Hanzo awoke the next morning to the sheets tangled helplessly around his legs, evidence of the restless sleep he had managed to grasp.

He sighed deeply, turning on his side to check on Kaella.

He sat up straight and back pedaled across his bed at the sight that greeted him.

The wolf he had seen standing by the cherry blossoms many years ago was standing over the Akarai protectively, Hanzo wasn't sure but it looked to be larger than it had been so long ago.

Okkin rumbled with a growl, her maw opening and closing with a growing snarl and saliva dripped from her lips. Her eyes flashed with something Hanzo couldn't quite put his finger on, but he could've sworn it was something akin to hatred.

"Well, since you are here I assume that means Lokiv has gone." He spoke, collecting himself to sit on the balls of his feet in a crouch. The wolf merely curled her lip in response.

Hanzo scoffed, looking past the red eyed creature to give a quick assessment of her masters condition.

She looked to be resting peacefully, the blood soaked bandages needed to be changed however, and he wasn't quite sure how to go about getting around the wolf currently standing over her with a malicious glint in her eye; like she was daring Hanzo to try and touch her master, giving her an excuse to rip him apart.

He sighed deeply, shivering at the thought of the wolfs jaws wrapped around his torso. He would most likely have to wait the beast out until Kaella awakened. He could give a final stab at reasoning with the creature though. "I understand you are only protecting her while she is in such a vulnerable state, but I am only attempting to help her. Surely you understand the need for her to be taken care of at this time."

Okkin looked to be contemplating what he had said, she cast a glance at her master over her shoulder, taking in her current state of health, then looked back at him with wary eyes.

Hanzo held his breath, Kaella's condition was not dire, and it could wait until she awoke to tend to replacing her bandages, but he would rather ensure that none of them had become infected over the course of the night before he set about his morning routine. He silently pleaded the wolf had enough sense to understand him and allow him to help her master.

He suddenly wondered what this beast represented or what relation it had with Kaella. Lokiv seemed to be a calm, sentimental, wise companion while this wolf looked to be full of rage and untrusting of every creature she saw. He shook his head, it probably had something to do with the nature of Kaella's powers, perhaps they were closely related to his dragons in that sense.

But Kaella had said that dragons had actual, physical forms long ago, that they chose people to live alongside. They were not the mystical beasts that him and his brother now controlled, he found that in times of great unrest his dragons would speak to him, though the wolf in front of him seemed incapable of such a thing, however well it understood him. He made a mental note to inquire about the dragons she had spoken of so many years ago when he had the chance.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the wolf took a step back, eyeing him warily she moved to stand beside the woman but not without giving him a glare of warning with a paw on Kaella's side.

Touch her in any way I deem to be harmful and you will not live to regret it

He nodded at the silent threat, moving off the bed and grabbing the roll of bandages he had left on his nightstand. He moved cautiously over to kneel beside Kaella and set about unraveling the bandages while casting wary glances at the wolf watching him quietly.

He sighed with relief, the bleeding had stopped and while the wounds were red it was not an angry infected color. He set about cleaning them gently and placing new bandages around them. He noted that the wounds seemed to be healing much faster than they should have been if Kaella were human; he chalked it up to her being an Akarai.

Once he had finished wrapping the nasty gashes and cuts he set down another biotic field, making another mental note to get more from the lovely Doctor Ziegler at a later time, he clicked it on and jumped about three feet in the air when the wolf howled and snarled in pain. Okkin turned her furious eyes on him and he was sure he would have to fight her off, instead she merely faded away, leaving with only an echo of a snarl.

Confusion dominated his thoughts and he wanted to wake the woman on the floor and demand she answer his question, but he had more self-control than to give into such desires.

With a sigh he stood and went into the kitchen, setting the brass kettle on the stove after filling it to begin boiling the water for his tea. After flicking on the stove he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and tie up his hair, suddenly remembering how short it was to how long it had been when Kaella had last seen him. Now the lower half of his head had been cut off and shaved in favor of only the top half being long, he quite liked the look, despite Hana a.k.a " " saying it was something called 'hipster.'

