Be warned. There's a lot of manly tears in this scene. Like, A LOT. Some may say it's an emotional manipulation ploy, but… I think it's realistic.
Mad Dawg didn't have time to brace for impact as the hyper-active pilot flew in from nowhere and tackled him to the ground in a hug. The wind was knocked completely out of MD, leaving him dazed and confused as Tracer relentlessly hugged him.
"I KNEW YOU WERE ALRIGHT!" She exclaimed loudly, her cheek pressed up against his. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT LOVE? PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE STAYING!"
"Can't… breathe…" He wheezed audibly. Tracer realized this and loosened her grip slightly, but still refusing to let go fully. "Yeah. I'm not going anywhere Lena." Mad Dawg said with a smile, only to be pulled into another tight hug.
"My god… We were so worried…" Jumping to her feet, Tracer dragged Mad Dawg down the hall towards the main hall. Mad Dawg didn't bother trying to fight it. He wanted to meet everyone again, and he figured this was probably the best way to do it.
"Tracer wait!" Mad Dawg said, slowing the Brit down until they stopped in a hall, she turned to face him and saw the nervous look on his face. "Before we go in… I just wanted to say… to say…" Mad Dawg trailed off before sighing. "Screw it." He suddenly hugged Tracer and she smiled widely and hugged him back.
"I'm sorry." Was all he said.
"For what love?" Tracer asked, genuinely unsure of how to reply.
"I'll explain later. I'm just gonna be apologizing a lot over the next few chapters…" Mad Dawg muttered as he opened the door. He was hoping to see Lúcio, McCree, Junkrat, Reinhardt, maybe Symmetra, or D Va.
However, when the doors opened, he saw Hanzo, Bastion, Zarya, Orisa and Zenyatta in the room. Hanzo was practicing some stances, Zarya was reading, Bastion and Orisa were 'talking' and Zenyatta turned to the sound of the opening door.
"Mad Dawg. I was not expecting to see you." The monk commented aloud.
"Hey Zen." Mad Dawg meekly said, and immediately the entire room went dead quiet, everyone turning in shock to see Mad Dawg awkwardly walking into the room. Normally he didn't mind people looking at him, but here, it felt off.
"Breee?" Bastion whirred, his head tilted to the side.
"Hey Bastion." Mad Dawg said giving a slight wave to the Omnic. "I'm… I'm back."
"It has been nearly seven months since you were last seen Mad Dawg." Orisa suddenly said, stating the statistics that made everything a whole lot harder. "You have been branded a rouge agent or a deserter, both of which could lead to a prison sentence of-"
"Orisa, this is not the time or place for that." Hanzo suddenly spoke up, cutting the Omnic off. His furrowed brow went from the Omnic, to the mutant. "I believe Mad Dawg has something he wants to say."
"I'm sorry." Mad Dawg said. "I put my own goals in front of the team, and you suffered the aftermath of those actions, I also lied to you, in what I believed was an attempt to protect you and those you cared for from my mistakes. I'm not here to act like nothing happened, but I want to explain what happened."
"To that, I have no objections." Zarya commented, giving a slightly angry glance, still remembering the events in Numbani.
"MAD DAWG! YOU'VE RETURNED!" Came an overly zealous German voice as Reinhardt practically rocket-charged into the room and gave Mad Dawg a crushing hug. At this point, Mad Dawg was thankful for his healing factor, but knew he was gonna have to go to a chiropractor soon to get his back fixed.
"Hey Reinhardt." Max Dawg said with a smile. "How's life?"
"Bah! Why would you ask me that?!" The knight exclaimed, still holding Mad Dawg out in front of him. "Where were you!? We searched all around the world for you! They claim you were in Numbani but you fled when you saw them!"
"That's why I'm here." Mad Dawg sighed. "I wanna explain everything to everyone, but first I need to apologize to some people." After a moment, he added. "By the way, could you please put me down?"
Setting him back on his feet, Mad Dawg looked to the ground, rubbing the back of his neck before turning around to face the Russian bodybuilder.
"Zarya, I'm sorry for what I did to you in Numbani. I was scared… and there was a bunch of crap going on… And… I wasn't thinking straight."
"You usually aren't." Zarya commented dryly. "But you ran from us months ago without explanation and then attacked us when we found you. We didn't come with intentions to hurt you, we just wanted to know what happened."
"I know. And I swear I'll explain." Mad Dawg replied. "I'm sorry."
Zarya thought it over then nodded.
"So? What is it you want to explain?"
"Not right now." Mad Dawg shook his head. "There's some people I need to apologize to first. Later tonight I'll explain everything."
As Mad Dawg began to walk to the door, Hanzo looked over to Reinhardt. Something that the archer had to admit he appreciated about the old solider is that he was adept at reading people's eyes. He could see their true intentions in them.
"Do you believe him?" He asked.
