The Next-Gen Nine

Chapter IV: Of Puzzles & Pieces

RED Base: Well, 3:00 PM

"What's in here?" Rainbow Dash pored over the large briefcase, wondering about its contents.

"That's what we wanna know," Soldier said, "but we can't get the damn things open!"

"Let Heavy try." He pushed Soldier aside, trying to pry the case apart with his bare hands.

"Is not possible. Case has padlock, and we are without keys."

"Ah got an idea!" Engineer pulled out a strange joystick-like object, pointing it at a decommissioned Sentry Gun. The building sprang to life, immediately opening fire on the Intelligence. A few dents appeared, but nothing more.

"Mmph, mmph!" Pyro unloaded his flamethrower on the case, with little results.

"Did any of you guys ever think about this?" Spike pulled an arrow from the Sniper's quiver. His Huntsman had broken quite a while before, allowing him to use the quiver as a decoration. He scraped at the head with his claw until it became an unbelievably narrow, sharp point and handed it to the Spy.

"How'd you do that?" Scout cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Hello? Dragon? Claws?" Spy slid the arrowhead inside the padlock, twisting and turning it until the mechanism gave way, allowing him to work on the other two. Medic pulled a set of papers from each briefcase, setting them out to read.

"Let us see...

What is this?"

"Looks like a code." Engineer commented.

"Perhaps it is like in the movies, where the numbers equal letters?"

"Well, let's try it, then.

6-5-1-18-20-8-5-5-17-21-5-19-20-18-9-1-14-13-5-14-1-3-5. Medic, what's that translate to?"

"Hold on, I am writing it down...

FEAR THE EQUESTRIAN MENACE. Why? So far, there hasn't been any kind of Equestrian 'menace'. What is there for us to fear?"

"Hold up, there's more.

20-8-5-7-18-1-26-15-14-5-16-12-1-14-19. 16-18-5-16-1-18-5."

"THE GRAY ONE PLANS. PREPARE. I don't understand!"

"Clearly, it's got somethin' t' do with ol' Gray Mann. This is gonna be that real special kinda fun." He pumped his shotgun before turning to the others.

"Look, boys, we got some business t' take care of! We're gonna send someone t' get them BLU soldiers on our side again, 'n we still need t' get ready for the attack. So who's goin' on the peace mission?" A single man stepped forward.

"Spy? You the only one?"

"Nobody else is offering, are they?" He lit a cigarette and continued.

"I am a master of persuasion, am I not? It is only natural that I would be the one to go."

"Alright, then get yerself out there 'n be fast with it. Everyone else, y'all better pony up, 'cause we're 'bout t' be in fer a whole world a' hurt."

BLU Base: Mannhattan, 5:30 PM

"Sentry down!" The BLU Engineer's shout was silenced by a knife piercing his spine.

"What in the hell was-" A well-placed bullet interrupted the Soldier's exclamation as a slight glimmer in the air slipped through the titanic door he was guarding.

"Who are you?" The ghost of an elderly man floated through his office, right before the Spy uncloaked.

"That is none of your concern, Monsieur Mann. I am here to warn you of a great danger to both of our corporations, and possibly all of Mann Co."

"Continue..."

"Your brother, Gray Mann, is going to send his robots after us once more. We must unite and protect the corporations! And if you won't do it for them, do it to honor your father!"

"But Gray was his favorite son!"

"And you are okay with that?" Blutarch's eye twitched for a moment. He looked around, seeing that he had no one to assist him should things go southward.

I guess I've got no choice...

"Well played. You make a good point, my friend. How do I know you're not lying, though?"

"If I was, I would have killed more than two of your men."

"That raises another question. If you were coming here peacefully, why'd you kill them?"

"Do you really think that your employees would appreciate a rival mercenary in their territory, whether he was on a mission of peace or not? The cloning has fried their minds beyond the point of insanity, because you must have a fully-functioning brain to be insane."