Chapter VIII

A few days had passed since the attack of Tartarus at the Overwatch headquarters, the building being completely evacuated, and the students sent to a private area to stay. Under the rule of the United Nations, the Overwatch team was required to keep the events of the attack confidential. They had told the students that an accident happened while grenades and other explosives were being delivered, one of the grenades dropping and causing a slight explosion. Thankfully, the students believed this statement, and they all followed their chaperons to a private safe house that was a few hundred miles away from the main headquarters.

The building was now quieter than it had been for the first time in years, the silence almost chilling. Most of the Overwatch members spent most of their time practicing with one another and sparring in the event that Tartarus would attack again. Others, like Sombra and Ana, spent a lot of their time in the computer lab, typing away quickly at computers trying to find any piece of information they could about the group that had replaced Talon. For sometime, no one saw sight of Jack and Gabriel, the two spending the day or two after hiding in their rooms, asking themselves question after question trying to understand the events that had taken place.

The dark Swiss sky was illuminated by the pale colored moon, and the stars brought a beautiful glow to the quiet countryside. Light footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the courtyard as Gabriel walked through the now cleaned area, his boots lightly hitting the concrete ground. His large tanned hands were hidden as he had pushed them into his pockets, his eyes gazing around the courtyard as he slowly walked through. For a bit he wandered around, not really having a purpose there until he spotted the area that the violets had grown, the spot now empty of the flowers Gabriel had come to love and found himself staring at every time he went for his daily runs or came out for some air. After a bit of staring out at the empty spot of dirt, he was interrupted by the soft echoing of footsteps.

"Good evening, Mr. Reye's," an intelligent voice rang out from behind him. The toned muscles on Gabriel's biceps flexed and he turned to see where the voice had came from. Moira approached her long time friend with her hands behind her back as usual. She was an intelligent woman, and always carried herself elegantly just like a professional. Gabriel was used to seeing the orange haired woman wearing her bright white lab coat, but instead she was wearing casual black pants that seemed to flow a bit once they reached the ankles like dress pants, and she wore a dark purple button up, the top three buttons undone like they always were in the evenings.

"Moira," Gabriel began, "what are you doing out at this hour?" The scientist came to stand in front of Gabriel, her multi-colored eyes looking into his as a friendly smile crossed her face, "You're not the only one who enjoys walks during the evening. Especially with what had gone on recently." She turned herself away from her comrade, looking out at the forest that was visible in the distance from the courtyard. "Being a scientist is just as difficult as being a soldier, Gabriel. Overwatch is not only my job, but also my family now, so I have specific duties to take care of." This statement caught Gabriel off guard. For years, when the two had worked together in Talon, Gabriel knew Moira had the same feelings towards Overwatch as he did. She hated them and despised them for not allowing her to take risks for the sake of her scientific research.

"I know. I'm crazy for saying that," the Irish woman said as she looked to him through the corner of her eye, "but it's true. I've tried to play my part in all of this." Gabriel, now also looking out to the forest crossed his arms over his chest, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Moira began, "since the events that took place the other day, I've stayed up, day and night, trying to find any records of Miss Lacroix's reconditioning." Gabriel looked to the woman in surprise as she continued speaking, "At first I thought I would get nowhere in my research, but…" She trailed off for a moment, twisting her torso a bit as she leaned back and pulled a small notepad out of her back pocket, "I have come across a few things."

Gabriel, astonished that she had even found any information at all, turned to look at his teammate and she smiled as she saw his expression and reaction, "I've already received permission from Morrison to speak of this with you. If you'd like, we can sit and talk about it." Before Moira could say anything else, Gabriel quickly nodded and walked to a bench that was diagonal from where the two had been standing. Moira followed him suit, and sat beside him, flipping the pages of the pad. Looking at the pad, Gabriel could see math problems scattered across the pages, sentences and notes marked out in dark blue ink, and then other words and phrases circled with highlighters.

"Hm, where to begin?" The scientist asked herself softly.

"From the beginning."

This sudden reply threw the Irish woman off guard, her gaze darting to Gabriel who had been watching her closely as she flipped through the notepad. "Please," he said in a soft tone, realizing that he had sounded a bit demanding. Letting out a soft chuckle, Moira turned her gaze back to her notes and began telling him all the information that she had found.

