It was the sharp cold breeze and groan of metal that brought Spy back to the waking world. He blinked his eyes opened and stared blankly up at the grey sky above him as the wind faded leaving nothing but a cold silence. Sitting up, Spy groaned as his head throbbed with the motion.
"Mon dieu." He groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead as he tried to will the pain away.
As the pain faded to a low, ignorable throb, Spy opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. The buildings around him seemed to be in a state of rotting decay, the walls splattered with a dark sludge and unrecognizable stains. With a frown, he tried to recall what had happened.
Images of a RED sentry locking onto him surfaced in his memory; he had been killed, but where was he now? Had the respawn failed? Spy let out a low curse as he stood from the ground and began to take a more detailed look at his surroundings, logging the details into his mind.
The buildings rose high into the air, twisting into strange directions due to the way they had eroded away. Windows had been boarded up haphazardly and some of the planks of wood had fallen, only hanging by one side, threatening to fall with just a brush of wind. What little light there was failed to illuminate the inside of the buildings, the insides dark and impenetrable making Spy feel uneasy. Anything or anyone could be inside, watching him, ready to strike at any moment.
With a frown, Spy began to walk down the street, the buildings making it feel a bit claustrophobic, as he tried to figure out where he was. A sharp gust of wind had the buildings around him creak and groan, giving him cause to worry about a building collapsing on him. High pierced whistling blew with the breeze as the wind played through the broken windows, its music eerie, giving a more foreboding feel to the place.
"Where the 'ell am I?" Spy scowled as he continued to wander down his make shift path around the buildings. This place was like nothing he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot during his travels, but nothing like this.
A sharp cracking sound filled the air and had a chill of fear running down his spine along with the feeling of being watched pressing heavily down on him. Spy moved his hand down to his cloak and dagger and activated it. The cloak came to life only to flicker on for a mere second before it turning back off. Scowling, Spy raised up his hand to look at the damn thing. Of all the times for it to short circuit. He took a quick look at it, trying to fix it the best he could without taking it off. It would take too much time and he had a feeling he needed to keep moving; it felt like someone was watching him.
Unease began to fill him and his eyes darted around, glancing at the empty buildings, but it was too vast with too many shadows that could be hiding anything. Spy moved back into one of the shadows himself so as to not be easily spotted.
The feeling of eyes on his back never left as he continued to move through the maze of twisted metal buildings. He needed to find a way out of this hellish place, and fast. Pulling out his cigarette case, the part he used to disguise himself, Spy fiddled with it as he walked; but it was dead just like his cloak and dagger device. He almost threw it to the ground in frustration, but thought better of it and placed it back inside his jacket pocket.
His unease was not letting up, and the feeling of being followed had the hair on his head standing on edge. Pulling out the Ambassador in a swift movement, Spy held it tightly in his grasp, ready to fire if anything came his way. The sound of tumbling rocks caught his attention and he stealthily moved in the direction where the sound came from; ready to take whatever, or whoever it was by surprise.
Coming to the corner, Spy paused and held his breath before peaking around it. A flash of red had him ducking back around the corner as he readied himself. Gun ready, he turned and aimed. The space was empty and he slowly began to move forward, glancing at the buildings as he passed, looking for the figure he had seen.
A slight thump and rocks skittering sounded behind had Spy's heart stopping; he had been out maneuvered. A cold barrel was pressed against his back along with the sound of a soft click as the weapon was made ready to fire.
"Unfreakin believable!" The Bostonian accent had Spy whipping around, ignoring the gun at his back as he came face to face with the one and only RED Scout. The boy jumped back away from him as he turned to face him. Scout still had his gun aimed at his chest as the boy glared back at him.
"Scout?! Mon dieu, I must be in 'ell if you're here." Spy said, annoyed that of all the people he could have run into, why did it have to be this boy? With his free hand, Spy rubbed one of his temples as Scout watched his every move, the threat clear on his face; if he tried anything funny he would have a chest full of lead.
"What's your game, Spy?" Scout finally asked, his voice full of hate and all of it directed at him.
"Pardon? I don't have any idea what you 're talking about." Spy said in a cool tone as he met the kid's blue eyes. The boy's hands were steady, but he could detect just a hint of unease and fear in those depths.
"Don't fuck with me." The kid nearly growled.
"Do not worry, I would never set my standers so low." Spy said with a smirk which seemed to irk the Scout enough that his grip tightened on his gun and he could see his jaw clench together.
"I should just kill you now." Scout growled.
"And to what purpose would that even serve, but leave you alone in this place?" He replied. It seemed as if the boy hadn't realized the potential hazard of their situation. With a sigh Spy holstered his weapon and held his hands out before him, showing he wasn't going to cause the boy any harm. Spy would rather not play a game of Russian roulette with the respawn machine in this place.
"Don't play dumb with me." Scout shouted as he lowered his own gun a fraction of an inch. "I know this has to be some trick of yours."
Spy was about to growl out a denial, but was startled by the sound of metal banging against metal above them causing Scout to jump, his gun going off in the processes. Spy flinched to the side and glanced over at the wall, which was now full of holes. That had been too close for comfort, a few inches more and he would have been hit; the kid was too trigger happy.
"Stop messing with me!" Scout shouted, his blue eyes flicking over the dark buildings.
"I am not messing with you boy. You almost shot me!" The Frenchman shouted as he gestured to wall.
"You're the one who trapped me here. This is all your fault." Scout yelled, his voice had a slight tremor to it, an unease in the movement of his feet that continued to shift as he looked about. Spy would be able to disarm him easily enough, but he needed to get him to calm down and see reason.
"If you would just fucking listen to me for a moment and we can figure this out." He said calmly, raising his hands up a bit as he began to walk towards the boy. Being shot here did not sound like a good option.
"No, no, you are just tricking me so you can fucking sink your knife in my back again. I don't know what you did, but you are gonna take me back home, or I'll fucking kill you right here." Scout's eyes were dark blue, cloudy with fear, confusion and mistrust; but a threat nonetheless. Spy growled angrily at the threat that this child…child! Dared talk to him like that. A few steps closer and he would be able to disarm him safely.
