
Insect of terror, don't run
Face your fate like a man!
"Hey, could you do us a favor ladies?" Erich asked over the radio. "Could you move your Panzers so we can land?"
Cannot outrun our Panzer battalion!
"Of course!" Miho responded with an eager demeanor. She then turned to everyone else. "Girls, get your Panzers!"
Under this sun
No shadows will fall
Piercing our eyes as we charge!
"Yes, ma'am!" each of the Panzerkraft teams energetically responded, and they all rushed off to get their Panzers out of the way.
An armored battalion on course to the east
Has reached the end of its march
Soon after all of them were removed from the road, all of Ooarai's fighters came to land on the now empty road. The last to come in was the Bf 109.
Armored tanks of mass destruction
Killers
In
The east
As the Messer came to rest and shut down, Miho was already running to the German fighter. Erich swung open his canopy and jumped down, but not even a second later was he tackled by Miho. After coming to the ground, Miho began kissing him with great fervor.
Rats who dare to stand before us
Feel our guns go liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
During their passionate kiss, Miho had started releasing tears out of her closed eyes, and Erich broke the kiss after he felt them trail down onto his own face.
Panzer battalion!
"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.
Insect of terror, don't run
Face your fate like a maaaaaaaaaaaaaan!
"Nothing!" Miho responded with a tearful smile. "I'm just so happy to see you again!" She continued to tightly hold Erich as they laid there on the ground under the Bf 109.
Panzer battalion!
Erich grew a smile hearing her so happy as he held onto her. "I promised I would come back, and I'll never break a promise with you."
YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!
XXXXXXXXXX
The next day rolled around for the Ooarai students. Off to the side of the main road where the fighters had landed were the Ooarai fighters themselves, hidden within the trees. The Panzers were within the complex itself along with the other support vehicles.
"Looks like we're gonna be living here for the time being," Aprikose observed within the very small office of Anzu with the rest of the student council. Anzu was fanning herself with a Chinese fan as she sat in her chair with Aprikose standing beside her looking out the window, and the rest were by the couches. On the walls were the two victory flags the school possessed from their victories in the international tournaments.
"Is this really okay?" Pfirsich questioned. "Staying here like this?"
Aprikose looked back to them and Anzu stopped fanning herself. "Even here, you'll have to do it the same way as if we were still aboard the Zuikaku."
"Take a roll call every morning to make sure everyone is safe," Anzu ordered Pfirsich and Momo.
"Understood," Pfirsich and Momo responded. They then walked out of the small office into a small room next door.
"By the way, where's the Public Morals Committee?" Pfirsich asked. The students there pointed to a corner that had a very small sound booth-like room, and the two PR reps angrily walked toward it.
"Hey!" Pfirsich angrily called out as he slammed his hands against the window while he pressed his face against the glass. "As the Public Morals Committee, this is humiliating! Fix yourselves up!"
Within the room was the entire Public Morals Committee sleeping on the job. Lemu, however, woke up to address Pfirsich.
"Why should we?" he returned without any kind of motivation. "The school's gone now." He then began to sit up tiredly. "This is pointless! Even our reason for existence is gone..."
"Cut it out!" Momo barked. "Before the transfer is complete, you have to do your job!"
Lemu then belatedly got up to the microphone. "Everyone, round up!" he tiredly announced over the speakers.
XXXXXXXXXX
Out at the front of the complex a short bit later, everyone was gathered up.
"The school's gone now," David sleepily said. "Isn't it okay now to not wake up early?"
He was with the rest of his friends alongside Miho's group.
"I heard they'll be doing these roll calls every day," Anton remarked.
David then noticed the Public Morals Committee members trudge by. "At least wash yourself up, Lemu!" he barked at Lemu.
"Sure, sure," Lemu waved off unmotivated. "I'm just Lemu anyway."
Lemu eventually reached the front with the rest of the Public Morals Committee. "Roll call!" he sleepily continued. "Everyone's here, right?" After a few seconds of silence, he continued. "All right, finished!" He then walked off.
"For a roll call, that was quite lazy..." Herz observed.
XXXXXXXXXX
A bit later, everyone went off to do their own things.
In the air, the four badminton guys were on the Ki-10 with parachutes. Ron was flying as always, and Harry was on his shoulders. Alex and Seth were on the top wing. A makeshift net was set up at the mid-point of the wingspan, and the two were playing badminton on the top wing while the Ki-10 flew on.
"Work hard, even during the hot summer days!" Alex called out.
"Shout louder!" Ron yelled out.
