Okay, so I had a Loch Ness Hamster prequel for Dustbowl Horror, now completed, but I also promised a sequel, with more lake monster-based mad SCIENCE!, and maybe some Tentaspy vs. Tentaspy...? ~~~Ch. 1~~~ "Well, thanks to your escape, the Doc's after me to help him catch another octopus." The Sniper says, stretching out on the his back. "I wish you would." The Spy blows out a heavy sigh, tentacles winding themselves about the Sniper's legs and waist. "There is one, you know. He keeps getting into my cave and stealing my things. I would be happy to be rid of him." "Yeah, well, as long as he doesn't plan on sewing bits of it onto someone. Guess he's still working with his serum-- he figures if you were able to stay invisible long enough to get out of the building and all, it must be a success. He's been playing around with it, said now there's a version that won't give our Spy gills." The Spy shrugs. One of the tentacles slides up the Sniper's thigh, making little massaging motions as it inches higher. The Sniper groans and spreads his legs as the questing tentacle reaches his crotch. There's another tentacle working its way up under his shirt. The Spy spends a little more time pretending to be utterly unconcerned with the actions of his lower half, but he can't help the spreading smile as he watches his lover writhe and moan, and he can only stay patient so long, when he could be getting the Sniper naked more quickly using his hands as well. After all, once he gives up the pretense, they can kiss, too, and that's the last little thing he needs, to quit the cool act. "I should throw your clothes in the lake..." "You really shouldn't," The Sniper gasps. "Hate to have to get back naked." "No, no, then you will have to stay with me always..." "I see. And if I'm your naked prisoner, who's going to bring you your smokes?" "Good point. All right... I will not destroy your clothes, this time." "I could be your naked prisoner just for a little." The Sniper chuckles. "We'll just pretend those clothes are gone, yeah?" The Spy growls, his whole body covering the Sniper's as they kiss, tentacles writhing around legs again, leaving rows of sucker-marks along thighs and ass. "Hey," The Sniper gasps, stroking the Spy's shoulder. "Hey..." "Mm?" "I ordered that dive equipment. Thought... thought if I could get down to that cave entrance..." "Yes. Yes... most of the cave is above water," "Yeah. Thought I wouldn't have to hurry so much. Don't like having to rush..." He kisses the Spy again. "Oh. I would like that..." "Doc thinks it's so I can help him catch his octopus." "That is for the best. He does not need to know it is really so that you can catch your own..." The Spy grins. "You would not have to worry about being found... No one could accidentally happen upon us, that way. And..." "And you could spend all night fucking me again?" "Yes," Another growl, a thrust of the hips on old instinct, and though it does little for him now, he can feel the Sniper's cock slide against his mantle, hot and hard and already leaking. He rolls his hips again, molds his lower body to the other man's as best he can, slides against him. "You feel good... you feel so good..." The Sniper grabs onto him, and when their mouths meet, his kiss is hard and sloppy, his breath coming in pants. The Spy's hectocotylus snakes up, caressing the Sniper's lower lip in a bid for entry, as he moves his own kisses down to the Sniper's shoulder-- still careful of his teeth, but not so over-cautious as he once was. He does not want to break the skin, but he's not afraid to dance along that edge. The Sniper sucks eagerly at him as he thrusts up, rubbing off against the Spy's mantle as the texture shifts, soft slick and going from smooth to crepey and back again. After they both finish, the Spy slips back into the water, though he half-leans on the little island still, resting his chin on his folded arms. The Sniper reaches over to touch him, fingers brushing over the crown of his head, along his shoulder or down one forearm, lazy afterplay and dizzy smiles that pass between them. "When your dive equipment arrives... I'll try and fix the place up for you." "Got a raft and a rubber mattress coming, if you got room." "I do. You could stay all night with me?" "Over the weekend? I could. I might take my time hunting this octopus. It's a good excuse." "Yes, well... I might kill it myself if it gets into my foot again. He is perfectly happy to eat live fish, why does he need my canned goods?" The Sniper laughs and slips back into his clothes. "Come out and see you soon, all right?" "All right. I will miss you, until then." They kiss, simple and sweet, before the Sniper swims back towards the bases in the distance, and the Spy returns to his cavern.
The whole conceit of a naughty, wild octopus bedeviling poor Tentaspy is just too adorable for description. Your writing is so incredibly clever.
This is a work of brilliance. I was so sad when TDH ended, but a sequel! The world can never have enough tentaspy... On a purely editorial note, I noticed that you tended to switch back and forth between ending quotes with commas and periods, but always capitalized the following word regardless. For example: "Hey," The Sniper gasps and "I wish you would." The Spy blows out a heavy sigh... The latter works fine when describing an action that the speaker does, separate from the quote, but just note that when you use the comma, the next word isn't capitalized (unless it's a proper noun). So it's '"Hey," the Sniper gasps.' But I'm nitpicking, really. This is brilliant!
The idea of a second tentaspy piques my interest ! I am looking forward to more :)
I have no words for how excited I was to see this thread! I had been craving more interactions between your Sniper and Tentaspy since TDH ended, and I had no idea you planned for a sequel! Keep up the great work as always, Anne!
You write too much. ...Don't ever stop. Please.
I'm still hoping that Sniper will be medic's next "experiment"
>>7 I'm hoping for NagaSniper if that happens haha.
