A/N: And I'm BACK! It's been a very tiring month for me at work. I almost had a burn out from the stress from work. Well, at least I managed to find time to write! AND TO CELEBRATE A VERY LONG CHAPTER!

My scanner finally works! Check out my blog for some of my drawings! I believe that I had improved quite a bit since my last few attempts, though still nowhere near where I want to be! I have a goal to be like Himura Kiseki-sensei. I really like his drawings.

It's: .com

The only character from this series I managed to add is Yuki. I'm more used to drawing fantasy characters than school type. And I'm used to drawing girls, mainly because males are too... square.

On another note, Little Busters the anime is out! Finally... That game is probably THE MOST TIRING GAME OF ALL KEY GAMES! I mean, seriously! To get the true end, you must replay the entire thing over and over again. Not to mention in order to complete certain endings, you must 'level-up' Riki and Rin and the only way to do that is to play the game multiple times. I spent over a whole week trying to level those two up! I won't spoil the ending for those of you who didn't play the game, so DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

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.SPOILER ALERT

But seriously, what sort of story is Little Busters? Where everyone is in a death dream created by Kyousuke? Isn't that a little too much like Angel Beats? I mean, okay, so in Little Busters no one is really dead and it is just a separate reality but still... AND WHO THE HELL IS KYOUSUKE THAT HE CAN CREATE A SEPARATE REALITY? !

My favourite characters are of course Saya and Rin. But Rin's voice actress is different from the game... so I don't know. And Saya only appeared in the ecstasy version of the game. Oh, I also like the public morals president, Kanata, Haruka's sister. She's a cooldere! And THANK YOU KEY FOR ADDING HERE INSIDE THE ECSTASY VERSION!

I'm glad they brought in a lot of the funny stuff from the battle game, like the random battle, Rin's mission to make friends, and the randomness of Kyousuke's sudden creation of phrases. Glad those are in.

I had a lot of problem with the battle system. Sometimes I would win sometimes I wouldn't. And is that Horie Yui's voice for Riki?

Those who played the game know that Rin is the main girl and Komari (or was it Komachi? Whatever, it is KOMARIMAX!) is a sub heroine, but a friend of mine seemed very adamant against it... is he an idiot?

For those who played the game must know that in my first story, I added the Little Busters inside. I also threw in that Kyousuke wanted Riki to be the leader. I actually got that from the game. Kyousuke wanted Riki and Rin to grow strong. Strong enough to accept the reality of the accident and everyone's death. Of course in the true end Riki and Rin managed to not only survive the ordeal, but they managed to change reality and save everyone. So in my story, I changed it and everyone died... what did I do? Why am I so sick and depressing?

I miss the old Little Busters theme song. The anime version is too... rock style...


Angel Beats!

What We Live For

Operation 44

Battle of the School: Against All Odds

Front-lines

At first it was silent. The two armies that gathered at the edge of the school grounds simply stood there, staring at each other from across the track field. The sky had long stopped snowing but the dark clouds that hung overhead were still there, seemingly attracted to the large scene that was about to occur below. Kusanagi Yamato sat in her tank, watching the enemy from her screen in her tank. Angels. The enemy that she was meant to fight as a guardian, but was never able to. She had received her black cloth too late, just mere hours before D-day occurred. She could have joined the legendary Guardians, fighting the most powerful enemies there was to fight.

But... was that what she really wanted? Fighting the most powerful enemy? Or just fighting in general? She had understood what Tomoyo had taught her, that power wasn't everything. So why did she want power so much? Why did she hunger for it so eagerly? To prove something? To who? There wasn't anyone from her life that ended up in the afterlife. She had nothing to prove to anyone in the SSS2 for they had all held something in their past. It was pointless to prove her strength in the afterlife. It meant nothing to everyone. So why was she fighting this war? Simply to find an end to it? Where was her own closure to her pain? She had not found it through fighting, but it was all she knew.

"Ma'am! Battleship Yamato has fired!"

She did not need to hear that report. She could clearly hear the high pitched whistling sounds in the air as the heavy rounds from the battleship flew overhead towards the enemy army.

"... With this... the beginning of the end... starts with the rain of fire."

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

The track field exploded in fiery explosions as the rounds from the battleship impacted into the ground at their designated targets.

"Thunder Battalion is firing as well!"

The artillery batteries that were up on the high ground fired their rounds in conjunction with the rounds from the battleship, causing even larger explosions. Yamato could feel the entire hull of her tank shudder, the nuts and bolts rattling almost loosely in their holes from the sheer impact. It was like going through a magnitude 11 earthquake from the distance Yamato was at. The infantry troops took cover in their shallow trenches from the blasts, covering their ears as the explosions carried on. The barrage of heavy rounds continued to rain down on the enemy for a good five minutes before the artillery batteries stopped firing. The battleship Yamato had stopped their attack. Most likely the order for them to stop firing came from Kyou. Yamato knew better than to stop the order for the attack. As the dust from the explosions settled, Yamato could see the carnage. The large craters left behind from the explosions were vast, deep and numerous. But...

"... Tch... as expected."

Yamato muttered as the dust cleared, revealing the enemy.

'"E-enemy forces... no damage."'

The report came through the comms. She could sense fear and disappointment in the men, but they knew it as well. Those are Angels. Amongst those Angels are those that can erect large shields to deflect all damage away from them and those shielded by them. And that was what happened. Though faint, Yamato could see slight distortions in the air surrounding the Angel army. She knew how these shields work. Data left over from the Guardians that were passed to all Division leaders was what gave them the answers.


