AN

So begins the next arc. Not sure how long it's gonna go or what it'll be about, but my general plan is to use this time to introduce OCs, further develop our already established characters, and start getting this plot on the fast track to war. This is it, folks. The beginning of the adventure. Judging from the pace I've been writing, this story is either going to go on for a loooooong time, or it's gonna get canned somewhere down the line because of me getting bored. I sincerely hope it's the former.

Three hours later

I can draw them away! Run in the other direction, I can do this! Takeru remembered saying that about thirty minutes ago. He'd believed it, too. Yet, as he tore through the jungle with as much speed as his flagging body could manage, he knew his endurance was wearing down.

Blood misted from his mouth in reddish clouds, staining his face with pinpricks of color against an otherwise lifeless white. His lungs were burning and searing, tearing apart as he sprinted through the dense green jungles with BETA at his feet. The skin on his legs was turning bright crimson, stained with blood that lay just under the surface, as capillaries and veins ruptured apart from the sheer force of his own movement.

Muscles and ligaments were fraying, and the pain was exquisite in it's brutality. He could barely move, yet alone run, but even as his nerves numbed from the sheer agony, he could only push himself forward. To do any less would leave him dead within seconds.

"Aegis-3, light up my rear!" He shouted into his transmitter, voice hoarse and gravelly. "7, I need you to pull Aegis-4 out of the fight before he gets torn apart! I'll draw them away, so get g-" A pale white hand connected to a trunk-like limb slammed into his back, battering him to the ground. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE AEGIS-7!" His voice broke into a painful screech that dredged up even more blood from his shredded throat.

The Warrior-class stared down at him with it's many eyes. Takeru gritted his teeth and leaped to his feet, tackling the monster to the ground. BETA were coming for him, swarming him from behind, but he spared not a single thought for such matters as he ripped out the monster's eyes with his bare hands.

There wasn't even a moment for his nerves to register the heated blood splattering onto his arms as a Soldier-class battered him from the front, throwing him further into the jungle with both it's arms. Takeru spat out a wad of blood and got to his feet, loping back into a run before he could be overwhelmed.

He brought up his transceiver with trembling hands and pushed out another transmission. "Aegis-actual to all remaining forces! Pull out! Pull out! Aegis-3, disengage and return to base!" A flurry of voices came from the other end of his radio. "Don't mind me! Go! Go!"

A BETA jumped him from behind and ripped into his arm, tearing it from it's socket. Takeru screamed in pain and wheeled around to face the Soldier-class he'd left behind just moments ago. Eyes squeezed shut and consciousness blurring out between waves of gray, he charged it and crashed the right side of his body into it's massive form.

There was an earth-shaking roar to his right, and just before Takeru could turn to face it, a blur of angry red skin filled his vision. Time seemed to slow in that instant, and the man was only barely able to drop his body to the jungle's floor, avoiding a sudden death by bifurcation. The Tank-class flew over his head, cropping off the majority of his hair, before melting back into the dense underbrush.

The Soldier-class towered over his prone body, and proceeded to pick up Takeru's defeated body with it's arms and carry him up to it's face. Struggling angrily, he tried desperately to break free of it's grasp.

"Let go of me you freak! LET GO!" Summoning up a reservoir of strength he didn't know he had, he twisted his entire body up into a devastating dual-leg kick.

It's grip faltered, and Takeru threw himself out. Yet, as soon as he hit the ground, he collapsed back to his knee, the reality of his injuries beginning to dawn on him. Unbidden terror coursed through his nerves, torturing his already-shattered mind. Crawling forward with his only remaining arm, he inched his way along the forest ground and retreated behind a tree, despite the encroaching swarm pushing toward his rear.

"This is... Aegis-actual." He breathed out over the communications array. "How's the objective looking?"

As he spoke, Takeru pulled out his 12.7 millimeter service pistol. It was a formidable weapon, deadly against human opponents, but less than stellar against the swarm. Slumped against the thick jungle-wood, he leaned out to the right and fired six times, each shot more blind and less accurate than the last.

