? ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ? ?

His head pounded, his back screamed, his hands were bound.

Adrian groaned as he came back to consciousness, his mind swimming as he tried to piece together the recent events but for now, he was having enough trouble just trying to focus his thoughts. Cracking open his eyes to prepare for the influx of light, he was surprised to see only more darkness. Briefly he thought he was locked in a windowless room but as his mind caught up with the rest of his body, he realized he was being dragged as the tips of his toes slid across the ground as well as the feeling of a tight cloth wrapped around his head. Cool air brushed across his skin as he realized he'd been stripped of everything, his bare body exposed to the chilling draft as his toes dragged across the floor.

He struggled against the bondage only to be meet with a slap to the back of his head as someone shouted, "Knock it off."

The pain in his head flared as it felt like a boulder crushed his skull, despite the throbbing his memories started to flood back. The gala and the fight followed by his fall from the aircraft by Talon's hands. He grit his teeth in frustration at his capture, it felt pathetic, demeaning, to have ever been in such a compromising situation though he could at least let off some self-chastisement given his barebones equipment. Had he been in full gear, equipped with the entirety of his arsenal he suspected things would've played out differently, alas there's no changing what happened. Now he had to plan on escaping though first he had to figure out where the hell he was.

Any plans he had were interrupted as he was unceremoniously tossed onto the ground, a cold ceramic tile if the feeling was anything to on. Trying to push himself off the ground, he was promptly kicked in the side sending him skidding across the floor, his back practically screaming at the force with his skin raw at the grating slide.

"Fucking hell that's cheap." He muttered as he laid there taking in the brief respite before pushing himself into a sitting position as his blindfold was stripped off revealing a dour looking room with a single chair in the center. Turning his gaze towards his abuser he was surprised to see the grim reaper incarnation standing in front of him, it's perpetually unreadable expression imprinted upon the mask as it stared him down. He stared back before opening his mouth, "There's only so many times I can make the same joke, Halloween this and Halloween that, you gotta give me something to wo-"

His jab was cut off as Reaper lunged over digging his claws deep into Adrian's gut causing Adrian to gasp in surprise as he could feel the metal talons wiggling in his guts. His eyes opened in shock, the only sounds escaping his mouth a sort of dry wheeze as Reaper picked him up off the ground with the imbedded gauntlet. The white-masked villain reveled in the agony he caused as Adrian squirmed like a stuck pig on the end of his hand before tossing the foreign marine into the sole chair. Adrian took in several deep breaths as the excruciating pain left his body, his hands clambering over the gaping wound upon his stomach.

"You feel what I had for dinner? I could use some help remembering, my memories a bit fuzzy." Adrian said sarcastically between gasping breaths.

"Your humor will die here, but you won't. I'll make sure you live to feel every excruciating second."

"Funny, I was going to say the opposite." Adrian grinned showing off his bloodied teeth, "You may not die here, but I guarantee you will and it will be by my hand."

Reaper looked at him for a second, he could've sworn he felt at the masked villain smile through his words, "We'll see." Before turning and leaving the room.

Adrian waited a few second after he left before letting out a deep scream he'd been holding in, "Fucking CHRIST!" It felt like flaming needles we're piercing his innards every second, he tried not to move but the pain was so immense it was like he was trapped in an endless cycle of agitating his wounds and suffering all the more for it. After a few more minutes of excruciating agony the pain finally faded leaving Adrian enough peace of mind to take stock of his situation which at the moment was pretty shit. As warm blood continued to pour out from between his fingers, he too greater stock in his room not that there was much else to comment on. It was a windowless, ventless, inescapable brick, normally that'd just make the challenge more interesting but right now…well it wasn't so hot. Time passed indiscriminately; he wasn't when the door to his cell opened up but he'd already been feeling light heated by that point for quite a while.

"Ah what a shame, seems he let the temper get the best of him again." A female voice spoke up clicking her tongue.

Adrian looked at the newest entrant to his room, a slim woman with short red hair flared back in a tight black outfit looked him over with an apathetic expression. "I'm usually…much more…to look at…" Adrian let out breathlessly, the blood loss having drained him off most of his usual energy, "But well…it's quite cold or – maybe that's just the blood loss."

