Have you ever had that feeling? You know, the one where no matter what you do, there is no good ending for you and you alone. When dread and hopelessness fill your chest and it starts to ache from the pain. Where you just want to curl up into someone's arms and let it all out but if you do it will make things worse. No matter what, you don't get a happy ending.
Then again, happy ending are for fairytales. Life was never a fairytale, all of Project Freelancer knew this. They lost agents, battles, hope. Yet what made them so unique is that they still kept the idea that each and every one of them would walk out alive, happy, and truly free. They all kept this single hope, but they all knew there was only one way out of there. Death.
Traitors were killed. The insane slaughtered. The deserters hunted. The list goes on. But for a period of time, this program trusted each other, took pride in each mission accomplished and worked harder to complete the next one. Even if they weren't under UNSC jurisdiction, they were still making a difference.
Even the newer member, Agent Washington, believed this. He may have had a typical rookie attitude and was still learning the ropes but there was one thing he learned quickly about the system. There were no traitors, deserters, hardly any death.
He was pondering upon this when he felt a nudge on his shoulder. He snapped out of his thoughts, looking up at the large brute named Maine. "Meeting?" He sighed, a tad surprised when the fellow agent shook his head. "Recruit," he grunted, motioning for the newer soldier to follow him.
The two arrived at the observation room, the rest of the Freelancers spread out. Wash looked out the window, memories of his own first training coming to mind and how Maine had given him a few new bruises. "Do we know anything about the new guy?" North asked, glancing around the room. Wash sighed, continuing to look out the glass Connecticut replied a firm "Not yet".
"Hey Wash," Connie smiled, slightly leaning on his shoulder. "Hey Connie," Wash replied, watching an unfamiliar group of 5 soldiers walk out onto the training room floor. He cocked his head as he examined each one of them.
The tallest, around 7'4", was towering over the others. He wore a blood red CQB helmet with silver accents. His left shoulder was a Security piece while his right shoulder was from the EVA armor, both a matching silver. His chest plate was something Wash had never seen before, but it was heavy, thick, blood red metal. After squinting a bit Wash could see an large X mark laying over what appeared to be the image of a flame.
Wash turned his attention to one of the more smaller guys of the group. His ODST helmet was a bright gold with a dark red stripe running down the middle of it. His right shoulder piece was a standard Mark VI shoulder plate, it matching with his dark red Recon left shoulder piece. It took a few minutes before Wash recognized the bright gold Hayabusa chest plate.
He glanced to the right of the golden soldier to see a very small female wearing all lilac Reacon armor, her visor pitch black. Wash felt shudders run down his spine as he saw the black shadow-like designs across the chest plate and helmet.
There were only two more left, one a very light green with white accents. He seemed to have full scout armor, aside from the Reacon shoulder pieces, but decorated his armor with all sorts of long-ranged weapons, implying this guy more than likely was a sniper.
He turned his attention to the last one, quite interested in this one. It was a well built female, reminding him of Carolina. She wore the standard Mark VI armor, pitch black with navy blue as her chosen secondary, but what really caught his attention was the weapons she was carrying. A pair of SMGs, and the M319 Individual Grenade Launcher, a.k.a, "Pro Pipe".
Wash took a step back as he saw a digital log glisten onto the window. Everyone turned and crowded around it, reading what small data provided. "Five recruits, and they're asking for five volunteers," Carolina sighed, a bit disappointed with such small info. Maine let out a grunt, leaning over as touching his name, watching it torn from white to blue. He leaned back, glancing around at everyone with a shrug.
"Why not?" North sighed, touching his name, locking him in as a volunteer. "Count on me," Wyoming replied, tapping his name with a smirk. Wash looked in between everyone, thinking that they were silently arguing who else would volunteer. "Fine, I'll go," South sighed in defeat, pressing her name. She felt a reassuring pat on her shoulder, but it was obvious she didn't want to be involved.
"...anyone else?"Carolina asked, looking at what remind of the group. Wash felt something rise in his chest as he leaned in and pressed his name. He received surprised looks from everyone in the room. "Are you sure Wash?" York asked.
Wash nodded, standing firmly by Maine and North. He also received pats on his shoulder's and back as he followed Maine out of the room.
"We go in without any equipment, hand to hand at first. Then, we use pugil sticks, and then we use these guns that have a substance that locks down our armor," South sighed.
"And it stings like hell," North sighed, joining the conversation. "So, have any of you noticed anything about these recruits?" Wyoming asked, butting in. "I've saw a few things," Wash shrugged. "Like what?" South asked, slapping on her helmet.
