Chapter 5: Blackout Blues

Level 1: Zorko Bros. Scrap Salvage

"So this is it... An out of the way spot for us to take each other out. Getting here first will definitely give me a head start in learning the layout of this place." - Vincent, minutes before the chaos began


The world slowly came into view as Vincent became lucid from whatever state had muddled his mind. Both hands were tightly gripped around the steering wheel where just beyond the windshield lay the burning wreckage of another former opponent. It was a simple junker car reduced to scrap with intense flames burning away at the metal chassis and what vaguely seemed to be a figure charred to bits inside.

This sight alone made Vincent retch in immediate disgust before he suddenly tore open the door and threw himself outside to unload the pitiful breakfast he had eaten earlier. It may not have been much, but it was all the same going out. Once that ran its course he pulled himself up and wiped away whatever mess was left on his face before mentally counting from 1 to 10 until he managed to regain his senses. Having one episode of losing control was unsettling; having two gave cause for concern that something was affecting him mentally.

"What the hell happened!? One moment I was driving through the gates and the next I ended up here... did I pass the first stage or something?" The young driver mumbled to himself, looking around at the other wreckage scattered about.

His mind had been so preoccupied processing this that he hadn't even noticed that Connie had exited the car and was now peering at him from the side.

"Uhh.. Earth to Vince? Are you okay? You look like you gapped out pretty hard for a moment there." She said whilst waving a hand in front of him, not daring to step too close due to the regurgitated sludge on the ground.

"Do you remember anything that happened in the past few minutes Con? Whatever happened here is drawing a blank for me."

She frowned, keeping silent for a moment before beginning to relay a series of events. According to her, the two agreed on the idea of scouting the place so that a plan could be made whilst the other drivers were still making their way to the junkyard. One of them didn't make it to the finish line, which was Vermin, an unfortunate contestant who ended up getting stuck in last place and getting blown up for it as per the rule Calypso mentioned earlier. Once preparations were complete and the battle was underway, they made use of a plan to bait some of their opponents into the car crushers out on the field while also dispatching those who were busy fighting each other or were too damaged to properly continue through hit-and-run tactics. However, they didn't expect a stray missile from one of the contenders to end up shooting down a passenger airliner which crashed into a warehouse situated in the center of their arena (though it wasn't without a slight jest that Connie made about horrible things happening with just one missile given the developing trend). After their final opponent was neutralized, she finished her summary with the simple fact that Vincent passed out unexpectedly.

With the explanation out of the way, it helped fill in some gaps for him as he made sure to make a mental note of what had occurred. Although with that came faint images and sounds. He saw a snapshot of a driver being flung from his vehicle after a collision, as well as the sounds of explosions, gunfire, and various screams that he couldn't discern between normal civilians or contestants. The fact that they were all still alive was rather shocking to him, considering the various types of vehicles Death Warrant managed to somehow triumph over judging from what he saw around him.

"Before I forget to mention this Vince, we have some time before the next match starts. Apparently Calypso wants to make sure all of the drivers are in top shape before we end up going at each other's throats again." Connie added, she was busy stretching an arm or two before pulling up a leg to do the same.

'For someone who recently broke out of an asylum with me, Connie's awfully nonchalant about all of this.' Vincent thought to himself as he shook his head at the notice, silently debating whether or not to stop by a bar to get wasted for a brief spell but decided against it knowing how foolish the idea was. They were likely wanted suspects for breaking out anyways so petty thievery would be the only thing that could get him a drink, if the intermission lasted long enough to get through a hangover.

"That's great, it almost sounds like recess is in session." Vincent spoke with a sarcasm laced tone, at least this meant some time to relax.

Before either of the two could do anything else, a black semi-truck had pulled up to the entrance of the junkyard with a pair of headlights beaming down towards them. The whistle of its engine was too loud to ignore as the vehicle lurched forward before taking a slight turn to park next to a small building with a lit sign that was titled with the "Zorko Bros. Scrap Salvage" name. They could see that the truck had a machine gun attached to the front fender as well as an entire police car chained onto the front bumper which was meant to be a ram, though neither were sure if this was someone else participating in the tournament.

Not long after the truck had stopped, the driver turned off the engine, allowing the ambient silence in the air to return. It was a little unnerving for Vincent as he stood there waiting to see who this person might be, perhaps it was the preacher he knew from the asylum or maybe the guy with no face. The moment of truth came when the unknown driver emerged from the truck, stepping down onto the dirt-coated ground where the soles of their boots could barely be seen from Vincent's position. A couple of steps brought them to the front of the semi where they stepped out from behind the vehicle, revealing a woman covered in black from top to bottom in what seemed to be biker gear with shoulder pads that had spikes on them.

