Respawn is something commonplace in their job. For people who were once subject to death, the idea of dying repeatedly is terrifying, but each swallowed their fear and dealt with it. A couple of months in, and dying went from a dreadful experience to a common misstep in a routine. It didn't change the fact that it was excruciatingly painful, and that was something no mercenary could ever get used to.
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Scout materialized quickly from his toes to his head in the familiar respawn room.
He instinctively reached for his shotgun on his back, placing a hand over the radio on his left chest. At least, where it should've been.
"Sentry in-" He noticed that his radio was missing. Same with his shotgun.
Just moments ago he recalled running into RED sewers, only to receive a body full of sentry bullets.
"Skmph!" He heard the familiar muffled voice come from slightly below him. Hands shot up from below his vision, and he finally noticed Pyro and Engineer to his right.
"Huh? Wus-" He spoke faster than his brain would process it. This was all he could articulate in the milliseconds he registered what everything was. This was a respawn room, but this one was the one at their base. It shared a similar luminosity, but the stark difference between theirs and the base is it was small, compact, and very metallic.
"Engie? Pyro? Whatcha doin' here? Who's watchin' the case?"
Even with the short amount of time he's been up, it was amazing how quickly the guy can move his hands. He felt around for anywhere his shotgun or radio might be.
"Where's my gun-"
Engineer extended his hand out to the Scout.
"The match's over."
"Seriously?" Scout grabbed Engineer's hand and stepped off the platform. "What happened?"
"Somethin' happened to the respawn machines. They overheated an' they didn't have the parts to replace it."
"Damn, no kiddin'... Well, didja win at least?"
"Mph..." Pyro's disappointed tone was enough to tell him what happened.
"Whaaaat? No way... Issit just you two? I see why we lost... Uh, no offence- "
"None taken. I should'a been smarter with my sentry." Engineer wrapped his arm around Pyro. "The only reason we 'ere close was 'cause Pyro found my teleporter. He's the one who deserves the credit."
"Ayyyy, da's our boy!" Scout pat Pyro on the back. "Who 'as up on deir side?"
"Heavy and Scout."
"Daaaamn, we lost to their Scout. Dat's depressing."
Engineer chuckled, "Haha, well he does his job well."
Quick weighted footsteps clicked next to them. Respawning was silent for all mercs, so no one noticed Soldier respawn. He had a massive frown on his face and appeared in an especially sour mood.
Engineer tried complimenting him to lift his spirits. "Hey Soldier, nice job on the Engineer 'n Sentry!"
"Where is Demo." His tone was stern.
Soldier stood right in front of the teleporter, keeping his back facing his colleagues.
"He's at th' fire."
Poof-
Soldier stepped on the teleporter, not bothering to hear anything anyone had to say.
"... wussup with him?" Scout awkwardly turned his head to Engineer.
"I can fill in ev'rythin' if yer interested."
"What kinda question is that? 'Course I wanna know."
"Well, it'll be a while and I'd like to rest. We can head to my workspace, seein' as the two boomsticks 'r at the fire."
"Wut about the others?"
"I'm sure they can fill in the details fer Sniper."
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This was the second match of the day: Capture the Flag in 2Fort. The strategists of BLU had always felt irritated by the design of the battlefield. A lot of sections were weighted for certain classes, and the chokepoints were nearly unbearable to pass by without witnessing death. Despite that, everyone did the best they could on the map.
"Scout and Med down!" Soldier yelled over the blue comms. The sounds of rockets and gunfire were picked up in the background. Just from its abundance and volume, it was obvious he was outside, perhaps on the bridge.
"Good job, now come back," Medic acknowledged his colleague's picks. His acoustics were muffled and echoed, which indicated he must be down in the tunnels of the sewers. "Sniper should be back."
Even from within the base, Engineer could hear the booms from underground. Each sound was distinct, and the one that caught his attention was the 'twoosh' of the Sniper's rifle. He looked at the kill feed on the top right of his vision to see Soldier had been headshot, as per usual.
Engineer stepped foot onto their upper battlements from the staircase. He kept his level one sentry by the intel room and left to see if he could provide any backup. The best he could do was pop a couple of pistol shots at the distracted Sniper before he returned to the base.
By the time he was able to collect enough metal to build a dispenser, he heard Medic over the comms once again.
