Back again! I like being able to churn out chapters like this. Of course, it's nearly 8 am and I stayed up all night playing TF2 and writing, but hey, it's progress!

You can also add me on steam. I'm Jackknife. ;)


Tracy took a deep breath, considering her next words before righting herself.

"Uh... sorry." She replied, her voice small and meek. She clasped her hands together in front of her, not looking him in the eye.

He laughed uproariously at her response, quickly regaining his composure. "So, you were the one Miss Pauling was calling about? To be honest, I was expecting someone else."

"Well, wasn't exactly my idea." Tracy remarked spitefully, shifting from foot to foot as the Medic studied her.

"Well, however you may have come to be here is no problem of mine. We shall start the surgery immediately, ja?"

"Wait- surgery?!" Tracy had never had a single surgery performed on her in her life, so the sudden introduction was not at all welcome. The doctor rolled his eyes at her plight, turning to wash his hands at a sink and pull on blue medical gloves.

"Oh, don't be a baby. It won't even hurt..." He turned his head away from her, "... much."

Before she could ask what he meant by that, he spoke again. "Take off your shirt, I don't have all day. I have very delicate experiments I need to watch over."

Tracy had begun to comply when Pauling's voice echoed through her head, reminding her she wasn't supposed to reveal her gender to her team mates.

'Well, how in the hell am I suppose to keep it a secret to the doctor?' She wondered to herself, 'Fuck it, can't keep it from everyone.'

She turned her back to the man and unzipped her hoodie, peeling off the shirt she had underneath. She hesitated just a moment before turning back to him.

The Medic seemed hardly fazed by this, "Oh? A female team member? Miss Pauling had neglected to tell me that."

"It's a long story." She sighed as the Medic gestured to the gurney, and she hopped up. She was incredibly nervous, a slight tremor in her hands as she layed on the cold metal.

"Why don't you fill me in then?" The Medic pulled a table to her side, readying his instruments of torture. Each was more intimidating than the last. If Tracy hadn't regretted her theft before, she sure was now. The Medic pulled the ray gun she had been playing with earlier closer and flipped it on to a low setting. The feeling was not as strong as before, just a slight hum that relaxed her body but not her mind.

"Let's just say I stole some things and Miss Pauling came to fetch me. I owe Blutarch a lot of money and I'm gonna be here for a year to pay it back." Tracy admitted in defeat, ashamed of her wrongdoings.

The german man clicked his tongue in mock anger, shaking his head as he put a hand on her stomach.

"We will begin now." He stated as a scalpel materialized in his other hand. "I will try not to grope you."

Tracy nearly bolted out of her position when she saw that, "Should I be awake for this?"

The Medic held her down with his hand, "As I said, if you were paying attention, this will not hurt."

"Much! You said much!" She squawked, but obeyed and relaxed back despite her worried expression.

Rolling his eyes, he deftly sliced from her collarbone down to her belly button. As he had said, it did not hurt much at all. All she felt was a slight discomfort, almost an itching sensation. Tracy looked away, afraid to look down and see her own innards. She took to looking above, the ceiling dimly lit.

"This looks all in order. One moment." He stepped away and crouched down, and returned with a strange metal device that did not look at all friendly. Tracy turned her sight away from it, a bead of sweat going down her face.

"Ah, this may be unpleasant." He state matter-of-factly as he slipped his hands between her ribs and placed the odd contraption between them. "Actually, could you place your hands here and here? I need both hands for this."

Feeling bile rise in her throat, she did as she assumed he wanted and place her hands in between her own ribs, plying them apart as far as she could.

"Good, good. Now, don't take a deep breath."

"Wh-HHHhhyYYYy?!" She yelped as she felt something snap, her muscles protesting as her ribs were opened entirely, revealing her lungs and heart. She gasped and took a breath, resting her hands on her upstanding ribs, a sharp stabbing pain radiating across her chest.

"Well, now you know." He removed the rib splitter from her body and casually tossed it aside. He loomed over her, scalpel in hand as he dove around her lungs. "...Whoops."

Tracy felt a lung short, and almost panicked before the Medic spoke again. "I'll put that lung back, don't worry Frau."

She could feel his hands moving inside her, a curiously sickening sensation as she felt gentle touches against her pumping heart.

"Now, please look at me." At first she didn't want to, but she obeyed and turned her head. He looked deadly serious, his eyes invading her own thoughts. "I am going to remove your heart."

"WHAT?!" She felt the urge to move, but refrained from doing so.

"You will be getting a replacement. The most important thing is that you keep your eyes open and do not panic. Focus on my voice." He spoke with a low, deep tone that made her both relaxed and on edge at the same time.

He turned his sight back into her body cavity, "Ready?"

She was unable to utter a response when she felt something severed in her chest. Her vision instantly went dark and spotty, and she struggled to remain conscious. She forced her body, sluggish as if she were treading water.

"Can you hear me? Good, you seem to be responding well. Just keep listening to me." She could hear the doctor, but could barely see him in the dimness. Eventually her vision started to come back, however hazy and blurry as it was. She blinked furiously, squinting to finally witness the Medic's face come into view.

"I will be right back." He stepped away to what appeared to be a refrigerator. He began to hum some sort of song, which relaxed her somewhat. She took to observing her surroundings, catching sight of something white darting overhead. It appeared to be a bird, most likely a dove. It cocked it's head at her before flying down to greet her, landing on an upstood rib. She shooed it away, irritated by the bird's antics. It cooed and flew away, landing on a light fixture.