Vincent eyed this stranger for a bit until something odd caught his attention; it was a porcelain mask that clung tightly to her face – and by extension, her head – which gave off a doll-like appearance. Surely this must've been one of the other people that were at Blackfield, likely someone who didn't have any notable homicidal tendencies so maybe it was worth a shot to see what she was up to.

"Hey there!" The young man called out to the odd-looking lady, causing her to stop and silently turn towards him in an almost unsettling manner.

Who the hell makes a mask that has hollow eye sockets, it's seriously putting me on edge..

The woman in black merely stares as Vincent falters in his attempt to engage in dialogue, who then promptly gets jabbed from the side by Connie who prods him with an elbow. There's a rather unassuming smile on her face as she glances at the lady before looking back at him.

"Now's not the time to chicken out around girls!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice hushed so that the stranger wouldn't be able to hear her. This somewhat helped him regain his composure as he spoke once more.

"Uhhh... Are you lost? I'm pretty sure there's nothing here for you unless we're supposed to square off - not that I'd want to or anything like that!"

A few seconds passed before the stranger pointed at the office ahead, indicating that to be her destination, contrary to what Vince partly assumed. She almost took another step before he decided to approach her cautiously, with a hand raised, the tense fear he felt being suppressed by a little bit of chivalrous bravado. The young man figured that she might need some assistance, considering the fact that the lady had been mute this whole time; plus, it could be a chance to see just how involved she was in this competition.

"I hate to say it but if you have something to do here then maybe you might need someone who can speak for you, some of these people here get really annoyed when you happen to not be a talker." Vincent said with a concerned expression on his face before turning to Connie. "You mind watching over the car while I'm away Con? This might take a minute."

"If you take too long then I'm driving off without you, be sure to remember that before you get your hands tied with her." She responded with a sigh, leaning on the side of Death Warrant for the time being.

Pfft, like that'll happen.

He shrugged off his friend's words and went over to the stranger, soon coming to a stop next to her as he stared into the empty sockets of her mask. Compared to him, the lady wasn't exactly threatening; she was slightly shorter than him, but it'd probably be best to let her take the lead just to be on the safe side.

"Before we go in there, the name's Vincent. How about you? Got a name or should I just stick with Mystery Girl?"

A few seconds passed until a gentle voice finally made its way out from her in a soft tone. It almost went unheard by Vincent as his eyes widened somewhat, surprised that she even spoke in the first place.

"Call me... Dollface."


The office turned out to be as rustic as they come in a place like this. Large bookshelves that contained various documents, miscellaneous decorations dotting the walls, and even a desk paired with one of those old blocky computers from the era of floppy disks. He could say the same for the smell, if it wasn't overtaken by a pervasive odor of alcohol stemming from several beer cans strewn around the room.

Behind the desk sat a man who looked like the typical trailer park trash that suited someone who wound up in a profession like this, though he didn't look too pleased to be interrupted from his cursory exploration of the internet on the computer, which was blaring a series of suspicious-sounding moans and groans before it was suddenly cut off. Vincent tried to keep a straight face as he stepped forward while his companion observed the details of the room. Before he could utter a word, the presumed owner cut him off angrily.

"The hell are you two doin here!? Can't ya see I'm busy here? Or do I need to get up and show you a thing or two about what happens when you trespass on my property with a freakshow like that!"

The young driver held up both hands as he let his head hang somewhat, thankfully he had the restraint to not lash back at what seemed like such an irrational outburst. Not to mention the callous remark he threw at his companion.

Even if he's pissed off right now, it's just because he got blue balled by us. A guy like him will probs go back to it as long as we make it quick..

"Sorry to barge in, but after the shitshow that happened out there, I needed to stop by here real quick. Figured me and my friend here could find something that's been lost to us for quite some time." Vincent said, acutely aware of the slight southern drawl that he infused into his speech as a way to get the man to relax somewhat. What better method to do it than to appeal to something this guy was comfortable with?

The owner raised a brow as he began to piece together Vincent's words, now taking a moment to look through one of the front facing windows of the building before glancing back at the two.

"Well shit, I didn't know y'all were the ones makin good use of my wreckin equipment out there. Guess Calypso picked 'em good this time around." He muttered with a hand scratching at his chin, his feet taking him back to his desk where he reclined on a rather high end desk chair. "If the fight's finished then why are you two still dickin around here? Ain't got anywhere to be or what?"

"Like I said already, we're here looking for something that belongs to..." Vincent trailed off, throwing a quick glance to Dollface to see if she would supplement his words.

"...Mr. Kreel."

Bingo. Thankfully she was sharp on the uptake as the young driver returned his gaze to the junkyard owner.

"Weeeell. Lemme see what I got filed away so just sit tight, should be around here somewhere."

