《Witnesses Speak》 Bad Fortune Chapter 1 Bad Fortune It is the dawn of 2017 in an alternative universe. A universe filled with magic, a universe filled with comfort. Everything comes to you with the clap of a hand. What could be wrong with such a utopian world? Well, with great power comes great responsibility and some people can¡¯t take responsibility and abuse their power. Ruled over by lust and greed, gluttony and envy they roam the streets of every city, thieves. For them, the sole purpose of their lives is stealing, robbing people off their lives, murdering. The most powerful of them all is Adalie. Her power is rumored to be 3000x the one of an average person. She is great at blending in with normal day to day life, at least at daytime, at night she is a hungry beast. She roams the streets of Berlin at 1 AM, set as the most dangerous time of the day. People are advised to avoid any activities outside after 12am. This brings us to Berlin at 12am. Walking down the empty streets littered with closed shops we are met by a big office building, where a young man named Arnold has finished work. Arnold was no different than any ordinary person, with one exception. He is really powerful. And that is why he works at a high paid job at an office building. It is high paid because the hour workers finish at is 12am. He is not afraid of Adalie, though he hasn¡¯t met her. Today, just like every other day, he is walking home on the same road he has been for years. Walking, walking down the streets lit by lamps ever so slightly twitching. Nothing irregular has happened for 10 minutes until he reached a road block. A giant hole in the ground, something was being constructed. ¡®¡®Well this is unfortunate.¡¯¡¯ The only way around is through a narrow dark alley way. And so he went for it with no fear whatsoever. Setting foot into the darkness his stomach started growling, incredible pain. He felt as if his eyes were going to pop out.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡®¡®I-i-is it finally her?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Hhuhu, you¡¯re a brave little one, aren¡¯t ya? Going out at this time of night you must think you are really powerful, yes?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®You little!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®There is no point in resisting. Today you¡¯ve had bad luck, haven¡¯t you? Well I personally think today will be the luckiest day in your entire life. Why is that?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®WHERE ARE YOU? I¡¯LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Now, now, don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself. Spare your power for what¡¯s coming. Lately I¡¯ve been bored. No irregular person, why so? But you, you have caught my eye. So I thought I might as well play around with you.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? Huh?¡¯¡¯ He saw a black figure approaching him, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He was immobile, couldn¡¯t even flinch. She slowly came close to him and whispered: ¡®¡®Good luck!¡¯¡¯ Saying this she went down to his dry, lifeless lips and kissed him. Immediately afterwards he was brought to the ground. Black smoke started rising from his mouth and within a few seconds it all went black. Now he heard. ¡®¡®I¡¯ve sent you to a dying world, a sick twisted world, full of war. You will now fight as a soldier with a little twist. I¡¯ll let you find out what it is¡¯¡¯ And indeed he was transported into another world. Our world. It is September of 1939. World War II has just begun. The Wehrmacht has started the blitzkrieg of Poland. Arnold wakes up in Bzura, Poland on the 10th of September. It is the battle of Bzura. With no background of this strange world he wakes up in the same body in a different universe. The battle is taking place just next to the Bzura river west of Warsaw. Poles have began a counter attack which for now seems to be going well. In his previous life Arnold had military training, so he is well aware of futuristic tactics, not those of 1939. Well at least he knows how to shoot a gun. First thing he does is checking if he still has powers and what do you know-he does. He launched in the air to the astonishment of everyone and got a quick overview of the situation. A scream was enchanting the fields. ¡®¡®Gooooo!¡¯¡¯ A moment of hope. Immersed in the battle, he figured out on whose side he was fighting and immediately fired explosive spells at the Germans. They all turned to seek cover, thinking that bombers were passing. A few German planes noticed him and started firing. He quickly evaded their strikes and brought them down. Afterwards he went to the ground were Poles were advancing and started going along with them. Fast as the wind, killing many people in just seconds he lead the offensive towards Strykow. He spotted a few tanks and rushed for one of them, charging carelessly like he was invincible. And immediately upon reaching one of the tanks he was blown apart by the other one. ¡®¡®Did it end so quick? Was this it? Oh wait, I am waking up! What is this? I am not on the front.¡¯¡¯ He was reborn yet again. ¡®¡®Is this the twist? I get reborn? Wait a second. Am I not in the same country? Why am I wearing a different uniform?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Hehe, you found out really quick, didn¡¯t you? You get reborn in a random nation every time you die. So you will have to fight those who were once your comrades. You¡¯ll get it soon enough¡­¡¯¡¯ Training Chapter 2 Training Waking up he looked around only to see a black void and himself in it. He was wearing a uniform with an eagle badge on it. He didn¡¯t know where he was or why he was in this void but one thing he knew is that this uniform wasn¡¯t the same. Looking aimlessly into the void he came to a realization that Adalie wanted to have this twist as a curse on him. Lost his words he wanted to think it out rationally, however there was no rational way he could think about this. Suddenly he felt pain. Starting to regain his vision he was met by a slap to the face. ¡®¡®Wake up you rookie! Are going to sleep like this on the front? Psh, what''s with this ,,Beating a soldier is against German honor thing,,? How am I going to put reason into their heads without some beating? Soldier! Do this again and you¡¯ll wipe the floors for the next two weeks.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Sir yes sir!¡¯¡¯ Not knowing if what he was about to say was right, he went into it blind. Indeed it was right. Arnold was in a line of soldiers standing perfectly still. Before their eyes was a course for training, consisting of barbed wire, walls for climbing, mud(half a meter deep), running through a field filled with fake mines after going out of the mud. After that there was a shooting range to test one¡¯s accuracy even after going out of the course. Even after that there was a big facility room, assuming it was part of the training it probably was a chamber filled with gas used to teach soldiers how to use gas masks. That seemed to be the end of the course. ¡®¡®Soldiers! We need more reserves to fill in the losses, therefore we will need to jump straight into training after you eat. This is a general course, I was allowed to add a twist to it. To spice things up you will take the course two times. You will need to pick a partner. You are going to carry each other both times, changing upon end. Good luck and remember, the Reich and our f¨¹hrer need you!¡¯¡¯ In order to pick a partner Arnold must get to know them. ¡®¡®I am assuming that we will have to eat first to know each other, however it would be more beneficial for me if I don¡¯t socialize much. If I die I¡¯ll have to lose people that I¡¯ve known and that won¡¯t be good for my mental health.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I see someone is thinking it out. Hmm, I wonder how long you will last this time.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Wait what? You can hear my thoughts?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®No shit Sherlock, I thought you were smarter than this. If I am answering of course I can.¡¯¡¯ Choosing not to get angry over her remarks he followed the rest of the soldiers. He got into the dining hall. It was a big building with a few long tables and benches in it. They were serving sausage with bread. Getting down on the table he rearranged his thoughts and came to a conclusion to where he was. Recalling the memories before his death, he remembered the uniforms of those he was fighting against. Putting two and two together he now knows on whose side and where he is.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it A training camp. Judging by the words of his teacher the army needs to pump out reserves quickly, so assuming he go resurrected at the exact same time he died then the battle might be still ongoing. He still doesn¡¯t know what the war is all about, he doesn¡¯t know borders nor nations, who attacked who. So for him, a good way to choose a partner or start up a conversation may just be asking about the situation. To his left and right were two blonde young men, likely pulled to war unwillingly. Everyone was chatting, picking a partner. Arnold chose to talk to the man on the left. Tapping him lightly on the shoulder with the question: ¡®¡®So do you know the details of the war?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Oh hi. Uhm from what I¡¯ve gathered we demanded Danzig from the Poles and they refused our demands, so we went to war. They however joined the Allies so now we are fighting a two front war and the Maginot line really is a pain in the ass.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Uh yes who were the Allies again?¡¯¡¯ Hearing this question the soldier appeared surprised of how little Arnold knows, nevertheless he pulled out a map and showed him. ¡®¡®So the Allies consist of mainly the United Kingdom and its dominions and France here¡­¡¯¡¯ He continued to enlist details about the war, upon finishing he asked the question Arnold was hoping he wouldn¡¯t ask. ¡®¡®So I still haven¡¯t asked for you name?