Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Overwatch belongs to Blizzard.
Anyone remember when I said that the story might ramble at points since I lacked any sort of plan and wrote the first chapter on a whim? Yeah, that shows in this chapter. Ah well. On to the chapter, enjoy!
The constant fights against the Gwishin were finally beginning to take their toll as the MEKA force raced to meet the threat once again. Down in strength due to damaged mechs and injured pilots, there wasn't much choice but to send the most capable of the wounded. While she had recovered well and rebuilt her mech, DVa would most certainly not think of herself as ready to face the colossal omnic without the backup of the entire team.
Even being down one member was going to make the entire fight far more difficult, and thus more dangerous to those who could participate. Aside from Hana, only Yuna, Seung-Hwa, and Jae-Eun were capable of engaging anything in a fight currently, and even then they were doing so with their own handicaps. If they had received real support rather than the token gestures of publicity, that might not have been the case.
Unfortunately, there simply wasn't a choice when it came to dealing with the Gwishin. It had revealed itself early this attack, allowing them to engage it well away from any cities, an opportunity that couldn't be missed. There were no other forces that would assist as the military focused on keeping order in the civilian populace and thus lacked the personnel and material to challenge such a threat. That the colossal omnic was already mounting another assault was concerning as this was by far the fastest it had ever recovered, with only a couple months having gone by since the last attack.
DVa's attention was drawn away from her worries as yet another communication came in about a separate group of Gwishin to the northwest. This was the latest of several reports about the ghost omnics as well as some unknown aircraft that had been buzzing around the world. Hana's first thought had been Overwatch, but that didn't seem to be the case according to the radio chatter. What caught her attention about the latest piece of information, however, was that the Gwishin had intercepted the unknown craft and dropped off the radar shortly after. While confirmation of their destruction was pending, the foreign aircraft had continued on, straight towards the reported location of the colossal omnic.
Appreciated as reinforcements were by the mech pilots, there was no way that the government would accept a stranger stealing the spotlight. While it might increase the number of views on stream, the lack of any advertisements would hurt sales as viewers focused on the foreign craft rather than the MEKA sponsors. Whoever was flying the incoming craft was extremely confident in their abilities as almost everyone knew to avoid the Gwishin as well as the wrath of the Korean government. Those who didn't follow that rule usually didn't last long, mech pilots included.
Hopefully DVa and her teammates wouldn't be joining those lost today, however, as the massive form of the omnic appeared on the horizon. Even after having fought the same enemy to a draw multiple times, the enemy was still intimidating to look at. Unlike most fights, though, there was still visible battle damage to the outer hull, meaning MEKA wasn't the only one going into this fight ill-prepared.
With their target now in sight, the understrength team was able to let off their boosters and assess the situation. Some flak came their direction from one of the many guns on the Gwishin, but none of it was anywhere close to hitting them. A window popped up in the bottom of Hana's display showing the livestream of the fight, though she easily ignored it and pushed aside her irritation. The fight was now, her frustration with the corporate profiteering would have to wait.
Captain Myung would be commanding them from the mecha-base as usual, leaving Hana waiting for orders alongside the others. While doing so, DVa watched the unidentified craft continue to close on their position.
"Alright everyone, visual analysis is complete," the Captain stated. "Anti-air is active as you already saw, so we'll have to take this slow. Watch the approach, we'll try to disable its leg to force a retreat or strand it to finally take it down."
"And the other incoming?" Casino asked pointedly.
Myung replied, "Air Force units have been dispatched but won't be able to intercept before it arrives. Focus on the Omnic for now, I will try to get updates on the situation from other branches. Do not engage unless fired upon, we can't deal with whatever it is as well as the colossal omnic."
Much as she disliked the idea, DVa couldn't argue as she responded, "Understood, moving forward." With that, Hana flared her boosters and watched the Omnic draw closer. The other three pilots followed behind, falling into formation with an ease borne of thousands of hours of practice.