"Aegis-7, reporting. Hostiles have been pulled from the target. Objective complete." The voice told him matter-of-factually. "I'd suggest immediate extraction, Aegis-actual."

Takeru laughed wryly as he shot off the head of a charging Warrior-class. "Didn't I..." His voice slurred into an indecipherable mess before he began again. "Didn't I tell you guys to leave a minute ago?"

Aegis-7 was silent for a few moments, but, very reluctantly, she agreed. "I'll assume command, then, Shirogane. I'll link up the squad at coordinates 29-Y and extract from the combat zone."

"Thanks, Isumi-" Two pairs of hoof-like feet barreled through the jungle, battering down trees and vegetation as they went.

Takeru rolled away from the tree as a Tank-class charged through it's hull. The furious red beast was on him in less than a second, stomping him into the ground first with it's legs, and then it's teeth. He hadn't so much as a chance to respond before his body was ripped into pieces, his life fading away just before he could scream.

When Takeru snapped awake, still lying in the pod, he felt stiff and painful. It took him several seconds to calm his nerves as hallucinations ran like water through his head. The sounds stayed with him, he noticed, burned into his senses vividly. He swore he could still hear the roaring, the gunfire, the blood gushing from his injuries like a water hose.

But yet, he was alive. Time passed slowly in that soundless darkness, and he used it to convince himself of that fact.

I lived. I survived. I'm not dead. That world wasn't real. Repeating the phrases in his head like a mantra, he slowly, very slowly, brought himself back down to earth.

Several minutes passed by, and eventually, a stream of light trickled into his pod as the hatch opened above him. Takeru was thankful that the OTS was as dim as it was, because had the lights been any brighter, he probably would have been blinded. After a few more seconds, the hatch opened completely, and Takeru climbed out and got to his feet.

His balance was shaky at first, and he very nearly fell over. But a hand clapped over his shoulder, strong and steadying, and he held his stance. Takeru looked over his shoulder and found himself looking at the 1st Lieutenant's face.

"That was one helluva stunt you pulled back there, Shirogane." She said cheerfully as her expression shifted into concern. "How're you feeling?"

Slowly, Takeru removed Isumi's hand from his shoulder as the unsteadiness faded. "Ah, I think I'll live. Gotta admit, I don't think I'll ever forget the feeling of having my arm ripped off, but..." He trailed as he tried to think of the right words. "I'm still alive. Hurt like hell, and I was so terrified I'm sure I pissed my virtual pants, but, I'm not dead. That counts for something, right?" Laughing nervously, he leaned back against the simulation pod.

Isumi grinned. "You're an odd one, Shirogane. The first time I got dismembered, it took me somewhere around an entire goddamn month to get over it." She looked up at the ceiling. "They almost washed me out of the program because of that, actually."

"I'm glad they didn't. You're a good soldier."

"Even the rookie is patronizing me, huh? I'm your superior, you know. Shouldn't I be the one praising you?" Isumi crossed her arms over and stretched. "C'mon. Let's go see Hayase. I'm sure she's got a few things to talk to you about."

Takeru blanched. "Mitsuki's gonna yell at me again, isn't she?"

"Hey, you should be proud. Hayase doesn't verbally abuse just anyone, you know." Isumi's grin was bright, revitalizing. Takeru offered a weary smile in return and walked behind her.

Mitsuki was shaken, badly so, almost to the point of hysteria. She slumped against her simulator pod, eyes unblinking and wide, and stared blankly at the wall ahead. Those around her didn't look too much better, hugging their knees to their chests and murmuring unintelligible words just barely loud enough to be heard.

"I can still feel them rooting through my intestines." Mitsuki whispered quietly with a hoarse voice. "Digging, cutting, eating. They won't stop, they just..." Her voice trailed into silence, but her lips never stopped moving.

