Morning came before she knew it and it was off to the office. Once there she set back to work. After a couple hours she received a call. It was Genji.
"Hello, Genji," she greeted him.
"Greetings," he returned, his voice sounded a bit troubled, "How are you today Angela.
"I'm doing alright, how about you," she responded.
"Not too bad; I called because I thought you might like to know that I am offering to help Winston with the Overwatch recall," he said.
Somewhat surprised she remarked, "Oh, really? Well that's um, that's really good I know they could use your help, especially since Doomfist escaped."
"Since you're not here I can assume you did not desire to return to the group and I understand why," Genji began, "I am not calling to try and persuade you to return, I am merely informing you of a couple things."
"What would that be," she questioned
"Winston has received Intel from Fareeha; She says that her mother is alive," he revealed.
Mercy gasped, "are you serious?"
"Indeed, apparently her mother was working under an alias ever since her accident; what's more, Ana discovered that both Jack and Gabe are alive as well," he continued.
"I can't believe it," she murmured.
"I know it's shocking," he went on, "lastly Ana would like to speak with you and was hoping that you would be in contact with Winston; What would you like me to tell them.
"Give them my number please," she told him.
"Will do; I have to go now Angela, be safe," he urged.
"You too Genji," she replied. The call ended and she let out an exasperated sigh. How would she focus on work now. A knock on her door startled her and in came her omnic assistant.
"Hello Dr Ziegler, where shall we go for lunch today," it inquired. She looked at her watch and sure enough lunchtime had crept up on her. They went out into the Oasis city and found a restaurant nearby she had yet to visit.
"Hello, um do you serve deli style sandwiches here?" Angela asked the cashier
"We can get you anything you want miss...for a price," the cashier replied.
Angela shot the woman a confused look, "I'm sorry what?"
"What I meant was you can create a dish based on many of the items you see on the menu but I can't guarantee the price won't be outrageous," the cashier warned. Angela nodded and bought a normal menu item. For the rest of the day she couldn't shake that statement for some reason. It distracted her from her work. More so, it made her think about some of the consequences of her work. Specifically, how was Gabe alive. Feeling that she had done enough today she left the office. Back at home she went through her usual evening routine. She got into bed and turned on the tv. She had expected a call from Ana but nothing yet. 3 people she thought to be dead; Alive. What would come of these discoveries? Unsure of her feelings and feeling only somewhat tired she figured she would take some melatonin to help her sleep. Help with sleep was exactly what she needed.
"And I can help you sleep you know," a woman said.
Angela thought about the prospect for a moment then replied, "Maybe if the melatonin doesn't do the trick." She shifted uneasily on the sofa; it was definitely much more comfortable when she had laid down on it before.
"Is everything alright," the woman asked.
"I'm just a little uncomfortable is all," she responded, "I'm not sure how things turned out the way they did, it's all really hard to process."
"I can imagine," the woman started, I imagine it brings up a lot of emotions and feelings of regret. You might think of things you could've done differently. Maybe you should've worked harder to keep the peace; maybe you should've focused more on your projects. Or perhaps you should've done things entirely different from the start. There's no reason they shouldn't have listened to you. Why wouldn't you listen to your healer. Your savior."
"Savior?" Angela thought out loud, "That's a bit much don't you think?"
"I think it's not enough actually," she offered. Puzzled, Angela sat up and looked over. It was her, the woman that looked like her. This time she sported horns some black markings on her forehead. "You were saying something?" the woman kept on.
"I'm not talking to you, get out of my head," Angela commanded her. The woman shook her head in response. Irritated, Angela stood up and moved to leave. "You look like a devil," she called back.
"You can call me that if you wish," Devil shot back. Angela opened the door to find there was absolutely nothing outside the door. There was literally a wall behind the door. She shut it then opened it again. "It's a wall sweetheart," Devil informed her. Angela glared back at her. Devil motioned for her to sit down.
"No thank you," she declined. Devil shrugged and leaned back in her seat.
"How's our cyborg heartthrob doing," she cooed, "I'm sure he brought up a few feelings."
"Shut up," Angela retorted. Devil's eyebrows raised.
"The things I could do to him; and by I, I mean you of course," she went on.
"I told you to shut up," Angela grew louder.
"Fight me, bitch," Devil spat. Hearing those words directed at her in the sound of her own voice reached a new level of shock for Angela and elicited from her a brand new facial expression. She's not exactly sure what it looked like, but Devil was clearly amused as she roared with laughter. "That's what I thought; now are you gonna stand over there and whine like a soft fuck or are you going to do something," she threatened. Angela was silent. Rather than continue to be harassed she figured she'd do the sensible thing. She closed her eyes. "Oh so you think you can just ignore me, huh," Devil shouted. She stood and and moved towards Angela.
"Stay back," she warned. She drew her pistol and held it up, although her arms shook. Devil noticed this and hesitantly took a step forward.
Devil began taunting her, "You sleep with your pistol now? Something you need protection from? Afraid your old friends might show up at the door?"
"Why would they come looking for me?" she implored.
"Who are you asking?" Devil joked. She gave the pistol a disapproving look. "We both know you aren't going to kill anyone; at least not like that, not intentionally," she mocked, " Now put that away before I hand you your ass."
Angela frowned in disgust, "The things you're saying, I would never say; you're not me." She lowered her pistol. Devil grinned; a very, very devilish grin. There was a loud bang followed by silence. Then there were several loud bangs.
Someone was banging on the door. Angela rolled out of bed with a powerful headache. At her door was a delivery man with a package. She signed for the package and went back inside. Today was Saturday so she didn't have to work. She took some headache meds and crawled back into bed. Before long she had fallen asleep again. She found herself at a school. She walked through the hallway and made her way to her classroom. When she got there class had already began. Several eyes followed her to her seat.
"Ms. Ziegler since you were late perhaps you would like to lead us in a discussion about the mental drawbacks of utilizing nanotechnology without a tool," the professor addressed her. Angela looked around the room, embarrassed. A few people chuckled.
She took a breath and spoke, "Uh, well, for starters there are many ways to use nanotechnology but it should always be used with a tool or on a tool unless there's an emergency. Many people want to weaponize nanotechnology but it's not completely safe for the human mind."
"You'd know all about that wouldn't you," laughed a classmate. Angela turned red and looked over at...herself...in red. Devil was clad in a red outfit; it was stylized version of the valkyrie suit. She waved at Angela with a knowing smile on her face. Angela jumped up and ran out of the room followed by a cacophony of laughter. She sprinted right out of her heels, sprinted until tears streamed from her eyes and everything blurred into lines. Her heart raced in her chest and she struggled to catch her breath. Sitting up in bed, she found it quite difficult to keep her eyes open. She could barely stand and stumbled around the room as if her head was too heavy. 5 missed calls from 2 unknown numbers. The time on her phone was currently 12:50. Dammit had she really slept this late. She called the first number back.
"Hello," came a familiar voice.
"Ana is that you? My god I can't believe it. What happened? What did you need to talk to me about?" she asked all at once.
"Angela there's no time. You have to hurry. There's a lot happening right now in the world and if you're going to be of any help, YOU HAVE TO UNLEASH ME AT ONCE!" snarled Devil's voice. Angela pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it like it hurt her. She could hear Devil's mocking laughter as she stared at the phone number. The time read 13:67. 'What the hell,' Angela thought. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Looking around she was definitely in her bedroom. She felt fine, albeit still quite tired. She checked her phone; it was 11:28, Saturday, July 15. With a heavy sigh she crawled out of bed and washed her face. She would have to schedule a doctor's appointment on Monday and do something about her sleep issues.
