Chapter 10: Heroes are Made

January 18, 2024 5:23 PM

Sanders began to climb up onto Pyrrha's hand when he saw movement at the top of the hill. He looked over and saw the squad leader, Fulton, and a few of his soldiers come over the ridge. They looked at Sanders before turning to the dead Lindsey. He knew exactly what they would assume and he had no time for it. Sharon needed to pay for making this tragedy happen, for letting her Rangers be just pawns for the likes of Angela and Cathrine!

"The Rangers are dead, Pyrrha ate them! Get Lindsey's body and your squad out of here! I am going to lure the giantess into the trap!" he  yelled back before turning back to Pyrrha.
"Pyrrha, go!" he said as she gripped him tighter. She took off before the Resistance members could react. Fulton might not believe him at first, but once he got Pyrrha to the giantess and starting fighting her, he was sure to change that opinion. At least he had gotten away before they could fire at Pyrrha. He had seen enough people eaten by her for a lifetime....

Trent...Blanch....Lizette... if he had just stayed bac- NO! No, he couldn't think about that right now. He needed to stay focused on Sharon and HER part in this disaster! Telling her Rangers that HE had murdered Isabella?! HE had betrayed Aviel?! She was going to pay, just like all the other corrupt Society members! He was going to have Pyrrha rip all their throats out till he got his hands on a shrink device then he would kill them himself!

Sanders slowed Pyrrha down as she moved forward, being as unnaturally silent as she always was. He made sure to watch where she stepped for any Resistance members, he was NOT going to let another die today, but they seemed to have moved beyond their scouting area.

The sky was darkening and turning to night as he slowed Pyrrha even more. He stayed in her hand so she could see his hand gestures and motioned for her to lower herself to the ground. Pyrrha began to creep along it, staying behind the rolling landscape and keeping out of sight. He wanted to get the drop on Sharon and needed to keep Pyrrha hidden till they were ready to strike. A surprise attack would be the best way to assure she would follow them.

"Pyrrha, down," he whispered as he stopped her at a mountain, at least at his size it was. She put him down about half way up it and he motioned for her to be quiet and to stay. He started up the mountain, making sure to make no noise, and stopped every so often to make sure Pyrrha was staying put. She watched him go up, but seemed to get the idea and stayed put. She did, however, keep one arm out as if ready to catch him should he start to fall. After a minute or two of climbing, he got to the top. He crawled up the last bit and peeked over the lip of the mountain, making sure to make a little movement as possible.

Sharon was just over the large mountain and looked to be checking her wrist unit. She was in typical giantess Ranger gear: a large jacket to fend off the cold, some baggy pants and armored boots. She had a shield generator hooked to her belt along with a few supplies, but no real weapons save for her sheer size, which was weapon enough in honesty. Sanders had seen first hand the destructive power a giantess had. Seeing Isabella or Gabby or any of the other giantesses had always been intimidating, but it was another thing entirely to know you were going to have to fight something so massive. But Sanders was long past fear and seeing her only made his rage all the more potent.

Isabella would have realized something was wrong, by now. And she would NEVER have sent them so far afield without her following along. Sharon, on the other hand, didn't even look concerned and was just typing away on her wrist unit doing fuck knows what. If she had just followed along...if she hadn't lied to her Rangers...if... But she didn't and now she was going to pay. She had no right to call herself a Giantess Ranger when compared to Isabella.

Sanders slowly crawled back down the mountain until he had slipped out of sight of Sharon. He got back his feet and descended a little bit more before Pyrrha picked him up again. This time, however, he got her to put him on her head. Pyrrha was going to need both her hands for this and Sanders had gotten rather good at holding onto her hair over the past month.

"OK, Pyrrha, its time we make her pay for her betrayal. First, we need to get her attention. Sorry about this," he said as he was about to scratch her with his knife to get her to meow. To his surprise, Pyrrha let out a meow before he could. He blinked a few times before sliding his knife back in its holster. Odd...was she coming to attention or something? He didn't remember that being a word that she reacted to...Bah, he didn't have time to worry about that right now, the giant bitch was on her way.

"That works too, good girl. OK, brace!" he said, using the word he had taught her to get her ready to pounce. Pyrrha did as she was instructed and got ready to pounce over the mountain.

