A/N: Aha, guess the clues this time round were too obvious. Well, I will not spoil much but the time for the SSS to arrive is drawing close. Think... BIG
Angel Beats!
What We Live For
Operation 36
A Cold Relief
Topside
"The enemy is pushing forward!"
"Our left flank is being over-run!"
"We're down on supplies! Do have a link to Guild yet? !"
"There aren't enough bandages for the wounded!"
These were the reports that she had to listen to for the past seven hours. Seven hours of pure hell. Her World was crumbling all around her and she could not do anything. She was just one girl. One small, frail girl who took up the crown of leadership. What can she do? She hated herself for this weak state she was in. Hated herself to lose foresight and ending up in this situation. Hated herself... because she had to. She lifted the ice bag off her head and sat up. Her brain still pounded heavily against her skull, her heart feeling as though it had been pierced by multiple knives and being burned alive. Every muscle in her body screamed in pain and agony. But she did not show it. She let it all go on within her own body. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering what time was it. The attacks started during the middle of the day and now the sky was already dark.
This was the longest battle they had faced thus far and it was also becoming the costliest. She sat up, despite the objections that her body was telling her and winced at the pain. Swinging her legs off the desk, she got up and looked around the small room. She had been lying on the desk that had been made into a bed for the past... what, two hours? The room only had one sofa besides the desk she lay on and on the sofa lay one SSS2 captain. Probably moved to this sofa in this room as there weren't any more beds else where to put the wounded or the dead. The sounds of gunfire, explosions and people running around were still prevalent despite being muffled through the walls.
She spotted her belongings at the side of the room, on top of a crate of rations, and walked over there to pick them up. Putting on her beret and throwing her blazer over her shoulders, she grabbed her cane and walked towards the exit of the room. Taking a pause and deep breath, she opened the door and stepped outside in the corridor. A corridor of madness. Injured and dead lay everywhere in the corridor. Medics rushing to and fro with medical supplies and whatever things they can use as replacements. An injured soldier was bandaged with jersey, another was using his rifle as an arm sling. A medic used an empty magazine to boil water with a heater at one corner. An Assault division member was loading nothing but air into his magazine, tired and mad from the fighting. A Fort member rolled a dead SSS2 member to one side of the floor and lay down to sleep next to the body. No one seemed to take notice of such things any more Things that would normally be seen as insane, dangerous or unthinkable suddenly became an everyday thing. Something that can be seen everywhere and no one would give it a second thought.
"Yuki-sama? You shouldn't be up."
She turned around and saw a medic walking up to her. The medic had large eye bags and sore eyes. His skin was pale and his lips were dry. He looked like a zombie more than a human being. But maybe in definition they were all zombies.
"After you used your skills, you should rest for at least five hours."
The medic said, taking out a few pills from his medical pouch. At first she thought they were for her but the medic popped them into his own mouth and swallowed them without water.
"Sorry, its just that I haven't gotten any rest since yesterday Thought I could take a rest today but the attacks suddenly came. Anyway, I need to check on your health. Do you mind?"
He asked, taking out a small flash light. She shook her head and allowed the medic to approach her. He shone the dim light of the flash light into her eyes a few times and kept it. He reached out and held her hand, measuring her pulse.
"... You're pushing it, Yuki-sama."
He said, letting go of her hand. So, he knew that she hasn't fully recovered.
"I would recommend a full bed's rest but I can't stop you. And to be honest, we need the beds for others."
"... Is the situation that bad?"
She asked. The medic raised an eyebrow at her before sighing.
"I guess I'm just too tired. Forgive my rudeness but if you take a look around, you can pretty much guess our status."
"... I see."
She replied. Everyone was tired and so with them being cranky, well that was a given.
"Where is Ein?"
She asked, seeing as how the tall leader of the Assault division wasn't around when she woke up. He usually would be though.
"Ein? He's over by the walls, doing his tenth guard duty in a row. That guy has more wounds than an entire squad put together and he still refuses medical aid. If I could, I would get every single medic to restrain him and knock him out cold to get his body some rest. Too bad we're all too tired and busy to even bother."
The medic muttered, reaching into his pouch and popping a few more pills. The walls. So that would be where she would head to next.
"... Thanks."
