Sometimes, brother, I wonder if the Western view of ending one's own life is more accurate.

Hanzo managed to find some boots and a short leather jacket in the armory when he finally made his way to the hangar. Genji's last words in their conversation still haunted him, and he had to admit his brother changed more than he anticipated. There were times he thought of just ending it, what he did would have required his own life in repayment. Yet he could never bring himself to commit suicide directly, and pride forbade him just allowing an enemy to kill him in combat. Why? Why not end it, it wasn't like he'd be missed; if anything, he'd be as forgotten to the world as Genji was to the clan. Maybe accepting the job here was a mistake, it wasn't like he gained anything from it. No, not true-attempts to reconcile with Genji and the possible referral aside, he did gain more knowledge about Ash, not that he could use it to his advantage. All he has now is her full name, bits of her family background and the fact she values family. Nothing useful, unless he wanted to spend the rest of his days begging her to kill him.

"Hanzo." He looked up and saw Evander-Solas-had run into him. They kept walking. Hanzo noted Solas armed himself with what looked like a thick bo.

"Solas-san." He said. "Is everything all right? Ash..."

"Sparrin' with some of the soldiers from Helix. Mercy darlin'll have her hands full today."

"Gives them quite the workout, hai?"

"She does. Listen, about what she said..."

"I did not like what she said, but that does not dispute her accuracy." As he recalled, while Solas did call Ash off, he didn't dispute what she said, which indicated he agreed with her.

"It doesn't. I'll tell ye right now that I agree with Ash, to a point. Ye fecked up, Hanzo, harmed yer family to support yer clan, only ta leave that clan to its own devices, which was a disaster in of itself. But this is not the time nor the place ta dispute it."

"We have a job to do."

"Aye. Some, though, they may not see it as such but do a better job of stayin' professional than me sister at times."

"You would mean Dr. Ziegler, of course."

"I do. She's fond of Genji, in a platonic way of course, an' she can nae comprehend anyone tryin' ta do family in anymore than we do."

"I will do my best not to burden her with unnecessary medical issues then." Solas stopped Hanzo and looked at him. Hanzo felt a moment of panic, only for it to dissapate.

"Now wait just a moment, boyo, I did nae say she'd not treat ye. She'll do her job, it's not like she'll just leave ye ta die if yer wounded."

"Perhaps it is best if she did." Solan then stared at him, and Hanzo felt the same pressure as when he called Ash down, only not as heavy. It felt calming, and at the same time it seemed to be looking for something. Hanzo steeled himself, and felt the pressure pause.

"You don't mean that. You want ta mean it, because ye feel that's what ye brought on yerself by yer own actions, but if ye wanted ta die in truth, ye'd have done yerself in that night. Or any of the other times between then an' now, Aesun knows ye've had many opportunities."

"Yes, I believe the term is called "suicide by combat". How is the taking of one's own life so horrible? I did wrong, I need to atone."

"By rushin' yerself ta divine judgement? By throwin' away the life the divine gives us?"

"I threw away my life a long time ago, Solas-san."

"Yer still here, aren't ye? Ye fecked up with Genji, no disputin' that, and yet he lives an' forgives ye. Ye have a chance ta fix what ye broke last decade, Hanzo. Not many people get a second chance, let alone deserve one. That ye live now, an' tryin' ta fix what ye broke, at least with Genji for now, that's bravery." Hanzo then stared at Solas, trying to comprehend. Yes, he knew the Western view of suicide was one of disapproval, one of outrage and despair. But for it to be the sign of a coward?

"How? How is my still being alive a sign of bravery?"

"Because ye have a chance ta balance out the red in yer ledger. There's no erasin' it, ye just have ta live with it an' do yer best ta do better. Here, right now? It's a start." Hanzo felt the pressure disappear altogether and they resumed walking. They finally reached the hangar, where Pharah was waiting. To the side, Hanzo saw Genji, and Mercy treating at least three Helix soldiers. Then he saw Ash, smirking.

"Ash-san." Hanzo said, bowing.

