Finally. My classes are over, for now...
Summer classes comes later, but I hope that doesn't hinder me in releasing some of the stories and chapters I had planned this year. That said, in what has been forever... Enjoy!
I owe nothing. All characters belong to their respective owners.
Pardon my grammar.
Hacksaw Ridge - The Siege Continues
"Oh boy." Yang sarcastically groaned, "Back to another viewing of horrible death and destruction we go."
Vernal snorted, "And you wanted to be a huntress."
"Want. To be a huntress." The blond girl sneered in obvious disdain towards the bandit girl. She cannot believe her mother ditched her for this prick. "I'm still sticking to my guns."
Ruby wrapped an arm around her sister and tried her best to look optimistic. "Yeah!"
"No choice but to go through with this," Neptune said tiredly.
Sun shared the same uneasy look with his partner. "Yeah…"
"While I certainly wish all of you didn't witness the cruelty of reality this soon... The truth is that our world can be just as unforgiven as the one shown before us." Glynda made a face before making a few of her thoughts more vocal. "Perhaps not as many bloody wars as theirs."
Oobleck nodded, "Certainly a few skirmishes here and there, and several notable wars between kingdoms. The only war that can come remotely close is Remnant's Great War, according to the archives our good Hosts has provided me."
The Doctor of History scrunched his face at the numbers listed on the papers granted to him and his peers, magically conjured up out of thin air. An estimate of 85 million people died within this second world war in six years. This beats out the number of deaths from the first world war, which was estimated to be around 20 million deaths. The number was staggering enough that those who glanced over the papers felt incredibly small and insignificant.
"It's a miracle they still have enough people to continue fighting after their first great war." Ironwood clenched and unclenched his hand. "Any number of casualties for any kingdom isn't something they can shrug off. Especially with these numbers."
Ozpin stared at the dark screen before sighing when it flickered to life. "It's starting."
Darkness coated the screen as the sound of gunfire and screams of pain and death filled the air before lifting the dark veil to a bleak, dusty world in a pale light. Soldiers continue to rush forth deeper into the contested lands. A small squad of soldiers quickly hurried through the barren lands while taking fire before dropping down on the ground for cover, whilst an unlucky soldier from the group was shot through the chest and fell.
Japanese mortars and artillery shells exploded throughout the shifting lands, sending American soldiers flying in all directions. Despite heavy resistance and bombardment, the Americans pressed on the offense, sliding through the dirt ground to what little cover they could find.
"Stretcher! Stretcher!"
Over the sound of heavy gunfire, Corporal Desmond Doss could hear someone calling for a stretcher. He picked himself up from the ground and glanced around, just in time to watch a mortar shell came falling near a fellow soldier, blowing his legs out in a red bloody mist mixed with brown dirt and dust.
Mercury let out a quiet hiss, instinctively clutching his legs. The ghost pains from that 'faithful' day where his father replaced his legs with metallic ones briefly returned to torment the boy.
Others winced in sympathy for the soldier who had his legs blown off.
In another area, a lone soldier laid cowering behind a small dirt ridge, hugging his rifle in fear while other soldiers charged past him over the ridge.
"Poor guy…" Velvet said sadly.
Sun nodded, "I can't blame him."
"In a battle this intense, I doubt anyone could." Ironwood steadily added in.
He is then joined by Sergeant Howell, who dropped down beneath the ridge to get a look at the situation and was about to advance before he finally caught sight of the soldier cowering nearby. The poor soldier's eyes were shut tight, and his facial expression conveys only fear and hesitance.
Sergeant Howell placed a firm hand on the soldier's arm. "Get up. Keep moving, son!"
"Can't he stay there?" Ruby quietly questioned the sergeant, despite knowing he cannot hear her.
"I can't. I'm wounded." The soldier whimpered, shaking his head.
Roman snorted, "Should have thought twice about your career choice."
"Wonder where all that military training went." Neo's sign read.
"There's nothing wrong with you." Howell inspected him before pulling him up by the arm.
Pck!
A grenade bounced over the ridge and hit the soldier on the face. Startled, the soldier to reeled away from the grenade as the fuse hissed and sparked, ready to detonate.
