A/N : Here we go.
Nate internal dialogue: Bold Italics. I.e: I don't care.
Dig(ghost)internal dialogue: Apostrophe-Bold Italics. I.e: 'I Don't Care'
The Darkest Knight
Part II: The Claws of Talon
Chapter 24: Different Times
Lightning blossomed through the sky, the white flash glimmering over downtown Tokyo and bathing the city in an eerie glow. Thunder roared after it, shaking the world for but a moment until life resumed as usual under the dark sky and falling rain.
It was a dark and beautiful sight.
But I was here days earlier than anticipated, and so it held no sway over me and I simply narrowed my gaze at the man standing before me.
"Where are they?" I said as I walked straight past Genji and towards the multi floored police station behind him.
The Ninja, to his credit, stepped in line with me and replied without hesitation, "Nathaniel, you're supposed to be in Oasis with Angela. The Virus and the developments-"
I spun on my heel and faced the ninja, "where are they Genji?"
The cyborg was silent for a moment, then relented with a sigh, "two are inside under custody. Three back at the safe house. Hana herself I have been unable to track. Whoever she left with-"
"You mean whoever took her?" I glared at the Ninja from behind my visor then turned and continued on towards the station.
Green lights flickered in the rain for a moment as he followed after me, "she went willingly."
I shook my head and shoved the double doors to the station open. Genji had no idea what he was saying. This was Hana, we were talking about. There was no way she would've just left her friends. Hell she was the fucking grilling my ass about not going to see her! About not being a good friend for fucks sake! And now I'm supposed to believe she'd abandon her own friends?
Like hell.
A dozen or so people, officers and secretaries, were wandering about the front of the station and the large secretarial desk that blocked the rest of the station off from visitors. A few obviously on guard, while others were talking and laughing together, and one or two were dealing with someone street thug if his attire and piss poor attitude was anything to go by.
Unfortunately, my entrance had all eyes turning towards me and I knew I was unwelcomed when several of the officers dropped their hands to what weapons they had. Whether it was a sidearm, a taser, a baton, it mastered not. They were ready to fight.
Thunder echoed from outside, and since their intimidation did nothing to faze me I walked right to the secretary at the desk, his eyes flickering with fear briefly before he sat tall and stilled his gaze on me.
"You detained two prisoners today from a heist gone wrong. Where are they?" I asked.
The man cleared his throat, "I do not-"
"We're on Overwatch business." Genji stepped up next to me, handing over a phone.
The man took it, glancing back at me once, before looking at the phone. His face turned from one of suspicion, to shock, then he handed the phone over to Genji while he stood and gave an awkward chuckle.
"Ah yes, please wait for me here. I will get the captain and he will escort you to the prisoners." The man quickly shuffled around to the front side of the desk and gave Genji a quick bow before rushing off through the doors behind his desk.
The officers around us visibly relaxed, and I huffed in annoyance before turning back to Genji.
"Tell me everything that happened."
If I could see his face, I had a feeling he would likely be glaring at me or at least rolling his eyes, but the green lights on his armor simply flickered and he said, "Hana and I deciphered the message she received. She made a move on the museum. I'm not sure what transpired within, but as she escaped with her friends they were ambushed and Song left them behind."
I bristled at the blatant disappointment, but I held my tongue and crossed my arms instead.
A moment later the doors from behind the secretary's desk opened and the secretary walked out followed by an older man with graying hair and an impassive face. The older man waved his hand once and the younger bowed quickly before returning to his desk. Without breaking a stride the older man approached me and held out a hand, "Captain Sato. It is with great honor that I welcome two members of the esteemed Overwatch to our station. How may we be of assistance?"
I ignored the hand offered to me, "we need to speak with the two Mekka pilots you apprehended. Now."
The Captain drew his hand back without batting an eye, crossed his hands behind his back, and gave a slight nod, "follow please. They are being held in the back holding cells and we are awaiting bail from the South Koren Military."
