Chapter 16: The Bears of Alpine
Once they had left the canyons behind, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin followed the stench of the Zombies through a woodland area that lay between the mountains and the desert. This was the fourth day since they decided to take this hunt upon themselves, and their supplies were at their lowest. It also didn't help that the Zombies were still ahead of them by a few leagues. Then somewhere around the afternoon, they were wandering along the banks of a stream, when Matthias suddenly told them to stop.
"What is it, lad?" Aonghus said as he stopped.
"I hear footsteps, lots of them, and there's a faint stench in the air," Matthias reported.
"Sounds like our Zombies are heading this way," Gavin responded.
"They must've caught onto our scent," replied Aonghus, gritting his teeth.
So the three climbed up the slopes along the stream, and hid behind large boulders. Sure enough, several footsteps came trudging by along the banks. But just as Aonghus was about to lift his head to get a good look at the runners, there suddenly came a series of ticking sounds.
"Robots," Matthias said to himself. "But what would they be doing all the way out here?"
"Beats me," Gavin muttered.
Then another series of footsteps came from a different direction, and this was accompanied by a familiar foul stench.
Curious, Gavin looked over his boulder to see what was going on. "It seems that the Zombies were waiting for the Robots to catch up, but I can't fathom why the two forces would meet up in the first place."
"They both want the One Bomb, lad, and they think our friends have it with them," Aonghus whispered. "That's why they were kidnapped in the first place."
Meanwhile, down by the stream, the Zombies and Robots gathered into a single intermingled group, and began discussing the Zombies' prisoners, Mickey and Patten. Their hands and feet had been bound by old ropes strengthened by Merasmus' magic, and were constantly taking naps, much to the annoyance of their Zombie captors. So as Mickey and Patten partially listened to the conversation, one of the Zombie Snipers abruptly began sniffing.
"What is your major malfunction?" asked a Robot Scout.
"Silence, little metal man!" shouted a Zombie Heavy. Then he turned towards the Zombie Sniper and asked, "What do you smell?"
"Human flesh," replied the Zombie Sniper.
In response, the three mercenaries slowly backed away and hid near a group of bushes filled with scented berries. They waited with their weapons drawn, but so far, nothing came beyond the slope. Meanwhile, the Zombie Sniper continued to sniff the air, but then he cursed under his breath.
"Is something wrong?" asked the Zombie Heavy.
"The scent was nearby, and now its gone," the Zombie Sniper said, turning to the Zombie Heavy.
"If you maggot-covered freaks are done sniffing roses, then let's move out!" said a Robot Soldier, who led the charge, while the Zombies followed behind with their prisoners in tow.
When the three mercenaries were certain that the two groups were far enough away, they came out from their hiding place and followed them, using the woods as cover.
"Whoooowee, would you look at that? Zombies and Robots working together," Gavin said, trying to keep up with his faster companions. "Never thought I'd see such a thing in my lifetime."
"Yeah, but from what I heard of their conversation, they're off to a pretty rocky start," Matthias replied.
"If there's a disagreement of interests or they realize the Scouts they have aren't the ones they're looking for, our friends could get killed," Aonghus said.
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A couple nights later, the Zombies stopped to rest in a clearing deep within the woods. The Robots stopped as well, though they were more the more reluctant of the two groups. Mickey and Patten, on the other hand, were lifted off the Zombie Heavies' backs and fed rotten animal meat the Zombies gave them while they were still tied up.
"Argh! I'm sick of eating this animal crap we've had for the past two weeks!" said a Zombie Scout, throwing his piece of the meat against a nearby tree.
"Quit whining, will you?" asked a Zombie Sniper, who was furiously devouring his meat. "That'll only make you hungrier."
"I don't care! I'm dying to sink my teeth into some human brains right now!" the Zombie Scout replied, then he turned towards Mickey and Patten, who were just finishing the last of their meat. "But on the other hand…
"Don't get any ideas, maggot-carrier," said a Robot Soldier, grabbing the Zombie Scout on the shoulder. "Those Scouts are not for eating!"
"Aw, come on, Tin-Man. Just one little bite," the Zombie Scout said, shrugging off the Robot Soldier's grip.
But the Robot Soldier held firmly on, causing the Zombie Scout's arm to fall off. This caused all the Zombies and Robots to look at them. For a few moments, both groups watched as the Robot Soldier tossed the Zombie Scout's arm away, while the Zombie Scout yelled out in pain. Next, the Zombie Scout turned to face the Robot Soldier, and glared at him with blank yellow eyes.
"You…are…terrible!" the Zombie Scout said, taking his Flying Guillotine cutting knife out, which was tipped in dried blood.
The Robot Soldier in turn took out a Rocket Launcher. "I'm not afraid of you, maggot-carrier, but I will blow you to bits if you take another step!"
"Ooh, you're real scary! Bet you've never gone up against an armed Zombie before!"
"There's a first time for everything."
Then just as both groups pulled out their weapons, a series of distant roars got their attention. The sounds seemed to be coming from all around them, causing Mickey and Patten to panic. While the Robots calmly surveyed the area, the Zombies sniffed the air and ran into the surrounding woods.
"Um, should we follow the Zombies?" asked a Robot Scout to the Robot Soldier that picked a quarrel with the Zombie Scout.
"No, we need to stay here and guard the prisoners!" the Robot Soldier replied. "If they want to go chase whatever animals were making that noise, that's their problem!"
