*Mexico: Dorado*

Alejandra was walking through the empty streets late at night with a bag of groceries in her hands.

Five months have passed since that night, when Mondatta returned and the 'Great Madness' happened. Despite the Government and the people's best efforts, she could still see the scars from that night; large patches on buildings that stood out with their obviously different paint, and heritage structures now kept together with Hardlight, making it look like some failed attempt to combine both modern and historical art.

How did things become like this? She had believed so strongly that the return of Overwatch would be the start of something good. She remembered how loudly she cheered for their return eight months ago in January, not because the United Nations withdrew their sanctions nor allowed the return of heroes, but because of who she saw.

She had only seen him once before, but she still remembered him as vividly as if he was standing in front of her right now. She remembered everything: his white hair, the scar on his face, how he moved and his build. No one believed her when she claimed that the great Commander Morrison had once saved her within the streets of Dorado, though no one can deny that there was a vigilante who ran down members of the Los Muertos and forced them to disband.

Even in his military uniform. This was further confirmed during that night when Mondatta returned and the 'Great Madness' occurred, when Commander Morrison came out with his iconic Red Visor and Pulse Rifle.

Tears formed in her eyes as she walked when the image of his body sprawled across the floor resurfaced in her mind.

The fear that she experienced when she saw him fighting Mondatta alone was terrifying, only holding on to her sanity with the hope that his abilities would carry him through the day. After all, he survived decades of fighting as a vigilante, so surely he will somehow walk out of this one victorious.

The elation she felt when the other heroes came to his aid was indescribable, as each of them were famed fighters themselves, but it only took less than a minute to have her hopes crushed when a beam shot through Genji's deflection and shot him.

The weeping and lament she cried out were viciously cut short when the streets fell into chaos under the influence of the Great Madness, forcing her and her mother to barricade their home until the night passed. This, however, was not without consequences, for it left a lasting bitterness in her that she could not be free from.

She tried her best to hide this from her mother but was unable to, which strained their relationship when her mother tried to help. It's not her fault, for she did not know that Alejandra's bitterness was not because of the Great Madness, rather it was Alejandra's inability to grieve for Morrison's passing, for it was buried so deeply inside her that she did not know how to bring it out.

Alejandra's greatest regret was never thanking him for saving her; instead she just had to tell him that she thought that he was a hero. Ever since that night, she had hoped to run into him again just so that she could thank him.

And now it is an impossibility.

Wiping them away angrily, she kept walking, stopping only when she was about to pass the alley where he saved her, once again hoping to maybe see him, perhaps lurking in the shadows. He was thought to be dead when he saved her, so maybe he would pull it off again? But such thoughts were merely fantasy, and she knew it.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked in Spanish.

She looked and saw it was a police officer.

"Yes, I was just looking" she replied.

"Move along, it's dangerous this late at night, especially around here" he grunted.

Nodding, Alejandra hurried home, not wanting to cause any trouble despite not doing anything wrong. It was not too long ago when the city had just laxed some security measures, but the people were still afraid, let alone the local authorities, who are still on high alert.

It was not long before she reached her home and the smell of fresh bread greeted her. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for another night of baking and entered her home. No sooner had she placed the groceries on the table when a knock came from the door, surprising her.

Who would be visiting at this hour?

"Hey there" the woman said, looking down at her when Alejandra opened the door.

"Hi? Can I help you?" she asked.

Alejandra could not help but feel a bit worried, for the woman had a threatening presence, though not in a physical way, but in a subtle, "pretend to be your friend but actually not' way. She also had the strangest feeling that she had seen this woman before, but she could not tell because of the large brown trench coat that covered most of her body. She was even wearing gloves.

"Not gonna lie, I thought you'd be a little older" the woman said, pulling down her sunglasses slightly and looking at Alejandra with her brown eyes.

"Erm… The bakery is closed. Please come back tomorrow" Alejandra said, uncomfortable with the woman's presence.

"Hang on, hang on, I'm just here to give you this" the woman said, pulling out a brown envelope from her coat.

"You can just leave it in our postbox, thanks" Alejandra said quickly, and was about to close the door when her mother came around.

"Alejandra? Who is that?" she asked.

"Nothing mama! Go back and-" Alejandra started, but the woman poked her head in.

