20th Chapter! Can you believe it?! Thank you for reading and following my fanfic thus far!
Chapter 20: The King of the Bombpoint
"Welcome, kamerads (comrades), to Rottenburg!" Gerald announced as the four landed their Red Army Robins on the rocks that marked the outside of a series of circular ledges where the Robots used to attack from during the Machine Wars. There, Gerald put on the black cloak he wore earlier to cover up the white one he was wearing.
At the bottom was a small half-circle that contained large boulders and grass that led up to the Main Gate, where a Heavy with a red Viking-style beard was standing guard. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed the four mercenaries yet, allowing them to dismount from the Red Army Robins, which flew off as soon as their leader, Krasnoye, took to the skies. The Heavy noticed the Robins leave, and rubbed the back of his bald head in confusion. Then he looked down and saw the four mercenaries approach him. He in turn came up to them, though his little legs could only carry him so far.
"Uh, hello, we are friends of King Terenti," Gerald said, stepping forward to meet the Heavy. "I am Gerald the Medic, and my companions are the Demoman Aonghus, the Sniper Matthias, and the Engineer Gavin."
"I am Igor, the ward of Rottenburg," the Heavy said, glaring at Gerald. "What business do you have with the king?"
"That is something that can only be discussed with King Terenti in person," Gerald answered. "We are allies, so there is no need to be hostile with us."
"These are dangerous times, Medic," Igor replied. "I will escort you to King Terenti myself, but you will have to leave your weapons at the Main Gate."
This surprised everyone.
"On whose orders?" Gerald asked.
"The king's advisor, Gaston Langue de Serpent, was the one who ordered it," Igor said with a straight face.
Aonghus gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to let that back-pokin' snake tell me what to do."
"Same here." Gavin chimed in. "I ain't leaving my Jag Wrench behind for nobody."
"Say what you will, but I can't let you pass if you refuse to follow orders," Igor said, and cracked his knuckles. "And you wouldn't want to fight me when I'm angry."
Gerald looked at his comrades, who were clinging to their weapons like their life depended on it, and at the glaring Igor. Then he sighed and said to the three mercenaries, "Give Igor your weapons, please. It would be foolish to draw blood here and now."
In turn the three mercenaries, after some hesitation, removed all their weapons and propped them up against the Main Gate. Once that was done, Gerald was about to step forward, but Igor still blocked his way. Irritated, Gerald asked, "What more do you want? We gave you our weapons."
"You haven't given me your staff," Igor replied, pointing at Gerald's Freedom Staff.
Gerald didn't let go of his Freedom Staff, and instead pretended to lean on it. "What, this? Langue de Serpent thinks walking sticks are dangerous too? Wuh ho ho!"
Igor raised his eyebrow, and when Gerald wouldn't budge, he sighed. "All right, you may take it inside, but the rest of you should keep an eye on your friend."
The three mercenaries, initially surprised, nodded to satisfy Igor, who in turn opened the Main Gate for them single-handedly and led them into Rottenburg. Like Harvest, it was a maze of buildings, but most of them were either shops or multi-story apartments. Also, none of the buildings were color-coded, so there was a monochrome consistency. The people parted as Igor and the other mercenaries navigated the cobblestone streets towards the Bombpoint, which was a gaping hole that was created as a result of numerous Robot-made bombs exploding in that vicinity during the Machine Wars. At times, Aonghus thought he saw a woman wearing dark shades, a blue dress, and matching scarf standing in the alley-ways they passed, only to disappear a few seconds later.
Once they reached the entrance to Bombpoint, which was obscured by a maze of wooden crates, Igor turned to the four mercenaries and said, "I must return to take my place at the Main Gate, but you will find the king on the other side of these boxes."
"Danke (Thank-you), kamerad," Gerald replied.
Seeming to understand what Gerald said, Igor bowed low and walked back the way they came. On the other side of the crate maze, the four mercenaries beheld an old Heavy, wearing a Mongolian-style winter hat for a crown with a long white beard, leaning weakly on his throne, which was placed above a platform made of the same crates that barricaded the Bombpoint. To the Heavy's left stood a Spy wearing a red Distinguished Rogue suit-jacket with a black waist-coat, red trousers, and a matching black Foul Cowl cape to cover his shoulders. He was just about to light a cigarette when the Spy noticed Gerald, and he in turn whispered something to the old Heavy. Around the throne stood several Heavies wearing similar bear-claws the Bears of Alpine wore but they had wolf-skins on their heads instead of bear-skin.
