Pharah

She was shaking. In Fareeha's grasp her lady was trembling with fear. Nemesis? Was she supposed to know who that was?

'Are there any weapons in here?' Fareeha calmed herself, knowing what had to be done. Her duty. Her calling. A protector and fighter. This was her responsibility. Survival. She would protect the innocent, and Fareeha couldn't think of anyone purer than Angela.

'Just my handgun in my desk.' Angela muttered, causing Fareeha to kneel in front of her, resting hands on either side of the woman's face, forcing her to look into the younger girl's eyes.

'It'll be okay. I'm here.'

Angela touched Fareeha's hand, but the shivering wasn't stopping.

'Nemesis…Divine retribution. Athena's counterpart and…superior? He overrode her so easily…'

'Nothing is accomplished by panicking. You know this.' Fareeha tried, eyeing Angela's desk and knowing she would be more comfortable if she had a firearm of some kind on her. But her lady took precedence for the moment. She wouldn't leave her just yet. Fortunately, Angela shook her head, nodding to Fareeha thereafter.

'Indeed. I…I apologize. This attack feels different than anything I've encountered before. Perhaps only the uncanny nature of the first black omnic Jack and I fought can only come close to this…dread. The unknown. It is a frightful thing.'

'We face it together.' Fareeha grinned, and Angela smiled woefully.

'How can you be so strong no matter what the circumstance?'

A fair question. Obviously, Angela gave her strength, but even before meeting her Fareeha had always been driven to use her abilities to fight for what she believed was justice. This was no different.

'Because it is one of my few good qualities.'

'Stop it.' Angela snapped. 'You know you have more than a few good qualities.'

'Heh.' Fareeha shrugged. She helped Angela to her feet, navigating her way to the doctor's desk and extracting the weapon her girlfriend had relayed would be present. It was a tiny thing, and it hardly seemed as though it would be terribly effective, but it was better than nothing.

"Enough resisting, ladies. You'll only hurt yourselves…"

'We will fight until the end.' Fareeha declared, and this "Nemesis" individual only laughed darkly before his presence seemed to disappear altogether for the moment.

'What do you propose we do, Fareeha?' Angela asked quietly, perhaps frightened Nemesis was still listening in.

'I will assume the worst, and that our base is currently completely infiltrated by the enemy. That being said, our lack of information is troublesome, and getting eyes on the scope of this attack takes priority alongside your safety.'

'So…To the main communication tower? To Winston?'

Fareeha nodded, gripping Angela's gun and familiarizing herself with the weight and finer details of the weapon for optimal use.

'It is also most likely to be excessively guarded. Therefore, I want to recommend that we get to my suit before we attempt anything drastic. That way, we at least have a means of attack and navigation that puts the enemy at a slight disadvantage.'

'So…our room?' Angela blinked.

'Yes.' Even amidst such a trying scenario, the way Angela said "our room" gave Fareeha pause and a flutter in her chest. 'Thankfully, I'm a prude and insist on keeping it under my personal watch within most circumstances. I have confidence that we can make it to our living quarters, but I may need to get violent if it comes down to it.'

Angela didn't answer right away, and it twisted Fareeha's heart with adoration.

'That is…I will only kill if absolutely necessary. Is that acceptable?'

The doctor nodded slowly.

'So be it…'

'I'm sorry.' Fareeha touched her lady's face.

'No. You're a soldier. Our enemy will have no mercy. Thus, you should resist allowing them to take advantage of your…and my moral compass.'

Fareeha squeezed Angela's hand and led her to the door, tapping at the terminal and not being terribly surprised that it had been hacked to keep agents from easily scrambling.

'A final question,' Fareeha swallowed, almost fearing the answer for some reason.

'Yes?'

'Do I…have regenerative qualities, like yourself, now?'

'…I believe so. But be careful, nonetheless.'

Interesting. Fareeha prayed she wouldn't have to find out for certain the hard way. She pointed her gun at the terminal, destroyed it, and manually forced the door open, grunting at the effort required, her muscles flexing and body screaming from the sudden exertion of strength.

