Pyro lead you accross various halls and rooms, still gripping on your wrist with those big gloved hands of them. You told them that it's not necessary to holding onto you like a kindergarten like that, mostly because you feel too awkward and scared to come in such close physical contact with a complete stranger, that carry weapons stained with -you noticed- VERY fresh blood, or you hoped that you're just too paranoid and it's just paint or somekind of juice. Through your short journey accross the place that you have been magically transported in, you also notice that the place, even though quite clean, still have very uneasy things that cause goose bumps to raise on your skins the more you see.
For example, your eyes would encounter blood (or paint, again, gotta stay positive) splatter every so often, bullet marks littering on the walls, even large burned spots, look like someone just have a big fight here. Try your best not to think about minor details anymore, the building was quite large, with wooden or old white tiles floor and faded red and white painted walls, there is not much more of the interior to observe since you have to go fast. Finally the masked person, or Pyro let your hand go and run ahead, you followed suit and finally see a doorway to a field, with a canal in the middle and a wide bridge accross . You breathed a bit heavier, you haven't run for at least a few months and it kinda feel strange to your body once again, forgotting how often and long you have to dealt back in the past.
You could see face to face the building you were previously in is another similar but modern building, the color seems to be in somewhat an opposite palette. The building right behind you was wooden and have warm shades with red being the main color, while the other construction was industrial looking and have cold shades with blue being the main color, again, what a peculiar way of using colors. Your ears picked up the noise of what sound like a metal fence gate being opened and turn right to see "Pyro" waving its hand at you, signalling for you to come through it. You jogged closer and saw afar a very big building located in the middle of nowhere, you turned to "Pyro"
"Is that... the Academy?"
"Hurru"
"I assumed that is a yes?"
They nods and nudge you through the door, waved you goodbye almost too cheerfully, before you could even say a proper "thank you", they ran back inside the building, leaving you alone outside. Your brains seems to having a lot of trouble processing what just happened in the past few hours, one moment you were in Teufort, the next having you magically transported to this... place, you don't even know where are you or how would you return to Teufort either. How come is that even possible, but then with technology now it might have been possible, isn't it? You did see some ads on the newspaper about some teleporting device developed by TF Industries, your mom said it was just over advertising back then and now you wonder if they even related to Mann Co. or not.
You decided best is just go to the Academy to do what you intended to do and ask the way back later, and if they questioning how did you come here just say a stranger teleported you here on a twirly flashy device, yes, you just stepped a foot here for half an hour and you already lost your mind, brilliant news, you thought bitterly. Not even want to think further and just want to end this quickly, you walked all the way to the building, the closer you follow the path, the bigger the building become, it look like two large identical multistory structure, only look difference by the color, one was red and one was blue, connected by a two story white one in the middle, somehow remind you how the previous layout of the place you were first transported to look like, it's not a just coincidence, isn't it?
There was a small bus stop sign before the large gate much to your relieve, you hoped that the bus here can take you back to Teufort where there should be another bus like before to take you back home. Taking a deep breath, you stepped through the wide open gate, noticing there are a few people who look about your age was there too, you thought they might be the ones who joined the Academy, or about to, like you. Not really know where should you headed to, you looking around for signs and saw a map conveniently fixated on the wall nearby, it have the layout of the current building, which have two floor, the first floor act as the Main Courtyard and have doors leading to the Auditorium, and what you need is the Enrollment Office located on the second floor, which can be accessed through various stairs near the doors to the Auditorium.
With a location set in mind, you wasted no time for it, passing the people sitting on the benches littered around the big courtyard and head up one of the stairs. Seeing it look like an ordinary school, no dying scream, no people trying to shoot you in the head settle the boiling pot in your stomach a little, maybe it won't end up too bad. The atmosphere was quiet, too quiet for you to think about, maybe it's just you being paranoid again.
"I smell a rancid grave"
"You're in for it now"
Bang
Before you could even argue with unexisted things inside your head, you was startled with the sound of gun shot from the second floor. Gulped, you sincerely hope, or forced yourself to think it's just all in your head and didn't really happen, or since it's a Mercenary Academy, someone was training, you did see that both the connected side buildings labelled RED and BLU on the map have training grounds for guns sooner.
"Maggots love you. Trust me."
Bang
You were one foot on the last step before another gun shot was heard, you can feel yourself shaking slightly and pray that nobody decide to use your head as a training target as you rushed down the hallway as the map indicated and looking around to see a double door with a name plate on top read "Enrollment Office". Taking a deep breath and knocking the door three times, you quickly make yourself look more presentable, straighten your shirt and pull up your hoodie, put a strand of hair behind your ears for no reason before a soft female voice could be heard from inside.
