Late at night. The Harmony soldiers were resting in their temporary quarters within Fort Myers. Ray had received basic medical treatment and was completely knocked out. The moonlight shone in from a window, casting light over Ray's bed. Dupe stood within the shadows. His arm reached into the light, revealing a sharp object in his hands. Ever so slowly, he pushed the object towards Ray's head.
"Hmm?" Ray's eyes fluttered open. In front of him was a pale arm reaching from the shadows. It held a pointy stick that was currently pressing into his cheek, leaving a slight indent in it. He stared for several seconds before sighing. "What the hell are you doing Nick?"
"Oh, good. You're up." Dupe replied with a smile. "We've got an emergency," He pressed the stick forward a bit harder.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ray snapped as he slapped Dupe's hand away. "What's the emergency?"
"One of my clones just died. Enemy forces are moving towards Orlando. Our new orders are to make our way towards Orlando, defeat the Tampa forces along the way, and reunite with Forge and the eastern forces."
"Are you serious?!" Ray replied in shock as he jumped out of bed. He hurried to get dressed in his dark green and black Harmony attire. He turned towards Dupe. "Go sound the city alarms."
"What? Why?" He questioned in confusion.
"We don't have time to wake everybody up. This'll be easier. Go!" Ray commanded.
Dupe nodded and left to sound the alarm. Soon, blaring sirens rang out throughout the entire city. The many soldiers of Harmony groggily climbed out of their beds, heading outside to see what the commotion was about. Ray had already started passing out orders, causing word to spread quickly. It was only 15 minutes before their large army was completely prepared to move. They left through the northern gates of the city and started heading northeast towards Orlando.
Mud splashed everywhere as the army marched. A light drizzle started as the sun began rising in the sky, much to the misfortune of the marching soldiers. Things were not looking up for Harmony today.
"This isn't good." Ray frowned deeply. "It's over a two-day march to Orlando from here. The Tampa forces will reach Orlando a full day ahead of us. Forge and the others should abandon Orlando and move the defensive line further back."
"It's too late for that." Dupe shook his head. "I've been in contact with Ed via mana-radio. He's already setup all of his trump cards for the war within Orlando. He wouldn't be able to transport some of those trump cards if we forfeited the city. At that point, we would have already lost. He's insistent on these trump cards being our only chance of winning the entire war."
"Damn!" Ray ground his teeth in frustration.
"Well, at least the fighting probably won't begin before we get there." Dupe said nonchalantly while folding his hands behind his head. "It'll take a lot longer for the rest of Florida's forces to reach the city. It's unlikely Tampa will press the assault alone."
"That's true." Ray agreed. "But time is still going to be tight. Even worse, our soldiers will be completely exhausted by the time we get there. This isn't going to go well for us."
"All we can do is try." He sighed.
The soldiers continued to march. Nearly two days passed. The wind and rain continued growing heavier. It was now to the point that the rain pelted the soldiers from the side, as if rain was being shot at them from a horde of rifles. "Do you think it's a hurricane?" Dupe questioned.
"I don't know." Ray frowned while looking at the weather. "It'll be an advantage for Forge if a hurricane sweeps through while he's on defense, but it won't be good for us." He looked over his men, many of whom were growing tired from the long march in the awful conditions. He rose an arm in the air. "Four-hour rest! Get as much sleep as you can. There will be no more breaks after this."
The men struggled against the howling wind as the attempted setting up their tents. They eventually succeeded, but several tents were lost to the wind as a result. The four hours dragged on slowly. Fortunately, most soldiers were able to sleep well, though that was mostly due to their exhaustion. The men cleaned up camp and prepared to continue the march. It was late at night, and they'd likely reach Orlando by noon. The wind pushed against them as they pushed forward, as if trying to warn them to turn back.
Hours passed. The sun rose in the sky but was completely blocked by dark storm clouds. The only source of light was the occasional flashes of lightning. The thunder boomed in their ears. The mud had covered their bodies and soaked into their boots, causing much discomfort for the soldiers.
"We're almost there!" Ray encouraged them against the roaring winds. Only a few nearby soldiers could hear it. Even the higher-ups that carried mana-radios barely understood a word of the transmission. The sound of the wind was simply too loud. Soon, a city came into view. It was Orlando! There were several armies camped outside, one of which was the Tampa military.
Dupe leaned close to Ray, practically yelling in his year. "Do we attack them? Or head inside the city?"
Ray eyed the enemy forces a distance away. They were outnumbered, as the opponents had the combined strength of several cities. However, they had not currently been discovered, giving them a chance to setup a sneak attack. He pondered for several moments before deciding. "We'll attack them and do as much damage as we can, then we'll retreat into the city."
Their forces marched towards the nearby army. The storm was so fierce that it even covered the sound of their steam tanks and mechs. Otherwise, an ambush like this would be impossible. The Hell Bulls were with them for this attack. They moved to the front, acting as a moving defensive wall. The steam tanks lined up their aim. Boom, boom, boom!" They fired a volley of shells towards the enemy.
The Tampa troops didn't know what hit them. One moment they were taking temporary shelter from the rain, and the next they were being bombarded from the skies. Blood exploded everywhere as hell from the sky kept falling. The soldiers desperately looked for the source of the fire but failed to spot it due to poor visibility. Another volley hit them before a solider using binoculars finally spotted the Harmony forces.
The Tampa army prepared to counter attack. Many espers stepped forward to participate. There was no hiding from this battle. Not unless they chose to abandon the fight all together.
Ray's body was covered in a silver glow as he took to the skies. He was like a glowing beacon within the dark stormy skies.
"Torch!" A random soldier in the Harmony army yelled.
"What?" Another soldier next to him questioned in confusion.
