"5 minutes left in the mission, 5 MINUTES LEFT!"

The Administrators voice boomed over the battlefield of Teufort, only just managing to penetrate the noise, which was bouncing all over the area. Heavies were roaring with laughter, Scouts were throwing insults at each other and Spies were driving their enemies crazy with their constant sneaking and backstabbing. Occasionally, a collision of REDs and BLUs would happen in the courtyard, both teams trying to kill the opponents by all means. Offense, defense, support, it didn't matter. When first the battle was on, every man was prepared to do anything to defend themselves and the teams' Intel. Guns, blades and severed limps were soon scattered across the area, while death screams sounded through the air and the sour stench of sweat, blood and burned flesh left a burning sensation in the nostrils of the remaining mercenaries on the field.

On top of this madness, away from the burning pain at ground-level, a lanky Australian stood tall, legs planted solid on the wooden floor of the second floor of the base, rifle steady in his hands. His face showed no emotion as he continued to scan the area he was covering, an index finger resting lightly on the trigger. His aviators slipped a bit on his sweaty nose, and he pushed them back in place without taking his eye from the scope. One moment of un-concentration and he could have lost his chance. He felt a drop of sweat run from his brow and continue towards his cheek, across the faded scar that the bloody BLU Spy had given him so many weeks ago. Had it been weeks, it could have been months, heck even years, he didn't know anymore. He'd been here too long, so had many of his teammates. This war that apparently never came to an end, always took the same victims to their deaths just to get re-erected from the empty space that death was and thrown back into the busy, stressed and blood-filled life, that was a normal day for the fighting mercenaries at Teufort.

"Mission ends in 60 seconds!"

The cold, familiar voice ripped Sniper from his train of thoughts, as he lowered his rifle to look at the courtyard once again. He suddenly noticed the change of mood on the battlefield, his eyes glued to the REDs as well as the BLUs. Both team's members didn't seem so concerned anymore about if they hit anybody or if their bullets missed by a centimeter or by a mile. Both team's members were really slacking the last minute, fully enjoying that this day would soon be over, only the promise of the upcoming weekend keeping them going yet. Only the Soldiers didn't seem to relax one tad, but instead kept screaming at their troops with wildfire burning in their eyes and an unsatisfied thirst for blood. In the eyes of the others burned only the wish for a hopefully peaceful weekend, two complete days with no fights, no deaths and the time to finally relax and recharge. Sniper was longing for this, too.

A sudden movement caught his eye, and he swiftly aimed his rifle at the roof of the bridge and pulled the trigger, the scream of the BLU Scout echoed through the area as he fell to the ground, a single hole in his forehead. A smirk appeared on Sniper's features, giving him a psychotic look. Oh, he was enjoying this way too much.

"Mission ends in 30 seconds!"

He quickly finished off the BLUs poor excuse for a Sniper (with a taunt to boot) and their Pyro, while he over his earpiece could hear, how the Heavy and Medic of his team was sent to respawn by the BLU Spy. But, still, he and his team had made a pretty good effort today, both gaining and losing their Intel a few times, but who cared in the end. Besides, the weekend was almost here, so how could this day possibly get any worse?

"SNIPER!" He just had to ask, didn't he? The Australian spun on his heels to be greeted by the red, sweaty face of his less-liked teammate, the screaming patriot that was the Soldier. The American was not as badly hurt as all the others. His left jacket sleeve was ripped half off and his helmet had a pretty deep dent on the top, but other than that he looked like him himself, face as red as his and Sniper's uniforms, elegantly splashed with the enemy's blood.

" Wot's up, Solly?", Sniper greeted him as the American took a few steps closer, folding shovel still in hand. "Wot brings you up here to…"

"WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOUR RIFLE UP AT YOUR UGLY MUG AND SHOOTING DOWN THOSE DAMN BLUS!?" Even though they were only apart by a few feet, Soldier apparently meant it was necessary to shout his question at Sniper (who personally thought that Soldier needed a few breath mints in the moment). Soldier's fist was clenched hard, making his knuckles turn white.

"Oi'm sorry, could you repe…"

"WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GREAT BATTLE, SO GET BACK TO WORK AND START PINNING THOSE HEADS, MAGGOT! IF IT WAS ME WHO HAD BEEN STANDING AROUND ALL DAY, I AT LEAST WOULD HAVE…" Soldier was now so close that Sniper had a strong urge to put a hand on his head to prevent his hat from blowing away as Soldier's tirade seemed to continue for ages. Small drops of spit started to gather on Sniper's aviators, making the assassin growl in disgust.

"Mission ends in 10 seconds!"

"…SO IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, YOU WILL PICK UP YOUR LITTLE TOY AND START SHOOTING!" Soldier was breathing heavily, all his air used in the moment. Sniper took a snip of his shirt and started to clean the lenses while he sighed heavily.

"Look, mate, it's nearly weekend and the match is almost over, so wot does the last seconds count?" Soldier visibly stiffened, the shovel clenched tighter in his grasp than earlier. "Can't we just take it a bit easy on the last half minute?"

"NEGATORY, YOU PANSY!", Soldier yelled at Sniper, which took a step back in surprise. "IN THIS WAR WE DO NOT CEASE TO KILL OUR ENEMIES BEFORE THE BELL HAS RUNG! MAYBE WE DON'T EVEN STOP WHEN THE BELL HAS RUNG, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

"5…"

"So what, we are done in five seconds, mate. I can't even…"

"4…"

"WHAT, YOU LAZY BASTARD!?"

"3…"

"Oh, for America's sake, give me that rifle!" Before Sniper could react, the loud-mouthed American had snatched the rifle from his hands and aimed it at the retreating mercenaries dressed in blue.

"2…"

"Say goodnight, maggot!"

"1…"

"Oi, you better giv…", but too late.

The sound of a fired rifle mixed with the bell that signalized the end of the battle rang across the area, but it still wasn't enough to cover the icing scream that sounded as the bullet lodged itself into a man from the BLUs. Sniper stood as frozen. No one had even dared to take a shot after the battle has ended. He didn't even think about looking at who had been shot before turning towards Soldier, anger burning in his eyes. Soldier huffed satisfied before he shoved the rifle back into Sniper's hands.

"Oi, wot the bloody hell was that for, the battle was over!?" Soldier glared at him under his helmet, obviously trying to come with some retort. As he didn't come up with anything, he simply turned around, heading towards the respawn room to clean himself after today's battle. "I'm talking to ya, if you hadn't noticed!"

Soldier merely shrugged as he continued towards the exit. "Take a shower, private, and leave it be. That is an order!"

"But…"

"Oh, and by the way", he said while glancing over his shoulder at the shocked Australian. "Remember: This is war, Aussie. We are here to kill, not to make friends!" The door closed with a loud bang, leaving Sniper to himself and the deathly silence that followed suit. He sighed deeply, picked up his rifle and began walking towards the exit of his nest.

A sudden movement caught his eye and he swiftly turned his gaze towards the empty battlefield. Or...almost empty. His falcon eyes spotted the remains of a black shoe (or a boot, he wasn't completely sure) which was currently dissapearing under the bridge, in safe distance from any further damage. A wide trail of blood followed the shoes, giving the assassin a pretty distinctive trail to follow. A splash could be heard as the body hit the water and painfully sound emitted as the person apparently struggled hard to get away from the empty battlefield. Whoever it was from BLU who had been shot, the person was clearly desperate to get away. Sniper readjusted his hat and sighed heavily again as he grabbed his kukri which was leaning against the wall.

This bloody battle would never come to an end!