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Dammit he did it!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Uuu, making friends I see.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®It¡¯s Arnold, and you are?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®It¡¯s Ekerd, nice to meet you! So do you want to be partners.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Sure.¡¯¡¯ A loud stomp brought attention to the teacher who has just walked in. His loud footsteps sound of pride and his serious facial expression captures looks and locks them on him. ¡®¡®Ahem. Attention everyone! You will now begin the course so prepare a partner and get going. I¡¯ll explain it in a bit.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Come on Arnold, let¡¯s go!¡¯¡¯ Everybody was rushing for the door, which mind you was not that big. Going out they were met, yet again, by the course. ¡®¡®So I hope you picked partners and are ready to go. First you will get a backpack, each weighing about 10 kilograms, then your rifle and then your comrade. First you need to cross the barbed wire, then you need to climb the wall, jump into the mud and finally go through the mine field without stepping on any mine. Repeat this two times switching positions with your partner. Last team will have to cross the race 10 times over. Prepare and wait for my signal!¡¯¡¯ Now the choice of who is going to ride first, Arnold wanted Ekerd to ride him first but he kept refusing. After they got all their gear, Arnold finally agreed with him. So now everyone has mounted their partners. ¡®¡®Everyone ready? Set. GO!¡¯¡¯ A scream enchanted the training site. Though Ekerd seemed to be struggling. They are now officially last place. Running past the barbed wire they reached the wall. Ekerd wasn''t making it at first, but his determination led him upward. Everyone was already on the end of the mud. Jumping down from the wall he landed knees first into the mud. The teacher caught this and started shouting at them. ¡®¡®Go ya bastards! Run for your lives!¡¯¡¯ And indeed he did. He ran as fast as he could. Getting out of the mud and onto the mine field. Everyone was having a bad time and Ekerd was no exception. Though he got through it, they are already too far behind. Or at least that¡¯s what Ekerd was thinking going on Arnold¡¯s back. Suddenly he jumped over all the barbed wire, everyone was looking at him. He quickly jumped on the wall and followed by going over all the mud. Afterwards he zigzagged the mine field with the speed of sound, reaching the end first. The teacher was in shock, everyone was in shock. What were they thinking, one might never know. The soldiers continued whilst the teacher ran over to Arnold. ¡®¡®Say boy, are you a magician, wh-what was that?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I don¡¯t have to tell you.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®For the good of the Reich tell us!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Yes it¡¯s magic, but you cannot gain it.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Well how do you have it?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I was born with it.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Okay continue on and after the training ends come to my office. Next you will need to shoot the dummies and continue to the gas chamber, I¡¯ll tell you what to do there.'''' Arnold fired at all the dummies with 100% accuracy. Others soon followed after him and now they are all gathered up before the chamber. ¡®¡®So, first you¡¯ll need to put on these filters and then the mask like this. Then go through it and if your ayes tear up get out and do it again until it works.¡¯¡¯ Everyone went through the chamber flawlessly. Some hours have passed and everyone is relaxing around a campfire with the exception of Arnold and Ekerd, who went to the teacher¡¯s office. Going in the quiet room they were met by a desk with the teacher sitting on it and two chairs in front of it. ¡®¡®Come, please, seat yourselves.¡¯¡¯ Sitting on the screeching chairs they were carefully examined by the teacher. ¡®¡®So I discussed this with other officials and¡­ You and your friend will be sent to the Polish front as a secret surround force. We plan to surround their forces at Bzura with a secret push.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Dammit why are they bringing him along with me?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®What¡¯s the matter? You don¡¯t like friends?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Shut up!¡¯¡¯ Without realizing it he shouted that out loud. ¡®¡®Haha, are you dumb?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU ROOKIE?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®No, I don¡¯t think he meant it, right Arnold?¡¯¡¯ His carelessness has got him in a bad situation¡­ A Predator Being Hunted Chapter 3 A Predator Being Hunted Accidently spilling this out he insulted the teacher. ¡®¡®I won¡¯t take this attitude from you rookie! Why do you new ones always have to be like this? You¡¯ll learn discipline when you get to the front.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I apologize. This was accidental.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Yes, you see. I told you he didn¡¯t mean it.¡¯¡¯ Ekerd wasn¡¯t looking for trouble so he just added icing on top of the cake. ¡®¡®So. You will now go on a ride along with a few more chosen soldiers. Your mission will be to surround and kill the counterattacking force at Bzura. If we win this battle it will be a decisive victory for the war as the river is quite close to both of their major cities.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Understood!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®You¡¯ll need to start now, we don¡¯t have time to waste.¡¯¡¯ They went out of the neatly packed office. The cold September wind was lightly sweeping past their just as cold bodies. In front of them were a few motorized vehicles, assuming they were going to travel by these there was space for quite a few people. They were escorted to one of them which had two spaces left. Going in the packed vehicle they fit in just fine. Soon the engine fired up and they are off. This instance reminded Arnold of his military training in his previous life. That was where he had met his best friend. ¡®¡®Ah, good old times.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®You know I can also see the memories you think of, right?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®No I don¡¯t.¡¯¡¯ Everyone in the truck was talking, eating or drinking something. Arnold wasn¡¯t quite fond of this chaos but he dealt with it. To his right there was a young, blonde haired lady. It¡¯s quite strange seeing her right here and now. ¡®¡®What could have led her to join the army? Most importantly, since she is here she must be skilled as the teacher did mention that the division we are joining are the most skilled rookies.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Uuu, maybe she likes you. Ask her out haha.¡¯¡¯ Contrary to where they are headed to, they were in good mood.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Potential death awaits them in the end, but they keep up their smiles. They haven¡¯t chosen this path and yet, they go along with it. That is something that takes courage. So brave, yet so foolish. Lost in thought Arnold lost track of time. Minutes passed like seconds. Taking note of this, the lady took him out of his trance. ¡®¡®Hey are you okay?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Avoid interaction, avoid interaction.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Yes I¡¯m good, thanks for asking.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I¡¯m Ema nice to meet you!¡¯¡¯ Making a friendly face she did exactly the opposite of what Arnold was hoping for. Now he¡¯ll just have to go along with it. ¡®¡®I¡¯m Arnold, nice to meet you too!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Ah shit. Now that I know her name I¡¯ll have to protect her as well, wont I.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Already hitting on girls I see.¡¯¡¯ And so Arnold made another friend unwillingly. ¡®¡®So, where are you from?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Does Berlin exist in this world?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I am fromm¡­ uhh¡­ Berlin.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Uuu Berlin. I¡¯ve been there once, it¡¯s a really nice city.¡¯¡¯ Suddenly the truck hit its breaks. Everyone tilted to the side along with it. ¡®¡®Oh, looks like we¡¯ve arrived!¡¯¡¯ With that they exited the truck one by one. In front of them there was a river. The moon¡¯s dim light was reflected by its clear water. Everyone started heading along the river so Arnold followed along. Looks like Ekerd and Ema are now friends. Aside from the gunshots you would hear every now and then the atmosphere was pretty nice. Those shots were getting closer and closer. Artillery was bombarding the ground, shaking it up. Silence has arisen upon the vast fields. As they were approaching the battlefield shots became more frequent and artillery bombardment became louder. Mortars and machine guns were present all throughout. Planes were flying high, adding noise and casting fear in the opposing side. Tanks were scattered all around, approaching the battlefield. And with a quick and sudden ¡®¡®GO!¡¯¡¯ everyone charged in. Our group did the same. Without putting any thought into it, Arnold stood upfront, in front of Ema and Ekerd. His eyes lit up as he reloaded his gun. He launched in the air and with a few precision strikes, took down the polish artillery. Everyone¡¯s focus was drifted to him. Without wasting any time launched back down to get the artillery¡¯s shells dropping them on the ground at random locations and then firing at them. He caused such havoc that some of the poles started retreating, although they were met by our division, some of them managed to escape. ¡®¡®Ok. Make it quick and simple.