The Pyro grumbled to himself as he twisted the steering wheel to the van, forcing it to skid haphazardly as he turned the corner. As he continued rolling down the street, sometimes swerving into the left side of the road, he wondered how he'd managed to be tricked into getting the take-out for the night. It's not like everyone else was busy, that engineer was always fiddling with that wrench of his, and the scout was either tossing that baseball around, or boasting about the stuff he did during his time off. He understood the medic couldn't come, he had one of the important jobs on the team. Of course, if there wasn't any fighting, then there wouldn't really be a need for a medic...or any of them actually...
He shook his head as he continued driving, staring out at the darkening landscape as dusk fell, painting the sky a dark blues and blacks as the moon began its journey skyward, the stars having yet to appear. His demented mind wandered still as he drove, just barely keeping inside the confines of the dusty black pavement that led further and further away from the base. Sometimes he wondered what life would be like if he wasn't a mercenary, sure he'd probably be in a mental institution for his pyromaniac tendencies, and sure he might never see the light of day again- he cleared his mind once more, pushing the negative thoughts away. The head lights of the van shone ahead as he finally found his destination- the small settlement a good thirty-something miles from the current base. He circled the parking lot, searching for a good spot, and groaning to himself after not finding one, settled on one at the very edge of the lot. Just as well, he could always make a quick escape at the current spot if need be, you never knew if those RED spies were tailing you or not. Still grumbling to himself, he locked the van, after checking that the scout hadn't left the ever-important briefcase inside, like he did last time. Seriously, what was in the briefcases that made them so important? They never saw anything out of them. He then turned and began walking across the parking lot, his boots squeaking against the pavement as he went. Although he offered his services to BLU, he hated his suit, since his suit color had to correspond with his team- what if he went back to the base wearing red? His team would shoot him on sight. Why couldn't the patch on his shoulder just be blue? Then the rest of his suit could be colored red- or maybe yellow? Then again, orange was just as good a color as the first two...he continued the nonsense ramblings in the depths of his mask as he pushed the door to the shop open, his boots once more squeaking against the linoleum.
"Mmhmph" he said, casually walking into the shop.
The geeky kid behind the counter took notice of him, and trembled before ducking under the counter. Pyro reached across the counter and rang the bell with one of his gloves, knowing full well that the attendant was hiding beneath the counter. He waited a few minutes, and still no response. He sighed to himself...this always happened with new employees to the pizza parlor. He tapped the bell on the counter once more, and waited once more waited for any sort of reaction from the hiding employee. A moment later, the teen behind the counter actually risked a peek, and found himself facing the black, soulless eyes of the Pyro's gas mask.
"Mmhmph, mmhm mm mphmm"
"Uh...what?" the teen asked, hesitantly standing.
Pyro face-palmed, and reached into his pocket, minding a mini-doll of himself given to him a long time ago. He fished out a slip of paper, containing all the orders on it, and handed it to the teen. The teen reached for it hesitantly, as if it might explode, and grabbed it. His eyes scanned it for a few moments, before looking up at the Pyro, who was attempting to keep his patience. It was already dusk when he'd arrived, and he'd rather not get yelled at for getting back to the base late.
"S-sure dude, your orders are over here" he said, reaching back without turning around in fear of the Pyro attacking him. He handed the Pyro three pizza boxes and two bags, the bags themselves containing sandwiches for Demoman and Heavy.
Pyro grabbed the food, and paid the clerk, he then turned to leave the store. He noticed a bit of a drop in temperature, but was kept warm nonetheless by his asbestos-lined suit. He unlocked the door to the van after crossing the parking lot, and tossed the food into the passenger seat before strapping himself in. He stuck the key in the ignition (heh, ignition...), and turned it, starting the van.
