Guardians Come in All Shapes and Forms

Chap 4

"Mhhhhoooooo!" The Pyro muttered when a family of platypuses came out of a bush. And as much as it wanted to keep one as a pet and named it Perry, the mumbling pyromaniac left the animals and continued its job of making sure the camp was safe.

Muttering, Pyro walked through some bushes while holding its Axtinguisher with its left hand. It had been hours since it started its shift of guarding the camp, and it was now dawn. It wasn't lying when it told the nice lady that it did not require much sleep. Even when Mann. Co still employed it as a merc; it rarely needed rest. It only required about two hours of sleep, and it could go a week straight without collapsing. Whether this was a blessing or curse it did not know yet.

"Mmmrgh!" Pyro muttered as it used its Homewrecker to obliterate a nearby Funnel Web Spider before using its Axtinguisher to chop the head of an inland taipan.

Even though the spider and snake weren't threats unless provoked, Pyro did not want to run the risk as there were children with the group. It was about to continue forward after cleaning off its weapons but stopped when it heard some bushes rustle nearby. Putting them away, Pyro pulled out its flamethrower in case it was the dreaded Australian kangaroo. What most forget about Saxton Hale, mainly because he kills them, is that he is only the second strongest man in the world. However, that survey did not include animals. While Saxton can defeat Yetis with ease, he struggles against the kangaroos. They were the reason why Saxton wasn't the king of Australia. And if Saxton Hale had trouble dealing with them, what chance did the Pyro or the others have against it. Luckily, it wasn't a kangaroo and instead a quokka looking for its next meal.

"Mmmrpgh crpyha drghya!" Pyro muttered, annoyed as it holstered its flamethrower.

While it assured the lady that it would take the first shift to keep everyone safe, it primarily did so only to try and get its thoughts in order. Yet, with each passing minute, it only grew tenser as nothing made sense, and its surroundings only raised more questions. Within only five minutes after leaving camp, Pyro knew that this wasn't the same Austalia it knew. The animals and flora were not the bloodthirsty things it knew to be wary of and keep a distance. They were how they were before australium changed everything.

Walking over to a nearby rock, the Pyro sat down and attempted to gather what it knew. And after a few moments, it came to two possible scenarios. The first one, which it hoped was correct, was that the teleporter sent it back in time. If that was the case, it only needed to find a way back to America, track down the current Engineer, and convince him to build a time machine that would send it back to its appropriate time. Unfortunately, that was much easier than said. And the second possibility, which seemed the more likely, was that the teleporter sent it to another universe/dimension. That would explain the lady's power and staff and why nothing was currently trying to kill the pyromaniac with their bare hands/paws.

The lady. For some strange reason, Pyro felt an urge to stay near her. A feeling that it only got when it was protecting the Engineer or his buildings. It was strange, to say the least, as not even a whole day had passed yet, and it did not know what to make of it. But, Pyro also had an uneasy feeling in its stomach when it saw the lady's face up close. After years of keeping Spies away from the Engineer's buildings and reflecting the Soldier's projectiles, the Pyro became adept at spotting the tiniest of details. Well, it had to if it wanted to keep the buildings and itself alive. Yet, as it conversed with the lady, it noticed the dark spots under her eyes despite the heavy makeup covering them. Pyro did not need a medical degree to know that the lady did not sleep in days.

"Arg." Pyro muttered, exasperated as it placed its hand on its face, as it stopped itself before thinking about the lady further.

Throughout its entire life, it has never felt like this. And even with the Engineer, it took roughly a year before it trusted him enough to guard his buildings. Even longer to stay by his side all the time. Yet, without even knowing it, this lady somehow managed to provoke the same feelings from it in less than a couple of hours. Sighing, Pyro looked toward the sky and noticed that the sun was getting up as it was past dawn, which meant that the others would wake up soon.

"Kham. Oove! Oove up! Hudda, huh!" Pyro told itself as it stood up. It knew that it wouldn't get anywhere if it stayed there and wondered what to do next. Not to mention, while the scenarios it came to were possible, they were not definite. For all it knew, it could have landed in a less hostile part of Australia, and the lady's staff could be a ripoff of Medic's medi gun. Plus, those feelings could be it wanting to guard something after years of not having to protect something. Muttering in affirmation, the Pyro now knew what it needed to do. It needed to get to a payphone and contact either Sniper or Engineer and proceed from there. But first, it would have to help the others get to the harbor unscathed. And that would mean clearing out all potential hazards in their path. Taking out its Sharpened Volcano Fragment, Pyro walked back to the camp.

