It's been much too long! I'm so sorry for going on hiatus like I did! I simply didn't have any time to get any writing done, and I've been struggling with how exactly to continue this story! I definitely haven't given up on it, but I feel like I may end up needing to take a little longer between each chapter than usual, but I assure you it's to make my writing better! I apologize once again for my absence! I really love this story and the potential it has, and I'm glad you're all being patient! Thank you so much!

Chapter 4: Hate

"You did what?!"

Sombra hadn't stopped shouting at me since the moment she arrived. I should've known it was coming, and honestly I probably deserved it. The hacker was risking her life for me and my personal endeavors, and Lena, a woman who could lead me to the answers we're both looking for, was just released by my hand.

"Look I know. I let her go. I probably shouldn't have. I get it. But I just couldn't..." I struggled to defend myself and my actions, but I didn't want to answer the question. If I told her what I really thought, she'll know of my treachery. I can't trust this woman, as much as she may claim to be my friend. I can't trust anyone. A chill ran down my spine as the cold breeze flew freely. Sometimes I wish I could be like the soft white clouds above me. Pursue whatever my heart desires, and go where the wind may blow. I instead found my gaze back down to the wood of the docks, painfully aware of my predicament.

"What do you mean you couldn't?! This was a huge opportunity for us both. Especially for you. She could've led us right to those who killed Megan!" She spat, and I stepped towards her. "And what if she couldn't?! What then?! Leave her to be tortured for the rest of her miserable life?! You and I both know exactly what would've happened to her in Moira's hands!"

"Since when did you give a shit about anyone but yourself, much less an Overwatch agent?" Her question rang through my head, and I sighed, not sure of the answer. "You just fucked us! Talon has already sent an aircraft to retrieve her! What the hell are we supposed to say?! Do you ever use that robotic head of yours, or did the augmentations only go to your biceps?!"

"Lena deserved better!" I growled, and she scoffed. "Lena huh? I'm so glad you two have made such fast friends. I hope she cares enough about you to mourn you when Talon gets us. Imagine what Reaper would do to us if he knew we allowed her to escape. If we even survived to tell the tale, we'd never hear the end of it!"

"Then they don't have to know!" I offered, and she smiled, brows furrowed. "And how do ya propose we do that? Apologize?"

"We kill whoever they sent here to retrieve her. We dispose of the bodies, or mutilate them enough to where they're unrecognizable. We do whatever the hell we have to just to get by. I won't allow you to jeopardize the mission, so you follow my orders from now on. We're getting answers, whether they like it or not."

Sombra raised an eyebrow at me. "Rather ruthless of you. It's unlike the Scott I know. I think you might want to get some rest. This mission is destroying you."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." I muttered, shrugging the offer off. I needed to find answers. Though I just threw away the best chance I had at answers. After a long silence I sighed and turned back to her. "We need to find Maximilien. It's our only hope of figuring out what truly happened to me that night."

Sombra shuddered at that, turning her gaze away from me for a few moments. "What? Is there something you want to tell me?" I asked, a little suspicious of her sudden doubts. Is there something she's holding back? Her gaze faltering under mine, she offered a shrug. "It's nothing. I just... I don't know if this is a good idea Scott. What if you don't like the answers you get? Or what if someone else is behind what happened to you? What's your plan?"

"I don't know. But I'll figure it out on the way there. I suppose I may need to beat the answers out of him." I guessed, and Sombra rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple. Maximilien is one of our most trusted and loyal assets at Talon. If we go breaking his door down and demanding answers he'll surely tell Moira and the others. There's got to be another way."

"So be it. If we have to betray the others, then that's what we'll do. We're going. If you want out, catch a ride back from there." I stated, and she growled. "And what then?! This is exactly what I'm talking about; you're so reckless! You never think these things through! You may squeeze the answers out of Maximilien, but what then?! Talon will strip us of all our assets, expose our names to the public, and hunt us down to the ends of the earth! We cannot betray them and get away with it!"

