Chapter 1: The Prelude to War

Location: Rouge, Republic of Rojo

"BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP!"

The alarm went off in the face of Kristel Wright. She fumbled around with her right hand, looking for the snooze button. She jerked her eyes open for a brief second to take a look at the time. 6:00. Time to get your ass up... she thought as her eyes fell back shut. Grudgingly, she lifted herself out of bed and went to her clothing bureau. Her eyes were still shut, yet she was able to feel around for the drawer containing her track clothing. She stripped off her clothing and replaced her t-shirt and panties with track shorts, sweatpants, shirt and sweatshirt.

Grabbing her mp3 player, she began her morning run. Today was the day of the so-called "Meet of Champions" where she would be competing against students from schools all over the Republic of Rojo. For the whole school year, she had sprinted for the Rouge High track team and this time, she was dead set on coming out on top.

As the cool, morning air blew through her hair as she ran down her street, she thought of what the meet would be like today. Hmm, ten to one there will be recruiters for the Red Team there... she thought. The army of the Republic of Rojo, also known as the Red Team, was always looking for new recruits to fight in the war against the army of the nation of Azure (known as the Blue Team), and one of their primary sources were school sports teams. Though Kristel did not know much about the red team, she knew that they looked for fast runners to serve as scouts. Also, they looked for Soldiers and Heavy Weapons Guys among the shot put throwers and discus throwers. Many of those recruited felt it was an honor to fight for the Red Team and joined up without question.

Not Kristel though, She was nervous that if she did too well, the Red Team might swarm her with offers to join up. But wait, why am I even worrying about this? The Red Team's never recruited women in the past, why would I be an exception? It was true. The Red Team only paid attention to the male athletes on each sports team and never gave a second glance at the women.

By the time she had arrived home, her mother was watching the morning news, which almost always consisted of a report on the war between the Red and Blue Teams. This time, they were interviewing a soldier on the losses they've experienced over the past few days. "...Their medics were using some strange device that made the enemy soldiers invincible. I shot four rockets at one of them and they all bounced off. It must have been that Übercharge thing I've been hearing about from my buddies." This was not the first time she had heard of the Übercharge: all week, that's all the war reports ever consisted of. Übercharge this and bulletproof that. She thought to herself as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. She then sat and ate in quiet disgust about having to listen to another soldier blubber on camera about how his squad was wasted by some bulletproof Heavy Weapons Guy.

The Meet of Champions was held at Rouge High's very own track, which consisted of a large, red oval with 8 lanes. A massive structure of bleachers lay on one of the straightaways on the track, allowing for a close view of the last 100 meters of a running event. To the right were the long jump pits where the long and triple jump took place as well as a giant field for the javelin throwers. In the center of the oval were all of the field events, such as the shot put and discus.

She could already overhear the male sprinters bragging about being recruited onto the Red Team. "Ohh yeah, well by the time I'm done today, I'll have Red Team recruiters lining up to get me. Just you wait! In a few months, I'll be popping Blue Team fuckers like nothing else." "Hah! You, Red Team. I'm sorry, man, but it's going to be me that the Red Team ultimately wants. "Well, we'll see after today's meet, huh!" She smiled to herself. Heh. Boys. Always competitive about everything. One of the boys then turned his attention to her. "Hey, Kristel, isn't your dad on the Red Team." he said to her. "Yes, and I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about him, thank you very much!" she said back in an agitated tone of voice. "Ok, ok, I was just asking." he replied. Idiot, you don't understand. She thought to herself.

Her event was about to start. She continued stretching in order to stay ready to run. Ok, Kristel Wright, this is the big one. You only get one shot at this, you better get it done right the first time. She said to herself. Previously, she had ran around the track twice as well as do a stretching routine with her team, now she was simply trying to prevent her muscles from locking up. Spare no expense. I will win this thing. I am Kristel Wright: Ace Sprinter. Suddenly, she looked over and saw a peculiar man in a blue suit across the field, carrying a suit case. He has simply looked at her with a cold gaze, straightened his tie with his free hand and walked away. Wait, who was that. Was that guy a member of the Blue... her thought process was interrupted when her event was called.