Takeru sat down beside her, not saying a word, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Takeru, I... I saw you get ripped in half. I saw the Tank tear you apart, but... but I didn't-"

He flicked her on the forehead. "Now do you mind telling me how such a thing happened? Didn't I tell you to disengage back in the jungle?"

Either she hadn't heard him or simply refused to listen. "I could have stopped it, I had the machine gun. I had the weapon, I could have killed it. I could have saved you." Repeating the words to herself like a mantra, she slumped further against the wall.

He sighed. "It wasn't real, Mitsuki. Whatever you saw back there, it wasn't real."

"No, no, I know that. I know it was fake, just a sim, but..." She clutched her hands to her skull. "It was so vivid. I could feel the rays of sunlight on my skin, I could feel the sweat under my uniform, I could feel the steel in my hands. Takeru, I remember the smell of your blood-" She admitted weakly. "There was just so much of it, and it was splattered everywhere, and then they turned back to me, and-"

Takeru bit back a sudden urge to slap her. "Hey, hey, hey, Mitsuki. Look at me- look at me!" He brought her head up to his, and forced her to look him in the eye. "I'm alive. You're alive. That feeling you have? The sounds, the sights, all the things that are still there with you right now, they're hallucinations. They aren't real. Walk it off, alright?" He smiled at her, putting on a mask of confidence. "You're an Eishi. Toughen up and soldier through it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. It's just that-"

"Nope. No excuses. It's tough, I know, but thinking about what makes it that way is only gonna make it harder to let go."

Mitsuki nodded, closed her eyes, and leaned back against the wall. "You've done this before, haven't you, Takeru? Dealt with this sort of trauma, I mean."

Takeru eased back. "Yeah. You could say something like that." He admitted, thinking of nothing in particular.

He hadn't, truth be told. All that he told her, and everything he was saying, it was the sort of philosophy he himself knew by heart. And yet, it wasn't from his own experience that he'd learned it. He hadn't learned it anywhere, actually, it simply came to him. But he told her otherwise, because to tell her that his strength simply came naturally would not only alienate him from her, but also leave her confidence shattered.

"Haa..." Mitsuki sighed. "That figures." She said nothing more.

Takeru sat down beside her, leaning his weight on the pod.

"We've got two more sessions scheduled after this one." He said quietly, stating the obvious. "You think you're ready for them?"

Mitsuki laughed weakly. "Not even a little bit. I'll be honest, I feel like I'm this close to a nervous breakdown."

"That's normal, I think." Takeru looked over to Isumi, who was sitting silently and resting with what little time she could. "Hey, Mitsuki, wanna run out and get a few drinks from the vending machine before we sortie? I figure everyone could use a break." He offered.

"Yeah, sure, as long as it's coming out of your wallet."

"Not a problem." He said honestly, thinking of the officer-grade funding card Yuuko had given him just a few hours ago.

I'm giving you this card now, Shirogane, because I know you're going to pass that aptitude test. You're too good not to. But... of course, if you do happen to fail, I will be collecting whatever debt you accrue. She'd told him with a barely concealed smirk that had seemed to say, Go ahead, do something stupid. I dare you.

It was, of course, a mostly moot point because there was so damned little to buy around the base. Meals came free for soldiers and staff, and it wasn't like there were any shopping malls in the near vicinity. For the most part, the only money that left the card was from snacks and drinks purchased at the PX and the single vial of liquor he'd bought after his first major simulator operation.

Takeru helped Mitsuki to her feet. "Hey, 1st Lieutenant." He called, grabbing Isumi's attention. "Mitsuki and I are headed out to buy some drinks. You want anything?"

Her reply was almost immediate. "Yeah, sure. Get me something sweet. And make that a double order, too."

Takeru nodded dutifully. "You got it. Let's get going, Mitsuki."

She nodded obediently, and they were off.

