*Quillion*

"Where am I?"

Partially he knows that he is dreaming, a lucid dream no less. He can move around and have some control over his body, however it feels as if he is on a thread so thin that any loss of focus would break everything into pieces.

The last thing he remembered was a huge hurricane inside Talon headquarters and smashing one of Mei's freezing discs into Sigma's mouth before he felt his back breaking.

"Oh my g-, there's an afterlife?"

Expecting white robes, he was disappointed to see that he was still wearing the same clothes he was wearing before he lost consciousness, still tattered and bloody.

If this was the afterlife, it was… Not what he was expecting. It looked like a room and everything felt like a liquid, the grey walls, the dark ceiling and the strange bubble-like substances that revolved around them. The worst part is that he does not feel the peace that everyone talked about.

Wait. Them?

He blinked and an unrecognizable figure stood in front of him. It did not 'appear' so he wasn't shocked or surprised, rather it was as if it was meant to be there since he was here. Regardless, whoever or whatever it is, it is military.

"Good morning Sergeant, Storage Integrity is at 88%, are you ready to proceed?"

"Really? This is what happens when you die? A dream sequence? I suppose my life is going to flash before my eyes now?" Quillion laughed.

"Yes or No?"

"Hey now, aren't you supposed to tell me where I am going?"

"Yes or No?"

Quillion frowned. If this was some joke these 'angels' have for the afterlife, it is more annoying than funny.

"No answer has been given, if you would like a refresher, please say Affirmative"

"Affirmative?" he said slowly, not knowing what else to say.

"Refresher Activated"

The door to his right opened, revealing a classroom-like room behind it, where a man stood at the end of the room in front of a single chair. The man was neither menacing nor unusual, rather, it was somewhat soothing to be in his presence.

"I finally kicked the bucket huh? I hope it was a glorious end" the figure said as he saluted.

Jealousy and envy rippled through Quillion as he observed the man. Handsome, in his absolute prime, dressed in pristine military attire, brimming with unnatural confidence and charisma,was true leader of men. Everything he himself was not.

"What do you mean?"

"Sounds like quite a brain damage, let me give you an example"

After inviting Quillion to sit down, he walked over to the library and pulled out a regular sized book.

"Hope I still like Harry Potter" he added with a smile, passing the book over to Quillion, whose jaw dropped at what he saw.

Every 'picture' were a collage of recordings and images; the news, internet, personal devices, public cameras, or just newspaper clippings, each moving its own individual frames and telling its own story. Just like Harry Potter.

When his fingers tapped the page, he heard his own voice narrating the scene as it played out.

First Entry: Spartan

This was a crazy day. Held the line against the whole company of Nulltroopers for hours. Pity the newspaper downplayed the battle since no one saw. All except this boy who uploaded this clip.

Quillion said nothing as he watched the recording, unable to believe that he had forgotten this. How could he have forgotten? Especially with that stupid ponytail?

Like an action star, he wielded two LMGs and fought off what he guessed were a group of Nulltroopers off screen.

This was when Quillion realized the man standing in front of him is none other than his younger self.

End Video

"This… This is amazing" he thought, standing up to have a closer look.

His younger self was so… Confident and happy. A somebody who would have conquered the world if he wanted to and still earn the respect of everyone who set their eyes on him.

In direct contrast, the present self is a nobody. A nobody who wasted his time and fails when it matters. A nobody who is embarrassed to be related to the amazing man standing before him.

"What happened to you?" he thought to himself bitterly and flipped the page.

Second Entry: Beach.

What a day, I wish I never bought those Sky Fruits, however, it was a beautiful day for the entire squad.

It was the same beach from the dream and sketch he had during the flight to London, and there they are. Ahmad, Hazir, Oliver. Pictures of archery scores, water sports, arm wrestling, and sipping coconuts. Everything looked so peaceful that it was hard to believe they were all hardened soldiers or if there was even a war going on.

