A/N: Sorry, you won't get to see all of Vorkuta yet. Why? It will refer to a later Chapter. For now enjoy what I have.
Before the Crossover actually takes off, I felt it important to show at least one Chapter that is solely based in Black Ops. I fought with myself, trying to decide if I should do Operation 40, where the game begins, or Vorkuta.
I've decided to go with the option that would benefit the Story on the greatest level. This is essentially going to be a retelling of everyone's favorite escape scenario in Call of Duty. Similar as to how the previous Chapter retold the ending of Attack on Titan 2. The game I mean.
For those among you who don't study your History, "I like Ike'' is an old expression created by Eisenhower during the actual Cold War. I'm afraid if I don't clarify that people will get confused when they get further down.
One last thing. I've always despised the act of having Russian, German or any other language spoken in English in a movie or game. With Reznov it at least makes sense. How else would Mason and him communicate? But everyone else aside from a select few, why are they speaking English?
Imperial Stormtrooper: You will see the connection next Chapter.
Chapter 2: Cold War, Our War
Fighting through the Cuban Police, almost exploding in a crash, and so many other events almost took away Mason's life and the lives of his friends. He went through all of them without question. Which is why it was even more tragic for him to come face to face with the same Dictator who had been presumably killed with his ASP.
Castro, using a lookalike to remain in the land of the living, foiled the attempt on his life committed by the CIA. As punishment for his actions, and to strengthen his new bond with Nikita Dragovich, Fidel handed Mason over as though it was meant to be a present.
Upon receiving a tied up and injured Mason, Dragovich made a promise to him that the next few years of his life, should Mason even make it that long considering the conditions, would teach him what it is truly like to suffer. Vorkuta. That is the unforgiving prison of despair Mason was sent to. It acts as a Russian Gulag containing an influx of prisoners of war and other unwanted individuals. Some of the older inmates incarcerated arrived back when Stalin was still in power.
Mason couldn't stay in Vorkuta, escaping was his top priority. He knew better than to try to get out on his own. Killing himself would get him nowhere. Taking a guard hostage was also out of the question. These guys seemed like assholes, and the kind willing to shoot their own comrades.
Calling in outside support? No. Even if that was an option at his disposal, Mason would never risk worsening the already fragile and tense relationship between the US and Soviet Union. For the longest time, Mason just gave up on the goal of escaping Vorkuta. But then the single American met someone who would impact his life for years to come.
Someone that, much like himself, wanted to stop whatever Dragovich and Kravchenko were planning with the West. Though it seemed this old Russian was more interested in revenge than anything else. His name, Reznov, Victor Reznov. The two men began to speak of their past encounters with Dragovich and Kravchenko.
Reznov talked about the events surrounding his time with Red Army. He talked about a, as Reznov put it, ''Comrade.'' named Dimitri Petrenko, and how they managed to plant the Red Army's flag on top of Berlin. Reznov had actually lost Dimitri during a betrayal instigated by Kravchenko and Dragovich, who at the time allied themselves with a Nazi scientist named Steiner.
However the most crucial information Mason obtained surrounded Nova 6, the same chemical weapon that was tested on Dimitri and several other betrayed Russian Soldiers. He wanted more time to question Reznov on these various topics, gather as much information as possible, but then some old friends pulled him away.
Being out of consciousness for most of it, Mason never figured out what kind of inhumane tests they were running on him and the other prisoners. But they would always leave him feeling too ill to even stand up. Another reason Mason needed to get out of there and back to the US as soon as possible.
After several long, painful and cold months of waiting for the perfect opportunity, it came. ''Punch me.'' Mason said, staring at Reznov with a look most sane people would never give. It was the fault of his eagerness to escape. ''Right in the face, just hit me.''
For a second Reznov hesitated, positive there were more intelligent ways to commence the outbreak. ''Are you sure, Mason?'' He questioned, wondering if his friend had suffered from a devastating collapse before meeting him. Mason gave a quick nod before readying his own fists for combat.
Victor smiled and raised his fists. ''Okay then.'' He whispered just loud enough to where only Mason could make out the words. ''You are nothing more than American scum!'' He said, getting into the necessary character required to attract the attention of the guards.
Rushing forward, Reznov dodged a fake attack delivered from Mason, and tackled him to the ground. ''You will break, American.'' He said before slamming his fists across his face a few times, with a lot more force than Mason deemed necessary. His own fault, asking for the perfect show.
Looking to the view behind him to see if any guards were already on site to disperse the crowd witnessing their mock fight, Reznov was caught off guard when Mason gave him a taste of his own medicine. Reznov didn't recall Mason fighting back to be in the script.
