Andou awoke with Oshida in bed. "What a fantastic night." She thought, they finally confessed.
Oshida woke up in turn and snuggled closer.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
"Wake up! We're leaving for the front!" James called.
"How did you find us?", Oshida questioned.
"I have my ways!", he responded.
"You do you and I'll do me, and we won't do each other,…. probably" called Andou.
"More like you two do each other!", he replied. Andou looked at Oshida, he knew.
"Okay, you win" the two shot back, got dressed and checked out, boarding the truck.
"Say, where's Rosehip and Pekoe?" Louie questioned.
An exhausted Pekoe stumbled on board gasping for air, "She already ran to the front" she exclaimed.
They chuckled and the truck drove off.
Darjeeling left the HQ and got some rest while Dupont trained troops to practice for the assault.
"We're back Darjeeling sama!" Rosehip dashed with boxes of tea. Darjeeling now wore an officer uniform, hat and revolver included. Pekoe blushed. "How charming" she exclaimed.
They arrived at the trenches, and assembled their numbers.
Ten days later, at midnight, they would approach the German lines with stealth. Artillery would then destroy barbed wire, and provide cover by a rolling barrage.
Adelmann inspected his ranks. The Kaiser himself was visiting and he was here to visit the time travelers, and possibly give them all an iron cross.
The member who gave him the most interest was Alice. She was a 12 year old child prodigy, and was even a university student to her mother's school before going down to high school as she felt alone.
She was a fantastic commander and although she was sickened by blood and other in juries and terrified of live fire, (expected of a 12 year old) she was a brilliant leader.
But she had an obsession with teddy bears wrapped in bandages called Boko, but she wasn't the only fan as according to Maho, her sister was also in the club.
Shark team emerged from the mess hall, with Cutlass who looked like she had enough.
He saw her riding on Murakami, giving her a piggy back ride, "Let's get some candy!" They ran down the hall.
He turned back to the planning room. There was much to plan.
Maho told him that the Spanish flu would get worse and it originated in Canada, instead of Spain which did not have wartime censorship.
Reinforcements were slow due to horrible terrain and precautions against disease.
Captured Prisoners were put under quarantine and handled by flamethrower teams which wore heavy gas masks and clothing, protecting them.
He brought up tanks and heavy bombers, and whatever remained of the airforce. A Zeppelin raid on London would divert resources and allow airstrikes on ports, Paris, and defensive lines.
He rejoined Maho and continued moving troops.
At midnight, the troops moved out, crawling through no man's land, cutting barbed wire under the cover of darkness.
Andou and Oshida hugged and crawled out. They advanced through the relatively flat ground as artillery wasn't used here to the same extent across the Marne.
Then artillery shells whistled ahead, cutting wire, and creating a screen of dust and smoke, blinding the defenders.
James food up, followed by the rest of the squad and division, charging the trenches and clearing them with grenades and flamethrowers.
"Move! schnell!", ordered Adelmann. The Germans fell back to the second trench and rallied a defense. More Canadian units flooded the trench and traded shots with the enemy.
But the Entente troops had planned. As the Germans fell back to the second trench, artillery already pounded the lines, suppressing the enemy.
"FORWARD!" ordered James as they rushed the command bunker.
"Scheisse! Move the machine back and call up reserves!" Adelmann called to Krueger.
Maho grabbed an mp 18 and moved Alice into a secure part of the bunker, shark team was rushing for their tank.
RATATTATAT German machine guns opened up cutting down several attackers.
"GET DOWN!" Louie called, causing the St Gloriana Girls to hit the ground as bullets zipped above.
The attackers took cover and formed a firing line. "James I have an idea!" called Louie.
"Yeah, shoot!", he replied. Louie turned to Rosehip. "You're fast right?" he spoke. "Yes Louie sama!" she replied as rounds flew over her. "Good, with your small size, I need you to flank those bastards and toss a grenade in!" Louie instructed, handing her a mills bomb. "We'll distract em."
Rosehip dashed out of cover as the attackers commenced walking fire, Rosehip tossed in the bomb and knocked the position and drove in the trench.
She felt a sharp whack behind the neck.
CRACK! Pekoe shot the sturmtrupp that knocked Rosehip out with a revolver.
"KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!" ordered James as they advanced.
Andou advanced, clearing the trenches with Oshida.
They reached an artillery position, "Gas shells," she said to Oshida.
"You alright here?", asked James. BANG! A mortar hit the shells, throwing them back and releasing a foul green fog. They scrambled to put on their masks.
Andou stood back up. Gas made identification impossible, combined with constant gunfire, flamethrowers and screaming and yelling, made it a scene from hell.
She felt a tap on her shoulder, "Follow me! James ordered as they snaked towards the bunker.
Maho comforted Alice, even singing the Boko song.
"Place the charges!", Pierre ordered, they were blowing the bunker open.
BANG! Maho threw down the table and took aim, German infantry rushed to heal the breach.
The defenders were taken out with brutal efficiency as the gas began flowing in.
Maho scrambled a mask on Alice, then her.
"Breach and clear!" called James, muffled, a grenade was tossed into a room, held shut until detonation, then opened and sprayed with gunfire.
The door to Maho and Alice's room opened, she opened fire.
"Open fire!", ordered James, Andou and Oshida let loose.
Maho returned fire. Click.
Empty.
"MOVE MOVE MOVE!", James ordered.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT!", Oshida yelled over the chaos.
"WHAT?" James replied. "TAKE THEM OUT OF THE BUNKER FIRST" She responded.
Maho raised her hands followed by Alice and were moved out the bunker and into fresh air.
Oshida ripped the mask off the prisoner then hers.
"Yup, that's the Nishizumi heiress, she's the time traveler alright." Oshida confirmed.
Everyone pulled off their masks, Pekoe dragged a knocked out Rosehip over.
"So we weren't the only time travelers?" asked Alice. "Pffffft, of course not, now we know Germany won Arras." Andou replied.
BANG!
A tank crested the hill, forcing the attackers and Maho with Alice retreated.