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Hmm, it seems that you have it easy. Yes, yes.¡¯¡¯ Completely ignoring her remarks, his focus was on eliminating the enemy as fast as possible. In order to stop their retreat, he shifted sides and went behind the river, firing explosive spells at anyone who dared to try and escape. All whilst overlooking Ekerd and Ema. He destroyed all bridges to make escape even harder. Afterwards he threw fire at them, burning some alive. Facing this otherworldly creature some of them dropped down from shock. Morale was crushed in an instant with the non-stop fire from Arnold. ¡®¡®Just what is he?¡¯¡¯ Ema couldn¡¯t help but ask the same question everyone is asking right now. Some tried to shoot him, their bullets collapsed upon reaching him. A lot of people were screaming things like: ¡®¡®He is the Devil.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®What are we being punished for?¡¯¡¯ For most it was like God has come down to Earth to bring judgment to people. Looking around, Arnold stumbled upon Ema. In a second, his heart dropped. He saw that someone was firing at her. He immediately launched down to kill him. Ema saw that and looked at him with a face of appreciation. He was going upward with pride. When he felt a cold projectile hitting him. It tore through his shield and hit his back. Another one followed, this time it exploded launching him down. Turning around he saw someone flying. His eyes were shining with anger. Arnold couldn¡¯t move. His only thought was: ¡®¡®Has someone else been summoned here?¡¯¡¯ Ema¡¯s expression suddenly shifted. Her eyes widened seeing this turn of events. Ekerd¡¯s reaction was nothing short of hers. Everyone was surprised. Fire stopped for a second. It was like they had established a ceasefire. Arnold¡¯s lifeless body dropped down into the river. ¡®¡®Not so easy now, is it? Haahaha!¡¯¡¯ Like a predator being hunted, like the world turned upside down. He was surprised, he was fooled¡­ Pointless Struggle Chapter 4 Pointless Struggle A cold object, so small yet so painful. Dropping into the river all his thoughts escaped his mind, all his worries ran away. Bearing only one thought, clinging onto the only bit of hope he had, only for it to run away. His cold body was surrounded by water just as cold. He was slowly drowning, every second is now just more oxygen lost. Was he really that hopeless? Was he going to give up now and let them die? Was he just going to entertain Adalie by dying over and over again, only for her pleasure? Will he give in? The world was going dark, his body relaxed. The wound in his back painted the water red. Although he was only in a river, his emotions turned it into an ocean in which he was at the bottom. As he was about to exhale his last breath someone came to mind. Ema, although he knew her for less than a day, her spirit gave off an overly-friendly vibe he would feel only around the best of his friends. Then there is Ekerd, who admires him, after all he got him through the trial. The essence of the words he said to Arnold, though not many, were purer than tears. A person who explained him the way of this world without even flinching. Was he just going to give up on them? Opening his eyes furiously a sudden surge of power hit him. Energy flew through his veins in plenty. His retina lit up in anger as he launched out of the river. Although he was barely able to move his arm he managed to get his weapon out with it. Right now pain isn¡¯t a worry. ¡®¡®ARNOOLD!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®ARE YOU OKAY?¡¯¡¯ Those were the voices of the only people he knew in this world. Voices so unknown, yet so close to him. Quickly looking around he saw the person that shot him high up in the air. The bayonet at the end of his weapon turned red when he launched at him with full force. Watching from a distance, you would only be able to see a red glowing line going up high. Like a laser he closed in on that person, aiming straight for his torso. Upon noticing the immediate threat the foe pulled back and made a loop move, avoiding Arnold and quickly blasting an explosion underneath his feat, firing Arnold even higher up. Not able to think over the situation, ruled over by the thirst for blood he propelled himself back down at the enemy. A move easy to dodge, however, upon dodging he was met with more and more, faster and faster attempts to land a hit.Stolen story; please report. The speed at which he was moving was simply incredible, but the enemy still somehow managed to avoid all attacks but one. He sliced open the foe¡¯s hand, bringing him to pain. While he was distracted with this pain Arnold aimed right at him and catapulted with the same speed. An attack so straightforward and so deadly. In response to this super fast move the enemy deflected Arnold¡¯s attack with his weapon bringing them to a force showdown. Pushing one another with their weapons against each other, flying in circles and losing altitude. Knowing they were going to hit the ground soon, the enemy moved out of his stance and proceeded to try and push Arnold to the ground with incredible force, he failed to reach him and Arnold grabbed his leg and threw him to the ground with a lot of force of his own. A big blast followed after the foe¡¯s collision with the ground. Using this moment Arnold fired explosive bullets straight at the epicenter of the blast. Firing and firing, not stopping until he sees him dead. A battle between two hunters, question is: who hunts who? Suddenly he stopped firing. He ran out of ammo in this magazine and he was quick to find another one. Loading it into the gun he saw a figure coming out of the smoke and ashes. It was coming in as fast as a bullet. Immediately after coming out it aimed at Arnold swiftly. His gun lit up in green and he fired a bullet as red as a rose straight at Arnold. He was quick to put up a shield but surprisingly the bullet somehow cut straight through it, exploding immediately afterwards. ¡®¡®ARNOLD, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?¡¯¡¯ Said Ema, worried about Arnold. The explosion sent Arnold off into the ground. Not so shook by the pain that felt like a mere pinch right now, not wasting time he dashed to the enemy. Though his attention was not towards Arnold, but the one who called for him. Dodging Arnold¡¯s bold move he propelled himself towards Ema. The blonde girl who Arnold was aiming to protect. Seeing where he is is headed, Arnold quickly fired at him with speeds of a machine gun. Explosions so frequent, you wouldn¡¯t be able to fully hear the first one since the second one has already started. It was clear that the foe wouldn¡¯t take his time to dodge, instead he went higher up and fired his gun. Following the glowing red line Arnold¡¯s legs crumbled as it hit Ema in the arm. She coughed up blood and dropped down on the ground until Arnold couldn¡¯t see her anymore. Rage and despair rushed to his mind. Not able to handle any more he threw his gun and rushed for the enemy. ¡®¡®YOU DAMN PIG! I¡¯LL SLAUGHTER YOU EVEN IF IT TAKES MY LIFE!¡¯¡¯ With these words his body was engulfed in fire. He wasn¡¯t able to make out what emotion he was exactly feeling at the time. Was it anger or sadness? Either way he was not giving up until he kills the murderer of one of the two things he could call friends. Reaching the enemy he made a decision to give up his own life for the sake of others. Or that¡¯s at least what he covered up his true intentions with. Revenge was what he yearned. Revenge is what he sought. There could¡¯ve been another solution, but his own mind wouldn¡¯t allow him to pursue it. He couldn¡¯t allow himself to live on. A dumb selfish move. ¡®¡®I must do it for her!¡¯¡¯ Upon contact with him, Arnold let out all of his energy, all he had, in a single burst resulting in a huge explosion. One powerful enough to send trees in a 10km radius flying, it knocked everyone down on the ground and stuck them to it. It disrupted the flow of the mighty river and most importantly: it tore Arnold and the foe to shreds. He was yet again in a black void. Upon opening his eyes he heard clapping, only one person clapping. ¡®¡®Good job! You put on quite the show haha.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®WHY YOU! Who was that guy?!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Easy there. I decided you were getting too bored with all your power, all alone, so I sent him as a gift. And then you decide to immediately kill him, you are so immature. You could¡¯ve at least thanked me for the gift before tearing it to shreds haha!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®¡­¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®What is it? Are you not able to speak, did a cat catch your tongue?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®¡­¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Did I push you too far? Naah. Aaanyways. You will now be revived in another nation, one you mightn¡¯t have thought about. Good luck!¡¯¡¯ Exiting the black void he felt coldness, colder than the river. It was white snow piled up around him. He could see his breath when exhaling. Broken he decided to stay in the snow. His heart was shattered. He couldn¡¯t move, not that it would make any difference if he could. He was consumed in the frostiness of the dark night¡­ In Suomi Chapter 5 In Suomi Broken apart, tired of war, tired of being in this world. Fighting for God knows what cause for God knows who ¡®¡®Right now I am no more than an alive doll, aren¡¯t I?