Fight for Freedom
(a/n) Thank for your nice reviews. Again I'd like to thank Lacrease, Dynamis and Cursor. Don't worry about the team being introduced to John at gunpoint. I'm going to make these guys a pretty edgy bunch. Hopefully it should mean that I can mix things up. So, John should be able to get some good team matches in now with his new team and we can see if he gets a long or not...
Read, enjoy, and review! :)
Chapter 6: In at the deep end
John had just been back from the reception desk to get into the team. John was glad he was now in a team. He felt like an outsider when other people were around him with teams, he felt unstable. But thinking about it, it didn't look like the rest of his team was very stable.
It was late afternoon, and it was at this time the fighters, or 'prisoners' as John calls them, were allowed to take a break outside the Tournament. Of course you couldn't go all the way off into the city; if you did then Liandri would be all over you.
John was surprised to see that nobody was outside enjoying the free time they had. The whole place was abandoned. A pristine lake was in the middle of the small park outside. It was very scenic. A large forest lay in the distance, it set a nice background.
The sun reflected off the lake hurting John's eyes when he looked at it, the grass was cut short and even all the way around the park. Trees and benches were scattered all around the lake and elsewhere.
Ducks landed in the lake and started going vertical in the water with their heads submerged; their back legs kicking around in the air. They all came up at the same time and swished the water around in their beaks and spat it back out. Another flock of small birds flew into the sunset. John smiled; it was so stereotypical.
"Only when something is gone to you really appreciate what you once had." It was Lock. 'Who else?' John thought to himself. "I heard that quote when I was about seven." Lock carried on. "My dad said it to me when he banned me from my video games for three weeks because I had been horrible to my sister." He chuckled.
John smiled. He didn't have any brothers or sisters. His dad had moved out when he was two and when John was twenty his mother was killed in a car accident. John realized how much he had been through up until this point. It was strange, some of it must have made John angrier and given him more reason to be here, but he knew it couldn't have.
"You alright?" Lock asked. He sat down on the bench next to John. John nodded and Lock smiled. "Sorry I couldn't be there for your introduction to the team. That Redeemer really took it out of me. Don't fire a Redeemer close to your enemy unless you want to commit suicide as well, there's a tip for you." John smiled and laughed slightly. He was still looking at the floor.
"When's our first match?" John asked as he looked up from the ground. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning. We better get some shut eye if we want to do well. Our team is about 3 matches away from getting to the top of the Capture the Flag ladder. Xan's team is top at the moment, but one of Xan's team is down and out, so we'll have the upper hand." Lock seemed confident.
John and Lock didn't say anything to each other for a while. They were admiring the view. The sound of the water lapping up against the side of the lake was relaxing; John wanted to stay out here forever.
Suddenly, a large alarm went off and echoed all around the park area, breaking the silence. "Well, we gotta head back now." Lock said as he stood up. John stood up as well, and they both headed back towards the building. Neither of them was being very social, they didn't really know what to say to each other.
It really looked like Lock had something on his mind. Something that made him feel uncomfortable around John, he didn't know what it was, but he didn't want to ask if it really was something personal the John would choose not to hear. He kept quiet.
They both returned to their cells and said good night to each other. Lock said it whilst still looking at the floor, John knew something was up with him but he didn't want to make a fuss of something that could be big or small. John watched Lock return to his cell and lie down. John then went into his and did the same.
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Xan had just walked away from the reception desk and was heading into the red bunker. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout all of the cells. A few curious people peeked out only to duck back in again at the sight of Xan. Matrix heard the footsteps and instantly recognized who it was. He poked his head around the corner and saw Xan coming towards the cell.
Xan entered the room and Matrix pretended that he didn't see him coming towards the room. Everybody else in the room sat up and looked at him. None of them showed any emotion, most of them couldn't. They nodded at him and some said "welcome back Xan". All of them sensed that Xan was smiling.
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John inserted the chip in the back of his armour and it flashed blue, then red, then back to blue again. A small symbol appeared in the center of the chest armour. It looked like four small little comets surrounded in flames. John looked at himself in the mirror, and then walked out to the lift.
John flashed his wrist pad at the scanner and it accepted and the light went green. The lift came down and the doors opened. As the lift went up John caught a glimpse of Rae coming around the corner, he couldn't stop the lift so he just carried on. The lights flickered as he slowly went up the floors.
The flashes triggered John's memory. The dream came back, the face, he still didn't have an answer. John closed his eyes and tried to see more clearly, but the more he concentrated on it the more he feared it. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the dream again.
