Chapter 3 Lock And Load

Engi and Tracer were still sitting on the cliff, the ocean's wild waves slamming into the rocky cliff side below them. The sunset was on the verge of ending, making both the sky and sea a dark reddish orange. It was truly a sight to see, but Engi's mind was elsewhere. He was dwelling on the day when "Uncle" Tom came by, and the news he had. While Tom wasn't exactly blood related, he was in his life enough to call him uncle, plus he was his father's best friend. Engi was 20 while Pyro was 24 on that terrible day.

Engi could remember the day like it was yesterday, August 23rd, 1967, his father had been in the war since '65, when American first sent troops to Vietnam. He may have been reaching forty, but hell, he loved to serve his country. Engi was talking to Pyro, who had just finished recovering from his "accident". The squeaking of the wheels on Tom's Willies Jeep came from outside. The two brothers knew the sound better than anything, "Uncle Tom's here! Maybe pa's with him!" Engi shouted before running out of the room, through the house, and out the front door. Pyro wasn't far behind, following Engi's path through the single family home, and out the front door. "Uncle Tom!" Engi shouted while giving the large man a bear hug. Pyro joined the hug, the two tackled their "Uncle" to the ground. He laughed a bit, "Hey boys. It's good to see you two!" Tom told the two. The brother's allowed their "Uncle" to stand back up. He rose to his feet and brushed off his formal Marine uniform. Blades of grass and some dust flew off the uniform as his hands brushed over them. Once his uniform was suitable he looked at Pyro, "How you holding up tough guy?" He asked. Pyro held his arm up and motioned his hand to say alright. "Well that's good, you always were the tough one." He said smirking at Engi. Engi just laughed, He always was a joker. He thought. "How you been Dell?" Tom asked while rubbing his hand on top of his head, messing up Engi's hair. "Good, Is pa with ya?" Engi impatiently asked. At this question, Tom's face became saddened. "Where's your mom boys?" He sadly asked. Engi and Pyro looked at each other, and pointed inside. "Come with me." He faintly commanded.

The three walked into the small single family house, through the living room and into the kitchen. Engi and Pyro's mother was cooking dinner for them when she turned her head to see Tom and her sons, "Oh Tom what a pleasant surprise! How have you been?" She cheerfully asked. Then she gasped, "Is Murphy with you?! Are you two finally coming home!?" She shouted joyfully. Tom looked at the kitchen floor, closed his eyes, and slightly shook his head. Engi and Pyro's mom realized what he was doing, "No...Nonononono. He can't be!" She shouted while tears began to roll down her face. Pyro and Engi were still confused, "Uncle Tom, where's pa?" Engi worryingly asked. He covered his mouth slightly and made a shaky breath, "I'm sorry boys, his Huey was shot down last week, it exploded on impact." He explained as he let the tears flow. Engi felt like his heart was just torn out of his chest. He looked at the ground, eyes wide. Pyro put his hand over his heart and fell into a chair. His other hand slowly covering his mask as sobbed inside it. The rest of the night is a bit fuzzy, but Engi knew, he didn't sleep that night. He remembered it was a gloomy day, as if it wasn't depressing enough. To top it all of "Uncle" Tom was Killed In Action a few years later, died the same way as their father, Huey crash landing.

Engi suddenly came out of his memories, sweat ran down his forehead, and his breathing was fast. He looked back at the horizon to see that the sun had fully set, leaving the night dark. It was an eerie silence, occasionally broken by the waves crashing into the cliff side, and the darkness was repeatedly broken by the lighthouse rotating it's light. Engi turned his head slightly to the left, seeing Tracer still cuddled up to him. Although, her arms seemed limp and her eyes were closed. She was still awake though, slowly rocking both her and Engi's body back and forth. Engi looked at his beer and saw that it was still pretty full. He decided to stay and finish it, slowly taking small sips as he reflected on his past. The silence was broken once again, but this time not by the waves. Engi turned his head to the left again and saw Tracer sleeping on his shoulder. Her quiet, yet cute snores echoed through the night. Engi smirked, and looked up. Wish you could have met her Pa, you two Ma, y'all would've loved her. He thought to himself. He then looked back at Tracer, as much as he didn't want to wake her up, he knew he needed to. He slightly raised his shoulder. Tracer groaned as she sat up straight, "Five more minutes 'luv." Engi stood up with a smile, she seemed like a child who didn't want to go to school, "C'mon. I'll walk you to your room." Tracer just opened her eyes slightly and looked up at him. She closed them and let her head fall limp, she raised her arms at him and asked, "Carry me?" Engi chuckled and complied, picking her up bridal style. He walked back towards the base, trying his best not to get lost in the maze of corridors. Tracer had her arms wrapped around his neck as her head was rested against his left shoulder. Out of nowhere she spoke, "I love you." The statement through Engi a bit off guard, it was just so random. He just smiled as he looked down at her beautiful face, "Love ya too, always." Tracer made a small smile with the little strength she had. They arrived at Lena's room. "What's your pass code?" Engi gently asked. "2051." Tracer faintly whispered. Engi reached his hand towards the keypad, still holding Tracer in his arms. He entered in the code and the door opened. The light from the hallway was just enough to see the bed, nothing else though. He walked over to the bed and slowly lowered Tracer into it. He put the covers over her, the second he did she turned to her side and grasped the sheets with one of her hands, falling back asleep. Engi leaned down to her and kissed her forehead, "Night." He whispered before walking out the room, pressing a button to make the door slide closed.

