Hanzo woke in a cold sweat, the most recent nightmare still fresh in his mind. He had dreamed of an old fairy tale about a nightingale who sang for an emperor, but the version in his mind was a horror. Instead of the nightingale being banished, it was taken by the emperor's courtiers and literally torn apart. Wings were broken off and feathers were plucked, only to be replaced with strips of gold and several jewels adorning it. Then the insides were gutted and replaced with clockwork and crystal, and the nightingale was made to sing only for the courtiers and only what the courtiers wanted it to sing. In essence, the nightingale had become the clockwork one that replaced it, and like that clockwork nightingale, this mangled creature sang and sang until it was worn out, but the courtiers still wanted more. They brought out their creation all the time, and deep inside its gilded prison, the nightingale could hear the foreign visitors from the court. At first, the sounds from these foreign visitors were barely a whisper but as they got louder, the nightingale heard mocking laughter and condescending words. Many of these words called the nightingale pathetic, and some showed pity to the emperor, before and after his death left the courtiers in charge. The nightingale screamed as the courtiers drove the empire to ruin and the snide comments from foreign visitors became louder and louder, and soon they turned to screams of outrage and fighting broke out. One by one, the courtiers fell but no one spared a second glance at the nightingale. Those who did shook their heads and remarked on its pathetic state, how it would have been better off dead, instead of now living in disgrace with broken wings.
"Hanzo." Hanzo looked at his side and saw Genji next to the bed he was lying in. Hanzo looked around, they were in some sort of room. His bow and quiver were in a corner, and he was dressed in a simple T-shirt and pants. "Are you all right, ani-san?"
"I...what happened?" Hanzo asked. "Where are my usual clothes?"
"A medical assistant found us in that alley you directed us to, and you almost choked him to death. He pushed a panic button that alerted his superior, and you were sedated. We brought you here to examine you-"
"I am fine!"
"Did you miss the part of you choking someone who approached us and reached out?"
"I...I can not explain that. All I saw was a man reaching out to us and I just reacted."
"What do you think that says, brother?"
"That perhaps...perhaps I am more strained than I am willing to admit. My clothes?"
"Removed to prevent infection. I was with you the entire time, it's why you're not restrained." Hanzo wanted to protest, but somewhere inside he was relieved that he was left be.
"What exam, exactly, did they do to me?"
"I asked for a rape kit-"
"I told you nothing happened!"
"That was not what I saw! You were covered in blood, and your attackers were dead or unconscious with their gentillia mutilated, including the woman. One of those who survived admitted to the intent of using rape to force you to comply with the clan as well as produce a heir they can control. Considering that, can you blame me for wanting to make sure you were all right, at least physcially?"
"...what did the exam find?"
"It was not conducted. Dr. Zeigler wanted you conscious and coherent before asking your consent to proceed with any sort of exam."
"So aside from a change of clothes, I was not touched." Genji nodded. Hanzo looked at Genji, he could still tell his brother worried. "The last thing I remember was the elders capturing me, chaining me. They said they would remind me of my place, and...and then nothing, a blank, beyond the feeling of flesh touching flesh. The next thing I knew, you were there, and the elders and woman were slaughtered. I...I remember you talking to one of them, and then you decapitated everyone. Then we left."
"I had to make sure they were dead. That seemed like a gurantee."
"Why did you stay? At the castle? I thought you would be gone after our engagement."
"I needed to get something. I had just found it when I heard the commotion in the courtyard." Genji then went to get Hanzo's quiver and brought out the box he found. Hanzo could only stare in shock-Genji stayed behind, to obtain this? He reached for the box and stared at it.
"Mother's treasure box. You came for this. She wanted us to work together."
"Yes, but she was not as the elders were. Her instruction was more gentle, and she would find subtle ways, such as her treasure box. I knew where she hid it-"
"But I knew how to open it." Their mother's box, where she kept her most valued treasures. Hanzo hadn't seen it in years, not since her death, but he still remembered how it opened. It was a small wooden box, one with subtle clockworks that kept it sealed. It could only be opened if one knew how to work the raised knobs and their winding paths. Hanzo gave him back the box then leapt out of the bed. He found a pair of slip-ons by the bed and put those on. He then grabbed his bow and quiver and began to leave. He was stopped at the door by two women-one was obviously a doctor from the white coat and field kit, the other a soldier with blue armor. The doctor was blonde and blue-eyed and was also carrying a long staff, the soldier dark in skin and hair and sported a tattoo below her right eye. Under any other circumstances, Hanzo would have barged through both of them, but for some reason he stood back, let them in. The day was stressful, his body wasn't accepting of any touch right now.
"Dr. Ziegler." He said, nodding to the blonde, who responded with her own nod. Of course...Genji was rescued by Overwatch, it would have made sense that his life would be saved by their head of medical research. Especially given the amount of damage he did.
"Shimada." She answered. "How are you feeling?"
"As I was just telling Genji, I am fine."
"Really? Given your first reaction to someone reaching for you was to choke them, I have to be skeptical about that."
"A minor reaction brought on by stress. Nothing you need to concern yourself about, nor your protection." He indicated the soldier, who stood ready in case he should snap again and Hanzo wondered why in the world she was familiar.
"That remains to be seen." The soldier said. "Doctor, are you certain we can trust him?"
"To be honest, Pharah, I don't." She replied. "However, we will need aid here."
"Are you mad?! He is an assassin, a murderer, hell he tried to kill his own brother!"
"And he did not succeed. We could use his skill here. The Omnic caused a lot of chaos in Busan, and as much as I loathe it, we need help to stop the damage from escalating. Or worse, to keep Talon from exploiting this to their advantage."
"But Hanzo Shimada? You know what he is, Angela, what he is capable of. Plus, you've heard the news about his clan, about Talon."
"I know what remains of his clan is allied with Talon, Fareeha. I also know, thanks to our friends, that he's at odds with his clan."
"And if he turns on us in an attempt to reconcile with them?"
"I will not." Hanzo said. "They do not believe in forgiveness, nor redemption. Not to mention the clan is in such disarray that perhaps they are not so much as allied with Talon, but absorbed by it. Either way, I will not rush to their side."
"At a price."
"Such is this business, Pharah is it?"
"Captain. Captain-"
"Amari." He realized it when he got a better look at her tattoo, the same tattoo possessed by Ana Amari, one of the original members of the Overwatch strike team. Except this woman was too young to be the legendary sharpshooter, who had died in a mission not long before Overwatch's fall.
"You know my name."
"I did not realize it until I recognized your tattoo. You are, I assume, your mother's daughter."
"We can't afford to pay you. We already have two other mercenaries with us, but...Angela's right, your skills would be useful."
"I am not unreasonable, Captain Amari. I am willing to make a trade in lieu of payment. Your other mercenaries?"
"A brother-sister team. He's a specialist in cyber warfare, she's more for close range. You, on the other hand, would be more for range attacks. If I agree to a trade, you would work under me and my unit, you would answer to me as would the other two mercenaries."
"That sounds reasonable. And my services would be traded for..."
"A reference from Helix. I would imagine such would be useful in your line of work, and yes I would be authorized to offer such." Hanzo stared at her-a reference from Helix Security would be useful in obtaining more mercenary work, work that was legitimate and the potential employers unlikely to betray him for whatever the clan or Talon may offer, if they kept their word.
"In that case, you have a sniper Captain. Your first order?"
"Get yourself a physical then meet me in the hangar ASAP."