Chapter Text
It was a nice tropical day in Banana Bay. Sunny and warm as it was expected.
After the last experience, Sniper had decided to stay positive. He had reached the conclusion that hackers will be unavoidable but nice players also existed so he should try to make the most of each match.
The game hadn't started yet so he checked out his weapons and cosmetics. The only difference between his loadout and the standard was the Ol' Snaggletooth in his head, which he internally agreed it felt somehow appropriate for the map. He also realised that he was wearing almost the complete Croc-o-Style Kit: Sydney Sleeper, Darwin's Danger Shield and Shahanshah instead of the Bushwacka. Maybe his user didn't know that he could leave a cool calling card on his victims if he changed his melee weapon for the proper one or maybe he didn't even have the Bushwacka in his inventory. That made Sniper wonder about the type of player who would be using him today.
After some seconds, the match started and Sniper, along with the rest of his BLU team, headed out of Respawn, his user specifically choosing the left door. Once stepping one foot outside the base, just over the edge of the cliff, he jumped into the water and start scoping while falling. Without unscoping, his user calmly and precisely positioned him just behind the little deck. It was a risky and smart post, Sniper had a perfect view of his own cart and the opposite one across the map, along with the middle bridge and the intermediate section of the train rail. It was true that anyone coming from the left side could spot him but submerged with the water up to his neck and only his eyes and his rifle over the wood platform, he had to admit that it wouldn't be that obvious. His player might be using the Sydney Sleeper but he, at least, seemed to properly know the map.
For the span of a second, Sniper felt like a crocodile waiting for his prey until his first potential victim appeared. An enemy RED Scout began pushing his own cart by standing still next to it.
"Poor little gremlin." Sniper cynically thought, with a smile in his lips and before he could registered it, his player pulled the trigger and explosion of Jarate erupted in the Scout's chest, killing him instantly.
Boom. Jarate Bodyshot.
Staying in his post, Sniper saw how one of their BLU Pyros started pushing their cart and in the meanwhile, he bodyshot and successfully killed an enemy Demonight who was crossing the middle bridge, probably running away from the visible flying rockets of a non-visible teammate Soldier.
"Ahh, that's apples mate." He cheerfully chuckled under his breath.
After the scavenger kill, his player returned Sniper's attention to the RED cart, finding out that an enemy Heavy had appeared next to it. That equally caught by surprise the BLU Pyro, who had managed to push the cart half way of that straight section and was close enough to receive heavy damage from the RED but far enough that their flames couldn't reach the enemy.
Sniper felt the reaction of his player, quickly aiming the middle point of the scope to the centre of that gigantic body. He knew that with the Sydney Sleeper, he wouldn't be able to kill the Heavy but between draining his enemy health to half and the mini-crits, the Pyro might have a chance to survive. It would have been that way if the same teammate he intended to save hadn't unintentionally crossed his visual field, blocking his shot. Two second later, without being able to do anything, the Pyro was filled with lead after dealing minimal damage to the Heavy.
After that show, Sniper let out a sigh and readied himself again. With better coordination, the Pyro would have lived but that's how Team Fortress 2 worked. They were supposed to be a team even if communication was usually non-existent. If somehow seemed to be some type of coordination, it was only serendipity.
Going back to his target at hand, he murmured as if his player could hear him.
"The big-head hasn't seen us yet. Time to avenge the Pyro."
The laser of his rifle followed the RED Heavy who hadn't stopped pushing the cart. Sniper could see that this enemy wasn't as oblivious as the earlier Scout and was constantly keeping an eye on both directions from he could be ambushed. What a pity that he would be taken down before he could realise where the shots were coming from.
Sniper grinned before he pulled the trigger.
Boom.
He missed.
His steady hands had made a hastily movement before his player had clicked the mouse 1 button and they had missed the shot by inches.
"Piss off." He muttered frustrated and spit to the floor. It was infuriating how his user had managed to miss, for so little a guy with such an enormous body. Sniper usually had a lot of patience with his players, nobody learnt how to headshot in a day, but this guy had given him little clues about being a decent-skilful player, just to quickly crash his hopes with that unlucky shot.
