Were it so easy

James couldn't fathom what he had just heard. He had dedicated himself to safeguarding the Core Systems and the Frontier for nine years, trying to eradicate the likes of the Frontier Militia, but now? Thanks to the Fold Weapon, he's in the wrong place to be.

He wanted to believe he time travelled to the past, but the more he thought about the anomalies and the ratag group of soldiers he encountered, the more distant he felt from home. Based on what he knew about the IMC and Earth's history, the first prototypes of combat automated droids like Spectres weren't even developed in the 21st century, let alone the first Marvins. Not just that, there is no documented history of cyborg ninjas, cowboys in battle during the 21th century.

However, James' utmost concerns aren't them. Right now, he and Erik are now seen as hostiles by these otherworldly soldiers of this Earth. Who knows what they have in store for them? That thought made the IMC Pilot tense, his breathing erratic, muscles tenser, don't know what the hell to do next but wait.

He sighed. Reminiscing about the possibility of time travelling and to Earths in alternate universes, just like in sci-fi novels and movies. He had heard logs recorded in the IMC Dynamic Testing Facility on Typhon, which some of its researchers postulated that the Fold Weapon was built with a different purpose, not mass destruction. If their hypothesis were correct, James' arrival on Earth would be the proof, albeit in a catastrophic fashion.

"Lost for words? Relax man, at least we are still alive. It pays to be the strong silent type." seeing James disturbed by such a revelation, Erik chuckled and mocked James.

Being poked fun for his sentimentality, James calmed his nerves, tried to maintain his composure. But even that couldn't stop his heart pounding like a drum? Relax? he thought, Wondering what will happen to them next: Getting interrogated, getting taken as POWs, if not getting executed, his Titan being taken from him. All these doubts made him struggle to keep afloat.

"Attention, arriving shortly at Watchpoint Gibraltar." a female voice, broadcasted throughout the dropship, alerting the passengers on their arrival.

"Alright, yer heard Athena, now get ready yerselves for the welcoming party," stood in front of the two Pilots, McCree tried moving his cybernetic arm, damaged and out of order, producing screeching noises. He reminisced how Erik Fukuda, the soldier in blue visor, managed to defend and fight back at himself and Genji.

"Gotta say… you're pretty good." holding the knife that struck his arm, McCree pointed it at Erik.

"Not my first time." seeing the damage he caused, Erik smirked under his helmet.

"Alright, time to throw away your happy thoughts. Don't try to make our day rough again, or else we won't be as lenient as before, especially you, James." The soldier with white hair and beard and two scars across his face and mouth, warned the two Pilots and looked at the man who struck him dead in the eye.

"We'll see about that." James replied back with a stern glare. For now, James decided to give the guys the benefit of doubt that they meant no ill-intent of arresting him. But if proven wrong, resistance is always an option, and he'd damn sure he would try.


Watchpoint Gibraltar, 7:41 am

The morning sun shone upon Overwatch's orbital launch and research facility situated on the Rock of Gibraltar, illuminated the rock with colours of red-orange and gleaming the surrounding Mediterranean Sea with pearls of silver, and concatenated it with the borderless, clear azure sky, a fresh beginning for a new day. And this new day provided Overwatch with more safekeeping tasks, newer things to check out. At the hangar bay stood 2 warriors, looking across the horizon as two aircrafts headed towards their direction, anticipating the return of their comrades and new spoils.

Landed on their destination, 76 unshackled the Pilots' leg cuffs, yanked them up by the elbows, before pushing them towards the extended side ramp, as Ana, McCree and Genji escorted the two towards the hangar bay. Leaving the dropship, Erik and James were treated with the sight of the immensely large base, accompanied with the scenery of azure sky and sea and the landscape of a cliff's edge, quite the breathtaking scenery, reminding Erik of his homeworld, back when it wasn't engulfed in fire and steel. Waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp, was a giant bearded old man, standing taller than anyone in the hangar, wearing armor akin to knights of medieval eras with silver and yellow platings, bearing a seal of a lion's head on the breastplate and bracers. He had a scar across his left blinded eye; standing next to the old man was a fairly attractive young lady with fair skin and a muscular build. She has long auburn hair adorned with a straight ponytail, her face . The redhead wore a gray tank top and red trousers, and has a tattoo of two gears/cogs on her left shoulder.

