Night had long fallen. The girls lay in their beds, sleeping peacefully, with only a few exceptions. Erwin sat up in her bed, unable to get to sleep with something occupying her mind. Similarly, Saemonza was kept up by strange sounds she was sure she could hear outside. Momo had simply made the mistake of attending Katyusha's showing of Birdemic.

Maho was sleeping, but not so peacefully. Inside her dream, she could see the scorching sun and the dry expanse of the desert. She was back in her Tiger, racing toward the enemy on the battlefield. But this wasn't a Tankery match. This was war. It felt so real, but something just wasn't right. When she looked to her side, she saw her sister. Miho was right there, commanding her own Tiger again. That was wrong. Miho wasn't supposed to be here, in this war. Suddenly, the sound of incoming artillery filled the air, and then it struck her sister's Tiger.

Maho woke up, drenched in cold sweat, in the midst of panicked cries and shouting. An explosion rocked the barracks building. Something heavy bounced off the barracks roof, and another explosion went off just outside the window. The glass shattered and sprayed into the room, showering several girls with broken glass and dirt.

Maho reached down beside her bed and grabbed her boots, making sure they were empty of glass before putting them on and lacing them up. Her feet hit the ground, and the dream was forgotten. This had to be another drill, but she couldn't be sure, and even if it was, the point of the drill was probably to do what they would do if it weren't a drill.

She shouted over all the noise. "We need to get out of here! Get your boots on and move it!"

A Maginot girl who occupied the bed next to hers was in the middle of putting her shirt on over her tanktop. She shouted back. "We need to get dressed and go!"

Maho had slept in her training clothes, and had no sympathy or time for those who hadn't. "Socks and boots, damn the rest! Move your rears to the door!" She shoved the girl ahead of her. "Go!"

When she reached the other end of the room, outright dragging some girls in the right direction until they figured it out for themselves, she saw Noriko ushering girls out into the hall. Pepperoni was standing up on her bed, directing traffic and hollering orders. It seemed they knew exactly what to do, as the latter had even managed to get herself fully dressed in record time. Yukari was out in the hall, making sure everyone was keeping together.

Then there was Erika, running around like a headless chicken, trying to find her shirt. Maho grabbed her, turned her around, and forced her towards the door. They didn't have time for this. She shoved Erika out the door ahead of her. Pepperoni hopped down and ran out, followed by Noriko. Maho was the last one out, so she did a quick sweep of the room to make sure no one was left behind.

Dodger's voice reached her from somewhere outside, and she realized it had been Dodger on the roof. The sergeant's voice boomed around them. "Get your fucking asses out the door! Form up and get your rifles at the gate!"

Maho ran out into the hall, turning the corner to where her roommates were waiting just inside the door. "Move it! You heard the sergeant! Go! Go! Go! Form up with your training groups!"

They ran out, pushing their way through the doors. During the rush, Maho looked behind her and saw Sergeant Cherub walk into their room. A moment later when she walked back out again, there was an explosion that sent the doors flying outward. Maho was sure now that this was a drill, but it was going to be a bother that their beds had all been blown up.

Only the five of them were left inside now. Maho found that the other four were looking to her, so she had to make the call. "We need to meet up with everyone else. Grab them if you see them. We're not leaving without all one hundred of us."

As they ran out the door, Pepperoni started laughing. "I just realized… Erika, I think I'm wearing your shirt."

"Damn it! Give it back!"

"What am I supposed to wear then?"

"Wear a pizza for all I care! Just give me my shirt back!"

They slammed into the side of a building, taking cover from a number of mines that were set off. The drill instructors were hidden all around them, setting off the mines they'd spent all night placing whenever they were sure no one was going to be caught in the explosion. A moment later, Katyusha joined them, with several Anzio girls trailing behind her and Hoshino bringing up the rear.

Erika punched Pepperoni's shoulder. "Give me my shirt back now!"

Pepperoni started taking the shirt off. She was still wearing her own tanktop underneath. She handed it back to Erika. "I noticed it cause it looked a little stretched out in the chest area."

Erika took it and put it on, properly filling out the stretched area. Her face was visibly red even in the darkness. "I'll stretch you out, you little-"

"Little? I almost filled it."

"Katyusha does not appreciate this topic!"

Maho backhanded the back of Erika's head. "Keep your head together!" She pointed to Pepperoni. "Wisen up or your next!" She turned to Katyusha. "Did you see any of the others on your way here?"

She nodded. "Katyusha saw Private Slug being carried by Darjeeling. They're a ways behind us."

Yukari looked up at the night sky. "Geez, what time even is it? Does anyone have a watch?"

Katyusha held up her wrist, showing off her watch. "Katyusha is always prepared."

"Oh, good, what time is it?"

"It's night. Katyusha can't see shit."

Maho stood up and pulled Rosehip and Koume over to the wall. She glared at Yukari. "Why do you need to know what time it is?"

Several mines went off about twenty meters away from them. Once the shower of dirt was finished, Yukari reached over and brushed debris from Erika's head. When Erika batted her away, she just shuffled around her and sat next to Katyusha. "Because it's June, and either it's still the fifth or it's the sixth. I just want to know if it's my birthday yet."

Rosehip turned on her torch. "Good thing I always come prepared!"

Katyusha scowled at her. "You don't have a watch."

Another explosions went off just around the corner of the building they were hiding alongside. Yukari grabbed Rosehip's torch and pointed it at Katyusha's wrist. "A-ha! It's two in the morning! It's my birthday! I'm eighteen!"

Caesar slid in beside her, like she was playing baseball, having arrived just in time to hear the news. "Awesome. Now you're old enough to watch Piranha 3D. What a milestone."

"Well, when you put it that way, now it sounds bad."

