Fighting for our Glorious School
Kapitel Sechs
Polnisch-Deutsche Machtprobe
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"The enemy team is just like Kapitan Raginis' eight hundred men," Dziubek remarked with a smile from his Meteor further away as he watched the fight from a distance. He had the same Sabaton single he got from Erich in his hand for the moment. "Bitterly fighting on even though they have no chance of victory... Although they're not strong, they refuse to give up without giving their all."
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"I didn't think high schoolers could do this," Georges somewhat complained in his P-80.
"They keep pulling little tricks!" he heard Nils say over the radio. He sounded pissed. "I can't stand their shit!"
"What do we do then?"
"If we complain to the Group Captain, that would make us look bad!" Jack said over the radio.
"But we shouldn't just think of ourselves!"
"Always remember,
A fallen soldier"
The three Selection Squadron Leaders stopped as they heard Dziubek start singing over the radio. They all grew surprised at hearing him.
"Always remember,
Fathers and sons at war"
In his Meteor, Dziubek put the Sabaton single away in one of his pockets.
"Always remember,
A fallen soldier
Always remember,
Fathers and sons at war"
He then changed his heading to head straight for the action in the air.
"Always remember!
A fallen soldier!
Always remember!
Buried in history!"
"The Kapteeni is singing!" Nils realized over the radio.
"So that means..." Georges began.
"My squadron, keep up the pressure!" Jack ordered with renewed morale.
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"Here comes the Tigercat!" the Spitfire Mk IIa pilot informed. He, Arthur, and the Saunders trio were climbing up away from the F7F and two P-80s.
"He shouldn't be able to catch up to us so quickly," Arthur spoke from his Spitfire.
Almost as if proving him wrong, the F7F began to close and unleashed another very heavy burst from range. It came close to the five retreating Anglo-American fighters. The Tigercat was still very much capable of taking them out from range.
"Bloody hell, you just had to jinx us!" the other Spitfire pilot cursed as the five Anglo-American fighters broke into evasive maneuvers.
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Elsewhere with Lemu and Oliver, they led the last remaining P-80 of Georges along before pulling up again. Georges chose not to follow like the last two P-80s did.
"Not this time," Georges determinedly stated. He soon doubled back onto the foe he expected to come from below, the Me 410. The Hornisse had stalled out trying to get a good shot, and Georges quickly shot it down. The Me 410 shuddered, and then it began to trail the red smoke of defeat.
"Warum?!" Wolf called out in surprise within the Hornisse.
"And it was going so well!" Leonidas said as the Me 410 descended in defeat.
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"Hey, a Meteor is coming in from the east!" Franco reported over the radio. From below he watched Dziubek's Meteor come closer to the combat zone from the east through his on-loan GwZF4-fach. "Be careful!"
"Verstanden," he heard Erich respond over the radio.
Franco continued flying on at his lower altitude, but he soon spotted one of the P-51s heading down for him.
"Uh oh," Franco said in response. He then waited for the P-51 to open fire. As the Mustang opened up its six 12.7 mm M2 Brownings, Franco jinxed the controls to avoid the burst. He forced the P-51 to miss its mark and climb away having achieved nothing.
"Dannazioni, this is going to be utter hell," Franco soon remarked. He then headed for very low altitudes in preparation for any new assignments.
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"Here we go!" Sakai ordered. "All fighters, attack!"
Elsewhere, he and the rest of the Japanese fighters including Ron all descended out of the sun and down into dives as they headed for Dziubek's Meteor below.
"It's like the surprise dive bombings at Midway!" Kaneyoshi referenced.
As the five closed with the Meteor, Dziubek spotted them and chose to climb straight for them. He quickly took out Naoshi's A6M2 from range with his guns, and the red smoke tripped from the early Zero that was heavily crippled.
Dziubek then quickly acquired Kaneyoshi's A6M5 that proceeded to try an attack. Dziubek immediately countered with a concentrated burst at point-blank range that connected, and the red smoke trailed from Kaneyoshi's later Zero after it was riddled with holes.
Dziubek then climbed as he built up some distance before he shortly pulled up into an Immelmann to face the enemies again. He picked out Sakai's A6M2 this time as it tried attacking, but Dziubek did not miss his next burst. Sakai was quickly taken out as his plane was mangled by the 20 mm cannon rounds from the Meteor's four Hispano Mk V cannons.
"Ouch!" Sakai called out as his plane deployed its red smoke.
"Now!" Ron called out over the radio.
"Hai!" Utou replied. Both of the earlier Japanese fighters tried to attack Dziubek at point-blank range, but Dziubek managed to avoid their attacks as he pulled up.
"I'm so sorry!" Utou apologized over the radio as he and Ron tried to follow.
"Don't mind it!" Ron replied. Soon after, though, Utou's Ki-27 was obliterated by a burst of 20 mm cannon fire. Dziubek had pulled a hammerhead to attack the two fighters again, and he took out the Ki-27 from range. The fixed-gear monoplane was literally torn apart as its right wing was torn off, and Utou wasted no time in getting out. He pulled his chute cord that also triggered the red smoke trail from his ass.
"GUTS!" Ron called out as he tried to take the Meteor head-on, but Dziubek quickly deposed of him with a concentrated burst that struck. Ron's Ki-10 was similarly torn apart as its left wings were torn off, and Ron himself bailed out. He pulled his chute and triggered the red smoke trail from his ass. The Meteor then turned and headed away.