This aggression did not go unnoticed by their enemy as the Gwishin slowly turned towards them, water splashing against its massive legs as it did so. Hana only spared the sea below a passing glance, carefully avoiding thinking about the almost certain death that awaited should her mech go down out here.
With the battle finally beginning in earnest, the Omnic demonstrated why it was such a difficult foe. Dozens of rockets were fired at the incoming mechs, along with thick sheets of flak. As the primary tank in the MEKA team, DVa took the lead and popped open her defense matrix, rendering most of the fire useless. Some miscellaneous shots still got by, but none did any damage as the mechs simply moved aside.
Realizing that her matrix wouldn't be able to protect the team from another barrage, DVa shouted, "Split!"
All the other mechs quickly turned to the sides, breaking off their unified approach and forcing the Gwishin to split its fire. Using the extra breathing room, Hana fired off a barrage of missiles to try and take out one of the anti-air guns scattered across the armored robot.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the Omnic had already received several repairs as a shield blocked the projectiles. Attacks from the others met a similar barrier, doing no damage to the Gwishin and leaving the MEKA squad open to enemy fire.
Before Myung could issue the order to peel off, Casino took several hits that caused his mech to wobble alarmingly. While the Captain was shouting orders to bring the group back together, Hana brought herself between the enemy and her damaged teammate, giving him time to retreat out of range.
Once he was clear, DVa began to back off as well. Before the Gwishin could take advantage of her vulnerable state, DMon joined her and provided a shield.
After throwing a quick thanks to Yuna, DVa listened as Casino reported, "Damage to one of my thrusters, I can't get in close."
"Auxiliaries?" Captain Myung questioned.
"Already down, didn't have the parts to repair them before the attack," Jae-Eun said.
After a second to think about the battle, Hana suggested, "We can fight a battle of attrition, pick at it from afar. I didn't see any defense matrices on our run, so once we bust its shields it will have to back off or be destroyed."
"It came up all the way out here, way before the next attack. Now is our chance to destroy it forever," Overlord argued.
"We're just as unprepared as it is," DMon countered. "If we find out what caused it to emerge, we can draw it back out later when the team is at full strength."
Myung settled the argument as she said, "We'll take it down here and now. Casino, target the legs and try to do what you can to immobilize it. If you get a shot on a weapon, take it, but don't get too close. Everyone else, form up for another attack run."
DVa moved to obey, opening a diagnostics window as she broke off with DMon and Overlord. It was immediately apprentice that Tokki was in no shape to be fighting a prolonged battle, though Hana had already known that from her time spent rebuilding the mech after it was destroyed by the Ghost omnics. What was more concerning, however, was the state of her teammates.
Casino's mech was obviously having major mechanical issues from previous damage as well as the hit he took earlier. Aside from her mech problems, DVa had her injuries from last fight, a handicap shared by DMon and Overlord due to the last time the colossal omnic had appeared.
With that in mind, Hana opened a private channel to Captain Myung and stated, "We don't have the durability for this fight."
"Reinforcements are on the way, we just need to hold it here," Myung responded, slightly irritated at the interruption. Both soldiers kept the talk informal since it was not being broadcast on the stream, unlike their teamwide comms.
"We tried using regular forces back in the Crisis, and the Gwishin have only gotten stronger. Trying to stall won't work," DVa insisted.
The Captain sighed and replied, "Orders from command, it's out of my control. They've recognized the inbound aircraft as a wanted fugitive for a Petras Act violation as well as multiple crimes in American States. You know how they are with Overwatch, the same feud from the Crisis that created the MEKA program. Once we're done with the Gwishin, the team will engage the other hostile."
"What?!" Hana cried out. "I've seen the videos of whatever those things were. Engaging the colossal omnic is risky, but if we attack those aliens too?"
"They are not aliens," Myung said with some exasperation.
Hana snorted as she responded, "Really? Have you seen the vids?"
