Hey guys! This is going to sound insane (much like me!), but here is your 5,000+ word chapter! I know this is a lot for one measly chapter, but I kind of wanted to do this in 3 chapters: Day One, Day Two, and (drumroll please) Day Three. This chapter will be Day One (though it will have a much more creative title :P), and if you don't want to read it all in one go, that's OK because I've split the chapter down by parts, so you can come back to whichever you left off at. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Thanks, and happy reading (P.S.: Sorry about the weird paragraph breaks, but I they weren't there you would start to see a whole bunch of mega-graphs.) (P.P.S.: Let's also, for the sake of a dramatic part of the story, let's pretend that female Spies don't wear gloves. You'll see why I'm adding this in later.)
Chapter 1: The Stargazing Room
-Part 1-
Two days ago, in the Red headquarters, at 10:42 pm…
A woman in red walked down a hallway in the RED Base, her heels not making a sound. But then again, due thanks to her training, she never made a sound going anywhere. The cheerful noises of a celebration echoed down the long corridor. The sound of intoxicated Demoman (though that was not uncommon) screeching a Scottish folksong, Heavy roaring with laughter and pounding Medic on the back (who was laughing, but with a slightly pained tone), Scout cracking jokes to amuse himself, no doubt tossing that baseball up in the air with his feet on the table. The typical party after a successful win. She paused to take roll in her head, scanning the walls and noting all the various awards and plaques randomly hung here and there, all the while checking off by the voices who was there and who was not, and found only one to be missing, confirming her intelligence.
Her hands started to shake, and she found herself surprised, for this never happened either. Of all the times to show fear, and weakness, why now? Why not some other time, like on the battlefield? But she already knew that answer. She had been braced for something grueling, like a fight to the death, but this, she would have never dreamed of something so terrifying. Merde, she thought to herself, if I cannot bring myself up to ask for the help I clearly need… She cringed at that thought, I will have failed the only family I have left. She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and walked into the room to greet her, hopefully, new allies.
She entered to the sound of her cloak turning off, and the whole room went dead silent as every head around the circular table snapped away to see who the newcomer was. Very alert for such a wild reception. Especially with the amount of booze, she added, noting the empty cases of beer lying strewn across the room. In the darkened silence, she cleared her throat. "*Ah-HEM.* Gentlemen?"
"A BLOODY SPY HAS INFILTRATED OUR BASE!" Demoman shrieked at the top of his lungs, slamming the bottle in his hand so hard on the table it shattered, spilling beer all over the place.
The woman flinched, scowled, then recomposed herself, "Oh please. I have only come here to request assistance," and with that, she walked towards the utterly petrified group.
She hadn't taken a step before weapons were drawn on her, but she kept walking. Soldier nearly jumped out of his seat realizing she was closest to him. "NOT A STEP CLOSER MA'AM! HOW DO WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST SOME BLU MAGGOT SPY HERE TO KILL US ALL?!"
Her face hardened, and she glared into the soldiers wavering and hysterical eyes, though she presumed a little part of it was due to the alcohol. "If I wanted to kill you, mon ami, I would have done so already," Spy paused to let the threat sink in, "however, killing the people I am requesting aid from would inconvenience me greatly."
Weapons still drawn, the room was still for a minute, before the Medic spoke, though quite hesitantly, "What do you want, fremde?"
-Part 2-
Spy pulled out a silver locket, opened it up, and placed it on the table for them to see. Weapons started lowering, though not too quickly, as they leaned forward in their seats to get a closer look. Soldier picked it up with extreme care, as if it were a bomb, and turned it around, upside-down, and scrutinizingly peered at it, as if searching for hidden deadly weapons that could spring out of it, or a button of some sort, but inside was just simply a picture of a RED Spy. Realizing there was no harm in the trinket, the soldier harrumphed, and passed it to Medic beside him.
Spy registered a brief moment of confusion from each face as it was passed around the table. "That is my brother, the RED Spy of RED Team 63, Sector 17.49, Area 8. He is not here, you see? That is because those bastards over on the BLU team kidnapped him. In a situation of one-on-one, or maybe even two, he would have been fine, but no doubt they would have outnumbered him greatly, and captured him that way. But never mind that, the thing I'm most concerned about is that we must get him back at all costs."
