I do not own Gears of War or any of its characters.


Mine

Joseph narrowed his eyes as he stared at the road to the mine. They'd found two radio towers and had triangulated the location of the Mount Kadar lab, but in order to get into it, they had to first find a way to dig down through the ice. To that end, Marcus had directed them to this mine. They'd found Lena and Norsko at the radio towers. Lena had frozen to death, and Norsko had been podded, and was a Juvie by the time they arrived. They'd also found the Assault Derricks where the Grindlift tech they needed to upgrade Jack was, both of the Derricks guarded by Swarm, including Wardens. They'd gotten better at fighting Wardens. As it turned out, their helmets were solid enough to stop a Longshot bullet, but a Boomshot would still kill Wardens in two shots. As such, Lizzie had begun to keep a Gnasher and a Boomshot on her back and carried her Lancer in her hands at all times.

"Train's blocking the bridge," Kait noticed as she and the other three caught up to Joseph.

"Yeah," Joseph said, pointing off to the side where a path started down to the frozen lake the bridge spanned. "That path should take us down to the river, and I can see a lift up to the other side of the bridge."

"Then what's the problem?" Del asked.

"It's guarded," Joseph said darkly.

"Shit," Del cursed.

"Well, we've got to get into that mine," Lizzie said. "Even if I had a Fabricator Mag for this Boomshot, it would take days, at least, to blast enough ice out of the way to get down to that lab."

"So we don't have a choice," Kait summarized. "Let's go."

Joseph nodded, trading his Lancer for his Longshot. "I'll cover you from a distance, this time. There are a lot of them."

The others nodded, and they all headed down the path carefully. It wound down around the cliff face before finally reaching an iced-over train car they had to slide down, which emptied onto the river under the bridge. Just as Joseph had warned them, the river was heavily guarded. Dozens of Swarm dotted the ice and the shore opposite them. As soon as they hit the ground, Joseph's rifle snapped up, blasting a Drone a couple yards ahead of them. The Swarm ahead of them roared instantly, and they all sprinted into cover behind the bridge's support pillars. They began to lean out and fire as carefully as they could, Joseph largely focusing on the Drones dotting the far side of the river while the others targeted the Juvies rushing them. However, after a few minutes, a Scion stomped into view with a Dropshot.

"Scion!" Joseph warned, sighting in and firing.

The shot punched through the Scion's shoulder, and it roared in pain before firing the Dropshot. Lizzie fired up at the drill mine, and after a moment, managed to hit it, knocking it out of the air before it exploded on the ice harmlessly. Joseph sighted in again and fired a second shot, only for the Scion to dodge to the side at the last second, suffering only a graze on the upper arm.

"Hold still, you bastard!" Joseph snarled, loading another shot, only to duck into cover as several Drones began to fire at him, one bullet bouncing off of his helmet. "Shit!"

"They're closing!" Kait warned, she and Dell spraying the ice under a pair with Gnashers and dropping them into the freezing water.

"Blast that Scion!" Joseph shouted as it dodged yet another shot, this one missing entirely.

Del leaned out, sighting his grenade launcher's laser in on the Scion's chest before firing. A moment later, the volley of rockets exploded down on the Scion, killing it. Joseph leaned out, quickly picking off a duo of Drones with Mark Two Lancers, then ducked into cover just ahead of a burst from a drone armed with a Hammerburst, though Lizzie killed that a moment later. Joseph traded his Longshot for his Lancer, and they advanced quickly, working in pairs, and having Jack stun any Drones that were too comfortable in cover with his upgraded Flash device, which now had cryo tech and literally froze the targets. Finally, they killed the last of the Swarm guarding the lift and got onto the platform around the lift, only to find it had been sealed by several pieces of metal welded to it.

"Great," Joseph sighed. "Jack, can you rip that door?"

Jack moved to comply, and as soon as the automated laser cutter, which reminded Joseph of a spider, began to cut through the metal plates sealing the doors to the lift, several Juvies shrieked from the side of the river they'd just left.