"Got it!" everyone responded.
"Take this!" Seth said as he smashed the shuttlecock upon receiving it during his and Alex's rally.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile elsewhere on the ground, the three gamer boys were working out around their N1K2-J.
"Gotta use this chance to train!" Nevi determined as he did push ups below the Shiden-Kai.
"That's right!" Mark agreed as he performed some pull ups using the cannon barrels on one wing. Dexter was doing some extreme sit ups as he hung upside down over the other wing's leading edge by his legs. He tried to sit up while in that state.
Soon however, all three of them collapsed. Dexter clenched his stomach after landing on it when he fell back.
"We must work harder," Nevi determined as he lied in pain.
XXXXXXXXXX
Elsewhere, the history guys had set up a strategy game on the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 6/2, and Wolf was trying to come to a decision for his next move. He noted how he was absolutely surrounded by the enemy.
"I have lost!" he grunted in defeat.
"Yeah, it looks to be that way," Abe agreed.
XXXXXXXXXX
Over by a small pond as the sun began to set, the freshmen were by their M15 CGMC doing various things. Matthias, Erik, and Julius were trying to start a small fire. Bastian was staring off into the distance sitting on a tree branch. Mesut and Christoph were with each other atop the M15 as Christoph used a long bamboo stick as a fishing rod.
"What are you fishing for?" Mesut wondered without much motivation.
"Anglerfish..." Christoph similarly responded.
"That sounds impossible..."
"Then oysters..."
"That's even more impossible..."
"A goby then."
XXXXXXXXXX
During the night, the Me 163 was seen roaring off into the skies, truly appearing like a comet as the flames distinguished themselves brightly against the night sky.
"This is looking good!" Yeager notified over the radio.
"Yeah! It looks like we can start working on the mods then!" he heard Dittmar eagerly reply.
XXXXXXXXXX
Parked in front of a convenience store was the Type 94. On the back of it were the three Public Morals Committee guys eating various treats in the same mood they were in before.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile back at the complex, all of Miho's and Erich's friends were fast asleep inside.
Outside, however, were Miho and Erich themselves, still wide-awake. They were staring off at the night sky in their sleepwear. For Miho, this was her typical blue pajamas, but she ditched the shirt earlier and just kept her pink tank top from underneath on. She also had her Boko bear with her. Erich had nothing but his boxers on, which was typical for him when heading to sleep.
The two of them were standing beside each other with their arms around each other. For Erich, he had his arm around Miho's shoulders. Miho instead had both of her arms wrapped around him. Eventually, they both turned to each other with identical expressions of wistfulness that they had while staring off into the night, and they chose to hug each other in comfort after they both sensed each other's feelings.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next morning, the 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. was seen traveling along a back road through the trees.
"I never thought we'd be heading to a convenience store with a massive AA gun," Anton remarked from his position through the passenger's hatch. All of the hatches and doors were opened up to prevent him and David from overheating within. Erich was also present leaning against the left side of the gun breech in pace of Kolari and Satiainen, who both chose to stay with Lemu.
"At least I finally have a use for a heavy vehicle driver's license," David said. Indeed, he had a license for heavy equipment operation, which included tanks, displayed on the dash.
"Could you not at least stay awake for your license photo?" Anton then whipped out a driver's license of his own, which held the same qualifications as David's. "Mine looks good enough for an arranged date!"
"You work hard for some pretty meaningless things," Herz observed as the Acht-Acht moved onto a wider road.
"Oh, yeah," Nathan spoke up. "I think there are busses heading to the rest of Ibaraki from in front of the store. I'm gonna have to check the timetables."
"Why's that?" Anton asked.
"I have to head back to my parents. We need our guardians' signatures for our transfer documents."
"Guardian, huh..." Erich voiced as he entered thought.
"That means you gotta go back to your bro, huh?" Anton said to David.
"What a pain," David remarked as he grew a look that said he was less than pleased. "He'll just give me another of his lectures."
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to head back, too."
Erich was still in thought when Herz asked, "What about Erich?"
"Want us to come with you?"
"I wanna see the legendary Hartmannsberg, eh!" Nathan said with eagerness.
"Don't worry," Erich responded. "I'll go alone. It's quite a distance away anyways. Not to mention I have other business I want to get done over there."
"Oh, right..."
"Perhaps I can show you later," Erich suggested with a smile.
"Oh, that'd be awesome, eh!"
The FAMO then stared passing some signs to the left of the street.
"I'll be heading back tomorrow," Herz informed.
"I think I should do the same, as well..." Nathan agreed.