He shrugged off the memory, hearing the kettle whistle he returned to the kitchenette and reached into the cabinet to grab a mug off of the shelf. Pausing, he thought for a moment before selecting another and set about making the extra cup.

He returned to his room moments later to find Kaella sitting up and coughing, he set down the mugs of tea and hurried to her side. A small mew alerted him to Lokiv's presence as he reached to assist the broken woman. She slapped his hand away with a growl, looking over herself her lip curled in a snarl, apparently angry with herself. The Akarai made an attempt to stand but cried out when her knees buckled and she landed on the floor with a grunt.

"You should not be moving, Akarai. You will only aggravate your injuries." He informed her, she growled at him but accepted his help to shift her into a sitting position on her makeshift bed. He nodded, satisfied that she would not attempt to stand again and reached over to the mugs of tea on the stand.

True, he could've tried to stop her when she tried to stand, but she seemed to be a creature which must try and fail before she listens to reason. He doubted Kaella was often so brutally injured as she was now, and it begged the question of what had happened and what she had fought against to earn such wounds.

Lokiv mewled, looking up at his master with bright eyes. This time, Kaella did not reach to pet him, she was staring at her tea with contempt and brows furrowed in confusion. Hanzo supposed she was confused as to why she was hurting so, which made him wonder just how many wars she had fought in.

He looked over her form, it was impossible to see any scars from former battles due to the extent of her injuries. Her clothes were tattered and hanging off of her lithe form, covering any skin that had not been already by the bandages.

Except for one, well three.

Over her left eye were three long scars, it looked like a wolf had clawed them into place long ago. Leaving the iris a darkened brownish color, a shadow of its former cloudy brilliance. While the other eye was left untouched it still made Hanzo shudder to think about what could've inflicted such a wound.

Now that he looked Kaella over for the first time in years, she looked bedraggled to say the least. She looked like she had been fighting an endless war and only just now did she finally get a chance to rest, her eyes held storms of rage and yet behind them determination and sorrow.

Hanzo was struck with the urge to ask where she had been all of these years.

"Onna, what inflicted these wounds?" He asked instead, he would get to the rest of his questions with time.

She sucked in a breath, looking at him with half lidded eyes and a somber look. "Another Akarai." She said simply before taking a sip of her tea.

He was taken aback, surprise showing clearly on his face. "So you are not the only one?"

She shook her head. "Am now, was barely able to kill the bastard." She slurred and mumbled her words in that suddenly familiar southern drawl. Hanzo was struck with the thought of introducing her to Jesse, surely the two would get along having come from the slice of the world.

"Why did you kill them?"

Kaella sighed, looking above her for a long moment, seeming to be collecting her thoughts. She then looked at Lokiv, who purred and rubbed himself on her side, she smiled wistfully and ran a hand through his fur which he leaned into appreciatively. Hanzo got the feeling they would be discussing the matter at hand for a while.

She turned her gaze back to him. "Well, y'see..." Her voice trailed off and she looked at the floor, looking unsure and terribly afraid suddenly. Then she sighed and the look was gone as soon as it had come. "It's a long ass story that I'd rather not get into."

Hanzo internally growled, he wanted to know, if nothing else to appease his curiosity, but he knew better than to push a being that could disappear without a trace and survive such horrific injuries.

So he opted for another question that had been pulling at his mind. "What do Lokiv and Okkin mean to you?"

She snapped her gaze up to him at this, eyes wide in surprise. She settled after a few moments. "They are the spirits of my soul, while yours are guardians of your family, Lokiv and Okkin are merely companions and representations of certain attributes of my mind. As I'm sure you've noticed Lokiv is the calmer of the two, he is wisdom, compassion, peace, and balance." She looked disdainfully at the floor for a moment before sipping her tea.

"And then there's Okkin, she is anger, jealousy, malice, and other such negative emotions." She finished the explanation, finishing the last of her tea and handing it to him for him to set on the nightstand. She waved her hand and an ashtray with a cigarette and lighter appeared, floating in the air. She set them down and lit her cigarette, inhaling deeply and looking at him with a sort of condescending look.