'Stay close.' She requested of Angela, and she nodded, uncertainty in her blue eyes. The base shook in irregular intervals, the smell of fire, smoke, and something Fareeha couldn't recognize infiltrating her senses. She pulled Angela along, sticking to the shadows created by the surrounding buildings, and hating the sight of agents down. The sirens were, surprisingly, still going off, and Fareeha felt Angela's grip tighten at the sight of the dead troops, some of them potentially still holding on to life.

'I'm sorry.' Fareeha apologized, and when she turned back to the alley they were traversing, a number of Talon agents were there to greet them. They were completely equipped, guns ready and not a word passing between any of them before they started firing. Fareeha shoved Angela to the side, following in after her for some cover, a bullet grazing her shoulder and cutting through some of her clothes.

'Mercy and Pharah sighted. Closing in.' One of the terrorists reported calmly.

Fareeha had counted three troopers and one enforcer. Difficult odds, but not the worst. She would draw them close and proceed as necessary.

'Fareeha…!' Angela pointed at the fresh wound, already the gash that had been created closing up nicely.

'I see. That gives me a few more options.' Fareeha gathered her thoughts, playing through the routes of combat available to her. 'What's the healing capability's limit exactly?'

'…Extreme brain or heart damage. Overexertion. Too much damage within a short amount of time.'

Fareeha was relieved Angela understood how dire their position was. She didn't even hesitate to inform her knight of her new parameters. She understood as well as Fareeha how desperate their situation had become. Fareeha circulated through her plans for confrontation again, and then, once she heard one of the troopers draw just close enough, she rolled on the ground, unloading three shots into the closest assailant. She then took aim at a trooper on her far right and did the same before the final grunt and enforcer began their counterattack, bullets raining down the aisle and biting into Fareeha flesh. Her arms, her legs, a couple in her gut. That was fine. She protected the vitals, and could already recognize that a form of healing was certainly taking place.

'Sir. Two agents down, still engaging…' The final trooper started, but Fareeha had quite the aim, and shot the communicator at the side of the agent's head to the ground, crippling his knees and arms immediately thereafter. Finally, the enforcer made his move, closing in on Fareeha hastily and bringing the fight to her.

Enforcers were considered very dangerous as far as Talon agents went. They were cybernetically and genetically enhanced with heavy armour, and typically carried a shotgun, much like the one before Fareeha. Due to her weapon at hand, Fareeha had no choice but to get close, and although she grimaced at the sensation of the said shotgun being pumped into her midriff, she managed to get her gun under the Enforcer's helmet and end him instantly.

Angela was at Fareeha's side not a moment sooner, holding her stomach, her pretty hands getting covered in blood. The pain still occurred, and Fareeha's breaths came out in rasps, a trickle of red trailing down the side of her mouth as she tried to maintain her balance and fight through the discomfort while her nanomachines went to work.

'I will not instruct you on how to fight, Fareeha, but…it is difficult to watch you injured so…'

'They don't seem to be aware of how you saved me.' Fareeha grimaced. 'I have to use that knowledge to my advantage. He never expected me to take that attack head on. Most soldiers wouldn't.'

'You would know…' Angela seemed drained already. So much death around her. She must've been itching to perform her miracles. But she resisted. She was so strong.

Fareeha pried the shotgun from the Enforcer's hands, amazed by how quickly her body got over the agony it had just been experiencing. There was a pinch in her bowels as she shouldered the upgrade in weaponry, but that was about it. She handed Angela's gun back to her, disliking the sight of her lady's reddened hands holding such a deadly instrument.

'Only if necessary.' She encouraged, and Angela nodded. 'Let's keep moving.'

The two women managed to do as much for a moment or so more, yet they had no choice but to engage with a couple more small units, the encounters proceeding similarly to the first. Fareeha's regenerative abilities caught the Talon agents by surprise every time, likely the data they had on her hardly matching with her new fighting style. Fareeha noticed her body was taking longer to recover after the third bout, and while she broke the security terminal outside her and Angela's room and attempted to manually open the door again, the bullet wounds oozed more blood despite the closing already taking place, and she grunted in frustration, her whole body tensing and rejecting the torture it was being put through.