>>8 I... Am actually really intrigued by this idea. It's probably not where you were going at all, Anne, but the idea is leading to some pretty bizarre imagery. Captcha: ywordis mines,
Thanks, everyone! (and darn it, now you're making me wish NagaSniper fit into this somehow... but hopefully you'll approve of the monstrous strangeness to come even without a creature-fied Sniper) ~~~Ch. 2~~~ When the Sniper returns to the RED base, it's to find the Medic out in the corridor by the infirmary, wringing his hands and pacing. "Ah! Herr Sniper! I am glad you happened along. Has the dive equipment you requisitioned arrived yet? I really need that octopus." The Sniper frowns. "Hasn't come in yet. Didn't know it was so urgent." The Medic closes his eyes a moment and seems to steel himself. "Perhaps you had best come with me." In the infirmary, there's a curtain drawn to separate off one of the beds, and the Sniper can hear a soft moan coming from behind. "There was a mix-up, with the serums." The Medic confesses. "Who is there?" The RED Spy's voice is wary and slightly hoarse. "Don't-- Don't let anyone come in..." "I can assure you, he has seen worse." "It's me." The Sniper says. He approaches the curtain, but doesn't pull it back. "You right?" "Am I all right? Hardly. What has the doctor told you?" "Not much." "I'm a freak." "I'm afraid idle scientific curiosity has turned to urgent need." The Medic does draw the curtain back. The Spy is curled on his side on the bed, gloves gone, barefoot-- his feet are webbed, as are his fingers. His mask is gone, and his tie, he has stripped down to his shirtsleeves and looks completely miserable, but at least he has no tentacles. The Sniper casts a suspicious look towards the Medic. "Why do you need another octopus, exactly?" "If I am to have any hope of finding a cure--" "You said there wasn't one!" The Spy pushes himself up. "What do you mean? What do you know?" "I-- We were both stationed out at Dustbowl together. I was there when he... worked on his prototype." The Medic nods. "My initial test subject underwent quite a transformation. As I told you, the Sniper has seen worse." "Oh? And how do I stack up against this initial test subject?" "Well... I guess you look more... normal." The Sniper struggles. He can't exactly say 'not half as handsome', he can't exactly say 'I wouldn't fuck you'-- well, he could, but as comparisons go, it would be a questionable answer. "You've still got your legs." "Oh, merde. What-- What happened to him?" "He escaped." "Before that!" The Spy shouts, raking a hand through his hair, already spiked with sweat. "What did you do? What is going to happen to me?!" "Look, you'll be fine." The Sniper says. It may not be remotely true, but he doesn't fancy dealing with anybody's panic. "You just said he said there was no way to reverse this!" "Well..." The Medic twists his hands together again and looks between them. "Perhaps I was hasty! I have to try, at least. It is my fault you-- I am so sorry, I thought-- I did not know the serums had been moved, but it is still inexcusable, I should have labeled them more carefully. If I had, you would be-- I will do my best." The Sniper feels dizzy, heady. If the doc really can come up with a way to change their team's Spy back, then couldn't he also fix the BLU Spy? "I'll get you your octopus." He promises, heading for the door. "Alive, please!" The Medic calls after him. Alive will be trickier, but not impossible. If there's the slightest chance of a cure, of giving his Spy his old life back, then he has to... and even if it doesn't work, he needs to do all he can. If it doesn't work, it won't be because he didn't do his part to make it happen.
Yes Sniper! Try your best, but could you just...convince spy to keep the tentacles?
This just made my day. Thank you. Updates are golden. I would love to see our tentaspy meet this... what would you call him? demitentaspy? Demi for short? Isn't there another tentaspy fic on here with a tentaspy named Demi? No, wait, that's Domi. Dominique. Well, then... I love to see Demi sneak out and slip into the lake, just out of curiosity, once he gets used to the webbed fingers. Maybe he just figures he might as well try swimming with them. And then our beloved tentaspy decides to come along... meh, just rambling. Sorry. Captcha: the desesses Diseases aren't a problem - it's the MUTATIONS that poor Medic is struggling with.
Aw-awww, awww no! I feel so bad for RED Spy, who clearly feels tricked into this mess, and for poor Medic, who must be thinking 'what have I done?!' What an unfortunate turn of events for everyone. At least Sniper is able to see the silver lining. I won't pretend to have any idea where you're going with this story, but I'm not really holding my breath for a complete mutation-reversal to take place. At the same time, I feel like if anyone could harness genetics and make the two men humans again, Medic could. He's really quite smart, if careless. On a different note, I absolutely DIED when Sniper's knee-jerk reaction to seeing the Spy was 'would not fuck'. DIED, I tell you.
Do I sense a Tentaspy/Tentaspy/Sniper threesome coming up? Please?
>>11 Yeah, Sniper does really enjoy those tentacles... >>12 Thank you! Eventually, there will be meeting... but I shouldn't say too much so early... >>13 Thanks much! (and glad you liked that bit) >>14 Sadly, I don't think I can write threesomes. My monogamy kink always gets in the way. (though on occasion a skilled writer can get me to enjoy reading one, I don't think I could write one...) ~~~Ch. 3~~~ The next day, the Sniper rushes out to the little island as soon as the teams have returned to their bases, and he doesn't have to wait long before the Spy appears. "Can I get you out of those wet things?" The Spy leers, slithering up onto dry ground. "Are you happy with this?" "... The island?" He frowns. "This. All of it." "I am happy with you." His hand closes around the Sniper's wrist. "As I thought you were with me." "I am. I just mean... Dammit..." He sighs and tosses his hat down, runs a hand through his hair. "The doc went and shot our spy up with the wrong serum--" "And now he has gills?" The Spy laughs. "Medic's pretty motivated now, in a way he wasn't before, to... to change things back. It's what he wants that octopus for, for more meddling, I guess. If he could find a cure..." The Sniper watches the hope rise and die in the Spy's eyes. "No. I-- I would love that, of course. I would love to be able to be a man again, to wear a suit and eat in restaurants and walk about on my own two feet and... I was replaced, though. This means... this means perhaps I was removed from the respawn system. And there is no way for me to be cured without... without resetting that way, somehow. I am missing my legs, and... and perhaps some of my organs, or perhaps I just have... have new ones, extra, but-- For me, the process is irreversible. I've accepted that. Without respawn to fall back on, and I do not know that I can fall back on it, I cannot be fixed. Even the medigun would not repair the damage done to me, if the tentacles were removed now." "Oh. Oh. I didn't think-- Right." "I am sorry." "You got nothing to apologize for." He says firmly, pulling the Spy to him. "I love you like you are, you know that." "I do. But... you miss some things." "Yeah, maybe. But... I like some things, about the new you." "Pervert." The Spy grins. "Oh, nice. I tell you I love you just the way you are and you call me a pervert." The Sniper teases. "Aren't you?" "Maybe. Little bit. Can't help it if there are benefits, to..." "To having a lake monster for a boyfriend?" "Sure, that. But I know it's not easy for you having to live like this. Thought if I could give you that back..." "It