Meta vs. Carolina: Dawn of Awesome is a special crossover episode of Red vs. Blue and ScrewAttack's animated fight-to-the-death series Death Battle. It is the thirteenth episode of Red vs. Blue: Season 14. It aired on July 31, 2016 for sponsors, August 1st, 2016 for RT members, August 3, 2016 for the ScrewAttack website and August 7, 2016 for the general public for Rooster Teeth website.
Characters[]
Reds and Blues[]
- Sarge
- Grif
- Simmons
- Caboose
- Epsilon
- Carolina
- Donut (Archived footage)
- Lopez (Archived footage)
- Alpha (Archived footage)
- Tucker (Archived footage)
- Washington (Archived footage)
- Doc (Archived footage)
Project Freelancer[]
- Meta
- Beta
- Eta
- Iota
- Theta
- Delta
- Omega
- Sigma
- Gamma
- Director (Archived footage)
- Counselor (Archived footage)
- York (Archived footage)
- North Dakota (Archived footage)
- South Dakota (Archived footage)
- Wyoming (Archived footage)
- Florida (Archived footage)
- C.T. (Archived footage)
- Four Seven Niner (Archived footage)
Charon Industries[]
- Demo Man (Archived footage)
- Sleeveless Insurrection Soldier (Archived footage)
- Sharkface (Archived footage)
- Rhee Sebiel (Archived footage)
- Felix (Mentioned only)
- Locus (Mentioned only)
Chorus[]
Other[]
- V.I.C. (Voice only)
- Wiz
- Boomstick
- Allison Church (Archived footage)
- Tex Drones (Archived footage)
Plot[]
Grif and Simmons debate who would win in a fight: the Meta (Grif's choice) or Carolina (Simmons's choice). Caboose, upon hearing the debate, realizes they are talking about a Death Battle, and quickly calls in from command Wiz and Boomstick from ScrewAttack's Death Battle series.
The two summarize the different abilities of the Meta and Carolina while also showing off each respective characters' weapons; Boomstick keeps demonstrating using Grif, be it shooting him with the Brute Shot, a shotgun, or having Caboose fire a tank at him; he takes a strange form of sadistic pleasure in this.
After the summaries are finished, the scenario begins. Carolina and Epsilon are practicing in the wreck of the Mother of Invention and discussing what movie to watch that night when the Meta enters, leading into the fight. Though ultimately the two are fairly evenly matched in their abilities, in the end Epsilon is able to distract the Meta long enough for Carolina to shoot his head off with the Brute Shot. Exhausted, she tells Epsilon to not pick any action movies.
The Reds and Blues are impressed, though Grif cannot believe the Meta could not win, especially since he was much stronger than Carolina. Wiz and Boomstick acknowledge this, but explain Carolina's maintactical advantage comes from her relationship with her AI unit: while the Meta had more AI and thus more access to his equipment, he also had a chaotic range of voices crowded inside his head. Carolina on the other hand has managed to build up a strong relationship with Epsilon, and thus was able to form a new plan of attack when her own strength could not beat the Meta's.
Sarge comes in, angry that Grif and Simmons are "fraternizing" with Caboose. Wiz and Boomstick calm him down, explaining they are from command. Boomstick compliments Sarge's shotgun; Sarge comments Boomstick reminds him of the son he never wanted; Boomstick replies Sarge reminds him of his father who ran off when he was a kid to join the army and never returned.
Sarge awkwardly backs out of the base. Boomstick: "What a nice guy!"
Transcript[]
Vic: "Who would win in a fight?" Now, if that's not the most popular question asked around Project Freelancer, I don't know what is. Oh! No, wait—it'd probably be "Hey, where do these AI keep coming from?" or "Have you noticed that we're looking pretty evil lately?" Anyway, there's been plenty of action-packed punch-outs and kick-ass karate matches over the years, but we never really saw a match-up between two of our heaviest hitters: Carolina and the Meta. Let's see if we can do something about that.
The words "Meta vs. Carolina: Dawn of Awesome" float into frame. Cut to Valhalla, where Grif and Simmons are seen standing at Red base.
Grif: Hey.
Simmons: Yeah?