One day before, Assault Division Fortress

"A guidebook?"

Yamato raised an eyebrow at Kyou. Kyou simply smiled and nodded her head, reaching into the drawer of the desk in the office and pulled out a small worn out notebook. She sat down in the chair and placed the book on the desk, gesturing Yamato to take a look.

"All division leaders were given this book by the Guardians. This is Ein's copy. Within it details the habits, abilities and classes of Angels. While not a complete guide, it can serve to be an excellent source for our battle plans."

Kyou said as Yamato flipped through the pages of the worn out book. Within it detailed each and every aspect of the Angels, their habits, their abilities, their appearances. Before D-day, Angels were only limited to twenty at any given time, and those twenty constantly switched with other NPCs at random. But within this guidebook detailed each and every NPC who had become an Angel, or was still one. Yamato came across one page that was titled 'EX Angel'. Strangely, not a lot was written on this entry as compared to the others.

"The EX Angel... I really hope we don't meet that one."

Kyou muttered gravely.

"Is it really that dangerous?"

"More than you ever think. No one really knows the true capabilities of the EX Angel, and I had only caught a mere glimpse of him, everyone could tell that he was extremely bad news. Only Kou can fight him on even footing, and even that battle lasted nearly ten days and nights in a row. Anyway, we have not seen any signs of the EX Angel this time round, so at least that is something good out of this nightmare."

Kyou muttered, throwing her weight against the back of the chair. According to the guidebook, the EX Angel appears when specific and violent environmental changes occur. If the EX Angel only appeared once, how could they be so certain what were the signs? But since it was written by the Guardians themselves, she guessed she could trust them.

"The main thing to take note of when fighting the Angels, is their shields. Regenerative abilities can be dealt with enough explosives and fire power, or a stab from a black essence weapon in the right area. No, their main defensive capability is their shields."

Kyou pointed out. Yamato knew all about the Angel Shields. Almost impossible to penetrate. It was a large distortion of the air around the Angle, allowing them to deflect projectiles of any sort. Melee weapons, however, were weighted, larger and were in direct control of the user, therefore allowing such weapons to by-pass their shields. But melee weapons came with an extremely large risk.

"We need to get close to get pass their shields and inflict damage."

That was the main problem that Yamato pointed out. Kyou nodded in agreement, knitting her eyebrows as she thought about the prospect of fighting toe-to-toe with an Angel. Worst case scenario being a fight with a Type S Angel.

"Most, if not all of our men cannot even stand up against a Type E Angel. We cannot expect them to fight head-on. Luckily for us, there is a tiny work around that."

Kyou said, getting up to her feet.

"Work-around?"

"Yes. If you look at the later entries of the Guardians, you can see that they discovered a flaw in the shields against projectiles."

Yamato flipped to the later pages and after reading through a few pages, found the answer Kyou was talking about.

"... This is-"

"Yes, this will be our trump card. But we only can get one shot at this. Best to make this work the first time."


Front-lines, present

And she will make this work. For this one shot, Yamato will gamble everything she has for it to work. She tapped her earpiece, connecting to the loudspeakers attached to her tank, and to the comms network.

"All men, now is the time! Press the attack! FORWARD!"

Yamato moved her tank forward, charging straight for the enemy, leading the wave of tanks that formed the line into a large charge of moving tanks.

"Load corrosive round, FIRE!"

Yamato's tank fired, sending the dangerous round straight into the enemy. The round passed through the shields and exploded into a crowd of Angels, sending them flying as well as disintegrating them with a strong acid.

"I-it... it works! The commander's round went through their shields!"

"We can do it!"

"Steel battalion, moving!"

"Don't let the commander go out alone! Give her some covering fire! Anvil Battalion, move out!"

The other tanks followed suit, firing their rounds as they advanced forward.

"Vector battalion, advancing!"

"Don't fall behind the tanks! Infantry, move up!"

A huge war cry erupted as the entire SSS2 front lines started to charge out against their enemies. Infantry rushed out of the trenches, charging while firing their weapons. APCs, rushing forward and ploughing through enemies before unloading their troops, who ended the lives of the crippled foe unfortunate enough to be in the way of the transports. Additional tanks from the rear pushed forward, catching up with the infantry that tried to push forward. They had gained their momentum. And it was all thanks to the Guardian's reports.

"What is going on, Commander?"

Yoshika asked as other tanks went past Hammer 1, charging straight and firing at the same time.

"The Angels have a weakness in their shields. They need to calibrate their shields to withstand a certain amount of force and pressure, thus rendering it useless against smaller and slower moving projectiles. The previous attack by the artillery battalions were meant to force the Angels to calibrate their shields to withstand heavy fire from the artillery batteries, and they aren't prepared for us."

Yamato explained. However, there were problems with this solution. One, most shields were created by lower ranked Angels, leaving the higher ranking ones, and the more dangerous ones to fight the enemies. The second problem was that once the shields were calibrated to withstand a certain magnitude impact, that memory would stay with the shields meaning even though the shields were to be recalibrated to withstand smaller rounds, the larger rounds would still be repelled against. The last problem... was how fast the shields could be recalibrated.

"... Press the attack!"

Yamato ordered. She will not let them recover to mount a counter-attack. Not at this stage.


Forward Mobile Command Post, Avalon

"Argos Battalion is moving up to the West."

"Steel and Anvil Battalion are on route to objective point."

"Knife battalion is engaging with hostile on the Eastern front."

"Sword Battalion is moving to reinforce the front-lines"

"Assault squadrons are engaging the enemy on all fronts."

The string of reports mindless entered her head, not completely registering as she looked down at the tactical map.