"Joy, another witty one." She sighed as she pulled up a hard light table from the floor as she set a bag of equipment on it. It was then Adrian noticed that her outfit was layered as well as a series of metal implant accented the back of her pale hands that ended with long dark purple nails. She then pressed something upon the table that caused hard light restraints to appear around the chair, trapping Adrian to the spot, not that he had intentions to do otherwise in his current condition. Kinky he thought to himself.

"Is the claw hand required by Talon? You know part of the brand, or is it just the trend these days?" He said a bit clearer though still stumbling, not that it mattered much as she didn't even dignify him with a response, rather she seemed more interested in talking to herself or rather…she spoke to Adrian but didn't seek a response.

"I was told you were interesting, that you would be worth my time. So far I see nothing unusual but I suppose the mystery is part of the work. Regardless I can't have you bleeding out, it would be detrimental to my research."

She extended her hand to him at which point a fusion of light burst forth in a fusion of color and noise, it engulfed his entire body much like Angela's magic. He could feel the wounds upon his stomach contorting and regenerating, but whereas Ziegler's was like akin to an itch this woman's 'healing' was excruciating. It was like his skin was being stretched and torn to replace the torn tissue. Angela's work to his understanding regenerated the cells to heal faster, but this…it wasn't healing it was more like torture. He bit down try and give himself some measure of control though it didn't help much. His body convulsed against the restraints, his limbs trying to break free of their imprisonment as the pain grew. When she finally relaxed her arm, Adrian let out a sigh as he slumped into the chair thanking whatever god there was that Overwatch found him and not Talon. If this is what they had to grow through each time for serious injuries than they could count him the fuck out, though it did cross his mind that she made it hurt specifically for him; an honor but not one he sought on reliving.

Looking down upon his previous wound he was unsurprised to find no trace of his previous wound, hell if he'd gone through all that only for a ragged scar to be left then it'd be a massive pile of bullshit. Pushing himself up in the chair despite the cuffs, he noticed her rummaging through her supplies as she shot him a curious glance before turning back to her tools with a questioning look on her face.

"Quite the welcoming, though I don't think I'd want you as my masseuse anytime soon." She didn't respond instead turning to him with a nasty looking tool in her hand, plenty of points and twists to ruin anybody's day. "Well that's uh…Don't suppose there's any chance of just letting me walk out of here do you?"

For once she spoke, even stooping down to his jests with a retort of her own, "I'm afraid not, we've got a myriad of tests to run. The new world might just be in the palm of my hand."

The two Talon guards stood outside obediently, silent in their vigil though even they couldn't help but share a look of uncertainty or better described as "Glad it's not us" as deep screams echoed out from the room into the main Talon compound.

Winston stood in the observation panel neighboring the interrogation room, watching the event unfold in front of him with brutal efficiency though he couldn't help but wince at the shudder inducing noises emanating from the room. It was something that had to be done but that didn't mean he had to be proud of it; not that there was much room for debate. Not only was it one of his own agents whose life was on the life, but he didn't think Liam would accept any other answer. When the squad first returned to the base he'd already been made aware of the unfortunate turn of events in securing the targets and as such already had a plan in place for recovery. All that went out the window when he saw the determination in Liam's eyes.

When he first met the newest ODST member turned ally of Overwatch, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the man known as Liam 'Barbie' White appeared to be much more amiable than Adrian was. Though of course he didn't discount the fact that landing to a familiar face was far more comforting than Adrian's experience, but that didn't dimmish the overall more lax attitude of the Australian soldier. To see that languidly vaporize into a mask of pure contempt was something that caught him off-guard to the point he didn't even try to object when Mr. White requested a personal interrogation of the target. The only stipulation being that Amari also be with him in the room, the unspoken understanding being that he wanted insurance White wouldn't eviscerate the oligarch the first chance he got. If he was being honest he didn't think that would be necessary, there was a restrained fury to everything happening, probably because of the training regime both he and Kasporov endured. By all it accounts it was some of the most brutal, unforgiving, and strenuous combat priming in existence. Following that line of thought Winston knew he should be surprised but still…it was hard to not be.

