Samurai Jack/Overwatch: Recall

On a small boat off the coast of an apocalyptic Europe, a lone samurai warrior rides the waves in search of a way to return to the past and undo the damage the Shogun of Sorrow, Aku, had caused.  For months, the samurai known as Jack wandered the world undoing Aku’s misdeeds while trying to survive and adapt to this new and alien world.  From all his years training for his fight against Aku, he was ill prepared for mechanical monsters, bizarre aliens, and deadly bounty hunters from across the stars.  But time and time again, the samurai defeated these strange new enemies.  But now he began wondering about something else; because of Aku’s reign, the world had been forever divided.  Evil had blanketed the planet much more than good and presumably most attempts to fight back had failed.  Was there no force left grand enough to take on and defend the innocent?  Was Jack the only hero left to fight back against Aku?

His thoughts were interrupted by the morning sun rising over the ocean, and with that the sight of land straight ahead.  The samurai’s boat rested upon the beach as he stepped onto the sand.  Upon observation, there were no signs of life other than the bizarre animals occupying the land, but they posed no threat towards the samurai.  Instead his sights shot towards a mysterious base high above the beach sticking out of the rocks.  Jack looked up at the rocky wall and began to climb up.

With no rope or hooks, he used his bare hands to pull himself up the rock wall, only carrying his gi and his father’s mystical sword, said to have been forged by powerful monks to slay the evil that is Aku.  After an exhaustingly long climb, the samurai finally pulled himself up to the top of the wall and gazed upon the base in front of him.  Lying in front of him was some sort of unfinished project, set on a runway pointing towards the entrance further into the rocks.  Jack followed the road past the fallen laboratories and deeper into the mountain.

As the samurai walked through the base, there were leftover pieces of what he could only assume were fallen robots.  This made him a bit more cautious as he approached a hanger built into the mountain labeled “Hanger 18” up top.  The main gate was closed but the side entrances were still open to walk through.  The samurai wasn’t sure of what to expect inside, but he kept his guard up as he traveled entered, unaware of an active security camera sticking outside the hanger door.  There was a lack of light to work with inside the hanger.  Jack navigated the abandoned building cautiously, hoping there would be some form of lighting system he could use.

???:  WARNING:  UNAUTHORIZED PERSONAL DETECTED.

Alarms began to ring and the hanger light up with red emergency lights spinning across the doorways.  Jack had to act quickly.  He noticed the emergency lights at the far end of the hanger could lead to an exit.  His wooden sandals clacked against the metal ground as he quickly navigated the hanger.  He stopped in front of the hanger exit door, looking for another way out and noticed daylight breaking to his right.  But his navigation was stopped as a lone banana peel dropped from above in front of him.  The samurai picked up the peel and scratched his chin in confusion.  What kind of robot or security has time to eat fruit?

The answer came as a giant shadow slammed behind him, knocking him into the hanger exit door.  The samurai got his bearings back and looked up at his attacker in shock.  The creature stood ten feet tall, arms the size of tree trunks, teeth big enough to crack a skull open, and yellow, electrically charged eyes, glaring down at his prey.

???:  You are trespassing.  So I’m only going to tell you this once; get out of my home or face the same consequences as all the others have.

The giant attempted to slam in front of him again to have the message loud and clear, but Jack quickly jumped high above him and hopped up to the inactive dropship.  It didn’t take long for the creature to hop on top as well.  Jack was finally able to get a closer look at his attacker; it was a giant gorilla in a space suit and he wasn’t looking too happy.  The samurai had no choice but to defend himself, so he summoned his sword from his sheath.

???:  So be it.  If you live to tell the tale, tell Aku that I’ll destroy anyone and anything he throws at me!  I will not let him hurt my friends!!

Jack:  Aku?!

The gorilla jumped straight towards the samurai and landed a fist where he should have been, shaking the dropship itself.  The samurai landed behind him and backed up quickly.

