Chapter 9: Explosion

To call today crazy would have been a major understatement.

Yates still couldn't understand what had happened even after she and Simmons had made it back to base. One second the tanks canon was right in her face, and the next it was blowing up Church and the green soldier. Before her mind even had time to process any of this, Simmons had grasped her arm and suddenly they were sprinting back towards Red Base. Before she knew it, she and Simmons were running up the ramp and onto the top of the base, where Grif and Donut were waiting for them.

"So, did you guys bring back any headlight fluid?" Grif asked sarcastically.

"What happened out there? We heard explosions and a lot of yelling; Grif wanted to take bets on if you were still alive," Donut said.

"And now I owe Donut twenty dollars, welcome back shitheads," Grif said bitterly.

"The tank we saw earlier found us! I think whoever's driving it is a fucking maniac! It was right in front of us but instead of shooting us it turned it's canon and killed two of the blues! Me and Yates got out of there and ran as fast we could back here," Simmons said.

"Well actually he ran, I sorta just got pulled along. Speaking of which, Simmons? Could you let go of my arm please?" Yates said, gesturing down to her arm.

Simmons looked down at his hand, which was still tightly wrapped around Yates' forearm; he quickly retracted it as though she were made of molten lava, "Sh-shit, sorry," Simmons stammered awkwardly.

"Wait, did you guys lose the car? Man, Lopez is gonna be pissed," Donut said.

At that moment an explosion sent the jeep flying over the wall and onto the top of Red Base, landing so that it split Grif and Donut from Simmons and Yates.

"What the hell?" Grif asked in confusion before another explosion hit Red Base itself.

"Son of bitch!" Grif yelled as he and Donut turned and ran towards the ramp closest to them for cover.

Simmons and Yates ducked into the ramp opposite to Grif and Donut as the tank continued to fire shells at Red Base.

"Oh crap! What the hell is that thing?!" Donut exclaimed.

"It's the tank!" Simmons yelled back before another explosion shook Red Base.

Yates' whole body tensed up, if there was anything she hated more than spiders it was earthquakes. No, no, no, but none of this is real right? It's all just a drea- her thoughts were interrupted when another explosion shook Red Base.

Yates whimpered in terror, it's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream, don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, she thought frantically as the base continued to shake and quake from the tanks unrelenting assault.

Another shell hit near the base of the ramp she and Simmons were ducking behind, just far enough away to not injure either of them.

It was at that moment that Yates realized; the slight warmth of the explosion, her numb arms from firing the gun earlier, her aching feet from running so far. These were real feelings, this was a real situation, she really was in Red vs Blue.

Fuck.

Yates brought her head down, the base took another hit, she didn't care, there was too much to think about.

"I hate to be the one to point this out, guys, but I think were screwed..." Donut said forlornly.

"Yeah, I have to agree with the rookie on this one," Simmons said in a surprisingly resigned tone.

Suddenly, the Reds radios played a familiar whistling tune, indicating an incoming transmission. A gruff southern accent spoke over their radios, "Blood Gulch Outpost Number One. Come in, Blood Gulch Outpost, come in. Do you read me? This is Sergeant-" Sarge said.

Grif had never been more happy to hear Sarge in his life, "Oh my god, Sarge, is that you?" he asked excitedly.

"Roger that, Private. I am currently in-bound to your position from Command," Sarge replied.

"Sir! This is Simmons!" Simmons yelled over the explosions.

"Hello, Simmons," Sarge greeted, "I hope everything's gone alright while I've been gone."

"Actually, sir, things are kind of hectic right now. The new rookies arrived, and somehow one of them managed to infiltrate the Blue Base, and now we have their flag, the Warthog is damaged, two of their guys are dead, and there's this huge fucking tank about to destroy our base," Grif explained.

The radio got quiet, the four red soldiers stood in silence as the tank still continued to fire upon the base.

Finally Sarge responded, "Am I talkin' to the right base?" Sarge asked skeptically.

"Sarge, we. Are going. To die here!" Grif pleaded.

"Well then hold tight, boys. I think I got a solution to your little 'tank' problem," Sarge said before he signed off.

A large aircraft flew over Blood Gulch Outpost Number 1, briefly shrouding it with its shadow. Several explosions were heard, though not from the tank this time. The explosions grew more distant, Red Team peeked out from their hiding places (except Yates). The explosions got closer and closer to the tank until...

...and just like that, it was over as quickly as it began.

"Woohoo! Yeah suck it blues!" Simmons cheered.

"Wow! That was awesome!" Donut exclaimed.

"How'd ya like that?" Sarge said proudly over the radio.

"Okay, even I have to admit that was pretty fucking epic," Grif said.

"Alright boys, I'll be landing back at Red Base momentarily, we can talk about what happened and why it's Grifs fault then," Sarge said before signing off.

"Wait 'til Sarge hears what I have to tell him, we'll see who's fault it is then," Grif mumbled deviously.

Yates had still not moved from her position on the ramp; surprisingly she had not freaked out like she had expected instead a thousand questions flooded her mind and left her so distracted that she had hardly noticed the battle was over. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Donut looking down at her.

"Hey, it's over, you can come out now," Donut said excitedly.

No, it's not over. It's far from over.

Yates picked herself up, "Thanks," she said absently.

She made her way past Donut and stared out at the canyon beyond her, a flipped over and destroyed tank lay in the middle canyon.

This was real, she was in Blood Gulch.

But for how long?

What if she never came home? What if this was her life now? Stuck with a sociopath, a know-it-all, a couch potato, and a literal walking innuendo. Well, maybe it wasn't so bad, at least she wasn't stuck with a jerk, a pervert and an idiot.

But what about the green soldier?

Yates had only just now begun to think about him again. Was he from the real world too? Was he even alive? And if he was...

What was he doing now?

/

It was dark, why did it have to be so dark?

I knew I was a awake, at least I felt awake. Had the explosion taken out my eyesight?

Suddenly everything from pitch black to bright white.

"Argh!" I grunted as I shielded my eyes.

I brought my hands down and struggled to adjust with the sudden lighting change. As my vision cleared I quickly noticed the tall, shadowy, humanoid figure in front of me.

"Hello?" it asked, it's deep voice seeming to echo off into infinity.

I stood in shock, what the hell was this thing and where was I?