It's nine o'clock in the morning. A beam of light slithers to the curtain, illuminating the mechanic's face, forcing him to squint and sigh. He moved his head to another point on the pillow that was out of the way of the light, only to be confronted with a sweaty and warm area. The entire surface of the pad, as well as the covers he's under, is sweaty. He flips his blanket and pillow around and is welcomed by coldness, to which he smiles and continues to sleep. A demanding voice and a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Hey, are you awake?" the muffled voice said.

"The fuck do you want? I'm resting. I deserve this." he replied, raising his head out of the pillow.

"Sorry ta disturb ya, but the Protagonist wants ta speak ta ya."

He mumbles in frustration, ripping the blanket off his warm body, and stomps to his small bathroom.

"Sir? ah insist ya speak ta 'im immediately!" the voice worriedly said.

"Tell him he can suck my dick! I'll meet him in a bit," he grumbled, splashing water on his hair.

"Uh, okay…" the voice wandered off.

(Valve Studio Orchestra - Upgrade Station plays)

Grabbing a comb, he gently brushed it through his hair, each stroke making his long hair more formal than an afro. He opens a hair gel container, scoops a small amount onto his index finger, and gently rubs his hands to get an even coat. He strokes his hair back, making his scalp shine with the gel. His hair appeared to be beautiful. He finished his hygiene ritual in the bathroom, pleased. Returning to the main room, he walks past his bed and opens his closet, revealing a complete set of his mercenary clothing, weapons, and other mechanical instruments required for the profession.

The top left corner of the closet housed a shotgun rack, primarily the Frontier Justice, the Australium variant, and the stock shotgun. Spare Gunslingers might be found on the bottom left, with some serving varied roles such as building, medical, and full-on slaughter mode. The engineer in the middle was dressed differently than the other engineers he worked with. His sturdy boots and belt were beige or brown, with many compartments for shotgun rounds and pistol magazines on the belt. It contained two knife sheaths and a large 6x6 magazine pouch on the back, which served as inventory rather than its primary role. A custom-made holster attached to his belt may lock a handgun and a revolver to his thighs. The brown overalls had some wear, revealing the white stitching and lining in the fabric, as well as some holes from bullets due to years of warfare against the BLU team. His red work shirt remained in the same state, with the embroidered engineer patches still intact after all these years. Fortunately, such damage was hidden by a heavy beige tactical plate carrier, as were the armor plates on his arms that concealed the embroidered patches on his work shirt. The arm armor was spray-painted a red base color, followed by a brilliant orange outline of the engineer insignia. Seeing himself in the mirror in such an ensemble made him feel bigger and bulkier due to the number of objects attached. He notices that the yellow on his knee pads is peeling, revealing the gray base color underneath. He picks the Texas Ten Gallon and heads out the door and into the corridor, making a mental note to refinish the kneepads.

(Valve Studio Orchestra - Upgrade Station ends)

As he strolled down the corridor, he saw that almost everyone looked the same. Everyone wears the same shoes, overalls, shirt, and bright yellow construction, with a few exceptions such as the addition of other Texas Ten Gallons, Data Mining Lights, Safe'n'Sounds, Conagher's Combover, Plumber's Hat, and so on. He turned at the end of the hall and found himself at the back of the line for the Teleporter Room. Rather than using the bus or any other form of transportation, such brilliant minds devised the concept of a chamber that could transfer you to any location on the planet. After a while, he peered above each of the teleporters for indications indicating where it led. Teufort, Gorge, Sawmill, Gravelpit, and Badwater Basin were some options, but the most important one to him was one labeled Mario Kart and stepped onto the teleporter.

(Valve Studio Orchestra - Main Theme plays)

It took him to a red spawn room with other members of the RED team, all of whom were playing around and fighting each other rather than the other team, as planned. The same can be valid for the outer world, which is more unpredictable and chaotic than what was happening inside the spawn. Ignoring such chaos is the most excellent approach to dealing with it. He strolled quietly to the metal roll-up door, where he was confronted by a BLU engineer erecting a sentry. The two exchanged silent stares, with the BLU engineer lifting a Wrangler, implying he chose what he intended to murder.

