"You know, this is a first for me. I've genuinely never seen a woman with blue skin before." Archer scratched his head as he paused, "Apart from the Dead, of course."
"...Is she a zombie then? You'd tell me if she was, right? Cause bloody hell, I carried her for a while, so if she were a zombie I might be infected and oh God Archer tell me she isn't a zombie or some-"
"Calm down, she's not a zombie. Ghouls like the ones you're thinking of can't get knocked out like this." Lena had to sigh in relief at the exasperated tone from the man. They were standing behind a pane of glass, observing Lacroix as she was tended to by Angela. So far, the woman was still unconscious as the doctor performed test after test.
Judging by the frown, Angela was not getting the results she expected.
"Wait a minute. 'The ones I'm thinking of'? Archer, what the hell do you me-"
"So, guapo, zombies are real?" Her returned panic was interrupted by the hacker, who'd for some reason joined them. Archer saw no reason to stop her, telling Lena privately that Sombra was very much capable of just going invisible and following them regardless.
At least this way, the hacker was in their sights the whole time.
"Yes, though they're usually the byproduct of Dead Apostles - vampires as they're more commonly known - rather than some viral outbreak."
"Huh. Good to know. I'll make sure to keep some garlic next to my bed." As leery as Lena was to trust Sombra, she had to agree with the other woman's caution. While she knew Archer could help her should she need it, he wouldn't always be there.
Case in point, the entire mission in Havana.
"No, garlic is just a myth. If you want real protection, try anything blessed by the Chur-"
"Archer, you won't join Talon, right?"
Lena couldn't help but grimace at the bluntness of her words. She very much trusted Archer, that much is true. Except, trust in someone was still different from hearing it from them. In truth, if the Spirit wanted to, there wasn't much Lena, or Overwatch, could do. He'd already proven himself beyond a shadow of a doubt that he possessed the ability to take down literally anyone Overwatch could throw at him.
The only other alternative was actual nuclear devices, and even then, Archer could just avoid that entirely by transforming to his astralized form.
"Oi, if you're thinking of joining those hijos de puta, then tell me now so I can dip." Even Sombra was starting to sound spooked behind the harshness she put up. Clearly, whatever Archer had done to retrieve her had left a mark on the other woman.
Archer remained quiet for a moment, which only heightened the growing feeling of panic she felt. She could spy Sombra fiddling with something in her other hand.
Finally, as they continued to watch Angela and Lacroix, Archer sighed, "Truth be told, Ogundimu does have a point."
His hand shot to the side to catch Sombra just as she turned invisible. With a yelp, Sombra stumbled and reappeared. Archer had not bothered to look at either of them, only sounding more annoyed as he continued, "Calm down, will you? Just because he had a point doesn't mean that it's a good one."
He let go of Sombra, and the hacker looked ready to bolt again, though held back.
For her part, Lena stared at Archer with hardened eyes.
"You said that he said 'karma of human progress, if I recall." At her nod he continued, "I have an inkling as to what he's referring to, and it's…not exactly pretty to think about. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. Normally, such a large amount of progress would have invited one in the first place."
"Invited, what exactly?" The way Archer said it, it made it seem like even he was wary of whatever it was.
"A Beast. A creature that would bring about the end of humanity as we know it."
Her heart thundered in her chest. Yes, she remembered him talking about them, once before. During the time he explained his existence, he'd given some minor terms that he hadn't delved too much into. A few of them, to be precise.
One of them being Beasts.
Sure, he explained that they had fought Beasts before, and that they were creatures of immense power, but other than that? He'd gone over them too quickly for her to grasp at it.
While she might have nodded along in the past, now, hearing him talk about them was far more troubling. Though, she had to wonder just why he was so forthcoming in telling Sombra all this when he hadn't told her this beforehand.
It took hearing Archer chuckle to realize she had said it out loud, "Don't get jealous now. I didn't tell you since I never thought we would be seeing one, or even another person that would bring it up like Ogundimu."
