Fan Fiction ❯ Battle Royal Crescendo ❯ Part II: Bullets and Puppy Chow! A Job Well Done! ( Chapter 2 )

Alpha Zone
Act 1: Battle Royal Crescendo

By Sir Aaron Rowell

Part II: Bullets and Puppy Chow! A Job Well Done!

After the two Mercenaries finished the last minute preparation for their rescue mission, they headed out through the Island’s thick woodlands with their weapons at the low ready. About 20 minutes and a good half-mile later, our heroes stopped by a treeline. Darren whipped out his pair of binoculars, and after a few moments, the long-haired teenager’s companion tapped on his shoulder. “Yo, what d’yah see?”

“The fortress is pretty small and poorly constructed. Only two guards at the gate, armed with Uzi’s,” Darren answered, unimpressed. “I don’t think their employer could even afford decent headgear; they’re wearing hockey masks.”

“Heh… This’ll be a piece of cake,” smirked the violet-haired merc.

“Let’s be careful anyways, Corey… They may have something else that’s more dangerous than a pair of flunkies.”

Corey shrugged off his warning. “So how do we go about getting in? The Hard Way or the Easy Way?”

“Hmmm…. How about this,” asked Darren as he switched his weapon from safe to semi-fire and attached a silencer to the barrel. He then aimed it towards one of the two guards and fired. Blue blood sprayed from the exit wound in the makeshift visor. Before the other guard had time to react, he two was silenced as two rounds tore through his neck then the head. Sighing, the long-haired teen removed the silencer, “I must be getting sloppy.”

“Well it was juicy regardless. Hey… What’s up with the blue blood? That doesn’t look normal?”

“That’s because our little friends there aren’t exactly human.”
“Let’s go check ‘em out then.”

The two young mercenaries abandoned their shelter to investigate the fallen guards. As they removed the masks, Corey and Darren’s expressions went from curiosity to disgust. The faces of the guards were both covered in fur and the total facial structure was somehow leaning towards a canine muzzle. The long-haired merc smirked, “Heh…. These little freaks of nature were genetically engineered and sold through the black market.”

“What are they?” Corey wondered, leaning in to peer at the bodies.

“They are Bio-Wolfen. They were made from the genes of Wolves and Humans. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’re more of them in this fortress. If so, then I have a duty to put these poor creatures to sleep,” Darren explained.

His silver-haired companion concluded his study. “I’m game if you are.”

“Which brings me to the answer to your previous question. Hell yeah, we should do it the hard way! It’s more fun that way.”

They grinned at each other. “Sweet… Would you do the honors?””Naturally,” answered Darren as he took a 40mm grenade from the bandolier and inserted into the launcher attachment. Corey ran away from the gate’s path when his partner found a good clear spot and shot off the projectile. The explosion nearly knocked them over, and, dazed from the serious recoil, Darren smiled. “Honey…. We’re home!”

Not much later, every able soldier in the stronghold intercepted the commotion out in the front as the alarms blared in the background. The two mercenaries prepared their weapons for battle with toothy grins. Inside one of the fortress’ main buildings, Scar watched them over the monitor in annoyance. “Who are they?”

“Not sure, Sir”, answered one of the taller man’s flunkies, “But I’m sure they’ll be no big problem. After all… they’re only children.”

“How do you suppose they blasted their way in? M80s?” Scar sarcastically asked, shooting the flunkie dead between the eyes.

Another low-level guard standing nearby swallowed hard, then, shaking, addressed the abusive leader. “Sir? W-what should we do with the girl?”

“Nothing yet… I was given orders not to harm her until the land was taken over. Until then lock her up safely.”

“Who’s orders, Sir?””That is not your affair,” he growled at the lackey, who quickly, under the influence of previous example, went silent. Scar glowered at the monitor, noting the damage the two mercs were imposing on his forces. “Troops, get out there and show no mercy! Do not disappoint me!”

The two teenage mercenaries mercilessly unloaded their rounds on each of the mutated soldiers with wild glee. Darren then loaded his grenade launcher with an oddly shaped round and fired at a crowed of Bio-Wolfen soldiers. As the round made impact, a huge crescendo of electricity fried the hapless creatures, turning them to charred ruins.

“Heheheh!! I love the Spark grenades!”

Their premature celebration was put on hold as a wave of mutant soldiers approached, literally heavily armed to their teeth. The only difference with them and those that were already dispatched, is that they were bigger and stronger. With a frustrated sigh, Darren turned to Corey, “Maybe we bit off more than we could chew.”

“You think so?”

“Nah.” The teen and his partner smiled as they phased from view. Five seconds later, rounds and knives from all angles tore through the armed crowd. As the smoke cleared, only the two of them stood tall. Another wave of soldiers closed in on the teens. “More sheep for the slaughter.”

“Or should I say…. Wolves.”

