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******

"So, what did they say?" Lena questioned anxiously. 

Winston and Angela had called in the rest of the team for a quick meeting regarding their recent interviews with the Representatives of the United Nations. They've been talking non-stop for two days straight, so that was plenty of time to cover a lot of ground. Lena, Genji, Hanzo, Bridgette, Reinhardt, and Zenyatta gathered around the medic and gorilla in the Throne room, waiting to hear the news.

"Hang on, not everyone is here yet," Winston advised, taking a look around the room. "We're still missing Torbjorn, Jesse, and Hope."

"The last I saw them, Hope and Jesse were scavenging the village, and Torbjorn was working out back," Bridgette recalled.

"Let's hope they'll head back soon," Winston replied. The quiet roar of thunder could be heard coming from outside, causing everyone to look up at the ceiling. "That storm is sounding pretty rough." 

"Aw I'm sure they'll be right along," Tracer assured the gorilla, waving it off. "You can let them know when they return! So what happened?!"

"After talking it over, the Reps have agreed on a temporary lift of the Petra Act." Angela answered.

Ms. Oxten cheered loudly while everyone else were not as ecstatic, none the less they were all happy. 

"So it is temporary at the moment?" Genji repeated for confirmation, his sounding slightly uneasy.

Winston nodded, adjusting his glasses. "It's temporary for now. This gives us all time to 'test the waters', so to speak. The United Nations will watch us, judge on how we work together during our missions. If all goes well, and they approve of our methods, we could see the Petra Act being lifted permanently." 

"And Overwatch can be recalled officially?" Reinhardt beamed, his eyes twinkling.

"Indeed," Winston smiled in reply.

The British agent cheered once more before the German nearly crushed her in a bear hug, Genji and Bridgette chuckling at their antics.

"Furthermore, The United Nations are allowing us this chance to bring in a brand new agent into our fold, in order to help test our teamwork and to help them in their decision making," Angela added before looking over at Tracer. "Lena, do you still have the contact information of your friend? The Brazilian Freedom Fighter?"

Lena gasped excitedly, fist pumping the air. "Yes! I knew you'd come around to him eventually,"

"How soon can you get in touch with him?" The medic asked.

"I'll call him right now!" Tracer beamed as she blinked out of the throne room and up the stairs.

Once she was gone, the muffled sounds of footsteps could be heard as the back entrance of the castle flew open, then slammed shut. Jesse McCree and Torbjorn emerged from his workshop, completely soaked to the bone as they trudged into the room, collapsing to their knees. Their surprising appearance startled the others as they rushed to their aid. 

"Oh my goodness!" Angela squeaked, kneeling in front of the dwarf. "What happened to you two?"

"Storm outside--- caught us off guard," Torbjorn huffed, taking heavy breathes in order to talk. "Hope---"

"Hope? Where is she?" Winston perked up, searching frantically for her among the pair. "I thought she was with you, Jesse."

"She was, but--" The cowboy removed his hat from his head, pushing strands of his wet hair out of his face as his voice began to falter.  "But--"

"But she what?" Winston repeated. 

Before Winston could continue any further, Hanzo stood by him, raising his hand to silence the gorilla. He nodded his head, signalling Winston to stand down as the archer stepped towards the cowboy, kneeling in front of him as he helped remove his soaking wet serape off his shoulders. At least now there wasn't any unnecessary weight on them. "Breathe cowboy, tell us what happened."

"We were heading back, and the lightning scared the horses. Hope fell off my horse, and all that rain must have caused a mudslide," He spoke, foretelling what happened just minutes ago. "I tried to get down there to help her back up, but the mud was too quick... it took her with it down the hill." 

Looks of fear and terror fell upon the rest of the agents as they exchanged worried glances with each other. 

"Do not blame yourself," Hanzo urged. "This was not your fault. It could have easily been you."

"It might as well been," Jesse grumbled as the eldest Shimada helped the cowboy to his feet. 

"We'll find her McCree," Winston assured him. "We have to. Athena!"