As they left, the OTS remained deathly silent. The majority of the people who'd been in the pods were still shell shocked, and those that weren't were busy trying to comfort them. There was no crying, no sobbing, just silent, barely audible whispering – of both the traumatized and those who tried to help them – and a heavy atmosphere.

By contrast, the hallway just outside was intensely loud. Conversation, laughter, the quick and loud clinking of boots on metal. Takeru walked past them all, Mitsuki in tow, and headed toward the PX as quickly as he could.

"What do you think the next program's gonna be?" Takeru asked offhandedly, trying to start a conversation.

Mitsuki shivered in response. "I just hope it's not going to be another Adversarial."

He became withdrawn and hesitant. Slow to answer. "Yeah." He agreed, speaking much more quietly. "Killing BETA is one thing, but..."

"I'm just worried that I might enjoy it." She admitted, voice low and hoarse. "I've always liked fighting BETA, and I'm just worried. What if I kill another person and start to like that too?"

A pause. "Mitsuki, you know that killing BETA and killing humans are two entirely different things."

"Maybe, but... I don't know anyone else in my entire unit that actively enjoys going to battle. I'm the only one, Takeru. I'm the only one who gets in the TSF to kill, and not to protect. That can't be normal, right? I can't be normal."

They came to the entrance of the PX. Takeru cast his friend a concerned look as they stepped through the doors. "Mitsuki..."

Then, she shook her head and smiled weakly. "No, never mind. I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me."

Reluctantly, Takeru decided not to press the issue. "Okay. I understand." He fished his card from his uniform's pocket and put it into the vending machine.

For the first few orders, Mitsuki was quiet and reflective. But, perhaps inevitably, she eventually began to speak. "Hey, Takeru?"

"Hm?" Takeru hummed as he ordered a dozen cans of assorted drinks.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Mitsuki asked him, voice low and conspiratorial.

Takeru stumbled for a moment. "No. Why do you ask?"

"There's a girl staring at us from across the cafeteria." She pointed out the person in question. A purple-haired girl in a cadet's uniform. Takeru, in response, grew every so slightly more pale. "Do you know her?"

"Haha..." He laughed nervously. "She was kind of, ah, in my bed this morning."

Mitsuki's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but all too quickly, her expression shifted into a knowing smirk. "Ah, so it's like that, huh? And she's not even your girlfriend..."

She yelped as Takeru thumped her on the back of the head. "I knew you'd say that." He remarked. "But no, that's not what this is. She seems to think we know each other. Really, all I know is that we didn't do anything last night, and that she knows my first name for some reason."

Takeru grabbed a large drink tray from a nearby counter and loaded up the cans. "Anyway, Mitsuki, let's get going."

"You sure that's alright? She looks a little, um, expectant? Is that the word?" She took a second look at the girl. "I mean, I'm not exactly one with my feminine side, but it's not exactly difficult to imagine that girls get angry when you ignore them."

"Nah, it's fine. I'm totally sure ignoring the potentially crazy lady and blatantly leaving the room with another woman can't possibly have any repercussions down the line."

Mitsuki hit him in the shoulder. "Your sense of humor sucks, Takeru."

"Bite me."

"Sorry, just so happens you aren't my type." She said, grinning.

"Oh, well isn't that a relief." He picked up the tray and walked out of the cafeteria's twin doors. "I can't imagine what kind of hell my life would be if you started coming onto me."

She stifled a sudden urge to hit him again. "Asshole."

Officers-in-training were allowed a half hour to recuperate in between training sessions. Most used this time to simply console each other and steel themselves for the next op. Some used it to grab sleep wherever they could, considering that most days in the OTS could last up to sixteen hours. Very few used the time to work or plan ahead, even if the central terminals usually displayed the name and layout of the next operation five minutes after finishing the last.

