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French Mod 1914 Alternate History AAR (1897- ?) Les Flammes des Ténèbres

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Kurt_Steiner said:
Mmmh... may I suggest some characters?

Paul Bäumer (Remarque's All Quiet...)
C. A. Rotwang (from Firtz Lang's Metropolis)
Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp)
Erich von Stalhein and/or James Bigglesworth (the Biggles series).

Or formers sergeants Daniel Dravot and Peachey Carnehan (The Man Who Would Be King)
Simon Templar (The Saint novels)
Clifford Chatterley (Lady Chatterley's Lover) -but before being crippled, of course-
Colonel Nicholson (The Bridge on the River Kwai)

General Mireau (Paths of Glory)

So many people...
Click to expand...


You suggested a lot of good characters for me to write, thanks for that, but I'd actually prefer you suggest characters that had appeared in this AAR or strongly related to them for the short dramas. Perhaps I didn't phrase my question that clearly, sorry for that. I'll still take those characters into account for future story lines in the main plot. Thanks again.

.........​

Sorry for being gone for some time. I actually went on a ski trip to Whistler (site for winter olympics 2010). :p I almost dislocated my shoulder joint while I was skiing, which would have caused a serious delay for my current progress in this AAR (It's not because I'm bad at skiing, but because I accidentally fell when I'm going almost full speed trying to evade someone on the slope I noticed a bit too late :eek:o) An update should come sometime today or tomorrow, and a short drama is scheduled to come on Jan. 6. :D
 
Lucky bastard...Whistler is awesome...
Once when I was there, it was raining, so I saw 300...
This! Is! Whistler! :D

Skiing > AAR
But only for a short time. :)
 
Yup, I admit Whistler is pretty awesome :cool:
But I'll say skiing = AAR for all the time ;)
I actually was trying to get some new inspirations for this AAR while I was skiing. ;)
 
Alright, the update is here. Sorry again for the delay. Lately I'm using extra time to think of interesting story line. Perhaps that's why delays are more frequent. :eek:o I actually revised the content of this update by a certain degree before posting, so there may be some places I left out and can be a bit confusing. Help me watch out for them. :eek:o

BTW Happy New Year! Thank you for the support since I first started this AAR. :p I'm also planning to start a small website of somesort for this AAR. If everything goes right I'll give more info about this. ;)


.........​


Chapter V


A train on an Italian Railway between Rome and Naples, December 1898


“What am I doing here?” asked Rommel to himself.

Rommel sat on his window seat in a railway carriage compartment looking out through the window. Green fields and the blue sky passed through Rommel’s view. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the local mediterranean weather was blown in from an opening.

Rommel closed his eyes for a moment before he turned his head away from the window. He eyed the other passengers in the compartment briefly. The seats were arranged in two rows of three seats each. Directly facing him was an old gentleman. A little girl around the age of seven is beside him. There were three other girls in their early teens seating in the remaining seats.

“Amatia don’t eat that crêpe! I was saving that for later!” cried the girl with glasses.

“I’m sorry, Rico. But I just couldn’t resist taking a bite of it.” The girl named Amatia blushed a bit in embarrasment, before taking another bite of Rico’s crêpe.


600px-Crepedelight.jpg

(I personally can't resist taking a bite out of a crêpe too :p)​


Rommel watched silently as the two girls have a small fight. Then he looked at the girl he knew as Sonia sitting right next to him. She was asleep and her head was leaning onto Rommel’s arm. The old gentleman straight across him seemed to be resting himself, while the little girl named Aria beside him kept on looking at Rommel whenever Rommel is not looking, and turned her head away whenever Rommel noticed her eyes watching him.

“I’m terribly sorry, Monsieur Rommel. These children caused you some trouble.” The old gentleman came from his rest and smiled as he look on Rico and Amatia, before speaking in a polite manner to Rommel.

“Do not mind that, Maestro Arioso,” Rommel spoke fluently in Italian as he closed his eyes to rest, and thought about how he met with the old musician and the girls in the Gare du Nord before travelling on rail to Italy. They met and shared the same compartment by chance.

Rommel then proceeded to check his watch. It was almost noon.

“It is about time… ” said Rommel before he gave out a large sigh.


On board the same train, the dining carriage, a few carriages away from Rommel


In the dining carriage, there were some people enjoying their lunch of fine Italian cuisine. A waiter was present serving wine to the passengers in the luxurious carriage.

Suddenly there was a large bang near the door of the dining carriage, startling everyone in the carriage. After a short moment, the waiter walked slowerly to the door and opened it to check the source of the sound. He was greeted by a gun barrel pointed directly at his forehead.

“Good day, my boy,” said the man holding the revolver. “Do you happen to know an old gentleman with four little girls with him?” asked the man in an impatient manner.