He placed his gloved hand onto the gear shift, and threw it into reverse, he backed into the lot, checking the rear-view mirror (he was a pyromaniac, not a reckless driver). He pulled out of the lot, and out onto the open road, rolling down the window on his side. In retrospect, he was actually kind of happy to get away from the base for a little while, if only for a little while...he might've been insane, and even he wasn't sure of that, but his teammates sure seemed to be. It seemed like he'd gradually drifted away from his team, when probably, at least from his perspective, he'd just lost himself in what he liked to call 'Pyroland' for just a little too long. Yes, it was true he liked to lose himself, who didn't? But even to him there was a limit, there was a certain line that once crossed, there wasn't any hope for return.
A bright green flash out in the desert suddenly snapped him from his inner ramblings, he slammed on the brakes as he swerved, barely missing a well-placed rock jutting from the dirt. He unstrapped his seatbelt, and stepped out of the van, forgetting the food for the time being. He walked around the front of the van, and took notice of the right headlight hanging out of its socket, hanging by some red and blue wire.
'Oh perfect...' he groused.
His masked face then scanned the desert, searching for any sign of the green flash he'd seen before. He went to the back of the van, and opened the hatch, pulling his Flamethrower and Detonator out of the back (hey, you never knew, right?). He kept his other weapons in his bag, which, to his astonishment, found it to be a lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside when he'd first received it. With his weapons in hand, he walked off into the desert, staring up at the moon as he continued towards the green flash.
The Pyro's boots gathered dust as he kept his journey, not knowing why he was walking into the middle of nowhere, with little to no food or supplies. He couldn't explain it, it was like the flash was drawing him in, pulling him closer towards who-knows where. As he grew closer, he discovered it to be a thin, flat disk of fire- green fire if you wanted to be precise. The fire-bug grew closer, not feeling a lick of heat emanating from the inferno. He then turned, his curiosity satisfied, and began the arduous journey back to the van. Soldier was going to wring his neck when he got back to base...how was he going to explain to the rest of his team that he wandered out into the desert, just to find out what the light was?
The Pyro, however, didn't notice the fire's reaction to his presence. It grew and twisted, the flames dancing as they began to shift inwards, forming a funnel as it drew dust from the ground. The winds soon picked up, at this the Pyro caught notice, as the vortex began to suck him in as well.
"Mm! Mm! Mmmmph!" he screamed, clawing at the ground as he was dragged across the ground.
No one heard him, of course, he was in the middle of the desert.
The pyromaniac was finally pulled into the vortex, his attempts useless. For once, he wasn't happy to see the fire's flames whirl around him as he felt himself barreling like a rocket through the sea of green raging around him.
The Queen of the Changelings, Queen Chrysalis to her subjects, stared down at the monstrosity that had landed in her throne room.
She wasn't surprised, of course, she was the one who'd summoned the fire-demon in the first place. The abomination groaned to itself as its suit squeaked against the floor of the hive, it attempted to lift itself, before the black head hit the floor, unconscious.
Guards she called, willing two of her subjects into the room.
As a result, two changeling guards flitted into the room, spears at the ready.
Did you call, highness? one of them asked.
Yes, she responded take this...thing...to the infirmary wing of the hive
The two took a moment to glance down to the creature before her highness' throne, appalled at what manner of creature this might be.
This...this- thing? the second said, distaste in his voice surely you can't be-
Are you questioning my orders, drone? she hissed.
N-no, of course not, highness they both stammered at once.
Good, she responded now see that it has the best care we can offer
Her will was done, and the two guards lifted the monstrous beast, their wings buzzing frantically as they carried it. They slowly but surely exited the throne room, leaving Chrysalis to her thoughts.
'Soon, Cadenza...you and the rest of Equestria shall fall before me...' she chuckled inwardly.
Pyro groaned to himself as he awoke, finding himself in a small, dank cavern. He attempted to clear his mind as he groggily stood, his boots slapping wetly against the floor. He felt as if he'd been in a drinking contest with Demo, then run over by a freight train- repeatedly. He wobbled over to a semi-rectangular hole in the wall, clinging to the wall itself for support.
"Mmphmpmph?" he groaned, stumbling out of the hole and into a hall made of rock and fungus. The limited vegetation glowed dimly, casting the hall itself into a sickly green.
