Chapter Text
A woman is led to a massive square by two men. Chains are wrapping her arms and she is dressed in a prisoner uniform. She is wearing a necklace with an actual grenade.
The men are dressed in dark blue suits and are both white. One of them has blonde hair, the other has brown hair.
"Release me, you pieces of shit!" the woman says, fighting against her chains.
The blond man backhands her in the face. "Silence, pagan! You're about to pay for poisoning so many minds of the youth."
The woman spits blood. "Pagan? I am a Christian, just like you. All I preached was for women to have equal rights as men."
"Then what was that pagan passage about men removing their eyes and arms?" the brown-haired man asks in a condescending manner.
"Had you actually read the Bible, you would know it's about perverts being held accountable," the woman says, earning another backhand.
Eventually, they reach a plaza where men and boys, only men and boys, are gathered around a scaffold with a lot of logs gathered around it.
The woman is led to the scaffold, where a priest is waiting with a torch.
He has a speech prepared. He looks around and addresses the crowd.
"Free people of Victoria! Today, we are watching justice being served to a pagan and the corruption she was spreading. She was an enemy of God and His message, and used black magic to brainwash women to do unholy acts."
He spreads his arms open. "Not only were they encouraged to pursue men according to their selfish whims and not the will of the country and their wise fathers, but she was encouraging them to do such unholy acts with each other!"
The crowd boos. "BURN THE WITCH! BURN THE WITCH! BURN THE WITCH!"
"Today, we shall purge her soul from the demons controlling her to spread their depravity! Fire shall create enough light to dispel her inner darkness!"
The woman is brought forward and strapped to a pole, the other pieces of wood at her feet.
"May God have mercy! Because Victoria does not!"
The woman glares at the priest. "One day, you will receive judgement from a higher power. One day, you will be judged guilty!"
The priest throws the torch at the wood. "Repent, witch, or your suffering shall be eternal!"
The woman, as her legs start getting burned, glares at him defiantly. "I shall not apologize. Not for any of your crimes."
And, as she burns, the crowd cheers.
Little do they know judgement might come sooner than they expect.
In a large crop farm, in the borders of the same country, the Sun shines with very small clouds in sight.
Tens of men and women are working in the farms, planting crops and gathering seeds.
All of them have the same thing in common. They are all black.
A few white men are watching them, each one of them having a bullwhip.
There are no tractors at all, because they are considered by the men with the whips 'technological abominations' that 'make people complacent'.
One of the guards is drinking his coffee as he sees a man about to collapse from overworking.
"Stand up, worker! Your melanine can take the Sun, can't it?"
The man barely stands up.
Suddenly, the man with the whip is struck by lightning from above.
The other guards, and even some slaves, look up to the sky. It's still clear and sunny.
One of the guards curses. "What kind of magic is this? God can't be opposing us!"
"Indeed. We are God's chosen soldiers, He can't be punishing us!"
Suddenly, both soldiers are fried by lightning from above as well.
One of the black women, who isn't too tired, picks up one of the whips. "Everyone! God is in our side! He wants us free!"
Some of the "workers" attack with sickles and shovels, making the remaining guards panic.
The calmest guard is about to attack with his whip, but a bolt of lightning turns him into ash. The rest of the guards panic even more.
One of them is surrounded by two rebels with shovels, who break his skull and then bury him. Another one has his whip and arms cut off by a sickle.
"You defy the divine will! Die, n... NNNNNNGGGH!" a guard says right before a sickle through his brain interrupts him.
"Divine will? Why are you getting struck by lightning, then?" the rebel who killed him asks.
As another guard gets slashed by a shovel, the owner of the crop farm comes out, his shotgun equipped and loaded.
"The apes have gone wild? I will teach them a lesson!" He holds his breath and fires through a black man's chest, killing him.
But a thunderbolt lands right next to him, scaring him enough for a rebel to hit his shotgun with a rock, jamming it.
He falls on his knees. "Please, don't kill me! I will give you my wife! You can do whatever you like to her!"
A black woman with a shovel approaches. "We don't want your wife. You are one letter off."
As a swinging sound is heard, a blond white man is watching from afar.
He is wearing a yellow suit, which looks soft but is a body armor.
His eyes are blue and he is drinking a glass of orange juice.
"Ah, another day. The Sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and slavers are getting the shock of their lives. Though I hope it's not just me against a whole country... "
In a small outpost, some soldiers in dark blue are talking.
"So, how was your weekend, Nate?"
"I spent time with my war bride of Azania, and we two had a lot of fun."
"Did she like it?"
Nate shakes his head. "Who cares?"
The other soldiers laugh.
"Exactly. She should be thankful she is not in Middle East!"
"Indeed. There she can find real sexism!"
Suddenly, one of them spots a black spaceship passing by. It looks like an A-Wing from a Galaxy far, far away.
The soldiers look at the technology. The cannons, the engines, the shiny armor.
"This is... a product of science fiction."
"This is the technology that poisoned the minds of the people."
"This must be a Cultural Marxist! FIRE!"