"Do what you want. I don't care if you spawn camp." he nodded as he walked past the enemy engineer.

The BLU engineer nodded as the level three sentry waited for any RED members to emerge. The RED engineer walked onto the enormous bumper car track that surrounded the main blue building, narrowly avoiding two heavies speeding down the track in their little bumper cars and a black van. After passing, the main building is within reaching distance. He understood why everyone would come here. It is colorful and lifelike compared to the RED, and BLU teams fought in other areas. Instead of fighting, there are areas to hang out, dance, and eat. Not to mention a viral area within the location that everyone knows. As the RED mechanic walked around the building to the other side, he could see a rather large group of mercenaries surrounding a man playing the guitar elegantly, which they were easily swayed to. He observes a sign to his right in the back of the crowd, with the words hastily written but still legible. It said, "Guitar Lessons." When the BLU engineer looked up and spotted the distinctive RED mechanic staring at him, he grinned and waved back.

(Valve Studio Orchestra - Main Theme ends)

"Hey, ladies and gentlemen, ah'm goin' be awn break now, gawt some business to attey-nd t'!" the Texan announced gleefully in his thick accent, sliding the guitar to his back. "Ruben, kay-yun ya covher for me?"

He observed the BLU engineer struggle to walk around the mob, taking care not to trample on his followers. A cheerful personality is pitted against a gloomy one.

"So, the Protagonist. What the hell do you want this time? Hmm?" he questioned firmly with his hands on his hips. "To kill? To spread your influence? You are still a mercenary right?"

"Let's discuss this privately, Ronin." the Protagonist whispered.

"Oh, another secret mission, how surprising."

The two mechanics strolled over to an adjacent table near the main bumper track. Even though the fighting is continual, the attitude of disregarding such disturbance compels everyone around you to avoid attacking you, except for newbies.

"What's the mission?" Ronin asked reluctantly, crossing his arms with his legs on the table while the Protagonist sat formally.

"Some awf maah fellow engineers' ave reported that their 'as bee-in a strayggler…" the Protagonist chirped, knowing that such a report would make Ronin delighted, and he was right. The RED engineer sat up and creepily smiled, leaning in to hear more of what he had to say.

"Who, when, where, and how much?" he asked.

The Protagonist grinned.

It's eight o'clock in the morning. Noise from passing cars and pedestrians was deafening outside his window, but he paid it little mind. He took it in as soothing background music. Even though he was already drenched in sweat, he walked out onto the balcony and brushed the clothing he had hung outside to one side. In terms of apartments, it was adequate; it had received an average of three stars on a website dedicated to helping people discover suitable housing, and it was located next to a forest. There was a single bed, a couch, a TV in a drawer, and a bathroom in this space. A clear line of sight between the buildings from his apartment room was located on a T-intersection. Countless lines stretch beyond infinity. Everything is so immaculately tidy that it's almost hypnotic.

"Let's go watch some television." the RED mechanic said to himself as he shrugged off his trance.

He walked to a small cabinet that acted as his pantry, in which he pulled out an instant-ramen box. Added water, popped it into the microwave for a minute, grabbed chopsticks, and turned on the television.

"Ah, another villain defeated!" he smiled as he slurped the ramen into his mouth.

He had always been fascinated by the concept of superheroes. Something from your childhood, perhaps something you read in comic books or saw as an animated series on television, felt beautiful and awe-inspiring. It's now a reality. Real superheroes are at odds with real supervillains. He couldn't believe his eyes. Living in a superhero movie every day. He chuckled and threw away his cup to get ready for work. He shut his door, walked down the stairs, and made a few last-minute adjustments to his uniform before leaving. He didn't want to be casual, he reasoned. Of course, he was a mechanic, now working for cars, as that part of him would never leave him because being a mechanic was all he knew. He was raised in Texas, went to school, and earned degrees and awards, but never had the opportunity to socialize outside of communicating with his fellow engineer buddies. His life's thoughts led him to a grim reminder that, deep down, he, too, was a killer, a mercenary, as his parents taught him. That was the one thing he wanted to get rid of, but it seemed to follow him everywhere he went. So he reasoned, what if he traveled to a world where mercenaries and assassins aren't commonplace? He'd always known that those kinds of things in life would never go away, but as long as he had no connection to them, he'd be happy. He can't go back to his former life now, especially after what he's done to his engineering friends.

