Chapter 9
The Big Tournament Part II
The KV-2's 152mm barrel slowly inches forward, the force of the shell it had just fired putting an extraneous amount of strain on the howitzer's recoil buffer.
Nonna sat on the turret of her IS-2, as the smoke of the battlefield began to clear. Her long black hair blew slightly in the wind.
Katyusha's T-34 backed away, as did the other T-34/76.
"There's no way they survived that.", Katyusha said.
As the smoke began to clear, all they saw was a large smoking crater. A few meters behind the crater were the T-28s and the T-35.
"What?! Nina, you missed?!", Katyusha cried.
"I-it was a warning shot!", Nina cried. "Reload, hurry!"
"Fire!", Kenn yelled. All of Ooarai's T variant tanks fired, all the shots striking the KV-2's armored turret. The tank survived the shots, but the force of the attack threatened the KV-2 to tilt to the left.
"Turn the turret! Now!", Katyusha yelled. The KV-2 quickly turned its howitzer to the right, forcing the tank upright again, but now leaning dangerously to the right.
"Other side!", Nina said. The turret turned left, the tank tilted to the left again.
Soon, the KV-2 was bouncing left and right, its balance constantly shifting. The whole crowd watched as the massive tank kept tilting left, then right, and so on.
"Now's our chance! Fall back!", Kenn yelled. The BT tanks raced away, as the T-35 and T-28s fired.
"Nonna!", Katyusha said.
"Da.", Nonna said. She pulled the trigger, and the IS-2 fired its 122mm gun. At the same time, a BT-7 fired its 45mm gun.
Both shells from the two tanks struck each other, causing both shells to explode. The puff of smoke and shrapnel flew in the air, as Kenn and Ano's team took the distraction to fall back.
Nonna's eyes were slightly widened in surprise, as the KV-2 finally stood upright.
"What just happened?", Nina asked.
Kenn panted as the tanks fell back. They stopped to catch their breath, as Ano stepped onto the turret of his T-28.
"Shit, that was close.", Ano said. "We'd better get back to Miho."
"No, we need to stay split up. We'll get some more reinforcements from Miho's team.", Kenn said.
"On it. Nekota, can you get over here?", Ano asked over the radio.
"Nyaaa! What do you need?", the female voice over the radio asked.
"We need your 75mm gun over here. Can you come?", Ano asked.
"We're en route.", Nekota said, before switching off her radio.
Ano climbed back on top. "Anteater Team's on the way.", he said.
"Duck Team's heading here too.", Kenn said. "OK, let's hear back and-"
Several explosions ripped through the ground, jolting all the tanks. Ano grabbed the side railing of his hatch for balance.
"What was that?!", he yelled.
Then a massive tank rolled down the hill on the left of them. The O-I stopped at the base of the hill, as the ten Chi-Ha tanks fired down on Ooarai's boys team.
"Well, they haven't learnt their lesson.", Ano said.
"Fire!", Kenn yelled. The tanks opened fire, and a shot knocked out a Chi-Ha.
The O-I fired its three turrets, the shots taking out a BT-5. Kenn braced himself from the recoil of his 76mm. "Great, our first casualty goes to them, of all sides.", Kenn said.
"They have a super heavy of all tanks, what'd you expect?", Ano said.
Then a shot rang out from far away, the round annihilating another Chi-Ha. Ano turned to see the Chi-Nu and the Type 89 rolling in. Behind them, two M-2 Lights, and two Shermans, one of them an M4A1, were chasing them.
The 45mm guns of the T-35 fired, knocking out a Light. The M4A1 fired, glancing a T-28.
The other T-28s opened fire, as the other M-2 Light was knocked out.
The other Sherman opened fire, barely missing a BT-5.
"Fire!", Nekota yelled. The Chi-Nu and the Type 89 fired, as did the T-28s. Immediately, all shots bounced and deflected off the Sherman's armor.
"What the-", Ano said, before the O-I, aiming at the Sherman, fired all its guns.
All three giant shots struck the Sherman, which took the hits like nothing.
"Shit, is that a Jumbo?", Kenn said. Ano's T-28 fired, as that shot deflected off.
"Yeah, looks like it.", Ano said. The T-35 fired, the American tank taking those shots.
The Jumbo Sherman fired as did the other M4A1 Sherman, and the shots took out two more Chi-Ha tanks.
