"Darjeeling, anything from Chrysanthemum Team? How intact are they?"
"Chrysanthemum Team lost half their force now, thirteen tanks from that assault, plus the two they sent to help Sunflower were knocked out. My guess is the BT-42 and those other tanks were going for a second attack before Naomi and her friends saved the day."
"It's good Naomi came in time, otherwise we would've had another Team Orchid situation..."
"On that we can agree, Maho."
"Well, it's a bit obvious how badly we've been beaten, but now we can commence the second phase of the plan..."
"Withdraw to the plains now that Continuation's all here to face them in more favorable conditions."
"Well, we'll all rendezvous close to the border between snow and plains, then make our way there and hope Continuation chases after us. We have all their tanks consolidated, so we'll be able to draw them to a battle where we can be able to wipe them out in one strike."
"Sounds solid. How about you, Darjeeling?"
"You won't find any rebuttal from me."
As Miho transmitted her orders to the survivors to rendezvous at a point close to the border between the snow and plains regions, she was confident in the fact that while it was a bad start at first, they had dealt heavy blows to Continuation, and that victory was a growing possibility. On the other hand, Dandelion's crews were demoralized. Sure, they had taken out more than half of Continuation's forces, but they had lost a large amount of theirs as well, including a full team, and the losses on both sides were relatively equal. But what really demoralized them was the prospect of having to face not just Jouko, but what was in effect four of them, and they each went as fast as a fighter plane's top speed divided by five or six, while they stood at around 2/3 that speed. Not only did those tanks have better speed, armor, and agility, they also had training from the greatest gunner in Sensha-do history, at least for the past 10 years. Nobody really held out much hope for victory. But, there were those who tried to keep everyone's spirits up, from Anzu's energetic persona to Yukari spitting out random facts to distract everyone from their misery.
Nevertheless, the ever-present threat of Jouko, Alice, Linder, and Mika remained as harrowing as ever. Arachnid's crew tried to be upbeat, with Managama attempting some singalongs to help raise the morale of the crew, and it seemed to work. Some had a giggle as Goshamizu took her turn to sing, though she was more shouting rather than being melodic, and when she tried to actually sing, boy, was she off-key. Bayanazu, on the other hand, had a very melodic, soothing voice that could drift you to sleep in less than two minutes. In fact, she almost had the entire crew sleeping were it not for Saori bursting the bubble to inform them that they were moving out of the formation, thanks to how enamored Maetazoza was being at Bayanazu's singing. Maetazoza was bombastic, singing her heart out, though unlike Goshamizu was more in-key and hitting the notes more correctly. As for Managama, she was fine, her singing was fairly decent though nothing to ride home about, which she was rather fine with.
"Hey, Arachnid is singing!"
"Miporin, let's try singing as well!"
"Saori, you do know I'm not very good-"
"Just sing, Hana... nobody's gonna judge you too hard..."
"What about violins, Nishizumi-dono? I brought mine along!"
"Yes, Miporin, violins!"
"I... guess we'll try singing first... then violins?"
"Yeah! We'll sing first!"
"Let's see what I can think of..."
The other tank crews, hearing the commotion inside the T-44, opted to join in their own singalong competitions. Soon, Dandelion was in a whirlwind of music, though, at first, that is, it was extremely messy, given how differing everyone's singing was, and all the different songs they attempted. At first many didn't sing, instead playing music using instruments. Maho, as well as her Tiger I crew, had brought their French horns they had been using for practice, and played the famed horn trio from the Third Movement of Beethoven's Third Symphony, aside from the driver, of course. Ooarai had all been practicing on violins, and together played some violin excerpts from symphonies, pieces for strings, and even held a little violin recital where Saori, being absolutely enamored with violins since a young age, won easily with Miho as a close second. St. Gloriana decided to join Ooarai in their string playing, helping provide accompaniment with their violas. Soon, Dandelion's fears were dissipated, replaced with hearty music-making.
"Momo-chan, I didn't know you were so good with violin!"
"Yeah, all our practices together and we haven't seen this!"
"Relax, I'm relatively new to this concerto business..."
"WELL, KEEP IT UP! Everybody loves talent, anyways!"
"President... my ears..."
"Careful, Momo-chan, you'll drop it!"
As the musical moments winded down after much energy playing and singing, Narashiza, taking a break from an awful singing session with Anteater by popping out of one of the hatches, saw some glints in the distance, and was initially unnerved. Thinking it was Continuation, and growing desperate, Narashiza composed herself, for she needed to make sure it truly was Continuation before reporting to Miho. Asking for, and receiving binoculars, she zoomed in, fearful of what she'd see. However, the tanks she saw weren't in the shape of a T-26, or a Sturmi. There were several T-34s, but more than the two Continuation had in their battle roster for this match. As the small objects grew as they closed the distance, Makashiza, wondering what was taking Narashiza so long, took the binoculars from her younger sister, pressed them to her face, and took a good look at the same shapes in the distance, before a smile of relief and joy crossed her face.
"Nara, it's Sunflower! Tell Miho!"
"Anteater to Command, we've spotted Sunflower Team to our seven-o'clock!"
A response from Saori further invigorated everyone's spirits.
"Well, I'll be! We've spotted several tanks to our ten, and upon closer inspection, it's Chrysanthemum!"
Needless to say, it would've been a better reunion if Orchid were still there.
"Hey, I hear music in the distance!"
"Yeah, Pepperoni! It sounds like... violins!"
"Only Ooarai has violins! That means..."
"Jouko uses a violin too..."
"Anchovy-san, that's just one. Those violins sound plural."
"Keep your guard up! I hope you're right, Nishi-san..."
"Hey... Commander Kay, are those violins?"
"Yep! Sounds like them!"
"Hehhh?! Who would play violins in the middle of a match?!"
"Calm down, Comrade Katyusha, as long as it raises morale, remember..."
"R-Right! Everyone! Bring your cellos out! We're playing too!"
"K-Katyusha-san, we..."
"We can't fit them in our tanks, plus, they cost us so much of our food money to buy..."
"Nonsense! I'll have all of you purged after this!"
"You do realize you haven't fitted a cello in your tank too, Comrade."
"I-I, shut up, Klara!"
