A/N: Just a little content warning. There will be graphic depictions of injury near the end of the chapter. And I'm really sorry in advance because I wrote something really messed up in this chapter.

Deep inside a dark cave, the Rabbit Team of Oarai sat inside a cramped cell. They were underneath Fort Heller, a Saunders POW camp. A few days ago, they were captured in a town nearby when Saunders took Oarai by surprise. Along with them were the crew of the Tiger II and the student council members.

"I miss my phone..." Aya muttered as she lay on the cold stone floor, staring blanky into the

"I'm so hungry..." groaned Karina. She was curled into a ball and sat in one corner of the room.

"I wanna go home..." Yuuki said.

"D-Don't worry everyone! We... We'll be rescued soon! I know it! Commander Nishizumi wouldn't give up on us!" Azusa said to her crew. Everyone in her crew had lost all hope of getting out of their cell except for her. She truly believed that their Commander would save them.

"I have dishonored the Fatherland for getting myself captured... Now I must pay the price... with my life!" Okada then tried to bang his head on the stone wall of his cell but his crewmates stopped him before his head could make contact with the concrete.

"Commander! Don't give up hope just yet!" yelled his loader as he tried to pull away Okada from the wall .

"This is hopeless, we're as good as dead!" Momo cried. Yuzu quickly tried to console the gunner.

"Don't worry! I know Haru will come through! He always does!" Anzu said as she chewed on a piece of sweet potato which she somehow had with her.

Miho stood with the rest of the remaining forces of Oarai on a hill overlooking Fort Heller.

"Enemy contact, looks like our people are locked up in there. You were right John." Miho said as she looked through binoculars, surveying the area in front of her.

"They're under the fort, in a little cave. There's a secret entrance in that big building to the right; Only way in and out of the cave and it's heavily guarded. There's no way of getting past undetected there." John remarked.

"So how do we get in?" Haru interjected.

"I'll make a diversion in the front gates. Miho, you'll take everyone with you and sneak through the back. Be quick though, things will go down fast."

"Hey what about me?" Haru asked.

"Well, you'll be on watch. Tell us if any reinforcements are coming." replied John.

"What!? But I wanna go in there with you guys!"

"No, too risky. I thought you wanted to win Haru?"

"I just wanna have some fun okay!?"

"You can have fun later when we escape. Now, is everyone ready?"

The others responded in affirmation. The time to strike is now.

"Alright, it's showtime." before John walked down the hill, he looked up at the sky.

No cameras, this is gonna be fun. he thought as he smirked in excitement.

Inside Fort Heller

"Listen Bill, Oarai is bound to attack the fort so I need you to bolster your defenses."

"It's already done Alisa, they're not getting in here."

"Good, but you still need to be careful. Rumor is, John Cassady's back, and he's on Oarai's side."

"That coward? He's no match for me. Don't worry ma'am, No one's getting in or out of here." he then put down the receiver.

Bill walked out of a small hut. He was met by one of his men.

"Sir! Someone's outside the gates! I think it's John Cassady!" he exclamed. He was sweating profusely and his eyes showed fear. Bill calmed him down.

"Don't worry son, that has-been isn't gonna hurt anybody. Now, I need you to contact the commander and also Kay. Tell them that John's here."

"Yes sir! I won't let you down!"

John stood outside the fort's gates. Men on the battlements drew their weapons at him. They were ready to fire at any moment.

"Bill! Get out here!" he yelled.

"What the hell do you want John!?" Bill yelled back. He was on the battlements as well.

"It's Sauce or Loss time!"

"No! No more Sauce or Loss! I'm a proper man now!"

"But Bill! Haven't you heard? Tomboys exist!"

"No! Those are just lesbians John."

Bill's men gasped in shock as they were caught off guard. John was angered by the statement and he pulled out his pistol on the lieutenant. The men quickly aimed their rifles back at John.

"Bill, I know you didn't just make fun of my waifu!" John said with a menacing aura.

Bill scoffed, "And what if I did?"

John pulled the trigger and shot Bill in the chest, which knocked him out. The lieutenant fell off the battlements and into the ground below. The men froze in shock.

John spun his pistol on his hand and blew the smoke off the tip, "Off to the Gay Zone ass stache."

"H-He got the lieutenant! O-Open fire!" the men fired their M1 Garands at John. He was peppered by rubber bullets and he fell to the ground.

"That... hurt." John muttered before he was knocked out.

While John diverted the Saunders troops, Miho and the others slipped inside the fort undetected through a small crack on the wall. They were quickly spotted however, since there were about 10 of them.

"T-They got in! They got in guys! Get over here!" someone yelled. He was quickly silenced when Miho shot him.

"Nice shot Miporin!" Saori said.