A door opened with a swoosh, bringing his attention to the new occupant of this stifling depressing room. A flop of brown hair and an flashy smile told him it was Lena, his long time friend and one of the first members to follow him unto this journey of 'New Overwatch'. He flashed her a forced smile though he had a hard time being so joyful given the circumstances. She looked from Winston to the interrogation through the window, her grin turning to in impassive stare as Liam did his work.

The room was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke up, "It's darkly fascinating. You see Liam and Adrian together and you think to yourself that they seem like two completely opposite personalities. 'It's a wonder', you think to yourself, 'That they're mates. Yet right now…well…" Lena stopped as her mind raced back to Seoul where Adrian 'extracted' the information and then the similarities to the present. "Bonds forged in hell fire, not something we're ever likely to experience."

Winston agreed, Overwatch had their own trials and turbulations that formed friendships and rivalries but how those bonds were forged is what separates and will likely always separate his world from Adrian's. The extinction of your species breeds odd friendships.

He snapped back to reality as he remembered he wasn't alone to dwell on his thoughts, "Ah is there something you need Lena?"

"Nothing in particular, just checking in. It's been a couple days since tensions got high and I know how you get absorbed into your own thoughts. Remember to take care of yourself, you can't well lead us if you're starving or tired."

"Fair enough, I think I've seen enough for today." Winston was glad to have such trusty worthy allies and even better friends. Looking back towards the interrogation for a brief glance he knew that Liam and Adrian shared a similar bond, they just went about it in a different way. Still there was plenty else he worried over, lest of all was the effect on the crew. Angela, Reinhardt, Genji, and Hana had all taken the news of Adrian's capture harder than he thought they would, with some colorful language thrown in as well. Even Athena had expressed concern! The thought made him chuckle for the first time in a while though in the end it all served to steel his resolve. As he followed behind Lena nerves hardened as he made a vow, they would find Adrian no matter the cost. Come hell or high water, he was going to be found.

Adrian grunted as a closed fist pounded into his abdomen, sending him lurching backwards as his accommodations had changed from a chair to a pair of chains hanging from the ceiling that now wrapped around his wrists. The chair he'd now come to miss quite a bit laid tossed into a corner, it's frame covered in dried dark red blood. Bloodily drool leaked from his mouth not that he could do anything about or had the energy too, in a windowless cell with he lights always on there was no way to gauge time though all he knew was his life since waking up had been fucking hell on Earth. Intermittent periods of torture broken up by that bitch doctor Moira's testing, he wasn't sure if they knew he was from a different world, but they knew he wasn't like them. At first he considered it a silver lining, the less they knew meant the more likely they were to keep him alive to continue their tests. Though now as seconds passed into hours into days, he thought it'd be better to just put a fucking bullet in him and call it done.

Another fist rocked his body, this time he could be a number of ribs cracking under the punch causing him to cough up a glob of blood onto his assailant. A small bit of satisfaction as it landed square onto the Talon mercs face, the man screaming a number of obscenities as he increased his barrage of attacks before wiping his face in disgust. At first Reaper had personally overseen the sessions though he had stopped coming…some time ago…a few days ago maybe? Longer? Maybe he got bored or he was sent out on assignment though he doubted it was the former; Adrian had managed to pick up brief snippets of conversation between the torment and the 'healing'. Reaper was obviously fucked up beyond belief, not psychologically or rather not just psychologically, but physically as well. It didn't take a genius to figure that out but to the extent and the cause well, that was up for debate. Adrian didn't have all the details, hell barely had any, but he'd made some logical assumptions and, in his mind, they made sense. Reaper is barely human, the foundation of his new body was nano-particles or something along those lines, Adrian had guessed it might've bene similar or derivative to Angela's work. Regardless it wasn't something he wanted, more than that it seemed the man was living his life in constant agony, every second of 'living' was enough to drive some men to suicide. Admirable in a way he supposed, though at that point he himself would rather just bite the bullet, what's worth living for at that point? Bringing himself back on track, he didn't think Reaper left to boredom because it seemed one of his few pleasures was killing and inflicting pain.