"Everyone, fall back! Fall back!"
As he made his way back to base, he looked at the kill feed to see Sniper burned to death. He also noticed their Scout still wasn't up. Did he die again? His name wasn't on the kill feed.
. . .
"Why did you call retreat, Doktor?" Heavy asked. "We were pinning them down."
"No one is respawning," Medic declared. "Ve need everyone alive."
"I think this is bad call. Red Spy is dead, and Demo just destroyed sentry."
"Yes, but zere Pyro, Scout, and Medic are still alive."
"What a load of crap!" Soldier held his fist up at Medic. "We had them under our feet! We wouldn't even need Scout to collect those plans. Hell, you could've done it!"
"Ve vere overextending. I had no charge and zeir Pyro is missing!"
"Pyro was missing?! That's why you called us back?! I should've just grabbed those plans myself, you coward!"
"You don't fight Pyro in those halls! You should know better zan anyone else, dummkopf!"
"C'mon guys, what's done is done." Engineer tried to defuse the argument as calmly as he could. "Our goal is still the same."
If Engineer's attempt didn't work, the microphone feedback from the PAs definitely did. Medic covered his ears and Spy and Demo grimaced in pain. Everyone else turned to look at the speakers.
"Mercenaries, I regret to inform you that our game of Capture the Flag must end early. We still need a winner, so the next capture will determine the winner. Stay alive, because it is now sudden death."
"... Fotze." Medic grit his teeth at the confirmation of his suspicions. He glanced up at the portraits to check who's alive. Though RED Spy and Demo are dead, their own Scout and Sniper are dead too. The numbers are about even, but without their Spy to worry about, BLU team has a slight advantage. There is still that pesky Sniper keeping watch outside, but Spy should be able to make short work of him.
Spy leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, contributing his two cents for a plan. "I will deal with their backline if you distract them."
"Mrmph mph!" Pyro raised his hand at Spy.
"He said he wants to help you, Spy." Engineer translates Pyro's muffles for them.
"Nein, Pyro you stay here and help Engie defend."
"Mph?" Pyro turned his head to Medic, expressing discontent.
"I agree with the Doctor." The Frenchman concurred. "It is better you hold here in case they get past us."
Pyro let out a dejected moan. "Hmmmmph..."
"Well, ye won't have to worry about Scout," Engineer stopped upgrading his sentry. "He's an easy pickin' with this thing."
He knocked his Sentry with his wrench one more time, upgrading it to level 2. He made his way to the ammo pack, and possessing enough metal he set up a Dispenser.
"Me and Heavy will try to control ze bridge. Can you bring zat dispenser up to us in ze battlements?"
"Sure, no problem," Engineer confirmed as he walked off to get the other metal from an ammo pack.
Heavy turned to Demo. "Demo and Soldier, stay close to me and Doktor. We need you for burst."
"Me?" Demo held his chest with his hands. "Nae, nae. I am not going out there again."
"Huh?" Soldier turned his head to Demo, surprised at what he just heard. "Whaddaya mean 'no'?! You've had one too many-"
"Agh, zere's no time for zis!" Medic threw his hands up and started for the stairs. "Just, sticky ze place zen. Let's move! Raus, Raus!"
Everyone was already on the move, except for Soldier, whose frown was extra sour. He got closer to Demo, wrestling with the urge to give him a piece of his mind. "You have some explaining to do later, maggot."
The soldier double-timed up the stairs to catch up with his colleagues.
"... If there is a later." Demo muttered under his breath.
Engineer returned, having heard everything that just transpired. When he glanced over at Demo, the caitiff man remained poker-faced. The builder didn't say anything to him, assuming he wouldn't want to talk about it. Besides, he didn't have the time: everyone was already gone, and he didn't want to be blamed for anyone's deaths. Quickly, he packed up the dispenser and went up the stairs to go support Medic and Heavy.
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Pyro respected the calls of his teammates. Although he didn't like the idea of sticking around their base, he forced himself to comply.
He had nothing to do, and boredom became all he could think about. With an ammo pack that magically appeared every couple of seconds, he decided to play to pass the time. He turned on his flame thrower, setting whatever small things he could find in the room on fire. To his surprise, most of the stuff was fire-proof: even the supply crates, which were made of wood. He roasted the walls and the floor and they remained unaltered. Only the dirt from their boots set on fire.