"You idiot! Do you really think I would trap myself in the place? Think, Scout, use that tiny brain of yours for once." Spy snarled, trying to keep him distracted as he crept closer. Scout began shaking his head, the gun in his hand trembling as if he was unsure of what to believe. He was pressing his luck, Spy knew, but he was getting closer. One wrong move and Scout, who was prone to acting rash, would most likely shoot him point blank in his chest. Would he even respawn if that happened?
Coming into close proximity of the boy, Spy acted quickly and shoved the kid against the wall. The air rushed out of the boy's lungs with an oomph from the impact, his gun flying from his hand as it skittered across the ground. Spy pinned Scout's hands above his head, snarling as Scout struggled and kicked out as he tried to free himself from the tight grip.
"Will you shut up and just think for a second?" Spy shouted as he glared at the Bostonian, who was glaring right back at him.
"Let me go you freak! I'm going to kill you so hard, you won't respawn for a year." Scout shouted right back, his struggling increasing to break free, but Spy had a firm grip on the boy. Encasing the boy's two hands into one of his, Spy slapped Scout across the face, causing the young man to stop his struggling and stare wide eyed at him, mouth hanging open.
"Killing me isn't going to solve anything. You will still be stuck 'ere in this place all alone. So calm down." His voice was low and menacing.
Something must have gotten through that thick skull as Scout quit his struggles, but his chest still heaved up and down. They were so close now that their chests were nearly touching. Scout broke eye contact and looked away. Slowly releasing his hands, Spy stepped back and watched as the boy rubbed his wrists, his eyes still averted. Heaving a sigh, Spy went and picked up Scouts gun from the ground and waited before holding it out to him.
Blue eyes blinked back at him, eyes focusing as he took the weapon. He heard a muttered thanks, which Spy just nodded at and turned away, glancing up at the sky which was slowly getting darker. The silence dragged on between the two mercenaries.
"Now what?" Scout finally asked.
"What do you mean?" Spy replied, looking back at Scout who let out a low growl.
"Don't play me." His arms and hands gestured around them. "What are we gonna do? How are we gonna get outta this place?"
"We are not going to do anything." Spy said with a small smirk. "I, on the other hand, am going to find a way out of this place." Waving his hand in a dismissive motion and turning away from the boy and walking before he continued. "But..if you want to follow me around like a lost little puppy, you may do so."
"Yeah right, you would just back stab me the second you had a chance. I ain't stupid Spy." Scout said as he folded his arms over his chest.
"Really, if I wanted to kill you, I would 'ave done so already. Besides, it would be pointless killing you as you are, unfortunately, worth more alive to me than dead at the moment." A cold breeze had some of the buildings creak and moaning around them. Letting out a sigh, Spy stopped and looked over his shoulder. Scout was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his face a plethora of emotions, unsure whether to follow after him or not.
"Are you coming?" He asked before turning around and continuing on. He only counted to three before he heard footsteps and an indignant Scout angrily muttered behind him.
"You better not try anything funny Frenchie." Scout threatened as he finally caught up. Spy just rolled his eyes at the pitiful excuse of a threat.
"I'm shaking in my suit." He responded dryly and had to suppress his chuckle as Scout cursed under his breath.
The sky was slowly getting darker as they traveled through the streets. Undistinguishable noise came from within the darkness of the buildings; the breeze sounded like whispers, along with displaced scratching sounds that were difficult to pinpoint and seemed to echo around them. It was unnerving.
They had been walking for a while, and Spy decided it was time for a rest. He was tired of walking and listening to Scout complain about his feet hurting and being bored out of his mind. Spy was debating whether to kill the kid just to shut him up. Scout sat on the ground, back against a wall as he tossed his baseball up into the air.
"This place was a big city at some point." Scout said.
"What?" Spy asked as he pulled a cigarette out and lighted it. He leaned against the wall next to the boy and took a long drag, letting the smoke sooth his frayed nerves.
"This place, it's a city." Scout repeated as he turned his ball over and over in his hands a few times before throwing it up into the air again.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, the way the buildings are placed, the streets, just the size. It has a sense of familiarity, if I compare it to my own hometown." Scout looked up and met Spy's gaze. "There was a lot of thought put into the plans for the layout and the structures than a normal city." The boy shrugged before tossing the ball back into the air again.
Spy hummed around his cigarette, a frown on his face as Scout seemed to be lost in thought a moment before continuing. "The buildings are built really high, almost like they had run out of space to expand, so they started to build the only way they could which was up, most likely to keep up with population growth." Scout rolled the ball in his hands, lost back into his thoughts.
Frowning, Spy looked down at the kid before looking away. That had sounded far too intelligent to come out of Scout's mouth; but the kid did have a point. This placed could have been a large city at some point, and if that was the case, what had happened to cause it to fall into ruin? And where were all the people?
A sharp gust of wind came through, kicking up dust into the air, bringing with it echoes of shattered screams and the screech of metal. Scout bolted up from the ground, his small pistol in his hand as he whipped around in a tight circle, eyes peeled for danger.
"You are like a little bunny, jumping at the wind." Spy said with a small smirk. Scout turned to face him, a dark look on his face.
"Go to hell, this place is fucking creepy. Bet you feel right at home because you're a creep…get it?" Scout shot back before laughing loudly at his own joke.
Rolling his eyes, Spy took the last pull of his cigarette, letting the smoke fill his lungs and calm his nerves before flicking the dead stump to the ground. Scout was like a young annoying child, the only one laughing at his own jokes. A sharp clang of metal falling to the ground echoed loudly around them and Scout's laughter died quickly in his throat as the sound of something groaning and being dragged across the ground reached his ears. He pulled his own gun out and had it ready as the noise grew louder.
The horror that came around the corner was nothing he was expecting to see. It made his blood freeze in his veins, and dread fill his soul. Through all of his years of being a mercenary you see things that other normal people would never dream of seeing, but nothing could come close to the abomination that was crawling towards them.
The creature could have been human once, as it had some feature somewhat in common, but in its current shape the thing dragged itself forward, using two thin arms that were more bone then anything, the ends of them sharp and fragmented as they dug into the ground. Its face was a horror in itself; eyes bulged out of its deformed head as it gurgled a black viscous liquid that fell to the ground from its gaping mouth, the lower jaw gone so that its tongue swung uselessly as it wheezed. A trail of organs came from behind it, as if something had ripped it in half. It left a trail of black blood as some of the organs still pumped and pulsed as if refusing to die. The wind sent a putrid smell of something rotten, in the heights of decay. Spy wondered how it was even still alive. The sound of Scout gagging and dry heaving came from behind him.
