Waking Nightmares

by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires

Chapter 15: A RED Interlude

The disclaimer about copyrights from the last chapter will apply to this and all future chapters. This story starts one week after the events of the previous chapter. Also, please note that my Tumblr blog is now accepting questions to the characters as well as to me!

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Human world...

2Fort...

Evening...

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"Finally," RED Sniper muttered as Merasmus approached the base, the wiry old wizard shrouded from the icy desert evening by his heavy cloak, his head mostly hidden by his skull headdress, giving him the appearance of a grim reaper wandering across the desert. RED Scout opened the gate, RED Soldier going out to greet him.

"It's good to see you, old friend," RED Soldier said, honestly relieved to have the wizard here.

"I would have been here sooner," Merasmus said, shaking RED Soldier's hand, "But my teleportation magic always malfunctions around this facility. I had to appear a distance away and walk the rest of the way."

"Do you need a drink or something? We have beer," RED Soldier said.

Merasmus chuckled. "I went into a magical trance to rejuvenate myself before coming here. I will not need food for another week," he said. "And judging by the fact that you're actually being polite, I'd say that you all are under some stress and would prefer I get to business quickly."

RED Soldier grumbled and sighed. "Weird things have been happening, Merasmus. And things have just been getting weirder. Earlier, I think I told you about this already, Sniper started hearing music and freaking out from the spot where the BLUs vanished... That's gone now, thank God..."

Merasmus stroked his dirty, stubbled chin thoughtfully. "Has anything else odd been happening?"

RED Soldier removed his helmet and rubbed his temples. "Heavy fainted about an hour before you arrived. Nothing we've tried has woken him up. I've never seen Medic that concerned about anyone before... And..."

When RED Soldier paused, Merasmus looked over to him. He was shocked when he saw tears in the normally fearless warrior's eyes.

"I remember everything now," RED Soldier said. "All of the memories from before the war... I remember my real name, my family... It's all come back to me, and I DO NOT KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED!" He gave Merasmus an agonized look. "I'm... I'm scared. This is way beyond anything that's happened to ANY of us before."

"You did the right thing in calling me," the wizard said, worried for his friend.

"I need an opponent, Merasmus. I need someone to fight, to kill," RED Soldier said. "I can't handle this mystic shit. Give me something to shoot a rocket at. Give me something to strangle. Then I can actually feel useful..."

"I will do what I can," he said as they entered the lounge where the others were gathered, save for RED Medic, RED Heavy, and RED Engineer.

RED Scout started to say something, when RED Engineer came in, a disturbed look on his face. His goggles were off, and he was rubbing his eyes and blinking, looking around.

"Laddie, what is it?" RED Demoman asked.

"I... I don't know how it happened..." he said. "But for some reason... I'm seeing and hearing Pyroland WITHOUT the goggles."

"WHAT?!" RED Scout shouted.

"How is that even possible?" RED Sniper said.

"Nononononono," RED Pyro said, starting everyone by how clearly she said it. She was visibly frightened, shaking her head frantically. "Hsss nhht fhhr yhh! Yhh CHHN'T bhh suuhing it!"

"Pyro, darlin,' calm down," RED Engineer said, coming over to her and hugging the shivering firebug. "We'll figure this out. Ah know " RED Pyro tensed for a moment. RED Engineer whispered something to her, and she seemed to calm down.

Darlin'? RED Scout thought. Is Pyro a girl? Engie and Medic do seem to hang around with him... or her... whatever. They're around the freak the most, so I guess they might know...

Merasmus gave RED Soldier a confused look. RED Soldier shook his head. "Pyro... sees things differently than the rest of us. Does anyone have their goggles?" he said.

RED Scout shrugged, pulling a pair of goggles vaguely similar to RED Pyro's mask out. Merasmus frowned, pulling them on over his face...

...and yelped as everything became absurdly colorful.

"Welcome to Pyroland," RED Engineer said. "You're seein' what Pyro sees normally."

"How... cheerful," Merasmus said, looking around in amazement. Outside, through the window, two giant balloon kittens were bouncing around, singing a cheerful song. The grenades on the chest belts of RED Pyro, RED Demoman, and RED Soldier had turned into baby bottles filled with milk, and the walls were lined with colorful, childish scribbles.

RED Demoman took a sip from his bottle of scrumpy. "If ye see a giant floatin' unicorn balloon talking to ye, dinnae worry. Pyro's imagination is not only elaborate, it's interactive."

Merasmus stared at the pink unicorn balloon staring back at him, sighing a little in relief. "Good. So I'm not imagining this thing looking directly at me."

"So you're finally going to let them know the truth?" Balloonicorn said.