“I… I don’t…” said the waiter trembling. The gunman pulled the trigger before the waiter can finish his sentence. The passengers of the carriage then broke into a panic and fled. Leaving the gunman alone. More men who seemed to be with the gunman appeared behind him.

“What? You don’t know? Don’t give me that kind of an answer.” The gunman said angrily while stomping the dead waiter’s body with his boot.

“Alfonso, stop it. That is not what a mafia member should act like.”

“You tell me not to act like that? Bernardo? We had more than five Dons killed already, you know. We must find those murders and give them their punishment whatever it takes. Mercy is not something we have now.”

“We don’t want to attract too much attention from the Carabinieri. You know that, Alfonso. We know that they are on this train, and there are two hours before we arrive at the train station. We have enough time not to cost a big mess here,” replied Bernardo in a calm manner.

“Whatever, Bernardo. I just want to pull my trigger behind those murders’ head,” growled Alfonso at his mate.


Rommel’s compartment, a few minutes later


The gun shot confirmed there was trouble on the train, and Rommel readied his lethal Luger and short sword secretly before he walked for the door.

“Monsieur Rommel, are you going to go out?”

“Yes, Maestro. I’m afraid so,” answered Rommel silently before he left the compartment without any further sound.

There was no one in the narrow corridor. Rommel presumed that the passengers were all hiding in their compartment with fear. Rommel walked slowly to the door which leads out of the carriage and stopped. There was the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer.

“I don’t see them in the other carriages, perhaps they …” a man appeared through the door and the Italian’s throat was immediately sliced by Rommel. The other man was surprised by the blood that spewed out of his companion’s throat, but before he can even make a noise Rommel’s blade penetrated his heart.

“Two down …” mumbled Rommel as he walked pass the bodies of the two man.

Rommel proceeded to the carriage next to the one he previously was. There were five to six men, all of them carrying some sort of weaponry ranging from long knives to revolvers and a hunting shotgun.

“Messy …” said Rommel to himself before he threw a bag left by another passenger at the men. The men instinctly fired at the bag that drew their attention, but failed to notice a grenade Rommel had rolled down to their feet. A large blast followed, and Rommel emerged from behind a seat. More men came brandishing long knives and revolvers. Rommel skillfully evaded a knife thrust before he sliced the torso of the men who lunged at him. The other men fired their revolvers, but Rommel used the man he just killed as a shield from the bullets and closed in to the men. It was not long before Rommel finished them all off with a combination of slashes from his blade and shots from the Luger.

Rommel then entered the dining carriage. There was no one occupying the what appeared to be a recently battered carriage. Broken plates still holding some food were lying on the floor along with scattered tables and chairs.

As Rommel entered the room, he suddenly felt the presence of someone behind him and immediately rolled to the side. A burst from a shotgun smashed a table that was previously behind Rommel.

“Well, well, well,” said Alfonso. “It looks like that we have some unwanted rats here.” Alfonso aimed his hunting shotgun again at Rommel as he snarled.

“Alfonso, enough of that,” said Bernardo as he walked through the door behind Alfonso. “We’ve what we wanted here already.”

Behind Bernardo was the old gentleman and the girls, including the still sleepy Sonia. Four other men with their weapons also entered the now crowded dining carriage. The presence of the old gentleman and the girls surprised Rommel.

“Maestro Arioso, do you have anything to do with the Mafia?” asked Rommel in a low voice at the Maestro.

“Well, yes, Monsieur Rommel. I’ll start explaining everything to you once we are done with this messy matter,” replied the old gentleman with a small smile.

“Explaining? The only explaination you’re going to have is to Don …” barked Alfonso, before a dining knife that was previously on the floor struck his heart. Sonia still appeared sleepy after she threw the knife.

In what appeared to be a split second, Amatia grabbed the shotgun from the fallen Alfonso, and blasted the other mafia men with the powerful gun. The mafia men were dead before their bodies even hit the floor.

“Aarrgghhh…” growled Bernardo as he covered a gaping wound on his right shoulder with his left hand. Before the last surviving mafia member can lift his revolver in his right in a dire attempt, Rico took the gun away from him and snapped the fingers Bernardo used to hold the gun. Bernardo cried out in agony as his fingers were left functionless.

“Who… who are you? Why… what do you want… ” said Bernardo in a weak voice.

“Should I finish him off, Maestro?” asked Rico as she pointed the gun at Bernardo’s forehead, ignoring the man’s words.

“Yes, I’m afriad so. We can not afford to let him survive,” the old gentleman said sadly. Rico then obediently pulled the trigger.

