Author notes: Yet another chapter which ended up becoming longer than I planned for and thus something that was originally going to be in this chapter will have to wait until the next. Thankfully I found a good place to split it off and considering that this is (to the best of my knowledge) the longest chapter yet, it was perhaps best to stop there and not spend even longer on getting this done!
To any Australians, I apologise for any inconsistencies with the real Australia, but the country in the TF2 universe is very much different and I felt a bit of freedom with it as a result. Likewise, I decided to take Saxton Hale and...well, I took some creative liberties with both. Hopefully neither this nor anything else will ruin the chapter for anyone...^^;
Chapter 19: Australian Fury!
One by one, the team of ten mercenaries, wanted the world over for daring to defy their former master, rose to their feet, weapons at the ready. Their eyes stared unblinking at the sight before them, of the bare-chested glory that was Saxton Hale: CEO of Mann Co, recently-crowned King of Australia and without a doubt the strongest man on the planet.
Australia was known for producing hairy, muscular men that have more beers and brawls than common sense. The nation's population was all potentially lethal killing machines, whether human or otherwise, widely believed to be an effect of the ultra-rare transformative element known only as Australium. Even the land itself was reflective of this lethality, with weary rough terrain, unrelenting onslaughts of heat, countless miles of barren wasteland, deadly tangled rainforests all bursting full of disasters waiting to happen.
Even the flora and fauna that lived there had learned to survive, not by clever trickery or fleeing but by killing everything they come into contact with. From the Gympie-gympie, a seemingly innocent shrub with the toxicity to kill human or horse alike as it sends them to a painful death, to the animals hardy enough to eat the toxic leaves without a care, to the infamous saltwater crocodile and even the iconic kangaroo proves its worth in property damage. Even if one should try to escape the deathtrap by fleeing the land, the surrounding waters have more than enough to show the foolishness of doing so, with the powerful venom of the box jellyfish, the sneaky stone fish and the almighty jaws of a great white shark.
Amidst this land of near-certain death and hyper-advanced technology developed with the use of Australium, one man stands above all the rest. With one of the most successful companies in the world, a mass producer of countless weapons of destruction, an involvement in the RED vs. BLU conflict and a strength few Australians could match...
This man is Saxton Hale, a man whose mighty strength and great idiocy combined drives him to fight the world single-handedly with naught but his bare hands...and for all the advancements in teleportation, cloaking, automated turrets and weaponry, he takes on the world and WINS. Capable of leaping through the air as if launched from a catapult, of running day and night without rest, of shrugging off conventional weaponry as a normal man would an annoying fly, responsible for more extinctions than all other causes combined...
The Australian looked at the mercenaries for a single moment, eyeing them up before with a broad smile he took a step forward and charged, roaring with savage fury:
"WELCOME TO DA TUTORIAL LEVEL!"
His cry confused the mercenaries and for a brief, almost-fatal moment, they hesitated. All but the Soldier, his own insanity on par with Hale's, who raised his rocket launcher and matched the Australian's feral smile with a deadly grin of his own, the cannon spitting explosive death that caught the shirtless man dead in the centre of his chest. Not pausing as this shot slowed his foe's charge, Jane fired again, the projectile on a direct cause for the ground just by Hale's feet, launching the Mann Co CEO into the sky.
Another rocket, trailing smoke and the stench of war, impacted against the airborne enemy, juggling him even higher. Taking the slightest moment to predict his target's path, the former BLU shot off his last rocket as Saxton impacted the ground, obscured in a cloud of dust and smoke. The Soldier prepared to load his next rocket and was thus taken by surprise when an enraged Hale appeared from the cloud and smacked the weapon out of his hand. Eyes widening in surprise before narrowing in anger beneath his helmet, Jane stepped back from the blow, drawing his double-barrelled Super Shotgun and unleashing a powerful spread of painful buckshot at point-blank range into the Australian's bare flesh, the force of the recoil alone causing the Soldier to slide back on the dusty earth as the heavens continued to cry down upon them.