"A catgirl? Dammit..." Sanders heard the booming voice of Sharon said before her shaking footsteps moved closer and closer. He wrapped both his arms around Pyrrha's hair and braced his feet as he got ready for her momentum. No sooner did her face come into view, and her eyes widen, did Sanders give the command.

"ATTACK!" he yelled as Pyrrha sprang forward toward Sharon's face. Sanders arm's screamed in pain as he keep his feet planted onto Pyrrha's head. No sooner had Pyrrha crashed into Sharon, and the fight start, it was his legs that flared in pain from the sudden stop. He shoved away the pain as Pyrrha hissed in rage as the clawed at Sharon and Sharon yelled in surprise and pain.

"Pyrrha down!" he yelled, having learned from the last fight with a giantess. Given enough time, Sharon would get a grip on Pyrrha and the two of them might not get so lucky with Sharon. Pyrrha did as she was told and pushed off Sharon. Sanders braced as Pyrrha fell to the ground, making sure to fall as lightly as possible though Sanders still smashed into her head. He grunted in pain from the blow and groaned a bit, but keep his grip on her hair. Sanders shook off the blow and looked back up to see Sharon wincing and rubbing the large gashs Pyrrha had left on her arms, shoulders, and face. She looked down at them with a look of rage before bringing her foot back to kick them.

Pyrrha was quicker, though, and jumped to the left to avoid the kick. Sanders held on as they flew to the left. Pyrrha turning back toward Sharon and hissed at her as the kick connected with nothing but air.

"Damn catgirl! Fuck that hurts. Going to fucking," she started to say before kicking out at them again. Pyrrha dodged the kick again as she started circling Sharon. Sanders was only getting more sure he wanted this bitch dead as they did. A fucking catgirl was attacking her and she hadn't even THOUGHT about her Rangers. Isabella would have been screaming for them to hide and been doing whatever it took to keep them save. This.....monster didn't even give a shit. All she, no IT cared about was that it was hurt.

Well it was going to have a lot more to worry about soon. All he needed to do was lure it into the trap and then him and the Resistance would kill this fucker. But first, he needed to get rid of its shield. If it had that, the first volley of fire would be wasted on taking it down. And by the time they got the second off, it might have killed some of the Resistance. Sanders was NOT going to let that happen, enough people had died today, which only left room for monsters...

"Pyrrha, legs! Attack!" he ordered as Pyrrha growled and bent down. Sanders tightened his grip as she rocketed toward Sharon again, but Sharon was ready this time. It brought its arm down and smashed Pyrrha in the face, deflecting the pounce. Pyrrha's head went whipping around, nearly shaking Sanders off with the sudden change in direction. Sanders managed to hold on, still lying on Pyrrha's head, but felt a wave of sickness hit him. Pyrrha cried in pain as she hit the ground, but scampered away before a massive earthquake rocked the ground. Pyrrha turned and Sanders saw the massive, to him, dust cloud Sharon had kicked up with its stomp. If that had hit them, they would have been done.

Sanders cursed to himself as he pulled himself back up onto his feet, before nearly falling over again from his stomach rolling like mad. Dammit, they needed a distraction to get at that shield generator. He fought back his nausea and steadied himself as Pyrrha keep circling Sharon, a low angry growl coming from her. He looked at the mountains hoping to spot a Resistance member, but couldn't see anything from this distance. If only he had his gun with the sco- wait he still had a gun! The last thing Sharon would be expecting is to take a shot from a catgirl. Maybe that would distract it just long enough for Pyrrha to get at the shield.

"Pyrrha, back!" he said getting Pyrrha to back away from Sharon. They needed some distance so he could aim without Pyrrha dodging kicks. Thankfully, Sharon followed her, but slowly. It keep its arms up and ready to swat away another pounce as it advanced on them.

Sanders took out the shitty rifle the Resistance had given him and raised it to point at Sharon's right arm. The shield generator was on the left side of its body and he was hoping it would look right when he shot it to let Pyrrha get a chance to slip in. It was a long shot, but the only other option was to head for the trap and hope the shield didn't absorb too much of the attack. Sanders wasn't going to accept that until he had tried everything else.