Five Minutes Later

"COOL! The kids shouted when they saw the ax Pyro was carrying. Knowing that they could get hurt, Pyro put it away before they reached it.

"I thought I told you to wake me up in an hour so I could take my shift! Mercy said, annoyed. While she did feel refreshed from actually being able to get some decent rest, she was still irked that it didn't wake her for her turn.

"You needed the rest." Pyro signed with a shrug.

"While I appreciate that you allowed me to get some much-needed rest, I could have helped you."

"Ms. Angela. You have done more than enough already. Besides, you looked like you were about to drop dead from exhaustion last night." The stewardess interjected, stepping in between the two. Unaware that she was literally standing between an angel and devil. She then turned to Pyro with a smile and said. "Thanks for letting her rest."

"Uh-huh."

"Either way, we should get going if we want to get to the harbor as soon as possible." Mercy said with a huff. However, she blushed when her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn't had anything to eat since leaving the airport yesterday.

"How about some breakfast first?" The stewardess suggested, stifling a chuckle.

"I think that would be good." Mercy said, kneeling next to the stewardess and helping organize everything. Although, as much as Mercy always advocated and recommended people and her patients on having a well-balanced diet, especially breakfast, she had to resist it as they didn't have much to work with and needed to make it last. However, after making everyone's portions and setting some sweets aside for the kids, they learned they would need to heat the food for it to be edible. "Pyro?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Do you have a lighter?"

"Uh-huh." Pyro answered, handing her a lighter with a strange emblem with the letters R.E.D. "Don't lose it."

"I won't and danke." Mercy said as she used the lighter and made a small fire to heat everyone's food. Once the fire was going, she handed Pyro back its lighter.

"Here you go, sir." The stewardess said as she handed Pyro its portion. However, she became confused when he denied it.

"Is something wrong with it?" Mercy asked, confused and slightly offended.

"No. I'm not hungry, and rarely do I have to eat." Pyro explained. In truth, it does need to eat but not often and prefers eating in private or with the Engineer.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, okay. Give us about ten minutes, and we'll start traveling."

'Okay.'

"What will you do in the meantime?" The stewardess asked. Instead of answering, Pyro moved to sit down next to Mercy and pulled out its lighter again. It then began flicking it on and off repeatedly. Everyone became nervous but calmed down when they realized its attention was solely on the lighter and had no intention of burning anything else.

Ten Minutes Later

"Okay, everyone. Stick together and remember to call out anything that you see." The stewardess said as she took the lead with the map in her hands.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Mercy asked again while holding a protein bar.

"Alright." Pyro signed before taking the bar.

Since they started eating, Mercy and the stewardess had not taken their eyes off it. Typically, stares and slurs never bothered the pyromaniac. And it's been on the receiving end of a lot, and that's not including its teammates. But that all stopped when they saw its weapons and what it could unleash upon them. Fortunately, the stewardess lost interest and returned to her food. However, Mercy kept watching and would occasionally offer it some food. Each time Pyro would decline and sign that it did not need it. Yet, Mercy kept at it every couple of minutes, and it was starting to get on its nerves.

Unwarping the protein bar, Pyro broke off a tiny piece before sliding it under its mask. It then tilted its head at an awkward angle for the food to enter its mouth. After swallowing, it adjusted its mask before putting away the bar and taking out its Axtinguisher. It would prefer to have out its flamethrower, specifically the Degreaser, as it would make defending everyone easier. However, the kids, being kids, were too curious for their own good and tried to take its weapons a couple of times to play with them. Thankfully, two adults had experience babysitting kids and knew how to keep them in line.

"Must you have such dangerous weaponry out?" Mercy asked. She never liked violence and always advocated for peace. While most would associate that due to her being a doctor and taking the Hippocratic oath, she just wanted no one else to get hurt and was tired of seeing people hurt.

"Uh-huh."

"I doubt-did you hear something?" Mercy began before asking while simultaneously pulling out her blaster when Pyro tensed and looked behind them. Going over to where it came from, Pyro looked around and carefully listened while moving through some bushes. Only to groan when it realized the noise came from some wombats burrowing.

'"Just some normal wombats."

"Why did you mean by normal?"

"It's because-never mind. Let's keep going."

"Alright." Mercy said, unsure of what to make of what she had just witnessed. Since she first met Pyro, she noticed that he would tense up at even the smallest of sounds. When an adult stepped on a twig earlier, it immediately tensed up and pulled out its flamethrower and a two-handed sledgehammer. And once it realized it was only a branching snapping, it muttered before putting them away.

