#hate that there's no nice up close full shot of this uniform so the unfocused shots have to do

[betmyfortune]

Ben and Felix (beginning draft)

The world shook at the seams as lightning thrashed down onto the jungle floor with a vengeful fury, setting grass and trees ablaze for a moment before the torrential rain put it out and ash mixed with the mud, creating a thick, unholy gloop. FX-G0711 was huddled in a cave with what was left with his squadron, each clutching their weapons with wide eyes and shaking arms. He wasn’t sure where the others were, but he prayed to whatever higher power there was that they were dead. FW-GO711 sidled up beside him and murmured “FX, we can’t stay here forever.” As much as FX hated to admit it, FW was right. They’d all witnessed first-hand that these tunnels tended to vomit out lava when a Bantam soldier stayed in its maw for too long. Humans always had a way to make them fight, whether they liked it or not. FX crept to the mouth of the tunnel and glanced out. The rain and thunder made it hard to tell if there was anything around, but he was pretty sure the coast was clear. He ducked back in. “Okay squad, lets move it!” He snapped “If we stay in here, we’re going to die. The coast outside is clear as far as I can tell, so I want you all to stick together. Try not to get separated.” He received various nods and murmurs of agreement from the others. He was glad they were following his orders so willingly. He wasn’t usually in charge but ever since FY-G0711 and FZ-G0711 died- No, he wasn’t thinking about that right now. He had a squad to lead. They were counting on it. “I hope that our fight ends soon, one way or another.” He said more gently, before turning and leading the way out of their save haven. Immediately FX’s senses were overwhelmed by all the noise and turmoil. He tried to stay sharp as he led his team through the thick jungle at a light jog, his boots almost getting lost in the mud every second step. He had no idea where they were or really where they were going, but he hoped it was the right way. There was a huge boom and an explosion of fire not far to the left of the group as lightning struck at the ground in rage. They all nervously veered away and continued their path. Every nerve in FX’s body was taught with stress before something finally happened. They saw another squad up ahead, a small one like theirs, just as wet and miserable as FX’s group. FX held up his fist to halt and smoothly shouldered his rifle. The others did the same. There was time. The hadn’t seen him yet, he could just slink away and pretend he had seen nothing. He had a choice… FX fired the first shot. In the following chaos of gunfire, FX’s mind was a blur. He had no idea who was winning or losing, all he knew was that he was alive, and he had to keep firing. Bang! One down, Bang! Two down. The fight was over almost before it began. FX gazed at the other squad’s bodies blankly before turning to his own group. There were several major injuries and two dead. FS-G0711 and FN-GO711. He sighed and looked away. “Who has the first aid kit?” He asked “We have to get these wounds treated now before they-“

KAPOW!

FX had no clue what had happened. There was a loud sound, and everyone went flying. FX felt an intense searing pain in his back before he landed on his belly and felt something in his chest snap. He gasped, struggling to breathe. He tried to yell out, but it just came out as a tired wheeze that he felt more than heard due to the intense ringing in his ears. His vision tunnelled, going black around the edges. Is this finally it? He wondered idly Is this what dying feels like? The pain had dulled right down to a background throb and FX sighed. Finally. Was the last coherent thought he had before everything went black.

“FX-G0711? Hey there bud can you hear me? Come on, wake up!” An overly cheery voice broke through to FX and he groaned, scrunching his eyes closed. “Come on buddy, you’ve been asleep long enough, up we get!” He mumbled something about his back, even he wasn’t quite sure what he said and opened his eyes. FX blinked a few times, his gaze assaulted by a bright, clinical whiteness surrounding him entirely. “There we go dove! You’re such a good patient, well done.” The chipper voice belonged to a nurse who was bustling about his bed, checking his vitals and adjusting the bedsheets. FX blinked a few more times before he found the ability to speak. “Where… What?” The nurse shushed him “Now, now doll, you’ve just woken up! Have a drink first hmm?” She handed him a tinfoil cup full of water and he grabbed it, only now realizing how thirsty he was. He gulped down the life giving liquid with reckless abandon that soothed his parched throat and wet his cracked lips. It was gone all too soon and FX sighed, handing the cup back. “Where am I?” He croaked “The last thing I remember was the Thunderdome and… Where’s my squad?” The room was closed off by a plain white curtain so he couldn’t see anything else. The nurse shook her head good-naturedly. “Right down to business huh? Well right now you’re in the Thunderdome recovery centre. You’ve been asleep a few days but that’s understandable considering the burns and the broken rib. That must’ve hurt right hon?” FX remembered “Yeah. What happened to us? Was it a bomb?” “No, just some rouge lightning. There were a lot of those, honestly I feel like the lightning won the game more than anything else!” She chuckled at her own joke, but FX didn’t join in. “Who won?” He asked, but he didn’t particularly care too much. “Oh it was that rookie fella. What was his name? Flynn Skylark I think.” FX grunted. It was all for nothing then. The other team won. He wondered how Tony was taking the loss. Hopefully he wouldn’t take it out on the Bantams too harshly. “It was pretty crazy” The nurse continued, unperturbed by his silence “Skylark lured Adams into a trap and took out all of his soldiers!” That got his attention. “I’m sorry, what?” “Oh yeah, no one saw it coming. Now Tony Adams has only a couple dozen Bantams left! He’s ruined!” FX felt the colour drain from his face. No… nonononono… words could not describe-! He felt his stomach tighten and he sagged in abysmal despair. “Oh no, what’s wrong honey?” the nurse fret “The medication wear off?” “Gone… They’re all…” He could barely think straight “Where’s my squad? Where are they?!” The nurse seemed taken aback “Um, well dearie there isn’t really an easy way to answer that one…” He growled and lunged forward, dragging her towards him by the front of her shirt. She yelped.

