Amelie Shimada hated it when her husband did this. Going off into the mysterious nexus that appeared in Hanamura to have fights she did not believe actually took place. This happened a few times now, and while Hanzo had been away for only a few hours, he claimed to have been away for days. And met the likes of orcs, demons, aliens and other mythical creatures.
Hanzo went on about them for hours, yet Amelie still didn't believe his stories. Even when he said that Lena, Aleksandra, Genji, Lucio, Jamie and Hana joined him for various battles.
Today was one of those days, where the nexus appeared and Hanzo simply felt compelled to enter. And so she waited in the castle's courtyard, having to explain to the servants about his disappearance and that she had no idea when he would turn up again.
Finally, at late afternoon, Hanzo emerged from the nexus, and his wife slapped him.
"Hanzo, what took you so long?" Amelie started to scald her husband, starting to slap him again. But what drew the Frenchwoman's attention more than where Hanzo was all this time was the couple he reappeared with. A man with disheveled hair, an outfit similar to that old movie character Han Solo, a tattoo of a skull with the words Heaven's Devils surrounding it on his arm and quite the advanced looking gun at his side. And the woman, with long red hair, sharp green eyes and a white and blue body suit just as form-fitting as her old Widowmaker outfit. They appeared to be spending more time looking at their bizarre surroundings than paying attention to their hosts.
"So this is Earth?" the woman asked her companion, clinging onto him in a way that would make Amelie assume the two were married. "I would have thought the homeworld would be quite desolate."
"Easy there darlin'" the man tried explaining. "As Hanzo said, this is not the same Earth of the Directorate or our world. It's a world where we don't exist. Not yet anyway."
"Who are they?" Amelie asked her husband.
"These are two I became friends with in the Nexus. Having fought by their side in the course of many battles," the arched motioned for them to come over to meet Amelie.
"The name's Jim Raynor, ma'am," Jim Raynor reached out to shake Amelie's hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"And I'm Sarah Kerrigan," Sarah did the same. "Hanzo told us so much about you."
"Okay," Amelie slowly accepted both of their hands, unsure of the situation, given its suddenness. "Why didn't you tell me we were having company?" she asked Hanzo condescendingly.
"It was a spur of the moment thing, after fighting on one of their planets," Hanzo explained, with Amelie maintaining an air of skepticism around her. "They've never been to earth before and I figured I'd oblige them."
"They're not going to be here for long, are they?"
"A few days tops. They just want to see Japan then go back. It took me a while to talk them out of going to America. And they won't cause any trouble."
Amelie looked over at the two strangers again, both trying to comprehend the strange place they found themselves in. Sarah constantly made sure a part of her body was touch Jim's as they tried figuring out the different places surrounding them, it becoming evident neither understood Japanese. Plus, the Frenchwoman remembered hearing their names somewhere before.
Amelie resolved to at least make these two feel welcome, as she headed over to them to get to know them better.
"So where are you two from?" Amelie tried being more accepting of these guests.
"We come a part of the Milky Way called the Korpulu sector, from the year 2510," Sarah plainly said.
Hearing what year these two were from gave Amelie a minor panic attack. "You brought people from the future here to our time?" Amelie reacted harshly to Hanzo.
"There's not from our future, at least I don't think so," Hanzo said.
"Relax Amelie, it's not like that," Jim tried explaining. "As far as we know, me and Sarah here are just video game characters. Characters that Hana girl really likes."
"Oh Hana Song, I see you've met her," Amelie said while taking a sip of her drink. "She keeps trying to visit this amusement park in California that has some rides from the game I think you're talking about. StarCraft I think it's called."
"An amusement park?" Sarah asked, confused at the thought of having the military experiences she lived through turned into family entertainment.
"Yeah, from what I've seen, there's a golden pyramid, a giant blue rock rotating on top of a food court and a tank on some rocks."
"Is there anything zerg-related there?" Sarah asked.
"If you mean those bug creatures, there's a flying one that just circles the main lake."
"Enough about that, let's show you this world called earth," Hanzo finally declared as he took the group down the streets that lay outside of Hanamura.
