Author's note: So, it's been a long while since I've uploaded a new fanfic (like, years!). Unfortunately, since my hard drive crashed last year, I lost all of my old stories and haven't had the heart to continue them.

I have, however, started this new one! It's darker than the stuff I've written in the past. I'm far enough along to be able to post two chapters a week and still finish it on time. I've become more serious with my writing, so if you choose to review, please let me know of any mistakes I've made that can help me improve, no matter ho harsh it is!

Hope you enjoy this new story!

Chapter 1 - The Plan Is Set

The sun hadn't even risen yet at Well, but it didn't stop the BLU team's Scout from going out for his usual morning jog. Scout was normally an early riser, which greatly surprised his teammates. With having seven older brothers and having to compete with them to be first to do anything, he learned early on how to be fast at not just running, but at nearly everything he did, including waking up before everyone else. He even joined the track and baseball teams in high school to increase his skills.

His normal routine consisted of waking up an hour before sunrise, going outside to jog around the base until the sun came up, coming back in for breakfast, showering quickly, then preparing for the daily nine-to-five shooting spree between the BLU's and the RED's. When the cease fire at five o'clock rang, he'd come back, eat dinner, joke around with his teammates, then go to bed around midnight.

Scout had left the base earlier than usual that cold, early-winter morning, however. He couldn't sleep at all during the night and he figured he could clear his mind by jogging more. Donned in a blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, tennis shoes and his black baseball cap, he jogged and jogged and jogged, trying to figure out the motives behind a certain member of the RED team: their Spy.

The day before, Scout had grabbed the RED Team's intelligence and was darting back to the BLU base when he bumped into the cloaked RED Spy on the bridge overlooking the train tracks. The Spy was able to regain his footing, but Scout wasn't so lucky. He had fallen over the bridge and was gripping onto the side of it with one hand while the intelligence briefcase was teetering on the opposite edge, ready to fall onto the oncoming train that was bound to take Scout out if he didn't act quickly. The Spy, to Scout's surprise, grabbed him and pulled him back up to safety while the briefcase hit the top of the train and ricocheted off of it into a pile of crates. The Spy then knocked Scout down and ran off back into his base just as the ceasefire was called.

Scout couldn't understand what the RED Spy was thinking! He had a perfect opportunity to get his intelligence back and let Scout die, but instead he saved his enemy! Why the hell did he save me? I was going to respawn anyway, he thought. The way the war worked was RED and BLU would fight each other from 9 to 5 Monday thru Friday, and during the allotted time for the battle, a special barrier made by TF Industries was erected around the arena to prevent permanent deaths. When someone received a fatal wound, they would respawn in their respective base. During the ceasefire times, the barrier was disabled.

Scout growled in frustration as he ran and picked up his pace. The faster pace made the cold even more unbearable, but Scout chose to ignore it. Even though he hailed from Boston, where it was notoriously cold in the winter, the boy still hated winter. His mother had always warned him about running so much when the weather was like that since he would be more prone to getting sick. Normally he would oblige, but he needed some kind of outlet, otherwise he wouldn't perform at his best that day with his mind elsewhere.

As the sun started to peak over the horizon, Scout realized that it was time to head back to the base soon. As he was getting ready to head back, he spotted a silhouetted figure heading toward the pond on the outskirts of the bases. Who else would be out this early besides me? He came from the RED base, he inwardly pondered. Curiosity getting the best of him, he made his way over to the pond. As the sun rose more, the light lifted the shadows around the kneeling man to reveal it to be the RED Spy. Scout stopped dead in his tracks as the man made eye contact with him. The Spy simply smiled.

"Relax," he spoke, his low, raspy voice calm and collected. "It's ceasefire time. I'm not going to do anything." Scout narrowed his eyes slightly. He needed to know the truth, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to find out.

"I've been meanin' to have a one-on-one with ya for a while, you shape-shiftin' rat," stated Scout, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Funny, I've been meaning to have the same with you for quite some time, boy." Scout cocked an eyebrow. "But you go first."

"First off, why did you save me yesterday? You could have grabbed the intel and let me die—and I would have respawned, too, for your information—but you saved me instead! What gives!"

"If you knew you were going to respawn, then why are you so angry for me saving you?"

"That's not the point! You're a RED and I'm a BLU! I'm the enemy, and you basically said 'screw you' to your team by letting YOUR intel get away to help ME! I don't get it!" The Spy took a puff of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled, the smoke mixing with his dragon's breath from the cold.

"I guess to put your mother's mind at ease, knowing that I'm looking out for you," he replied simply. Scout's eye twitched. He remembered his own team's Spy, whom he considered one of his best friends (the other being the Sniper), revealing to him the relationship between the RED Spy and his mother, who single-handedly raised himself and his seven older brothers.

"Yeah, since we're on that, stay the hell away from my ma!" The Spy took another puff, this time exhaling through his nose. He stared into the boy's eyes.

"Would you really have your mother's heart broken by the father of her youngest son?"

"I don't care! I just…" Scout grew quiet and froze, but not from the cold. He stared at the man in front of him wide-eyed. "Wait…what did you just say?" The Spy finished off his cigarette and put it out on the frost-covered ground. He slowly stood up and made his way to the Scout, placing his hands firmly on the boy's shoulders.

"Yes…it's true. Shortly after your mother's husband walked out on her and her sons, I had been in Boston for a short while, and I bumped into your mother. It was love at first sight. Though my line of business called for me to not stay in one place for very long, I've always visited her and kept in contact with her. I was even there when you were born. She's told me so much about you growing up." Scout's head began to hurt and he felt a little dizzy. Was this really happening? Was his enemy really his father? Scout snapped out of his thoughts when the man in front of him took his right hand off of Scout's shoulder and lifted up his dog tags, smiling slightly. "My old dog tags from the war…I'm surprised you're wearing them, Daniel—or do you go by Danny?"

