>>108 Duhn-duhhhhnnnnnn.... Short-ish installment, but the next vignette is longer and I can't break it into a half-post. _____________________ As the rogue Soldier charged, Demoman continued studying the opposite side of the path, still absentminded of the mistake he had made. He was seconds away from having his brain carved out by a pick-wielding lunatic. It was then that he heard Jane move suddenly behind him. His friend shouted, “ABOUT FACE!†Tavish flinched in surprise and started to turn, when he was struck by the renegade soldier's Equalizer. A blow that was meant for his cervical vertebrae had landed on his shoulder instead, ripping through flesh and muscle, and tearing the insignia from his uniform. He scrambled back, letting loose an agonized yowl. The enemy wasn't about to give him any quarter, but before he suffered another strike of that pickaxe, his comrade gave a bloodcurdling scream and tackled the Colonel. Jane managed to shove their enemy onto his back, and at once, the two soldiers were on the ground and entwined in combat. The renegade started hacking at Jane one-handed with an unnecessarily sharp chunk of metal. Jane struggled to aim his shotgun at his attacker, just long enough to use it to good effect. The Colonel was not keen on taking a slug to the belly, though; his free hand gripped the gun's business end in an effort to keep it pointed away from him. Several shots went off in quick succession, spraying blood over the nearby bushes. It was unclear if any of them had done significant damage. Still recovering from the shock of being ambushed, Demoman struggled to level his weapon with a wounded arm. He cursed his luck, realizing that he couldn't use it anyways – not without blasting his old friend into hundreds of bloody chunks, at any rate. “Fuck! Jes' kill the bastard, already!†Tavish bawled, still fumbling with his grenade launcher. From amidst the shouting and cursing of the two brawling soldiers, Jane's voice could be heard clearly. “FIRE, GOD-DAMN YOU! I've got him pinned, now FINISH HIM OFF!†Beneath the rim of his helmet, Demoman caught a glimpse of the crazed expression on his face. Since their friendship had gone violently awry, inflicting full-body explosions on one another was commonplace for Tavish and Jane. Back on the road, he had only hesitated to bombard the BLU Soldier out of a sense of honour. It didn't seem right to deliver a killing blow to your rival, when he didn't even know you were gunning for him. Now, however, it felt a lot harder. The renegade was badly injured, of course. He knew that. But his companion would still take the brunt of the attack. Respawn would eventually piece the blue-clad soldier back together, but even knowing that was cold comfort for Demoman. (I must be daft. I love turning men into a spray of hair, teeth and eyeballs. This shouldn't be any bloody different!) Struggling to ignore the knot in his throat and the throbbing of his fresh wound, he stood back and aimed shakily at the wrestling soldiers. “You sure about this, mate?†he yelled, unable to hide the trembling in his voice. “Why the HELL would I be lying?! JUST FUCKING DO IT!†Down on the ground, Jane's head and torso was a bloody mess of puncture wounds. Despite his own injuries, the Colonel seemed only stronger for them, and he was making it impossible to get in a good shot. It was all the BLU mercenary could do to hold his shotgun crosswise, and try blocking the Equalizer's vicious swings. Tavish did it. Immediately after pulling the trigger, he cringed and turned away, pretending that he was just shielding his face from the blast. It was easier than admitting the truth to himself. He didn't want to watch Jane get blown to pieces. Not this time. As the ringing in his ears died down, he hung his head and grimaced, choking down the lump in his throat. “No' like that,†he muttered, his good eye squeezed shut. “No' like that, mate...†Deep down, he knew he had to press onwards. Demoman couldn't bear the thought of seeing the mess he'd made of his old friend. It occurred to him that if he waited a minute or two, he wouldn't have to. The respawn system would perform its miraculous duty, transubstantiating Jane's crude human remains into pure and unsullied energy and spiriting them away. The nearest BLU base's respawn chamber was far from this filthy, stinking jungle- but closer than heaven. The jungle seemed to respect Demoman's emotional state. As he waited out a moment of silence, so did the wind still and the expanse of foliage with it. It was in the lull that a new noise was suddenly heard, one that left the Scotsman confused. He frowned, pressing a thumb against his eyelid and listening in confusion. Still that sound. When he was a boy, Tavish had once seen a caravan of Gypsies passing on the road. A tired old cob was pulling one of the overburdened trailers. As it struggled up the muddy slope, its breath came in starts and fits. What he was hearing now reminded him of that wheezing horse. Hoping that respawn had done its job by now, Tavish uncovered his eye and felt every hair on his body stand up. No less than a few feet away from him, the Colonel was standing upright, murder blazing in his eyes. He had the appearance of a monster, more gore than man. But he was somehow still moving, breathing, clinging to life and that damn Equalizer. Whether by technology or sheer bloody-mindedness, he had survived the blast. (Human shield,) Demoman thought abstractly. If the madman had wrestled Jane down at the right moment, the brunt of the explosion would have been absorbed by the unfortunate BLU's body. Now was not the time to look back with sadness, though, or even berate himself for that oversight. Now was the time to finish what he had started. Still brandishing his grenade launcher, he said, “There's a good chance Ah'd survive a grenade at this range, ya ken? Let's do it.†The Colonel stopped in his tracks at this statement. Behind his mask of lacerations, green paint and blood, his eyes were wide, white circles. Demoman aimed with a sort of lazy menace, casual in the seriousness of his intentions. Before he could pull the trigger, something nearly made him freeze up in terror. Rolling those gleaming, bloodshot eyes towards Tavish, the renegade gave a horrible battle-scream, and lunged at him, pickaxe raised. Demoman was struck by the sensation of foul maggots, all squirming their way up his body. His face twisted into a grimace of horror; the words “Fear dubh!†flashed in his mind. Then he fired his weapon. The shot went foul, flying over its mark, but it accomplished the least Demoman could have wanted it to: overcome by his fear of death, the Colonel turned and fled into the jungle with surprising speed. Long after his enemy had escaped, Demoman stood staring at nothing. When his shaky knees gave out, he let himself flop down onto the path and took out his canteen for a pick-me-up. He needed it now more than ever. Soon, he could shed a tear for Jane, pull himself together and get up out of the mud. Soon, he could continue on to the plantation, on the path travelled before by two of his teammates and a doomed fellow clansman. Soon, he could plan his own entry to the compound, where his own missing teammates most certainly would be found. But at that very moment, Tavish DeGroot's mind was still consumed by the horror he had felt. Even if it were untrue, he had- for one awful moment- been fearfully certain that his enemy was no more a human than he was an Englishman.