The Ether Conflict

by aGuestfromGreece45

One day...the Apocalypse came. Earthquakes shook the Earth, changing the planet's face. Law and order, ethics and morals just vanished, their meaning lost in the ensuing chaos and madness. But something darker lurks in the shadows, threatening to change our way of life forever. It needs to be stopped...though it might be too late for that. [AU story, fantasy elements included]

9. Chapter 9: Downfall

The Ether Conflict

Chapter 9: Downfall

---

En route to enemy stronghold

2.5 km away from target

In a lone dirt road, a convoy of almost fifty vehicles slowly advances towards one of R.I.J.A's last strongholds, their aim to capture it, and hopefully destroy R.I.J.A. for good. The sky is blanketed by very dark clouds, with lightnings falling in the background and heavy rain pouring down on the earth, making the ground muddy.

The tanks, which are of various designs and sizes, slowly make their way towards their target, their metallic treads digging in the soft mud, the raindrops hitting their armor relentlessly, though the wind is strangely absent for some reason, in its place a gentle breeze that has no place in this storm. While the heavy and medium tanks use the dirt road, forming a single, long line, the light tanks follow close by in the open terrain that is between the dirt road and the boundaries of the forest in which the girls find themselves.

Somewhere in the middle of the convoy, between the Maus and Darjeeling's Churchill MkVII, a lone Panzer IV ausf H moves along the long line, its treads clanking and digging slightly into the soft mud, which has been compressed quite a lot from the Maus' treads, thanks to its tremendous weight. Inside the Panzer IV, which has a cute, cartoonish anglerfish painted in both sides of the tank's Schürzen plates in the turret, and the emblem of Ooarai Girls High School painted in the Schürzen plates that cover the sides of the hull, sit five girls, the formerly known Anglerfish team.

Mako is driving the tank, Saori is reading a novel, Hana looks through the gun's sights from time to time, checking for enemies, Yukari is gazing nowhere in particular, daydreaming, and Miho looks with a thoughtful expression at a clipboard which has a map of the target area, covered with a transparent, plastic membrane. She uses a black marker to draw and mark things on top of it, mainly small circles and arrows. Drawing some final details, she closes the marker and inspects what she has drawn. Looking at a yellow sticky note that is stuck at the top right edge of the map, she starts reading the team compositions she has written on it:

Artillery team: SU-152 x2 (tank destroyer/self-propelled gun), Sturmtiger x1 (self-propelled gun), T-50 x1 (light tank), M22 Locust x1 (light tank), T-34 x3 (medium tank), M4 Sherman x3 (medium tank), Panzer V "Panther" ausf G x3 (medium tank)

Team A:

Commander: Nishizumi Miho, Panzer IV ausf H x1 (medium tank)

Vice-commander: Kay, M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbo" (medium tank)

Saint Gloriana Girls High School: Churchill MkVII x1 (infantry tank) , Churchill AVRE x1(infantry tank) , A15 Crusader x2(cruiser tank) , A27M Cromwell x2(cruiser tank) , A39 Tortoise x1 (heavy assault tank)

Saunders Girls High School: M4 Sherman x2 (medium tank), M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbo" x2 (medium tank), M4 Sherman Crocodile x1 (flamethrower tank), M22 Locust x1 (light tank), M4A3E8 Sherman MkII "Ruskie" x2 (medium tank)

Blackout PMC: Ram III x3 (APC/IFV Hybrid)

Team B:

Commander: Nishizumi Maho, Panzer VI ausf E "Tiger" (heavy tank)

Vice-commander: Katyusha, T-34/85 (medium tank)

Kuromorimine Girls High School: Panzer II ausf L "Luchs" x1 (light tank), Panzer V ausf G x2 "Panther" (medium tank), Panzer VI ausf E "Tiger" x5 (heavy tank), Panzer VI ausf B "Königstiger" x2 (heavy tank), Panzer VIII "Maus" (superheavy tank), Jagdpanther x3 (tank destroyer), Elefant x1 (tank destroyer), Jagdtiger x1 (tank destroyer), Flackpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" x1 (self-propelled anti-aircraft gun)

Pravda Girls High School: T-50 x1 (light tank), T-34 x2 (medium tank), T-34/85 x4 (medium tank), KV-2 x1 (heavy tank), IS-2 x1 (heavy tank), IS-3 x1 (heavy tank), T-44 x2 (medium tank)

Blackout PMC: Panther S x1 (medium tank)

Having read the team compositions, Miho once again scans what she has drawn over the map, her expression remaining thoughtful, though her eyes show nothing but worry and concern.

"Is anything wrong, Miss Nishizumi?" Yukari asks in concern, seeing Miho's thoughtful expression. "If anything is bothering you, you can always talk to us," she says with a smile.

Upon hearing Yukari's voice, Miho snaps out of her thoughts and looks at her friend. "Thanks a lot Yukari, I really appreciate it," Miho says with a smile at her.

"It's just that...there are a lot of lives on the line, here. As the leader of all these girls, I have to make sure they will come out of this whole ordeal alive, but..." Miho sighs quietly. Both Hana and Saori have turned to look at Miho, listening to what she's saying. "We all have been in the field long enough to know that...there are always casualties, when a lot of people are fighting." Miho grips the clipboard hard, looking at the tank's floor. "I don't think...I'm strong enough to bear the weight of their deaths on my shoulders..." Miho bites her lip to stop herself from saying anything else, only bitter words filling her mind. "I don't want to lose any friends," she mouths these last words, so no one hears them.

Suddenly, she feels something grabbing her right hand, so looking at her right, she finds Yukari holding it with both of hers.

"Don't worry Miss Nishizumi, I'm sure you will keep all of us alive," Yukari says with a smile.

"She is right, Miho," Hana says, so Miho turns to look at her. "You are an excellent commander, with both the talent and skills to prove it."

"Yeah, like in the match against Selection University!" Saori pipes up from her seat.

"If it weren't for you, we would have bit the dust long ago," Mako comments from her seat.

Hearing her friend's words, Miho feels a huge weight being lifted from her shoulders. Sighing in relief, she looks at her friends once more.

"Thank you, all of you," Miho serenely smiles at the girls.

Before anyone can say anything else, her radio starts producing static, before a familiar voice starts speaking.

"Miho, we have arrived at the first point."

"Copy that, Sister," Miho responds back, before looking through the cupola's vision ports. The Panzer IV enters a large open space, with tanks already fanning out and slowly stopping, their humming engines barely audible over the thunder and heavy rain. Mako parks the tank between one of the modified Easy 8s and Kay's Sherman Jumbo, as Miho turns to look at Saori.

"Saori, change the frequency to the general one," she orders and Saori complies.

"Frequency changed to the general one," Saori says and Miho nods.

Picking up her radio, Miho takes a deep breath before speaking. "To all units, this is Miho, do you copy?" Seconds later, a flurry of affirmatives floods the comms, but Miho somehow manages to count them, confirming that all tanks have responded, so she continues talking. "I'll go over the plan once more, so pay attention." She pauses for a second, before speaking again. "Our plan is to attack and capture one of the last strongholds R.I.J.A. has on Japan. The base is surrounded by cement walls that have a height of five meters and three of its sides are covered by a forest. This leaves us with only one way to approach.

Despite the terrain being flat, there are numerous defenses set up by the enemy. Air-photographs taken by drones earlier in the morning indicate an extensive trench network has been dug, as well as several machine-gun nests, mortar pits and anti-tank sites have been constructed. Moreover, the photographs indicate several tanks in hull down positions.

Our forces have been divided into two teams. Team A that is led by me and team B that is led by my sister, Maho. After we split on our teams, we will proceed at a hill that is five hundred meters away from our position and climb it. Then, we will line up at the hilltop and commence bombardment at the enemy's defenses, at the same time as the artillery team's first salvo connects. After that, we will descend the hill and begin our assault. Any questions?" Miho finishes her explanation of the plan.

"In the map that you have given us, that shows the area around the enemy base, the area between the base and the hill has been divided in Sector A and Sector B. Could you explain it a bit more, please?" one of the M4 Sherman commanders asks.

"Yes. Sector A is the area up to one kilometer away from the hill and it mostly has trenches and machine-gun nests. Sector B, is the area from the one kilometer mark till the enemy base. In addition to the trenches and machine-gun nests, it also has the rest of the enemy defenses that I mentioned. The sectors are to help the artillery team know where to strike. It would be bad if they bombarded our positions by mistake," Miho answers the commander's question. "Any other questions?" she asks, but gets no response back. "Split to your teams; we leave in ten minutes."

And with that, the engines of the various tanks rev up, as they slowly start moving, organizing themselves to the assigned teams. Miho opens the cupola's hatch, emerging from it and looking at the tanks around her despite the heavy rain that is dousing her. Having been on the battlefield for a long time, things like rain, the heat or the cold barely affect her anymore. The most they can do now is to be a minor nuisance.

"Miho."

Hearing her sister's voice, Miho turns to her left and spots a Tiger with the number "212" painted on the turret sides in red color. Through the cupola's hatch a girl with dark brown hair and eyes stands.

"You'll catch a cold if you stay in the rain for too long," Maho says, as the Tiger stops in front of the Panzer IV.

"I could say the same for you," Miho answers back, and both sisters smile to each other. Though Maho's smile fades instantly when she gets a transmission.

"What is the problem, Erika?" Maho asks in her radio, while Miho quietly looks at her. "Can't you solve it?" Maho asks and after a brief pause, she sighs a little. "Fine, I'm on my way."

Looking at Miho, she smiles at her once more. "Sorry Miho, something came up that needs my attention. I'll see you after this mission," Maho says as the tank lurches forwards. "And please be careful."

"You too, Sister," Miho responds back.

And with that Maho ducks inside her tank, closing the cupola's hatch. Miho keeps looking at the Tiger for a little more, before she too, gets back inside the Panzer IV and closes her hatch.

"Miho, you'll catch a cold if you stay like this," Saori says, handing Miho a towel to dry herself.

"Thanks a lot, Saori," Miho responds back, taking the towel and wiping herself. "Saori, contact the HQ and tell them we are about to begin the assault," Miho orders Saori, as she hands her back the now wet towel.

"Copy that," Saori responds. Putting the towel away, Saori contacts the HQ to inform them of their imminent assault, and after a few minutes of talking, she ends the transmission and turns back to look at Miho.

"HQ said to inform you that if the weather gets better, they'll send us air support. Other than that, we are good to go," Saori informs Miho, who nods in response.

Looking through the cupola's vision ports, she notices that most tanks are in position, with only a few moving towards their designated team. Picking her radio, Miho starts talking. "Darjeeling, are you in position?" Miho asks, and after a brief moment of silence, Darjeeling responds.

"Me and my girls are in position and awaiting your orders," Darjeeling's calm voice bleeds through the radio.

"Kay, are you in position?"

"We are ready to roll out!" Kay cheerfully responds back to Miho.

"We are ready on our end, too," Maho's voice is heard from the radio.

"OK. To all units, change your radio frequency to your team's one. First order of business is to line up on the hilltop for the bombardment. After that, we will assault the base." Making a brief pause, she takes a deep breath, resolving herself at what has to be done in the name of freedom. "Panzer vor!"

Reving up their engines, the tanks slowly make their way towards the hill with the heavily armored ones in the front, just in case the enemy decides to open fire the moment they spot them. Behind them follow the medium and light tanks, using the heavy ones as a form of cover. Exception to this rule is the Maus, which is climbing he hill at an astonishing speed of five km/h.

The rain has died down in intensity by now, only a slight drizzle falling from the skies, much to the Wirbelwind's crew's relief, though the dark clouds keep blanketing the azure sky stubbornly. As the tanks reach the hilltop, they start lining up besides each other, with the exception of the light tanks, which stay behind the other tanks, just to be on the safe side.

Miho emerges through her cupola and looks at the enemy defenses. A huge trench network filled with infantry, a multitude of machine-gun nests, mortar pits, tanks that have dug in and anti-tank sites. Against them, nearly fifty machines that could instill fear and terror into any man's soul, designed to be powerful and invisible, at least in theory. In practice, tanks were weak against infantry, if the conditions were right. That's why, even in the modern day, infantry almost always supports armored units.

"If anyone wants to back out, now it's your chance," she says into the radio, looking at the other tanks, since some of the commanders have emerged from their own tanks to look at the enemy's defenses.

"Nah, where is the fun in that?" Kay says enthusiastically from her tank.

"It would be really unladylike to withdraw at this point," Darjeeling comments from inside the Churchill, drinking some tea.

"They dared to mess with Pravda, so now they will pay the price!" Katyusha angrily says through her radio.

"We have a mission to do, and we will see it through to the end," Maho says with a neutral tone.

Having heard the responses, Miho remains silent for a little, before speaking again. "Then to all units, aim for either the machine-gun nests, or the tanks and anti-tank guns past the one kilometer mark," she says, and almost instantly the guns in all tanks start moving, their sights aimed upon one of the many targets that this soon-to-be battlefield has to offer. "Everyone, button up and do not fire until the artillery's salvo lands." Diving inside the tank and closing her hatch, Miho looks at Saori. "Saori, change frequency to the artillery team," she orders and Saori complies.

"Done," Saori answers back as she changes the frequency.

"Artillery team, this is Miho, do you copy?" Miho says in the radio, and after a few moments of silence a response comes back.

"This is the Sturmtiger commander, we copy you Miho."

"You are clear to start barraging the enemy in Sector B, grid points D6, D8 and E5. After that, await for fire missions from either me and Maho, or the sub-commanders."

"Acknoledged. Ordinance inbound in 20 seconds," the Sturmtiger commander says, before terminating the transmission.

Miho sighs slightly, knowing that they have passed the point of no return. "Hana, aim at one of the machine-gun nests. Yukari, load HE shells, unless me or Hana say otherwise."

"Yes!" both girls say. Miho looks through the vision ports, waiting for the artillery's first salvo to hit.

