Mann Co. HQ
Saxton Hale's Trophy Room
"I really think we should take this into consideration, sir!" Miss Pauling tried to explain. Ever since she and Intelligent Heavy had gotten to Saxton Hale's office, the whole time she attempted to converse with her boss while he wrestled with Heavydile on the floor. Just as Hale put Heavydile in a headlock, he turned face to Miss Pauling and snorted.
"You're telling me," Hale grunted. "That a mysterious hooded man froze time while you were on a train, and told you bad things are going to happen. You do realize how farfetched that sounds, right?" Miss Pauling glared at her muscular employer, intent on getting her point across.
"Need I also remind you that we live in a world where there are ghosts, magic, wizards, alien weaponry, super-powered bars of ore, companies that made a fortune off selling gravel, and cheating death?" Miss Pauling chided. "And haven't you proclaimed to have been through 'Primate Hell' and back?" Hale frowned. He hated it when people twisted his own adventures against him. He nodded to his assistant Bidwell, the latter throwing a meaty steak on the floor. Saxton Hale released Heavydile, the latter chasing after the steak and chewing it noisily. Hale walked over to his desk, and sat in a very business-like demeanor.
"I understand your concern for this," Hale said. "But we can't go trusting outsider information. For all we know, this could be just an elaborate con by our competitors! I swear, it's if Cave Johnson wasn't dying of moon rock poisoning and Dr. Breen dealing with that whole Black Mesa incident, they'd be after the Australium, maybe even the secrets behind our hats!"
"We trusted outside information for Project FREAK." Intelligent Heavy added, keeping a constant eye on Heavydile. "Mann brothers had help from mysterious man in black, and they trusted him."
"That is a rumor." Hale said. "And also, the Mann Bros. told me the idea was their own."
"We're getting off track here!" Miss Pauling shouted. "What I'm worried about is what the hooded man told me. Five signs may lead to disaster: 'A Breach in Containment, a Living Virus, the Devil's Blade, the Grey Man, and the Army of Metal'."
"And your point?" Hale asked.
"One of these signs may have happened, the containment breach, when several dangerous Freaks broke loose!" Hale and his assistants, Bidwell and Reddy, saw the frantic and frightened look in Miss Pauling's eyes. However, they shared the same fear when a television screen rose up behind them, displaying the very angry face of the Administrator.
"HALE!" The Administrator squawked. Bidwell and Reddy both took glances at the Administrator on screen, then to Saxton Hale.
"It's been an honor working for you, sir." Reddy deadpanned. Both assistants made a break for the door, leaving a shocked Saxton Hale, and an equally flustered Miss Pauling and Intelligent Heavy. Hale steadily rotated his chair towards the screen, putting on his best poker face as possible.
"Hello there, Administrator." Hale casually said. "What do I owe the displeasure of seeing you today?"
"You know damn well what I'm after, Hale." The Administrator scowled, pointing her cigarette at the screen. "You are in possession of Project FREAK property without permission, and we need it now!"
"What are you talking about?" Hale innocently asked. He reached to the side, and held up Heavydile by the arm, ignorant of the situation and happily eating his meat. "The boys at the Eye gave me permission."
"They answer to me, only!" She shouted. "You took hold of a powerful Freak when we need it, and you're using it as a wrestling toy!"
"Hey, Heavydile is a 'he'." Hale pointed out. "He may have the brain of a crocodile, but he's still considered human." He looked to Heavydile as he took another large chunk out of the steak. "Too an extent."
"I don't care if you want to marry that abomination," The Administrator snarled. "I want that Freak shipped to Well and have it kill or capture the damn Sewer Medic, or else I'll have your head!" The television screen disrupted to static as it slid back into the wall. With a saddened expression on his face, Hale pressed a button on his intercom, releasing a crackling sound with the responding voice of Agent Splash.
"Hey there, Mr. Hale, sir." Agent Splash casually answered over the intercom. "What can I do for you today?" With a heavy sigh, the massive Australian gave the order passed onto him by his superior.
"Send someone over here to transport Heavydile back to the Strange Swamps." Hale muttered.
"You got it, boss," Splash said. "Is there anything else?" Just as Hale was about to conclude his order, a smirk lifted his thick mustache to new heights.
"And I need you to transport Freak #04112011 to Well, posthaste, mate." Hale said with a smile on his face. Over the intercom, Splash sounded like he spurted his coffee all over the place.
"Did you just say Freak #04112011?" Splash sputtered. "That Freak?!"
"Yes, I did. Is there a problem with that?"
"NO! Not at all sir! I'll get right on it." Splash stammered. "Catch you later, boss." Once the intercom went dead, Saxton Hale practically rolled off his desk, he was laughing so hard, while Miss Pauling had her jaw dropped to the floor and Intelligent Heavy looked confused.