I didn't wait and pushed past the man and through the double doors further into the station.
Police officers, investigators, and basically every person within the actual office area of the station looked towards me as I entered. Some narrowed their eyes in irritation, others in suspicion, but mostly they seemed confused.
'Can you blame them? A fully armored Guardian just barged into their station.'
I didn't bother replying to Dig and instead continued on, even as the Captain and Genji followed behind me. I glanced back at the Captain and spoke even as I sidestepped a large officer carrying several stacks of folders, "so what happened?"
The Captains caught up to me, though his face was still as impassive as ever as he spoke, "the pilots stole a sacred sword from our museum. A legacy to the first shogun. That along with the assault of several security guards, officers, and destruction of property... Their case is…" the man's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips, "complicated to say the least."
I gave a grunt of acknowledgement and followed the sign on the back wall, and took a hard left.
The Captain kept pace with me as we left the office area behind and the hallways closed together to lead to the holding cell and interrogation rooms. It was barely a two or three minute walk, and I pushed the doors open with a sigh.
The holding cells were well lit, and the single cop left to watch the cells, musty and cramped things that they were, and its inhabitants stood up quickly then bowed, "Sato-Keibu!"
'Japanese honorific. Means Chief.'
I don't care. Any hits on the van that took Hana?
'I lost it outside Tokyo. Whoever she left with can really cover their tracks. Definitely professionals. Professional 'professional' level.'
The Captain gave a polite nod to the beat cop, who in turn moved off to the side and let us pass without further interruption. The older man led us to the furthest cells in the back and gestured to two cells sitting side by side.
"They were arrested for theft, assault, and a variety of other crimes. What does Overwatch wish with petty criminals?" The man raised a single eyebrow at us, but I ignored his blatant suspicion and walked up to the cells without paying him a glance.
"Keibu, we need a few minutes alone with the suspects." Genji's mechanical voice filtered out behind me, and I heard the Captain huff before his retreating footsteps filled the air and the sound of a closing door left us in silence with the two prisoners.
One was a young man. Marques, if I remembered correctly.
The other…
"Claire." I narrowed my eyes.
The blonde's gaze turned to me, and she gave me a glare mixed with an amused grin. "You."
"So the asshole showed up. Late and useless." Marques's voice was an irritant to my ears, but I ignored him and instead kept my eyes on the blonde who simply sat back on the bench and crossed her arms as she looked me dead in the eyes even from behind my visor.
"What happened?" I asked.
The blond rolled her eyes, "what do you think? Hana ditched us. Left us after we backed her play. Stupid idea to steal from a muesuem anyway."
"Stupid idea?!" Marques yelled from the other cell, and despite my desire to ignore him I found myself looking towards him as he continued, "of course it was stupid! I don't know why we even listened to her! Like what the hell! She left us! We take the fall for her and she gets away to do god knows what! Fucking christ man!"
"She left you?" I asked, tilting my head at Claire.
The blond nodded once, "yup. Up and left while we got arrested. Cool right?"
I bnlinked under my helmet.
Hana Song. . Hero.
She abandoned her friends.
Dig, do you have any visuals of the robbery?
'Nothing man. Someone took everything down whenever Hana was inside and even the cameras outside the museum are scrambled better than almost anything I've seen. I might be able to piece them together but it's going to take time.'
I gave a mental grunt of annoyance, then turned back to face Claire, "what was she looking for? Why would she even rob a museum of all things?"
"Said she had to steal a sword. Probably has something to do with the whole weird ass tablet thing she had."
The riddle…
I grit my teeth, "so she figured out something and assumed she had to rob a museum. Great."
"You're telling me."
"Please," It was Marques who spoke up again, "as if you care."
I turned my eyes to him and my cape fluttered behind me as I did, "excuse me?"
"If you gave a shit at all you'd have been helping her out, instead of jerking it off somewhere else." His eyes locked onto my visor, and despite our eyes not locking his glared steeled and he stood up from the bench in his cell.
