Chapter 40
A/N: Apologize for the delay, I have been diagnosed with sever writers block and a complete addiction to distractions, but I am cured now, (Not really) lets go
The sun had not yet risen the next morning, but the boys of Hoja City were already up and mounting their respective tanks. The young men started up their vehicles and with the final battle within reach, the vigor of anticipation was high. All focus was on the newly laid plan. Embark from the city and move to a designated area specifically picked out for the battle. Edward wanted to have this game end on his terms and to do that he needed his force to be at the designated position before the sun rose.
Edward stood within the commanders hatch of his tank observing the young men around him. He was just like them, heightened in anticipation for the upcoming bout. He wasn't going to let this war game of tanks and politics ruin what he now had with Maho. He would find a way to stay together with her even if it killed him. Ironic in the sense that she used to be his enemy, and now she's the best thing that has ever happened to him.
"Ed, can I have a word?" Edward glanced down and spotted Hans as the question bearer.
"Whats wrong Hans?" Edward asked. Hans gave a somber look and seemed unsure on something.
"Are you sure that this is the right decision? Leaving without telling the girls? Maho would get really mad." Hans said. Edward just sighed. He knew that his decision was selfish in this regard. But he just couldn't let Maho anywhere near danger. He wouldn't let himself.
"I'm sure. I've got more to protect now than just Tankery. I've not come this far to risk that much. You saw the numbers, you know the chance is too high for that." Edward said.
"Well yeah I did but the girls would still be able to take care of themselves right?" Hans asked.
"Im not saying they wouldn't. but think for a moment. With the chance of danger that we're going to face, would you willingly send Erika to face that and possibly come out of it with an injury?" Edward asked. Hans looked down at his question, he knew the answer before he even thought of it.
"No, no I wouldn't do that." Hans said.
"That's the same for me Hans. I wont subject Maho to that high-risk chance of danger. Not even if it meant saving my life." Edward said.
"I'm sure what ever happens will be fine Ed. I mean, we've been thinking of ways to stay together with the girls when this game ends and all, but to say that the risks are to high might be stretching it." Hans said. Edward shook his head and glanced out at his team.
"No. I know whats at stack for me. What I can lose should the proper circumstances come to pass. I won't risk it, not if I can protect it." Edward said.
"You're speaking in riddles Ed." Hans said. Edward smirked and glanced back at his longtime friend.
"Don't worry about it but know that I do believe this is the correct course of action." Edward said. Hans gave a nod and went back to the Tiger.
Edward gave the garage one last look around, everyone was ready, it was now or never. He grabbed his headset and placed it on his head, turning it on, and giving out his first order of the day.
"You all have the location of our staging point on your maps. Lets finish this once and for all. Move out!" Edward ordered. The combined efforts of the tanks sparked alight. The various multi national tanks of Uncle Sam moved out of the garage first followed by Virginia's heavy M6s. Out and following in line next were Montana's E-75s and last but not least were the T-14s of Edison. The mass moved outward and heading west at approximately twenty miles an hour.
A yawning Noriko Isobe moved through the hallway of the Ooarai Barracks returning to her room with a freshly cold-water bottle. She'd done this before and had this little routine subconsciously mapped out. however she stopped when she looked out the window seeing the mass of tanks leaving the city limits. Noriko would have thought it was an early morning patrol had there not been so many of them. upon closer inspection she noticed all of the tanks leaving were from the boys teams. She moved quickly and ran outside the barracks moving towards the boys garage. When she got there, true enough, the entire hanger was empty. Realization dawned on her that the boys must have gone to fight Akari without them. With her newly acquired vigor Noriko sprinted back to the barracks and loudly acknowledged her presence.
"The boys garage is empty! Sodoko! Sodoko wake up!" Noriko yelled banging on Mallard teams room door. Opening the door was none other then the head hall monitor herself.
"Noriko! It is not even five in the morning! What could be so important that you wake me up at this hour!?" Sodoko asked.
"The boys garage is empty. I think they went to fight Akari alone." Noriko said. Sodoko was suddenly very much awake and rose both Moyoko and Nozomi from their sleep. Of course neither of the two were happy but a quick explanation got them out of bed.
