need_healing

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[The sun was still at least an hour away from even starting to creep over the horizon when Genji slips out of bed, awoken by a sound that no one else would have been able to hear while alert, much less from a dead sleep. Leaving the comfort of Angela's embrace so early wasn't how he wanted to spend his morning, but in the wake of her news the other night on the encroaching turmoil of the region, he can't risk not being on guard. He collects his swords and disappears into the pre-dawn gloom.

When he returns, it's with a new black singe mark on his chest that surrounds two points of contact for a taser lead and a newfound urgency.]

Angela, get up. [He grips her shoulder and gives her a gentle shake.] The camp is in danger.

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[Angela was always an early riser, but she was hardly surprised when Genji was the one to rouse her from her sleep- she blinks blearily up at him, the sleepy smile slipping from her face when his words register with her.]

What? They're so close already? [She sits up, frantically yanking her hair back up into a ponytail. In the dim glow of the single lantern she notices the mark on his chest, her eyes widening.]

Genji, what- [The sound of muffled gunfire cuts her off. She barely hesitates, pushing herself off the cot and letting her coat fall to the ground.]

Sheisse- how close are they? I need to put on my suit. [Her Valkyrie suit and Caduceus staff were propped up in another corner of the tent- she mentally scolds herself for not at least having the suit already on.]

Hurry, I don't think we have much time.

[He turns his head towards the tent entrance, listening intently to the growing sounds of a firefight as the initial noise rouses the camp's security. He knows they wouldn't be enough, but he needs to make sure that Angela is secure first before he rushes back out.]

They are not militants from the city, this is something else. [He hears the approach outside the tent before the flaps are suddenly thrust aside and the he lunges forward, the black-clad man crashing to the dirt before he could barely set one foot inside. Two shuriken protrude from his chest armor, the third lodged solidly in his neck. He's dead in an instant.

Genji glances back in Angela's direction, three more throwing stars sliding into place between his fingers.]

I can hold them off, you must evacuate your patients.

[It'll take the suit a few minutes to fully come online- Angela winces as she feels the interface react to her, the suits' wings reflexively twitching before a dull, yellow glow begins to radiate from them. The sudden arrival of their unexpected guest tells her she doesn't have time to wait.]

...He's too well-armed to be a soldier from around here. [Her expression darkens as she looks over the body. Before she leaves she hastily retreats back to the desk, retrieving her folder of letters and thrusting them into a satchel.]

There's an abandoned town several miles south of here that we'll be headed towards. It's too deep in our territory, so it should be safe. [There's a flicker of sadness as she steps over to him, a gloved hand lifted to stroke the side of his face.] Be careful, Genji.

[She steps outside and disappears a in a trail of golden light streaming from her wings, out into the darkness and approaching gunfire.]

[Her touch steels his resolve and he nods, watching her takes to the skies. She still looks as magnificent in the valkyrie suit as he remembered and for just a moment, it almost feels like old times again. Blackwatch rarely involved itself in the more public doings over Overwatch proper, but there were occasions when its members were deployed alongside each other. He doesn't doubt Angela's knowledge of how to navigate a conflict, or her ability to protect those under her care, but it's just the two of them now and he has a suspicion that the military personnel, trained to handle more domestic threats, might not be enough.

Which means he needs to move swiftly.

The camp is wired through a series of tall poles, electricity and communication cables strung between them offering an easy transit above the ground as he heads towards the sounds of gunfire. The infantry that have already responded are sorely out gunned and backed into a barely defensible position, huddled behind a stack of containers outside the mess tent. Briefly, Genji spots the teenager from the night before, clutched protectively in the arms of a nurse. Shit.

He leaps into the midst of the attackers, a flash of green in the dark moving between them faster than they can train their weapons on him. The scouts earlier had tagged him only by virtue of the both of them taking each other by surprise. These men would not be so lucky.