"Starting to make me work up a sweat." The merc talked like he was tough shit, easy to be like that when your opponent is a bound captive. He flicked his hands of the blood flecks as he began to walk out the door, "I'll give you a couple hours of rest before I leave step it up a notch, sweet dreams ya fucking gip."

Adrian didn't even have the energy for a biting remark, instead like every time before he hung there limply. Metal cuffs digging into bloody muscle having already long ago wore the skin on his wrists down raw. Sighing to himself he tried to once more tried to get a lucky break by trying to yank his hand through the cuffs to no avail. He'd thought about snapping his fingers to slip through or hell even cutting it off, but both proved a problem the later obviously not needing explanation. The former though, well truth be told hanging above the ground didn't give him a whole lot of leverage for force and his hands we're kept well enough apart to prevent such a thing from happening. Truth be told the current situation was not great, honestly hard to imagine it getting any worse though surely life could find a way.

Just as those thoughts passed in his mind the door slid open, Adrian didn't even give a glance until an oddly familiar voice rang out to him. "Doesn't seem like your room service has been all that great."

Rolling his head to the front of his body, he saw Edith motherfucking Hansen standing there with all the pompous smugness of… honestly he didn't have much to compare it to…maybe…some heiress of Misriah Armory? They'd probably be pretty bitchy he imagined. God truly had a sick sense of humor.

"It's been a while." He commented both literally and metaphorically, his voice crackled like a dry creek bed as he unconsciously tried to lick his lips that felt like stone.

She slowly walked over to him, slightly tilting her head to match Adrian's. "It has, since Germany I believe. You're not blind nor are you dumb, so I imagine this isn't too much of a shock."

"I put the pieces together a while ago."

"No hard feelings I hope."

"Business is business." Though they both knew that wasn't entirely true, "I have been wondering, was that first night planned or just coincidence on a galactic scale?"

She shrugged as she strutted around him, "Can't go around spilling all my secrets now can I?"

"Coy as ever." He growled out only to immediately regret it as he began immediately coughing, his throat dryer than a desert. His ribs ached to remind him that even coughing was a punishment now, it was if even his own body was out to get him.

"They really did a number on you." She remarked to which Adrian didn't reply, "Not interesting like this is it? Picking on the weak can be fun but at this point it's more akin to beating a dead horse."

"Well that's something we can agree on I suppose."

She began to walk back towards the door before looking back at Adrian, "Talon's honestly pretty shit but they let me do what I want for the most part."

Adrian raised his head with the last of his energy to stare at her.

"Which right now, I want things to be interesting cause word is you're not long for this world. See you soon Adrian."

As she left, she slapped the hard light panel on the wall that Moira often used before her examination. With a screeching cry the chains above him loosened as he fell to the ground with a slap of raw flesh on tile. Dazed he barely managed to look up as the door slid closed behind her vanishing form. Laying back down on the floor he closed his eyes for a moment, his body relishing in the brief rest he had as his breathing feel into a steady rhythm. Just as it felt his body was on the verge of sleeping voices outside his door snapped him awake as his instincts began to kick him with adrenaline slowly pumping throughout his body. The reality of the situation set in, this was his moment, and if Edith words held any truth to them, he didn't have much time. Seems they got what they needed or hopefully they hit a dead end. Either way he had to make a break for it while he had the chance though the main obstacle still remained. Looking at the cuffs around his hand he sighed – speaking of breaking – he took a few deep breaths before gripping his right thumb and yanking inwards with all his might until he heard a crack and felt a pop. He grunted as he looked as the limp digit hanging to the side, it took a bit of force but eventually he pulled one hand free. Sighing in relief as he popped his thumb back into place, he looked at his bloodied wrist, a thick band of raw muscle made itself clear as he had a new problem to worry about, assuming he made it out, infection. First things first though he turned his attention to his left thumb and repeated the process though this time having already experienced it made the process smoother. As a whole though neither hurt as much as he thought not that it should be such a surprise considered the other wounds he suffered here, this was like a walk in the park.

Rolling his wrists as he got used to his newfound freedom, he savored the few seconds granted to him before he stood up. Slowly walking over to the door, he put his ear against the steel frame and listened for sounds outside, to get some idea of his surroundings. Perhaps as a retribution for his suffering, or maybe some god had deemed his plight worthy enough to be granted a break for outside he could hear muttering.