"Thankfully, I was able to recover a few of Widowmaker's files. It took a lot of work and I had to get a lot of help from Sombra and Ana, but after hours of decoding we finally had everything laid out in English." Finishing her sentence, Moira flipped to the second page, reading over her notes before she began speaking again, "In basic terms," she began, "Maximilian is trying to rid Widow of all emotions and feelings. And not only that, but also her memories." Gabriel's mouth opened a bit as if he were trying to say something, but it shut quickly as she continued, "But, as the leading scientist who conducted her reconditioning beforehand, I know for a fact that it is scientifically impossible to rid a human being of all memories, thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc. Max is wanting to make her into a human robot, or, puppet I should say. He wants to have absolute control over her because he knows if he has her in his grasps, he can conquer the whole world, and if you recall, that is what Tartarus wants." She lifted her hand up, her hand gliding through her hair to push back pieces of her lose bangs, "When Tartarus showed up, Widow's injections had just been given. I could tell by her violent, unknowing behavior. But that behavior doesn't last for long."

Moira continued to read through the notes and gazed at Gabriel through the corners of her eyes as she spoke trying to make sure he understood what she was saying, "I studied Widow from afar for sometime. There were nights she would wake up with night terrors, screaming, sweating, and having massive panic attacks and even bursts of rage. Those were the after effects of her injections and reconditioning. For days she would go without feeling anything, but once the medication wore off, her brain would force her into a catatonic state. During that time, her brain would force her to relive her past, making her experience things over and over again, causing her to have these outbursts. That's why, after time had passed, Max demanded that her doctor's inject the medications into her almost three, four times a day, so that those effects wouldn't take place."

Gabriel's fists clenched as she said this, his gaze diverting back to the forest ahead of them, "So, what're you saying? How is this effecting her presently?"

"What I'm saying is, Maximilian is forcing these injections into her bloodstream and believes that she remembers nothing and feels nothing. She may not remember anything, but I know for certain that she has to be having the same effects as the reconditioning she had while she was in Talon. So, when they left, at some point in time, she had to have began having night terrors, outbursts, and started feeling things again. Her body is trying to revert her back to the way it used to be, but Maximilian is trying to pin her down and force her not to feel these things." As Moira flipped to the last page of her notes, she took in a sharp inhale, and let it out softly, "If Max keeps this up…"

Her voice trailed off once again, Gabriel twisting his torso to look at her as she continued to stare into her notepad, "What?" he asked worriedly. Moira let out a soft sigh, lifting her head up to look out into the distance, "If Maximilian keeps this up, the constant injections will begin to destroy her brain and if her brain is damaged and no longer functions properly, her organs will begin to shut down…"

Gabriel's soft brown eyes narrowed a bit, his body twitching at this statement. His heart felt as if it were twisting and turning in ways he had never felt before, and as much as he tried to ignore this feeling, he couldn't seem to brush it off. He turned his body to sit up straight, but then leaned forward, his large hands running through his curly dark hair that was white in a few spots from his aging.

"Then, I guess we can't let that happen."

The two Overwatch members quickly turned around from the bench and looked in surprise as Jack stood behind them wearing his casual evening clothes, but to their surprise he wasn't alone. Standing beside the commander stood a slightly shorter man. He wore casual evening clothes as well, and seemed to be the same age as Jack. On top of his fluffy brown hair sat a pair of glasses.

"Jack," Gabriel began, but before he could finish, the commander interrupted him. "Gabriel," Jack said in a serious tone, "I think you need to hear this." After he finished, Jack gestured for the man to step forward. "Good evening, Gabriel." The young man reached his hand out, Gabriel grabbing it and the two shaking hands. Before finishing he also reached over to shake Moira's hand and then began to speak lightly, "My name is Gilbert. Doctor Gilbert. I'm the leading doctor for Tartarus."

This introduction caused Gabriel to choke on his own saliva, his body lunging forward a bit as he coughed frantically. Moira, also in surprise, stood from her seat on the bench, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for the doctor to speak.

"Why are you here?" Gabriel asked after containing himself, "You're with the enemy. You're risking your life by being here." Gilbert let out a light chuckle, and stepped to the side a bit so that all three Overwatch members were clearly in view to him. "'I understand, Mr. Reyes. Maximilian is my boss, and although he is smart in many ways, he isn't smart enough to pick up on a little bit of lying." Jack chuckled a bit, along with Moira, and Gilbert instantly began to explain his presence at the headquarters.