"Hanzo." Ash replied. "See ye got yerself attired proper, just in time too. We're about to conduct our first patrol."

"You sound cheerful about that-too cheerful."

"An' why shouldn't I be? We're paired up, you and I. The other soldiers, they're decent enough in a fight, but you make it worthwhile."

"What a joyous thought." Solas couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'll be here monitorin' ye all here." He said. "Ash, try to behave yerself out there darlin'."

"I can say the same fer you, Evander." Ash replied. "Don't think I don't know what goes through that mind of yours amidst these handsome men."

"Oh, I'll be good if they let me-very good." Ash laughed at that. For a moment, Hanzo felt envy at their bond. They're so easy with each other, so accepting of each other's quirks and are able to call them down without crossing lines. Did it come natural, or was it a result of them being the youngest of each gender in their family? Did he even have that bond with Genji, or was it as much an illusion as he fears redemption is? His thoughts were interrupted by a giant mech crashing into the hangar. He recognized it as one of the mechs that was fighting the Titan earlier and it only popped up for him because it looked like a crude pink bunny. A young woman-girl-came running right behind it, wearing a jumpsuit and looking worried. Was that the pilot? By the dragons, are the Koreans recruiting children?

" darlin', what is it?" Solas asked, looking at the mech.

"Something's up with my mech!" cried. "It just up and flew on its own! I don't know what's going on!"

"I believe ye, dear." His hands then glowed silver, and Hanzo saw that his laser visor came up and the silver glow hit the mech. "Shite, this mech's been hacked!" That was when the mech, its glass window now sporting an odd skull logo on it, began firing. Everyone took cover, except whom Hanzo had to drag to cover as she fired on it.

"Are you insane?!" Hanzo said. kept firing from the cover.

"No one hacks my mech!" shouted. "I hate hackers! They give those of us with real skill a bad name!"

"Solas! Can you gain control of the mech?"

"I'm tryin', but I'll need cover!" Solas answered. "I know this code, this hacker-though this is big even for her."

"We will give you what cover we can!" He then shot an arrow at it, rushing out from cover to get its attention. It worked, because the hacked mech started focusing on him. The other soldiers fired on it as well, trying to stop it. Even Mercy, known for her conscientious objectons even during the days of Overwatch, was firing at it with a small pistol. The mech was too well-armored to be brought down by their attacks, even Pharah's rocket barage made no dent in it. Genji rushed in throwing shruikens at it, and that distracted the mech long enough for Solas to leap on it and to get into the systems. The skull logo still remained, bar the slighest hint of static for a moment.

"Bloody, soddin' bitch!" Solas shouted. "Hold tight, folks, this is going to take a while!" Hanzo was ready to resume his attack. He had to duck when the mech unleashed its fusion cannons, and his arrows bounced off when the shield came up.

"젠장!" said. Oh shit. The mech had started to glow. "The hacker's activated the self-destruct! It's gonna blow in ten seconds!"

"Solas!" Hanzo called. "Tell us you are able to regain control!"

"I almost got it...there!" Solas said, and the mech glowed silver, the skull logo gone. "Crap!" Hanzo was about to ask what was wrong when the mech activated its boosters and crashed through the wall. It was outside the base and was flying higher and higher, the silver glow still encompassing it. Seconds later, the mech exploded, yet the explosion wasn't as intense as it should have been. It was almost as though the mech was enclosed when it detonated. Hanzo registered another sound that occured when the mech exploded, that of a body crashing into the wall. He turned from the view of the explosion to see Solas slumped against a nearby wall, having impacted it as though flung backwards.

"Evander!" Ash cried, rushing towards him. Mercy wasn't far behind, her Caduceus staff drawn and glowing. He saw the yellow stream glow from it to Solas, who started to stir as the biotic healing did its work. Ash held her brother even when the healing stream was turned off. He stirred, and gripped both her hand and Mercy's.

"I'm all right, sweetheart." He said. "It's going to take more than that to do me in." Ash responded by punching him in the arm.

"Don't you dare make me worry like that, Evander MacLorcan, or I swear to Aesun I'll make ye regret it!" Solas just smiled and cupped her face.