"Fucking Jenkins leaving me here alone, I know that fucker isn't going to the bathroom. Probably strolling around the whole damn complex to kill time before the next shift shows up."

Pulling his ear away Adrian almost felt like screaming out in joy, he reluctantly held his tongue, there was still a lot more he had to do. Walking back over to the empty chains, he grabbed one and brought it back with him over by the door, in his state he'd need every advantage he could get. Placing his back against the wall by the door he gave himself another few seconds to catch his breath, even simple actions like this were taking their toll. Fuck maybe he was here longer than he thought.

He pounded the door with his fist several times, not trusting his voice to be loud enough to be heard through the cell walls. On the other side he could hear more muttering as the guard swore to himself, wondering what the hell could be making that noise. Peeking through a slit in the door Adrian could hear the man gasp in shock as the room seemed empty.

"Fuck fuck fuck what do I do. If I go in now it'd be really fucking dumb, but if I call for backup, I'd get my ass reamed by the sergeant. Plus I'd have to say why Jenkins wasn't here and that'd probably get pinned on me too as well as the prisoner. Shit fuck shit…Alright fuck it I'm Talon. I'm a bad ass motherfucker part of a group of bad ass motherfuckers." Adrian rolled his eyes as he heard the man's pep talk before gripping the chains tighter in his hands as the door slips open. The guard cautiously walked in, foolishly checking everywhere but the damn corners, if this was a UNSC marine Adrian would do as this bastard's sergeant would and ream the fuck out of him. Still, it worked for him.

Adrian looped the chain around the merc's neck as he tugged him into the room, the door sliding shut as he fell into the cell. Adrian threw the man to the ground as he wrapped the chain a few more times around the man's neck, the guard desperately struggled as he tried to dig his fingers underneath the chain. As the guard gasped face down on the floor, Adrian placed his bare foot upon the man's back and pressed down with all his force while simultaneously pulling up on the chains with all his might. Despite his exhaustion Adrian's rage more than made up for it, he felt as if he had the strength of a brute as he yanked the steel chains again and again. Eventually he heard a crack as the man's neck broke, but he didn't stop there, this poor fuck was the unlucky person to suffer all Adrian's pent-up fury. He tugged once more this time putting his entire back into it. A sick squelching sound reached his ear on this final pull as the chain pulled through the guard's fingers, broke the skin, and eventually tore through the man's neck. Covering Adrian in a spurt of warm blood, he stared down at the decapitated body at his feet with an almost nauseating glee before he slumped down briefly. The adrenaline leaving his body as his limbs felt gruelingly tired, his arms like sacks of concrete and his legs like jelly. In his post-murder clarity, he thought to himself, "What now."

Staring at the wall opposite of him, eventually his eyes drifted towards the growing puddle of blood that was slowly inching it's way towards his feet, the thought of his naked body wallowing in a pool of blood didn't appeal to him. Following the blood to once more gaze upon the corpse, he had an random thought of how that man's boots seemed to be the same size as Adrian, they'd be nice to keep out of the blood. Adrian stared a few more seconds at the body before the logic of his thought caught up with the rest of him and like a brilliant spark in the darkness, he had a path out of here.

…

…

…

The prison door slid open as a man in dark black armor with red eyes stepped out, making sure the door closed just as quickly behind him lest anyone seem the surprise inside. Adrian looked down the hallway, noticing that in front of him laid another wall leaving the sides as his only option. A sole Talon member was making her way down the hall, noticing Adrian's lost look despite the fact his face was hidden from view.

"Got a problem?" The other Talon soldier asked as she neared Adrian, realizing this could be a good chance he tried to make his voice sound more youthful than he was.

"The sarge told me to deliver a message-" Adrian racked his mind to remember how those annoying green recruits sounded back home.

The Talon soldier cut him off, "And you're lost right? New here I assume." To which Adrian nodded as the woman continued, "Where you headed?"

"The exit, supposed to be someone on duty there."

The woman stood there thinking, "Probably Ashton then. Listen you're gonna take the way I just came from, go to the very end of the hall and take a left. Then immediately after take the first right you seem and that'll spit you out right by the entrance."

