TF2 Paternal - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Mon Petit Lapin



Scout walked into the mess hall that morning for breakfast and saw that the rest of his team were already well into their meals.  He grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee and made his way to the table, taking a seat next to Engineer, who sat across from Spy and Sniper.  Medic finished sipping his coffee and looked at the teen.

"Feeling better today, Scout?" he asked.  Scout smirked.

"I'm feelin' great!" he proclaimed.  "Ready to get some action in!"

"Not today," announced Soldier.  "Today we familiarize ourselves with the area to come up with the best strategy for tomorrow."  The Soldier then stood up, making his way to the foot of the table so he could look at everyone.  "Listen up, Maggots!  Our boss has informed us of the schedule for today!  RED will be surveying the land first until one o'clock!  After that, it will be our turn until five!"

"Odd…" uttered Engineer under his breath.  Soldier cleared his throat to continue.

"We will have the upper hand, however!  What those RED sissies don't know is that we plan to observe them secretly as they're getting the lay of the land.  Sniper will keep a look-out from his 'nest' and Spy will remain cloaked somewhere in the middle of the arena and observe the enemy from within."

"And when did you plan to tell the two of us your plan?" interrogated Spy, giving Soldier an annoyed look.

"Are you refusing your orders, Maggot!?"

"On the contrary; I happily oblige.  I'd just like to be informed well ahead of time for these things so I can prepare."

"Yo, Solly, you've gotta work on your insults more," joked Scout as he took a gulp of his coffee.  "Callin' everyone a maggot's gettin' a little old."  Soldier grabbed the collar of Scout's shirt and leaned in so he was looking down at the Bostonian underneath his oversized helmet.

"Do not insult my insults, you cocky little rabbit!" shouted Soldier.  Scout merely cocked an eyebrow.

"Rabbit?  Really?  Is that the best you could come up with?"  Spy chuckled as he finished his coffee, standing up.

"Well, off to do my job," announced Spy.  Sniper quickly excused himself and the two walked out of the mess hall, chuckling the entire time.  Soldier roughly let go of Scout as he stormed out of the room.  Heavy suddenly guffawed, placing a hand on his belly as he laughed.

"I get it now!" he bellowed.  "It's because tiny Scout is quick and jumps around like little bunny!"  Demoman and Pyro laughed as well once Heavy made the connection.  Demoman finished his meal and he, Pyro, Medic, and Heavy stood up, walking past Scout.  Pyro stuck up his index fingers and pretended to make bunny ears with them behind Scout's head.  Scout flailed his hands to get Pyro to stop as everyone else began to laugh hysterically.

"Knock it off!" he cried out.  After the others left, it was just Scout and Engineer left in the mess hall.  As Engineer was leaving, Scout grabbed his shoulder.  "Yo, Engie, wait up!"

"What's up, Scout?" asked the Texan, stopping in his tracks.

"Think I could hang with you while we're surveyin' the area?"  Engineer smiled.

"Sure thing.  Got something on your mind?"

"Nah.  Just figured I could help ya find some good places for your sentries, y'know?"  Engineer laughed and placed his hand on Scout's head, messing up his hat and headset.

"Y'know, you're a good kid, Scout.  You can be a real pain in the ass a lot of times, but your heart's in the right place.  I accept your help."  Scout fixed his hat and headset, grinning.

"Thanks, Engie."  Engineer then grinned like a child.  He made a bunny head out of his gloved hand and began to make it dance around as he sang.

"Little Scouty Foo-Foo runnin' through the Viaduct…"  Scout let out a frustrated yell as he chased a laughing Engineer down the hallway.

"I'm gonna lay YOU out, Hardhat!"

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RED had long finished surveying Viaduct, and BLU had just begun.  RED's Spy, however, remained cloaked atop the bridge overlooking the control point.  He waited patiently for BLU's Spy to show himself.  He hoped he could speak with his "colleague" about any information he found in his team's briefcase.  As if the powers-that-be were listening to his inner thoughts, BLU's Spy made his way onto the catwalk and stopped, sensing someone was there.

