Chapter 17

Epilogue: A Sad Attempt At Being Funny

He dreaded walking along this corridor alone.

In fact, he would rather not, but what choice did Viktor have?

"Are you nervous?"

That's what he had asked Josephine the last time around when they were approaching the council chamber.

Back when she was still alive.

The mere remembrance was tying a knot in his throat.

You wouldn't have to do all this alone if you'd been a better commander.

Viktor balled his fist and quickly grew to resent himself.

You should've talked her out of petty revenge.

The pressure on his chest was too much for a second there. Viktor abruptly hit the side of his head to symbolically throw these thoughts out. Pain was the side effect. He could feel a headache coming.

Fuck… How did Graf deal with this?!

Keen to avoid any further inner turmoil, the Slav hurried his steps. A heavily ornamented, wooden oak door awaited him at the end of his lonesome walk. As he was opening it, he realized that he intruded in an ongoing discussion of Talon executives.

"…no value in it for us."

"We don't have the manpower or equipment right now to aid in such a personal, morbid request."

The room was exactly as Viktor remembered it: A large screen, one spotlight in the middle and a lot of shadowy figures lording over it all on the surrounding balcony. Reaper was at the center of attention, staring upwards in silence as the distorted voices argued on.

"What about Reconnaissance?"

"Intelligence has also suffered losses, but we can certainly provide resources and information."

"It is decided then. Our intelligence service is at your disposal for this matter, agent Reaper."

Viktor had always been amazed how fast and efficiently the executives argued amongst themselves.

Reaper on the other hand didn't seem in the least excited about the discussion going on above his head, to the point of turning heel to storm out of the room. His shoulder collided with the startled squad commander on the way out. They locked gazes for half a second, then Reaper left the chamber, slamming the large door shut behind him.

"Ah, commander Trgiňa. Please step into the light."

Viktor needed a moment to compose himself and then complied.

"We read the reports. Three targets were eliminated."

"Agent Reaper as effective as ever."

"Despite his occasional… difficulties."

"And even one elimination by your team, personally."

"A huge success!"

That made him raise an eyebrow.

Huge success, huh?

Viktor wondered about that. He lost his whole squad, not to speak of Voclain's platoon.

"With all due respect sirs, considering the lost agents I would call this mission a Pyrrhic victory at best."

The room was silent for a few solid seconds. Viktor had not been able to restrain himself from speaking up, even though he knew better. In history, King Pyrrhus of Epirus barely defeated the Romans, but took so many casualties to his forces that his nation was practically unable to fight. Henceforth unsatisfying victories would be called Pyrrhic.

"Nonsense. Every objective was met."

"Eliminating Widowmaker was a necessary evil."

There was a certain sadness in the last voice. That had to be the head of research. Nobody else up there would have any fondness for Widowmaker.

"The loss of life is tragic, sure."

"But freeing the Doomfist alone makes up for that, tenfold."

The commander wondered about that, too. From the brief exchange in the aircraft, Viktor had already figured Doomfist for an unhinged, genocidal maniac. Freeing him in exchange for killing an oddly fragile and frightened Widowmaker didn't feel right in the slightest.

"No matter the degree, we congratulate you on a successful mission commander."

"We feel a promotion is in order. As soon as we attain new manpower, you will be our newest platoon commander."

"We also took the liberty to prepare a seaside estate for your pleasure."

Viktor felt nothing.

"I feel honored. However, if it sits well with the council, I would request a leave from service for the next three months to spend with my family."

"Denied."

"Three weeks will suffice."

"You are to book appointments with our psychological department for your mental wellbeing in the meanwhile."

"After this interval, you will administer training for the new recruits that will serve in your platoon."

What did I expect. Why am I even still doing this?

That question loomed over his head for the last two days.

"That would be everything. Oh and please tell your wife that Gisela is looking forward to the next Tupperware party at your new estate."

Oh yeah, that's why.

The guy with the wife called Gisela was his general. The woman was one ugly bitch, but that wasn't the problem here. Talon made it a point to take a big part in the life of their higher-ranking employees. This might not seem like much of a concern to the layman, but everyone in the upper echelons knew that this was to ensure compliance.