is not easy. But it could be harder. My new life is bearable, cher. Once you remove the pesky interloper from my home, it will be that much nicer." "Yeah?" The Spy folds his arms and looks down, a frustrated pout coming to the surface. "It's bigger than me." The Sniper can't help a laugh. "It's bigger than you?" "Just the-- the tentacle part! I have an advantage when it comes to... to upper body things. But he also has a little more experience when it comes to having tentacles. Coupled with the reach... He's a terror!" "I'm sure." "It's not funny! He could eat anything in this lake and he steals my food! He could live anyplace, and he comes into my cave! He is timid enough if I really threaten him, usually, but sometimes there is grappling, it is awkward. He leaves when I snap at him enough, but I am sick of losing canned soup to the little monster!" "All right, all right, calm down. Any day now my equipment'll come in and then I'll figure something out. Have to take it back alive. I'm sorry... I'm sorry it won't do you much good." "Having him gone will do me enough good, believe me." "I could ask the doc to graft him onto me and we could be lake monsters together." "Not funny. I like to think that I would not be any more shallow than you, but one of us should be able to lead a semi-normal life. Besides, if you become half octopus, who will bring me canned foods? And... if you lose your lower half, then how am I supposed to fuck you?" "Good point. That thing?" He traces a fingertip around the opening of the siphon. "... You're free to try if you would like to. It does nothing for me." The Sniper's eyes widen. "What, you've...?" "I've done a lot of things when bored." The Spy gestures with one tentacle. He slips the tip of the hectocotylus up into the siphon. "Finding new ways to masturbate while being an octopus is just part of my busy day." "Oh." The Sniper swallows. "That's kind of hot." "You are a pervert." The Spy crosses his arms, but a smirk softens the accusation. "Just being honest. I could watch you fuck yourself." "Maybe sometime. When I am not fucking you." "Wish you could," He groans. "Next time. I'll come prepared." "Next time, then. We--" The Spy freezes, looking past the Sniper's shoulder, to where someone is moving on the lake's shore. He disappears. "What? Were you seen?" The Sniper turns, in time to see the shutters coming down over the door to his base. "Dammit, who--?" "I don't know. Maybe." The Spy sinks down into the water, still invisible. "Go back for tonight, make sure. I-- I will see you later, after dark. After dark I will come to the shore, you won't have to swim at night. I'll be invisible, but I will call out to you. All right?" "Yeah. After dark." He reaches out blind, until the Spy takes his hand, presses it over an unseen cheek. It's enough for him to be able to find the Spy's lips for a last kiss. He swims back towards the base and tries to hope for the best, plan for the worst, and just keep his head above water.
Ooooh, interesting. Hooray for updates - and while I feel sorry for Spy, I do kind of want him to keep the tentacles... And who was that peeking out of the base? This is getting very, very intriguing... Keep the updates coming!
Thanks much! ~~~Ch. 4~~~ Inside the base, the Sniper's hackles are up, he checks every corner as if he were sneaking through enemy territory. He sees no one. Finally, in the empty mess hall, he sinks down to the floor, back against the wall, and runs a hand through his hair. His hat... his hat's just sitting out on the island. They can't have both imagined it, the Spy saw the watcher before he did. He hears a soft footfall, and there's a familiar shimmer, different from any of the cloaking watches, when the RED Spy appears, sitting on one of the long benches. The Sniper looks up, but doesn't speak. The Spy leans back against the table, stare measuring. "Was that him?" He asks. There's no overt judgment in his voice, but his tone is hard to read. "The doctor's old guinea pig?" "You?" He nods. "I... At first, I saw nobody out of doors. I thought it would be good to get some air. Then I spotted you on the island, with... mon dieu, I did not want to believe my eyes. That is the experiment that lead to... to this?" The Spy spreads his arms. "That's him." "I did not know you were... friendly." "Well... we got to know each other." He says. If the RED Spy believes he means just since the Medic captured the man, well, then that's what he can believe. "And you went to tell him about this cure, did you? How did you know to find him?" "Didn't know, exactly. But sometimes I run into him. So what if I do?" The Spy frowns and looks down at his hands. "After you left... the doctor... said some things." "What things?" The Sniper feels cold, sick. Suppose the doc wasn't as oblivious as he'd always seemed to be in the past? "Things which suggested that having his experiment back would be preferable to having some octopus in his possession." "It's too late to cure him. He'll never have his legs back." "No?" "No." "He could still be of use, even if he cannot reap the benefits. His blood could be analyzed, some such thing. I am afraid I did not follow the doctor very closely, but he could still hold the key to a cure, even if he is doomed to a life of... of that. But you will not bring him back?" The Sniper swallows, raising his head. "He's stronger than I am, with all them arms." "How did you plan to capture the octopus? With tranquilizers, or some kind of trap? These methods would still work. Ah, but... he trusts you? You will not make some attempt to convince him? A man who was caught sneaking into your base after hours, and you would not lie to him or plead with him, to save your own teammate?" "He wasn't in the base." "That is no great defense. What of me?" "What of you? Look, I promised to do my bit. I'll get the doc his octopus, and I hope he can fix you, but you can't ask for more than that." The RED Spy laughs. "You care for the poor creature?" "You're the last man I'd expect to hear call him a creature." "I do not mean it like that." Another frown, another glance down at his webbed fingers. "I am a poor creature as well, by my own reckoning. The doctor said you did. Like a pet. But... I think, maybe more like a friend?" "More like, yeah. He's still human." "Mostly." The Spy smiles again. "Mostly. So. Why befriend your old enemy?" "Had a lot of time to hang around each other." "I want to be what I was." "I get that. And I'll bring back the octopus. But I'm never putting him back in the doc's hands. He didn't get the same treatment you get. Doc's sorry for what he did to you, and he treats you like a man. But it wasn't like that before, and... And I won't watch it happen again." "So what did happen, if the doctor's recollection of events is faulty? For him to get his hands on the BLU Spy, I mean? You did not capture him inside the base?" "We were outside the base. Just, more on RED's side. And I didn't think... I didn't think it'd go like it did, or..." The RED Spy's eyes widen. "Oh." "What?" The Sniper stands, crossing his arms. "I see. You did not... you did not catch him. You met him." "That's not what I said. I just... I wouldn't have handed him over to the doc, that's all." "No, no, you cannot lie to me." The Spy leers, shaking his head. "I have made my own fair share of assignations. My tastes are not too different from your own. I knew that from the start. It is in the way you hold yourself. That is a tension that only a particular kind of man carries." "Look, whatever you think, you're wrong." The Sniper heads for the door. "I make it a habit to never be wrong, Monsieur. And you still see him, even as he is?" "We still talk. I never said we did anything more than talk. And