"Ay Jack and Ana, I've seen you brought us some strangers here! How was the search- Jack! you're hurt! and where's your visor?" Seeing his old comrades coming out of the dropship, the jolly old knight welcomed them warmly, including the Pilots. But his face turned to concern as he saw his comrade's injuries.

"We met a snafu during the search, and found these two suspects in the woods. Long story short, they didn't want to cooperate and we forced our hands." Jack, the old soldier explained.

"They are quite rebellious children I might add." the old woman named Ana added.

"So, are these the subjects you mentioned earlier, 76? Doesn't look much to me." the young lady asked Jack, before glared at the one of the strange soldiers, who had a mechanical arm on his left shoulder, wearing fur like ghillie suit and bulky armor,

"I'm afraid not, Brigitte. Adding the fact that they might have fended off four OR14s and a horde of Omnics who lay dormant after three decades. And look what they'd done to us. Bastard shut down my arm…" taking off his broken cybernetic arm, showed the adverse damage dealt by the knife to Brigitte.

"Oh I see..." seeing the injuries of 76 and Genji, Brigitte was almost speechless, wondering what happened to them during their mission in the Congo Basin. "Alright, you comrades should visit the clinic. I wouldn't want Angela nagging about my comrades ignoring their wounds, would I? Me and Ana will see to these fellow men be treated accordingly. And Brigitte, I believe you have the task of finding out what the mechs are about, No?"

"Ja, Reinhardt. I'll check out the tech."

With that being said. Reinhardt, the giant knight tucked the Pilots by their elbows, escorted them forward, with Ana, the old sniper walking behind with her sleep darts armed, prepared to takedown the two suspects should they attempt another rebellious insubordination.


Hands bound behind by cuffs, Erik and James followed the giant knight silently, exploring the structure of this base, until the two of them went separate ways in a junction as the female sniper and the giant tucked James and Erik in opposite directions respectively. "Who are you people, and where are you taking me to?" James asked angrily.

"Rest assured, your questions will be answered shortly. The leader has some questions to ask you too" the woman answered with an old husky voice. Judging by white hair, the eye patch covering her left eye, and the wrinkles on her face, James was certain this woman had seen more battles than him, a more experienced sniper than himself, but judging from the old looks, himself should have the advantage in terms of strength.

The woman led the IMC Pilot to a room, with a holographic globe displayed in the middle of the conference table. At the front end of the table, stood an ape in white armor, wearing glasses and some sort of booster contraptions on its back, akin to a Northstar. "An ape, Seriously? This is your commander?" Amusingly, James whispered to the old lady, only to receive her light shove on his back with her rifle. "I suggest you mind your words in front of the leader, he's someone you don't want to trifle with."

Shortly, the ape walked towards James, sending slight thumps to the ground. Stopping in front of the Pilot, it gestured towards the old lady. "Ana, please leave us but guard the door. I want to speak to our fellow guest in private."

The old lady named Ana then loosen her grip on James, and let the room in silence.

It speaks? James was dumbfounded, he couldn't fathom that the ape in front of him was able to speak English, fluently he may say. Whoever this leader might be, held great levels of respect from his subordinates.

With the two left in the room, the ape spoke up first. "My name is Winston, and I apologize for the unfriendly welcoming my colleagues gave to you and the other guest Mr. Eystein. As a remedy, I am willing to answer your questions, and you will answer mine in return. We are Overwatch, founded by the brightest minds around the world to peacekeep Earth safe from global threats… which our cause still remains. We used to be strong but not anymore. Although I rebuilt Overwatch a year before, our numbers are still small. Where are you standing now is Watchpoint Gibraltar, our base of operations." he said calmly.

'Peacekeepers of Earth, fair enough.' the Pilot thought, perhaps this Overwatch does bear similar goals to that of the IMC. Answering James' questions, the ape named Winston stopped for a while, his face turned from a warm to a curious look as he looked at James. "I've never seen the likes of you before. Your gear, your mech, does not match any countries' military, or Omnic standards. Where do you come from?"

