Disclaimer: I don't own Gate, if I did then I wouldn't be writing this so yeah. Don't Sue Me. The only thing I do own is my OCs and I am not making any profit off of this. It'd be pretty cool if I did but nope, this is only a hobby of mine.
A/N: Many thanks to BlueWay who helped with my first chapter, really appreciate the time you put into helping me. I definitely feel more confident in this chapter with the tweaks I made to certain places to help with the flow of the chapter, although I'm certain to have screwed up somewhere.
Now onto the story.
A man walked down the street at a leisurely pace, strolling through the large crowds present at midday Ginza, Tokyo.
He thought back to what his commander had said to his unit. "After a weeks worth of military exercises with the JSDF I have decided to give you the option of having fun in Tokyo. Be thankful and have some fun. You all deserve it." And so without much thought he had left the base and took a taxi down to Ginza, Tokyo. Now that he was here, he didn't know what do. He'd never even stepped into Japan before the military exercise between the Koreans and Japanese. He sighed in boredom, if it was going to be like this then it would've been batter to have just stayed on base.
It was at this point that he remembered that like much of the world, had a miniature computer in his pocket.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone and began searching for some places to visit to pass the time. Maybe buy some souvenirs to take home. Or perhaps stop ignoring his growling stomach and stuff himself with some of the local cuisine. His fingers rapidly tapped on his phone as he practically embedded his face into the device. However despite being distracted by his phone the soldier found no issues with the pedestrians. His 5 foot 9 inch frame made him tower over many of the locals and caused the human traffic to naturally swerve around him. It didn't help that his shaved head gave him a rather intimidating look.
As he picked a restaurant to eat at a large gate appeared several hundred meters in front of him. For a minute he mimicked the crowd as they stared at the random and strange structure in curiosity.
Suddenly they heard a roar before a dragon along with a rider flew out of the structure. Immediately following was a hoard of individuals dressed ancient armor. They poured out of the structure and without warning began to slaughter the civilians, Seeing the brutal attacks shocked the civilians into action as they all began running away in a panicked manner, screaming all the while.
Within the crowd the soldier having witnessed the deaths of the first few Japanese citizens backpedaled before breaking out into a run away from the hostiles. He needed to fall back, regroup and get himself armed for the fight.
He thought to himself as he ran. "What the hell is going on?" Really what was going on? One minute he was enjoying a peaceful albeit hungry walk and then a bunch of angry motherfuckers pop out of a gate or archway or whatever the hell that was and start killing people. That doesn't happen, it shouldn't happen and yet behind the running soldier it was happening.
He mentally slapped himself, throwing away the line of thought. "Come on John focus here, you've gotta get the civilians to safely."
His answer came in the form of the first responders sirens. He stopped and yelled to the panicked crowd in Japanese. "Everyone run to the police! They'll get you to safety!" He hoped they would be enough until a proper response force could be assembled to drive back the hostiles.
"When I get my hands on a gun..." He gritted out in Korean feeling naked without a weapon.
As he rounded a corner and found himself face to face with one of the unknowns with a short sword in his right hand and wearing armor similar to those worn by the Romans.
The pair seemed to stay still, surprised at the sudden meeting.
"...!" Before John could make any moves against the swordsman, he swiped at the Korean, moving on instinct the soldier ducked down avoiding the swing and tackled his opponent to the ground.
The short sword fell out of the swordsman's hand as he was tackled by the soldier. Kicking John off of him in response, the swordsman scrambled to his sword only to be stopped as John leaped on to the mans back. Putting his knee on the small of his back John reached over and clasped his hands under the mans chin and pulled as hard as he could. The swordsman cried out in agony as his spine was broken with a sickening snap. Without pause John reached over and grabbed the sword. Flipping the sword so the pointed edge was facing downwards John shoved the sword into the mans back, where his heart likely was, killing him instantly.
As he pulled the sword out he looked down at his grey shirt to find it splattered with blood. Breathing out he looked over at his first kill. "My first kill is with a sword and on some ancient looking asshole." He mumbled out before looking at the corpse in detail. "The armor looks Roman...where the hell did these guys come from?" His eyes narrowed as he thought of a plausible answer but getting none and only confusing himself even more in the process.
With a sigh he shook his head getting rid of the errant thought before standing up. As he walked away from the dead man he began to wonder about his squad mates that were in the invaded city at the moment. If his memory served correctly then everyone except two of his squad members were in Ginza at the moment which meant he needed to get in contact with them.
"You guys better be alive." He said to himself as he reached for his phone. His finger was about to press down to call one of his squad mates when his phone rang out. Not even checking the caller ID John immediately answered the phone.
"Hello?"
A feminine voice called out in an urgent manner. "Lee where the hell are you?!"
"I don't know." He answered back without shame.
"What?! Damn it Lee this isn't the time for getting lost." The caller paused with a sigh before continuing. "Well you're not hurt are you?"
John shook his head, not that she would see it. "No I'm fine, what about you?"
Several moments passed and the only reply he got was garbled Japanese and the screams of the civilians in the background. By now John had slowed to a near crawl with tensed muscles as he made his through a street littered with numerous dead bodies. The people responsible merely a handful of meters away from the corpses.
Suddenly the voice came back to life. "Hey listen Lee, I'm near a guy that's off duty SDF. He says it's best to have the civilians hole up at the Imperial Palace. Seems like he knows what he's doing. Do you think it's a good idea?"
He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Yeah if I remember right then the palace was designed for large scale sieges back when it was built. We'll meet up there and get armed for the fight. Also try to get as many civvies as you can along the way." He continued his approach to the Roman-like soldiers at a slow pace.
"Got it but how are you going to get there? You don't know where you are right?"
"I'll link up the others, they're close by." With that he hung up and moved in front of the four Romans, getting their attention and in the process missing the two individuals that was behind them.
One of the individuals raised their guns and with a loud bang, dropped one of the Roman lookalikes. Immediately afterwards the second individual raised their gun up and fired away killing two more of the Roman invaders before stopping as the fourth and final enemy was stabbed from behind. Ripping the sword from the dead man's chest John looked at the two shooters with a relieved smile.
"Well least I won't have to go hunting for you two." He called out.
The shooters revealed to be two men that John was familiar with, his squad mates Private First Class Kim Tae Ha and Private First Class Hyung Ben.
