Another chapter of Remnants coming at you! I've decided that this is the version of the story I will be sticking with. I like this mixture better than Beacon's Watch, and while I might update it occasionally, my attention will be split between Infinity and this story from now on, however, another work might be coming down the pipeline.

Overwatch: Remnants Chapter VII

Reunion Part I

Mei was frozen to her core, she'd been walking for what felt like days across the shimmering white expanse of the Antarctic headed for the coast.

Winston's message had galvanized her but now that the chill wind had seeped so deep into her person she had realized she'd been more than a little hasty.

"Mei?" Snowball asked, flitting back to her with a concerned look on his little pixelated face.

"I'm okay Snowball," she reassured, though even she didn't think she sounded all that convincing.

She was tired, and even though she was good when it came to food and water was easily obtainable she knew that if she didn't find one of the outlying settlements soon she was going to be in a whole pile of trouble.

A whirring noise caught her attention, Snowball whirling around as well as it continued to grow.

"It's a helicopter!" Mei cried excitedly, picking up her pace and racing up the hill before them, "Come on Snowball!"

The drone trilled in happiness and flew along behind her as they crested the hill, a resting blue helicopter sitting there as if waiting for her arrival.

She activated her blaster and formed a sheet of ice that allowed her to slide down the hill at a faster pace.

The door on the side of the helicopter opened and Mei fought back tears as Lena Oxton and Winston emerged, dressed in warm winter clothing, a hat adorably askew on the oversized gorilla's head.

Behind them came a tall man with gray hair dressed in a dark green jacket holding an ornate cane who gave her a kind smile.

Lena was wrapped around Mei in an instant, hugging her to the point of nearly choking her but Mei didn't care, melting into the embrace with a tearful smile.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" Lena cried, pulling back to look Mei's face over.

"I am too.' Mei said, looking over the taller woman's shoulder at Winston, who had moved forward awkwardly, "I got your message."

"Really?" Winston asked, looking surprised.

"Yes, I want to join you." Mei stated, giving him a sincere smile, "In rebuilding Overwatch."

A wide smile crossed his face, "I-that-"

"Oh, get in here," Lena said with a smile.

Winston suddenly wrapped them both in a hug, which Mei nestled into, even more, the fought back tears finally breaking free as relief and joy took over. Snowball nuzzled the side of her face with a soft croon.

"You're both so warm," Mei muttered, eliciting a small giggle from Lena.

"Sorry to interrupt," the other man stated, drawing her attention. Winston and Lena released her as he approached, "But if warmth is what you're after how does a hot meal sound?"

"Wonderful," Mei stated with a sincere grin.

"Then let's get you to one," he said with a small smile, turning and climbing back into the helicopter.

Mei followed after him, "Thank you, Mr.-"

"Professor actually, but you can call me Oz." he stated, moving his dark glasses down to reveal kind brown eyes, "Nice to finally meet you."

The helicopter had dropped them off at a small airport on the coast, where the nicest looking plane Mei had ever seen had been waiting for her. Sure enough, a warm meal had been waiting which Mei had dug into with gusto, the other Overwatch Agents grabbing food of their own while Oz sat back in his chair and began flipping through a tablet quietly.

The flight back had begun with Mei explaining everything that had happened at the Ecopoint, with a fair helping of tears to go with it. She had then offered up the data she had collected which had intrigued Oz and Winston immensely.

After the others had taken turns explaining everything Mei had missed in cryo.

Overwatch shutting down, and why.

The deaths of Morrison, Reyes, and Amari.

Renewed conflict between Humans and Omnics.

Remnant trafficking.

Much more had gone wrong than she had hoped, but that only solidified her desire to help.

Oz had stated he had more to tell them about, but that it could wait until they had returned to his place of operations.

The rest of the trip had passed in a flurry of banter, sleep, and surfing the internet which end as they pulled into Chicago's air space.

One car ride later and Mei found herself in the lobby of a skyscraper where numerous individuals dressed in green uniforms were going about their business.

"Welcome to Beacon Tower," Oz stated, as he marched across the lobby, his cane cracking a beat against the marble floor.

He had led them into an elevator without another word, emerging into a pent-house with a glorious view of the glowing skyline beyond.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," Oz stated, gesturing to the living room that sat off to the left, "We have much to discuss."

They'd entered the room and found two people waiting for them, a severe-looking blonde woman holding several datapads, and a scraggly looking man with grayish black hair that was currently downing a glass of bourbon.

"Qrow?" Lena gasped, staring at him.

"Evening Oxton." the man stated with a smile, "Winston, heard you both had a run-in with my nieces."

"I'm sorry that we put them in harm's way," Winston stated, grimacing slightly.

"Ruby would have found it anyway." Qrow stated, sitting forward with a sigh, "It's a good thing you were there, Yang too, I hear."

"She's got one hell of a punch," Lena stated, eliciting a smirk from him.

"Should have seen her after her first breakup," Qrow muttered, finally turning to acknowledge Mei, "Welcome aboard by the way."

"Thank you." Mei stated, looking slightly confused, "Aboard what exactly?"

Oz sat down and turned to her stating, "An organization that I began with the aid of Glynda and Qrow several years before Overwatch came apart at the seams. We believe in the mission, the original mission Overwatch was built upon. Peace in our time."

"Hope for those trapped in fear," Glynda stated.

"A bunch of misfits coming together to try and make the world a better place," Qrow stated with a smirk, earning small smiles from Lena and Winston.

"As the world currently stands, a returned Overwatch can't stand on its own." Oz continued, "You have been unjustly vilified, any of your actions dubbed unlawful and open for persecution."

"Oz's people can help with all of that." Qrow stated, "It's a bit more cloak and dagger than you'd be used to but you'd have the money you need to finance any projects, and places to lie low where Talon wouldn't know how to find you."

