((A/N: Hello all, I'm sorry it took me so long to update DSoF, I keep telling myself to update and continue writing, but I never get around to it. I started writing chapter 9 a year ago... Anyways, enjoy Dark Side of Fate chapter 8.))

"Frauline Scout, vake up, please."

"Ugh…" With a set of grunted groans, I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes.

I woke up in the infirmary.

"Ah, vou are avake at last."

I looked into the brown eyes of one of RED Team's Medics, holding what looked like a bottle of pain killers.

"Ve veren't sure if you vere going to vake up," The Medic made a mark on the clipboard he was carrying.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Vell, you did have some pretty bad injuries from our battle."

"Huh?" I blinked and tried to remember what had happened when I tried to take BLU's intelligence back to our base.

"If the bullets in vour arm veren't bad enough, that knife vound vould of done you in." The Medic looked at his clipboard.

"If it was so bad, how come I didn't die and respawn?" I asked rubbing my now aching head.

The Medic shook his head, "I do not know the answer to that, Frauline. Perhaps you should talk to herr Engineer.

The Medic pointed to an Engineer who was examining his bandaged arm. He looked up at us and came walking over.

"Howdy, y'all, what can I do for you?" He asked, while looking at my wounds.

"Herr Engineer, the Scout's vanting to know vhy she didn't die and respavn after she got stabbed by a Spy." The Medic explained as he pulled on his glove.

"No good, rotten, dirty Spah…" The Engineer muttered under his breath.

"Vat did you say, herr Engineer?" The Medic questioned.

"Nothing important, Doc." The Engineer then turned to me.

"Scout, can ya hand me yer respawn timer?" He asked and held out his hand.

"I have a name, you know," I mentioned as I slipped off the timer and dropped it into the Engineer's open hand.

He didn't seem to have heard what I said. Either that or he was ignoring me. He took out a screwdriver from his overalls pocket and opened the watch and held it upside down. Water spilled out of the watch.

"Well that was kinda obvious." The Engineer laughed, replacing the battery. "Yer battery got soaked." He handed the watch back to me.

I leaned back against the pillow of the bed I was resting in, slipping the watch onto my wrist.

"By the way, what happened in the battle?" I asked.

The Engineer opened his mouth like he was going to say "we lost," but the Medic shook his head at the Engineer. Moments later the door to the infirmary was pulled open forcefully. With a loud bang, it hit the back wall, startling the Medic, Engineer, and me.

"I'm fine! I don't need to see the Medics!" A female Scout was flailing her arms in a desperate attempt to free herself from a Heavy's arms.

The Heavy set the Scout down on an empty bed next to me and stepped back.

"Hamstring ripped in battle by bullets," the Heavy pointed to the Scout as the Medic rolled his eyes.

"Wunderbar another Scout patient…" The Medic stepped away from my bed to examine the new patient.

"Name, class, age?" The Medic asked the blonde girl.

"Alice Margatroid, Scout, 19." Alice blew back a strand of hair, her green eyes showing panic and pain.

"Doc, am I going to die?" Alice asked, shivering.

"No, vou aren't going to die, Frauline, ve just need to do an operation to remove the bullets in vour leg."

I saw the Medic sigh after he spoke about the operation. I felt dizzy and lay back against the pillows.

"That's not that bad," Alice smiled, "What could go wrong?"

"Vou von't be able to run. Ever again."

The room was silent for a few moments until Alice spoke up, "B-but… I like running…" she looked down at the white bed covers.

"Do vou like dying? I didn't think so."

Alice stared in disbelief at the Medic, "Not be able to run! I'm a freaking Scout!" She started crying.

"Alice…" I turned my head to look at the young girl who was crying into the pillow on the bed.

"Vou von't be useless. Ve vill assign you another class, now, drink this." The Medic passed Alice a cup.

"W-what is this?" Alice sniffed the liquid and turned her head away from it. "It smells disgusting!"

"Just drink it. It'll knock vou out so ve can perform the operation." The Medic calmly put a hand on Alice's arm. "I know vou're scared, Frauline, I vas too avter my first battle.

The Medic lifted up his bangs where a long, thin scar was running across his forehead. Alice screamed at the sight of this.

