Killed In Action

Oslo, Norway
11:50 

A city that was quiet and well-kept just a few hours ago is now badly damaged by the passage of bombs. Pillars of fire and smoke rise into the sky, and the streets are filled with debris from the shattered facades of nearby buildings. Still, my journey cannot afford to stop, as I am being pursued by a couple of Imperial cars that saw me leaving the I.S.C. building. Every few seconds you can hear the sound of a bullet bouncing off the armor; they're doing everything they can to stop me, but I'm not going to let them. So I turn left at the next intersection, trying to lose them. The left window immediately shows a large white patch along with a spider web pattern around the edges; it was the mark of a high caliber bullet, so it must have been an enemy sniper trying to shoot me to make me stop, and the only thing that saved my life was the armor of that window.

They're trying to block my escape route with everything they've got, but I'm not going to let them catch me so easily. So I started zigzagging the truck from one side to the other to at least try to make their shots miss more. Then another crack appeared in the front windshield; it seemed to be a shot from the same enemy sniper as before. He must have had a very good position with a nice view to hit me twice. Suddenly, the sound of metal dragging on the ground screeched around me; a cannon appeared at the next intersection, followed shortly by the turret and the rest of the vehicle. An Imperial tank blocked my path as its cannon turned to aim at me.

"THIS IS BAD! DAMN IT!!"

I immediately pulled the handbrake on the truck, causing it to spin and skid. The abrupt change in direction had caused the tank to miss its target by several meters, but it was still too close for comfort. With the truck on the side near the tank, I put it in reverse to get through a narrower alley where the tank would have trouble passing. Then it was just a matter of getting back to a main road and continuing on my way. My pursuers seemed to be stuck with the tank problem from earlier, but I still refused to stop, not without first finding a place where I could lose them completely. As I thought about what to do, I saw that one of the nearby buildings was a multi-level public parking lot, a perfect place to hide or switch to a less conspicuous car like a civilian one. So, without thinking twice, I entered and headed up to the third floor to look around, get my bearings, and get back on my way out of this damned mess.

But as I approached a window, my radio started crackling again and a familiar voice called out to me.

"Hey Cesar, where the hell are you?"
"The Marines have already called to fall back to the third line of defense."
"Soon they will call to abandon the city to its fate."
"There is no time left!"

"Sorry Cedric, I got a little lost trying to help Arkadia get out of there."
"I'm a little further north of the city."

"Damn, the Empire is already in the city, trying to pick you up will be hell."
"..."
"Just tell me where the hell you are and I'll find a way to get there."

"That's quite difficult, several tanks are heading west through the streets, it's impossible to cross the city on foot."

"Okay, don't worry, I got it covered, new plan."
"Look, try to head west to the town of Lierbyen, about 17 kilometers away, we'll try to hold out and wait for you there."
"Try to get there as soon as possible."

But while Captain Cedric was still speaking, a ghostly whistling sound was heard in the sky, a strange reflection among the clouds, as if the glass of a magnifying glass had been in the middle of the air, distorting the light. The sound of the ghosts roaring in agony grew louder and louder, and the columns of black smoke rising to the sky stopped abruptly when they reached a certain height. It was a message and symbols of the paranormal; something huge was up there. Then, in less than a second, chaos broke out as the source of the strange phenomenon was discovered: a huge black line appeared throughout the city for no reason, as if Judgment Day had arrived. The same line began to widen and grow at an alarming rate. As it grew, it became clear that a biblical creature was making its revelation: a giant black hole consuming the sky. A colossal ship had taken over the airspace of the city of Oslo, a monstrous steel titan built by man for war now looming over it. Without waiting for anyone to breathe, small white trails began to sprout from its enormous black wings. Their trails indicated missiles spinning in all directions. A series of explosions, more powerful than any before, shook the ground.

But such a display of power was not the only thing the black terror was capable of. From the beast's massive belly, a dozen angels flew toward the ground. Little girls armed with swords and large shields flew through the sky, searching and hunting down any trace of resistance in the city. The dreaded DOLLS of the Empire made their presence known once again, as if a swarm of death angels had been unleashed, toying with their victims with their unparalleled power. Perhaps their human patience could be confusing at first, but these girls were nothing more than cruel androids, born to kill and terrify, mass-produced by the Empire in an attempt to win the war, and right now they were arriving on the battlefield to our despair.

