Author's Note:

Another chapter is here! And things happen in it! Can you imagine?
A big thank you, yet again, to KeepingThemAtBay for another review. I really appreciate the input. Although it is only hinted at, and not stated anywhere, Villen is actually forty, or just over that (haven't really decided yet and it gives me some flexibility), so he's not that much older than Genji. I'm glad you like the name of the tanks, it took me some time to choose a good name, and finally decided that Basilisks should be draconic enough;]
Yet again let me know all the spelling/grammatical mistakes I made.
I hope you will enjoy this chapter!


Villen and Mercy walked into the spacious conference room. A large, circular table stood in the middle, surrounded by chairs. It looked out of place, not really fitting the aesthetic of the room. "Winston must have replaced the table with a round one. Treating his companions more like equals…" Villen thought. Even though he hoped otherwise, only a few seats were taken. Opposite the door, was sitting Winston, a large screen behind him, used for presentations. A few chairs to his right. Reinhardt. Next to him, a man Villen didn't meet before. He was short, but bulky, sporting a massive blonde beard. His left arm was a massive robotic, red claw that he rested on the table. Next to him. Genji. To Winston's left was Tracer, the seat next to her empty. On the next chair, Villen noticed the same man that tried to interrogate him earlier. Everyone looked over at them as they entered.

"Ah you're here, good. Come on, take a seat." Winston spoke up. Villen made his way towards the free chair next to Reinhardt, while Mercy took the one next to Tracer.

As they approached the table, Winston spoke again. "As I am not sure who of you met our new ally, let me introduce him." He stood up. "This is Villen Borch and he agreed to help us. And these are Tracer, you know Mercy, Soldier: 76, Reinhardt, Torbjörn and Genji." He said as he pointed with his arm at everyone he was introducing. Tracer gave him a slight giggle and a small wave. Torbjörn saluted briefly with his mechanical arm. Reinhardt welcomed him with a wide smile and a nod. Genji simply nodded. The soldier sitting now almost opposite of him was studying him intently, his face covered by his red visor and mask. He gave a slow nod to acknowledge him. "And of course there is also Athena, out resident AI."

Villen bowed slightly. "An honor to meet those of you I haven't before." He pulled back his chair and took his place at the table.

"Now that introductions are done…" Winston began speaking again. "I would like to get to the reason I called for this meeting. I believe we narrowly avoided the full blown second omnic crisis." A map of Russia appeared behind him. Villen looked around the room, everyone was listening to Winston carefully. "A large omnic force emerged from the Siberian omnium and broke through the Russian defences. Oddly enough, this time the left all the small villages nearby alone, and marched with full force towards the heavier populated areas. Thankfully they were stopped and at this point almost entirely pushed back by the Russian Defence Forces." The screen behind him was adjusting, showing more detail as he spoke. Villen smiled and looked at Angela, sitting almost opposite from him. She was deep in thought. She glanced at the knight and then back at Winston.

"When was this?" She said to the gorilla.

"I don't have exact information, but they broke through the Russian lines… Around 11p.m. yesterday I believe."

Mercy nodded and went into thought again. Winston continued. He was recounting what details he had of the attack, which Villen was happy to hear, did not include an army appearing almost out of nowhere. He smiled again and looked up, seeing Mercy's eyes on him, wide. Villen was impressed how quickly she connected the call he received yesterday with this information. She was looking at him, awaiting confirmation. He nodded slightly. Her eyes opened wider and Villen noticed she was about to say something. Just as Winston finished speaking he took that chance.

"I suppose we should thank the brave Russian soldiers for averting this potential disaster." The knight spoke calmly. "But if the danger is no longer there, why the meeting?" Villen glanced back at Mercy who nodded slightly back at him, understanding what he was trying to do.

Winston nodded. "Right, the reason I called you all here is…" He looked over the people in front of him. "When I received information about this, it was already too late. This time we got lucky, and the crisis got handled. But it might not be like that soon. Overwatch's network is in shambles. We need to get our eyes back, so that we can operate again." He sighed heavily. "What's the point of this recall if we can't do anything."

"Oh, cheer up love!" Tracer's enthusiastic voice rang in the room. "We have already done some missions. So what if we can't respond immediately, to everything. I think you have already done exceptionally well organising all this with what we have." She blinked next to him and patted him on the back. Everyone else voiced their agreement.

