Darjeeling opened her eyes. The first thing she heard were distant gunshots and explosions. She sat up from her sleeping bag and took a moment to compose herself before standing up, putting on her tunic, and walking out of the tent she slept in.

Outside stood three chairs and a small table where two teacups and a kettle lay. The chairs stood atop a hill overlooking a battle occurring in the plains of Saunders' Island. It was Oarai's infantry against Saunders.

The blonde commander, along with her partner, Orange Pekoe, went to sit on the chairs. Soon Assam poured them their tea.

"How is the battle going?" asked Darjeeling.

"The forces of Oarai and Saunders are caught in a stalemate Miss Darjeeling. But it seems like Oarai will break it soon."

Darjeeling paused for a second before saying, "Impressive on their part."

Pekoe tilted her head, "Is anything wrong Miss Darjeeling?"

"It's nothing Pekoe. It's just..." she took a glance at the empty seat beside her, "It's just I'm not used to him being absent here. Usually he would be making a quip about your report."

"Do you miss him?"

"I... can't say I do. Our commanders die very often, that's a fact. But this one... feels different."

"What's the haps you two?"

The two girls turned towards their right. The once empty seat was now occupied by a tall man in officer's clothes. The girls hid their surprised faces under their calm ones.

"Good morning Douglas. May I ask what you're doing here this fine morning?" asked Darjeeling.

"You know how it is. Boring office, tons of work to do... It was driving me nuts so I figured I would visit your little camp here. Kay's having the time of her life down there so I came to watch that. Anyways, what happened to old Tommy? He's supposed to be downing his 7th cup of tea by now."

"I'm afraid... he's passed away Commander Douglas." said Orange Pekoe in a calm manner.

"R... Really? D-Damn..." an astonished Douglas said, his eyes filled with shock, "What... What happened?"

"John Cassady" replied Darjeeling, her calm voice and expression hiding the anger inside of her.

"John!? He's back!?" exclaimed the commander, "What happened!?"

"My gunner, Assam, lived right next to Tomioka. One night, she heard a commotion happening inside the commander's apartment. At first she paid it no mind, but when she heard a gunshot, she immediately rushed in. There she saw the corpse of our commander with a hole on his forehead. There's no one who would go to any lengths as to kill a commander. No one, but John Cassady."

"Damn man... But, why would he do it? They don't have beef with each other right?"

The blonde commander took a sip from her tea, "That we don't know. It's a very unusual case."

Douglas sighed before he stood up from the chair, "History just repeats itself huh? Well Darj, I gotta go. I have a suspicion about this Oarai school."

"May I know what it is?" Darjeeling said after taking another sip from her teacup.

"John's in this island. Oarai probably hired him so they could win easily. That's the reason the death toll's higher than usual. I gotta go prepare my troops. They don't deserve to die on this rock."

"I wish you good luck Douglas Gray. Let's hope that John does not harm a soul again."

A few weeks ago. After Oarai's battle with St. Gloriana

It was a lazy Sunday. Harry was at his house, playing on his console when his phone rang. Not wanting to be disturbed from his peaceful day, he hid the ringing phone under a pillow on his couch and continued playing.

Stop calling me. I'm vibing here! he thought.

A few minutes passed and the phone couldn't stop ringing. The annoying sound of his ringtone made him lose focus on his game so he gave in and answered it.

"Hello?" said Harry in a mildly annoyed voice.

"Hey Harry! It's John! What took you so long?"

"Oh um, I was in the bathroom." replied Harry. He now felt embarrassed of not answering the phone sooner.

"I forgot to give you my number. How did you get it?" Harry asked.

"I know a lot of things Harry." John answered.

"So why'd you call me? Wanna hang out?"

"No I just wanted to tell you something. You know Sadatoshi Tomioka?"

"Y-Yes. He's the guy who threatened me and the one who cut my finger off. Oh I forgot to tell you about that too! Why'd you ask?"

"Well, this Tomioka guy... He's dead."

Harry fell silent. He couldn't believe what his friend just told him. At first he thought he was joking, but upon hearing John's serious tone, he was convinced it was real.

"I know, pretty crazy. But look on the bright side! Your mortal enemy's gone!"

"I don't... I don't know how to feel..."

"Yeah I get you. I was like that too when I kill- I mean, got rid of people I didn't like back then. You'll get used to it, don't worry." the call then abruptly ended.

Back to Present Day

John along with his friend Harry lay in a ditch with bullets whizzing above them.

"It's been two hours and we're still in this ditch! How long is this gonna take!? I need my sleep!" exclaimed John.

"Let's hope that it will end soon! I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" replied Harry in a yell.

"Worry about food later! For now, try not to lose a chunk of your skull!" John yelled before muttering, "Where the hell are you Erwin!"