"Dammit, got slaughtered again," Ron bitterly said.
"They may be our foe, but they did a good job!" Sakai commended over the radio.
"Don't be so cheerful!"
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"Franco, we're going to need your help now," Darjeeling informed over the radio. She and her group of Anglo-American tanks were being pressured by the T28 currently crossing a bridge.
"On it!" Franco confirmed as he tried to pick out the slow self-propelled gun from the air. He soon spotted it crossing a bridge. "I see it! Beginning attack!"
Franco then put his CR.42 into a dive as he acquired the T28. "Well, look at that. It looks pretty easy to hit with that enormous roof," he commented. He then released his payload and pulled out of his dive.
The bombs struck the large roof of the self-propelled gun. The T28 ended up falling through the bridge between the supports from the blasts, and it soon popped the white flag as it lied among the ruins.
"Done and done! You won't be getting any more of those, just so you know!" Franco informed as he began climbing again.
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"According to the data, it's only vulnerable in that scenario," Arthur heard his Scottish ground crew member inform over the radio. In the meantime, the F7F was pushing the other Anglo-American fighters hard.
"That won't be an elegant victory," Dennis observed over the radio as well.
"We came here for Erich's and Miho's victory, not our own," Arthur reminded. He was flying below everyone.
"Mr. Kingcobra, you ready?" Christian heard Arthur ask over the radio. He himself was chewing another piece of gum within his P-63 higher up.
"Since forever," Christian replied. "I'm attacking."
"If you may," Arthur requested as he himself began to climb straight up.
Christian then came down from his position higher up in the air as he dove on the F7F. He then fired a shot at the Tigercat. The F7F tried to respond by climbing towards the threat, but the P-63 climbed straight up with its currently higher energy, and the F7F chose to follow.
During this time, Arthur's Spitfire was climbing after the Tigercat from below. Its great thrust-to-weight ratio enabled the Spitfire LF Mk IX to close the distance with the F7F, and as he closed, Arthur fired off his guns at the F7F that was starting to stall out. The Tigercat was crippled by the bullets, and it eventually caught fire. The F7F's pilot then bailed out and pulled his chute, which also triggered the red smoke from his ass.
"There we are," Arthur remarked as he began to try leaving his vertical attitude. He was having a tough time because of his very low energy. "Douglas' abilities with gathering data are quite handy at times."
"But according to the data, your chance for survival is..." Douglas, the Scottish ground crew member, began but trailed off over the radio. At the same time, one of the P-51s and one of the P-80s headed straight for Arthur's practically immobile Spitfire.
"Erich and Miho, good luck," Arthur calmly wished. "'The final five minutes will decide everything.'"
Both the P-51 and the P-80 attacked simultaneously, and the combined attack turned the Spitfire into Swiss cheese. The British fighter then trailed the red smoke as the two Selection fighters disengaged.
Nearby, Jack's red-nosed P-80 observed the brief fight. "I don't like fighting like a guerrilla," he began. "Let's regroup."
"We'll use our usual," Georges determined over the radio within his yellow-nosed P-80.
"Three-pronged spearhead!" Nils announced over the radio in his blue-nosed P-80.
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Elsewhere at very low altitude, Franco was being hunted by one of the P-51s. He was purposely sticking close to the ground so as to frustrate the Mustang's attacks. The P-51 could not effectively dive on the CR.42 without crashing into the ground.
Franco soon entered a very brief right-hand climb as he pulled up to throw the P-51's aim off. He then entered a dive. The Mustang tried to follow and attack, but it was unable to land any shots because of the CR.42 breaking left in its dive.
"Man, what a pest," Franco spoke up as he looked back. He then looked up again to find another P-51 diving down to him from ahead.
"Oh boy, I'm gonna get it from both ends!" he realized as the P-51 tailing him began a dive as well. "Nothing to do but take him head-on!" Franco then set himself up so as to take the Mustang ahead from head-on.
Soon, though, a stream of red tracers struck the lead P-51 from above and took it down. The Mustang accordingly trailed the red smoke as the F4F stormed past it from above.
"Yeah!" Matthias celebrated. "Next!"
He then quickly lined up the second P-51 and struck it with a burst. The second Mustang also began to trail the red smoke after it was defeated.
"Yeah! You can't beat the Wildcat!"
Immediately after, however, Matthias was struck from behind by Dziubek's Meteor as it passed by. The F4F also began trailing the red smoke after being shredded by 20 mm rounds.
"Verdammt! I forgot Dictum Four!" Matthias then got on the radio as his F4F descended. "The Meteor flew past me!"
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"Get them all," Jack ordered as he and the other two Selection Squadron Leaders flew in a vic with him at the center. "Then we'll meet up with the Group Captain."
"Stop there!" Chuck declared as the Saunders trio approached the Selection vic from head-on to challenge the P-80s. Chuck was in the center, and Ray was on his right side while Christian was on the left side in their own vic.
"Attack!" Chuck ordered, and his trio opened fire on the Selection trio. The three P-80s dodged the fire and passed by the Saunders trio. Both trios then turned back to engage each other. Saunders split up to engage individual targets, but Selection stuck together in their three-pointed spearhead.
"Eat it, bastard!" Ray called out as he tried attacking one of the P-80s. However, a precise burst from one P-80 hit his P-38M and took it down as it trailed red smoke.