"Whatever you say, Comrade!"
"Ride to the source of those violins! It may be Dandelion Team!"
As everyone reunited, joyful to see each other was still existent, although not in one peace, unaware they were, at that moment, being watched.
Peering through her binoculars, Jouko could see the joyful reunion from the hill she was on. She wasn't the only one there: her personal flying column, as well as the survivors of the other flying columns that still existed, also watched the spectacle. Jouko flashed a slight smile watching the euphoria from Ooarai. It was warming to see that the enemy was still in good spirits despite the heavy pounding they had taken for the past hour. However, there wasn't much more time on their hands. Jouko had correctly guessed that Ooarai was heading for the plains region, likely to see if there could be a more fair fight to be found there. She couldn't afford to allow this to happen, and neither could her teammates. Exchanging several looks, Jouko confirmed her team's readiness, and ordered them into position. The six remaining T-26s moved to positions surrounding the path where Ooarai was to pass, as Jouko's column took their positions directly in front of Ooarai's now-unified force, their white armor disguising them greatly as they blended in easily with the snow.
Avoiding contact with Ooarai as best as possible, Jouko, Alice, Linder, and the others had managed to rendezvous near the border between snow and plains as well, beating Ooarai to the punch and moving out of the way before they could be spotted. As the remaining tanks made their way to where Jouko wanted to stage an ambush with all they had left, Jouko had spent much of the trip considering and weighing Ooarai's options of where to go with their current situation. The forests were a no-go, definitely. Jouko knew those forests like shooting, so it would be folly for Ooarai to go into the forests. The deserts and plains were more likely options, however. They were much more open, had barely any natural obstacles save for sand dunes or rolling hills, and given that the plains were right next to the winter region, it seemed like the logical choice. If they stayed in the snow, however, they'd suffer the same fate as Team Orchid. The sight of Ooarai's team moving in the direction of the plains region, however, confirmed Jouko's suspicions.
No matter how successful it would turn out, the plan remained the same: it was a simple hit-and-run but more elaborate, with "intermingling" maneuvers intended for some tanks, including the Sturmi. After opening with a unified volley, Alice, Linder, and the other T-34 would try the same drifting maneuver, but in a 360-degree drift while the other T-26s did their thing and Jouko wreaked havoc in Ooarai's formation. Once everyone had finished or were satisfied with their attacks, they would then withdraw, lick their wounds, and go for another assault as fast as possible without exhausting themselves. Those were the broad strokes of the plan, leaving any sudden changes or unexpected setbacks to be dealt with through improvisation and their own interpretation of approach. Knowing Miho, they would have to do much improvisation, so to cope with this, everyone began thinking of possible scenarios as they waited, whether that be Ooarai consolidating together, spreading out, turning around, anything that they could possibly do they were thinking of, having learned much from watching them fight.
All eyes watched as Ooarai's team confidently continued to drive forward, however, still oblivious. All their guns were pointed at them, adjusting each second to fit the distance and direction they moved. All were waiting for Jouko's order, taking time to calculate according to the training they had received. The yard count decreased each passing second as the gunners began to slowly tighten their grip on their cannons' triggers, faces pushed into their visors, eyeing their opponents, waiting for Jouko's order to open the floodgates and drown Ooarai in a sea of shells. The air was still, there was very little wind blowing across the battlefield. 200 yards, then 150, 100, 50, soon their prey was at a distance where a miss was nigh impossible. All they needed now was the order to bite down hard, and put the poor animal out of its misery. Ooarai still pressed on, still oblivious. They never saw Continuation until it was far, far too late. They had wandered straight into the jaws of a wolf.
With a stern face, Jouko uttered a simple order, an order that was in but a few moments to break the stillness of the atmosphere.
"Bite down hard."
Miho heard several bursts from all around her. Flashes were seen to each side of the team, and the keenest of eyes could see shells zipping through the previously-still air, heading straight for their tanks. A split second later, five tanks burst into flames: Mallard Team, much to their annoyance at their streak of being knocked out every match continuing, two more Panthers, a Black Prince, and a Cromwell. There was no time to breathe, for as soon as the shots rang out, from the smoke around them, there emerged eleven tanks. Three on either side, and five directly ahead. To make things worse was what those five tanks in front of the formation were, and it made everyone's blood run cold. Miho scrambled to take command in the first few seconds of the charge, belting out any orders that crossed her mind as her brain was stirred to action.
"All tanks consolidate! Ensure they don't get in-between our vehicles!"
Ooarai's tanks began to huddle together, closing off any possible entrances Continuation could use to wreak havoc, forcing their assailants to circle around instead of taking them out from the inside. At the same time, all began to turn their turrets to bear on their attackers, the gunners calculating their shots as the fast T-26s outpaced their traversing speed. The Sturmi, however, ground to a halt as the other four tanks beside it continued their charge, its barrel pointed directly at the Panzer IV. A flash was then seen in the distance, before a shell zoomed past Miho and slammed into the Type 89 directly behind the Panzer IV. Mako had avoided the shell just in time, but a split second later, another shell, this time from Linder's own Panzer IV, scraped off the Schürzen of the turret and caused a dent in the turret proper. As for the rest of Dandelion, they weren't faring much better, though it could've been worse.
St. Gloriana was taking its time calculating its shots, even as shells bounced against the armor of their tanks, particularly Assam, who had taken her time calculating the speed, and exactly when to fire her shot. A shell impacted one of the circling T-26s, and though the thicker armor saved it, it was temporary, as none other than the Maus suddenly fired, launching the poor tank a few feet in the air from the impact. Kuromorimine, despite having lost all of their Panthers and the Elefant, still saw success as well. Maho had managed to hit a shot against a T-26, and her 88mm cannon was capable of knocking it out. Ooarai, however, did not fare as well. Just as Arachnid Team hit a passing T-26, killing its speed and enabling Turtle and Rabbit Teams to fire coordinated shots straight into it, the T-34/85 of Alice, performing a drift, fired a shot straight into the turret ring of the T-44, knocking it out.
"Don't stop moving, everyone! Keep going, we've almost reached the plains!"
