One shot is all it takes

[Roxas65]

Vyxen walked into Gadgetzan from the desert. She pulled down the cloth in front of her face and looked around. The Goblins was all hurrying around, dusting sand of different stands and structures. ”I guess the recent sandstorms have been tough on them as well.” She looked towards the arena in the middle and saw who she was looking for. Gimmy Tintscope, her old gnome friend. He saw her and started making his way towards her. He looked unhappy.

Vyxen couldn't help but smile when she walked to meet him halfway. She knew why he was looking unhappy. It's not good for any gnome to be surrounded by this many goblins. He stopped right in front of her, looking up at her, for him, giant stature.

”My. You're just getting taller every single time I see you.”

Vyxen chuckled. She loved gnomes. They've taught her almost everything she knows and she couldn't help herself laughing around them. Something with their personality was just so pleasing to her.

”Hello. Old Friend.”

Gimmy seemed to become happier at the sigh of Vyxen's smile, even going as far as smile back to at her.

”So, are you gonna tell me why you dragged me here to this sandy place and these. . .Green. . .Greenskins.”

Vyxen chuckled again. Gimmy always tries to be funny, but never succeeds, but he always end up being funny because of it.

”Yes, of course, Gimmy.”

She gestured towards a nearby bench in the shadow of the outer wall and he nodded as they both moved towards the bench and sat down. As soon as they sat down, she handed him a small sack. He looked inside it and suddenly looked overjoyed.

”Potatoes!”

Vyxen found herself laughing, looking at the gnome cramming down one potato after another. Why this gnome loved potatoes so much, she'd never understand.

”Hey, I'd appreaciate if you could actually taste those going down. They're not easy to come by in this desert.”

Gimmy frooze for a second, swallowing the piece of potato in his mouth.

”Sorry, didn't think about that. I guess you're right. So, tell me, what is it that you dragged me all the way from Gnomeregan for?”

Gimmy started to eat the potatoes more like one would eat an apple. Vyxen observed a Goblin as his invention exploded in his face.

”I could've sworn that exact same goblin blew that same invention up in his face last week. . .”

Gimmy snorts with a mouth full of potato.

”That's goblin engineering for you. But you still didn't answer my question.”

Vyxen sighed.

”I suppose. I asked you to come here to teach me how to shoot. . . You know, with a rifle.”

Gimmy widened his eyes and started talking, spitting tiny potato bits around him.

”Teach you how to shoot!? You brought me here for that!? You already know that! You're even quite good at it!”

Vyxen knew he'd react like this. Had she not softened him up with a sack of potatoes first, it'd be much worse.

”Yes, I can fire a rifle. And I can hit a few targets, but nothing like you. I need to be able to hit a can from 70 yards like you can.”

Gimmy looked a little calmer now. Vyxen smirked. Sweet talking always worked on Gimmy.

”Fine. But why did you drag me here? Couldn't you've just shown some courtesy and come to me?”

Vyxen scratched the back of her head.

”Well. . . I've found some friends you see. . .”

”Friends?”

”Yes, they're a group called TECH. We're bulding a Zeppelin!”

Gimmy blinked.

”A zeppelin? Really?”

Vyxen grinned and nodded.

”Yep! But to get there, we'll have to get rid of some. . .Undesireble elements. I wanna be of more help to my friends and I can't leave them here without me, that's why I had to drag you here.”

Gimmy chuckled

”A zeppelin, huh? Interesting. Tell you what, Vyxen. If it was anyone else than you, I'd be gone by now. But you got promise, Kid.”

”Gimmy, I'm thousands of years older than you, stop calling me kid.”

”Quiet, Kid! And you have a noble agenda to. And I guess it's time for me to see the world. Sure, I'll come with you, but this counts as that favor I owe you!”

Vyxen sighed. She had been saving that favor. I guess this was important enough.

”Yeah, yeah.”

Gimmy, grinned. He had been waiting for years to be able to get out of that favor.

”Alright then! Show me what you work with!”

Vyxen pulled her sniper rifle from under her cloak. Gimmy just took a quick look at it before speaking his mind.

”No, no! This won't do at all! We'll have to work on it. Have you made and customizations at all?”

”Yeah, I made the firing mechanism a little more spacious to prevent jamming from sand. It's needed out here.”

Gimmy pondered.

”Good call, kid. But it isn't enough. We have to tint that scope, give it a new paint job and give it a longer barrel. Maybe a new and sturdier folding stock too. Yeah. . . To begin with.”

Vyxen was smiling widely now. She had been waiting for months to learn more of Gimmy's rifle costumizations. If Vyxen would ever have an idol, he was it.

”As you say, Gimmy. You're calling the shots here.”

Gimmy chuckled.

”Shots. Hehe. I saw what you did there. Alright, Kid! Are you ready to start your training?”

Vyxen shivered in delight, her whole face showing just how overjoyed she was that this went well.

”Hell yes!”

[Roxas65]

Vyxen was taking some time off the work on the Zeppelin to train with Gimmy. She was excited. She had barely had any time to train with him during these last busy weeks, but now she was allowed to train with Gimmy. Gimmy had also been annoyed. He wanted Vyxen to train with him or it felt like his time spent there was useless.

She ran back to the camp where Gimmy was waiting. He had put up several dummys made from sandbags and sticks. Vyxen looked at them and adressed Gimmy, who was in the works of digging through some box Vyxen had never seen before.

”What's that all about?”

He looked up at her and she nodded towards the dummies.

”Target practice of course. What, this heat has started eating away at your brain.”

Vyxen chuckled and got her rifle off her back. It seemed to get Gimmy's attention.

