That's the end now, thought Felix. The red and blues are standing in front of him. He still doesn't understand how they were able to defeat him. These idiots shouldn't stand a chance against him. And then there's Locus. The traitor.
He realizes that he can't defeat them all. He must have overlooked something. Why are they so strong together?
"Wait," he shouts, maybe he can still talk his way out of it somehow. So far, he has always just barely made it out of every predicament. But before he has thought of a convincing excuse, the grenade rolls towards him. He has no way out, there is no escape. The explosion throws him backwards.
Felix screams. He tries to grab hold of something, but there is nothing. Just an infinitely deep abyss. He doesn't want to die yet. He still has so much to do in his life. But it's too late. He sees a bright light. "Damn it," he growls.
The end?
"Wake up, we're almost there" calls an annoying voice. Someone keeps nudging him.
"Hey, what are you doing?" growls Felix. He's pretty tired. Why can't he just sleep?
But wait. How can that be? He was fighting the red and blues just a moment ago. Where is he now? Shouldn't he be dead?
He opens his eyes. He is in a room made of metal. He is still wearing his armor, but the familiar weight of his weapons is missing. It takes him a moment to realize in his dazed state that he is in a helicopter.
The noise of the machines tells him that they are airborne.
He looks to the side. Donut is sitting on one of the seats next to him. He notices that Donut is wearing new armor. Even in red armor, he knows it's him, because Donut's style is unmistakable.
Felix wants to run away, but something is restraining him. Have they tied him up? Why is he still here? What reason would the red and blue have for keeping him alive?
"Hey, slow down. Did I scare you?" stammers Donut, who for some reason is wearing red today. Hasn't Donut always had pink armor, Felix wonders, thinking about the reason for the color change. For a brief moment, he thinks of parallel worlds, or that this is life after death after all. But Felix doesn't believe in these things.
"What are you doing," Felix hisses angrily at him. It turns out he's not tied up. He's just strapped to his seat like Donut. Not surprising, given the way the plane is shaking due to turbulence. At this point, he no longer understands anything. What are the reds and blues trying to achieve? For now, he decides, he will play along. Sooner or later, there has to be an opportunity to escape.
"The pilot said we'll be landing soon. We don't have too much time to unload everything, so I thought I'd give you a wake-up call. If I've upset you in any way, I'm sorry
If I've upset you in any way, I'm sorry man. I'm Private Donut, by the way." Donut answers him and holds out his hand as if he actually wants to greet him.
Felix mumbles something incomprehensible and then decides to ignore Donut for now. His defeat is still too painful. He doesn't want to talk to one of his sworn enemies. But Donut is not satisfied with that. He waves his hand around again, which Felix is probably supposed to shake in greeting. "Come on, don't be so grumpy. Will you at least tell me your name? We have to work together from now on. It would be great if we get along very well."
"Am I wrong," Felix wonders. Has he mixed up the guy in the red armor? Can there be two people with the name Donut?
"I'm Felix," he finally answers. He doesn't shake the hand of Donut (2?). That would be too much politeness.
The plane lands and the door opens with a hiss. Bright light blinds Felix and the visor of his armor automatically adjusts to the light conditions.
A barren rocky landscape stretches out before him. Far and wide are only reddish-brown rocks and a few patches of grass. No one is waiting in front of the aircraft to welcome them.
Suddenly a voice sounds from the loudspeaker. The pilot speaks in a cheerful voice:
"We are here.
Welcome to Blood Gluch. You'll have to walk the rest of the way. We don't want the blue ones to shoot down our fancy, expensive plane. That would be deducted from my salary. Have a nice stay. I'm leaving in 10 minutes. Everything should be unloaded by then. Otherwise you'll have to do without your lunch for the next few months."
"I'm so excited. I finally get to show what I can do." Donut (2?) cheers and jumps up. He goes to the back of the plane and grabs a big box. At least he tries to. But the crate seems to be quite heavy. He pulls it a few steps and then drops it on the floor with a loud crash. It looks pathetic. Felix has to hold back from laughing out loud.