Standing at 5 foot 6 inches Kim Tae Ha wore a red t-shirt and shorts. He was the grenadier of the squad and also the most recent addition to John's squad along with Hyung Ben.
John walked up to his grenadier, noting the Sig P226 in both his and Hyung Ben's hand. "Good to see you two are okay."
With a small smile he replied back. "Good to see your well squad leader." Nodding John turned to Hyung Ben who was around the same height as the grenadier and was the only member of the squad to carry a rifle and grenade launcher hybrid, the K-11 DAW.
Clasping his hand John greeted his youngest squad member. "Hyung Ben, you good?" With a shake of his head he responded back. "Yeah, I'm good sir and the both of us are ready for your orders."
"Calm under pressure hm? I guess all that training is paying off now." John thought, somewhat proud of his newest and youngest soldiers.
He twirled the sword in his hand, shaking off some of the excess blood. "I just got off the phone with Kim Han Yoon. Rendezvous is at the Imperial Palace where the civilians are being evacuated to. That being said, do any of you know the way?"
Nodding in confirmation Kim Tae Ha took the lead. "I know the way squad leader follow me." With that the young soldier took off with the others following closely behind.
Taking the short reprieve from combat as a good time to get the tough questions out of the way John spoke up in a low voice. "How do you two feel? About your first kill I mean."
For a short while the privates remained silent as they thought of an answer.
"To be honest sir I didn't feel much, didn't freeze up or anything really bad. Just feel kinda sad that I killed a person. You know they have family and all that." Hyung Ben replied in a somber tone but quickly shook it off. "But don't worry about me sir, I'm combat ready."
"I'm pretty much the same way." Kim Tae Ha added in while nodding along with his comrades answer.
Taking the answers in good grace the small group continued on in silence.
Kim Han Yoon pocketed her phone as she looked at Youji Itami, a member of the SDF that was off duty. She had overheard his plan of using the Imperial Palace as a safe haven for the civilians, something her squad leader agreed with and an idea that seemed to send the police officer present grinding to a halt.
"A-Are you sure that's the best idea?" Came the unsure question. Without missing a beat Itami replied back. "The palace was originally created to hold out against sieges, it'll work." He seemed to stress the last two words before continuing. "We need to hurry and escort the civilians out of here so use that radio to alert whoever you can."
With a nod the police officer spoke into the radio, telling whoever was listening of the plan.
Seeing the police officer finish Kim Han Yoon walked up to the pair. She cleared her throat gaining the attention of the two men. "I can help with the evacuation by going a bit north and rounding up some people that are stuck there."
Itami merely nodded at the suggestion. "That would be great, thank you..."
"Corporal Kim Han Yoon of the Korean Marines." She said before turning around and heading north.
Itami called after the retreating figure of the Marine. "Hey be careful when you're up there!"
The police officer seemed a bit dumbfounded at that. "Korean Marine? Wha-."
"Korean and Japanese military exercise. All over the news buddy." He said before pointing west, towards the palace. "I'll run ahead and guide everyone there. Can you hang back and help any stragglers along?"
The officer responded with a shaky nod.
Itami responded with a nod of his own before he too took off, looking for any surviving civilians.
As he reached the Imperial Palace entrance he was greeted by the first riot squad, lined up and ready to combat the hostiles. However instead of preparing for the hostiles their attention was currently on the large crowd of civilians pouring into the safety of the palace walls. A moment later his attention turned back down the road to find the Korean Marine running towards the palace all the while herding a score of straggling civilians.
The new group piled into the already chaotic mess of bodies in front of the gate, causing a ripple effect as order began to break down. People shoved, kicked and clawed their way through in a desperate attempt to get inside. Things were getting too hectic and crazy. Thankfully the riot squads were specifically trained in the art of non-lethal crowd control.
Reverting back unto their earliest training days the riot squads worked overtime as they attempted to pacify the chaotic crowd. Precious minutes passed and a semblance of order was achieved as the squads worked to further calm the terrified civilians. The two soldiers made their way inside as the remnants of the chaotic group dispersed into the palace walls.
"They did a good job in controlling the crowd." Itami said in appraisal while eyeing the trickle of civilians that were still coming through the gate,
The female Marine nodded her head in agreement "Yeah and thankfully no one got hurt in the process." Afterwards she pinched the bridge of her nose at the thought of the days events. Things were escalating quickly. They would no doubt start seeing air and ground support roll into Ginza in an attempt to pacify the hostiles. Which was fine by her but it would still take more time before the response force would arrive. It was time they couldn't waste by standing here.
However before the conversation could continue, a member of the riot squad approached them. As he came closer his gaze lingered on the blood covering Itami's shirt.
"It's not my blood." He explained while gripping the hems of his shirt.
The man nodded and asked him. "Are you in the Self Defense Force by any chance?"
"Yeah, I'm Second Lieutenant Youji Itami." He turned to the female next to him. "And this is Kim Han Yoon, she's-" Before anything else was said their attention turned to a loud yell near the entrance. Turning towards the yell they found three people bloody and armed, with two of the strangers holding pistols and another with a short sword.
"Finally he's here." Kim Han Yoon spoke in recognition while running her hand through her shoulder length black hair. Seeing the two others with John she sighed in relief. "And he managed to link up with the others, good."
Itami looked at the new arrivals. "The rest of your squad?" She shook her in confirmation and turned to the officer in riot gear.
"We need guns."
The officer seemed taken aback at the request. "You're going to go back out? That's crazy. You'll be cut off from help. Plus I don't even know who you people are."
"I'm Corporal Kim Han Yoon of the Korean Marines and this," She pointed at John who was now next to her. "Is my squad leader, Staff Sergeant John Lee. The two others are also part of the squad." Seeing the calculating look of the officer she pressed on.
"We can save more people by being out there, actively looking for them."
The man quietly mulled over her words. Finally he looked at the chaotic city and sighed acceptance. "Alright...you got your guns. Just don't go getting yourselves killed out there, you'll be cut off from support." He turned around and motioned for someone to get the extra gear.
A short moment later a few members of the riot squad brought over a handful of MP5s along with vests and numerous magazines to go with it. As soon as the gear was put down the group of four began readying themselves.