Rommel watched on as the last mafia man spilled out his red hot bodily fluids on the floor. He examined the girls and the old gentleman with his eyes, especially Aria who was peeking at him from the Maestro’s figure.

“Maestro Arioso, I assume you do have a lot to explain to me after we get off this train,” spoke Rommel in his low voice.

“I agree, Monsieur Rommel, or should I refer to you as ‘Major Rommel’?” asked the Maestro as he smiled sadly and patted Aria’s head.​


.........​

Note: a small change to Rommel's character design. Rommel now knows Italian as well as his son.
 
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Whoa! This is bad!
I posted the last update at around 9:30 pm Jan. 1 GMT as I previously mentioned before. But still no replies now? Ouch! First time I met something like this. :wacko: I was planning to do an update today, but I'm less motivated now. :( Perhaps this is because I merely edited the post I used to announce the delay for the update?

Some announcements anyways: the short drama on Jan. 6 will still be posted on this thread. My website is still under heavy construction and may not be in good shape for at least a week. :eek:o
 
well the reason i've only just read this is because its only jsut come up on my CP as updated. thats probably the problem - the forum has been weird since it was updated the other week. or because you merely edited a previous post.

cool update, made me think of ninja gaiden. and those little girls still terrify me. you have a very disturbed mind :p and that thing about rommel's son: i assume his son is to be named Erwin?
 
Well yes I merely edited my last post :eek:o I thought it wouldn't matter since I did post about exactly when the update will come.

Check this out, it inspired me for this chapter.

Gunslinger Girl

And yes, you may assume there will be a Erwin Rommel Jr. ;)

Update should come sometime tomorrow, I may not be able to finish one today anyways. :eek:o
 
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It's odd. I didn't see the post yesterday. Well, now now... so Rommel wasn't familiar with Ariosto and his girls... mmmh... are they to become "partners in crime", perhaps?
 
Kurt_Steiner said:
are they to become "partners in crime", perhaps?
Click to expand...

We'll see... :p

.........​

Update is here! I got into intense writing so I think this update is twice the normal size. :D This may be the end of the current chapter, or probably not. I'll decide in the next few days. ;) Alright here we go!

The following update may still need heavy editing. Expect changes to be made. An update of double size means an update that needs double editing :p

.........​


Naples, Kingdom of Italy, mid December 1898, early evening


“It has been raining quite a lot recently, Major Rommel,” said Maestro Arioso holding a book he was reading, looking out the window on the second floor. Rommel lifted his head and looked out the window from behind his desk. It was a rainy day common in the winter of mediterranean regions. However the raining season seemed to be longer than usual for Rommel, the Maestro, and the girls who were staying in a local hotel.

“Yes, I agree. There has been quite a lot of rain,” replied Rommel before he went back to his cleans a brand new rifle. The rifle had been given to him from Browning. Rommel remembered what Browning told him about the rifle.

“This rifle is called the Mondragon, after its inventor, a Mexican General Mondragon,” said Browning as he handed the rifle to Rommel. “I worked with him for a short time so I got a prototype, which I further improved to the current one you’re holding. It is an automatic weapon unlike your bolt-action Mauser Geweher 98, so you do not need to remove an empty shell and reload a new one each time you fire. I rechambered it with the Mauser 7.92 x 57 mm round you used for your Mauser Gewehr 98, fed in 10 to 20 rounds box magazine.”


mondragon1.jpg

(The Mondragon :cool:)​


Browning then handed Rommel a wooden box and continue to say, “Its standard effective range is greater than 800 m, but if you use these high explosive incendiary (HEI) rounds with extra powerful gunpowder, you can probably achieve an effective range of a kilometer. Do not worry about it getting jammed or other problems. It’s reliable, accurate, and not to say a powerful firearm anyone can ever dream of.”

“HEI rounds… ” muttered Rommel to himself as he opened the wooden box. Inside were the magazines for the Mondragon. Rommel look at the round that was on top of one of the magazine, and imagined briefly what will it be like when the tip of the round finds its victim. After a brief while Rommel placed the ammunition and rifle away before going back to work on some papers that was lying on the desk before him.


5-1.jpg

(Yeh! I got a piece of China)


ScreenSave28.jpg

(But so did everyone else :wacko:)


5-2.jpg

(Yeh! Puppet for me!)


ScreenSave26.jpg

(A series of IC production complete :cool:)


ScreenSave27.jpg

(Some mtn troops may be nice :p)​


Suddenly the door opened, and the the girls burst in. They are all more or less wet from the rain.

“Ahhh… we got all wet from the rain,” complained Amatia with water drops dripping from her clothes.

“Amatia it was you who said that we should stay a bit longer outside,” answered Rico in an unhappy way.