"You have your orders," the Captain stated. "What they are does not matter. They will arrive before reinforcements can, so be prepared for them."
"They just took out five airborne Gwishin and we're supposed to fight them and the colossal omnic?" Hana asked incredulously. "That's suicide."
"I know!" Myung exclaimed. She took a second to sigh before repeating, "I know. I've been trying to avoid giving the order and allow my superiors some time to argue against it, but no luck."
DVa processed that before saying, "So this is it, then?"
"I'll do my best to get you all back alive," Myung assured her. "Just keep up the positivity for the stream, we can do this."
Taking a second to evaluate the situation in front of her, Hana went for honesty as she replied, "We're weakened and committing to a fight we can't win. At least cut off the stream, there is no way that everyone can get out of danger if we close in."
Captain Myung didn't even try to deny that, instead simply muttering, "I'm sorry, Hana."
"Never retreat, I suppose," DVa replied.
"I'll see you back at base, one way or another."
Hana didn't reply to that as she cut the channel and once again slipped into the persona of DVa as she addressed the squad, "Unknown craft is almost here, so let's make this quick. Captain?"
The lack of apprehension in Myung's voice was a testament to her acting skills as she responded, "We will need to stick together to cover our flanks. DMon, you'll be leading with DVa ready to provide relief for heavy fire. Overlord will be focusing on damage to try and cripple the enemy for our support to move in. Casino, coordinate your fire with Overlord to focus down one of its shields, but keep an eye out for that incoming. You'll be separated from the rest of the squad and are the most vulnerable."
"Of course, I can handle it," Jae-Eun claimed, though Hana knew it was a bluff. Considering the state of his mech, it would be far safer for him to retreat now, but that'd leave the team without any hope of victory in this fight. Losing one of their two damage mechs would make it nearly impossible to break the strong shields that the Gwishin used.
Ignoring the issues that would arise should this new player prove hostile and eliminate Casino from the fight before they could react, Hana followed DMon as they began to approach the Omnic once more. Surprisingly, the Gwishin didn't seem to have adjusted itself while the MEKA squad regrouped, though it was also not ignoring the threat they represented. This was abundantly clear as another barrage of fire came at them almost instantly, forcing the trio to dodge to the side and let Yuna's shield tank any miscellaneous shots.
Seeing that large bursts were ineffective at dissuading the approaching mechs, the colossal omnic switched to a strategy of sustained fire. This forced Yuna to keep her shield active and unable to recharge. DVa tried to matrix the worst of the damage but couldn't keep the field active long enough to relieve her teammate.
By the time they had gotten close enough to give Overlord some room to work, the two tanks were struggling with the volume of incoming ordinance. Fortunately, Casino's continual long-range shots had been targeted against an isolated weapon on the Gwishin. Once Seung-Hwa joined in on the assault, it was not long before there was a small area clear of hostile fire. Taking the chance for what it was, Yuna dropped her barrier to let it recharge for the next push.
Casino had already begun targeting the Gwishin's leg by the time the trio was back in the air. Strong as Jae-Eun's long range weaponry was, it did little against the shields protecting the vulnerability. Cursing at the ability of the omnics to adapt so well, DVa forewent her matrix in favor of focusing down the barrier.
Much like Yuna's barrier, the Gwishin had copied the shields used by the German Crusaders during the Omnic Crisis to protect many of its vital components. In addition to being extremely fast to recharge, the strength of the barrier made it difficult to take down individually. This was even more true with the overlapping fields of flak and rockets that the Gwishin had added to itself.
While the two others concentrated on taking down the shield around the omnic's leg to allow the team to immobilize it, Yuna called out, "Shield going down for a bit."
DVa acknowledged the statement but did not turn her attention away since her teammate had not sounded particularly worried.
This quickly changed as Jae-Eun suddenly spoke up, "Sights on that aircraft, it's coming in fast."
"Break off at your discretion," Myung replied. "Confirm heading?"
