Author notes: Yeah, I know, I said there probably wouldn't be updates for a while. This chapter was begging to be done and I was able to find some time to get it done before things get too hectic on my end. So this probably will be the last one for a while, or at least the last one of this sort of length. I'm glad to finally get this chapter done although when you read it (and get to read the next chapter, whenever I can finally get to writing it) you may be...less glad.
In advance I will say that this is another chapter with a fairly evil ending, a few points may not have been put across that well and despite appearances, you'd best believe this story's anything but done yet.
Edit: Just to clarify, this is not the last chapter, just the last one I'll be able to write for a while. I was hoping to start writing 13 sometime today (08/01/12) but alas, 'twas not meant to be. I'll try and find some time to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

Chapter 12: Judgement

Wearily, the last member of what had formerly been RED team placed the stolen intelligence down, pulled up a chair and fell into a sitting position, limbs loose. He simply sat there, head down for a few moments before he properly inspected the LFD and consulted the device embedded into his gauntlet, inputting commands to his loyal drones. With a deep exhalation he dragged himself back to his feet.

Running around like this wasn't his job and this whole ordeal was punishing enough, even without becoming so drained from the hell he had recently unleashed. The Über-Overdrive had took a lot from him and hadn't come without its costs. Whilst the LFD still functioned, the medigun element appeared to be burned out and neither healing nor metal supply were at their normal rate. His overdrive systems also appeared to be completely unusable but apart from that everything appeared to be functioning fine.

It just meant he had some more bugs to fix after this battle, some major tweaks to make and further testing. For a completely untested function, it had performed beyond his wildest expectations and that it had left him so tired afterwards hardly mattered. He sincerely doubted that BLU would be in any mental state to put up a decent fight, let alone attempt to resume their attack on the RED base.

It would give him time. Time to reinforce the defences just a little more, to catch his breath, to think and to plan. The Texan tapped out his final instructions to his robotic servants, erected a few sentries to replace those that had been lost during the BLU offensive and took a deep breath, clearing his mind, before he stepped out onto the battlefield once again.

BLU were not broken. They were shattered, they were smashed, they were destroyed: broken did not begin to cover it. Nobody had left the respawn room yet and nobody wanted to. Some walked, some paced, some checked their equipment or attempted to look as if they were devising some strategy. Empty actions, as meaningless and hollow as their fallen spirits. Numbness and nothingness, movements that were based on instinct and habit rather than intelligence.

No words were spoken, for there were none that could be said. They'd all seen it, they'd all felt it. The mere power and presence that...demon had held, the way that he had slaughtered them so effortlessly and how helpless they truly were, with not even an Übercharge providing protection...

That in itself was something that could break the proud men of BLU, to know their strength and experience was so utterly and completely useless. But it was not this that ran through their minds. When it was unleashed, that demon...angel...whatever being it that held such power beyond that of any mere mortal...!

When it was unleashed, they felt it, they felt him. The RED Engineer. They felt his pain, they felt his agony, they felt his sorrow. His rage burned them, his strength humbled them and his very being had been there in its glory for but an instant for all to see. His heart was a kind one, one that had weathered and been beaten but refused to give in. For all his wrath and hunger for revenge, there was an element of his spirit that overshadowed it all, that stunned them with its beauty and intensity.

His love. The last RED loved his creations, their fate to be destroyed still striking him hard with every battle even if his stony face didn't show it. He loved the world, driving himself to take the steps that would allow him to build a brighter future. He even loved his enemies in this war, the BLU team, as only a rival could. He respected that they were in the same position as RED, he knew at their core that BLU were fine folks and he'd hoped that when the war was over they could all put the past behind them and drink together: RED and BLU.

Those positive feelings towards the mercenaries was almost entirely eclipsed by his hate, by his anger, by his mission. But for all the pain he wished them to suffer, a small glimmer had proven that he'd cared once, even if that was no longer the case. But it was not even his compassion for his enemy that had struck them senseless. It was his connection to the men he loved the most, those who had made up his entire life the last few years, the group of quirky individuals who had fought by him, supported him and died by his side.

RED team...everyone on BLU had their part in their murder. They'd felt guilty but justified afterwards and despite any bitter taste in the mouth after the job had been done, it'd never truly hit them. The Engineer's awakening after the Über-Overdrive had revealed to them his soul, his blazing passion and his unbreakable will. It had showed them better than any words could the consequences of their actions, the havoc they had wrought with their careless hands.

This was to be their punishment. Nobody said it, nobody had to. One by one, they gradually left the respawn room, moving into defensive positions around the base. There was no energy to their movements, no spark in their eyes. It mattered no if their enemy killed them again, if he beat them to death or had become so deranged by the whole affair that he'd torture them. It mattered not what he did now, for they were already dead, he had already won, they only pushed themselves into position as some action done on autopilot or some futile attempt at dying with dignity, to die fighting rather than crying.