The two boys heard the rumble of multiple engines getting louder from their position. John quickly got out his radio.

"Fumiko! Kenji! The Shermans are approaching! Prepare to engage!"

"What!? You want us to take on some tanks!? Are you crazy!?" yelled Fumiko.

"Just do it! If you're lucky and they don't kill you; You can go back to base and eat!"

The blonde girl groaned from the radio, "Fine! The sooner I get out of this ditch the better!"

"I'll do it commander! For you and Oarai!" Kenji responded.

"Alright Harry, brace yourself! You're about to get pumped full of rubber bullets!"

"I-I'm ready John!" said Harry nervously.

"Alright let's go! Fire at will!" the two boys stood up from their ditch to be met by three M4 Shermans staring them down with their 75mm guns. John quickly pulled out an AT grenade and threw it at one of the tanks, damaging it. The American tanks in response opened fire on the two boys with their hull machine guns. The tanks peppered them with rubber bullets for about a minute before stopping. The two fell down on the ground soon after.

"I c-can't feel m-my legs." Harry stuttered, barely able to speak because of the immense pain he felt.

To their right, Fumiko and Kenji got up from another ditch and threw their AT grenades too. Atsushi got up, holding a Panzerfaust and fired at one of the tanks, stunning the crew. The Shermans retaliated by firing their main armament. The three were hurt but were not fatally wounded.

After the scuffle, one of the three Sherman's cupolas opened and a girl with blonde hair wearing a helmet came out. She had blue eyes and a confident smile.

"That was some good action there boys!" she enthusiastically exclaimed. She looked at the two soldiers on the ground, one of them catching her attention. Upon recognizing his face, her smile grew wider and she hastily got off her tank. She went up to John and picked him up by his shoulders.

"Johnny?"

"H-Hey Kay." stuttered John, looking away in embarassment.

"John!" she exclaimed before tightly hugging John.

"K... Kay! You're suffocating me!" after hearing that, Kay quickly released John from her embrace.

"What are you doing here man! I missed you!"

"I-It's a long story Kay, and I obviously can't tell you in the middle of battle."

"John! Pick me up!" Harry said as he was still laying in the ground.

"Oh sorry about that." John quickly picked him up.

"D-Do you guys know each other?" Harry asked.

"Yeah she's my best friend man, from back in Saunders." replied John.

"I see you're making real friends now Cassady! Instead of those online ones!" Kay said as she nudged on John's shoulder.

"I'm not that a loner Kay. I can make friends."

"So how's the-"

"Soldiers of Saunders! Come and face me!" a loud voice from the hills behind them yelled. John and Harry turned around to see a number of their tanks resting on top of a hill. Okada was standing on top of his Tiger II holding a megaphone.

"Who's that guy?" asked Kay.

"That's Okada. He's the Wehraboo of the team." John answered.

"Your commander?"

"Nah, he's just part of the tank team. The Commander isn't delusional just yet."

"You are outnumbered ten to one! Give up now and I will spare you from getting shot by my overpowered King Tiger!" Okada yelled confidently from the megaphone.

Kay sighed, "It's gonna be a busy day... Listen John, I gotta go. I'll see you around soon!"

"You too buddy." he replied. Kay got on her tank and gave John a salute as a farewell. John in turn waved goodbye.

"You have ten seconds Saunders! Give up or be crushed by mighty German steel!"

"Yeah yeah we'll leave!" Kay shouted.

"I didn't hear you! Come again!?"

"I have no time for this." Kay muttered before getting inside her tank. Soon, the three Shermans retreated from the battlefield, giving Oarai the victory. Okada and his crew cheered as well as the other tank crews beside him. The six tanks of Oarai then rolled down the hill and met with the infantry.

The battle was over. John went to his squad and Harry went to his as well to check up on them.

"So how's everybody?" asked John to his teammates.

"Well, the shrapnel from that tank cannon flew into my eye so now I'll have to get an eyepatch. But other than that I'm fine." replied Fumiko. Her left eye was bleeding.

"You're gonna have to get that bandaged, might get infected." Kenji said.

"Hey Atsushi where'd you get the Panzerfaust anyway?"

Atsushi gave no answer so John turned to Kenji for one.

"To be honest, I don't know too." answered Kenji.

"Well, we need more of it so Atsushi, if you can, give us more of them. Might help us with the tanks." John said to which Atsushi nodded in agreement.

"So what now?" asked Fumiko.

"We wait for Commander's orders." John said.

"I thought you didn't like the commander? I heard you pulled a gun on him one time." she replied.

"I don't like Haru but he's a commander. And we've all been taught to follow him. Besides, if we didn't, we'd only make ourselves look stupid in front of Saunders."

