It was a hazy morning when Pierre woke up. He stood up and yawned and picked up his gun and helmet. He had once again had dreamt of Gustave and that made Pierre sigh in sadness.
He walked outside and found a piece of paper on the wall.
All soldiers report to the Avenue Berthelot Bridge.
Next to the note was a map which showed Avenue Berthelot and all the other bridges. He saw that the bridge he was assigned to was all French people. On the other side of the city were the Germans and in the middle were the Brits and the Japanese. The rest were French.
Pierre nodded to himself and began walking towards the Avenue Berthelot bridge. As he walked he saw the devastation of it all. The city was destroyed. It was in ruins from artillery and fireballs. Buildings had collapsed, the air stenched of smoke and decaying flesh.
To Pierre he was used to this. He would have puked so long ago from this but war changes you. Sometimes he barely registered that Gustave was gone. Maybe Haiko could be the new Gustave.
Haiko could be his new friend. His new brother for him to hug and snuggle with. These thoughts ran through Pierre's head as he walked. Speak of the devil.
"Hey Pierre." Haiko waved at Pierre happily. "Hey Haiko." Pierre smiled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm heading over to some stupid named bridge. No offense to you but it's very hard to remember French names." Haiko replied, putting his hands up. "No, I understand. I doubt I could a single Japanese thing. Luckily we are both good at English." Pierre pointed out.
"And thank the spirits for that." Haiko laughed. The laugh made Pierre smile. "Well it was good seeing you Pierre, I'll see you after the attack." And then Haiko was gone.
Continuing on his walk, he saw Katara, Zuko and everybody down the street. He waved and they waved back. "Hey Pierre, what are you doing?" Katara called out.
"I'm off to one of the bridges for a counterattack against the Fire Nation. It's one final push to kick them out of Lyon."
"Where is the bridge?" Sokka asked. "Down the next block." Pierre pointed in the general direction. "Interesting." Sokka said. Pierre nodded in agreement.
"Be careful Pierre. It's going to be a bloody charge." Katara told Pierre. Once again Pierre nodded, "I know, but if I die, then I did it for France and for the republic."
"Just be careful please."
"I will." And then Pierre walked away towards the bridge.
"The high command knows what they're doing." Sokka started. "What makes you say that?" Aang asked. Out of his pocket Sokka pulled out a map of the city. The others wondered why Sokka would keep a map in his pocket.
"Well Pierre's heading here. I also found a map of where all the troops are going. The mechanized troops along with the cavalry have the edges of the city to flank the troops."
"So the tanker me and Toph met at the beginning of the battle would be somewhere there. I think his name was Michael." Aang said.
"Yes," Sokka agreed. "Then the other troops are going to push the Fire Nation back and keep them preoccupied while the cavalry and tanks surround the city."
"I want to see this, let's get somewhere high." Zuko said. The others agreed and they set off for somewhere high.
Pierre finally made his way to the bridge and joined the other people there. Among them he saw young children in oversized clothes holding giant guns. He was holding some sticks. He saw women covered in soot.
The command had pulled together what they could find for the attack. People from all walks of life from everywhere. He saw Algerians, other colonial troops, old men, women, children, and soldiers. He heard an officer yell three minutes left. Pierre could feel himself gaining nerves.
"Allons! Enfants de la patrie! Le jour de glorie est arrivé!" He heard someone begin to sing A few other voices joined in. "Contre nous de la tyrannie, l'étendard sanglant est levé! L'étendard sanglant est levé! Entendz-vous dans les campagnes, mugir vex féroces soldats?"
Pierre took a breath and began to sing as well.
"Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras, égorger vos fils, vos compagnes. Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos bataillons! Marchez, marchez! Qu'un sang impur, abreuve nos sillons!" They all sung together.
"Aux armes, citoyens! Formons vos bataillons! Marchons, marchons! Qu'un sang impur, abreuve nos sillons." They screamed. As they were singing La Marseillaise the officer moved to the front and Pierre attached the bayonet. He took in another breath and steeled himself.
"Come mes amis. Charge, for France!" The officer screamed.
"Ahhh!" The soldiers screamed and they ran forward through the streets. Leading the charge was a flag bearer.
In the distance, a group of Fire Nation soldiers had heard the singing. They had prepared and they knew many of the French soldiers lacked weapons. They got ready for a fight.