End Video

"These are my memories? How were they stored here?"

"All memories are voluntarily stored by the user in the storage device located in your skull"

"My head? I thought it was a bomb?"

"If the subject, aka you, becomes uncontrollable due to memory loss, especially when experimenting with the Cryo Tube, the higher ups can just press a button"

"That seems excessive"

"The Quillions are expensive, this is just one of the failsafes"

Third Entry: Hunters

Nothing can stand against us, neither here nor anywhere. The Quillions are unstoppable! Put down a whole battalion and none of us had a scratch!

End Video

Fourth Entry: Bored

Everything is too easy now. The war, the Omnics, nothing more than just a nuisance. They should just send us in to destroy the Omnium now, what are they waiting for? Even with this stupid vertigo, if they deploy all of us, we will burn it to the ground before Christmas.

End Video

Fourth Entry: Off Day

About time, suffer vertigos daily for meaningless battles is just stupid. Time for some BBQ Pork man! But first thing's first...

Quillion's hands shook when the recordings showed a camera on the dashboard of a car, driving through extremely familiar streets and shops. Tears formed in his eyes when that stupid tree that always blocks his view everytime he leaves loomed into view. Tears fell when he saw the house located at the end of the street.

"Don't stop… Don't stop… Please don't stop" he begged.

"Anyone home?" his younger self called out, grabbing the camera and walked to the door.

His eyes were glued to the screen when footsteps can be heard, the sounds of keys jingling and even a dog barking from inside the house.

The door swung open and, for the first time in decades, Quillion saw his mother and father.

"Why are you home?" his dad asked in surprise as both of them pulled him in for a hug as the dog jumped around their legs, barking happily.

"Why didn't you tell us you're coming home?" his mom cried.

End Video

"NO!" Quillion cried, flipping the pages for more footage but everything were pointless records of past battles and victories "Where is the rest? Do you have more about mom or dad?!"

"Yes"

"Show me!"

The book in his hands vibrated strongly in his hands as the pages flipped themselves to the last few pages, the title bearing the word 'Corrupted'.

"What? What do you mean corrupted? What happened?!"

His younger self's image distorted for a moment, as if trying to understand how to react to this.

"File integrity 60%, do you want to play the audio file?"

"Do it!" he shouted.

"Entry: Goodbye. File Corrupted"

Entry: Last Audio File

"[static]... indoors, I'm sorry"

The sound of doors opening and someone running in.

"The Null Sector is attacking!"

"I love you son" his mom and dad said tearfully.

"I love you" he said before the sound of a phone clicked.

[static]

"Get to the Armoury!" he shouted over sounds of gunfire.

"Incoming!"

[static]

"Get that door open! Ahmad get back here!"

"Malaysia Selamatnya!" a distant voice shouted.

[static]

"I love you" he said.

"I love you too" a woman replied, sounding like she was fighting back tears.

"Remember, no one can know about us alright? No matter what happens"

"They're breaking through!"

"Calm down, check your ammo and-"

"GRENADE!"

[static]

[gargled voices]

End Audio File

"That's it? Are you sure that is it?"

"There is a memory image, but it has been tampered with"

"Show me"

The book became hot as it forced out an image. It is a blurry picture but he could tell it was the moment where he and Jampang were in the room. It was a point of view shot of him holding up a picture, not of mom or dad, but of what looks like a police officer.

He could not see her face but he knew she was beautiful. Memories of a free spirited, kind hearted, witty girl emerged. He could not remember her name, but she was someone who could instill in him great joy only because she listens or makes him feel angry because she would cancel their plans because of an insignificant from work.

However, he felt a deep longing to have it all again, to see her, to hear her, to run his fingers over her hair, that she had dyed to match her brown eyes. In fact, she reminds him of…

"Lena?"

"Don't. You. Dare."