¡¯¡¯ This is the conclusion he came to. After experiencing the otherworldly sensation of death twice, after all he¡¯s been through. But then there is the other side of him, the passionate side, the one that believes there is a way out of this mess. Right now that is the thing that is keeping him sane, the thing that is driving him forward. As he rolled over in the snow he gathered his thoughts. ¡®¡®Bringing aside the obvious question of ,,Why was that guy there,, I need to know where the hell I am and why is it so damn cold here.¡¯¡¯ After rotting in the snow for about 15 cold unforgiving minutes he finally stood up. His body was stiffened, his legs felt like icicles while his hands felt like the sticks of a snowman. Jokes aside he could barely move and in order to combat this he did what any man would do-ignite himself on fire and extinguish it afterwards. After a few seconds of excruciating pain he was back up and ready to go. Stepping out of the pit that he was in he saw a flag in the distance. Since it was the middle of the night he couldn¡¯t make out much of it, not that it would help if he could. Just out of curiosity he clenched his eyes to try and make out a shape of some sort. Only thing that came out were the colors blue and white. He was unfamiliar with the flags of nations, though he thought it would be a nice marker of where he has been. First time he barely got a glance at where he was in, though the uniform was a good indicator it still wasn¡¯t trustworthy enough. Speaking of uniforms, he is wearing a different one. It was more of a coat, though it should come as no surprise seeing the weather. Assuming he is welcome around these parts he just continued on towards the flag as it was the only indicator of civilization around.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. As he was coming closer to it the shape became clearer and clearer until it was finally distinguishable. A blue cross and a white background. He could now safely exclude Santa¡¯s workshop from the list of possible places he was in. However the North poll was still a plausible option. Going over a little hill a small town was revealed. There were some signs close by, but he couldn¡¯t read them. One interesting thing was that he could speak the language of the country he was in, but he had no clue how to read. And while that may seem like a big throwback there haven¡¯t actually been instances in which he has had to read so far. Well there is a first time for everything. He continued down the snowy hill up until reaching the outskirts of the town. Upon reaching the streets some things hit him, first one being the fact that he doesn¡¯t see a soldier anywhere near. And second one was about to hit him (quite literaly). A snowball was coming towards his face, being the badass that he was he caught it and looked around to see who threw it only to realize that he was in the middle of a snow war. Some kids were throwing snowballs at each other and Arnold was in the middle, so he did the only thing he could-run. A few steps further down the street and he was out of the battlefield. He began to wonder what these kids are doing out in the middle of the night, though it would make sense if it was just dark, not the middle of the night. It all felt¡­weird. He was finally out of the battlefield into a calm place, but it still felt unsettling. ¡®¡®Why would she send me here? Why am I still here in this world? Just to suffer?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Every night you can feel your leg and your arm, even your fingers, the body you''ve lost?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®And what the hell is that supposed to be?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®A little joke. Hey maybe you could do some stunts for me, I am kind of getting bored ya know!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Just talking to you pains me, so please shut up!¡¯¡¯ After that little¡­chat he continued down the streets to search for some place that was still open so he could know where he was. A few minutes of walking down the dark streets got him to some sort of bar. The building was rather nice looking. Outside you could clearly see it was a bar from the different kinds of alcohol on the menu chart, but overall it gave off a welcoming vibe, one of kindness and modesty. It was clearly open since a lot of people were talking inside. Being the only place open at this time Arnold wanted to give it a shot.(pun intended) Opening the wooden door he was immediately met by a scene, quite unusual for a bar, at least for the bars in his world. A lot of men and women sitting and chatting quietly. The least he expected was a punch to the face so that¡¯s a relief. He then proceeded to walk up to the bartender as he thought he would be the most reliable source of information. Before getting to talk to him he was stopped by a man, presumably in his mid-thirties, also wearing a uniform. ¡®¡®Hey there! I haven¡¯t seen you around here, are you new?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Uhm, yes actually. I wa-as given orders toooo come to this town. I don¡¯t really know much about it though so would you mind telling me more about it?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Yes sure. Sit down. You know Rautj?rvi is in my opinion one of the best towns here in Finland.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Finland eh?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®It is a nice place with nice people. Only problem is that we are quite close to the border with the Soviets.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Wait what? Soviets?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I can show you around if you want. Maybe tomorrow, how does that sound?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Sounds great!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®And your name is?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®I am Arnold.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Interesting, a German sounding name.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Yes my uhhh mother was uhhh actually German. And you are?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Simo Hayha, nice to meet you!¡¯¡¯ They smiled at each other, Arnold¡¯s smile was more one of relief more than anything. ¡®¡®It¡¯s nice to take some time off the battlefield¡­¡¯¡¯ The Final Spark in Tension Chapter 6 The Final Spark in Tension ¡®¡®I also forgot to mention but¡­I don¡¯t have anywhere to stay.¡¯¡¯ That was Arnold, realising that he hadn¡¯t slept since entering our world. The bartender joined in by saying. ¡®¡®It¡¯s no problem, you can stay in one of our rooms. I¡¯d happily let you sat a night or few. Anything for the soldiers.¡¯¡¯ While saying this he poured a shot of whiskey. ¡®¡®Try some out, it¡¯s on the house!¡¯¡¯ Even in his past life, Arnold wasn¡¯t much of a drinker. He preferred to always be sober, not that his job even allowed him to be drunk. He would go to work at noon and go home around 1AM, the time he had in the morning he mostly just slept through. However this didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t have friends. Most of them were his coworkers, who he¡¯d work with all day long but he also had some friends outside from work. On his days off he would hang out with them. They didn¡¯t drink as well, point being he hadn¡¯t gotten used to the taste of alcohol. Whiskey, being a strong drink, wouldn¡¯t really go well on his tongue. ¡®¡®Oh come on Arnold, it¡¯s just one shot.¡¯¡¯ And so he drank it, the rest of that night was a mystery as he got drunk and couldn¡¯t remember what he did. On the morning he found himself in a bed looking at the ceiling. As we mentioned, he didn¡¯t remember anything, but what he did know was that Adalie wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to mock him. ¡®¡®,,Oh come on Arnold, it¡¯s just one shot,, HAHA, should¡¯ve seen your face. Ahaha I just can¡¯t, you were so red, didn¡¯t even know on which planet you were, not that you do anyway. *ahem* Was this the stunt because it sure did look like one HAHAHAAA!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Shut up before I go to you and personally hit you till you bleed out. And I want answers! Why did you send me in this country? Didn¡¯t you want me to suffer? Speak up!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Calm down now. And jeez, your deduction skills are worse than your alcohol tolerance. Didn¡¯t you hear? Tensions are really high with the neighboring country. Oh and I have maybe also skipped a few months and sent you at the worst time, ooooppsiee. Today is the 30th of November, better get ready for war and this time-don¡¯t die as quick!¡¯¡¯Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. And so her voice echoed further out until he could no longer hear her. Arnold stood up and stretched for a bit. After that he proceeded to look around him. A small, cozy room. Around him were a bed, for one person only, a drawer with a vase on it and a desk a little more to the right. ¡®¡®*sigh*Guess I¡¯ll just show my way out.¡¯¡¯ And out he goes, through a door, some stairs and another door and he is outside. Immediately upon stepping foot onto the snow he was greeted with a familiar face-Simo. ¡®¡®Ay Arnold, told you I¡¯d show you around. Let¡¯s go!¡¯¡¯ He was sitting on a bench in the distance, supposedly waiting for Arnold to wake up. He ran up to Arnold and greeted him. ¡®¡®How are ya? Crazy night, wasn¡¯t it? But before we start our walk around town I need to tell you something.¡¯¡¯ To this unusual tone Arnold furrowed his brows. ¡®¡®What is it?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®The reason they sent you here. I heard the Soviets send a message, proposing an exchange of territory. The government has decided to decline the proposal. We think they might act aggressively upon receiving the news. So Arnold, today we¡¯ll go training, I want to show you some strategies.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®That would be great!