He cuts them down with ruthless efficiency before looking up and spotting a flash of a figure- a woman, leaping through the air and sinking a grappling line into the roof of a guard tower. Genji glances at the shocked huddle of soldiers and civilians peering out from around the crates, just long enough to assure himself that they were safe, then as swiftly as he had arrived, he has vanished again.]

[The camp is not unfamiliar with having to pack up and leave on such short notice, but Angela can tell the energy feels different this time- the realization that she come to back in the tent, that they were dealing with a new enemy, is quickly spreading. Parents hurry by her with their hands tight over the mouths of squirming children, a sudden burst of nearby gunfire causing a young mother to topple to the ground with a panicked cry.]

All of you, this way. [She helps the trembling woman to her feet and hurries the small crowd back towards the rear exit of the camp. They've nearly reached the gates- thankfully, the enemy hadn't made it that far- when the camp's lights suddenly go out, plunging them all into darkness.

Angela barely flinches among the panicked screams- up ahead she can see the large transportation vehicle normally used for cargo. There's a flutter of relief when she recognizes the vague outline of a colleague, who frantically begins to wave at the sight of her wings.]

Go, go! [She herds the panicked group onward, only following when she's sure everyone has made it. With the light from the vehicle spilling out into the darkness, she's relieved to see that the wounded were already being loaded on board. A boy no older than the one from the mess hall stands nearby, a gun clutched in his shaking hands.]

I'll do one more sweep, and then I'm headed to the front. And get those doors closed, or find a way to turn off those blasted lights. We'll meet at the rendezvous point.

[It's all a little too familiar. Angela smoothly turns on her heel and flies off into the night, her staff clutched in her hands. Below her the camp is nearly impossible to make out, save for the occasional lantern or discarded flashlight. There's a risk, she knows, to flying out in the open like this, but she takes care to never stay still.

She circles around the camp, and it's not until she's about to steer herself towards where most of the fighting is that she realizes how odd this all was. Nobody had tried to fire at her even once, and she knows they had to have spotted her. A sudden chill shoots up her spine-a sneaking suspicion, or did it suddenly get colder?

She sees it then, out of the corner of her eye: the subtlest of movements from a guard tower, almost like the creeping of a spider. Something red peers out at her from the darkness and she flinches before the shot's even fired.

Her right wing explodes in a shower of sparks and metal, and Angela suddenly sags in the air. Panic takes hold of her as she struggles to stay afloat, but the damage is too much for the suit and she tumbles back to the ground.

There's an unpleasant sound as her head collides with something hard- she gasps and clutches at the wound, her hand coming away sticky with blood. Cursing, she tries to use her staff to pull herself up, but it's too cold, numbing her down to the bone. Around her the sounds of gunfire and screams fade away into an unsettling nothingness. As the shadows begin to creep towards her, she barely manages to wonder if the sniper had missed after all.]

[The air whistles as it's sliced by a trio of throwing stars, the blades cutting through the shadows and impacting the hardpacked dirt on the other side. They don't appear to do any actual damage, but the darkness made manifest recoils regardless, curling like smoke into the air. Genji drops to the ground in the next instant, tucking his legs and leaping in Angela's direction. He'd caught sight of her just before the sniper had taken the shot but had been too far away to make any effort at catching her as she fell.

Behind him, the darkness reforms and shoots across the distance between them, but Genji is faster by far, sweeping Angela up and bounding out of the way just as the black smoke slams into the same space and rears up. Genji flicks his attention to the guard tower in the distance, but he can't see any sign of the sniper. When he looks back, the darkness has reformed into the hulking shape of a man, the empty sockets of a bone white mask glaring out from under a heavy cowl. A rumbling sound rises up all around them and it takes Genji a moment to realize that it's coming from the man in front of them: an angry, sinister snarl.

From the depths of his coat, he pulls out a pair of sawed off shotguns, elegantly designed in stark contrast to the brutality of everything else about the man.]

Drop her, boy. That's an order.

[Genji doesn't answer, only turning his body by a fraction, ready to put his shoulder first should their enemy decide to open fire on them. Better he take the shot than Angela.]

