Chapter 13: Radar Dish
Before dawn, the eight Mercenaries packed up their things and met the Administrator by the southern exit. There, they were blindfolded again as they were escorted along a path that took them back to the river, where two boats filled with extra provisions were waiting for them. As they were about to set off, the Administrator approached each of them with a gift.
"I know I seemed harsh during your stay," she said, folding her arms. "But I sincerely hope that you succeed in your mission, and these gifts will help you along the way."
"Aw, you didn't have to do that for us, ma'am," Gavin said, turning away from the Administrator to hide his blush. "But thanks, anyway."
The Administrator didn't react, but she took out a purple Prize Plushy teddy-bear and placed it in Gavin's left tool-pocket. Gavin was initially confused and then the Administrator explained, "The bear is a good-luck charm of sorts, though they're very hard to come by these days."
Not wanting to argue with her, Gavin nodded. "Much obliged."
Then, the Administrator turned to Steve and gave him a cooler with straps on it. "There are different sodas inside in case you need the extra boost, and Sandviches."
"Uh, thanks," Steve replied, putting the strapped cooler on his back.
To Mickey and Patten, the Administrator gave Pistols, and then a Rocket Launcher to Benjamin. This surprised both Aonghus and Benjamin. But shortly after, Benjamin was grinning as he inspected the new weapon.
"One of my Messengers overheard your desire to own one," the Administrator said to Benjamin. "But this kind of weaponry would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, so you must never lose it."
"Yes, ma'am!" Benjamin saluted.
Satisfied, the Administrator then presented a red sash to Aonghus. "This was sent from Ava shortly after you left, and she would like you to wear it to remember her during your travels."
A small smile crept across Aonghus' face, and he took the sash gladly.
"For you, Matthias, I present one of our Sniper Rifles," the Administrator said as the leader of the Gullywash Snipers picked up the Sniper Rifle he had been carrying apart from the crate where all the gifts that had been given were coming from, and gave it to Matthias. "Use it well."
"No worries!" Matthias replied, and held the Sniper Rifle with pride.
"Now, Freddie, I saved your gift for last," the Administrator said, and took out a winged Bolt Boy mask. "It isn't much, but the neon tubes over the eyes can allow you to see in the darkness."
Freddie was speechless, but he took the mask anyway.
###
After the eight Mercenaries had set off from the landing near Gullywash, they swiftly rode down the river until they came to a dam. Quickly, they rowed towards the eastern shore, and dragged the boats out of the water. Next, they divided the provisions between them, and hiked down a path that took them to the bottom of the dam, where the Hydro area was located. There, they rested in the shade of the warehouse. However, Matthias and Aonghus became anxious of a surprise-attack and stepped outside to stand guard.
"I didn't want to say this in front of the others," Matthias said, and pointed to a shadowy figure crouching on the rocks above Hydro. "But that Mumble's still following us."
"I know, but I'm not sure what to do with him," Aonghus replied. "Gerald said that he might fulfill something important later on."
"But you realize that if he's here, then the Robots aren't too far behind."
Aonghus' eye widened. "What makes you say that?"
"Think about it. Why would the Robots just let him go? Sure, they got the information they wanted, but typically, they never let anyone leave the Moving Fortress alive. So I think they're using Mumble to find us, and the One Bomb in turn."
"Aye, I see what you mean." Aonghus looked around nervously, and then he said, "If that's the case, we should keep moving, but let's rest here for a little while longer."
Matthias nodded in agreement, but while they were talking, Freddie had decided to sneak out of the warehouse. Unfortunately, Benjamin noticed him leaving, and followed him. Mickey and Patten watched Benjamin leave, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to them.
"Uh, is it just me, or is there something off about Benjamin?" asked Patten, looking at Mickey.
"Yeah, but he's been acting weird ever since he picked up the bomb when Freddie dropped it on our way to Coldfront," said Steve, who was putting ice into the cooler from a nearby ice-box.