He wasn't even laying on the ground for a second, before he felt his right arm being picked up, quickly followed by his left. He couldn't make out much in his current state, mostly just what sounded like the clacking of iron nails against a wall. Other than that, he heard the obvious sound of someone struggling, which he'd heard many times in BLU's vie for control points on the battlefield. It wasn't long before he felt himself being set down, the front of his body facing upwards. Where was he? The last thing he remembered...was...that...that...thing that...desert...
...
He couldn't even remember!
He began struggling, not knowing if he was safe in his current position, for all he knew he was RED's captive. More of the chattering sound came, and he felt his limbs being pressed, trying to restrain him.
"Sstop sstruggling!" a voice rasped harshly, something hard bashing his arm.
"Mmph! Mmph mm mmph?!" he shouted, wrestling the offenders.
"Oh for buckss ssake..." the same voice said.
Something hard and pointed touched against the forehead of his mask, which caused him to panic even more.
'Stupid RED Medic! Probably drugging me or...some...thing...'
He quickly found this wasn't the case, as he took notice of his vision clearing, as well as his limbs feeling less heavy. His mind went blank as he found himself actually feeling better.
"Mmph?" he asked, looking upon two black, insectoid creature full of holes.
The two looked upon him with mixed emotions, the one of the left in contempt, the other one in poorly-hidden fear. He was used to the fear, but that didn't mean it still stung, most people became afraid when approached by someone in a gas mask for some odd reason...
"Uh, yess" the left one said "who are you?"
"Mm mmph mph, mmph mm mhhmph?"
The holed-creature on the left cocked an eyebrow, the other pupil-less eye lowered in confusion.
"What?" was all it could say
Pyro thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers, a small lightbulb going off inside his mask. He looked around the small cavern, searching for his weapons. He found them on the other side of the two holed-ponies, and charged through them, causing the left one to simply side-step him, while the one on the right squeaked in fear as it retreated. He strapped the tank of his Flamethrower on, and hooked the gun over his shoulder. He then picked up his weapons bag, as well as his Detonator. With his weapons in hand, he performed one of his taunts, forming a ball of fire between his hands.
"What- what the hay?!" the insect shouted, jaw agape.
Both of the ponybugs were flat against the wall, their eyes wide in terror.
He released the inferno between his hands, forcing it against the opposite wall, the entire section of the room engulfed in flames. He only stared giddily at the hypnotic dance of the flames, he always enjoyed the reds, yellows, and oranges colliding in a fireball. Two more bug-like ponies charged into the room, past the Pyro, and did their best to douse the flames, the horns atop their heads bathed in a green glow.
"Are you completely insane?!?!" one of the two larger bugs screamed, getting into the Pyro's face "You could have killed us all! Don't you realize how dangerous that fire was?!?!?"
He stared down at the bug-pony as it began rambling on about something or other, it actually reminded him of the Soldier, they both liked to shout. A lot.
"Mmph mm mphmpm" he said, further confusing the four bugs in the room.
"We can't understand a word you say, you do realize that, don't you?" he said, a bit softer this time, but not much.
"Mphm"
"I should take you out right now and-"
Pyro didn't get to hear what the rest of the hole-filled equine had to say, however, as a tall bug-pony entered the room, her green slits looking upon the room with a bit of uninterest. He simply decided to refer to it as 'Queen', since it had a crown atop its head. Including the horn, the Queen stood taller than him, excluding the horn, she stood about the same height as he did.
"Is there a problem here?" the Queen stated, her voice like the hiss of a dying ember.
"N-no, your highness, this...this maniac, almost set the entire hive ablaze!"
The Queen then looked upon him, a bit more of interest in her eyes, and turned to stare back down at the smaller pony.
"And just what were you doing provoking it?" she returned.
"H-Highness?!" the pony sputtered "I-I-"
"Hatchling duty, one week"
"B-but-"
"Two weeks"
The ponies exhaled frustratedly, before exiting the room, their heads low and their ears plastered against their heads.
"Now then, I believe we have much to discuss" Queen said in a no-nonsense tone.
Come to think of it, the Queen reminded him of Soldier, too.