Looking on, Itami had only one word to describe the Marines, professional. That's what he and many others around the globe thought, professional and deadly soldiers. Most naysayers were shut down 12 years ago when the Korean War rose to a climax once more and the ROK Marines received worldwide recognition for their incredible battle record. Of course along with that battle record came the words of; brutes, savages and many other colorful descriptions.
It wasn't long after the last magazine was shoved into the vest pockets when they were called over a by man running up to them with an armful of weapons.
"You're going to need more than a few MP5s to face what's going on out there, here take these." And with that he presented the items, an M79 grenade launcher along with a few rounds of tear gas, a PSG1 semi automatic sniper rifle and two Remington 870 shotguns along with ammunition for each.
John looked over at the weapons in appreciation. "Thanks for the extra stuff, I'm sure they'll come in handy soon enough." He reached over and grabbed the sniper rifle. He turned around and tossed the rifle to Kim Han Yoon who was the team's Designated Marksman. Bringing the gun up she briefly checked over the rifle. Walking around her Kim Tae Ha reached for the M79 along with the tear gas rounds. Made sense considering his role as the squad grenadier. The last two Marines took the remaining 870 shotguns and slung the guns over their backs.
"Usually I have the K-11 DAW but I guess I shouldn't complain." Hyung Ben muttered while looking over his submachine gun.
Finally seeing his squad ready John motioned them to follow him. "Alright we're moving out, no time for sitting on our asses." With a round of affirmatives the squad of Korean Marines followed their squad leader out of the safety of the palace walls and into the city.
Looking at the retreating backs of the Marines the officer looked over at Itami. "I have to ask, are those the Marines that were doing the military exercises with the SDF the past week?"
"Yeah, they're part of the 2nd Marine Division."
"2nd Marines huh. Aren't they the White Horse Division?" He questioned.
Itami shook his head. "No, White Horse Division is the Army. 2nd Marine Division are the Blue Dragons, they're pretty famous in Korea. They're right up there with the White Horse Division in terms of notoriety."
"So...pretty good?"
Itami merely grunted at the question. "Better than just good, they are "Marines who catch ghosts" for a reason. The Korean War, Vietnam War and then the Reunification War 12 years ago showed just how good they are."
The officer tore his gaze away from the marines. "Right well let's get back to the civilians."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked as he fell in behind the officer.
Looking back at Itami the officer pointed towards a number of tents that were being raised. "Do you know basic first aid?" Receiving a nod in confirmation he continued. "Good then you can help with the medics over there. People are still flowing in and we already have a bunch of injured waiting for help."
"I'll be right on it" Itami said as he ran over to the tents.
Outside the palace walls the Korean Marines made their way forward into the chaos undeterred by the fact that they would be going up against a numerically superior force.
They rounded onto the main street that ran through the city and found a large number of the invaders march down the street shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield in a perfect phalanx.
To the invaders the group of four was hardly a threat, after all they were in formation and the small group had no weapons to speak of. Only those strange black sticks.
To the Marines however, they only saw this as an opportunity. An opportunity to fight and to kill. Without hesitation the Marines opened fire with their MP5s onto the formation. The 9mm rounds easily tore through the shields and ripped anyone behind to shreds. Almost immediately the line of soldiers began to fall at the surprise onslaught. Seeing the vulnerability of their enemies the Marines began to make their move.
"Kim Tae Ha, tear gas!" John commanded before motioning Hyung Ben to follow him.
"Got it!" Switching over to the grenade launcher he fired a round into the mass of enemies before reloading and firing off another round. After repeating the process a few more times he managed to completely cover the rapidly falling phalanx in the volatile gas. Switching back over to his primary he fired away at a steady rate at the mess of bodies. Wordlessly he and the female marksman poured on the fire as they attempted to buy the other two time to get into position.
Elsewhere the separated duo weaved in between the buildings as they moved to flank their rapidly dwindling enemy. Under the effects of the tear gas, it was all too easy for them to get around to the flanks of the enemy. After getting into position the duo shouldered their MP5s and blazed away at the Roman lookalikes, effectively creating a killing zone as the Romans were caught in a crossfire.
It was a massacre, plain and simple. Four people absolutely destroying a force that was so much larger.
After having finished ripping apart the enemy formation the squad moved through the bodies, combing for survivors and occasionally popping a shot off at finding a wounded. After combing through the street of strewn out corpses they regrouped at their original firing line. Looking at the mass of dead bodies, Kim Han Yoon asked in a strained voice."How many do you think we killed?"
Hyung Ben followed her gaze and answered her question. "Looks like a company sized force. It was so easy too, with these guys fighting us with glorified sticks and stones." He seemed uncomfortable at the sight. "I hope this ends soon."
"Probably not gonna end for a while, look." John pointed pass several buildings at large congregation of the otherworldly invaders accompanied by various nonhuman additions such as the dragons that flew around the area.
Kim Tae Ha looked where his squad leader pointed at. "That's a big force over there, bigger than what was here. How are we going to stop them?"
"Our objective should be finding any remaining civilians and get them over to the Palace. Fighting them isn't something we can afford to do." Rattled off Kim Han Yoon, convinced that it was the right choice to do.
Kim Tae Ha disagreed however. "There's no use in trying to do that though, the city is too big for the four of us. Our priority should be taking those guys out first." He retorted back. Moments passed as the squad stood still, divided on their objectives.
After a short moment of deliberation John came to his decision. "Killing these guys will be more beneficial in the long run, civilians are secondary now. If we find one along the way then we'll work our way from there." With the attention of the squad he continued in a stern and commanding voice. "That building over there is our LOA, don't go past it for now. Marksman, find a use for that rifle. Everyone know what's going on?"
The squad responded back promptly and without complaint, understanding the weight of his orders."Yes Staff Sergeant!"
"Good, we're oscar mike." With that the squad moved forward into the chosen building.
Reaching the building they rapidly bounded up the stairs, skipping several steps at a time and eventually ending up at the 5th floor. The squad rushed into a room full of cubicles and took up positions around a window that overlooked the street filled with the invaders. However Kim Han Yoon, the marksman of the squad moved to the adjacent room trying to find a better angle for her sniper rifle.
As soon as they looked through the window they found the phalanx of enemies directly in front. "Battalion sized force out there." John muttered, mind racing on how to handle the exceptionally large group. Plus...
"Fucking Orcs on top it along with dragons overhead." Kim Tae Ha cursed.