Be a good little pawn, or else.

"I… will relay that message, sir."

"Good. I know it's a bit inappropriate here, but you know my schedule."

"Are we done with the tea party invites, then?"

"Yes yes, on to the next point on the agenda. Dismissed, commander."

Viktor didn't have to get told twice. He could feel their eyes weigh heavy on him as he left the chamber.

"Now, about Voclain-"

A momentary shiver ran down his spine, as he could hear the beginning of a new discussion while closing the big, sound-proof door behind him. What about Voclain?

Maybe he'll get into witness protection. That'll give him some time. Now his family though…

He stopped himself. What would become of Viktor's fellow commander was thankfully none of his concern anymore.

Not a step further, something suddenly took a hold of him by the shoulder. He was squarely pushed against the wall. Viktor coughed and looked up in surprise. Reaper had waited for him.

Viktor had no fucks left to give though and violently shoved the figure away.

"What the fuck do you want?!"

That turned out to be quite the error, as it only served to make his fellow agent angry. With a quick grab to the throat Viktor was lifted off the ground.

"You have stopped me before, commander. Remember?"

Gasping for air, Viktor clawed at the hand that held him. It was true, he kept Reaper from staying in that hangar to retrieve Widowmaker.

"So what?!"

"Now you will help me get her back."

Reaper let go of his surprised future accomplice. After a few coughs, Viktor managed to get a few more words out while steadying himself on the wall behind him."

"…get her? Why… the fuck would you…"

"To administer a curse."

The cloaked villain slowly turned around, expecting Viktor to follow. The Slav played with the thought of defying Reaper once more, but curiosity got the better of him.

"I don't understand… what curse… and why do you care anyway?"

He caught up, walking alongside Reaper down a few corridors towards the garage. There was almost a full minute of silence and Viktor already doubted that he would get his answer. As they got to their intended vehicle, a flashy black hover car, Reaper stopped to fish for the keys. After he found them, he stopped in his tracks and finally answered.

"Do you even realize how hard it is for someone like me to find someone equal to banter with?"

Viktor blinked a few times.

So… he's lonely?

"That's it?"

"What do you mean 'That's it'?! IT'S FUCKING HARD I TELL YOU!"

"Okay okay!"

Not wanting to anger his new partner any further, he entered the equally edgy looking hover car.

I wish I had his problems…

She awakened to the sound of little birds outside the window. Her eyes opened to a blue ceiling. She remained that way for a few more moments before looking to her side. Amélie had already left, neatly tidying up her side of the bed.

That made Lena smile.

Groggily she sat up on the queen sized double bed. She looked directly in front of her at a painting of Emilia Earhart. That woman had always been her hero, being the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in an aircraft. At one point, she mysteriously vanished, just like Tracer had. Only Emilia never returned.

Then Lena looked out of the open window. She saw the coastline of the Mediterranean, heard the sound of waves and maritime birds. It was her wish to move to the Provence, a beautiful province of France famous for its rich nature, wine and cuisine. Amélie had been pleasantly surprised by that.

It's the closest thing to paradise that Lena could imagine.

She looked down at herself. Lena was wearing grey shorts and a grey tank top. The thought of changing into something more proper occurred to her, but she decided against it. As she stood up, there was a sharp pain in her left leg. Lena flinched and leant down to rub it a bit before moving on with a renewed smile.

Their new house had space for everything they wanted. All her aviation stuff fit neatly in with the ancient decoration style that Amélie favored.

What did she call it again? Baroque or something?

Walking to the open sided kitchen Lena grabbed an apple and took a bite while staring out the window again. Her chest was bursting with sudden excitement and happiness, prompting a huge smile. She couldn't imagine a better future.

Hmm… apple tastes like nothing.

Just after thinking that, the doorbell rang. Lena forgot all about the apple and threw it on the counter.

The door opened abruptly in front of Amélie. Before the French girl could get a word out, an awfully dressed Brit already ambushed her with a jumping hug! Giggling wildly, hugging her tightly with all her body and pressing kisses to the blue tinted neck, Lena made it hard for her new wife to navigate the entrance.