"Straight at the Gwishin, radar is accurate," Casino stated.
Before any more words could be exchanged, the Colossal Omnic suddenly moved, turning to face the aircraft. Multiple weapons fired wildly into the sky, but nothing hit the large ship as it blasted straight over the area. Even from the brief glance she had gotten, DVa could tell that the object was bulky and not particularly well armed. Even so, the speed and maneuverability it had shown made it a threat to whoever it attacked.
Unwilling to initiate hostilities while so close to the Gwishin, Hana and her team kept their focus on breaking the shield over the leg joint. Fortunately, it seemed that the unknown ship had done something to catch the attention of the omnic as multiple rockets flew upwards. Rather than continuing on its course, the craft pulled up sharply, easily avoiding the shots that might have otherwise made contact.
DVa and the rest of the squad watched the turn, well aware that they might be fighting the heavily armored ship. Even though it looked like a personnel transport, the ability to execute such sharp turns indicated that it could double as an attack ship.
This was proven as several shots came from a weapon mounted on the chin of the transport, though all of them were blocked by shields. The Gwishin responded in kind as it fired in calculated bursts, though it still failed to take out it's new enemy.
As the craft backed off slightly to assess the situation in more detail, Captain Myung spoke, "Gwishin and Unknown are both marked as hostile, to us and each other. DMon, status?"
"Shield is still giving us trouble, we just don't have the firepower to break it quickly with Casino so far out," Yuna answered.
Before the Captain could reply, a new voice suddenly interjected, "This is Cortana to all units, recommend immediate evacuation, ordinance inbound in fifty seconds."
"This is Captain Myung of the Mobile Exo-force of the Korean Army, this is a restricted area. You are ordered to leave immediately and surrender yourselves to the Korean Army for extradition to the United Nations for crimes-"
"Sorry to interrupt your little speech, but I did try to be nice," the distinctly female voice cut in. "Perhaps blunt will work better. Your squad here has about one minute to clear the area before it is turned into a pulverized crater. Forty seconds to shot away."
DVa could hear the irritation in her commander's voice as she replied, "If we retreat now then the Gwishin will just repair itself. Now is our chance to-"
As the communication was disrupted, Hana looked at the stream window and noticed that it was frozen, indicating that the connection the the MEKA base had been disrupted. Apparently Yuna had seen the same thing as she called out, "Long range communications are down here, comm check."
"Overlord hears you."
"Down on Casino as well."
"DVa here," Hana replies calmly.
It took several long seconds for Yuna to finally come to a decision, "DMon to all MEKA units, pull back. Contact lost with reinforcements, unknown aircraft in the area, no civilian targets in striking distance."
They were distracted from following that order as Cortana once again interrupted, "Good job, glad we're all in agreement and everything, but I was not joking earlier. Approximately twenty-five to firing."
Appreciated as that reminder may have been, the distraction cost the squad as one of the Gwishin's weapons was finally able to fire on the trio of mechs. With her attention on the countdown and the confusion about whether to ignore it or not, Yuna was slightly too slow in activating her barrier to protect their retreat.
An unpleasant crack emanated from Beast's arm as the incoming shot connected with the shield emitter, rendering it useless. As fast as DMon was in recognizing the danger she was in, the Omnic was even faster as multiple other weapons were able to get a line on the vulnerable mech. Within seconds, Beast was falling out of sky after taking multiple hits across it's chassis.
"Yuna!" DVa shouted, turning Tokki in preparation to try and assist. Considering that DMon had not yet ejected from the doomed mech, it was clear that something was wrong with the hatch. Aside from risking bashing in Beast's front window to pull out Yuna and thereby expose her to the hostile fire from the Gwishin, there wasn't much that Hana could do. This registered in her mind but was pushed aside, as the only other option was to knowingly abandon her teammate to drown.
DMon knew that just as much as anyone else as she calmly stated, "Beast is hit, thrusters are out." A rough, wet cough interrupted the pilot for a second before she continued, "Everyone else, keep moving out. Fall back to the base, mission is a bust."