"Yeah, I have other things..." Erich said before he saw something on one of the signs. "Hey, stop!"
The rest were confused, but David stopped anyway.
"Back up!"
David accordingly reversed the Acht-Acht.
"What's up?" Nathan asked.
As they backed up, Erich took a closer look at the sign that caught his eye. He then grew an excited smile seeing what was on it. "Oh, are you serious?!"
The sign was that of a concert titled 'The Final Stand' being performed by a band called Sabaton, the same band on the posters Erich had. Directions were given to the concert area. They said to turn right in one kilometer.
XXXXXXXXXX
Slightly later, the group had parked their Acht-Acht in the parking lot and then walked into the concert area. It was basically a large section of a parking lot packed with people. After 'The March to War' ended, the sounds of drums beating to life were heard, and they were shortly followed by electric guitars blaring to life.
"All right, Ooarai!" the leader of the band announced as the instruments' players continued filling the area with pure noise. "We are Sabaton! We play heavy metal! And this is Ghost Division!"
The instruments then fell into rhythm with each other as the song 'Ghost Division' started.
"I can't believe they actually came here!" Erich excitedly said during the extremely loud power metal music. He then joined in the song with his same excited tone.
"Fast as the wind
The invasion has begun"
"I've never seen you this excited!" Anton yelled out over to Erich. Yelling was a necessity due to how loud the music was as it continued on.
"Communications broken
Phantoms too far away
Thus earning their name
Earning the fame"
"Ooarai!" the leader cued the crowd.
The crowd continued on as cued.
"They are the Panzer elite!
Born to compete!
Never retreat!"
"Ghost division!" the leader continued before shifting back to the crowd.
"Leaving our dead!
Always ahead!
Fed by your dread!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" the leader continued along the beat as the guitar solo began, and the crowd picked up.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" the crowd continued on to the beat, and Erich also joined with great enthusiasm and animation.
"This is so goddamn loud!" Anton remarked to the others.
"Thank you, Ooarai!" the leader called out as the solo ended and the song continued on.
"These guys are singing about military history using heavy metal music!" David observed.
"Yeah, that one was about Germany's Seventh Panzer Division!" Nathan informed.
"Looks like they're about to address everyone!" Herz notified.
"So..." the leader began. "Ze Germans, are you here?!"
"Ja!" Erich yelled out. Many others in the crowd also yelled out the same thing.
"Oh, wow, that's actually a lot more than I thought... noch ein Bier?"
"Noch ein Bier!" Erich and the rest of the Germans responded. They then started chanting it. "Noch ein Bier! Noch ein Bier! Noch ein Bier!"
"Hello, Ooarai!" the leader called out, and the drums played a short stint before the leader burped unintentionally at the end. The crowd cheered in response, and the chanting of, "Noch ein Bier!" became even greater among the Germans there.
"No, no, nein! Keine Bier!" the leader responded, but the chanting continued. The leader then spoke up again. "I think it's time for, a little less beer, and a little bit more heavy metal, right?"
The crowd cheered, "Yeah!"
"Now, normally when we play this next song, we ask if you want to hear it in Swedish, or in English."
"Swedish!" the crowd roared.
"That's normally how we do it, but today, we're not gonna do it that way. Because we're going to do it the noch ein Bier style!"
"Yeah!"
"Are you ready for Gott! Mit! Uns!" the leader called out as he held up a bottle of beer. The crowd roared in approval as many of them also held up beer bottles.
The band then started playing the song 'Gott Mit Uns.'
Nathan then flipped through a program he had acquired. "Looks like this one's about the Battle of Breitenfeld from the Thirty Years War!" he observed. "At least, it normally is...!"
"We were ready to die for our king
On the fields of Ooarai!"
"Huh!" Anton remarked. "These guys are really unique!"
"Noch ein Bier
As we all drink united
All together!"
"Noch ein Bier!" the crowd continued.
"I'm feeling for a beer myself now!" Herz revealed.
"On September the seventh
We filled your hearts with beer!"
"I want a drink!" David spoke.
"Noch ein bier
As we all drink united
All together!"
"Noch ein Bier!" the crowd continued.
"But aren't we forbidden from drinking beer?!" Anton wondered.
"Bier! Bier! Bier!" the leader chanted to the rhythm as the guitar solo ended.
"Bier! Bier! Bier!" the crowd joined in.
"Technically, yes!" Nathan supplied. "Well, except for Herz, I think! And of course, Bubi!"