He walked out of the room as the door slid closed behind him. He scanned the empty hallway to see most doors closed, his eyes continued to scan until they landed on Pyro's door, which was also closed. Engi began to wonder if he was already sleeping, biting his cheek deciding whether or not to knock on his door. Engi finally decided to go and knock on the door, he didn't care any longer, he needed someone to talk to. He approached the closed metallic door and knocked on it twice. The loud thud came from inside the room, followed by some rustling. Engi lowered his brow, curious on what he just heard. He slowly raised his hand to the door and knocked again. The door then opened, Pyro was standing tall in the door way, mask covering his face. Pyro tilted his head at seeing his brother, "Mmph mmmph?" Pyro mumbled. "Can I come in for a minute?" Engi asked in what seemed like a whisper. Pyro nodded his head and moved out of the doorway to let his brother in. Engi walked past Pyro, bumping him with his shoulder as he passed. Pyro recovered from the bump and glared at his brother, narrowing his eyes within his mask, wondering what was wrong with him. Engi observed the room, a smokey aroma filled his lungs. The wall was riddled with large black marks, and his axe leaning against the wall, the dry oil covering the blood stain. Engi sighed in frustration as he shook his head at his brother, "You already burnt the room." Engi frustratingly scolded. Pyro just took off his mask and set it on the desk, "You know me brother." The way he said it was unusual, it was both serious and sarcastic at the same time. Pyro turned to the desk, turning his back to his brother. There were multiple tools laid around the mask. Engi recognized the tools as his own, "What th- Where did you get my tools?!" Engi angrily asked. Pyro turned his head, half of his mangled face was shown to his brother. A very noticeable grin appeared as his low, rough voice said, "Your room. Where else?" Engi gritted his teeth, "How the hell did you get in?" He asked, trying to keep his cool. "You really think I don't know the pass code?" Pyro sarcastically asked, his grin still on his face. "No, I really don't," Engi answered, his voice barely slipping through his gritted teeth. "Seriously? I know it was the year pa was killed, I'm not an Idiot brother. Code is the same for my door." Pyro tone went from angry to saddened. He hated to reflect on that fateful day.

Pyro turned his head back to his mask, "So, did you come in here to talk, or are just scared of the monsters under your bed?" Engi let out a frustrated sigh, "I ain't never gonna live that down ain't I." "Nope." Pyro quickly replied. "Okay, one that was when I was five, and two, yes I did come in here to talk." Engi barked. "Spit it out then." Pyro said trying to take out his right lens. "I've be-I've been thinking 'bout dad lately." Engi finally said. Pyro heard the words and immediately stopped what he was doing, he began to clench his fists, "Define thinking." Pyro angrily demanded. "I've just been reflecting on the day Uncle Tom came by, what he said that changed our life." Engi explained, stuttering through his words. Pyro turned around his face was as straight as could be, "He fought and died for our country, just as pa did, kinda wish I enlisted." "That place was hell Pyro, you know that." Engi told him while glaring through his soul. Pyro just chuckled a small smile appearing on his face, "Ya I know, but it would've been a hell of a time burning through those jungles." "The thing that always gets me was that Uncle Tom died the same way as pa," Pyro paused, "Guess they were brothers to the end." Engi made a small, nervous chuckle, "Guess they were." "So was this all you wanted to do, talk about how pa and Uncle Tom died?" Pyro asked, trying not to seem angry at his little brother. "No, I wanted to tell you that I told Lena 'bout what happened, I was hoping you wouldn't mind." Engi explained while he twiddled his thumbs. Pyro lowered his brow, "Why would I care? The way y'all's relationship is going, I'm surprised you're not in bed with her yet." Pyro explained. Engi looked up, his face showed frustration. He took his goggles off and stared his brother in the eye, "You know I don't roll that way Pyro." Engi firmly argued, trying to intimidate him. Pyro stood tall over his brother, making Engi feel a chill go down his spine, "You don't scare me little brother." Pyro paused, letting the fear settle into his brother's body, "I know you don't roll that way little brother, all I'm saying is, if I had a girl like you did, I would be trying over and over again to get her into bed, but as you know my dating days are over." Pyro explained. Engi decided to mess with Pyro a little, "Since when did you have dating days?" Pyro started laughing, Engi joined him. "I'll give you that one, but seriously, don't lose her. She's a keeper." Pyro explained as patted his brother's shoulder.

Engi smiled at his brother and also put his hand on his shoulder. "Do you need some tinted glass for your lens?" Engi asked. Pyro took his hand off of Engi's shoulder, "That would be nice. If you could find some I'd be mighty grateful." "The hell happened anyways?" Engi asked. "Oh, I..Uhh..." Pyro sighed heavily, "I-I hit the wall okay." Pyro confessed. "How the hell did you hit the wall? Was it during your training?" Engi asked while he slowly raised his eyebrow. "You know what, did Lena tell ya?" Pyro shot back. "No, why?" Engi asked curiously. "If she hasn't told you I won't tell you." Pyro explained with small yet evil smirk appearing on his face. "Why? What the hell happened?!" Engi asked loudly, frustration growing. Pyro just put his index finger and thumb to his mouth and "zipped" it closed. Engi growled, frustration turning into anger. " I swear to god Pyro, you never tell me anything!" Engi barked getting into his brothers face. Pyro just grinned, "I've already told ya." He paused and stood tall, looking down to his brother. His grin left him before he said, "You. Don't. Scare. Me." His low voice echoed within the room. Pyro turned back to his desk while Engi stood his ground. Engi knew his brother could kill him, but he wouldn't, he was the only family he had left. "Ya mind leaving, you kinda made the rest of this night depressing." Pyro calmly asked. "Ya, I'll go." Engi barked before storming out of the room and into the hallway. Pyro sighed heavily as he shook his head, "Hate to see that boy mad." He quietly mumbled to himself.

