Most of the RED Team was present in the RED recreational room, including Nicole, who stood between the Engineer and Sniper.
"Alright," Klaus began, "We have exactly an hour to rid of ze BLU Team before they take over the Badlands and have us move to a different location. Not only that, ve also have to take ze enemy's intel if ve are to succeed zis mission."
"Alright, Doc, we got it already." Jake interrupted.
"And," the Medic continued, "As you are all aware, ve also have fraulein here to help us."
That's when the Heavy started to laugh. "Doktor think that little girl credit to team?"
Nicole frowned as she crossed her arms. "Gee, thanks, man…" she moaned.
"Ja." Klaus answered, giving a serious look at Boleslav.
"Now hold up there, Doc," The Sniper interrupted, "how is Shelia goin' to fit in with the battle? Those wankers are going to notice her in a heartbeat and try to use her as an advantage."
"Aww! Not again!" Nicole moaned, "I don't want more mental pictures!"
Benny chuckled. "Sorry, mate."
"Good point, Benny," Bill agreed, "How about we have Nikki take up a disguise or something? That way, those yella-bellies won't be able to tell that we have a little missy on our team."
Klaus nodded. "Ah, very good idea, Bill, but what should ze fraulein wear?"
"I know that she has no hope pretending to be a Demo." The Scout giggled.
Angus frowned. "Try sayin' that without eyeballs next time, laddie." He growled.
Jake frowned, saying not another word as he took one step away from the Demoman.
"How about she dresses up like an Engineer?" Klaus suggested.
Bill laughed. "Nah, they would definitely notice. It would be very obvious."
"What about havin' her like a Sniper?"
Benny frowned. "Are you jokin' there, mate? She's way too short and has the worst aim. Besides, she's a bit jumpy for my job."
"She obviously can't be a Heavy. She's just too small, and actually has hair…" Jake added, "And she is NOT dressin' up like me. Uh-uh, no way. That would be out of the question! She's too dumb, too slow, and can't use a bat properly."
"That maggot's the worst solider I ever seen! So wearing the uniform wouldn't work!" Kyle said.
Suddenly, Pyro joined the group, wielding his flamethrower with pride and mumbling something.
Klaus smiled as he looked over at the pyromaniac. "Ah ha! I got it!"
The sun was slowly sliding its way to the west as it crept down to the horizon. The RED Team was all in a line together, with weapons and pride. They had all agreed that Nicole's new disguise was perfect for her.
Nicole, on the other hand, hated it. The rubber gloves she had on were too big, the suit over her clothes were making her sweat. The small tanks strapped to her back were quite heavy for her. But worst of all, the gas mask she wore was making it a little hard for her to breath. Looking like a Pyro seemed to be a challenge, but it seemed worth it to the rest of the team.
Klaus moaned. "Ah, vhere is Leon?! He hasn't showed up at all! That dummkoft!"
"Don't worry, Doc, I'm sure he'll be slithering here in no time." Benny assured.
Nicole suddenly began questioned about this 'Leon' that was mentioned every few hours. "Uh, who's Leon?"
Klaus looked over at Nicole, who was the smaller Pyro. He seemed to be quite confused.
"Uh…Klaus?" Nicole questioned, "Is there something wrong?"
"Fraulein, I don't understand…"
Nicole gasped. "What?! What do you mean you don't understand?!"
"It's because of the mask, Nicole. To him, you're mumbling unclearly."
Nicole looked over to her right to see Pyro standing next to him. "…Huh? Are you actually talking to me?! And I can understand you?!"
Pyro laughed. "That's right! We Pyros can understand each other with the masks on. I don't know how it works…maybe a microphone set in the mask...but I honestly don't know how it happens. And just in case you are wondering, I am a guy, don't you ever believe the Scout if he says I'm something else."