Takeru was not one of those few. As he'd come to learn in the past few hours, training scenarios were highly unpredictable and tended to change drastically once they actually began. It wasn't as if the computer's synopsis was inaccurate or false, but rather, they could only usually be counted on for less than an hour before the enemy got reinforcements, or some equipment malfunctioned, or someone got severely injured by the simulation's automated protocols.

Generally speaking, it simply seemed like a futile venture.

However, there was one person standing at the terminal, jotting down notes in one hand and knocking back an unidentifiable beverage with the other. Takeru couldn't see much of her, and aside from her hair – black and short and cropped into a roughly shaped bob – he couldn't see any distinguishing features. Even her arms and legs were covered with long gloves and stalkings, barring any chance of spotting so much as her skin color.

Takeru looked away and slowly rotated his can of lemon soda, swirling what remained of the drink around in lazy circles. He'd counted the minutes internally and now figured that it would be roughly five or six minutes until the intercom's polite female voice told them to get into their pods. The lady at the terminal hadn't announced any sort of game plan, nor did she look as if she intended to, so he turned his attention away.

Instead, he focused on what would come after this op. It was clear that most of the people in this facility were relatively new, just like he was, and wouldn't be able to hold it together much longer. Takeru was sure that if this next one went wrong – and considering that this was a program of Yuuko's creation, it most certainly would – someone was going to snap. The people here were all tough, far more mentally durable than the average soldier, but all the same... No one forgot the feeling of being eaten alive.

There was only so much he could do to keep them together, too. It wasn't as if he could go around talking to them or consoling them personally. That had only worked with Mitsuki because they knew each other and had fought together before, if he tried it with anyone else, he'd likely inspire distrust and paranoia rather than confidence. And he'd already used the drink tray gambit once, and using the same trick twice would turn his surprise act of charity into an expected commodity.

Takeru wasn't a skilled enough orator to bring them together with a rousing speech, nor was he terrifying or fearsome enough to unite them against himself. At the moment, all he could do was assume the position of Aegis-actual, their commander, and do what he could to lead by example.

"Hey, Shirogane-san?" A voice snapped him away from his thoughts. Takeru looked up to find himself meeting the unfamiliar brown-eyed gaze of the strategy-lady.

"Hm? Is there something you need?" Takeru asked nonchalantly as he tried to remember what her name was.

Her eyes slid away from his. "Um, I was wondering if you would like to trade squad positions with me." She asked quietly, her voice reserved but not timid.

Ah, right! Takeru thought. Her name's Kurosawa.

"You want to lead, Kurosawa-san?" He asked curiously. "I'll let you, sure, but if you don't mind me asking, why?"

Because you don't look at all like you'd be able to.

"I have a plan..." She told him, a certain blend of confidence in her voice.

Takeru laughed wryly and got to his feet. "I like the sound of that. What kind of devious scheme are you cooking up?"

"I'll explain it later. I promise."

He tossed away his drink can, leaving it in a dark corner of the room, and walked over to his simulation pod. "I'll look forward to it, then, squad leader." He said cheerfully.

Mere moments after he stepped into place beside his pod, the intercom-voice rang out over the speakers.

"All officers must now board their simulators." The voice commanded them, albeit in a wonderfully polite tone of voice. "The operation will begin in one hundred and twenty seconds."

Simultaneously, all eight of the room's pods swung open. Silently, almost mournfully, the Eishi boarded their machines. Gone were the exclamations and statements of excitement and curiosity, replaced instead by a defeated sort of sadness.

Takeru climbed into his pod and settled into the comfortable seat. His hatch hung open for a time after that, closing only after the two minutes had passed. The pod was dark afterward, but only for a few seconds. Shortly afterward, he felt the automated neckband stretch out over his throat and tightened almost hard enough to choke him.

A low-powered electric pulse followed shortly afterward, but Takeru felt none of it. All his brain's signals were intercepted by the neckband, and very shortly as the helmet slipped over him, he felt himself and his body shifting into the virtual world.

