R.E.D.

Sorry for taking so long to update the story guys, I've had a lot on my mind recently, what with GSCE mock exams and the fact that I got a little tired of writing. If you've been following this story from the start, you may want to go back and look over the previous chapters as I have edited them quite a bit. oh, and don't forget to comment! (and thumb up if you like it, this story has more favorites than thumbs up for some reason.) Also, I've added music to certain parts of the story, as I know that I like to listen to music when I read. Hopefully its not too out of place!

Character quick reference

Tavish DeGroot - Demoman

Jane Doe - Soldier

Youtube Video

A trail of fire streaked over Engineer's head as 4 missiles launched themselves into a group of attacking soldiers, sending body parts flying everywhere.

"Whoee! Nice work Sally!" He cheered, giving a thumbs up to his beloved sentry.

As if trying to make its master proud, it rotated and fired its twin mini-guns towards an approaching enemy sniper. The sniper thought he had not been noticed, but in reality nothing was beyond the stern gaze of a well maintained level 3 sentry turret.

"Heh heh heh" He pushed the front of his hard hat over his eyes, with 'frontier justice' resting on his lap. He was sat upon the head of Bluarch Mann, which had fallen from the shoulders of the statue that marked the center of activity in the town.

"I need ammo! I need ammo!" cried Heavy, running from the front lines as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Well, help yourself, there's plenty to go around" He gestured towards his dispenser calmly.

Sally fired at a Blu scout that was running across a plank leading across two roofs. The scout cried out in pain as his body was riddled with bullets, he then fell from the walkway to the ground with a satisfying crunch.

"Ah, thank you!" said Heavy as he thrust his meaty hands into the dispenser draw, making the thing shudder with every rummage "You are truly credit to team!"

"Hey, watch it!" said engineer. Heavy tipped his head to one side.

"What is noise?"

"What noise, I can't hear over all these damned explosions!" He stood up and strained his ears. He heard a low hum emanating from behind him. He turned.

"What in tarnation?"

Engineer's teleporter node was positioned right behind the huge statue, in order to shield it from any shrapnel that could shred the delicate mechanisms within it. It had begun to spin and glow, indicating that the device had been activated from the other side.

Suddenly, the device flashed and a bright silhouette of light appeared above it.

"Gaaah!"

Spy slumped to the ground in front of the teleporter, his suit scorched in multiple locations. The teleporter beeped thrice and ejected superheated steam from hidden vents on its underside.

The two men ran over to Spy.

"Spy! what in hell are you doin'?" Said Engineer as Heavy hauled Spy too his feet.

"The teleporter...discovered...*COUGH*...scout..."

He hunched over as he was attacked by a vicious coughing fit. Heavy began to pat him on the back softly, the same way a mother pats a baby's back when it gets indigestion.

"There there leetle man, nice and slowly"

Spy continued to cough for another half a minute as shell and projectile fire echoed around them. He sighed, regaining his composure and brushed down his suit, picking a piece of plaster out of his pocket. He breathed in deeply.

"So, you were sayin'?"

Spy marched straight up to Engineer and slapped him straight across the face.

"Ow!"

"As I was saying, the plan has, failed" Spy's shoulders drooped. A part of his ego died inside as he spoke the words.

"I was caught out because of the racket that machine gave of. Which you didn't seem fit to mention to me! I barley escaped with moi putain de vie! If you excuse my french"

"Humph. Didn't seem that loud to me" Said Engineer, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Well it wouldn't would it, you metal headed bastard! You've probably gone half deaf the amount of time you spend with those damn machines!"

"Now now children" said heavy pushing the two apart. "We have more important things to worry about"

"You're right Heavy" said engineer, rubbing his head. It was still throbbing due to his excessive consumption of alcohol the previous night. Live every night as if it was your last, that was his motto. If only there were some hookers...

"So, you're the smart one, whats the plan? We can't stay here" said Spy, scowling. He was happy to be alive but he still couldn't get over the fact that Engineer had forgotten to tell him about the noise of the teleporter node. However, he was still a genius when it came to problem solving and if there was anyone that could get them out of this mess, it was him.

"The way in?"