"Noch ein Bier
As we all drink united
All together
Noch ein, noch ein Bier
As we all drink united
Alle zusammen!"
"Noch ein Bier!" the crowd continued again.
"All it takes is some German speech and I can get any drink I want!" Herz informed. "Even though I'm technically not allowed!"
The crowd began cheering after the song ended.
Soon after, another song began, and Nathan looked at the program as Erich continued jamming out with the rest of the crowd.
"Into the motherland
The German army march"
"Looks like this one's about the Battle of Kursk...!" Nathan read off the program as the music kicked up.
After some time, the song ended and another began.
"From the depths of Hell in silence!
Cast their spells explosive violence!
Russian nighttime flight perfected!
Flawless vision, undetected!"
"And this one seems to be about the Night Witches, or the Soviet 588th Night Bomber Regiment...!"
The song ended shortly after and yet another one began.
"Through the gates of Hell..." the leader then cued the crowd. The crowd accordingly continued.
"As we make our way to Heaven
Through the Nazi lines"
"And this one is apparently about Operation Overlord!" Nathan determined as the music kicked up.
The song continued and ended a little later. The crowd then started chanting various things. Among them was the persistent, "Noch ein Bier!" being chanted by the Germans, but also noticeable now was some people chanting, "Jeszcze jedno piwo!"
"Jeszcze jedno piwo, Polish people in the house, huh?" the leader spoke.
The crowd roared as more chants of "Jeszcze jedno piwo!" continued coming forth.
"My Polish friends... You know your own history, but the whole of Ooarai is also with us today... Over three-quarters of a century ago, on the eighth of September..."
The crowd started cheering a bit.
"The German army came to Wizna..."
The crowd cheered even more.
"They were led by Captain Władysław Raginis."
The crowd started getting some louder cheers, especially among the Polish people in attendance.
"There were less than a thousand Polish soldiers. There were over forty thousand German soldiers."
The crowd started getting louder.
"They held them, for three days!"
The crowd started getting even louder.
"And they were outnumbered, forty to one!" The crowd loudly chanted "Forty to one!" in sync with the leader.
During this time Erich noticed another boy nearby a bit younger than him chanting as loudly as he was, which was already pretty loud. He had gray hair that was a bit on the short side along with hazel eyes. He was notably shorter than Erich and had a Polish appearance. He was wearing black pants with a white and black striped short-sleeve shirt.
"Baptized in fire!
Forty to one!"
"The Battle of Wizna, that was an amazing fight alright, eh!" Nathan said in recognition. All of Erich's friends still had to practically yell to talk to each other.
"Always remember!
A fallen soldier!
Always remember!
Buried in history!"
Erich and the gray-haired Polish boy were both singing along, and they seemed to be the loudest of everyone there.
XXXXXXXXXX
Some time later, the concert came to an end as 'Dead Soldier's Waltz' played.
"That was awesome!" Erich commented still full of energy. He and the others were now at one of the merchandise stands.
"I guess..." Anton agreed. He was still a bit lost on Erich's attitude.
Erich then spotted something among the merchandise. "Oh, this is the last one!"
"That's just a selling strategy..."
"But it's still awesome!" Erich reached out to grab the 'In The Army Now' single, but another hand reached out at the same time.
Erich followed the hand until he discovered the Polish boy from earlier had reached out for it. Both stared at each other for a split second before they grew startled expressions, but they both quickly calmed down as the Polish boy looked away with some shyness, it seemed.
"Hey, it's fine!" Erich assured. He then handed over the single to the boy. The Polish boy stared at it in his hand while Erich continued with a smile. "I'll just find another at a future concert!"
The boy looked up at Erich before he closed his eyes and turned away. He then turned around and ran off without saying a word.
The others stared off at him along with Erich.
"Bubi gave him the last of those out of his own kindness, and he doesn't even get a thank you?" Anton said in confusion.
"I bet he's just afraid," Erich said with an awkward smile. "He is Polish after all, and Polish people still don't really like Germany for, well... because of all the partitions and the Holocaust..."
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In the office of Renta Tsuji, said person was speaking with a couple of people.
"About the school closing down, it's already been decided," he said with a grin as he sat behind his desk.
"But you told us that as long as we won the tournaments, then the school would continue to operate," Anzu responded. Aprikose was beside her, and both appeared dead serious.
"A verbal promise isn't really an agreement."
"There are plenty of times where verbal agreements can be legally binding," Aprikose responded. "You should know as a Japanese citizen. Articles 91 and 97 of your Civil Code."
"I already did all I could. Please understand."