Grif: You ever wonder...who'd win in a fight between Carolina and the Meta?
Simmons: Pfft, no! Only hopeless nerds on the Internet care about that kind of crap.
Grif: Uh, yeah. Why do you think I'm asking you? Come on, picture it. It'd be totally bad-ass!
Simmons: Well, yeah, I'd guess... Carolina would definitely win though.
Grif: Bullshit! You're just picking her because you're scared of girls! Meta's WAY scarier. He threw a Warthog at me!
Simmons: Oh, I didn't realize "scariness" was the deciding factor in a fight to the fucking death! Genius!
Caboose: Hey Reds! What are you talking about?
Simmons: Oh, Grif was just asking what would happen if Carolina and Meta fought.
Caboose: Fought who?
Simmons: One another.
Caboose: Another who?
Simmons: What?!
Caboose! What?
Grif: Just ignore him.
Caboose: Oh... you mean DEATH BATTLE!?
Simmons: I mean, sure?
Caboose: Oh! Awesome! Hang on, I know some smart people that can help! Be right back!
Simmons: Do you have any idea what he's talking about?
Grif: No, but I DO know that you're still fucking wrong.
Caboose: Okay, I'm back.
Simmons: That was fast.
Caboose: Yep, I called Command and they sent two of their best scientist fighting people to help us!
Simmons: Their best? Really?!
Boomstick: And THAT'S how you write your name in buckshot.
Wiz: Alright, alright, enough screwing around. We've got a job to do.
Boomstick: Oh, fine...
Grif: I think you're forgetting that Command's best is just a step up from incompetent.
Simmons: They sent us Donut.
Grif: I rest my case.
Caboose: Introducing... Jizz and Broomstick! Ick, ick, ick, ick...
Wiz: It's "Wiz" and "Boomstick".
Grif: Wow, those are the dumbest names I've ever heard.
Simmons: Franklin. Delano. Donut.
Grif: ...And I retract my previous statement.
Boomstick: Yeah, well you've got the dumbest face I've ever seen.
Grif: Uh, I thought you were supposed to be smart. I'm wearing a helmet.
Caboose: Oh my God, me too!
Simmons: Alright, so how do you guys do this? You just, like, draw names out of a hat? Count some chicken bones around?
Wiz: It's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a DEATH BATTLE!
Simmons: Why did you say it like that?!
Boomstick: Just... j-just watch.
Death Battle starts with the Meta's analysis
Wiz: Before there was Red vs. Blue, there was Project Freelancer. The Freelancers were highly trained soldiers with experimental weaponry and a mission so secret, not even they knew what it was.
Boomstick: Kind of stupid in hindsight, but these were true soldiers. The biggest and strongest of them all was Agent Maine.
Wiz: Maine was the muscle of the team, relying on his brute strength, wrestling styles and his unwavering ferocity to intimidate and crush his foes.
Boomstick: While he likes carrying an M6G magnum pistol into battle, he really likes a certain alien grenade launcher he stole, the Type-25 Grenade Launcher, A.K.A the Brute Shot.
Back to Red vs. Blue
Boomstick: I mean, seriously, look at this thing! It's got a blade and can fire up to four rounds in three seconds. Let's test that, shall we?
Grif: Hey! That's mine! Give it back!
Boomstick fires the Brute Shot at Grif
Grif: AHH!! OWW!
Boomstick: *sigh* Well, in conclusion, I love this thing.
Resumes Death Battle segment
Boomstick: So, the guy was a badass fighter. Too bad Project Freelancer ended up turning him into a monster.
Wiz: Long story short, the Director of Project Freelancer received a rare artificial intelligence for testing.
Boomstick: The Director imagined an army of super soldiers paired with A.Is but he can only get the one.
Wiz: Being the... resourceful... scientist he was, the Director decided to torture the A.I, forcing it to separate it's raw emotions into multiple personalities to save itself. These personalities were captured as individual A.I fragments and paired with different freelancers. Trust me, that's science.
Boomstick: Maine was given Sigma, the A.I fragment representing ambition and creativity. And apparently, being creative means you're fucking evil.