He looked up at his younger self and was shocked to see the image twitching violently as it moved closer to him suddenly. No longer the calm decorated soldier, a disgusting aura of emotions; fear, despair, anguish, and rage poured out. Feelings that Quillion is intensely familiar with.

Before he could stand, he was forced down by his crazed self, who jumped onto the chair and pinned him down with his legs.

"You must listen! Or don't! But you must!"

"Get off me!"

"Listen to me! Something has happened here! Something… The numbers! Random numbers replaced her! Our numbers had been torn and replaced!"

"What are you talking about?" Quillion snarled, trying to free his arms.

"I failed alright?! I couldn't protect her!"

Like a trigger, the words caused an explosion of hate out of Quillion, tearing the room apart. Now the environment is hot, extremely hot.

They are now in a black room but lit by towering pillars of flame over a layer of ice, the fires matching the anger that swelled within him. With strenuous effort, he threw his younger self off him and lifted him off his feet by the scruff of his jacket.

"Why didn't you? I told you to protect her!" Quillion shouted, slamming his crazed self into one of the pillars, taking great pleasure but also a sense of horror to watch himself writhe in pain as the fire licked his body.

It did not last long as it easily broke itself away from his grip and kicked Quillion across the room. Unfazed, Quillion attacked again as uncontrollable rage continued to build for unknown reasons, but it did not matter, it was not his fault, it was that man's fault. However, it became painfully clear that his opponent is strong. Too strong.

"Stop this! You must listen to me!" it shouted after knocking him down for the third time.

"Fine! Give me your excuses! Let's hear them!"

"Excuses?! Do you not know what I had to sacrifice?!"

"I don't even know what you are!"

"I'm the one you put here to protect your most private of memories so that no one else will see her, you and your stupid secrets I had to protect for decades!"

"What? What did I put in here?"

Quillion looked as it began pacing around, brushing a hand across its hair angrily as it tried to remember.

"You know what it is like to sacrifice our names? Our birthday? Our favorite food? Our darkest secrets? To give it all up just to protect her and fail? You know what that is like?"

"Those memories were stored here? Why would I do that? No… I'm not a… a…"

"No you are not an Omnic! But you are stupid… Incredibly stupid to use your own details as firewalls… You IDIOT" it yelled, punching a nearby pillar and shattering it to pieces..

"But the numbers kept coming… Digging… Nothing could stop it… It began… Editing everything… It soon became apparent that it was trying to create something… New things… I tried to stop it, including the ones protecting our names, our very identities but…"

"Wait stop!" Quillion said, stopping the tirade "If that is true, why can I remember it all? I still have my brain right?"

"You think that stupid Ice Box that Hazir jammed you in is safe? It's a prototype! Only for supersoldiers! You'd think those things are safe for the brain?!"

"Everything I remember were from the memory storage?"

"Wow… The idiot is keeping up"

"How could that be? My brain's fine right?"

"You seriously think that you can remember things after sleeping for decades? Memories do not freeze along with the brain!"

"Wait no, Jampang, what about Jampang? My promise?"

"There is no Jampang! I mean there is! But there isn't! Watch!"

The room changed again, back that fateful day that tore his life away. To the last day that cut him off from the past that he should've lived or died in.

"Corporal, promise me one thing"

"What's that Sarge?" he said as he prepares to activate the Battle Rage.

"Find whoever is behind this and rip it's head off"

They watched as Jampang knocked him out with his weapon and threw him into the cryotube, activating it as the doors were pried open behind him, leaving him to freeze helplessly as Jampang's body is violently broken by their attackers.

"You see? What you see here is real BUT it is not real!" the younger Quillion muttered, walking around the room, seemingly looking for something.

"I see him dying in your files, I think that's evidence enough"

"No! He is here but he is not! Don't you understand? He was never here until he was!"