She muttered, turning to walk off. But just as she was about to turn at the corner, the medic called out to her.
"Hey, Yuki-sama! Here, catch!"
He shouted as he threw a container at her. Catching it, she saw that it contained the same pills as the medic was eating just now.
"Good luck!"
He shouted and turned to walk away. Looking down at the pills, she decided that it would be best to take one. Popping one into her mouth, she gathered enough courage and swallowed the pill whole. It was slightly hard to go down, considering that her throat was parched. She did not know what the pill does, but it would not be that dangerous, considering that the medic was swallowing five every two minutes or so. A strange tingling sensation washed over her. Her mind became more focused and her muscles more relaxed. What was this pill? Since when did such a drug become available?
"... Must be Yuuko at work."
She muttered, feeling slightly worried about the drug now that she had taken one. It may help her now, but she had learned to be cautious and wary of any possible miracles. After all, in her World, miracles don't occur.
"... Dammit."
She slammed her fist into the wall, feeling frustrated and angry. Why did the memories of her past have to come up now? The 'disease'. The pain and agony of everyone in her town suffering from the illness. Why was she not affected? Why did she have to face such painful sorrow of watching everyone else die but her? And... those bastard who came after the entire event. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts from her head. It was in the past. Thirty years had past since she first came to this World. Though she could never forget the past, she thought she managed to walk away from it. But it seems she can never truly get away from it.
"... Ein..."
She needs to find him. Ein always knew what to say to get her straight again. He knew what to do. To her, Ein's words worked way better than what those pills do. She continued to walk along the corridors and finally reached the exit. Looking outside the glass doors, she saw that it was still snowing outside. This crazy weather was only the beginning. If only she had trusted her instincts to launch an attack back then... Maybe... just maybe none of this would have happened. She pushed the doors open and stepped out, shivering slightly at the sudden drop in temperature. Her frosted breath now visible as she blew into her hands to make them warm. She took a look around to get a grasp on her surroundings. She had passed out after using her skills too often in providing cover for the escaping SSS2 members. She remembered that she and Ein stayed behind to cover the retreating Fort members and that they were being pushed back into the forest when she blacked out. She had no idea on the situation at hand.
She turned around and saw that she just came out of the Assault division's main medical centre. The Assault Division's forest encampment had developed from a shabby little camp with tents and camp fires, to a bustling fort complete with state of the art training facilities and defensive walls within a matter of months. If by bustling you mean the large numbers of wounded and tired SSS2 fighters. The mood in the encampment was depressing and dead. It was in the very air she breathed in. The Assault Division's encampment comprised of twenty barracks, three medical centres, ten supply warehouses and fifteen garages. Yuuko had requested Ein to build those garages as she had told him that when her tanks were ready (if they ever could be), they needed to be properly maintained for and kept warm and sheltered. At the moment those garages held onto military trucks so they were useless at the moment. She trudged on through the thick snow, trying not to mind the painful chill of the snow biting into her legs.
She saw a Fort member shovelling snow from the entrance to one of the warehouses though it seemed to her that he had been digging at the same spot for hours with no sign of progress at all. She continued to walk through the thick snow, heading towards the great wall of the encampment. The wall was a simple name given to the surrounding metal walls that encircled the entire encampment. Towering three storeys high and being about five metres thick all around, the wall was one of the greatest engineering feats that Yuuko made, especially since she had it made in less than a week and it did not explode. The wall also had defensive machine gun turrets, manned by Assault division troops.
This time, however, it seemed that those turrets were not enough as she could see multiple machine gun nests being built up on the walls next to the turrets, filling in the gaps in between each turret. The spacing between each turret was only three metres apart, and yet Fort members managed to pile up enough sandbags to put up two more machine gun nests within that three metre spacing. Snipers were also patrolling the top of the walls, evident by their large black cloaks that singled them out from the rest of the Assault Division. Mortar teams were also stationed behind the wall though they were less focused than the defenders up on the wall. Maybe it was due to the fact that they could not see the enemy straight on? Maybe they had thought everything was hopeless now. She reached the wall and spotted a ladder leading up to the parapet. She winced slightly at the biting cold of the frozen metal against her bare skin, but ignored it and climbed the ladder to the top of the wall. Once she the top, several members of Fort who noticed her tried to stand up in her presence, but their energy levels were too low and so they struggled to even get to their feet. She raised a hand to them.