The guards, without even asking, train their rifles on the ship.
Then they all open fire.
Since the guns are archaic, with technology from before the second World War, they fail to even scratch the shield of the ship.
"This toy can't stand up to the Retroculture! Keep firing, boys!"
The bullets keep being deflected, but this doesn't stop the soldiers from firing.
A robotic feminine voice is heard from the ship.
"Stop! It tickles!"
Then its cannons return fire, raining blue laser beams on the soldiers.
In seconds, the infantrymen are all turned into ashes, except Nate who manages to avoid the lasers.
He throws his gun on the ground and gets to the mortar cannon of the outpost, just as the black ship turns to the cannon as well.
"You're going down, machine of Hell! Prepare to be blown apart!"
Nate fires a mortar shell, but to his shock it flies way off-course, even though his aiming never was bad, even when he joined the army for the first time.
The ship retaliates with a couple of accurate blaster bolts, which blow up the cannon and Nate with it.
The Outpost Captain sees the black fighter ship razing the planes before they can even launch, but refuses to back down.
Using a Belgian Mauser, he aims at the ship and hits it three times, only for all the bullets to be deflected by the shield effortlessly.
"What kind of demonic magic is this? How can this thing resist the might of Retroculture?"
The flying menace retaliates with a single blaster bolt, sending the Captain flying and finishing him off.
Then its pilot talks to it.
"Alright, AICA, now that the battle is over, I can say it. 'Stop, that tickles'? Really?"
"Oh, come on, it's a classic," AICA replies.
"Yeah, that's not the problem. The problem is, you're overselling the efforts of these idiots!"
"Good point," AICA tells her pilot. Then, after a pause, she continues. "I feel like you're concerned about something. What's the problem?"
The pilot, a white man with a beard, strokes it a bit. "The problem is that, while we are certainly dealing with simpletons who genuinely think their archaic guns can take down an A-Wing with no effort, it's still us two against an entire nation of such assholes."
AICA takes her most teasing tone. "Are you sure it's just us?"
Night falls in Victoria.
Inside a forest, a few soldiers have tied up a gang of drug dealers who have been selling drugs to children for half a year.
"How did you know we were drug dealers?" one of the criminals asks.
"You're all Latinos, hombre," a Victorian replies.
"Right. The three kinds of people you can't outwit. Someone smarter than you, someone who knows you better than vice versa, and an absolute idiot."
The drug dealer gets whipped by the butt of a Victorian's rifle.
"What do you plan to do to us?" another drug dealer asks.
"What we did to that Azanian commander that preached she would rather trust a bear than a Victorian man."
"Oh, I get it," the criminal says. "I think the punishment will be quite bearable."
He also gets whipped by a rifle.
Eventually, the drug dealers are all left in front of a cave, and the Victorians wait further outside.
"I cannot bear this wait," a Victorian says.
"I hope they get stripped to bearbones," another Victorian replies.
Their officer glares at them. "Can you stop with the puns? They are unbearable!" Then he shuts his mouth.
It takes a little time, but the bears show up, starving.
As the wild animals have their feast, a Victorian turns to his comrades. "We can easily deal with scum like them. I struggle to believe any of our outposts fell today, despite the reports. Who exactly can stop the Retroculture from thriving and freeing the world from the Cultural Marxists?"
Meanwhile, across the shores of Lake Erie, several sailors are scattered on land, patrolling.
Each one of them has a M1 Garand, and that's the most technologically advanced of them.
The sailors have either dark blue, dark green or dark red uniforms, and they scout the shores individually.
A man in yellow, fixing his blonde hair, passes by them. His white skin and blue eyes let him pass harmlessly.
"This is not our uniform," one of the soldiers says.
"So what, the higher-ups are not sticklers for uniforms," another Victorian says.
"Or any military bureaucracy for that matter. As our wise General says, logistics are a waste of time and people."
The man in yellow tries his best not to facepalm. Hard.
However, he keeps his mouth shut.
One of the Victorians approaches him. "I don't know you so well. What are you doing here, comrade?"
The blond man looks at him straight into the eyes. "I am here to inspect the ships."
"You may pass."
The man reaches the shores and looks at the Victotian Navy.
All seven ships of it.
He notices there are no supply boats, all ships are from the World Wars, and a few parts of their hulls are rusty.
He approaches one of the sailors. "You, seaman! What's your name?"
"Anefu, sir," the sailor says with a salute.
Something tells me you are the most competent guy here, the man in yellow says. "These ships are neglected. Why are these ships neglected?"
"Our captains say the Navy is not as vital as the air force. The ships, especially in the lakes, have very limited use because they cannot move on land. The planes, on the other hand, can dominate on land, water and air, so they are our top priority."
"We still need to have something to park inside the lakes for permanent security. Also, where are the supply boats?"
"Supply boats? We can just live on the land, as Retroculture says!" Anefu replies. Then he pauses. "Wait a minute... you are not following retroculture, are you?" He is about to draw his pistol.
The man draws a broadsword. "Retro enough for you, seaman?"
