April 16th, 1940
The damp, foggy spring air made Michael Wittmann shiver. It was an early spring morning and in his hand was a cup of coffee. He was sitting in his tank waiting for the moment. The moment they roll across the land towards the enemy trench.
"Michael, what time is it?" Franz asked, leaning back in his chair. Michael took a sip of his coffee and answered. "It's 6:30 in the morning Franz. We have thirty minutes until the first charge. Let's just enjoy this time of peace while we can without any yipper yapper from you."
"Why did we have to get up so early? What time were we woken up, 5:00?" Franz joked completely disregarding what Michael just said.
"We had to eat if you're forgetting Franz." Peter said, rolling his eyes. "Commander Wittmann in his high chair is sipping stupid coffee to wake himself up. We all gotta wake ourselves up."
"Well I think I'm pretty awake if I do say so myself." Franz said, smirking stupidly. Michael rolled his eyes too. Franz could be extremely annoying sometimes. He really is a nutcase on occasion.
Once during training, he thought it would be a good idea to travel through the town rather than around. He nearly ran over five people but they beat everyone else and was awarded for smart thinking rather than being like a sheep.
There were however times when he questioned Franz's sanity. Like when he poured water into his hot cocoa once. Like who does that Michael thought.
Paul had remained quiet as always during the exchange. He was looking at a picture and gently stroking it with his thumb. It was a picture of a pretty girl with blond hair smiling widely at the camera.
Michael watched as Paul flipped the picture and touched the writing on the back. Be back soon it read and Michael saw how Paul pulled it close to his chest and hung his head.
I'll get us through this, Michael thought. Even if it was the last thing he ever did. Michael leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his coffee. He was debating on if he should try and get some shut eye or is it too late.
What's the harm, Michael gently closed his eyes and he passed out almost instantly. Franz and Peter still were talking with each other while Paul remained in silence.
"Michael what time is it now?" Franz asked, flinging his arms in the air, stopping his conversation for once. "Michael, you there?"
"He's asleep Franz, stop talking so loud." Paul muttered just loud enough for Franz and Peter to hear. "Well I want to know how much longer until we die." Peter said at a much lower octave than what he was talking at before.
"I have a watch, I can check right now without waking Michael." Paul offered before checking his personal watch, not an officer given one. "It's 6:40."
"10 minutes have already passed!" Franz cried out in exasperation. "Michael's sleeping Franz!" Peter scolded with a frown. "Right, right."
Silence once again descended on the tank. Franz stared out the driver's slit, Peter was lounging in his chair tapping the metal of the tank, and Paul rested his eyes.
"Typical spring weather this is." Franz said after a few minutes. His eyes were glued to the slit and his hand was helping him balance.
"Why? What's it like out there?" Peter asked curiously. They had been in this tank for what seemed like hours. He wondered if there was anything different outside now compared to when he got in the tank.
"It's foggy as hell. It's so hard to see just a few meters in front. The ground is extremely muddy from all the rain that's come through in the past few days."
"I'm surprised you're not making us clean her." Peter joked with a smile on his face. He just loved to poke at Franz sometimes.
"She has a name and it's Breina. Anyway it's really muddy out there. It sounds like the stories my dad told of the war." They all knew which war Franz was talking about. The Great War, the trenches, the horror. It's the war that everybody knows.
The one that led to a madman's rise to power. The one that led to a German downfall. The war that to many of them, signaled the end of European imperialism. But Germany had risen again from the ashes. It was now a great country with a great leader. And nothing would ever stop them.
"You do realize that soon this war will be called 'the war' and the war will become known as the Great War." Peter stated it as if it were some amazing fact. "Yeah, I realized that too." Franz said, frowning in worry as he stared across the mud, into the fog and deep down, he knew, the enemy awaited him just behind that barrier of mist.
"By the way, what time is it now?" Franz said, turning to Paul. Paul slowly opened his eyes and checked his watch, "It's 6:53. Someone better wake up Commander Wittmann." He muttered before leaning back and closing his eyes again.