From her room their marksman called out the distance. "Range 350 meters!"
"Beyond the MP5s effective range." The squad leader spoke in a low voice. Suddenly he stood up getting the attention of the 2 soldiers next to him.
"Alright change of plans!" He yelled out making sure his voice could be heard in the adjacent room. "Kim Tae Ha stay here and cover our marksman." He turned to Hyung Ben. "You're with me, we're going back down for some hit and run. You guys cover us from this building."
Hyung Ben nodded at the order. "Understood."
"Alright and you?" John asked turning to his grenadier.
The grenadier nodded at the order. Satisfied with the nod John led Hyung Ben out of the room. Seeing the two leave Kim Tae Ha quickly moved over to the room where the marksman was set up.
"You ready?" He asked as he crouched down next to her.
Looking through her scope she answered. "More than ready." Suddenly she pulled away from her scope, eyes narrowing at her firing lane. Turning to her squad mate she made her suggestion. "Actually let's move up a couple floors, I need a better firing angle." With a nod the sniper and her partner moved to set themselves up for the upcoming fight.
As the two moved up the other duo had already made their way downstairs. Following close behind the private asked his question. "What's the plan?"
"Hit and run, force them to panic." John answered as he jumped down the last few steps of the stairs.
"And once they panic?"
"Then mow them down."
As they exited the building they began to hear the familiar sounds of helicopters approaching the area. It wouldn't be long before the helicopters began their attack runs on the unsuspecting invasion force scattered throughout the city.
"Shame we didn't ask for radios, we could have coordinated our assault with them." Hyung Ben added while looking up towards the sky.
"Too late now, the helicopters will do their thing and we'll do ours." John only hoped the Japanese pilots didn't get trigger happy and mistake them for the enemy. 20mm cannons rounds tended to turn human flesh into red paste, something he and his squad mate would like to avoid.
The duo swung around jogging several hundred meters and into a building that would put them behind and above the marching battalion.
In the time it took for them to position themselves the soldiers down below had already marched halfway to the building the other two were in, much too dangerous for the marksman to be the first to open fire and expose herself.
They would have to be the ones to fire first and take the brunt of the attack. Knowing this John shouldered his MP5. He aimed down the iron sights and let it hover over one of the distant figures. He didn't need to be pin point accurate with the Romans being so closely packed in together. It was literally a point and shoot situation.
He took deep breath before pulling the trigger, his muscles tensed as they worked to compensate for the recoil. Next to him Hyung Ben followed his actions as they began firing at the formation of enemies in short bursts. It wasn't long before they had the full attention of the Romans as the entire formation, in one fluid motion turned around to face their new foe. Their training had dictated that their shields were their ultimate defense and as such should always be pointed at the enemy. However their training was for naught as the 9mm rounds penetrated through the shields and dug into the flesh of humans.
Quickly it nearly became another repeat of their earlier attack as the battalion began to crumble away under the onslaught of lead and now tear gas as the grenadier launched the volatile gas into the formation. What prevented it from becoming a total repeat was that now, their enemy was a battalion sized force numbering nearly 700 men. The strategy that worked on the smaller group of Romans wouldn't work for long as the sheer number of Romans would begin to brute force their way through.
A direct and continuous engagement would only end up with their deaths, so they didn't do that. Instead they would turn the battle into several smaller and more manageable engagements where John and Hyung Ben would constantly change positions in order to confuse their enemy and whittle them down until nothing was left. However there was only one limitation, their ammo. It wouldn't matter if they were firing in short bursts, eventually they would run out of ammo for the MP5s. Which meant getting up close and personal with their shotguns, hopefully by that time the number of Romans would be low enough to where it wouldn't become a suicide charge. Then again if that happened then the best idea would be to fall back to the building their marksman was in and hole up there.
"Alright, go!" The duo ran out of cover and sprinted across the street and into one of the apartment buildings that littered Tokyo. As they bounded up the stairs they caught a glimpse of a small group of Romans who had broken off from the main force in order to track them down.
"Shit." John cursed as he counted eleven individuals running towards them.
Wordlessly both men moved quickly as they rested their submachine guns on the railings. From nearly four stories up they had a perfect sight line on the group and like the countless times before aimed and fired down on their charging enemy. Only this time, things became a tad bit more complicated.
John had barely fired a burst before the submachine gun in his hands clicked empty. Releasing the magazine he frantically patted himself down, searching for one more full magazine but only coming up empty. He yelled over to his squad mate. "Fuck, out of ammo! What about you?!"
As soon as he had said that the gun in Hyung Ben's hand clicked empty. "I'm out on ammo too." He replied.
Now with their MP5s out of commission, there was only one option left for the two. "Hyung Ben, how are you on CQC?" John asked while brandishing his shotgun.
Hyung Ben responded back in a grimace as he mimicked his squad leader. "Good enough for this." Afterwards the duo crouched at the top of the stairs as their shotguns were loaded and ready to blow apart whatever that came up. Tense moments passed as the two heard the clatter of metal accompanied by the thumping of footsteps coming up the steps.
The sounds became louder and louder before the first armored man turned the corner of the stairwell in a fast jog. The man didn't even have a time to warn the others as a blast from Hyung Ben's shotgun plowed into his chest and in the process blowing it open in a bloody mess. The deafening blast and the sight of their comrade being eviscerated shocked the next man into a standstill. A fact that John took advantage of as he fired off his shotgun, easily killing the Roman. Several more times their shotguns rang off as the rest of the group attempted to rush the two but only failing in the process.
As John pumped his shotgun once more he and Hyung Ben waited for another Roman to come up the stairs. For several moments they waited for another Roman to cross their sights however the only thing they found was the blood covered stairwell along with the mangled bodies. Finally deciding that they were in the clear John let out a relieved sigh before picking his ears with his finger.
"Damn it's still ringing." He grumbled, referring to the amplified blast of the shotgun in the tight quarters of the apartment complex.
Beside him Hyung Ben moaned in agreement.
After short moment of rest John stood up and turned to where the rest of the battalion was last seen. Suddenly one of the Cobras flew low in a strafing run at the area where he was looking at. There was no doubt about it now, the remnants were still in the general area where they were last seen.
Turning back to his squad mate John tapped him on the shoulders, getting his attention.
"Let's go down, we're not done yet." John said as he waited for the private to stand up.
