The sun rises over the countryside as farmers oversee their crops. Without warning a blast fills the air and the unsuspecting farmers dive for cover from the threat. Looking to the sky the trace the vapor trails to the source of their fear. A black humanoid form flies through the sky with a loud roar.
John keeps an eye on his instruments making sure his power output doesn't begin to dip. He can already feel the fatigue of the previous day starting to set in. jumping into this suit with barely any rest after getting his face pounded was not a good decision. John had begun to break out into a cold sweat that dampened his hair making it thick against his skull. This began to mix with the drying blood that ran down his face. In short john was not in peak form this morning.
Although the Town had just begun to rise a council had already been drawn in Dover. Powerful leaders had come from different sides of the globe to attend this meeting. It was a perfect place for a meeting seeing as the large shipping ports made it easy for large vessels to dock. Liberia, Orussia, Karlsland and all others filtered in with men and women that represented countries and armies. Generals, Kings, Presidents all began to take their seats in the large hall and awaited someone to step forward and begin speaking. A man took up the podium as the chatter around the room came to a halt to allow him to speak.
"I would like to thank you all for coming here today, I know that it has been a harsh year since our last meeting but what we have to present today will pave the way to a better future" the man with a very English accent said, a representative of Britannia.
"As we all know many positions have changed since our last meeting so I believe it is only right to inform those who have not attended this national meeting before why we have assembled here today" He said as if wanting a response.
"We are here because our world faces a threat so devastating that no one nation could go in alone to defeat it. With the help of a mobilized army and round the clock effort we have united under one goal, the preservation of this world." With this the men and women in the room begin to look around at the other nations recalling how they have helped one another.
"It is through this transparency that we will succeed, we hold no secrets from one another and share all information. This meeting is our chance to present all nations with our new found information about the war effort, technology developments, and reconnaissance. We are able to lend a hand in the efforts of creating better technology to combat the enemy and with every person that comes up to speak today we shall be one step closer to winning this war." He says as the roar of applause washes over the room. The man was satisfied with his speech as the clapping begins to calm to a halt. He is about to leave the stage but the sound of a slow lone clapping catches his attention. He looks off among the tables and scans for where the sound of disrespect is coming from. He finally spots an officer sitting alone, he can't see the man's face below the brim of his cap.
"Well… you have our attention. Is there something you wish to say?" the man at the podium asked into the crowd as heads begin to turn towards the lone officer.
"All this speak of transparency and truthfulness to gain the upper hand in battle. Don't you know true power is developed in the shadows, away from prying eyes?" The man said tilting his hat back revealing his stunning blue eyes.
"And what, pray tell, makes you an authority on what we should do with our information?" the man asked.
"Oh I'm not telling you what you should do with it" The man said standing up and walking towards the stage.
"For all I'm concerned you can toss all this crap in the trash" He said making a point of his statement by putting a leg up onto the stage and hopping up next to the man behind the podium. Pushing the man aside with little effort he takes control of the microphone.
"There, now everyone can hear me, so listen well. Your technology… it's obsolete! Whatever you have created or will create in the years to come cannot hold a candle to my work." He said, the room began to chatter once again, the people were confused as to what was going on.
"Just who the hell do you think you are!" one of the officers shouted at him.
"I am not what I once was, just call me the General. And I am here to lead you all to salvation" Some people in the room started to get nervous while the military officers just broke out laughing at the deranged man. The General grinds his teeth as the world powers ridicule him an MP begins to walk over to escort him from the stage and his anger explodes.
"Don't touch me!" he shouts and with a burst of fire the MP is thrown from the stage, crashing through a table on his back. The General's eyes burn blue as fire consumes his arms with a bright orange glow.
"Stop… Laughing!" he shouts with another burst of fire, this time it expands out setting tables and flags on fire. Papers, most burning in midair, fly throughout the hall and flutter to the ground like snowflakes. Almost all the people ducked down to protect themselves and the hall fell silent once again until the General tapped on the microphone.
"Now that I have your attention I will continue." He grinned and put his hand down on the podium setting it on fire as well.
"As you can see through secret testing of my own doing I have become one of the most powerful weapons on this planet. A sort of god among men if you will. I am more powerful than your armies and I am far superior to your witches. There is no force on this earth that can stop me." He said as some of the officers pulled guns and began to fire at him. Others grabbed their respective leaders and attempted to escort them out of the building. As they reached the exits the doors swung open and they were met with the barrels of guns. The bullets didn't fare well against the General, each one that made contact with him just deflected thanks to a blue aura that surrounded him.
"As you can see my magic shield works without the need to concentrate any of my power. Your weapons are useless against me. And as you can see my followers have taken control of the building while you were all busy talking about peace and transparency" he gloated as the VIPs are walked back into the room at gunpoint.
