I've been extremely busy with school, so I apologize for the long delay.
Chapter 26: The Forbidden Lake
Before the Battle of DeGroot Keep began in Alpine, Freddie and Steve were hopelessly wandering through the Desert environment several miles away. Ever since Mumble prevented them from passing through the barricade of Tanks surrounding Coal Town, they had been taking a southernmost route that took them across various sand dunes. By the time the Scouts stopped at a large oasis to take a break, it was early afternoon. The sun's rays were glaring, and the vegetation was sparse. So when Mumble left and came back carrying two dead rodents, Freddie and Steve were surprised. Then Steve took the rodents and made a stew out of them using a pot that he'd been carrying in his pack the whole time. Mumble made a series of agonizing moans and shook his head violently in response.
Freddie turned to Steve and said, "He's saying that –
"I know what he's saying," Steve interrupted. "He doesn't like it that I'm cooking the rodents instead of leaving them raw cuz he likes them that way."
When Freddie gave him an odd look, Steve clarified. "I may not understand what Mumble says word for word, but I get the gist of it from the way he reacts."
"I see," Freddie sighed. "Do you think we'll make it to the Moving Fortress at this rate?"
"Well it'll definitely take longer since we missed the opportunity to get into Coal Town thanks to a certain bib wearin' dope we've been dragging with us."
"Why do you gotta be so mean? Samuel's led us this far, hasn't he?"
"I still don't trust him, and why are you so forgiving? He tried to kill you in your sleep back in those canyons, remember?"
"I know, but I still pity the poor guy. His life was singlehandedly ruined by the One Bomb, and he used to be just like us."
Before Steve could retort, a loud humming noise filtered through the air, causing Freddie and Steve to head towards the edge of the oasis to see what it was. To their surprise, they saw a legion of Robots marching across the nearby sand dunes a couple miles away, but these were unlike any they had encountered so far. For starters, they had wheels instead of feet. Secondly, their bodies were small and compact, with dome-shaped heads made of glass, and little arms that carried metal sticks that glowed. Behind them followed six Giant Robots each representing a Scout, a Soldier, a Heavy, a Pyro, a Demoman, and a Medic.
"What the hell are those things?" Steve whispered out loud.
Mumble answered in turn through a set of harsh whispers.
"He says that they're Robots from Asteroid, an Area on the moon that's been dormant for centuries." Freddie felt his heartbeat increase rapidly the more he stared at the Robots. "Until now, apparently."
Steve gulped. "Gray Mann must've awoken them when his spirit reactivated the Moving Fortress, and now they're here to aid him in his second attempt to take over America."
The two Scouts watched the Robots escorting the Giant Robots longer until they vanished over a crest of sand dunes to the southeast, and then they looked behind them to see that Mumble was gone. It was also then that several Soldiers wearing blue uniforms appeared and surrounded the two Scouts. Before Freddie and Steve could draw out their weapons, they were blindfolded from behind. Then the Soldiers barked several orders, which Freddie and Steve had a hard time understanding, and were dragged roughly out of the oasis.
Several hours later, the blindfolds were removed from the two Scouts' eyes, revealing that they were standing on a Control Point surrounded by Ancient Egyptian kiosks. Two Soldiers with Shotguns ordered the Scouts to kneel with their hands behind their backs, which they did without asking questions. Then from a stone archway that overlooked a large lake emerged a tall Soldier who looked like a spitting image of Benjamin, except his hair was longer with the bangs obscuring his eyes even under the helmet he wore. However, when he stared at them, the two Scouts couldn't help but feel intimidated.
"What were you two numbnuts doing out in the middle of the desert?" the Benjamin-lookalike asked harshly. "You could've been spotted by those Lunar Robots!"
"You mean those things that were escorting the Giant Robots?" Steve said in a fit of nervousness, but he soon regretted his words as the Benjamin-lookalike picked him up by the collar of his shirt and glared at him.
"How do you know about the Giant Robots?" The Benjamin-lookalike shouted. "Who are you?"
"He's Steve, and I'm Freddie," said Freddie, looking at the Benjamin-lookalike. "We're Scouts from Harvest."
The Benjamin-lookalike paused, and then he dropped Steve. Then he walked up to Freddie and kicked him in the face with a hobnailed boot. "Do not look at me. I did not ask you a question."
"What he says is true!" Steve said, getting up. But the two Soldiers pointed their Shotguns at him, causing him to freeze.
"Okay, short pants," the Benjamin-lookalike said, turning to Steve. "If you and your friend really are Scouts from the Harvest area, then let me ask you again: what were you two doing out in the middle of the desert?!"