"I can make it to you," Hana insisted, though her claim was rather dubious as she had to desperately avoid incoming fire just to hold her current position.
"No," Yuna argued. "Fall back to Busan. I'll be with you."
As much as Hana wanted to try and disobey, the squad was still on a timetable. This was reinforced once more as the woman named Cortana said, "Fifteen seconds, chances of making it to safety are growing quite slim."
DVa hesitated again, taking one last glance to watch as DMon's mech crashed into the ocean at the foot of the Gwishin as she replied, "Always."
She was pushed into action as a new voice ordered, "Move, now." Deep and lacking any sign of doubt, it was the voice of a military leader giving an order that could not be disobeyed.
Figuring that this was another person on board the unknown aircraft, DVa flared her boosters twisting Tokki around to see if the squad was being followed. Much to her surprise, the bulky transport was not moving to engage the survivors but rather diving towards the sea. Much as it pulled at her heart, Hana forced herself to look down at the partially submerged form of Beast. The mech had landed facedown and was quickly sinking as the water roiled from the escaping air.
Before the machine could completely disappear beneath the waves, the unidentified craft swooped down through the enemy fire and came to a stop. DVa couldn't see what was happening with the transport blocking her view, but she noticed several sparks fly off the top of the craft as the Gwishin seemed to fire everything it had.
This didn't seem to have any effect on the aircraft as it quickly began to ascend and accelerate away from the Colossal Omnic. Seeing that the vessel was already catching up, DVa turned away and continued after her squad. Since she had been flying backwards to watch the unknown, she had fallen slightly behind but was able to make up the distance with more powerful boosters.
As they succeeded in distancing themselves from the Gwishin, several spots appeared high up in the atmosphere. It didn't take long for the reinforcements to finally enter the short range communication envelope, though long range comms were still being jammed by the Gwishin. Anticipating the hostile actions that would be taken against the still unidentified ship based on the orders that had been issued before they were cut off, DVa tried to contact the four incoming fighters.
There was no response on the comms, but rapid descent of the aircraft made it obvious that the MEKA squad and their tail had been spotted.
Cortana's voice came in once more as she said, "Shot away, brace for imminent impact."
Ignoring protocol as the fighters continued to ignore her communication requests, Hana opened an area broadcast and stated, "This is DVa of MEKA to Korean forces, call off attack on unknown aircraft. Mission against Gwishin is a failure, squad is unable to assist in engagement."
The continued lack of response concerned Hana as it was uncharacteristic of the usually disciplined South Korean forces. As the fighters closed in, she finally got a good look at them, but this only left the mech pilot more confused.
Unlike standard Korean military aircraft, these were dark black and used an unfamiliar design. Hana was quite knowledgeable about Korean Air Force units after working and training with them extensively, so to be reinforced by unknown aircraft just added to the confusion.
Apparently the mission status did not matter to these forces as they passed over the MEKA squad and went straight for the unidentified aircraft. Growling at the stupidity of the situation, Hana flipped Tokki around again to watch the results.
Unsurprisingly, the aircraft paid as little attention to the fire from the Korean forces as it had to the Gwishin's assault. There was a slight wobble in the path of the transport, but it seemed to be on purpose as Hana could not spot anything but superficial damage to the hull.
In response, the chin gun fired scarily accurate shots, hitting two of the Korean fighters. The first took the damage with grace, continuing onwards without issue, but the second was totally different as it performed an inverted nose dive into the water, probably a result of the hole punched in the cockpit canopy. The real surprise came when a missile suddenly fired from the airship and raced for another one of the attacking jets.
Whoever was piloting the ship tried to turn but was doomed as the missile changed course as well. There was no time for any other action as the two objects collided, resulting in a fireball and a shower of debris that fell to the waves.