"We have to move quickly! They know we're here!"

While John lay on the ground, he overheard the men on the battlements talking with each other.

"Guys! Get down from there! We got a break in!"

"Shit! What about John!?"

"Leave him! This is more important!"

"...Fine! Let's go!"

Look's like they're inside. he thought.

Harry guarded the door to the "keep" of the fort while the others went inside to rescue the POW's. Men came after him but he successfully drove them back. After some time, Miho spoke from his radio.

"Harry! Get down here! We need help!" Miho yelled.

"A-Alright I'm coming over!" Harry kicked the door behind him and went inside the building. He saw a cell door leading underground to a cave.

So much for a secret entrance. he thought before going inside. He maneuvered through the narrow passageways of the cave. Soon he bumped into Miho who was strangling a guard against a wall. She wore a sadistic smile on her face as she choked the man unconscious. When she noticed Harry, her face turned back to the usual innocent-looking one.

"W-What was that?" Harry asked, a little bit frightened.

"He tried to hurt me, so I defended myself."

"Is he... Is he dead?"

"No of course not!" assured Miho, "He's unconscious. He'll wake up soon. Now let's get moving! The others are deeper inside the cave."

The two continued to walk the narrow path of the cave. Soon they met with the others as they tried to get the POW's out of their cells.

Saori met with Miho, "Miporin! How do we get them out!?" she frantically exclaimed. She was trying to open the freshmen's cell.

"Calm down Saori! I'll think of a way."

Without saying anything, Harry shot the lock out of the cell and the freshmen got out.

"Now you lot get out of here! Help John deal with the enemies outside!" he yelled at the freshmen. Azusa gave a determined nod and she led her crew out of the cave. Harry and the others freed the rest of the POW's.

Azusa and her crew reached outside. They saw a field of men, all dressed in Saunders clothes, all were immobilized and on the ground in pain. John was sitting on the ground, smoking a cigarette next to one of them.

John noticed them and he got up and put out his blunt, "Hey you guys! Glad you're safe!" he said as he staggered forward to meet them.

"Are you okay John? You look messed up." Azusa asked.

"Ah tis but a scratch. Anyways where's the others?"

Miho and the others conveniently appeared as soon as John said that. Most of them carried the weak and exhausted POW's on their shoulders.

"Alright! Everyone let's go back to camp!" Miho said to everyone. They walked out of the fort and back into the hills in the distance. On the hills waited Haru who lay there and stared at the peaceful sky. He stood up though when he heard footsteps in the grass. Everyone was back along with the POW's.

"Yo Haru! Had fun?" said Anzu as she walked up to him. She was dirty all over.

"Kinda. How 'bout you?"

"It was boring there. Wish I could've been part of the action."

"Same here. Anyways, you should really take a bath. You look like you've been in a factory."

"I need to eat first. Sweet potatoes might be delicious, but they can't sate my hunger."

"Yeah but you can't just sit around the camp looking like that."

"Eating is much important than bathing! I'll go and eat some rations first, then I'll wash."

"How about you eat while you wash?" John suggested as he passed by them. He was being carried by his crew because he was too weak to walk.

"Yeah! That is a good idea!"

8:00 P.M, Oarai's Camp

After successfully rescuing the POW's, Oarai threw a celebration party in their camp. They set up tables where the troops sat. They had a field kitchen where Saori cooked her meals. And some of the students who brought instruments played some music.

Haru brought out bottles of what looked like wine and placed them on one of the tables, "Alright boys! This here's Grape Juice for Adults! A quality drink stolen from Anzio! Now let's act like high schoolers and get lit tonight!" everyone cheered and Haru began to pour them the drinks.

"We made the Kaiser proud today boys! Prost!" Okada proudly said to his crew as he raised his cup of "grape juice".

"Prost!" his crew yelled in unison as they too raised their cups.

"Haaa~ it's finally over!" Kenji said as he reclined on his chair.

"Sorry to say, but it isn't. We still haven't eliminated one of their commanders." replied John.

"What!? Aw come on! It's been 3 weeks!"

"We're lucky to be here for only a month. A few years ago, there was a battle between a number of American schools and five Japanese schools. They duked it out on an island bigger than this for over a year. Just imagine how exhausting that is."

"So which side won?"

"I don't know. The story isn't finished yet."

"What?"

"Nevermind"

While most of the boys were celebrating their victory by getting absolutely wasted, the girls were on their tables peacefully drinking the tea given to them by St. Gloriana.

Miho sighed right after she took a sip from her tea, "What a rough day." she muttered. She sat with her crew on one of the tables.

"Tell me about it."