"Hey John, are you all right?" a Japanese voice said.

"Huh?" he exclaimed as he came out of his daze.

"You look distraught."

"No, no, I'm alright," he answered faintly, with a feeble smile.

His coworker was perplexed by his unusual behavior but dismissed it. Of course, it's going to be a long day. Customers come and go from the company's facility, and some repairs take hours to complete. However, because they employed this unusual, quirkless foreigner, it took half the time, if not less, to repair. Despite his extraordinary abilities, he was paid the same. They would rarely get heroes to come in for car repairs, but it was nevertheless inspiring to see them in the shop, even if it was only some lower-tier heroes. He got quite excited at times, and some people looked at him strangely, but they understood since he was quirkless. The car's engine was malfunctioning during one repair, and the other workmen didn't seem to know what was wrong with it.

"Oh! Let me see!" he happily walked over to help. "It isn't the fuel but rather the piston. See how it is warped? It wasn't refined that well, or they used a lesser metal. That's why it is making that weird grinding noise."

Despite his terrible Japanese, all, including the car owner, understood him and gratefully thanked him. As they proceeded to work on the engine, an explosion happened, although it was not dangerous because it was just exhaust and smoke, forcing everyone to flee the shop. The former RED mercenary carried and evacuated most of the clients despite his lungs being filled with smoke. Many people were grateful, but it didn't matter since he raced back inside to see if anyone else was there, calling and shouting to see if there was a response.

"John! Where are you!" one of his coworkers yelled.

"I'm-I'm here!" he waved his hand to clear the smoke near his face as he exited the building.

"Whew, thought you were a goner!" she exclaimed.

"Don't worry, and it was a minor explosion, nothing too serious-"

He paused. He hadn't felt this way in a long time. Someone was looking at him. Someone terrible, and he realized that his former life had finally come up with him.

"Hey, are you o-WAIT!" his coworker exclaimed as he started running in the opposite direction. She noted that he didn't seem to be racing to reach somewhere but rather to get away from something.

John knew that all his equipment was at his apartment, but he'd be dead by the time he got a mile away. He turned around to see whether it was still after him. All because of a golden shimmer cast by the sun peeking through the shrubs.

"No! No! Leave me alone!" he cried.

His only hope was if a superhero saved him at the last minute, but he was a realistic man; not every hero had time for every decent citizen in the city, and there were more significant problems. His only choice was to approach a rather large building near him that was oddly shaped like an H and get help from there. Every second counts, he said to himself in his brain. As he got closer, his pursuer got closer.

"Help! Someone help!" he groaned as he ran out of air and adrenaline. Sweat had stained his garments, turning them a darker shade than they should have been.

He could see the entrance to the H-shaped building as he approached closer. If he weren't being pursued, he'd think the structure is gorgeous and grand, with pristine walls and arches around it. He could say it's quite a sight to behold. He had no time to admire himself because he was about to be slaughtered. When John sees the blue arch with the letters "UA" on top, he starts yelling and waving his hand.

"Hey! Hey!" John waved as he observed the guards from within the walls nearing the blue arch.

"Someone is approaching the entrance!" one of the guards yelled. "Get ready!"

"I'm coming!" Midnight exclaimed as she appeared to assist the guards.

John is relieved to see Midnight, one of the more popular heroes, come to assist him to his aid once he explains everything to them.

"Halt!" Midnight yelled as she put her hand up at the entrance.

"Wait, I can explain!" John wheezingly grunted. "He's after me!"

"What? Who?" Midnight demanded.

"Him!" the panicked former mercenary pointed to the bushes.

Although Midnight and the guards saw nothing along the various trees and bushes in the surrounding area, the man who came up to the high school appeared to be very distressed. Sweaty, out of breath, and with a fearful expression, she hasn't seen in a long time. This is serious business or the individual in issue is insane. His body language gave her all she needed to know.