Can you still fly? [He whispers it to her, stepping backwards as the man starts to advance. He can't fight with her in his arms, but he needs to come up with something fast.]

[The damaged wing sparks and sputters at random intervals, sending a shock up Angela's spine that snaps her into lucidity.]

I can maybe glide. And not far. [She doesn't want to risk going too high with that sniper still out there. Thankfully, the fall seemed to have only stunned her, the cut shallow- she'll be able to run if it comes to that. She sneaks a glance at the figure approaching them, a confused look on her face.]

Who- [Was he here for her? She stares at the mask as if she could deduce its wearer's identity, nearly forgetting that their lives were at stake. Her head throbs in pain and she hisses, leaning into Genji's arms.]

I know this camp better than he does. [Her voice drops to a fast whisper as she slowly removes her pistol from its holster.] I can get away if-

[Sweat mixes blood as she lifts the gun, knowing the time for talk is over. She looks up at him, blue eyes burning with determination- in one smooth movement she abruptly aims the pistol over his shoulder and fires at their opponent. Angela doesn't look back when she flies- nearly literally- from Genji's arms, swiftly disappearing around several stacked crates and into a labyrinth of tents. Her feet practically drag along the ground and after several seconds her damaged wing finally gives out- she barely catches herself from falling into the dirt.

She forces herself to break into a frantic run towards the evacuation zone, dreading the sound of two shotguns firing.]

[Something resembling a plan is beginning to form. It's not the best plan, but it's better than what they have at the moment, which is hoping they don't both get gunned down before they can run. He looks down at her when he feels her move, spying the pistol she brandishes. It won't do a damn thing to their attacker and they both know it. Genji's mask hides his grim expression, but his head tilts in a subtle nod.]

I will find you. [He says it just before she whips her arm over his shoulder and there's the tak-tak-tak of the pistol's silenced chamber in his ear. All it appears to do is cause the dark man to draw up in confused surprise, but it's enough time to act and Genji flings Angela into the air just as she pushes away. The white flash of her suit disappears out of the corner of his vision as he twists back around, wakizashi pulled from its sheath in anticipation.

And right on cue, the crack of one shotgun echos through the air and Genji just barely has time enough to duck out of the way, the slug from the second gun deflected off the edge of his blade. He feels the scrape of loose shot across the side of his face, but there's no time to think about it. The man is not subtle, loud and noisy, full of so much anger that Genji can practically feel it rolling off of him in frigid waves, but it makes him easy to track. A handful of shuriken embed themselves into his thick shoulder pauldron, the rest bouncing off body armor that must been heavier than he'd anticipated.]

You never did learn to take orders.

[The man's body dissolves into black smoke and hisses across the ground towards Genji, who leaps back, only to have the figure solidify with shocking speed and before he can react, he's tumbling across the ground clutching his chest.]

Sombra, where--

[Another round of throwing stars ricochet off the man's mask, followed shortly after by Genji himself, wakizashi bared. He swings for the intruder, blade slicing into fabric and presumably flesh- he can feel the difference in friction against the blade, but no blood comes. The man whips a gun at him and he side steps, slicing again, this time the blow glancing off the heavy barrel of the other gun. A shot kicks up dirt in the space he'd been occupying just a split second before, then another, and Genji finds himself having to run from a volley of shotgun shells that the man is able to fire much faster than expected.]

Leave this place! Whatever you want, you will not find it here today!

[The laugh that answers him is bone chilling.] You think you can stop me?

[Genji's feet dig into the dirt as he comes to a stop, his smaller blade snapped back into its sheath before his hand goes to the hilt rising behind his shoulder.]

I know I can.

[The blade hisses as it's pulled free, channeled energy focused into the first strike that lands squarely across the dark man's chest, sending him backwards, his shots going wide. Genji presses his attack in a flash of green discharged power, even as he feels a blast from the shotguns rip into his arm, until finally the darkness swallows his target once again.