"Guys! I'm starving! Let's eat already!" groaned Kenji. Due to the constant fighting in the past few days, most of the Oarai troops haven't eaten, slept, or both.

"Yes we should. I think I'm actually gonna die if I don't eat soon." John said.

"No shit." Fumiko quipped. The squad then found a clearing and they sat in a circle and began eating their rations. The tank crews saw this and they too started to sit on the grass and eat their rations. The crews and the squads started to mingle with each other in the war torn battlefield.

"Hey guys, check this out!" John said as he held out a tan-colored rectangular cardstock box, "A K-ration! Stolen from one of the tank crews. Don't tell them though."

"Where'd all your canned food go?" asked Fumiko. She now had gauze wrapped around her left eye after shrapnel hit it. She, along with the other members of her squad were eating biscuits from their C-ration cans.

"I ate them all last night. That long walk we had from the town to here made me extra hungry." John replied as he prepared his instant coffee.

"We were on tanks. You walked because you said you 'needed exercise'." Fumiko replied, "You were trying to impress somebody right?" she asked with a smirk.

"Shut up!" exclaimed John before he took a sip of his coffee from a Sierra cup, "Ahh that felt good. What's also good is that we're disqualified for the day, which means we don't have to do anything!" his squad then gave a small cheer before continuing to eat their rations.

Over at Miho's side, her crew members all ate their K-rations except for Yukari who had an MRE. She ripped the pack open and spread its contents on the ground in front of her.

"Alright! Now let's get this onto the tray!" a tray then appeared out of nowhere with the contents of the MRE laid out on it, "Nice!" said Yukari.

"Where'd you get that?" Saori asked.

"I bought it at this airsoft shop near the school. I think it was called 'Untouchable' or something."

Saori got interested, "A shop you say? Why don't we go there together some time! I might see some cool guys- I mean guns!"

The group chuckled at Saori.

"So what's in that MRE anyway?" asked Hana.

"It's a pepperoni pizza with some Italian breadsticks, protein chocolate, and instant coffee type 2!"

"Sounds delicious, but pizza for breakfast?" Miho said.

"Well they said it was the 'holy grail' of MREs so I just went with that! I can share the pizza with you if you like Miss Nishizumi!"

"Sure!" replied Miho.

Yukari squealed in joy, "I get to share food with Miss Nishizumi!" she muttered not so quietly.

After Harry ate his food, he went over to the tanks to do some repairs. Due to his experience as St. Gloriana's mechanic, he was assigned as a field mechanic to repair damaged tanks in the battlefield if they could not return to base. The particular tank Harry was checking up on was the Hippo Team's Stug III. The crew of the assault gun sat near their tank eating rations like everyone else.

"I'm almost done here!" Harry exclaimed to the girls as he inspected the Stug's tracks.

"No need to rush Adger! We have a long day ahead of us!" said Erwin.

"So what will our next move be?" asked Oryou.

"The town with no name! To the north of us! Either we charge in there or settle in for a siege. But I doubt a siege will work because we do not have much time." responded Erwin.

"Our Stug will surely work in the urban area! Its low profile can let us sneak and catch our enemies by surprise!" Saemonza said.

"Or we can provide artillery support from the hills. Much risky, but equally helpful." Caesar added.

"We're there to capture it, not to raze it to the ground. So my guess is you're going to the town." Harry interjected.

"Perfect!" Erwin said with a cocky grin, "We can rack up our kills!"

"I'm afraid not Rommel!"

The girls turned their heads. They saw Okada leaning on his tank which was next to theirs.

"I'll be getting all those kills." he said with a confident smile.

Erwin scoffed at the statement, "Hello Okada Tetsutaro. Is that a challenge?" she said, her grin turning into a smirk.

"For me, I wouldn't call it a challenge. It's more of predicting the future."

"We'll see about that. First to kill five tanks wins! You name your price!" Erwin exclaimed, standing up from the ground.

"If I win, I get your hat!"

Erwin gasped but soon returned to smirking, Now there's stakes. This is getting interesting. she thought.

"Then if I win, I get your tank!" exclaimed Erwin, pointing her finger at the Tiger II. Okada gasped in shock.

"Not my beloved!" he muttered, "Fine! I accept!"

"Alright guys break it up! Commander says we, or I guess you, move in an hour so get ready!" Harry interjected for the last time before walking away from the group.

An hour passed. Hippo Team and the Tiger Team got ready to move out. Before Erwin could mount her tank, she was met by John.

"Hey Erwin, I'm sorry but I can't assist you today. Me and my squad are disqualified and we can't join you until tomorrow."

"It's okay Cassady, we can handle ourselves on our own. The commander says we have the Tiger II as our support for now."

"Well, good luck. Saunders is pretty tough."

