Hope everyone is safe during these trying times. Enjoy!

:::

Pyro awoke to the sound of thunder.

Cradling a pink stuffed unicorn, the mercenary looked over at the window across the room. Rain hammered the glass, unrelenting in the windy night. The room briefly lit up as lightening struck with a clap of thunder.

It was the first night at Mercenary Park for the RED team, and like the others, Pyro was rightfully uneasy with the drastic environment change. It didn't help that the last time the team had been there, they were tasked with hunting down an escaped yeti. It was an incredibly odd mission for the group, one that proved nearly deadly given how unprepared they were for the creature. The gargantuan hairy beast had ambushed Pyro, Soldier, and Sniper in the jungle, throwing them around with enormous strength, and nearly breaking Soldier's back. Thankfully, the shirtless and chiseled Saxon Hale showed up to save the day, splattering the trees with yeti blood and guts.

At the time, Pyro was relieved, hopeful about returning to Teufort for deserved R and R. However, it didn't seem to matter to Saxton Hale that the park was originally designed as a tourist attraction promising yetis. Once he realized he punched the last yeti on Earth (to death), he was keen on finding some use for the land.

Against all logic, RED team found themselves stationed at a newly converted Mercenary Park, assured by Hale himself that no yetis would ever harm the group again. Had even settled his large hand on Pyro's shoulder, dwarfing the mercenary and staring into the gasmask's eyes. Despite the Australian's unbothered facade, Pyro could not shake off a sense of dread.

A loud thump sounded right outside the window, and Pyro delved under the blankets. The mercenary pulled the stuffed unicorn closer, only eyes visible from under the pink comforter. There was only rain outside, hard against the window. Pyro jumped at the sound of scratching across the building, soloud as if it was merely feet away. Even with the downpour and howling wind, Pyro could hear something...moving outside. A rumble of thunder filled the night, and the mercenary settle into the pillow, blanket now pulled completely up.

Pyro's eyes squeezed shut.

:::

Sniper tumbled out of bed, waking up to his camper shaking in the violent storm.

"Holy dooley!" The sharpshooter scrambled off the floor. By the time he got to his feet the shaking had stopped, and he could only hear the rain pummeling the camper's walls. In the darkness, all windows covered, he waited tensely. The Australian had a penchant for staying in his camper when they moved to a new base for the first few days. Call it whatever you want, or analyze it if you please, but the seasoned sharpshooter was stuck in his ways. After Saxton Hale's assurance that the jungle was yeti free, the merc could see no problem sleeping outside. He trusted his fellow Australian. Hale did not joke around about punching animals into extinction.

Suddenly, something slammed into the side of the camper, nearly tipping the entire vehicle over. Sniper wobbled, nearly tripping over his fallen blankets, before regaining his balance. Then, two heavy bangs against the door shook the entire camper again. Scowling, Sniper stealthy made his way to the back of the camper, knowing exactly where his kukri was even in the darkness. The wood handle felt comfortable in his hand.

He quietly walked over to the door, blade raised in one hand and lips pulled into a firm line. The door slammed again, and Sniper jumped out of the camper, kukri raised.

The rain and wind whipped across his face. He could barely make out the jungle behind the base, illuminated by only moonlight. He scanned the treeline, squinting through the rain for the source of the earlier banging. Tall trees trailed into darkness, shaking in the storm.

Sniper was only out for a mere minute, and he was already soaked, dark strands of hair sticking against his forehead. He shivered, shirtless with only shorts, which were now drenched with water. Lightening struck, briefly lighting up the surroundings. The trees continued to shake in the wind. Otherwise, nothing. The sharpshooter relaxed, lowering his blade. With one more look across the jungle, he climbed back into the camper.

:::

Scout screamed.

"No, no, no, no!" he wailed, thrashing around in bed. He felt Saxton Hale's strong hands on his ankles.

"Ahhh!" He was spiraling toward the yeti, snot and tears blurring his vision. Then, the heavy boots of Hale against his back, and the American went tumbling across the ground. He landed on his stomach with a groan, getting a face full of soil. Looking up, Scout was hit with blood and organ remains, and heard something heavy land next to him. The odor of viscera was overwhelming, so much worse than any other gore he'd ever smelled. He swiped at the blood on his face and glanced to his side. He screamed.