Wiz: Desperate to gather his fellow A.I fragments and reform into a perfect A.I, Sigma manipulated and brainwashed Maine, turning him into the murdering psychopath known as The Meta.
Boomstick: The Meta went on a rampage, betraying his fellow Freelancers and stealing their A.Is. It was like the Predator, but tougher, meaner and with tons of overpowered equipment.
Wiz: His Domed Energy Shield creates a nigh impregnable force field.
Boomstick: It can block bullets, explosions and even shells from tanks.
Back to Red vs. Blue
Boomstick: Allow us to demonstrate.
Boomstick places a domed energy shield around Grif
Boomstick: Here's Grif inside an energy shield...
Grif: Yeah. So?
Caboose gets into a tank.
Boomstick: ...and here's a tank operated by Caboose.
Caboose: And what could go wrong?
Grif: Oh shit.
Caboose: Fire in the hole, in-1!
Caboose fires at Grif, completely missing the shield.
Grif: Phew...
Boomstick: Let's try that again, Blue buddy.
Caboose: Yes sir, Captain Deadpan!
The shield runs out of energy and drops.
Grif: Huh? Wait, it ran out of—GYAAAH!!!
Caboose fires again, squarely hitting Grif.
Boomstick: Now, if the energy shield had been there, Grif would've been fine.
Caboose: Wow. Science is fun!
Simmons: (off-screen) I've said it for years!
Resumes Death Battle segment.
Wiz: As if that weren't enough, The Meta's Active Camouflage turns him practically invisible, his Strength Boost enhancement grants him, well, super strength, and, most impressively, his Temporal Distortion device can slow time to a crawl.
Boomstick: He can turn invisible and stop time? This guys sounds unstoppable!
Wiz: Unfortunately, running so much equipment alongside so many AI fragments consumes a lot of power. But, that hasn't stopped him from killing several Freelancers and stealing seven other AIs.
Boomstick: Not to mention the dude can take a hit and keep on going, even when that hit is taking nine shots point-blank to the neck. Man, and I thought my voice made my throat hurt. No wonder he never talks.
Wiz: The only thing that could stop him was in a couple of idiots stabbed him in the chest, tied him to a car, and threw that car off a cliff into the freezing ocean.
Boomstick: But let's be fair, Wiz, that's a pretty fucking hardcore way to go.
Maine jumps on the hood of Rhee Sebiel's car and stabs him with the bayonet of his brute shot.
Back to Red vs. Blue
Grif: Hey, wait a minute! Where'd you get all this footage? Have you been spying on us?
Wiz: Don't worry about it.
Carolina's Analysis Section
Wiz: Leading the troops of Project Freelancer, Agent Carolina was supposedly the best of the best. She commanded the team through many successful missions, mastered several martial arts, and her top spot on the leaderboard seemed untouchable.
Boomstick: Until a mysterious stranger showed up out of the blue and ruined everything, but we'll get to that later. Carolina carries a wider variety of weapons than most Freelancers. Over the course of her career, she's favored the standard magnum pistol, dual plasma rifles, a grappling hook which can operate in outer space, a humbler stun device which is basically a shock baton, and a long range BR55 Battle Rifle.
Back to Red vs. Blue. Grif is running away behind Boomstick.
Boomstick: It's not as flashy as a shotgun, but it's got an impressive range of over 3,000 feet.
Boomstick shoots Grif with the Battle Rifle.
Grif: Oww!! Why me!?
Boomstick: It just feels right.
Resumes Death Battle segment
Wiz: Like many other Freelancers, Carolina also possesses an A.I. companion, several, actually, but for this matchup, we'll be focusing on the time she spent with Epsilon, the memory of the original Alpha A.I the Director fragmented. It's also known as Church. Like the other A.I fragments, Epsilon experiences time 205 times slower than a human being and therefore drastically speeds up Carolina's thoughts and reaction time.
Boomstick: Too bad he's kind of an asshole, and by kind of, I mean, that's basically his thing.
Church: Guys, I'm an asshole.
Boomstick: In her post Freelancer career, Carolina made it her mission to track down as much experimental armor equipment as possible, and let me tell you, she did a very damn good job. Like Maine, she managed to acquire the Domed Energy Shield, but also picked up Adaptive Camouflage, a Speed Boost, and a Healing Unit.