"It's alright. Back to your post."
She said and the soldiers went back to their duties, showing some relief in their eyes. She walked along the top of the wall, looking for any signs of her close confidant, Ein Shrewerz. But after searching for nearly half of the entire wall, and still no sign of Ein, Yuki became slightly worried and nervous. Where did Ein go? Was he killed? Did he go off for a break? Did he drop off the wall while dozing off? Scenarios kept playing in her head, making her more agitated, more confused, more worried, and it showed clearly in her actions. Her eyes kept darting from one point to another. Her pace was hurried, erratic, unplanned and unbalanced. She kept looking for him, for Ein. But he was nowhere. Just where did he go? She tried to ask the sentries on duty, but came up with answers no different from her own.
"The commander? Not sure."
"Last I saw him, he went to the South part of the Wall... Or was it the North?"
"Probably went off to eat."
These were the types of answers she got, despite asking so many people.
"Are you sure you haven't seen him?"
She questioned the last sentry again, pressing him for answers.
"I'm sure, ma'am. No one had seen him since dinner time, and that was two hours ago."
The sentry replied casually.
"And no one bothered to check?"
She asked, her tone slightly strained.
"It's the commander. His habits are like Yuuko-san's, wild and unpredictable. Unless of course, there is food involved, then his every move is like clockwork."
Her patience was running thin with this sentry.
"Do you know his last known whereabouts?"
She asked, hoping to get at least some sensible information out of this dimwit before she puts a bullet in-between the eyes. And two more bullets into the eyes. The sentry rubbed his chin in thought, before pointing back in the direction she came from.
"Last I heard, the Eastern wall was taking quite a few hits from sudden surprise attacks by Shadows. Rikku from the Little Busters led a team to secure that location but the commander seemed to be heading that direction as well."
"East... right."
She did not bother to say anything else, in fear that she would not be able to control herself and kill this sentry if he should utter one more useless word. However, upon reaching the Eastern wall, she came across the same problem.
"The commander? He did come by to give aid during the attack but... oi, Motoharu! Do you know where the commander went?"
The sentry on guard there shouted over to another sentry who was fortifying his cover with more sand bags. The sentry looked up and shook his head.
"Nope. He just went off without a word."
The second sentry replied, going back to his work. Now she was getting even more worried.
"Have you tried raising him on the comms network? We managed to get a close circuit line working within the encampment but very few people still have access to the old network lines. Let me try hailing him."
The sentry tapped his wrist watch a few times, but his furrowed brows only gave her more despair than hope.
"Sorry ma'am, but it seems our comms channels are down again. The batteries need to be recharged every few minutes. Might as well not have this network."
She did not bother to ask about the network. All she needed was to find Ein. She walked off, ignoring the calls of the sentries as her mind was now filled with dreaded thoughts and questions.
"Calm down, Yuki. He could be anywhere."
She muttered to herself, attempting to calm herself down though her actions did not change.
"Maybe he went for dinner? Maybe he fell asleep?"
She tried to think of other scenarios that did not involve the worst possible cases.
"Maybe... he went to the toilet?"
She stopped to ponder that thought.
"Don't even think about that!"
An angry voice shouted just as something came crashing down on her head.
"OW! Who did-"
She turned around and stopped mid-sentence. Standing before her was the person she was looking for. Standing at least two metres tall, wearing his militarized version of the SSS2 uniform, and having a bag of food in one hand, was the leader of the Assault division. Ein Shrewerz.
"Ein..."
"Yeah, it's me. Who did you think it was?"
Ein asked, raising an eyebrow as he ruffled his hand into the bag and pulled out a stick of yaki-tori to eat.
"Ein..."
"Yeah? You called for me, didn't you? Still, can't believe you actually asked half of the entire wall and nobody knew where I went. I was pretty sure I told at least half of my company that I was going to eat. I guess I told the wrong guys again."
Ein pondered, chewing on the meat on the the stick while deep in thought.
"Ein..."
"Maybe the network was down. This would be the fifth time in an hour. I keep reminding those store guys to charge up the batteries properly before using them. Though that might take longer for us to wait before using them, at least each usage would be longer."
"Ein..."
