Part 1: Oryou

"There's too many! We have to fall back!"

"Hang on, Caesar! I've got you!"

"Guys?… wait… wait!"

"Saemonza! Come on!"

"My eyes! I can't fuckin' see!"

Rain pelts the ground beneath, coating my face with mud. Panting, I push myself up, pluck my broken glasses out of the dirt and slide them on. I try to stand, but a crippling pain forces me back down, in time to duck from a mortar shell explosion. I start to pull myself forward, trying to catch up to my friends.

"Back! Back to the school! Reizei, come on!"

"I have you covered. Go!"

"Erwin! Wait!"

I crawl over the mangled corpse of Taeko towards Reizei and Takebe, manning a .30cal machine gun and illuminating the rainy darkness. A medic helping somebody behind them suddenly takes a hit and collapses. Reizei responds in kind by unloading an entire belt at something out of sight. I spot Erwin using the gunfire as protection to drag Caesar away towards the school, with Saemonza stumbling along behind them, cradling the side of her face. The moment Mako lets go of the trigger to give the gun a moment to cool, a round pings off of her helmet. She stumbles backwards and into the mud, while Takebe stands up to fire her Grease Gun. The assistant gunner is struck by nearly a dozen incoming rounds and collapses, her radio destroyed.

"SAORI!"

Mako took her friend's bloodied weapon and readied it, shooting a glance in my direction.

"Reizei? Help… Don't leave me here…"

The girl looks at me for a moment. As she steps over Takebe and moves towards me, a bullet hits her helmet again, this time going clean through her head.

"Reizei! No!..." The machine gunner fell lifelessly into the mud. "ERWIN! Somebody!... Somebody help!"

Pravda quickly overwhelms the remaining defenders, gunning down anyone in sight as they flee for their lives. A boot kicks me in the shoulder and rolls me onto my back, giving me a glimpse of my assailant. A tall PGF girl with her face twisted with fury raises her rifle and swipes down with the bayonet, plunging the world to a fuzzy darkness.

IJN Zuikaku

Ooarai, Ibaraki

Winter

Six months later…

A tentative knock woke Takeko 'Oryou' Nogami with a start. She glanced around and found herself not bleeding to death in a muddy trench, but safe and sound, in her messy room aboard her home ship. With a heavy sigh she sat up, rubbing her face tiredly. It had been half a year since what had been called the 'Sensha-do Federation inter-School Conflict', or the 'June Crisis', yet every day felt like the first since its end.

"Fuck… not again…"

The person at the door knocked again.

"Oryou?" The voice revealed them to be Caesar, or Takako Suzuki, one of Oryou's three housemates. "Are you awake?"

"I am now…" Oryou quietly mumbled. "Just a minute." She called out, her voice scratchy. Nogami pivoted herself to the edge of her bed. One of the more difficult parts of her recovery process was getting used to a modern 'off the floor' bed. For all her life, Oryou had used a traditional sleeping mat, but the injury she sustained made it nearly impossible to get out of bed, at least without help.

Which led her to the injury itself.

Thanks to a well placed Pravda mortar, Oryou had lost her leg during the Battle of Saunders. She looked down glumly at where the missing portion would be, just below her knee. Crutches were the order of the day, when she didn't feel like using her prosthetic. One had been provided for her, to assist in regular mobility, but the main purpose was for Sensha-do. Which was something she had not participated in for some time.

Oryou plucked her glasses from her nightstand and collected her robe from the floor. Now somewhat decent, she prepared her crutches and moved herself to the door, nearly tripping a few times due to the unkempt floor. Nogami opened her door and found Taka on the other side.

"Good morning, Oryou." Her friend said warmly.

"Hi, Caesar."

Oryou, for reasons known not even to herself, was still bitter with Caesar about their spat at Saunders, as well as with everyone in the world in general. She had been hoping to make good on it, but every opportunity had been either unused, wasted entirely, or was ruined by a sudden outburst from the former Stüg driver.

Rather ironic, given her stance on the conflict itself.

"Can I help you?"

Caesar glanced at the floor, and at Oryou's missing leg. "Uh… well, uhm… Commander Nishizumi's holiday get together is today. At the garages?"