"Take him inside and keep an eye on him!" Midnight gave the order as the guards hurried past her and helped John into the high school.

"Thank you so much!.." John profusely said as he hastily hopped away. "But be careful!"

"Don't be concerned!" To reassure him, the skimpy hero turned to face him.

A frigid voice behind her asked, "Where are you taking him?"

Midnight glanced around to find a sizeable bulky man standing motionless in front of the school door. He was wearing a white-brimmed cowboy hat, dark empty goggles, brown overalls with a red shirt, tan boots and belt, red shoulder armor with a wrench symbol on both arms, and a tan plate carrier. Not to mention carrying a strange, bright, shiny yellow shotgun in his hands, as well as a handgun and a revolver on each of his hips.

"What is he to you?" Midnight stated sharply, looping her whip over her arm and taking a more offensive position. "Who are you?"

Ronin's gaze was drawn to another man nearing the entrance. It wasn't one of the guards, but a scruffy long man in black, wearing yellow goggles and a big gray scarf.

"Look. You have no idea what you are dealing with. If he doesn't come back to me, they will come here. They all will. And they will never stop doing so."

"No," the man in black answered coldly, his eyes red.

The RED mercenary raised his shotgun and fired on the pair, forcing them to duck and split in two. He swung his Frontier Justice to the side and dueled equipped his handgun and revolver, shooting haphazardly and grazing Midnight. Eraser Head noticed the armed man was quirkless, as he felt no power being taken away from him. He ran in a zigzag pattern, deploying his scarf to grab the intruder's robotic hand. Ronin strains and wraps the scarf around his arms even more tightly before yanking it towards himself, prompting the scarf hero to fly over to him. Then he turned his body and let his left-hand land a deadly blow on his body, knocking him to the ground. Grunting in pain, the hero rapidly raised a loose portion of his scarf and whipped it around the mercenary's head. Ronin, who was blind, shot the teacher in the leg with his rifle. Grunting in pain, the RED engineer positioned it right where Eraser Head's head was, but not before a long whip from the recuperating Midnight materialized and coiled around his neck, tugging his head back. Then a thick pink mist descended on Ronin, rendering his fierce effort and despair futile as his shouts became more lethargic before dropping into the cold pavement. He last heard people and sirens in the distance, presumably from law enforcement.

He was in a cool, below-average-room-temperature room. Struggling was pointless because he felt his limbs fastened to a chair that was strangely bright with lights. And it was spotless. He knew he would die or be interrogated when he felt himself go down, but not like this. This questioning area felt child-friendly and peaceful as if these folks have no idea what danger is. A massive thick glass wall stood in front of him, and two people stood behind it. The glass pane didn't appear tinted, but I knew one of the walls was a one-way mirror. Ronin knows since he has been in many of these situations before.

"I'll say again, who are you?" Eraser Head asked.

The mercenary remained silent. Present Mic frowned as he looked at his friend Eraser Head and then at the mercenary.

"So uh, is this guy alright? He looks…unhinged." Present Mic pointed out.

"The police forensic took fingerprints and blood samples; odd enough, nothing showed in our system. They even asked the police in America. He's a ghost." Eraser Head turned to look at Present Mic crossing his arms. "The only thing we got is his name. Ronin. Engraved on his golden shotgun."

Eraser Head moves his chair forward, placing his hands on the narrow ledge offered by the glass wall.

"I know that's a wrench, obviously…" he points at the mercenary's shoulder patch. "Are you a mechanic?"

Ronin stayed silent for several minutes before opening up.

"There is a small handheld radio in one of my pouches. Channel five. The guy will explain everything."

Eraser Head narrowed his eyes and slowly walked out of the room, only to return five minutes later with the portable radio in his hand. He sat down, looked at the radio, and carefully turned the dial to number five. He pressed the button on the side.

"Hello?" Eraser Head sleazy spoke.

"Hello, Ronin?" a cheerful man piped up.

"I am being held hostage! Can you teleport me out of here!" Ronin rapidly spoke.

