Things couldn't get any weirder, Kate thought, as she sat at the table in the common room, her hands folded on her lap and shoulders bent as if she was trying to shrink herself. No doubt that if she could have turned into a mouse and run away, she would have by now. Especially with Heavy sitting at the other end of the table, looking at her with an undecipherable look – but one that was not amiable either. After Spy's conversation with Miss Pauling, it had become evident that their prisoner was going to stick around for a little while, and no one knew how to handle this most unusual situation. They had had to help her walk to the common room, as it turned out her legs were too weak to carry her all the way there, after Medic had her take some more exams. Medic had said that she had probably spent too much time motionless in this pod, hence her (hopefully momentary) weakness, and had recommended she had something to eat. Pyro had immediately volunteered to cook, and as it turned out, Heavy was hungry too. So, Heavy sat with her. Kept an eye on her too, while the others had gathered in Spy's smoking room to discuss the situation. His massive arms crossed over his massive chest, Heavy observed the young woman, refining his opinion on her. Contrary to the others, he wasn't so prompt to defiance regarding her case: she was tall, but skinny, and one look at her sufficed to see she wasn't an athlete either. Her hands were white, long and soft, and didn't bear any mark of labour or regular use of heavy material like a weapon. He was fairly sure she'd never seen a battlefield in her life. He was also more or less certain that she wasn't an assassin or a spy either, even if their Spy was a living proof that the best of the best could deceive the smartest, most observant of men. Heavy didn't have the audacity to presume he was one of them – hell, he could barely read in his own native language and could never bring himself to learn how to read or write in English – but he knew people. He didn't talk much. But he did listen. Listening and looking was all he needed to formulate a judgement on someone, and more often than not, his opinions were astonishingly accurate. His teammates trusted him with heavy weapons, and they also knew how good a judge of character he was.

"Hmmphmphmm!" Pyro exclaimed near the stove.

"Thank you Pyro. Add more bacon for little girl. She looks like she just comes back from Siberian tundra." Heavy said in his thick Russian accent. Kate hadn't even noticed how hungry she was. When they were walking down the corridor a bit earlier, she had caught a glimpse at her reflection in a window: she had been surprised at how tired she looked. It also seemed that she had lost some weight, which wasn't surprising after a coma. How long had she been stuck in there? She raised her eyes at Heavy once more, trying to guess what he could be thinking.

"So you're… Heavy, right? The heavy weapons guy." She said, in an attempt at making conversation.

"Yes."

"Are you watching me right now? You guys still think I might run away even if I can't even stand on my own two feet?"

"No. I am hungry. And I am making sure little girl does not collapse on the floor without Medic to help."

Fair enough. And so much for conversation. Kate sighed, but Pyro popped up and laid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her. Two eggs and three strips of bacon, laid out to look like a smiley face. Surprised, Kate looked at Pyro before remembering she couldn't see her face; but Pyro made a thumb-up sign and handed Heavy his plate of sandwiches. Well. Looked like she had at least one ally, but Pyro probably saw everybody as a potential friend. As for Heavy, he didn't seem hostile to her presence, but he was hard to read. How long would she have to stay there? And why did Miss Pauling even want to keep her alive in the first place?

"If Miss Pauling wants little girl alive, she must have good reason." Heavy said, as if he'd been reading her mind. He made a brief gesture, inviting her to eat her eggs and bacon, and she obeyed quietly, hoping he'd say a bit more. Pyro sat next to her at the table, her head resting in the palms of her hands, watching Kate with insistence. Slightly awkward.

"Problem is, we fight. It can be dangerous for little girl if BLU or robots attack. But base is usually safe. We just need to decide what to do with you to make sure you are safe and stay inside."

"But… when will I be able to go home?"

Heavy didn't reply to that, but for once, she was able to read the answer in his eyes. The yolk of one of her eggs was bleeding on her bacon. Silently, she ate, processing the fact that she was now stuck in a base with nine mercenaries who obviously had had no intention of babysitting a former prisoner who had no idea how she'd landed there. Nine mercenaries she thought only existed in a videogame.