"Already searching for her signal," she spoke, the tracking system appearing on screen at the computer console. 

"Ms. Ivery was wearing her communicator, correct?" Zenyatta recalled.

"If that's so, then Athena should be able to pinpoint her location," Genji realized. 

"That's the idea, yes," Winston confirmed as he made his way over to the console, typing away at the keyboard. "Athena, are you picking up anything?"

"Scanning..." she spoke. The locator blip blinking red, scattering all over the area of her last known location. "Her signal is scrambled. The most likely scenario is that her communicator was damaged in the fall." 

"Can you pinpoint her last known location?" Winston asked. 

"Scanning..." Athena searched the quadrant until the locator beacon zeroed in on a specific spot not too far from the castle. "Here,"

"That's it," Jesse realized. "That's where we lost her, on the trail Torb and I marked earlier today..."

"That settles it then. I'm going to take a look around for her," Winston stated, his nostrils flaring. 

But before he could even get a chance to leave, Reinhardt stopped him by grabbing him by the shoulder, catching his attention. "Winston, have you gone mad?!"

"You can't be serious, Reinhardt--" Winston attempted to protest, but Reinhardt raised a finger at the gorilla, silencing him.

"You said so yourself, the storm is rough out there. Extremely so. If you go out there, you'll get washed up by the storm just like Hope did, and then you won't be able to find her that way," The German stated. "First thing when the storm clears, that's when we'll go find her."

"We all will," Jesse added.

"You and Torbjorn won't be going anywhere until the two of you are warmed up and rested," Angela lectured. "Hanzo, help me get these two to my medical bay."

The archer nodded as he assisted the Doctor in escorting the two men across the room. As they did so, Tracer blinked back into the throne room. A bright smile pierced her lips. "Great news everyone! He says he'll be on the next flight to Berlin--" But her cheery voice wasn't enough to brighten their spirits. Not this time. "Hey, what happened?"

"Hope's in trouble," Winston answered with worry.

"What?!" The girl exclaimed with shock. "Then what are we doing standing around here for?" 

"We can't do anything with this storm raining down," Reinhardt stated before turning his attention back to the gorilla. "Winston, my friend, I promise you that as soon as the storm clears, we'll search for her. We'll find her and bring her back here safely." 

Winston titled his head to the floor, shutting his eyes with a heavy sigh as he processed Reinhardt's proposal. He's really come to know Hope for the past few weeks now. He'd never let it down if something horrible happened to her. But Reinhardt did have a point...

"As soon as the storm clears?" Winston repeated for clarification. 

Reinhardt nodded in reply, squeezing the gorilla's shoulder reassuringly. "Ja." 

******* 

The bright rays of the morning sun stirred me awake. I felt a rain drop drip on my nose, kicking my senses in as I shook my head. My hair was damp and cold, frankly my entire body was. Perhaps not as cold as I felt last night, but nonetheless, I still felt a chill all over me. Not only were my clothes damp but they were also dirty, covered in mud stains. I slowly opened my eyes to find that I was sitting on a pile of leaves and it appeared I was tucked away inside a... tree? The bark had somehow broken apart, creating an opening for inside. 

"How did I even get here?" I thought to myself.

The last thing I remembered was a metal hand coming towards me, and then I blacked out. Was it Jesse? It couldn't have been his. The design was completely different. I should know; Jesse has a skull on the forearm of his cybernetic limb. This one didn't.

Did I imagine it? But how did I get over here? I recall being pushed down to the bottom of the hill by a mud slide... 

Slowly sitting up from the leaf pile, my body ached all over. Certain spots stung more than others. That was most likely where the bruises were located. I crawled my way out from the tree, breathing out a hiss every so often. Once I was free, I stood up to my feet, stretching my limbs as my knees, elbows, and back cracked from being stiff for a certain amount of time. 

The rays of sunlight temporarily blinded me until I was able to get my bearings. I was still in the forest, but where exactly? That was unknown. I raised my wrist, checking on my communicator. Perhaps I could send a signal out to let the others know I was alright? Poor Torbjorn and Jesse must be worried sick about me, the others as well. What about Winston?