"Time to make history I guess," she mutters as she hears a sound that resembles a motorcycle engine. Seconds later, she spots a huge explosion in the distance, followed by two smaller, yet equally destructive explosions. "Fire!" she yells and Hana presses the firing pedal.

Almost 50 different cannon reports fill the air, some getting drowned by the others, followed by the sounds of explosions as HE shells land everywhere, blowing up machine-gun nests and mortar pits, killing dozens of enemy soldiers in the trenches, who die either by shrapnel, or get blown up to pieces by the actual explosions, their remains going for a short flight through the air.

The enemy opens fire, as .50 Cal bullets, along with small arms fire start hitting the tanks, bouncing off their armor. Mortar rounds explode all around them, throwing dirt everywhere. Even a few AP shells from the anti-tank guns manage to hit some of the heavy tanks, though they harmlessly bounce off, the distance being greater than their maximum effective range.

"Team B, advance!" Maho yells through the radio, and Team B's tanks start descending the hill. Upon reaching the foot of the hill, the hull and coaxial machine-guns come to life, as they start sweeping the trenches, the soldiers inside them getting ripped to pieces by the bullets. "Keep advancing and leave the remaining infantry to the Wirbelwind and Luchs; target the tanks or the anti-tank guns!" she says in her radio, as her Tiger passes above a trench and manages to crush a soldier's head with its tracks, though the sound of crushed bones gets drowned by the cannon's fire. A mortar round lands next to the Tiger, shaking it slightly. Then a shell bounces off the side of the armor, this time the tank shaking a lot more.

"Gunner, T-50, eleven o'clock! Range, six hundred meters! Loader, load AP!" Maho says, as she spots an entrenched light tank in the distance, which fires a shell towards them, but misses by a wide margin.

"Up!" the loader yells, as she loads an AP shell in the breech.

"Fire!"

"On the way!" the gunner says, as the cannon's breech kicks backwards, releasing a shell casing that falls to the ground. The AP shell propels itself on the light tank, piercing right through its frontal armor and killing the crew, as well as setting the engine on fire. "Target's finished."

As the combined forces of Kuromorimine and Pravda plow through the enemy defenses, Team A has also descended from the hill, crashing through the enemy defenses like a wrecking ball.

The Sherman Crocodile is having a field day with the trenches, burning every enemy soldier it can find in its path and even machine-gun nests. The Tortoise just plows through them like they never existed, while firing into enemy tanks and anti-tank guns, and the Churchill AVRE is lobbing HE shells from its spigot mortar, blowing machine-gun nests and enemies into oblivion.

"Hana, machine-gun nest, two o'clock. Range, one hundred and fifty meters," Miho says, looking through the cupola's vision ports for the nearest target. Aiming at the target, Hana fires the cannon and an HE shell hits the nest, blowing it up.

"Target destroyed," Hana calmly says, as she acquires a new target.

"Miporin, the artillery team says they don't have any fire missions," Saori says to Miho, turning slightly to look at her. Looking at her map, Miho crosses some squares with a marker, before looking back at Saori.

"Tell them to bombard grid points E3 to E7. Two full salvos per grid point," Miho says to Saori, who relays the information to the Sturmtiger commander.

"At this pace, we will be able to secure the base in less than an hour!" Kay says in the radio, the sounds of cannons discharging being heard in the background.

"Indeed," Darjeeling comments. "The assault is going rather well, and the weather seems to be getting better," she adds, before noticing that Rosehip has gone a little too deep behind enemy lines, so she ends her transmission to contact her and tell her to come back.

A little too well, Miho thinks, feeling that something is not right with the whole situation. These aren't your run-of-the-mill bandits that just loot and steal from others. These are trained soldiers under the command of an organization, which has both the resources and manpower to take over the school carriers, give the JSDF a hard time and probably unite Japan under its rule, if it wasn't for Blackout. So for this assault to be going this well, especially when it is against the enemy's stronghold, where the leaders are supposed to be...

"This doesn't make any sense," she murmurs, a thoughtful expression forming on her face. Despite their current progress, her hunch is telling her to retreat from here at full speed, lest she wants to invite death.

"Miho, we have passed the one kilometer mark," Maho's voice is heard from the radio, snapping Miho back to reality.

"Copy that. Contact the artillery team and tell them to cease all fire support until further notice," she tells her sister. Putting the radio down, she takes a moment to look at her clipboard, before looking through the vision ports. "I really hope nothing bad will happen."

"Miss Nishizumi?" Yukari asks as she loads yet another HE shell in the gun breech, having overheard her commander's last sentence.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing Yukari," Miho quickly responds with a smile. "I'm just worried about the rest of the girls, that's all," she lies, to make sure her friends won't worry more than they have to.

While Team A is advancing through the enemy defenses without a problem, in Team B's side, the Antelope team has found itself in quite a pickle.

"I swear to God, Odysseus, if we don't make it out of here alive and in one piece, I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your crappy afterlife!" Tyler yells at the blonde commander, holding an HE shell and waiting for Reiji to fire the gun. Kicking back, the gun breech throws out a shell casing, so Tyler instantly inserts the shell he is holding and closes the gun breech. "Up!"

"But this is an opportunity to cripple the enemy defenses and cause chaos!" Odysseus yells back, as an enemy anti-tank gun fires at them, its AP shell hitting the turret at the left side and harmlessly bouncing into the air, while causing the Panther to shake. "Load AP next! Reiji, fire at the AT gun, then start hitting the tanks!" she orders, looking through the vision ports. "And for God's sake, drive more carefully, Annabelle!" she adds, as the tank makes a sudden left turn to avoid fire from another AT gun that is tracking them.

"Want to try and avoid shells and mortar pits, eh!?" Annabelle yells back, as she drives over a couple of unfortunate soldiers, crushing them under the medium tank's treads.

"Come on, it's not that-BRAKE!" Odysseus yells suddenly, and Annabelle brakes the tank as hard as she can, with the Panther stopping and rocking back and forth violently. A split-second later, an 85mm shell skims over the upper glacis of the tank.

"Reiji, T-34-85 at nine o'clock, one hundred meters! Annabelle, traverse!" she orders, as both the turret and tank start rotating. The T-34-85 fires another shell, but it just misses by a wide margin.

"Target in sight!" Reiji says loudly and Annabelle stops rotating the tank. After a long second of waiting, Reiji presses the firing pedal and the shell that comes out of the barrel flies straight to the enemy tank and hits it square in the turret ring, penetrating and killing the crew through spalling. "Target destroyed."

"Annabelle, get us back to the team's line!" Odysseus shouts, as several shells either pass close to the tank or bounce upon impact with the turret and front armor.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

"Panther S, get back in formation now!" the angry voice of Erika is heard through the radio, so Odysseus picks it up to respond just as kindly.
"Listen bitch, we are coming ba-"

*Clank*

Hearing the cupola's hatch opening, Odysseus stops talking and looks above her, only to find a man thrusting a sword's blade towards her. Thinking quickly, she sticks as close to her sit as possible, the blade scratching the center area of her bulletproof vest and then landing between her legs, slightly denting the metal seat she is currently sitting on. With lightning reflexes, Odysseus unholsters her pistol from its holster that is on her right hip, aims it at the enemy's head and puts the safety to off, before firing four bullets, all of them striking the target and causing blood and a partially destroyed eyeball to fall onto Odysseus.

"What happened!?" Tyler says urgently, as he and Reiji look at Odysseus after hearing the gunshots. "...I-I think I'll vomit," he croaks as he looks away in disgust, having spotted the eyeball that sits in the seat, surrounded by blood that slowly falls from the corpse. Even Reiji seems to get a little pale from this grotesque sight, though he is handling it a lot better.

"A guy tried to make me skewered meat," she casually comments, like this is an everyday occurrence. Putting the safety back on and holstering her pistol, she proceeds to wipe her face from the blood that has fallen on it with the right sleeve of her uniform. "Shit, looks like I'll need to bathe after we are done here," she murmurs. By now, Annabelle has successfully drove the tank back to their assigned team, which has stopped advancing for now, waiting for the Luchs and the Wirbelwind to catch up as they clean the trenches.

"What the..." Annabelle trails off as she sees the condition in which Odysseus is, along with the corpse that hangs from the cupola. "What happened?"

"Nothing much," Odysseus answers back, as she takes the calvary sword from the dead guy's grasp and puts it next to her seat. "Just the usual."

"What kind of answer is this?" Annabelle asks back incredulously, but Odysseus doesn't answer.

Pushing the body out of the tank, it falls down on the engine deck, so Odysseus, after grabbing the partially destroyed eyeball, exits the tank onto the engine deck to dispose of the body.

"Everything's alright?" she hears a voice asking, and looking at the tank's right, she finds Maho's Tiger, with Maho partially out of the cupola and looking at her with her usual stoic expression, though she seems a little surprised.

"Yeah, just had some trouble with this guy," she responds, kicking the body over the engine deck's edge on the right side, while throwing the destroyed eyeball at a random direction. "The good news is that I got a calvary sword as a memento, isn't that awesome!"

"You, why did you-" Erika's voice is heard saying, before stopping abruptly. Her Königstiger stops next to Maho's Tiger, and Odysseus can see Erika's shocked expression in all its glory. "Wh-What happened to you!? Are you alright?" Erika stutters, seeing Odysseus' face, hair and uniform full of blood.

"I'm fine, don't worry," she answers, pointing at the blood on her face. "The guy to whom this blood belongs to, however, is currently taking a nap," she giggles, before getting inside the Panther.

Erika just looks in shock at where Odysseus stood. "What is wrong with this girl," she says in utter disbelief.

"Stay focused Erika. We have a mission to do," Maho says to her vice-commander.

"Ah...yes commander!" Erika responds, before both girls dive back inside their tanks, the Luchs and the Wirbelwind having finally finished sweeping the trenches for potential enemies.

"These insects are no much for our might!" Katyusha says from her tank's cupola, peeking from the left side of the hatch's cover, since it opens towards the front. "Hey, Pirozki, some of the enemies are running towards the forest," she says to her radio, as she sees some of the defenders running towards the surrounding forest and entering it. "Should we pursue?"

"Negative Katyusha. Resume the current objective, but keep your guard up; the enemy might be preparing something," Miho answers through the radio.

"Copy that," Katyusha answers back. As both teams slowly approach the base's gate, most of the defenders start running to the forest, though a hefty number of them never makes it.

"To all units, cease fire," Miho says through the radio. "All defenses have fallen and the enemy is on the run."

"Yeah!" several of the girls cheer over the comms, happy that the battle has been won.

"Form a perimeter around the base at a distance of one hundred meters. My team will take the left side, while Maho's will take the right," she says, before adding one more thing. "Katyusha, have the KV-2 bring down the gate. After that, the Rams will move inside the base to secure it."

"Ok," Katyusha responds, before cutting the transmission and contacting the KV-2 crew. As the tank moves in front of the door to demolish it, the Rams follow suit and stop behind it. "The KV is ready to fire," she informs.

"Fire," Miho says and a second later, the KV-2's 152mm M10-T howitzer roars, as it spews an HE shell that hits the large metal door, the explosion horribly denting it and throwing it off its rail.

"Wind, you are clear to proceed," Miho says.

"Copy that, proceeding to secure the base," one of the Ram III commanders responds, and the Rams bypass the KV-2 and enter the base.

Their 20mm autocannons come to life, as they start mowing down the last scraps of opposition. Stopping at the center of the base, they unload a squad of soldiers, before continuing their hunt for the defenders.

"Alright, listen up! I want every building checked for any strugglers," a man starts speaking, and everyone turns to face him. "If you find any documents that have important information, secure them immediately!"

"Yes sir!" everyone responds. The squads split and start checking each building, small arms fire echoing throughout the base.

"Saji, get Moka and check this thing over there," he says at a young man with black hair, pointing at a tall, hexagonal pillar made of metal plates.

"Yes sir," the young man salutes, before going off to find Moka and then check the hexagonal pillar.

As the man looks around, he presses the earpiece in his left ear once.

"Bastion, this is Delta Leader, do you copy?" the man says.

"Delta Leader, this is Bastion, we copy you," a deep voice answers from the earpiece. "What's your status?"

"We have entered the base and are securing it as we speak, but we have stumbled upon something unexpected."

---

"What is it?" Teruo asks in his headset's microphone. He is currently inside the command building, surveying the units that have been tasked with capturing the stronghold that is in the mountains. He is currently looking at one of the numerous computer monitors that have been set inside the building, the screen showing the camera feed from the helmets of one of the soldiers.

"Uhmm...I don't know how to say this, but there is a tall metal pillar in the center of the base," Delta Leader reports. "In the aerial photos we were given there was no such thing as this pillar."

Teruo doesn't respond at first, trying to think what purpose this thing might have. A mere jammer maybe? Or is it something worse? "Can you enable your camera feed?" he asks, wanting to see this strange object with his own eyes.

"Yes sir. Please give me a moment," Delta responds. After a moment, he responds back. "Camera feed enabled, number ninety-nine"

"Change to feed ninety-nine, monitor twenty-four," Teruo says to one of the people that are controlling the camera feeds. Suddenly, the camera feed changes to that of Delta Leader, from the perspective of his weapon most likely, as a barrel can be seen at the lower left of the screen. "This is peculiar," Teruo murmurs as he looks at the strange, hexagonal pillar.

"What should we do, sir?" Delta asks.

"For now, continue with securing the base. I'll contact you with further instructions later," Teruo responds back and terminates the transmission as the feed from Delta's camera becomes black, before the monitor goes back to the original camera feed it was showing.

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission from Echo Leader," one of the people, a woman this time, says from a nearby terminal. "He says he has urgent news regarding the current operation."

The moment Teruo hears this, bells start ringing in his head, his instinct telling him things are going to get bad, really fast.