Finally shifting his head to look at them properly, he walked, motioning for the two of them to follow him, "We'll walk and talk. I need to get some fresh air anyway." No, he didn't, that much Lena was sure of. Sharing an uncertain glance with Sombra, the pilot gave a shrug of defeat and followed.
If she couldn't trust Archer, who'd become her and Emily's friend, what kind of person would she be?
Hearing a grumble behind her and following footsteps, Archer led them across the Overwatch facility as he spoke, "Beasts aren't inherently against humanity, to be clear. Rather, each Beast 'loves' humanity, to the point that it would do anything to continue 'loving' us."
"If they love humanity, why destroy it?" Lena couldn't help but interrupt as she frowned.
"'If existence causes humans to suffer, why exist at all?''" Archer gave a bitter laugh, "Beast I, Goetia. Its 'love' was pity. In some sense, it was right. Humans hurt each other more than any other creature out there. The most logical conclusion to that problem wouldn't be to reform humanity - too much time and humans are too willful for that - instead, the proper solution was to remove the current humans as a whole."
"That's-that's insane! Who the bloody hell thinks like that?" Her eyes were wide in horror. Sure, as a kid, she'd give dark jokes like that to her friends at times - who didn't, after all. But to actually put it in practice? Pure, utter madness.
Love like that was no love she was familiar with. Fiction, maybe. Psychopaths, perhaps. The whole adage of 'if I can't have you, no one can' was a thing for a reason. Then again, even that kind of love was completely foreign to her.
"I'd advise you to not think about their reasons too much." Archer shrugged, "Beasts are not human. Their thought processes aren't meant to be comprehended by human minds. Doing so will only lead to more and more confusion. Just accept that they're forces of nature that humans have to weather come the time."
"Then how exactly does 'karma of human progress' fit into all this?" That was the thing. If humans weren't meant to understand Beasts, why did Ogundimu make it sound like they were the product of humans at all?
"Hm." Opening the door to the training area, where they could hear the distinct sounds of a sword slashing violently against training dummies, Lena had to raise an eyebrow as she took in the scene in front of her.
All across the ground were various broken bots scattered all about. All of them had impacts of either a sword slash, shuriken, or a combination of both. Further into the room, they saw Genji leaping at several bots with his larger sword flying in front of him.
Seeing them enter, the cyborg gave a nod, before continuing his practice.
Lena didn't know why Archer had brought the two of them here of all places. He motioned for the two of them to take a seat, Sombra taking a good look around her before complying.
"Beasts aren't just formed from nothing. First off, think about human progress in the current era. Everything is more or less better than it was some hundred years ago, isn't it? The bad is minor compared to the good that has been happening, isn't it?" With a scoff, Archer crossed his arms as he leaned against the back of his own seat.
"It isn't."
Lena knew that Archer wasn't the nicest person about. He was too gruff, too sarcastic, for that title to go to him. She knew all that, and yet this was the first time she heard him say anything with that much anger in his voice. So much so that she instinctively flinched back.
Breathing out to calm himself, Archer continued, "A man I knew once said that Good and Evil couldn't be separated from humanity. That no matter how good a person is, an equal and opposite side of it must arise. Maybe in the same person, maybe not. A Beast is the case of the latter. The collective Evil of Humanity given form. The more Good that humanity progresses, the stronger the Evil it will eventually fight. Though, with my experience, Chekhov's gun is usually more of a rule than anything."
"Chekhov's gun?"
"In literature, it's the principle that something that seems unimportant suddenly becomes important later in the story. From my experience, magecraft usually removes the 'in fiction' caveat more than not."
"And Talon wants to fight against that?" Sombra raised an eyebrow in incredulity, "Sé que no son listos, pero…"
"What they want to do is insane, yes." Archer nodded to the two of them, "I said earlier that he had a point. Yes, in the past, humanity has fought against the Beasts and 'won'. Except, modern day society isn't exactly ancient Sumer and Ogundimu isn't exactly a blonde king. Nevermind that winning resulted in the near complete destruction of human civilization anyway. No, no matter how much conflict Talon subjects humanity to, modern day humans won't be able to fight against one and win."