Wiz: Unfortunately, just one AI fragment isn't enough to run all this equipment at once. In battle, if Carolina's not careful, she can accidentally push Epsilon too far and essentially short circuit him.
Boomstick: Yeah, for a leader, she's kind of hot-headed and super competitive. Like when Agent Texas joined the Freelancer crew and started showing her up, Carolina started making a lot of stupid mistakes.
Wiz: There's a lot going on here. Turns out, the Director was Carolina's father all along and Tex was actually the AI fragment memory of his deceased wife, meaning Carolina's greatest rival for her father's approval was actually her own mother.
Back to Red vs. Blue
Grif and Simmons: (In unison) Wait, WHAT?!
Grif: You're making that up!
Wiz: You guys didn't know that? Where have you been? Pay attention.
Caboose: Ah, yeah seriously, guys, it's like super obvious.
Simmons: Huh. Suddenly, everything makes a lot more sense.
Grif: Fuck, dude. Remember when all we used to do was stand around and talk?
Simmons: Yeah, good times.
Grif: Good times...
Boomstick beats up Grif with his Brute Shot.
Grif: Oww...
Boomstick: Hehe, still love this thing.
Resumes Death Battle segment
Wiz: Regardless, Carolina is one tough woman. She's defeated several other Freelancers, saved an entire planet from civil war, and once blocked the shock wave of a nuclear explosion.
Boomstick: She and Epsilon were even skilled enough to track down dear old Dad after he went into hiding just to help him kill himself. Geez, that got dark real fast.
Santa: WHO ARE YOU?
Carolina: I'm your true warrior.
Analysis segments conclude.
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set! Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTLE—yeah!!!
Death Battle
Somewhere inside of Mother of Invention, Carolina is seen training in the room, punching and kicking the targets. The Meta comes in and sees her through the window, growling quietly all the while. Carolina finishes her training down below, hitting the final two targets in slow motion.
Carolina: (panting) Time.
Church's AI fragment appears.
Church: Oh, yeah, just point zero three milliseconds too slow. (Tuts) Looks like I'm picking the movie tonight.
Carolina: (while gesturing at Church and adjusting her armor) Ugh, can it not be another garbage action movie?
Church: Oh come on, they're hilarious. Everyone talks in one-liners, the plot's non-existent. It's like the characters are just there to beat the shit out of each other.
An alarm goes off and Church flashes red briefly.
Church: Uh oh.
Carolina: What is it?
Church: Uhhh...I think we're about to have company.
The scene cuts to Meta, who balls his fists up as Carolina points her pistol up to Meta, but after seeing who it is, she lowers it.
Carolina: (surprised) Maine?
Church: Not exactly.
The Meta lets out a low growl and the A.I. fragments appear around him, talking all at once. It's impossible to tell vocally which is which.
A.I. 1: There.
A.I. 2: The last one!
A.I. 3: Epsilon!
A.I. 4: Take it!
A.I. 5: Make us whole!
A.I. 6: Take it!
The Meta takes out his Brute Shot.
Church: OK, if we win, you can totally pick the movie.
The Meta breaks through the window, leaping down to the training room floor.
FIGHT!
Meta thrusts down the Brute Shot but Carolina rolls away and shoots at Meta but he blocks the bullets with the Brute Shot.
Church: Not working!
Carolina: I can see that!
Meta uses the Brute Shot to attack, but Carolina blocks the attacks although Meta kicks her away. Meta then attacks Carolina's head, but she blocks it and shoots at Meta's head. Meta counters and headbutts Carolina, throwing her pistol away. Meta then tries to hit Carolina but she dodges it and pulls out her Humbler Stun Device. Both Meta and Carolina charge at each other. Meta tries to hit Carolina but she blocks it and stuns Meta multiple times, knocking his Brute Shot away with an air kick. Meta then sees his fallen Brute Shot, instead of picking it up, he growls and punches his fists together and walks towards Carolina as he tries to punch her many times but Carolina dodges them as she stuns Meta and kicks him down.
Church: You sure you can't set that thing to kill?