Christian tried to line up a shot on a P-80 as all three of the jets began to head for him. "What?" was all he could say before his P-63 was shredded by the M2 Brownings from one of the Shooting Stars. His Kingcobra then began to trail the red smoke as well after it shut down.
Chuck tried his own luck at attacking the P-80s next, but the Shooting Stars chose to split up, and they avoided his attack in the process. The P-80s then all simultaneously approached Chuck from three different directions.
"Oops..." Chuck said after realizing his fate. All three P-80s began their attacks and simultaneously created Swiss cheese with Chuck's P-38E. The Lightning's red smoke then deployed in response.
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Elsewhere at a lower altitude now, Nevi and Aprikose were both fighting with Dziubek's Meteor. Nevi tried getting an attack in, but he missed. Soon, Aprikose was eliminated by a concentrated burst. His Fw 190D began to trail oil as its red smoke trail also deployed.
"I'm done for!" Aprikose dramatically called out after being defeated.
Nevi then tried to turn back for another attack. "Come on!" he determinedly yelled.
He was quickly taken out by Dziubek, who had picked him off with a long-range burst. The N1K2-J then trailed the red smoke after being filled with gaping holes throughout.
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Elsewhere in the air, Oliver's Typhoon and the last P-51 were having a heated duel with each other. They both performed two head-on passes at each other, but neither landed their shots.
"Come on, Tiffy!" Oliver yelled out as he engaged the water injection system of his engine and increased its power in the process.
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"Link up with me after mopping up," Dziubek ordered the trio of Selection Squadron Leaders. He himself was still down low hunting other enemies down.
"Got it!" each of the trio replied. They were still in the heat of battle as well.
"Bruder, let's get higher up and take them on together," Erich suggested over the Ooarai channel.
"Verstanden," Alfred replied affirmative.
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"Hey, let's get moving!" Franco ordered as he linked up with the D.520 of Lemu.
"Understood!" Lemu responded as the two of them headed onwards.
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"I don't care if you have to ram them, just stop them from forming up with the Meteor!" Sasha ordered his group of himself, Hans, and the remaining Spitfire Mk IIa as they approached the three P-80s of Selection's Squadron Leaders.
The trios approached each other, and in the ensuing pass, Selection managed to eliminate the last remaining Saint Gloriana fighter.
"Bollocks!" the pilot cursed as his red smoke deployed.
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With the Typhoon-P-51 duel, both were still furiously going at it. Eventually, the two took each other head-on again, and they both opened fire on each other as they closed. Neither of them missed this time, and both fighters trailed the red smoke after being heavily crippled by each other.
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"A wild Shooting Star appears!" Franco observed as he and Lemu approached a lone P-80 from above. The Shooting Star was seemingly patrolling the lower altitudes for any stragglers. "Let's get him!"
"Got it!" Lemu responded over the radio. "This may be an impulsive choice and go against my love of order, but I say to hell with that! Rules are meant to be broken!"
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As Sasha and Hans continued trying to chase down the three P-80s, they were having a tough go at it.
"Don't worry, I just took off! I'll be with you all soon!" Yeager notified over the radio. "I've got a lot of power begging to be unleashed upon them!"
"What does he mean by that?" Hans wondered in confusion.
"He's got a real beast of an engine packed in behind him!" Sasha informed as he and Hans continued onwards. "I got a look at it earlier, and it's a monster!"
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With Franco, he dove down on the P-80 he and Lemu were trailing ad he began his own attack.
"You!" the Shooting Star pilot called out as he tried to get a shot on the CR.42, but Franco pulled out of his line of fire and quickly got right behind him at nearly point-blank range. "Huh?"
"Your jet won't get me now!" Franco taunted. To further his taunt, he purposely turned away and allowed the P-80 to slowly get behind him. He avoided the repeated bursts of fire with ease as he led the Shooting Star to the ground.
"Time for Operazione Riga a T!" Franco declared. "Even though this has never worked before!"
Franco then pulled into a very tight split-s, and he just barely managed to avoid hitting the ground below.
"Shit!" the P-80 pilot yelled out. He tried to follow, but he just barely realized in time he would crash if he did, so he desperately pulled out. He sighed with relief after he just managed to avoid the ground and he started to climb again. But he was soon hit by a burst of fire from Lemu's D.520 that closed with him and tore off his right wing.
"Don't worry, there's time to bail out," Lemu notified over the radio as he watched the pilot jump out with a parachute. The parachute soon deployed, and the red smoke also trailed from the pilot's ass.
"Yes! Biplanes are the best!" Franco celebrated as he climbed again. However, he was soon annihilated by the Meteor that just happened to be passing through, and Franco bailed out after his plane's wings were taken clean off. He deployed his own parachute, which also triggered the red smoke from his ass.
Lemu tried to retaliate as he turned to take the Meteor head-on. The Meteor reciprocated and turned to the D.520. Both unleashed bursts, but Lemu's missed. Dziubek's didn't, and the D.520 accordingly deployed the red smoke after being littered with holes.
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"You will never catch up with us, you snails," Nils remarked with a confident grin as he observed Sasha and Hans flying behind and above them.
Meanwhile, Yeager was coming in behind the La-5 and Me 262 within his own Me 163, but there was something different about it that was far more noticeable now than it was earlier at the match start. It had two orifices at the back now instead of just one like during the tournament. The ventral fairing was widened to allow the fitting of the second orifice and what it was connected to.
