Chapter Text
Illari believed that joining overwatch would absolve her of all her sins, finally granting her peace and quiet at night, finally beating back at the hole in her chest, the aching in her heart.
Of course it wasn’t that easy, she knew it wasn’t, and yet still clung on to the notion all the same. Hoping that saving others would free her from the sins of her past was ridiculous. She wasn’t doing this for forgiveness, she was doing this to help people. Because she couldn’t help her own.
That didn’t mean she was happy to work in a team however. Other people just slowed her down. But unfortunately to work at Overwatch meant no longer playing it solo.
She pondered her situation as she sniped an omnic from several buildings down a long street. The foot soldier had been sneaking up on one of her teammates, a time traveling woman named Tracer, who looked behind her at the now demolished omnic, before turning back to the battle at hand. For someone with so much field experience she could be slightly tunnel visioned. She used her solar powers to leap across buildings, taking down omnics and healing injured civilians and overwatch agents as she went by.
Despite her incredible combat prowess, she still considered herself a protector first and foremost. Making sure to keep everyone alive was priority number one. Her teammates may not be aware of this due to her cold attitude towards them, but she wanted to keep everyone safe. Even if she kept herself emotionally distant.
She heard a scream below her, and looked down to see two humans and an omnic running away from rouge null sector units in an alleyway. Time to get to work.
Leaping down from a two story building into the cramped alleyway, she landed in between the two groups. Keeping the null sector omnics away was the goal, but now she had to deal with the three large omnics taking up the whole alleyway.
Illari shot one in the head while jumping behind a garbage bin to take cover. It didn’t provide much protection, but it would suffice. She waiting a few seconds before turning the corner and shooting one of the omnics straight through the chest, destroying it instantly. However there was one omnic left standing, and it took a shot as soon as she was exposed, hitting her in the shoulder. She slumped back behind the dumpster, holding her wound. The laser cauterized the wound, but it still hurt and immobilized her. She had nowhere to go in the narrow alleyway. She heard the large robot stalk closer to the garbage cans she was defending herself with. She chuckled darkly to herself. The last inti warrior, dying in a dirty alleyway in a random city. What a joke. She prayed her ancestors and friends would look upon her fondly, even as she died in a garbage heap, unable to redeem herself.
Just as the great robot was rounding the corner, she heard a small dink come from its head. Illari looked ahead and saw one of the omnics that was running away just moments ago pick up a rock and throw another at the robot, grabbing its attention. It raised its gun arm towards the now cowering omnic, but Illari gathered all her strength and swung her sword upwards at the omnic, disarming it. Now left with only one hand, the monster reached forward to grab Illari by the head, but she smiled, knowing that she had at least spent her final moments helping another.
That’s when two shots rang out, hitting the robot directly in the head, causing it to sputter out and die. Illari looked backward in shock, seeing Cole Cassidy and Baptiste standing behind her at the end of the alley. The omnic who helped her was nowhere to be seen, most likely running for their life after saving her. Baptiste quickly rushed over to her to assess her injury.
“Jeez, cutting it close again I see. When are you going to stop stressing me out so much?” The dark skinned man asked. She simply ignored him and turned towards the cowboy.
“It’s a good question. Might want to start sticking with a partner to cover each other's back.”
Illari scowled at her feet. “Thank you for the help.”
The cowboy sighed, adjusting his hat. “I used to be a lot like you, ya know? I learned my lesson much faster than you though.”
Illari had been a part of overwatch for a few months now, and largely kept to herself. She didn’t deserve connections, she was only here to make up for all that she had done.
After the combat medic had finished healing her she thanked him, which he sarcastically bowed down as if to say ‘your welcome’.
Cassidy motioned the two over to him at the entrance of the alley. He pointed towards a large base of omnic design close to the center of the city.
“That’s where the omnics attack originated from, and that’s our final target. Now that we’ve evacuated most of the city we can launch a full frontal assault on it without worrying about casualties. Think you can work with us to help the attack?”
Illari ignored the accusation, simply walking in front of the two towards the base. She knew they would follow.