Maho gave Yukari a light smack on the back of her head, then turned to Caesar. "Did you get anyone else along the way?"

Caesar pointed behind her. "Yeah, Beau, er, Lime, I guess."

As more of their group found them and collected together, it became difficult to take shelter from the simulated attacks. Maho did a head count as best she could, and then went over it again. Reaching the same number, she decided it was close enough to correct. That meant there were still seven girls missing, including Nonna and Kadotani. She couldn't imagine what was keeping those two, but they needed to start moving.

Darjeeling set down Mako, who'd finally woken up properly. She called over the crowd's heads, keeping her voice calm and level. "Alright, ladies. Let's move out. Our superiors likely wish us to cover a lot of ground tonight, so let's not keep them waiting. Rosehip, lead us out."

"Yes ma'am!" Rosehip jumped up. "Vanilla, Cranberry, take point!" The two Crusader commanders ran ahead, with Rosehip shortly behind them. The rest followed after her.

The scouts returned quickly, reporting to Rosehip. Vanilla spoke first. "There are a couple sergeants at the gate with some trucks. They're handing out rifles and sending us to the lake."

Cranberry added her piece. "It looks like they've set up a course for us to traverse on the way to the lake. It'll be hard going."

Rosehip looked to Darjeeling, who just nodded. She grinned. "Full speed ahead, then! Get your rifles and go!"

Running around to the front of the group, Kay shouted over the thundering din of the guns. "Partner up! Buddy system! Don't lose track of your partner!"

Dodger watched her training group form up and move for the gate. They were doing well. They weren't the first group to reach the gate, by far, but they were the most complete group. Of course, she understood that she was training the leaders of the most successful Tankery teams. Girls who wouldn't have been put in those positions if they didn't have any potential. They still had a long way to go, but it looked like they were going to make it.

She dropped down to the ground, shouldering the sledgehammer she'd been using on their roofs to wake them. It was time to round up the few strays. When she heard a thundering sound that wasn't any sort of weaponry, she looked up at the sky. There was a dark flash hidden in the clouds, followed by another thunderous boom. The weather was taking a turn for the worse. She smiled at this fortuitous meteorological shift.

"Thank you God." This would make the course she'd designed so much harder for them.

She spotted Nonna leading four other girls across to the rest of her group. Kadotani was rushing to join them as well, but coming from a completely different direction. The redhead was carrying Nozomi on her back, after the younger girl had fallen and twisted her ankle. Dodger wasn't going to impede them, but Nonna's group was fair game.

She casually stepped over to a nearby watchtower and held her radio up to her mouth. "Anybody in watchtower four?"

After a couple seconds, Cherub's voice came back. "Negative. It's empty. Why?"

"You'll see. Or… hear." She brought up her sledgehammer and swung it at the base of the tower, knocking two of the supports out from under it. Stepping back, she called out to Nonna. "TIMBER!"

Nonna looked up to see the tower falling towards her. She turned around, pushing the others back as well. "Get back! Take cover!" The tower crashed to the ground, and just like that their path to the gate was blocked. Nonna looked over the new obstacle that could have easily crushed her to death. "Blyad'! We can't climb over." She immediately directed them around to where the base of the tower had been.

The five girls skidded to a halt when they were faced with the sight of Sergeant Dodger, holding in her hands a sledgehammer that was almost as big as her, standing next to the base of the tower. Thunder crashed around them, and they could see the lightning in the distance behind Dodger. The clouds started pelting them with cold rain.

"That's right, Private. You may go… if you can get past me."

Nonna was going to backtrack and go around the other way, but the girls around her lunged forward. These girls weren't weak or careless. None of them were quite as strong or tall as Nonna, but they each had the respect of their own teams. None of the five of them had Dodger's respect yet. That was something they'd have to work to earn.

Neko and Eclair rushed ahead first, the former bolting around Dodger's right and the latter skirting around her left. Dodger knew better than to swing the head of the hammer at her trainees, especially with all her strength, but they could certainly run into it. She put the hammer's head in Eclair's way, and she ran into it. She doubled over, holding her middle, then collapsed onto her side. Spinning around, Dodger knocked Neko's feet out from under her with the handle.

Nonna took a step back. "We'll need to work together to-"

A Koala Forest girl named Komodo rushed Dodger head on. The sergeant held her hammer out, catching her attacker in the chest and knocking her onto her back. Bordeaux had attempted to run past while the sergeant was distracted. Dodger hooked the hammer's head on her foot, causing her to fall flat on her face.

Shouldering the hammer again, Dodger looked at the last girl standing. "Retreat or dismemberment? Your pick, Private."

"I choose…" Nonna put one foot in front of the other. "Victory for Pravda! Victory for Katyusha!"

Dodger swung the hammer at the ground, smashing it apart and sending dirt and gravel into the air. While Nonna had to shield her eyes from the onslaught, Dodger set off an air cannon she'd buried in the ground, sending more dirt and dust up into Nonna's face and pushing her back. When the dust had cleared, Dodger was gone and her hammer was left sticking up out of the ground. The others pulled themselves to their feet, also looking around for their dangerous instructor.

Dodger reappeared, slamming her boot into Bordeaux's back and sending her flying into Eclair. Nonna saw her heading for Neko and put herself in the way, grabbing the sergeant's fist. Dodger's tiny frame hit with such force that she rammed Nonna into the wall of the collapsed watchtower, but Nonna held on.

She called out to the others. "Go on! Rejoin the group! I'll keep her here!" They didn't need her to say it a second time, all of them turning and running.

Immediately, Dodger pushed off the wall and flipped Nonna over her head, slamming her into the ground and breaking her hold. Dodger stood over her and grinned. "Not strong enough to power through me, but I'll accept your solution. Get on and join them."