It was the only heat for the Girls 100m sprint. In previous track meets, she was always in the last heat, with the faster runners who actually had a chance to score points for their team. Now, it was only the best vs the best, and whoever came in first won for that event. She set her blocks and waited for the signal. "ON YOUR MARK" the man yelled, as all the runners took their positions on the blocks, palms outstretched against the track and faces down. The man raised the gun "GET SET!" he yelled, where the runners each raised their heads to face down at the finish line.

BANG!

The moment the pistol shot off, Kristel pushed off against her block with her feet and rose herself into a sprinting position. Once she was up and running, the only thing that ran through her mind was to keep running. Not even a stray though came to her mind to keep her concentration elsewhere. She concentrated on nothing but making it to the finish line and had even drowned out the sound of her and the other runners breathing as well as the cheering in the audience. As she ran, she had felt the pain in her chest attempting to slow her down. Still, she fought on, hearing nothing, thinking of nothing and seeing nothing but the finish line and crossing.

Finally, she had crossed the finish line. Once she crossed, she immediately relaxed herself. Bending over and keeping her hands on her knees, she took a couple of deep breaths before waiting to hear the times called off. "AND IN FIRST PLACE IS KRISTEL WRIGHT, WITH A RECORD BREAKING TIME OF 9:09 SECONDS!" she heard the loudspeakers yell out. Immediately, her spirits rose. Holy shit! Not only did I get first place, I broke the record. She thought to herself, leaving the track with a smile.

"OH MY GOD, KRISSIE, YOU DID IT!" she heard a voice familiar to her yell. She turned to her best friend Kerry Forrest, who had immediately enveloped her in a tight hug, which she returned. "Hey Kerry, I didn't know you here." "Of course I was! You didn't think I'd miss my best friends win the record for the 100m" Kerry said to her friend. "Didn't you hear me cheering you on?" "Uhh...yeah I did, thanks a lot!" Kristel lied back.

"Excuse me, but is only of you ladies Kristel Wright?" a male voice interrupted the conversation. "Uhh, I'm Kristel Wright" she said, pointing to herself. "Alright then, I'd like to have a quick word with you." the man replied. She didn't recognize him Am I in trouble or something. Do they think I didn't win legitimately? She thought with a nervous look on her face as her heart sank. "Hi, my name is Douglas Clearwater, I'm with the Red Team" the man introduced himself. Kristel relaxed, Ohh good, than I'm not in trouble. Wait, THE RED TEAM!? She though, suddenly surprised. "I heard that you broke the record for the Girls 100m sprint. I must say that's quite a feat. Not every person I've met has even came close to doing something like that." Doug said to her. Wait. He's not actually trying to recruit me. Is he? She was still puzzled. "I believe that a girl like you would make an valuable member of the Red Team" he said. Yep, he's recruiting me. "Uhhh" was the only thing that could come out of her mouth. Me? Fight for the Red Team? I can't do it, I'm just a high school sprinter. I'm not ready to die for my country. But on the other hand..."Of course she doesn't want to join, why are you pestering her about it." Kerry chimed in. "Uhh, I'll think about it." Kristel finally said to the recruiter. "Ok, just give me your contact information and I'll call you back."

"...Kristel, sweetie, you aren't seriously thinking about joining the Red Team, are you?" Kerry said to her. "Listen, there's just something on my mind, and I might need to join the Red Team." "Listen, it's dangerous. Do you know how sad I'd be if I heard that you were killed. "Look, I didn't say yes, I only said I'd think about it." "Well, okay, but you know I worry about you."

The two friends shared a last hug before they parted ways. Hmm,why was the Red Team so keen on recruiting me? Not even the top female sprinters in the past have even been considered for them. Was it because I broke a record, or was it because of name. Also, who was that strange blue suited man I saw earlier? Maybe it would be best if I did join the Red Team. It's not like I'm doing much after High School, right?