Chapter 17
"Fur das Vaterland!"
"Fur Schwarzwald!" my comrades responded, and raised their palms as the emblems gleamed.
And the mechs shimmered and folded into existance, encasing me in the familiar control station once more.
My faceplate lit up, and a red aiming point appeared on the center of the screen, swaying as I hefted my MP-100. I can hear constant clicking and clanking as well as whirring of machinery from my back, and I knew that the jetpacks are expanding.
The people below yelled in stun, and I heard the cheers of my comrades. The Bluhtnebel hissed in rage.
The Rocketeer Bluhtnebel-mech (the one with rockets and thrusters) fired a volley at me, but I lifted my shield and withstood the explosions. I activated my jetpack, and rammed hard into the Quad-Leg Marcher Bluhtnebel-mech. It aimed a blow with its hammers, but I swerved and rolled to its side, and rammed my fist into its flank, destroying one of its hammers. Assault Aircraft Bluhtnebel-mech fired several missiles, but was forced to swerve to escape John's machine-cannon fire. The Marcher Bluhtnebel rammed me with its remaining weapon, pushing me back; in turn, I stabbed the revolving stand of the weapon with the bayonet of my MP-100, and the hammer fell with a boom. The mech screeched, and 2 sharp, whip-like arms flew from its back, and I deflected them with my right chainsaw blade.
Then, a weird aircraft flew over my head. It was like an AH-64 Apache helicopter, but where its cockpit should've been, there housed a strange, electrical sphere in some kind of transparent casing. A rotating dome camera was positioned behind it. Its chain gun was a 2-barrelled autocannon, and it had much larger rocket pods and 2 lasers. It opened fire on the Rocketeer mech, disabling 2 rocket tubes. The bottom laser fired, but was stopped by a force field around the aircraft.
"Ha! I knew my drone production units had its strengths!" Gabriel laughed.
The Rocketeer Bluhtnebel roared and fired up its thrusters, and slammed into me, knocking me down. Then it fired continuously on me, but although the explosions look scary, I was totally fine. I lifted my MP-100 with one hand and fired, taking out 3 rocket launchers and several armor skirts. And before it had a chance to draw back, I jumped up, grabbed it and fired my core laser onto it. Flames began to burn all over the mech, and one of the rocket thrusters blew up. Then I brought my bayonet down and ran it through the bloody funnel. A loud shriek was heard, and the subconscious of the monster within the mech dissipated. The empty, busted pedestal fell to the ground.
The Quad-Leg Marcher Bluhtnebel growled and leapt back at me, but I slapped it out of the air. It attempted to use one of its legs like a sting, but I just batted the appendeage away and fired off my MP-100. One of its arms tried to seize my gun while one of its "egg-beater" weapons (which turned out to be lasers) fired to distract me, but I gripped it and cleaved both arms off with my daggers. It howled and tried to flee, but one of Andrew's missiles arrived on time, destroying the consciousness that operated it.
That left the Assault Aircraft Bluhtnebel. And it was a real problem. It kept flying around, so John, with his powerful but bulky autocannon, can't aim a good shot at it. I cursed: Whatever, I'll just ram it out of the sky.
But it saw me, and the moment my jetpacks lifted me off-
BVVVVRRRRMMMMMMM!
The woofer-devices on the thing's wings roared, and a solid sound-wave rammed into me like a tidal wave. I was forced back on the ground, and I can't even take a step forward. I tried lifting my weapons. No good, they felt like mountains. I looked around, and saw that my friends are being forced back by the soundwaves too. A large missile slammed into me, and took out a mechanical arm.
"Eat this!"
All of a sudden, Gabriel leapt from behind onto the back of the mech. And bringing his fists down, a set of hidden daggers on his wrists shot out, digging into the wings at their base and snapping them. The speaker-weapons went quiet, and the pressure eased.
But then, the TV screen, which had been black before, suddently lit up.
And my own conscious faded.
…
Maho didn't need anyone to tell her something was wrong.
Through the past 5 minutes, she'd been watching with her mouth hanging open (very un-Nishizumi) as the boys in their suits busted the other 2 mechs. But with this aircraft-like thing, it's not going well. It looked like it had some tricks up its sleeves, and then it's got the mobility, and suppressed the mechs' aviation abilities with the woofer-things. But she relaxed a bit upon seeing the paratrooper boy bust the speakers. Maybe that devil wasn't as powerful as she thought.