I took a step forward, "You have-"
"-no right to say that?" Marques grabbed the bars of the cell and leaned forward, "yeah I do. Half my team is detained or missing, god knows what happened to the others, and all after your dumbass stabbed our captain and killed another one of us!"
My fingers curled together.
"Yeah, Claire might be back, doesn't excuse your shit! Your not a fucking hero you asshole! You used us as bait and now we're probably facing a court martial, and god knows what Hana's gotten herself into!"
Arc ran down my arms, "you should stop talking kid."
"Ha! Look at this dude," Marques laughed, "you're not a hero. You're just some asshole that thinks he is. You can just fuck off. We'll figure this shit out ourselves, without you and without Overwatch."
I barked out a single, cold, laugh, "you think you know me don't you?"
His eyes narrowed on me even as he crossed his arms and straightened his back. "Yeah, you're a pompous asshole. Probably grew up with everything handed to you and now you think-"
"You think because you've had a run in with the law, and a few deadly missions against the Omnics that you're suddenly a hardass? That you suddenly know what pain and suffering are?"
"Nat-" Genji started but I suddenly stepped forward and slammed my hand against the bars between Marques and me.
Arc raced over metal. The lights above us dimmed.
'Nate.'
I ignored Dig and continued, "you have no clue what suffering and pain are. I've seen darkness incarnate. I've seen the worst of what the universe has to offer. I have watched countless people die and I have felt the touch of the night."
Marques scoffed, "You don't-"
A flash of light, and I was in his cell.
I grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall.
"Leave him alone!" Claire's voice.
"Nathaniel!" Genji.
I ignored them both.
Marques to his credit, didn't flinch and grabbed my arms in an effort to push me down. His eyes widened when he realized that despite his size, despite whatever notion of strength he had, I was far stronger.
"You don't know anything. The fact you're Hana's teammate is the only reason you have any importance. You've done nothing, you've suffered nothing, and you definitely have no idea what either me or her have been through. So stop pretending you're some badass, when you're not."
He took a shaky breath in my grip and through grit teeth replied, "and if you gave a shit, you would've actually helped us."
I scoffed and released him before stepping back and blinking back out of his cell.
I spared a glance at Claire.
The blonde's eyes were locked on me.
"What?"
She shook her head, but failed to reply.
I shook my head, "thanks for nothing, idiots."
And with those final words, light surrounded me, and I left the precinct behind.
Hana felt the hair on her arms stand as the cool air washed over her. Humid, muggy and cold. She huffed and shivered once before steeling her resolve and following her savior, whose flashlight shined ahead of her.
Well, savior was a loaded word.
But at the end of the day, it's what the purple clad woman before her was. Her Savior. Though, the woman was also responsible for their heist falling apart. As well as her injuries at the battle for the UN.
She flinched at the thought of the heist. The last she had seen of her team was them getting arrested for her plan. For her. And then she left them behind.
They'll be fine...
She grit her teeth as her footsteps echoed out around her, the humid air in the tunnel doing little to calm her nerves.
"Calmate Chica," the woman laughed from in front of her, brown eyes playfully flickering to her then back to the tunnel before them, "we're not far now."
Hana huffed.
She was glad the others in the van had stayed outside the tunnel, but traveling alone with this woman only brought back bad memories. Specifically memories of almost dying at the UN.
For a moment, she thought of Nate and Overwatch. How would they respond to the heist? Would they go searching for her? Would Nate once again eb forced to scour the globe in search of her?
She shook her head.
No. This was by her own design. She was here because she wanted to be. Because she needed to know just what this woman wanted and that White Ninja from Korea had been talking about.
"Tell me chica, why did we give you a riddle?"
Hana blinked at the question, careful to step over a large chunk of concrete that had clearly fallen from the roof of the tunnel. It didn't ease her nerves that a cold moonlight shined through the makeshift skylight and bathed the tunnel in an eerie aura that remind her more of a horror movie than anything else.