"It sounds a bit like Blackwatch," Lena said derisively, giving Qrow a hard look, who had the good conscience to look a bit ashamed of himself.

"We do not seek to manipulate world-powers through fear, blackmail, and the occasional assassination." Glynda stated harshly, "Our main goal is much more altruistic."

"And what is that?" Mei asked.

"Protecting Remnant children," Oz stated, "We have plans in motion to unveil a school, dubbed Beacon Academy, in partnership with several other locations that will serve as safe spaces for them to live, learn and train."

"Train?" Winston asked, staring at him.

"Yes, train." Oz remarked, "The world already sees them as weapons to be exploited, they should be taught how to use their gifts to defend themselves from such predations, and perhaps to protect others."

"The unveiling is in a month." Glynda stated, "And while we have already meticulously approached a number of individuals for faculty positions we are of the belief that ex-members of Overwatch would be a desirable addition."

Winston and Lena shared a look, the latter speaking up, "So we work at your school yet still go on missions to protect the world? How does that not bring the Petras Act down on you? No offense to Mei, but me and especially Winnie are pretty easy to pick out of a crowd."

Mei nodded in agreement, "They would likely have files on every Agent, so they'd likely notice me as well."

"As I said this is going to be a little cloak and dagger," Qrow stated, "But safe to say we have someone who can help with that little issue."

"What is the end goal?" Mei asked.

Oz looked up with a smile, "The same goal Winston had when recalling Overwatch. The world needs to be protected, it needs people that can inspire hope, but more than that these children need something to believe in."

"What is better than themselves?" he continued, as a holographic image appeared of another room where three teenagers were sitting on a couch talking.

"Lie Ren." he pointed to the dark-haired boy who was sitting up straight in his seat with a soft smile on his face, "Not a Remnant but at a young age showed an aptitude for light-bending. His parents were murdered not long after that discovery and he was taken in by Vishkar. They planned to use him as an assassin."

He pointed to the red-haired girl that was sprawled across the couch next to him, "Nora Valkyrie, a Remnant-Runaway who was picked up off the street by Vishkar to be used as a weapon. We found her and Ren in the same compound, they have been inseparable ever since."

He then pointed at the last person, a pale girl with long white hair and a scar over her left eye, she was laughing softly at something Nora had just said but she sat apart from the other two in her own chair.

"She calls herself Winter," Oz began, "A Light-Bender and a Remnant, Qrow broke her out of a Vishkar compound where she was being set up to fight Omnics as a form of training."

"Children being kidnapped to be used as weapons is not something I can abide." Oz stated, "And I doubt you can either."

The Overwatch agents said nothing, though Mei nodded emphatically.

"What about your nieces?" Lena finally asked, turning to Qrow.

"Their old man won't like it but I'm going to be handing them their invitations personally." he stated, "They'll be safer there."

Winston, Mei, and Lena shared a look before turning back to Oz.

"I believe we're on board," Winston stated.

"Wonderful." Oz returned with a grin.

Blake stared around the empty diner as a slow country song began to play. The sound of the clock was the only other noise that filled the building excluding McCree's soft humming as he sat back down with a piece of apple pie.

"Sure you don't want any?" he asked with a smile, as he picked up his fork.

"I'm not hungry," Blake stated as she turned to look out the window at the orange-tinted canyon to their left. They had hitch-hiked, train-hopped, and on one occasion car-jacked their way down through Canada and into the Territories, the wild-west returned in search of this mysterious "friend" McCree had mentioned. He still refused to tell her exactly who this person was, and while a part of her believed he was tricking her in some way she couldn't help but trust the somewhat goofy cowboy.

"You trusted Adam." a cold voice muttered in the center of her mind, "This will turn out the same way."

Ignoring her snarling doubt she turned back to McCree as he took a sip of coffee and looked down at the strange white chip on the table.

"So is your friend going to be meeting us here?" she asked finally.

"Hopefully," he remarked, rubbing his jaw, "Though some other old pals of mine are going to be coming along as well."

"A proper reunion then." Blake joked as she opened the book he had bought for her when they'd passed through Seattle on their way south. It was another rendition of Sleeping Beauty, involving cryo-sleep, aliens, and an Omnic heroine. It was an interesting read if anything, though she still didn't know why he'd gotten her the gift.

"Seems like," he admitted, taking a bit of pie.

"Is that why you told the cook to clear out?" she asked, not looking up from her book.

"Yep." he returned, taking another deep sip of coffee.

Several moments later, a train sounded from above them, drawing Blake's attention.

"Is that-"

She was cut off by an immense explosion, followed by a sheering crashing sound as the train crashed into the ravine around them. She leaped to her feet as a car struck the ground outside the diner right next to them.

She turned to McCree who was disarmingly stoic as he took another bite of pie, stood up, grabbing the chip off the counter, and slid it into his pocket. He then donned his hat and grabbed his gun.

"Was that your old pals?" Blake accused, her heart beating frantically, her onboard computer hunting for threats.

"Yeah," McCree said, a scowl on his face, "Grab your gun."

She obliged falling in step behind him.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"Why, I'm going to talk to my pals." McCree stated with a smile, "See if we can't part amicably."

"And if we can't?" Blake muttered.

"Then I've got your back kid." he returned, walking through the door to the diner and into the dust and smoke beyond.

And scene!

I know this is shorter than usual, but I've been pretty busy this week on top of my sleep schedule getting banjaxed.

Hope you enjoyed this brief snippet though, the next chapter will be about McCree and Blake meeting two familiar faces if you know Overwatch, and Oz fully announcing Beacon to the world, which means the prequel chapters will finally be over.

This has been VerBeeker, signing off!