( Author's note: in-game, Soldier's rocket launcher fires what appear to be HEAT (high explosive anti-tank) rockets. In the real world, these would do preposterous amounts of damage to a human being, possibly even tearing a hole right through the body and detonating wherever they happened to land. In Team Fortress 2, a non-crit rocket at point blank range does a little over 100 damage (enough to almost kill a flyweight character at full health), which suggests that whatever he's using isn't actually made to penetrate steel plate armour. I try to keep things involving existing weapons or technology to be semi-realistic; that is to say, somewhere in the space between the Team Fortress 2 universe and Real Life, but in this case I'm gonna' say "fuck it, it's a fanfic" and go with the rocket launcher's TF2 abilities.
I realize most people probably don't even notice or care about this kind of tedious concern with details. I shouldn't either, I blame my father (who is a stickler for realism. Never watch a military movie with him).)
The noonday sun beat down on the RED team with brutal strength, burning away the rain, and leaving them sweaty and parched. Nobody wanted a drink right now more than Demoman. While his natural inclination was to be drunk for as many of his waking hours as possible, his supply of liquor was limited, being out in the wilderness and all. Since he knew his stash would be restricted by how much he could reasonably carry, Demoman had taken the extra precaution of packing something much more volatile than his usual scrumpy. (I've got to hand it to the locals here, they've certainly perfected the art of distilling. The flavour doesn't really compare with whisky, but the strength? I'm absolutely certain you could power rockets with this fire-water. Never thought I'd find a liquor that I wouldn't drink straight up...) As the group made their way along the main road, he pulled a bottle of extremely potent rum out of his rucksack, then carefully poured some into his canteen. It was a mind-boggling 80% alcohol, and while it didn't improve the taste of piss-warm bottled water, the kick was something Demoman appreciated.
Demoman took a drink from the canteen, then looked off towards the estate. He was catching glimpses of it now through the trees, along with the complex of buildings where the team was told they would be fighting. With the way things were going so far, Demoman wasn't sure anymore who they were up against, or what sort of fight he should be expecting. This sentiment was common to most of his teammates as well; although Engineer was pretty quiet as he scanned for traps, the others were tensely discussing the situation. Normally, Demoman would be eager to take part in such a conversation, but he was feeling withdrawn for some reason.
He found himself studying a promontory that stood about a hundred yards off the right side of the road. It was an extension of the mountains that covered the centre of the island, a steep cliff tattooed by green streaks of vine and climbing cactus. Trees skirted the ledge high above, and for a moment, Demoman was sure he caught a glimpse of something moving between them. He grimaced, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand, then looked again. Nothing. "Bah, ah must be lettin' this place get t'me," he muttered.
"Whoa, hold up!" Engineer stopped in his tracks, and the rest of the mercenaries piled up behind him in a human traffic jam. The Texan seemed to have developed a sort of tunnel vision with that gizmo of his; all of his attention was on the road ahead, and he didn't even notice the others struggling not to trip over him. "There's somethin' anomalous in the trees over yonder, I don't- I'm not sure what I'm seein'... it's gotta' be man-made, though. Hard to make out its exact shape, but it's about as tall as a telephone pole. Probably metal. Hmm..."
As Engineer fiddled with the settings of his visor, Medic suddenly flinched as though stung by a bee. "Zat could be another sentry, like ze one we saw yesterday- ze one zat shot down Spy and Sniper's helicopter. It vas hidden in ze trees, but I studied it best as I could... Very tall and thin, vith metal casing over its entire length."
"Vas probably built as aircraft deterrent. No guns, only rockets," Heavy added.
Soldier opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again, frowning under his helmet. Demoman found himself grinning; the American probably wanted to second-guess his teammates, but didn't really have a more plausible theory about what the object might be.
Engineer, on the other hand, had questions. "How close do we gotta' get before it notices us? Any suggestions for takin' it out safely?"
"I'm not sure, it might... ah, ze problem is..." Medic suddenly lapsed into uncertainty, which didn't do much for Demoman's faith in him.
"Ve don't know." Heavy was inarticulate, but he managed to relay what they had discovered the day before. "Yesterday, ve land in rough weather. Strong wind, leaves blowing all around. Afterwards, vhen the wind vas calm, sentry become active. Medic say he think it turns off in bad weather, so it von't shoot waving trees. Only people or helicopters move in calm weather."