There was silence coming from James, not sure what he should talk to the ape. "Well, I am from Earth, but not your 'Earth' which I'm standing in, but from another Earth in the future. In other words, an alternate universe." The Pilot gave out his best answer.

"Hmm… that could be possible." Winston inspected the Pilot in his full gear, thinking whether it is possible he was telling the truth or not.

"Where are you taking Erik?" James suddenly spoke up.

"Well um… he is detained in another room for interrogation, what's the matter?"

James' face turned serious, "With all due respect sir, this man must answer for his crimes of terrorism and be put behind bars. You'll be doing the entire world a favour by putting this terrorist into justice."

Shocked as Winston heard the man's statement, he retained his calm composure, turned inquistite. "Why do you insist on calling Erik a terrorist?"

"Because this man works for the Frontier Militia, who had been terrorizing the Core systems and brought chaos and disorder in the Frontier for decades. It would be wise of you to put him down, permanently." the man calmly explained, making Winston feel a sense of awry coming from him. Having thought of the variables, Winston decided the best course of action.

"I'm sorry, but it's not wise to jump into conclusions without hearing his side of the story."

"What!? Doing that would be no better than cherishing a snake in your bosom! Who knows when he will bite all of us in the arse!? Keeping him is a risk and a liability for Allfather's sake!" Disappointed with Winston's decision, the Pilot shouted angrily, trying to reach for the ape with his hands, futily, as he was baffled that the leader of Overwatch heed not to his warnings. No matter how much he wanted to appreciate Erik saving him from death back at the forest, he knew it was not of goodwill, and he's damn sure he would stab him in the back one day if they ever have to coexist.

"Mr Eystein, control yourself. As much as I try to believe your claim is correct, your words held no solid evidence. Trust is something to be earned."

"You're not helping me." James inhaled air and exhaled disappointment, knowing there's no way to convince Winston. He had no words to describe Overwatch, pioneers of peace, yet chose not to take swift action but act in the terrorist's defense. Had his patience pushed to the limits, James decided it's not worth his time being held prisoner in this world. After all, this is not his home. Time to take matters to his own hands.

Aware of his hands bound behind with handcuffs, and his weapons and gear were stripped off. Feeling naked at this rate, James' body tensed up and became warry, trying to find an escape. Scanning the environment, it seems the only way out is through the door he went through, which was guarded by that old lady sniper. She has a good aim for her age, yet that cannot be said for the same for close quarters, he could take her, provided his hands are free.

"Ana, kindly escort our guest to the holding cells please." James heard the ape calling out the old lady guarding the front door. He decided this was the right moment to break free. Without further options, James had to settle on the last resort, he fiddled his right thumb with the other fingers with force, trying his best to muffle his groan from pain.

Shortly, the old lady with blue hood with her rifle holstered came into view behind James. As she approached the Pilot to take his arms, when looking at his bound hands, noticed his thumb dislocated, just enough for the right hand to free itself from the cuff.

"Crap-" her eyes widened in surprise as she realized James broke free of himself. Sensing the woman about to reach for her rifle, James reflexively charged backward at the woman, slamming her to a wall before pushing himself away from her, freed his right hand from the cuffs and relocated the thumb, inciting a 'crack' sound. Entering a combat stance, the Pilot saw the staggered old woman about to have her sights on him. Hastily, he lunged forward and kicked the rifle out of her hands. Seemingly without weapons, James saw the woman's hands reached from behind, drawing a weird looking sidearm. The moment she draws the pistol to the Pilot's head, he moves out of the center lock, grabs her wrist and joint, bending the latter, hit the pistol to the old woman's head, then trap her hand down to overwhelm her with strikes, before used his right hand to chokehold her, gripped her neck with force.

"Ana!" Winston was shocked and livid, a shade of red bristled on his face, but trying to maintain his cool nonetheless, he was about to pounce onto James before seeing the man aimed Ana's pistol at him.

"I advise you not to come any further, otherwise you'll regret it."