Merasmus blinked, staring at the floating balloon animal. He stared into Balloonicorn's eyes... and nodded, understanding. "You're connected to both Pyros," the wizard said.

RED Pyro and RED Engineer traded startled looks.

"Yes," Balloonicorn said. "But because of the nature of Pyroland, I can't say anything to either of them, because of the harm it will cause. It has to be someone from outside."

Merasmus nodded. "I understand... I will do what I can for them..."

"Help them," Balloonicorn said, his toyetic face somehow able to convey the fear he was feeling quite will. "They're all in danger. So much evil is coming in the world they're in... There were times... There were times when the evil was so strong it started to rot Pyroland away..."

"ROT Pyroland?" RED Engineer said, confused, RED Pyro looking frightened by the very idea of it.

Balloonicorn ignored him, and instead turned to RED Pyro, hugging her. "I'll be there when you need me," he said, RED Pyro hesitantly hugging him back, "But I also have to be there for her as well. Be safe. And be wary. If Heavy wakes up before the problem is solved, you will all be in danger."

RED Pyro blinked, and watched as Balloonicorn teleported away. "Buhbhh..." she said softly.

As Merasmus removed the Pyrovision Goggles, blinking as his perceptions returned to normal, RED Engineer stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What could Balloonicorn have meant by all that?" he said.

RED Medic came into the room, startling everyone. "He is stable..." he said, "Not much more zan zat..."

"The big guy still down, then?" RED Scout asked.

RED Medic nodded, going over to a coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. "Judging by the smell, I'd say ze vizard is here," he said. "Und yes. Heavy is still down. I do not know vhy, zhough..."

Merasmus scowled at the insult, but decided to let it go. "Before we begin, I will explain why you MUST find the BLUs and retrieve them. It will also explain Engineer and Heavy's sudden ailments, and the sudden return of Soldier's pre-war memories."

RED Engineer sighed. "Mysticism... All right," he said, rubbing his temples. "Let's hear it."

RED Soldier nodded. "I'm still not convinced that we actually need those BLU maggots, but go ahead."

Merasmus sighed. "...You'll have to give me a moment, as the reason also involves a heinous crime that I am complicit in." He sat down on a metal chair and took a deep breath, composing himself. The REDs all moved to sit down as well, gathering around him.

"...It all started around the time you nine were hired by both companies," Merasmus said.

RED Scout blinked. "Wait, we were hired by RED, not BLU," he said, RED Spy shushing him.

Merasmus continued, ignoring the interruption. "Redmond and Blutarch Mann came to the same conclusion, that the nine of you would make the perfect mercenary team, your skills complimenting each other in every way. The problem was, that they both wanted you. And then the Administrator made a suggestion," he said.

He shivered softly, and continued. "It was an old ritual. I did not know why she wanted to know how to perform it, and I did not find out until it was far too late," he said, spinning his staff in the air as the room began to shift, filling with an illusion of the past.

The REDs watched, startled, as they came into a darkened warehouse, the only light coming from two spotlights, one larger black area and the other a podium with an ancient, ornately-designed cup on it. To their surprise, some of the colors they were wearing were different. Spy and Pyro wore all-black versions of their suits. Sniper wore primarily blue with a dark gray vest. Engineer wore blue. Soldier wore camouflage. Medic and Heavy wore red. Scout wore white. And Demoman wore gray.

"All right," the Demoman in the vision said, looking up at the glass window wear two men in wheelchairs stared down at them. "We're all here, lads. The question is why?"

The Engineer in the vision looked up at the window, squinting beneath his goggles. "Mister Redmond? Mister Blutarch? Is that you?"

The two withered old men in the wheelchairs stared at each other, Blutarch reaching for a comm-link and activating it. "Yes, Mister Conagher. It is."

The Engineer in the vision smiled amiably. "Ah guess you've figured out the issue of which of us is working for whom, eh?"

Blutarch nodded. "We have," he said. "Helen? Begin the ritual."

The mercenaries in the vision traded confused looks. The Administrator came out of the shadows, an open spellbook in her hands, which she placed on the podium. She bit her finger, drawing blood, and traced it along a symbol in the book while reading words from it aloud. From the floor, nine holes opened up, revealing Australium carved into sacred symbols.

"Is TRAP!" the Heavy in the vision rumbled. The mercenaries moved to attack, raising their weapons, but clamps shot from the floor, entrapping their arms and shocking them, holding them in place and forcing them to drop their weapons. More clamps popped from the floor to hold their legs, the mechanical limbs keeping them immobile, their arms outstretched.

RED Sniper stared, confused. "I don't remember any of this..."

"A side effect of the spell," Merasmus said. "Let the vision play out, and all will be explained."