Doubtful glances were passed. "Well, it sounds fun and all sheila, but woi would we risk our lives to save that spook?" Murmurs of agreement ran throughout them all. "'e's a grown man. Can't he take care 'o himself? He's gotten in and out of bad situations before," Sniper put in. He didn't see what all the hassle was about. He didn't hate Spy or anything, he just didn't believe that Spy was in that much trouble. What were the odds that BLU could have snuck into their base without them knowing? Most importantly, dragged Spy down the stairs without them realizing he was gone, seeing as Spy's room was on the third floor. He just didn't think that that could actually happen.
"Yea," Scout added, "I'm sure that backstabbin' scumbag is on his way here to gloat about how "masterfully" he escaped the clutches of the BLUs and blah blah blah. I don't see why we need to go and rush out there only to have him mock us about how we got worried, and or he'll yell at us because he thinks that we thought he wouldn't be good enough to get out on his own." A couple of the others cast Scout a few warning looks, making him draw back in his seat and look sheepishly down at the floor.
Once again, Spy's face turned into a scowl, though this time, a much more dark than annoyed scowl. "Because you're a team, mes amis," but she said "my friends" with a steely tone. It disgusted her how they threw his life away because of a mere childish dispute among classes. She felt her anger rise, surfacing, brewing, and mixing with the rage that they would be so impudent to refuse to help one of their fellow teammates. "Listen bushman, I am well aware that the spy is not your most favored class, but could you couper le merde et dieu zut, pour une fois, mettre tout cela de côté et aider moi?" She paused and shook her head realizing she reverted back to her native language by accident. "Pardonnez-moi. What I meant, was please, could you just set the class rivalries aside, and do this for your teammate? If it were Medic, Heavy you would have no second thoughts in running in there to save him! You're all bons amis! I don't understand why you won't help each other out in the time of need!" Her voice rose in both pitch and volume on the last sentence. She felt the tears begin to well up, and she her damndest to stop them, so much she began to tremble, and she clenched her fists so tightly, her fingernails started cutting the skin in the palm of her hands. Blood started dripping onto the cold tile floor, a deep scarlet that would surely stain the white marble, but she made no effort to stop, she didn't even notice and or care.
All Spy knew was that she felt humiliated, frustrated, and angry. Here she was, begging for the help from complete strangers, and being cast aside because of the stereotypes against spies. A spook, Sniper had called her brother. Traitors, liars, completely untrustworthy. Spy tried hard not to divulge in the stereotypes, but she couldn't help but listen to them now. I guess that's why they won't help me. We're the cowards that just hide in the shadows instead of fighting on the battle fields. All we do is snake around, backstab a few people, sap a sentry or two. We're just some stupid support class, aren't we? Spy felt a hot tear streak past her sunglasses, which made her shake even harder, trying as hard as she possibly could to keep the barrier holding back the tears up as long as she could. The other women at the base never stereotyped like this, Spy thought miserably, we have of course heard rumors, but we never believed them to be true… But I guess they are.
-Part 3-
Spy sniffed, then cringed, as she realized this was ruining her pride the more she stood there like an idiot. But she felt helpless, and clueless. If they will not help her, how would she save her brother? For the first time since she was young, Spy wanted to hide. To run away from the problem. To pretend it wasn't there. But she knew she couldn't, not when her brother was at stake. She just didn't know what to do anymore.
By then, she had lost track of how long she had been standing there, but she presumed long enough to make things awkward for the others, and she turned to leave, to disgrace herself somewhere else when arms wrapped around her and pulled her in for a hug. So there she was, whimpering, humiliated, and completely shocked. It was Engineer. "There, there, Miss. S'gonna be OK." Engie took shot a glare at each of his teammates, making sure each and everyone got a glimpse of the burning anger he felt. It outraged him that his comrades had the nerve to let this poor girl stand there and breakdown because they refused to help her get back her brother, and fro the damndest reasons too. Hell, if I'm going to die, he thought, I wanna die for a cause like this.