"The Federation may have to approve modifications with historical equipment that was never originally present or planned," Yeager began with an adrenaline-filled smile. "But that's not the case if said equipment was historically tried on the aircraft experimentally!"
He then flipped a switch on that was beside the normal engine power switch that was also currently flipped on. The normal engine power switch was now marked with the term Hauptofen, while the new switch was marked with Marschofen.
The Me 163 then began to spew flames from both orifices as the plane gained a rapid amount of speed very quickly. It soon came and passed the La-5 like it was hanging motionless in mid-air, and it even made the Me 262 look pretty slow in comparison as the modified Komet roared passed them both and closed with the three P-80s.
"Huh?!" Nils reacted in surprise upon seeing the Komet rapidly close with his own trio.
"Let's go supersonic!" Yeager proclaimed as he closed with the Shooting Stars at a current speed of roughly 700 miles per hour.
Nils, Jack, and Georges all had to break to avoid an attack from the Me 163, but the Komet's vertical tail surface quickly started shedding itself as it fluttered rapidly, and the Me 163 was quickly rendered un-flyable after it literally blew up again and caught fire. It deployed the red smoke as Yeager entered a dive to put out the fire with the rushing air.
In the meantime, Sasha had taken on Nils from above and fired a burst at him. He managed to cut off the outer edge of Nils' left wing, and Hans swept through from above to finish the job. The P-80 of Nils deployed the red smoke after being defeated. But Hans was soon taken out by Georges, and he started trailing the red smoke, as well. Jack took the time to take out Sasha, as well. His La-5 also trailed the red smoke of defeat, and the two remaining P-80s continued on to their objective of meeting up with Dziubek.
Up on the Leopold, it was revealed that only five fighters in total remained out of a start of sixty. For the Ooarai Compound Team, only the Bf 109 K-4 and Bf 109 G-6 remained. For Selection, two P-80A-1-LOs remained along with Dziubek's Meteor F.3.
Similarly, there were also now only five tanks left on the ground after an initial count of sixty. Ooarai only had the Panzer IV H and Tiger H1 left while Selection had two M26s and Alice's Centurion Mk I.
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Up higher in the air, Erich and Alfred were already prepared for the remaining three Selection fighters at higher altitudes. The trio from Selection closed in on them from below.
The two Hartmann brothers chose to go for the Meteor first, and they both dove down to try and attack. Dziubek forced them to break off, though, as he responded with his accurate fire. The Hartmann brothers did not fire, as they preferred to save their ammunition.
As the two Bf 109s climbed away, Dziubek prepared to attack again. He climbed after them and prepared to take on the Kurfürst, but Erich avoided his fire, and Alfred came down in his Gustav to counterattack. Dziubek jinxed on instinct as he aborted his attack and dove away.
The two P-80s tried to get involved in the fight as they shot at the two Messers, but their shots did not land on either of the two.
"Danzig," Erich cued Alfred over their channel.
As Dziubek climbed back up to engage, the two Bf 109s split up as Erich chose to pull up, and one of the P-80s each followed after one of them. Dziubek tried engaging Erich, but Erich was able to avoid his fire and evade for the moment. Jack also tried engaging, but Erich had already gotten out of reach by then, and his attack was futile.
Georges chose to follow after Alfred. He tried to hit him with his fire, but Alfred frustrated his attempts by jinxing to avoid each burst. Alfred had also been slowly pulling up during the time, and he soon abruptly bunted his nose forward. Georges was unable to follow as he could not maneuver so quickly, especially after heading straight up and at his current low speed and subsequently low energy.
Erich approached from the same altitude and breathed out slowly as he lined up a shot. Georges quickly realized what was going on as he looked up in alarm at the Kurfürst. Erich then fired off a very brief burst from point-blank range that eliminated Georges' P-80. The Shooting Star was actually set ablaze by the burst, and Georges chose to bail out with a parachute. As he pulled its cord, he also trailed the red smoke from his ass.
Alfred had then descended and regained energy, and he chose to go after Jack. Jack fired off a burst, but the Gustav avoided with ease.
In the meantime, Dziubek had climbed to engage Erich, but Erich was able to avoid his attack. Erich tried to head away, but Dziubek quickly tried to line up another shot. He missed again, though, as Erich pulled away from his line of fire.
Alfred, meanwhile, had Jack on his tail. Jack fired off another burst at the Gustav, but his attack missed its mark. Alfred chose to sharply pull up into an Immelmann, and Jack tried to follow with determination evident. However, by the time Jack had turned around fully, Alfred had turned back to face him as he exploited the P-80's bad maneuverability at low speeds along with the pilot's impatience. He fired off a quick burst at point-blank range and deposed of Jack's P-80. His Shooting Star then deployed its red smoke of defeat.
On the Leopold, the final showdown in the air was being displayed in its entirety alongside the Panzerkraft showdown on the ground. Both Ooarai forces had downed the enemy to a single vehicle. Alfred and Erich were seen on-screen regrouping at higher altitude.
In the stands, Gerd, Major Horbaczewski, Shiho, and Chiyo were still watching the two fights. The Germans still had their faces of iron, while the Poles had lost their grins as they looked on more impassively.
From atop their respective trucks, all of Pravda and Chi-Ha-Tan were watching the two final battles unfold on the Leopold.
As the two Hartmann brothers climbed to higher altitudes, they had also managed to cut off Dziubek from any attacking opportunities. For a brief time, no one made a move.
