Chapter 21
One by one, Dragon transmatted onto the bottom of Blood Gulch, one of Fireteam Gulch's homes. Literally "a box canyon out in the middle of nowhere", the area housed only two bases—one red, the other blue—and a small tunnel system easily accessible by both sides. A large, hilly plain occupied the floor. Hiccup and Toothless were the last ones to appear, and they landed in time to see Dmitri plant a blue banner into the dirt and grass.
"Capture the Flag," Shaxx's voice was transmitted to everyone as the banners dropped. "Take your enemies' flag and protect your own. Good luck, teams!"
"Alright, here's the plan: 'Cane, you sneak around through the tunnel. Krayt, you and I will head straight through the center. 20, Hiccup, and Toothless can stay here near the base and offer sniper support."
"Do you think that's a good setup?" Hiccup asked.
"Best defense is a good offense," Dmitri curtly explained before a tank shell screamed over their heads and into the cliff. They instinctively ducked as pebbles and small rocks came tumbling down. "You know what, forget about what I said. Hit 'em and hit 'em hard! URA!"
"Wait for me!" Krayt yelled as he ran off to catch up to the charging Russian.
"Come on, let's go!" 20 said, gesturing for the recruits to follow him onto their base's roof. As soon as they got on, the Hunter and Titan pulled out their sniper rifles and began firing.
Toothless could see a large tank moving across the field, firing shots haphazardly. Most of them weren't even near Dmitri and Krayt. His ears picked up the faint hint of music blaring from the other side of the canyon. The source quickly made itself known on Gulch's side in the form of a four-wheeled vehicle launching off a hill. A hearty cheer was no doubt made by the red Titan sitting on the passenger's side, a shotgun blast firing into the air.
One of the two Dragon snipers took a potshot, trying to blow one of the front tires. He cursed when he saw no damage done and moved up to knock out the orange Titan driving the jeep. A sudden lurch in its suspension caused the shot to zip over the driver's head.
Meanwhile, Krayt had gotten ahead of Dmitri, the Skyburner shield in front and ready to take any hit. He peeked around to see the jeep barreling towards him and planted his shield, bracing for the most likely hard hit. What he failed to account for was the jeep's insane suspension. The vehicle collided with the top of the alloy slab, the kinetic energy bringing it down on top of the green Titan's head. He heard a muffled "YEE-HAWW!" as he moved his trophy off of his body. Still recovering, he didn't notice the tank that had parked itself behind him. Krayt heard the idling engine and turned to see a 90mm cannon pointed right at his face.
"Hello!" the driver said cheerfully, and that was the last word Krayt heard.
Several meters behind him, Dmitri fired his rifle at the jeep's occupants, succeeding in breaking Sarge's shields. Unfortunately, he neglected to move out of the way and got ran over.
"How's my bumper taste, asshole?!" Grif shouted, the jeep still driving off.
The white-and-red Titan's growls were drowned out by the shot of a tank cannon. He looked to his left to see Krayt get blown away by Gulch's tank. He attempted to avenge his comrade with a lightning grenade and a magazine of his auto rifle, but quickly met the same fate.
Only a plasma shot from Toothless stopped the Warthog—and the music—in its tracks. The sudden impact ejected all three of its passengers in front of Dragon's base and in Hiccup and 20's sights. The three Gulch members were easily gunned down, their Ghosts readying themselves for automatic respawn.
The tank still presented a problem, as a shot blasted the dead bodies on the ground. Toothless switched his prosthetic to automatic, then leaped into the air. Once he was high enough, he twisted around and dove towards his target with increasing speed. He prepared a shot as the wind let loose his species trademark screech, and fired before pulling up and away.
He quickly glanced behind him to see the demolished tank—and its driver, who apparently managed to get out in time.
"SHEEEIIILLAAAAA!" the blue Titan screamed in sorrow until the crack of a sniper rifle silenced him.
The dragon noticed the trio of opponents who had just been revived making their way to the base. He let loose a shot in their direction before high-tailing it back to his team's territory.
Hurricane rolled behind what little cover was available and ripped out the throwing knife embedded into his helmet. He tossed a tripmine past his location to stall Wash, who managed to get the drop and deal the first blow. Once his shields and health regenerated to full, the Awoken shot his grenade and moved into the tunnel.
Rifle up, he slowly moved forward, the top right sector of his tracker glowing red. He got to the opening when a knife swung towards his neck. Hurricane moved back, grabbed Wash's arm, and threw a swift punch to his face. In the short time the opposing Hunter was stunned, The Crash swung out and its trigger was pulled. Two shells unloaded themselves into Wash's torso and face, the double-tap instantly killing him.