"Why're you so hell bent on preventing me from doing this?! Is there something you're hiding?" I demanded, and the hacker punched me. I stumbled back, clutching my cheek as I winced. "It's because I don't want you to just die for no reason! You're throwing your life away! I'm sick and tired of seeing you forget all the things you've still got! You're still human, although you'd rather forget that and brood about the life you can't even remember!"

I turned away, though not able to run from the accusations. Sombra offered a groan of frustration in return, and I sat back down at the pier. A long silence came between us as I found myself at a loss for words. I soon heard her footsteps coming up from behind me, and before I could object she sat down beside me. Crossing her legs and leaning backwards, she looked up at the night sky. "I'm sorry Scott." She mumbled begrudgingly, as if she didn't want to say it. I snickered, turning to her. "That's the first time I've ever heard you apologize for something you said."

The hacker smiled at that, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not leaving you yet pendejo. I've still got your back. I just wish ya didn't leave all the planning to me." She muttered, and I nodded. "You're the only who does anymore. And I get what you're saying. Moira will have our heads for this..." I trailed off, finding myself more and more uncertain. Sombra shook her head. "No she won't. I've got a few friends that would be willing to help us out."

"And who would that be?" I asked in plain curiosity. Obviously, she wouldn't give me a straight answer. The woman is a riddle I've yet to solve. Hell I don't even know her actual name. "I'd prefer for it to be a surprise."

I muttered something under my breath, confused by what she gained from toying with me. "What do you want from me?" I asked, and she smiled. "I just want you." I raised an eyebrow, and she giggled. "Not like that of course. But I want you for my own. I want to have you by my side; with you by my side I could fulfill my dream. I'll change this world for the better." Her ambitions were laid bare in front of me, and for once I felt like I was actually getting to know the woman inside, not the Talon agent. "What do you want, Scott?"

"Answers." I replied quickly, and she smiled. "Of course you do. But what else is it? Do you want the life you had before? Or something else entirely?"

Confused, I shook my head. Now that I thought about it, I didn't have some big dream or flame that kept me going. I didn't fight for someone I cared for, and I didn't fight for myself, because I constantly put myself in harms way in an attempt to feel pain. Pain was the only feeling I'd been accustomed to since I was rebuilt. It was the only way I felt human. "I don't know. I don't think I have one." I admitted, and she frowned.

"Perhaps we'll find your reason to fight soon enough. Are you with me?" The hacker asked. I looked up in the sky as we both noticed the aircraft nearing our position. I spotted the Talon insignia, my eyes zooming back out and focusing on Sombra again. I offered a grin.

"Uh-huh. Ever at your side."


I was still washing the blood of that Talon agent off my trench coat when Sombra called me over. I walked over to the copilot's seat, leaning over her as I rested my arm on the chair. My eyes widened, quite surprised by the size of Maximilien's casino. He certainly wasn't trying to hide his wealth. His mansion sized casino was filled to the brim with classy cars, fancy architecture and furniture, along with both excited and displeased guests; no doubt from the gambling. The net worth of the people in there combined could probably free a few countries from debt.

I scowled; I hated places like these. All the big-wigs gathering together to flaunt their money in others' faces. With all the omnics in the crowd you'd forget we're nearly at war with our counterparts. I suppose ignorance is bliss here. I just can't help but think of all those still in Kings Row, being beaten for being an omnic, or being mugged on the side of the street. How can we sit back and let this happen? I guess I don't have any room to talk. The work I've done with Talon only made things worse, and I couldn't stop the train station bombings. All this suffering, all this death. Was I being selfish by only pursuing this mystery rather than working to try and solve the socioeconomic problems in the world, and rid the world of its injustice? Perhaps. But I doubt I'd fix anything. Despite Moira's monologues about my being the "next stage in human evolution", I'm just one man. This world may be too far gone.

"We're here. The main event." Sombra mumbled, and I nodded. "Yeah.." I said, a little nervous about the whole ordeal. What did I even truly want to hear? That Overwatch was truly responsible? Or that it was someone else's fault entirely?