If Saxton even felt the impact he didn't show it, drawing back a single fist with the intent of knocking the mercenary's head clean off. Jane knew, as time seemed to slow down, that he was going to die. Fingers fumbling with the shells that seemed to deal no damage against the monster of a man he was fighting, legs desperately cartwheeling backwards, he knew it was too late. Hale's fist drew ever closer, the hairy knuckles seemingly containing the anticipating face of Death himself.
A powerful blast of compressed air roared out from the modified flamethrower, sending the Australian flying off to one side as the Soldier looked silently to the masked face of the Pyro. A shared nod between them and the Soldier scrambled off to recover and load his rocket launcher as Ashley pulled down on the tertiary trigger, a brilliant stream of burning liquid arcing out and into the recovering Hale, setting the man alight. Moustache and chest hair aflame in the darkness cast by the thundering clouds overhead, he made a step forward only to stop as the last pipebomb came to a stop by his feet. Looking over at the Demoman, Fusion pipebomb launcher in hand, the Scotsman gave a hearty laugh before detonating his trap, launching Saxton backwards and upwards in an explosion of fire and dust and steam and smoke.
Landing with a painful thud on his rear, steam rising from his scorched and still burning body, he attempted to get up and turn his fury against his prey. Snarling and ready to pounce towards his next target, he was immediately drawn to the imposing form of the Heavy Weapons Guy. Grigori merely stared unblinkingly and with his own feral roar, he put Sasha to work, the expensive ammunition embedding itself into Hale's frame, in some cases even drawing blood. He still advanced, albeit much slower, his muscular body and minimal damage caused by the minigun defying all logic and reasoning.
As focused as he was with the Heavy, it was understandable that he'd miss the speedy form of the Scout, strafing and pelting him with high-velocity nails from his nailgun. The nails mostly bent and crumpled against Hale's tough physique but all the same they left the mark and got his attention. Distracted by the Boston sprinter's antics, he didn't notice the Spy loading a tranquilliser gun, taking aim and firing. The powerful sedative, ten times stronger than conventional horse tranquillisers, combined with the relentless assault from the Heavy and Scout merely slowed the Australian further.
Dodging a wild swing as Hale trudged on forwards, trying to deal with this assault from all sides, Kevin dropped a flash-bang grenade by his foe's feet before taunting as he double-jumped away. Slowed and worn down by the explosions, bullets, nails, fire and sedative now working through his blood stream and now blinded, Saxton stopped, clutching his eyes with one hand as he roared in anger, swiping wildly with the other arm. A safe distance away, now certain of his shot, the Sniper held his prized rifle scope to his eye, finger twitching by the trigger.
A single crack was heard through the drenched landscape as a high-calibre round broke the sound barrier and blew itself through one of Hale's kneecaps. Howling in pain he fell to one knee, blood oozing its way into the already damp earth. Rockets and pipebombs bombarded him, fire streaming through the air and licking its way through his skin slowly and agonizingly. Bullets and nails and further doses of sedative found their way into his body, buying the time Jack needed as he lined up his next shot, rifle fully charged.
With one final shot whistling through the tense air it found itself striking his target, a perfect shot between the eyes, burrowing itself through the Australian's skull. All eyes looked on as it shot out the other end, momentum greatly reduced by the thick cranium it had penetrated. Silently and slowly, the King of Australia's eyes widened and his body fell limp, his form just barely upright on one knee, face hidden in shadow beneath his hat as his head hung loosely.
For a moment, the rain ceased and breaths were held, the Medic standing by the Heavy's side and the two Engineers by the damaged vehicle of theirs that Hale had upturned. Time passed and sighs of relief were exhaled, light rain dancing on the ground once more.
For the second time, the team made a near-fatal mistake.
With a roar of pure primal fury, of fire and brimstone and demons personified and given life, the beast known as Saxton Hale rose, breathing heavily, eyes burning with hellish rage. Pulling his hands into firm fists once more, he stood tall on both feet and lifted his hands into the air, the very earth seeming to tremble before his might. Seemingly ignoring the hole through his head, the destruction of his knee and the damage wreaked upon him that not even a monster should have survived, he levelled his gaze across to the mercenaries once more as if seeing them for the first time.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
They all felt it, some strange electricity coursing through their body, a deathly touch across the spine, an intense irrational fear that ceased all higher-level function in their minds. They had felt this touch before on the occasions that the war had brought them to haunted battlefields but this...this was beyond that. They simply had to obey, as much as the deep-rooted animalistic instincts in them screamed for them to run, to flee, to abandon friends and family if it meant survival. It was less the voice of a man as it was the sound of Death himself, suddenly given voice and reflecting countless eons of rage and bloodlust.