The figure started to become clearer, it was the shape of a woman this time. This never happened before, but this time it felt clearer and it made more sense. This opened up so many different answers to John, but he still had no idea who it could be. He thought back to when he just saw Rae coming around the corner. That didn't make sense.
He thought of Amon, there was nothing there either. He couldn't take his mind off it. The lift reached the top and John snapped out of his visions. He stumbled slightly as he stepped off the lift and he leant up against the wall next to him.
John looked to see who else was there. Gunther and Vick were there. John didn't know if Vick wanted to be called Vick or Whiplash. Gunther nodded at John and he did the same back.
John eyes moved over to Whiplash and he couldn't take his eyes off the huge long scar that ran down the side of his face and neck. Vick noticed John looking; he frowned at him and turned his head so John couldn't see the scar anymore. John looked back down on the floor.
Rae and Lock came up from the lift and walked to meet the rest of the team silently. Rae walked off ahead and Lock came up to John.
"Nervous?" John shrugged. "Don't worry about being with a bunch of strangers, it does seem like some of these guys are unstable, and hell, they are, but that's what is good about them. I met most of them in the Human/Skaarj war. It's really no wonder why these guys are ruffed up. You try going to the frontline in that war."
"What am I gonna have to do in there?" John pointed to the platform up ahead where they would enter the match. "Just follow what I say." Lock said simply. "If you do your job, then everyone else can do their job, no questions asked. It's easy."
A large crowd had started to appear and they were getting impatient. Amon came up from the lift and greeted everybody with a happy face. "Hey guys." She said, and walked up to meet Rae.
"Welcome sports fans to another day in the Unreal Tournament! We've got loads of great matches for you coming up later today. Including Fire Storm and the Iron Guard with our tournament champion fighting in this one! Plus, some hot news for all you loyal fans out there. Today saw the return off Xan Kreigor!"
The crowd was a mixture of boos and cheers when they heard the name. Most of John's team said "Shit" all at the same time. Gunther breathed out and looked at the ceiling. 'Well, at least they have a half decent commentator now.' John thought to himself.
The two commentators went on for a while talking about other matches and how Xan's influence the tournament this year. Finally they got onto their match.
"But now, we have the first match of the day which is between Kill Switch and the Juggernaut team! This should be a good match today, especially seeing as Kill Switch does have a new recruit on its team. We've been following him for a while in the qualification matches, and he is undefeated, Viper!" The crowd cheered slightly, few of them barely recognized the name.
"We understand Viper is here to replace their critically injured team mate Talon. He's in at the deep end here, so let's see how he gets on."
Lock nodded and they started walking forward. John had to shout to be heard even though Lock was right next to him. "What happened to Talon then?!" John shouted to Lock. "He got injured by an angry Skaarj! Beat the poor kid nearly to death! Poor bastard!" Lock shouted back.
John felt un-nerved after hearing that, but at least he wasn't up against them now. The Juggernauts were coming along the small walk way opposite his team. They were crazy. They banged on the side of things and shouted at the crowd. They were big, and really intimidating. He was amazed that Rae and Vick can stand right next to them and not be afraid.
The crowd never approved of the Juggernauts. Their behaviour put people off, and one of the highlights of the year last tournament was Gorge smashing one of his fans right to the back of the stadium with one blow.
The team stood on the platform as one big group and the Juggernauts did the same. Lock came forward and slammed down on the button with his fist. 'Moon Dragon' was the map. The crowd went wild and the commentators said their usual crap about the map.
"5......4.....3.....2......1....fight"
"Gunther and Viper, you two stay on defense. All the rest, go for the flag!" Lock said over the radio. Gunther and John spawned near each other.
"Go cover the right side of the building. I'll take the left!" Gunther said. The map was quiet. Nobody had gone on the attack yet. John picked up a Shock rifle and a shock core. He ran up some stairs and found himself, on top of the base looking over the right side of the map. He checked his wrist pad. Score limit 4.
"Lock drew first blood!" came through the earpiece. "Oh yeah!" he heard Lock exclaim. The floor was all stone with scattered patches of grass everywhere. When John looked to his left, he could see the direct entrance to the base. There was a large crest in the middle of the map, and then there was a sharp slope going down both sides. The map was a reflection basically, and there was a small bridge that had a lightening gun on it on both sides of the blue area.
John was looking at the bridge, when suddenly, a bolt of lightening missed John's face by an inch. It made him jump and he looked down at the direct entrance to the base. It was Gorge, the juggernauts were slow big targets, but they were strong and took a lot of hits.