"Noriko, you go wake Commander Nishizumi I'll start with everyone else." Sodoko said.
"Right." Noriko agreed and left to tell everyone else. Waking Miho was not hard. She was a surprisingly light sleeper. The news hit her quickly to and she was out of bed with shoes on running to gather the other commanders. When she got outside just about everyone was beginning to awaken. Even the other schools. Miho saw Pravda and Saunders already out getting the lay of everything.
"Miho!" Miho heard her voice being called out. she turned and saw Kay running towards her still in her sleepwear, shorts, and a tee shirt, unlike Miho herself, who slept in actual pajamas.
"Kay! What have you found out?" Miho asked as the two began walking to the command Center.
"Seems the boys up and left earlier this morning. Your friend was right, their garage is empty and all the armaments in their storage are gone to." Kay said. Miho was very confused. Why would they do this? Why leave? Did the boys not trust them? no, not that. After they spent so much time getting the Association to trust them it was hard to figure.
"Lets talk with the others. Maybe we can get an understanding of things." Miho suggested. Kay agreed and the two continued their way to the Command Center.
As the two passed through the massive courtyard they noticed the other girls already hard at work getting an adjustment on what the boys took with them. what munitions they had, what spare parts, fuel, and other things. Miho and Kay didn't have to see much to understand the same amount of confusion that the rest of the girls were feeling.
Miho and Kay made it to the Command Center just as Darjeeling herself was entering. Just like the two, she was also still in her night gown with her hair draped down her back. once the three girls walked in the would seated themselves and waited for the others. Katyusha barged in as Nonna followed behind. Katyusha was, surprisingly, wearing a onesie. Nonna had on sweets and a sweeter.
"Imbeciles! The lot of them!" Katyusha yelled. Though the other girls had no idea what she was talking about, they could hazard a guess.
"Believe me I agree with you Katyusha." Nonna said.
"Whats got you two in a twist?" Kay asked. The two Pravda students looked at the three.
"The boys siphoned all the gasoline in our tanks. It will take hours to get all of them full again." Katyusha said. This was news to the others.
"Why would they do that?" Darjeeling asked.
"Because their idiots." Nonna said obviously angry. No one blamed her. they all felt betrayed in a way. They had all planned to attack Akari later in the day to finally end the war game. What was the reason for this?
"I'm afraid its worse then that Nonna. The boys locked away their battle plans. We don't know where they went or what they, technically, plan to do." Erika said as she and Maho walked in clothed in sleepwear.
"Those fools. What benefit do they have to do this?" Darjeeling asked. the girls started to talk amongst themselves, intent on guessing why their significant others left them to go fight. All except one.
Maho sat down in a chair and stared at a piece of paper in her hand. She was thoroughly reading the contents of the page. She had done so already but she needed to do it again in hopes of understanding why. The only person who caught on to her blankness was Miho.
"Maho, What are you reading?" She asked. the other girls stopped what they were talking about and turned to listen.
"It's a note from Edward. He says that, now with the way things are, he won't risk my safety for anything. That he left so he can finish this war game and find a way for us to stay together after its all said and done." Maho said. The other girls stayed silent. Learning that Edward wanted to stay with Maho after the match wasn't new, they had all tried to develop plans or ideas to stay with their American counterparts. Weather anyone liked it or not the Japanese girls have a family with the American boys they met while living on this Island. The original reason for why they were here was lost to recent history in the wake of their new revelation of, not just Sensha Do, but also the social connections they made.
"I'm not going to lie. I also had planned on trying to stay with the guys. Even if I had to move to this island permanently I would do it." Kay said. The girls cast glances at each other and saw they had all the same thoughts on that particular matter.
"Yes, I would as well." Darjeeling said.
"Us to." Katyusha added.
"We all would. But in order to do that we would have to defeat Akari first. We'd have a better chance if all of us were together. So why would the boys up and leave like this?" Miho asked.
"I think its because of these." Erika said holding up a small stack of papers. She handed them down the table to give each other a chance to review them with Katyusha being first.
"These are the reports revolving around Akari's remaining munitions. What's so worrying about them?" She asked.
