" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

ii | the snake

yuanfen.
act six, chapter two.
"the snake"

_

DAHLIA HAD COME TO the conclusion that she wasn't a fan of planes. She hated the thought of being several miles up in the air, as well as the constant roaring of the engine and the shaking of the airship around her whenever it hit a wave of turbulence. She was aware that traveling by air was the quickest way for strike teams to get to and from their destination, but she would've much rather taken a day or so longer to travel if it meant that her feet would be planted safely on the ground.

Dahlia had been assigned to assist a strike team on a mission to Santorini, Greece, where they would investigate a lead they received on a potential Talon hotspot in the city. The possibility of dealing with a Talon ambush only added to her nerves. Her last field mission didn't exactly go as well as she'd hoped, resulting in a severely injured recruit, and she couldn't help but fear that her bad luck would follow her all the way to Greece. Thankfully, as far as she was aware, there wouldn't be any bear traps laying around on the streets of the coastal town.

Beside Dahlia sat another recruit, a Polish woman who was currently busying herself by gazing out of the widow beside them. Her name was Natalia, and she'd been assigned to work alongside Dr. Ziegler and Dahlia after showing exceptional medical knowledge. It was nice to have someone else to help out around the medbay, even if it was just for a few days; although the doctors that worked for Overwatch were once plentiful in the organization's early days, it was safe to say that the returning members were lacking in the medical department. Before Dahlia's arrival, Dr. Ziegler had been the only doctor on the base, with occasional help from Winston (whose medicinal knowledge was limited but enough to help with more basic treatments.)

As Dahlia shifted anxiously in her seat for what seemed like the tenth time in ten minutes, Natalia's attention was pulled away from the view outside the window. The recruit looked over at Dahlia, eyebrows pulling together in confusion. "You seem uneasy. Is something the matter?"

Dahlia shot her companion an apologetic smile. "Let's just say my last field mission didn't go very smoothly," she admitted.

Natalia suddenly seemed nervous, and Dahlia felt guilty for letting her uneasiness show. "We'll be okay, right? We're staying on the ship?"

Dahlia was confused for a moment. Natalia's hesitance towards field missions was obvious, though she couldn't imagine why the Polish girl would willingly join Overwatch if she didn't want to be put in the field. Even Winston, who preferred to spend his time in the lab, was sent on missions sometimes. Perhaps Natalia believed that working with medicine would keep her on base.

She'd better get used to field work quickly, Dahlia thought to herself with a slight frown. Part of joining a team that's trying to save the world is... well, trying to save the world.

"Yes, we'll be okay," she said aloud, opting to attempt to calm the recruit's nerves rather than speak her mind. If anything went wrong on the mission, Dahlia wanted all the help she could get; she didn't want to scare Natalia off before they even landed at their destination. "As for the overly-cocky recruits who don't always listen to orders... that's a different story. They often don't look where they are going and overreact whenever they get a simple cut."

Natalia laughed softly at this, and Dahlia hoped that she'd been able to calm the recruit's nerves, even slightly.

'

'

'

An hour later, the airship touched down near an airport on the very edge of the city of Santorini. Dahlia could hear orders being barked at the agents outside of the medical compartment, though she made no effort to listen. She had her own orders to stay behind on the ship in case any of the agents were injured upon their return. Natalia seemed nervous again, shifting her weight back and forth whilst stealing glances in Dahlia's direction. Dahlia realized that she was probably waiting for orders; she'd forgotten that, with Dr. Ziegler back on base, she was technically in charge of the recruit.

"You can relax," she said to Natalia with a huff of amusement. "Our job for the next few hours is to sit here until we're told to do otherwise and pray that no one is injured."

Natalia nodded slowly, taking a seat near the window once more. Several seconds passed before she spoke. "What made you want to do this?"

"Do what?" Dahlia questioned with an inquisitive look in the recruit's direction.

"Work with Dr. Ziegler. You kind of seem like the type of person to want to be in on the fight." Natalia shrugged, and for a moment Dahlia was offended. Natalia knew about her Vixen persona (there wasn't a single being on base that didn't know) so she expected the recruit's words to be a shot towards her actions while she was with Talon. Though there was genuine curiosity shining in Natalia's eyes, and she then added: "If I were you, I'd want revenge on the people who held me captive for years."

Her words hit Dahlia like a truck. She blinked, speechless for a moment. Natalia was the first recruit who openly acknowledged her captivity; she didn't resort to calling her a traitor without knowing the truth, and Dahlia had no idea how to react. She looked down, taken aback by the odd feeling of tightness in her chest. "I just don't want any more blood on my hands."

"Surely the blood of evil is worth it."

Dahlia didn't answer. Her gaze fell onto the fox mask that rested on a nearby counter. She had brought her mask along as a precaution; Viper's warning still haunted her thoughts, and she knew that she had to be ready for anything. The soulless black eyes painted onto the mask stared right back at her, and she shivered. She knew that Natalia had a point. Protecting the world from evil sometimes came with blood being shed, and although she knew that the Overwatch agents often did their best to prevent it from happening, sometimes it was simply inevitable. Dahlia wondered, if it came down to it, would she be able to kill again?

She was pulled back to reality as a sudden bone-chilling sound broke the silence that had engulfed the airship. She immediately sprang to her feet, her blood running cold as the sound met her ears once again. It was a hiss, one that she knew belonged to the snake that had haunted her thoughts.

"What was that?" Natalia asked, though it sounded as if she was miles away, her voice drowned out by the whispers that filled Dahlia's head.

All must die. All must die.

Dahlia immediately reached up to hold the side of her head as searing pain shot through her skull. She cursed beneath her breath, for she thought that she had finally rid herself of the voices. But they were back, and the pain that followed was more intense than ever; as yet another hiss met her ears, she knew exactly why. She immediately reached for her mask, slipping it over her face and sprinting towards the exit. She called for Natalia to stay put over her shoulder, praying that the recruit would listen to her and keep herself out of danger.

Dahlia frantically looked around her as she exited the airship, searching for the source of the hissing sound. She found his figure lurking in the shadows, watching her through the soulless eyes of the serpentine mask. He slid behind a nearby building, and one last hiss met her ears before his soft whispers echoed around her:

"I warned you to keep the ones you care about close, Vixen."