About an hour and a half later, Isaac, Wilhelm and Shinano all arrived above deck onboard the Yamato. Drenched in blood, they all took a moment to catch their breath as the heavy lifting was finally over.

"Are we sure we got every last one? I don't need a rogue cultist blowing up Yamato's powder magazine when we arrive back at the fleet." Isaac spoke shortly.

"I will keep my men onboard to ensure any stragglers are dealt with accordingly." Wilhelm said as Isaac lifted his blood streaked helmet. Turning to Shinano he finally spoke.

"Shinano… I can practically feel you resisting the urge to go to your sister. I have Wilhelm here. Go ahead and return to the main fleet. She should be there right about now." Isaac said as Shinano looked at him.

"I am sorry, my husband. If she were not my sister, I would not be so eager to leave your side…" Shinano said.

"I will have Iowa tow us in with Texas and Tirpitz. The Musashi and the Kashino have already returned ahead of us. Don't feel bad, she's your sister." Isaac said with a soft smile.

Thank you, my husband." Shinano said as she quickly moved to the side of Yamato's vessel and jumped to the sea below, heading to her vessel to return to the main fleet ahead of Isaac.

Stefan sat on a rock which overlooked the damp grey beach back on Cebu. The calm brushes of waves occasionally interrupted by cracks of gunfire. Near the horizon, Apollyon's fleet rested as they prepared for the final assault on Cebu City. The final push forestalled by the severe injury of MacArthur and Odin's unwillingness to push further into the town without Isaac overseeing the events.

"Stefan! There you are! I've done as you requested. Most of the other resistance groups have now gathered near the operating post." A familiar voice called out from vegetation behind him and before long, one of his fellow comrades stood behind him.

"Good. How many men?"

"If I consider all the groups, including the guys from the north, I'd say we number around five hundred. However, their spirits don't seem too high… especially since they've all heard about what happened to MacArthur and..." The man spoke.

"And?"

"We've been resisting for a long time now. Most of them are tired and pessimistic. If we win today, will we finally be able to regain our freedom and achieve peace as our ancestors had long since wished? Or will we once again face another oppressor and live like lambs waiting to be slaughtered?" The man finished, adding a bit of emotion towards the end, indicating his own thoughts on the matter.

Silence permeated the conversation between the two men, which was only broken by Stefan who grabbed his rifle and stood. "Where are you going?" His comrade asked.

"Back to camp, obviously. It's time to remind our countrymen how we should treat unwanted guests." Stefan asked.

His journey back didn't take long. Despite the short leave, more tents seemed to have been raised in his absence. There were a lot of injured soldiers after all. As he made his way through, an American soldier approached him.

"Are you Stefan?"

"I am." He answered while continuing his brisk walk.

"Vice Commander Odin wants to see you, it's urgent."

"Please tell her to wait, I have another matter to attend to."

"She really needs you. The sooner the assault plan is finalized, the earlier we can-"

"What is your name, Soldier?"

"Private Landon."

Stefan made a brief nod. "Landon, are you aware of our situation?"

"Yes."

"Then you are aware that we have the firepower to level our enemies, but not the manpower to support it." The young man continued to look on, confusion riddled on his face. "What I'm going to try and do is to give a few of my men some faith... Tell Vice Commander Odin that."

The lad stopped in his tracks, still trying to wrap his head around Stefan's words. It would seem best for him to report the islander's words to his superior.

"Vice Commander." Landon spoke as he approached the blown out buildings on the front. He ducked his head lower to avoid pot shots as both sides traded fire over what Odin could only assume was the main street.

"Soldier. Where is Stefan? His input is needed so we can take the rest of this city. I just received word from Texas and Tirpitz that the task force sent to liberate Yamato is returning. So that means Admiral Garner will be returning as well." Odin spoke neutrally.

"He said he had something to attend to before he came here. He said something about reminding his people how to treat unwanted guests. Most of the islanders here looked unwilling to fight another day, so maybe it's best that we give him time to rally more support for us." Landon spoke.

Odin thought for a moment.