"Thanks John." John left and Erwin got inside her tank where her crew was waiting.

"We should hurry up and move. We can't let the Tiger II take all of our kills!" Erwin said to her crew.

"Alright men! Let's show Rommel who's boss! Let's move out!" Okada yelled at his crew. The two tanks moved out of the camp and rode north towards a town with no name. The other four tanks stayed in the camp. Okada and Erwin's mission was to scout and weaken Saunders' defenses in the town so that the rest of the troops won't have trouble the next day.

"Commander, if I may ask, why did you challenge the Hippo Team?" asked Okada's loader.

"This week's been nothing but marching around and destroying small camps. So I wanted to spice things up a bit and create a challenge for our troops. It boosts morale and their will to fight!" he replied.

"Good thinking!" Okada's driver remarked.

A few moments later, the two tanks crested a hill and then they saw it, the town. It was situated beside a bay and resembled a town from the 19th century.

"Saunders really likes the Wild West aesthetic huh?" Erwin remarked as she surveyed the town for enemies.

"Well it's the most American thing you can think of aside from hamburgers and apple pie." replied Okada who was also surveying the land.

"You should get over there and look for enemies. I'll cover you from this hill." she said, putting her binoculars down.

"So you're giving me my free kills?"

"No, I'm sending you there so they shoot you first. Then I'll come in and finish them off." Rommel quipped. Okada huffed and he went over to his tank.

"Alright crew! We're going in there!"

"S-Sir with all due respect, I don't think this is a good idea! It's one garrison against one tank!" his radio operator replied.

"Ah nonsense! Those Shermans' flimsy bullets will just bounce off our steel! Now, Panzer vor!" the Tiger II advance forward, leaving the hill and heading towards the town.

Okada got out of the cupola and waved at Erwin, "So long Rommel! Cherish that hat! Because I'll be wearing it soon!" he yelled.

The King Tiger stopped in front of the bridge into town. Five men of Saunders were there to greet him, all were ready to draw their pistols.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Okada from outside the cupola.

"You're not supposed to be here partner." the man replied.

"I know. That's why I brought this tank. Now move aside or I'll run you over."

"You won't be running us over if you're dead! Kill him!" the men opened fire but Okada quickly got inside his tank to dodge the bullets.

"Bringing a gun to a tank fight? Heh, how pathetic. Take them out!" the Tiger began firing its hull machine gun at the troops. They in turn ran away. The German tank advanced into the town where they were met by an M4 Sherman who turned a corner.

"Ha! Now you send these flimsy Shermans against me!? Turn that tin can to dust!"

The Sherman fired first but bounced. The Tiger fired next and destroyed the medium tank. After the confrontation, the King Tiger continued wandering the streets of the 19th century town.

"Hey Erwin! That's one kill for us! I have to thank you in advance for giving away your hat!" Okada said over the radio.

"Dammit! We need to get in there! Or I'll lose my precious hat!" she exclaimed.

"But it's not safe without the infantry! They can attack us from behind!" Caesar said in protest.

"Damn!" Erwin muttered.

The town had wide roads, making it easy for the King Tiger to traverse the streets. But the roads also made the tank very easy to spot. Multiple AT rifle squads attacked the massive tank, barely making any damage. There was still no sign of other enemy tanks in the area so Okada's crew were feeling pretty calm.

"You know, if they're lucky they could give us a headache with those AT rifles." Okada said.

"Is this really all of them? A bunch of AT squads?" asked his driver as he drove slowly across the street with the men outside firing on his tank.

"There was that Sherman from earlier. But it looked like it was the only tank here." replied the commander.

"This is pretty boring." the gunner remarked.

"Yeah. Seems like a waste of time." the radio operator added. He was casually firing his machine gun in order to hit the enemies in front of them.

Okada decided to call Rommel, "Erwin! Can you give us some covering fire? The infantry's getting on my nerves!"

"There's no tanks over there?" Erwin asked.

"Nope, only annoying AT rifle squads."

"Sigh Alright, I'll be firing the assault gun." Erwin then put down the receiver of the radio, "Saemonza open fire."

"Fire at what Erwin?"

"The town. Just fire everywhere."

"I... I guess I can try."

About 30 minutes later and still no tanks. The Tiger II was about to leave town until the crew heard a shot land close to the tank. Okada got out of the cupola and turned around. He saw a Sherman tank with the end of its barrel smoking. The commander made a wide grin. His prey has showed itself.

"Finally!" he yelled in overwhelming joy, "Kill that piece of American plastic!"

The Tiger reversed in order to face the Sherman. But while its side was turned towards the American tank, it was shot down. The turret couldn't turn fast enough to lay a shot. The heavy tank soon popped a white flag, signaling its defeat.