"It will take time to bring Overwatch back, Winston." Mercy spoke. "But we are with you. And more will come, too."

"Indeed!" The booming voice of Reinhardt sounded, and Villen felt his heavy arm on his shoulders. "We already have Villen, who wasn't even in Overwatch before!" Villen smiled and nodded in agreement.

"If we can trust him." A gruff voice tempered their enthusiasm. "We barely know anything about him."

"Just like we don't know much about you 76, yet here you are." Mercy responded. "I believe we can trust him, just like I felt we could trust you. We need all the help we can get."

Villen stood up. "I understand your reservations, but I hope to alleviate them at this meeting. If I may, Commander?" He looked over at Winston. The gorrilla nodded and took a seat next to Tracer. "When I allied myself with Overwatch, I told commander Winston that I am not sure what kind of benefits it will bring you, other than my own help."

"Don't worry, Sir, I'm calling Henry."

Villen smiled as he heard Vea's voice. "I have, however, made some arrangements to find out." He pulled out the projector from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him. It immediately flickered to life, a hologram of a man appearing next to Villen. The people present in the room looked at each other and then back at Villen. "This is Henry, my most trusted advisor and friend."

The man in the hologram bowed deeply. "It is an honor to stand before such an exalted assembly." A small giggle escaped Tracer's mouth after she heard that. Villen smiled at the woman.

"He will now present to you, what my house can offer Overwatch." He nodded at Henry.

"As you wish my Lord." He looked at the people in front of him. "I suppose I should start with the funding. We can offer you five hundred million dollars, monthly. It-"

He got interrupted by Winston. He had a look of surprise on his face, as did most others in the room. "Five hundred million a month?" He asked.

"Indeed." Henry responded. "I know it's not much, especially to a once internationally founded organisation, but these are untraceable funds. And you won't need to spend them on most things because of the cover operation."

Winston shook his head in disbelief. "I think I will say that for everyone, that it is much more than we could even hope for at this stage. And what cover operation?"

This time it was the man in the hologram who looked surprised. He turned to Villen.

"Have you not told them anything, my Lord?"

Villen smiled as he felt the gaze of everyone in the room on him. "I did not want to create false hope in the incredibly unlikely event you failed, Henry." The knight winked at him. "And you know I love to surprise people."

Henry just shook his head and turned back to the rest. "Well, Commander Winston, because Watchpoint: Gibraltar is placed relatively close to inhabited areas and it is supposed to be abandoned, your operations here would not go unnoticed for long." Another hologram appeared, this time on top of the projector, displaying the map of the area surrounding the Watchpoint. "But, as it would be a shame to abandon a strategic location such as this, I have been given a task to set up a cover operation here, that would allow you to operate unhindered." The hologram zoomed in and was now showing the Watchpoint itself. "Therefore I have made preparations to turn the Watchpoint and the Rock of Gibraltar itself into a military research facility, as well as a naval base for operations on the Mediterranean. We are also planning to restore the Watchpoint's function monitoring the climate. This will allow us to heavily strengthen the security, and the operations of the base will conceal your movements." The hologram highlighted the changes to the terrain outside of the Watchpoint. Installation of warehouses, docks etc.

"Won't that many people here just limit our movements?" 76 asked. Even he seemed impressed, although it was barely audible in his voice.

"Ordinarily it would, but the personnel was hand picked by me. They are people who were sympathetic towards Overwatch in the past, some former personnel as well. And most importantly these are trusted friends of ours. They know how to keep a secret." He looked around the room looking for more questions but he only found wide eyes staring back at him, as people present tried to process all of this information. This made Henry smile. "This base will of course have its own budget, that should take care of most of your needs, such as food, energy, fuel and ammunition. For the things it doesn't cover, you can use the funds I mentioned earlier. The installation of this facility will of course mean a renovation of the outpost and bringing it up to the newest technological standards." As he talked the hologram zoomed into the Watchpoint itself, highlighting specific rooms and showing the changes, listing the new equipment. "This will include state of the art medical and manufacturing facilities, as well as upgrades to internal security for example. If you are afraid about the secrecy, we have a trusted crew that renovated our… base some time ago. They should be finished with the watchpoint itself within about two months. Probably less." Henry paused to give his audience a moment to process.