Saxton Hale's head grinned back at him. Scout choked on his screaming, and a shadow fell over him. He looked up, his chest weighing heavy with horror. A large imposing figure loomed above him, heaving its broad shoulders with every breath.

The yeti howled into Scout's face. Hot spit hit the his skin, and he gagged at the immense rot that wafted from the yeti's mouth. It's maw widened, and sharp teeth grew. Scout watched agape as the creature's jaw opened to an unbelievable size. It's mouth now fully encompassed Scout's head. The merc screamed.

:::

Soldier slept comfortably in bed, blanket pulled up to his chin, hiding his stars and stripes pajamas, unaware of anything other than dreams of saving the day.

:::

By the next morning, the rain had stopped, leaving behind only moist soil. The sun filled the cloudless sky, as if a storm had not ravaged the jungle just last night.

"Which one of you lot was banging on my door last night?"

Sniper trudged into the kitchen with his typical frown. Without his aviators, the wrinkles under his eyes aged him ten years. Combined with his growing stubble, and favorite #1 Sniper mug clenched in his hand, he looked like a father about ready to remind his kids that no one better touch the damn thermostat again.

He scanned the kitchen with narrowed eyes. Most of his team were gathered for breakfast, all in varying degrees of dress and giving him varying degrees of acknowledgement. Medic stood against the counter attending to hot tea, giving him a mild look of interest. Demo had set up at the sink, washing up his dishes with a quiet whistle. Heavy sat at the table, finishing the last crumbs on his plate with Engineer next to him reading the morning paper. Pyro was quiet in his seat across from them, still wearing his unicorn onsie pajamas. And next to him, Sniper's target. Sniper fixed his attention on the last mercenary in the room.

Soldier, fully uniformed and with a mouth full of bacon said: "Nope. I only do that on Sundays."

Sniper's frown sunk further as he watched the clueless American shovel more food into his mouth, bits flying onto the table.

"Mmpho mhhrd mphngh mhplst mhphite?" Pyro fidgeted in his seat, unbothered by Soldier's messy eating beside him. He glanced around at the six men in the room, question more directed at everyone rather than particularly Sniper. The only Australian on the team huffed, helping himself to the pancakes sitting on the counter. He slid into the empty seat next to Engineer.

"Heard all sorts of things with that storm. But I know damn well someone decided last night was a good time to wake me up," he said, adding butter and syrup to his short stack. Beside him, Engineer glanced up from his newspaper. He looked from Sniper to the pancakes, and back to Sniper.

"Maybe Scout? Has not come down since I made tea this morning," said Heavy, voice as stoic as usual when he was off the field. Sniper did notice, as the youngest merc wasn't around when he looked for his next target after Soldier.

"Yeah, the lad's usually always up and about when there are pancakes in the morning," remarked Demoman, placing his last dish into the drying rack and leaning against the counter. Sniper huffed again, then took a bit of pancake.

The Australian gagged.

He coughed, hand roughly patting his chest, before he finally managed to swallow the bite.

"Crikey! What happened this morning, Pyro? Lost your touch," said Sniper, grimacing and setting his fork with finality. He could still taste the strong baking soda against his tongue. He damn near choked! And this would only be the second dumbest way he's died since being hired by RED.

"Actually, I made breakfast this morning," commented Engineer. His newspaper was now folded on the table, and the genius was fixing Sniper with a unreadable look behind his goggles.

"Well. Sucks, mate," Sniper said, getting up to throw out his pancakes to settle for bacon and toast. Despite all his doctorates and intelligence, Engineer could be relatively incompetent in day to day living.

(Fairly enough, the same could be said for all the mercenaries. An advanced knowledge of chemistry didn't stop Demo from nearly always unbalancing the washing machine, nor did Medic's years of practice and experience make him any less likely to somehow break the tv just by pressing a few buttons on the remote).

"Always a pleasure in the morning, Sniper," grumbled Engineer over the lip of his coffee mug. "Couldn't damn well sleep last night with the storm at all either. Figured I'd start on breakfast for all of you fellas."

"We can all do without the pancakes."

