nightelf37: Remember: I own absolutely nothing here. Team Fortress 2 is by Valve, and this fic belongs to MickeyDismantle.
RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN
A/N: Guys. If you ask questions in the reviews but don't sign in when you do it, I can't answer them. I can only answer them via author's note and not everyone reads this crap. So that being said, to Okamilover: yes I took out the part where Miss Pauling kissed Scout on the cheek. I felt that it was too soon and too cheap. After all, the RED Scout has done countless things to earn her affections and she blows him off but then kisses BLU for doing one thing? It just felt cheesy and out of character for her and I kinda felt like it was cheating, lol. There will be more Scout/Pauling moments later. To PieSpie: Miss Pauling got the impression that the Admin was dead based on the fact that Gray double crossed her (Miss Pauling) and sent a robot to kill her. So she assumed he probably did the same to Helen.
Hope this chapter makes up for the lack of action in the others.
RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN
In a small ranch house on the street of Roadrunner Avenue, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson sat down for dinner with their son Jimmy and daughter Jane. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes were on the menu with green beans and fresh, cold milk. Their dog, Buddy, hung his head in shame as Mr. Johnson shooed him out the back door to sulk in his doghouse. They couldn't very well abide by begging, now, could they? Still, Buddy soon forgot his hunger and began to frolic within the white-picket-fenced yard, dashing around the swing set, and digging up his bone.
The Johnson family talked excitedly about their day as they took their seats. Mr. Johnson had just returned home from work at the office to find his wife a picture of loveliness and his children already finished with their chores and homework. Little Jimmy was getting all A's and chatted about joining his school little league team! Little Jane gushed to her mother about fashion and bicycles.
Mr. Johnson finished piling the meatloaf, potatoes, and green beans on each plate before the family said a small prayer and then began to dig in.
"Boy, ma! This meatloaf sure is great!" said Jimmy.
The rest of the family heartily agreed.
"I'll do the dishes tonight, mother! I insist!" said Jane.
"Oh, you kids are just swell!" Mrs. Johnson beamed.
"Hey ma! Can we watch the television while we eat?" asked Jimmy.
"Oh, I don't know. Honey, what do you think?" Mrs. Johnson looked at her husband.
Mr. Johnson only chuckled. "Just this once."
Jimmy and Jane cheered as Jimmy rushed towards the small box television in the living room. It was in full view of the kitchen table so that the family could dine and watch their favorite shows should the need arise. After the picture faded into view, Jimmy adjusted the antennae until the picture was crisp. The news was on.
"Oh, boy!"
"Turn it up, Jimmy. Let's hear what's going on with the town today," said Mr. Johnson.
Jimmy fiddled with the volume dial but suddenly, the picture became scrambled. Instinctively, he moved the rabbit ears to and fro, pointing them in any direction he could to initiate a clear picture. But to no avail...
"Hmm, that's strange," said Mr. Johnson, furrowing his eyebrows. "I wonder what-"
But suddenly, Buddy began to bark madly from the backyard. The family stared at each other in slight puzzlement. What on earth could Buddy be barking at? And why was their television not working? Such a peculiar evening!
Mr. Johnson got up from the kitchen table, preparing to tell Buddy off for being so loud, when he felt a vibration under his feet.
"Father?!" Jane cried, her voice trembling. She stared in horror as their glasses of milk rippled upon the tabletop.
Soon, their entire house was rumbling; windows rattling against their frames and pictures falling from the walls. Jane shrieked in fear and clung to her mother who could only wrap her arms around the child and comfort her through the bizarre events. Not even Mr. Johnson knew what to do. But then Jimmy pointed his finger at the living room window and his eyes went wide.
"Look!"
The family scrambled from the table and followed Jimmy as he ran out the front door.
"Jimmy! Jimmy, come back!" his mother cried.
Jimmy only got as far as the front porch, though; standing there frozen with his mouth gaping open. His family did the same.
There, slowly crawling down their suburban street and heading for the mountains just beyond, a line of giant, blue, robotic tanks.
RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN
"Get back to the shed!" Scout shouted over his shoulder as he dashed away, disappearing into the trees in a flash.
"Scout! What are you doing!?" Miss Pauling exclaimed. Her eyes were wide with worry and fear as she gaped up at the five blue teleporter beams in the near distance. Their plan had changed dramatically. One teleporter worth of robots was one thing, but five was just suicide. She wasn't sure how Scout planned on leading such an onslaught to the bridge without dying himself.
But it was too late for her to plead her case. He was already running past the shed when she heard the first sounds of explosions and gunfire erupt from the trees. The RED Spy was already standing outside, glaring up at the line of teleporter beams when Scout zoomed past him.
"Scout, no!" he tried to blare but his plea fell on deaf ears. Scout disappeared into the trees.
Miss Pauling was at Spy's side in an instant, breathless and concerned. "Spy, stay here!" She began to run off again when Spy firmly grabbed her by the arm.
"Where are you going?!" he shouted.
"I have to get the others! We can't fight this!"
"You'll die out there! And there's no way you could convince them to retreat now anyway. It's too late!"
"I can't let them die!"
"Then stay here and help me fight! You're no good to us blown to pieces!"
As much as Miss Pauling wanted to argue, she knew Spy was right. She looked out at the trees worriedly as the echoes of explosions reverberated through her bones and the ground shook beneath her feet. Regretfully, she unsheathed her pistol from the garter around her leg and nodded at the Spy. The two of them then stood alone and exposed, waiting for the inevitable.
RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN
Meanwhile, Scout's feet pelted the forest floor as he ran with every ounce of energy he had. He smacked tree branches away with his arms, ducking under foliage and leaping over logs. Even the frost beneath his feet didn't slow him down.
The sounds of gunfire and rockets grew louder and once Scout cleared the last fallen tree, he stumbled to a stop and stared in horror. A line of hundreds of robots ascended the mountain, marching right towards him. He wasn't sure if they had seen him yet as he quickly hid himself behind a tree and pressed his back into the trunk. His chest rose and fell rapidly and his heart thundered beneath his sternum as he reached into his pocket and unsheathed his pistol.
Moment of truth.
One...two...THREE!
Scout rounded the tree trunk and raised his pistol, preparing to go out in a blaze of gunfire and glory. Even if he could take down only one robot, he would die happy. But he didn't get a chance. Before he could squeeze the trigger, the sounds of a minigun erupted behind him.
Heavy screamed as he unleashed fury upon the line of robots; a weak healing beam keeping him alive from Medic's medigun behind him. The first line of robots fell before they realized what had happened but the second line was a horde of angry Soldier bots, which raised their rocket launchers and took aim. They took one step farther and exploded.
"HA HA! THAT'LL TEACH YA!", came Demoman's triumphant cheers to Scout's right, shooting more grenades into the horde.
"ATTAAAAAACK!" Soldier screamed, charging from Scout's left.
Meanwhile, Heavy was doing his best to keep the army of advancing Minor League Scouts at bay. His minigun pelted them mercilessly and they fell in showers of scrap metal and sparks, melting the snow beneath them. But he knew his ammo wouldn't last forever and there were a lot more robots ascending the mountain.
The Medic stood behind him, medigun beam fixated on his back and flinching at the blasts hitting the trees nearby. He was completely focused, however, so he didn't notice the Scout coming up behind him and raising its knife-
Pyro let out a triumphant hoot as he charged and set the Spy bot on fire. Medic turned around with a gasp, watching as the robot fell to his feet dead and charred.
"Danke, Pyro!" he shouted, giving a thumbs-up.
The BLU Pyro, who had come out of nowhere, only returned the gesture and then ran off to airblast a line of incoming missiles from the Soldier bots. The rockets did a 180 and blew the Soldiers into pieces.
"YEAH!" Scout cheered from nearby, still firing into the army. "RETURN TO FRICKIN' SENDER!"
By now, Soldier's and Demoman's rockets and grenades had done enough damage to create a hole in the bots' defense but Demoman knew it couldn't last forever. As long as more bots came through the teleporters, they would be outnumbered and their ammo exhausted in no time.