He reassuringly squeezed Spy, who had by that point had taken off her sunglasses, pressed her face into his shoulder, and was crushing Engie for all she was worth, digging her fingertips into his back and shoulders. Whatever she could do to keep from tipping off the edge. But he kept a straight, if not angry face. "Now I want all you mother hubbards to listen to me. I may just be some techie, but I'mma scorn you anyways. Y'all should be mighty ashamed 'o yer'selves. Miss Spy here is right. Spy is our teammate, and our friend, no matter what. And if you sonovabitche's don't agree, then get the hell outta my sight." Nobody moved. The room was once again dead silent, except for the sound of Spy weeping. She couldn't believe how kind Engineer was being, she didn't even know him! But she was glad he was helping her. "Thought so," Engineer said, and gently rubbed Spy's back. "It's gonna be OK, Miss Spy," Engie whispered, "I'm gonna help you get back your brother whether or not these mongrels do or not."
Spy sniffed again, and started to feel her muscles relax a little. The Engineer had a warm, comforting voice, and she had just tired herself out by nearly breaking down, but she knew that if she was to help her brother by the deadline, she needed to put herself back together, and inform the others of what they were to do. She took a couple of deep breaths, released all the tension, (much to the relief of Engineer, though he didn't make it evident) and whispered, "Merci, Engineer," before wiping the tears off her face, putting her sunglasses back on, and composing herself yet again.
-Part 4-
Spy looked around at the table of faces. None of them were looking up, daring to look in her in the eye, they were all guiltily staring down at the table, or the floor. Medic was concentrating on twiddling his thumbs, Pyro had pulled out his Engineer plushie and was making it waltz across his lap, and Demoman had gotten another bottle, but was merely looking at it with a surprisingly sober, and serious face. She sighed. "Everyone, I am sorry for inconveniencing you, especially when you celebrating. I also should not have made such a show, I assure you, it won't happen again. I just… I thought it was absurd that you refused to help me get back one of your own colleague. But, if you honestly have no intentions to assist me, then I will take my leave."
"Now wait a second there," Engineer cut in, "I told you I was gonna help you and god damn it I am-"
"It is OK, Engineer." If they truly do not wish to aid me, I will not allow you to come. That would be suicidal. Though, I do very much so appreciate your offer, mon ami."
"Heavy thinks," Heavy started, and for a second he just had a very thoughtful face, as if he was trying incredibly hard to find the right words, "that Spy is funny guy, and if Spy is in trouble, zhen we must go help Spy. Plus, Heavy does not like seeing lady so sad. It makes Heavy sad."
The others stared at Heavy in amazement. Spy was a bit surprised herself. Heavies back her base normally didn't say more than a sentence at a time, not because they couldn't, Heavies are not stupid, they either didn't choose, or they did not need to. But it made Spy smile knowing Heavy wanted to help, without any encouragement, and without the knowing that Medic would agree as well.
"Aye. Lassie, if yer a willin' to go bargin' in to the BLU headquarters to get yer brother back, then by god I wanna be there cheerin' ya on and blowing them bastards into a bloody billion pieces. Count me in!" Demoman gave Spy a confident smile, ripped open the bottle, and took a hearty swig from it.
"Spy, I was wrong for accusing you of being a maggoty BLU Spy. Please accept my apology in the form of acceptance of your plea for help," Soldier said with a salute.
Spy smiled, and nodded. "Apology accepted, Soldier." She looked around, at the glances and the smiles being passed. Soon they were all grinning back at her, nodding their heads.
"Yea! Let's do this!"
"Hrrrph hrrr hrrrrph!"
"Stupendous!"
"Aye. I'm lookin' forward to this, mate."
And it was agreed. "Excellent! I deeply appreciate this, mes amis, thank you. Now, here's what we must do…"
-Part 5-
2:37 am: After planning, arranging, and a few phone calls, all that was left was to wait for a little while, though much to Spy's impatience, she knew that her brother could wait until high noon at the latest, though they were hoping to be ready before then. But for the time being, Spy had a bit of time since she was already prepared, so while the other's got ready, Spy decided to take a mini tour throughout the base on her own.