Quillion scoffed as he looked at his frozen self in the tube. There is no point to continue the conversation with this program, what could it possibly have anything useful to say? It is an old program, so it probably is overdue for an update or someth-

He stopped and thought for a moment. In the audio recording, there was a grenade. Why wasn't there a grenade here? Which one is edited? His mind wandered to the Second Entry and remembered that the 'whole squad' is mentioned. Why wasn't Jampang in any of those recollections?

"What you are saying is he never existed?"

"No! He exists! But not before this!"

"That's not possible, I know him! We know him! He was our leader!"

"You don't understand… All the things you know are real but they are not!"

Weighed down by the words, he sat down next to Jampang's body, trying to remember anything about him prior to this day. Surely there will be something since he was the historian of the group, surely he would remember all their names. If they had fought together like with the rest of the squad, if he was the centerpiece of all of their lives, there would be something.

There was nothing.

"He was the one edited in…" Quillion whispered.

"That's what I've been saying to you! Keep up stupid!"

He couldn't believe it. He can't. Why would the only thing that gave him purpose in this new world be nothing but a fabrication? And who would do such a terrible thing to him?

"Why did you sacrifice everything? My name? My past? Why her? Why?" he asked numbly.

The room melted away and he found himself back in the black room. He squinted his eyes, expected to see the bright flames, but an unfamiliar cold swept past him. He looked around confusingly as many of the pillars turned into ice.

"It was never supposed to happen… The firewalls are state of the art… The invaders are too powerful…"

"Don't you have any backup? Safeguards to hide the files when this happens?"

"This is the backup, there is nothing more beyond here"

Another pillar of fire evaporated into ice as Quillion leaned on it, his mind in a chaotic blur, heavily doubting which memories are real or a fabrication. Jampang was as real to him as yesterday, if he could not trust even that…

"Why am I here? What's the point of all this? What's with the whole yes or no thing?"

"Might as well leave a permanent memory before you die eh?" his image replied, leaning on the same pillar with an exhausted expression.

"What for?"

"Its for the military to study, that's why it's all filed up in that stupid book…"

"So I'll die after I give an answer?"

"If you die before giving the permission, then there will be no memories stored"

"What if someone shot me in the head?"

"That will be highly unlikely"

"Yeah… But what if?"

"There are no guarantees in war" was the simple reply.

"That's it then? You'll just record it all down and leave me to die?" he asked as he flipped through the book "I don't even know which ones of these are real or not"

"The only ones that I detect are not corrupted are the recent memories"

"Recent?"

Reaching over to his hands, it flipped the pages to the very last page and Quillion could only watch in wonder. The images are unorganized and if he had not personally remembered these moments, it would be nothing more than a gibberish of pictures and videos mashed together.

Scattos of memories sped past, many which are unimportant, such as the days he spent training or eating. He winced when he saw himself getting beaten by the Owl, shook his head in amazement when scenes of him surviving many of McCree's shenanigans, ending with a sad smile when the next scene popped in.

He was holding the guitar in an unkempt room and sitting across him, waiting in anticipation for a romantic song of his choice, was Lena. These were definitely happier times, when he was still trying to earn a place in Overwatch, it was so long ago when the world was simpler. All he needed was a place to be his base of operations to learn about this timeline, never knowing that soon he will experience the greatest defeat he would ever face.

Seeing himself playing various songs to impress her, broke his heart, knowing full well who it was for and what happened to her under his watch. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily when the cursed alley was played, unable to rewatch that dreaded night.

As he did this, a pillar was snuffed out, leaving only one pillar left to remain lit.

"Why is it doing that?" he asked, unable to ignore it any longer.

"I do not understand"

"The pillars of fire, why are they turning into ice? This thing we're leaning on!"

"Courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it"

"What?"

"That was your favourite quote" the image sighed.

"So?"

"What do you think happens if you never conquer your fears?"

"What are you saying?" Quillion asked, turning around to peer into the ice but saw nothing "These are my fears? Why was it on fire?"

"Fear is a powerful motivator but if it's not kept in check, what do you think happens if it conquers the mind?"