"Oh. Yeah. That's right."

There had been a few team get togethers in the past, with at least most of the members present, but today was supposed to be special. The winter holidays had arrived once again, and Miho wished for the team to gather one last time before the end of the year. To say goodbye to those heading home or abroad for the school break. Sensha-do as a sport was off to a rather rocky restart. So much devastation had been caused, one major school was no longer in the league, and two more had been almost annihilated by the conflict. Out of solidarity, many teams were no longer holding official matches, only occasionally practicing amongst themselves or with each other. Ooarai hadn't been doing much of anything, thanks to having so many injured and emotionally destroyed teammates, and having some missing completely.

Oryou began to turn away from the door, glancing over her shoulder when Caesar didn't move.

"Well, are you coming in, or are you just going to stand there?" Dammit, Oryou. What's wrong with you?

Caesar flinched slightly, still getting used to this apparently new Takeko. "Uh… okay." She cautiously stepped into the room, nearly slipping on something in the process.

"Careful. I haven't… picked up in a while."

"Yeah… I noticed."

"Where are Erwin and…" She hesitated. "...Saemonza?"

"Already at the garage, I'd wager. You're stuck with me for now."

Caesar reached around for Oryou's pull string ceiling light, and turned it on when she found it. The small bedroom truly was a disaster area. Clothes, some odd trinkets, dishes and other items were scattered across the floor. Sticky notes and open notebooks surrounded her desktop computer, which was where she had spent the majority of her time over the last few months. Oryou, much like her fellow traditionalist Saemonza, had always kept her room tidy to a fault in the past. Clothes perfectly folded, bed made, not a single item out of place. It seemed to Caesar as if her friend had completely let her life go. In the light, it also looked like her hair was longer.

Hippo team had always prided themselves on being rather close knit, save for Caesar in the past. But each of them usually knew what the other three were up to, or what was going on with them. In the last few months, however, Oryou had grown to be more and more reclusive. She shut herself in her room most days, angrily lashing out at anyone who got too close. The most recent target for her outbursts was Saemonza, upon seeing the state of the Driver's room. The two had had some friction between each other for some time, but the last few weeks had been particularly harsh. Erwin had been too occupied keeping the peace to really be emotionally supportive. That left Caesar.

"So what's everyone wearing?" Oryou suddenly asked.

"Well…" Caesar pulled herself from her thoughts. "Commander Nishizumi specifically said not to wear our uniforms. It's a strictly casual gathering. Ehh… this is what I'm wearing."

Taka had on something she often wore in the colder months. Tall boots, black leggings, turtleneck sweater and a wool lined denim jacket. Her new focale was hung up downstairs.

Oryou nodded at her outfit and shrugged. "I guess I'm a little underdressed then, huh?" Caesar nodded with a small smile. Good. Progress. I think. That's good.

"Want me to help you pick something out?"

Nogami dropped her crutches and hopped towards her nightstand, hunting for a missing piece for her prosthetic. "Yeah… sure. If you're offering. Now where did I leave that damn…"

Caesar pulled open a few drawers in Oryou's dresser, but it quickly became apparent that much of her wardrobe was on the floor. "If she's feeling up for it, after the get together, we can help her clean her room a bit." Taka moved on to the closet, finding a pair of jeans that had managed to evade the floor, and a rather comfortable looking Ooarai Academy sweater. Oryou's signature jacket was hanging from the door, and one of her boots was in the closet itself. The other had yet to make an appearance.

A crash and some loud expletives made Caesar jump and whip around. She found Nogami sitting on the floor, massaging her good leg, with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Are you alright, Oryou? What happened?"

"Cramp." She said simply. "I was standing up for too long." As Caesar set her clothing choices on the bed, Oryou continued venting. "You know, they say I'm supposed to think of myself as 'handi-capable'? How the hell am I 'capable' of anything if I can't even stand up?!"

Caesar stepped over a pair of shoes towards her.

"You are capable of anything." She held out her hand. "When you have friends to help you along." Oryou looked up at her and let out an exasperated sigh, accepting the offer and being helped onto her bed.

