Reign of the Pyro

Note: Yeah, I know, another quick capitalization of the Meet the Pyro video. But hear me out. I've actually been planning this one for a while and have just now gotten around with it. Please read it. Thank you.

Chapter 1: Initiation

DUSTBOWL, 9:30 A.M.

"Sentry ahead!"

The Blue Medic sighed. Of all the pointless things the Scout had yelled in the past 5 minutes, that was perhaps the least useful. Of course there was a sentry ahead. It had only been pinning them down for the last 3 minutes. And with the Heavy AFK and the enemy Sniper gunning from the worst possible angle, their momentum towards the final control point had ground to a halt. It seemed nobody was willing to try to jump out and break the stalemate, and they were almost out of time.

"Demoman! I need help!" the Medic called out. Surely the burly Scotsman would be more than willing to lead the charge. But no, it seemed he was occupied with a few sticky bombs, which he had been waiting 30 seconds for one of the Red team to wander into. It was obvious that he wouldn't budge.

"Soldier!" the Medic began, only to falter as he saw the Soldier playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the enemy Scout. The Medic offered a silent curse to that damn Equalizer. The Soldier had received it a week ago, and he was still under the illusion that it would somehow allow him to catch the Red Scout, who had already proved him wrong on multiple occasions.

The Medic sighed. It seemed nobody would be willing to push the final charge. Then, suddenly, the Blue Pyro walked up. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then the Medic nodded. Flicking on his Ubercharge, the Medic ran out from behind the corner, the Pyro right in front of him. The two charged.

xxxxxxx

"Spy's sapping my dispenser!"

The Blue Spy chuckled as the Engineer ran back to his precious dispenser. His chuckle became a fully blown laugh as he stabbed the Engineer in the back. Down he fell, and his Dispenser exploded in a shower of metal. Moving quickly, before anyone could notice, the Spy flawlessly assumed the Red Engineer's identity as he ran towards the battle zone, prepared to finish off the Engineer's sentry.

As it turned out, he needed not worry, as his team's Pyro had come around the corner, gun literally blazing, and he was making quite a mess of the battlefield. Briefly wondering where the Red Pyro was, the Spy ran to the sentry, preparing to place his signature sapper. However, no sooner had he reached the sentry than it was destroyed by the Pyro. As a matter of fact, the Pyro was destroying everything on the battlefield, despite the fact that his Ubercharge had long since worn off.

Now the rest of the team – considerably far behind the Pyro, the Spy noted with disdain – had joined the charge. Even the Heavy, who had hidden his fat face after the Red Scout had claimed a particularly brutal domination, had joined in the charge. It seemed like the Pyro's charge had been just what the team needed to tip the balance in their favor.

Suddenly, the Pyro stopped. He whirled around and blew his flamethrower at what seemed to be empty space. A body materialized out of nowhere – the Red Spy – and collapsed to the ground. The Blue Spy chuckled, for after numerous encounters with this precise Spy, he knew that the Pyro's victory would be short lived.

But then the Pyro swirled around, axe in hand, and in one fluid stroke, cut of the head of the real Red Spy, whose corpse was no illusion this time. The Spy frowned. It had taken him days to figure out the Dead Ringer cloaking device, and the Pyro had discovered its unique trick in seconds. Did this mean that the Pyro was smarter than him?

Well, he couldn't do anything about it now. All that was left to do was to walk through the zone of devastation that was Control Point C and help the Pyro capture the now defenseless final control point.

xxxxxxx

A massacre. That's what this battle had become.

Far above the battle, the Red Sniper looked down at the final control point, where the Blue Pyro had swiftly eviscerated his entire team. After attempting and failing a few shots, the Sniper discovered, to his dismay, that he had all but run out of ammunition, and had one bullet left to hold off the Blue team from winning the round.

But who would he shoot? The Medic, with his damning Ubercharge? The Spy, who had eliminated their Engineer? No, his last bullet would go to the Pyro, whose charge had so swiftly lost them the battle. With the Blue Medic focused on their Heavy, it would be an easy shot.

The Sniper steadied his aim, took a deep breath, focused his sight on the Pyro's head, and fired. The bullet flew through the air and embedded itself in the Pyro's skull.

What? It hadn't killed him? That was impossible! The Pyro only had so much health, and the Medic hadn't healed him in a while, so how could he-

The Pyro turned towards the Sniper. He ducked behind cover, hoping the Pyro hadn't seen him.

But that was ridiculous. He probably couldn't see ten feet in front of his bloody nose with that mask on. The Sniper reemerged at the windowsill, to find that the Pyro had selected a new weapon, but with the sun in his eyes, he could barely see – damn.

The Pyro fired his flare gun at the Sniper, its arc perfectly calculated. The last thing the Red Sniper saw was a blue fireball heading towards him, with the crackle of electricity that could only mean a critical hit…

xxxxxxx

VICTORY.

The voice rang through the compound as the Blue team stormed the Red spawn point, killing the other eight team members. Once the job was done, everyone turned to the job of congratulating each other. After a few seconds, their talk naturally turned to the exceptional behavior of the Pyro.

"That was a particularly excellent charge, Herr Pyro," the Medic commended, slapping the Pyro on the back.

"I must confess, you did perform quite admirably," the Spy allowed.

"Another game like that, and that Red scum will have no chance!" the Soldier remarked.

Through all of this, the Pyro said nothing. After a while, he walked into the Red spawn point, much to the confusion of the rest of the team.

"Where the bloody hell is that Pyro going?" the Demoman wondered aloud. The Scout, not waiting for an answer, ran into the spawn point behind the Pyro.

"Hey, hot pants, what are you – AAH!"

The Scout's body hit the floor and the Pyro emerged. For just a moment, the team stared, perplexed. It was the Spy who broke them out of their stupor, shouting, "You idiots! Look at his flamethrower!"

The Pyro held a Red flamethrower in his hands.

Broken from their stupor, the seven remaining members of the Blue team opened fire, spraying the Pyro with a deadly array of bullets, explosives, and hypodermic needles. But it was no use, for their teammate, crazed though he might be, was immune to their Blue weapons, and his Red flamethrower made short work of them.

All except the Spy. Moments after he had shouted his warning cry, he had cloaked and dashed into the Red spawn point, and was already rifling through their weapons cabinet, looking for something he could use. Finally, he found what he was looking for: a Red butterfly knife, identical to his own.

The Blue Pyro slowly strolled into the Red base, coiled like a spring. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was looking for his final teammate. Unfortunately, he was leaving his back particularly exposed. One quick jab from the Red knife, and his demented rampage would come to a screeching halt.

Fine time for his cloak to run out.

Quickly, the Spy lunged for the kill, but the Pyro turned at the last moment, leaving only a nonfatal gash in his arm. As the Spy desperately attempted to circle the Pyro, the flamethrower roared into action, and the Spy was soon engulfed in flames. Trying not to focus on the pain, the Spy finally sank his knife into the Pyro's back, but the damage was done. The Spy sank to the ground, the flames hungrily lapping up their victim. His last thought before he lost consciousness was that whatever madness had taken the Pyro, at least he had ended his life. The Spy closed his eyes and died.

xxxxxxx

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

The Blue Spy opened his eyes and, with a hint of relief, saw that he was back in his own spawn point with his teammates.

"Is everyone all right?" the Medic asked with his usual worrisome way.

"Never mind that. Pyro, what the hell were you-" the Spy began, and then stopped.

The Pyro was nowhere to be found.