Atop a ruined building, the Gaang watched as the French flag flew forward and behind it, hundreds of French people. Both Katara and Aang hoped for the least amount of bloodshed. Sokka gazed with the scope of his gun and Toph used seismic senses. Zuko just squinted.
On the north side of the city, Michael Wittman's driver pushed the tank forward and Michael stared through the scope. He knew that somewhere there were Fire Nation tanks waiting for him. He prepared himself.
Charlie, Will, and Connor attached bayonets to their rifles and waited for the whistle. Charlie double checked to make sure his rifle was off safety. Then he grabbed Wills and did the same.
Near them Haiko fixed his bayonet and took a breath. All that he knew that on the other side of this bridge was the enemy lying in wait. His eyes and heart hardened.
Pierre ran forward, his bayonet extended before him as he let out a battle cry. A stray arrow flew past him and hit the man behind him in the chest. Pierre kept running.
"I only see the flag now." Sokka grimaced. "Who knows the casualties. If the flag falls we'll assume there was heavy casualties."
Charlie, Will, and Connor heard the whistle and ran forward. Behind them was Haiko. Fire instantly began coming out of the fog and slamming into people, killing them.
Pierre continued to run shooting the occasional time. He had no idea if he was hitting his targets. A giant fire ball slammed next to him blowing him towards the ground. Near him he saw a kid on the ground too. The kid was fine and stood up easily and continued running.
When Pierre stood up, he saw that the attack had fallen apart. Men and women were running away in every direction, seeking to escape the slaughter. Pierre knew he couldn't let this happen.
Looking around, he saw the flag leaning against a rock with the man who carried it on the ground nearby. Pierre quickly picked up the flag and began shouting.
""Mes amis! Let us go and defeat the tyranny of the Fire Nation." He screamed at them. The men and women retreating stopped and turned to him and saw the flag of France waving in the wind. Inside of them, their hearts became made of stele and they gripped their weapons tightly once again.
"Marchez mes amies. Allez por France!" He called once more before he screamed and ran forward. Around him the retreating soldiers joined him, creating a bubble.
The child who he had saw stand up fell to the ground with an arrow in his gut. Pierre tried to put that out of his head.
Through the smoke he could begin to make out fortifications. He could see fire and arrows shooting out of the fort. The soldiers next to him began to shoot.
The Fire Nation soldiers ducked as bullets impacted the debris and sandbags they hid behind. The non-benders leveled their spears towards the incoming French. The archers and firebenders continued to shoot too. Then a bullet struck an archer. And another archer fell. Then a a non-bender. Panic rose inside the fortifications.
Pierre leveled the flag, pointing the pointy end towards the enemy. The spears that had been leveled towards him had fallen to bullets. Every man up front held a gun with the gunless ones in the back.
Pierre watched as the panicked Fire Nation soldiers fled the fortifications. They gave chase towards the panicking men and women. Their panicked screams were equaled by the French war cries and screams for blood.
The man beside Pierre fired his rifle hitting one of the fleeing soldiers in the head knocking him down. The man was all cheers and smiles until an arrow hit him in the eye.
The panicked soldiers ran behind a fortified trench and joined another platoon. Arrows and fire flew through the air. Pierre ducked underneath each but the others weren't so lucky. 50 percent of the people in the front were now casualties. But Pierre couldn't stop now.
They continued their charge and Pierre felt an arrow graze his cheek. He felt the cold streak of blood run down his face but he ignored it. There were more important things.
By now they were very close to the entrenched soldiers, Pierre could see their angry and scared expressions. He didn't care. They were the enemy.
Aang, and the rest stared out as the flag disappeared. "Why aren't we helping them?" Katara asked. This made them all think. Why weren't they joining the fight. They all had the same thought. "Let's go kick butt!" Toph exclaimed with a smile.
Pierre leveled the flag like a spear at the enemy and pulverized an archer in the stomach. The flag went right through the chest. The archer fell to the ground and Pierre jumped into the trench.
Along with him, the entire group jumped in as well. Chaos insued. People walked soldiers with sticks and knocked them out with fists.
A Fire Nation soldier ran at Pierre and he ducked before uppercupping the man, knocking him out. Out of the soldiers pocket Pierre grasped a knife and he pulled it out and threw it at another's head.