Okada was speechless. He couldn't believe that the wonder weapon he wielded was easily defeated by a cheap, mass produced, American tank.

"AMERICAN BIASSSS!" he yelled as he rage quit inside his tank.

"Okada are you okay!? I heard a loud explosion just now!" Erwin yelled over the radio.

"They got us Commander Rommel! There's another Sherman here!" the Tiger's radio operator said. Erwin could hear screaming coming from the other end of the line.

"Is everything okay over there?" she asked.

"Don't worry commander! Okada's just going through something." he said dryly.

Erwin turned to her crew, "We should get over there and help out!"

"But we don't have infantry support! We'll get overwhelmed!" Caesar said in protest.

"We can't just wait until tomorrow! Saunders will retaliate!" Saemonza also said in protest.

"Any ideas commander?" asked Oryou.

Erwin paused for a bit to think, "We go in there! We can't wait until tomorrow for reinforcements! Saunders would've attacked our camp by then! Start the engines! Panzer vor!" the Stug's engines started up and it rode down the hill and into the town.

"Erwin! What do we do if we're surrounded?" Caesar asked.

"I... I guess we get out of the tank... A-And engage them with our pistols!" Erwin replied. Her expression and tone suggested that she was unsure.

"Don't be nervous commander! You can do this! You are the great Erwin Rommel after all!" Oryou encouraged from her driver's seat.

Her other crewmates decided to encourage her too, "We're our own Ghost Division! We never lose!" exclaimed Saemonza.

"We're one of the Panzer Elite!" Caesar yelled.

Erwin's eyes lit up from her teammates encouragement, "Thank you guys! And you're right Oryou! I am Erwin Rommel! The Desert Fox! And I will wim this battle!" her crew then cheered.

Saunders set up a barricade of cars to block the bridge. This wasn't a problem for the Stug though as the assault gun easily tore the barricade to pieces with its 7.5 cm cannon. The Stug then advanced into the city and headed towards where the Tiger II was.

"Erwin! Those AT rifles may be a problem for us! We don't have thick armor like that King Tiger!" Oryou said.

"You're right." replied Erwin, "I'll go outside and cover us then! That way, we can't get surrounded. You three stay in the tank and use that gun of ours.

"What!? You're insane Erwin! They'll rip you to shreds out there!" Saemonza exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Erwin replied as she put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, "Now Oryou! Drive slowly. I'll use the Stug as cover."

"Just be careful Erwin!" Caesar said. Erwin nodded as a reply before she got outside her tank. She positioned herself behind the tank for cover. Her only weapon was a Nambu pistol so she would have to rely on the Stug's gun to protect her.

The tension was high. Erwin looked at the empty windows of the buildings beside her. A sniper or someone with an anti-tank weapon could easily shoot their tank down. They could be attacked at any moment and at any direction.

"So this is why John hates urban warfare huh?" Erwin muttered as she inspected all the windows around her. She jumped in surprise when an M4 Sherman burst out from inside a building in front of the assault gun.

"Holy crap!" yelled Erwin. Soon, infantry also came out of the building. They used the Sherman as cover.

The enemy fired its shell, missing the Stug but landing closely to Erwin. The Stug fired, barely hitting the Sherman but bouncing a shell. The ringing sound of metal stunned the American tank's crew. This was a window of opportunity.

"Feuer!" Erwin yelled. The Stug fired another shell, this time it was the killing blow. The Sherman recoiled from impact and a white flag popped up from its turret. The next problem was the infantry. There were four of them and they all ran towards the Stug. The tank couldn't turn its turret so it was easy for the infantry to close in on it. Whenever Erwin would try to peek out of cover, they would shoot at her.

"We can't hit them commander!" Caesar yelled over the radio.

"I have an idea!" exclaimed Erwin. She then reached for something in one of her pockets; It was a smoke grenade. She threw the smoke grenade in front of the tank.

When the grenade released its smoke, she charged into it and tackled somebody. She lay on top of the man and proceeded to beat him using her pistol but the man soon overpowered her and pinned her to the ground. He was now the one on top of her and he proceeded to repeatedly punch her in the face. Erwin could do nothing but struggle as the man beat her to a pulp. But salvation soon came when he was shot in the back, causing him to get off of the commander.

Caesar soon came up to Erwin to pick her commander up.

"Are you okay commander?" she asked.

"Well, I lost a tooth, but other than that I'm fine." Erwin replied, her faced all bruised up.

"You're a tough cookie commander! Now let's get out of here-" suddenly, Caesar was shot twice in the chest. She fell to the ground and Erwin turned her back. It was another one of the men. The smoke had cleared and he could see clearly again. There were still three men left; One at the right, another at the left, and one who was in front of her. They all pointed their guns at Erwin.

