Advance Wars: Endgame
Chapter 5
By RocketDarkness


Note: '___' signifies a thought.

Nell surveyed the battlegrounds with a saddened look. Troops everywhere were dead. Some of her own were even scattered here and there, creating a bizarre collage of death. She turned around; eyes closed, and began to sob. The Orange Star Headquarters was in disrepair. The entrance was merely rubble, and large sections of the walls were simply missing. The former glamour of the sheer size of the building was gone. In its place was a crumbling building, devoid of life and hope. She took her purple hat off, and held it in her hands gingerly.
Finally, she couldn't take it. Nell broke down into a sobbing wreck, only interrupting her misery for quick breaths of air. How could Max possibly desert her like that? "We were even thinking…we were even thinking about an engagement…" She was sitting down now. Was she sitting down before? She didn't remember. She put her face in her hands, if not to simply confirm that it was not some horrible, awful nightmare.
"Nell?" Nell jumped up and turned around, surprised. Sami stood there. Her hair was full of dust, she had various scratches on her arms and legs, but she was otherwise unharmed. She grinned crookedly.
"Sami? You're alive?" She wiped away some of her tears with her sleeve.
"Yeah…I managed to survive." She remained silent. Nell simply nodded, and silence overtook them.

Drake turned off the small television, and slammed the remote down on the armrest of the CO Room couch, which was worn from years of use. The dark red fabric was faded, and stains could be seen all over. He put his fingers to his head, massaging his temples. This was the worst thing to happen to their continent yet, in his opinion. Although the previous war had many casualties, this was had barely started; yet Orange Star was brought to its knees already. Worse yet, Blue Moon was growing exceedingly dangerous, having both its standard COs, along with two new additions, both of which posed a threat on his own. Green Earth had already been hit by a surprise attack from Blue Moon, but luckily it was mostly at sea and it wasn't anywhere near their capital.
Drake sighed. His old age was catching up to him. But now was no time for a rest. Blue Moon had to be stopped soon. He stood up slowly, and walked out of the room.

Sami kicked backwards from the floor, tilting her executive chair up and allowing her feet access to the tabletop. She closed her eyes again, enjoying a brief moment of relaxation. "Sami!"
She opened one eye, annoyed. Nell had returned from retrieving a document from the fax down the hall. Closing her eye again, she replied, "Yeah, I know. We have to discuss courses of action." She opened her eyes again, but left her feet on the glass table.
"Now what?" This reply caused Sami to cough.
"Huh?"
"You heard me, now what?"
"Um…I assumed you had an idea…" Sami was suddenly nervous. Nell always had an answer to everything.
"Not this time." Nell smiled grimly.
"I really don't know either. Orange Star has never had this kind of trouble, not even when I was a kid…although I don't remember too much, I was raised in Yellow Comet, after all."
"Personally…I don't think Orange Star is going to exist much longer. All it would take is a quick conquest…and suddenly Blue Moon has all the resources it needs to take over the entire continent…" Nell shuddered, trying to force the idea out of her mind.
"I've never heard you so negative, Nell." Sami was worried, now. If Nell was being negative, there was definitely something wrong.
"I don't know…my entire life has fallen apart in the past few days."
Sami had nothing to say to this comment. She knew it was true.

"Great…it's raining." Olaf snorted in annoyance at his own observation. The quiet pitter-patter of rain on the windows was bad enough, seeing the rain was just plain excruciating. He drew the blinds shut, and returned to his personal red armchair. "Grit, give me a report!"
"Of what?"
"How about Orange Star's condition?"
"Bad." Olaf rolled his eyes.
"Anything more specific?"
"Nope." Olaf sighed. While Grit may have been an excellent commanding officer, his attitude seemed too laid-back for Olaf's tastes.
"Report back to me as soon as you get more information, then. I'll be in my office."
"Sure thing." With that, Olaf walked out of the meeting room. Grit continued to puff on his cigarette absentmindedly. He opened the blinds back up, pulled down his old brown cowboy hat, and closed his eyes. Pulling out his signature revolver, he began to spin it on his pointer finger. "Thank God he's easily distracted." He thought about the time he found Olaf transfixed by a small dancing man that ran around the desktop of his computer. He smirked. Outside, the rain continued to tap lightly against the window.