Dziubek had chosen to keep heading straight as he built up speed, and he then pulled up to face the two Bf 109s. He first tried to take on Alfred. His burst missed, though, as Alfred evaded with ease. Erich next tried to counterattack, but Dziubek immediately entered a dive to evade and create distance.
The two Hartmanns chose to split up and take on Dziubek from two angles. Dziubek climbed again to challenge Alfred. Once again, Alfred skillfully frustrated his attack as it missed. Dziubek chose to follow through and try again with Erich. He did not find any success with Erich, either, as he also skillfully evaded the Meteor.
Dziubek then doubled back immediately with a split-s as he tried to attack again. He first acquired Erich, but he missed the Kurfürst, and so he tried for the Gustav next. He also missed Alfred, however, and a counterattack from Alfred forced Dziubek to dive away.
Erich tried to take advantage and follow, but Dziubek kept his guard up as he doubled back to face the Kurfürst. Erich pulled out of his attack to evade Dziubek's accurate fire. Alfred had also come down to try and take Dziubek on, but he was forced to break away from Dziubek's accurate attacks as he pulled up.
Dziubek was highly concentrated on the fight within his Meteor, and he chose to engage the WEP system in his aircraft for an increase in power as he tried taking on Alfred again. Alfred, however, was able to dodge with ease again.
Dziubek then chose to change targets and head after Erich. Erich was able to avoid his attack, but Dziubek pressed on and turned back to attack him again. He was able to close with the Kurfürst, and Erich chose to perform a split-s to evade. He and Alfred then regrouped with each other.
In the meantime, Erich had his phone out as he pulled up a music playlist. He then changed radio channels and kept his phone at the ready.
Erich then came back into the fight within his Bf 109 K-4 as he turned with Alfred to take on Dziubek again. Dziubek tried hitting Erich with a burst of fire, but he missed and tried to turn back and follow. Erich foresaw his move, though, and he split off from Alfred for a bit as he evaded. The two 109s then regrouped.
Erich then pulled up a very specific song on his phone and left it at the ready. He and Alfred then turned back again to take on Dziubek once more. Dziubek opened fire again, but he missed again as the Hartmanns frustrated his attacks with their evasion. He turned back in an Immelmann immediately, and he then dived on the two Hartmann brothers and forced them to break apart.
He chose to dive for Erich, but as he lined up his shot, he heard something come over his radio. At that very moment, Erich had also pressed the play button on his phone for the song he picked out.
"Baptized in fire!
Forty to one!"
"Co?!" Dziubek said in surprise. In his surprise, his aim got thrown off as he continued his dive for a bit before his surprise wore off.
Erich laughed triumphantly upon noticing the disorganization of the Meteor as he changed back to his own channel from Dziubek's channel, and he pulled up to evade with ease. Dziubek tried pulling off a last-ditch burst, but it did not connect as Erich had already evaded and climbed out of reach.
"You're a real Dummkopf for that, you know," Erich heard Alfred say over his own channel.
"I know, but it's not stupid if it works," Erich retorted with a grin. He and Alfred then quickly regrouped with each other at their current higher position over Dziubek.
Both of the Hartmann brothers stuck with each other as they stalked Dziubek from their higher spots. Dziubek looked back at them as he turned his Meteor around slowly to avoid losing energy. Dziubek then broke into a climb, and the Hartmann brothers broke into a dive at the same time.
"This is suicide, you know," Alfred forewarned Erich.
"I know, but there's no other option for us," Erich said determinedly as the two approached the Meteor.
Alfred was ahead of Erich, and he took on Dziubek first. Dziubek tried engaging him, but he then noticed Erich coming for him as well. He broke away from Alfred as the Black Devil opened fire in his Gustav.
"Kurwa!" Dziubek cursed as he tried turning to engage the Kurfürst instead. Alfred's burst missed because of Dziubek's switching of targets.
Erich continued to close with Dziubek, and both pilots lined each other up and unleashed everything they had onto each other. Dziubek had struck the engine of the Bf 109 and killed it, while Erich managed to hit the Meteor's cockpit with a hail of 30 mm Minengeschoße. Both aircraft trailed the red smoke in response, and Erich also trailed coolant and oil behind his Messer.
In the meantime, Alfred circled above the two defeated fighters now descending powerless while the referees confirmed the results.
"Meteor F.3, Bf 109 K-4, shot down!" Muto broadcast over the speaker system. Up above in his Mitsubishi F-2, he was helping to determine the end result for the Jägermeistern air war using the Japanese fighter's highly advanced radar. "Confirming number of fighters remaining..."
Scattered about in various places were many fighters that were all defeated. Among them was Oliver's late-production Typhoon Mk Ib after its duel with the P-51D-30. Said Mustang was also nearby in its defeated state. Both had crash-landed in the amusement park nearby the Crusader Mk III and M24 that had their own spectacular duel.
The three P-80As taken out by Sasha, Yeager, and Nevi were also among the defeated. These three were currently being hooked onto some recovery Chinooks.
There were also the remains of the F7F-1 and Arthur's Swiss cheese-like Spitfire LF Mk IX that were both taken out.
Lastly, there was Jack's P-80A and Georges' P-80A, and still in the air were Dziubek's Meteor F.3 and Erich's Bf 109 K-4 that were still descending.
"Visual confirmation complete!" Muto determined.
