" NIGHTHAWK " genji shimada.

↳ fourteen.

DARKNESS SURROUNDED KAILANI AS she stumbled through a maze of hallways. She could barely see more than a few inches in front of her face, and the sound of her ragged breathing was the only thing that broke the suffocating silence. Her legs trembled beneath her as she desperately reached out in search of anything that seemed familiar. Kailani blinked, her eyesight slowly becoming adjusted to the darkness around her. She began to make out the walls of the hallways that she walked down, as well as the countless closed doors that she passed. She was scared to open any of them, unknowing of what would await her on the other side.

She was terrified, confused, lost. Although she had no idea where she was, part of her knew that the familiar Overwatch base that she called her home was far away. She was utterly alone inside the building that she wandered through.

Kailani paused for a moment upon hearing the faintest sound of mechanical grinding. She listened closely, pinpointing the noise somewhere behind her. Her conscious screamed at her to keep walking, to ignore the ominous sound and save herself, though her curiosity got the better of her. Her legs began moving in the direction of the sound before she was able to stop herself. With each step she took, the grinding grew louder. Her throat was tight, her heart pounding heavily against her rib cage, and she felt as though the world was spinning around her.

She stopped in front of a closed door, the grinding sound echoing through the hallways, and she swallowed nervously. Something awaited her on the other side of the door, and although her cut told her that it was dangerous, she reached for the doorknob. She swung the door open and stepped inside, only to be met by more darkness. She felt around her for a lightswitch, finding one only inches from the open doorway, and flicked it on.

What was waiting for her as light filled the room made her suddenly feel sick.

Several scientists dressed from head to toe in white lab coats surrounded a table. Kailani recognized the same emblem that was present on their breasts: the emblem that belonged to Talon. She stumbled backwards, feeling as though she was suddenly suffocating as her throat tightened. The group of scientists were surrounding something on a table, and it seemed as though they were in the middle of some operation. As she took a tentative step closer, she realized that it was a body.

Kailani's heart plummeted to her feet as she recognized the familiar tan skin, dark hair, and cybernetic armor.

It was Genji.

Kailani moved to lunge towards the scientists, ready to take on as many people as needed in order to save him, though it was suddenly as though her feet were glued to the ground. She was suddenly unable to blink, her eyes wide open as she stared at the scene in front of her.

Genji laid on the table, limp, his eyes closed. He looked almost peaceful, and she would have guessed that he was only sleeping if he wasn't surrounded by a group of insane scientists. His prosthetic legs were pulled away from the rest of his body, wires sticking out of them in every direction. The grinding sound that Kailani previously heard was coming from a scientist using a drill to tear apart his metallic chest plate. His cybernetic arm is laid out beside him, cut open as though they were dissecting it. The shurikens that lay hidden in the armor during battle were scattered across the table. His helmet lay abandoned on a nearby table, covered in blood, and the exposed skin of his face was pale.

Kailani noticed the red circle of light that she knew powered his cybernetics had been torn from his chest, and it hung limply to the side. Numerous wires connected it to the hole where it was supposed to be. Kailani was able to see his heart through the hole in his chest; the organ pumped slowly as though fighting to stay alive.

She felt her knees buckle beneath her, though she remained glued to her spot. She cried out to him, begging the scientists to stop. They didn't listen. She was forced to stand in her spot, unblinking, as they tore him apart. One scientist reached for the power supply of his suit, grabbing it in his hand. Genji's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he struggled to grab the machine from the scientist. Though the scientist was too quick, yanking the power supply clean out of his body. Kailani's hand flew to her mouth as Genji fell onto the table, lifeless.