"Yes." The German nodded. "His eyes were pure, whatever is on his heart, he wants to do what it takes to lighten it. This will not be easy, but I believe he wants to do right by us, and shockingly… he dosen't expect us to do right by him."
Walking alone down the hall, Mad dawg sighed when he got to one door in particular. He paused and then knocked on it.
"Coming." Came a female voice.
Mad Dawg fidgeted on his spot awkwardly, feeling like a small child who-
Can you lighten up already?!
Dawg. You got yourself into this, you lie in this bed.
Pretty sure you messed up those phrases…
We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.
Mad Dawg rolled his eyes as the door opened and Symmetra gave a slight gasp in surprise.
"Hello Ms. Vaswani." Mad Dawg said politely, not sure how to address her.
"Mad Dawg? I thought you were dead!" Symmetra said, trying to hide her shock.
"Well, I'm not." Mad Dawg replied with a slight shrug, saying it more sarcastically than he meant to. "Listen, I'm here to apologize for the stuff that happened a few months back. I'm here to explain to everyone what's been going on and to answer some questions most of you have, so… later on if you want, we're gonna meet in the lounge and I'll try and clear some things up."
"Of course, Kace." She nodded, and Mad Dawg froze when he heard the name. "I'll be there."
"K..Kace?" He stammered.
"Yes, your friends from I believe it was Dead Sec were here a week or two ago. I spent some time with Josh, he was quite talented. But he claimed that was your real name."
Only now did Satya see that Mad Dawg was almost snow white. He was rooted to the spot, all the colour and life drained from him. He didn't speak, he didn't blink. Satya almost found it humorous if it didn't startle her so much.
"Are you alright Mad Dawg?" She finally asked.
"Ffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-"
Meanwhile, McCree took a long drag off of his cigar and exhaled as he cracked his neck. It had taken a lot of coaxing, some threats from Sitara, and a very passionate friendship speech that had caused several of the elite guards to break down crying and hugging each other from Marcus, but Wrench had finally agreed to return with the other hackers to see if Mad Dawg was alive. He didn't like it, he didn't even believe he was alive, but he was still going back with them. Now, they were staying at a new member of Dedsec's house until they could figure out where Mad Dawg might be. And they were doing…
Nothing.
"So, do you have any ideas where he might be?" Marcus asked, looking at some of the pictures they had gotten on his phone.
"Not really." McCree shook his head. "If he wasn't hanging out with us, Mad Dawg just sorta did his own thing. He usually hung out around the base, or just went for runs."
"That sounds nothing like Kace." Sitara mused. "He rarely left the hackerspace, and if he did, he never left alone, he was too scared to go on his own."
"Are we thinking of the same person?" McCree asked. "The Mad Dawg I know jumps off of rooftops just for laughs."
"Hopefully he lands on his friggin' face…" Wrench muttered, only for McCree to scowl and throw a bottle at him. Wrench ducked and turned in anger, flipping him off.
"Piss off!" The anarchist shouted.
"Then lay the hell off! That kid's gone through more crap than you could ever imagine! And even if you did go through what he did, he didn't walk away trying to look like some cyberpunk prostitute!"
"Y'know what? I've had it with you." Wrench scowled, his mask emoting anger. "You show up to my place where I have a pretty damn good thing going, and you drag me off because some asshole I haven't spoken to or give a shit about in nearly ten years is supposedly alive?! Then we let you crash with us and you try and tell us how to treat they guy who sold us out and nearly KILLED US!?"
"Well maybe if you didn't SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD he wouldn't not want to talk with you!"
"Oh why do you two go and suck each other's di-"
"WRENCH!" Sitara shouted, breaking the two up. "That's ENOUGH!"
The cowboy and the demolitionist glared hatefully at each other, both breathing angrily until McCree's communication device began to beep. Answering it he growled:
"Yeah?"
"Hi Jesse."
McCree's cigar fell out if his mouth as he tried to stammer out a reply, finally getting out:
"Mad Dawg?"
The hackers in the hackerspace went quiet, Sitara tapping into McCree's phone or comm device and sending it to the Dedsec channel, listening in on the conversation.
"Kid? Is that you?"
"Hey McCree." Mad Dawg said, his voice almost squeaking, as if he was in the midst of crying. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"Holy sh-, Dawg, where were you!" McCree exclaimed, slightly angered. "After that crap with Virus you just dropped off the map! I thought you were dead!"
"I know! And I'm sorry!" Mad Dawg returned. "I shouldn't have done that to you… and… I screwed up bad… and there's so much I need to explain. I should've called you months ago… But I wanted to tell you I'm alive, I'm back. I'm at Gibraltar now. I'm gonna explain everything to everyone tonight, if you can… please come."
"What time?" McCree asked, much calmer.
"High Noon."
"Oh… Oh… You asshole." McCree said, his voice getting louder. "How DARE you." But it was clear his tone was mocking more than anything.