as for you and me, we're done talking." "Suppose I follow you again? You might not even know, thanks to the good doctor's meddling." "Don't." "Then tell me the truth." There's no way to come out of this ahead. He can't admit to anything, even with the hints the RED Spy's dropped about himself. He can't run the risk of being followed, not knowing the man would rather turn his own Spy back over to the Medic for more tests. "Wouldn't know what to say." He shrugs. "When you tell the truth, you do not have to worry so hard about what to say." "Like you'd know from truth." "I know it when I hear it, even if I do not indulge in the telling so often." He smiles, a flash of fang-like teeth. "You have a million little tells, Monsieur. You might as well give me the whole story, you do a poor job of lying." "I don't have tells." The Sniper insists, though he knows that much is a lie. He tries to keep a lid on them, but every man has one or two, and he knows he's clenching his hands to try and keep them from shaking, he can feel the muscle at his jaw clench and flutter, twitching out a mad tattoo. He knows he goes too tense, no matter how hard he tries to stay aloof. "Let me speak with him, then. I will make my own case, your hands will be clean." "Fine." He sighs, defeated. "Fine, come along, but I want you visible, from the start. And so help me... so help me..." "I will not make you regret it, if that is what worries you. It will all be our secret." The Sniper doesn't like the little smirk that accompanies that, either, but there's little he can do. The Spy disappears, when the rest of the team filters in for dinner, but when enough time has passed and the sun has gone down, they both sneak out to the water's edge. "Got someone wants to talk to you." He says, sitting down and dipping a hand into the water. His Spy appears, wearing his hat. "You left this behind. I thought about keeping it." "Not a chance." The Sniper grabs for it. "That's my favourite hat." "No it isn't." "Well, it's my second-favourite." "This is your Medic's latest victim?" He nods to the other Spy. "That's him." "And the interloper as well?" The BLU Spy rises up out of the water. "You have caught me out, I am afraid." The RED Spy extends a hand. "Your... friend, has proven himself to be rather protective of your privacy. It was something of a chore to get him to agree to my coming along." "And why did you want to?" The BLU Spy shakes the proffered hand, and sends a flickering glance and a brief smile in the Sniper's direction. "I discovered that we might meet purely by accident, but... is it so unnatural, for me to want to speak with someone who knows what it is I have gone through? And to even greater an extent. I assume the Sniper has told you about the potential for a cure?" "Not for me." The RED Spy nods, expression falling just slightly, and the Sniper frowns at him. "Is there anything that I could offer you, in exchange for returning with us? You could still provide a cure. I am desperate for one. Anything it is in my power to give, Monsieur. There is no length I would not go to, in exchange for your compliance." "I told you I'd get you your octopus." The Sniper pushes him back from the shoreline, and from the BLU Spy. "It does not hurt anyone for me to ask." The Spy holds his ground. "I have not attacked him." One tentacle creeps from the water to coil around the Sniper's ankle, and the BLU Spy's tone, when he speaks, is conciliatory. "No harm done, and no need for teammates to fight, on my account. But, I must apologize, you have nothing I want. All that I do want is my privacy. You could threaten me with the loss of that, but the doctor knows, or at least must suspect, that I live in these waters. He still has not found me." The RED Spy nods, then turns to the Sniper. "And the price for your privacy?" "The hell are you talking about? I promised you everything I could give, didn't I?" "As I said, I am desperate." He looks between them. "How surprised will the Medic be, if I tell him that the Sniper here has been fucking his experiment?" The BLU Spy lunges past the Sniper, tentacles pinning his opposite number to the ground, and he looms near, baring his own teeth. "Monsieur, you do not yet know the meaning of being fucked with. The campaign of terror that I will bring down on you if you dare..." He laughs. "I see you don't deny it." The BLU Spy turns, stricken, to the Sniper. "He suspected as much already. You didn't give him anything." The Sniper promises. One hand reaches out, caresses the back of the Spy's head. "And he's not telling the Medic anything. Not if he wants me to find that octopus and bring it back alive." "... Oh, very good, very good. I would applaud your cunning and your cruelty, but as you can see, my hands are... tied." The RED Spy grins. "I'm just saying, you go spreading rumours about me around, and my motivation to help my teammate dries up real fast. Could take me a long time to bag that octopus. Might never happen, if you decide to go and open your big mouth." "Very well, very well. Then the three of us are at an impasse." "An impasse." The BLU Spy snorts, and does not release the other man. "I still do not trust you. And I will know, if you say anything. And I will find you, and I will make things very, very unpleasant." "Do tell." The RED Spy raises a challenging eyebrow. "I could strangle you, to begin with." "Ah, but what if I enjoy being strangled?" "Then I will simply have to crush every bone in your body. If you speak out after being cured, I can always drown you. I have something of a talent for that, you can ask the doctor about it some time." "Get off him." The Sniper sighs. "He'll keep quiet if he wants his cure." The BLU Spy slithers back down into the water with a low growl. "I still do not trust him." "You don't have to. But I do." The Sniper lies. The BLU Spy just stares him down. "Well, fine, but... none of us have much choice, do we?" "You can trust me, you can trust me." The RED Spy gets to his feet and brushes his suit off as best he can. "I suppose it would be low indeed, to betray a man of my own proclivities." The BLU Spy snarls again at this, and darts forward, though not quite as far. "Ha, now I really do not trust you." "Oh for crying out loud..." "If you touch him, I will know. And I will redefine the very concept of suffering." "I said we were men of similar proclivities, I did not say I planned to molest him." The RED Spy chuckles. "You, on the other hand... keep threatening me and I might start to find you attractive." He starts sauntering off, disappearing halfway between the lake and the RED base. The BLU Spy merely watches the shuttered door until it opens and closes. "He is really gone, do you think?" "He'd better be, 'cause if I find out he's watching me now, I'll belt him one for it later." The Sniper grins, raising his voice slightly. "Nah, think he's gone." A tentacle curls around the back of his neck to pull him down for a kiss. "Mm... that's better." The Sniper sighs. "Hey, you really want to keep my hat?" "Yes. It's not your favourite, but it's mine. Besides... I don't really own much, anymore." He sets the hat back on the Spy's head. "Aw, have it, then. You don't have to look so smug about it. You don't have to look so cute, either." "I don't think 'cute' is the word, but I'll take what I can get." The Spy kisses him again. "This weekend... come out on the lake, and I will try and help you wrangle your octopus. Between the two of us, I think we can manage." "It's a date." The Sniper grins, steals a third kiss before straightening up and heading back to base. He passes the RED Spy in the corridors, on his way to the locker room for his toothbrush, and there's a knowing look, but nothing more is said.