"Ach! Soldier! Ye have to blast the teleporters!" Demoman shouted to his friend.
"SIR, YES, SIR!" Soldier gave a weak salute and aiming his rocket launcher towards the ground, fired and lifted himself into the air. He soared over the seemingly never ending wave of bots, much to Demoman's horror.
"DO IT WITHOU' GETTIN' KILLED, YE GIT!"
But Soldier was fearless and confident to a fault. He sailed towards the ground, blasting his rocket launcher just as his feet hit the ground and lifted off again, effectively taking out a group of Huntsman Snipers. It wasn't long before he disappeared out of view.
By now, Scout had succeeded in picking off random robots using the element of surprise. Fueled by adrenaline, he successfully dodged the bullets and rockets and hid behind trees whenever the opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, the mountainside was now completely saturated in robots and Scout was quickly running out of safe places to take cover. He jumped over a fallen tree and slid to a stop right in the middle of a Sydney Sniper nest.
"Oh, shit."
The robots didn't have time to raise their rifles and take aim at him, so they wielded their kukris instead and began to charge, waving the knives madly in the air. Scout dove to the ground and raised his pistol, firing several rounds into the nearest Sniper bots before somersaulting out of the way of a deadly downward slash of metal. He scrambled to his feet and sucked in his breath sharply just as the swipe of a nearby kukri missed his chest by centimeters. The Sniper bot lunged again and Scout ducked; the kukri stabbing the other Sniper behind him. As the initial attacker tried to dislodge his knife from the chest of his now dead comrade, Scout fired two rounds of his pistol into the bot's head and dove out of the way.
Still, more and more Sydney Snipers descended upon him. Scout cursed and used his fists and wit to keep alive but it wasn't enough. He killed what he thought was the last Sniper bot but another had come up behind him from the trees. As Scout finished off the last warbling robot, he didn't hear the other sneaking up behind him; knife raised and ready to deal the killing blow. And then, there was a loud gunshot from some distance away and the Sydney Sniper cried out as it collapsed dead; a rifle bullet leaving a clean hole through its head.
"Woah!" Scout gasped, spinning around. He looked up from the dead robot and scanned the forest; seeing the BLU Sniper perched up in a tree a few hundred feet away. They exchanged a thumbs-up of gratitude before Scout glanced behind him to see where the giant Heavies were.
Suddenly, Demoman gave a triumphant cheer. Against all odds, it appeared that Soldier had made it to the first teleporter. One blue beam disappeared from the skies.
The victory was short-lived. Scout peered out from behind the tree trunk and saw a group of Huntsman Snipers taking aim. He growled in frustration and whipped his body out of hiding, running and hopping over logs and tree branches.
"YO, DEMO, LOOK OUT!" he tried to warn the trigger-happy Scotsman but it was too late. The Huntsman pelted Demoman with a sea of arrows.
Demo let out a yelp of pain and fell to the forest floor, yanking an arrow from his bicep, chest, and thigh. Luckily, none had struck his head, but he knew that unless he was healed, he would bleed out. Already, sticky, crimson blood began to hit the snow beneath him in large plops.
"DEMO!" Heavy cried, taking cover behind a large tree as the robots began to regroup.
Medic was already on top of it, though. He left Heavy's side in an instant, dodging bullets and weaving through trees until he reached Demoman's prone form in the snow.
"Medic," the Scotsman choked weakly. He looked up at the Medic with eyes full of desperation and pain.
"Stay down," Medic ordered and crouched as low as he could, narrowly avoiding bullets that were pelting the bark of the tree behind him. He aimed his medigun at his teammate and let the healing beam soak into his arrow-riddled body. Within seconds, Demoman was a picture of health.
"Hey, thanks, doc!" He sprung to his feet and without a second's hesitation, continued his robot slaughter.
Even though the mountaintop was frigid, Medic found himself wiping sweat from his forehead. He remained crouched low on his way back to Heavy when he heard another cry for help to his left. Pryo was running backwards, doing his best to airblast incoming rockets away but there were too many. One struck the ground at his feet and the resulting explosion sent him flying into a tree and slumping to the ground.