"Oh, that figures," Joseph grumbled.

"Man, they just do not want us getting in that mine!" Del commented.

"That's not a good sign!" Lizzie warned.

"We'll worry about that after we survive this!" Kait decided, she, Del, and Lizzie using their Lancers to fend off the swarm of Juvies while Joseph, once again, used his Longshot to fend off the Drones following them. For a few minutes, they were able to hold them back by a combination of bullets and broken ice. But after a minute, a Scion roared as it reached the river.

"Oh, shit!" Del shouted. "We've got a Scion! And it's got a Bastion!"

Joseph swore harshly, swinging his Longshot around to where a Scion armed with a Mulcher was advancing unchallenged as a corrupted Guardian projected a barrier around it that it could shoot out of but they couldn't shoot into.

"Jack!" Joseph shouted. "Freeze that Bastion!"

Jack cloaked himself, then reappeared a moment later in time for its Flash tech to freeze the Bastion. Joseph fired instantly, his shot slamming into the Bastion hard, and sending cracks over its body, but a moment later, steam vented off of the Bastion and the ice evaporated in seconds. Joseph shook his head, loading another round and fired again. This time, the shot punched through the Bastion and it exploded. Its barrier faded, but before he could target the Scion, it roared, spraying its Mlucher at him. He swore, ducking down, and swapped his Longshot for his Lancer again.

"Lizzie!" Joseph shouted over the gunfire. "Target the Scion's feet!"

Lizzie dropped her Lancer instantly, grabbing her Boomshot, then popped up, instantly sending a rocket into the ice below the Scion. The ice shattered, but the Scion sailed backward from the explosion. The ice fractured as it landed, but held, though only until Joseph, Del, and Kait all sprayed it and finished breaking it, dropping the Scion into the water. They quickly cleaned up the rest of the Drones, only for another, larger wave to start toward them. This time, there were two Bastion-protected Scions, but this time, everyone had lost their patience. They all hurled a pair of grenades each, blasting huge sections of the ice apart, and one of the two Scions fell in. The other followed suit a moment later when Kait used her Grenade Launcher to kill its Bastion at the same time as break up the ice under it.

Joseph leaned out, firing quickly but carefully, killing Juvies as they jumped across the rapidly-sealing gaps in the ice, killing Drones either directly or by shooting out the ice under them. The others did the same, but there were so many that soon, Juvies were leaping over the edge of the platform, only to immediately be greeted by a hail of bullets. Just as they finished off the Juvies, the last of the Drones also reached the platform, only to be finished off in only slightly more time as they forewent cover in favor of attempting a charge, allowing Joseph and the others easy targets. Then, finally, the lift door was open and the shootout was finished.

"Alright, let's go," Kait said. "Before any more show up."

Joseph nodded, swapping his empty Fabricator Mag for a full one, allowing the empty one to refill as he joined the others in the lift. Kait hit the button to send them up and they rose quickly. However, at the top, they walked into a small shack beside the lift, which connected it to the bridge, only to stop, seeing sleeping rolls, chopped wood, and a few guns. Outside the shack on the bridge was a low tower, almost like a lookout tower, with empty shell casings and several empty guns scattered around its base.

"What is..." Joseph stopped, picking up a Mark Three Lancer. "This was recent. It's an Outsider camp."

"Lena and Norsko," Kait realized. "I think they were from here."

"Didn't Lena's journal say their camp got wiped out?" Lizzie asked.

"Which means..." Del trailed off.

"Which means we're going to have a fight on our hands," Kait said seriously.

"Wonderful," Joseph said, shouldering his Lancer. "I hate mines."

"You think that's new damage, or old?" Lizzie asked as they headed for the mine, the opening of which had been shattered, turning what was likely a doorway into a gaping hole.

"With our luck?" Joseph asked. "It's a Carrier."