"Raise your hands where I can see em lady!" he said. Erwin didn't do so. Instead she just glared at her, as if she's thinking of something.

"I said raise em! Or I'll put a shot in you just like your friend there!"

Minutes passed and they just stood there. The men still had their guns aimed at Erwin while she still didn't raise her hands. She then smirked all of a sudden.

"Now!" the Stug suddenly fired a shot near the man in the front, causing him to fall to the ground. Erwin quickly ducked and picked up her Nambu. She immediately shot the man to her left but while her back was turned, the third one shot her once behind the back. She quickly turned around and emptied her pistol on the last guy.

Now that all threats were neutralized, she collapsed to the ground due to fatigue. Her other two teammates quickly got out of their tank to aid their friend.

"Y-You okay Erwin!?" Saemonza exclaimed frantically.

"You should ask that to Caesar." Erwin said dryly.

The Saunders boys got back up. Their radios came to life.

"Attention all teams at Sector E5! Retreat to the shoreline! We're getting out of here!"

"Y-Yes sir!" one of the guys said. They then immediately ran away.

"Don't worry boys! They might've won the battle but we won't lose the war! We'll get em another day." said the guy on the radio.

The men ran away and the Stug crew all breathed a sigh of relief.

"What do we do now commander?" asked Oryou.

"Well, we just gotta wait 'til tomorrow for reinforcements to arrive. Then we'll get out of here." Erwin responded, "Now if you'll excuse me. I need to sleep. Today's been fun and miserable at the same time." Erwin then covered her face with her hat and she lay on the ground to sleep.

The other three turned to each other, "We should set up camp here. Saemonza, contact the others. Tell them the city's clear. Oryou, help me carry Rommel inside that building over there. We could use that as a temporary shelter." Caesar ordered. The two saluted before carrying out their orders.

The sun set on the horizon. Erwin and her crew sat inside an abandoned building resembling a saloon from the Old West. They broke some of the wooden chairs there and put them in the fireplace to start a fire. The crew of the King Tiger, who were still in the city, saw the light emanating from the building and they approached it. When they found Erwin and her crew inside, they quickly went in to shelter themselves from the cold, night wind.

Okada sat beside Erwin who was laying down on a sleeping bag, "You don't look so good Rommel." he said.

"I could say the same to you. You're all dirty, and you smell of oil and metal." Erwin replied with a smirk.

Okada chuckled, "So, about this challenge we had earlier in the morning, it looks like no one won. So you can keep your hat Rommel." he said in a downcast manner. It seemed like he really wanted that hat.

"And you can keep the tank Tetsutaro. I prefer my Stug." Erwin added, "Hey can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"How much do you like my hat?"

"Ah well. It is the replica of the great Erwin Rommel's hat. I'd do anything to get one."

"Well on second thought," Erwin then sat up and slowly took off her hat, revealing the rest of her blonde hair, and put it on Okada's head, "You can have it. It's all roughed up now so I can't use it anymore."

"Wh-R-Really?" he stammered, "B-But it's your hat!"

"Ah don't worry about that! I got more back home!"

"Th-Thank you!" Okada said. He was overjoyed. So overjoyed in fact, that he couldn't stop himself from hugging Erwin. She blushed from the sudden act of affection from the commander.

"C-Commander!" she exclaimed. Okada realized what he was doing and immediately pulled off from the hug.

"I-I'm sorry! I... I acted without thinking." he said, rubbing his head and looking down in embarassment.

The next morning came. John and his squad sat on top of a hill overlooking the 19th century town. They were accompanied by the rest of Oarai's tanks and infantry.

"Look at those buildings. Things went down yesterday." Fumiko remarked.

"Still looks beautiful a year later." John muttered before he lit a cigarette and put it on his mouth.

The blonde girl jumped in surprise, "Wha- Sarge! Where the hell did you get that!?"

"It was part of the K-rations. I got three more if you'd like."

"N-No! I'm a minor!"

"Sarge I don't think smoking's a good idea. That thing could ruin your life." Kenji said in a concerned tone.

"Ah it's nothing. I don't got much to live for anyway. I don't have any dreams to achieve, no parents to make proud, no siblings to take care of... I'd just be rotting away in an office desk in a few years."

"You said something about protecting the freshmen right? That's one thing to live for." Fumiko replied.

"Perhaps." He put out his cigarette and stood up, "Let's get going! Hippo Team's probably starving."

John and his squad got on the 38(t) and the tanks rode into town. They met with the Hippo Team along with the Tiger crew. They all stood outside the saloon.

"You guys okay?" John asked the Hippo Team.

"We're fine John." replied Erwin.

John noticed Erwin's hat was missing, "Hey Erwin, where's the hat?"

