Chapter 8: Belmonte Bruisers
Thanks for the reviews, especially you K2-Black-Panther. We know that the TT-33 and Type-54 Black Star aren't the same pistol but they're so very similar that it would probably cause Sinon to freak out upon seeing it. But yeah, the ALO gang would probably be really cool people to be around IRL.
We're avoiding the death game scenario since it's been already used by many fanfic authors here and even the original premise stopped using it to change to other scenarios.
Anyhow, enjoy reading this and tell us what you guys and gals think! Hope you have as much fun reading as we did writing it.
- Goodalwayswins98
FinnTheHumanMC. LOL no. Not happening. We've already got long-term plans that don't involve everyone getting trapped in another death game. Sorry/not sorry. - SirStonewall.
{Anson copies. Engaging suppression target Dog.}
"Almost there. Stay vigilant!" Rift says to Kirito and crew as the column rumbles and rattles up the valley.
"Why do we want this town specifically anyways?" Liz asks, hearing and watching the 14-inch shells from HMS Anson land amongst a cluster of buildings, sending debris and dirt flying as well as a few unfortunate players.
"We need to secure a foothold in the high ground before Pact can fortify." Amy responds, the nozzle for her flamethrower in her lap.
Before Liz can respond, the radio quickly snaps to life, with Stonewall's urgent voice broadcasting loud and clear.
{Texas this is Baker One-Actual. Requesting fire mission!}
{This is Texas, send your traffic.}
{Texas I need immediate fire support at grid reference one-five-eight-two, two-six-seven-seven! Target is infantry and armor in the open! How copy?!}
{Baker One-Actual, we'll need to reposition to fire on those coordinates, you'll have to wait ten.}
{Well then fuckin' disregard! To all naval support, is there any vessel that can fire on those coordinates?!}
"Sounds like Stonewall's in some deep shit." Rift sighs.
"How can you tell?" Kirito asks.
"If he's cussing on the radio, either he's pissed off or he's up to his neck in trouble."
{This is Guam, we can fire on those coordinates immediately.}
{Well then fucking send it! Three salvos, high-explosive!}
{Copy that. Three salvos, one-five-eight-two, two-six-seven-seven. Request BDA on first salvo. Guam firing.}
As Rift focuses on listening to the radio, the column continues around a bend in the road, only for the lead Sherman to suddenly lurch, and rumble to a halt, the commander slowly pulling himself out of the hatch in a daze.
"Ambush! Get the fuck off the tank!" Amy shouts, jumping off the engine deck and into the ditch seconds before a burst of machine-gun fire pings off the side of the Centurion's turret, sending everyone scrambling for cover.
"Contact front right!" Rift yells, grabbing the override handle for the turret control and slewing the gun onto a cloud of dust in the hills. "Anti-tank gun!"
"Somebody cover me! There's a pillbox on our right!" Amy yells.
"I'll cover you!" Klein yells back, ducking down in the ditch next to the flamethrower operator as another burst from the machine-gun kicks up dirt around them.
"Okay! Put fire on that pillbox! Three! Two! One!"
Amy jumps up as Klein straightens up and fires at the pillbox halfway up the hill, sprinting forward through the scrub brush and diving behind a cluster of rocks as Klein's FG42 runs out of ammo. The machine-gun in the pillbox renews its fire with a new vigor, spraying the ditch that Klein and most of the ALO crew reside in.
Behind them, Miss Moody has slowed to a halt, Rift's gunner and the M19 having dispatched the AT gun. The Centurion's turret swivels back and forth with the coaxial machine-gun firing while Rift's gunner pins down infantry in a slit trench on the hill, giving cover for Amy.
Behind the M19 that begins to pound the trenches on either side of the bunker, the mountaineers all start laying down cover fire for the flamethrower operator as the three Firefly's begin pounding the pillbox with 17 pdr AP shells, progressively chipping away at the thick concrete above or below the firing slit, unable to score a direct hit on the only vulnerability.
"Move up with the flamethrower! We'll cover you!" Scott announces as he runs up and dives into the ditch with Kirito.
As all the ALO players get ready to jump up, Scott grabs Asuna's arm and points towards the disabled Sherman. "They need a medic!"
"Right!" the medic answers as she dashes forward, "Cover me everyone! Come with me Kirito!" Everyone nods before leaping out of the ditch. Agil holds his weapon at the hip and unleashes a burst from his MG42 while Leafa, Silica, and Liz quickly get behind some cover and begin shooting players. Bullets whiz and crack over their heads, hitting the dirt around Miss Moody and harmlessly bouncing off the armor of the tank. Sinon hits the ground and carefully lines up her shot at the pillbox' slit, aiming for the machine gunner. Taking a deep breath, she squeezes the trigger once, hitting the player and sending his helmet flying off. The machine gunner's assistant barely registers his friend's death before he too falls to the ground.
Kirito and Asuna, who had to run from cover to cover, seize this opportunity to make a break for the lead Sherman. Bullets still zip and crack around them but they safely make it to the damaged tank. The duo climb up the engine deck and reach the injured tank commander.
"Help me," the tank commander groans, holding his leg while red pixels rise off of him. Asuna pulls the injured player off the engine deck and onto the ground to the left side of the Sherman while Kirito provides covering fire.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out soon," Asuna says soothingly, "Is the rest of your crew still inside of your tank?"
"Driver and assistant driver are respawning. Not sure about the gunner and loader," he croaks as Asuna heals his leg.
"Right! I'm gonna go get them out!" Kirito replies before he dashes back up the side of the tank. As he reaches the turret, he peers into the opened hatch, quickly glancing around for any sign of the other crew members. The inside of the tank is a mess with twisted metal around the interior and scorch marks on the white paint. Kirito spots the gunner who is slumped over his controls, his head lying against his telescopic scope. Glancing over the loader's side, the position is empty, with a 75mm round laying on the turret floor.