"The bridge was destroyed by rocket fire 20 minutes ago" said Heavy. "The canyon to east that we agreed as escape point has been cut off by enemy forces. It seems that the Blu babies were better prepared than first thought"

"Uhh I bet they were plannin' this all along" said Engineer, scratching his chin. "Anything else?"

"I got nothing"

"Well that's it then boys. Its been an honor" Engineer said solemnly. "Hell, I never thought I'd go like this"

"You two disgust me, truly" said Spy, brushing between the two men "Where's your will to survive? God knows how you've - we've survived for this long?" There was a grin on his face.

He wrapped his hands around their shoulders and drew them close. "How many times has it seemed as if it were the end, only to pull through? How many times have you stared death in the face, only to return its gaze with a one fingered salute? I should know, I only did it mere minutes ago! The impossible is always possible, if you want it hard enough, if you never give in" Heavy was smiling, Spy's motivational speech reinvigorating his morale. Engineer however, was less convinced.

"I still don't see how wishful thinking's gonna get us outta this mess"

"Come on, Engineer, you may be a fool but your no idiot! think!"

Engineer began to pace up and down, rubbing his chin softly at the same time. Sally fired another cluster of rockets, this time towards the window of a concrete building, the entire top level of the structure exploding into dust. Whoever had been lurking up there certainly weren't lurking no more.

Think, think think. He looked down at the teleporter. 9 years of trial and error it had taken his to build that. 9 years destroyed in the blink of an eye. They hadn't even managed to get the briefcase. He kicked it.

"If it aint broke, don't fix it"

The machine beeped again.

'aint broke'

"That's it!" cried Engineer.

"What?"

"The teleporter!"

"Did you listen to a single word I said?"

"Yeah, but this node still works! We can use it to get out of here!"

Spy looked at Engineer in horror. He knew that only bad could come out of this. "But we could end up anywhere! Anywhere! do you how many locations in the universe support human life?"

"Not the exact percentage, but whats the alternative, huh?"

As if on cue another building collapsed behind them.

"Fine, fine, I guess your right. certain death vs almost certain death" Spy stepped towards the teleporter

"Ah ah ah!" Said Heavy, blocking Spy's way with his outstretched arm. "You weren't planning on leaving everyone else behind, were you?"

"No, of course not" said Spy.

"All right, its settled. Heavy, Spy, go fetch the others and make it quick. If were going to go out, we might as well go out with a bang!"

'C'mon, Cyclops, C'mon'

Red Scout jumped across the rooftops of the ruined town houses. He was surprised that they didn't give way, but then it wouldn't be a problem for him if they did anyway. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Scout was the youngest of 8 brothers and learned from an early age how to solve problems with his fists. He had an extremely light build, which allowed him to run at incredible speeds compared to his older brethren. He was also very tough and confident, especially for his age. Some might say a little too confident.

"Ha! I'm running circles round ya!" He laughed and vaulted over to the next rooftop. In pursuit were 3 Blu scouts. They appeared to be of Japanese origin, and each was wearing a Blue hoodie as well as the same hand-wraps as Scout was. They each held sharp, ornamental knives, eager to gut the cocky American at the first chance they got.

Scout laughed again. Oh, how good it was to feel the air in his hair again, to feel the rush of adrenaline that only comes when you are running for your life. Cyclops better show up soon though, as he'd run out of rooftops soon.

Sooner rather than later it seemed, as the building in front of him was struck by a rocket. The already weakened building groaned and collapsed in on itself, giving Scout mere inches to bring his breakneck pace grinding to a halt. He teetered at the edge of the roof, swinging his arms to try to keep himself balanced.

"Whoa!"

He took a step backwards.

"Now we have you, dog"

"Aw crap"

Scout swiveled round to see the three Japanese men leering at him, their blades glinting in the harsh sun. They crouched into position, readying to pounce on their hapless prey.

"KA-BOOM!"

The next few seconds would be played out in Scout's dreams for the rest of his life. From the left of his field of vision, a grenade flew straight in to the side of one of the pursuer's head, the explosion ripping apart his upper half in an explosion of gore, staggering his comrades.

Tavish DeGroot flew down, wielding a massive claymore above his head. Screaming an incomprehensible war cry, he landed and slashed off a scouts arm in one swift motion. The scout screamed in pain, looking down at the at his armless shoulder with a mixture of pain and surprise.