Mad Dawg laughed and Sitara smiled at the sound of her old friends laugh. Marcus was about to say something, but T-Bone put his hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Um, one other thing." Mad Dawg said after a few more moments of laughter. "Listen, I heard some people I used to know were brought in to try and find me…"
"Dedsec?" McCree commented, casting a glance around the room to him. Marcus singled he wanted to talk, but McCree shook his head, his face clearly saying not the time. Marcus frowned but nodded, understanding why he thought that.
"Y..yeah." Mad Dawg shakily answered, clearly a mixture of scared, remorseful, and broken. "You met them?"
McCree looked over to the hackers and nodded. "Yeah, I met them. They're nice."
"…how are they?" Mad Dawg asked after a few moments of silence, his voice starting to crack a little.
"Well… they didn't admit to it, but it's clear they miss you. Especially the leader, she seemed shook that you were even alive. I guess I know how that feels now…" McCree chuckled the last part.
"Sitara? Geez… What the hell am I gonna say?" Mad Dawg mumbled, the last part much more to himself.
"Hello? I'm alive? Any of those sound like they'd work?" McCree snarked, and T-Bone stifled a laugh. However, Mad Dawg just remained silent, finally he spoke up again.
"I don't know if you know where they are… But if you do. Please let me know tonight. I've got so much I need to say, especially to them. They were my friends… They were my family… and I hurt them. I hurt them man… Just like I hurt you guys…" After that, Mad Dawg broke down crying.
Sitara's eyes were filling up with tears as she heard Mad Dawg breaking down, Marcus felt rocked to his core, T-Bone remained silent, Josh bit his lip and Wrench felt terrible. Hearing his old teammate cry like this… He couldn't remain mad at him. Not after all they had before the incident. That mattered more damn it!
"Hey, hey kid." McCree said calmly. "It's alright. We'll figure this out. I'll see you tonight."
Hanging up McCree sighed, feeling oddly relieved as he turned to the hackers.
"Shit dude…" Wrench muttered sadly.
Mad Dawg didn't want to enter the door he was standing in front of. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, or fun. But he also knew he had no choice. Sooner or later, he was going to have to talk with this particular agent. He thought about how he should handle this.
Flowers? No. Chocolate? No, that's a dumb idea…
Finally, Mad Dawg mustered up enough strength to walk into another lab and look around for someone. Finally, Dawg saw Mei writing on a chalkboard, thinking some things over.
"Um… Hello…" Mad Dawg said in the most awkward way he possibly could, and the eco scientist paused and turned around.
"Oh. You." She said flatly, her face showing no emotion. Snowball beeping somewhat angered. "You're alive."
"Yeah, I am." Mad Dawg timidly answered. "Listen, can I talk to you?"
"About what?"
Damn… that's cold. Mad Dawg thought. Still, she has every right to be angry with me.
What were you expecting? Her to say ice to see yo-
Finish that sentence and I'll make Skorch make you suffer.
"I… I said some things, and…."
"You're sorry?" Mei cut him off. "Even if you are, it dosen't change what you said."
"I know." Mad Dawg sadly nodded.
"Do you?" Mei asked crossly. "It sure seemed like you didn't. Not to mention that you decided to leave us to join with Talon, and now that you're back you can just… apologize and think things will go back to normal?"
"Mei. I don't deserve your forgiveness." Mad Dawg bluntly stated. "Nothing I can ever say or do would earn that but… If this is it, this is where I leave and don't return, I wanted to let you hear form me that I was sorry."
"Mad Dawg. What you said wasn't human." Mei continued, her tone as cold as Moira's. But to Mad Dawg, this hurt so much more.
"I'm not human." Mad Dawg quietly replied.
"What?" Mei asked, confused by his response.
"I'm… I'm a mutant." Mad Dawg quietly answered. "Built in a tube and-"
"Why didn't you stay there?" Mei snapped. "Or were you too busy watching someone die?" Mad Dawg was taken aback by Mei's anger, but he also didn't blame her. "Do you know what it's like?! To wake up and everyone you cared for is dead! To have to watch them die knowing there wasn't anything you could do?! DO YOU?!"
"YES!" Mad Dawg finally shouted. "GOD ALMIGHTY YES! I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WATCH PEOPLE DIE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WAS BUILT FOR! I WAS BUILT TO KILL PEOPLE!"
"And whose fault is that?!" Mei continued, clearly not realizing what Mad Dawg had just said. "Maybe if your parents gave an ounce about you, you wouldn't have turned out this way! You could've learned about this thing we humans call love!"
"I NEVER LEARNED WHAT LOVE IS LIKE BECAUSE NO ONE EVER WANTED ME!" Mad Dawg exploded. "HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK WANTED A DEMON CHILD THAT MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT IN A LAB BY TALON?! NO ONE! I! HAVE! NO ONE!"
Mei paused, shocked at Mad Dawg's outburst, and he wasn't finished.
