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The day had promised to be peaceful
Because of a respawn malfunction, there hadn’t been any battles for several days, and the mercenaries were enjoying the sweltering summer days at the main base
Pyro had spent most of the day walking through the forest
Despite his love for fire, she liked this place - delicate in its simplicity, fragile enough to be destroyed by a single flicker of flame, and yet it still stood
It was a refreshing change for a mind so often filled with the violence of daily battles against the enemy team
She had been sitting in the quiet shade of the clearing for a while now, letting the little creatures that lived there crawl across her suit, watching their tiny dances as they wandered about
When the sun began to lower its warmth, Pyro patiently set each bug back on the ground, careful not to take anyone away from their home, then headed toward the base
Even through the gas mask, she could smell it - the suffocating scent of smoke and ruin, so familiar on the battlefield, so cherished in her memories
But here, now - it shouldn’t have been there
She stopped, staring at a sky far too gray to be natural
Then she quickened her pace toward the base, desperate to make sure everything was fine, that everyone was safe - while dread slowly began to take hold of her heart
When she stepped out of the trees nearest the base, she froze. Most of the building was simply gone; some parts were still collapsing before her eyes, and burn marks covered everything
She spotted her team off to the side and ran toward them to make sure they were okay. Miss Pauling was with them, and they seemed mostly unharmed - only a few small burns and bruises marked their bodies
Pyro was about to ask what had happened, but their hostile stares stopped her in his tracks - eyes full of hatred and disappointment
Their accusatory words pierced straight into her skull
Did they think it was her fault?
Sure, she liked fire - loved it, even - and sometimes, at the beginning, she might’ve burned something she shouldn’t have, but never an entire building! Not every fire was her doing - they knew that... right?
When gestures failed, she pulled off his mask, trying to defend herself - they had to know it wasn’t her, she had to tell them!
But her words fell on deaf ears, only deepening the looks in their eyes - looks that reminded her too much of hers mother’s
She tried again, but the words wouldn’t come
Miss Pauling apparently took that as a sign to speak instead
She had never looked this angry before
She started scolding her harshly - telling her how much trouble she’d caused, how much stress this had put on her, how the repairs would come out of her pay, and how deeply she was disappointed in her.
The words were so familiar
Tears began to gather in Pyro’s eyes
Did they really think she’d burned down the base and run away?
Did they truly think so little of her?
Of course not, she told herself as they got into the trucks that would take them to a temporary base. She kept convincing himself that it was just anger - that it would pass soon enough
But in the back of her mind, whispers began to grow louder with every second of silence inside the vehicle
What if it really was her fault?
What if she’d missed something - forgotten a detail - caused it all by mistake?
She tried to retrace her morning, looking for any mistake, any ignored safety step, anything that could make her guilty
But she couldn’t recall a single thing
She went over the previous day
Then the one before that
And the next
Then the entire week - but she couldn’t recall a single thing she’d done wrong, not one mistake that could’ve put anyone in danger but herself
Despite being certain of her innocence, the crushing weight of their judgmental stares made her feel smaller with every passing second
She tried to find some comfort in Engineer, but he only turned his eyes away
It felt like being punched straight in the heart - even the person she trusted most in the team couldn’t bear to look at her
They arrived in silence, finally pulling up to one of the countless buildings owned by Mann Co. Why did the company even need so many of them, anyway?
The walk from the truck to the entrance wasn’t long, yet in that suffocating atmosphere it felt endless - almost cruel
No one felt like talking
Above their heads, the dead stars began to appear, their faint reflections shimmering in the puddles scattered across the road
Each mercenary looked as if they were carrying their own weight of failure, but Pyro seemed to bear it the heaviest
She trailed behind, head bowed
Normally, silence was filled with the warmth of her imagination - but now, when she needed it most, even that had abandoned her
She didn’t need to lift her head to feel the others’ resentment
She already knew what they were thinking
It’s her fault
It’s always her fault
Right?
They didn’t have to say it aloud
Their thoughts were loud enough
Pyro clenched her hands into fists, trying to imitate the feeling of touch as a familiar sting returned to her chest
It always came back during moments like this - that quiet, accusing voice in her head
A voice she knew all too well
Her mother’s voice
It had been so many years, she could barely even remember her face
She remembered the smirk, the ever-present shadow, the hands gripping her shoulders too tightly - but most of all, she remembered the eyes
Cold
Disappointed
An expression carved into her memory like a scar
How could she not remember her own mother’s face?