"Psst!" whispered RED's harshly, trying to get the BLU's attention.  BLU's Spy looked in the direction of his RED counterpart where he heard the voice.  RED's Spy continued to whisper.  "Meet me behind the barrels near the capture point on your side."  Still cloaked, RED's Spy made his way to the meeting place.  BLU's Spy took the long way around, pretending to survey the land and make himself seem less suspicious.  When he hid behind there, he saw RED's Spy cloak himself and signaled for BLU's Spy to do the same.  "Did you get a chance to go through your team's briefcase yet?"

"Yes, I did," replied BLU's Spy.  "Most of the information in there was blueprints of buildings our Engineer made, including life-extender machines for Blutarch and Redmond Mann and a mysterious third person.  You?"

"A mysterious person manipulating things on both sides, like the rivalry between my team's Demoman and your team's Soldier.  They were tricked into trying to kill each other because they violated their mercenary contracts by becoming friends."  BLU's Spy rubbed his chin, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

"How strange," he uttered.  "It appears we need to delve deeper into the histories of both companies, as well as TF Industries.  Could our mystery person from our respective intels be the same one?  We also need to know how Australium fits into all of this, and our team's Engineer seems to know a bit about it."

"How are you going to confront him about this?"  The two Spies quickly quieted down when they heard BLU's Engineer and Scout walking by.  Scout looked around, then pointed up at the catwalk RED's Spy was previously on.

"That looks like a good place for a sentry, right?" he asked.  Engineer looked up, contemplating.

"It could work, though I have to test out the sensory range in battle tomorrow," he answered.  "It's worth a try."

"I'm amazed at how high-tech that thing is and how quickly you can build one in battle!"  Engineer laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I designed it, and after building them so many times, you just instinctively know where everything goes and you can speed up the process."

"Did you also design the dispenser and teleporter?"

"My grandfather did, but I improved his designs to what you see now."  He then gave Scout a suspicious look.  "Why the sudden interest in my buildings?"  Scout smiled innocently.

"I've always liked 'em; I've just never had a chance to ask ya about how they work.  The teleporter especially since it gets me from point A to point B faster.  Doesn't that kind of defy physics, though?"  Engineer laughed.

"Kind of, yeah, but I used some special materials to help me design and make it."  Scout looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in a bit.

"Was Australium one of them?" he asked in a hushed manner.  Engineer tensed up.

"Spy check!"  He punched Scout in the gut, causing the Bostonian to double over and cough in pain.  Once Engineer was satisfied with the results, he helped Scout up, but didn't let go of him as he leaned in, keeping an arm around his shoulders and speaking quietly.

"How do you know about Australium?"

"One of my brothers told me about it after visitin' Australia on a business trip, though I'm not entirely sure what makes Australium so special.  What does it do?"  Engineer looked around cautiously, then leaned in again.

"Promise you won't tell anyone else about this?" he requested.  Scout simply nodded.  "Okay.  Australium is a special element that looks like gold, but it can be transformed into various states and forms.  It can also enhance a person's mental capabilities.  My grandfather was given some a long time ago as payment for some commissioned buildings by an anonymous donor.  I inherited it upon his death about ten years back."  Scout stared at him in awe.

"Do you have any with you?"  Engineer laughed once more and patted Scout on the back.

"Nah, I've got it locked away in a safe at home.  Though I guess you could attribute it to me gettin' those eleven science and engineering Ph. D's."  Scout's eyes widened.

"Eleven!?"  Engineer grinned like a child in a candy store and nodded.

"Yup!  Now, y'got anymore questions for me?"  Scout thought for a bit, then finally spoke up.  

"I know not a lot of people outside of Australia know about Australium, and now I know why it's so valuable and what it does, but is Australia the only place you can find it?"  Engineer shook his head.

"Nope.  While Australia is the main place to mine it and where it was first discovered, there are places all around the world where you can find it, even a few places in the United States.  We've actually fought at some locations where it can be mined."  Scout's eyes widened.

"Why didn't anyone tell us we were fighting at an Australium mine?  Did our bosses know about this?"  Engineer shrugged.