A few moments later, the roaring noises got louder, followed by the sound of bodies being slashed and beaten numerous times. This caused the Zombie Heavies to run off to see what had happened to their brethren, leaving the two Scouts unguarded. Unfortunately, the Robots noticed this and assigned two Robot Pyros to guard Mickey and Patten while they fired their guns in all directions. After a single shot, the Robots stopped and listened for any sign of movement. At first, there was none, and then several large shapes appeared on the edge of the clearing.
In the light of the moon, Mickey and Patten saw that the large shapes were actually men. Their heads were covered by bearskins, the Warrior's Spirit bear claws covered their enormous hands, and they wore red Heavy uniforms. Surprised, the Robots aimed their weapons at the Heavies, and just as they were about to fire, the Heavies cried out the same roar that was heard earlier. While Mickey and Patten were stunned, the Robots weren't affected, and opened fire. Some of the Heavies got hit, but they ran at the Robots with their fists ready, and as soon as they were close enough, they knocked out any Robot that stood in their way. In the chaos that ensued, Mickey and Patten decided to sneak away, and quickly crawled their way out of the clearing.
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The next day, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin had climbed over a steep hill, when they beheld a beautiful sight of tall pine trees standing along the sides of great mountains.
"Well ain't that something," Gavin said, taking in the beauty of the scene before them.
"That's Alpine country, lad. The home of the great Heavy Warriors," Aonghus said as he started to descend the hill.
"Hold on, Aonghus," Matthias said, scanning the area with the telescopic lens on his Sniper Rifle. "There are several Heavies marching in this direction. They're all wearing bearskins on their heads and bear-claws on their hands."
Upon hearing that, Aonghus' eye widened. "That's the Bears of Alpine! We have to go down to meet them!"
"Why?" Gavin asked, reluctantly following Aonghus down the hill.
"They're the elite militia group that protects this area, so they might be able to help us find Mickey and Patten," Matthias explained, bringing up the rear.
Once they got down to the bottom, they waited as the Bears of Alpine marched toward them. Once the Bears spotted them, they came running at full-speed, and soon they surrounded the three mercenaries with their claws drawn. In response, Aonghus and the other two held their hands up to show they meant no harm. However, the Bears didn't let their Warrior's Spirit paws down.
"Drop your weapons, cowards!" shouted a Heavy who folded his arms. He was slightly taller than the others, and he wore a steel jaw over the bottom-half of his face. "You cannot beat us!"
"We aren't here to fight you, corn cakes," Gavin said, glaring at the steel-jawed Heavy. "But if you ever call me a coward again, I'll –
"We'd better do as he says, mate," Matthias said, pinching Gavin's shoulder. "These mongrels mean business."
So the three mercenaries took out their weapons and tossed them towards the Heavies that surrounded them. Satisfied, the steel-jawed Heavy lowered his arms, and the others followed his example. Assuming he was the leader, Aonghus stepped toward the steel-jawed Heavy, who walked up to Aonghus in turn.
"Since when have King Terenti's loyal warriors shown hostility toward strangers?" Aonghus asked bluntly.
"And what are an Engineer, a Sniper, and a Demoman doing in Alpine territory?" the steel-jawed Heavy retorted.
After a brief sigh, Aonghus said, "We were hunting a group of Zombies heading towards Hightower, because they had taken some of our friends hostage."
The steel-jawed Heavy thought for a moment, and then he replied, "We did find some Zombies in a clearing a few miles from here, close to Mann Manor."
Aonghus raised his eyebrows. "Were there Robots with them?"
"Da (Yes), but we slayed them all last night and buried them. What did your friends look like?"
"They were Scouts." When the steel-jawed Heavy gave him an odd look, Aonghus said, "Small, skinny people with close-cut light-brown hair, wearing blue t-shirts, tan-colored trousers, running shoes, and carrying Bats or Three-Rune Blades."
"Net (No), I don't recall seeing such people, though it was very dark when we attacked," the steel-jawed Heavy said, shaking his head. "If they weren't killed during the battle, then they might've been buried with the Zombies and Robots by accident."
The thought of Mickey and Patten being buried alive frightened the three mercenaries. But they chose to not show their anxiety to the steel-jawed Heavy, who looked at each of them once more. Then he waved his fellow Heavies away, and they moved in single file up along the bend in the hill the mercenaries came down, towards the mountains.
"Before I go, I would like to know your names," the steel-jawed Heavy said, staying behind while the Bears went on.
"I am Aonghus, son of Aonghas, and heir to the famous Demoman Iomhar," Aonghus said firmly, then he gestured towards Matthias and Gavin. "My companions are Matthias of the Badlands area and Gavin, son of Gage."
"My name is Ivan, former leader of the Bears of Alpine," the steel-jawed Heavy answered. Then when he noticed the three mercenaries seemed confused, he said, "Our king, Terenti, has fallen under the influence of an evil Spy named Gaston Langue de Serpent, who convinced him a few months ago to reserve our forces, even when Zombies were attacking our borders. Naturally, I disagreed with this policy, so I tried to talk to Terenti, but he wouldn't listen because Gaston was there, putting words in his mouth.
"I…let my temper get the best of me, and nearly killed Gaston, which caused him to arrest me. As a result, I was banished from Rottenburg, but a few warriors who were still loyal came with me. We've been patrolling like we always have, but we're no longer loyal to the king." Ivan walked a little ways to follow the other Heavies, then he turned around and said, "I apologize for the way we treated you earlier, but I hope you find your friends."
Aonghus nodded in response, and then he turned to his companions while Ivan ran to catch up with the other Bears.
End of Chapter 16