With his words, Lena suddenly felt weak in the knees. She was already sitting down, and yet, she could feel the need to lie down, "Ah. That's why then." Even her own voice sounded despondent, "It's not that you don't want to join them, it's that we had no chance in the first place."
The room grew heavy with silence, Sombra's usually playful smirk completely absent as she stared blankly ahead. Lena rubbed her temples, trying to process the weight of what Archer was saying.
Archer, still leaning casually against his seat, glanced at the two women, his voice now more tempered, "It's not about chance. I'm not saying we're doomed from the start, but fighting Beasts requires more than brute force or cunning tactics. You have to understand what you're up against - and even then, it's still a gamble."
Lena shook her head, eyes narrowing, "You're saying there's no point in fighting, but what's the alternative? Let it all go to hell?" She stood up suddenly, frustration bubbling to the surface. "You're telling us all this, but for what? To say it's hopeless?"
Archer stood up as well, facing her. His eyes, hardened with his earlier words, softened ever so slightly. "I'm telling you this because you need to understand the stakes. If - and that is a big if - a Beasts ever appears, it's not about who has the better guns or the more strategic plan. It's about survival, plain and simple. You don't fight them in a way that makes sense to humans, because Beasts don't think like us."
Putting a hand on her shoulder, Archer continued, "I've wondered for a while now why exactly you found yourself in my Blade Works. Was it some cosmic coincidence? Some act of pure randomness? In the beginning, I thought maybe it was just that. With everything going on, I've been starting to believe otherwise. So have a little faith in me, will you? Focus on living the best life you can, and I'll be damn sure to do my best."
A moment of silence, before Lena gave a rueful chuckle, "You know, I'm starting to think that you're worse than me at trying to cheer someone up." She certainly didn't feel good by all means. Better, yes. Good, far from it.
Dealing with one's inevitable mortality was not fun.
Another scoff, "Starting to?"
All she wanted now was to go back home and spend time with Emily. Maybe tattle on Archer for all of this. Maybe feel better when the inevitable talking to her fiancée would give to the taller man.
"I'd feel better if you told me what you're planning to do about it all."
"I've already ruined your day, I'd rather not ruin it further." He shrugged. The three of them fell into a companionable silence, a shock considering Sombra's attitude earlier. Speaking of said woman, the hacker had sunk into her seat from everything Archer had said. Thankfully, she seemed to be composing herself just fine.
Lena certainly didn't know her enough to comfort her from Archer's existential dread. That small sense of camaraderie ended the moment the hacker opened her mouth, her voice trying to project strength despite the small hint of wariness.
"So, Blade Works. That a sex thing or…?"
"You know what, I was going to let all of this sink in for a couple of minutes, but I have a better idea to take your mind off things." Archer was rubbing the bridge of his nose the moment the words registered, "Talon is still after you, so let's get started on your training, alright?"
"Training?" A flight or fight response from the hacker.
"Yes. We can't have you getting caught after all. Rest assured, by the end of the week, you'll be running laps like you're Morrison."
"Huh? Isn't that guy a super soldier?"
"Did I say a week? I meant three days."
"I do not like the sound of that. A little help here, chica?"
Needless to say, Lena had no sympathy for the hacker, and her only response was to call out and ask Genji when he'd be done using the room.
…
A/N: I realize that I've completely forgot to thank my newest supporters. I'm sorry, I've just been swamped with work currently that it didn't even cross my mind. With that said, thank you to all of you whose support I can't thank enough: Angel de la torre, FleetAdmiral, ShaRose, Failure Ninja, Pusha, Noellesilvabestgirl, Súper Pisent.
If you like what I do and want to support me, check out my P-atreon at P-atreon•com(slash)Almistyor.
And a special thanks to: FireRogueWolf25, brutalcrab and Tassimo.