"I'm a representative from the Mexican Government Scholarship Program, I am here to discuss your daughter's application"

"Oh! Please come in, come in!" the mother said excitedly, quickly pulling out a chair for the woman to sit on.

"But mama-!"

"Now Alejandra!"

With no other choice, Alejandra reluctantly opened the door, allowing the woman to enter as her mother rushed to the kitchen.

"Thank you. Well this is cosy" the woman commented, looking around the room as Alejandra's mother returned with a basket of bread.

"Please, try this, we just tried a new recipe today" the mother offered.

Alejandra was skeptical. No one from the government would ever visit them this late, let alone personally come over to discuss something as trivial as a scholarship program. Especially after she pulled out.

"Thank you" Sombra said, accepting one of the bread "Like I said, I am here to discuss Ms Alejandra's application for a scholarship"

Neither Alejandra nor her mother said anything, one riddled with suspicion while the other waited eagerly for the woman to continue.

"You'll both be happy to know that Ms. Alejandra has been granted the highest scholarship that we could offer"

"The highest?" her mother asked, stunned.

"Yes, she can apply to any University in the world, all expenses paid"

The woman paused as Alejandra's mother jumped up in celebration, hugging her daughter and congratulating her excitedly. Alejandra tried to match her mother's excitement but could not. It is true that she was one of the best performing students in her school, but an achievement like this would be reported to the school first, not now.

"Why wasn't this information given to the school? Why couldn't this wait until it's officially announced?"

"Alejandra!" her mother protested, but the woman merely smiled.

"It is alright, she is correct, which is why I am here. This particular scholarship is not sponsored by the Government, but rather sponsored by one of our many philanthropists who volunteered to join our Scholarship Programs"

To confirm her words, she opened the brown envelope and placed its contents on the table.

One was a datapad, and on it was a schedule of official events that the Government had planned for the year, and indeed, one of them was listed as 'Philatriphitic Scholarship Program' held months ago. Touching the title, a full itinerary, timetable, speeches, and even a short Minute was shown, with only the names crossed out for privacy reasons.

The other was another datapad, but this one was a digital confirmation of Alejandra's Scholarship.

"All I need from you is to place your thumb here, and all of this is yours" the woman said, indicating a thumbprint scanner on the latter datapad.

"Alejandra, quick!" the mother coaxed when she hesitated.

"You can type in the details on our website, you'll find that this is 100% legitimate" the woman replied, reading her mind.

"There's no fee or anything right?" Alejandra asked.

"No hidden costs whatsoever, if there is, the Scholarship would've paid for it"

Without hesitation (and to the annoyance of her mother), Alejandra whipped out her phone and navigated herself to the government website. The woman waited patiently, a smile on her face.

To the mother, this was a smile of encouragement, but Alejandra, for reasons unknown, saw it in a different light. It was a look of someone confirming another's suspicion, as if she was sent here to scout her for someone else. Despite this, however, the temptation took over, as the official documents confirming the woman's words were all true, and she had hoped to earn this scholarship for a long time now.

She didn't think that she'd feel this way again, for the reason that she excelled in school was to get the best chance to work her way into Overwatch itself, to finally meet Commander Morrison to personally thank him for saving her. However, ever since his death, her ambitions have been quashed and she has lost most of her motivation. Until now, for some reason, it has been rekindled.

So, she reached her hand out and pressed her thumb on the datapad.

"Excellent! Well, it's getting late, so I'll be going. Thank you all for your hospitality" the woman said, clapping her hands and standing up.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" the mother said repeatedly.

"Don't worry about it, good night everyone, and Alejandra? Congratulations"

Closing the door behind her, Sombra sighed and stretched. Waving a hand over the bread to make sure that it was safe to eat, she took a bite.

"Hmm… Que rico!" she thought and removed her gloves to take off her contacts "Now I can finally disappear"

"Tell me the truth. Who are you?" Alejandra demanded.

Sombra jumped. She did not hear Alejandra coming out.

"Ya know, most people would just be happy to receive a scholarship like that" she replied, turning around.

"I am not 'most' people"

"You're right, you actually earned it. Your performance in school is impressive to say the least" the woman said, pressing the air in front of her and Alejandra saw that she was pulling up files of her achievements "Says here you got top marks, highly motivated, and have a lot of room for growth."

