Old Habits Die Hard | 6
ooOoo
After breaking to Lena that he wouldn't be able to join her in flying the dropship around (oh gosh, the pouting), Yuan had been walking around the entire afternoon to search for Genji.
"Told me the time, didn't bother with the place," Yuan grumbled. "Is this what technologically advanced ninjas are like?"
"Perhaps if you had more patience," Genji's voice answers beside him, "you would find what you seek."
Yuan yelped, jumping away from the robot and stifling the urge to draw his sword out. "Sweet jeez crackers, dude! At least tell me you're there before talking to me."
Genji bowed to him. "Apologies, Yuan. How are you doing in your search?"
"You mean my search for whatever meditation session you're taking part in?" Yuan asked flatly. "So far, nothing's come up."
Genji gestured to nearby entrance to a hallway with an arm. "It is this way. Just straight ahead."
"Ohuh?" Yuan peered into the hallway, furrowing his brows. "Didn't know I was right beside it."
"Of course you didn't." Genji walked into it, then continuing deeper into the hallway. "Now follow me."
Yuan did as he was told, grumbling the whole way. "Never signed up for robot ninjas, but here I am now."
After passing through a pair of glass double doors which slid open, Yuan's feet rooted themselves into place when he took in what he had just entered- or rather, where he had stepped out to. "Woahoho holy shit."
They were in a balcony that had mossy cobblestone for a floor, a far cry from the cold, immaculate steel that the entire Overwatch HQ was practically made of. In the distance, grassy hills full of flowers rolled into the horizon, where the setting sun was sinking in, painting the entire land in its dusky orange glow.
Yuan's awe was cut short by the tweeting if birds above him, which he saw were a whole plethora of diverse colors and species, but flying through the land as one feathery rainbow.
"Watch your language, young one," a smooth voice said, and Yuan looked to the tip of the balcony. A robot in baggy orange pants was floating off the floor, its legs crossed over and its hands clasped together. "Your strong choice of words is interfering with my place in the Iris."
"Oh." Yuan blinked as he was still continuing to register the sight. If there's a robot ninja, then there's a robot monk. Why the hell not. "Sorry. Hey, are you Genji's master?"
"I am when it comes to the ways of inner peace," the robot replied. "Call me Zenyatta."
He nodded. "Cool name. Mine's Yuan."
Genji stepped forward, clasping his hands and bowing to Zenyatta. "Master Zen," he said. "This young man would like to learn the ways of being one with the Iris."
Zenyatta hummed in response and turned to Yuan. He could almost imagine a curious look on the robot's face. "It is not so simple, connecting with the Iris and sensing everyone within it. Are you dedicated to staying here the rest of the afternoon, looking for your place in the circle of life?"
Yuan stifled a snort at the last part, instead giving the robot a smile. "Hakuna matata," he said. "Once, I had to lead an army for years to claim victory. That took a lot of dedication."
Genji sighed. "The Lion King was always a fantastical classic. I suppose its charm is shared amongst even other worlds."
This time Yuan released a bark of laughter, but he soon stopped under the scrutiny of Zenyatta's gaze. "Oh, er, sorry."
Zenyatta nodded, then pointed to the space beside him. "Make yourself comfortable, Yuan. You have much to do."
Yuan grunted an affirmative, moving to where Zenyatta gestured and lying down cross-legged.
"Master Zen," Genji spoke, moving to the other side of Zenyatta whilst his green visor was trained on the robot monk. "Let me join you in becoming one with the Iris. It has been so long since the last time I had the chance to relax with you."
"Come then, apprentice." Zenyatta gestured to the floor, and Genji sat down. "I, too, miss having a moment with you like this. Now, let us all clear our minds from the outside sensations, and find our inner peace."
"Don't worry about me," Yuan said when Zenyatta gave him a look. "I've meditated before, so I think I have some experience in finding 'inner peace'. But seriously, is that all that's needed when it comes to being connected to the Iris?"
Zenyatta hummed, a soothing tune to Yuan's ears. "In a world so full of energy as this one, you do not need to look far to be in wonder if what is around."
"Okay, then." Yuan adjusted his position. The cobblestone felt a bit odd with the moss, but it gave him a homey feeling- as if he was part of the land as well. "Let's hope finding my inner peace can make me float like you."
No reply came, and Yuan used the silence to try and meditate, closing his eyes and dulling his senses. Key word is try.
Yuan really meant it when he said he had meditated before. What he didn't tell was that only things he felt during meditation was the numerous itches around his body and the electric fan blowing on his face. Nothing amazing ever did happen on his past expeditions into "inner peace".
Minutes seemed to pass, and Yuan felt just the same as the previous times he meditated. He tried to ignore the itch on his ear, the aching in his butt, and the birds' chorus of tweets from above.