The Frenchman next to Pierre got stabbed in the gut by a spear so Pierre threw the man into the side before kicking him in the head. The spearman crumpled to the ground and Pierre picked up the dead Frenchman's bayonet and rifle.
Aiming he shot a firebender in their back. He heard a scream behind him and he turned around to see a spear man charging at him.
Pierre dodged the first thrust before swinging with the rifle. The spearman dodged this and did a wide swing towards the feet. A fatal mistake. Pierre stepped on the spear and stabbed the spearman in the stomach.
Pierre looked around and saw bodies all around him. He smiled.
Michael Wittmann's panzer drove forward through the streets of Lyon along with the 12 other panzer. Suddenly the one next to him exploded from a fireball.
"Fire Nation soldiers directly ahead!" His driver screamed. The panzer's machine guns started firing, gunning down most of the enemy. Michael aimed the gun at the fortifications and fired. The air was sprinkled with gold and the blood of the Fire Nation.
Continuing forward, Michael continued to stare at the buildings through his gun sight. There he thought, a glint of a helmet. He fired and the building collapsed, they continued.
In the distance, he could see a trench and dark shapes moving around. He aimed for the middle of the trench and fired. The dark shapes stopped moving around.
Michael's tank was the 3rd tank back in a three by four column. When the first tanks rolled over the trench, they exploded. Firebenders leapt from the trench and began shooting fireballs at the tanks. Michael was thankful his Panzer 4 was heavily armored in the front.
The fire dissipated upon impacting the tank and Michael's machine gunner gunned them down. Out of some of the disabled tanks, men emerged carrying guns and they cleared the trench. They gave a thumbs up when it was good to cross.
Michael's tank was now in the lead of the six remaining tanks. Seven including him. They arranged themselves in an arrow formation and continued moving forward. He, as the highest ranked person, was now in charge of the group.
Michael remembered when he was a young boy, hunting for pigeons. You had to have a quick eye and a faster shot to have food. He was by no means from a wealthy family. This skill when he was younger gave him the edge.
If he was a normal soldier, he could be a sniper with his quick shot but he chose a bigger gun. He chose to be a tanker. He was by now one of the most decorated German tankers of the war. He had 10 kills already from the Battle of Lyon and now he hoped for more.
Something out of the smog suddenly passed his tank to the left. "Modified tanks dead ahead!" His driver screamed. Another bolt hit his tank in the side and ricocheted off. Still Michael couldn't see the enemy tanks.
"Seek cover driver!" Michael screamed. His driver pulled the tank to the left behind a building. Two tanks had retreated back while Michael and two others hid behind a building. The other three had gone behind other buildings.
Michael pushed the radio in his tank to his mouth. "Does anybody see the enemy?" He asked.
"Nein, I have no visual contact." One of the tank commanders answered. Michael groaned and made a decision. "Driver move forward." For a second the driver, Franz, hesitated. "Come on! I have a plan."
"You better not get us killed." The machine gunner, Peter, whispered to himself. Franz couldn't help but agree. The tank moved forward out of cover.
Michael didn't believe that the enemy could see him. He guessed that they were guessing his location by sound. The crossbow bolts had stopped flying after about a minute of them moving to cover.
When Michael's tank moved forward, a crossbow bolt fired forward. He noted the location and aimed for where it came from. He launched a shell and he heard the sound of it piercing metal and then a small explosion. Another kill.
"The rest of you flank, I'll distract them." Michael said over the radio to the other tanks.
"Yes sir!" They answered and they drove away. The flames from the fire of the first tank illuminated the haze and allowed him to see other tanks. Taking aim once again he fired. He missed.
The Fire Nation tanks had by now, realized his position. A crossbow bolt slammed through the front side of the tank, penetrating halfway. Franz and Peter looked at it in horror.
The man in charge of reloading, Paul, quickly reloaded a shell and Michael aimed again at the enemy tanks. "Can you see them Peter!" Michael asked Peter. "Ya!" He yelled back. "Then shoot!"
The Fire Nation tank had stupidly light armor. It was so thin, machine gun bullets could go through. Sometimes, Michael wondered how his shells didn't over penetrate.
Peter began to shoot, sending bullets into the Fire Nation tanks. He had no idea if he was hitting anything. But it worked since the crossbows stopped shooting. Meanwhile Franz began to pull the tank back behind a building again.
