//------------------------------// // Call to Arms // Story: Power Through Deceit // by FrostyDawn //------------------------------// "Alright, try some of this." Twilight said, passing a bottle of liquid to Scout. He seemed reluctant, and nervously eyed Twilight. "Go on. It's a burn healing potion." Twilight said. The Scout held the bottle to his lips and took a quick swig. He spat out some of the drink, coughing. "What the hell is this?!" He said, his voice raspy. "It tastes like dish soap!" He gagged. "Well what did you expect, apple cider?" Twilight said. "It's not supposed to taste good. Just drink it and you'll have your voice back." She said. Scout eyed Rainbow Dash, who shrugged. "Bottoms up." He choked, and guzzled the rest of the potion. He coughed some more and sighed. "Better?" Twilight said. "Better." Scout said, his voice much more clearer. "Alright, Rainbow Dash, your turn." Twilight said, passing her a second bottle. Rainbow rolled her eyes, and grabbed the bottle, downing the potion in a single gulp. "That wasn't so bad." She teased, nudging Scout's shoulder. "Shut up." He grumbled. "Well, now that that's done with w-" Twilight said, but a faint explosion rang in the air. "Oh my! Look!" Rarity cried, peeking out the window and pointing at the mountain. A thick black pillar of smoke rolled off the tower of Canterlot's castle, and dim yellow flame licked the air around the castle. "Oh no..." Twilight murmured. "Princess!" "That's no regular fire." The Engineer said. The others nearly forget he was there. "Ah recognize that anywhere. That's the Pyro's doin'." He said. "Well, let's get up there! We gotta help them!" Rainbow Dash said, before grabbing the Scout by the wrist and flying out the door. "Rainbow! Wait for us!" Pinkie cried. <><><><><><><><> Scout felt himself drop on the palace floor, after Rainbow Dash dropped him. "Could'a been a smoother landing." He grumbled upon sitting up. "Quit whining! We gotta help Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash said, landing beside him. The palace courtyard was littered with rubble and smoldering piles of ash. Rainbow Dash and Scout ran into the castle, following the path of destruction. They approached the throne room, and the damage seemed to get worse. Guards lay strewn on the tiled floor, some bleeding, some struggling to get to safety, and others leaning over fallen guards that didn't move at all... "Aw, crap!" Scout muttered under his breath. Rainbow forcefully pushed open the doors to the throne room. She stopped dead in her tracks. A tall, skinny woman held Princess Celestia by the neck, inhaling a green mist that leaked out of Celestia's body. Standing around the two were the infected mercenaries, grinning evilly at their queen's success. The Medic, Pyro, Heavy, and Demoman were there, along with two new recruits. A suited man in a balaclava, and a lankier man with his face shrouded with a bandana that covered the lower half of his face with a skull pattern. "Thanks for the love, you useless wench!" The skinny woman cackled as she tossed Celestia's body onto the floor. The princess shuddered as her eyes were pale and wide open. "Princess!" Rainbow Dash cried, running up and leaning over Celestia. "...save.... save yourself." The sun princess gasped as she lay nearly motionless. Rainbow Dash stood up, her eyes filled with rage. "What... did you DO!?" She shrieked. The bandana wearing man raised his bow, pulling an arrow taut in the strings. "At ease." The woman said. The archer lowered his arrow. "I drained your precious princess of her love. After all, it's the first step of my revenge." She continued. Rainbow's eyes widened. Less fear, more shock. "Queen Chrysalis?" she asked. "Queen krisa-what?" The Scout asked. "Ah... a newcomer. I can sense the love in him is strong..." She hissed. The Heavy stepped forward. "Tiny Scout is fool to join leetle weaklings. Queen will rule all." He rumbled. The Scout soon saw how his teammates were brainwashed. He even realized the other two, the Spy and Sniper. "What the hell?! You guys are out of your minds!" He shouted, pulling a baseball bat out of the satchel on his back. "Oh, Scout, you fool." The Pyro chuckled. "You honestly believe that will stop us all? I'm afraid it is you who is out of your mind." The sound of feathers flapping in the air caught everyone surprised. It was not Rainbow Dash in the air, but Fluttershy. She descended on the area, struggling to carry a man who was hanging by her wrists. The Engineer. The two of them landed beside Rainbow Dash and Scout, with Fluttershy nearly out of breath. "The rest... are on... the way." Fluttershy gasped between breathes. "Nice timing, hardhat." Scout said. "Don't mention it. This is mah fight too." He said. He reached for his single rubber glove and took it off. What was underneath was a little shocking. In place of a flesh and blood hand, was a mechanical limb, the metal fingers twitching and buzzing. "Ah'm done playing games here." "What a wonderful party trick. But it wont be enough." Queen Chrysalis said flatly, and waved her hand. The Sniper redrew his bow, and let an arrow whiz toward the Engineer. Without so much as a flinch, the mechanical Gunslinger hand caught the arrow, mere inches from the Engineer's face. "Not fast enough." The Engie chuckled. His Gunslinger crushed the arrow to splinters. "Not by a damn sight." The Queen's brow furrowed. "All of you, go! I have bigger fish to fry." She barked. One by one, the infected mercenaries charged toward Rainbow, Fluttershy, Scout and the Engie. The Medic's Übersaw oozed a green liquid, which nearly