"Which of us wants to wake him up?" Franz asked, turning to Peter. Peter put his hands in the air and shook his head, "I'm good."
Franz groaned and got up from his seat. He tapped Michael in the shoulder and he groggily opened his eyes. "Commander get up. We attack in six minutes and we need you wide awake." Franz said softly as he shaked Michael.
Michael groaned and sat up. He searched for his cup of coffee and took a sip. "I'll be wide awake in a minute." Michael said after he took his first sip. "How long did I sleep for?" He asked.
"About 20 minutes." Peter said from his gunner seat. "We let you sleep for a really long time." Michael groaned and stood up in his seat to get outside. His head and shoulders popped out of the tank and he glanced around. He checked his watch and read 6:58.
He scanned the area for anyone who would say the attack was starting. He turned to his left after finding nothing on his right. Then he saw an officer moving up through the column.
He watched as the officer raised his hand. Michael could just about see a flare gun in his hand. He heard a pop and watched a green flare fly through the air.
The fog turned a light shade of green that caused Michael to cover his eyes. The tank in front of Michael's gears rolled to life and it moved forward. The tank to Michael's left and right did the same.
"Driver! Move forward!" Michael called out and he jerked backwards when his tank lurched forward. As his tank moved forward, Michael heard the distant sound of a whistle being blown. The soldiers were charging right up behind the tanks.
The battle had begun.
Skies over the Rhine
Heinz was once again on a bomber protection mission. The name of the game was defense and the Stukas were flying towards Fire Nation defenses. It was a routine mission.
There were few to no expected casualties. Worst case scenario, they use flak and maybe, maybe shoot down a plane. Even if said plane began going down, the man could just parashoot out of the plane.
Heinz had complete faith in the ability of his plane and his fellow pilots. There was nothing that could stop the mighty Bf-109. Well, maybe a Japanese Zero could stop his plane but they weren't flying against the Japanese. They were fighting against a nation whose only air power was airships, one of which Heinz had shot down.
After that, Heinz had become an ace. Each airship had been estimated to have 40 people in it at least. Shooting one down was a large blunt against Fire Nation power. Heinz after shooting one down became an ace.
Heinz however was surprised by this. In the Great War, you became an ace after shooting down a few enemy pilots. But Heinz had only shot down one airship and it had been extremely easy.
But he wasn't about to complain. He was an ace now and was filled with pride. His captain though was still in charge of the flight group. Heinz should be in charge, not him. Heinz was an ace, not his captain.
Heinz frowned behind his oxygen mask. Sometimes military command structure made him so mad sometimes. He was more successful than the captain so why wasn't he in charge.
He glanced down at the ground below. He could hardly make anything out below him. It was all fog and Heinz had no idea where they were. At least he knew it would clear up eventually.
And just like that, Heinz went back to his brooding, ignoring the looming threat above him.
Moza and four other Firebirds were flying on a bomber interception mission. Moza's first. It was beautiful up in the clouds Moza realized.
You wouldn't even think that below him, it was foggy and muggy. Up here it was clear blue skies. Moza had felt free in an airship but now felt even more free in a plane.
He gently rolled his plane to the right to check his wing. Below him seemed to be a sea of grey. It was rolling fog that covered the trench line of the Germans.
But it was clear blue skies up here in the skies. The sun clearly shined through the air, at points blinding Moza. It would make enemy aircraft very easy to spot.
Bombing runs against Fire Nation fortifications had increased in the past few weeks. Moza and his squad had been quickly put from training to the front to counter these bombings.
The Fire Nation command was expecting something. Something like an attack or a breakthrough. Something to end the stalemate.
As a result, many tanks were amassed to be used as defense against infantry and to hopefully defend against other tanks.
The new tanks weren't ready yet he had heard. There would be one more week before they could be deployed. Or so Moza had heard from the whispers at the air base.
He quickly checked his fuel levels. He had a lot of gallons left, probably enough to last for forty minutes before having to return home.