Despite the attack, Ooarai maintained their pace, but their numbers slowly dwindled. Chrysanthemum and Sunflower Teams weren't doing good. Alice and Linder's coordinated drifting maneuvers, coupled with Jouko's faraway sniping and the wasps that were the T-26s had swept all of Chihatan's tanks under the rug. They had put up a valiant effort, scoring several hits on a few T-26s, enabling tanks with more powerful cannons to knock out one more, the same went with Anzio's forces, as their remaining Semoventes helped in the effort of knocking out another T-26. However, they, too met the same fate, Anchovy's P40 eating a shell from Mika's BT-42 straight into its frontal armor, a shell powerful enough to knock it out. Meaning, Chrysanthemum Team was utterly wiped out, save for Naomi's Firefly, which had survived several shells, though its two M4 companions weren't so lucky.
Katyusha was yelling orders as her upper body was exposed out of her cupola, her being too caught up in the moment to care for her own safety. Coordinating fire, and yelling a few curses at Continuation, she was ecstatic as her tanks coordinated with Kay's to fire several shells into a T-34/76 of Continuation, before Nonna's IS-2 and the ISU-152 coordinated together and dealt the finishing blow, sending that traitorous tank to the underworld in a burst of flame. Moments later, however, the IS-2 joined its prey into the underworld as it was impacted by a shell from Jouko. Being in close proximity with Katyusha's T-34/85, it forced the little commander back inside her tank. Peering through the slits of her cupola, Katyusha watched as the ISU-152 was impacted, presumably by Linder's Panzer IV, and white-flagged. Kay also saw success, but only did so much as to damage a T-26 before a shell from Mika knocked her out. Her M4 Shermans would follow her shortly, unable to withstand torrential fire from cannons that were now more powerful and effective.
Ooarai, however, was by far seeing the biggest success. Not only did Leopon and Hippo Teams manage to knock out the last remaining T-26s, there was an even greater development. Calculating with Rabbit, Anteater, and Shark Team, Miho had readied to fire on the BT-42, which had been avoiding shells like crazy. Assigning each team to fire at a certain direction of the BT-42's possible path, Miho waited for the BT-42 to reach her calculated point. All around them, chaos was happening as Alice and Linder continued to execute their drifting maneuvers on them. So far, half of what they had left was utterly gone. Anchovy, Nishi, and Kay had been knocked out, though Maho and Darjeeling were still in the match, and they had caught on to Miho's plan and took careful aim. As the BT-42 reached the point, Miho yelled the order into her throat mic, and a second later six shells shot through the still air, barreling straight for the BT-42. The BT attempted to drift out of the way, but the shells, though spread out, were close to each other, and there was no avoiding this shotgun blast. The BT-42 was hit by two shells, one from the Churchill and another from the Tiger (P), and it ground to a halt before popping a white flag.
Brief celebrations erupted from this success, before they were interrupted and totally silenced by a blast, then an even greater one from within their midst. Turning to the source of the two blasts, they found the Maus up in smoke, with a white flag fluttering in the breeze, and damage in their turret ring. The sudden loss of their most powerful tank made the entire team freeze in shock, and that was exactly what Continuation wanted.
Continuation had met Ooarai's excellent coordination with their own excellent coordination. As Alice and Linder crossed each other, they fired shells straight into the Maus' turret ring, and though they failed to penetrate, it did deal enough damage for Jouko to finish the job. Taking careful aim straight at the damaged area of the Maus, Jouko fired a powerful shell straight into the weakened armor of the Maus' turret ring, knocking it out of action. Seeing the Maus go up in smoke, Linder was ecstatic, the most out of everyone. Jouko was also congratulating them for the kill.
"HAH! Told you it would work!"
"Excellent work, Linder, Alice. Let's finish off the rest, they seem to be frozen out of shock."
"Gotcha, Commander! Come on, Ignatius, let's finish this!"
"Oh, I'm tired! Finally!"
Another cycle was executed, and with few tanks still in the match to block the more important vehicles, the two tanks had clearer shots on the tanks they wanted to hit. As the Churchill crossed Hjalmarson's sights, she fired, but at the same time the Churchill did as well. The Churchill's shell hit first, denting the Panzer IV's armor, but knocking it enough to mess up Hjalmarson's shot, and her shell, which should've been a knockout blow, ended up missing her intended target, though it went straight into the last Matilda.
"For f***s sake! Dang it! I need another, quickly!"
"Hjalmarson..."
"Sorry."
"That's an extra thirty minutes of gunnery practice, control yourself next time."
Frustrated, Hjalmarson began to anxiously tap her foot rapidly, hoping that Alice would be able to finish the job. Relaxing as Wetzer, more collected, inserted a shell into the cannon, she took aim at one of Ooarai's tanks that crossed her sights: the Type 3 Chi-Nu, which was blocking her view of the Panzer IV H. Firing as it crossed her sights, she was more lucky with this shot. The Type 3 was knocked a bit from the force of the blow before popping a white flag. Pumping her fist into the air and letting out a cheer, she readied for her next shot.
Alice, on the other hand, fared better. Picking up from where Linder had failed, her shot went straight into Darjeeling's Churchill. Fortunately for her, it succeeded, and a white flag was fluttering above the tea lady's tank moments after the impact, the vehicle stalling until it dragged to a complete stop. Deciding that they had gotten a sufficient catch, Alice ordered the tank to withdraw, satisfied with her success, and not wanting to risk her loss, given how hard some shells were hitting her tank, knowing it was best not to get selfish. Seeing this, however, Linder decided for one more cycle, much to Alice's surprise, and Jouko's horror.
"Linder, withdraw! You can't do this alone!"
"Sorry, Commander! I just need one more!"
"Come on, Linder, there's only going to be two of us left if you do this!"
"Sorry again... fire!"
As Linder's tank drifted to the front of the formation, Hjalmarson fired a shell right at Anglerfish Team, determined to strike a devastating blow before making a getaway, and at first it seemed the shell would hit its mark and history would repeat itself, but at the last second, the Tiger I next to the Panzer IV veered in front of the Panzer, and in its stead took the shot. A white flag emerged from one of the Tiger's hatches as Maho could be seen standing outside of her cupola, waving to Miho, seemingly wishing her well. It was still a major blow, having taken out one of the major commanders of Ooarai, but not as severe as the crew wanted. They wanted Miho, instead they got her sister, which held less authority and wasn't worth as much in terms of authority and importance, and everyone was livid.
