"Let's go!" Scout jumped in excitement, earning a subtle, slightly scolding look from Spy. You smirked at that slightly. "Three ta zero, easy win!" He pumped the air.

"Yes. Now," Spy smirk formed... in an almost unnatural way. "I propose we clean up our spoils." The men around her started chuckling and cracking their knuckles. You saw that their weapons were glowing red with sparks around it, but before you could ask-

"I claim BLU Strats!" Scout burst out and started running.

"NEGATIVE! I WILL GET THE REVENGE!" Soldier started chasing after him. The rest of the team took one look at each other before following them. You watched Medic smile evilly, but this time it was more... out of control. He looked at you, something in his eyes, before outpacing the others.

You were left in the intel room... feeling a little bit worried. What was that? His eyes... he seemed unhinged. You tried to control your shudder while you made your way out of the room.

You crossed the bridge into the other base and decided to head down to the other intel room. Maybe you could get some information or something... but in reality you were hoping the BLU Engineer hasn't been killed yet. You made your way into the room, hearing some kind of scuffle upstairs. Trying to ignore it, you pulled out your knife. It was glowing as well. You could hear it spark. You put it away as you scanned the room. That was when you saw him, hiding not so well in a corner by his deactivated sentry.

"I was hoping to find you here," you announced yourself. He spun around.

"Well, get it over with," he snapped at you, agitated. He must be scared out of his mind.

"I'm not going to?" You laughed slightly at him and you saw his eyebrows raise.

"Whatever twisted game yer playin'... Ah suppose Ah deserve it." You shook your head.

"I guess I didn't make it clear that I'm not going to kill you or even hurt you. I just wanted to talk."

"Yeah. 'Talk.'"

"I promise you I don't plan to hurt you. I'm not my counterpart." You laughed dryly, earning a confused Texan.

"If ya want intel, ya already got it."

"That's not it either. I just wanted to ask if you were okay, and if you wanted to sit."

"This is a battlefield, not some tea party." He crossed his arms and you laughed.

"You made sure I was fully aware of that." You peered up at him with a smirk, watching him fumbling with his words. "It's so weird how you're just like my Engineer, yet so different." He stopped and then nodded.

"Well, between you and me, Ah already like ya better than your counterpart there." You laughed and sat down. He cautiously came and sat down in front of you.

"What's she like?" You asked hesitantly, and he sighed.

"How do Ah put this? Uh, rude fer one," you both laughed. "Jokes aside, she's very cold, calculated. She has no respect for anyone except herself. That's as far as Ah'll go though, don't want her findin' out Ah said nothin.'" You nodded.

"She sounds like a piece of work. Glad I'm not like that..." You hesitantly laughed and the Engineer peered at you.

"Ah always thought you two would be the most alike. That's why Ah had no respect fer ya."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Yeah, I could see that. Sometimes I worry if I'm more of a burden to my team than someone who actually does their job. After all, I have no family anymore..." You trailed off after catching yourself. "Can we keep that between you and me? If I keep your secret, you mean?" He chuckled and nodded.

"Ah won't pry, but it sounds awful stressful." You groaned and you both laughed.

"I had to spend my two training weeks dealing with drama from my home life, dealing with teammate drama, and hell, man, I had to kill a teammate because they drank lead! Like what heck!" You laughed, but he didn't.

"Ah'm still mad she did that. Livin' quarters shouldn't be messed with."

"Yeah, it was... a lot, but we're past it, and it wasn't your fault, so." You shrugged and watched him smile slightly.

"Ah had a question for ya."

"Yes?"

"What did ya do to yer team?" You looked at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah've never seen them so put together. Hell, they're up there right now probably dismantling your counterpart. What did ya do?" You shrugged.

"In all honesty, I couldn't tell you. My Engineer said I've changed them, but won't tell me how. It's... interesting to say the least."

"Well, winnin' a battle three ta zero hasn't been done before. Heck, Ah'll admit it, Ah wish ya had chosen BLU. Maybe ya could've gotten away from that crazy doctor, too." He laughed and you tilted your head.

"The BLU Medic is different?" The Engineer nodded.