"I LIVED ON THE STREETS! IN A DAMN JUNKYARD! AN ABANODENED TRAIN YARD! UNDERNEATH A CHINESE RESTURAUNT! UP UNTIL I MET DEDSEC, I HAD NO ONE! Families tried to take me in, places tried to fine me a home, but none of them wanted… whatever the hell I am…" Mad Dawg finished, seeming much sadder. "They didn't want a monster…"
There was a silence so cold even Mei felt frozen.
"I had no one until I met you guys." Mad Dawg continued, now clearly fall apart at the seams again. "After I burned the bridges with Dedsec, I was all alone. Sure, I was happy with it, I could live life how I wanted to, I learned how to take care of myself. I wasn't rich or famous, but I didn't need to be. I was… happy. But when I was saved by you guys… Everything made sense again. I didn't feel out of place, I felt like for once I could actually do something good! I wanted to help people. And then when I found out about what I was… I knew I was going to lose it all, I figured it would be better for you to believe I had a change of heart than to find out what really happened." Mad Dawg paused, then shook his head. "It was the stupidest choice I've ever made. Mei… I'm sorry… I don't know what it's like to lose your friends like that. Truly, I don't. Nothing I can say can make that better. I was in the wrong, and I don't deserve a second chance, but you deserved the truth." After finishing, Mad Dawg simply turned to leave and began to walk way. Knowing there wasn't anything left to say. However, he stopped when someone grabbed his hand. Looking over his shoulder, Mei pulled him into and embrace, giving him a warm smile.
"I forgive you." She said kindly.
"What?! Why!?" Mad Dawg asked, surprised.
"Because, we've both been through something terrible. And if we keep fighting each other, we'll never be able to move on. Also, I believe you, you do mean what you say." She explained, and after a few moments of confusion, Mad Dawg hugged her back.
"I'm sorry… If I could take it back I would… I-"
"Dawg." Mei cut him off. "What you said has been said, there's nothing you can do to go back and change that. What matters now is you do what you can to move forward. You're on the right path.
Mad Dawg nodded and smiled, Snowball chirped happily and landed on his head, seeming happy once again.
"Who else is here?" Mad Dawg asked, feeling a bit relieved. "I haven't seen Lúcio since I got back. Is he around here?"
"No. He's been working on his music for a while. Last message we got said he'd be back soon, but he didn't say when." Mei shook her head. "He also said he knows you stole the bases stash of Lucio-Oh's."
"First of all, not apologizing. Second, who's here?"
"Well, Winston, Ana, Solider: 76 and Mercy were meeting about something…"
"That was me." Mad Dawg answered, looking down and raising his hand.
"Zarya and some of the others were in the lounge last I saw…" Mei continued.
"Already said hi to them." Mad dawg said, looking up and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hana was streaming I think, Tracer was doing something, and the others I don't know." Mei concluded.
"Well… Might as well go see Hana." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Can't tell if she'll hug me or throttle me. Then there's Pharah… Man, I have no idea how's she gonna react…"
"Speak truthfully, they'll listen."
Mad Dawg smiled at Mei, before finally saying: "Thanks."
And with that, Mad Dawg slipped out into the hall, setting out to find another teammate to reconcile with.
Hana was currently in the middle of a StarCraft session and she was FOCUSED. She had spent weeks building the perfect team and climbing the ranks until she was near the top. If she could defeat this player, the leaderboard would be hers. Eye eyes narrowed as she furiously deployed her squad to surround the enemy base, only for them to launch a counter-attack, her eyes widening in shock as her troops were destroyed.
"How's it going?" Mad Dawg asked, leaning into the room.
"I'm trying to win here but this one player keeps taking me down!" D Va scowled annoyed.
"Is it the Legend27?" Mad Dawg asked, a cheeky smile on his face.
"The Legend27? D Va asked, somehow oblivious to the fact that Mad Dawg was standing behind her.
"Yeah, apparently he's this mutant. And he has a strange ability to heal from almost any injury." Mad Dawg began. "And he rolled with a legendary crew of gamers, however, he decided he wanted to roll solo and broke up the team without telling the others, and he really hurt their feelings… and he's sorry, and he wants to make amends."
D Va (who had lost the game) whirled around in her chair, shocked when she realized who was talking, and her eyes went comically wide and they seemed to sparkle like an anime character when Mad Dawg smiled down at her.
"No… You… But… You're alive?!" She squeaked.
"Sup?" He said with a smile. Hana jumped up and (like most of the women) hugged him happily.
"You're back!" She exclaimed.
"Only briefly. I'm going to jail after tonight." Mad Dawg lied, and Hana's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What?" She growled.
"Yeah, I'm going to prison. Might be sentenced to death." Mad Dawg shook his head. "Still, can't say I don't deserve it, after all the terrible things I've done, what good am I to the tea-"
Only now did Mad Dawg see Hana was gone, her chair spinning. He paused mid-word and looked around.