"Who are you?" Alejandra asked again.

"I'm a friend of a friend, who happens to be your sponsor, by the way" was the reply.

"None of my friends would be friends with you" Alejandra shot back.

"Not surprised, seeing that you only spent about 5 minutes with him, however, he has left you a note which I planned to slip into your mailbox" Sombra said, pulling the slip out and holding it out for her.

"I'm not taking anything else from you!" Alejandra said, stepping back when she realized that the woman's eye colors had changed. What else could this woman be hiding?

"Relax… It's just a thank you note"

Alejandra's first reflex was to shout at the woman, to tell her to go away and never come back. Maybe even to go back into the house and immediately reject this scholarship, but curiosity got the better of her. Reluctantly, Alejandra accepted and read the handwritten note.

A long time ago you thought that I was a hero when no one, not even me, believed so.

Thank you

76

"It's not written there, but he had you in mind ever since he returned to Overwatch" the woman continued "And according to Tracer, even in his last moments, he was thinking about you" (reference: Chapter 29 Part 2)

"No… This is not from him" Alejandra said, tears clouding her vision.

"You were wearing a green shirt that night, and I believe that's the same headband as well? He said that it was pink" Sombra said, looking at Alejandra "Oh, and your wallet is like a… 'Murloc'? Spelled with a 'c', some kind of animal from a game"

Stunned, Alejandra could start to feel the cold bitterness melting away as the need to express her grief, finally, resurfaced. There was no way this woman would know what happened that night. The Commander took that much care to remember her?

This is unfair! Why would he even trust her with this? What were his expectations? She was the one who should have thanked him, not the other way around! Worst of all, he seemed to have 'saved' her once more by personally securing her future? Why?

"No… I can't accept this... Why would he…?" she choked, holding the note preciously to her chest.

"Well… I can't speak for him, but I could guess" Sombra said, remembering some of the files she was able to hack during her time in Overwatch "I could feel that he was tired of his job at Overwatch, said something about protecting the peace is not the same as protecting lives"

"All in all, I think that he only did the things he did in Overwatch was because of you. He feels that everything good that came out of his decisions was because you believed that he could, so, he took a few steps to have whatever he saved up to be used for you. This was one of them" Sombra finished.

"How could you know that?" Alejandra asked, fighting hard not to cry "You could be lying! If this was real, you wouldn't have come here in a disguise!"

"Well, I didn't think you'd accept the scholarship if it came from the world's greatest hacker" Sombra admitted.

"Who?" was Alejandra's reply.

"Never mind" Sombra smiled, laughing as she forgot that to the rest of the world, she's no more than a faceless logo, having spent so much time with people who actually knew her "All I know is, Jack wants to thank you for believing in him and he hopes that his last act is enough to help you"

Alejandra didn't reply. She wanted to cry, but there would be time for that later, for another, more important thing came to mind.

"What do I do?" she asked innocently.

"Anything you want. Use the scholarship or reject it, since you still have time. But that just feels like such a waste… If you ask my opinion, I'd give it a shot, cause trust me, you're not criminal material"

"Then… Then I have a request!" Alejandra said, her voice still full of emotion.

"Sorry, I don't do requests" Sombra said and turned around.

"Please! You said the Commander wants to help me right? Then help me help my friends!"

Sombra stopped for a moment and cocked her head to the side curiously, showing that she's listening.

"Are you sure? I know your friends and their debts, and they're not small. If I spread the wealth, your scholarship may not be as prestigious"

"Yes! Please!" Alejandra replied without a hint of hesitation "My friends… Some are struggling harder than me! Worse than me! They deserve a chance just as much as I do and-!"

"Done"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"It is done, any debt they've accrued is paid, and they should have enough to get by if they don't waste it… And that's literally all his savings, so your friends better not waste it" Sombra said, closing the screen before looking back at Alejandra.

"T-Thank you!" Alejandra said, somehow knowing that Sombra was telling the truth.

"I see now why he has taken a liking to you" Sombra said, impressed.

"May I ask, who are you? Are you a hero too?"

This made Sombra laugh.

"Me? Nah I'm retired. Enjoy your scholarship, make us all proud eh?"

With that said, Sombra waved and left.