"Much obliged." The woman nodded to Adrian as he begun to make his way down the hall, the Talon assault rifle in his hand acting as stress relief as he constantly fiddled with the grip. Briefly glancing behind him he saw a second Talon agent come rom the opposite way, making his towards the cell door. Fuck.

Faintly he could here the man swearing, "Where the hell did Gutierrez go? Excuse me ma'am did you see a man leave his post here?"

Adrian sped up as the man he knew as Jenkins call out to the other Talon member he just spoke too. She replied with a curious tone, "There was some lost recruit just here but… wait a second what's that leaking from the door."

With that Adrian booked it into a full-fledged sprint down the hallway as he knew his plan had gone down the drain, thought it's possible he could pull it off. It's not like they'd know specifically who he was. He just had to get lost in a crowd but god dammit, that woman knows exactly what his plan is, won't take a genius to put two and two together. As he hit the end of the hall, he bolted to the left following the instructions given. He saw the aforementioned right turn just as alarms blasted throughout the base, an ear-piercing claxon siren screeched as a voice followed the blasted warning.

"We have a prisoner on the run making a path to the exit though know he's dressed as one of us, keep any eye out for a soldier out of the ordinary." The voice droned as Adrian was forced to bring his dash to a composed walk as he turned into the bustling heart of the base. Talon soldiers all around were stopped in their tracks as they spoke to each other in hushed whispers. "The prisoner is highly trained, lethal, and armed, prioritize neutralization above all else. Shoot to kill, I repeat shoot to kill."

Adrian swore under his breath as he flicked the safety of the assault rifle, discreetly checked if there was a round chambered, as muscled through the crowd of soldiers. Truth was he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, he could either play dumb like the rest of them though he imagined it wouldn't be long till they singled him out or try to escape as soon as possible which also meant drawing unnecessary attention to himself. All things considered he thought to himself as he pulled back the hammer of the pistol in his holster, he'd place his odds with shooting his way out.

A few odd whispers were directed his way as he neared the exit, two beefier Talon mercs stood by the steel doors as he approached, both staring him down as they relayed information over the radio. The one on the left held up his hand to stop him, he didn't even get a word out before Adrian shouldered the assault rifle and pulled the trigger, the rounds tearing through the merc as he stumbled back against the wall. The soldier closest to Adrian tried to raise his rifle but wasn't quick enough as Adrian jammed the smoking barrel under the guard's chin and deftly spun around the man, putting the Talon operative between himself and the rest of the base.

"Drop the rifle, open the door, and pray to God that someone doesn't fuck this up for you." Adrian snarled. In front of the two there was a swath of Talon mercs that for the moment wouldn't open fire, but he wasn't sure how long that would last until someone higher up figured the poor guard was just a casualty of necessity. The man wordlessly obeyed as he tossed his gun to the floor, backing up with Adrian he stuck out as arm trying to find the biometric scanner. Once his hand was scanned, the doors behind Adrian unlocked with a hiss that let him push through the steels doors with ease. The two of them awkwardly shuffling backwards through the door until it closed in front of them, Adrian immediately putting a bullet through the biometric scanner putting it into temporary lockdown. Quickly glancing behind him it appeared they were in a small concrete entrance way with an overhang, a few meters out Adrian could spy glimmering white snow meaning they probably hadn't traveled out of the country but the fuck did he know.

"Anything out there waiting for me? Automated turrets, guard towers, anything?"

"Uh n-n-no nothing offensive. You-you'll probably set off some alarms but that doesn't matter."

"You lying to me? A base of this scale with absolutely no defense?"

"This whole district is in our pocket, the police, the local militia, the military reserves, they're our defense. Besides…we're in the middle of now where man…nothing for fucking miles. Barren forests and ice for as far as you could travel, they'll get you before the end of the night."