“Good point.”

“I’ll cover for you while you get the girls.””Sure you could handle these guys by yourself?”

“Oh most definitely…. Now go!”

“Roger.”

Darren ran towards the largest of the five main buildings of the fortress by using his gut and common sense. Inside the building, he was greeted with numerous soldiers, easily dispatched by the full auto burst of his rifle. After racing up the stairs and looking through the hallways, he found only several heavily armed guards.

Taking cover as the Bio-Wolfen unload their rounds at his direction, the young soldier of fortune now realized that he was nearly fresh out of ammunition. Cursing his luck, he loaded his last shock grenade round into the launcher. ‘I guess I’ll just have to make it count,’ mused Darren as he rolled out of his cover area and fired his last grenade round, electrocuting his mutated opponents to a crisp. After replacing his old carbine rifle for one of the guards’ sub-machine guns, he noticed a door he hadn’t checked.

One of the soldiers whom Darren electrocuted, still alive, reached for his hand gun as the mercenary passed. The long-haired boy, hearing the soft moan and the movement, quickly jumped on the wounded soldier’s hand. “Hey, Ass-wipe! Where’s the Girl?”

“Wha…what girl?!”

“The girl you kept hostage! The Governor’s kid! Don’t you freakin’ dare play dumb,” yelled Darren, as he twisted his foot into the man-beast’s knuckles, earning him a pained scream.

“She’s… She’s in the Dungeon downstairs…””Thanks,” smirked Darren as he released the creature. The mutated man tried to attack again, and Darren silenced him by a spray of rounds.

Meanwhile, Corey was cleaning house inside the main mansion. Unloading shotgun slugs into each of the creatures. As he got close to the main hallway, he met a volley of a full auto burst. Taking cover, he glanced over his shoulder to see where the fire was coming from, only to be pinned down by another spray. ‘This sucks, I need to find a clear shot at this punk.’ The violet-haired boy considered, loading the rifle with more slugs. He then worked up the courage and fired twice at his attacker times, laying ruin to a couple of statues. Corey then ran after his fleeing attacker.
For the next four or five minutes, this small battle stalemated. Neither gave ground to the other, when suddenly Corey spotted a weak spot on his opponent and unloaded a series of slugs into the man-beast’s chest, driving the monster from the window behind it and onto the pavement. The violet-haired boy gave its fall a thumb’s down. “Another freak bites the dust!”

As Darren reached the last door inside the dungeon, he sensed despair and sadness, and realizing it was his target. The door itself was made of cold steel trimmed with rivets and screws. Knowing full well that his weapon was no match for the super armor, the young soldier of fortune dropped the Uzi and unsheathed his sword. He then concentrated his chi into the sword, enveloping himself with a fiery aura. With a loud roar, the young man stabbed the sword effortlessly into the steel, causing it to melt. He then slashed up, then down to fully melt away the steel to nothingness. Darren’s attention then looked towards his target, chained to a chair and her mouth taped. The girl in question was the same preteen whom Darren saw in the picture. The girl’s face had the look of fear and confusion, but all seamed to wash away as her savior slashed her bonds, setting her free.

“Miss Nichol Silva, I’m Darren. I am here to take you back to your Dad. Ummm… Miss?”

“Darren…”

“Huh?̶ 1;

Nichol looked at her savior happily thinking, ‘Wow, he’s gorgeous! Is this my Knight and shining armor?’ Darren having long jet black hair tied in a loose ponytail, with youthful yet fiery amber eyes, and had the body of a high school athlete pretty much matched a description of what the young Miss Silva thinks what a handsome knight should look. Her giddy schoolgirl-like eyes were creeping the young mercenary out when she glomped onto him.

“Hey… Hey! Chill out! I’m here to rescue you.”

“Thank you, Darling!”

“Okay… Alright let’s go, I’m sure your father would be happy to see you.”

“What ever you say, my darling.”

Darren shuddered.

Meanwhile, Corey walked though the mansion in search of the man who was responsible for Nichol’s capture. The man in question sat in front of a large big screen HD TV drinking a bottle of premium whisky. Corey pumped his rifle once, threatening the tall man on the couch, “Whatever you’re doing will be put to ice, Big Man, ‘cause I’m going to take you in myself.”

“Heh… Who are you to come in and tell me what you’re going to do with me, you little punk?”

“This coming from a man who stained his honor as a well-established warrior to become a lying backstabbing murderer?”

“Aww, I’m soooo heart broken.”

“Just shut the hell up or I’ll…”

“Or you’ll what? Shoot me? From behind? And you call me backstabbing.”

Starting to loose his cool, Corey sat his shotgun and assumed his fighting stance, “Okay wiseass, how about we settle this without weapons?”
“You don’t know what you’re up against kid…”

“Oh, I know who I’m up against. A chicken with no balls to his name.”

