Chapter 16: The Final Hunt

The day had just begun and the agents started into a beautiful sunrise. The cawing of seagulls signalled to them that they are already close to the coast.

"This is beautiful!" Lena said dreamily.

"It really is." Jonas answered right next to her.

"Can I ask you something? What are you going to do when this mission is completed?"

"I don't know, there are only a few of my crew left alive since the incident a year ago. And those that survived have already built their own lives. I'll probably go back to London and when Gede is old enough, I will give him the ship. So he can start his own journey."

"You could join us too," said the pilot and looked at him smiling.

"Well...I don't know. Do you really want a pirate in your ranks?"

"We've got Junkrat and Roadhog too, so we can look past that," said Lena and giggled.

"Yes, but I did all this to give outsiders a life in freedom. And I don't know if I can put myself in the service of a task force."

Lena was very deluded, but somehow she could understand it.

"Yes! You could be right," she said.

"I hope so, I have a reputation to lose." both laughed.

"Even if our paths should part after these adventures, I just wanted to tell you: Even if many people think you're a monster, you're the most caring and kindhearted person I've ever met," said the young British woman and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you, Lena." Jaguar put one hand on her shoulder and pressed her against it.

Unnoticed by them, the old soldier and Winston stood at the railing and looked at each other questioningly.

Nearby stood Zarya, Mercy, Hana, Brigitte, Mei and Pharah staring at them.

" You must admit, in a strange way, these two are kind of cute," Zarya said and the others nodded in agreement.

An hour later, the Foam Flyer had docked on a quiet sandy beach.

"Strange how everything falls into place again. I landed on this same beach 22 years ago," said the pirate.

They started to comb through the overgrown undergrowth, Jaguar and Genji went a few metres ahead and knocked some branches out of the way with their swords. Jaguar's sword, to everyone's surprise, went up in blue flames as he drew it.

"So?" Pharah broke the silence. "So Talon has a faction called Medusa? Are there any more details like that you should tell us or you don't want to tell us because you fear that we will throw down our weapons and run away?

Winston and Soldier 76 began to stutter simultaneously:

Well... no... yes.... perhaps.... um... no."

"Wow, that was the worst comedy show since Granny Berta and her singing ironing boards" Jaguar said over his shoulder.

"Hey! This number is a classic," McCree said.

"Well, it's more for the simple mind."

"HEY!

"I'm surprised we don't meet any natives," Pharah said.

"You won't see any here either," Jaguar began. "the people avoid this place. They believe an evil spirit is at work here."

"I am not surprised, superstition is firmly rooted in the psyche of the natives," Mercy said analytically.

"Yes...the evil spirit is me! Where do you think I got my name from? In the language of the natives, Jaguar meant: "The hunter who kills with one strike." Seriously, they still tell their children horror stories about me."

"That explains a lot," said Winston.

After some time, they came to a huge clearing. The strange thing, however, is that this clearing was by no means of natural origin. Because the trees were violent and recently cut down. In the middle of the clearing, there was an ancient, half-decayed old temple, similar to those known from the stories of the Maya.

But around the temple, there was a band of Talon soldiers and Omnics, there were hundreds of them.

"That must be half of Talon's army," Winston said, amazed.

"And how do we get past them?" Mei asked.

"Don't worry. We'll make our way," Reinhard said, clenching his fists. He was about to storm off when Jaguar jumped into his path.

"I would really love to see that. But I suggest a more subtle method."

"What's that?" asked the old soldier.

Instead of an answer, Jaguar went to a stone slab lying between two hills. He pushed it out of the way and a secret passage appeared.

"Nice," said Tracer.

"Would the shield bearers please have their shields ready?" said to Reinhard and Brigitte.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because this passage is over 3000 years old and I have never set foot in it."

It was completely dark in that passage.

"It would be nice if we could see something," said DVA.

Jaguar took a stone in his hand and blew on it. The stone shone in a bright white light.

" Blinding, isn't it? Here!" he said with a grin and threw it at her. DVA caught it trembling and stared at it in wonder.

"That's so cool," said Mei.

"OMG. Now I know what you remind me of all the time," DVA yelled and pointed at him. "Like a cross between Dracula and Gandalf."

"Yes, exactly. That's it." said almost everyone in the choir in agreement.

"But seriously, how do you do it? A chemical compound? I mean, that's not real magic," Mercy said.

"Of course it's real magic."

"There is no magic."

"Then how do you explain Disney?" Jaguar said with a grin. Tracer ran up to him and gave him a high five. And Mercy had nothing more to say.