"Well see about that." Adrian pushed the to his knees before bringing his rifle to bear and unloading a single bullet into the Talon guard's skull. The corpse hit the ground as Adrian turned from it, instead focusing on his immediate escape to continue his freedom. Dashing outside he spied a number of handy vehicles organized along an invisible line on both sides of him like a parade. Hopping into the nearest armored jeep, he ripped off the bottom panel attempting to hotwire the thing into action. His hands were still screaming from the torture with thumbs sore from their recent escape, he lacked any precision as he practically jammed wires together like a meat headed caveman. Eventually he struck gold as the engine roared to life, none-too-soon as he could hear screaming and shouts coming from the entrance. Not even wasting the time to spare a glance, he slammed on the gas as the jeep jolted forward with the raw power under it's hood. The sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal and reinforced glass sent him flinching with every hit. Rocketing down the nonexistent path, a quick look in the rear-view mirror showed the hidden base disappearing into view as well as the soldiers. It wouldn't be long till they got in vehicles after him, fuck they might even have some air support in a different part of the base that he didn't know about.

Ahead of him the wide-open clearing turned to a forest of dead trees and massive pines, turning the steering wheel to fit the off roader through a narrow opening between two massive firs he could hear the branches scratching against the metal as the jeep bounced over the uneven terrain. He swore with every bounce as the jostling aggravated his wounds, his cracked ribs feeling like they punctured something. He weaved in and out of the obstacles ahead of him, though behind him the sight of enemy trucks started to come into view, they'd likely know the area giving them yet another advantage. More gunfire erupted in sporadic bursts as Talon goons blind fired from behind him, most went wide but every now and then a few lucky rounds would glance off his ride.

Ahead of him the trees got denser, making it harder for him to squeeze through some already narrow gaps. It was becoming harder and harder to see ahead of him as the barren branches turned into an incorrigible mess mixed with the occasional lively pine that blocked any sight. Often times it felt like a damn miracle when he'd ram though a heavy branch and not be greeted with a thick trunk dead set in his path. A particularly rough bump sent him into a coughing fit as the taste of blood filled his mouth.

"Well that's not good."

Which ended up applying to two situations, the blood of course and the immediate lack of ground ahead of him. The woodwork was so thick that he couldn't make out the cliff through the tree line. Slamming on the brakes he braced himself as the jeep lurched to a halt but it was too little too late, as the jeep's tires screamed against the brakes and icy ground. Bracing himself in a protective position he let out one final swear as the jeep skidded off the edge of the cliff, plummeting twenty meters to the ground below. For a split second he felt weightless in the cabin of the vehicle before he immediately slammed forwards as the front end slammed into the ground with a crash of grinding metal sending as it tumbled onto its room. Adrian was thrown around the interior like a rag doll, slamming against the steering wheel in front of him before being thrown to the 'floor' of the overturned vehicle with a crack.

He laid there for a split-second groaning in agony before slowly pushing himself up only to fall back to the metal underneath him screaming as another crack echoed out. Rolling onto his back his lazily lifted up his right arm, hard to see under the armor but he could feel it now, his humerus had snapped in half with part of it jutting through the skin. Trying to push himself only worsened it, the rigged break could faintly be outlined through the flexible under suit. Seemed he used up all that good luck he'd been spouting about.

Clenching his teeth; he curled himself into a sitting position, ignoring his ribs roaring in protest. Turning to the side, he kicked out the drivers side door, reminding himself that he didn't have time to waste not matter how badly his body needed the rest. Stumbling out into the snow, he yanked off his helmet letting himself spit a dark red blood into the snow as a dripping from his arm joined in painting the snow. Awkwardly using his left arm to pull the pistol from it's holster on his right side he began to stumble out into the forest as he could hear engines driving around him like beasts hunting in the night. He didn't make it far before two snow camo trucks pulled in front of him and quickly opened up to reveal a dozen armed Talon soldiers as they lined up quashing any hopes of his. Taking a small step backwards he glanced down at the pistol in his hands before turning his gaze back upon the soldiers.

One of them spoke into his earpiece, "Target is corned, are the previous orders still in affect? Understood." The Talon grunt then focused his attention onto Adrian, "I've heard a lot about you, killed a lot of my friends you know? Shit happens in this line of work, still though I won't lie, I'm gonna enjoying putting a round between your eyes." The man unleashed a round into Adrian's right leg sending him down to one knee. "Oops I missed." Those Talon fucks around him snickered as they lowered their guns, content to let their comrade exact his brutal revenge.

