The rain painted the cement ground with a layer of colorless paint, unrelenting in that dark night. In weather conditions that would dampen most moods and ruin many plans, a party of twenty people was more than thankful for what it gave them. They signaled at one another multiple times, the darkness obscuring their hands yet they were afraid of using communications for fear of being detected. While the enemy beyond the gate was supposedly just a small force, they could not afford to take risks. After all, risks could easily turn to result in the loss of many lives.
On that night, a team of organized local militias were sent into a remote research facility to secure it. While was not an important target, what was important was the fact that they had access to a very important database, one that the enemy could now access thanks to a surprise attack. No one outside the council should have known about the fact that the database was moved here for the day for the researchers to analyze some potentially valuable discoveries; in fact they had made sure to only send a small defense addition as to not arouse suspicion. And yet here they were, having to retake the location from the enemy and make sure that the database, which was in the form of a small cylindrical data core, did not fall into the wrong hand.
Fortunately, the enemy must still be in there, letting their code-breaker do its work. The database was locked in the heavy safebox of the center, fortunately rushed there by the director of the place the moment he had realized there was an attack. The code was only known to him and in the database of the council, and the courageous man had made sure that he would never reveal the secret to anyone at the cost of his own life.
The infiltration was easy enough, and the enemies were caught off-guard. Sure they had some injuries on the friendly side, after all, the enemy was still quite nicely fortified in their defensive positions, but that was what Mercy was there for. She helped patch up those wounded and provided tactical insight as well as acting as a representative from Overwatch to oversee and provide a report after the mission. It had been deemed safe enough after all, having such a large force against a weak enemy. It almost seemed too easy, as if the enemy had sent a small group due to not believing whatever intel they had themselves.
Yet in the next few moments, Mercy could only watch as the plan that had gone so perfectly and the team that had done phenomenally without any mistakes disappear in a flash. She had been walking away from the main group to check on the surviving researchers and other personnel, only the feel a chill run up her spine and the sight of a dark cloud that symbolized death. And with the symbol, came the messenger.
Mercy could only watch helplessly as she watched the soldiers stared wide eyed at the darkly cloaked figure that had suddenly appeared in the midst of them all. She could only watch, her mouth unable to even finish her warning as the air was filled with the sounds of gunfire, screams, and a merciless laugh. She watched as the blood of the men that had just moments ago been joking with each other explode into the air, creating petals of red that hovered in the air before painting the ground faster than the rain that was coming from the sky. All around the dark cloud there were red petals of blood, petals of a Death Blossom.
In a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, it was all over. The last man had fallen to the ground, leaving Mercy as the last one standing. She was shocked to find herself bounding toward the figure, her Caduceus pistol in hand and firing in raw anger. However, these bullets passed through the dark cloud that shifted around and toward her, before reforming and showing a flash of a shotgun. The gun came down hard, striking her hand with a small crack which was followed by a small grunt of pain from Mercy as she dropped her pistol and watched it bounce away into the darkness. Another hit struck her in the stomach and made her drop to the ground on her knees, her eyes looking up at the dark figure standing above her angrily.
"Why?" was all she could bring herself to shout at him. The rain was the only thing that gave her an answer, the water flowing off of her tied up hair and down the sides of her waterproof clothing. She gritted her teeth and shouted at him again, demanding for him to answer her. Why did he have to kill so many people. Over what, a stupid piece of information. While they would have all hated the idea, they would have easily stand down in the face of such overwhelmingly power, after all who didn't know the tale of The Reaper. And yet he killed mercilessly, leaving not a single survivor.
"There is something important here. Something that I had no hesitation to kill for." Mercy's eyes widened. What the hell was he going on about. The data core just contained information on a new experimental drug. It wasn't even complete and in all honesty, it was the least supported and liked project they had for ethical reason. That much Mercy knew from the mission brief at least. "Important? Do you even know what that word even means anymore?"
Reaper paused, staring down the length of his shotgun that was pointed at her. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, I don't. However, it contains information on a something that is important to me." As she opened her mouth to yell again, he calmly said, "The drug. It has effects that can do the same thing as what made me this way."
