[Haaaay followers, I have to reupload because some VERY IMPORTANT SIGNIFIERS vanished. Should make more sense now!]

Sleep baby sleep
What are you waiting for?
The morning's on its way
You know it's only just a dream
~

'What do you mean the quickest you can do is 3 months?! I'd have died of hyperthermia by then!' Fast panicked nattering ensued on the other side of the phone I was holding. It was about eight in the morning, a slight tinge of frost still in the air. Standing at a public call box in the nearest town to our base, I leaned across the top of the box in defeat. 'And there's absolutely no way the order could be fast tracked?' Apologetic panicked nattering now came through the receiver. 'I'm freezing my ass off out here already, what am I meant to do?' The fast panicked nattering returned. I banged my head against the top of the box. 'Fine. Send the damn thing through.' I gave them my details and hung up the receiver with an exasperated sigh.

'How'd it go, partner?' Engineer's thick Texan accent made the comment sound like it belonged in a Wild West movie. I slammed my fist down on top of the abused call box. He'd move from beside his pickup truck to beside the public phone, leaning against it with his arms crossed. 'That bad, huh?'

'You sure you haven't got something lying around? Something you can whip up?'

He sighed. 'Darl, both you and I have looked at it a dozen times. You know it's beyond broken.'

I'd woken from a vivid nightmare in the early hours of the morning, panting hard as I adjusted to reality once more. As I calmed, I found myself shivering. Not from the dream, but from my heater having shut off. My attempts to restart the heater failed. Eventually, I had every warm item in my van piled on me before I deemed it bearable enough to sleep again. At dawn I'd crawled from my poorly constructed nest to diagnose the problem; what I found made me angry enough to take out an innocent nearby cactus. Somehow, one specific component was responsible for keeping the entire engine working. Of course that had to be the one that went.

Engineer had come out when I attacked the second cactus and took a look for himself. He agreed with my diagnosis of "fucked", and kindly drove me to the nearest pay phone. The part was rare, specific to the type of van I drove, and would take the maximum amount of time to deliver due to location. I had no heat for the coming desert winter, no capacity to drive anywhere and now no capacity to live self-sustained in my van.

Engineer motioned towards his truck. 'No use crying over a broken part. Looks like you might have to move in with the rest of the boys this evening. Now c'mon, battle starts in an hour and it takes half that to get back.'

I tapped my fingers across the callbox. He had a point. It was irritating, but certainly not the end of the world.

By time we got back and were kitted up with the rest of the team, it was 10 minutes to battle. I threw my threats to Scout in the hopes that he'd take the hint and not give away so many of my positions. I decided to ignore the frown Spy was sending in my general direction. In no time at all, the countdown started. Then, the roller doors unlocked and we were out.

Battle that day was tedious. The entire RED team's demeanour had shifted. Many members of the opposing team had become more vicious, as if I was destroying the sanctity of the battlefield. My frustration rose throughout the day. Medic had been wrong and Spy had been right. Things had changed. But the changes hadn't stopped at the opposing team, oh no, my own team had begun to have its own problems. Scout had given away several of my positions from his cocky behaviour. I'm not sure what he was playing at, but if it was to impress me, it had the opposite effect. Soldier had just looked at me with disgust every time I'd passes near him. I never caught so much as a glimpse of either spooks.

By the end of the day, the outcome of the battle heavily favoured the RED team. The reason was known by all, but said by none. The armoury was tense as the team packed away their weapons. I tried to ignore the pointed quietness and left without so much looking at any of the team. If they expected me to apologise, it wasn't going to happen. I did nothing wrong, I knew that. But I couldn't shake the fact that I was the catalyst, and the one who's head it would be on in the end.

- Spy

The equipment I use as a Spy makes the somewhat dreary daily battles bearable as I infuriate the dim-witted REDs. It also makes it all the more interesting watching the quirks of my own team without detection. The antics they present when they believe to be alone are amusing in the least. Today, I had decided to shadow our beloved, if vicious Sniper. RED Spy would attempt to shake her today, thinking she would be vulnerable after his actions yesterday. RED Spy, however, doesn't know her the way I do.

Sniper had carried on as she usually did in the battle that day. Switching across her known positions, finding the odd new spot. Watching her back had been difficult when she'd squeezed herself under a section of wood platform. It certainly gave me cause to smirk when many of the REDs couldn't figure out where the shots came from. Her demise came when the RED Heavy spotted her muzzle flash between the boards and sent a spray of bullets down at the platform. Tonight I will ponder the thoughts I had when I saw her lifeless, wrecked body. Why anger stuck me like a lightning strike hitting a lone tree on a hill, then disappeared as quickly as it came. Thoughts I would share with no-one, not even the blank space of paper. Why was it different now, when I had known her secret before?

I had begun my course toward respawn when he and I met. The RED Spy blocked the path to the BLU base. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag in the doorway, uncaring that my revolver was aimed at him. It was clear he was here to talk. Our postures were mirrored. We both stood with our back straight, our non-dominant arms behind our backs. The objects we held in our dominant hands were all that differed between myself and my oppositely coloured counterpart.

The RED Spy took another drag, blowing out the smoke nonchalantly. He leant against the doorway, barely looking to the opposing spy.

"I see that my prey is your ward today. Tell me, did she ask you for such protection?"

Click. I held the gun level.

"No. You are predictable enough that I knew you would target her."

