I do not own Gears of War or any of the characters.
A.N.: Coming up with an in-universe explanation for the ammo crates having ammo for any gun.
Dammed
A Juvie burst apart, splattering Joseph from behind as he ripped his knife out of another Juvie's head. He turned, glaring at Lizzie, and she grimaced apologetically.
"Sorry," she winced. "I swear it was an accident."
He sighed, rerurning the knife to its sheath on his left forearm before pulling his Lancer off his back again, Lizzie keeping her Gnasher out for now. They were escorting Kait to reset several generators for the dam's lift, meanwhile, JD, Marcus, and Del were up on the operations deck covering them, fighting a swarm of Drones occupying the deck with them, and using breaker switches to form Joseph and the others paths from one of the disconnected platforms they were walking on to the next.
The two Carmines followed Kait to the last generator quickly, arriving just as the power kicked back on. Juvies and Drones swarmed along the connecting path from the operations deck to where they were, and Joseph, Lizzie, and Kait opened fire rapidly, JD and Marcus firing from higher up off to the side. Finally, the last Drone dropped, and Joseph sighed, holding his left hand to his head.
"You okay?" Lizzie asked worriedly.
"Just a concussion," Joseph said. "Nothing serious."
Lizzie hesitated before nodding, the pair following Kait up to rendezvous with JD and Marcus. Just as they all turned toward the door toward the elevator, however, a Scion with a Buzzkill kicked it off its hinges. Lizzie tackled Joseph instantly, and sure enough, the first saw blade breezed through the space he'd occupied a second earlier. They all scrambled into cover before beginning to fire carefully, dropping the Drones that had followed the Scion into the room as quickly as they could, also shooting the Scion when it wasn't looking. Finally, it was the only thing left, and they all stood, opening fire and spraying it from all sides, finally killing it after about five seconds.
"Alright, now we get back to the maintenance elevator," Marcus said as they all headed through the door the Scion had come from. "By the way, you did well back there. All of you. The COG did at least one thing right, training you four."
Kait cleared her throat, and Marcus rolled his eyes.
"I was getting to you," Marcus said. "Your dad teach you how to fight like that?"
"My mom," Kaot said. "And my uncle, Oscar. He was an old Gear, like you."
"Did the Swarm take him?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah," Kait said. "Yeah they did."
"Then I'm sorry to hear that," Marcus said.
After a few minutes of silence, they reached the elevator again and all stepped on, JD pulling the lever for the third time. This time, unlike the other two, the elevator began to rise.
"Alright, next stop, top of the dam," JD said. "Let's go see what we're up against here."
Just then, the elevator jerked to a stop, and a deluge of Swarm goo splattered down on top of Joseph's head from the top of the elevator. At the same time, something solid bumped into his head before flopping to the ground, and he heard Kait gag.
"Come on, man," Del complained as Joseph pulled his helmet off, wiping goo from his face where it had gone through the broken eye lense. "Just come on!"
"What is it?" Joseph sighed resignedly.
"A leg," Lizzie said, Joseph wiping his faceplate off before putting the helmet back off and staring down at the leg, which looked to have been bitten off just above the knee.
"Lovely," Joseph sighed. "We walking from here?"
"Yeah," JD said. "Come on."
He led them all out of the elevator, and into an area filled with pods, only to stop as there was a roar like a fog horn.
"Now what?" JD demanded, just as something slammed into the doors they were heading for.
"Come in," Del called out.
"Why would you say that!?" JD snapped, just as Joseph and Lizzie hurled a pair of grenades.
The doors burst inward, allowing a giant thing like they'd fought in the tunnel, to enter just as the grenades exploded, but did very little with its ribs closed.
"Carrier!" Marcus shouted in warning.
"Carrier?" Joseph asked.
"Size of an aircraft carrier, fires like artillery!" Del shouted over the gunfire, Marcus, Lizzie, and Joseph targetting the Carrier's projectiles first and foremost while the others aimed for the Carrier itself.
Unlike the one at the tunnel, which had seemed nearly unbeatable due to the shock of first contact, this fight went far smoother, the Carrier erupting into goo in seemingly no time at all. Joseph sighed, his tense muscles relaxing slowly. After a second, Lizzie set her hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I just have an official least favorite," Joseph said, smiling placatingly and setting a hand on hers. "Thank you, though."