"NOT AGAIN! Why does this keep happening!?"
"First that Churchill dodges our shell, now this Tiger blocks a better kill!"
"Just get us out of here, we're going to-"
A blast rocked the Panzer IV, before it slowed to a halt and the sound of a white flag emerging was heard. Seconds later, Jouko's voice went over the radio, and Linder prepared for a lengthy scolding. However, all she heard were two words that pretty much summed up what Jouko felt at that moment.
"Told you."
Right after, Linder watched as Jouko fired another shot, before a shell bounced off its armor. Looking at where the shell had gone, the Firefly was up in smoke, having popped a white flag. Right after this kill, Jouko's Sturmi, which had been reversing all this time, turned around and retreated at full speed to the plains region, being closely followed by Alice's T-34. Dejected at her disobedience, Linder considered what had happened. Once again, she had gotten too into the moment, and her emotions took over. Slamming the side of her cupola with her fist, she sank in her seat as the sounds of Ooarai's tanks were heard passing by.
Seeing the Tiger I move in front before being impacted by the Sturmi, Mako drove the Panzer IV out of the way from the now-smoking Tiger I, narrowly avoiding a collision. Miho was shaken as she saw her sister's tank take the hit in her stead. However, there was no time to mourn. Seeing her sister salute, she returned the favor, and readied to take command again, but Momo beat her to the punch, issuing her own orders as she shouted through the radio.
"Quick! Somebody fire a shot at that Panzer!"
Miho didn't countermand the order as Turtle and Shark Teams fired their respective shells at the Panzer IV, and landed major impacts, killing the tank's speed and grinding it to a halt. Momo knew she had that tank.
"KILL IT!"
After taking aim, both sent two powerful shells straight into the Panzer IV of Continuation. Impacting in the chassis, the two bursts that followed were succeeded by a large plume of smoke, and the emergence of a white flag from one of the hatches. Just like that, only two tanks of Continuation remained. Not long after, however, a shell zipped past Anglerfish, and a blast was heard to their right, followed by an explosion. Miho, peering outside, saw the Tiger (P) slowing down, with smoke coming out of several spots on the chassis and turret, and a white flag fluttering in the breeze. A few seconds later, another shell zipped past, and an explosion was heard to Miho's rear. Turning around to see what it was, Naomi's Firefly was likewise up in smoke and slowing down, a white flag also emerging out of a hatch. With that, Chrysanthemum Team was gone. The Sturmi was making a getaway, but that wasn't the end of their troubles.
"There's Chrysanthemum gone..."
"The Sturmi's getting away! Chase after it-"
Another shell from Ooarai's left hit Katyusha's T-34. It was more than enough to knock it out. It didn't take long to figure out that it was Alice, as there were only two Continuation tanks remaining, and Jouko was retreating. Before a shell could find its way shooting towards that T-34's direction, it was already long gone, rushing to join its last surviving comrade to wherever it was going, disappearing into the white mist of the snow. For several minutes, everyone stood on edge, anxious over another attack. But as time dragged on, the threat seemed to wear away, and a sense of security returned. But with that security, a sense of dread also blanketed the survivors. Dandelion was the only team with a sense of intactness remaining. Sure, they outnumbered Continuation, but as said and discussed many times over, the last two tanks were on another level. This was going to either go really well, really badly or dead even.
As the snow began to sprout blades of green, and the snowy fog dissipated to reveal a clear, beautiful blue sky, with the sun shining brightly, the plains region of the battlefield manifested itself. It was mostly flat ground, with hills dispersed here and there, perfect for some drifts. Continuation may have spent most of their time in the snow, but that didn't mean they didn't spend some time practicing in the grass as well. And for Alice and Jouko, this was another very suitable place for drifting, flanking, and maneuvering, although Miho, and the rest of Ooarai did fare better in this environment as well, and it wasn't Continuation's strongsuit. But, Alice also had a better track record in regions like the plains, and considering her style it was more suitable for her than snow, although by now she had grown used to combat in such a region, and working with the Sturmi, it wouldn't be too bad, hopefully.
"Setting camp" at a location near the border between the two environments, the two tanks patiently waited for their prey to catch up to them, eyes peeled across the entire length of the border, looking through binoculars or squinting to get a good look. Minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Ooarai. Had they lost their way, or did they manage to trump Continuation and instead went for another biome, or stayed in the snow? Jouko knew there was little chance of that happening, though it wasn't impossible it would happen. Perhaps Miho had chickened out, knowing that a confrontation in the plains might not be a good idea, but then again, what other choice did she have? The only way to get to the deserts was through the plains, anyways. Had she gone another direction? What was taking Ooarai so long to get here? Both tank crews were getting more on edge as the minutes passed by, until...
"There you are."
Jouko had finally spotted them. The Panzer IV was at the head, surrounded by the Hetzer, M3 Lee, StuG III, Mark IV, and the last couple of Black Princes, as well as a T-34/85, all approaching in a diamond formation with the Panzer IV in the middle. The numbers, in terms of percentage, were dead even, but in numbers themselves, Continuation remained outnumbered still four-to-one. To say that this would be a hard fight would be a massive understatement. Most of what remained of Ooarai were the best of the best that they had, refined through almost two dozen matches over the past year. Not to mention they were led by a Nishizumi who diverged from the traditional tactics her family used, which was something that had led Ooarai to victory in the 63rd Tournament, and their victory in the Loser's bracket of the Winter Cup Tournament. On the contrary, Alice and Jouko had years of experience, and Alice had recently made a few amendments in her tactics as well. This would be interesting, to say the least.
Throughout the duration of Continuation's devastation of, and being devastated by Ooarai, the stands remained silent, awed by the spectacle they watched. At first ten, then steadily decreasing to two tanks circling around as the Sturmi remained in its position, firing away without missing a shot as Ooarai's tanks were huddled together to prevent infiltration. The battle had dragged on for almost two hours now, but nobody was showing signs of boredom or fatigue. The same could be said for the four officials looking on from the VIP box, sitting rapt with attention as the ballet continued, exchanging little dialogue. Even Taiga Ou was quieter than usual. Then, just when everybody thought the storm had subsided, a sudden burst to Ooarai's left knocked out Katyusha's T-34/85, leaving only eight tanks left. The camera then panned to reveal the culprit, Alice's T-34/85. Talk about fratricide.