It didn't cause any real amount of pain for Reznov, most likely thanks to the fact that Mason's hands were in awful shape. ''Ha.'' He laughed. ''You hit like a child.'' Insults made the fight look truly official, and it was enough to get the attention of one nearby guard.
He walked into the large open facility with his weapon drawn, wondering who was stirring up such a ruckus. ''Come on! Work!'' He spoke in Russian to all of the men who ceased their forced labor in order to witness the violent transaction. Seeing Mason on the ground, the guard decided to unleash his prejudice upon the American.
Luckily the despiser of Ike wouldn't even get a single strike in on Mason. ''Hey, Svoloch.'' Reznov cursed at the man, gaining his attention away from Mason. Mason, who was now free to commence what they had prepared for so long, stood up when completely out of view.
The guard switched his anger onto Reznov, beating and kicking him for no other reason than receiving an insult. He felt a light tap on the shoulder, its origin most likely coming from the individual behind him. Turning around once more, the guard had no problem with giving Mason a taste of pain.
He did unfortunately find out the painful way that Mason wasn't willing to take such shame lying down. A sharp rock was smashed across his face. It was done with such force and speed that a portion of his nose was removed. The rock, having served its singular use, was dropped back to the floor.
Not one to leave a man behind, especially one who would who would never do the same to him, Mason assisted Reznov in getting back on his feet. ''Reznov, you okay?'' He asked while Reznov stretched his arms and legs, a good way to prepare for what was about to happen.
Back on his two feet, Reznov assured him that his resolve was never in a more perfect condition. ''Always, Mason. Always.'' Walking over to the corpse, it wasn't hard to assume Mason's attack killed him, Reznov pocketed the keys on his body. ''Every journey begins with a single step.''
With the keys to unlock their freedom in hand, Reznov raised them towards the ceiling. ''This is step one!'' In complete unison, everyone in the facility shouted the same line, Mason Included. ''Secure the keys!'' Right then everyone knew, war was about to begin. ''Now, we take Vorkuta!''
Needless to say the crowd was in the same mindset as Victor. Mason, eager to get in on the action, pulled out the same rusted piece of metal, meant to act as a knife, saved for this occasion. Following the lead of Reznov, Mason and other inmates charged at any guard who crossed their paths.
Most inmates didn't compete too well against the guards. They were mostly tired older men fighting against a new era of Soviets. Mason, feeling a strange attachment to the people who acted as his family, assisted whenever possible. He and Reznov needed as many of them alive as possible.
A few seconds later and they were almost out of the underground facility. The last thing they needed to do in order to reach the surface, a thing some of these men would die to see again, was to complete step two, ascend from darkness. There was no going back now, not that anyone wanted to in the first place.
Only a few steps away from the elevator, Mason was introduced to a vicious looking companion. ''Mason.'' Reznov was practically showing off the unstoppable weapon on their side. ''Allow me to introduce Sergei Kozin, the monster of Magadan.'' Mason was glad Sergei was a friend.
Now inside the elevator and slowly rising to the surface, Reznov had achieved step two. ''Reznov, you are sure you can trust this American?'' One of the prisoners standing next to asked his leader. Mason found it absurd that even after two years there were still those who refused to put faith in him.
Reznov was not one of those people. He was willing to put his life in Mason's hands. ''With my life.'' He said before placing a hand on the shoulder of the prisoner and Mason, an excellent way to show they were both his comrades. ''He and us, we are not so different. We are all Soldiers, without an army. Betrayed. Forgotten. Abandoned.'' If Mason was forced to pick the category he fit into, it was easily Forgotten. ''In Vorkuta, we are all brothers.''
Reznov's arms were lowered to his sides. Meanwhile the prisoner took Reznov's words to heart and in return gave a nod to Mason, showing that his view had changed thanks to only a few wise words. Good thing too, the elevator was almost finished taking them to the surface.
Shots sounded off, originating from the surface. Looking through the gate maintaining their presence in the elevator, all inmates witnessed a lone guard executing any prisoner who got a little too close. As soon as they were loose and in position to continue forward, Sergei, pickaxe wielded in the two of his hands, pierced it into the guard's back and elevated the deceased figure into the air. His Makarov was now free for someone else to claim ownership.
Mason, figuring it was similar enough to his ASP, took charge of the compact weapon. He hadn't used one since 1961, so the chances of him missing were increased. Rushing forward with the rest of the inmates, the gigantic exit keeping the prisoners contained was now right in their grasp.
This was one of the few portions of the scheme Mason didn't approve of. ''Reznov, your men must know this is suicide.'' People were going to die. An unfortunate fact of life Mason was already aware of. But did this many people really need to die for such a simple task?