Lizzie nodded, smiling, and they followed after the others, catching up just as JD pulled a lever to lock the turbine in place so they could walk across it. The breaks shrieked and screamed as they ground against the metal of the turbine, then finally stopped it, allowing them all to cross quickly. Then, once they'd repeated the process with the second turbine, the shooting started again as more Swarm found them. They fought their way through quickly, then turned back into the dam.
As they passed through the next part, Del shouted in excitement and ran off, only to return a few seconds later with Ammo Generators. They were boxes like mini fabricators, but could only generate live ammo already loaded into magazines. Joseph quickly jogged off to check the room and returned with two more. Del set them to generate Lancer ammo, and using all three together, they replaced everyone's empty magazines one for one, and everyone ended up with several extras.
Once the generators had run out of power, they all continued into the dam, finding several more fights, two of which were in a pair of room containing giant chains with links half the size of a car. They progressed through the dam quickly but carefully, even Joseph managing to avoid being shot or blown up again, and at one point were forced to ride a turbine to get higher when the path collapsed ahead of them. They found Swarm waiting for them when they got to what looked like a fortress atop the dam. As they finished off the Drones, however, a Snatcher arrived, immediately targetting Joseph, who only barely escaped being hit by its stinger. And just as he ducked into cover, Lizzie shouted in pain. He stood, spinning as a wave of dust and small rocks from the shattered ground finished settling and the Snatcher's tentacles dragged Lizzie into its stomach.
"Lizzie!" Joseph shouted, charging. "Let her go!"
The Snatcher flicked its tail, firing a stinger at him, but even as it tore a deep gouge in the top of his helmet, he continued to run. It fired again, grazing his thigh, but he ignored it. Then, as it reared up to impale him with its front legs, he leapt forward, slamming into it at just enough of an angle to throw it off, slamming it to the ground before ripping a knife out and carving its stomach open. He dragged Lizzie out of it before stuffing a grenade back in, then leapt away, the Snatcher exploding a moment later.
Lizzie pulled her helmet off, coughing and gasping for breath as Joseph held her upright by the shoulder.
"Jesus, Lizzie," Joseph sighed, then smirked. "I'm beginning to think you have a thing for tentacles."
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's exactly what was happening. I wasn't being attacked or kidnapped, I was actually being brutally violated by its tentacles and loving every second of it."
The others, having just reached them, all shouted in surprise and disgust at the thought of it, despite knowing she was joking. Only Marcus had a non-dramatic reaction, simply rolling his eyes and growling irritatedly. They all headed inside, quickly climbing up a pair of ladders before starting up a much longer one that led directly to the top. After a few moments, however, Kait stopped, looking down past Del, only to immediately look back at the ladder.
"What is it?" Del asked.
"Don't look down," Kait said uncomfortably.
"I won't," Del promised.
Kait glanced down again. "Seriously, don't look down."
"Okay, do you actually secretly want me to look down?" Del asked.
"Come on, we're almost to the top!" JD called over the wind, which was picking up quickly.
By the time they reached to top of the ladder and entered an observation room, a windflare had already built to a dangerous level.
"Holy shit," JD said, staring out the window.
"Holy shit," Kait reiterated as she joined him.
The sentiment was echoed a third time by Del as he, Joseph and Lizzie joined them.
"Yeah, we've established that," Marcus said.
Before them, the whole far side of the dam had been covered by the Swarm's fleshy roots and pods.
"Fuck it," Kait said impatiently. "Let's just get down there."
"There's another way to do this," Marcus said, catching Kait's arm.
"You mean get help?" Kait asked. "She can't wait!"
"Hey, if we don't stop these things, everyone within a thousand miles dies," JD said. "Not just your mother."
"Almost everyone I care about is already dead!" Kait snapped. "Remember?"
"Yeah, I do," JD said. "Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but, Dad, do you have a way to call him?"
"Not here," Marcus shook his head.
"Do you think you could call him from there?" Del asked, pointing to a satelite dish in the distance.
"That could work," Marcus said.