This time, however, the curling smoke pulls away, seething across the ground and into the shadows of the tents. Genji comes to a stop, his damaged suit steaming in the morning air. He could pursue him, but if he was here for Angela, then he needed to rejoin her first.

His sword is returned to its sheath and he bolts in the direction she'd said the rest of the camp was evacuating towards.]

[The gunfire of shotguns fills the air and Angela can't help but shoot a worried look over her shoulder as she runs- guilt and worry that she couldn't stay behind to help Genji fills her, but as she gains her bearings she resolves to put her trust in him. The Genji who would stubbornly put a mission at risk to see all of his foes cut down was gone.

On several occasions she needs to stop and press herself to the side of whatever cover she can find- there were several guard towers positioned all around the camp, and she couldn't be so sure the sniper wasn't still looking for her. The next time, she knows, they won't aim for a wing.

Her heart leaps in relief when she sees there was still one transportation vehicle that had not yet left. The awkward teenager from the mess hall pulls her up and she topples onto the floor of the truck's bed with an undignified oof. A drab blanket is hastily thrown over her and everyone else, a meager attempt at camouflage as the truck sputters to life and drives off into the desert.

She huddles in a corner of the bed, fighting the urge to lift their cover. Guilt settles back in her stomach as she takes in the frightened faces of her fellow passengers- was all of this really because of her? Who was that man- what was he?

Her eyes close and she sighs, pressing her staff towards the gash on her forehead. There's a tingling feeling as the nanites swarm the wound, uncomfortable and then fading to a dull pleasantness as the cut is sealed up, leaving behind only dried blood. She spends the rest of the trip patching up everyone else's wounds. Her thoughts drift to Genji at times, some part of her hoping he'll suddenly come tumbling into the back of the truck like she did.

The dilapidated ruins of the town aren't much, but they're more solid than tents. By the time they arrive the sun is well up- at least they'll be able to see any surprise attacks now. Angela puts herself to work with the soldiers, patching up their injuries and getting some food and water in them. Nobody had thought to ask a doctor if she knew anything about their attackers, so she kept her mouth shut as she worked. She needed to talk to Genji about it- every now and then she'll be caught staring off in the direction they had fled from, a worried look on her face.]

[At the evac point, Genji had come across one broken down truck and a scattering of discarded items: non-essential supplies and a few personal items, likely left behind in haste. No blood. It's a good sign, but the foot traffic in the dirt is too chaotic to discern if Angela was among the people here. He considers sweeping the camp, or returning to her tent to collect his cloak, but if the attackers were still here, then he does not doubt that they would be there as well. And for as much as he wants to put his sword through them and finish the job, he's in no condition for another fight like that.

No, an empty camp would serve them far better than one wounded idiot running about trying to play a hero. He slips from the compound, but instead of heading south, he returns to the city. If he was going to catch up to the unit during the daytime, he needed a few things.

The barely functional motorbike he'd 'borrowed' is left behind an outcropping of rocks as soon as the ruins Angela had mentioned come into view and he finishes he trek on foot, uninterested in being shot at or detained the moment some on-edge guard caught sight of him. Dressed in tattered clothes and with his unmasked face wrapped in several scarves, he paints a close enough picture of a straggling refugee that the guards let him past the checkpoint, pointing him in the direction of the aid station when he asks about Dr. Ziegler.

He finds her in what he can only assume must have been some sort of meeting house when it was still in one piece, the open floorspace covered in cots and huddling civilians. The sun is starting to creep back down towards the horizon as he approaches her, casting long shadows through broken windows.]

A moment of your time, doctor?

[It hadn't been an easy day. Several patients had been lost, the stress from the sudden upheaval too much for them- some hadn't made it to the evacuation zone in time. Soldiers succumbed to their wounds, and now they were short-staffed. Angela hadn't bothered idling around with those in charge, trying to come up with a solution for where they were headed from here- they can worry about that when they've patched up the wounded and laid the dead to rest.

The working conditions were worse than they were back in the camp, but she tried to make do with what she had. Nobody blamed her when she was unable to save a young soldier- not even her staff could keep up with several bullets that had spent several hours lodged in the chest of a young woman.