He lined up the shot as best he could with one arm, for once glad of how huge a giantess was. This might have been a tough shot if Sharon's arm wasn't the size of a subway tunnel. He took a deep breath to steady his arm and pulled the trigger. The gun fired and sent the bullet flying toward the giantess, and causing Pyrrha to cringe a bit. He smiled as a small shimmer of light appeared near Sharon's right arm as the shield stopped the bullet. He gave Pyrrha a quick scratch as Sharon's focus on them lessened.

"What the?" Sharon said as it glanced at its arm in confusion, taking its eyes off Pyrrha for an instant. And an instant was all they needed.

"NOW ATTACK!" Sanders yelled as Pyrrha launched herself forward again. Sharon turned back too late as Pyrrha grabbed onto its leg and got ready to claw into it. Sanders cursed though as he realized Pyrrha was attacking its leg and not the generator. Worse, he had no idea how to get her TO target the generator.

"Pyrrha, the generator! Up! Get it!" Sanders yelled, as he was about to risk climbing down to point at it. He stopped, however, as Pyrrha looked up at it and grabbed hold of it. She started to pull on it, but couldn't get it off the belt. Suddenly, Sharon kicked its leg out with a curse, flinging Pyrrha back. But Pyrrha keep a grip on the generator and the extra force was enough to yank it off Sharon's belt. Wires and cables sparked as they were ripped away and the shield shimmered around Sharon for a brief second before fading away. The had brought the shield down!

"FUCK, my shield! That is IT! I am going to fucking crush you!" Sharon said as it started to run after them. Even better, now they just had to lure it to the trap.

"Pyrrha, run!" Sanders said as Pyrrha tossed the, now ruined, generator away and took off running. Sanders steered her back toward the valley where the trap was and made sure Sharon was keeping up, but not about to catch them. Its much longer strides were gaining it ground, but not enough to catch them before they made it, thankfully. He turned back as he keep a tight grip on Pyrrha's hair.

Sanders dearly hoped Fulton had moved his people away as they came running toward the trap. Pyrrha' huge feet were blasting apart trees as she rushed toward the trap where as Sharon's massive feet were crushing anything and everything they came down on. As much as he hated it, there was nothing he could do for anyone down there as they ran through the area Fulton's people had been in. Stopping or slowing down would mean getting caught and the trap failing. They had come too far and lost too much to fail now.

Sanders waited till Pyrrha had passed the two mountains, smiling as he managed to spot people on both, before getting her to stop. She spun around and skidded to a stop on all fours as she raised up and hissed at Sharon, her tail bristling. Sharon came running on, heedless of the threat and still dead set on Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, legs. Get ready," Sanders said to Pyrrha as he held on and waited for Sharon to enter the valley. Once the missiles started flying, he would get Pyrrha to attack its legs for real and make sure it couldn't escape. It was time for it to pay for Lindsey, Trent, Blanch, and Lizette;s deaths.

Sharon took two massive running steps into the valley before the two mountains erupted to life. Missiles came flying out from the trees as the top of the mountains light up with the flames of their engines. Sharon had just enough time to look surprised before the first few smashed into its sides. They blasted through its unarmored jacket with ease and exploded out, sending bits of flesh, blood, and cloth flying out of the holes they were making. A few hit its hips and caused blood to begin to run down its pants. A few even went toward its face, but Sharon managed to raise its arms to stop most of them.

Sharon cried out in pain as the first volley brought it to a stop and it shielded its face from the bullets still flying upward.

"Now, Pyrrha!" Sanders ordered as Pyrrha rushed back into the fight and latched onto Sharon's leg again. This time she wasn't distracted by the generator and managed to cut into Sharon's calf while biting into its leg. Sharon howled in pain as its leg buckled and it collapsed to its knees, Pyrrha backing off to avoid being crushed.

It glared at Pyrrha and looked about to talk when the second volley of missiles erupted out, this time a face level with Sharon. It raised its now very bloody arms to shield its face again as Sanders keep Pyrrha back to avoid friendly fire. The missiles began to blast huge chunks of its flesh off as it screamed in pain and agony. its left forearm fell limp as a lucky hit blew out its elbow and a few late rockets managed to hit its face thanks to it. Sharon's bloody face twisted in rage as the second volley came to an end.