Medic cursed under his breath and ran to help his teammate. The Pyro was a sight for sore eyes; limbs twisted grotesquely out of place, it was a miracle he was still alive. Medic trained his medigun upon him and heard the crackling of bones realigning. Pyro gave a muffled groan of protest as he regained consciousness and shook off the soreness of his fatigued muscles. With a thumbs-up and a nod, he silently thanked the Medic before pulling himself to his feet.
"MEDIC!"
The doctor gasped and spun around, trying to pinpoint the location of the call for help. It was the Heavy, but the Medic couldn't see him. Finally, he saw a group of Rapid Fire Demomen marching in a cluster towards a large fallen tree. He heard the cry for help again and began to run.
"Heavy!" His gut told him that Heavy was hiding behind that log, mortally wounded and shouting for help. But the robots were closing in fast and he knew he wouldn't able to reach his friend in time. "No!"
And then, he gasped as he saw the BLU Spy materialize behind them and firmly attach his sapper to a robot's back. Immediately, the group of Rapid Fire Demomen stopped in their tracks and hunched over. Spy pulled out his revolver and hurried the sapping process along; shooting each Demoman in the head until they fell dead to the ground.
"Danke," Medic sighed with relief.
Though Spy couldn't hear him, he saw the gratefulness on Medic's face. And with a nod, he recloaked and carried on.
Medic threw himself down next to Heavy, keeping his back pressed up against the tree.
"Ah, Doktor. Is flesh wound," he said, pointing to the bullet wounds across his chest, slowly oozing blood.
"Heavy, honestly, zhis is no time for jokes," Medic scolded, aiming his medigun towards Heavy's chest.
"MEDIC!"
"DOC!"
"MEEEEEEEEEDIC!"
"SCHEIßE!"
Too many calls for help. Relief was in sight however, as the second teleporter beam fizzled out and died in the distance. To his right, he heard Scout cheer before letting out a strangled cry, taking an arrow in the shoulder and falling to the ground. Pyro, however, came in and made short order of the offending Huntsman Snipers just as Scout regained his composure and ripped the arrow from his flesh and threw it to the ground. A thick trail of blood darkened a line down his blue t-shirt but he ignored it; he had been hit with worse before. Still, the pain was evident in his face.
"Thanks, Pyro," he said before picking off one last Huntsman with his pistol.
Despite the overwhelming numbers, the mercs were managing to keep the onslaught relatively tame. The robots were weak and stupid, running into the line of fire like kamikazes. Spy's sapper was making things immeasurably easier as large groups of Soldier bots and Demo bots were stopped in their tracks, allowing Heavy and Pyro to shoot and torch whatever Spy wasn't able to backstab.
A third teleporter beam disintegrated and the mercs let out a cry of joy. However, their job was far from over. More robots made their way towards the battlefield, including Heavyweight Champs and Pyro bots, igniting the trees and filling the air with the sharp stench of burning wood. Steam rose up from the forest floor as snow melted rapidly and greatly reduced their visibility.
Medic did his best to keep up with the amount of healing that was requested of him, but his medigun still wasn't running at 100% capacity since it was damaged in the last fight, and the healing beam was soaking into the mercs' bodies slowly at best. Their injuries grew graver and graver as the battle carried on and the mercs were forced back with every wave of robots. Despite the fresh snowfall, the trees were dry and within moments, fire licked the sky.
"Fall back!" Demo shouted, signaling the others to ascend further up the mountain to escape the flames and smoke.
The mercs didn't need to be told twice. Coughing and blindly shooting, they ran through the forest back towards the radio tower. Halfway there, they ran into the RED and BLU Snipers.
"I can't see a bloody thing!" RED Sniper growled as his scope was rendered useless through the smoke. "Where's Soldier?"
"Taking out teleporters!" Heavy replied.
"Incoming!" Scout announced as more robots materialized from the smoke-filled forest.