"To think we started at a hundred and twenty-five tanks... now there's but ten left."
"Continuation didn't play around. And, I must admit, Shiporin, they really want to keep the percentages the same each engagement."
"Right, Chiyo-kichi..."
"Still mulling over Maho, sensei?"
"Yes, Ami. It's a hard blow, but it prevented something even worse."
"Mhm. Lesser of two evils."
"Now the fight travels to the plains... a perfect area for maneuvering."
"Alice fights better in this environment, she has much experience in it, after all."
"Jouko might equal her in skill, she does have experience in plains combat as well."
"Miho and Ooarai as well, not to mention those Ooarai still has left are all the 'old-timers' who pursued Sensha-do since I held their first training match in a long time. Aside from the Mark IV crew, of course."
"Well, things look like they're heating up! Jouko's fired!"
"And there goes a Black Prince..."
"Why doesn't she take out Anglerfish? They're open!"
"It seems she's in favor of a final confrontation with them."
"Heh, talk about theatre, right, sensei?"
Löfström quickly pounded in another shell as the previous one buried itself into one of the Black Princes, knocking it out in spectacular fashion. Shortly after, a shot from Alice's T-34 finished off the other Black Prince, followed in quick succession by a shot from Jouko to the T-34/85, which fired back moments before, but its shell merely bounced off the Sturmi's frontal armor. With nothing but Ooarai left for their opponents, the final fight could truly begin. With Jouko ordering the Sturmi move forward, Hannes, excitement on her face, charged straight for the Hetzer and StuG III, the tank's crew eager to fight assault gun to assault gun again, as they were followed closely behind by Alice, eager to finally settle the score with Anglerfish, and Miho. They were still friends at the end of the day, but that didn't mean they weren't still rivals either.
Jouko fired another shot as the Sturmi began accelerating to almost full speed, hitting the Mark IV and knocking it out of action. Löfström took three seconds to reload, doing so just in time for Jouko to have another shot ready. Targeting the Hetzer, both tanks fired at the same time, the shells taking less than a second to travel the distance. A burst of smoke obscured the two tanks for a brief second, but the Sturmi shooting from the fog was all it took to reveal the results. That didn't mean the Sturmi was unscathed. The Hetzer's shot very much hit the Sturmi, at point-blank range no less, but alas it wasn't enough to penetrate, though it caused a major dent in the frontal armor, close to Hannes' visor which remained un-scathed, though the driver herself was shaken much by the impact, as well as the rest of the crew who were jolted by the shot. The Sturmi slowed from the impact, but it was still in the match. Its next target? The StuG III, its sister tank.
Rabbit Team had little time to think. Alice was coming in at 80 miles per hour, and closing the distance fast. They had to think of something quickly, but there wasn't much time. Anxiety was beginning to bubble as Alice drew closer, and closer, and even closer to Ooarai's formation. From the corner of her eye, Asuza could see the Sturmi firing a shot straight into Shark Team, knocking it out. Now, it was heading for the Hetzer, and there was no stopping it. Turning to see Alice mere seconds away from firing, Asuza was struggling to think up a plan to stop her. That was, until there was a tap on her shoulder. Turning to her right to see Saki opening her mouth to speak, Asuza prayed that it wouldn't be about a butterfly this time.
"Stumblingblock."
It took a second of thought to figure out what Saki was suggesting. Her face brightened as she realized.
"Of course! Karina! Drive us into the T-34's path! Ayumi, Aya, get ready to fire straight into it!"
"Got it!"
"Understood!"
"Aiming!"
Karina slammed the throttle, then the brakes as the M3 Lee maneuvered in front of the Panzer IV just in time. As Alice's T-34 slammed right into the M3, Ayumi and Aya fired their 75mm and 37mm shells straight into the T-34/85's turret ring. At the same time, the T-34 fired its 85mm shell straight into the M3 Lee, sending it ricocheting into the Panzer IV with a crash. Rabbit Team hadn't expected much when they fired at the T-34, but to their shock, they watched as smoke emerged from the stricken T-34, followed shortly after by a white flag, with their own white flag heard popping out immediately after. They watched with relief as the Panzer IV passed by them. Their sacrifice had paid off, and everyone was united in a single cheer:
"LET'S A-GO!"
Saori's voice was then heard over the radio, which Hagi received and responded.
"Hagi-san, thank Asuza for us!"
"I will, Saori-dono! We are most honored to sacrifice ourselves for you! Though, I'll admit, it was Saki-chan's idea at first!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, and she gave the idea for the ferris wheel back in the All-Stars match!"
"Well, we'd better get going, thank you so much for your help!"
"No worries, good luck, Saori-san!"
The StuG III wasn't as much of a pushover as Jouko would've liked. Charging at its opponent like a joust, the Sturmi fired first, inflicting a hit on the frontal armor of the StuG. To her surprise, it had failed to penetrate, thanks to the StuG's sudden angling move which lessened the impact of her shot. Impressed, Jouko committed to another charge, but knowing she had to help Alice quickly, drifted around, seeking to end the duel as quickly as possible. The StuG, turning to meet the Sturmi at first, soon realized that it couldn't out-turn its opponent, and attempted to get away, but unfortunately for them Jouko was too fast for them. A 90mm shell straight into their engine compartment was all it took to knock them out of action. Once again, Jouko's Sturmi had proven the superior StuG in the Second Battle of the StuGs. For how lopsided that battle was, though, Ooarai's StuG had fought well, she could give them that.
As much as she had the rights to do so right now, there was no time to gloat, for one, being religious meant she couldn't do that anyway, and two, there was another reason not to do so. Turning around as she looked in the direction of the Panzer IV through binoculars, Jouko saw, incredulously, Alice's tank popping a white flag amidst much smoke, with a M3 Lee sandwiched between a rock and a hard place, also with a white flag in the middle of a cloud of smoke that billowed from it. As she comprehended the events that had just happened over there, her face of shock turned into a smile. This was literal theatre playing out before her, a classic sacrifice for the main protagonist. With that, there remained only two tanks remaining on the battlefield that hadn't been knocked out. Panzer IV and Sturmi, the two most legendary tanks in Sensha-do at the moment.
