Bottom of the 20th Inning

[freakinblur]

Wake up, sleepy head! You can't spend the whole day in bed.

[Scout's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he did was take in a sharp breath, deeply, in and out. It was the first time in 3 days he could breathe without immense pain. He savored it.

He sat up. There was a different drone wife in the house now. She was opening the curtains to show another beautiful spring day in Mayfield. The drone of Ema had been replaced. He saw a wedding photo of them on the nightstand next to him. It had changed, too. He turned it over.

He sat there for a moment, slowly rubbing his forehead, trying to think straight. He noticed the burn on his arm was gone as well.]

What's wrong, honey? You look like you've had a bad dream.

....yeah. Guess I did.

Well it's over now, so relax. I'll go start on breakfast.

[Off she traipsed to the kitchen. Scout still sat in the empty bedroom.

He's died before. He's died countless times in his service for BLU, resurrected and shipped back out into the battle field without even a thought. All in a day's work. He's even died in Mayfield, back on his feet good as new the next day.

Why did THIS time bother him?]

----

[Call to all non-drones.]

... has anyone else come back? The people in Westport? _Shit...

The Milkman. He was there. He was there, and he was fine, that bastard.

Comments

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

[He sighs. He still really had no idea what was going on; everything in Westport seemed just like a nightmare. He realized he had no idea what could have been happening on the Mayfield side of things.

He pats Massimo on the shoulder, a little awkwardly.]

... Well I'm here, ain't I? Has anyone else come back?

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

[[Massimo begins to calm down a little more and he finally releases Scout.]]

...I'm sorry.

[[But he nods.]]

Yeah, a few. A guy named Den, RED's Spy, Nic Reynolds, and some other people, I think.

Things are... not that great here, but probably better than Westport. We're trying to contact some of you, but we can't find a way. Grady's lying, we keep getting static-filled radio broadcasts, and a graveyard appeared. You were one of the dead people.

[[Scout might be able to understand why Massimo was so worried now.]]

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Graveyard? Those sickos. Just tryin' ta make sure they're torturin' everyone on all sides.

[He thinks on the names. Scout hasn't seen many people while over in Westport.] "Den"? Denmark? I'll stop over at his place later. Do ya know Kay or Lorna? Have ya seen either of 'em?

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

[[Massimo shakes his head.]]

I... dug up Engineer's grave. The bones were too long and thin to have been his.

And I think it might've been Denmark, maybe. But I don't know Kay or Lorna.

[[Siiiiiigh.]]

Sorry.

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I figured somethin' like that'd be fake. They're just tryin' to have you guys give up on us. Glad ta know it ain't workin'.

...crap. I just fuckin' fell over an' died over there. I can't imagine what else people 'r puttin' up with.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

We'd never give up on you and the others. Especially not me.

[[but hearing how scout died does not make him feel any better]]

...I heard that some of Den's flesh got burned off before he died. Nic drank poisoned milk.

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Someone actually drank tha milk? Poor sucker. Probably got desperate.

...yeah, I got burned too. There was these guys in hazmat suits, I grabbed one. He musta been coated in somethin' cuz it burned me bad. I shot 'im, an' he just deflated inta nothing, but not before lettin' loose a cloud 'a gas. The whiff I got 'a that's what got me in the end. The stuff was coatin' the town. By the end I just couldn't breathe anymore.

[He's silent a moment. Not a fun thing to reflect on.]

Shit, what about tha Major Gen'ral? She gotta whiff 'a that stuff too. Is she back yet? Or Engie? Shit, I was lookin' for 'im, we were gonna meet up at the road leadin' in when it disappeared, so I never found him.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

...Deflated?

[[what]]

Major General Olivier? She was one of the first people to broadcast. She and another man, I don't know who he was.

[[WHY WOULD YOU MENTION ENGINEER.]]

...No sign of Engineer. Just those bones and clothes I dug up. I think the bones are too small, though. O-or too big.

[[Massimo doesn't sound sure.]]

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

[He thinks.] Damnit. There's gotta be a way outta there other than dyin'. There's a lotta folks over there. Kids.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

...Kids.

[[Massimo recalls how scared Lucas and Flora sounded, and shivers.]]

How many kids?

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

I dunno, man. There was a lotta folks there, I don't even remember now. Last two days are kinda hazy.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

We need to get everyone out of there. Now.

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

I agree man. But ya know? I'm more worried about if this shit follows us here ta Mayfield. If that's the case, we're in deep, pally.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

If it does, then we've got a better chance of survival. We know the terrain better, we've got access to things we may have stored at home, and though he's a sickening man, I highly doubt Grady would simply sit back and do nothing.

Sho Minamimoto, for example, tried to attack the town while everyone's defenses were down. Grady droned him.

[[It's only been a few days, but Scout might be able to notice that Massimo's matured a great deal from the whole situation.]]

We've also got more people. And though you might've died beforehand, you now know what to avoid.

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Yeah but if they bring that gas over here.... we gotta stop them immediately or we're done for. One whiff 'a that gas and I was pretty much done in. [He shakes his head.]

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

...

[[SUDDEN IDEA]]

...Is it literally gas?

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Huh? Yeah, like... one 'a tha hazmat guys came at me, so I shot 'im, and he just, like, deflated. Had I stuck around tha breathe that shit in, I would have been dead in a minute.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

...What are the chances that it's flammable, then?

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

[He blinks.] Huh. Prob'ly a pretty good chance, I bet. [Smirk.]

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's only a matter of time until RED's Pyro returns, then? He might be able to teach us how to make flammable weapons.

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Ain't a bad idea. Think we all need ta invest in gas masks too.

Action

[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

I studied a little bit about the world's history from some of the books in Mayfield.

From what I saw, they're probably going to be hard to find.

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

Pyro can probably tell us how ta make 'em. When in doubt, improvise.

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[steel-massifail.livejournal.com]

...That's true. Or just find someone who doesn't need to breathe.

[[massimo is hinting something]]

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[freakinblur.livejournal.com]

[Wait for iiiiit]


Well I dunno how ya'd -- OH. Robot! Right! [He chuckles.] Sounds like we got a plan on our hand, pally.