The mercs collectively let out a groan of frustration and readied themselves once more. They scattered and picked off whatever bots they could with whatever ammo they had left, but their energy and supplies were wearing thin.
Smoke rising up the mountain, visibility was almost zero. Medic stayed close to Heavy's side and remained low. As much as he wanted to be available to help the others, he knew that he would be no good to them dead, and Heavy provided the most protection. After an eternity, the medigun finally reached uber capacity.
"I am fully charged!" Medic announced.
"Now, Doktor!"
Medic popped the uber and suddenly, they were glowing in blue light. Bathed in invulnerability, they charged forward and pushed past the other mercs to release a spray of bullets upon the unsuspecting robots. It turned out to be the one thing they needed to turn the tides of the battle. At close range, Heavy's minigun tore into the robots' metal bodies and sent them crumpling to the ground in great numbers. By the time the uber began to flicker away, the forest was silenced.
At first, all the mercs could do was stand where they were and gape out into the trees in awe. Their chests heaved as they sucked in great gulps of air and smoke; sweat glistening on their foreheads despite the cold; blood seeping from their wounds and dotting the snow with red.
And then, to add to the moment, the final teleporter beam disappeared from the evening sky. They had won.
"YEEAAAAAH!" Scout cried joyously, breaking the silence.
The mercs were snapped from their daze and deflated, letting out whoops and hollers and grouping together to slap each other on the backs. Against all odds, they had overcome. A group of 9 men had somehow defeated five teleporters worth of robots; hundreds of killing machines sent to destroy them.
It wasn't long before Soldier rocket jumped back into their vicinity and was greeted with a hero's welcome. Demoman, especially, was ecstatic to see the safe return of his best friend. Aside from a few superficial injuries, Soldier was relatively unscathed.
"Excellent," BLU Spy said. "Now let us return to the radio tower. Miss Pauling and the RED Spy are worried, no doubt."
They couldn't have been more elated. Though choking, black smoke filled the forest, the mercs walked on the whitest of clouds. They laughed and regaled their heroic feats to one another, excitedly describing the highlights of their battle. Not even their injuries, exhaustion, or hunger could ruin the mood. That is, until Scout heard something...
He stopped as the others continued ascending the mountain and turned his ear over his shoulder; concentration etched on his dirtied, bleeding face. There was something distant; something that sent his heart into his throat.
"Guys...yo guys! Hold up...you hear that?" he asked.
The other mercs stopped and turned around, looking at Scout curiously. It was difficult to hear anything over the ringing in their ears but they tuned in anyway. For a moment, they heard nothing but the wind and fire around them, but then, the unmistakable low reverberation they had grown all too familiar with.
They came out of nowhere; three giant tanks rolling up the mountainside and demolishing everything in their path. Trees toppled to the ground and made the earth shake beneath the mercs' feet and sparks swirl into the dry, turbulent air. Yet all the men could do was stand there with their mouths hanging open.
The tanks stopped their parade of destruction only a few dozen meters away from the flabbergasted mercenaries. But instead of delivering bombs, the front of the tanks opened and out stepped three Giant Heavies and a team of Quick Fix Medics.
There was nothing the mercs could do. There wasn't enough ammo; there wasn't enough time. That is, until Scout remembered the plan and ran forward.
"Scout! What the bloody hell are you doin' ya stupid whelp! We gotta run!" RED Sniper barked.
"Go!" Scout answered quickly over his shoulder. He turned his attention back towards the colossal robots and began jumping up and down and waving his arms in the air, doing everything he could to get the giant robots' attention. "C'MON! OVER HERE YOU STUPID CHUMPS!" He suddenly cursed himself for not having his scattergun with him but in the heat of the moment, Scout improvised. He bent down and picked up a large rock and hurled it towards a robot Heavy's head. It hit its mark with a loud 'clang!'.
Unfortunately, Scout's plan worked a little too well.
In unison, the line of Giant Heavies and Quick-Fix Medics turned towards Scout. His bravado faltered for a second.
"Hoo boy," he said under his breath; his voice shaking. He composed himself quickly with a gulp. "Alright! Yeah! That's right! Come and get me you fuckin' heaps'a crap! Your mama's a microwave!"