“Well, it has been a long time since we last returned to Napoli,” remarked Amatia. “Isn’t it right? Sonia?” Amatia turned and smiled at Sonia, and Sonia smiled and nodded in return.

“Aria… wants to take a bath,” said Aria with an emotionless face behind her three older sisters in a small voice.

“Alright, Aria,” smiled Rico as she patted Aria’s head, before she turned to the Maestro. “Maestro, we’re going to take a bath together!” cied Rico.

“Enjoy your bath,” answered the old gentleman. The four girls then left the room where Rommel and Arioso were. Rommel watched the girls until the door was closed behind them. He then turned to the Maestro.

“At times they appear so ordinary, nothing unusual,” began Rommel. “It’s very hard to imagine they can be pure killing machines.”

“We shouldn’t judge things by their appearances, am I right? Major Rommel?” Arioso said with a sad smile.
Rommel looked at the Maestro as if trying to understand what the old gentleman was thinking, then thought about the days they had spent in Naples.

…​

“I assume you know that the mafia was going to attack the train we were boarding, am I correct?” asked the Maestro to Rommel in a shopping district of Naples. It was a beautiful day with the sun still not covered by the rain clouds, and the streets were filled with people. The girls were happily picking some dresses to buy.

“Yes, that is correct. I was previously warned of an attack by the Mafia, but not informed their motives.”

“It is actually quite simple: they were after us,” said the old gentleman as he looked at the girls. Amatia and Rico were arguing for a dress they were both fond of, and Sonia was happily picking some dresses for Aria.

“We are part of the Legion etrangere, the same military unit you belong to, Major Rommel. However we may be considered as an unconventional and unique unit. ”

Rommel paused for a moment, and looked at the girls. Amatia and Rico apparently got two dresses for the one they were previously fighting over, and Sonia found out a pretty purple and white dress for Aria.

“True. The Legion does not allow women and children among their ranks,” said Rommel coldly.

“Ahhhh!!” A cry came from the girls. A boy between eight to nine years old in ragged clothes ran passed Rommel and Arioso like a hare. The boy seemed to be carrying Amatia’s purse.

“You are not getting away!” cried Amatia as she went after the thief. It was a pursuit that went through the small and narrow medival streets of Naples. There were a lot of people, but Amatia still was able to pursue the boy through the crowd.

“Got you!” cried Amatia as she caught up with the boy. With an immense force Amatia lifted the boy off the ground and drew a dagger with the other. The purse dropped from the boy’s trembling hands as Amatia prepare to strike with her blade.

“That’s enough, Amatia.” Rommel appeared behind Amatia and held Amatia’s hand back as he said.

Amatia turned back to Rommel before asking almost casually.

“Why?”

“If there is no need to bloody your hand, then don’t do it,” said Rommel slowly after hearing the girl’s reponse. “It’s enough that you got back what he took from you.”

“But if I let him go he’ll just steal from another, wouldn’t it be better if I just…”

“The best thing we can do for him is to take him into our lives. Feed him and give him warm clothes, but of course none of us is willing to do that. We merely wish that people don’t interfere with our lives so long as we have what we need. So we should not continuing to interfere with this boy’s life,” said Rommel in a serious way while looking straight into Amatia’s eyes.

“It’s hard for me to understand, Monsieur Rommel. But I guess you’re right,” said Amatia to Rommel. She then handed her purse before letting the boy go. The boy looked back before he ran away again like a pouncing hare.

“Was I still interfering with his life just then?” asked Amatia as she smiled at Rommel.

“People’s lives cross whenever they are together,” answered Rommel quietly.

Rico and Sonia then came in sight. They waved their arms in the crowd.

“Ahhhh… I’m so hungry after this chase. Let’s get some pizza for lunch,” said Amatia smiling to Rommel as she went for Rico and Sonia.


800px-Authentic_Neapolitan_Pizza_Ma.jpg

(Who can resist a pizza like this? :rofl:)​


“Of course, you’re paying,” the girl added with her sparkling smile.

…​

Rommel thought about a few months ago when he met Captain Nemo and his men. They have the most weary look one could have ever expected when the word “Legion” was mentioned. Rommel could not see any sign of being proud as a legionnaire from Captain Nemo and his men, and only their weariness filled the void in their eyes. Another unitt of the Legion had appeared before him and seemed to be the very unit that General Mercier had told him to met “naturally”. What will be their purpose, and my own, not to say the meeting of the two, to the General thought Rommel.

“I assume you’re still hiding something from me, Maestro,” finally said Rommel, coming back from his thought of the past.

“Yes, there still remain somethings that you do not know of, Major Rommel,” said the Maestro. “I do not suggest you to know them right away.” The Maestro then continue reading his book.