As he starts pulling the Gunner out of the tank, Amy jumps up and sprints up the hill with Klein close behind her as Squirrel and the other two Firefly's fire their coax guns into the firing slit of the pillbox.
"C'mon! Move it!" Amy yells back at Klein while he struggles up the hill.
"Doing my best here!" He snaps in response, catching himself when he stumbles.
"You need to work on your AGI!"
A bullet barely misses Amy's head and flamethrower tank, causing Klein to shout back. "And you need to keep an eye on what's happening ahead! I can handle myself just fine!"
"Worry about me a little less and you might be able to keep up!" The flamethrower operator yells back, running up to the pillbox until she's only roughly fifty feet away. Standing upright she points the nozzle of her flamethrower at the firing slit and unleashes a rolling ball of flame into the aperture, ignoring the screams and yelling coming from inside as she moves to one side and sends another ball of flame into the trench on the right side of the pillbox. At the same time, Klein fires a few rounds at the firing slit to put some of the burning players or NPC's out of their misery. Those who try to escape death by incineration by climbing out of the trench are nearly instantly cut down by the mountaineers, and Amy jumps down into the trench once it's clear, rolling more flame down the narrow passage to the rear of the pillbox.
"Oh my God…." Klein mutters, watching the remaining NPC's in the trench clamber out and run away from the flamethrower operator, only for the tanks or mountaineers to cut them down. As the ALO crew catch up with him, the mountaineers jump into the trench and fan out along it, starting to mop up any resistance while Amy relaxes by the burned-out pillbox.
"Well?" Amy asks, looking towards him. "You gonna clear the pillbox?"
"Eh… do I really need to? I mean, you already burned it out."
"There's more to this type than what's above ground. There's tunnels leading to probably another pillbox."
"Oh…" Klein mutters as Liz and Leafa run up, the prior giddy at seeing the flamethrower so expertly used.
"That was AWESOME!"
"Ah it was nothin'. Just another pillbox." Amy responds with a nonchalant shrug. "You got a TNT block on you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"This pillbox needs clearing, but first that door needs opening."
"I'm on it!" Liz says happily, jumping down into the trench and moving to the door with a block of TNT and a ten second fuse in hand. Amy gets up and walks out to where Rift can see her, waving at him with her left arm and giving him a thumbs-up.
Seconds later as she turns to walk back towards the pillbox, a single shot rings out, and the flamethrower operator is promptly engulfed in a gigantic fireball as her tank of napalm is ruptured, sending everyone nearby scrambling for cover.
"Amy!" Klein shouts, shock written across his face as he recovers from the blast.
"Sniper, ridgeline, four o'clock!" Rift tells his gunner, seconds before the crouched figure is sent flying by a pair of explosions.
{One-Three, this is Two-One. Scratch one sniper.}
"Good shooting Two-One and Two-Two." Rift sighs before going back to monitoring the support channel.
{Guam, Baker One-Actual, that salvo was fuckin' beautiful! I need you to bring those guns roughly two hundred yards further to the west!}
{Baker One-Actual, copy that. Interrogative, what is your location?}
{Guam, One-Actual. Don't worry about my location, just send the fucking salvo!}
{Guam copies. Nine rounds, on the way.}
"Yo! Earth to Rift!" Scott yells, pulling the commander's attention from the radio.
"Huh?"
"We need you to move up as advance force while we load back up!"
"You got it!"
As Miss Moody rumbles around the knocked-out Sherman, Asuna and Kirito finish treating the wounded tankers, just in time to hear and feel a blast uphill.
"Doc!" Scott yells, grabbing Asuna's arm. "They need you up at the pillbox! We'll take care of these guys!"
"Right!" She chirps, jumping up and running out from cover with Kirito close behind. As they run up the hill, they note the patch of burning ground and brush, along with the multitude of injured players lined up along the trench, awaiting treatment from her and two medics belonging to the mountaineers.
Seconds after Asuna jumps into the trench and starts healing players, a dozen able-bodied players quickly file into the trench from the direction of the pillbox, followed by Liz yelling. Kirito stands watch while the medics heal the injured players.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
A blast thunders out, followed by a cloud of dust that rushes up the trench, and one of the mountaineers jumps up.
"GO!"
His shout is met by a defiant roar from the bunker as the point man is flung against the trench wall opposite from the bunker door.
"GREENSKINS!"
Several shots ring out before one of the GI's is flung down the length of the trench, landing in a heap near Asuna. He groans before yelling out for a medic. The sound of automatic fire rips through the haze caused by the explosion, and another GI is flung overhead, cartwheeling down nearly the entire length of the trench before disappearing in a cloud of pixels.
"Oh crap! Orc!" Liz yells, scrambling away from the steel-clad orc as it swings what appears to be a piece of hedgehog tank trap. Its ugly green face suddenly explodes in a gush of pixels as it collapses backwards before disappearing.
"Get in there! Let's go people!" A mountaineer with a radio yells, giving a respectful nod of thanks to Sinon who nods back.
"Good shot Sinonon!" Asuna shouts as she finishes patching up another player.
"No problem, I'll keep you covered!" the sniper yells back.
"Once you're done patching up our guys Seth wants y'all to load up." The radio operator informs Kirito, motioning towards the Firefly's on the road.
"Roger that!" he replies before he runs down the trench, looking for the rest of his ALO friends. Asuna, meanwhile remains behind in case if more wounded return.
"Klein!" Kirito yells, looking around for the ex-samurai as he runs down the trench, "Agil! Liz!"