Hell, with her luck she wouldn't be surprised if there was some monster lurking at the end to eat her and sombra.
Nonetheless she sighed as she gave her response, "because you need people that are smart right?"
She remembered the words vividly.
Strength will not help us...
Th Hispanic chuckled, "no no nina. If I needed someone smart, would not the Angel or the Ape have been better recruits? Or even your mysterious hero? The man in the cape?"
Nate.
She grit her teeth, "then why didn't you get them?"
The woman shrugged and twirled a strand of hair on one of her fingers, "perdon nina, but you have no reason to not trust me. Have I not been honest with you since the beginning?"
"You tried to kill me." Hana hissed and stomped forward, catching up to the woman and pointing a finger at her, "you attacked us, and you helped Talon assault the United Nations in broad daylight! Not to mention you ruined our heist!"
A grin found itself on the woman's lips and she rolled her eyes, "please. Nothing is so black and white. If I truly wished to harm you and your friends would I not have simply done it at your friends home? When all of you were together and had your guards down?"
Hana glared at the woman, "fine, you've been honest. Whatever. Then just tell me why you chose me over the others."
The woman shrugged with a shit eating grin and turned away from her, "Angela is an idealist. She believes too much in the black and white of the world and lacks.. Conext. The Ape is tied to his job. His… nation so to speak. Your caped friend is powerful, yes, but lacks grace in his pursuits. He is more like a raging bull, all power and destruction. We need a snake, smart and quick to strike."
She narrowed her eyes. "You need someone you can manipulate huh?"
There was a moment of silence. Brown eyes glanced back to her, then she laughed, "aye. Everyone manipulates everyone. Tell me nina, have you not batted your lashes and guilted your hero into doing things for you? Such as telling him he's not a friend for not visiting you?"
Hana's eyes grew wide. They knew about that? About her argument with Nate?
Before she could reply, or even react any further, the woman continued speaking, "yes, we've been watching you for months girl. An easy task for us, but important. We take care of our investments."
"You…" Hana stuttered and her footsteps slowed, "you've been watching me? For months? And you say you're protecting me?"
"Si nina," The woman smirked and turned to face her even as she began walking backwards, "like I said if we wanted you dead you would have been dead a long time ago. Not even your hero in the cape could have stopped us."
Something in her heart twisted and Hana lunged forward.
The Woman saw it coming from a mile away, Hana knew that, but she didn't care. She grabbed the woman by her purple jacket and pulled her around with strength that betrayed her size. The woman let out a small gasp as she was thrust against the concrete wall of the tunnel around them, but let nothing else escape her even as Hana comminuted pushing.
"You weren't protecting me! Talon had me! They… they… did things! They tried to do things! And Nate was the only one to help me! It wasn't Overwatch! It wasn't my team! You did nothing! We got out of there! Him! Me!" Hanna roared and her hands shook even as the woman's smirk never faded, "don't you dare say you were there for me! Don't!"
"Ah," The woman's smirk turned to a genuine smile, "there it is."
Hana shook her head then hissed, "and what the hell does that mean!"
"The reason we chose you Song."
Hana blinked and her anger lessened, curiosity winning out as she replied, "what do you mean?"
The Woman sighed, "you have a fire in you. A one track mind dedicated towards your hatred of Talon and the powers of the world that failed you. That's what we need. Someone with heart, but is still smart and strong enough to survive this world."
Hana froze up, her eyes blinking and her hands growing colder by the second. Someone with heart? That's what she was? The girl who abandoned her friends?
She grit her teeth, "don't lie to me."
"I never have."
She let loose a deep breath and her fingers lost their strength, releasing the woman.
The Woman in turn laid a hand on Hana's shoulder, "nina, not everything is so black and white."