"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?" Scout began to chant. It was loud enough to get the creatures attention as it paused, its head turned towards them as could only be its nose sniffed the air. It grunted excitedly and began to head towards them, its movement's jerky but quick.
"Scout." Spy hissed out as the thing gurgled, pulling itself faster across the ground. Scout let out a shriek that was quickly followed by five rapid gun shots.
The body crawling towards them convulsed as Scouts bullets dug into the rotting flesh. Black blood gurgled and oozed from its mouth which pooled onto the ground as a high pitched shriek filtered out of its mouth. Turning back to face Scout who was pale and eyes wide in fear. He was almost positive his own face mirrored the boys perfectly. They had to move as the thing kept crawling at them at a more determined pace.
"Move!" Spy shouted as he pushed Scout into running down a tight pathway. He tried to stay as close as possible behind the kid, but he was fast and started to fall behind as they ran.
They ran a good distance until that creature was lost behind them. Scout came to a stop, panting hard as he bent over, his hands on his knees as he began puking his guts out. After his stomach was empty, Scout moved back a bit and collapsed on the ground, head in his hands.
"What the hell was that?" He asked looking up at Spy, his blue eyes full of fear. "The bullets didn't even slow it down. What the fuck is going on?"
"I do not know." Spy said honestly, his eyes casting about for danger. It seemed as if they had at least lost that abomination.
Their rest was short lived as a loud high pitched shriek sounded above them. Scout jumped to his feet as they both looked up above them. Another monster looked down at them, its eyes red and glowing eerily in the fading light, a dark cavernous mouth opened revealing rows of sharp needle like teeth. It had six arm-like appendages and seemed to clutch easily to the metal and concrete walls of the building. It moved smoothly and quickly as he hung upside down staring at them.
"Scout," Spy said quietly. "Run." Turning he gave the kid a shove to get him going.
A loud howl sounded behind them and glancing over his shoulder Spy saw that thing coming after them. It used the buildings, running along the sides, its appendages easily grabbing onto and propelling itself forward. Spinning, Spy took aim and shot into the beast, but his bullets did nothing to stop or even slow down its pursuit of them. Cursing, he spun back around and collided into Scout's back, sending them both forward into the brick wall. It was a dead end.
The beast continued to growl and make clicking and grunting noises as it closed in on them. Scout pulled out his Force of Nature and began to fire at the thing as it dropped to the ground in front of them. It didn't slow down. Its blood ran from the small wounds but showed no signs of stopping.
Spy reloaded his own weapon and began to fire it into the beasts face, blasting chunks of blackened flesh from it. One last shot hit its mark and the beast collapsed to the ground, its momentum taking it a few more feet forward. A gush of air escaped its mouth and then was still. Scout peeked over his shoulder to get a better look at the thing that tried to kill them.
"Whoohoo, we killed it!" Scout let out a bubbling laugh and fist pumping the air before moving towards it.
"I would not get to close to it, it might be playing dead." Spy cautioned the boy, trying to get control of his beating heart.
"Nah, Spy it's dead." Scout said as he poked at it with his foot. "The ladies are gonna be all over me once I tell them I kill monsters too."
Spy rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to comment on Scouts inability to pick up girls when a flash of white lunged at the boy, knocking him to the ground kicking dirt into the air. He acted without thinking, pulling his knife out and running to Scouts aid, even before the dust had settled. Spy froze before he got to him.
The RED Medic had Scout pinned underneath his body, a knee pressed against the boy's chest, his bone saw against his neck, ready to rip it across the jugular.
"D-Doc?" Scout stuttered out, afraid that at any moment the doctor would finish him off by slitting his throat open.
"Herr Scout?" Medic asked, his eyes staring down at the kid in confusion. He pulled the sharp bone saw away from the runner's neck and a thin trail of blood bubbled up from the small cut.
The RED doctor stood up sharply and backed up, leaving Scout on the ground who sat up and stared at the mad surgeon, unsure what to do and afraid that the man may decide to finish what he started.
"Vat…?" Medic stared as he looked back and forth between the two other mercenaries and his bone saw, which was held tightly in his grasp.
"Come on Doc, it's me, Scout." The boy stood and moved towards Spy's side, a hand pressed to his neck where he had been cut. Medic frowned and glanced at his team mate, blue eyes narrowing behind his glasses. The RED Medic had seen better days, that was for sure. The once pristine white coat was streaked with dirt and dark blood, even some of the black sludge that seemed prevalent on the creatures and tears and holes peppered through it. A bigger red-brown patch had spread over one of his shoulders, but must have been at least a day old.
"Scout, I think it best if you keep your mouth shut for once." Spy said softly under his breath, causing the German's eyes to lock onto him.
"Zhis is a trap." The Medic said in a tone of finality. Turning towards the fallen creature, he took his bone saw and rammed it through its skull, a crunching sound made him wince as it tore through the spinal cord, black blood splattering across his already filthy lab coat.
"Calm yourself Doctor, the creature was already dead." Spy said.
"You can never be too careful Herr Spy." Medic replied as he flicked the bone saw to the side of him, causing more blood to splatter against the ground by his feet.
"Doc, come on man, we've been lookin for ya everywhere. Sniper made me look through the whole base, twice!" Scout said, holding up two fingers.
"If you are trying to fool me, you are going to have to try harder. Although, you two are better than some of zee other illusions I have come across." Cool blue eyes glanced at them, cold and calculating.
"Doctor, I believe you are mistaken. We are no trick of this nightmarish place." Spy said as he pulled out a cigarette, sticking it between his lips unlit. Those blue eyes locked onto him before the clouded with confusion.
"You are zee BLU Spy." Medic said simply as he took more notice of them. Scout jumped over to the Medic's side and grinned wickedly at him, Spy only glared at the childish smirk on the boy's face.
"Don't worry Doc, we have him outnumbered. He won't be able to do anything and if he does we will just kill him." Scout said, pulling out his baseball bat, ready to leap forward and bash in Spy's skull. Quick in a flash, Spy had his knife in his hand, pointed at the kid.
