Sorry this took so long guys! I tried to get this out yesterday, but I was just impossibly stuck on one part of this chapter. I tried several revisions, but I just couldn't get past the part I was stuck on. Eventually, I managed to scrap together a chapter I was satisfied with. Sorry if there's a few typos. I'll be checking back in and searching for any. I'm just way too drained from spending a day and half working on this chapter. If you find any typos that I might've missed, be sure to send me a message giving me a heads up. With that, I'm going to leave you to read this chapter of Death's Blossom. Enjoy!

~Atlas

"That bitch!"

Angela flinched as another another chair smashed against the wall.

"Gabe, you need to calm down!"

"Fuck off, Jack! How can you ask me to calm down, when that bitch just murdered Gerard?"

Angela sat quietly in her chair, watching, as I threw a tantrum in the boardroom with Jack unsuccessfully trying to calm me down.

"You don't know if that's what happened. For all we know, Amelia was captured again and Gerard was assassinated in his sleep."

I rolled my eyes as pounded my fist on the table. "Oh come on, Jack! Even you know how stupid that sounds. Gerard was trained to fight off assassinations. Talon's tried several times to take him out, and they failed each time. This only could have happened by someone from the inside."

This argument went on for what seemed like ages. Angela looked over at Ana, one of the other members sitting in the room. The older woman was drinking tea for most of the conflict, but even she began to grow tired of the dispute.

"Gabriel?"

"What?" I growled as my head shot in Ana's direction.

The look she gave me felt like it was piercing my soul. "Sit down." I felt my blood run cold.

But still, I refused to back down. "Ana, you can't seriously be taking his side on this. There's no way this could be a simple infiltration."

Her brow twitched as she scowled, "I know that much, Gabriel. But Jack is right about your behavior. We won't get anywhere with your belligerent attitude. Now, listen to me, and sit down."

I glared at Jack before begrudgingly pulling out one of the remaining chairs. I glanced around as I kept a mental list of the people here. Reinhardt, Torbjorn, Jesse, Jack, Ana, Angela, Winston, Genji, and the new girl.

She joined us recently. Apparently, she was in an accident that practically made her a ghost until Winston and Angela worked on her. With the help of that metal device attached to her chest, she seemed stable enough to live a regular life. But for some reason, she chose to stick with us. Whatever, as long as she knows how to keep her mouth shut.

"I just can't believe that Amy would do something horrible like that."

So much for that. I sighed and glared at the girl who just spoke up. "Amy?"

Her cheeks became flushed as she looked at her feet. "Yeah, it's a nickname that I call her. We were good friends."

I groaned as I facepalmed.

"I think that's sweet, Lena.. She was very lucky to have a friend like you."

I peek through my fingers and see Angela rubbing the girl's back, giving her an encouraging smile. It was almost a nice moment between the two of them before Angela turned her head and gave me a nasty glare. I shrugged.

Winston coughed into his fist to grab attention. "Now then, the problem remains. Miss Lacroix has disappeared," He means Escaped. "and as much as I want to dedicate our research team to finding her location, we simply do not have the time nor the resources to spend on this."

Jack furrowed his brows, "What do you mean? This is a high priority situation. We can't afford to let her stay in the hands of Talon. Who knows what they'll do to her?"

The gorilla raised his hands to concede, "Yes, I understand the situation. However, the Omnic attacks are showing no signs of slowing down, and as long as that remains a threat, we cannot allow our focus to be detracted to another cause."

The new girl decided that she'd heard enough. She stood up, breaking from Angela's hold, and scolded the ape. "Winston! I can't believe you right now! Are you seriously thinking about leaving Amy alone like that? After all we've been through, you're just going to abandon her?!"

"Don't be stupid."

Lena stopped her ranting and stared at me in shock.

I crossed my arms, "If you put aside your personal relationships for just one second, you'd see how idiotic you sound right now."

Angela and Jack both stood at the same time, speaking simultaneously, "Gabe!"

