Energy and Motion
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers
The Laser Tag Arena is Fictional
Chapter 1: Laser Visions
Shia quickly ducked behind the large neon blue painted panel. She pressed her back up against the rough plywood structure, as deep and heavy breaths were sucked in. The stiff plastic sensor laser vest was rubbing irritably against her shoulders and it was hot and sweaty. Perspiration trickled down her back and it strung her hair together into a wet mess along her forehead. Her breath came out hot and humid in the stuffy air as she tried to find a ventilation breeze close by to where she was sitting. Shia wiped the perspiration off of her forehead and peeked around the corner of the plywood wall.
Teenagers from fifteen to seventeen were running around with either blue or red laser tag vests on. They glowed the faction colors at the shoulders, front chest, and back; were the sensor panels were located. Red blended in easier in the darkened arena, but it looked angry and well like the bad guys. The blue team had those dreaded blue LEDS that were not a tactical advantage, because they stood out like a sore thumb in the darkness and made targeting easier for the red team. You could tell when a blue was close or hidden around a corner because of the reflective blue light on the dark wooden panels.
Dance lights and dim various colored light bulbs filtered through the wooden-constructed laser course. The combination of glow-in-the-dark neon paint and black lights painted different landscapes and provided a way through the dark for the players. The arena was about twice as big as a standard school gym. There was a main level and balconies that made up a second level, which could be reached by the many platforms and ramps. Each team had their own base, a place to guard because extra points could be scored there, and it also was a place to rest for the extra long tournaments.
The game participants shouted and called orders to each other in the echoing room. "Blue on the left!" "Ouch! Watch where you are swinging that thing!" and "I'll stick with you, let's go find some reds." Were commonly heard being shouted by participants. Strategic units in the factions would relay orders to their team members as they attacked like real soldiers and raked up the points. Feet trotted over the raised wooden ramps as the distinct electronic sound of a vest powering up caught Shia's ear.
She quickly looked around and seeing it was no one, she noticed it was her vest. The blue lights flickered back on and glowed in the clear sensor panel plastic. Her laser blaster made an electronic "whoosh" as it came back online, ready to be fired with two hands gripping the trigger. Shia was 'tagged' earlier, so as a penalty her suit would offline for five seconds before powering back on and she could continue scoring. The girl had to hide because even when a player's vest wasn't functioning, the opposing team could still snag points off of them. She hefted the plastic weapon and peered down the barrel like an experienced sniper. Through the small gap between two panels, she fired at the incoming footsteps.
When her weapon didn't make the sound of hitting a target, she peered around even further. A blue team member's vest came into view as he skirted around the boards that made up the maze like arena. The comrade was tall and a little lanky. Shia recognized the blue player as one of her friends, Cody, by the glowing white lines of his horizontal stripped t-shirt.
"Cody! It's good to see you! I was looking for you!" Shia exclaimed to Cody. Not to loudly though, for fear of giving up their position to the Derezzers, or the red team. Especially when Shia was a pretty targeted player for her extraordinary sharpshooting skills.
"Yeah, same here. Blue's got most of the Red cornered by the Swamp ramps over there," he pointed to the direction he was indicating. "but there's a few rouges ruining around, targeting us, and the Derezzers continue to slip by."
"Are we heading to Red Base to hit the Detonator?" asked Shia as she sniped a red player's shoulder guard, plummeting the vest into darkness. "Yes," answered Cody as he jogged with her, their tennis shoes hitting the hard floor with dull thuds.
The Detonator was at each of the bases. It was an important bonus scorer that could be guarded or sought after, depending on the strategy. It was a flashing strobe light that when targeted, any enemies near base would be 'tagged' and the allies would score two thousand points for the team and three hundred for the players who were attacking the panels. The Detonator's targeting panels were up high and they would flash and change every second. The tripwire for the 'bomb' was usually really hard to hit even if it wasn't guarded. But with this game of laser tag, it would be heavily fortified… maybe.
The two teens quickly strode forward from a corner, entering hostile territory. They were shoulder to shoulder as they ran away from a marching group of reds. They slipped into the Alley Ways that were not heavily used, and headed towards where the Detonator would be for the Derezzers.