"Hana? Hana?" He asked, looking around the room. "Crap…"
"So. Do you think everyone will listen to him?" Ana asked, looking over the notes they had from Mad Dawg back when he joined the team.
"I can't say for sure." Solider: 76 shook his head. "I can hope for the best, but we still need to figure out where we go from here." He finished, looking to Mercy, who rubbed her arm awkwardly. Before anyone could speak, D Va stormed into the room.
"HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed with a ferocity only seen when Mad Dawg spawn killed her in a multiplayer game, or when she came second place in a battle royal game. "AFTER ALL HE DID. YOU WANT TO THROW HIM IN JAIL!?"
The four agents finally recovered from the assault on their ears and looked to one another, clearly confused.
"What?" 76 finally asked.
"YOU WANT TO SEND MAD DAWG TO JAIL AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID FOR US!" Hana continued her rant.
"Hana-"
"HE FOUGHT FOR US WITHOUT QUESTION! WITHOUT REASON!"
"Hana-"
"SURE, HE MADE MISTAKES, BUT YOU SHOULDN'T CRUCIFY HIM FOR THAT!"
"Hana. I have no idea what you're talking about." Jack calmly stated, making the irate gamer calm down.
"What?"
"Hana! For crap's sake, I was JOKING!" Mad Dawg's voiced called from outside in the hall. Only for another voice to start shouting.
"What the- Mad Dawg?! Your back mate!" Junkrat's insane voice yelled.
"Damn right!"
"Oi this is amazin'! Let's blow something up!"
"Hell yeah! Demo-Bros for life!"
The agents looked to the door then to one another.
"I'll deal with them." Ana commented and walked towards the door, trying to stop a massive explosion from happening.
"So… what now?" Winston asked.
Later that night…
All the agents had gathered in the lounge, some of them knowing Mad Dawg had returned, and some of them still unaware, albeit due to their communication devices being off, them training, or them sleeping through them. The Dedsec crew was also present, and currently were talking with a few of the agents. Things were… uncertain to say the least, but uncertainty turned to joy and shock as the doors opened and Mad Dawg quietly walked into the room, the conversations gradually (or instantaneously) dying off.
"Hey." Was all he said.
And there was no response.
"Holy crap…" T-Bone finally spoke up, more shocked than when he found out the truth about Default.
"Um… I'm alive… And I'm back. So, hi." He began, not having prepared anything. "It's good to see you all again." He paused before deciding to jump right into it. "Listen, I screwed up. I lied to you all… I hurt you, some more than others…"
"Damn right!" Wrench shouted from the back, and once again, Mad Dawg seemed to turn ghost-white.
"Wh...who said that?" He stammered nervously.
"Back here!"
Wrench leaned out from behind Roadhog. "You were expecting McCree, but it was me Wrench!" he shouted loudly.
"I…I… I can't… I'm sorry… I can't do this!" Mad Dawg suddenly exclaimed, clearly terrified, and disappeared from the spot he was standing on, completely vanishing. There was another moment of shock, but then the agents turned to Wrench.
"Good going." Roadhog simply stated, clearly annoyed, and the agents all departed to try and find the mutant. Wrench stood there, not having expected that reaction (let alone Mad Dawg being alive) until Sitara hit him in the back of the head.
"Dumbass." She scowled.
Mad Dawg re-appeared on the bridge between the two buildings, breathing erratically. His heart was beating insanely fast, finally. Mad Dawg fell to his knees and vomited profusely. He paused, fighting back tears, and felt a little more vomit coming up. After he was done, Mad Dawg fell onto his face, too scared to move for the first time in his life.
"I can't do this…" He mumbled.
"Hey kid. You alright?"
Casting a glance over his shoulder, Mad Dawg saw McCree walking onto the bridge.
"Damn… what happened to you Dawg?" He asked.
"Jesse!" Mad Dawg said, stumbling up but suddenly feeling weak and falling forward, McCree catching him. "God man… I'm so sorry!"
"Kid, clam down. It's gonna be okay." McCree said reassuringly.
Sitting down next to Mad Dawg, the two sat on the bridge, feet hanging off the side, neither one saying anything.
"Are you okay kid?" McCree asked.
"No." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I can't face them. Not after what I did."
"Who? The agents, or Marcus and his friends."
"Dedsec." Mad Dawg practically whimpered.
"Geez kid, I ain't ever seen you like this." McCree honestly spoke, scratching his head slightly. "This' really got you torn up… Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Yes! No! Damn it… I do, but I don't know if I can." Mad Dawg growled, pulling at his (now much longer than normal) hair. "I want to, but I can't."
"Sure, you can." McCree shrugged. "You were gonna talk to us, what makes them any different?"
"I don't know…" Mad Dawg mumbled.
"You don't have to do it all at once, but sooner or later, you'll have to." McCree stated, taking a drag off his cigar before handing it to Mad Dawg, who also took a drag off of it. "They're good people. They miss you. We went on a trip to Junkertown to find Wrench… The dude's king now by the way."