John opened up with his Shock rifle and hit Gorge in the side of the head, he gave him another blow in the leg with knocked him off balance, and he was nearly going down. John kept firing and hitting and Gorge eventually hit something vital in his back and steam burst out from his large metal body, he collapsed on the floor and died.
Just when John finished off Gorge, Ambrosia came over the bridge with the lightening gun and fired at John. A bolt of electricity hit him in the leg and there was a sharp pain.
John was on higher ground than her so he could get more shots in. He repeatedly shot at her head, some missing and some giving her big blows knocking her down. She was on one knees and John finished her with a shot in the stomach.
"Man down!" John had heard that being said a lot over the radio. Lock respawned and took John by surprise and he nearly shot at him. Soon after, Rae respawned, and so did Amon, they must be going through hell at the red base. Amon ran into Gorge and John saw the small fight in the distance.
Amon cut Gorge to pieces with her minigun and was shouting at him as she shot him, each bullet knocking him back and immobilizing him for a split second. He couldn't get a shot in. John spotted Ambrosia coming over the small bridge and he was about to shoot when she was blown off the side of it and was killed when she landed along side her detached leg.
John headed back down into the base to get more ammo and maybe a better weapon. He grabbed a GES Bio-rifle just incase and a rocket launcher. He headed back up to his post.
An explosion erupted throughout the red base. Lock grabbed the flag and ran as fast as he could out of there. He came out through the side and was met by Frostbite. Lock disposed of him quickly with his flak cannon and he dashed over the small bridge and in to the center of the map.
He was on the center bridge and there was a super shield pack in the center. He picked it up and instantly bullets flew in from all directions. Flashes of gold flew all over Lock body and he smiled as bullet after bullet had no effect on him.
John saw Lock running in with the flag and he looked for anybody following him, he couldn't see any. Lock was just about to get into the base when rockets flew in from every direction and one hit Lock in the leg making him fall.
Another rocket flew in and killed him. "Shit" John said and dropped down to take the flag. He sprinted to his flag with bullets chipped up at his heels. Bullet holes were being torn in the flag and John jumped and smashed the flag into his own and scored.
"Blue team takes the lead!" the announcer said. John was panting and then realized; he didn't lose the people who were chasing him. As soon as he thought it, Gorge came around the corner and fired a rocket; it hit John square in the stomach.
He was thrown back against the wall and was about to die when Gunther came from outside and shot at Gorge with his Flak cannon. Unfortunately, he only postponed John's death. Gunther was killed by a rocket and John suffered the same death as him.
"Blue flag taken!" the announcer said. John respawned, grabbed a minigun and chased after Gorge. He spotted him in the distance and shot at him. The minigun was inaccurate at this long range.
"Get a pincer movement on him people!" Lock shouted over the radio. "Roger that!" Rae, Amon and Vick said. It wasn't long before the announcer said: "Blue flag returned".
"Well done guys! Just like we practiced it!" Lock said happily. Gunther ran up next to John.
"You doing good?" he asked. "Yeah I'm fine" John replied. "Don't worry about that pincer movement thing. It's something they do to stop the flag carrier from getting home, hasn't failed once yet!" Gunther said and ran off to defend his side of the base.
Gorge was making another attempt for the front entrance. John loaded up three rockets and homed them in on Gorge as a spiral. Gunther did the same. 6 rockets pounded Gorge into to the ground and there was nothing left.
John heard Gunther laughing over the radio. "Nice one man!" John laughed a bit as well. It was the first time he had laughed in the tournament.
Vick and Amon were staying together and trying to work towards the base using separate ways. Then they could make an opening for Lock so he could grab the flag.
"You take the left, I'll take the right!" Vick said down the radio to Amon and she agreed. Vick rushed in the base and cleared the flag area of Reinha. "Area secure" he said and waited for Amon to appear.
"I'm under heavy attack!" she screamed as she was nailed into just a pair of legs from Ambrosia's flak cannon. Lock came through the way Vick did and Ambrosia was blown into view and she landed next to the flag.
"After you." He said politely. Lock took the flag and Vick followed. The sprinted out the main entrance and met no resistance. 'This isn't right' Lock thought to himself. They both made it over the main center bridge and still met nothing.
Suddenly, every single Juggernaut appeared from separate corners and surrounded Lock and Vick. Lock breathed out. "Oh shi-
John heard loads of rockets going off at the same time and it was very loud. "Red flag returned". Now the Juggernauts were on an all out attack. "Defense positions!" Gunther screamed over the radio.