"I asked to speak about what I'm here for in front of you Gabriel. I haven't told the commander here yet, but I wanted you both to be together. Dr. O'Deorain, I'm also glad that you are here since you were the leading scientist for Talon, years ago." Gilbert reached into his pocket, pulling out a small device that seemed to be a small radio com system. As he pulled out the device, the three Overwatch members watched closely, still not having complete trust in the man. The doctor held onto the device as he continued, "I know you all are having a hard time trusting me, and I'm not asking for trust, but I am asking you all to hear me out." The three looked to one another and nodded, signaling to Gilbert that they would gladly listen to him.

The doctor sighed, and looked up at the three, "I am here on behalf of Amélie Lacroix."

Gabriel's expression changed from serious to surprised in less than a second, the same for Jacks. Moira, knowing that this would happen, continued to listen to the doctor closely. "Miss Lacroix has been living in hell for the last seven years, and Doctor O'Deorain, I'm sure you're well aware of this," he said as he looked to Moira who nodded in reply. "Her memories have been completely erased, but over the course of a few days, since Tartarus attacked your headquarters, she has been suffering from severe nightmares and has had outbursts of emotions. Feelings of sadness, anger, and even feeling surprised. Trust me, I have experienced it first hand."

Jack, in the same stance as Gabriel, looked to the doctor, "What do you mean?"

"Let me start over, if I may." Gilbert gestured for the three to sit on a bench in front of him while he sat on one in front of them. "When Tartarus returned to their headquarters, Maximilian told all of the doctors to give Miss Lacroix triple her normal dosage. He wants her to be under his full control, and soon, if someone does step in, he will. He is going to make her into a robot. He will force her to be under full control, and there is nothing that she, nor any of us can do. We're all under his hold, especially her." Moira looked to the doctor and cut him off before he could finish, "Has anyone tried to help her remember?"

Gilbert nodded to answer her question. "Earlier today, I went into her room to give her the daily injections, and it contained triple the dose just as Max had asked. The previous night….he raped her. Brutally. Injected a tranquilizer into her spinal cord to cause temporary paralyzation. He loves her but not a love that I've ever seen. She was severely bruised from the event, and out of sorrow for her, I sat her down and told her of her life before Talon, during Talon, and now. I didn't, however, tell her how she ended up in Tartarus. I believe that information should wait." Gabriel looked to the man closely, his gaze never diverting away from him.

"Before I came here, she told me of a dream she had. She was in a Hispanic country with a masked man. The man wore a mask that resembled a skull mask, and from my knowledge, Gabriel, that's the exact mask you wore while you were in Talon, no?" Gabriel nodded to the man, leaning forward as he propped his elbows on his knees. "As I thought. She didn't know who you were even when you had taken the mask off. But I don't think this was a dream. I believe it was a memory."

Gabriel sat upright again, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought deeply. After a few moments he gasped lightly and looked to Gilbert, "We went on a mission together. We had been a team for sometime. Sombra was off one a hacking mission, and we had to go on a last minute mission together. We were to assassinate a target and take out any witnesses. The man who we were trying to eliminate had known of our coming before Widow and I even knew, and while I was trying to take him out, she was jumped and thrown off one of the many cliffs in Dorado." Gilbert smiled, nodding his head to signify that he was correct and pinpointed every detail that Widowmaker had told him.

"Exactly. Now, due to the little amount of time I can stay here, I would like for you all to listen to this." The doctor leaned forward and as did the other three, hand steadily holding up the radio com that he had pulled out earlier, "This radio com has a recording device inside. I would like you all to listen to this recording."

The three teammates listened closely as Gilbert raised a finger and hit the play button on the radio com, a light voice coming through with a thick French accent. Gabriel's eyes widened a bit as Widow's voice came through, her voice seeming to shake a bit as she began to speak into the radio.

"I'm unsure who will listen to this. But what I am saying is directed to all Overwatch members. Before I continue on, know that I remember nothing about any of you. Everything that I have done to all of you at this point had been because my memory of all of you is gone, and I've done everything I've been ordered to do. In the last seven years, I have been conditioned to hate any and all Overwatch members under the rule of Maximilian."

As Widow spoke, Gabriel's expression seemed to have a look of longing, her voice sending chills down his spine. For about twenty seconds, the French sniper was silent, and with a deep sigh, she continued speaking, "Maximilian will more than likely do something to me soon. I'm unsure of what it will be, but I know it won't be good. So, before that happens, I have asked my primary doctor to visit your headquarters and give my message." Again, Widow went silent, seeming to allow whoever was listening to process what she was saying.

