X

"YOU DON'T LISTEN... DO YOU... "

All alone the words continued to beat him down in this darken place, seemingly to echo forever.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he said rhetorically, as he already knew the answer why. He always knew why.

Soon the shadows began to shift and take the shapes of walls, stairs, chairs, and tables; beautiful candle shaped lamps were mounted on the corners, the stairs stacked up halfway to the second floor before splitting in opposite direction the rest of the way. There hanging up high a giant crystal chandelier was suspended, but remained ever so still with the eerie ambiance of the house dominating everything with only the creek of the floor boards breaking the silence.

Taking a step forward up the stairs the velvet blue carpeting softening each step taken, as he climbed up the voice of a man could be heard bickering from the top. When the second floor was approaching near a man was seen storm across from the right to left his voice raising in growing anger as he dragged a child across the hall.

"I was crystal clear when I told you. You're not allowed to come out of your room when guest are visiting!" he reminded so abrasively as the child struggled to keep up.

After a short, but infuriating walk the man came up to a door almost looking like he was about to rip it off its hinges, he then threw the child in the room before slamming it shut, and locking the door from the outside, then storming off the man placed the key on top of a hall stand right in clear sight. Finally making it to the top of the steps, loud banging was staring shake the door luring him closer, photo frames were hanging off the walls of a mother, a father, and their daughter. So perfect. The more he got close the more violent the banging became, picking the key off the stand there was a sudden crash came from the other side of the door, and smoke began to seep out from the cracks around the door.

A burning glow flickered from beneath the door, the child inside becoming desperate to get out as the door can visibly be seen bulging with each strike, heat was making it harder to approach feeling the stinging pain on his skin when he slid in the key. Hesitation took hold preventing him form turning the key, but the door finally gave in bursting up and sending him to the floor. A massive wave of blistering heat washed over him, what was inside a wall of volatile flames that grew larger the more it devoured. It consumed everything, the floor, the stairs, and the walls, but they were not enough to satiate the wild fire's hunger.

\X/

"*Gasps!*"

Waking up George found himself back in his room laying on his bed, pushing his back off the mattress George tried stand, but his head was spinning, tissues were stuffed up his nose so he plucked them out seeing the red stained paper and feeling the dry crusts stuck in his nostrils. The feeling was irritating leaving George to try and clean his nose. Stepping out from his room with a scroll of paper at hand, he found out that the day has already succeeded from the sky, and found the girls just sitting and waiting in the living area lost in thought.

"What's with all the glum faces?" he asked grabbing their attentions away.

"George!" they all exclaimed practically jumping from their seats.

"Why are you all just sitting around here? we still have battle planes to write up," George reminded throwing the roll onto the coffee table to rub the aching feeling in his face, "God! why the hell did he have to hit me so hard?"

"Why'd you have to bring up his brother?" Kay reminded.

"I was just asking," George defended clueless of the events years before, "Did I struck a nerve or something?"

There was a pause in the air the girls trading glances with each other leaving George with puzzled expression on his face.

"What?"

"George, Peter's brother died in an accident," Alisa informed.

"What!" he exclaimed, "I thought he settled here to get laid."

"No, his team fell apart, he lost his home, sometime after he landed on the Ooarai carrier," Naomi simply explained.

"Man... now I feel like a dick," George admitted, "... That's a first... "

"Happens to all of us," Kay tried to ease him.

"Can we talk about tomorrow's game plan, we've completely wasted the week fool'n around," Naomi suggested.

"Relax, Naomi, George's awake now he can tell us all about the plan," Alisa reassured.

"Alright numb-nuts listen closely, here's the plan," George called everyone closer.

Undoing the roll it was revealed to be a geographical map of the match taking place, with a pencil George started lining out the plan.

\Tomorrow/

At the crack of dawn the girls of both Saunders and Kuromorimine awoke just as the first rays was starting to peak over the horizon, the crew readied up taking their positions of their vehicles, the engines coming to life with a roar before the treads started turning. A line of M4 Sherman's was rolling off the ramp and in perfect timing so were the Kuromorimine from their carrier in clear sight from one of another. George's M8 leading the front, Alisa, Kay, and Naomi, in that order following behind, bit from the other ramp the four heard the arrogant voice of Erika shouting to them.

"That's a cute little toy for a big man," she taunted George with a smug grin, "Can't wait to run that tiny thing over with my tank."

"Sounds like someone's trying too hard to compensate for something," George shot back earning him both the mocking chuckles of Kay, Naomi, and Alisa while Erika returned with a venomous glare.

"Erika," Maho called for her vice-commander's attention, "Remain focus."

"Yes, commander!"

While elsewhere among the stands of spectators from the local town Ooarai's Anglerfish team has come to spectate today's match, the commander thought it'll be best to come and root for her older sister, better to do it in person than watch it on screen.

"I'm so nervous," Miho said anxiously already knowing what George is capable of.

"Relax, Miho, you're sister is an top tier expert," Saori tried to comfort her.

"I'm pretty sure she's faced nastier people than that George fellow, right Yukari?" Hana added trying to get her friend help ease Miho, but there was no reply, "Yukari... ?"

However looking off just next to her Hana found Yukari with long and sorrowful face on the verge of tears.

"I miss Gale," she whimpered with her hands trying to support her head.

"Oh, don't cry now, Yukari," Miho turned her worries towards her friend.

"Yeah, soon we'll be at the semi finals in no time," Saori attempted to put it in perspective.