"Then let's move before this windflare gets any worse," JD said.
"If your friend can't help, I'm coming back," Kait warned. "Alone if I have to."
"If he can't help, we'll be right beside you," Marcus promised.
They all left, Kait bringing up the rear, and began to cross the bridge at a run. At least until the Swarm met them. JD tried to use a Buzzkill, but the wind was so strong that it blew the saw blades off course, making it inaccurate and hard to aim. Their progress slowed considerably, but they managed to make use of the wind and any loose debris to speed things up by sending the debris into the Swarm. After a few minutes, they headed into an enclosed section, only to immediately leave again.
By this time, the storm was so close that they were forced to avoid debris as much as using it to their advantage as Juvies swarmed them. Regardless of the added obstacle, they forced their way forward. As they reached a broken section of the dam with a fortified machine gun position on the far side, they used a dead Locust Siege Beast lying beside the broken path to try and hit the turret. As with the Buzzkill, the wind blew the catapult's shots off to the side, so it took them nearly a dozen tries before the final shot they had finally struck home. However, the blast also shattered a massive metal pipe or tower, Joseph didn't pay it enough attention to know what it was, and the tower crashed down hard, forming an impromptu bridge for them. They crossed carefully, cleaning up any Swarm they missed as they did, until a ship, of all things, exploded into the dam and killed the last two.
"Looks like their ship just came in," JD quipped.
"More running, less comedy relief!" Joseph shouted over the wind, he and Del lifting a large metal door open for everyone.
They all headed back into the dam through it, and he and Del allowed it to slam back down behind them, shutting out the wind. More Swarm met them instantly, announcing their presence with a sniper shot that glanced harmlessly off of both Joseph and Lizzie's helmets. They fought their way forward and out a hole in the wall back into the storm at what felt like a snail's pace, even after Joseph used his Longshot to clear the sniper and some of the Swarm near the back. Then, finally, the stormwall had arrived, and they ran the last stretch while avoiding lightning bolts. At long last, they reached the far side of the dam and were safely inside.
"A power plant with no power," Del noted as they walked through the building. "Is that ironic?
"It sucks, but technically, still no," JD said.
"Could be the power's not being routed here," Kait suggested.
"Then we'll need to fix that," Marcus said. "If this substation's dark, then so is the radio we need to call for back up."
They headed into the substation carefully, Marcus informing them that they were heading to Speyer, a town that had been abandoned for decades. Finally, they reached a control room where they flipped a switch to restore power before continuing through the substation. They found a door that was heavily barracaded, and headed to a control room where they could vent a transformer's core beside it, then shoot it, causing a "massive electrical discharge," as Del put it, which Lizzie translated to a small explosion with no flames.
"Hey, uh, just a thought, but maybe there's a reason that door's barracaded," Joseph said. "I doubt my armor's going to hold up through much more abuse, so...maybe we should find another way there."
"No time," Marcus said. "JD, do it."
JD nodded, venting the core, then sprayed it alongside Marcus until the core exploded apart, blasting the baracade away from the door, clearing their path.
"Hey, Marcus," Kait said as they continued down the path toward the radio tower. "This backup of yours, how do you know he'll help?"
"Back at the house I sent word I might need him," Marcus said. "Pretty sure he's been waiting by the phone ever since."
"Yeah?" JD asked. "I guess we'll see won't we?"
They finally passed through a large door into a huge open room, only to stop as a Scion stalked into view on a catwalk overhead. The upper right quarter of its head was covered in Locust crystals, and its left hand was missing.
"It's him," Kait realized.
"Him who?" Marcus asked.
"The one who took my mom," Kait growled, just before the Scion began to laugh.
"She is where she belongs," its deep voice growled out.
"Kait, don't listen to it!" JD tried as Kait stormed forward.
"Tell me where my mother is!" Kait ordered.
"The path to your mother lies through me!" it declared proudly, slamming a fist to its chest just as something roared from behind it.
Everyone's gaze dropped to a massive, darkened doorway just as a Brumak covered in Locust crystals stomped out of it, the Scion laughing and dropping into a saddle on the Brumak's back. Instantly, the machine guns on its arms buzzed to life and they all dove for cover, only narrowly avoiding the bullets.