"I can't wait to see the look on the old crow's face when she finds out I sent a random Freak to do her dirty work!" Hale heartily laughed.
"RANDOM FREAK?!" Miss Pauling practically shrieked, startling both Intelligent Heavy and, temporarily, Heavydile. "You literally have no idea what Freak you just sent to the mercenaries' location?!"
"Yeah, so what?" Hale chuckled, wiping away a mirthful tear. "Who'd I send, Rubberfruit? A Paintraingineer? Hoomba?"
"THE BUGLER!" Miss Pauling shouted. The entire room fell silent, even Heavydile ceased his ravenous consumption of meat at the name of the Bugler. Hale's eyes became pin-pricks once he realized that he made the worst mistake ever since selling torn Gibuses to the REDs and BLUs.
"Oh, why don't I think things through…?"
Well
Rooftops of Central Control Point
Sniper sat atop the rooftops, waiting for the right moment to give the signal for the attack. The BLUs would never expect an attack like this. With an ignited arrow strung against his Huntsman bow in one hand, and a jar of… urine in the other, he stood there, waiting. From the window of the RED Base, Pyro leaned out the window, and fired a flare from his… her… it's... flare gun.
"I can't believe I'm actually following Soldier's plan…." Sniper muttered. He tossed his Jarate high up in the air, and with keen aim, fired a burning arrow directly at the jar. The impact caused a yellow and red explosion to light up the sky, indicating the REDs beginning their attack. From inside the Central Control Point, the BLUs heard the explosion and shattering glass, and the sound of heavy rumbling coming from outside. BLU Scout looked out the window, and saw a big red blur heading their way.
The REDs had begun their attack, launching a full-on charge with all but Engineer and Sniper in the attack, with Soldier leading and tooting Reveille on his bugle.
"Oh, dis ain't good." BLU Scout quickly noted, before a stray bullet nearly took his head off. Just as the BLU Scout was just about to warn his teammates, in his stead was a flattened, mangled, and bullet-ridden body, crumpled upon the ground.
"ATTACK!" Soldier shouted, announcing the REDs arrival to the BLUs. For a moment, the BLUs looked flabbergasted, then most of them put on smirks. BLU Demoman and BLU Engineer each stepped out, the former holding his grenade launcher and the latter standing atop one of his deployable machines in box form.
"Didn't you see the bloody bombs?" BLU Demoman chortled. The REDs turned around to the door they had entered, and saw that the doorframe and the floor beneath them was laden with sticky bombs. Medic turned to the dumbfounded Soldier, and smacked the back of his helmet.
"And another thing," BLU Engineer said, kicking his blue box over. The contraption opened up, deploying a Level-3 Sentry, clicking and whirring before them. "Y'all are about to have a real bad day." Both Medic and Heavy turned to Soldier, and at the same time punched him in the face. What followed were a series of explosions, gunshots, and bloody body parts flying about.
While waiting in the RED Base Final Point, Engineer idly strummed his guitar. He knew that Soldier's plan, like most usually do, would plummet faster than a bomb on a payload cart. To prove his point, all the REDs who went into the fray came back through the Respawner, all giving furious glares at Soldier.
"Charge at the BLUs in the central point, you said." Demoman scolded. "It's a foolproof plan, you said." Soldier growled before promptly sitting on the control point.
"I swear, this has got to be the worst plan you've had since you had me and Spy help you bomb that Mall Santa Training Facility!" Scout shouted.
"At least we saved those children from Old Nick from Smissmass." Soldier grumbled. Spy pinched the bridge of his nose at the memories best left forgotten. Engineer put his guitar down and called the team together.
"Now that y'all are done playin' around with Soldier-boy's plan," Engineer said. "Let's win this with a good plan now." The team, sans Soldier, cheered in agreement. Turning to Sniper, Engineer slapped his hand onto the Australian's back. "Sniper, you said y'all have confirmation on the Freak in the waters?"
"I saw a body floating in the waters out of the sewers, with an exploded head." Sniper stated, shrugging his shoulders. "Never saw the bloody thing, but we can safely say, there's a bugger of a Freak in the water."
"Perfect." Engineer said.
"Perfect?" Scout asked. "How is that perfect?" Engineer pulled out a map of Well, and began making marks and drawing figures atop it.
"Back at Dustbowl," Engineer said. "You, Soldier, and Sniper managed to somehow befriend that Freak, Stu Pidface, into fighting for us." A murmur of agreement spread amongst the REDs. "Ah believe that if we can somehow do the same, and use the Freak to our advantage, we can finally end this damn losing streak." Scout shoved his way to the crowd, looking directly into Engineer's goggles.