"Attention all units, this is Warlord!"
"Airborne Fortress Dandelion has appeared over the city of Oslo!"
"Repeat, one of the Empire's Airborne Fortresses has appeared in the area of operations!"
"Our fighter pilots will try to draw the attention of the enemy air units."
"There are also reports of DOLLS being deployed in various parts of the city."
"The Cyclone squadron has already been deployed and will arrive in about 5 minutes.
"In the meantime, all ground units, please evacuate the city, it is a lost cause to stay."
"The city of Oslo has already fallen to the Empire.
"Please retreat to the west and try to get out of there."
"At this moment, the stragglers are on their own, there's nothing we can do for them."
"I wish you all good luck, you will need it."

The mission had shifted from leaving the city to simply finding a way to stay alive for the next hour and then fighting for the following hour. Panic was written all over the faces of the Alliance soldiers still in the city. Small pockets of anti-aircraft fire fought in vain against the black colossus directly above them, only to witness the nearby landing of a DOLL, followed by the silence of the cannons. Fearing for my life, I ran inside, looking for a way to steal an abandoned car, as the best way to survive this situation was to be far away from anything military of the Alliance. But when I tried to start one of them, the radio kept talking, only to reveal more terrible information.

"Arkadia 1 reporting, we are near the outskirts of the city."
"One of the research teams' equipment is too heavy for the truck.
"We will try to get it out of the city with the help of transport helicopter 2."

"This is Nomad 6-2, I have the VIP cargo in the cargo bay, we are taking off."
"We will proceed to rendezvous with the exit convoy."

"This is Warlord! Negative, Nomad 6-2! Do not take off! That's an order!"
"There is no way to secure an air escort, our pilots are completely occupied with Dandelion."
"You are jeopardizing the mission!"
"Please find another way to escape, but not this one."

Two complete psychopaths with a death wish spoke over the radio, a plan not only as crazy as mine, but one that had now entered the realm of delusion and deceit. Trying to get anyone out by air with the huge colossal ship in the sky and a group of black angels lurking in the area to kill was a plan doomed to failure and the death of those dragged along with it. Not even two minutes had passed before the predictable fate was revealed.

"Nomad 6-2! I need help!"
"We're taking heavy fire from all sides!"
"Shit! The main rotor is jammed! We are losing control!"
"HELP!!"
"....."
.... L̅o̅s̅t̅ S̅i̅g̅n̅n̅a̅l̅ ...

I could see through the window as the cursed helicopter crashed near where I was, just a block away, a fireball following it a second after it hit the ground, a tragic scene from which probably no one on board that helicopter is alive. But as I watched the scene unfold, I noticed an artifact that stood out from all the other wreckage, a large capsule with something written on its side. I couldn't see it clearly, but its shape was unmistakable; it was the same capsule that contained Nanami's body, I was sure of it.

Once again, I was faced with an important decision. I could abandon everything and flee with the codex in my hand, or I could try to stay near the helicopter wreckage and protect Nanami's body. The decision seemed easy, but the feeling of guilt and sorrow for having left her earlier overwhelmed me. It was thanks to her that I was still alive today, it was thanks to her that the tragedy of Atlantis had ended, it was thanks to her that I had experienced love, even if only for a brief and tragic time. I couldn't just leave the past behind as if nothing had happened. I grabbed my rifle, my equipment, and immediately set out to find a way to retrieve Nanami's body and give her the final rest she deserved.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the first to arrive; two girls were standing by the capsule as I approached. Both girls turned their heads in my direction at the same time, and the rest of their bodies followed suit. Their large, fixed eyes, which never blinked, and their intense orange color only heightened the sense that something was wrong with the soulless machine. They seemed to be identical twins, even in the cruel way they moved and spoke, trying to fool others with a false halo of energy above their heads.

"That man over there is a nuisance to our game!"
"What if we cut him up and show him to everyone back home?"

"You're right, that's an excellent idea. If we kill him quickly, we can accomplish our mission of taking toys from the Alliance."
"They'll be happy back home!"

Both girls spoke one after the other in a playful and innocent tone, as if they didn't know the weight of the words they were using.

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you take the girl."
"You'll have to go through me first," I said, trying hard to hide my fear and raising my weapon.

"Then consider yourself dead, you fucking bastard!" both twins replied angrily.

"Come and try, bitch."

Just as they finished talking, they both bent their knees, preparing to jump? It certainly wouldn't be a simple normal jump, but as I hesitated a bit, wondering what they would do next, I saw them crouch down and take something from the back of their hips. They were preparing something strange, but no doubt dangerous.

"Shit!"

In less than a second, both of them jumped straight at me, closing the distance between them and me almost instantly. I barely had time to react and put my rifle between their weapon and my neck, but their sister had managed to wound me in one of my legs. They had drawn long steel daggers, and only my instinct had saved me from their attack. There was no other way to describe what had just happened.

"Wow, that was incredible."
"We didn't expect you to survive that."