"Hey Felix. Give me a hand." Donut gasps.
Felix watches for another minute.
"Should I steal the plane and disappear?" Felix wonders. But something makes him curious. He really wants to know how he got here. He has so many questions that he wants to find the answers to before he makes a run for it. Although he knows how stupid it is, he decides to follow Donut (2?).
The pathetic scene the red one makes is almost unbearable for him. He becomes increasingly certain that this man is not the Donut he knows. So he grabs the other side of the crate without further ado.
Felix realizes that the crate is actually not as light as he would have expected.
But of course he could have managed it on his own. That's obvious... Together they carry the crate outside.
Felix can finally have a proper look around outside. Now that he is outside, he can see a valley in the distance.
"Where are we going and why are we dragging this crate?" he asks, starting to get fed up with the uncertainty.
"We're going to Blood Gulch, to the Red base. We finally have to beat the damn blues. That's why we were sent there as reinforcements."
Felix nods as if it were perfectly obvious. It doesn't sound so bad to him. He could just take it as a new mission. "I wonder if I'll meet a Blue who has turquoise armor like Tucker?" He asks himself. Whoever the poor guy will be, if there is one, he'll make him suffer especially. But that will be nothing compared to what he would do to the real Tucker.
But one thing keeps bothering him, he's heard the name Blood Gulch at some point. He's sure one of the Reds or Blues said it. Donut (2?) keeps talking about Reds and Blues. Felix knows that there are more teams of this kind. All stationed on different planets for testing purposes. But somehow he still has a strange feeling about it.
"Tell me... What rank are you? I don't want to be accidentally rude without realizing it. I didn't even know anyone else was flying with me, it was quite a surprise." Donut's question snaps him out of his thoughts.
"Top secret, but you could say I'm your superior." Felix replies, grinning under his helmet. His mood slowly improves. Because Donut (2?) seems to believe everything he says.
If the other Reds are anything like him, taking over control will be a piece of cake.
"Oh, sorry sir." Donut shouts, startled, and stands as straight as he can with the box in his hand in a matter of seconds.
At first Donut pesters him with questions. But since everything is "top secret" according to Felix (even Felix's favorite food or color), he quickly gives up.
They finally reach the bottom of the valley. In front of them is a round concrete base. The base doesn't look particularly cozy. There is no door. So the two of them can just walk in. The interior is not spectacular either. It is untidy. There are smelly and unwashed clothes lying around everywhere. There are not just lots of crumbs on a table in the middle. There are even piles of used dishes several meters high. If he is really going to live here for a while, he urgently needs to force the other occupants to clean up. Felix is also disappointed to discover that the Reds' base doesn't even have a TV.
"Hm no one there." Donut comments about the obvious. "Let's put the box down here and then we'll look for the other Reds." He continues.
The two split up. Felix uses the time to snoop around. He is certain that three people live here. Because three quarters are inhabited. One of them is just as untidy as the rest of the base. The second, however, is the exact opposite.
Everything is literally sparkling and blinking. The last one is full of military insignia, but when Felix takes a closer look, he realizes that they are actually all fake. There are also posters with motivational slogans all over the walls.
It all reminds him of certain people he can't stand. Is this still a coincidence, he wonders.
Now all that's left is the roof. He goes up the stairs. Several people are standing there. They can't see him directly where he is standing. So he observes them for now.
Felix's jaw drops in surprise. Grif and Simmons are standing there. Their armour is an older model, but he recognizes their voices. Then Grif takes off his helmet. He looks a little younger than Felix remembers him, but it's him. He definitely is.
Time travel...
He can't think of any other explanation. He absolutely must find a calendar and check the current year. He must have somehow ended up a few years in the past. The perfect opportunity to set the whole situation straight.
If he gets rid of all the reds and blues, no one will stand in the way of his plans for the future. Locus will not betray him and he will stay alive. But first he wants to take advantage of the situation. They are his enemies and they deserve to suffer for a while longer.