Takeru found himself standing in a circular gray room alongside the other officers, a large holographic display in the center. There were a few words on the display, but for the most part, it was simply a few overhead layouts, images, and diagrams of the area of operations.

An automated voice, this time a male, began to read off the operation's basic description. "This is Operation Sentinel. This is a cooperative mission." The voice informed them politely. Somewhere off in another part of the room, Takeru heard Mitsuki sighing in relief.

"Officers, you will be split into one group of two and another group of six. The first group, call-sign Jester, will defend the illustrated compound-" An image of a large concrete fortress, crisscrossed with bullet holes, shell craters, and of course, a large number of corpses, appeared onscreen. "-until the reinforcing group, call-sign Aegis, can arrive to extract them. The initial enemy force is estimated to be around three hundred times as large as the defending force, and the initial distance of the Aegis fire-team is 120 kilometers."

The room exploded in whispers, mostly exclamations of fear and more than one utterance of, 'I hope to hell I'm not one of the defenders!' The only one who seemed to be unfazed was Kurosawa, who'd likely known this in advance.

"The enemy force is comprised of a randomized mixture of infantry, armor, and TSFs. The reinforcing unit is composed of four armored cars, one TSF, and one cargo transport truck. The defending unit has access to infantry-based weaponry and fortified emplacements." The voice told them."Lastly, both teams will be chosen randomly. Good luck, officers."

And, without so much as another moment, the gray room blazed out of existence in a bright white flash of light.

Barely a second passed, and his eyes opened up to a concrete ceiling.

Takeru found himself screaming into consciousness, sudden flares of agony biting into his nerves. His entire mind was consumed by pain, totally occupied by the rapidly growing puddle of blood pooling under his leg. Gunfire rattled out overhead in tight, controlled bursts. The pinging of bullets against concrete filled every other vacant second, giving the image of a rapidly-crumbling structure. Yet, he was aware of none of this.

The only thing he saw in that moment was his own life blood, spilling away from him far faster than he could stop it, and the massive steel beam that was crushing his lower leg. Breathing in short, shallow gasps, Takeru tried and failed to weather through the agony. Another scream rose from his throat, and only biting down hard enough to crack his teeth was enough to keep it from spilling out.

Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop! His mind screeched at him loudly and confusingly. Make the pain stop!

His heart was pounding in his ears, almost as loud and deafening as the gunfire, and his chest was heaving tremulously as his breathing grew even more erratic. Consciousness was slipping from him, he realized, and very soon he would fall into a blessed, pain-free oblivion.

"I can't... dammit." Takeru gritted his teeth and railed against the gray wave. "I have to stay awake." He told himself as he sat up.

An explosion rocked his bunker, blowing open a hole in the concrete wall. Shards and chunks of debris flew everywhere, and a flying spike of rebar nearly impaled his immobile body. Ignoring the noise and background, Takeru focused on the steel beam and clasped his hands around it's heavy mass.

Pain bit into his palms as the rusty steel cut his flesh, but he disregarded it entirely as he tried to lift the weight with what little strength he could muster. Slightly and slowly, ever so slowly, the beam was raised. First by millimeters, but then inches, it got higher and higher. If he wasn't in such crippling pain, Takeru might have smiled at the sight of it.

Having lifted it just enough to move his mangled leg out of the way, he slipped out from under the rubble and crawled back, wincing at the heavy crash when the beam slammed back into the blood-soaked ground.

Crawling along the ground, Takeru inched his way closer to the bright green medical kit stationed on the wall. Using the same chunk of busted rebar that had nearly impaled him a moment ago as a crutch, he pushed himself off the ground just high enough to swipe at the kit, knocking it to the ground. He threw the rebar off to the side and scrabbled at the case's smooth plastic surface and undid the clasps with the desperate movements of a madman.

Blessed, blessed pain relief came at that moment in the form of a morphine syringe. Takeru pushed the needle into his skin and pushed down the stopper, not bothering to even measure how much of the stuff he was putting into his body. Numbness spread throughout his leg, silencing the burning of his nerves and giving him back just enough of his conscious mind back to let him perform some basic first aid.