"He is smarter than I gave him credit for. I will allow it. I can wait until the Admiral arrives to finalize this plan. I would like you to oversee Stefan's actions and report to me with the result. I want to know how much to factor the islanders into this final assault." Odin said.

"I understand, Vice Commander." Landon said with a sharp salute before ducking out of the blown out building that now doubled as the on site medical bay.

Odin turned to look at MacArthur.

"I want to say that this is karma for what happened in New Guinea… but my husband would scold me for holding a grudge like that… How are you feeling?" Odin asked a conscious MacArthur.

"You're not wrong… working with Admiral Garner these past few weeks has shown me how poorly I treated you kansen. Not just the four who died under my command, but the idea of Kansen's as a whole. It wouldn't be far off to say this is karma getting back at me." MacArthur spoke as he struggled to sit up, despite his multiple burns.

"You shouldn't move just yet." Vestal said as she gently forced MacArthur back onto the table that was doubling as his bed.

"I can't lay here forever, Vestal." MacArthur spoke.

"Look. If you want to rip open the blisters on your skin and risk infection, go ahead, but as the only doctor this far forward, I would not recommend moving." Vestal said sharply.

Odin shrugged.

"She has a point, General. Moving in your condition would only risk your health." Odin said.

MacArthur sighed and relinquished any thoughts of moving any further.

"I suppose you're right. I'll transfer command of my troops to you so that you can continue the assault unimpeded. I'll remain here until we get the good news." MacArthur said as he stared at the ceiling.

Odin was slightly taken aback.

"I… I'll do my best to minimize casualties so you have a command structure to return to, General." Odin said.

"It is very much appreciated." MacArthur said as he allowed himself to fall back to sleep, his burns soothed by Vestal changing the cool bandages on his skin.

"And so the war drags on…" Odin whispered as she turned and left the building, turning towards the front lines as her rigging made itself known.

Near an open field, the additional reinforcements had gathered. Most of them were looking down and yawning with unmotivated eyes. Stefan decided now was as good a time as any to change that.

"Gather around! Gather around!" Stefan yelled. With nothing else to do, the men began to do as he said. And, before long, they all crowded in front of him, either sitting down or standing up. All eyes on him

"I would like to, for the record, first tell you all that I am not much of a speaker. I would prefer to keep this short and brief, but, like most struggles, it often goes beyond what we expect. After our struggle with the Japanese, we all thought it would be over, that we could get back to our lives and heal our wounds. Then… then the Sirens came. All that fury we had when we fought our previous oppressors didn't carry on. We were tired of violence, so most of us decided to bow down our heads and not look up. Look where it got us now. Our Faith, trampled; our families, reduced to slaves; our freedom, tossed aside as if it were nothing but useless trash. Our ancestors are rolling in their graves right now, looking at how we failed to pass on their wishes. To be a Free nation. The Sirens have already taken a lot of victims and brought more heretics to their cause. And many more will join them, if we do not make our stand now. We may never be remembered for what we will do today, but at least we will die knowing that we carved a path for the future generations. On this day, the Lord will be our witness, our shield, our strength. Today, We Purge the Last Tyrants that will ever hold back our Freedom! Never Again will we be Slaves! Together, we shall Triumph because we are the children of this Nation! This is our Land, our Country!"

Stefan unsheathed his Bolo with others in the crowd doing the same. He raised it up high. "Death to the Sirens!"

"Death to the Sirens!" The crowd echoed his call, also raising their weapons.

"Glory to our Ancestors!"

"Glory to our Ancestors!"

"And as one, we shall pray." Stefan struck his bolo to the ground and then knelt, using his rifle as support. The crowd followed suit, before together as one, making the sign of the cross.

"O' Father of the Heavens, we call upon you now to help us bring Your divine Punishment to the heretics. They have all been disillusioned and have all strayed so far from their path that they've become blind and deaf to Your words. Forgive us on what we shall do today, for we believe it is through their deaths that they can be saved. Bless the souls of those who may fall."

After which, they all made the sign of the cross once more and then rose up and stood proud, knowing fully what was at stake.

"Arrange yourselves and begin gathering on the front line. Be prepared to move and change positions on our order. Once the attack is finalized, we will begin our assault." Stefan barked and the men followed.