"W-what h-happened?" I asked, as the Medic let his bangs fall back over his scar.

"It vas perhaps… 1920. RED team was pushing BLU team avay from the control point on Coldfront. I vas healing a Heavy and vasn't paying attention when herr Heavy yelled out, "SNIPER!" Next thing I knov, I'm on the ground, blood staining the snow beneath me."

"And the Heavy?" I asked.

"Could not vind herr Heavy's body anyvhere."

There was a dead silence-and then the lights instantly shut off. Alice and I screamed. Alice nearly jumped into the Medic's arms.

"Garsh darnit! I told them to construct away from the circuit board!" The Engineer in the room stood up and left the infirmary, shaking his head. The Medic followed, closing the door behind the Engineer.

"I really don't want to drink this." Alice turned her head towards me.

"I know you don't, but Alice, it's better than having a lame leg." I tried to persuade her to drink the medicine. Alice didn't say anything. She just stared blankly at the medicine cup. The Medic stepped back into the room.

"Vou still haven't taken the medicine, Scout? Everything vill be fine." The Medic applied fresh bandages to the wounds on my chest and arms.

"Are you sure?" Alice looked at the Medic, her blond bangs fell in front of one eye.

"Absolutely. The sooner vou take it, the sooner vee can operate and the sooner vou can move."

With a nod of understanding, Alice pressed the cup to her lips and drank the purple medicine. She coughed a bit.

"God, this stuff tastes terrib-" Alice's eyelids slowly closed and she fell into a deep slumber.

The Medic turned to me. "Vour vounds have stopped bleeding, vou may leave."

"What about Alice?" I asked, climbing out of the infirmary bed I was laying in.

"Her operation vill be tomorrow morning. The medicine vill keep her asleep for three days."

"How much of a chance of survival does she have?" I asked, pulling on my shorts.

"Since ve have to remove the bullet and wait until the muscle heals, she vould have an 60% chance of survival."

"60%?"

"But since the muscle is in her leg, the percent rate increases to 70." The Medic pulled off his red gloves and reached for a new pair.

"Vour friend vas lucky she arrived shortly after the battle. If she vaited any longer, it vould of been too late."

"I see..." I tied my shoes.

"If vou feel any pain, vou can take two of these." The Medic handed me a bottle of pain pills.

"Thank you, Medic." I pocketed the pills and walked out of the infirmary, shuddering. I never want to go back there.

"ADRIAN!"

I jumped as I heard someone yell my name. Niko ran down the hallway and crashed into me.

"Ow..." I winced and blinked. The ceiling seemed a lot higher than I remembered.

I looked up to meet the ceiling, but instead met brown eyes. My heart pounded as the owner pushed himself off of me.

"Adrian..." Niko raised one hand and covered his mouth with it. "I am so sorry. I was running too fast... I couldn't stop..."

I sat up and rubbed the back of my head.

"I'm okay...I don't think any of my wounds reopened..." I looked at the bandages around my chest. Niko followed my eyes to my chest.

"What?" I blinked and looked at my chest again, my face turning red. I left my shirt back in the infirmary!

I quickly stood up and dusted my shorts off.

"Uh... so... I'll see you later then!" I ran down the hallway Niko had arrived from, crashed into a wall, backed up, rubbed my head and stepped around the wall, continuing my trot.

"Wait, Adrian! I need to talk to you!" Niko called after me, running to keep up.

I arrived at Tori's room.

"Tori! Are you there?" I knocked on the door.

"What?" The RED Spy stuck her head out of the doorway, with an irritated look on her face.

"Keep it down, Adrian-san, I don't want my name to be revealed." Tori put a finger to her lips and fully opened the door. I hurried inside.

"What is with you? I've never seen you in this much of a rush." Tori looked at me as I threw on a red shirt.

"Er... nothing, gotta go talk to someone, bye!" I bolted out the door and almost crashed into a panting Niko.

"You needed to talk to me? What's up?" I asked, smoothing down a strand of hair.

Niko looked around. "We can't talk here, come with me."

Niko took my hand and led me down the hallway. We reached a red door. Niko searched his pants pockets for the key as I leaned against a wall.

"Ok, door's unlocked, let's go." Niko entered the doorway with me in pursuit.