"Mon dieu! Please Lena, let me come in first at least!"

Amélie practically begged while trying to get rid of her own smile. Slowly she managed to close the door behind her before the neighbors would see.

"Never my luv! We haven't reached the morning cuddle quota yet!"

Lena could feel her head getting plucked away from that lovely neck by a firm hand, only to smile stupidly into the French girls scolding gaze.

"That's because you are absolutely impossible to wake up on weekends…"

"D'aww, liar! You could make me wake up! Just whisper to me that you want to have se-"

A quick kiss on her lips made Lena finally shut up. To add to that, she was shoved right against the next best, white wall in their living room. Lena loved to be dominated like that, for once. They enjoyed each other's company for quite some time, before Amélie finally broke the kiss.

"Well… maybe I didn't want to wake you up because you look cute when you sleep. …comment on that and I'll throw you out the window."

Lena smiled over both ears hearing that, but the stern voice kept her from getting a quip in. She had been thrown out the window a few times during their short marriage already. Instead Lena took the time to properly look at her dearest: Amélie was wearing a blue blouse and a short, beige jacket with matching trousers and black high heels. The impossibly large, beige hat that she had been wearing had been thrown off during their 'struggle'.

"Sooo… how was it?"

Lena bit her lower lip in anticipation and stared impishly at her wife. Amélie in the meantime just sighed. She knew that Lena wouldn't let go, so she carried her over to their couch and sat down with the brit on her lap. As result, even though Amélie was a lot taller, she had to look up to Lena now. While pulling a strand of her hair out of her own vision, she started to talk nonchalantly.

"Well, everything is going alright with the company. Stock is rising again and the new collection is about to come out..."

The company Amélie was talking about was her new past time in her post-Talon world: Being CEO of a fashion empire. She just started as a designer, but ruthlessly made her way up the ranks.

But that wasn't important right now! Bumping up and down on the French lap, Lena could barely keep herself from exploding with curiosity!

"Luuuv, you know what I'm talking about!"

"Yes yes…"

The French girl smirked deviously. She loved to play with Lena like that, cupping her cheek and keeping her in suspense.

"The doctor said it is possible with your samples. Even with everything that was done to my body. In fact…"

A hand softly took hold of Lena's and guided her down, under the blue blouse towards a flat, blue-tinted tummy.

"…the procedure succeeded, ma chérie."

Lena's eyes went wide with wonder. She stared down, then up again, caressing Amélie's tummy all the while with the utmost care. Amélie already knew, it was only a matter of time until the little Brit would explode with excitement. So it happened.

"We're gonna have a baby!"

She suddenly woke up. Her eyes sprang open as her body was fighting for breath. They were instantly blinded by bright colors. Machinery was beeping right beside her. As she looked around panicking, she comprehended that she was in a white, clinical environment.

Heaven?

She tried to move, but her body hurt on the first try. Slowly, she forced herself to calm down and tried to sit upright. There was an overwhelming pain in her chest as she did so, but she pushed on until she sat in what she finally recognized as a hospital bed. Her blinking eyes slowly got used to the bright orb that was hovering over her head. That thing had blinded her the first time around.

"Was zum…"

Speaking was painful at first, prompting a hot searing in her throat. Angela tried to steady her breathing.

"Yo, awake already?"

The voice startled her to the point of yelping in surprise. She turned to the right, tracing the origin of the sound. Genji sat there in an unruly fashion, one foot with him on the seat. With one hand he held a glass of water outstretched in her direction.

Angela stared at the water. A shaky hand was extended and took it.

"T-Thanks.."

She began drinking, hydrating her dried up throat.

"You should thank her. I'm just the substitute for as long as she's out."

It took Angela a moment to fully comprehend what he meant, furrowing one of her eyebrows in the meanwhile. As she looked down, she saw a woman sleeping by the side of the bed, her head firmly planted on the mattress.

"Fareeha…"

"She was quite adamant about staying by your side. I think she was awake for about fifty hours before exhaustion finally took her."