Pyro then decided to stop trying to fix his lens, he figured it was pointless without some new tinted glass. He stretched his shoulders, spinning them around in quick circles to release some tension. He then walked into the bathroom, he didn't why he did, but he did. He looked into the mirror. m While many would see a burnt and mangled man, all Pyro saw was a monster. He gritted his teeth looking at his own reflection, wanting to smash the image so no one could see it. The emotions were hitting him all at once, anger, sadness, depression, concern, they made his head spin. He puffed out through his nose and shook his head, turning his gaze away from the mirror. He looked at the shower, and back into the mirror. He noticed how dirty he looked, dirt marks, blood stains, you name it, it had stained his skin. He looked down into the palm of his glove covered hand. He couldn't even remember the last time he took off the suit. He used his other hand to reach and take off the glove. Although, that proved to be a challenge, as he struggled to take off the glove, his skin peeled, ripped, and stuck to the interior of the glove. Once he finally got the glove off he studied his hand. Pieces of flesh had either peeled or ripped off. Showing muscle, blood, and even bone. It hurt like hell, but it had to be done. Pyro began taking off his entire suit, his skin attaching itself to the suit and ripped away from his body. It felt like he was getting stabbed by a thousand needles, but he's been through worse. Once Pyro got the entire suit off, he examined his burnt and mangled body, hating everything he saw. "Look at you. You're a monster. You kill to make yourself feel good, but it doesn't always work does it." Pyro glared at his own reflection, speaking to it as if it was another man. He blinked twice and shook his head again to snap out of it. "The hell am I doing? Talking to myself? Have I really gone that crazy?" He quietly whispered to himself as blood dripped off of his body and onto the bathroom floor. He puffed his cheeks and turned on the shower, the cold water felt good on his body. It was a nice change from the constant heat. The blood from his body mixed with the water turning it into a light red as it flowed down the drain. Pyro noticed how black the water was. It showed how dirty he really was.

He only chuckled at the sight, knowing the most of it was ash. Pyro turned off the shower. Blood mixed water still dripping off of his body. He reached for a towel and grabbed it, rubbing it against his body to dry it. Every stitch the grinded against his open wounds felt like hell, Pyro of all people knew what hell felt like. He groaned every time he had to dry one of the wounds. Once dry, Pyro began putting his suit back on. His detached skin seeming to reattach within his suit. This was his life, it was constant pain, no matter where he was. Pyro didn't feel like doing anything anymore. He just plopped down on his bed and closed his eyes, quickly drifting into a deep sleep.

Hours passed as night faded into day. Medic was sitting in the Infirmary, barely illuminated by the lamp next to his schematic. His eyes were growing heavy with sleep as he examined his schematic for the kritzkrieg, "Nein, nein, NEIN!" He yelled while slamming his fist against the table in anger, shooting his body awake. Sunlight began to seep through one of the windows. Medic raised an eyebrow, Have I really been up a night? He wondered. He began to examine his schematic again, only to be filled with frustration once again. "Vwas zum Teufel bin ich fehlt?!" (What the hell am I missing) He began yelling in his native tongue. He was digging through his memories, trying to remember exactly what he needed. He tried again and again to get a photographic image of the schematic in his mind, all in vain though, he couldn't remember to save his life. He felt anger consume his body until he needed to find a release of some sort. He suddenly jumped up and smacked the lamp off of the table. It hit the ground with a huge crash, the loud noise echoed through the base. "Vwell great." He mumbled. "Now I have no light." He said to himself while raising his arms up halfway and letting them fall back to his sides. He felt disappointed in himself, he usually doesn't let his temper get the better of him. "Medic you should be asleep." A ominous voice said out of nowhere. Medic's body was on full alert, scanning the dark for any signs of movement. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Medic demanded, doing his best to sound intimidating. "I am Athena, and you of all people should know that staying up all night isn't good for your health." The A.I. explained. Medic felt his body ease up along with his nerves, "Ah yes, Vwinston's creation. Uhh zank you Azena, but I am fine." "If you say so. Might I ask what you are doing up this late?" Athena asked, somehow sounding concerned. Medic hesitated to answer, this thing wasn't exactly human, "Uhh, vwell, I-I am vworking on my schematic for my kritzkrieg. No offense, but I prefer to vwork in peace." "Understood." Athena commented. There was an eerie silence. It seemed that she had "left". Medic was relieved, he didn't really trust something like that, not yet at least.