"Please come in"
With that, you push the door and entered, what hit your eyes first is not the person who sat behind the desk, but a big blood splatter on the wall opposite the desk. Your face grew pale as you saw a man lying on the floor, a large hole with blood dripping down in the middle of his forehead, probably the cause of the blood splatter on the wall, his stomach also stained with blood, explaining why you heard two gun shots, a red puddle growing on the floor, painted the carpet with a deep shade of crimson, so terrifying, so.. mesmerizing.
"Please, have a seat, don't mind the mess, I'll cal the janitors."
You try to not shaking too badly, you could feel the temperature drops suddenly as your feel chill run down your spine when the lady sitting at her desk in the middle of the room speak again, still with that soft voice, but now knowing she might have kill a man in cold blood make every part of you just wanted to run away as fast as you could and never returned.
But then you have nothing to loose now, you questioned where did you sudden bravery came from as you actually step slowly in and closed the door behind you. Your mind screaming at you, showing countless of things that could happen to you just like what that man have went through, a bullet on the stomach, another on the head and you're a goner. Your insict urging your body to move, making your heart thumping fast and your head spinning, you feel sick, but you can't just threw up right in front of this woman before you. Unconciously place yourself on the light prune armchair, you look at her and bit your lips, not sure of what to say.
"What can I help you now, Miss?"
"... I... uh.. I receive a... letter"
"Oh, may I see it then?"
You reached inside your backpack, now resting on your thighs as you grip onto it tightly ever since you sat down, you cursed under your breath when your hands decided that this is the time to be clumsy and not doing its work properly. You bit your lips and look apologetically at the lady and hope you didn't get her to shoot you, the more you fidgeting in your backpack, the more nervous and anxious you become, you can feel sweat rolling down your face even though your body still feel the eerie cold from earlier. Let out a frustrated sign, you gave up on being discreet and just hold the backpack upside down and emptied it out of all contents, the lunch box and water bottles hit the carpeted floor with a small thud, you could careless if the lady notice the embarassing pink box in your backpack as you look around for the letter, which was nowhere to be seen.
You double check the things that now fall onto the floor and your empty backpack. Still no sign of that damn red and blue envelope, where could it be, you swear you didn't forget it back home. If it fall out somewhere on the bus or on the way here, you're screwed, badly. You bit your lips again and hung your head low in defeat, trying to make your brains work its best to remember everything, you remember putting it in the backpack before leaving the house, the backpack was with you and zipped properly the whole time on the bus, except when you fall sleep, but when you enter Teufort you took it out mean that it didn't get lost on the bus, then you see the dove and put it in your hoodie pocket.
Wait
Your eye twitched at that thought as you searching your hoodie pocket and.. there it was, the envelope contain the letter, in your pocket all along. God, you feel your face heated up again in embarassment, you wish that the ground just swallow you once again so you don't have to face the lady, who witness your stupidity for the whole time in silent. Signing in awkwardness, you slowly sit up straight and give the other woman what she asked for at the start, you feel a bit relieved when she give you a reassured smile and a sympathetic look as she took the letter and unfold it to further examining the letter.
While collect everything that you have dropped on the floor back into your backpack, you notice that there is two middle aged man that you assumed was the janitors in gray-purple jumpsuit come in and bring the dead body out, then returned not long after to change the part of the stained carpet and clean the wall like they have done this everyday and it's no longer a surprise, that only make you feel more uneasy. Exactly how many people this lady have killed in this room, and you doubt she's the only staff in here, and that might mean there are more murderers doing paperwork in here. Just what have you bring to yourself again. You see the woman stand up, still holding the letter and go check the rows of filing cabinets on the left side of the room as if she's finding something.
Your eyes scanned the room, the wall look almost identically like the small room with the device back in Teufort, only much cleaner and more well maintained, white paint with purple at the bottom part, dark mauve carpet with various armchairs ontop like the one you currently sat on. On the wall opposite of you was that symbol on the letter and on top of the school building you remember seeing when entered earlier, on both side of it was picture frames of two identical old man, except from their clothes color. Underneath the picture of the man wearing the red suit and red hat read "Redmond Mann - Founder and CEO of Reliable Excavation Demolition" while the picture of the other man with blue suit and blue hat read "Blutarch Mann - Founder and CEO of Builder League United". Again, what's with the color reference in their name and the color choices of the buildings around here, not mentioned their company name in acronym will spell out RED and BLU, how bizzare. You remember the room you were teleported to have the same Reliable Excavation Demolition symbol, maybe it's a part of their company and the blue-ish building on the opposite was Builder League United's. Underneath the round symbol was a narrow table with a bust statue of the one you assumed was Saxton Hale placed in the middle.
"Students files... hm... here we go"
Your mind returned to reality as you hear the woman mumbling to herself as she pulled out a folder in one of the drawers, examine the content for a second before return to her desk with said folder in her hand.
"Welcome to Mann Co. Mercenary Academy, Miss [L/N]"
A/N: Bonus illustration draw by me, yes that's not Miss Pauling /Yg6F75A