"That was Archimedes. He's quite curious about the innards of my patients." The doctor returned once more, more amused than anything else. He held in his hands a heart of huge proportions with what seemed to be something metal jammed into it's side. Turning to the ray gun, he exposed the heart to the ray and it began to beat rapidly and glowed blue.

Tracy glared at him, "How in the hell is that gonna fit in my chest?"

"Well, it fit in the Scout's." The Medic shrugged as he plopped the heart into her chest cavity, maneuvering it and fitting the lung back in place. He proceeded to deftly snap her ribs back in place with a single motion, causing her to yelp in surprised and mingled pain.

Pulling the ray gun closer, he pulled the lever back entirely and Tracy was surprised to see her skin grow back over the slice, not even leaving a scar. Color returned even more, and she could breath more deeply.

Sitting up, she touched the area which had previously been split apart. She could feel the mammoth heart in her chest beating strongly. Turning to look back at the doctor, he was cleaning his tools.

"Miss Pauling had told me not to let anyone know I was a girl." She admitted, pulling her shirt and hoodie back on.

"And what makes you think I would have to comply with that?"

"Doctor-patient confidentiality?" She suggested jokingly. The Medic turned to look at her, treating her to a small laugh.

He mulled it a moment before nodding, a small smile on his lips. "I will consider it. Now off you go, I have other things to take care of."


Walking back up the steps from the medical lab, she was now lost as to what she was supposed to do. The halls were completely empty, and she was sure the Medic would not appreciate her returning to ask something so trivial as directions. She began to wander blindly, hands in her pockets as she tried to find someone or something.

BOOM! Something above the building sounded like it had exploded, startling Tracy as she braced against a wall. The building shook dangerously, and she was suddenly concerned with the idea that the whole thing could come crashing down on them all.

Brushing a hand through her short hair, she began a slight jog as she was now desperate to talk to someone, ANYONE.

Just as she was about to ascend a flight of stairs, a group of men in red uniforms began charging down. She pushed herself against a wall, trying to make herself as small as possible. She pressed her hands to her face, assuming the worst. She could hear them running, until she could hear them no more. Just as she was about to remove her hands, she felt someone else's on her shoulder.

"C'mon now, nothin' to be afraid of."

Startled, she removed her hands and was greeted by the sight of a man in a hard hat, goggles, and overalls. He was wearing red just like the men were before, but what really grabbed her attention was the warm smile on his face. Despite herself, she began to relax into his grip.

"Um, hi?" She squeaked out, and the man laughed.

"Nice to meet yah." He took a step back to get a look at her, considering her for a moment. "Never seen you around here, or up there either." He gestured with a thumb.

"Yeah... you could say I'm brand new." She was going to have to say that alot, didn't she?

"Well, I'm the Engineer for the RED team. Don't suppose you'd tell me why you're down here?" He rested his hands on the hand rail of the stairs as they began to climb up. Apparently, she had inadvertly found the exit just as they had invaded.

"I owe Blutarch money." She stated with slight annoyance just as they breached the next room. The suitcase that had been on the desk before was now gone, but she didn't consider why.

"Ah, so I suppose you're working for him now?" The Engineer seemed less than excited by this revelation, a small frown on his lips.

She sighed and gave a small shrug of defeat, "Didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. Besides, I haven't even been trained yet."

There was a period of silence as they made their way up another flight of stairs. Eventually Tracy could feel a small breeze and then the sun above them. She stretched as they walked onto a second story, greeting the sun with small smile.

Sitting down on the ledge, the man in the goggles invited her to sit down with him. Tracy didn't hesitate, as she automatically trusted the man for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the voice, perhaps he was the first person that hadn't greeted her violently, but whatever the case she liked him.

"Mah base is over there," He pointed straight across, indicating the building with the RED insignia. "Reliable Excavation Demolition. I created the system that keeps us coming back every time we die to each other's hands."

"Well then what's the point?"

"Then both the Manns would be constantly buying mercenaries over and over again, now wouldn't they?" He remarked, rubbing his chin. "Plus, I don't rightly think they know. The Administrator keeps a lot of secrets."

"I imagine so." She replied, remembering how the Administrator hadn't divulged her gender to Blutarch. She was ever so slightly thankful, if only because she would have either been killed or jailed otherwise.

Turning to look over at the Texan, a question sprung to mind. "So... what exactly are you guys doing down there? And why aren't you down there with them?"

He put his hands against the floor and leaned back, stretching. "It's a simple retrieve mission for information. We already got what we wanted, but the others love blood shed. I don't rightly have a taste for it." He paused, "I think the only reason you weren't killed on sight was the color you're wearing. Purple is supposedly a neutral color."

"Well... thanks. I think." She rubbed the back of her head. Thank god she didn't put on the uniform she had been given, or otherwise she'd probably be dead. Or... not, considering whatever system they had in place to bring her back.

Behind them, they could hear the commotion of many feet coming their way. The Engineer stood up and offered a hand, which she gladly took.

"Welp, time to head out. You should probably get back to your team." He said as he began to walk away.

"Hey!" She nearly shouted without thinking. The Engineer turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. She paused for only a moment.

"Can we talk again? Even if we're on opposing teams?" She began to feel silly. She had only known this man for five minutes and she already wanted him as a friend. "I know Miss Pauling said not to make friends with the the REDs but-"

She was interrupted by a chuckle before he replied, "We'll see."

She watched as he turned a corner and disappeared. Soon after she saw the entire RED team, whooping and hollering in glee, running from her base back to theirs. She sighed and turned, wondering what exactly happened down there.


TBC!