Vincent nodded and pushed through a scattered group of beer cans towards the other end of the room where he saw a couch that had seen more than enough years of use, its cushions were ripped and torn in some parts while the fabric was stained in many different areas. For a moment he swore he saw what looked like dried blood on the bottom ends of this piece of furniture as he crashed down onto the cleaner looking side.

At least I'm not in a padded cell, I guess..

Dollface joined him on the other end not too long after, albeit with more apprehension once she saw a slice of pizza stuck to the armrest next to her. Her posture was rigid and she didn't look all that comfortable in a place like this, though it's understandable from Vincent's perspective given his memories of his father.


He was back in his house eating dinner. The mood was tense after having heard an argument between both parents, most of what was said had been muffled by the walls but he did get bits and pieces from it. His mother was torn between apologizing and yelling back while his father was tearing her down verbally by exclaiming that it was "her fault" or something along those lines.

From what he could recall, this wasn't long after his mother had suddenly gone into labor a few days ago. They were expecting another child, while Vincent wasn't sure of what to make of a younger sibling as the days ticked by. When things finally went into full swing, both parents didn't come home with a baby in tow but rather a solemn expression on their faces. He didn't want to bother them much for fear of what might have happened, though the boy had a fair idea of what probably happened as he kept to himself and followed up on his day-to-day activities.

The brief moment of thought was interrupted by his father who stormed past him into the kitchen, opening up the fridge to grab a bottle of beer before heading back to where the living room was. The man was muttering obscenities to himself as he took a seat on a cushioned chair and pulled at a lever on its side which lifted up the lower front end, hoisting his feet up off the floor whilst he snatched the remote control for the TV to watch whatever dulled his mind from what happened not too long ago.

Things may have been fine enough for now since Vincent wasn't in his crosshairs, yet things would get worse as time passed.


Reality began to set in once more as the memory faded away. He may not have realized it at first, but he hadn't taken his eyes off of Dollface for who knows how long, and now she bore into him with a hollow stare of her own, much to his discomfort.

"I uh... Nevermind. I guess I should be glad that I'm not getting questioned or anything like that." Vincent said as he shifted his focus away onto the floor, his tone sounding a little too downtrodden than he would've liked.

In the silence that followed, however, it seemed Dollface was about to say something before the junkyard owner lit up like a Christmas tree in the background.

"Ah, I finally fuckin found this damn thing!" He exclaimed as he held the file in his hand. "I'm gonna have a lot to say for the poor bastard who left this in the trash." The man scowled momentarily at the file before glancing between Vincent and Dollface. "Come on, hurry up and take this so you two can get the hell outta here."

The two quickly rose from their seats, Vincent decided to let Dollface take the file before they left the owner to experience the pleasures of the internet once more. There wasn't much else to do, so the young man went to go back to his car up until that same gentle voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Thank you, Vincent." she whispered, moving up to him from behind and catching him off guard with a hug that startled him quite a bit.

"It was nothing more than me helping out an interesting stranger you know? I hope you got what you came for though." He said somewhat casually, turning his head to glance at the masked woman. "Maybe we'll meet again sometime soon if we're lucky."

A few moments later, and Dollface finally let him go, allowing Vincent to get a better look at her. She had the file tightly wrapped around her torso, as if her life depended on it, and it was hard to tell, but her body language didn't seem to be shying away from him all that much, considering what just happened. Maybe this action had a more profound effect than he initially thought?

A quick idea sprang up to which he immediately acted upon before the opportunity could slip past him.

"I hate to ask, but there's a place called Midtown's Burgers near downtown. If you're okay with some food and a chat, then we could meet up there? Can't make any promises though; I'm in this Twisted Metal competition, so it's just a thought." Vincent hesitated, there was a lot to glean from this and he wouldn't let this chance go to waste.

Dollface remained silent for what felt like seconds before shifting her gaze downward. Eventually, she offered a nod and looked back up at him.

"I accept. Be careful though."

"Don't worry, I've already got someone telling me the same." The young driver smirked at the mention of Connie, she would never let him get them both killed even if he wanted to.

With that said, plans were made around the timetable that Calypso had set for the most part, and which Midtown Burger he wanted them to meet at. Even though he knew it wasn't a likely possibility, he explicitly made it a note to tell her to not bother sticking around the joint if he was more than 30 minutes late. Better for her to have the expectation of death than to hopelessly believe he was still alive when some brute got the better of him. Once that was done, they both went their separate ways as Vincent took off wherever the road took him.

As he drove on in silence, Connie couldn't help but tease him a bit once she had caught up to speed.

"Well, well, looks like Vince here is getting all chummy with the ladies, hm?"

"Shut up Con, it's not like you don't eye them yourself from time to time." He scoffed, shaking his head while they drove on into the horizon.

The next stage was coming soon; only five miles and ten minutes away. He would have to be quick about it if he wanted to scope out the area as before.