He went back to working on his schematics, trying to figure out what he was missing. At around 6:45 Mercy entered the infirmary. She stretched and yawned while holding a cup of coffee. She scanned the infirmary until her eyes landed onto Medic. Her eyes grew wide with shock, "Medic? Vwhat are you doing up?" She asked with both curiosity and concern in her tone. "I could ask you ze same zing." Medic shot back. "I'm ze Doctor around here, I need to check our inventory and be up early." Mercy told him. "I'm also a Doctor here, so I guess zat means I'm already doing my job correctly." Medic joked, hoping she would laugh. He loved her laugh, it was always adorable to him. She didn't laugh though, she just raised an eyebrow and carefully crossed her arms, trying not to spill her coffee. "You still haven't answered my question." She stirnly barked. "I'm vworking on ze Kritzkrieg, I told you I vwould be up late." Medic told her, looking back at his schematic. "You said late, not all night." Mercy scolded. "I'm fine, vwe used to stay up all night fighting back at Teufort ja know." Medic reassured her. Mercy shook her head, "Do you vwant any coffee at least? You have to be tired." Mercy asked, her tone changing back to concerning. "Ja. Zat vwould help. Danke." (Thank you) He eagerly told her. She left the infirmary and returned a few minuets later with another cup in her hand. She approached Medic and set the cup on the table. "Danke." He said abruptly. "Are you alright? You seemed stressed." She asked sounding even more concerned. "Ja. I'm fine." Medic said, trying to sound calm. She leaned onto the table and put her hand on the schematic, blocking his view. Medic looked up at her with a irritated glare. She just grinned and told him, "You're a terrible liar. Vwhat's troubling you?" Medic sighed heavily out of his nose, defeated, "I just can't for ze life of me remember vwhat part I requested to be used to make ze Kritzkrieg. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to remember." He paused for a moment letting his frustration subside, rubbing his forehead. He began again with a small and quiet chuckle, "It's funny, vwe've only known each ozer a few days, yet you can already tell vwhen I'm lying." He let his arm fall limp on the table and looked up at her with a grin, "If I didn't know any better I vwould say you've been observing me."

Upon hearing this statement, Mercy's eyes grew wide while her face grew warm and red, "Vwell, I-I vwo-vwouldn't say-" She was stuttering nervously through her words. Medic just raised his hand, signaling her to stop, "Kidding. I could really use your help zough. Do you mind?" Medic asked, his tone of voice migrated from joking to serious. "Yes, I'l-I'll help." Mercy nervously answered, her face still warm and bright red while she continued to stutter. "Danke." Medic replied with a warm smile. Mercy leaned off of the table and went to go grab another chair. She dragged the chair and stopped next to Medic. She took a seat, making small sips on her coffee, Medic did the same. Medic had to admit, the coffee helped. It seemed like every sip he took, his body shot more and more awake. Mercy examined every detail in his schematic making sure that she would be able to upgrade any old hardware. She noticed something that was off, something Medic was missing all along. She set her coffee down and pulled the schematic towards her, "Vwhere is ze main power supply?" She asked. Medic was a bit confused, he pulled the schematic away from her and examined it. She was right, that is what he was missing all along. He covered his face with his hands and leaned back with an interior yell, "ARGH! Ich kann nicht glauben, wie dumm ich bin!" (I can't believe how stupid I am) Mercy giggled at his reaction, "Don't say zat. Vwe all make mistakes." She put her hands on his right shoulder, reassuring him. He slowly pulled his hands down his face, stretching his skin, "Zat may be true, but zat vwas ze dumbest mistake I've ever made." He angrily argued. "It's fine, vwe know ze mistake now and vwe can finish your Kritzkrieg. I have a couple upgrade ideas as vwell." Mercy commented, doing her best to reassure him.

She looked down to the ground for a moment, and saw the shattered lamp that Medic had broken earlier. She sighed in frustration before turning to Medic, "Didn't you get mad." Medic was bewildered by her statement for a moment then he remembered that he broke the lamp, he chuckled nervously, "Hehe, I kinda let my temper get ze better of me." "It's fine, just please don't break any more of my zings, understood?" Mercy told him. "Understood." Medic nervously replied. The two continued to study the schematic together, making sure every piece was in order. Well Medic was at least, Mercy was looking at what upgrades she could make to it. After some time the two were satisfied with the results. "Vwell, shall vwe get started?" Medic asked eagerly. "It may take avwhile to get ze parts Medic, Overvwatch isn't exactly legal anymore." Mercy explained to him. Medic was confused, "Vwhat do you mean not legal? Haven't all of you helped ze vworld multiple times?" Medic asked wanting an immediate explanation. Mercy sighed, this was a dark time for the world, "Ze people zought zat zey vwould be better off vwithout Overvwatch, so our vwork vwas banned. Most of us are considered criminals." Medic understood now, but at the same time, they never really followed the law during the Gravel Wars. "Zat really isn't anyzing different from my old vwork, vwe usually did some...questionable actions." Mercy was curious, she began asking Medic what they did. Medic explained what they did to trespassers and search parties. He wasn't proud of those actions, but orders are orders. Mercy looked at the clock, seeing how close breakfast was. It said 8:23, the two knew that the rest of the agents were awake and probably eating. "Do you vwant to go eat? I'm starving." Mercy asked hoping for a "yes". "Not really actually. I vwould prefer to stay here and continue vworking." Medic replied. Although, the second he finished his sentence his stomach growled. It sounded like a wolf snarling at it's prey before the kill. "It seems your stomach says ozervwise. I vwant you to eat somezing, doctors orders." She happily said, already making her way to the door. Medic made a small smirk, "All right, I'm coming." He said as he stood up, stretching his legs and letting some blood flow. His legs were pretty numb and weak, sitting down for hours on end will do that.

