"Reyes!"

"No."

"With God as my witness, I will drag you out there!"

"I'm not going to your pool party."

Soldier: 76 groaned. Even before Gabriel had become The Reaper, he was always a stubborn pain in Soldier's ass. Now, he had an excuse to be a mopey, angsty emo, and he was taking full advantage of that fact.

Reaper simply did not want to attend the pool party. Why would he? He had nothing to gain from it. It accomplished nothing. All it was was a waste of time, effort, and resources that could better be used. Reaper couldn't stand for it, and he refused to attend, Jack Morrison and his team mandates be damned.

"Reyes, if you don't get your ass out there, I will make what happened in Switzerland look like a goddamn traffic jam," snarled the patriarch of the OverHouse. "The party is mandatory. So, I'm going to suggest you Wraith Form your Crypt Keeper ass outside and start mingling with the others."

"Let me make this perfectly clear, Morrison. I do not mingle. I do not party. And, most importantly…" Reaper slithered forward, staring into his former friend's eyes. "I do not take orders from you."

"When you live under my roof, you live under my rules," snarled 76. "Unless you want me to kick you out, you'll bring your ass out to the pool, get yourself a drink, and soak in some sun."

Reaper growled angrily, his fists clenched angrily. The stand-off persisted for several moments before turning his back to 76. He slowly stalked away for the pool.

"I refuse to stay long," said Reaper as he went.

"You don't have to. Just mingle."

Reaper didn't respond to Soldier, simply skulking away. Soldier sighed, running a hand through what remained of his hair. He was starting to regret this pool party idea.

"He's trying, you know."

76 turned to see none other than Reaper's comrades from Talon. Widowmaker was filing her nails as she approached, whereas Sombra was fidgeting with Lucio's Sonic Amplifier, of all things.

"He really is trying, Abuelo," said Sombra again. "You should cut him some slack."

"Reyes has always been a pain in the ass," said 76. "He's just being whiny for the sake of pissing me off."

"If you truly believe that, you simply do not know Gabriel," said Widowmaker. "Reyes does not act without reason."

"He's bitter. That's his reason."

"Of course he's bitter, Abuelo, you dropped a building on him," said Sombra, rolling her eyes. "He's dying, and everyone he cared about left him for dead. I'd go on a revenge-fueled murder spree, too."

"That's no excuse. We could've helped him. But he chose to be the Reaper. He chose to turn his back on us," said 76 stubbornly. "He's a selfish prick, and that's all there is to it."

"Has it ever occured to you that Reyes does not need the OverHouse?" Widowmaker's tone was cold, a faint sort of anger creeping into her voice. "He does not need a place to stay. He could go anywhere. He has no need of food, shelter, money. If he wanted to, he could live elsewhere, by himself. And yet, he came here. He came to your House, and lives under your rules."

"If he doesn't need me, then why come?"

"Cause he didn't come alone," said Sombra. "When you guys started finishing off Talon, we knew we'd be next. We were going to run, but Papi… He came through for us. Because, despite what he might say or do or even what he might think, he cares about us. And if he cares about us, then he cares about you."

76 didn't say anything at first. He wasn't sure if he even believed it. Gabriel Reyes might have cared for them, and him, but Gabriel Reyes was dead. The Reaper didn't feel. The Reaper didn't care for anyone. Yet, here they were. 76 couldn't deny, Reaper did seem to be protective of his Talon comrades. It reminded Soldier of the way Gabriel would treat McCree and Tracer.

"Anyway, I gotta go," said Sombra. "Me and Lucio are… Well, I'm supposed to be hanging out with Lucio, is what matters. Just try to be easy on Papi, okay?"

Sombra translocated away, leaving Soldier alone with the cold-blooded sniper. Widow gave Soldier one last glare before making her way for the door.

"We are all trying to adjust to this life, Morrison. Gabriel might be a fils de pute, but he is trying. For me, and for Sombra," said Widowmaker, pausing in the doorframe. "He's done more than Overwatch ever did." Widow glanced back at Soldier, letting out a small, shaky sigh. "I'm not supposed to feel anything, Morrison. I am not meant to have friends. But Gabriel… We are kindred spirits. He understands what I've been through in a way no one ever could. And for that… For that, I cannot deny that he is my friend."