"Commander? Commander, are you alright?"

She looked up and saw one of the radio operators looking worryingly at her.

"... I'm alright. Do you need something?"

The radio operator looked slightly hesitant at her answer, but handed her the report anyway.

"The troops are pushing forward and taking out several shield holders, but at this rate, they may not be able to take out all in time for the recalibration."

"... I figured as much."

She muttered, looking back at the tactical map. The entire SSS2 was committed to the fight, not a single reserve unit remained. Even Tomoyo's unit was out in the field, adding support to Yamato's charge. The Battleship Yamato was continuing down stream, firing as it went along.

"... Have the troops continue their attack. Get Thunder battalion and the Battleship to concentrate fire on the Shadows at the rear of the enemy lines. Get Viking Battalion to push towards the West. We need those dormitory buildings cleared out to give ourselves the advantage."

"Yes ma'am."

The operator nodded and went back to his post to relay the orders. As she studied the map, she knew that the time would soon come. For now, they hold the advantage... but the true fight... has not started.


Western Front, Dormitory buildings

"Move, move, move!"

"Squad 4, take the third floor!"

"2nd squad, on me!"

The Assault infantry troops rushed the dormitories, taking the fight to the Angels themselves. They stormed each floor, kicking down doors and killing anything that moved inside. It was a massacre.

"Room clear!"

"Room clear!"

"Hallway clear!"

"Second floor, clear!"

"Shoot anything that isn't the SSS2! No matter who or what they say they are!"

He ordered as he walked into the lobby of the dormitory block C. Stepping on broken glass and pools of blood, he wondered if the world had all gone wrong. Fighting against NPCs. They weren't human, but they still resembled one. He stopped by a lifeless body of an NPC. Her dead, soul-less eyes staring hollowly at him. She could have been an unconverted NPC, just minding her own business without knowing what was happening. But it wasn't meant to be. All NPCs were their enemies. That was the order given from above. Don't leave a single one alive. He closed his eyes, wanting to shut out the image.

"Sergeant, all floors cleared."

A private reported to him. He opened his eyes, showing the stress and fatigue from all of this fighting. He just wanted to end it now.

"Get the snipers and machine gun nests at every window facing the enemy at the track field. The main force needs our support."

He ordered. This was the whole reason why the upper command wanted them to take control of the dormitories. For its prime location to provide heavy support for the troops down at the track field.

"Right away, sergeant."

The private responded and went off to relay his orders. He sighed, running his fingers through his sweat soaked hair. He paused, looking at his hand. There were strands of hair tangled between his fingers. Was he balding?

"... I'm getting too old for this."


Front-lines

'"Commander, this is Assault force One. Our troops have taken over the Dormitories."'

The comms unit in her headset announced.

"Good. Provide firing support from your position."

'"Understood ma'am."'

She tapped her earpiece to change frequencies of her radio.

"I want the entire Viking battalion to move up. We're pushing forward."

'"Viking battalion here, we hear you command. Moving up."'

"I want all P-1500 Monsters to-"

'"C-Command! T-the tower! Something is happening!"'

Her radio suddenly shouted. Something is happening? Yamato immediately turned her tank's visual to the dark tower that stood ahead. From the middle of the tower, a small light seemed to be radiating. The light slowly grew in brightness and intensity, growing in size as a feeling of dread started to seep into her. Whatever it was, it can't be good.

"What is that-"

Without warning, the light shot out an intense beam, cutting its way through the ground and tracing a line through the SSS2 line.

BOOM

The beam had caused an entire line of destruction, explosions following its lead killing SSS2 troops and destroying tanks that were caught in its path.

'"C-commander!"'

'"AAHHHH!"'

'"M-My Legs!"'

'"T-they cut through Yaiko!"'

'"Dagger 4 and 6 are burning up!"'

'"P-Put it out! Put it out!"'

'"It burns!"'

'"S-Save me-"'

'"E-Enemies pushing through our lines!"'

'"The enemy is surrounding our Eastern flank!"'

'"A-Angels-GAHHH!"'

'"Dammit! Cannibals got our squad leader!"'

'"Angels are on the offensive!"'

'"Commander! We need to pull back!"'

Pull back? Pull back to where? That crazy tower just shot out a beam that cut through their front line. And they had no retreat. They were all here, all fighting for their lives. Yamato knew that this was her all-in gambling hand. She was afraid of that tower as well. Afraid of what it could do. But still, she needed to press on.

"Don't give up! Do not falter! All units, FORWARD! Hammer Battalion, on me! Yoshika, full throttle!"

Yoshika was slightly stunned by her words, but then turned to her front.

"A-Aye ma'am! Full throttle! All Hammer, follow my lead!"

Yoshika shouted as she put the tank into high gear, digging up dirt as the giant metal machine sped forward.

'"Hammer 2 to Hammer 1, We've got your back command."'

'"Hammer 6 to Hammer 1, following your lead commander."

'"Hammer 12, moving."'

'"Hammer 15, inbound."'

'"Hammer 10 to Hammer 4, get back in your lane!"'

'"Hammer 4 to Hammer 10, I came first, so get in line if you want to kill something!"'

Hammer Battalion rushed forward, speeding past the retreating SSS2 troops and straight into their enemy, ramming into several Angels as they charged forward. Hammer Battalion, the command battalion of the front line, was forcing their way through the enemy offensive. One of the tanks rammed straight into an Angel that brought out his shields, preventing the tank from running him over, but the tank turned its turret at full speed, sending the long barrel of the tank straight into the side of the Angel and sending him flying off. Firing their rockets, Hammer Battalion rained down missiles onto the Angels and scattering the large amount of lower ranked Angels that were concentrated before them. The scene of their fearless charge made the fleeing SSS2 troops stop, rally together and charge once more.

