Author's note: Here we are again! It seems my author's notes are getting as popular as the story itself- or at least, as annoying. This chapter marks the end of Part Two, and has what is undoubtedly the worse cliffhanger of the entire story, but also what I consider to be the story's Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, too. Feel free to include your death threats and poetic descriptions of the bodily harm you wish to inflict upon me in your reviews, as usual. I'm sure you won't disappoint me, my dear readers.
I would like to give a special thanks to Bossloki for her incredible ability to spot the tiniest of errors in my writings- really appreciate it! I always proof before posting, but sometimes, errors slip through even with the best of intentions.
The artwork for this chapter is in its usual place at sanctuscecidit deviantart com.
Send In The Clones: Part Two
Chapter Twenty Eight: Recycled
Twilight had fallen, and the mercenaries had retired to their tents to try and grab a few hours rest before the attack. Heavy had fallen into a light sleep; he had been at war long enough to fall asleep pretty much anywhere and at any time.
"Sergei?"
Heavy's eyelids twitched, but he ignored Gerhardt's voice and shut his eyes tightly.
"Are you avake?" A bony finger poked his shoulder insistently.
"Hnn." He grunted. "Am awake now with doktor prodding me."
"I vanted to talk to you about somezhing." Medic said. Heavy opened his eyes in resignation and turned over to face the German.
"Is bad time. Should be sleeping."
"It is important." Medic said earnestly. "I have been zhinking and I realised: you vere right."
"What about?"
"Vhen I zhought I vas dying, you told me, over and over, not to give up, zhat I should have hope." Gerhardt said. "I didn't listen, because hope is... hard vork. It is far easier to give in and vait for death. But I vas wrong. I survived, and now ve have a chance at ending it all."
"I called Doktor coward. Was wrong of me." Heavy admitted.
"Vell...maybe." Gerhardt said thoughtfully. "You see, I have alvays zhought zhat optimists are alvays disappointed, vhile zhings always turn out better zhan a pessimist expects. So, I chose pessimism, so I vould never be disappointed."
"Sounds like miserable way to live." Heavy commented, stifling a yawn.
"Ja." Medic said. He clutched hold of Heavy's shoulder earnestly, his voice rising in excitement. "But you have taught me ozhervise. Now, I can see it. I can see it! Ve vill succeed. Everyzhing has fallen into place."
"Da, we will punish all leetle coward Violets." Heavy agreed. "Get some sleep, is going to be long night."
Medic rolled onto his back and smiled at the canvas roof. It rippled slightly in the wind.
"Nozhing can stop us now."
The convoy drove into position a couple of miles away from the compound, and the last part of the route was completed on foot under the canopy of trees. The soft pine needles muffled their footsteps, but it was horribly dark and Sniper had to direct them, giving the whispered instructions and using the stars as a guide. The branches reached in over their heads and formed an utter blackness from which rustles and the occasional squawk echoed. Engineer shuddered lightly, trying to squash the slight claustrophobia he felt from being so surrounded. Texas, with its open horizons, was so different. However, 'different' was a pretty good description of his life now. He was a nameless clone, and all his friends were dead, except for two people who were both risking their lives alongside him tonight. He didn't have a life any more: he had a cause. He had tried and tried to wrap his mind around that, but it had only ever remained words. He had not really let himself do anything but act recently. One day, maybe, he'd let himself collapse into a gibbering heap, but right now, he was needed, so he didn't.
Even thought he had gone into battle so many times, his stomach fluttered with what he was prepared to admit was nerves. He couldn't shake this, heh, gut feeling, that it was all going to go horribly, horribly wrong.
Oh, listen to him! As if he could tell the future. He was a man of science, not some arts major who believed in clairvoyance and such cockamamie nonsense. He took a deep breath of resin-scented air to steady himself. Whatever happens, will happen, but at least I can say I did my best.
The horizon ahead gained a glimmer of grainy greyness rather than the black of the trees as they crawled forward.
"Nearly there!" Soldier whispered loudly before Demo thumped him and hissed at him to be quiet. The light got brighter, and as they moved out of the trees, the floodlit base seemed dazzlingly bright. Sure enough, it was silent and deserted except for a brown rat that skittered out from under a building and into another one. The chain link fence was directly ahead.
"Time to go." Sniper said quietly. "For Chrissakes, be careful. We're near RED Respawn- the hut to the right is the way in to the teleport."