Almost immediately, the rest of Chihatan's tanks retreated, the O-I firing once again before leaving up the hill.
The shots struck the ground in front of the Sherman tanks, tossing up a cloud of dust and dirt.
"Fall back!", Kenn said. The T-35, The T-28s, BT-7s, and the last BT-5 retreated through the west hill. The Jumbo fired, grazing a T-28, before stopping the pursuit.
Kay stuck her head out the hatch of her Jumbo Sherman. "That T-35's sweet. It'll be awesome to get a kill on that.", she said.
Then the Churchill VII with a Matilda II, along with a Churchill AVRE rolled down the hill.
Darjeeling and Kay exchanged nods, as they both ducked into their hatches. Darjeeling took her tea, while Orange Pekoe loaded another 6 pounder round into the Churchill.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to trust Kay?", Assam asked. Her finger was on the trigger of the tank gun.
"Saunders may be rather unkept and messy, but at least they teach some form of discipline.", Darjeeling said. "Besides, it's Alisa we need to worry about."
"Agreed.", Rosehip said over the radio.
In the Jumbo, Kay sat with her unzipped jacket and a coke in her hand. "Julia. Move the gun carriage over to the east. Those Italians will be charging from there.", she said.
"Who told you that?", Julia asked, as the rumble of the M40 GMC filled the airwaves.
"Alisa. Trust me, she's contacting the Hellcat Scout Team, not hacking the radios.", Kay chuckled. She switched the radio over to 180 kHz.
"Naomi, you do know what to do, right?", she asked.
"Mhmm.", Naomi said. The sound of a QF 17 pounder's gunfire filled the air.
"Jatkosota's Renault has been knocked out. Kill goes to Sherman Firefly.", the intercom crackled.
The casualty list on the screen glowed for all to see.
Ooarai: one BT-5. 19 remaining
Kuromorimine: none
Jatkosota: two Renault, one BT-42. 17 remaining
Chihatan: two Chi-Ha, two Ha-Go: 16 remaining
Saunders: two M2 Light, two M4 Sherman, one M18 Hellcat. 15 remaining
St. Gloriana: none
Anzio: one L3/33. 19 remaining
Pravda: one T-34/76. 19 remaining
Somewhere else...
Miho and Erwin sat on their tanks, binoculars on the lookout. The Hetzer, Char B1, M3 Lee, and Porsche Tiger waited patiently.
"Kuromorimine is heading this way. No casualties on their side.", Erwin said. "It's just like them to last that long."
"St. Gloriana and Saunders is heading over. No surprise they teamed up.", Miho said.
"It appears Jatkosota and Chihatan joined up too.", Erwin said, as she viewed the 33 tanks rolling down the hill.
"Where's Pravda? Oh, wait. Nekota told us they're taking the long way around.", Miho said.
"Anzio's heading over, drawing fire for us against Pravda.", Hoshino from Leopon Team said. She sat on the rumbling engine of the VK 45.01 Tiger, binoculars facing west.
"Where's Ano?", Miho asked.
Saori peeked out. "I just got word from Nekota! They're coming from the middle!", she said.
Miho jumped down. "Everyone, get ready!", she yelled.
Soon, the Type 3 Chi-Nu blasted through a Comet tank, inflicting the first casualty of St. Gloriana, while the Type 89 and the BT-7s and BT-5 rushed and weaved through the Shermans.
The T-35 and T-28 rushed through and fired over at Jatkosota, knocking out a BT-42.
"Cover fire! They're a big target!", Miho said, as the Char B1 fired its hull howitzer.
The barrage of shells took out a chasing Crusader and a Vickers tank. The O-I fired, taking out a Hellcat.
The Maus fired, taking out a Semovente, before the two Archers and the Churchill AVREs sniped our the rear of the super tank, eliminating the heaviest tank in the match.
The Stürmtiger fired, and the rocket projectile impacted the middle of the valley, throwing up a big cloud of smoke even bigger than the KV-2's shell.
Minutes passed, and when the smoke cleared, all the sides were in the valley.
Miho and Ano watched as all the tanks sat on the hill, all facing a humongous crater.
It was quiet for a moment. The only noises around were the rumbling of the tanks.
Mako tapped the lever on the throttle, while Hana glared down the sights of the 75mm gun she was manning. Ano slowly ducked back down into his hatch for the hell that was about to be let loose.