Jack:  Giant gorilla, I am not a bounty hunger of Aku, I mean to slay him and return to the pa—

The samurai’s sentence was interrupted by a heavy arm colliding into him, throwing him off the top of the dropship.  Jack used the momentum to safely land back onto the hanger floor, but quickly needed to dodge another gorilla slam.

Jack:  There is no need for this violence, I am not your enemy!

???:  LIAR!!

The ape continued the attack against his intruder, but the samurai was still quick enough to dodge his punches.  The only way to calm down his attacker, Jack thought, was to wear him down.  It was his only option.  He sheathed his sword and focused on navigating the boxed battlefield.  The gorilla tossed his arms about, running past boxes and knocking its contents out of them while Jack hopped over them in hopes of tiring it out.  It seemed there was no stopping this beast and pretty soon the samurai would run out of steam.

Thinking fast, he looked back at the boxes that were toppled over and noticed a rather large gun that had fallen out.  The device itself was rather large for him to carry and had large coils towards the end, but anything to stop his attacker would be rather welcomed at this point.  The samurai created a small diversion and hopped down towards the box.  Hoping the weapon was operational, Jack looked for any kind of firing button, just as the ape dived down towards him.  With no time to guess, he pressed a large button on the side and jumped away from the device just as the gorilla landed towards him.  The large gun shot out an electric pulse that shocked the giant beast, forcing the samurai to avert his eyes from the bright lights.  When the electricity stopped, he looked back and found his attacker on the ground, slightly charred but still conscious.  His plan to tame the talking beast had worked.

???:  …stopped by…my own weapons…well done…

The samurai walked around to his front and knelt in front of him.  The ape’s face was no longer red and his eyes stopped glowing.

Jack:   Are you…feeling better?

???:  I, uh, appear to have lost control, heh…how embarrassing.  You’re not one of Aku’s henchmen, are you?

The samurai only shook his head.  The tamed beast noticed the blaring sounds and flickering lights still active.

???:  Athena!  Deactivate intruder protocol and turn on the main hanger lights.

The alarms were instantly turned off as the lights lit the hanger up.  Evidence of the battle could be seen from the large dents caused by the attacking ape in the walls and concrete.  The samurai lent a hand and helped the gorilla back up.  It didn’t seem he had anymore intentions to hurt anyone for the time being.

???:  My apologies.  It’s been a very long time sinceI’ve had a friendly visitor.  Most of the intruders here have only wanted to steal my equipment and resources for their own personal gain.  This is my home, and I intend to keep it that way.

The gorilla reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out a fresh pair of glasses.

???:  *ahem*  Right, introductions.  I am Winston.  I’m one of the scientists here at this facility.  Well…THE scientist of this facility.  I’m the only one that lives here.

Jack:  They call me Jack.  I am on a quest to destroy Aku and return to the past.  I was hoping something here could aid me.

Winston:  “Destroy Aku”?

The gorilla, now known as Winston, scratched his head in confusion.

Winston:  I’m not sure if I need to spell this out, but Aku has no weakness.  Nothing in this world, magical or scientific, can destroy his being.  At least, it’s the last thing I’ve heard since I moved back here.

Jack:  Actually, it is possible to--Wait...how long have you lived alone on this rock?

Winston:  Seven years.  I haven’t interacted with the outside world since.

Jack felt bad for the ape scientist.  A mind as smart as his shouldn’t be wasted on mere solitude.  But a new thought came to him.  Winston said he was one of the scientists.  Was there more?

Jack:  So what happened over seven years ago?

Winston:   Mm…I think this story needs to be taken elsewhere.  Come with me to my office, it’s better than sitting on the cold metal floor anyway.

Winston got back onto his feet and walked on all fours back out towards the front of the base.  Jack followed behind as they traveled back the way they came.  An unusual silence deafened the two.  They weren’t exactly the talkative type, especially after one of them nearly killed the other.  The ape was the first to break the silence.