In the vision, the Administrator kept reading, ignoring the curses and threats spewed by the mercenaries. As she read, the Australium holy symbols began to glow, golden lightning forming around them. The rage on the faces of the mercenaries started to give way to fear as the symbols began to hover, circling around them.

"Vhat is zis?" the Medic in the vision demanded. "Vhat is going on?"

The Administrator ignored him, pulling out a ritual knife and picking up the cup. From each mercenary in the vision, she took blood from their hands with the knife, placing it in the cup. She brought it over to the book and poured the blood on it.

The Australium holy symbols glowed brightly, lightning lancing out from them and into the mercenaries, the mechanical arms getting destroyed by the force of the magic. They all screamed, writhing in agony as the lightning flowed in and out of their bodies.

And as the mercenaries watched the vision, their bodies began to divide. The mercenaries in the vision slowly split in two, screaming and writhing in agony until finally they had split completely, two exact copies of the same mercenaries laying beside each other, completely inert.

RED Demoman's bottle dropped from his hand, he and the other mercenaries staring in shock.

"What..." RED Scout said, "I don't..."

"Your souls were split that day, thanks to the ritual and the curse metal," Merasmus said. "Each half contained in an exact replica of the original body. You ARE the BLUs. And they are you."

"Bloody hell..." RED Sniper said. "The Manns split our souls?"

RED Engineer shook his head. "But... But that makes no sense! Why not just clone us?! Why use some convoluted magical thing to divide us?"

The Administrator chose that moment to chime in. "Redmond and Blutarch have never done anything the simple way, or the practical one. Redmond's idea on how to continue the Mann family line still makes me throw up in my mouth a little... Ngh... I asked them about it, and they felt that a clone would not be as efficient as the original. Hence, asking me to con Merasmus into giving them the ritual."

The REDs cast murderous glares towards the speaker it came from.

"You miserable cunt," RED Spy said, scowling.

"What about our families?!" RED Scout shouted.

Merasmus lowered his head shamefully.

RED Spy frowned when he saw the wizard's expression. "...My BLU counterpart and I discussed this. When we visited ze Scout's mother, she always thought that whichever version of us it was zat visited her was ze one she had always been seeing. Ze Administrator convinced you to brainwash our families, didn't she? So zat, say, Scout's mother and siblings would think zat Scout always worked for RED when the RED version visited them, and zat Scout had always worked for BLU when the BLU version visited them," he said.

Merasmus nodded, looking ashamed.

"Ye bloody BASTARD!" RED Demoman snarled, glaring at the magician.

RED Sniper growled, tightening his grip on his kukri knife angrily. "How dare you mess with our families?!" he snarled.

Merasmus nodded. "It is true," he said. "When I found out what the Administrator had done, I tried to intervene. But she threatened to have one of the teams destroyed, using the curse metal sigils to tear the soul halves apart. I couldn't let you all live with just half a soul, so I complied with her wishes. But with BLU team's disappearance, I'm done with it. I'm done letting her manipulate us all. Killers you all may be, you are still good men. I won't let you live your lives with half a soul."

RED Engineer frowned, trying to process all this. Then a horrible idea occurred to him. "What's happening to me, Heavy, and Soldier, and what happened to Sniper earlier... It's a side effect of what's happening to the BLUs, isn't it? We're experiencing what they are experiencing."

The other REDs gave RED Engineer alarmed looks.

"...Because they're the other half of our souls," RED Spy said softly, suddenly understanding, "we're experiencing residuals of what they are going through."

"I have done all of you a great wrong," Merasmus said. "My guilt is what led to my earlier belligerence towards you, Soldier. Today is the day I start making up for my crimes."

"That's all well and good, mate, but that still doesn't solve the problem of what the hell's happening to the BLUs right now," RED Sniper said, still irritated with the wizard but willing to give him a chance. RED Demoman and RED Scout seemed to be willing as well.

Merasmus looked thoughtful for a moment. "If I had something that one of them valued in some way... Something close to their heart..."

"Vhat about a head?" RED Medic said, casually sipping his coffee. Everyone stared at the German mad scientist strangely. He shrugged, and said, "I kept a BLU Spy's head. He's long since respawned, but I kept ze head alive as an amusing experiment. He's in my fridge."

"You kept a head," RED Spy said in disbelief.

Merasmus nodded, looking undisturbed by the thought of keeping a reanimated head. "That would be perfect, yes. Bring it to me, and I will perform the diving ritual here," he said.

RED Medic nodded, heading back to his lab. RED Spy stared in the direction he left, an ill expression on his face. "He KEPT... a HEAD..."

Soon after, RED Medic came back in, a vicious grin on his face, a BLU Spy's head on a plate, wired up to several electrodes, smoking a cigarette. "Here he is, everyone. My best friend in ze whole vurld, Herr Grumpykins."