He glanced back to his wing again when he saw a glint of reflected light. He squinted his eyes and realized it was the enemy. He picked up his radio and pulled down his oxygen mask.
"I got enemy planes at 3 o'clock." He tried to get a closer look. "I think I see a few fighters but mostly close support. Stukas I think." He said.
Uzo, a friend of his, tilted their plane to the left.
"I see them too, they are mostly the Stukas that have been harassing our troops. There does seem to be a few fighters mixed in there too." Moza heard through his radio.
"We'll dive on them and strafe. Then we'll pull back up and maybe pull a few fighters up with us. On my mark we'll dive." The flight leader said and Moza nodded unconsciously.
He gripped his yaw a bit tighter and prepared to roll and dive. He bit his lip in anticipation, so much that he tasted blood. His brown eyes once more glanced at all his fellow pilots to the right before he heard the word, "Now!"
Heinz was checking his fuel to see how long over the battlefield they would be. It was his hope that it would be a hit and run affair. Nothing too serious.
Then the unthinkable occurred. Heinz heard the sounds of guns firing off and the Stuka to his left rolled and entered an uncontrollable dive.
He looked above him and was horrified. Five aircraft, very similar to Zeros, with the Fire Nation emblem on their wings. They quickly pulled up into the clouds.
"Break and chase! Break and chase!" The flight leader said over the radio and Heinz yanked the yaw stick towards his right thigh.
His Bf-109 rolled and quickly followed after the enemy aircraft. The remaining 6 Stukas continued towards their goal. The other five fighters flew up into the clouds, in chase of the enemy.
"They're following us!" Uzo screamed over the radio. Moza glanced behind him and saw the enemy planes right on their tails.
"Break up!" The flight commander yelled over the radio. Moza and Uzo both yanked their joysticks to the right while the other three broke to the left.
"Moza, Uzo, attack the enemy Stukas, we'll try our best to hold these fighters off up here." Moza heard the commander say over the radio and the two turned sharply and dove into the clouds in an attempt to lose anyone on their tails.
For a second, Moza was blinded by the whiteness of the cloud. But then they broke through and slightly in front were the enemy Stukas.
Moza changed his radio frequency so that he would only radio Uzo before speaking. "We dive on them?" He asked, looking over at Uzo's plane. "Yep, hopefully we'll get a few kills." Uzo answered.
The two dived on the Stukas shooting their rounds into the Stukas. The Stukas like birds parted and flew away in different directions. Uzo got a kill when a Stuka he had shot at began to smoke and dive.
"Uzo, stay on my wing, don't split up. We're heading right to follow the larger group of Stukas." Moza radioed before placing it down and pulling right onto the tail of a fleeing Stuka.
The rear gunner began to shoot at Moza causing him to pull under the plane. He raised the nose slightly and shot at the underbelly of the Stuka as he began to rise in altitude again.
The Stuka burst into flames and dove towards the ground at an extremely fast pace.
"Heinz, Ernst, the Stukas are in trouble. We got these three." The flight leader called out to Heinz. Ernst's plane banked to the left instantly but Heinz waited for a moment.
"Are you sure Captain?" Heinz asked. "Yes, Heinz, I'm sure. Don't question my orders." The flight leader snarked in reply causing Heinz to seethe.
This is why he should be in command. He was an ace, he should be in command as a result. All of his ideas were better than this man's. But still, in order to not be court martialed, he would do what the captain commanded and he banked to the right and dove into the clouds.
"I see one breaking through the clouds! I'll break and engage!" Uzo screamed. Before Moza could say don't, Uzo pulled away. Moza cursed. Uzo was going to get himself killed.
He too as a result pulled away from the fleeing Stukas, leaving them to escape with their lives. He watched as Uzo flew towards the approaching enemy.
The enemy plane banked under Uzo when he shot and did a loop from under him. The enemy was now on Uzo's tail. Moza cursed again, this guy was a good pilot. He wouldn't let him kill his friend.
"Moza, is he on my six!" Uzo asked frantically. Uzo was flying his plane into evasive maneuvers in attempts to lose the enemy pilot. "I'm on his six." Moza replied.
