The sound of a bugle playing a familiar tune drifted into Lena's dream, pulling the brunette out slightly.

"Wake up!"

Lena let out a surprised yelp, rolling out of bed and hitting the floor. She quickly scrambled to her feet and moved into a salute position, her gaze falling on a grinning Vasha, a phone in her hand. She realized then what her companion had done, and she gave her a look.

"Oh, very funny Vasha," the brunette said, giving her friend a shove.

Vasha laughed, putting her phone away before she said, "Come on, breakfast is ready."

"Hold on, let me get dressed." Lena went to where she'd set her jacket down last night, slipping it on and doing up the zipper. She slipped on her socks and shoes before she picked up her accelerator, strapping it on her chest.

"You want to brush your hair too?" Vasha asked from where she was leaning against the doorframe, watching.

Lena glanced upwards, blowing a spike out of her eyes. "What's wrong with my hair?"

Vasha smiled slightly. "Nothing; still haven't managed to tame it, huh?"

Lena gave her a look, and Vasha laughed again.

"Come on."

"The problem is basically this: we've been testing some new prototypes for defense robots, but they keep showing up destroyed. None of the machinery is missing, so it's not someone harvesting them for parts, but it's still troubling."

"The craters in the walls and the ground are troubling as well," Winston said.

"Yeah, you would think something that could create that kind of force would be easy to find, and yet we have no idea who or what is behind this," Vasha said with a frown. Lena could tell that her friend was more troubled than she would let on.

"How can we help?" Lena asked.

"We're going to send out three new prototypes, and you can each monitor one from a hidden location. With any luck, one of you will at least see the culprit," Vasha replied.

"You do not want us to engage?" Genji asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

Vasha shook her head. "Not until we know what we're up against; I don't want to go into this blind and end up with someone getting injured."

Lena smiled slightly; she may not be a pilot anymore, but Vasha was still a squadron leader; always aware of her team and putting their safety above everything else.

"Oi, how's your site looking big guy?"

A pause before Winston replied, "Nothing has changed since you asked five minutes ago, Lena."

"I'm just checking," the brunette said.

"You were so not made for recon missions," Vasha said with a laugh.

Lena scowled. "I'm not that impatient."

"It's only been an hour and you're already restless."

"You can't even see me—"

"Trust me, I know."

Lena made a face, but didn't respond to that. It was true, she wasn't a huge fan of just sitting and waiting; that was more of a sniper's job. She hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary yet, and for Numbani's sake, she hoped that would change. The brunette let out a sigh, shifting her position and stretching her cramping legs.

There was the sudden sound of crunching metal, and Lena straightened up, putting a hand to her ear. "Who is that, is everyone okay?"

"I have eyes on the suspect; I am in pursuit!" came Genji's reply.

"Wait!" Vasha said.

"He won't stop," Winston said with a sigh. "Let's converge on his position."

"Aye aye."

She had been careless. Lena had thought that constantly blinking would give her an advantage over Doomfist; after all, it had worked so far. Her pulse pistols didn't seem to be doing much to faze him, but she just had to wear him down over time.

When she felt herself being stopped mid-blink, Lena knew this could only end badly. There was the sound of metal being crushed, and Lena realized too late what had happened.

No, not again!

Her mind raced, and her thoughts tumbled over each other as she felt herself beginning to be ripped from this timeline.

I told Emily I would come back; please, I can't just leave her!

She desperately blinked towards Winston, reaching a hand out to him, hoping against hope that he could somehow save her.

Please, I can't go through this again, I can't—

"I'm sorry, how many windows did you say were damaged?" Emily shuffled through a few papers. "Okay, well I don't think she would have been able to go through that many windows." The redhead paused. "Because I know how large she is and how physics works. I can believe two windows, but not five."

There was a knock at the door, and Emily looked up to see Angela standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you've changed your mind now? Well, if you need to contact our insurance department again, you have my number." Emily hung up before she let out a sigh. "Can you do me a favor and tell your agents to stop breaking windows?"

"I can certainly try," Angela replied with a slight smile. "This might cheer you up though: the team is back from Numbani."