A glare was Hana's reply, and she shrugged the hand off before starting down the tunnel, the Woman by her side.
They needed someone with Heart, and the woman openly admitted to manipulating her. And strangely enough, the woman was right. She had never lied to Hana, not once, despite the fact they had even fought before.
How was it that even Nate, and Overtwach had lied to her? If not, then they at the least omitted truths from her and even chose to use her as bait? And yet this woman, an enemy, had never once lied to her.
Why?
She dug her nails into her palms. She bit her cheeks. She held her breath even as she walked.
Sure, maybe she had a drive to do things. Maybe, she was truly the fire that this woman's group needed. But she wasn't a manipulative person. That wasn't her. She couldn't do that to people. She wasn;t this woman, she wasn't Talon, she wasn't even Nate and Overwtach.
They all had agendas. They all pushed people to do their bidding. She wasn't like that.
Was she?
She grit her teeth. No. She wasn't and would not be like that. The heist was a fluke.
She would not be like that.
She would-
"We're here." The woman's voice broke her trance and she blinked once to reorient herself.
A door of pure steel sat before her, embedded within the concrete tunnel and with two cameras sitting above the door watching them. The cameras weren't moving, but the cleanliness of the door, and the fact the door was lit by a single light, hinted that this place was definitely in use.
The Woman stopped in front of the door and crossed her arms, looking up the camera as she said, "hola seńora. How about you let us in and we can finally give the girl her answers hmm?"
Hana had no time to reply as a loud metallic groan echoed out and she took a step back as the metal door slowly inched itself open, revealing nothing but darkness beyond. Complete blackness that her nerves itching and her primal instinct screaming at her to run.
The woman didn't hesitate and stepped into the darkness, but not without glancing back at Hana and saying, "come now chica. Don't be afraid of the dark." Then she disappeared within the darkness and Hana was alone in the tunnel.
She glanced further down the tunnel, and back the way they came.
No one was around and she had a feeling this was as much of a test as everything else she had been through in the past few days. She shook her head and with a defiant gaze strode straight into the darkness.
The door instantly shut behind her with another loud groan and her eyes strained as the darkness took her. She was unable to see even three inches in front of her no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't see her hands and the silence in the darkness was loud enough that she could hear her own heart racing in her ears. The air itself was cooler than the tunnel, and fortunately it lacked the humidity as well, which at least left her feeling chilled and not muggy. She took a step forward and was relieved to feel solid concrete beneath her feet.
She swallowed hard and spoke up, "is this another test?"
Silence was her answer.
She grit her teeth and shifted her weight so she was ready to dodge at a moment's notice.
She waited a few moments.
Nothing came for her and nothing responded to her earlier question.
She huffed and tried again, "if you're trying to scare me it isn't working."
Whether she was lying or not, even she couldn't tell. However, she had no time to ponder her thoughts as suddenly, with an audible clank, lights suddenly burst to life above her and white light covered everything.
She flinched at the sound and light, but held her ground even as her sight grew blurry and she was forced to cover her eyes and blink several times just so she could see clearly.
Computers, desktops and actual PCS, covered the wall in the back of the massive room in front of her. Massive screens, tiny monitors, dozens of keyboards, and hundreds of smaller control panels were all arrayed in a massive display of technical chaos. There were tables everywhere, some big, some large. Duffles bugs, fast food debris, and even cots were laid about. To her shock even weapons, guns and melee ones, were laid out in the open with no sense of organization. The sheer amount of chords, buttons, and absolute chaos of the room had Hana taking a step back towards the door though her eyes were drawn to the side where there was movement.
"Welcome Hana Song."
She gasped.
Katya Volskaya and the massive woman with pink hair stood on the side with the Hispanic woman and the White Ninja.
The leader of Russia was smiling and held her hands wide.
"Welcome to the Eyes of Osiris."
"That's impossible…" Lena felt her hands tremble as Nate's words echoed in her skull.