"Having any doubts?" She asked, and I shook my head, lying to both her and myself. "Just wondering how this is gonna go down. You said you've got friends?" I turned to her, and she nodded, and a familiar smirk spread across her lips. "I've already alerted them. They'll show up fashionably late as always."

"It seems you place a lot of trust in them." I remarked. The hacker paused, as if it only occurred to her now that she relied on them. "Well, I had to earn their trust as well. It took over a year. And it's good to have friends in high places. I've sort of become their leader nowadays." I raised an eyebrow. The woman usually stuck to herself, rarely ever counting on someone else to get their job done. How did she keep these "friends" of hers from being found? She must be even better than her files would have me believe if she can keep an entire group of her own away from Talon.

We landed a bit away from the casino in order to not attract any unwanted attention. It allowed us the take in the sights of Monaco. Not that I was in the right mind set to appreciate it to the full extent. The cold chill of the night air blew through my coat, sending a shiver down my spine. Pulling my coat closer to my neck, I turned to Sombra. "Any big ideas?" I asked, and she crossed her arms. "C'mon, I need more motivation than that." She teased. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Any big ideas, please?" I added the "magic" word to the sentence. "Well since you ask so nicely..." She trailed off while taking a few steps towards me.

"I was thinking a quick entry point through the window near the top floor. Maximilien usually resides with his guests near the main floor, more often than not gambling, but tonight he's been a lot more reclusive. Perhaps he's planning something big with his fellow Talon members." Sombra said as she pulled up a holographic layout of the casino. His office rested above the main hall, and I doubt he expects company. "Just waltzing in will get us killed." I said.

"I think you can handle it. Backup will arrive pretty soon. I figure in the mean time you can make poor Maximilien squeal." Sombra replied, and I nodded. "Should we kill him?" I asked. She hesitated to answer, weighing the pros and cons of eliminating him. "Probably not. He could prove quite useful alive, and with the right blackmail he could become an extension of my power. Information about what's going in Talon would be quite useful later."

"Are we really going to do this?" I asked, a little concerned about our future. "Do what?" Sombra responded. "Betray Talon like this? Going on our own? What're we going to do after this?" I fully turned my body to her. She shrugged, as if I asked her what she wanted for dinner rather than the actual question I gave her. "We'll be fine. I'm ten steps ahead of ya Scottie-boy. We won't be alone for long."

Sombra walked on ahead, leaving me in a confused silence. What the hell am I doing here? What do I hope to find? How exactly is figuring out who killed my fiancé going to give my life meaning? I don't know admittedly. But I just hope it's a start.


The glass shattered on impact, my feet hitting the floor before the glass had even completely broken from the impact. Sombra stayed behind, messing with the servers and keeping Maximilien from alerting any guards. The cheering and laughter from below could drown out the sounds that originated from here. I moved quickly, noticing how large the room was. The omnic stood alone at a table fit for nearly fifteen, as if it was a place where people gathered. Perhaps this was where Talon drew up its plans. A fireplace and the moon were the only source of light as I closed the distance between us.

Maximillien didn't seem bothered by the unexpected intrusion or the broken glass as he turned to me with a smile. His gray figure and red accents contrasted with the dark suit he wore, the red lights from his interior igniting, making his smile all the more sinister. He clasped his hands together, bowing his head low. "Ah, to whom do I owe the pleasure, Mr..." he leaned forward, gesturing for me to finish the sentence. "Gallagher." I replied, and he raised a metallic eyebrow as I continued to step towards him. "Your name has crossed my desk before, Mr. Gallagher. You're one of Moira's favorites aren't you?"

"Some people might see me as that." I muttered, stepping into the light. He looked up at me as I towered over him. "I can see why. Tall, brooding, and intimidating. Just the way she likes her men." He chuckled to himself. "Would you like a glass of wine?" He offered, and I shook my head. "No. No point anyway. It has no affect on me." I said, and he poured his own glass of a fine red wine. "You mustn't always drink to intoxicate yourself. No matter, though. I'm fairly certain you weren't sent here to discuss wine. Though I don't see the reason in breaking a perfectly good window to enter. Doors often suffice."