Seeing that the rest of the group was ahead by quite a bit, they ran to catch up to them. Once caught up, Pyro moved to stand next to the stewardess while Mercy stood in the center. While this put some on edge, they calmed down when the Pyro focused on the road ahead and handled any dangerous animals they came across. Unfortunately, the feeling of dread returned tenfold when they saw Pyro continuously tense and bring out its flamethrower at the slightest of sounds.

Nine P.M.

"Okay, everyone. Here's your dinner. Enjoy." The stewardess said as she and another male handed out everyone's portion.

"Just one bite." Mercy said, handing Pyro some crackers with peanut butter.

"Fink fhu." Taking the crackers, Pyro slipped them under its masked and ate them. Although, it did make a mental note to clean its mask when everyone was asleep as some peanut butter got on the eye holes.

"Lemon tea?"

"Finks."

Currently, everyone was having their dinner. After a long, tiring day, the group decided to make camp for the night as it got dark, making traveling down the roads hazardous. Luckily, the group encountered no serious threats since they began, aside from a few poisonous snakes. Well, the physical threats anyway, as everyone was constantly on edge about Pyro and its weapons. Mercy, in particular, was especially worried as she didn't want anyone to get burned by the flamethrowers or lose a limb courtesy of its axes. Thankfully, it seemed that Pyro was adept in its weapons and knew how to handle them. However, that raised questions that Mercy needed answered.

"Pyro, do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Depends on the question and in sign language , so the others don't hear us."

"Why are you so heavily armed with lethal pyrotechnics , and why are you constantly tensing up at the smallest sounds?"

"Part of a job , and that's all I'm going to say about it. The second part is simple. I would help my co-worker and protect what he makes from being destroyed. Either by deflecting explosives such as rockets and killing spies that try to destroy it."

"How do you deflect a projectile? Mercy signed. While she knew Genji could do so, that was due to him being a ninja, training, and having dragon spirits to help.

"Like this." Pyro grabbed its flamethrower and pressed a hidden switch, causing the flamethrower to release a sudden but powerful gust of air. "Also useful for keeping others away."

"But that does not explain why you are constantly on edge."

"To keep it simple again, there was a person who could turn invisible, efficiently sneak around, and kill anyone by backstabbing them with his knife. And to avoid that, I needed to pay attention to even the smallest of details/sounds to find where he was hiding."

"Well, you don't have to worry about him as I highly doubt that he is here with us."

"I know-"

"What are you two talking about?" The stewardess interjected. The two looked up and saw the lady approaching them with a curious but cautious smile.

"Just thanking Pyro for dealing with some of the snakes we encountered." Mercy lied to Pyro's relief.

"Right. Thanks for keeping everyone safe."

"Do you require something?"

"No. Everything is fine. I just came to check on the both of you."

"That's good. And we're both fine."

"Uh-huh."

"How long will it be until we reach the harbor?"

"If we wake up tomorrow around the same time and travel like we did today, we will reach the harbor at around noon or one." The stewardess andwered.

"That's good. But that would still leave us with hopefully making contact with anyone that could help. And that is if the payphones or communication building is still working."

"They should be. Well, the payphones anyway, as nearby towns make sure to keep them operational. The building, I'm not too sure."

"In that case, we should go to sleep soon."

"Who's going to take the first shift?"

"I will as I was supposed to-Where are you going?" Mercy began but asked when they noticed Pyro grabbing his flamethrower and getting up. Pyro pointed up ahead and left the camp before Mercy could protest.

"That figure is something."

"Pyro sure is."

"Is that its name?"

"Work name. It didn't tell me everything. All I know is that it has no name and that the people it used to work with called it Pyro."

"I can't imagine what kind of work would require a demon with extensive knowledge on homemade flamethrowers and incendiary weapons." Another male said, walking up to them.

"Please don't call Pyro a demon. It has done nothing wrong aside from keeping us safe." Mercy said, glaring at the guy. Even though she did not like its weapons, she saw no reason to call it a demon.

"Be that as it may, every time I'm near it, I get this overwhelming sensation of fear with my instincts telling me to run." The stewardess interjected.

"Well, I won't take this slandering anymore. It has only helped us so far. If anyone needs me, I'll be on my side of the camp. Good night." Mercy said, irked at them for insulting the person that has helped them this far and kept everyone safe.