Anzu chewed silently on her dried potato strip, as the Hetzer rumbled silently. The Porsche Tiger revved its engine.
Kay stuck out of the hatch, the wind blowing at her blonde locks. Naomi popped a bubble of her gum and went back to chewing, as she acquired the target with her Firefly.
Katyusha tightened the straps of her tanker helmet, as Nonna fiddled with the trigger of her IS-2's 122mm.
Darjeeling sipped her tea, while Assam just waited quietly, a look of pure determination showing in her eyes. Rosehip and Rukuriri waited in their designated tanks.
From the BT-42 in the front, Mika played a soft melody from her kantele, over the rumbling of a salvaged BT-7 with a British 105mm howitzer.
Anchovy's twin pigtails fluttered in the wind, as did her hair ties. The P40 waited in silence, as did all the other tanks.
Kinuyo stood in her Chi-Ha tank, as did Fukada in her Ha-Go.
Maho sat in her Tiger I, as did Erika in her King Tiger. All the German tanks rumbled, guns in the air.
Ami Chōno sat on top of her Type 10, as Yuri and Shinzaburou sat in the bleachers. A few seats up was Jungorou and Yoshiko Akiyama, waiting anxiously.
Shiho Nishizumi glared at the screen, as the suspense ate away at her from the inside.
From the hospital, Hisako sat in her hospital bed, watching the Panzer IV from the TV in the room.
The hill was still silent. Yukari held a tank round, ready to reload once Hana fired.
...
...
...
"FIRE!"
The Jumbo Sherman fired, and soon, every single tank fired, a massive barrage of shells flying across each other.
Tanks were knocked out left and right. A Chi-Ha was struck, while an L3/33 was flipped. Another BT-42 was hit, and a T-18 was hit, as well as one of the Jagdpanzer IVs being knocked out.
"Charge!", Kinuyo yelled. The remaining 100 tanks in the match charged down the hill, all of them firing their recently reloaded cannons.
The O-I knocked out a Vickers E, while a few shots from the T-35 glanced off the side armor.
The Stürmtiger fired a shot that knocked out two Shermans and a Comet. Then the two Archers fired their cannons, immediately taking out the Stürmtiger.
The M40 was knocked out by Ooarai's Hummel, which in turn got hit by a T-34.
The Firefly took out a Chi-Ha, before turning and damaging Ano's T-28.
The T-28 fired its DT machine guns, forcing the Firefly to get back. Miho's Panzer IV was in a fierce duel with Kay's M4A3 Jumbo, all while Maho's Tiger and Anchovy's P40 rolled towards the duel. Darjeeling's Churchill and Mika's BT-42 soon joined the standoff, rounds bouncing and armor impacting.
Katyusha saw this and immediately ordered her T-34/85 over, as Kinuyo ordered her Chi-Ha to join in.
Ano turned to see the eight leading tanks all in the fight. "Kenn!", he said.
Kenn saw this. "Cover fire!", he yelled. The T-35 fired, as did the BT-7s.
The shells took out the Chi-Ha and the P40, also damaging Katyusha's T-34. The O-I fired, and it took out a Sherman and a BT-42.
Darjeeling's tank plowed into Maho's Tiger I, and fired at Mika's BT-42. The BT-42 fired back, and both were immediately knocked out.
The Churchill AVREs fired their 290mm mortars, taking out the remainder of Anzio's tank forces, immediately rendering them out of the match.
Not long after, the Hummel took out the O-I, which was the last of Chihatan's forces. Two academies were now eliminated.
Erika's Tiger II fired, taking out Mallard Team's Char B1. The Jagdtiger was facing off against a Comet that was racing around it while firing shots.
Maho fired a shot that eliminated the last BT-5, before Miho opened fire on the Tiger. The shot ricocheted off the Tiger and hit the dirt.
Erika's coaxial and bow mounted MGs opened fire, and the tracks of Duck Team's tank was blown off, before the Firefly knocked out the Type 89b.
A T-28 was knocked out when Rosehip's Crusader plowed into it. Ano's tank fired a shot that took out an Archer.
The T-35 knocked out three Matildas at once, while the second T-28 tank took out two more Matildas, leaving Rukuriri and the other Matilda.
Tanks continued to be knocked out and destroyed, until there were five left.
Katyusha's T-34/85 and Nonna's IS-2 sat knocked out at the base of the hill. The KV-2 lay on its side, smoke still billowing out.