"Patch him through," Teruo orders, so the woman types something in her terminal. "Echo, this is Bastion, what's going on?"

"Bastion, we have uncovered enemy documents that indicate Operation Downfall has been compromised," Echo Leader responds.

"What did you say!?" Teruo practically yells at his headset's microphone, causing everyone in the room to stop whatever they are doing and turn to look at him in alarm. An eerie silence feels the room, as Teruo listens to Echo's report.

"Th-The documents suggest that both strongholds are decoys, effectively traps, in order to deal a significant blow to our forces," Echo stutters a little, taken aback by Teruo's sudden outburst. "This stronghold had been trapped with bombs, set to activate remotely via a signal, though it seems the receiver was damaged in the firefight. We currently have engineers disarming the explosives, but we have evacuated most of our forces from the location for safety reasons."

Before Teruo can respond, a voice is heard from Echo's side.

"Sir, you need to see this!"

"What is it?"

A few seconds pass, as silence feels the room once more, until Echo speaks up.

"Sir, we've learned from the documents that R.I.J.A. is planning to destroy the other decoy base by using a GBU-43/B that was supplied to them by an unknown party," he speaks with a grim voice and Teruo can feel his blood freezing.

"A MOAB," he whispers, before turning at one of the operators. "Contact Delta Leader immediately and tell him to abort mission and evacuate as quickly as possible!" he shouts, as he terminates Echo's transmission. The operator immediately starts typing on her terminal.

"You, get me a weather report for the next two hours!" he yells at a female operator who is standing behind him, holding a PDA. The woman yelps in surprise, but does as she is told too. "Get me Delta Leader's camera footage that he streamed," he says to the operator of the terminal he is currently in, and after the operator inputs some commands on the terminal, Delta's previous camera footage starts playing.

"Here, pause it," he says, and the operator pauses the feed. Teruo looks at the strange, hexagonal, metal pillar, widening his eyes in revelation. "They must have the bomb inside the pillar," he mutters to himself.

"Sir, we can't get in contact with Delta Leader!" the operator tasked with contacting the forces at the stronghold Miho has assaulted, answers. "The signal isn't getting through; the enemy must be using jammers!"

"Keep trying!" he answers back. "We need to contact them ASAP!"

"Sir, I have the weather report," the woman who had yelped before, says, offering her PDA to Teruo. Taking it, he reviews the weather report quickly, before handing it back to the woman. "Contact the closest base with air assets you can find and tell them to send a force of three jets equipped for CAS against ground targets, four attack helicopters and four BH-HTs," he orders and the woman nods, going away while typing something on her PDA.

We really got the short end of the stick this time, he thinks, as he wipes the sweat that has formed on his forehead. I hope they can hold out until reinforcements arrive, he prays in his mind, knowing full well that the enemy will use this chance to counterattack.

---

At the same time

Captured enemy stronghold

Delta is looking all around him, lazily gazing at the structures that surround him. The gunfire has died down by now and the Rams have parked in the center of the base, pointing their 25mm autocannons at the ground in front of them.

"Sir, all buildings have successfully been secured and the squads are checking them for any documents or other information the enemy might have," a soldier who stands besides him, says. "The squads have reported no casualties. However, the resistance they encountered was really low."

"I see," Delta says in a thoughtful expression, gazing at the hexagonal, metal pillar that stands in the center of the base. "Go and help the squads with the search," he orders, and the man salutes and walks away.

Turning his gaze in front of him, he looks at a man that is on his knees, his hands bound behind his back. He wears an IJA WW2 uniform and his face has a serious expression. "Now then, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Delta says at him, looking straight in his eyes. "Question 1. Why did you attack the girls?" he asks.

"They chose to enter the battlefield as warriors. It's only proper we greet them as one," the R.I.J.A. soldier curtly replies, never breaking eye contact.

"Fair enough. Number 2. Where are your leaders?"

"I don't know. Even if I knew, I would never tell you," the man says firmly, so Delta doesn't push him for answers.

"We'll see about that after you are handed to our interrogation specialists," Delta answers with a serious expression too. "Just don't expect to be able to eat solid food after they are done with you. Anyway, question 3. If this is one of your strongholds, why are there so few soldiers defending it? Don't get me wrong, the defenses were impressive, although really obsolete, but the main base was almost deserted, not to mention you guys didn't put that much of a resistance," Delta says as he pulls a cigarette and a lighter from one of his pant's pockets. Putting the cigarette on his mouth, he lights it and takes a drag on it, before exhaling the smoke. "Why is that?" he asks, pointing the lit cigarette at the enemy soldier.

The man says nothing at first, electing to stay quiet. Then, he says one sentence. "May the gods have mercy on our souls, for we will meet them soon enough."

Delta raises an eyebrow at this. He wants to ask the man what he means by that, but someone interrupts him before he can do so.

"Sir, we managed to open the pillar!" Sagi shouts from the base of the metal pillar, while a woman next to him starts moving what looks like welding equipment, which was probably used to cut the pillar's metal plates.

"Coming!" he shouts back, starting to walk towards Saji. I'll ask the prisoner what he meant later.

Reaching the pillar, he finds a small rectangle cut made in one of the sides, the cut being barely large enough for a human to crawl through. "Couldn't you make it smaller?" he asks sarcastically, before crouching in front of the cut section of the plates. "Give me your flashlight," he says and Saji complies, handing him his flashlight. Putting half of his body inside the cut-out section, he turns on the flashlight, light flooding inside the dark interior of the pillar, revealing its secrets.

" What the..." he trails off as his mouth hangs open, the lit cigarette falling down on the ground. His eyes widen in shock, as he looks upon a really huge bomb that hangs from the top of the pillar, with various wires snaking all around it.

Without losing time, Delta gets out of the pillar and stands up, picking his radio and pressing a button on its side to talk. "To all units, evacuate the area immediately, we have been set up!" he yells on top of his lungs. "I repeat, we ha-"

*Click*

"Shi-!"

---

As Miho picks up her radio to speak, a loud explosion is heard and moments later something with the power of a freight train hits her tank, causing it to violently shake and even slide a few dozen centimeters on the ground. The girls get thrown everywhere, as Miho barely avoids a collision with the gun breech and falls on top of Yukari. She feels dizzy and disoriented, her vision being blurry and a constant ringing grasping her ears. She can hear thumping sounds all over the tank, like it's raining outside, albeit they are barely audible thanks to the ringing.

Getting up and grabbing her aching head, she takes a moment to shake off the dizziness, before turning to look at who she landed on.

"Yukari, are you alright?" Miho groans, stooping down and trying to lift Yukari from the tank's floor.

"I-I'm fine Miss...Nishizumi," Yukari groans in response, grabbing her seat and trying to pull herself up. "My head hurts though."

"Girls, are you okay?" Miho asks the rest of the crew, as she finally manages to lift Yukari.

"I'm fine!" Saori exclaims from her seat, although she sits upside down now. "Though I have no idea how I got like this!"

"All good here," Mako answers from her seat, still being slightly disoriented. "Though I hit my head pretty hard-ouch!" she says as she wipes some drops of blood that roll from her forehead to her face.

"Let me see your forehead," Saori says to her, having gotten up from the tank's floor. "It seems a little bruised, but doesn't seem to be a concussion."

"Hana?" Miho asks, since the tall, black-haired girl is the only one that hasn't responded yet.

"I'm fine, Miho, though my right forearm stings a little," she answers, her face clearly expressing pain as she holds up her right arm by the wrist, so as not to let the forearm touch anything.

"Are you sure it's not broken?" Miho asks, just to be sure.

"Yes," Hana answers back.

"OK. Saori, when you are done with Mako, help Hana with bandaging her forearm. Yukari, get out of the tank and check the tracks for any significant damage," Miho orders and grabs her radio.

"OK!" both Saori and Yukari answer. While Yukari gets out of the tank through her hatch, Saori starts bandaging Mako's head.

"But what was that!? One moment everything is fine, and the next an explosion is heard and something hits the tank with so much force!" Saori says to Miho, although she doesn't turn her head to look at her.

"Whatever it was, I don't think Delta and Wind are with us anymore," she grimly states and everyone adopts saddened looks.

"They must have hidden a bomb somewhere inside the base, then detonated it," Mako says, flinching lightly as Saori tightens some gauze around her head. "It was all a trap. Again."

"But what kind of bomb can produce such powerful explosion?" Hana asks.

"There are explosives that can level whole blocks, given the amount is enough," Mako answers back.

"Whatever the case, we are in serious danger. The enemy will probably take this chance to counterattack, so we need to get out of here as fast as we can," Miho says. Opening her hatch and exiting the tank halfway through the cupola, she looks back at where the base is supposed to be, only to find that nothing remains, except for the foundations of the concrete walls that once surrounded the enemy stronghold, only a shallow crater in its place. All around her there are huge chunks of concrete and metal, while a thin layer of dirt and concrete dust covers the tank.

"To all units, report," she says in her radio, looking at the other tanks. Some of them are fine or have their paint scratched, while others have dents on their armor.

"This is Kay. Other than a few minor injuries and a Sherman that rolled on its side, we are fine," Kay responds first, her voice full of worry. "But what the heck was this explosion!? It decimated the whole base!"

"This is Darjeeling. All units are accounted for and the girls only have minor injuries, such as bruises and a few bumps," Darjeeling says on the radio. "Thankfully, the light tanks were checking the trenches at the 1 kilometer mark along the Flakpanzer for any survivors, so they were not in any danger," she informs Miho, who sighs in relief.

"Sister?" she asks on the radio, waiting for Maho to respond.

"We are fine on our end, no serious injuries," Maho responds back.

"Everyone, listen up. We need to get out of here as fast as possible, the enemy will probably counterattack any moment now. Don't let your guard down and don't approach the forest boundaries."

"Those damn insects, how dare they lay a trap and lure us in it!?" Katyusha yells in frustration in the radio, not happy about the whole situation.

"Miss Nishizumi, I checked the tracks and they are fine," she hears Yukari saying, and looking down, Miho finds her climbing on the tank. "Whatever the enemy used, it had to be a bomb. Or else they would have to use an insane amount of explosives."

"Mako said they must have used a bomb. But what could be powerful enough to completely obliterate a whole base?" Miho asks Yukari, since she's quite knowledgeable in anything that relates to the military, though her specialty still remains the tanks.

"There are some bombs that are powerful enough for such level of destruction, such as the American GBU-43/B, or the Russian ALOM-9D75 air-fuel bomb. Though if it was the latter, we would have been scorched to cinders," Yukari responds back.

"You never seem to stop surprising me," Miho compliments Yukari. "At any rate, get inside and tell Saori to contact HQ and report this."

Yukari nods and quickly enters inside to inform Saori of Miho's orders, while Miho picks her radio once more. "To all units, start-"

*Boom*

*Crack*

Before she can finish her sentence, she spots a bright muzzle flash from the boundaries of the forest, accompanied by the sound of a cannon being fired and a shell penetrating a tank.

*Boom*

*Clank*

Another cannon report is heard, this time an HVAP striking the front upper glasis of Kay's Jumbo and harmlessly bouncing off in the air.

"Incoming from the forest!" Kay screams in the radio. "The flipped Sherman has been destroyed, but the crew is safe!"

"To all units, enemies spotted in the forest! Trace the muzzle flashes and eliminate them!" Miho says to the radio as fast as she can. "Kay, do your tanks have any smoke shells?" she asks as some of the tanks start opening fire in the forest, with both AP and HE shells crashing in the trees and completely destroying them.

"Yes," Kay curtly replies, as another shell bounces off the armor of the Jumbo.

"Have them fire the smoke shells in the boundaries of the forest, than order the Sherman Crocodile to burn the trees!"

"Copy that!"

*Boom*

*Crack*

Looking to her left, she spots one of the M4 Shermans from Saunders, with a small round hole in the lower glacis of the hull.

"We've been hit, we've been hit!" the commander of the Sherman shouts over the radio, screams being heard in the background. "My driver and radio operator are dead, and my gunner is bleeding a lot! Me and the loader have sustained moderate wounds, but-"

*Crack*

The transmission is cut short, as another shell penetrates and hits the ammo rack, detonating the shells inside the tank and incinerating the crew instantly. The force of the explosion is so great that the hatches get blown off their hinges, great pillars of fire jetting out of every crack and hole they can find.

"We lost a Sherman!" Miho reports in the radio and everyone's blood freezes instantly. The girls might have dealt with bandits before, meaning they were somewhat used in getting shot with live ammunition, but they never had any losses. To actually hear the sound of the tank's ammunition exploding, and the comms falling silent from the Sherman's commander, to see the flaming wreck of where five girls were mere moments ago. It is terrifying, even for Miho, who could feel a single tear forming on her left eye.

Another shell manages to penetrate one of the Cromwells through the front of the turret. Both the commander and the loader get ripped by hot shrapnel all over their bodies, with the loader somehow only getting hit in her left hand and both legs. The driver and front gunner only receive light wounds on their arms, as the vests they wear stop most of the shrapnel from plunging themselves straight into their backs. The Cromwell reverses and takes cover behind Darjeeling's Churchill.

"Kay, we need those smoke shells now!" Miho says loudly on the radio, seeing that the Shermans fire either AP or HE shells.

Although Kay doesn't respond, the Shermans finally start lobbing smoke shells, thick, white smoke obscuring vision between the forest and them. While the enemy doesn't stop firing, the shots are immensely less accurate, missing the tanks by a wide margin or striking the thick armor of the heavy tanks. The Sherman Crocodile takes a gamble and moves close to the forest boundary, before starting to set the trees and grass on fire. As smoke rises and the fire starts spreading, the enemy stops shooting, probably to pack up and run away, not wanting to be burned to death.

"Kay, can you hear me?" Miho asks, and after a few silent moments, she receives an answer.

"Y-Yeah...I-I can hear you, Miho," Kay responds, though the cheerfulness her voice always has is nowhere to be found.