Neither Anzu nor Aprikose responded for a second before Aprikose said, "Fine."
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Back at the complex that served as Ooarai's temporary home, there was a great line formed outside of the staff room, which had a piece of paper taped under the sign identifying the room. The paper read, 'Temporary Student Council Room.'
"We've used up all of our insect repellant!" one girl informed.
"Understood, I'll see to it immediately," Momo responded.
"We don't have enough ingredients for the meals," another girl notified.
"Understood I'll get the local farmers on the line," Pfirsich responded as he wrote on a clipboard.
"The light bulb in the corridor is broken!" another girl informed.
"I'll get a replacement from an electric shop," Momo notified.
"This is bad!" another girl spoke up. "The Public Morals Committee members are in a row with the students here!"
"Go deal with those guys!" Pfirsich turned around to tell Zitrus with some anger. Zitrus and Yuzu were at separate tables writing something on papers.
Zitrus chuckled in response. "Alright," he responded.
Pfirisch kept facing him, but he now grew a bit confused. "What?"
"I was just thinking that Pfirsich is doing his job rather well." Zitrus then faced Pfirsich. "I thought you'd be taking to a beer hall by now." He then put on a very particular act. "'No! It's closing down! It's all over, Zitrus!'"
Pfirsich turned away looking a bit pissed. "I have no time for that! If I don't work hard now, when will I?"
"You're right." Zitrus then looked over to the small office Anzu had laid claim to that was now empty. Pfirsich also looked over there. "I wonder where Mr. and Madam President are..."
"I'm sure Mr. and Madam President are off doing stuff that only they could do..."
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Off somewhere far, far away within the outskirts of Zürich, Switzerland the next day, there was a large house with a Bristol F.2B on display outside at the front of the place.
"If Japan's MEXT decides to do something, there's really nothing we can do here to change it," spoke a German woman's voice.
"You have to bow to them, that's what you mean?" Aprikose responded from a chair in an office within the large house.
"Something like that."
"That makes you lose face," Captain Muto Honda spoke up from a chair beside Aprikose. Behind him was also a painting of a Morane-Saulnier M.S.406. "And speaking of losing face, allowing the winning school to close down after winning the international tournaments, that's what'll really get the Federations to look like cowards!"
The person they were speaking to turned around from looking out a window ahead of the two. She had on a black suit with the same black-circled monoplane logo as Muto's Mitsubishi F-2 had for the exhibition match between Ooarai-Chi-Ha-Tan and Pravda-Saint Gloriana. It was on both of her shoulders.
She herself appeared to be somewhat young, in her late-20s to early-30s, with a mixture of average-length blonde and brown hair, which appeared somewhat like a light orange in its current state. She also had blue eyes.
"Muto, aren't you one of the members of Japan's Strengthening Committee?" she asked with implication as she rested a finger on her chin.
"But Director Rall!" Muto objected as he stood. On a table behind both him and Aprikose was a model of a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3. "They're going against everything that Jägermeistern stands for! Furthermore, this'll ruin all of the Federations' images!"
He spoke in reference to a highly viewed online article detailing the rise of Ooarai High School as unlikely champions in the international tournaments. The picture used to head the article was that of Ooarai's two German commanders with their championship flags and their entire team behind them on the Bf 109 K-4 and Panzer IV H.
Director Rall breathed out to relieve stress as she closed her eyes.
Behind Aprikose were also paintings of a Nakajima Kikka and a Curtiss P-36. Aprikose then stood as he began, "We fought believing that if we won the tournaments, we would save our school. And to learn that promise wasn't even sincerely made in the first place, we cannot accept it."
Rall then stressfully rubbed the back of her head. "But we can't really change what the Japanese do. Muto is powerless now, if what he says now is true, and they won't respond at all seeing as they're busy preparing for the World War Tournaments coming up in two years. They've entered the international pro leagues to garner contestants and form alliances. They say they don't have time to deal with this."
"Pro league..." Aprikose repeated as he gained a knowing smile and looked to Muto. "That's it."
Muto returned the same look. "It's time for a hammerhead," he cued.
Director Rall looked back and forth at the two of them in confusion. "Eh?" was all she could say.
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Part of Projekt Jägermeistern.
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The author doesn't claim to own "Girls und Panzer," the music used, or any other references made. "Girls und Panzer" belongs to Actas. The music belongs to Sabaton. Any references made belong to their respective owners.
Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. Please note, however, that questions asked without being signed in will not be answered. The author would prefer to address questions outside of the story, and leaving questions while signed in provides that ability.