"Well, there's a big guy like Maine, he's wearing a dark red and white. There's a really small guy, wearing a gold ODST helmet, I think he may be weak but fast. There's a really small girl, smaller then Connie, and I think she prefers stealth over anything else. Oh, and there's a sniper, wearing light green,"
"That's only four, what about the last one?" North asked. "Oh, right. She's built like Carolina, wearing black and blue, I think she might be the toughest, but I'm pretty sure if we time our strikes right that we can take her down," Wash sighed, giving an unsure shrug. "Well, let's go kick ass!" South smirked. They all nodded in agreement, following her out the locker room.
Wash watched Maine tensed up as they stood in front of the five recruits. The Mark VI cracked her knuckles, giving a nod in between the rest. Wash realized that they weren't strangers to one another, or an undesired force together team. "They've fought together before" Wash muttered,
"Round 1 starting in..." F.I.L.S.S announced, her voice sounding as if it were to be a very fast but timed seemed to slow for him. He curled his fingers, bringing them up to his face, as did the others. He felt a wave of confusion wash over him as he noticed the taller female didn't bring her fist to her face, but instead left them at her side.
"5"
She cracked her knuckles, rolling her neck as her eyes locked dead on with Washington. Her breath was drawn out, cool and calm, as if she were telling herself to not use all she had this first round.
"4"
He examined her body language, noting how she was calm in manner but her mind was more than excited to pounce. She took in another deep breath, tightening her fist in order to conserve her energy.
"3...2..."
Right before the A.I F.I.L.S.S had said the final second, it was if time had frozen completely. Everyone took in a single breath, and silence completely filled the room. The suspense wrapped around everyone's thought and the tension began to thicken.
"1. Begin."
The two teams charged at one another, fist pounding with determination. Wash took a blow to the gut and he returned the strike with punch to the side. His attacker stumbled back with groan, giving Washington the chance to slam his elbow into their chest. He felt a hand wrap around his now exposed shoulder, and another lifting him up from his stomach. He curled up his fist and hit his attacker once more, before being plummeted into the ground.
Wash let out a groan as he looked up at black and navy blue Spartan hovering over him. "Hi..." He coughed before swinging his leg and kicking the Spartan's leg out from under her. She stumbled onto the ground, balling up her fist and punch Wash in the stomach as gravity pulled her body down.
"Hey," She replied, her breath shortening as her lungs recovered from the painful fall. Wash took advantage of this, leaning up and crashing his knee into her rib cage. The Spartan let out a groan of pain before grabbing Wash's leg and slamming his back into the ground.
"So, uh, I'm Wash" He gruffly said, grabbing her by the collar bone and slamming their helmets together. She let out a sharp yelp of pain before balling up her fist and punching him in the throat. His breath cut off as the pain flooded his neck, his eyes watering up as he struggled to get air. "Washington huh? No D.C?" The female shrugged before taking Wash's arm and spinning him around before quickly letting go. Wash, who was still struggling for air and now so dizzy he saw stars, slammed in between the brawl Maine and he equally tall opponent were having.
"Uh, No D.C yet, just me..." He coughed as fresh oxygen oozed into his lungs. He felt himself being pulled up, looking up and giving Maine a firm nod before returning to his opponent. He watched as she finally brought her fist to her face, her body more defensive this time. "Alright Wash, let's see what you've got"
Wash let out a small chuckle, giving a small shake of his head as he brought up his first once more. He watched the Spartan as they circled each other, feeling a sliver of triumph run through him. He studied her weak points, doing all sorts of math in his head as to where and when to strike a certain body point. He may have been a rookie, but he was still a freelancer.
He balled up his fist as he charged at her, watching as her fist tensed. He smirked as she was ready to swing and stop his powerful run when he let his body skid onto the ground. She let out a sharp breath of air as Wash's fist slammed into her exposed stomach. She let out a frustrated growl, grabbing Wash by the back of his helmet and colliding it into her knee.
Wash took in calm breaths as he stumbled to the ground, but this time snagging his arm around the soldier's throat as he went down. After regaining his balance, Wash properly stood up and began to choke out his opponent. She began to struggle for air, twisting and turning her head to slip away from his tight grip, but found that it was effortless. She allowed as smile slip onto her face as she brought up her knee and crouched into his crotch.