"So what do you intend to do with all this power?" asked a General from Liberion.
"Well as you can see I am a good man, I am here to offer my power to your world. The fruits of my labor will be yours. I shall defeat this enemy and in exchange you will grant me power over what is left of this world." The General said and with this the room went into an uproar.
"Silence! This is not a negotiation, this is a takeover. The only thing you get to decide is if you live through the day. Swear your allegiance to my new world order or burn!" he shouted at the crowd and they became silent. There wasn't much they could do.
"I thought so, it's not a hard decision. It's not like any of you could oppose me anyway." The General gloated as the room shook a bit. The general looked up and then a wide smile came across his face.
"So you have finally arrived." He said to himself jumping off the stage and running towards the door. Pushing the large wooden doorway open light floods into the smoky room and the General walks out onto the lawn. Looking up into the sky he sees a low flying black object come down and land with a harsh metallic crash. The grass is ripped up around the landing spot and the black figure sits there in a knelt position. Steam discharges from the suit as it rises and looks directly at the general.
"Welcome John! I didn't think it would take you this long to get here. Getting a bit slow are y-" The General started but John cut him off.
"Shut the fuck up. Your time for talking is finished. You have been torturing me for who knows how long now. You have almost killed the people I love and you turned my friends against me. The time for talking is over. I'm going to kill you!" John shouted, his voice somewhat muffled by the armor he was wearing.
"Well look who's all grown up. I'm glad you didn't turn tail before my great demonstration. Now the world will watch as I defeat my precursor. I will prove to all the watching eyes around this city that I am the soldier this world deserves, and when word spreads of my power there will be no man, woman, child, or witch that isn't kneeling before m-" he monologues until John rears up his arm and delivers the first blow. A devastating haymaker punch to the Generals face that sends him flying back across the grass and back into the building.
"I thought I told you… you were done talking… now it's time for you to be done living" John said walking towards the building to continue the fight.
Back at the base the girls are still trying to collect themselves. In the hanger Sanya and Shirley take account of what has been tampered with. Shirley falls to her knees when she sees the state of the striker units.
"Those… bastards… all of them. They destroyed all of them." Shirley said gripping at her hair as she looks over the horrible sight. All the striker units had been bashed and burnt. Some were in repairable condition but nothing that they would be flying any time soon. Sanya walked over to the stand that the strikers were hung on and opened the hatch along its side.
"It seems they didn't take the time to destroy our weapons. These are still useful" Sanya said pulling a rifle out and throwing it to Shirley. Shirley pulls herself together and loads the rifle.
"I'll see what equipment I can pull together down here. You see how the others are coming along." Shirley tells Sanya as a light tapping starts to fill the air. The two turn around to see a small Dalmatian running towards them.
"A dog?" Sanya asks. The dog runs up to the two and begins to bark at the pair. It holds its ground with the barking as if it's trying to gain their attention.
"That's Rorschach, John found him the other night." Shirley said as she went back to grabbing weapons. The dog ran over to her and started barking even more.
"I don't have time to play I'm really busy right now." Shirley said as the dog began to run towards the doors that lead back into the base. Sanya fallows him to see what he is up to. Rorschach pushes against the door and it opens and Sanya follows. The Dalmatian runs down the halls past Yoshika and Perrine.
"Sanya? What's going on?" Yoshika asked as the dog pranced by and Sanya came to a stop in front of the two.
"I believe John's dog is attempting to show us something." The girl said and continued to follow the dog down the long corridor. Yoshika gave chase as well.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Perrine asked as she began to chase the two.
"Were not getting anything done standing around. We should help Sanya." Yoshika said as they all followed the dog. They soon approached a storage room door that the dog began to claw at. Sanya tried to open the door but the knob wouldn't budge. She started to ram her shoulder into the door but it wouldn't move.
"Help me with the door" Sanya said as the three started to bash at the door until it eventually buckled and the hinges broke. The door fell down and the three tumbled with it. On the other side of the doorway Sanya looked up to see Commander Minna tied to a chair with a rag tied around her mouth. Her eyes were open wide as she struggled towards the girls.
"Commander!" Yoshika said about to get up and help the girl. Then the sound of a gun loading echoed in the room. The three look over and see a lone MP waiting in the room with a pistol aimed down at them.
"Don't move!" he shouted at them. The three were confused and petrified as to why this was happening.
"Listen you don't have to do this. Let's talk this over" Perrine said as the man directed the gun around moving from one to the other.
"I was given specific orders to secure the commander and keep her away from anyone, especially you lot" He said as the Dalmatian jumped up and sunk its teeth into his arm. The man swung with the bite and fired the gun into the ground. The three jumped up and attacked the man. Yoshika slid and wrapped her arms around his legs and he fell to the ground. Perrine stepped down on his wrist and the man released the gun. She then kicked it to the side as Sanya put the man into a head lock until he lost consciousness. They waited a couple moments and the man didn't move, they knew it was safe to help the commander.
