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VIDEO ALERT!

The "battle" sequence!

GameVee Version!
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TAISHO ERA, 12th YEAR: SEPTEMBER
SHINAGAWA




In a surprising twist, there is actually evidence of the Hive of Darkness's magical death rampage!



Regardless, our heroes walk on.

Figuratively, in Iris's case.


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----


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[Ogami]

... yeah, you were saying?

----

[Satan]

Fuhahahahaha! Well done, Assault Force!




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[Maria]

Wha-- how did he get here without us noticing?

[Satan]

Hmhmhm... teleportation is a simple enough feat to accomplish, especially for those of us who have--

[Ogami]

In other words, he crawled out from a window.

[Satan]

... what? No! I teleported here, using the power of my mind--

[Ogami]

Kohran, you go check around back for any broken glass! People don't just appear and re-appear out of thin air like that!

[Kohran]

Roger that!

[Iris]

But Iris knows how to teleport, too--

[Ogami]

Hush, Iris, you don't count as people.

[Satan]

... what on Earth is WRONG with this man?

[Sumire]

While the Ensign is a hot-blooded and somewhat-competent leader on occasion, he also happens to epitomize the very concept of "brainfart."

[Kohran]

It's usually best t' humor him when he gets into this kinda mood.

----



[Maria]

That man is the Hive of Darkness's...!




[Ogami]

We don't have time to deal with the likes of you! Where's Tenkai, your leader!?


[Satan]

Leader...!? Hmhmhm...


----
[Ogami]

Look, I'll admit that the thought of Tenkai actually being the leader of ANYTHING is funny as hell, but we're kind of on a schedule here.

[Sumire]

"Kind of"-- Ensign, the Imperial Capital is less than an hour away from total annihilation!

[Ogami]

Well, Tenkai was nice enough to give everyone a head start on evacuating the city, so the destruction of a few buildings shouldn't be too--

[Kanna]

It'll be a crater!

[Ogami]

... and the government'll totally be able to rebuild it all in less than a week. So really, destruction of city equals no big deal.

[Maria]

The government will also pull our funding if we fail in our duty to actually try STOPPING them, which means that you won't have any shiny robots to play with.

[Ogami]

EVERYONE, TO ME! WE CANNOT ALLOW THE DEMONS TO GET AWAY WITH THEIR FIENDISH PLANS!!

[Kohran]

... ya really know how t' push his buttons, don'cha?

[Maria]

I try.

----



[Maria]

Captain! Let us defeat this man and force him to divulge the whereabouts of Tenkai!


[Satan]

We'll see about that!?


----
[Kanna]

Okay, fine, we'll just beat the everloving shit out of you and NOT stop to ask questions. It's really up to you.

[Satan]

We'll see about THAT, too!

[Kanna]

... this's one of those all-purpose answers, isn't it.

[Satan]

WE SHALL SEE ABOUT THAT!!

----

[Ayame]

... O... -kun? It's a... trap ... Retr...


[Ogami]

Ayame-san? It's a trap? Not good-- all units, lay down cover fire while retreating!


----
[Sumire]

Ensign, half of us don't actually have any projectile weapons to lay down cover fire WITH.

[Ogami]

Well, y'know, "run while beating the shit out of everything" doesn't sound quite as professional.

----


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Dramatic turn!


----


... and the word "overkill" suddenly ceases to have any meaning whatsoever.



[Iris]

We're done for~!


[Kohran]

Things're lookin' desperate!


[Kanna]

I'm taking as many down with me as I can--!


[Ogami]

Damn! There are too many of them!!


[Kanna]

Captain... what should we do!?


----
[Maria]

... well, we COULD laugh at the total lack of any ranged units in the enemy army. They are all bunched together, meaning that there is no way for us to actually miss hitting them. Also, it's extremely heartening to note that they haven't actually bothered ATTACKING while we are busy gasping and saying our "oh nos", so we should still have a reasonable chance if we make effective use of the terrain, namely the already-dilapidated buildings which should provide adequate cover if we--

[Ogami]

I-I'm the Captain, Maria.

[Maria]

Okay then, carry on getting us all into a panic.

