A/N: Turns out a week away from school gives you a lot more time to write. And, SquixES, thank you for that review.


A week. For an entire week, the Overwatch team had felt as helpless as everyone else while they felt the targets on their backs grow. And they could do nothing about it. Until now.

Everyone except for Lena were gathered in the conference room, around the circular table. And on said table laid a small, opened package.

"So you kept your promise after all." 76 noted. Next to him, Ana was examining the purple powder in her sleeping-dart-pistol.

"Of course." Akande replied from the large screen on the wall. "He needs to go down, no matter what."

"On that, we agree." 76 admitted, despite sitting with crossed arms and a distrustful glare.

"Will it really work?" Reinhardt asked.

"I hate to admit this, but we're only as sure as we can be without a live test." Akande replied with a bit of shame in his voice. "But I assume that you have something planned for that?"

"Indeed." Winston confidently answered. "We're just waiting for a crucial friend to join us. Once he does, everything will be ready. Speaking of that, when did he say he would get here?" The gorilla asked as he turned towards Genji.

"It should be today. If we're lucky, it might be within a few minutes." The cyborg ninja answered.

"And he is trustworthy when it comes to this?" Akande still inquired.

"You're one to ask." 76 mumbled under his breath so no one would hear.

"He is." Genji confidently responded. "He could help me. He should be able to help everyone, since-" "GUYS!"

Lena's sudden voice pierced the air and everyone turned around. It didn't sound like her usual cheerful voice. It was more panicked. Frightened.

76 and Winston turned towards the exit, but they stopped dead in their tracks when the brit entered. She was walking next to Zenyatta, hovering in his usual robes. But in between them, they supported a woman.

The woman wore what could best be described as rags that had once been elegant clothes and her entire body was covered with bruises, cuts and other injuries. Her entire left arm was also missing, only a bloody stumb left.

Once she saw the Overwatch team, the woman somehow got free from the duo's grasp and stumbled over to the railing.

"HE'S COMING!" She shouted in a voice as steeped with fear as her expression. "HE'S COMING AND NOTHING CAN STOP HIM! RUN! RUN OR HE'LL JUST CUT YOU DOWN! HE-" "Easy." Zenyatta's mellow, robotic voice interrupted her.

The woman silenced herself and turned towards the omnic monk. "Blind panic and fear will not help anyone. Calm your mind, regain control." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"But..." The woman tried to object. But she fell silent and dropped to her knees.

"Lena, what on earth is going on?!" 76 interrupted, demanding to know.

The brit turned towards him with an unsure expression. "I... don't know." She admitted. "When I answered the door, I found these two in this situation. We both offered her to rest and get examined, but... she insisted."

"Insisted on what?" Winston carefully and nervously asked.

"Warning you." Zenyatta answered for the weakened woman. As he lifted her up again, he explained: "She is Satya Vaswani. We met each other on my way here, and just like now, I offered to stop and heal her. But she denied it. She said she had to warn you before it was too late."

"About what?" 76 tried to dig deeper.

"She hasn't told me. But if I had to guess-" "You don't have to." Satya cut him off. Everyone turned towards her, as she nodded towards the table. Zenyatta, realizing she wasn't taking no for an answer, nodded back before helping her down the stairs.

The three newcomers sat down around the table. "So what did you-?" "Jack!" Angela cut 76 off. "Take your time." She then said to Satya in a much softer voice.

Satya nodded. She then started telling everything. About the mysterious message Sanjay had recieved, about the ambush by Alexander and the Crimson Legion, about what they did to Sanjay and about how she escaped. Everything.

"He... did such horrible, vile things. And he enjoyed it, I'm sure!" She finished the tale. As several nervous glances were exchanged around the table, Zenyatta carefully wiped away the tears. "I just... don't get what message he could possibly wish to send with such an act of violence." She admitted.