"Stop this! We can work this out like gentlemen, please let her go and I promise you that you will remain unharmed."Seeing his friend in danger, Winston tried to convince James to let Ana go, but to no avail as he saw James slowly move his position right behind the exit, his hand firmly gripped on Ana as she choked.

"Like hell you will." already lost his patience with the leader of Overwatch, James threw Ana towards Winston, freed her from his chokehold, feigning a comply. As the ape caught the old lady, he aimed the pistol he took from the old woman and shot, the dart punctured her neck. With time ticking on his part, the Pilot made haste and stole the woman's blue rifle and sprinted towards the exit.

Stepped outside, James checked the peculiar sniper rifle he acquired from the old lady. "Tranquilizer rounds? Handy." James thought. Years of using a wide array of firearms in the Frontier, he could probably get used to this world's weapons.

An alarm blared off the entire base, that ape must've probably set it off. The Pilot quickly thought about what he should do next. He had no clue where they took their gear or the Militia Pilot. Finding them would be as difficult as finding a needle in the sea. He could leave his gear behind, given the year he's in is 2077, it would probably take a long time for them to crack out any information about his world in the 28th century. But he definitely couldn't leave ME-5931 behind. If the Titan is left at their place, they would crack her open to unravel secrets about his world. But more importantly, she is a close friend. Having served in battle together for 9 years, it was Evie who provided him strength to overcome the never ending storms of steel against the Militia, and he's not leaving his treasured companion with them.

"James, I don't know what you did. But the whole base is on alert. Also, they are trying to pry open my hatch. I don't know if I can hold it much longer. Pilot, please hurry." The Pilot heard his Titan calling for help through the radio, also received her location via her data core's signal, which was still in the hangar bay. "I'll be right there." James reassured and sprinted to the rescue.

Running through intersections of hallways, stairs, labs, James stumbled upon the armory. Inside, he saw three soldiers inside, guarding his gear. One of them spotted him and yelled orders to take him down, they sloppily drew their pistols. Reactively, James aimed his new rifle and shot a dart on the yelling guard's neck, silencing him. He chambered another round hastily and shot another round at another guard's head. Aware that the last guard had his crosshairs right on him, the Pilot swiftly rolled out of the third guard's sight to evade the bullets. James pounced at the guard to close the gap, knocking the gun off his hand with his armored bracer, then used the same hand to tightly grab the guard's wrist, moved behind his disarmed target and kicked his legs to force him to kneel and pulled his arm unti heard a pop sound of a dislocated shoulder, followed by the soldier's cries. Finally, James knocked out the soldier by hitting his head with his rifle stock. It's apparent these security guards are poorly trained, inexperienced in real life combat. Like these guards, James was nervous and erratic, but with 9 years of experience in the Frontier War, keeping his cool had become a necessity for survival, especially when fighting Titans by his lonesome. Although these soldiers have training, they wouldn't even survive half an hour in storms of steel of the Frontier.

With the threat neutralized, James made haste to rearm himself. With time being of the essence, he strapped his jumpkit back, equipped his grappling hook and a bundle of ordinances, sufficient for his escape, but not necessarily lethal.

James sprinted towards the hangar bay, used the tranquilizer rifle to take down six more Overwatch grunts who obscured his way to his objective, fell flat as the darts punctured their throarxes, nothing he couldn't handle. Reaching the hangar bay, he saw his Titan immobilized, hanged by a loading arm. Right in front of his Titan, was the brown haired lady who he had seen before when he first arrived at the base. Now, she's in a yellow and black knight's armor with silver accents, standing taller than the Pilot. She's equipped with a flail and a shield, aesthetically similar to that of knights in the medieval era.

"Hey you! You've hurt enough people already, and it's my duty to take you down!" She shouted at James with confidence and conviction. James fired his rifle in quick succession at her, but her shield summoned an energy barrier which blocked all his projectiles, then quickly charged forward at him, then threw her rocket-propelled flail at him. Failing to dodge, he tried blocking the strike with his rifle. Yet the momentum of the ball was so heavy that it broke the rifle, bypassed James' block to hit him right in the chest so hard as if he was almost being rammed by a car, knocking him meters away, his ri. James groaned and coughed in pain as if felt blood accumulated in his throat, struggling to stand up.

