Chapter 16
"So that's the story."
The Oarai team members stared at me, stunned.
We've came to the café where I've scared off Maho & Erika some months ago. I ordered a chocolate shake for each to calm their nerves, and told them about Alisa's Rage, the Bluhtnebel, and my plans.
"So the articles everywhere are TRUE…" Hippo Team murmured, shocked.
"Yes. And the affairs about the Verteidigungstruppen des Akademieschiffs is serious too."
"So, they're supposed to defend all of us from this IJDS and Bluhtnebel business?" Erwin asked.
"Yes."
"Where will you get all the personnel? And weapons?"
"That I will not talk about, for now."
…
Me, my crew, Andrew's team and the girls were walking home after a brief shooting session when we passed a convenience store.
"Sir, you'd like a newspaper? 2 dollars each."
"Thanks." I pulled out 2 coins, took the newspaper and sat down on the shop's benches.
As soon as I scanned the frontpage, I blew up.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
Everyone next to me jumped in surprise.
"You guys, have a look at this." I shoved the newspaper into John's hand, "WHO THE FUCK gave Kuromorimine the GUTS?"
What I saw got me so angry? Simple. Kuromorimine made its stance: it was completely against boys participating in tankery. But the most infuriating part? Erika called me a criminal, a gangster, and a kidnapper. AND there's this:
"Even if they do process some certain … supernatural capabilities, that will not scare us into moving our ground. They're criminals, and that's that. They don't deserve a spot in a sport as fine as tankery, and we'll do anything necessary to drive out these despoilers." The last lines from the interview burned in my brain like a soldering iron, and a rush of blood to my brain made me lean on the table. I heard the angered growls of my teammates as they read the article.
"Are they trying to get themselves in trouble?" John muttered in rage.
"Who knows. But commander, what can we do?" Lucas inquired.
"Tomorrow, we'll make our stance on social media, saying we'll never relent and these leftists need to catch up with the flow." I growled.
Unfortunately, the night ahead of us is not only longer, but also more perilous…
11:49 pm, Oarai Dorms...
The night is silent. All have gone to bed, even the boys of the tankery team. Apart from the moon, the lights around the dorm building are the only sources of light.
Suddenly, in the shadows, a figure moved. As it stumbled into the light, it turned out to be a teenage girl in the unmistakable black uniform of KMM. She held an MP5 submachine gun in her left hand, and a belt was worn over her uniform, holding several chambers and a knife.
She checked the building, and motioned to the darkness behind her. And slowly, a group of some 20 walked quietly out of the void, all dressed like the first.
They quietly moved around the wall up to the fire exit on the side of the building. One girl stepped forward, holding a crowbar. The door was locked, but she drove the tip of the crowbar into the gap between the door and the wall. And the girl turned the end of the bar, and the door's lock was cracked loose. The group shifted silently into the hallways, and up the main stairwell, going for the 5th floor.
As they stepped onto the 5th floor, Emi Kojima looked at the door at the end of the hall. However, looking closely, one may notice that her irises, normally green, were obscured by a swirling red smoke.
"You're done with, boys."
…
I was having trouble sleeping. My old case of insomnia was kicking in again.
I was rolling out of my covers when my ears picked something up.
Footsteps. As many as 20 pairs of feet shuffling down the hall.
Something isn't right.
I picked up my MP-41 quietly, undid the safe under my quilt to quench the noise, and slipped on my chestplate. Leaning against the wall, I listened.
The footsteps drew nearer. Nearer. They halted abruptly outside my door.
Springing into action, I flung open the door with one hand, raising my MP-41 in the other-
And was face-to-face with a Kuromorimine girl aiming an MP5 at me.
A stunned silence. Then-
RATATATATATATATA!
DAKA! DAKA! DAKA!
I fired off my MP-41, but the girl drove her submachine forward like a blade, causing me to miss. I pushed upwards with my gun and slammed my head into hers. She stumbled, but raised the gun again just as fast. I punched her gun hand, and drove a blow right into her chest, sending her to the ground.
