//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 Kreuzberg 
// Story: Even a Diamond can break 
// by Bronycommander 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7: Kreuzberg


On the way to Kreuzberg, Josef stopped to let Eva, her children and Chernov out. It pained Tiara to leave them but they said they would find another way out.

Kreuzberg was the place where Josef used to live. It was in the heart of the city.

It was dangerous as the Battle of Berlin was at its height now. But the truck was running low on fuel and Kreuzberg was the only place where the truck could go before running out.

The two reached the docks. “Either we find fuel for the truck or we go on foot.” 

“I could need some rest, Daddy.” 

“You earned it, my dear.” Josef smiled.

Despite being in a warzone, he enjoyed every minute with her.

“Do you think if I ask the Princess that you can stay or to safe Elsa and my friends, that she will do it?” 

“I am sure she will do it.”

The Germans they met were normal and elite soldiers. Their uniforms and faces were dirty.

Tiara whimpered as she saw hanged civilians and Soldiers. They all had signs. “The Soldier can die the deserter must die. I had to die.” 

“This is horrible.”

“But unfortunately true. Everyone who says that the war is lost or refuses to fight is ending like them. But for you I will fight until the end.”

She gave a light smile. “Thank you for helping me.” The other soldiers had sympathy for her.

“Your poor child. You don’t deserve being trapped in this warzone. Getting out now will not be easy. There are Close quarters fighting on every street, snipers on every rooftop and tanks on every bridge and square. We managed to hold this area so far, but who knows when the Reds will attack.”

“I know. Our truck has no fuel, do you where we can get fuel?” 

The Elite pointed to the Subway. “If you can make it through the subway, you can reach our HQ. From there, you should find a way of transportation.”

Josef opened his mouth to say something, as three soldiers were trying to send a message to a General.

“The Russian soldiers keep on advancing.”
“We are almost entirely surrounded.”
“Our situation is hopeless.”
“Is this what I am supposed to tell the General?”
“He should have figured this out by himself already ...”
“Except he is as arrogant as the Führer himself!”
“They will try to flood the underground tunnels as they fear the Russians will attempt to reach the Königsplatz this way.” The third soldier explained.
“God help us.” 

The first soldier who started the conversation said before another soldier shouted, “The Russians!”

An IS-2 broke through the barrier at the other side of the street, accompanied by several soviets.
The tank opened fire on the Germans.

Josef was thrown to the ground. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry from the shellshock.
As he stood up, he was shocked.

Diamond Tiara was cowering behind a crate, trapped between the firefight of the two sides. “Help! Medic!” She screamed in pain as she was bleeding from her gut. She was incapacitated, bullets missed her barely.

NO! I will not lose another member of my family! “Cover me!” 

“You heard him, covering fire!”
“Coming to your aid!”

Josef dodged gunfire and explosions. The IS-2 was destroyed by a German with a panzerfaust.

As he reached the wounded filly, an Ivan screamed, “I will kill you!” Then the German heard a metallic bang. It was the sound when a bullet hit the helmet of a soldier.

The Ivan fell dead to the ground; his head was a bloody mess.

In a destroyed building, on the side where the soviets were, Josef saw Karl.

He waved to show Josef to get moving.

Tiara was holding her gut, tears leaved her eyes. “The pain…make it stop!”

She was losing blood. She would die without medical attention.

There was no time to get the bullet out, so Josef just stopped the bleeding and carried her to safety.
“Get her to the HQ!”
Josef wasted no time.

At the HQ, a medic helped Tiara. “I have to remove the bullet. Would you hold her to calm her down?”

Josef took gently her hoof and spoke in a calming voice, “Still. Lie still. And don’t cry. The pain will be over soon.” 

“Daddy… its hurts… so much.” 

“Shh, my friend will take care of the pain.”

Tiara struggled and screamed in pain as the medic pushed the tweezers into the wound. Josef said calming words to her. She calmed slowly down.

The pain was great but her screams of pain reduced to cries through gritted teeth.

The medic had finally found what he was looking for, tightened the tweezers and slowly pulled back.

Tiara let out a final scream as the medic removed the tweezers from the wound and held up an almost intact 7,62 × 54 mm R Mosin-Nagant bullet. Then he bandaged the wound.

“You were a very brave filly, Diamond Tiara.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” She had to grunt in pain as Josef helped her up.

Josef looked around. Almost all buildings he saw, where damaged.

With a sigh, he told Tiara, “I used to live near here with my wife.” 

“You hoping to go back after the war?” Tiara asked her arms wrapped around him as she was grateful for helping her.

“If there’s anything left.” He saw a bar in the distance. “This place once echoed with conversations of friends and lovers. No longer.”
He smiled at the memories when they build their home.

The neighbors were always friendly and helping each other when someone needed help.
“Shh, I am here for you.” He patted her as she startled by the sound of a bomb.

Suddenly he heard a whistle. Actually, it was more a screech than a whistle, he would recognize immediately.

“Katjuschas! Quickly, into the metro! This way!” Being careful of her wound, he picked Tiara up and ran as fast as he could to the metro.
Tiara heard a strange screech. She looked into the sky and saw rockets.

The two made it, but the medic was crushed to death as the ceiling collapsed from the barrage.

“Is he… Is he…?” She whispered shivering in his arms. 

“Don’t look.”
Tiara looked away. Josef saw blood coming out of the rubble and a severed hand could be seen.

The lights were on but went off from the loud rumbling.

“Let’s wait a few seconds to give our eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness.” Josef stopped.
After a few moments, their vision improved.

Except for a few German Soldiers that guarded the metro, there was nobody else.

“What are you doing down here?” 

“Defending the metro. And you?”

“I and my daughter had to escape from a Katjuscha barrage. Do you know a way out?” 

“Of course. We’re abandoning the metro anyway.”

Parts of the metro were collapsing.

“The place is collapsing!” Josef was worried.

“We are going to be crushed... Or buried alive!” The soldier realized the situation.

Tiara didn’t want to image this kind of death, before she realized something.

“Daddy, didn’t your comrades say that they flood the underground tunnels?”

“Yes, but I don’t think it would be this part of the metro.”

The soldier led them to a gate.

Josef gently sat Tiara down to open it. “It’s stuck! Verdammt!”

Out of nowhere, Soviet soldiers appeared at the other end.

“Where’re they coming from? Never mind, Hold them back!”

The soldier that led them putted Tiara to cover behind a wall.

The Germans returned fire while Josef beats on the door in an attempt to open it.

Tiara heard a rumbling noise.
“What is that noise?!”

“Return fire! Keep them off me!”

Rats were running past them.
“Rats!!!” Tiara hated rats.
“Almost got it!"

“Hurry, Daddy!”

A huge wave of water came straight towards them.
“Daddy! LOOK OUT!!!” She screamed as she saw the water.

“Got it!!”

“My Gosh!!!” Tiara screamed in fear as the wave hit her.
Her vision went black.