Chapter 28 - The Marksman Creed

Meanwhile, onboard of the titan… [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: Sit. [br]
Scyth: … I rather stand… But thanks anyway… [br]
Zakhaev: *forces Scyth down in a chair* [br]
Scyth: … [br]
Zakhaev: … [br]
Scyth: Look, we both know that this will lead to a dead end… So why don’t you just let me go, so we can go back to whatever the hell we were doing…? [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: *sighs and lights up cigarette* [br]
Scyth: … *stares at Zakhaev* [br]
Zakhaev: *offers Scyth a smoke* [br]
Scyth: Nooooooo, motherfracker…… [br]
Zakhaev: … *takes puff* This isn’t getting us anywhere fast, is it…? [br]
Scyth: Nope… [br]
Zakhaev: *nods* … Do you even know why you’re here? [br]
Scyth: … No… Miller is dead, and you’re gonna walk in his footsteps… You got everything you want, so why the hell do you need me for….? [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: It’s because I don’t trust you… You’re up to something… And I wanna know what you’re up to… [br]
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Scyth: … *grins* [br]
Zakhaev: Back in Redmondville, I saw another one like you… [br]
Scyth: He’s not… [br]
Zakhaev: … Explain the patterns on his head then… [br]
Scyth: *shrugs* Humans have tattoo’s, we have fur dye… *grins*[br]
Zakhaev: Don’t act like a smartass towards me, Scyth… You’ll regret it… [br]
Scyth: So what…? There’s no way I’ll be leaving this place alive, so why not poke a little fun of you while I still can…? [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: You’re right. You’re not gonna leave this place alive. Tomorrow, you’ll be executed… But I’m dedicating this night to get everything I wanna know out of you… [br]
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Scyth: Hehe… What makes you so sure that I’m gonna talk…?[br]
[br]
Zakhaev: … How’s your arm doing…? [br]
Scyth: It’s healing along quite nicely, after you broke my arm a few hours ago…[br]
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Zakhaev: Hmm-mm… And eh, the medics applied that cast on your arm, huh…? [br]
Scyth: Yeah, nice gesture of them… First they let you break my arm and then they fixed it up… [br]
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Then Zakhaev grabbed Scyth’s broken arm and slammed it at the edge of the table… [br]
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Scyth: AAAAAAAAH!!! FUUUUCK!!![br]
Zakhaev: Name…? Whereabouts…? [br]
Scyth: I DON’T KNOW!!! [br]
Zakhaev: Ah… *slams Scyth’s arm against the table again* [br]
Scyth: OOOOOW!!! SON OF A dog!!!![br]
Zakhaev: You remember it now…? [br]
Scyth: NO!!! I SWEAR, MAN!! I REALLY DON’T KNOW!!! [br]
Zakhaev: … *slams Scyth’s arm against the table* [br]
Scyth: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! [br]
Zakhaev: How about now…? [br]
Scyth: I don’t… I-I really don’t know… [br]
Zakhaev: You know, the cast is starting to crack. *slams Scyth’s arm again table*[br]
Scyth: YAAAAAAARGH!!!!! [br]
Zakhaev: Still don’t know…? [br]
Scyth: *sobs* fracking hell!! Stop it!! [br]
Zakhaev: … Go on… I’m listening… [br]
Scyth: *sobs* All I know is that he’s from the Epsilon generation!![br]
Zakhaev: … *grabs Scyth’s arm* [br]
Scyth: *sobs* I frackING SWEAR MAN!, THAT’S ALL I KNOW!! [br]
Zakhaev: … Epsilon generation huh…? He must be pretty old then… Lifeforms got a short lifespan of around 30 to 35 years… How come he’s still alive then…? [br]
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Scyth: *sobs* I don’t know… I-I really don’t… I swear… [br]
Zakhaev: … You know how pathetic it is to see you sobbing…? [br]
Scyth: F-frack you… [br]
Zakhaev: Tanya? [br]
Tanya: Da?[br]
Zakhaev: ß õî÷ó, ÷òîáû Âû óçíàëè òî, ÷òî Âû ìîæåòå î ïðåäìåòå Ýïñèëîíà. Ñîîáùèòå ìíå, åñëè Âû íàøëè êîå-÷òî…[br]
[br]
Tanya: Âû õîòèòå ìåíÿ, ÷òîáû èñêàòü åãî ñòàòèñòèêó…?[br]
Zakhaev: Äà, âñå. Èìåíà, äàòû, ìåñòà ñîçäàíèÿ. Âñå…[br]
Tanya: Íà ýòîì...[br]
Zakhaev: *nods* [br]
[br]
Then the female walked out as she had a quick glare at Scyth… [br]
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Scyth: Th-The hell you just said to her…? [br]
Zakhaev: … I have one more question for you… And you’ve got 2 options… A: You listen and answer the question… B: You ignore the question, I pull you’re thumbs out… [br]
[br]
Scyth: … [br]
Zakhaev: Good… The thing is… The fact that you’re a lifeform doesn’t mean anything to me… Sure, lifeforms pose a threat for the entire civilized world but that’s not the only reason why I’m after you… [br]
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Scyth: Whadda ya mean…? [br]
Zakhaev: I’m also trying to investigate the virus break out… It was concealed and locked away safely… And yet it escaped… So why is it that you have been seen in Robotropolis…? What was your purpose there…? [br]
[br]
Scyth: … [br]
Zakhaev: … *flicks cigarette in Scyth’s face* [br]
Scyth: *stares at Zakhaev* [br]
Zakhaev: I’m gonna find out Scyth… I will find out… [br]
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Then Zakhaev got up and walked away… [br]
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Scyth: *chuckles* [br]
Zakhaev: What’s so funny…? [br]