Her fingers softly caressed the features of the Egyptian soldier. Genji's words made the Swiss woman shiver slightly as she bit her lower lip. It took Angela some time to remember everything that had happened.

"How… fifty hours… three days?"

"Two and a half."

"Since I'm up… the doctor…?"

"Master should be here any second now. Winston called him here for your treatment. Please don't mind his outfit. He has… a thing for human attire."

"Wha…?"

Before she could further inquire what Genji meant, the door opened and made all explanations unnecessary.

A levitating omnic entered the room without so much as making a sound and moved towards his latest patient. He was wearing a doctor's overall that almost touched the ground, paired with a stethoscope around his neck and a goofy looking, shiny disc wrapped around his forehead. An entirely unfitting garb for the former Monk of the Shambali.

"I see doctor Ziegler is up and freshly hydrated."

Angela had to seriously hold herself back, making a thin line out of her lips. If talking already hurt, she didn't want to experience a laughing fit. Looking at Zenyatta made that quite hard, so she looked down at Fareeha instead. Caressing her let Angela focus on questions that needed to be answered.

"It is an… honor that you journeyed… here to see to my health."

"Likewise, it is an honor to take care of the caretaker."

The pain in her chest made the first question easy.

"I was… stabbed…"

"Nine times. If not for your Valkyrie suit, the wounds would easily have your body succumb. Though both have suffered greatly and need restoration."

Genji took this opportunity to bow his head in shame.

"Pharah and I were too late. I am sorry Angela."

"They both tried to compensate by staying at your side until you would wake up, doctor."

"Master…!"

That made Angela develop a huge smile, just for a moment though. The pain took over quick enough.

So he was here the entire time. I never knew Genji to be the humble type.

"What happened to Jack? And the girl that stabbed me…?"

"Both are on life support. Their whole bone structures are fractured, although commander Morrison is favored to live to fight another day thanks to your efforts."

Relief was visible on the Swiss woman's face. It was good to know that her attempt to save more lives hadn't jeopardized Jack's.

Still, the last memories before her blackout were what's unsettling her the most. They practically imprinted themselves on her mind and caused momentary, violent shivers.

'YOU KILLED HER!'

She almost lost her life because of the one person she didn't save. Sandra Graf. Images of the sorry woman resurfaced in her mind. Graf was on Angela's operating table, spitting in her face, wishing for her own death. If only her patient had known how others would mourn for her in earnest.

Mercy's blue eyes looked up in a pleading gaze.

"Nothing… nothing comes off losing more lives. Can the girl still be… saved?"

The room was eerily quiet at the request. Incidentally, just as Genji broke the silence, Fareeha opened her eyes and listened sleepily.

"She almost killed you!"

"Revenge is not justice, Genji."

Zenyatta had interjected calmly, prompting the cyborg to lower his head.

"Have you already forgotten the value of forgiveness?"

"I would never, master."

The monk lowered his head, too, but in acknowledgement of his patient's capability to forgive.

"She will be made whole in the warmth of the Iris."

The injured doctor nodded at that, satisfied. She couldn't demand more of the omnic. There was one more question left to ask, however. Already dreading the answer, her voice grew somber and unsteady.

"Lena, Amélie… Did they make it?"

She watched the people around her. Genji was avoiding her gaze, Fareeha sat up to hold Angela by the hand while Zenyatta slowly attempted to answer.

"Every cycle within the Iris-"

"Give it to me straight, please."

The omnic nodded.

"Your ability managed to reach their bodies. We found that-"

With a loud BANG Zenyatta was yet again interrupted.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, every time…"

A large, sentient gorilla was standing in the doorway. He stared at the door he had just slammed to the point of breaking it out of the frame. As he did so often, the great ape hadn't exactly been paying attention. Winston carefully put the door back on its hinges and tested a few swings to see if it still worked.

"There we go, as good as new! Heh."

Angela had held back all this time, but couldn't anymore. Stupid giggles forcefully escaped the Swiss woman while she held her hurting chest, looking back and forth between Zenyatta's unfitting garb and the door-swinging gorilla.

