Crystalline Universe: Team Fortress 2/ Overwatch

The atmosphere was morbid as well as the expression on Azur's face. The wind outside screamed like voice despair as it passed through the slightly open window. The dark cloud covered the sun while the night slowly settled in. Carl, meanwhile, sat silently on his chair. He stared at the depressing climate outside of his windshield while he turned his spoon inside his soup.

Azur was lost in thoughts, she thought about what went so wrong with her life. She wondered if she was the cause of all the life and death situations she and her team faced.

"Maybe it was my fault after all. " Said Azur in whispers.

She gently leaned her head against the window and wiped the tears that remained on her cheeks.

"Karson and Mergiann... they have something for each other, right? Hm... maybe they fear that I would accidentally bring them the death they so feared for each other. Maybe I am indeed that clumsy... after all... Paxton... it was my fault. And yet... I'm here... unable to help for something I caused. " Said Azur calmly.

Azur slowly raised her palm and placed it against the window.

"And why did I also wrong Darlynn... she never did anything bad to me... and yet... she suffers for my mistake. Why do I never learn to be grateful? Why do I never learn to appreciate others and change my ways? Why am I so egocentric? "

It is now Azur slowly realized that she was alone. She has no friends, no family and no love. It was about loving what still exists, it was about changing one's way when it's still time, it was about learning to forgive.

Azur remembered the time Mergiann asked for her forgiveness on the train, where she coldly refused by mocking her. She remembered the time where Mergiann chose to save Karson instead of fighting Scaphism with her. Obviously, Karson was important to Mergiann's heart than Azur and yet, she insulted her for leaving her alone against Scaphism.

"If I were her, I would have done the same. Why help a jerk that hated you over someone that is dear to you. " Azur thought.

Azur reached out with her hand toward the sky while holding the shattered pieces of her sapphire.

[Azur] - "If I still have a chance, I will do it right. This isn't what I wanted. What I live right now is a result of my ego and I will pay it back with my own blood. "

As Carl slowly approached the spoon to his mouth, Azur suddenly barged inside the driver's cabin and accidentally spilled the bowl of soup over her legs.

[Carl-E] - "Calisse de tabarnak! Are f.u.c.k.i.n.g alright in the head? "

[Azur] - "Can we still find the Valentine brothers? "

[Carl-E] - "Emmerdé! My soup! "

[Azur] - "CAN WE FIND THE VALENTINE BROTHERS? "

[Carl-E] - "Why the f.u.c.k would you want to find them? Christ, do you need a towel, you got it all over your legs! "

[Azur] - "We need to go now! "

Carl threw the spoon on the floor and went into the kitchen to pick up the mop.

[Carl-E] - "Did they hit your head so damn hard that you forgot why are we hiding right now? "

[Azur] - "I need to go save my teammates before they hand them over to Mazzatello. "

[Carl-E] - "We barely managed to escape with our skins and you want to go back in there? "

[Azur] - "I'm their only hope, there is no other way! I'm going whether you want to help or not! I need to pay back what I owed them, I caused their misfortune and I alone am responsible. "

[Carl-E] - "So what? You are no match against them 4. I think in this case, if you aren't feeling suicidal, you should let it go. "

[Azur] - "Even if I die I should go... "

[Carl-E] - "Why are you suddenly so motivated to go rescue them? "

Azur took off her pants in a single go and threw them on the ground.

[Azur] - "Have you ever felt responsible for something you did? "

[Carl-E] - "Everyone has. "

[Azur] - "Then let me ask you. What if you are responsible for risking other people's lives? Will you let them die or rescue them, if they were your family and friends? Will you avenge them? "

[Carl-E] - "If I knew the effort was futile, I won't risk it. "

[Azur] - "Then what fuels your revenge? Your friend, he died in the hands of the Valentine brothers, enemies you know you won't win against and yet, you tempted your fate by trusting me to kill them. You could've lost your life as well. "

Carl remained silent. His mouth wanted to open, his words wanted a way out of his mind but with a bite to his lips, he kept his thoughts to himself.