As 76 and Doomfist exchanged yet another glare, Winston turned towards Angela. "Take her to the med-bay and do what you can for now. We'll take a closer look later." He ordered and the swiss doctor nodded.

"He's clever. Much more than I anticipated." Akande thoughtfully admitted once Angela and Satya had left.

"Why?" Lena asked.

"The aforementioned message he wished to send us." Akande explained. "It actually sends two. First, to the public, it will seem as though he is not only targeting you, but everyone who's been friendly to you. However, to us, this means something different: He knows about our temporary alliance."

A collective shock went through the Overwatch team. "How dammit?!" 76 flared up.

"If I knew that, we wouldn't stand in this situation." Akande pointed out. "But the fact of the matter still stands. Sanjay Korpal, a member of Talon's inner council, is most likely dead. Killed by Alexander."

Everyone was silent. "I apologize our reunion had to be so grim." Genji whispered to Zenyatta.

"I do not blame you. This is just bad luck." The omnic monk replied.

"No, this has nothing to do with luck." 76 objected. "We were set up, actively fought against."

"Seeing everything as your fault will wear down your soul." Zenyatta warned back.

"I haven't collapsed yet." The old soldier simply stated. Zenyatta sighed and a rather awkward atmosphere began to spread throughout the room.

"Regardless, Zenyatta. Are you ready for the day ahead?" Winston asked, partly to relieve the undesirable mood.

"Yes, I have read everything you have sent. A grim situation, but I applaud your thinking. I stand ready to assist in any way." He answered.

"We're not changing anything?" Lena asked while sounding a bit concerned.

"What can we change? What does this tell us to change? We just need to look over our shoulders a bit more, that's about it." 76 argued.

"I suppose." The brit just said. She obviously didn't sound very satisfied, but she couldn't think of anything wrong with what he had said.

"Then it's settled." Winston exclaimed. "I'd like to run a few more things over with you, Zenyatta, but aside from that, everyone be ready for when we move."

Everyone around the table nodded with determination.


Natalia Caeden let out a loud sigh as she let her head land on the desk in front of her. She tried placing a hand on the desk, but swiftly gave up. Getting a small nap might not be too bad. Slowly, she felt as she drifted further and further away.

"Ms. Lockwood?" A sudden voice, along with a few hard knocks on her door, woke her from her slumber.

"Yes?" Nat swiftly responded while raising her head from the metal desk.

"You have a visitor." The female voice outside the door explained. The statement immediately woke Nat up from her sleepy state. Visitor? She wasn't expecting anyone.

After a few seconds of consideration, Nat responded. "Let them in." She said.

With no further comments, the door to the makeup-room opened and in stepped a familiar omnic, wearing a black suit with red tie and holding a bouquet of colourful flowers.

"Oh, Alfred." Nat exclaimed in surprise. Of all people, she hadn't expected the UN politician to show up.

"A pleasure making your aquiantance once again." Alfred Eagle politely greeted. "Ms. Lockwood." He then added, with some sort of hint in his voice.

"What brings you here?" Nat curiosly asked before turning to face him.

"I simply wanted to congratulate you on getting this new role." Alfred explained. "I wanted to come and see the audition, but international matters unfortunately kept me away. Regardless, now I have time. Congratulations!" He said as he bowed and extended the bouquet to Nat.

Slightly bewildered, the young actress nonetheless accepted the gift. But as she took it, she noticed the ring around Alfred's right audio-reciever.

"I... well, uh... thank you." She stuttered.

Alfred just chuckled to himself. "It would be nice to drop the charade between us though." He then admitted while scanning the rest of the room. Though Nat was the only one sitting at the makeup-station, there were still a few people rustling around with costumes behind her.

"Excuse me!" Alfred suddenly said and the people between the costumes looked up. "Could we ask for some privacy?"

The costume-guys looked at each other for a few seconds. Then, with a shrug of the shoulders, they walked away, leaving them alone.