"Well…I can't do that exactly. Uh…I close-fisted ya ahr in an another world an pinpointin' yo-wr location would be…very 'ard" the Protagonist worryingly said.

"What?" The mercenary spoke with venom.

"Uh, thuh way we teleported ya was quite…experimental. Ya see we were still figurin' out thuh dark energy equations while we were riggin' ya uhp t' thuh teleporter."

"You fucker, you mean to tell me I'm stuck here?!"

"Don't-don't worry Ronin, we will git ya soon…I hope…"

"Can't you get Mundy to help you?!"

Eraser Head and Present Mic glanced at each other, silently commenting on the thick southern accent the man has.

"Eh, Mundy works for thuh Combaahn now, eend ah don't want 'em in our business after what happened."

Ronin inhaled slowly through his nose. Silence. After that, he exhaled.

"ETA?"

"Ah don't know Ronin, wer still tryin' t' figyhaw this shit out, but we will git ya eventually!" the Protagonist softly laughed.

The radio cut silent.

"Now. Since it looks like you are stuck here and in no position to argue…" Eraser Head spoke as he gently placed down the radio next to him and regained his composure. "Who are you?"

Ronin glanced at the scruffy man, thinking there was no way out of this; he should tell them who he was before he died.

"My name is Ronin Conagher. I am part of the Reliable Excavation Demolition for Team Fortress Industries. I specialize with all things mechanical and can build a wide range of weapons of destruction and have eight science PhDs." he roughly summarized.

"So…you are a contractor?"

"Yes…a hired gun. I was sent here by the man you heard on the radio to kill one of my own."

"The man you hunted for…he's also a contractor?"

"Yes, and can you elaborate on why your friend was so keen on protecting a man whose hands are dirty."

"We are heroes. We save innocent people and then ask questions later. It's our nature." Eraser Head stated. "But now, since we have some sort of testimony…we will see what we can do."

"We're out of here." Eraser Head said as he finished his gesture. Both heroes rose from their seats and left the room.

As slack was in the restraints, the RED mercenary shifted his arms slightly. Eraser Head and Present stood outside the interrogation door, watching heroes Ms. Joke and Gunhead leave the one-way mirror room.

"So, what do we do with him?" Ms. Joke happily asked.

"I will tell the police to put Ronin in a medium security prison until this is resolved." Eraser Head stated. "I'll call Recovery Girl to see what John's well-being is."

(Heaven Pierce Her - Into the Fire plays [0:59])

A powerful explosion erupted inside the room, slightly rocking the structure. Eraser Head and the other three heroes ran in to find the strapped RED mercenary went and a gaping hole in the ceiling.

"Quick, get the alarm!" Gunhead shouted as the police scrambled.

Ronin sprinted across the platform, alarms ringing, breathing quickly as he stretched his arms to clear a tiny gap. With the Gunslinger's assistance, it gained enough friction to hold the smooth concrete ledge and drag itself to the next rooftop. He felt a little missile puncture his leg as soon as he stood up, causing him to stumble forward. Grunting, he looked back to see the hero Gunhead approaching him, ready to fire his claw-like shots. With his equipment stripped, the mercenary had to limp forward, straining his damaged leg. His determination got him to the other side of the structure. A voice shouted behind him as he was about to make another risky jump.

(Heaven Pierce Her - Into the Fire pauses)

"Stop right there!" Gunhead commanded.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Ronin teased, facing the masked man. "Do it."

The mercenary gradually assumed a battle posture, only to be startled by a green-haired woman wearing an orange bandana coming up on him. Ronin promptly attempted a backhand on her, but she dodged it and countered with a strong hook. Then, Gunhead fired another missile at the mercenary's other leg, causing Ronin to yell in pain and fall to his knees.

"Kill me! Do it!" Ronin angrily demanded, but his plea was stopped as a silver scarf appeared out of nowhere and began wrapping him from head to toe.

"Geez, what a troublemaker." Eraser Head commented. "Let's go."

Ronin had one more trick up his sleeve, similar to how he broke free from his bondage, in which he allowed the Gunslinger's hand to detach itself. It developed into a conscious entity.