grazed the Scout's face. The Scout delivered a quick punch toward the doctor's jaw. There was a dull crack, but that did not stop the Medic. He continued to swing the saw, until the Scout caught his arm, and drove his knee into the Medic's side. This made him drop the saw, which slid across the floor. The Medic growled as he lunged toward the Scout, aiming for his neck. The Scout fell to the ground as the Medic grasped him at the throat. "HHRRk! Gettin' real sick of all this stranglin'!" Scout choked out. He vaulted his legs straight up, which arced the Medic over him, and onto the floor. At that point, the Scout flung himself up, and delivered a hefty kick at the Medic's side. "I. Hate. DOCTORS!" The Heavy lumbered over Fluttershy. He tossed his minigin aside, and cracked his knuckles. "Is not fair to use gun on tiny baby girl." He muttered. His giant hands balled into fists. "Uh...no. P-p-please don't hurt me!" Fluttershy squeaked. "You cannot beat me. You cannot hide, coward." The Heavy reared his fist back, before he was caught off guard. "I SAID NO!" Fluttershy roared. The Heavy himself fell back with surprise, and Fluttershy glared at him with such intensity. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, PICKING ON SOMEONE WHO ISN'T YOUR OWN SIZE?! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, YOU BIG BULLY!" Fluttershy growled, her stare burning at the Heavy. The giant Russian had not felt this same kind of fear in a long time. "Heavy sorry!" He bellowed, shielding his face with his hands, but he could still feel the angry eyes. "Stop looking at Heavy!" The Engineer stood before the Demoman, his mechanical hand twitching. "It don't have to be like this, Demo." He muttered. "If you've been huntin' trouble lad, ye found it." The Demoman replied. He swung his sword over his head, but the Gunslinger grabbed it before it could descend any further. "The hand's quicker than the eye, partner." The Engie chuckled, before the sheer force of the hand fractured the sword into hundreds of metal shards. Shocked, the Demo dropped the remnants, and a wisp of smoke seeped out. The Engie could barely hear a faint voice whisper "heads...". The Demo then charged at the Engie, using his shield to barrel him over. The Engineer was pinned to the palace walls with tremendous force, he felt something crack inside him. He shouted out in pain, but was able to reach toward his holster and draw his pistol. He wanted to aim it at the Demo's head, just like if he was a BLU. But this was the same Demoman who fought alongside him, and it was still his teammate. The Engie lowered his gun, and plugged a bullet into the Demo's kneecap. The Demoman then fell to the floor, grasping his wound. The Engie put his hand on his own ribs, where he was impacted by the shield. "You were getting too big for yer britches." The Engie muttered, tipping his hat. Rainbow Dash was a hard target for the Sniper. His arrows whizzed in the air as he tried to pierce one of her wings, but her agile dodging only made him more and more frustrated. "Hold still, ya twitchy hooligan!" He shouted. He reared the string back once more, but was unable to release the arrow. Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed the Sniper by the ankles, and hoisted him high near the ceiling. The Sniper's bow and quiver fell to the floor, leaving him unarmed. "Oi! Lemme go, ya spastic mongrel!" The Sniper bellowed, attempting to pull himself up. "You're the boss." Dash snickered, before letting the marksman plummet to the floor ten feet below. The Sniper hit the ground, rolling onto his side and groaning painfully. Dash smirked, only to feel a burst of flame whiz by her. Down below, the Pyro expelled fire from his hands, attempting to hit Rainbow. However, with his attention directed upward, Scout was able to crash into his knees, tackling his legs and knocking him down. Before he could get back up, Dash plummeted downward, driving her feet onto the arsonist's spine. He screamed through the gas mask, and rolled the Heavy into a wall, knocking both of them out numb. "Is that all?" Dash said with a cocky smile. "Wasn't there one more?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "The one with the mask?" "Mask?" The Engie answered. His eyes widened as he reached for his pistol once more and scanning the room. "Spy! Where is that snake?!" The only response was a pained wheeze. "E....Engineer?" The voice came from a the small, weak body of the Medic, huddled over in pain. "Doc...?" The Engineer said in disbelief, looking over at the Medic. "Ze poison... It's killing us..." He coughed, his skin growing a sickly pale. "Doc, ya can't just die! Not like this!" The Engie said, slightly frightened. "How do we fix ya?" The Medic gagged a little more. "Spy... He followed ze queen... behind ze throne..." He said, weakly lifting his finger to point at the Princess's throne. To investigate, the Scout took a peek at it. "Hey! There's a gap in here!" He shouted, pushing against the heavy marble to reveal a small space. "Don't worry Doc. We'll get you out of here." The Engie said, heading up to the Scout to help push the throne and widen the gap. Once the gap was large enough, the Scout and Engineer started walking down. Rainbow looked behind her, only to see Fluttershy kneeling beside the weak body of the Medic. "Flutters?" Dash asked. "Are you coming?" Fluttershy stayed quiet, and shook her head. Rainbow just turned her back, and followed the two mercs deep within the tunnel. The tunnel stretched on for a while, until the light of the outside faded. Total shadow enveloped the three.