Old Habits Die Hard | 4

Author's Note:

Due to some highly distressing circumstances, I have decided to post chapters 4-6 in an earlier time.

If you're enjoying this story, then yay for you. To the poor author who thought he could catch more attention, too bad for him.

Anyway, it's review reviewing time. Or more specifically, GotTheMovesLikeYaegar's answer to my inquiry about self-inserts.

First of all, thanks for answering me on that one. I appreciate ya. And I could see how awkward, boring, and repetitive SI stories are. I think I've even read some myself in the past, and so I want to stay clear from them. So when it comes to my story, you're in luck- the main focus of this fic is on Soldier 76's current feelings, which are honestly a warped mess of bitterness and sorrow. That's where my OC comes in- to hopefully repair some of the damage that's been done to Soldier's mentality. My only bad news for you is that there are plenty of points in this story that are taken in the place of my OC's PoV, such as this chapter- which clears some things about my OC. I hope you can look past that and see to Old Habits Die Hard's conclusion, which focuses extensively on how S76's mind has changed- or is changing.

ooOoo

Winston tapped Yuan's knee with a hammer. The boy jumped as the leg swung forward.

"Jeez, man," Yuan said. "I would've thought there'd be more force, what with you being a gorilla."

"I've controlled my strength for a long time," Winston huffed. "It goes with having to live amongst humans."

Yuan hummed an affirmative. Winston went to tap his other knee.

It had been a very odd first mission, Winston considered. While they weren't able to secure the objective, what with it being a black hole on the floor, they were able to retrieve an entity coming from said hole. That entity was currently sitting on the steel table before him, humming a little tune to himself.

When Lena and Jack were returning via dropship, they had brought the boy along with them. They had been pestering him with questions the entire ride to HQ, and Yuan had said that he preferred they would hold the interrogation in a more comfortable place.

Winston wasn't sure if the medical wing of HQ was a comfortable place for Yuan. He didn't have time to think about that when he had dragged the boy here for examination. At least Lena had graced Yuan with some spare clothes of hers; they had found out that she was just an inch taller than him.

Yuan sniffed. "Y'know, this thing I'm sitting on looks more for something like an intense surgery session."

Winston snorted and grabbed a headset connected to a monitor by some wires, placing it on Yuan's head. "It's supposed to be. It hasn't been used for a long time."

"Uh huh." Yuan grimaced as he adjusted the headset. "Remind me why we're doing this again?"

"To be frank, Yuan," Winston began, creasing his brows. "You're an oddity. It's like the universe doesn't even recognize you're here. You're completely detached from the space balance of this world!"

"Huh," Yuan remarked. "I guess that's another way to interpret inter-dimensional travel."

Winston's brows shot up just as Lena Oxton and Jack Morrison walked into the room. The former had a bounce to her step while the latter gave Yuan a hard look, although it was hard to judge with his mask. I wonder why he wears it all the time.

"We gave you time to play with the kid, Winston," Jack stated evenly. "Now we want answers."

The boy flinched and muttered something under his breath. "Harsh..."

"Oh hush, Sir," Lena chided to the soldier. She shot a grin at Yuan. "Don't worry about him, love. He's been through tough times- like the rest of us here. Oh! By the way, sorry we didn't introduce ourselves along the way here. I'm Lena Oxton- you can call me Tracer, though- and this is-"

Jack raised a hand, and Lena immediately shut her mouth with a pout.

"Soldier 76." Jack continued to stare at the boy, like a biologist an ant under his magnifying glass.

"I already introduced myself to him," Winston said when Lena gave him a look. He sighed and gestured to a row of seats by a wall. "You two can take a seat if you're going to drill him with questions. I'm done examining him for the most part."

Lena practically dove to a chair while Jack sat down stiffly- as if ready to react when something was amiss.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked, and Yuan made a thoughtful look at the ceiling, making the wires attached to his headset jingle. Lena giggled at the display.

"I... didn't exactly come here intentionally," Yuan answered. "I was with some friends- you don't need to know them- and we were going somewhere to help fix a problem. My boss... made a mistake with the mode of transportation, and I ended up here instead."