Bipolar as he remembered it seemed. "Smoking is bad for you."

She shrugged at his warning. "I'm immortal, the rules don't apply."

He had to concede that. "Did you get hurt because of the order I gave you at the hill top?"

She shrugged, taking a deep inhale from her cigarette. "Probably, I noticed I wasn't able to grasp the true extent of my powers. I suppose that could be it." She blew out the smoke in a huff.

She was so nonchalant about the situation even though her words cut into his soul like a knife. He recoiled as if physically struck, pursing his lips into a thin line he looked down in shame. Hanzo wondered for a moment why her being injured because of him bothered him so. He shrugged it off, deciding that it was best not to ponder on such momentary discrepancies.

"I see, I retract the order then. You are allowed to use your powers however you see fit." He murmured with a glance in her direction.

She sighed, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. A ripple of golden light washed over her and she cracked her neck before removing the bandages to reveal her wounds had completely healed. She stood, stretching her arms above her head, relaxing she shook her head and raised a hand to her hair. With a wave the loose locks wrapped themselves into a long french braid with a lovely red ribbon at the end.

Putting out her cigarette she looked over her clothes and scowled, flicking her gaze to him. "Mind steppin' out for a sec?"

Jolting out of his thoughts, he stood and took the mugs into the kitchenette to wash and replace them in the cabinets.

As he ran the cloth over his favorite mug he lost himself in his thoughts.

Kaella seemed very different from when he had first met her, she seemed grown, mature, a little more emotionally collected, though such a thing made no sense considering the many years she had spent alive. The woman had spent so much time away from him over the years he vaguely wondered if she had encountered anything to force her perspective to change. When he first met her she struck him as psychotic, her behavior and mood shifting at the drop of a hat, as it were. Now she seemed calm, sad even, Kaella seemed to ponder everything that could possibly be swarming in her mind before she even considered acting in any way.

Hanzo realized he had forgotten to ask about the dragon cult again. Scowling, he put the mug in its place in the cabinet and began cleaning the other.

He wanted to know more of his lineage, how the dragons came to be mystical beasts tattooed on him and his brother and locked away in their souls. Surely such powerful creatures could not have been so easily eradicated, and even if they had, what brought on the shift from physical to spiritual?

Hanzo sighed, reaching up to thumb the jewel on his chest. Not once had he taken it off all these years, the familiar weight an ever-present reminder that he had a companion even if they were not always in his immediate vicinity. He noted that this was the longest Kaella had graced him with her presence in a little over a decade, perhaps she was just as lonely as he? Or had she been tending to some business and only just now finished with it? He shook away the thoughts, he would ask her when she was finished getting dressed.

Just as he put away the last mug he turned and she was leaning on the threshold of the kitchenette, Lokiv winding around her boots. She was in her usual black riding breaches, only her top was a grey, form fitting long sleeve shirt; it had strategic holes along the sleeves in a design of some sort. As she reached down to murmur something to Lokiv he noted that the back of the shirt was a laser back.

After a moment Lokiv mewled and trotted away, turning the corner towards the bedroom he faded away with a flick of his tail. Hanzo shook his head, "one of the agents I work with met Lokiv."

She chuckled, glancing back to where the feline had disappeared. "Is that so? I musta' been in trouble if he showed himself to a stranger."

He nodded in understanding, suddenly remembering his questions from a moment ago. He turned to face her and leaned against the counter, his arms crossed. "Where have you been all this time?"

She shrugged, shoving her shoulder against the doorway to stand up straight. "My business, remember?" He sighed, coming to the conclusion that he should redact all of the previous orders as many no longer applied.

Before he could say anything on the matter she shot him a grave look that chilled his spine. "Hanzo, I plan to stick around for a while it's alright with you. I needa' lay low for a while."

He was rooted to the spot. Kaella? Stay with him? Here? His fellow agents had no knowledge of his... Situation with the Akarai giving him an inquisitive stare, if she were to stay he would have to come up with a plausible excuse for her presence. He trusted his fellow agents to welcome her regardless of her origins, perhaps even be grateful for having such a powerful being among their ranks, but he was loathe to divulge the nature of their partnership.

