Team Fortress 2 – Chapter 1: "The Break They Deserve"
Location: Dustbowl – Final Control Point. High Noon.
The battlefield boiled in heat. Rockets tore through the air. Bullets cracked off sandblasted metal. Dust kicked up with every desperate step.
A blaring voice cut across the chaos:
Helen (Administrator): “OVERTIME. DEFEND THE POINT OR FACE TOTAL HUMILIATION.”
The BLU team was charging hard — Demo sticky-jumped, Medic yelled instructions, and Scout was already capping.
BLU Scout: “I’m cappin’, I’m cappin’, I—ARGH!”
WHACK! A bat clocked him right in the teeth.
RED Scout grinned, twirling his weapon.
RED Scout: “Try cappin’ this fist, blueberry.”
The point shook. Dust rose. RED Heavy held the line with Sasha roaring.
RED Heavy: “TINY BABY MEN CANNOT STOP ME!”
RED Medic: (laughing madly) “Yes, yes! Suffer! It makes the healing more efficient!”
Flames erupted from the flank — RED Pyro cartwheeled out, igniting a BLU sentry and everything near it.
BLU Engineer: “NOT AGAIN—” Boom.
Miss Pauling ducked behind cover, clipboard in one hand, sidearm in the other. A bullet whizzed past.
Miss Pauling: “You’ve got five minutes to secure this point! Or Helen's sending me in next time.”
Her earpiece crackled.
Helen: “Make it three minutes, Pauling. I grow bored.”
Miss Pauling: “Noted.”
She turned and shouted:
Miss Pauling: “SOLDIER. NOW.”
RED Soldier: “ON IT, MA’AM! TODAY WE DIE GLORIOUSLY OR NOT AT ALL!”
He charged the point, shovel raised like a flag. Right behind him came Demoman, half-drunk but perfectly explosive.
RED Demoman: “Let’s blow these BLU boys straight back to spawn!”
RED Sniper fired calmly, dropping BLU Spy mid-cloak.
RED Sniper: “Too easy.”
A few seconds later, the announcer’s tone shifted.
🟥 RED TEAM WINS! 🟥 🎺 Victory fanfare!
BLU scattered. The point locked. Dust settled.
RED Base – Hours Later
Peace. Actual peace. No alarms, no screaming.
RED Scout had his feet on the couch, trying hard to look casual.
RED Scout: “Yo, Ms. Pauling, you saw me out there, right? Pretty slick, huh?”
Miss Pauling: (dryly) “You made an impact. Mostly face-first.”
RED Scout: “You ever need protection — I mean, like bodyguard protection — I’m your guy. Fastest man alive. Real smooth operator.”
Miss Pauling: (half-smiling) “Scout, don’t flirt during debriefs.”
RED Demoman: “Och, let him be. Kid’s got heart.”
RED Engineer: “Just don’t touch my sentry again and we’re fine.”
RED Heavy: (still chewing) “Scout is funny. But Heavy is stronger.”
Laughter filled the room.
In a darker corner of the base, Redmond and Blutarch Mann sipped brandy and watched via a cracked monitor.
Redmond Mann: “They think it’s over. How cute.”
Blutarch Mann: “Yes. Let them rest. The next test will be... enlightening.”
Back in her control room, Helen tapped a monitor and lit another cigarette.
Helen (to herself): “They won. Impressive. But the game doesn’t end with overtime.”
She smirked.
Helen: “And Scout… stop flirting with my assistant.”
Suddenly, a loudspeaker echoed through the base:
Helen (Announcer): “MATCHMAKING UPDATE: Your next battle begins in... three days.”
RED Scout: (jumping up) “THREE DAYS?! WE GOT A BREAK?! LET’S GOOOOOO!”
As the sun set, the RED team finally relaxed — battered but victorious. For once, they earned a moment of peace.
Miss Pauling leaned back against the arm of the couch, eyes half-closed.
Red Archibald Mann: “Ah! My dear RED employees! I came to witness your inevitable victory… and also check if you’re exceeding the quarterly ammunition budget.”
Archie pulled out a tiny gold-plated pistol and fired it dramatically into the air. The shot ricocheted off a rock and whizzed past RED Sniper’s ear.
RED Sniper: *“…Right..”
Three days of no fighting.
That was rare.
That was war’s greatest reward.