The world's most dangerous men stood there, paralysed and quivering with fear as the Australian came towards them. His slow plodding pace became a jog and that jog became a charge. Like deer caught in headlights they were simply frozen, until his fist drew back and the spell was suddenly broken.
Jane was knocked flying by the blow, weapons and helmet alike scattered to the winds as he skidded, kicking up a cloud of dust and water before coming to a stop. He didn't get up.
Hale merely turned to his next victim, his intense gaze settling on the form of the Demoman. Single eye wide in terror, the Scotsman desperately fired pipebombs in the direction of the Australian, who took the powerful explosives with barely a falter in his stride before leaping through the air, almost covering the distance between him and his target in a single bound.
"Taste the explosivepower of my fists!"
Ewan dropped his weapon, raising his shield and sword in vain as Saxton's full thunderous weight and power bore down upon him, not merely knocking him to the ground but causing the mercenary to bounce, landing with a painful thud. Blood flew from his mouth with the impact and then he was still.
The rest of team looked upon the two motionless forms of their comrades and fought the overwhelming urge to run to the hills. Their battle was in vain. One by one, despite their best efforts, they fell to the Australian's infinite fury.
Streaming arcs of fire, compression blasts, screaming fireballs and intense cones of fire did little to save the Pyro who was punched in the gut and then flung aside like a ragdoll with nothing more than a derisive snort of "You fight like a woman!" from Mann Co's CEO. The only consolation Ashley had as they lost conciousness was that some definitely painful burns had found their way onto the CEO's skin.
The Heavy slowed Hale as best he could, standing protectively in front of the Medic. His protectiveness was rewarded with a series of near-crippling blows the tore Sasha from his grasp. His own anger clashing with this furious enemy, Grigori emptied the full thunderous death his Quad Shotgun could muster before being kicked to ground.
With the Medic nowhere to be seen, finally fleeing his closest friend in the team, Hale looked down at the Russian, boot at the ready. A surprised exclamation of "Are you really the strongest man on your team?" was all the Heavy heard before a powerful boot crashed into his head and his world became dark.
Nails were knocked out of the air and even the incredible knockback of the modified Force-A-Nature barely slowed Saxton's bull-like charge as he chased the Scout, who eventually decided the recoil was better suited to trying to escape rather than attempting to fight this monster. Kevin's attempts at flight were short-lived however, as he swiftly found himself face-to-face with Saxton in the air, the Australian's single bound easily matching the frantic efforts of the runner.
The Scout found himself plucked of the air by his legs, dragged back down with the hefty mass of Australian fury that was Saxton Hale and repeatedly smacked into the ground before then being casually flung over Saxton's shoulder. Kevin landed in a crumpled, bloody mess, his hyperactive heart beating the slowest it had ever beaten before.
The Spy, overcome with frozen anger himself, appeared from thin air behind Hale, knife at the ready. Eyes full of unending hatred for the oblivious man before him, he plunged his blade expertly into the Australian's spine, the blade piercing through the seemingly bullet-proof flesh and embedding itself with open malice. A groan of pain escaped Hale's throat and Gabriel allowed himself a smug smile...until that moan became a chuckle.
Whirling around, Hale swung a backhanded blow towards the Frenchman, his wristwatch slamming into the Spy's skull and leaving only a corpse behind. With a declaration of "This watch was invented at Mann Co specifically to kill you twice!" Hale ignored the corpse at his feet and instead pulled the knife out of his back, eyes darting to and fro. Finally, he settled on a seemingly random point in the air and threw the knife forward with incredible force, the blade embedding itself in Gabriel's chest as his cloak flickered and deactivated. He fell slowly and silently to the ground, eyes wide in shock, the fake corpse fading away.