"Fort troops, don't let the tanks get all the glory!"

"The commander is still fighting, let's give her all the back-up we have!"

"You're retreating the wrong way! The enemy is that way!"

"Assault Squad 2! Head the Eastern flank! Let's show those Angels what we're made of!"

"We are Viking Battalion! How can our P-1000 lose out to smaller Type 90 tanks? ! ALL VIKINGS! FORWARD!"

"What do you think you're doing? ! That's my rifle! Get your own!"

"Enemies are pressing forward!"

"Good! More enemies to kill!"

"You didn't get more kills than me! That Gigas only counts as 1!"


Battleship, Yamato

"Ten degrees down... Fire!"

The giant guns of the battleship Yamato fired its rounds into the sky, shelling down on positions given to them by spotters looking over the battle from a distance. While these spotters could fight, they were more used to hiding in places to give area coordination for artillery and for the Yamato.

"The enemy is spawning more Shadows. I guess they are trying to buy their Angels more time to recuperate."

One of Yamamoto Takanari's lieutenants said, looking over the map in the centre of the bridge.

"Then we must hit the Angels while they are running away!"

One shouted, banging his fist on the table.

"Don't be stupid, Shou. Those Angels have their shields calibrated to withstand our attacks. Shelling on their position would do nothing more than irritate them."

"Then what can we do? ! We can't just fire at the tower itself, can we?"

Takanari raised an eyebrow at that question.

"The tower..."

He muttered, looking over at the map. He trailed his finger along the river line then stopped.

"... Tenzo, what is the furtherest we can fire our guns?"

He asked one of his lieutenants who looked at him, surprised by the sudden question.

"A-about 10 Kilometres."

Tenzo replied.

"Captain, you're not thinking of firing on the tower, are you? On a normal day, our guns can hit any position on the school grounds and even beyond, but this isn't a normal day! Not only is that tower massively distorted, but the entire school grounds have expanded nearly a hundred times!"

One of the lieutenants spoke up.

"The entire track field is nearly a hundred kilometres in length now. It must be the doing of the tower."

"Or it could be the massive concentration of black essence in the area."

Tenzo added. Takanari rubbed his chin in thought. He would stroke his beard if he had one.

"... 10 Kilometres, am I right?"

Takanari asked once more. Tenzo wanted to say something but kept silent, simply nodding in reply. Takanari took a ruler and measured the distance on the map.

"... I see. Right, there is one place we can use. Here."

Takanari said, pointing to a certain point along the river. His lieutenants all looked at the point his finger was at and-

"Captain! you can't be serious!"

"That's in the middle of Angel territory! The tanks haven't been able to push that far yet!"

"And what's worse is that is where the bridge is! We can't get into position with the bridge in the way!"

BAM

Takanari silenced everyone with his fist banging on the table.

"... Listen to yourselves. Are you all the same men I fought with for so many years? We have sworn to fight till the death and at any cost to attain victory."

Takanari said, narrowing his eyes at his lieutenants who were all left speechless.

"... B-but captain, the bridge is in the way."

"Even if we fire on the bridge with this amount of black essence around, the bridge would merely regenerate immediately-"

"Don't worry about it, Tenzo. I've got a plan. Youmu!"

Takanari shouted to the helmsman.

"Sir!"

"I want this ship at full speed! Do not slow down, do not stop. We shall take this river all the way down to the school area, am I clear?"

"Aye sir!"

With that, Takanari smiled, looking at his lieutenants as his plan finally dawned upon them.

"C-captain, you don't mean- Captain! The ship would be unable to withstand such an impact!"

"There isn't a point in life you should waste on mere speculations without trying! Full speed ahead! We will ram it to the ground!"


Forward Mobile Command Unit, Avalon

"Battleship Yamato is increasing its speed!"

The report suddenly came in, making her look up.

"What? Where is it heading?"

Kyou asked.

"It's heading down river. Destination... it's heading straight for the school!"

The school? The strategists were all murmuring amongst themselves, no doubt this sudden change in plans had caught them all by surprise. Yamamoto Takanari. She knew him all the way back when he was just a recruit. He was headstrong and had a good mind for strategy. Kyou was the one who nominated him to be the Heavy's Squad leader. Unfortunately, he was often brash with the choices presented to him. While his objective is sound, his choice of getting there was more or less questionable. Kyou traced his current route on her map. His path will take him through the middle of Angel territory. But she knew he had a plan. He was good at getting into trouble but at the same time he was good at getting out of said troubles. She knew that trying to change his mind now was pointless.

"... Connect me to the Yamato."

"Y-yes ma'am!"

The operator flipped a few switches before the loud speakers in the command post crackled to life.

"This is Avalon Command. Battleship Yamato, explain your course."

Kyou spoke out loud enough for the microphone to pick up her voice.

'"... This is Battleship Yamato's captain, Yamamoto Takanari. Our course of action is clear, Avalon Command. We will bring our ship as close to the tower as possible and fire upon it."'

So that was his plan. She knew he was reckless, but to this extent?

"You do know that you would have to enter enemy territory without any back-up. Are you still willing to proceed?"

'"We are well aware of the risk, Avalon Command. We will continue on course as planned."'

Kyou closed her eyes with a slight smile. Though she knew that their fate would be sealed with this decision, if they were willing to do it, she could not stop them.