Wash groaned, stumbling back and immediately falling to the ground and holding his crotch in pain. "Oh...my holy shit...my fucking acorns!" He gasped, tears leaking from his eyes. The soldier stifled a laugh, before shaking her head at the agent's pain. "You're good Washington, and I can honestly say I look forward to kicking ass with you"
"Son of a...my god.." Wash groaned as his team began to shuffle back to the others. He glanced behind him to see his opponents also in extreme pain. He shook his head as remembered their score. One point. One point away from besting the rookies. Then again, Wash himself still felt like a rookie and kinda found it a bit stupid to consider himself any different. "Dang, that was some hardcore stuff, those guys are tough," South laughed.
"They pack a punch and know how to work together. They must have been a team before coming here," Wyoming replied, glancing over to Carolina. She crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her head at the five Spartans who were clutching their sides. "So, can they get they job done?"
"Definitely. And probably a bit extra," North spoke up. Carolina nodded before turning to the others. "So who wants to find out who these guys are?" She asked, her red hair waving in front of her green eye. "I say we all go, just so they know they can trust us when it comes to a mission," Wash spoke up as the eyes of the room landed on him.
"I agree, it might save our butts one day," Connecticut nodded to Carolina, eliminating the attention Wash was receiving.
"Okay, so what are their names?" Wyoming asked. Everyone murmured between eachother or just simply shrugged, giving a firm shake if their heads. "No one knows, but we do know they're at the galley" York said with a huff. Carolina sighed as she turned her back and began to march out of the room. "Let's roll"
The Freelancers followed Carolina's lead, talking amongst themselves as they roamed the halls of the Mother of Invention. Some wonder what the new group was like, others wondered if they would get to work together, and a few even considered if this new group had fought covenant before. But Washington had something different on his mind.
He began to wonder how they were chosen to be in Project Freelancer. In his eyes each one of those guys could be easily matched up to one of his own teammates so what had made them so special? Was it how well they worked together? Or was it how they worked on a mission? Did one of them just happen to know or have something the Director needed? It was one of the many things Wash wanted ask about, and was actually hoping that it wasn't classified.
Well, to him classified meant having your data blacked out with ink and you swearing not to tell a soul. Most soldiers did have their past classified, including Wash himself, and it was just one of the bigger mysteries that swirled in his mind. Every beating heart was someone before joining the project, good and bad memories, families and friends...but who were they exactly?
Washington snapped out of his thoughts as the group marched into the galley. He eyesight drifted to the group of soldiers sitting at one of the many steel tables, all playing a game of cards. "Do you have...Rita Hayworth?" The biggest of them asked, looking around his group. "You my friend, are a bitch," The smaller male of the group sighed and he threw the card at the brute.
"Ahem." Caroline grunted, catching the attention of the soldiers. They put down their cards as their focus shifted from their game and onto the Freelancers. It was then Wash noticed the Spartan who had brutally socked him in the throat walk out of the hallway with the shortest member of the team. "A welcoming party? I would've expected for us to meet on the battle field instead,"
"I'd rather meet you now since I want my people to know we can trust your people," Carolina nodded as the two women stood near the rest of the team. "I understand perfectly, no leader wants their soldiers to work with people they can't even trust," The Mark VI nodded.
"Agreed. I am Agent Carolina, and I lead my team. These soldiers are Agent New York, Agent North Dakota, his twin sister South Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, Connecticut and Was-"
"I know who Agent Washington is," The Spartan firmly nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We chatted a bit while sparing...how's your side?" Wash asked as he looked back at the soldier.
"A bit of ice should help, how's your acorns " She smirked, trying her hardest to hold back a laugh.
"I don't think I'll ever have the courage to choke someone out from behind ever again" He chuckled in response. The black armored woman chuckled as she gently shook her head. "I suppose introductions are in order for my team. Helmets,"
At the last of her words, the team pulled off their helmets and looked over to her as she pulled of her own. "This ginger here is Galveston, sneaky one she is. She uses shadows well, so if you ever work with her just listen to her advice when it comes to specific areas," She nodded to the short ginger haired woman standing beside her. She had freckles scattered across her porcelain face and even more when her Hazel brown eyes rested. Her frizzy ginger hair was pulled into a messy bun, more than likely from her helmet, and she had a skull tattoo under her right ear.
"The big brute who had just gathered the Rita Hayworth card is Houston. He's our expert driver and mechanic, and he loves to throw people. Though he can be bit slow, I believe his strength makes up for it," She grunted, said soldier giving a finger salute to the Freelancers. He had a rich olive skin tone that matched well with his dark chocolate hair. He had one forest green eye, while the other had a deep scared X running through it causing it show it's blind milky gray color. His hair was a standard military cut, and he barely had any to be truthful. To Washington, he looked like a scarred up JarHead.
"How'd you get that scar?" North asked.