Vick and Amon joined John and Lock and Rae joined Gunther in defense. "Get ready kid." Amon said as all 5 of the juggernauts charged over the steep hill.
There was a tremendous noise as everybody armed a rocket launcher and let rip at the same time. Rockets pounded into the ground all around the Juggernauts. Explosions ripped through their full on charge. Ambrosia took three direct hits and had the momentum to do a full front flip in the air before crashing down.
Gorge was also pounded by rockets. They were all so heavy and had so much momentum going down the hill that they couldn't stop, even when they had been killed. Gorge skidded down the hill with great speed and came to an abrupt halt when he hit the front of the base.
John looked up at the rest of the team firing away. Rae took a rocket in the face blowing her backwards and off the perch the rest of the team was on.
As the smoke cleared from the fighting, three large bodies lay dead at the bottom of the hill. That means two must have made it into the base. Lock looked at John. "Now John, I want you to go into their base for me, and get their flag while we hold them up. Ok go!"
John nodded and dropped down and sprinted off towards the red base. Lock saw John run off and told the rest of the team to find the two that got in the base.
John was on the center bridge, he didn't want to get spotted or he would be dead. He picked up a shield pack on the bridge and ran underneath the small bridge with the lightening gun on it and waited for Ambrosia to go over it so John could sneak past.
John was one small sprint away from the base. He looked to see if it was clear and ran into the side of it. He headed down some steps and saw the flag in front of him. He grabbed it and ran out.
He went out, under the bridge and back across the center, then he sprinted towards his own base, he came under light fire but it wasn't enough to stop him. John ran through and scored.
"Blue team increases their lead!" the announcer said. "Ok everybody let's just attack!" Lock shouted over the radio. John got his breath back and followed Rae. The juggernauts weren't ready. The team pounded through their defense and stole the flag with ease.
"Everybody cover Gunther!" Lock said. Gunther was carrying the flag and nobody wanted him to drop it now. The team scored with basically no conformation.
"Oh come on this is too easy!" Amon said. But the Juggernauts were changing tactics.
John was put back on defense along with Gunther, they were confident that they were going to win. There were only 3 minutes left anyway. 1 man down the middle, and two on each side. That was the juggernauts' plan. It would easily over power two men on guard.
John was looking around the scenery with his rocket launcher ready, when he saw Gorge running straight down the middle, John fired on him, but two more men came from the side and blew John out of the picture. It happened on Gunther's side too. "Blue flag taken" the announcer said
Lock got nervous when he heard that. He sprinted for the flag and grabbed it. The juggernauts had made a lot of progress. As soon as he exited the side of the base, he was blown away by Gorge who had the flag.
"Red team scores!" Lock gritted his teeth and was angry. "1 minute left" the announcer said. John breathed a sigh of relief; there was no way they could win now.
"Ok, still, remember people, if they score and match ours we'll go into over time. So lets all defend this place." Lock shouted loudly.
The juggernauts did the same plan again, but this time, only one got through which was on Gunther's side. "10.....9.....8...." John jumped down and started shooting at Frostbite who was just about to take the flag. "6...5....4....3..."
John managed to get a lucky hit in a valve in his leg. More smoke poured out of it and he lost balance and collapsed. "2.....1.....Blue team is the winner!"
They all appeared back in the stadium. The crowd went wild. "What match that was ladies and gentlemen! Kill Switch wins on time limit score 3-1!" The crowd cheered even more. Amon loved every minute of it.
She was waving at all the cute guys and blowing kisses to everyone. The juggernauts went crazy. Gorge the team captain started shouting at his team. He smacked Frostbite across the chest and he retaliated.
Frostbite punched Gorge in the side of the face with his huge metal hand. Gorge swung back and punched him in the stomach repeatedly. The crowd loved the brutal fighting. John watched in amazement as they really did beat the crap out of each other.
It wasn't long before Liandri officials came in and used small guns that shot bursts of electricity out the end. One guard lunged forward and zapped Gorge in the neck paralyzing him for a few minutes. They did the same for Frostbite, and then told the rest of the team to take them away seeing as they were the only ones who could carry them.
The crowd focused back on John and the team. Lock and Gunther were laughing and Rae hugged Vick. Vick didn't react at all; he stood there with a serious face, but managed a slight smile at the most. Amon was still blowing kisses and cheering. John felt strange again, but couldn't help but smile and laugh....