"I would like to see you try." Spy challenged.
"Nein!" Medic shouted, and grabbed Scout's shoulder, yanking him back. "Do not be stupid. We need all zee help we can get in zhis place. I cannot heal you if you get hurt."
"What do you mean you cannot 'eal him?" Spy questioned, noticing for the first time that the Medic's was missing his key item for battle.
"Zee Medi-gun does not vork here." Medic answered, pushing up his glasses.
"Doesn't work?" Scout sounded a bit panicked at the notion.
"Keep your voice down." Medic hissed. "Zhey will hear us."
"They?" Spy asked, finally lighting his cigarette as Medic pointed a gloved finger at the corpse of the monsters.
"zhose zhings. Zhey come out vhen it gets dark to hunt. Zhey are nightmares come to life." Medic shuttered and Scout looked concerned stepping a bit closer to Medic in fear.
"What do you suggest we do?" Spy asked.
"Ve stick together." Medic held out a red gloved hand to Spy.
"Agreed." Spy replied, taking the gloved hand and sealing the deal as Scout made a squawk of displeasure.
"Ve need to move. It is getting dark and I half a temporary shelter nearby. It should be safe for zee night." Medic said as he looked up at the dark sky, a frown on his face. Turning, he gestured for them to follow.
Medic led them through a winding pathway, moving through some of the more dilapidated buildings. Scout moved next to Spy and walked with him as they followed the RED Medic. Spy glanced down at him but Scout didn't look back, just clenched his jaw before opening his mouth.
"I fucking hate you." Scout hissed, still refusing to look at the BLU before he moved ahead to walk next to Medic. Spy rolled his eyes at the comment; honestly, killing the boy might just save them all a headache in the end. Looking at the blood stains on the Doctor had him changing his mind. It would be better to wait until they were back home.
Medic headed towards a rust colored building to a broken window and jumped inside, gesturing for them to do the same. "Vatch your step and count to forty." He said as they came to a stair case and began climbing to the higher floors.
"Why is it so freakin dark?" Scout muttered before he let out a short shout as he tripped up the stairs, knocking into Spy who cursed at him. Medic just rolled his eyes as they came to the landing.
"Can't you two be quite for a second? Ve are almost zhere." Medic whispered at them as they came to a door. Pulling it open, Medic shoved the two idiots inside before pulling the door closed behind them. Then he grabbed a heavy sheet of metal and dragged in front of the door as well for extra security. When he turned he caught Spy's eyes in the dim light of the room.
"Better safe zhan sorry." He told him before looking away and turning towards Scout. The boy was peering out the small window that provided the meager amount of light that would be gone within a few hours.
Medic knelt down on the ground where he had a small stack of old, splintered wood. He began to place them strategically in order to get a fire going. After the first few failed attempts, the BLU Spy moved down next to him and held out the lighter to him. Medic nodded his thanks and after a moment had a small fire going. Heaving a sigh, Medic flopped back against one of the walls as Spy sat opposite him across the fire.
Pulling out a cigarette, the BLU placed it into his mouth before offering him one. Taking the cigarette, he lit it before passing the lighter back to Spy and inhaled deeply.
"Danke." Medic breathed out as the smoke wisped above him. He gave a small sigh of pleasure.
"Don't mention it." Spy said, enjoying his own cigarette. Leaning his head back against the wall, Medic let himself enjoy the moment of peace.
"So, how long 'ave you been in this 'ellish place?" The Spy asked him.
"A day or two, I honestly don't remember." He shrugged, not lifting his head as he brought the cigarette back to his lips. Scout moved away from the window and flopped down next to him, stretching his hands over the fire to warm them.
"Well, we have been searching for you for about two days." Scout said. "Heavy had the whole team looking after the battle when he couldn't find you. Hell, we even attached the BLU base thinking they had you tied up and being tortured."
Medic's eyes glanced at Scout when he mentioned Heavy's name. Heavy had looked for him? It made Medic's heart speed up in his chest with warmth spreading through him. He wanted to know more and was about to ask but Spy interrupted him with a scoff.
"That is the reason you attacked our base? Honestly you RED's are very impractical. Your team could have just asked us."
"Just so you could lie? Yeah right, you BLU Scumbags can't be trusted." Scout said sharply. "And besides, our Spy saw our Medic tied up in your team's infirmary." The boy folded his arms with a smug look on his face. Medic groaned and let his head fall back against the wall. The two rivals had started bickering he would have to wait to ask about Heavy.
"It was the BLU Medic he saw, you incompetent little fool. 'Ee was with 'eavy all day, blowing off steam and trying to relax like the rest of us."
"I'm getting real sick of your voice." Scout snarled.
"The feeling is mutual." Spy said smugly, taking another slow drag off his cig.
"That's it, I'm gonna bash your fucking skull in." Scout growled as he moved and grabbed his baseball bat.
"Just so I can kill you again, hmmm? You haven't been doing too well out on the kill floor lately." The butterfly knife flashed quickly through the Frenchman's hand, ready as Spy smirked at the runner. Both mercenaries were tense and ready to lunge and rip each other's throats out.
"Enough! Vhat part of I can't heal you did you not understand? I do not know vat vill happen if you die." Medic shouted.
"But you don't know. I could respawn back at the base for all you know, right?" Scout said, his blue eyes dark as he watched Spy, his legs began to twitch, ready to move.
"Excellent idea, I take it you are volunteering for the job? Either way I won't 'ave to listen to your annoying voice."
Medic gritted his teeth, honestly, maybe it was better when he was all alone. At least then he could hear his own thoughts. Their arguing was getting to him and a headache was beginning to form.
"Forget how to count? There are two of us RED's here, just in case you forgot how." The Bostonians accent was dripping with cockiness.
Taking another deep hit, Medic tried to quell his anger. Honestly, did Scout not realize what kind of situation they were all in? This place was dangerous and it was better to have Spy on their side then against; safety in numbers.
"Herr Scout, zhat is enough!" He finally shouted, standing and whacking Scout upside the head. Medic's glare caused the kids cocky smile to fall from his lips. He brought one of his bandaged hands to where he had been smacked and rubbed it. "Vhy must you alvays pick fights? Can you not go two minutes without annoying zhe people around you? You have seen zee monsters here, yet you choose to pick a fight vith Spy who is in zhe same situation as us; and somehow you seem to ruin every single morning in zhe base as vell…vhen you show up and irate zee only person I vant to have breakfast with!" Medic was panting slightly at the end of his rant, he brought the cigarette to his lips to breath in the last of it.