"Woah, pally." Scout said. "Who would be crazy enough to go and try and convince a dangerous freak-of-nature to help us?"
Sewers Beneath RED Base
"Why do I have to open my mouth?" Scout whined as he dredged through murky sewer water, with Medic striding gleefully beside him.
"Oh, don't be such a baby, Scout." Medic chided. "Zis might be our chance to fully understand ze Freaks and gain more allies!"
"Whatever." Scout muttered. He looked along the walls of the stinky sewer pipe they were wading through, keeping an eye out for any signs of battle or bloodstains. Surprisingly, he and Medic came across none. Holding his flashlight firmly in one hand and a pistol in the other, Scout was just about ready to give up. "Any luck finding anything, Doc?"
"Nothing so far." Medic replied, also scanning the walls of the pipe. After wading through what seemed like meters of sewer water, Scout saw his light bounce off another source. He and Medic forded through the waters to the point of interest, and came across a gruesome sight. An entire ring of blood was splattered around the pipe's interior, with small chunks of meat and torn fabric adorning like decorations.
"This must be where the BLUs encountered the Freak." Scout muttered. "Then that must mean…."
"Scout, something just svam past my leg." Medic said, a mixture of fear and eagerness in his voice. Looking around, Scout and Medic saw the waters a few feet in front of them begun to ripple. With a massive splash, the Sewer Medic emerged from the murky waters, and it was not happy.
"Get out of my sewer!" Sewer Medic barked. Scout nodded in agreement and started to turn tail, but Medic grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before he could run off.
"You heard the Freak, Doc, let's book it!" Medic slapped Scout on the back of his head and threw him to the waters.
"Nein, we are here to do a job, und we shall proceed as planned." Medic stated through clenched teeth. The two REDs looked back to Sewer Medic, who was impatiently crossing his arms over his shoulders. Medic put on his best smile and casually strode to his aquatic Freak clone. "Guten tag, I am ze Medic, but you probably know zat zince you are my clone." Scout face-palmed, muttering about how dead they were.
"I am ze Sewer Medic." Sewer Medic said. "Get out of my sewer."
"Vell, you see, Herr Sewer Medic, my allies at RED would like to enlist your help to defeat the BLUs, who seek to take over the area, including your sewer." Sewer Medic's already large eyes widened at the prospect. "I would like to ask your help to defeat the BLUs, and in return, you get your sewers." Scout uncovered one of his eyes, shocked at the sudden silence and the two Medics locked in a stare.
"Did it work…?" Scout started to ask. He was abruptly interrupted by the two sounds of Sewer Medic's sonic scream and Medic's head exploding from the sheer strength of it all. Scout looked in horror as Sewer Medic crawled over Medic's corpse, and stared daggers at him.
"No one can have my sewer." Sewer Medic growled.
RED Base
It had been a while since Medic and Scout had gone into the sewers, so while the other REDs prepared, Heavy stood guard by the sewer opening in their base in case either of the two came out. After a long while of waiting, Heavy felt hungry, so he reached into his pocket, pulled out a sandwich, and started eating.
*CLANG!*
Heavy turned to the source of the sound, and saw that the sealed off opening to the sewers had… changed. Instead of a normal vault door opening, the crank valve had been knocked clean off, and a Scout shaped dent had been formed in its place, a look of fear frozen on the dent's face. From inside the Respawn room, both Medic and Scout appeared, and each screaming at the tops of their lungs. All the other mercenaries arrived to check on their friends, especially Heavy, who swooped in and wrapped Medic in an inescapable bear hug.
"Doctor! Heavy is glad to see you are okay!" Heavy shouted. Realizing he was breaking Medic in two with his hug, he set the German Doctor on a bench and looked into his frightened eyes. "Doctor?"
"What happened down there?" Demoman asked.
"HE'S LIKE A BEAR!" Scout shrieked. "A BIG SHAVED BEAR THAT HATES PEOPLE!" Scout curled up into a fetal position in the corner and began rocking back and forth.
"It was a Medic Freak, the Sewer Medic." Medic said, visibly shaken. "It wanted us to leave the sewers… but I tried to convince him to help. It… screamed." He clutched his head in his hands, rocking back and forth on his seat. "OH GOD, THE SCREAM!" Everyone turned to Engineer, realizing that one part of his plan had failed with catatonic results.
"Okay, forget using the Freak to our advantage." Engineer said. "I'll come up with a better plan while Medic and Scout rest up." The speakers suddenly crackled to life, signaling only worse to come.
"A Freak has entered the fray." The Administrator evilly stated. Once the speakers went dead, all that could be heard was a howl, the reversed voice of a furious Engineer Freak, now gone rampant. Needless to say, Sewer Medic was the least of both team's worries now.