Less than five hundred people were left on earth. That wasn't even enough to restart the population without generations of people with inbred genes.
How had that even happened? With Overwatch , the UN, Oasis, and every other advanced and powerful entity that populated earth, it should've been impossible. Even Talon would have fought tooth and nail before letting humanity go extinct.
"How?" She asked, her breath shaky even as she turned to look at Nate.
The man shrugged, his eyes never meeting hers as he instead looked out of the helicopter and towards what had to have been the Boston skyline. It was naught more than abandoned buildings, charred remains, and collapsed structures.
"We think it started in Oasis." It was McCree that spoke up, "something went wrong with the cure for the Zika-virus. Some sort of interference from the abandoned moon base and something to do with Moria and Talon screwing with things they shouldn't."
Oasis. Zika. It's where Nathaniel and Angela had been stationed before… well before she had shoved forward through time.
"Angela was the first agent we lost." It was Nate who spoke this time, and his eyes met hers, "then we lost all of Oasis. The United States nuked them then. We lost a lot of the best scientific minds when Oasis fell and they didn't want to take a chance."
"Lot of good it did them," McCree gave a single, morbid chuckle before Nate then continued, "too late though. Somehow it got through the checkpoints for the rest of Africa and Europe. Korea locked down hard as did Australia and the Americas."
The Helicopter rose higher into the sky and Lena was forced to cover her face as a gust of wind rushed through the open vehicle and chilled her to the very bone.
Nonetheless, since the rotors were silent, she was able to listen as Nate continued on.
"Not sure where it went completely wrong. But I was on the ground when the outbreak in Korea hit. I've seen horrible things Lena, but the slaughter I saw there..." His voice dimmed and she removed the hand covering her face to look at the man.
His eyes were burning a hole into the helicopter's floor and his hands were gripped together hard enough she could see blood dripping from where his nails were sinking into skin.
"Nathaniel…" She reached for him but the man leaned back instead to avoid her and shook his head.
"The military was overwhelmed within the week. Mekka's were useless and we lost Hana's team when the first surge hit. The stupid thing spread too fast, and these… Spawn that it makes are too tough, too smart. We had no containment for it, nothing worked, and they just kept coming. They're a challenge even for me in numbers, but the average civilian? It was like leaving a baby to a pack of wolves. They didn't stand a chance. And the more that died, the more the Spawn grew in numbers. A few ships and planes made it away from the mainland and rushed to Japan. Then I watched Seoul burn as China, The US, and every major player left annihilated every single city infected with whatever nuclear options they had."
Lena gasped.
"We didn't want them too," McCree turned in his seat looking back at her and Nate, "but no one cared about Overwatch's opinion when it hit the fan."
"Yup," Nate nodded, "And then it just got worse. Not enough forces left and the Ghouls spread and… Well. You get the idea."
She could only stare even as thunder grumbled in the distance.
"And… and Winston? And the others?"
"Emily's gone." Nate's voice was clear and cut.
Still she flinched at the statement and closed her eyes with a slow, shuddering breath.
"Winston's alive. So is Hana. Genji went down trying to save a hospital full of children. Mei in London. Then most of Talon went down when Philly fell. They tried saving some experimental tech along with a stadium full of refugees. Osiris we lost when Moscow went. Helix and Vishkar died with Australia's last stand. Then the rest of the world little by little."
"Talon?" Lena asked, her mind figuring such a thing was plausible but still needing the conformation.
Nate nodded, "yeah. When the whole world was on the brink, even the assholes came to help. Didn't mean much in the end though. Only the Reaper survived and we haven't seen him in a few months."
"Twenty five minutes out." It was Jack who spoke.
Lena blinked in confusion and glanced back to the countryside below them. It flew by silently, and she could see the Boston Skyline disappearing in the distance.
"Do we have a base of operations?" She asked, turning back towards Nate.
