"How long are they going to just focus on me? There's others around to shoot as well you know!"

Sinon was currently being focused on by several other players. They tunnel visioned on her location: a single window ten stories high. The glass had been long shattered over the street below. Now bullets replaced where the glass was. Round after round entered, slamming into the wall opposite the window. The last time she looked, six had their guns pointed at her position. All were far below her on the street with various weaponry. Some hid behind concrete bollards as others remained in the open. None looked at their surroundings. None had been aware of approaching threats. None wanted to lose their offensive.

The bullets stopped flying. An uneasy silence fell on the neighbourhood. From the window, Sinon quickly scanned the area with her scope. They had begun to move into the building. Unfortunately for them, a straggler fell behind. He stumbled and tripped towards the rest. He will never get to them, not if her Hecate had anything to do with that. Sinon aimed for a shot, bipod balanced upon the ledge. Adjust for bullet drop and wind speed… Now!

BANG!

Headshot! Right between the eyes, a perfect shot. However, no time for celebration, she had to pack up and prepare for another assault. The rest of the group were still threats. They slowly moved up the stairs checking the rooms beside the staircase. Each room had to be thoroughly checked for any signs of life. Anything that moved, was blasted to kingdom come. Be it gliding paper or a figment of their imagination. Magazine after magazine, they dropped like flies. Their echoes bounced from wall to wall, building to building. 'Others will be attracted to the sounds at this rate. I'll have to deal with them quickly.'

She dashed for the unhinged door behind her, scarf trailing behind. The five that remained got closer. Their voices echoed louder along with their guns. No time to lose. After they could be dealt with, Sinon would be able to continue her journey into the centre of the 'Forgotten City'. The wooden door flung open with a creak. Oh how the creak groaned with the others as they slammed open. Luckily, this door was more shy than the others, its creaks were completely out shadowed by the others below. A corridor rested quietly in front of Sinon. Holes dotted the ceiling, walls and even the floor. Some grew to huge sizes, enough to fit vehicles through, while others did not even reach through to the other end. One had to tread carefully along here or risk falling through the floorboards! Some did, you could hear them plummet. At best, a movement penalty and half health gone.

Yes, that is exactly what happened. One such player (assault rifle over the shoulder) stood on a weak tile, and fell to the ground floor from the eighth floor. Shouting began shortly after as the dust settled.

"Who was that? Oh no, not 'Sleeper Trooper'!"

"Bloody deserved it after how he nearly shot me!"

"Oi! We're in this as a team! We have the best chance of the top positions if we work together, so just shut up!"

Sinon approached the spiral stairs. White was everywhere: the walls, the ceiling and even the staircase itself. The stairs towered above and below. Top of the staircase could not be seen through darkness. Above, the thin strips of light had faded, none even flickered as they did below. None of that mattered, she had a chance to wipe them all out in one go. Time to move…

Extremely carefully, Sinon trod lightly downwards. Each step gently grazed the floor without making a sound. The distance closed gradually. She still (somehow) remained out of view. Four still remained on the eighth floor. The Hecate would be too slow with its bolt action. Even before the first shell could be extracted, bullets would be flying at her. Injury this early on would not end well. That would mean depending on him. No, Sinon could handle this herself.

She reached the ninth floor, indicated by a large black nine half crumbled away. The distance closed. Sinon paused again. They had not moved much. Instead, the group huddled together looking over the low-hanging hand rail downwards. 'Sleeper Trooper' was still alive. He signaled this with a dramatic waving of the hands. Injured, but still in and had high hopes.

On further investigation, her opponents' equipment definitely did not match the situation. Rocket launchers, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns? They would bring the whole complex down on top of them! Before they can do such a thing, they had to be eliminated. Otherwise, it would be the end of the road. Sinon swapped to her MP7. Spray-and-prey works wonders at close range. Closer the better. Not much further and she could let the gun sing. Just down a few more steps…

CLICK! CLANG!

Something rolled to the side of the injured player, Sinon could just see it. Small, black and round, it sat on its side motionless. The player looked at it before backing away. He grasped for any grip he could, pulling his body away. "Flashbang!" He screamed. However, there was no time to react.

BANG!

It detonated in a roar of blinding white and ear-piercing ringing. The others cowered in pain. Sinon only just escaped not being stunned (though with a ringing in her ears). She peered down below.