After about a minute passed Winston has finally managed to collect himself. "I'm not sure what to say. This is really hard to believe…"

Henry smiled in response and a moment later perked up as he remembered something. "In case you are afraid about the recent Talon attack on the Watchpoint, and the fact they know you are here, Commander, we will spread information to proper channels saying we found evidence of you being here, but you were gone when it was decided to repurpose the Watchpoint."

"I- I didn't even think of that…" Winston scratched his neck with embarrassment.

"How is all of this possible?" Mercy's voice cut through the silence in the room. "Villen, how?"

Villen felt the gaze of everyone on him again. "It took decades to reach this level of influence. I have more power than most would think, but a lot of it is dedicated to keeping my operations a secret." He smiled. "Still, sometimes I find other means to spend that influence. I find reforming the Overwatch a worth cause, so I am willing to put my house behind it. This will mean we will be more involved than ever before, but I hope the fact that you are Overwatch will cover up most of our help. Who is to say how much influence you retained."

"Speaking of reforming Overwatch." Henry added. "I have already started certain movements that should make your return a more… welcome one. It will take a lot of time for it to take effect, but if we are lucky, the UN will ask for you to come back."

"All we need now is the green light from you." Villen turned to Winston.

Winston looked over at everyone, slowly getting nods from each of them as they processed the situation. "Well… I'm not sure what to say… I don't think a simple thank you will suffice…" He paused.

Villen noticed Winston was struggling for words. After waiting a couple more moments and not hearing any protests he decided to take action. "Henry, you heard him. Begin the procedures." Villen smiled.

The man in the hologram bowed. "As you wish, my Lord." The projector turned off and Villen quickly put it back into his pocket.

The silence in the room started to drag on uncomfortably long, but then a loud booming laughter cut right through it. Reinhardt rose from his chair and walked up to Villen giving him a strong bear hug, even lifting him into the air slightly. As he pulled away he grabbed Villen's soldier, the German's face filled with a giant smile. "You are unbelievable! All of this will be a great help!"

A flash of blue light made Tracer appear next to him as well, hugging Villen from the side. "He's right, love. I don't know how you managed it but thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." She said excitedly. Reinhardt let go of one of his shoulders to give Tracer some more room as she jumped up and down, still hugging Villen tightly.

Villen wasn't really sure what to do. He wasn't used to such displays of gratitude, usually gone long before people even got a chance to thank him. "Well I, uh.. I am glad I could help." He was struggling to stay still as Tracer bounced up and down next to him her chronal accelerator digging into his side.

"How can we even begin to repay you?" Winston asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Villen looked over at the gorrilla. He noticed before how much this whole operation meant to the ape. And now, Villen gave him the means to not only continue, but also greatly improve it. The knight could see that Winston was trying to hold back tears of happiness. "There really is no need." He smiled. "All I wish is that you continue to help people and inspire people." The two people touching him parted as the gorrilla made his way to him, giving him another hug. Villen just stood awkwardly, deciding to pat the scientist lightly on the back. Tracer giggled and piled on, hugging them both. Seeing that Reinhardt laughed again and also embraced his friends. Villen was stuck in the middle really unsure what to do.

"Alright, we are all very grateful, but let's not smother the poor man." Mercy's short laughter and happy voice was music to his ears. He gave her a thankful look and smiled. The three people slowly stepped away from him.

"R-right." Winston said trying to sound calm.

"I think we could all use some time to process this, hmm?" Mercy stated smiling and looking at her friends.

The gorilla nodded but turned to Villen. "Are you sure there is not anything we can do?"

"Actually commander," the expression on the knight's face suddenly turned grim and his voice became serious, "now that you mention it, there is one thing."

Everyone was surprised at this sudden change, but Winston's face filled with determination. "Anything."

As suddenly as it changed, Villen's face returned to its previous happy state, and his voice gained a hint of playfulness. "Could I get a room in here? I don't want to keep the bed in the medbay occupied." A wide smile appeared on his face.

After a moment of confusion the group started laughing. Not everyone however was still present. Villen noticed 76 walking out of the room, obviously deciding that the meeting was concluded. The knight made a mental note of that and joined the group in laughter.

"Of course, Villen. I'm sorry I didn't think about it earlier. There are plenty of free rooms you could stay in." Winston said, a smile keeping to his face.