"Grenade!" Jaune yelped.
"Shit!" Howell cursed and quickly reacted by reaching towards the grenade. "Hang on, kid." He calmly said and threw the grenade over the ridge. The sergeant then threw his body on top of the soldier as the grenade exploded, sending dirt and rocks everywhere. "Move!" Howell commanded, dragging the soldier up. "A sitting duck's a dead one!"
The soldier quickly got to his feet and followed the sergeant without protest.
"I would have love to meet this man." Ironwood admired the sergeant's calmness and reaction to the predicament they were in. Especially when the sergeant protectively covered the soldier's body with his own. "He cares greatly for his men, I can tell."
His peers shared similar acknowledgment.
"A quality we can all admire." Ozpin nodded with a smile small.
Near the backlines, Desmond carried the wounded soldier who had his legs blown off towards a nearby makeshift medical area.
"Move! Go, go, go!" Someone shouted.
Soldiers staying near the backlines were helping their wounded comrades towards the nearest medic they could find.
"This guy's a priority!" Desmond told a medic who came rushing towards him.
Another medic hurried over and the three placed the wounded soldier down near a rock.
"We got him, we got him."
"Here. Easy, now."
A medic glanced at the wounded soldier's missing leg, which was now a tattered, bloody flesh with bones sticking out.
Several students went pale upon taking a decent look at the devastating injury.
"I can't imagine how painful that is." Pyrrha shivered at the sight.
Nora sucked in her breath. "Maybe I should tone down my leg breaking tendency…"
"A priority? You ever heard of a triage?" He said to Desmond, "He'll be dead before we get him down."
"W-what's a triage?" Ruby meekly asked.
"It's a system determining who gets priority in medical assistance," Winter answered, having been taught of this during her Specialist training.
"And this guy isn't getting high priority?" Yang motioned at the screen, fighting against the nauseous feeling she was having. "Look at the guy, his leg is ripped apart!"
"They did say he might not make it in time." Neptune gulped.
"You don't know that!" Desmond shouted over the roar of heavy fighting. They stared at each other in brief silence. "Get him down. All right?"
The medic gave in, seeing the intensity of Desmond's eyes and patted Desmond on the arm. "Okay. Okay, Go!"
"Those eyes of his certainly display his unyielding determination and concern for his allies." Said Ozpin.
"Admirable," Qrow grunted in response.
"Okay. Okay." Desmond let out a breath of relief and returned the pat before leaving.
"It's all right, buddy." The medic turned to the wounded soldier; whose face was contorted in great pain. He placed an assuring hand on his face. "We're going to get you home."
"I hope he makes it." Blake gave her silent prayer to the injured soldier.
"Us too, Blake. Us too."
The focus returns to Desmond, running through the battlefield towards the frontlines, hoping to aid whoever needs medical assistance there. He dropped down with a group of three soldiers, randomly firing at anything they could make out from the dirt mounds that served as their cover.
"Is it me, or this guy isn't carrying any weapons on him?" Vernal asked the Hosts.
"Corporal Desmond Doss served as a combat medic, refusing to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat due to his personal beliefs in nonviolence." The Hosts answered.
That stunned the entire audience.
"Whoa." Was all Neptune could say.
"Seriously?" Vernal responded with a deadpan expression.
"Yes."
Raven scoffed. "He certainly won't be living long."
"Despite all odds, Corporal Desmond Doss survived the war and lived till the age of 86." The Hosts counteracted, earning some whistles from the audience.
"Impressive," Ozpin said in awe.
"I'll say." Maria straightens up. "I'd like to see any of you guys try to survive a war like this without killing anyone, much less carry a weapon for self-defense!"
A soldier glanced at Desmond before resume firing from his entrenched position.
"Medic. Help… Help!" Ahead of them, a wounded soldier laid on his back glancing around for aid.
Desmond was not going to leave that soldier there.
"He's going to rescue the guy, isn't he?" Blake asked no one in particular. After hearing Desmond's background, it was pretty obvious.
Yang nodded. "Yup."
"I figure if we can't see them, then they can't see us neither!"