The Leopold then counted down the numbers of tanks and fighters remaining. Selection's ground forces had lost all three of their M24s, all twenty-four of their M26s, their single Karl-Gerät 040, their single T28, and their single Centurion Mk I. Selection's air forces had lost all three of their P-51D-30s, all twenty-four of their P-80A-1-LOs, their single Me 262 C-2b, their single F7F-1, and their single Meteor F.3. Selection's force had lost all of their vehicles. For Ooarai, they had two vehicles remaining, that being Maho's Tiger H1 and Alfred's Bf 109 G-6.
"Selection University, none!" Ami began announcing over the speakers. "Ooarai High School, one remaining for each!"
"A victory for Ooarai High School across the board!" she then announced with eagerness over at the announcer booth.
The entire crowd in the stands then erupted into cheers at the news.
"Yes!" Johanna cheered with great passion. Also among those cheering were Herz's father, Nathan's parents, and David's brother. David's brother was unexpectedly cheering with passion, as much as his injuries from earlier would let him.
The entire group of Ooarai freshmen also erupted into cheers.
"Eh, what?" Aya asked with her still broken glasses. "We won?"
"Khorosho!" Sasha cheered. "Mal'chik!" He was cheering with Katyusha, who was currently atop his shoulders, along with Ooarai's mechanically proficient groups plus Erika, Hans, and Koume.
All of Ooarai's Public Morals Committee members were cheering alongside the Italians from Anzio. Pepperoni and Fernando were also eating pasta.
All of the history buffs plus the two gamer groups performed a victory shout together atop a truck.
"Banzai!" the Japanese crowd from Chi-Ha-Tan cheered. The two sports groups of Ooarai were also cheering with them.
"Yeah!" Kay, Chuck, Alisa, and Ray cheered. They were alongside much of the Saint Gloriana group plus the others from Saunders. Darjeeling, Assam, Arthur, and Douglas were drinking tea at the moment.
Oliver and Rosehip were off elsewhere at the site of their crash-landings alongside the Selection people they defeated in their respective duels. The British had offered the Selection people tea in the meantime.
"Pobeda!" Nonna and Nudelmann cheered alongside the Russians from Pravda.
"Molodtsy!" Klara and Alexei cheered. Klara held up a bottle of vodka during their cheers while Alexei smashed another with his head.
Director Rall and Shichiro both broke out into very ecstatic cheers. They both appeared a bit comical considering Renta sharply contrasted their reactions as he sat in his seat in grave defeat.
In the top of the stands, Gerd, Major Horbaczewski, Shiho, and Chiyo all unleashed breaths of relief.
"Now the school won't close down!" Aprikose happily declared with the rest of the student council beside him. Yuzu was crying, Momo and Pfirsich were looking on in great disbelief, and Zitrus was downing a beer. Momo soon took off her eyeglass and wiped her eyes to avoid crying.
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Soon enough, the victors of both teams arrived in front of a large welcoming crowd consisting of all of Ooarai and their supporters. Maho's Tiger I towed in Miho's crippled but victorious Panzer IV, and Alfred came in to land first between him and Erich. Erich came in a bit later, but he undershot his landing point and touched down far earlier than intended in his powerless and crippled Bf 109.
In response, the Acht-Acht manned by his friends headed off for him. They eventually towed the crippled 109 to the group of German vehicles.
Miho's Panzer IV H was scarred and beaten, but it still had its anglerfish emblem recognizable after the fight. Similarly, while Erich's Bf 109 K-4 had been thrashed and abused multiple times, its knife emblem and black tulip nose were still easily distinguishable. Even though both vehicles were annihilated during their final duels, they both still displayed the symbol of continuing onwards regardless.
Anton, Herz, Nathan, and David all climbed out of the FAMO that was always at Erich's use within a second, and Miho climbed out of her meager but still highly capable Panzer IV with her crew of loyal friends.
Several seconds later, Erich himself climbed out of his Messer that carried him all the way to his amassed victories, and he set foot down on the ground. But not a second passed before he was attacked by a massive hug from Miho.
"Bubi!" she cried out in joy before she smashed her lips to Erich's and began fervently kissing him. This hug of Miho included her effectively wrapping her entire body around Erich's torso, including her legs, meaning Erich had to hold her by the ass to support her if he didn't want both of them to fall over. Erich also had no choice but to return the kiss with just as much fervor to help quell down Miho's desires for the moment.
The student council had also come by to follow Miho after she ran off to find Erich.
"Dankeschön!" Zitrus cried out as he held another beer in hand.
"Sieg! Sieg!" Pfirsich called out with animation as he held his own beer.
In the meantime, Alfred trailed his hand along the black tulip nose of his own Bf 109 G-6 that was beside the Tiger I. He soon noticed Hans and Erika come up to him.
"Herr Staffelkapitän, we both look forward to another great year under you and Fräulein Kapitän," Hans stated to him professionally.
"As do we," Alfred confirmed in a similar manner as Maho fell in beside him.
The leaders for Saint Gloriana, Pravda, and Saunders each came up to Erich and Miho, who had by now untangled themselves from each other after the adrenaline wore off from Miho.
"Miho and Erich, congratulations," Darjeeling congratulated with her usual elegance.
"Congratulations!" Kay congratulated in a manner only an American could offer.
"Pozdravlyayu!" Sasha and Katyusha both offered with greater enthusiasm. Katyusha was no longer on Sasha's shoulders. "It was a good fight!"
"Everyone, thank you!" both Erich and Miho responded in heartfelt demeanors after seeing everyone come to congratulate them.