They all took a breath.
"Sir, should we take the bolt out?" Paul asked. Michael sighed. "Do we have any extra steel plating by any chance?"
"Yes sir, right here." Peter banged against some steel beside him. "Put it over the hole." Michael said. The crew quickly got to work on repairing the tank. Within 3 minutes, the tank was repaired with a new steel plating on the front. Then they heard a voice over the radio.
"We destroyed all enemy tanks. One was already riddled with machine gun bullets." Peter smiled at this news. He had a tank kill now.
"Alright, move us forward again." Michael said. The tank moved forward out of cover and rolled down the streets meeting up with the other tanks.
The morning haze by now was beginning to disappear as the sun got higher in the sky. It was giving Michael a better view of his surroundings.
Michael once again eyed the area in front of him. The tanks up front were a sign, a sign that there was more to come. The Fire Nation most likely knew there were tanks on the way and would send more armor to defend their positions.
Then Michael saw it. A glint of metal through the haze. It was low in the ground, possibly in fortifications. Michael knew he had to capitalize on the opportunity presented to him.
He fired a shell. There was a giant explosion and he watched as something flew through the sky. "Enemy contact!" He screamed over the radio.
The panzers began to fire at the dark shapes. Explosions were heard throughout as they continued to move forward, pummeling the enemy tanks. A single tank was able to take a shot before it was destroyed. It knocked out the treads of the panzer next to Michael.
Then everything once again became silent. Michael radioed the tank who had its track blown out. "Are the tracks reparable?"
"No Hauptmann, this baby is out of commission. Complete the mission without us, we'll be fine." The tank commander radioed back. "Will do."
"Continue forward towards the objective." Michael radioed to the remaining five tanks. The tank's crew set up a defensive position around the tank. The machine gunner and commander remained in the tank while the reloader and driver armed themselves with machine guns and kept watch. There would however be no Fire Nation soldiers who would attack them.
In the middle of Lyon, the British and Japanese charged forward with a fury. They quickly reached a Fire Nation outpost but the soldiers were quickly dealt with by machine guns.
They continued moving forward, clearing buildings as they went, flushing out the enemy and taking them prisoner. The British took them all for they outnumbered the Japanese heavily in a ratio of six to one.
Every soldier here had a gun unlike the French. Therefore they were less likely to retreat to the Fire Nation who was at a technological disadvantage. The British and Japanese both made fast progress through the streets, clearing bunker after trench after bunker whilst suffering minimal casualties.
The Gaang meanwhile followed the path of the French. Katara puked from the sight of the trench and the others grimaced. Many were burned, others were impaled, and some headless. It looked like a scene from the early years of the 100 Years War.
The dead were Fire Nation and French alike. Some were children, others old men. They were of different backgrounds, some colonial troops, some French, and Fire Nation men and women.
But in the distance, they could hear the war cries of the Frenchman. They made the unanimous decision to continue, towards the smoke and fire.
Fire Nation
"Hello, I read that you're an earthbender." A Fire Nation engineer looked at an earthbender with a smile. The earthbender nodded shyly. "Don't worry you're not in any trouble. You're from the colonies right?"
The earthbender nodded again. The engineer wrote a few things down on some parchment paper. "What's your opinion on the Earth Kingdom?" He asked.
The earthbender shrugged. "The Earth Kingdom is a backwater state. It has no idea what it's doing. I've journeyed there before. It's a lawless nation, if we hadn't been at war with it, then it'd go into civil war."
The engineer nodded with a smile. This man would be perfect. "You are aware of the Fire Nation trying to fight this new world right?" The earthbender once again nodded.
"Well, the Fire Nation is trying to bring equality to the colonies. As a result, we are looking for earthbenders to help us with infrastructure projects. Most of these would be in the Fire Nation but the pay is high. We have also hired other earthbenders as well. So are you up for the job." The earthbender nodded.
"Good, all you have to do is sign here and here." The engineer pointed to two places on the paper. The earthbender signed the paper. "Alright good, you will receive your assignment within the next 24 hours. It was a pleasure to meet you." The engineer and earthbender shook hands and then the Earthbender left.
The engineer checked off a name on his list. It had taken a lot of effort on the part of War Minister Qin to convince the Fire Nation high command to allow earthbenders to construct factories. A compromise had to be made between the two parties.
