Letting Demoman go to town to get provisions implied him coming back with crates and crates of alcohol and stopping to get some drinks at the bar. He could probably cause a fuss and end up in prison for exposure indecent and/or public disorder. Or maybe he would just end up sleeping at the cemetery, the bar's toilet, the fountain at the town's square. Anyway, nobody expected him to come back soon and sober. Demoman himself knew that he wouldn't remember what he had come to do in a while.
So he did this before he forgot things again.
"Have you seen a boy this tall, with dog tags, a cap...?" He asked in the only hostel in town. The owner said he wouldn't have allowed someone like that to register on their own, without their parents' authorization.
He asked the bartender too. He replied he would have remembered someone so noteworthy as an adult-child.
Demoman himself combed the whole place, looked in every establishment, in every alley, even inside the trash cans. And still no signs from Scout.
He went back to the bar and served himself a drink. He always had reasons to drink, and this was a mighty fine excuse.
This was the nearest town. The next ones were many miles away. And if it was true that he took no money with him...
The guys could say what they wanted, but he was starting to get worried.
He was alive, one more day. But Scout never knew when it would be the last. Unless Miss Pauling came to tell them Mann had finally taken legal possession of that land and they could leave and released him in the desert, he was doomed to be Pyro's toy.
Scout had never been too much of a thinker. Thinking had never taken him anywhere, and, in Mann Co., they didn't pay him to do that. But he did his best.
Okay, so he wasn't sure it had been a good idea to come to the base. Sure, they fed him and was safe from the wild animals outside, but he couldn't say he had more chances of survival in there. They could do away with him, cook him. Medic could grab him and dissect him or cut him to pieces and use his organs for some shady purpose. Once again, he thought of Merasmus and thought that the old wizard had really outdone himself this time.
He was mighty disappointed that the true love kiss thing had turned out to be rubbish. Though..., well, at least he got to kiss Miss Pauling, even if she was disgusted and he had no lips to enjoy that. If Merasmus knew of a spell to transform him, sure there had to be one to make him normal again. It was logical. But he knew nothing about magic. The one who knew a lot of stories and legends and rumors was Demo, but, of course, he couldn't ask him. And looking for Merasmus to make him talk was almost completely out of question: it would take long and be hard enough to find him, and if he did, being unable to even hold a weapon, he wouldn't have a chance against him.
There had to be a way to attract the guys' attention..., make them realize who he was...
But knowing that he had to do something big and loud didn't matter if he couldn't get away from Pyro. If he wanted to get something done, he would have to get rid of her.
«Fires...»
Yeah, but how could he create a fire? He had no hands...
Munching his daily lettuce, he put those rusty gears in his brain to work.
And he thought he got an idea.
Mom would often beat him in the ass as a toddler because he loved to play with electrical outlets...
The moment was now. Pyro had left him inside of his box, very reluctantly so, because she needed to check her flamethrower, which had worked a little so-so in the last combat and Engie was helping her repair. She would come back soon and Scout feared she would use it on him.
He slammed the walls of the box. There was too little space for moving, but he tried, he used all of his might. The box stumbled. Again! He drew back and hit, using all of his body. Then, the box fell and he rolled out.
"Huuuhuummmm!" Pyro was calling him from the teleporter. She was coming!
He quickly got up and, shaking his tail in sign of triumph, grabbed the bowl with the water, and darted, carefully so he didn't spill all of the content, towards the nearest outlet he found.
There was Pyro. She inspected the box. When she saw he wasn't in there, went very silent and started searching the whole space.
Scout threw the water at the outlet. There were a few sparkles.
Pyro spotted him. "Hudda!"
She extended her arms, ready to cuddle him to death.
But she suddenly turned her eyes at the wall beside her. A fire had started.
Like hypnotized, she stopped, then completely forgot about anything that wasn't that small flame.
Scout took the chance and ran. Ran as fast as he could towards the teleporter.
That was designed for humans, not for animals and less for bread. But he was in no situation to play safe. He jumped in and there was a flash and he disappeared, all of which behind Pyro, who never once turned her head.
But there was someone who noticed the teleporter working but saw nobody coming out. Soldier left his Mann Co. catalog on the mattress and walked out of the dormitory to give it a look. It almost seemed impossible that he could see something with that helmet covering his eyes.
"Engie, this piece of junk's acting up!"
"That was probably a fly." Was all Engineer replied, probably because he was too busy with some contraption to pay much attention to complaints.
"As long as it won't become a freak like in that movie..." Soldier muttered, and went back to his reading.
