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Chapter 94

[Kagoshima, Japan]

(September 15, 2013)

Four men were strapped to a chair each. They were blindfolded but, to their surprise, they weren't gagged so they could speak if they wanted to. None of them wished to speak until they knew where they were. They each listened to their surrounding noting the breathing of each other. Still, they stayed silent waiting for a clue to indicate where they were. They got none. Waiting in the darkness, they each recalled what happened to them before losing consciousness. They didn't know how much time has passed with the darkness completely screwing with their ability to tell time. Suddenly, there was a voice.

"Welcome! I hope you four gentlemen are comfortable with our setup. We didn't have much time to prepare for your arrival unfortunately. Ulrich and Ferdinand, it's great to see you two. I was worried we lost you both in Berlin. I'm truly relieved to see you two alright. How are you two?" A pause. "Not in the mood to talk? That's understandable. Those tranquilizers pack quite a punch. I fear your other friends didn't survive."

Ulrich tightened his fist struggling to keep his mouth shut. Ferdinand betrayed nothing as he remained still.

"Now, I mentioned that there are four of you, haven't I? Our third guest is Heinz. An operative who has been working in Qingdao. Quite a record, I must admit. Was flawless until the recent mission where he lost his entire squad. He is indeed fortunate to be the lone survivor. I think that deserves an applause." There were clapping in the room for a brief moment. "Right, I forgot that you four have your hands tied up. Maybe another time. Last and not least, we have the only Chinese representative, Scorpion. I will admit I'm fascinated with that name. If I ever want a nickname, I would pick something along those lines. I think that wraps up our introduction. None of you are gagged so feel free to interact. I must go now, I'm afraid. As a host, I feel terrible about leaving my guests behind." Another pause. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention something. Considering this a prize for attending. We are five minutes before midnight. In other words, we are five minutes before the sixteenth. By the noon of sixteenth, we will launch our magnificent Archangel. I am saddened that the four of you won't see its grand appearance. I promise to bring you a few photos though. Goodbye and goodnight!"

The silence dragged on for a few minutes.

"That's five minutes, right?" started Scorpion.

"Yes," replied Ulrich, "we have hit midnight."

"What do we do now?" asked Heinz.

"We get out of here and save the world," answered Ferdinand.

"Then they will make a movie out of it," said Scorpion drawing out laughter from everyone. "First, we must make the Fourth Reich regret letting us live."

"What's the plan then?" asked Heinz.

"We wait," was Scorpion's response.

"Good," said Heinz, "I doubt I can do anything else."

All four men laughed before they went silent. For Scorpion, he began the countdown in his head.
 
Well that was looking bad for a moment, but with 4 men still alive all hope is not lost, perhaps. Let's hope they can think of something..

Btw can't help it but I keep thinking of this guy every time that strange ship gets in the spotlight. Too much Mass Effect I guess :p

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/10/103530/3140049-1.png
 
Well that was looking bad for a moment, but with 4 men still alive all hope is not lost, perhaps. Let's hope they can think of something..

Btw can't help it but I keep thinking of this guy every time that strange ship gets in the spotlight. Too much Mass Effect I guess :p

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/10/103530/3140049-1.png

They aren't in a position to do anything, unfortunately. I know I'm doing something wrong if I'm reminding you of Mass Effect :p.

Chapter 95

[Kagoshima, Japan]

(September 16, 2013)

The four men remained in their seats, not that they had a choice. They sat there in silence except for Scorpion who was counting quietly. The other three men, sensing something was up, kept quiet as they listened to the countdown. When Scorpion reached zero, a small tremor was felt on the floor. Everyone suddenly listened carefully at their surroundings. It was faint initially but they soon heard the sound of gunshots. The gunshots were followed by explosions that shook the room more. The gunshots and explosions repeated several times before they heard footsteps inside the room.

"I hope I'm not too late," said a man as he untied Scorpion.

"You're just in time," replied Scorpion.

The other men that entered the room worked to untie Ulrich, Ferdinand and Heinz. The three Germans avoided serious injuries seeing them standing on their own feet. Scorpion was less fortunate as he received the minimum medical care so he didn't bleed to death. The man that untied him lifted him up so he could perform a firefighter carry on Scorpion.

"You looked like you were hit hard."

Scorpion chuckled. "I got lucky. The rest of my squad were in pieces."

"Let's get you four gentlemen out of here."

The man took the lead with the three Germans and his men behind him. The passageway was filled with bullet holes and corpses along with fragments of walls and doors. As they made their way towards the exit, more men joined them until there were at least thirty of them not including the four new arrivals. Scorpion, with his injuries, has already fell asleep to conserve his strength. Ulrich, Ferdinand and Heinz followed as they tried to piece everything together. The men that have rescued them were Asians. From the man's accent during his conversation with Scorpion, Ulrich concluded that he was Korean. As though the man read his thoughts, he spoke out.