With a short nod Hyung Ben stood up and followed his squad leader downstairs, careful in their steps in order to not slip on the spilled blood.
As they jogged out the building John spoke up. "Hyung Ben stay close and watch my back." The pumping of the privates shotgun was the only response he got. They slowed down as they reached the area where the remnants were last seen. The duo moved silently though the streets and alleyways as they attempted to find and hopefully ambush whatever was left of the battalion sized force.
John rounded a corner before suddenly pulling back and nearly causing Hyung Ben to bump into him.
"Sir?"
John held up a hand to silence any further questions and peeked around the corner. In front of him was the last remnants of the battalion. Currently they were spread about in a haphazard manner as they tried to regroup. The constant coughing and rubbing of the eyes along with the sheer look of misery was enough evidence to John that they were still recovering from the tear gas.
Silently he counted only a dozen of them left and there was no signs of the orcs or dragons. Most likely red paste on the ground from the strafing runs of the Cobras.
In their current shape and condition, they would be easy pickings for the two Marines.
John turned to face his youngest soldier. "There's a dozen left. No non-humans and no dragons and they're still recovering from the tear gas. You ready?"
He leaned back, letting the private take a brief look. After a moment the young soldier looked back up to his squad leader.
"Lead the way."
Nodding John took a deep breath before he began counting down with his finger.
Three.
Two.
One.
At the signal both men shot out of cover and ran straight into the struggling group. Their initial shotgun blasts were accompanied by an equally loud roar from the two soldiers.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack the first two Romans fell without even knowing what had killed them. The next two were barely able to stand up before they too were cut down by the shotguns. It wasn't until their third pump of their shotguns when the Romans began showing a semblance of fighting back.
As fast as their tired bodies would allow they charged a the attacking in a feeble attempt to defend themselves. However it was all for naught as hey were cut down by the two soldiers.
Side stepping a spear Hyung Ben kicked the man responsible down before obliterating his upper torso. Not even batting an eye at the gruesome display he quickly changed targets, a straggler who was clawing at his eyes as he continuously felt the unbearable burning sensation of the gas. Without pause he leveled the sights at the mans chest and fired. The shotgun bucked in his hands once more, causing him to tense his muscles in an order to tame the recoil.
Suddenly from his right he heard a shout. Turning towards the sound he found a pale Roman with a bloodstained bandage on his chest charging at him with a small dagger. A last ditch effort to avenge his fallen.
With practiced ease he leveled the sights on the blood red bandages. Center mass, just like they were taught. However unlike before all he heard was the ominous click of an empty gun. Cursing he tightened his grip on his shotgun and charged at the wounded man only to see the full weight of his squad leader plow into man.
With a loud thud the mans back slammed into the concrete, aggravating his injury and causing him to cry out in pain.
Not caring for the blood that was getting smeared on him John grabbed the mans head viciously slammed it into the ground. Roaring in agony the Roman brought his dagger in attempt to stab the man on top of him. Deftly grabbing the offending wrist John twisted it a brutal manner before tearing the small knife out of his hands. Holding the dagger in a backhanded grip he stabbed the man in the throat, severing the vital connection between the brain and body.
Not giving himself a moment of rest he immediately rolled off the dead Roman and scanned his surroundings in a crouch with his gun raised.
"Clear!"
"Clear!" They called out to each other, seeing no more hostiles in their immediate area. Afterwards they moved over to one of the shaded spaces as they checked themselves over. Looking at each other they found themselves covered in blood. Hyung Ben looked worse than John despite having less blood on him due to the blood contrasting sharply with his white shirt.
With his heart rate coming back under control Hyung Ben took a moment to gaze at his squad leaders handy work. Simply put he was impressed at the ease at which John had disposed of the Romans. Mentally he counted four kills with his shotgun during the brief exchange, the rest belonged to John. He had killed twice the number of Romans and did it faster.
As they began reloading their shotguns they found another issue on top of everything else.
"Shit...I've only got 4 shells left." John cradled his last remaining shells.
"I have 3 shells left." Hyung Ben grimly replied as he shoved the last of his shells into the 870.
Sighing in annoyance of yet another problem on a growing list of problems John ran a hand across his face, causing the still fresh blood to be smeared across his face.
Seeing his bloody hands he threw them up and spoke his grievances. "Fuck the donkey. Fuck the ammo. Fuck the Romans. Fuck the Japanese. Fuck the blood. And fuck the Japanese. The hell man, can't I get a damn break?"
Hyung Ben gave his squad leader a questioning look. "Fuck the donkey?"
"Don't question it."
This time Hyung Ben let out a sigh. "Got it in one sir."
"Good." John let out another sigh as he loaded the last of the shells in. They were given barely enough for two engagements and now the only thing between life and death was the measly 7 shells between the two of them. That was it, their submachine guns were completely dry on ammo. Things had quickly changed from a search and destroy mission to a resupply mission. It was annoying to say the least.
John grunted as he stood up. "Right, now that things have calmed down a bit lets head back to the building the others were in. Afterwards we'll make our way back to the palace to resupply."
"I hope they're still in that building, it'd be a pain to try and find them in all of this." Hyung Ben commented while standing up after his squad leader.
Seeing the young private stand up John began to walk in the direction of the building.
Unlike before the duo decided to go straight towards the last known location of the sniper and grenadier. No need to take the long way when everyone around them was dead with their body parts blown off. The few that no doubt did survive had run away to who knows where during the confusion. No matter though, they would be caught soon enough or outright killed, either way they won't be problem for much longer.
It wasn't long before they entered the building. Silently they made their way to the stairs but proceeded to stop. The reason being a large puddle of water with several electrical wires tossed in at the bottom of the stairs. If that wasn't enough of a warning then large pile of bodies on the water most certainly was.
"Well, at least we know they're resourceful." Mumbled John as he took a cautious step to the side, making extra care to not step in the water.
"Perhaps a bit too much?" Hying Ben asked.
"Not really, these guys probably don't have the understanding that water and electricity don't mix." If they at a similar level of technology as the the actual Romans then they wouldn't know the dangers. Then again you would think that seeing their friends step into the water only to die in agony would be a good indicator of danger.
"Well we can use something they don't know about. An elevator." Hyung Ben pointed out the elevator at the end of the hallway.
John nodded at the suggestion. "Alright, let's go then." With that he moved to the elevator, falling in behind Hyung Ben who got there first.