[Azur] - "You feel guilty for his death, right? "

[Carl-E] - "Sigh! *nervously rubbing his cheeks* God damn it... this is suicide. "

[Azur] - "If we don't act today, there will be no next chance. If we got a shot, we gotta take it. I learned it the hard way. I forgot that I and my friends are a team so instead, I went off on my own and did my own thing. I never considered them, I only ever considered myself. "

[Carl-E] - "The story of a selfish person huh? "

Carl closed his eyes and recalled his past. The hands waved in the air as a younger Carl exchanged one last goodbye with his old tank crew. He remembered the sky to be clear and beautiful and the countryside road to be still muddy and watery from the rain. The picture they took of them standing in front of a mountain by the small river that ran beside the road.

In a flash, he remembered his friends who perished in combat one after another. And as he walked by the coffin of his dead pals, he thought to himself: "If only I didn't leave, if only I was there when it happened to them. "

Without losing a second, Carl rushed to his computer and activated the tracking device he implanted in Walter's neck.

[Carl-E] - "If we weren't too late, we can still make it. "

[Azur] - "Can you track them? "

[Carl-E] - "Here, they are close to a train station 30 minutes away from us. "

[Azur] - "Alright, let's go then! "

Minutes later, as Carl sped through the highway, Azur reappeared inside the driver's cabin with a pair of new short leather leggings.

[Carl-E] - "Let's hope that we can make it before anything happens to them. "

[Azur] - "What suddenly made you change your mind? "

[Carl-E] - "Because I wasn't able to save my friends... I never had the opportunity. I hope the same doesn't happen to you and also, this is my only chance if I want to avenge my friends. "

[Azur] - "And I have an actual plan this time. "

[Carl-E] - "You only have 4 of your 6 sapphires left, are you sure you can do this? "

[Azur] - "I will fight as long as 1 of my gems are left. "

[Carl-E] - "But I thought you guys aren't good friends. What made you change your mind? "

[Azur] - " No matter what conflict happened between us, I'm still responsible for putting them in this situation. I denied people that are truly my friends for too long. I will fight and die for those dear to me, for the only people I have as family and friends. Because this... is my mother's last words and My Way. "

Later Inside the train station, the local policemen forced passengers to stay away from a train, which was specially called for the Valentine brothers. After hiding their captives under the seats, the 3 brothers boarded the first wagon except for Ritter who was stationed in wagon 5 to guard the prisoners.

Meanwhile, after running through crowds of people waiting for their train, Azur and Carl arrived at the supposed train where the Valentine brothers were on. But they were a bit late as they arrived just as the train started to leave the station.

[Carl-E] - "Shit, we can't make it! "

[Azur] - "Oh yes, we can! Grab on! "

2 of Azur's sapphires arrived on Carl's hand and before he could protest, he was dragged onto the train tracks. Both he and Azur flew at high speed behind the train until Azur was able to get a hold of the train's back.

After cutting a circle into the 6th wagon's roof, Azur jumped inside followed by Carl. But upon their entry, they were quickly noticed by Ritter, who alerted the others.

[Azur] - "Well, that's off to a good start. "

[Carl-E] - "You tell me. "

Ritter tried to run but with a single dash, Azur caught up with him and forced him onto the ground.

[Azur] - "Talk or I'll rip your eyes out! Where are they? "

Ritter, with a forehead full of sweat, pointed at the seat with his trembling finger. Carl immediately checked the seat beside him to find Karson under it. Soon he pulled Mergiann and Darlynn out too and started untying their restrains.

[Azur] - "Come on, Carl, they are getting closer. "

[Carl] - "I'm going as fast as I humanly can! "

Azur, as the other brothers approached, start to back off to the wagon's rear. Meanwhile, Rudolf started to charge toward Azur's position with his fist ready.