Engineer got his bolt cutters out of his tool kit and started to snip his way through the wire fencing. It was surprisingly easy to cut through; Engineer realised it was more there as a psychological barrier than a physical one. Medic had ranted on about how they were only prisoners because they thought they were- now Engineer began to see what he meant. We could have left any time we wanted- but we didn't want to. We thought we were getting paid. We thought we mattered.
We were wrong.
"Way is clear," Heavy said, "But leetle Engineer did not make hole in fence big enough."
"Damn, sorry big fella. You're right. Don't want you to get stuck there."
"Zhat vould be a disaster." Medic agreed. He paused and cleared his throat. "Before ve go, I vould just like to say...danke. To all of you. Zhis has been...zhe most amazing time of my life." His mouth twitched into a brief smile and he climbed through.
"It's been bloody awful if you ask me." Sniper muttered, curling up his long legs to scramble through. The rest of the team followed him, and then stood up on the other side. Spy pointed with a gloved hand at the wooden shed opposite that had a large sign on it saying 'Red Valley Mining'.
They crept out from the fence and into the most difficult part of the mission- crossing the open ground to the shed. One by one, they padded across it, trying to make as little noise as possible. Everyone except Soldier had crossed when they heard the muffled humming and heard the footsteps. They scattered, heading for any shadows they could find as the RED Pyro came around the corner. He walked past, and then paused and came back, looking around in puzzlement. Engineer reached down for his shotgun, but Spy stopped him.
"If you shoot him with non-custom ammo," He whispered, "Respawn will not remove the bullet, remember?"
"Damn it." Engineer hissed. He knew what Spy meant- without using the Lead-209 labelled custom ammo RED and BLU used, the RED Pyro would end up respawning and instantly dying from the shot, and respawning again, and again... Engineer could kill, but he could not condemn anybody to that.
There was a sniffing noise from the RED Pyro's mask, and he lifted his head, walking towards their hiding place. He took hold of the axe on his belt.
"Whrrrrs hrrr?" The masked man tipped his head on one side.
Engineer and Spy froze, going as still and silent as they could.
"Hurrrhhh?"
Medic growled impatiently, grabbed Spy's pistol and shot the RED Pyro clumsily in the chest. The man staggered, and Medic shot him twice more until he fell down and lay still. He stayed there for a few seconds before his body was teleported away to respawn.
"What the Hell, Medic?" Engineer whispered as fiercely as he could.
"Fucking harsh, man."
"Hrrrr srrrrrk brrrrssrrrrrd!" Pyro said, his voice breathy with horror.
"No vone else vould make zhe decision, so I did." Medic whispered back angrily. "Sacrifices have to be made. I did not come all zhis way to fail now."
"Medic did..." Soldier said, before all the mercenaries hushed him. He continued in a lower voice. "Medic did what was necessary. War is not pretty, men."
"I have been able to pick the lock." Spy said quietly. "If you have finished committing your war crimes, let us continue."
"You and I will be havin' a little talk about this later, Medic." Engineer said sternly, but Medic just waved a hand in irritable dismissal and handed Spy's pistol back to him.
Spy opened the wooden door with a slight creak, and they entered the resin-scented darkness. Once they were all in, Pyro lit his cigarette lighter and the rest of the mercs switched on their torches.
"Anybody else think this is too fuckin' easy?" Rick asked.
"There should be cameras..." Bobby added.
"...alarms..."
"...shit like that." Bobby finished with a nod.
"Fortune favours the brave." Soldier stated.
"You think it could be a trap?" Engineer asked.
"If is trap, I crush it with my hands." Heavy growled.
"Down here." Sniper said, gesturing towards a splintery set of stairs that creaked and groaned under their weight.
The ten men walked down into a cavern filled with bright lights and terminals very like the corridors underneath Teufort. Machines beeped and the smell of fresh wood was replaced by the burnt ozone smell of electronics. Engineer did not have time to look around, though, because Spy ushered them onwards.
"Over here." Spy said, directing them towards a side room. He opened the door, and there was the teleporter. Engineer recognised the bright spinning platform, but it was purple, rather than the blue colour he had half been expecting.
"Ready weapons, Privates." Soldier ordered. For once, they all followed one of Soldier's commands, checking ammo and flipping off safety catches. Medic switched on his medigun. "God speed, you sons of sinners. Make me proud."
"See you in heaven." Spy said, stepping up to the plate. He paused and looked back. "Or, more likely..." The teleporter spun and he vanished.