Everything is so much more different from our base, she thought to herself. She was on the second floor, and had just found the break room. It was a simple enough room, minimal furniture, a fireplace, some comfy chairs, a table, lamps, and a refrigerator. It was practically empty compared to her own base, with the tables and chairs everywhere, a kitchen, and a huge hearth that always made the room quite pleasantly warm. Not hot, but just right. She continued up the staircase to the third floor, and poked around, but there wasn't much to see. Nearing the end of it though, she smelled something vaguely familiar coming from one of the rooms. After a second or two, she realized it was her brother's cologne.
She stopped, and stood there for a couple seconds in the hallway, staring at the slightly opened door. The only thing she heard was her heart pounding as she carefully pushed the door open, though just a bit. Inside was fine, from what she could see. Perhaps they kidnapped him outside of his room? She thought. She saw the cologne bottle lying on the floor, and cautiously entered the room to put it back somewhere, however upon entering something large in her peripheral vision caught her attention, and she glanced over at it, then froze.
She didn't scream. She didn't faint. She didn't do anything. Except run. After her first initial moments of complete numbness, she had left the bottle, run out of the room, slammed the door shut, and fled. She didn't know where she was going, but anywhere but there would be fine with her. She was aware of herself clambering up flight after flight of metal stairs, and finally getting to the highest floor of the base. There was a door in front of her, and she flung it open and went in, shutting it behind her with a loud *bang*, then stopped to catch her breath. A cool breeze helped her come to her senses, and she look around at the room she was in.
She was on the rooftop, she knew that, but this room seemed, somehow, disconnected from the main building. It was a fairly small room, made of wood and…screening? Whatever it was, it let the air from outside in, but it had little holes that were too tiny for bugs to get in. Some kind of wire mesh, possibly, and she shrugged. The rest of the room was yet again, very simplistic. Wooden floor, ceiling, wooden beams in the corners where the mesh was attached. But the ceiling wasn't just wood. There was a large glass pane installed in the ceiling, so large the entirety of it was glass, with wood to support. And when she looked, she realized if you looked up through the glass, you could see the stars beautifully. After gazing, mesmerized by the twinkling lights in the sky, she turned her attention back to the inside of the room. There was a small table on one side with a candle and a few blankets, and she laughed at the thought of lighting a candle in a room such as this. In the middle of the room was a low rise bed, maybe a foot and a half off the ground she estimated, and she went over, and sat down.
It had a very comfortable mattress, and she pulled off her shoes and her glasses, took a blanket from the table, and lay down for a bit. She was still quite shaken from what she saw in her brother's room, and she started to question what happened. Whose blood was that? Was it all her brother's? Was he OK? But most importantly, why had she run? She thought stopped running when she and her brother had gotten contracted into the war. Well, mostly it would be her brother, they said, though she did receive the same training all the Spies got, she, along with the other females, were kept secret from the all men teams. After training, Spy had gotten an important request from the Headquarters, and that day, she became the second most powerful person in the High Office. Also that day, she got a massive head ache. She never wanted the job, but she didn't complain. She had always known she was different from all the other spies, but she didn't know it would end her up in power. She didn't need something else pointing out her differences. But now, she was just downright exhausted, and she was just about asleep when someone opened the door.
-Part 6-
"Oh! Er, um, sorry about that, Miss, um, I, uh, didn't know you were, uh, er, um…" Sniper stuttered, and he felt his cheeks start to burn. He had come up here to clear his head before apologizing to Spy, and yet here she was, and he had had no time to prepare.
Spy sat up, and turned to face Sniper, who was standing awkwardly in the door way, blushing a deep red. It made her giggle that he would blush about the situation. "It is fine, mon ami. Call me Émilie, or," seeing Sniper's confused face at the pronunciation, "Emily. And, no, I am sorry, monsieur, is this your room?"
"Oh! Uh, well, yes, kind of. I guess. I had Engineer build it for me. Just as, sorta, I dunno, a place I could, well, clear my head in." Sniper was mentally punching himself for sounding so stupid. OK, so she had found his "secret" room. OK, so she was in his bed. There was nothing wrong with that she obviously would have had no clue what that room was for him. Yes, it was a room for him to clear his mind in, to enjoy the cool night's breeze, and watch the stars a bit, but mostly, it was the room he could escape to. He wasn't too much of a social person, every once in a while, yes, he'd enjoy a celebration or two, like tonight, but he didn't really hang around the commons or even his own dorm. He liked it up here with no one around, and he could just lay there for hours, escaping from the horrors of the past, the most recent one having to do with none other than a Spy (I smell another FanFic HINT HINT). "But, i's alroight. I, um, actually need to talk to you," and he stumbled over his foot a few times as he walked over and sat on the opposite edge of the bed.
