The Healing Process

It was not long ago that he made his choice to be here, not long ago had he made the ultimate choice to end his life.  It was a choice that took him awhile to consider, but only took mere minutes to act upon it.

The day before, it was just the end of another day in the endless gravel wars between Redmond and Blutarch Mann.  He, and along with the other REDs, had successfully managed to gain control of the hydro dam from Blutarch's mercenaries.  Throughout such, most of his comrades had sustained one brutal injury after another, with he himself being spared any injury at all.

The respawn system had been powered down for the day, and it was his duty to fix up his comrades during their downtime.  It was a general rule made by the The Administrator that if any of them sought to use it after dusk, they had to pay with their own money for each time they'd die and respawn since it had to be powered up for usage.

They all followed him to his medical facility, properly funded and provided by The Administrator, Saxton Hale, and Redmond Mann.  His friend, Heavy, had sustained the brunt of all the punishment on the battlefield, thus the remaining REDs had to provide what support they could to his frame so he wouldn't collapse under his own weight.  His teammates allowed him to rush ahead to his workplace near the Badwater facility and begin setting things up for each of them.

Sniper had a couple of arrows stuck in his leg, forcing him to walk with a limp for a time.  His wounds were easily treated with the careful removal of the arrows and disinfecting of the wounds, finishing off with a heal-beam to seal up the wounds.

Spy had the distinct odor of urine and milk covering him once again, but he mostly received a varying amount of burns that were visible through openings in his scorched suit.  To go with the burns, he also had several bruises and a few broken ribs too.  His injuries were easily fixed with his medigun being applied to the burned and injured areas; his suit however, would have to be fixed or replaced on his own.

Heavy, who had large amount of shrapnel stuck in his head and chest, took the most out of his time to fix.  Remove the shrapnel, disinfect the wounds, remove additional kidney while he wasn’t paying attention, and proceed to seal up the wounds with the medigun.

Throughout the course of him fixing up his comrades, he had started to notice something missing with his surroundings.  He first noticed it when he was met with the Demo, who had been at the receiving end of the BLU sniper trying out his Machina again, was riddled with several clean holes going all the way through him.  It was a medical miracle to say that he was even alive, but that's when he noticed it.

Where was Archimedes?

The sudden thought caused him to cease his immediate work with the demo and to begin a search to wherever his avian companion may be.  He'd searched high and low around his work space, looking in every nook and cranny he came across.  He had even checked the fridge to see if he had taken to pecking at the Spy head he had stored in there, but his bird was nowhere to be found.

He felt a bit lost without his dear friend being alongside him, watching him work and reminding him of the simple things in life he enjoyed.  He wanted to cease his work and continue searching for his friend, but the distinct cry of the Demo screaming his name ultimately forced him back to his job.  He couldn't just leave a patient to his wounds, not when the work was only half done.

He eventually finished fixing up his comrades later on in the evening, letting them all off with a near-clean bill of health.  He'd bid them farewell for the night and told them that he'd meet them at Teufort later on, informing them that he had some business to conclude before he left.  His teammates brushed it off as a part of his natural behavior, not knowing the actual underlying reason as to why he chose to stay behind.

He continued his search shortly after they left, going through the auditorium where he worked a second time in the hopes he'd appear in some place he didn't check yet.  The figure of Miss Pauline had long since left the observation deck high above after he finished his work, leaving him with all the time he needed to find his beloved friend.  But again, he was nowhere to be found.

Ultimately, his search led him to his office where it had finally come to a close, and to where the final hour of his life had begun counting down.  There, he had found his friend along with his two other doves, Neuron and Einstein.  The two immediately greeted him upon his entry and flew towards him, seeking his attention.

However, Archimedes did not move.  His friend had remained motionless on his desk, lying on his back with his wings sprawled out beside him.  There wasn’t the faintest of movements coming from him, no indication of life... nothing.

At that moment, he felt a plethora of emotions, ones he rarely ever felt throughout his life.  Sadness, denial, anger, and what led him to where he was now, desperation.  He just couldn't accept the loss of his most dearest friend, not when he had such a close attachment to him.

