A/N: Oh my gosh, that took way too long. Thank you for being patient with me.
The streets of Numbani were bathed in sunlight, highlighting the beauty of the architectural marvels. Each street was carefully designed, streamlined to perfection, and meticulously kept clean. Angela found herself timidly holding onto the fabric of Fareeha's sleeve, crushing the fabric between her fingers without grabbing hold of her arm.
'Maybe the heat and stress got to you,' Fareeha smiled, pacing slowly so Angela could keep up. 'I told you I'd stay in the outpost for an extra day, didn't I? You'd have some time to yourself, like you asked.'
'I thought we decided to leave the outpost together, we-,' Angela struggled with her words, then shook her head. 'Never mind. I guess you are right.'
They strolled along the gold-bathed pavement in silence. Fareeha glanced at her companion, trying to read her face. Angela seemed calm, for now, if not a bit jumpy. She relaxed her bicep to give the woman more room to hold onto her, and felt Angela creep just that tad bit closer.
'It's not strange that you panicked after everything that happened,' she started, but the doctor immediately interrupted her.
'Please don't,' Angela muttered. 'I don't want to talk about it.'
'It's really alright, Angela,' Fareeha tried gently, but Angela would have none of it. She could tell Angela was getting agitated again, however good her intentions may be.
'I didn't mean to panic anyway. And it's all fine now.' Angela nodded to herself, as if trying to convince her own mind. It took her a couple of nods before it began to take effect.
'Yeah,' Fareeha decided to agree. It had been rather strange to run into another Helix veteran at the outpost, but she didn't mind fate granting her a favour for once. After spending some time traveling, and then finding residency in Numbani, they were rapidly running out of money. Doing some work for Helix would keep her off the streets, and earn them some cash. They would need it soon enough. They talked about this. Angela had agreed, hadn't she?
Yet when she arrived in the city, Angela had jumped into her arms as if she'd been missing for days. Sure – the woman was shaken up and traumatized and had a lot to work through, but it simply didn't add up. Something gnawed at Fareeha's mind, but she couldn't place what it was exactly.
'So next week I'll be moving out with Helix for a few days. After that, we could find a more permanent place to stay?' She said, trying to shift the subject to something more lighthearted.
'I thought you weren't going to accept the Helix job?' Angela turned to her, brows furrowed.
'Yes I am-' Fareeha sputtered, trying not to show the confusion and irritation on her face, as Angela's phone suddenly rang. Angela excused herself as she picked it up, walking a few steps away from her to get some privacy on the phone. Fareeha could still hear her, but pretended not to listen, her arms crossed over her chest as she waited. She observed the blonde from the corner of her eye.
'Angela Ziegler speaking- oh. Yes. Morrison.' She was silent for a moment as the other end answered.
'The email? No- I, but- well- it's all solved now-' Angela had a habit of gesturing with her hands as she spoke, even while on the phone. She laughed apologetically and tried to wave away her words, even though the other couldn't see her.
'No, no, you really don't need to worry- what?' She suddenly stiffened, glancing from her feet to Fareeha and then averted her gaze. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, more concerned.
'In your home? And now?' She paled a bit, nodded as the other end answered, and murmured in agreement as the conversation progressed. Finally she straightened her back, and nodded.
'I see. No, Fareeha is fine. I'll ask her, yes. Thank you. I'll be vigilant. Wiedersehen.'
Fareeha didn't want to have to ask who it was, so she gave Angela an accusing look until she caved.
'It was Morrison. Fareeha, dear, could you do me favour?' Angela talked over her before she could respond, and put her phone back in her bag, unaffected by Fareeha's raised brow.
'Of course.'
'Could you call your mother for me?' Angela had the audacity to bat her eyelids at the request. Fareeha spat an affronted half-laugh.
'Why?'
'Just tell her you're checking in because you're such a good daughter.' Angela crossed her arms too, but she was not nearly as tall as the other woman, so it wasn't quite as imposing. 'Morrison asked me to. If you don't do it, I will – which will be even weirder. Your choice.'
'Ah, you strike a tough bargain, Angela.' Fareeha lamented as she pulled out her phone, dialed a number and held it to her face. 'You really owe me for this, I swear- oh, hi mom. Yes, it's me.'
Angela's face lightened with relief. Fareeha had never been more confused.
.
Morrison barricaded the door and windows in the small apartment. Whatever furniture he'd had, it was now used to barricade any possible entrance. He had his gun pressed closed to his chest, his phone near him. He tried to calm his frantic breath, but couldn't help jumping at every shadow. It was almost dawn when his phone rang again.
He picked it up with a gruff voicing of his name. On the other side of the line, he heard the crisp voice of the younger Amari.
'Commander Morrison? This is Fareeha Amari, dr. Ziegler asked me to call you back.'
'Yes?'
'You have no need to worry. My mother is on her way to you now. She seemed a little concerned. Are you sure you are okay?'
'On her way from where?' Morrison growled. There was a short silence on the other side.
'I'm sorry, what do you mean?' Fareeha tried, but Morrison had no patience for politeness.
'I said, from where. She was right here just minutes ago.'
'Excuse me for a second,' Fareeha said, and he heard a muffled exchange on the other side of the line. At that moment, the front door creaked. Morrison rolled into cover, gun trained on the barricaded front door.
