This is a readying chapter, so I just simply disliked writing it. Won't be long till the action begins though.
Everyone still belongs to Valve... wait, I said that already.
Cracks in the Window
"Mission begins in five minutes."
He stood in front of the Resupply Room closet choosing his equipment; in the end he settled on his usual 2Fort set- Rainbower, Glowstick and Bubbleblower.
In a moment, everyone would automatically be sent to the sealed-off Respawn Rooms, but for now they all had a moment to think and ready themselves.
In the top shelf of his closet space was an ordinary purse, slightly shabbier than anything else in the room and dirtied with a few burn marks. However, it was somehow more special than anything else he possessed- even the Rainblower.
While Demoman and Soldier chatted away and Heavy polished Sascha, he quietly opened it and pulled out the lucky charm inside: a hand-sewn Balloonicorn, scuffled and sooty, but more or less recognisable.
He realised, like he did every time, that he had a history with the object that did not belong to him anymore, a carefree age of happiness long forgotten.
He pushed the Balloonicorn figurine back into the purse with a click before turning around to see the real Balloonicorn barrel into him with a happy whinny.
"I'm going with Engie. Help me look out for BLU Spy, alright? I think I have a problem with him."
The living toy gave a cheery nod before floating to its usual position behind him.
"Mission begins in sixty seconds."
His insides exploded with momentary pain, stomach turning, heart hammering, waves of nausea washing over him as respawn dragged him into position along with a groaning Heavy, an already half-drunk Demoman, a still-talking Soldier and a crouching Spy.
Using the system prevented anyone from permanently becoming hurt –or dying- though the process was enough for any sane person to wish that they could actually die instead.
The system had sealed up the small number of cuts and holes in his suit along with the slashed open gas line behind his neck. Though, he realised, the sweet smell had dropped significantly nonetheless.
"Mission begins in thirty seconds."
Soldier was beginning to rainbow jump all over the bright space, laughter following the thudding impacts with the ceiling.
"Mission begins in ten seconds."
Over the microphone, Scout was humming a tune.
He could barely hear it over his own thoughts.
"Five. Four. Three. Two. One."
There was a collective whoop as everyone rushed out of the main Resupply Room like water no longer restricted by a dam. Within moments, the Upstairs Area was empty of other REDs, the previously tension-filled silence outside replaced with tempting fizzles and whizz-bangs of firing instruments. Soon. Soon he would be able to join the fun.
He waited patiently, eyes wandering passively over the room. Sniper rushed back into the Resupply Room scattering confetti everywhere, a little cloud on his stomach.
Hold on…
He focused back on Sniper. Just before the latter was healed, he thought he saw an aviator-wearing, lanky yet proportional man instead clutching at an arrow buried deep in the abdomen, wound spurting blood with every step.
He trudged back into the Resupply Room and squatted onto a bench. He shouldn't be hallucinating anywhere, let alone in the midst of a fun day. He really shouldn't.
"Howdy, partner. You feelin' alright?"
He looked up from his lap to meet Engie's round worried eyes and nodded without thinking.
His friend chuckled. "That's the spirit. We're gonna head fer the BLU sewers. Grab yer neon signpost out, would ya?"
Engie was quick this round; treasure chest slung over right shoulder, teleporter already whirring quietly to itself outside.
He stood up and managed a partial smile under his gas mask, troubles already forgotten. "Just count on me and Balloonicorn."
The trio was lucky enough to encounter nobody along their route, and managed to arrive at RED's mid-sewer room with hardly any delay.
The sewers, to him, were too clean to be called sewers; the water was crystal clear and the walls were panelled with pink marble, the same sort of pink that Balloonicorn was.
While Engie had a quick rest, the toy had peeped ahead and was now floating back over to him in a frantic way only the helium-filled could manage. Balloonicorn's sign language was easy for him to understand; in this case, a combination of scurries and bobs roughly meant 'Other Scout has fallen in. He'll be heading this way.'
He ushered for Engie to stay back as he advanced forwards, Glowstick ready.
Physically, BLU Scout, other than a shirt colour difference, a duller skin tone and black-winged instead of white-winged sneakers, looked pretty much identical to lanky little RED Scout. Behaviourally, both were also loudmouths who couldn't keep quiet for five minutes.