"The reports confirmed that the extra Munitions will be High Impact Carbon shells." Erika said. A noticeable confusion birthed the table, and an understandable one at that.
"Were those rounds ever authorized?" Kay asked.
"The Jury was still in discussion about them. the professional leagues use them, and some university level schools use them for exhibitions. However the impact is very hard, and with High School calibrations on the tanks its said those shells have a possibility to rip right through the hulls of our tanks." Darjeeling said. An eerie feeling went down the girls spines.
"With that knowledge we believe that Edward, Davis, Rivers, and Johnathon decided to go without us in hopes of taking that risk themselves, therefore sparing us that chance." Erika said.
"What is the percentage of the shells piercing the tank hull?" Miho asked understandably concerned.
"Seventeen percent on charts. Twelve in actual testing. However the carbon was added for more speed at the cost of that penetration rate. The original rate was well above thirty percent before the update of the carbon." Darjeeling said.
"At least they managed to minimize the chance of penetration to the tanks by a bit." Nonna commented. To her just thinking about Austin getting injured by an over powered tank shell made her blood run cold.
"So a twelve percent chance that a HIC shell could pierce the hull. That doesn't give any closure for an odd reason." Kay said partially sarcastic.
"No, the risk is still to high. Especially for High School level tanks. The Professionals and university leagues have higher calibrations in terms of tank armor and the HIC shells were designed for those stages of the sport. However the Federation had discussed adding them to the High School level." Erika said.
"So now what? We should at least try to warn the boys of this. What else can we do?" Katyusha asked.
"I believe they already know of the risks and are well aware that it can happen. I take it this is why they decided to siphon our gasoline, to prevent us from that odd chance of injury." Darjeeling said.
Maho, at this time, was still gazing over the letter Edward had written her. anyone could tell by observing her that her feelings for Edward were much more powerful than for anything else. That's what made her conclusion so clear.
"We'll go after them and reinforce them. give them the backup they need. Its what they'd do for each other and It's what they'd do especially for us. Who's to say a women cant stand with her man in death as much as she does in life." Maho declared. The other girls grew smiles, the same ones when they joined with her back in Mishima. "Besides. I want to hit him over the head for leaving me behind."
The girls giggled at that. The reasons for going to aid the boys far outweighed the consequences of staying. It was an obvious choice. So that's what they did. The girls walked outside and found their schools teams all in the yard talking and trying to make something of this confusion. These questions Maho would answer.
"Everyone listen! With further investigation we have found that the boys did in fact leave to face Akari by themselves." Maho explained. As predicted there was uproar. Most had solemn expressions, some had sadden ones, and others had anger.
"Why did they leave us behind? Do they not think we can help them?" Asked one of the girls from Kuromorimine.
"Quite the opposite. The revelation of Akari using High Impact Carbon shells was what sent most of them to this conclusion. We all know what High Impact Carbon shells are, and where they are used. In University and Professional leagues. High level leagues with high level calibrations and prerequisites for admission to their level. The chance of one of those shells breaching the tank hull of a High School tank is twelve percent. However that chance is still to high for anyone to take. That's why the boys decided to leave us behind. Their trying to protect us." Maho said. Most of the girls calmed down, but their feelings weren't suppressed.
"Well their idiots!" One girl from Pravda shouted. The mass of girls laughed at the quip, Maho included.
"Yes they are." Maho agreed before taking a breath. "they are currently idiots, but I'm not going to stay here and let them get hurt just so they can feel like we're safe."
Maho's words spoke true. Never before had one gone so far as to save someone within this sport. Besides Miho, everyone else would to focused or even scared to risk something just for others.
"We in Sensha Do have never taken the risks of pain or injury for others. Besides my sister Miho I've never heard of anyone else in the history of our sport doing something like that. Yet the Americans, who we've come to love, have done so for us countless times. The charging into enemy lines to by us time to reorganize, the insane plan to ram ones tank into ones that's bigger, going toe to toe with a grizzly bear to protect one of us. These Americans have shown us what Tankery means to them and why they protect it. But they also have shown why they would abandon it to protect us. They've risked their chances of being to hurt to play this sport again just for us! So yes they are Idiots! But their our Idiots! And I'm going to fight with them!" Maho yelled. The plethora of girls in the yard yelled out in cheers at her words. Never before had one united so many like She and Edward had done. They had made history. This event will go down in the records of Sensha Do forever. The time where enemy Commanders found that their growing love for each other was better then the love of their favorite game.