Nicole nodded. "Okay…"
"Anyway," Pyro continued, "we're going to fight off those BLU suckers any minute now, and I want you to know a few things. Number one, don't show any signs that you are a girl…obviously. Luckily for you, it wouldn't be that much of a problem with the Pyro outfit. Number two, keep that axe with you at all times. You may never know when a BLU is going to ambush you. Number three, don't go wandering off alone. You stay with a partner…but since nobody can understand you with that mask on but me, I want you to stay within my sight at all times. And being alone is the worst thing you can ever do. Got it?"
Nicole nodded. "Yes."
"Number four, when you see an opportunity, you take it immediately. For instance, if you were to somehow find the intel, you take it, don't let anything stop you and head back to the RED base, fast. Having the intel makes you vulnerable. Number five, don't put yourself in a situation where your chances of surviving are very little."
"But…" Nicole gulped, "I don't want to die…"
"Then don't go near sentries, and watch your back…you may never know when a Sniper's targeting you."
Nicole frowned. "Aw…r-really?"
"Yeah, this is no walk in the park, Nicole, this is a warzone after all."
"Mission begins in one minute." A voice through the speakers announced.
Nicole looked up at the speakers. "What was that?"
"That's the Announcer. She's stays up in this room that nobody knows where it's at. She's quite mysterious really. Although a few people seen her, the Announcer keeps to herself."
Nicole frowned. "Hey, wait a minute! I thought I was the only female here!"
"Okay, you're the first female, a girl should I say, to be walking around in the battlegrounds and being part of a team, but the not the first female to be in the Fortress itself, understand?"
"Ohhh," Nicole said as she nodded her head in understanding, "I get it."
"I wouldn't recommend meeting the Announcer though… she's kind of a hag, I think… I don't even think she really is a woman." He chuckled.
Nicole sighed. "Okay, that's fine with me…"
"Mission begins in thirty seconds." The Announcer's voice echoed through the speakers.
"Okay, Nicole, are you ready?" Pyro asked.
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to burn some BLUs?"
Nicole frowned from behind her mask. "Uh…I don't want to hurt anybody, actually."
"Wow, you really are the soft type, aren't you?"
Nicole sighed. "Yeah, I am…" she confessed.
"Alright!" Bill called, "Let's do this for the RED Team!"
"Make another victory, boys! Today's a good day!" The Soldier added as he hoisted up his shovel.
"Mission begins in five, four…" the Announcer began her countdown.
"GET THAT BLOODY INTEL!" Angus shouted, holding up his sticky launcher.
"Three, two, one…" Once the countdown was finished, the buzzer sounded off.
The REDs charged, screaming their battle cries and carrying their weapons with pride. Boleslav, Klaus, Angus, Kyle, and Jake all headed forward. Benny snuck off to the sniper tower. Bill went off to a nearby building and started to erect his sentry.
All that was left behind was Pyro and Nicole disguised as a pyromaniac. Pyro looked over at Nicole. "Remember, stay with me."
Nicole nodded. "Alright, got it!"
As Pyro ran off, Nicole followed behind him. She kept the axe close to her chest as she held it in a sideways position, readying herself for a long battle. Although she was around a pyromaniac, she felt safe. So many opposing feelings overwhelmed her. She was excited to fight, but didn't want to hurt anyone. She was nervous around the Pyro, but felt protected. She knew that this would be very dangerous, but grew curious how wars really went.
It was the most confusing moment of her life. Poor Nicole didn't know what she wanted.
Five minutes following the Pyro around, Nicole started to hear gunfire, explosions, and battle cries. She even saw a few rockets fly over her head. This wasn't going to be easy for her to stay with Pyro. After all, there were distractions everywhere she looked. But worst of all, one single mistake would kill her. One slip would be her demise. One foolish act would be the death of her. Nicole had to stay alert in order to survive.
That's when Nicole ran into a wall, hard. She fell to the ground on her back. She was fortunate to not hold the axe with its sharp blade facing towards her or away from her. For it would had either been stuck to the wall, or stuck to her chest. She slowly got back up. "Phew. That was weird…For a second there…I spaced out…" she mumbled to herself, looking around to find the Pyro.