He hadn't meant for that last part to slip out, but it had crushed him to think he didn't even get to have breakfast with Heavy before he had been dragged to this hellish place, and Scout was not helping the situation.
The boy's eyes went wide and he opened and closed his mouth before letting his baseball bat drop and clatter to the floor. He turned and moved away from them and the fire to one of the corners and pulled his knees to his chest, just like a child who had just been scolded. He kept his eyes averted from the two men.
"Well, I think he will think twice before he opens his mouth again." Spy said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the room. Medic let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Can I ask you a question Herr Spy?" Medic had been thinking, ever since he respawned here, on the how and whys this could have happened. Now he had an opportunity to ask some questions and he wanted answers.
"As long as I get to ask a few of my own. A trade of information, if you will." Spy said. Medic nodded, of course the Spy would want information as well.
"Fair enough. Vhat happened before you voke up in zhis place?" He asked the BLU.
"Well, after you're team decided to attack our base, I followed Scout back to their set up. Killed the boy and entered the room, only to get blasted to bits by the Engineers sentry." There was an underlying hint of bitterness in the man's voice before he cleared his throat. "How did you die?"
"Your Solider took me out vith one of his rockets, during zhe last battle. I voke up here." Medic shrugged. "How did you and Herr Scout find each other?"
"By chance, I assure you. I was trying to find a way out of this place when he tricked me and came from behind, ready to kill me as he thought all this was my doing." Spy huffed. "What 'appened to your shoulder?"
Medic raised a hand and gently ran his gloved fingers over the cut in the fabric. The blood had dried leaving it stained and dirty. He had bandaged the wound the best that he could. With the Medi gun not working, he would have to wait for help or a rescue.
"I ran into something much vorse than vhat you have seen. I managed to get away, but not unscathed. It vas around zhat time I realized zhat the Medi gun was not functioning in zhis place."
"You 'ave managed to survive mostly intact for someone of your classification, I'm sure solider would 'ave just cut off his arm and called it good." Spy smirked and Medic couldn't help but chuckle.
"Now, are you talking about my Solider or yours?" He said with a grin.
"Both, I would 'ate to see them in the same room outside the battle field." Spy gave a shudder and let out a low laugh, enjoying the moment of comradery.
"Vhen you died, vas there anything different?"
"Nothing comes to mind."
"Any sounds?" Medic asked quietly. It had been the only thing that stuck out to him, in his final moments before he respawned.
"What kind of sounds?"
"Static." Medic breathed out, the word causing a chill to run down his spine.
"There might 'ave been some static mixed in with the ringing in my ears. You can thank Scout for that." Spy rubbed at his temple in a tired gesture. "When you found us, you did not think we were real, why?"
Medic thought for a long while as he stared into the fire between them and Scout groaned softly. He glanced over at the kid who was shaking slightly, his arms wrapped around his body and Medic frowned before looking back to Spy.
"My first night here vas not a pleasant one. It vas night when I arrived and zee monsters were out hunting. I learned very quickly zhat some creatures were smarter zhan the ones zhat just chase you." He shuddered involuntarily as he remembered that night. "Some of them create illusions, messing vith your mind, others make you hear voices zhat are not there. Vhen I came across you two, I figured I had either gone mad or you were illusions."
Scout made a noise that had both of them looking over at him. The boy was messing with his bandages on his hands and sweat dotted his forehead. Medic frowned and opened his mouth to ask if he was alright.
"What do you plan on doing with your medi gun?" Spy asked and pointed at the pack that rested against the wall.
"Oh, I leave it vhere I make camp for zee night. I run faster without it on, but I take it with me vhen looking for a new place to camp. It's not safe to stay in one place for too long."
Spy hummed around his cigarette in understanding. That would mean they would have to find a new place to camp in the morning. The room fell quiet, each lost in their own thoughts about what lay outside the room they were in.
"My watch and disguise device doesn't work either." The Frenchman said after a while as he stared into the flickering flames.
"I wonder why zhey don't work in zhis place." Medic muttered out loud as he messed around with all the information he had on this place. There were still many gaps and holes missing to complete the puzzle; but he would find them. Scout shifted around and Medic cast a quick glance at him. The boy seemed restless and kept shifting around, a frown on his face. One of his legs began to bounce up and down, his eyes widening. Medic could see his breathing getting more harsh and ragged.
"What is wrong with 'im?" Spy asked and Medic noted that there was some genuine concerned in his voice. Scout's eyes had widened even further, showing all white around his iris before Scout bolted upright and rushed to the window.
"Mom?!" He screamed out the window, his head jerking around trying to find something out in the darkness below. "MOM! Where are you?" He shouted as he raised a foot to slip out the window, even though they were up too high for a safe jump outside.
Medic bolted up from the ground and wrapped an arm around the kid's waist and clamping his other gloved hand over Scout's mouth, dragging him away from the window. Scout struggled to break free of his grasp.
"What the 'ell?" Spy whispered loudly as he moved and began to help pull Scout away from the window to the other side of the room.
"It is one of those creatures I mentioned. It is messing vith his mind." He had to yank his hand away from Scout's mouth after teeth sank through the thick rubber.
"I do not 'ear anything." Spy growled as Scout scratched at him trying to get free.
"Mom!" Scout yelled.
"Zhat is because you can't, only zee person being effected can hear it. It mimics voices of people you know in hopes you vill go toward zee voice." Medic hissed back at Spy.
"Let me go, please! My mom's out there, she needs my help, can't you hear her?" Scout shouted, tears in his eyes as he tried to break free of their hold. "Oh god, please she's hurt and needs me. Can't you hear her? MOM!"
"Scout, your mother isn't out zhere. It is a trap, one of those monsters using mind tricks. Zhey are not real, Scout. You have to ignore them." Medic shouted over Scouts pleading.
Spy grabbed a hold of Scouts hands, holding them between his own so the kid couldn't hurt them or himself as he tried to lash out at them, trying to break free. Scout suddenly froze, tears rolling down his face, his lips trembling.