"Here!" Liz yells back, walking out of the bunker with Klein and Leafa behind her. "What's up?"
"They need our help somewhere else." he answers, "We're getting another tank ride to get there." Looking around, Kirito notices that Agil and Silica aren't there, "Where's Agil and Silica?"
"I think they're at the tanks making sure they don't get snuck up on." Liz answers.
"Smart. Start making your way down there, we'll catch up." Kirito replies as an artillery shell lands in the background. All the ALO players nearby duck, eliciting a laugh from most of the mountaineers as they go about looting containers inside the trench.
While Liz, Leafa, and Klein all jog down to the road, Kirito makes his way back towards Asuna, watching Sinon jump over the trench and walk downhill towards the tanks. The medic swiftly packs up when another pair of medics arrive to replace her, and the couple quickly make their way to their waiting friends and tanks.
"Anyone need healing?" the medic asks quickly, glancing at everyone's health bar.
"No we're all fine over here," Agil reports, "Where's Amy?"
"Torched. Her flamethrower tanks exploded." Scott sighs. "Again."
Silica and Asuna shudder at this. Amy probably didn't stand a chance to even get healed. Sinon, on the other hand, shakes her head in annoyance while muttering something about not being fast enough.
As the ALO crew and Scott's recon team mount up on the rear of the Fireflies, Kirito realizes something.
"Anyone got news from Nguyen and Stonewall?" he asks the commander of his tank.
"Stonewall's been on the radio directing offshore fire support, so he's okay. We heard Nguyen bitching and moaning on the radio before it cut out, so fair chance they got killed." The lead Firefly commander, a toned and sharp-featured guy with a black cowboy hat, says with a chuckle.
"Yo can you let me out of this tin can?! My fucking neck hurts-" a crewman inside is quickly kicked by the commander before he yells back down into the hatch.
"Oh shattap you're fine."
Kirito and Asuna look at the scene with a smile on their face as they help Leafa, Liz and Silica climb on the tank.
"It doesn't look so bad being inside a tank," Asuna comments innocently, "Stonewall and all the others do that all the time."
"Yeah but the others all have tanks with guns that were originally designed to be inside a tank. Name's Seth by the way." The cowboy replies as the tank starts forward, followed by the other two carrying Scott's group. "Take a look inside if you want."
The medic moves forward onto the turret before leaning inside the loader's hatch. Poking her head inside, Asuna barely misses hitting the loader's head as he dodges her. Taking a glance around she notices the loader's blackened face with a clean outline of where his goggles were. Inside the turret the spare room is very minimal due to the large gun breech in the middle. The gunner relaxes against the gun breach while rubbing his neck, noticing Asuna after a few seconds. "Uh…. 'sup?"
"Hello, I wanted to take a look," she replies sheepishly. The main thing that she notices is the loader's lack of eyebrows and soot covered face.
"Oh uh, well welcome aboard," he replies, "There's not a ton room in here so I can't really show you around."
"Do you mind coming back later though?" the loader says, "We might get into a shitstorm soon…"
Asuna nods in understanding and retreats to the engine deck, sitting with her back against the counterweight.
"So how was it?" Liz asks, sitting on the right side of the tank, "Was it like the other tanks?"
The medic shakes her head.
"It was a lot smaller than Stonewall and Nguyen's tanks," she answers, "Also Seth?"
"Yeah?"
Asuna has a rather nervous look on her face as she asks her next question. In the distance, sounds of battle echo over the mountains. Explosions sound like thunder rolling in the distance, and gunfire sounds akin to popcorn in the microwave as small firefights rage across the front line.
"It's a bit rude but why doesn't your loader's avatar have eyebrows?"
"Uh, well, the gun breech opens immediately on this tank after firing, so sometimes we get some flame that comes back into the turret."
"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Liz says in shock, "Couldn't your tank catch on fire?"
"You guys sure are brave to use a tank like that," Leafa adds while scanning the horizon as their tank climbs a rocky hillside road. The surrounding countryside looks relatively untouched by the war, allowing everyone a sort of tour of peaceful Sicily.
"It's not enough flame for the tank to catch fire, it's just a flash from unburnt powder. Once we get the improved gun breech it'll eliminate the flash burns."
"You guys probably use this tank because it's powerful even if it's that difficult to use, right?" Kirito comments.
Seth merely shrugs. "We use it because we like it. The other two tanks use it because we use it."
"Speak for yourself this tank fucking sucks-OW!" Seth's gunner complains before he kicks him. Kirito and his friends can't help but snicker at the crew's antics.
"I know what tank not to get," Liz mutters under her breath, mentally noting the burnt-off eyebrows as an inconvenient factor, "So what's the new plan anyways?"
"We're gonna halt at the hilltop and Rift's gonna call in some fire support before we head down into the town. Somethin' about one of y'all wanting to see Musashi in action."
Liz's eyes suddenly shine.
"Really?!"
Seth nods at her enthusiasm.
"Awesome!"
The Firefly commander grins.
"Lemme guess… that was you?"
The engineer nods enthusiastically as Seth chuckles. The tanks suddenly begin branching off the road when they arrive at the hilltop, and Rift's Centurion rattles to a halt at the edge as the commander emerges from the hatch with a handset in his hand.
"Hey guys! Who's ready for some fireworks?!"
"I am!" Liz shouts excitedly as she stands up on the back of the tank with Silica and Leafa grinning from ear to ear.
"Man can't wait to see those fireworks!" Klein exclaims as he gets in a more comfortable position on the tank where he can see the town.
"More over man!" Agil says while he switches place on the tank, "Can't let you have all the fun either."
