GATE: Thus, the scientific horror's fought there

The Other Side

Duchy of Normandy, Restored Kingdom of France, October 10th, 1946.

"How long has it been? Jesus, what does a fine meal even taste like?" said Gunther as stared out into the sea. The others that were near just looked at him like he belonged in a nut house. He even looked like he belonged in one, his uniform looked like it was thrown into a grinder, his unkempt beard covered his neck, and he had this stare that went through matter.

They all looked like this.

After a brief silence, mostly the squad thinking about how to respond to this, finally, the young Karmitz spoke up, "Seriously? A fine meal? No... thank God the war's finally over?" He said in an exaggerated toad voice.

Ah, Karmitz, their saving angel... their medic, but whatever! His capabilities had saved not only them, but a few others. He was a brave soul, a young, brutalized soul. The boy who through the hell that was this war, and became a man, a ruined one.

Hell, they all were. Just a bit older that is. People from all walks of life come together to hear the Kaiser's call, only to be meet with the horrors of industrial war.

Karmitz's voice got a laugh out of three, hell, even the feeling of laughter felt weird to them. Like some distant taste of something unknown yet known at the same time, I hate philosophy like that, was that even philosophy?

Kristof spoke up about that, " Ah, can it you two." Kristof, a nobody priest's son who galivanted across the world and somehow come out of it alive. His wife was going to murder him when he returned, but at least he could enjoy that time with his friends, his comrades, his brothers.

Oh, Sofie... how he missed her. Her smile, whatever threw itself at him, her smile and general existence in his life made it all better, even if he's freezing or starving to death.

Footsteps could be heard behind them, they all looked behind and saw the other two of their little group: Lindemann and Oskar.

"Are you all going to sit there all day?" Lindemann said, Smile plastered across his face, and a basket in his hands. "Better this than gunfights!" Gunther joked, and honestly even felt the same about that.

"Yeah... we all earned the right to be lazy. At least for a bit." Kristof said. Lindemann gave a shrug and plopped himself next to the rest, "Say, Oskar...." The boy looked over to Gunther, "How'd you two get all this?" Gunther said, pulling out a sausage from the basket.

"Well, we had to fight the evil dragon of Gaul! And save the princess of heaven!" Oskar said, chuckling as he spoke. Hands reached into the basket, pulling out pieces of meat and cheese. "Found this in a farmhouse in the woods, owners must've left a bribe." Lindemann answered.

Kristof took in the sensation of good food; boy was it nice. After existing for so long without what was so normal, having it was like heaven. They had all been through so much, it's a miracle that their even alive, God really looked out for them.

All those hardships and fights, all the time when they thought that their lives were coming to an end, they kept coming through it alive. Even when all around them their comrades died and bleed.

He'll never forget the experiences that this war gave him, even if they're better off forgotten. The push towards Verdun was meet with hallucinogenic weaponry, causing entire camps of soldiers to kill their comrades, the deployment of engineered crop eating bacteria leading to mass starvation, the electric weapons used during the siege of Frankfurt that cause a man to burst into a red mist, the chlorine gas bombs that rendered entire cities uninhabitable, the Bionics, man-machine hybrids with a hint of gene modification used as assassins and saboteurs, the Automats, large mechs armed with various weapons and constructed in various sizes and styles.

God, this was really a hell of a world, huh? All thanks to technology and science! Especially when there's no leash on them. Thanks, Anton Honecker!

***

Outskirts of Nuremburg, German Empire. October 10th, 1946.

Delilah stared at the Saderan scouts as they huddled around a campfire, warming themselves and some food, mostly local wildlife. She looked to her side and locked eyes with Mamina and a few others, all holding bows with arrows at the ready.

"NOW!" She yelled as the group sprung up and lost their arrows, only one arrow missing. An arrow lodged itself in an eye socket, his buddy got two, one in the stomach and another in his shoulder.

The last one flopped on the ground, gripping the arrow stuck in his thigh, yelling obscenities at his attackers. Delilah walked over to the man, grabbed him by the front of his tunic, and brought his neck into her blade, and let the body drop.

"I'm getting really tired of these bastards..." Said one of the bunny warriors, she was meet with a unanimous agreement. They thought that their tactics back in Falmart would have made the Saderans think they disappeared into thin air, guess they didn't account for their enemy's determination.

"Zorzal must've stayed put. Him being himself and all." Delilah said, and nobody disagreed, they knew that weasel all too well, despite never meeting him.

These past few months have been interesting, they thought they were going to arrive in a world full of giants and ice or something else like that. Not... whatever they've seen, giant metal spiders and golems, horseless carriages, and that giant city that spew clouds of smoke out of their massive metal towers.

This world was a bizarre one, a world of smoke, fire and steel.

Tyuule had made it very clear that they wouldn't start a war, it would be a pointless conflict, one waged amongst humans who used their weird metal wonders and magic to fight.

Besides, they had just escaped possible genocide, strolling into another war with an unknown enemy would be an incredibly stupid and costly decision. So, the path of isolation was the best option for them, at least for the time being.

"You think we missed any of them?" Mamina said, a hint of worry in her voice.

"I think were okay, I doubt we missed any scouting parties." Said Ruth, one of their companions.

"Best we go back home, no need to kill ourselves with this. Besides, I'm sure they're all dead." Delilah decided, sure that their goal had been achieved. Also, because she felt her bed calling her, and was sure everyone else felt the same.

So, the group headed back home. But as they walked home, their advanced hearing picked up something, a loud thumping sound happening off in the distance. And when they saw it, their eyes widened in horror.

A Saderan Army was on its way to that city, the one of metal and smoke. "What should we do!" Said Mamina, panicking at the sudden appearance of this army.

Delilah didn't bother saying anything, she just ran back to base, they would make their decision there.

Hell, this is not easy to do. ):

Also I changed the end.