But then, the screen on the mech's belly lit up, and red light issued from it with a loud whirring sound. And the mech operated by that Alberich boy, which had been aiming a blow at the machine, suddenly stopped.
What went next sent shock and terror rolling down her spine in a nasty shiver.
The mech raised one of its roundsaw mechanical arms, and in the bewilderment of everyone, started to saw at its own neck.
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
Horrified yells came from all the observers. Everyone was dumbfounded: what is the boy doing? Is he insane!?
Then, it dawned on everyone: the screen was some sort of mind control weapon, and the suit's operator is under its spell. But there wasn't much room to think more: the troubles are far from over.
"Enemy armored vehicles sighted!"
An abrupt yell pulled Maho out of the duel between the mechs. Several Oarai boys were yelling in panic, pointing behind the crowd. Looking behind, a nasty feeling rose as she saw multiple vehicles, some with guns, headed towards the fence.
Suddenly, a fuel truck – at least by the looks of it – emerged from the front of the group, and slammed into the barbed-wire & concrete wall. And just as a few nearby Feldjager neared the truck, it blew up in a massive fireball, obliterating an entire section of the barrier. When the flames died, the soldiers were lying on the ground, and a huge crater had been blasted in the enclosing wall. Shouts of horror rose, but were slightly calmed by the loud, clear orders from the boys.
"Antiarmor units prepare to engage!"
"Max alert! The enemy has kamikaze bomb trucks!"
"Mortarman! Knock the trucks out before they reach us!"
"On it!"
"Seek cover! Utilize any type of combat position there is!"
There was a tug at Maho's sleeves. She turned, and saw Koume Akaboshi looking at her with determined eyes.
"Commander, we have to help them."
Maho hesitated. "But…"
"This is OUR school!" Koume yelled (which was as rare as a Pravda student getting frostbite), exasperated, "Are we supposed to let those boys die to defend the campus while we huddle up and cry like cowards!? Will we have the face left to call ourselves one of the Big Four!?"
"Well, HOW? These terrorists have got armored vehicles! And all we have are 98k rifles and a few submachines!"
"Ask the boys! They've bazookas!"
The girls ran up to a group of boys, who were setting up a Johnson M1944A1 light machine gun.
"Are there any spare weapons?"
"There are some MP38 machine guns left in the crates in the SdKfz, I think. And the MG34 on the top isn't a decoration." A boy replied, stuffing a magazine onto the side of the weapon.
"What do you plan to do with the armored vehicles?"
"Ask Herr Alberich for antitank explosives."
"Fine."
Taking off across the field, she saw that those who were rivals moments ago are now uniting against the common threat: a few Feldjager were assembling a Sturmgewehr 57 machine gun with the help of a boy; a few paratroopers from Oarai were readying a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle with some difficulty, and a special trooper was yelling through a borrowed WWII field radio for reinforcements. She had to smile a bit at that.
As soon as they reached the armored truck, Maho ripped the tarp off the mentioned boxes and yanked out an MP38, and screwed on a bayonet. Koume seized the machine gun and sent rounds flying into the enemy formation, which was already beginning to deploy infantry: people in dirtied civilian clothes, wielding all kinds of gear: Gewehr G36 assault rifles, AK-15 assault rifles, Uzi submachines, and more. (Apparently, not all the trucks were suicide bombs)
Maho lifted herself and fired a few rounds, taking out a man with a Walther MPK. But then, a VK-16-02 Leopard scout vehicle pushed to the front and fired off its autocannon, forcing all to dive down and punching holes in the side of the SdKfz 250.
A Feldjager soldier ran into the vehicle, chased by submachine fire. He was lugging an M4A1 assault rifle, but it was what was on his back that caught Maho's eye.
A Javelin Medium antiarmor missile launcher, along with a few rounds.
"Sir, can I borrow that?" She asked, pointing at the missile.
"What for?" The man grumbled, reaching into his military belt. He paled, "Schiesse! I'm out of magazines!"