"Sure grandpa!" Klein replies cheekily.
Rift snorts in amusement and raises his handset to speak. "Musashi, this is Baker One-Three, fire mission."
{One-Three, this is Musashi, send it.}
Rift sends a series of coordinates over the net and is promptly answered by the Musashi.
"Look at that part of the town," he says, pointing at the eastern section of buildings.
After a minute of waiting, the sound of thundering guns echo in the distance. Many seconds later, loud whistling fills the ears of the players while Pina starts whining and covering her head. In the blink of an eye, the ground shakes as Belmonte Mezzagno is engulfed in massive explosions that rip apart city blocks and turn them to debris. Occasionally, pixel trails rise from the fireballs, but most are obscured by clouds of dust and flying debris. The players overlooking the city are all slack-jawed as they see the spectacle unfurl before them, feeling each blast in their chests.
"Amazing," Asuna whispers, "I can't believe that's in-game."
"Sucks to be those guys," Klein comments, looking through his binoculars.
"During early stages of development they were having trouble finding anything that compared, so they fought with BATFE for almost a year until they got the green light to go to an island off the coast of California and detonate an equivalent of two thousand pounds of explosives." Seth explains. "It was in the dev blogs."
"Talk about dedication," Kirito comments as another shell shatters the town's buildings while Liz and Klein holler in excitement. Sinon, meanwhile, calmly scrutinizes the town to see if any vantage points still remain while Leafa and Silica comfort Pina.
"Believe me, these guys love making their games."
"Are they making other VR games too?"
'Yes actually. They're developing a modern version of War-Torn named Hellbound. I'm gonna pre-order once it comes out." Seth answers with a grin.
"Sounds like fun," Kirito replies. For a few more moments, shells continue to rip apart the town of Belmonte Mezzagno before slowly ceasing. Smoke rises from the shattered buildings and small fires, while dust kicked up from the explosions hangs low on the air, obscuring the streets.
"Well, looks like it's showtime." Seth sighs, "You guys seem pretty chill. Hang out later?"
"Sure, you gotta any good places?" Asuna says cheerfully.
"I heard Paris was great this time of year. Perhaps we can all head there after this battle?" the Firefly commander suggests as the tanks begin grumbling back to life and slowly move towards the road.
"Paris?" Asuna says, "As in the City of Light?"
"Yeah, the devs used a crapton of archives from one of Nguyen's contacts to recreate Paris as it was in 1939," Seth explains, "Apparently, they really got it right, so it's almost like visiting the real thing."
"I think that could be a good place to go visit," she says happily "Don't you think Kirito?"
Her boyfriend nods in agreement as well as Liz, Silica and Leafa who are riding with them.
"Yeah, it would be a nice change of pace from all the battles we've been fighting in this world. We'll talk about it with the others when we can."
"Good idea!" Liz exclaims as the five vehicles carefully drive down the hillside road towards Belmonte Mezzagno, their commanders carefully scanning the town's outer perimeter. Thick smoke and almost choking dust from the bombardment blocks their view into the city. Even Pina has trouble picking anything up.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Kirito mutters as he readies his M2 Carbine. Asuna nods in response and racks the bolt on her Thompson.
"So far, it's pretty quiet," Seth comments, "What the-"
He's interrupted by a loud ear shattering roar as three massive silhouettes emerge from the smoke ahead.
"Are those trolls?!" Silica exclaims in shock.
"No way," Kirito mutters as he sees the monsters in front of him. The trolls carry massive shields made from reinforced grey Schurzen plates and wear German helmets, their torsos protected by thick plate armor and carrying large metal beams. To make matters worse, a pair of Tiger tanks and a group of infantrymen slowly emerge from the smoke and dust behind them.
"Crap, they weren't kidding when they said the monsters in Italy were bigger!" Klein yells as he begins firing at the armoured monstrosities. Meanwhile Leafa readies her rifle grenade while Liz and Silica cover her.
"AP, three hundred yards! Target tank!" Seth orders, seconds before Rift's Centurion services one of the Tigers. The turret is sent flying into the sky above the hull with a ball of flame as the ammunition explodes, landing on a trio of unfortunate infantrymen. Sinon leaps off Rift's Centurion before getting off the road and lying on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she aims for one of the trolls' eye, trying to get an opening to shoot. The massive shields and wild movements of the monster making the shot difficult. A split second opportunity, her finger pulls back the trigger and she feels the gun's recoil against her shoulder. The monstrous creature's roars suddenly stop, and it freezes for a moment before toppling backwards like a falling tower. Some players behind it manage to dodge its falling corpse… others not.
Sinon barely has the time to catch her breath that her instincts kick in and she rolls herself to the left, a bullet hitting where her head was barely a few moments ago.
"Another sniper," she whispers as she hides behind a rock, "Maybe this'll be a real challenge."
Peering out, Sinon scans some ruined building ahead of her for any unusual movement.
"Dammit, where is he?" she mutters, "This one seems to be a bit smarter."
At the same time, Leafa sends a rifle grenade at one the remaining trolls, aiming for its head. The grenade hits the monstrous creature on its shield arm, injuring it and causing it to drop its shield. Leafa barely has the time to celebrate before she's hit in the arm, sending her to the ground. Liz and Silica redouble their efforts as they unload more bullets towards the enemy.
'MEDIC!" she yells, clutching her arm.
"Get her to cover!" Klein yells as he reloads his FG42 after unleashing a burst at a troll alongside Agil.
"I'm on my way-" one of Scott's medics yells before falling to the ground and disappearing, causing Klein and Agil to swear.
"SNIPER!" Scott shouts in warning while he ducks behind Rift's Centurion, "Anyone see where he is?!"