"... Alright. Battleship Yamato, continue course of action. Good luck. Avalon Command out."

'"Thank you Avalon Command. See you on the other side. Battleship Yamato out."'

With that, the connection of cut. The strategists and operators all turned to look at Kyou, waiting for whatever reaction she might have. Silence fell on the command post, only the various beeping sounds from the computer systems cut through the deadly still silence. Kyou knew that this war would have risks. Without such a gamble, they would not have made such a push for their goal. Casualties are inevitable. She knew that. She opened her eyes, looking up to all of the members in the command post. All waiting for her. For her word. For her command. She could only smile at that thought. Her word... her words were meaningless back then. And now they all look to her for them?

"... Such irony.."

She muttered before clenching her fist and slamming it onto the table.

"All units, start phase 3 of the Operation! Let's kick things into high gear!"

"YES MA'AM!"


Front-lines

"Thunder Battalion is on the move!"

"What?"

Yamato looked away from her visor and pressed her ear piece deeper into her ear to get a clear hearing.

'"This is Thunder Battalion catapult squad. We're moving in with phase 3."'

The static made little difference to Yamato. Phase three. So Kyou was moving ahead with her plans. She looked ahead. The troops were pushing hard against the Angels and the Shadows but their adversaries were not given ground easily. If that was the case...

"... Hammer 1 to ground troops. Phase 3 has been activated. I repeat, phase 3 has been activated. All Forward attackers, switch arms and prepare to commence main assault."

Yamato spoke calmly yet strongly through the comms. All was silent on the networks for a few seconds. Then one by one, the infantry troops began to drop their rifles. They took their spare ammunitions out of their holders and dropped them onto the ground like their rifles. Assault and Fort soldiers began to discard their main weapons, dropping them or throwing aside. Though not all of the soldiers did it, it was clear that nearly 70 percent of the entire SSS2 ground troops were participating in this action. This action caught the Angels by surprise and it caused them to pause in their attacks. Then, the soldiers who discarded their rifles pulled their winter cloaks aside, each revealing another weapon by their sides or backs.

"BATOU!"

All of the soldiers drew their new weapons. Swords, maces, spears, axes, war hammers, two handed swords, tridents, rapiers, daggers. The gleaming edges of the sharpened weapons reflected the fierce determination in the eyes of their wielders as well as the fear within the eyes of their enemies.

"... CHARGE!"

" "OOOOUUUUUU!" "

With one unified mighty war cry, the SSS2 charged once more, heading straight for their nemesis. The Angels switched their weapons to rifles and guns, shooting at the charging SSS2 and trying to cut down as many as possible but they would not stop. Their charge rushed at the Angels like a tidal wave, swallowing all in their wake with torrents of steeled weaponry. With close range weapons, the Angels were forced to abandon their shields as they were useless against the heavier weight of swords. Troops charged in, slicing, cutting their foes. Foes who were caught by surprise by the sudden change in tactics that they could do little than to flounder and be cut down. Those that managed to defend against the initial attack were quickly swarmed and cut down as well. The Angels were on the run.

"Now! Tank battalions, press the attack!"

'"Roger!"'

The tanks began their charge once more, this time following the lead of the infantry troops into the battle. Yamato knew that this turn of the tide will only last for a small window. But even so, such a window must still be taken-

"C-commander! The tower is-"

"What? !"

It was too fast. The window of opportunity was too short! The tower charged once more and fired its beam, cutting through the SSS2 forces once more. Infantry were cut through like a knife through butter. Make that a heated knife through melted butter. Tanks were sliced cleanly through, exploding into fiery infernos of death that consumed not only those within but those around the tank.

"Tch! Don't falter! Keep attacking!"

Yamato ordered furiously. She could not let the enemy get a chance to counter their attack.

'"Shadows are on the move!"'

'"G-Gigas! A whole group of them!"'

She looked forward and saw them. Giant, towering monstrosities of dark mist. There had to be more than a thousand of them. That was too much.

"... But even if it is too much, I cannot falter here!"

"Commander! There's something going on behind enemy lines!"

Yoshika shouted. Yamato looked through her visor and saw it. A sort of shining light at the back of the enemy forces. Was it some sort of super weapon the enemy was bringing out into the field? Or was it some sort of summoning? Either way it didn't spell too good for them. Then she saw them. Snow white feathers.

"... Wings?"


Battleship Yamato

"Hard to port!"

"Enemies are approaching from both Port and Starboard sides!"

"Get fire teams to shoot them before they can reach the ship! Aim those AA guns to add more fire power!"

"MORTARS!"

"Hard to starboard!"

"Too late! Brace for impact!"

BOOM

The bridge rocked violently as the ship was hit by enemy fire. Yamamoto Takanari held onto the table to steady himself, clenching his teeth as the situation started to get worse with each passing second. The enemy had noticed their presence as expected and were attacking en masse.

"Fire down on deck 7!"

"Engineering deck is flooding!"

"Seal those decks!"

"But we still have men down there!"

"Shadows are approaching!"

"What the hell are the fire teams doing? !"

Takanari demanded as the ship rocked violently once more.

"A-All fire teams are combating Shadows that boarded from the Starboard side!"

"Shadows boarding from our Port side!"

The enemy was far superior in number than he realized. But that did not change his plan. They were already so deep into enemy territory that there was no going back.

"Far far more to the bridge? !"

Takanari shouted to the navigator.

"Twenty more minutes!"

"Good! Hold steady on course! I will stop them!"

