Disclaimer - I own Advance Wars! MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
(A couple of workers at Nintendo appear and beat up Ascension.)
Ascension: Let me rephrase that... I don't own anything in this fic except Red Sun, its COs, Azazel and several random extras.
I'm back after an extremely long hiatus!
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CHAPTER 9: HEROES
The battle raged on, erasing the word 'peace' from the southern side of Yellow Comet. Yal'Dan's reinforcements had hit the allied forces so hard that now only Green Earth was still fighting. All the other armies were too severely crippled to do much.
*****
Drake clung to the railing of his battleship as yet another chunk of brimstone crashed into the sea nearby, sending a great gout of water into the air and rocking the ship. He shook his head in amazement. Not a lot of COs he knew could keep up their powers for so long. Just then, a flaming battleship shell grazed the side of his vessel, leaving a black scorch mark.
"Eagle," he shouted into a radio. "We need reinforcements over here. Take out the battleships if you can, they're keeping us pinned down."
"Roger that," came Eagle's voice back over the radio. A squadron of fighters streaked overhead, bound for a small fleet of Red Sun ships detached from the main bulk. The fighters dipped lower, unleashing a horde of missiles at the nearest battleship. The missiles struck home, blowing a large hole in the ship's hull and sending it to the bottom of the sea. However, several streams of fire caught the squadron's side as they took to the air, burning the fighters to hunks of charred metal.
Only one fighter escaped the blaze. "Sorry, Drake, I can't help you a lot more," said Eagle. "Those cruisers are preventing me from getting close."
*****
Kelalith's path to safety was blocked by Green Earth soldiers. Dodging bullet fire with lightning reflexes, he tore into the enemy ranks, flailing a rifle with little skill but deadly efficiency. A ball of fire crashed from the sky, blinding him. The Green Earth soldiers were not so lucky and were instantly roasted.
"Thanks for that," panted Kelalith as he scrambled onto the deck of Yal'Dan's ship. "What's the plan?"
"They haven't covered the north," said Yal'Dan. "We'll go there, and then head southwest for Blue Moon. We have sufficient troops there to crush opposition."
"Retreat?" gawked Kelalith. "I don't remember the last time I had to run from..."
Yal'Dan's chilling gaze silenced him. "A tactical manoeuvre, necessary for success."
"Then I will tolerate it," said Kelalith. "But I will not enjoy it."
*****
"We did it! They're on the run!" exclaimed Drake.
"I dunno," said Jess doubtfully. "Don't you think it was too easy?"
"Regardless, we should regroup and then decide what to do," concluded Eagle.
*****
Unknown to anyone in the East, battle was raging in the north of Orange Star. Black Hole tanks ran amok in the countryside, meeting resistance only from groups of poorly organized Red Sun and Orange Star troops.
After the COs had departed the country, the people of Orange Star had revolted against the oppression. The very few remaining military forces were joined by civilian volunteers. For a certain length of time, the two sides had fought to a stalemate, but that was until Hawke's appearance.
Black Hole had not suffered as badly from its defeat as most would have liked to think. A few weeks of laying low were enough for Hawke to firmly establish his control, reorganize the army and make plans. There was no sign of Sturm anywhere, but Hawke knew well enough that his former boss was still alive. He intended to make the first move.
Hawke was quite surprised that Orange Star had already been defeated by another country, but that didn't matter. In the end, he would be the only one.
*****
The Green Earth fleet was now sailing west at full speed. The COs from all four countries had had a brief council, and they decided that Red Sun would not give up so easily. It would be best if they were crushed before they could make another move. Olaf and Grit rightly guessed that Red Sun was bound for Blue Moon, where they could get reinforcements from the troops already there.
And so without further ado, Drake, Eagle and Jess left, hoping to cut off the Red Sun fleet before it could reach the shore.
*****
The two navies met roughly where the coast of Blue Moon was just visible on the horizon.
Kelalith swore. "They beat us here," he said. "Any bright ideas?"
Yal'Dan's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "We'll focus our firepower on the centre. We should be able to break through and reach the shore. Our forces are already rallied there."