The speedster was around the corner, footsteps splashing, chattering to no one in particular. "…Ah'll get a clear shot... Aw, stop bein' protective! Ah have a scattagun, an' ah'm not 'fraid…" The BLU's footsteps abruptly stopped, voice quickening to a panicky pace. "Ah… smell somethin' smoky… aw crap! Don' come…"
As soon as he knew Scout had put two and two together, he rushed forwards and tapped the Glowstick on the boy's shoulder just as the latter started backpedalling.
The boy gave a surprisingly bloodcurdling scream before dissipating into a flurry of sparkles.
He didn't know why Scout was unhappy or afraid of his little trick, but that one warning would be enough to inform the opposition that he was around.
He led Engie over to the mouth of the moat between the two castles, waiting for BLU Demoman's balloons that were in sight to finish popping before plunging into the water.
There was a bridge above linking RED's bit of land to BLU's, and as long as they were under it they were safe from almost anything above.
Except that he discovered he was not safe from his new internal problem.
When he dived in, the faraway sounds of popping and whizzing somehow became sounds of bullet shots and explosions, muffled laughter became agonising, hair-raising screams.
By the time he and Engie reached the BLU sewage opening, he was starting to feel less keen about participation, and he promised himself that he will sort out the problem above then refuse to participate for the rest of the day.
On the brighter side, nobody from the other team had noticed them yet. So far so good.
There wasn't much to do after Balloonicorn confirmed that the planned route was clear.
As soon as they arrived at BLU's sewer room, Engie dumped the chest –which immediately morphed into a so-called dispenser- on the floor and took out some shiny stuff from a pocket to tinker with, all the while contacting their colleagues about their progress.
There was an immediate responding call from Spy. "Good. Medic, give Soldier a final boost. Switch between 'im and your favourite patient if you 'ave to."
"Heavy is not mein favourite patient-"
Soldier's voice blundered in, sparing Spy the brunt of Medic's words. "Ladies, encountered any BLUs on the way?"
"Pyro emancipated the Scout."
There was a hissing sound not unlike a snake. "Well, wonderful. Soldier, get up zere now!"
He was cut off from listening to Soldier's grumble of 'taking orders from a Frenchman' as Engie tapped him hard on the shoulder. "Guard and fight 'til the sentry's ready, buddy."
He nodded, stepping into the sewer junction as the familiar bell-like chimes started. There were a few explosive pops and laughter within earshot, but they weren't actual screams anymore. He hoped.
"Good job there, Hard Hat!"
By the time Scout whizzed through the newly built teleporter and started running towards the BLU base at least five footsteps a second, Engie already had a marshmallow-shooting sentry ready and upgraded.
His cue to leave and have fun.
He waved goodbye, ushering for Balloonicorn as he climbed the stairs to BLU's base and instinctively flicked the Rainblower on.
There seemed to have been a soft splish behind him, but after another round of fruitless spychecking, he decided that it was probably just him being paranoid, and left for the frontlines without another thought.
BLU Medic was glumly healing BLU Soldier as they raced across their base, but one stroke from his rainbows instantly cheered both men up to a point of fainting, leaving him to stroll casually outside.
Sniper was once again back at the battlements while Medic and Heavy were near his end of the bridge using their usual techniques. From the pops and cracks above, he could guess that Soldier was causing a riot.
However, he could tell that RED wasn't exactly in a problem-free situation either.
Medic's googly eyes fixed upon him, a grim expression morphing into one of relief. "Pyro! I think Herr Soldier vould die any moment now! Make sure Herr Heavy is still alive ven I come back!"
He nodded enthusiastically, running behind Heavy as Medic flapped under the edge of the BLU battlements and fired the Medigun continuously towards the source of the popping noises.
It happened again. The pink aura flickered off, and the grassy patches became a mute ochre stretch of land with suspicious scarlet stains, the RED base just a tall wooden farmhouse, the water a murky stretch of brownness. No lollipops, no flowers, no genuine cuteness.
"Pyro alright?" Heavy sounded the same, which was a relief. He turned around expectantly, and almost tripped in surprise. Heavy was a lot less huge to say the least, Medic was a white-coated man with glasses and a strange backpack. Not to mention the violent-looking explosions coming from where the BLU battlements should be.
As the explosions abruptly ended and some other BLUs managed to advance to the frontlines, his wonderland came back, uncertain and seeming more artificial, but in one piece nevertheless.
He wished that he could spill out his problems to Heavy, but just to make things easier, he nodded, tightened his lips and tried to make the best of his situation.