This is a refreshing way to start the morning. Not much to comment on here. Guess I'm looking forward to seeing that octopus for the first time. (Hoping it's a pain in the ass to catch.) I have the Star Trek fight music cued up. Captcha: that oryingb. That oryingb forever.
As much as I want to comment on your dialogue and plot developments and how much I'm looking forward to what's coming, all I can do is smile over the image of Spy in Sniper's hat.
I think I'm becoming rather fond of the RED Spy... "Keep threatening me and I might start to find you attractive." Brilliant.
Hmm, maybe BLU Spy is mistaken. When he first got transformed, he and Sniper tried to fix it by getting killed but BLU Spy stayed the same after respawn. So....how come BLU Spy was able to respawn in RED's base? And maybe if the Medigun can't cut it, maybe some use of the Kritz or Overdose is in order. They probably still need to catch a live octopus to get better results. BLU Spy might not be as a lost cause as he thinks he is.
>>21 I'm pretty sure he respawned in BLU base and had to walk across no man's land on his tentacles (rather painfully) back to RED base. Either way, it's highly unlikely either side still has his data from when he was still all human.
Unless I miss my guess, I believe the doctor had a hand in that, fiddling with the re-spawn. Because I do recall him stopping at the showers and I believe I recall a bit about not being able to -make- it back to his base. I could be wrong though, so don't quote me.
I love how scientific you are with this. I just started my marine biology major and after a long month of dealing with plankton and the water column, we've started dealing with nekton, including cephalopods. So now my professor is talking about the various parts of squids and octopuses and every time she mentions the hectocotylus I start snickering to myself.
>>23 He respawned at the BLU base, then stopped at the showers of BLU base because it was the closest large source of water there, then met with RED Sniper outside the BLU base, then they walked (well, Spy crawled, I guess) together back to the RED base because Spy needed the tank, and Spy nearly didn't make it from the BLU base to the RED base because his tentacles had got dry.
ahh see! I was wrong. I bow to your knowledge then. That makes sense.
>>25 Yup, this. >>24 Then my work here is done. Well, again, not 'done'. I've got more tentacles to write yet. But always glad when someone appreciates my science. >>20 Thanks! Having a bit of fun with this RED Spy... he lives on the edge... (in an actual way, not in the 'I ride the escalator without using the hand rail' way that I live on the edge...) >>19 Thanks! (And Spy wearing Sniper's hat is not-so-secretly kind of my favourite (fluffy smut-free) mental images... I can never get enough of it, every time fanart has Spy wearing Sniper's hat, I squeal like a loon and save it to one of my many hat-based folders...) ~~~Ch. 5~~~ The Sniper feels he probably shouldn't be surprised, when RED's Spy invites himself along on the hunt that weekend. He feels he probably shouldn't be sore about it, either, it could help having somebody else who could breathe underwater if need be backing them up. If any of the others who'd gone on the Nessie hunt the year before had come along to the new base, a group expedition might not have been a bad idea. As it was, though, the Medic was working feverishly on everything he could accomplish without having the octopus yet-- for the best, since the Sniper didn't want him knowing where he could find the Spy. He'd sent the two of them off, muttering about the 'project' he would have the Heavy help him with, while they waited. And as it was, he didn't like having the RED Spy along, and even keeping his mouth shut, he wasn't exactly making a secret of it. "Oh, don't pout." The RED Spy smirks at him, as he strips down to his shorts on the water's edge. "I promise you, I am a harmless flirt. I do not intend to intrude on... what you have." "Well, good, 'cause you can't." "If I am jealous, it is only because... Well, how many men can just accept a thing like this? And he is even worse off than I!" "It's not so bad." The Sniper wades into the water and starts swimming fully dressed. He's used to spending a lot of time soaking wet anyway, now. "Oh? He is octopus from the waist down. What advantages could possibly make up for the losses?" "A gentleman doesn't tell." "Really?" The RED Spy swims after him, and his grin gives a rather shark-like effect, with the new teeth. "Now I am curious." "You were curious before." The Sniper says, before focusing on swimming. He makes it to the island, where his Spy appears half-lounging on the grass and wearing his hat. "You did not say you would be bringing company..." His eyes flicker over to the RED Spy, distaste clear. "I didn't plan on it, believe me. Seen it lately?" "Yesterday, in the morning. He made off with my peaches." "I will get you new peaches." The Sniper promises, can't help smiling a little fondly at the Spy's indignant huff. "I don't think he even knows they are food! He just wants to take them!" "Yeah, they're playful little critters. Or... giant critters. Doc sent us out with some pretty powerful sedatives." The Sniper pats one vest pocket lightly. The other reason he'd needed to keep all his clothes on while swimming out. "If you can lure him out so I can get close. Once he's down, shouldn't be too much hassle to drag him back, and once we're there, the doc's still got his tank, it's ready and waiting." "I'll look for him, but I don't know about luring." The Spy frowns, carefully laying the hat out on the grass. "I spend a lot of time chasing him off." "Then chase him in the right direction." The