"You're not as amusing as you think Maximilien, have anyone ever told you that?" I snapped, growing aggravated with his poor attempts at jokes. "Yes. Yes they have. Though I usually have other means of making them do what I want. If I want them to laugh, they laugh, Mr. Gallagher. Or, they do other things..." he sipped on his wine before attempting to alert the guards. When he noticed they didn't come barging into the room, his eyes widened in confusion. I smirked. 'Good work Sombra.' I thought to myself. "Well, you're not so scary without guards now are you?" I laughed. He fumbled, rapidly pressing the button under the table as I leaped over the table. He released a short yelp, trying to call out for help, but my sharp grip on his neck silenced him.

Maximilien struggled against my tight grip. I lifted him up off the ground with ease, and quickly slammed his head into the table. A part of his metallic frame chipped off as I did so. "Ah! Stop! What do you want?" He yelled, and I scowled. "What do you know about my files? Who is truly responsible for the bombing? What happened to me?" I demanded, and he squirmed under my hold. He laughed a bit. "So that's it? Gone rogue? I told Moira she should've installed that chip into your brain..." he chuckled, and I shook my head. "What chip?!" I heard an audible snap as I forced his arm upwards. "I advised her to put a control chip in your brain! To prevent you from acting out like this! I guess it's my luck that it comes back to bite me rather than her."

I stopped, at a loss for words. "She wanted you to be whole! She didn't want to risk creating a problem with your nervous system by implanting something like that. But now you've figured it out..."

"Talon is responsible for what happened to you! Moira ordered it herself! You found out too much about the correlation between Blackwatch members and Talon! She didn't want you revealing our identities and whereabouts!"

Stepping back, I stumbled away from Maximilien. He stood back up, looking me down. "You truly didn't know did you?"

I fell to the ground as I tripped over a step behind me, and I groaned. "No..." I mumbled to myself, unable to accept what he said as truth. Moira was responsible for all of this? Talon? Those were the ones who built me up and fed me all these lies? The first person I saw when I woke up was the woman who destroyed my life? Moira O'Deorain. She lied to me every waking moment of my life at Talon. Should I be surprised? I should've seen this coming. I...I should've stopped this. Megan...I'm sorry.

When I came to, I noticed a ringing in my ears as my vision blurred. My heart rate was accelerating quickly, and my HUD was beginning to malfunction once more. I struggled to stand back up, noticing that Maximilien was gone, no doubt gathering every guard he had. I shook my head, the ringing fading as Sombra yelled in my ear. "Scott! I don't know what the hell you did but this entire place is crawling with Talon agents! They must've tracked us! Get the hell out of there!"

I growled, watching as what must've been over a hundred Talon agents filled the room, crashing through the windows and kicking in the doors. They surrounded me as I prepared myself to fight. "Get out of here Sombra. Don't worry about me." I muttered, and I removed the communications device in my ear before she could reply.

The shots they fired upon me seemed to move in slow motion, allowing me all the time in the world to quickly dodge them. My mind was still stuck on what Maximilien had just revealed to me as I slammed a titanium blade through a man's chest, ripping his upper torso off as I slammed him down. I swept the legs out from under another one, catching him with one hand and crushing his skull with my fingers. "TAKE HIM ALIVE! WE NEED HIM ALIVE!" I heard, and that gave me all the more power over them as I felt a shot ricochet of my artificial limb, striking a man in the neck. I felt the butt of a gun slam into my skull, and I groaned before turning and swiftly breaking his wrist. Grabbing his gun I fired into the crowd of agents before hearing the magazine empty. Throwing the empty magazine into the air, I smacked it into a man's face, cracking his helmet and nose at the same time.