He was now dead. A bullet thundered through a door at the bottom of the staircase. Light now pierced through the door like the bullet through the player's chest. Sinon saw this as the perfect opportunity to rid of those four that remained. She charged down the stairs, MP7 in one hand and the railing in the other. They did not notice. Their eyes were still glued to the events below while recovering. They rubbed their eyes in confusion and frustration. By Sinon's hand, they will never been able to express it in this battle. She opened fire. The bullets ripped through them one after another. Each bullet embedded themselves into the flesh made of pixels. Red holes filled with white lines grew on their backs. The foes all fell to the ground, a few even tumbled down to ground level.

Soon, the magazine was dry. She disposed of it like an empty can, replacing it with a full magazine. They were all defeated. Either finished off by her gun or by the fall, none could fight. The standard red sign stating "DEAD" in white hovered over each of the virtual corpses. They would be nothing but pixels in a few minutes. Others would join them soon enough. However, that was not of her concern right now. So, with six less players left, Sinon made her way down. She avoided holes that covered most of the steps. Her pace quickened as she came closer to the ground level. When eventually she did, someone was already waiting.

"Looks like that is six down already. Good job Sinon."

"You threw that flashbang, didn't you? Sabre, I could have handled that by myself! I had a plan and everything."

A shrug came in response, "Could have, should have, didn't. It's over now. C'mon we've got to get to the planned position. There isn't a moment to lose!"

They stepped outside. "Did you know it was me? You could have saved an enemy if you didn't."

"Oh I knew," Sabretooth commented while looking both directions down the street, "There is not many people that would attract those who are so eager to remove them from the picture. Or, just call it an educated guess that I got the right sniper."

"There it is! The rendezvous point!"

The glass skyscraper stood exactly like how it did in the hologram: fractured, top broken off and nearly integrated with another on the opposite side of the wide street. Pieces ruptured off and shattered below. Parts of the structure screeched in pain. Metal on metal. Ears cried as the sounds echoed briefly and occasionally. These were followed by splinters of metal. Every second that passed, it grew weaker. A poison of rust had taken hold. It was only a question of time before the whole block fell into a scrapheap. All that was needed was a large enough match to set the city block sized oil barrel alight.

Sabretooth and Sinon had managed to find a motorbike to get them towards the centre of the city easier. It easily fit two people with room to spare. Bangs and flames rattled through the exhaust. These could only just be heard over the constant churning of the bike's two pistons. Their vibrations thumped against the seat along side the constant potholes. Comfort has not been mentioned in building this bike or in its maintenance. However, Sinon had never ridden on one before, even with them running around like ants. Every foot that passed was a step into the unknown. A very uncomfortable unknown at that. She only hoped that the actual ones were more comfortable.

"Alright, we got a problem," Sabretooth began, occasionally looking over his shoulders, "This hasn't got any brakes. We have to jump off."

"You knew about this before, right?" came a nervous voice from Sinon, who was currently holding onto two small handles to her sides.

"I had my fears. Why else would something like this beauty be abandoned on the side of the road? Or people just hate bikes… It's a toughy."

The skyscraper got ever closer. Only a block remained, the distance between them closed. A decision had to made right there and then. Unfortunately, only one came to mind. Risky, but if pulled off well, could work. Bonus points for the cool factor as well. Sabretooth smiled. "We got one option, we jump. On the count of three."

"You sure that this will work?"

"Ha, I have no idea!"

Time had grown short. Only a few buildings now stood between them and the destination. All was quiet. No eyes watched from afar. Perfect, perhaps too perfect but not worth considering.

"One…" His hand let go of the right handle bar. Sinon rested both feet on the left side of the bike.

"Two…" Both of Sabretooth's hands had left their respected handle bars. He no longer controlled where the bike would go. It was free. Sinon had one hand keep her onto the bike. She was in position.

"Three!" They both let go, leaping to the left. The bike continued on without them, not looking back. It juddered over yet more potholes.

"You all right?" Both had managed to get out of the bike's warpath and in front of the building. Sabretooth had landed on his feet, sliding a little before coming to a complete stop. He was in full control. Sinon, on the other hand, had landed on her left shoulder. Her Hecate scraped along the concrete. It only stopped when the stock slammed into a raised slab. "I'm fine," came a groan from Sinon getting to her feet. Neither had taken any damage or been spotted. Just as planned. They both entered the building. As the revolving doors had been crushed by debris, they simply walked through a shattered glass wall. What caused it to falter into ruin was of no concern. It only joined the club of hundreds of buildings that filed the streets. Not one had survived the mysterious onslaught. All they could do was watch as another battle burned brightly. It only grew closer.