DVa seriously considered moving to assist, but the casual destruction of two highly advanced fighter jets gave her pause. Even the Gwishin didn't have the capabilities of this unknown party, though it was possible that it was just some extremely lucky shooting. Given that this thing had engaged airborne Gwishin and came out without any noticeable damage, that didn't seem like something to bet her life on.
Neither side had time to exchange any more fire as they passed each other. The heavily armored transport didn't even bother trying to turn to follow, instead continuing towards DVa at full throttle. The Korean reinforcements were just beginning to turn to avoid passing over the Gwishin further out when a brilliant streak of light appeared on the horizon. There was no sound to accompany the sight, leaving Hana to watch the results of the strike in shock.
Where before the colossal omnic had sat menacingly on a sea shelf, there was nothing but a crater cut deep into the sea floor. Pieces of the Gwishin lay scattered about, some being flung from the point of impact and others tumbling to the depths of the sea. Water displaced by the massive force was rapidly flowing back into the resulting hole, creating an odd dynamic with the wave travelling away from the area as a result of the excess energy.
With their path into the shockwave already guaranteed, the black fighters could do nothing but face the oncoming turbulence and hope. One of the ships made it out in one piece, though the violent shaking and subsequent sloppy piloting showed that something was wrong with either the person in the cockpit or the machine keeping them aloft. The other aircraft, however, suffered catastrophic failure of its propulsion systems as it dropped from the sky.
Whatever happened after it hit the water Hana would never know as the overpressure wave hit Tokki. Since the mech had an open cockpit and thus no protection from such environmental hazards, there was nothing to do but ride it out best she could. The mech itself weathered the hit acceptably well, wobbling slightly as it rode the wave for a short bit. DVa did not share Tokki's durability and was reminded of it as she was violently thrown against the side of the cockpit. A pop in her ears was the last thing she heard as her eardrums burst, but that was not her only injury as she felt a snap in her upper arm.
Fortunately shock and adrenaline kept the pain at bay long enough for Hana to check on her two remaining squad members. Since they had been farther on and facing away from the blast, they were both far better at dealing with the shockwave. Casino was worse off due to the state of his thrusters, but he was still able to stay airborne.
The unknown craft took the hit without issue, much as it had everything else thrown at it. This left the last fighter as the only threat still present, but Hana was dubious as to its chances of leaving intact, let alone actually defeating the hostile. Considering that these people had just annihilated the omnic that had been threatening the Asian coast for years, it seemed unlikely that there was anything that could be done against them.
Apparently this did not dissuade the Korean aircraft as it completed its turn and began to chase down the transport. Rather than turning to confront the threat, the airship began to ascend, leaving Hana curious as to what the pilot was planning.
Out of all the possibilities that she had thought of, Hana was most certainly not prepared for DMon's mech to suddenly drop into the path of the pursuing jet. The pilot attempted to react and dodge the mass of metal, but was unable to do so. With a resounding crunch and a shower of sparks and debris, the last of the reinforcements dropped from the sky.
Before seeing this blatant defilement of Yuna's grave, DVa had been planning on backing off and hoping to survive the fight. As she saw Beast make contact with the black aircraft, that concern was shoved aside by the rage of seeing such a disrespectful act. The pain that had begun to emanate from her undoubtedly broken arm was ignored as Hana forced herself to charge back towards the unidentified vessel. As she did this, she opened the comms to her teammates to order, "DVa to MEKA squad, continue back to base. Unknown craft is confirmed hostile. I will stay back and attempt to delay them to cover your retreat."
"MEKA base to active squad, do you read?" Captain Myung's voice suddenly cut in as the Gwishin's radio jamming finally began to dissipate. While there was still significant interference, it was obvious that Myung had spoken after hearing Hana's order.
Casino replied, "Affirmative, Captain. Reporting critical mission success and failure. DMon is down and DVa is performing a rearguard action. Reinforcements have been destroyed, Gwishin is confirmed eliminated. Unknown craft is hostile, no visible damage after multiple hits. Overlord and Casino pulling back."