“… Then so be it,” replied Rommel coldly.

Suddenly there was some rustling sound, followed by a gunshot.

“Perhaps you’ll know something more now, Major Rommel,” remarked the Maestro, while giving Rommel a sad smile.


Ground floor of the hotel Rommel and the others were staying, some moments before


Vincenzo was pleased. The people that were recently staying had brought him a great amount of cash. Although he had many mouths to feed, not to mention a tyranical wife, the recent income will at least improve their life considerably. But the fact that the the guests had paid for the whole hotel to be theirs made Vincenzo wonder who they may be aside from being very wealthy “travellers”.

To Vincenzo’s surprise, a group of sinister looking men suddenly burst in from his front door. They were all each carrying a weapon of some sort.

“Who is staying here?” snarled a man who seemed to be the leader of the gang at Vincenzo.

“Two … two man and four girls, good sir. What do you…” were the last words of Vincenzo before the leader of the gang fired his revolver at Vincenzo’s forehead.

“They must still be here!” cried the leader. “We will not let them get away this time. It’s not just for our pride being part of the mafia, but also for our survival now!” More men came into the hotel carrying barrels of gasoline. The men then began to drench the interior of the building with the highly flammable liquid.

…​

Rommel fixed his short sword as a bayonet onto the Mondragon quietly. The girls were still bathing and may be vulnerable. The documents that were lying on the desk were of minimal quantities, and Rommel easily put them inside his great coat. The magazines for the Mondragon, along with the Luger and other small arms were placed respectively in their hidden places on Rommel. Rommel would actually prefer using the Luger in the upcoming close-quarter combat, but he had previously depleted the ammunition for the Luger in the train fight some days before.


Prussian_bayonet_clean.jpg

(A blade similar to what Rommel use, but probably a bit longer at 60 cm)​


“Maestro Arioso, it appears that the Mafia had sent more men. What are your plans for now?” asked Rommel coldly with the Mondragon in hand.

“It’s a surprise for me that they can find us so quickly. The girls are still taking their bath, so this might get a bit tricky. I was hoping that you can fend them off until the girls return for their weapons, Major Rommel,” answered the Maestro calmly.

“I’ve heard that your combat skills are unmatchable, so I assume this won’t be a problem for you.” The old gentlman added with a smile.

“…” Rommel left without a word out of the door. The hotel they were staying was quite large, and seemed to be a villa used by some local aristocrats before. The girls should be situated in the bath on the far side of the building from where Rommel and the Maestro were. Rommel was glad that the Maestro had paid for the whole hotel to be theirs, so there will not be any interference for them to battle their way out.

“Should I first go to the girls…?” asked Rommel to himself before he proceeded on his way through the building.

…​

“Ahhh… I would like to stay in the hot water a little longer.” Amatia complained as she got dressed. The gunshot had alerted them, and the others were also getting dressed. Sonia was already dressed and helping Aria.

“We can bath again after we are finish with the unwanted people,” said Rico as she put on her skirt. “But our clothes will get dirty again…” she added.

“Ahhhh! People who interrupt girls bathing are the worst!” cried Amatia.

Suddenly a man who seemed to be a mafia man appeared in the bath. When he saw the girls he immediately turned and cried, “Here they are! I’ve fou…” The man’s words were abruptly ended as Amatia’s fingers pierced the man’s throat.

“Watching girls getting dressed is even worse…” said Amatia as she wiped the blood of the fallen man from her fingers.

After the girls finished dressing, they quietly left the now blood stained bath.

…​

“…phew… They must have brought a lot of men,” muttered Rommel to himself as he loaded another magazine for the Mondragon before taking aim. Two more men fell dead as their head were pierced by Rommel’s bullets.

“HHAARRRGGHHH!!” roared a man as he appeared behind Rommel with a long knife. Rommel easily dodged the man’s attack before butting the man in the stomach with the Mondragon, and finished by slicing the man’s throat with the bayonet. Two more men appeared firing their revolvers and forced Rommel to take cover behind some pillars. As the men were slowly reloading their guns after they fired their rounds, Rommel quickly came out of his cover and emptied his magazine on the men.

“… Looks like I’ll have to use some of these…” said Rommel to himself as he relunctantly loaded the Mondragon with a magazine of HEI rounds. The regular rounds have all been used.

Suddenly Rommel felt someone behind him. A blade appeared behind Rommel, but Rommel skillfully blocked it with the bayonet on the Mondragon.

“…uuuhhh…” Sonia let out a small whimper as she appeared holding the blade, looking at Rommel with her innocent eyes. Amatia, Rico, and Aria then appeared too.

