The Lost RED Team is the prequel to my first fic Freak Fortress.
'S highly recommended that ya read Freak Fortress first if ya haven't already.
One beep. Two beeps. Three beeps. Music to the Engineer's ears as he happily relaxes in his nest in the courtyard surrounded by his level three sentry, level three dispenser, and a level three teleporter exit. That silly enemy Scout has yet to even reach the L-Shaft entrance to the Intelligence Room and he sure can't go down the Spiral entrance while the Demoman is there. Over their speakers it is announced that the enemy Intelligence has been dropped and not a second later the teleporter glows and the Scout drops over by the dispenser, the boy a bloody mess.
"What in Sam Hill happened over there, boy?" the Texan asks him.
"Man, their freakin' Heavy came out 'a nowhere an' started poundin' me with bullets! I couldn't do nothin', so when I saw your teleporter I dropped the Intel an' came 'ere ta heal," he explains as the dispenser's blue glow encases the boy and heals his wounds.
"That's some mighty quick thinkin', Scout. Make sure you get back over there as soon as ya can," the Engineer tells him and relaxes again, keeping an eye out for his teammate's counterpart. That boy came running through the courtyard at least four times with a different tactic to try to break the Engineer's nest on his own, but of course he failed every time. Gotta give the stubborn boy credit, but where is he now? It's been a while since he's tried running through. The Engineer doesn't have much time to think about it as he feels a sudden sharp pain in his back, a pain he knows all too well. He turns his head slowly and finds that his teammate has turned into a smirking enemy Spy. The Frenchman pushes the Texan off his knife and quickly ducks behind the dispenser before the sentry can pinpoint his location. In only seconds he disguises himself as the enemy Engineer and saps all three buildings, then leans against the wall to light up a smoke. As soon as the buildings break, Scout comes out from the corner and laughs triumphantly as if he did all the work.
"Dat's what I'm talkin' about! Thanks, pally!" he waves to Lucien before running up the stairs and down into the Intelligence Room. Their Demoman doesn't even notice as Scout grabs their Intelligence and sprints back up the stairs. Lucien follows the boy through the lower battlements, making quick backstabs on the Medic and Heavy duo just before they reach an Übercharge. It wasn't entirely necessary as Scout is already across the roofless bridge and back into their own base, but oh what fun it is for Lucien to kill an enemy just before their moment in the spotlight.
"Success! We have captured the enemy Intelligence!" the Administrator announces for RED. Lucien can hear his team celebrate across the bridge while their enemies quickly flee to spare themselves last second critical deaths. He looks upwards to where the Sniper would usually stand and sees the man running towards the respawn for protection. Silly bushman. With a smirk Lucien pulls out his favorite Ambassador and gives the man a critical headshot just before he can turn the corner. He chuckles to himself and tucks his gun away before joining his team back at their base.
Reliable Excavation Demolition, better known as RED, is home to the top nine mercenaries in Badlands. Very rarely have they ever lost a battle against their enemies, Builders League United, better known as BLU. Each victory is celebrated with a good dinner, some drinks, and congratulations all around. Lucien is the focus for tonight's celebration, his strategies proving success in today's mission, but of course everyone has done their part in winning the battle.
"I would like to take this time and personally congratulate each member of this fine team of men! Engi, you were real good out there. Had the perfect nesting place to keep our Intelligence safe," Soldier compliments the Texan. Engineer gives a sheepish grin and replies, "Aw, shucks, you were good out there too, mister." Soldier returns with a proud grin and continues the rest of his speech more shortly. "The rest of you did good, too. We had some real good teamwork out there, especially from you, crouton."
"Merci, Soldier, but I was not zhe one who captured zhe enemy Intel, air-blasted rockets away, headshot a fully charged Medic, or any ozher non-Engineer-related zhings," Lucien remarks with a smirk, causing chuckles from his teammates.