The stomping of robot feet was deafening and the ground rumbled beneath Scout's feet as the bots approached. He waited until the Giant Heavy raised its minigun before he started to run. Fortunately, his fellow teammates were already well ahead of him.
At the radio tower, Miss Pauling and the RED Spy braved the cold to watch for the return of their team. They shivered violently though they weren't sure if it was from the chill or from nerves. They listened to the sounds of war echoing across the mountainside and the black smoke rising into the quickly-darkening sky. It was a terrible din, but they figured that as long as bombs were flying, the mercs were fighting. And if they were fighting, it meant they were alive.
The two of them wanted nothing more than to join the battle, but they knew that if any of the mercs made it back to the radio tower alive, they would have to be ready; ready to heal and ready to flee. Yet, Miss Pauling felt a deep emptiness and sense of failure as she did everything in her power to keep herself from running into the forest; guns blazing. She was their leader, and a leader should be at the front lines of battle, not hanging back at a makeshift safe house.
RED Spy, too, felt a sense of desperation, though he hid it much better than Miss Pauling. He stared ahead at the forest with cold, blue eyes and set jaw; grinding his teeth gently behind his thin lips. He felt well enough to fight but also felt a strong duty towards Miss Pauling; a duty to stay behind and protect her. If the robots killed the mercs and made it to the radio tower, she would be killed. Granted, if the robots burst through the trees right that second, Spy doubted there would be much he could do. But if he could kill just one to keep Miss Pauling safe before he died, he'd do it in a heartbeat.
"They're getting closer," he said.
For what felt like an eternity, the soundtrack of war assaulted their ears. And with every passing moment, it grew louder and louder and louder. The windows of the control room rattled violently behind them and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Finally, the last teleporter beam fizzled from the sky and Miss Pauling stepped forward eagerly.
"They...they did it!" She looked at him and beamed and he returned her sentiments with a nod. Still, she wondered how many of them would return to the radio tower alive. She didn't want to count her chickens just yet...
The forest had gone quiet and Miss Pauling and RED Spy were once again only accompanied by the sounds of their heavy breathing. They waited like dogs eager for the master's return. But then there came a faint sound; a distant low pitched hum and the blood drained from Spy's face. He knew what that sound was. Miss Pauling looked at him and immediately read his body language.
"What is that?" she whispered.
"Tanks."
And then, like a tsunami, the mercs materialized from the trees, running straight towards them; their faces wild with terror. Behind them, the silhouettes of Giant Heavies and Quick Fix Medics being led forward by none other than Scout. The plan was in motion after all...
Miss Pauling immediately jumped from her spot and ran towards her van.
"C'mon!" she shouted, grabbing the RED Spy by his elbow. He stumbled after her.
"What are you doing?!" he gasped.
"Getting us all the hell out of here! Get in!"
She whipped the driver's side door open and hopped in, immediately cranking the ignition as Spy threw himself into the passenger seat. Flooring the gas pedal, Miss Pauling gripped the steering wheel as the van fishtailed in the snow and then lurched forward at breakneck speed.
"Merde!" Spy yelped as he was thrown about in his seat. He quickly scrambled to put his seat belt on as the van wildly bulldozed forward.
Miss Pauling, however, looked determined as ever as she met the mercs halfway and slammed on the brakes. The van spun around several times before stopping, length wise, in front of her retreating men.
"Get in!" she shouted out the window.
The mercenaries whipped the back doors open only to shout in terror. Miss Pauling had forgotten about the dead robot Scout in the back until then.
"I'll explain later, just GET IN!" she urged again.
One by one, they haphazardly threw themselves into the cramped cargo area of the van; everyone except Scout.
"Scout! Come on!" yelled Medic.
"Go! I need ta lead 'em to the bridge, right?!" was Scout's response.
"Yeh can't lead 'em anywhere if you're dead, boy!" said Demoman.
"I got this! Go on and get across! I'll meet up with ya!"
He slammed the back doors shut before anyone could argue with him further.