Emily raised an eyebrow, noting the obvious measures the man was taking to avoid making things seem… well, sexual, in a way. Here they were, alone, together, in and on a bed. But she honestly did not think he would feel that way. Well, I presume it would be somewhat natural, Emily thought, and she smiled warmly at Sniper, trying her best to get him to relax, for he was obviously stiff, and nervous, judging from the small amount of sweat forming on his forehead. "But of course, monsieur. What is it you would like to discuss?"
"I, uh," Sniper cleared his throat in an attempt to gather his thoughts, "I wanted to apologize to you about earlier. I shouldn'ta been so rude. I jus' didn't wanna believe that 'e was… in danger." Sniper gulped nervously. He was aware of the tiny beads of sweat on his forehead and back, but he wasn't all too sure what to do. Emily, as she said to call her, was smiling at him in a friendly sort of way, and she had a pretty smile. It made him want to return it, but he felt so dumb just sitting there with this… stranger in his personal room.
Emily's smile faded, "I did not want to believe it either, but they weren't lying." She stared down at the blanket she had wrapped around her. It was a simple blanket embroidered with a deep crimson red "M," which could mean anything. She sat there, listening to the ambient noises of the wilderness around them, thinking, If Sniper is going to say something, he sure is taking his time.
-Part 7-
Meanwhile Sniper was still in the process of pulling himself together. The last time his thoughts got so scrambled around and impossible to sort out properly was when he was with that other Spy… but he didn't want to think about him right then. Shaking his head, he shifted so that he was laying down on the bed, and once again he felt the heat of the blush forming on his face. He didn't want to seem suggestive, but his back was starting to hurt from sitting at the wrong angle. He stared up through the ceiling, up at the stars. He had so many questions, but he knew she would probably get overwhelmed if he asked them all at once. Let's just start with the simple stuff, he thought, and the simplest question he could come up with was "They?"
Finally, Emily thought, as she was starting to think that maybe she should change the subject, and when Sniper had move from sitting to laying down, it reminded her that she was tired, and she started to struggle to stay awake. "My friends back at the Base… I'm afraid the Sector and the Area are classified."
"Oh, that's OK," Sniper replied. Next question? He asked himself. He didn't know though. He wasn't much of a talkative person. He pulled the next one he could find and turned his head towards her to ask but he noticed she was shivering still even with the blanket pulled around her. It was the blanket his mother had made for him when he was younger, and it though wasn't that great for keeping warm, he brought it with him anyways. The next thing he did was so unconsciously done he startled himself: he sat up, moved over, reached behind Emily and grabbed another blanket, then draped it across Emily's shoulder's and his own, pulling her so that their sides were both pressed against each other. The next thing he was aware of was that she had tensed up and so had he.
"Er, ahm, monsieur Sniper, what are you doing?" Emily asked, shocked. Sure, she had shivered a little bit, but was that necessary? God, how the hell did I make it as a Spy? I'm nothing like the other Spies, I couldn't keep my emotions concealed if it would save my life! This man… What is it about this man? I just can't… But her thoughts were interrupted.
"I, uh, noticed you shivered, and I thought, well, that blanket ain't meant for keepin' one warm, so oui just thought I'd grab anotha' for you, and…"Sniper sighed, "I have no idea… I'm sorry if I-"
"Non non, it is fine. You just…startled me, monsieur, that is all." Emily could feel herself blushing, which disgusted her. She shouldn't be in this position, the moment Sniper had walked into the room she should have gotten up, excused herself, and left. Yet here she was, blushing, and feeling like a teenage schoolgirl out on a first date: awkward, giddy, and bashful. These were not normal Spy emotions.