“You leave me no choice then.”

Scar then sat up and turned around to face his younger opponent. The man himself looked very menacing as he stood 6 feet 7 inches tall and full of solid muscles. Undaunted by the taller “scarred” man, Corey initiated his attack, only to be grabbed by his throat. Scar then threw the young mercenary through the wall, creating a giant hole.

“See what you made me do? I’m sure your blood will cover for the damage.”

Before the tall man could capitalize on his attack, Corey emerged from the rubble and smashed his fist into his chest. The punch did more harm than good as the violet-haired boy cried in pain, “What the fudge are you!”

“Heh, wouldn’t you like to know,” Scar mocked as he backhands him out of the window. With reflexes like a cat, the young teen spun in the air and landed feet first. The tall warlord followed suit to face the shorter boy, “Well, well… I see you got a lot of fight in you. This’ll be fun.”

“Alright, Asshole, time for round two.”

Instead of attacking head on like the last time, the young violet-head flipped over the tall man and executed a mule kick in the back of his head, causing the man to kiss the ground hard. Not wasting any time, Corey then leapt into the air again to drive his fist downward with a battle cry, “Comet Fist!” Before the boy connected, Scar dashed out of the way, a massive hole into the ground taking his place. The warlord then attempted to strike the shorter mercenary, but Corey grabbed onto his arm. He kicked the taller man in the gut, bending him over. The mercenary then wrenched his arm until the shoulder snapped out of place. Corey followed by taking his combat knife from its scabbard and pointed at Scar’s head, “It’s over, Scar! You lose! It’s time I take you to the authorities to serve your time for all the hell you caused.””@(#* you, you little punk! I won’t let you!”

“Wanna bet?”

As an answer to his question, Scar shook the smaller boy from behind him, popping his arm back into place with a sickening noise. The younger warrior blanched at the sight. “You’re not human.”

“Damn straight,” yelled the monstrous warlord as he struck a fist into his smaller opponent’s gut, followed by a double ax handle smash that floored the violet-head. Scar smirked, “Heh… For a chicken with no balls, I sure did dish out a giant ass whooping.”

“Screw… you…”

“I don’t do requests,” smirked the tall villain as he raises his hand to strike his downed opponent, only to get stunned by a powerful energy blast from his right flank.

“I don’t think so, ass-munch! You mess with my family, you mess with me!”

“Darren,” coughed Corey as he stumbled back to his feet. He saw Darren standing proud with Nichol by his side and smiled. “Took you long enough, Ass. I see you got the girl.”

“Nice to see you too, Dick. I see you got a little problem here.”

“Yeah… A very expensive problem.”

“Let’s show this jackass who runs this shit!”

“Yeah!”

“Nichol, please run to somewhere safe; we’ll catch up with you later.”

“Ummm… Sure thing, Darling,” the young brunette said as she left from view. As Corey smiled, Darren narrowed his eyes. “Don’t even start with me, Corey!”

“I didn’t say anything,” his friend replied with false innocence.

“Do you two mind? I would like to finish this massacre,” the giant complained.

The two answered Scar with a devastating pair of flying kicks to the chest, stunning the much larger man. He recovered himself, attempting to strike them down, but Corey executed a double legged somersault kick to the jaw sending him into the air. Darren capitalized with his patented “Falling Star” smash kick, sending Scar to the ground hard.

Not giving him any time, the violet-head struck the man with his “Comet Punch” to his chest, followed by a falling leg sweep. The long-haired merc grabbed his partner’s wrists and spun him wickedly fast. After a few seconds, he threw the violet-haired boy like a hammer at his larger opponent. Corey twisted into the air and smashed an elbow into Scar’s gut. Darren was waiting for Corey to land, and acted as a springboard for another powerful somersault kick.

“Jet blast!” The mercenary yelled as he hurled a massive energy ball, and, landing gracefully as Corey chucked an incinerating grenade (burning the man into what appears to be ashes) added, “…and the finish!”

“Wow…. Nice touch.”

“Thank you, Bro. Would not have done it without you.”

“True… Now let’s find what’s left of this loser so we could collect that reward money.”

“I’m with you”, said Corey as he approach what looks like Scar’s remains, only to see some a metallic hand pop up and grabbed him by the throat. The taller man got out from the rubble as nothing more then a hulking robotic skeleton where a large dent represented where his scar used to be. The Cyborg then threw the violet-head towards his partner, knocking both mercenaries over.

“I knew that f$%#er wasn’t human!”

“Yeah… It’s time we stop playing with him and finish this job off!”

“Damn straight!”

Darren and Corey dodged a series of strikes from the robotic menace. Their taller opponent proved to have little mobility, quickness, and variety of attacks. The longer haired warrior charged his sword again as Corey distracted the giant. When the time was ready, Darren stabbed his blade into the chest area, and then beheaded the robotic warlord. Corey followed by placing an explosive grenade into the cyborg’s chest cavity, scattering the pieces. The long-haired mercenary gave the scrap pile a thumbs down. “Thy game…. IS OVER!”