"Now, allow me to properly congratulate you, ms. Caeden." Alfred repeated himself.

"Oh, I... thanks, again. I appreciate it." Nat replied. Her cheeks were rapidly becoming more and more red.

"Of course, if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask." Alfred offered. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get into theatre? It's not a very popular district of entertainment anymore."

Nat was silent. He seemed to have struck a nerve.

"When Al... dissapeared, I was left with a large sum of money. I could get a proper education, but that would take time and besides, I didn't want to sit in some old classroom along with other people several years younger than me." Nat willingly explained, although it seemed to take a bit of a toll. "So I decided to use some of the skills I'd already learned, the lies and deception I used to steal our basic living-supplies. And what better place to fool people than as an actor? Of course, movies or TV would never work. I didn't have any connections. I seemed to have a better chance here, to I took it."

"And that was about a year ago?" Alfred asked. Nat just nodded. "I see..." The omnic said before he fell silent.

"I like you Alfred." Nat suddenly admitted out of nowhere. The omnic looked at her, slightly taken aback. "Much more than the others. That's why I'm telling you this. The only other person who knows is Al and..."

"You'd prefer to keep it that way?" Alfred finished her sentence for her.

As she nodded in confirmation, the omnic crossed his arms and leaned up against the desk. Something in his demeanor seemed changed. "I'll do that. You can tell them when you feel ready. But I wanted to ask about something else. What is you and your older brother's relationship?"

Nat looked up at Alfred in surprise. "Come again?" She asked.

"I realize you have some baggage and that you won't tell me no matter how much I ask. So I won't. But... I hope you don't take this the wrong way. Alexander doesn't seem... right. The anger, the hate, all of those emotions... this may be because I'm an omnic, but they seem... well, unnatural." Alfred finally managed to say.

Nat lowered her face and her blue eyes became hidden behind her raven hair. "All Al has ever wished for was a quiet, peaceful life for us. But everyone else constantly broke those dreams. Eventually, that just got to him."

"Walk on the scattered shards. Cutting both feet and heart." Alfred mumbled to himself while listening to Nat.

"What?" The actress suddenly asked.

"A poem I once read." Alfred explained before reciting it in its entirety: "Dreams shattered by the world's eye. Wings to nevermore fly. Walk on the shattered shards. Cutting both feet and heart. Left is only your tears. And the injected fear."

Nat was completely silent. "I remembered it because we're quite similar in that regard, me and Alexander." Alfred continued. "Though our dreams may be different, we've both experienced how it is to have them shattered over and over again."

The omnic chuckled to himself. "Oh, look at me. I came to celebrate your new role, but here we are, talking about crushed dreams. Let's move on."

With a swift move of his hand, Alfred grapped the remote and turned on the TV in the corner, mostly to break the grim mood.

"Say, I've been wondering something." Nat admitted. Her voice now sounded less grim.

"Yes?" Alfred just said.

"How did you get into the UN? I... sorry, but I can't imagine any country who would be willing to support someone with your..." Nat tried, but she couldn't find any words she found appropriate.

"Views?" Alfred offered, thankfully not sounding offended in the slightest. Nat nodded in response.

"That's because I don't represent any country." The omnic calmly explained. "I represent a certain group in the population with certain views. Just like some others represent large corporations or other groups with specific views."

"And do you represent omnics who want revenge for the Crisis?" Nat blurted out.

"Put rather bluntly, yes." Alfred answered.

"Sorry." The actress swiftly apologized as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck and looked around.

"It's fine. Not many even-" The omnic started but he silenced himself when he saw Nat's expression. She was completely entranced by whatever was on the TV.

"Call Al now." She whispered.

"Why?" Alfred asked while following her gaze. Upon seeing the TV himself, he gasped. "Oh no. I'll tell him immediately." He said.

