Guess what, Atari and Epic own it all and I got nothing
Chapter 10: Changes
As the blade left my gun, I was caught off guard by a splash of explosion that came down between Xan and myself. The rocket hit the ground and the force knocked both Xan and myself to the ground, too wounded to get back up… Gorge got the pair of points for a double takedown just as the buzzer rang, putting him up on Xan by a single point. I stared down at the steel deck of the ship as the realization sank in that Gorge was the new champion. Xan didn't move, he simply laid there and stared at the ceiling… to this day I swear I thought I saw him breathing heavily. Gorge raised his massive armoured arms in victory as he was teleported out of the arena and to the championship pedestal. Xan and I laid in quiet shock for several moments until he finally sat up. I managed to push myself up to my hands and knees and tried to regain my senses. I turned my head and looked at him as I leaned back to kneel. He looked at me, he then looked down at his dismembered arm as it sparked from the dangling wires. He looked at the floor and threw his gun away, growling with frustration. The gun skidded and clanged as it flew down the hall.
"I had you." Xan finally said coldly. I forced myself up to my feet and looked down at him.
"Well, from my vantage point I had you teetering also." Xan growled again and slammed his fist onto the deck, actually cracking the solid steel. What I saw next… I don't know to this day if I really saw it or if it was just the post-carnage dillusion, but Xan put his head down onto his knees, and I swear I thought I heard him… crying? Robots don't cry… but at the time I never gave it a second thought. I pitied Xan actually, he was on top for years, and he lost his championship in such a… cheap manner. Gorge's shot was a cheapshot at both of us, I wouldn't go as far as to say it was luck, but it was totally a cheapshot. I left Xan alone on that ship, pitying him and resenting him at the same time.
Xan dropped out of existence more or less the following season. Liandri re-instated the assault games much to public demand, and also brought back the sniper rifle, much to Arielle's approval. The ripper had finally been retired from the tournament due to it's unnecessarily overly violent nature. Vehicles had been added to a new match type called Onslaught… it was looking to be an exciting year. The Nali had dropped out of tournament participation that season as they were at war with a new race to enter the ranks… the Skaarj. You have not seen scary until you've seen one of those things up close. The Skaarj had been banned from the tournament for several years because mankind was at war with them, but now that they had turned their attention onto the Nali, our kind, in all our infinite wisdom, decided to let them in. This was also the season that would mark the end of the Dark Phalanx… and when my life began to lose its meaning… it all began with the season opener.
Our season opener was capture the flag match against one of the Skaarj teams. We were not looking forward to taking on a new opponent that we had no chance to scout yet, so needless to say, we were going in worried. Now, for those of you that have been living under a rock since the mid twenty-first century, I'll bring you up to speed. The Skaarj had been at war with mankind for several years, and more than once nearly threatened the very existence of our kind. They were known as ruthless, aggressive and bloodthirsty enemies on the battlefield… which is why I guess Liandri brought them in. The Skaarj roused interest from many viewers, their past reputation from the wars made them enigmatic to the viewers, plus it gave viewers a team they could always hate. Humanity will always deny it, but we hate anything that is not us, and the Skaarj provided fans with a team they could always hate no matter what. Anyways, back to the match… It was capture the flag against the Skaarj, also the day something died inside of me. I was with Arielle and a bunch of new recruits, we had divided the team to guard and attack, Arielle and I led the attack. I don't know what the hell I was thinking taking her with me into the attack. I took her into an enemy we had no experience or knowledge of… it was my fault. We ran across a bridge to their base, there was another bridge running parallel to us, and the entire Skarrj team went on the offensive. Arielle and I laughed the entire way to the flag, grabbed and still laughed as we left their base with it. We came to the bridge and then the Skaarj opened fire on us. I yelled at the pair of rookies with us to provide covering fire while I escorted Arielle to the base with the flag, covering her with fire. We got across the bridge and noticed that the Skaarj had out flag, I figured I could get it back once Arielle was safe in our base. We ran into the base and slammed right into the scaley chest of a Skaarj. He towered over us, but his eyes only looked at the flag in Arielle's hands. He swatted me away like I was nothing and then claws drew from his wrist gauntlets. I heard Arielle scream and by the time I was looking back up to see her she was dangling off the ground with the claws impaling her stomach. The Skaarj soldier threw her to the side like a piece of garbage and picked the flag back up and left with it. I didn't even care that we had lost the match. I ran to Arielle and cradled her in my arms, but she was dead. I wept… no, I bawled. As those damned Skaarj celebrated their first victory I already was planning my revenge.
Bad day eh? read on