"I need your help," she said, her voice shaking through the recorder, "If Maximilian does do something, it will more than likely kill me and if that doesn't happen then I know I will forget everything that I have been told about all of you. I don't want that to happen, and I know all of you don't want the same. After experiencing what I did at the headquarters, I know that what I'm saying is the truth. So, please. Help me. Gilbert will give you exact coordinates of the Tartarus's headquarters. You need to find me. Soon, and help me get out. I don't know where my true home is, but I know now that it isn't here…" Widow went quiet again, and once she began speaking again, it was more somber than before.

"Now I direct this to Reaper, or Gabriel Reyes, I should say." Gabriel's eyes darted to look at Gilbert then back to the recorder, now sitting up straight as he gulped deeply, "Gabriel...as I said before, I don't remember you. But I want to remember you. I don't know what we were before, but my mind is suffocating me by flashing images of you through my brain. I've had dreams night after night about you, and I know that we had something before. Maximilian knows that we had something before, and he's not happy about it. He's tried for years to rid my body of your mark. I didn't know this until now, but after the events that took place a few days ago, I know now that that is the truth. I want to come back to where I think my home is supposed to be. So please, I beg of you. To all of you. Find me and bring me home…"

The recorder went silent, and Gilbert leaned back onto the bench, turning the device off and sat it beside him. He sat quietly for a moment, allowing the three, especially Gabriel, to process what Widowmaker had said through the recorder. Jack uncrossed his arms and rubbed the palms of his hands over his thighs over and over again while Moira sat quietly on the bench. Gabriel, on the other hand, was speechless, and wanted to say something but knew if he tried nothing would come out.

Gilbert sighed and began to speak to break the silence, "I've already given Commander Morrison here the documents that you all need. Those documents contain all the information you have been seeking about Tartarus including the exact coordinates and where you will find Miss Lacroix and Maximilian. There is also separate files that I have given to Doctor Ziegler inside to give to you Doctor O'Deorain. Those documents contain all the information pertaining to Amélie such as her health records, every piece of medication that she has swallowed or has had injected into her bloodstream. I've also put information inside about the poison that Tartarus is known to use in all of their weapons. I've put as much information about the group inside of those files, so use them as much as you can." The three nodded in response to his information, and he continued to speak, "After this point, I will not be able to contact any of you, so this is all I can give you. I know I won't be able to lie again because he will pick up on the lies and interrogate me, and even go as far as killing me the second I return to the headquarters."

Jack nodded and stood up from his spot on the bench and as did the other two Overwatch members. "Thank you for all of this information Doctor Gilbert," Jack said kindly, grabbing Gilbert's hand and helping him stand up from the bench, then shaking his hand as thanks. "We wouldn't be this far without you. Once this is all over, you can join us, if you'd like of course." Gilbert chuckled and picked up the radio com that he had sat beside him, "I'm sure working here would be a lot more enjoyable than working for Tartarus and having to conduct awful experiments on innocent animals and even live people."

Moira approached the doctor and placed her hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly, "Trust me, from personal experience, it is." The two doctors and the commander laughed, but Gabriel continued to stand in front of the bench, trying to process all that he had heard. Gilbert looked to the ex Talon member, and stepped forward, holding the radio com out to him, "Here," he said Gabriel hesitantly took the device from the man and then looked at him, "I know Amélie would won't you to have this. She didn't this mostly for you because she saw the way you looked when you had her pinned down. She knew you would need to hear your voice." Gabriel held the radio com in his hand carefully like holding a newborn baby, and shook his head, that being the only way he could thank the doctor since he couldn't find the will to speak.

"For now, just relax. I'll do my best to take care of her until you all can get to her. But I can't promise anything. As I said, Max keeps a tight grip on her. Without her, he and Tartarus are nothing." Jack stepped beside Gabriel, patting his friend's back lightly trying to knock him out of his daze. Gabe looked to his friend, who was smiling towards him. This helped Gabriel find his will to speak, and he looked to the doctor, "Thank you Doctor Gabriel. We will use all of the information you have given us carefully. Without it we wouldn't be able to find her." Gilbert grinned, leaning forward to pat Gabe's shoulder, "I know how you feel, Gabriel. No need to thank me."

Before anyone could speak again, Gilbert turned away and began to walk away from the headquarters, Jack following behind him closely to escort him safely to the exit. Before the two men got too far from the courtyard, Gilbert stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look back and Gabriel and yelled back to him, "Make sure when you see her again," he began, "You tell her how you feel." Gabriel's focus went from the recorder to the doctor. As he looked to Gilbert he could see Gilbert's kind smile and his glasses were now sitting carefully back on the bridge of his nose, the glass of the glasses giving off a glare in the moonlight. "If you do that then she may remember!"