(a/n) Sorry about another big chapter, sorry if I bored you to death. Well, there you go. I enjoyed writing this match. Looks like they are a pretty organized team with some good tactics, and John seems to have proven himself with his team. Good for him! Please review! :)
(a/n) Thank for your nice reviews. Again I'd like to thank Lacrease, Dynamis and Cursor. Don't worry about the team being introduced to John at gunpoint. I'm going to make these guys a pretty edgy bunch. Hopefully it should mean that I can mix things up. So, John should be able to get some good team matches in now with his new team and we can see if he gets a long or not...
Read, enjoy, and review! :)
Chapter 6: In at the deep end
John had just been back from the reception desk to get into the team. John was glad he was now in a team. He felt like an outsider when other people were around him with teams, he felt unstable. But thinking about it, it didn't look like the rest of his team was very stable.
It was late afternoon, and it was at this time the fighters, or 'prisoners' as John calls them, were allowed to take a break outside the Tournament. Of course you couldn't go all the way off into the city; if you did then Liandri would be all over you.
John was surprised to see that nobody was outside enjoying the free time they had. The whole place was abandoned. A pristine lake was in the middle of the small park outside. It was very scenic. A large forest lay in the distance, it set a nice background.
The sun reflected off the lake hurting John's eyes when he looked at it, the grass was cut short and even all the way around the park. Trees and benches were scattered all around the lake and elsewhere.
Ducks landed in the lake and started going vertical in the water with their heads submerged; their back legs kicking around in the air. They all came up at the same time and swished the water around in their beaks and spat it back out. Another flock of small birds flew into the sunset. John smiled; it was so stereotypical.
"Only when something is gone to you really appreciate what you once had." It was Lock. 'Who else?' John thought to himself. "I heard that quote when I was about seven." Lock carried on. "My dad said it to me when he banned me from my video games for three weeks because I had been horrible to my sister." He chuckled.
John smiled. He didn't have any brothers or sisters. His dad had moved out when he was two and when John was twenty his mother was killed in a car accident. John realized how much he had been through up until this point. It was strange, some of it must have made John angrier and given him more reason to be here, but he knew it couldn't have.
"You alright?" Lock asked. He sat down on the bench next to John. John nodded and Lock smiled. "Sorry I couldn't be there for your introduction to the team. That Redeemer really took it out of me. Don't fire a Redeemer close to your enemy unless you want to commit suicide as well, there's a tip for you." John smiled and laughed slightly. He was still looking at the floor.
"When's our first match?" John asked as he looked up from the ground. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning. We better get some shut eye if we want to do well. Our team is about 3 matches away from getting to the top of the Capture the Flag ladder. Xan's team is top at the moment, but one of Xan's team is down and out, so we'll have the upper hand." Lock seemed confident.
John and Lock didn't say anything to each other for a while. They were admiring the view. The sound of the water lapping up against the side of the lake was relaxing; John wanted to stay out here forever.
Suddenly, a large alarm went off and echoed all around the park area, breaking the silence. "Well, we gotta head back now." Lock said as he stood up. John stood up as well, and they both headed back towards the building. Neither of them was being very social, they didn't really know what to say to each other.
It really looked like Lock had something on his mind. Something that made him feel uncomfortable around John, he didn't know what it was, but he didn't want to ask if it really was something personal the John would choose not to hear. He kept quiet.
They both returned to their cells and said good night to each other. Lock said it whilst still looking at the floor, John knew something was up with him but he didn't want to make a fuss of something that could be big or small. John watched Lock return to his cell and lie down. John then went into his and did the same.
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Xan had just walked away from the reception desk and was heading into the red bunker. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout all of the cells. A few curious people peeked out only to duck back in again at the sight of Xan. Matrix heard the footsteps and instantly recognized who it was. He poked his head around the corner and saw Xan coming towards the cell.
Xan entered the room and Matrix pretended that he didn't see him coming towards the room. Everybody else in the room sat up and looked at him. None of them showed any emotion, most of them couldn't. They nodded at him and some said "welcome back Xan". All of them sensed that Xan was smiling.
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John inserted the chip in the back of his armour and it flashed blue, then red, then back to blue again. A small symbol appeared in the center of the chest armour. It looked like four small little comets surrounded in flames. John looked at himself in the mirror, and then walked out to the lift.
John flashed his wrist pad at the scanner and it accepted and the light went green. The lift came down and the doors opened. As the lift went up John caught a glimpse of Rae coming around the corner, he couldn't stop the lift so he just carried on. The lights flickered as he slowly went up the floors.
The flashes triggered John's memory. The dream came back, the face, he still didn't have an answer. John closed his eyes and tried to see more clearly, but the more he concentrated on it the more he feared it. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the dream again.