This was it. the final confrontation between two masters of Sensha-do. Fully-blooded Finn with a form of relation to the White Death himself, bearing deadly accurate aim and masterful command of her tank, against a girl of equally legendary reputation: the daughter of the mistress of the Nishizumi Style who against all odds led a newbie team to victory against the greatest schools in all Sensha-do by diverging from her family's usual tactics. Emerging from her cupola to catch a final glimpse of her adversaries, Jouko could see Miho flashing a salute to her. Jouko, principled, returned the gesture, before dropping back down into her cupola, and preparing herself and her crew for the final showdown.
The two tanks charged at each other. Both fired as they neared each other, and both shots landed. At the last moment, both tanks had angled at the same time. Both shells ricocheted into the distance, and after drifting around, the two faced each other again. Löfström out-loaded Yukari by a second, and Jouko fired again, this time hitting the Panzer IV in its frontal armor. Mako instinctively angled again, ricocheting the shell, though Hana, having heard Yukari announce the shell was loaded, fired just as Mako performed the angling, causing her to miss her shot, somewhat to her frustration. Miho considered attempting to outmaneuver the Sturmi like she had done with Darjeeling's Churchill and Maho's Tiger I, but knowing Jouko, it wouldn't work. Another shell impacted the Panzer IV, shearing off its turret skirts as Mako once again angled the tank to safety.
"Hannes, forward, early bird gets the worm."
Jouko decided to make the first move, ordering Hannes forward. The Sturmi lurched forwards as the Panzer began to move forwards as well. Firing a shell that ripped off the side skirts of the tracks, the Sturmi began to drift around the Panzer, which began to turn and its turret traverse to keep pace with the drifting Sturmi. At first, it seemed like it would be a repeat of the match with Kuromorimine for Miho, but something clicked in her brain as the thought crossed her mind. Finding a rebuff to this potential repetition of history, Miho ordered Mako to stop turning the tank and reverse on her order. Looking outside her cupola as the Sturmi continued to drift, she was calculating when it would have a clear shot on her engine, and just as the Sturmi was at the tank's lower right, Miho gave the order. Wasting no time, Mako did as ordered, while Hana kept traversing per Miho's orders.
"Mako! Stop the tank, and reverse it, now! Hana, keep traversing and depress that gun enough so we can get a good shot on that Sturmi!"
"On it."
"Traversing!"
The sudden reversal meant that the two tanks were now on a collision course. Jouko knew it was unavoidable, but thankfully, Hannes knew too, and by now, she knew what to make of situations like this. Increasing the drift to angle the Sturmi more to the left, it then gave Jouko a clear shot with the Sturmi facing the Panzer IV. With a loud crash the two tanks collided, but Jouko had her clear shot. Aiming straight in front, just before impact, Jouko fired a powerful shot straight into the side of the Panzer IV. At the same time, Hana fired her own shot, her gun depressed enough to score a hit on the Sturmi. Both shots hit their targets, and clouds of smoke which poured out of the tanks obscured the results of the battle. This was it, if there was nobody else on either team left, which there wasn't besides the two tanks present, then whoever got the kill would win not just the match, but the whole tournament.
"Did... we win?"
"Only a couple ways to find out, I'm in favor of waiting for one of them."
"Same here, what about you, Jouko?"
"I guess I'll wait as well..."
After her and her crew had recovered from that severe impact, Jouko waited for several seconds, anxiety bubbling inside of her as she waited for the radio report on who won the match. Miho waited too, not wanting to see the results immediately, and so did their respective tank crews. The smoke wasn't clearing, however, and there was no radio report of victory, Had they survived? Miho was ready to order Mako to get the Panzer IV out of there when she heard a sound she dreaded the most. Emerging out of her cupola, Miho, anxious to see the results, frantically turned in every direction to see if the sound was true. Indeed, right next to her, a white flag was gently fluttering in the breeze, surrounded by the smoke from the impacts.
"Miporin... did we..."
"Wait... does this mean... Jouko-san?!"
Jouko had popped her head out of her cupola as well, the anxiety too much for her to handle and just wanting to see who had won. There had been no sound of a white flag popping up, for the Sturmi. Hopeful that the Sturmi had survived the ordeal, Jouko looked all around, searching everywhere for that white flag that was surely flying from one of the Sturmi's hatches. Her eyes widened as they found nothing. Viewing the damage the Panzer IV had done, for they had felt a secondary impact in addition to the crash, they found that the shell had impacted the armor right next to the engine hatches. A few more inches to the left, and they would've been goners. But now, she had to see if her opponent had been as lucky as well. This duel had ended too quickly.
"Jouko-san, Jouko-san!"
Jouko turned to find Miho yelling from her cupola. Her blood ran cold as she saw the white flag fluttering next to her. Frozen in shock, Jouko's stomach began to do somersaults, and her head became heavy. Gripping the sides of her cupola for support, she heard Miho's voice from the Panzer IV again, admitting defeat.
"We lost, Jouko-san! Your shell hit us hard enough to knock us out!"
The rest of the Sturmi crew heard Miho admit defeat as well, and as the truth dawned on them, it was as if they, spending so much time in the freezing cold, dove into the warmest sauna imaginable. Hannes perked up, her eyes welling with tears as she energetically pumped the air with her fists, sometimes hitting the armor, but caught in the moment and filled with adrenaline, she didn't care at all about the pain. Frisell hugged herself, turning and squirming in her seat and kicking her feet with excitement. Löfström simply flashed a smile and pumped the air with her right fist. Jouko, however, wasn't celebrating, and ordered her crew to follow her a few seconds after the celebrations broke out. Following their commander out of the Sturmi, they found Anglerfish Team seated on the grass, looking dejected and down. At this sight, all sense of joy was gone, replaced with a sense of sorry for the crew that had worked so hard to achieve victory, yet failed by a small margin.