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®Also, be on the lookout for any Soviet soldiers. Okay, let¡¯s go!¡¯¡¯ And so they started their walk around town. Arnold met a lot of friendly people, got caught in another snowball fight and saw a lot of unusual (to him) buildings. A highlight of that particular trip would be Arnold seeing a church. Approaching it he couldn¡¯t quite make out the purpose of the building. ¡®¡®Aaah, the church. I see it every day, yet it still surprises me.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®What is a church?¡¯¡¯ Of course he didn¡¯t say it out loud, but in his head he was trying to search for the meaning of the structure. Religion wasn¡¯t nonexistent in Arnold¡¯s world, the religions just weren¡¯t the same. And so the trip was finally over. It was about noon that Arnold was getting really hungry, so they went to a little restaurant. ¡®¡®Choose whatever you want, I¡¯ll treat ya to it, after all you must be quite tired from that snow fight haha.¡¯¡¯ He chose a steak. After that quick meal it was finally time to go out training. They followed a stone path deep into the woods. Simo took out two pairs of skis and gave one to Arnold. ¡®¡®You¡¯ll need these if you want an advantage over the enemy.¡¯¡¯ Both of them were in uniforms, blending in with the snow quite nicely. The uniforms also provided a lot of warmth which was quite good to have in this cold unforgiving climate. ¡®¡®The peace will end soon, won¡¯t it. At least I had a little break.¡¯¡¯ And so they started shooting at designated trees, slid around in their skis and Arnold fell on his knees. But the fun wouldn¡¯t last for much longer. They were standing in a semi-open field when a loud whistling-like noise shattered their eardrums. An artillery strike. It hit Arnold¡¯s shield fast. Thankfully that strike didn¡¯t do much to his shield. A black fog emerged from the blast area. ¡®¡®Arnold, are you there?¡¯¡¯ He saw Arnold emerging from the smoke with not even a scratch. ¡®¡®Just what are you? Ah, no time to waste now, take cover!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡®No need for that.¡¯¡¯ Arnold flew high up in the air and spotted the advancing soviet soldiers. With a few precise explosive shots he took them out. But more where emerging from behind. ¡®¡®There goes my peace.¡¯¡¯ This didn¡¯t help Simo¡¯s suspicions. ¡®¡®I guess they heard us shooting, maybe that was the final spark to ignite the flame.¡¯¡¯ Said Simo in a monotone voice. Ready or not, it is time for war¡­ Winter War Chapter 7 Winter War Soviet 8th and 9th armies had started advancing in the general region of Karelia, Finland, while the 7th had started pushing down south, towards the town of Viipuri. The 8th army was to execute a flanking manoeuvre, while the 9th was pushing in central Finland. A bombing of the capital-Helsinki, had resulted in many casualties. A plan to swiftly pass through Finnish defenses was accepted by Stalin, a plan that would pan out to be a failure. An exchange of fire started among the Finnish borders as the Red army started their push. Thankfully the Finnish had prepared for a potential strike, just not in Arnold and Simo¡¯s town. As the so to speak ¡°horde¡± of Russians started advancing towards the small town, just off the border. Only ones to stand against the Russian bear were Simo and Arnold. The first attack was brought down by Arnold, as we said with a few explosive spells, but more were coming from behind. Terrain was tough and Russian soldiers weren¡¯t very well dressed for such weather (quite ironic might I add). Tanks started firing in all directions, expecting to hit anyone, whilst no one was there. Up high in the air was Arnold. Exhaling a cold breath he narrowed his vision to the tanks and the bit of artillery that was starting to bombard the town. This time he wanted to try a few different spells. First an electric shot, he fired at one of the tanks and when the bullet hit it lightning descended upon the field and made a huge blast. Next he dashed straight for the artillery, aiming to do the same trick as the one in Bzura. A shower of bullets started raining on him. He flew left to right in order to avoid any potential artillery strike towards him. He grabbed the shells and used the trick. ¡°If something works, why change it?¡± With that he blew away the right flank, but more troops were coming towards Simo, who was sniping them one by one. But his efforts weren¡¯t enough. As explosions were getting closer and closer to him, he needed to retreat. Thankfully he had his trusty pair of skis and he slid his way downhill towards the town. Unfortunately for the Soviets, their tanks were freezing and their tiers were stopping to work. Some engineers stopped to fix them, only to be shot down by Simo¡¯s precision strikes. Overall, around 700 soldiers and 20 tanks were pushing. Now there are less than 200 soldiers and no tanks. Mortars weren¡¯t present. Arnold and Simo continued firing, but they were reaching their limit and were getting pretty exhausted. Fire was spurring up in the frosted forest. Some soldiers started burning, others were freezing. True Hell. They were shouting for mercy, which Arnold didn¡¯t deliver, instead he put them out of their misery. Just about all of the enemy¡¯s pushing force was down. Or at least that¡¯s what they thought. Arnold looked around to see if there was anyone left when he heard an explosion from behind. But what was behind him? The town. He immediately rushed over to see what was happening, to his surprise, a whole another force had come and made their way around Arnold and Simo. And there were a lot of them. Most of them aren¡¯t near the town, those that were were pillaging it. Screams filled the air as Arnold witnessed something he will never forget. He saw the bartender on his knees when a soldier shot his head off. At that moment Arnold knew, he knew it had gone too far. He knew any friend he made could be killed just the next day. What was there to loose anymore he asked himself, and at that moment he just went along with the thirst for revenge. ¡°For the friends who have fallen, for the comrades I¡¯ve lost, may this bullet guide their hearts, may this bullet AVENGE THEM ALL!¡± He loaded the lucky magazine, his eyes lit up with power, power which this time he directed not toward himself, but towards the enemy. His gun was filled with energy, which it used to fire that faithful bullet.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The sound from the gun firing enchanted the fields all around, it thrusted eardrums and almost shattered them. ¡°NO ARNOLD, NOT TOWARDS THE TOWN!¡± What Simo didn¡¯t know is that Arnold wasn¡¯t firing at the town. He was firing at the hidden advancing force he just saw. Around 500 men hidden in the trees. As the bullet hit its mark a huge blast followed. Thankfully Simo had taken cover. Same can¡¯t be said for the townspeople. It knocked over the whole division and killed them in an instant. Along with them it also knocked down everyone in town, it didn¡¯t evaporate houses, because they were already gone. It sent Arnold flying even higher. He was exhausted, he could barely move. Upon going down he saw him, he saw the man that killed the bartender. He was down on the ground, barely alive. This time Arnold did something he shouldn¡¯t have. With his last bits of power he went down to that man. Both of them could barely move and were injured. Arnold went and grabbed that man¡¯s throat and started choking him to death. All his rage went out on that single man. He started coughing, choking on his own blood, yet Arnold continued holding his neck. ¡°DIE YOU BASTARD, YOU DESERVE TO!¡± The once cold and happy town was now on fire, houses were collapsing, burning around him. Bodies were piled on the ground, such a cruel scenery, yet Arnold couldn¡¯t care about anything except his desires. Simo had come close to him and watched as he strangled the man. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s enough, Arnold? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s enough suffering for him?¡± As Arnold realized what he had done he let go of the man and dropped down to his knees. Tears poured from his eyes, cold sweat dropped down from his head. He was broken. That was when he realized. If there wasn¡¯t anything to loose, would that mean he had to loose himself? Simo went up to him and comforted him. ¡°We all have lost control of ourselves at times, ruled over by emotion we carried out our desires. But just know, there always is something you can aim for, something you can treasure.¡± Arnold stood up, almost falling in the process. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll remember that.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve lost a friend, don¡¯t try to bear the burden of him on your shoulders, you did everything you could.¡± They stood there in the wasteland, sinking in the reality, the cruelty of war. A sound of tires sliding caught their attention, a few vehicles, filled with soldiers came. They got out and immediately started regrouping, only to see that there was no enemy there. The commander saw Arnold and Simo and rushed to them. ¡°What happened here, are you okay?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. We can discuss what happened later, for now, can you take my friend Arnold to a medic.¡± ¡°We are coming right up!¡± Two medics came and treated Arnold and Simo at the spot. All the soldiers started extinguishing the fire and evacuating civilians. Turns out that little civilians died in the explosion, while all the Soviet soldiers had died in the battle. The fire was extinguished and they went to the familiar bar to discuss the battle with the commander. ¡°So, what happened there? How did you two take down the entire push?¡± ¡°It was mostly my friend, I still do not know how he did this.¡± ¡°How am I going to answer? How should I tell them that I have powers?¡¯¡¯ ¡°However it seems that he clearly can¡¯t speak of that so let¡¯s not push him?