"Really? Rocket powered flails?"

The lady smirked at him as she retracted the striking head. "Bet you didn't see that coming. Don't underestimate me." she then swung her weapon at him again. Reactively, James tumbled his body to the right, the weapon missed his stomach by inches as he got up.

"I don't have time for this. Please let me and my Titan go and I assure you won't be harmed." the Pilot replied as he entered a combat stance, his hand reached for a shuriken.

"Empty threats for a man who is unarmed. Let's see what you've got. Oder willst du weglaufen wie ein kleiner Junge?" she taunted James confidently.

"Nein." James simply responded, he whipped out and threw the shuriken at the tall woman, which glowed a blue aura like a star as it primed mid air, landing just in front of Brigitte. The star then levitated in the air, generating a purple field which was so strong that it tethered the woman even in heavy armor in the air. Shocked, Brigitte tried shooting her flail to attack James, but her projectile was caught in the gravity field of the diminutive "star". Seconds later, the star exploded in a flash, blasting the armored lady downward, hitting her to the ground hard, and making a large dent on the surface. But that didn't stop Brigitte from trying to stand up. Furious, she charged at James with her barrier activated, trying to ram him. Seeing the threat, the Pilot boosted his jumpkit, vaulted over the barrier, his foot landed on the armored lady's shoulder, then boosted jump again to knock her off balance before throwing an arc grenade at her. The grenade exploded arcs of electricity, short circuited the woman's barrier shield, and hindered her ability to move. His opponent immobilized, the Pilot shot his grapple towards the ground, deliberately missed his opponent by inches. He then whipped the cable, pulled himself towards the female knight and delivered a hard blow to her head, knocking her out cold.

With the threat neutralized, James figured he'd make haste to find the controls to free ME-5931 from the loading arm. He found the control panel on the second floor and lowered his Titan to the ground, freed her from grasp. As he left the control room, he wondered where he would go. If he's really in another reality, how can he find a way to go back to his world? Can he even find a purpose to live here if there's no war between the IMC and the Militia?

Yet, his thoughts were interrupted once he saw the ape and the old knight arrived at the hangar bay. With no time to lose, James tried to make a run for his Titan when he was suddenly hit by a barrage of electricity from the ape's cannon. A thousand Volts surged through , he fell to the ground, writhed, and felt himself paralyzed. As he looked from his visor, now filled with static and distortions, he saw the giant old knight went to him, pinned him down as he injected a syringe. Shortly, he felt the world around him dimmed down. His last thoughts being why he had been tranquilized twice in a single day.


Winston watched as Reinhardt sedated the foreigner, loaded him onto a stretcher and strapped him to further restrain him for extra precautions. With the situation brought under control, the ape sighed. He hoped to use reason to slowly ease this man to this world and reality, but seeing the man as if experienced a hypernova of emotions, it's apparent that he's unable to cope with the thing that happened to him, and the event that led him to this world. His idea was to bring these two foreigners into the fold of Overwatch. Having more manpower to rebuild this organization is crucial, especially having men with military experience… Yet, it failed by 50%

"Reinhardt, is Brigitte alright? And what about the other guest?" the ape asked with concern.

"She's unconscious but stable for the most part. And our friend Erik is quite cooperative, I'm certain he's waiting patiently for you." the knight calmly responded.

"Seems like this fellow here doesn't trust us. How should we handle him?"

"Still... I hope we can convince him to join our cause, but, let's keep him detained in the holding cells for now. Right now, we have to investigate both guests' equipment. Weapons, Armor, see what information we can glimpse from them. In the meantime, I'll have Mercy run some bloodwork on him… After she checks up on the other guys. When he wakes up, I hope Dr. Ziegler's friendlier approach can make talking to him easier…"

"You said it brother. To think this man could take down a couple of our own by himself, he's stronger than I thought. That could be said for the same as the other fellow. I can't wait to get to know them better." Reinhardt carefully detached Brigitte from her armor, and set off to carry her off to the infirmary.