"Order the Sherman Crocodile to move to Team B's side and set the trees on fire there too," she says. "Darjeeling, how is the crew of the hit Cromwell?"

"Both the commander and the gunner are dead. The loader has severe wounds on her left hand and some grazes on her legs, but the front gunner and driver are mostly fine," she states in a grim tone, though Miho could swear she could hear someone sniffling. "Though the girls are too shaken to fight."

"Understood. Get the girls out of the tank and tend to the loader's wounds," Miho says back, before terminating the transmission. Sighing loudly, she dives back inside the tank. "Saori, did you contact the HQ?"

"Yeah, but it was really hard to understand what they were saying," Saori responds back to Miho, making a confused expression. "Most of the time I got static, but I managed to somewhat get a part of their transmission. It said to wait here, reinforcements and air support are on their way. ETA: 30 minutes."

"It's too long, though if we move now, we run the risk of getting ambushed again," she says. "And I don't think the girls can fight for much longer."

"The tension and the casualties are taking a toll on their mental health," Mako comments.

"Yeah. Saori, contact the artillery team and tell them to retreat back to the forward HQ."

"Ok," Saori responds, and starts fiddling with the radio. Miho just slumps on her seat, looking at the blue sky through her cupola's open hatch.

"Seems the weather got better," she murmurs to herself. "Though things will only get worse, before getting better."

"Don't be like that, Miss Nishizumi!" Yukari says cheerfully, trying to brighten up the mood. "I'm sure things will turn fine! We just need to wait for the reinforcements and then we will all be safe."

"She is right, Miho," Hana adds in, trying to cheer her friend up. "We just need to wait and-"

"Miporin, I can't get in contact with the artillery team!" Saori says urgently. "I only get static in response!"

Things just got worse, Miho thinks.

---

At the same time

Team B's side

"Erika, give me a casualty report," Maho says in her radio, looking at the edge of the forest.

"Yes,commander. The two T-34s are out of action, and one of the Panthers has been immobilized," Erika responds back, her voice slightly quivering.

"How are the crews of the T-34s?" she asks Erika, now looking at the M4 Sherman Crocodile from her sister's team, which is setting the edge of the forest on fire despite the enemy hasn't fired a single shot for the past few minutes.

"One of them got hit with a high-caliber HE shell, resulting in spalling inside the fighting compartment. Thankfully, their wounds are not that severe and the vests managed to absorb some of the shrapnel; their injuries are being treated, but it would be good to be checked by a doctor." Erika pauses for a moment, gulping audibly. "The other crew...received a penetrating hit on the turret. Both the commander and the gunner are dead. The others survived with minimum injuries, except for the loader, who is in critical condition. Nonna and Klara are trying to apply first aid, but she is bleeding a lot. I...don't think she'll make it..."

"Thank you Erika," Maho calmly answers. "Contact me if anything else comes up."

"Yes, commander!" Erika responds back, and then the line falls silent. Maho just stands halfway through the cupola of her Tiger, looking at the two empty T-34s, clenching her hand in frustration. She has lost two tanks and three girls, if we count the loader who is fast approaching her end. How could she be so careless and underestimate the enemy's power? First the decoy base they got lured into, then the ambush from the forest. The girls knew the risks of participating in a real battle, but simply knowing...cannot prepare you for this cruel reality...nothing can prepare you for such an outcome.

"Sister, can you hear me?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Maho pucks up the radio to respond to her sister. "I copy you, Miho. What's going on?"

"I can't get in contact with the artillery team, probably because the enemy is jamming our long range communications. Can you send the Luchs and the T-50 to check on them and inform them to fall back to the forward HQ?" she asks.

"Will do," Maho responds back.

"Also, reinforcements will arrive on our location in about half an hour," Miho says, making a small pause. "Please, Sister. Stay safe," she says in an almost pleading voice.

"Don't worry, I will. Stay safe too," she responds back, before terminating the transmission. By now, the light tanks and the Flakpanzer that were in the one kilometer mark have safely returned to their respective teams.

"Luchs, T-50, report in front of my tank," she orders in the radio, and after half a minute, both light tanks stop in front of Maho's Tiger.

"Orders, commander?" the Luchs commander asks loudly, having pulled herself halfway out of her tank, just like the T-50 commander has done.

"I want both of you to go to the artillery's team last known location and she if they are alright, since long range communications are being jammed. If they are okay, tell them to retreat back at Blackout's base, then come back to report. If they have been attacked, I want one of you to go back at Blackout's base and inform them about it, while the other one comes back to report. Take Ritaiko with you, in case you find enemies. Do NOT engage them unless it is necessary," she says to the commanders of the light tanks.

"Yes, commander!" the light tank commanders respond, before diving back to their tanks and driving towards the hill, along with one of the Jagdpanthers. Passing over the hill, they start making their way towards the artillery team's last location, which is approximately give kilometers away from their current position.

---

At the same time

Artillery team's location

The artillery team has stopped at the middle of a road that is wide enough to fit three tanks next to each other, with enough flat ground next to the road's both sides to fit another two tanks side by side. After that, there is a thick forest, though the trees have just enough spacing between them for a tank to squeeze through. In the middle of the road, there is the Sturmtiger, along with Pravda's SU-152s. The rest of the tanks are around them in a half-circle formation, with the light tanks staying closer to the SPGs, rather than the medium tanks.

Inside the Sturmtiger, there is complete silence, only the static of the radio echoing through the fighting compartment.

"We can still talk to the others near us, so someone must be messing with our long range communications," the commander of the Sturmtiger says, looking at the radio the tank has.

"Are you sure we should stay put?" the driver asks her. "What if the commander is in trouble?"

"She is right," one of the loader says. "We all saw that huge cloud of smoke that rose in the air, and even now, there are 2 plumes of black smoke rising in the sky. I think we should either return back to base, or go towards the teams."

"No. Unless we receive further orders, we won't move from here," the commander bluntly says, instantly shutting down the idea of relocating. "What if they suddenly ask for support and we are out of position? Are you willing to shoulder all the deaths and injuries that our actions could cause?" she asks her crew and everyone inside the tank falls silent.

"Commander, may I speak freely?" the radio operator asks, in which the commander nods. "I believe we should meet with the assault teams and merge with them. Not only we can't do anything from here, as communications with them have been lost, we are-"

*Boom*

*Crack*

*Fwoosh*

"What was that!?" the commander yells, as the radio gets filled with voices.

"One of the Shermans has been hit! I-It has caught fire!"

"I can't see anyone exiting!"

"Enemies on our left side! Multiple Chi-Nus!"

"I got enemies on the right si-"

*Crack*

*Fwoosh*

"We lost another tank!"

The Sturmtiger commander is at a loss, the whole situation being too much for her to handle, overwhelming her in mere moments.

"Commander, we need orders!" the driver yells, which manages to somewhat make the commander regain her senses.

"I want everyone to-"

*Clang*

The whole tank shakes violently as a shell bounces off of the frontal armor of the superstructure.
"Commander, two T-34-85s in front of us, no markings!" the radio operator/front machine gunner yells, firing the MG-34 at the two enemy tanks.

The commander loses no time and aims the huge 380 mm RW 61 rocket launcher L/5.4 at one of the targets and presses the firing pedal. The HE shell that exits the barrel literally rockets itself to the target, hitting the front of the turret and exploding. The force is so big, that the turret gets forcefully ripped off of the turret ring, sliding on the vehicle's engine deck and falling down on the ground. The second T-34-85 explodes in a brilliant orange fireball, as one of the SU-152s has managed to bear its gun on it and fire.

*Thump*

Several gray canisters exit through the forest canopy and into the air, before arcing and falling downwards among the artillery team's tanks. Clanging a few times on the asphalt of the road or bouncing on the flat, grassy ground around it, the canisters start releasing a green gas that quickly envelops the tanks and starts entering them.

Are they trying to obscure our vision? the Sturmtiger commander wonders in her mind, though she soon gets her answer.

"Comman-gah...cough, cough!" the driver manages to say before starting to cough uncontrollably, grabbing her neck like she is being suffocating.

"Yoko, what's-gah!" the commander grabs her throat too, having inhaled the green gas.

"P-Poison...gas!" one of the loaders croaks, feeling her throat swelling to the point where she is barely able to breathe. All of the girls start developing cracks on their skin, like it is drying, meanwhile bleeding from every orifice on their bodies. The blood vessels in their eyes start bloating and they start coughing blood uncontrollably.

"E-Everyone...cough,cough...make a run...for it!" the Sturmtiger commander croaks at the radio, but no one responds, though she spots one of the light tanks, Saunder's M22 Locust driving away towards the assault teams. The other tanks simply stand motionless, their crews probably already dead from this horrific bioweapon.

"D-Driver...get us out of here!" the commander manages to force the words out of her swelled throat, but she gets no response. "Y-Yoko, are you..." she trails off, as she sees that Yoko isn't moving at all. Bloody tears start falling from her eyes.

Y-Yoko...no...

Looking around her, everyone is motionless, not even breathing, clearly dead. Their bodies keep spewing blood, which starts pooling on the tank's floor. Looking through her sights, she can see the enemy tanks moving towards the direction of the Locust. She can feel every inch of her body burning, the pain overwhelming her, her consciousness fading. She is scared, she doesn't want die. She wants to live, to see her friends back on the carrier. She knew what she was getting herself into when she volunteered, but still...she wants to survive.

Though if fate has other plans for her, than so be it.

In her final moments, she decides that if she is to go down, she'll go down fighting till her last breath. Looking through the gun's sights, she finds a Chi-Ri stopping in front of her tank, its commander looking around at the carnage, his face unreadable through the gas mask he is wearing.
"If I am going to hell..." the commander starts saying. "...then I'm taking you with me."
As she is about to fire the rocket launcher, the bloated vessels in her eyes explode, the shock and pain knocking her out unconscious, letting her die from severe bleeding. But fate has already decided to grant her final wish,for her body falls on top of the firing pedal, pushing it down and firing the HE shell that is inside the launcher. The shell smashes at the side of the Chi-Ri and penetrates the flimsy side armor the tank has, detonating and literally popping the tank from the inside-out, the turret getting flung away, meanwhile the side from which the shell penetrated is no more present. As the gas clears, the only thing that remains are smoking wrecks and tanks with running engines, inside them hiding the gruesome fates of their crews.

---

In a lone road move two light tanks and a tank destroyer, racing towards the artillery team's last location, keen on finding whether they are still standing or have perished under the enemy's might. Both the Luchs and the T-50 are staying close to Ritaiko's Jagdpanther, their turrets scanning the forest that flanks their sides.

Since long range communications are being jammed, the three commanders had decided to maintain radio silence between them, in order to minimize the chances of getting detected by the enemy. Despite not having seen a single enemy for the past 7 minutes they have been moving on this dirt road, all of the crews are on high alert, scanning their surroundings again and again for even the slightest of hints that the enemy is going to ambush them.

"C-Commander...I'm scared," the loader of the Luchs whines softly, her body trembling slightly.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine," the commander says back to her loader, using the gun's sights to scan the surrounding area. "We just have to check on the artillery team's status and then proceed accordingly." She takes a moment to look at her loader. "Not too hard or scary, right?"

"B-But...what if the artillery team has been ambushed and suffered losses!?" the loader says loudly, panicking a little. "So many of us have died! I don't want to die! I just want to go back to the carrier and see my friends." The loader whines and sniffles a few times, wiping some of the tears that have formed on her eyes.

"Hey, hey, don't start losing it all of a sudden," the commander says to her loader, gently shaking her shoulder. "Look, I know how you feel. I am scared too and I think it is natural for a human to be scared when their life is in danger, but you don't see me crying or whining. You volunteered for this, despite knowing the risks." The loader just looks back at her commander, the tears in her eyes slightly obscuring her vision. "Just do your best and you'll be fine. I'll make sure of it," the commander smiles at her loader, who wipes her eyes and develops a determined expression.

"Thank you, commander!" the loader happily exclaims with a smile.

"Commander, in front of us!" the driver says in alarm, as she brings the light tank to a stop.

The commander rises halfway through the cupola and instantly feels her stomach churning. As the dirt road starts elevating, at its peak, there is a lone M22 Locust standing motionless. About 10 meters away from it is the body of a girl, her bloody clothes having left a trail of blood behind her, as she tries to crawl towards the Luchs, albeit in vain, as she doesn't have the strength to do so anymore. She just lies on the ground, barely conscious and coughing blood. Her eyes' blood vessels seem so bloated, you could think they would burst at any moment, the skin of her body full of cracks, like dried ground that hasn't received water in months.

Although the commander wants to avert her gaze and wish this is just a bad dream, the first thing she does is to jump off the tank and run towards the girl. Kneeling besides her, she turns her around and slightly lift the upper half of her body from the ground, supporting her with her hands.

"Hey, can you hear me? What happened to you!?" she asks the girl in alarm, seeing her blood seeping out from everywhere.

"P-Please...help me," the girl pleads in a strained voice, looking at the Luch's commander with her bloody eyes, the bloated blood vessels visible. "W-We were attacked...they...poison gas...everyone's dead," she says between her raspy and heavy breathing. She grabs the commander's right arm, looking at her with a desperate expression. "Please...help me... I...don't want to die..." she pleads, bloody tears rolling on her cheeks. The commander's own eyes start tearing, her brain trying as hard as it can to find a way to help the girl, but finding none.

Suddenly, the blood vessels in the girl's eyes burst, throwing a bit of blood on the commander's clothes.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" the commander screams in surprise, as she throws the girl's limp body away from her, crawling backwards instinctively. She starts hyperventilating, her widened eyes fixed on the dead body that is in front of her. Springing back to her feet, she immediately runs to her tank, entering through her hatch and closing it.

"C-Commander?" the loader asks slowly, seeing the commander's crying face. Even the driver looks at her in concern, her face a little pale since she was able to see the whole scene unfold through her vision port.