But the pyromaniac was nowhere to be found. She had gone far from the borders of the Badlands and crossed into the Dustbowl, where the ground was drier and covered in very soft dirt. Dust blew with the wind. There were very few buildings, but they looked very similar to the ones in the Badlands, only most of them were blue.
Nicole sighed. "Crap…I lost him…" she shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, don't worry about it…Just stay calm…Don't let the fact that you're by yourself in the middle of a battle…At least no enemies are around."
"HA HA! What is little Pyro mumbling about?"
Nicole jumped in alarm to see a Heavy, but not the one she knew. Although he was an exact copy of the Boleslav, he wore blue shirt instead. She gripped her axe tightly. "Go away!" she growled, before realizing that the enemy Heavy was just listening to her mumble through her mask.
"That baby weapon won't save you from mine!" he held up his minigun, which didn't seem to look small to Nicole. It was huge. Its barrels and chain of bullets were quite menacing to her, even the single bullet was bigger than what Nicole was used to seeing.
Nicole whimpered, but she stood her ground. "I'm not scared of you…you're such a…a…big oaf!" she smiled, knowing that the BLU Heavy would not understand her.
The BLU Heavy laughed again. "You're so small, little Pyro, smaller than other Pyros! Are you a little girl?!" he continued to laugh so hard, that he even placed his gun down, being totally distracted by the fact he was seeing a very small pyromaniac.
Nicole nearly gasped, she didn't want to know if the BLU Heavy was serious. Hoping to protect her identity, she charged at him as she held her axe high. Once she was close enough, she swung the axe like the bat. The flat side of the head slammed against the Heavy's stomach.
The overwhelmed Heavy was knocked down to the dirt. But Nicole was not done yet, she quickly jumped at him and kicked him in the head, hard.
The BLU Heavy was out cold, but just to make sure she didn't kill him, Nicole knelt down next to him and pressed two fingers just above his collar bone. She felt a pulse, and smiled. "Good thing I played softball at P.E. last month." She stood back up and ran, hoping to get away from the scene as possible.
But she stopped behind a corner of a building. Not too far away was a sentry, but not just any sentry. Nicole eyes widened with horror as she saw the level three BLU sentry. She quickly remembered how dangerous a sentry. She recalled the RED level three sentry's destruction when it went haywire. It was awful to remember it. Next to the BLU sentry was its creator, an enemy Engineer. Nicole instantly thought of the kind hearted Bill. She knew she didn't have the strength to take down the BLU Engineer, or even hurt him. It would bring her too much pain. She couldn't bring herself to hurt someone who looked exactly like the one who showed her compassion.
Luckily for her, the entrance to the building was right behind her as she looked behind to look for another route. She quickly went for the door. As she slipped inside, she carefully closed the door behind her, hoping not to bring any attention towards herself.
The hallways she walked through were a lot similar to the ones she remembered in the RED's main building. Only the walls were painted half-blue instead of red.
"What am I getting myself into?" Nicole whispered to herself as she came to a small flight of stairs, "I think I might get myself killed…"
Time was much slower than being outside in the battlegrounds. Nicole was quite surprised to find herself completely alone. She guessed that it was a rare moment to be alone during the middle of a battle. But she knew she had to find Pyro fast. Nicole figured that at the top of the stairs was a balcony that had a view of the Dustbowl and Badlands. She instantly figured that it would be the easiest way to find Pyro, or any of the other REDs.
Instead, she came across a single door at the end of a long, blue hallway. She froze instantly. It was not been what she had expected, but Nicole knew that it was better than finding a bunch of BLUs gathered together in one spot. Step by step, she walked down the hallway and to the door. Anxiety was rushing through her body, curious to see what was behind the lone door. There were many possibilities. It could have been a gathering of BLUs like she feared, weapon and ammo storage, or even a BLU version of the Announcer just like Pyro told her about. Either way, Nicole had to prepare herself for whatever was behind the blue door.