"Da, but leetle Soldier und Engineer are good friends! Make good team like Doktor und I," Heavy says with a proud grin.
"Yeah, yeah, you're all real buddy-buddy, ain'tcha?" Scout comments, only to receive a bop on the head from Sniper. "Be noice, Spazzy."
"Ya don't have ta freakin' hit me, man! An' I'm not a spazz!" the runner complains.
"Quit yer frettin' over a little nickname, boyo. Ye give us much worse names than that," Demoman tells him before consuming a large gulp from his bottle of DeGroot's Rum, a beautiful concoction from his ancestors back in 1680. Pyro nods with a "mhmpf" and Scout pouts at them both, but keeps quiet.
"Vell zhen, if ve are all done celebrating for zhe night, I suggest you all go to bed early in preparation for your checkups tomorrow," Medic announces and soon after the team cleans up their celebration before parting ways for the night. Lucien is not as eager to turn in for the night as the others. Instead he steps outside and leans against the wall of Sniper's nest as he has his nightly smoke. The night is fairly nice as it usually is around this time of year, but of course it will become colder soon. Tomorrow is their one day off of the week before the rotation around Badlands continues from Dustbowl to Well, then Gravelpit, Badwater Basin, Thunder Mountain, and then back to Teufort once more. Such a ridiculous schedule for what is supposed to be an all-out war, but any questions are forgotten when the paychecks arrive.
"Havin' yer noightly smoke, eh mate?" comes a voice from below. Lucien does not have to bother looking down to see the man the thick Australian accent belongs to.
"Oui, and you are... doing whatever it is you do at night before bed. Spying on me perhaps?" Lucien asks, smirking down at the Aussie as he exhales smoke. Sniper chuckles and readjusts his hat.
"That's your job, mate. Th' only spoiyin' Oi ever do is lookin' fer enemy heads. Anyway, th' weather seems noice t'noight, so Oi thought Oi'd come outsoide fer a bit. Li'l hard not t' notice yer smokin'," he explains with his own grin.
"Zhat is true I suppose," Lucien comments and continues sucking on his cancer. Sniper pulls out his own pack of cancer from his vest and lights up a smoke, enjoying the first puff and sighing in content.
"Oi know Solly already covered it earlier with 'is long, long speech about th' whole team, but Oi wanted t' congratulate ya meself. Really, Oi think yer th' main reason why we're always winnin'," the Aussie compliments with a chuckle.
"How kind of you, mon ami. Merci," the Frenchman replies with a smile. "You were good as well, bushman. I am sure zheir Medic is upset wizh bozh of us."
"Heh heh heh... Oi'm sure he is, mate."
Lucien and Sniper continue smoking in silence, enjoying the nicotine and the peacefulness of the night. Even after they have finished, the two continue chatting about plans for their upcoming battle in Dustbowl. There are plenty more open areas than in Teufort, thus the two perform duo strategies to ensure amazing support for their team along with flawless victory. As soon as their plans are made, they say their good-nights and return inside to settle down in their own rooms. Lucien takes his time stripping his suit piece by piece until he's in his skivvies. Before going to bed he instead walks to his desk and picks up a small framed picture of a girl no older than five. Her light brown hair is tied in two adorable pigtails, though the front of her hair curls around her face and to her chin. He can see the smile in her bright blue eyes as she's happily showing off her new purple- and lavender-striped dress. Written next to her in the empty space of the picture is the name "Isabelle", in his own handwriting of course, and then towards the bottom in a child's handwriting is "Je t'aime, Papa!" with a perfect colored-in red heart. Lucien gives a warm, but sad smile.
"Ma belle petite fille... Ah, comme tu me manques tellement... Je t'aime aussi, Isabelle..."
Lucien kisses the girl's forehead and saddens at the feel of cold glass instead of warm skin. He sets the picture back down on his desk and hums the children's song Neige, Neige Blanche to himself as he goes to sleep.