Later that afternoon, as the chopper reached its port, the Governor, Vice Governor, and their squad of soldiers greeted them. The chopper’s door panels opened, revealing the two victorious mercenaries and a very excited Nichol. The young girl cried as she rushed out to glomped onto her father. “Poppa!”

“Nikki! You’re back! I thought I would never see you again.”

Corey looks at Darren and smirked, “I say that’s a job well done, don’t you think?”

“Uh-huh.”

Before anyone could react, the Vice Governor pulled out his pistol and points it toward the Silvas. The guards then point their rifles at the man in an attempt at retaliation. With a vile smirk, Mr. Batista says, “Heheh… I have waited a long time for this.”

Mr. Silva scowled, “What is the meaning of this, Miguel?”

“For a long time I’ve been in your shadow, your personal bitch. I’ve worked my ass off to the bone keeping this land in working order. And for what?! A little pat on the back?! I don’t think so!”

“That’s not true… You’ve been payed handsomely. And the people respect you.”

“That is not enough! Our people have grown weak! They need a new leader to instil discipline and order! I would be that leader and not you! Who else would have your precious daughter taken by the hands of a murderous militia?! HAHAHA!!”

“You bastard…”

Nichol’s eyes teared up, “Poppa….”

“That was when I had _you_ hire these two little pukes to pick up your daughter after I found out your were hiring mercenaries!”

Corey fumed at the insult and underestimation of their skill. But before he would voice his opinion, Darren beat him to it, “So you’d expect that a couple of young punks like us to f@$& up the mission and have her killed…That assumption could cost you your life, you son of a bitch.”

“Well I didn’t expect you little brats to be so damn good! You even killed Scar… I’m impressed.”

“Impress this, ass…”

“Stop it, Corey! He’d shoot them if we tried!”

“But he insulted us!”

“I know…. Chill out. I’ll think of something.”

“Now if you don’t mind I would like to make my demands,” the vice Governor says cocking the pistol’s hammer back. He then opened his jacket to reveal a vest fixed with an improvised explosive device, “You will give me full control of this land and its military force, or I will blow you, your daughter, your goons, and these two little punks sky high! You have one minute to make your decision!”

Mr. Silva paled as his two hired mercenaries fumed. ‘This guy is nuts! He is growing desperate, judging by how far he would go to pull off this crap.’ He looked towards Corey and both nodded their heads. The spikey-haired merc reached to the to rear hem of his utility vest to grab his throwing knife. Mr. Batista then yells, “You have 5 seconds… 4… 3… 2…”

“One! ZERO!” yelled Corey as the flash of the throwing knife imbedded itself into the vice Governor’s pistol holding hand, causing him to drop the weapon in pain. As he was about to favor his wound, three more knifes stuck itself into his arms. The guard from Mr. Batista’s rear used this as a clear shot to smash the butt of his rifle into his face, knocking him unconscious. Darren walked up to the prone man and said, “I didn’t mean to tell I told you so, but… I told you so, Bitch!” The former Vice-Governor was then treated by the soldiers and carried away.

Darren blanched as he heard, “Darling!” He was then greeted by a glomp from the governor’s daughter, “Hey…”

“You and your friend rescued us…. Thank you so much….”

“Sure…. No Problem….”Corey then turned to the Governor, “Well I say that’s a job well done, Sir.”

“That it is.”

“Now… How about that other 25 G’s?”

“Coming right up.”

As they said their goodbyes, the young daughter of Mr. Silva sadly bid farewell to her “knight” Darren with a peck to his cheek, saying that when she turned sixteen, she would be his bride. That statement turned Darren’s cheeks red with embarrassment and Corey decided to crack some jokes.

Darren hastily forced his friend back into their battle shuttle and fled planet Maxima.

Inside the cockpit, Corey looks at his partner with catlike glee, “Heheh, Did you have fun back there, ‘Darling?’ I’m sure you’re upset that you wouldn’t see your little princess again.””Shut the hell up, Corey.”

“Oooh… touchy… Anyways, I’m glad we got the dough now. We can have a fun filled vacation. We’re gonna paint this galaxy red!!”

“And not to mention we have Scar to make some more cash from the Mercenary’s Guild.”

“How so?”

“By giving them this,” Darren picks up a bag and unzips it, revealing the slightly charred metal skull of Scar.

“Eww… I knew you were a morbid dude sometimes, but this is plain creepy.”

“Well, it’ll still earn us some more cash.”

“True…” answered Corey as he sets his flying machine in full throttle.


End of Act One! Stay tuned for Act Two: “Heart of the burning Red Angel!” Coming soon!