"Thank you everyone!" the rest of Ooarai also said in agreement.
"We have to thank you as well!" Sakai responded as he bowed to the Ooarai leaders.
Soon after, the sound of footsteps slowly approaching was heard, and the rest of the teams chose to move aside away from the direction it came from. Both Dziubek and Alice were approaching the two Ooarai leaders. Alice did so on the Boko ride she refused to shoot at when she had the chance to take down Miho. Dziubek approached at a slow, and somewhat dramatic, pace so as to match Alice's ride.
Both eventually arrived in front of Miho and Erich, and Alice stopped her ride and got off with a hand offered by Dziubek. Both then closed with the Ooarai commanders and stopped right in front of them.
For a moment, silence reigned before Alice reached into her pocket and pulled out the Boko plushy she had gotten from Miho's own generousness during her last visit to Ooarai's Boko Museum. Miho looked on in surprise seeing her still have it.
"I award you this medal," Alice spoke up.
Miho then grew a smile as she responded, "Thank you. I will treasure it!"
Alice blushed a bit out of shyness as she looked down at the ground while Miho accepted her award.
"Huh, I never thought I'd find anyone else who liked Boko," Erich remarked with a playful grin. He then looked at Miho. "Is she as obsessed with it as you are?"
"Oh, shut it!" Miho responded as she playfully smacked him.
Erich laughed for a bit before he noticed Dziubek pull something out of his own pocket. The Polish ace then offered it forth to the German ace. Erich noticed with some surprise that it was the same Sabaton single he had picked up and given to Dziubek out of kindness some time ago.
"I offer you this in congratulations," Dziubek finally said.
Erich grew a highly genuine smile as he accepted the single. "Thank you," he said with sincerity. "I'll greatly treasure this."
Dziubek looked away for a bit with a much less hardened face than that he wore during the fight.
"Wow, and I never would have imagined anyone else could like Sabaton as much as you, either," Miho commented playfully. She then circled around Erich with a playful grin and a teasing finger tracing around his body. "So you have no right to make fun of my favorite things without expecting me to do the same to you!"
Erich rolled his eyes as Miho circled around him. "Yeah, yeah, love you too," Erich replied with a grin. In the meantime, Dziubek and Alice were looking on at the two Ooarai commanders as they had their moment. The two Polish commanders then looked to each other, but they both then looked away with blushes. Dziubek's was faint, but Alice's was far more noticeable.
"A rematch would be fun, with no stakes this time," Major Horbaczewski offered as he, Gerd, Chiyo, Shiho, Ami, and Muto ooked on at the aftermath from their spots.
"Agreed," the two Germans in the group responded.
"The Arts of Warfare really do encompass every important lesson in life!" Martti remarked from aboard a Uisko-class landing craft. The craft had the 72-K GAZ-MM and a disassembled Myrsky aboard.
"Don't they?" Ilmari replied from atop the flak truck as the Finnish trio set off to the oceans.
"On another note, it's a good thing we're not there. Otherwise we'd have trouble with Selection for pinching food off them," Torsti remarked as he steered the craft.
"I've already got Nils to cover for us. He may not like it, but he's smart enough to know why we did it."
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"By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march."
Later on that evening, the battlefield in South Korea was still torn up from the massive battle that took place earlier.
"Then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him."
For example, the ferris wheel was far away from its mountings as it rested along one section of the rollercoaster.
It's under crimson skies
Hell's horizon!
Our trap
Will spring!
That evening along a pier, the two Nishizumi sisters and the two Hartmann brothers were all talking amongst each other. They were still in their combat uniforms.
Unaware of our presence they'll be marching
Straight to
Their doom!
They all shared some laughs before Maho and Alfred grew serious with their younger siblings.
We are prepared for war
Ready for fire!
Stand by
To charge!
Both Erich and Miho responded with sincere smiles on their faces to assure their younger siblings as the two young lovers held hands with each other.
Counting down as they march into destruction
Their time
Has come!
All four of them then joined hands as they shook on a promise they all made to each other right then.
They'll never know
We give no warning
Soon however, Erich started to childishly mess around with Alfred, and Alfred just rolled his eyes in mock exasperation with a grin.
We set a trap
They took the bait
The Nishizumi sisters stepped back as they gave each other knowing smiles, for they knew what was about to happen.
Leading them straight into Hell!
Alfred then got behind Erich in seeming innocence as Erich carried on with being childish. Alfred then, without warning, put him into a full nelson.
They will not live to tell the tale!
Erich bucked his legs about, first in surprise, and then in attempts to get out of Alfred's trap.
We'll strike at dusk and fight till dawn
The Nishizumi sisters just laughed at the two Hartmann brothers being who they were.
Tonight our foe is bound to fail
Up above from one of the higher levels, both Miho's and Erich's friends were watching the whole scene unveil. They were still in their combat uniforms as well.
Our time is now!
All ready at arms!
They all looked on in admiration when the two sibling pairs made their pact, and they then broke out into laughter seeing the two Hartmann brothers messing with each other.
Upon our chosen ground
Dead men marching
No sign
Of hope!
Later in the evening also, Saunders' C-5M was flying through the sky as it was escorted by the Saunders trio of fighters.
Victory will be ours before the dawn breaks
Tonight
We charge!
All of Saunders' members were still in their combat uniforms as they ate a large amount of fast food. Alisa and Ray, though, didn't look too hot about the food as the others.