Finally, she stopped right in front of the door. The anticipation was growing. Nicole studied the glass window with the words 'Intel Room'. Things were starting to come back to her head. She instantly remembered how important the Intel was. Carefully and quietly, she opened the door.
The room was quite empty, a far too quiet. In the center of the room was a simple wooden desk with a blue briefcase sitting on top.
Nicole looked all around to see if anyone was around or hiding nearby. Once she confirmed that she was completely alone, she inched her way to the briefcase. Again, memories triggered in her head. She knew that the Intel was a simple briefcase, and the BLU's was right there.
"There it is…" Nicole whispered, "But should I do it?" she considered taking the Intel, thinking about all the glory she could receive. She was tired and sick of messing up everything. She disgusted the fact that she caused so much trouble for the RED Team.
It was time to make all of that up. It was for her friends, the REDs.
Without delay, Nicole snatched the Intel.
"Alert! The enemy has captured our Intelligence." The Announcer's voice boomed from the nearby speakers.
Nicole's heart jumped. "Oh crap! I gotta get out of here!" she dashed off, holding on to the Intel with one hand and the axe in the other. She flung the door open, not stopping for anything. She raced down the stairs, nearly tripping at the end. But she continued her run down the blue hallways and out of the building. Being back outside for five seconds, Nicole noticed that a BLU Soldier was chasing after her.
"Stop right where you are, you filthy maggot!" the enemy Soldier hissed.
Nicole panicked. She continued to run, fast. If the RED Soldier was bad enough, Nicole worried on how the BLU Soldier would act.
"Drop the briefcase, now!"
Nicole kept running, the Intel still in her gloved hand. She knew that stopping would be a terrible mistake, although the heat and the Pyro disguise weren't helping her at all.
"PREPARE TO BE BLOWN TO BITS, YOU SPINELESS FIRE MAGGOT!"
Nicole gasped. She could hear a rocket launcher click. "Well…if I must die…then I must die with honor…"
Boom!
Nicole stopped and turned to see what had happened. The BLU Soldier was on the ground, dead as blood was seeping out from his head. Nicole looked up at the sniper tower over on the Badlands side. She could have sworn she saw a red figure in the tower. She smiled. Nicole knew that a certain Australian she knew had been looking after her and had really good aim.
Nicole had no time to waste. She continued to run with the enemy Intel. The border wasn't that far away. All she had to do was to cross the gate of the perimeter fence between the Dustbowl and the Badlands and enter the RED building and she was safe.
But every second was an instant opportunity for danger. Nicole had no time to waste. She gripped the Intel in her left hand and the axe in her right, hoping that none of them would slip.
The gate was only feet away from her. Nicole ran even faster, wanting to get out of the battlegrounds and out from danger as hastily as possible. The sun was just barely setting down into the horizon. The skies were bright orange to dark red from top to bottom. It was getting dark, and battles were much worse at night.
Fortunately, Nicole was able to cross the gate and entered in the Badlands. Unfortunately, she tripped over dry shrubs. The Intel flew out of her hands, but miraculously landed in her reach. Nicole scurried over and tried to grab the Intel.
"The enemy has dropped the Intel." The speakers over on the Dustbowl side echoed.
Nicole paused to look back to see where the speakers were at. But when she turned to get the Intel, she froze. A BLU Scout was right in front of her, with a foot over the Intel.
"HA! What a moron!" the enemy Scout laughed, waving his bat around, "This is why they don't send Pyros like you to steal Intels…They suck at it. I mean, look at you! You're such a clumsy knuckle-head!"
Nicole growled. If there was anything she hated more than anything at the moment, it was being mocked by some Scout. "Wait 'til I beat you senseless!" she snapped.