At the end of the passage, there was another slab of stone that they pushed aside. They saw a large, winding, stone hall.

"Home Sweet Home. This was my dormitory."

"Really nice here. You must have had a lot of room to play," said Zarya.

"Indeed."

"WELCOME TO OUR VICTORY CROWN!" echoed a voice from the walls. An Omnic entered the room, not just any Omnic, it was Maximilien, council member at Talon and head of the Medusa unit.

"Project JAX90 alias Jaguar. I said you were a success and that you will lead us back to the Eye of Medusa," he said proudly, holding up an inconspicuous hard drive.

"And I told you that I would kill you. It took 22 years but here I am," growled Jaguar with clenched teeth.

"Our army has already surrounded the temple, it is only a matter of time before...." Maximilien never finished that sentence. For Genji threw a throwing star at him, which cut off his hand along with the hard drive. Jaguar jumped forward, with claws outstretched he slit his chest open, sparks flew and the Omnic went down.

It was silent for a moment, then suddenly the loud sound of propellers rang out.

"Ah, they have finally arrived!" said Soldier 76.

"Who?" Tracer asked next to him.

"Well, like you always say: The cavalry is here."

Several dozen helicopters flew over the jungle and countless soldiers rappelled down. Apparently, the old soldier had mobilised all available forces.

With a loud shout of joy, Reinhardt stormed into the fray. Most of the other agents except Jaguar, Winston, Tracer and Mercy followed him.

Suddenly Jaguar cried out and grabbed his neck, blood flowing down the sides of his neck. Behind them stood Maximilien, he had picked himself up again and was holding a pistol in the remaining hand.

Tracer pulled her pulse pistol and was about to shoot him when Jaguar grabbed her by the shoulder.

"No, this one is mine! The hunt has to end," he said in a choked voice. "Go and help the others!"

The others ran onto the battlefield, but Winston turned around once more.

"JAGUAR!" Jaguar turned to him.

"What?"

"Welcome to Overwatch," he said with a smile.

Jaguar smiled, put one hand on his chest and bowed.

"It's been an honour."

A massive battle raged outside the temple, with gunfire, explosions and casualties on both sides. Then there was a loud bang, from the direction of the temple came a huge shock wave and everything, whether people, omnics or debris flew through the air. And then everything went black.

......

Slowly, very slowly, Tracer opened her eyes, staggeringly she came to her feet and looked around. What she saw was a gigantic field of debris. Bodies, metal parts and other things lay everywhere. One by one, other shapes appeared from the debris. First Reinhardt and Winston, then Zarya, Mercy and Genji, then Lucio came towards her, carrying an unconscious DVA on his back.

Then came the rest, and finally old Soldier 76 rose from a pile of Omnic remains. Almost all members of the enemy army were dead or seriously wounded, but miraculously all Overwatch agents were largely unharmed.

Then a thought shot Tracer's head, she jumped up and ran to the temple, but only some of the walls were still standing.

Once again, Jaguar was happy to be a mutant, because a normal human being would have been shredded by this enormous energy. But he did not escape unharmed either, his left arm was all red and hanging down asleep.

With this arm he had created a blue flame just as he stood in front of the Omnic, destroying the Medusa's eye and causing the shockwave. Now he lay on the floor and tried to pull himself away with his good arm. He had only one thought left in his head: "It's over."

But it was not over yet. Something grabbed Jaguar and turned him on his back, he opened his eyes and saw Maximilien, or what was left of him, his legs were missing and sparks were spraying everywhere from his body. He grabbed Jaguar by the throat and squeezed it shut.

Jaguar showed his claws, with his last strength he wanted to ram his claws into the Omnic's head and end the hunt once and for all. But that did not happen.

There was a shot and a hole gaped in the Omnic's temple, he fell lifeless to the side and lay still.

Tracer stood beside him and held her gun pointed in his direction. She put it away and ran towards him, kneeling beside him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You...came...back?" he gasped weakly.

"I just couldn't leave you behind, I just couldn't."

"Lena, of all the people I know, you surely have the biggest heart."

Tracer smiled, bent over and kissed him on the lips.

With great effort, Tracer helped Jaguar get up. She supported him and they both slowly stepped out of the temple. The others noticed them and Mercy led them to a medical helicopter and began to heal him.

Out of line, a man who was probably a high-ranking officer by his appearance turned to Soldier 76.

"Commander, is this man with you?"

The old soldier thought for a moment and then said.

"Yes, yes, he does!"