"Yeah… Curious people we want to know better indeed…" Winston sighed at the old crusader's remark.

Meanwhile, Erik, who sat in another room awaiting interrogation, watched the entire commotion unfold in the hangar bay through security footage. When the surveillance camera panned towards his and James's Titan the serial number and model, he recognized the other Titan who fought him during the battle on his homeworld. "Well… I'll be damned."


Feeling a tingling pain seeping into his mind, James woke up once again. He groaned and groggily looked around to find himself inside a jail cell, except this time under more restrictions as he was held inside a cell. The Pilot uniform he wore was replaced with plain prisoner clothing: A plain white T-shirt and a pair of gray trousers. The room has only a toilet and a bed as furniture, with only a small window on the door, where other cells can be seen. The last thing James wanted in this world is himself being taken prisoner by Overwatch. A sense of dread washed up his head, his body tensed up, followed by heavy breathing. He laid on the bed to ease this unwanted sensation, and much to his surprise, the bed was rather soft and comfy, not the hard surfaced bunk beds in typical prisons he'd expected. He hadn't slept in such a comfy bed for a long time, long before he joined the IMC Marine Corps as a combat Pilot.

Shortly, he heard footsteps down the hallway, heading towards his cell. A woman came into view, she was wearing a pristine white lab coat with her blonde hair tied in a ponytail. The Pilot would be lying if he hadn't been attracted to her looks, and would be keen to talk to her. But given the circumstances he was in, this wasn't the case.

"Hello there." The woman greeted James with a warm smile. "My name is Dr. Angela Ziegler. I understand that it must be difficult for you to cope with what happened to you, but I hope some communication can help all of us." James remained silent, doubtful of her intentions. "Alright, now that I've introduced myself, and your name is James Eystein. As far as my colleagues are concerned, your equipment does not match any record from this world. So tell me, where are you from?"

James remained silent, wary of trusting the woman, his sight drifted away.

Angela sighed. "Listen, it would be nice if you try to cooperate, as I would love to see you being free of this cell as soon as possible."

Failing to convince him, the doctor's face turned stern. "Okay, how about this? If you cooperate, I can convince Winston to find a way to get you back home. But I can't do a thing unless you start talking. Deal?

That statement almost made James jump in a heartbeat. A chance to get back to the Frontier to finish a fight? If it's in the name of protecting his homeland, that's a good thing. Yet… he remembered how he and his comrades were betrayed by Admiral Spyglass… that damned AI…

More importantly, he's uncertain what he would do after all this mess… But for now, he just had to wait.

"Can I trust you?" The Pilot sternly asked, shifting his attention to Dr. Ziegler. "You have my word."

"Alright then, what do you want to know?." James reluctantly asked.

"First things first, you mentioned you are a part of the ARES Division, which is a subranch of the IMC, what is this organization?"

"The ARES Division, or Archeological Research Division for short, is the armed and development wing of the IMC, or Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation. Long story short, this mega corporation has been at the forefront of maintaining peace and order in the Core Systems. Extracting natural resources in deep space and super-colonizing planets ever since the late 24th century. However, our forces at the Frontier, a cluster of planets in the deepest region of space, have been losing ever since the start of the 28th century."

"28th century… That's a long gap between our world and yours… Wait, you said that the IMC colonized planets in deep space in the span of 3 centuries… How's that even possible?" Angela asked.

"Well, it all begins with Hammond Engineering, predecessor to the IMC since the 20th century. They invented the Jump drive technology that allowed mankind to travel light months, if not years away in a blink of an eye. Thanks to that, the IMC has reduced the risk of ships stranded in space without fuel. Although it does take quite an amount of time to recharge every jump drive, hence we set up refueling stations on some planets.

"Wow… That's impressive…" said Angela. His technology reminded her of one of Overwatch's ambitious projects, before their disbandment, which brought back some unpleasant memories since it almost endangered one of her colleagues. "What's wrong, doctor?"