"No, oh god no, my b-brother." Scout whimpered. "Please, he needs my help, I have to go to him." Blue eyes turned towards Spy. "I have to help him, please."
"Zhere is no one there Scout. You have to ignore the voices, zhey are only in your head." Medic placed his hands over Scout's ears, a useless gesture knowing full well that the boy would still be able to hear them.
""How is that going to 'elp if the voices are in his head?" Spy asked as he held Scout's hands.
"It won't, but it might help him realize zee voices are in his head, not in zee real world."
"You 'ave experienced this before?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
There had been many voices the monster had used. They had all been easy to ignore, knowing that they could not be here in this nightmarish place. But then it had used Heavy's voice and Medic had felt ice flow through his veins. A part of his mind knew it was a trap, but doubts surfaced, thinking perhaps the Russian had been killed and had respawned here as well. He had given in and went towards the voice.
He had rushed out, searching for Heavy, hoping to believe he had come for him and get him out of this nightmarish place. As he had turned the corner he had come face to face with a mouth wide open with a grin and full of very sharp teeth.
In a flash he recognized his mistake as the creature took a swipe at him with its sharp claws. One of them had raked down his shoulder, trying to grab a hold of him as he turned to flee. It was not a pleasant memory.
Scout let out some soft whimpers which brought Medic back to the present as he watched the boy's internal struggle. The doctor knew the boy only wanted to help his family, but the only thing Scout would find out there was horror and death. Medic pressed his hands tighter over Scout's ears.
"How long does this last?" Spy asked as he released Scouts hands as the boy calmed down. The BLU moved to sit next to the kid.
"Sometimes a few minutes, sometimes hours."
Scout pressed his hands over Medic's as he tried to block out more of the sound. The boy's breathing was still too fast and he had squeezed his eyes shut as his body trembled. Spy lit another cigarette as he sat down next to the kid before placing a hand on Scout's shoulder and giving it an encouraging squeeze.
"Mon dieu." The BLU breathed out, not believing that Scout had been reduced to his shell of a child.
"Vhen you hear the voices Herr Spy, please try and take them better zhan Scout has." Medic almost pleaded, not wanting to deal with this again as he looked at Scout's trembling form.
"And what makes you think I will 'ear them?"
"You vill."
After a few hours, things had quieted down. Medic kept one eye on Scout who had curled up in the corner and fallen asleep after he voices left him. The kid was emotionally drained and exhausted, dried tear tracks down his face. Medic closed his own eyes exhausted.
"I can keep watch for a few 'ours if you want to sleep." Spy's voice said quietly. Opening his eyes he looked at the BLU who was looking out the window, cigarette between his fingers as he scanned the black sky which was void of any stars.
"Thank you Herr Spy, I vill in a few minutes." He mumbled as he yawned.
"And I will keep an eye on the boy as well." He said dismissively.
Medic almost chuckled at their predicament; Spy and Scout had hated each other since the very beginning of the war and now they were stuck here together.
"Do not stare at the glowing eyes, zhey will start to mess with your head." Medic warned before yawning again.
"Another thing you 'ave experience?" Spy asked as he glanced briefly at him before glancing back out into the darkness.
"Ja, my own curiosity vill be my down fall. The mimickers are one of zee worst." He replied pushing up his glasses to his forehead and let out a long sigh, he heard Spy move away from the window and sit across from him.
Medic glanced at him, their eyes conversing with an understanding of each other in the silence before Spy sat up and placed a bit more wood on the small fire between them. The flames licked greedily on the old dry rotted wood, giving some warm but most specifically light into the room. Just before he went to lay down Spy jerked his head and his eyes went wide as he stared at the window. Medic could hear him swallow loudly as he turned back to the fire, visibly shaken.
"You were right, I think I just figured out what you mean by the voices." His voice trembled softly, and he took a deep drag off his cigarette, holding it in a bit before expelling the smoke. Medic watched as Spy's hands clenched into fists before snubbing out the cig on the ground and bringing his own hands up to cover his ears a moment before pulling them away. "Merde." He breathed and glanced at the corner where Scout was curled up asleep.
"Anyone important calling for you?" Medic asked with a frown but Spy didn't look at him, his eyes still looking at Scout unblinking.
"No." The answer was sharp and quick. Spy pulled out another cigarette as his hands trembled softly, his eyes still watching the runner.
"Vill you be alright?"
"Yes, I can still keep watch, you need rest. I will be fine…I can ignore the voices." Spy replied as he looked away from Scout and waved a hand of dismissal at him. He lit the cig and drew in a deep breath of the smoke, exhaling it back out as he watched the fire. Nodding, Medic leaned his head back against the wall and let himself slip quickly into a much needed dreamless sleep.
There was an uneasy atmosphere in the RED base. After the meeting in the workshop it became clear that something had to be done. The respawn had to be fixed. The threat of not respawning had everyone fearful, so much so that both teams agreed the ceasefire would continue until the problem was solved. The RED's, however, were more reluctant at the demanded compromise thrown their way. With most of the BLU base in shambles and barely livable thanks to the RED's attack, they had no choice but to allow the BLU's entry until their base was fixed as well.
BLU Soldier huffed as he pushed the rec room's table to the other end of the room. The screech of the table skidding across the floor was cringe worthy. When the table stopped suddenly the BLU looked up to see his counterpart with his hands on the table defensively and a very displeased look on his face.
"What in Sam hell do you think you're doing?" The RED Soldier shouted.
"Why don't you lift the helmet from your eyes so you can see better, cupcake."
The RED shoved the table back harshly. "This goes back over there!"
"In our base it goes over there!" The BLU returned with a hard shove of his own.
"Take a look around. This is not your base."
"Want me to remind you what happened to our base?"
Both Soldier's stared at each other dangerously from opposite sides of the table. Both held on to the hunk of wood with iron death grips refusing to step down from the other. Their staring match ended with the thunderous stomping of feet rushing over in their direction. Dragging two chairs over the BLU Pyro plopped down with his coloring book and assortment of crayons. The RED Pyro wasn't far behind as she sat next to them with a few of her favorite plushies in hand.