RED Spy says. "I can come out into the water, you will need someone coming from the other side, to make sure he goes where we want him to." The two nod at each other in an uneasy truce, before disappearing below the water's surface. The Sniper waits, on the island's edge, scanning the lake for movement, for the octopus. He's ready to dive in at a moment's notice. It seems like a long wait, before he sees something swimming fast, and sees the Spy chasing after it. It veers away, and the RED Spy is there to halt the creature's progress. He is no match for it, or would not be if it was a fight the octopus wanted, but the Sniper's in the water before it has much time to hurt the man, and his Spy is close behind to keep the octopus' focus split, until the needle is plunged in and the sedatives take hold. The Spy grabs hold of the octopus with four tentacles, propelling himself and his passenger through the lake, and the Sniper and RED Spy swim after. When the Spy dumps the unconscious octopus on the shore, the RED Spy and Sniper are able to carry it back into the base. When they reach the infirmary, the thing is beginning to stir again, and the Sniper grabs for the second syringe he'd been given. "Fantastic!" The Medic runs his hands over the prize. "Even bigger than the one I was sent! Wonderful, wonderful! Excellent work, gentlemen! Oh, he is a beauty..." "Yeah, real beaut." The Sniper admits. "We were happy to do it." The RED Spy massages his throat and ribs lightly, where sucker marks and bruises have risen to the skin, deep blue-purple. "I am waiting on one last component," The Medic grins up at them, helping to put the octopus into the tank. He fastens the tarp down over the top as firmly as possible. "And then... I think I am only a few steps away from reversing the serum. I will have to test it carefully, but... I have been doing all that I have been able to, in the absence of a proper subject and source of genetic material, and... I have more hope now, than I once did. I can make no firm promises, but I will stay in my lab as long as it takes, and... fingers crossed! I should be able to cure you." "I appreciate it, Doctor." The RED Spy nods to him, then to the Sniper. "If you will excuse me, it has been a long morning. I think I will take a short rest before facing the rest of the day." "And I to work." The Medic says, looking altogether too pleased at the prospect, now that the octopus is in his possession. The Sniper feels a little bad for it, considering the fate of its predecessor, but if the cure works, then he also reckons it's worth it. "I think I'll go back out on the lake." He says. "There is no more need to." The Medic blinks at him owlishly, pushing up at his spectacles. "Yeah, but... Guess I spent so much time out there looking for your octopus, I kind of came to like it. Nice and peaceful, and all." "Ah, yes. Well, of course, a little peace now and then is good for everyone. Have a pleasant time. Be sure to tell me if you see anything else interesting out there!" "Sure." The Sniper lies. "You'll be the first man I tell, mate." He stops by the kitchen, before heading out, wraps up a few lunch-type things, and grabs a can of peaches out of the pantry while he's there. He's not surprised, when the Spy is out on their island, hat reclaimed. "Brought you a prezzie." He unshoulders the bag with the food and digs out the peaches. "Thank you." "Lunch, too, if you want it." The sandwiches are a little flat from having the economy-sized can roll over them, but wrapped tight enough that they stayed dry on the swim over. The apples he hadn't bothered wrapping with anything-- wouldn't hurt them at all to get a little rinse in the lake, at least in the Sniper's opinion. "You know I love these little picnics. The only time I get to eat real food that did not come from a can... and I get to make eyes at a handsome man while I am doing it." The Spy reaches out, running a hand over the Sniper's, ignoring his sandwich in favour of a little stolen caress just for a moment. "Guess I can stand having eyes made at me. Dunno, though. You keep looking at me like that, I might just have to ravish ya." "Ravish me." The Spy sighs. "But... ravish me after I eat." The Sniper laughs and digs the thermos out of the bottom of his bag. "Coffee?" The groan that offer gets him is pure sex. "Didn't think you were an addict." "Not the way you are, cher, but it's been a long time... I do miss it. And you make it so nice and strong..." Two tentacles snake out to grab the thermos and twist it open. They carry it up to the Spy's face, where he breathes in deep. "I love you, you know." "I know." "Tais-toi. I am talking to the coffee." "Uh-huh. Might just take those peaches back, if you can't be sweet to me." The Spy grins up at him and glides closer, his lower half coming up out of the water. He drapes himself over the Sniper, kissing him warmly. "Better?" "Better." The Sniper wraps his arms around the Spy's waist and lies back. For a while, they pass the thermos back and forth, and eat quietly, moving to lean shoulder-to-shoulder. "I do love you." The Spy says, turning to nuzzle the Sniper's neck. He lets his teeth graze the skin, too light to make any mark. "Love you, too." The Sniper says, stroking down his spine, to the little rise of soft dark blue skin at the very small of the Spy's back. "Wouldn't share my coffee with you if I didn't."
-"I will get you new peaches." The Sniper promises, can't help smiling a little fondly at the Spy's indignant huff.- this would make an adorable picture
>>28 Please sage your comments by typing "sage" in the email box. It saves the rest of us a whole lot of disappointment and rage.
Dude, it was posted the same day as the last update. Relax.