Miho turned to her left. She saw an unfamiliar face sitting beside her. A blonde girl, with blue eyes one of which was being covered by an eyepatch. She had a tough look on her eye; Like that of a delinquent that Miho sometimes sees on the way to school.

"U-Umm, e-excuse me but, wh... what's your name?" she stammered, trying to be as polite as possible to the stranger beside her. Miho thought that she was with a delinquent which made her a bit scared.

"Fumiko Shirada. I'm from the 3rd Infantry Squad."

"3rd Infantry Squad... You must be with John Cassady right?"

"Of course." she replied before turning away from Miho and grumbling, "It's always gotta be him."

"A-Ah wait! I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. I just wish people would notice us too and not just John. I don't like living in someone's shadow."

"I'm sorry for that."

"You don't have to be."

"Fumiko. Can I ask? Why do you have an eyepatch?" Yukari asked.

"A piece of shrapnel flew into my eye. So now I'd live the rest of my life with this cool looking eye patch."

"You're part of the infantry. Most of them are boys right? Why not join one of the tank crews?" Hana asked.

"I wanted some excitement in my life. Sitting inside a tank seems boring."

"No it isn't!" Yukari protested, "It's so exciting when you're inside a tank! That adrenaline you feel when the cannon fires, the sound of the engine when you drive around, and the feeling of wind hitting your face when you poke your head out is amazing! You should try it out!"

"I can't. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with being infantry for the rest of this tournament. Unless the commander reassigns me."

Miho and her crew sat in silence as they didn't know what to say next. Fumiko noticed this so she decided to change the topic.

"Hey, how about you tell me your experiences in the war so far? I'll tell you mine too!" she said lightheartedly.

John and Harry sat on a rock near their camp. They stared at the full moon above, grape juice in hand.

"So John, how 'bout you 'fess up and tell me why you like the freshmen so much? I want to hear it! I'm sure the readers do too!" Harry asked drunkenly, "Do you like one of 'em or sumthin?"

"You can break the 4th Wall too?" John asked. Unlike his friend, he was sober.

"'Course I can numbnuts! Now tell me if you love 'em or not!"

"Alright. This is pretty cringy. But I want to protect their innocence. You know, back when I was young when I was in Saunders, I quickly lost my naiveness. I learned how messed up the War Games are the hard way. I had a brother Harry, he was killed in action. After that, everything went downhill. My old senior officer put messed up ideas in my head, my friends were all dying left and right, and everyone wanted me dead. I've done a lot of horrible things, things that no ordinary teenager can even begin to imagine doing. I want redemption, and protecting these freshmen, and the others from the horrors of war, can give me that redemption. If I can't save myself from seeing the things I've seen, then I can at least save the others."

After John finished his monologue, he looked at his friend. It turns out that he fell asleep on his shoulder which meant that John wasted his time. After breathing a sigh of disappointment, he stood up from the rock and went to his tent to sleep.

The next morning came and John was the first to wake up. It was early in the morning so everyone was still sleeping. John, who was half asleep did some stretches outside his tent before starting his day but when he went fully awake, he saw the aftermath of the party. The troops were scattered across the camp, all of which were still sleeping. Bottles of the Grape Juice for Adults were also scattered on the tables and the grass.

Good God. I hope I'm not on cleaning duty.

John noticed someone moving among the sleeping troops. It was their commander, Haru. He had just woken up. Right after he raised his head, he was met with a headache and a rumbling stomach.

"Oh goodness gracious." he muttered before trying to get up. John came in to support him.

"Hey commander, nice party last night huh?"

"Yup! It was epic." Haru suddenly gagged, then he bent over and vomited.

"Dammit commander!" John exclaimed in annoyance, "You're cleaning that up! All of you are!" John then drew his pistol and fired in the sky, awakening everyone in the camp.

"Alright! Everyone's on cleaning duty today! Except for the sober ones!"

The ones who got lit last night groaned in response.

"Hey John what do we do if Saunders attacks? This is bad!" Haru said.

"Don't worry, we still have the tank crews, save for Okada, I think he got drunk too." John glanced at Okada who was sitting at a table with his crew. They all seemed to be having a hangover.

"I'm gonna talk to Miho, see what she thinks."

Miho and the other tank commanders gathered around a table discussing plans with each other. John went over and joined them.

"The troops are all having a hangover. It's just my squad and you guys." John said.

"Well, what do we do with just the tanks?" Erwin asked.

"John, is there a town occupied by Saunders near this area? We need to keep moving, prevent Saunders from mustering their forces for a counter attack." Miho said.

"Yep, there's a town just north of Fort Heller, Charlestown. It's the last line of defense Saunders has. They have all of their tanks there."

"How do you know this?"

"It's a long story. Anyways, if we somehow take that town with the remaining tanks we have, then we'll win. Their commander is in a small fort off the coast to the north."