The Sniper abandoned his rifle, instead launching strong crossbow bolts into his fellow Australian's powerful frame. The arrows got lodged in key joints, impairing movement for a moment before they snapped; the broken remains embedded in his flesh of no concern for the King of Australia. More bolts flew through the air only to be swatted aside with ease. Hale didn't even bother to properly charge at Jack, his pace far more leisurely,like a morning jog, as he came closer and closer.
Jack swore to himself, drawing his dual pistols and firing round after round directly into Hale's skull. Bullet after bullet bounced off, bent out of shape and useless on the ground below. A single round hit near the hole made by the earlier rifle round and caused Hale to blink. But it wasn't enough and soon enough the Sniper was just another body left out in the rain. The King looked down on his fellow countryman and sneered: "You may be Australian, but you're not half the man I am."
And then there were only three remaining. Dell, Isaac and Nils shivered as the wind picked up, the Medics beam trained on the former BLU Engineer as he set up his array of Sentries, modified or otherwise. Isaac was applying his wrench with controlled haste at the now upright vehicle that would serve for their escape, weapons platform and recovery point. He didn't even bother looking back at the other two as a shiver ran through his spine.
"He's coming this way."
It wasn't a question. He didn't need to ask, he could feel the sheer fear from the other two as they faced the oncoming monster. Silently, the former RED continued to make adjustments to the damaged trailer, weapons ready and waiting for the moment to come. Dell set his jaw tightly, eyes taking in the sight of this miserable landscape, of the relentless rain, of the dead land, of the bodies of his closest friends, of the madmen who ran towards them, savage smile etched onto his stupid face.
His hands, one organic and one mechanical, held the upgraded Frontier Justice, their trembling betraying his inner state of mind. The shotgun glowed and sparked in the darkness with the need for revenge. Revenge not for his fallen creations like it had in the past, but vengeance for his teammates.
Isaac glanced over at Vengeance, his own modified shotgun, likewise sparking with a terrible power. He gave a silent look to the stricken Nils, the Medic's tears still wet on his cheeks. The German snapped back into reality and nodded back, turning to face Hale once more as he trailed the Life Sparker beam onto Dell, the Übercharge meter almost at 100%.
The Crimson Demon paused for a moment as the sound of gunfire tore through the air once more, a strange symphony of bullets, beeps, explosions and flickering flames. He turned back to his work, putting the sound of battle behind him out of his mind, the glow of a nearby dispenser lighting the components and metal before him.
The Engineer and Medic stood at the rear of the vehicle, bodies tense and ready as they overlooked the carnage before them. Multiple level three Sentries spat mechanical death at the enraged Hale, the combined fury of the gattling turrets and rockets preventing the nigh-invulnerable Australian from approaching any further. Additional modified turrets instead launched explosive fireballs in precisely calculated arcs, the bursts of flame created forcing Hale back even further. Snarling, growling and in pain, the King of Australia changed his tactics.
With little more warning then a cry of "BRAVE JUMP!" he flew through the air with a powerful jump. Dutifully, the turrets tracked his motion, pelting him with all they had. But for all their valiant efforts, not even machines are perfect. The firebombs and rockets were unable to hit Hale and even the powerful knockback generated by the mostly accurate bullets were not enough to stop his momentum.
Landing with enough force to bounce the vehicle and send it rolling forwards, Saxton crushed the Sentries with nothing more than his bare hands, fingers gripping into the metal as if it was dough in his hands. Ripping and tearing, it didn't matter that he was pushed back, he'd done enough damage. With their firepower greatly reduced, the onslaught of defensive attacks were now only enough to slow him, not enough to stop him.
With each powerful, slow and plodding step of his mighty boots, he gained ground. Grinding his teeth together, Dell looked over his shoulder at the still-working Isaac and yelled "It's now or never Tex!" before facing Hale and pulling the trigger.
A mighty jolt of energy and the shotgun bucked in the Texan's hands, the spread of highly charged pellets still managing to find their mark. Hopping down from the modified trailer, Nils following closely behind and both backed up by the continued efforts of the Sentry turrets, the Engineer unloaded the rest of his loaded shells into the monster before him, Hale howling in pain from the combined retaliation.