Seeing his squad leader inside the elevator Hyung Ben pressed the button that take them to the fifth floor. A short moment passed before the door opened with a soft chime, signifying their arrival. The duo moved out of the elevator with their guns raised as they made their way to the room their squad members were last seen in.
Stacking up at the entrance of the room Hyung Ben took a peek at the room. To his frustration he found it empty.
"They're not here." He grunted while scanning the empty room. "Where are th-" Before he could finish as shout cut him off.
"Is that you Hyung Ben?!"
"Kim Tae Ha? Yeah where are you?!" He yelled back scanning upwards to the sounds of their squad mates voice.
Then a feminine voice was heard. "7th floor, 3rd room on the right!" That was their marksman.
Following the call out the duo moved to the stairs where they found dead bodies strewn about. Like before at the apartment they moved in caution as pool of blood around the bodies made it slippery to walk.
Suddenly Kim Han Yoon's feminine voice rang out. "Hey is Lee with you?!"
Still in the process of walking up the stairs, the mentioned man yelled back. "I'm here!"
Finally reaching the 7th floor the bloodied duo broke out into jog in efforts to hurry up and get resupplied. As they jogged into the designated room, they found Kim Han Yoon peering down her scope with her squad mate next to her. The grenadier turned to the arrived party.
"I assume we're heading back to get resupplied."
John nodded and motioned for them to get up. "What's your ammo situation?"
"I've got 3 mags left for the MP5. Out of ammo on the M79 though."
The female finally took her eyes off the scope and spoke up. "5 mags left for the MP5. For the rifle, I've got the last 2 rounds loaded in right now."
With a roll of his shoulders John began issuing orders. "So you have 8 mags between the two of you, that's 2 for each of us. Not much but it'll do."
He moved besides the marksman and looked down at the streets, the once clean roads were stained in blood. Finally tearing his gaze away from the bloodstained streets he turned to face the rest of his squad.
"I saw a water fountain in the hallway, drink some water and ready up."
Hyung Ben and Kim Tae Ha nodded at the orders and ambled on out of the room, leaving the John and Kim Han Yoon by themselves.
With a soft groan the female sniper stood up to her full height, topping out just under 5 foot 5 inches. Laying her rifle against the wall she began to stretch the stiffness out of her limbs. Afterwards she scooped her rifle back up and cradled it against her chest.
Her squad leader took notice.
"Getting attached to that gun?" He asked with smirk, knowing her tendencies for guns, snipers specifically.
"It's a good gun; the Germans make some quality stuff." She admitted before sighing. "Shame I'm not gonna use this more."
Emerging from the hallway the grenadier decided to jump in. "Of course it's a good gun, it's German. Most of the things they make is top notch."
"Right." John grunted out, cutting off the conversation early. They could talk when this was all over with. "Is everyone good?" The squad nodded in confirmation. They were ready for more, made sense, they were Marines after all.
"Good let's go, we're oscar mike." With that they moved out, their new objective; to head back to the palace and get resupplied.
The route back to the palace was surprisingly quiet so far, most likely due to the Cobras overhead gunning everything down with their 20mm cannons.
The squad moved in silence, everyone keeping their heads on a swivel to watch out for any signs of the Romans. For a short while things were quiet but the quietness didn't last long.
Suddenly they heard a sickening thump of flesh before a whirring of a helicopter blade above their heads. The squad looked up and to their horror they found a falling Cobra, side painted in bright red, the rotor sputtering and the engine failing to power the aircraft. They watched in silence as the Cobra slammed into a nearby hotel, lodging itself on the upper floors with the rear end still hanging precariously off the side. Hyung Ben was the first to say anything.
"What the hell happened?!"
"More things going wrong, that's what happened." John spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Whatever let's go, we're getting those pilots!" He roared before kicking into high gear and charging towards the building. He didn't even look back, knowing that his squad would follow without hesitation. Any thoughts of getting resupplied was left unsaid. They had a new objective; save he downed pilots or in the worst case scenario, recover their bodies.
Busting through the glass doors John and his squad ran straight towards the stairs. They didn't even look at the elevator as they charged through the lobby. John threw open the doors that blocked the stairwell, allowing passage from everyone else. Together the squad ran up, skipping several steps at a time.
"We're going to the 10th floor!" John yelled while passing a sign that told everyone that they just passed the 4th floor.
Huffing and puffing Kim Han Yoon asked back. "Why 10th?!" The response she got was something that she should have expected in all honesty, given that she knew him since they met 4 years ago in basic.
"I eyeballed it."
"Oh god." She groaned out, nearly missing a step in the process.
The rest of the trip up was done in silence, with their breathing mixing in with the sounds of their stomping feet. Upon reaching the 10th floor John motioned everyone to fan out in an effort to find the helicopter as fast as they could. Precious minutes passed without results before a feminine voice was heard throughout the floor.
"Cobra 2 floors below us!"
No more words were spoken as they all ran back to the stairs. As John made it to the 8th floor he saw Kim Tae Ha and Kim Han Yoon were already making their way to the chopper. Hyung Ben was right behind him.
"Found it! Sir, room 310!" With haste John ran through the halls trying to find the room, his patience running thin. "Where is it?" He thought desperately to himself. A few moments later he ran into the room and saw the pilots, one male and one female, laid out on the floor. The marksman looked up at her squad leader, reporting the conditions of the two pilots.
"Lee both are unconscious, probable concussions and the girl has a broken leg."
"Well at least they won't start complaining." He muttered before he turned to Kim Tae Ha. "Pick him up and let's hurry, before we start having the ancient motherfuckers running in." He said while making his way to the female pilot. With a simple nod the two bent down and slung the two pilots over in a fireman's carry before running towards the stairs, again.
As they reached the stairs they found Hyung Ben with a grim look on his face holding the door open for the squad. They were bounding down the stairs when he gave the bad news. "We've got hostiles inside the hotel."
"Doesn't matter, it only means we gotta plow through them." Kim Han Yoon grunted out before she and Hyung Ben positioned themselves in front of the two carrying the pilots. Almost immediately the foreign language of the Romans reached their ears along with the clanking of steel.
The two forces met halfway and nearly collided with each other. Hyung Ben who was leading as the point man fired his shotgun once more blowing the man in front of him against the wall with a bloody splat. Like a ripple effect, the marksman opened fire with her MP5 mowing down several more that rushed up the stairs.