"Makes sense, if it uses motion sensors. It'd wanna have a long range, though... either it ain't too interested in what's on the ground, or there's enough cover between here and there that it just hasn't seen us yet." Engineer sighed, tugging off his helmet for a moment and mopping the sweat from his stubbly dome with a shirtsleeve. "Even if it's somethin' else entirely, we're probably better off destroyin' it just to be safe. How are we gonna get closer to that thing without bein' killed?"
Pyro perked up, cradling his beloved flamethrower. "Rff hrr shrrd hh frrurr, whh crrn urrh dhh smrrgh hhf crrhfrr."
Engineer sighed, giving the rubber-suited maniac a doting pat on the shoulder. "That's not a bad idea, but smoke might not be enough to confuse it. Not all engineers give their turrets visual sensors to track incoming targets, they can also use acoustic systems, or even eclectic things like molecule sniffers and seismic sensors."
"If I lob enough bombs in its direction, I'm bound tae blow it up sooner or later," Demoman said. Clearing away landmines had been a decent way to spend the morning, but it was starting to feel repetitive. He was eager to start exploding bigger things.
"Demoman's got the right idea! Just point me in the right direction, Engie. There isn't a damn thing on God's green earth that can survive MY WRATH!" Soldier had already shouldered his rocket launcher, and was practically dancing with joy at the opportunity to finally use it.
"I dunno if that's the best idea, boys. You start blowin' up big pieces of the landscape around here, and they'll know exactly where we are. There's gotta' be a safer way..." Engineer was still trying to be prudent. Medic expressed his agreement with a nod, but the others were losing patience with the team's careful pace. Soldier seemed particularly frustrated, and he turned to face Engineer with a reproachful expression.
His voice was unusually quiet, a monotonous growl in place of the energetic barking that Demoman was used to. "Is there a reason you keep shooting me down, private?"
Everyone went quiet as the Americans faced off. Demoman did his best to keep watch on their surroundings, but he listened curiously. Hearing Soldier argue with an "indoor voice" was strange, and Demoman found himself absentmindedly pondering what it might mean.
Engineer sure looked taken-aback. "What? ...c'mon, Sarge, I don't mean ta single you out, or anything like that. I'm just- shoot, I just want us to win this thing, y'know? I dunno if we can take that kinda' risk..." His brow creased above the visor he was wearing, and he anxiously bit his lip.
"War is all about taking risks, private. You're worried they'll find us out here? The sooner they show up, the sooner we stop sneaking around like a bunch of cat-burglars, and turn this fiasco into something we can win- a real fight."
Soldier spat in the mud; he was practically radiating the disappointment that must have been curdling inside him since yesterday. The fact that he was expressing it without screaming at Engineer, well... it was a little confounding to Demoman. (I wonder what's gotten into him? Maybe that rumour about Engineer slipping him valium was true, after all.)
An awkward silence descended on the team as Engineer digested the other man's words. Then the Texan spoke again, wrestling that bulky headset off as he did. "I get what you're sayin'. Don't- dammit, I hope it don't seem like there's no place for you in the plans I make. I've just got a different way of lookin' at some things, I guess... But here. If you're gonna' start shootin' rockets at that thing, put this on first. You'll be able to see it better."
Engineer offered the visor to Soldier. The older American lifted his helmet off, looking dumbfounded, then took the device and finally started returning to his regular self. A smile creased the corners of his mouth. "Well thanks, Engie! I'll put it to good use."
As Soldier prepared to demolish the sentry tower (and everything near it), the rest of the mercenaries retreated to the shade of the roadside. Demoman was feeling kind of sore about being passed by for RED's other source of high explosives, but he kept it to himself, and drank some more to ease his frustration. (This is because I've got no depth perception, isn't it? Bloody unfair...)
The destruction was too loud for anyone to carry on a conversation, so the others busied themselves with some canned rations, and ate while they waited. Demoman wasn't hungry, and the closest thing to entertainment was watching poor Pyro wrestle haplessly with a folding can-opener; after taking pity on the firebug and opening the tin for him, Demoman had nothing to do. He found his gaze wandering back to the cliff he'd noticed earlier, but there was no sign of the figure amongst the trees.