Engineer clenched his mug, resisting the urge to swing it at Spy's face as the man uncloaked behind him. He hated when the Frenchman did that, got him all riled up - wasn't good for the Texan's blood pressure, as Medic had nonchalantly once commented. He had a strong inkling that Spy knew all of this, and deemed it necessary collateral damage so he could always dramatically appear when necessary.

"Noted," managed the southerner dryly, going back to his coffee. One of these days, he wouldn't resist the urge, and just use the nearest object to concuss the Frenchman. Figured maybe then Spy would be more hesitant about where he popped up.

"Zats not like you, Pyro, skipping breakfast preparation," hummed Medic, settling with his tea next to Pyro. He brightened, giving his distracted coworker a wide smile. "Perhaps you had a mild stroke in your sleep?"

"Mphno!" snapped Pyro, startling the table, including the merc himself. Medic stared for a moment, glanced at the rest of his team, then looked back at Pyro.

"...a moderate stroke?"

Before anyone could further comment, an announcement sounded. BLU team had yet to move into Mercenary Park, and today would be another ceasefire.

:::

Scout peeked out from under his blankets at the announcement. He sighed, sinking into bed. Despite being awakened by the loud message, he was relieved to hear he didn't need to go out onto the field. He had nightmares all night, replaying the day the team had been tasked with yeti hunting. He felt like he woke up nearly every hour screaming, unable to completely rest his body or mind. Even worse, every time he awoke, the storm sounded louder, and he swore one time he heard something scratching against the window.

Scout typically slept like a rock and wasn't one to toss and turn, despite how active he was when awake. Never had nightmares about killing or being killed, about getting injured or fighting BLU. Except for that one time BLU Soldier rocket jumped right onto him. (He broke his ankle landing on Scout's skull, and landed crotch first into the younger man's face. Scout had flashbacks for a month.)

In a good mood now, Scout jumped out of bed and scrambled for clean clothes. In fact, maybe he would go for a run around the base, take in the fresh air. Then, a nice long nap in the common room, lulled to sleep by the television.

"Ay!" Scout greeted, jumping into the kitchen only to see most of his team had scattered to their own devices. Only Pyro and Sniper were left, the latter grumbling to himself while still finishing up breakfast. Pyro sat thoughtfully next to a still full plate, stirring some lemon ginger tea, one of many flavors he neatly arranged at the kettle when they first moved in. At the sight of the American both mercenaries perked up.

"Mhphout!"

"Piker!"

"Hey," responded Scout, casually sidling up to the counter and stacking a plate with six pancakes. Just what he needed, Pyro's pancakes! Rarely were there any left for late comers. Today would be a good day.

"Why were you outside my camper last night?" asked Sniper.

"Uh, definitely wasn't," said Scout, falling into the empty seat next to the Australian and drowning his pancakes in syrup. He rubbed his hands together in excitement, ignoring Sniper's stare. The sharpshooter furrowed his brows, before looking down at the black liquid of his coffee.

"Well, someone was definitely crawling around my camper last night…" Or something, Sniper added mentally.

"Agh!" Scout spat out a chewed glob of pancake back into his plate. "What the hell's up with this?"

"Mphy mphrd mphhing mpho," said Pyro quietly, gasmask meeting Sniper's blue eyes. Over his shoulder, Scout was gagging.

"Mphy...mphy mphnt mphink mphit mphs mphnyone mphn mphe mpheem."

Sniper frowned, contemplating what the short mercenary said and completely tuning out Scout's coughing and hacking.

"I suppose you're right...can't imagine anyone from the team making noises outside while we all tried to sleep."

"What da hell, Pyro! Why do the pancakes suck this morning!"

"Mphd mpho mphr mphny mphing mphlst mphite?" asked Pyro. Scout tossed his syrup soaked pancakes into the trash with a grimace. He returned to the counter, aggressively filling his plate with now cold bacon.

"Don't know whatcha talkin' about. Slept like a baby last night," he dismissed, glancing over his shoulder. Hopefully the rest of breakfast wouldn't taste like ass.

"If it wasn't one of you lot, I wouldn't be surprised if it was some animal," mumbled Sniper, thoughts wandering to the possible culprit. What kind of animal would be able to nearly knock over his camper. Maybe a tiger...or maybe…

"Mphnimal...mphy mphti?"