"What opposition will we face?"

"Every tank Saunders has at their disposal. Probably twenty to fifty of 'em. That also includes the M3 Lee and the 38(t) they captured."

"Twenty tanks, against the four of ours... Is there any other way to beat them?"

"Well, it's not like our goal is to destroy every single tank of ours. We'll only go for Kay's."

"But we can't get our forces close to the town. They would have strong defenses would they?"

A lightbulb appeared above John's head. He had an idea.

"How about me and my team disable their defenses?" he said with a sly grin.

"What do you mean?" Miho asked.

"Easy, we'll disguise ourselves as Saunders' people. And we'll destroy their tanks from inside the town."

"That's easier said than done John, how can four people take out an entire garrison?" Erwin asked.

John smirked, "They have me." he then stood up from his chair, "I'll get my squad ready. You guys should prepare too. I'll give you the signal to attack when I've disabled their defenses."

Charlestown, Saunders' Garrison

Alisa was inside an abandoned house listening on her radio, waiting for a transmission from Oarai to come through. Now that Oarai had taken Fort Heller, she was now preparing for an offensive against their town.

"Hey"

Alisa jumped in surprise. She was too focused on listening to the radio that she had not noticed someone behind her.

"N-Naomi! You surprised me!"

"Oh, I did? Sorry about that." said Naomi before chuckling. She was leaning on a wall, chewing on a piece of gum.

"I-It's fine." she said as she turned back to her radio.

Naomi then leaned on the brunette's shoulders, which made her a bit annoyed, "Hey, you free? The day's been boring so far so I wanna hang out with you."

"I can't, sorry. I'm on edge right now. Oarai could attack at any moment. It's not really a proper time to be messing around."

"Oh come on! It's not like they'll attack with everything they have right now! I saw them getting drunk last night. So we're in the clear!"

Alisa sighed, "I guess you're right. So what do you wanna do today?" she said, turning her back from the radio.

"How 'bout we snack on some burgers? There's plenty of them in the field kitchen that we can take."

"I guess I am a bit hungry. Fine, let's go." she stood up from her chair and left the building with her companion. The two walked the empty streets of Charlestown, occasionally meeting a fellow soldier of theirs.

"So I heard John Cassady's on this island." Naomi said while they walked.

"Yeah, that bastard; Miho Nishizumi's here too. This Oarai High School is pretty weird you know? They just appeared out of nowhere with six tanks and only a hundred men and for some reason they have a psychotic killer and a renowned tank ace on their team!? It's crazy!"

"I know. But I'm sure we can beat them. And don't worry, you won't get hurt. If you're in trouble, you can just call me!" Naomi said, pointed at herself with a prideful grin.

They reached the field kitchen where a few people have gathered. The kitchen had a few tables near it where some of the people sat. Naomi and Alisa grabbed their burgers and sat on one of them.

"It's not much, but a burger is a burger." Naomi said after she took her first bite of her meal.

The food from the field kitchen was, let's say, not that good. Misfortune came to them in the form of a bad chef. Now they mostly eat charred hot dogs, burgers, and barbecues. The bad food also contributed to lowering the troops' morale. But hey, at least the cookies are good.

"Hey Naomi," said Alisa with her mouth full, "how long do you think we'll stay here for?"

"Maybe two to three more days. Are you homesick?"

"Yeah, I miss my apartment; And my sofa; And... I can't believe I'm saying this... I miss the classes too. Sitting in classroom for the whole day is better than spending a month in this hellhole!"

"Well, if you want to feel at home, how about we sleep at the same tent tonight? We're roommates remember?" she said somewhat suggestively.

Alisa's face reddened, "Naomi! Shut up!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone. Naomi chuckled.

On the outskirts of town, the remaining tanks of Saunders entrenched themselves. The trenches were also populated by a few troops. They were ready for an offensive against their town. In front of them was a wide field with no cover other than ditches from artillery and a few bushes here and there. It would be an easy fight, if it wasn't for the low morale. The men now knew that John Cassady was on this island with them. Not only him, but also Miho Nishizumi, one of the most skilled tank commanders in the War Games. Even though they have been demoralized, they can still put up a fight. It was John's job to weaken them even more.

A sergeant stationed in the trenches noticed a stranger hop in. He had bandages wrapped around one of his eyes.

"Hey soldier!" he exclaimed which got the attention of the stranger, "Never seen you 'round here before. Which platoon are you from?"

"S-Second Infantry sir!" he answered.

"2nd Infantry was wiped out in Fort Heller. State your name!" the sergeant ordered. He was now suspicious of the man.

"My name's Jim Milton sir! I was the sole survivor of the 2nd Platoon! I-I got away just in time before Oarai overwhelmed the place."