"Is there a medic still around?" Liz exclaims as she made her way to Leafa through the gunfire and begins dragging her to safety behind some rocks.
"Shit!" Scott swears, "I think that sniper's targeting medics! I can't see any left! Sound off!"
"Daniels is up!"
The silence that ensues makes Scott yell a blue streak of words, having started with three medics.
Sinon hears this and grits her teeth.
"Ok, this guy's really good," she mutters as she begins scanning around the frontline, "Where are you?"
Suddenly she spots a silhouette darting between some of the ruined buildings. Raising her scope, Sinon notices the player's long blond hair and feminine traits as well as the same rifle. Seizing her chance, the brunette squeezes the trigger of her Enfield, kicking up a puff of dirt in the road that signifies a miss just as the enemy sniper gets into a building.
"Tch, lucky break." she mutters as she moves to another spot, keeping a vigilant watch on the building's windows.
At the same time, Asuna and Kirito duck inside a small ditch and run along its length.
"Wait a minute!" Kirito exclaims in realization and stops, "I've got an idea."
"What is it?" his girlfriend asks, catching her breath.
"I think we can take that sniper's attention away from you," he says while picking up a wooden stick, "Just pass me your helmet!"
Asuna's eyes light up in understanding as she unclips her medic's helmet and throws it to Kirito. Laying on the ground, he puts the helmet on the stick and pokes it above the ditch's edge.
"Come on Sinon, don't let us down now," he mutters through clenched teeth. The helmet suddenly goes flying while the stick splinters in small bits.
A few seconds prior, Sinon sees the female sniper leaning towards one of the windows before the flash of gunshot appears from the other sniper's rifle. A feral, cat-like grin appears on her face. For a brief second, Sinon spots the player's kit and realizes that the other player is dressed in the same gear as her. However, the brunette doesn't hesitate to pull her trigger, hoping she's fast enough. To her satisfaction, she sees a trail of pixels where the other sniper used to be as well as a notification that she has collected a bounty.
"It's all clear Asuna!" Sinon shouts from her cover. The medic nods and dashes over the road towards where Leafa is.
Suddenly, the semi-ruined building is steadily demolished by a steady stream of explosive shells.
"Hey I think I got the sniper!" the commander of the M19 yells over the sound of two 40mm Bofors cannons firing.
"Yeah right." Sinon snickers quietly while she moves to a new spot, kneeling down behind some rocks and scrub brush as Asuna manages to finally reach Leafa's position.
"Thank goodness you're here Asuna!" Leafa says, still holding her arm. Around them, Klein and Agil are firing from behind cover while Liz and Silica stand guard over the injured Leafa.
"Get as many of the wounded players over here!" Asuna orders as she unpacks her medkit, "I'll treat them here!"
"There's another medic coming over!" Scott reports.
"We'll heal everyone and we'll head into town," Kirito orders, "So get everyone who needs help over here."
"We'll cover you guys!" Agil yells back as he reloads his MG42. Liz and Silica nod in agreement, and promptly take up positions to put fire on the remaining defenders.
"Right!"
Squirrel fires off a shot that kills the last of the armoured trolls while Kirito and Klein help injured players reach the medics. The other players and tanks press their assault on the Pact positions while Asuna and the other medic's efforts help bring more allies into the fight as they heal them.
"We'll better take this town soon since I'm starting to run out of medical supplies," Asuna grimly reports after she finishes patching up the last player. Scott overhears her and kneels down beside her, the antenna of his radio sticking above his head.
"Go talk with the tankers," he says, "They might have some to spare."
The medic nods and turns her attention back to the player as Kirito helps another to his feet.
"Alright that's the last of them," Kirito remarks, "We should be able to push forward!"
"Let's go then!" Seth yells at them, "The longer we stay here the longer we give them to prepare!"
The Alliance players stand up and begin advancing towards their wavering opponents, some mounting bayonets to their rifles while others check ammunition. They advance from cover to cover, mutually supporting the tanks while the tanks get onto the roads and begin to enter the town. For the time being, only the occasional shot rings out, though many Alliance players catch sight of Pact players running through alleys and down the street away from them.
As Squirrel enters the town, Seth waves Kirito and the ALO crew forward, his Grease Gun in his hands as he catches short glimpses of Pact players. The infantry players cautiously move up to walk alongside and ahead of the tank, unnerved by the relative silence.
"Something's not right here…" The Firefly commander mutters, scanning the second story windows of some of the buildings cautiously before yelling to Kirito. "Hey! Eyes up! This shit is fuckin' weird!"
"You think so too?" Kirito shouts back, "This is way too quiet… Everyone keep an eye out-"
Pina suddenly starts growling, her hackles raising up as she stares down the road. Silica suddenly pales.
"Pina says there's something really big that's coming our way." she says hurriedly as she clutches her M1 Carbine tighter, ready for anything.
Seth looks down the hazy street and raises his Grease Gun, noting at least six forms of the armored trolls, their shields raised in an attempt to protect them.
{Contact rear! More of those trolls!} Baker Two-Two reports.
"Come on! Are you kidding me?!" Klein groans, "More of those things!"
"FIRE!" Seth yells before the 17pdr of his Firefly roars, servicing the makeshift phalanx a high-explosive round. Meanwhile, Kirito and his group are firing off everything they have at the onrushing monsters.
"Our attacks aren't doing anything!" Liz shouts as she sees her bullets bounce off the armoured trolls, "Does anyone have one of those Panzerfaust things?!"
"Dammit! I wish I did!" Klein shouts back, "I'm getting one of those things as soon as I can!"
"It would have been useful to have one now, you idiot!" Liz retorts as the monsters march closer and closer.