Hanzo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, he knew he would let her stay, he didn't know why he was so keen on the idea but he had been acting in ways that made increasingly less and less sense when she was around him.

He would have to speak with Zenyatta about the matter at a later date.

"You may stay, give me a moment to get dressed and I will take you to Winston." With a small smile from Kaella that made his insides flutter for absolutely no reason, he convinced himself, he went to change into his Kyudo-gi.

"Of course you are welcome at Overwatch Miss...?" Winston trailed off, looking at the pair in front of him in question.

Hanzo had been silently hoping Winston would deny her entry among the ranks of Overwatch, even though he knew Winston would never turn away a soul willing to fight.

"Kaella, Kaella Shigenshi. I'm a cousin o' Hanzo and Genji." She offered the monkey a sweet smile, bowing deeply. Hanzo shot her a look, they had agreed she would claim to be an old friend, Genji had met Kaella long ago but had no knowledge of her return, so he would have to alert his brother to the plan concerning Kaella's presence.

"Well, well! This must be like a.. Family reunion then! Mister Shimada, would you mind showing our new member around? Ah, but first, what would you like your code name to be?" Winston questioned before turning back to Athena, who was entering the information on Kaella as she scanned the woman.

Kaella smiled devilishly. "Nightshade."

"Kaella?" Hanzo winced as Genji ran over from his place next to Zenyatta in the mess hall. It was dinner time and Hanzo decided it would be the best time to introduce her to the crew.

"Genji, they believe her to be our cousin." He informed his brother and He spun Kaella around in an overly-enthusiastic hug while she giggled and squealed like a giddy teenager.

Hanzo repressed the urge to growl at his brothers show of affection.

He turned to the agents who had stopped eating to stare at the trio standing by the entrance. Just as he was about to open his mouth he heard Winston's heavy hands on the floor behind him, he turned and the primate smiled warmly as he gestured for Kaella to stand next to him. Hanzo stepped to the side to allow his comrade to move between them.

"Everyone!" Winston's loud voice reached all corners of the mess hall. "Please welcome our newest agent Kaella Shigenshi! A.K.A Nightshade. Please give her a warm welcome, Kaella if you need anything please let us know." With that he fumbled off to eat.

Hanzo sighed and started to head in the same direction as Winston to get something to eat. He was in a foul mood and he wasn't entirely sure why, which infuriated him further.

Before he could take more than two steps Lena was in front of him, all bubbly and full of smiles as she greeted her new teammate. Kaella appeared to be enjoying the attention as more agents began to follow Lena's lead, getting up and coming over to greet the newbie. He carefully stepped around the younger woman, making a beeline for his dinner in hopes he would find some respite from the buzz of conversation surrounding Kaella.

"Hi there! I'm Lena! In the field they call me Tracer!"

"Hi! 'M Kaella. What's that on your chest?"

"Long story short, I zip through time! C'mon love! Come sit next to me!"

"O.. Kay.."

"Well, yer a purty lil' thing ain't ye?" Hanzo felt his pulse increase as a rush of protectiveness swelled over him when he heard McCree's drawl, he turned back from getting his food to see him leaning to invade Kaella's personal space while Lena frowned in challenge, and yet again, Hanzo had to suppress the urge to growl. He was doing that a lot lately. Why was he upset? Hadn't he wanted to introduce Kaella and McCree given how much the two had in common?

"Back off Jesse! I saw her first!" Lena huffed at the cowboy, hands on her hips and lower lip out in a pout.

"Oh my god! You're from the southern states aren'tcha!" If it were possible there would've been stars in her eyes like in the anime that Mei had shown Hanzo. Lena pouted, realizing she had no chance seeing Kaella take such an immediate liking to McCree.

McCree looked taken aback for a moment as she completely blew past his advance, but he shook it off with a chuckle and nodded. "Yes ma'am! Ye sound like a fellow cowgirl!"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I'm from Oklahoma!"