Before me stood two emotionless monsters, mere machines indifferent to life, the cold creations of the Empire, designed for war. Their human appearance was only superficial, their mechanical joints exposed, weapons in hand, seeking the cruelest ways to kill their enemies. They existed only to kill and inflict maximum physical and psychological damage on the enemy. Each capable of destroying groups of soldiers without tiring, as if it were a game to them. With their presence, the Empire had managed to conquer in the war.

What chance did a lone soldier have against them?

But deep inside, my mind screamed that I couldn't leave Nanami in this place. I had to win, I had to protect her at all costs, even if it meant my own death. Maybe it was my disillusionment in despair, but I wouldn't leave her behind again. For her, I would try my luck and skill once more.

"Come on, let's keep going! It gets pretty boring if nobody dies fast!"

One of the machines shouted, but before she could finish, I raised my weapon and shot her. Unfortunately, being the indifferent monster that these things had become, the girl took a direct hit to the head, but didn't even flinch; instead, she just started walking towards me. Her sister jumped to the side and then towards me, getting closer and turning to kick me directly in the chest. I tried to block it with my weapon, and miraculously it saved my life, but I lost my weapon in the process as I saw it shatter right after the impact. A second later, I noticed that my weapon wasn't the only thing broken; the bulletproof plate inside my vest had also split in half. If the blow had hit me directly, my entire spine would have been shattered. But there was no time to dwell on doubts, so I immediately grabbed my pistol and shot the android in the head at close range, but even with this significant impact, the bullets did nothing more than bounce off, causing her only minor inconvenience. Angry at how stupidly armored these things were, I lunged at her, pressing my weapon against her skin until it connected directly with the skin of her neck, and fired again. I pulled the trigger again and again until I ran out of bullets. When I moved my arm, the girl fell lifeless to the ground, with a large hole in her neck that went all the way to the other side.

But the battle was not over when I heard fast footsteps beside me, DOLL's dead sister was behind me. Something inside me screamed that she was going to attack my head and that I should duck immediately, believing that voice, I threw myself to the ground and I could see a huge metal blade pass right where my neck would have been moments before.

"Ah, I wasn't expecting that," the machine said emotionlessly.

I was already unarmed, my rifle was smashed to pieces on the floor, my pistol was out of bullets, and at the speed of that thing, I wouldn't have time to reload. So, as a last resort, I put my hands on my chest and drew my combat knife in a final display of hope for survival. The girl jumped towards me and thrust her sword at me, I turned to dodge and saw her weapon stabbing into the ground with superhuman force, punishing her mistake, I grabbed her arm with one of my hands and tried to strike with my knife at the joint of her elbow to damage her as much as possible to reduce her mobility in some way. But DOLL let go of her weapon and managed to push me a great distance away with that hand, when she regained her posture to fight again, I could see how half of her right arm was loose and disconnected from the rest of her body, my attack had had its limited success.

But the battlefield is as unpredictable as life itself, and as cruel as fate, which keeps turning against me, pushing me to the edge of the abyss and eternal despair. The Arkadia Squadron appeared beside me, their weapons raised to fight against the DOLL, but also against me, while Akane raised her rifle against me as if I were just another enemy. The cold android rose in fury and lunged at two of her guards while Akane fired at me almost simultaneously. I dodged at the last moment and got close enough to bury my knife in her abdomen, but unfortunately, I lost my last weapon in an instant; I had made a very stupid mistake. Someone took advantage of my lapse, and I felt a terrible blow all over my body as I fell a few meters from the capsule. When I looked back, I could see the doll with her sword next to where Akane and I were, next to the other half of my lower body.

"I finally caught you."
"You were much more difficult than I thought, at least I thank you for not dying so quickly."
"Now you'll be next," she said without emotion, but somehow mocking.

I couldn't hear Akane's answer very well, my strength was dwindling fast. My wounds were fatal and beyond repair or hope. A battle was raging beside me, but my senses were slowly slipping away, dying unaware in the chaos around me, as it should have been from the beginning many years ago.

This was terrible, this was my end, there was no way to stop it now.

But maybe it was something good instead, it meant that I would be with Nanami in the end, I just had to be one meter away from her.

She's waiting for me together with Luna, so why make her wait any longer?

In front of me I see what's left of the sky, indifferently swallowed by the huge black ship that abducted it, the tracks of flying missiles, the traces of gunfire and the dancing swords of the cold android fighting her enemies around the wreckage of my body.

My only regrets were not knowing why Nanami's body is in that capsule and not knowing what will happen to my sister.

All this is so cruel...

So close

...

Maria

...

Nanami

Sorry

... ... ...

Everything went black, the sound of the bullets faded away, the smell of blood disappeared, and the pain I felt disappeared as well.