Author notes: Here's chapter 4, massive thanks to everyone who's read, review, favourited, alerted, PMed me, etc. Sorry if I kept anybody waiting, I was actually planning on leaving this until Friday or the weekend but felt the urge to write. Oh yeah, noticing an odd little trend here: odd numbered chapters tend to be shorter than the even numbered ones and ignoring author's notes, 1 & 3 are very close in size, as are 2 & 4. I did not do this on purpose, it just sorta...happened. Huh.
Anywho, let me know what you think, exclaim your sympathy for poor Engie, point out my really obvious mistakes I've somehow missed or why this fic is terrible/good. Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Crate Complications
An explosion and subsequent decrease in speed woke the exhausted Engineer up from his rest, the train rocked from whatever the hell had just happened. Before he could he even mutter a "What in tarnation?" the supply train was rocked again, the source now obvious.
Carefully getting up to a slight crouch, the RED noted the BLU train that was now travelling alongside him, and the distinctive sound of the BLU Soldier angrily yelling as he fired off another rocket at the carriages near the front. Clearly the enemy mercenary hadn't seen the Engineer in the open trailer, likely by virtue of being hidden behind the crates it carried.
The supply train was weathering the hits surprisingly well, but it was only a matter of time before the engine was destroyed, a link between the carriages shattered or the whole thing was simply derailed by the mentally unsound man currently standing on top of the other train. That the trains were still moving at considerable speed didn't seem to faze the BLU as he reloaded his primary weapon.
The Engineer mentally groaned as he spotted, even from this distance, the weapon the Soldier held: the Black Box. Even if he had a decent weapon and was in better condition he wouldn't exactly be in a rush to fight such a strong offensive class. Even if he managed to somehow acquire a better weapon than his wrench (he cursed under his breath for leaving the almost-empty pistol behind) and factoring in the element of surprise...
Well, things weren't looking good. The Black Box may not be able to store as many rockets but its ability to somehow heal the user slightly meant that a firefight would be a lot longer to finish than usual, not exactly ideal on two moving trains. The best way to deal with a Soldier would be to get him fast and hard but the distance, movement of the train and the BLU's enhanced survivability were not in his favour. A single direct hit with any rocket would be more than enough to spread the Texan's inner workings six ways to Sunday.
If only he could get a hold of some weapons, at least then the RED would have a slight chance...
Sudden realisation struck, the mercenary glancing at the contents of the trailer he was on: crates. His right hand quickly closed itself around his wrench, a fire lighting his eyes again as he approached the nearest locked weapon cache, heart hammering. Some measured application of force at certain angles and the lock was off. The Engineer quickly freed his only hand so that he could open the box that would be his salvation just as the Soldier hefted his rocket launcher and aimed at the train's engine.
The Texan's eyes widened in surprise as the train was blasted once more. The crate contained nothing but assorted...hats! Some were tacky, others simple and yet others truly insane. He thought he spotted a hat that was made of several hats suck together as he frantically searched the crate for other contents. Weapons, ammo or even metal, please! Anything besides these useless hats!
Turning around in frustration, he gripped his wrench once more to break open another crate only to stumble as the trailer rocked far worse this time, the crate full of hats actually being knocked onto the rails below. There was a distinctive crushing sound as the crate and its contents were crushed. That last rocket hadn't been aimed at the engine car, but was a lot closer to home. Either the Soldier's aim had gotten really bad or he had an idea of where the runaway RED was (or he was just crazy, with that American, who really knew!).
Straightening up, he opened his next crate and was rewarded with a supply of ammo and metal. The BLU Soldier's next rocket did not come, causing him to pause slightly even as he smashed the next supply crate open. The enemy mercenary seemed to be thinking carefully, the process likely hurting his rocket-addled brain. This crate and the next few that were hurriedly opened contained weapons and one even contained medical supplies. The Engineer frowned.
As useful as having metal, ammo, medkits and weapons was, he still had a near-zero chance of success against the Soldier. Most weapons required both arms (or at least a single arm able to brace itself for the recoil) and if he started shooting at the BLU, he would give his position away. Medical supplies and ammunition are little good to a dead man, after all. And whilst the enemy had ceased shooting for some reason, with one rocket still loaded, he couldn't exactly sit around pondering a course of action even as his head pounded.