Cody jumped up on a ramp and shot down a few unsuspecting Reds down below. They shouted and looked around, confused. Before they could spot him he ducked down and continued on with Shia.
"Just like Star Wars: Battlefront," smiled Shia, as Cody and her came under fire from a lone red member. They leaned against the half wall and waited for him to come closer. When he did, Shia tagged his vest and they ran away from him. "We make a great team."
"Yeah we really do, Shy. But that's what you get from winning several paintball matches in the past few weeks, playing a few clean rated shooting games, and knowing the champ who owns this joint. Mix it all together and you get the Terrible Two!" Cody gestured wildly between the two of them while making a funny-evil face in the black lights.
Shia laughed at her friend's antics. "Some would say the Terror Twins. But thankfully we aren't that stupid to pull so many pranks," she smiled at her own comment to a franchise both of the friends knew pretty well.
They stopped to take a break as Shia looked through a peeking hole that was near the Detonator - but it was placed at the wrong angle that would make hitting the triggers impossible - looking for reds. "We got a few guards, but I think the Autobots are doing really well at drawing their attention elsewhere."
"That's the benefits of having Capture the Flag in this match too," Cody wiped the sweat off of his hands on his pants. "Though, it isn't much like an actual capture the flag scenario. I don't get it much, but I know it ranks up extra points."
"Yeah, that's for sure," she glanced back at her friend. "How much time do we have left?"
Cody glanced at the small red time slip on his vest. "Fifteen more minutes… I think. Golly," he wiped his forehead and took a deep breath. "Who knew a forty minute game would be so tiring."
"Well good thing we're all fit. What's the score?"
"Um…"
Suddenly, as if an answer to Shia's question, the speakers stationed around the course made a small techno tune. "Nearly fifteen minutes to go and the Autobots are in the lead! Derezzers need at least two thousand five hundred more points to break even! Tag on players!"
A chorus of cheers went up from the Autobots.
"There's your answer," shrugged Cody as they ran down a ramp way, getting closer to Red's base. The Detonator was in sight; it blinked high up on the wall like some weird flashing Whack-a-mole game.
The disco lights spun quickly, casting squares of pink, green, yellow, and orange light to swirl on the black walls in the Alley Ways as it opened up. "Sleeeeeeeper mode initiated!" shouted the speakers in a reduction of techno pitch.
Sleeper mode was when three players from each team, who were the closest to the opposing bases, vests would go dark. Disguising their faction and making them look like they were tagged when they really weren't. The picked players also would have functional laser blasters, so then they could get closer to the Detonators or the Bases and be able to protect or shoot something. But Sleepers could get docked points when shot by their original opposing team.
Cody and Shia's suits went dark and they chimed out: Sleeper mode. The two teens were now Sleepers. They looked at each other, smiled, and then took of running as silently as they could. Hopefully the Derezzers wouldn't recognize their clothing as apart of the Autobots team.
Shia quickly jumped from behind a wall, the Detonator in sight. Cody and her were in the direct line of the Detonators on one of the balconies. Shia looked at the blinking and dancing red-lighted panels, took aim, and fired with Cody.
Shia hit directly on the spot, a countdown tone sounded out all around the base. One of the Reds' cursed and they came charging up the one-way ramp, shouting, "There's a Sleeper up here!"
The countdown finished and strobe lights all around the Derezzers Base lit up like fireworks. An explosion sound went off throughout the course as vapor machines high up in the ceiling created 'smoke' from the explosion. The blue team cheered as they gained another two thousand points, quickly pulling ahead of the red team. Shia smiled at the commotion. She and Cody quickly barged through the small blockade of Reds that failed to stop them and ran down the ramps. Heading back to home base.
:(O):
"Time's up!" A deflating electronic tune called out over the speakers, ending with a chirp. Signaling that the match was over. "Team blue – the Autobots win the battle! Return to your bases to see the scoreboards and enjoy the party refreshments provided by the match supporters. It was a fun match to watch players! Tag on!"