"What the hell is that!" Ms. Joke pointed out as she saw something small scurrying.

(Heaven Pierce Her - Into the Fire resumes)

Eraser Head and Gunhead whirled around to see a little robotic spider-like hand creeping quickly towards them. They were caught off guard when its latching claws met the scuffed man's face.

"Aaagh!" he yelled in pain as he felt his claws digging further into his face.

When the diversion occurs, Ronin's Gunslinger turns brilliant orange and begins to eat away at the cloth, slowly burning the smooth fabric that encases him. When his robotic stub was released, the stump opened a small hole through which a small metal rectangle sprang out and proceeded to morph into a hand. Small wires and motors worked progressively into the fingers' joints and digits until they were fully completed. The appendages then merged to form a sharp tapered point as a shank, from which he cut himself free with a single rapid wrist motion. Eraser Head sustained numerous deep slashes on his face after Gunhead shot multiple saw rounds at the robotic spider, but the harm was done when it was disabled. Despite his horror, he swiftly rose and turned to confront the RED mercenary, who had pummeled Ms. Joke at his mercy while holding the hand blade to her neck, slightly drawing blood.

"Interfere with me again, and someone dies." Ronin coldly stated. "You have no idea what you are up against."

Sensing that they would not stop hunting him, the mercenary's Gunslinger changed into a hand, roughly grabbed Ms. Joke's collar, and hurled her over the building with one arm. Aizawa dashed over the edge of the building, grabbing Ms. Joke with whatever was left of the scarf. Before Gunhead could fire his rounds, the Gunslinger transformed into a hand blade and aimed at him, piercing his collarbone with the tiny spike. The force flung him back, allowing the RED mercenary to quickly inspect the buildings around him before leaping into the dark alleyways below.

(Heaven Pierce Her - Into the Fire ends)

Ronin took cover behind a dumpster after traversing numerous tight dark alleys without pausing. He cautiously examined the buildings from top to bottom to check if anyone had followed him. Assuming the coast was clear, the fatigued mercenary collapsed on his back and removed his goggles and Texas Ten Gallon, wiping the sweat from his brow with his red work shirt. He knew he was in a world of shit. Sure, he battled robots, demons, bread monsters, and Merasmus in another realm, but teleporting to a parallel Earth without prior information was a tremendous error, especially on a planet where people dressed strangely and were stronger than him. To survive, he would need to learn and adapt to this new world while also completing the task assigned to him by the Protagonist.

"How much longer?" the Protagonist asked.

"Uh...give me a few more days," the lead engineer said, scratching his brow.

"Mo-wr days means mo-wr taahm that wer losin'" the Protagonist responded to such an answer. "E' could be buzzard food or mo-wr horribly…"

He turned around to face the engineer.

"Since 'es in another world, taahm could work differently. Taahm could move fuh-aster thair than hair, so a day maahyt be several weeks for 'em or vaahce versa" rambled the BLU mechanic, putting his head down.

"E' maahyt thihnk we abandoned 'im, an once thuh rescue team comes, 'e maahyt beef some awf us…just get through as across lots as ya kay-yun an put me in."

"B-but sir-"

"Ah don't care. Ah gawt 'im into this mess, eend it's maah responsibility t' may-uk it raahyt."

"The teleporter is very unstable, it could teleport you anywhere!"

"I'm have a mindd-ta t' tay-uk that chahns" the Protagonist said bluntly. "Also, tell thuh boys t' covher thuh ceilin' with mo-wr lead eend isolate thuh power. We don't want thuh Combaahn trayckin' us."

The Protagonist departed the Teleporter room and walked outdoors into the soft grass, observing the local wildlife and plants. A flight of birds passed by, drawing his attention to his peers in the distance, some of whom were playing sports and others who were sharing their engineering abilities down the hill. In the trance of such a vision, he grabbed a blue toolbox from his pouch and beat it with his Gunslinger till it created a Rancho Relaxo. He swung the guitar into his hands, sat on the reclining seat, and began softly playing the guitar.

"Oh…I'm falling in and out again…" he softly hummed, remembering what transpired several years ago.