Prologue

[Loading Map Data]
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[A025561 - Wasteland]
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[-050333 -066675 -550365]
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[+0066 +0231 +0177]
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{Load Map}

-Main Battle Tank -1 (T-72M2)
[Lock On]


The sand covered ground of the desert shook with the movement of nearly a dozen MBT class T-72M2 battle tanks. Soldiers followed behind the tanks, heavily armed helicopters flew above them.

Rebels fled hiding their number amongst the fleeing civilians, every so often turning to fire on the tanks and soldiers who pursued them.

Amidst the chaos a collumn appeared from the ground, growing up from a few inches above the grass to nearly six feet. It concentrated, becoming brighter, forming features, deliniating a basic human shape. A few moments later the light faded and became a man.

His skin was pale in contrast to his dark brown hair, a front lock of which was slashed with gray. His face was storm of emotion and at the same time void of all expression.

In the din of the war being waged around him the man was unable to hear the awe filled gasps from soldier, rebel and civilian alike at his sudden appearance. The man was known as 'The Squall', a formidable solo Class A Warrior, famous to all players of Avalon.

Squall was oblivious to the tanks that rolled past him as he raised a set of monoculars to his eyes, scanning his surroundings. A small glare found its way to his eyes. This was not where he wanted to be.

He adjusted the focus on the monoculars, a city under siege coming into view in the distance, he lowered the monoculars, and tapped in the coordinates of the city into a small watch-like device on his rist.

The colors and shapes of the desert began to shift around him. The grasses seemed to melt into the ground, the brown hues of the tundra changing to grey asphault, and with a sudden rush of wind Squall felt and saw the desert rush past his periphery.

The forms and colors of the arrid tundra began to merge, forming new shapes, and when the flurry of motion stopped he was in the city. The streets were overflowing with refugees, all running from the tanks and soldiers coming up behind them on the main drag.

Squall worked his way against the flow of the crowd toward the oncoming tanks. As he ran Squall raised one of his guns, firing on a soldier manning the gun turret on the nearest tank, the soldier had just enough time to let out a surprised curse before his body froze in its position, fragmented, and disintegrated.

Squall shook his head, he had never understood why the sprites in Avalon couldn't be programmed to just die like everyone else.

Moments after the soldier disapeared Squall had scrambled up the side of the tank. It rumbled on as he swung the turret around firing a rain of bullets on the soldiers who followed behind, they too froze, fragmented, and eventually disapeared as the first soldier had.

Squall stopped firing when he caught sight of a soldier in his periphery aiming his gun directly at his head. In one quick fluid movement Squall reached to his side, unholstered his gunblade, raised and fired.

The bullet entered the soldiers body between his eyebrows and exited out the back of his head as the soldier fell to the ground. His body lay still for a few moments and from his earpiece Squall heard the voice of Cid, the Game Master of Avalon.

"Player Name: Anti-Hero, Class D Warrior, killed by Player Name: The Squall." Squall shook his head.

"You're not ready for Class A. Work a little more on B and C." He murmered quietly to the player's body as it faded into nothing.

As the words left his mouth Squall heard a loud roar, and the ground underneath the tank shook. He turned around just in time to see dozens of Heavy Arm helicopters fly in low and fire off another round of missiles.

Squall quickly spun the turret around, firing, managing to take out two helicopter pilots. Just as he took aim at another the gunner let off a round of bullets in his direction. He jumped from the top the tank, frantically programing in a random set of coordinates on the small device he wore on his wrist.

In a flurry of color, much like the one that had brought him to the city he was back on the desert plain three or four miles from where he had first come onto the map.

If it had been chaos before, Squall didn't know what to call it now. Soldiers ran side by side with rebels and civilians, dodging the fire of two Heavy arm helicopters. Squall picked his way through the crowd of people, his eyes locked on a building a few hundred yards away that was all but rubble.

He swore under his breath as he lept to the left just in time to keep from stumbling over a soldier who knelt in a trench, a sniper rifle held steadily in his hands aiming directly at the pilot of one of the HA-Choppers. There was a scream of metal, and a loud explosion as the helicopter went down down. Squall turned back for a moment just in time to see the gunner of the other helicopter take out the sniper on the ground, and then he was upon the ruins of the building.

Squall climbed his way up to the top of the building, praying it would keep in one piece long enough. He pulled a large rifle from the holster on his back, setting up the props as ducked down behind what had once been a wall of the building. He looked down through the scope, flipping a switch which made another scope dropped down in front of the first.

He had a perfect view of the helicopter, which was currently heading directly for him. He smirked, and fired off two shots, both hitting the pilot of the helicopter directly between the eyes. The gunner of the Heavy Arm scrambled to keep the helicopter in flight as Squall lept from his vantage point, taking up the turret of an abandoned tank and firing.

Squall covered his face with his arm as the Heavy Arm exploded, within a few seconds the explosion froze, and Squall heard in the voice of Game Master Cid in his earpiece again.

"Mission Complete."

*********

A note about this chapter:
I didn't really want to start the story with an action sequence. They aren't my strong point, and its not exactly the most interesting chapter, but its how the movie starts, and it serves to give the reader an idea of what the game 'Avalon' is like. Promise the next chapter won't be so boring, and will have some actual plot.
-Revvie