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU," the BLU Spy head said.

"Herr Grumpykins?" RED Scout said, trying and failing not to chuckle.

"Every day you find a new way to be horrifying," RED Sniper said.

"Zank you," RED Medic said, patting the thoroughly grumpy head as he set it down on the table.

"At least it is fucking warm out here," the disembodied head said. "I've been in zat goddamn fridge for years now. Do you know how many times I've gone insane and recovered? THREE TIMES! And STILL zis bastard wouldn't kill me!"

Merasmus gave RED Medic an odd look. "...Interesting. Why have you kept the head alive?"

"For SCIENCE!" RED Medic declared.

"...That's not an answer," Merasmus said.

"For him it is," RED Demoman said, taking a deep swig from his scrumpy bottle.

"You KEPT. His HEAD. ALIVE," RED Spy said, staring at RED Medic.

RED Pyro crawled over and looked at the severed head.

"...What ze fuck do you want?" the understandably grumpy head asked.

After a long moment, RED Pyro grabbed the severed head and hugged it. "Hrrr Grmmpyknns!" she chirped. RED Engineer facepalmed, shaking his head and smiling, as the others chuckled at the sight.

"PLEASE tell me I'm going to die soon," the severed head groaned.

"The ritual will kill you, most definitely," Merasmus said. "The magic I'm using to see into the other world will destroy the medium used to view it. That's you."

The BLU Spy's head nodded, visibly relieved.

"You didn't mention zat," RED Medic said, irritated.

"Would one of the heads from my collection do?" RED Soldier offered. This time RED Sniper was the one who needed a drink.

"Bloody whack jobs, the lot of ya," RED Sniper muttered.

"Why do ye think I drink so much?" RED Demoman chuckled.

Merasmus shook his head. "It's better if we use the living head. That way he can tell us what he sees when we peer into whatever dimension the BLUs were taken."

"And to think, a few years ago, I wouldn't have believed any of this," RED Engineer said, shaking his head.

Merasmus picked up the head. "You say that the first incident, Sniper's sudden terror, started at the spot where the BLUs were taken by the Rainbow of Darkness?"

RED Sniper nodded, shuddering.

Merasmus stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Then that is where we will perform the ritual." He picked up the BLU Spy's head and started to leave, when he paused. "...I'm not sure what will happen, so you had best bring your guns."

The REDs traded worried looks, and went to their rooms to grab their weapons, Merasmus going on ahead with the severed BLU Spy's head. He paused and sat Indian-style in the center of the spot where the BLUs had vanished. The others arrived, RED Engineer carting a Sentry, RED Medic building up an Ubercharge on RED Demoman.

BLU Spy frowned. "When do we get to the part that kills me?" he demanded.

Merasmus pulled a cask of ashes from his robes and used them to write runes on the head's face. "Patience," the wizard said. "We need you to look and see where your regenerated body has gone, as well as all the other BLUs."

The severed head nodded as best it could. "I thought it was a bit quiet around here recently," he said. "But how am I supposed to find them? I'm just a head."

Merasmus began whispering ancient words of power, taking a lotus position. The head's eyes began to glow, along with the runes on its face.

"Oh," the head said, its amazement clear. "That's how."

"Tell us what you see," Merasmus said.

The severed head frowned. "It's... colorful. The BLUs... they've all been turned into..." The severed head looked confused. "Ponies?"

"Say wha?" RED Scout said, smirking. "They got turned into sissy horses?"

BLU Spy nodded. "Ponies are ze most dominant species in zat world, apparently... Ponies in all the colors you can imagine... The BLU Heavy, Demoman, and Soldier... became what is called Earth ponies there. The breed is better at farming due to a stronger connection to ze land, and has greater strength and stamina..."

"Brutes become brutes," RED Medic said, "Zat makes sense."

"Engineer, Medic, and Pyro... All became... unicorns. Zey have magic now."

RED Engineer blinked. "Magic? Fascinating..." he said softly, the situation becoming more interesting. RED Medic also showed increased interest.

BLU Spy's eyes widened. "Pyro is a girl, apparently."

RED Demoman, RED Soldier, RED Scout, RED Spy, and RED Sniper's eyes widened in surprise. They all turned to RED Pyro, staring in surprise.

RED Pyro turned to RED Engineer, who shrugged. RED Pyro nodded and pulled off her mask, revealing a face that may at one point been lovely, but was now badly mangled by burns to the point where it was impossible to tell her ethnicity, her hair patchy and missing in places.

"Yep, this is me," RED Pyro said, giggling.

RED Scout smirked. "This explains so much, actually," he said.