"Aww, what's the matter? Dirt got your tongue there?" the BLU Scout snickered, "You're so dumb! I bet you don't even know how to speak! I'm a force of nature! You're a freak of nature; you're even smaller than other Pyros! Come on! Who's sending people here now these days?! Hey listen, if you can understand me, listen to this: I. Am. Better. Than. You. Are."
With a sudden burst of rage, Nicole leapt up at the Scout, knocking him to the ground. She swiped the Intel back and began pounding the Scout's head with it. She felt good, towering about a Scout while beating him senseless with his own team's briefcase.
"Alert! The enemy has captured the Intelligence." The speakers from the Dustbowl side announced.
"TAKE THIS, YOU FREAKING ANNOYING JERK!" Nicole growled, beating the Scout almost endlessly.
The Scout was in too much pain to say anything back to the small 'Pyro'.
Suddenly, Nicole stopped. She looked back up, realizing that the sun was just disappearing. She quickly took off, leaving the BLU Scout writing in the dirt.
The RED building wasn't too far. Nicole was exhausted, being dragged by the Pyro suit. Her feet were burning with aches and pains. On the inside of the suit, she was covered in sweat. Even her lungs seemed they were about to collapse.
"Mission ends in twenty seconds." The Announcer's voice echoed from the nearby speakers.
"Has it been…that long…already?!" Nicole panted. She was starting to slow a bit, feeling that she couldn't run anymore.
But the RED Headquarters were only feet away from her. She didn't have far to run. It was the final stretch. Nicole was tired and sick of being the one that caused trouble. She wanted to give back for once and be an actual help to the REDs.
"Mission ends in ten seconds." The Announcer reminded.
Nicole pushed herself to run faster. She couldn't let everything fall, she had made it all the way back to the Badlands. It wouldn't make any sense to her if she were to give up at the time.
"Nine, eight, seven, six," the Announcer began counting down the final seconds.
She was only ten feet from the door of the RED building. Nicole pushed herself even farther.
"Five, four,"
Nicole gripped the Intel's handle with all of her might. Time was passing faster than expected.
"Three two,"
With merely inches to go, Nicole made a jump for it, bursting through the door and landed on her side. She had made it inside the RED base, with the Intel in hand.
"One…" Once the Announcer stopped counting down, the buzzer sounded off again. The battle was over. "Success," the Announcer's voice seemed somewhat pleased over the speakers, "We have secured the enemy's Intelligence."
Nicole smiled. Despite being out of breath and completely exhausted, she was finally able to feel what it was like to accomplish something for the RED Team. "I…did…it…" she breathed heavily.
"Yes you sure did."
Nicole looked up to see Pyro towering over her. "Oh…sorry…"
"I lost you with in five minutes! I thought you wandered off somewhere!" Pyro's tone of voice seemed to be unpleasant.
Nicole frowned from behind the mask. She figured that Pyro was upset with her.
"But…" Pyro continued, "You got the Intel…from the BLUs…and all by yourself! How the heck did you do it? I thought you were terrible."
Nicole smirked. "Ah, it was nothing."
Pyro extended a gloved hand towards Nicole. "Are you kidding me? That wasn't just nothing…that was a victory!"
Nicole took Pyro's hand. "Thanks…I suppose…"
The pyromaniac helped Nicole up. "Is your brain half-dead or something, because I don't think you understand on how important this victory is. You've redeemed yourself!"
"You think so?"
"I go tell the rest of the guys about this…or at least try to…Anyway, why don't you get out of that suit? I bet you're very sweaty in there."
Nicole nodded. "No kidding." She took off the mask, quite relieved to take in a fresh breath of air and cool down her head. "Ahh…finally, air!"
The Pyro ran off, mumbling unclearly about something. Nicole sighed, being disappointed that she wouldn't be able to understand him anymore, unless she put the Pyro mask back on. Soon, she began taking off the gloves and the rest of the suit off, being quite happy about seeing herself back in the clothes she came in. "Maybe I should have taken my jacket off before I got the Pyro suit on…" she muttered to herself, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"Dog-gone it, Nikki, you did it!"