Jim and Hanzo took the lead of the group, with the space-human admiring the Japanese urban sprawl, making comparisons to planets from his part of the galaxy, like Tarsonis and Korhal. Amelie could only guess they had similar large cities or, if watching various futuristic movies taught her anything, they could have covered the whole surface of those worlds. Jim pointed out places he thought would be a good place for them all to eat, but Hanzo kept saying either he didn't like it in there or the food was shit.
But what really intrigued the Frenchwoman was Sarah. She had obviously heard bits and pieces about her in passing from Hana's conversations about StarCraft lore. And what she got in front of her was, well, not what she had expected. And why was she with Jim, a man who, on the surface to her at least, appeared to be no more than a better kempt version of Jesse? The redhead was busy trying to absorb the strange environment around her, occasionally dragging a hand to her head, her face wincing in pain.
"Sarah, if you don't mind me asking," Amelie started to say, "but from what little knowledge I've retrained from Hana's ramblings, aren't you supposed to be like, . . . um?"
"Like what, Amelie?" Sarah responded.
"Like . . . green and purple?"
"Oh, with boney wings and yellow eyes to complete the ensemble?" Sarah completed the Frenchwoman's thought. "I was freed from that form a while ago, though I can call forth whatever powers I need to in the nexus. And didn't Hanzo say at one point you had purple skin?"
"Touche," Amelie left the conversation at that, though Sarah could sense something deeper about this woman. Something she could easily feel akin too. Nothing a look-around her head couldn't find out.
"Amelie," Sarah started to speak, her voice changing to one of sympathy. "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry?" Amelie was taking off-guard by this change of conversation. "Sorry for what?"
"So- . . . Oh I'm so sorry, this time I really am. I got a glimpse of your thoughts and some fragments of your past."
"My, my thoughts?"
"Yeah, I'm a telepath. That's just something humans colonizing space in the future leads to I guess. That's what led the old confederacy to take me into the ghost program. From what I've gathered in your head, you've gone through the same things I have."
"So you know I have no special gifts? Talon kidnapped me, brainwashed and turned me into a monster because of my former husband?"
"Not all that different from how the Confederacy and Dominion used to recruit new soldiers. Mostly that or they just use prisoners. But yeah, not just the old Confederacy, but the zerg twisted my mind to make myself the Queen of Blades. Weirdly enough, that's what led me to save the universe.
"Excese-moi?" Amelie was confused at that last statement.
"That's a long story and I don't think you'd want all the details."
Sarah stopped to further admire the scenery around her
"So Jim seems like, . . .uh," Amelie tried turning the conversation around to that interest of hers, but couldn't think of anything to say that Sarah wouldn't find insulting.
"You want me to say what I see in Jim, right?" Sarah completed her thought. "Telepath, remember?"
Amelie shrugged, suggesting that was what she wanted to know.
"Well we saved the universe together, for one thing, with our protoss friends. But being a telepath, I constantly know how many people are attracted to me, and seeing all their dirty thoughts. Jim was no exception, right down to the first time we met. But as we spent more time together, watching each other's backs while fighting the confederacy, he was easily the noblest person fighting for the sons of Korhal. He moved heaven and earth to bring me back to my human form and I did the same for him when Dominion forces captured him.
"Now for you and Hanzo," Sarah turned the attention onto Amelie, "let me see if I got this correctly. You feel kinship for him because you were both forced to kill loved ones when you didn't want to? And you both worked to make amends for that?"
"Not as impressive, I know," Amelie responded.
"If it works for both of you, that's all that matters."
"Now if you don't mind, I rather you not look around my head."
"It's alright, I think I have all the info I need. Right now, you have abilities that you didn't have in your former life. And while they've been used for evil before, now you're using them for good. When I was finally shed of the Queen of Blades' identity, I used my Xel'Naga powers to restore life to various worlds across the sector."
Amelie had no idea what a Xel'Naga was and she didn't want to know.
"And from what I can gather, you're at least making this world safer with this Overwatch organization of yours with the sniper skills you've been given, are you not?"
"I suppose."
"I used to not believe in fate or prophecies. But after everything I've been through, fate may have bigger plans for all of us. Maybe that's something you'll realize in due time."
"What are you two still doing back there?" Jim shouted, noticing the two women have fallen behind him and Hanzo. "We have a whole new world to see!"
Sarah and Amelie rushed back up to their husbands, with the two visitors eager again to explore planet earth. And Amelie felt her and Sarah would get along just fine.