After a while, he felt as if the concept of time was lost on him. It was only him sitting on whatever surface he was on now, and the dark abyss he was within due to closed eyes. Huh. I don't think I ever went this deep before.
Now it was as if an hour had passed. Yuan ignored it, opting to continue living in a senseless world of black.
ooOoo
It snorted smoke as it lurked behind a row of buildings. Beyond them were people, going about in their lax lives.
They had no idea everything would change so soon.
It raked its claws against a building's brick wall. Claw marks were left from its collateral assault.
It breathed out, making whatever plants in the area wilt, smoke rising from them. It grinned as it realized that it was still in top condition.
It brought its two front claws on a building's wall, and began clawing its way to the roof. When it reached its destination, it crouched low behind the rooftop, only peeking its head out to spy on the civilians walking the cement road, and those moving around in some kinds of metal carriage.
It may be in a foreign land. It may have to depend on some shady-looking humans to find its home. But wherever it would there, there was always the same desire; to terrorize as much as it can.
It lunges from the roof, falling to a group of moving metal with its claws outstretched. People screamed upon seeing its form, and they moved aside as it crashed onto a bunch of steel carriages. It wrapped its claws around one of them, then ripped it off the ground, tossing it into the air with whatever passengers it had in there. It drove its curled-up digits into the other contraptions, crushing them and silencing whoever had been screaming within them.
It reveled in the people's screams for a moment, solemn with the fact it wasn't capable of laughing in glee. One thing was realized, though; wherever it laid terror, it would always be known as home.
ooOoo
Hours have passed, it seemed. Yuan wasn't bothered, though- he stopped caring some time ago.
If it weren't for the wonderful thing called sleep, he would've deemed this the most peaceful thing he had ever done. Long had the aches and itches in his body go away, replaced by a serenity he could've hold onto until the end of time. Except in this moment, he didn't know how time was flowing. Is this what meditation is?
He looked at the darkness around him. Usually, Yuan would fear the blackness of this void, but he knew he was in the confines of his mind. Here, he felt safe. Secure. Comfortable.
Suddenly, color burst from the distant black skies. An aurora of whites, yellows, and pinks wavered through the horizon, like a wave sliding across the shore.
Yuan felt his jaw drop in sheer awe as the colorful spectacle soon encompassed the entire darkness, emanating a serene quality through every fiber of his being. That was the moment when he saw everything.
Not everything as in its physical appearance, though. He knew that he was looking at his real body's surroundings; the mossy cobblestone underneath him, the afternoon sky in the horizon, the distant meadows dotted with flowers and trees, and the still form of Zenyatta floating beside him.
But they were all colorful. It was an otherworldly sight; within everything Yuan saw, an aurora swirled with shifting colors. Light tones of blue, yellow, red, pink, purple; his eyes are practically doused in a dancing rainbow. The outlines of the objects surrounding him were barely visible, bends and angles in a colorful spectrum.
What amazed him most was the feeling of harmony; the way the colors moved, shifted, and blended with each other just seemed right. He had thought it impossible for colors like these to mix with each other so well. Is this what Zenyatta meant? The feeling of being connected to everything, which were connected to each other?
Whatever the robot monk said, Yuan was sure of one thing; the Iris was beautiful.
There was something odd, though. Yuan could feel it coursing through his veins, giving them a strange itchy feeling. He frowned; while the sensation wasn't outright negative, it sure wasn't something to dance about, either.
He looked down, and barely restrained himself from jumping when he saw a hand of purest black. Yuan realized that he was forming a corporeal body in this realm, and every inch of it was black, completely devoid of any coloration.
He thought it clashed with the colorful space he was in, and it did. It was as if it was foreign. Out of this world.
Oh wait, he thought. That's what I am to this universe. I don't belong here.
Yuan continued to observe the myriad of flowing colors around him, trying to ignore the ominous presence of... well, himself.
It was short lived, as a high-pitched squeal assaulted his physical ears, making him jump and look around frantically.
In the normal colors of the world, Yuan spotted Genji trying to balance himself while Lena had her arms around him, pressing her body against his. I wonder how it feels to hug metal. I imagine it isn't very warm and cuddly.
"Genji!" Lena exclaimed. "It's so wonderful to see you again. How're you doing, love?"
Genji chuckled, a strange sound to Yuan. The robot held Lena's arms and gently pushed her away, gazing at her in a way that was almost fondly. "I'm doing fine, Lena. I have been... recruiting people into the team."
"Oh." An emotion flashed in Lena's eyes, and she placed her hands on her hips while giving Genji a stern look. "Hey, I remember something! Winston just told me that you've been with us since a few days ago. Why didn't you tell me anything, huh?"
Genji tilted his head at her. "I just said it, didn't I? I've been recruiting people." He gestured a hand at Zenyatta. "Such as my master."