”You modified it any?”

Vyxen nodded with a smile.

”Yeah, I extended the barrel with about two and a half inches.”

Gimmy walked over to her from the box and grabbed it. He inspected the barrel for about ten seconds.

”It's a start.”

He gave her rifle back and she grabbed it and smiled. Vyxen knew that meant ”Good job!” in Gimmy's own little language. She watched him return to the box and pulled his own rifle from inside it.

”I got it sent here. I just re-assembled it.”

Vyxen almost broke out in laughter.

”Gimmy! That barrel is ridiculously long! That gun is twice your height!”

He scoffed.

”It doesn't matter much. Now, I want you to shoot the head of that dummy in the least amount of possible shots. Also, take that silly scope of and attach this.”

He threw a scope her way and Vyxen caught it and inspected it. It was one of Gimmy's own tinted scopes, excellent for desert or snowland operations.

”Thanks, Gimmy!”

She pulled her screwdriver from her belt and detached the old scope and attached the new one. After that, she nodded at him and went prone in the sand. She placed one of the dummy's head in her scope and fire one, two, three, four shots as quick as she could, ejecting and inserting every cartridge manually. The first shot it it in the upper right, the second upper left, the third one the lower right and the last shoot hit it in the lower left. The head was completely blown off.

Vyxen raised her head and looked at the dummy. She allowed herself to grin. It was a pretty good siplay, she thought. . .Until Gimmy smacked her over the head.

”Ow, what gives!?”

”Four shots!? I said the least amount of possible shots!”

”Take a look! There's no head left!”

Gimmy sighed.

”Observe.”

He kneeled and readied hiw own rifle. He aimed for a few seconds, breathing slowly before firing a single shot that penetrated the dummy's ”neck” making the head topple down from the dummy. He ejected the smoking cartridge and got to his feet and raised his index finger at Vyxen.

”One. . .Shot.”

Vyxen didn't know what to say. She was completely dumbfounded.

”I. . .err. . . Shit. . . How did you make that shot?”

Gimmy was looking serious.

”Remember this Vyxen, because this'll most likely be the most important part of your training. EVERYTHING has a weakspot. Ever creature, every object, everything. You need to learn to find them and hit them on anything you feel like pointing your rifle towards, because felling an opponent in one shot is crucial. That way they won't have time to advance on you.”

Vyxen opened her mouth to speak but didn't for moment, then smiled at him.

”Who are you talking to, Gimmy? Of course I'll remember it.”

Gimmy blinked at her and started laughing.

”Of course! What a fool I am! Come on! I want you to fell the dummies with a single shot!”

Vyxen and Gimmy trained late into the night.

[Roxas65]

Vyxen had just been woken up by Gimmy and she was heading onto the deck with her trusty rifle after taking a bit of fresh air on the zeppelin's balcony. Gimmy had luckily been sleeping below deck when they made their escape from the bandits in Tanaris. For a second, Vyxen had thought they had left him. It seems you could always count on Gimmy's laziness to save his own ass.

Vyxen laughed as she came out on the deck. Gimmy was already there.

”Something funny?”

Vyxen looked at him, he was doing something, but she couldn't figure out what.

”No, I just thought of something funny. What're you up to?”
”Setting up targets of course.”

Vyxen watched as Gimmy let what looked like a balloon with a target hanging from it into the air. When she looked closer, she noticed that there was an entire row of them floating behind the zeppelin.

”You want me to shoot those?”
”No, I just like balloons. Course I want you to shoot them. But first! Have you modified your rifle anything?”

Vyxen showed him her now heavily modified rifle.

”Yeah, I put some springs in the folding stock and a muzzle break on the barrel.”
”Excellent! Recoil won't be as tough on you now, however, there are a few things you should consider with a muzzle break. First of all, sound. Before now, all the gas and sound was vented forwards, now it's vented out the sides of the barrel. This means that the sound will hit you harder than before and your mates even harder. Just be ready for a much louder bang when firing.”

Vyxen nodded at him.

”There's another thing you should consider with a muzzle break, but I'll take that another time. Now! Shoot one of the targets!”

Vyxen smiled at Gimmy and stepped up to the railing of the zeppelin. She knelt and rested her rifle on the railing. She took aim and took a shot at the closest target. She hit and the target separated from the balloon and fell towards the ground as the balloon rose up further into the air. Vyxen was just about to take aim again when Gimmy hit her over the head.

”Ow! What now!?”
”Fire at the one furthest away, Idiot! My Granny Twinkletoes could take that shot! Give the closest targets time to get further away, shoot the one in the distance."
”But. . . Those are more than a hundred yards away. . ."
”So? Take aim dammit.”

Vyxen took aim for the target furthest away. It was just a tiny speck in her sight. She fired and missed. She reloaded as Gimmy started to guide her. ”Come on. Take deep breaths. It doesn't make your scope move that much..” Vyxen did as she said and took deep breaths. ”then hold your breath.” Vyxen kept her last breath in. ”Get it in your sights.” Vyxen had it perfectly in her sight. ”And calmly squeeeeze the trigger.” Vyxen fired the bullet flew to the distance and she saw the balloon pop.

”Well. . .You didn't hit the target under the balloon, but hey! It's a start! Good job!”

Vyxen lowered her rifle and looked towards the balloons.

”Wow. I didn't know I could take that shot. . .”
”Well. . .Keep going! I want you to be able to make that shoot one-hundred percent of the time!”

Vyxen nodded and pulled the bolt of her rifle, ejecting the empty cartridge and quickly inserted a new one into the chamber. She took aim yet again.