Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum
Chapter 8: Andy's Nightmare
As Eagle and Sensei worked hard into the night, at the exact same time, Andy was lying sound asleep in his bed. It had been a tough day, finishing that battle simulator and all. Andy may have been sound asleep, but his mind was still flooded with dreams. Andy rarely dreamed. It only really occurred when he was turning things over in his mind, which he hardly ever was, or at least not before bed. Tonight though, Andy had fallen asleep with something to think about. Even though certain possibilities had already settled in his mind, Andy had still drifted off thinking about that kiss. Such a small thing caused a lot to happen. First, Andy dreamed that he was on a cruise ship on the seas, sitting by the pool in a bathing suit. No surprise, Sami was right next to him on a blanket sunbathing. Max came and was about to jump in the pool, when suddenly he was in his underwear, and he stormed off as Andy and Sami laughed. Andy's next dream was less funny, but just as pleasing, in an adventurous sort of way. Andy was in safari clothes, using a saber to cut through thick jungle vines. Sami was behind him. Quite unlike the real Sami, she looked like a helpless damsel, or in this case just a frightened tourist.
"Don't worry ma'am. I'll protect you from anything that comes along."
"Oh thank you sir. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't found me lost in the jungle."
"No need to thank me miss. It's my job to find lost tourists. I must say though, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever rescued, and that's saying something."
"R-really? Do you really think I'm beautiful? Thank you very much! You must have rescued lots of people."
"Oh, well I find at least 10 or 20 people each week. Sometimes I have to fight off deadly snakes or panthers."
"Oh wow! You must be really strong!"
"Well, I suppose so. I mean, I CAN bench press a car after all…" Andy had a few more corny dreams like this, some a little more romantic than others (wink wink). Others were just ridiculous. There was one however that stood out. It was the worst nightmare Andy had ever had. He would still remember it for years to come. It was mid-day, in the middle of a battle-torn wasteland. Andy's eyes popped open, and he found himself fully clothed, lying on a cot in the middle of a medical tent. He reached up and felt wrappings around his head.
"…What… happened?" Andy looked around and saw Orange Star soldiers wounded all around him. Nothing looked too serious, but Andy felt uneasy. The entrance flap was pulled aside, and Max entered the tent. He saw Andy sitting up and rushed over to his bedside.
"Andy! You're awake! Are you okay little buddy?" Andy was silent for a moment.
"Yeah… yeah I'm fine. What happened?" The look of worry on Max's face lessened, but it didn't leave.
"You were on the front line commanding our forces. A bomber came down and nearly did you in, along with the rest of the guys in here. Luckily it was horrible aim, and all it did was throw a few guys through the air including you. No-one was seriously injured, but you hit your head against a rock and began bleeding. A couple field medics came down and found you, and carried you in here where you were checked and bandaged. That was about 20 minutes ago. You scared me for a little while. I thought you might have gotten seriously hurt."
"Sorry about that." Andy smiled "I'm fine though. Can I get up?"
"Yeah, if you're sure you're okay."
"I'm sure." Andy stood up and stretched. Something was wrong though, and he suddenly noticed it. "Hey."
"What? What's wrong?
"Where's Sami? Is she outside?" Max shook his head.
"She's out on the battlefield like you were. Her units are getting hit pretty hard. Now that you're okay, I think we should go help her out."
"Yeah, let's go!"
"Easy shorty, easy. We have to get a transport unit and drive out there. I'll get one ready now. Follow me."
"Good… hey! Don't call me shorty!" Max laughed and left the tent. Andy was about to follow, but then noticed he wasn't wearing shoes. He spotted them in the corner and pulled them on. Just as Andy got out of the tent, a big armored vehicle drove up. The hatch opened and Max appeared,
"Come on, let's go!"
"Coming!" Andy climbed into the hatch, and it closed. "So, how are the units fairing?"
"Not good. We were doing okay, but then you were put out of commission, and I came to check up on you, so now we're losing. I should have listened to Sami when she said I would have been more useful on the battlefield... oh well. Nothing we can do about it now. Just gotta get there!"
"Yeah." Andy was looking out a small side window at the battlefield. They had reached the edge, and the fight was coming into view. Fiery explosions were occurring all over the place, and the sound of gunfire had long ago become a single blast of sound in the loud battle. "It's scenes like this that show you just how horrible war can be. It helps you to appreciate the calms in the never-ending storm."
"Never-ending huh? You really think that Andy?"
"Sure do. No matter how much everyone will try to coexist, there will always be at least one person in the world whose ideals are different. It only takes one to start a war." Max laughed.
"One? Andy, I don't think one person could fight a war. It takes an army!" Andy looked at him.
"Yeah, but there are natural leaders, and natural followers. If one natural leader decided to take over the world, all he would have to do would be to influence natural followers. Promise them things, and by human nature humans will listen to you." Max was silent for a few seconds.
"... Well yeah I suppose, but... look!" Max was staring out the window hatch, a mixed look of surprise and worry on his face. Andy turned and saw it. He saw Sami and her forces pulling back, but it was what was causing the retreat that held his attention. The Black Hole army was charging on, and in the midst of the charge, atop one lone hill in the field, was a figure. Andy squinted, because the approaching sunset behind the figure made him nothing more than darkness on the horizon at first glance. As they got closer though, Andy saw who it was. Commanding the wave of black swarming over the grasses... was Sturm. A sudden mass of Black Hole pretty much herded the transport into position by Sami's forces, and they were surrounded.