"You're being awfully vague, kid," Jack commented bluntly.

Yuan did a salute which made his fingers clang with the headset, and he winced. "I swear that all the information I'm withholding is not harmful to your team, and never will be. I'm just an outsider, promise."

"Oh, oh!" Tracer leaned forward, a beam on her face. "So you're saying that you're some kind of alien? That's what I got from Winston, anyways."

Yuan scratched his head and gave a shrug. "I guess you could say that."

Lena continued to look at him expectantly. Winston had to admit; he was interested to learn more about the boy.

Yuan looked at all before sighing, taking off the headset and dropping it to the steel floor. Winston issued a command to the monitor to save the readings it got.

"I... come from a land of war and strife." He began pacing around, staring at the floor as he seemed to formulate a speech. "There was this big battle, and I was enlisted to join the army. Then I got this."

Yuan opened a hand, and fire bursted from it. Lena gasped in awe while Jack tensed. Winston made sure to observe carefully.

The boy's sword, which was lying on a separate table, was shrouded by flames. Strangely, there was no soot forming on the table. The fire slowly engulfed the blade, inch by inch, until it finally disappeared with a wisp of flame. At the same time, a silhouette of fire was forming in Yuan's grasp, until his sword replaced it.

"Drakon Korosu," Yuan said, a touch of pride in his voice as gazed at the blade in his hand. "Forged by a mighty being and made of the blood of the War God himself. Bestowed upon me, I lead our army to victory with my sister, and the land has been peaceful since."

"You seem to be too young to wield a mighty weapon such as that," Jack remarked, although he did show interest by leaning forward like Lena.

Yuan smirked. "Yeah, I am young. But the army trusted me with this. I was a general of theirs, after all."

Lena took a sharp breath, covering her mouth as her eyes sparkled. "That's so cool!"

"So you're a well-respected soldier, huh?" Jack reclined back on his seat and strokes his chin, all the while seeming to stare intently at Yuan.

The boy frowned. "Yeah. Something wrong about that?"

Winston creased his brows at Jack, who was now crossing his arms. Lena bit her lip as she looked at the soldier from the corner of her eye. Silence dominated for a few moments.

Jack raised a hand and did a waving motion. "Nothing. Forgot anything I said."

"Oh. Okay." Yuan nodded, relaxing his shoulders. "So anyways, I'm now working for this big team, and our two bosses give us missions that usually involve being a long way from base."

"I'm guessing this is one of those missions?" Winston asked with a raised brow.

The edge of Yuan's lips quirked up. "Perhaps. Maybe. All I know is that I didn't sign up for this. But everything happens for a reason, right?.."

Yuan narrowed his eyes, as if in deep thought. Then he snapped his fingers, and he looked up at each of them. "So! How about you guys tell me your side of the story. What's up with the guns and the badass attires and whatnot."

Jack shook his head and stood up, turning around to walk out of the medical wing. "I'll be taking a walk. There's no need for me to be around when you're all story-telling."

Winston pressed his lips and watched Jack as he went off, concern swirling in his stomach. He caught Lena's eye, who was also looking at Jack with a deep frown. He then turned to Yuan and cleared his throat.

"Alright, then." Winston's eyes were on the ceiling, then he looked down at Lena. "Should we go for the holo-vids?"

Lena shook her head, offering a wide grin. "There's no need for that, love. We'll be fine with your personal story-telling skills!"

Winston huffed when Lena shot a wink at him, causing the girl to burst into a fit of giggles. He shook his head and looked at Yuan, who was watching them with amusement.

"Okay..." Winston relaxed on his spinning chair, sitting straight and puffing his chest forward. "A few years ago, machines grew some sort of sentience, and they rebelled against humanity. The following battle was called the Omnic Crisis, and mankind was teetering on the brink of defeat. That was until the UN formed an organization full of unique and interesting characters, all experts of the battlefield in their own way. And thus Overwatch was born...

To be continued...