The Sherman Firefly sat still, its QF 17 pounder cannon blown off.
Ano's tank smoked as the white flag fluttered on the turret. The T-35 was still in the fight, but broken down. Only it's 76mm turret and one of its 45mm guns were operational.
Every other tank except a BT-42, the T-35, and a Comet were knocked out.
Maho's Tiger I, Miho's Panzer IV, and Kay's Jumbo were all that were left in the big standoff.
Kay finished her coke, before dropping the empty van in her hatch. Maho glared at the American and the German tank, the growl of her tank convincing her to go all out.
The BT-42 and the Comet were on the hill, as the T-35 rumbled. Kenn eyed the other two tanks near his. It was clear they had no intention of fighting with this much intensity in the air.
"Three...", Miho whispered. Hana held the trigger in her hand, the gun just coaxing her to fire.
"Two.", Kay muttered.
Then Maho's Tiger I was knocked out by a blast to the side. An Archer and Rukuriri's Matilda sat atop a hill.
The Archer's QF 17 pounder smoked, as the Matilda II raced down the hill. Almost immediately, the T-35 fired both its turrets, instantly knocking out the British infantry tank.
Then the Comet fired at the T-35, taking out its 76mm. By then, the 45mm had reloaded and opened fire on the last Archer, which got knocked out.
Kenn smiled, as he heard the clank of the nearby 45mm gun's spring recoil.
"It's all up to you, commander.", Kenn said.
The BT-42 and the Comet took out the last gun, and the T-35 was immediately still, the roar of a fire in the back being heard.
Miho's tank opened fire on the Comet, destroying the cruiser tank, and removing St. Gloriana from the fight. The BT-42 and the Jumbo fired at the Anglerfish tank, taking out its Schürzen.
Hana fired the main cannon at the BT-42, knocking out its left bogies and leaving it on its side. The white flag popped out of the tank, and soon, all that was left was the heavy Sherman.
"Fire!", Kay yelled. The 75mm M3 gun of the Jumbo Sherman fired, striking and deflecting off the Panzer IV.
"Commander, how do we beat it? It's faster than our tank, and its rear is more armored than other Shermans we fought.", Yukari said.
"I can aim for its track, but the gun traverse is fast as well. Their gunner can knock us out before we can get a shot.", Hana said.
"I'm not sure if the tank can accelerate fast enough to dodge a shot.", Mako said.
Miho thought about this, as the Jumbo Sherman inched closer towards the Panzer IV. The 75mm gun barrel glistened in the sunlight.
Miho's eyes widened. "Aim at its gun.", she said.
Saori gasped. "Commander, that's a hard target to hit!", she said.
"I have faith in you, Hana. It's our only option to win.", Miho said.
"O-OK.", Hana said. In the tanks all around them, everyone was watching. Ano sat on his T-28, as the two tanks stayed silent.
Then the Panzer IV roared to life, and raced to flank the Sherman's right. Kay's tank immediately turned to keep its front up ahead, and fired.
The shell glanced the Panzer IV, and Hana fired.
The shot dinged the barrel, flying off into the distance. The Sherman fired again, and missed the Panzer IV.
"Reloaded!", Yukari said.
"Fire!", Miho said.
"Fire!", Kay yelled.
Both shells fired, and deflected off each other, both heading right.
There was a boom, and suddenly, screams filled the air.
"Oh my god!"
"Help!"
Everyone in the bleachers screamed in horror, as a technician ran to the truck carrying the screen.
"Shut it off, shut it off!", he yelled. The screen went blank, but the commotion continued.
The judges were escorted out of the area, as someone called emergency services.
Miho turned to see everyone running to the T-28, which she believed was Ano's.
"What's going on?", she asked. She jumped out her tank, and ran to see what was going on.
Yukari and Hana peeked out of the tank, as Saori climbed out. Mako looked outside, to see the panic everywhere.
Miho pushed past the crowd of tank crews, until she got to the middle. Her eyes widened as she looked at what was in front of her.
A body lay on the ground, missing the top of his torso. The Soviet tank uniform was bloodied, and a smoking tank shell was embedded in the ground where his torso was.
She turned to see Yuuki just staring, traumatized at this display. Next to her was Erwin, who was muttering something about a body being blown open with a tank shell.
She looked around, and her eyes widened even more when something else hit her.
"...where's Ano?"
(AN: Happy Valentines Day!)