Okay, so this fic's basically a oneshot about the training mission in Gears of War 2. Now, I know that some of you have played this tutorial a hundred times already, but a lot of people don't have GoW2 and personally I think the mission is one of the most hilarious and awesome in the entire game, so... I decided to write this. Much of the fic will be straight from the game, but I'll be putting in scenes about the collectibles you can find here, so if you don't like spoilers, leave the fic now!
So, without further ago, I give you... Green as Grass!
Location: Jacinto Emergency Hospital
Time: 1400 hours
Date: Classified.
The dying screams of wounded Gears and the steady whirring of passing King Ravens was everywhere. Marcus Fenix growled. Running short of able soldiers was the last thing the COG wanted - or needed, for that matter - especially considering Jacinto's rapidly deteriorating security. Locust raids were pushing much too far into the city for any sane human's preferences.
"It never ends..." he muttered quietly, as a group of Gears were wheeled past him on stretchers.
Anya Stroud, Delta squad's Command Contact, who was walking beside him, stopped to glance at Marcus, concerned. "They're getting bolder. Those Gears were guarding Pomeroy Depot."
A third person, Dominic Santiago, Marcus' long-time friend and fellow soldier, came up from behind. "Damn. That's just down the road."
She turned to him. "Exactly. They're moving deeper every day."
They all briefly halted to watch a Raven arc over the hospital roof, and land on the road. A few Gears dismounted from the chopper.
Dom shrugged. "At least we got reinforcements."
"Yeah," Marcus added. "But for how much longer?" The three remained silent for a second. No-one needed an explanation of what Marcus had meant.
Anya sighed. "Well, I'm heading to the hospital now. I need to check on that lead." She was referring to a possible match she had found for Dom's wife, Maria, who had been missing since Emergence Day - the day when the Locust first began their ruthless assault on Sera's population.
Dom faltered a little. He shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks Anya," he managed, "I..." He hesitated. "Good luck, alright?"
Anya nodded and turned to leave.
"Sergeant Fenix!"
All three stopped and looked over at the person hailing. It was another Gear. Marcus sized him up briefly. The man was approaching rather unsteadily, with a large bag slung over his shoulder, and his Lancer precariously held at his side with one arm. He was wearing one of the newer issue helmets, concealing his face.
Rookie, Marcus thought immediately. I'd spot them a hundred klicks away.
"Are you Sergeant Fenix?" the rook asked hurriedly. He then comically dropped his Lancer on the floor. "I'm your new trainee," he said quickly, bending over to pick up the weapon.
Anya smiled faintly and looked at Marcus. "And green as grass by the look of it." She raised an eyebrow. "Time to train the rook?"
He huffed a little. "Yeah. Lucky me."
Anya's smile turned into a grin as she walked away. "Go easy on the kid, okay?"
Tch. Marcus turned to address the rookie again. He had wisely decided to put his bag back on the floor, although he'd also done the same with his Lancer.
Hmph. Better knock some sense into this kid.
The man stood up. "Private Ben Carmine, sir!" He saluted. "Reporting for duty, sir!"
"Drop the sir shit, kid," Marcus said gruffly, "We're not that polite out here. C'mon, let's go."
He ignored Carmine's attempt to grab his Lancer and bag up again, and strode away.
"Oh, yeah," he added. "Welcome to Delta."
The rookie chose to begin waffling again when they got into the street. "It's an honour to serve with you, sir. I hear that you're the one who-"
"Ser-geant," Marcus growled, with the slightest hint of reprimand.
Carmine visibly swallowed. "Yes, sir - uh, Sergeant Fenix. Must be good to know you're fighting with a Pendulum War hero."
Dom smiled and turned to the rookie. "He's just Marcus to me, man. Name's Dom, by the way."
"Good to meet you, sir - uh, Dom... " Since when was omitting a three letter word so difficult? "You seen action in the war too?"
"Rook!" Marcus demanded. "We can talk history later. Concentrate on your training now. I don't need you getting religious out there."
"Uhhh... "Carmine was at a loss for words. "Pardon?"
Stupid rookie.
"Holey," Dom added quickly.
"Oh! Right!" Carmine exclaimed, getting the pun. "Full of holes... got it..."
"First thing's first, rook, " Marcus said, going into business mode. "Stay focused on your mission. Best way is to check your Tac/Com before the bullets fly."