He tried to maneuver his plane so that the crosshairs would be directly over the enemy plane but like Uzo, the enemy was taking evasive maneuvers.
Uzo turned hard to the right followed by the enemy pilot followed by Moza. Once again he tried to fire but the spheres missed the enemy aircraft.
"Uzo, I want you to do a flip by pointing straight up in the air and pulling back." Moza said as he missed again with his guns. "Won't the guy follow me?!" Uzo replied in a tone that screamed that he thought Moza was crazy.
"Trust me on this Uzo. When I hit one you're gonna pull up and hopefully the enemy plane will follow." Moza commanded before beginning to count down. "3" He clutched his trigger a little tighter.
"2" Moza began to point his nose slightly upward to where he thought the plane would be. "1" Uzo's plane pointed straight up and the enemy plane followed aggressively.
Moza pulled the trigger and he watched the tracers fire into the enemy plane's wing and the German fumbled. He tried to straighten his plane out but the pressure made his wing break off.
The plane then refused to go in any sensible direction and plummeted to the ground in a spiral. He watched in rapt attention as from the plane a black shape fell out and a white circle, a parachute, sprung out and hid the German pilot from the enemy planes above him.
Moza didn't know how he felt about that. The man had not died as he expected. He had rather survived and would join the enemy ranks once again. That was if he wasn't captured by Fire Nation soldiers.
Moza's morals came into question. Was he happy the man survived or angered that the man had survived. He could now go on to kill more Fire Nation pilots. He was dangerous.
Moza was so intuned with his own thoughts that he failed to realize the new German that had joined the fight.
Heinz streaked through the clouds and could not see Ernst anywhere. 'Was he shot down?' He wondered. He would find out later, first he had to deal with these two pilots.
He aimed for the enemy plane in the front. The one that was decreasing altitude. He had learned the enemy plane's weak spots back in flight school. If this plane was like the Zero, which he was pretty sure it was, the fuel tank was on the side.
Heinz flew down and strafed the single Fire Nation aircraft.
Moza saw it in slow motion. He watched the German strafe Uzo and saw the plane pass right in front of him. He saw the plus sign on the side and a silhouette of an airship.
This pilot had shot down an airship. Maybe the airship his brother had been on. This man was gonna pay. But first he had to make sure Uza was alright.
"Uza?!" He called for him on his radio. There was a second of silence and Moza feared the worse.
"I'm alright." There was a pause. Uza was most likely checking something out. "I'm leaking fuel like crazy. I have to head back now or I'm not getting back to base."
"It's okay, I can deal with this guy. Just tell our flight leader you had to head back." Moza reassured but he was slightly fearful at the thought of being alone. "Will do."
Then Uza's plane pulled away down towards the ground. Moza put Iza out of his head and began to circle the opposing plane.
He was trying to figure out how good of a pilot this man was. How well could he hold that turn?
Heinz cursed himself for forgetting to switch from tracers to cannons. It would have been his first enemy aircraft kill. It didn't matter though. This pilot he was fighting right now would go down in a fiery ball of flames.
Moza figured that this man was a good pilot but his plane was much better at the turn. He was gaining time on the German pilot and might soon be on the guys 6 o'clock.
Heinz pulled out of the turn and raised himself high up in the air before diving towards the Zero, he would not make the same mistake this time. This Zero would explode in a matter of seconds.
Moza watched the German plane dive past him and just narrowly avoided getting blasted by doing a hard roll. Quickly, Moza began to gain altitude and fly straight up into the clouds. He made sure to push his throttle all the way.
Heinz watched the enemy plane begin to fly upward confused. What the hell was this guy doing. Regardless, he followed the pilot in a 90° degree sharp incline.
Moza had faith in his plane and his commanders. If they were right, he would succeed and his brother would be avenged. If he failed, he would see his brother in the next life.
Heinz in an attempt to gain more speed pushed his throttle as hard as he could. But he was losing speed fast, very fast. He realized what the Fire Nation pilot was planning.