Sanya ran over to her and started to untie her, Perrine pulls the rag out of her mouth to allow her to speak. As they untied Minna Yoshika saw to Rorschach and made sure he wasn't hurt.
"You alright little guy" She asked the dog as she scratched behind its ears. "You did a good job, yes you did" she said as the dog panted. Looking the dog over she pets it down its sides to make sure there is no blood or wounds. The girls had untied Minna and she was rubbing her arms to lessen the rope burns.
"Thanks girls, you really saved me back there." Minna said as they heard someone running down the hall. Eila comes to the door gun drawn and looks over the situation.
"I heard gunshots so I came running. Looks like you found the commander" Eila said putting her weapon away.
"Commander, do you know what's going on? Why were you tied up?" Sanya asked as they followed Minna out of the storage room.
"I have no idea. A few investigators showed up in my office and started questioning me about John. Before I knew it they had taken me to this room and tied me up. As for why this is happening I haven't got a clue. My theory is that those men were agents working for john's old unit. They were probably ordered to kill him here." She said as they walked into her office to see the bodies were still on the floor. Minna gags a bit but is able to compose herself. She sees Barkhorn is working with the radio behind the desk.
"Who did this to them?" Minna asked.
"John said it was the General, All that blood by that chair is John's." Barkhorn said as she continued to turn the knobs and listen to the radio through a headset.
"There goes my theory, where is John now?" Minna asked.
"The asshole ran off with the experimental armor. I'm trying to get any kind of information on where he went." Barkhorn said.
"How could you let him run off like that?" Minna scolded the girl.
"He tricked me! I was handcuffed. There was nothing I could do to stop him" She shouted back. Minna bent down to look at the blood under the chair. Her gaze followed down towards the door.
"What's wrong Commander?" Yoshika asked as the girl continued to gaze at the ground. Minna then stuck her head out into the hall and continued to look around.
"How long ago did John run off" Minna asked stepping back into the room.
"Maybe a little less than twenty minutes ago. Why, is the suite not going to be able to maintain him?" Barkhorn asked with concern.
"I don't know about the suite but john is bleeding. There are drops of blood leading down the hall. He may not be in the proper state of mind if he loses too much blood." Minna said pointing out the small red dots along the wood and carpet.
"How bad do you think it is?" Yoshika asked looking at the blood.
"Hard to say, not much blood in the hall. Do you remember anything specific about his wounds Barkhorn?" Minna asked but there was no response. The girl was just looking down at the radio with the headset on. Her eyes were wide open in fear.
"Barkhorn? What's wrong?" Minna asked as the girl rips off the headset.
"There's been an attack in Dover!" she shouted.
"Was it the Neuroi?" Minna asked.
"No, Much worse" Barkhorn responded.
John walks towards the rubble of the wall as black smoke billows from the newly formed hole. As he moves in people begin to run for the door. They flood around him trying to get out of the burning building. They are a mix of diplomats and officers. They are being followed by the flashes of muzzles as a small group of men take shots at them attempting to stop them from getting away. John steps in the way of this and the men start to focus their fire on him. The bullets ricochet from his armor as he stands his ground waiting for the people to be clear of the building. The men continue to fire and reload their gun until one steps forward with a grenade launcher attached to the barrel of his rifle. Taking one shot the grenade is fired across the room and grass and hits John straight on. There is a thick black cloud that consumes the area. No one can see a thing and the suppressive fire slows to a halt. A gust of wind begins to move the smoke, the men are taken back when they see that John is still standing there.
"Is that all you got" John said raising his arm and with a deafening explosion fires a large round into the crowd of mercenaries. With a blast of fire they are thrown into the air and scattered around on the grass. John now pushes on into the building, the fire had now spread throughout the entire room. John's armor now glows blue around him as it protects him from the intense heat.
"This isn't good, I can't stay in here long. My Magical energy will be drained extremely quickly by all this fire." He says to himself. As John trudges through the debris following the trail of wreckage that the General left on his path. While he lifts himself over a table he can really feel how tired he is. His muscles ache and he probably wouldn't be able to do much without the help of the magic armor. Upon arriving at the area where the General landed John was not able to see him due to the debris that had fallen down around him. Taking hold of the flaming wood John began to move it out of the way.
"Would it be too much to ask for him to be dead under all this" John says to himself as he moves the wood. Sweat now consumes his face as the heat begins to get to him. The armor is beginning to lose its resistance to the fire at a steady rate and John can feel it happening.