Nicole looked over her shoulder to see a familiar face. "Bill!" she cheered.
The RED Engineer ran up to her and hugged her. "I can't believe you actually did it! You successfully took the yella-bellies' Intel and brought it back, without scratches!"
"I know!" Nicole smiled as she giggled and wrapped her arms around him, "And I don't even know how I done it!"
Bill laughed. "Don't be modest, Nikki, you did it with determination, confidence, and luck….and a whole lot of it too."
Nicole smiled. "No kidding."
Klaus was the second to approach the group. "I'm impressed, fraulein, I had no idea zhat you were willing to take ze Intel…Vell done, fraulein, vell done."
Nicole looked over at the Medic as Bill pulled back. "Thanks, Klaus."
Next was the Soldier. He slowly approached Nicole. "You're not lying, are you, little maggot? You actually took the briefcase?"
Nicole nodded. "I'm not the best liar…but I can tell you that I did take their Intel. Honestly, I did."
For the first time, Kyle smiled at the girl. "I can't believe I'm saying this…but you deserve a medal, Nicole."
Nicole was quite shocked that the Soldier had actually called her by name. She smiled back at him. "Thanks, Kyle."
Next to join the group was the Heavy. "Little girl is credit to team after all!" he cheered, hugging her.
Nicole was lifted up several inches off the ground. "T-Thanks…Boleslav…" she gasped for breath, although trying not to be rude about it. She smiled weakly.
Once Boleslav placed Nicole back on her feet, Nicole looked over behind the Heavy to see that Jake had reluctantly joined the group. "Hey, Jake." She smiled at him, walking up to him slowly.
"Oh, it's you…I heard ya took that Intel…" Jake sighed, "I…" he hesitated.
Nicole frowned. "Are you…jealous or something?" she asked.
Jake shook his head, "Not really…I'm just…in shock here….You really did take that Intel? Tch, and I thought you were nothing but a girl with a serious knucklehead…" Jake smiled weakly at her. "Eh, I guess you're…not that bad."
Nicole grinned. "Thanks, man."
Pyro rejoined the group, mumbling continuously and facing Nicole, as if trying to express his intense gratitude towards her.
Nicole frowned. "Wait…how did you guys know that I took the Intel if Pyro ran off to get you guys?"
As if on cue, Benny joined the group. "I told 'em, mate." He smiled at Nicole. "I saw ya from the tower."
"You did?" Nicole asked.
The Sniper gave a curt nod. "Sure did, Shelia…and what you did for us was very impressive." He put his arm around her shoulder. "You may be the worst with a weapon, but you're a pretty good receiver. I think I'm considering you to be on our team." He laughed.
Nicole giggled. "Well…"
"To ze little fraulein, who haz secured a victory for uz!" Klaus cheered.
The RED Team cheered as Nicole blushed. She looked at all of her supporters, her friends. Her smile grew, knowing what success she had given for the REDs. She noticed that Jake remained silent, but to only smile at her and give her a nod. Kyle too, was silent, but crossed his arms and just smile at her.
Suddenly, happiness turned to disaster as the cheering was cut short by a piercing scream.
Klaus gasped. "Oh nein! Vhat has happened?!" he instantly ran down the hallway.
The rest of the team followed, except for the Sniper and Nicole.
"W-What happened?" Nicole asked, looking up at Benny worryingly.
Benny frowned. "Whatever it is, it ain't good, Sheila…Come on, let's catch up with the rest of the blokes."
Nicole nodded. "O-Okay." As she followed the Sniper, she tried not to think of the horror that has come upon them.
Author's Note: Okay, I had fun writing this chapter! I hope it was a joy to read. Oh, if there are any constructive criticisms, let me know. I would love to fix my mistakes (if there is any). And about the Pyro communication thing, I totally made that up (I thought that would be funny to write about). XD Thanks for reading!