"Hey, what happened Satsuki? Are you alright?" a voice calls through the radio.

"Ritaiko, the girl is dead!" Satsuki answers back at the Jagdpanther's commander. "Her skin was full of cracks, and she was bleeding all over her body, and her eyes just suddenly exploded!" she yells at the radio, and everyone develops a terrified expression.

"W-What..." is the only thing Ritaiko can manage to say, as her mind completely blocks.

"She...she said that the enemy used poison gas to kill them!" she cries out, though her voice this time is full with nothing but anger and hate.

"Poison gas!?" Ritaiko asks back in disbelief.

"Yes! The whole artillery team was wiped out with poison gas that these fuckers used on them!" Satsuki curses. "Why would they do something so horrible!?"

"S-Satsuki, you need to calm down!" Ritaiko says quickly. "We need to return back to the commander and inform her as quickly as possible."

"Enemies in front of us!" the T-50's commander shouts in the radio as she spots two Chi-Nus appearing at the peak of the road, where the M22 Locust is.

"They are gonna pay for what they have done!" Satsuki yells and aims the Luchs' gun on the enemy tanks.

The Luchs opens fire first, roaring in anger as it spews 20mm rounds on the enemy tanks, only for the rounds to harmlessly bounce off the frontal armor. The T-50 opens fire and its 45mm APCR shell manages to penetrate one of the Chi-Nus, setting it on fire.

Then the monstrous 8.8 cm Pak 43/44 L71 cannon of the Jagdpanther gets fired and the other Chi-Nu explodes as it gets hit in its ammo rack.

"We need to leave now!" Ritaiko yells through the radio and all three tanks turn around and start running towards the two assault teams, as more Chi-Nu and Chi-Ri tanks start appearing, firing their cannons at the fleeing girls.

---

At the same time

Team B, Panther S

"Ah, isn't this a beautiful sight to behold?" Odysseus says, gesturing with both arms at everything in front of her. "The burning trees, the plumes of smoke, the corpses of both ally and foe, the desperate and devastated expressions of their friends," she sighs, looking at the person who is next to her. "It reminds me of things I want to forget."

"You know this isn't funny, right?" Annabelle frowns at her friend. Both girls are sitting at the edge of the Panther's engine deck, drinking some bottled tea and enjoying this small reprieve before the enemy attacks again. "Girls died, Odysseus. Girls that deserved to live," she says with a serious expression. Odysseus drops her goofy expression and adopts one of sadness.

"I know, I know, I was just trying to lighten the mood," she tries to defend herself.

"This isn't a laughing matter. We are talking about lost lives here," Annabelle reprimands her friend. "Look at them, Odysseus," Annabelle points at the three dead bodies of one of the T-34s crews, which have their faces covered with their Senshadou jackets. Several girls are around them, some crying and mourning, others praying, and others silently gazing at them." Do you think your little joke would be funny for them?"

"Sheesh, I get it, so chill out a bit," she says back to the redhead. "You know why I act like that. It's the only way I can cope with things like these."

"That doesn't mean that it is right." Sighing slightly, she sips some of her tea. "But I should apologize too. I might have overeacted a bit too much," Annabelle apologizes to Odysseus. "I just want for all of this to be a bad dream," she murmurs.

"Amen to that," Odysseus says, before drinking the rest of the tea her bottle has.

"Hey, Odysseus, I finished the shell-count," Tyler says as he pops out of the commander's cupola.

"Great timing Tyler!" Odysseus exclaims, happy he is here to provide a distraction from all the serious talk. "So, how is our situation?"

"Not that bad. We are running low on AP shells, but both HE and APCR shells remain at good levels," he informs the blonde girl.

"Hmm..." Odysseus hums, a thoughtful expression settling on her face. "Unless the enemy comes en mass, we should be fine. Though I think the HE shells would be useless against tanks."

"Speaking of tanks, do you think the enemy-"

"Hey, can you hear this?" Annabelle asks, interrupting Tyler from finishing his answer.

"Hear what?" both Tyler and Odysseus ask in unison.

"I can hear this faint, whistling noise, though I think it is getting louder."

"Are you sure you don't-" Odysseus starts saying, but then stops as she recognizes the sound, the empty tea bottle slipping from her hands and falling to the grassy ground.

"EVERYONE, GET INSIDE THE TANK NOW!" she yells as she stands up and drags Annabelle with her towards the cupola. Tyler instantly dives back inside the tank, the urgency and terror in Odysseus' voice a clear indicator that something bad is about to happen.

"Hey, what's the-" Annabelle tries to ask, when she spots several rockets falling from the sky, their launch point from somewhere inside the forest. Her body reacts on its own, as she finds herself diving inside the commander's hatch, landing on the metal seat and smearing dried blood all over her uniform and vest, sliding somewhat off the seat and hitting the ground with the upper half of her body. Odysseus too dives inside the tank, landing with her butt on top of Annabelle's butt, and sealing the cupola's hatch.

"Brace for impact!" she shouts, as several explosions occur both near and far from their Panther, which starts shaking considerably, especially when some of the Rockets land really close to it.

"What's going on!? Tyler asks in alarm, trying to grab from somewhere so he won't fall to the ground from all the shaking.

"Rocket barrage!" Odysseus responds back.

"What happens if one of the rockets hits us?" Reiji asks, keeping somewhat his cool even under these circumstances.

"Best case, we blow up! Worst case, we burn to death!" Odysseus groans, as she hits her shoulder on the side of the turret from all the shaking. "Ouch!"

"I feel like I'm going to get crushed!" Annabelle shouts, as Odysseus' shifting weight is starting to place a strain on her pelvis.

"Hey, I'm not that fat!" Odysseus pouts, like she is oblivious to what is happening around her.

"Now it's not the time for this, commander," Reiji says, as the explosions start dying out, then completely cease altogether. "It seems the explosions stopped."

"You don't say," Odysseus answers back sarcastically, pulling herself off of Annabelle and unsealing her hatch. Pushing it open and peeking out of it, she gawks at her surroundings, fear grasping both her heart and mind at what she is seeing. "It's just like back then," she whispers, but quickly pushes away any bad memories that may have resurfaced.

"This is so awful..." Annabelle gasps from her hatch, covering her mouth with her left hand. The landscape all around them is full of craters, slightly resembling the surface of the moon. Tanks burn brightly, as fires consume their wrecks and crew alike, with body parts lying everywhere, belonging to the unlucky few that got caught outside when the barrage hit. Two of the T-34-85s are burning brightly, their engine decks having being struck by the rockets and got completely destroyed, the immobilized Panther has popped like a heated corn seed and the IS-2 has lost most of its left suspension system. However, either by sheer luck or divine intervention, the Flakpanzer IV has survived, the worst its crew received being a shower of dirt.

Maho unseals her hatch, opens it and starts scanning her surroundings. She can see tanks in flames, with plumes of black smoke rising slowly in the sky, girls crying and running around as they try to tend to those who have been critically wounded.

"E-Erika, give me a casualty report," she calmly says through her radio, though her voice stutters for a moment. She just wants to cry, the pressure of seeing her underclassmen dying in such horrific ways being more than what she can handle mentally. Though the thought of what could happen if she let her emotions go rampant right now is the only thing that keeps her composed, as much as composed she can be in such a situation.

"We have lost both of the Panthers and the crew of a Tiger I," Erika starts reporting, her voice sounding a little bit strained. "The Maus has been completely immobilized and its main gun has been destroyed. Katyusha reports that she has lost 2 T-34-85s and the IS-2's transmission has been destroyed on the left side."

"Casualties?" Maho inquires, but Erika keeps silent for a few moments.

"...No survivors from the hit tanks..." she almost whispers.

"Thank you Erika. Please make sure that the injured girls are treated," Maho says, before terminating the transmission. Sighing deeply, she turns to look towards the direction where Miho's team is. Seeing smoke plumes rising slowly to the sky, she unconsciously picks up her radio.

"Miho, can you hear me?" she says in a voice full of worry, hoping that her sister is fine. But as the seconds pass and Miho doesn't respond, her heart starts beating faster, sweat forming on her forehead and something heavy weighing on her stomach. "Miho, can you hear me?" she says a little louder on the radio, but once again, she gets no response. Maho is about to order her driver to take them at Miho's side, when she finally responds.

"I can hear you, Sister," Miho says quickly, like she is in a hurry. "Sorry for the delay, but we got hit by a rocket barrage and it is a complete mess here."

"Are you okay?" Maho asks in concern.

---

"Yes, I'm fine; Most of the rockets missed us by a wide margin, but there were some that landed next to us," Miho answers as she surveys the damage that has been done all around her. "I'll contact you later; need to know the extent of the damage that has been done on the team. Stay safe."

"Stay safe too, Miho."

As Maho terminates the transmission, Miho contacts Darjeeling to ask about the condition of her forces. "Darjeeling, what is the status of your forces?"

"We got out of the barrage relatively unscathed. The undamaged Cromwell got both of its treads destroyed, so we can safely assume that it won't be able to move anymore. One of the Crusaders had its crew knocked out when one of the rockets landed next to it. Other than that, everyone is fine, albeit shaken," Darjeeling reports on the radio.

"Kay?" Miho asks, wanting a report from her too.

"We lost the Locust when one of the rockets landed directly on the back end of the engine deck, but thankfully the crew managed to escape before the tank was engulfed in flames," Kay says slowly, glad the crew didn't burn to death. "Other than that, we are all fine."

"Ok. Stand by for further orders," Miho says to them and then dives into the tank.

"Saori, any luck with contacting the HQ?" she asks Saori.

"Not yet," Saori answers back, still wearing her headset and fiddling with the radio frequencies. "Whatever they are using to jam our long range communications, it must be pretty powerful. I'm getting nothing but static."

"Keep trying. We may get lucky," she answers back.

Now what should we do? she wonders in her mind, trying to see what options she has available. The reinforcements won't arrive for another 10 to 15 minutes, which by itself isn't that much, but if we factor in the rocket barrage and that it might happen again... This feels so frustrating! Should we try and return back to the base or wait for the reinforcements? Having gotten stuck in this dilemma, she fails to notice the surprise on Saori's face.

"M-Miporin, I think I'm getting a signal!" Saori says excitedly and everyone turns to look at her.

Miho instantly puts her headset on her head, trying to listen at what is being transmitted.

"T...an...dly uni...se re...nd! ...are...d b...my...d...ar...i...i...ediat...ce!" she hears a voice saying, though the static is making it really hard to understand what it is saying.

"Saori, can you clear it?" Miho asks quickly, hoping this is a transmission from the base or the reinforcements.

"I'll try," she responds back.

"Can any...us!? W...ed assista...ately!" Miho hears this time. Although she cannot hear exactly what the voice is saying, she can feel the distress in it.

Waiting a few seconds longer, the signal starts becoming clearer by itself, until it clears to a certain level.

"Anybody, pl...respond!" a female voice yells.

"This is Miho Nishizumi," Miho starts speaking to the radio, but the female voice cuts her.

"Mi...zumi!? We have...emies chasing us! We are approaching the hill...aiko is in trou..."

Despite not being able to clearly hear what the girl is shouting, she gets the gist of what she is saying. "How far away are you from the hill?" Miho asks with a concerned voice, and everyone turns to look at her with worried expressions.

"We should...your sights at any moment now!" the girl shouts, with the signal having cleared considerably. At this, Miho pulls halfway through the cupola with a pair of binoculars and looks at the top of the hill their tank had been less than an hour before. Sure enough, two light tanks appear on top of the hill, a Luchs and a T-50, rapidly descending towards her.

"Where is Ritaiko?" she asks at the radio, remembering her sister saying to her that she sent the 2 light tanks along with Ritaiko's Jagdpanther.

"She sent us in front of her to ask for help!" the girl says.

"What about the artillery team?" Maho asks, having spotted the 2 light tanks that are running at full speed.

"They are gone! The enemy used poison gas to kill them!"

At this, everyone freezes in place. The sheer absurdity of the comment could make it look like a really bad joke, if it wasn't for the seriousness in the girl's voice.

"What..." Miho whispers in disbelief, her eyes slowly widening.

"While we were making our way to the artillery team's last known location, we found the M22 Locust and...and it was horrible!" the girl starts crying. "I-It's commander was...her skin was cracked and she was bleeding from everywhere!"

"If anyone can hear us, this is Ritaiko! My tank is being pursued by five enemy tanks! We are about to cross the top of the hill!" another voice cuts in, and Miho looks back at the hill and spots Ritaiko's Jagdpanther quickly descending it. About 200 meters behind her, 3 Chi-To and 2 Chi-Ri are trying to catch up with her, firing their cannons in hopes of getting a solid hit on the tank destroyer. "Please, someone help us!"

"We'll make those fuckers pay!" Odysseus' voice is heard through the radio and the Panther S, along with the two T-44, rush forward to Ritaiko's rescue. Even the T-50 and the Luchs turn around, trying to flank the enemy tanks or draw their attention away from the helpless Jagdpanther.

"Mother!" Ritaiko cries as a 75mm AP shell strikes the side armor of the superstructure and gets deflected due to the angle it lands, causing the whole vehicle to shake. The Jagdpanther keeps zig-zagging to throw off their pursuers' aim, and despite that, Ritaiko's hat is stubbornly staying on top of her short brown hair, her light brown eyes looking at the distance, hoping for someone to come and save them.

Suddenly, the sound of grinding steel is heard, as the vehicle shakes violently once more and the tank starts losing speed rapidly.

"We got hit in the engine!" the driver yells as the tank destroyer comes to a stop.

"Then how are we still alive!?" the loader yells.

"The shells must not have had enough penetration to pass through the engine block," the gunner calmly informs the loader.