After a long pause, Freddie got up, holding his bleeding nose, and said, "We set out from Mountain Lab with several companions: there were two other Scouts, a Medic, a Demoman, a Sniper, an Engineer, and another Soldier."
Upon the last word, the Benjamin-lookalike flinched. "Did the Soldier wear a red uniform and carry a Bugle with him?"
"Yeah, yeah," Freddie nodded. "How did you know?"
"He was my brother."
At that, the two Scouts' eyes widened.
"I am Franklin, the youngest son of Sergeant Donathan, and now the next in line to inherit Bigrock, since Benjamin's dead." When the Scouts gave him dubious looks, the Soldier, Franklin, explained, "We received the Bugle, or what's left of it, a few days ago attached to an anonymous message explaining what happened to him, but judging by your confused looks, I assume neither of you were present when he died."
"Uh, no." Steve lowered his head. "We weren't."
"Then I'll satisfy your curiosity," Franklin said, and took out a cigar, lighting it as he spoke. "He met his demise at the hands of Zombies that invaded the Hydro area, and his body was buried there. Now if you two were traveling with him, then tell me what he was doing down there in the first place."
Steve hesitated, and then he said, "We can't tell you."
"Oh? And why not?" Franklin let out a puff of smoke, which blew in Steve's direction.
"It was a secret mission, but an important one," Steve said between coughs.
"How important? There's something that you're not telling me, and if I have to crack some skulls I will!"
"Corporal Franklin!"
Franklin and the Scouts turned to one of the Soldiers who was standing close to the archway, gesturing them to come over. Freddie and Steve were escorted by the two armed Soldiers who kept poking their Shotguns into their backs as they followed Franklin to the archway. There, the Soldier by the archway pointed towards the other side of the lake where a cluster of palm trees and bushes grew. Then Franklin took out a pair of binoculars from a coat-pocket and looked at the area once more. A small smile crept on his face, and then he turned to Freddie.
"You might want to take a look at this," Franklin said, handing the binoculars to Freddie.
Freddie looked through the binoculars and saw Mumble standing on the shore with the trees getting darker behind him in the growing twilight. He looked like he was beating a fish with a rock, and nodding his head back and forth as if singing to himself. Then Franklin yanked the binoculars away from Freddie, and put them back in the pocket they came from.
"If I recall, one of my men said they saw such a strange creature leave the oasis before we captured you and your friend. Is he yours?" Franklin asked.
In response, Freddie said nothing.
"You know, this lake is our greatest resource here at Lakeside, but it is forbidden to outsiders. Anyone who trespasses onto the lake will be terminated immediately." Franklin nodded to the Soldier by the archway, who took out his Shotgun and lined up next to the other Soldiers who were gathered there.
But then just as Franklin was about to give an order, Freddie said, "Don't kill him! He's the one who has been guiding us through this desert."
Franklin cocked his head in puzzlement, then he said, "Is that so? Then we'll take you to him."
Once they got to the lake's edge, the first stars had appeared, and Freddie could barely see as he emerged from the thick foliage of palm trees. He saw Mumble's dark form, who in turn stared at him in suprise. As Freddie approached him, Mumble chewed on the rest of the fish, which was sticking out from under the gas mask, which looked like a long forked tongue in the growing darkness.
"Hey, Samuel, get over here," Freddie said quietly. "We're not supposed to be here, so let's go."
Mumble seemed to hesitate, and then he followed Freddie, who backed up into the foliage. Then without warning, Franklin's Soldiers ambushed Mumble and blindfolded him like Freddie and Steve before him. Franklin then appeared from behind Freddie, and patted him on the back.
"I thought you said you weren't going to hurt him!" Freddie shouted, looking up at Franklin.
"We're not hurting him, son," Franklin replied. "We're capturing him."
The Soldiers dragged Mumble along, although he bit and scratched all of them, until he was thrown into a cell within a tower near an outcrop of cliffs along the northwestern part of Lakeside. As for Freddie and Steve, they were taken to living quarters inside the main Egyptian temple, but with guards standing outside their doors. Meanwhile, Franklin decided to question Mumble before he turned in for the night, and came into the cell to see Mumble removing his gas mask and talking to it.
"I told you the Scout couldn't be trusted…but he's our friend…you don't have friends, you fool. Scouts are all liars, thieves, and he still has it."
"Has what?" Franklin asked, approaching Mumble cautiously. "What does the Scout have?"
"MY…PRECIOUS!" Mumble screamed, turning to face Franklin.
To Franklin's horror, Mumble's true face was similar to Freddie's, but with no hair and extremely large eyes that seemed to pop out of his skull.
End of Chapter 26