Moza's plane continued to gain altitude at a fast pace. He glanced in his mirror and saw the German plane losing power and fast. He quickly changed from machine guns to cannon.
Heinz was desperate. In his desperation, he attempted to shoot the plane that was quickly becoming further and further away. It was a futile effort.
Moza saw the bullets pass him and he smiled. The pilot was desperate to kill him. To stir off the inevitable. That's what happens when you mess with a Firebird. He watched as the German plane finally tipped over.
Heinz's plane was spinning out of control. He had lost the power he had and had no control over his spinning plane. He looked up to see the Fire Nation plane turn and fly towards him.
Moza lined the flailing plane into his crosshairs and his finger itched the trigger.
Heinz desperately looked for the parachute lever. Where was it? Where was it!
Moza pulled the trigger.
Heinz watched fearfully as the bullets flew towards him.
Moza watched in satisfaction as the German plane burst into flames and plummeted to the ground. The slowly consumed the plane as it fell further and further and finally, into the fog and disappearing.
Moza nodded, happy that he had gotten vengeance for all those that had died in that airship. Maybe he had gotten vengeance for his brother. He supposed he would never know.
Moza switched radio frequency and radioed the flight leader. "Two fighters and a few Stukas were shot down. Uzo has flown back to base due to low fuel. Do you need assistance?"
"No, we're good. All planes escaped. We'll circle up here until you reach up here. I expect to hear the story when we get back to base." The flight leader radioed back and Moza smiled. He lifted his plane up and flew through the clouds.
Rhineland
Michael was trying his best to try and see through the fog as Breina rolled through the mud and grit. The fog was as thick as pea soup in his opinion. Michael didn't like his inability to see.
There were supposed to be planes hovering over the trench line bombing it. But everything was silent. There was no sound telling Michael where the enemy was. It terrified him.
Then Michael realized the Fire Nation was in the same predicament as him. They could not see and might not even know the attack was coming.
"Does anyone see anything?" Peter asked in confusion. He, like Michael, could not see anything and was moving the machine gun to the left or right. He wanted to prevent any Fire Nation soldiers sneaking up on him and his tank.
"No, we're like blind bats on the ground. Where the hell are the planes?" Franz replied in frustration. It was shared by everyone else in the tank. They're anxiety had turned to frustration when nothing could be seen.
They all too wondered where the Stukas were to designate enemy positions. They had no reconnaissance. No knowledge. Nothing at all to help them in an already risky mission.
Their eyes remained glued to what was ahead of them. All of them except Paul who had his eyes gently closed. They all had different ways of dealing with the stress. Michael, Peter, and Franz's way was to glue themselves to their work. Paul's way was to rest and relax.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning just missed the tank. It illuminated everything for a short second and had a way to jumpstart the crew of the tank.
"Scheiße!" Franz screamed. Another bolt of lightning passed and slammed into the tank next to the crew. The tank exploded into electrical shock and in a second it was obliterated. All that was left was a corpse of what should be a tank.
"SCHEIßE!" Franz screamed even louder. They could make out the black shapes of soldiers in the fog. "Someone shoot!" Franz yelled out frantically.
Both Michael and Peter answered his call. Michael fired an explosive round creating a giant explosion blowing wood and men through the air. "That's the trench!" Michael called out.
Peter fired machine gun bullets into and around the trench. The screams of men and women hit their ears. Any moral problems they had about harming men and women, even young teens, had disappeared after the destruction of the tank to their right.
This battle had become a battle of survival. It was kill or be killed for the tankers fighting on both sides. There was no room for empathy or sympathy, only destruction and death.
Soldiers surrounded the tank and charged into the trench. Michael could hear gunshots and more screams as the German soldiers took the trench. Then a hand shot out of the trench and gave a thumbs up.
Franz drove forward over the trench, towards the town of Koblenz. Michael took out a map he had had in his pocket and examined it.