"Why are you so good to me, Caesar?" She growled after a moment, irritated by how relentless her teammate was.

"Because I'm your friend." Suzuki responded without hesitation, snooping around for the other boot. "It's what I'm here for."

Oryou looked up, taken aback.

"You still consider me a friend? After how much of a narcissistic jackass I've been?"

"Ah, see? At least you know what you are." Caesar said with a cheeky grin. "Fine. Yes. I still think of you as my friend, just like you always have been. Friends forgive each other for shortcomings and dumb things that they say or do. That thing at Saunders that you're hung up on?" How did she know? "I forgave you for that that same day. A little talk with Isobe helped, too. At the time, she and I were in the same boat. I understand why you feel the way you do. Saemonza may have her opinions, and Erwin is… well… Erwin, but I know that deep down, they feel the same way I do." Caesar finally found what she was looking for, pulling the stray boot out from under Oryou's TV stand. She looked it over for a moment and dusted it off before continuing. "Despite what you may think, we still love you, Nogami-chan. At least, I know I do."

Oryou looked down at the prosthetic leg in her hands. "Caesar… I don't… I… Fuck it. I need to say it." She began hooking on her prosthetic as she spoke. "I was horrible to you at Saunders. I have been almost every day since. I was angry at our commanders for dragging us into the war, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you." She looked up. "Right now, you're the only friend I have. Saemonza has a bug up her ass… more so than usual, and Erwin is just trying to keep her from blowing up on me. So… I'm sorry. About everything."

Caesar smiled softly. "Like I said, I already forgave you. But apology accepted, nonetheless. Want some help with that?"

"Nono. I… I can at least do this." Oryou clicked a few wires into place and attached her leg. Doing her best to remember the physical therapy and learning curve, she pivoted her foot on the ankle joint and swung her leg a few times. While there was a slight delay between her manipulating the required nerve and her foot moving, the attachment appeared successful. She looked up at her friend and smiled triumphantly.

"So I see." Caesar returned the smile. "Well, I'll be downstairs, if you don't need any more help."

"I'll be down in a minute. And Caesar." Taka paused in the doorway. "Thank you."

The Hippo Loader winked at her friend before closing the door. She headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where she found a kettle being kept warm on the stove. On the counter were her and Oryou's favorite travel mugs, with a hand written note tucked under them.

Caesar-

Here's a little pick-me-up for you and Oryou. Get her miserable ass out of bed and to the garage. Executive Order 228: 'Not One More Minute'! Drink up!

-Erwin

Caesar couldn't help but giggle at the letter. She dropped the pair of tea bags into the mugs and emptied the kettle into them. As she reached into the cupboard for her sugar, a gift from Carpaccio of Anzio, Oryou came down the stairs. She was wearing the outfit Caesar had picked out, complete with her jacket and boots.

"See?" Nogami said, holding her arms out and spinning around. "I can be a human being."

Caesar smiled at her, eyeing her friend up and down. Given how her appearance usually was, it was like comparing night to day.

While Taka watched, Oryou walked back and forth in the dining room a few times. She insisted that there was a limp or a wobble in her walk, but Caesar couldn't see it. It was as if she had never lost her leg.

"Very nice, Oryou." Nogami smiled brightly as she began tying her hair up. Caesar found that she was correct earlier, as the normally tiny ponytail now went past her shoulders. Taka returned to mixing her tea, before passing the other over. Oryou pulled on a wool hat and slung a pair of collapsible crutches over her shoulder as she headed to the door.

"So, I had an idea last night." Caesar began as the pair left the house, locking the door behind them. "What if, at this little gathering, we hopped into our tanks one last time. For old times sake."

Oryou tensed up at the mention of tanks.

"It's just an idea that I might pass on to Nishizumi-san. I just wanted your input." Caesar opened the port on her cup, watching the trail of steam rise into the chilly air.

Oryou stepped around a small pile of snow as she mulled over the idea. "It's… been a while since we used them."

"It has. And it might be painful for some, but I think it would be a nice send off. We could say goodbye to our tanks, too."

"I still haven't tried driving with this leg, Ze yo." Oryou continued, looking over her shoulder at the snow-dusted CR-V parked in front of their house. "Not even my car."