"This is it Andy. I think it's over. There's nothing left for us to do."
"Are you saying we surrender?"
"No, I'd never say that. I'm just saying... it's over."
"... I have to get to Sami! I need to tell her something!"
"No Andy! Wait! You can't-" It was too late; Andy was already out of the hatch and running for the recon unit Sami was perched on. He stopped dead though, as he saw that Black Hole had vanished. The army was gone, and only Sturm remained, atop that hill of his.
"What are you, crazy? Running around in the middle of a... what happened to the army?" Andy didn't answer. He was staring at Sturm, who was slowly raising his arm toward the sky. His hand was glowing.
"Oh no..." Andy knew what was happening. Before he could warn Max, a bright light shot directly from Sturm's hand into the sky.
"Whoa... what's he doing?" Andy was just staring up in horror at the sky. "What're you looking at?" Max looked up too. "Huh? What's with all those little black dots?" But they weren't just dots. As they got closer it was obvious what they were: meteors. Thousands of them. Giant flaming chunks of rock were spiraling down upon them. Andy's head whipped toward Sami's unit.
"Max! We have to warn Sami! She hasn't seen the meteors, and she's driving her forces directly toward Sturm!"
"Whoa, you're right!" C'mon, let's go!" The two ran back to the transport and closed the hatch. As the transport tore off after Sami's units, Andy watched the space rocks getting closer and closer. He winced as the first one made contact and wiped out 3 tanks.
"Andy! Look!" Andy's looked back up at the sky, and he saw a meteor shooting straight for them. "We can't avoid it! We have to evacuate!"
"No! We have to get to Sami!"
"It's too late! We can't slow down! We'll have to jump!"
"But I-"
"Look out!" The flaming rock would hit them in seconds. "Get out of here!" Before Andy could say anything, the hatch was open. Max grabbed Andy and hurled him out of it.
"WHAAAA-URGH!" Andy hit the ground and rolled. He stopped rolling and looked after the transport. Andy yelled out as a meteor hit it dead on... with Max still inside. "NOOOOOO!" Andy got up and sprinted toward the flaming crater. Reaching the edge of it, he looked down into the depths of it. Nothing was left but a fiery mix of rock and crushed metal. Andy was speechless, looking down into the final resting place of his best friend. He almost fell in though, as quake after quake resulted from the meteors pounding the earth. Andy could only watch as Sami tried to dodge. It was futile. As her units were decimated in the rain of fire, she made a u-turn and started a retreat with what was left. She came closer and closer, but another meteor hit, and it narrowly missed her: all TOO narrowly. It caused the unit to swerve and, ultimately, to spin out and fall over, sliding across the ground on its side.
"Sami!" Andy ran toward the damaged unit, feeling completely helpless. He was almost there when he saw Sami sprawled on the ground next to the recon. He rushed to her side. "Sami! Sami wake up! Are you okay?" Sami's eyes open slightly, and she looked up at Andy.
"Am... am I in... bad shape?" Andy had already seen the angle of her legs, and it didn't take a doctor to tell they were broken in several places. One of her arms appeared to be dislocated, and her forehead was bleeding, along with several other cuts along her body. Andy had seen all this, and he didn't have the heart to answer her. "I'm... going to die... I can see it in your eyes..." Sami smiled slightly, and then coughed up a little blood. Andy's eyes were full of tears.
"No Sami... you're going to be okay. I promise you'll be okay." Sami chuckled weakly.
"I can't feel my legs... I have a feeling... that even if you weren't lying, I would... still be beyond complete recovery..." She coughed up more blood. "So this is how it ends. We put up a good fight... I guess in the end... it just... wasn't... enough..." And with her last breath, Sami died. Andy couldn't speak. He wanted to look at her; to see if there was any way to bring her back; but he knew he couldn't, and something forced his eyes away from her body toward the horizon. There was Sturm. He was laughing, and he didn't stop. All that Andy could hear was that laughter. It filled his ears and he clamped his hands over them, trying to block out the horrible sound. Sturm was looking right at him, and kept laughing as he pointed toward the sky. Andy looked up to see one last meteor headed straight for them. It was about 20 yards away. The laughter grew louder. 10 yards. The sound grinded in Andy's head like nails on a chalkboard. 15 feet. The laughter. 7 feet. The horrible laughter. Andy cried out as the meteor reached 3 feet.
"STOP IT! STOP LAUGHING! STOOOOP IT NOOOOOOOOOOW!" The last thing Andy saw was that lone figure walking off, laughing, as the rock hit the earth, crushing them. Andy's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up. He was drenched in sweat, but he was safe. Nothing had happened. He was still in his room. "A dream... it was just... a dream..." Andy looked at his watch. It was 3:00 in the morning. "No," said Andy as he rolled over in bed. "That wasn't a dream... that was a nightmare." And with that, Andy lay back down. That laugh was never going to leave him... or at least not until this war was over. Andy sighed, and closed him eyes, trying to get back to sleep.
