It was impossible to sleep that night. Lucien couldn't bear the thought of possibly waking up in that chamber and it seems that the others didn't want that as well. All night they had tried to plan some kind of escape and maybe either grab their teammates or come back for them, but nothing was foolproof and Lucien could do nothing to help. Their morning was spent in silence. When Redmond's men came for them later that day, the mercenaries were almost too tired to put up a struggle. Once strapped to their tables, the four were rolled back into the laboratory once more and lined up back into position. Redmond is already there waiting for them with a happy smile.
"Good morning, everyone! Today will be much better for you, I promise," he tells them.
"Is that right? Are ye gon' t' let us go?" Demoman asks.
"Not yet, but you're up next," is the answer before the men take the Scotsman to the chamber. As he's placed inside, Demoman only turns around and proudly shouts, "Guts and glory, lads!" Then the door is shut on him. Lucien looks over at his teammates, taking note that only he, Sniper, and Medic remain. No last minute plans are coming to his mind and time is quickly running out. Then the scent of a cigarette fills his nose. It smells so... welcoming, but he is not hallucinating suddenly, is he? Lucien soon receives his answer as an invisible hand slips over his mouth. He is startled for a moment, but calms down quickly.
"Zhis is quite zhe predicament you are in, monsieur," says a voice almost directly at his ear. Lucien turns his head and can barely see his cloaked counterpart, who then disappears completely when his hand removes from his mouth.
"You have no idea, but you have to get out of here before zhey notice you," he warns him.
"I'm sure I will be just fine," is the answer before the cloak wears off and the BLU Spy appears, crouching behind the table to keep out of Redmond's and his men's sights.
"How did you even find zhis place?"
"I saw you and your team board a random train yesterday, zhen when you didn't show up to today's battle I followed the tracks."
The door to the chamber opens. Both Spies pause their chat and watch as Demoman steps out in the open. The BLU Spy could easily mistake the Scot for his own teammate if it weren't for the knowledge that the real BLU Demoman was back with his team in Dustbowl, most likely already having the area captured without anyone to defend it. Atop the Demoman's head is a pirate hat with a small treasure chest along with a white pair of shutter shades on his face. Attached to his left arm is an old-fashioned wooden shield and in his hand is a tall, red shako.
"Stout Shako for two refined!" he announces and motions to the hat with a large smile. No one has an idea of what he is talking about and Redmond is displeased.
"Blue again?! I do not want my super beings to be the same color as his mercenaries!" he scoffs and orders his scientist to edit the formula. Demoman is ignored and his smile fades to a frown. With a battle cry he charges directly at Redmond, but falls just short of the old man as a tranquilizer is shot directly in his neck. The Scotsman mumbles incoherently as the men drag him to the room with the others.
"What in zhe world...?!"
"Zhis is why you have get out of here while you can! Go, now!" hisses Lucien, but gasps as one of the men appear behind his counterpart. The BLU Spy notices too late and is apprehended before he can move or cloak. Both Frenchmen mutter curses as the BLU is presented to Redmond, his hands held tightly behind his back as another strips him of any and all weapons.
"Ahh, my brother sent you to spy on me? Hah! I hope he won't mind if I return you in a different condition." Redmond smirks and motions to the chamber after receiving an okay from his scientist. Despite all arguments from the mercenaries, the Spy is dragged to the machine and thrown inside.
"You cannot do zhis to me!" he exclaims as he struggles to get out. "I am not under your contract! Release me and zhem!"
"I prefer to finish things I started," is the old man's only comment, then the door is shut. All hope of escaping vanishes with the BLU Spy's screams. Lucien can only hope that the new formula will be easy on him, but when the door opens, the chamber is found empty and leaves everyone stumped. Has he disintegrated? There are absolutely no remains of the Spy, until a de-cloaking sound is heard by Redmond. The once BLU Spy is now dressed in black with a same-colored fez and sunglasses. He is holding a scimitar to Redmond's neck and threatens the men to take a step towards them.
"I will make you regret zhe day you put me in zhat machine," he hisses and presses the sword's sharp blade against the old man's neck. Lucien is not sure why his counterpart is hesitating, maybe perhaps to savor the moment of it all, but an expected tranquilizer dart takes him out and he is moved into the other room.
"Well, he troied at least. Poor bloke," Sniper mumbles.
"Ja," Medic sighs and tenses as the men approach him next. Though it has been proven useless multiple times, the doctor struggles against the men as he is pulled to the chamber.
"If you do not let us go zhis instant, vhatever I vill become, I vill kill you!" he swears to Redmond. His men then surround their boss with the threat, tranquilizers ready as the door is shut on the furious German man. Lucien and Sniper look at each other, the two now the last remaining mercenaries of RED.