She heard a sigh and footsteps following her, and couldn’t help but smile a little. She was one of their best agents in spite of what Cassidy said of her. This would be a piece of cake, and she would make sure everyone got out alive.
_______________________________________
One could see the smoldering fortress from miles away. The smoke could be visible from several cities over.
It smelled like burning metal at the site of the explosion. Illari had harnessed the very sun itself to blow apart the large fortress. It had proved to be quite the nuisance for her team, so she had to use her full power to take it down as quickly as possible.
She was currently sitting on the sidewalk, slightly coughing up smoke from the explosion. She had been a little too close to the blast when she detonated the mobile castle. Not even the most advanced healing could get all that smoke out of her lungs.
The rest of the team were celebrating a little bit aways from her. They had all congratulated her on taking the fortress down, but upon nearly coughing up a lung in response they all gave her distance. Baptiste was watching Reinhardt carry tracer on his shoulder with amusement. While Cole sat slightly farther away, chuckling into a cigar. His face darkened when he laid eyes upon her, and flung the cigar on the floor and stepped on it, making his way towards her.
Great, she was going to get a hell of a talking to once he got over. She wondered if it would be about all of the collateral damage she caused or the danger she put herself in, either way she didn’t want to hear it.
She was slightly surprised when the man placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her.
“That was a good shot kid, maybe just stay farther away next time you blow something up.”
She laughed a little at that, but quickly regretted it as it caused her to cough.
He sat down next to her and gave her a sympathetic look. “Sorry there’s not much we can do about that cough. Hopefully it goes away sooner rather than later.”
She nodded in agreement. She was really hoping it would as well, though it wasn’t the cough that she hated more than anything. Letting out all that power, seeing the light and smoke, smelling that terribly familiar smell of burning metal and rancid smoke reminded her too much of… that day. It hurt more than the burns or the smoke to remember that terrible day.
“… you listening kid?” Cole had apparently been speaking this whole time, and she quickly nodded, and pretended to have been paying attention the whole time.
He sighed for what must have been the thirtieth time this day. “Since you clearly weren’t listening, I was saying that overwatch wants you back at HQ, reassessment or something like that. It’ll just be a quick thing so don’t worry about it.”
Illari tilted her head, confused at why overwatch would need her back at Gibraltar.
“B-but,” Illari cleared her throat, trying to get her words out. “I’m needed here on the front lines, I-It’s hell out here and we need all the help we can get!”
Cole looked slightly guilty, but Illari ignored that. “I know, and you’ll get your chance, don't worry, they just need to get you back to base for something.”
Illari stared at him suspiciously, but decided to go along with it.
The quicker she got this over with the sooner she could get back on the front lines.
_______________________________________
“What do you mean I’m not allowed back on the front lines!”
Mercy rubbed her temple, trying to mitigate the oncoming headache Illari’s yelling was bringing about. Not that she particularly disagreed with her yelling.
“Illari please,” Mercy started. “I understand your frustration, but I need you to calm down.”
Illari crossed her arms and scowled downwards, a habit she had formed quickly after joining overwatch. She supposed she was overreacting, but only a little.
“Just explain to me why I can’t get back out there and fight! It’s the whole reason I joined this stupid team!”
Mercy gave her a look, and Illari realized she should stop talking.
“Almost every single mission you’ve gone on something has happened that has put you in danger, whether it’s running straight into danger to save someone or almost blowing yourself up! There’s clearly something going on.”
Illari crossed her arms and looked off to the side. “We’re Overwatch agents, isn’t it our job to put our lives on the line? So what if I put myself into near death experiences?”
Mercy simply brought out a file with her name on the cover. “Yes, but not purposefully. You can put your life on the line to protect people, but you put yourself in precarious situations without any reason! You're a sniper, and yet you constantly put yourself up front and in danger for no reason. I’m sorry, but I need to perform a psychiatric assessment first.”
Mercy sat down and opened her file. “I believe your insistence on falling in the line of duty has something to do with your… survivors' guilt.”
Illari had heard enough. “You're not my therapist, you're a doctor, yes, but I don’t need anything but healing from you, I don’t need your advice on my mental health.”
