EPILOGUE

All of the members of the RED Team (san Medic and Sniper) sat in the Recreation room, each doing their own thing. It was their day off (A very rare occurrence indeed!) and so they wanted to make the most of the 24 hours of freedom they have. The Scout growled as he handed over a small pile of dollars over to the Spy, a smirk on his face and a Royal Flush in his hands. The Demoman lay sprawled on his back with a blurred eye turned to the ceiling, Heavy attempting to nudge the Scotsman back into consciousness. Pyro was showing of a crudely-drawn blueprint of a flamethrower-sentry to Engineer, who was nodding and chuckling. Soldier stood hunches over aged maps of Germany, Poland and Prussia while whispering crazed plans to himself.

The door swung open slowly, no one noticing who it was. It was only when someone cleared their throat that they saw the Medic standing in the doorway, Sniper staring apprehensively at the floor. The German's expression told everyone in the room that he wanted to say something.

"Doctor! What is it?" Heavy asked, giving up on awakening Demoman.

Medic remained quiet as he stepped further into the room, the Australian behind him entering with hesitance. "Well, I thought of something that we should do." He explained, his tone showing his supposed authority.

The Russian looked at the Medic with his eyes saying 'tell us'.

He stood there, everyone's eyes (even the recently awoken Demoman, gripping his bottle of Scrumpy like a lifeline) focused on the Healer and Assassin. "Well, before we begin, Herr Sniper has something that he would like to confess." He stated, nodding to the other. "Well?"

Silence loomed, Scout's trembling being ignored by the other mercenaries in the room. Some, such as Soldier and Spy, wanted the Medic and Sniper to just shut up and leave them be. But others, such as Pyro and Heavy, truly wanted to hear what was to be said.

The Sniper mumbled something almost inaudibly, prompting a stern look from the German. The Aussie looked up with shame in his face; even with the aviators, everyone could just about see it in his eyes as well. "Well… I haven't been honest with ya about why I prefer being by myself…" he started, once again letting the Scout's sighs of relief glide over him. "It ain't because that I prefer being by myself… it's that… I'm scared."

With the words out in the open, the Aussie looked as though he was contemplating running away from the room and not looking back.

"So, that's what it is?" Engineer asked with a perked eyebrow. "I'd always wondered why you always run away from us. I thought it was 'cause you didn't like us or somethin'."

Everyone else had been confused; Sniper was scared of people? And why admit it now? The brief silence was broken with an incredulous scoff from Soldier. "Always knew you were a coward!" His harsh words prompted the Sniper to look away, his muscles tensed for fight or flight. "Maybe that's one of the reasons why we lose!"

"Oh, dieu!" Spy hissed, standing up in anger and marching over to the de facto leader. "Enough of this, you imbecile! It is your damn fault as well, just face up to the fact that you have made plenty of mistakes but you're too much of a fool to admit it!"

Everyone waited with bated breath. No one, NO ONE, flat out insulted the Soldier with such fierce bluntness! Before the psychotic patriot could say a word, the Medic stepped in. "This was not to embarrass or insult Herr Sniper!" He declared, once more showing his dominant tones. "There is a purpose to this!"

Everyone was lost on what he meant, so the German elaborated. "You are all aware of the idea of 'the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem', no?" He asked, earning a few nods but stillness from most. "Well, I think that underneath our images, we are all hiding a fear that cripples us when the so-called 'trigger' presents itself."

"There a point to this?" Demoman asked with slurred sounds, alcohol-tainted breath on his lips. "Or is it just going to be a round of Agony Aunt Time?" He kept silent when he was given a harsh stare by the elder of the two.

"My point is that I think that if we opened up about our own fears, then we may be able to get rid of them." He explained further, everyone listening to his every word. "Herr Sniper has told only me about his fear and so he agreed to be the first to express his. Now then, who would like to be the next to admit their fear?"

The room was quiet, everyone having an uneasy look on their faces. That is, until it was broken by a familiar youthful voice "F**k it! I admit!" Scout shouted, slamming his bandaged fists on the table. "I'm scared of silence! Okay, you happy know!?"

Before sound could leave completely, the Medic put on a proud expression. "Good, Herr Scout!" he praised. "We can work on the roots of that fear and then we can cure you of it! Who else?"

Engineer moved his hardhat a little. "Well… I can't stand blood, but I guess it was a little obvious from my fainting spells, uh?"

The German nodded as each member of the RED team slowly and surely made a clean breast of themselves, confessing the fears that they had been trying to hide for years. He could only nod and comfort everyone as he explained that he would try and remedy their 'conditions'.

They finally felt at ease about their phobias.

They wouldn't get in the way.

They'd be free from their crippling fears…

THE END
DAS ENDE
Конец
LA FIN