Anefu takes a step back. "Pretty good, in fact it's perfect. A sword does not rely on bullets."
"Exactly. Far superior in melee range. And it can actually block attacks," the man replies. "And I have to say, you are following the doctrine quite well. But one last question, what would stop the ships from getting to the bottom?"
"Not only does Retroculture allow cannons, but we will have assistance by our mighty air force. This way, we don't have to waste too many resources on situational units such as lake ships," the private replies.
"So... may I enter the ships?"
"Yes, inspector."
The man in yellow enters one of the ships and walks across the corridors. To his surprise, the sailors have done one thing right.
They are all sober and on guard, because of their fundamentalist values and eagerness to fight at all times.
With that said, there are no turrets, and some of the more retro sailors have flintlocks.
Eventually, he reaches the engine room.
"I am an inspector, sent by the general to see the ships!"
The guards look at him with suspicion. "Strange. Admiral Ken Otsel never was informed about inspectors."
The man in yellow nods. "Inspectors now come with no warning, so you have to be ready at all times. And the Admiral should be proud, none of you are drunk."
"We are the children of Christianity, we don't drink outside of sacred ceremonies. Also helps in case any spy comes here. Moreover, due to natural selection, women and darkies cannot blend in without being spotted. Our defenses are impenetrable."
"Oh, definitely. The finest standards of Retroculture. Once I finish with the inspection, I will meet with the great founder and tell him how effective his policies are."
"The great Kraft is deceased, sir. Everyone knows of his passing, as we all attended at his funeral."
The man in yellow loses his composure. The guard approaches. "May I see your weapons?"
The inspector drops his backpack. "Sure."
The guard crouches and opens the sack, revealing a modern assault rifle, a chaingun, some C4, a blaster...
"These are modern! Trea..."
WHAM!
One punch knocks him unconscious and the "inspector" draws a small cylinder.
Then he presses a button and a yellow laser blade comes out.
"Welp, no disguise, too modern guns, spoken too much sense. Any competent army would have spotted me long ago." He breaches the door open with his laser blade and kicks it.
Then he retrieves his backpack and enters the room.
The engineers see him and prepare to shoot, but many of them are shot dead by the assault rifle.
Two of them take cover behind some crates, but the man switches to his pistol and waits for them to come out.
When they show their faces, both of them get a bullet each between their eyes.
Once he is done, the man plants a bomb in the engines and sets it to five minutes to escape.
Then he starts running off.
But, as he runs, his assault rifle equipped, the Victorians understand what's happening.
"This is not an inspector!"
"I knew something was wrong, we're inspected once per two years!"
"Victoria!"
The sailors fire at him, but the man takes cover behind a corridor. As they keep him pinned, he realizes he has no time to lose.
He throws a grenade and blows three enemies apart, then runs, jumps over the hole he's created, and keeps running.
He sees a petty officer running to the communication center to talk, not having a mobile phone that would help him do so from everywhere. The intruder shoots him dead in the back, buying himself some time.
Then he turns around, remembering where he's come from by heart, and reaches a crossroad. He goes to the right, only to hear sounds from behind him.
"Shoot the heathen!"
"He can't escape!"
The man raises a wall of electricity between himself and the pursuing soldiers, who still fire at him all at once.
The wall stops all the bullets with ease and blocks their way, making them pause for a moment.
Then one of them, considering himself a hero about to do something awesome, attempts to run through the electric wall.
In every other country, his ashes would have gotten the Darwin Award.
The man in yellow keeps running from the Victorians until he reaches the deck, where he is surrounded by them.
"Die, spy!"
"Repent in Hell!"
"At least there I face a bigger challenge!" the spy replies before ducking a few rounds.
He switches to his pistol so he can turn better and shoots four of the enemies dead, but one of them fires at the rope and cuts it, threatening to isolate everyone, including their enemy, inside the ship.
The intruder, knowing about the bomb and that he only has one minute, performs his longest jump and avoids a barrage of rounds coming at him.
Fortunately for him, he lands on the ground with his feet.
Unfortunately for him, the way everyone fires at him alerts all the Victorian sailors.
"You are surrounded, intruder!" a sailor announces from a ship. "Prepare to be slaughtered!"
"All I'm surrounded by is people who purposefully make themselves weaker." The man switches to his chaingun and opens fire.
The sailors charge at him from all sides, not even bothering to take a step back when their comrades start turning into red mist.
Their numbers, combined with their relentlessness, force their enemy to not hold still for a second.
Eventually, while forty Victorians get gunned down, the chaingun's magazine runs out. To buy time, the intruder throws two grenades, blowing up five foes with each one.
Then he tries to reload his chaingun, but suddenly a bullet flies at him. He barely has time to dodge, which results in the bullet grazing his left arm and drawing a drop of blood.
"Got you, heretic! I shouldn't have let you into the ships!" Anefu, who has fired the bullet, taunts.
As the man clutches his arm in pain for a bit, a sound distracts most Victorians.
The sound of a very loud explosion, which blows one of their warships, the pride and joy of what they call "Fourth Generation Warfare", to pieces with all of its crew.
