Red vs Blue: The Mahora Gulch Chronicles
Part 1/Chapter 4: Don't Fear the Reaper
All credits to the original script go to Rooster Teeth Productions, and all characters are credit Ken Akamatsu. I own nothing but how I arranged the words on the document.
Half an hour had passed with no other real event besides the canyon wall near the hiding place of Chisame and Haruna being sprayed with bullets, and it didn't seem to want to run out any time soon.
"My god..." Chisame exhaled with annoyance. "Doesn't that damn thing ever run out of bullets?"
"You know, in hindsight, we should have brought the tank."
"Haruna...what good is a tank gonna do us if nobody here knows how to drive it?"
Haruna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I can see how hiding behind a rock is a much better strategy."
"Well, yeah, but..." Chisame slumped onto the ground. "Oh man, I guess I gotta give that one to ya."
Konoka managed to pop the hatch of the tank open after a half an hour of tinkering. The poor rookie wasn't exactly adept at working with technology, but the tank canopy did open, and she entered and lowered herself onto the seat. The tank's automatic driver detection system activated, and the buttons within the tank lit up.
"Hello, and thank you for activating the M808B Main Battle Tank," the voice cooed. It was rather odd, a tank being comforting. "You may call me Chizuru."
"Hello...Chizuru-san...tank-oneechan."
"Would you like me to run the tutorial program?"
"Oh!" Eager to actually learn something the others on her squad didn't already know, she nodded. "That'd be nice. Thank you!"
"Tutorial program activated. This program is intended to instruct non-certified personnel in the use of the Springonion class tank. Let's beging with some driving." The tank began to move through the canyon on its own.
"Okay," Konoka smiled, confident in herself that she could save her team with the help of the very nice tank-oneechan. She clenched her fists in anticipation.
"Ayaka--HEY!! AYAKA!!" The bullet stream was earsplitting in volume, which left Asuna dumbfounded when Ayaka actually responded to her name. "Man, that thing is loud."
"WHAT?"
"Come on, let's sneak around the back of the rock and get 'em out."
"OKAY."
"Keep it down, Ayaka! Let's go before your loud mouth helps them figure out what's going on."
It hadn't even been five minutes before Konoka had Chizuru backed up onto a tall rock. The wheels twisted and spun in a futile attempt to back the tank up.
"Now that you've mastered driving the M808B, let's move onto some of the safety features."
"No, wait! Tank-oneechan! Go back! Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions?" Konoka wailed, slamming one pedal after another with high hopes of escaping the rock's trap.
"Psst," Chisame whispered, "Hey, they stopped firing."
"...why are you whispering?"
"...uhm...I don't know."
Asuna made her way to the foot of a cliff before reaching the conclusion that it wouldn't be the best means of reaching the Blues. "Crap, I don't think we're gonna be able to get around this way..."
"Tell me again, uh, why did we get out of the jeep?"
Unbeknowest to them, the tank had steered away from the rock and parked itself behind the Reds.
"Well, I guess it was this or sit there and watch you shoot rocks all day!"
"Well at least it was fun!"
"You call me the monkey gi--holy crap." It was about then Asuna had noticed the gargantuan tank. "What in god's name is that thing?!"
Konoka activated the auto-fire sequence, and Chizuru's turret slowly pointed itself towards Asuna's head.
"Hold still--I don't think it sees us..."
"Saotome, don't be stupid," Chisame muttered. "They're just trying to draw us out."
"No they're not--look; they left the jeep. They're gone."
"...I don't know about this, it's pretty fishy, but...oh, screw it. Let's jack it."
"Uh, Ayaka...why is it just sitting there?" Asuna squeaked, hiding behind Ayaka.
"Just trying to mess with our heads--stop hiding behind me so we can get back to the Warthog! Come on. Let's go on three. One--"
"Wait. On three? Or three then go?"
"On three. It's always faster to go on three. One..."
"Okay, Saotome. I'm going for the jeep--cover me." Chisame skidded down the cliffside.
"Target acquired."
"Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit..." Asuna fled from the scene.
"Two..."
"Target locked."
"Three!" Ayaka spotted Asuna already halfway towards the direction of the Warthog. "Oh, you back-stabbing cockbite--!!"
"Firing man cannon." The gun's turret spat out a miniature missle, striking the jeep and letting a collective "SON OF A BITCH!!" from the three close to the tank. Chizuru fired again, then thrice more.
Chisame darted back up the canyonside, panting as she huddled behind the rock.
"Hey, Chisame, the jeep blew up."
"No kidding," Chisame grimmaced. "Thanks for the update, Saotome. Come on, let's get out of here."
Asuna and Ayaka, scared shitless, secured themselves behind a rock that Chizuru aimed and fired continuously at.
"Hey I have a great idea," Ayaka said, immitating Asuna, "Let's get out of the jeep and sneak around the back of the rock! GREAT PLAN YOU IDIOT."
"All targets eliminated," Chizuru announced. "Acquiring new target."
"Hey, Saotome! Look--it's the rookie! And she brought the tank to scare off the Reds!"
"What?" Haruna poked her head out from behind the rock on the cliff. "Whoa! No way!"
"Hey, Konoe!" Chisame hollered, assuming that Konoka could hear. "Why didn't you tell us you knew how to drive the tank?"
"New target acquired," the tank stated, her turret spun around to point at Chisame.
"Ah--! No, tank-oneechan, that's not a target, that's Hasegawa-san!"
"Yeah, it's me! What's going on, Konoe?"
"Target locked."
"Noooo!!" Konoka screamed. "Target unlock! Unlooock! Please help me, Chizuru-tank-oneechan--!!"
"Firing main cannon."
"Uh-oh..." came Konoka.
"Uh-oh..." came Haruna.
"What?" Chisame's brain clicked. "Oh son of a--"
Everything happened in a blur. The tank discharged, slamming a missle into Chisame's stomach. The force of the blast sent her sprawling high into the air, hitting the top of the cliff and sent her spinning down back onto the ledge.
"Holy fuck! Holy shit!!" Haruna sprung over the rock to aid the gushing-with-blood Chisame. "Are you okay, Chisame?! Talk to me!!" Haruna glarred at the rookie in the tank. "YOU SHOT CHISAME YOU TEAM-KILLING FUCKTARD!!"
"Auto-fire sequence deactivated."
Konoka slumped.
"Sao...to...me..."
"Chisame!!" Haruna propped Chisame against the cliff wall. "It's going to be okay--I'm going to--"
"No...ah...I'm...I'm not gonna make it..." Chisame coughed, squirting blood from her mouth. "Saotome...there's something...I need to tell you..."
"What? Chisame, what is it?"
"I want you to know..." The injured soldier's glasses slid from her face, the lenses shattering in an almost symbolic fasion completly opposite of the next words to come out of her mouth. "I always...I always hated you. I always hated you the most."
"...yeah. I know you did." Haruna removed her hands, letting Chisame fall onto her back. "Now hurry up and die, you prick."
"...okay..." Chisame's last hurrah was a cough before the last bit of her consciousness slipped from her hands.