Carmine slowed briefly. At least he knew how to check his objectives. Marcus didn't wait for a confirmation.
"Mine says teach the rook the Golden Rule," he went on.
"Oh, I know. 'Do unto others as you would have-'"
"Not out here, kid," he said dryly. "Golden Rule of the Gears is, 'Take cover, or die.'." His eyes narrowed. "You know how to get into cover, rook? Show me."
Carmine muttered something under his breath. "Okay, keep your head down, eyes open, check your surroundings..." and there was a thud as the rook's back slammed up against a metal dumpster.
Marcus shook his head, disapproving. "You take that long, rook, and the next cover you take'll be in a graveyard. In a firefight, you don't have time to screw around - you put your back up against a wall, and you stick with it until it's safe to move up. You got that?"
A sigh from the younger man. "Yes, si- Sergeant Fenix, I mean."
Marcus glanced at the metal gate in front of them. He waved a hand dismissively. "JACK, get that fence open, now."
The floating robot materialized and began sawing away at the lock. Marcus took the time to gaze at the mess on the ground. The Eagle Newspaper was lying rather conveniently there, so he stooped to pick it up and read it:
'COG FORCES HEAD UNDERGROUND'
"This will be the largest mobilisation of COG forces since the Pendulum Wars," Chairman Prescott told the Sovereign press corps today. "Landown is the perfect location for us to launch this historic assault. The site of a valiant COG defence during the Winter of Sorrow, it's also a strategic location that allows us to take this battle to the heart of the enemy."
'Delta Squad Honored For Timgad Heroics Colonel Victor Hoffman, Sergeant Marcus Fenix and Delta One Squad were honered for their roles in the Lightmass bombing at Timgad. Originally hailed as the war's turning point, the bomb's most important effect was the elimination of the Kryll breeding grounds.'
Snorting a little at the text, Marcus rolled the paper into a cylinder and stuffed the pages into a pocket hidden behind the left armour plate on his leg. Carmine cocked his head a little at the sight.
"What do you need that for?" he asked.
"Delta's got this thing runnin' Baird likes to call a War Journal," Marcus explained."'Keepin' an eye on the world around you's a very important thing,' he says. It's all bullshit to me, but what the hell. Baird sure can bitch when he wants to..."
There was a metal 'twang' at the lock gave out under JACK's plasma cutter.
"Okay, people, let's move out," Marcus ordered. The threesome shifted up out of the alleyway and into a more open area with more dumpsters and fences.
"Yo," Dom said suddenly, "You said your name was Carmine? You got a brother was a Gear?"
"Yeah, all four of us!" Carmine exclaimed delightedly, as if he was proud of the fact. Then his voice became much quieter. "Well, three now. You know one of 'em?"
Dom looked at him gravely. "I served with Anthony. He was a good soldier. My respects."
Carmine looked away. "Thanks. Just good to know he died a hero's death."
"Uh, yeah... right," Dom said, obviously a little unsure of how to respond.
How the hell is having your head blown off a hero's death? Marcus thought dryly.
"Hey, Marcus," Dom called. "Check this shot!" The man propped his Lancer on the concrete barricade they were crounching behind and shot one of the bottles standing on the van across the clearing. There was a muffled 'crack' as the glass shattered.
He snorted. "Nice one. I'll call that and raise ya five."
Marcus loftily placed his rifle on the concrete and blindfired at the bottles. He wasn't really trying to hit them. Bottles were bottles, after all.
Dom made a smirking noise. "Uh, it helps if you aim, Marcus!"
Said Gear snorted again, rose from his crounch, lined up a bottle with the crosshairs, and fired, feeling the familiar kick of the Lancer's recoil on his shoulder. The piece of plastic went flying, smoking from three newly made bullet holes, and smacked against the wire fence behind it.
"You could hit those in your sleep with the rifle," Dom challenged. "C'mon, use your pistol, man!"
Marcus decided not to snort again, and smoothly clicked his Lancer into a clip on his back, and yanked his pistol out from the side holster.
Hitting the bottles was a little bit more challenging then, considering the COG pistol's rather miserable accuracy, but soon four more bottles had disappeared from the fence, and there was a veritable carpet of glass on the other side of the barricade.
"Alright, you win." Dom shook his Lancer for a moment. "Better reload. There could be some more killer bottles up ahead."