The omnic swiftly turned around and walked out while Nat kept staring at the TV. A news-broadcast was on. And the headline read: 'BREAKING NEWS: Overwatch has announced a public memorial service at the Eichenwalde Castle for those fallen in the Omnic Crisis'


"You ready?" A voice suddenly asked from behind. Ana removed her eye from the scope of her rifle and looked behind her. 76 was standing and looking at her.

"As ready as I can be." The veteran sniper answered.

"I know how that feels." The soldier replied. He then walked over next to her and sat down with his back against the cobblestone wall. "More and more these years, it seems." He then added in an unusually tired voice. He then placed a hand over his mask and removed it.

The pair looked at each other for a few seconds, tired eyes in aging faces exchanging looks. Eventually, Ana let out a sigh.

"Thinking about retirement?" Jack asked as his gaze shifted to the blue sky above. "Letting the next generation take over?"

"I could never relax, knowing my daughter's running around in a world where men like him also live." Ana stubbornly answered before looking down her scope again.

Further down, in front of the castle's wooden door, other members of the Overwatch team, as well as several construction workers and even Sombra, were working on the final details. Behind a small podium, a large object was covered by a purple, silk cover.

"I'll stick around until he's gone. For good." She added as she zoomed in on Winston, Genji and a construction worker, standing and talking about something.

"Of course." Jack said. His eyes slowly wandered down to the sleep-dart-pistol hanging by her side.

"What about you?" The egyptian sniper asked back. "Thinking about finally putting down that worn rifle and living peacefully? Perhaps return to the life on a farm?"

Jack chuckled. "You know me. You know my place is the battlefield. It has been ever since I became this."

"Will it also be your grave?" Ana directly asked.

"Perhaps." Jack answered honestly. His voice was still tired. "It may very well be. 'Dying the way you've lived'. That's how it goes."

"Isn't it the same for me then?" The sniper asked.

"No." Jack instantly denied, earning him a curios look from her. "You have a daughter. You have to-" "You have something more important!" Ana cut him off. "We all have. Each other."

Jack was quiet. "We all have each other." Ana continued before looking back through her scope. "So don't go around saying who can and can't die with a good conscience. No one can. And that's as far as it goes."

The soldier remained quiet as his gaze once again lifted itself to the sky. "You're right." He eventually gave in. "Sorry."

To his surprise, Ana just laughed. "You haven't changed at all, Jack." She mumbled to herself.

Jack just chuckled to himself as well. Now in silence, the sniper looked through her scope, down at the preparations below. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find her anywhere.

"What're you two up to?" A cheeky voice suddenly asked behind her. Ana sighed and turned around to look at Sombra.

"Preparations." The egyptian sniper simply stated.

"You?" Jack asked back in a rather hostile voice as he placed the mask back onto his face.

"Much the same." The mexican hacker answered in a bored voice. "But it's all so tedious. Oh well, what can be done?"

"Does your preparations include stalling ours?" 76 asked.

"Oh, don't be such a downer." Sombra implored. "I just came to give a warning." She then explained before turning towards Ana. "That vial is something I spent god-knows how many hours making. And more importantly, it's the only one we got. So you better not miss."

"She doesn't." 76 stated, although Ana chose to ignore him.

"You get him in my line of sight, I'll pull the trigger. You do your job, I'll do mine." The sniper said sternly and confidently.

"If you say so." Sombra just replied as she turned around and shrugged her shoulders. Her tone didn't reveal whether she believed Ana or not. "But remember, this goes south, I'm out. I'm not risking my neck for you."

"The moment you said yes to this, your neck became on par with ours. At least in his eyes." 76 off-handedly remarked. Sombra just scoffed before turning invisible with a swift flicker of purple pixels.

With a grunt, the old soldier managed to also stand up.

"As much as I hate to admit it..." He slowly started while Ana looked back through the scope. "She has a point. Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am." The egyptian sniper answered sternly.

"Even though everything might end up riding on you?" Jack kept asking.

"Especially because of that." She replied.