Suddenly an arm crashes out from beneath the wood and grabs John by the helmet. The general pulls himself from the flaming wood and stone as John struggles to break his grasp. The General's cloths are now tattered and torn from the impact.
"You really shouldn't have done that John" He said raising a foot out of the rubble and taking a stand, still grasping the boy's skull. John feels the heat begin to intensify as the Generals hand begins to glow orange. Thinking fast John engages the jets and rockets away before the armor is melted. The General is thrown back one again but this time doesn't allow himself to lose his footing. John tumbles to the ground and tries to collect himself. The burning on his face is painful but there isn't much he can do about it without removing the armor and putting himself in serious danger. He lies on the ground in the fetal position attempting to null the pain. Unaware of his environment the General walks over and delivers a kick to his abdomen, throwing the boy a few feet. After John hits the ground once again another kick is felt, and another. Checking his instruments he can see his shields are in the low 40% and still dropping. His core isn't able to create magic fast enough to replace what is being used.
"You're weak John" The General said as he picked up a large beam of wood. John attempts to get back and put up a fight, getting on to his knees is tough when the armor has become so rigid due to the lack of Magical energy. He puts a foot down and begins to stand, he wobbles a bit and pushes with his thighs in an attempt to get on his feet but the General bashes him over the head with the beam as if he was swinging a baseball bat. John is once again thrown down onto the ground.
Looking at his surroundings he sees the opening to the outside world is close. There is light flooding in through the hole that is cutting through the black smoke and orange flame. John knows that he won't last long in this fire. All he has to do is get out of the room and his energy levels should start to build at a faster rate. Now on his stomach John begins to crawl for the opening. One arm over the other and kicking with his legs he slowly scrapes across the floor. He doesn't make it far before he feels a tug on his leg.
"Trying to crawl away like the insect you are?" The general asks as he flips him onto his back and puts a knee on John's chest. John feels the strength this man wields as just his knee begins to bend at his armor. The pressure on his chest is becoming intense. The general begins to pound on John's helmet over and over again. Punch after punch leaving small marks on the metal and causing a ringing that is dizzying to the occupant. Before the torture can go on John lifts his arm and fires a 75 mm cannon round into his side. The General was thrown across the room once again and this time the building was ready to fall. The beams had so much weight on them due to the fire and fighting that the room was ready to crumble. John built up the strength to get on his feet and made it to the exit. As he walked out he immediately felt the relief from the heat. With every passing step he felt cooler and more exhilarated. Looking at the instrument panel built into the arm of the unit he could see that his magic energy had started to build once again. Pulling open a panel two shells from the 75mm cannon ejected from his arm and he loaded another two.
"Not so tough now?" John asked as the building's roof collapsed in on itself. People had now begun to crowd around the area. Military police and regular police officers had created barricades around the area to keep people back. They watched in horror as the building smoked and fell. John stood there for a few moments and waited for something to happen. Nothing happened and John didn't know how to react.
The rubble started to move and the General pushed beams wood from his head. His side was black and blue from the impact of the cannon. The wound should have been a gaping hole but his shield absorbed a significant amount of the damage leaving the skin bruised and battered. The deep purple skin began to slowly regenerate and regain its pigment but it was going to take a while. Wiping the blood from his mouth he steps down from the piles of rubble and onto the grass.
"Pretty good John, if I could feel pain that might have done something" he said as the grass began to burn and die beneath his feet. John glanced down at the dials on his wrist and saw that his magical energy was still very low.
"Shit I just need a little more time" He said raising his arm and firing another round at the General. With the flick of his wrist the General easily knocked it to the side. It tore through the grass and smashed into the side of a police car as people jumped out of the way in search of safety.
"Did you really think that would work again, especially at that range?" He gloated. John put up his fists and took on a boxing stance.
"Then why don't you come closer and I'll show you what this thing can do" He said looking at the dial one more time. The small hand had now moved from the yellow bar to the green and his magic was really kicking in. the suit was moving more fluidly. It was as if he wasn't wearing armor at all.
"That's what I like to hear" The General said running towards the boy. With a punch to the helmet John is knock back a few steps but holds his ground. The General swings again but John is ready. He ducks down and misses the arc of his fist. John then dilivers a punch of his own to the Generals still purple side then another to his face. The General tries to fight back but John uses his arms to block the assault. Using his right arm John is able to block an incoming punch and the General receives another Jab to the nose. The General is unable to recover from these punches as every time he attempts to strike John his punches are blocked. John continues to berate the General causing many noticeable injuries to the man. His chest and face are now filled with black and blue marks.
"What's wrong general, not managing your magic correctly? You would heal faster if it weren't for your shield, pain, and youth. Do you constantly have to channel magic to stay young?" John gloated as the general takes a knee trying to defend himself.