'Jack? What in the world is going on?' Ana's voice was clear from behind the barricade. Morrison broke the connection, then slowly lowered his gun. He was quite unsure if this was somehow a mirage too.
'I should be asking you that! Where the hell did you disappear off to?' He barked at her through the door, hesitant to remove the barricade. He'd looked at her room a thousand times. All her belongings were gone. Belongings did not just disappear into thin air. Ana tried the door again, rattling the handle.
'Jack!' Ana said, a tremble of anxiousness in her voice. 'Don't be ridiculous, I just arrived-'
'DON'T LIE TO ME!' Jack roared, his breath labored. His pupils were dilated, fear and rage alternating in electric spikes through his body. He still saw the ghostly image of Gabriel, so close, so close he could almost taste him – and yet again he'd gotten away. He saw the empty gaze of that girl, that Oxton, she would be trouble. He stared at the door as the dots connected in his mind. Belongings did not just disappear- unless they were never there in the first place. Oh, she would be trouble indeed.
With the butt of his rifle, he rammed into his makeshift barricade, smashing most of it aside.
'It's that girl, Ana! It's her!' He growled, jerking open the door, taking with it one of its hinges. He didn't care. Didn't care about the look of pure confusion on Ana's face.
'Where are you going?' Ana tried, but he rushed past her, stomping down the hallway.
'I am going to murder Lena Oxton!'
.
'You let her do what?' Sombra's voice rose a few pitches higher than usual. Reaper threw his cloak onto a rack in the corner, popping a joint in his shoulder before sitting down. He set his mask down on the table, effectively transforming back into Gabriel, or whatever was left of him. Sombra had seen his marred, disfigured face often enough now that she didn't visibly flinch at his appearance, but Lena could tell she still didn't like it.
'I don't remember you being the one in charge,' Gabriel gruffly answered, rubbing his face with both hands. He sat back in his chair with a sigh, chewing the inside of his cheek. 'Would've been nice to shoot him, though. He was so close...' He trailed off, flexing and unflexing his hands as if he was trying to strangle the air between his fingers. Sombra made a face.
'Don't you realize how dangerous this sort of thing is?' She glanced from Gabriel to Lena, who was casually porched against the counter, seemingly lost in thought. Gabriel just grunted in response. Sombra projected a few holoscreens, data running over them. 'Look, you mess up one character in the code, and boom. Everything's gone.' To illustrate, the holoscreen showed a blue crash screen. 'And this is just a computer. You do this with a timeline-'
'The tests went perfectly.' Lena said coldly. She slowly walked towards the table, pulled out a chair and sat across from Sombra, looking her straight in the eyes. She smiled a wicked little smile when she added, '"Relahate." I know what I'm doing.'
'Never say that again,' Sombra recoiled, but then laughed. 'Alright, alright. Just make sure not to mess my timeline up. I refuse to suddenly end up somewhere in a little cottage happily married with two kids or something.'
Gabriel snorted. 'Who would marry you?'
'Rude!' Sombra feigned offense. 'Like you're such a womanizer with that face, Gabe.'
Lena shut out their voices. They were too loud. Too real. Over the past months, she had come to like the quiet of the nothingness, the cold numbness that came with fading out of time. It gave her time to think, time to hear her own thoughts echoed in her head. To sort herself out.
It helped that nothing really mattered anymore. She didn't feel fear like she used to, or grief, or happiness. Every action simply contributed to the great nothing, every emotion dulled down until it was barely there. The only thing left was a vague longing, something that pulled in her. Pulled her away from this timeline, searching for some sort of satisfaction.
She lived on memories. She found herself going back to a few very distinct ones quite often. Small moments of happiness. She'd hide in the shadows and watch them happen, again and again and again. She told herself she couldn't yearn for people anymore, but every time she saw her, she still did. And when her own memories were not enough, she traveled further back, addicted to the sight of her. Stalking her from her first day at Overwatch to her last.
It had taken her many trips outside of this timeline before she began to see the bigger picture. The endless possibilities. Around the emptiness, the nothing, was a web of possibilities. Choices made. Events happened. Every little thing that shaped her past into what it was.
The lines were clear, but not the borders. Borders could be crossed. Lena had been freed of the shackles of time that bound her in one place, allowing her to traverse her time at will. And the first time she realized that, she fell from her timeline into another. Seemingly the same, but subtly different.
'Hey, Slipstream.' Sombra's eyes flashed brightly, shaking Lena out of her reverie. 'I mean it. Are you listening?'
'No,' Lena admitted, sitting up straighter. 'What were you saying?' She wasn't that interested, but listened for the sake of the peace. She needed them. For now.
'I broke into that Overwatch base for you because I care, okay?' Sombra said, looking away for a second. 'Just… don't waste it.' Lena's fingers caressed the ring on her right hand of their own accord, and a surge of painful cold spread through her chest.
'I know,' Lena answered, 'thank you, Sombra. Don't worry.'
Sombra seemed to deign that as enough of a reassurance, and stood up. Before she walked out, she pointed at Lena one more time. 'I mean it about the cottage!'
Gabriel's laugh was deep and rumbling. He patted Lena on the back and sighed.
'I, for one, am looking forward to seeing Morrison struggle,' he said, overthinking his own words, a vague grin on his face. He stared at his hands, and then at Lena's blank face.
'What's the worst that could happen, that hasn't already happened to us?'
Lena carefully ignored that question, instead she smirked. 'So phase two, then?'
'Phase two it is.'