At Pyro's comment, Scout nearly jumped, eyes wide.

"A yeti? You think that noise was a yeti?" he asked, looking from Pyro to Sniper, dread sinking into his empty stomach.

"Mphso mphoo mphid mphr mphit!" accused Pyro, mask somehow radiating a frown.

"I mean, just some scratching at my window, didn't scare me or nothing," huffed Scout, nonchalantly taking a seat with a new plate of leftover bacon and toast. "Probably just Soldier."

"Maybe…" mumbled Sniper, standing. With that he left, heading out to his camper. He needed to do some investigating.

The Australian traced his own footsteps in the wet dirt from the base entrance to his camper, making sure he didn't miss anything. It would have been smarter to check in the morning, but he wasn't looking for yeti prints, just someone to blame.

"Yaaaah!"

Sniper snapped around, seeing Soldier rocket jump off the roof and into the surrounding jungle. He shook his head - typical.

:::

Soldier landed with a splat, feet sinking into the moist soil. He snickered, refilling a blank rocket, before taking aim. In another second, he was flying through the air, a mass of red soaring above the trees. Without BLU, he could explore the surrounding base, including the jungle, and find spots to hide caches of weapons (and heads, of course).

The mercenary dropped through an enclave of trees and hit the ground with a squelch.

He readied another rocket, then paused and sniffed. Lifting his foot, he saw a brown pile of literal shit. Soldier hummed, jumping off the pile, some turds rolling to the floor. He knelt down and picked up some of the poop with a finger, bringing it to his nose. He took a whiff.

Yeti.

Soldier smirked. As far as he was concerned, his earlier run in with a yeti was nothing short of exhilarating. He wouldn't be taken for surprise this time. Lucky for the yeti, Hale had showed up, and Soldier didn't have a chance to introduce his foot to the creature's ass. No matter. It seemed like he would get a chance now, even if it was with another yeti.

Soldier absentmindedly wiped his hand across his coat, and shouldered his rocket launcher. He unclipped his shovel from his belt, and scanned the surrounding trees. The shit smelled fresh, and was relatively solid, untouched by last night's rain. The patriot slowly patrolled the surrounding trees, shovel raised.

"Come out, you immigrant!" yelled Soldier, head whipping back and forth for any movement. A twig snapped, and Soldier swung around, throwing his shovel with precision. The blade stuck into a tree, right above a frightened squirrel monkey. Soldier scowled, trudging over to pull out the shovel.

"Tell me where the yeti is," snapped Soldier, grabbing the monkey. His large hand nearly wrapped around its entire body. The poor animal squeaked and struggled in the mercenary's grasp. Soldier listened intently, trying to make out what the animal said. Unbeknownst to him, a creature was stalking up behind him. The monkey stopped chattering, eyes wide at the sight over Soldier's shoulder. Soldier turned and swung his shovel. A hand caught the weapon's collar.

The yeti huffed, towering over eight feet, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. Soldier grinned. He let go of the shovel and jumped back, free hand reaching for the rocket launcher over his shoulder. In one swift movement, he went flying into the air with the crying monkey.

The yeti howled, and tossed the shovel to the side. It snapped around, breathing heavily. Soldier landed just a few meters away. Gently, something rarely associated with anything Soldier did, the patriot set the terrified monkey down, allowing it to scurry away.

Soldier steadied his rocket launcher with his now free hand. The launcher had dummy rockets and wouldn't cause any harm, so it wasn't the best to lead with. But Soldier has gotten new uniform boots that were tailored especially for cracking skulls. And, his shovel. Though momentarily displaced, it was another weapon in his arsenal. Soldier snickered, standing firm. Helmet met the yeti's red eyes. The creature crouched and threw out its hands, just as ready for a confrontation.

Soldier shot into the air, sailing with leg pointed out and heel aimed. The yeti ducked away and grabbed Soldier's leg, using his momentum to throw him into a nearby tree. Soldier slammed into the trunk, crumbling to the ground. The damp soil sunk beneath his body. He rolled away from the massive fist coming for his head, and stumbled up with his launcher steadied once again. The blow this time sent him meters to the left and he landed atop his shovel. Just as he scooped up the weapon, the yeti yanked him up by the back of his coat. The giant lifted the human above its head, and Soldier got a strange sense of deja vu. The yeti roared, which Soldier mimicked, swinging his shovel with all his strength into the creature's arms.