"The crystals on that thing are indestructible!" Marcus shouted. "Shoot the scabs!"
Joseph risked a split-second glance, seeing several thick scabs over its body, but targetting them without being shot would be nearly impossible. "How the fuck do we do that!?"
JD and Marcus looked around carefully for a moment before both shouted, "Vent the cores!"
Joseph glanced around. There were six cores in the room to vent, but none of them could reach the Brumak without luring it to them first. Joseph groaned, the groan growing more forceful by the second until he sprinted out of cover at the end of it, just as the Brumak's bullets had shifted over to the opposite side of the room, where JD and Del were hiding. The Brumak roared, beginning to turn after him, its bullets rapidly shredding their way toward him. Finally, he dove into cover less than a second before its bullets caught up to him. For a full minute, they ripped into the world around him. Then, they swung away from him again as the others shot at it futilely to draw its attention.
Jason shoved himself up, sprinting up a short flight of stairs to the controls for the first core, then leaned out around the core itself, shooting the Brumak. It roared, firing back at him and stomping toward him. Finally, Marcus shouted for him to vent the core, and he shoved the lever down before fleeing from the core as the others opened fire at it. Finally, the core exploded, electricity arcing theough the air to the Brumak, making its entire body go rigid and convulse. At the same time, the thick outer layer of the scab nearest where the electricity struck it, one on its hip, burst, a spray of blood flying out as the Brumak roared in pain. As one, everyone stepped out, filling the now open wound with bullets, its softer inner flesh failing to withstand their bullets and allowing the bullets to deal a decent amount of damage. However, as it was the Brumak's hip, the damage was not nearly enough to be fatal. However, there were also scabs on its back, chest, and chin, so they could potentially still kill it.
Finally, the electricity faded, and the Brumak turned, roaring as it opened fire at Lizzie, who was running for the next coil. Everyone fired at the open wound, but now with blood running out of it an partially obscuring the edges of the wound and with the Brumak moving, it was hard to actually hit the wound. However, it was sufficient to get the Brumak's attention, allowing Lizzie to reach the coil. The Brumak began to attempt to circle the others, passing closer to Lizzie, and as soon as it was in range, she vented the coil and they all opened fire, discharging its electricity at the Brumak. Another scab burst, but this one was on its shoulder away from the others, so instead of shooting it, Lizzie simply sprinted to the next coil, as did Joseph.
As they led the Brumak to the next coil, they managed to burst the scab on its chest, then its back with the coil after that. They also found several Boomshots and managed to add those to their efforts with those wounds, but its ribcage was too solid for the majority of their shots to get through, and the few that did get through failed to do a sufficient amount of damage to its internal organs, even Boomshot rockets. Finally, they managed to catch the Brumak with the last two coils at once, and in addition to the scab on its chin bursting, it shrieked in agony as smoke began to curl out of all of its wounds.
"Hit it!" Marcus shouted.
Instantly, Joseph sent a Longshot round into one of the Brumak's eye just before a flood of bullets and a volley of Boomshot rockets flew into the scab on its chin. The explosions began to blast off bits of its flesh from the inside, and the bullets that missed its jawbone bounced around inside of its head. Joseph shot out the Brumak's other eye, then swapped his Longshot for his Lancer, targetting the scab on the Brumak's chest as the Brumak's body stopped spasming and it began to rampage. Everyone ducked into cover, firing when they could. Finally, the Brumak staggered to a stop, letting out a long, vibrating groan, then crashed to the ground heavily.
The scion on its back was sent bouncing across the floor, looking up at them all as they walked toward it. It dragged itself across the ground, panting and grunting in effort as it struggled to reach the Boomshot it had dropped. Before it could get there, Joseph and Lizzie stabbed two of Joseph's knives down into its legs, dragging it backward. As they ripped the blades back out, JD punted the Scion in the face, rolling it aside before stepping out of the way.
"You swarm are all connected, right?" Kait asked, stepping forward and getting in its face. "In your hives? Well then broadcast this. We're getting my mother back! Then we're burning your goddamn hive to the fucking ground!" Then, she stood up and stomped on its head, crushing it and killing it.
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