A strange sense of premonition gnawed at the Scotsman, inspiring him to keep his eye on the sky. Even when the explosions ceased, and the two Americans returned to the team in triumph, he still felt terribly uneasy. Looking back down the road they had already travelled, Demoman thought he saw a spot on the horizon, suspended above the trees. After a moment of determined squinting, he realized that something was definitely coming their way. Demoman could only think of one thing it could possibly be.
"Heads up, lads, I think that's a helicopter inbound!" He pointed towards the shape, which was growing larger as it approached. Whether the aircraft was on route to the estate, or coming to investigate Soldier's handiwork, was open to speculation.
The other RED team members didn't take long reacting to Demoman's warning. Soldier - who had only agreed to stop for lunch after considerable urging from Engineer and Medic - sprang to his feet and quickly gulped down a can of soup. Then he picked up his rocket launcher and reloaded it hastily, shouting, "I'll blast them out of the sky!"
Medic sounded a little uncertain, as though he were trying to work out a few mental equations before passing judgement on the aircraft. "It couldn't be any of our men, yes? Even if one of zem had died in ze past few hours, it is impossible he could heff returned to ze Caribbean so quickly. ...can anyone see vhat colour zat helicopter is? Or its make, for zat matter..."
"Oh! Hand me those goggles, Sarge." Engineer scrambled to an upright position as well, pocketing the remainder of the biscuits he'd been eating. After getting his elaborate headset back, he put the thing on and started mucking around with it. The vehicle was still too distant to be clear to the naked eye, but Engineer gave it one look through the visor, and bristled. "Looks like a cargo helicopter, somethin' bigger than our Hueys. Fuselage pods and the cowling up top are painted blue... I'd be pretty suspicious of anything flyin' over this remote island as it is, but that kinda seals the deal- it's gotta be a BLU transport. They probably can't see us down here, but there's no way they'd miss that smoking wreckage up the road."
"Is too bad you destroy big sentry," Heavy said idly, glancing at Soldier.
The lantern-jawed American turned to Heavy and opened his mouth for a retort, but was cut off by Engineer. "That just means we'll hafta shoot it down ourselves, don't it? I'll unpack that dispenser again, you boys get your biggest guns ready and wait 'til it's overhead. Any sooner, and they'll have time to split before you can do any serious damage."
Heavy had pried open several cans of rations for lunch; he finished the last one, then grinned and rose to his feet, no-doubt eager to ruin someone's day with Sasha. Soldier might have still been annoyed by his huge teammate's ribbing, but the prospect of getting to kill people helped to mend his busted balls. Although there was nothing in Medic's arsenal that could do much to a helicopter, he shouldered the Medi-gun's power pack and joined the others, followed by Pyro; his mask hid his expression as always, but he seemed optimistic about the damage his flare gun might do.
For his part, Demoman was just hoping the chopper would fly low enough for him to hit it at all. He grumbled, "Of all the rotten luck... maybe they'll try parachutin' down, an' I can pick 'em out of the air."
As the enemy helicopter came near, Tavish DeGroot couldn't help but smile a little. The promise of a fight always brought the team together. After hours of slogging down a muddy road at a snail's pace, everyone seemed overjoyed to have a fight coming up. (It won't be a long battle if the first few rockets take them down, but at least we'll have a victory under our belts. Nothing raises my spirit like watching those BLU girlies get blown to pieces.)
When the chopper was close enough for its roar to drown out casual conversation, Soldier dug his heels into the muck and lifted the business end of his rocket launcher. Demoman could see him squinting out from under his helmet at the aircraft, trying to plot its speed of approach so he'd know where to aim. He was always using fancy things like "motion parallax" and "depth perception" that came with having two eyes.
Soldier barked, "Let's take this bastard down, boys! OPEN FIRE!" His rocket launcher sent a lovely billet-doux towards the enemy, and belched a smoke cloud onto the rest of the team. The projectile hit home, but it only took a second before Demoman could see that it had just destroyed the left side's landing gear. Cursing, Soldier started to line up another shot.
The BLU team wasn't going to take this lying down, though. Just as Heavy started spinning up his minigun and trying to angle it skywards, the chopper's door slid open, and a mounted machine-gun poked its nose out to greet the mercenaries. The trees only protected Demoman and his teammates as far as obscuring their position from people above. The rising smoke from Soldier's rocket launcher was like a big, red bullseye. Lead death rained down on the REDs.