The compromise was that only earthbenders from the colonies could be used in building infrastructure. These earthbenders had been indoctrinated but had also witnessed why the Fire Nation was the best out of all the nations. There were many trips to the Earth Kingdom where earthbenders witnessed the happenings of the nation.
The engineer called in the next person. This would be a very long day.
Lyon
Michael and his small force continued towards the objective, a square where all forces were to converge. In their way, Michael would guess a few squads of tanks.
Michael looked through the telescope that was his window to the outside world. The mist was almost gone by now and they would be able to see the Fire Nation tanks clearly.
Then he had an idea. "Max, I want your panzer to head to the street to the right of us. I'm going to head to the left. The rest of you, radio if there are any enemies spotted. Max and I will head slightly ahead to check the roads." He radioed.
"Driver to the left down this alley and then down the small road." Michael commanded. The tank turned to the left and rolled down the alley and turned.
Michael did not expect for there to be any tanks on these roads. The Fire Nation was likely to focus their forces on the road they knew where a large attack was coming from.
Michael's tank crew as a whole was confident in their abilities. They knew for a fact that their tank was superior to the Fire Nation one. A Fire Nation tank however could be dangerous. They were the most feared Fire Nation machine.
The Fire Nation tank could be anti-infantry or anti-armor depending on the crossbow at the top. The crossbow bolt was made out of an extremely strong metal that could penetrate almost any armor. The crossbow however had an extremely low reload speed.
The crew itself too was also extremely elite. Michael was a great commander who could make ultra fast decisions. Paul had the record for fastest reload in the Kaiserlich Deutsches Heer. Peter scored at the top of his class and Franz's ear was well tuned for orders and could move the tank in a second. Even without Michael, Franz could make a quick decision.
Then Michael saw it, a tank sitting in a building. He was amazed it hadn't taken a shot yet. If he hit the crossbow, the tank would have no way of shooting him. He fired.
The shell sliced the crossbow off the top. Paul reloaded and Michael fired again. The tank was rendered obsolete but it wasn't destroyed. "Fire Nation soldiers fleeing commander. Should I shoot them, commander?" Peter asked.
"Let them be. They can't do any harm to us now." Michael said. He turned the turret to the right and saw a group of tanks to his right. "I got tanks to my right a few blocks down. Are you guys in range of them?" Michael radioed.
"Yes Hauptmann Wittmann." A tank commander called back. "Fire at will."
Michael could hear loud booms just within earshot and watched as the Fire Nation tanks exploded on the inside. One had its tracks blown out and another became riddled with machine gun bullets.
"We lost one Hauptmann." The same tank commander radioed. "Knocked out or…"
"Gone. It's in flames."
"Alright, we're almost there." Now there were a mere 5 tanks including himself. Michael once again sighed. "Milo I want your panzer to head on Max's road. The rest of you head on my road."
Michael assumed that there would be one more group of Fire Nation tanks in their way. They should be able to flank them in this position.
Once all the tanks were in position, they were on their way. "Keep an eye on your surroundings, there could be enemies anywhere." Michael said over the radio.
"Will do, sir."
"I'll call anything I see out." Michael put down the radio and gazed around. The radio was such a beautiful thing. He couldn't imagine fighting and working as a cohesive unit without it. It gave the Germans such a large advantage over the Fire Nation. The ability to talk over long distances quickly was amazing.
Michael turned the turret to the right and once again saw Fire Nation tanks. Michael picked up the radio. "Fire Nation tanks at 3 o'clock. Me and Max will head another block down and get behind them. The rest of you wait where you are and shoot when I give the order. We should be out of hearing distance."
Michael's tank headed down a block and turned and he faced Max's tank. It was like two deadly giants meeting with a mutual respect. The two tanks then turned down the road and faced the backs of the enemy.
"Everybody in position?"
"Aye sir."
"Yes sir."
Yes Hauptmann."
"We're all in position sir."
"Fire!" Michael commanded before he shot the middle tank. The tank instantly started emitting smoke. He must have hit something.
The other enemy tanks were instantly destroyed as the panzers created a sort of grid. Every tank on the side was destroyed instantly. The tanks in the back were demolished by Michael and Max. All that was left was a single tank in the middle front. With Paul's quick reload, Michael got the kill.