Widowmaker vanished, leaving Soldier alone with his thoughts. Widow never opened up like this. The two Talon mercenaries were being surprisingly protective of their unofficial leader. Soldier didn't know what the three were like before the OverHouse, but they were a family now.

Jack let out a sigh before heading out to the pool to join in on the festivities, thinking about how to make things work.

Reaper sat at the bar, silently brooding to himself. He didn't want to be there, that much was obvious. Not that Reaper wanted to be anywhere, really. But this pool party… This pool party was true agony. It was chaos, frivolous chaos, to an unbelievable degree. It was money wasted, time wasted. And, for reasons Reaper didn't care to understand, he was forced to participate.

A glass slid in front of Reaper, filled with a slightly amber liquid. He glanced to his left, where Soldier 76 was taking a seat, a glass of whiskey in tow. Reaper lifted the glass, which he surmised was filled with tequila, and stared at it for a moment.

"It's not poison," grunted Soldier. "It's safe to drink."

"Hm… Why are you here?" asked Reaper.

"Sombra has been messing with Symmetra and, after dealing with that little debacle, I needed a drink." Soldier sipped his whiskey, never looking at his former friend. "Thought you might be interested."

Reaper said nothing. He took a sip of his drink, before setting it down and returning to his silent brooding. Soldier let the silence persist for a moment before reaching out again.

"How do you even drink with that mask on?"

"You've been spending too much time with Oxton."

"Heh. Not enough time, if you ask me," chuckled Soldier. "I remember when she was a cadet. She's grown a lot."

"She's loud. Careless. Reckless." Reaper took another sip. "She needs discipline."

"Maybe if you were more involved with her…"

"She needs… To learn…" Reaper let out a cough, shaking his head firmly. He drained his glass before tossing it to the side and, inexplicably, reached into his coat and withdrew another glass of tequila. "She's going to get herself killed."

"She misses you, Reyes. All of us do," said Soldier. "Angie, Ana, Rein. The young bloods, too. Jesse and Lena and—"

"Fareeha. She… She spoke to me some time ago…" Reaper's hands began to quake slightly, and he took a deep, rattling breath. "Talked about… How we met…"

"Listen, Reyes. I know we've had our differences," sighed Soldier. "And I know things between us have been a shitshow. But I just wanted to say… I miss the way things used to be. And… I understand that you're doing your best. So, I wanted to… Apologize. For being so hard on you."

Reaper let out a groan, his body trembling. Soldier glanced at him, rolling his eyes. Of course, Reaper would ruin this moment by being dramatic. It was always his thing. But, just as he was about to call Reaper out, he noticed how he clutched at his ribs. His fingers began to quake, smoking faintly.

"Reyes?" Soldier stood up, concerned. "Are you—"

Reaper let out a howl that froze Soldier's blood. It was pain, but more so than that, it was not the voice of the Reaper. That scream of pain wasn't from the deathbringer, the mercenary. That scream was from Gabriel Reyes.

"What the hell, Reyes? What's happening?"

"I… Need… Sombra…"

Soldier looked around the pool area, his eyes scanning for Sombra. The rest of the House watched in concern as Sombra leapt from the pool and bounded forward, sliding to a stop next to Reaper.

"Jesus, Papi, what's happening?!" Sombra gently grabbed him by the shoulder, which only made Reyes tremble and smoke more.

"Call her!" he shouted. Sombra visibly paled, even as she raised her hands and began typing.

"Papi, you told me never to call her," said Sombra. "Are you sure about this?"

"She's the only one… Who can fix… This…"

"Who?" demanded Soldier.

"The… The Doctor…" Reaper collapsed the floor, unable to move. Smoke continued to waft from his body, even as he lay motionless on the floor. "The one… Who made me…"

"I thought it was Angela who made you this way."

"Ziegler only started this… Moira is the one who finished it…"