"Enough of this!" the General shouts as John is about to throw another Punch. The General grabs his right arm and forces it into the air above their heads. The General's arm then begins to glow with an intense heat that is almost white hot. John tries using his other hand to get loose but as soon as he attempted to grip at the generals arm he could feel the intense heat on his hand and had to pull away. The General pulls back his other flaming arm and puts his hand in a flat, spear like formation aimed right at the center of John's chest.
"No! Stop!" John shouts trying to break the generals grasp, the heat begins to make the metal of his arm glow red as well. The heat is becoming unbearable and the pain is beyond comprehension, John only wishes he had the ability to bear these injuries.
"What's wrong John? Can't take the heat? Don't pass out from the pain, I want you to see me gut you like a fish, first I'll start by pulling that core out of your chest." The General said as he moves his hand slowly towards the armor about to cut him open with surgical care.
"No! The cannon!" John shouts but it's already too late with a crack like thunder John's wrist explodes. The ammunition and loaded rounds that were in Johns arm pre ignited and in a cloud of black smoke the two were thrown from one another. It's impossible to hear anything and John looks up in a haze at the blue sky above him. It is quickly being covered by the dark clouds billowing from the explosions and the building fire. Picking himself up from the ground and pulling himself to somewhere he can sit he realizes he is in a shallow ditch created by all the fighting. He leans against the edge of the creator and takes a deep breath. Everything is surreal and peaceful for some reason. Looking around there isn't much to see, the blackness had consumed the area. There was something in the creator though, a hunk of metal on the ground that had been ripped to shreds. It resembled a gauntlet of some sort. John wasn't entirely sure, he was still very dazed. As he began to think he then looked down at himself.
"No…. No…. No! this can be happening! Oh god!" John shouted as he clutched at his right hand but there was nothing there. All the way up to his elbow was completely gone. The explosion severed it clean from his body. Its remains lay on the ground next to him.
"Dear god no! This can't be real!" he panicked and began to crawl towards the hand that lie on the ground. Picking it up with his good arm he looks it over. On his knees now he drops the hand and puts his left hand to his helmet. Beneath the mask he begins to cry, everything was sinking in at once for him.
"You took my life, you took my friends, you took my health, and now… now you took my fucking arm!? When will it end!? When will you have your fill!?" John shouted and gritted his teeth. He pulled himself to his feet and clenched his fists.
"Where are you you bastard! I don't need an arm to kill you!" John shouted into the void of blackness that consumed him. Without skipping a beat a leg appeared and kicked John in the stomach. He was knocked back to where he was sitting and the General stood over him. Putting his foot on John's chest The general looks down at the boy. The General doesn't look as healthy as he did moments ago, if being brutally beaten constitutes good health. His hair was falling out, the arm that was holding John's arm was now pulsating with white energy. His shirt had been ripped off in the explosion and John could now get a look at his core. It was glowing intensely at this point and it looked like the energy had begun having adverse effects on him. It looked as though roots had begun to form under his skin, these purple bruised roots spread out from the core and across his chest. Some even went up his neck, it was clearly a sign of the cores overuse.
"Well John, you were only half a man when this all started, what does this make you now?" He asked the boy pointing out his missing limb. John just started laughing and the General looked at him with a more intense anger.
"Calling the kettle black are you" John said and this caused him to laugh even more. The General just shook his head.
"You've lost so much blood you probably have no clue what's going on anymore." He said but John just kept laughing. "Oh well, time to end your miserable life" He said raising his arm up once again about to dig through the armor and scoop out what was left of John. As he was about to strike something cut through the smoke and threw the general into the darkness. John was confused and sat up just in time to see the light of an explosion in the direction the General flew. He looked the other way to see Sanya standing there with her rocket launcher. She had fired a missile at the General and it dug itself into him, this caused him to be taken with it until its detonation. Sanya ran down the ditch and fell to his side.
"John, are you alright?" She asks looking him over but the smoke makes it hard to see.
"Sanya?" he says faintly as he lifts a hand to feel her face but it is in vein as he sees that there is no hand attached to that arm. Sanya's eyes dart open as she sees this injury but John only lifts his other hand and strokes her cheek lightly with two fingers. She takes his hand in hers and holds it tight.
"John, listen to me. You need to hold on, don't fall asleep. Alright? I'm going to call for help" She told him and then looked over her shoulder.
"Yoshika! We need you over here!" She shouts into the darkness.
"Yoshika's… here?" John mumbles.
"I can't see much in all this dust" Yoshika shouts not able to find where Sanya is.
"Hartmann!" Sakamoto shouts giving an order to the girl.
"On it!" she replies as gusts of wind rush through the area and begin to lift the black smoke.
"Erica… and Sakamoto are here too?" John asked. When the smoke clears he sees that trucks had arrived and the witches were standing there, weapons drawn. Yoshika runs down to the creator and begins to assist Sanya.