"You! How dare you barge in here?!"

Fareeha on the other hand was now fully awake and anything but amused upon witnessing Winston's entrance. She stood upright within a second, bursting with righteous fury.

"Fareeha, what…"

Angela tried to interject, but couldn't get anything more through. That small giggle had sent her into a coughing fit. In the meanwhile, Fareeha went off with the rage of a thousand stars, storming in the direction of Winston.

"It's YOUR fault that Amélie got here!"

She jammed a finger at his chest.

"It's YOUR fault that my mother died!"

Tension quickly rose to the roof in the small hospital room. Only coughing could be heard in the background, as Angela desperately wished that she could intervene.

"Pharah, I did what was-"

"You did what, kill your own agents with stupid orders?! And now you dare show your face here?! Do you want to admire your handiwork as living disgrace of the title 'commander'?!"

They both stared at each other after that tirade. Winston looked more than uncomfortable in his skin, but also like this wasn't the first time he had to endure Fareeha's wrath. Genji looked equally uneasy.

Yet one omnic hand laid itself on Pharah's shoulder, prompting her to look back at Zenyatta in disbelief.

"The patient needs peace and quiet."

If not for the coughing, another moment of complete silence would've ensued. The room felt like a powder keg about to explode. After a short, concerned look back to Angela, the Egyptian forced the hand off her shoulder and stormed outside.

"I really think you should've stayed in bed."

"You know I can't do that. I have to see for myself."

"I know, I know..."

Winston was not excited by the doctor's insistence on coming along, but there was not a lot he could do. The woman was determined. So, they brought her a hover chair to move around and loaded her up in Winston's comically small hover car. The sentient gorilla barely had enough space on his side of the vehicle, but insisted that this was the most responsible budget solution.

"So… how are things going after the incident?"

"We manage. The government is very insistent on getting their grubby fingers all over the case, as always. Then there's Miss Amari's funeral that's coming up…"

Winston looked considerably exhausted at the prospect.

"Please… please don't be mad at Fareeha. She doesn't actually think all these things about you, I'm sure."

That was news to him.

"Hmpf. How would you know?"

"Are you familiar with her career as security? The incident at that one omnic factory?"

"That… she was in charge, right? And almost her whole team died."

"Exactly."

The gorilla furrowed a big eyebrow and looked over to his Swiss companion. Angela sighed and explained further.

"I hear her talk in her sleep about that every night. She still feels she failed that mission as commander. I think she projects that guilt on you, too, even though she could be just as mad at herself, or Genji, or Talon or..."

"I get the idea."

There was silence in the small cabin for a few moments. After a few turns, they were delayed at a red light. Angela used that moment to continue the conversation elsewhere.

"ATHENA told me that a hacker was responsible for the breach. What about that?"

"Oh, we have a new security consultant to upgrade our systems. ATHENA is madly in love with her, you wouldn't believe it! Hehe."

Of course the AI wouldn't fall in love all of the sudden. Instead, ATHENA kept boasting to Winston how much more secure she now was and how efficiently sub routines could be hunted down thanks to a simple algorithm, a new trick that Sombra had shown her.

"Who would that be?"

"You've seen the girl that Hana bosses around?"

"The extravagant one with a love for pink and purple?"

"Yeah, that one."

Angela had been amazed at the two of them. They were basically making out all over the base nowadays and these make-out sessions were always initiated by the little Korean.

"… I would have never thought that Hana had it in her to boss another girl around."

"Really? Is that so rare? I thought it was normal for some people to want to act like alphas and others like betas."

"Alphas and betas, huh? You shouldn't really compare us humans to apes."

"I'm not."

Winston harrumphed, then continued.

"The concept of being subservient for fun is entirely human."

Not sure how the conversation got there in the first place, both decided that this was enough small talk for the ride. The rest of the drive was fairly eventless and Winston finally parked his hover car in a modest parking lot of a big institute.

Minutes later they stood in front of the London mental asylum.

"There we are."

After short hesitation, Angela followed on her hover chair behind Winston to enter the big facility.