"Fill up every tank to half full, gather all the munitions your vehicles can carry, and get your uniforms on Ladies! We're going to WAR!" Maho ordered. Another quick cheer was meet with instantaneous action. The Japanese girls moved fast and with renewed vigor to complete the orders given to them by their Commander. Maho sighed and turned around to see her fellow Commanders still standing. She raised an eyebrow at them, and it was Kay who got the message.
"Well you heard her, lets go!" Kay ran in the direction of her room and the others, with bright smiles on their faces, followed behind her. enthusiasm would be the fuel for their charge. Miho was the only one who stayed behind.
"You remember what Samuel said right? You cant get into a tank Maho. Your body won't agree with you." She said. Maho nodded solemnly. She knew what was at stake, but she wouldn't forgive herself if Edward got hurt.
"I know. I am scared at what could happen to me, but I just cant bare the thought of Edward being in that twelve percent chance. Those shells can do tremendous damage to a person if it makes contact. I'll never forgive myself if I just sat here while he's out there." Maho said hugging herself shivering. Miho noticed her sisters discomfort and embraced her.
"You forget he's an American. They're the most Stubborn, Audacious, and Caring people we've ever had the displeasure to meet. I know he'd jump in front of you when ever you'd be in danger. The same for could eventually be said for someone else to." Miho said. Maho picked up on those words.
"Oh? Have you found someone to protect you like that Miho?" she said. Miho grinned and stepped out of the hug and turned walking to her room.
"You know that's not what I meant." She said.
Maho just watched her go and sighed again. "You right. I know that's not what you meant." Maho took a look westward. Edward and his boys would be hiding in an obscure location with a good vantage point over their chosen battlefield. She just had to find it. The sun began to rise as Maho turned around and directed her pace to her bedroom. All the while, in the western reaches, where the Mountain range just North of Hoja City meets flatland the convoy of High School tanks rides to a halt. Edward emerges from his Hellcats hatch and surveys the surrounding area. No one in sight, good tree cover, and a perfect view of the flatlands he chose for the battle. Edward would be expecting Akari to have heard his force was coming this way and already marching her forces downward.
"Alright boys, line up within the tree line and kill the engines. We play the waiting game for now." Edward called into his radio. The vehicles began moving into position and Edward lunged himself out of his hatch and sat on top his tank. He then knocked on the drivers hatch and called in. "Get some rest boys, we'll be fighting shortly."
"Roger that Ed." PJ, Edwards driver, responded.
Edward laid his head back and rested across the tank cupola. Closing his eyes to catch up on sleep from this morning's exodus was what he wanted but it also was what he dreaded, for the only thing he saw when he closed his eyes was Maho. She was standing there waiting for him to come closer to her, her arms outstretched ready to engulf him into a warm hug. Any other man would be jealous of his relationship with Maho, but that's also where his conviction came from. He had even thought about himself and her for who knows how long. He imagined them in a house together, relaxing on a couch, television playing some movie, with them in each other's arms. Edward had wanted nothing more than that dream to be a reality. His heart was set upon it, but he hadn't learned if Maho's was. he speculated sure, but the anxious waiting for the knowledge of if she also saw that in their future was an aching pain that Edward wanted nothing more than to throw away. However Edward know one thing for curtain. He would ask Maho her thoughts on their future together, and if she still wanted to be with him then he would do it. In time, when the two of them were older, Ed would plan to marry her.
Noise from his right forced Edward to open his eyes. He turned and looked for the source and found it as the boys from the Tiger 1. Austin had his left his cello behind, but Mark had his keyboard on hand, the group were merely talking but Mark played some fairly familiar tunes. Edward knew he had to win this. If anyone would come out of this thing scarred he would make sure it was him, or god forbid what he would do to himself.