'I'll help.' Angela offered, and she did so willingly, her hair matted in sweat from all the running, and her breaths laboured.

The two women got into their quarters without further resistance, but Fareeha could only assume this Nemesis individual was aware of their movements if he had hacked Athena as extensively as it appeared. They didn't have a moment to lose, and Fareeha kept Angela close as they went to their room, her armour set up upon what could only be viewed as something of a display pedestal. Torbjorn and Brigitte had completely repaired it, the finer details of the piece more finetuned than ever before.

Fareeha stripped naked, hastily changing her clothes and encouraging Angela to do the same before she began donning her armour, the familiar weight of the suit reviving Fareeha's courage and dedication to the task at hand.

With the final piece in place, Fareeha's onboard computer confirmed her ownership with a simple voice command and booted up completely, the immediate area scanned and reported back in a graph of information.

'Okay. Let's move – ' Fareeha felt a tug on her arm, and Angela was looking up at her, the yellow-hued visual disconcerting with how desperate her lover appeared.

'I understand this is hardly the time, but a moment, Fareeha.'

It wasn't. Fareeha feared Nemesis' network of information, and staying still increased the chances of being attacked astronomically. Still, Fareeha allowed her suit to continuously scan their immediate location for up to fifty meters, only minor blips notifying her of Talon agents patrolling and cleaning up remaining Overwatch soldiers.

'What is it?'

'This situation is…dire at best, correct?'

'Now that I have my suit, our chances of survival have increased dramatically.'

'But this Nemesis foe; he is no ordinary enemy. Surely you recognize this.'

Fareeha was trying not to dwell on him, to be perfectly honest, but yes, she agreed internally. Being in the army and on active duty for so long gave her a sense for such things. She recognized overconfidence and confidence based on sheer ability and power easily enough. Nemesis was the latter, and the fact he was personally involved in this latest attack on Overwatch meant he was making a big move that had an end goal of eradicating Overwatch once and for all. He didn't care for survivors. He was done caring about Angela's unique research. Overwatch was a thorn he wanted plucked, and he was present to ensure that happened this very day, when more than half of Overwatch's most capable members weren't around to contest him.

'Escaping might be our only option, but I'd rather not abandon anyone.'

'Nor would I.' Angela concurred, touching Fareeha's armoured chest. 'But just in case…and unlike last time, you should know that, though briefer than I'd prefer, the time I've known you – truly known you – has been the most emotionally fulfilling of my life.'

Fareeha's eyes burned, and she grabbed hold of Angela's hands tightly.

'We're making it out of this alive.'

'An optimistic view, but we both know how little control we have of such things. Nemesis is a variable I fear will destroy Overwatch in its current state.'

'Stop it!' Fareeha yelled.

'I'm simply being realistic, Fareeha.' Angela's gaze shimmered, and her voice ached as she went on. 'You're the love of my life. My soulmate. My hero. I want you to know this just…just in case. I trust you understand my reasoning after all we have been through.'

Fareeha's jaw tightened, and she shook her head.

'I will never abandon you. Never!'

Angela smiled distantly, shrugging.

'You may not have a choice.'

The hell did that mean? But before Fareeha could pry further, Angela's eyes widened, and she shoved Fareeha away. Only in that very moment did her computer's system warn her of an incoming threat. A barrage of bullets cascaded through the room, puncturing Fareeha's armour and forcing her arms up to cover her exposed face, the intensity of the death shower almost too much to bear.

'Angela…! Angela…!' Fareeha screamed, her computer scanning and locking on to the cloaked figure she recognized immediately as Reaper. Reaper, formally one of Overwatch's most powerful and capable members, also known as Gabriel Reyes. He was now considered one of Talon's best, and all agents were advised to avoid direct confrontation unless their class was that of a Grandmaster. That's how deadly this current foe was. His attack – completely without warning – was proof of his unparalleled lethality.