The Meta growls and punches the ground to get up and walks towards the Brute Shot to pick it up.
Carolina: Just hold on!
Carolina activates her Speed Boost and runs towards Meta. As Meta picks up the Brute Shot, Carolina punches Meta and starts to run up the walls, The Meta tries to shoot at Carolina but he misses all the shots as Carolina dashes towards The Meta and punches him to a wall. Carolina rolls and pulls her Battle Rifle as she shoots towards The Meta but he activates Domed Energy Shield and Overshield. The Meta activates Active Camouflage as the Domed Energy Shield and Overshield drops.
Carolina: Church, where is he?
Church: I'm on it! Scanning... your left!
The Meta appears and slashes Carolina's Battle Rifle in half. She throws it away and both attack in hand-to-hand combat but Carolina blocks Meta's punch and starting to punch him multiple times but Meta blocked Carolina's last punch and punched her into the face and into the crotch. They both once again punch each other but Meta punches and backflips into Carolina's back and kicks her away. Meta then stands and walks towards fallen Carolina as he growls, she tries to pick up her pistol but Meta grabs her leg and smashes her down but Carolina kicks his face, gets up and walks towards the Meta as she kicks and knees him but Meta punches Carolina as he does a Superman punch, knocking her away.
Carolina: Church, I need Armor Enhancements.
Church: Which ones?
Carolina: All of them!
Carolina activates Armor Enhancements.
Church: Uh that doesn't seem like a good idea-AHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Carolina dashes towards Meta with Speed Boost as Church screams, but Meta uses Temporal Distortion to stop Carolina in midair.
Church: Huh? Aw, shit.
Meta then pulls out his Brute Shot and knocks Carolina into a wall. Carolina falls to her hands and knees, severely wounded and bleeding heavily from her chest.
Church: Dammit! OK, uhhh, focusing on the Healing Unit, I got you. Carolina, can you hear me?
The scene cuts to Meta reloading his Brute Shot. Carolina rolls forward, grabs her pistol and shoots at Meta, and successfully lands her shots on his right shoulder, right elbow, upper right chest, outer right hip, inner right hip, right lower thigh, right foot, two to the upper left shoulder, left forearm, left side of his chest, left side of his midsection, two shots on the left thigh, and one through the left kneecap, until her pistol starts clicking from lack of ammo. Meta stares down in surprise at the multiple wounds he's sustained before he drops to one knee.
Church: You got him!
Meta stands back up and growls, slowly walking towards Carolina.
Church: OK, seriously: what the fuck?
Carolina reloads her pistol as she tries to shoot at Meta again, but Meta throws his Brute Shot as it slashes Carolina and sticks into the wall. Meta then punches Carolina multiple times before he grabs her and is about to punch her in order to finish the fight.
Church: Hey, hey, wait, wait, wait! Wait, hold up!
Meta growls. Three of the A.I. speak for him.
The 3 A.I.: (simultaneously) It's him.
Church: Uhhh, hey, so I know you're about to pummel her ginger face in and all, but you also only talk in grunts, so I'm just gonna say this one line for you, okay? Just this one time.
Carolina then pulls out Meta's Brute Shot and points at Meta's head.
Church: Oh! Son of a bitch!
Carolina shoots at Meta's head blowing it off completely, winning the fight.
KO!
Carolina: (pants from exhaustion) Church?
Church: Yeah?
Carolina: No action movies.
Cut to Red vs. Blue
Grif: Holy shit!
Caboose: I know! He did not even have a head under his helmet! He was a ghost the whole time!
Simmons: I told you, I TOLD you!
Caboose: (under his breath) Like Bruce Willis...
Grif: Bullshit! Meta's stronger. He should've won!
Wiz: Not true, Grif. As the Freelancer leaderboard proves, strength isn't everything. Carolina's mastery of martial arts let her hold her own and her use of equipment allowed her to match and even counter The Meta's. He may have gained an upper hand with his Temporal Distortion, but Carolina's Healing Unit quickly repaired damage done during the attack.
Boomstick: Even though The Meta had all that powerful equipment, it drained his suit's energy way too fast. Carolina tried to use all of her equipment at once and failed. Luckily, she had Epsilon to change tactics and focus on recovery.