Seth climbs out of his hatch and onto the engine deck, racking the charging handle on the .50 caliber just as his gunner services the phalanx again, stumbling some of the trolls, allowing him to tear into their body armor with the heavy machine gun.
As the large tracers streak down the road, Leafa fires off a rifle grenade, stumbling one troll while Sinon carefully aims for the weak spots on another one before taking it out.
"There's so many of them!" Asuna yells, blasting away with her Thompson.
"Karl! Gimme a time delay on those HE fuses!" Seth orders, quickly being acknowledged by his loader. The next shell slams into the ranks of the trolls and punches a hole straight through a shield, detonating behind the wall of shields, stumbling most of them if not outright killing them.
"Beautiful! Hit 'em again!" Scott cheers, several of his group throwing grenades into the mob of disoriented trolls in front of them, while the mob behind them is steadily eviscerated with the steady thudding of the M19's twin Bofors.
When the grenades go off most of the trolls yell in pain from shrapnel, abandoning their heavy shields and charging headlong at Squirrel and the accompanying infantry, only to be cut down by the combined fire of two squads and the tank.
The cacophonous rattling and chattering of automatic fire keeps up for at least a minute while everyone tries their best to repel the charging trolls, then suddenly stops as everyone waits for the dust and smoke to clear. Tense seconds pass by before a good breeze rolls up the street and clears the air, revealing only one troll remaining, stunned, with numerous dents and scratches all over its reinforced shield. It stumbles, then recovers, raising its shield and taking a step forward before Squirrel fires, punching a baseball-sized hole in the shield, and the troll's torso. The monster takes a wavering step backwards, then falls, shaking the ground from the impact prior to disappearing in a burst of pixelated shards, leaving the street littered with the armor and shields from the trolls.
Seth steps away from the M2HB and climbs back down into his cupola, grabbing his handset. "Baker Two, we're moving up. Keep your spacing."
The group and their armored support begin advancing again down the boulevard, warily keeping an eye out for any more surprises until Seth calls a halt.
"Take five everyone! Check your ammo and share if you need to!"
Many of the ALO players have concerned faces as they sit down in front of a market and open up their inventory.
"Crap, I'm a bit low on ammo," Klein shouts, "Those trolls just ate everything."
"Same here!" Agil reports.
The same general message is repeated by everyone present as the tankers replenish their ammunition stocks from the ammo in crates on the exterior of their tanks. Those who can share divvy up their remaining ammunition, and some of the tankers even pass out ammo for their personal weapons before taking a quick break to choke down some K-rations for a combat boost.
Kirito decides to climb onto the back of Squirrel and convene with Seth while his crew relaxes on the turret.
"Game plan." Seth yawns, pulling out a map of the town. "The goal ultimately is to drive Pact completely out of town, but to do that we gotta take their aid station and cut off their route of reinforcement. To do this we're gonna fall back and let the reinforcements take our current route of advance. Our objective is the small church at the far end of town. If we can take or destroy that, and set up to repel any Pact reinforcements coming into town, then we'll have an easier time taking the town."
"Alright, I like the plan," Kirito says glancing over the map, "What do you think of heading through this point?"
"That was the same idea I had, but I'm worried about our right flank. If there's a gun in those hills we'll be lined up like a shooting gallery."
"Would they even be able to drag a gun up there?" Kirito remarks, "According to the map, the terrain looks pretty steep."
"There's always a possibility. I'll have Rift take his Centurion and cover our right flank. Keep good spacing, don't get caught in the open, and watch each other's backs." Seth instructs as he folds the map up and puts it in his overalls.
"If we had more time, I would have scouted those hills, but we'll have to make do."
Kirito then hops off Squirrel to brief the rest of the ALO players on the new game plan while the tankers mount back up, beginning to start their tanks and reverse down the street.
"Say, do you guys have any more news from Stonewall and Nguyen?" Leafa asks as she walks alongside Squirrel, her rifle firmly in hand, "It's been a while since we've heard from them."
"Nguyen's still silent, but Stonewall reported while we were taking a break that Warbreaker was resupplied, and he was en-route to help us."
"Shouldn't they have respawned by now?" Asuna remarks suspiciously, "Unless if those cavemen got taken out again."
Seth simply shrugs. "Might've rage-quit."
"They don't really look like the type to rage-quit," Agil says, "Nguyen looks too proud for that kind of thing."
"Eh think so?"
"During that mess in Aachen, Nguyen could have just logged out instead of hanging on."
"If you log out in contested territory though your avatar stays behind. They would've respawned in Cherbourg because that's where you take on the quest."
"That means they could be out of radio range then," Agil speculates, "Could explain their silence."
"Precisely."
As the Firefly's manage to turn around and move out of the way, three Churchills rattle past, British-garbed players sitting on nearly every available seat.
"Oy which way to the front?" shouts one of the Churchill commanders.
"Pact is thataway, but Paris is that way!" Seth jokes, pointing in two opposite directions.
"Thanks wise ass!" the player replies cheerfully while his tank grumbles forwards.
Xx-xX
After a few minutes, the group reaches the outskirts of the town where Soviet players and tanks are massing.
"That must be 13th Guards," Seth explains to the group as one of the Red Army players waves at them and makes his way over.
"Comrades!" he shouts in a rather cliché accent, a PPSH-41 hanging on his chest, "Do you need ammunition or anything? We have brought a supply truck with us!"
"Thanks man," Kirito says with a grin, "We ran into some really nasty mobs in town and used up most of our ammo."
"Da, our truck is over there comrades," he declares, "Help yourselves to anything you need. The Soviet Union will provide what is necessary!"
Seth chuckles a bit and pulls himself out of the cupola to sit on the turret roof. "Much appreciated."