He slapped his knee, "yer kiddin' me! Well I suppose that counts as a southern state." He smirked and raised an eyebrow in challenge, clearly antagonizing her.

She huffed, folding her arms, prepared to fire back an insult.

Hanzo breathed a sigh of relief when Mei tentatively tugged on Kaella's arm, no one could resist Mei's innocent charm, which was how she had gotten him to agree to watching anime. The woman had the face of a child and was in a constant state of anxiety, despite her obvious fears, she was a force to be reckoned with on the battle field.

"H-hi! I'm-m Mei, w-would you mind s-sitting next to me?" The girl stuttered. hope clearly fluttering through her voice. Every time Mei spoke the others would quiet down in order to hear her.

Hanzo tensed as Kaella was silent for a long moment, simply staring at Mei who began to fidget under her gaze.

Then he relaxed as the taller woman squealed in delight. "Oh. My. GOD! You are so precious! Of course I'll sit with you!" Kaella looked as though she had entered into a protective motherly state of mind, quickly walking away from the cluster around her to appease Mei's curiosity and request.

Hanzo felt a stab of satisfaction watching Kaella follow Mei to get her plate of food out of the corner of his eye, leaving a shocked and annoyed Jesse to return to his seat.

A chuckled drew him from his silent watching as Genji sat across from him, Zenyatta coming to hover just above the bench next to his student. "You look smitten, brother."

Hanzo scowled at him, leaning away as though he'd been struck. "With what?" He asked though he already knew the answer.

Zenyatta hummed next to his pupil. "You know of whom he speaks." He calming omnic voice washed over Hanzo, only causing him great annoyance.

He grit his teeth, refusing to meet Zenyatta's gaze in favor of glaring at his brother. "I assure you, I am not smitten with anyone. The onna and I have not been in contact in over a decade."

Genji shrugged, his cooling systems popping out to release small puffs of steam. "That does not mean you have not longed for her presence."

"Only to ease the discomfort our connection causes." He responded a little too quickly which made Zenyatta laugh. Hanzo growled, clenching his fist and sparing a glance across the tables to where the source of such discomfort sat.

Ganji turned to look over his shoulder at Kaella, who was surrounded by some of the younger members, all bubbling, questioning her about where she had come from, any special abilities she had, what Hanzo and his brother were like when they were young, the final question was asked in a quieter tone and a wary glance to the brothers.

Genji shook his head, chuckling lightly and turning his gaze back to his brother. "So brother, what do you suppose she will choose to be her special ability?"

Hanzo shook his head, grateful for the change of subject. "I do not know, but I pray it has nothing to do with the full extent of her power." Zenyatta, though clearly confused, did not push the brothers to answer his questions.

"Well I'll be damned! The John Wayne?"

Hanzo grit his teeth, grumbling quietly as he was jostled in his seat.

It had been a few months since Kaella had first gone on a mission. After displaying her clearly more than ample ability to fight- more than once -Winston had decided she did not belong on the rookie missions, instead sending her on the tougher and more dangerous ones with the senior members.

"Yup! Got 'ta go back in time and meet the bastard himself! The man was incredible on horse back!" She painted an image for Jesse with hand gestures to accentuate her story.

Now she was sitting next to Jesse on the shuttle, their mission was to take down a Talon base that had appeared not far from their own. The base threatened the safety of the nearby town as well as the discovery of the newly reformed Overwatch base, and could not go unchecked.

On the mission was himself, Kaella, Dr.- Mercy, Reinhardt, and Jesse McCree. It was Kaella's first senior mission and Hanzo needed to speak with her about going over the top.

"Onna." He called from his place, she looked up across from him, folding her arms and glaring daggers at him.

"Nightshade.. Actually, that's too long, just call me Kaella. Whadd'ya' want?" Jesse chuckled at her antics while Hanzo sighed at her unnerving ability to jump from one subject to the other. He gestured with his head for her to sit in the seat next to him and she pouted but bounced over.

He leaned closer to her and dropped his voice. "I hope you are aware that even in the situation we are about to enter you cannot use the full extent of your powers."