“I may not be a therapist but I have researched the subject extensively and am qualified to speak on the subject, and I do believe we should keep you here, at least until we make sure you are of sound mind.”
Illari was beyond pissed, but somehow managed to keep her cool and force out her next question calmly.
“Well what do you expect me to do in the meantime? The only people not currently on the field are you and Winston, and I just supposed to sit around and… what!?”
Mercy put a hand up as if that would placate her. “Well we have a newly recruited agent coming in tomorrow, and you could always practice and improve your skills in our training grounds. I’m sorry I have to do this to you, but we don’t want you dying over nothing. At least until I can say with full confidence that you aren’t trying to get yourself killed on purpose.”
Illari cringed slightly and stormed out of the doctor’s office. How dare they! What right did they have to keep her out of her fight!
She needed to calm down, she would get her chance to redeem herself in time. For now, she needed to calm down and prove to Mercy that she was mentally stable.
Speaking of mental instability, it looks like she needed to prepare herself for meeting someone new.
_______________________________________
Venture couldn’t believe it!
They had gotten an invitation to join overwatch! Omg omg omg, this was the greatest moment of their life!
Whew! They were just unearthing some old artifacts, when boom! Huge explosions, shaking the entire cave system Venture was in! They went outside to see what the heck was going down and suddenly found themselves face to face with a full on brawl with Talon and Overwatch!
They decided to try and help out Overwatch, the hero team being their childhood heroes and all, and they were given the invite to join overwatch! They were so excited they could pop.
They were currently on a flight to watchpoint Gibraltar, kicking their feet and playing with their coat, rubbing the material in between their fingers. They got this coat cause they loved the colors and texture, and they only took it off to clean it. Though it had gotten a little scuffed in the fight against talon, nothing they couldn’t fix however.
“Are you doing good back there?” Said a slightly deep female voice from the front of the ship. “You look like you're about to fall out of your seat.”
Venture turned to look at Sojourn giving them a look of bemusement. Oops, guess they got too excited.
“Oh yeah, all good back here!” Venture replied. “Just a dream come true you know! Well, my dream was being an archeologist but Y'know this is like my second, less practical dream!”
Sojourn chuckled at their excitement. “Well don’t get too jumpy, you might crash the plane.”
Venture laughed out of both embarrassment and genuine amusement. “I’ll try my best ma’am!”
Sojourn turned back to the front of the plane and prepared for landing.
Venture found themselves bursting with excitement again. This was gonna be so amazing!
_______________________________________
Watch point Gibraltar was more… barren than they had expected.
Apparently nearly every agent except like three were out. As Sojourn and Venture exited the personal jet they had used to get here, they were greeted by a woman in a lab coat and a large gorilla. Venture of course recognized the two, being Mercy and Winston! Oh man this was gonna be great!
“Vivian! Glad you made it back, and with company too.” Mercy exclaimed, trying to get a good look at Venture, though they tried to disappear behind Sojourn. They weren’t really good with new people, especially ones they looked up too.
“Nice to see you too Angela, Winston, this is the miner who helped us out against talon forces.” She turned around to give them a better look at Venture. Who in turn jumped in place a little before getting excited to meet new people again. Their brain jumped back and forth constantly between social awkwardness and wanting to talk to anyone they meet.
“Hiya!” They said, raising their hand high to greet the two.
“Well it’s nice to meet someone new! I must admit we haven’t had any new members in some time. It’s nice to meet you, I believe it was Sloan?”
“Yeah it is! And nice to meet you too! I read about you guys all the time when I was a kid, you guys are real heroes!”
The three shared a look. “If only the rest of the world could see it that way.” Winston replied solemnly.
Sojourn gave him an odd look, clearly having something to say on the topic but not wanting to get into it in front of someone new. That was fine by them, they really didn’t want to get in the middle of drama or anything.
“So, is there anywhere I can drop my stuff? It’s getting kinda heavy.”
Winston lifted their bags for them and laughed next to them. “Oh I’m sorry about that. Here, I’ll lead you to your room.”