He stared down the medkit and the ammo box for what felt like an hour.
FWOOSH!
Neither object was set ablaze, much to Pyro's disappointment. He picked up the ammo pack and started spinning around in circles, firing his flamethrower. Although he thought it might entertain him, the novelty quickly wore off.
. . .
As Pyro continued to occupy himself, he saw something change in the upper edge of his peripheral. Portraits were dulling quickly. He began to panic as he saw many men fall so quickly.
"Assistance! Assistance, bitte! Soldier and Medic on our battlement!" The doctor's terror made Pyro a little anxious. He felt the strong compulsion to leave his post to help Medic and Heavy, but his respect towards the initial plan overpowered his desire.
Seconds pass as he continued to watch the portraits closely. Thankfully, the teams remained similarly matched in numbers, ending in a Soldier/Engineer trade-off. Now that the skirmishes seem to have ended, he tried calming himself down with a couple of breaths.
Every person's life matters in this sudden death. He knew he was just as important as his teammates, and he wasn't going to let them down. The pressure was up, but he's been there before. The firebug won't let himself combust - he'll make sure his foes do before him.
Eventually, he was able to dissolve his nerves. Now, all that remained was a calm focus and a bit of excitement.
Hearing Medic's alert, he kept his eyes open for Soldier and Medic. He took a look at the portraits on the topside to review who's still alive. BLU team's Demo, Engineer, Medic and himself are still alive. RED team's Scout, Soldier, Medic, and Heavy are still alive.
Pyro skipped down the halls, making sure to check the whole perimeter. He was greeted by Engineer's level three sentry sitting by the hall leading to two sets of stairs. He gave it a pat, before making another lap around the base.
Passing the stairs that lead up towards the courtyard, he heard heavy footsteps. Holding his flamethrower close to his body, he approached slowly. The moment he heard the footsteps were close enough, he turned the corner and screamed, turning on his flame thrower.
"MMMMMMMPH!"
A familiar raspy scream followed.
"AAARH!" Demoman held his hands up. Friendly fire prohibited any of their damage from hurting each other, so Demo felt warm at best.
"Pyro! It's Demo! Ceasefire!" Demo pushed the nozzle of the flamethrower down to make eye contact with Pyro. Pyro stopped screaming and put his gun to rest upon seeing Demo. He looked behind him to see that he stickied the entrance.
"I've trapped the entrances."
"Mmphuu mphkm?"
"I dinnae know what you're sayin', but if it's about stayin' right 'ere, I am not goin' to get myself killed for a stupid case."
"Mmphm kmmpheunem, aejumphunna-"
"If you're tryna tell me I'm a coward or a turncoat, that's not it! Is it wrong to blame a man for fearing death?!"
Pyro sighs, mumbling something even more inaudible to himself. He pats Demo on the back a couple of times, before peeking his head outside. He caught a glimpse of the enemy Medic and Soldier running straight for where they were, and it seems they saw him too.
"There's their Pyro!" Soldier launched an impatient rocket, which was very obviously going to miss the target.
"That was a warning shot! Come out here and face me like a man!" He taunted Pyro. Medic followed behind with his Medigun locked on the impatient persuer.
"Mmmph!" Pyro pointed at the entrance. The explosion from the rocket was enough to tell Demo what was going on.
"Right! Signal me when Medic is at the door." Demo ran further back into the hall, watching Pyro's hand go up. Demo's hand was on the detonation stick, keeping all eye contact on Pyro's hand. If Red Spy were still up, both would be perfect targets.
BOOSH!
The very second Soldier stepped into the stairwell, he launched a rocket at Pyro. Pyro moved out of the way, keeping his arm up.
BOOM!
"You coward!" Soldier ran past the threshold of the door and went straight down.
"Soldier, vatch for bombs! I have no charge!" Medic paused outside the door frame, observing it from a distance. He didn't see any bombs at first glance, but he can't rule out the possibility. "Get out of zere, dummkopf!"
Soldier didn't bother waiting for Medic, provoked at Pyro for not making action happen. The pursuer turned the corner as if to forget he was facing a Pyro.
"Ghmpha!" He stuck the gun right on Soldier's face and pulled the trigger.
