Respawn of the Dead

Chapter 1

"Mission begins in 30 seconds."

"ALL RIGHT, LADIES. We've been training for this all week. Those BLU bastards don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell. If we all stick to the plan, their intel will be ours before the sons of bitches will even know what hit 'em!" Soldier puffed out his chest and beat it with his fist. "LET'S BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF 'EM!"

Much hooting and crowing filled the resupply room as the RED team psyched themselves up for the week's round. There had not been much activity coming from BLU base over the past week, and during Spy's last visit to the base, he had gotten wind that BLU was working on something big. Whatever intel they had, it was assumed to be vital; something that could turn this war around for RED. The RED team had always been the underdog in this war, being inched out by the BLUs in most of their clashes. But this time would be different. This could be the victory that would put RED on top.

The resupply room's gate opened, and the mercenaries of RED charged out, bellowing battle cries and heading for their planned positions; Sniper headed for his roost, Engineer rushed towards the intel room to build his first set of sentries, Spy cloaked and headed for the sewers followed by Pyro, and the others rushing out of the barn to confront the hoard of BLUs that would, no doubt, be roaring to meet them.

It was Scout who stopped first, before he even reached the bridge, skidding to a halt. Heavy ended up colliding into him from behind, sending Scout forward, his arms pinwheeling to find his balance. Medic, Soldier, Demoman and Soldier all slowed down and stared.

No one was there. Not a soul.

Scout looked around nervously. "'The hell's goin' on?" He asked. "Where the hell are the BLUs?"

Sniper peered through the scope of his rifle, using it like a pair of binoculars to scan the windows of the opposing fort. Normally he would have at least caught sight of the BLU Sniper or Engineer or Demoman by now, but he saw nothing. "I can't see a bloody soul!" He shouted to his teammates below.

"Is zis a trap?" Medic wondered out loud, taking a few cautious steps back behind Heavy.

"Obviously," Soldier huffed. "They're trying to lull us into a false sense of security. Make us think that they've given up! Well, I, for one, am not falling for it!" He strode forward and held an open palm to his mouth, shouting. "GIVE IT UP, YOU SCUM-SUCKING LOWLIVES! WE'RE NOT FALLING FOR IT!"

Soldier's voice echoed and faded, only increasing the feeling of awkwardness that had settled over the battlefield. Pyro waded out from the RED side's sewer, poking his head out. Spy, too, decloaked and peered out, curious. For a while, nobody moved, unsure what to make of the situation. They hadn't trained for this particular scenario.

"Has BLU team surrendered?" Heavy asked Medic. The doctor merely shrugged.

"Well, men," Soldier snorted, "we still have a mission to complete, whether or not those maggots over at BLU team want to participate or not!"

"I dunnoe, lad," Demoman said darkly, "I got a bad feelin' aboot this."

Engineer made his way through the barn door, toolbox under his arm, looking confused. "Hey now, what's goin' on up here? Why aren't we fightin'?"

"BLU team's gone AWOL," Sniper shouted dryly.

"No, wait, look at that!" Scout shouted, pointing forward.

The entire RED teams attention was now focused on a single, BLU Scout, who was bolting from the entrance of his base, wild-eyed, ragged and bloodied, screaming inarticulate syllables and waving his arms at the opposing team frantically. Soldier wasted no time rushing forward and knocking the RED Scout aside, hoisting up his rocket launcher, aiming, and firing all before the panicked BLU could even manage to turn around. The rocket collided, spraying tiny bits of meat, bone and gristle in every direction, and leaving a smoldering crater where the BLU once stood.