"Enough chit-chat! We are abandoning the vehicle!" Ritaiko yells and opens her hatch to exit. As she pulls herself out of the tank and tries to crawl forward on the Jagdpanther's roof, machine-gun fire start peppering the rear of the tank, and one of the bullets manages to hit Ritaiko at the right shoulder, passing cleanly through it, but missing any major arteries. The gunner though isn't so lucky, as she receives a dozen bullets on her back and head, killing her instantly as witnessed by her body that falls inside the tank again.

"Gaah!" Ritaiko cries, as she manages to push her body in the tank's front and literally barrel down on the ground. "Aaagh!" she cries out as she lands on her wound, blood seeping out at a rather high rate.

Another shell strikes the back of the tank destroyer, this time the shell landing at the superstructure and piercing, the shrapnel storm that gets created inside the fighting compartment killing almost everyone.

Ritaiko stands up and clasps her wounded shoulder with her left hand, before starting to run towards one of the trenches that is about 70 meters away from her. Her eyes start tearing up as she hears yet another shell penetrating the tank destroyer, whose engine has been set on fire.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," she whispers as she runs away, adrenaline filling her body. Then, out of nowhere, an AP shell hits her leg just under the knee, completely mutilating her leg. In fact, it is so sudden that the only indication Ritaiko gets about it is a burning sentation just under her knee, the loss of balance, as she finds herself falling towards the ground, and her mutilated leg, which gets flown in front of her by the shell's force.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!" she screams on top of her lungs as the pain kicks in. Despite that, she still tries to crawl towards the trench, now being less than 20 meters away. One of the Chi-To is quickly approaching her, the crew seemingly wanting to crush Ritaiko under the tank's treads.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" Ritaiko cries out, feeling her strength fading away slowly, becoming increasingly difficult to drag her body. She can hear the Chi-To's engine getting louder and louder, her gruesome death fast approaching. "Someone, please save me! I don't want to die!" she screams desperately, hoping for a miracle to happen.

*Vrooooom*

And a miracle happens indeed, as Odysseus' Panther passes over her, the tank's ground clearance being just enough to not hit Ritaiko. The Panther rams the Chi-To, causing both vehicles to shake. The Luchs then flanks the rammed enemy and opens fire, its 20mm rounds punching through the flimsy side armor and detonating the ammo rack, resulting in a beautiful explosion that throws the turret in the air. The Panther reverses slightly and then shoots forward, its gun firing shell after shell at the other tanks that dare to enter in its line of fire.

As the Luchs go back to where Ritaiko is, the T-50 and one of the T-44 stop next to her too, the commanders jumping down to help Ritaiko and stop her bleeding.

"Ritaiko!" Satsuki yells as she jumps down on the ground and kneels next to her friend. Despite the horrific sight of her friend's lost leg, Satsuki gulps audibly, then proceeds to remove her vest and finally shirt.

"What are you doing!?" the T-50's commander asks incredulously. More cannon reports start feeling the air, as the Tigers try to snipe the enemy tanks from a distance of one kilometer away, with the shells successfully landing on the targets and destroying them.

"We need to stop the bleeding!" Satsuki quickly shouts back, as she ties her shirt tightly on Ritaiko's leg, in the area just above the knee. "This should reduce the bleeding somewhat," Satsuki says and motions to the other two commanders to help her get Ritaiko inside one of the tanks. "Let's get her in my tank! It has the most space!

"OK!" the other two respond, as Satsuki and the T-44 commander support Ritaiko and slowly walk her towards the Luchs.

"I'm so happy you came back, Satsuki," Ritaiko says weakly, smiling at her friend.

"You can thank me later for saving you. Now we need to get you somewhere safe," Satsuki says to Ritaiko. Reaching the Luchs, the T-50 commander climbs on the tank's engine and tries to lift Ritaiko up. After a bit of time and a lot of effort, they manage to get Ritaiko inside the Luchs, which surprised the loader, as evidenced by her yelp.

"Just get her back to the rest of the girls. I'll ride one of the other tanks back to you," Satsuki informs the driver from the top of her hatch. Jumping down, the Luchs and the T-50 start moving back to their team, while the T-44 stays back, just in case any enemies appear.

"Anyone called for a taxi?" Odysseus says loudly from the top of the Panther's turret, stopping next to Satsuki.

"You seem awfully calm and cheerful in this kind of situation," Satsuki comments as she climbs onto the engine deck.

"When you fight for too long, you just get used to these kinds of situations," Odysseus answers back with a grin.

The Panther, along the two T-44s start moving towards the teams, when Miho contacts Odysseus.

"Odysseus, get back to your team immediately, the enemy is attacking from the hill in great numbers!"

At this, both Odysseus and Satsuki turn to look towards the hill, only to see a swarm of Japanese WW2 tanks descending it, running towards them at full speed. Even more terrifying are the three behemoths that appear on top of it. Almost as tall as the Maus, these gigantic, oily green colored tanks have a main turret in the center, armed with some kind of large-caliber howitzer. At their front are two smaller turrets, of which one is armed with a 47mm gun, while the other with a 7.7mm machine-gun. On its rear there is one more turret, armed with two 7.7mm machine-guns.

"I think we just stirred up a hornet's nest..." Odysseus says rather quietly, feeling her blood draining from her face. Satsuki isn't fairing any better, her legs trembling considerably at the sight of almost thirty tanks rushing towards them.

"Has anyone any idea what these mobile bunkers are!?" she yells at the radio, now being less than three hundred meters away from the teams, which have been moving their tanks in formations.

"Yukari says they resemble an O-I superheavy tank, but the only prototype that was ever built was scrapped," Miho answers back.

"Then how the hell did these guys got in their hands three of them!?"

"Maybe someone is helping them? It could explain how they have so many troops," Kay joins in this little conversation, offering a rather plausible explanation.

"It is possible, though that only creates more questions," Darjeeling adds in. "Why would a third party aid them and with what motive? Where did they find the resources and facilities to build all of these tanks?"

"That's true! Nonna told me that these guys managed to build a factory in a week!" Katyusha informs the others. "She said she spotted some armed guys that wore white suits and full-face helmets!"

"Whatever the case, the enemy forces outnumber us, so a prolonged battle will not be in our favor," Maho speaks up, trying to revert the attention back to the matter at hand.

"We have more firepower, so we should be able to deal with them quickly," Kay says.

"We will know that soon enough. Everyone, wait for me to give the signal to fire; make sure to hit them; our ammunition situation isn't that good. Also, I want the Sherman Crocodile and the Churchill AVRE to move back to where the heavily injured are and try to shield them," Miho orders, and every tank that is still operable turns its cannon and points it at an enemy.

Miho carefully watches the enemy tanks as they pass the one kilometer mark, their cannons firing shells that either miss them, or harmlessly bounce off of the frontal plates of the tanks, the distance being too great for the AP shells to have enough kinetic force.

"Fire!" she yells and numerous thunderclaps echo in the air. Twenty enemy tanks go up in flames as they collide with a wall of shells. Despite that, the remaining ten keep charging towards the girls, their shells doing nothing more to them than simple paint-scratching.

"Enemy reinforcements incoming!" Kay shouts as she spots more enemy tanks descending the hill, along with trucks. "They seem to have trucks with them, probably infantry!"

"We need to move up, lest we want to put the injured in danger," Darjeeling says calmly.

"Agreed. Team B, move forward!" Maho says and everyone starts moving towards the enemy.

"Team A, advance!" Miho says on the radio and her team starts moving forward.

The ten surviving tanks of the first wave are quickly dealt with, the tanks from both teams passing their flaming wrecks and setting their sights on the reinforcements.

Having closed the distance to five hundred meters, both sides start exchanging shots, bent on destroying the opposition once and for all.

The R.I.J.A. forces suffer heavy losses in that opening salvo, as ten of their tanks get destroyed, while being unable to deal any significant damage back.

*Boom*

Well...almost no damage.

Maho looks in horror as the Tiger next to her gets blasted in the turret with an HE shell from one of the O-Is, the force of the explosion forcefully ripping it out from the turret ring and into the ground, the crew already dead from the shockwave.

Maho uses her hands to shield her face from the heat the explosion causes. Looking back at the now turret-less tank, she quickly grabs her radio to warn the others. "All units, concentrate fire on the O-Is!" she briefly stops speaking and dives into her tank, as machine-gun bullets start bouncing on her cupola. "They are using some kind of high-caliber howitzer, just like the KV-2 does!"

"Let Nonna and Nina deal with them!" Katyusha shouts back. "If we divert all of our attention to them, the rest of the enemy tanks will swarm us!"

"Just make sure you deal with them quickly!" Maho says back. Suddenly the whole tank shakes violently from side to side, as one of the huge HE shells lands next to their tank, the left tread and suspension holding up by a miracle.

"Nonna, Nina, target the big green tanks!" Katyusha says to the radio, peeking from the right side of her cupola's hatch, since it opens forwards.

"Da," Nonna simply answers.

"Yes, commander Katyusha!" Nina answers back, and both the IS-3 and the KV-2 turn their turrets to aim their cannons at the O-I that is closer to them. Firing at the same time, the IS-3's 122mm AP shell manages to penetrate through the heavily armored, hexagonal turret of the superheavy tank, hitting the ammo rack and setting the shells on fire. Moments later, the KV-2's huge HE shell lands on the front of the hull, and the O-I stops moving altogether.

"First O-I down!" Katyusha yells, but the victory is short-lived, as one of the T-44s get hit in the upper hull plate by one of the O-Is and pops like a balloon.

To make matters worse, an even more dangerous for appears out of nowhere.

"Can anyone else hear blade rotors?" Katyusha asks and looks behind her, only to find to two Mil-Mi 24D Hinds fast approaching them. "Enemy helicopters on our rear!" she yells and dives back inside her tank. The helicopters perform a strafing run and fire their rocket pods, but only manage to destroy the remaining T-44 and create a lot more craters on the already scarred ground.

One of the helicopters heads towards the hill, while the other turns around and hovers in front of Maho's forces.

Maho freezes at the sight of the helicopter, as she spots what looks like missiles being launched from it. In less than four seconds, the rest of the Tiger Is, except hers, and a Königstiger get obliterated, the anti-tank missiles hitting their mark successfully. Maho looks through her cupola's vision ports in stunned silence, being unable to process what has just happened.

As the Hind gets ready to fire its rocket pods, a flurry of 20mm API shells rip it to shreds, the quadruple 2cm Flak 38 of the Flakpanzer hitting it in the fuselage and cockpit, turning it into Swiss cheese in less than six seconds. With no pilot to maintain control, the helicopter banks sideways and dives on top of the second O-I, resulting in a brilliant explosion that destroys both vehicles.

"Commander, are you alright!?" the Flakpanzer commander asks hastily in the radio, which Maho doesn't hear at first, her mind stuck at how easily four heavily armored tanks have been destroyed in such a small time-frame, along with their crews. "Commander!"

"Ah, y-yes, I'm alright. Keep track of the other Hind and try to shoot it down if you get the chance," she quickly answers back, though her voice stutters a little.

More enemies start pouring from the hill, the battle turning in favor of the R.I.J.A. as time passes on. And while Team B, or what remains of it, can barely hold the enemy forces from overrunning them, Team A has found themselves in a precarious position.

"Gunner, target the enemy at nine o'clock!" Rosehip says at the gunner, trying to keep her tea from spilling out of its cup.

"There are enemies everywhere!" the gunner says back, shooting at the side of a flanked Chi-To, the shot connecting and penetrating. "This one's down!"

A sneaky Chi-Nu that has taken advantage of the chaos has found itself directly behind Rosehip's Crusader, though it gets blown to oblivion by the modified Easy 8s, who are a few meters behind it.

Rosehip turns around just in time, as the last O-I hits one of the Easy 8s, the tank falling silent with a huge scorch mark on its front. "Driver, keep maneuvering! If we get hit by that thing, we are dead for!" she says to her driver, who keeps zig-zagging to avoid return fire from the enemy tanks.

"To all units, enemy infantry is using RPGs. Avoid them at all costs!" Miho's voice is heard through the radio, which makes Rosehip to develop a perplexed expression.

"RPGs? What are these exactly?" she wonders aloud.

"Rosehip, in front of us!" the driver yells and Rosehip spots a man rising from one of the trenches, holding a weird, shoulder-mounted weapon. The soldier fires it, and a warhead is propelled forward, aimed directly at the Crusader.

"Driver, hard left!" Rosehip yells in shock, after recognizing the weapon. The tank literally drifts to the left, the treads holding somehow under the strain of drifting. The RPG warhead misses the tank by a hair's width and hits the ground next to it.

"Take us back to Darjeeling!" she commands, and the tank starts moving back to the Churchill VII, which seems to have its own problems.

"Assam, two targets at eleven o'clock, closing in fast," Darjeeling says somewhat calmly, holding with her right hand a cup of tea.

"On it," Assam responds back, aiming the Churchill's cannon at the fast approaching Chi-Nus. Firing, she strikes the Chi-Nu on the left, the shell passing through the frontal armor with ease. As it slowly comes to a halt, either because the transmission got damaged or the driver is dead, Assam shoots another shell, this time on its turret, to make sure most of the crew has been taken out. The Chi-Nu on the right fires and its shell strikes the Churchill square on the front of the turret, but simply dents it a little at the impact point.

"Up!" the loader, who is replacing Orange Pekoe for this operation, says loudly, announcing the cannon is loaded. Assam aims at the remaining Chi-Nu and fires, this time hitting its ammorack and blowing it up in the air.

"Targets destroyed," Assam declares.

"Assam, target the enemy tanks on our left. Driver start moving backwards," Darjeeling orders, when she spots a sneaky Chi-Ri on her right. "Target on our three o'clock! Driver, traverse right!" she yells as the Chi-Ri fires and its shell strikes the side of the turret, exploding and leaving a big scorch mark. The whole Churchill shakes violently, its crew getting stunned momentarily.

"Are they firing HE!?" Assam says incredulously, keeping her face glued on the gunner's sight, ready to fire the moment the crosshairs fall upon the enemy.

