Undying

An original tale within the Bluey universe

By: StorMello

"Chapter 7 - War To End All Wars: Part 1 - Hell"

Blood.

The Madder-colored, smooth liquid component that powers a dog to live what they call "Life".

And that dog uses that pure liquid…only to spill more of it.

That is the meaning of dog kind; live up our normal life, just to spill the blood of someone else and their everyday life.

That is the meaning of life for one dog; one dog…that wished he never had a life to begin with.

What follows is his experience in frontline combat of the War To End All Wars.

HE IS NOT EXPECTED TO SURVIVE.

(Inspiration for this 2-part story comes from the best WW1 fps game Battlefield 1, and a really good WW1 German film, All Quiet on the Western Front. Enjoy!)

P.S - Also, I kept the talking in English for a more immersive experience. I thought the language barrier would be a problem, since there will be a lot of talking, so yeah.

August 2, 1914

Lennox…Rosie…Emilien…Alastor. I messed up, and I don't know if I'll ever get my normal life back…ever.

Thought Dustin, the dog with only one emotion at this point: depression. Dustin has never stooped so low, and now was about to be sent to a slaughterhouse, one he didn't know. He had nothing else…No friends…No meaning…No Life. The only thing he wants; more than anything. He would be willing to give up life just to get some peace from all the bloodshed and gore.

As Dustin sits there in melancholy, more soldiers begin going inside the truck; all with their rifles and happy chatters of the war. Alongside the men who hop on, go three guys with their rifles and usual uniform; except, not a single word spoke from their mouth. They sat down on the bench, all with the face of disappointment and boredom. As one sits right across Dustin, Dustin begins to admire the fatigued Chow Chow looking in another direction. As Dustin gazes at him, the Chow Chow begins to question Dustin staring at him by looking over and exclaiming vulgarly at him.

"The fuck you looking at?"

In response, Dustin only looks away from the Chow Chow and continues to keep quiet.

"Yeah, learn who your owner is," the angered Chow Chow whispers, similarly looking in a different direction.

"Don't mind him, that's just how Fredrick is," a Border Collie leans in on Dustin and tells him with a slightly cheerful tone, "He just doesn't like the attention of others."

With such a sudden motion, Dustin looks in confusion at the Collie, leaning a little in the other direction. Seeing this, the anonymous Collie gives a slight smile and offers a handshake towards Dustin, continuing the chatter he started.

"Oh, where are my manners, Klaus Collie. That's the name."

"You really gotta stop doing that, Klaus. You scare people with that kind of attitude, seeing that we are being sent to a literal slaughterhouse," interrupts the Jack Russell sitting across Klaus, saying with a monotonous voice.

Klaus continues saying without interruption, "Eh, ignore them all. They don't know what they're saying. Any who, the one who just talked broodingly is Jakob Beckenbauer, or "Kreuz" as we call him, and the one that needs anger management classes is Fredrick Chow. And like I said," Klaus pauses to point at himself, "I'm Klaus."

Knowing all this, all Dustin does is give a slight handwave to the boys, not really saying much of a word. Acknowledging this, Klaus turns his smile into a face of slight disappointment; whilst Fredrick goes out saying, "Wow, what a talker you got yourself there, Klaus."

And as the truck came to life and began accelerating, it suddenly stopped with what sounded like a boy coming around the corner, screaming out, "WAIT! Don't go, I'm part of this group!" With everyone's attention in confusion and surprise, they looked out to see who it was; when instantaneously, two hands grab the backdoor of the truck and hold on firmly, where it seems a young adult is trying to get on. To Dustin, it seemed the dog was a Pomeranian, but because of height, it was a bit impossible for the short canine to lever itself onto the truck. But, after a brutesque minute of the dog trying to get on, the determined Pomeranian got on the truck and found himself a seat, near Dustin, Klaus, Kreuz, and Fredrick. Once finished, the truck begins the journey, and Fredrick tells the new soldier frustratingly, "Mmm, if that's how you are here, I can't imagine how you're gonna be trying to climb over the trenches."

Hearing this, the Pomeranian dusts himself off and responds with frustration, "I know, but it's just…Pomeranians are a small breed."

