In December, War Zone was held at the start of the month instead of at the end of November. Regardless, scavengers came from near and far to witness or participate in the event. Participants were divided into two teams who took their places on either side of the arena to choose their captains and designate a rifle-bearer (if someone had enough slugs or bullets and could shoot straight). Team One was Aposiopesis Fullstop (captain), Spotz Sporg, Leovinus Skytower, Rainbow Pirandello, Dassina Andel and cat Yuhara. The ranks of Team Two were filled by Psycho Baroque (captain), Cigi Sahara, theblackcloud Oh, Tokiko Tigerpaw, KittyKat Borkotron, and Mythil Woyseck.
BATTLE 1
Dassina and Aposiopesis were the first to jump into the arena, its floor tiles arranged in the “test arena” configuration. They exchanged the flag but got hung up at the exit portal where theblackcloud Oh stole it and ran north. Leovinus fired at her with his ripper and Dassina closed in on her pursuit as the chase rounded Hambone Hill. Tokiko received the flag from theblackcloud only to have Leovinus steal it away and run south. He eventually falls, sick from the flag’s radiation.
Dassina quickly retrieved the flag from her fallen comrade and scampered across the quarry, leaping and jumping her way to the strange colosseum’s upper balcony for a moment before moving north, popping a medkit along the way. Cigi closed on her but Spotz moved in to guard Dassina’s flank while shots rang out from Psycho’s rifle. His bullets missed their mark as the elusive tigress retreated through the north garrison, using its walls for cover. She slipped out the back and over the fence to run south along the pipeline. Nails whizzed through the air as she jumped along the metal structure snaking over the sand. Cigi caught her off guard though and stole the flag, quickly running up over Hambone Hill and turning south again.
Cigi, joined by theblackcloud, ran into Leovinus who stole away the flag and retraced their path. He circled often to twist up his pursuers who would collide and strike against one another. Leovinus fell from the flag sickness again near the pipeline which enabled Dassina to regain the flag once more. She hurled herself into the arena and she fell upon a landmine. The blast from the trap knocked her unconscious just as time ran out. Team One decisively won this battle and the warriors crawled to the healing masheen to mend their wounds.
BATTLE 2
At the sound of the buzzer, Cigi leaped into the Russian Roulette of the Potato Farm to get the flag. She quickly lost it to Leovinus who dashed off to the northwest, closely pursued and overtaken by Mythil. Mythil’s claim to the flag was short-lived as Rainbow intercepted and stole the flag. The agile manimal scrambled down into the quarry around Hambone Hill, moving northeast. Rainbow jumped over the garrison fence but Cigi was there to take the flag and move back to the west with theblackcloud covering her tracks. Rainbow retaliated with shots from her nailgun while pursuing the Savage Gypsy. KittyKat covered the Gypsy’s retreat with her slugthrower. Cigi evaded the nails by turning around west of the quarry and returning north.
Leovinus managed to catch up to Cigi and steal the flag but turned to run straight into Psycho who filled him full of slugs. Leo stumbles past the deadly slugthrower but Tokiko stole it and passed it to Mythil. The manimal sprinted up over the pipeline and headed east to the arena with everyone closing in on the pursuit. He skillfully dodged them and turned back to the west, running towards the quarry. Under the pipeline, the warriors collided and Rainbow slipped out, flag in hand. Tokiko stole it back briefly to pass it back to Mythil again who took off to the east. The flag changed hands again via Leovinus and he ran to the west, skirting the southern border. Tokiko and Leovinus wrestled over the flag, the radiation-tainted banner changing hands back and forth until Dassina finally claimed it and rushed away to the northeast for a long possession until she fell from radiation sickness.
Theblackcloud was there to snatch up the flag as Kittykat’s slugs zipped through the air to cover her but the battle soon ended as time ran out and Team One proved victorious to win this War Zone.
BATTLE 3
The third battle was conducted for fun only since the victor was already decided. Everyone wore fistwraps and the battle lasted for only 5 minutes (instead of the typical 10 minutes).At the buzzer, many jumped in with Dassina taking the flag. She escaped with little resistance and ran north along the pipeline and jumped up to one of the garrison rooftops for a brief rest. Soon, she ran on to the south with Leovinus covering her flank. She quickly doubled back as the warriors gained on her but soon fell from the flag’s deadly radiation. Mythil picked up the flag and ran north, passing it to Tokiko who lost it again to the sneaky Rainbow. Rainbow twisted and turned her pursuit as she doubled back repeatedly in various directions. She finally lost the flag to Cigi at the border. The Savage Gypsy ran north with the flag until time ran out. Team One was once again the victor in this battle.
Afterward, the two teams gathered near the Potato Farm for their rewards: the Victor’s Platter or the Loser’s Platter. Both plates are piled with ammo, medkits, food, and sometimes weapons…the spoils divided among the team by their captains.
((War Zone typically takes place at 3PM SLT/PST on every fourth (or last) Saturday of the month at the Potato Farm in Hambone Slash.))