"We'll get there fairly soon. She's held in a special wing across there, through the door. Just… be prepared."

"I don't know how I can be prepared for this."

They went into the next corridor and approached a section with two windows, one on each side: The window to the left let in sunlight from outside and another, much larger to the right, showed the contents of a cushioned room. From the inside, one would only see a large mirror in the glasses stead.

Angela positioned herself in front of it. Her face fell as she saw what's inside.

A small, lean figure was huddled against one of the cushioned walls. She wore a straitjacket and was continuously hitting the soft fabric with the side of her head. The girl had a happy smile on her face and empty eyes with a thousand-yard stare. She also talked to herself, but the room was sound proof.

There was one more thing of note about the girl: Only one foot remained to her.

"Lena…"

"Your ability reached only her in time, as you know. As soon as she became conscious and saw Amélie's body, she was… gone, for the lack of a better word, as you can see."

"Did you… try to snap her out of it?"

"When our medical staff moved to help her she… went furious with anybody who would interfere with her state for too long. You can do everyday necessities like feeding her, but the last doctor that tried to examine her body… well, he got his ear bitten off clean."

Angela instinctively reached for her own ear.

"I… I could try to do something."

"Only when you're back on your feet. She's not going anywhere, anyway."

"Winston…"

"What?"

"That was quite inconsiderate…"

"Oh."

They stared for a while at the broken girl inside the cushioned cell. She seemed to grow more excited by the second and had stopped to talk to herself. It looked more like she was listening to an invisible entity.

"Can we hear what's going on in there Winston?"

"Oh, uh… there's a button here."

He pressed it in the moment that this broken husk of Lena was the most excited, not able to contain herself, yet continuing to hit her head against the wall.

"We're gonna have a baby!"

Winston instantly let go of the button. Angela didn't interfere. They both had heard enough.

"You heard that? She's…"

The Swiss woman felt sick and needed to breathe steadily for a second there. So, Winston completed the sentence for her.

"… completely mad with grief."

A palpable silence lowered itselves between the two scientists. They watched the broken girl for a long while, only interrupted when something on Winston began to beep. The great ape put a finger to his ear.

"Yes, ATHENA?"

Angela looked up to him. Of course, Winston would have a communication device on him as commander of Overwatch.

"An intruder, this morning? In the medical ward? … That old backdoor? Of course, they stole the blueprints…"

Slowly Winston lumbered away, looking at Angela a last time reassuringly before he began to issue orders in his baritone voice. Then he turned a corner and Angela was alone again, save for her former charge behind the one-sided mirror in front of her.

That old backdoor, hmm? There's nothing important behind it…

The Swiss woman found herself pondering about this odd happenstance.

…only a storage room. The intruder would've tipped the alarm if they went too far into the ward. Common thieves would be likely but… they wouldn't know about that old entrance. Talon stole the blueprints. What would they want?

There was this nagging feeling in the back of her head, like she forgot something.

Well, the morgue is right beside it.

Then Angela understood. Her eyes opened wider, especially as she felt a fresh breeze from the formerly closed window behind her. She whirled around to stare into a cloud of smoke that quickly formed the face of an old friend.

Widowmaker had changed. Her skin color had turned darker, into a more violet hue. Equally dark violet smoke made an accent on her restored features, wrapped in a tight bodysuit. She looked as beautiful as ever, only in a more devilish way.

"Schätzchen, wha… what happened to you?"

Amélie closed in on her.

"You tell me, doctor."

After she had dealt with the doctor, Amélie used her new form to seep in between the cracks of the locked room's door to form on the other side. She still needed to get used to this experience.

How does Reaper live with that? It feels like getting… torn apart…

The French girl shivered and hoped not to have to use this new ability all that much. Maybe he would've instructed her more on it, if she hadn't slapped him and stormed out of that morgue. All she had needed to know was where they held Lena.

And there she was.

Amélie had already gotten a glimpse of her girlfriend from outside and suffered immensely at the sight. Even though this new hunger she felt was a powerful emotion, nothing compared to her connection to this now broken girl. In fact, she would have already ended her new, pitiful existence, if it wasn't for the hope of seeing her girlfriend again.