Erwin pointed at Okada who was conversing with the student council members. He had the hat on, "He's been wearing that all night." Erwin said.

"As expected of a Wehraboo." John remarked.

The morning passed normally. Oarai's tanks and infantry settled in the saloon, eating their rations and hanging out with each other. Until they heard a distant rumble outside. John's heart began to beat faster as he slowly realized what the sound was.

"B-25's" he whispered.

Erwin, who sat next to him on a table, tilted her head, "What?"

"B-25's! Everybody get down!" John then quickly took cover below the table. Erwin, and the people inside the building did the same.

Soon after, they heard the whistling of bombs outside followed by loud explosions. The ground seemed to shake as if an earthquake occured. The wooden saloon's glass windows broke, the chandelier fell down from the ceiling as well as pieces of wood. The bombing lasted for what felt like hours until they finally subsided. Even though the bombs had stopped, the people inside the building did not leave the tables for they were too scared. John and Miho, who were also inside the saloon were the first to leave their cover.

"Is everyone alright?" Miho asked. The people soon gave their responses. It seems all were unharmed.

"Shermans! We got Shermans incoming!" yelled Harry who burst into the door.

"Damn!" Miho exclaimed, "Everyone to your tanks!" the tank crews rushed outside to their tanks. The infantry followed suit.

When they got outside, the Shermans fired at their parked tanks. The 38(t) and the Type 89B were destroyed. There were three tanks on the road. Two coming from the right and one coming from the left.

"Everybody! Let's scramble!" John yelled. Everyone then started to run away from the saloon. The tank crews who got their tanks destroyed, rode the other tanks who survived. The student council got on the Lee, the volleyball team got on the Panzer, and Okada and his crew got on the Stug. The three Shermans chased down the fleeing infantry.

John and his squad hid inside an abandoned building near the saloon. They were on the second floor of what looked like a hotel.

"Shit's gone crazy out there!" Fumiko exclaimed.

"Shh! They might here us!" Kenji said in a hushed tone.

"We gotta get out of here. We can't just get out of this building and make a beeline outside town. Saunders is expecting that. They're probably waiting for us out in the hills." said John.

"So how do we get out of here!?" Fumiko asked.

"Let's steal a tank."

The three turned their heads to Atsushi, the boy who never spoke. He was pointing outside the window, at a parked Sherman. John moved closer to the window to look.

"That's an M4A3E8. Or Easy Eight as the others call it. Looks like Saunders bought another variant." The sergeant muttered.

"Why steal it?" asked Kenji.

"Well it's a very powerful tank. I know since I watched 'Fury'. That thing could kill our Tiger II you know. And look at it! That thing has a fake muzzle brake, it has something written on its barrel, and it has that leaf-looking thing on its hull. It's a special tank! We could lower Saunders' morale if we were to steal it!"

"Yeah!" Fumiko exclaimed in agreement, "Let's steal that shit!"

"Alright dudes," John pulled out his pistol and cocked it, "let's steal ourselves a tank!"

Harry was hiding in another building with his crew. A Sherman just passed by the, which made Harry's heart skip a beat. Unlike John's squad who was hiding on the second floor of a building, they were in the ground floor. They all just stood there motionless like mannequins.

A few minutes passed and another Sherman passed by the building but this time it stopped halfway through. The turret rotated to face the building. At this point, the Englishman has accepted his fate and he stood up from the floor with his hands raised. He slowly walked out of the building to be in plain sight of the American tank.

"P-P-Please... Don't k-kill me." he stammered. His arms were visibly shaking from fear.

The hatch of the Sherman opened and to Harry's surprise, his friend, John Cassady came out.

"Harry! Hop on, let's get out of here!" John yelled.

"J-John!" he yelled, a smile appeared on his face. He then signaled his men to get out of the building. They got on top of the Sherman and John ordered it to move.

"Where'd you get this thing?" Harry asked.

"Saunders gladly gave it away to me." John replied, smirking.

"So what do we do now?"

"We're going back to camp. I told the other tank crews to be there too."

On top of a cliff sat an AT gun; It belonged to Saunders. The gun crew surveyed the outskirts of town for movement. They saw the figure of a Sherman tank moving across the horizon. At first, they thought it was one of their allies until one of them looked through some binoculars and saw people in unfamiliar uniforms sitting on top of the tank.

"It's Oarai! They're escaping!" one of them yelled.

"But that's one of our tanks! We can't just destroy it!" one of them said in protest.

"It's better to be destroyed than to be left in enemy hands! Aim and fire!"

Harry saw the gun turning at them in the distance so he went up to the cupola and knocked on it. John came out to answer.

"What is it?" he asked calmly.