"You're right," Mickey replied, then he looked over at where Freddie was, only to find his pack. "Say, where is Freddie?"
"Maybe that's where Benjamin went," Patten said, watching the Soldier as he exited the warehouse. "Come on, let's follow him."
"You got to admit he has a point," Patten said, following Mickey.
Steve watched the two Scouts leave and sighed. Meanwhile, Gavin was preoccupied with sharpening his Jag Wrench. So by the time he looked up, Steve had left to follow Mickey and Patten.
###
A few feet away from the warehouse, Freddie was standing on an iron platform that still held despite its age, and looked down upon the enormous Radar Dish below. The whiteness of its surface had long faded, and the actual radar was crooked from the lack of use. A creak in the stairs next to the platform made Freddie turn his head to see Benjamin approaching him.
"In the old days, this Radar Dish was used to send out distress signals when the area was attacked or even to communicate with the Administrator herself," Benjamin said, looking down at the Radar Dish. "But after the Machine Wars, this area was abandoned."
When Freddie didn't respond, Benjamin stepped closer, which caused Freddie to back away. Sensing his unease, Benjamin stopped. Then Freddie sighed and sat on the edge of the metal platform. But after a few minutes of silence, Benjamin sat next to him.
"You're thinking of abandoning us, aren't you?" Benjamin said, not looking at Freddie. "Worried that everyone around you is going to get hurt. Is that it?"
"Well, kind of," Freddie said, unintentionally putting his hand close to his chest, where the One Bomb dangled from its golden chain. "There are other reasons, too."
Benjamin lifted his army helmet, thereby exposing his hazel-brown eyes. "You know, the burden of carrying that thing doesn't have to be yours alone. I can help."
"How?" Freddie asked, and was staring directly at Benjamin's eyes, which seemed friendly but there was an underlying desire in them.
"Come with me to Bigrock, son," Benjamin said, grabbing Freddie by the shoulders. "I know what those men at the Council said about not using the One Bomb ourselves, but I think they're wrong! The Bomb itself isn't bad! It's who uses it that is! Gray Mann was an evil person, but we're the good guys, so we have every right to give the enemy a taste of their medicine!"
"What is your major malfunction?!" Freddie cried, kneeing Benjamin in the crotch.
While Benjamin was kneeling in pain, Freddie ran a few feet from him, and looked back. "I'm sorry, pal, but I have to do this alone."
In response, Benjamin laughed. "If God had wanted you to live, he would not have created me!"
Then in a split second, Benjamin pulled out a Shotgun and turned to fire at Freddie. But Freddie managed to turn on the Invis Watch and was able to dodge the shot. Angered, Benjamin got up and started shooting in every direction, until one of the bullets ricocheted off a metal wall and hit his helmet. Luckily, the bullet didn't pierce through, but it startled Benjamin enough to drop his Shotgun.
"Holy Mary Mother of Joseph, what have I done? Freddie, get back here! I didn't mean to shoot at you!" Benjamin shouted, looking around for any trace of movement. When no answer came, he fell to his knees and put his hands on the sides of his helmet. "I've failed us all! I'm a disgrace to my entire unit!"
But when he looked at the other side of the Radar Dish, his despair turned to fear. Dozens of Zombies were marching over the cliffs and slowly moving towards the fence. As soon as Benjamin stood up, the Zombies noticed him and charged over the fence and down the cliff-walls despite their rotting limbs.
"Godspeed, Freddie, you magnificent b****rd," Benjamin said to himself, and then he pulled out a Bugle. "As Sun Tzu always said, 'When there are too many enemies, call for help'."
###
Back at the warehouse, everyone was startled by the sound of a horn blowing.
"Crikey! That was the Bugle of Bigrock!" exclaimed Matthias, reaching for his Sniper Rifle.