She retreats to a makeshift cleaning station that was little more than two buckets. As she rinses the blood off of her gloves, she bitterly notes if their injuries don't kill these people, there's a good chance an infection might.

She feels him there before he speaks and some of the tension immediately leaves her body. When she looks at him there's a tired, if relieved look on her face- she reaches out a hand to touch him but barely manages to stop herself.]

Are you injured? [She tries to keep her tone neutral, but the way her eyes frantically search his body for any visible wounds tells a different story. Regardless, she presses a gentle touch to his shoulder and begins to lead him out into an unused hallway under the guise of a doctor leading her patient.

The hall itself is too small and damaged to be of any real use- Angela sneaks one glance back through the doorway to make sure nobody had seen them.]

I had forgotten how much you Blackwatch agents love your dramatic entrances. [It's meant to be a light jest, but her tired tone and the way her shoulder droop say she's not quite in the mood for joking.]

Minor damage. [He follows her into the hallway and once they're safely out of eyesight, he pulls down the scarves covering his face. There are narrow, blackened streaks across the side of his helmet, but the shot hadn't reached flesh. His other injuries were another matter.

Her comment about Blackwatch stirs a memory of the fight and how the dark man had spoken to him, as if he knew him and had expected him to obey. Very few people could claim such a thing.]

Your soldiers are more likely to shoot me on sight than let me in after what happened. I would not have been welcomed. [The old coat is peeled away from his shoulders next, exposing the damage done to his one good arm. The suit had taken the brunt of it, but his arm was still streaked with lines of blood where the shot had broken through.]

Was the evacuation successful?

Not as successful as it could have been. [She presses her hand to the wound on his arm, examining it carefully- thankfully it didn't seem like something her staff couldn't handle.] We weren't prepared for an attack on that level.

[She lifts her staff and flips the switch on, watching with a tired look as the golden glow begins to settle over Genji's wounds.] Whoever they were, they weren't from here.

[Something she imagine he's already figured out on his own- maybe even more.]

They're talking about trying to air lift those with the more grave injuries back into the city. We don't have the equipment right now to keep them alive... in a few days they'll probably launch an expedition to see if there's anything worth salvaging from the camp.

You were able to get away safely? Nobody followed you? [She doesn't expect Genji would let anyone trail him if he didn't want them to, but she still worries.]

[He doesn't takes his eyes off her as she inspects his arm. It's a minor thing to someone of her caliber, and he keeps still patiently.]

You did what you could. [Which he thinks she already knows, but he feels like it should be said anyway. The nanites are not an entirely unpleasant feeling and on some level he can feel them 'talking' to his cybernetics, repairing the damage done with an efficiency no human would have been able to match.

When she asks if he was followed, he answers with a shake of his head.] Driving through the desert in broad daylight is a remarkably effective way to throw off those who would prefer to remain hidden.

[His detour through the city had also been an effort to shake any tail he might have had and he was confident in his work. Still, the matter remained that whoever the attackers had been, they had located them at the camp in the first place and, given reign of what remained, it wouldn't take them long to figure out where this place was.]

But I don't think I was the one they were searching for. [He looks at her pointedly. They both know what he means.]

[There's no way for them to confirm it, short of asking their mysterious guest- and she doubts he's going to let her get away a second time.]

I've made enemies, Genji, but none that have tried to kill me. Steal my work, slander me, yes...[She's not even sure Doctor O'Deorain would stoop to something like attempted murder- never mind that they hadn't spoken in years. It was just unlikely that it was her... but if not, then who?

When she's satisfied with his wound she turns her staff off and leans against the battered wall with a tired sigh, shyly reaching out to tug him closer.]

I suppose it could be anyone with a grudge against Overwatch. [Unlike many former agents, Angela hadn't exactly tried to hide herself after Overwatch disbanded. A guilty look crosses her face as she thinks about how easy it must have been to find her- and how all she had done is gotten more people hurt.] If he really was here for me, I'm more dangerous to these people than I am helpful...