Pausing to load more ammunition into the still-sparking Frontier Justice, Dell felt the pulse of the medigun pull away from him as Nils covered him with the modified Blutsauger, crying out for Grigori and the rest of the team as the toxin-loaded needles drained into Hale's muscles. With a mighty cry the Australian staggered back before scraping up a huge handful of gravel, dirt and stone in one hand and hurling it at the Engineer and Medic.
Despite being mere small stones and gravel, when powered by the force of Saxton's large arm, the small projectiles proved to be damaging enough, with Dell taking the brunt of the damage, doubling over from the pain as his armour was dented and bruises formed across his body. Growling, he raised himself up again, feeling the pain vanish in a mixture of anger and the warm glow of the medigun once more healing him. Another storm of three shells, each pelting loaded with the essence of vengeance, tore into Hale before the battle became a lot quieter.
The bombardment from the remaining Sentries had stopped, the usual gunfire and explosions instead replaced with a few beeps and a horrible clicking sound as the machines attempted to fire ammunition they no longer had. Nils and Dell merely glanced at each other, the Medic's hand twitching, considering releasing the now ready Übercharge if it meant survival.
Instead they heard the sound of an engine roaring into life, a cry of "Get in fellas!" and the revving of a chaingun as it came to life. Isaac, the Crimson Demon, released a furious barrage of fiery death in the general direction of the Australian King, eyes flaring beneath his goggles as his other hand grasped his wrench. Still not taking his eyes off Hale, attempting to pursue Dell and Nils, he wordlessly replenished the ammo of the Sentries and slowly repaired them of any damage.
The fleeing Engineer fired out once more, the sparking power fading from the weapon. The Medic continued to backpedal, firing off the toxin-carrying needles at Hale before leaping onto the repaired vehicle and holding a hand out to Dell. Isaac ceased firing his chaingun, transforming his arm back to normal as he replaced his wrench with his shotgun, Vengeance.
With a powerful blast of retribution that put the thunder in the sky to shame, the Australian was pushed back. Nils pulled Dell aboard and the pair retreated to behind the defensive machines, the Engineer ready to lay down more defences as needed. He expected the former RED to step back and help him fortify the vehicle. Instead, Isaac continued to blast Hale, alternating between thunderous might and fiery assaults, the force of his weapons and the newly-replenished buildings pushing Saxton further back and causing the beast to stumble, cuts and bruises finally visible on his burnt and dusty body.
The Crimson Demon didn't look at the two others of Team Fortress still standing, his eyes hidden behind his goggles still clearly on the figure of the recovering Australian.
"You two continue with the plan without me. Get the rest of the guys onto the trailer and see if we can't get them healed up, I'll buy you some time."
The German frowned at this, clearly not satisfied with the situation.
"And what of you, Herr Howard? You don't expect us to leave you behind...!"
The Engineer said nothing to that, merely reloading his shotgun before looking back at the two worried mercenaries.
"Get the team together, then worry about me. Don't you worry about me doc, it'll take more than this thick-skulled brute to put this Texan down-under."
Nothing more was said, Nils merely took cautious control of the vehicle as Dell glanced back at Isaac one last time before placing down another Sentry and getting some more Dispensers up for their teammates. The ex-RED leapt off the vehicle almost causally, his heavy frame kicking up both dirt and water with his landing, the droplets reflecting the sudden flash of nearby lightning as they flew through the air.
The modified trailer drove off, the defences growing silent as they lost sight of their former target, the two aboard frantically hoping with all their might that they would not be too late, that there'd still be lives to save. And the Demon...he merely stared at the Beast licking his wounds and felt the fire grow stronger.
The cocking of a shotgun, the crashing thunder, the ever present downpour of now-torrential rain washing dirt and dust away, the heavy breathing of the Beast. The earth beneath them crunched beneath their footsteps and the wind howled in anticipation, whistling past the figures lit only by their own burning blood and the strikes of fierce lightning.
Saxton Hale, CEO of Mann Co and King of Australia, laughed in the face of the man who comes to challenge him one-on-one.
"Reading books doesn't win you fights, cowboy. FISTS DO!"
His declaration done with, the Beast launches himself back, both hands primed for pummelling. The Demon matches the Beast's battle cry with an almighty pained roar of his own, thrusters kicking into life as he darted forward, sparking fury ready to be unleashed once more into the world of mortals...