Mercy stopped, her eyes widening in shock as her anger dropped away in disbelief. She had not been informed of such matter, in fact she had expressly forbidden anyone from ever asking her for the details of what she did to him. It was too dangerous and uncontrollable. It was not a long stretch to see why the council would want to keep it a secret and away from the enemy. Revealed to Overwatch and it would instantly be taken away. Stolen by the enemy and suddenly there was no longer just one Reaper.
"You wanted to know why I could kill them all without even a moment of hesitation. That's because of what you did to me. And what that thing would do to so many more." Mercy opened her mouth to protest but knew that it was futile. After all, he was right. In her mind, she knew that sooner or later they were going to try to use it to make a stronger soldier than Reaper, one that they believe that they could control. It didn't matter who had it, but in the end Reaper knew how it worked and would use it better in the long run.
"What have I done …" Mercy looked down at the ground in shock as she saw the world crumble apart. It had been a terrible accident, and yet now she had shown them the capability of it as a weapon. Even if she had tried to hide it, it was her fault that they had gotten a clue on this technology and the fact that it could be used in combat. And it was her fault that the man standing in front of her was the way he was.
"I'm … I'm so sorry." Reaper stayed silent as she slowly looked back up at him. What else could she say. All traces of anger was gone now, all replaced by shock. After all, it was true that she made him this way. In that case, it would make more than enough justification for him to stop at nothing to find out what had made him this way, and turn it against the one who had cursed him with that fate. A retribution to her that so many innocent men paid the price for instead.
"So just once wasn't enough. It wasn't enough that you made me like this. Now you're going to go ahead and try to make it so you can kill me? Then make an army of undead to roam the world?" he scoffed at her. Mercy looked up and shook her head violently, only able to respond with, "No … No, I didn't know …"
"Just like how you didn't know what you were doing to me back then?" Mercy's head snapped up, looking up at the cold mask that she knew covered the face of the man that she had condemned to a fate worse than death. A face that was no longer human, one that she doubted even he wanted to look at. Before she knew it, she had fallen back onto her heel, her head dipping down as tears started streaming down her cheeks. The man in front of her only stood there, his right hand still holding a steady aim on her head. She could only cry then, knowing fully well that everything had been her fault. His fate, the death of so many around the world, this operation, and the death of everyone here. All because of one mistake, a mistake that she could never make up for. To the world, to the dead, or to him.
"Have you ever wished that I was dead? Have, no, do you wish that, in that moment, you had simply given up and let me die?" Her eyes filled with tears as she searched his face, looking past the shotgun that was up against her forehead. Just what was he asking of her? Why had he not just taken his revenge on her right then already, when she was already broken and finished. Why did he ask that question?
"Never. I could never wish that on anyone because-" she said, looking at him with hesitation in her eyes. However, the cold figure standing in front of her simply scoffed at her. "Because heroes never die? I'm no hero, Dr. Ziegler and you know that too damn well."
Mercy squeezed her eyes shut. It was true, all her life had been a series of trials to save one person after another, to keep one hero alive to save a dozen innocents. Yet, even now she could recall the sight of his lifeless body in front of her, and the resolve that she had to keep him alive no matter the cost. It had nothing to do with the values that she held nor her pride.
"It was because, I couldn't bear the thought of a world without you." The confession stopped even the Reaper's train of thought. After all, just what did she mean by that. She was a proud member of Overwatch, an icon within it really. It was by his design that things had gone in the way that it did. Yet even as he opened his mouth to stop her senseless ramble, he saw something that he could never imagine to see. When he met her eyes again, it wasn't the doctor that he saw fearlessly looking back at him, it was the soft eyes of Angela, the eyes that he had admired and grown to love so long ago. And in them, there was not a single thing that told him that she was saying anything but the absolutely truth that she held in her heart. Because when she saved him, she wasn't working as Mercy, the proud angel of Overwatch. She was Angela.