"I was running a mission for the UNSC, working against the covenant. We had planted a bomb to collapse one of their outpost. We hadn't gotten out of the area in time, so I got a beating in the head from a piece of debris. I couldn't see when I woke up, and it turns out a covenant tank had ran over my face while I was out...and guess who was driving it," The man grunted as he glared over at the golden ODST.
"I said I was sorry!" The soldier whined, earning a chuckle from the others. "That's San Antonio, he's our technician expert, though don't let him mess with bombs...he's not to good with those...but he can upgrade your weapons and make very good battle plans" She chuckled as she sat next to the man. His shaggy brown hair hung over his dark blue eyes, fainted scars scattered across his sunkist skin. He actually looked pretty young, without the scars and a proper shave he could pass off as a highschooler.
"Our sniper here is Austin. He can make all sorts of long distance shots with just about any gun, and he's pretty good at improvising when it comes to missions. He also makes a mean can of beans," She nodded to the African American male. His oily, milk chocolate skin glistened in the light, his forest green eyes shining with pride as his cooking was mentioned. His spiked black hair laying over his eyes as a pearly white smile grew across his face.
"Thanks Boss, everyone says Cajun food helps the soul," Austin smiled, earning a chuckle from Houston.
"So you're from Louisiana?" North asked as he motioned to Austin, curiosity glistening in his eyes.
"Yes'm, born and raised in New Orleans. Ma been teaching me all about those foods while Pa was out fighting them Covenant," Austin smiled, looking between his team. Wash was bit surprised to hear someone actually from Earth. Majority of the time people came from colonies on other planets, space stations or something along the like. "So then who are you?" Carolina asked, quickly cutting off the small talk.
"Dallas. I let my men speak for me, all I'm gonna tell you is that I'm would sacrifice everything for my team," She replied sternly, her sapphire eyes gleaming in the artificial lights. She had a caramel tint to her brown hair, which was also a bit messy from her helmet. She had it cut off to a pixie cut, probably to make things easier on her part, and the back portion of it slightly covered a tattoo that Washington couldn't quite make out.
"How come you guys are cities instead of states?" York asked, drawing Washington's attention away from the group to his own questions.
"The Director said we were a smaller squad, used to handle Covenant Relations, UNSC issues, help you guys out with the rebels and stuff. But we're designed to handle stealthier missions and a lower number of enemies...so it could just be to tell our specialties apart," San Antonio shrugged, looking between the others.
"Since you guys are cities from Texas, will you be working with that agent?" Wash asked, looking over to Dallas and Houston.
"We're not completely sure, but I don't think so. That guy is probably gonna be working with you guys a lot or something. Plus, I just don't see us having a different leader," Houston nodded, glancing over at Dallas.
"I'm not that great of a leader Houston, and I doubt I'll ever be the greatest. If we were to work with Texas and have them as our leader, I'm completely fine with it. The only issue I see is you and Galveston not wanting to trust or listen to them," Dallas sighed, her tone flickering with slight cockiness.
"But I thought Texas was reserved for someone else anyway," Galveston huffed, the ginger finally speaking up to the group.
"It is, but I guess we'll find out for who sooner or later," Carolina nodded, receiving a small grunt on the ginger's part.
"Well it was nice meeting you all, but I have some training to attend before our next mission," Carolina grunted, leaving the galley without another word, a few others following her.
"Don't worry, I'm told she'll warm up to people eventually," Wash shrugged looking back at the squad. They chuckled, the boys returning to their card game while Galveston quickly left for some 'air'.
"So, you're a Shiny too eh?" Houston grunted, looking over to Washington, only slightly turning his head so his gruesome scar wouldn't have to be gawked upon. "Uh, what the fuck is a shiny?" Wash asked.
"Your visor is brand new, polished with Willistine. No cracks, no smudges, no dirt. Shines like it was just made, like ours," San Antonio explained, glancing over to the others.
"Well Maine's is shiny and he isn't a rookie," Wash sighed, sitting down at the steel table. He earned chuckles from the group, and began to wonder what in the hell was so funny.
"Have you seen that boy's helmet? I wouldn't be surprised if he polishes it every night," Dallas smirked, her steel blue eyes filled with amusement.
"That boug reminds me of a Gep," Austin sighed, shaking head. Washington raised an eyebrow at the man, his fast Cajun tongue already more than confusing him. Wash assumed he may have cocked his head at Austin, since Dallas snorted at his confusion.