Takanari shouted, grabbing his rifle from the weapon's locker on the bridge are ran out, followed by several of his lieutenants and guards. The ship was taking on heavy damage and leaks were sprung almost everywhere. Fire was raging below decks and could be seen from the stairways. He was about to take the main stairwell but a sudden explosion rocked the entire ship. Takanari scrambled to his feet and looked down the stairwell.

"This way is no good. We'll have to-... Take the other stairwell down to the deck level. I'll meet you guys there."

Takanari said as he looked down the main stairwell that had fire flicking down below. The lieutenants and guards looked confused but nodded and hurried off.

"... Now then."

Takanari readied his rifle at the bottom of the stairwell, knowing that something was approaching. And sure enough, engulfed in flames was a Shadow, opening its gaping dark mouth as though it was some sort of fire demon.

"Die you damn monsters!"

Takanari shouted, firing rounds into the Shadow before pulling out a grenade from his pocket. Pulling the pin, he tossed the grenade down the stairwell and took cover. The explosion that followed was minute compared to the mortar shelling from the enemy but it was still quite an impact. Takanari got up and looked down, seeing a large hole where the stairs once were. No enemy would be using this way any more He closed the hatch of the door and sealed it shut before picking up his rifle and hurrying off after the others. Rushing down the stairs, another blast violently shook the ship, causing Takanari to miss a step, falling and slamming against the steel wall. He was sure he dislocated his arm.

"Tch..."

He gritted his teeth to endure the pain as he made his way down the stairs and out onto the deck. The deck was in a complete state of chaos, large holes punched through the floor deck, flames were all around, Shadows were starting to pour over the railings and the various teams of fighters were trying to push the enemy back. They were being completely overrun. But he would not give up here. Not now, not in this hour. He looked at his dislocated arm. Without it he could not fight at full strength. Clenching his teeth, he placed his rifle onto the floor with the stock of the rifle facing up. Taking in a deep breath, he forced his arm onto the rifle, slamming his full weight against it. The stock pushed his arm hard, snapping the joints back into place.

"NNNNGGGHHH!"

He tried not to scream out. The pain was immense and almost unbearable. But for this, he will do almost anything to ensure his mission succeeds. Getting up to his feet, Takanari wiped the sweat from his brows. His vision was slightly blurred from the pain but he could still fight. Picking up his rifle, he steadied his aim. He could see the bridge closing in. They were very close.

"... Time to wreck havoc."


Forward Mobile Command Post, Avalon

"Battleship Yamato, taking on heavy enemy fire."

"Vision Battalion has been wiped out."

"Vector Battalion is taking heavy casualties"

"Wolves 1st regiment is being routed."

"Edge 3rd regiment is facing heavy resistance."

These were not the kind of reports she wanted to hear. Fujibayashi Kyou stared at the war map, watching as the fight began to take on a darker turn. Going in close combat was a good idea to push the enemy and force them to be on the defensive, but with that tower shooting lasers and cutting through their ranks, it was a pointless assault. The enemy had also managed to get nearly a hundred Gigas class Shadows out onto the field.

"Commander, troops on the field are reporting a new type of enemy."

Now that was really bad news.

"A new type? What sort of enemy has appeared now?"

Kyou asked back, concerned by this sudden change of events. It was too much too fast.

"The Angels... troops are reporting that there are several flying Angels."

"... WHAT? !"

"Reports from the ground report winged Class B and above Angel type enemies are appearing on the battlefield!"

"Guard 1 is engaging Winged Angels."

"What are they fighting the enemy with?"

"Guard 1 reports that they are using H.A.I.L. belts and nets to bring the flying enemies down but it is taking too long."

Kyou stared in disbelief as the news started to hit her. Flying enemies? They had no counter for that sort of enemy! They had never faced any enemy who flew! The tanks were not equipped for anti-air offensives and the majority of the ground forces had discarded their rifles for close range combat! Since when did the enemy hide this sort of power? !

'"We didn't know such abilities exist either, Fujibayashi."'

Iris's cold voice came through the comms network.

"Is there a way to combat them?"

'"... Thus far what Guard 1 is doing is the most effective other than spraying bullets into the air and hope to hit something. But only troops with the right training can possibly even hope to score a hit. We can only trust Guard 1 for this task."'

Iris replied, her slight change in tone suggesting that she was as frustrated about this as Kyou was.

"That is not something I can do!"

Kyou snapped, slamming her fists on the war map.

'"... So what do you plan on doing?"'

Kyou closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do. There was nothing left but that. She opened her eyes once more and looked up.

"I will go onto the battlefield."

'"... Hmph, so the Boar has finally awakened."'

"I will not let the SSS2 simply vanish and die in vain before this threat! Taizo! You're in charge of this command post now!"

Kyou shouted, turning around and grabbing her coat.

"Yes ma'am!"

Just as Kyou was about to leave the command room, a sudden blaring sound alerted all within the room.

"The tower is charging up!"

"Where is it aiming at? !"

"Calculating trajectory-"

"Too late! Tower is firing!"

"H-Hammer Battalion is hit!"

That report struck Kyou the hardest. Hammer Battalion. Yamato. Without a moment's hesitation, Kyou dashed out of the command room while the Operators were still frantically trying to re-establish communications with Hammer 1 but to no avail.

"Avalon to Hammer 1. Come in Hammer 1. RESPOND DAMMIT!"


Front-lines

Her ears were ringing. Her head was feeling heavy like a dead weight of lead mixed with mercury. What sort of weight is that? Her vision was dark and her body was numb. She couldn't feel anything. Was she dead? What a stupid question. She's already dead. But was she dead-'dead' dead... What the heck is that? Dead dead dead? There was no need to repeat that three times! And even so, what sort of meaning was that? ! It was like some weird chant by a baby cultist who probably thought the strawberry was the ultimate sacrifice to make to the pagan pet cat or something and summon extra servings of milk.