Marcus pulled a full magazine from his belt and replaced the old one in a practiced, fluid motion. Perfect Reloading, Baird called it. More ridiculous name chasing, though Marcus thought the name sounded quite appropriate.
Carmine shoved aside a dumpster with a bit of grunting, and the three moved on past the bottles.
A violent growl sounded abruptly on the other side of the fence, and something grey with oddly disproportionate limbs bounded past the gap in the vehicles before vanishing and silencing as quickly as it had come.
Carmine yipped something. "What the hell was that?" he choked out, worried.
Dom glanced at him before checking his Lancer. "Probably just a stray dog." Marcus knew he was joking, but why not have a little humour at the rookie's expense?
Carmine shook his head vigorously. "No, no, it was bigger than that! It looked like a... weird monkey-dog thing!"
Marcus ignored both and swept the area with a keen eye, since there was no sense letting enemies stab you in the back. And in the window of one of the derelict buildings, glaring hungrily out at them from two stories up, was a...
"Wretch! Shoot it!" he yelled, firing a burst of Lancer shots up at the Locust. The lithe creature snapped out of the way before the shots hit it, however, and it didn't get near the window again.
Marcus slowly lowered his Lancer as Carmine jumped. "Hey, that's it! That's the monkey-dog thing I saw!"
Dom twitched his view over to Marcus. "You hit 'im?" he asked.
"Don't think so," Marcus rumbled. "Looks like he got away."
"You ever seen that before?" Carmine asked.
"Yeah, but they usually travel in packs. Alright, stay alert and use cover. The other ones are probably around here somewhere..."
Marcus set off down the alley, and clambered over the concrete wall se up in front of them. Carmine was quick to follow suit.
"Nice mantle, rook. Not an easy manoeuvre to make in full gear," Marcus lauded briefly, though it was more a sarcastic gesture if anything. Carmine didn't make any reply, instead dashing forward into a fenced off area with another gate, next to a parking lot.
Dom looked around. "Nothing here. Maybe they're in the alley."
Marcus kicked open the gate. "Let's check it out."
The parking lot was deserted, but he did see something else of interest.
"Grab a few of those grenades. I gotta feeling we're gonna' need 'em."
Dom tutted as he picked one up, as did Carmine. "Man, someone needs to do an ammo sweep around here."
No comment.
After stocking up, they moved forward a little, until Carmine suddenly yelled, "Wretch!"
Marcus looked up at the parking building. Sure enough, the Wretch was curiously regarding them from a story up. As it was spotted, though, it quickly retreated back into the building.
The Gear glared at Carmine. "What did ya' call that thing, a monkey-dog?" Marcus smiled grimly. "Well, I got a special bone for it..."
He fished out one of the grenades. A frag grenade, he noted. More than enough. Swinging the 'nade rapidly around on its chain, he released it, sending it flying upwards into the second floor of the parking building.
There was a startled yelp of surprise, and then a massive 'BOOM' accompanied with a satisfying howl of pain and a wonderous explosion of light. Chips of concrete flew out from the balcony, as well as quite a few dismembered body parts.
Carmine was utterly awestruck. "AWESOME!" Then he stopped. "Wait, there's another one!"
Marcus was about to snort and snap that it was just a head rolling along the floor, but, stone the COG, Carmine recklessly decided to toss a frag at it.
"Uh oh. Watch out!" He let out a ferocious cry of irritation and threw himself backwards out of the way. Dom and Carmine, however, were not so lucky. The grenade detonated, completely liquidizing a car nearby and knocking Dom and Carmine off their feet as several sizeable chunks of metal hammered them.
Marcus coughed and waved his hand about to dispel some of the smoke. When it had cleared, he looked around again. The fence had been shredded apart by the fragmented car, and Dom and Carmine were lying on the floor, groaning from blood loss. Infuriated, Marcus strode up to Dom and pulled out a field med-kit, and quickly applied a herbal salve to the wound before bandaging it.
Dom grimaced. "Whew. Almost lost it back there. Thanks, man."
Marcus then went over to Carmine. The boy was doubled over, muttering something about blackbirds. It was tempting just to leave the rookie as he was, but alas, that probably would have counted as 'Deliberate Ignorance of an Ally' in the COG rulebook, so he didn't really have a choice. He did make sure to stab the kid a few times with a needle, though, as he was fixing him up. Just for good measure.
He stood again to find Dom looking at his bandage with distaste.
"Dom, you want to get that checked out?" he offered.