Engineer yelped in pain as he and his half-finished building were strafed. The rest of the team scrambled for cover as the enemy shot blindly down through the trees. Heavy couldn't move himself fast enough and took some hits as a result. The big man roared and hefted Sasha's barrel upwards, then returned fire. While the helicopter weaved overhead, Medic pulled himself out of the mud and hurried back to his teammates, turning his Medi-gun on the wounded Texan first. Everyone knew a couple bullet wounds would just make Heavy more dangerous.
Demoman was unscathed. He clambered through the foliage until he was clear of the targeted area, then glared up at the helicopter. It had moved past the RED team, but he could see that it was circling back around. From somewhere behind him, he heard Soldier launch another rocket, but this one missed the turning vehicle and went whistling off into the distance.
"Looks like they're comin' for another pass at us!" Demoman shouted, readying his grenade launcher. Although he wasn't sure if he'd be able to hit it, he was sure as hell going to try. The chopper had definitely dropped closer to the treetops since it was damaged. (The bastards probably want to take a better shot this time.)
To his surprise, the BLU's aircraft took a steep dive and leveled out just before it touched down, skidding to a stop in the mud roughly fifty yards from the REDs. He was thrilled with this turn of events. Holding his position amongst the trees and watching the enemy team begin their charge, one face in the crowd stood out to Demoman. A word formed silently on his lips. It was one that filled him with rage some days, or left him wound-up in lonely regret on others. He didn't say it out loud, but as the thought lingered, he growled, "Trai-tor-i-ous son of a hoor... It'd be you they send out here, woul'n't it? Ah'll give what's comin' to ye, mark my words."
Demoman heard footsteps in the undergrowth. Heavy and Medic had come up alongside him, and the huge Russian's mini-TAT was already spinning and ready to unleash hell. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw that Pyro was keeping close to Engineer as the shorter man scrambled to salvage the destroyed machine and make something useful from its remains. Soldier had lingered at Engineer's side, but he was beginning to move up just now, eyeballing the incoming BLU horde.
The older American's lips curled back in a dangerous grin. "Alright, boys. Here's the game plan: if they haven't spotted us by the time they're at... oh, about mid-range... let 'em have it. If they find us out before then, me and the Scot will split off in either direction, and it'll be business as usual."
"Makes enough sense tae me, mate. ...steady, they're definitely lookin' fer us." True to Demoman's warning, the BLU team had slowed their advance a little, their eyes darting back and forth as they searched the trees and bushes alongside the road. It seemed like they might actually blunder right on past without even noticing the muddy RED mercenaries, but as the BLU Scout scurried into the danger zone, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and pointed at the roadside.
"Whoa, holy shit, we got-" The young man's eyes were wide with shock, but he only started considering evasive maneuvers too late- his warning to the rest of the BLUs was cut off by Soldier, who scattered his body to the four winds with a rocket strike.
It was on.
With no reason to be subtle anymore, Heavy bellowed, "You are all DEAD!" Sasha spoke too, but her voice was a rumbling purr, and her words were more than threats. The BLUs scattered towards either side of the road, except for their soldier- Jane- who launched himself into a spectacular battle-charge.
Trailing smoke in an arc behind him, Jane flew through the air and came crashing down on RED Pyro, who gave a muffled squeak. He gripped his launcher with one hand, then pulled out his trench shovel with the other and took a swing at RED Engineer; the Texan ducked behind the sentry he was trying to cobble back together, cursing. Before the BLU soldier could tangle further with his diminutive foe, RED Pyro weakly reached up from his place on the ground, then shot a flare up the back of Jane's coat. He burst into flames, screaming incoherently about the fact that he was now on fire.
Demoman's first instinct was to have a visit with his "old friend"- the kind of visit involving explosives and maybe some angry words but the BLU Heavy-Medic group was making themselves a dangerous inconvenience to everyone on the RED team. Putting aside his plans to duke it out with Jane, Tavish lobbed a couple of grenades towards the blue-clad Heavy, then dove behind some bushes as his foe's minigun traced a line across his chest.
"Ugh, good thing he were nae any closer t'me. This's gonna leave a hell of a bruise," he groaned, clutching at his ribs. The first swath of bullets hadn't penetrated his armour, but Demoman knew it wouldn't hold out against that kind of punishment forever. As it was, he felt like he'd been run over by a motorbike. The grenades went off, and he peered through the foliage to see how much damage he'd done.
