Idonian

     One week later  Off in the distance, the mercenaries of RED and BLU stood together beside a Mann. Co factory and watched a glittering army advance. The robotic fighters gleamed in the sunlight, jerking in a shaky lockstep over the sands towards their enemy. They halted just out of range of gunfire.  The serried ranks of robots reached behind them, where their guns were attached to their backs. Even from this distance, it was apparent just how similar the robots were to the men. They looked, fought, and even shouted battle cries in halting programmed speech just like the fighters they imitated. It did not take a genius to understand

  Team Fortress Industries  Location Unknown Miss Pauling stood by the Administrator’s chair, hands clasped behind her back. The week long sea voyage back was a blessing in a way. A shower, clean clothes, and a minute with Medic’s Medigun made all the world of difference, and then there wasn’t much to do until she returned besides sleep and read books. There was no cell reception across the depths of the Pacific, so for the first time in years she wasn’t constantly on call. Bliss. No sooner had she set foot back in America did she call the Administrator, and now here she was. It had almost been like a vacation, out

Miss Pauling and Jack Robinson made a stationary tableau in the office, to the background of gunfire and screams. “I’m done talking. I want you to tell me where the Australium is. You have five seconds to start.” In one last throw at pleading ignorance, Robinson said, “I don’t-” Miss Pauling squared her shoulders. “Three. Two.” “Alright! Alright! We don’t have it!” he yelled. The frantic proclamation hit her and sank like a weight in her stomach. Not here? But if it wasn’t here, then where? Pushing through the shock and growing fear, she hissed, “Then where is

Posting two chapters today (aren’t I nice?), so I can post the main event tomorrow. It’s what we’re all been waiting for, and I think you’re gonna enjoy it. Sniper looked worriedly at the rest of the band. They were long past a friendly crowd, if they ever had one. A fight was starting to break out near the stage, and it was only a matter of time before it began to head their way. Angry Australians were very generous with violence in a bar fight. They liked to make sure that everyone got at least a little involved. A fight could start for any reason; someone could get into your personal space (although the actual rad

Scout slumped in his seat, playing with his sawn off shotgun. The alley was dead. Like, really dead. You couldn’t even hear the music out here. And they couldn’t turn the radio way up. Medic was over there hogging it, trying to tune into some garbage fancy music… orchestra or something. Miss Pauling insisted on keeping quiet, saying that they needed to keep focused. Man, what a kill joy. But she looked good saying it, so that was alright. Keep focused… keep focused… on what? The two guards standing at the door? Watching a guy pick his nose wasn’t his idea of a good time. Maybe it was Medic’s. He̵

All nerves aside, Miss Pauling had to admit that things were going well. The tough crowd of the bar went through bands often enough that they were happy to take anyone naive enough, and the fact that only Flynn members were allowed in normally had made this part of the plan a necessity. Her contacts did their best, but even the toughest dock workers didn’t have the nerve to set foot in here. Most of her agents didn’t either, but through their combined efforts, she got the mercs in. The men were warming up out back, and they didn’t sound half bad. Taking a deep breath, Miss Pauling peeked around the curtain to get her first l

  Melbourne, Australia “Hey, Miss Pauling, are we there yet?” Scout asked, poking his head from the cargo hold to look at Miss Pauling. Miss Pauling sighed heavily. “Yes, Scout, we’re almost there,” she said for what felt like the umpteenth time. “Finally, it’s getting borin’ back here.” Scout retreated to the back of the van. Miss Pauling rolled her eyes and looked back at the hover traffic in front of her. So far everything had gone to plan; they made it into the docks without more of a hitch than to be expected from Pyro around so much water. She was able to buy a hover van, more li

The hall was quiet and dim, the sole visible light shone down on the payphone. Sniper hesitated and stared at it. It’s just a phone call, right? He called them whenever his work allowed, never more than a week in between unless the job was really hot. This one would be a little different, if he could just get up the nerve to approach the receiver. He took a deep breath. Get ahold of yourself, man. He stepped forward, boots thudding faintly against the wooden floors until he stood before the phone. Why they had to put their own quarters into a payphone at their own workplace was a mystery to him, but it wasn’t as if they weren&#

Another day, another body. Miss Pauling dropped the bag of Corpse-Grade Quicklime next to the shallow pit. Shoulders burning, she huffed and arched her back, putting her hands on her hips. At times like these, she remembered when she would have been horrified at the things she does for her job. That was back before she learned the fastest way to remove fingerprints from hands, and teeth from heads. Figuring out the minimum depth possible to bury someone had taken many, many bodies. By now, she could turn a person into an unmarked grave in under two hours. It’s amazing what a person could get used to. With another sigh, she cut a hole

  A few days later, Spy crossed into enemy territory. Fighting during ceasefires was forbidden, but Spy never saw that as a reason not to explore. Rules were meant to be bent, weren’t they? And if they could be bent in your favor, more the better.  So, keep to the shadows. Leave no trace, steal nothing that would be missed, and keep out of the other Spy’s way. It was the height of bad form for two cloaked Spies to bump into each other, and even more so during a ceasefire. His opponent might be a shaved monkey in a cheap suit, but certain niceties had to be observed.  In some circumstances however, there were benefits to seekin