"What're you.." Lena left her mouth open as she turned and saw Zenyatta. "Oh! So you're that Master Zen Genji's been talking about for a long time?"
Said robot, who had been watching them, nodded. "My full name is Zenyatta. It is a pleasure to meet another one of my pupil's friends in Overwatch."
Lena stuck her hand out with a grin, and Zenyatta shook it. "It's very nice to meet you too, Zen! Genji really has spoken a lot about you. Name's Lena- Tracer if you're interested in my superhero name."
Genji shook his head, somewhat in an exasperated fashion. "Superhero name?"
Lena shot a raspberry at him. "It's better than assassin identity, anyway."
"Didn't peg you for an assassin, Lena," Yuan said, deciding that was the moment he'd join the conversation.
Lena whirled around, her brows raised as she looked at him. "Yuan? Didn't see you there, love. What're you doing out here?"
Genji sent a nod to his direction. "I had invited him to join Master Zen and I in one of our meditation sessions."
"Oooohhh." Lena smirked at the robot. "Trying to muster a monk army, aren't you, love? Good luck with that; the Fire Nation wiped out most of them."
Genji groaned and shook his head. Probably at the lame Avatar joke.
"Actually," Yuan butted in, giving Lena a grin. "I had nothing better to do, so that's why I joined them. Sorry, Lena- I can't risk my life to fly something with the help of an ex-pilot."
"Hey!" Lena pouted. "I did say that I still have my skills, didn't I?"
"You must forgive the boy, Lena," Genji said with a mirthful tone. "After all, you said that you were an ex-pilot. You can't expect someone to have faith in you after you add the ex to your career."
Lena pursed her lips and punched the ninja's arms. "Oh, shut it, ex-human!"
Ex-human? Yuan raised a brow at Genji. So he used to be a man, huh...
He shook his head, remembering to inquire about it later. "Anyways, the meditation was really nice. Awesome, actually. I think I could do this for hours."
"I am glad you appreciated our time together," Zenyatta said, a touch of happiness in his tone. Yuan sent a beam his way.
"Oh, that reminds me." Lena stared at the horizon, where the tips of the sun's silhouette peeked out of the distant hills, sinking by the seconds. "Winston actually sent me here to tell you all that it's dinner time. Ready to taste some good ol' HQ grub, Genji?"
Genji hummed, the sound almost bordering to a chuckle. "You know that I always enjoy a peaceful meal time, Lena. I've gotten tired of shocking restaurants with my presence over the last five years."
Lena barked a laugh, and by some unspoken cue she and and Genji trudged into the sliding doors, back within the hallway. "Tell me about it, love! Let me guess, there was..."
When the two's voices became inaudible, Yuan turned to Zenyatta, who he found was already looking at him.
"If you please," the robot monk began. "Can you tell me in greater detail what the Iris was like?"
Yuan took a deep breath, letting a smile grace his lips. "Lots of colors. It was beautiful. Wouldn't mind staying there for a day and think about life."
Zenyatta nodded. "Again, I would like to thank you for allowing yourself to spend time with my pupil and me."
Yuan waved him off. "It wasn't any biggie. Genji's a cool guy, anyway."
He remembered something that had been said, and couldn't help but frown. "Hey, when Lena called him an ex-human, did she really?.."
"For me, he is still human," Zenyatta said with a forlorn tone. "However, most of his human aspects are now hidden behind his armor. It is actually what's keeping him alive."
"Oh." Yuan pursed his lips. "What happened?"
"I believe that's a story that only Genji has the right of sharing to you," Zenyatta said, and Yuan could imagine a look on his plated face that brooked no argument.
"I understand," he said. After a while, he twisted his body by the waist, groaning at the popping sounds. "So. Damn, did I just realize how much aches and itches I've accumulated during meditation. Is that a common thing?"
Zenyatta gestured to the sliding doors with a hand, and Yuan took it as a cue for them to both walk past it and into the hallway. "I do not think I can relate with that. My body is not graced with the finer aspects of human sensation."
Yuan hummed in reply, nodding. "I suppose that's something I can think of during dinner. Hey, do you robots- erm, omnics- eat or drink?"
They continued their conversation as they both headed for the mess hall. For the most part, Yuan just couldn't wait for dinner. There was never a moment he wasn't hungry in life.
To be continued...
ooOoo
Author's Note:
By the way, did I mention that most of this is not mine? That it actually belongs to a company called Blizzard?
GASP. Surprised, aren't you?
... Ugh, there's a reason this is called fanfiction. Fan. Fiction.
Get ready for the last batch and a half. Epilogue will be uploaded separately. Wink, wink~
As always, reviews (not flames) are appreciated. MrEpic3000 out.