“Ahhh, we’re sorry, Monsieur. Rommel. Sonia mistaken you for one of the people we’ve to get rid off like the ones we just encountered. Sonia you should be more careful!” said Rico with Sonia appearing to be very sorry after Rico slightly scolded her.

“… get rid off …” mumbled Rommel to himself. “We shall get to where the Maestro is,” said Rommel to the girls. Rommel looked at the smallest Aria, who doesn’t seemed a bit afraid.

“… Aria… the name I used to …” muttered Rommel to himself again as he took his glance from the cute little girl who has kept quiet all the time with her emotionless face.

As the group continue on their way to the Maestro, Amatia suddenly stopped.

“Monsieur Rommel, don’t you feel that the floor is a bit slippery here?” asked Amatia. The floor and other things in the room they now at were indeed covered in some sort of unknown liquid.

“Be careful not to slip…” said Rommel quietly. The group then proceeded slowly on their way. Rico and Sonia held Aria’s hands, while Amatia watched Aria from behind. The three of them worked together to prevent Aria from slipping.

“There they are, get them!” yelled another Mafia man. More men came in with their revolvers ready to fire.

“uurrgghh…” groaned Rommel as he lifted the Mondragon and rapidly emptied his 10 round magazine. The HEI rounds literally burst through the men’s bodies as if they are paper, creating flashes of light and flammes followed by large blasts. Of all of the rounds Rommel fired, only one did not hit its intended target.

A large flame came bursting from the spot where the round had hit, and the whole room was immediately ablazed as the flames engulfed everything it reached.

Realizing that the liquid had been gasoline, Rommel was the first to act. He immediately grabbed the girls. The tongues of the flames shot up to where Rommel and the girls were. However Rommel picked up Aria with the three others behind him. They ran up a staircase where it appeared to be dry and landed on the dry wooden floor a storey above where they were, barely escaping the flames. The other men were devoured by the flames, and Rommel and the girls could clearly hear the men’s shrieking and howling.

“… fire… the flames… ” mumbled Rommel terrified as he looked at the flames below him. The first time he was afraid for a long, long time.

“… it’s alright…” said Aria, who was still in Rommel’s arms. She lifted her hands and touched Rommel’s cheeks, and Rommel felt a flow of warmth coming from the little girl who was still having her emotionless face, but now with a pair of caring eyes. Rommel thought of his past deeply for a moment, as if somebody said the same thing to him before.

After a brief moment, Rommel regained himself and picked himself and Aria up. Amatia, Rico, and Sonia were up on their feet, too.

“It looks like that the everything beneath us is now covered by flames,” said Rico looking troubled.

“… We’ll first continue our way to the Maestro, then we’ll make our way out of this building,” replied Rommel, the cries of death of the men devoured by the flames still rattled in his ears, but he can feel the little, but warm hands of Aria grasping onto his big, rough hands.​
 
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No, Peti, no! You can't eat the computer! The pizza isn't there!:D

Well... the maifa seems to be quite unable to understand when they should stop disturbing Rommel and the girls. By the way, I'm afraid about the Maestro. Perhaps the girls are going to find a new one soon.
 
Kurt_Steiner said:
No, Peti, no! You can't eat the computer! The pizza isn't there!:D

Well... the maifa seems to be quite unable to understand when they should stop disturbing Rommel and the girls. By the way, I'm afraid about the Maestro. Perhaps the girls are going to find a new one soon.
Click to expand...

Haha, I was thinking of how Peti will react.

The mafia had 5 Dons killed, so they're quite desperate :p


Enewald said:
Erhm, flaming pizza?
Why has every update have to include some food? :D
Why must you allways destroy something in this aar? :p
Click to expand...

I don't always include food, this update has pizza because I was eating pizza while I was typing the story :p

Something has to be destoyed to make space for new things. ;)
 
i for one like the little pictures. particularly the pizza, which looks extremely good and reminds me how long its been since i've had pizza.

looking at the map of europe made me realise that ww1 is unlikely to occur, at least as we know it.
 
BritishImperial said:
looking at the map of europe made me realise that ww1 is unlikely to occur, at least as we know it.
Click to expand...


WWI will occur, I can gurantee that, and in one of the most unexpected ways. ;) I'm still following my old schedule of letting it occur between 1907~1911. :p
 
Was that a Gewehr 43, because I know that repeating rifles like that weren't around in 1898...:D
 
ColossusCrusher said:
Was that a Gewehr 43, because I know that repeating rifles like that weren't around in 1898...:D
Click to expand...