"Greetings, King Terenti," Gerald said, bowing respectfully. The other mercenaries followed, though they were slightly cautious. "You seemed to have aged quite a bit since the last time I saw you."
"Don't let his kind words sway you," the Spy said abruptly. "Gerald the Red is here to bring trouble to your kingdom, therefore he is not welcome."
After a long pause, King Terenti nodded.
For a brief moment, the Spy grinned, and then he walked down from the crates toward Gerald. "You heard the fat man! If you and your colleagues don't walk away, we will be forced to arrest you."
"Would you like a second opinion, Gaston?" Gerald responded, waving his Freedom Staff in front of the Spy.
Immediately the Spy, Gaston, swore under his breath and backed away. "Help! I require assistance!"
Suddenly, three of the wolf-skin-clad Heavies charged at Gerald. Luckily, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin managed to beat them back with their bare fists. Of course, the Heavies managed to put up a good fight due to their incredible strength, but were overpowered due to the quick maneuvering the three mercenaries pulled off. In the meantime, Gerald walked toward King Terenti, who started to squirm in his chair, then Gaston took out a Knife. He was about to stab Gerald in the back when Gavin kicked him so hard that he fell over.
"Well, this was a disappointment," Gaston muttered, and tried to crawl away.
Gavin noticed and stepped on Gaston's cape and held him by the collar of his suit-jacket. "Dominated, you snake!"
"King Terenti, what has become of you?" Gerald said, climbing up the crates. "You were a great king, and you still are, but you've let infectious worms eat your ears out, leaving the sick man that I see before me. Thus, I shall purge your sickness from you!"
Gerald closed his eyes, and waved his right hand in front of King Terenti's face. In response, King Terenti only laughed. This surprised Gerald and the other mercenaries after they had managed to dominate the wolf-skin-clad Heavies.
"Did you think you could beat me?" King Terenti said in an unnaturally bellowing voice. "Your power is weak, Gerald, and nothing you can do will change that!"
"I know that voice," Gerald said, and removed his black cloak, revealing the white one that shined like a new star underneath. "It was you, Merasmus, who hired Gaston to weaken King Terenti in mind and body so that you could control him through your magic! But today is a new day for Rottenburg, which has ignored the outside world for too long, now awaken, King Terenti, and reclaim your kingdom!"
King Terenti howled as if he were in pain while Gerald waved his Freedom Staff in front of him.
"Uncle!"
The same woman Aonghus saw during their walk to the Bombpoint emerged from the shadows, and tried to run towards King Terenti. But Aonghus held her back, and together they watched as King Terenti hit his head against the back of his throne as a result of the invisible force from Gerald's Freedom Staff, and passed out. But after a few seconds, he woke up, and as he surveyed the Bombpoint in confusion, his beard shortened, going from white to light-blond, and while he still looked old, there now seemed to be an aura of strength around him. To Aonghus' surprise, the woman disappeared behind him and reappeared a few seconds later in front of King Terenti.
"Uncle Terenti," the woman said, getting the king's attention. "Are you all right?"
"Ivana," King Terenti said, recognizing the woman. Then he turned to Gerald. "Doktor Gerald. Ugh, I do not feel right."
"Perhaps your strength will come back once you hold your Minigun again," Gerald said.
Immediately, a Heavy wearing a bearskin head left the Bombpoint, then a few minutes later, Igor appeared carrying a freshly-polished Minigun, which was a privileged weapon among the Kings of Alpine since very few of them remained after the Machine Wars either because they were destroyed or rusted from the lack of use. King Terenti took the Minigun by the handle, and stood up from his throne, swinging the Minigun right and left. Meanwhile, Gaston was squirming under Gavin's grasp, which got Terenti's attention.
"You!" Terenti yelled, pointing the Minigun at Gaston, which in turn caused Gavin to back away. "Yes, you! You are dead!"