"Y'know, I think Eagle's right. The rain does follow me around." Drake shivered, pulling his dark-blue poncho over him tighter. He was standing at the back of one of his enhanced cruisers. More cruisers followed his, but he was unable to see them through the heavy rain. It even seemed as if his ride was deserted, but the crew was actually just at the front of the ship. The only way he knew he wasn't abandoned was the radio he carried with him. He stood silently, continuing to watch the rain fall. Drake appreciated rainy days. Something about them brought to him an air of peace and confidence. "When it rains, it seems like all is right with the world." He continued to think.
"There's a first time for everything, I guess." With that remark, Drake pulled out his trusty spyglass. He looked for any sign of the three islands they were sailing towards. The rain only blurred the spyglass, making his vision worse than it already was. Giving up, he put the spyglass back into his vest pocket and went back into the cabin for some coffee. He opened the door, and was greeted with a blast of warm air. Drake threw the poncho into the corner of the orange cabin, and headed for the small pantry onboard the ship. However, despite his need for the dark warm substance, he decided to perform a quick status report.
"Green Earth units this is your commanding officer, Drake. Report in." The radio crackled and buzzed with heavy static. 'The rain.'
"Sir…vanguard A reporting in."
"Vanguard B here."
"Subs are ready. Just give the word."
"Transports A-OK."
"Battleship fleet on standby." That was everyone.
"Continue with our present course. We should be seeing those islands any minute. That's where we're going to establish our base." Keep an eye out for any enemy naval units, and report any immediately." He put the radio onto the desk, and got out a bag of coffee beans. Drake carried them over to the small, portable bean grinder on the mahogany counter, and poured them into the grinder slowly. After he emptied the small bag, he threw it into the trashcan and turned on the machine. It sputtered and rattled, then the grinders turned on and the beans began to be broken apart, leaving a finely shredded pile of the prepared beans inside the small plastic cup.
At that moment, the ship shuddered horribly, and Drake was thrown to the ground. He shook his head, clearing out the confusion. Standing up shakily, he looked around, but to no avail. It was pitch black. All he could hear was the pounding of raindrops upon the ceiling and windows. He paused for a second to listen peacefully. Snapping out of it, Drake moved slowly towards the windows, trying to use its light to make out anything of use. However, he could only make out shadows in the dark. The figures seemed distorted and eerie, causing him to shudder involuntarily. Suddenly, lighting flashed, and Drake was able to pinpoint the door before the light faded. Carefully stepping over the various falling objects in the room, he threw open the door and stepped outside.
Drake immediately covered his ears, shocked by the sudden crescendo of noise. He leaned against the slick, wet walls that made up the outside of his cabin, and tried to concentrate on finding out was wrong. The wind howled, causing the rain to fall erratically, hitting Drake in the face and causing him to close his eyes for protection. He groped blindly, searching for the ladder rung. His hand caught onto it, and he pulled himself up the ladder slowly. He climbed slowly, making sure he kept his footing. 'Where is the rest of the crew?' He pulled himself onto the perilous walkway to the control room. The ship rocked violently, causing Drake to drop to one knee. He slid back and forth, but grabbed the rail to keep from going over. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the recreation room in the distance. Still no sign of the crew.
'Where are they? They're normally on deck, unless they've got to man the anti-sub missiles or something—!'
He gasped.

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been pretty busy. Between maintaining good grades, studying for two college level classes, having a social life, and playing Super Smash Brothers Melee and Golden Sun, I've got my work cut out for me. Anyway, how do you like it now? You know how to contact me, so let me know! Preferably, use the AWN Message Boards, though. It's just easier.