That was crazy. Everything was crazy. She was going to wake up, any minute now.

Right?

"So, Doc. D'ya have the results yet?"

"Ja herr Engineer, they are printing just now."

In Spy's smoking room, the seven other mercs had been discussing Kate's case, and as one could have expected, they all had quite different opinions on how to handle this delicate matter. As Miss Pauling had expressly ordered her protection instead of her execution, most of them were at odds as to what the next step could be. Spy was naturally the most reluctant to this whole idea, even though he knew he didn't have a choice; but letting a complete stranger, whom they had found in the enemy's base, wandering around their base, seemed to him like the worse idea of the century.

"We can lock her up. That woman is a prisoner of war!" Soldier had exclaimed.

"We just found her trapped in a pod, Soldier. I ain't puttin' her in another one when she's shown no sign of bein' a threat to us." Engie had replied.

"Yeah, but what if that's the whole point? I hate ta say it but I kinda agree with fancypants over'ere. What if she's a sleepin'agent or somethin'?" Scout asked.

"Och I dunnae, lads. The whole thing is making me head hurt." Demoman groaned, summing up everybody's feeling on the matter.

Medic hadn't said much, as his attention was focused on the portable printer that was delivering Kate's tests results as they spoke. A quick glance at the figures, curves and symbols on the three-pages report had him raise an eyebrow before he turned to his colleagues.

"Vell, zhis confirms my initial diagnostic. Zhe Fraulein was induced in a coma by heavy drugs, a mixture of propofol and morphine, it vould seem. I have found traces of vitamins and proteins zhat are used to feed comatose patients, nothing surprising, but zhey are not enough to maintain a patient in zheir original state very long – explaining zhe underweight. Other results show zhat her immune system has got weak, but her glands, heart, and organs seem fine… In other words, she needs to have been in zhere a long time for her body to get zhat weak."

"Can you give us an estimation?" Spy asked, lighting up a cigarette.

"If I had to guess, considering what she told me about her state prior to her coma and zhese results… At least one year."

A silent bomb was dropped. Even Scout couldn't find anything to say.

"One year." Sniper repeated, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He hadn't said a thing since the start of the debate. "Sounds like an awful long toime to me."

"Who would willingly be locked up in a pod for an entire year?" Engie pointed out. "Boys, I don't like this anymore than you do, but I'm more an'more convinced that she was forced into that mess."

"Aye, I agree with ye. The lass may have been kidnapped by the BLUs, could'nae she?"

"It's hard to say, Demo. But I think we'll learn more about what they had in mind for her when we crack into their computer. Spy, didja call Miss Pauling?"

"I did. Zhe hard drive has been sent to Hacker, we should hear from her in zhe next few days."

"Good. Hopefully she'll be able to cast some light on all this. In the meantime, I suggest we go tell miss Kate about her results, and discuss the next step."

"One year?"

Kate had repeated the words twice already, aghast. Engie had taken a chair and sat in front of her, elbows resting on his knees, visibly concerned. He had taken off his helmet and he scrubbed his bald head, unable to find a suitable answer. She looked at the mercenaries, one after the other, baffled and distressed. One-freaking-year. How was that even possible?

"But… That's madness! How about my family? I told you my name as soon as I remembered it, Kate Watkins, my parents are Bertram and Juliet Watkins, surely you've found them? They must be worried sick, or think I'm dead!"

"I'm glad you mention it, mademoiselle. I have done some research, and you would be surprised how easy it is to trace someone once you have a name and a few other details. However, I have not been able to find any trace of a Bertram or a Juliet Watkins – at least not as a married couple, not in the right country, and not of the right age to be your parents. More intriguing, I have not been able to find anything about you. There is no Kate Watkins of your age registered anywhere in San Francisco, or in the United States. And no missing person ad matches your description."

Kate felt her heart sinking down to her stomach.

"What?"

