The sun peeked over the horizon. The waves along the shore were washed in a warm amber, and the chill of the morning breeze cooled her skin. She listened to the calls of the seagulls as they flew overhead, sitting on a granite outcrop which twinkled against the sunlight. Her lungs filled with salty air as she watched the waters crash onto the shore, foaming and receding.

"Greetings."

Unexpectedly broken out of her reverie, her head landed in a bed of grass as she lost her balance and fell backwards. An upside-down silhouette of a head came into her vision.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concerned tones.

She pushed herself back onto her rock, looking at him up and down. "So this is what's become of you, huh?" She scowled. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes," he replied, sitting himself on the rock beside her, "a moment of peace. I have much to think about."

The two sat in silence for a while, the serene sounds of the early morning accompanying their thoughts.

She couldn't ignore it any longer. "Y'know, you're really hard to look at."

He bowed his head sadly. "I know. I could hardly look at myself as well."

"No, I mean, the sun is reflecting off of your face." She paused. "It's going right into my eyes. Pretty blinding."

"Oh." He tilted his head. "Better?"

"Yes."

They continued their shared moment of silence. The cyborg picked up a stick from the ground and began picking at the dirt in front of him absently.

She watched him. "Doesn't it bother you?" she said softly, "being in that thing?"

He stopped scratching at the dirt, thinking about his answer. "It does. But it is keeping me alive. For that I am grateful."

"Yeah," the girl said, glancing at the glowing artifact on her chest, "I guess I feel the same way."

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"Long story." She looked up, watching the trek of the clouds which fleeced the sky. "Made short, though, I got a little… stuck. The place I was trapped in—I don't really remember much of it." She shuddered. "I just remember it was cold, and it was terribly, terribly dark and lonely."

"I am sorry."

"Don't be."

He watched the sky with her. It was gradually shifting to brighter hues. "At least, you are here now. You are alive."

"I know that." She smiled. "I'm just… a little sad, and a little scared. Being here now, I can't help but think about what my parents and sisters are doing. What are they thinking? Are they missing me? Are they crying? Have they accepted what's happened?" She tucked her head between her knees, and continued more softly, "do they think I'm dead, lost hope? My skin felt like it would crack and break off from the cold while I was trapped, and this little thing—" She touched the humming little device on her chest "—is the only thing keeping me anchored here. What if I get lost again? If I get stuck in a place where there's no concept of time and continuity, an eternal hell?"

"You will not."

The girl became angry, annoyed. "How can you be so sure about that?"

"Winston and Doctor Ziegler will never let that happen."

The statement was made with such firmness and certainty it brokered no argument. The girl calmed down and returned her gaze skywards. "I know that too," she admitted after a moment. "It's just that there's this little voice in the back of my head nagging at me sometimes; 'If I've been there before, I could fall back there again'. They've done so much for me, and I just give them a hard time. Especially Winston, he was the one who made this." She sighed. "They must be absolutely knackered at my behavior. I just really miss my family. I want to see them again and cry into their shoulders. I want to go home."

The sun was brighter now, the rich auburn slowly transitioning into blue.

The girl broke the silence. "I don't think I caught your name."

"My name is Genji," he answered.

"Lena," she responded in kind, "but all the records here know me as 'Tracer'."

"Why?"

Lena shrugged. "The great ape said something about secrecy and confidentiality, but it's all bollocks if you ask me." She turned to him. "And who were you before this? What's your story?"

"I do not know. It was they who told me what my name was."

She stared at the cyborg. "Are you having me for a laugh?"

"It is true. My earliest memory is waking up here. But I know I'm from Japan."

"That's a first!" she laughed, "you're totally off your trolley, ain'tcha?"

Genji looked down. "No. I am on this rock."

Tracer stared at him for a moment—and lost it. The cyborg watched her as she shook and rolled on the patch of grass, convulsing in mirth. Her guffaw rang across the shoreline. After a long, cathartic moment of laughing with fingers pressed to her sides, she wiped a tear from an eye and said, "you're really something else, you know that? Oh, that felt good." She took a deep breath and smiled at Genji. "I really needed that. Thank you." Specks of dirt clung to her ponytail.

The cyborg felt as though he completely lost track of the situation. He decided not to question it as he replied, "you are welcome. Thank you too, for listening to me."

"Aw, don't be so stiff!" she said cheerfully, getting back up the rock and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get some breakfast. I've been up since five and I haven't eaten a thing. I'm famished!"

The cyborg's gaze was locked onto the sky. He didn't move a muscle as he studied the horizon. Noticing this, Tracer asked, "what's wrong, cat got your tongue?"

"There is a fleet of aircraft approaching us. Seven of them."

"What?" she asked, following his gaze. "I can't see a thing." Tracer stood up. "It's probably another delivery or transport carrier. They just came to receive a shipment a few days ago. Come on, let's go."

He stood up, but approached the shore. "They are flying very close to the water. Their bodies are black, like obsidian."

"That's not right… aircraft that comes through here are always white, slashed in grey." She glanced uncertainly out into the sea. "Are you sure you're seeing right?"

"I am." Genji turned to Lena. "We must go to Winston. Maybe he would know—"

Without warning, the cyborg collapsed onto the ground, clutching his head.

"Genji? Genji!" yelled Lena, panicking, "what's wrong? What's happened to you?"

"Pain," he whimpered, "so much pain. Make it stop, please! The burning…"

"Oh, what do I do, what do I do…" Tracer muttered to herself, looking around, hoping an answer would present itself around the corner. Unfortunately, rocks and the quizzical beady stares of seagulls did little to help her situation.

She tried to hoist him onto her back. Too heavy. He wouldn't stay on from his constant shaking either. She tried to drag him across the ground. Better luck would be found trying to move a fire hydrant!

At a loss of what to do, Lena leaned down and said as reassuringly as she could, trying to keep her voice level, "I'm going to get help. I'll come back for you as fast as I can, I promise!" With that, she ran for the door, slamming it open with her shoulder as she sprinted for the control center.