He unslung his rifle and looked around, "You girls happen to have a backup gun?"
"Here," Maho pulled another MP-38 from the crates and threw it at the man, "the paratroopers didn't have anything better."
He looked at the gun and huffed. "At least they can bring an MP-40." Then he dove back into the fight.
Maho picked up the launcher. "Cover me." She said to Koume, and lifted it over the edge. Peering down the aiming system, she shifted a bit until the side of the Leopard's turret armor was locked in the scope. Then she fired.
The missile shot out of the front, arced over the battlefield, and slammed into the tank. The vehicle blew up in flames, and continuous secondary explosions continued to shoot broken fragments. The men around it fell or scattered.
A cheer went up, but died as 4 BTR-90 infantry vehicles rolled through.
"Fahr zur Holle, ihr Untermenschen!"
An Oarai boy roared, and lifted a Panzerfaust 3 antitank weapon. He fired, and one of the vehicles went up, but was immediately suppressed by the remaining three, forcing him to dive down.
But then-
"The KSK! The KSK are coming!"
And a Marder 1A3 IFV smashed through the wall behind them, firing off its 20mm autocannon and 7.62mm machine gun. It stopped, and fired a warhead from its MELLS missile system, wrecking another 2 of the vehicles. Soldiers poured through behind it, holding HK416A8 rifles and FN EVOLYS LMGs. The front row of the terrorists were mowed down, and the rest, seeing no hope, retreated, leaving 8 smoldering wrecks, 3 unused kamikaze trucks, and a heap of corpses.
Meanwhile…
My consciousness recovered somehow.
"What-what happened?"
"You're FINALLY back online!" Hank yelled, "We thought you'll kill yourself!"
"What?"
Then I saw that where the screen was a second ago, there was the shadow of John's mech looming over me.
"That TV was some mind-control device! You tried to saw your neck off! We've been fighting this thing while I'm told to cover your visuals to prevent further damage!"
"Отправляйся в ад!"
(Otpravlyaysya vie ad! / Go to hell!)
The Communist Flame mech leapt right onto the Assault Aircraft Bluhtnebel's face, sending it to the ground. Then, it extended a flamethrower and blasted the bloody funnel cloud within. In less than 5 seconds, the monster's mind was removed, and the empty mech fell.
A dizzying wave of nausea came over me, and I noticed in terror that the back of my clothes were soaked by something that smelled like the butcher shop. I forgot that long scar down my back! I've ripped it open when I wasn't paying attention, and I've been losing blood the whole time!
My assault mech shimmered, shrunk and faded, and I collapsed onto the concrete with a groan.
"Kamerade!?"
I felt John shaking me in fear.
"I think … I'll be fine." I managed, before everything went out again.
Maho's POV again…
"Help, someone!"
The exclamation was loud, and startled Maho.
She had come out of the armored truck's cover when the KSK arrived, and had driven off the rest of the attackers. They were approaching the KSK when she heard it.
Looking back, she saw a scene she didn't like at all.
A big, sturdy teenager was yelling at them and frantically waving. Beside him, a shorter boy was lying on the ground, unmoving. But the MP-41 resting on his arm, and the iron wristband told who he was. Three other boys were standing around them, frantically sifting through their bags.
Stun and fear exploded in Maho's chest. Shaking off the others, she ran up to them.
"Was ist los?"
"Herr Alberich is unconscious! He had some massive blood loss! Get him to the hospital!"
"How?"
A shadow crossed the boy's faces, but particularly on the tallest boy.
"One of your girls tried to send a dagger into my skull, and he took the hit glancingly. The gash didn't heal in time, and he ripped it back open while fighting."
Shit.
"MEDIZINER!"
Hours later…
"So that's what happened, and why we're here."
The people across the deck looked at the boys, with a mix of thoughts and emotion inside.
After a brief cleanup, the KSK, police, the KMM superior and Feldjager interrogated the few closest companions of the Alberich boy. The boys decided to hide nothing and told the full story. After hearing it, everyone had seriously complicated feelings.
"Can we leave? I want to see our commander." The American boy grumbled, "Speaking of which, where and how is he?"
"We assure you that he has been given proper treatment and will awake soon." The KSK officer said, "So, you really weren't planning a shooting?"