Alice had also shown up, having witnessed the duel unfold. Rushing to the Sturmi as the smoke cleared, she was astonished to see a white flag flying from one of the Panzer IV's hatches, while the rear of the Sturmi seemed messed up, though there was no white flag on it. Alice was about to squeal with delight and run to Jouko to hug her as tightly as possible before she saw Anglerfish step out of their tank, faces dejected, depressed, and sorrowful. All sense of euphoria was gone, just like the Sturmi crew, replaced with sorriness for Anglerfish. Standing at Jouko's side, she watched as Anglerfish comforted each other. Saori, Hana, and Yukari were holding on to each other, crying, while Mako was busy comforting Miho as she sat in the grass, absolutely demoralized. Exchanging looks with Jouko, and a nod, they rushed to their tanks as Rabbit Team arrived to help comfort Anglerfish.
Jouko approached Ooarai, extending her hand for Miho to shake. She was fearful of what might meet her, given she was the mastermind of Ooarai's defeat. Expecting the worst, Jouko drew closer as Miho looked up at Jouko. Expecting to see a smile of satisfaction, she was surprised to see Jouko look as dejected as she was. Dutiful, Miho returned the gesture, cracking a smile. Jouko smiled as well, before rushing forward to embrace Miho. Caught off-guard, Miho fell backwards, catching herself before she could strike the ground, as well as Jouko catching her. Wrapping her arms around Jouko, both hugged each other tightly, relieved that the pressures placed on both of them could finally be relieved. The others, seeing this, decided to join in. Tightly hanging on to each other, nobody ever let go for what seemed like hours. They may each have been on either side, but they were still friends and Sensha-do practitioners at the end of the day.
Kanon Sasagawa waited for the smoke to clear to confirm. In her refitted Wirbelwind, manned by two fellow judges, the computer registered that the Panzer IV had been knocked out, while the Sturmi did not display being knocked out. After taking a glance at the screen, Kanon grabbed her binoculars and looked at the Panzer IV again. This time, the smoke had dissipated enough to see the entire body of the Panzer IV. Upon closer inspection, Kanon had her visual confirmation. A white flag was flying over the Panzer IV, no such thing was flying over the Sturmi. Since the screen displayed no more vehicles left for Ooarai, and one for Continuation, the match had been settled.
With that, Kanon relayed her orders to Hibiki, who pressed the button to play the animation for the big screen. At the same time, Kanon made a deep breath, and after exhaling, turned on her microphone, and gave the announcement to the waiting audience miles away. With her voice loud and clear, she recited the words with joy that it was all over.
"Ooarai Girls' Academy has no more tanks remaining! Continuation High School has one tank remaining! PER THE RULES OF THE ANNIHILATION FORMAT,
THE WINNER IS CONTINUATION HIGH SCHOOL!"
As faint cheers were heard in the distance, which prompted Kanon to giggle at how loud the crowd must be at that moment as she switched off her microphone, Remi and Hibiki both exited the Wirbelwind and joined their fellow judge, and after exchanging several looks and smiles, they all collectively dropped to their knees on the grass, exhausted, yet relieved that the tournament was FINALLY over after a grueling two months. After a while, Remi got up, grabbed some cold water bottles from inside, and handed them to her fellow judges, who began consuming the contents without hesitation. The three sat together, resting on the grass as they watched the vehicles tow away the tanks and the pickup trucks ferry the crews back to civilization.
As the vehicles passed, however, the judges' reverie was interrupted by the sound of singing. Looking to see the source, Hibiki was the first to notice. Continuation's crews were singing in some strange language, almost like Finnish. The melody didn't sound Japanese, either. Curious, Remi rushed over to one of the vehicles carrying a few Continuation students, one of the T-26 crews. Stopping the vehicle, Remi asked what they were singing, and where it came from. From who seemed to be the commander, she received an interesting response.
"It's a Lutheran hymn Jouko taught us all a while back, called 'Now Thank we all our God'. According to legend, she told us, this hymn was sung by Prussian troops after a great victory they achieved some 250 years ago. We're singing it in Finnish, Jouko's been teaching us a lot of it."
The singing resumed once the vehicle got moving again, catching up to the rest as Remi returned to her fellow judges to tell them what she had been told, fascinated by this discovery. Boarding the Wirbelwind, they followed the vehicles as they made their way to Continuation's hangar, enamored by the hymn, listening intently as verse by verse was sung. Soon, all the judges were humming it. It was a solemn, yet very pretty tune.
As the announcement came out, Ami almost fainted, sinking into one of the chairs behind her as Kodama handed her a glass of water. Shiho and Chiyo were both applauding, though calmly as always, they were beaming with excitement, loving the spectacle they had just witnessed. Taiga Ou had herself fainted, not at the end, bit mid-way through the match, squealing over Jouko's attack on Orchid Team before she passed out, leaving Mazoe to take over until Taiga came to. Taiga did come to in time for the final confrontation, but had fainted again as the tanks collided. Continuation's stands were going crazy, Rumi was on her feet screaming at the top of her lungs, Ooarai's supporters, as well as the tank crews who spectated after their tank was knocked out, were either were dejected or joined in the applause out of sportsmanship. The noise was deafening.
A few hours later, Continuation's whole team assembled on the stage in front of the massive stands to wave the championship flag to symbolize their victory. As Jouko received the flag, which was a blue version of the usual championship flag, and began to wave it, the final "Presto" section of Beethoven's Third Symphony began to play, with its blaring brass, glorious strings, and powerful woodwinds. It was the perfect ending piece to an unforgettable finale to what was arguably the greatest Sensha-do tournament of all time. Miho and Ooarai were the most enthusiastic of the audience, jumping up and down, waving their hands, and cheering their hearts out for Continuation.
"CONGRATULATIONS, JOUKO-SAN!"
"JOUKO-DONO, GREATLY DESERVED!"
"Good job, Joukorin!"
"And Alice-san, too!"
"Yay... Continuation... I need sleep..."
Some of Ooarai's students even held banners that cheered on Continuation. Such was the influence of Miho's sportsmanlike conduct, no wonder why Ooarai was such a highly-regarded school with a Sensha-do team.