"Help…!"
Desmond breathed in and out before bravely going over cover for the wounded man.
His allies looked at him with disbelief before one of them, looking vivid, set his jaws, and also jumped over cover.
"They're compromising their position and cover." Ironwood pointed out.
"Live wild, and maybe die young." Qrow leaned forth a bit, "This guy is pretty lucky to live to the age of 86 in this nightmare. Even if he is suicidal."
"The General is taking into account the soldiers who might follow him." Winter retorted. "One careless move can endanger the entire team."
"That's enough you two." Glynda eyed the two bickering adults.
His two companions' mouth fell slightly agape as they looked at each other, wondering if the world has suddenly gotten even madder than it already is.
The ground exploded in a fiery orange burst, nearly nicking Desmond. However, it would take more than a near miss to deter the man from reaching his destination. Weaving through the battlefield, Desmond finally approached the wounded soldier, who just so happen to be near a dense fog of pale mist.
"He made it." Jaune looked relief at that.
"But can he get his friend to safety?" Ren questioned, looking tense.
Inside the mist, a squad of Japanese soldiers slowly made their way through the area…
"Oh no." Oscar gulped.
Penny furrowed her brows, "Enemies inbound."
"And he has no weapons." Coco bluntly stated, "Let's hope his teammates are there to back him up."
"I got you, Frank! Where you hit?" Desmond asked, before glancing up warily towards the pale mist.
The Japanese kill squad caught sight of Desmond and raised their rifles at him.
In the nick of time, the soldier who followed Desmond finally caught up with the corporal and unloaded a hail of bullets into their enemies, killing them. His two companions joined in, along with a contingent of American soldiers.
The small Japanese kill squad was quickly dispatched, but the fighting intensified as their enemies became aware of their position.
"Looks like they're using this moment to push forward," Ironwood said as his eyes scanned over the advancing contingent of soldiers.
"So they are." Professor Port nodded; his expression was neutral at best.
"I think they can see us, smart ass!" The soldier snapped at Desmond but continued to provide covering fire for the medic.
Vernal barked a short laugh, "Not anymore."
"Doss, come on, come on!" One of them urged, not wanting to stay out of in the open.
"Give me a hand here," Desmond ordered, dragging the wounded soldier name Frank away.
"Teammate secured. I hope." Jaune weakly cheered.
Pyrrha rubbed her partner's back in support. "I'm sure they've managed to bring him to safety."
"Yeah! What Pyrrha said!" Ruby added into the positive vibe.
Emerald and Mercury rolled their eyes, having heard Ruby's optimism. "How can they be so positive and goody-goody?" Emerald whispered to the silver-haired boy. "It's so… Irritating."
"No idea." Mercury shrugged.
The scene shifts over to Sergeant Howell jumping down into a trench that is also being utilized as a machinegun nest.
"Get down, sir!" Howell said, pulling one of the soldiers down.
It was reminiscent of World War 1, two opposing entrenched position trading bullets, and explosive shells. The Japanese had an entrenched themselves within a trench lined with sandbags and supported by solid pillboxes housing machineguns.
They need to break this stalemate.
Howell raised his hand and signaled a nearby soldier carrying a rocket launcher. The rocket launcher wielding soldier gave Howell the thumbs up and tapped his partner to follow him, repositioning in another part of the trench. Overhead, the exchange of gunfire and explosive shells ramped up as soldiers from both sides begin piling into their respective entrenched position.
"It appears they'll try to break through their enemy's defense with explosives." Penny analyzed the rocket launcher, along with several rocket shells sticking out of their pouches. "The weaponry doesn't look much, but I'm assuming that it'll be quite powerful."
Port hummed, "Mhm. One shouldn't judge anything by appearance alone."
It was not only an exchange of violence; it was also an exchange of life. One that will see no end, even if the battle ended here.
"And fire!"
A member of a mortar crew shouted to his partner and walkie-talkie. They covered their heads and helmets with their hand as the mortar fired, landing onto their enemy's fortified positions, taking a few of them down.