Hurricane didn't stick around, moving out of the tunnels and onto the cliffs. In front of him was Gulch's undefended base. Well, maybe not undefended. Doc/O'Malley hasn't been spotted yet. With no time to lose, he jumped down and ran inside.
Looking around for the flag, he almost didn't notice the red sector. He turned a corner, rifle handy...
"AHH!" Doc screamed, nearly jumping out of his armor and dropping his pistol. "Hey, I'm neutral!"
The Awoken rolled his eyes and shot a magazine into the purple Titan. Once he reloaded, he snatched the flag and ran like hell out of the base. Once he was back outside, he oriented himself and sprinted back to his own team's base.
A jeep—driven by Dmitri—came shooting towards him. 'Cane swung the flag to show Dmitri and Krayt his location. "Come on guys, I'm over here!" he shouted into the team communications channel.
"Don't worry, we're getting there! Krayt, I'd appreciate it if you opened fire."
"At what?" the green Titan asked.
"Just lay down suppressing fire." A burst of fire erupted from Gulch Base. "Now!"
Krayt let loose with the machine gun, sending waves of high-caliber death towards the enemy team. While he was having fun, Dmitri was trying to figure out how to stop.
"Where's the brake?! Why are there six pedals if there's only two directions?!"
Unfortunately for the Dragon Hunter, Dmitri found the brake and swung the jeep around. The side ended up sideswiping Hurricane, knocking him out. A sniper shot buried itself into 'Cane's body, killing him.
"Ah, curses. Krayt, get the flag. 20, please tell me you got visual."
A shot rang out. "Done."
Krayt jumped into the Warthog. "Gogogogo!"
The driver stomped the pedals and the jeep shot... backwards.
"Where are you going?!"
"Shut up." Dmitri pulled the stick back, and gunned the engine. To his relief, they raced to their side of the gulch. He moved the Warthog around to the back entrance, allowing Krayt to get inside without fear of getting shot.
A few seconds after the green Titan disappeared, the scoreboard on everyone's HUD showed 'Alpha: 1, Bravo: 0'. "Score one point for Alpha!" Shaxx commentated. "Now get back out there."
On top of Alpha Base, 20 was giving the brothers advice on the Crucible. "While many Guardians see the Crucible as a competition—which it is—that doesn't mean winning is the only goal. In matches like this, you're better off finding a zone that you can defend well. Remember what Dmitri said," he finished, looking through his scope.
"'The best defense is a good offense.'"
"Yup. Shaxx wants us to see the Crucible as training against the Darkness without the threat of being killed permanently. By the way, you should take cover. Looks like Caboose has a sniper handy."
Hiccup peaked around one of the pylons and zoomed in on the cliff near Bravo Base. He saw the blue Titan that he shot earlier. "Why would that be a problem?"
"He's got a really good aiming program in his armor. I don't doubt he can hit us." 20 activated the team channel. "Guys, better watch the ridge near Bravo when you come out. Caboose is there."
"You think we can get past him in the Warthog?" 'Cane asked.
"I think so, provided Dmitri doesn't screw anything up."
"How about you give it a try, then?" the team leader retorted.
The argument was interrupted by a shot burrowing into the pylon covering Hiccup. The shock caused the young Hunter to reflexively jump back. However, he moved into the open and intended to roll back into cover. The single second during this event was enough for a bullet to burrow through his helmet and skull with a loud CRACK!
"Hiccup?" Toothless asked in total shock. In an instant, pure rage overcame his senses, and he roared to the sky in defiance. He took flight so fast any other Guardian would have said he blinked. Just like his brother, though, the speed of a Night Fury did nothing to save him from a similar fate. Another CRACK, another Dragon down and Ghost up.
Although he knew how quickly the duo would respawn, 20 cursed anyway. "Forget using the Warthog; Caboose is already situated. He took Toothless out right after he blinked."
"I think I have the solution," Hurricane replied, running to the tank parked behind the base. He leaped onto the hull, then planted himself in the canopy. With Sam's help, he managed to quickly figure out how to move and use the 90mm cannon. "Haha! Time to say your prayers!" he taunted as the Scorpion rolled its way onto the hills.
Caboose had opened fire on 'Cane's Scorpion, doing minimal damage. The driver, however, pointed the turret in the nuisance's direction and fired a shot. An update on the Dragon Hunter's HUD confirmed the kill and was followed by a joyous "YEA-"
"Heavy ammo inbound!"
"-Ah, crap."
The heavy ammunition crates spawned in the center of the field, separated by the main trail and the hills flanking it.