"Ahh! Fire, fire, fire!" Soldier switched to his shotgun and tried to burst Pyro down, but the firebug strafed well. Soldier found it difficult to burst him down with a shotgun, and the pain of being burned alive was excruciating.
Out of instinct, Medic rushes to Soldier's aid. Pyro shoved Soldier onto the wall and peeks his head into the stairwell. He spotted the Medic run past the threshold.
"Mmmph!" Pyro looks back at Demo, who takes that as the signal. Detonating the bombs, the Medic's scream echoed down the hall, with him popping up on the kill feed.
All that's left is to finish off the Soldier. With a quick pipe bomb, he blasted the Soldier's corpse to nothing.
"Aye, jeez..." Demo sighed in relief.
"Hmmrmmmph!" Pyro cheered, even though he was in pain after tanking two of Soldier's shotgun shots. Limping, he made his way to the resupply station outside of the courtyard with Demo following behind. If it meant they could engage in a place that wouldn't spell death for him, Demo is okay going there.
"Vunderbar!" Medic cheered over the comms. He sounded like he was in the staircase that lead to the upper battlements.
"Zey have to concede! Very vell done, kamer-"
POOM, POOM!
Medic's name appeared in the kill feed. Scout leaned over Medic's corpse, turning on the dead doctor's comms.
"Surrender? Hah! You can kiss my ass." Scout reloaded his shotgun twice. "Sighhhhh... I guess I have to carry my team, again."
"Phmk..." Pyro quickly pulled out what he needed from the resupply cabinet and hastened out of the room.
"Mphm gmmh!" Pyro gestured for Demo to follow him, but cyclops remained put. He stopped running for the intel after hearing a very distinct lack of footsteps.
"Guhmmuh?"
"No thanks."
"Eeuaghafvada..." Pyro groaned, dropping his shoulders. He stomped back to his partner. He then grabbed his wrist, but Demo quickly shook it off.
"No!"
"Hmmph!" Pyro yelled at Demo. It's perhaps the only word Demo was certain he understood, which was a frustrated 'why'.
"Because that was an over-confident Soldier and a Medic who can't let his lad go! This is a Scout in his zone! I'll blow myself up before I kill him!"
Pyro used both his hands to gesture at himself and his flamethrower.
"Then you go! I am fine here."
"Bvooh. Mmmphya harrgh mrgha hrghgph."
"Alert! The enemy has taken our intelligence!" The Administrator's warning boomed through the BLU Base PA.
Pyro made a run for the door, lugging his flamethrower. "Mmmmph!"
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"An' that's where Pyro found my teleporter." Engineer leaned forward on his wooden stool in his workplace. Scout and Pyro were sitting on similar stools placed around the clean wooden table.
Pyro nodded quickly. He seemed very enthusiastic about his achievements, and rightfully so.
"I was locked down in RED's intel room, but he helped me shut down the little feller. Sucks Heavy 'as able to secure it."
Engineer shrugged. "Oh well. There's always next time."
"What were ye doin' in deir room anyways?"
"Gettin' the intel...?" Engineer leaned closer to Scout, further emphasizing his confusion.
"No, I mean, ya said Heavy was guardin' it, right?"
"Yeah." Now that Scout mentioned it, the builder began to really think about it. It didn't take Scout's next comment for him to realize what he was asking.
"Why'd he let you live?"
There was silence as Engineer furrowed his brows and stared at the wall.
He remembers is placing his turret outside of RED's intel room, but drew a blank immediately after. He then recalls being in the far corner in the intel room with Heavy's gun pointed at him, and all of his weapons dropped in front of Heavy. Scout drank his BONK Juice to be immune to the turret damage, but Pyro provided a distraction and took down the Scout.
-What happened?-
Engineer asked himself.
"Hm, maybe Heavy had a change 'uh heart 'r sumthin'." Scout shrugged.
"Oh, oh." He shifted to the edge of his seat. His face changed from confusion to mild anger. "Maybe he wanted to lose to piss off that asshole. I'd fuckin' do that."
Engineer turned his head back to his company. "I, really don't know."
"Well, whatever." Scout placed his arms on the table, tone still frustrated. "If ya don't remember, prolly wasn' important. Besides, it's jus' a match."
He rested his head on his arms. He'd admit he was getting a bit too heated at something they shouldn't care about.
An awkward pin-drop silence filled the room.
Post Date: November 29, 2021