“Where. Are. They.”

“They didn’t make it! I’m sorry!”

FX let her, go, slumping back in defeat. She retreated from the room with a whimper.

All of them. Every single one. They’re all gone….

His squad. His brothers. He’d known them since the day he was born and now they were just… gone? Because of some fucking game?!

He wanted to scream, to kick and punch, but he just lay there. He was tired. So, so tired…

It didn’t take long for FX to drift off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

He stayed at the recovery centre for a few days, slowly but surely getting stronger and more alert. He never had the same nurse twice, and he never bothered to remember their names if they told him. He barely ate but drank a lot of water. He spent several afternoons staring at the scars on his back with the mirror he had been supplied with. “Honestly I have no idea how it even happened” One of the nurses said while unbandaging his back for the first time. This nurse was a male, which was uncommon but not unheard of. “I mean, there’s no way that lightning could leave scars that look like this, so something else must have done it. Maybe bits of wood from a tree? Either way, you’re back is permanently scarred.”

He finished taking off the bandage and held up a full-length mirror behind FX. He’d had to twist his head at an awkward angle to see it but when he did he gave a small gasp. There were a trio of ling angry scars raked diagonally across his back, one going from his left shoulder to his hip, and the other two mirroring it on either side, but not as long.

“At least you’ll have to admit,” The nurse commented hesitantly “It is a pretty cool scar.”

FX had turned away and put his shirt back on, crawling back into his bed without saying a word.

“Oh, okay bud. I’m going to get you something to eat, can you try just have a little bit of something today?”

FX said nothing.

It had been three days since and his back was healing nicely, along with his broken rib. He barely felt either anymore, for which he was glad. The nurses had wanted to keep him in recovery for a while longer but apparently Tony Adams was becoming… impatient and wanted all his Bantam soldiers back into is possession sooner rather than later. So today was the day that FX-G0711 finally went back to his cold an empty Toybox.

FX was presented with a fresh new uniform that morning to change into that smelt faintly of oranges that he gratefully changed into before he was ushered to the pickup section of the centre. It was a door that lead onto a large flat platform, like a helicopter pad but without the markings. There were railings on the sides of it but not the front and it looked over an unfathomably giant room. On the other side of the room, opposite to the centre were a set of plain white double doors. The rest of the room was also white and unfurnished.

FX looked around for anyone else, but he was completely alone. He gazed at the edge of the platform with longing, wanting nothing more than to just… take a few steps forward and-

But no. He couldn’t. If he killed himself, then the humans won. He was not about to let his brothers die in vain.

So, FX stood there, at attention, and waited for his fate.

And waited

…and waited.

It was nearing dusk before anything happened. FX, still at attention flinched as, with an almighty bang, the double doors at the end of the room flew open.

Tony stumbled in his eyes unfocused and his black suit rumpled. He was a heavy-set man, but not quite ‘fat’ with dirty blonde hair like straw, blue eyes and a thick, well groomed moustache. FX had only seen the man a few times in his life and each encounter had him feeling a pit of dread well up in his stomach.

Tony lurched forward, his gaze locking onto FX-G0711’s tiny form and looming over him. The man reeked of booze and smoke.

“Enjoy you’re vacation Little?” Tony asked, using the popular slur. “Cuz it’s over now.”

The subtle threatening tone hung over FX like a weighted fog but he didn’t answer, continuing to stare straight ahead with the blankest expression he could muster.

After a pause Tony snorted and gathered FX into a loose fist. The Bantam had to squash every instinct to struggle in his grasp and instead went limp, allowing Tony full control, just as he had been trained to.

“Goddamnit… forgot the damn... Toybox…” Tony muttered before stuffing FX unceremoniously into the pocket inside his suit jacket.

FX couldn’t help his small yelp at the sudden drop and landed on Tony’s keys. The unyielding metal jarred his legs and he stumbled backward into the other corner of the pocket among loose lint and a few mint wrappers. The pocket lurched and swayed jarringly with Tony’s every drunken step, making FX feel sick to his stomach before they had even gotten to the car.

The ride back home was short yet tense as FX felt his mind begin to spiral out of control. What was Tony planning to do with him? Would he be punished? Sold off? Tortured? The possibilities were endless.

He was jarred back to reality when Tony opened the car door and moved to what FX assumed was his front door. Adams fumbled with his keys for a beat too long before he found the right one.

(tbc?)