Scyth: You’re wife… She moaned like a whore when I stabbed her… And you’re daughter… She squealed like a pig when I cut her pretty little face… She stared at me with those dark blue eyes, but I didn’t feel remorse or anything… See anything that reminds you of her…? *gets out necklace from out of his pocket* [br]
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Zakhaev runs towards Scyth and kicked him down. He kneeled next to him as he firmly pressed his pistol on Scyth’s head… [br]
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Scyth: My, my… Touchy subject… *grins* [br]
Zakhaev: You’re gonna die tomorrow… [br]
Scyth: Take a good look at this face you see in front of you, Zakhaev… *grins* [br]
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Zakhaev: … [br]
Scyth: This face… Will haunt you… For the rest of your life… Even when I’m dead, you’ll be seeing me… And the last thing you will remember before you die… Will be ME… [br]
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Zakhaev: *cocks pistol* [br]
Scyth: Do it now… Come on… *drops something in Zakhaev’s pocket* [br]
Zakhaev: *pistol whips Scyth* [br]
Scyth: *spits out blood* Killing me won’t satisfy you, and you know it… *grins*[br]
Zakhaev: … *pats Scyth’s cheek* Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t enjoy seeing your smelly carcass rot away… [br]
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Zakhaev got up and kicked Scyth’s broken arm. Scyth yelled in pain and with that, Zakhaev walked out of the room… [br]
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I had a dream last night… And… It wasn’t about Nicole… I was dreaming I was in a large open white space, and everything was just white as far as the eye could see. And I was walking… All of a sudden, I heard footsteps behind me. So I turned around… I saw this vague figure walking away from me, and I followed it… I tried to get closer but I didn’t got close enough to see who it was… And then the figure stopped and turned around… Then I saw it was Rouge… I yelled at her to follow me, but all she did was shaking her head. Again, I shouted at her and begged her to come with me, but she shook her head as a weak smile appeared on her face… She walked towards me, gave a firm hug and kissed my cheek… Then she looked me in the eyes while she still had a weak little smile on her face… Again, I yelled at her to come with me and again, she shook her head… She said: [br]
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“There comes a time where the sun won’t shine for you… That you don’t feel hungry or thirsty… To give up on life and leave everything behind… When that time comes, don’t give up. Why would you only accept the good days and not the bad? Be there for yourself… For everyone else that needs you… Be there for Nicole like Shadow was for me. She needs it… And so do you… Don’t be afraid to tell her. She’ll understand… You know what happens when you don’t speak up your mind… So don’t be afraid to do so… You’ve been a good friend to me, Blain… No one and nothing can take that away from me…” [br]

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And with that, she walked off as I continued to yell at her to come back… But she didn’t… She slowly faded away into dust that got blown away by a breeze… And that’s where the dream ended… And then I realized what happened… I couldn’t confirm nor deny if Rouge died or not. And that frustrated me… [br]
[br]
I got out of the barracks and went to the civilians area to look for Sonic and Amy. I haven’t seen them in a long time because of all the stuff happening lately… After a while, I found Amy and Sonic sitting at a table somewhere, with food plates in front of them… They were eating but by the looks of it, they weren’t really hungry… I got behind Amy and tapped her on her shoulder… [br]
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Blain: … Mind if I join…? [br]
Amy: *gasps* Blain!! [br]
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She jumped up as soon as she heard my voice and she gave a firm hug… And I gave Sonic a hug as well… [br]
[br]
Sonic: Long time no see… [br]
Blain/Amy: … [br]
Sonic: … Literally… Hehe… [br]
Blain: How you doing, Sonic…? [br]
Sonic: *sighs* Same old… Same old… Just trying to live on, you know… [br]
Blain: Yeah… How you holding up, Amy…? [br]
Amy: Same really… What took you so long to visit…? [br]
Blain: Well, it’s not like we’re picking our noses on the other side… We’ve been busy…[br]
Amy: With what…? [br]
Blain: Resisting our oppressors… The MNAF is no more, and all that’s left are a bunch of guerrilla resisting forces… And we’re one of them… [br]
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Sonic: So… Everything is going downhill now…? [br]
Blain: No, on the contrary… Scyth has inside information about GUN… It’s a fact that the head of the GUN Legions is dead… We have take out only one more person to end this… That’s all I can say about it… But… Forget what I just told you… [br]
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Sonic/Amy: *nods* [br]
Sonic: So it’ll be over soon…? [br]
Blain: Yeah, hopefully… Then we can search for our friends… And… Start all over again… *sighs* [br]
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Amy: Yeah… [br]