The rest of the team stepped through, one by one, with Medic and Engineer last. Engineer watched the doctor step through, and then took a deep breath and stepped up himself. Here goes nothing.
"...the bloody hell is this?" He heard Sniper say as he materialised into a plain windowless concrete room with just one door on the other side and a large TV monitor on the wall.
"This is not the teleport room!" Demo cried in dismay. "I dinnae ken where we are."
"Greetings, gentlemen." The monitor suddenly lit up, and they found themselves looking at a thin middle-aged woman with a white streak in her swept-back hair. Spy, Sniper and Demo all gasped in recognition, while the clones just stared, slack jawed. They had never seen her before, but that voice- oh yes, they knew it well. "We have been waiting for you."
"Fuck! It is a trap!" Bobby shouted, twitching and hopping from foot to foot.
"Oh man. Oh shit." Rick murmured.
"Congratulations, Spy. You succeeded beyond my wildest dreams." The Administrator continued with a small smile.
Spy's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened in horror as the other nine men's weapons all swung around to point at him. He held up his hands protectively.
"You will get a bonus for this. You rounded up the rogue Teufort clones, as instructed, but also the missing Gullywash Scouts and even pushed Violet Sniper into revealing himself to be a collaborator. Excellent work, Spy."
"You...you...bastard." Sniper said quietly. "I thought you were my friend."
"You planned zhis! All along! Ficken Arschloch! Huhrensohne!" Medic snarled. "Never trust a Spy."
"Coward Spy! Traitor!" Heavy roared, stepping closer to the skinny man.
"Brrrsssrrrrd!"
"C'est...c'est..." Spy spluttered, backing into a corner. "Non...ce n'est pas..."
"I never liked you." Soldier growled. "Never trust a Goddamn cheese-eating surrender monkey."
"Bloody frog!" Demo said, punching Spy in the jaw. His head snapped back and hit the wall, and the skinny Frenchman slid down to the floor with a groan, clutching his head. One of the Scouts darted in and kicked the fallen man in the stomach, making him curl up and retch.
"Now I have to decide what to do with you all." The Administrator mused.
"Tout ce que..." Spy said, wheezing for breath. Scout kicked him again and he moaned. "Wait... wait... listen..."
"This had better be good." Engineer snarled, stepping forward and pulling him upright, glaring at him, goggles glaring straight into his streaming eyes.
"Madame Administrator," Spy said thickly, twisting awkwardly in Engineer's grasp to face the monitor. His face was starting to swell on one side. "Whatever...you do to them..."
"Are you going to plead for mercy for them, Spy?" The Administrator asked emotionlessly. "Compassion from the betrayer?"
"Whatever you to do them," He repeated, more firmly, "Do it to me as well."
"I beg your pardon?" The woman asked, suddenly puzzled.
Spy twitched himself free of Engineer's grasp and unconsciously smoothed down his suit. He stood up straighter for a moment before groaning in pain and hunching over again, clutching his stomach. He looked up the monitor haughtily. "I did not bring them here for a reward."
The woman fell silent, as did the mercenaries in the room.
"I brought them here to destroy Project Pelargonia." Spy continued. He suddenly smiled, his teeth clenched and his eyes glinting malevolently. "I would rather die than work for you again, you vile, scheming hag."
"How disappointing," The Administrator replied disdainfully, "You failed."
"Oui, I failed. I admit it. But they are my allies, my comrades-in-arms...my friends. And I..." Spy sighed in resignation, as if he could not quite believe what he was saying. "... Mon dieu, I am such an idiot... I will stand by them."
"So be it." The Administrator said. They saw her lean down and flick a switch that was beneath the view of the camera. There was a hissing noise.
"Oh no..." Engineer felt his spine freeze in horror, and the group clustered together as the room filled with sweet-smelling gas.
The last thing he heard, as everything faded into grey, was Spy's bitter laughter.
End of Part Two.
In Part Three: Two years have passed since the clone's rebellion failed, and Gray Mann has put his nefarious plans into action. Robots are overrunning everything, and Miss Pauling is alone and surrounded by enemies- but maybe an old experiment of the Violet Medic's might be useful, after all...
Translations:
Ficken Arschloch! Huhrensohne! -Fucking arsehole! Son-of-a-bitch!
C'est...c'est...Non...ce n'est pas... - It's...it's...no, it's not...
Tout ce que... - Whatever...