"It was only a mistake. At least, he ain't no hacker so maybe let him try again." He reasoned with himself.
The sharpshooter took a deep breath and decided to give another chance to his user, so he could prove him wrong.
"Come on, mate. Prove me wrong. I know you can do it."
Sniper focused again on the target and while his rifle was recharging, he noticed something unusual in the way his player was aiming. He was making him aim for the Heavy's head.
"Mongrel, this is Sydney Sleeper. A headshot ain't gonna deal more damage than a bodyshot. Don't waste our time, shoot already." He internally complained and shortly after, his player clicked m1, seemingly more softly than before, almost scared of making the mouse accidentally move again.
Boom. Jarate Headshot. Mini-crit.
"Wot?" Sniper confusedly snorted when he saw the higher unexpected damage he had dealt. "Since when the..." He stopped on his tracks when the answer finally came to his mind.
The update.
Last month, all classes had been called for an update meeting where they had been told the new weapon redesigns and the modifications that had been incorporated to some maps like Mercenary Park. The Sydney Slipper had been one of the weapons to suffer changes and he could clearly remember now how pissed he had gotten when it had been announced that the rifle wouldn't be able to splash Jarate around anymore when fully charged. In retrospective, maybe Sniper should had paid more attention when the mini-crit headshot feature had been mentioned, instead of remonstrating so much with other fellow members of his class.
"Aarrg..." He groaned feeling guilty with himself. "Sorry, mate. I was too quickly to judge ya."
After being covered in piss, the Heavy had become paranoid, shooting to everything around even if there were no enemies in his sight. The enemy cart still advancing, Sniper's laser kept track of the Heavy's body, waiting for the rifle to recharge enough to perform the killing shot. However, just a second before he could finish off his enemy, a BLU Soldier, seemingly coming from nowhere, expertly rocket-jumped next to the RED cart and planted two gorgeous rockets in the fatman's face, stealing his kill in a scandalous manner.
"Oh, bugger. That was mine." Sniper grumbled and then, shrugged indifferently. "Anyway, at least, I got the assist."
Sometimes those things happened and he hoped that the person behind his controllers would see the situation like him, deciding to stick to the positive side. Although, what he didn't expect was hearing two players, a young woman and a teenager with a deep timbre, celebrating the kill in the voice chat:
"Team job!"
"Uh..." Sniper let out involuntarily.
The first thing he realised was that his user was actually a SHE, which left him a bit unease after referring to her with a masculine pronoun from the beginning of the match. He hadn't meant to be disrespectful, it was just uncommon to find female players.
The second thing he grasped from that exclamation was that she wasn't playing alone, probably being in a party with that BLU Soldier, which uplifted Sniper's spirit. Enjoying the game with company was always a different experience from playing alone. The users became more talkative and cheerful, which in return contributed to make Sniper feel more connected to his player. It was rewarding to perform your job, even if you lose miserably, when you were helping nice people to have a good time with your 10 years old videogame.
Finally, the last thing Sniper noticed was that they weren't native English speakers. Who the hell says team job? It's teamwork.
"it's teamwork" Someone in the BLU team didn't lose time on typing in the common chat.
"no, it's team job" The Soldier's player replied back.
"learn english, it's teamwork" The same person said again.
Sniper rolled his eyes at the "erudite" conversation that was going on. "Who cares? Let them be." He thought for himself unable to understand how people could get so salty for so little.
Then, he felt how his player left aside the mouse to write something in the chat, leaving Sniper's body immobile.
"it's an inside joke, wanka"
"yeah, maggot"
Sniper stupidly smiled at the use of their respective tag lines. It wasn't the first time someone employed them but it always amused him how the mercenaries' unique personalities had created some kind of referent.
"You surely get into the character, miss." He silently chuckled although, his enjoyment didn't last much. Because while his player was paying more attention to the chat than to what was going on in the battlefield, an enemy Scout, who not even Sniper had seen him coming, emptied the cartridge of his Soda-popper on his back.
*DEAD*
"Bloody bogan..." Sniper muttered once he respawned.
Nevertheless, the grin was still on Sniper's lips.
"This match promises to be interesting."