"Spoi, whatever happens to us, whether we lose our moinds, memories, or somethin' worse, Oi just want t' say it's been great foightin' with ya. Yer me best mate an' Oi hope we're still a team after this," the Aussie says to Lucien sincerely.
"Merci, mon ami. I wish zhe same. Good luck, bushman," the Frenchman wishes and Sniper smiles.
"Thanks, spook."
The door opens and shows off the German doctor, completely normal, except for the fact that he is on the floor only holding himself up with his hands and his head is enlarged, not as badly as Engineer's, but definitely bigger than normal. Unlike his behavior earlier, Medic refuses to leave the chamber and even becomes territorial as the men approach him.
"Get avay from mein sewer!" he yells at them angrily. Redmond only hits himself in the head.
"That is not a sewer... Please get him out of there," he orders. The men approach him slowly, but this angers Medic further and he screams the warning at them once more. The men decide to take precautions and tranquilize the doctor before dragging him away. Sniper and Lucien remain, but unlike the others, Sniper doesn't put up a fight as he's taken to the chamber. As he steps inside he looks directly at Lucien, tips his hat, then the door closes. Lucien hopes the formula will be good to the Australian, though his painful screams make him believe otherwise. As the door opens, Lucien's eyes bulge as Sniper floats out of the chamber, his hands near his head and his legs are bent in the most horrible position that would make any man cringe and hold their pride.
"I'm Weaselcake," he introduces with a happy smile.
"No you're not; put him back in! I will not have any more of these... freaks," Redmond complains and Lucien is shocked to see his friend pushed back into the chamber.
"Take him out of zhere! He has already gone zhrough it!" he demands.
"If he dies, that's his own fault," Redmond merely replies and pulls the lever. Lucien watches the chamber worriedly and thinks the worst when the door opens, but the chamber is empty again. He wonders if the man became something like the BLU Spy, but that thought is erased as Sniper suddenly appears inside the chamber randomly hanging upside-down from the top.
"What's up?" he asks and laughs at his own joke. Redmond is displeased even further.
"Again!" he demands and almost slams the lever down the second the door is closed again. Three experiments on one person. Lucien pleads that his friend will be okay. The door opens once more and Sniper stands there, but a much darker Sniper. His clothes have gone dark, the man has quickly grown facial hair, and his eyes are the color of crimson blood. He looks at Redmond, gives a smirk, and licks his lips.
"Am Oi perfect for ya now, old man? Oi think so," he chuckles and makes his way towards Redmond with the intent to spill gallons of blood. "Go 'head, tranq me whoile ya can." And they did exactly that. Sniper also fell victim to the dart like the others and was carried to the other room. Only Lucien remains now, and just as his friend, he did not struggle as he was brought to the chamber. The scent of electricity and hot metal surrounds the large machine and Lucien suddenly wishes he could smoke one last cigarette. Nonetheless, he steps inside and watches the door close in front of him. As Redmond pulls the lever, multiple shocks are sent through his body and cause him to scream in agony. It hurts terribly as if his own heart and mind were going to explode out of his body multiple times without end. Then his mind becomes blank and he is suddenly engulfed in darkness, but only for a second or two. Light is shown to him as the door opens and as he steps out he feels... powerful, stronger, but... normal. His mental state is the same and his memories are fine; the only difference he feels is within his abilities that he has even yet to try out. He looks around himself until he finds his own reflection in the machine. His appearance is also the same, though now he is sporting a handsome new fedora.
"I have finally done it!" Redmond exclaims happily and rolls up to Lucien's side. "You are the perfect super being! Together you and I can take down my brother and the war will be ours!"
"... Ours?" Lucien looks down at the old man with nothing but anger and disgust. "You have managed to create one super being zhrough zhe cost of two lives, six forever changed lives, and one innocent man. Nine sacrifices for zhis?" he pauses a moment to motion to himself and frowns. "Consider zhe war lost. I will never fight for you again." Lucien then walks away from Redmond with his head held high. The men watch him cautiously, but he pays them no mind as he walks right past them and joins his teammates.
A day passes since the final experiment of the RED mercenaries. No, one day? Two maybe? Or only several hours? Lucien has not been paying too much attention to the time since he and his team have never left the room they have been put in. The room is empty with only white tiled walls and a couple vents, almost like a giant bathroom, but at the very least it is much nicer than the rest of the facility and away from that accursed machine, even if the large door is guarded by the men outside. Now that everyone has been changed, there have been no attempts or plans for escape. What's the point when the worst has already happened? By their own boss, nonetheless. Lucien feels angrier than he should be, perhaps because of the lack of nicotine and that half of his teammates are now mentally insane and two are gone forever.