~~~Ch. 6~~~ The Sniper is passing by the infirmary after sneaking back onto the base when he overhears the snatch of an argument. "You said there would be a cure!" "I am working on it!" "Doctor, I fail to see how creating something worse is in any way a cure!" He feels his stomach shrink on itself. The Medic wouldn't have... would he? His remorse had seemed genuine, when the RED Spy had turned out like that... But there's no further shouting, and he hears the low rumble of the Heavy's voice, saying something to mediate the issue. He hopes that means his interference isn't required, he's covered in sucker marks he didn't have when they brought the octopus back. He's at the end of the hall when the real ruckus breaks out, and it's closer to the resupply room than it is the infirmary proper. The Sniper is surprised when the Medic comes hobbling out, visibly dazed. "That was fast." He says. It's all he says. The RED Spy comes slinking out after him, and he's exactly as the Sniper last saw him, only slightly more haunted looking, as he tugs his suit jacket into place and glances between the other men. "Octopus get you?" The Sniper asks. The RED Spy snorts. The Medic nods and hums vaguely. The Heavy comes charging out of the resupply room just as the door to the infirmary down the hall opens. Something shoots out, but it's moving fast and invisible before the Sniper can even focus his eyes on it. All he knows is whatever it is, it is too big to be the octopus. "What did you do?" He grabs the Medic by the lapels, only to be pulled off by the Heavy. "I created a suitable test subject. I may not be perfect, but I am not so cavalier with the lives of my teammates as to go injecting an untested cure into our spy!" "Define 'suitable test subject'." The Sniper growls. "A more powerful version of the serum-- if I can reverse that, reversing my earlier mistake should be child's play." "AND?" "It is not so different. A little bit of octopus, a little bit of shark, a little bit of hamster--" "Hamster?" The RED Spy asks, eyes narrowing. "It is quite a story, but... for another time, I am afraid." The Medic chuckles, tone apologetic. "Those things, but also... Well, it was the only way! They have the same height, the same build, even the same blood type! I tried to explain, but... Perhaps I went too far, in bringing out the animal qualities. He is not like my first." The Sniper feels some personal revulsion, over the Medic's attitude towards messing about with people's genetic material. He would feel some pity, for the doctor's latest victim, but that is overshadowed by cold fear that churns in his gut and threatens to make his hands shake. He can feel the first prickle of sweat starting to break out. He can assume it's another one of BLU's spies, to be a match, build-wise, to their own. He doesn't know how the Medic got his hands on this one, and he doesn't care to. All he knows is that someone with more reach and less reason is even now heading for the lake, and his Spy can't rely on respawn anymore. "You fucking bloody lunatic." He shoves the Medic once, not too hard, before racing off through the base. The others follow, but both the Medic and the Heavy stop on the shore. Only the RED Spy follows him into the water. He's out of breath when he reaches the island, and he rests, hanging onto a ledge of earth, as he tries to get it back. The RED Spy stops to tread water nearby. "What's he like?" The Sniper gasps. "Angry. And in pain-- it hurts, to change. I imagine if the change is more dramatic, the pain will be as well. He barely spoke, not words... just garbled, simple. He is-- It is much worse. There are more teeth. He has claws." "There's a cave," The Sniper gasps, pointing to the cliff face. "I haven't been. Dive equipment's not arrived yet, the opening's deep. If Spy's not here, he's there. Can you...?" "Warn him? Of course. Wait here, for any sign of either of them." He disappears under the water and shoots off. Suddenly he stops. The Sniper can't see why, at first, only sees the RED Spy halt and twist around. Suddenly, he is propelled back, and the Medic's latest subject is appearing, tentacles wrapped around him. "Oi!" The Sniper pushes off from the island, grabbing for his kukri. "Let him go, he didn't do this to you!" The new BLU Spy turns, eyes wide and wild and inhuman, and it isn't just that he has more teeth, it's the jaw they're set into, the shape is different, his whole mouth wider... The octopus body is wrapped around the body of the RED Spy, holding him immobile, but it's one of the hands, webbed and clawed, that closes around his throat. The sound the BLU Spy makes is a rattle and a hiss and a growl all at once, the sound the RED Spy makes is desperate and choked. "That's right, I'm talking to you." The Sniper doesn't attack, but he's ready to. "Now do you want help or not?" There's no answer, but half the tentacles unwind from their job of crushing the RED Spy, and shoot out towards the Sniper. He lashes out, cutting one deep, but that only provokes an inarticulate cry and a whiplike flail of one of the tentacles. It smacks into the Sniper's face, breaking his aviators, and three more grab for him, one wrapping around both ankles, and one each around his wrists. The Sniper looks over to the RED Spy, now massaging the front of his throat, gills fluttering slightly as he gasps for breath. With the monstrous BLU Spy's attention split, he is no longer using his hand to strangle, no longer involving any of his upper body in the fight, merely turning back and forth between the two men, agitated. "I suggest, Monsieur," A dangerous and threatening note, as the Spy rises up out of the water behind his replacement. "That you pick on someone your own size." A three-way attention split is too much, the new BLU Spy is overwhelmed, and releases the Sniper. While the three spies struggle, he manages to swim back up, kukri still in hand, to slit the newly-transformed BLU Spy's throat. "Get the body back to shore and tell the doc to get his samples quick." He tells the RED Spy, leaning heavily on his own Spy. "I will need to." The Spy shakes his head, pressing a kiss to the Sniper's temple and leaving him on the island. When he reaches the shore, the Medic is surprised to see him. "You brought me my tentaspy back." "He's dead. Work fast." The Spy snarls, before disappearing beneath the water, disappearing altogether. The RED Spy pulls himself up onto the shore after, watching the doctor hurry to take a few vials of blood, before the body is picked up by respawn. "What did you call him?" "The tentaspy. I tried out a few names. They didn't stick." He frowns as the body vanishes. "Hopefully I have enough to work with." "Yes. Hopefully." The RED Spy says. "I will keep trying." The Medic assures him, misreading the source of his bad mood, before disappearing into the base with the Heavy in tow. Back at the island, the Spy surfaces, tentacles stroking gently over the Sniper's back. "Are you hurt?" "Out of breath a bit. Shaken up some, but... Nah, just bruised me. Anyway, guess if the Doc asks, I can say that's where I got all them hickeys you left on me." He smiles weakly. The Spy kisses him. "Indeed. He called it his 'tentaspy'." "Huh." "I know. I might have gone with 'octospy', myself. What do you think?" "I'm hardly using the same nicknames for him's I use for you." He turns to drape an arm across the Spy's shoulders. "C'mere, sweetheart... your man could use a little taking care of..." The Spy chuckles and lifts the Sniper up onto the island, slithers up after him. "Just a little? Suppose you need more taking care of than that? I think you had best take your shirt off, just to be sure. So that I can make sure that my man isn't hurt." The Sniper laughs, shrugging out of his wet vest and shirt, pulling the Spy into another kiss. "Mm, see? I'm fine. Just a little worn out and a little lonely..." "Lonely? We haven't been apart an hour even. I should be the one lonely without you, anyway." "I'm always lonely without you." He shakes his head. "Hey... Be careful. However the Doc got his hands on that other spy... he hasn't had him long. He will respawn. He'll come out to the lake when he does. Without someone there to help distract him, he'll make for one hell of a fight, and I--" "Shh... I know. I do not intend to fight him alone. If he returns to my territory, then... I will find someplace else suitable to live in. I don't think he will chase me, if I am not putting up a fight. If we are lucky, then... then he will calm down and become more rational. If he is lucky, then your Medic will come up with a cure before he is replaced and taken out of the respawn system. If anyone deserves to benefit... it is that poor monster." "Just be careful." "I will be." The Spy promises, dropping kisses along the Sniper's face, quick and gentle, with his hands sliding from cheeks down the sides of the Sniper's neck, to rest on his shoulders. "Cher, I will be, I will be. And you... if that mad doctor ever decides to question you, you as well, be careful." "He's not interested in much, past his experiments and his own private life. He won't go looking to make things more complicated, not while he's working on something this big. But I will be. Don't you worry, I will be." They rest in each other's arms the rest of the afternoon, until the sun begins to set and the Sniper needs to return to the base for a hot shower and a real night's sleep.