A bullet struck my shoulder, sending me back as I grunted in pain. Another one charged me with a knife, and I caught his wrist with ease before shattering the sharp blade in two with my knee. The shards flew into his eyes, and with a boot to the jaw he was on the ground. An electric current flew throughout my body as I stumbled to the floor, stunned by the attack. Another taser struck my chest as smoke began to rise in the air from the heat. I stood up and slashed open the chest of an agent, his blood covering my artificial limb as I turned to the two other attackers who rushed me at the same time. With one quick slice from my blade I spilt them in two simultaneously. I looked down, noticing a throwing knife was lodged deep into my hand. I smiled at it as my fingers began to malfunction from the sudden disconnection with my nervous system. "Now it's becoming interesting." I taunted them.

A line of them sprayed me down with assault rifles, knocking me to the floor as I yelled in agony. I caught the foot of a man who attempted to kick me while I was vulnerable, and I shattered his femur with a quick twist. I struggled to stand up as I tried to fight through the searing pain. 'Where are your friends now, Sombra? You're probably long gone already. Safe and tucked away.' The hopelessness of my endeavors here hit me harder than the bullet that pierced its way through my torso.

'What am I doing here...' I thought to myself as I deflected a bullet with my blade, my limb teetering from side to side. It wasn't supposed to withstand the punishment of one hundred men. My vision was blurring as I caught a sword swung my way once again, sluggishly slashing through the attacker's throat. 'In this miserable place?' I crushed the larynx of another man with my elbow. 'Is this worth risking my life over?' Doubt began to creep in as Maximilien's words echoed through my mind. 'Talon is responsible for what happened to you!'

'Who am I fighting for?' I asked myself as I felt a blade pierce my leg, coming out the other end. Another taser struck me, and I ripped it out as it electrocuted me. 'Am I fighting for Sombra? For her dream? No. That can't be it.' I pondered, another shot splitting my collarbone in two. 'For myself? Do I want to live this badly? What is there for me to do with this life I've been given?' A knife cut through the skin on my cheek. An inch to the left and it would've dislocated my jaw. I crushed his sternum with a quick jab to the chest. 'Or perhaps I fight for Megan, my fiancé? Why do I fight for a dead woman? What use do my struggles have? Why was I even brought back to this wretched world? What more do I have to see of this desolate and hopeless life before it can be taken from me?'

'Am I fighting just to fight? Do I only find meaning in my existence by fighting for it? What is MY dream?' I stopped moving, closing my eyes as the world around me faded back into the nothingness it once was.

Nothing but silence accompanied the next few moments as Talon agents swarmed me.

My eyes snapped back open as I swung my blade horizontally, severing the spine of three men who rushed me. 'Maybe I shouldn't be thinking. Perhaps I should just focus on killing those in front of me.' I charged into the remaining thirty something agents with a scream of pure and unadulterated rage. I slammed my blades into the stomach of one before ripping it out sideways. His entrails spilled out onto the floor as I sliced the jugular of another man in a millisecond. Blood spewed everywhere, coating Maximilien's walls and floor in a fresh coat of paint. 'Nothing will stand in my way! Nothing. Nothing!'

The men began to flee from the scene as soon as they noticed the losing hand they'd been dealt. I laughed as I watched their eyes widen in shock when they witnessed my blades slide out of their friend's collarbone. Another defiant talon agent slammed a broken shard of a katana through my chest, and I coughed, releasing a sea of red as I did so. 'The only thing keeping me going is hate. When it runs out, so do I.'

I pulled him closer to me, snarling at him as I felt every bite and sting as the blade worked its way through my torso. I swiftly freed his head from his worthless shoulders.

The placed was littered with the dead, and I was the only one left standing. I looked at the carnage I had wrought, though I refused to look inside myself and face the facts. I feared them. I'd been manipulated this entire time. Moira had strung me along like her own personal puppet. She knew I was digging too deep, and she attempted to aid Maximilien in accomplishing that task. They're both in for a rude awakening when I find them. I'll strangle Moira, and watch the same life she took from me drain from her eyes as she dies. The thought nearly comforted the darkness and hatred inside me.