What kind of child was she?
Useless
Worthless
No. That wasn’t true
She could do something. Fire had proven that to her
Fire had never rejected her
Fire never let her down
It was warm. Comforting. Free.
Every time she set a flame alight, she felt the same peace - soft fire smoothing the sharp edges of reality
Flames were simple
Flames were good
She blinked, pushing the thoughts away as they reached the building
The others started to head inside, looking for somewhere to rest
Pyro lingered outside for a moment, gazing up at the night sky
The sky - glowing faintly like fire
Fire never judged
Even if, for once, it was the one who ruined everything
Slowly, Pyro made her way to the last empty room, hoping to get some rest- just like the others after a day that had already drained every bit of emotion out of her
And for the first time in a long while, she began to dream
It was the same dream as always
It started with blue darkness, thick and cold, melting her heart with merciless slowness- and even there, in that darkness, she could see it
A massive shadow watching her every move
The cruel laughter that followed made her sick
But then-there was light
A small flame, not far away
She moved toward it, step by step, until she could reach it
The warmth began to chase away the dark, and with it, her fear began to fade
The shadow shrank
The fire grew
The longer she looked at it, the stronger it burned
The warmth was soothing
The warmth meant hope
Until suddenly-the warmth turned crushing
The whisper of promise became a scream.
Pyro’s eyes flew open
She sat up slowly, breathing unevenly, and looked around the room, disoriented by the dream
Her gaze fell on the small lighter beside the bed,as if the dead object itself were to blame
She shook her head, turned on the stiff mattress,and eventually drifted back to sleep
When she woke again, it was morning- and she felt empty
As if no thought, good or bad, could find a place to stay in her head
All that remained was a low, persistent hum somewhere in the back of her treacherous mind
She forced herself to get up and head toward the kitchen, her stomach tight with a faint ache, wandering through the gray corridors in silence
When she finally entered the kitchen, two things hit her at once
Most of the mercs were already there-mand her arrival shattered whatever fragile atmosphere had been there before
It made the hunger fade a little, and all she wanted was to wrap herself in a blanket in the corner of her room, listening to the soft static of the radio
But there was no blanket
No radio
No room
Only a lifeless base, forcing them all to pretend that things were normal- a performance that felt impossible to keep up
And she wasn’t sure anymore if this place could ever feel like home again
Discouraged, she gave up on breakfast and started wandering around the base,looking for something to kill the time
She thought about going outside, but the memory of what happened before made her too afraid of being left alone again
Her eyes moved from wall to wall, unable to find anything worth looking at, anything to anchor her in the moment.
Everything felt so impersonal
The halls seemed empty, even when someone walked through them
Even the light from the lamps looked lifeless
Everything was dead
It was such a strange feeling
Before even in the worst moments-there was always a fire burning somewhere in her mind
It lit up the darkness, danced through her imagination
But now?
It was gone
Was it this place?
The silence, worse than any shouting?
Or maybe their looks- short, but filled with emotions she couldn’t name
Pyro wasn’t going to let it swallow her whole
She stood there for a moment, staring down the empty hallway- until her eyes landed on Engineer’s new workshop
Her heart skipped a beat
If there was anywhere she could find that lost warmth again, it would be there
Engie never stayed angry for long
Surely she could explain things to him
With a flicker of hope, she walked to the door and went in without knocking- like always
She never knocked
Even though the base was completely different, the room smelled the same-oil, wood, and faint traces of smoke- filled with the familiar sounds of a busy Texan at work
Engineer hummed quietly without looking up from his desk, probably tinkering with something for the next match
When she greeted him softly, he finally stopped what he was doing and turned to face her, one eyebrow raised
It wasn’t the usual warm welcome
She ignored the tightness in her chest and stepped closer
The place looked different than before- and not just because it was new
It was... chaotic
Tools scattered across the table, spare parts piled in no particular order, and Engie himself looked worn out, his eyes dull and distant
So she did what she always did when he buried himself in work- she offered to help
To clean up, fetch tools, hold the torch- the way she always used to
But not this time
He said he had too much work
That didn’t make sense
If he had so much to do, then he needed help
Pyro tilted her head, trying to understand
She’d always been welcome here before
Dell sighed and turned back to the desk, his hands moving over some half finished device- as if she wasn’t even in the room
And then he did something she hadn’t expected
He asked her to leave
He said he needed to focus
He had a lot to get done
He didn’t want her there
Something inside her cracked
The warmth she’d felt when she walked in vanished as suddenly as it had come
The fire that had always comforted her now felt distant- as if it, too, had turned its back on her, just like Dell had
She stood there for a few seconds, hoping she’d misheard him
Hoping he’d change his mind, say something more, want to listen...