Minutes passed, and Takeru got to his feet, supporting his weight with the use of a discarded rifle. He hobbled out of the bunker as more shells bombarded it's walls, nearly deafening him with the noise.

As he stepped into the corridors, he found that the inner complex didn't look much better. Sunlight peaked out through opened up holes in the sunlight, and there were far too many breached walls for Takeru to feel safe while he was walking.

He reached for his shoulder, and was relieved to feel the transponder still in it's place. He clicked the button and called out to his other ally, hoping to god that she was still alive. "Hey Jester-actual, this is Jester-2, where are you?" His voice was raspy and weakened by both blood loss and morphine, but intelligible. At least, he hoped so.

A response came almost immediately after, albeit plagued by static and background noise. "Shirogane-san? You're here too?" It was Kurosawa's voice.

Takeru smiled weakly. "Yeah. Looks like we're in this one together, huh?"

"It seems so." She said quietly over a roar of gunfire.

"I don't suppose you have a plan for this, Kurosawa-san? Because if I'm being frank, we're stuck up shit creek without so much as a paddle."

She was quiet for a moment. "No, I'm afraid not." She told him apologetically. "I read the intelligence again and again, reformed my strategy so many times, but I'd hinged it on being in the reinforcing team. I know it was stupid to not make a backup plan-" Her voice was interrupted by the explosive blast of a nearby shell. "-I need to relocate, Shirogane-san! I'll call in momentarily!" She shouted frantically as gunshots filled the comms array.

Takeru broke off the transmission and changed direction, moving in the general direction of the gunfire. For the first, and very certainly not the last, time that day, he cursed his broken leg as he moved. He lifted his gun from the ground and leaned against the wall wearily, trying to keep as much weight off his leg as possible.

Concrete exploded overhead and shards of shrapnel scattered in every direction. Then, footfalls, a great many of them. Takeru got the briefest glimpse of black armor and immediately dove for cover, only barely managing to stuff the majority of his unarmored body behind a fallen pillar before a torrent of gunfire came crashing down at him.

Pain flared up in his leg as he crashed awkwardly to the floor, but he stifled the impulse to cry out and crawled along the ground. Staying low, he picked through the corpses of the many fallen soldiers, hoping for something, anything, he could use to gain an edge.

His luck was good, it seemed. A dark gray, blood-spattered cylinder caught his attention. A smoke grenade. Takeru took it, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the air above his head. It landed on the rough floor with a metallic clink, and for a moment, the soldiers scattered and ran backward, not recognizing the grenade for what it was.

A cloud of white smoke flooded out over the hallway, blinding and choking in it's thickness. Takeru took the opportunity to get to his feet, despite the blindly fired swarm of rounds screaming overhead, and grabbed a nearby corpse by the shoulders. Fingers sinking into desiccated flesh, he lifted the body until it was on it's feet. He pushed it as hard he could into the enemy squad.

"They're charging through the smoke!" One of the soldiers shouted as he opened fire on the shambling corpse.

Using his rifle as a crutch, he hobbled in the other direction as quickly as he could. Bullets were flying in almost every direction, it seemed, and it was incredibly lucky that his head hadn't been taken off in the dense smoke cloud. But, impossibly, he rounded the corner and found himself alive and relatively unharmed.

Hearing footsteps converging on his location, he pressed himself low to the floor and rolled his body into a bombed out pit in the floor, likely created by an errant mortar shell. Playing the part of a half-obscured corpse, he cast his rifle to the other side of the hall and quieted his erratic breathing.

Enemy soldiers rounded the corner, scanning down the hallway with their rifles raised.

"Hallway clear." One of them said roughly, calling back to his allies.

"I copy. Looks like we splashed him." Another responded as he looked over the bullet-riddled corpse Takeru had pushed through the smoke.