The two made there way through the base together, making small talk. Medic repeatedly asked Mercy when the parts should be here. She kept saying the same thing, weeks, maybe even months. That answer didn't make Medic happy, but he understood why. Overwatch wasn't as privileged with supplies as the mercs were. The two walked into the Mess Hall together and were greeted by everyone. They grabbed their food and took their seats. Today's breakfast was bacon and eggs. Everyone had bacon on their plates except for Junkrat and Roadhog. Roadhog seemed to be furious with everyone who had bacon on their plates, giving them glares that could melt glaciers through his mask. Many were laughing and having a good time with each other. Medic looked at Engi and Pyro, who were sitting across from each other. There seemed to be some tension between the two. This concerned Medic, usually the two are inseparable. "Engi, Pyro, are you two alright?" Medic asked from further down the table. Engi looked up at his brother, Pyro did the same. "Fine Doc." Engi barked before continuing his meal. Pyro just rolled his eyes in his mask and looked back down at his meal. Medic closed his eyes and shook his head, he knew that was a lie, but if something did happen the last thing he wanted to do was get in the middle of it. After Medic asked, Tracer also noticed some tension between the two brothers. "Engi, everything alright 'luv." She gently asked. Engi didn't take his eyes off of his plate, "Fine Lena." He barked. "Engi, I know when you're lying, what's wrong?" Tracer repeated, her voice more firm than before. "Lena!-" Engi yelled before cutting himself to breath in through his nose and out of his mouth, calming himself down, "Look, everything is fine. If it was something worth being concerned over I would tell you." He explained, his voice calming as he spoke. Tracer jumped a bit when Engi yelled at her, her body eased up after his voice calmed down. She quickly looked back at her food, continuing her meal. Engi hated himself for snapping like that, she did nothing to deserve it. Everyone else decided not to ask the two about what happened or anything for that matter, most figured that they got into an argument. Siblings always get into fight, just takes time to smooth it over.

Scout was scanning the table, he saw Soldier, he didn't have a plate of food this time. Scout decided not to say anything this time. Better to keep my mouth shut. He thought, he knew if he did say something, Soldier might actually keep his word from yesterday. Everyone began finishing their meals, one by one dishes landed in the sink. Spy decided to stay behind and clean them, he was just being a gentleman. Winston asked Spy to meet him, along with the rest of the mercs at the Battle Simulations. Spy complied, once he finished scrubbing the leftover food off of the plates, he dried them, and put them away in the cabinets. He slowly made his way through the base, puffing out smoke through his cigarette every few seconds. It left the air behind him smelling horrific. Spy arrived at the Battle Simulations, hoping to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. The rest of the mercs were there along with Winston. "Good everyone is here." Winston said eagerly. "I brought you all here this mourning because we need to see how well you all do in battle, and how well you can work with your new team." He continued. The mercs looked at each other, all thinking the same thing, Heavy was the first to say what they all were thinking, "Heavy thinks we already proved ourselves in combat." "On the contrary, these are new enemies, they have better weapons, more training, and they will shoot to kill every time." Winston shot back. "Very well, as long as Heavy gets to shoot something." Heavy said, walking towards the door to go to the armory. "We already have your weapons here Heavy." Winston hastily said, stopping Heavy in his tracks. Heavy turned around, "Where is Sasha?" He asked. "Sasha?" Winston asked, becoming very confused. "It's, his gun." Medic said, sounding disappointed. "Oh, uhh...well it's over here with the rest of the weapons." Winston explained while pointing the the large pile of weapons. Each merc looked at each other, shrugged, and walked over to the pile to grab their weapons. "Excellent! Now the "soldiers" you'll be fighting use a special type of stun round, if it hits you, it will act as if that part of your body doesn't work anymore. Medic's medi-gun should be able to counteract the stun round." Winston carefully. "Soooo, we can go all out on these bots lad?" Demo asked. "Yes. Once we feel all of you are ready, we will set you up with the rest of the agents against the Bastion Training Units." Winston continued. "Oh, and take these, you'll need them." Winston told them while he handed them all earpieces. Each of the mercs put them in their ears. Pyro walked out of the room, took of his mask, put the earpiece in, put his mask back on, and walked back into the room. The mercs all looked at each other with half smiles, they've been dying to get back into the action.

The battle was set up, the room began to load into a new area. It seemed like they teleported to some sort of mountainous region. "Attack Commences in 30 seconds. Your mission goal is to capture an unstable bomb and escort it back to this ship." Athena explained to the mercs. Every single merc began loading there weapons. They were amazed at the design of this place, how far technology had come, but there was no time for that now. Work had to be done. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Attack commencing." Athena said as the ships large door opened. "GUTS AND GLORY LADS!" Demo yelled as he and the mercs charged into battle. Engi had his toolbox on his right shoulder, charging in behind the rest of the mercs. Heavy and Medic were up front, followed by Pyro. As the mecs reached the top of the hill, they saw a large beautiful valley. The bomb was about 600 yards from their current location. Sniper climbed up a tree that was on top of the hill and positioned himself, rifle pointed towards the large group of enemies. The mercs decided to get the jump on these "soldiers" before truly engaging. Engi put an exit teleporter next to the tree, just in case they needed to fall back. Spy slowly made his way behind the large group, waiting for his friends to strike. Demo laid sticky traps for their fall back points, got into position, and waited. The rest of the mercs cautiously made their way towards the bomb until they were 100 yards from the target. Heavy, Medic, and Soldier looked at each other and nodded, signaling each other to strike. Heavy stood up and starting spinning up his mini gun. The soldier caught wind of what was going on and scrambled for their weapons. The ones that did have their weapons on hand started shooting at the three. Stun bullets wived past them, their eyes rattled as the bullets made contact with the ground below them. "GET BEHIND ME DOCTOR!" Heavy yelled standing tall in front of Medic, shielding him from incoming enemy fire. Engi positioned himself behind a group of rocks that weren't far from Heavy, Medic, and Soldier, he began building his teleporter and dispenser. Trying to get them ready so he could push up with his sentry. Soldier launch multiple rockets at the soldiers, turning most into piles of meat while other soared through the air. One of his rockets came really close to the bomb, which made it wobble. Sniper came through the earpiece, "Soldier! Watch your fire you bloke! We don't want that bomb going off." He scolded angrily. Sniper didn't want his team screwing up their first skirmish.