"Lena..."

She knelt beside her. The broken girl had started rocking back and forth, whispering to herself unintelligible sentences. Two soft, violet arms slowly kept her from doing so, one on the little Brit's back and one beneath her legs. In response, the rocking quickly evolved to a violent clawing at whatever was interfering with her dreams.

"Lena, stop!"

The command was instantly recognized. Lena did stop in everything she did, breathing excitedly. Her thousand-yard stare focused. She had to blink a few times, to accommodate on using her eyes again. The broken girl was visibly disoriented, until her hazelnut eyes finally found the source of the familiar voice.

"Oh. Hi there!"

Lena smiled happily, to the surprise of Amélie who slowly lifted the broken girl off the ground and into her arms after quickly untangling the strait-jacket, quite like a husband would hold his bride.

"What are you doing here, luv? That's a really nice tan you got there! If I knew you'd come, I would've made some tea!"

Lena looked down at her situation, especially the strait-jacket.

"Oh. Hmm. Maybe not exactly personally..."

Amélie was stunned. She had been worried about a lot of things. Like Lena being too far gone to snap out of her situation. That Lena would be horrified at the condition that Reaper had forced on her. Instead she watched in awe as the little Brit just kept on yapping.

"But they have wonderful personnel in here! They would be happy to help, I'm sure! Maybe not the guy who got his ear bitten off, but he'll come around someday. Uh, hey, are you okay luv?"

Tears were running down her purple cheeks. Even after death and injury, nothing had changed between them.

"Oui. I'm… just happy to see you, ma chérie."

"D'aww, I'm happy to see you too, ya big baby!"

Lena threw her arms around her love while giggling and kissed some tears off her cheek. Amélie returned the favor, holding her close. They cuddled for a while this way.

"Je t'aime, Lena."

"Jet… tea? I told you I would've made some!"

That made the little Brit grumpy, giving her a pout. Amélie cracked up at that stupid, unintended joke.

"No! No… W-We can… have some tea later. That was French."

"French? What was it?"

"I love you."

They both stared at each other's eyes. Lena was biting her lower lip as her cheeks grew ever more flustered.

"But… I wanted to say that first, darn it."

"Oh. We could… start over?"

"No, that'd be stupid!"

"If you say so…"

"Just know that… I need you more than anything, okay?"

For once, the little Brit in her arms seemed to regain lucidity after days of madness. The merriness in her voice faltered as she allowed herself to think back to that fateful day.

"I think I've gone off the deep end then, as I… I saw you dead. I thought I lost you forever. I don't know what's real anymore, Amélie. I don't care how you came back, or if you're just another dream…"

Lena shivered and buried her head in Amélie's shoulder, desperately wanting for it to be real. She was audibly fighting tears.

"Please, just… just promise me you'll never leave me alone again… I need you so much…"

A purple hand softly caressed the messy, brown hair of the head pressed to her shoulder. Amélie was oddly relieved at what she heard. She could deal with this much better.

She slowly encouraged Lena to show her face again, after she was sure that the little one wouldn't burst in tears at first sight. The Brit had an insecure look about herself, like the one Amélie had anticipated to begin with. She smiled at her little charge in a reassuring way.

"This is no dream, ma chérie."

Then she pinched her.

"Ouw!"

"See?"

Lena looked incredulous for a moment there, in the face of her girlfriend's smirk, but just couldn't be mad. A mischievous smile quickly replaced the look. Lena was overjoyed that her love really had come to rescue her, after all. Still, single tears made their way down Lena's face. Amélie went soft at their sight, gently stroking the area she had just abused.

"Running away from you was the worst mistake I ever made. Never again. I'll stay with you wherever you want to go, promise."

That answer alone finally eased up the constant emotional strain of the last few days. It was everything Lena had ever wanted to hear, smiling shyly with pronounced exhaustion. A thought emerged, so Lena just asked.

"Wherever... Can… can we go to the Provence?"

