" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

ix | traitor

yuanfen.
act four, chapter nine.
"traitor"

_

DAHLIA SPENT THE NEXT hour doing everything she could possibly think of to distract her from countless scenarios running through her mind. From the moment she was left on the ship by herself, the fear that she had once felt before her conversation with Genji returned- only this time, it was more intense. Not only did she fear for the safety of the team that was currently rushing towards a seemingly abandoned omnium, but she was also concerned for her own safety. She was currently alone in the airship parked on the edge of a large city with nothing but a few scalpels and other medical supplies to defend herself. If the Reaper or any of his Assassins found her now, there wasn't much she could use to prevent them from overtaking her.

She explored the airship several times during the first hour. She took time to read over the nameplates above several seats lining the main compartment; they were each labeled with the name of several original Overwatch members, probably left there from the former strike force that once used this airship. Old photos were still hanging on the walls near each seat, allowing Dahlia to catch a glimpse into the lives of the former agents. She paused as she noticed a plate that read a name that she was far too familiar with: Emre Sarioglu. It was the name of the one of the agents that she had taken the life of while she was Vixen, and her blood ran cold as she was reminded of the Overwatch emblem that she had taken from his desk that he bled out on. The coin had his name engraved on the back of it, and Dahlia remembered reading over it again and again as she returned to the Talon base.

Dahlia wandered into the cockpit at one point, gazing around at the high tech controls that allowed the ship to fly. She didn't dare touch anything; even though the ship was powered down, she feared that a simple brush against the console would cause it to shoot into the air. She gazed out through the large windshield, eyes scanning the skyline of the city that stretched out before her. Even from a distance, she was able to tell that the city was bustling with life; countless beings were currently living their life completely oblivious to the fact that there was a team of Overwatch agents investigating an omnium in hopes of keeping them safe.

Once again, Dahlia was reminded of the strike team, and her eyes shifted over to the road that they had disappeared down over an hour prior. She knew that they were probably still deep within the omnium, though she couldn't help but hope to see any sign of them returning. She was about to turn away and return to the medbay when a sudden sound met her ears. She froze, unsure of what it was at first, and listened closely. A moment later, she heard it again, and she was able to make out that it was a scream. Immediately, her heart dropped to her feet. She sprinted out of the cockpit, pressing the button that would allow the door to the aircraft to fall open. Another scream echoed around her, coming from the small strip of forest that lined the road. Dahlia leaped out of the ship and took off in the direction of the noise.

The forest was overgrown, a stretch of the natural world that was left undeveloped by humans. This made it harder for her to make her way through the shrubbery. Twigs and thorns scratched as her clothes, sometimes piercing through the fabric and scraping against her skin, though she kept pushing through. The screams had turned into distressed howls and moans, and they grew louder and louder as she neared the source. She pushed into a small clearing, freezing as she came face to face with the recruit named Leo. He was laying on the forest floor; his hands were clutching his leg and his face distorted in pain. Crimson blood covered the leaves around him, glistening in the sunlight. Dahlia stepped towards him, eyes widening upon noticing that his leg was caught in a bear trap. The teeth of the trap were buried deep within his leg, and the flesh around it was mangled and torn. Blood pooled from the wound and onto the earth around him.