He nodded, "yeah. A small thing up in the mountains with tons of rock between whoever's left and the Spawn. Only way to ensure we survive"
The words popped an idea into her head and she replied, "are you sure someone else couldn't have used similar ideas to hold out elsewhere? Maybe even under the sea or in the Himalayas?"
McCree coughed and gave a fifty-fifty twist of his hand, "maybe. But we searched as far as we could, have two satellites searching every inch of land they can, and Nate even used his own ship to try and boost our radio signal."
Nathaniel nodded, "yeah. We tried using to upper atmosphere to curve the signals and increase range. If anyone else is out there aside from the Reapers, then they haven't said anything to us."
Lena pursed her lips. She couldn't help the ache in her chest, and she found her mind drawn to memories of a woman with orange hair. She cleared her throat and let out a shuddering breath, "how did Emily…"
Nate met her eyes, and his stoic look softened, "when we were evacuating Gibraltar," she saw McCree turn away as the Guardian continued, "some of the Spawn snuck in through the cliffs. McCree was almost overrun, and at the last second, Emily shoved him out of the way and took a fatal blow for him. It was quick."
Lena gave a silent nod and closed her eyes.
Everything was gone. Emily was gone. Angela. Mei. Eight billion people, and who knows how many omnics. All gone.
But there were others still alive.
She opened her eyes and found herself looking out to see the terrain below. Rocky terrain was below them now and she glanced further ahead to see a mountain range growing larger. Though it didn't make sense how they were going so fast in a helicopter.
"Who designed this thing?" She asked.
"Winston and Dig. Based on a prototype from the US military. They managed to finish it, and its honestly one of the best tools at our disposal. Extremely fast and completely silent. Only way for us to sneak around and search for survivors." Nate replied.
"Where is Dig by the way?" She asked.
Nate grunted, "at base. Some… complications with us right now."
She raised an eyebrow but when the Guardian failed to reply she spared an inquisitive glance at McCree. The gunslinger however was still facing forward and so didn't notice her silent question, leaving her to wonder just what… complications had occurred to separate the Guardian from his ever faithful companion.
The rest of the journey went in silence between them.
She watched as the mountains began to get closer and closer with every passing minute, and if she simply looked out over the wilderness beneath her, then was tempted to believe that nothing bad had truly happened at all.
The world, and nature, were still spinning.
It was simply humanity that suffered a terrible fate.
She frowned and wondered just what had caused such a catastrophe to occur.
What had happened with the moon base and Talon to create such a deadly pathogen? Especially one that created monsters? And how had Dig, a literal supercomputer and AI, along with Winston, not been able to solve it?
She grit her teeth, then gave a slight shake of her head.
She'd have to ask the Scientist himself.
A minute or so later the helicopter began to slow, and Lena was able to fully enjoy the view from the mountain, from the trees with orange leaves to the rocky cliff sides. She was even able to see the tip tops of the Boston Skyline in the distance.
The helicopter slowed even further and suddenly a clearing the size of a football field appeared within the trees, though it was obviously man-made as evident by the still remaining tree trunks that had been haphazardly cut down and the splotches of grass uprooted by tire marks.
They began to descend and she looked out to the treeline.
Makeshift wooden walls at least thirty feet high stood against the trees, with floodlights, automated turrets, barbed wire, and what she assumed were armed guards patrolling the catwalks on the inside of the walls.
There was a single small archway in the wood, where concrete barriers, more turrets and floodlights, and even a small mote sat leading into the forest, though the wooden gate under the archway was shut and barred with steel beams.
Further within the clearing were homes. It was obvious from the smoke rising from the wooden buildings, and from the fact crops, cars, and even a few smaller fields where children were running around playing, sat about in abundance.
Then she noticed a girl standing next to a particularly barren stretch of field that had weights, a sand pit, and dummy targets, all while the girl shouted at a group of teenagers with failing hands.
Hana Song.
"Yeah she drills the teenagers of the camp," Nathaniel's voice was close, and she jumped at the rudeness before turning to glare at him.