"Why?" His voice was calm and gravely as ever, yet to Angela, it sounded as if it had faltered, even just a little bit. She gulped and asked him softly, "Why do you think I saved you?" She reached out with one of her hands, still on her knees in front of him, yet desperately wanting to be closer. Reaper looked at her hand as it slowly came, telling himself that this was all a diversion and a cruel lie for her to save herself or even a trap for her to single-handedly kill him in his moment of hesitation. But even he couldn't convince himself of that, not when she touched his cold bony hand without a single hint of fear, and not when her eyes were open wide and looking at him in tears, its depth as deep as the path to her heart. As Angela held onto his hand firmly yet tenderly, she swallowed down the last of her hesitation. "I always wanted you to be by my side Gabe. Even when you broke away from us, I knew there was a part of you that was filled with regret. And when I saw you lose your consciousness and slipping away from this world, I … I couldn't bear to lose you, not when your eyes were looking at me with such remorse and loneliness. I could never have abandoned you, not when you already had no one that you could count on."
She had stood up, now standing close to him. He had lowered his gun with every word and she had slowly stood up, though the two events happened without the man himself really registering it. When he finally moved, his right hand dropped the shotgun he had been holding and moved slowly up to her face, almost as if he was afraid of what he was about to do. He hesitated, his hand hovering so close to her face yet unable to finish the action. He had hurt her so much and had never realized what she had always been trying to do for him, by what right did he have to touch her now. However, a soft hand calm down on his own, closing the remaining distance. He stroked her cheek tenderly with his thumb as she offered him a small smile. A smile that he knew so well, yet one that was now in a world that he could never return to outside the confines of his own mind.
Reaper grimaced and curled his hand into a fist and let go of her other hand. He pushed her back, though not enough to knock her off her feet, and drew a shotgun from his cloak with his right hand again, pointing directly at her. Angela's eyes widened as she could only search his face for an explanation, for a hint of his thought. They stood there in silence, a silence that was only filled with emotions and rain. They did not break each other's gaze, not even when Reaper spoke again.
"I'm sorry, Angela. I wish that I could see and be that wonderful man you had seen in me, even after all this time. But at last, Gabriel Reyes is long gone." Angela heard the click of a rifle as it readied to fire. She closed her eyes, the tears and the rain no longer distinguishable on her soft cheeks. It was over. She heard his footsteps approaching her, stopping right in front of her and the cold muzzle of his gun against her forehead. His hand fell on her shoulder, one that was not shaking from the cold or the fear. She felt the cold darkness that moved close to her as Reaper leaned in close. She shivered and squeezed her eyes tightly, knowing that she in the end, she couldn't reach his heart after all. Not even with her own.
"Thank you for everything Angela. You were and will always be in my heart." A rough push forced her down to her knee as a loud crack sounded above her head, followed by the sound of a gun clattering to the ground and a thump of a dead body. Her eyes widened and looked up at the man in front of her, unreadable as ever and still an unwavering wall of stoicism. She watched as he threw his gun away, her eyes not leaving the mask that hid his face even as it struck the ground and skidded away. It would be gone in a moment, much like the body behind her. However, he was also going to be gone.
"I'll look forward to our next meeting doctor," the cold voice in front of her said calmly. As the dark figure walked away, the trail of dark mist in his wake, he paused for a moment. He looked over his shoulder at the woman on the ground, the one that he had once loved, once more as he said, "And never let anyone take that smile from you."
Backup military force and a few Overwatch members soon came and cleaned up the scene, locating and taking in any of the remaining personnel on the scene yet unable to find the data core that they had been originally looking for. It was a grim scene, as they were ironically unable to even stare at a field of bodies to put to a grave, not when they had all decayed away at an inhuman rate. It was not until a few days later that its fragments were found on the side of the road a kilometer away from the site, leaving many to wonder how it got there. Yet as Angela laid in her bed that day, granted relief from her duties for a while, she knew that perhaps the man named Gabriel Reyes was not truly gone after all.
He seemed to be worlds away from her but, just perhaps, he was still there.