"It's an AT gun John! They're pointing it right at us!" Harry exclaimed. John looked where Harry pointed to see it.

"Oh shit- fire at will!" the Sherman turned its turret to face its opponent. Once it was aligned, John ordered to fire. The shot hit the ground near the AT gun. Saunders retaliated by firing on the tank. The shot hit its hull and penetrated its engine, stopping it from moving.

The Sherman was immobilized but it still could fire its cannon. The turret aimed once more and the cannon shot.

"Direct hit!" John yelled. His crew cheered from inside the tank.

"John we can't ride this anymore! It's been immobilized!" said Harry.

"Let's leave it then. We can walk to camp from here."

John's radio came to life, it was the commander.

"Cassady do you copy?"

"Yep"

"What happened at the town? I just got a message saying that most of our troops got captured!"

"Crap! Saunders attacked Haru. They attacked us while we were at the town."

"Shit!" Haru muttered, "Wh-Where do you think they've gone?"

"There's a fort to the northwest of here. We used to put the POWs there back then. I don't know if they still use it now."

"Go there and investigate. Take everyone who survived with you. We need to rescue them Cassady! We'll lose the war if we don't!"

"You don't have to tell me that commander, I already got it." John turned off his walkie talkie.

"Alright people! Let's head back to camp! Let's hope the others are still here." John, his squad and Harry's proceeded to walk back to their camp behind the hills.

They arrived on foot. The volleyball team along with Miho, Erwin, and their tanks were there to meet them. The camp was empty. Devoid of life unlike yesterday.

"What happened with the others?" John asked as he walked up to them.

"The Tiger crew were captured. But we escaped. Somehow." said Erwin.

"The Turtle Team was also captured. The M3 Lee didn't come back, which means Rabbit Team was captured too." Miho said.

"Shit! The freshmen!" John exclaimed, "There's a fort just northwest of here. We have to go over there before they get hurt!"

"John please listen! We can't go there with our numbers. It's impossible to take over a fort!" replied Miho.

"No! But... Maybe we can... Maybe... Maybe..." John tried to think of a solution to his problem. He paced back and forth trying to think of something that would work. But in the end, he couldn't.

"Ahhh dammit! Shit! Shit! I can't think of shit!" John yelled as he hit his head in anger. Harry quickly rushed to him to calm him down.

"Hey John! John! Calm down mate! Calm down and think this through! Take a deep breath." After taking deep breaths for a few minutes, John finally calmed down.

"Alright mate, alright. Now, let's make a plan. What do you know about this fort?"

"Okay, I can tell you. I'll need a map though."

"We don't have any maps." Erwin said.

"How about we draw on the ground instead?" Miho suggested.

"Alright, fine. The ground it is."

John drew a large box in the dirt using a stick. After that, he drew little squares and rectangles inside it, representing the buildings.

"This here is Fort Heller. It's an old fort where we store our POWs. Now there's a chance that our troops aren't even there, but let's assume they are. Now, there are only two direct entrances. One to the south, and one directly opposite of it. We obviously can't go there. But, if we make a diversion in one of the entrances, we can sneak in."

"What would this distraction be?" asked Erwin.

"Me. I'll be the diversion. I'm the only who can talk to them without being shot the second I enter their line of sight. Now while I divert attention, you will sneak in from the other entrance. You go inside the building to the right side of the fort and go to the basement. There, you'll see the cages. That's where our troops are, assuming that they're actually there. Now any questions?"

Miho raised her hand, "Will we bring our tanks?"

"Unfortunately Nishizumi, we are not. They're too high profile. We'll have to rely on our Stg 44's for now."

"Hey what about the Commander? If we're all that's left, isn't he in danger?" Noriko said.

"Oh crap he is."

Suddenly, a Type 95 Kurogane pulled up. Haru was in the driver's seat. He carried the flag of Oarai.

"Don't you worry about me! I'm fine and dandy!" Haru said as he jogged to them with his flag.

"Haru. What are you doing here?" John asked.

"With most of our troops gone, it's unsafe to stay around so far from our remaining ones. This will be our FOB for now. Until the people have been rescued. Anyways, what's the plan?"

"It's laid out on the ground here. I'll just tell you later."

"So we're raiding a fort?"

"No, we're raiding a fort. You'll stay here."

"Shut up John I'm coming with you. They could jump me at any moment now that I'm alone."

"You can't fight Haru!"

"Yes I can! I know judo! Plus I've played enough Battlefield to be able to shoot people."

John rolled his eyes, "Fine you can go! If you get hit don't blame me okay!?"

"I ain't getting hit Cassady!"

"Alright. Everyone take a rest. We'll raid the fort tomorrow. Or in the reader's case, next week."

"What?" Haru asked.

"Nevermind"

To be continued...