Spy considered her for a moment, his piercing gaze taking in her expression. She did not seem to act surprised. If anything, her distress seemed genuine. He cast a glance at Heavy, who imperceptibly nodded.

"Well, it seems like we are all on ze same level now, mademoiselle. We are waiting for more information to come, but it would seem zhat zhere is more to you zhan meets the eye. Even if you seem just as ignorant as we are."

Kate could feel her head spinning. How was any of this possible? She had spent one year in a coma, and now she didn't even exist in the administrative system? Or at all?

"Look, miss…" Engie started, his soft, amiable voice offering some sort of comfort to the very confused woman sitting in front of him. "I'm sure this is a lot to take in at once, as I'm sure there's some sort of explanation to all this. So here's what we're gonna do: you're gonna stay here with us, as our guest and ward, while we go and try to solve this damn mystery." Spy coughed. Engie sighed. "Still, we can't be sure that these guys didn't try to use you to harm us. So we'll have ta be extra careful. Which is why…"

"We are going to have you wear an electronic bracelet, equipped with a location chip, so zhat we always know where you are in zhe base. It's eizher zhat, or having one of us guarding you at all times. I am sure you are not keen on zhis either."

"In addition to that, ya'll be staying in Pyro's room. Don't worry, she's sweet and completely harmless, and she's always wanted ta have a roommate. Just feels safer if there's someone with you, should an attack occur at night."

Kate had listened to Spy and Engie without a word, stunned by everything that was happening. She suddenly felt terribly tired. She didn't care about sharing a room with a notorious pyromaniac, she didn't even care that she had to wear a bracelet like an ex-con or that Spy and Engie would know her whereabouts 24/7. All that didn't look like much compared to everything else. Namely, her existence had been erased from any kind of record, she'd been trapped for a year in a pod with people experimenting on her, and she now had to stay in a mercenary base in war time, she had no idea for how long.

She just really, really wanted to take a break.

Later that night, Kate was off exploring the base. Medic had said she should walk a little in order to regain her strengths faster, and Spy had put her tracking bracelet on her arm as soon as their discussion was over, so she knew he was probably watching her every moves. The others had gone back to minding their own business, and Kate had gone to the bathroom to take a well-deserved shower, change into fresh clothes (an old uniform that was too large for her) and got lost of her way back. Well, since she was lost, she might as well go off and explore. Spy would find her soon enough should she venture somewhere she wasn't supposed to.

She couldn't just sit and stay still. There was too much going on in her head, and she still hadn't been able to wrap her head around what she had learnt. It was just… too much. For anyone, really. She just wanted to be alone for a moment. She was lucky she hadn't broken down in front of the others. Or at all. Yet. It was very likely that her mind still hadn't fully accepted the unbelievable reality of the situation, as well as its dramatic consequences. She didn't exist. She had memories of her whole life, but somehow, she didn't exist. She couldn't believe that she was transported into a videogame – these things just didn't happen. Except in fanfictions, and only the really good ones could pull that off and still sound realistic. She wasn't in a fanfiction. And if she was, it definitely wasn't a very good one.

But then what?

Kate reached the end of a corridor, and faced a closed door. She was starting to feel the fatigue reaching into her legs again, so she hoped it was the common room, or a library, or anything where she could stay and think for a second without having to bear with the others' defiant or puzzled or intrigued looks. She pushed the door and turned on the light.

Fuck. She'd just found the armoury.

She'd never seen so many guns in her life. She'd barely seen any, to be honest, but she could tell that was a lot of deadly weapons in just one room. Then she realised Spy must have seen her on his monitor, and a cold sweat went down her spine. If he spotted her near this place, he would undoubtedly get the wrong idea – and she knew for a fact that he didn't like her already. She didn't need an enemy in this place, let alone one that also happens to be a trained assassin. She turned around and very nearly screamed in shock when she almost bumped into Sniper standing right behind her.

"Spook was roight. You were looming around the armoury." He said, his voice so deep it was almost a groan, his eyes hidden behind the shades of his sunglasses.