"Shut up." I scowled. I slowly stood and stared Lena down, "Do you realize that if we sent soldiers over to locate Amelie, then we'd be taking troops away from cities- cities in need of protection. Without those soldiers, those cities could be attacked. Families would be shot down like they were in a firing line, and they may as well be if we relocate those soldiers. Are you telling me that you're willing to put all of their innocent lives at risk just to save a friend?"

She just stared at me, and I could see tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I didn't think so." I deadpanned as I sat back down.

"Then, what do you suggest we do, Gabe?" Jack said, pushing everyone's focus onto me.

I closed my eyes and considered every possible solution. Once I've decided on the best one, I opened my eyes and took a breath. "Simple, we finish what we started."

Ana taps the table with her index finger, "What do you mean by that?"

I pause before speaking up, "The monkey's right, we can't afford to reassign our troops for this operation." Winston started to say, "Actually, I'm not a-"

I cut him off, "But, the rest of you aren't necessarily wrong either."

Jack's face showed confusion as he asked, "Where are you getting at here?"

I shot him an annoyed look, "What I'm getting at, is that in order to effectively shift our focus to the Amelie problem, we'd have to solve the problem of the Omnic Crisis."

Ana sighed, "You're making this sound easier than it actually is. We've been fighting the Omnics for years now, and we still have yet to determine who's behind all of it."

"No, you're wrong."

She looked up, curious. I continued, "We've had the ability to find out who's behind this for a while. We've just been too afraid to take the chance cause of the risks of getting it wrong. But, if we keep hoping that the answer comes to us, we'll never win this war. We have to take the chance now. No more battles, no more chances. We can end this war in one operation, if we just stop kicking the dirt and feeling sorry for ourselves."

Genji spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. "How can you be sure of who the enemies are? If we are mistaken, we could be targeting more innocent civilians. I will not allow that to happen."

I looked to my right and responded plainly, "We won't be mistaken. You'll just have to trust me."

After that, Genji returned to his silence. Jack looked concerned, his eyes shifting between the two of us. Eventually, he sighed and gave me a serious look. "Gabe, I'm trusting you on this. Please don't make me look like a fool for doing so. If you really have a some way that can end this war now, then I need you to do it."

I nodded before looking to the rest of the group. Ana looked unconvinced, but she hesitantly nodded, "If you really think that's the best plan… then I will support this decision."

Jesse smirked and tipped his hat, "Like I said before, I've got your back, Gabe."

Winston looked pleased as he clapped, "Very well, you have my support, Gabriel."

Reinhardt and Torbjorn laughed as they stood up. Reinhardt pounded his fist against his chest, "You have our arms, my friend. Let us arise victorious, together."

Genji silently nodded, before speaking quietly. "We will follow your plan, then we will target the woman who acted so dishonorably."

Lena's head was down, but as she looked up, I saw a determination in her eyes. "Alright, love. Let's take those baddies down and save Amy!"

I chuckled, maybe she won't be so bad after all. I paused as I looked over to Angela. She had arms crossed and refused to look at me. Come on, Doc. Just say yes. That's all I need to hear. Please.

But she didn't. She just sat there in silence. She wouldn't even look at me. Jack saw my reaction and stood up. "Right, then we have a plan. Gabe, you're in charge of this operation. Don't let us down."

I should have been happy. I should have been excited, ready for battle. But instead, I just nodded. Everything else droned out. I couldn't stop looking at Angela. In my peripheral vision, I watched as, one-by-one, everyone left the board room. I stayed seated till even Angela got up and left, still refusing to acknowledge me.

I sat there, dazed, for an hour before mindlessly getting up and stepping out of the room. What was that? I shook my head. No, I don't have time to waste stuck up on her. I moved forward towards the research lab. I'll ask her about it later. For now, I have a job to do.

For the next few days, I spent all of my free time working with the other members to determine where our target would be. You'd think spending that much time together with them would improve our relationship. Actually, it was quite the opposite.