[A memory of the confrontation flickers in her mind and she glances up at him, her brow furrowed:] Did you... know him? He spoke as if he knew you.

[He rolls his shoulder and clips his mask back into place once the repairs are finished. Good as new, as he expects from her. The rest of the superficial damage can wait. When she reaches out, he slides his fingers between hers and settles against the wall at her side.

She shouldn't have needed to hide like the rest of them. She'd been a physician, not a combat operative. She helped people. Her efforts at saving lives had been groundbreaking and he has no doubt that without her, Overwatch would have had far more blood on its hands. Nothing about the attack made sense.]

I'm.. not certain. [The Shimada clan didn't have the resources for anything of that scale anymore, he'd made certain of that himself before leaving Overwatch.] Blackwatch? Winston's message did not seem very particular about who it reached.

[The thought that comes to him after the words leave his mouth hits him like a slap to the face. It couldn't possibly be, but what other answer was there? Unless there was something that had happened after he'd left...]

My orders came from Commander Reyes. But that's not possible... [He'd died in the explosion... hadn't he?]

Edited 2018-02-26 00:22 (UTC)

[At the mention of Reyes Angela shoots Genji an incredulous look:] Commander Reyes died during the conflict at the Swiss headquarters, Genji. I was there when...

[It's hard to think about- the conflict that unofficially ended Overwatch, old friends pitted against each other by unfortunate circumstance. A dark look passes over Angela's face as the fight plays out in her heard, like it has countless times before.]

We never found Commander Morrison, but Reyes... it was not good, but he was still alive. [She's only described these events once so that they could be put down in ink and promptly locked away. It's difficult to say if Reyes had anything resembling a positive relationship with those under his command, so her tone is hesitant. She doesn't want to upset Genji.] I tried my best to save him, but the damage was too much.

[That... was a really delicate way to describe the condition she found Reyes in.] I didn't give up so easily, believe me, I thought... I can't say I approve of what Reyes did, but I wasn't just going to let him die. All I can say is that if he did somehow survive, he wouldn't have an easy life.

...And that still doesn't explain why he's trying to kill me. [There's genuine confusion in her voice- sure, she had spoken out against his attempt to recruit Genji, but she butt heads with Morrison and Amari much more than she did him.] A copycat, perhaps? Someone who blames Overwatch for what happened to Reyes?

[He doesn't expect her to go back over everything that had happened, but he hadn't been there and admittedly all he really knows about it is what was reported officially to the public. The HQ reduced to a pile of rubble, Morrison and Reyes dead, the remaining ranking members detained for questioning. So when she starts, he squeezes her hand in silent support.

Genji's relationship, such as it was, with Gabriel Reyes was about as well developed as one could be between an officer and an insubordinate child under his command. They weren't on the best terms, but he would never have wished the man dead. And he knows Angela would have done everything in her power to save his life, regardless of her personal opinion.

None of it makes sense, but he stops himself from asking if she'd actually seen them put Reyes into the ground. The day had been grim enough already.]

I feel it might not be so simple, but we will find no answers here. [He pushes himself away from the wall and turns to face her, taking her other hand in his.] Come to Nepal. You'll be safe there.

[She knew he was working up to her leaving- there's a pang of guilt, as she's torn between wanting to stay and knowing she'd just be putting everyone here in danger.]

Give me a day to sort things out. They'll want me to stay. [It hurts that she can't tell them the truth- it'll look as if she's abandoning them when she's most needed.] I'll... tell them my visa expires sooner than I thought.

[Ideally she would like to stay until they could start air lifting the patients, but she knows that's at least two days away.]

And... I'm going to need some new clothes before we leave. I imagine I'll be very easy to track if I stay dressed like this. [All she had was her satchel filled with important documents, his letters and the tools needed to keep her suit and staff repaired. Luckily her laptop had been work issued- she imagines they won't find anything on it they don't already know about.]

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