Sequel to Ex Machina. After defeating Gray Mann, the mercenaries of RED and BLU have earned a one-year break before they must go back to their own war. For that time, Mal is allowed to stay with Engineer in Bee Caves. As he learns, a quiet life in the house is quite different from the chaos on the battlefield. However, that doesn't mean that things will be easy for him.

Engineer brings an oddly-behaving Scoutbot into the base in the hopes of dismantling and studying it, and the other mercenaries have to figure out how to cope with it as it learns how to live and interact with humans. Unfortunately, all of Mann Co. will have to deal with the consequences of Engineer's rash decision. Rated T for the usual TF2 stuff. Now with official cover.