¡± ¡°That is fine for now, but was it just the two of you or were there more soldiers?¡± ¡°Just the two of us commander.¡± ¡°Setting aside the battle, I want to know your names.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Simo and this is Arnold.¡± Arnold wasn¡¯t speaking at all, he let Simo handle the situation. After a little chat with the commander they let Simo and Arnold go and rest in their rooms. Arnold immediately went to sleep while Simo went out on a walk around the town, half of which was in ruins. ¡°Ah, how did I know it was going to come down to this?¡± The soldiers were sent to advance a bit up a head to search for a second advancing force, which they didn¡¯t find. While Arnold was sleeping¡­ East, in the Soviet Union, news spread around about this battle. When suddenly the high command lost all contact with about 2000 man which were attacking the area where Arnold and Simo were. ¡°Ahh, this was amusing.¡± On the Mannerheim line (southern border of Finland) the Soviets were halted in place. That along with this battle, wrecked the red army¡¯s morale. At the same time, deep in the Soviet Union, Moscow to be precise, a young man had found a note asking him to go to a certain street, where he was met by Adalie. ¡°Who are you and why did you ask me out here?¡± ¡°See this man?¡± She said taking out a picture of Arnold. ¡°Yeah, what about him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you powers to kill him, if you do I will let you have the powers in return.¡± ¡°Haha, are you crazy or something? What powers are you talking about?¡± ¡°Allow me to demonstrate.¡± She said as she pierced his body with one of her black tentacles. He dropped to the ground when she came up to him by flying and healed his wound. ¡°These powers.¡± ¡°AAH, WHAT ARE YOU?¡± ¡°No need to worry, I won¡¯t hurt you anymore, just do what I say.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°He is a Finnish soldier fighting the war in central Finland, I¡¯ll give you a rifle and powers to use it, you just have to kill him.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± And so she gave him a rifle and teleported away. Back into Arnold¡¯s world, his friends and coworkers have noticed he suddenly disappeared and have started a police search to find him. The only family member he has left-his sister has speculations. Berlin 2017, alternate universe¡­ Arnold lived with his sister, she was two years younger than him. When she noticed he hadn¡¯t returned, she started calling him. After a day she started a search along with his friends and reported it to the police. The whole town was searched, but nothing was found. That leaves us today, where his sister had taken Arnold¡¯s place in his job and is now chatting with one of his friends. His sister has just turned 18, she is a short, blue haired woman. Her blue eyes match her hair perfectly and make her stand out from everyone else around her. ¡°I don¡¯t think he could¡¯ve been killed by Adalie since she always leaves a body behind.¡± ¡°What would it be then, if not Adalie, then what? How can he just disappear like that? It¡¯s just not something that happens.¡± ¡°You know. The other day I heard on the news that another man had disappeared just like Arnold. Remember how they reviewed security cameras and the last thing he did was take a turn in an alley?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t want to remember, but yes, why would he just perish like that?¡± ¡°They cleared the image and saw him getting down on his knees with black smoke appearing from his mouth. And that¡¯s when he just faded away in that smoke.¡± ¡°Interesting, what about the other guy.¡± ¡°Security footage shows him falling for some reason from a building that was being constructed. When he fell he faded away into black smoke.¡± She stood up in surprise. Her look gave of an [so we are getting somewhere] expression. To that the man nodded and continued. ¡°It may not be Adalie, you know there are others besides her, it could be him.¡± ¡°No, no it can¡¯t be. Didn¡¯t they confirm that he was dead?¡± ¡°Yes but think about it. Who could plan out such an assault. Someone who wants everyone to know that they are there.¡± ¡°Ah, I hope you¡¯re wrong. Anyway it¡¯s time for me to leave. Bye!¡± ¡°Bye!¡± Adalie was listening to that conversation. ¡°You may be wrong here, but he will return soon.¡± Around and back to our world¡­ Arnold has woken up. It is the next day. Going out he yet again met Simo, who was waiting for him. ¡°Hey, are you alright now?¡± ¡°Ah, yes I am fine. I think I earned that steak yesterday.¡± ¡°Haha, even more, I¡¯ll repay you for what you did yesterday. Half of the city may be lost, but the people are still alive thanks to you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it heh.¡± And so they went again down the now familiar streets, those snowy streets. ¡°They¡¯ll soon send us to war again, so might as well make all of the rest of our stay.¡± ¡°Mhm. Sure thing. Where should we go first?¡± ¡°Looks like the restaurant is still intact and running, why not go there.¡± And so they went in yet again. Arnold ate another steak and they had many laughs. Burying all that happened yesterday in the ground. Even after that, war still awaits them. Forever and ever¡­ Temper, to Play a Game of Threatening Chapter 8 Temper, to Play a Game of Threatening Berlin, 1939¡­ ¡°My F¨¹hrer, here is the plan for the battle of France.¡± ¡°,,Case Yellow¡±. Interesting¡­¡± Says as he opens the article for a quick review of its contents. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to have spotted something (judging by his expression) absurd. He slowly places the papers back on the desk in front of him and turned his look to the messenger delivering the important information. Quickly hitting the desk in a mix of emotions he said to the messenger: ¡°Are¡­you¡­kidding me? Is this some kind of joke? What¡¯s with this plan?¡± ¡°Excuse me my F¨¹hrer, but would you allow me to give you the rest of the information and the reasoning behind this plan?¡± ¡°Speak up!¡± He uttered those word in a dark undertone, furrowing his brows he made a close inspection of the supposed messenger. ¡°First and foremost, I am not just any messenger, I for one, am here to deliver the most important and crucial information about the battle of France, so please, listen carefully my F¨¹hrer¡± As if Hitler saw right through him he said with a smile. ¡°Of course I am aware of the importance of this information and I am not saying I entirely disagree with the plan but I¡¯d like to know the reasoning behind it.¡± ¡°The invasion of Poland was fast but that doesn¡¯t mean that the German soldiers aren¡¯t tired. In a quick burst of energy we unleashed all our power upon the neighboring nation, the consequence will be put upon the soldiers. Pushing through the Maginot line is so unpractical, it¡¯s almost unthinkable, a quick surround would do us magic.¡± ¡°So you are saying we repeat the tactic from the Great War?¡± ¡°I have faith in general Rommel that he will be abl-¡± ¡°Well, I do as well, and that is why I promoted him but this plan needs tweaking if we are going to execute it!¡± ¡°And what do you propose, My F¨¹hrer?¡± ¡°Include the Netherlands and make the invasion as fast as possible, that¡¯s all I have to say. Bring that to General Rommel and report me his reply. Now get out before I get you out!¡± After the messenger left, Hitler let out a short sigh and got back to writing some report. As for a quick report of the world¡­ It is as follows: Poland has capitulated to Soviet and German forces advancing on both sides, The UK and France have refused the Reich¡¯s proposal of peace and the battle of France has begun. Just as expected, the Maginot line hasn¡¯t moved, except for a failed attempt to push from the French. The winter war is in its first stages, some of the Karelia region has been pushed back, but for now it¡¯s mostly stagnant as well. The Finnish are defending the sparse roads, a tactic that seems to be going pretty well. While it is a short-term solution, it isn¡¯t expected to last for much longer. A form to kick the Soviet Union out of the League of Nations for their unjustified actions has been made. Zooming in further down, into a small town, half destroyed, one foot in the grave we find the Arnold we crave. He has put the horrible incident in the recycling bin and he is ready to rock. He and Simo were called over by the commander to discuss something serious by the looks of it. They were brought to the bar again. Today might just be a day of peace in this town as no Soviet soldiers were seen anywhere nearby and you bet they will take up an opportunity to regroup. ¡°Just as to not give the general the ,,I met him randomly,, reasoning I want to discuss with you the role that your powers may play here in this war. So just spill it out, I¡¯m all ears!¡± ¡°Well, I come from ano-¡± [another realm] Was what he was going to say, however, a sudden pain in his chest stopped him from saying anything more. Biting his lip, as to bear the pain he slowly tucked his head down.Stolen novel; please report. That sudden burst of symptoms of heart failure baffled the observers-Simo and the commander. ¡°Arnold, what is it?¡± The worried voice of Simo passed from one ear and went out the other, he lost all contact with the world. ¡°Do you think you can tell everyone everything? I didn¡¯t put you in this world to tell stories.¡± ¡°W-what do you want?¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t mention anything about our world or me, got it?¡± ¡°Fine, just let me breathe goddammit!¡± He gently opened his eyes yet again, to find himself on the ground surrounded by the commander, Simo and what is presumably a medic. ¡°Oh thank God, you are okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t sweat it.