"How do ye bloody figure?" RED Demoman asked, wondering how he could have missed it all this time.

"Well, women are crazy," RED Scout said.

RED Sniper was closest, so he was the one who slapped RED Scout in the back of the head.

"What did the rest of us turn into?" RED Spy asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Pegasi... " the severed head said. "Zey can fly and manipulate ze weather..."

RED Scout grinned. "That's actually a pretty sweet deal."

The severed head continued. "Ze BLU Spy... he's a halfbreed of somezing called a 'changeling,' a shapeshifting insect-pony of some kind."

RED Scout opened his mouth again for another wisecrack. RED Sniper slapped him before he could say anything. "Save it," he said. "This is important."

"What's going on over there?" RED Engineer asked. "Why were the BLUs brought over there?"

The BLU Spy head concentrated, trying to 'see' the details of the world. "Zey were brought zere... by ze Rainbow of Darkness... To fight... somezing. They have already had major battles against demons called 'Nightmares.'"

"As if bloody Monoculus and the Horsemann weren't enough," RED Sniper muttered.

"Ze Nightmares... zey are created through the ingestion of a substance of pure evil... a purple sludge zat, when consumed willingly or ozzerwise, turns you into a monster..." the severed head said, trying to process the images he was receiving through the magic.

RED Medic stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Zis sludge sounds like it'd be perfect for some experiments I've been wanting to try..."

"No, Medic," the other REDs said in perfect unison.

"But," he started.

"NO," the REDs said in perfect unison again.

"Dummkopfs," RED Medic muttered.

"Zere is more," the severed head said, its expression becoming worried. "Zey have become residents of a town called Ponyville, which is a short distance from ze capital of the nation, called Canterlot..."

"Good lord the pony puns..." RED Scout muttered.

"Do you ever shut up?" RED Soldier snarled.

RED Scout smirked. "It'd be writing me out-of-character if I did," he teased.

The severed head continued on, ignoring the banter. "The townspeople are still wary of zem because of zere open willingness to kill, but zey are fond of zem because zey haved saved zem so many times... They have developed a strong friendship with nine mares who are avatars of a powerful magic... and..." A shocked look crossed the severed head's face. "And zey have discovered zat zey also are avatars of zis magic... ze dark counterparts to ze light from ze mares..."

The REDs traded shocked looks. RED Engineer's eyes went wide in realization. "That's the link," he said softly. "Because they're the other half of our souls, we're getting lesser versions of the magic they're experiencing... through this magical power they've become avatars of..."

RED Medic scowled. "Zat explains ze vhy, but not ze vhat," he said, turning to the severed head. "Vhat is happening now? Vhy have Soldier, Heavy, und Engineer been affected?"

The severed head concentrated. "My team's Soldier... in moments of peace he had been having flashbacks to his life before ze war... Zey had been getting stronger, so he went to a zebra herbalist who lives in the local forest... She is one of the magical avatars... to get a potion to restore his memories..."

"It worked," RED Soldier said softly. "Very well..."

The severed head continued. "Heavy... has been corrupted. He has been transformed into... it is a demon, like ze others, but one zat appears very cuddly and harmless..."

RED Medic looked alarmed, and looked back towards their base, worried for his friend.

"It is the seemingly harmless things zat are ze most dangerous sometimes. Has ze corrupted Heavy made a move yet?" RED Spy asked.

The severed head nodded. "It has... It's already brainwashed Pyro and Engineer into abandoning attempts to restore him, copying some of Pyro's delusions onto him and... oh wow..." The head chuckled. "Zey've been brainwashed into abandoning any attempts to restore Heavy and go fuck like rabbits. My my, Engie... Who knew you had zat much stamina?"

RED Engineer blushed. RED Pyro giggled, hugging his arm and nuzzling him. The other REDs gave the two of them mildly amused looks, save for RED Spy, who just facepalmed.

"Well that explains what happened to me, then," the technician said, coughing and blushing.

"Is there ANYONE trying to do something about it?" RED Sniper asked, confused.

"So far, just Soldier," the severed head said. "Ze others are acting slowly, because zey zink ze form Heavy has taken is passive and harmless... Medic wants nothing to do with it because he feels zat ze form it has taken is an insult to his friend... Only Soldier seems to suspect anything..."

RED Demoman frowned. "Be safe, Solly..." he said softly, taking a sip from his bottle.

Merasmus frowned. "Can you see who the mastermind behind the plan is?"

"I can try," the severed head said. It concentrated, the runes on its face glowing even brighter. The head seemed pained, the mercenaries taking a step back in alarm. "Ze land... is ruled by a sun goddess and a moon goddess... And somezing is trying to drive the sun goddess insane... Ze creature is..."