Winston:  Uh, you know, that blade of yours reminds me of an old colleague, Genji.

Jack:  Genji?

Winston:  Yes, a ninja of Asian descent part of the Shimada clan.  Our team rescued him but the damage to his body was far too extensive, so we literally rebuilt him with what was left of his human and enhanced him two-fold with cybernetics.  He was a nice, young man to have small-talk with.  Makes me wonder how everyone else is doing…

Jack:  Who is this team you speak of?  And why are you the only one still here?

Winston:  All in due time, Jack.

Jack and Winston approached a locked facility door.  Winston input the password and opened the path up.

Winston:  Athena!  Lights on!

Athena:  Yes, Winston.

The mysterious voice obeyed, and the lights inside lit up an unusual laboratory.  There were tire swings and an escape pod hanging from the roof as well as loads of unused monitors.  Half of the facility was meshed with some of the mountain as well.

Winston:  Sorry it's such a mess in here. I-I wasn't expecting company.

Athena:  Winston, your latest bout has damaged some of your suit’s components.  You have also elevated your heartrate by—

Winston:  I told you to stop monitoring my vitals, Athena.

Athena: Very well.

The Ape hopped up to the tire swing and swung to the second floor.  Jack decided to walk up the nearby stairs instead, joining Winston in seems to be an office.

Athena:   It has been 43 days, 7 hours and 29 seconds since your last cardio workout. Remember, a healthy body is a—

Winston:  Healthy mind. That's why I have this.

He holds up his banana before going for the peanut butter next to his desk.  He has a seat on a tire and turns back to the samurai who had just arrived.

Winston:  Hungry?

Jack:  I…um, maybe later.

Winston:  Very well.  Oh!  The voice you’re hearing is my associate, Athena.  I created her to manage security along with maintaining my health.

Athena:  You put on quite a show inside the hanger, stranger.  But next time you should be more cautious with Overwatch supplies when a giant, genetically engineered gorilla attacks you.

Jack only tilted his head from the unusual compliment.

Winston:  Ah-ah-ha-ha!  Athena has the tendency to over-analyze even the smallest situations.

Athena:  But you gave this intrusion a code—

Winston:  ALWAYS.

Athena:  *ahem*  Yes, I might have been a bit extreme.

Jack:  Yes, um, anyway.  You said “Overwatch supplies”?

Athena:  Yes.  This base once belonged to a proud team of heroes dedicated to protecting the world against the tyrannical Aku.
Jack:  Heroes?

Winston:  I’ll take it from here, Athena.

Winston started typing with his feet on his desk keyboard.  He was quickly putting together some sort of presentation for the samurai to watch.

Winston:  For as long as we could remember, Aku ruled the world.  For ages, he worked mankind to death in order to obtain the resources to build his empire, enough for him to expand out into the reaches of space to rob the resources of other planets.  In time, earth become the most hostile planet in the galaxy, home to hundreds of different interstellar species.  Mankind itself was beginning to go extinct, and Aku’s latest plan was to replace the human populace with his newest creation:  The Omnics.  We could no longer hide while Aku’s robot army eradicated every last human, and so a group of rebellious humans came together and formed a team of heroes to combat against the Omnics.  We became Overwatch, an elite, global task force that gathered the best the world had to offer in military force and technology made up of mankind’s last remaining scientists, soldiers, adventurers, and even oddities.

Winston brought up an old photo of Overwatch’s first taskforce.  It consisted of the traits he had mentioned.  Jack was in awe of the team’s formation, but he still had some concerns.

Jack:  Surely you didn’t send this team to fight against Aku himself?

Winston:  No, we were far off from confronting Aku.  We’ve learned through history that previous raids from different kinds of armies all ended in disaster as Aku has no physical weakness.  In fact, none of them could even touch him.

Winston returned to the monitor and brought up an old newspaper article of a victory frame.