Mad Dawg just laughed, it wasn't a loud or long one, but it was still a laugh.
"Honestly, I'm not even shocked." Mad Dawg shook his head with a smile. "Aye… I honestly thought he'd marry the queen one day…"
"I do not need those images in my brain." McCree stated bluntly.
"Heh… yeah." Mad Dawg sighed. "Alright. This chapter's titles Mending Fences? Well, might as well get some duct tape and get fixin'."
With that, Mad Dawg stood up and walked back to the main building. After a few minutes of looking in empty rooms, Mad Dawg saw Josh looking at a map of the base, probably trying to figure out where he would've gone off to.
"Hey, HawtSauce!" Mad Dawg called, and Josh turned to stare in mute shock as Mad Dawg approached.
"Y..your alive." Josh finally managed to say.
"Yeah."
"How?" The hacker immediately jumped to the questions, not thinking about much else.
"I'll explain in a minute, where are the others?" He said, looking around.
Josh didn't speak, but led him down a hall to where Marcus, Wrench, Sitara and T-Bone were talking.
"Hey guys." Mad Dawg said quietly.
The hackers turned to him and there was a sort of stare down, no one moving. Then Sitara slowly walked forward.
"Mad Dawg?" She said quietly.
"Hi Sitara." Mad Dawg smiled.
Sitara didn't reply, but simply hugged him tightly. Refusing to let go.
"Ohmygodwherewereyou?" She said quickly, her voice quiet but her feelings loud. "Y'know what? I don't care. You're alive, now please. Tell us what happened."
"Whoa, hold on there Sitara." Marcus said, getting her attention. "There's something else we need to clear up first." He then suddenly joined the hug. "It's been too long kid. I'm so happy you're safe."
T-Bone watched the younger hackers hug it out before muttering "Screw it." And joining the hug himself. "It's good to see you kid."
After they were done hugging, Mad Dawg sighed and looked down.
"I'm… so sorry…" Mad Dawg finally began, tears filling his eyes. Again.
"Kid. What the hell is wrong with you?" Marcus suddenly asked. "After EVERYTHING we went through, you think any kind of mistake would mean you didn't have a place with us? After EVERYTHING we went through, you just, disappear? Thinking we're never gonna talk to you again? That we don't want to see you again?" Marcus paused and hugged Mad Dawg again. "Do you know what it was like?! Thinking you were dead?! Thinking that the last we ever saw of you was the worst day in our damn lives?! Do you know how god AWFUL that felt?!"
Marcus stopped when he heard Mad Dawg freely crying, and the hacker's eyes softened, realizing how bad that sounded.
"Hey, buddy… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." He said, trying to console his friend.
"No. You're right." Mad Dawg replied through his tears. "It's my fault. All of this."
Marcus didn't reply, he just kept hugging the (now much older) member of Dedsec. He remembered how much this seemed like the first time they met Mad Dawg. He just breathed, oddly peacefully.
"It's alright Dawg. It's gonna be alright."
Finally, the two let go and Mad Dawg looked over to T-Bone, still not feeling much better.
"C'mon kid." T-Bone simply said in disbelief. "You really think we'd hate you?"
"I'm sorry."
"Stop. Kid, stop apologizing." T-Bone suddenly ordered. "We all made mistakes. What matters now is we move on. Also, I want my jacket back."
"Yeah…" Mad Dawg agreed, now finally looking to Wrench. Whose mask emoted its basic emotion, making it hard to gauge what he was thinking. Wrench stepped forward…
And slapped Mad Dawg.
"THAT'S for what you did to Daisy." He stated.
Slap!
"THAT'S for the pain you put us all though when we thought you were dead!"
Slap!
"THAT'S because you stabbed us in the back!"
"Wrench!" Sitara shouted angrily. Trying to get him to stop.
"No Sitara! This is far overdue!" Wrench retorted. "AND THIS… Is because you thought after ALL we did together, that we never wanted to see you again!"
Mad Dawg quietly stood there, not moving, waiting to be slapped again. Only to feel Wrench's spikes on his jacket pressing against his jacket. Opening his eyes, he saw Wrench now hugging him.
"Damn it Thunder Lizard McGiantcock… I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have done what I did… I didn't mean to hurt you. I, well, I was angry. And I wasn't thinking straight."
"Reginald. If you agree to move on, I'll forgive you." Mad Dawg answered with a mischievous smile.
"…I'm gonna shoot you in the balls." Wrench simply replied.
"I love you too."
Finally, he turned to Sitara, who simply smiled at him.
"You've really grown up, haven't you Kace?"
"Yeah." Mad Dawg nodded.
"I think you've figured this by now, but it's amazing to know you're okay." She smiled. "I think you need to explain some things to everyone though."
"Yup."
"C'mon kid." Sitara said, leading Mad Dawg back to the others. "Let's find out what this was all about.