Ah, this was bad, her mind was going nuts by thinking weird stuff again. Why must her brain work in such weird manners? Nevermind. Back to her current situation. She had 'died' before in this Afterlife and she knew how it felt. Definitely not like this. She could still think of flying monkeys and the weird after-taste of the takoyaki from that stall back at the Fortress. So she wasn't dead. Wait... after-taste? As she thought about it, feelings began to come back to her. The numbness was soon replaced with a dull throbbing pain that coursed throughout her body. Colour started to come back to her sights. Shapes. She could make out some shapes.

"...Ha... Ava... come... mer..."

A strange sound was not clearly registering in her ears. What was it? She tried to focus.

"... Hammer... Ava... Repeat..."

She blinked a few times. She was sitting in a large mess. Dented metal with holes, wires everywhere. She tried to remember what happened. Angels... Wings. That's right, she spotted the new type of Angels who could fly and had instructed Guard 1 to use the HAIL belts to take them down. Then what happened? She remembered giving orders to the ground troops... then... a sound? No.. the tower. That's right, the tower. She could vaguely recall Yoshika telling her that the tower was charging up. Then brightness, then darkness. So, she was hit by the tower's beam. But somehow it didn't hit her directly. Her tank, Hammer 1, was badly damaged. The hull was dented in at so many angles and holes in them that could allow her to see the battle outside. Her headset was snapped in two and the radio hails from other units were barely getting through the static. Sparks flew from exposed circuits and wires, making her flinch.

She cleared her vision and saw that a large piece of metal was sticking out from her abdomen. She did not even realize she was injured. She grabbed onto the metal and gritting her teeth, she yanked out the metal piece, causing a large amount of pain to sear throughout her entire body. But her body was still somewhat numb thus it dulled most of the pain. She had no way to bandage the wound but thankfully it wasn't fatal. The piece had missed all of her organs and just stabbed her. She could bleed out but for now she had to hold on. She looked at the other two crew members of Hammer 1. Wataru was completely gone. Only an arm remained. Yoshika. Yoshika was in a bad shape but at least she was still in one piece.

"C-Commander... g-good to s-see y-you're... o-okay."

Yoshika croaked, forcing a smile. Yamato tried to reach out to her driver but the wreckage was blocking her way.

"G-go, C-commander... I-I'll c-catch up..."

"Yoshika..."

Yamato knew that if she left Yoshika in here, Yoshika could end up converted, or worse... disappear. She tried to reach out once more but the gap was too small. Yoshika simply smiled, shaking her blood covered head.

"I-I just need... a... little... nap."

Yoshika smiled as her eyes closed slowly and her body simply slumped. Yamato gritted her teeth. She did not want to leave Yoshika like this, but she had no choice. She looked up and saw that the hatch was broken at the hinges. She pushed the hatch aside, letting the cold air flow in. The sounds of battle seemed so distant though she knew that she was right in the middle of it. She pushed herself up, wincing slightly at the pain that bit at her side, and forced herself out of the wreckage. The battle was still on going around her as she pulled herself out of the tank. The tower's beam had cut a clean path just a few centimetres away from her own tank, thus allowing her to escape most of the damage but the after blast was what got her tank in the end. Several field medics were battling their way towards the wreckages with Fort infantry pushing forward to guard the medics and buy them time.

Yamato looked behind and saw that her weapon was still attached to the rear of the tank in one piece. Her legs were still not able to walk properly, thus she had to pull herself across the smoking hull of her tank, reaching to the rear and unfastening the grips that held her weapon in place. Her weapon, Gestugan-Tengan, was free from any scratches, burns or any visible damage. As expected of Musashi, the weapons he make were tough and durable. The weight of the weapon seemed to heavy now. Perhaps she had lost more strength that she realized just by climbing out. She let her body slide off the side of the tank, landing straight into the dirt below. She winced at the pain, using her weapon to prop herself up.

"Commander! It's the commander! I need a team right away!"

She heard one of the medics shout. She looked up and saw a team of medics rushing over to her. But suddenly a large Shadow jumped at them, catching them off guard. The sheer impact of the Shadow's appearance caused the medics and her to lose their footing. She hit the floor on her wounded side hard, causing an immense pain to stab at her.

"C-cannibal!"

"GAAAHH!"

"Yoshihiko!"

"S-stay away!"

The medics had no guard with them and soon they were all devoured by the Shadow. It was a grisly sight to see and Yamato could do nothing. The pain was immense and though her vision was slightly blurred by it, she could still make out the blood, the torn limbs, all over the place. The cannibal noticed her and started to head towards her. Was this her end? Was this how she would die? Well, she was dead already, but was it how she would lose to fate? She forced herself to sit up, blood from a wound on her head started to colour her vision red. She grabbed a dropped magazine and pushed it into her weapon. The cannibal had no idea what she was doing and simply continued to lumber towards her with its blood stained jaws gaping at her. She aimed her weapon at the cannibal, her aim unstable and wandering. But she will survive. No matter what. She gritted her teeth as she squeezed the trigger.

"Die you bloody monster!"

Her weapon discharged the bullets in a hail storm of lead, peppering the cannibal, forcing it to stop and stagger back as bullets tore through its body. Yamato held onto the trigger until no more bullets were fired, only the clicking sound of the empty chamber was left. The cannibal staggered a little but wasn't down. She yanked out the empty magazine and snapped the weapon open, picking up a mortar shell and slotting it inside the main chamber, snapping the weapon back and aiming it at the cannibal.