----


----


[Ogami]

Everyone, don't throw your lives away! We can't possibly win against an army this big, no matter how hard we try.


Unless the plot demands it, of course.

[Ogami]

Anyways, fall into a defensive formation! All that's left is to wait for an opportunity to escape!


[Kohran]

Understood! 'Sides, runnin' away is a perfectly valid strategy.


"Orkses is never beaten in battle. If we win, we win, if we die we die so it don't count as beat. If we runs for it we don't die neither, so we can always come back for anuvver go, see!"

~An Anonymous Ork

[Sumire]

However... the situation is desperate, isn't it.


[Sumire]

I wonder how long we will be able to endure an entire army as our opponent...


Assuming that Satan doesn't bother joining the battle (since he hasn't actually done anything since, what, in-game April?), and assuming that the Wakiji are, in fact, the weakest subtype that we've been able to destroy in under a round...

... probably indefinitely, since we have Iris and her uber-heal final attack.

Granted, we DO have less than an hour left, so--



And then the entire ground starts rumbling! Just in time to stop the setting from plunging headlong into a grimdark fight for survival.


----


The Wakiji go flying.



... a lot.



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[Ogami]

Lo and behold, it's the Shogeimaru! We're saved! I--

----


----


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[Ogami]

-- WHERE THE BALLS ARE YOU GOING!?

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CLANG



Pshoooo



Wait a second, it couldn't actually be--



[Sakura ???]

Those who dare hurt my friends... I won't forgive!!


-- oh lawd.



It's an amazingly dramatic return from a "coma" that lasted less than half a chapter by Sakura!

[Sakura]

Though it's somewhat late-- Sakura Shinguji has arrived!


And the second sentence to come out of Sakura's mouth completely shatters any effort at maintaining secrecy.

Not only do the demons know the location of the Flower Division's super secret base, but the secret identities of its members have been blown, too!

[Ogami]

Sakura-kun! You're alright!!


[Sumire]

You're late! ... honestly!


[Sakura]

Ogami-san! I've discovered the location of the Hive of Darkness's stronghold. Please withdraw from this place at once!


[Maria]

Really!?


----
[Ogami]

Wait, so... you went to all this trouble just to jump down in your robot and become trapped WITH us, rather than telling us all this from the safety of the death blimp?

[Sakura]

Dramatics, Ogami-san. Dramatics.

----


----


[Sakura]

I'll explain later. We'll depart from the battlefield at once! Stay close behind me!



----


[Ogami]

Right! Everyone! Follow Sakura-kun!!


[Everyone]

Understood!




And everyone runs.



... through fields of scrapped Wakiji, even though the Shogeimaru couldn't possibly have destroyed all of them in such short order.


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[Ogami]

Wait for it... wait for it...

[Ogami]

POSE!

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[Ogami]

Aaah... NOW I remember what keeps this job tolerable sometimes.

[Kanna]

It's too bad we don't have an explosion as a backdrop, though.

[Kanna]

... should we ask Kohran or Ayame?

[Ogami]

Man, I really don't want to have to choose between th-- Iris, put your hand down.

[Iris]

Awww.

[Ogami]

... you too, Maria. And put that rifle down please.

[Maria]

Pity.

----



[Satan]

Tenkai or the Assault Force... it matters not which one of them wins... Hmhmhm...


----
[Ogami]

Oh what the fu--

[Ogami]

WAY TO RUIN OUR DRAMATIC STILL SHOT, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!

[Satan]

And the last laugh... goes to me! Mwahahahahahahaha--

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.....

....

...

..

.


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[Ogami]

Ridiculous! Our narrow escape was all thanks to you...


[Sakura]

It... felt like I'd slipped into a coma. To the point where I might not have been able to wake up ever again.
And... to think that I'd become your strength, Ogami-san, and that we would be able to stand here and talk to each other like this...


[Ogami]

Sakura-kun...




Okay, seriously, this scene's about as heartwarming as a brick to the head. I'm guessing that we're long overdue for--

[Iris]

Ah! It's Sakura! Everyone~, Sakura's here! Come quickly!


-- a Comically Ill-Timed Romantic Scene Interruption!

... never you mind the vaguely inexplicable fact that they're acting like they hadn't KNOWN that she was back.


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