Bullets riddled into Heavy's chest, but Medic's constantly healed the wounds before they did too much damage. The stun bullets hurt more than real bullets to Heavy, but hell he died before, he'll gladly go down again as long he takes some with him. Bullets rained out of his mini gun, striking many soldiers and sending them tumbling to the ground, lifeless. Scout ran around the soldiers, launching slugs out of his scattergun, making soldier after soldier fall to the ground. He then took out his baseball bat, he turned his body towards a decorated soldier who looked to be giving orders. His back foot pushed off of the wet grass as he charged towards the soldier, swinging his bat towards his skull. His swing made contact, the Officer was knocked off of his feet, falling onto his back with blood dripping from his skull. Soldier were doing their best to shoot Scout, but he was too quick, dodging every bullet before they were anywhere near him. "Are you even trying?" He mocked as he ran into cover. The Officer began to stand up, rubbing his cracked skull as blood streamed down his face. "Get That Son Of A Bi-" Those were the last words that Officer ever spoke. Sniper pulled the trigger, his bullet launched out of his barrel and cut through the air, the bullet came to rest in the Officer's skull, making him drop to the ground with an ear piercing thud.

Spy approached a group from behind, he raised his knife above his head, ready to plunge it's blade into one of their backs. Spy's knife began to come down at a inhuman speed, plunging into the soldier's spine. Since he was using the Eternal Reward, he began to disguise himself as one of the soldiers. The soldier let out a yelp as the knife slowly came out of his spine. By the time the rest of his squad had turned around, Spy already looked like him. "You alright man?!" One of the soldiers yelled. Spy cleared his throat, doing his best to mimic the mans yelping voice. "Ya, *Clears throat* Ya I'm good." Spy said. "Then help us shoot these assholes!" The soldier yelled, turning back towards Heavy, Soldier, and Medic. "With Pleasure." Spy said evilly in his normal voice. Spy pulled his revolver out as his disguise faded away. He quickly pulled the trigger three times. Each bullet making contact with a different soldier, making all their bodies drop limp as the bullets pierced through their skulls. The rest of the squad turned to Spy, all raising their weapons. Sniper caught eye of the situation and dropped one of the soldiers. The soldier closest to Spy didn't bother shooting, he pulled a knife out of it's sheath and charged at him. Using both of his arms to plunge it's sharp blade into Spy's heart. Spy reacted quickly though, grabbing the soldiers arms and turning them back towards him, reversing his attack. The soldier's own blade rested in his stomach, making him stumble backwards to the ground, lifeless. Spy was impressed with his work, he took out his disguise kit and opened it. "Sorry to pop in, unannounced." Spy mocked while flicking his finished cigarette at their bodies, and taking a new one from his kit. Spy began to light his cigarette when he heard and gun cock from behind. He slowly turned his head to see a group of five soldiers standing behind him, guns ready. "So long Traitor." One of the soldiers mockingly barked. Spy noticed someone walking out of a smoke cloud, it was Pyro. He was slowly approaching them from behind, pulling his axe from his holster. Spy smirked evilly, "So long." He mocked. A strange sound filled the air, it ended with a loud crack as Pyro axe blade positioned itself halfway in one of the soldier's skull, making blood, bone, and brain fragments splatter everywhere. The rest of the soldiers turned towards Pyro in shock, he already had his flamethrower pointed at the group of four. "Mmph." Pyro mumbled as he pulled the trigger, letting a large cloud of flames engulf the soldiers. Screams of agony echoed through the valley, everyone seemed to get a chill from them. Pyro held the trigger until the last scream died out. A large smoke cloud faded, revealing the soldier's horrific bodies. Skin peeled off of their bones, most were nothing but charred, unrecognizable, piles of ash.