"Is there anything you can do?" Sanya asked.
"My Magic should close the wounds and reverse the blood loss… oh god…" she said as she got down to help them. She had just noticed the arm.
"I'll… I'll do my best" she said to Sanya trying to stay confident. Extending her hands she begins to glow with a warm magic. John feels it take him over as he slowly starts to come back to reality. His arms stops bleeding and below the blood the skin begins to heal. Although his arm will not return the wound is almost sealed.
"You Bitch!" Sanya hears from outside her immediate attention as a blast of fire comes towards them. She quickly raises her hands to create a shield and defend the three of them. The general took a commanding stance above them, outside of the ditch, and clenched his fists.
"You all have been a thorn in my side for too long" He said when something that sounded like a cannon was heard and the General was thrown back once again. The three look over to see Lynette had taken a shot at him with her Boys anti-tank rifle.
"That wasn't very nice" Lynette said with a look of anger.
"Nice shot" John mumbled, still not completely recovered from his blood loss.
The group of girls moved up to put themselves between the ditch and the General. Shirley and Erica jumped down into the ditch and placed set up an area of defense. Erica placed her MG42 along the edge of the ditch to support it and prepared to defend the area.
"You two just worry about helping John, well take care of this guy" Shirley said and readied her BAR for anything that may come their way. The general was once again ready to fight and Sakamoto approached him. She was carrying only her Katana, it was at her side in all battles but usually she kept a gun on hand as well.
"Do you really believe you can hurt me?! Have you not seen what I have been through?" he said looking down on the girl. Sakamoto grips the blade and pulls it quickly from the sheath. With a flash of blue light she slashes across the Generals chest. Blood begins to pour from the wound as the General clutches at the open skin.
"That… That hurt!" He said as Sakamoto readies for another strike.
"My blade is not like others, you shouldn't take it lightly!" she shouts and slashes him once again. The General Jumps back to get back in control of the situation. Sakamoto swings at him but this time he puts his hand out and catches the blade.
"Doesn't work when I put more magic into my shield" He said and kicked her in the Chest. She is thrown from her blade and onto her back.
"Attack!" Minna shouts to the girls and they open fire on him. He tries to evade but it's no use. He needs to take this threat straight on. Running through the gunfire the General throws a wall of flame at Eila and Lucchini. The two jump from its path. He then grabs at their guns and throws them out of reach. Focusing in Lucchini the Generals arms glow again with the hot white as he is about to grab her. She screams and tries to kick away. As the general is upon him he is then hit in the head by something hard. Barkhorn had turned her MG42 around and used it to bash the general over the head. With the swing the gun broke apart but it allowed her to land a hit without touching the man's molten skin. She reaches a hand out and helps Lucchini back onto her feet.
The girls continue to fire at him until he is pushed back away from them. The General continues to bounce bullets away but some of the heavier rounds are able to harm him.
"Enough!" he shouts and with a burst of fire the guns heat to a dangerous point. The girls drop their weapons and instinctively duck for cover. Some weapons begin to fire on their own while other just explode due to the heat on the ammunition.
"Finally… that was annoying." He said gasping for breath. Before he could think a bold of lighting strikes at his feet.
"what the Hell?" He shouts and looks over to see Perrine standing there with her rapier at the ready. Sakamoto walks over and Picks up her Katana. The two take a stance and are ready to fight.
"It will be an honor to fight along side you Major" Perrine said to the major as they circle their foe.
"Likewise Perrine" the Major responded.
"such an outdated weapon... but still proving effective" the General said gritting his teeth and preparing to fight these two. With a slash Sakamoto lands the first strike and Perrine follows it with a stab. the General flails his arms but the two are fast enough to evade his sloppy fighting. They continue to pick off his defenses little by little. A slash here and a stab there brings the man to his knees time and time again. Every time he got up they would do their best to put him back down.
John had now healed from most of his injuries and had come back around. He was able to think clearly again.
"Jeez John what were you thinking?" Yoshika asked as the blue glow fades away.
"Yeah, you could have been killed, if we hadn't come along who knows what would have happened." Erica shouted at him.
"I would leave out the 'could have been' part for now, we still have a problem" John said looking out of the ditch to see that the Generals condition was becoming worse. His core was now burning with a white light and his body was giving off huge amounts of energy. John ducked back into the hole with the others.
"That is definitely not good" John said.
"You're telling me, He looks like he's so angry he could explode" Erica said.
"That could be the problem, with all that magic being generated to do so much I think He may be overloading to core." John said.
"What do you mean?" Sanya asked.
"I built this thing originally with light use in mind but he took my design and turned it into some monster system. He has been using it to do some over the top things. From what I've seen he's channeled it into strength, shielding, youth, pain, and the fire just to name what I have observed. That much stress on the core not is not only unsafe but also creating a lot of magic to power it all." John explained.