The yeti howled, dropping Soldier abruptly and sinking into a defensive crouch to cradle the bleeding wrist where the shovel's blade had sunk in. Soldier smirked, shouldering his rocket launcher and gripping his shovel with two hands. He dug his feet into the moist dirt, readying himself to charge. The yeti's head snapped up, and its red eyes bore utter hatred into Soldier's helmet, as if it could see the crazed look behind the metal.

The two stood silent for a moment, tension thick in the jungle.

Soldier, not one ever for tact or patience, yelled, charging forward with shovel raised. The yeti followed, fists up. Soldier swung, and the yeti, for such a large creature, deftly fell back a step, and grabbed the back of Soldier's wrist as the shovel missed. Soldier threw up his left arm, blocking his face in expectancy of assault. Instead of pummeling him, the yeti started to spin, lifting Soldier off the group by his arm. The merc found himself swinging through the air, and suddenly flying.

:::

A scope scanned the top of the jungle's trees. Nothing seemed to stir except for the occasional parrot soaring up above the canopy and dropping like a colorful streamer. The wilderness went on for miles, trailing up into high cliffs and a waterfall just barely visible in the distance. RED team had taken the tourist road to to the park, which flanked the jungle's edge, only giving visitors a peak of what mysterious lie inside. Although yetis were the main attraction, the jungle was teeming with a vast diversity of wildlife. Tigers, sloths, pythons, monkeys, crocodiles, and thousands more species. It was very likely that not everything had been discovered yet.

"Bloody hell!"

Sniper leapt off his lawn chair and rolled off the camper roof, just barely avoiding Soldier's flying body. The American landed onto the lawn chair, destroying the plastic and collapsing onto the roof.

"What in the hell?" Sniper said, hands clenched around his rifle as he looked up at the roof. Slowly, with groans, Soldier's face appeared at the edge, face caked with wet soil.

"Yeti," the patriot got out, rolling off the roof and onto the ground. His heavy body collapsed at Sniper's side, and for a moment the Australian thought he had died. Alas, Soldier got to his feet, using his rocket launcher for leverage.

"There's another yeti in the jungle!" he declared. "Though I damn near killed it."

Taking in Soldier's barely standing status, Sniper highly doubted that.

"But it escaped! It threw me half way back to base. I would have gone back, but I had to get my real weapons for something like this."

"Hold on," interrupted a still incredulous Sniper. "You found another damn yeti out there? That explains it all then…"

Soldier hadn't listened and was already hobbling back to base. Sniper scowled, following after.

"Woah." Scout had been running laps around the base, exploring every nook and cranny he could, and was making his way back around just as he ran into the pair.

"What happened to you?" laughed the younger mercenary, smug and toothy as was his usual expression, pointing at Soldier. The man was using his rocket launcher as a makeshift crutch, leaning onto it with nearly his entire weight and favoring his right leg.

"Nearly killed a damn yeti out there, son." Scout blinked as Soldier continued by, and into base. He ran to follow, processing what the other American had just said.

"A yeti?"

"The crazy idiot says he saw another bloody yeti," supplied Sniper, brows furrowed in thought as he trailed behind.

"A damn communist yeti," assured Soldier, stomping through the halls as best as one could with a broken leg. "Kraut!"

Scout chuckled nervously.

"Sure. Saxton Hale killed all of 'em, remember?" Surely, this was Soldier being his dumb self. Probably ran into something else.

"That's what I thought too. But, something really messed with me last night, and I saw footprints. Wasn't like any other animal, I tell ya," Sniper said.

"Kraut, where the hell are you?" Soldier yelled, slamming open the infirmary door to see it empty. He growled, making his way to the cabinets lining the walls. He ripped open the doors and started digging through the contents.

"Soldier, there ain't no more yetis," said Scout with another nervous laugh. "Probably saw an overgrown raccoon or something." Scout ducked from the femur thrown over Soldier's shoulder as the older man continued to rummage through the infirmary.

"I know a damn yeti when I see one. And I know when I need to go back and kill something."

