It was late afternoon when Reinhardt stopped a local gang in Brandenburg, Germany with Brigitte, his goddaughter. This gang was taking residence at Eichenwald Castle and preying on nearby towns. Reinhardt was disgusted at this gang's activities and took it upon himself to do something. He and Brigitte rid the area of these scum and are now sitting inside a small bar with the name Braueret Mittagskrug, which is abandoned and outside the castle. The bar stands inside still had a few bottles and metal tankards here and there. A few wine barrels appear to be on the side, most likely empty, and some long wooden bench tables that are either broken or chipped with a few wooden stools on the side. This place has not been tended to for a while as it is dusty and broken wood is everywhere.
"Reinhardt. come on, armor off... You're bleeding from somewhere obviously" she said as she pointed to the trail of blood behind him.
Reinhardt grunted in response as he started dismantling the armor top, he is wearing. He started off with his metal gloves, brace and then shoulder pieces and dropped each onto the ground as they made large thuds. His chest piece was the heaviest of all as it contains the suits power source in the front and thrusters at the back, which provide him the ability to charge at enemies. He wears the classical armor of the Crusaders who were a military order of modern knights aligned with the German Armed Forces that was disbanded after their retreat in the battle of Eichenwald over 20 years ago. Reinhardt's full armor suit of the Crusaders resembles Medieval knights. They are equipped with rocket hammers and barrier shields; the latter of which are used to provide cover for soldiers and to advance under fire. After taking his armor off, he was now in his green trousers and white tank top, which is now blood red on the back. He took it off and sat down on a wooden stool giving his back to Brigitte.
Reinhardt took a big sigh and said "I'm not as young and strong as I used to be."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an overwatch medal, which held beautiful memories that came with terrible losses and pain.
Brigitte was standing behind him with a box that looks like a makeshift med kit. She took out a needle and thread as she examined the wound on his back. She had a bottle of whiskey that she got from the bar and was about to use it to disinfect the wound before she handed it to Reinhardt to take a sip to numb the pain that he is about to feel. When she got a glimpse at his facial expression and the medal in his hand, she grabbed it and tossed it onto the table while saying "all the more reason you need to stop thinking about Overwatch and Winston's Recall".
"I know. I know. It's just nice to remember the good old days, even if they may bring pain" He replied.
He took a gulp and handed the bottle back to her to carry on with the task. He did not even flinch to the burning sensation of the alcohol nor the needle. She was not surprised as his back is filled with scars of previous wounds he got from battles. Though Overwatch was disbanded, Reinhardt was not content to sit idly by while the world fell to disorder. He continued donning his Crusader armor, and vowed to fight for justice across Europe like a knight of old, defending the innocent and winning hearts and minds with the promise of better days to come. In this he was now accompanied by an adult Brigitte. The pair would journey throughout Europe in a modified 16-wheeler vehicle while getting into numerous scraps and, day by day, she was forced to tend to Reinhardt in addition to his armor. While his body was breaking down from years of combat, his enthusiasm wasn't. People would be amazed to see that Reinhardt is in his sixties and standing at 7'4 feet with a great muscular physique. She finished stitching up the wound and handed him another clean tank top from his bag.
"Thank you, Brigitte." he said as he put his tank top on.
"Your armor needs tending to as well. It's badly damaged so it will take time to repair" she replied as she acknowledged his thanks.
Brigitte is the daughter of the great Swedish blacksmith Torjborn and she has taken up her father's skills at being a blacksmith, though she is not as good as the master. Reinhardt grew close to Torbjorn during the Omnic crisis in overwatch and he, as an excellent blacksmith, tended to the crusader's armor. They took part in operation White dome in Istanbul where Torbjörn was seriously injured, losing his arm, but Reinhardt was able to save his life in the battle. He received commendation for his valor to rescue injured comrades. Torbjörn was hospitalized for a long time and Reinhardt spent a great deal of his time at his bedside talking endlessly. Half in jest, Torbjörn stated that if Reinhardt shut up, he would be allowed to name his newest daughter, who was due to be born very soon. He admitted that he had already been considering making Reinhardt the baby's godfather anyway. Reinhardt agreed, and when Torbjörn's daughter was born he named her Brigitte, which her mother, Ingrid, agreed with. Reinhardt was close with Brigitte as she grew up, telling her tales of valor and chivalry.
Having served into his late fifties, Reinhardt was faced with mandatory retirement from combat operations. Torbjörn, only four years younger than him, was particularly incensed that the organization simply "pushed Reinhardt out" after giving everything of himself in years of service. The Swedish family would not forget the incident and left the organization themselves. Despondent about being removed from active duty, Reinhardt feared that his days of purpose and glory had ended. As times grew darker and Overwatch came under suspicion of corruption and sedition, Reinhardt could only watch as the cause he had dedicated his life to defending surrendered in disgrace.
Reinhardt walked over to the table where Brigitte tossed the medal. It landed on a table that had a word carved in its REINHARDT. He picked up the medal and looked back at Brigitte, who was trying to wash out the blood stain off.
"I feel obliged to answer" He informed her in a defeated tone.
"We talked about this! You don't have to do this anymore" she dropped the shirt in the bucket of water and walked over to sit on a stool next to the bar stand but instead leaned on the counter and continued "Winston's recall wasn't meant for you, this isn't your fight."
Reinhardt walked over to the stand and sat on a stool still looking deeply into the medal.
"Papa told me, after so many years of service, you gave overwatch everything and they still pushed you out. Why would you go back to them?" Brigette said in a frustrated tone. "Reinhardt are you listening?"
Reinhardt was not very focused on the words that Brigette was saying but turned to her and said "If I am called, and I do not answer, what is left Brigitte?".
She was caught off guard by that answer. She thought to herself that shouldn't he be thinking about his own health, given his age and injuries. Does he truly believe that in death he would be able to fulfill his mission?
"Walk with me... I will tell you the story of this place. The place where my life changed"
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(for a detailed story of young Reinhardt, please watch the video"
*the following events take place after Reinhardt finishes recollecting the events of eichenwalde but before placing the medal on the throne*
The German forces ultimately pushed the omnics back enough to give the rest of the air force time to counterattack and drop bombs, but
Reinhardt walked inside the castle entrance as he finished telling the story with Brigitte following him. They had passed some Bastion in the castle courtyard that were completely overgrown with grass and colorful flowers. Brigitte thought of the irony that such a beautiful sight would belong to this deadly machinery. Reinhardt was silent now and she was hesitant to speak as she wanted to hear more of his adventures, but a minute of silence passed and she couldn't bear it any longer.
"Where are we heading now?" She asked as she stood in place.
Reinhardt turned the corner without answering her and disappeared out of sight, and in response she called out to him but only silence followed. She treaded slowly around the corner to see Reinhardt standing in front of a throne. A person with a crusader's armor that has been rusted and overgrown was sitting there. She realized this must be Balderich sat in a throne befitting for a hero. As this entire area was infested with omnics, no one would have been able to retrieve his body in the past. Therefore, it was left behind as he decayed and his armor rusted.
Reinhardt looked at the medal in his hand thinking of Balderich's last request of him; be their shield. He placed the medal on the throne's arm piece and looked directly into his general's helmet, where his eyes used to be.
"I have been called" He turned around and started walking away from the throne. "I must answer...always".
Eichenwald and Balderich were lost and with the exception of Reinhardt himself no other crusaders escaped the battle alive. Balderich's death changed Reinhardt and his mentor's sacrifice weigh on him till this day.