"Oi! Don't do that ya git!" She growled and he gave a light laugh.
"My bad…" His eyes looked past her as they descended and the homes grew larger and slowly her vision over the clearing was eclipsed by the homes and the rules of line of sight. "I'm just glad she's up and about. Means she doesn't know I forgot to put the clothes out to dry."
"Tch, yeah, last time ya'll hashed it out no one could get any shut eye." McCree equipped from the front and Jack gave a snort.
Nathaniel responded first of course, "hey, not my fault alright. She was the one who broke the fireplace."
"Woman's always right, Nate. First rule of Marriage." McCree laughed.
Lena's eyes went wide as she gasped at Nate, "marriage!"
The Guardian shrugged, "not officially. No churches and all that. But, we've been together for almost seven years now, so basically."
She blinked. She knew they had told her it had been ten years. But seeing Nathaniel barely aged a day, who was apparently now, civilly married to Hana Song?
She shook her head, "wow. Did not expect that."
"Pft. Ya kidding right?" McCree looked at her as the rotors of the helicopter slowed and with a gentle thump, the machine finally landed, "them two were always over each other. Even before ya dipped on us."
Nathaniel laughed loudly as he hopped down from the helicopter, "you can shove it McCree."
"Everyone knew it!" The Cowboy laughed as he too hopped out of the helicopter.
Lena followed suit, and relished in the fresh air and not being battered by wind. She took in the homes, which were much more shoddily made than she had guessed from the air, and she even gave a wave to the couple and group of kids that stopped to look at their landing.
The soft sound of boots on grass and she glanced back to see Nathaniel standing next to her.
He gave her a small smile.
"Things have changed, Lena. Really changed. But I'm glad you're here." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze before nodding forward.
"Come on. I know Winston and Hana are gonna lose it when they see you."
A/N
We're back! Took forever and I'm really sorry about that. Honestly, I've kinda fallen out form overwatch. The entire game is… dead to me. I played it religiously for four years, from platinum to High masters for seven seasons, but the lack of care for the game, the lack of heart, the lack of lore, all let it die for me. And Overwatch 2 looks like a cash grab and that even breaks my heart more.
But then I realized… I couldn't leave the story unfinished. As much as the game and Blizzard aren't my favorites right now, The characters and the world are still amazing.
I will not leave this unfinished.
So I'm back.
This is going to finish, and with much better quality than before. I hope.
If you don't remember what's going on, I recommend going back and rereading part II. I had to do it because my computer got wiped and destroyed all my notes for this story.
Nonetheless, the adventure of a Guardian in the world of Overwatch will continue!
As you can see, Nate is still kind of a prick. Hana is doing odd things. And Lena is dealign with the fallout of time travel.
Remember Nate's nightmares, and flashes of his life as a Guardian. Of his fireteam with Kathy, the woman he loved. Remember how he showed up in this world as was confused by it, but out of guilt, protected Hana Song, and subsequently formed a weird-frustrated sort of friendship/relationship with her? Remember his fight to save the UN, where him and Dig (his ghost), gave Hana a portion of his light to help keep her alive during the battle. His discoveries with Mercy in Oasis and the kid with fire based powers, Claire dying and then being alive now and working with Talon, and the lady from last chapter creating an army of her own?
So many things. So much story to tell.
I'm ready for this.
Are you?
-Metal4k
P.S. I'm considering making a (obviously I don't own the characters from my fanfics and worlds so no I am not making money off that, its just to support me as a writer so I can focus more on writing and a bit less on money), but it's for original short stories or even beta contests for my actual novels, maybe some polls for these stories, and my upcoming artwork (taking courses and actually being able to create some decent stuff now). If you're interested in supporting me and helping me out in such a way just let me know! Every ounce of support drives me to keep doing this stuff, but I'm still just thinking about it.
P.P.S. I made a . www. P a Treon / metal4k