Franz had the tank do a 180 and faced down the other end. At the end of the road he saw a square. Michael saw it too. "I see the objective in sight. Regroup and we'll head there together." Michael said over the radio and placed it down. "Come on, just a little longer to go my friends." He then said to his compatriots within the tank with a smile.
Pierre and the French ran forward, through any Fire Nation defenses. Anything put up to stop them, they pushed through heartily. Their momentum would carry them further down the road, to the objective.
Someone else had elected to carry the flag and Pierre now carried a rifle that lacked ammo and had a bayonet. But in the distance, Pierre saw a square. He, like everyone else, realized what it was. The endpoint.
"Come on mes amis. Je vois l'objectif." Pierre screamed. Just in between the objective and them was a small contingent of spear men.
Pierre ran at the first one and sidestepped the spear. Then he stabbed the spearman in the chest. The spearman adjacent to him tried to swing his spear around in desperation. Pierre however was faster. The spearman gasped as he was run through with a bayonet.
The next spearman and Pierre locked weapons and had a contest of the fittest. The spearman was the stronger and he pushed Pierre's bayonet down slowly.
Pierre, acting fast, quickly retracted the weapon and cut the spear in two. The spearman stumbled a few steps and Pierre hit him with the butt of his gun.
The rest of the contingent retreated towards the square. Pierre smiled. This would be the end.
Every French soldier, no matter age, gender, or color, sprinted towards the square. Here they were all equal. Here they all fought as one. They were one unit. A cohesive one. One that would kill the Fire Nation and force them out of France. They would be immortalized. They would be remembered. They would be great.
The first soldiers slammed into the first line of the enemy. They slashed and hacked. Fire Nation soldiers fell left and right and barely a single French soldier fell.
The French fought with vigor and with ruthlessness. Soldiers fought to the end. They were at the point where they no longer feared death. They had been through hell at Lyon among the fire and artillery. Death couldn't be worse. Life for them was already hell.
Pierre looked to his left and saw a child stabbing a soldier with a branch. They shouldn't be here. They should be at home playing in the fields. Not already ruining their innocence. Oh, how Pierre would love to regain it.
Then Pierre nearly had his head chopped off by a swordsman. He had dodged just in time. Luckily, the soldier had over swung and now left himself wide open for attack. Pierre quickly stabbed the man in the back and then walked away.
Suddenly, two archers jumped in front of him, bows pulled back. Oh no he thought in fear. He stumbled backwards but then two water sprouts slammed into the two, blowing them across the square.
Pierre looked back, wondering who had saved him and there he saw, Katara, Zuko, and the rest standing there in all their glory.
"You can't die that easily Pierre!" Zuko called out, pulling out two Dao blades. Katara smiled as water swirling around her and Aang held his staff tightly. Toph had a devilish grin on her face as a boulder rose above her and Sokka held his meteorite sword in an attack position. Then the Gaang charged into battle.
Vasily meanwhile watched the French charge from a rooftop. He was busy picking off Fire Nation commanders with ease. He never felt much remorse but he never saw them up close. The less he knew about them, the better. He looked around for a bit. Hold on he thought, is that Sokka?
Pierre watched as the French were slowly being pushed back. No matter how eager they were to fight, the Fire Nation had the numbers. The French were once again on the verge of collapse when.
"For Queen and country!" A shout that was heard by the fighting men and women down the street. The British and Japanese had arrived.
The British fired rounds into the defending Fire Nation. Realizing that they would be slaughtered if they didn't charge, so they did just that.
The Fire Nation, with spears leveled, charged at the British and Japanese. Haiko unsheathed his own katana as the enemy charged. Charlie, Will, and Connor gripped their bayonets tightly as they continued to fire.
Soon they were upon them. Bayonets, katanas, swords, and spears clashed. The British found trouble facing the Fire Nation who were much more experienced in the art of close combat. The Japanese fared much better with their katanas. The problem came with the lack of them. Only about 44 had made it this far. They couldn't face hundreds of soldiers, desperately attempting to defend themselves.
Fire Nation soldiers stabbed, British soldiers dodged or became speared. Fire Nation soldiers lost their heads fighting Japanese. Japanese were slashed across the stomach.
Pierre felt himself trip and fall to the ground, face first. When he turned around, he realized with a start that he was slashed across his legs. And above him stood a spearman about to pulverize him. "Uh oh." Was the only thing that went through his mind.