Wiz: Which brings us to what is perhaps the most important factor of the fight: the relationship between Freelancer and artificial intelligence. The Meta was brainwashed and manipulated by eight different AI, effectively filling his head with an unintelligible mess of voices and commands. In contrast, Carolina and Epsilon work together as partners with a mutual trust, both capable of making judgment calls to make up for each other's weaknesses.
Grif: Whatever. I still say it should've been the Meta.
Wiz: Says the guy who can't tell the difference between a car and a puma.
Grif: I can tell the difference! It was a matter of comparison!
Boomstick: The Meta just couldn't get a-head of his competition.
Wiz: The winner is Agent Carolina.
Back to Red vs. Blue
Sarge: Hey! What in Sam Hell are you two doing fraternizing with the blue devil and a... who the hell are these dirtbags?
Wiz: Wha-ho! Easy there, sir. We're just here from Command!
Boomstick: Hey, nice shotgun! I like the cut of your jib!
Sarge: Hehehe. Well, whaddaya know? Someone who has an eye for the finer things in life!
Boomstick: Hoho, you better believe it!
Sarge: Y'know, you remind me of someone—almost like the son that I... never wanted...
Boomstick: Well, that's funny. I was about to say you're like the Pappy I never had. When I was a kid, he ran out on us to join the Army and never came back.
Sarge: Huh. Well... how about that? Time to move along, I guess. Nothing to see here. Do-do-do Do-di-do Do-do.
Sarge walks away and the singing fades away slowly. Everyone looks at Boomstick.
Boomstick: What a nice guy.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is a special crossover episode between Red vs. Blue and Death Battle.
- The episode title is a reference to the 2016 superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
- The Season 9 tagline is stated in the Meta's introduction.
- Although Carolina appears in her Halo 4 era armor, Epsilon uses his Halo 3 model. However, he does wield a holo-projected Halo 4 era Sniper Rifle.
- The Meta is depicted using his Season 10 armor, rather than than the patchwork armor he was typically recognized for.
- The background video states that Maine was given the Sigma A.I.; though this is technically true, Sigma was initially assigned to Carolina, until she donated him to Maine to make up for the loss of his voice.
- This is the first RvB video to openly declare that Carolina is the daughter of the Director and Allison, whom Tex was based on. All previous instances were implied rather than outright stated.
- Carolina and Epsilon's conversation of using all of her armor enhancements is a reference to a similar conversation from Dish Best Served where she pushed Epsilon to run all of her armor enhancements. The only difference is that she didn't experience complete armor failure as the Meta used his Temporal Distortion unit to stop her in her tracks.
- The episode reveals that Carolina is 34 years old.
- This is the first episode to reveal a character's actual age.
- Carolina's last name is shown to be Church on her stats screen. This is so far the only time her name was shown.
- Epsilon asking Carolina if she can set her baton to kill is a reference to Star Trek phasers which have both a stun setting and a kill setting.
- Several running gags in the series are made or referenced in this episode:
- The "Do you ever wonder why we're here?" gag is referenced in the start of the episode during the conversation between Grif and Simmons.
- Grif is constantly injured throughout the episode because of Boomstick's weapons demonstrations.
- Caboose uses a tank and accidentally shoots Grif when the Domed Energy Shield expires.
- The "Just stand around and talk" gag makes an appearance after Grif and Simmons discover the relation between Carolina, Tex, and the Director.
- The "Oh, son of a..." gag is used in the Death Battle before Carolina deals the final blow towards the Meta.
- The "Like a puma" gag is used as part of Wiz's rebuttal towards Grif saying how the Meta should have won the Death Battle.
- The Meta's Brute Shot (AKA the Grif Shot) makes an appearance in this episode during Boomstick's weapons demonstrations.
- This is the third longest running episode in the series, behind Why Were We Here? and Red vs. Blue vs. Rooster Teeth.
- Death Battle would do another Red vs. Blue-themed episode in 2020, this time a deathmatch between the Blood Gulch teams.
- At one point, one of the A.I says "Make us whole!", a possible reference to the Dead Space franchise.
Videos[]