Fareeha scrambled through her screens, finally locating Angela, her body collapsed across the bed – their bed – in a bloody mass of flesh.

"Agent Angela Ziegler in critical status. Breathing abnormal. Recommendation: emergency care."

'Hmph. Too easy…' Reaper uttered in a warped, psychotic tone.

Fareeha didn't have time to be afraid. She would face one of the world's most terrifying men in mortal combat to defend Angela and give her enough time to recover. She would do everything in her power to drive Reaper back and away from her princess. The dragon had shown itself. Now, the knight had no choice but to brandish her sword and prove her worth.

'You monster…!' Fareeha used just enough of her jetpack's power to lunge forward, but she hit nothing, and in another second, her back was littered with bullets, her wings and ability to fly destroyed in an explosion of electricity and metal.

'I could read that move before even you thought of it, whelp. Did Ana teach you nothing at all?'

Fareeha whirled on the spot, aiming her rockets directly at the masked man, her arm quivering but her raw courage unwavering.

'Do it.' Reaper mocked, the hissing in his voice practically exhaled in black smoke. 'Or are you just as soft and pathetic as your mother?'

It only took one thought of Angela in pain and that was all the encouragement she needed. Fareeha released the rocket, and it almost seemed as though Reaper was going to take the attack head-on…until he evaporated in a flurry of shadows, a clawed hand grabbing the rocket midair and forcing it to explode on the spot, shaking the entirety of the room and lighting it up for a split second. Reaper physically manifested himself anew, and chuckled deeply.

'Pathetic.'

"Have we made contact yet, Reaper?" Nemesis came on the intercoms again, and Fareeha's whole body tensed.

'Affirmative. Agent Mercy and agent Pharah are in my custody now. Disposal can occur at any time.'

Not if Fareeha had anything to say about it! She circulated the next rocket, but in a blur of darkness, Reaper was on her, crushing her arm and the metal that protected it into shambles, causing Fareeha to scream internally, the restrained hollering of pain becoming external when Reaper fired his shot gun into Fareeha's armour in multiple locations, ripping the shell off of her in a display of savagery she didn't think a single human was capable of. She gasped from the indescribable discomfort, her nanomachines reeling in rejection.

"Ah. Perfect. Did you hear that, Overwatch? Resistance means only one thing: an agonizing defeat…rather than simply defeat. Lay down your arms. All of you. Nemesis is passing judgement, and the strong shall now begin devouring the weak."

'Gabriel…please…' Angela wheezed, and Fareeha grit her teeth, pushing up from the ground only to have her neck throttled by Reaper's boot, crushing her voice box and cutting off nearly all her air.

'No. You brought this on yourselves. All of you.' Reaper responded, but his tone sounded perhaps a little off.

'You're not this kind of man.' Angela attempted further.

'Wrong again. I've always been a killer.'

'For the greater good! Even I will admit that some men…some people…shouldn't be allowed to hurt others anymore at some point.'

A beat, and Fareeha could just barely breathe again before Reaper kicked her in the ribs, lifting her by her hair and pushing a gun against her chest.

'Enough, Gabriel! Your fight is with Jack! Not Fareeha!'

'My fight is with Overwatch, and this girl chose to join knowing the lies this organization was built on. The bodies it was built on.'

"Kill her." Nemesis cut in, his voice as cold as ice. "Show Overwatch this isn't a game anymore. I'm sending a feed to all monitors available now."

Reaper's grip only slightly loosened again, but his gun didn't hesitate, and Fareeha could only groan in denial, looking to Angela apologetically, blood caking one of her eyes shut. The sight of her lady's despair was overwhelming. Not like this. Not by one of her hero's hands…

'Gabriel…' Angela mumbled in almost a warning tone. 'Don't. You. Dare.'

"Do it."

'Believe me, Angela,' Reaper growled. 'It gets easier to see after a while.'

And a single bullet bit through flesh thought invulnerable.

One shot. One kill.