BLU Heavy was roaring angrily as he hosed-down the RED side with hot lead. Behind him, a little guy in blue overalls was hastily erecting a dispenser, but their medic was nowhere to be seen. Then Tavish spotted a sleeve attached to a blue glove at one end, and nothing else on the other; it was clear that the BLUs were now fighting without a doctor.
Tavish glanced over his shoulder to see how Pyro and Engineer were holding out. It was just then that the bush he was using for cover exploded. As splinters and bits of metal tore through his left ear and cheek, the RED Demoman howled and looked back to the fore, lifting his launcher. His BLU counterpart was there, grinning fiendishly and closing in on him.
"What sorta Highland Demoman would be found cowerin' in the hedge like a bleedin' pheasant? You're a damned disgrace to our kind, ye RED pillock!" BLU Demoman then started to reload his own launcher, and cackled gleefully.
"What sorta Highland Demoman starts prattlin' away at the enemy while 'is weapon's run dry?" The injured Scotsman was half-kneeling in the mud, but he still had a couple rounds left in his launcher. After BLU Demoman realized his grave error, Tavish lobbed him a trio of frag grenades. The first one missed, but in scrambling to avoid it, he twisted his ankle in the mud and was struck by the other two bombs.
Splashes of blood and flying limbs always brightened Demoman's day, particularly when he was the one responsible for them. He pulled himself to his feet and glanced over in time to see Jane decapitating RED Pyro with his shovel. Anger flared up in Demoman's throat, and the world seemed to slow to a molasses speed as he took in the battlefield around him one last time. There was no question that he was going after the BLU team's soldier next, but on some level, he knew he should check and see how many of his allies still lived.
Heavy was pin-cushioned with arrows, doubtlessly the work of the BLU Sniper. He was still alive and shooting, though, while providing a meat wall to shelter Medic. The focus of his rage was the enemy heavy weapons operator, a man equally massive and well-armed. Behind BLU Heavy was a dispenser, and BLU Engineer, who was working frantically to keep his machine up and running. The RED team's Engineer had given up on building in this hectic environment; Demoman spied him and Soldier on the other side of the road, crouched against the rusted hulk of an old Jeep. Engie's hard-hat was gone. His face and head were bloody, but Demoman couldn't tell where his injury was, let alone how bad it might be. An arrow drifted past their hiding place - BLU Sniper making himself known, no doubt. Beside the lofty marksman, a man with an anxious posture and a gas-mask was brandishing his flamethrower. One of Solly's rockets came screaming towards BLU Pyro, who emitted a muffled yelp and deflected it into the trees with an air-burst.
That left Demoman to pair off with the enemy of his choice. "God help me," Tavish murmured, slinging the launcher across his back. Then he brandished his faithful Pain Train and charged at Jane.
The BLU team's Soldier was taking a break to lift Pyro's severed head up out of the mud. If the Scotsman's battle-scream didn't get Jane's attention, his beatstick certainly did; he ducked low and took a powerful swing at the back of the American's knee. BLU Soldier whooped in surprise and staggered, turning just in time to take another blow to the wrist. Enraged, he hurled the severed head at Tavish, then hobbled backwards through the mud to put some distance between them. The man's shovel was now doubling as a cane.
"JUMPING A MAN FROM BEHIND? You will fight me like a REAL SOLDIER, TAVISH!" Jane's toothy grimace flashed below the rim of his helmet, spewing insults and flecks of saliva in equal measure. Still leaning on his shovel, he seemed to realize that his RPG couldn't be used one-handed, and rooted clumsily through his pack until he found a shotgun. While he worked to prop it against his hip, Demoman started towards him, leaving the detached noggin behind. Seconds later, it vanished along with the rest of Pyro.
"All's fair in love and war, mate. Ye should be grateful ah didn't just blow ye to bits! That would've ended things real quick." Demoman grinned, brandishing his club and considering where to use it next. Even though their friendship had become a feud, then simmered down to a rivalry that went up and beyond the requirements of their employers, the two men afforded each other certain privileges when facing off in the battlefield- namely, the chance to fight back. Tavish didn't know how Jane saw it, but to him, it was the closest he could get to an apology.