All interaction between me and the others were strictly professional and work-related. I refused to screw this operation up. If everything goes well, I might even be promoted to the strike commander of Overwatch.

Once everything was prepared, I gathered the everyone together and loaded them all up into a transport jet. I expected the ride to be quiet as everyone prepared for battle. I've never been more wrong in my life. Everyone was joking around with each other, laughing and acting like nothing was wrong with life. A few tried to talk to me, but I ignored them until they gave up or got the hint.

Once we arrived at the destination, I immediately got to work.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" All conversations came to a stop as their heads turned to look at me.

"We don't have a lot of time before we have to get started. This was the original base of operations to Omnica Headquarters, the first company to mass produce Omnics. We believe that our problems all originated here. We've found evidence that there's a virus branching out to several outside cities rooting somewhere in this husk of a building. Our mission is to find the computer with the program that's releasing this virus and shut it down, by any means necessary.

We're going to split up into groups to find the objective more effectively. Jack, you're taking the upper level with Ana and Reinhardt. Winston, you'll take charge of the main floor with Torbjorn and Lena. Genji, Jesse, you're searching below grounds with me."

I glanced over at Angela, who was looking at me expectantly. Come with me. I want you to come with me.

"Angela, you're with Jack. Make sure you have his back in case we trigger any alarms."

I closed my eyes and internally groaned. Why can't I just say what I mean?

For a split second, I could have sworn I heard disappointment in her voice.

"Okay, I will do my best!"

I opened my eyes and nodded. "Alright then, let's get to work."

I pulled out my twin shotguns and pounded my fist on the walls. The door lowered, revealing stairs leading to the building. I took the lead with Jesse and Genji, heading inside first.

Hours passed with seemingly no problems. No problems, except that I wasn't finding anything.

"Damn it!" I growled as I shot another hole into a computer.

I heard Jesse sigh as he walked up from behind me and tossed my computer into the pile of lost causes. "I hear ya. This ain't nearly as exciting as I thought it'd be. Doesn't help that we ain't found nothing."

I repeatedly pounded my head into a desk before straightening my back. "Alright, time to report in."

I reached up and activated my earpiece. "We've got nothing down here. What's the status upstairs?"

I heard a crackle before catching a gruff voice. "We've found nothing yet. But we will continue the search."

Jesse chuckled, leaning against a desk. "You ever think Reinhardt comes from a different time. Acts like a real knight, you know?"

I ignored him, and waited for the last team to respond. I looked up at the ceiling as I let out a deep breath.

"Everything's okay up here, Love. Haven't found the virus, but we're not giving up!"

"Nobody's found anything? No enemies, no firewalls, nothing?"

I heard a pause on the other side before the british girl spoke up again, "No, sorry. We've been trying. but-"

There was some noise in the background. Gunshots rang out and I heard shouts in the distance.

"Winston! Get away from him you big-"

The earpiece was filled with static as her comm switched off. I turned to look at Jesse and Genji, who both already seemed ready to go. I nodded my head and unholstered my twin shotguns. We rushed to the staircase, but we froze when we saw what was waiting for us.

"I.N.T.R.U.D.E.R D.E.T.E.C.T.E.D"

We saw a squad of omnic soldiers turning the corner, stopping in the middle of our path. They each automatically raised their rifles to their hips.

"Get down!" I jumped out of the way and pull a desk to its side as a makeshift shield. "Genji!"

I heard his mechanical voice echo past the gun shots. "Understood." I watched as he stood up and readied his blade. All of the soldiers' attentions moved to him. As bullets whizzed by him, Genji positioned his blade. "始め!"

Time seemed to slow down as he shifted his blade to deflect each bullet, sending them back in their direction. After 3 seconds, all that was left of the Omnic force was ash and scraps. I gave him a nod before moving up the staircase, my weapons at ready. As I turned the corner, I saw two more Omnics waiting for me. I took aim and fired both shots simultaneously, taking them both out instantly.