"I see..." He then mumbled to himself. "You know, you haven't changed the least bit either."

As she sighed, Soldier 76 turned around and threw his rifle up on his shoulder. "I'll see you later." He said as he started walking away.

"I hope so." Ana mumbled. Her voice was too low for Jack to hear.


Dark, grey clouds were gathering above the Eichenwalde Castle. In front of it, and on several elavated platforms around on the walls, a large group of people were likewise gathering.

Much further back, seven long queues were waiting for their turn through the metal detector.

At the detector in the middle, a man in a black trenchcoat and red hair covered by a similarly black cap walked through the detectors. The moment he stepped inside, a yellow light flared.

"Got anything to declare?" The security omnic asked.

Instead of answering verbally, the man raised his hand and removed a glove, revealing a mechnical hand.

"The same for my legs." He said.

"Please step out here." The omnic nevertheless urged while stepping away from his seat. The man followed him a few steps away from the detector, before they stopped. The omnic pulled out a scanner and a green light went up and down the man's body.

After a few seconds, the scanning stopped and the omnic looked at the device. "A metal arm, two metal legs..." He mumbled before exclaiming a surprised grunt. But after pressing a few buttons, he seemed to relax.

"Everything checks over." The omnic said. "You're free to go."

"Thanks." The man simply replied. The pair then walked past each other, as the man pulled down his cap, before continuing forward. Towards the main event.

Now sufficiently hidden between other people, the man removed the cap. And as soon as he did, a blonde color washed over his hair.

With a satisfied grin, the man hid the cap under the coat and continued forward through the crowd of people.

After pressing through, he eventually reached an elavated platform with seats for further spectators. He swiftly made his way up and found nearly every seat taken. Except for one. The second-to-last seat in the row furthest back.

The man sat down. Next to him sat a guy with white hair, who was looking out over the crowds.

"Everyone is set up?" Alexander asked without taking his eyes off the people below.

"Yes." Caesar answered. "Now they just need the signal."

Alexander chuckled to himself. "Just look at them." He urged in a delighted voice. Though unsure why, Caesar nonetheless moved forward in his seat and observed.

In front of the constantly whispering crowd, an empty podium hid several members of Overwatch, including Winston, Lena, Genji, Soldier 76 and some omnic with weird pants. With his battle-hardened eye, Caesar also spotted a sniper up on the stone wall and something else, something pink, was hidden behind it.

"What do you see?" Alexander asked.

"Precautions." Caesar answered. "This might not be as easy as predicted."

"Wrong." The brit corrected. "There's only one sniper. And they allowed a crowd in here. They're only expecting me and perhaps you. Not the entire Crimson Legion." He then said as his eyes danced around to several, quiet people in the crowd.

"You've got a point." The italian admitted. "By the way, remind me to thank doc for whatever he taught you. Those detectors only managed to pick up on my limps, nothing else."

"Complete metal camouflage." Alexander mumbled to himself.

But after a short chuckle, he turned towards Caesar. His eyes were now deadly serious. "And you didn't tell them about her involvement?"

"But of course." Caesar replied proudly, for some reason. "Nothing is more authentic than the real thing after all."

Alexander turned away. "I hope she manages to follow my instructions clearly. This was on rather short notice after all." He admitted. This was likely the first time Caesar had ever heard worry in his voice.

"They know better than to touch her." He said.

"They better." Alexander just replied. A few seconds of silence followed, but the brit quickly broke it. "Looks like it's starting."

When Caesar looked, he saw Genji, the cyborg ninja, stepping onto the podium. Behind him was that weirdly dressed omnic.

"Should we also move?" He asked.

"Yes." Alexander just answered.

"I'll let them know." The italian replied before standing up and moving over towards the stairs down. As he did, Alexander jumped over the railing and down onto the cobblestone ground, while everyone was distracted by Genji.

And as he began to move through the crowd, he mumbled a single word: "Showtime."