"I bet that's what you tell your dick every day, right?" Fredrick says out loud hysterically, causing the other soldiers in the truck to laugh at the Pomeranian, except for Dustin, Klaus, and Kreuz. As this all unfolds, Dustin looks at the poor canine filled with gloom, thinking of how he felt back in the past. So, he interrupts saying with pride, "Sure, you may be correct. But y'see, Pomeranians are a small but hardy breed." With this sudden disturbance, the soldiers go quiet and Fredrick says only one thing, "Whatever." Seeing this, the Pomeranian gazes at Dustin and gives a face of confusion, thinking that the dog looks familiar.

Then, Klaus decides to ask, "What's your name, kid?"

"Peter. Peter Pom Wagner," responds the cowardly dog in confusion towards the questioning. Kreuz then adds on with a smile, "Well Peter, Welcome to the Front."

And with that, the 5 boys went on to the Western Front, to fight for country and Kaiser. To fight with honor and valor in the face of danger; but to not know…if they WILL make it out.

August 23, 1914

The moment was soon to come…Everyone who would go up would soon charge and take the town of Mons, Belgium…The town in which British soldiers were occupying…Dustin fighting against his own people. The troops stayed behind the forest as cover, they all awaited the order of the general to be given, all ambitious for some of that Tommy blood. And as the group stayed in position patiently, Dustin had again the fear he never could shake off; that one emotion that brought Dustin the memories of horror and fear. Whilst Dustin zoned out into a deep void of trauma, the Pomeranian dog named Peter was alongside the petrified spitz, observing his silence. That's when he decides to interrupt it by whispering, "Your name was Dustin, right, your friends told me that," with Dustin nodding quietly. Peter continues, "Well, um, thanks for lending me a hand a while ago. I never got the chance to thank you properly." In response, Dustin just nods again, all emotionless. But that's when Peter begins to say some rather strange things, "Well, y'see, another reason I came over here is because you seem…familiar. You know, my great-grandfather was a Frenchman himself; he actually fought in the Napoleonic Wars, alongside the French. And, in one battle, he said he was so petrified that he felt like a complete statue at that moment. Until," Peter pauses to breathe deep and brace himself, "he was saved by a Finnish Spitz dog, golden-colored and riding on a horse, who went to pick him up and carry him back to the French camps." With this being said, Dustin rapidly looks at Peter to what he exclaimed, and Peter ends it by saying, "Was that…YOU?"

"ANGRIFF!", orders the general, causing the chat to come to a close, and send the squadrons of soldiers charged into the battlefield of Mons. But as the second they do so, a machine gun starts ripping hellfire and wipes out the majority of the troops who got on the field; painting the land red from their own blood. And as all this unfolds, Dustin keeps running; seeing all the bloodshed poor out. He keeps running, until at one point, a big artillery explosion blows up next to him, causing Dustin to collapse on the field and cover his body within the tall grass. And if things couldn't get worse, Peter so happens to fall right beside Dustin, completely in fear and extreme terror. As the two acknowledge each other, the bombardment and firing continues, with shots flying in every direction and blood shooting onto the field. Hearing the screams of the soldiers and non-stop fire and explosions, Peter covers his ears in horror, catching Dustin's attention. And that's when Peter says something emotional; immediately bringing Dustin's memories back to him.

"I'm sorry, Mutter, I should've stayed at home. Just like you said," the hard-sobbing Peter whispers to himself, although Dustin catches a glimpse of what he said. This causes Dustin to remember…to remember his good friend, Al. For him, it was like looking at a photograph of his young companion, his mentally-illed, but big-hearted friend who would have his back and he would have his. But now to remember…He was gone. And as Dustin was spacing out again, Peter did the most logical thing a WW1 soldier would do…give up.

Peter then shouts out with anxiety, "I can't do this anymore!" Once said, Peter begins to stand up and run back in the other direction, making a run back to base. "PETER, NO!"Dustin attempts to intervene, but before he could say anymore, Peter gets mowed down by a machine gunner and slowly falls to his death; his whole corpse filled with bullet holes and smoke.

Not again…The guilt…That feeling of displeasure…All coming back to me…Why…me?

This is all I can think of; the pain one goes through in this war. The horrifying screams of those who have families, friends, a life. And throughout the day, that's all I could think of, all while hiding in the tall grass with the scent of dead bodies covering the field. Luckily, my German allies were able to drive the British from the town of Mons, releasing me from the hiding spot I was trapped in. And soon, I was back on the battlefield, all thanks to Klaus, Kreuz, and Fredrick all finding me. I was in some way grateful to find them, but still, I wish they hadn't. Turns out we were just going to chase the British all the way they were going; a complete goose chase. Now I truly wish they hadn't found me. I should've instead joined Peter, even though…That would've done nothing.