But he didn’t
So she left, closing the door behind her without a sound
And as she stepped out, she felt the smoke of that dying fire choke her from the inside, forcing tears to her eyes
Slowly, she made her way back to her empty room- with no purpose left for the rest of the day
Each step felt heavier than the last
Not sure what she was supposed to feel anymore, she closed the door behind her with a soft click
The dark room felt even less like her own now, as if every second spent in this base took another piece of familiarity away
She slowly lifted her tired hands to her face and pulled the mask off her head
The rubber came away with a quiet stretch, and suddenly, despite the silence, the room felt unbearably loud
The air she breathed was different- rougher, stale, and stripped of the faint sweetness her filter had always given it
She dropped the mask onto the desk and stared at it
Was that all she was?
What was she to them?
Had she ever been more than the mask?
If she took it off for good- would there be anything left of her at all?
She touched her face, as if to make sure it was really there- that beneath the rubber and glass there was still something more than the emptiness they saw
She wanted to scream
But she knew no answer would come
Pyro didn’t turn on the light
Instead, she sat down on the bed, savoring the absence of the harsh glare that the lenses used to soften
The only sound was her breathing
She didn’t want to do anything
She didn’t think about fire
She didn’t think about water
She didn’t think at all
She lay down, letting the darkness wrap around her
The mattress was hard, the blanket didn’t keep her warm, and the pillow scratched against her cheek
And yet, she closed her eyes, and dreamless rest came quickly- as if exhaustion had finally beaten the thousand unanswered questions
When she woke, the room was still dark
But under the door, thin lines of light flickered- shadows moving, calling for the matches to begin again
So she got up and put the mask back on- the one she was starting to hate
Before matches, it was always loud- laughter, teasing, last-minute weapon checks, arguments over who stole whose ammo
But now it was different
The mercenaries were getting ready in complete silence
Even Scout, who couldn’t shut up to save his life, kept his words to quiet mutters
Sniper was cleaning his rifle, Engineer packed his tool crates and Demo kept looking at her as if her posture might answer questions he hadn’t yet asked
Pyro stood to the side, holding her flamethrower, careful not to make a sound
Even the thought of using it felt... wrong
It didn’t bring her comfort anymore
No jokes
No bets on who’d die first
No last-minute tests
Just silence
No one had to say what was wrong
They all knew
In silence, they reached their respawn room and waited for the signal to begin
When it finally came, there were no battle cries
No spark of excitement at the thought of victory
No determination of a new day
They just walked straight into the battlefield
And unlike all those years away from her mother- fire no longer brought her warmth
It was only another empty tool in her tired hands
When the fight ended, there was no reason for anger, just as there was no reason for joy
They hadn’t won
They hadn’t lost
That suffocating, smoke-thick feeling of a draw didn’t sit right with her
She sat in the back of the truck, flamethrower resting on her knees
Her hands were numb- she couldn’t tell if it was from exhaustion or from cold
In her mind, she replayed the match
Moment by moment
Death by death
When she was on the edge of dying, the Medic hadn’t healed her- he was helping Heavy. Couldn’t waste time on her, as always
When Spy killed her- Sniper should’ve seen him from where he stood. But maybe he’d been aiming at someone else
Engineer had to move the dispenser right when she needed ammo? Demoman had been asking him to do that
Scout was always there to finish off enemies she’d nearly taken down. They were both offense classes- it happens, right?
Heavy hadn’t warned her about the sentry around the corner. Maybe he just forgot the English word again- that happened sometimes
When Spy started-
She couldn’t lie to herself anymore
It wasn’t coincidence
It wasn’t just paranoia... right?
The whole battlefield felt rigged against her
Not just the enemy team- but her own.
The people who were supposed to fight by her side
Her fingers reached for the edge of her mask
For a moment, she wanted to take it off
But... she hesitated
Would it even make a difference?
Would they finally see her as a person if she did?
The weapon on her lap felt heavier than ever
The match was over
The rest of the team went to wash up, to rest, to prepare for the next game, the next day
Pyro stayed behind
Her steps were almost mechanical- one foot after another, carrying her toward the only place she could still call her own
Even if it didn’t feel safe anymore
Her room
The click of the closing door echoed inside her head
She leaned back against it, trying to steady her breath, trying to stop her hands from shaking
She wasn’t sure what exactly made her feel so hollow- just like when she’d still lived with her mother
Was it the draw?