Near the edge of the trench, the rocket launcher was prepped and ready to fire. The soldier steadily glanced up towards his target, a pillbox. He lifted his rocket launcher, took aim, and fired.
A large whooshing sound could be heard, followed by a devastating explosion as the pillbox was consumed by a fiery burst of flame. The blast wave rippled through the Japanese fortified position, sending nearby enemy soldiers flying. With one of their defensive positions compromised, the Japanese will have to distribute their defenses to make up any shortcoming.
"Whoa." Sun said in shock, "That dinky thing packs a punch."
Neptune nodded and slightly shivered. "Whatever is in that rocket shell must be potent."
Regardless of the outcome, the Japanese will not go down without a vicious fight.
Sergeant Howell raised his head from the trenches and aimed with his gun. But before he could fire a single shot, the remaining pillbox unleashed a hail of bullets, forcing him to duck.
"Down!" He yelled, but alas, his command came too late as several soldiers, including the machine gunners were shot, taking them out of commission.
Tai bounced his legs with slight anxiety. "There goes the entire gun crew."
"That's the harsh and sudden reality of things." Raven bluntly replied.
"Take 'em!" Another commanding officer shouted, pulling the closest soldier he could find by the shirt and pushing him towards the machinegun. "Go! Fire!"
The air lit up with whizzing bullets as the machineguns became operational once more. Yet, the bullets fell short of their intended targets, mostly striking the solid wall of the pillbox, or hindered by sandbags and plentiful dirt.
The Americans made their best attempts to break the stalemate. From lobbing grenades that fell short from the enemy trenches, to the relentless torrent of bullets shredding anyone who dares raise their heads just a bit higher from their trenches, there was no apparent end to this stalemate.
Ironwood hissed, "They're still in a deadlock."
"And casualties are mounting for both sides." Oobleck darkly said, pushing up his glasses. "At this rate, it'll just be like their previous war. Endless stalemates with nothing to break it except numerous lives."
"History repeats itself." Ozpin sighed.
"It does." Oobleck nodded, "More than any of us would like."
"Go, go. Go, Ghoul! Get in the hole. Stay there!" A soldier nicknamed Ghoul rushed out of the trench and safely jumped into a pit made from an explosion. Sergeant Howell peaked his sight slightly over the trenches to confirmed that Ghoul had safely made it. "Go!" He shouted over the heavy fighting. "Smitty, we'll cover you! Leapfrog!"
Smitty went over the tops and hastily drop towards the nearest bit while his teammates provide covering fire.
"A daring move." Port eyes widen slightly, feeling his heart racing from the suspense.
Qrow nodded, "It's a gamble they're willing to make to end this stalemate."
On the Japanese side, a mortar crew of three fired a mortar shell, missing Ghoul and Smitty's position by several meters.
"That was a closed call." Yatsuhashi steadied his breath.
Coco set her jaws firmly, "Let's hope it stays like that."
"I think you kids jinxed it." Qrow murmured.
Seeing that the smoke covered a decent portion of their vision, including their enemies, Howell ordered his men to provide covering fire for Smitty to make his next move.
"Cover!" They stood up from the trenches and fired, giving Smitty time to dash the crater that is situated near the pillbox.
"Satchel!"
A satchel full of explosives was thrown into the air and caught by Smitty. He then glanced over the top and lobbed it as far as he could before ducking in time to avoid a spray of bullets. It was now Ghoul's turn.
"Stick it, Ghoul…" Howell quietly said, watching Ghoul slowly crawl his way up the crater. "Cover! Cover!" He quickly ordered.
Clasping his hands tightly, Ironwood stared firmly at the screen, watching how the Americans made their attempts to turn things around. "Impressive display of coordination."
"I'll say." Glynda agreed. "Even in this chaos, they're still able to innovate a method in response to their dire situation." This kind of trait is what all Huntsman Academies should be imparting on their students. At least, just enough for them to live another day… And hopefully, not for something like this.
The entrenched Americans immediately provide fire support, killing and thinning out the Japanese defenders for Ghoul. However, their efforts would not have change Ghoul's fate as the Japanese mortar team readjusted their aim and fired once more.
