After months of procrastination, lost chapters and lack of motivation, I finally deemed this acceptable to release. I had begun planning this before The New Arrival was finished, and unlike it, A Threat Beyond Our Knowledge has a completed story, it's just not all written. Originally, I was going to finish the entire story and then upload it, but lack of motivation has only caused about half of it to be written. I'm honestly hoping I can get some motivation to write the rest of it.
There's a projection of around 16 chapters, though that may change depending on how long some of them drag on. No consistent upload schedule, so don't be anticipating one every week. It all depends on when I write a chapter. I like to be ahead.
Author's notes won't be so long, that's a personal goal, but I will be needing to point a few things out, since this was planned before some of the comics were released, so please don't compare certain things to the comics, which essentially is the same story concept.
Without further ado, I present to you, the sequel to The New Arrival!
A Threat Beyond Our Knowledge
Chapter 1: Alive
Worn leather shoes moved across the dusty linoleum, making their way through the dimly lit hall of an abandoned base. The man, took in sharp breaths as he ran through the building.
The air around him was unfamiliar. Before, it had felt like a safe haven, a place away from the everyday battles. Now, the place felt unfamiliar and uninviting. He knew he wasn't welcomed here, but he had to come.
After living in the base, on and off, for six years, the man knew the building like the back of his hand. Navigating through it was a cinch.
He flew around the corners, making sure to tread lightly as a caution not to alert any of the guards. The Texan might not have been as stealthy as his former teammate was, but he felt like he was doing a damn good job of sneaking around.
Passing by what use to be each of their rooms, he muttered each of them to himself
Medic, Scout, Pyro, Soldier, Demoman, Heavy, Spy, Sniper…finally. My Workshop.
Grabbing the knob, a layer of dust clung to his glove as he tried to turn it. It was locked.
Frustrated, he pounded against the door, but soon realized his mistake as he heard the sound of metal clinking against the floor.
"Damn it!" he screamed.
With no other choice, he backed up and raised his leg. With as much force as he could muster, he kicked the door, making it fling open with a crack of the lock.
Rushing inside, the man ran to a barren wall, and pushed a table aside, essentially throwing it. He had to hurry before they caught him.
The faint outline of a small door was visible with a tiny little latch. Pulling it open, the man hurried through the tiny opening to a room behind a workshop that, for years, he had believed to be a secret to everyone but himself.
Not two months ago, he found out what a lie that was.
Against each wall were computer terminals lined up side by side. On the opposite end sat a mechanical masterpiece.
Wires connected from each computer to the chamber, whose door was sealed shut. The machine was a piece of work to look at, which still struck its creator in awe.
Moving between each terminal, the Texan powering them on. Lights flashed, motors started up and screens slowly flickered on.
Anxiety filled the man, as he could hear the guards getting closer.
"Come on, come on…" he said, as he tapped a screen.
RECHARGING POWER: 2%
"Damn it!"
The machine was going to take too long. He kicked the terminal, which gave a small sputter in response. Thinking that all was lost, he quickly remembered the last time it was used. It was in a situation similar to this, except he would be teleporting himself this time.
Fingers flying across the keyboard, he input commands, hacking into the town's power grid. The Texan rerouted all the power to this one machine, which was just enough to give it one teleport.
RECHARGE COMPLETE
The chamber whirled to life, with a faint red glow visible behind the small window on the door. Typing once more, the man rushed to input the correct commands.
He could hear the guards. They had already gotten into the workshop, and were searching for him. It was only a matter of time before their processors recognized the small door.
Finished, he tapped a key, and the chamber door slid open, revealing the innards that were covered in the unnatural red glow.
Stepping into the chamber, the man could see a robot sliding through the small door, its glowing eyes fixated on his position.
INTRUDER!
The chamber door sliding shut, the guard made its way to the Texan, but just as it got near, the man vanished.
With the trespasser gone, all the guard had to do was investigate the scene, figure out where he went to. Its eyes were quick to notice the terminal the man had been typing on. With heavy footsteps clinking against the ground, it walked over to it, making sure to keep its eye sight focused on the screen.
Sitting in his control room, an elderly man stared at one of the many monitors. Bllack and white, each one showed the vision of his creations. Staring at the Teufort camera, his eyes narrowed.
All the man could think of, was anger. Why hadn't he gotten rid of those pesky mercenaries when he had the chance? Surely he wasn't as idiotic as his two brothers had been. He had managed to kill them and taken over Mann co. the number one weapon and hat manufacturers in the world, so how could he be so stupid as to not kill the mercenaries that had protected Mann co. and TF Industries.
Was it that he had some shred of humanity?
Of course not, if he had no regrets in killing his two idiot brothers, then why would he for a bunch of insane killers? This had simply been an oversight. Albeit, a really stupid one.
The smartest of the 9 had broken free and had left their world.
The grey haired man kept his eyes trained on the screen, reading the words in his mind, over and over, devising a plan.
DESTINATION: BEE CAVE, TEXAS