Winston:  Our attacks started as small raids against the Omnics before one single taskforce led by a fellow super soldier Jack Morrison destroyed the Omnics' command and control protocols. After great sacrifice and heroism in a series of dangerous raids, we destroyed it all, rendering the Omnic armies inactive.  We had saved mankind, and shocked Aku himself.

More photos and articles come up on screen, involving different acts of heroism and sacrifice.

Winston:  On that day, we made our statement loud and clear; we would protect what was left of our world against whatever Aku could throw at us.  As time passed, our team grew from a simple raid force into a secret global institution and monitoring network.  We became mankind’s hope for a brighter future.  One where we could no longer fear Aku’s reign and bring a newfound hope to the planet.  For twenty years we fought against whatever Aku threw at us.  But…

Winston had to pause.  He took off his glasses and held a heavy hand onto his cheek.

Jack:  …the downfall.

He put back on his glasses and continued his story, now bringing up unusual reports onto the monitors.  They depicted Overwatch as a possible threat or enemy.

Winston:  For twenty years, all we could do was fight off Aku’s forces, but the people began questioning us.  They wanted to know when we were going to take down Aku, where we could finally end his reign and bring in the generation of peace we had all dreamed of.  The demands started off slow, but over the years they gradually increased to the point that our organization was beginning to fall apart.  We were even beginning to be considered terrorists or threats against “the mighty Aku”.  There was nothing we could really say.

Winston brought up an article depicting an attack of a European city.

Winston:  I remember one of our final missions.  Seven years ago in Kings Row, London, the Omnics we had fought off were going to share peace with the humans and aliens and create the Omnic Rights Law, and even building a new home for them.  You see, when they failed to eradicate mankind, Aku banished them from his armies to live amongst the humans and aliens.  The omnics were no longer threats, they actually had personality.  But they had been torn apart for scrap or abused heavily for years, so one city decided to give them a new chance.  The result was a catastrophic disaster.  A robot terrorist group, Null Sector, launched a heavy attack onto Kings Row and took control of it, leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured.  Our team was the last hope to bring peace back into the city, so three of our head agents and a rookie cleaned up the mess and brought peace back into Kings Row.  But our celebration came at a cost.  Shortly after, the secret headquarters we made was reported destroyed, Commander Jack Morrison and several others declared killed in what was proclaimed as an accident.  Even to this day, nobody truly knows about the destruction.  Whoever did was caught in the blast.

One last report came up on the monitor, with Overwatch agents being handcuffed.

Winston:  And shortly after, Aku announced to the world that the destruction of our headquarters was the beginning of the end of our rebellion.  The bounty he put on our organization had increased to ridiculous numbers in order to prevent us from rebuilding.  He didn’t need to bother.  After much arguing and discussion, we decided to close up shop.  Overwatch was therefore disbanned and all remaining equipment would be transferred here to this Watchpoint, away from Aku’s watchful eye.

Winston had to stop.  He no longer wanted to discuss the painful past.  Jack could only stand up and place a comforting palm onto his shoulder.

Winston:  Sorry, it’s just terrible remembering decades of hard work all for nothing.  If you had been there, you’d know the weight we carry.

Jack:  …actually, I can relate.

Winston had to re-adjust his glasses to get his bearings.

Winston:  Did Aku destroy something of yours as well?

Jack:  Yes.  My home when I was only eight.  It was Aku’s first victory since his resurrection.

Winston:  Resur—w-wait a minute.  Did I miss something in the past seven years?

Jack realized that this ape had been stuck here in this base for all these years.  He hadn’t known who he was or how that it’s now possible for Aku to be destroyed.  The samurai decided to get the gorilla well informed of his situation.

Jack:  Not the past seven, from the very beginning.

The samurai pulled out the weapon he had fought against his enemies with.

Jack:  This sword was forged from the power of righteousness taken from my father, the Emperor's spirit. Its divine nature is capable of inflicting cuts and burns into Aku’s body.  My father slayed him the day I was born, but the demon’s rest was very brief.