"'Cane, do what you can to stop them; Hiccup, you and Toothless go and get our crate," Dmitri ordered, having gone to the roof to get a visual on the situation. "Krayt and I will follow up in the Warthog."
"Right. Come on, brother." Hiccup mounted Toothless and they both shot towards the purple-marked steel crates. They beat Hurricane to the ammo, the elder Guardian providing cover fire with the coaxial machine gun. As soon as they landed, Hiccup dismounted and planted his scout rifle on the ridge, ready to take potshots. Toothless joined him, his acid-green eyes searching for Gulch.
Their team's Warthog delivered Krayt and Dmitri to the crate. As soon as their feet hit the ground, Dmitri called for Krayt to unlock the ammo. The crate dissolved into thin air, and everyone's HUD updated to show a magazine of machine gun and rocket launcher ammo. In Toothless' case, he felt like his next several plasma blasts would much more powerful than before; Hiccup's sword was charged, but he decided not to pull it out.
A grenade suddenly flashed on the two lookouts' displays, forcing them to take cover. Instead of an explosion, a weird sound was made alongside an orange-yellow flash of light. When Hiccup and Toothless went back to the ridge, they could barely make out the purple aura given off by a Ward of Dawn. A series of shots into their hill forced them back down to the other Dragons.
"HAHAHAHAAAAA!" someone laughed maniacally. "NOW YOU WILL ALL. TASTE. OBLIVION! MWUHAHAHA!"
"What the-"
"Oh, crap."
A purple Titan leaped into the air, a brilliant white-and-gold rocket launcher resting on his right shoulder. All of the Dragons, minus the two recruits, knew the weapon well.
"Krayt!" Dmitri yelled, quickly grabbing what he could of Hiccup and Toothless before legging it to the Defender. The call came too late as a rocket shot out of O'Malley's signature weapon. As the purple dome spread to the ground, the projectile barely managed to get below the shield. It hit the ground and detonated, sparing no one as the Wolfpack rounds finished off any unfortunate survivors.
The Capture-the-Flag match lingered on as Gulch and Dragon ebbed and flowed. After Doc/O'Malley's overkill with Gjallarhorn, Wash managed to eliminate 20 and snatch Dragon's flag before the team respawned. The Hunter managed to get away unscathed—mostly—with Grif's unique grenades.
As Krayt and 20 found out, Gulch had stayed on total defense inside their base. With no real way to attack, the Titans held out in the front entrance, Krayt propped against his shield while 20 covered the rear. Dmitri decided to play his team's defense and guard their flag with Hiccup and Toothless. Once the Night Fury's super was charged, the duo flew over to Gulch's base, landing on the roof without resistance thanks to Hurricane.
Caboose was guarding the flag and brought his auto rifle up to shoot Toothless, but even the Titan's lightning-fast aiming couldn't compete with the speed of the Night Fury. After blowing Caboose away, they waited for the rest of Gulch to group up around the flag. They met the same fate, but by a Nova Blast.
Confident that the threats were eliminated, Hiccup jumped down to the ground floor. Before his feet even touched the metal plating, a Tripmine grenade latched onto the Hunter's back and detonated, throwing his corpse into a wall.
Toothless went into a fury and swung his head through the hole. Before Washington could react, a purple shot cut him down. "Hiccup!" he shouted at his brother's disappearing body.
"Toothless, he'll respawn. Get the flag and get back to our base!"
The dragon slightly relaxed and ripped the flag from its post. He leaped back through the hole and into the sky, taking evasive maneuvers in case a Gulch member had respawned. The long pole in his mouth affected his aerodynamics, but he quickly compensated. Within seconds, he was back at his own base. As soon as the flag dropped from his mouth, he raced to the end of the canyon where Hiccup had just been revived.
After the match had ended with time running out with a 2-1 victory for Dragon, Toothless hunted down Wash and made the Hunter pay for his crime. When Hiccup ordered his brother to drop Wash, he did.
Nobody thought that the man could scream like that.
AN - This thing was a pain. Trying to put in the best moments while maintaining the chaos of the Crucible. That, and I have never played any of the Halo games, so I had to use the wiki map for Blood Gulch. Oh well. Next up will be Fireteam Valhalla, and I definitely have something planned between two of the combatants.
Link234521 - Same here on both cases. I love the Crucible, but I hate getting my butt handed to me several times in a row. As for my script, hopefully I can find someway to compensate with the Taken.
Spartan-100 - Hiccup's skill may be actually shown in the fight with Valhalla. Like I said in this AN, I have something planned.
As always, folks, take care.