Blain: Have you seen any familiar faces…?[br]
Amy: *shakes head* [br]
Blain: *sighs* [br]
Amy: I think we’re the only ones who made it… [br]
Blain: … Yeah… [br]
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At that point, I heard my radio going static… [br]
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Radio: Sergeant, you’re needed at COMScann, right away. We got a possible fix. [br]
Blain: … I’m on my way, out. [br]
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Amy: You have to go…? [br]
Blain: Yeah… I get back to you, I promise. [br]
Sonic: Be careful when you’re out there… [br]
Blain: I will… Take care, guys. [br]
[br]
I gave Amy and Sonic a firm hug and I went over to COMScann… I was interested to see what they had for me this time… [br]
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Once I got to the control room, I noticed everyone was grinning for some reason… And it kinda scared me… [br]
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Blain: … What’s… All this about…? [br]
Regan: We got a possible fix on Zakhaev… [br]
Blain: Hey, when did you come back? [br]
Regan: Last night, but looks like we’re leaving again tonight… [br]
Blain: What happened? [br]
Regan: Apparently, Scyth activated his tracker ID… So once we received the coordinates, we send the UAV to check the place out. Turned out it wasn’t Scyth we saw walking around, but Zakhaev. Scyth must have slipped it in his pocket or something. [br]
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Blain: Hehehe, clever bastard… [br]
Regan: Yeah. So, once we knew the coordinates, we used EADD to scope the place out. [br]
Blain: EADD…? [br]
Regan: Yeah. Enhanced Audio Detection Device. We know everything. Names, dates, locations, pretty much everything. [br]
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Blain: Awesome… [br]
Regan: Yeah, it is, isn’t it? We gotta get Scyth out of there, but we’ll have to be quick. We’ll leave immediately. Everything is already set, you’ll be briefed onboard. [br]
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Blain: *nods* [br]
Regan: Alright then…[br]
[br]
Not long after that, we got escorted to the flightdeck hangar where a gunship already was waiting for us. As soon as Regan and I got in, it took off… [br]
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Regan: Alright, listen up. Zakhaev is gonna meet his contact at Carver City, near the destroyed industrial terrain. He will close the deal with his contact, but we don’t know what it’s about. Scyth will be executed on the spot and that’s where we come in. There’s an abandoned skyscraper nearby, which gives us a good overview over the entire area. That’s why we’re gonna take Zakhaev out with a high powered sniper rifle. The skyscraper offers a good cover as well, seeing as its more then 2 kilometres away from the industrial terrain. The others will join us tomorrow morning, but we need to get into position first before everyone else arrives. That way, we’ll make sure they won’t take unnecessary risks. Once we give the signal that we’re ready, the others will be standing by. Once Zakhaev is down, they take out the others and we all walk away home… [br]
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Blain: Sounds easy… [br]
Regan: You’re the only marksman here, so you’ll have to take the shot… I’ll be your observer… Questions…? [br]
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Blain: No… [br]
Regan: Alright then… [br]
[br]
Many hours later, the gunship dropped us off and flew off again… We made our way to the skyscraper that Regan pointed out and we went to the highest floor. Once we got there, I assembled the large sniper rifle as Regan was making our escape plan ready… [br]
[br]
Blain: What are you doing? [br]
Regan: Making sure we’re getting out alive if it all goes wrong. You know how to grapple? [br]
Blain: Yeah. [br]
Regan: This one is slightly different. Clip the buckle on your vest and hold the handle. The harder you squeeze the handle, the slower you descend. [br]
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Blain: Got it… [br]
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It stayed silent for a long time as I was still assembling the rifle… Once I was ready, I smashed a window and placed the rifle in front of it… We contacted COMScann and let them know we were ready… Now all we could do was wait… [br]
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Regan sat down near the window and stared outside as we saw the sun setting… [br]
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Regan: Blain… On a more serious note…[br]
Blain: Wassup? [br]
Regan: *sighs* [br]
Blain: What’s wrong? You nervous…? [br]
Regan: Of course I am, but that’s not it… [br]
Blain: Than what is? [br]
Regan: It’s about Vilani… [br]
Blain: What about her? [br]
Regan: I eh… I wanna ask you something… [br]
Blain: Go on… [br]
Regan: Vilani is the only family I have left… And… I wanted to ask you if you could keep an eye on her if I’m not here anymore… [br]
[br]
It got me thinking of Lara-Su… I watched over her as well when she was a kid… But when a kid grows up, it doesn’t need you’re protection anymore… And it’s hard to let go of that… So I understand perfectly what Regan was feeling… [br]