"He's like a torch!" The first soldier replied confidently. "He lights up the path ahead of us. His brilliant glow pushes away the shrouds of darkness. The enemies will run in fear of his prowess, for while he gives us warmth, he gives our enemies the wrath known only as death!"
The second soldier stared speechlessly at the first soldier for a moment. He muttered, "You a poet or something?"
"Nothing that grand." He replied with a wide smile.
Echoes of 'Torch' spread throughout the Harmony army at a rapid pace. They followed the glowing beacon in the night as he charged towards the enemy forces. Their actions were not in line with their original orders, but most felt they had to charge. How could they allow the man that had singlehandedly trained them to fight alone?
Ray noticed nothing that was happening below as he focused on the enemies in front of him. Rain pelted his face as he flew forward, causing a stinging sensation. It looked like Tampa only had a single flying esper, and they were struggling within the wind. Ray rose his hands and fired a series of plasma balls towards the esper. The raging winds helped push and pull the plasma balls, decreasing their accuracy while improving their unpredictability. The flying esper failed to dodge. Their lifeless body fell from the skies, becoming the first esper casualty of the upcoming battle.
'Gotta keep moving.' Ray encouraged himself as his injuries from previous battles burned. The medical gauze covering many of his wounds were burned away by his own plasma. The only reason his clothing remained were due to special materials they were constructed with. He flew overhead and sprayed plasma from the skies. Each sweep he repeated over the enemy forces caused even more chaos in the enemy ranks. They were struggling to even return fire towards the Harmony army properly.
"ARAHHHH!!!" A chorus of voices bellowed so loud as to outcompete the howling winds. Mud spattered in all directions as the sea of Harmony soldiers charged into enemy ranks. There was no hesitation as they penetrated deep into the enemy lines. Ray's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected incident. "Not good!" He hurriedly flew backwards, heading towards Dupe's location. "What the hell is going on?!" He questioned, his face turning red from anger.
"They did it on their own." Dupe shrugged. "What can you do. You always charge the front. It's only natural that your men follow suit. Honestly, you should work on your tactics more,"
"Humph." Ray snorted in disdain. "There are different types of commanders. Some focus on flanks, others on siege, and so on. I specialize in attacking the front aggressively because it's what I'm good at. If it doesn't work, then I'll naturally try something different as the need arises. Like right now. Pass out my orders!" He hurriedly barked orders towards the officers, who in turn passed the orders to subordinates through mana-radio.
The Harmony army had successfully penetrated the Tampa forces. However, their forces got cut in two as the penetrating force separated from the main force. The penetrating soldiers were now surrounded on all fronts, desperate to escape. "New orders!" One of the soldiers yelled. "Torch said to break through no matter the cost!"
"How can we possibly break through this?!" Another soldier questioned in fear. A bayonet slammed into the soldier next to him, causing some blood to spray on his face. The pounding rain quickly washed away the blood, hiding all traces of it. The surviving soldier struggled to defend against the bombardment of bullets and stabs coming from the enemy forces.
"What would Torch do?!" A soldier yelled. He didn't wait for an answer before yelling again. "He would charge the front!"
"CHARGE THE FRONT!" Several men near him began to chant. The chant spread like a wave through the soldiers. They threw caution to the wind as they rushed forward once again. Bodies quickly piled up. The Harmony soldiers hurriedly stepped over their own dead comrades and their dead enemies. They primarily relied on bayonets instead of bullets, as they had no time to reload.
"Keep going!" A soldier yelled to encourage the men.
"CHARGE THE FRONT!" A chorus of voices echoed back.
"Almost there!" Another voice screamed.
"CHARGE THE FRONT!" The voices chanted again.
A brief moment later, they broke through the enemy forces. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the Harmony soldiers pushed forward even more strongly. The penetrating Harmony forces completely escaped from the encirclement by the Tampa forces. Now Harmony had half its forces on each side. Commands continued to roll in, and they followed them with haste. Each half of the army formed a wing shape as they began to encircle the Tampa forces.
Soon, the Tampa forces were nearly surrounded. They were preparing their own suicidal charge out when an opening suddenly revealed itself within the encirclement. The obvious exit was likely a trap, but the officers had no time to stop their men. They charged forward with all their might. Constant gunfire and bayonets came at their sides, cutting their forces down rapidly.
The Harmony encirclement moved with the Tampa forces. They were always careful to leave an opening, giving the enemy the opportunity to escape.
"That's checkmate." Ray grinned towards Dupe. "I told you I could use other tactics."
"Mm." Dupe nodded in agreement. "But why not just encircle them completely?"
"They'd make a desperate charge like we did in that situation." Ray shook his head. "Men do not fear giving up their lives when the situation is hopeless. That's why we successfully broke through. The Harmony soldiers held nothing back, fighting fiercely to save their comrades lives. In comparison, the Tampa soldiers are holding back, doing their best to save their own lives. This is only because the opening gives the false illusion of hope. Ironically, it will result in far more casualties for them, as well as their armies defeat."
"Tsk." Dupe clicked his tongue. "Scary bastard."
The battle soon ended with Harmony's overwhelming victory. The remnants of the Tampa forces scattered wildly as they retreated. Dead bodies littered the ground. The heavy rain started to cause small floods, which carried away both blood and bodies. They would likely end up in mutant stomachs in the near future. The thought discomforted soldiers on both sides, but there was nothing they could do about it.
Ray stared silently at the messy battlefield. Thunder continuously rang in his ears. He looked up into the sky, allowing the rain to slide down his face. "It reminds me of the Lightning Nightmare attack." He sighed. A streak of lightning flashed past, lighting up his face. It was difficult to tell whether it was still the rain sliding down his face or if it was tears. He quickly shook himself out of the mood and ordered the soldiers to march towards Orlando.