Only Anefu is still focused on the enemy and fires another bullet at him, but the intruder sidesteps it and unleashes a light blue, almost white, bolt from his hands. It strikes the enemy seaman in the chest and kills him instantly.
Then the intruder reloads and fires at the others before they can turn back again.
The Victorians return fire, but not before they lose ten more troops.
As the sailors on land keep getting decimated, a few recon jeeps join the fight.
The young blond man turns to them and fires at the first one, hitting its wheels and setting it off-course. Not only does it get rendered useless, but it runs over a sailor as well.
However, after he guns down fifteen more Victorian sailors, he hears the sound of multiple cannons firing and runs for cover.
The jeeps pursue him to run him over, and are catching up quickly.
But he drops a trail of grenades behind him, the grenades thirsty for potential victims.
With the exception of the last two jeeps, the vehicles are too close to turn around, thus they all get blown up.
The last two jeeps, when their target hides behind an oak, fire at the oak, preparing to bring it down.
As the tree is slowly getting torn apart, the man prepares a grenade and throws it at one of the jeeps, destroying it.
Then he quickly hides behind the tree again, narrowly avoiding getting shot by the last one.
He waits until the turret pauses, either to load more slugs or to avoid overheat, and then throws one more bomb, causing the last jeep to explode.
Before getting out of cover, he makes absolutely sure to reload, having learned the hard way that reloading in the open is a mistake even against these opponents.
The Victorians also buy time and gather ammunition from their own dead, so they can replenish theirs.
Admiral Ken Otsel addresses them. "It's just one man. Even with demonic technology on his side, he cannot fight the soldiers of justice! On my signal, all units charge!"
The man looks at the tree, which has almost been destroyed by the jeeps. He knows it's already dead, so his heart rests at ease.
When Otsel shoots in the air thrice, the forces of the Northern Confederate charge.
"VICTORIAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The intruder lifts the tree with his bare hands, but the Victorians aren't scared. They prepare to open fire at him, but he throws the entire tree at them.
The Victorians fire at the large projectile, quickly tearing it apart before it lands due to the damage the jeeps have dealt. Some of them focus straight on the strange man, grazing his right leg.
He returns fire with his chaingun, painting the shore red quickly.
The Victorians keep charging at the chaingun, aware they will sacrifice themselves for each other. They know that each of their deaths means less bullets for the enemy and more bullets for their comrades.
Some of them slow down because of the bodies in front of them. Others don't find bodies in front of them, only gibs.
But at least one hundred messy deaths won't stop the Victorian Army.
The divers get inside the lake and prepare to throw torpedoes. Some of the sailors on land purposefully pass from the flaming debris of their jeeps and set themselves on fire, then charge to punch their target.
The lone warrior has gunned down most of the normal gunmen, but runs out of bullets again. Then he barely dodges a torpedo thrown by a Victorian diver and sees them throwing more and more of them.
Immediately, he charges at the rest of the Victorian gunmen with his broadsword, slashing several of them. His plan is to not let the divers have a clear shot.
But he is not facing a normal army. The divers still throw their torpedoes and blow up several of their allies, hoping the blast radius will get their intended target.
Eventually, a rifleman whips the attacker with his weapon, throwing him close to an explosion that almost knocks him down.
In response, when he recovers, the man splits the enemy soldier in two, then cuts three of them down with one spin attack.
The divers prepare another barrage, but thunderbolts land inside the lake near them, electrocuting all of them and damaging the ships.
Once the divers are down, the stranger uses his sword and defeats the rest of the men on land, except those that are on fire, whom he doesn't dare approach.
Instead, he switches to his shotgun and opens fire at the flaming soldiers.
Some of them are sent flying backwards. Others keel on the spot.
Those who are too far behind burn to death without having to be shot.
Yet, even with the shores clear, Otsel and his ships are still standing.
"I refuse to lose to one infantryman! We are God's chosen! FIRE!"
All the ships fire their cannons at once, making the intruder run for cover once more.
But then, a black spaceship enters the battlefield, not easily noticed due to the dark sky.
It fires its lasers at the neglected ships and sinks five of them before they can react.
But the flagship, the Hornblower III, still returns fire. The mortar cannons aim at the black flying menace and try to shoot it down, while its lasers only manage to do minor damage.
"You won't bring the Hornblower down so easily, demon of the sky!" Otsel yells. "FIRE!"
One of the mortar cannons hits the left wing, bringing the shield down to fifty percent.
"AICA, I think it's time for the "eels" to inhabit the lake."
"Very well," the ship says and fires her torpedoes.
In seconds, the pride of the Victorian Navy is struck and set ablaze. Otsel himself curses at the "flying fiend".
"You will be brought down by the Victorian might! You and the yellow-shirted foe have made enemies of God and His chosen!"
Another pair of torpedoes strikes him directly, obliterating him and sending the flagship to the bottom of the lake.
Then the ship lands ashore and a man comes out, the same pilot that had blown the outpost earlier. He is dressed in a gray battlesuit and has a gun equipped.