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" I rose my voice, attempting to get the communication link working. There was nothing but static as the holoscreen shriveled out of existence, the device around me crackling. "Busted..." I grumbled. 

I took a look around the small clearing I was in. Near me was a burnt out camp fire, a few twigs were burnt completely as tiny trails of smoke filtered up through the air. Whoever or whatever found me must have built this fire to help me stay warm over night. Just as I was kneeling down to examine the fire pit more closely, snapping twigs caught my attention. I flinched back up to my feet, looking over in the direction I heard the source from, and that's when I saw it. 

A Bastion unit. It was a live one!

I yelped, falling on my already bruised enough behind as I desperately tryed to crawl away from it. The Bastion let out a few whirls and beeps, stepping out from the bush he was hiding from. 

"Please don't hurt me!" I spoke hastily. 

The Bastion stopped, tilting his head to the side curiously at me. This action seized my attempt to keep crawling back as I took the time to quickly catch my breath, the volume of my heavy breathing slowing going down. After looking at me for a while, he looked down at the machine gun prosthetic he had equipped as his right hand. Once he realized what I had mean't, he returned his gaze towards me. His blue optic glowed brighter as he waved his metal left hand side to side frantically, lowering his weapon while doing so. 

I watched him with a slight confusion as I spoke again slowly, raising a brow at the robot. "You're... not going to hurt me?"  

The Bastion beeped once more as it took a couple steps towards me. Those were the same footsteps that I heard last night after I fell...

The robot extended its hand towards me, wanting me to grasp it. I rose my hand towards it, hesitating slightly before taking it. The metal was a tad cold, but smooth. It reminded me of Genji and our interaction back at Hanamura. The cool metal squeezed against my hand as he helped me up to my feet. 

"Are you the one that saved me?" I asked. 

The Bastion nodded its head in reply. Before I could continue, the chirping sound of a bird caught my attention as I looked over to the side, watching as a beautiful yellow bird flew it's way towards us. It flew around us before perching itself on Bastion's finger, tweeting happily. 

"Is he a friend of yours?" I questioned curiously, a small smile forming on my lips. 

Bastion acknowledged the answer by bringing the bird over to his right shoulder, where a bird nest was located. The bird jumped up into it, nestling its body into the nest as it adjusted a twig or two. I smiled at the bird, trying to resist the urge to reach out and pet its little head. I didn't want to accidentally scare him off. 

Bastion beeped a couple of times, pointing at my communicator. I lifted it up, showing it off towards the robot. 

"This thing? It's a communicator," I explained. "Well, it was anyway." 

Bastion whirled curiously at the object. I watched as Bastion's metal hand suddenly transformed into a tiny welder. He slowly brought it down towards the device as the tip of the tool sparked to life. The heat from it nearly burned my skin as I hissed, jumping back.

"Ouch!"

It startled the bird as he jumped up from his nest, flying around us with worry. I shook my head, carefully removing my communicator from my wrist. 

"Perhaps you should repair it while I'm not wearing it?" I suggested. 

Bastion nodded his head with agreement as he looked around the clearing. Spotting a large, smooth boulder, he motioned his body in that direction. I followed him towards it as I set the device down on the smooth surface, allowing Bastion to get to work. 

********

Their horses, Spirit and Willow, were breezing by the trail at an exhilarating rate as Jesse and Hanzo rode through Torbjorn's trail. Retracing their steps, Jesse showed Hanzo the exact location of where he and Torbjorn had lost Hope. 

While they were doing that, Winston went off with the rest of the group, splitting off as they began their search in another part of the forest near their location. Meanwhile, Tracer, Zenyatta, and Mercy volunteered to stay behind, and wait for the arrival of the team's newest recruit. 

Once they arrived at the top of the hill, Jesse told Hanzo what exactly had happened last night. Lightning struck, Hope fell off the horse, and then got swept away by the mudslide. They maneuvered their horses carefully down the steep hill, reaching the bottom. Taking a look at the ground below them, Hanzo signaled Jesse to stop. 