"Of course not! We're not criminals; we just want to scare the girls to confess whatever they did."
"Hmmm…. okay, that will serve as an explanation for now." The officers began to pack their files.
"Oh, and one thing else." The Gabriel boy looked daggers at Shiho Nishizumi, the KMM principal, and said in a frigid voice. "Madam Nishizumi, maybe you can take some care with what your students call us. If anyone else dares call our commander a criminal again, we'll come down hard."
Shiho didn't react, just stared at him for a while, and went back to tidying up.
At the hospital…
I woke to the gentle shaking of a doctor.
"Good, so you're awake." The doctor looked at me with concern. "You had some serious blood loss, but we taped you up to an IV, and it seems to work."
"Where are my weapons and my backpack?" I demanded. Or tried to. I still feel plenty weak.
"Relax, your pack and clothes are right there." The doctor pointed at the marching pack sitting on the bedside stand. "But the guns are under KSK examination. And you might be staying for a while, until we got the whole story. Your friends are under interrogation right now."
I shot up and immediately felt sick. "Whoa, easy there." The doctor held me by the shoulder, "it'll be fine."
I sighed, infuriated by my current status. Then I remembered something.
"Doctor, where is my phone?"
"You've a phone? I didn't see it."
Oh no, please no.
I grabbed my pack and rummaged through it. Thank goodness, the Panzer Ace was there.
Its screen lit as I picked it up.
Mission: Ermordung und Attentater, completed.
Reward: Magic Upgrade Points x50000
Compact Space Storage Bracelet x1
Ring of Power: Oculo Diabolus
Body Enhancement Philter x1
New Ally: Deutsches Raumkorps Oberkommandant "Sirius"
Rank promoted to: Sturmbannfurher
Gun Upgrade: MP-41 Black Lightning
Unlocked 3 new army slots for OKS
OKS Base established next to Oarai Luftwaffe Oberkommando.
Unlocked Oarai People's Air Force.
Unlocked adventure dimension: The Fuhrer's Bunkers
Unlocked Gallery of Generals
Unlocked Residential Quarters
Unlocked ParaWorld
Mech Upgrade: 2nd Stage.
Armor Upgrade:
Helmet: Experimental Command-Combat Multipurpose Helmet
New Missions:
Spoils of War: Agree to let Andrew and his team to visit Saunders and see what happens
Preparations: Prepare for the next match (Note: will be an exhibition match. Enemy: BC Freedom-St. Gloriana united army)
I grinned. Looks like surviving an assassination and having this case of massive blood loss proved to be worth something.
I checked things out slowly. The bracelet was wrung of what was said to be lunderium, crystal as diamond, clear as water, and hard as titanium. Oculo Diabolus had an unsettling appearance: it was made of a dark-grey metal, even darker than steel, and yet had a red tinge to it, like a sword blade stained with blood. In its center was a decoration, with a gemstone, as black as a moonless midnight, set on a base of some red stone – bloodstone, as it was called; it was a deep crimson red, and even light reflected off it shone red. The central gemstone was pitch black, and no light reflected off it. It was like the entrance to a mini-chasm. A thin ring of gold ran around it. It apparently had the capability of enhancing the magic I perform and can even protect me from attacks of small blades by a magical force field.
The Body Enhancement Philter appeared like ordinary water in a paper cup. But as soon as I drank it, I felt it: every part of me seemed to hum & vibrate with health, and I felt strength and power surging through me. And I even felt smarter, more or less.
I proceeded to upgrade my magic. I unlocked a lot of skills, but the few most remarkable were these: "Overbleeding", which cuts down on enemy health by 45%; "Zombies of Osowiec", which summons 30 undead with rifles and submachines to defend me; "Skullduggery I", which summons a giant skeleton as a fighter; "Blood Rain", which literally brings a rain of blood upon my enemies and cuts their health in half. There are lots more, so I won't describe them 1 by 1.
I would've checked the other presents, but then, a few KSK officers came in.
"Well, Herr Alberich." The leader, a Stabsoffizier said, "you're awake."
"Where are my troops? My weapons? Were there any ally casualties?"
"All in good time." The man raised a hand to silence me. "Meanwhile, we'd like a discussion about your mechs."