Pyro laughed hysterically at his work. Oh how he loved the results of a burn victim. Their charred flesh, fragile bones, and the ashes. Sometimes he just loved to see the world burn. "Pyro!" Spy yelled, snapping Pyro out of his thoughts. Pyro quickly turned his head to Spy, who was standing next to the bomb. "I could use your help my friend." Spy calmly commanded. The bomb was positioned on some kind of floating platform, none of the mercs understood it, but hell it was the future. Pyro ran over to Spy, bullets flying past him as he advanced. Pyro had to duck occasionally, feeling the air above his head being cut apart by the bullets. Spy and Pyro began to push the bomb, surprisingly, it was easy to push. The two struggled to get the thing out of the fire zone. Bullets ricocheting off of the steel platform. Heavy laid down immense covering fire. Spraying countless amounts of bullets towards the enemy. Soldiers were falling back a bit, trying to regroup. Engi ran to the rest of the mercs. He threw his toolbox onto the ground, it slid across the wet grass, building up a sentry as it slid. When it finally came to rest, the sentry was finished constructing itself. The sentry beeped countless times, locking on to multiple soldiers, firing it's large caliber rounds and finishing off every target it locked onto. What happened next almost made Heavy's heart stop. The minigun laid out countless amounts of bullets. Until, the only sound that came from the mini gun was a constant clicking. Heavy turned straight to Engineer. "Engineer, put dispenser here!" He strictly commanded. Engi turned to him and nodded before using any and all stamina he had left to run towards Heavy. He pulled out a remote as he ran, he pressed a large red button, making the dispenser he previously built self destruct. He put the remote away as he got ever so closer to Heavy. He then pulled out his PDA and pressed a couple buttons, pulling out yet another toolbox and placing it next to Heavy. The dispenser began to construct itself, Engi knew that the faster this was built, the better for everyone it would be. He pulled out his wrench and began to wack the dispenser until it was fully constructed. Heavy grabbed ammo out of the dispenser and loaded Sasha. The barrel began spinning up again, letting out another storm of bullets.

The enemy soldiers focused on Engi's sentry more than anything, laying countless bullets into the steel plate, ripping wire and circuits as they powered through. After what seemed like no time at all, the sentry couldn't take any more fire, it exploded. Engi knew the sound more than anything, he turned back towards the battlefield to see his sentry turned into a pile of scrap metal. Engi felt saddened, he always thought of his buildings as his children, "Nice job little guy." He sadly mumbled under his breath before turning back towards the bomb. Soldier showed no mercy as he launched barrages of rockets towards the enemy, making most of them splatter around the valley, "You are all maggots hatched from mutant maggot eggs!" Soldier mockingly yelled followed by a short laugh. Scout was still stuck on the front lines, pinned down by the large amount of enemy soldiers. He came through everyone's earpiece, "Uhh little help. Guys?" He worryingly begged. Sniper found Scout in his scope, Scout seemed to try and peek every few seconds, only to have a bullet chip off another piece of his cover. "Scout, stop peeking! Listen to me mate, when I say run, you run. Understood." Sniper ordered. "Yeah, Yeah gotcha." Scout replied. Sniper loaded a bullet into the chamber, lined up his sights, and touched off. His bullet found it's mark, dropping two soldiers standing right behind one another. "Now RUN!" Sniper commanded, dropping another soldier. Scout ran as soon as he heard Sniper, making his way towards his team. Something caught Sniper's eye, it wasn't a regular soldier, or a muzzle blast of a rifle. No, this was something he knew all too well. It was the sun, gleaming off of another sniper's scope. Sniper's instinct kicked in, he used one of the large branches as cover. Teufort taught him to use anything and everything as cover. He heard the earth shaking crack of the sniper's rifle, but he didn't heard any branches snapping around him, no small thud, not even a ricochet. He got back into position and scanned the valley and saw Scout on the floor, holding his leg in pain. "Doc Come ON man! I'm Dying Here!" He whimpered. Scout was about 100 yards from Medic, Heavy, and Soldier. "Heavy I need you to cover me!" Medic demanded as he made his way towards Scout, bullets kicking up dirt in front of him. The distance seemed like miles to Medic, every step he took seemed like a thousand to him. Sniper found the sun gleam off of the other sniper's scope again. He put his crosshairs in the position of where he thought he saw it and waited for another gleam. It came, revealing right where the amateur was. Sniper put his sights a bit above the Sniper, to compensate for bullet drop. He slowly pulled the trigger, until he felt his stock push against the interior of his shoulder. How he loved that feeling, it always made him feel good about himself, another kill to his record. The gleam didn't appear again Sniper made sure of that. Even if he did miss, that sniper might not poke his head up again. "Mongrel." Sniper said to himself.

Medic finally got within range of Scout, he pushed the lever on his medi gun forward, the beam came out of the barrel and made it's way towards Scout. Once the beam made contact, Scout positioned his body to where it was resting on top of his head. Scout used his arms to push off of the ground and turn his body to where his feet landed on the ground with no issue. "Let's go doc move it." Scout ordered as he ran towards Heavy and the rest of his team, Medic quickly followed. Heavy felt his body growing weak, bullets were riddling his chest until he couldn't take anymore. Medic wasn't in range of Heavy, no matter how much he wanted to be. Heavy dropped Sasha onto the floor and fell to his knees, about to collapse from pain. Medic was just in range when he pushed the lever, as with Scout, the beam connected to Heavy. He felt his strength regaining itself, his eyes widened as he stood tall once again. He hunched down and picked up Sasha, spinning up the barrel to shoot again. Scout helped push the bomb, making the process a bit faster. The four mercs finally got the bomb past one of Demo's sticky traps. Engi turned back to Heavy, Medic ,and Soldier, "Y'all Fall Back! Let Demo work his magic." All the mercs gathered at the bomb, all working together to push it to the ship. The never ending army of soldiers advanced forward. Firing their weapons at the eight mercs. Demo patiently waited for the right moment to detonate his bombs. His time had come, countless groups of soldiers were walking right over his traps. "KABOOM!" He yelled as he pushed a button on his StickyBomb Launcher, detonating all the bombs. Any soldier standing near, or on the traps were turned into red mist. Demo laughed at their carelessness, "Ahahaha, Didn't you see the bloody bombs!?" He taunted as he made his way to the top of the hill, laying more traps.