Lizzie nodded silently, glancing at him, seeing him trembling slightly at the thought, but he managed to calm himself. They headed into the mine in silence, Joseph and Lizzie shining their flashlights around as they followed Del and Kait, Jack flying above Del and Kait and keeping his light forward for them. Slowly, they advanced deeper into the mine, passing through a shutter door before passing bloodstains and abandoned weapons the entire way. But there were no bodies. Everyone had been taken.

"You know, I thought we knew where all of the Outsiders were, but..." Del shook his head. "We missed a lot in the round up. How?"

"Most Outsiders don't wanna be found," Kait pointed out. "Especially by the COG."

"Better we find 'em than the Swarm," Del shrugged.

"Depends who you ask," Joseph said. "A lot of them might prefer the Swarm, because at least they will only kill you, and you're allowed to kill them without starting a war. If the COG takes you, the men will be forced to fight for Jinn, if they're lucky, and the women will probably be forced into Jinn's rape prisons, I mean 'fertility program'. I'd rather take my chances with the Swarm, given a reasonable chance at surviving alone and a choice."

"That's...a really fucked up way to look at it," Kait said.

"It's true, though," Lizzie said. "I was supposed to be stuck in the fertility program, too, but signed up as a Gear so they couldn't force me."

"Really?" Kait asked.

"Yeah," Lizzie said. "Some of the fertility clinics weren't much better than the Birthing Creches from during the early days of the Locust War."

"Which is why I can sympathize with women who refuse to take part," Joseph said.

Finally, they pushed through a set of doors and stopped, staring at dozens of pods.

"Shit," Kait breathed. "As expected, but...shit."

"I can't believe Lena and Norsko survived this," Del breathed.

"We might not," Joseph said. "There's going to be even more now than they faced."

"This is going to be bad," Lizzie agreed.

"Let's just look around and see if we can find any explosives," Kait said.

"You ever think about what happens to people in the pods?" Del asked.

"I do my best not to," Kait said.

"Yeah, but maybe there's some part of 'em, you know, some spark, that's still human," Del said.

"No, there isn't," Joseph said. "They die before they become Juvies. There's nothing human left."

They headed deeper into the mine, careful not to touch the pods, and eventually passed through another shutter door, only to find a room filled with even more pods and a massive mining drill. And standing on top of the drill was a Snatcher.

"Shit, Snatcher!" Joseph shouted, diving for cover as the others all did the same, the Snatcher's tail spike narrowly missing Joseph.

"Jack, Flash!" Kait shouted.

They all opened fire on the snatcher, and after a moment, Jack appeared beside it, freezing it. As Jack fled the Snatcher, Lizzie grabbed her Boomshot, blasting it, only for the explosion to shatter the ice. The Snatcher crashed to the ground on its side, scrambling, and they all targeted its stomach. After a moment, it scrambled to its feet and roared, and several pods burst, Juvies charging them. Joseph swore, he and Lizzie picking off the Juvies while Kait and Del focused on the Snatcher. Then, finally, Del fired a grenade, the rocket volley finishing the Snatcher, only to also let loose another dozen Juvies. They finished the Juvies without much trouble, then all reloaded, just to be safe.

"We're clear," Kait said.

"Hey, I bet that big drill ran on phosphorus fuel," Del said.

"Okay, so?" Kait asked.

"So, phosphorus reacts very violently when exposed to oxygen and water," Joseph said. "It'll blast through the ice no problem. But it'll be extremely...tricky to transport."

"Tricky how?" Kait asked.

"Tricky, as in, if we get attacked and the phosphorus gets hit, we no longer need to worry about reaching the lab at Mount Kadar," Lizzie translated.

"Lovely," Kait sighed. "Is there another option?"

"None that would be even remotely useful, no," Joseph said.

Kait sighed. "Fine. Jack, do the honors."

"And if we get attacked, find cover and stay there," Joseph instructed.