Another came at me with a dagger. I parried it away with the butt of my gun, then sucker-punched her in the waist before kicking her legs out. Deflecting a sapper spade swiped at my head, I gripped the wooden handle and broke it over my leg, dodged a burst of fire from the MP5, and threw the KMM student into the wall, knocking her out. I fired my MP-41 and the bullets found their mark in an attacker's knee. A tall girl came down on me with a fire extinguisher, but before I was hit-
PAKOW!
BOOM!
A bullet from another gun detonated the fire extinguisher. The iron container blew apart, hurling everyone in the hallway onto the ground. Coughing and spluttering, I rolled to my feet, and saw Gabriel standing in the doorway, a stunned look on his face, smoke drifting from the barrel of his FG-42.
"What the hell was that?" He asked as he examined a Kuromoriminer. Hank and Lucas came out drowsily, but was immediately woken up by the both confusing and surprising sight. "Are these KMM students? What are they doing here? And what's with the weapons?"
"Maybe they came to, what, get rid of us? Erika isn't the type to – wait…"
I looked at my buddies, and saw a dark figure behind Lucas, a dagger held in both hands.
"SHIT!"
I lunged at Lucas, knocking him out of harm's way. But I paid my price. The dagger went askew, cutting a long (fortunately not very deep) incision in my back. I later found out that it cleaved through the straps of my chestplate by pure chance and hit my side.
Bloody fog welled up in my sight, and so did rage in my brain. I bellowed and raised my gun, pummeling the girl on the ground with the wooden stock until Gabriel and Lucas dragged me off. They proceeded to cuff up every one of the attackers and disarm them.
I panted and fell on my knees, red veins of magic and blood pulsing on my neck. Then, I lifted my head to the sky and roared, in a voice that cracked the nearby walls with its sheer power:
"KUROMORIMINE!"
"THIS IS NOT OVER! DO YOU HEAR ME!? NOT OVER! YOU WILL PAY!"
I collapsed, gasping and choking, and blacked out. It was a while before my crew, even with their bravery and loyalty to me, dared to approach and lift me back to my bed.
The next day…
I passed the newspaper stand again.
Spending another 2 dollars for the morning news, I hurried in a huff to the command terminal of the airport, which has essentially become our official meeting room when we don't want the girls listening. They're nice, but they're too soft-hearted at times.
I strolled in and found all the commanders already present.
Sighing, I put down my newspaper and faced them.
"Gentlemen, we have had a hostile encounter last night."
The U.S faction looked surprised. Not puzzling: Andrew and his buddies had insisted settling in a more remote dorm complex next to the airfield, so they couldn't have known.
And I explained what had happened last night. Everyone was appalled when I was done.
"This is insane! I can imagine them criticizing us, but THIS?" Andrew muttered in stun.
"STRIKE BACK! Show them some color!" Mason roared, hefting his M2.
"We can threaten them! Like the Cuban Missile Crisis! Perhaps with ICBM battlegrounds!" Fidel yelled.
I silenced everyone by raising my hand.
"While these are all good suggestions – what, John?"
"Commander." John said, "I strongly suggest you read the newspaper's front page."
And that's what I did, confused at first. But by the time I finished, I was boiling with fury. The dratted KMM was using the media to search for several "missing students", which turned out to be none other than our surprise guests. But there was this comment by some Kuromorimine student that was the most enraging:
'The boys at Oarai had better had nothing to do with our classmates going missing'
"FUCK THESE ASSHOLES!"
I roared as I slammed the newspaper against the desk. The desk shook, and a dent appeared beneath my fist. The others present winced in fear.
"All boys, to arms, and assemble at the airport terminal!" I growled, "These idiots MUST be taught a lesson!"
Some ten minutes later…
We were sat in a He-177 strategic bomber, with a few boys from Andrew's team flying the plane.