Emily perked up at that. That meant Lena was back; after their impromptu admission of their feelings, the redhead had been all too ready for Lena to return. She just wanted to hold the agent close and bury her face in that ridiculously spiky hair. Well, that and kissing. Hopefully lots of kissing.

"No news on how many windows they broke though," Angela added, pulling Emily from her thoughts.

Emily gave her a look, though she was smiling. She stood and followed the doctor from the room, heading down the hallway to the main room. As they made their way down the staircase, Emily could see the front doors opening. Her excitement quickly faded when she realized there were only two of them, and they both seemed to be in bad shape.

Upon realizing that Lena was not one of the two, Emily's stomach clenched painfully tight.

"What happened?" Angela asked, her tone sounding as concerned as Emily felt as she approached the two. "Where's Lena?"

Winston let out a sigh, and Emily was afraid of the answer. It was just supposed to be recon, Lena should have been fine—

"Her accelerator was… damaged. She's between timelines again," Winston replied, producing the other half of the destroyed accelerator.

"She's gone?" Emily said, her voice shaking. This couldn't be happening; it had to be some sort of prank. Any second now, Lena had to jump out from behind something with that crooked grin of hers.

"This has happened before, and we brought her back," Angela said, turning her attention to Emily. She could tell that the redhead had already jumped to the worst-case scenario, and she wanted to derail that train of thought as soon as possible. "This time we know what the problem is, and we should be able to bring her back quicker."

"How long will that take?" Emily asked.

Angela looked back at Winston, who sighed. "I suppose I could build a new accelerator in about a week?"

"And where is she for that week? Just gone? Being ripped through time?" It sounded only marginally better than Lena being dead, and she couldn't imagine what the brunette was going through.

"She is blinking between timelines, yes; without an anchor to the present, there's no way to know where or when she is," Winston replied.

"Then how do you expect to get her here?"

"We have a chamber that can contain her when she shows up here again," Winston said.

"So basically we're helpless; we just have to sit here and wait and hope she shows up." Emily's tone was hollow, and a sort of numbness was beginning to take over.

"Emily—"

"Just show me where this tank is; I want to make sure I'm there when Lena finally shows up."

Emily didn't know how long she had been waiting beside the tank; she had lost track of time after the first day and a half. There was little she could do other than hope and pray that Lena would show up. She kept telling herself "any minute now she'll appear", hoping that if she said it enough, it would come true.

It hadn't worked yet, but hope springs eternal.

Emily must have fallen asleep because the next time she woke up, she realized she was lying on the floor, and a blanket had been draped over her.

"She's finally sleeping?" That was Dr. Ziegler's voice, and Emily chose to remain still, feigning sleep as she listened.

"Yes; she refuses to leave," Winston replied.

Angela let out a sigh. "I'm worried about both of them. Emily barely eats, and Lena still hasn't shown up…" There was a long pause before Angela asked in a hushed voice, "Winston… why isn't it working? When you first built this chamber, she appeared shortly afterwards, but it's been three days now…"

Winston's reply sounded troubled. "I don't know; the chamber should be holding her. Perhaps a second trip through timelines has had more of an effect on her this time. Who knows where or when she is, or if she can even find her way back."

Emily felt her heart clench tightly. Everyone seemed to be avoiding that subject, especially around the redhead, but apparently they were all afraid of what could be a very possible reality.

Lena might be gone for good.

The thought was terrifying enough that she had to choke back a sob. If they couldn't bring Lena back… if she was trapped between timelines forever…

No. I can't let that happen.

Emily waited until she heard Angela's retreating footsteps before she sat up, glancing towards Winston. The scientist was currently engrossed in his work, and Emily quietly got to her feet, making her way out of the workshop. She made her way through the darkened headquarters, eventually reaching Lena's room. The redhead sat on the bed, hugging one of the pillows and inhaling Lena's scent, which brought tears to her eyes. She had to do something; she couldn't just sit and wait for a solution. Lena needed her now.

Emily pulled out her phone, pausing a moment as she considered what she was about to do.

I have to. For Lena.

Emily dialed before raising the phone to her ear, hearing it ring. It was possible her aunt wouldn't even pick up; after all, Emily had basically denied their relationship.

"Well, this is a surprise. You must need something."