The RED Engineer would kill them. He would not spare them. They would not escape their punishment. No words were spoken. Why speak what everyone knew? This fate was the one they deserved.

Everything was going according to plan. He'd encountered minimal resistance so far from the BLUs, who had been easy to confuse, mislead and otherwise avoid fighting directly. He'd made good use of flanking, retreating to lure enemies into mini-sentry ambushes he'd set up and with less dangerous foes he'd simply torn their bodies into ribbons with the chaingun or spread their insides over the walls with Vengeance.

Getting to the intel room had been easy enough. A carefully bounced grenade spelled the end for the BLU Engineer and his only recently constructed buildings. Maybe BLU wouldn't bother to give chase to him this time, knowing how pointless it was. Perhaps they would try anyway like the stubborn dogs they were. He hoped it was the latter.

He'd make them get off their asses and chase after the stolen intel. A long, circular route around and just outside of their base only to go back into its depths then to the sewers a few times...they'd click on that for whatever reason he was still about and they'd run. A savage smile. They'd all be alive, together and trying to protect their intelligence. A perfect opportunity he wouldn't want to waste. Soon this would all be over...

BLU didn't know what to make of it. The last RED hadn't simply absconded with the briefcase like they'd assume and almost seemed as if he'd gotten lost, going around in circles or popping up in places that were certainly not part of any efficient escape route. He hadn't shot at them at all yet nor had they encountered any surprise sentries whilst chasing him. Had they further presence of mind they would have likely identified that they were being led into a trap or they'd perhaps notice that nobody had been killed by the RED's unseen helpers either yet.
The team of mercenaries simply continued their chase, attempting to split up to cut him off only to end up regrouping later when their foe took another strange turn. They didn't notice the absence of their Spy or Engineer. How could they notice what their eyes saw when their minds were very clearly elsewhere?

The Spy slipped silently through the shadows, the Ambassador tightly in the grip of hand as he pressed up against a wall. Stepping lightly, he progressed further into the depths of BLU's base. Here, beyond the section that was used during battles, was the various rooms such as the communications room that dealt with the functions of the base itself and its ties with Builder's League United and of course, TF Industries.

It was here he saw the light spilling out of a certain important room, the door left ajar. He knew what to expect and after bracing himself, darted in, pointing his revolver at the Texan who stood there with his back to the Frenchman, adjusting dials and levers with one hand as the other clattered away at a console of buttons. The masked man announced his presence by lowering the safety trigger and giving his trademark "Ahem."

Slowly, the man in RED raised his hands and turned to face the Spy. The Engineer's face was unreadable as the two men stared at one another, air sparking with tension. The man in BLU suddenly felt nervous and resisted the urge to lower his weapon or flee from the person who stood before him. He instead coughed and addressed the saboteur to cover his twinge of anxiety.

"So, Monsieur, we meet once more."

The last RED said nothing, expression blank, his mind unreadable even to the Spy, who considered himself an expert in seeing past such things. He didn't let the talk stop there though, he wanted to see if what he said next could elicit a reaction.

"Your use of robots to keep myself and my colleagues on zheir toes was quite ingenious, especially the one you gave zhe intelligence to and equipped with stolen Spy equipment to project a hologram of yourself. I'm sure my team will be most amused from chasing zhis decoy."

This got no reaction from the American, who merely stood there, not breaking eye contact with the enemy mercenary. The Spy sighed, adjusting his tie, before meeting the gaze of the Engineer once more.

"Even I was fooled at first, barely noticing the slight flickers or other problems with the disguise. Had my mind been...shall we say, more focused on zhe job, I doubt you'd have gotten this far. But, my dear labourer, zhis is where it ends."

At first, silence. But the mouth of his foe twitched, jerking upwards into a smile that became a chuckle. And that chuckle became a guffaw, which erupted into booming, derisive laughter. The BLU tried not to let his annoyance show on his features, brandishing the Ambassador at the laughing RED as if trying to remind him of the current scenario. The Texan eased a little but otherwise didn't seem concerned.

"Ah, pardner, y'all couldn't be more right about it being the end. But I think you're a might bit confused. You know as well as I do that this is all an act, or should I say, even more of an act than usual? Inside you're just as hopelessly lost as the rest of them, still unable to accept reality. Spah, you've been my bane for the longest time so surely if you know my lil' trick with the disguise then you must be able to put two and two together? Why I'm here, why your teammates are chasin' that bot of mine?"

The Spy's mind was still foggy, weakened from this whole experience and whilst he'd been able to control his state better than his team, he was very much shook up and emotionally unstable as the rest of them under his icy exterior. The gears moved, things clicked into pace and the lightbulb lit up with furious intensity. His hand lowered as he stepped back.