The opposing spy chuckled. "I suppose it was an obvious move."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Yet supposedly you are my equal. What a laughable mistake."

His lingering smile vanished in an instant as anger flashed across RED Spy's eyes, now focused on my person. "You'd do well to remember what I am capable of. Say your farewells to Sniper you know while you still can. She may not survive this match with me."

This time, I laughed openly. An attempt to cover the tinge of panic I had felt from knowing his true intentions. Why kill her permanently? She would only be replaced with another. "If you truly believe a dramatic reveal of gender will be enough to tear her apart, you don't know Sniper nearly as well as I do. If you believe you can get past the respawn, you truly are a fool."

RED Spy threw his cigarette to the ground, snuffing it out with the heel of his shoe. "Ah, but that is where you are wrong. I know her far more than you care to think." He drew his own revolver. "And I will not be the one to pull the trigger that snuffs her life." His revolver was now aimed toward my person. "This conversation has come to an end, but our battle has begun. Let the best man win."

Bang. Dual shots rang through the shanty room, and it was done.

- Sniper

Engie and Heavy were gracious enough to help me move what few personal belongings I had to a spare dorm in the barracks. With the three of us, it only took us one trip. It was a simple room. Everything was built into the walls. A small desk was on the left as you entered the room, connecting to the head of the bed which took up the remainder of the wall. Along the right side of the room, a cupboard took up half the wall before it turned into open shelving half its depth, which started halfway up the wall. A long, narrow window of frosted glass was positioned opposite the doorway. Cheap horizontal blinds were pulled up to the top of the window; they appeared to have been heavily abused, what with the way a few of the edges poked about. There was a full length mirror on the back of the door, with a hook above it.

I said my thanks to Engie and Heavy as they placed their boxes down around my room. They left with small smiles. They knew just as well as I did why battle didn't go well today, yet had no intention to talk about it. After I had opened the window and kept the door from closing with a heavier box, I got to work. Hopefully my movement in the room and leaving those two points open would make the room less musty.

"Moving into the barracks now? An interesting move, to say the least."

I froze at the BLU Spy's voice. Slowly, I turned to see him lingering in the doorway. He had a gift for causing discomfort, just like his RED counterpart. I scowled at him before returning to unpacking. "Van is screwed. It was move here with you lot or freeze." Straightening up, I put a few books into the shelf. "Preferred you lot to a cold death."

He chuckled. I heard him flick a lighter open and smelt the whiff of cigarette smoke wafting through my room. The asshole. I looked to him, pissed.

"Spy, if you're going to make this musty room smell worse, at least have the decency to offer one up."

He faltered. The shit faltered. Stared at me until I made a motion that could be translated as well? He pulled out his disguise kit, flicking it open and selecting a cigarette. I proceeded to take it from his then outstretched hand. Fishing out my own lighter, I walked toward the window and lit up.

I heard movement and looked over my shoulder to see him moving further into my room, settling against the desk. I refocused on the landscape outside the open window.

"I did not know you smoked, Sniper."

I exhaled the smoke, irritated with the small talk. Muttered an unexcited "surprise". A few moments passed. "You want something. Spit it out."

A long silence was shared between us before he spoke.

"You're in danger."

I laughed roughly. "Is that all you've got?"

"Sniper, I do not joke. For whatever reason, RED Spy has a personal vendetta against you. He is not the sort of man to be easily discouraged. This is only the beginning."

"Let me guess, he told you his nefarious plans with a twist of his non-existent curly moustache?"

"Yes, sans the absent moustache twirling."

"And you realise how ridiculous this sounds?"

He lets out an exasperated sigh. "Sniper please, you are no match for him. However strong you may think you are, he will tear it down. I do not want to see that happen to you. Let me help."

It was the wrong thing to say. Spy was supposed to be a man of some small amount of intelligence. Spent years working beside me without so much as a glance. Took care of myself all those years. Now he takes a sudden interest, now that the secret is out, now that its 'acceptable'. How convenient that he now 'cares'. Talks down to me as if he's interested in my safety. I snuffed out my cigarette on the window sill and threw it into the still yet unpacked trash can next to me. Crossed my arms, stared out the window in front of me, silent anger roiling.

"Get out."

"Sniper, you have no idea what that man is capable of." He sounded frustrated, as if he was trying to reason with an unreasonable child. It angered me further.

"Then you know nothing about me at all." I half turned toward him, aggressively motioning toward the open door. "Now get. OUT."

He left like a child told he couldn't have sweets at the checkout. I slammed the door, banging my head against it, forgetting the mirror was there. A slight crack and a flash of pain told me I may have hit the door too hard. I drew back to see a fracture in the mirror, and a small cut on my head. I broke. Slid to the ground, holding my hand on the wound, taking deep breaths to calm myself, rocking. Nothing helped.

I didn't leave the room after our incident, and my subsequent episode. Hunger for dinner never came, so I finish my unpacking soon enough. Once the room was the way I wanted it, I changed for bed.

My sleep was restless that night. I woke again in the early hours of the morning, shivering. But this time, it wasn't for lack of heat.

It was from the nightmare itself.

Authors notes;

Water is wet. Long chapter is long. Thanks to the people who have stuck around after years being gone, and to you new kids on the block. You keep me writing. Also, EDITS DID GET MADE. My signifiers all disappeared in the copy/paste process. Scratch that, it won't allow my actual, nice ones.

Beginning italicised text extract from Sleep Baby Sleep by the Broods.