I'm having a lot of fun writing this! So, romance-reveal time! It'll be towards the end of the chapter, and I'm working really hard on how they interact and such. Speaking of interactions, I'm planning some ANGST, and a lesser bromantic moment! And hopefully it'll be good. :D As always and tips are appreciated, and happy reading!

P.S. I've been working really hard, and am proud to say, that the ending will be AWESOME. For now I'll call it the Climax, and I promise you that it will be epic. Seriously, I was up till about 2 a.m. writing notes and stuff down. For now it'll be kinda slow moving, but it'll pick up speed in a bit.

10 years later…

They say war does things to a person's head. Maybe make them angry, sad, isolated, afraid…

Generally 'they' are referring to a regular war, if there is such a thing. One that last four years at tops, were there are breaks in between battles that last more than a day or weekend, were the people that die stay dead.

This war has caused more than just fear or sadness in its pawns. Granted, there are elements of that, but it mostly caused something deeper. The pawns fighting this never-ending war had all of their humanity drained from them a long time ago, much to the pleasure of the master, who had successfully kept this war alive for ten years.

Although, as much as she loved her project, even she began to grow bored with it, although it was the 'resignation' of Blu Sniper that caused her to actually change something.

"I know what you've been doing, witch!" a tall man wearing blue stormed into Helen's office.

"And what is that?" Helen faked innocence.

"You've been keeping this bloody war alive for too long!" he drew a pistol, "and I'm gonna end it!"

"And why do you think I've been doing that?" she cackled.

"It doesn't matter why!" he snapped.

"Well, how will you explain to your little friends that their money isn't coming anymore?" she hissed, still maintaining a grin, "Or that the only thing they've known for the past ten years will suddenly be stopped?"

"I don't care!"

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" her grin grew larger, "I'll let you in on a little secret, I've been keeping this war alive so I have control over Blutarch and Redmond Mann, two of the most powerful C. in the world."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you only have 3 seconds left to live…"

BLU Sniper began to pull the trigger in panic, but was interrupted by a sharp pain in the side of his head. He tried to move his arms and legs, but couldn't, and no respawn would be there to save him. He managed to move the corners of his mouth up however, and let out one last laugh. He was finally free.

Helen stood over the corpse and gestured to the person who shot him, "Miss Pauling, dispose of this trash for me, I'll be busy finding some new pawns."

About a week later three new recruits had arrived, a new sniper and two of a new class called 'scout'. To keep the BLU team from growing suspicious, Helen sent out a memo:

"BLU,

In response to the previous sniper's resignation, we have not only hired a replacement, but a new member to your team will be added in addition. For the moment we are calling it the 'Scout' class, and will specialize in speed-based attacks. Unfortunately the RED team has somehow had the same idea, and has recruited someone of the same skills. We will be looking in to the matter and ask that you continue your duties.

Thank you."

No one really paid attention to the notice except Heavy, who had put together a little welcome buffet for the new recruits. The first to arrive was the scout, he was skinny, but had some definition in his arms. He was quiet for the most part, but was still nice to everyone. No one really paid attention when he arrived.

However when the new sniper arrived, everyone stopped. The new sniper was shorter than the old one, skinnier than the last one and less male than the last one.

"They sent a woman to fight?" the BLU Spy began laughing uncontrollably.

The new Sniper grinned at him, then proceeded to pull out a shot gun, and silenced him with a trip to respawn. "I'm only going to be here while my uncle's in recovery, and if any one of you makes a remark like that again, you'll end up worse than him."

Heavy let out a hearty laugh and shook her hand, "I am Heavy, welcome to Team!"

The first battle went smoothly enough with the new recruits, the new scouts did their jobs, and the new sniper managed to get at least 11 headshots in the first hour. The new RED scout noticed this, and took matters into his own hands, and snuck into the BLU sniper nest.

He had his bat raised above his head, and was prepared to face the person who had been picking off teammates. He ran in and hit whoever it was over the head, but barely missed.

"Dude! Is that a bat?!" Scout was surprised to see a girl wearing a BLU version of RED Sniper's uniform in front of him, even more surprised when she started to laugh, "Oh man! I wish I couldn't have seen the look on my face! I bet it was priceless!"

"Wh-what?" Scout stammered, "Y-yer a girl!"

Her demeanor suddenly changed, and the Scout found himself against a wall with a large blade pressed to his throat.

"You don't think I've noticed that before, genius?"

"I mean, I thought they only hired guys."

"Not really helping your case, bud."

"Why haven't you killed me? There's that fancy respawn thing."

"Exactly, that stupid respawn makes this whole thing pointless." She sheathed her blade.

"What?" Scout asked rubbing his throat.

"Think about it, this thing has been going on for ten years, no one stays dead, and no one is allowed to leave."

"Look, I just got here."

"Me too, but my uncle was here since the beginning. He told me everything."

"What happened to him?"

"I was told he is in recovery from-" she suddenly realized she was talking to the enemy, "Why am I telling you all this?"

"No, wait; is this whole thing really pointless?" Scout was suddenly interested in what she had to say.

"From what I've seen, yes." she turned to look over the battlefield, "Almost like a cruel game."

"Then why are you here?"

Sniper began twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "To pay for my uncle's medical bills." Suddenly her demeanor changed again, she extended a hand to the Scout, "My name's Mackenzie, what's yours?"

"Um, Scott?" he shook her hand.

She giggled, "Scott the Scout, I've gotta remember that!"

Then a grenade flew into the room, sending both of them to respawn. When Scott woke up in respawn, his cheeks began to burn, and he couldn't help but smile.