"I'm fine, Ashlyn. I swear to ye on that. See? Mercy darlin's done grand healin' me."

"What did you do to yourself?" Hanzo asked. Solas waved off both women's concern and stood up.

"There wasn't time to deactivate the self-destruct, so I shielded the bastard and got it to a safe distance."

"That was a shield you threw?"

"Aye, fer cases like this. Or in the event protection's required, I can shield others. Obviously, there's a price to this. Felt the impact of the explosion right through the shield an' it sent me flyin'."

"You're lucky you weren't hurt worse!" Mercy cried.

"Better me than innocents, Mercy darlin', when it comes down to it."

"Regardless, I need to do an examination before clearing you." She started dragging him to the infirmary.

"Aww, come now Angie, I'm fine! I promise."

"We will see." Solas was about to protest further when Mercy gave him a look. "Evander. Do not make me have to call Sabrina." That got a wide-eyed look from him. Just who was Sabrina? Then Hanzo realized they spoke of their sister, the doctor, Mercy's old schoolmate and friend. Of course.

"No! Don't you dare call her! I'll not have her worryin' herself sick over me, not in her condition!"

"Condition? Is Sabrina sick?" Solas swore to himself.

"No, she's not sick; she's pregnant. She just found out herself, she's fine, in full health as is the babe, who is due next spring."

"That's wunderbar!"

"Aye, it is. Do me a favor, next time she calls ye, don't mention I told ye. She wants ta do it herself, so when she does? Act surprised."

"I can do that, if you come with me to the infirmary. And let me do a full examination. And go on bedrest for the rest of the day." Solas just groaned. It would appear the good doctor had a way of handling him.

"Fine. But you're not telling Coriander or Donovan either. Or their wives. Or Bri's husband. Not unless ye find somethin' worth fussin' over. That goes for you too Ashlyn."

"Pft. As if I'd tell Cory anything anyway." Ash replied, though with about half the cheek Hanzo was used to her saying. It indicated she was worried too. "As for Donny an' Bri, I won't say anythin', not unless somethin' happens. But if they find out, it's on yer head."

"Ye did nae mention Melanie, Daphne an' Alasdair."

"I don't have to, they apply by extension, an' I know better than to mention it ta the kids."

"Good. Ye know where I keep the equipment. Get everyone linked wit' comms an' bring me tablet. I can monitor from a sick bed, Angie, before ye say anythin'. Besides, ye know the nieces an' nephews call me from time to time. Do YOU want to tell them their favorite's uncle's hurt?"

"...Nein. Not unless I have to, and I pray I don't. Let's go then."

"That's a girl. Hanzo!"

"Hai?" Hanzo said. Evander gripped his hand and shoved a small disc in it; it was a silver trinket, shaped like a wolf.

"Take care of Ashlyn out there, an' yerself."

"I will." Hanzo bowed as Solas let Mercy lead him off. Ash stood up, looked at the disc he held.

"He trusts ye." Ash said. "Probably more than he should, but he sees somethin' in ye ta give ye that."

"Your family's crest I assume?" Ash just gave a small smile.

"Don't assume, Hanzo. It make an arse out of you an' me. But in this case, yes, it is our crest."

"Solas-Evander, he said he knew the hacker."

"He did. We've seen this work before-have ye heard of the Sombra collective?"

"I have heard mention of them. A group of hackers penetrating the defenses of corporations with strong government ties, most recently LumériCo and Volskaya Industries."

"Yes. Evander has his theories about Sombra. The most telling is that we're not dealing with a collective." Hanzo just stared at her, pocketing the crest. Ash handed him a comm which he placed in his ear.

"You can not mean to say this was done by one person, the attacks on those corporations were done by one person."

"Person's skilled enough, persistent enough, they can hack everywhere at every time. It'd be easy, with the intensity and number of the attacks, to think it's a group."

"We are dealing with someone very dangerous then, someone popular with the general public." Ash snorted.