"I can show them to you." Mercy offered, quickly. It gained her a wide eyed look from Tracer, who glanced between her and the knight quickly. But no one seemed to notice it.

"That would be lovely, Lady Angela, thank you."


After everyone left the conference room, Angela and Villen split from the group moving towards the living areas of the base. If either of them turned around the would have seen a cheeky grin on Tracer's face. But they didn't.

As soon as they were out of earshot from the rest of the group Mercy stopped and looked up at Villen. "That urgent call yesterday. It was about the situation in Russia, wasn't it."

Villen turned towards her and smiled. "Indeed. You really are perceptive, Lady Angela. Not many people would have connected the two that quickly."

She averted her gaze for a moment, fighting off a blush that threatened to appear because of the unexpected compliment. She quickly looked back at the knight. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Like I said, I saw no point in worrying you while there was still a chance the situation would be dealt with. And as you see, it has been."

She considered him for a moment. "But not by the, as you called them, brave Russian soldiers alone, right?" She stared at him intently trying to gauge his reaction.

Villen made a quick snort and smiled widely, studying the woman in front of him. "Like I said, very perceptive." After not seeing much change in her expression, as she clearly still awaited the answer, Villen continued. "The Russians may have received some… unexpected reinforcements."

Mercy nodded slowly, considering his words. She started walking forward again and Villen followed next to her. After a few moments of thinking she spoke up. "Wouldn't openly supporting their soldiers but you at a very high risk of being revealed to the world?"

Villen smiled again. He was getting more and more impressed with the woman walking next to him. "Ordinarily, yes. There are however some factors that help in this situation. First of all, Siberia is a rather remote area, which means there are barely any witnesses. Secondly, the Russians are a very proud nation, so they wouldn't be very quick to announce they needed help. And not to mention that I have many defences in place that make revealing my house's existence to the world very difficult."

"Isn't it still very risky, despite all of that?"

"Of course. But I couldn't just sit by in this situation. The omnics had to be stopped before they reached urban centers. Also I believe that they received or are receiving outside assistance. They shouldn't have the resources to field an army this size. I have sent quite a sizable force, equipped with state of the art technology and they still had trouble driving them back. And nobody else would intervene until it was way too late."

Mercy nodded a couple of times. "The Russians must be grateful."

"I'm sure they are, especially since they received the help pretty much for free. And will be left in a much better position than they were in, even before this attack." He turned his head towards Mercy. "So as you can see, there really wasn't a reason to trouble you or your companions, Lady Angela." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I suppose." She stated glancing up at him.

They walked in silence for some time, both deep in thought. Soon they reached the living area of the base. They stopped in front of the door to the complex.

"I-" They both said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed slightly at the situation.

"Go ahead, Lady Angela." Villen said with a smile.

"No, no. You go ahead Villen. I insist." She returned the smile.

Villen nodded. "As you wish. I wanted to apologise for not sharing the information about the attack in Russia. I do not want you to think I do not trust you. It is just… still difficult for me to share information."

"Don't worry Villen, I understand. I actually wanted to apologize as well. In case I sounded accusingly. I guess I'm still a bit overwhelmed. You are doing so much for us." She looked him straight in the eyes.

Villen quickly turned and walked through the door, wanting to get away from this conversation. "Really, Lady Angela, you have nothing to apologise for. And like I mentioned to the commander earlier, no thanks are necessary." Villen's mind was in conflict, he wanted desperately to avoid any more gratitude, not knowing how to deal with it, but simultaneously he really enjoyed talking to Mercy and didn't really want to break the conversation.

Mercy surprised at the sudden change of the knight's mood stood for a moment dumbfounded. Then she quickly caught up to him. "What's wrong, Villen? Did I say something wrong."

The knight stopped in his tracks. He didn't want Angela to blame herself. For some reason he cared about her happiness more than many other people's. "Of course not, Lady Angela." He tried to reassure her with a smile but the result seemed forced. Villen did not like this situation. Being unsure what to do did not sit well with him. And there was also the fact that he really didn't want to upset Mercy.

She took a step towards him and gently grabbed his arm. "What's wrong then?" Her voice was filled with a genuine worry.

"I… I am not very comfortable with all of this gratitude I have received today. I am unsure how to handle it. It is not something I am used to."

Mercy's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You have never been thanked for your actions?"

"I rarely remain on site long enough. I am not doing what I do for recognition. I just enjoy helping people and doing what I think is right."

