Pheonix Gold

Chapter 1

"Tell me you didn't just call me up here at two o'clock in the morning for just another pathetic glitch!"
" No! Its not a glitch this time! I think we may have figured something out"
" Well....?"
" Well, as you know, we have been finding a lot of glitches in the system as of late but they all turn out to be purposeful manipulative pockets in order to promote more aggressive play tha...."
"I don't need to know a history of your last three unfruitful years of delinquency. What in the hell was so important that you had to pull me from Sentra and such and hour!"
"Well we think that by manipulating all the so called glitches at once and in a specific direction, we may be able to gain access to the brain of it all."
"Ok.... then why haven't you already done so?"
" Well ..... the thing is...... we don't know if we have found all of the glitches, and even then we don't know how deep into the brain we will have to go"

"And once again, Chad, you have proven yourself to be a useless bundle of falling short! Don't speak to me again until you have found all of the glitches! Kringe is waiting on results and if you fail me it will come after me and kill you! I need these results now!"

"I just need time to find the glitches and then the hard let should be over."

"I was going to wait until morning to tell you this but Kringe is coming by in October and I hope that you can get somewhere in 6 months or you are through."

"You know that's impossible! This is the most advanced technology the world has ever seen! It took thousands of programmers and developers nearly four decades to create this thing and you want me to dig through every line of code and every piece of data in six months?! That's crazy even for you!"

"Six months Chad...... or it's over, and I'll be damned if he doesn't get rid of you before he gets rid of me"
.....................................
A low, deep hum filled the otherwise silent and stagnant air as the giant, steel door lowered. Parker shook off the shivers as he attempted to steel himself for what was to come. The remote ultra-photochromic facial lens of his helmet was completely opaque, leaving him and his 5 teammates in complete darkness until the game was to begin. He heard heavy breathing as they too began to prepare themselves for the inevitable pain that awaited them. Although it would only be temporary and the thrill well worth it, pain is still pain.
THIRTY. SECONDS. Sounded the familiar mechanical voice.
"YOU READY BOYS!", shouted Eddie.
A loud echo of battlecry-like screams and shouts filled the seemingly vacant area.
"WHAT WE GONNA DO!"
BRING THE PAIN
"WHAT WE GONNA DO!"
BRING THE PAIN!
"WHAT?!"
BRING THE PAIN!!!
"HOW WE GONNA DO IT BOYS?!?!"
GO INSANE!!!!!!!!
Once again the space was filled with a loud roar of shouts. The battle cry seemed to invigorate the team's souls. It made them come alive. The team might have been blind, but the resonating shouts made them aware of each other.
FIVE...FOUR....THREE...... TWO......ONE.......
The team went silent as small bits of almost undetectable light began to slowly brighten as a second chain link gate began to descend in front of them. By the it became level with the ground, the images of a lush deciduous forest came into focus and four of the teammates immediately looked towards Eddie and await his signal. Although they were all dressed in black battle gear from head to toe, Eddie stood out as a tall figure with a stature of pure confidence and determination; a true embodiment of leadership.
     On Eddie's signal the team entered the thick forest in a wide but carefully formulated formation, taking each step with care and precision as to remain silent.  Upon stepping from the cold concrete onto the warm moist soil Parker gripped the red handles in his hand with more purpose, but not so much as to eject the razor sharp, circular blades contained with in.  This was his moment, His first qualifying match in the league, and his chance to prove that all of the time and training invested in his worth with the Scarlet Phantoms.
     After skillfully and silently stalking through the thick overgrown forest floor, Eddie suddenly froze and raised his fist.  When the team obediently followed, he pointed at Wayne ant then Robert and then skyward.  Upon the signal, both began to reach for small cylinders on their belts and hit one end on their free palm causing three prongs to protrude from the opposite end which they removed and began to spin them around on a hairline string and throwing them into the air.  When the grappling hooks caught, they began climbing into the canopy above.
     Parker strained to hear or see anything through the thickets and shrubbery but stood with his two sheathed weapons without any idea where the enemy way or from where they would come.  The anticipation and anxiety was almost unbearable.  He knew that Eddie wouldn't lead the team astray but he also knew that Eddie had a reputation being one of the most successful captains in the league.  Everyone knew he was on his way to the pros, and this meant that if you could take him or his team out,  you would have the same reputation, so cheap-shots and low-balls were always possible.
     The team creeped ever so slowly forward until suddenly stopping again. The reason for stopping was soon realized as Eddie reaches down to his side and removed a cylinder from his belt and threw it like a football into what appeared as just another thicket.  Almost immediately after the cylinder left his hand it stretched out in to a long pointed javelin.  The reason for attacking the seemingly harmless bush was soon realized when the groaning grey figure fell on its side like a marionette that was just cut from its strings.
No later than the javelin penetrated the the heart of its target had the Scarlet Phantoms sprung into action. Parker had the left flank of Eddie and quickly dove outward just as practiced in training. Some teams often waited for the first strike in order to pin point the position of the opposition, so the sooner that position changed, the better the odds were, and sure enough, an expertly launched arrow missed his head by mere moments. If he didn't act fast, the next was sure to not run astray.
While still suspended in his dive, Parker slammed the two handles in his hands on his thighs releasing the circular blades making an almost hatchet like weapon. As soon as he hit the ground, he curled into a roll and sprang back o to his feet. He had seen a flash of blue and threw one of his hatchets towards it which planes itself in the upper shoulder of his opponent causing him to flinch just long enough to receive the second consecutive blow expertly placed between the eyes.
Parker then reached for another cylinder on his thigh which when unsheathed, became a six inch dueling blade. He had to retrieve his hatchets before anyone else did and any moment unarmed meant death. He sprinted forward toward the lifeless body that held his weapons in its flesh. Just as he reached for the handle of the hatchet, he was tackled to the ground. On the ground Parker looked to the yellow line that crossed his attacker's helmet and winced as the long silver edge of the black blade of the Katana that was destined to cleanly split his skull caught his eye.
His attacker had his arms pinned to his sides leaving him with no leverage to fight. The blade came careening down but then lost all momentum. The yellow striped helmet now had a kind black arrow shaft with red fletching protruding from its crown. Looking past the arrow above Parker saw Robert in the tree tops pull another arrow from his quiver as he selected his next target.
There was no time to waste, as Parker threw the now dead body off of himself and lunges for his own weapons. Upon getting ahold of the first, he jerked them from their resting place and spun around just in time to duck a careening scimitar. While low, he swung and sliced the blue striped calf of his new assailant who fell backwards and received the thrown six inch duel blade in the heart.
Two blue down, thought Parker, not bad bad for the fir....
"HEAD"
Parker dropped to a squat and turned to see the threat.  A true-bladed boomerang was speeding in his direction but thanks to the warning he was now below its trajectory.  Then came the sharp inexplicable pain that made him feel like vomiting if it were possible.  The boomerang had sliced almost effortlessly through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter.
     The world was making summersaults until his head landed on the ground before his body. He saw Roj and his blades staff rushing to make a swift vengeful finish to Parker's finisher.  All the vibrant greens and reds of the bloody forest started to fade into black and white.  How could........ he could no longer think as the whole scene went dim and then to nothing.