"You look loike yer in need of a good smoke," Sniper comments and leans against the wall by his friend's side.
"You have no idea," Lucien sighs and frowns at the sight of his team. Engineer is sitting in a corner of the room with his back to everyone in an attempt to hide his face in shame while Soldier hangs from the ceiling, trying to cheer his best friend up. Demoman is trying to sell his shako to Scout, but the boy only hits him on the head while shouting "BONK!". Medic is curled up awkwardly in the opposite corner of Engineer and as the BLU Spy tries to talk to him out of boredom the doctor only screams at him to get away from his sewer. He gives up and decides to take a place against the wall away from the REDs. Lucien almost pities the poor bastard.
Most of them have given themselves new names upon transformation while Redmond named the rest of them. Engineer has been given the worst name out of the bunch, the first part of his title being replaced with the first part of the word his face has been deformed into. The horrid name has only been said once by Redmond and will not be said again unless it is from his wrinkly lips. Soldier has named himself Painis Cupcake and Scout calls himself Ass Pancakes. The two are alike in their ways with introductions and giving a wide, wide smile. Demoman now calls himself Demopan, though Lucien is not sure why a pan is involved. Then again it makes just about as much sense as "Painis Cupcake" and "Ass Pancakes". The rest of them were given their names by Redmond: he calls Lucien's counterpart Ninja Spy, Medic is now Sewer Medic, Sniper is now Christian Brutal Sniper, and Lucien has been given the name Gentlespy. These names seem more true to their new personas, though Lucien hasn't the slightest idea why Sniper is "Christian".
"What do ya think's gonna happen to us now?" Sniper asks the Frenchman.
"We will eizher die or continue to be experimented on if we keep zhis up," Lucien answers pessimistically.
"Ah, c'mon, that can't really be helped. Look at us, Spoi. We're freaks, mate. Half of us aren't even in their roight moinds. If we had no chance whoile we were strapped down, in jail, or when th' other Spoi troied helpin' us, then we definitely got no chance now."
"So you are inadvertently agreeing wizh me."
"Oi—... Bloody hell, yer roight... So all we can do is wait fer somethin' t' happen."
At that moment is when the door opens. A few of the men come in first, each of them armed with more sedatives, then a different man walks in with Redmond rolling in from behind. Lucien recognizes this man as one of the Administrator's messengers, and as the man opens his coat she is right there on the television screen strapped to his torso. It has been a while since any of the mercenaries have last seen her, but her impatient expression seems to never change, though right now as she observes the changed members of Reliable Excavation Demolition she seems almost furious.
"Redmond Mann, what have you done to my mercenaries?" she asks him bitterly.
"I-I was merely giving them some extra strength, to make them become super beings—"
"You have turned them into freaks! Do you have any idea— No, this cannot be found out. Ugh, I have to make arrangements..." she pauses and observes the former RED team with a hard frown, then her messenger, Redmond, and his men leave the room. Only Lucien and Sniper paid any attention while the others are preoccupied with whatever activity they could be doing. Lucien was surprised some of them did not go after Redmond when he showed his face, perhaps because the Administrator was present, or perhaps because neither of them were paying any attention and did not notice the old man.
"A visit from the ol' bat 'erself... Now what do ya think's gonna happen to us?"
"Now zhat mademoiselle is involved, somezhing worse zhan experiments or deazh."
"Ahh, that's noice..."
The door opens once again, this time with only the messenger and no one else. The Administrator eyes everyone whether they are paying any attention or not, the fury gone and replaced with... excitement? "Gentlemen, you are no longer under Redmond Mann's power or part of Reliable Excavation Demolition. One of you in particular is also no longer part of Builders League United; you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The eight of you are now considered dead to your friends, your families, and will be used in the new events I have planned."
She gives a small, almost sinister smirk and tells her messenger to leave the room. The door closes tightly and Lucien can hear the lock click. He and Sniper look at each other questionably, then a soft hissing noise comes from the vents. Lucien recognizes it now and he hurries to open the door, but he cannot get past the lock. There are no windows to break in this room and slowly his teammates begin to drop like flies, but dear god when Soldier fell from the ceiling Lucien thought he might have died with how loud the cracking of each limb was. Well, maybe not die, but at least break every bone in his body. Lucien holds his breath and tries to kick the door down, but he fails. Sniper only chuckles. "Here we go again, mate..." he mumbles before performing an almost perfect face plant on the floor. Lucien narrows his eyes and looks around at his colleagues; all of them dead weights on the floor. It is the train ride all over again and Lucien can't help but literally fall for it again.