"Oh, it's nothin, it just reminded me that Overwatch tried developing similar technology before, except it didn't go so well… Speaking of which, I'd love to ask something about yourself in depth, solely in my own interest." Angela asked as she read the report about her patient.

"Go ahead." James responded with annoyance. He thought this conversation could end shortly and free to go. But since the doctor's interest in him had peaked, he's reluctant to answer more questions that would compromise him. But if it's for the sake of earning trust, so far so good. Besides, it would be rude of him to refuse a pretty woman like Dr Ziegler.

The doctor observed the young man in front of her. His dull looking eyes, which she could say were almost colourless, had given the expression that James had gone through a lot before arriving here, jaded by war perhaps? As a pacifist, Anglea never condoned him causing havoc and harm towards her colleagues, but as a doctor, she understood that he was nervous and in shock, an attempted escape was to be expected. She reviewed her notes, recounted colleagues Ana and Jack's claims that the two soldiers they captured were highly trained and dangerous. And the fact that these two men weren't on the best of terms.

"Why do you insist on incapacitating my colleagues when you escape? You could have grabbed any firearm and disposed of those who opposed in your way." she asked. To which she saw James' eyes filled with boredom, keen on finishing the conversation.

"Don't mistake me for some good samaritan. My plan was to escape with my Titan via the dropship and be done with your organization, and I want to avoid unnecessary casualties as much as possible. Plus, this is nothing compared to what I had to deal with as a Pilot."

"I see. We've checked your armor, weapons, that giant mech… I've never seen anything like that before."

"As I said before, I wor- worked for ARES Division as a combat Pilot, and by extension, the IMC. We are the most effective fighting forces in the Frontier, urban, aerial, guerilla etc. As for the mech, she's ME-5931, an Atlas class combat Titan. They are used to provide heavy fire support equivalent to battle tanks, but more versatile and agile. Together, we rely upon each other to fight and survive effectively."

Angela noticed a slight hesitation when James talked about his occupation. His tone was somewhat bitter as he brought up the faction he worked for.

"Wow, you two share an inseparable bond, don't you?" Angela asked. "Correct, and she is a friend. Next time, tell your colleagues not to pry her open, okay?" James added.

"Noted." the doctor responded as she scribbled reminders.

"Alright, there's one more important question I want to ask you, what is this 'Militia' you kept warning Winston about, can you elaborate?"

This time, James' expression turned to a stern one, one that was filled with hatred, as he recalled the times the Frontier Militia invaded his homeland. "The Frontier Militia is a rogue organization formed by criminals, bandits, pirates, mercenaries, defected IMC colonists, you name it. They preached for freedom and prosperity as an excuse to cause chaos and destruction to the Frontier, while they raided our mining stations and seized our lands, killing innocent civilians. Despite decades of efforts trying to put these insurgents to the grave, they're a bunch of persistent bastards. The longer the time goes, the stronger they get."

Angela could feel James' anger swell as he talked about the enemy.

"And that's why you want Mr Fukuda to be put behind bars, am I correct?"

"Yes." the Pilot answered simply.

Angela was silent for a moment, felt bitterness and anger in James' speech. Concerned that asking him further questions about his enemy would discourage him from communicating, she decided the best course of action was to stop right now.

"Well… that's all I wanted to know for now. Rest assured, I'll see to it that your freedom will be guaranteed. It was a pleasure talking to you." the doctor gave the Pilot one warm smile, before departing towards Winston's lab.

"Guarantee my freedom huh…" James laid on the bed once more as he saw Angela disappear from his sight, thinking of the mess he'd got himself into. All these years he had served the IMC, only to be left for dead by his commanders, seeing a world getting destroyed, along with his comrades… the thought of it was just too much to bear.

But for now, he needed a rest, trying to figure out how he would fit in this strange new world...


Author's note: Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I've been rather busy with work ever since mid July. Hopefully you readers find the plot and grammar not to be quite messy. The Next chapter will be about the Pilots' first attempt at coexisting with themselves (and Overwatch by extension), Erik's side of things, and recruitment. If you have any suggestions, feel free to PM me, I'll implement if I find your ideas to be conceptually interesting and exciting. Please don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter, Thank you.