Kaella shoved him, waving her hand in dismissal. "I know what I'm doin', Hanzo." With that, she went back to sit besides McCree, which irked him greatly. He made a mental note to speak to Zenyatta about his sudden irritations with the cowboy when they returned.

The shuttle came to an abrupt stop, signaling their arrival. Hanzo stood, along with the rest of the group, and waited patiently as the door shuttered open. He knocked an arrow into place and darted out, keeping up with the meager pace Reinhardt had set.

Benedicat mihi vacui sunt robore!

Hanzo heard the words in a language he did not understand, he glanced beside him and found Kaella was no longer there.

His eyes darted around worriedly, he had warned her not to over do it, and now she was nowhere to be found. He growled internally and brushing his thumb over his arrow, he activated the scatter shot.

They reached the abandoned warehouse and Hanzo used Reinhardt's shoulder as a stepping stone to leap into the rafters, he aimed the scatter shot to where the Talon agents were streaming from the doors. He fired and the shot landed inside the doorway, scattering upon impact. He felt a small surge of satisfaction when he heard the cries of his arrows finding their mark.

He glanced down, firing an arrow through the head of an agent that had managed to creep up behind McCree. Just as his body hit the ground he saw Kaella dive over Jesse's head, she held two blades in either hand connected by a chain. The swords were exceedingly strange, thick and jagged, they looked like white outlines surrounding a purple nebula, while the chain itself appeared to be made of diamond.

Kaella darted forward, jumping up and landing with one foot on the gun attempting to shoot her the other jammed in the holders throat, with a cry she lopped off his head and shoved off of his chest to flip backwards and land neatly on her feet. Hanzo's eyes widened when the blade absorbed the blood within seconds and she took a deep breath through her nose, a grin spreading on her face, she glanced back at him over her shoulder. He could've sworn her eye gleamed red.

The she was moving, Hanzo shot an enemy attempting to sneak up on Mercy. Kaella leaped up, spinning in a deadly whirl of blades she ended the lives of four more agents, and then she was out of his sight.

He briefly wondered where she learned to fight, he supposed it was from years of war and conflict- another arrow through the skull of an agent attempting to strangle McCree -but she behaved like an animal, craving the blood of her enemies on her hands.

He shook of his thoughts, now was not the time to be concerning himself with where a creature formed by gods had learned to fight.

He dropped down from the rafters, landing easily and shot forward, grabbing an arrow from his quiver he drove it into the neck of an agent standing by the door. He moved into the next room, followed by Mercy and her Caduceus. He felt the healing wave wash over him, renewing his energy and he nodded his thanks before scaling the wall behind him to find another vantage point.

Kaella appeared again behind Reinhardt, whole laughed heartily as he swung his hammer while running forward, tossing several Talon agents to the side. Hanzo fired another scatter shot, dropping three more enemies and injuring several more.

Kaella darted forward, dodging bullets she cried out and threw her right sword at an attacker, it wrapped around him and she smirked. Yanking him to her Hanzo loosed another arrow that landed between the Talon agents eyes. Kaella turned and smirked at him, eyes gleaming with something he couldn't place but knew to be very very sinister.

A gun shot rang out and landed squarely between Kaella's shoulder blades, with a wail of agony the woman slumped forward and the whole room seemed to pause. Mercy cried out as she saw the woman fall, Reinhardt turned for and for a moment, no shots were fired, even the Talon agents seemed to understand how grave the situation was. Killing an Akarai, Hanzo knew, was no small feat, and he supposed when one died all in the immediate vicinity would be very aware of what they had done. Yet, Hanzo had lifted her inability to use her full power, she should be fine by all accounts.

Hanzo sucked in a sharp breath, he felt the air crackle and spark with the intensity of power being released. Had the agent killed her?

No, he had only angered her. When she straightened Hanzo knew for certain that her eyes were gleaming a familiar red, it made him shiver looking into those intense orbs.

His eyes widened when the woman below him spoke.

"Get out."