The Soviet player salutes them.
"We will see you on the field of battle comrades!"
Another one shouts at him.
"Vadim, get over here! Comrade Nonna is waiting for you on her JS-2! Comrade Katyusha is getting tired waiting for you!"
"Scrounge what you can from the trucks and let's get a move on." Seth instructs the ALO players, watching the Soviet players all begin to move out.
"That was a funny bunch," Liz comments as she walks towards the trucks, "It felt like watching a bad WW2 movie." The other ALO players also follow her as well.
"Sure did," Sinon adds, "All they needed to make it more authentic was a Soviet Commissar yelling propaganda-."
"Looks like they beat you to it." Agil remarks, pointing at a player standing on some rocks and reading a speech from a book in one hand and waving a PPSH-41 in the other.
"Can't blame them for having fun," Asuna says, "Cause it looks like they are."
Movement atop the ridge they'd come from draws everyone's attention to a scratched-up and dirt-covered tank silhouetted against the horizon, the desert camouflage riddled with dings and dents, scorched in some places, with the mudguards missing. It's difficult at first to tell what group the tank belongs to, until the turret turns far enough to the right for everyone to get a solid look at the bold white lettering on the barrel. The redheaded commander sits atop the turret with a pair of binoculars, looking out over the town while a moderately sized group of infantry jogs down the hill towards Squirrel. Not far behind the newly arrived infantry, another battle-scarred tank drives up, a large hole in the back of its turret and its commander clearly fuming.
{Baker One-Three, One-Actual. Gimme a sitrep.} Stonewall instructs, looking at them through his binoculars.
{One-Three here. We're trying a different approach. It's risky, but it's worth a try.}
{Copy that. Commence when you're ready. One-Actual is going to remain in its position and provide support. We've had enough of the front line for now.}
"Hey Liz!" Nguyen shouts from the top of La Montréalaise, "Want to give us a hand fixing up the tank?" Liz begins making her way towards the tanks before stopping.
"We ain't got time for you to fix your shit, Frenchie!" Seth yells, "Should've fixed your tank before you came here!"
"Heille tabarnak, some fucking Jagdtiger blew off my radio," he barks back, "You try and coordinate shit without a radio!"
"You've got signal flags, don't you!?"
Nguyen shakes his head.
"I enjoy not being sniper bait! There's also a fucking hole in the back of my turret that needs fixing too!"
"Should've fixed it before you showed up!" Seth snaps impatiently, handing a handheld SCR-536 to a passing player to run over to La Montréalaise.
"Didn't have the time, spent it killing fuckwits alongside Stonewall here," the Canadian argues, "I didn't even get taken out!"
"Good for you!" Seth adds with a shake of his head before grabbing his handset. "Baker Two, let's roll."
Nguyen groans before ducks inside his tank after receiving the handheld radio, keeping his hatch open as he advances down the road, being mindful of the Australian players mixed in with American players walking on either side of the road. Doing a quick comms check, the Canadian confirms that his radio works, then takes off his headset and falls into line behind the M19.
Klein starts walking after restocking on ammunition, and is quickly surprised by a firm slap on the back.
"Hey there Klein! Nice cover back there at the pillbox." Amy says cheerfully, walking on his right. The ex-samurai awkwardly rubs the back of his head.
"Not good enough apparently. Thanks though."
"Don't worry about that. You did great on the initial assault, and that's what counts."
Klein blushes nervously.
"Y-yeah, I guess so," he stammers, "You did good too before being blown up."
Amy simply shrugs. "Just another pillbox. Did it like the couple hundred other ones."
Klein's eyes widen and he stops for a moment. "Couple hundreds?! Damn you're good!"
"I'm pretty average. It's kinda easy to get pillboxes in Burma, since sight lines are usually rather short." Amy says dismissively, slowing her pace slightly.
"Ah ok, got any stories to share?"
"A few. Some good. Some bad."
"What's a good one?" he asks while scanning around for trouble, "It'll help kill time while we're getting there."
"Hmmm . . . . Well, there's the time I flamed out an ammunition bunker . . . ."
"Euh… what?!"
Klein's outburst causes Seth to turn his head to look at them. After reassuring him that nothing happened, the ex-samurai looks at the flamethrower operator.
"That… must have been something to see."
"Understatement." Amy giggles. "I thought I saw some guys run into it so I flamed the door. Next thing I know all sorts of ammunition starts cooking off, so I dive in a crater and lay in the bottom."
"Betcha you got a lot of exp for that."
"Yeah. Anyway, so I'm laying in the bottom of this bomb crater, holding my helmet on my head and I'm just kinda laying there giggling like a schoolgirl while all sorts of ammunition cooks off a couple yards away, next thing I know a 47mm tank shell lands in my lap. I just kept laughing, couldn't stop myself. That's how they found me after the bunker finally calmed down, laughing my head off with a dud shell in my lap."
Klein can barely contain his shock before bursting out in laughter.
"You're amazing," he says between laughs, "How can you act like that?"
"Beats me." She continues to giggle. "It kinda reminded me of the 4th of July. You know those strings of firecrackers you can buy?"
"Yup, I always love seeing those things go off on New Years." Klein's face turns nostalgic. "Reminds me when I was a kid. We'd go to my grandparents' place for New Years and we'd set those off to kick off the new year."
"When it first started cooking off it sounded like someone just lit a whole bunch of those firecrackers." Klein smiles in understanding as she grins over her shoulder at him "I've told one of my stories. Your turn."
The ex-samurai leans his head back in thought. He briefly thinks of his exploits in SAO but dismisses the idea. Poor girl did lose her sister in that game. Finally, he settles on a story from ALO.