The American growled irritably, taking a shot at Demoman. It missed. As burly as BLU Soldier was, he just wasn't big enough to use a shotgun with one hand. He cursed and flipped it around, then suddenly lurched forwards and swung the shotgun's butt at his enemy, swatting the Pain Train out of his grasp. Tavish had a moment to stare in surprise, before Jane clobbered him over the head and his view of the world turned to stars. Dazed, he scrambled away and fumbled through the bushes for his weapon. As the enemy limped after him in pursuit, he could hear foliage rustling, and further off, the chaos of a battle in full swing.
"How d'you like that, you Scotch son of a bitch? I'll teach you to get the drop on me!" Jane whaled on him with the shotgun until he found his weapon, and raised it to block the incoming attacks; although his armour dulled the impact of the blows, it was no less vexing. As he looked up again, it was apparent that the Soldier had recovered a little from being hobbled. He seemed to be trying to decide if his shovel was really a better melee weapon than the gun.
"Yer doin' a fine job of educatin' me so far. Now here, Ah've got a lesson fer you: shovels belong in the garden or the graveyard, not the battlefield!" Demoman took an idle swing at the shovel, and Soldier fell for it, turning his attention to defensive manoeuvres with the entrenching tool. Then the Scotsman lunged for his real target: the other man's shotgun.
Its barrel was a bit too thick to grab securely, and when BLU Soldier saw Demoman's hand near the trigger, he released the gun like it was on fire, and hustled around to his enemy's blind side. "Don't you dare shoot! This was supposed to be hand-to-hand combat!"
"Ah never said that, you oaf, I was jes' givin' you a fair chance te fight back," Demoman drawled, turning to get the American back in view. He was already tired of this game, tired of facing off with Jane, tired of playing 'ring around the rosie' with him. The shotgun would bring an end to things, as soon as the soldier stopped running circles around him. Brimming with impatience, he turned the other way and was suddenly face-to-face with Jane.
BLU Soldier bristled, and smashed that troublesome shovel against the left side of his face. "I don't need your 'fair chances', Goddammit! My superior fighting skills are enough to-"
A bloodcurdling scream caught Tavish's notice, and he glanced over out of reflex. It wouldn't have been unusual if not for the fact that he didn't recognize the sound of it. The other man's attention was diverted as well, which was probably for the best - otherwise, he probably would have exploited the distraction to beat Demoman senseless. They both stared as a third soldier came flying out of the jungle, and landed in the midst of the other combatants.
This man was armed with a rectangular, black beast of a rocket launcher- something clearly not standard issue. He wore a RED soldier's uniform, bearing a small gold insignia on the left breast: an eagle, clutching a branch in its talons. The coat was showing signs of how much time its owner had spent in the jungle. It was not red anymore, so much as deeply stained, and scored with innumerable tears from traversing the rough terrain. His helmet was similarly dirty, and covered with netting into which bits of foliage had been incorporated. It was camouflage, just like his dark green face-paint. "YOU RAGGEDY-ASSED LITTLE PUKES ARE TAKING TOO LONG TO DIE!" the newcomer barked, then started a bloody chain reaction across the battlefield.
Perhaps it was because they had been engaged in a standoff, rather than actively brawling, that Tavish and Jane were the only ones to stop and watch him. That was about to change. The instant he was on the ground, the renegade soldier took aim at Medic, who among the REDs was responsible for maintaining a stalemate between the two groups. Medic didn't see his demise coming. Nor did his Heavy, but the big Russian - who had run out of ammunition for Sasha, and was reduced to pelting his distant opponent with a shotgun - definitely felt the nearby explosion, and the difference it made after his healer was gone. Enraged and under fire from BLU Heavy, he turned to face Medic's attacker, but was mowed down before he could try to avenge his close friend.
This turn of events came as a surprise to the BLU Heavy and Engineer, who took a moment to realize that the Soldier responsible wasn't their teammate. He had already turned his sights on them, and a moment later, he reduced BLU Engineer to an exploded mess, along with the dispenser that had been keeping BLU Heavy alive and his mini-TAT loaded. The rogue mercenary was farther from him than the two REDs had been, and his gun didn't do much more than slow him down as he tried to dodge incoming rockets.
Demoman stared on as the enemy team's Heavy became a scattered heap of blood, guts and bone meal. Beside him, Jane snapped, "What the hell is going on? I wasn't told we'd be fighting two RED teams this time!"
He glared at the blue-clad soldier. "You're askin' the wrong person. ...hold up, wasn't your group shot down the other day?"