Her aunt's cool, serrated voice was almost enough to make Emily hang up, but she resisted the temptation, instead saying, "You and I both know I wouldn't be calling unless I was desperate, so let's skip the part where you humiliate me."

"What is it that you need?"

Emily paused, trying to best decide how to describe the situation. "Lena disappeared… she's jumping through timelines or something."

"Oh?"

"Look, I don't fully understand it, but you're into science and you have access to resources, so maybe—"

"Maybe what? You think I can just bring your girlfriend back?"

Emily should have known this was a mistake. "I don't know; I love her and I just want her back!"

"Ugh, don't bring love into this." Her aunt was silent for a few long moments before she said, "Do you have anything that can assist me? Files or hardware perhaps; I need to know what I'm working with."

Emily paused at that. "So… you're actually agreeing to help me?"

"I can't guarantee that I'll be able to get results, so don't get your hopes up, but yes, I will at least give it consideration. Now, am I working from scratch, or do you have material for me?"

Emily thought for a moment before she recalled that Winston had brought back half of Lena's destroyed accelerator. She knew that technically, that hardware belonged to Overwatch, but if her aunt could help… if she could find a way to bring Lena back… they would understand, right?

"I can get some hardware to you; it was damaged during a fight though, which is the whole reason Lena is gone."

"I'm sure I will make do."

Moira smiled slightly as she hung up. Of course she knew about the Oxton brat's condition; the only known case of chronal dissociation in history. Her current position in Blackwatch hadn't allowed her as much time to research it as she wanted, not to mention that the only way to really study it was to have the Brit present. Still, having access to the technology used to anchor her to the present was nothing to turn her nose up at (and Moira was known to turn her nose up at quite a lot).

Still, she knew her niece wouldn't appreciate Moira keeping Oxton for study; the geneticist would have to conduct that part quickly. Overwatch seemed quite fond of their time-jumping agent, and Moira wanted to avoid another confrontation with a certain blonde doctor.

Emily knew she shouldn't be doing this. Overwatch had trusted her, and now she was taking something from them.

It's not stealing; you're just borrowing it to bring Lena back.

Emily had a feeling that once she gave the accelerator to her aunt, there would be little chance of getting it back. Still, desperate time and desperate measure, right? The end would justify the means.

The redhead made sure the lab was empty before she made her way to the workbench, her gaze falling on the destroyed accelerator. Emily picked it up, fighting back a sudden surge of tears.

I'll do whatever it takes to bring her back.

Emily quickly slipped the accelerator into her backpack, zipping it closed and leaving the lab.

Just hold on a little longer, Lena.

"You're late."

Emily made a face as she entered the apartment, closing the door behind her. "How can I be late, you never specified a time."

"You delayed longer than necessary." Moira settled herself in a leather chair, fixing her niece with a pointed look.

"Nice to see you haven't changed." Emily stood opposite her aunt; sitting felt too vulnerable at the moment.

"And you're still wearing your contacts I see." Moira paused a moment before she added, "Do you have the hardware or not? My time is valuable, and I am already missing enough work to have this meeting with you."

"So glad you could fit me into your busy schedule," Emily all but spat. She tossed her backpack at her aunt, who caught it clumsily.

"Emily—"

"It's already broken."

"That doesn't mean you need to damage it further." Moira unzipped the bag and pulled the destroyed accelerator out. "Fascinating."

A part of Emily was still telling her that this was wrong, that shouldn't be handing this technology over to her aunt. While Moira was brilliant, her ethics were questionable at best. "If you do manage to bring her back… you're not going to do anything to her, are you?"

Moira looked back at Emily, arching an eyebrow. "What is it you're afraid I'll do?"

"I don't know, just… look, Lena means a lot to me."

"So you said on the phone." Moira made a face of disgust. "You love her. A British woman."

"Where she's from doesn't matter—"

"But British, Emily? You're only one step above an American."

"Just leave her alone if you bring her back, please? She's been through enough."

Moira pressed her lips together, forming a thin line before she said, "I had no intention of doing anything to her, but if it puts your mind at ease and keeps you off my back, then I'll say it out loud: if I manage to bring her back to this timeline, I will refrain from 'experimenting' on her, which is what you are apparently afraid of."

"Thank you." Emily could only hope that her aunt would be true to her word.