"Koblenz is directly ahead, driver. There is a river that we're going to have to fight for. The Rhein stretches across the village limits and we're going to have to cross one of the many bridges."
Franz nodded. "But we're probably going to face tank defenses along the way."
"Most likely anti-tank weaponry or…" Peter began.
"Other tanks." Paul finished.
"We most likely will face all of that but we'll persevere, I'm sure of it." Michael clarified in a tone that he didn't want to hear anything more. Franz shook his head and returned to driving the tank forward.
"When will this fog clear?" Peter wondered aloud. Michael took out his watch and checked the time. "It's 7:30, hopefully in the next 30 minutes we'll be able to see for better or worse."
"What could be bad about seeing?" Franz questioned. Paul answered the question instead of Michael. "The enemy might see us before we see them, they could get the jump on us, they will have better aim, and a whole other host of things."
Silence descended on the tank. Paul fiddled, Michael and Franz stared ahead, and Peter took a sip of Michael's coffee. He received a glare from Michael for that.
Inside the tank, the air was clogged with the anxiety and fear of the crew. Michael opened the hatch of the Panzer 4 and stuck his head out. He took in a nice deep breath of the spring air.
He could already feel the fog disappearing. He was happy that it was. The German Stukas had never told them the location of the enemy trenches. It was an important mission and Michael wondered what could have happened.
The Stukas could have been broken up but by what. What could stop planes other than other planes. The Fire Nation had no planes according to what Michael had heard. The best thing they had were airships. What could have happened Michael wondered again.
Michael could begin to see blue skies above him. It was a beautiful spring day, unlike the past week of mud and rain. For blessing and curse, it was nice out. A horrible day to die Michael chuckled.
Suddenly there was a whirring in the sky. The sound of a piston engine. Stukas were Michael's first thought. Then he saw the planes flying from the direction of France. First Michael thought about why Stukas were flying from France.
He felt for his binoculars and pressed them to his eyes. Those weren't Stukas, he realized. They were some variation in grey. And on their wing was a flame. A bright orange and red flame. The same flame found on Fire Nation tanks.
Michael realized with a start what had stopped the German Stukas. Fire Nation planes, flying straight at him. Their engines whirred and Michael heard a siren.
They copied the Stuka with the siren Michael thought as he grabbed the hatch and swung it over the top. When he looked around he saw his crew staring at him in confusion.
"Prepare for a bombing run." Michael said with a small bit of shock. Paul seemed to understand because he dropped his head into his knees. Franz and Peter on the other hand didn't.
"What do you me-" Peter began when the bombs began to fall. There was an explosion to their right and left. Michael put his hands to his ears and shut his eyes as explosions rocked the world around them.
Japan
We picked up a man a few days ago and he has yet to wake. He seems rather young, around Anza's age. It would be humorous if they ever got together.
Speaking of Anza, she has been caring for the man, no kid that we picked up at the military camp. She is a jack of many trades if you know what I mean. She can defend herself, be stealthy, show kindness, heal, and I'm sure much much more.
I am happy that she isn't a firebender, it may have saved her life. Colonial Firebenders, the cannon fodder of the army. Used when bending troops are needed for dangerous missions. A very low survival rate. She's young and doesn't deserve that fate. Being in a Colonial Non-bender regiment let her be used merely to bulk up armies.
In terms of her youthfulness, I wonder why someone so young must be sent into battle. We all have experienced the fact when us, as 14, 15, and 16 year olds are forced to join the army. Why would the Fire Lord do this to us? His own people?
As the days go by, I see this war as more and more hopeless as I have already written. The needless death and destruction that sends shockwaves through this world and ours. Why can't we have peace? Why can't we have prosperity?
The Earth Kingdom I understood. They were weak and divided. They lacked order and unity and we brought that to them. The Water Tribes and Air Nomads I understand less so. What did they do against us?
The Southern Water Tribe had never done anything against us in retaliation. Why did we extinguish all their waterbenders? The Northern Water Tribe only attacked us in retaliation for our war against the Earth Kingdom. But upon the destruction of their navy, we had formed a peace with them until the idiot, Zhao.