"That means Benjamin is in trouble!" Aonghus said, unsheathing his Eyelander sword. Then when he went inside the warehouse, he found Gavin grabbing his Jag Wrench, but no one else. "Oi, where are the Scouts, and Benjamin for that matter?"
"How should I know? I wasn't paying attention when they left," Gavin responded.
"Bloody hell!" Aonghus cursed.
"Don't blame yourself, mate," Matthias said, patting Aonghus' tense shoulders. "Judging by the sound, the horn blow came in the direction of Radar Dish. If Benjamin's there, then the Scouts might be with him."
Aonghus nodded, and charged ahead towards the Radar Dish. However, because he was so anxious, Aonghus ran further than the others, and suddenly bumped into something. He couldn't see what it was, but it made a grunt on impact. After he backed up, the thing showed itself, which turned out to be Freddie.
"Freddie, what are you doing here?" asked Aonghus, stepping closer to Freddie.
However, Freddie backed away just as he did with Benjamin. "I can't stay here anymore. Benjamin tried to take the bomb for himself, and he nearly shot at me. So I'm leaving."
"Leaving? But who will protect you from the dangers that await you in the Moving Fortress?"
"I guess I'll just have to deal with them myself," Freddie replied. "You know as well as I do that as long as I'm with you guys, I'm putting you all in danger. Not just from the external threats, but also yourselves."
In response, Aonghus sighed, and was suddenly distracted by unnatural groaning sounds. He raised his sword and stepped out in front of Freddie. But when Freddie didn't move, Aonghus turned to him and said, "Go, lad! While there's still time!"
After a brief surprise, Freddie nodded, and ran towards the dam. Meanwhile, Aonghus walked toward the nearby buildings, where the hidden Zombies emerged out of the shadows, and charged at him. Keeping his feet planted, Aonghus met the oncoming horde with violent swings and slashes from his sword, preventing them from going any further. However, some of the Scout Zombies managed to duck out of the way, and just as they were about to head for the warehouse, they were shot in the head by bullets that seemed to come out of nowhere. Aonghus looked up on the roof of a nearby building and saw the glint of a scope on a Sniper Rifle. Then before he knew it, Gavin was at his side, knocking out every single Zombie that came his way with the Jag Wrench.
Unfortunately, the three Mercenaries were so occupied with the Zombies that were in the vicinity of the Radar Dish that they missed some that were following Freddie into the Power Plant. These included Scout and Soldier Zombies, who were wielding Boston Basher bats and Equalizer pick-axes. Knowing he couldn't outrun them, Freddie immediately ducked behind a large turbine, watching as the Scout Zombies ran ahead. Then he looked over to his right, and saw Mickey and Patten staring directly at him from the other side of the room. They tried to signal him to come over, but keeping to his promise, Freddie shook his head. This response surprised them, because a second later, they were walking towards him, when they saw a new wave of Zombies stumbling in their direction. For a split second, Freddie thought he was doomed, but then Mickey and Patten did something he did not expect them to do.
"Hey! Over here!" shouted Mickey.
"Come get some, you frickin' deadbeats!" added Patten, smacking his behind at the Zombies.
That seemed to get their attention, as the Zombies now ran toward Mickey and Patten, who in turn ran as fast as they could through the Power Plant. Luckily, none of the passing Zombies spotted Freddie, who was already heading for a tunnel that would take him to the river below the dam. For a while, Mickey and Patten managed to stay ahead of the oncoming Zombies, but soon they were cornered into a large room where the BLU base capture point stood, though no longer lit. So Mickey and Patten took out their pistols and started shooting randomly at the Zombies, who still charged at them despite being shot multiple times. Then when Mickey and Patten thought they were done for, Benjamin charged down a flight of stairs next to them and fired at the Zombies with his Rocket Launcher. While some Zombies lost a limb or two, others were blown up.
Seeing what his Rocket Launcher could do, Benjamin laughed triumphantly and said, "Now that is what I want to see!"
End of Chapter 13