The figure started to become clearer, it was the shape of a woman this time. This never happened before, but this time it felt clearer and it made more sense. This opened up so many different answers to John, but he still had no idea who it could be. He thought back to when he just saw Rae coming around the corner. That didn't make sense.
He thought of Amon, there was nothing there either. He couldn't take his mind off it. The lift reached the top and John snapped out of his visions. He stumbled slightly as he stepped off the lift and he leant up against the wall next to him.
John looked to see who else was there. Gunther and Vick were there. John didn't know if Vick wanted to be called Vick or Whiplash. Gunther nodded at John and he did the same back.
John eyes moved over to Whiplash and he couldn't take his eyes off the huge long scar that ran down the side of his face and neck. Vick noticed John looking; he frowned at him and turned his head so John couldn't see the scar anymore. John looked back down on the floor.
Rae and Lock came up from the lift and walked to meet the rest of the team silently. Rae walked off ahead and Lock came up to John.
"Nervous?" John shrugged. "Don't worry about being with a bunch of strangers, it does seem like some of these guys are unstable, and hell, they are, but that's what is good about them. I met most of them in the Human/Skaarj war. It's really no wonder why these guys are ruffed up. You try going to the frontline in that war."
"What am I gonna have to do in there?" John pointed to the platform up ahead where they would enter the match. "Just follow what I say." Lock said simply. "If you do your job, then everyone else can do their job, no questions asked. It's easy."
A large crowd had started to appear and they were getting impatient. Amon came up from the lift and greeted everybody with a happy face. "Hey guys." She said, and walked up to meet Rae.
"Welcome sports fans to another day in the Unreal Tournament! We've got loads of great matches for you coming up later today. Including Fire Storm and the Iron Guard with our tournament champion fighting in this one! Plus, some hot news for all you loyal fans out there. Today saw the return off Xan Kreigor!"
The crowd was a mixture of boos and cheers when they heard the name. Most of John's team said "Shit" all at the same time. Gunther breathed out and looked at the ceiling. 'Well, at least they have a half decent commentator now.' John thought to himself.
The two commentators went on for a while talking about other matches and how Xan's influence the tournament this year. Finally they got onto their match.
"But now, we have the first match of the day which is between Kill Switch and the Juggernaut team! This should be a good match today, especially seeing as Kill Switch does have a new recruit on its team. We've been following him for a while in the qualification matches, and he is undefeated, Viper!" The crowd cheered slightly, few of them barely recognized the name.
"We understand Viper is here to replace their critically injured team mate Talon. He's in at the deep end here, so let's see how he gets on."
Lock nodded and they started walking forward. John had to shout to be heard even though Lock was right next to him. "What happened to Talon then?!" John shouted to Lock. "He got injured by an angry Skaarj! Beat the poor kid nearly to death! Poor bastard!" Lock shouted back.
John felt un-nerved after hearing that, but at least he wasn't up against them now. The Juggernauts were coming along the small walk way opposite his team. They were crazy. They banged on the side of things and shouted at the crowd. They were big, and really intimidating. He was amazed that Rae and Vick can stand right next to them and not be afraid.
The crowd never approved of the Juggernauts. Their behaviour put people off, and one of the highlights of the year last tournament was Gorge smashing one of his fans right to the back of the stadium with one blow.
The team stood on the platform as one big group and the Juggernauts did the same. Lock came forward and slammed down on the button with his fist. 'Moon Dragon' was the map. The crowd went wild and the commentators said their usual crap about the map.
"5......4.....3.....2......1....fight"
"Gunther and Viper, you two stay on defense. All the rest, go for the flag!" Lock said over the radio. Gunther and John spawned near each other.
"Go cover the right side of the building. I'll take the left!" Gunther said. The map was quiet. Nobody had gone on the attack yet. John picked up a Shock rifle and a shock core. He ran up some stairs and found himself, on top of the base looking over the right side of the map. He checked his wrist pad. Score limit 4.
"Lock drew first blood!" came through the earpiece. "Oh yeah!" he heard Lock exclaim. The floor was all stone with scattered patches of grass everywhere. When John looked to his left, he could see the direct entrance to the base. There was a large crest in the middle of the map, and then there was a sharp slope going down both sides. The map was a reflection basically, and there was a small bridge that had a lightening gun on it on both sides of the blue area.
John was looking at the bridge, when suddenly, a bolt of lightening missed John's face by an inch. It made him jump and he looked down at the direct entrance to the base. It was Gorge, the juggernauts were slow big targets, but they were strong and took a lot of hits.