As I started to move forward, the wall beside me exploded, knocking me to the ground. My vision blurred, but I was able to make out a figure walking towards me. I reached around for my shotguns, but I couldn't find them. I blinked as my vision began clear up, until I saw that I was face to face with the barrel of a rifle. Shit.

Before I could my mouth, I heard a gunshot ring and watched as the Omnic's head exploded. I found my guns tossed across the floor. I leapt over to grab one and aimed it at the direction of the gunshot. In front of my face was the handle of my other shotgun. I looked up and saw Jesse's smug grin as he tipped his hat. "Always aim for the head. Right?"

I scoffed as I grabbed the handle and picked myself up. "Nice shot." When I looked up, his face was inches from mine. His eyes squinted as he studied my face. "A compliment? Who are you, and what have you done with Gabe?"

I rolled my eyes as I saw Genji walking up the stairs. "Funny. Now, focus. We've got to find Winston's team." The smile faded from his face as he nodded. A scream pierced the air. The three of us immediately sprinted over to the root of the sound.

Turning the corner, we saw an armored gorilla bleeding and knocked out in a hole in a wall. Next to him was the back of an Omnic holding Lena's neck, pushing her up against the wall. She was clearly trying her best to pry the fingers off of her neck, to no effect. I holstered my guns and charged ahead past my team.

I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the Omnic's skull. I pulled it back, making it release Lena, and smashed it into the wall. It fell to it's knees and it's neck sparked as it try to look at me. But before it could, I pulled out my shotgun and let another shot ring out.

Breathing heavily, I turned to look at Lena. She was rubbing her neck as she tried to catch her breath. I sighed and walked up to her. She looked up to see my hand extended out. Her eyes looked to the floor as she reached up and gripped my hand. I pulled her up, "You alright?"

She didn't answer. Her body was tense and I noticed as it started to tremble. I heard her mutter something, but I couldn't quite catch it.

"What?"

"You were right."

I raised a brow, "Excuse me?" She looked behind her and motioned at the gorilla's unconscious body. "I really am stupid. I'm stupid, and I don't pay attention, and I don't belong here."

I could see tears begin to fall from her eyes. At this point, she was quietly sobbing. "It was my fault that Winston got hurt." She didn't say anything beyond that. I looked down at her and something moved in my heart.

"You blame yourself."

She froze and slightly looked up at me. It was just enough to where I could see her eyes. I continued,

"You're telling yourself that if you just moved a little faster, pulled your guns out a little quicker, that he wouldn't have gotten hurt." I hesitantly rested a hand on her shoulder.

"But trust me, there's nothing you could have done. Your team was caught off guard, and they took advantage of it. There's nothing you can do to change that. All you can do now is learn from this and move forward."

She lowered her head again, staying silent. I sighed again, "I know from experience."

She raised her head fully and furiously looked me in the eyes. "But how did you forgive yourself for it? How can you move past something like this and just forget it?"

I shrugged and looked away, "I didn't. Something like this never leaves you. It haunts you for the rest of your life." I looked back at her, "But at some point, you realize that people are depending on you. And if you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself, you won't be able to be there for them when they need you the most."

Her eyes softened as she processed my words. I tried my best to give her a comforting smile. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but after a while, I guess she noticed how close she was, because her cheeks turns red and she looked away. "Ah… I-I think I'll go check on Winston. Make sure everything's okay."

I chuckled as I watched her awkwardly walk away and crouch down next to the monkey. "Yeah, you do that."

The moment over, I called out for Torbjorn. A moment later, I watched as he walked out of a room, looking worse for wear. "I hear ya, I hear ya! I may be old, but I'm not deaf."

Great, looks like I won't be getting any help from him either. "Where's Jack's team? Doctor Ziegler should be able to help Winston."

Torbjorn groaned as he cracked his neck. "I don't know. Haven't seen em since we split up."

Maybe they found something. "Alright. Genji, McCree, you two stay with this team. Make sure they have backup in case more Omnics attack." The two of them nodded before readying their weapons and standing guard.

I headed back to the staircase and moved up one level. I searched every room until I saw Reinhardt and Angela sitting down in the hallway.