"You're saying I'm a coward?" he said in anger.

"I don't have to, the pillars are evidence enough"

Quillion made a move to stand. He does not need to listen to this, it is bad enough that he had suffered through humiliation, failures, and even torture, a verbal attack from a program is the last thing he needed.

However, when he pushed against the floor to stand, he saw his legs frozen to the ground.

"What is this?" he shouted, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"It is time, are you ready to proceed? Please answer Yes or No" it said emotionlessly, watching Quillion struggle against the ice that has now crept up to his chest.

"Hey! Help me out here!"

"Life signs are vital, please answer Yes or No"

"Get me out of here!" he yelled, trying to ignore the flames dimming from the corner of his eye, the room becoming darker with each passing moment.

"Life signs vital, please select an option"

"No wait!"

"No has been selected"

With that said, Quillion was left alone as the images disappeared, all except the ice that continued to creep up his body at an accelerated pace and the pillars that towered over him silently. He began to cry as he felt death's grip surrounded him, its hungry hands demanding for a soul that has been denied for far too long.

He had always thought he would greet death with a smile, to receive it with open arms, but he was wrong. The program was right, he was a coward. There were no heroic memories to comfort him nor was there the cocky attitude he thought he would have, only a terrified being who finally realized that this was truly the end.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked.

Quillion stopped struggling. He knew that voice. It is hers. Her voice resonated as if from the very depths of his heart.

"You're always getting yourself into trouble, I always hate it when you do that"

"I-" Quillion began, his mouth working furiously to find her name as he looked for her but there was no one around.

"Is there anything you wish to say for yourself?"

"I… I'm so sorry…" he said, pouring as much emotion as he could into his voice, even if it is just a recording, she must hear him now "I thought I could change things… I should have stayed with you"

"Why?"

"I could've protected everyone… You, mom, dad" he said bitterly as the ice crawled up to his neck "Everyone would still be alive if only I've stayed"

"That may be right… So what do you plan to do about it?"

"Plan? There's no plan… There has never been a plan... I'm dying..."

"Those are not the words of the man I fell in love with" she said.

He said nothing. She does not know how much he has changed, how different he is now compared to who she knew all those years ago.

"We are still there you know?" she continued sadly "Somewhere in the city, we are still there"

Quillion felt his heart race when he heard those words.

"Do you mean…?"

"We are all waiting for you dear… Please come see us one last time?"

He could see them again? The pillar he is trapped against began to feel warm as embers began forming from within, slowly melting the ice on his body.

"All of you?" he asked hopefully.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He reached out to grab it but could only feel his own clothes.

"Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll find us?"

This cannot be a recording, it is far too specific.

"I'll find you, I will never stop until I do" he swore, causing another pillar bursting into flames.

"Thank you… And don't go offing yourself after" she added quickly, reading his mind.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you're an idiot" she laughed "You have another chance at life, don't go wasting it"

"What's the point? I missed you" he admitted "All of you"

"We will meet again, I promise, but until then, we do hope you will enjoy the rest of your life"

"How?"

"One can always start over from home"

Her voice was fading away as an invisible force pulled him to his feet, the grips of death slipping away as he felt himself regaining consciousness.

"Don't go!" he begged "Without you around I-"

He was cut off as an invisible, warm hand covered his mouth, not letting go until he regained his posture.

"Will we meet again?" he asked.

"Yes"

"Promise?"

"Promise, maybe you can even bring someone along so we can meet her" she added with a playful tone.

The comment hurt. Does this mean she no longer loves him? Or does it mean in the afterlife, love between them no longer exists?

She must have sensed it as he felt her pull him into a hug.

"The love we shared is more than memories and we are sorry that we could not walk with you in life, but we will always be watching, and we hope you will make the best of what you'll have left, make us proud ya?"

"I… I love you" he said.