The small cruelties that kept cutting deeper?
Or maybe... maybe she’d been lying to herself all along, thinking she’d finally found a place she belonged
She looked down at her gloved hands
Heavier than ever
Hands that held weapons
Hands that made fire
Hands that had killed her mother
Was there anything else left in her?
Had anything ever truly been hers, besides the flames?
The silence of the room wrapped around her like a blanket, the only answer she would get
And again, she dreamed-again, the same dream
But now, faster than ever before, the warmth began to smother her instead of soothing her
What once felt like a gentle embrace whispering promises of comfort turned into a heavy presence - one that promised nothing but loneliness
The flames grew, burning hotter
And the brighter the fire, the stronger the shadow
Her mother’s silhouette was no longer alone
Now, smiling faces of her teammates surrounded it - the people she’d once called family
Their presence had helped her adapt to the dream that never changed
But their eyes had changed
Cold
Judging
Their words sharp and cutting, feeding the fire until it burned her alive
The voices began to blur together, but even then she could still pick out her mother’s whisper:
You’re nothing, you hear me? Nothing
Her shadow loomed, blurred yet suffocatingly close, and her words spread like venom through the others’ voices
The fire raged, offering no comfort anymore
It wrapped around her, suffocating her just like her mother’s hands once did
She could hear the laughter all around her, while the flames licked her skin and she couldn’t bear it anymore
She tried to call for help- but no voice came
She tried to reach for them- but no one came
Warmth had always meant hope
So maybe hope had always been a lie
She woke with a start, heart pounding against her ribs, hands trembling
The room was dark
Dark, and unbearably cold
Even outside the dream, the whispers wouldn’t leave her - soft, hateful murmurs in the back of her head that refused to quiet down
She couldn’t stay here
She stumbled to her feet, nearly tripping, and ran from the room
The base was drowned in the silence of the night -everyone asleep, or pretending not to hear
She didn’t stop as she stepped outside
Didn’t look back
Didn’t think
She just moved
Her eyes caught the faint shape of a motorcycle left by the garage - probably one of Miss Pauling’s
She didn’t hesitate
The engine roared to life under the moonlight, and she took off
The road blurred into a chaotic mess of lights and shadows, wind hammering against her mask - but she didn’t slow down
She didn’t know how long it had been when she finally saw it: the familiar shape of what was left of their old base
What was left of their home
Standing exactly where they had left it
Scorched bricks
Charred beams
Empty windows covered in layers of dust and ash
She jumped off the bike, letting it crash carelessly to the ground
Ash shifted under her boots
Her breath caught as she touched the wall - cold as the night - because even here, the fire had long gone out
She moved quickly inside, not caring about the risk of collapse
She had to find something
Something that would prove it wasn’t her fault- that she wasn’t the reason they lost everything
If she could find proof, they’d have to believe her
She kept repeating to herself that it wasn’t her fault- even as a freezing fear coiled in her chest, afraid she might find something that proved the opposite
That it really was her
That they had reason to hate her
She had to know
You’re like fire. You burn everything you touch
The words echoed in her head, circling like vultures waiting for her to break
But she wouldn’t give them that satisfaction
Not now
She closed her eyes, shutting out the cold, feeling things she couldn’t name
But she knew one thing - fire always leaves a mark
Always
Even after it destroys everything
Fire doesn’t lie
She began to move, checking every surface, every remnant she passed
She studied what had burned and what had only been scorched
The traces of fire never vanish -they linger in the air, in the smell, in the feeling of the place
If she tried hard enough, she would find the source
Following the trail of the flames, she noticed a change - the smell grew different
More metallic
Mechanical
She inhaled sharply
The workshop
Of course. It had to be the workshop
The source, right?