"I swear it was an accident! I got lost on my way back from the bathroom, I had no idea what was behind that door…" She said very quickly, begging him with her eyes.

"Easy, Sheila. Oi know ye didn't mean to. Oi told the Spook I'd get ye back to the living room, so let's get going."

Did she hear that right? Sniper knew? Could it be that she had one other – rather unexpected – ally in the base? Without adding a word for fear of making him change his mind, she followed on his steps. The silence was deafening. So, against her best judgement, she tried to talk.

"I'm sorry about all this. I know you guys probably have better things to do than watch over a complete stranger."

"Pah. If Miss Pauling wants you ta be our new assignment, there's no arguing. Long as you behave, oi don't see why this shouldn't be easy. We'll just need ta hide ye somewhere during the assaults."

Kate couldn't say she wasn't relieved. Out of all the mercenaries, Spy and Sniper were the ones she had been most worried about. Spy clearly didn't approve of her presence here – and she couldn't blame him – but she hadn't been able to tell what Sniper was thinking. He kept his thoughts to himself for most of the discussions, and Kate had come to think that he mostly agreed with Spy but didn't want to acknowledge it – or just didn't want to waste his saliva repeating what his colleague had already said. Now she thought maybe she had been wrong. Sniper was intimidating – not like Heavy, who was all muscles and imposing and straight up scary if he got angry, she figured – but that was probably what you got after spending years in the Australian outback. Sniper was tough, quiet, moody. Somewhat of a wild cat. As long as she didn't bother him, he wouldn't mind her presence too much. Such seemed to be his attitude at the present moment.

"Oh yeah, oi nearly forgot. Oi know Spook told ye ta stay in the base, but oi've talked to him and we agreed that ye should be able ta go outside if ye want to. There's a courtyard back there, noice view on the desert. Ye've just spent one year in a bloody box. Ye should get some fresh air. Oi'm mostly outside myself, so I'll keep an eye on ye. Part of the deal." There was something in the way he said it that made her tick. Was it the way he said bloody box? She could have sworn she heard a streak of anger in his voice at that point. She hadn't imagined him as the sympathetic type, but when she thought about it, it was true that Sniper was an outdoors guy. The thought of someone being locked up in such a confined space for such a long time must make him cringe, one way or another. Convincing Spy to let her walk outside while he kept her under his watch was probably his way of finding a compromise between the necessary caution her presence required, and his personal feelings towards imprisonment.

"Cheers, Sniper. I could use some fresh air. Specially while we're not under attack." She pondered.

"No worries. Oi'll be in my van but oi can watch you from there. Don't stay out too long though, it's gettin' dark."

"I won't. Thank you. I really appreciate."

Sniper touched the edge of his hat and left her at the door to the courtyard, while he walked towards the parking lot – which indeed had a view over the courtyard, not to mention he probably had his rifle's scope. She watched him as he disappeared at the end of the corridor, and she turned the doorknob and pushed the door. The fresh air of the evening flung into her face and lungs, and she took as deep breath and she stepped into the yard and sat on the ground, her back leaning against a pillar. She closed her eyes, slowly realising how lucky she was to have gotten out of this prison in the BLU base.

So. Damn. Lucky.

For now.

And here is Chapter 2. Kate as a character is slowly taking shape as she negotiates her place within the base. Some of the mercs accept her presence, some don't, some haven't made up their mind yet - but next chapter, we'll get some action going.

Also, those of you who have read my other fanfic Tales of Mercenaries will have recognised Hacker, one of my OCs. I didn't intend on including my other OCs in this story initially, but then I figured she was the right person to dig into the BLU database and try and figure out what happened to Kate. So this story unexpectedly turns out to be a sort of sequel to my other one, but not really, because Hacker will only make one cameo and you don't need to know her background or the exact nature of her connection to the team to make sense of her presence.

As usual reviews and criticism would be most appreciated to help me make this story better! Lots of love, see you next time!