He and the man in yellow cautiously approach each other.
The man in yellow takes a few steps forward. "Thank you for saving me. But why?"
"I may not know you, but these people support slavery and kill anyone with technology. Yet you fought valiantly against their whole fleet on your own. You are not one of these fools. So, who are you, sir?" the bearded man asks, taking a step forward as well, slowly sheathing the assault rifle.
The man in yellow sheathes his own weapons. "The name is Pan. Dimensional guardian, demon hunter, Master of Lightning. Who are you, sir?"
The bearded man relaxes. "I'm SunTzu. Guardian of Guardians, independent Jedi, potentially War personified."
"War personified? I've heard of a horseman who shares this title. How come you oppose warmongers like Victoria if you are meant to embody war?" Pan asks.
SunTzu chuckles. "A true warrior abhors bullies. Speaking of which, if you have fought the supernatural, why are you wasting your time with fascists who don't even have proper technology?"
Pan shrugs his shoulders. "This is an entire army of slavers and fanatics. It will kill or ruin the lives of millions of innocents if not stopped. Plus, since they greatly outnumber me, even these bozos stand a fighting chance. Someone called SunTzu should know that numbers are always a factor, even if not the decisive one if the opposition fights smart. Speaking of which, how come you're called SunTzu? Yes, you are connected to war, but you don't look Chinese. You look German."
"It's a codename, solely because my duty is to fight, Herr Pan. Although two can play this game. While you do look Greek and know of the supernatural, you lack goat legs," SunTzu replies, nonchalantly.
"You share my instinct, κύριε SunTzu. I think we two will get along well."
The two shake hands and leave the lake victoriously, the burning Victorian ships bringing light to the darkness before they sink behind the two men.
"So, SunTzu, it's a Master of Lightning and a Master of War. How should we name our alliance? PanTzu is too easy," Pan asks.
"I know how we won't name it. We are not calling it "Lightning Warfare" or "Blitzkrieg". Reminds me of the most shameful age of my country, so I think I can veto it."
Pan nods. "Hmmm... I am one of the members of the Resistance, a once powerful organization that fought the Darkness across the Multiverse. Do you belong to any teams?"
"Taskforce Sol. I dunno if you know them, but I've cooperated with the Sailor Soldiers... or Sailor Scouts, you may know them," SunTzu replies.
The blond man in the yellow suit chuckles. "From what I've heard about the Vicks, you should have brought a Sailor with you. I want to see the looks on their stupid misogynistic faces when they see a woman decimating their forces."
"They are busy fighting worthier foes like the agents of Chaos. Speaking of which, I think Chaos could take advantage of what the Vicks are doing," SunTzu says, stroking his beard a bit in contemplation.
Pan nods. "And so can the demons I'm usually hunting. But we are getting off-topic. Name for our alliance?"
"Hmmm... both of us are guardians, both of us serve the light... Is Sun Guardians okay, or do you have an issue with part of only my name making it through?" SunTzu asks.
"You are getting warm. Radiant Guardians?" Pan asks.
"Good one. Let's stick with that for now."
The Sun rises the next day, and the two men are relaxing in front of AICA.
"So, today is a good day for a raid. The Vicks will try to repair their fleet and look everywhere for us two," Pan says as he is eating a sandwich.
SunTzu is also eating one. "Are they that suicidal?"
"Maybe," Pan says before he takes another bite. "So, any good targets to hit today?"
"I did sense something northeast. A small prison, as well as a communications tower. AICA should be able to easily get us there," SunTzu says.
Pan shakes his head. "No. We can't attack from the air. Not only will we easily be spotted after everything we've done yesterday, but a Victorian told me, before he knew I was a "bad guy", they deliberately neglect their navy to give more resources to their air force. If we provoke planes now, we might get defeated."
SunTzu shrugs his shoulders. "Eh, I can fight on foot as well. Let's do this."
The two start advancing, their assault rifles ready.
They find several people tied up to trees, probably to be executed through wild animals, and free them all quickly.
However, they are soon spotted by the Victorian infantry.
"These men are not sailors fighting on land, these people are in their area of expertise. Watch out," Pan says.
"I know," SunTzu says. He uses telekinesis and makes fruit and pines fall on the heads of the infantrymen, distracting them and allowing the two warriors to gun them down.
A few more Victorians come and open fire, but Pan and SunTzu take cover behind the trees and allow them to stop the enemy rounds. Then they wait until the enemies have to reload and return fire, taking out several enemy soldiers.
As the two men keep going, SunTzu senses something Pan fails to see. Quickly, he raises both hands and digs something up.
"Landmines. They've been prepared for this," the German says.
"Well, we either carefully sneak past them, or we throw grenades at them and cause massive explosions. I vote for the former, there might still be hostages," Pan says.
"Makes sense to me," SunTzu replies.
As they navigate through the forest, Pan following SunTzu's lead because the latter can sense the path, they hear several feminine cries for help.
Following the cries, they find several tied up women, guarded by Victorian soldiers. Pan quickly empties a magazine and shoots all the guards dead, then SunTzu frees the ladies.