"Or maybe we should try to conserve them for an attack? But that would defeat the purpose of having a network if we can't communicate of where and when an attack would occur."
"Ein..."
"Maybe we could add more scouting parties outside the walls. I know Kyou and Suou are both reluctant for this option, but we can't afford another surprise attack on the scale of what we faced just now. We would lose the wall."
"Ein..."
"And we could also-... Yuki? You've been muttering my name on and on. It's getting creepy."
Her body trembling as her nails dug deeper into her palms. She would call out his name no matter how many times it took. Her thoughts, her emotions in turmoil.
"Ein... Ein... Ein..."
"O-oi... Yuki?"
"Ein... Ein... Ein..."
"Y-Yuki? Are you alright-"
"EIN YOU BIG IDIOT! A-HOU! BAKA!"
She screamed out of the blue, throwing one punch at him straight into his abdomen. That one punch held all of her tears, fears, pain, sorrow, despair, joy, relief, happiness. It was also enhanced with the Angel Program, effectively making it have the same force as a five ton truck ramming into Ein.
BOOM
The leader of the Assault division flew a good ten yards, crashing into a machine gun nest and straight through and into one of the auto-cannon turrets. Good thing the people in this area were all on break and no one else was around. Slowly getting up, Ein shook his head to disperse the stars that he was seeing dancing around his head. He may not look like much, but Ein had his fair share of enduring her crazy outbursts enough to build up some form of immunity and resilience against them.
"Ite-te-te-te... that hurts you know?"
You don't say. She stomped over to him, her bangs covering her eyes.
"You idiot!"
She said, slamming her fist into him once more. But this time he was prepared, and she had released all of her pent up stress in that one punch before, so he was only pushed back a few inches. But she persisted, continuing to slam her fists into his body as she scolded him with more profanities.
"Baka!"
One more punch and one more inch.
"A-hou!"
Another punch, another inch.
"Nitwit!"
Punch, inch.
"Why? ! Why weren't you there? !"
That caught Ein's attention and her last punch was... weak. Her soft hiccups that soon became sobs. Her head hit his abdomen as she silently cried in his shirt.
"Yuki..."
"I was afraid... Afraid that I would lose you..."
Her sobs made her voice tremble as all of her worries came out without her control.
"..."
"No more... I don't want it... I don't want to lose any more friends... I don't want to lose anything any more.."
Ein simply kept silent as he stood there, with her crying and soaking his shirt as the snow slowly started to pile up once more. He was one of the very few people who knew what happened to her in her lifetime. She rarely told anyone about it, said it showed weakness, that it would only choose to slow her down. Only Yuuko, Kou and himself knew of this dark truth. Personally, he did not remember anything about her incident in his lifetime. It could be one of those incidents where they came from different 'Worlds', or a different 'time line'. She could even be from his 'time line's future'. He would not know anything about that, but what he knew was that she had suffered tremendously. His past was considerably easy-going compared to hers. Most of theirs were.
"Yuki..."
He wanted to say something to comfort her. But what could he say that he has not said before? They had been together in this war for over thirty years now, close to forty years. Forty years. That was a real long time. They would be close to their retirement age by now if they were all still alive. Still alive. that was a luxury no one had any more They all died. All left the World of the living and came to this hell-hole. She, being one of the eldest here, had seen everything, been everywhere. She had shouldered his entire organization for three decades. What was there for him to say to her? Nothing. He could not say anything to comfort her. He knew that she was already breaking her limit. She was being consumed by her grief, her despair, her insanity. Slowly being devoured by the darkness within her heart. Slowly, bit by bit, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He looked up to the dark sky, watch as the snow continued to slowly drift down to the ground, listen to her soft sobs against his chest. Was this all over? Was this how it was meant to end?
"Oi, Ein, there you are."
A voice called out. She quickly stepped back, turning around with her back facing him. He sighed, shaking his head as he turned to face the new comer. A violet haired young woman walked over with a bag of tako-yaki and one stick in her mouth. She noticed the carnage of the defensive system and raised an eyebrow.
"Ein... What were you doing?"
She asked warily.
"Kyou, it's nothing."
He quickly said. His second in command, Major Fujibayashi Kyou, still did not believe him.
"What are you hiding?"
She quizzed him, then she saw that standing behind Ein was her.