Adrian raised his pistol as he spoke, "Then man up and fuckin-"

He didn't get to finish as the Talon operatives ahead of him turned to a fine read mist in the blink of an eye, chunks of gore and viscera splattering the ground like a sick modern art piece as the deafening roar of a turret shredded his enemies like god damn paper. Craning his neck he saw an Overwatch Swordfish hovering a ways behind him, a red hot barrel sizzling in the freezing weather.

"Holy god damn of all that is holy, thank the fucking LORD!" He belted out with a manic laughter, he'd honestly though that was the end, hell he thought for the longest time that he would be meeting the actual reaper in some tiled cell god knows where. The Swordfish landed not far off, a handful of people disembarking though Liam's jet-black armor easily distinctive amongst the white snow and clear blue sky. Adrian fell on his ass as his good leg gave out, the adrenaline having long since worn off back when he'd escaped the base initially. Blood pooled in the snow around him from various wounds, he sat there all the same as Liam rushed over.

"We can all this way for this? Barely looks like a typical Friday night for us." Barbie joked as he looked Adrian over, the man immediately pulling out a standard trauma kit and a foldable stretcher.

Adrian chuckled, immediately regretting it, "Don't – don't make me laugh…I think I got…a couple fractured ribs."

"Then what the fuck are you sitting for ya cunt? Though I suppose we ain't got time to waste for now."

Heavy stomping drew Adrian's attention to the behemoth of Reinhardt making his way over, a grim smile upon his lips, "Space man! Didn't think you could escape me that easily did you? I still have many more stories to regale you with!" The German joked as he single handedly picked up the stretcher with Adrian was placed upon, Liam walking right beside.

"Any other major injures? I assume they didn't go easy on you."

"They had…some…healing…but I think my humerus is poking through and well, I was shot. How did…you find me?" Arian wheezed out.

"Yeah I can see that, with your arm guess you'll have to learn to wank it like a leftie now. To be honest? Pure luck with a personal touch, but we can talk about that later."

Adrian stifled the laugh he felt rising, instead looking around him as they neared the aircraft, a couple heavily armed Overwatch personnel standing watch around the temporary perimeter. Going from the sunny exterior to the darker interior was a relief to Adrian, to have the glaring sun out of his eyes was a small joy but felt immensely gratifying to him. As he was placed upon a row of seats, a familiar golden halo appeared in the corner of his vision.

"Guess death… ain't so bad if all angels are like you." He spoke coarsely as Angela filled his vision.

She gave him one of her calming smiles, "Seems you haven't lost your humor, though you'll be saddened to know you're still among the living." He cracked a smile despite the pain before grunting in pain as the aircraft shook as it took off, the smile on her face briefly faltering as she laid a gentle hand upon his cheek. "We can heal some minor wounds, stop anything immediately life threatening but some of your more severe wounds are going to have to wait until we're back at base."

"I'll live…I think." Though at that point he faltered, scoffing to himself he spoke "Christ…I didn't think I was actually going to make it out of there." Back home he'd been ready to face death, still was and that'd never change; but the thought of going out like an animal in a cage was…horrifying, and the torture. Jesus the torture would stick with him as long as he lived.

Seeing his own façade drop, Angela's usual warm demeanor similarly broke as her face took on a much tired, much more worried look, "I had hope we'd find you, but I'll admit – I was worried Adrian for a lot of reasons. Some I'm still trying to grapple with." Before he could ask what she'd meant, she leaned down near him with the hand on his cheek brushing up into his hair as she kissed him, an act that caught him by surprise though he reciprocated. It was short, filled with anxiety, uncertainty, and longing…it was different than anything he'd ever experienced.

A/N: Hoo-boy and here we are! Apologies for long wait, mostly just university work and playing Wasteland 3, enough of that though we've reached a critical point with our characters haven't we, I hope this feels natural though it's still going to be a slow burn for the most part. I'll be honest its kind of weird reaching such a critical part in a story, like even I didn't believe we'd reach such a point when I started writing. Anyway I hope you've all been enjoying the story up to this point and will continue to enjoy it! Thanks for the continued support.