"I love you too" were her last words as he felt the arms of his parents wrapping themselves around him "We all do"


*Gibraltar: Overwatch*

Bracing himself, he slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see bandages all around him or to endure tremendous pain, but was shocked to see that not only he was wearing nothing but a hospital gown, there was no pain, not even a needle protruding from his arm. That was when he noticed the staff that had attached a healing stream on him.

"Since when was I compatible?" he thought.

He moved to call for assistance and found he was cuffed to the bed.

"Must be because of the last time I was here" he muttered.

Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 5am, so he would only need to worry about a few sentries and patrols.

But first, he must get past Dr Ziegler.

He strained his ears and tried to listen for her, as she always had a habit of sipping her coffee or flipping the papers when she finished making her rounds. Oddly enough, there was nothing, not even from the outside.

Risking himself to get caught, he let out a loud groan. Still nothing.

"Strange, she's usually quite sensitive to this"

Activating his Battle Rage, he easily pulled himself free from the handcuffs and jumped out of bed. Looking down at his bloodied hands, he watched in interest as the wounds were healed.

"Thanks Staff, glad we are compatible" he said, patting it before peaking around the corner.

He was confused to see that not only the room was vacant but there was one thing that was extremely out of place. Instead of a cup of coffee on the table, there were a few plates of food. Half eaten lobsters, fruits and cake were set up as if there was some sort of celebration here.

Ignoring his grumbling stomach, he opened the door slowly and looked around. The base is unnaturally quiet, reminding him of the first episode of a zombie series he watched when he was younger.

"Seriously if there's zombies here, I'm going back to sleep" he thought.

Making his way to the Armory, he was thankful not to find any zombies or blood blocking his way, rather it was empty mugs, confetti and other festive decorations all around.

"What happened here?"

"A celebration" Athena replied, making him jump.

"Oh sh-"

"Shall I inform the others?"

"No! Don't tell anyone!"

"Very well, may I be of any assistance?"

"You're not going to raise the alarm?" he asked, looking around for a weapon.

"No"

"Why?"

"According to my data, you are innocent and Colonel Smith's judgement is wrong, therefore I will allow you to walk around"

"Right… Thanks? What happened here? Where is everyone?"

Athena explained everything to him as he snuck into the Armory, how they suspected him to be a spy, to the announcement that the war is over, to the party that was just concluded. Throughout the story, he could not help but to smile, even acknowledging that he would suspect himself if those were the facts stacked against him. However, the most important piece of information is that everyone in the base now are either drunk or asleep.

"Didn't think Dr Zigler would join the party, she didn't seem like the type" he commented when he grabbed a change of clothing.

"She did not, shortly before you woke up, she visited Genji in his room, asking me to watch over you"

"Genji's hurt?"

"No, she said she suddenly felt an uncontrollable urge to see him privately'"

"Oh… Err, which one of these Torbjorn would miss the least?" he asked.

Now equipped with a pistol and spare rounds, he began making his way to the hangar, where someone was already waiting for him.

"Quillion! They finally let you off eh?" Lox said, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Hey Lox, err… What?"

"Don't play dumb, Athena just told me everything, I still can't believe they were interrogate you during the party, I mean who does that?"

"Yeah, I know right?" Quillion replied, playing along.

"Well, where to? Nowhere too far I hope?"

"Singapore"

"Ahh… No wonder she told me to take some food from the cafeteria for you, well, get in" he sighed, slightly annoyed that he needs to fly so far after a party.

"Private Zero, would you like to leave a message?" Athena interjected.

"Sure, warm up the engine" Quillion said, walking to the corner of the hangar.

"Why are you helping me? And how did you know I'm planning to leave?" he whispered.

"Some in Overwatch, along with myself, do not feel you deserve to face the charges that the Colonel will have for you, so I decided to intervene, as for you leaving, it was obvious"

"Thanks? I suppose not all AI are bad apples eh?" he said.

"What shall you leave for the message?"