"... Oh, I see."
Kyou nodded in understanding. She offered him her bag of food.
"Here, to replace what you lost."
She said, using the stick in her mouth to pick her teeth. That was very uncouth for a girl. Ein took the bag and and looked inside. There still were some food left.
"Thanks."
He said gratefully. Kyou sighed, walking over to the rubble of machine guns and turrets and placed her hand over them.
"You would have taken them off me even if I did not offer them. Access: Creation."
Kyou muttered as a soft glow emitted from her palm. The machine gun nests and auto-cannon turrets somehow started to re-assemble themselves back into the forms they once were before Ein crashed into them. She stood back up, clapping her hands together as though she was dusting them off.
"There. That should be good for at least another attack wave. Not that we should push it. I'll get a team to replace them soon."
Kyou said, turning her attention back to Ein who was already wolfing down the snacks she passed to him.
"Du fe hap ani repufesh-"
"SWALLOW BEFORE TALKING!"
Kyou shouted at him. Ein took a moment to properly chew his food at an impossibly fast rate and swallowed them hard.
"Ah... as I was saying, do we even have replacements?"
He asked once more. Kyou sighed, shaking her head.
"No, we don't. But we're trying to get Okuta to make us more. He is the closest thing we have to a Guild at the moment. Still, he is only one guy and he is already exhausted beyond death just by making us additional weapons and ammunitions."
"So... how many times did he die?"
"Five in the last hour. Have to admire his dedication to making so much for us, but if it kills him so many times, we have no idea what will happen if this drags out."
Kyou muttered grimly. Either way, the situation was looking extremely bad.
"We cannot push him any further. It may jeopardize our defences, but get Okuta to rest. Get all sergeants and above who can use the program to do more patrols and sentry duties. Conserve as much ammunition and stores as possible."
Ein said.
"I've already done that, but our line is spread too thin. In addition, a number of people are starting to feel an 'out-lost'."
Kyou reported. This was really not good. An 'out-lost' was a term used by the higher-ups when someone who utilizes the program is starting to lose their connection to the program's core, thereby losing their powers that come from it. It posed no threat to the user, but it was a serious problem when it comes down to the middle of fights. And it is a serious problem now.
"It could be due to this strange weather we've been having. Could be some sort of jamming field the Angels have deployed."
Kyou tried to explained, looking up to the dark sky. It could be. This strange weather was the beginning of a lot of strange things. One of them being the increase number of 'out-losts'.
"... We cannot risk another attack on our walls, Kyou. I hope you have some sort of plan other than patrols outside the wall."
Kyou shook her head in dismay.
"Sorry, I don't. I just sent out the last patrol with Tomoyo in charge. They should not run into any problems with her around, but as it stands, morale is at a new record-breaking all-time low, ammunitions and supplies are going to be in a negative zone, if ever possible, and the number of injured and dead the medical wards are having can possibly beat the number of digits in pi."
"... Those are really impossible outcomes."
"I know, but they are happening now."
Kyou said, crossing her arms.
"Sigh, so in short we're in deep shit."
"So, it was that obvious?"
Kyou asked sarcastically.
"Kyou, now is not the time for games."
Ein muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Aw, when is it ever? Fine, I'll just leave it. Oh yeah, I was to pass a message to Yuki-san if I saw her."
That perked her interest. She turned around slightly to hear.
"Iori wanted to know if you wanted velvet or fur for a sofa."
"Kyou!"
"Sorry sorry."
Kyou smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry about that, Yuki-san. Iori actually wanted to know if you wanted to oversee the reports that he had gathered. While you were out cold, Iori worked with me and sent out Wolf teams to scout out possible areas where survivors and hidden supplies might be, as well as gathering information of enemy locations and movement."
"..."
She simply stood there. Staring blankly.
"Yuki? Are you alright?"
Ein asked, waving his hand in front of her face. No response.
"Look at what you did. Now she's stoned out of her mind from disbelief. You can't just tell a joke to Yuki. She's not the type to take things lightly."
"Eh? But she's always telling sarcastic remarks and cold jokes. I mean, Kou more or less developed her extreme sense of sarcasm because she hung out with Yuki-san too much."
Kyou retorted back. By what she meant was Kou's personality before the battle of Big Site.