The man looked up. "Nah, just needs a few stitches. It can wait."
Marcus turned to the standing rookie, who appeared to be struggling to form a coherent answer. Marcus didn't let him. "Pull that shit again, rook, and you're gonna' get some unexpected chainsaw training."
Carmine just hung his head in defeat.
"Let's get in there," Marcus ordered, and broke into a roadie run, rushing past the battered car and through an entranceway off to the side. There were a few vehicles mashed together on the far wall, but no Wretches. A ramp led up to the next floor, but it was blocked by a wooden fence.
"Fire up your Lancers, Delta!"
The chainsaw was arguably the most brutal weapon in the war, if not behind the Hammer of Dawn. Marcus was grateful for it, since one often didn't have time to pull out the Gnasher shotgun for close range brawls. Of course, the incessant growling the chainsaw emitted was an irritating warning to a foe, but if they were caught, they were done for. Of course, cutting bloody lumps of meat from an enemy wasn't the only thing it could do. Sawing down an obstruction was another, such as the wooden blockade Marcus was about to destroy.
The chainsaw screamed bloody murder as the wood gave way to the metal. When there was a sizable hole in the blockage, Marcus cut power to the chainsaw, kicked away the remaining wooden splinters, and stepped through, with Dom and Carmine following close behind.
"Almost looks peaceful from up here..." Dom mused.
Marcus regarded the scene outside. An Assault Derrick rumbled by, escorted by a few Centaur tanks and a large number of patrolling King Ravens. "Almost."
The three walked into a ruined area. Marcus satisfactorily assessed the blood on the floor and knocked a grey scaly hand across the floor with his boot.
"Whoa," Carmine said, observing the carnage, "All this damage came from your grenade?"
"Sure as hell didn't come from yours," Marcus said dryly. He looked around. "Nothing up here, just some rats. C'mon, let's get back to the hospital."
The group pounded through the garage and down the ladder at the end, ending up in the street they had started in.
"I'll go into that garage over there, wait for me here," Marcus ordered. Without waiting for a response, he roadie ran into the small garage he'd seen.
There wasn't much too see. A line of shelves stood at one end, full of tools and other items of disinterest. A desk was at the other end, and had what Marcus noted to be a sheet of paper in front of it on the floor. He picked it up, huffing a little at it's oily smell, and read it.
'AMBULANCE DRIVER'S LOG'
'Driver: Wayne Mitchell Route: Timgad/Jacinto
Patient #1: 33 yr. old male
Symptoms: Coughing up blood & brown mucus, nausea, minor bleeding from ears.
Patient #2: 21 yr. old male
Symptoms: Nausea, coughing up blood & reddish-brown mucus
Patient #3: 36 yr. old female
Symptoms: Unconscious, blood & reddish-brown mucus coming from nose & mouth
Patient #4: 24 yr. old male
Symptoms: Coughing up blood & dark brown mucus, complaining of severe chest pain and trouble breathing'
Marcus had skipped the rest of the paper once he had started reading the symptoms, and hastily put the sheet away into the pocket again. No need to stress yourself any more than necessary, right?
He roadie ran back to the gateway, where Dom and Carmine were waiting for him. At once the rook spoke up.
"Was it another War Journal thing, sir?" he asked.
"Shut up, rookie. Get moving." They set off towards the hospital, exiting out onto the main street. The constant buzzing of helicopter blades was far more clear here. The hospital now no longer had so many ambulances or stretchers around, and Marcus wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad omen.
Carmine looked at the passing choppers. "Whoa! Those Ravens are in a hurry!"
"That can't be good," Dom said worriedly.
Marcus tapped his Lancer experimentally. "Looks like vacation's over, kid. Head back to the convoy drop-off, stay there until I call you on your Tac/Com."
"But-" Carmine began to protest.
"That's an ORDER, soldier!" Marcus demanded. "Dom, let's move."
Leaving the stunned rookie behind in the alley, the two Gears rushed towards the hospital with all due speed.
Weeeell.... I spent about an hour or two writing, reading and modifying a few things, which I think was too little time in my opinion. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed reading it. It's the first thing I've written in God only knows how long...
Update 19/10/09: I hadn't realised that there was a piece of music identical in name to the mission! Heck, I'll just put it up here for kicks. http:// .com/watch?v=mTmKch6iYRI&feature=related Remove the spaces, and listen.
Signing off,
grammaguy