All copyright of this story belongs to Blizzard; this is fanfiction. If Blizzard disapproves of the content of this story, I will immediately take it down, following an official request. Thank you Blizzard for the inspiration from your amazing game: Overwatch.
Prologue
Sitting atop a boulder, I gazed down at the narrow river below me. The only sound for miles was my own breath, and the sound of water leaving the mountainside. The morning sun cast its rays on the water below, scarcely thawing the frost along the bank. It had taken a year of walking to reach this point. Three thousand kilometers, just to sit on this rock; I had gone so far, but in my gut, I knew all my problems had travelled with me. "I could always head back home." I thought. Shaking my head, I was done. There was nothing left to go back to. "What's the point of life?" I said aloud to myself. Looking down, I stared into the distance; Frozen in time. Two hands locked onto my shoulders. "This is." A deep throaty voice whispered into my ear. Without even a scream, I was sent plunging nine hundred feet into the shallow river below. Anger, fear, confusion, I did not know what to feel. Despite my emotion, I had my resolve. "You're wrong!" I called out. Wishing for a miracle, nothing came. The last thing I remember is the jarring impact of my face slamming into the water.
Chapter 1
They say you appreciate life most in your final moments. If I could find whoever said that, I'd tell them "Frankly, it's afterwards."
Gasping for air, I was conscious, still floating in the water. Not even knowing where I was, I thought: "How long have I been in here?" Squinting, it was a lot darker than before. Both eyes were so swollen, I could only see through a narrow slit in my right eye. My right arm refused to move, and I had several deep gashes along my torso. Glancing over at my right arm, I could just make out the outline of a bone jutting out. Maybe it was a good thing I couldn't see too well. One thing I did know is that I had to get out of the water, or I would surely pass out a second time; never to wake up again. Through the narrow slight in my right eye, I could see a river bend approaching. Instinctively, I began kicking towards the edge of the bend with all the energy I had left. Using the current to my advantage, I was able to float diagonally on my back all the way to shore.
Emerging from the water, I got to my feet. Using my left hand, I wrung out my clothing as much as I could. Laughing to myself, I knew my problems truly did follow me all the way to Ivvavik National Park; still wanting to kill me after three thousand kilometers of hiking. My gear was far, far away, and I was lost. Dusk was beginning to settle in, giving me the realization I had no food, shelter or medical supplies. If I did not find one of the three, they would win. In my narrow vision, I could make out a big grassy hill. If I climbed that, the vantage point would be great. Hobbling along, I clumsily stepped over loose rocks scattered all over the ground. I was only halfway up the hill before dusk decided to run out. The night suddenly brought a chill with it as I slowly stumbled upwards. Despite it being summer, it still got cold quickly at night in the north.
'But hey, if I fell off a cliff and lived, I can totally make this hill." I thought to myself. Panting, I still thought about the voice of the thing that pushed me. 'Had they really tracked me that far?' I thought to myself. Confused, I stumbled on until the ground no longer sloped upwards. This was it, I was at the top and there was nothing for me but darkness. Unwilling to resign to defeat, I dropped to my knees and felt along the ground, feeling nothing but grass and leaves. Dropping all standards, I picked the grass and ate it. Picking up some of the leaves, I pressed them against the gashes on my torso, slowing the blood flow. Finally, I curled up into a miserable, wet ball of self-pity. 'Why am I trying so hard to live?' I thought to myself. Contemplating this, I sat there for minutes; maybe even hours.
Breaking me out of my trance, I saw a light. Just one very dim light, about five hundred feet away. Then another, and then another. In stunned silence, I sat and watched hundreds of lights flicker to life in the middle of nowhere in Ivvavik. With curiosity burning inside, I crawled closer, staying on the grass to muffle my noise. Reaching the edge of the light, I felt a tree and hid behind it. 'Did they know I was still alive?' I thought. Peering out from behind the tree, I saw at least one hundred blurry blobs with their backs turned all facing something else. 'Is this a meeting?' I thought. My question was quickly laid to rest when the lead figure began to speak in a very loud, low voice "Former agents of…ahem. Agents of Overwatch! You have all answered my recall. The people decided they were better off without us, but we need to do something! All of you that are now here believe the same thing. This is the 2nd Omnic Crisis."
'Tap.' I slammed myself backwards. "Whatcha lookin at?" said a higher pitched voice in a British accent behind me. Slowly turning my head, I could just make out the silhouette of 2 pistols pointed right at me. "Fuck off." I replied. The figure behind me laughed genuinely for several seconds. "No. You're coming with me." She said, nudging me towards the light with her pistols. Giving a long sigh, I resign, get up, and hobble slowly towards the open. Upon reaching the light, I hear an audible gasp "Wha happened to you?" in genuine concern. "Long story." I croak back. Turning, I face my captor to confirm that she is indeed a female. Despite my poor eyesight, I was amazed to see she had crazy brown hair growing all over the place; I couldn't understand how she could keep it like that in the middle of a forest… She wore a shiny blue orb around her waist and had a fitting brown pilot's jacket. Strangest of all was a random pair of orange goggles. "Well, I'd quite like to hear that story." The woman returned. "Are you going to kill me?" I asked. "Gosh, no. Why would you think that?" she answered. "Am I a prisoner?" I asked. "Right now, yes. You look too tense." She warmly replied. "Who are you?" I asked. "I'm Tracer!" she answered, almost taken aback I had never heard of her. "No. Who are you people?" I demanded. With patience running out, she simply said "Follow me." With guns at my back, I walked forward to a structure up ahead. Sighing, I thought 'Totally asked too many questions. If she wanted me dead, I'd probably have been dead at that tree.' The door opened automatically, and I stepped inside.