But before Terenti could pull the trigger, Gerald placed his Freedom Staff in front of the Minigun's shaft.
"You are all incompetent cowards!" Gaston remarked, and laughed as he vanished before everyone's eyes.
"Let him go," Gerald said to Terenti. "He has nowhere to run except to Hightower where his master, Merasmus, resides."
Terenti put down his Minigun, and then he left the Bombpoint, walking past the maze of crates, and up onto a nearby platform while the people passing below stopped to stare at him. This was the first time they had seen their king since he isolated himself a few months ago. Gerald walked up beside him, and watched as Terenti surveyed the gathering people.
"Where is my son?" Terenti asked outloud.
"Terentius is dead," Ivana said, appearing behind Gerald and Terenti. "He had been sick for a while, most likely poisoned by Gaston, and then he died last night."
"My liege!" shouted a Heavy guard who was running up the stairs to the platform. "There is a large horde of Zombies heading towards Rottenburg!"
Ivana and Gerald flinched, while Terenti frowned.
"How fast is the horde moving, and when will they arrive here?" Terenti asked.
"They are covering ten miles per hour, and by the time they reach Rottenburg, it will be nighttime," the guard answered.
For a few minutes, Terenti didn't say anything, and then he ordered, "Tell the people of Rottenburg to pack food and clothes, but to leave their valuables behind. We will be heading for DeGroot Keep before the sun goes down, after we give a proper burial for my son."
They found Terentius' corpse rotting in a shed, even though Gaston claimed he would take care of the burial. So that afternoon, all the people of Rottenburg gathered along both sides of the street, singing sad Russian songs while the funeral procession led by Terenti and Ivana walked past them. The body had been properly dressed and was wrapped in a hand-sewn Soviet Russian flag, being carried on the backs of four Heavies, while Gerald and the other mercenaries followed behind with their weapons reclaimed.
Eventually, the procession weaved its way to the Main Gate, then they walked across the field and towards a large cave where the Robot Tanks used to come from. Terenti, Ivana, and the four Heavies carrying Terentius went inside the cave, while Gerald and the mercenaries waited on the field along with the town's people. After a couple hours, Terenti, Ivana, and the four Heavies emerged from the cave with tear-stained eyes and low heads. While the town people went back through the Main Gate, Gerald told Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin to follow Ivana and the four Heavies while he stayed with Terenti.
"How could this happen?" Terenti asked, looking back at the cave. "Where did we go so wrong?"
"There is no point in blaming ourselves," Gerald said. "Gaston may have been a good man at one point, but Merasmus had persuaded him to weaken your sense of judgment as the Zombies scoured your lands. His motivation was most likely spurred by the promise of some kind of reward."
Terenti watched Ivana as she disappeared behind the Main Gate. "I knew he had his eyes on her for a long time, because she too is a Spy, at least on her mother's side. But I was powerless to stop him. If you hadn't shown up, I would've been crawling on my hands and knees like a baby."
"But what matters is that you are alive and well. As for your son, I regret that I could not save him, but at least he is in a better place."
For a long time, Terenti howled with grief, and all the people of Rottenburg heard it, but pretended not to listen for the sake of respect. Instead, they focused on packing their belongings, and started to move towards the Main Gate. In the meantime, Terenti held a small feast that consisted of Sandviches and Hams for Gerald and the mercenaries as a way of thanking them for saving him.
"I understand that you want to protect your people," Gerald said between bites. "But it would be more practical if you fought the Zombies here."
"And why is that?" Terenti said calmly as he gorged on one Ham in each fist.
"There are no exits from DeGroot Keep, so you will only be trapping yourselves if the Zombies manage to get past your defenses."
"DeGroot Keep is the most impenetrable fortress in the Alpine area, and with you and your mercenaries fighting on our side, we cannot lose!"
"Ja (Yes), but just in case things go bad, I'm going to look for reinforcements, and meet you at DeGroot Keep afterwards."
This surprised everyone, especially Terenti.
"When will you come with these 'reinforcements'?" Terenti asked cautiously.
Gerald smiled and said, "Look for me to the Eastern boulder on the dawn of the fourth day."
End of Chapter 20