September 7, 1914

If I were to describe two words that gave me shellshock every time I talked about the Great War, they would be "Trench Warfare." Those two words would give me the worst memories of that war. The dirty, mud-filled tunnels that had the most putrefying and disgusting smell one could breathe in. And there I was in the dark trenches, awaiting once again the order of the officer in charge of us. The good news was that it was Klaus, Kreuz, and Fredrick all on my squad. Bad news: Death was near that day.

As the squadron begins to charge, the machine gun commences to rip fire and many French rifles start taking shots into the German units. Many fell at the beginning of the attack, but Dustin and the boys kept pushing on. Unfortunately, Dustin begins to slide away from the others and goes off into direction; going behind much of the trees and returning fire at the Frenchman. With some devil's luck, he ends up killing the machine gunner and buys the Germans some time to fight back. Sadly for Dustin, the second he gets up…*gunshot*

"AHH, SCHEIßE," the wounded Dustin shouts out in agony, downed from a bullet wound in his left shoulder. As he collapses on the dirt, he begins to breathe heavily, giving into the thought of this battle being his final one. Dustin grabs his rifle and points it straight at his head, to end it once and for all…Until…

"Dustin!", a rushing Kreuz is sprinting over, along with his bag of medical supplies and a pistol he randomly found. He then continues saying once at Dustin, "Hold on Dustin, just hold on! I'm gonna patch you up!"

"No…Save yourself…I'm dead wei–AHH!", Dustin screams as Kreuz begins to press a bandage on his wound and wrap it around using a broken strip of a uniform. He then proceeds to lift up Dustin and runs back to the German trenches, where the machine gun came back to life and started to send bullets flying everywhere. As many of the German soldiers admire this, the majority try to find a way to protect Kreuz and Dustin by shooting back at the heavy gunner and many other Frenchman who were taking fire as well. Along the way back, Dustin says one small sentence before closing his eyes, "You know…you're really good…at being…a Mediziner."

"I try my best Dustin," Kreuz responds, with the last bit being faded for Dustin, "I try my be…"

And after that, I passed out. I didn't know what happened to me next…But most likely I survived, seeing that my story didn't end there. All thanks to Kreuz, he found the way to keep me breathing and living in this world. I really do owe him a lot. And weirdly enough, while all that was happening with me and Kreuz, Klaus was being a really good leader and led his own men to the works, even though we retreated in the end; and if the oddest thing didn't happen, since it turned out…Fredrick got himself a FUCKING IRON CROSS! I don't know how exactly, but supposedly, it was because he saved our officer or something like that. Honestly, HE DOESN'T DESERVE IT. Luckily, Kreuz also got one for saving me and other more soldiers, so that's nice. And what was nicer was that we got to sit and have a little chat for the time being, since they left us and many more troops in charge of protecting the line. Now that I think about it, I wish Peter could've been here to enjoy this break…We all need it.

January 16, 1915

"Dustin, take a break now. Lunch is ready, too," a German patrol pats on Dustin's right shoulder and informs him with exhaustion. As Dustin gets off his post to switch with someone else, he is already having thoughts of what the food is.

Fucking bread and cold-ass soup. The most revolting and disgusting foods that you can eat during this time, and I can SWEAR on my grandmother of that. But hence, what more shitty food can we eat.

Once Dustin approaches the food area, he finds his dog-mates eating the same shit that Dustin exactly guessed right. And whilst they were eating, Kreuz was minding his business carving some figure of a religious piece, whereas Klaus and Fredrick were arguing about the Iron Cross that Fredrick got awarded; both contradicting one another with absurd reasons.

"You got that piece of junk by paying the officer, didn't you?", Klaus would begin to exclaim at Fredrick with certainty.

"On your FAT DEAD MOTHER with that idea. Hell, this medal…IS…REAL!", Fredrick would snap back at Klaus, repugnantly shouting that last bit out.

Klaus, on the other hand, just responded with simple and slight-smiling, "Whatever," also adding an eye roll at the end of that simple answer.

Once noticing Dustin with his food in-hand, Klaus shouts with reassurance, "Hey, it's Dustin! Here to enlighten the party, eh? Anyway, I hope you find the food so-called "good", because the lunch is giving me nausea."