Athena:  But, if what you’re saying is true, then you would have to be centuries or millennia old!

Jack:  My mother and I escaped Aku’s destruction with the sword, but my father had been captured.  We knew this day would came, and had a plan.  For over a decade, a warrior was trained and crafted to become the bane of evil’s might.  And when he was ready, he would dawn the sword and take the fight to Aku.  I am that warrior, and this blade is the only thing that can hurt Aku.  I returned to my home, desolated and abused by Aku’s power to avenge all that he had laid waste to.  The years of training had all been worth it as I had Aku weakened, about to throw the final swing.  Before I could, Aku laid one final trap; a portal that threw me into the future, now where Aku’s power had tainted not only the planet but the entire cosmos.

The scientist had his mouth agape the entire time.  He shook off the expression and walked over to his lab’s viewport.

Winston:  A power to slay Aku…something our organization never had.  …if only you had been here years earlier, your battle might have ended earlier.

Jack:  What’s important right now is for me to return to the past and undo this horrid future.  Did Overwatch ever create some kind of way to travel through time?

Winston:  Sadly, no.  We may have had resources, but understanding time travel was far from our reach.

Jack:  Then I will have to look elsewhere.

Winston:  W-wait, we may not have a time machine, but you have us.

Athena:  …Winston?

Winston:  Overwatch may be shut down, but this facility houses the recall protocol, running on the Overwatch Emergency Frequency—

Athena:  Winston!

Winston and Jack looked over to the computer where the voice yelled out.

Athena:  Every time you see or hear news of this sort, we go through this. Remember, recalling Overwatch agents to act in duty comes with great risk. Aku has deemed Overwatch activity as illegal and punishable by death.  We don’t even know what’s changed in the past several years or who is still alive.  We would put remaining agent’s lives in danger again.

Jack and Winston looked at each other, wondering what the other was thinking.  Winston knew Athena was right.  He wouldn’t put all of his colleagues in danger just because one man says he can defeat Aku.  And Jack wondered if giving him hope was a mistake.  Only Winston had the proper answer.

Winston:  Athena, Jack, have either of you ever wondered what a world without Aku would look like?  How much more science and innovation could be had if we weren’t cowering beneath an emperor.  Dr. Winston had his dreams, and so do I.

Jack:  *whispering to Athena*  I thought he was—

Athena:  Winston got his name from Dr. Harold Winston when he was an infant on the lunar colony.  He took the name in memory of him.

Winston:  I remember something he told me.   “Always remember: Never accept the world as it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it could be.”  I want to keep his promise and make the world that we both wanted to see, and so did all my other friends and colleagues.
And they were the only other family I had.  Jack.  Activating the recall might bring back former agents, but once Aku learns of our return, some of the strongest forces Overwatch had fought will be after you as well.  And if I were to initiate this recall, you would need to promise me something.  Something that I will keep you in check with.

Jack:  Anything.

Winston:  *heavy sigh*  …keep my family safe.

With a slow nod, Jack agreed to the terms.  But the moment had been spoiled by a stomach growl, embarrassingly coming from Jack.

Jack:  Uh, about those rations of yours…

Jack had casted off from Gibraltar, now with an assortment of rations (mostly bananas and peanut butter), but now with a long breath, he knew his quest against Aku wouldn’t have to be fought alone.

Winston watched the samurai’s boat as it disappeared into the horizon, in which he turned to his monitors and pressed a large finger onto a command, which sprouted even more screens of Overwatch –related monitoring.

Athena:  Establishing agent connections…

The past came alive again as dozens of names flashed across the screen of former agents being called back into work.  One of them immediately accepted the call.

???: Winston? Is that you, love? Oh, it's been too long!

Winston came back into the room, now wearing a large jetpack, ready to launch.

Winston:  Hm-hm.  Yes, yes it has.  And Tracer, I just met the answer to all our problems.