You probably thought this story was dead. Nope. Chuck Testa. I've had a lot of stuff going on recently, and this story has unfortunately dropped in my priority. I'm sad to say that I'm probably not going to stick to me update-per-week schedule. Don't worry, this will still get updated. I will not let this die! It was my first story to be successful, and it means a lot to me. So no, this story is not dead. Thanks.
"Wake up! Come on Mob, get up!" With the voice of Doc stirring me, I finally started to open my eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but I eventually could make out the shape of a TD in front of me. Everything was in a haze, Doc must have used quite a bit of anesthetic on me to keep me out. I took a deep breath, to see if the operation worked. Much to my delight, It felt clear. No pain! Doc's operation had worked! I tried to get off the operating area, but Doc stopped me. He seemed stronger than usual.
"Woah there, take it a bit easier." He said with a chuckle. Around that time, my vision finally returned. I could now see that Doc was no longer a Panzerjager, but a strong and powerful Marder II. When had he upgraded?
"You look… different…" I said, partially still asleep. Once again, Doc chuckled.
"I upgraded after the operation. You like it?" I nodded, which made Doc smile. The Marder II turned towards the table, swiping a metal pole off into the floor as he did. It was the same pole he used to knock me out, there were oil stains on it. Doc looked back at me, and noticed I was looking at the pole.
"Sorry about that, by the way. I had to make sure you would stay asleep through the operation." He said, with sincerity in his voice.
"No problem, you did what you had to." I replied. He smiled back at that comment.
"I had expected you to be angry. Good to know you're not." He said.
"Can I get down now?" I asked.
"Yeah, just be easy on yourself." Doc replied. I finally rolled off the operating area, feeling good. No more pain bothering me, thank God. I looked around, trying to gain my bearings. That was when I noticed the small shack-like building in the corner of the hangar. It was big enough to fit anything, but it must not have offered much space inside. I was curious as to what it was.
"Hey, what's that thing over there?" I asked Doc, pointing at it with my barrel. Doc looked somewhat puzzled, and gave me a funny expression.
"That's an upgrade station, doesn't everyone know that?" I shook my head side to side.
"That's a first. Usually you would know what that is from your first day. Anyway, I'd recommend upgrading. It'll increase your survival chance, no doubt." I had the money and the exp to get to tier 3, and the tank I would go to was without a doubt the Panzer III A. That was my first big step up to the Panther II. Just imagining myself as a Panther II gave me cold chills. Such a great tank…
"Are you going to go, or will I have to push you in?" Doc said, interrupting my thought process.
"Oh no, I'll go on ahead." I replied, somewhat embarrassed. This would be a big step for me. I rolled into the shack, slightly nervous about the upgrade process. As I rolled onto a large pad on the floor, the door shut behind me. I looked back with wide eyes, my nervousness was getting the best of me.
"You shouldn't need any help operating it," Doc said from outside, "It's pretty self explanatory and simple." Simple? It looked confusing to me alright. At last, a light came on inside. A large computer screen came up, showing the seven tech trees of World of Tanks. I hesitated a second or two before clicking on the German insignia. A text box came up, with the words "Identifying model" on the screen. A few seconds passed, and more words came up. "Please deposit experience in the receptacle" it said. I looked around to find a place to put it, finding a chute under the monitor.
Experience, experience… I looked around to see where I had put the experience. It was in a backpack, on my engine deck. I opened it excitedly, and poured the 5,000 experience points inside. Once again, the computer processed. "Please deposit credits on the receptacle" it said next. I sighed, and opened the bag again. This time, I poured the many credits inside. It processed again. "Do you have any gold?" It said. Two buttons flashed, one that said "yes" and one that said "no." I punched the no button. It processed again. Finally, a new screen came up. It showed all the tanks I could afford in my tech tree, something I wished World of Tanks had. I slapped the Panzer III A with my barrel, putting a small crack in the screen. Too enthusiastic. The screen changed again. This time, it showed the upgrade tree for the Panzer III A. I hit every one, as I could afford them all. A small window appeared at the bottom.
"Are you ready to upgrade?" It said. I waited for a few seconds, my mind racing. I was excited, but nervous too. Would it be painful? Would I be out for a while? It was a risk worth taking. I punched the "yes" button, and the computer went black.
"What'd I touch?" I muttered to myself. Before I could speak again, however, there was a searing pain in my right side. I looked down to the source of it, and saw a shell hole. Where did that come from? Within seconds of asking myself that, I started to become dizzy. That was followed by fatigue, and then, sleep. Sedated two times in one day. Lovely.
I felt a familiar feeling as I started to wake up. Blurred vision, heavy breathing, but something new as well. I felt sore everywhere. Every possible part of my body hurt. Once again, everything was in a haze. Combine that with a dark room, and you get blindness. I felt somewhat good though. Stronger, heavier, more powerful. I wanted to take a look at myself, but the darkness wasn't helping much at all. Then, the door started to open. I covered my eyes with my gun barrel, to avoid the light coming in. After a few seconds of adjusting, I finally started to roll out. The light of day hit my hull, bouncing up into my eyes. I muttered under my breath, before it stopped bothering me. I looked so different…
A stubby 37mm gun protruded out of my mantlet. Technically, it was the same size as my old one. Not that it bothered me. My tracks were wider and larger; my armor was thicker (not saying much), and my engine was better. My engine was much better. Most of all, I felt bigger. I was no longer the little pipsqueak Leichtrakor. No, now I felt like I could take on the world! Of course, that was a stretch. There wasn't much I could do in reality, but my upgrade made me feel safer. I had to go show the others! Where were they…
I looked around the garage, but Doc wasn't there. He and the others must be outside, I thought. Feeling my engine for the first time, I rolled out the hangar doors. The grass on my new tracks felt good, almost soothing. My engine was indeed strong, I could work up speeds unimaginable as a Leichtraktor. I felt amazing! And I was right, the others were all outside, talking together. With a bit of pride, I rolled up to the others.
"Hey everyone!" I said, joining into the conversation.
"Oh, hey Mobius!" Trev said. He was now an M7 Priest, an arty I admired greatly. The other two, Kenny and Jerry, remained the same.
"You look nice as a Panzer III." Doc said with a smile.
"Thanks. What are you guys up to?" I asked in reply. Doc sighed.
"Not much, just talking about how we're going to defend this place."
"From what?" I asked curiously.
"Well," Trev said, "This area is particularly nasty in terms of raiders and such. So we've been planning a defensive fortification. Only temporary, of course." Raiders didn't sound too pleasing.
"Need any help?"
"Not at the moment, we haven't finished planning. Go get some rest, you've been busy upgrading and operated on today." Doc said.
"Will you call me when I'm needed?" I asked.
"Sure." That settled it for me. With a relatively happy feeling, I rolled back into the garage. I felt so good, I had almost forgotten about everything that happened recently. Today had been a great day so far. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
By the way, it was ScarfaceOne who got the reference last chapter. Congrats to you!