"No, it tastes like absolute sheiße to me still," responds Dustin with a smirk.

Frederick adds in interrupting, "Yeah, they taste like my Aunt Petunia's saggy tits if I were to compare."

Kreuz glares up questionably and jokingly responds, "How would you know that? You've never touched a woman your whole life. You said so."

With this astonishing fact, Dustin and Klaus look back at Fredrick, seeing the embarrassed Chow Chow ready to pounce back at Kreuz for revealing his secret.

"You never touched a woman! Not even in like…high school or…as a young kid!", Klaus starts questioning.

"I….well…OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE, KREUZ! That's why I don't give secrets to you," the infuriated canine barks back, with Kreuz giving a mischievous side eye in response, then Fredrick continues, "But sadly yes…It's true."

With this discovery, Dustin and Klaus begin to sarcastically laugh at Fredrick, and Kreuz joins in by adding on, "Obviously, since this man hasn't touched a woman at all, he still has his virginity!" In response, Dustin and Klaus begin to laugh harder, with Kreuz laughing along and Fredrick with arms crossed and shaking his head in disappointment. And as the uncontrollable laugh begins to cease, Dustin decides to notice the hands of Kreuz, carving away a wooden figure with his homemade knife. Upon seeing this, Dustin gets inquisitive and goes to ask, "What are you carving, Kreuz?"

Kreuz, gazing up to look at Dustin, responds with a light-hearted answer, "Salvation. The only thing that keeps me going through, and through." He then proceeds to reveal the unknown figure, which turns out to be a wooden carve of the cross of Jesus, giving Dustin the clear idea of how he got his nickname.

"And I'm guessing that's how you got the name, right?"

Kreuz answers humbly, "Yes, that's how I got the name." Kreuz continues to carve away, then begins to make the small chat longer by adding on, "You know, if I'm being honest, I wasn't supposed to be here."

With this said, the others decide to lean in and listen to the discussion being told, with Kreuz continuing, "The truth is that I was supposed to be in monastery school around this time, studying to become a well-prepared monk and master the spiritual way of life. But mein vater, said otherwise, he preferred that his boy should join the cause and fight for the fuckface of a kaiser. And honestly," Kreuz makes a deep sigh and leans back, "I wish I hadn't listened."

"Your mother didn't say anything against that," Fredrick questions Kreuz attentively. Kreuz then responds, "Ja, she pleaded that I shouldn't go and instead suggested that I should run away, leaving my own mutter with a drunken-bastard of a so-called"Dad ". But nein, I rejected and made the sacrifice, and now…I'm here."

After saying all this, Klaus decides to interrupt by adding thoughtfully, "Honestly speaking, I consider you lucky." Everyone begins to look at Klaus with confusion at the meaning of what he said, but Klaus extends on, "Lucky as in like, your mother. Trying to help you in that situation."

"Why you say that? I bet your mother does the same, doesn't she?"Kreuz responds back, but instead of an enlightened face of Klaus, Klaus begins to look sorrowful. He then explains, "Well, y'see…I…don't have any parents." With this astonishing surprise, everyone looks guilty and depressed, with Kreuz saying a light-hearted "I'm sorry" in response. Fredrick then begins to question, "Were you…abandoned?" This causes Kreuz to punch his arm, but Klaus interrupts, "Jawohl, I was. All back when I was born. I don't know what my parents look like, nor how they sound, all because I was a wee little pup at the time. No home…No family…No life."

The same two words that triggered Dustin. That described Dustin in every aspect, causing him to look up at Klaus sympathetically. After Klaus said that, the mood somewhat brooded and saddened, causing the moment to turn cold. Having the desire to cheer up the boys, Dustin decides to ask, "There's been a thought in me wondering around for some time, and is that of, if you could go to any place on Earth to just rest and take a break from what happens everyday…where would it be?" That's when the three guys look at each other, all having the same thought to the same question.

"Queensland, Australia," Fredrick points out.

"Me, Victoria," Kreuz then adds.

"And I prefer New South Wales," Klaus finishes off, all answering the question of Dustin. Listening to this, Dustin proceeds to sit in silence and wonder…What is Australia?

But before Dustin could think any more, an officer entered the rest area of the trenches and went up to Kreuz, exclaiming, "You're up, Jakob, get into position." Kreuz responds with a quick "Jawohl", and stands up to leave the establishment and enter his area of lookout. And whilst this happened, the same thing happens to Fredrick, with Fredrick doing the same as well. Eventually, one-by-one they all left and everything went back to silence in the trenches.