The metal and tools looked destroyed, twisted, letting the fire crawl into other parts of the base
She looked around the place that once brought her comfort, her heart beating faster
Compared to the rest of the base, the workshop seemed almost untouched by the cruel hand of the fire
She searched desperately for anything that could’ve started it - there had to be something
Something that could fix her life
Something that could give her hope again
She was sure of it
It started here
And this place- this ruin- held the answers
She scanned the ground, searching for a sign, a clue- anything
Then something glimmered faintly between the ashes
Pyro stepped closer, brushing the ash away with careful, shaking hands
A flamethrower
Dented, barely recognizable - and yet, it was hers
Her flamethrower
Her own weapon, the one that had been with her almost since the beginning
It was like a piece of her heart she’d been forced to abandon
She placed her hand on the metal, as if touch alone could make her understand
But it shouldn’t have been here
So why-
Then she remembered
It had malfunctioned before
Gotten in the way more than it helped
She’d asked for repairs
They told her it was fine
She hadn’t believed them
She’d left it in the workshop months ago
She trusted the Engineer with it
He knew everything, right?
Surely he could fix a flamethrower, even if the problem wasn’t obvious at first glance
He promised
He promised he’d take care of it
He promised it would work like new once he adjusted the mechanism
But then something else came up
And another thing
And another
Engineer... never really took her concerns seriously
He said she could keep using it
She didn’t
She was afraid it might misfire at the wrong moment - ruin everything
Her hands tightened around the weapon
Fire was dangerous
She knew that better than anyone
That’s why she refused to use it
But now she understood
Even if it was her weapon
It wasn’t her fault
She stared at the flamethrower
In her hands was proof - proof they couldn’t deny
She was innocent
She hadn’t started the fire
The fire that destroyed her life in just a few days...
It was someone else’s neglect
She could clear her name
She should have felt relief
She should have felt joy - that things could go back to the way they were
Back to the small, fragile happiness she’d built for herself
But the hope of getting them back - the people she lost to the fire -was already fading
That tiny piece of proof, that ticket to happiness... it didn’t change anything, did it?
It was too late
She knew she’d never get her family back
Even with the proof in her hands, even if every sign pointed to her innocence - their trust was gone
They’d believed it so easily
So quick
Her heart, once full of passion, had no room left for hope
They had already erased her
So easily
Had they always seen her as a threat?
The thought echoed in her head like a sentence she’d passed on herself
That trust - that little family - was gone, burned like everything else she’d ever touched
She wanted to leave
Just disappear
Leave the place that was supposed to be her home, but turned into a cage
Leave the people who never understood her, who never would
The fire that once gave her strength had become her ruin
Slowly, step by step, she walked away from the ruins - from the remnants of the workshop, from everything she once called home
She vanished into the mist, swallowed by its empty silence
Behind her lay the dark base, its walls never to burn with warmth again
The fire that had once been her only friend was gone
But she kept walking, her boots dragging through the mud
She no longer felt tired
She no longer felt fear
Slowly, she made her way to the pier - the one where she used to stand, watching the water without ever having to touch it
When she reached it, no one was waiting
Not that she expected anyone to
She was alone
The water shimmered in the dark, calm as glass - a mirror reflecting only what it wanted her to see: emptiness
With her body trembling from cold and exhaustion, she began to take off her suit
Her fingers shook, as if they no longer recognized the fabric
Her hands met resistance when they reached the mask - but after a moment, she pulled it off too
She stopped for a second, holding it in both hands, staring into the faded lenses that reflected only her face
A face she’d long since buried beneath that old mask
But the mask was Pyro - not her
Fire had made her feel strong, untouchable
But now... there was nothing left to hold on to
The fire had become what water once was
She looked down at the mask in her hands, then threw it toward the water
It floated for a moment- then sank
Disappeared into the dark
A moment later, she threw the suit as well, not caring where it fell
It was just fabric now- something that once meant something, but no longer did
She let it go, as if shedding the last pieces of who she’d been
She had no strength left to fight for a new flame, only to watch it be extinguished again
Without the mask, without the suit, she stood there- bare before herself, before what no longer mattered
The water rippled softly, pulling the remnants of her past into the dark
She felt free, but the freedom was hollow
The water before her was calm, almost hypnotic-as if it hid something more than just the reflection of the sky
And then, in that silence, she stood for a while, trying to convince herself that none of this was real
That something might still change
That she’d find a way out
But in her heart, in her mind, it was already over
Without a word, without hesitation, she stepped forward
She no longer felt anything
Not the water
Not the cold
Not the pain
Everything just- disappeared
She had already given everything - her mask, her family, her fire, her fear -and in the quiet current beneath the water, there was nothing left for her to burn
She went out like a flame, leaving not even smoke behind
And the world stayed silent
Drowned in fire, burned in the sea
Nothing remained when the sun ceased to be
Family lost, only embers to bask
In morning’s silence, the last flame passed