"Well, there was this one time where we were fighting this giant lizard in ALO," he says with a boastful grin, "That thing tries to crush us with its tail so everyone flies out of the way. Except me. I just step a bit to the side and I grab its tail. It couldn't do anything even if it tried using its poison breath attack on me."
Amy smiles at him and listens intently, her posture incredibly casual.
"Even poisoned, I managed to hold on to it so the rest of the group can kill it off," he finishes, "Almost got taken out but I managed to hang on long enough!"
"Dangerous, maybe slightly foolish, but effective." Amy observes.
"If it's what's needed for the team…" Klein chuckles as the column advances down a road, "Always happy to do it!"
Amy stiffens slightly, then nods and grabs her flamethrower nozzle with both hands after adjusting her helmet. "Yeah . . ."
He looks at her with a puzzled air, trying to figure out what he said wrong.
"Euh… are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Amy says cheerfully, though her body language betrays her. "You wanna maybe hang out after the battle?"
Klein suddenly stops in his tracks, jaw and eyes wide open in shock. He tries to talk but stammers. Amy sees him stop and stops as well, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hey, you lagging?"
"No… euh I mean yes euh no!"
Amy giggles and pulls the brim of his helmet down, opening her menu for a brief second. Luckily for Klein, Seth is too focused to notice what's happening between the two players.
"There. Sent you a friend's request."
"Eh!?"
Amy giggles some more and turns around, winking over her shoulder before jogging to catch up with the column, leaving a dumbfounded Klein behind. He shakes his head before he starts jogging as well.
"Hey wait up!" he shouts as he runs, making sure he doesn't stumble over anything. The column of men and machines moves through the part of town that was hit the hardest by the Musashi's guns. The buildings are shattered with debris littering the cratered streets. Occasionally, the sound of falling masonry mixes with the sound of burning wood.
"Come on paratrooper, pick up the pace!" She laughs back at him, making Klein grin.
"Don't worry! I won't fall behind!" he brags as he starts running faster, "Just watch me!"
The tank column suddenly stops, surprising the infantry players.
"Infantry move up! Call us up if you need!" Seth bellows, his voice echoing down the street along with the rumbling of the tank engines.
"You got it man!" Kirito answers back before taking charge of the ALO players' advance while the Australian players take the initiative. Their objective, a badly damaged church, is clearly in sight, yet the streets are strangely quiet except for gunfire in the distance.
"Keep an eye out for another ambush," Leafa says while Asuna goes over to Silica and Pina. The dog is calm as well, sniffing the air around it for anything unusual.
"There's no monsters nearby, but there's so much dust and smoke that Pina's detection is really short." Silica says nervously, holding her M1 Carbine readily while the dog stays at her side. Asuna nods.
"We'll just have to be more careful," the medic says before turning her attention to Sinon, "Do you see anything Sinon?"
The sniper glances at the various houses before shaking her head.
"It's almost as if they packed up and left town," she replies calmly, "Although they could just be all dead. That bombardement was pretty strong after all."
"Who would abandon a place that easily," Agil says, shaking his head as he vaults over the remains of a car, "There's cover everywhere."
Klein picks up a piece of brick and throws it as he's walking on the broken street.
"Hey Amy! Think your flamethrower would be useful flushing anything out?"
Amy grins over her shoulder and nods. "How do you think I got the nickname firebug?"
"Gotcha!" he chuckles, "What do you think the other team did?"
"They heard the firebug was coming and got the hell out of town!" She jokes, torching a semi-destroyed storefront. Klein laughs.
"Nah, they probably ran away when they heard I was coming to town!"
Kirito raises his hand in warning and takes a knee, looking around cautiously.
"Everyone stop, I got a bad feeling about this," he says while the ALO players halt and take cover, "Something's not right here."
The Australian players don't hear Kirito and stack up on the doors of the church, two players grabbing the doors and starting to pull them open.
Before they're open wide enough for a person to fit through, a blast rips through the silence, and the door is reduced to splinters. The windows all blow out, and nearly all the Australians catch shrapnel of some sort as they're thrown like ragdolls across the street. The ALO players and tankers watch frozen in speechless horror, and silence is only held back by the sound of the church collapsing in on itself. After the clattering and crumbling is over, an entirely new sound breaks the silence, seemingly in chorus.
"Mediiiic!"
"Wha?"
Oh boy… ouch? Real life Roscoe would be screaming "War Crime!" when that church went up. Seriously, you can't deliberately destroy religious buildings like that.
It was quite fun giving more screen time to the ALO crew… especially Klein. Poor guy deserved more screen time and love (especially love) in the original series… thankfully Ordinal Scale fixes some of that and shows why Klein made it through SAO with 0 casualties in his Guild! Definitely a wasted character in my opinion along with Agil. Hope you guys liked the firefights too. We're doing our best to capture the chaos. BTW, did someone catch the reference to another military anime?
Also K2-Black-Panther… you'll soon find out why Nguyen and none of his crewmembers'll ever compliment the ALO girls on their looks.
Don't hesitate to review… it's always a blast reading you guys. Suggestions are always welcome too.
PS: Try and guess what'll happen in the next chapter with the title we're giving it
-Goodalwayswins98
I wish that somebody would hurry up and make full-dive VR a thing. War-Torn would probably fly off the shelves faster than most of the FPS games companies are cranking out nowadays.
It's difficult to capture the chaos of battle in a story and follow more than one character, but I'll be damned if we didn't try! As always, if you enjoyed the story, and/or want a weapon/vehicle/plane/ship/place/THING featured, drop us a review. We'll certainly put it into consideration. - SirStonewall
Next chapter: Paris Pleasantries