After this night, Alejandra would go on to one of the best Universities in North America, where she would earn a prestigious PhD and eventually become one of the foremost leaders in the field of Forestry, where her work was gratefully accepted by the United Nations and Overwatch, reviving the landscapes thought lost in the flames of war. Despite her busy schedule, she had never forgotten her mother or her friends back in Dorado, taking great lengths to visit and help out whenever she could.

This would have been the end of Sombra's mission if it were not for one last little problem. Whoever is following her is good, but overconfident; anyone could hear those boots, let alone follow with the rising sun behind their backs. Obviously, this was not Los Muertos, for no member would be caught dead tailing anyone like this, so there might not be any talking her way out of this.

She went down the stairs, turned right and was glad to see that there was no one here in these early hours. Though it was a popular route for people to go to the public Lounge, it was still known for the local gangs to do business with, so if anything unfortunate happened, this would be the place to do it. Readying her machine pistol, she waited as he or she approached.

This was good, she was still hurting from the Moon incident and opted to ambush the intruder. Taking off the coat, she turned invisible and waited. As soon as the brown boots appeared, she thrust her hand over, grabbed him by his jacket and forced him against the wall.

"Who are you working for and- Cassidy?!" she stammered, accidentally turning off her cloak.

"Whoa there, out here I'm just McCree" Cassidy grunted, readjusting his hat.

"I could've killed you" she said, trying to sound casual.

"Then you might wanna look down" he smirked.

She didn't need to look to know that he already had Peacekeeper out, for she felt the pressure of its barrel pressed against her stomach.

"Hmm… Not bad" she commented.

"I'm the fastest draw in the world, as you might already know. I'm better than 'not bad'" he boasted.

Demonstrating, he holstered the revolver before whipping it out so fast that Sombra had no doubt that he would have shot her first, despite being pressed against the wall. He even had time to give it a twirl, judging by the blur.

"Fine… So why are you following me?" she asked.

"The boys back at base wanted to keep an eye on you, said something about you havin' one last deal with Jack and all, but I gotta say, I didn't expect it to be a work of charity"

"What did you think I'd be doing?" she asked.

"Dunno, joining back with your old gang? Go off to blackmail some politician or whatever?"

"What if I am? What would you do?" she asked, unable to resist the urge to tip his hat in a playful manner.

"Well… I suppose I'll just have to catch you and bring you in"

"How do you plan to do that?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as she leaned up towards his ear.

"I dunno… Maybe I'll tie you up and carry you back" he said, also dropping his voice.

She shivered at the thought and bit her lip, but decided that she had enough fun and to end the conversation.

"Well… Good luck with that cowboy" she said and Teleported away…

Back into Cassidy's arms.

"What? How?" she gasped.

"I saw you drop something earlier, thought to bring it back to you" he chuckled, tapping on the Translocator on the ground with his foot.

Sombra struggled, but she could not break free from him. Finally, after decades of being on the run, she realized that she had finally been caught. Whether it was from fatigue or because she had no reason to escape, or both, she relented. The Conspiracy is gone, her mission is done, and she could not possibly hope to live a normal life, especially not after the life she lived.

She had earned many enemies in the past, and due to her past crimes, she would be placed in maximum prison within Overwatch HQ itself, where it would technically be the safest place for her. If she has to pay for her crimes, she can at least be glad that Cassidy is the one who caught her. After all, her fantasy of settling down with him would always just be a fantasy, so she kept her lips shut even if this would be the last chance that they would ever have to even hint at this.

Expertly, Cassidy tied her hands and feet, and leaned her against the wall. She could not help but notice how gentle he was with her, as even the ropes were not that tight.

"Hmm… Thought you'd put up more of a fight" Cassidy said, stepping back.

"Meh, if you came back from the Moon, you'd be tired too" she replied.

"Uh huh…" he said.

He thought for a moment before pulling out his communicator.

"Hey, McCree here… Yeah… Nah… She's a slippery one, but I'm hot on her tail" he said to the person on the other side "No, there's no trouble, but she's holed up for the night, so I'm gonna need you to help me book a hotel… So I can keep a lookout of course!"

Sombra's head perked up. What is he doing?

"Yup, two different rooms… Cause she's them hacker types right? Can't make it too obvious which room I'm in" he continued, winking at her with a finger over his lips, clearly asking her to be quiet "As long as it oversees the main street… Yup, thank you darlin', make it quick"

"What are you doing?" Sombra asked when he read the hotel reservation that was quickly sent to him.