"Wait," he spoke. 

Stepping off his horse, Hanzo knelt down on the ground, placing his hand on the dirt. He spotted faint hand prints, and a shape of a body. 

"Hope was here," he acknowledged, looking up at the cowboy. 

"Are you sure?" He asked in reply, sounding hopeful as he too stepped off Spirit, petting him lightly before grouping up with Hanzo. 

"Very sure," The archer nodded, turning his attention back to the dirt, feeling it with his fingers. "Judging by the deepness of the print, she struggled to get back up." 

"So there's a chance she's was injured from the fall?" Jesse realized. 

"Most likely," Hanzo replied. He glanced up, a new set of prints catching his attention. He walked over to them, examining them carefully. "Odd..."

"What is it?" Jesse perked his head up. "Did'ja find something?"

"There are a new set of tracks here," Hanzo answered. "But they don't appear to be human..."

"Animal?" Jesse suggested. 

Hanzo shook his head. "No, defiantly not that."

"Well, whoever or whatever they belong to," Jesse scratched his beard with uncertainty. "Do you think they took her?"

"We won't know until we find out for ourselves," Hanzo stated. 

Walking back over to Willow, Hanzo grabbed his bow that was strapped to the side of the saddle before reaching back into his quiver, Hanzo pulled out an arrow. This arrow was different, however. On the end of it was a small sphere with a blue ring around it. 

"What'cha doing there?" Jesse questioned as he watched Hanzo arm the bow. 

He pulled the arrow back with the string, taking aim at the end of the non-human tracks. "Marked by the dragon," he muttered before releasing the arrow. Once it struck its target, Hanzo blinked, his eyes changing from his pure brown orbs to a bright red. They were special contact lenses that allowed the archer to see anything behind any walls, or other obstacles that might be in his path. In this case, it was all the trees and bushes. 

The prints were outlined in red as Hanzo followed the trail of his eyes, leading away from their current location. There was someone else following along with the square like tracks. It was a pair of lines in the dirt. Taking one more look at the prints of Hope's hands and body, Hanzo discovered that was were the trail originated from.

Whatever had found her ended up dragging her along with it. 

"I know where they are," Hanzo spoke as he blinked again, deactivating the contact lenses. 

"Who?" Jesse questioned as the both of them saddled back up on their steads. 

"Miss Ivery," Hanzo answered. "And the thing that dragged her along with it."

Hearing him saw that, Jesse narrowed his eyes, his hands tightening on the reins of his horse. "Lead the way, Hanzo," 

"The quicker you keep up with me, the sooner we'll find her," Hanzo replied determinedly as he slapped his reins, ordering his horse to move on a head as Jesse quickly followed behind him, radioing the rest of the team about Hanzo's discovery as they followed the trail. 

Tracer calls back acknowledging them of their find. She also tells them that their new recruit has just arrived, and that both he and Angela will have the medical bay ready for Hope when they return. 

********

Once Bastion was done repairing my communicator, I slipped it back on. Upon activating it, I discovered two things. 1; Communications link was still down. 2; The satellite map was working!

With it I was finally able to figure out where the heck I was. I wasn't able to locate Eichenwalde castle based off my current location. However, I was able to find something that would help me find my way back to said castle! Winston's shuttle! If the communication up-link on the ship was still working, I could get a message out to the others and let them know I was alright, and then just followed the trail back to the castle. 

To make the trip go faster, Bastion literally transformed himself into a tank. He waved for me to climb on him, as the bird perched itself on my shoulder. The ride was basically smooth sailing, and strange to say the least. I mean it wasn't every day you'd get the chance to ride on top of a tank that could turn into a robot, that's for sure. 

After riding around for a while, we finally found the shuttle. I hooped off Bastion as he transformed back into his robot mode. The yellow bird fluttered around, looking at the ship curiously. I ran over to the side of the ship, finding the switch that lowered the giant door and allowed me inside. 