They exchanged mumphs happily. The BLU pushed its book over and offered a crayon. The RED took it excitedly and pushed their stuffed toy towards the BLU to share. BLU Pyro let out a squeal as they picked up the toy and held it close to their mask. The two sat at the table, which was now awkwardly placed off center in the room with both Soldiers looking very defeated and unsure what to do now.
Harsh laughter echoed in the room as the RED Demo doubled over at the sight with his hand over his mouth.
"And what's so funny, ya drunk?" BLU Soldier demanded.
"Nothin'." Demo shot back with a snicker. "Ya just make such funny faces sometimes." The BLU soldier ground his teeth as he adjusted his helmet. It took all his effort not to rush over to give the scott a punch in his good eye.
"Pyro's get out of those chairs!" The RED Soldier demanded. The two looked up with tilted heads not sure what they had done wrong. "You have to the count of three." He held up two fingers as an example.
"They ain't doin' nothin' wrong!" BLU Sniper finally snapped from the edge of the room.
"They're interfering with important business."
"'Cause interior decoratin' is real important."
RED Soldier stood firm. "That's right, it IS."
"Ya know Soldier, if you want something to do you can go over and start fixin' that mess in the other base."
"I'm not cleaning that up." BLU Soldier shouted back.
"I wasn't talking to you, ya bloody idiot." Sniper pinched the bridge of his nose. Demo howled again with laughter earning another sneer from the BLU soldier.
"This is bloody amazing! We shoulda done this ages ago!" Demo took a swig of his drink. "Course it woulda been better unda betta circumstances." BLU soldier let out a humpf as he folded his arms over his chest. "Now don' be like dat Solly. Can I call you Solly? Maybe ya would like a drink?" He offered the bottle up to the other man. The BLU soldier looked at his counterpart. He looked back with a judging scowl on his face. His answer was obvious.
"Hand the bottle here."
"That's the spirit!" Demo gave the BLU a hard slap on the shoulder and handed him the bottle.
Sniper rubbed his temple and sighed feeling a headache coming on. Having endured enough of their presence he turned on his heel and left the room. The situation was grim indeed and most of them were treating it as a joke. Sniper entered the kitchen and spotted the REDs coffee pot. God knows he needed it. Just as he grabbed a mug there was the sound of footsteps as someone else entered the room. Sniper turned to see the RED Engineer holding one of his toolboxes. "Hey RED, how are things going?"
Engie sighed. "We're still looking at the system. Haven't found anything yet. Course it'd help if we knew what we were lookin' for." Enige's voice died down a bit as he opened the fridge. He slid two beers into his tool belt and readjusting his grip on his toolbox. "We'll let ya'll know if we find somethin'." Sniper nodded. "And if any us want to go back to your base I've just set up a teleporter in your workshop."
Sniper grunted. "Yeah…" Not seeing why anyone would want to go back with it still being a mess.
RED Sniper sighed as he lifted his hat from his eyes. He was sitting alone on the roof to gather his thoughts. Everything had turned crazy so fast. He couldn't help but think of Scout. He had gotten to know the kid well over the time they had worked together. He supposed it was because he never knew when to stop talking. Sniper didn't mind though. He assumed that's what it would be like if he had had a younger brother.
He stood with his hands on his back and stretched. He muttered quietly to himself as he walked back inside. How would his family take the news? Unlike his own parents, who knew exactly what kind of things were happening, with the exception of the respawn and other kept secrets, Scout's family had no idea. The kid had confessed one time saying he convinced his mother that he was in no danger. That he rarely even saw battle. A lie just so she wouldn't worry about him. Even after that it looked like she'd still be getting the shock of her life. He wondered how the news would be told.
Walking through the hall he spotted the RED Spy leaning against the wall rolling a cigarette between his fingers, a bitter look on his face. He had been sulking since that morning. He didn't take being wrong or ridiculed in stride at all. As Sniper drew closer he looked up with a sneer on his face.
"This whole ordeal is sickening." He flicked his cigarette at the bushman. It bounced of his shoulder and tumbled to the floor. Sniper raised an eyebrow at the Frenchman as he stepped on the potential fire hazard. "If I had known such absurd things would happen I would have quit long ago."
"Losing your patience already?"
"And you're not?" Spy ground his teeth and folded his arms over his chest. "Dealing with you idiots was painful enough. Now there are more buffoons wandering about." He stepped forward getting uncomfortably close to Sniper's face." They were in my smoking room. MY smoking room."
Sniper pushed spy away with a glare in his face. "Deal with it wanker."
"Their Scout is by far the worst." Spy ignored Sniper and continued his rant. "That boy doesn't simply intrude. He rifles through anything he gets his hands on."
"I don't care." Sniper growled making his way past the stubborn man.
"You will when he finds his way into your van. Maybe he'll go there once he's done in Scout's room." Spy said bitterly as he pulled out his cigarette case.
That caught Snipers attention. He paused briefly before continuing down the hall. He turned down where the bedrooms were. Sure enough Scout's door was open. Sniper stood in the doorway and looked in. The young BLU was crouched, looking through the bottom drawer of Scout's dresser.
"What are you bloody doing?" Sniper snapped.
The BLU Scout jumped and whirled around quickly. "Oh, I-I just.."
Sniper didn't let him finish as he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Stop snoopin' around!"
"I'm not doing anything wrong! I wasn't stealing!" The Bostonian quickly defended as he was dragged from the room. "It's not like it matters anyway. He's dead."
Sniper dropped him roughly. He sent down a cold stare making the BLU flinch. "Listen ya brat. I don't give a damn about our little situation here. You step outta line, ceasefire or not, I won't hesitate to put a bullet in that tiny head of yours."
The Scout looked up with a shocked expression. He stood away from the taller man expecting him to act on his threat and took off down the hall.
Sniper growled watching him run off. He didn't feel bad. He gave a final glance into Scout's room. Nothing seemed to be out of place; though it was hard to tell. Scout's room was usually messy. Comics and trading card were sitting on his bed. His clothes scattered about on the floor. The garbage can in the corner of the room was filled well past the brim with empty cans of bonk and crumpled letters he deemed not worthy enough to be sent home.
That last one he actually had in common with him, minus the bonk.
He sighed and shut the door. He rubbed the back of his neck and began making his way outside. With a lot of things on his mind he could think of nothing better to do than to go on a calming drive. Maybe go to town like he had originally planned. Buy a few cases of beer. It seemed like everyone was taking to the bottle over the last few days. Sniper was no exception.