It's a Mondragon as I mentioned. Here's the wiki for it:

Mondragon

It was developed in the late 19th century and served well into WWII. ;) I actually think that it is a more beautiful gun than the G43. :p
 
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Another update! This update is the end of the current chapter, and the next update will be the second short drama scheduled to come on Jan. 6. School is starting for me so that I won't be able to post updates so frequently as I did in the past few days. :eek:o But whatever, enjoy! :D

This update is not really edited so there may be some confusing bits. :eek:o


.........​


Outside the villa Rommel and the others were staying, at around the same time


“Boss! The building has been set on fire!” cried a mafia man to the leader of the that was dispatched to get the Maestro and the girls.

“What? We’ve men still in there! Did some idiots fired their guns or something in the rooms I specified to be drench with gasoline?”

“No… boss. It seemed that the ones we’re after fired their guns in one of the rooms after they managed to pass or kill the men we sent to get them.”

“God damn it. The fire has been lit too soon. Whatever get the men out as soon as possible. We’ll watch them burn outside. If they manage to come out we’ll then kill then anyways,” said the boss as he dismissed his subordinate.

…​

“Hmmpphhh!” Rommel uttered a large sound as he bashed another Mafia man on the back of his head with the butt of his rifle. Thick smoke was present among the rooms and the corridors, but there are still some Mafia men around, forcing Rommel and the girls to battle their way out.

“Monsieur Rommel, it looks like that we can’t go this way, either,” said Rico. She indicated a corridor in front of the group that was covered by flames. Their way back was also cut by flames from behind.

“No way out…” said Aria in a small voice.

Rommel looked around, and it was not long before he picked up a hunting shotgun from one of the dead mafia men.

“Stand back!” bellowed Rommel before he aimed the gun upwards towards the ceiling. Rommel emptied the remaining rounds in the gun, and blasted the ceiling. Some bits of debris and dust fell on the group, but a large enough hole for a man to go through had been made in the wood and plaster ceiling.

“We shall go up. Hurry, we do not have much time,” said Rommel in his low voice. “I will lift each of you up.” The fire had spread from the ground floor to the first floor, and the old building has the possibility of collapsing anytime.

Rommel then lifted Amatia up the hole to the second floor, followed by Rico and Sonia. Just as Rommel was lifting Aria up, a man with his whole body covered by flames suddenly burst out of nowhere.

“YYAAARRGGHHHH!!” shrieked the man while the flames gradually devoured him. The man seemed to have notice Rommel, and ran insanely in Rommel’s direction.

“Watch out!” cried Amatia as the flaming man ran for Rommel.

Rommel was forced to stop lifting Aria, and instinctly reacted by back kicking the burning man with his jackboot, sending the man across the corridor. However it was at this time that the section of the building began to crumble.

“Errrrggghhh…” groaned Rommel as he picked up Aria and ran at full speed. The floor beneath Rommel began to fall down into the inferno below. In a race against time, Rommel launched himself forward, and landed with Aria on another strip of the corridor as a whole section of the villa crumbled. Although the rain falling from the sky started to drench Rommel and the others, it can do little in helping to quench the gasoline fed flames.

“Aria, Monsieur Rommel, are the both of you all right?” cried Amatia some distance away. Amatia, Rico and Sonia were at another section of the building looking down from the second floor at Rommel and Aria. Between the two existed the hellish inferno.

“We’re alright. Hurry up to the Maestro. We’ll be able to make it out of here,” said Rommel as he picked Aria up on her feet. Rommel and Aria will have to take another way to the Maestro other than the shortest route possible.

After departing from the other girls, Rommel picked Aria in one his muscular arms. The little girl had clearly been exhausted, and the thick smoke from the fire seemed to be doing damage to her.

“At this rate, she will not live, and I will not either,” mumbled Rommel as he looked at Aria. The little girl’s breath was becoming more and more difficult.

As Rommel continued to carry Aria and advance, he reached a staricase that could lead up to the floor above, but it was seperated from Rommel by a wall of fire.

“Damn it!” swore Rommel under his breath. Flames now had spread behind Aria and him. The situation was desperate.

Rommel looked around the surrounding. There was nothing particularly useful to extinguish the flames, and Rommel ran through his head for a way out.

After a brief moment, Rommel came up with a plan in mind. He took out the grenades he had and blasted the flaming section of the corridor before him. The floor readily shattered under the explosion, removing the flaming obstacle before Rommel. However, a gap of over seven metres now existed in mid-air.

Rommel unslung the Mondragon and threw it across to be retrieved later. It was an easy task, but the jump may not be. Rommel remembered vaguely the world record for this kind of long jump was just a little over seven meters. In the current situation he was also carrying Aria, not to say that he had also been tired by the previous fights.

Rommel stand back as much as he can to gain the most sprinting distance for the jump. He was going to need as much speed he could gather for the jump.

“Breaking the world record… ehhh,” thought Rommel to himself.