"Let's just say I'd hate to see a purdy gal like you not havin' her beauty sleep" he said, sweeping her off her feet.

Sombra was blushing so hard that she felt she could power a whole Omnium. Not only did he call her 'purdy', but he was taking them to a hotel?!

"I-I-I" she stammered.

She was in a stunned panic; her heart and mind were fluttering; she felt faint; and above all, she was feeling a foreign sense of excitement and longing that was steadily growing out of control, suppressed only by the confusion of this turn of events.

The hotel was not far away, and they slipped past the bored attendant at the counter, who barely looked at them as he passed them the hotel keys.

"Whew, now that's a view. You can practically see the whole street from here" Cassidy commented, looking out the window and watching the warm morning glow fill the area.

Sombra sat on the bed and didn't answer.

"Well, I'll be in the other room. Call me if you need me" he added, untying the ropes that bound her.

"And if I run?" she asked, her face looking down away from him.

"Well, guess I'll figure out what to do then" he replied, and tried to stand up when he realized a small problem.

Sombra had hacked his mechanical arm to grip the edge of the bed, an impulse that she felt that she had to do. She stayed quiet as he made a half-hearted attempt to free himself, secretly hoping that he would know what she hoped he would do, even if she was too shy to admit it herself.

He did.

"I suppose I can't just ask you to let me go?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"You want me to stay?"

She nodded.

"I gotta warn ya though, if I stay, things might… Happen…" he warned with a playful smile, placing his hand on her thigh as he knelt down before her.

She hid her red face as he bent, but not before he saw her bite her lip.

"You want things to happen?" he asked, sliding his hand higher up her leg, feeling her tremble "I warn ya, I could go on all day"

For a moment, she didn't move, and he waited patiently for her to, for he could see a battle of thoughts and emotions raging within her. Whatever is holding her back, she is the one who must make the decision, she is the one who must remove her own restraints, not him, despite the fact that he has been thinking about her since Dr. Zigler implanted her new hand.

Though he did not want to admit it, Cassidy had his eyes on Sombra since they ran into each other in India, to the point where he would even volunteer himself into the Medical Bay where blood was present to act as 'protection'. This was also why he volunteered himself to find her, something that was slightly out of character for those who knew him better, but a great relief to the new Captain Smith, who was overloaded with work, especially when Commander Amari is currently on leave.

Also, if he hadn't been told in private that she harboured feelings for him, he wouldn't have been so brave with his actions either.

"Under… One condition…" she finally said.

"What's that?"

"That this is not a one time thing. After this… We will give it a try…"

Now it's Cassidy's turn to be quiet, much to Sombra's dismay, but it had to be said. This cannot be a one time fling, for she knows that if he ends up with another, it'll tear her apart.

"Hmm… That'll be mighty difficult, because you never told me your name"

She looked at his smiling face, and her heart fluttered once more.

"I'm sure it's in your briefings" she said.

"Well, that's what was written, but I want to hear it from you. So, how may I address you, Miss…?"

"Olivia, Olivia Colomar" she answered.

"Olivia…" he repeated and braved in a kiss that was quickly returned "That's a nice name"

"Wait! Does this mean…?" she asked as a moan slipped past her lips as he pushed her down on the bed, albeit awkwardly as his arm was still gripping to one side.

"I'm gonna need to throw out a few things, but I'm sure my room's big enough for the two of us" he said, smiling as she let out gasps of happiness.

What followed would be the first of many, many passions that the two would share.

It took two years before Olivia was finally granted her Tenant Pass, which is reserved for families who will eventually live in Overwatch HQ to be with the permanent staff or agents. Here, she happily lived out her days with the man she loved, and even became a key advisor on software improvements. Also, thanks to her presence, to many a great surprise, Cassidy had changed for the better. With each passing day, he became more mature and became a face that Overwatch felt comfortable showing. Taking actual responsibility for his actions, he worked tirelessly to contribute to the overall vision of Overwatch.

Cassidy and Olivia will also eventually start a loving family of four, and their children will eventually go and forge their own paths, as their parents retire to a traditional countryside ranch to live out their days peacefully, away from the public eye.