The mercs pushed with all their might, their muscles ached and throbbed from the constant pressure. They noticed the clean white paint of the ship in front of them, they were almost their. The heard constant gunfire and explosions coming from behind them as Demo made sure no one got past him. The mercs continued to push and push until the bomb was placed inside of the ship. The mercs cheered at their victory, their sweat drenched bodies dying for some rest. The were each breathing heavily as they high fived each other and continued to cheer. Medic noticed something off though, someone was missing. "Vwait...Vwhere's Demo!?" He questioned loudly. As if on cue Demo came through their earpieces, "I NEED SOME HELP HOLDING 'EM OFF!" Every single one of the mercs were worried beyond belief for him. Their eyes were wide as they couldn't believe they just left him behind. All of them knew he didn't have much time, Medic was the first one out of the ship, running for Demo's last known location. He was fully charged.

Demo was fighting till his last breath, launching grenades at his enemies, setting small traps, and constantly decapitating close foes. He honestly couldn't believe his team would leave him like that. Then again, he was told to fall back. He was dodging as many bullets as he can, taking cover in any explosion made crater he found. He noticed a large group a rocks he could easily hold out in. He recognized them from when he and his team just left the ship. He ran with all of his speed and stamina. Luck seemed to be with him. Bullets would kick up dirt all around him as he came ever so closer to his cover. Bullets stuck his back as he was running, pain shot through his body as he gritted his teeth. Demo came just within feet of the large rocks when his luck ran out, the stun bullets struck the back of his leg. Sending him head over heels onto the ground. He tumbled and rolled until his body struck one of the rocks, sending him to a sudden stop. He laid on his back, thinking these were his last moments. It may have been a simulation, but it was all too real to the mercs. Demo tried to get up, but the pain was to great. He just laid there, accepting his fate. Soldiers surrounded him, guns aimed and ready. An Officer walked up to Demo and kneeled down, inches from his face. "Your friends may have gotten away, but you sure won't." The Officer's low voice grumbled while he stood up and looked down to Demo's pain filled face. "Fire!" The Officer yelled. Demo closed his eyes, awaiting the pain. Demo didn't feel anything though. In fact, he felt his pain fading away. He opened his eyes to see himself glowing red. Medic was standing on top of one of the large rocks. "GET ZEM DEMO! MAKE ZEM BLEED!" Medic commanded. Demo stood up onto his feet and grabbed his Eyelander from the floor. "Oh, they're going to have to glue you back together, IN HELL!" Demo loudly taunted as he began decapitating soldier after soldier, starting with the Officer. His eye began glowing green, with every head it light up brighter and brighter. The soldiers did their best to kill Demo and Medic, but their bullets reflecting off of their bodies. With every head Demo collected, his speed increased. He was beginning to become faster than Scout himself. Although, he didn't use this speed to kill more soldiers, he knew the ubercharge didn't last forever. He used the speed to get him and Medic back to the ship.

The rest of the mercs set up a defense for when they had to cover Medic and Demo. Sniper stood on an upper level of the ship, scanning the horizon for the two to come back. He finally spotted them, running for their lives towards the large white ship. "They're coming Mates! Get Ready." Sniper barked as the rest of the mercs grabbed their weapons. Bullets cut through the air in all directions. Medic and Demo wouldn't stop for anything at this point. They were so close to getting this done. The two stumbled every few steps, but never failed to regain their footing. They ran up the short ramp and into the ship, diving through the large opening. The large bullet proof glass door closed behind them as Athena's voice came on through the intercom, "Mission Complete, well done." Everything began dissolving, the mercs felt the ground below them become unstable. The ground below Sniper faded away. He fell off of what was the upper level of the ship back first to the real earth below him. He groaned while he was on the ground, "What, the, bloody hell?!" He growled while he struggled to get up. Now was a time for the mercs to celebrate. "Everyone of you deserves a medal!" Soldier praised. "Cheers mates!" Demo yelled as he took a swig of Scotch. The mercs were so happy, hugging and high fiving each other as they cheered.

Some of the Overwatch agents were watching the skirmish as it went down. "Impressive." Winston happily praised. "Impressive? That was down right mighty fine!" McCree yelled. "These fellas will be a fine addition to Overwatch, did you see the way they all worked together? Hell, even Medic went back to help Demo when he was in trouble!" He enthusiastically continued. "True, but that is how they work with each other. They have yet to work with any of us in a battle like that." Pharah explained. "Fareeha is right. They have no experience in working with us, only against us." 76 finished. "Are y'all serious? 76, Winston, you two were there when we fought them, and what did they do? They kicked our asses that's what, and yet here you are questioning their ability to work with us?" McCree questionably scolded. "Not true at all, all I'm saying is that they are familiar with each other's abilities, not ours." 76 shot back. McCree opened his mouth to say something back, but realized he was right. "There isn't any doubt in my mind that they will be a great addition to our cause." Pharah gently said as she analyzed the nine mercs. She knew they all were ready to fight the good fight.

Hey guys! Wanted to say thank you for the constant support I greatly appreciate it. I'm extremely sorry for missing my dead line again. I'm honestly disappointed in myself for missing it AGAIN. You guys should be to, but if you aren't thanks. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out in two weeks on Sunday. I just finished this a bit later than I really wanted to. Remember: Constructive Criticism is always welcomed. Want to see something in the story? Leave a review of your idea and I might just use it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and i'll see you guys in two weeks...Hopefully.

-Hunting Brothers