Scout had a quick peek from the corner he hid in after Soldier was gone, then slid away.
Surely he would find explosives, something to make fire with and everything at the Defense guys' room. But, when he reached the door, he was encountered a little but crucial problem...How was he going to open the door if he couldn't even reach the doorknob?
«I've come too far to let a stupid doorknob defeat me!»
He would jump. He would try all times needed, but he would do it. Damn sure he would!
Now he had complete freedom of movement. He took impulse and tried to reach for the doorknob, but it wasn't enough and hit his head against the door. Ow! He shook his head and tried again. Not even close. Again! He grazed it with his paw but fell in an embarrassing posture. Again! He hit himself in the head again, and this time it actually hurt. Instead of becoming discouraged, he remembered an old, reliable strategy of his: the double jump. «The double jump's never failed me». And now that he moved on fours it wouldn't be different! He took impulse once again, this time from almost the other side of the corridor, and jumped, then, in the air, took impulse once again.
Eureka! He found himself holding onto the doorknob for his dear life. Thanks to his weight, it was starting to move, allowing him to...
It was at that moment when he realized that there was someone standing behind him.
«Oh, crap...»
A very awkward silence followed. He didn't know whether to run away or quickly finishing what he intended to do.
«Depends. If it's Pyro, I'll get the hell outta here...»
He took deep breath and looked back.
He was so lucky. It wasn't Pyro. Nor Sniper or Medic. It was Spy, who was staring at him with a cigarette in hand. Gravity sent Scout to the floor. Spy kept on staring. Scout stared as well, fearing his reaction, hoping he could see a human glimpse in him. It would have been so much better if he didn't have that stupid mask on, so he could read his face...
"Hmmm..." A surprised mumble was all clue he got.
The door was a bit open, but, before Scout could think of running inside and get the materials needed, Spy quickly closed it and kept on staring him. Scout thought of running away, but he wasn't sure if that was the best thing to do.
To be fair, Spy seemed like he was hesitant.
"Je suis en train de penser que l'eau d'ici rendre les animaux plus intelligents et les personnes plus stupides..."
He didn't understand frog, and hoped that didn't mean he was going to cut him and serve him for dinner. Hadn't he said he wanted him dead? Yeah, he had to get out of there.
Spy crouched to grab him. Scout flinched and tried to run away, but Spy grabbed him by a leg and took him in his hands delicately. Scout twisted and turned but Spy caressed him.
"...Tu es vraiment malin...Je n'ai jamais vu un lapin si malin...Plus que beaucoup de gens..."
What was going on? Where was he taking him? Spy took him away, but not back to the old box, but to...his private room? That room he had claimed for himself, while the others had to share? The room he had decorated and filled with expensive furniture? That room meant for his private pleasure, that nobody else was allowed to enjoy or even see, even though it was big enough for the nine of them and all people they wanted to bring? Why was he taking him there? Was he going to kill him privately, where Pyro wouldn't see and get angry?
Scout didn't get to have a good look at the place because he was ready to bite his hand and run if he saw his life was in danger. Spy seemed to notice he was agitated and tried to calm him down with several gentle strokes. He saw him walk to a corner, to an empty wooden crate where he stored a wine he had never seen before but looked very expensive, get out some bottles, put a pillow instead and a couple of ceramic bowls.
"Pyro te tuera, et ça serait un dommage. Tu es meilleur que beaucoup de personnes je connais, et la moitié de cette équipe. Mais j'espère que tu ne sors d'ici. Si tu tombes des poils dans ma moquette, je te tuerais avec mes propes mains. Si tu te conduis bien, je serais bon avec toi."
Too bad Scout didn't understand a thing. Spy smiled at him and Scout supported himself on the walls of the box to try and see where he was going, but he saw nothing. He just heard the door locked close.
«Don't tell me Spy has just made me his pet...»
Pyro was determined to never talk to Heavy again after he put out the fire which had almost consumed the whole garage. She was even close to bury her hatchet in his bald head if it wasn't for Engineer intervening. Now she was rumbling in a corner, arms folded, while Engineer patiently listened.
"We can make a good, nice bonfire tonight, huh? Would you like that?"
Pyro shook her head. No! She was angry! But Engineer knew her and knew she couldn't resist.
He was grilling some meat Demoman brought for the whole team, which they were eagerly expecting, because he was really good at it.
This was almost done. Time to get the dishes. Two, five, seven, nine...
His smile faded a bit.
"Py...Have you seen Scout?"
Pyro shook her head without changing her posture.
And he had something to ruminate for the rest of the night...