Kelalith swore again. "I hope this works."
Yal'Dan merely smiled slightly. A humourless smile. Almost like... Cabal's smile.
*****
A hail of shells gunned down Green Earth ships at the front of the blockade. Immediately, more Green Earth vessels on the sides returned fire, sinking a few Red Sun ships. Submarines exchanged torpedoes underwater. Cruisers released battle copters, which were in turn shot down by other cruisers. The battle was joined.
Summoning up every ounce of concentration in him, Drake called upon his power. A massive tidal wave rose up in front of his fleet and surged towards the Red Sun navy.
Yal'Dan stared at the incoming Tsunami, unimpressed. A wall of fire blossomed into existence, burning with such an intense heat that the tidal wave simply evaporated to harmless steam.
Drake stood dumbstruck. No one had ever blocked his power like that before. He didn't have long to stand around though. The wall of fire concentrated itself into a straight bolt of flame and streaked towards his ship, searing his hat and crippling the battleship's cannons.
*****
Sunset that day found the naval battle over. Both sides had paid a high price, but Green Earth had ultimately lost. Drake, Eagle and Jess captured a small island formerly controlled by Red Sun off the coast of Blue Moon and the battered Green Earth fleet was anchored there, receiving repairs.
The Green Earth COs were at a loss of ideas. "There's no way to take the fleet close to the shore with the Red Sun naval force around. And frontal assault would be suicide," said Drake, sounding calmer than he was.
"So there's no way to stop them now," summed up Jess, leaning back wearily in her chair.
Surprisingly enough, it was Eagle who made the optimistic comment. "Let's just get some rest now. I'm sure we'll think of something eventually." He stood up and left.
Drake and Jess exchanged glances.
"Is it just me, or is he acting a little bit weird?" asked Drake.
Jess merely shrugged.
*****
The cloaked figure wandered amongst the harbour where the Red Sun ships were docked, also receiving repairs.
"This place has been marked with death."
*****
Eagle sat at the desk of his temporary quarters, spinning a pen between his fingers. A sheet of paper lay blank in front of him. He wanted to write something on it, but he simply couldn't. The very thought of what he was going to do stung his eyes with tears. For the first time in years, he felt fear. But he knew he had to. There was no other choice.
He sighed in despair and tore the sheet of paper to shreds. Time was running short and he had no time to sit around and brood. Lightning-quick action was his hallmark, and he intended to live up to his reputation.
Giving his lucky goggles a quick polish, Eagle left the room.
*****
Jess was finding difficulty getting sleep. So instead, she had wandered out of the hastily established Green Earth HQ to the captured airfield nearby for some fresh air. Her mind wandered to the past and she realized that her history hadn't been a long one. She was born, educated in Green Earth, sent to the Orange Star military school, returned to assist her homeland during Sturm's invasion, and here she was now.
A sound interrupted her thoughts. Eagle was hurrying towards the airfield, a team of his elite pilots following in his wake.
"Eagle!" called Jess, walking over to him.
Eagle stopped, but said nothing.
"What's wrong, Eagle? Why are you..." Jess was about to ask something, but then she saw the look in Eagle's eyes and the words instantly froze in her mouth.
"Eagle..." she stammered.
Eagle's eyes narrowed briefly, then softened into an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Jess," he whispered.
The next thing Jess felt was Eagle's fist connecting solidly with the space between her eyes. She fell down, unconscious.
*****
Two Red Sun soldiers were monitoring the radar on a cruiser. The night was half-over, and so far nothing had happened. They were just about to drop off when a beeping noise woke them. Something was approaching the fleet. It was approaching fast.
*****
The Red Sun naval crew responded quick to the Red Alert, but not quick enough. By the time their weapons were ready, Eagle's small fleet was already on them.
Eagle smiled grimly. "One final Lightning Strike," he thought.
The Green Earth plummeted towards the mass of Red Sun ships, the explosives loaded onto them set to detonate on impact!
*****
The cloaked figure stood from a safe distance, watching the incredible burst of flame shatter the night sky.