¡± ¡°Mister you probably shouldn¡¯t be standing up after th-¡± The medic watched in amazement as Arnold quickly stood up and got to his chair without even flinching. ¡°I guess that¡¯s all the work for me. Mister, please do not drink alcohol today, it may be causing these bursts.¡± Arnold nodded as if ignoring everything she said. She slowly made her way out of the room, probably not to cause any disturbance. ¡°Are sure you are alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. It just¡­happens sometimes.¡± ¡°If you are certain that you are fine we might as well continue with the conversation since we don¡¯t have much time to spare. So, Arnold¡­¡± Launching a sharp gaze towards Arnold, who was sitting beside him, he said: ¡°I figure it would be of much use to talk about how you got these powers, for now, it is important to understand the significance you may hold in punching back the Soviets.¡± Picking up the seriousness of this discussion, Arnold placed his elbows on the bar and pierced the commander with his intensive stare. ¡°Anyway, considering the fact that you wiped out thousands of Soviets in no time, I¡¯d consider that as evidence that you are really strong. By the way, have you heard about the fight at Bzura, I head really strange things happened there.¡± ¡°I heard that two people with godlike powers clashed in a battle to the death in which both died in a huge explosion.¡± ¡°Thanks for clarifying Simo, more importantly, do you happen to know them?¡± A chill tingled his spine and a cold sweat dropped down his forehead. The simple answer would be no, but what would happen if he actually answered with yes? Arnold hasn¡¯t chosen Finland as THE nation and he still doesn¡¯t know if he¡¯ll be here for much longer, still, he felt some sort pressure to stay put and follow orders. Maybe it is some vibe that he developed in his previous military training? Or maybe, deep down, he had chosen Suomi? Either way, he still didn¡¯t want to blow his cover so he answered with a straight [No]. ¡°Okay, getting onto my main point..¡± He said pulling out a map of Finland and the surrounding Soviet land. Somehow just seeing a map arose passion from deep within Arnold, and in no time he quickly analyzed it. ¡°Hey hey, you seem to be pretty interested in maps, what is it that caught you attention?¡± Not saying a word he kept looking at it with a child¡¯s curiosity. This may be the part you¡¯d never expect to see in Arnold. He is almost always as cold as Finnish winter but the aura of curiosity emitting from him was far greater that anyone would imagine seeing in a grown man. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve never seen a map.¡± ¡°Yeah, he really does look like it. Arnoold, snap out of it!¡± Despite Simo¡¯s best efforts, he just couldn¡¯t stop Arnold. After a few minutes of staring at the map had passed Arnold finally snap out of it. ¡°I know what we have to do!¡± Saying this loudly he launched a cold glare at the commander, awaiting his response. ¡°Ay, remember, I am the commander here, first hear me out!¡± ¡°Either we go by my plan or I am not taking any orders from you.¡± ¡°Who do you think you are to make agreements?¡± ¡°Look, we either do this peaceful or we go at it the rough way, in which I am guaranteed to win, so pick one.¡± As if Arnold had a sudden change of heart about this whole situation he made a threat towards the commander. Standing out of his chair he awaited a response.¡± ¡°Look, rookie, you¡¯ll go by my orders anyway, why not hear them first before jumping to conclusions?¡± ¡°Because my plan is guaranteed to win the war.¡± ¡°Tough talk for someone who hasn¡¯t even made it to officer.¡± One of Arnold¡¯s eyes lit up in anger. Seeing this, Simo, who has been observing closely, tried to stop Arnold with no success. ¡°Come on Arnold, it¡¯s not worth it. Why are you even doing this?¡± ¡°Because I know, to the best of my knowledge, that whatever he says will be complete bullshit.¡± ¡°At least hear him out for crying out loud!¡± His anger suddenly vanished when he realized what it has come down to. In a moment he had lost his temper and in a moment he could¡¯ve caused a catastrophic event. ¡°You kid have a short temper, that is bad for someone with your power. My plan is the plan passed down by the generals-we probably cannot win. Even with your power the might of the Soviet force is way too big for a single man to handle. At best we would like to send you to defend alongside fellow Finnish. For what I said, I do believe that you could make a great contribution and that is to defend the homeland as best as you can.¡± ¡°See¡­ Complete bullshit!¡± ¡°Oh, I like how this is turning out! Pretty exciting to see you get all worked up!¡± ¡°The last thing I need right now are you, so wait at least until this is over!¡± ¡°You seem to want to give orders today, what¡¯s the motive? Have you perhaps, moved to the dark side?¡± He decided to ignore her and continued his talk. He proposed a plan in which they use him, pretty much, as a ram to break through the enemy lines and cut a major part of the 7th army before they could retreat to Leningrad. After being victorious, they would go on to siege Leningrad and hopefully take it in a swift maneuver. Then they would go for another encirclement, provided that Arnold is all fine and well and there are enough troops to fill in the gaps. All the while the commander watched in amazement at the high hopes of the young man. In the entirety of the campaign, he would put his life at full risk to win. Almost as if¡­he could return. After a thorough investigation of the battle plan, the commander agreed to send it to the generals as his main proposal. At last, they agreed upon a peaceful solution. A few seconds of silence arose as all celebrated relief. Cold breeze made its way through the tiny gap on the bottom of the door. Wind started furiously whistling, a storm was coming. As Arnold stands up to check what is happening a soldier bursts through the door with full force. ¡°Commander, a Soviet tank regiment has been spotted near! Also reporting two infantry regiments approaching our area on the opposite end of the tanks!¡± ¡°Round up the men and swiftly entrench! Order someone to drive and alert the surrounding area! Arnold, Simo, you come with me!¡± Moscow earlier that day¡­ ¡°Vozhde, are you sure you want to focus that amount of troops in an almost worthless village?¡± ¡°It is a matter of honor, honor which we will take back today! Round the troops up and ready an assault, we are heading straight for the wizard¡¯s cave!¡± ¡­
Halloween Special: The Story of the Haunted Mansion Trip Non-Related Chapter Halloween special The Story of the Haunted Mansion Trip The carved pumpkin''s light is dim it captures the horrors from within on the streets of Berlin on Halloween. Vampires and bats, in the sewers filthy rats, getting chased by cats. Children must get home before it''s too late because a witch rules just after eight everyone fears of meeting her and whoever does, their fate is to quickly decimate. Better hurry up and get home before your end is drawn because now, you are in the danger zone you better bow when the queen sits on her throne. A plethora of lights fill the bypassing people¡¯s vision, the carved pumpkins have been lit. A little house in which a brother and sister are preparing for Halloween. Our beloved Arnold is dressed up as a soldier and his sis-a ghost. Her bright blue hair pokes through the white costume she was wearing, one might come to wonder why she even chose to dress up as a ghost, though it would be kind of rude to tell her that her costume doesn''t fit at all. On the other hand, Arnold gets in the fake soldier uniform quite perfectly. His soldier-ish haircut and straight posture make you think he is actually a soldier returning home to see his sister(which would make for quite an intriguing and emotional story). Arnold¡¯s sister is quite stubborn about going to a party they have been invited to, it¡¯s a yearly event party held regularly. Every year, about 500 come to the mansion where the party is held. Even though Arnold was quite careful with the way he put on his costume(literally meaning he looked like he wanted to show off), he still didn¡¯t want to attend the party. When she was done with her preparations, his sister came to him and said with a spooky(which, in the end, made her sound quite silly) voice: ¡°Yooou sHaalT goOoO with mee tooO the paaAartyYy" Giving his padded shoulders a quick dust-off he replied: ¡°Nope, not happening. Besides, why do you even want to go to that party? It¡¯s nothing more than some random people you don¡¯t know dressing up with strange, and sometimes quite disturbing might I add, costumes.¡± Under the spooky ghost costume, she made the face of an angry child.She tilted her head and said with her hand on her cheek: ¡°What¡¯s a soldier who doesn¡¯t report to duty, huh? Are you a loser? Loser, loser!¡± ¡°I said I¡¯m not going, okay? And you shouldn¡¯t go too, it¡¯s late.¡± ¡°Come on, loosen up! It¡¯s your day off and what are ya dressing up for if you won¡¯t come to the party?¡± ¡°You know...But I don¡¯t really. Why did I decide to dress up? I don¡¯t have a clue.¡± ¡°See? Let¡¯s at least give you an excuse for buying this costume.¡± ¡°Okay [sight] where is the party?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the old mansion, right on the outskirts of the city.¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s hurry and get there!¡± The mansion wasn¡¯t that far off so they went there by foot. On the way they saw many different things: ¡°Hey look! That guy has a birds nest on his face.¡± ¡­ ¡°Hey look! That guy¡¯s face IS a birds nest.¡± ¡­ ¡°Haha, she has jack-o-lanterns instead of a bra!¡± ... A few hundred meters before the mansion they saw an old lady selling caramel apples. A little tiptoe and Arnold¡¯s sister caught the scent and like a bloodthirsty predator launched right at the direction of its source. ¡°One apple please!¡± ¡°Oh my, what a scary ghost you are. Have an apple sweetie.