The sergeant doubted the stranger, but trying to find out who he really is was too much work. He's busy enough with maintaining his men and keeping watch for the enemy. In the end, he let the him go.

After being questioned by the sergeant, John breathed a heavy sigh of relief, "That was tough." he muttered.

Now that he was in the clear, he contacted his other teammates, "What's your status?"

"Charges are set Sarge!" Kenji said in a hushed tone.

"They're ready." Fumiko answered.

Atsushi didn't say anything but John had assumed that he was ready too, "Alright, just wait for me. I haven't set my charges yet."

"Hurry the hell up John! They're gonna see the dynamite at any moment!" Fumiko exclaimed.

"Alright! Alright! I'm going!"

John neared a tank. He recognized it as the Sherman Firefly. He looked around if there were any troops nearby. The Sherman's crew was inside their tank. They were too focused to mind the outside so John planted his explosives with ease.

After planting the explosives, John walked away to a safe distance before contacting his crew.

"I've set the explosives! Time to fire!"

After Alisa had eaten her burgers, she went back to her room to listen in on the radio. She sat down on the table and put the headphones on.

"Alright, let's see what they're up to." she muttered. She was quickly interrupted by explosions outside. She rushed to her window to look. She saw most of their tanks destroyed. She then heard a voice on the radio.

"Miho! The tanks are immobilized! Now's the time to strike!" the voice of John Cassady exclaimed.

"Copy! We're on the way!" Miho replied.

"Shit!" Alisa yelled before rushing to contact her troops, "Attention everyone! We"re going to be attacked by Oarai! Prepare the defenses!" she then heard gunshots outside. She hurried back to the window.

Outside, John and his squad met up and made their escape. A number of Saunders' troops chased after them.

"That's John Cassady! Kill him!" Alisa yelled from her window. John heard her and shot at her with his pistol. Alisa in turn took cover.

"How many tanks did we take out!?" John exclaimed as he and his squad ran from their pursuers.

"About 13 sir! There's still plenty of them left!" Kenji answered.

"Crap! Get back to the trenches and take them out!"

"Yes Sarge!" Kenji answered before the group split up.

In the distance, Oarai's tanks approached the town. Some of the men who were capable enough to fight joined them. The Tiger II also joined them, its crew was still having a hangover though.

"Everyone! Open fire!" Miho yelled over the comms.

"Yes ma'am!" the tank crews said in unison. The four tanks fired a volley at the entrenched tanks of Saunders. Saunders on the other hand were panicking so they were unable to fire for a few seconds.

"This feels like the Battle of the Somme!" Saemonza exclaimed in excitement.

"Or the Second Battle of El Alamein!" Erwin added.

"Or Kursk!" Caesar added.

"Oh yeah it does feel like that!" Erwin replied. The other crews agreed.

"Für... Für der Vaterland!" Okada exclaimed. He was still having a hangover.

"Für der Vaterland!" his crew yelled not so excitedly.

Now that Saunders tanks had tried recomposed themselves, they fired their first volley. None hit however for they were still in a panicked frenzy.

"This is hopeless!" one of Saunders' tank commanders exclaimed, "They'll get us! Run!" she and her crew quickly abandoned their tank and ran away into the town.

"Kay where are you!? We're getting attacked!" Alisa yelled into her radio.

"We're coming over! Hold out!" the commander said, keeping her composure.

Naomi hurried to the trenches to find her tank. When she found it destroyed, she cursed under her breath.

Dammit! I need to get my sniper rifle! she thought before running away from the trenches, a tank shot almost hitting her.

Oarai's tanks had now gotten past the trenches. They were inside the town now. The infantry got off the tanks. Along with them were the M3 Lee crew and the student council members; They were temporarily assigned as infantry. Miho got out of her cupola to look at the damage. Most of Saunders' Shermans were destroyed in the initial attack. Soon, John met her.

"Miho! You made it!"

"John! I'm glad you're okay!"

"Listen, me and my squad are tired. We're gonna take a rest for a minute."

"Alright John. Be careful!" the Panzer then drove off into the town.

"Everyone! We must find Kay's Sherman! If we take it out, we win!" Miho ordered over the radio.

The others gave their assents.

Miho now began to order her crew, "Hana! Be ready to fire at any moment! Saori! Ready the machine gun! Mako! Drive slowly! There might be traps here."

The Panzer IV patrolled around the town, looking for any tanks left. The crew was on edge, for they could be attacked at any moment, from any direction. Miho however, tried to steeled herself. She closed her eyes and made deep breaths to calm herself.

The German tank had been riding for a while now. They were about to lower their guard when they were suddenly shot in the front. The shot fortunately bounced off the armor. Miho's crew sprang to action.