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Blain: I understand… [br]
Regan: Even though she’s 24 years old, I still feel as if I need to protect her… I had that ever since I was little… And… That feeling only got stronger ever since this started… She proved herself that she can take care of herself just fine but… You know… She’ll always be my little cousin… [br]
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Blain: *nods* [br]
Regan: And I know she fancies Jarod… Which… I’m not too happy about… It’s not like I don’t like Jarod but… It’s kind of hard to let her go and let her live her own life… And I realized it’s even harder to let her go in these harsh times… So… All I’m asking is… To keep an eye on her… That’s all… [br]
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Blain: I will… [br]
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For more then 14 hours, we hid in a tall skyscraper, waiting for Zakhaev to meet up with his contact… The dark orange skies slowly turned black as we both saw the sun rising many hours later. At some point, large 4x4 vehicles pulled up near the abandoned water tower to the south-west… Heavily armed men surrounded the perimeter as Zakhaev slammed a large suitcase on the hood of a 4x4… I insert one massive round in the chamber of the sniper rifle and gently let the bolt load the round… A short click was heard and I pulled the safety off… Then I looked through the scope as Regan got out his binoculars… [br]
[br]
Blain: COMScann, be advised, we have a positive ID on Zakhaev, stand by. [br]
Radio: Roger that, all forces are standing by. Good luck. [br]
Regan: Take you’re time… [br]
[br]
I magnified until I got a clear vision on Zakhaev… It looked like he was arguing and made all sorts of hand gestures as the tensions were rising below… As I looked around through my scope to see who was there, I noticed Scyth being pushed forward by soldiers and they forced him down on his knees… Then something happened unexpected… All of a sudden, I saw a few furries down there, talking to Zakhaev as the other human soldiers stood on guard, watching the perimeter…[br]
[br]
Regan: … Whoa… That’s not supposed to happen… [br]
Blain: What the hell…? Furries…? That fox is his contact…? [br]
Regan: Yeah, looks like it… [br]
Blain: Those backstabbing country matters… fracking traitors… [br]
Regan: Yeah. Forget them. Zakhaev is our priority for now… Take you’re aim…[br]
[br]
As I looked through the scope again, it felt as time stood still and everything moved in slow motion… Firing a rifle over a distance from more then two kilometre is extremely difficult, and in this case, even deadly if I missed… My breathing became slow and heavy… [br]
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Blain: Got ‘em in sight… [br]
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Regan: The angle of the barrel should be aligned with the sight… Keep in mind, the further the bullet travels, the higher you’ll have to aim… Keep an eye on the flag of the 4x4, and look for wind directions… Breathe slowly… Once you’ve aligned the target, hold your breath, and gently squeeze the trigger… [br]
[br]
The tension was unbearable… As I looked down through the scope in the distance, I saw Zakhaev was still negotiating with the furries as Scyth was still down on the ground, on his knees… I felt my finger squeezing the trigger real slowly as sweat drops poured off my forehead… My left hand supported the butt of the rifle as it was shaking a bit… [br]
[br]
Regan: Steady your left arm… [br]
[br]
It was all or nothing… Everything depended from this shot… It took me a few moments to recover… My hands were sweating and I closed my eyes for a short moment as I let out a quick sigh… As soon as I opened my eyes, I was ready… [br]
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Regan: Hold…… Watch you’re left…… Where the hell did he come from…? Patience Blain, keep still…… [br]
[br]
I had my aim focused on Zakhaev, but I heard jet engine sounds getting louder… At some point, I noticed I was looking into a cockpit of a gunship, patrolling the area… I actually was surprised of that, and it made me more nervous then I already was… I let out a quick sigh of relieve as the gunship passed by… As it passed on, I lost sight of Zakhaev and become even more nervous… As I looked around through the scope, I noticed he only moved a few metres away… fracking hell, I hate this… I’m getting too old for this shoot…[br]
[br]
As soon as the flag hangs dead on the pole, it seems as if time stopped for a very short moment… I gently squeezed the trigger, and the rifle made an ear deafening noise, as the massive recoil almost threw me across the room. Nevertheless, I managed to look through the scope and saw the bullets flight path. The bullet travelled faster then the speed of sound, so Zakhaev was dead before they heard anything… They started to panic and ran away in different directions as we saw the others coming out from their hiding places… Then I saw the cockpit of the gunship right in front of me…[br]
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