Our plan was simple: we had the captives in the bomb bay (which is also where we are now), and all of us in here will parachute over the KMM academy ship. As soon as we land, we'll do the same thing me & Andrew did at Saunders until we get their commanders and talk this over. We'll open fire to clear a landing ground, but it's agreed that we shan't hit anyone, just scare them.
"Bail out in 10! 9!" The bomb navigator's voice came.
"8! 7! 6! 5!"
The boys checking the SdKfz 250 armored half-truck (also with a parachute) that held the prisoners gave the thumbs-up.
"4! 3! 2! 1! OUT!"
The bomb hatch opened, and we dove out into the endless sky. I spun around and around and around, and at last I focused on the altimeter attached to my new paratrooper's goggles.
After 2 dizzying minutes, we reached the deployment height. I tugged on the ripcord with all my might, and a huge yank told me the parachute had done its job. Calming back down, I began giving out orders.
"Okay, everyone. This is our first paratrooper mission, so keep your nerves focused. When the designated field is in sight, check it for enemies. Use bazookas and submachines to clear the landing ground, and keep an eye on the truck as you do so. Over."
…
It was when she was checking out her Panther that Koume Akaboshi felt something wrong.
Looking around, she didn't see anything extraordinary. Everywhere, the girls were getting ready for the day's training.
But one occasional glance up made her jump in surprise.
Silohuetted against the blue sky was the figure of a WWII strategic bomber, flying away. In its wake, were at least 80 parachutes, floating down from the sky.
She ran to Erika, who was busying with her Tiger II, and explained the situation. It turned out that both her commanders were as confused as she is.
Soon, Maho had ordered all of the team to cease their work, and had their few Wirbelwind and Ostwind flak tanks driven out. All on the ground were armed, just in case.
Little did they know what signal this gave to the boys all those meters above.
…
"Sir!"
Jacob's voice yanked me from my thoughts.
"Enemy flak tanks sighted below! Predicting Wirbelwind and Ostwind tanks! Also they're armed!"
I seethed with anger.
Well, well, you are quite damn shameless, aren't you, Kuromoriminers?
"All those with rockets, on my command! Aim for the area around all flak weapons in sight!"
"Locked and loaded!" Clear replies came.
"OK! 3! 2! 1! FIRE!"
RPG warheads zipped past me, flying for the ground. As I watched, several explosions came from below, and an Ostwind began to smoulder. The crowd was fleeing.
I sneered. This is what you get if you strike first, krauts.
The ground was slowly nearing. I slapped my gas mask over my face, and readied my MP-41.
All seemed well, when suddenly-
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!
Flakvierling!
A stream of flame ripped a hole in my parachute, and my descent began to speed. Worse, I can see the canvas beginning to burn due to the heat of the shells.
Cursing, I drew the Bowie knife on my paratrooper pack, and started to rip through the thick ropes of the harness, not forgetting to order John to destroy the flak nest meanwhile. Finally, when the flames had burned away most of the fabric, I slipped out of my parachute and landed, feet first, onto the sand.
"Freeze!"
I turned, and saw a SWAT vehicle – a Sonderwagen 5 – pulling up next to the nearest exit. A few cops were out already, pointing a Taser at me.
I laughed in rage. Then, I lifted my MP-41 and let it off. Bullets clanged off the armored steel chassis and cracked the glass, but not much damage was dealt. I unhinged an Hafthohlladung antitank grenade from my belt and chucked it at the van. It stuck to the side, and the cops fled in terror. With a mighty explosion, a hole was blasted in the side of the Sonderwagen, busting it.
My allies had begun to land, one by one. John hefted his MG-42 and blasted a nearing MOWAG Eagle V, destroying the windshield and forcing the Feldjager operating it to run for their lives. Andrew and Jacob were a few feet away, giving some 9 KMM Feldjager special troopers a hell of a time with their hand-to-hand combat skills, and then there's Mason, on our SdKfz 250, drawing back the canvas hood as he unslung his Brandt mortar. Things were going well.