They'll never know
We give no warning
Meanwhile, the HMS Ark Royal was steaming out of the waters surrounding the Korean peninsula.
We set a trap
They took the bait
All of the girls were having tea out on the runway as they watched the boys land their aircraft. Everyone was still in their combat uniforms as well.
Leading them straight into Hell
Pravda's Zubr-class hovercraft also had started across the waves away from the Korean peninsula.
They will not live to tell the tale!
Within the craft, Klara and Nonna were singing a lullaby to a sleeping Katyusha. Sasha, Nudelmann, and Alexei joined in over the radio as the Pravda fighters flew overhead. They were all now in their normal school uniforms.
We'll strike at dusk and fight till dawn!
The LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin of Schwarzwaldspitze also headed away from the area as the fighters they sent out for the fight flew past.
Tonight our foe is bound to fail!
Within the Zeppelin, Erika and Maho were both talking with each other, and Hans and Alfred were also involved with the chat over the radio. They were all in their school uniforms now, as well.
Our time is now!
All ready at arms!
In the K2 steam locomotive that Chi-Ha-Tan's girls were aboard as the sun set, Kinuyo observed all of her conked out comrades and grew a proud smile. They were all in their combat uniforms still.
Chaos and disorder!
Sound of the attack
Charging down the mountain
Frontal assault!
Up above, Sakai was still in his combat uniform, and he grew a similarly proud smile at seeing the camaraderie of all his fighters flying alongside him through the air after the hard battle.
Guns light up the darkness
Mortars rip the ground
Like a force of nature
Shaking the field!
Down on the ground still on the peninsula, the Anzio girls had their CV.33 packed into the bed of a Fiat-SPA 38R truck as the Italians headed for a port.
They never knew
We gave no warning
The girls were all in the cabin while the boys rode behind in the Lancia 3Ro that was also brought along for the fight. Franco's CR.42 also flew by overhead.
We set a trap
They took the bait
Cut off
Retreat
Release!
They were all in their school uniforms now as they sang to pass the time, and Franco also joined in over the radio.
Unleash!
Meanwhile, Jatkaminen's two Uisko-class landing crafts had linked up with each other as they peacefully traveled along the oceans while the night set in.
The beast!
Within!
Berserker rage is released!
Similarly steaming through the ocean on its way to Ooarai City was the Essex-class USS Yorktown carrying the entirety of Ooarai's students.
Unleashed!
Each group was doing various things aboard the old American carrier as the night continued on.
A storm!
A force!
Unbreakable war machine!
The two groups of freshmen were both getting some sleep in their large room. They were all exhausted from the fight.
Similarly, the entire Public Morals Committee was sleeping as well, but they were all in the recommended position for sleeping: lying on their backs, tucked in, and with their hands folded on their chests.
The student council groups were getting refreshments and food in the mess hall. The girls all ate food excluding Momo, who was conked out. Aprikose and the guys were drinking beer, but Pfirsich had already passed out from the amount he had drunk.
The two sports groups were taking the chance to relax with a nice, hot bath. Not with each other, of course, but they were in adjacent baths as they relaxed.
The two gamer groups were, predictably, in an arcade fitted aboard as they played some of the games there.
Down in the hangar, the two mechanically proficient groups were fixing up their own vehicles plus those of their commanders. That is, the Me 163 B-1a, the VK 45.01 (P), the Panzer IV H, and the Bf 109 K-4.
The two history buff groups were all looking through a gift shop aboard for any items that interested them.
Victims of the ambush!
Stains the ground with blood!
Fields of execution
Murderous plan!
Up on the deck, Miho and Erich plus their groups of friends were already up watching the sun begin to rise. Well, most of them were. David and Mako were still sleeping hard as they rested against the others.
Soldiers turned to madmen!
In the dead of night!
Fighting with a fury!
Fiery eyes!
Parked in a lot within Ooarai City was an AEC Armored Car Mk II AA, evidently belonging to Selection University judging by the markings on it.
They never knew
We gave no warning
Dziubek had apparently dragged his three Flight Lieutenants down to a Sabaton concert. Dziubek was clearly enjoying it, and the three Flight Lieutenants appeared to be having fun as well.
We set a trap
They took the bait
Cut off
Retreat
Release!
The band had mentioned during one of their addresses to the crowd that because of a recent new sponsor signing aboard, they were going to continue having many more concerts and cruises in the future, which included a number in Ooarai itself.
Unleash!
Later in the morning aboard the USS Yorktown, all of Ooarai's Arts of Warfare members were gathered at the very front of the flight deck as they stared off into the horizon. They were all in their normal outfits now.
The beast!
Within!
Berserker rage is released!
Mako, David, Lemu, and Sodoko all spotted something before the rest, and the four grew wide eyes upon seeing what they saw.
Unleashed!
Eventually, all of the other Ooarai students followed with their own similar expressions.
A storm!
A force!
Unbreakable war machine!
Both Miho and Erich widened their own eyes upon seeing something in the waves ahead as they neared Ooarai City's port, and they both grew great smiles upon recognizing it.
Unleash!
Both had their arms around each other at the time, as well. Miho had both of hers around Erich's chest while Erich had one around her shoulders.
The beast!
Within!
Berserker rage is released!
What everyone had grown so delighted at was the sight of their home and school waiting in its homeport for its faithful students: Ooarai High School aboard its ship, the Zuikaku.
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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.