Thanks Epic for creating the Unreal series. Thanks Kyle for being the best damn partner I've ever had. Miranon, in answer to your question, it's just Duchess and Bismark. Well, until now, anyway. Lyrics are from Metallica, No Leaf Clover.

I might've gotten a couple weapon messages wrong. Don't kill me, I was on the phone until one a.m. u u;

By the way: any questions about the story or, well, whatever, can be addressed to raesvampirethemasquerade.com.

.:: ::.

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just the freight train coming your way...
It's coming your way
It's coming your way...
Here comes!

With a blur of crimson light, I find myself at the topmost level of a skull-like fortress, looking down at roiling magma far below. A message blinks ominously on my HUD, in the bold red print that means it's from the team manager.

I've gotten sick of your stalling. -=DarkChild=- is in.

I stare at that message, completely baffled, and then below it appears a short comment from Bismark, which means he's gotten it too: wtf??

I hear rapid, heavy footsteps behind me and whirl, Assault Rifle ready--

Duchess.:.Razi rode LordOfU's lightning.

DAMMIT, Marco! How do you expect me to concentrate when you're busy sending cryptic messages?! I've respawned beside a rocket-launcher and I scoop it up, dumping ammo into the red-and-gray killer. Take this, blue bitches. The Duchess is armed and ready to blow your sorry asses to Liandri Corp.

I take off at a sprint, wicked green missiles being exchanged in volleys up ahead. There's a sudden discharge that can only be from a Flak Cannon, and

jkgsebhj was perforated by -=DarkChild=-'s flak.

Oh, fuck. Now I know what Marco meant: Bismark'n I have got a teammate. A real, human, teammate. Fuck... Ing... HELL.

Feet pound behind me and I whirl, enraged, my adrenaline levels suddenly skyrocketing from sheer emotion, and I've slammed the code into my HUD and as the announcer growls a warning to the other players I go Berserk, wicked red-orange beams of light streaking around me as I unload rockets on the stupid mime that'd tried to sneak up behind me and her body is ripped to shreds and I'm still firing firing firing because the blood is gouting and gushing and staining my visor and splattering my armor and now there's only charred scraps of flesh and

There's someone else before me because I've been running without realizing it and rockets churn up the earth around him and rip holes through his gut and there's blood hot and clean and fresh and my health is flashing at me furiously but neither of those two have had a chance to fire so there must've been more and

I've respawned, and now I'm wondering how many times I did that while in the grip of adrenaline-induced madness. I'm holding dual Assault Rifles, and I know I've respawned because the message still lingers on my HUD:

Duchess.:.Razi fired her rocket prematurely.

Oops.

I take off again being more careful this time and from the opposite end of the corridor I'm following, all granite and iron, lopes a gladiator dressed in red-and-white, heavy Flak Cannon gripped negligently in one hand, -=DarkChild=- burned into his helmet, moving swiftly but with a strangely seductive grace of power and cruelty. And from behind him appears a blue soldier, sprinting, snarling, Lightning Rifle aimed for Child's head and before I can even move to fire my Assault Rifles Child spins gracefully on one foot and squeezes the trigger and blasts the other gladiator apart and then there's footsteps behind me and Child calmly slings the Cannon over his shoulder and as I begin to riddle that stupid mime with 5.56 mm white lightning spits from the dead gladiator's rifle crackling over my left shoulder and the mime falls with her head aflame and Child calmly steps past me reequipping his Flak Cannon and firing lazily at the mime's corpse...

Say thank you, lady Duchess, he communicates, moving gracefully out of the corridor.

Red Team: 57  Blue Team: 51

Score Limit: 60

Maybe he can afford to be negligent but I'm not hanging my paycheck on that thank you so I'm running again with my handguns at the ready and up ahead there's a massive explosion because

Sereniti rode BiSmArK!!!'s rocket to oblivion.

and I've caught up to Bismark and we're running side-by-side as the HUD warns us that jkgsebhj took his revenge on that DarkChild and now all three blue-soldiers have appeared from around the corner but that's okay 'cause we only need two of them and Bismark's pounding rockets at their feet but all three of them are jumping and strafing but blood's gouting from their wounds as the Gen Mo'Kai sprays us with the deadly pellets of her Minigun and my health is screaming lower and lower and Bismark's still shooting madly and

BiSmArK!!! was mowed down by jkgsebhj's Minigun.

jkgsebh rode BiSmArK!!!'s rocket to oblivion.

I'm pumping the mime and the human with my Assault Rifles but I can't do it I can't do it goddammit because my health is flashing flashing flashing with their Flak Cannon and the Gen Mo'Kai's fallen Minigun and now I'm down to the single digits and then I see him appear silently behind the bluesies and pull the trigger and

LordOfU was shredded by -=DarkChild=-'s shrapnel.

And the announcer growls the end of the match and my eyes lock resentfully with Child's as our world fades.