"You fucking ANTS!" it yelled so loud it nearly deafened Sanders. It brought its still working right arm around and turned his gaze to her right. Fuck, it was going to back hand the mountain the right squad was on! And with its massive size most of them would be obliterated just by the impact and the rest would be flung off to their deaths somewhere off the mountain! He had to stop it!

"Pyrrha! Its arm! Stop it!" he yelled as Pyrrha seemed to see it too and was already lunging for the arm. Pyrrha grabbed it just as Sharon was bringing it around. Pyrrha cried in pain as it smacked into her chest, sending a wave of force traveling all the up her body. Sanders cursed as the force began to push Pyrrha back toward the mountain and he began to worry they would wind up just crushing the squad anyway. But Pyrrha dug her heels into the ground and growled in fury as they slowed. Finally, they stopped a few inches from the mountain, having only touched its base. Sanders looked back and saw some of the Resistance people looking up in shock and surprise at having been saved from what they probably thought was certain death.

"FIRE DAMMIT! KILL IT!" Sanders yelled down at them as Pyrrha bit into Sharon's arm, causing it to scream in pain again and start to pull them back the other direction. Sanders held on and was about to tell Pyrrha to let go when a sudden flash of light got his attention.

He looked up, but the light had already vanished. He looked over to Sharon and noticed it had stopped screaming. It sat there as if perplexed by what had just happened as a small dribble of blood began to run down its forehead. It looked at it for a second before another flash of light came. Sanders saw a red laser cut into Sharon's forehead and it convulsed slightly from the laser burning through her head. Its eyes seemed to twitch before the third volley of missiles came from both mountains and finished what the lasers had started. Sharon, the Ranger giantess, was dead and her face was a ruined mess. It deserved worse.

Sanders had Pyrrha hold on to it and slowly lower its torso to the ground to keep it from crushing anyone. He heard cheers and yells from the two mountains as they began to clap each other on the back and celebrate their victory. Sanders wished he could join them, but with Sharon dead there was nothing to keep him from his despair. His rage slowly burnt out to be replaced with a near crippling lose.

Lindsey...Trent...Blanch...Lizette...all dead. He couldn't save them...hell he had damned them, one to death and the other three to the worst possible death he could imagine. Trent had been begging him and he had just...

Sanders slumped down onto Pyrrha's head as she meowed up at him in confusion and worry. He gave no reply as he laid there and felt tears start to form. He didn't bother trying to stop them.

Sanders slowly picked himself up as the cheering began to get louder. He looked up and saw the squads from the two mountains coming down them and still celebrating. He wasn't exactly sure how long he had been laying on Pyrrha's head, but it had been long enough. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't hide up on Pyrrha's head forever. He had to tell them what he had done...what he had cost them... He tried to whip away his tears as the two squads moved together to congratulate each other.

"Pyrrha, down," Sanders said as he tried to hide his crying. Pyrrha's hand came up and picked him up, but didn't lower him to the ground. Instead, it stopped near her face and she looked at him with a concerned look. He sighed as he rubbed her check, getting a slight purr from her, but motioned down. Pyrrha slowly lowered her hand down and set him onto the ground.

As he was set down, he could start to hear what the people were saying.
"We did it! We saved Hope!"
"Fucking hell, we took on a Ranger patrol with a single Force and won!"
"We killed her! We actually killed a giantess!"
None of them knew yet and a few were even smiling at him. They might have moved to clamp him on the back or shake his hand, but they still seemed a little uneasy with moving close to Pyrrha. Sanders looked down and moved toward them. As he neared them, a few of them moved to thank or congratulate him, but he keep them back. He...he didn't deserve their praise and admiration.

"Please, can...I need to say something," Sanders said, getting a few of the nearby people to quiet down. A few of the ones who heard him got the rest to be quiet and Sanders found himself in the middle of the two squads. They all looking a bit confused by his red eyes and depressing look save for Susan and Jeremy. Both of them looked between each other and seemed to send a unsaid message. Samantha was right in the front with Jacob behind her, she looking concerned and him glaring.

"I..." fuck it... no sense beating around the bush.