Venture smiled at the large gorilla. “Aw, thanks!”
This really was a dream come true.
_______________________________________
Illari was in the break room running a grinding stone across the sharp part of her sword/gun hybrid when the new recruit she heard so much about came walking into the lounge she sat herself in.
She had been dreading this moment for the past twenty four hours, really hoping she wouldn’t need to meet anyone new anytime soon.
The rest of Overwatch with their colorful personalities were enough for several lifetimes.
Winston was showing them around, and beamed when he saw Illari. Great, looked like she wouldn’t be getting out of this very easily.
“Ah, Illari! Wonderful to see you! I don’t know if anyone has mentioned a new recruit to you, but this is Sloan Cameron, code name Venture, they’ll be joining Overwatch!”
‘Venture’ perked up at the sound of their name. They were a bit, how to put it politely, scruffy looking. Their hair was all over the place, their front tooth was chipped, and their clothes were perhaps one size too large to fit them. They had a smile that could light up a whole room, and Illari couldn’t stand them already.
Sloan for their part, looked like an elated child at the prospect of meeting her.
“Howdy!” They exclaimed loudly, reaching a hand out to shake. “I’m Sloan! Or Venture, or Cameron, whatever you prefer to call people! Nice to meet you!”
They were much too loud for Illari’s liking, especially this early in the morning, but she still reached her hand out to shake back as a courtesy.
“… I’m Illari, it’s…. Nice to meet you as well.”
Venture’s smile fell a little, but perked back up nearly instantly. “Same, I heard you were new to Overwatch too! When did you join! How many missions have you been on! And-“
Illari shot a glance at Winston, who adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, getting Venture's attention.
“Oops, sorry, I ramble when I’m excited. My bad.”
Looking at their now solemn face almost made Illari feel bad. Almost. They now looked like a turtle trying and failing to hide in its shell. Odd how they could go from completely extroverted and loud to introverted and quiet in a moment's notice, almost like they were driving a hundred miles per hour just to be instantly halted.
Winston patted them on the shoulder gently, trying to make them feel better. “It’s alright, now then, I have things to do, a team to manage, so I must get going now. You two get along nicely now.” Winston looked at Illari pointedly with that last remark, and she responded by returning her attention to her sword. She didn’t see his reaction as he left but she was sure it was the same as everyone else’s, annoyance or disappointment.
After he left, Venture awkwardly turned back to Illari. “So!” They started awkwardly. “Uh, do you have anything to do around here or…?”
Illari scowled at them and gathered her belongings, beginning to leave the room. Venture looked shocked upon being slightly shoved to the side, but still tried to be friendly.
“H-hey wait up, where ya going?”
Illari only shot a glance at them. “I’m busy, go bother someone else.”
Venture watched her leave as they fiddled with their hands. “But, there is no one else here.”
Illari didn’t seem to notice them or ignored them entirely.
Venture let their head fall dejectedly. They dragged their oversized boot across the floor absentmindedly. There they went again, being weird and annoying people. They just wanted to make friends with the girl. But they messed something up yet again.
_______________________________________
By all accounts, Venture made much better progress with the rest of team Overwatch than they did their first meeting with Illari.
Their bubbly personality made them popular amongst most of its members, even if it did take time to coax it out of them. They got along well with Brigitte, Hana, Reinhardt, Lena, and so many others! They were scared that everyone was like Illari, but it seems like the rest of the team had great chemistry.
They had admittedly tried to befriend the dark skinned girl again on multiple occasions since, but everyone else told them that she really had no interest in befriending anyone else, and often was cooped up in her room or training alone. Still, they wanted to try.
They apparently picked a bad time to try though. Illari had apparently been ‘grounded’ as some of the agents liked to phrase it, though never to her face, and was being kept under house arrest. Most just tried to avoid her. They weren’t being rude, they said hi and she said hello back, it’s just anything beyond courtesy Illari simply had no interest in. But that wasn’t good enough for Sloan.
No, they had gained an interest in the introverted sniper, and wanted to get to know her better. Once they had their mind on something they stopped at nothing to get it. It’s part of what made them such a great archeologist after all.