"I'll just be a few moments, Bastion," I informed the robot. 

He waved back at me before turning around, scanning the area.

Stepping inside the ship, I took a moment to reflect back on when this used to be our little HQ. Smiles at those moments, I then made my way over to the communication table, powering it on. The surface of the table came to life, followed by the touch pad keyboard as I began to type away on the keys. 

"Can anyone hear me?" I spoke, connecting through the links. 

For the first few seconds, the line was complete static. Then that all too familiar southern accent caught my ears. 

"Hope? Is that you?"

"Jesse!" I squealed happily. 

"Hope! Thank god almighty," He sighed with relief. I could practically hear his smile on the other end of the line. "Are you alright?"

"I'm cold, damp, dirty, covered in mud, and my body is aching all over," I listed with a dread. "But other than that, I'm alive and well."

He chuckled light hardly. "That's good to hear. Listen, me and Hanzo are out here looking for you. Can you tell us where you are?"

"I'm back at the shuttle," I answered. 

"Sit tight, we'll come and get'cha," He assured. 

"Roger that, McCree," I acknowledged. 

I ended the call before cheering out of pure joy. At last I was going to be reunited with my friends. Sure it didn't feel all that long, but I was glad that I was going to be back in the company of friends. I made my way out of the shuttle, regrouping with Bastion who was spending some time with his bird friend, helping him find some new sticks and twigs for his nest. 

"Good news! My friends are on their way!" I exclaimed. Bastion beeped excitedly, fist pumping. I laughed at his reaction, smiling at the robot. "Thank you for saving me last night, and helping me find my way,"

Bastion chirped in reply, titling his head at me. After a few moments of waiting, quiet sounds of galloping caught our attention as they grew louder and louder, heading our way. I stepped up beside Bastion just as two horses, Spirit and Willow, emerged from the bushes. With Jesse McCree and Hanzo Shimada as their riders.

"Jesse! Hanzo!" I greeted with shout.

They were all smiles when they saw me, but once their eyes met the optic of Bastion, their expressions changed in no time flat. 

"Hope, take cover!" Hanzo yelled as he and Jesse jumped off their horses and armed themselves.

"No, wait!" I shouted, standing between them with my arms out. The two Overwatch agents were on edge, their weapons aimed at the robot as Bastion froze, looking between the two of them as he was unsure of what to do, his machine gun prosthetic shaking slightly. "Don't shoot!"

"Hope, it's a Bastion! A living Bastion!" Jesse exclaimed. "Get over here before it blows a bullet in ya!"

"No, no, no, he's friendly!" I shook my head at the cowboy. "You've got it all wrong!"

"How?" Hanzo questioned, standing firm as his gaze never strayed from the robot.

"Bastion saved my life!" I stated.  

I suddenly felt a rush of pain along my back. I hissed harshly from the pain as I collapsed to my knees, falling to my side. The two men yelped, about to come for me. Bastion was quicker, kneeling down as he used his metal hand to gently push me up in a sitting position as he whirled with concern. I looked up at the cowboy and archer, their eyes widened with surprise.

"You can trust him," I spoke reassuringly. 

The two agents exchanged glances with each other, staring for a brief moment. As if reading each others thoughts, they both nodded in agreement, putting away their weapons. The two cautiously made their way towards us, Bastion stepped back as Jesse knelt down beside me, carefully taking me in his arms and lifting me in a bridal position. 

"Thank you, Bastion," Hanzo spoke, nodding towards the robot.

Bastion nodded in reply as his little bird flew back towards him, perching itself on top of his head. It chirped happily, tilting its head in our direction. 

Carrying me away, Jesse and Hanzo made their way back to their horses. Hanzo climbed up first before Jesse carefully handed me off to him as I was placed in front of the archer, his right arm against my back, and my head resting on chest anchoring me to stay on the stead. Jesse finally climbed back on Spirit, signalling Hanzo to ride out.

I managed to sneak one more look at Bastion as he waved goodbye. "See you around..." I muttered quietly, saying goodbye to my new friend.