"Lindsey is dead," Sanders said feeling the tears beginning to come again, though this time he fought to keep them back. A murmur of disbelief and shock went through the group. Samantha's concerned look turned to shook and despair as she leaned back into Jacob. Even his glare softened into a look of disbelieve as he held onto Samantha. The two squad leaders sighed and looked away, their fears most likely confirmed. Sanders cursed himself for being so stupid, for being so naive. He had made what should have been a complete victory into a sour pill that they all had to swallow. And now...now he had to admit his fault in it.

"She...I was with her and she died bec-" he started to say before a voice interrupted him.

"Because of the Rangers," a male voice said as people turned to the voice. Sanders looked up and saw Squad Leader Fulton moving through the group along with his squad. Sanders wasn't sure how many of them there were, but it was still close to the number he remembered. He dearly hoped it was.

"I got there at the last couple of seconds. Lindsey was fighting the three Rangers alone when Sanders and the catmonster showed up. They tried to save her, but she took a blade through the side before they could get them all," he said as he reached Sanders. He had a sad look on his face till he turned to face Sanders. It changed to a serious one was he motioned for Sanders to come with him.

"I need to speak to him alone. Lindsey asked me to give him something before she... died," Fulton said as the group turned away and began to murmur amongst themselves. They all looked a bit crestfallen, but none of them looked at him in anger. In fact...was that admiration in their eyes? Dammit, he didn't deserve that, what was Fulton doing?!

"Why are you lying about wh-" Sanders started to whisper as they moved away. Before he could finish, Fulton held up the whistle Lindsey had made to call Pyrrha. Sanders stopped and stared at it as Fulton stared at him.

"What good would telling them that you got her killed do for us? Nothing, save maybe make you feel better. You got Lindsey killed, I know it and you know it, and we are the only ones who can ever know it. You want to honor her memory, then keep your mistake to yourself and live with the guilt. Right now, the Phoenixes need you and your catmonster's help, and thinking you are an idiot who got one of our best killed will just drive a wedge between us. We don't need an idiot with a catmonster, we need a hero with catmonster, a hero everyone can trust and respect," Fulton said as he clapped Sanders on the shoulder and smiled at him, making it look like they were having a nice conversation rather than one that was...anything but.

Sanders looked away from the whistle and closed his eyes. Fulton was right...telling the truth would ruin any chance of them ever trusting him. And if they didn't trust him, they wouldn't trust Pyrrha. Sanders hadn't known Lindsey long, but he knew she would want him to do what was best of the Phoenixes. And right now...what was best for the Phoenixes was for him to swallow his guilt and lie to the Phoenixes so he could be the hero they wanted.

Sanders took the whistle and nodded to Fulton.

"I...I understand. I won't tell anyone," he said as he cursed himself again.

"Good. Make sure you live up to everyone's expectations. And don't ever forget what being a naive dumbass costs others," Fulton said with a glare of anger He turning away, his face now looking sad but happy at the same time, as he headed back to the other squad leaders. Sanders held Lindsey's whistle in his hand and fought back his despair, his guilt, his lose, and his self-loathing. Live up to their expectations... He put the whistle away in his pocket as he looked up to see Derek and the rest of his squad coming toward them.

Derek still had his laser cannon out, its barrel slowly cooling, as he walked towards Sanders. His soldiers still had big bright smiles and triumphant looks on their faces, though the dimmed a bit when they saw the others looks. Derek looked around at the sad faces and his eyes narrowed on Sanders.

"Where is Lindsey?" he asked as Sanders rubbed the whistle in his pocket. Sanders fought back his guilt as he gave the lie he needed to give.

"Dead. The Rangers killed her. She must have stumbled onto all three of them and either got seen or tried to take them on herself. She blew the whistle she made to get me and Pyrrha to come, but..." Sanders trailed off, feeling horrid for telling this lie. But he had to stick to it, for Lindsey's sake and everyone else's.

"But we didn't get there in time," he said looked down at the ground. The guilt was pounding away at him, but he couldn't let it make him tell the truth. The guilty would just have to be his punishment, living with it, his atonement. He wouldn't fail Lindsey again by ruining the opportunity she had died to make.

Derek didn't look all that convinced as his stare turned into a piercing glare. Sanders felt like Derek was trying to strip him bare with just his eyes and see the naked truth, but didn't get very long to stare.