"From what Ah've heard, the RED Medic surgically removed the RED team's souls so he could avoid a deal he made with the devil. Now, that may just be a plain ole' lie, but our Medic would not nothin' of the sort. Not ta mention the experiments he's done on them. Now that Ah've seen."

"Huh." Before you had time to process and respond to what he said, you heard your team rushing down the stairs. "Quick!" You instructed him to hide behind the counter. "Thanks for talking to me..." you whispered and earned what you thought was a wink behind the goggles. You straightened yourself up and met them halfway up the stairs.

"Strats! Oh ya wouldn't believe it!" Scout was covered in blood. You felt like gagging, but kept it in.

"Believe what?"

"We got her! She was cryin' like a baby in deir respawn room. Oh whatevah ya did to her really got her!" You felt sick to your stomach. Your eyes scanned over your teammates. Each had some amount of blood on them, the most being on Medic... you needed to throw up.

You pushed by each of them and threw up in a corner up the stairs. Scout patted your back.

"What's wrong, Strats?" He asked in a surprisingly soft voice. You had to come up with a lie.

"It's the smell, I'm sorry." You started calming your breathing down and wiped your mouth. "I let it get to me." Scout didn't seem convinced, but he went along with it.

"Do ya need ta ride in the truck so ya don't have ta smell it as much? I'm sure getting away from the bucket of blood himself would help." He poked a thumb behind him at Medic. You knew he was joking, but it only made you want to throw up again. I was fine in the last battle. Why am I so affected by the sight of blood now?

"Ye-Yeah. Good idea..."

Your team escorted you to the vehicles, letting you hop in Engie's truck with Spy, because he had the least amount of blood on him. Wouldn't want to mess up his suit. The ride home itself was rather uneventful. Both Spy and Engie obviously knew something was wrong, but decided not to poke or prod. You simply sat there with a thousand thoughts swirling in your brain, but you couldn't make sense of any of them. What was that look Medic gave you? Why is he covered in the most blood? What did your team do to the suffering girl? What if you had gone to see it? Would you have been okay after? How could they so easily kill someone who looks like you?

That last question hit you hard. How? She could've been pleading for help or crying. They would've seen you. Did they separate you and her in their minds? They had to have, right? You had to be overthinking this.

"We're here. I suggest we all take showers," Spy announced and smoothly exited the truck. You were about to open the door when Engie spoke:

"Are ya alright, darlin'? Ya don't seem as excited as we'd hoped you'd be," he turned to look at you.

"I am! It's just... something else," you admitted that much.

"Do ya want to talk about it?" You were grateful he asked.

"Not yet. I feel like I should sort out my thoughts first, if you don't mind." He chuckled. Both his and the BLU Engineer's chuckle are the same.

"Of course Ah don't find. Ya know where ta find me when yer ready, but we should probably wash up." You nodded at him and exited the truck.

One well-deserved shower later, you felt refreshed and put on some simple clothes. This meant you wore your uniform without the jacket, harness, and belt. You sat in front of your bed and leaned your head against the bed frame, feeling something you hadn't felt in a while. So long that you couldn't name the feeling anymore.

You heard a knock at your door.

"DINNER IS READY, CUPCAKE!" Soldier shouted against the door, you quickly stood up and opened it. He smiled at you.

"Thanks, Soldier. I appreciate it." He nodded and headed towards the kitchen. You followed and sat at your place at the table, it already being set for you. It was a sandwich. Nice. You guessed anyway. You felt a warmth sit down next to you, and felt comforted when Engie took his seat.

"So. We 'ave a letter from ze Mann Brothers," Spy announced and everyone went quite. You recognized the name from your contract. It was your boss. "They 'ave requested a formal dinner to acknowledge ze Strategist."

"Oh, well, I guess dat makes sense," Scout shrugged and continued eating. Spy rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, Strategist," you made eye contact with him. "Did 'ou pack anything formal for ze event?" You shook your head.

"I didn't, I apologize," you answered. Spy waved it off.

"No matter. We needed supplies anyway. We 'ave a day tomorrow to prepare for it, so I say we go into town tomorrow." The RED's mumbled in agreement.

After you all had finished eating, you quickly went to bed trying to avoid a conversation with... him right now. You curled up into a ball, praying for no nightmares, and drifted off to sleep.