Ana led Genji back to her hideaway. To get there they had to cover several kilometres of harsh, sandy overland, territory torn apart by the Fallout. The air smelt like death, there was ash on the wind even now. Ana led the way without complaint, Genji followed. , once she had awoken, was not particularly happy about trusting Ana, but was happy to trail along behind. She was not afraid of anything once she was safely installed within the MEKA suit.

'You don't look Chinese.' Genji said. The howling winds of the plains had made talking difficult, but now that they were inside it seemed like a good way to begin the conversation.

'I'm not,' Ana replied. 'Egyptian.'

'You're far from home.'

'I no longer have a home.'

'Neither do I.' Genji almost smiled, then realised the robotic mask covered his face. Or what was left of his face. He started to form his next question when he heard making a noise and turned around.

The MEKA suit was halfway through the doorway. Hana was struggling with the controls, trying to get it the rest of the way through, the tiny arms and legs of the war machine struggling and shuffling in the confined space.

'Don't look at me!' she screeched.

Genji turned back to Ana. 'So what are you doing out here? You told us you were a former member of Overwatch.'

'That organisation has not existed for a very long time.' The old woman took a seat. She looked weary. 'But yes, once upon a time, I did work with them. I have not had an experience like that in a very long time…'

'You miss it?'

'I miss fighting for a cause. Now I fight to survive. They are different.'

'I understand.'

Ana looked at him closely with one bright eye. The other was hidden beneath a lock of grey hair. She was, he reflected for the second time, quite old.

'I don't think you do.' She said.

Hana, still stuck in the suit, which was in turn still stuck in the doorway, finally called out for help. Genji went to assist.

Once all three of them were inside, Hana now dressed only in her tight insulated under-clothes, Genji looked around with more interest.

'What is this place?'

'A former arcade centre. The machines still work, if you have an interest.' Ana gestured upwards. 'But as for the city, I could not tell you. The Fallout changed China. The population has dwindled and moved to less arid areas. The terrain has changed. Cities fell in the blasts, and deserts rose in their place. It is a country of rubble and dust now.'

Hana's eyes bulged. 'These are arcade games? Oh. My. God. I haven't seen arcade games in… forever!'

In an instant she had leapt to her feet and rushed to the nearest machine. True to Ana's word it blinked to life with a warm glow. Hana tapped at the simple controls, wiggled the joystick, and then let out a moan of pure, unadulterated pleasure.

'I haven't played an actual game in years!' She exclaimed.

Genji allowed himself to smile. He was glad to see her so happy. He did not think this was a place they could stay for long, but at least they had found a momentary respite from the dangers.

He waited for the voice in his head to respond, but it did not. Last time he had heard it in his mind it had promised not to bother him until he was closer. That might still be some time. They had not made much progress, in fact Genji suspected that finding Ana's hideout had taken them in the wrong direction.

'She might need to cover up some more, if you plan to go back out there.' Ana was peeling the lids from some canned food, but her eyes were on Hana. Genji did not ask where she had found the can, or whether the contents still acceptable to eat. He took it gratefully and began to chow down.

'She is protected when she's in the MEKA.' Genji explained. 'No biting winds or harmful sun rays will hurt her. And she's tougher than she looks.'

'Very well. And you?'

'I am also tougher than I look.'

Genji pulled back some of the scraps of cloth that clung to his body. He did not recognise his own sleek metallic form. Ana raised the eyebrow of her only visible eye.

'Ah. You are an omnic.'

'No, I'm not. I'm a human trapped in the body of a machine.'

'A cyborg then.'

Genji wanted to argue, but stopped himself. Sooner or later he would have to accept the fact that he was a cyborg. It was the definition of monster he had been taught as a child – the worst abomination any man could be. And yet, that's what he was. Somewhere between human and Omnic, not quite either.

'I am. Technically. I won't harm you, and I don't expect you to understand.'