Shia sighed heavily and nearly collapsed to the floor. Cody placed a steady hand on her shoulder as the fit teens wobbled off towards the exit at their bases. Fellow teammates and friends patted Cody and Shia on the back as they walked through the double exit doors. Giving them their congratulations and cheering on their win. Cody glanced around at the fellow Autobots. Everyone was panting, sweat gleaming off of their foreheads and soaking their shirts. A few kids looked stiff and a little light-headed, but smiles were all on their faces. This selective elite game between some of the fittest and the greatest laser tag players was a sensation to remember. Even if you lost, it was a game that would go in the record books of Raff's Laser Tag Arenas.
Shia grunted while lifting the bulky vest off of her shoulders and over her head. She placed it on the rack with her number and suite name: Space Scotty. Her head was spinning like crazy and she placed a hand on the rack to steady herself. 'Must have moved to fast, blood rush to the head,' she thought.
Cody walked up to Shia after putting away his vest: The Gung-gan. Shia looked over her best friend's appearance. His red brown hair was matted with sweat and it clung to his neatly angled face. His dark eyebrows hung over his bright, almost cyan blue eyes. He was tall for a seventeen – almost eighteen - year old. His lanky long arms, wide hands and narrow shoulders made him a great climber; don't be fooled by the lack of visible muscle, because he was not weak by any standards. He smiled at his friend, but it came out more like a grimace.
Shia was barely seventeen years old, average height and a healthy adult weight with good curves. She was smart and a great recreation vehicle driver, something that most girls are not. Her cobalt blue eyes were dark for her bright blond hair, and they shined with a deep light under the slope of her stringy sweaty bangs over her forehead. She brushed them away and grabbed her head as they dizziness threatened to tip her over again.
Cody gripped Shia's shoulders with one hand, "Hey, are you okay?" he asked with concern.
The boy noted his friend looked at him with a mix of confusion and blankness, as if debating if she really was okay. Shia slightly shook her head, "I don't think so. My heads spinning and I think I need to lay down," she muttered.
Shia's head tipped back and her body went slack abruptly. Cody yelped in surprise and grabbed his friend's fainting form. He carefully laid her down on the rubber floor and quickly checked her vitals.
She was fine, just passed out.
Cody felt her face and noticed it was burning up yet clammy and cold. He turned to one of his friends who had rushed forward to catch Shia. "Parker, get me a glass of water. Shia just passed out, probably from over exert herself."
Parker nodded and ran off to grab a drink from the refreshment table at the other side of the room.
Cody turned to his downed friend, making sure she was all laid out and okay. "You'll be okay, you always are," he muttered to reassure his worrying self.
:(O):
Energy…
Shia opened her eyes, they were heavy and she felt so tired and it was a struggle to do so. Blinding white light flooded her vision and it forced her to close her eyes against the harshness. A fierce wind blew in her ears; she could hear sand shifting all around her and whistling through rock. A scorching heat beat down on her stretched out body over the tiny grains. The blond-headed girl sat up slowly, and clutched her throbbing head.
"Oh my head," she muttered as she rolled into herself slightly.
Shia opened her eyes again and this time her vision was focused on everything. A deep blue sky was high above her with a bright white horizon. No sun could be seen in the sky. Twisted brown and black rock rose out of the shifting white sands into alien shapes; shapes that had long been carved away by the harsh wind in the desert. A deep rhythmic beat seemed to pulse in the air; it was something ancient and meaningful.
'Twisted brown rock, shifting white sands, and an annoying wind?' She looked around again, making sure she wasn't seeing things. Then it hit her, like a solid freight train carrying tons of heavy stone bricks.
"Where are the Seven Primes?" she asked no one in particular as they familiar scene clicked in her head. "Where is Sam?" The wind blew harder and bits of sand flew into her socks and it stuck to her sweaty face.
"I must be dreaming… none of this can be real."
Something shifted out of the sands in front of her. Shia locked eyes on it and watched as black particles formed a silver and blue alien-shaped artifact. It pulsed with an ancient power and spun idly, defining gravity.
"The Matrix of Leadership?" she whispered quietly with awe. "What is going on?"
The images faded away to darkness as Shia returned to the real world. But a snippet of an ancient voice floated on her conscious; sadly Shia would never remember the soft-spoken words.
Energy allows us to change matter. Change is eminent, and new Sparks shall emerge.
KTAB: How was that? Pretty good, at least I think. New story, new user, new, new, and new. The story will soon pick up. I promise!
If there are any mistakes, please let me know.