"What's he doing!?" Miss Pauling shouted to the back of the van.
Sniper stuck his head up front. "His bloody job! Now go!"
Bullets suddenly assaulted the body of the van and the mercs all instinctively ducked. Reluctantly, Miss Pauling threw the transmission into gear and floored the gas once again. It lurched forward and she headed for the bridge. Once she reached the apex where the bridge connected with land, it became more apparent just how crude and narrow the path was. Her van would barely fit, but it was a chance they had to take. With one final glance in her driver's side mirror, she saw Scout dodging bullets and leading the robots forward; it was amazing he was still alive.
The bridge swayed beneath them as Miss Pauling did her best to keep the van centered. High winds and ice made their journey a death trap, but after what seemed like eons, the tires touched land on the other side.
"We made it!" she announced and immediately threw the van in park.
A sigh of relief was exchanged amongst the mercs as they threw the van doors open and poured out, lining up to watch Scout enter the bridge from the other side.
"C'MON YA HEAPS'A TIN FOIL!" he shouted, ducking out of the way of a sea of bullets. He managed to keep the Heavies from continuously firing by putting a fair distance between them. The robots would only shoot if they knew they could do damage. In turn, the bots were more concerned with closing the gap than they were with blindly opening fire on anything that moved. Scout knew he could run across the bridge and have it blow the bots to smithereens before the Giant Heavies could so much as spin up their miniguns. But then he heard a loud 'snap!'
"Get ready to blow the stickies!" Soldier said to Demo.
"Wait," RED Spy said, holding up his hand. "Something's wrong. Did you hear that?"
The mercs went silent, then, and listened. A low groan was coming from the bridge followed by several sharp crackles.
"What is that?" Miss Pauling asked.
But she was answered only seconds later as Scout no longer spent time on the bridge goading the bots forward, but instead was running full speed ahead. The bridge was weak and tested by the van's crossing but now the enormous weight of the Heavies and Medics drove it to the breaking point. Supports began to crack and tethers snapped. There was now no need to blow the bridge; the bridge was destroying itself.
"SCOUT, RUN!" BLU Sniper shouted at the top of his lungs.
"NO FUCKIN' SHIT!" was Scout's answer as his feet pelted the splintering wood beneath him.
The mercs gathered at the end of the bridge, hands outstretched to close whatever gap they could as Scout neared. But then it happened; the other end of the bridge detached from land and began to plummet.
Only mere feet from safety, the bridge disappeared from under Scout's feet. He outstretched his hand towards his awaiting team members but instead of gripping fingers, he found himself gripping what was left of the bridge hanging by two tethers on land.
"NO!" Miss Pauling cried, rushing forward to peer over the edge. But her fear was wiped away and immediately replaced with relief.
Scout hung by one hand as he looked down and watched the other end of the bridge disappear into the fog. He couldn't see a thing, but he knew from the thundering sound of breaking ice and metal hitting water that the bots had fallen to their doom. He looked up and winked at a very worried Miss Pauling.
"Ain't any of ya gonna say, 'How's it hangin'?'" he joked.
"You're gonna give us all strokes before the bots can kill us," said the RED Sniper in return. "Get up here, yeh pillock."
Scout grinned and began to climb using the wooden boards that once made up the pathway of the bridge as a ladder. He was nearly to the top and reached out to grab Sniper's hand when he felt the bridge shift beneath him. Confused, he glanced down and then large, metal fingers wrapped around his ankle.
"SCOUT!" RED Sniper cried.
It was a Giant Heavy. Somehow, it had managed to hang onto the bridge after the collapse and climbed its way back up through the fog. It was barely visible; appearing only as a phantom arm before pulling itself up further with its other hand, revealing its steely face.
The mercs all reached out for Scout but it was too late. He tried to hold onto the bridge, but the weight of the robot hanging from his leg was too much for him or the wooden remnants of the bridge to bear. With a final look of fear and desperation, Scout lost his grip and fell, disappearing into the fog below.
RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN—RSAN
nightelf37: Got nothing else to say here. Just wanted to keep a pattern. See ya on Third.