John opened up with his Shock rifle and hit Gorge in the side of the head, he gave him another blow in the leg with knocked him off balance, and he was nearly going down. John kept firing and hitting and Gorge eventually hit something vital in his back and steam burst out from his large metal body, he collapsed on the floor and died.
Just when John finished off Gorge, Ambrosia came over the bridge with the lightening gun and fired at John. A bolt of electricity hit him in the leg and there was a sharp pain.
John was on higher ground than her so he could get more shots in. He repeatedly shot at her head, some missing and some giving her big blows knocking her down. She was on one knees and John finished her with a shot in the stomach.
"Man down!" John had heard that being said a lot over the radio. Lock respawned and took John by surprise and he nearly shot at him. Soon after, Rae respawned, and so did Amon, they must be going through hell at the red base. Amon ran into Gorge and John saw the small fight in the distance.
Amon cut Gorge to pieces with her minigun and was shouting at him as she shot him, each bullet knocking him back and immobilizing him for a split second. He couldn't get a shot in. John spotted Ambrosia coming over the small bridge and he was about to shoot when she was blown off the side of it and was killed when she landed along side her detached leg.
John headed back down into the base to get more ammo and maybe a better weapon. He grabbed a GES Bio-rifle just incase and a rocket launcher. He headed back up to his post.
An explosion erupted throughout the red base. Lock grabbed the flag and ran as fast as he could out of there. He came out through the side and was met by Frostbite. Lock disposed of him quickly with his flak cannon and he dashed over the small bridge and in to the center of the map.
He was on the center bridge and there was a super shield pack in the center. He picked it up and instantly bullets flew in from all directions. Flashes of gold flew all over Lock body and he smiled as bullet after bullet had no effect on him.
John saw Lock running in with the flag and he looked for anybody following him, he couldn't see any. Lock was just about to get into the base when rockets flew in from every direction and one hit Lock in the leg making him fall.
Another rocket flew in and killed him. "Shit" John said and dropped down to take the flag. He sprinted to his flag with bullets chipped up at his heels. Bullet holes were being torn in the flag and John jumped and smashed the flag into his own and scored.
"Blue team takes the lead!" the announcer said. John was panting and then realized; he didn't lose the people who were chasing him. As soon as he thought it, Gorge came around the corner and fired a rocket; it hit John square in the stomach.
He was thrown back against the wall and was about to die when Gunther came from outside and shot at Gorge with his Flak cannon. Unfortunately, he only postponed John's death. Gunther was killed by a rocket and John suffered the same death as him.
"Blue flag taken!" the announcer said. John respawned, grabbed a minigun and chased after Gorge. He spotted him in the distance and shot at him. The minigun was inaccurate at this long range.
"Get a pincer movement on him people!" Lock shouted over the radio. "Roger that!" Rae, Amon and Vick said. It wasn't long before the announcer said: "Blue flag returned".
"Well done guys! Just like we practiced it!" Lock said happily. Gunther ran up next to John.
"You doing good?" he asked. "Yeah I'm fine" John replied. "Don't worry about that pincer movement thing. It's something they do to stop the flag carrier from getting home, hasn't failed once yet!" Gunther said and ran off to defend his side of the base.
Gorge was making another attempt for the front entrance. John loaded up three rockets and homed them in on Gorge as a spiral. Gunther did the same. 6 rockets pounded Gorge into to the ground and there was nothing left.
John heard Gunther laughing over the radio. "Nice one man!" John laughed a bit as well. It was the first time he had laughed in the tournament.
Vick and Amon were staying together and trying to work towards the base using separate ways. Then they could make an opening for Lock so he could grab the flag.
"You take the left, I'll take the right!" Vick said down the radio to Amon and she agreed. Vick rushed in the base and cleared the flag area of Reinha. "Area secure" he said and waited for Amon to appear.
"I'm under heavy attack!" she screamed as she was nailed into just a pair of legs from Ambrosia's flak cannon. Lock came through the way Vick did and Ambrosia was blown into view and she landed next to the flag.
"After you." He said politely. Lock took the flag and Vick followed. The sprinted out the main entrance and met no resistance. 'This isn't right' Lock thought to himself. They both made it over the main center bridge and still met nothing.
Suddenly, every single Juggernaut appeared from separate corners and surrounded Lock and Vick. Lock breathed out. "Oh shi-
John heard loads of rockets going off at the same time and it was very loud. "Red flag returned". Now the Juggernauts were on an all out attack. "Defense positions!" Gunther screamed over the radio.
