Girls' Frontline Fanfiction: Tsar of the Mountain

Forward Unto Your Final Dawn

"It's time, Commander." A-545 was leading Zeldri and Prizrak through the Mountain on sub-level two. There was a determined glint in her eyes that made Zeldri uneasy. His unease also wasn't helped by the fact that they hadn't passed anyone since entering the sub-level; the place seemed abandoned.

"Am I allowed to know what it's time for?" Zeldri asked as he leaned on Prizrak for support because of all the walking he was doing.

"You'll know when we arrive," was all A-545 answered with. Zeldri didn't push further since it was obvious he wouldn't get an answer, so he continued to follow in silence. As they continued through the Mountain, they approached the café and Zeldri could hear muffled voices from inside. "...We're here."

"You're five minutes late!" Suddenly, Annika opened the door of the café and yanked Zeldri inside. In an instant, the smell of alcohol smashed Zeldri's nose and a warmth enveloped him while cheers were picked up across the café. The place was packed with humans and dolls.

"Commander!" SVD was the first to notice him and started waving him over to the bar with her echelon while holding a bottle of vodka in her hand. "Come join us for a drink!"

"Commander!" The cries were quickly picked up by the other dolls and the staff as Annika led Zeldri to the bar.

"..." Zeldri, for his part, was a bit stunned and unsure what to say or do so he allowed Annika to lead him through the café.

"Now that the Commander's here," SVD said while reaching over the bar and grabbing more drinks, "We can really start!"

"...Start?" Zeldri was still in a bit of a daze.

"We know it hasn't been...easy for you lately, Commander," Annika explained as she and Prizrak helped him take a seat at the bar. "And tomorrow you'll...head out for the last time. So!" She puffed out her chest and took the seat next to him. SVD poured and passed down two full glasses of vodka. "We're going to give you something to smile about, at least one last time!"

"URRA!" The café was filled with a cheer as everyone present raised their glasses towards Zeldri.

"..." Zeldri was at a complete loss for words as he looked around the café. StG44 was trying to mediate between Nagant and AA12 who were arguing while Galil and M2HB watched with smiles on their faces. A-545 joined Mondragon and AR-57 at a nearby table while MDR was running around the café with UMP40 taking pictures with everyone. SVD was pulled back down into her seat by Simonov and A-91 to continue the drinking competition between AK-47 and DP28. Rosefinch was chatting away with Jericho while the rest of Fireteam Sweeper chatted away amongst themselves. S.A.T.8 came out of the kitchen holding two massive pizzas in her hands that she brought over to a table where PSM and AEK-999 were sitting; AK-74M and AK-Alfa were making their way over to SVD to join in the drinking competition. MP-448 and PPS-43 were talking with Calico's teammates as Thunder and Calico sat quietly next to each other listening to music from Calico's earbuds. Springfield and G36 were manning the bar while Vector, NTW-20, and NZ75 went around delivering drinks to everyone. They and countless other dolls mingled with themselves and some human staff there were present. Zeldri noticed Valeriya shaking her head as she slowly nursed her drink and dreaded the next morning's visitors to the med bay. He turned his attention to Annika. She was doing her best to hide the pain she felt with a smile. Giving his own tired smile, Zeldri raised his glass to her. After a toast, the two downed their drinks. And, despite how rowdy everyone was and how much noise they were kicking up, the only thing Zeldri and Annika could hear were the tears that ran down their faces hitting the bar as they continued to drink.

***

"...It really was a night worth remembering," Zeldri idly spoke to himself as he sat on the train car with his back leaning against the massive cargo container. The cold wind whipped his face as snow lightly fell from the cloudy sky. They had received the coordinates the following morning, and Zeldri set out with Train Team immediately. The coordinates were to the drop-off point which was in the middle of nowhere in northwestern Siberia. Train Team was reluctant to leave him there, but Zeldri convinced them to leave as he didn't want to risk losing the train for the Mountain's future. "...If only this damned wind would die down," Zeldri quietly cursed to himself as a gust of wind kicked his face. But, the wind quickly died down after the initial gust and a shadow loomed over him.