...What was the Medic saying before in TDH? It's not like he kidnapped somebody off the streets? The first Spy got caught while he was (officially) breaking into the enemy base in the middle of the night, so ok, turning him into a monster was a mayor dick move but it wasn't an unprovoked one. But it seems like this time Doc just went and kidnapped a Spy who was doing nothing wrong, knowing full well from experience that the guy would be taken out of Respawn very soon and that without Respawn no cure could ever give him his legs back. Even if it's for a very good cause, my sympathy meter just hit rock bottom and started digging.
Hamster? Did Medic use the Loch Ness Hamster as a part of that new tentaspy?
>>32 Well, such is the way of mad scientists. Their moral sense marches to a different beat than the rest of ours. No sense fretting over it. My main concern is the new tentaspy's role in this story. I do hope he's not going to be "the bad guy". I mean, for all we know, he could have been a jerk before he was transformed, but because we don't know for sure what he was like, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of him becoming the villain.
>>34 It's true that the archetypical mad scientist character is wont to do immoral things, but even so it's a matter of degrees. Mush like "villain" simply means "person who does bad things", and both Catwoman and the Joker are villains, but they are nothing alike because one steals stuff from millionaires and the other murders thousands of people for the lulz. Both the Medic in TDH and the Medic in Dominique are mad scientists, but before this latest chapter I liked the former while despising the latter. Now, not so much, this Medic has done something too vile.
Hi, all! Thanks much, and sorry for the long wait. Been working on something that's been taking up a lot of my focus... ~~~Ch. 7~~~ When the Sniper does return to RED's base, the RED Spy is pacing the hall outside the infirmary. Invisible, but he doesn't bother to slow his pace or muffle his footfall. "What's going on? You come close to a cure yet? "Of course not. Time, he says, he needs time. That... that man will respawn as himself, won't he?" "Doubt it." "Of course... of course. Your friend did not, did he? At the first..." "Didn't expect you to feel sorry for him. Thought you were a desperate man." "I am!" The RED Spy snaps, shimmering briefly before vanishing completely once more. "I am not inhuman, though. Or, I am not inhumane. Your friend was already consigned to his fate, that man... It bothers me. And why shouldn't it?" "It should." The Sniper agrees. "Have half a mind to ask the doc what the hell he thought he was doing." The infirmary door opens, and for a moment the Sniper thinks he'll have his chance, but it's the Heavy who emerges. "Maybe soon." He says, turning in the general direction of the RED Spy. "Still there?" "Still here." He sighs. "... Was like last time." He fixes his gaze on the Sniper this time. "Caught Spy sneaking around, outside of battle." "That's a load of bollocks, mate, and you know it." "Da. I know it. You know it. You want truth?" "Maybe I do. Maybe we both do." "Was outside BLU base, smoking alone. I tell Doktor he was outside our base. That way he can work, that way you can have cure." "... You?" "Is necessary, for team. Hurts no one, except BLU Spy. If he just stayed, he would get cure, too. Is not my fault if he will not get it now." The Heavy shrugs. He frowns at them both before returning to the infirmary, and closing the door behind himself. "The doctor is not an idiot. He has to know he didn't get so lucky twice..." The RED Spy sighs. "Part of him probably does." The Sniper agrees. "But he's pretty good at keeping himself oblivious from things, too. Came in useful once or twice for me. Might come in handy for you, too, if it lets him work this cure out." "Monday night." The RED Spy says. "What about Monday night?" "After the fight... I can disguise myself as the BLU Spy. And on Tuesday. As many days as it takes. Go into their base. Speak with their Engineer, just in passing. Do you think that will be enough? To keep them from taking him out of respawn?" "Yeah. Probably." Sniper nods. "Then... maybe the cure can save us both. I am sorry it will not do for your friend." "So am I. But... well... aw, I like him like he is, if he doesn't mind staying that way. Decent of you, wanting to help the other... the other BLU Spy." "I know some of what it feels like to make the transformation. I know some of what it is like, to have to live differently. Even if he were my worst enemy-- and I always granted that position to the Pyro, myself-- I would not wish this on him." He appears, arms folded around himself, a cigarette between his fingertips. "How are you going to get the cure to him?" "I have no idea. I doubt he will trust any of us very much, after what we have all done. I would not."
Anne! You're back! Please excuse me as I weep with joy while re-reading this update.
Yay! Anne's back again!
It's incredible what an effect your constant updates have on your readers. You haven't posted anything in a very short time, just little over a week, yet people started getting worried that you were gone. I myself was wondering if you were allright, I admit I was a little worried that maybe you had got sick or something... I'm glad to hear you are allright :) Also very happy with the characterization of RED Spy here. I've always been a big fan of "honorable" portrayals of Spy. Like the RED Spy in Mercy who ended up refusing to rat out Sniper and Spy out of solidarity for people in love. Just because one is ruthless, it doesn't necessarily make them cruel; as Sniper says, "professionals have standards." Though I do wish Sniper and RED Spy had told Heavy to STFU. Besides the horrible victim-blaming ("it's totally his fault he freaked out and wanted to get away after being kidnapped, experimented on, turned into a monster and subjected to both terrible pain and animal instincts! It has nothing to do with anything I did! Except for the part where I did the kidnapping and the lying to make it happen, but it's still not my fault!"), the fact is that BLU Spy's escape is completely irrelevant. Even if the guy hadn't escaped, even if he had stayed for as long as it takes to find a cure, the fact stays that without Respawn any cure is worthless to him. And considering how certain Doc was that Spy's condition was irreversible in TDH, there is no way in hell Doc could come up with a cure for something much worse in just a couple of days (and that's assuming he could even do it at all, ever). If RED Spy hadn't taken the initiative to risk his life to help the guy, he would be fucked no matter what.
I desperately want to bump this to see if I can get Anne's attention back to this fic, but I will politely sage. I love this story. I keep hoping it'll update!
I keep reading this over and over. I hope Anne continues this some day! I'm kind of secretly hoping that Sniper at least gets what RED Spy has just so he can visit his Spy's cave without needing dive equipment, but that is my own little pipe dream.