Heavy sat quietly in the kitchen. He hadn't spoken to anyone in a long while. People had come and gone and a few had stopped by to say 'hi' or ask if he was alright. He only replied with a rough grunt. He didn't feel like talking anyway. He sat alone at the table, a half-eaten sandwich in front of him as he didn't have much of an appetite either.
He shrugged and stood up, taking the plate he walked over to the fridge and set it inside. He could always eat it later; then left the kitchen and headed for the infirmary. The doves were probably due for some attention. He opened the door and was met with a surprise. Medic was there. The doctor looked up from his bag and greeted him. "Gutentag."
A sad realization donned on Heavy as he realized it was the BLU Medic. "I hope it's alright zhat I vork in here."
Heavy nodded.
"It's a quiet place, and I vould like to be close in case anyvne gets into a fight." He continued.
"Da. Is good." Heavy replied as he walked over to a few of the perched doves. They cooed at him and hopped closer as he drew near. He reached and stroked one with his finger.
The BLU Medic watched him silently smiling. He pulled a few of his instruments out of the bag and set them on the table before speaking again. "Are zhey your birds?"
"Nyet. Are doktors birds." Heavy said simply.
"Oh." Medic watched as a dove flew down and landed on the table in front of him. It's beady eyes stared at the man with its head tilting side to side. Medic couldn't help but feel like the bird was judging him. "I vill admit zhey are beautiful, but zhey are rather unsettling."
Heavy looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Is just Archimedes." He held his hand out and the dove flew from the desk to him. "He is very smart bird."
Medic watched with intrigue as he placed Archimedes on his shoulder. The dove seemed to be quite content of its new position. "I see."
Heavy looked towards the other doves. Their seed was hardly touched and, if he knew the birds well enough, some had stayed in the same spot since that morning. "They are not well."
"Are zhey sick?"
Heavy shrugged. "They been this way since doktor disappear."
"Zhey must be sad." Medic pushed himself away from the table and stood by Heavy's side. "Animals have feelings like you and me. It's only natural zhat zhey are capably of mourning." He reached out to stroke a dove only to have it fly away from the strange man. Heavy nodded. That he had already knew.
Medic had walked back over to the table when someone walked into the lab. The BLU Scout looked between the two. Holding his balled up jacket in his arms he approach the table where medic stood.
"Herr Scout, is everything alright?"
"No doc. I hate this place! I keep gettin' yelled at for exploring."
Medic chuckled as he pat him on the head. "You do have curious eyes."
"I can't help it." Scout pouted. "And their sniper was a total dick about it! He said he was going to shoot me!"
"He vouldnt do zhat. And if he vas going to I vouldnt let him." Medic assured.
"You're the man doc." Scout smirked. "Anyway, after that I went outside to go jogging and found somethin'. I thought maybe you could look at it." Scout put his jacket on the table to show the doctor. The moment he unfolded the cloth the doves in the room took off flying about the room in a panicked frenzy. The sudden commotion startled all three in the room. Heavy and Medic both began racing about the room to catch the frightened birds, while Scout watched unsure of what to do.
It took a while to calm the doves down. Though it was now quiet the birds still looked agitated.
"That was so fucked!" Scout exclaimed looking about the room.
"Please keep your voice down, Herr Scout." Medic hushed as he stood at the table.
Heavy looked sadly down in the jacket. The lifeless dove that lay within stared back. Medic must have seen the look on his face as his hand rested comfortingly on his shoulder.
"It was still alive when I found it. I thought maybe you could help it." Scout explained. "I must have flown into a window or something."
"I doubt that." Medic said examining the dove. "It has no injuries of zhat degree. I see no injuries at all really."
"They miss doktor." Heavy stated as fact.
Scout looked at him questionably. "Ya serious? You tellin' me a bird gives up on life and dies because it misses someone? Come on big guy. It's a bird. It doesn't understand-" Scout immediately hushed from the look Medic gave him. A look that told him to be quiet.
Medic patted Heavy on the back. Heavy closed his eyes a feeling of dread upon him. The day was just getting worse and worse.
The respawn system was a complicated machine. Engie had been looking at it for hours now and was still just scratching the surface of how it worked. He looked at the monitor examining all lines of text and made notes on his clip board. He scratched the back of his ear with his pencil. Slow going as it was he wondered how his BLU counterpart was doing. He stood up from his chair. There was no harm in asking. He grabbed the beers he had left on the table and stood on the nearby teleporter. It whirled to life and he stood in the BLU workshop. The BLU Engineer looked up from his work as he appeared.
"How are things goin'?" The RED asked.
"Just as well as ya'd expect." The RED offered him a beer. "Thanks. I could use a break"
The BLU leaned away from his work, and they both sat quietly drinking. They were half way done when the RED spoke. "Have ya found anything with the respawn yet?"
"Maybe." He replied sounding a little unsure.
"What do ya mean by 'maybe'?"
The BLU gathered his thoughts before speaking. "There's a lot more to the machine then I initially thought. Have you noticed that?" The RED nodded. "I guess I should'a really expected that with it bein the machine it is but still." He picked up his own clip board. "Character information. Materialization grid? Time and location dimensions? There's even records for every respawn it's processed, for cryin' out loud!"
"Feels like we're way over our heads." The Red replied lowly.
The BLU rubbed his head before continuing. "Anyway, while I was looking at it all I noticed something. The last time our Spy died was when he went missin'. The system says he respawned...".
"That can't be right. He'd be here. That has to be the hiccup. The glitch." The RED pondered.
"I'm not so sure it's that simple." The BLU looked at his counterpart seriously. "See, after that is where it got weird. Everythin' else seemed to match the other existing data except the location. All the text for that seemed jumbled. Corrupted."
"Now that's just ridiculous. It must be a mistake."
"What if it's not a mistake?"
"That sounds absurd."
"This whole machine is absurd! Before coming to work for BLU team, something like this-" he waved his arm at his desk. "-sounded crazy and impossible. Who's to say another crazy thing couldn't come from it?"
The RED adjusted his helmet. "So, what do ya wanna do?"
The BLU shrugged and sighed. "I'm not sure." He plopped back down in his chair. "I think that we might have to start lookin' at this from a different angle."