Team Fortress 2 and its characters belong to Valve. Most of this stuff remains canon; teams are portrayed in a more realistic manner (or as realistic as you can get with a game like this) while trying to stay true to the personalities of the characters involved. Have fun reading or simply close out of it if you don't.
Cheers.
P.S.: Sorry for the wait, had to think of a transition chapter, but I have some ideas now.
P.P.S.: SEE THE BOTTOM.
"Look, mates, when I said 'we need a fishbowl' I wasn't bein'.. you know, serious," said Pierce, his hand at the back of his neck as he watched a team of Engineers putting the finishing touches on what looked like an eight by fourteen foot fish tank on wheels.
His friend from the hangar was grinning, hooking up a black box at one side of the tank that had 'O2' printed down the side with white, water-resistant paint. "Sorry, partner, we're all gonna be movin' on shortly, can't get too set up in this here base."
The Sniper grumbled a bit and nodded with grudging agreement.
The Tentaspy had been out of the water for almost a week now, occasional trips to the showers being the only thing keeping him comfortably hydrated. Without a proper room to call his own, he'd been staying in the infirmary and lending several hands to the Medics who were being kind enough to accept the abomination into their workspace. Hopefully this tank would ease off some of that dry time, though he hoped it wouldn't degrade him too much to be stuffed in a box like this.
"Hey, any word on that truck?" asked one of the lankier Engineers as he tossed a line of tubing up to one of his colleagues and turned his goggled gaze on the Sniper.
Another truck had been sent out two days ago after a bit of information had been passed on by the Decaspy. They had a rough idea of where to look now and only just this morning had plans been laid out. "Yeh," said the Sniper, hands lowered to his belt where he poked his thumbs into the loops, "HQ says we're clear to move tomorrow. We'll be settin' up base out in the middle uh nowhere s'far as I can tell."
"Man," the Engie groaned, shuffling back to his work station.
The hangar-bound Engineer just laughed and descended the ladder he'd been standing on, "Aw, don't sweat it. Heck.. It's been too long since I've gotten to design anything!"
The Sniper gestured to the rather enormous tank beside them at which the Engineer waved a dismissing hand, "No way, I'm talkin' big. A whole base! Gosh darn golly, can ya just imagine.." Pierce could swear the man would have stars in his eyes if his goggles weren't blocking the view.
They only had a few short months before the snow would start to fall, and if they didn't have shelter by that time..
The Aussie didn't even want to think about what would happen. "Well then," he said, "I guess it's good HQ's sendin' more temp. Engies our way. You'll have your dream base in no time, mate."
Looking entirely too happy, the Engineer hefted up his wrench and tapped his hard hat knowingly. "S'only a matter uh time, ain't it? Alright, boys! How's she comin'?" he asked, turning away from the Sniper to go and help with the final additions to the tank. Pierce took it as his permission to leave, smiling and bowing out of the work area.
Time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye after that.
The previously lost men came together at the idea of moving to where fighting would surely be. Men who had started to become calm suddenly flared back to life at the promise of conflict. Some were excited, some were terrified, some didn't even care one way or another, but everyone was preparing for the move to come. Dorms were being packed up and equipment was being transferred to the Red train which had been crane-lifted onto the Blu tracks. The previously settled Red base steadily began looking more and more like the stripped Blu base as the day went on.
The young Medic tried not to think anything of it as he pushed up the heavy door of what had previously been an enemy hangar.
As he walked the empty halls, he marveled at the perfect silence inside..
He rounded the corner, stepping toward the enemy barracks as the sound of his falling boots echoed eerily up the hallway. The alarms were still mounted on the walls, their bells silent as he walked right past them completely unarmed. Over both shoulders he had brought carrier bags marked with a bright red cross in the middle. Usually meant for carrying medical supplies, they would be put to a different task today.
'Monsieur Medic, a moment please..' the Blu Spy had said.
Naturally, the young doctor had been wary of the man ever since he was released from the infirmary. In the end, however, he had heard him out after being approached in the mess hall over a cup of English tea.
