Note: 'Jyaunti's 'J' is silent.
As the after-effects of the teleportation wore off, I glanced quickly around.
I was I a small room, with one exit. Leaning on the wall was an AMSD shock rifle.
I slung my standard-issue Assault Rifle on my back and grabbed the shock rifle. Its energy chamber began to glow with a murky purple as I disengaged the safety.
Jogging out the framed metal door, I saw my other teammates warming up, each with their own assorted weapons.
Making the final checks of the shock rifle, I began to walk down one of the two corridors which lined the blue base.
Then, a voice spoke through my headset. "Drag, you cover Jyaunti. She's going for the red flag."
"Gotcha." I replied.
A young female Necris warrior ran up beside me. Her livid white eyes narrowed.
"Are you Drag?" She rasped.
"Yeah. You're Jyaunti?" I asked. She barely nodded her head as she increased her stride down the pale corridor.
Necri were known to be proud and disdainful, though the males were more so.
We reached the center of the arena, a large oval room with many crates. Jyaunti continued walking arrogantly towards the red base. I reluctantly followed, glancing at the crates uncertainly.Suddenly, a human clad in red armor rolled out from one of the crates.
"Watch out!" I cried to the young Necris.
"I see him." She hissed, raising her flak cannon.
A tight spray erupted from the flak cannon's barrel, taking off the red team member's head. It rolled on the floor, trailing blood. The Necris kicked the severed head and it bounced off the wall, leaving blood on Jyaunti's boot as well as the wall.
"I need to get one of those." I muttered.
Then, a hail of bullets flew from a minigun, its wielder hidden behind the crates. The bullets hit Jyaunti, riddling her with holes. She dropped to the floor, her limp hand releasing the flak cannon.
I tightened my grip on my shock rifle, then dived sideways, towards the crates. I fired, a purple beam speeding from the rifle's barrel.My shot hit its mark, on the red team member's head, instantly vaporizing his brain. He fell limply backwards, to the floor, his gaping mouth filling with drool.
I wiped the sweat from my brow, and continued towards the red base. I felt something missing. The flak cannon!
I turned around and ran to the disintegrating corpse of Jyaunti.
Though her corpse would disappear, her blood stains would remain indefinitely.
I tossed my assault rifle to the floor, replacing it with the shock rifle on my back. Then, I picked up the flak cannon, its weight a testimony to its raw power.
As I got up, I felt something burst through my chest, the steady green beam instantly cauterizing my wound.
I turned and saw a female commando, a plasma rifle in her hands, its hot barrel still turning slowly.
I dropped to the floor, on my knees, my mouth spurting fresh blood. I looked up and fired a single dense ball of ionized fragments. It hit the floor, dispersing fragments. The female human flew backwards, clutching her chest. She stood shakily and raised her head slowly. She dropped to the floor then, dead.
I closed my eyes and let death take me.
I was surrounded by darkness, feeling lost. A sudden bright light flashed, and I found myself back at the blue base, next to the blue flag, my chest still hurting dully.
I looked down at the assault rifle in my hands and cursed. Then I spotted something far better than the flak cannon, a rocket launcher.
I ran forward, a childish smile playing on my lips. I lifted the rocket launcher, getting used to its bulk. I let loose a suppressed grin, sliding one finger along one of its three barrels, the cold metal tickling my finger.
"Hey! Stop daydreaming! I need some help over here!" Jyaunti's voice shouted through my headset, shattering my blood-filled daydream.
I snapped my head up. I darted down the hallway, the rocket launcher impeding my progress.
"No wonder they call you Drag." Jyaunti muttered as I neared her, bloody corpses at her feet, their mutilated faces in permanent agony.
"What?" I said.
"Nothing. What took you so long?" I lifted my rocket launcher, as if showcasing it. I grinned.
Jyaunti raised a single eyebrow.
"Do you do that to all your victims?" I asked, looking down at the marks on the dead bodies' faces. She grinned evilly.
"Feel uneasy? Yes, I do that to all my victims. It's a... ritual."
She then turned and continued to the red base. She halted suddenly. She looked over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, that's not going to happen to you."
She began to walk towards the red base.
"Yet."