Below Zero

Chapter 2: Ecopoint: Fujian

The dropship had been in the air for some time now. Mei was staring out of one of the windows, in awe over the sights she was seeing. The world below her seemed so different; yet in a way, it felt the same in it's war-torn state. Mei wondered what the world would've been like if she, along with the rest of the Ecopoint: Antarctica team, never had to go into cryostasis. Perhaps the clues and evidence they had acquired could've made a big impact, and Overwatch could've been a step closer to their goal of finding the cause of the many climate problems that plagued the Earth. Maybe if that did happen, the public could've trusted Overwatch more. Maybe then, it wouldn't have collapsed.

"I guess I'm reading too deeply into this." Mei thought to herself. "I just wish Overwatch was like the way it was before I went into cryostasis. We no longer have the strength to make a difference for the environment. And nowadays, no one seems to want to fight for the Earth's health like we did back then." Mei was saddened somewhat by this thought. Snowball noticed Mei's distraught expressions and floated over to her to comfort her. Mei smiled and scratched Snowball, not unlike the way a cat gets scratched behind the ears.

"When it comes to fighting for our world, better late than never, I suppose." Mei thought to herself. She looked over to the other side of the dropship and saw Genji silently meditating. McCree, on the other hand, was sprawled across three seats, taking a nap. Mei smirked and came up with an idea. She walked up to McCree and knelt down by his face, before lightly nudging him. His weary eyes slowly opened.

"BOO!" Mei yelled. McCree jumped and clenched his chest, as his heart was obviously racing. Genji, however, didn't even flinch at the sudden sound.

"Are you awake now, sleepyhead?" Mei said. McCree groaned and sat up. Mei looked over at Genji in his meditative pose, as still as a statue.

"I don't think you've moved at all since we took off." Mei said. Genji nodded slightly.

"My master taught me the art of meditation." Genji said quietly. "If you're committed to it, it relaxes the soul."

"Ah, you and your meditation mumbo jumbo." McCree said. "If I wanted to relax, I'd drink whiskey like a man." Genji looked towards McCree and silently glared at him. The whole ship was quiet for a few moments. Genji broke the silence by equipping a shuriken and flinging it towards McCree, just barely grazing his nose before sticking to the wall.

"Whiskey can't help you do that." Genji said, somewhat cockily.

"And meditation can?" McCree said. He reached down to his holster and pulled out his revolver. "I'll show you-" McCree was quickly frozen in a block of solid ice from Mei's endothermic blaster. Genji chuckled at Mei's reaction.

"I'm sure he wasn't going to shoot me." Genji said.

"I just don't want things to get out of hand." Mei said. Genji merely shrugged. "Oh well. Hopefully he'll thaw out before we land. Speaking of which, we're almost there!" Mei looked out the window and saw a thick forest that stretched out for several miles. In the distance, she saw what appeared to be some sort of facility.

"That's gotta be it!" Mei exclaimed. She was soon proven right.

"Now arriving at Ecopoint: Fujian." the ship's AI said. It slowed down and began to descend to a clearing in the trees, nearby the same facility Mei saw earlier. The ship slowly touched down, and the doors swung open. Upon landing, McCree finally began to thaw.

"Very funny, Mei." McCree said as the ice melted off of him. "Freeze me again and you won't like what I'll do."

"You'll be frozen, so it won't matter what you do." Genji said. Despite having his mask on, you could tell he was smirking.

"Oh, you two." Mei said. "C'mon, we've got an ecopoint to explore!" Genji and McCree followed Mei to the front door of the main building. Mei forced the door open and stumbled inside. With only a few flickering lights and the sun's rays passing through holes in the ceiling, the building was dimly lit. With branches and vines scattered throughout, the building was overgrown. And combined with the structural problems and small amounts of debris, the whole facility was in a state of disrepair as a result of years of neglect. But what immediately stood out was the giant Overwatch logo on the wall. Most of it had faded, and colors had dulled. The words "Welcome to Ecopoint: Fujian" and it's Mandarin translation were below it, but the text was barely legible.

"Damn, this place looks like it hasn't been touched in years." McCree said as he roamed the empty hallways. Genji hacked his way through vines and branches with his wakizashi, only to find more of the same; worn down rooms that haven't been entered in years.

Mei found a large door with the Overwatch logo emblazoned on the front. The door was jammed halfway open, leaving only a small amount of room for Mei to squeeze in. She found a group of computers, not unlike the ones found at Ecopoint: Antarctica. The monitor screens were cracked, but some were more cracked than others. The keyboards were caked with dust, and most of them were in such a state of disrepair that trying to turn most of them on was a lost cause. However, one computer appeared to be in an good enough condition to turn on. Mei pressed the power button, hoping that it would work.

"C'mon..." Mei muttered to herself. Finally, the screen lit up with the Overwatch logo. "Yes!" Mei yelled. A login screen popped up, prompting Mei to put in her information. However, the system wouldn't grant her access. She ended up rummaging through the drawers of the desk she was sitting at, until she found a small piece of paper with writing on it.

"USER: ECO1105"
"PASS: EMPPROTOCOL"

"EMPPROTOCOL?" Mei said to herself. "What does that mean?" She thought to herself for some time, before moving on and entering in the information. Mei was finally let into the system. On the computer, she found multiple files full of data that was obtained while the ecopoint was still operational. Her heart began to race, and she was giddy from excitement. But one file in particular caught her attention. It was labeled "EMPPROTOCOL", just like the password. She opened up the file and found multiple documents that contained blueprints to some sort of large device, or possibly some sort of large weapon.

"What is all this?" Mei asked herself. Before she could analyze further, Genji rushed into the room.

"What's wrong, Genji?" Mei asked in a concerned tone.

"It's the dropship AI." he said. "The radar is picking up signals."

"Signals? From what?" Mei asked. They rushed out to the dropship and heard the AI speak to itself.

"Warning: several unidentified ships inbound."