"What happened? Why did they capture you?" SunTzu asks.
"Because the founder of the land, Kraft, and the current leader, General Rumford, had banned women from being journalists, yet we could not let our skills go to waste. Using technology behind their backs, we did our best to deliver accurate news," a woman says.
Another female journalist chimes in. "So, naturally, when we got caught, we had all of our gear, all of our life's work, destroyed in front of our eyes."
"As for us?" a third woman adds. "We've been gathered here to be eaten alive by bears. Same punishment as the drug dealers."
SunTzu is baffled. "I am not saying drug dealers don't deserve to be beast food. I am saying why the fuck are you treated just like them?"
"Beats me," a woman says. "All I know is that Rumford is a sexist pig who refuses to acknowledge women ever did anything in any wars. We had the brilliant idea of exposing the fact women were vital nurses on Iwo Jima, which resulted in a quick crackdown."
Pan and SunTzu bury their faces in their hands simultaneously.
"Alright," Pan says once he is done. "Once we capture the nearby communications center, you are all in charge of it. The truth has to come out."
Inside the communications tower, some Victorians are talking.
"Ι fail to understand the rebellious war brides. All our troops did was to spill some liquids on them."
"Uh, our allies literally squirted something that sounds a lot like a synonym of sailors on the war brides. I kinda can't blame the women for revolting."
"Soldier, these bitches killed some of our men for a harmless game of target practice. As long as the liquid doesn't kill them, I don't understand why the war brides would revolt," a sergeant says.
The soldier that has just spoken looks around, hoping someone would take his side. "Seriously? You all think doing something that un-Christian is nothing and only the reaction of the brides is the problem?"
They all nod in unison, as if they are programmed to do so.
"As you understand," the captain of the station says, "it's time to snap the war brides out of their delusions. If they think being sprayed with liquids is sexist, they are going to go to the Middle East, where they will be forced to be walking blankets. That way, they will know real sexism."
He stops the questioning soldier from saying anything else by reaching for his gun, then changes the topic. "Now, the woke Cultural Marxists have warped history a lot, and we are doing our best to correct it, as we have with Iwo Jima. When we get to the part of history about the Nipponese, we will inform everyone of how the Obsidian Samurai was woke propaganda for darkies to think they had any part in the history of Japan. Not only will we spread the truth out, but we shall crush their delusions about having any role in history except working at our farms."
Suddenly, after a short while, he gets a call.
"Captain, we are in trouble. Two people with gear that isn't from Retroculture are approaching the temporary cell for the war brides."
"Must be the troublemakers of Erie. Whoever gets their heads will have my word to join the CMC."
"Yes, Captain."
The Radiant Guardians approach the containment center for war brides.
"Halt!" a guard says. "These weapons are forbidden. Are they confiscated?"
"Actually," SunTzu says, "we are here to chew bubblegum and free the hostages."
"And we are all out of bubblegum," Pan adds.
The guard fires at them, but they scatter and shoot back, filling him with lead.
Some more Victorian troops charge, but promptly get gunned down as a result.
Pan is about to pull the pin of a grenade and throw it at the entrance to free the war brides, but then SunTzu senses something coming.
"VICTORIAAAAAAAA!"
"They are all here. Who breaks the door and who holds them off?" SunTzu asks.
"I hold them off," Pan says.
Then he charges forward, switching to his yellow lightsaber in his right hand and his blaster in his left hand.
As he stands before the charging army, the Victorians get ready to open fire at him.
But the blond man fixes his hair and decides to use some of his knowledge of his own world.
He stares the Victorians in the eyes and says only one thing.
"Yasuke."
For a moment, there is dead silence.
Then, a scream that would scare a Banshee is heard from the army.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Losing their cool, all the Victorians charge at the young man opposite of them, ready to bash his head in with their guns.
Several of them get fried by the blaster. Nevertheless, their self-righteous fury gives them adrenaline. The adrenaline allows them to reach their target.
Pan cuts down two of them at once with his yellow laser blade, then avoids the butt of a rifle and kicks through another soldier's chest.
"Sorry, I thought you were stronger."
Another Victorian charges to club him, but Pan cuts through the archaic gun and his enemy's head with one defensive swing of his saber.
Then he shoots three Victorians in point-blank range and performs a spin attack counterclockwise, bisecting four enemy troops at once.
Eventually, eight Victorians are about to club Pan with their guns at the same time. However, he unleashes one of his spells.
The Flash Burst, which strikes all of them hard and knocks them down. Normally, it's used to stun, knock down and blind, but against such mighty gear, his enemies turn into meat sauce immediately.
"Be quick, SunTzu! I don't want to expose my full might just yet!"
SunTzu is approaching the containment room of the war brides.
Any guard that stands in his way gets gunned down quickly, while the doors, not being very technologically advanced, are easily cut through by the purple lightsaber.
One of the corridors is rigged with a landmine, but SunTzu senses it and throws a bomb at it, causing a large explosion. He himself is safe, but all remaining guards are alerted and charge at him.