"What are you two doing sitting down?" I asked as I glared at the two.

The doctor stood up, "Ah, Gabriel. We were just-"

"Answer my question." I growled. Angela looked shocked, but she managed to force out an answer. "Jack believes that he's found the computer with the master program. He told us to stay here and keep watch of the hallway until him and Ana came back."

I nodded, "Smart. There's been Omnic attacks on the lower levels. Him finding the computer might be what set it off. Angela, Winston and Lena were hurt in an attack. Go tend to their wounds. Reinhardt, go with her to keep her safe."

Reinhardt stood up, nodding, and head towards the stairs. Angela didn't move though.

"Gabriel, we need to talk."

I shook my head and started to move in Jack's direction. "Not now, you're needed downstairs."

She reaches out and grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "I understand that, but we need to talk about what happened back at-"

I pulled my arm away from her grasp and scowled, "I said, not now!" She recoiled and slowly, she got the hint and left to go deal with the others.

That's one problem out of the way. I'll have to make sure to check on her afterwards, but for now… I heard a crash in the distance. Shit. I ran to the source of the noise and kicked down the door leading to it. I was met by a large group of Omnic soldiers. Shit… again.

I started to back up, but I turned around to see another group of Omnics behind me. Fuck, I'm surrounded. I backed up again and readied my twin shotguns as they started to circle around me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Surprisingly, even in the situation I was in, I managed to slow my heart beat down. As I opened my eyes, time seemed to slow down as I was able to analyze every movement around me. I saw each of the Omnics raise their weapons. If I want to get out of this alive, I'm going to have to act quickly.

I raised both of my shotguns so they pointing in opposite directions. I won't be able to kill all of them in one rotation. It'll take two… no, three magazines to take out all of them.

Alright, let's do this.

I fired off two rounds into two Omnics to my sides and started to turn, shooting down several Omnics with each rotation. I paused for a second to reload, dropping the empty magazines and swiftly loading up another two. It's been enough time for them to fire, so I'll have start being evasive.

I just barely moved out of the way as a bullet flew by my ear. My body snapped in it's direction and I let another shot fire as it's head exploded. I heard the loading of a rifle behind me. But I see another Omnic taking it's at me right now. I'll have to shoot both of them at the same time. So, my arm moved so it was aiming directly behind me while I aimed my other shotgun in front of me at the Omnic as it was about to pull the trigger. Two more shots rang out and two more Omnic bodies hit the floor.

Five more rounds left in the magazine. My eye caught six Omnics closing in on me as they flanked me. I squinted before quickly pointing both my shotguns to my left. I let loose three rounds before kneeling down on one knee and firing the leftover bullets at the three to my right. I was able take two of them out, but the one that survived was getting closer.

I reached out and wrapped my arms around the Omnic's, twisting it to the breaking point. As it's rifle dropped to ground, I reached up and pulled it's head towards mine, bashing our heads together. While it stumbled backwards, I reached down and loaded another magazine into my shotguns. I pointed the barrel it's direction while it was still disorientated. As I let the round loose, I pointed my other shotgun at the group of Omnics that were left. As I started firing with one arm, I raised my other gun to do the same.

I pulled the trigger again and again. Even after there were no more Omnics left to shoot- even after my magazines had run out- I kept pulling the trigger.

Die…

Die…

Die...

"Gabe!"

I snapped out it as I looked over to see Jack and Ana fighting off Omnics of their own. I charged over to help them in their battle. Once everything was clear, I had to pause to catch my breath.

"Thank god you came. I don't know what we would've done if you weren't there."

I looked up to see Jack rolling his shoulders. If Ana was tired, I didn't see any signs of it.

"No problem. How are we doing with the virus?"

Jack shook his head, "We've found its location and the program that caused it. But this isn't something we can just fix with our guns."

"What do you mean?"

Ana answered this time, "What he means is that we need to terminate the program before we can kill the virus."