They hung around for a few seconds longer. Doing what, Takeru had no idea, but when their footsteps eventually melted off into the distance and became obscured by background noise, he breathed a sigh of relief. Pushing himself out of the pit, he got to his feet with the assistance of a handy pipe, and picked up his rifle.

His leg was beginning to hurt again, he realized, and suddenly he found himself wishing he'd taken the first aid kit with him when he fled the bunker. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and pushed ahead, moving through the hallways slowly and methodically, searching for a way to reach Kurosawa's position.

The distinctive black of the enemy uniform peered out over the corner of the hallway, scanning down in his direction. Without hesitation, Takeru raised his rifle and blew off his head. Rounding the corner, he activated his transponder and sent out a signal.

"Hey, Kurosawa, where the hell are you?" He asked, keeping his voice low.

There was nothing but static on the channel. Takeru cursed violently.

He crouched low and peered out over the wall, ready to dart back behind cover in a moment's notice. It was clear, for the time being at least, so he took his time in looting the dead soldier's corpse for anything even remotely useful. A handgun holster and a leather satchel later, and Takeru was feeling significantly more confident in moving ahead.

He rounded the corner and moved down the hall. Footsteps were all around him, loud and hurried, and it wouldn't be long before they came to investigate the sudden silence on their dead compatriot's radio. Pistol pointed first, he carefully pushed his way past the strewn corpses and made his way northward.

Recalling through memory the base layouts he'd seen, Takeru tried to navigate up to the central command center. If he could just reach the main terminal, then he might have been able to activate the defensive auto-cannons and clear out the interior, if only for a short time. Yet, the pre-operation schematics hadn't accounted for the numerous walls, ceilings, and entire corridors that had been collapsed by mortar shelling.

Still, he pushed his way through the rubble further into the base. As he ventured deeper and deeper into the complex, he eventually found that the gunfire and shouting was melting into the background. It seemed they hadn't yet breached this far in, yet.

A voice flickered to life over his transponder. "Shirogane...san?" Kurosawa murmured, her voice weak with pain. "Where are you?"

Takeru looked out over his back to make sure no one was in hearing range, more out of habit than fear. "Heading toward the center of the base." After a momentary pause, he continued. "You sound injured. Did you get shot?"

She chuckled weakly over the radio. "Looks like it. They clipped off my leg, actually. I'm lucky I haven't bled to death yet."

He paled. "I'm on my way. Transmit your coordinates now." I can still save you, Takeru had wanted to say those words as well, but he was neither confident nor sure that he could deliver on such a promise.

She nodded dutifully. "I'm in the..." Her voice trailed for a moment. "The central command center. I'm stashed away in some dark corner and hoping no one sees the trail of blood I left crawling here."

He nodded. "Just stay alive. I'll be there as soon as possible."

AN

And so we introduce our first OC, Kurosawa NoFirstName. Not quite sure how her character will pan out; initially I wanted a shrinking violet, then I wanted a tough girl, then I wanted a strategist. So far, I've settled for a mix of the three. If you guys wanna suggest a first name, feel free. The only criteria is that it must be a Japanese sounding name, for what one would assume to be fairly obvious reasons.

Also, seeing as how this is the start of a new arc, lemme be a shameless whore once again and beg you guys for reviews. Muv Luv is a small fandom, so I don't expect an abundance of feedback, but let me tell you, seeing that review count go up by one when I check on this story's stats always gives me a warm feeling. Also a bit of anxiety, too, because I worry about criticism, but hey, take the salty with the sweet, am I right?

So if you have anything to say, whether it be a flaming sword of hatred or a loving four-part poem, I'd love to hear it. But, all that shaneless whoring aside, I love ya guys. I'm really excited to get writing on the next chapter, and as long as you guys are still here to read, I'll still be here to write.

P.S. I seriously don't know what's making me so sentimental. Maybe I'm drunk on sleep deprivation?