The severed head suddenly let out an ear-piercing shriek of agony and exploded, knocking the REDs and Merasmus back, tipping over RED Engineer's Sentry.

As the group of them recovered, they turned towards the circle... and gasped.

The blood from the exploding head had formed a simple. A circle with an 'X' over it.

And standing in was a tall, slender, faceless man with pale white skin and long arms, clad in a black suit with a blood red tie.

"No... NO!" Merasmus shrieked in sheer terror. "KILL IT!"

RED Medic turned his Ubercharge on RED Demoman, ethereal red armor surrounding the both of them as the demolitions expert prepared to blast grenades right in his face, RED Engineer quickly setting up his Sentry again.

Tentacles extended from the slender man's back, piercing through the fully Ubercharged RED Demoman and RED Medic. The shock on everyone's faces was evident as the slender man slowly drew its tentacle out, both of them falling dead, the Ubercharge flickering out.

"But... But they were invincible!" RED Scout said, horrified..

"This thing is apparently stronger," RED Engineer said, pulling out his Wrangler, the Sentry responding to the radar gun and taking aim where he pointed it. "OPEN FIRE!"

Point blank rockets and bullets pelted the slender man, Pyro standing right next to it and blasting it in the face with her flamethrower. It stared at them for a moment, and then, ignoring them, turned and started to leave, walking slowly out of the basement. As it did, the REDs stopped firing, confused.

"Should... should we let it go?" RED Sniper said. "I've been scoring headshot after headshot and this thing isn't even flinching."

"...Didn't Mr. Balloonicorn say that if Heavy woke up before the whole thing was resolved, we'd all be in danger?" RED Pyro said after a moment.

"Yeah, he did..." RED Engineer said, horror dawning on his face as he started to realize what the slender man was doing. "And if the BLU Heavy's been corrupted and ours is feeling it..."

"MERDE!" RED Spy cursed, pulling out his knife and running after it. He jumped on the thing's back, trying to carve open its throat, but it just sprouted tentacles, piercing RED Spy through and letting him drop lifelessly to the ground. The others kept their distance, running ahead of the creature and firing at it, desperately trying to stop it, RED Engineer setting up a Dispenser to keep everyone's weapons loaded.

RED Medic and RED Demoman respawned in their locker room, looking shaken.

"What the hell..." RED Demoman said, patting his chest where the tentacle had pierced him.

"I do not understand," RED Medic said, staring at his Medigun in confusion. "Ve vere INVINCIBLE!"

RED Spy respawned a moment later. "Hurry, gentlemen," he said. "Ze slender man is going for Heavy!"

"VHAT?!" RED Medic almost shrieked.

"Bloody hell," RED Demoman said. "Better get yuir Kritzkrieg instead, Doc."

"Anything to keep him away from Heavy..." RED Spy muttered, the two of them running out to fight again, Spy stopping to change weapons, getting out the Enforcer and Ambassador revolvers. RED Medic quickly removed his Medigun backpack and pulled his Kritzkrieg one on, running after them.

They met up with the others on the outer bridge, all of them firing desperately at the slender man, who just ignored the heavy caliber fire heading towards it. RED Pyro ran around in front of it and began using airblasts, trying to push the creature back, RED Spy joining in with his revolvers, charging forward even as Demoman blasted it with his pipebombs and sticky bombs.

Ignoring all of the attacks, it reached out with its impossibly long arms and grabbed both RED Spy and RED Pyro's heads. Both of them screamed and collapsed when the slender man dropped them, RED Pyro curling into a fetal position and RED Spy scrambling away into a corner.

"Mommy, please, don't hurt me anymore!" RED Pyro whimpered. "I'm sorry, mommy! Please, it hurts!"

"Papa! Forgive me, papa!" RED Spy sobbed, covering his head, as if to ward off blows. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Sonuvabitch!" RED Engineer swore, tossing his Wrangler to Scout and running over to RED Pyro, trying and failing to console the sobbing pyromaniac, her mind locked into whatever horror she was experiencing.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KILL THIS FUCKING THING!?" RED Soldier bellowed, frustrated beyond imagining.

RED Demoman quickly ran to grab some more ammunition, RED Medic still keeping the Kritzkrieg charging on him. As he did, Merasmus stepped forward, his staff glowing.

"MONOCULUS! I SUMMON THEE!" he bellowed. "DESTROY THIS BEAST!"

The others save for RED Pyro and RED Spy, and RED Engineer, who was pulling RED Pyro to safety, turned towards the wizard, grinning as Merasmus summoned the monster they had fought before, this time to fight on their side.

From an eldritch portal a giant eye emerged, tendons trailing behind it. The demonic eye blinked once, looking around, knowing that its master had summoned it to kill something. And then it saw the slender man, who stared up at it impassively. Monoculus's eyelid opened widely in alarm.