He draws his assault rifle and mows many of them down, but a bullet grazes him. He quickly runs for cover, avoiding a few more shots, and returns fire once he senses an opening, finishing off the rest of his attackers.
Eventually, the German pilot gets to the room itself, where a guard is waiting. He is twice as big as the intruder, bald, with a blond mustache, and wearing green armor. He points his flamethrower straight at SunTzu's forehead.
"Raise your hands, intruder, or I will burn your face off!"
SunTzu raises his hands. Where are you, Pan?
Pan bashes the heads of two Victorians together, then throws a flying kick and takes out another Victorian by striking his chest.
Then he fires a couple of magical bolts and takes down two enemies in close range before he gets grabbed from behind by another Victorian.
Seeing an opening, a furious soldier prepares to smash Pan's skull with the butt of his rifle.
But Pan leaves some slight static electricity, loosening the grip on himself, then throws the enemy behind him over his shoulder and makes him hit the infantryman in front of him.
Then he sees the horde thinning and approaches the most muscular out of all the Victorians, who is wielding an axe. After sidestepping the first axe slash, he lands a Thunderpunch on his chest, electrocuting him and also zapping the nearby enemies.
"I don't know where you are, SunTzu, but I am coming once I finish off these bozos."
SunTzu's back is against the wall. The elite warrior still has him pinned.
"Now, tell me, foolish Cultural Marxist, did you come alone, or did you bring friends too?"
"I won't tell you!"
The barrel of the flamethrower presses harder on his forehead.
"Alright, alright," SunTzu says. "I am here with one more person. A blond man named Pan, who is outside and fighting off the reinforcements you've brought to stop us. According to my senses, he is coming right here in 3... 2... 1... "
The guard stops for a bit and looks around so he won't be ambushed.
"Zero!" SunTzu knees the guard very hard in the groin, then draws his purple saber and stabs him in the heart.
He wastes no time freeing the war brides.
"Thank you!" one of them says.
"You saved us!" another one adds.
"Unless you want to get intimate, can we repay you?"
The man takes a step back. "One by one, ladies. Look, I get around a lot, but you are war brides, or so they call you, and you are all probably traumatized unless you say otherwise. All I'll ask you is to grab the guns of the dead soldiers and help me fight Victoria."
Even the Azanians, who were hi-tech Amazons, despite hating the idea of following a man, any man, know they have no choice.
Especially since one of them speaks up. "Listen, everyone. I may not trust him because males are often abusive, but so far he's been kind to us. On the other hand, we know the Vicks, no exceptions, are all what Azania sees all men as. This man hates the Vicks just as much as we do. Let's cooperate and make sure the Northern Confederate burns down to ashes!"
The rest of the former war brides raise their fists in victory. "That's our old, proud Silea!"
SunTzu guides them. "Let's go help my friend!"
Pan is standing alone, surrounded by carcasses.
He is tapping his broadsword, which he has just cleaned, on the ground, waiting for SunTzu.
It does not take long.
When Pan sees the former war brides behind his new ally, he smiles. "Well done, SunTzu! I expected you to do it faster, but you still did very well!"
"Gimme a break, the last guard had ambushed me. But you also took quite long."
"They were many and angry," Pan retorts. "But, to be honest, this encounter reminds me of the very first unique monster I faced after the organization I was in was disbanded officially."
"How? Could it split into multiple gunmen?" SunTzu asks.
Pan shakes his head. "Actually, it was essentially a giant piece of cake named Izzy."
"Okay, this is just sad," SunTzu replies dryly.
The two men and their female allies start walking to their destination.
Not long after, Pan, SunTzu and the former war brides reach the communications tower.
With most of the defenses already sent, the resistance is not a lot, but it is there.
As the Victorians charge at the two men, the women surround the scumbags and start firing at them from both sides.
"You use women for assistance? How dumb and desperate are you?" a Victorian asks his two male opponents before Silea shoots him through the head.
"These two men are at least smarter than you," she says before she guns down two more foes. "Once I find any of my old weapons back, this rifle goes to a museum," she tells the women on her side.
Pan realizes Silea is the unofficial leader, and talks to her while throwing a grenade and turning three Victorians into gibs. "I've talked to some female journalists who want the tower for themselves. Try to say 'Iwo Jima', lady."
From his look, Silea understands he is talking to her. She doesn't know why Pan doesn't just say it himself, but she sees it as a good moment for her to upstage her male allies.
She finds her chance to speak when two of the former war brides provide cover fire for her.
"Iwo Jima!"
The remaining Victorians, upon hearing a woman saying that, start hopping up and down in impotent fits.
Half of them get gunned down while they are doing so, but the remaining ones charge straight at Silea. One of them manages to fire accurately, but a former war bride jumps in front of the bullet and takes the shot. It gets her in the chest, killing her instantly.
"Ha!" the killer taunts. "There is a reason girls are an insult to wimps."
He is imemdiately shot dead by Silea herself. "Is it too lame if I say 'no, you'?"
SunTzu uses a telekinetic wave, making all foes lose their balance, and Pan throws a grenade in the center of their mass, instantly killing half of them. The rest go down by the rebel women.