"Its true, sir. Me and a few of my soldiers heard the commotion and came running. By the time we got there Lindsey was...being slain, sir. The catmonster made them pay, though. Ate all three of the Rangers before they could warn the giantess," Fulton said with a vindictive smile. The memory of letting Pyrrha eat his three friends nearly made Sanders shiver and break down, but he fought it back. He had to stay strong, heroes didn't fall into quivered messes.

Derek glared softened a bit as Fulton confirmed Sanders lie. He looked away with a heavy sigh as he ran his hand over his shaved head. He shook his head and mumbled a silent curse as he took another breath and composed himself.

"Suppose it was too much to ask for no one dying during this mission. Who else did we lose?" he asked as the other two squad leaders, Susan and Jeremy came to join them. The squad leaders looked between them, as if suspecting one of them to speak up, but none of them did. Derek looked between them and his mood seemed to brighten a bit.

"None of you have casualties?" he asked as the squad leaders all shook their heads one by one. Sanders gave a soft thanks to anyone that at least no one else had died. Though no one would have died at all if he had just stuck to the plan.

Derek glanced over to Sanders and then the Pyrrha, who was kneeling over them and looked curiously as to what was going on. Derek shook his head as he mumbled out what sounded like "fucking bastard knew", but Sanders didn't catch the rest.

The rest of the Force had gathered near them by this point and word seemed to spread that, save Lindsey, no one else had died. The mood seemed to brighten a bit over the Force as is spread. Derek cleared his throat to get the mumbling to stop as he stepped into the middle of the group.

"Soldiers. Our mission is complete. We have killed the Ranger patrol as ordered and may have just saved Hope. Even better, we succeeded and only lost a single person. While Lindsey was one of our best and her lose will be direly felt by all, trading her for an entire Ranger patrol, including its giantess, is a victory unlike any we have ever won. Lindsey would be proud of such a victory and she would not want us despairing in her lose. No, she would want us to celebrate our first major victory and the acquiring of a new ally which the Society is not prepared to fight," Derek said as he walked around the small circle that was formed around him. People nodded their agreement and yelled it as well as he started to rally his men. Sanders, however, only cursed himself all the more as he keep going.

"Today, we have shown how effective a combined arms attack by the catmonster, Pyrrha, and ourselves can be. And Sanders has proven himself to be with us in opposing their reign of terror and death. With their help, we have bought Hope time and we will use that time to find a way to turn this war around. Soon, WE will be the aggressors and it will be THEY who are on the defensive. When that day comes, Phoenixes, what will you do?!" Derek asked with a mighty yell as the entire Force screamed their answer in unison.

"RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!" they yelled as Derek nodded in approval at them. Pyrrha even joined in with a meow in time with the cheers which only seemed to make the soldiers even happier. The shadow of Lindsey's lose was gone and the light of victory had taken its place. At least, with the soldiers it had...

Sanders didn't join in the celebration as his hand drifted down to the whistle again. A victory...it sure didn't feel like one. Derek yelled something else out that Sanders didn't catch as the cheering died down. People began to move away and gather into their squads. A number of the people who passed him clapping him on the shoulders, gave him warm smiles, or even said nice job and such.

Sanders didn't deserve their praise, but he took it nonetheless. He had to, doubly so now that he had seen how much this victory had increased their morale. The soldiers had almost never smiled on the way down, but now they were almost all smiling. Even Jacob seemed to have brightened. Revealing what he had down would crush this new morale boost and ruin any good that came from this. Hell, a few of the braver ones among them were not shying away from Pyrrha anymore, though none of them seemed eager to touch or be touched by her. Sanders felt the tears coming again when a large fluffy wall rubbed into his back. He glanced back and saw Pyrrha nuzzling her cheek against him as if to cheer him up. Sanders smiled a bit as he rubbed her back.

"I guess I shouldn't be too sad, huh? I still got you after all," he said as he leaned back against her. Pyrra gave a soft purr in response as Derek and his squad leaders talked about things. Sanders left them to do their jobs as he tried to come to terms with what had happened. Sadly, he didn't get much time as Derek began to head over. Pyrrha's large eyes stared at him, but she didn't make any threatening moves or noises.