Sniper wasn't exactly sure what he was doing either. Of course, he would never forget his dear friend, and the times they shared, but this woman… something about her reminded him of Victor, and that reminded him of how much he missed Victor. But Victor was gone, and this was a lady that, after they completed the rescue mission, would have to go back to her Base, and he would never see her again. Bloody useless you are at relationships, he told himself. He felt Emily shift to pull the blanket closer, and by the moonlight, when Sniper looked at her, he saw her hand was covered in something dark. His eyebrows kitted together. Was he just imagining things?
"Emily," Sniper started, pausing a moment in surprise at the concern in his voice, "what is that all over your hands?"
-Part 8-
(BTW: Am I the only one who had a "Now kiss!" moment during part 7?)
Emily heard the concern as well. She hadn't even thought about her hands from earlier, she had gotten so caught up with discussing the rescue mission, then finding her brother's room, she completely forgot and when she looked at them, she realized they were covered in a thin layer of blood. It had turned a rusty brown by now, except for closest to the wounds, where it was still mildly fresh. Oh god, the blood. She had a flashback to her brother's room, the shock, the fear, the horror revisiting her, and she started shaking, though not from the cold. "Emily?" Is something wrong?" Sniper didn't even try to hide the worry in his voice, he just knew that after Emily looked at her hands, she got a terrified look on her face, "Emily?"
Sniper took Emily's hand carefully, with no response from her at all, and looked at it. There was something on her hands, something brownish, maybe, the moonlight wasn't all too great to tell. But he could see that it was all over her palms, knuckles, and under her nails. The source seemed to be the crescent shaped marks in her palms, and it took him a second to piece all of this together, though to make sure he ran his thumb over one of the small, curved lines.
"Aïe! Monsieur that hurt!" Emily said, recoiling a little and withdrawing her hand from Sniper.
"I-I'm sorry Emily, I was just meanin' to see what the problem was with your hand! It looks like… you broke the skin with your nails… how, I have no idea though…but…" Sniper trailed off into a mumble. It was true, he had no idea how she could have done something like that, but what other explanation was there?
"It is nothing to worry about." Emily said, making sure her tone implied ending that conversation.
Sniper picked up on it, "Oh…" he said quietly. "Well, do you need to go see Medic? I'm sure it wouldn't take long for him to patch it up."
Emily smiled, "Non. He is probably enough. I would not want to bother him."
"But won't it hurt later?" Sniper had no idea why he was arguing with Emily. He already knew how stubborn Spies could be.
"Monsieur, what is your name?" Emily asked, looking Sniper straight in the eyes, catching him a bit off guard.
"Uh-um, William Mundy, why do you ask?" He wasn't sure if she was trying to change the subject or if she was genuinely curious to know. Either way, he was still a bit confused.
"Well then, monsieur Mundy, I suggest you stop pressing. I will be fine," looking away from William.
Catching on that the topic was dead, Will suddenly felt like the questions could wait. He was tired, he presumed she was too, so he kept his mouth shut.
-Part 9-
So they lay there, listening to the sounds of the night, and at first the silence was a bit sour, but it slowly progressed to a friendlier, comforting one. Emily moved her head onto William's shoulder; she was tired, and she was going to need her strength in the morning, and as she was staring up at the darkness sprinkled with glowing lights, she found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Will put his arm back around Emily's shoulders, carefully pulling her in again. It was just them, all alone, wondering why they were trusting the other so much. For Emily, it was because she was so trustful… though in the past it had been a curse more than anything else, but she decided that she'd never learn. At least, that what she thought it was. For Will, his suspicions told him it was one because being with Emily reminded him of being with Victor and two because… well, because. Thinking about it, he never could one hundred percent convince himself what it was.
Soon the two were nodding off, up in the stargazing room, both without a care in the world, putting their fear, worry, and doubts aside just to be in the moment. And neither of them were exactly sure why.
-End Chapter One-
AAAARGH! IT'S FINALLY DONE! Thanks guys, if you read the whole thing, that's great! I appreciate it! Thanks so much for putting up with the typographical or grammatical issues and not being all like "OMG SHE PUT THE WRONG THERE/THEIR/THEY'RE I'M NOT READING THIS ANYMORE!" I'm not the greatest with grammar, I admit it. If you want to make suggestions, or if there's an error I need to fix, tell me with a comment! Thanks again, -Ellie