"But why has he called?" Yukari brought up trying to clear out her nostrils taking her cell phone out as if there will be a call any moment.

"Um, guys," Mako called out pointing to the sky.

Looking up to the blue sky the girls thought they spotted a plane high above the clouds, but with a second glance it was in reality a small remote control airplane with its tiny motor buzzing across the sky. A small door open up at the tail of the plane releasing a package stuffed inside, a small white chute unravelled in the air slowing down its decent, and landing perfectly and safely into the arms of Yukari. It was a package wrapped in brown waterproof wrapping paper all held together with a thine strain of white string with an envelope which Yukari read aloud.

"I miss you so much I dream of you every night," touched Yukari undid the paper revealing to be a bouquet of beautiful yellow dandelions, her favorite flowers, "I love you!"

\X/

At a lot George and the rest were going through the battle strategy with the other girls on the team taping the plan onto the side of a M4 for all the girls to see.

"Alright did all of you get everything down?" George asked the whole team.

"I'm sorry, but you can't be serious," one of them objected.

"He is dead serious," Alisa confirmed.

"Kuromorimine will be cutting through the forest, it never stopped before, and this time is no different. That's why we're gonna make it impossible," Kay spoke up.

"So how are we gonna do that?" they asked.

"With these," George brought out a stack of crates, "Inside these boxes will help us beat those wannabe krauts."

"Pardon the intrusion."

A more mature voice arose from within ear-shot and the girls can see that it was the Federation Director, Shochiro Kodama, along with the Federation Strengthening Committee, Ami Chono.

"Hello, Mr. Stuart, it's nice to finally meet you in person," Ami greeted.

"look at me, Mr. Popular," George quipped.

"We've heard much about your exploits of your previous match," Shochiro told, "My name's, Shochiro Kodama, and I am the director of the Federation."

"Yeah I didn't ask," George bluntly said.

"However WE are asking what's in that crate?" Ami asked giving the wooden box a kick.

"Valuable equipment," he simply put it.

With slight shrug Ami took it upon herself to kick the lid off revealing the contents inside to be incendiary rounds and the box was full of them shocking everyone.

"Dude!" Kay exclaimed.

"What? I told you all that we're gonna stop them from cutting through the woods," George said not seeing the problem.

"Well you didn't say we're gonna set the whole forest on fire!" Naomi spoke out in concern.

"We'll be confiscating these," Ami noted placing the lid back for several of the coaches to haul it away.

"WHAT!" George burst out in anger.

"Literally playing fire is dangerous young man, even for a tank," Shochiro urged him, "Besides, you're lucky we're even letting you play to begin with."

"That is total horse piss! you let giant, open top, artillery guns operated by robots onto this games, and you all wonder why no one takes you seriously!" George ranted.

"We at the Sensha-Do Federation will take your opinion into consideration," was all the two adults could say which made George throw a fit.

George was so angered at the two's response that he gave up on arguing and so instead he grabbed a folding chair to smash it onto their heads. He practically charged at them with the chair held above his head ready to beat them senseless, but luckily Naomi leapt in to tackle George down before he can get closer.

"We should go," Shochiro shakingly said to Ami, "Sorry for interrupting, good luck on your match."

Basically running off Naomi continued to hold enraged boy down until the two adults were out of sight.

"They're gone, can you please calm- AH!"

Before she can request George to take a breath he manages to get his foot between him and her launching Naomi off him so he went blowing fumes.

"What a bunch of bureaucratic bull crap!" he erupts.

"It's alright, George, we just have to do without the incendiaries, the plan will still work," Alisa tried to reason.

"The PLAN, can't work if the opposing team cuts through the woods!" George informed her, then proceeds to turn the game plan into confetti causing the girls to back up in fear of his wrath, "ALL NIGHT PLANNING DOWN THE SHITTER!"

"Then we'll just make a new plan," Kay said without faltering, but George just growled.

"You wanna new plan, FINE! you!" he pointed at his gunner.

"Yes, s-sir?" the gunner responded nervously.

"Get the hell outta here, I don't need you," he told the gunner straight her face.

"W-w-wha- ," she stammered in confusion.

"You deaf or something!" George approached her annoyed, "You're fired!"

The girl didn't say another word instead just bursts into tears running off to leave the rest speechless at the display of leadership.

"George!" Kay shouted in shock, "She's your gunner!"

"I don't need her, I'm manning the gun myself," he told them just climbing into his tank, but it took some encouragement for his other crew mates, "Do I need drag your asses in here!"

The remaining two operators scurried into the M8 with the engine igniting.

"But, George, what about the game plan?" Alisa brought up alongside his tank.

"The new first step is for all you to get sorry asses into gear," he ordered just when his tank started to roll out, "You want something down right, you gotta do it yourself."

As the tanks were rolling out watching frm a block away Assam watched in secret in different attire and sun glasses, she then pulled out her phone to make a call.

"It's done," she spoke frankly.

\Elsewhere/

Most likely on the way to the battlefield Erika has heard of the news and was quiet pleased.

"On the behalf of, Kuromorimine, I gladly like to thank you," Erika gave her gratitude.

"Well the enemy of my enemy is my friend... for now,"Assam quoted before hanging up.

"That was unexpected alliance," Maho commented remaining steady.

"That's because we now have a common enemy," Erika said, "Now that were took away their secret weapon, Saunders will be scrambling unprepared."

"Saunders isn't the true enemy," Maho pointed out seeing it differently.

"I know, commander," Erika agreed, "But that boy does not belong here. And we need to undo the mess that Mr. Daulton created."