Hanzo wasted no time, knowing the womans past and where her powers originated he dropped to the floor, putting his thumb and index finger in his mouth he whistled to get the attention of his comrades who snapped out of their stupor. He motioned for them to follow him and prayed they understood the gravity of the situation.

His prayers were answered as they all bolted from the building, he kept running though they had put at least fifty meters between them. He didn't know exactly what Kaella planned to do, but he knew if the level of power he had felt in the room was any indication, they needed to be far from where she was.

They all paused at the sound of an explosion, looking back Hanzo's eyes went wide and he stood in awe of the creature before him.

A dragon. A massive, furious, physical dragon stood in the remains of the warehouse. It roared its fury and rose into the sky, black and powerful it turned, eyes gleaming red. It had a teal belly and a strange mark on its chest.

What drew his attention was the gleaming red coming from its maw. With a roar it unleashed the flames upon the building, cries of agony and screams of fear echoed through the night. Hanzo saw a shadow escaping from the burning building but he paid it no attention, no one deserved to die such a horrific death. They all stood awestruck as the dragon breathed another torrent of flames upon the building.

Seemingly satisfied with the destruction it had cause, the massive beast landed, rumbling with anger and contempt it curled its lip, curving its long neck to look back on the flames. It roared a cry of victory to the heavens, the sky rumbled and crackled with lightening in response to its call.

Hanzo felt panic rising in his throat as the beast turned its gaze upon them, he saw no recognition in its eyes, and he found himself rooted to the spot as it cried and began charging at them.

Mercy's whimper of fear spurred him into action, he remembered he always kept an arrow coated with nightshade in his quiver in case of such a situation in which he would need it, he knew the arrow alone would do no damage to the ancient creature but perhaps...

It was his only chance, knocking the arrow into place he aimed at the beast before him. He felt the familiar lurch and roil of the spirits within him as they awakened, eager to be released.

"Ryuu ga waga teki o kurau!" He cried firing, immediately his tattoo came to life with the spirits residing within him. They raced forward, spinning together as they focused on their target.

The physical dragon before them stopped, crying out in surprise it opened its maw and flames shot out to stop its enemies. It did no good of course, Hanzo's dragons reached their opponent. He watched as they coiled around the beast, who snarled and cried out when they seared its flesh and forced it into submission.

The moment was over as soon as it began, the spirits disappeared, returning to their slumber within Hanzo's soul. The physical dragon fell to the ground, crying out in agony and heaving to regain its breath. The head landed some feet from Hanzo, he jumped back, anticipating it to reach out and clamp its massive jaws around him, but no such thing happened; instead the mythical creature merely stared at him, the red gleam filled with hatred dying from its eyes as they slid closed.

A dark smog surrounded the beast, slowly becoming smaller and smaller until it finally dissipated to reveal Kaella's unconscious form. She had bullet wounds covering her body and her breathing was shallow as blood soaked the ground beneath her.

Hanzo was hesitant to go to her side, suspicious of the possibility she might be feigning her condition. What was that?

He felt a rush of wind as the good doctor ran forward, stooping beside Kaella she pressed her ear to the smaller woman's chest. Hanzo was about to tell her to get away from the unpredictable creature but Mercy spoke first, sitting up she gestured to Hanzo with urgency. "What must get her to the med bay on base! Immediately!"

Hanzo pressed his lips into a firm line. "Dr. Ziegler.. I do not know if that is-"

"I do not care whether you think it is a good idea or not, I will not let this poor girl die!" She snapped, interrupting him.

Hanzo shut his mouth with an audible clack, before swinging his bow over his shoulder and hurrying to her side. He lifted Kaella into his arms and turned, rushing back to the shuttle with his dying companion in his arms and Angela's gleaming Caduceus keeping her barely alive.

A/N:

AYYYYEEE

So this chapter was quite a bit longer than I intended it to be because I got SUPER into it, I apologize. I struggled to cut it off here as it was.

But anyways, there ya go. Kaella's a fuckin dragon now, but we'll touch on that next chapter -wink-

Didn't mean to weird you out with that...

THANK YOU FOR READING!