They decided that they wanted to do something special for Illari, maybe food would cheer her up! After all, no one saw Illari get food during the day, and she didn’t seem to eat very often, so maybe a meal with her would help out.
Unfortunately, Venture found themselves outside of Illari’s door, tray in hand, trying to build up the confidence to knock on the door. What would they say, ‘Oh, hey, I wanted to share lunch with you in your private room you never leave and escape too in order to avoid everyone, wanna be besties?’ Jeez, they really didn’t think this through.
As they were standing there, contemplating what to say, an annoyed, tired voice made themselves readily apparent next to them.
A cough sent them jumping in the air, balancing their food tray to stop themselves from making a mess.
They looked to their side and saw Illari standing there impatiently, hand on her hip, a question in her eye.
“And what exactly do you think your doing?”
Venture stiffened immediately. “Um, oh, I-i uh… wanted to share… no, I wanted to see if you wanted lunch?”
Illari glanced at the food. “I can get my own food you know.”
Venture just smiled. “Yeah, of course you can, it’s just that I don’t see you get it very often and wanted to see if you wanted any? It’s pretty good, personally it’s not as good as igneous or granite but Ynow-“
Illari raised a hand to silence them. “I mean I get my own food when I need it. And I haven’t gotten any because I don’t want any. Now please leave me alone.”
Illari gently but firmly moved venture out of the way, but they still wanted to talk. “Illari wait!”
Illari sighed and turned around. “What?!” She asked impatiently.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Venture shifted uncomfortably. “I mean, why do you push everyone away? I’ve tried to be your friend, or at least kind to you, but you're just totally uninterested. I mean I get if you don’t want to be friends, but I wouldn’t mind at least being on amicable terms, right?”
Illari… paused for a moment, almost said something. And then stopped. She seemed to think for a second, before completely changing her demeanor. “…They have you scheduled for a mission soon haven’t they.”
Venture tilted their head like a golden retriever, questioning what this had to do with anything. “Uh, yeah, why?”
“I have been on house arrest for over a month and then you, who just got here, are already being sent out on missions. I joined to help people but they’d rather keep me contained here. So do forgive me if I’m a little uninterested in socializing.”
With that, she slammed the door in their face. Leaving a confused Venture in her wake.
Well, that couldn’t have gone any worse.
_______________________________________
A week after her outburst, Illari found herself being called to Winston’s office. She was hoping for news on weather or not she would be allowed into the field again. She was quite concerned upon seeing an annoyed Mercy in the room talking to Winston. The two stopped arguing upon seeing Illari enter the room. And Mercy took a few steps back to allow Winston to talk.
“Well, hello Illari! Punctual as always.”
Illari just crossed her arms and stared at him, as if to say ‘get on with it’.
Winston cleared his throat and continued. We wanted to call you today to discuss your reentry into the field,” Illari perked up at that. “And we’ve decided-“
“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Mercy mumbled under her breath.
If Winston noticed her comment he pretended not to notice. “-that you can be sent back into combat.”
Illari hadn’t felt genuine joy in a while. Finally, her whole reason for being here, for being alive!
Winston, evidently, was not done.
“There is, however, a stipulation.” Of course there was.
Winston looked as if he was bracing himself for a car crash happening with him in the middle.
“This idea was only brought forward after a specific agent brought it up, the deal was you would get to go on a mission but would need to mentor and help this agent.”
Wait, no they wouldn’t.
“You're only allowed to go on missions both you and Venture are going on, in order to act as a sort of… how should I put this, mentor. I’m sure you can handle it.”
Illari’s blood boiled, but she stayed calm on the outside. “Fine.” She responded with curtly, and turned around to leave.
“Wait, don’t you want the-“
She cut him off with the door slamming shut.
Really, they had to pair her up with Venture? The annoying nuisance who wouldn’t get out of her hair? Surely they must be joking. Was this a way to try and keep her from… doing something dangerous on the battlefield, or did venture arrange this as some sort of ploy to get closer to Illari?
Either way, venture had barked up the wrong tree one too many times, and she wasn’t going to put up with it any longer.