This time, their aim landed near Ghoul, blasting the soldier back into the pit, presumably unconscious, or dead.
Qrow cursed underneath his breath. "Unlucky."
"Damn…" Coco shared the same sentiment. "Jinxed it, didn't we?"
"Yup."
"So is the nature of war." Ozpin sighed sadly.
Gritting his teeth, Sergeant Howell cursed at their luck. "Son of a bitch."
With Ghoul down, it was up to Smitty to finish the job while his fellow brothers-in-arms did the best they can to soften up the enemy's resistance. Several grenades and explosives were launched and thrown, hitting their mark. Explosions pocketed the Japanese fortified position, temporarily disorganizing them.
Hearing the lack of gunfire, Smitty quickly jumped out from cover and slid down the crater where Ghoul laid bleeding. Smitty tapped Ghoul on the chest to see if there was any response, but there was none.
"Good use of situation awareness and cover." Winter somberly praised.
"The burden must be heavy on him." Weiss quietly said, "If he can't complete his task…"
"This horrible stalemate will drag on." Ironwood grimly finished Weiss's sentence.
"Medic! Medic! Help me!" Came the distance cries of injured soldiers.
Pushing the noises out of his mind, Smitty took off his helmet to provide better vision as he will be making a daring move. Despite being close, the enemies in the pillbox did not spot Smitty as they dare not raise their heads over the gun ports or risk having a bullet place into their brains.
Smitty crawled out of the pit and made his way towards the pillbox with a satchel in hand. Meanwhile, his allies continued to provide fire support to keep the Japanese distracted. The American machinegun crew redirected their fire towards the enemies on Smitty's left, killing them while forcing the survivors to duck down.
Nobody said anything. Their attention was focused on the scene to be able to form any cohesive words, much less a sentence.
Laying sideways, Smitty started the countdown on the explosive-filled satchel. Gray smoke hissed out of the corner of the satchel. With careful aim, he lobbed the satchel through the pillbox gun port and into a pile of munitions before hastily clawing his way back down into the crater.
"Bye, bye." Neo's sign read.
Shouts of surprise came from the pillbox coupled with a burst of gunfire before a massive explosion took out the fortified structure. Thick black smoke and solid concrete rain down from the skies, peppering the Japanese defenders with debris.
"Boom…" Nora quietly mimicked the explosion.
Ozpin calmly took a sip from his mug and lowered it with a dark expression. He had seen something like this before several times throughout his multiple incarnations. Bloody conflicts between people instead of the Creatures of Grimm…
"I believe this battle is about to become more gruesome…"
"Sir?" Glynda glanced worryingly at her employer.
Ozpin's statement hit General Ironwood in the guts as he came to the same realization. "I think he's right."
With the enemy's defenses down and disorientated, the Americans needed to advance. Now.
Taking this opportunity, Sergeant Howell let out a single command. "GO!"
The air was filled with numerous, piercing battlecry as the Americans charged towards the decimated Japanese trenches. It will be a brutal clash.
Neither the Japanese nor the Americans will back down.
Tai glanced at his daughters. "Yang…"
Already Yang had instinctively pulled Ruby's hood gently over her head, understanding that the next scene will be a horrible more sight than what was already shown. Even Weiss dropped a hand over Oscar's eyes to shield him from what was about to come next.
Brutal, up-close fighting.
Faced with the sudden surge of American troops, the Japanese redoubled their efforts to holdout, unleashing a series of bombardments upon the Americans while their allies remained firm in their trenches.
Leading part of the charge, Howell kept his gun steady despite running, making a small pathway for his fellow soldiers to rush through. But amid the chaos, an artillery shell exploded onto of his group, dampening their charge.
Qrow took a deep breath as he watched the sergeant narrowly avoided death. "Lucky bastard."
"Being alive is both a blessing and a curse." Ozpin philosophically replied.
"That's a sentence I can agree and live with."
Even with the Americans beginning to overwhelm the Japanese, the bloodiest part of the battle, one of many to come, has just begun. The sound of gunfire intensified and died as both sides begin to engage in close-quarter combat, signaling the next stage in this bloody battle. American soldiers leaped down into Japanese trenches, standing on ledges, firing off all their rounds before ditching their guns for melee weapons.