About ten minutes later, everyone was back in the room. Confused and ready for some answers, and Mad Dawg knew he was gonna give them what they wanted. Taking a quick drink, he cracked his neck and began.
"I'm sorry." He simply said. "And I'm gonna say that a lot tonight. What I did was stupid, I was scared about the aftermath of my past actions that I didn't think about the consequences of the actions I was taking currently. Things got weird… and then they got bad… and I'm just gonna start at the beginning." Sighing he thought it over then said aloud. "Beta-576, is me."
There were some confused murmurs throughout the crowd (save for those that already knew where he was going) and Mad Dawg explained.
"It shouldn't be a shock to anyone here, but I'm not human. Technically speaking, I'm not even a mutant, I'm a living weapon."
"This is gonna SUCK." He thought, knowing what he had to say next.
"One… one that was made by Talon."
After a few minutes of shocked and angered yells, Mad Dawg finally spoke up once again after the agents seemed to calm down.
"I know you're angry. I don't blame you." He continued. "I only found out a few months ago, up until then, I had no memories of where I came from, or where I got my powers."
"That's true." T-Bone spoke up. "When we found him, he had a hole in the side of his head and no idea who he was. He didn't even have a name at that point."
"So, a few months ago, I saw this message saying 'Beta-576' and that dug up some memories I didn't know I had…"
As the night went on, Mad Dawg explained everything. Virus, blackmailing Sombra, Jax, Mercy and Moira's involvement, the freak show in King's Row, running off to live in Numbani, the deal with Doomfist, he only left out the Forrest Valley incident and his meeting with Moira at Oasis. There was anger, shock, terror, tears, confusion, sadness, it was a mess. Mad Dawg couldn't tell if the agents understood him or wanted him dead. It was clear some of them were angry at Virus, some were angry at Wrench, Wrench was angry at himself, T-Bone seemed like he had seen this all before, and some were mad at Dawg. Finally, after it was all over, everyone just sat and thought the same thing.
What now?
"So. That's the truth." Mad Dawg exhaled, feeling tired, but also knowing this had to be done. "Anyone, uh… got any questions?"
"Why lie to us?" Genji spoke up. "With what you were going through, did you think we wouldn't help?"
"It had nothing to do with you guys not helping, it's because helping would put you all in danger." Mad Dawg replied, knowing that wasn't a satisfactory answer he decided to explain himself. "Virus was friggin' nuts. He kidnapped McCree just to try and draw me out. He knew where to find Jesse, and he may have known who you all were." Seeing some agent's faces light up with realization, he continued. "McCree and me-"
"It's McCree and I!" Sitara shouted from the back.
"McCree and me don't have much in terms of 'family'." Mad Dawg said, casting a glace over to Mercy. "We get taken or killed, the world moves on."
"Whoa, now hold on a sec!" McCree interrupted.
"Jesse, before you speak, what's your relationship with your family currently like?" Mad Dawg flatly asked.
"Not them, if I die, who'll be in charge feeding my fish? He relies one me!" The cowboy asked matter-of-factly, Mad Dawg's (and everyone else present) face simply read are you kidding me?
"Look, my point is, you have families, people who you care for, who you'd go to any lengths to protect… and Virus would find that out, and drag them and you into this twisted nightmare. I'd be putting you in danger, and them in danger as well, and I couldn't do that to you."
"We risk life and limb to protect the world from Talon almost daily." Genji countered, not seeing Mad Dawg's point. "You think this would be any different?"
Mad Dawg bit the side of his cheek before his eyes narrowed, almost seeming angered.
"Alright then." He said, pulling a device from his pocket out and setting it on the table. A video was projected of footage from a security camera, showing a small girl trapped in a steel and barbed wire cage.
"What is this Mad Dawg?" Winston asked, shocked at what he was watching.
"Shut up and watch." Mad Dawg ordered, suddenly very angered.
The agents (and Dedsec) watched in horror as Mad Dawg ran into the room, trying to keep the girl awake, then listening to Virus' twisted voice tell him to save the girl or leave. Then, more than a few agents left to vomit somewhat as Mad Dawg sliced his gut open, some of his intestines spilling out as he attempted to save Alejandra. After the video ended, Mad Dawg lifted up his shirt, revealing a large scar.
"He kidnapped her, drugged her, beat her, left her to die. And she was only ten years old." Mad Dawg growled, some of the agents taking a step back in fear, Tracer felt her spine practically freeze as Mad Dawg slowly turned to look at her. "What do you think he'd do to Emily? To Ana? To anyone older than that specific mark? Hell, he may have done that that to her, I don't know. My lie hurt you. I won't try to avoid that, but I believed it was the only way to keep you from getting killed. Or worse." His anger turned to sadness as tears formed in his eyes again. "But… I did the exact thing I was trying to protect you from. I hurt you, all of you." Mad Dawg's hands slowly became their claw form as he scratched his temples slightly, seeming angry, and sad. "I…I… I'm sorry…"
Now the agents were somewhat confused (partially by the sudden claws), but also saddened. Genji now understood why MD lied, they didn't like it, but at least there was some understanding.