"I-It's Danny…" That's it! That's all I can say to this bombshell of a news flash I just got! Truth be told, Scout didn't really know what to say about the news at all. He couldn't even think of a smart-ass remark like he usually did to almost everything anyone ever said. A whole slew of emotions were flowing through him all at once—anger, confusion, sadness—all causing his stomach to turn and his headache to worsen. His vision began to blur a bit as he felt tears well up in his eyes. The Spy frowned, then pulled his son into a comforting embrace, which caught Scout off guard.

"Danny…I know this is a lot to take in right now, and I won't blame you if you hate me. However, know that we still have to fight on the battlefield. I know we'll be able to respawn during the battle, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to make sure no harm comes to you like I've been doing since day one." The Spy was caught off guard when he felt Scout return the embrace, mostly to pacify himself. He could feel the boy trembling in his arms as he sobbed quietly into his father's chest. The Spy hugged him tighter, rubbing his back gently with one hand and placing his other hand on the back of his head comfortingly.

"You fuckin' ass-hole…" Scout choked, clinging tighter to his father's suit.

"Shh, it's okay…just let it out, son…"

BLU's Spy awoke once the sun's first light entered his window. He pushed himself out of bed and put on his trademark suit and mask. He usually showered at night to help keep his identity a secret from his teammates, who always showered in the communal shower in the morning. Because of this, he was able to get ready quicker in the morning.

As part of his routine, he would usually go into the kitchen, make a pot of coffee, and pour it into two mugs—one for himself, and one for Scout. He would then meet Scout outside as he finished his morning jog and the two would enjoy their hot drinks before heading inside for breakfast with the rest of the team, who finished off the rest of the pot.

That morning, however, something didn't sit well with him, which threw his entire routine out of whack. He skipped making the coffee and stepped outside into the cold, hoping to see Scout running up to him like he normally did. That didn't happen. He looked over at the outskirts and saw two figures by the pond. He quickly made his way over and pulled out his gun as he saw that it was RED's Spy kneeling and cradling his unconscious friend. The BLU's Spy skidded to a halt and aimed his gun at the other Spy, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Let him go!" he ordered. The RED looked into his eyes, which caused the BLU to slowly lower his gun, realizing that his enemy meant no harm.

"He's fine," assured the RED Spy, looking down at the Scout in his arms. The boy was in a sitting position, resting his head on the man's shoulder, sleeping. His tear-stained face was a bit flushed, however, which made the BLU Spy worry. "He just needs to rest."

"Judging by his appearance, I'm assuming that you told him the truth?" asked the BLU Spy. His counterpart nodded slowly.

"I did. And judging by your comment, I'm assuming you've known about it the whole time?" The BLU Spy nodded slowly. "I see…thank you for not telling him."

"It wasn't my place to say anything." The RED Spy scooped Scout into his arms and carefully stood up, handing him to the BLU Spy.

"He's running a little bit of a fever, but he should be fine by tomorrow if he gets some rest today."

"That should be easy, seeing as how we're changing locations in a few hours."

"Yeah, to Viaduct…" RED Spy shuddered as he spoke that line. "I think Danny gets his hate for the cold from me." BLU Spy couldn't help but snicker at that comment. Now I know one of his weaknesses should I ever need to use it to my advantage, he thought. His thoughts were soon interrupted when the BLU Sniper ran out. He caught his breath as soon as he stopped next to his Spy buddy.

"What's goin' on?" he asked in-between breaths. "Breakfast jus' started and I couldn't find y'two anywhere!" He then looked at Scout, then glared at the RED Spy, taking out his kukri. "What did you do t'im!"

"Calm down. He didn't do anything," replied the BLU Spy. "I'll explain everything back at the base." Sniper just nodded, not taking his eyes off of his enemy. Before the two could leave, the RED Spy placed one hand on each of the two standing BLUs'.

"I can tell you two care a lot about Danny, so that's why I'm counting on you two to keep him safe," he said in a serious tone. "Something is amiss with this war, and I'm working on getting to the bottom of it."

"What do you mean?" asked his BLU counterpart.

"I'm not entirely sure yet, but the last thing I wanted in this war was for my son to get involved, let alone be on the opposite team as me. The higher-ups of our companies should have known about the relation between the two of us when they did background checks, yet here we are pitted against each other. The last thing I want is to see him get hurt or worse." The Sniper, having just heard the news of the father-son relationship between his best friend and his enemy, was obviously in shock, as opposed to his Spy friend, who narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I had been suspecting the same thing once I found out on my own about your relationship with Scout's mother and what—or rather who—came out of it," he replied. "I think if we can get an opportunity to go through our own intelligence, we might be able to figure something out."

"Wait a minute," interrupted the Sniper. "You mean t' tell me that we're goin' t' be workin' with this, as Scout put it, 'shape-shiftin' rat', to uncover a conspiracy theory y'two got about th'war?" The two Spies merely stared at him. Sniper grinned. "Count me in!" They were quickly interrupted when they heard Scout groan lightly. BLU Spy could feel the boy shivering in his arms. He held the boy closer to help keep him warm.

"You'd better get him inside before he gets sicker," suggested RED Spy. "And not a word to our teammates about this until we get more information. We don't want the higher-ups catching wind of this." The two BLUs nodded, then quickly made their way back to their base as the RED Spy watched them leave. He stood there a little bit longer, pulling out another cigarette. "I just hope the rest of my team doesn't catch on to my plan." He made his way back to his own base as he puffed his cigarette, unaware that someone had been watching them the whole time.