"Enemy tank! 200 meters ahead!" Hana exclaimed. The Sherman was taking cover by a building. The Panzer was out in the open. they were positioned in the middle of a town square.

"A-Aim and fire!" Miho yelled.

Hana held her breath. Time seemed to slow down for her as she placed her aim on the Sherman's front hull. Once she pulled the trigger, time went back to normal and she saw the Sherman get hit.

"They're stunned! One more hit should do the trick!" Hana confidently said.

"Gun ready!" Yukari said.

"I will fire at your command Miho!" Hana said with a smile.

Miho looked through the tank's periscope, she saw the disabled Sherman in front of her. She could not help but smile as she saw the helpless tank in the direct line of sight of her Panzer's gun.

"Fire!"

The Panzer IV fired its shot. The Sherman was hit again in the front hull. But something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Suddenly, the Sherman burst into flames. The Panzer's crew were astonished at the sight. A few moments later and the Sherman exploded, its turret detaching itself from the hull. Miho and her group were left speechless.

As Miho saw the burning remains of the Sherman, she unexpectedly grinned at the sight. But as soon as she noticed it, she quickly covered her mouth.

The crew quickly got out of their Panzer to look at the burning tank in tank in front of them.

"D-Did we just..." Hana stammered.

"It-It can't be! Th-This is just a trick! Right guys!?" Saori stuttered.

Mako was speechless. She felt lightheaded.

"What have we done!?" Yukari muttered.

Miho did not say a word. She stared deeply into the fires emanating from the Sherman. Suddenly, she realized she was somewhere different. She was not in Charlestown anymore, rather she was inside an unfamiliar tank. The hull was a light brown color instead of the steel blue she was familiar with. She jumped in surprise when she saw a very familiar sitting beside her. The person in question was her older sister, Maho Nishizumi. She was sitting in the commander's seat of the tank, looking at Miho with her usual cold, emotionless stare. Miho now realized she was in the gunner's seat.

"Miho, do you remember what mother taught you?" Maho asked.

"Y-Yes" Miho answered meekly.

"You must prove it. Fire at the tank in front of you."

Miho looked through the sight of the tank's gun. In front of her was a lone, stationary Panzer II.

"All you have to do is to pull the trigger and fire. But what if I told you that the tank has people inside it? And that there's no carbon protecting them?" Maho said.

"P-People!?" Miho exclaimed in shock, "W-Why is there no carbon!?"

"These people are spies. Sent to steal from Kuromorimine. They deserve death. And you must deliver it."

"B-But-" she stammered before being cut off.

"Remember Miho, you do not hesitate to shoot. You must show no mercy to our enemies for they deserve none of it. Now prove that you're a Nishizumi, and fire."

Miho looked at the sights again. The thought of ending someone's life terrified the young Nishizumi. Her hands now grew cold, and her breathing intensified.

She spent a few minutes there looking at the sights, a few times she would try to hold the handle of the gun to pull the trigger but she would immediately pull it away.

Miho turned to her older sister, her eyes filled with fear, "I... I can't do it!" she yelled. She was suddenly slapped across the face by Maho.

"A Nishizumi doesn't hesitate! Do you not remember that!?" Maho yelled.

"N-No! I'm sorry!" Miho replied, tears started to form on her eyes.

"Now fire at the goddamn tank and show that you are no coward! FIRE!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Now completely frightened, Miho quickly held the tank's gun and pulled the trigger. A loud bang followed as the cannon fired. The two sisters then heard an explosion outside.

"Come" Maho ordered. She and Miho then got out of the tank to look at the aftermath.

The Panzer II was now up in flames. Its turret limp and its crew dead. Miho collapsed on the ground and vomited, knowing she had ended the life of several people.

"Remember Miho. You are fighting a war. And war has no room for cowards. Next time, if you hesitate, you will die." Maho then walked away from the training grounds.

Miho kept staring at the floor where she made her mess. She then blacked out.

"...iho? Miho? Miho are you alright?"

Miho woke up from her flashback. She was in Charlestown again. She was being shaken by John so as to wake her up.

"J-John! You're here!"

"Miho what the hell happened here!? That tank's on fire!"

A few minutes earlier

Alisa waited in front of the building she was in for a ride. Soon, her Sherman M1A1 came.

"Took you long enough!" she yelled at her crew after she had gotten inside the tank.

"S-Sorry ma'am! We-We were compromised!" her gunner said as an excuse.

"Whatever! Let's just go find a tank to kill! Forward!"

The Sherman roamed around the town in search of any tanks unfortunate enough to cross its path. But as the minutes passed and with no tanks in sight, Alisa became impatient.