Reznov assured him the answer was the necessary one. ''Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice, Mason. We Russians know this better than anyone.'' He looked to all of his comrades lined up, each was most likely about to meet their end. ''Prepare yourselves, men.''
They were gladly willing to die if it meant others could escape. With all of them screaming in unison, the prisoners began to push the exit open. Bullets immediately rained down on anyone spotted in the exit's opening. Needless to say, it was an awful sight for Mason. But one Reznov had seen too many times when fighting the Germans.
All of the inmates who traveled to the surface with the goal of seeing Russia again were now nothing more than pieces of meat on the ground. Only Mason, Reznov and Sergei remained standing. They rushed outside and took refuge behind a cart utilized to transfer coal.
From there it was Mason's personal chore to make sure nothing impaired Reznov or Sergei as they continued to push the cart near to the position of the same guards who tried executing the convicts using a storm of shrapnel. He was surprised with the amount of marksmanship he retained after Cuba.
No one who ventured too close to their position managed to escape Mason's incredible aim. Now close enough to the tower, the convicts operating the wagon next to Mason's made their attack. Reznov made sure to give credit to Mason, as the form of attack was his idea. ''Now we witness Mason's ingenuity turn junk into weapons.''
The inmates on the opposite wagon utilized what was essentially a slingshot. Pulling it towards them, they launched shrapnel smothered with ignited gasoline towards the people killing their friends. The explosion erupting shortly afterwards showed the attack was a complete success.
All who witnessed the show of force screamed in victory as loud as they were able to. ''Urra! Never lose faith, my friends. Never.'' Reznov shouted. He turned his attention solely to Mason. ''Months of planning, Mason. We will not pause. We will not falter. We will be free, or die trying!''
Despite the idea to return to America existing as the more preferable one, Mason would easily choose execution over Vorkuta. While other inmates flocked around Vorkuta, all most definitely on their way to gain more support, Reznov led Mason and Sergei into a nearby station.
Sergei was given a task only a man with his level of strength could accomplish. ''Sergei. Break open the arms lockers.'' He then turned back to Mason. ''Mason, you must climb the tower and give support to the uprising into the South.'' Little did Reznov know Mason was already on top of the tower.
Reznov was only made to travel up one level. He was in charge of step four, unleashing the horde. If even a single prisoner refused to fight alongside the others, the chances of success lowered. While Reznov continued to rally the crowd, Mason was now firing upon vital points of Vorkuta using another slingshot.
Mason didn't miss even a single shot. He owed all the thanks to his superior training. Now Vorkuta was suffocating in chaos. Woods, who was never one to like going on stealth assignments, would have loved taking a stroll through all of the chaos. Mason was dissapointed his friend wasn't there to fight alongside him.
''This way.'' Reznov said to Mason once they had returned to the lower level. ''We must arm ourselves, Comrade. Reinforcements will soon arrive.'' It seemed everything was going exactly as they planned. ''Mason, your weapon, you must obtain it if we are able to accomplish step five.''
It was continuing to get aggravating each time Reznov would remind Mason of a step. He was the one that assisted with the planning phase in the first place, no form of reminder was necessary. There was a locked gate in front of them, keeping them away from step five.
Mason, now possessing a KS-23 courtesy of Sergei's strength, blasted the gate open. Immediately everyone rushed out into the open. It was proven to be an idiotic decision, most of them earning a gruesome death as soon as they made their presence known.
Unlike the rest of the prisoners, Mason was able to sneak his way around his enemies. Then it came into sight. The same Mi-8 Helicopter which always shoot down any inmate caught trying to escape. It was Mason's task to make sure it never killed another Comrade again.
''Upstairs, Mason.'' Reznov said, pointing to a set of structures. ''Your weapon is-'' Reznov took note of several guards attempting to ambush several inmates. Wanting to save them, Reznov left without giving any further direction to Mason. It was fine. Mason gathered enough.
Rushing up the first flight of stairs that came into view, Mason was now on the roof. The Mi-8 appeared out of the corner of his eye. As soon as it set its sights on Mason, it resumed the process of killing all who were trying to escape. But this was no ordinary prisoner.
Not even taking the time to get into proper cover, Mason picked up his new weapon. Harpoon now in hand, Mason fired it straight through the Mi-8. The individual flying made a desperate attempt to remain in the air. But of course it was all in vain. The Helicopter was being pulled down.
Eventually it crashed into the same complex containing all of Vorkuta's special weapons. It was clear God was on Mason's side. Why? He didn't know. He wasn't even that religious of a person. However when you have the luck of the creator on your side it's stupid not to take advantage of it.
Using the stairs to get back into the fight was too slow, and there was no time to waste. As a result Mason was forced to take the quicker route down by simply leaping off of the roof and back down onto the ground. Now they were one step closer to Mason's favorite step.