"And what happens when there is too much stress on the core" Yoshika asked.
"Well the core can no longer hold all the magic and it will break… then…" John says looking at them with fear in his eyes.
"Boom…" Shirley says.
"When she says boom she's talking about… what kind of boom?" Yoshika asks in a panic.
"Were talking about an explosion that could level this city and evaporate everyone in a five mile radius… kind of Boom." John said.
"That's horrible, all these innocent people" Yoshika proclaimed.
"How much time do we have? Ya know, before the city pulls a vanishing act" Erica asked.
"I'd say were definitely down into the minute threshold, if he keeps exhorting himself that may be generous. This is all in the air right now." John said and then stopped to think about what he just said. This took him back to the memory of burns death not long ago.
"We need to get an evacuation going, we don't have much time" Yoshika said.
"How are we supposed to move so many people out of this town and hold this guy at bay? It's impossible for us to get out of this without casualties." Shirley says.
"There may be a way, if we can lead him into the Strait of Dover the water could effectively slow the energy output and stop his meltdown." John said.
"How can we do that, if we touch the guy we'll be fried" Erica said.
"Although I lost my magical indicator when the instrument panel was severed with my arm I think I have enough in me to move him." John pointed to the shore on the horizon.
"All I have to do is use the jets to move him out into the water" John says.
"And what if it doesn't work? What if he still goes off in the water, or while you're taking him there." Sanya asked.
"Then… I'll fly far enough out that if the explosion does happen it won't be as destructive." John says.
"No way! That's suicide no matter how you look at it. The odds of you coming back are so slim" Yoshika exclaimed clenching her fists in anger.
"And if we do nothing we all die along with the people of this town" John says as they go silent.
"Alright… what do you need us to do?" Shirley asked. As she said this Barkhorn dove into the pit with them as she avoided a flair of fire.
"What's the holdup down here? Sakamoto and Perrine have been holding this guy back but they can't last long." Barkhorn shouted to them.
"Here's the plan, you guys keep him distracted long enough for me to line up the shot, if I can reduce the amount of time I'm in contact with him I'll be the chances of this working are much better. Also if I can get him from behind the risk also drops." He explained to them.
"So we'll draw his fire and what? Did I miss something?" Barkhorn asked not sure what John meant by lining up the shot. The others just nodded and loaded their weapons.
"Just keep him suppressed. Sanya do you wanna take the first shot?" Erica asked as the girl picked up her rocket launcher and lined up the target. She aimed lower so the rocket would create more of a screen to cover their movements.
"Barkhorn, do you think you can get the major and Perrine to move" Sanya asked in a quiet voice knowing Barkhorn voice would be more urgent and easier to hear among all the fighting.
"Oh? yeah." She said surprised at the request. She stood up from the cover and cupped her hands around her mouth to better amplify her voice.
"Perrine! Major!" She shouted with a mighty voice and the two looked over in their direction. Seeing Sanya they got the message and dove out of the way. The second the two were safe Sanya fired a two rockets that each made contact at the Generals feet. There was a puff of dirt followed by massive black clouds as they exploded on contact with the ground.
"Suppressive fire!" Erica Shouted as her and Charlotte opened fire into the dust. Although they couldn't see much they knew their target was still there because there were blue flashes from their bullets bouncing off his shield. The cloud of smoke looked like a storm moving across the surface with all the sparks appearing like lightning. John used this opportunity to run around the outside of the smoke and get in position. John would occasionally hear a bullet hit his armor and was unsure if it came from a ricochet or a direct hit but he didn't have time to focus on that. He was now in position behind the General and all he had to do was wait for the smoke to clear.
"Erica! I need a shot, clear the smoke!" John shouted over the chaos and Erica heard it. Using her Magical ability the girl used a gust of wind to blow away what was left of the smoke. When the blackness cleared John was stunned by what he saw. The general was standing where he once was, but he was looking directly at John, as if he had watched him the entire time as he positioned himself.
"Did you really think that would work, John?" The General asked with a smile on his face. John clenched his fist and knew there was no going back. His jets began to glow blue and with a scream he took off at the man with amazing speed. Before anyone knew it they were off the ground and heading towards the beach. John had used his one good arm to wrap around the General and the propulsion was holding the villain in Place. This blast knocked the wind out of the General and he didn't fight back much as John began to reach the Water.
"What is he doing?" Barkhorn asked.
"The guy was a ticking time bomb, He's going to drop him in the channel." Erica told her. Barkhorn grit her teeth upon hearing this.
"Why would you let him do this? It's suicide!" She yelled at the girl.