I withdrew the shards of the blade from my chest, shaking as I did so. My augmentations were having trouble functioning properly or responding to my brain. I sighed, falling to the ground. I leaned back against the blood covered wall, not bothering to wipe the blood from my face. I'd probably die soon. Or Talon will stumble across me and I'll end up brainwashed. I'd rather die. I wonder what happened to Sombra. Is she with her friends? She said we wouldn't be alone long. Things might've not worked out for her. I lacked the strength or interest to move, listening to the wet smack of blood against the hard tiles of the floor. A weak cough erupted from my chest, and I began to close my eyes.

As if fate was envious of my hard earned rest, I found myself surrounded. Not by Talon agents though. But by a much more colorful group of characters. I hadn't heard them. I must've been too busy losing blood.

The scent of a lit cigar filled my nostrils as a man spoke. "Ain't she say he s'posed to move?" He asked, tipping his cowboy hat low to the others. 'Who's "she"?' I thought to myself. "No way he's still alive. He couldn't of done all this by himself." A short man with a long blonde beard spoke. His red gear seemed to glow like a fire in the dark. "Great, another bucket of bolts." A Russian voice called out, belonging to a mountain of a woman with short pink hair. Her biceps rivaled that of the largest I'd ever seen. "I take offense to that." A cyborg joked, his green accents contrasting with the darkness. The blade he had seemed to sheath itself, and with that it sheathed a much greater power underneath. The visor offered a slit of green light for him to look through. A large man laughed at that with a vigor I'd never heard before, his smile different from what I'd expect. One of his eyes bore a scar, probably from a blade, that blinded that eye, but it never seemed to take away from his happiness. His armor shone in the pale moonlight, and a hammer the size of two men laid in his grasp. "Whoever he is, he seems to be quite the warrior!" He yelled. "Yeah, no kiddin'." The cowboy responded as he looked around. "Must be around a hundred of them." He muttered.

I seemed to recognize a few of them. The cowboy, his name had crossed my desk on a few assignments. Jesse McCree. Talon wanted him dead. The cyborg was Genji Shimada, a former member of a family crime syndicate in Japan. Torbjorn, the short Swedish engineer sneered at me as I realized who he was. The others I could barely make out. I didn't recognize the Russian woman, though Sombra did mention a woman with pink hair one time on a mission. A woman with angelic-like wings attempted to rush to my side, but was stopped by another agent. "We don't know who he is. He could try and hurt you." A young Egyptian woman spoke, glaring at me. I offered no response. Lena rushed to my side, surprising me. "Oi! Scott! Are you alright? Answer me!" She shook me, and I grunted. "Lena, you can't trust him! Get away from him!" A woman I couldn't see shouted, but Lena didn't reply. "Any man who kills that many Talon agents is a friend of mine!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to trust." Another voice advised. It belonged to a large gorilla. A gorilla that spoke. Was he the famous one from Overwatch? The surviving gorilla from the lunar base? The gorilla adjusted his glasses, staring at me. Growling, I looked at Lena, who offered me a bright grin. "Let's get you outta here Scott." She lifted me up to my feet, and the others seemed to back up as she did so. "How do you know him?" The gorilla asked, but received no answer from Lena. She got one from another voice I instantly recalled.

"I introduced them."

Sombra appeared, and the others smiled. "Ah, it's good to see you up an' about boss!" Jesse McCree cried, and they rejoiced. 'Boss? What is she doing leading a bunch of former Overwatch agents?' I thought to myself. Sombra didn't have a scratch on her, offering me a sympathetic smirk. "Scott, meet my friends. Friends, meet Scott. He's a good man. Though he might not look like it covered in blood." She gestured to the group behind her, and then back to me. I released an incoherent mess of a sentence as I looked up at her, still leaning on Lena for support. "S-Sombra...how did you..." I sputtered, before collapsing to the ground in a daze.

Even as they all crowded around my body with both curious and distrusting gazes, Sombra smiled at me.

"I told you that you'd be mine."