[Azur] - "Holy shit! Here he comes! "

Carl shook Mergiann in an attempt to wake her up from her sleep but to no avail. He then tried with Karson and Darlynn but his attempts were also futile as he soon detected the dense odour of sleep medicine from their mouths.

Rudolf launched a punch toward Azur but when she blocked his fist to the right, a shock of energy came from her left and sent her flying into the wagon's wall. Now suffering from a few broken ribs, Azur slowly crawled back up with blood dripping out of her mouth.

[Rudolf] - "You again... You never knew when to quit huh? "

2 of Azur's Sapphires came from 2 different directions toward Rudolf but instead of hitting him, they harmlessly stopped upon contact with his skin. Azur stared at Rudolf in shock. "Could he be Albert instead? " Thought Azur in a panic. In an instant, Azur used her 2 other crystals to lift herself off the ground, just in time to dodge the energy deflection from the shield around Rudolf.

But acting quick, Rudolf dashed in and delivered another punch toward Azur's abdomen. But this time, Azur was ready, she freed the 2 sapphires in her hands and used them to protect both sides of her abdomen. This proved to be what saved her as the attack was successfully blocked.

Using one of her other gems that came back, she flew herself away from Rudolf toward Carl and moved the bodies of her teammates to the next wagon.

Meanwhile, as Rudolf bent over to check on Ritter, Albert and Walter advanced toward Azur's position. Both of them had their crystals glowing and ready to fight while Azur, despite her injuries, stood firmly her ground.

While they had their backs turned, the 2 other sapphires in Azur's arsenal came back to her from their backs.

[Albert] (with a smirk) - "Just surrender, Azur. If you dare strike one of us your friends will receive the full power of the shield. "

[Walter] - "And you know you don't have enough sapphires to save them all. "

[Azur] - "I know which one of you is Albert and I know on who you put your ability. "

[Albert] - "How could you know? We sound and look the same. "

[Azur] - "I recognize your stupid smirk. "

Albert turned around to see 2 fiery blu sapphires charging toward him and before he could do anything, one of them passed through his torso and another through his jaw. With a scream of pain, Albert fell to the floor while blood soaked his suit.

[Azur] - "It was in my intention to let you know that I recognize you. I knew if you know I won't attack you because of your ability, you will think I will attack your brother instead. So here, by giving your shield to him, you doomed yourself. "

[Walter] - "Brother! "

With a look of anger, Walter pulled a grenade out of his pocket and pulled the pin off it. The ensuing explosion's energy was absorbed into the shield which rapidly diverted the energy toward Azur. At this instant, Azur knew what she had to do. All of her 4 sapphires flew toward her friends to lift them off the ground while she stood still.

She has accepted her fate and she has done what is right. Just like her mother said: "Find your sister and make sure she is safe. Protect your friends, protect those that mean something to you. "

[Azur] - "This is My Way. "

To be continued... Next Chapter: [My Way (part 3)]

EXTRA:

-Profile: Walter Valentine

-Affiliation: Talon, member of the crystal executioners.

-Role: Minor antagonist

-Ability: [Terminator-1000]: "Allows Walter to fuse objects and people together upon contact with his hands. The fusing could be simple as getting someone stuck in a wall or as complicated as fusing someone with an object on a molecular level. Once coming into contact with Walter's hands, the target has almost no chance of escaping the grasp of his ability. "

-Backstory: "Walter was the delinquent child of the family with often violent outbursts and overall bad behaviour. He started drinking at the age of 14 and started smoking weed at the age of 15. As he grew, he became more and more of a douche toward people outside of his family. Throughout his career as an executioner, he committed 14 counts of ****, 23 counts of armed assault and 3 counts of war crimes and 2 homicides. His crimes were all dismissed and he never received any punishment for his acts. "

-ABILITY STATS:

Power - D

Speed granted by the ability - E

Speed of the ability - C

Range - E

Durability granted by the ability - E

Durability of the ability - A

Precision - B

Potential - E