Caesar stopped. "What if you drove us to the meet up?"

Nogami quickly shook her head, after stumbling on an uneven patch of sidewalk. "I think I should nail walking down first."

"Eh. Alright then."

It was a bit of a long and cold walk to the Sensha-do garage, but the pair continued on in comfortable silence, snow creaking and crunching under their boots. Caesar snugged her focale up, in preparation for a gust of frigid wind, and took a long sip of her tea.

"Maybe today will do Oryou some good. She's already moving and talking more than usual."

After several minutes of comfortable silence, that Oryou occasionally broke up with comments about her schoolwork, the garage came into view. The parade field outside was vacant, other than a few parked cars, but several pairs of footprints in the snow gave away the team's location. That, and puffs of smoke coming from the small chimneys on the roof. Oryou suddenly felt hesitant. She hadn't seen most members of the team since the return from Abashiri. Caesar laid a comforting hand on her shoulder to urge her forward.

"It's okay, Oryou. It's just the team. Our friends." Taka looked into her companion's eyes, behind her frosty glasses. "Are you worried about something?"

"Someone."

"Who? Saemonza?"

The Driver nodded.

"It'll be okay. Erwin and I are here. And so is everyone else. And hey, you smoothed things over with me. What makes her any different?"

Oryou shuffled her feet and shrugged.

"You'll be okay, Oryou. Come on. It'll be fun."

Caesar took her friend's hand and led her to the door, tugging it open to find a warm and somewhat populated garage.

Miho, as host, was obviously present. She was chatting with Nakajima and Takebe in front of one of the wood stoves. Guderian was sitting with Erwin on top of the Panzer, with Saemonza, Shinobu and Akebi standing below them. Isobe stood quietly in front of the Type 89, simply looking the machine over. Reizei and Isuzu sat with Turtle and the rest of Leopon at the other heater. Hoshino was poking at some of the logs in the stove with what looked like a broken wrench.

The members of the short-lived Ahi team were present, standing next to the Type 89 with Noriko. Oryou couldn't recall their names, but one of the first years had expressed her admiration for Hippo team during their brief interaction.

Mallard team was scattered about as well, sprinkled in with some of the other gatherings.

It appeared that Rabbit and Anteater teams were the only ones missing, which wasn't exactly surprising.

Caesar led Oryou further into the garage, close to the center of the gathering.

"Hey, girls." She said over the music from Duck team's radio. "Look who I found." Taka gestured behind her, where Nogami was holding her tea mug tightly.

Unexpectedly, Erwin was the first to pounce on Oryou's appearance.

"Hey! Welcome back to the world of the living, Oryou!" Riko jogged over and hugged Nogami, a gesture she hesitantly, yet happily returned.

"Oryou-san." Miho greeted her next, in a more civilized manner. "I'm glad you made it."

"Well, I was in the neighborhood…" Oryou said, putting on her best effort at a smile. Out of her field of view, Saemonza clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"I haven't seen her leave her room in at least a month." She said to Yukari's questioning expression. "Takeko has definitely let herself go."

Akiyama shot Oryou a sympathetic glance.

"Any word from Sawa or the other Rabbits, Saori?" Nakajima asked.

The Radio Operator shook her head, taking out her phone.

"Still nothing. Not even from Aya. Or Nekota. I hope everything is okay with them."

"They'll be along soon, I'm sure." Tsuchiya added herself to the conversation, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "As will Ogin's crew."

"What about Dahlia?" Suzuki asked.

"She's in Tokyo. On the Kuromorimine rebuild, remember? She said she'd try to make it, so that's a definite 'maybe'."

"Maybe she can bring Erika and Onee-chan." Miho said.

"Hey good idea, Commander!" Tsuchiya juggled her drink into her other hand and pulled out her phone.

A/N: Hello and welcome everyone to Part 3 of The Fall of Pravda Saga (get it?), The Aftermath

This story is going to follow multiple different characters in different parts as they grapple with their emotions, conquer personal demons, and build new relationships. Strap in.

I'm not concrete on an upload schedule yet. I might do every Sunday, just like the last one.

Thanks in advance for reading, and see you next time