"That doesn't mean the gratitude is unfounded. There is no shame in accepting it, Villen." She gave him a wide smile and squeezed his arm gently.

The knight considered her words for a moment. "I suppose you are correct. Seems I still have much to learn in my old age." He gave her a wide smile.

She laughed lightly. "Don't we all? Now let's get you settled in." She started leading him down the corridor.

It took them some time to find a room that was in a somewhat presentable condition and didn't require too much work. The room they settled on was on the same floor as Mercy's although the door was in a different corridor. Everything in the room was covered by a thick layer of dust and some dirt here and there but that was the only issue with the room. They have found bedsheets in a sealed bag in one of the cupboards.

"Is there someplace I can get some cleaning supplies?" Villen turned to Mercy.

"There is a supply closet in the corridor to the right. Anything you need should be there." She smiled. "Do you need any help cleaning?"

Villen returned the smile and shook his head. "Oh no, Lady Angela. I am sure I will manage."

Mercy nodded. "Very well then. I shall leave you to get settled in." She went back out into the corridor and Villen followed her.

"Before you go, Lady Angela, I…" He paused for a moment. "I have something for you."

"Really, Villen, you have already done way too much, there-"

"Please, Lady Angela, I insist." He interrupted her, giving her a smile.

"V-very well." She nodded.

Villen pulled out a data stick and a small device in the shape of a dragon scale, not bigger than his palm and only a few millimeters thick. He first handed her the data stick.

"This is all the data and research I have on the nanobots I based on your design. Perhaps you will find something worth implementing in there. And…" He held out his palm, the other device resting on it. "Could you please place your finger on here?" He pointed at the middle of the scale.

Mercy looked up at him from the data stick she has been examining. She was wondering how much information was on there. She looked at the scale and back at Villen, raising her eyebrow in question.

"Don't worry," he said with a wide smile, "it's nothing dangerous."

She considered it for a moment and then placed her finger on top of the device. A slight light got emitted from under it. After a nod from Villen she took away her finger. The knight placed the device on her palm.

"This device is a type of distress beacon. As I swore to protect you, if you are ever in danger and I am not there just activate it by pressing in the same place you placed your finger on. I will make my way to you as fast as possible." Mercy lowered her head as much to examine the device as to hide the blush forming on her face. "Only you can activate it now."

"T-this really isn't necessary…" She said shyly.

"I hope it won't be, Lady Angela. But I will be calmer knowing you have it, just in case." He closed her hand around the device.

"O-okay. Thank you." Villen saw the smile appear on Mercy's face, even though she was still looking down at the device.

"I won't keep you any longer, Lady Angela." He said, taking a step back and bowing. "Thank you for your help in finding me a place to stay, Lady Angela."

She looked up at him still processing the situation. "Y-you're welcome." She muttered.

Villen smiled at her and retreated into his room, closing the door behind him.


If either of them looked down a corridor they would have seen Tracer, who came over to check if they needed any help. They would have seen how when she noticed Villen giving something to Mercy and her looking down, flustered, she retreated around the corner and watched covertly with a grin on her face. But neither of them turned that way, so they didn't see it.

She could see the knight enter his room, closing the door behind him. Mercy standing in front of the door for a few more moments looking down at her hand, where Villen placed something. She saw her friend shake herself out of the confusion as she started heading down the corridor, still looking down, twisting something in her hand. The problem was, she was coming towards Lena.

Tracer retreated entirely around the corner, thinking what to do. After a moment she decided the course of action. She moved away from the corner, waiting for Mercy to get closer, and then walked around it, pretending she had just come this way. She nearly bumped into her friend who was too focused on the device in her hand to notice Tracer. As she did in the last moment she got slightly startled.

"Lena!" Mercy exclaimed in shock. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. What are you doing here?"

"I just came over to see if you loves need any help." The Brit replied cheerily.

Tracer noticed a momentary flash of read on Mercy's cheeks and had to focus really hard to contain a giggle. Mercy quickly put the things she got from Villen in her pockets.

"We actually just found a room for Villen, so you are a bit late." Mercy smiled at her friend, now much calmer.

"I see. Well how about we go grab some coffee since you are free now, huh love?" Tracer pointed behind her with her thumb, a wide grin on her face.

"You know what, Lena. I'd love that."