"Where did you see it," asked Sniper, nodding to himself. "How far into the jungle?"

Soldier was now fondling the medigun hanging above the infirmary cot, trying to pull it off the hook it was secured to.

"Mmph?" A gasmask peeked into the room. "Mmht mhr mpho mphong mher?"

Pyro cautiously made his way into the infirmary, holding a stack of papers and crayons.

"What does it look like? Where's the damn doctor when you need him?" said Soldier, now standing on one leg atop the cot and trying to detach the medigun.

"Soldier," pressed Sniper. "Where did you see the yeti? We should call Hale to deal with it."

Soldier snapped around, helmet bouncing. "We're not calling anyone. I'm going to finish what I started."

"Mmti?" Pyro asked, now standing with the trio and holding his art supplies close to his chest.

"Did you forget the part where the thing nearly broke your spine?" pointed out Sniper. Soldier ignored him, finally pulling the medigun free with a satisfied smirk.

"I gotta agree with Sniper," said Scout, grimacing. "I don't think I wanna be used as a human bat again."

"I'll take care of it in no time," Soldier said, now sitting on the infirmary cot, medigun across his lap. He flipped one of the switches back and forth, a look of pure determination and focus on his face. Sniper rolled his eyes.

"Don't be craz-" He paused, realizing who he was talking to. Last time, they were taken by surprise, but with the upper hand...and if Soldier truly did injure the creature, maybe it wouldn't be far fetched for the mercs to deal with this themselves. Sniper, mind made up, raised his rifle toward Soldier's head.

"Meet me outside," he said firmly. Soldier' scowl turned into a smirk. Sniper shot him through the head.

:::

"Mmpmby mhee mpdud mmhndced Mmic…" mumbled Pyro, trudging behind Sniper through the dense trees and growth.

"As if the bastard would help. Especially since Soldier messed around with his stuff," commented Scout at his rear, hunched with scattergun raised. He briefly shot a look over his shoulder as the seemingly calm jungle. The humid air was stifling, and every bird call caused him to jump.

The young man had tried to talk Sniper and Soldier out of their foray into the jungle, but the two were adamant about ensuring that yetis truly did end up extinct. Scout was highly tempted to stay back at base, maybe pop in a movie, heat up some popcorn, and pretend that everything was totally fine and that the object of his nightmares wasn't wandering out and about. But, well, how was he supposed to relax when a freakin' yeti was still out here? Against his better judgement (not atypical for him), Scout joined the mission, knowing he wouldn't have peace unless he saw the yeti died with his own two eyes.

(Also, he didn't know how to call Saxton Hale. So, this was obviously the only option.)

"Keep it up, ladies," Soldier said, voice surprisingly low given his propensity for theatrics. He led the group of four through the jungle and towards the battle zone, rocket launcher shouldered and loaded with really ammo. Sniper followed close after, arrow notched in his bow and a grim frown on his wrinkled face. Every once and while they would see deep footprints where Soldier had previously landed from a rocket jump.

Suddenly, Soldier stopped and held up his hand. The three mercenaries behind him halted, watching Soldier scan the trees around him. He sniffed. Slowly, he lifted his rocket launcher, and took some steps forward. All was quiet for once, unnervingly so. A bead of sweat trailed down Sniper's temple. Scout's eyes flicked from tree to tree. Pyro tightened his grip on his shotgun.

A quiet rustle against leaves caused the group to turn, all raising their weapons at the bushes on their right.

Then, Soldier screamed.

A massive figure tackled him from the left, taking the patriot to the ground. The two went rolling across the jungle floor in a wrestle. With one solid punch, the yeti knocked Soldier's rocket launcher out of his hand. Soldier tried to lunge for it, but the creature was already lifting him into the air.

"Ahhh!" yelled Soldier, hands and feet flailing as the yeti held him above it's head. The yeti yelled right back.

An arrow hit the yeti's skull.

The creature's head snapped around to see Sniper holding up his bow. The sharpshooter stood stunned, meeting the severe malice in its red eyes.

"Shoot em again, hippie!" screamed Soldier, and the yeti snapped his spine.

"Crikey!"