"Did that thing just... look scared?" RED Sniper said, alarmed.

"It did..." RED Scout moaned.

Monoculus began attacking, firing exploding eyeballs from its iris at the slender man. The slender man actually seemed to be hurt by them, taking a step back. Monoculus moved in, firing faster and faster.

The slender man stared at the floating eyeball, its faceless face somehow conveying irritation. A single tentacle from the slender man's body pierced through the creature, Monoculus groaning and exploding in a cloud of urine and broken glass.

The slender man continued on.

"Oh man..." RED Scout moaned, turning the Sentry on the slender man again. "It killed the eyeball in one shot!"

"Please tell me you have a stronger creature to summon," RED Soldier said, cursing as his rockets did nothing to deter the creature.

"Monoculus was my strongest," Merasmus said, his voice a hoarse, terrified whisper.

"Tell me ye've got a charge, Doc..." RED Demoman said, slowly backing away as the slender man entered the base.

"Yes! GO! GO!" RED Medic said as he triggered the Kritzkrieg's Ubercharge. RED Demoman felt a strong, almost electric tingling in his hand as his weapon was supercharged, lightning dancing around his grenade launcher. He opened fire, supercharged grenades exploding in the slender man's face.

It didn't even react to the explosions.

"DAMN YE! TAKE DAMAGE! START BLEEDING! ACT PAINED, DAMN YE!" RED Demoman cursed, unloading every clip he had at the monster, everyone except RED Engineer, RED Pyro, and RED Spy coming in as well, emptying out their weapons into the creature, to no avail. In desperation, they all piled onto the creature. The slender man didn't even stop, sprouting tentacles which killed RED Sniper, RED Demoman, RED Scout, and RED Soldier, tossing them aside, knocking RED Medic off of him as well.

It continued walking.

Continued towards Heavy.

"Nein..." RED Medic said, desperately scrambling ahead of the creature. He ran into the medlab, where RED Heavy lay attached to a life support machine, the massive man looking surprisingly peaceful. He turned, and saw the slender man striding towards him.

"Nein... Do not take him!" RED Medic screamed, firing his syringe gun at the creature, to even less effect than the other weapons. "Take me if you vant! I deserve Hell more zan any of ze others! But DO NOT TAKE HIM!"

The slender man ignored him, and continued onward.

The others respawned, and began running towards the medlab, weapons at the ready.

RED Medic, desperate, hefted RED Heavy's minigun off of the gurney he had set up for it. He struggled to keep it upright, the massive gun shaking in his grip.

"You won't take him!" RED Medic growled, tears in his eyes. "I svear, by all that I hold holy, zat you will not take him!"

The slender man entered the medlab. Merasmus lead the other mercenaries in a charge, but they would never get to it in time.

"You von't hurt mein freund! YOU VON'T HURT MEIN FREUND!" RED Medic screamed, revving the minigun up.

"Doctor..." the comatose RED Heavy moaned. "Run..."

And magic ignited.

A silver tiara appeared on RED Medic's head, his eyes glowing, an ethereal image of a pink butterfly appearing in front of the minigun's barrel. RED Medic screamed, and squeezed the trigger.

And for the first time, the slender man seemed alarmed.

Bullets passed through the butterfly, taking on a pinkish glow and tearing through the slender man, forcing it back. The wizard and the RED mercenaries jumped to the side in surprise as the slender man was forced passed them, writhing in pain as the colorful bullets tore into it, RED Medic following it out, keeping up the rate of fire. A hideous, haunting shriek came from the creature as it seemed to break apart, dissolving into a mass of shadowy tentacles before vanishing.

RED Medic kept firing at the place it vanished until the minigun was emptied. Only then did he collapse, the tiara and butterfly vanishing.

"...Holy shit that was awesome," RED Scout laughed.

"Nice job, Kraut!" RED Soldier cheered. "You killed that bastard!"

"He vill not take mein freund... I vill not allow it... I vill kill it and all those like it first..." RED Medic said, bracing himself upright on the smoking minigun.

Merasmus shook his head. "...The threat is not yet over."

"Dunno what battle ye were watching, Merasmus," RED Demoman said, helping RED Medic to his feet, "But it looks te me like Medic scragged that bastard."

"It wasn't the real creature," Merasmus said softly. "It was just... an extension. An avatar of the beast from the world the BLUs are in..."

RED Sniper gave the wizard a worried look. "...What is that thing, anyway?"

At that moment, RED Engineer came in, supporting RED Pyro and RED Spy, both of them looking visibly shaken.

