Soldier flew through the air and landed atop the fragile sniper bot. Reloading his rocket launcher, he proceeded to eradicate the remaining line of cheap machines. He missed the days when he fought real men instead of bots. No self-respecting soldier would allow himself to be killed as easily as these bots did. However, the sheer number of bots always kept the fight interesting. That and how they never knew where Gray Mann would strike next.
Jumping from the rafters of Mannhattan, Soldier launched a rocket and scrapped the massive Heavy bot below.
"Soldier!" Engineer called from the rail above Sniper's camper, "Sentry buster!"
Soldier whipped around to find himself faced with the massive walking bomb. Instinctively, he fired off another rocket, launching both him and the machine back several meters. The bot recovered faster and charged the supine Soldier. A split second before unforgiving steel sent Soldier to respawn, a blast of compressed air sent the sentry buster flying against the wall. Soldier returned to his feet in just enough time to see Pyro ignite the buster. Taking advantage of the soften metal, Soldier landed the finishing blow that sent the bot up in a ball of fire.
Just as Soldier flipped around to high five his teammate, a siren began to blare, resonating throughout the yard.
"Dammit fellas!" Engineer cried, "Get up here and help me."
Shaking off their celebration, the duo raced up to meet their hard hatted companion.
"What happened here soldier?"
Engineer rubbed the back of his neck, "Them scout bots're craftier than I remember."
Soldier nodded absentmindedly; his mind attempting to figure out how the scouts had escaped his ruthless attacks. Come to think of it, Scout was supposed to be in charge eliminating bots missed by the rest of the team.
With a whirring crack, Engineer's teleporter lit up and Heavy stepped from the red beam.
"Respawn is slow today."
"Ja," Medic said, brushing teleporter residue from the edge of his coat.
In the background, the first checkpoint alarm fell silent and a fresh wave of scouts poured from its doors.
With a yelp, Engineer ran back to the field of sentries he'd laid out. Heavy revved his mini gun, determined not to let anything harm Medic who had his finger hovering over the medigun's projectile shield. Soldier started the frenzy, firing directly into the heart of the scout horde.
Amidst the bullets and rockets, blinking red grenades flew overhead.
"Ack," Demoman mumbled as he ran up alongside Soldier, "Heavy n Medic made me walk all the way over here. Hogging the teleporter like Scout an rations."
Soldier chuckled. There was nothing comparable to fighting with his best man at his back.
"Alert! Spy bots!"
Soldier grit his teeth and fired another rocket. He was fine with giant heavies, rapid fire soldiers or even tanks, anything he could see. But spies were the snakes that hid beyond his vision and stalked him from the shadows.
Pyro fell back to defend Engineer's buildings.
"Ah, Pyro," Medic started, "...never mind. Spy!"
The illusive Frenchman appeared behind the oncoming soldier line.
Medic gestured behind him, "Cover us."
Spy nodded once and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.
Soldier relaxed and intensified the explosive barrage he and Demo had created.
"Engineer!" Soldier called, "I need ammunition."
The click of heeled boots came up behind Soldier.
"Soldier!" Spy yelled.
A revolver cracked as an icy blade was driven into the soldier's back.
Nearly a half hour later, Soldier respawned. Alarm lights and sirens warned that the enemy bomb was dangerously close to the heart of the base. Soldier glanced at his team PDA. Only the images of Heavy, Medic and Sniper were lit. Soldier hefted his modified rocket launcher onto his shoulder and charged out onto the battlefield. An army of scouts backed by an array of giant bots, a tank and a mecha engineer were storming the base outside spawn. And by some form of dumb luck, Heavy and Medic had kept the bulk of the attack at bay as Sniper focused on the larger targets.
With a single rocket, Soldier launched himself behind the wave. Then, the moment his boots crushed the engineer, the death toll for Heavy and Medic rang out simultaneously. Before Soldier could turn back, the base exploded in a wall of fire and dirt. The shockwave alone left Soldier sprawled on his stomach, all his gear ripped from his grip and scattered around him.
As he lay there, helplessly sucking in dust with practically collapsed lungs, his mind began to panic. No longer was Soldier sprawled in red fatigues, but rather, hunched behind a dated trench clutching his helmet to his head. The oncoming German army frightened him, the only thing he'd fought before were small groups he'd ambushed on the road. This was an entire army. An entire army that sent explosive shells, aircraft and tanks hurdling towards the American line.
But this time, he wasn't alone. Unlike every other attack, he had good American men to back him up.
"C'mon Solly! Stop cowering and start shooting!" Yelled his fellow soldier; Parker. "What's it you always say? Uh, if fighting will result in victory then you gotta fight or something along those lines."
Soldier clutched his automatic closer to his chest. "I don't see you rushing into battle cupcake."
"Then let's get going you old bran muffin, the enemy ain't gonna wait for us."
Parker hefted himself out of the trench and turned back to his petrified friend.
"You know," he said as quietly as the surrounding battle would allow, "it's a hellava lot easier to face you're fears when you aren't the only one fighting them."
Jane Doe looked up and took his comrade's trembling hand. With Parker's help, Soldier scrambled up the trench wall.
"Thanks," Parker said, "I don't think I can do this alone."
Soldier adjusted his helmet so the inscription on the inside lay at the edge of his vision, "By God, so long as I live, you won't have to."
As Soldiers mind relaxed, the surrounding American soldiers faded into Mannhattan's shipping crates.
"Ha. Ha. Hey, look at me!"
Stiffly, Soldier lifted his head to a small group of Scout bots passing around his helmet and launcher. Ignoring the pain throbbing through his body, Soldier stood and charged the bots with a primal scream.
He never made contact.
"Bonk!"
Soldier doubled over and clutched at the growing bruise beneath his rib cage.
The scout above flipped its bat over. "How's that feel wimp? I just..."
The bot froze up and began beeping wildly. After a few seconds, the scouts turned in unison and ran back towards their transport, still toting Soldier's equipment.
Undeterred, Soldier slowly started to push himself forward using his feet. There was no way he was going to let them get away with this. They couldn't simply take his helmet and leave. No, there had to be some punishment, and he was going to be the one to dish it out. No matter how long it took, he was going to crawl to those bots and take back what's his. He was going to...
"Mate." The barrel of Sniper's rifle pinned Soldier in place, "what're ya doin wiggling about on the floor?"
Soldier tried feebly to escape the rifle being drilled into his back, "Going after the robots."
"Soldier, they're gone. Besides, you'll never reach 'em in this condition."
"But I have to."
"Nah. It's not worth it. C'mon, let's get back to base an getcha fixed up, then you can go after the robots all bloody day if you want."
Slowly, Soldier allowed himself to go limp and have Sniper drag him away from his target.