"Yuki is the type to tell jokes, not receive them."
But then...
"Pfft..."
A small giggle from her. That caught Ein by surprise, making him to turn around to see her trying to contain her own laughter.
"I-... I'm sorry... pfft... b-but... I-it just cracks me up...ha ha.. ha ha ha... HA HA HA HA!"
She suddenly burst out laughing loudly, clutching her stomach as she began to laugh and laugh almost non-stop.
"Ah... oops, think I hit a funny bone."
Kyou said, watching as she suddenly fell to the floor, laughing hysterically and uncontrollably.
"Velvet or fur? How can that be so funny?"
Ein scratched his head as he watched her continue to ball out laughing like a maniac. Or maybe... she was converting her pain into laughter. Who knows? Well, it is much better than her crying on his shirt and soaking it with her tears. But now she was laughing almost uncontrollably. What was he going to do with this laughing Queen of Fort?
"Kyou... do something about this."
He sighed.
"Eh? Me?"
"It was your fault that she ended up like this! So you fix it!"
"Tch... but still, it wasn't intentional."
At that moment, a loud blaring siren pierced through the relative silence of the night with its warning sounds. The sirens was closely followed the sounds of explosions at the other end of the encampment. The once quiet and almost dead camp suddenly came alive with SSS2 soldiers all rushing out of their buildings, grabbing rifles, rocket launchers and such. Supply crates were pushed out of warehouses into the open and kicked open. The ammunition inside each crate were quickly claimed by the hurrying fighters and additional crates had to be brought out constantly as more soldiers poured out from the medical buildings, covered with bloodied bandages, festering wounds, deep scars and even illnesses. Though they were injured or wounded, they still pushed themselves to be part of the fighting force.
"Ein! This is bad! We need to go!"
Kyou said. Ein nodded in agreement and tossed the bag of left over snacks away.
"You're right. Head over to the other end and see what needs to be done. Activate all available units and protect the wall at all cost!"
Ein ordered. Kyou snapped to attention and saluted Ein as she shouted-
"YES SIR!"
Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped off the edge of the parapet, down into the encampment and sped off towards the other side of the base.
"Yuki, we should go-"
Ein turned to her but found that the Queen of Fort was still clutching onto her stomach, that unnatural and uncontrollable smile on her face as she tried to stop herself from laughing.
"... Sigh, guess you should stay back. You haven't fully recovered yet. Don't worry, we'll get through this."
Ein said before jumping off the wall and down into the encampment.
"ALL HANDS TO THE EASTERN WALL! MOVE IT!"
He shouted to the SSS2 members before running off towards the attack himself. She stood there, still clutching her stomach. Her smile had dropped. She stood up straight, looking at the far end of the encampment. Explosions and gunfire all came from there. But what was missing? She looked down and saw her hand. Cold, unfeeling, numb. Was it from this cold freezing weather? Or was it something else? She closed her fist and her eyes. Thoughts were now back in order. No more wavering conviction. No more doubts. She fought because she had to. She fought because it was the only thing she could do. And now? Now was no different from before. Nothing has changed the status quo. She is the Queen of Fort. But even though it was the same as before, something was different. Something was new. She opened her eyes, those emerald eyes filled with renewed vigour, conviction... and darkness. Insanity was consuming her but she did not care. This will be the final end. She gripped her beret and took up her cane.
"... Now it's time."
A/N: At this current point it is getting confusing on the forces. Here is a quick break down on the forces at current (I will not spoil any that are not known)
Guild Division / Guard 1 / Iron Storm
Leader: Kusanagi Yamato
Sub leaders: Yamamoto Takanari, Senjougahara Shinobu, Goudatera Takako
Total Strength: 70,000 active / 20,000 injured or dead / 10,000 unaccounted
Guild:
-The Guild division makes up the bulk of the SSS2, having more people than any other division but they are not trained as soldiers and most have little to no experience in a fight. Having lost connection to the outside as well as losing their Division leader, Guild now rallies together under the banner of Kusanagi Yamato
Guard 1:
-A collection of highly skilled operatives from all divisions who were inspired and are trained by Guardian member, Kusanagi Yamato. While as skilled as Yamato, they have proven themselves fearless in front of all adversities, thus earning their place as Yamato's specialized elite shock troops
Iron Storm:
-The Assault Division's Heavy squad is responsible for any large weapons that cannot be operated normally as well as donning armour that is twice as thick as others. They were all down in Guild by the time the initial attacks took place. Cut off from their Division, the Heavy squad came together with Guild and now joins Kusanagi Yamato's forces.