The yeti tossed Soldier without another thought and was now on Sniper. The Australian screamed, turning to run. He passed right by the tree Scout and Pyro were huddled behind, the yeti clumsy at his heel. The Australian's hat went flying off, and right into the its face. The creature slapped it away, howling into the air and chasing his prey further into the jungle.

The hat landed next to Pyro and Scout.

At the appearance of the yeti, the youngest merc had let out a high pitched scream and dove behind the nearest tree. Pyro had scattered as well, more so in shock and the instinct to get the hell away. As Soldier was getting his ass kicked, Scout had crawled over to Pyro, repeating:

"Oh crap, oh crap," in a hushed fearful voice. His scattergun, although lethal with a few rounds, wasn't helpful from far away. Instead, Scout held it close, using the weapon to hold onto reality given the very unreal situation going on around him.

They watched the yeti pick up Soldier, the patriot screaming the entire time, no concern for his own safety. The arrow Sniper shot had only agitated the creature and sent the Aussie running back in the direction they came from. Sniper had long legs, and could be quick when he wanted.

The arrow Sniper shot had only agitated the creature and sent the Aussie running back in the direction they came from. Sniper had long legs, and could be quick when he wanted, but the yeti was nearly twice his size and much faster. No doubt the merc would face a painful death.

Pyro picked up Sniper's hat and stared down at it. He could no longer hear his friend, and just as before the yeti's attack, the jungle was quiet. (Minus Soldier's cursing in the background).

Decidedly, Pyro placed Sniper's hat atop his gas-mask. He clenched his shotgun with shaky determination, ready to head after his friend and the animal hunting him. Scout grabbed Pyro by the elbow. He was still crouched against the tree, blue eyes wide.

"Hold up! Ya really gonna go save Sniper? Are you crazy, Mumbles?"

Pyro, for a second, considered his friend's words.

"Just let him respawn," said Scout , casting a look over his shoulder at when Soldier was laying, broken back and all. The patriot, Pyro noted, was still quite alive, maybe in severe pain, and yelling off threats as if the yeti was still around.

Pyro reached up to Sniper's hat, tugging it firmly. Mind made up, he shook off Scout's hand and ran in the direction the Australian fled.

:::

Pyro's legs burned as he rushed past trees and leapt over roots, guided only by a sense of urgency. He no longer felt any of the apprehension that burdened him when the team first arrived at Mercenary Park. Adrenaline coursed through his body and his breath was hot against the rubber of his mask. Under his suit, his body was damp with sweat. But Pyro didn't mind. The heat fueled his him, just as it always did on the battle field.

By what was only luck, Pyro caught wind of Sniper yelling, and pushed on in that direction. The Australian accent started getting louder as he approached. Pyro sped up, deftly dodging hanging vines and low branches. He hoped that if Sniper died, it was at least after further hurting the yeti. With a few well aimed slugs to the head, the masked merc was tentatively confident that he could take the creature down.

"Bugger off, you overgrown ape!"

Pyro came to a halt at the edge of a clearing, and saw the yeti screaming lumbering around the base of a tall tree. It howled at the branches, four arrows sticking out of its body, one in its thigh, and two buried in its muscular chest. And of course, the arrow still buried in its head. There were more arrows littering the ground, as well as a bow and quiver, and Pyro could see why.

"Get along then!" Sniper was near the top of the tree, somehow managing to scurry his way up before the yeti could catch him. The Australian was pressed into the tree trunk, legs curled as far around it as possible. His hands were similarly clutching the trunk for dear life, and he would make a funny sight if not given his precarious situation. The tree shock as the yeti slammed its fists into it, left wrist bleeding from where Soldier had previously injured it. For all its strengths, it seemed the creature wasn't quite adept at climbing the tree, and the lowest branches were already broken from previous attempts. If it couldn't get up, Sniper would have to come down.

Seeing the creature was distracted, Pyro stepped forward as quietly as he could, shotgun steady in his hands. He raised it, aiming for the yeti's head. Just a bit closer…

The yeti whipped around backhanding the shotgun just as Pyro fired. The muzzle swung low, clipping the creature's arm. It screamed, left shoulder exploding into blood and flesh.