"Get lost."

She muttered as she pulled the trigger. The cannon fired the shell straight at the cannibal. The mortar shell exploded upon impact, creating an explosion that tore the cannibal into shreds and it nearly sent Yamato flying if it weren't for the wreckage of her tank. Yamato held onto her tank as the wind from the blast died down. The dust settled, revealing a large crater where the cannibal once stood. The Shadow was gone but how many more were left on the field? As if right on cue, a few more Shadows appeared, attracted by the suddenly explosions on the field. Yamato looked around her. No more ammunition were lying around for her to use. The Shadows had noticed her and were closing in for the kill. It was weird. Yamato, who had never feared death, was feeling... shaky.

Deep within, she knew it. She was trying to be strong on the outside. Trying to convince others that she was strong. Trying to convince herself that she was strong. She wasn't. She wasn't strong at all. She was just a girl. A simple girl. One who lost her family to madness and the cruel fate of the World. She tried to be strong, strong enough to survive, strong enough to prevent herself from being used by others. But no matter how hard she tried to be strong, she could never change who she was within. The Shadows were starting to get close. So this was her end? She had faced countless impossible battles. She had been outmatched, outwitted at every turn. Yet she still pulled through. No matter how, where or what she had always gotten through. This will be no different.

"Access: Bookmarker!"

A large thick blade flew straight at the Shadows, piercing through one Cannibal type Shadow before impacting the ground and causing an explosion to engulfed the others.

"Kusanagi!"

She turned at the call of her name and saw Fujibayashi Kyou running towards her. What was the Command post's leader doing here? She was meant to look at the entire field... unless the situation was that bad.

"Kusanagi! Are you alright?"

Kyou asked, running up to Yamato and kneeling down to inspect the wounds.

"They... aren't... that bad.."

Yamato muttered, wincing at the pain as Kyou took a bandage to wrap the wound at her abdomen.

"They are bad! You'll bleed out if you don't get medical help soon!"

"I'll... heal... before... I die..."

"Don't be stupid!"

Yamato only smirked at that reply.

"What.. is the leader... doing... out in front?"

"Saving your sorry ass! Bite down hard, this is going to hurt."

Kyou warned before she pulled the bandage to tighten it.

"MNGGH!"

Yamato muffled her scream the best she could. The pain was sharp and intense to point where she almost blacked out. Kyou wiped away her sweat as she began to dress the other wounds.

"The battle field is a mess. We have the Western line breaking apart and our Eastern point too far into enemy territory. Let's not forget the giant tower of death beams and the new flying Angels, so yeah, I have to come out. I may only have a small battalion with me, but at least it's something."

"... Your battalion... better be good."

Yamato muttered, lifting a finger and pointing behind Kyou. Kyou turned around and saw what Yamato meant. Towering over them was a Gigas with three flying Angels with it. Kyou grabbed her bookmarker sword and stood guard in front of the wounded Yamato. Kyou had already wasted a large portion of her energy getting to where Yamato was. Maintaining her bookmarker weapon was taking up most of her remaining energy. She could not fight the enemy on even terms but she still fared a better chance than Yamato. Still her chances were not good.

"This... is the...end.."

Yamato muttered. Kyou gritted her teeth. Yamato was losing hope. Was this really the end? No. Kyou steadied her weapon as her eyes reflected her determination to live.

"No... it isn't the end. Not yet. Not for you, not for me, not for the SSS2. We are still alive and we will live through this. We will keep on living till our very last breath because we are the SSS2!"

"GOOD! That is the sort of determination that will guide you onto your path!"

A sudden and powerful voice shouted, making all to pause and look for its owner. Somehow, it sounded distant.

"What the-"

"Here we go- WOAHHOLYSHITI'MFREEFALLINGFROMTHESKYBUTTHI SISKINDOFCOOLINITSOWNWAYSOWH ATHETHECKSUPERYURIPPEHEAVENL YFALLINGSTAR-KIIIICCK!"

Like a giant meteor, something... or someone, fell from the sky at extreme speeds straight into the Shadows before Kyou.

BOOM

And resulted in an explosion that could be described as cataclysmic. Kyou shielded both herself and Yamato from the blast with her Bookmarker weapon, gritting her teeth as the violent after-shock hit them like a tidal wave. The blast itself was terrifying as Shadows in the vicinity were literally blown away like rag dolls. SSS2 fighters managed to use their weapons and various objects to prevent themselves from being taken for a ride like their enemies. The shock soon ended and the dust began to settle. Kyou looked over her cover to see who was it exactly who suddenly appeared. A friend? Or foe? Standing in the middle of a large crater was a girl. A young girl with shoulder length dark purple hair kept back by her black hair band. Her emerald eyes seem to twinkle with mischief, danger, and power. She wore the SSS uniform, but unlike Kyou and Yamato's it seemed newer, more... original. Not to mention, it lacked the '2' that was written on the emblem.

"Aicha~ I messed up my big time appearance! It's like a super idol who suddenly gotten an appearance at the concert but tripped over the cord of the mike!"

... Eh? What was this girl suddenly talking about?

"Maybe if I try to pretend that it didn't happen-... but that's not going to work since everyone is looking at me."

The girl muttered with a sigh. Kyou suddenly realized it. Could it be? Could that person be-

"... The... SSS?"

The girl smiled, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yo."


A/N: GA HA HA HA HA! CLIFF HANGER! Well, better than the last time. And I'll be updating sooner than before