Myung swore and addressed Hana, "I'm sorry about DMon, but don't just throw away this chance. She died so that you could take down the colossal omnic. Return to base."
Hana took a second to consider obeying, taking into account the endless streams and corporate promotions based off her position in MEKA. It wasn't hard for her to come to a decision as she noted the unknown aircraft drawing closer, "Casino is crippled, this thing is hostile. The Gwishin is dead and Overlord can't cover our retreat. See how they like a self-destruct."
Myung was silent for several seconds before she finally responded, "Understood, DVa. All other units, fall back. King wants to let you know that he'll have a hard time finding another rival."
"Good luck," Overlord said, short on words as always.
"Give them hell, girl," Casino followed.
Hana winced as she jostled her arm as she stated, "Of course, gg. DVa, out."
With that, Hana cut her comms connection and accelerated towards the ship that had almost given her hope for peace. Taking out the Gwishin was a national achievement, but the subsequent destruction of Korean military units was hard to let go. Cortana and whoever else was with her had admittedly tried to resolve the situation peacefully, but their disrespect of Yuna was unforgivable in DVa's mind. Tokki shot forwards as DVa harnessed that anger, ignoring the pain and system warnings in favor of exacting whatever revenge she could.
The airship did not hesitate to respond to her charge as it fired the massive chin mounted weapon to try and take her out. DVa calmly activated her defense matrix, absorbing the deadly projectiles and allowing her to continue unabated.
As she closed with the vessel and showed no sign of turning, the pilot seemed to understand her intent as the ship weaved slightly, but much to her surprise did not change course. Just before they collided, the craft suddenly swerved upwards sharply, causing Hana to run Tokki straight into the heavily armored underside of the transport. Her hand, which had been reaching towards the eject button that would detonate the core of the mech, whipped into the side of the cockpit.
Reeling from the strike and in pain from previous injuries as well as those sustained from the collision, DVa teetered on the edge of consciousness. The view from her broken cockpit window alternated between dark blue water and light blue sky as the mech went into an uncontrolled fall.
Rather than joining Yuna in a watery grave, however, Tokki suddenly jerked as the unknown craft latched onto the mech much as it had done with Beast earlier. Whatever remaining adrenaline Hana had was released at that point as the thought of being taken prisoner entered her mind. Determined to prevent that possibly horrifying fate, Hana reached down beside her and tugged free her pistol with much more effort than the action should have required.
A loud footstep drew her attention up to a distinctly inhuman figure. Before she could do anything about the unexpected sight, the thing reached into her cockpit and grabbed her around the neck. With one arm broken and another holding her only possibility of survival, Hana could do nothing as the creature hauled her out of her mech.
Once she was actually inside the ship, Hana made her move and brought the weapon up into the alien face, pulling the trigger with abandon. Rather than killing the thing as she had expected, a translucent field appeared around the figure and blocked the otherwise deadly shots.
Scowling as if being shot in the face was a mere inconvenience, the creature slapped Hana's hand, sending the pistol bouncing off the wall and to the floor.
Giving a strangled cry as a broken hand was added to her list of injuries, Hana knew that she was now at the mercy of whatever this thing was. Rather than crushing her neck as she was so certain it could and would, however, the alien being snorted at her and dropped her to the floor.
As the exhaustion and pain finally took their toll, DVa let herself fall unconscious with the knowledge that her survival might put her in a worse place than death. The last thing she registered as she slipped away from the world was the darkening of the space as the back hatch closed, sealing her inside as the vessel took her wherever it would.
In the Shooting Star short, DVa struck me as disillusioned and traumatized by her experiences. Korea seemed to be a police state to a point, with tightly controlled media and a military utilizing child soldiers. As far as I can tell, they never supported Overwatch since the Gwishin attacks happened so often with no intervention. DVa is 19 currently, and that short happened before she joined Overwatch and she had already been fighting for a while.
-evevee