Soon, the journalist women join in, grabbing the guns of the fallen enemies.
Pan sees the door to the communications tower is locked very well, so he draws his rocket launcher.
One shot is enough to breach the door. Pan quickly fires a second rocket and blows up a row of Victorian troops that were waiting for whoever breached the door, although he is still grazed by a bullet.
"Follow me!" Undeterred, Pan charges in, switching to his assault rifle to not blow himself up. He eventually reaches a crossroad and guns down the few enemies to his right, but two Victorians charge at him from behind, screaming.
"Jesus is great!"
SunTzu steps in, sensing them, and upon seeing their belts immediately throws them both away with a telekinetic wave. They blow up when they reach the wall.
"Suicide bombers, of course they have fucking suicide bombers!" the German curses.
"Inside their own base too? Either their suicidal stupidity strikes again, or they are willing to destroy the tower so we won't have it," Pan replies.
"Now it's not the time for theories, let's kick ass!" a female journalist proposes.
In the next corridor, there are three more suicide bombers. Pan gestures to everyone to stay back and creates a weak clone of himself, who charges at the bombers and with a weak bolt of electricity blows one of them up. The chain reaction takes down the other two as well, opening the corridor but also alerting the last guards.
They charge at "Pan" and shoot him a few times with their rifles, but not before one of them is zapped to unconsciousness. When the clone gets too close, he explodes and takes all the guards with him.
"Lethal Decoy. Outside of the explosion and the distraction it provides, only useful against weaklings, yet can make a difference if I use it right," Pan says smugly.
It doesn't take long before the intruders reach the central station.
The soldier that protested earlier against the mistreatment of war brides prepares to fire, but Silea, recognizing him as the one who was against them being touched against their will, fires with precision and jams his weapon.
Then she pins him to a wall. "You'll be spared. But I want information."
The Captain prepares to shoot the back of her neck, but Pan pulls his Magnum and shoots him dead in the chest.
Two suicide bombers charge, and SunTzu knows he has to save everyone, the station included.
So, he throws both bombers out of the windows to render them harmless.
The rebel women gun down the rest of the enemies, but then the door opens behind them.
And a man in a black uniform, which has an orange cross on it, approaches. He is wielding a sword and approaching slowly.
"Oh no... " one of the journalist women says. "Not one of them."
"What's wrong?" Pan asks.
"This guy is CMC. The Christian Marine Corps are the best soldiers of the North Confederate. Well-trained and fanatical, they are a genuine threat."
Pan draws his broadsword. "Finally, a good fight!" Then he charges at the CMC warrior.
The Christian Marine blocks the first attack, then counters with three of his own, but all three are blocked.
Pan manages to push him back. "Come on, show me what Christian Marines are made of!"
The elite warrior charges once more.
BANG!
Pan turns to Silea, whose gun is smoking.
As the CMC elite collapses, his brain pierced, the blond man approaches the woman. "Oh come on, I wanted a little challenge."
"The CMC are the ones who are the most fanatical regarding war brides. Trust me, this guy did not deserve to be someone worth your time," Silea says.
But, right before his body hits the ground, the Christian Marine sends a signal.
Not long after, from the small, black-and-white screen, a call is incoming.
Silea activates it and sees a familiar face. A face of a middle-aged white man, with an expression of perpetual hate and malice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that S.O.B. Rumford is about to address us," the woman tells everyone dryly.
The man on the screen starts rambling.
"Cultural Marxist scum!"
He gives them all his most intimidating glare. "Get out of the free state of the North Confederate!"
Then he raises his fist. "These senseless acts of aggression will not be tolerated!"
He starts shaking his fist in righteous fury. "One more false move and you shall all drown in your own blood!"
Then he smirks and points at everyone. "And to the survivors? I'll buy YOU for a dollar!"
Then the transmission ends.
"Is he always that nutty?" SunTzu asks.
"Only in his good days," an Azanian replies.
One hour later, everyone is relaxing in the transmission tower, except Silea who has taken the Victorian prisoner for interrogation and the journalists who are broadcasting.
"Abraham Lincoln was a hero to many, as he helped end one of the most shameful chapters in American history," a journalist says. "To the Northern Confederate, do the people know where your name comes from? If so, they might know the values this land is built on. So, today, we shall talk about why the use of machines is better than the use of slaves for agriculture, as it's proven from history."
Pan and SunTzu are talking in another corner.
"So, isn't it ironic, SunTzu? We made such a big fuss about our own names, but we are currently opposing a misogynistic country that shares the same name as one of the most long-lived queens of England!" Pan says.
"And isn't even that victorious against us," SunTzu adds. "So, you are right. It doesn't matter much if I am not Chinese or if you have no goat features."
"All that matters is that we both share the same goal," the two say in unison.
"So, Pan, ready for an adventure?" SunTzu asks.
"Born ready, SunTzu," Pan replies.
"Tremble, Victoria! Here come... "
SunTzu pauses so they can both say it in unison.
"The Radiant Guardians!"