The RED was spared from further indecision by the sudden firing of a rocket, an increase in bumpiness on the tracks and an explosive shockwave. The wind was knocked out of him as he was blown back, desperately clutching at the sides of the trailer to keep himself on the train even as the carriages in front twisted, stopped or outright toppled off the tracks.
Dust rose, the supply train ground to a halt and the rival train grinding to a halt, the mad BLU jumping down with a painful wheeze and a slight crack to admire his handiwork.
It had been simple really. His earlier rockets had damaged key connections between cars at the front of the train and severely damaged the engine car. Spotting some rough terrain ahead and knowing the likely quality of the tracks...well, one timed shot to the engine car later and boom, instant train wreck.
The BLU grinned savagely at his own cunning. His own team doubted his tactical competence most of the time but as Sun Tzu once said: "Walk softly and carry a BFG-9000"
He frowned. Wait a minute, that didn't quite sound right, even for him. Shaking his head he glanced over at the chaos he had caused, still waiting for the dust to settle. Truth be told, the American hadn't expected the engine to explode and actually set the first few carriages on fire or to slide into each other quite so well but he'd be damned if he wasn't just peachy with the results. The trailers and carriages at the back hadn't been quite as affected but had still been smashed, derailed and ploughed into each other.
The Solider almost felt sorry for the poor RED son of a bitch. Then he reminded himself that this Engineer, his fellow American, was with the REDs and thus his clear enemy. He didn't exactly know why the REDs were the enemy but that had never bothered him before and it didn't now! They were probably all just communist scum or something. He stood tall and sniffed the air, smiling contently as he glared at the wreckage.
"You just got dominated, toymaker."
The Engineer coughed, blinking his eyes wearily and he slowly got up, finding himself a considerable distance to the side of the derailed supply train amongst scrapped metal and shattered crates. The wreckage was mostly between him and the tracks the BLU train had been using so he should remain unseen for now. He coughed again, lungs full of dust and ribs aching. Not for the first time, he was thankful for his goggles protecting his eyes and the hardhat that had miraculously stayed on his head this whole time and likely protected him from getting a concussion.
The dust had mostly settled and as he slowly rose to his feet, wincing in pain and stopping more than once as he did so, he took a more detailed observation of his surroundings. The carriages near the front of the wreckage were being slowly eaten away by small flames and the contents of many of the carriages and trailers had been strewn everywhere. Most had been smashed, buried or otherwise made unusable but here and there, there were survivors.
Some careful, quiet rummaging later (often accompanied with a few "Dagnabbit dabbit"s under his breath as his injured leg acted up again) he had found some useful items.
For one, he'd found a few toolboxes that deployed mini-sentries similar to what his BLU counterpart deployed with the Gunslinger. After raiding a metal refrigerated box that had been blown open he'd been shocked to find painkillers, ice bags, beer and bottles of water. He'd placed some ice underneath his construction helmet and swallowed some tablets along with the water, briefly entertaining the thought of taking the beer with him too. God knows he needed a good drink after what he'd been through so far. But no, a cold one would have to wait.
He'd found several grenades he'd never seen used in battle before in a strangely rusted iron crate, a revolver, a can of Bonk: Atomic Punch and a Detonator flaregun. His eyes merely stared at these items laid out on the ground before him before he crept over to the remains of the train and peeked a look further down the tracks. Sure enough, the BLU train had come to a halt further down the line and a blue speck was seen in the distance, seemingly walking down towards the wreckage.
The Texan's eyes narrowed, the other mercenary likely would be checking his handiwork, just to be certain that no REDs remained. He'd underestimated the BLU once. He wouldn't make that mistake again. With a quick glance back at the items he had found, a devious smile slowly crept onto his face.
The Soldier was feeling particularly elated. They had managed to get rid of the pesky RED team and sure, one had slipped their net but he was certain that any class besides maybe another Solider, Heavy or Demoman would have perished or otherwise been heavily wounded from the crash. An Engineer, let alone a wounded Engie? Pfft, maggot was probably squished impaled or otherwise a lifeless ragdoll, never to hide behind his little machines again.
The BLU barked a laugh. He was only investigating to further boost his ego when he found the enemy's corpse and partly because their Spy had insisted that he ensure the Engineer was dead.
"Zheir Engineer has already escaped our grasp once, Monsieur, I need not remind you zhat he may do so again."