"You may wonder who we are. My name is Kye. I'm the squad leader of this rescue operation. Yes, I am Korean. The Japanese dared to bomb our NIS so we wanted revenge. We maintained close contact with the Chinese learning about the new developments. Scorpion here was worried that something might go wrong on his mission so he had us hack into the Japanese computers to keep an eye out for him. His gut feeling was accurate so we plotted this rescue mission. The guards didn't know what hit them. We are now leaving by submarine."

Just as Kye finished his sentence, the group exited the base into an underground cavern. A submarine was waiting before them with several sailors saluting them. Everyone got inside the submarine quickly so they could leave the base. Once everything was settled, the three Germans were asked to speak with Kye. In a room, they stood around a map.

"I won't bore you with the details. We are currently leaving Kagoshima underground base." Kye moved his fingers to an island. "Our destination will be Jeju where we will be picked up by a jet."

"Where's the Archangel?" asked Ulrich with urgency.

"Senkaku Islands," said Kye as he pointed to a highlighted island.
 
The hunt for the ship continues, but now there's Koreans as well, hmmm.
 
The hunt for the ship continues, but now there's Koreans as well, hmmm.

Surely you won't leave out the Koreans in a major Asian conflict :).

Chapter 96

[Senkaku Islands, Japan]

(September 16, 2013)

Brave soldiers of the Fourth Reich! We are gathered here at the Senkaku Islands ready to make history. For far too long, we have suffered under the oppression of the weak western powers. Those Americans who lead the western nations like dogs actually think they can rule the world with an iron fist. I can tell them today that they are nothing. They underestimated us and that's why they are currently crippled. I know all of you learned about the twelve American cities that were leveled. Yes, that is one of our many masterpieces. The Americans didn't see it coming! They were so worried about the terrorists that they failed to see the irony that has befallen them. No one. I mean no one attacks Japanese soil and gets away with it. They have dropped two nuclear bombs on our cities. We have returned the favor with twelve. Of course, the British got the lucky thirteenth bomb. Both the Americans and British put a halt to our world domination nearly a century ago. Now, they are irrelevant in our plans. They could no longer threaten us any longer.

Here, amongst us, are many of our German comrades. They, too, fought for an utopia but their leader, the vile Hitler, failed. Hitler was simply too weak. He was the least ideal choice to lead the great Germany. The fact that we allowed him to carry out our master plan was our biggest blunder ever. He had as much blame in the failure of the Third Reich as the Americans. I, for one, am glad that to see him and his bloodline gone. We could ill-afford having his descendants interrupt our plans. While the Third Reich has fallen, her children remained with us. They were raised here in the great empire called Japan. They would be given a chance to rise again and this is the day! The cooperation of the Japanese and German people will see the Fourth Reich as the only power in the world. There will be nations that act as obstacles but, like I said, they are obstacles and nothing more. There is no way they can stop us. We will succeed and they will be defeated. History will soon remember us as the creators of the utopia.

Yes, many of you can name two nations that may be troublesome to deal with. There is Russia which was created following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I am indeed saddened to see that old regime gone because we had a score to settle with them. The Soviets, with their blasted winter, had halted the Third Reich's advance into Russia. The Russians have also played a key role in the defeat of the Third Reich. They, like The Americans and British, could do little about our upcoming invasion now. We have introduced a special virus in Siberia that has now spread to all Russian cities and towns. Their population, from what I last heard, was devastated with their survivors struggling to continue their insignificant lives. We will deal with them one day but, as of the moment, let them suffer for their crimes against the Third Reich. We have lost many brave men in the campaign inside Russia territory. Let the suffering teach those Russians the price for spilling the blood of our German brothers. Our ultimate goal is to unite the Master Race and, if the Russians couldn't survive a simple virus, then they have no place in our plans.

The other nation you may think of is China, the rising superpower in the world. Let me tell you now that their success is an illusion. Their leaders are too busy fighting amongst themselves. Their generals and admirals acquired their titles not from their accomplishments but through bribery to the right official in the government. Their soldiers have little to no experience while their weaponry pale against ours. They may see themselves as a great power but we will soon prove their insignificance. We dominate the sea and the sky which we will use to crush the Chinese military. Two of their generals are already dead and their remaining generals will soon join the list. Our invasion will be swift. By this time next year, we will have nearly all of China under our grasp. Once China is ours, we will spread our influence westwards through India, Middle East all the way to Europe. We will not be satisfied until the entire world is united under one flag. Note this, we will control the entire world! We are meant to because we belong to the master race. The Fourth Reich will write the world history from this point on!
 