"I don't know where we go from here, but I was tired of running, you all deserved the truth, even if I don't deserve your forgiveness." He paused for a few moments before adding: "That's all."
A few hours passed, the agents all dispersed, plenty of them staying behind to talk with Mad Dawg, comfort him, or ask some further questions. Sitara didn't want to let him go, but eventually he slipped away, knowing there was something he needed to do. Marcus had seen him disappear, and pulled up the bases security feed so him and some of the other agents could watch. Slowly, he walked into Mercy's office and got her attention.
"Oh, Mad Dawg." She said with a smile, but clearly still shook. "How can I help you?"
"Are you okay?" Mad Dawg simply asked, and Mercy didn't respond at first.
"Oh, this is gonna be good." Marcus grinned, Reinhardt taking a seat next to the hackers, with Junkrat sitting next to Wrench and Pharah and Symmetra joining as well.
"Turn it up." The crusader commented.
"What do you mean?" Mercy finally asked, trying to avoid the obvious question.
"Look, I'm sorry." Mad Dawg shook his head. "For attacking you in King's Row, for blaming you for everything. Ghosting you, saying those deaths were your fault."
"No, Mad Dawg. It was my fault." Mercy replied sadly, not looking directly at him. "I… did this to you. Those people who got hurt, the trauma you went through, I… I'm responsible for all that. I created you, and I didn't ensure you would be properly taken care of."
"Ms. Ziegler, you're not at fault here." Mad Dawg shook his head. "Like I said, don't blame yourself for that. Jax wanted to move on with the upgrades, but he didn't see what they were really doing, he wouldn't blame you for even a thousandth of a second."
"But…" Mercy began, but stopped when she began crying. It was quiet, but it got louder, and it hurt. Perhaps she was responsible for all that had happened, or perhaps it was survivor's remorse, a memory of someone else she failed to save. Mad Dawg however, immediately went to try and console her, giving her a warm hug. Knowing how this felt, and not wanting the woman who showed him nothing but kindness to feel this way.
"Mercy… all you've done is keep people together. But tonight, you can fall apart. Tonight, I'll keep you together."
Mercy broke down and sobbed into Mad dawg's shoulder.
"I never should have let her…. Distort you…" She managed to get out through the racking tears, while Mad Dawg just held her.
"It's okay… Because of you, I'm here now, and we're gonna get through this… That's… that's… that's…" Mad Dawg stammered on a word, unsure if he wanted to say it or not, but finally said it. "That's what family's for."
In the other room, those watching were doing their best to keep it together, until Marcus looked over to Reinhardt who was desperately trying to keep his face up.
"Bring it in man!" Marcus finally said, hugging the crusader and beginning to cry at the scene unfolding on the screen. Wrench and Junkrat were currently consoling one another, and the others simply stared in amazement, as the kid they found on the street had gorwn up, he may not physically be human, but he had a heart of gold, and a capacity for caring beyond anyone they knew. And at the end of it all, one thing was certain. There was no clear answer as to what was going to happen next, but they were going to face it. Dedsec, Overwatch, all of them.
As a team.
A.N. AGH! FINALLY! Once again, there were several points where I figured I could end the chapter, but I REALLY wanted to get all this out. So, there it is, Mad Dawg's back. Thing's aren't perfect, and there's two agents he still hasn't FULLY made amends with, but they'll be later chapters.
Now, some good news and bad news.
Good News: This story is going to be prolonged for a while.
Bad News: It's gonna end eventually. I know how I want it to end, but there's some stuff I wanna do first. So, don't worry! Originally, I actually thought about ending it with the 'Bad Blood' arc, with Sombra killing Mad Dawg to protect herself, but ultimately that fired Talon's severs and destroyed them from the inside. But yeah, that didn't happen.
I'm not sure if emotionally this chapter was well written, I know MD apologized A LOT but honestly… how should he have gone about it? Let me know in the comments.
Bad News: There WON'T be another Halloween story arc for this year.
Good News: There will be TWO Halloween stories in the companion fic, Talon: A Dawg's Tale (go see my profile)
Bad News: School is happening again, so updates will be sporadic.
Good News: Zyon's Legacy is coming back, and it's gonna be different. And there's a new story that is in no way connected to anything I've written thus far. (I swear.)
Bad News: This story is gonna end (again)
Good News: I do have future plans…
So, if you enjoyed this chapter, like and follow! I love reading your reviews and would love some new ones! If you wanna share this around, feel free! (So long as you credit me as the author). You wanna talk? Need ideas for something? PM me. I'll do what I can.
Okay, I'm my fingers hurt now. I'm off to watch Mayans MC and play DOOM.
Until next time!