Amélie raised a curious eyebrow. More small tears ran down the little Brit's cheeks while she looked like a girl asking if they could go to Disneyland.

"Why there?"

"I heard it's quite nice and… I wanted to learn French anyway."

Amélie was pleasantly surprised by that. Going back to her homeland, far away from everything that happened here… what a comforting thought.

"Bien. What are we gonna do when we're there?"

Lena's eyes lit up at the question.

"I want a house at the coast! We'll decorate it with aviation stuff and whatever Baroque is. There'll be a huuuge queen sized bed for us! You'll get a job as manager at a fashion company and-"

The French girl had heard enough, silencing the little blabbermouth in her arms with a long and passionate kiss. Lena quickly eased into it. Her little tears met with purple cheeks and finally intermingled with their lips at the kiss, turning it bittersweet.

A mechanical sound indicated that the cell door opened behind them.

"Na endlich! It took me a while to find a doctor with the right key card, but… oh, you two!"

Lena blinked a few times and softly lifted the kiss. She interlocked gazes with Amélie for one more second before peaking over a violet shoulder.

"Hi there, mom! We're going to France!"

Angela was a bit shocked at that greeting. Then she smiled and shook her head, immensely relieved that Lena was okay once more.

"I… would advise against it. But I'm not exactly in a position to stop you two, so…"

As Amélie was leaving the cell with Lena on her arms, she leant down to Angela, laying her cheek against that of her best friend. Lena grinned at her from the other side in the meanwhile.

"Thank you for everything, mon oisillon."

"Oh don't be like that, we'll see each other again."

"That's for sure mom!"

"Now go, before Winston talks some sense into me…"

A last time, the three of them shared a giggle. Then Amélie moved on with the little Brit on her arms. Halfway through the window, the doctor's voice called out to them again.

"Take good care of her!"

"I will!"

Both had answered simultaneously. Lena giggled stupidly at that while Amélie just rolled her eyes.

"And… call me once in a while!"

There was no further answer. Angela sighed. They were gone.

A mere moment later, a sentient gorilla turned around the neighboring corner, looking quite concerned.

"Angela! They broke into the morgue, Widowmaker's corpse is-"

"-running around in security camera footage?"

"How did you…"

Winston blinked a few times at his colleague who was still staring out of the open window. Then he looked around some more and found Tracer's cell to be empty.

"You let them go like that?"

"What is a doctor in a hover chair supposed to do?"

"Come on now. You of all people are the one who could've stopped them at all. There's no telling what Talon did to Widowmaker this time and-"

"Ah ah. You hear yourself, Winston? That's why I let them go."

Winston harrumphed again.

"They both need intensive psychological treatment after what happened."

"I think what they need most right now is each other."

The Swiss doctor continued to stare outside so adamantly, that Winston started to do the same. With a quiet sigh, the scientist set himself down on his behind and opened a can of emergency peanut butter that he tended to carry around with him.

"And what makes you say that, Angela?"

She thought about that for a moment, leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling instead.

"They both looked like they lost a large part of themselves. When I saw them together though, arm in arm, it felt like they were whole again."

That feeling preoccupied her a few more moments.

As she looked over to Winston, she saw him making the face that he usually made when he feigned to understand human stuff. Shaking her head, Angela leaned in to scoop up some peanut butter for herself. Winston didn't like that.

"It's like with you and peanut butter."

She licked it off her fingers with a teasing smile. Winston didn't like that either.

"We better leave them alone, then."

Was zum... ~ What the...

Na endlich! ~ Finally!

This is it, the end of my first fanfic.
I would like to take a moment to thank my many proof readers over the course of the story: Sandra, Sneky, Ruby, Niels, Sanata and Viktor. The biggest thanks however goes out to you, dearest reader. Thank you for reading and commenting on my fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it thoroughly!
Speaking of enjoying, I'm dying to know what you think of the epilogue and the story as a whole! Please do comment, I love talking with you guys and gals

On a last note: Some may be delighted to hear that my next endeavor will again focus on Widowtracer. I would be happy to have you follow me, dearest reader, to be the first to delve into a new story.