The Air Nomads I doubt I will ever understand. Why wipe out an entire race for what reason. I'm aware of what we were taught in school about the evilness of the Air Nomads but I doubt that more and more by the day.
I once explored one of the temples, I can't recall which one exactly but it was a pleasant experience. I detected no hatred or vengeance feeling spirits in the temple. Only peace. So why attack the nomads when all they stood for was peace?
Was it all in an attempt to eliminate the Avatar? If that was true, then they failed. The Avatar is the only one left of his kind. I feel sympathy for him, especially him being so young. I can't possibly fathom the pain he must be feeling from the death of everyone he had ever known in his life.
I can't fathom the extent of this war and all the deaths. I know that we in an attempt to subdue this world had blown up major cities with special agents that snuck in at night. They launched explosives and fire and the cities burned from the extent of the speed and anger of the fire.
How many had died in that fire? How many innocents now were ash because of simply who they are. Just like the Air Nomads, many were wiped off the face of the Earth in flames. The simple idea stirs my stomach and brings me close to puking.
From some of the cities I've seen, some of the major cities are the size of our own capital. So many live in our capital and so many cities were burned. If I multiply the number of our capital there may be 40 to 50 million residents in all the cities. How many of them had died because of the Phoenix King Ozai and Fire Lord Azula's disregard for life. Life that might be as young as a baby.
What kind of monsters do I fight for? Why do I support the monarchy anyway? Sozin had started the first war and Ozai had started a new one that will doom our nation to the dust of the Earth!
Would it be better to have a government of the people? Or one where the people decide a leader? Or should I wish for someone new on the throne. Someone named Zuko.
I am aware of the treasonous statement I just made but Phoenix King Ozai and Fire Lord Azula are in no fit to rule. They deserve to be exiled from our glorious nation. They don't deserve the praise we give them. It is all merely propaganda!
The nobility of the Fire Nation has no regard for the life of the people of the Fire Nation. They will throw away the common people for their own gain. The nobility and kings can easily become corrupt and it will result in the end of the Fire Nation if it hasn't already by Ozai's decision.
I do not fight for the will of kings and queens. I fight for the people and the nation that I love. The nation I will give my life for if that is required. The people that so kindly look up to the sky and see that the sun shines upon them.
The Fire Nation is destined to lead the world. Maybe not militarily but politically and economically possibly. We do not need to conquer to get what our nation so deserves. Diplomacy aims just as effectively as military force, if not more so.
I fear the end result of this war. I truly do. From what I have heard and seen from the people of this world, their hatred of our nation burns hotter and brighter than Agni. I fear our nation is doomed to dust due to the decisions of Ozai and Azula along with their respective cabinet members.
What is the point of this war I wonder. Is it the consolidation of power by Phoenix King Ozai and Fire Lady Azula? Is it to make our name bigger on a map? I doubt it's really to spread our glory.
It is true that the other nations fall behind us but was it really right and just to use our own military to crush the enemy. Why couldn't we have indebted them to us with money and technology. The Fire Nation could have led the world.
As a result, I think it is more the selfish reasons of the Fire Lord that brought us into this war. It was his decisions that have brought along the death of so many loved ones. It is his fault we are in such a precarious position.
Our nation at the end of this war will be at a crossroads. That is, however if we haven't been annihilated by the forces that want the Fire Nation to be a page in the history books.
We will have to choose what we want. What is best for our nation? What path is the one that will save us? What will unite the Fire Nation under a single banner and prevent a confederacy? What will we do to the kings, queens, and nobility?
All this has done is create more questions than answers. I don't think myself high and mighty enough to think I know the best course of action for our nation. But this is the musings of a single man. One who is no longer a kid and has been changed by war. I do not pretend to have answers unlike others. It is for now I shall stop writing and take in a bit of relaxation. It is almost my watch and I ought to be going. Until my next journal entry.
Souza flicked his pen off the page and blew over the pages. He then gently closed the book and walked towards the opening to the cave. Before he exited he patted Anza on the shoulder.