"A trap. You planned to kill us all one last time and for you to be here...you've tampered with our respawn?"

Another laugh, a savage grin and a gleam in those eyes that gazed through the Spy even with those dark goggles in the way. Confirmation. It was, the masked man would admit, a form of poetic justice, a fitting way to resolve matters. There were worse things he could have done to BLU, much, much worse for what they had done.

Still...even if they deserved nothing less, the Spy still wanted to live, to end this war and be rid of both RED and the Announcer, to return to France and be at peace for a while. With grim determination and a clearer mind he raised his gun once more, aiming precisely at the Texan's helmeted head as he took two steps forward and-

That second step had been a mistake. Around the corner, only now visible due to that extra step, there sat a mini-sentry. With all the usual buzzes and beeping that the machines of this room generated, he'd completely missed the tell-tale sounds of the hidden sentry. He stumbled back as bullets tore hungrily into his flesh, pulling his trigger as he did so, hoping his aim had remained true.

The BLU Spy fell backwards out of sight of the sentry, feeling very much like smacking himself as the bullet pinged harmlessly off the Engineer's helmet. If Sniper's high-calibre rounds hadn't penetrated the reinforced head gear, what hope had his of causing any real damage. He looked back at the RED only to find that the man was no longer laughing, blade drawn and at his throat.

Gulping nervously, he glanced down at the blade. He saw the class-emblem markings, the representations of the fallen men of RED team. He saw the fire that burned before him, the raging flames that took the form of a man. He saw the inscription in the sword, the words a bloody crimson jumping out of a background of forged steel. The colouring was caused by the blood of the BLU team, dried and forever staining the once pure message embedded in the blade.

Reading the words the man before him had wrote, his last thought was how fitting it was that the message should be revealed through the blood of the BLUs. He didn't hear the BLU Engineer's gasp from outside the door as he came in, he didn't feel his body become limp as it hung from the weapon that had penetrated his heart.

There was silence. The last RED casually dumped the Spy's body on the ground, letting the blood slowly drip off the blade as held it in one hand calmly by his side. Engineer faced Engineer, twin stares hidden under their eyewear as BLU gazed at RED, as the man with the mechanical hand faced the man with the mechanical arm. The Gunslinger was out, the glove that had covered it as of late missing as the fingers twitched. The transforming robotic limb, the Chain Armament, was held into a fist to one side.

Finally the one clad in BLU who had previously been the embodiment of engineered destruction, of building to destroy, spoke.

"...you did it, huh? Got us all where ya want us, got everythin' set up to finish it?"

A slow nod was the only response. Further silence. The interruption came abruptly, not in the form of further words or even action from either man but as a large detonation from afar. The BLU jumped before resuming his tense position, the RED merely smiled.

"It's done now, almost every last explosive I could find was used to ensure no survivors, my little drones did a good job. Sorry son, but this is it."

He raised the sword, stepping to the side of the fallen Spy's body, slowly approaching his counterpart, who made no move to resist or flee. The last BLU met the last RED's gaze and almost thought he saw something in those eyes, in the tone of voice...something beyond the fire, something else besides that impossibly bright flame that had consumed this man, had driven him to do what could not be done, to get his revenge, to honour his fallen team.

No more words needed to be shared. They didn't need to vocalise their thoughts, for in this moment of clarity for the both of them, they understood. The BLU didn't have to say that normally he wouldn't go down without a fight but that he'd make an exception. The RED saw no need to tell him that he'd do it quickly, that there'd be no pain for the other. Neither saw fit to express their relief that the desire for vengeance, the pain and the madness of being alone hadn't twisted the RED into a true monster. Thankfulness, for different reasons.

It was soundless, swift, clean and efficient. Mechanical, almost. The blade pierced the flesh, spilled blood, tore organs and ended one final life.

But before that spark had faded, before the weapon had been driven in, as the blade sped by, there had been a flashing of words. The Engineer had always been a fast reader and a quick thinker, so in those last moments as time seemed to crawl on by before his life was extinguished, he saw it.

The message bathed in blood. A tribute to what had passed and what had yet to be done. The single tear just barely visible as it escaped the bottom of the RED's goggles...

"The ultimate price. Forged in righteous fury to bring the world of tomorrow the rest we never received. Brandished in vengeance...to be sheathed only when the last problem is solved."

The Last Engineer cleaned the fresh blood from the blade, running one finger down the eight class emblems as his hand gripped the weapon tighter, the symbol of the Engineer visible on the hilt. The weapon was lifted and hefted onto his shoulder as he strode out the room. For all the engravings on one side, the other was bare, as if there was a side of the task yet to be planned, a future yet to be written in the fire and steel and blood and death of war...