Chapter 97

[Jeju, South Korea]

(September 16, 2013)

The submarine carrying Kye and company arrived at Jeju. They got off and were transported in a large military truck to the nearest airstrip where a jet was waiting for them. Along the way, Kye received a call and answered it. He listened carefully and his face turned gloomy after awhile. When the call ended, he sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Ulrich.

"There was a nuclear missile detonated at Senkaku Island."

"How?" asked Heinz and Ferdinand in unison.

Kye simply shook his head. "I don't know. Our intelligence reported that an unknown fleet was spotted in the Pacific. The nuclear warhead belonged to them."

"Seems like Japan made more enemies than they can handle," said Scorpion who was tied down to a stretcher.

"You should rest," said Kye as he went over to check his friend. "I don't think it's over yet."

"You're right," replied Scorpion. "It won't be over unless Japan proper was nuked. It will be like the Second World War."

"Do you know what damage that nuclear warhead did?" asked Heinz.

Kye shook his head again. "My men were with the Chinese when they heard a large explosion. When they looked towards Senkaku Island with binoculars, they could almost be certain that the island was hit by a nuclear warhead."

"I'm surprised they didn't intercept it," said Ferdinand.

"They probably thought victory was within their grasp," said Scorpion. "They let down their guard."

"Do you know the whereabouts of the unknown fleet?" asked Ulrich.

"I think they are headed to Japan proper."

"You don't think," started Ferdinand as he turned towards Ulrich.

"They are going to get the job done," finished Ulrich. "Kye, where are we headed?"

"We will join up with the Chinese military. They are gathered along the coast as we speak."

"What have they got planned?" asked Heinz.

"They have a few of their own nuclear warheads," replied Scorpion.

"So, the Chinese will finish it if the unknown fleet fails." Ulrich looked directly at Scorpion.

With some difficulty, Scorpion nodded his head.
 
Chapter 98

[Fuzhou, China]

(September 16, 2013)

The jet landed onto the runway. Before its engines were off, its passengers were already getting out. They were greeted by General Chen and his officers. In addition, there were South Korean officers along with Hornet and his crew. Scorpion was carried off on a stretcher and that prompted a worried look from Chen.

"I think we need to get you to the hospital," Chen said as he looked down at his friend.

Scorpion returned a wounded look. "I'm not dead yet. Is there any updates about the Japanese forces?"

"Let's talk inside," was Chen's reply.

Kye and company went inside where they entered a large meeting room. The officers and everyone else, except Scorpion, sat down in one of the empty seats. For Scorpion, they lined up a few chairs together so they could place him and his stretcher on top of it. Scorpion was placed near the front of the room so that he didn't have to turn his head much. Chen's new adviser turned off the lights and turned on the projector revealing a map of East China Sea.

"I'm sure you are all aware about the recent nuclear warhead explosion," Chen said as he stood beside the screen. "Everything within eight kilometers radius were completely annihilated. The Japanese Fleet at the island were vaporized and that's the good news. The bad news is the Japanese warship, Archangel, has apparently survived the blast. Our intelligence reported that the warship ascended from the depths of the ocean a hundred kilometers from Taiwan coast. We have reasons to believe the warship was submerged when the warhead detonated so it was spared. At the moment, it would appear that the Archangel is heading directly for us. We don't know how well armed it is but we must destroy it."

Ulrich raised his hand to which Chen pointed at him. With a translator, Ulrich asked, "What are the preliminary assumptions of this warship?"

"We know very little of its capabilities. We know that it can submerge and sail through the water. There are rumors it can hover over land but we don't have any confirmations yet. We hoped to destroy it before it reaches land. The PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy) is preparing to engage the warship right this moment. Our land forces will be setting up along the coast should the warship get through."

"The German people will be supporting your forces as well," interrupted Hornet. "The Luftwaffe has sent most of their fighter aircraft, fighter bomber and tactical transports to aid China. Last I heard, they just left India and should arrive within six hours."

"Please thank the Chancellor for me," replied Chen.
 
So the Bundeswehr is moving to support China against Japan and that Archangel thing. I doubt the nuke on Senkaku took the ship out so it's up to the conventional navy to finish the job.

What a mess :p But that's the way we like it.
 
So the Bundeswehr is moving to support China against Japan and that Archangel thing. I doubt the nuke on Senkaku took the ship out so it's up to the conventional navy to finish the job.

What a mess :p But that's the way we like it.