"He means that Maine reminds him of a wasp," Antonio explained, rolling his eyes at his friend's comment. Wash contemplated for a moment, before looking back up with understanding. "His punches pack a sting"
"Yes'm," Austin nodded with a smile, looking over to Houston and murmuring the name of some woman. Wash slightly shook his head and looked over to Dallas, who had been fiddling with her knife as the group traded out cards.
"So where are you from?" Wash asked, smiling as she looked up from her steel black blade. She quickly returned the ice cold blade into it's sheath, before a small sigh escaped from her plump lips. "I was born on Thelia, in the Palaver System"
"Isn't that the colony where everyone lives nicely and shit?"
"You could say that. It's a good place for retirement and raising a family but people have left for other colonies," She nodded.
"So then why did you decide to leave?"
Dallas bit her lip in thought, her blue eyes glazing over as searched through her memories. "Maybe it was because I wanted to make a difference or probably see something other than foxes in trees...to be honest I'm not quite sure why I left. All I know is I sure in hell don't regret it"
"Ooh Rah!" The entire room echoed, soon laughs and smiles erupting onto their faces. Wash let himself fully relax as the group jockey and told the craziest stories he had ever heard of. Some were before the UNSC, in boot camp, off duty, or just something random. He found himself steadily looking the group, a stupid ass grin creeping across his face. In his eyes, these guys were another to fight for.
AN: Hello Readers, I am WinterWarrior09, but you can just call me Warrior. I want to thank you for even bothering to take the time read my story, it really means a lot to me. I apologize if there is any spelling errors, I'm naturally not a good speller but I hope Microsoft Word picked out everything that was wrong in this chapter. If not, I ask the you please tell me that way I can fix it :D My initial goal was to have this chapter to be 5000 words long, each chapter being the same length. I am going to keep track of how many words are in each chapter and add it all up at the end of this book. The goal is to hit 150,000+
This chapter is 4938 words long
Feel Free to flame, praise, critique and ask questions
Red vs Blue (c) Roosterteeth
Dallas, Houston, Austin, Galveston & San Antonio (c) WinterWarrior09
I am accepting OCs for this but I will ONLY accept them through PM, not reviews. I do have rules and a template for this, and I ask that you follow it so it's easier on my end :)
RULES:
*Please do NOT bitch & complain about how I fit your character into the story if they are chosen. I will remove your OC from the story completely and you will furthermore not be allowed to participate in events like so.
*Do NOT ask me repeatedly if your OC is accepted, it annoying as crap
* They do NOT have to be a state, I'm actually really wanting to see other unique characters other than Freelancer Agents.
* I ask that your OC not to be related to any canon characters...now if you want to send in two OCs that are related that's fine
* I have to ask that if you really want your OC to have an A.I, know that this takes place a bit before the Freelancers get their A.I's so your A.I will come up around the end of the story. They CANNOT have the names Rho, Tau, Zeta & Nu and MUST go by the Greek Alphabet.
* I will accept characters who have highlights
* Only natural eye colors please
* When it comes to abilities, please be at least creative. I don't want to hear just 'super speed' -_-
Basics
Full Name:
Nickname(s):
*State Name:
Gender:
Age:
Nationality:
Race:
Sexual Orientation:
Birthday:
Zodiac Sign (astrology):
Blood Type:
Occupation:
Theme Song:
AI
Name:
Alpha's Trait:
Personality:
Color(s):
Do they know about the Alpha?:
Do they know about the Beta?:
Appearance
Initial Impression:
Height:
Weight:
Body Type:
Face Shape:
Shoe Size:
Hair Color:
Hair Style:
Hair Thickness:
Eye Color:
Eyebrow Color:
Complexion:
Physical quirks/abnormalities:
Beauty Marks:
Scar(s):
Civilian Dress Style:
Make-Up (if applicable ):
Load-out:
Armor (including ability):
Formal Outfit:
Personality
Initial Impression:
Most endearing trait:
Least endearing trait:
General attitude towards other characters:
Annoying Habits:
Quirks:
Political affliction (if applicable):
Religion (if applicable):
Accent (if applicable):
General Likes:
General Dislikes:
General Fears:
Greatest Fear:
Phobias (if applicable):
Flaws:
Superstitious or nah:
Pet Peeve(s):
Would love to fight:
Would hate to fight:
Dream Job:
Family:
Friends:
Rivals:
Arch-nemesis:
Acquaintances:
Most Common Expression:
Favorite Color:
Least Favorite Color:
Favorite Food:
Least Favorite Food:
Lasting Medical issues:
Pet(s):
Relationship Status:
Children (if applicable):
Romance Interest:
Background
Educational Background:
Career Background:
Martial Background:
Medical Background:
Bio:
~Reviews~
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