Vick and Amon joined John and Lock and Rae joined Gunther in defense. "Get ready kid." Amon said as all 5 of the juggernauts charged over the steep hill.
There was a tremendous noise as everybody armed a rocket launcher and let rip at the same time. Rockets pounded into the ground all around the Juggernauts. Explosions ripped through their full on charge. Ambrosia took three direct hits and had the momentum to do a full front flip in the air before crashing down.
Gorge was also pounded by rockets. They were all so heavy and had so much momentum going down the hill that they couldn't stop, even when they had been killed. Gorge skidded down the hill with great speed and came to an abrupt halt when he hit the front of the base.
John looked up at the rest of the team firing away. Rae took a rocket in the face blowing her backwards and off the perch the rest of the team was on.
As the smoke cleared from the fighting, three large bodies lay dead at the bottom of the hill. That means two must have made it into the base. Lock looked at John. "Now John, I want you to go into their base for me, and get their flag while we hold them up. Ok go!"
John nodded and dropped down and sprinted off towards the red base. Lock saw John run off and told the rest of the team to find the two that got in the base.
John was on the center bridge, he didn't want to get spotted or he would be dead. He picked up a shield pack on the bridge and ran underneath the small bridge with the lightening gun on it and waited for Ambrosia to go over it so John could sneak past.
John was one small sprint away from the base. He looked to see if it was clear and ran into the side of it. He headed down some steps and saw the flag in front of him. He grabbed it and ran out.
He went out, under the bridge and back across the center, then he sprinted towards his own base, he came under light fire but it wasn't enough to stop him. John ran through and scored.
"Blue team increases their lead!" the announcer said. "Ok everybody let's just attack!" Lock shouted over the radio. John got his breath back and followed Rae. The juggernauts weren't ready. The team pounded through their defense and stole the flag with ease.
"Everybody cover Gunther!" Lock said. Gunther was carrying the flag and nobody wanted him to drop it now. The team scored with basically no conformation.
"Oh come on this is too easy!" Amon said. But the Juggernauts were changing tactics.
John was put back on defense along with Gunther, they were confident that they were going to win. There were only 3 minutes left anyway. 1 man down the middle, and two on each side. That was the juggernauts' plan. It would easily over power two men on guard.
John was looking around the scenery with his rocket launcher ready, when he saw Gorge running straight down the middle, John fired on him, but two more men came from the side and blew John out of the picture. It happened on Gunther's side too. "Blue flag taken" the announcer said
Lock got nervous when he heard that. He sprinted for the flag and grabbed it. The juggernauts had made a lot of progress. As soon as he exited the side of the base, he was blown away by Gorge who had the flag.
"Red team scores!" Lock gritted his teeth and was angry. "1 minute left" the announcer said. John breathed a sigh of relief; there was no way they could win now.
"Ok, still, remember people, if they score and match ours we'll go into over time. So lets all defend this place." Lock shouted loudly.
The juggernauts did the same plan again, but this time, only one got through which was on Gunther's side. "10.....9.....8...." John jumped down and started shooting at Frostbite who was just about to take the flag. "6...5....4....3..."
John managed to get a lucky hit in a valve in his leg. More smoke poured out of it and he lost balance and collapsed. "2.....1.....Blue team is the winner!"
They all appeared back in the stadium. The crowd went wild. "What match that was ladies and gentlemen! Kill Switch wins on time limit score 3-1!" The crowd cheered even more. Amon loved every minute of it.
She was waving at all the cute guys and blowing kisses to everyone. The juggernauts went crazy. Gorge the team captain started shouting at his team. He smacked Frostbite across the chest and he retaliated.
Frostbite punched Gorge in the side of the face with his huge metal hand. Gorge swung back and punched him in the stomach repeatedly. The crowd loved the brutal fighting. John watched in amazement as they really did beat the crap out of each other.
It wasn't long before Liandri officials came in and used small guns that shot bursts of electricity out the end. One guard lunged forward and zapped Gorge in the neck paralyzing him for a few minutes. They did the same for Frostbite, and then told the rest of the team to take them away seeing as they were the only ones who could carry them.
The crowd focused back on John and the team. Lock and Gunther were laughing and Rae hugged Vick. Vick didn't react at all; he stood there with a serious face, but managed a slight smile at the most. Amon was still blowing kisses and cheering. John felt strange again, but couldn't help but smile and laugh....
(a/n) Sorry about another big chapter, sorry if I bored you to death. Well, there you go. I enjoyed writing this match. Looks like they are a pretty organized team with some good tactics, and John seems to have proven himself with his team. Good for him! Please review! :)