"It was the only way, everyone would have died if we didn't." Erica said as tears started to come to her eyes as her friend scolded her. She didn't like the decision any more than anyone else but she knew it was the only way for the least amount of people to be injured. She knew if John died she would regret letting him go for the rest of her life. The feeling was mutual among the others in the pit but there was no time to come up with another way out. Barkhorn ran over to one of the trucks and opened the door. Erica ran down and got in on the passenger side.
"What are you doing?" Barkhorn asked as she started the engine.
"The others can handle the crowd, they can make sure everyone's alright. We're going after him right?" Erica asked. Barkhorn grinned and threw the car into reverse to line it up with the road. She hears a pounding against the metal door and looks in the rear view mirror to see Minna standing there.
"Commander… You have to understand" Barkhorn started but Minna put her hand out to stop her from talking.
"Make sure he makes it back with all the pieces he has left." Minna grinned to the girl. Barkhorn took that as an order and floored the accelerator. Hartmann grabbed at whatever she could to stop from rocking around as they powered toward the beach.
The General pounds on John's suit as He attempts to break the iron grasp holds him with. John can feel the temperature starting to leak through his shields and knows he doesn't have much time left. The ground roaring past below soon turns from grass to sand and then instantly to water as they fly out into the Strait of Dover. John hears a loud thud on the back of his suit as he loses his speed a bit and begins to dip towards the water. He quickly corrects it to continue flying straight and level. Looking over his shoulder John sees that the General had stopped fighting him and had begun melting through the armor on his back. His hands were now fusing with his back and the heat was starting to cook him. His body twitches as his entire back feels the heat start to increase at an alarming rate.
"You really think it's gonna end the way you want John?" The general screamed into his face as they sailed through the sky.
"I knew this was a possibility, I knew you had a chance of beating me. So I thought if the world couldn't handle my power then I would destroy as much as I could in one grand death!" The general said.
"You're overloading the core on purpose! You're insane!" John shouted at him.
"I may be insane but look who's chosen to stay with me in my death." The general shouted at the boy. John Tried to release him but the general's grip had fused into his back. There was no way of him letting go of the armor.
"See John, no matter what happens, I'll always win in the end. Live or die, you'll still be dead. My plans always work." He laughed as John kept fighting to get him off. The man wouldn't let go and John knew there wasn't much time. John doesn't move for a few moments and then the general feels them start to pitch upwards. Instead of moving towards the water they begin to climb into the sky.
"We'll General… If you're gonna win. Might as well make it a big finish." John smirked as the jets propelled the black armor with a man clinging to it high into the sky.
Barkhorn and Hartmann had only a few more blocks to go before they ran out of road.
"So his whole plan was to dump the jerk into the water and fly away?" Barkhorn asked as the road became more and more bumpy. With each hit you could hear the large vehicle crunch and the metal sway on its springs.
"He estimated that the magic would level a five mile radius." Hartmann started but had to pause her thought when they hit another large bump in the road.
"I hope he was being generous with that number" Hartmann continued, "He should be far enough out there to make the drop" Hartmann grasped onto whatever she could get her hands on as they jumped from the road onto the sand and the truck slid to a halt.
"I can still see him flying out there" Barkhorn said getting out of the car with Erica and standing at the farthest point they could. The waves washed up and coated their boots with water as they looked out over the Strait.
"He may have dropped him already. It could be easier just to stay on course and try to outrun the blast that way."
"I can still see the white light from the General, I don't think he's let go yet" Barkhorn said in a very scared and quiet voice. They continue to track him but still nothing happens.
"He's a smart guy, he knows what he's do… what is he doing?!" Erica shouted as she sees the spot in the distance begin to rise into the air instead of stay on a straight path.
"Where the hell is he going!?" Barkhorn shouted.
"I don't know! The plan was to drop over the water" Erica started to panic. She ran over to the truck and started to look around for some kind of radio to communicate with John to figure out what had gone wrong. While she was searching she turns back around and sees the dot is still flying higher and higher into the sky. Suddenly when it reaches close to the clouds there is a small pop of white light. Then another, and another followed by a massive ball of fire that bursts in the sky. The white ball of fires heat can somewhat be felt on the shore as Erica covers her eyes from the blast.
Back in the town the people are silent as they look at what had just happened. Minna's eyes grow large seeing this ball of light quickly dissipate from sight. As soon as it was there it was gone once again. The witches are silent, they aren't really sure of what just happened.
"T-Trude" Erica stumbles her words as she slowly approaches her friend on the beach once again. She doesn't know what to do as tears start to swell in her eyes from what she just experienced.
"Trude?" She asked again walking close to the girl. As she approached Barkhorns legs buckled and she fell on her knees in the soft wet sand. The waves splashing against her as she gripped for the sand, anything to crush in her hands. She then hunched over and with short, loud gasps began to sob.