Jane gave an angry snort. "What kind of a stupid-assed question is YES, our first transport was shot down by you bastards. Do you know the mad rush we were the rest of the day, just getting back here?"
"It weren't us who did that. We sent two of our lads out yesterday morning. They spotted your chopper on the way in, before they also got blasted out o' the sky." Demoman's gaze flickered back to the fight, and he swapped out Jane's shotgun for his launcher, hastening to reload it. Still frowning, he added, "There's other people on this island. I dinnae know when they got here, or what it is they're after, but it's pretty clear they're not keen on sharin' it with anyone else."
The BLU soldier rubbed his chin, then grumbled thoughtfully to himself as he shouldered his rocket launcher. "I'll bet that crazy bastard never gave up on the fight for this godforsaken jungle. Maybe he didn't even leave when the rest of us did. He could've been staking out the island for the last two years, just waiting for us to come back and try to take it away from him..."
"Ye've been here before?" Tavish had been preparing to bombard the renegade while his back was turned, but Jane's muttering threw off his concentration. It had answered a few questions that were on the Scotsman's mind, and raised even more. He tried to focus on taking aim, but was suddenly worried he might hit his remaining friends. (How far are they from where he's standing?)
The camouflaged Soldier had reloaded his Black Box and was angling for the other REDs, but Jane's teammates were none too pleased at the loss of their Heavy, and they sent him a barrage of flaming arrows as payback. All the mud caked into his trench coat made him flame-retardant, but didn't do much to protect him from sharp projectiles. Smoldering and bleeding from the arrows that had struck him, he directed his rage at BLU Sniper and Pyro instead. He fired on the Australian, who was more dangerous at long range, but BLU Sniper lunged towards his teammate and left the rocket flying off into oblivion.
By this point the remaining Engineer had noticed what was happening, and started struggling clumsily to reload his shotgun. RED Soldier, on the other hand, was clueless as always. Instead of pausing to wonder who his targets had turned to shoot at, he took advantage of the distraction and launched another high explosive towards them, screaming at the top of his lungs. With the two BLUs now bunched together, one shot was enough to finish them off. He was still cackling triumphantly when Engineer finally got his attention, amidst a desperate attempt to gun down the rogue mercenary.
Demoman could hear the Texan shouting, "Dammit, we've gotta kill that guy!" RED Soldier snapped around, hesitated, then scrambled to reload the empty launcher.
He couldn't tell whether or not Engineer was doing much damage, but having already lost Medic and Heavy, Tavish realized that he had to do something before he was out of allies. Cursing himself for neglecting to bring along a more powerful (albeit heavier) melee weapon, he shot a grenade towards the strange Soldier. It fell short of its mark and got stuck in the mud, then exploded. Demoman groaned, then snarled, "What the hell're ye waitin' for, Jane? Get him!"
Jane had been holding back, possibly with the intention of letting all his enemies take care of each other, but Demoman's words finally spurred him to action. "Alright, alright," he grunted, and took aim at the maverick. They had lost the element of surprise, though. Jane's target glanced over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the rocket launcher's business end, then threw himself to the ground just as BLU Soldier pulled the trigger.
The missile flew straight over its intended victim and struck the dilapidated Jeep, which the other REDs had been using for cover. There was an explosion and a burst of rusty shrapnel, followed by a rumbling crash. Weakened by the recent rainfall, it had only required an extra push to collapse that section of the embankment. As Scout had discovered hours ago, much of the road ran along steep ravine on the north side. It was into this deep gulch that the rusty car, the men, and a large quantity of muddy gravel now tumbled.
As the smoke cleared, Tavish and Jane stared. For all intents and purposes, it looked like part of the roadside had simply ceased to exist, along with Demoman's teammates. (How could that happen? There's nothing left... I can't believe one rocket would have done so much damage.) He couldn't bring himself to blame the BLU mercenary. And yet... even though sudden and ghastly deaths were a common experience for Demoman and his cohorts, he felt oddly stricken by this accident. (I was standing around, watching them swap c-rations only a couple minutes ago. Fuck it! I have to keep fighting. It's up to me!)
The renegade Soldier was rising from the mud like a B-movie monster, glaring out from under his tilted helmet with piercing blue eyes. Beside Demoman, the last BLU fighter gritted his teeth audibly, and muttered, "Dammit, boys..."
Now it was down to a two-on-one battle, and neither Jane nor Tavish seemed optimistic about their odds of winning.