As it happened, the Spy's intentions were entirely noble. He briefly explained the anklet the Red Spies had instructed him to wear, informing him of the strict probation he had been put on. He hadn't come to ask anything devious of the Medic, only that he go in his stead to the old Blu base and retrieve a few personal effects. In a time of peace and liberation from his usual duties, how could he refuse?
So there he stood, all by his lonesome in an area which must have once been crowded and thick with enemy traffic. Something about the place aside from its temperature made the Medic shiver through his coat, but he didn't intend to stay long enough to find out why.
He made use of the key which had been taken from the Spy during his capture, letting himself into one of the rooms warily.
No traps? No traps.. good.
Not thirty seconds later and he stepped back out of the room to check the number painted on the door. He looked at the room, he looked at the key, he looked at the door number. .. really? Deciding he really had entered the correct area, he went back inside and stared at what lay before him.
Neon green - the bed sheets were Neon. Green.
The color sickened him to the point of queasiness, and the rest of the room wasn't any better. Everything looked like a rainbow had vomited all over it, bright flashy colors painting the walls and briefly reminding the Medic of a teenage girl's bedroom somewhere far outside the reaches of this battle. Most everything in here was modern and kept in neat piles and shelves, but still.. Neon? So much of it? He lifted an eyebrow upon opening a dresser drawer.
Zebra patterned skinny jeans..
The round-up was an.. interesting experience, to say the least. The Medic couldn't be out of there fast enough, his hurried steps weighed down by the filled bags he was carrying. In his hands he held a small book with great care - it was something the Blu Spy had made a special emphasis on obtaining. The Medic had leafed through it to be sure it wasn't anything damning, finding it to be written entirely in French and thus entirely outside his realm of comprehension.
In time he got it all to the Spy who in turn packed it onto the train where everyone else was loading their things. He decided it best to not address the thong he'd found.
After that, it was all squared away..
Almost everything but the men of RED team themselves had been stacked and stowed on the train, a hushed silence falling over everyone as they prepared for what would be at least a few days' journey not to mention the rapid construction that would follow. Tomorrow morning they would be saying goodbye to the comfortable Red base, it's sturdy steel hallways and arching hangar halls being left to be demolished by HQ's clean-up force which would leave the Reds in charge of constructing their own lodging out in.. wherever it was they were being dispatched.
With the frames of their beds packed onto the train cars, the men were reduced to sleeping on their mattresses. Even the newly-constructed Tentaspy tank and the beds of the infirmary were stashed there. As a result, the Decaspy found himself boarding with Pierce for the night. They had discussed it that afternoon, but as the masked man lay on his back right next to the Sniper, he began to realize just how surreal it was to be sharing a sleeping space with someone. It was only a mattress, of course, but it may as well have been a four-post bed as far as he was concerned.
There was something.. foreign about it. About being allowed even the simplest of pleasures like this.
It had been close to a year since he could remember having the freedom to go where he pleased and be treated with any measure of respect. Limited human contact.. limited reassurance to remind him that he had even been alive during those horrifying months of solitude.
But here he was, laying in a perfectly silent dorm room with regulated air temperature, a soft mattress, and the comforting presence of a close friend shoulder to shoulder with him. After some time, the Spy turned his head to observe the Sniper. Ah.. He looked to be completely at ease; at least, as much as he could be when basically laying on the floor without a blanket. His eyes were closed, his hat was off.. The Red looked completely vulnerable - certainly not like the man he was used to seeing around base.
After staring for what had to be fifteen minutes, the Tentaspy slowly reached over and hovered the fingers of his right hand just beneath the man's chin. He pressed an index finger against it, very subtly turning the Sniper's head toward himself at a pace that even the vigilant Aussie wasn't able to detect. It made the Spy smile..
/
ATTN: The tail end of this sequel has been changed into the beginning of the next. This story has been given a new title and the third story in the series is now 'Before You Become the Devil.' Many apologies for the confusion and wait time. Thank you for reading!