It was a well-deserved victory in everyone's eyes, though it was a bit of a cheese getting those better engines and better armor before the Finals. But even then, Continuation had lost all but one, which was nothing short of a great effort by Ooarai. Both sides had fought admirably well, nobody could deny that. In a surprise appearance, several planes from Ilyushin Boys' Aviation Academy appeared in the sky, letting out streaks that with perfect coordination, formed the flag of Finland, in Jouko's honor. Everyone loved the spectacle.
That night - Ooarai HQ
"Well, Miho, I guess that's it, then. It's finally over."
"Two months, Jouko-san... I'll admit, it's probably the most eventful of my whole life."
"Yeah, for me, with Alice and all... and you with Erika and your experiences with the Bible... very eventful."
"I hope Alice-san is doing well at Continuation. Is she?"
"Oh, she's enjoying it very well, she's made lots of friends and is very social! It's great to see."
"Oh, that's wonderful! I remember when we first met at that Boko museum... she was so shy."
"Heh, some people are like that at first, but once they warm to society, they'll be fun to talk with."
"Of course! Just like me, heh."
"Hmhm."
"Say, Jouko-san, where's the church you go to?"
"Small chapel at Kanazawa City, but soon, we'll get to work building a new church on the school carrier."
"Really, now! All I can say is, I'll be visiting more often!"
"Great to hear, Miho! You'll bring Anglerfish along, right?"
"Yeah! We've been doing much study lately, we're excited to go to a church for once!"
"Well, rest assured they'll welcome you with open arms. Linder and her crew frequent it now, too."
"And it's every Sunday, right?"
"Mhm, that's every service."
"Alright, I'll be sure to try to attend over summer break, we'd love to join you!"
"I'll be eagerly waiting... sigh..."
"What's wrong, Jouko-san?"
"It's just homesickness. I've been here for two years now, I still talk with my parents but it's just not the same as being with them in-person. But as much as I want to go back home... I like it here, too..."
"I understand. I had to leave home after the 62nd Tournament, and I only came back right before the match with All-Stars. I missed Oka-san and Onee-chan so much, we had happy memories from our early years."
"I'm sure they were fun..."
"Yeah."
"Say, wanna go for a trip to Finland next summer? If Ooarai wants to come along, they can feel free to. I can't wait to show you to my parents, and my two friends. It's been a while since I last talked to them, they'll be really glad to see me back in person."
"I've also heard you talk a lot about Sibelius, I think we can spare some time visiting his home in..."
"Ainola? Oh, of course! It's a wonderful place, I'm telling you."
"I'll see if I can bring Oka-san and Onee-chan as well!"
"That'd be wonderful! I'm sure they'll love it!"
"Miporin! It's time for bed!"
"Nishizumi-dono! We're already dressed in our pajamas!"
The distant cries of Miho's friends alerted her that it was time for bed. Jouko and Miho had been leaning on a balcony outside Miho's room, reminiscing on the now-concluded tournament, the past, and the future for the last couple of hours, talking not as rivals, but as close friends. Tomorrow, both schools would depart back to their respective school carriers, which would be leaving for their home ports not long after. Walking with Miho to the entrance of her room, Jouko wished her a good night, turned to wish the rest of Anglerfish, waiting outside, good night, save for Mako who was already fast asleep, as well as greeting everyone whom she met on the way back to her Sturmi a good night as well, being met with smiles and friendly tones from all she encountered. It had been a VERY long day, but the tournament had ended in Continuation's triumph.
It was almost eleven in the evening when the Sturmi left the gates of Ooarai's hotel building. It was only around a five minutes' drive from Ooarai's hotel building to Continuation's, but Hannes drove slowly to allow for some singing to take place, extending the drive to fifteen minutes. Spending a few seconds thinking of what to sing as those who could grabbed their instruments to make music, Jouko instinctively began to belt out: "Praise to the LORD, the Almighty" on her violin and through her voice. The Sturmi crew sang and played it, and another hymn afterwards: "Now Thank We All Our God", for the duration of the drive, all knowing full well that all the glory belonged to God for such a victory.
As soon as Jouko had finished saying good night to everyone, brushing her teeth, and changing into her pajamas to go to bed, exhausted beyond description, she went to sleep the moment her body hit the bed. She would talk to her friends and family tomorrow, she needed as much sleep as possible. It had been a very tough day, but it was finally over and done with. Finally, Continuation could be at peace with their first-ever tournament win. After so many tournament losses, after so long, they could finally hang a championship flag on their wall.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally. The tournament is over after a month and a half of me writing its events. I know the final battle likely sucks and is underwhelming when compared to what the geniuses (absolutely no sarcasm here) at Actas can come up with, but I tried my best. This is by no means the end of the story, however. The battle, and tournament, may be over, but there's more stuff in store for Jouko and company, though I will wrap it all up in a couple of chapters, most likely.
Looking back at my previous chapters, however, there's MUCH rewriting to be done. My religious plotline with Shiho sucks in my opinion, it needs to be fleshed out more to make it more impactful. I'm also questioning my decision to add the Mikulin engines since that just about sounds ridiculous, and all in all this story for me is around a 5.5-6/10. Hopefully I can get around to fixing what needs to be fixed once the entire story is done and dusted. Once all that's done, I'm likely eyeing a 150k, perhaps even a 200k word count for the story.
After this story's all done, everything has been refined, improved upon, I don't know what to do next, really. I don't want to make "OC x character" stories since that's too mainstream for my liking. After all, reading so many GuP fanfics involving, well, "less-than-pleasant things" was what inspired me to make this fanfic, as well as my love for Jouko seeing her destroy Ankou's plot armor at the end of DF3. I might not even do another GuP fanfic, after this but depending on my mood that may change.
I hope the story has offered some enjoyment to you, though looking at reviews and critiques of other fanfictions and people's guides on writing GuP fanfictions (that's the reason why mostly I removed the "POV" headers) I doubt it's going to be good right now. Hopefully that will change when I start re-editing what needs to be re-edited. However, please, please, PLEASE leave a review for the story, it's greatly appreciated and lets me know what needs to be worked on, as well as gives me great advice for fixing the story. I hope you like it despite its many flaws, and I'll see you when the end comes. Thanks for reading, and Panzer Vor.