"Whatever you did, boys, it worked. That brain warp ol' slendy did on Pyro and Spy wore off," he said as he helped RED Pyro and RED Spy to a place where they could sit down.

"WHAT IN BLAZES HAPPENED?!" the Administrator demanded. "I lost the feed after the head exploded and only just now got it back! What happened!?"

"A good question," RED Soldier said. He quickly explained everything that happened, and then turned to Merasmus. "So what was that thing, anyway?"

Merasmus shivered. "It has many names. Most often it is called the Slenderman. It is... a monster. It feeds on suffering and terror... And it is said that it devours children..."

RED Engineer's thoughts immediately turned to his daughter. He really wished he wasn't seeing Pyroland right now. The cheerful pastel of the world did not fit his mood at all...

"That creature we just fought? It was just an avatar of the one in the world the BLUs are in, I could tell. It was... at the most a fiftieth as strong as the original. And that's rounding up," Merasmus continued.

"Bloody hell," RED Demoman said, his expression horrified. "The thing slaughtered us! If we did'nae have the respawn..."

"It is a miracle that we were able to drive it away. From what I can tell, RED Medic somehow tapped into the magic that is empowering both his BLU counterpart and Heavy's," Merasmus said.

"Remarkable..." the Administrator said softly, in clear admiration of Slenderman.

"And I fear..." Merasmus said, sitting down on a bench, "...I fear that my accidental summoning of that world's Slenderman to this plane may have attracted the attention of the Slenderman in this world."

The REDs stared at Merasmus with horrified expressions on their faces.

"...Are you saying... the full version of that THING..." RED Scout managed to choke out, "...exists in THIS WORLD!?"

Merasmus sighed. "It does. It exists in every world. I dare not explain more to you, as the more you know about it, the more vulnerable you become to it," he said. "Many of my peers have either died or gone mad in their attempts to seek knowledge of this thing..."

"Bloody hell," RED Sniper cursed.

"And we're stuck with half a soul," RED Soldier said. "Damn it, how the hell do we fight this thing? Can we do anything to help the BLUs fight their own?"

Merasmus shook his head. "For our part, we must pray Slenderman never takes notice of us," he said. "For the BLUs... Unless I can make a spell to allow you to go to them, or bring them to you..."

"Then there's nothing we can do," RED Demoman said, pounding his fist angrily against a wall. "DAMN IT ALL! Me best mate's fightin' against that monster, and I cannae do a thing to help him!"

"Well well," the Administrator said, chuckling. "It seems you're in a bad spot! Allow me to rub salt in the wound."

"Go fuck yourself!" RED Demoman snarled.

"It's the only way a scag like you will get any," RED Scout added, smirking.

The Administrator decided to ignore that. "Gray Mann has made his move and killed his brothers. You're all now out of a job," she said. "Unless you agree to work for Mann Co. and help defend against Gray's robot army."

"Go to hell, missy," RED Soldier said. "All this does is free us up to help Merasmus with making a spell."

The Administrator chuckled. "My offer isn't complete yet. I've looked at the spells Merasmus generally uses, and know what ingredients he needs to cast his spells. Including big ones like summoning rituals, or sending rituals."

"Where are you going with this?" Merasmus asked, worried.

"I can make sure you get those ingredients, many of which only grow in rare places that take months to reach because no vehicle can get to them, in just a few short months. It will cut your time down TREMENDOUSLY. Mann Co. has all of them, and I can talk Hale into giving them to you. If..." the Administrator trailed off.

"Here we go..." RED Engineer muttered. The others had similar expressions of disgust on their faces, knowing that she was about to make an offer they couldn't refuse.

"If you defend Mann Co's facilities against Gray Mann's robot armies," the Administrator finished.

The REDs traded worried looks. "Merasmus," RED Engineer asked. "...How long would it take to get the ingredients you need for the spells and rituals to help the BLUs and get them back to us?"

Merasmus looked ashamed. "A year or more. At minimum," he said.

RED Soldier cursed and punched a wall in frustration.

"So we have no choice, then," RED Sniper said.

"I do so love it when things go the way I want them to," the Administrator chuckled, savoring the angry looks the mercenaries gave her.

And hidden in a place where none of the mercenaries or the wizard or even the Administrator could see, was a robotic version of the Spy, staring thoughtfully at the scene it had just witnessed.

And watching through the eyes of the Robospy was Gray Mann himself. The robot had started to malfunction when Slenderman had showed up, but it still was able to capture something of an image of the creature.

And now he knew that there was one in this world.

"Interesting..." Gray Mann said softly. "The BLUs in another world, sorcery growing more commonplace, and this Slenderman thing..." He grinned, the grin soulless and cruel. "It should be an amusing challenge to see how I can turn all this to my advantage."

TO BE CONTINUED...