¡± That¡¯s when Arnold intercepted: ¡°Ignore the fact that she is as tall as a sixth grader, she is actually sixteen and should pay for her apples, is that right?¡± He said grinding his teeth. ¡°You know I was about to do that too, hmph!¡± The old lady chuckled a bit and with a smile said: ¡°One apple coming up. That will be 80 cents please!¡± She handed the money to the old lady and just as they were about to continue on their merry way, she stopped them with a sudden [¡°Wait¡±] like she had a revelation. ¡°With these costumes, I suppose you are going to the party nearby?¡± ¡°Yes! Why do you ask?¡± -Arnold¡¯s sister tilted her head in confusion ¡°It¡¯s just that I heard that a group of teenage boys had vanished from the mansion mysteriously.¡± ¡°That sounds quite cliche but I¡¯ll still be wary. Thanks for warning us!¡± And with that cliche moment out of the way, they were off. Arnold was walking really slowly whilst his sister was skipping around. After a few meters, she suddenly stopped and glanced at Arnold. The childish aura that glance gave off was simply unbelievable.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do you think what that lady said is real?¡± While chuckling he said: ¡°If I have to be honest, it sounds like complete nonsense to me, but you know just so a mysterious clown doesn¡¯t kidnap you or anything be careful.¡± His sister gave him an energetic nod of acceptance and continued walking. After a few minutes of walking and admiring everyone¡¯s costumes, they were finally at their destination. The mansion was quite large, I mean it has to be large to be considered a mansion but it is beyond what anyone would expect a party is going to be held in. The whole building was covered with vines and cracks which ruined its overall premium look. Different colored lights were flashing on the inside and the entrance was coated with pumpkins. Speaking of an entrance. It was a large black metal gate, about the size of two adults stacked on each other (that, of course, excludes the possibility of being as high as Arnold¡¯s sister). A spear of moonlight pierced the gates as they walked through, sending chills down their spines that made them shiver in discomfort. It lit up the grass surrounding the mansion, revealing what was left to see in this house of horror and happiness. Aside from pumpkins, there were some brooms, witch hats, and fake crows, at least I think they were fake. They approached the big red door that was the entrance to unknown. Upon further inspection, one would notice that the corners of the door were littered with spiders, whilst the door handle had been covered in what is presumably spider webs. Arnold¡¯s sister had tucked herself in her little ghost robe while Arnold himself just went along with it. He reached out for the knob with uppermost regret for coming here in the first place. Opening the door he saw all of the flashing lights suddenly dissipate. A little girl¡¯s scream enchanted the overly large room and the long corridors. A moment of silence befell both of them. He stepped on the wooden screechy floor that, in this silence, felt nerve-wracking. ¡°Yes, yes, just a cliche. Nothing like that happens in real life.¡± Torches that seemingly weren¡¯t there before suddenly ignited, bringing a dim light onto the hall. With a [sigh] Arnold waltzed on in there. He looked around in disbelief of what was happening-why did everyone suddenly disappear? ¡°That¡¯s odd. Where do you think they went?¡± ¡°I-I-I don¡¯t like where this i-is going.¡± ¡°Not exactly an answer to my question but I can see where you are heading with that. Now then, let¡¯s go upstairs to see if anyone is still here.¡± ¡°Are you crazy? Tha-at is exactly what people who die in horror movies do.¡± ¡°Geez, I wouldn¡¯t imagine a ghost being so scared. Aren¡¯t you the one that is supposed to scare people.¡± ¡°Hey don¡¯t stereotype ghosts, they can be diff- ah!¡± An explosion from behind the mansion shook it, almost making it crumble. ¡°I guess that¡¯s their way of letting us know we are being too WHINY and should just continue.¡± ¡°I~¡¯ll stay behind.¡± And so they made their way upstairs. A few rats passed them, scaring the already scared ¡°ghost¡±. ¡°You¡¯d think a mansion would be clEANER-holly whaaat is THAT?¡± A body with blood spewing out of its mouth, it¡¯s the body of a little teenage boy just laying down at the end of the corridor. Its bloodshot eyes looked quite fearsome, well fearsome enough to scare the sh*t out of you. ¡°Oh, nope, screw this I am goooing the other way around.¡± ¡°Oh look who is scared now?¡± ¡°I think it is still you, I am just avoiding the rout that literally has DEATH written all over it.¡± ¡°Sure sure.¡± Going down the stairs, Arnold took the rifle from his back (which was actually real and not part of the fake costume) and loaded it. ¡°Just in case.¡± Step by step he heard some noise getting louder, while almost at the end it was clear. It was the sound of soldiers marching, wait-inside the mansion? Both of them ducked to see what was going on, and indeed it was soldiers-well kind of. I don¡¯t know if you could call them soldiers. They all looked like zombies with blood pouring out of their mouths. Then he heard it. A sudden stomp of ten people behind him. When he turned around it was already too late. They fired their guns and- ¡°Surpri~se!¡± All they fired was confetti. Arnold fell on his butt and had a huge moment of relief. All the rooms lit up and people poured from all over the mansion. ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± ¡°Ay, you two lasted the longest, congratulations.¡± The ¡°soldiers¡± started laughing, some of them even falling on the ground. One of them spoke out while laughing: ¡°Should¡¯ve seen your face when we shot you with confetti! Hahaha, you were like a little baby whose lollipop was stolen. Anyways, welcome to the party, make yourselves at home.¡± ¡°Uh, thanks, I guess.¡± Arnold and his sister stood up in an exhausted fashion and started heading down to look around this huge mansion. After a few steps, they were stopped by some green-haired zombie man. ¡°Adrian forgot to tell you this but we have a little problem.¡± ¡°Oh, and what is that?¡± ¡°Not sure if anyone told you but¡­a few boys disappeared and we don¡¯t know where they went. Well, we kinda do but no one wants to go there.¡± ¡°And why should I go?¡± ¡°You seem like a tough guy.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Then go there.¡± ¡°Would be good if you told me where to go.¡± ¡°Oh, right, follow me!¡± He took him to a really old, crumbled part of the mansion. The corridors looked like they were about to fall apart and their walls seemed about as stable as your average anthill, so not very much. A minute or so of walking down these corridors, which about now looked like a maze, and they are there. ¡°A flickering white light and sounds of scratching. Just great, couldn¡¯t have hoped for more, not. So what am I supposed to do here?¡± ¡°Yeah just find the boys and bring them back, bye!¡± And with that, he dashed out. ¡°Not so much a party as a babysitting night, well if the baby was a potential deadly killer. Please don¡¯t be a witch, please don¡¯t be a ghost! Now then, let¡¯sa go!¡± So he charged his gun, this time for real. It lit up in green, along with his eyes. Stepping into the room he saw almost nothing strange in particular, only on first glance though. After a few moments, he saw a trail of candy leading to a door and the door was opening and closing, seemingly on its own. ¡°If there¡¯s something strange, in your neighborhood than run away before it¡¯s too freaking late. The Ghostbusters ain¡¯t saving me this time.¡± And so he followed along. Opening the door, yet again, nothing strange...is what he would¡¯ve hoped to see, instead he saw a boy shivering in fear on the ground. He quickly rushed to see if he was okay. ¡°Are you okay there?¡± ¡°Ahhhh, y-yes but my friends are not, they are freaking out for some reason. They also took a little girl hostage.¡± ¡°Okay, go to the others in the mansion and wait for me to come with your friends, okay?¡± ¡°O-okay.¡± The boy ran off and a scream of a little girl being tormented pierced Arnold¡¯s eardrums. He approached the source of the sound, that mysterious door. In a manner of milliseconds, he turned around and dashed into the room, sending the door flying. What he saw in there stopped his breath. He saw his sister getting tormented by soaking with blood, hysterically laughing boys. ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER? Get down on the floor NOW!¡± All of the boys turned around and in sync said: ¡°We are getting into the Halloween spirit.¡± ¡°Let her go before I kill you all!¡± ¡°How can we let something dead go?¡± Hearing this, anger filled his body. Suddenly, his sister¡¯s supposedly ¡°dead¡± body stood up and started making [uuUUuuu] sounds, until it tripped and fell. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Wait wha-?¡± ¡°You got tricked! Boom, welcome to the party! Heh, heh, uh.¡± ¡°What is going on.¡± It was as if Arnold¡¯s brain suddenly froze in confusion. They went out the room and got to everyone else. When they arrived everyone shouted [¡°Happy Halloween¡±] ¡°Why did you do this?! I could¡¯ve accidentally killed one of you.¡± -said Arnold to the boys. To which one of them replied: ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t know that anyone would come armed with a gun.¡± ¡°I have a feeling that I am going to have a nightmare when I get home, thanks for the treat!¡± ¡°Well let¡¯s enjoy the party before the nightmare, how about that?¡± That was his sis who wanted to cheer him up. ¡°Ugh, fine, I came here to have fun in the first place.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The rest of the night they spent having fun, eating snacks, and scaring each other. They came home at a safe time...well barely and went to sleep(Arnold had a nightmare). And that¡¯s the story of their Halloween two years before they were separated...