"How's that feel, ya blockhead?"

Demoman landed a powerful kick on the mans chest, throwing him straight off the edge of the three story building. He turned to the last scout, who had only just began to register what was going on.

"Don't fret boyo, I'll be gentle!"

Demoman thrust his massive claymore through the mans chest. He gurgled a curse in Japanese before slumping lifelessly to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth.  Demoman yanked his sword out of his torso.

"Aw thanks cyclops, you really saved my skin there! If i-" said a relived and grateful Scout.

Demoman held up his hand, gesturing for Scout to shut up. Thrusting his sword into the splintered wooden paneling, he pulled a bottle of Scrumpy from his combat webbing and began to chug it relentlessly. After about a minute or so he finished it, smashing the empty bottle against the floor.

"Ok, continue where you left off laddie"

Jane Doe's boots squelched in the mud of the trench, his eyes flicked around under his low rimmed helmet, searching for any signs of life. There were dead bodies everywhere, victims of the hardened veteran's pump action shotgun and rocket launcher. The Soldier had held the trench single-handedly for the entire morning, every time a squad of attackers had entered it he had reacted with speed, dispatching them with skill befitting of the self-made war hero.

Though he wanted desperately to fight in World War 2, Soldier was rejected by every branch of the US military. Undaunted, he bought his own ticket to Europe. After arriving and finally locating Poland, Soldier taught himself how to load and fire a variety of weapons before embarking on a Nazi killing spree for which he was awarded several medals that he designed and made himself. His rampage ended immediately upon hearing about the end of the war in 1949.

After that he drifted, hiring himself out as a mercenary or sometimes simply participating in wars such as Vietnam for fun. Sooner or later he caught the attention of the Administrator, who was desperately in need of a war hero to bring her mercenaries back into shape, especially after that other Soldier had crossed the unspeakable line. Given the opportunity to fight for someone who actually valued his skills as a warrior, he jumped at the chance.

"What was that?"

Soldiers ears pricked up at the sound of squelching footsteps in the distance. Ordinarily, Soldier would have ran down the trench to meet them immediately, but there was something about those footsteps that made the few hairs that he had stand on end. Nothing ever gave soldier that feeling. Except for one man.

No, he was imagining things. He couldn't be here. Besides, it would be madness running down the trench now, as a thick smog was descending upon the battlefield. He could run straight into an enemy ambush.

Another squelch. He did walk in that distinctive way.

"This is my world, you are not welcome in my world!" boomed Soldier, hoping that his sudden verbal attack would scare or shock the enemy, revealing his position. Instead, it was met by a horrific laugh.

"So, he is here"

Soldier tensed and brought the shotgun up to his shoulder, focusing the iron sights down the dark corridor of the trench. Another squelch.

Minutes passed, but Soldier did not take his eyes from the trench passage for one second, reminded of the danger by the constant squelching. He feared no man, but that thing... Soldier dared not fire his weapon. It had an uncanny tendency to dodge bullets and rockets, which partially explained how it had managed to garner so many victims. It was bad enough fighting along side it.

Slowly the smog began to lift, revealing the dark silhouette of a man. As it cleared it became obvious that it was a Blu team soldier, the distinctive helmet and the blue trench-coat giving it away. He was splattered with distasteful amounts of blood, even by solider's standards and where his grenades should have been were instead a gore spattered cutlery set, complete with a knife, fork and spoon.

The sleeves of his trench-coat had been torn clean off, revealing arms knotted with muscle. Under his fingernails were a dark red filth that doesn't even need naming. What Jane had first thought to be stubble was in fact dried blood, revealing the mans cannibalistic eating habits. In his left hand he carried a Shovel covered in, you guessed it, blood.

The man lifted his head, so Soldier could see into his eyes, into his very soul. What he saw could only be described as an voracious hunger for human flesh. The man licked his lips, his wet tongue moisturizing his his dry lips.

Soldier fired his shotgun multiple times into the mans chest until the weapon clicked dry. The man stumbled back a few steps, but other than that he seemed unfazed.

"What the hell have you become!" cried Soldier. He felt a new emotion that he had never experienced before in his life. Terror.

"I am Painis Cupcake"

His mouth stretched in to a horrifying grin and his eyes shone with pure joy.

"I will eat you"