"Probably, but you know how they like to not tell us anything.  Anything else?"  Scout shook his head.  Engineer patted him on the back once more and took a few steps back.  "Okay, then.  Thanks again for your scouting help, Scout!  I'm going to head back to the base and get some repairs in on our weapons."

"Later, Engie!" Scout waved as Engineer walked away.  Scout looked around, then made his way to where the two Spy's were hiding.  He rested his arms on the tops of the barrels and leaned forward, startling the two.  "Boo."

"Danny!  What are you doing!?" scolded RED's Spy quietly.  "You're going to blow our cover!  How did you even know we were here!?"  Scout casually pointed to his teammate.

"I could smell his cologne a mile away."  BLU's Spy scowled.  Scout smiled.  "Did you guys hear the convo' between me and Engie?"  His teammate nodded.

"Yes, but I'm amazed that you were able to get that information out of him," the BLU Spy admitted.  "How did you know what we were looking for?"

"Remember how I said I could hear you and Snipes in my room last night while I was tryin' to sleep?"  BLU's Spy rubbed the back of his head while RED Spy grinned.

"I think you get your spying skills naturally from me, Danny," he hypothesized aloud.  Scout just glared at him.

"I ain't doin' this to help ya."  RED's Spy frowned.  "I just want this crazy game to end and go home."

"Game?" questioned his teammate.  Scout turned to him and nodded.

"It just feels like we're all pawns in a game, y'know?  Have you ever really heard of a war with ridiculous rules and shit like this?  Plus the whole respawn thing—what's up with that!?"  BLU's Spy just stared at Scout in silence before speaking up.

"Who are you, and what have you done with our Scout?"  Scout cocked an eyebrow.  "You're not usually this intellectual."

"What, you sayin' I'm stupid or somethin'!?"

"Shh!  Do you want to blow our cover!?"

"And our conversation has come full circle to the beginning," interrupted RED's Spy.  "I think I'll use this opportunity to return to my base.  I'll investigate TF Industries and see what the connection is.  In the mean time, see what information you can find about Redmond and Blutarch Mann."  As he cloaked himself and came out from hiding, he placed a hand on Scout's shoulder and leaned in, whispering in his ear, "Stay safe, Danny."  Scout looked at his teammate once he felt RED's Spy was gone.

"So, was I able to help after all?" he asked.  Spy smiled.

"Yes, you were a big help," he answered.  "We now know where to concentrate our research efforts and helped partially confirm our suspicions about the higher-ups.  Good job."  Scout smiled, savoring those last two words he rarely heard.  "I must be honest, though.  I wasn't sure if you were going to be willing to help aside from keeping quiet about everything."  Scout's smile faded into a frown.

"You guys are doin' all of this because of me, and I felt like I should be helpin', y'know?"  Spy emerged from his hiding spot and put an arm around Scout's shoulders, guiding him back to the base.

"We do this because we care about you, mon petit lapin," admitted Spy.  Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"What did you just call me?"

"Mon petit lapin.  It's French for 'my little bunny'."  Scout let out a frustrated yell.

"Ugh!  You, too!?  And who the hell said I was 'yours'!?"  Spy laughed, getting Scout into a headlock and giving him a noogie.  Scout freed himself and pushed Spy down into the snow.  He began to laugh as Spy got up and brushed snow off of himself.

"Let's not mess up my suit, shall we?"  Scout rubbed his arms to keep from freezing.

"How 'bout we get back inside where it's warm?  Damn, I hate the cold!" he whined.  Spy took off his coat and held it out for Scout to get into as a gentleman would for a lady.  Scout gave him a weird look, but Spy simply stood there, welcoming his friend into his coat.

"You're going to get sick again if you don't accept my offer," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly.  Scout smiled slightly, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink.  He then slipped his arms through the sleeves of the coat and adjusted the front.

"Thanks, man."  Spy studied the boy wearing his suit coat, then smirked.

"You know…I should have you try on one of my older suits sometime.  You would look quite handsome in one."  Scout chuckled as the two walked back into the base, not realizing that they were being watched by two people: a mysterious figure behind another set of barrels and a jealous BLU Sniper from his nest.