Then something jumped in front of him and the spearman fumbled. Out of his stomach blood spurted. He dropped his spear and he fell to his knees. Then the assailant swiped the sword back and the soldier lost his head.
Pierre looked at the person who saved him and smiled. "Haiko, I see you still like ridding people of headaches."
"It's an honorable way to go and it's painless." Haiko extended his arm to Pierre. Pierre gladly took it and stood up. Haiko handed Pierre a machine gun. "Just like old times?" He asked.
Pierre did a grin that would make the devil fear him. "Just like old times." Pierre reaffirmed. They went back to back and Pierre began to fire while Haiko held his katana in front of him. It was time for them to kick ass.
"Sneak attack!" Sokka screamed as he ran at a soldier who had his back turned to him. The soldier turned and held out a sword and blocked his attack. "How'd you see it coming?" Sokka asked in horror. The soldier just growled at him.
The soldier lunged at him but Sokka easily blocked. Sokka then attempted to feint right and head left but the soldier saw right through it. He jabbed at where Sokka would've been if not for quick reflexes.
Sokka realized the predicament he was in pretty quickly. This swordsman was a master. He knew the signs of different moves. To him, Sokka was merely a child. A child that needed to be dealt with.
Sokka stepped back and raised his sword in front of him, ready to fight smarter this time. The swordsman smirked and began to move forward before his head snapped back. A bullet to the head from the rooftop.
Sokka looked around, trying to find who had saved them. Upon a rooftop, a man was waving down at him. It didn't take a genius like Sokka to know who it was. "Vasily!" Of course Vasily probably hadn't heard him but still, it was worth it to Sokka.
Aang, Toph, and Katara worked together to defeat the Fire Nation. Toph would raise up barriers and block projectiles, Katara used water whips to swing firebenders away, and Aang would send out stone blocks to hit his enemies in the face.
Aang for a second took his eyes away from the fight. He watched as a soldier picked up a rock and began smashing it into another's face. One soldier got impaled. One was screaming as he was burned to a crisp. To Aang it was horrible.
Zuko was also trying not to kill anyone. To him it was horrible, killing members of his own nation. As a result, he tried his best to simply knock attackers unconscious. He had in this short period become accustomed to using the flat end of his blades.
The Fire Nation was slowly being pushed back by the incoming forces. They were almost about to break and run. They were being gunned down by the British, stabbed by the French and Japanese, and knocked about by the Avatar and his friends. Then the final breaking factor.
Five Panzer IV tanks rolled onto the scene, guns blazing. Peter grimaced as he fired the machine gun into the soldiers whom they had just flanked. Franz accidentally ran some people over too.
Michael aimed his gun near a large group of soldiers and fired. He watched as they went flying. It looked like a scene from a silent movie.
The Fire Nation soldiers finally broke. They ran as fast as they could away from the Panzers, away from the British, away from the Avatar, away from the bloodthirsty French and Japanese, and away from the snipers on the roof.
They weren't coming back. The Fire Nation had finally driven out of Lyon. That square was their base of operations. All the high ranking officials had been killed. There was no one to stop them from fleeing the hell in Lyon.
The French, British, and Japanese soldiers cheered. They crowded around the German tanks and cheered for them. Michael, Paul, Franz, and Peter climbed out and began waving. The other German tank crews did the same, climbing out of their panzers and celebrating.
Will, Charlie, and Connor regrouped and found that they were all okay. Not one of them had a scratch on them. It was a miracle.
Pierre and Haiko looked at the dead Fire Nation soldiers around them. They created a little barrier of death around them. Piles upon piles.
The ruthlessness Pierre had held wore off as he realized what he had done and began to puke. Haiko only grimaced as he wiped blood off his katana with a cloth.
Vasily however still had a job to do. He kept his eye on the retreating forces, taking out anyone who took charge. He made sure they weren't coming back.
The Gaang reunited together with hugs. Pierre and Haiko too when they arrived became honorary members. They joined the hug as well. The Battle of Lyon was over.
Hauptmann meant captain during the German Empire days. All the German military names will be from that time period since in this universe, the German Empire won the Civil War. So hauptmann and other military ranks will be used. Kaiserlich Deutsches Heer was the unified German army and Air Force.