"We aren't going to get lucky again, so make the shot count," Darjeeling says in a calm tone, though her right hand starts trembling from all the tension. It's a race against time for both combatants. Will the Churchill manage to bear its cannon on the enemy and fire first, or will the Chi-Ri manage to reload first?

"We aren't going to make it," Assam murmurs, sweat forming on her forehead. The Chi-Ri aims its cannon at the front driving will and fires, the AP shell badly denting it and destroying the right tread.

"The right tread has been destroyed!" the driver yells as the Churchill starts turning a lot slower. To make matters worse, the Chi-Ri starts circling around, stopping exactly behind the heavy tank and firing. The shell penetrates and sets the engine on fire, but thanks to the protective/fireproof wall between the crew compartment and the engine block, the girls pull through relatively unscathed.

"We are losing power!" Assam yells as the turret starts rotating slower and slower. The Chi-Ri elects to stay behind the Churchill and fire another shell in the engine to make sure the tank has been completely disabled, but before it can do just that, Rosehip's Crusader rams it in the front with enough force to move it backward, resulting in two things. First, the shell that gets fired from the Chi-Ri hits the edge of the engine block at such an angle, that it ricochets. Second, the Chi-Ri gets moved enough to stop in front of the Churchill's cannon. Assam fires just moments before the tank losses all power, and the shell hits the ammo rack, causing the shells to explode and the turret to be sent up in the air, before falling down on the ground, next to its burning body.

"We've lost all power, but the target is down," Assam sighs in relief.

"Everyone, exit the tank and take cover behind it," Darjeeling orders quickly.

As the girls exit through their respective hatches and take cover behind its right side, Darjeeling makes sure to pack the tea set, since it would be such a shame for such fine porcelain cups to be left here. Having packed the tea set, she pushes it out of the tank through her cupola, letting it rest on the turret's roof, then pulls herself out. Looking at her left for the tea set, she sees Rosehip's Crusader, and about a hundred meters away, the O-I aiming at her.

"Rosehip, get out of here now!" she yells, motioning frantically at her to move the tank away, but it is too late.

The O-I fires it's howitzer and the huge HE shell lands next to the Crusader, the force of the explosion causing it to roll on its roof, parts of the suspension flying everywhere, along with dirt and chunks of ground. One particular piece from the treads flies next to Darjeeling's head, almost hitting and crushing it. Darjeeling instinctively dives back to the tank, before emerging again from it and jumping down on the ground.

"Rosehip!" she yells as she runs to the overturned Crusader, which is resting on its left side. The O-I simply turns its turret to another target, seeing as the girls aren't a threat anymore. "Rosehip, are you okay!?"

Reaching the tank, she spots the hatch next to the driver's seat opening, and a girl with chestnut colored hair falling out of the tank, landing on her back.

"Ouch!" she groans, as she tries to push herself off the ground.

"Are you okay?" Darjeeling asks as she scans the girl's body. Her clothes are ripped in some places and her legs have multiple bruises, but other than that she seems fine. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"I-I'm fine Miss Darjeeling. I must have sprained my ankle, that's all," the girl replies back, sitting on the ground. "But the rest of the crew is knocked out, and I think Rosehip has hit her head."

"Darjeeling!" Assam shouts as she and the rest of the Churchill crew rush to her location. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"The girl here has sprained her ankle and the rest are knocked out inside the tank," Darjeeling responds quickly. "Take the girl back to where the wounded are; I'll try to move out of the tank the rest of the girls."

Without wasting another second, Darjeeling enters the overturned Crusader, so Assam does as she has been instructed, while the driver and the loader of the Churchill wait to carry the rest of the unconscious girls.

---

"Miho, if we don't do anything, we will be overrun completely!" Miho hears Kay's voice yelling through the radio, the sounds of gunfire and cannon reports echoing in the background.

"We need to hold on for five more minutes!" Miho answers back, looking through her cupola's vision ports for enemies. "Hana, target at ten o'clock, one hundred and twenty meters."

"I don't know if we can hold for five more minutes!" Kay answers back, her voice slightly panicky.

"Saori, any luck with contacting HQ?" Miho asks.

"No luck thus far. And I can't contact the supposed reinforcements either. Seriously, where are these guys doing!?"

Miho is thinking furiously for a plan that could save them right now, even if it is a crazy one, like the one that was used to take down the Maus. Gambling on the reinforcements arriving on their time has costed them dearly, as a lot of the girls have either been injured or have died in horrible ways. And these lives have been lost thanks to her decisions. And because of her, most likely her friends will perish too.

Though something weird happens that gets her attention. The enemy... has stopped firing and even moving.

"To all units, cease fire immediately!" Miho says on the radio. An eerie silence permeates through the air, only the sound of running engines and rotor blades being heard.

"What just happened?" Katyusha asks, baffled by this turn of events.

"I bet the enemy finally acknowledged our superiority and decided to let us go," Odysseus jokes playfully.

"This is NOT the time for jokes!" Erika angrily answers.

"Whatever the case," Miho says quickly, in order to make sure no quarrel will develop between the girls, now of all times. "I believe we will know soon enough."

"To the leader of the enemy forces. I'm General Tatsuhito, one of R.I.J.A's leaders. I ask that you surrender your forces, lest you want for this bloodbath to continue," a voice is heard saying through the radio.

"Miporin, they are transmitting to the open channel!" Saori says back.

"Change to the open channel," Miho says to Saori, before picking her radio to speak. "General Tatsuhito, this is Nishizumi Miho, current leader of the combined Blackout/School Carrier forces. If we do surrender, can the safety of my forces be guaranteed?"

This come as a real shock to everyone, since Miho is implying that she is thinking about surrendering.

"Miss Nishizumi-!" Yukari tries to speak, but Miho motions her to remain quiet.

"A Nishizumi, huh? No wonder why it took most of our forces to corner you. Well, Miss Nishizumi, it depends on the course of action you take."

"Give me some time to think about it."

"You have 3 minutes to decide," Tatsuhito says in a neutral voice.

"Mihosha, you can't be serious! After what they did, you want to surrender!? They must pay for the blood of our friends that has been shed!" Katyusha yells, furious at Miho for even considering something so cowardly as the act of surrendering.

"I have to agree with her, Miho," Odysseus says in a serious tone. "His answer about our safety was really vague. I bet this guy has a plan for us, which is either bad or really bad."

Miho motions to Saori to change back to the team's frequency.

"Listen Odysseus, I'm sure he is planning to do something with us, but we simply don't have any other choice. The reinforcements that should have arrived 10 minutes ago are nowhere to be seen, we are running low on ammunition and fuel and too many of us have died already. If surrendering means that the rest of the girls get to live another day, then so be it," Miho answers back a bit harshly, the stress and fatigue finally catching up with her. "It will also buy us more time until the reinforcements arrive."

---

"You are the leader, you get the final say," Odysseus answers and puts the radio down.

"This is going to be one hell of a day," she murmurs to herself. Sighing deeply, she covers her eyes with her right hand momentarily.

"You can't blame her for making this decision," Reiji says to Odysseus. He keeps peering through the gunner's sights, aiming the cannon in one of the numerous enemy tanks, just in case negotiations fail.

"We surrender," Miho's voice echoes through the radio.

"Goodbye mercenary life, welcome afterlife," Tyler says dejected, his face being really grumpy.

"Aren't you an optimistic one..." Annabelle deadpans, having turned to look at Tyler.

"Excellent. I ask that you have the crews of the tanks exit them and stand in front of them," Tatsuhimo answers back.

"Annabelle, Tyler, go and stand in front of the tank; me and Reiji have something to do," Odysseus says with a slight smirk on her face.

"What are you planning?" Tyler asks with a frown, not sure what crazy plan his commander has thought this time.

"Let's just say that Reiji will be doing a little cosplaying as a WW2 Japanese soldier."

---

Miho puts down the radio and covers her face with both hands, really irritated that today nothing has gone as planned.

"I'm really sorry, girls, but it is the only way to make sure that more of us won't die and buy more time till the reinforcements arrive," Miho apologizes, her face adopting a bitter expression.

"Don't worry Miho, we understand," Hana says softly with a smile, grabbing with her right hand Miho's left shoulder.

"Don't worry Miss Nishizumi, I'm sure the others will understand too!" Yukari says cheerfully, trying to lift her commander's spirit.

"Wherever you lead us, we shall follow till the bitter end," Mako adds with a smile. "Like one and a half years ago."

"What Mako said!" Saori chimes in.

"Couldn't you say something more original?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you took all the good lines!"

Miho giggles a little, feeling a lot better. "Thanks, all of you. I really appreciate your words."

All of the girls smile at her, glad their commander is feeling better.

"Well, time to get out and see how much more time we can buy," Miho says in a serious expression. All the girls proceed to exit their tank and stand in front of it, waiting for further orders.

As Miho looks around, she can see that the enemy forces far outnumber hers, with twenty tanks, twenty-five trucks, infantry and an assault helicopter filling the battlefield, making her feel a little bit better for her decision to surrender...for now.

"They are so many!" Saori whispers in alarm, seeing just how many enemies there are.

"Don't forget the helicopter," Mako points at the hovering helicopter that keeps its 12.7mm nose gun trained on the girls. "And the rocket artillery that is hiding somewhere in the forest."

"Oh yeah, I had totally forgotten about them," Yukari says in surprise.

"Hey, stop pushing me! I can walk, you know."

Turning towards the origin point of the voice, they spot some of the enemy soldiers guiding the girls towards the center of the field.

"Excuse me, girls," they hear a man saying and turning forwards, they find a man with a WW2 uniform and an assault rifle. "I'll ask you to go towards the center of the field, where the rest of the girls are going. If you refuse to do as you are told, force will be used," he informs them, and the girls nod in response, complying with his orders.

"Seems like they are rounding us in one location to make sure no one tries anything funny," Mako says quietly to Miho, so that the man that "escorts" them won't overhear her.

"Seems like that," Miho answers back, then a question pops in her mind. "Excuse me, sir, but what about our wounded?" she turns slightly and asks the man.

"We send some of our medics to try and treat those that are heavily wounded, and a couple men to keep watch over them if they can't be moved."

"Aren't you awfully nice..." Mako comments sarcastically.

"Mako, you shouldn't say such things!" Saori scolds Mako for her comment, since they aren't exactly in the best of positions right now. The soldier says nothing, though he seems to be a little irritated.

As Miho and her team reach the point where the rest of the girls have been gathered, they spot another helicopter, identical to the one that is hovering close to them, approaching quickly from the hill and landing about forty meters away from them.

The ramp on the back of the helicopter opens, and from inside of it exit three men. One of them is quite obese and wears a really fancy WW2 era uniform and a peaked hat, while being flanked in both sides by the two other men that wear the standard WW2 I.J.A. uniform and hold from an assault rifle each.

"Girls, you stay here, " Miho orders her friends and then starts walking towards the obese man, who has stopped about twenty meters away from them. Although the soldiers are not raising their weapons, they do track her every step with their eyes, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"Miho," Miho hears her sister calling her name, so she stops walking and turns to look back.

"Sister?" Miho asks as Maho reaches her.

"As the commander of the second team, i feel I'm obligated to participate in these "negotiations"," Maho says and Miho nods in understanding. Reaching the obese man and his bodyguards, Miho, like her sister, adopts a stoic expression, her face betraying no emotions whatsoever.

"You must be General Tatsuhito," Miho says in a neutral voice, looking at him with cold eyes.

"And you must be Nishizumi Miho," the obese man says in an equally neutral tone, looking at Miho and her sister. "And who this girl might be?" he inquires about Maho.

"The sub-leader," Miho responds curtly, not wanting to give him any information about her sister.

"I see. Well then, shall we-"

"Hey, don't drag me like that, you'll wrinkle my uniform!" Odysseus' obnoxious voice is heard through the battlefield and everyone turns to look at her. She is being dragged by a young boy with brown hair and hazel eyes that wears a WW2 uniform and a peaked hat, whom Miho is quick to recognize as Reiji.

What in the world are these two doing? Miho wonders incredulously in her mind, perplexed by what her eyes are seeing.

"You can't expect me to jump over this trench, do you?" Odysseus points at the trench that is a few steps behind Miho and Maho, her face dead serious.

"Move it, or I'll slash your throat," Reiji threatens, raising a calvary sword that he holds in his right hand and pointing it at Odysseus throat. Except for Miho and her team, no one has recognized who this boy really is, so most girls look either with curiosity or worry at what is going to happen next.

"Fine, fine, I'll jump," Odysseus pouts cutely at him, then jumps over the trench. "Oh, hey you two!" Odysseus waves at Maho and Miho.

"Odysseus, what are you doing here?" Miho asks in concern.

"You know, came to see who the new guy is," Odysseus cheerfully points at Tatsuhito, which earns more than a few glares from the soldiers, and plenty of perplexed looks or facepalms from the girls.

"Sir, I found this girl hiding behind one of the tanks. She claims to be one of the sub-leaders," Reiji informs and salutes Tatsuhito.

"At ease, officer," Tatsuhito says at him, so Reiji relaxes his posture.

"A private, Sir, not an officer," Reiji bows slightly at the general. "This hat is a family heirloom that was handed to my family by my great grandfather, who was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War 2."

"I believe he would have been proud seeing you doing your country such a great service."

"I'd like to believe he would have been."

"Were you part of the defence forces?"

"Yes sir, though I was knocked out during the attack."

"I see. Then private, I believe you have earned a reprieve," Tatsuhito says.

"With all due respect, Sir, I'd like to stand guard next to the girls, in case they try to do anything that may be harmful for you," Reiji bows.

"Very Well, Private, I'll allow it," Tatsuhito says, then turns his attention back to Miho. "Where was I? Ah, yes. I have a proposition for you, Miss Nishizumi."

"A proposition?" Miho asks curiously, albeit with a twinge of hesitation.