Ana flicked back the lock of hair from over her right eye, revealing a stained grey patch. She smiled, a kindly, wrinkled, grandmotherly smile. He wondered if she was truly this old, or if the harsh climate of post-apocalypse China had weathered her face.

'I do understand.' She responded. 'It is our humanity that we must cling to, not the health of our body. God knows I'm getting old. But let me add that some of the Omnics have a surprising amount of humanity… for machines. You don't remember the old times, before the Fallout, before the Omnic Uprising. Back when we fought for peace, cooperative living.'

'What happened?'

'Some people were too afraid of the unknown. Overwatch was collapsed. The Omnics were ostracized. And we… went into hiding.'

Genji considered what he should tell the old woman, then gave in. She did not appear to be a threat to him. Behind them Hana was focused on the arcade games, occasionally pumping the air with victory or slamming the controls in defeat.

'Actually, I know that some Omnics are good, and some are bad. The virus was born when they reached independent thought.'

Ana smiled. 'Who told you that?'

'I am in tune with the Omnics. One of them speaks to me, in my mind.'

'What does he say?'

'That we must meet.'

Ana nodded. 'I assume you were on your way to meet him when I distracted you?'

'I think it will take several days, perhaps weeks. He is somewhere in the West. But yes, that's where we are headed.'

Ana tossed a can of food over to Hana. Despite how hungry the girl must have been her eyes did not stray from the screen for even a second. Genji wondered what he had done to deserve this woman's help. Probably nothing. If anything, he deserved to be left to die. Maybe Ana was just that kind of person, always looking for ways to help.

Maybe she'd just been in the desert too long, and was getting bored.

'I am going to help you find this virtuous Omnic. I will help you cross the desert.'

'I can't ask you to do that.'

'You have not asked me. I have offered. And I will not allow you to decline. Let me tell you something, boy. I have been fighting since before you could walk and talk. You might think you're tough, and fast, and strong, and perhaps you are, but I'm the one who took you both by surprise and I'm the one who knows this land. So I'm leading you, and that's the end of the debate.'

'You don't even know where we're going.'

Ana grinned again. 'We're going to a monastery in Nepal. The voice in your head belongs to Zenyatta, once one of the disciples of a wise Omnic named Tekhartha Mondatta. He is one of the last Shambali, and I have met him several times.'

'When?'

'When Overwatch was tasked with protecting Tekhartha.'

'What happened?'

Ana scowled. 'You ask too many questions. Obviously we failed. Mondatta is dead and Zenyatta lives in exile, like me. But he is not dead, and neither do I, despite what everyone seems to think.'

Genji nodded his head. 'Do you think he will train me?'

Ana stood. 'A cyborg, a human, and an Omnic. You are the bridge between peoples. You are perhaps unique in your ability to understand both flesh and machine. Under Zenyatta's guidance you will do more than train, you will save the world. If you want to. Now come, we should not waste any more time. Collect your weapons.'

Genji called out to Hana, and explained that they were moving on. It was late in the evening now, but Ana explained that she knew a better place to make camp; a more defensible position that was only an hour away. And besides, with the suit's scanners, it was unlikely that any Omnics or living dead would sneak up on them, even in the dusk.

Hana drew her automatic blaster and started firing on the arcade machines. First she destroyed the luminescent screens, then the control panels, then the main processing units. It was surprisingly vicious and completely unnecessary.

'What are you doing?' Genji asked.

'I don't want anyone beating my high scores.' Hana replied. 'And I can't see us coming back here.'

It was not the answer Genji had been expecting, but he accepted it, drew his weapon, and helped destroy the remaining machines as Ana sat back and rolled her eyes.

'If you're done, we really should be going.' The old woman reminded them.

As they left the ruins of the arcade centre and stepped out into the dim light of post-apocalyptic China, Genji could have sworn he heard the former member of Overwatch whistle and mention something about his nice butt being nice and firm.

He decided to ignore her. It was unprofessional for people to talk about the rear end of a cyborg ninja.

Even if it was nice and firm.