Assault Division / Fort Division / Others
Leader: Taeno Yuki, Ein Shrewerz
Sub leaders: Fujibayashi Kyou, Hasegawa Iori
Total Strength: 25,000 active / 50,000 injured or dead / 60,000 unaccounted
Assault:
-The main fighting force of the SSS2, they have trained for years to fight their enemies. Under the leadership of Ein, they have more or less become an elite fighting force that would put most military forces of the real World to shame. During the initial attack (dubbed D-day), Assault had lost a good number of men and women trying to push back the enemy. When the retreat signal was given, they provided cover for the retreating members of Fort. They have since retreated back to their heavily fortified camp in the forest
Fort:
-The central command for the SSS2, Fort members boast the best defenses as well as having produced some of the best fighters in the organization. Fort's defenses were indeed impenetrable by any attack but having lost Fort had dealt a crippling blow to both their numbers and their morale. The elite fighting force of Fort, the Wolves, had lost a good number of personnel covering the retreat of Fort members into the forest. Their numbers are few and their morale is the lowest in the camp, especially after seeing their leader collapse into a coma after using her skills.
Others:
-Not all who escaped into the forest were from Assault and Fort. Members of Guild, Diversion and Intelligence had also retreated back to the forest as they were in the area during the time of D-day and thus chose to flee rather than find their own divisions. They make up the minority in the camp and help out with any task available to them to help out.
Angel Rebels
Leader: Katsuragi Rei
Sub leaders: Saya, Kai
Total Strength: 400
Angel:
-Converted and upgraded by Rei, these elite fighting NPCs listen only to the administrator, Rei, and would fight to the death if ordered to. They are each on par with a Class B Angel.
SSS (International)
Leader: Sakurai Yuri, Kamiya Yuzuru
Sub leaders: ?
Total Strength: ?
SSS:
-The previous generation of the SSS, now coming back to the Afterlife to correct the wrongs of the World. While they do not possess the same experience in war as the SSS2, they bring with them technical know-how, abilities and upgrades that the SSS2 are unable to produce. All of this is due to their access to the Angel Program through Otonashi Yuzuru. Being still alive, their souls are also sturdier and have higher resistance to 'death' in the Afterlife. The SSS (Japan) is now joined with an international force of like-minded individuals who shared the same experience in their own ways. This force was put together by Kamiya Yuzuru.
Guardians
Leader: Kurogane Kou
Total Strength: 20
Guardians:
-The most elite and ferocious fighters in the SSS2, also known as the reapers, have been around since the battle of Big Site. Their tactics and weapons are a testament to their fearsome power and respect their commanded. Three hours before D-Day, they initiated Operation: Overload (details on operation unknown) and have since gone dark. No one knows whether they are still alive or not.
Intelligence
Leader: Tatsume Kenji
Sub leader: Testarossa Iris
Total Strength: ? (Last known 50,000)
Intelligence:
-The eyes and ears of the SSS2, they were the best spy network and almost nothing could slip through their attention, even if it was an NPC wearing a wig and using the washroom. However they have never seen eye-to-eye with Fort or Assault, thus resulting in multiple break-downs in their relationship. During D-Day, Assault received a distress call from the Intelligence Division headquarters in the Library that they were under siege. However Assault was unable to launch a rescue operation and no communication had been established since then.
Diversion
Leader: Kinoji Awase
Sub leader: Jinnai
Total Strength: ? (Last known 80,000)
Diversion
-The only reason why the SSS2 never got into as much trouble with the NPCs and the World is all due to the Diversion division. They have the best abilities to cloak and mask any activity the SSS2 are doing with a wide and strange array of activities that can go from holding rock concerts to explode water bombs in the teacher's lounge. During the attack of D-Day, Diversion took the largest hit of all Divisions, sacrificing themselves to draw large concentrations of enemy forces away from the retreating divisions. Now scattered, no one is clear where the bulk of Diversion division is, if they survived at all.