Then, I saw a single person approaching. Wherever the figure went, the police and military held their fire and saluted.
"All troopers, do not open fire on the nearing unarmed figure." I said, "something seems up with it."
Surprisingly, the figure drew up to me. And guess who she was?
None other then Maho Nishizumi.
I saw Erika hiding behind a heap of sandbags, aiming a Kar 98k at me. One glare dealt with that.
"So," I said, "you finally came. Maho."
"What was the meaning of this?" Maho said in a cold, demading voice. Sorry, but can you be a bit more intimidating? You look like an angry kitty to me.
"You ask me?" I growled, "Why not confess what you ordered your subordinates to do to me last night? I'll bet 10 dollars you're angered that I survived."
She stiffened. "Sir, I do not understand you."
"Pretend all you want." I snarled, "no explanation before noon, and say goodbye to Frau Emi Kojima."
That made her shiver. "What do you mean? You found Emi? Where is she? And the other girls?"
"All in the APC over there." I motioned to the Sonderkraftfahrzeug. "But I want an explanation, ma'am."
Forgetting everything else, Maho ran up to the truck, and I motioned to let her pass. She leapt in, and I peered into the chassis after her. I had to hold back a laugh.
The attackers last night were all tied up and gagged, sitting in neat rows on both sides of the internal. A few looked a bit airsick.
"Emi!" Maho shook one of the tall girls and undid the gag. "Emi! Can you hear me?"
Slowly, the girl came around. But she looked grievious.
"I-I'm sorry, commander. I can't drive it away." She said, misreably.
"What? What can't you drive away?"
"The-the Bluhtnebel."
Maho's eyes widened. She looked at me, then at the rest of the girls. She seemed to be catching up with everything.
"What did it make you do?"
"It nearly …" she sniffed, "made me kill Alberich."
Then she saw me, and her eyes widened.
"No, no, no, sir, please believe me, I didn't know this would happen, it really was that devil, I'm sorry-"
"Well," I sighed, "I will believe you for now, but-"
The hairs on the back of my head shot up, and I knew something was wrong.
"SCHIESSE!"
I whirled around, raised the part of my arm defended by armor plates, and was just in time to intercept an invisible rocket. The explosion floored me, and as the smoke cleared, the thing I didn't want to see ever again appeared in the sky.
Three villa-sized spheres of crimson mist, enveloped in gigantic mechanical stands. The leftmost had 8 rocket launchers protuding from its sides, armor skirts around its lower belly, rocket thrusters on its back and a laser on its bottom; the middle one had gigantic, piston-shaped hammers rotating on its side in two huge rings and moved on 4 gigantic robotic legs encased in huge armor platings; the rightmost had long steel wings on its flanks carrying 2 huge jet engines, missile launchers and 2 of what looked like huge woofers, 3 mechanical arm with weapons shaped like egg-beaters extending from its back, spinning at top-speed, and weirdest of all, some kind of giant plasma TV screen on its front. The girls cried out in alarm, aiming weapons at the monsters.
"So, you slipped off from my little pawns." One of the subconsious spoke.
"Well, serves you right, bastard, because you're a weakling." I snapped. All my hate of KMM was now completely redirected on the Bluhtnebel. "You failed to beat me last time, so you revert to kidnapping and undignified assassinations. Yeah, yeah, won't have expected better of you."
The Bluhtnebel snorted, "I was beaten at Saunders last time because I had no weapons, and you're playing the bully with your preperations. Now I've got armor and guns, we've the numerical advantage, and you forgot your mechs at home. So sorry, idiot, today is the day you die! Hahahahahaha!"
The girls looked between the devil's minions and me, evidently scared and worried. I just laughed.
"You really think so? Well then, you've miscalculated us AGAIN."
And I whirled around to my crew, who had assembled behind me.
"Fur das Vaterland!"