The support will strengthen the relations between the two nation. Sorry to disappoint but I fear the Bundeswehr and conventional navy won't be needed.

Chapter 99

[Fuzhou, China]

(September 16, 2013)

The meeting room was nearly silent as everyone waited for the news from the front lines. Chen hated waiting around but he knew little about naval warfare. He checked on his friend a few times who was asleep on the stretcher. A brief look over his wounds gave good indication that Scorpion had been staying awake and not scream from pain relying solely on his strong will. The Germans and Koreans were talking in their own little corner about contingency plans should the Chinese navy fail to halt the Archangel. The Bundeswehr Luftwaffe fighters weren't expected to arrive for another five hours. Suddenly, someone barged in through the door getting the attention of everyone. The man ignored the stares as he ran towards Chen. Scorpion, woken by the man, opened his eyes and shifted slightly so he could see the man whisper into Chen's ears. Chen listened carefully but his face turned to horror once the report was finished. Chen sent the man out of the room and stayed silent for the next few minutes. No one in the room prodded him but everyone was curious about the recent development.

"I just learned that the Archangel is no more. The mighty Japanese warship is now in so many pieces that even a miracle couldn't put it back together." A pause. "The Chinese fleet that was meant to intercept the Archangel has lost all its ships. At the moment, there are no survivors."

During the second pause, everyone looked down as they paid respect to the brave men that lost their lives.

"It was that powerful?" asked Scorpion minutes later. When Chen didn't answer, Scorpion thought the general didn't hear his question. As he was about to ask again, he saw the general take a deep breath.

Chen shook his head as he let out his breath. "No, there was a tsunami. We were so focused on the Archangel that we failed to react to some of the early warnings of a tsunami. It caught both sides by complete surprise."

"How strong was the tsunami?" asked Ulrich.

"Much of the East Asian coast facing the Pacific was hit by the tsunami. The tsunami hit Japan especially hard with all of the Japanese coastline affected at various degrees. If I could hazard a guess, I believe the devastation of this tsunami on Japan far exceeded the 2011 tsunami. If the nuclear warheads from the unidentified ship didn't do the job, I think the tsunami very much crippled Japanese as a nation." Chen stood up and turned to his adviser "Gather all of my men. There are people in need of aid following this disaster. Get them across our coast along the East China Sea. We must save as many people as we could."

The adviser saluted back before he burst out the room to pass the order.

"Gentlemen," said Chen when turned to face everyone except Scorpion, "The Japanese threat is no more. Yet, we have a lot of work to do to rebuild. I suggest we get started."

Chen received several nods as he made his way to the door. Before he left, he turned his head to see Scorpion asleep again. For the first time since they met, it seemed like Scorpion was actually sleeping soundly.
 
Chapter 100 (Epilogue)

[Beijing, China]

"How are you feeling?" asked Chen when he saw Scorpion approaching him in crutches.

"I feel like the Americans or Russians," replied Scorpion.

"Indeed," said Chen, "you basically represent them in that you will get back despite getting hit hard."

"As long as I have a breath left, I'll keep fighting."

"Do you think the agreements for Japan is too harsh?"

"Are you regretting it all?"

"No."

"Good." Scorpion sat himself down. "The tsunami took many lives of our countrymen."

"It only made us more unified."

"I heard that's the case for Kye and his people too."

"What about your hacker friend?"

"She's getting married to an American called Daniel. I turned down the offer to go to their wedding."

"Too sentimental for you?"

"You could say that." Scorpion took a drink from the water bottle on the table. "I heard she has a friend that's getting married to a Swede."

"I see. When are you starting a family?"

"Don't know, you?"

"I'm still young."

"Me, too."

"Did you hear the news?" asked Chen following a pause.

"About?"

"Brazil. They are changing into a theocracy. Their leader is someone called Bishop Matos."

"Good for them. Let's hope they are enjoying the same success as communist Australia."

"I hope so too. It feels odd that the world is at peace again."

"Don't be a warmonger, friend."

Both of them laughed.
 
I wish to thank everyone that followed along. This is the end of both this AAR and the story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I might take a short break before I get to my next story style AAR. I hope you can join me but, if not, I thank you for taking time reading my work.

My next AAR will involve an AAR I started awhile back. Here's the link. I'm thinking of making it somewhat sci-fi but time will tell what does get produced. I thank you all again and hope to see you there.
 
Well that went down unexpectedly quickly, but good job wrapping all that up. I had a blast following along, I'll try to remember to drop by EU IV someday as well. That'll be out of my natural habitat since I don't own that game :)
 
Thanks! Just wanted a slightly unexpected ending to finish things up. I don't own EU IV either. I just borrow screenshots from friends or other authAAR :p.