This Isn't A Game Anymore (VenturianTale fan fiction)

Chapter 21- The Final Countdown

Fire raged on the distant horizon as Jordan marched towards the battleground. He toted a gun in his hands and wore light armor, feeling out of place amongst the soldiers and warriors that charged alongside him. Cywren was to his left, Timebomb and Copper straying to the right. Quasar trotted at Cywren's heels. Every now and again Timebomb would shoot Jordan a look, so he made sure to keep a reasonable distance between him and Cywren.

The air was thick with smoke as they approached, the ground shaking with every step the robot took. Sarah grinned every moment of the charge, appearing pleased with herself as well as the situation. No one appeared to be on edge about the oncoming battle, confidence radiating from their determined expressions. Jordan tried to replicate the lack of fear that they carried about them, but couldn't bring himself to shake the frightened thoughts from his head.

He became dimly aware that someone was speaking to him. He swiveled his head to face a rather distressed Cywren, who was gesturing frantically to the sky. "Look out!" She shouted.

He glanced up, seeing two huge helicopters circling above them. They seemed like shadows against the dimming sky, absurdly close to the ground. He took a few nervous steps back as the surrounding troops halted.

All of a sudden, a hulking figure suspended by a crane appeared over the top of the line of buildings. It blocked out the sun- a lingering silhouette of hope. The Liberty Prime. It was lowered to the ground with a thunderous crash, standing on its two colossal feet. It was still for a moment before it begun to move, stomping along the path and creating clouds of dust in its wake.

The soldiers were frozen in awe. Sarah smirked.

"On the scale of epicness," Said Jordan admiringly. "That is a ten."

Cywren nodded in agreement.

The helicopters circled the Liberty Prime (aka Daxius), red beams of light appearing to scan the beast. Darius leaned forward, not unnerved in the slightest, and blue lasers fired from its eyes, knocking the choppers out of the sky in a fiery explosion. Jordan gasped, jumping up and down. The remaining pieces of scrap metal plummeted to the ground, smoking.

"THAT IS LASER BEAM VISION!" He crowed.

Daxius began moving again, steady stomping his way towards the Enclave. Everyone tailed behind, whooping and cheering with glee.

"Oh wow," Jordan said. "That is epic."

"HECK YEAH IT IS!" Agreed Timebomb from behind him. "D'you reckon the Enclave are running scared?"

"It would be smart of them!" Chuckled Copper.

"Woof!" Quasar chimed in.

One of the power armor clad soldiers marched by Cywren. She stopped him. "Do you see how big this is?!" She asked him, eyes gleaming from behind her glasses.

"Yes, ma'am!" He replied, only half turning her way.

"Oh yeah," Said Jordan, watching Daxius step onto the bridge extending across the irradiated waters. "This right here."

"This is what I signed up for." Cywren grinned. "Totally what I signed up for."

They charged forward, the Enclave drawing nearer every moment. A few projectiles launched themselves at the band of warriors, all missing their mark.

Nevertheless, Jordan jumped back, still smiling. "I just hope one of those random rockets doesn't hit us," He said. "That would be really bad."

"Kind of goes without saying," Timebomb retorted.

Gunfire rang through the air as small attempts at stopping them were attempted, but obliterated by Daxius's wrath. "TARGET AQUIRED," A modulated voice said from above them as Daxius's blue lasers rained down on the Enclave's dwindling defenses.

"And he has an awesome voice too!" Cywren chirped.

Explosions sounded form all sides, combining with the ambient noises that created what almost sounded like an orchestrated melody. They reached another bridge- but this one would take them exactly where they needed to go. A huge field of electrical energy prevented them from passing through, and a knot tied itself in Jordan's stomach.

Daxius didn't seemed concerned. Babbling things to himself in his 'awesome voice,' he positioned himself in front of the force field and fired the largest laser yet directly at it. In a blinding flash, Jordan staggered backwards, blinking a few times. By the time he could see again, the force field was gone and they were charging forward again.

"This is the most awesome thing ever," He said decisively. "I want an army of these things. Like the whole place just covered in these things." He held up his hands as if to help paint the picture.

Sarah didn't seem to share in his moment. "Brothers!" She called to the soldiers. "Stand as one!" They all complied.

Daxius began throwing projectiles at the oncoming Enclave, causing explosions to erupt where they struck. "He has GRENADES?!" Jordan said in awe.

"I'm concerned about this area," Mumbled Timebomb from behind them.

His comment went unheard. "He has giant grenades!" Cywren cheered. "We almost don't have to do anything! Just sit back and watch him do his thing!"

"They don't stand a chance."

The explosions seemed to melt together into one fiery symphony, no one quite knowing from which side they came. The approach began again as they slowly crossed the bridge and pushed the Enclave's defenses back. So far, not a single ground troop. They were at least that intelligent.

There were a few close calls (which were quickly fixed with Cywren's stash of Stimpacks), but they managed to make it to the borders of the Enclave's headquarters with no casualties on their part. The ruined city seemed to have created a fortress, a spiraling labyrinth protecting the Enclave's center of operations. It was a brilliant setup, but there wan't enough time to admire it.

The last bridge seemed to have been created with the most defenses, as a huge force field fence wrapped around it. There was no way above or below it, and no way to destroy it as far as Cywren and Jordan could tell. While they were pondering their next move, Daxius had already positioned his attack. Placing both robotic hands on the force field fence, he leaned on the structure, sending electricity bouncing and sparking off of his entire metal shell. The current made him shudder, his circuits whirring and skipping in an attempt to keep up with the onslaught.

Eventually the force field flickered and died, causing Daxius to slump to his knees. Before there was a chance to be concerned, he was up and firing again.

Taking the chance, Cywren and company dashed forwards, heading for the huge building at the center of the sprawling fortress. They paused right outside the door. Cywren placed a tentative hand on the metal bars, hesitating.

"We're going in for the final battle," She said, taking a few say breaths. "We;ll need the help of all of our friends."

Jordan, Timebomb, Copper, and Cywren exchanged looks and Sarah tagged along behind them. Quasar woofed encouragingly and Copper nodded, grinning at Cywren. Time bomb offered a determined grin, adjusting his goggles. Sarah crossed her arms and nodded.

Jordan shrugged. "You got this, Cywren."

She smiled, pushing on the bar. "Let's do it."

The door swung open, leading them deeper into danger.

And, for some, closer to home.