Pyro leapt to the side to dodge a haphazard right swing. He scrambled to his feet, body burning from adrenaline. The yeti's shoulder was springing blood, a huge chunk missing and now it's left arm hung useless, no tendons or bones to connect the muscles. It roared, whipping it's right arm in a crazed frenzy as it descended upon the masked mercenary.

Pyro dodged, stepping from side to side, and ducking as the swings failed to make contact. In his periphery, Pyro could see where the shotgun landed. Pyro starting to angle his movements to the side, the yeti following with wild punches. A low swing forced the merc to drop to the floor on his back. Pyro realized his mistake, watching in almost slow motion as the yeti's foot descended on him. Against better judgement, Pyro squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting the pain that would come with his internal organs rupturing from such a force. When he felt nothing, organs still nice and tidy in his body, Pyro peeked up, and saw the yeti's foot hanging inches over his chest. It was glaring down with its crazed red eyes and an arrow sticking out the side of his head. The creature tipped over, falling to the side. Pyro scrambled up, backing away with reasonable caution.

"You okay?" Sniper stood a few meters away, looking disheveled or unharmed. Pyro gave the man a shaky thumbs up. Sniper lowered his bow at this confirmation, letting out a deep breath.

"Mmphs," Pyro thanked, picking up his shotgun with shaky hands. He had just nearly avoided a painful death. Maybe not as painful as what he often experienced on the field, but to be fair, he'd never had his organs crushed by pure brute force. Sniper gave a faltering nod, just as obviously rattled by the entire experience.

"No problem, mate. I'm just glad we finally killed this thing." He glanced up at his hat sitting atop Pyro's head, and a smile flickered across his face.

"Ay, nice job." The two turned to see Scout drop down from a tree, a wide smile across his young face. "We did it!"

"Mpho mmher mhphr mph mhe mphntr mphim?" Pyro asked, incredulously watching Scout arrogantly strolled over.

"Well, yeah." Scout at least had the decency to appear ashamed, a rarity for him. "But you and Sniper looked like you had it under control."

"Figures…" grumbled Sniper, collecting his arrows scattered across the ground. He made his way to the yeti's body to pull out the arrows the rest of the arrows, when-

"Hoowah!"

Soldier landed heels first atop the yeti's body, rocket launcher over his shoulder.

"Looks like that took care of him," the patriot said, grinning down at the dead creature under his boots. Neither of the other merc's made an effort to correct him that his landing did absolutely nothing. Although it could kill another human, the yeti's back was sturdy. Maybe a few more jumps would actually do damage.

Soldier hopped off the body, reaching into his coat for a cigar. Pyro sighed, in relief. The last thing he cared about was Scout or Soldier taking credit for the mission. That was a given when working with those too.

With a hint of familiarity, he pulled out a lighter and lit up Soldier's cigar.

"I'm heading back," said Sniper, pulling the last of the arrows from the yeti. The first one he shot in its head had just barely pierced its skull. Thankfully the last one had gone straight through the head, the point coated in brain matter. With a grunt and foot against the yeti's jaw, Sniper pulled out the arrow. Satisfied, he started walking in the direction of base. Silently agreeing with the Australian, Pyro followed. He took off Sniper's hat and held it out to him, but the sharpshooter shook his head.

"It's yours for the day, mate. Couldn't have done this without you."

Pyro tried to withhold his joy, returning the hat to his head. He had never admitted it, but he did always find Sniper's hat to be just so cute. Made the Australian look a bit younger too, if Pyro was honest, but he was saving that compliment for another day. With a bounce in his step, and resisting the urge to hug the other mercenary, Pyro followed Sniper back to base. Scout and Soldier trailed behind, the latter puffing at his cigar.

"Didn't that thing break your back," pointed out Scout, watching his fellow American blow out smoke. Soldier hummed, hand moving to his chin in thought.

"Oh yeah," he said. "MEDIC!"

:::

This fic isn't dead! Life just happens, and you never know when inspiration hits you. I'll try to get another chapter in soon, I have some ideas but haven't started anything yet. Maybe something Pyro focused? I'm always hesitant about writing Pyro because I want to keep him mysterious enough to match the lore, but also give him a chance to really stand out in his own right as opposed to just a weirdo background character. Maybe Soldier focused? His voice actor recently passed away, so maybe a tribute is warranted. We'll see!