Soon the dead bodies began to pile up but despite the extra mass that threatened to block the Marines, they ruthlessly plowed forward kicking and shoving anything in their paths, not showing signs of slowing down however their ammo, or rather lack of ammo was starting to catch up to them.
"Take my shit! I don't need them!" John hollered at his point man. Quickly taking John's last mags and shells Hyung Ben reloaded his shotgun and pushed ahead replacing Kim Han Yoon who ran back up to Kim Tae Ha. Taking his last two mags she jammed one of her last remaining magazines into her submachine gun as she ran back down to Hyung Ben who was in the process of kicking a man through the door.
In the reception area the Romans watched in shock as the stairwell door was broken down by a body flying through the door. On the floor the downed man looked at his chest in a dazed manner, his armor was dented by kick that sent him clear through the door. With a groan the he was helped up but before he even had a footing, was dropped along with his allies. The Marines rushed past the corpses and bullied their way through the group of Romans that stood in front of them before running out the doors with a number of the survivors chasing them.
They ran several blocks, weaving in and out between buildings and alleyways in order to evade their pursuers before coming to a back alleyway. In the alleyway they quietly stood still, waiting for any signs of their chasers. After several tense moments with no signs of their pursuers the Marines collectively let out a sigh.
"Alright guys, lets take a breather before we think about making our way to the palace." John panted out while setting down the female pilot against the wall. Kim Tae Ha followed his actions as he set down the male pilot next to her.
"Hopefully with no more complications." The grenadier mumbled back with his hands on his knees.
John replied back in a flippant manner despite his breathlessness. "Wouldn't count on it, besides it's boring when things go right."
Kim Tae Ha looked at his superior with raised eyebrows. "Squad leader, I don't know if I said this or not but...you're not normal."
The man simply scoffed. "I'm a Marine, I don't do normal. Besides what's "normal" anyway?"
"People who don't want unnecessary trouble for one." He pointed out.
"Well I am who I am, not gonna change that. Besides, normal people don't get laid. Kinda like you Mr. Virgin."
The soldier became quiet, not having a retort for John's comment.
A low groan sounded out, drawing the attention of the Marines.
"Finally one's waking up." John grunted out. And it was about time, carrying them all the way to the palace would've been a massive pain to begin with.
Slowly the male pilot's consciousness returned. Clearing his head of the cobwebs he rubbed his head and face before looking at the 4 people holding guns in front of him.
Jolting in surprise he stammered out. "Who...Who are you?! And where's-" Before he could finish John cut him off.
"Relax, we're friendly and your buddy is right next to you."
Looking over he saw his friend leaning against the wall, still unconscious. With a relieved sigh he stood up. He stumbled a bit before he steadied himself with a hand on the wall. Finally deeming himself steady enough he turned to his rescuers.
"Thanks for getting us out." He said in gratitude. "I'm Muromi Sakaki and this," He pointed to the female pilot. "Is Nami Hane."
John cut him off before he could say more. "We can talk while we move. Can you walk?" It was blatantly clear he didn't want to be left exposed in their position with the amount of ammo they had for any longer than it needed it to be. Even if it meant he had to carry the female pilot, better tired and alive then content and dead.
"Yeah, no problem." A thoughtful look crossed the pilots face. "By the way, where we are going to?" He asked to no one in particular.
Hyung Ben answered. "The Imperial Palace. I don't think it's far from where we are right now." Looking to the side, he saw the female pilot being slung over unto John's shoulder in a fireman's carry once more.
With the female pilot secured they began their trek towards the Palace. It wasn't long before the female pilot began to regain consciousness.
"Hey don't move around so much, your legs broken." Kim Tae Ha said to her when she began to move around too much.
"You should relax, we're almost to safety." John grunted out. "And don't start thrashing around, I'll drop you if you do." He finished.
"Lee stop, you're scaring the girl." Kim Han Yoon chided.
"Am I really?" He hummed not caring one way or another before asking the male pilot a question that was on everyone's mind. "Hey Sakaki, what happened up there?"
The mentioned pilot simply sighed. "Long story short, a dragon and its rider rammed us in the side. Our Cobra had a history of engine and rotor problems so the sudden impact along with the chunks of flesh pretty much stopped the rotor and engine." The Marines frowned at his confession of flying in an unreliable machine.
"Engine and rotor issues? Why isn't something like that taken care of? Fix or replace if needed." Kim Han Yoon asked. Before Sakaki could answer the female pilot spoke up for the first time.
"The SDF has been experiencing budget cuts lately. Maintenance crews did their best to fix it but the Cobra needed a brand new engine." That was a severe problem in the eyes of the Koreans; if any military equipment showed reliability issues then it should be quickly taken care of, that was something that should never be compromised under any circumstance. Especially if a person's life relied on that equipment.
Afterwards an uncomfortable silence hung over the group. "So...ugh what are your names? I never got them." Sakaki asked in an awkward and embarrassed manner. Taking his embarrassment in stride they sounded off one by one.
"I'm Hyung Ben, Private First Class of the ROK Marines."
"Private 1st Class Kim Tae Ha, I'm the squads grenadier."
"Corporal Kim Han Yoon and I'm the designated marksman."
"John Lee, Staff Sergeant and the glorious squad leader of 1st squad of 3rd platoon in the 1st Marine Regiment that's a part of the kickass Blue Dragons."
"Blue Dragon?" Nami questioned out loud.
"Another name for the 2nd Marine Division." The corporal answered. "Oh well look at that, we're at the Palace." She commented.
Indeed they were, in front of them the palace was now only a few hundred meters away. However even from a distance they could see the dead Romans in front. The blood was still freely flowing from the corpses.
As the group approached the palace entrance they were met with a very tense group of officers in riots gear. Oh and at gun point too.
Hyung Ben was at the front of the group and was also the first to respond. "Woah there, we're friendly guys."
"We've got two of your pilots, both are injured. It's best that they get medical attention quickly. Especially Nami-san on my back, she's got a broken leg on top of a probable concussion." John added in before continuing. "We're also the group that ran out with your gear, if it helps any."
His mentioning of the injured pilots and self identification seemed to calm the officers.