"We...we'll be moving out once we check the giantess for anything we can use. The search would go faster with...bigger hands helping," Derek said, seemingly a bit unsure how to ask, or just embarrassed to ask, for Sanders help. Considering their interactions thus far, it was a nice change of pace. Sanders nodded as he decided to put his worries at ease. Keeping a grudge for him shooting Pyrrha and being suspicious of him wouldn't help anything and Lindsey wouldn't have wanted him to.

"Alright, I'll take Pyrrha and search her. And if you need something else just ask. You're in charge so I'll do as you say," Sanders said as he leaned off Pyrrha and motioned up. Pyrrha moved her hand for him to climb on just as Derek spoke up again.

"One more thing," he said as Sanders turned back.
"....Thank you for saving my soldiers. That back hand that almost hit the mountain would have killed Squad 3 and my...son. You didn't have to risk yourself or the ca-...Pyrrha to stop it. Thank you," Derek said before turning away and moving back to his own squad. Sanders watched him go and stared at the ground. He felt somewhat guilty for it, considering he didn't think he deserved that thanks, but it still felt good to hear it. He got a slight smile as he climbed onto Pyrrha' hand.

Briefing on Anti-Giantess Tactics given by Derek Hodgson:

Good morning, potential squad-leaders. I would like to congratulate you all for reaching this point in our officer potential program. To reach this point means you have shown a level of calmness and leadership uncommon in most people.

Today is a special day in the program, today I will teach you common tactics used when facing a giantess. Let me be very clear before we begin, however, that fighting a giantess should be a last resort. If hiding, traps, or running are still viable options, they should be used long before combat is resorted to. Direct combat with a giantess is the most dangerous mission any of us can get. No matter how good your tactics are or how favorable the terrain is to you, you WILL lose people. In fact, it is likely that entire squads will be wiped out attempting to bring one down, more if she is in full combat gear. Keep that thought well in your mind before committing to combating one.

Now, let us go over the basics of the tactics you will need.

First and foremost is stealth. Trying to fight a giantess in the open and on equal terms is suicide, plan and simple. Even with a hundred people, you WILL lose if you fight one head-on. Instead, you need to use our size to your advantage. Stay hidden, keep low, and split up. Splitting up will prevent all of you being killed if one of you is spotted and help in the fight, more on that when we go into detailed strategies. Remember, if you are spotted, she will be actively trying to avoid the missiles and your soldiers will have a skyscraper sized death dealer barreling toward them. I don't think I need to explain to any of you what that will do to morale and unit cohesion. Make sure any fight with a giantess is on YOUR terms and not her's by making sure she doesn't know you are there.

Next is surprise. An unprepared for first volley of missiles can be the difference between a few of your people coming back and none of them coming back. Not only that, but if the giantess doesn't see where the missiles came from you can attempt to hide and launch a second volley before she can counter-attack. The more volleys you can get off without being spotted, the greater chance your people have of coming back alive. A ruined surprise attack could cause your first volley to miss or, worst of all, let her get the first attack. Personally, I would suggest retreating should you lose the element of surprise unless that is simply not an option.

The next thing to consider is her shields. All giantesses will have shields and they keep them on at all times. Therefore, you should assume any initial volley will do little to no actual damage to the giantess. Your first volley will, usually, be enough to bring a shield down, assuming most of the missiles hit. However, as I said before, stealth is your most important resource and rockets will highly likely ruin said stealth. You need to plan accordingly and keep in mind that the shield will come back online after a few minutes. Do not waste the time it is offline as it is highly unlikely you will get a second chance to bring them down.

Last is mobility. A mobile giantess is a nigh unstoppable killing machine that will slaughter entire squads with ease. An immobile one is a fish in a barrel waiting to be put down. Your first and most important target on any giantess should be her legs and feet. These will, if she is in combat gear, be very well protected and armored, making damaging them difficult. However, they should still be priority one. If you can bring a giantess down or simply slow her down, you hamper not only her ability to defend herself but also her offensive power. Cripple a leg, and you will save entire squads of soldiers in a fight with a giantess.

All of these things should be carefully considered before any attempt to fight a giantess. If any of them are unfavorable, do not engage the giantess. Even when paired with a trap for a giantess, these tactics should still be in the forefront of you mind. Failure to heed them will get not only yourself, but many others killed. Understood?

Good, then let's move on the spec-....