I straighten up and brush past Jack to approach the computer. "And why haven't you done that yet?"

I think I saw Ana's eye twitch, but I didn't pay any attention to it. She let out a breath to calm herself down, "There seems to a password that is keeping us from doing so. We were going to go find Winston to see if he could help when we were ambushed by the Omnics."

I took a look at the computer screen. They're right. This looks way too complicated. "He's out right now. He was knocked out when his team was attacked by Omnics."

"What?" Ana stiffened at the thought of a member of her team being hurt.

"Yeah, he-" I was interrupted as the floor rumbled and an explosion was heard from downstairs.

Jack's head shot up, "What was that?"

Ana grabbed my shoulder, "You said that the Omnics attacked them as well?"

I shrugged her hand off, "Yeah, but they should be fine. I had McCree and Genji watch over them."

Jack started walking towards the door, "We need to go give them back up. It sounds like things aren't going so well."

I turned around, "Don't be stupid, Jack. We need to focus on breaking this passcode."

Jack stopped, but when he looked back, he looked furious. "I'm not leaving my friends to die, Gabe. They could be seriously outnumber down there."

I rolled my eyes, "They can handle it. They're tough enough to take care of themselves."

Jack stared at me for two seconds before turning on his heels and running out the door.

"Fine, leave then! Come on, Ana. Help me with this passcode." But all I heard was footsteps as she walked away. "Ana?"

She slightly turned her head as she walked away, "I'm disappointed in you, Gabe. I thought even you would make the right choice here."

Even me? What does she mean by that? I shook the thought away as I turned to focus on the task at hand. I have to get this decrypted.

As gunshots and more explosions were heard from the level, I focused all of my attention on cracking the code. The building began to rumble more and more. The ceiling began to crack and some debris began to fall. Sweat started to drop my forehead as the building shook more and more. I tried several codes and tried any method I could to figure out what it was, but I was still locked out. Damn it. Come on. Come on!

"Gabriel!" I felt a large hairy hand shake my shoulder. I pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at the figure's head.

The gorilla stumbled back as he held his hands up. "Don't shoot! It's me, Winston!"

I sighed, lowering my guns, before turning back to the computer.

"Gabriel, we have to go. Now."

I ignored him. I need to crack this code.

He started to wave his hand in my vision to grab my attention. "Gabriel, we don't have much time. This building won't last for much longer."

I swatted his hand away before growling, "Get out of my way, monkey. I need to figure out this passcode to terminate the program."

"Gabriel, everyone is evacuating the building. Let me crack this code."

"This is my job to do."

"Gabriel, you're being unreasonable."

I grit my teeth as I entered another wrong code. "Shut up."

"Gabriel-"

I snapped around and shoved the gorilla to ground.

"Shut up!"

That got him quiet. As I slowly turned back to work on the computer, he slowly picked himself up. Another wrong code. Another wrong code. Another wro- Damn it!

I clenched my fist and shut my eyes in frustration as I failed another code.

I was helpless.

I couldn't crack this code.

I was alone.

I opened my eyes as I heard tapping on the computer. Winston was furiously typing in something on the keyboard. I started to push him aside, "Go away, Winston. I can handle this myse-"

"There. The program's been terminated." He looked over at me, clearly displeased.

"What?" I shoved him aside to look at the screen. I can't believe this." The program was gone. Any trace of its existence had been erased. He terminated it.

"Now, let's go. The rest of the team is waiting for us, and we don't have much time."

I blinked before numbly nodding my head. "Yes, of course…"

With that, the two of us rushed out the building. As we did, I couldn't help but notice the remains of what I assumed was a horde of Omnics.

We burst through the entry and saw the team waiting for us in the jet. As we ran on to join them, the Omnica building couldn't withstand the damage any longer and caved in behind us.

I gasped for breath as I bent over, my legs barely holding me up. I laugh slowly crept it's way to the surface as I wheezed. I straightened my back and bent my head back, laughing to the fullest.

"We-we did it. We got rid of the program. It-It's gone." I opened my eyes with the biggest grin.