Jack beeped an acknowledgement and flew up to retrieve a phosphorus canister. Just as it did, a Juvie shrieked and an entire wall off to their right tore free and crashed to the ground. The initial wave of Juvies died in seconds, thanks to a few of them having grenades stuck to their torso as suicide bombers, but behind them were Drones. Everyone took cover, Jack hiding behind the drill, and began to struggle to shoot the Drones. One of them stood, spraying wildly to force everyone to hunker down, and two more with Gnashers charged, only for Lizzie to lob a grenade over her shoulder. As per usual with her blind throws, it slammed into one of the two's helmets, then exploded, killing both. A second later, the Drone spraying bullets at them had to reload, and Joseph stood, sighting in carefully and firing a burst into its foot. It roared in pain, falling out of cover, and they each fired a burst into it, killing it. They pushed up to the open doorway, and found half a dozen more Drones approaching, but managed to catch two out of cover, killing them quickly. Then, they began to push up. As they fought the Drones back, Jack moved out of cover and pushed up behind them, moving from one piece of cover to the next. They moved slowly to ensure they could avoid exploding, but gradually, they managed to work their way forward, killing everything that challenged them.

They worked their way through the first large cavern they were in toward the double doors they'd come through, and several Juvies moved to greet them at the door, only to die instantly. Several more were waiting for them a little further down the tunnel, followed by a handful of Drones.

"It's not too much further!" Kait shouted.

"Oh yeah?" Del asked. "Well you might want to tell them that!"

"Hey!" Joseph shouted as he stepped out to shoot and catching one Drone in the face. "Kait says it's not too much further!" He shot a second Drone as it stood to shoot, and when the third moved to charge, Lizzie put it down. "Hey, whataya know. It worked."

"Uh...right," Del said. "Let's just get back to the Skiff."

They continued through the mine and finally reached the entrance without meeting any more Swarm.

"Alright," Kait sighed. "Let's get this shit to the Skiff and call Marcus."

"I'm telling you," Del said, "this 'shit' is gonna melt that ice!"

"If you say so," Kait said.

They headed out onto the bridge, only for dozens of Juvies to swarm over the derailed train. They all swore, opening fire and struggling to hold back the flood of Juvies. Then, in the distance, a Scion stepped out with a Mulcher.

"Jack, find cover!" Joseph shouted. "Lizzie, Scion!"

Lizzie dropped her Lancer instantly, grabbing her Boomshot and instantly beginning to fire at the Scion. The first two shots were blocked when a Juvie accidentally jumped down and caught the rocket with their bodies, but the third and fourth found their mark, killing the Scion. Lizzie tossed the empty Boomshot aside, grabbing her Lancer just as a Juvie tackled her, only for Joseph to instantly spray it, knocking it off of her. She stood as Joseph, Del, and Kait finished off the last few Juvies, and Jack came out from behind the wall he'd hidden behind.

"Thanks," Lizzie smiled.

"Of course," Joseph smiled. "I couldn't let him put his grubby hands all over you. He didn't pay me up front."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course. Got to follow the rules."

"Exactly," Joseph smiled.

Lizzie shook her head, smiling as they walked along the bridge, passing through the train once Joseph had used his Lancer's Locust Crystal chainsaw to cut one of the doors open, then took a side path to bypass the blocked tunnel.

"Well, coming to this place was certainly a life experience," Lizzie commented.

"Feels like we're racking those up out here," Del agreed.

"I keep thinking about those poor people back in the mine," Lizzie said. "What you said in the tunnel...You're right. We should have found them."

"Yeah, but you're right, too," Del said. "You can't help people who don't want to be helped."

"Like JD, for instance," Kait said.

"Hoo, yeah," Del agreed. "Like JD. You think he'll ever be himself again?"

"I don't know," Kait said. "I hope so, but...I don't know."

"I'm sure he will," Joseph said. "After all, no one can stand being around Fahz forever."

Del laughed. "Ain't that the truth."

They all quickly made their way back to the Skiff, fortunately without having to deal with any more Swarm on the trip, and carefully loaded the phosphorus onto the front of the Skiff, securing it carefully. As everyone got back on their rides, Lizzie took a moment to kiss Joseph as thanks for saving her, then took the controls again and they headed back to the coordinates to use a highly unstable fuel as an improvised explosive.


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