"Two vehicles approaching!" out of Sabretooth's eye two armoured humvees stormed down the potholed road. Though distant, they would soon close the distance. Dust was ripped up from the road beneath and flung high above. Brown clouds slowly rose and faded into nothingness. At best, they could be used as battering rams. At worst, they would be moving fortresses. Only rocket launchers could end their wrath. None were in sight, for now…

"Let them pass through. We will wait until the others arrive. Only fire when we are under threat." Sinon nodded in agreement. So they continued deeper into the building, leaving the road behind them. 'I hope they enjoy my little present!' he quickly glanced over back the bike. Though silent, it had travelled and collapsed in the middle of the road. It stretched as far as it could across the wide street. Around the bike, potholes dominated. In fact there was more potholes than the street itself! Some grew to colossus sizes, enough to swallow a car whole. A red light flashed dimly. It began extremely slowly only to grow quicker. Metals within shone with the constantly changing red light.

The vehicles continued on their path. Their speed unchanged. They only continued with heads held high. All were completely unaware of their surprise gift waiting for them. They would find out, as soon as they closed in to the bike's neighbourhood. Chaos would be brought forth. Flames, smoke and shrapnel would fill the air. It would all be in good time.

Just beyond the horizon, beyond where the skyscrapers faded and rolling hills dominated the landscape, another firefight was continuing. Upon one such hill, stood an old windmill. Well what remained of the windmill anyway. Large chunks of the wooden walls simply no longer existed. Drafts flooded in and out without a break. The whole building shuddered with the cold. Creaks echoed throughout and into the great grass plains. Here it rested, another observer of the battle that ravaged the lands. Within its walls, gunfire crashed through the soothing air. Holes sprung up in the planks. They came in bursts. Rows here. A spread of smaller ones there. Heavy footsteps came from within. They were quickly followed by muffled voices.

Suddenly, a wall blew off. Pieces shattered into tiny splinters that covered the ground beneath. Browns, oranges and blacks littered the blast radius. Upon the widely dispursed pile of rubble, lay a body covered in black soot. Silently, a few seconds passed. A red pop up came into being, it read: "Dead". Two other players watched over the lifeless body.

"Didn't expect him to use a MGL at such close range to be honest," Subaru breathed a sigh of relief. Behind him, Starbug threw a photon sword upon the body.

"So uncivilised," she commented, jumping down from the hole and onto the black soot. "Still, we are behind schedule. We need to get to them as soon as possible."

Subaru followed, quickly placing the sword in a side pocket upon his backpack. "There isn't much a rush y'know. Sabre and Sinon can hold their own very well, especially if plenty of the finalists are like him. Next scan is less than a minute, let's get going."

Starbug nodded. She placed out her hand. A large hologram appeared beneath the hand. It was flatter than a piece of paper and entirely blue of various shades. Wide open flats were sky blues while mountain peaks glowed in the deepest of blues. Her position was clear as day on the map: nearby a river (shown in extremely light blue) and not too far away from the city. A red dot flashed occasionally between these, this was where she was.

"Any second now… Bingo!" A red line appeared from the northern section of the map. Perfectly straight, the line crawled its way down the map. Pure white dots sprung up as the red line passed. As it descended lower and lower, more dots grew out of the map. Dozens appeared across the map. Their distribution varied as much as the landscape. Some huddled together while others had miles between them. However, something else became clearer as the scan stopped. "There's barely 50 left!"

"Huh, sounds like most of the noobies have been wiped out…" commented Starbug bitterly, "Let's get going. We've got a mission to do."

"Roger, roger. Leave the driving to me!"

Both of them left the windmill in a wreck and slid down a steep slope. Leaves flared upwards as they went. Down at the bottom of the slope, a Humvee waited silently. It waited for action. It yearned for action. Everything the vehicle did was done with a jolly swing. In no time at all, the Humvee was already thundering across the grassy hills and the dips between. Mud was flung up by all wheels as they gripped with all of their might. Their destination: the centre of the forgotten city. Where the skyscrapers grow old and vehicles never move, that is where it must go. Even with an unknown foe tailing, it had to continue and await what the figure may do next upon his motorbike. All that could be certain was the death that would follow.

Writer's Notes:

Panzer_Bros:

Kept you waiting, huh? Shorter chapter this time around. Didn't think the events that will occur next would fit well within a single chapter. But, that's personal opinions for you. Sufficient build up for a suitable execution was a high priority for this chapter. Might show, maybe not. Either way, the pace picks up now. More to be unveiled soon! Stick around, things will just get better from here, hopefully.