(TWO UPDATES WHAT!? Yep. This focuses on the main group. I thought you guys were probably getting sick of Tyler so here is a two chapter break…sorta. ;) )

A blast of powdered snow shot up into Melissa's front camera. Everything was going to hell. Rocket fire was everywhere. Enemy AS's seemed to come from everywhere. She could hear small-arms fire plink off her own AS. It was a hell forged of bullets, explosions and mass confusion. All she could do was call out in frustration. The ironic part was the beautiful snowy Siberian landscape.

"Sousuke! What the fuck is going on!" Sousuke woke from his battle slumber. He had taken down two old Russian Savages and as their clunky brown forms fell to the ground, he took in the situation. He noticed at least ten more enemy AS's had surrounded them. Only enemy aircraft circle above. He forced his AS to swiftly point it's gun upward and fired, taking down the helicopter. It spiraled like a bird with a clipped swing and spun uncontrollably. It crashed down in a sickening pile of twisted metal, glass and finished off with an explosion. There was no way the crew could have survived.

"We are surrounded." Sousuke pointed out matter-of-factly. Kruz could only nod his head far away in the distance as he sniped away what that would walk out into the few clearing the trees would allow. While remarkable, the snowy forest was a sniper's nightmare. Too much cover for the enemy and not enough for him. He wished they could just have a water balloon fight on the beach, preferably with Melissa in a bikini. A rocket explosion from a rocket knocked him out of his perverted fantasy.

"I didn't know that Sousuke." Kruz retorted. "I thought the enemies just wanted to say hi to us and sing around the campfire."

"That would not be a sound tactical strategy as it would cause…" Sousuke started with his monotone military rant.

"Save it you two!" Melissa roared. "The ground crew is still retreating to the rendezvous point. We need to hold the enemy back until…" An explosion cut her off followed by radio static. Kruz started to worry.

"Hey!" Kruz yelled over the radio. "You better not die! I want kids!" Nothing came over the radio as a reply. Sousuke was about to comment about inappropriate communication in the military but Kruz continued. "I can't have that with a corpse."

"SHUT IT KRUZ!" Melissa roared as her cheeks turned red. "I DO NOT YOUR GODDAMN PERVETED STATEMENTS FLYING OUT YOUR ASS TRAP WHILE I AM GETTING SHOT AT!" Kruz giggled while Sousuke shivered in his chair. "I WANTED HEAR SOUNDS COME OUT OF AN ASSHOLE, I WOULD HAVE FARTED!"

"Love you too." Kruz laughed. Melissa knew it was hopeless. The three of them continued blowing up more AS and helicopters. The more they shot down, the more that came. They walked into an ambush that would never end. The base they were supposed to disable was just a killing field. They had lost three men in the ground team during the initial chaos and two as the retreat was sounded.

The three valiant warriors in their giant mech suits continued battling with what fervor they could muster but they were not superhuman. Melissa was soon taking more and more damage and Sousuke allowed an AS to almost blow off his left arm but quickly returned with a swift anti-tank dagger to the face.

"Does anyone else get the feeling we are doing that suicidal last stand thing." Kruz retorted again. "I thought this was Sousuke's thing."

"It would be tactical sound if…" Sousuke began but Melissa quickly stopped that with one phrase.

"Should tell I Kaname that you are planning to do that again?" Sousuke could already feel the lump on his head start to form atop his head.

"No ma'am." The fight dragged on what seemed like years. Ammo was running low and resolve was slowly being depleted. All three was starting to acknowledge this fight was looking more hopeless. Melissa radioed to confirm if relief from this fight was coming.

"Commander, has the ground force pulled out. We need to get the hell out of dodge." Melissa was almost begging as her voice came over the radio.

"Sorry, the Siberian weather delayed EVAC. They are loading right now. Just a few more moments and it will be your turn. " Mardukas could sense the desperation in the Sergeants voice. "Hold Urzu. Just hold on."

"Damn…"Kruz said as another explosion echoed about the landscape. "Are we even making a dent in these assholes." Kruz feel himself grow weary. He could barely force his AS to keep firing. The controls grew heavy and each trigger squeeze. He could hear bullet he let go become closer to the last if things didn't change.