"Not as popular as ye think. She has her admirers, no doubt of that, but anyone with half a brain cell can see her for what she is-a hacker whose hat is as black as her name."

"Her name?" Hanzo looked to Genji, not understanding.

"Her name means ",影", brother." Genji explained. Shadow. "Ash, what makes you think this is a woman?"

"There were some taunts, when Evander would have a go at what was planted. It sounded feminine, an' he didn't detect signs of a voice scrambler. Plus he talked wit' some of the guards at Volskaya, what was left of them anyway. They described a woman, Hispanic, with augmentations all around. Sucker bet that's Sombra, gentlemen."


In a warehouse several blocks from the base, Reaper heard Sombra swore. She had managed to hack one of the mechs and for a while, got control. But moments after she activated the self-destruct, she was kicked out and the mech traveled out of where it was and exploded high into the sky. Reaper was looking out the window and remarked on the explosion.

"We have a problem." Reaper said.

"Damn right we do!" Sombra replied. "They got someone who can counter me."

"Can you get back in?"

"I'm trying! They beefed up their security since then, I'm trying to get thr-hijo de puta!" Reaper heard growling in the background, a wolf's growl, and Sombra's screen turned silver. He shot the computer immediately. "Damnit!"

"We were almost compromised. You can get a new rig."

"Fuck the rig! I know who we're facing. Goody-two-shoes white hat I tangled with before, goes by Solas. He travels sometimes, with this girl-"

"Ash. That's his sister. They've been causing trouble on our bases lately-he gets our info, she destroys the base, and everyone in it. After some...words."

"After torture. You mean these are the guys gunning for Talon? The psicópatas?"

"She'd be the psycho, Sombra. He makes sure she doesn't go too far, and it's not Talon's head they're after, that's the bonus; it's mine they want."

"Yours?" Sombra wheeled around and looked at the black-cloaked wraith. "So you know them."

"Yes. Their real names are Evander and Ashlyn MacLorcan. DO NOT go looking into them, not unless you want them and the rest of that family on your ass."

"And these two are on your ass because..."

"I killed their father."

"Wow. That's...that explains plenty. So what now?"

"Pack it up, move out. Set up the contingency."

"Seriously?! Aren't you going to tell me more about MacLorcan-"

"NO! This family isn't a force you want to tangle with, Sombra."

"Could say the same for you. I mean, come on, killing their father? That's why their spree against us, isn't it?"

"Had to be done."

"At least tell me what "Solas" means! Come on..." Reaper paused. Then decided to throw Sombra a bone, if only to cease her whining.

"It's Irish for "light". Now move!" Sombra rolled her eyes and went to set up the contingency. Reaper felt a headache coming on. Damn Ash and Evander for coming here. They could have taken advantage of the chaos in Busan. Except he saw Ziegler. And Amari, well, Amari younger. Part of him thrilled-more to take down for his suffering, especially Ziegler. Self-righteous little bitch. She did this to him, THEY did this to him. They will pay.

"A complication already?" His associate asked. "I thought we had this, Reaper-san." Oh, right. The damn rep from the Shimada clan. Probably the only one left, considering.

"A minor setback. Nothing we can't handle." Reaper replied. "Any news from Hanamura?"

"They had Hanzo-san, but he escaped. No one saw the other one, how unfortunate."

"Intel spotted them with the relief unit."

"Both of them?" Reaper nodded. "Excellent. Just remember we need Hanzo-san alive. My clan has...personal matters to take care of regarding him. Do what you will with the other."

"Understood." He owed Genji, like the rest of Overwatch. Ungrateful little snot...they gave him a home, after he fell out with the clan, a new body and how does he thank them? Ups and leaves first opportunity after dismantling the Shimada. On the bright side, he did get to know the younger Shimada-he was charming, charismatic, knew far more about the business as a whole than anyone gave him credit for. Hanzo may have been the heir, but Genji had, in his opinion, far more leadership potential than his brother. They were both certainly more preferable than the rep with him, and Reaper had to wonder just how unstable that one was.

Either way, he could see why, tradition aside, the elders wanted Genji to take a more active role.