"Where the hell's the tanks!?" Alisa exclaimed, "I'll be listening in on the radio! If something goes up, tell me!"

"B-But ma'am! Isn't that cheating!?" her driver asked.

"This is a war! We do whatever it takes to win! Now keep driving!" she exclaimed before getting on the radio.

Soon, she intercepted a conversation from Oarai's comms.

"This is John Cassady. Miho what's your status? Hippo Tea got taken out. You okay over there?"

"This is Saori! We're in good condition!"

"Saori? You must be the radio operator. Where's Miho?"

"She's... meditating?"

"Ah I getcha. Trying to get into the element right? Where are you now? Me and my squad will rendezvous with you."

"We're at some sort of square. We're probably in the middle of town."

"Alright, stay there. We'll come to you."

"Alright! Haa~ I really hope he's single." she muttered. Oblivious to the fact that the radio was still on.

"What?" asked John.

"O-Oh crap s-sorry!" the radio then abruptly cut off.

"Hmm, weird girl." John remarked before the radio cut off.

"Alright! Their commander is at the town square! Move it!"

The Sherman reached its destination. It peeked over a wall and the gunner confirmed the Panzer IV was there.

"Finally! Let's kill that thing!" Alisa exclaimed. Before the brunette could order her gunner to fire, a voice on the radio called out to her.

"Alisa? Alisa are you okay?" the voice of Naomi said.

"Naomi! I'm fine! I'm actually going to kill this tank in front of me right now!"

Naomi let out a relieved sigh, "I'm glad you're safe. Be careful okay? John Cassady's out here, he might hurt you."

"Who do you think I am? I'm friggin Alisa! That idiot has no match for me! I'm a better shot than he is!" she bragged.

Naomi chuckled, "Well, I'll see you later after this battle is over. Bye."

"Bye!" she exclaimed before she put the receiver down, "Alright kill it!"

The Sherman fired. The shot bounced off the Panzer's hull.

"What the hell!? Shoot it again!" but before the Sherman fired, they were hit by the Panzer. Typically, when hit from inside a tank. The victim would only suffer minor injuries like cuts and bruises. But for some reason, Alisa felt more pain than usual.

She was stunned by the shot; That was normal. What wasn't normal though was the stinging pain she felt in her right hand. She also couldn't see with her left eye. Normally, her crew would be groaning from pain by now. But for some reason, they weren't.

Alisa gathered her strength to compose herself. She sat back down her commander's seat and looked around her. She was astonished when she saw her gunner. She was leaning on the tank's hull, her eyes were pale and she showed no life. Her shirt had a huge stain of blood on it. Alisa soon realized that her crewmate... was dead.

She began hyperventilating. She covered her mouth with her right hand but she suddenly felt pain. She looked at her hand to see a few fingers were missing. She gagged. She began to look for her other crew. She turned to her loader's position.

Her loader always wore a helmet. For that, she was nicknamed "Helmet-chan". But even her helmet could not save her, as shrapnel went through her head. She lay lifeless in her loader's seat.

Alisa looked at her driver and co-driver. They had it the worst. The co-driver had lost her left arm and the driver had lost her entire head. Their seats were completely covered in blood.

The tank commander looked through her periscope one last time to see the menacing sight of the Panzer IV's 7.5 KwK 37 cannon aimed directly at her.

"N... Naomi... Kay... Pl... Please help me..." were her last words before the Panzer shot and her tank burst into flames.

Naomi sat inside a bell tower. Since her tank was destroyed, she now relied on her Springfield sniper rifle to do the work. Right now she had the M3 Lee's crew pinned down. She was patiently waiting for one of them to poke their heads out. She was distracted though when she heard a loud bang near her position. She turned around and saw a Sherman engaging a Panzer IV.

She recognized it as Alisa's crew since it was an M1A1 variant. At first, she thought everything was normal, until the Panzer shot a second time and the Sherman exploded.

"A-Alisa!?" she exclaimed, now fearing for the worst. Without thinking, she went down the bell tower and hurried to where Alisa was. She stopped however when someone yelled at her from behind.

"R-Raise your hands!" someone yelled.

"Please this is urgent! I think someone's in danger!" Naomi yelled. She turned around and saw a young girl with brown hair, similar to that of Miho Nishizumi, pointing a pistol at her.

"I said raise your hands!"

"Please kid! I need to see someone! Let me go, I won't hurt you!"

"I-I'm taking you into custody!"

Naomi had enough. She quickly drew her pistol and shot at the kid. She fell down to the ground, uninjured. She then began to run as fast as she could to the town square. When she finally reached it, it was too late.

Alisa was dead.

She collapsed to the ground and she began to cry loudly. The fire subsided, leaving a smoking hunk of metal.