Damn spook, what did the Frenchman know? Coward just liked telling others would to do. As soon as he got back to base he would give the frog a piece of his-
A whistle and a small explosion not unlike a firework sounded, causing the Soldier to jump as an ember of flame landed on the arm of his uniform, setting him alight. His reaction was loud and predictable, in true Soldier fashion: "I. AM. ON. FIIIIIIIRE!"
His mind was focused on putting out the fire that was trying to spread all over him, so he naturally didn't notice the next flare fired at him, this one detonating on his helmet, causing the BLU to yelp as he dropped to the ground. He rolled, the fire put out even as his helmet flew off his head. Jumping to attention, he snarled, his usually hidden eyes burning with rage. With an additional growl he cocked his shotgun, having left the Black Box with the train (the wreck of shrapnel and scrap metal wasn't the best place to fire rockets at point-blank range near).
The Engineer retreated behind an overturned carriage, glad he hadn't been seen. He felt oddly...dirty. This was the second time today he had felt oddly like one of those dishonourable, treacherous spies, attacking with dirty tactics and relying on stealth and shadows. Still, it had kept him alive so far (just barely) and so far his plan was working. He carefully placed the Detonator on the ground, fumbling for the next weapon as the Soldier travelled further down alongside the train, trying to find where the flares had been fired from.
The flames had been put out, but the fire had never been his intention with the flares. They caused some minor damage, but more importantly had enraged the BLU and served as bait for the mercenary. If everything went mostly according to plan now...well, maybe, just maybe, things might just be dandy after all.
The Soldier was furious. Not only was the maggot alive, he had set him on fire and was now forcing him to trawl through the wreckage and even into some of the more intact carriages, trying to find the cheeky coward. Entering a particularly cramped and dark carriage that had been turned on its side he spat, waving his shotgun around.
"Come out and fight like a man, private!"
It was then that he heard it. A little beep, a slight whir. He turned and saw a little red light before he got a face full of rapid-fire, computer-targeted lead. Cursing and turning his face away from the mini-sentry hidden amongst the scrap metal, he fired wildly at the machine, stepping back out of the carriage. He wiped some blood from his jaw, wincing ever so slightly as he did so before setting his eyes on a tell-tale blur of red darting behind some crates.
"...this is my world. YOU DO NOT BELONG IN MY WORLD!"
With that cry he ran to the crates and unleashed his remaining shells at...another crate. Another beep, another whir and a second mini-sentry fired at his legs from ground level, hidden behind the corner. Click! His weapon was empty. Stumbling backwards, he fell over the broken remains of a trailer, outside of the turret's range but now flat on his BLU ass.
Then, the sound of a pin dropping and a grenade suddenly rolled into view. Getting up as quick as he could, the mercenary tried to made a quick exit, hate for the RED soaring to new heights even as he cried out: "OH SHI-"
A small explosion, a flurry of shrapnel and the American was flung back, sliding a little on the dirt by the tracks. His formerly BLU uniform was dark with the brown dust, black ash and the red of his own blood. He coughed a little, weakly turning his head to the side as he heard footsteps. His eyes slowly took in the tattered overalls of the RED Engineer and the difficulty with which he moved before he came to a rest by the Soldier's body.
The Engineer wheezed a little before lifting his hand up, flipping back the safety on the revolver. He preferred his semi-automatic pistol to this particular firearm favoured by Spies but he was competent enough with it. At this range, the superior accuracy wouldn't matter.
"That's what it feels like when eagles cry, soldier-boy."
And with that one-liner, the trigger was pulled and a good-sized hole was blown through the BLU's head, right between his eyes. The eyes filled with such disgust, loathing and insanity even in death as his body eventually faded away. The RED's face was blank as he span the barrel of the revolver, reloading a single bullet before twirling the weapon and pocketing it alongside the remaining grenades.
He slowly trudged to the BLU train in the distance before pausing for a moment, taking note of the Sun low in the sky, starting to cast red rays across the landscape.
A small sigh. A minor detour. A smiling Engineer kicking his feet back in the front car of the hijacked BLU train heading to Teufort, a cold beer in his hand. A sip. Yet another cough and a twinge of pain. He shuffles a little in his chair, taking note of the scenery as it rushes past, outlined by the Sunset as the land took on a redder tone.
A statistical improbability, but things were looking up, if only a little, for the last member of the Reliable Excavation Demolition mercenary team.y