"Mhhhhoooooo!" Pyro muttered, having watched the argument. While Pyro was no stranger to people insulting it, especially its teammates during the early years of working for Mann Co., that did not mean the insults didn't sting. And it hurt the most when people called it a demon that everyone must run away from as soon as they saw it. Just because it loved fire didn't make it a demon or that it wanted to hurt others for the fun of it. Thankfully, after a couple of years of working for Mann Co., Pyro's teammates stopped insulting it and even defended it when others continued to insult it.

Yet, what Pyro found odd but strangely comforting was the lady defending it. It has even been two days since they first met, and she has already proved to be nicer than most Pyro has encountered in its life. It reminded it of how it and the Engineer interacted during their early years of working together. While the others insulted it, Engineer merely accepted it as part of the team and treated Pyro no different than he treated the others. And when they began working together, their relationship took off, with the Engineer becoming something of an older brother.

Sighing, Pyro pushed all the thoughts towards the back of its mind and focused on keeping everyone safe. While the insults did hut, it would do what it always did, which was ignore them. Plus, it knew that despite what some might say about him, the Engineer would stay by their side and make sure they made it to safety. So it would do the same. And once they were safe, it would then focus on finding a way back home.

The Next Day

6:10 A.M.

"EVERYONE, WAKE UP!" The stewardess shouted, jostling everyone out of their sleep.

"What's happening?" Mercy asked through a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. However, they snapped open when she heard the sounds of a helicopter in the area.

"There's a rescue helicopter nearby. Quick. Help me get their attention."

"Right." Mercy said, getting up as they ran to the center of the camp.

"HEY!"

"DOWN HERE!"

"HELP!"

"They don't hear us. What should we do? They are about to leave." The stewardess asked, worried when the helicopter did not slow down or stop.

"I'll-PYRO!" Mercy began but shouted when she saw Pyro approaching the camp. Although, she did have to stifle a chuckle when she noticed the koala sleeping on its head.

"Need something, Medic?"

"Yes. There is a helicopter nearby, and we are unable to get its attention. Can we use your flare to get the pilot's attention?"

"I'll do it. Stand back." Pyro signed before taking out a flare gun. However, this one was different from the other one as it seems to have been modified. Pyro then opened the gun, ejected the flare, and replaced it with a different one. Closing it, Pyro aimed it at the sky and fired it. Once it was high enough, Pyro pressed a trigger, causing the flare to explode. And while it caused everyone ear's to ring, it did the trick as the helicopter saw the explosion and quickly spotted everyone.

"YES! WE'RE GOING TO BE SAVED!" Everyone shouted as the helicopter started descending.

"Are you the survivors of the plane crash?" The pilot asked, stepping out of the helicopter while another inspected everyone for injuries.

"We are. Thank you for coming." Mercy answered, relieved that the people were saved.

"You're welcome. Now come on. We need to get everyone on board. We only have half a tank left of fuel."

"Let me help." Mercy said as she began helping everyone board the helicopter. However, everyone quickly saw a problem once everyone else was on board.

There was not enough room for everyone.

"I'm sorry, miss. There is no more room for you or your friend." Another rescue member told her.

"That's okay. Just get everyone to safety."

"Here are some supplies. There is a harbor nearby. If you can get there, you can take shelter in the buildings. We'll come for you both as soon as we can."

"Here. Take this." The stewardess shouted as she passed Mercy the map and a compass. "A few hours, and you'll reach the harbor."

"Danke." Mercy said with a fake smile as the rescue member closed the helicopter's door. And soon, it took off, leaving behind Mercy and Pyro.

"You okay?" Pyro signed.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened. and not in a good way." She answered while wiping a tear from her face. She then began looking through the supplies and was relieved at all the stuff they gave her. "At least they are safe now."

"Uh-huh."

"And things can't get any worse."

"A little life lesson for you, medic." Pyro signed as he took something from the bag.

"And what's that?"

"Things will always find a way to get worse. Especially when someone says that phrase." Pyro signed. And before Mercy could ask what it meant, it began to rain heavily.

"Verdammt! Warum ich?" Mercy cursed. However, she quickly noticed that she was still dry and not soaked to the bone. Looking up, she smiled when she saw that Pyro had taken the umbrella, and instead of using it for itself, it used it for her without hesitation. Something that most of the Overwatch members wouldn't have even thought of if they were in the same situation. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, let's get to the harbor." Pyro signed. Mercy nodded while showing a genuine smile as they resumed making their way to the harbor.