Several of them were just as relieved and happy as I was, but my excitement drained away as I saw Jack, Ana, and Winston looking at me with disapproval.

I scowled, Why can't they, for once in their lives, appreciate the fact that I finished the job. The thought faded as Lena jumped on my back, screaming, "We did it! I can't believe we made it out of there alive!"

"Get off me." I chuckled as she crawled off my back and gave me puppy eyes. "Sorry."

I groaned, "Don't try that on me. I'm trying to celebrate a victory."

With that, she grinned and ran off to Winston to rant about whatever.

I sat down in a passenger seat and leant my head back. I can finally relax, and maybe now, the world will recognize how much I do for Overwatch.

When the jet touched down in the Overwatch headquarters, our team was met by countless waves of media. A path cleared as Gabrielle Adawe, one of the founder of Overwatch, pushed her way towards us.

"Welcome back, Jack." Jack gave a charming nod of recognition.

"Gabe." I smiled and nodded.

"Come with me, I have something for your team."

I internally celebrated as I walked down the aisle with the rest of the Overwatch members. Eventually, we reached the main entry of the Overwatch headquarters.

"Please stand in two lines."

We did just that. I stood across from Angela, in between Lena and Winston. I watched in anticipation as Adawe brought out a case of medals. One by one, she placed the medals around our necks.

"I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your sacrifice, your bravery, and your hard work. With today's achievement, you have accomplished something we have been working to end for years. With pride and honor, I would like to reward all of you for your success. These are medals of honor. They each represent a symbol. Only so many of those have been given, and only those who have truly accomplished great things have had the honor of receiving it. With this, I'd like to remind the world that there are people out there, incredible people, who are brave enough and strong enough to risk everything to protect the innocent lives of the world. With the Omnic Crisis over, I'd like to once again thank these brave heroes for their hard work."

With that, the media watching lowered their cameras, stood, and gave a deafening applause. Adawe raised her arms, motioning for the audience to silence themselves.

"And one last thing before we leave these brave heroes to rest. I'd like to give one more award."For this person's sacrifice and willingness to put one foot forward to help his team, I'd like to grant this person the title of the first ever Strike Commander of Overwatch."

Yes! This is it! I'm finally getting the recognition I deserve. I looked over at Angela and gave her a smile. Look at me now! She gave a light smile back, but I could see she was bothered by something. What are you worrying about now? Just be happy for me!

"He has constantly proven himself to be a valiant team leader, and even took charge of this operation, ultimately saving his team from a massive wave of corrupted Omnic soldiers."

This is my time. I finally get to be the hero. I look over at Jack. He's giving me a smug grin. Oh, I can't wait to see your face when you realize that this time, you're not the center of attention. I responded back with a cheeky grin of my own.

"This man has shown valor and cunning in times of chaos, and for that, I'd like to ask him to give a word to the people he's worked so hard to protect."

I can't believe this is actually happening. It's like a dream. This is what I've been waiting for my whole life.

But even the best dreams can become your worst nightmare.

"Please step forward, Jack Morrison!"

Everything droned out as my grin faded away. Time seemed to slow down, as he confidently walked by, with that smug grin plastered to his face. As he walked past me, he gave me a pat on the shoulder, as if I was a runner who came in second place. I watched as he walked up to a podium and began to address the audience, who had taken this opportunity to pull out their cameras and phones. The flashes blinded me as he gave this grand speech that I refused to listen to.

Him? He's the new Strike Commander of Overwatch?

…

…

…

What?

And that's it! I'm sorry if it wasn't worth waiting an entire day for, but I worked really hard to push this one out. It was a bit longer than what I was used to as well. The reason for that was because I wanted to make this a sort of changing point in Gabriel Reyes' mental state. From here on out, things are going to get a lot more intense. I'll also try to be pushing the relationship between Reaper and Mercy in the next chapter, but it might not be exactly what you're expecting. You'll just have to wait and find out. Next time on Death's Blossom.