"Alisa... why!? Why did this happen!?" she said as she cried.

The Present

"J-John! You're here!" Miho exclaimed

"What the hell happened here !? Why's that tank on fire!?"

Miho began to tear up, "It's... sob It's all my fault!" then she started to cry.

"Hey! Hey! Miho! Listen, it's not your fault!" John said as he tried to console her.

"It is! I was the one who ordered to fire! It's my fault! I'm a killer!"

"Listen to me! I promise you it's not! Stay here. I'll investigate."

John went over to the tank. He paid no mind to the girl who was sitting near it. He noticed she was crying as well. He looked at the Sherman's frontal hull. It had two sizable holes on it.

"That's weird... Usually the carbon would block that shell from getting inside. Either the Panzer's shells are stronger than an average one, or there's no carbon in this tank at all." John muttered to himself as he inspected the tank.

"How would there be no carbon?" Fumiko asked. She walked up to the tank to examine it too.

"My guess: Saunders went cheap. It's possible, with the number of tanks and infantry they have, they would need a lot of money. Maybe they cut costs on some of the tanks' carbon. But why? Saunders is the richest school in Japan. Money isn't their problem."

"You think someone wanted them dead?" she suggested.

"Hmm... I don't know. We should investigate this further but for now. We need to get rid of this." John then grabbed his radio, "This is John Cassady. I have five casualties here. At Charlestown in the square."

John then went over to the grieving woman near the tank.

"Hey, are you alright? Did you see what happened?" he asked.

"I loved her..." she whispered.

John sighed, "I'm sorry. Come on, let's get you out of here. You need a rest."

6:45 P.M

On the other side of the town, Kay's Sherman was destroyed. The infantry had overwhelmed her. And her tank got stuck.

Her radio came to life, "Commander Kay? Do you copy?" an adult male's voice said.

"This is Kay." she replied with a hint of disdain in her voice.

"Commander, you have failed to protect Charlestown and you have also proven to lack the necessary skills to be a good senior officer."

"For this, you are dismissed as the Commander of Saunders. We have no need for you now. Surrender your weapons at the principal's office after you get back." the transmission cut off.

Kay smiled and stood up from her seat. She then got outside of her tank. Her loader got out of the cupola.

"Ma'am! What do we do now?" she asked.

"Sorry, but I'm not your commander anymore." she said without any hint of sadness or anger. For some reason, she was satisfied with the outcome of this war.

"When you've gathered enough energy, get back to the garrison off the coast."

"What will you do ma'am?"

"Me? Well, to be honest I don't really know. The war's over for me. Now there's nothing left to do." the former commander waved goodbye to her crew and walked off into the distance, never to be seen again.

The battle was over. Oarai has won. The afterparty was less cheerful than the night before though, at least for the others who witnessed the tragedy earlier in the day. They all sat in silence in their own seats around the camp.

Haru sat beside John, "So, the war's coming to an end now huh?"

"Yep, one more town to go." John said as he blanky stared at the ground.

"You know, Miho's acting a bit weird. So is her crew. They've just been sitting on that table in silence. Something happen?"

"They just killed five people. Of course they'll be shook."

"What!?" Haru then hushed his voice, "What do you mean killed!?"

"It was accidental but Miho blames herself for it."

"Shit. Can she still fight after that?"

"I doubt it. She won't be firing a weapon for a while. No matter though. We can still win with what we have."

"The war's finally about to end huh? Ain't it pretty exciting?" Haru asked.

John smiled, "It is"

Fort Braxton, somewhere off the northern coast

Douglas sat down his seat inside his office. He had just had a stressful day. Saunders was on the brink of defeat. His men had lost all hope for victory. All they had to do now was pray; Pray that they would not get hurt.

"Oarai High School... What the hell are you!?" the commander muttered to himself. He then heard the static of his radio.

"Commander Douglas Gray do you copy?" an adult voice said.

"Mr. Ito, this is Douglas Gray, I copy." he replied. "Mr. Ito" was the current headmaster of Saunders. He occasionally calls the commanders who would assess their situation to him.

"Douglas, the war's coming to an end. And you're on the losing side. For this, I will grant you access to our battleship, the North Carolina. Use this to defeat Oarai. If you fail this mission, you will be dismissed as Saunders' Commander. Do not fail me son. Our reputation is on the line." the radio then cut off.

"Whatever old man. I don't care if I lose or not. I just want him dead." he muttered before putting the radio down.

To be continued...

A/N: Sorry if the ending's a bit abrupt, I couldn't think of any more complex words to write.

I will also be writing a side story. It will involve Naomi and a new character as they will investigate further into the mysterious death of Alisa. It will be posted after the Saunders Arc and right before the Anzio one.