He had never felt such things before in his life, not ever.  He was already jaded from the experiences he had bore witness to time and time again throughout the gravel wars, but this... this was something more.  It struck a pain that was fierce against his heart, like a part of him was forcibly torn away from him forever.  It was something so new and painful, failing in comparison to all the physical pain he had been endured with his time on the battlegrounds.

Then the big question came up for him.

What if?

What if he chose to join him?  He could be away from the troubles of Teufort and the endless war between Redmond and Blutarch Mann, and he could be with his dear friend forever.

He considered the idea for a time, weighing in on what he would leave behind if he made the choice, and what he would accomplish with his choice.  His comrades, he would no longer be able to keep them alive in combat once he was gone.  They would fall more in combat without him; they'd lose ground more quickly than it took for them to gain over the span of many months.

But what he was feeling, it was all just too much, even for him.  He was left with a gaping wound in his heart, one that felt like it would last an entire lifetime with a loss that was so sudden, a loss that took him entirely by surprise.

As a final farewell, he wrote and tied two small notes to Einstein and Neuron, giving a hopeful message to whomever would come across them would take care of them, giving some instructions and insights to their habits.  He then set them free ten minutes later.  At first however, they were hesitant to leave his side.  They knew how upset he was with the loss of Archimedes, they sensed his distress and they had put up a bit of a fuss about leaving him.  But in the end, he forced them to leave by ushering them out the window.

That's when he finally decided to do it.  He gathered some jars that contained a toxin he was experimenting with, one that would've involved using his syringe gun for a future project.  He didn't test to see how lethal it actually was, but he didn't need a correct dosage to guess what was and what wasn't fatal... after all, he wouldn't be coming back to use it.

And with his choice, it ultimately led him here to a place between death and the afterlife.  He had found his bird, saved him from the reaper, and was now content with his existence.  He could now be with his dearest friend, forever.

Knowing that the respawn system was shut off for the day, it was likely that his teammates would try to use it to bring him back in the morning once the found him.  But it would already be too late by then, he'd already be in the early stages of rigor mortis by then.  He'd be well past the point of no return; they'd no longer be able to bring him back, instead, they would have to settle for a funeral.

"I'm sorry my comarades," he started with a whisper. "Sometimes zere are things zat are more important zan our line of work..."  He hung his head low as he leaned back further into the tombstone behind him.

His friend, Archimedes, now a red essence of energy, cooed happily as he hopped down his right arm and onto his wrist.  With his other free arm, he brought it up to his friend and softly scratched at what he assumed was the bottom of his friend's beak, smiling softly as he did so.

"I did zis for you my friend, to be here alongside you," he quietly explained to his bird.  "You are a dear friend to me, I hope you understand zat.  When I found you though, I truly felt sadness for ze first time."  He finished with a heavy sigh.

He didn't really think through what he was to do once he was reunited with his friend, but there were only two options that were provided in such a gloomy place: he could walk, or he could wait.

With a sigh, he pushed himself up from the gravestone, using it as a support until he stood towering over it.  His feathered friend fluttered about in the air briefly as he stood up but had quickly perched onto his left shoulder, cooing with content.

Nearby was the decapitated remains of the reaper which had tried to end his life once more, and had made an attempt at forcibly taking his friend away from him.  He scoffed inwardly at the remains, feeling no remorse at a being that tried to prevent him from being with his friend.

"Come along Archimedes, let us find a way out of zis place."

He picked up his Amputator bone-saw which was next to the corpse, hoping to use it as protection against whatever would be in this afterlife, and began walking away from the area.  He made sure to pick up the cage as he passed by the tombstone.  He couldn't be more happier with where he currently was, even if he was dead in the outside world, he didn't mind in the slightest for he had a dear friend to accompany him through the unknown.

He hopped down from the large rock and landed in the water below with a loud splash.  His avian companion quickly recomposed itself as it landed back on his shoulder, ruffling its non-existent feathers the moment it landed.   The water wasn't as deep as he had first imagined, as surprisingly, it was only shin deep.

Unsure of where he would or could go from there, he began walking forward into the fog that surrounded the area, seeking a locations where he could be at peace with his friend before they both were forced to move on.  His journey would be a quiet one though, the only sounds to accompany him were the soft coos of his feathered friend, his own breathing, and his heavy footsteps as they trudged through the water.

It would be a long journey it seemed.