Rommel looked at Aria’s face again. It was a face that so resembled the one, the one girl he always…

“… Monsieur … Rommel…” said Aria in a weak voice.
Rommel bit his lips, and then proceeded to wipe some dust and small bits of debris that had fallen on Aria’s hair and face.

“It’s alright…” said Rommel under his breath, and Aria smiled and nodded before Rommel made the leapt.

…​

“Maestro! Are you all right?” asked Amatia as she slammed the door open and went inside the Maestro’s room with the other girls.

“Yes, I’m alright,” said the old gentleman. “But…”
The room was also occupied by around four to five sinister looking Mafia men. The Maestro was held by two of the men, but was yet to be harmed.

“Who allowed you to talk?!” yelled one of the men. “You shall… uugghhhh!” A small blade from Sonia struck the man’s temple. Amatia and Rico rushed forward before the men can properly react. Rico skillfully dislocated the joints of the men, while Amatia simply smashed the men’s bones with her fists. The men were all finished within moments.

“Amatia, Rico, Sonia, I’m glad to see you all fine,” said the Maestro. “But where is Aria and Monsieur Rommel?”

“We got seperated,” said Rico. “But Monsieur Rommel was with Aria, and he said that they will be with us very soon.” Rico had a worried look on her face as with the other girls, but Sonia particularly seemed very worried because Aria was not by her side.

“Monsieur Rommel is a very reliable and capable man, and Aria should be fine with him,” said the Maestro to Sonia as he patted Sonia’s head. “Now we must think of how are we going to escape before Aria and Monsieur Rommel join us.”

“How about using the bed sheets and the drapes to make a makeshift rope for climbing down?” asked Rico. The bed sheets and the drapes combined length seemed well long enough for a thick rope that can withstand a person’s weight down to the ground below.

“This may… ” began the Maestro

“This may take too much time,” said Rommel carrying Aria in his arms. The two of them were considerably blackened by the smoke that was now also present in the room.

“Then what should we do, Monsieur Rommel?” asked Amatia looking nervous. Aside from the smoke that was bothering her, the walls and the floor also seemed to be cracking, indicating that they may soon crumble.

“We’ll have to jump off the window,” said Rommel a bit reluctantly. “I’d like to get all of us to move down, but this building is going to collapse anytime now,” said Rommel as he looked down the window.

“Jumping off a three storey building after breaking a world record,” thought Rommel. “And I’d have to catch the rest of us one by one when I get down.”

“Monsieur Rommel you think of the same plan as I have. Then can you please take care of Aria as you just did?” said Amatia smiling. She then proceeded to the window and jumped. Seconds later she was visible outside waving cheerfully.

“Rico! Sonia! Come down too so that we can catch Maestro together!” Amatia cried from bellow.

“I was thinking of better ways than just ‘jumping off the window’,” said Rico looking a bit unhappy before she jumped. Sonia looked relieved when she saw Aria was alright, and she too jumped. It was not long before the three girls were down on the ground calling the Maestro to come down.

“It’s been forty years since I last jumped off a window,” said the Maestro with a sad smile. “And the last time I did I broke my leg,” the old gentleman added as he went to the window side.

“I’m surprised by the girls’ abilities,” said Rommel. “They certainly are not what we consider as ‘normal’, am I right?”

“Yes, Major Rommel. I’ll tell you more about us when the time is right,” said Maestro Arioso. “When the time is right,” the old gentleman repeated before he too jumped.

Flames were already spreading into the room, and the smoke was thicker then ever. Rommel realized that he will have to go, too.

“My turn…” said Rommel as he sighed. Rommel threw out the Mondragon to be retrieved later again. He then noticed Aria’s beautiful blue eyes were looking at him.

“It’s alright… I promised,” said Rommel as he patted Aria’s head. The little girl seemed happy when Rommel did that to her and smiled again. Rommel then proceeded to the window and jumped. Carrying Aria made it difficult for Rommel to break his fall, but Rommel still managed to escape the burning building with no apparent injuries.

“Major Rommel, I’m gald to have you down here, too,” said the Maestro as soon as Rommel reached the ground. The building collapsed just few seconds after Rommel jumped, and the night sky was lit by the burning wreck of the building. A drizzle continued to fall from the sky.

“We have some more trouble here,” continued the old gentleman. There were plenty of Mafia men around that seemed to be waiting for Rommel and the others to come out. All of them had their weapons ready.

“They sure have a lot of men…” remarked Rommel as he looked around. There must be more than thirty men out there. Rommel then readied his Mondragon for the upcoming fight in the rain.​


.........​

Phew... dealing with a fire scene for so long... Makes me think of this. :p

421px-RoastingMarshmallow.jpg

(Marshmallow! :D )​
 
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