"We can count kills once they are dead. Keep firing or I will rip your balls off!" Melissa roared but even she could feel fatigue taking over. She made a huge mistake and didn't see the lock-on warning in the chaos and allowed a rocket to hamer her right leg and forced her AS to limp about. Souske got her back but this put more of a burden on him as well. Sweat drenched her brow as the fight grew desperate and any chance of survival was slowly slipping away.

"DAMN!" Kruz yelled over the radio. "I'm out of ammo." Kruz started pressing buttons crazily as he searched his AS for a way to get back in the fight. The last thing he wanted was his wife and friend being fired at with no support. He would do anything to avoid what happened when Mithril finally defeated Amalgam.

"Retreat Urzu!" Mardukas yelled over the radio. The voice of salvation had finally arrived. Kruz sighed and slowly stood as he prepared for the others to move.

"Damn…" Melissa yelled again. "I don' t think that is possible. My right leg is damaged."

"Go Melissa." Sousuke replied. His solemn reply confused everyone at first. Kruz stopped controlling his AS as he heard that voice. He heard a few times before. It was the sound of man prepared to die. It was the voice of a man reluctantly accepting a fate.

"What? I hope you mean your ass will be right behind me." Melissa roared back. She had known this voice before. An explosion marked the end of her sentence and she realized the same thing he did. There was no chance both of them could escape. She would be killed without cover and the enemy was only growing in number. "Kaname won't forgive you for dying! After all of this shit you two went through, you are just going to die in Siberia." Melissa said out of frustration as she blew up another AS with a well-placed rifle burst.

"Tell her, I'm sorry." Sousuke knew he would make her cry but she would move on. She would no longer hang around him. He hoped she would find someone who would not be in this kind of life. He hoped she would find a nice young man in Japan that could give her a family. As he would die here, he prayed a man would Kaname something he would never get the chance to do. Instead seeing the birth of a child, his head would give birth to his brain splattering across the cabin. He had accepted death so many times before but yet he was afraid now. He was afraid of leaving Kaname alone again but he had too. This was his way.

"Sousuke, I will never forgive you!" Sousuke heard that angry voice come over the radio. He could almost imagine that blue hair flailing about. "Please…just come back. You promised you would never leave me again." Sousuke quietly laughed. Just as soon as he was about to throw away his life, Kaname made him cherish he had it.

"Not a problem. We can go fishing once we get back." Sousuke smiled widely. He heard a sigh over the radio. He heard Kaname's end go silent. He paused just to make sure. "Kruz…" Sousuke growled.

Kruz could only laugh as he had just saved Sousuke in his own little way. All he had to do was get Kaname on the line and the kamikaze wannabe would quickly change his tune.

"You two can kill each other later. How do we get out?" Melissa roared as another salvo roared about.

"I will take your back. I will use the lambda drive as a last result." Sousuke roared back over the noise. "Let's get home. My fian…." Sousuke paused at his own words. "girlfriend wants me to get home. It would be in my tactical advantage to not disobey."

"Tactical advantage?" Kruz laughed. "More liked wiped buddy!" Kruz laughed in his cockpit as the fight roared on.

"You have no room to talk!" Melissa roared. "You are my bitch!"

"And I love it!" Kruz laughed out loud but he did seem a bit pleased at his position in his relationship.

"I have an idea!" Sousuke interrupted the moment. He raised his shotgun. He recalled the feeling of losing Kaname and focused the desire; the will and the ferocity to stay by her side and put it all into his next shot. He pulled the trigger and the heavens roared. "KANAME, RETURNING HOME!" Sosuke roared in an angry military tone.

Before anyone knew, Sousuke had cleared the forest in front of him. No AS stood in one piece and the helicopters retreated at the loss of their comrades. Sousuke was panting heavily.

"Good job." Melissa sighed in relief. "Let's get back to the sub."

"Hey Sousuke…" Kruz started gently but it ended in a roar. "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT TO START WITH!"