Normally, this kind of stuff doesn't happen to me. A happy moment in all of this war, and yet, I got one. Not sure if I am lucky or not, but still, I feel good about it. Sadly, my moments never last forever, especially if it considers losing a friend.

October 2, 1915

"Well, we're here boys," Klaus speaks out with relief; finally getting to their new destination, Champagne. Once there, the boys begin to drop down on the benches, rubbing the sweat off their head and organizing their uniforms and rifles. And as the boys get comfortable in their new "home", Dustin begins by saying, "Heaven and Hell! We walked for thousands of miles, and my feet are KILLING ME!"

"Tell me about it," Klaus responds with frustration, trying to take off his boot to clean it. And as the boys all nodded in agreement, a random soldier overhears the conversation and gets near to the group of frustrated men, adding on, "I know right, the cold, long trip did a number on this troop."

"Right," Fredrick says questionably, getting a bad feeling about this random hooligan who came out of nowhere. Then as they try to get some peace, the same nosy soldier keeps on talking with them.

"You know, when I was living in Munich, the cold there was really hitting hard on one, and would leave a man putting on about 5 coats of sweaters! Honestly, it was very horrible there, so I decided to join the Imperial Guard and be here instead. Gott sei Dank for being in the First Army, we're considered the lucky ones."

As he finishes that last statement, the boys look up instantly and give a questionable and confused glance at the soldier, whilst Fredrick decides to go further into the topic.

"First Army? Kid…This ISN'T the First fucking Army. This is the Second Army."

With this sudden discovery, the soldier becomes tense and begins to show signs of nervousness. He then counters with, "Did I say the First Army? I-I mean the…the um…Second Army! Second Army, that's right."

Fredrick stands up impatiently and gets closer to the panicking soldier, continuing the chatter with serious, "Ok, Second Army. What's the division here?"

"The division?"

"Yes the division, what is it?"

All in stress and panic, the soldier responds slowly and unsure, "The…uh…Sixty…Eighth?"

Fredrick burst out in fury and anger, "Bitch, this the 22nd Reserve Division. You don't know wh—You don't…where?" With this astonishing surprise, Fredrick pulled one conclusion, and one conclusion only.

"HE'S A FUCKING SPY!", Fredrick screams, immediately grabbing Kreuz's pistol right next to him and aims it at the soldier. But as he does this, the spy sees it a mile away and commences to do the same, pulling his own pistol and aims it at Fredrick, and once the two point their pistols…

*Gunshot…s*

Both fire…and both collapse. The two shots were in sync, both hitting each other in the forehead area. "FREDRICK!", Klaus and Kreuz shout out and lean in on Fredrick's corpse to make sure if he was actually dead or not, whilst Dustin just stood there, not believing what had happened in that moment. It just happened so quickly. After the gunshot sound, an officer rapidly came over and began inspecting the area, seeing the lifeless body of Fredrick and the three men surrounding it.

"What happened here?!"The officer demanded, questioning the situation that took on.

Klaus, somewhat sobbing, answered, "We had…a spy in our…*sniff*…base here. But that was when our…friend here killed him."

"Oh, I see," responds the not-caring officer, "well, dump the bodies over there by the pile, and carry on. There's nothing we can do anymore."

As ordered, the boys begin to grab the bodies and pile them up with others, all done with tears and grief. Once done, the boys go back to their tasks, all depressed for the fact that they lost another one of their squad.

One by one. We're picked off like grains of corn by the ravens of death. This war is nothing more than a slaughterhouse. And still…I'm alive. But for how long? How long until the light shines through on me? How long until I pledge my life into the deep voids of madness and insanity? I will never know. All I know is that going through this…is like A Step Through The Fire and Flames.

So tell me…Can I really survive this war?

(This chapter also has an ending song, which is A Step! Through the Fire and Flames, by Zeth_27. Play it and enjoy!

P.S. - This one really took one long time to do. Sorry about that. Like I said, I kept the language in English because I thought the French chapters have a language barrier, so I imagined this would be more immersive if it was just in English. Also, it's a longer chapter because I spent much time trying to make things have sense, so yeah. The next chapter should have the same amount of words and length…maybe. So, see you next time in "War To End All Wars: Part 2 - Survivor".