"Yes. Since you and your forces have demonstrated outstanding skills in combat, I'd like for you to join our cause. In exchange, I'll personally guarantee for your safety."

"I refuse," Miho instantly shoots back, not giving the proposal even a moment of thinking.

"That is regrettable," Tatsuhito says and turns to face Maho, crossing his hands behind his back. "Would you consider my offer?"

"No," Maho curtly replies, her stoic expression never changing.

"I'm interested," Odysseus says out of the blue, raising her right hand like she is in school. Both Miho and Maho turn to look at her in shock, unable to grasp why she would ever say such a thing.

"What are you doing, Odysseus!?" Miho gawks at the blonde girl, who turns to look with a confused expression, tilting her head slightly to the left.

"What do you mean, Miho?" she asks. "I'm doing whatever I can to keep my crew safe."

"So, you will betray your friends and your organization?" Maho asks in disgust, as Odysseus walks in front of Tatsuhito. Naturally, this draws the looks of the rest of the girls, who wonder what is going on.

"Hey, I'm a mercenary. I only pledge allegiance to the highest bidder," she says, making a shrug. Turning back to Tatsuhito, she smiles at him. "So, if I join you, will you guarantee my crew's safety? They are a girl with red hair and green eyes, and a boy with blond hair and blue eyes."

"I will guarantee their safety, but," Tatsuhito retrieves a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum from a holster strapped on his right leg, and hands it to Odysseus. "You have to show your loyalty to the cause."

Odysseus looks for a moment at the revolver, then on Tatsuhito. "I understand," she says in a neutral voice and switches the revolver's safety to off.

"Odysseus, what did he give you?" Miho asks in concern, but no response is given back.

"Hey, Miho," Odysseus says slowly, her voice as cold as snow. She quickly turns and points the revolver at Miho's abdomen, her eyes betraying no emotions, clear of any hint of guilt, remorse, desperation or even killing intent. "Do me a favor and die."

"What-"

She never finishes speaking, as the revolver is fired and a powerful .44 Magnum bullet strikes her square in the gut with such force that she gets lifted in the air a few millimeters above the ground, before falling down and rolling inside the trench that is a few steps behind her, disappearing from everyone's vision.

Each and every one of the girls looks at Odysseus' direction with shocked expressions, their eyes as wide as they can be. Even Reiji is barely able to keep his acting, his hands trembling ever so slightly, don't expecting this at all.

"Mihoooo!" Maho screams in terror, her stoic expression shattering like a mirror instantly. She tries to run towards Miho, but Odysseus grabs her by the back of the collar of her shirt and pulls her down on the ground, before pressing her left foot against her chest, and aiming the barrel of the revolver on her face.

"Anyone moves or even twitches, I'll introduce her brains to the ground!" she says loudly and all the girls freeze in place. Odysseus can feel the death glares from them, and how some would love to wrap their delicate fingers around her neck and squeeze as hard as they can, but this barely affects her. If anything, she finds it kinda annoying.

"Y-You, why would you do something like that!?" Maho yells, trying to move Odysseus foot from her chest, her face showing nothing but anger. "She was your friend! How could you kill her!"

"Shut up, you will ruin my performance," Odysseus replies with a bored expression, then steps off Maho and turns to Tatsuhito to give him his revolver back. "Is this enough to show my loyalty to your cause?"

"For now it is. Follow me; we have much to discuss," Tatsuhito nods, then turns to the man on his right. "Have the men subdue the girls and load them into the trucks. If they won't join us willingly, we will make them to."

"Yes sir!" the man salutes and runs off to inform the rest of the soldiers.

Tatsuhito then turns to walk back to the landed Hind, accompanied by a soldier to his left.

"Reiji," Odysseus says and signals him subtly to take down the escorting soldier, while she unsheaths her knife and walks behind Tatsuhito. Reiji points his sword at the back of the soldier's neck and thrusts it with as much force as he can, causing the blade to cleanly pass through it. Odysseus then grabs Tatsuhito and places a knife in his throat.

"OK, everyone stop moving!" she yells, and all the soldiers look at her in surprise, instantly raising their weapons to aim at her. Reiji simply stands besides Odysseus, resting his sword's blade against Tatsuhito's abdomen.

Now the girls have even more confused faces than before, trying to understand in which side Odysseus really is.

"I thought we had a deal," Tatsuhito frowns.

"Well, I never accepted your offer. Plus, who would accept such offer? Your cause is just a pipe dream," she smirks at him, as she looks at the soldiers, the tanks, and the helicopter that are aiming their weapons at her. "When you have a PMC like Blackout running around, you'd need more than obsolete tech to destroy them."

"So, it was all an act to get near me," Tatsuhito makes a guess and Odysseus smirks even more.

"Correct!" Odysseus laughs a little. "Aren't you a bright one?"

"You have no honor. To use your friend like an expendable pawn in order to have a chance to corner me... You disgust me."

"I mean, honor and pride won't fill my stomach or stop bullets from hitting me," Odysseus shrugs. "Plus, I view these girls as nothing more then assets, tools to be wielded in order to advance my own agenda."

To say that the girls aren't happy with her choice of words would be the understatement of the century, but she seems oblivious to the fact that she is digging her own grave.

"Hmph, so you are one of those people who like to manipulate others."

"You are right in the fact that I do like seeing people dancing at the palm of my hand, but it's not my main method of dealing with problems," she says softly and her face darkens considerably, a twisted grin etching itself on her face. "What I really love is spilling blood." This send shivers up the spines of anyone who can she her face.

"Commander," Reiji says, hearing a light buzzing noise that rapidly gets louder and louder. Everyone starts looking all over the sky, trying to find the noise's source.

"Well, it seems the angels have descended upon the Earth to punish you, General. Let us witness the fall of a mighty empire together, as your sun sets forever," she whispers, as three jets appear out of nowhere and perform a bombing run, destroying most of the enemy units and shooting down the enemy Hind. Then they change into VTOL mode and start engaging any remaining units, as four massive helicopters appear, along with four Apache Longbows that escort them. The girls take this moment to run back at their tanks and take cover behind them. Exceptions are Maho and Miho's team, who rush into the trench where Miho disappeared, presumably dead.

"Well then, since that is out of my way, let's get to the fun part where you tell us everything you know." Odysseus pushes Tatsuhito on the ground, then extends her right hand towards Reiji. "Reiji, if you would."

Reiji hands Odysseus his sword and she uses it to stab Tatsuhito on his right side with enough force that the blade passes through him and gets lodged a few centimeters on the ground, effectively pinning him on it.

"Aaaaagh!" he screams in pain, feeling his blood slowly trickling through his wounds.

Odysseus takes his revolver and goes in front of him, sitting on the ground with crossed legs. "Well then, how about we play a quiz? I'll ask you three questions, and if I like the answer, I'll give you one hundred points. If you manage to get three hundred points, I won't kill you, but should I not like the answer, I'll shoot one of your elbows or knees, so you better behave!" she says cheerfully, waving a finger at him.

"Commander, aren't you taking this too far?" Reiji asks in concern, seeing that his commander is treating an interrogation like a game.

"Nah, it's totally fine," Odysseus waves her hand dismissively. "Why don't you go check on Annabelle and Tyler, or even change your uniform, before anyone shoots you?" she asks, so Reiji goes away. "Now then, let the game begin!"

"You are sick to the head!" Tatsuhito growls.

"Of course! After all, I have more than a few loosened screws on my head," she laughs and points the barrel of the revolver on her head for a second, then raises a single finger. "Question number one. What would you have done with the girls after loading them in the trucks?"

"We would take them in one of our secret bases, then brainwash them to join us. If they still refused, we would keep them confined in the base, until they would either join us or die."

"What an honest answer. One hundred points to you! Question number two. Where are the rest of your buddies?"

"I will never-"

Odysseus fires the revolver at his right elbow, the bullet completely destroying it.

"Wrong answer. But since I'm so benevolent, I'll give you one more chance," Odysseus says over the man's screams, pressing the revolver's barrel on his forehead. "Now talk."

"F-Fine, I'll talk, I'll talk. The rest of the high-ranking members have evacuated in China and Australia," Tatsuhito says, trying to withstand the pain of his destroyed elbow that is slowly numbing.

"Good boy. Here's another hundred points for you," Odysseus says playfully. "Now, onto the final question! Who the fuck gave you enough resources and manpower to build these fucking things, cause I'm sure there are no WW2 tanks lying around for you to salvage. Not to mention the Hinds."

"A...An unknown organization approached us a few months ago and offered to help us with our plan to unite Japan. We were reluctant at first, but seeing that the PMC known as Blackout was a lot stronger than expected and that the JSDF was still kicking, we ultimately accepted their offer," Tatsuhito answers Odysseus' question.

"Perfect! Here are another one hundred points! That's three hundred points in total. Congratulations, you get to live for another day!" she exclaims, but cocks the hammer of the revolver back. "Is what I'd normally say, but you get a penalty of minus one million points for all the girls you killed." Her face remains as innocent as a kid's, yet her eyes are empty, devoid of any emotion.

"Just who you really are?" Tatsuhito groans, looking Odysseus straight in the eyes, feeling his very soul trembling in fear.

"Who I am?" Odysseus repeats, making a pondering expression and tilting her head slightly. "You could say I am one of Death's many daughters, tasked with reaping the souls of those who must die." Her face gradually gets emotionless, just like her eyes, and her voice turns apathetic. "I am a Grim Reaper known as White." Odysseus then stands up and speaks one final phrase, ready to fire the handgun. "May your afterlife be a snowy plain of eternal silence."

"You have gone far enough, Odysseus," Annabelle says with a serious tone from the right side of her and grabs her right wrist tightly.

"Let go of my hand, Annabelle," Odysseus says in an equally serious tone, glaring daggers at her friend.

"Or else what? You'll shoot me too?"

"If I have too."

"Try me," Annabelle dares Odysseus and lets off her hand. Odysseus instantly snaps her aim at Annabelle's head. "Come on, pull the trigger! We don't have all day, you know!"

Odysseus looks at Annabelle one more time, then puts the revolver's safety on and throws it away.

"Seems like nothing scares you," she jokes, but Annabelle is barely amused. "OK, I'm sorry for acting like that," she quickly apologizes.

"Don't apologize to me, but to Miho and the others," Annabelle says quickly with a frown, pointing at the part of the trench where Miho had fallen.

"Fine, I'll go after-"

"Youuuu!" someone yells and tackles Odysseus on the ground.

"Gaaah!" Odysseus yells in pain, as she gets tackled on top of a protruding rock, which hits her on the right side of her lower back. Looking at who tackled her, she finds Erika on top of her, an expression of pure hatred on her face, tears running from her eyes.

"How could you kill her like that!?" she yells and punches Odysseus on the face. "She was your friend and comrade, wasn't she!?"

She tries to land another hit, but this time Odysseus catches her fist and punches her in the face with enough force to make her get off of her. The fight attracts the curiosity of most of the girls, trying to understand what is going on.

"I didn't kill her, you brainless guard dog!" Odysseus groans loudly, gritting her teeth in response to the pain she is feeling. Annabelle rushes to her side and helps her to stand up.

"But you shot her in cold blood!" Erika shouts back. "Like it was nothing! You don't even have a single shred of remorse or guilt for your actions!"

"My actions are what saved all of us! If it weren't for what I did, you would have been loaded into the trucks and taken only God knows what place, not to mention what they would do to you!" she harshly says back.

"Erika, stand down!" Maho orders her vice-commander. She and Yukari are supporting Miho, since she still can't stand on her own, with the rest of the Anglerfish waiting at the edge of the trench to pull her up. "Miho is alive; the vest stopped the bullet and absorbed most of its force."

"See? I knew that she wouldn't die!" Odysseus points at Miho, who seems to be in pain.

"And how on earth did you know that!?" Erika asks incredulously.

"I've heard a rumor back at base that-"

"You based everything on a rumor!?" This time Erika gawks at her, unable to believe what she is hearing.

"Erika, come and help us out," Maho says loudly at her, so Erika glares at Odysseus one final time, before walking towards her commander and the rest.

"Bunch of unappreciative pussies, each one of them," Odysseus frowns.

"Well, you did pull an extremely risky and crazy plan, as usual," Tyler says, as he and Reiji approach her and Annabelle.

"Out of curiosity, what would happen if the rumor you had heard was false?" Reiji asks, now back to his normal uniform.

"Probably would have been skinned alive by everyone here," Odysseus murmurs, looking all around her. The enemy units are either dead or have surrendered and Blackout personnel is all over the place. "I'm going to the tank, need to clean all the blood that has spilled inside it. You are free to do whatever the fuck you want!" she waves her hand tiredly, as she walks to the Panther S.

"I'll go with her, just to be sure," Annabelle says to the boys and quickly follows behind Odysseus.

"That's a first," Tyler says in surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Odysseus giving us free time while on a mission? Something's definitely not right."

"Well, the whole day has been nothing but surprises." Reiji comments looking all around him. "Never thought I'd fight next to Senshadou legends in a battlefield when I joined Blackout."

"Or that you'd get to see so many of them die in one." Tyler adds, looking at all the smoking wrecks of vehicles.

"I guess the operation's name fits well with how things turned up."

"Yep. This battle has been the downfall of both the enemy and us."

"Peace to the fallen," Reiji says, closing his eyes and lowering his head slightly for a moment.

"Peace to the fallen," Tyler says too, mimicking Reiji.

---

A/N: Took over a month to complete, but it was totally worth it! Next one is Odysseus' past. I'd love to write something more in this section, so I'll say thank you for waiting over a month for this chapter to be rewritten. Anyway, as always, suggestions, questions, corrections, reviews or PMs are greatly appreciated. Also, English isn't my native tongue, so expect some grammatical errors here and there. If you found the story interesting and had a great time, favorite and follow. Have a nice day/night and until the next chapter, stay safe!