One of them even threw his gun at a Japanese soldier before tackling him into the trenches.
It quickly evolved into a tangled, bloody brawl as every combatant met one another, bashing, stabbing, and clawing at their enemies with untold viciousness.
"Oh… Sweet Oum's…" Pyrrha turned her head slightly away from the brutal fighting.
"There's hatred in some of their eyes." Cinder said. Her face was like a mask that speaks of control and confidence. "A fanatical hatred."
Ozpin nodded, "And it is this hatred that fuels them through this horrid conflict."
Just like the White Fang now. Blake paled greatly at the thought of the White Fang becoming much more fanatically violent than they already are.
The Americans poured through the Japanese position, overrunning them while squads of soldiers cleared out Japanese entrenchments with explosives and flamethrowers all while their allies continued the brutal ritual of war.
An American and Japanese soldier wrestled with one another before the former took out his knife and raised it over his head while his opponent grabbed his arm to prevent the knife from descending. Not far from the fight, a Japanese soldier came charging through the fields and impaled an American soldier with his bayonet. The scene then returns to the American soldier relentlessly stabbing the Japanese soldier before getting tackled by another Japanese soldier who begins to strangle him.
Rushing by, Sergeant Howell raised his rifle he found and shot the Japanese soldier in the back, giving his comrade time to throw his opponent off of him before finishing the enemy off with a knife in the gut.
"Urk…" Jaune choked on his salvia as he watched the grisly fighting continue, and on.
"It's… Like a huge bar brawl." Yang croaked.
Qrow nodded, "A bloody one with no rule but death."
"This is awful…" Glynda shook her head with sorrow.
With their position overrun, a Japanese soldier lit his grenade with a rock and frantically glance around, before getting struck square in the face by the butt of a rifle from Sergeant Howell. The sudden attack stunned the Japanese soldier causing him to drop the grenade on the ground. Acting quickly, Howell pushed his opponent into the ground on top of the grenade and held him down.
"Aiiiie…" Sun turned his head away, knowing what comes next. Several other students followed suit, not wanting to see such a gruesome end for the Japanese soldier.
BOOM!
A muffled explosion kicked up dirt and bloody mist, sending Sergeant Howell sprawling back into the dirt mound. He let out a grunt as he struck the ground, looking aimlessly at the sky while breathing heavily, ears ringing.
"Exhaustion kicking in."
Qrow took a long drink out of his flask, "I would be exhausted if I were in his shoe. Dead tired."
Howell glanced around to see the progression of the battle, watching the enemy retreat, or gunned down.
A Japanese soldier staggered out from a destroyed pillbox and was quickly shot multiple times.
"Go, go, go!" A grenade was tossed into the pillbox, followed by a stream of liquid flames filling the area with blazing flames, accompanied by agonizing shrieks of Japanese soldiers as they came flailing out from their covers.
The scene slowly darkens with the flamethrower operator letting out a vengeful cry for his fallen comrades.
"We'll put an end to this viewing here." The Hosts said, "Let's move on to something less distressing."
"Yes, please." Coco let out a sigh of relief.
Blake rubbed her arms softly while her cat ears twitched here and there. "I have no words to describe how horrible that was."
Jaune nodded, "Yeah… It felt like we were watching that forever."
"So, what will we be watching next?" Emerald asked.
"Something we find slightly amusing…"
Everyone raised an eyebrow at that. It was a bit of a surprise for their Hosts to say that, considering how… Detached the Hosts are from them. Heck, they don't even know what they look like.
Nora slapped her hand down on her armrest, startling her teammates. "Well, I'm done for anything that isn't what we just saw." She eyed her teammates and friends. "What about you guys?"
"Same."
"Yup."
"I'm on the same boat with her."
"We shall be proceeding shortly."
NEXT: Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun - Sabbath
Replaced Dream Date with Sabbath to keep it chronological although I already messed up chronologically in one of my chapters already.
SPOILERS for those who don't read the manga! You might want to veer away from this chapter if you don't wish to be spoiled.
Pardon my grammar.