One of the officers spoke up. "Welcome back and good to see the pilots were okay. We saw the crash, looked terrible from this angle."
"It's a helicopter crash, doubt it would've looked pleasant from any angle." John mumbled before he recognized the officer. "Hey you're the guy who gave the gear, thanks for that by the way."
The officer waved him off. "Yeah it was no problem, now hurry inside. Those pilots need some help." He finished, motioning them inside.
The riot squad moved aside, giving the returning soldiers room to pass. Once inside they were directed to a makeshift group of tents where people were going to receive first aid.
In front of the tents they were greeted by several medics who immediately grabbed the two pilots and made their way inside.
The pilots turned to thank their saviors as they were being taken into a tent.
"Thanks for everything, we wouldn't have made it without you guys." As the tent flaps closed, Nami's voice could be heard. "Sakaki-kun don't you think John's name is weird for a Korean?" There was a shuffle of clothing. "Do you think changed his name?"
"I'm sure he has a reason." Was the reply.
Outside, squad snickered at their squad leader, finding the situation all too amusing.
"I told you Lee, people get confused about your name."
"Well sorry for preferring my American name over my Korean one." He griped before finding a pile of ammo boxes. "Know what? Let's get resupplied, that was the whole point of us coming here anyway." Walking over to the ammo crates they found another familiar face although only one member knew his name.
"Hey Itami, is that you?"
"Kim Han Yoon?" Itami turned to the approaching group and noticed the state they were in. "Wow you guys look terrible, especially you two." He said gesturing to two Marines with shotguns.
"Well we were the ones fighting in CQC, makes sense we look the worse." John sighed as he ran a hand over his blood covered head. The dried blood would be difficult to wash out, which was quite unfortunate.
"Well do you want some water to wash it off? Itami asked.
Immediately Hyung Ben spoke up in a relieved tone. "That would be great, thanks."
"Right, I'll be right back." With that he walked away. When Itami came back however he found the Marines resupplied and ready to go back out.
"They're going back out?" He thought to himself in surprise.
Giving the bottles of water to the individuals he looked at their gear. "Are you guys heading back out?" He asked although he already knew the answer.
"Yep, we're gonna clean our faces a bit and head back out." John said while pouring the water over his head.
Itami frowned, they did more than enough for today. "You don't have to, the JSDF is in full force right now and most of the invaders are dead. All that's left are the stragglers hiding in buildings."
"Then that means we're breaching and clearing now. Not my favorite thing to do but I'll manage." Hyung Ben said as he rubbed his head with water.
Several quiet moments passed as they waited for John and Hyung Ben to finish cleaning their faces. With a satisfied sigh the two rubbed the excess water off of their faces as most of the blood was washed off. The more stubborn spots would take more water and scrubbing but it was enough.
Wiping off the water on his hands on his pants John offered Itami a smile. "Thanks for the water."
Itami nodded at the thanks.
They were about of leave when Itami stopped them.
"Hey wait a minute."
The squad turned around to face the Japanese lieutenant.
Suddenly feeling the gaze of the four Marines Itami rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner.
"I ugh don't know your names well at least most of you. It doesn't seem right not knowing at least who you guys are."
John looked at the man before shrugging. Nothing to lose by telling him their names. "I'm John Lee, Staff Sergeant and squad leader." He turned to face the rest of his squad. "And these are my guys, Private First Class Hyung Ben and Kim Tae Ha. I'm sure you don't need an introduction for our marksman."
Hearing the Staff Sergeants name Itami cocked his head in confusion. "John? That's a weird name for a Korean. Did you change it?" It was an innocent question yet all too amusing for everyone, except John.
"It's my American name. I have a Korean name too but I prefer this name over that." He sighed out. It was annoying and tiresome no matter how long he had been doing this.
"So what's your Korean name?" The response he got wasn't a response at all, much to his chargin.
"Well guys let's go, we're wasting time here." With that he marched away with his squad following closely behind, leaving Itami without an answer.
"Oi! At least give an answer!" He yelled to their backs. Not getting one he simply sighed before talking out loud to no one in particular. "Well I should probably go back to the medics. See what I can do to help." With that he ambled on over to the first aid tents.
As the squad made their way to the entrance, they found themselves impressed at the setup of medical tents and steady flow of communication between the riot squads and the SDF. People were being helped by doctors and any uncertainties were being put to rest by the riot squad. So despite the terror the civilians faced earlier they found themselves in high spirits, confident in the abilities of their police and SDF.
Much like before the four Marines sauntered out of the main gates without a care in the world. It was second nature for them despite it being their first taste of combat. Their training was paying off dividends.
Staring at the buildings in front of them, Kim Tae Ha addressed his squad leader in a worried tone. "Hey squad leader?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
He gestured to the city around them. "Where are we going to start? It's a big city and by now most of the Romans are holed up in the buildings."
John hummed in thought. "Well it's pretty simple when you think about it."
The private looked confused. "I don't think so, we have to find-" However before he could continue, John sharply cut him off.
"Exactly we have to find the bastards. Meaning one thing, building to building and room to room."
A moment passed before a sigh was heard from the man. "This is gonna suck." Everyone craned their heads upwards, following the rising profile of the buildings all around them.
"The SEALs have a saying for this you know." Kim Han Yoon said in a resigned voice.
John looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"The only easy day was yesterday." They all smiled a that. In the end it was all they could do. Do your job to the best of your ability and keep moving forward.
John cracked his neck as he addressed his team. "Well no time for just standing here, let's pick a building and hit it hard." Seeing the confident looks on their faces he began walking to a random building in front of them, the first of many for the Koreans that day in what would be known as the Battle of Ginza.
This section is for the military jargon/vocabulary that is used in the chapter. This way you, the reader won't have fill in the blanks or go look it up. Plus some of these are pretty hilarious in their own right, gotta love military humor, the best kind of humor. Anyway onto the list:
Oscar Mike: Arguably one of the more famous one's out there. Thank you Hollywood and Call of Duty. Anyway it means "On the Move." It's a combination of the military phonetic alphabet O (Oscar) and M (Mike). It can also mean "On Mission" depending on how it's used.
LOA: This is an acronym for "Limit of Advance" which as it sounds means the point where you don't advance due to suspected enemy presence or unknown dangers. Generally this ins't a widely used term, at least from I can gather so chances are it may not be used a lot or if at all in future chapters.