"Is he going to be alright?" He asked, referring to the kid laying on the ground. "He's woken up on occasion and has moaned out some stuff but nothing other than that. He might make it, might."
"Anza, just try your best please." Souza pleaded. Anza stood up and wiped the dust off her skirt. "I'm trying my best but I won't make any guarantees. He's in limbo. The Japanese sure did a number on him."
"Whips have a way of doing that I'm sure. We don't even know how long he was suffering. He probably watched all his friends die before he got strung up and whipped. He was probably next."
Anza shook her head and grabbed some bandages and began wrapping his arm. "You're probably right." She said, "Are you going out to make sure there are no patrols?"
Souza nodded and grabbed his rifle. "I'll be back in a bit." He answered before stepping out into the sun. He stared out into the green and pink trees in search of tan uniforms.
Gently he made circles with his thumb on the barrel of his rifle in an attempt to ease the boredom. He laid back and took out his sword and began to clean it.
He had been taught a rusty sword was never good. Firstly, it didn't do as much damage and secondly it was dangerous to the user. Flakes of rust could fly off and maybe fly into the user's eyes.
Whilst doing this Souza let him mind wander. They had to escape this cave and reach the portal. They couldn't stay. They would probably leave once the kid was healed.
Then Souza saw a flash of tan. He stood up and squinted down and his fears were confirmed. Japanese soldiers making their way up the face of the mountain.
Souza dropped to the ground, shocked they hadn't seen him. Quickly he moved into the cave. Anza looked at him in confusion.
"There are Japs coming up." He said breathlessly. She nodded in quick understanding and dragged the poor kid towards the edge of the cave. They hid him behind a ledge at the back of the cave.
Then Souza stomped on their fire and quickly kicked it about. Next he moved all his stuff to the corner and hid behind the same corner. Anza did the same on the opposite side so that they could see each other.
They had finished just in time for they could hear boot steps walking into the cave and the sound of a foreign language.
Souza paled and Anza began to shake. They could hear exclamations from seeing the ruined pieces of a fire. They knew someone was here, or maybe still is.
'Should I shoot,' Souza mouthed to Anza. She shook her head and placed a finger to her lips. Souza closed his eyes tightly and prayed to every spirit they would make it out.
The footsteps got even closer and soon a Japanese soldier was inspecting the fire. If the man looked to his left or right he would see them. That's exactly what he did.
Souza had been itching to pull the trigger on the man since the beginning. But when he saw Anza and raised his gun, Souza fired.
The soldier fell to the ground and Souza could hear the screams of the other Japanese patrol men. He quickly exited his hiding spot and began to shoot.
His aim was a bit messed up. Out of 4 bullets, he only hit one soldier in the chest. Quickly he reloaded his gun as he heard bullets impact the ledge he was hiding behind.
This time Souza stuck only the gun out and his hands and began to fire aimlessly in an attempt to ward off the invaders. The Japanese had other ideas though.
Suddenly Souza felt something pierce his right hand and he screamed and dropped the gun. He looked down and saw his hand bleeding. Quickly he picked up the gun and threw it to the other side with his left hand.
Anza picked up the gun and after a moment's hesitation she began to shoot. Souza grabbed the pistol and began to fire with his good hand. That was until a grey object landed next to him.
He realized what it was, a grenade. Souza leapt for it and grasped it before chucking it rather poorly with his left arm at the Japanese soldiers at the entrance of the cave. The soldiers screamed and dove as Souza hoped pieces of metal wouldn't pierce him.
He was lucky, nothing happened but the Japanese soldiers began to run from the cave. Souza was confused, had they defeated them. For a second he was happy until he heard a deep rumbling.
An avalanche triggered from the fight and grenade. He looked over at Anza in fear as snow suddenly poured into the cave blowing Souza back.
He fell and looked at the entrance in horror. The entrance was now covered in snow and rocks leaving Souza, Anza, and the unnamed soldier trapped inside, doomed to be intombed for eternity.