3 months ago...

"Now, from this day forward, Aura will be no more." Markus said, aiming his gun at Aura, firing it, hitting him in the lower torso. Aura hissed in pain, while Markus just looked at him and chuckled. "You really didn't think I would just kill you, right? There are still many things we have to discuss. And also, I needed footage of you getting shot to make your friends believe you're dead when I send them the recording. I must say, after all you've done, it is quite amusing to see you squirm in pain." Markus taunted, while Aura only looked up to him and glared.

"You... You're insane..." Aura said, coughing heavily afterwards, a small stream of blood dripping out of his mouth. Markus only laughed more.

"Perhaps, but at least I'm leading the winning side. Take him away." Markus ordered, walking away, while a pair of talon soldiers picked him up and carried him to an unknown room.

He was tied to a bed, while a team of scientists extracted his blood, and carried out cruel experiments on him. Days of torture passed, maybe even weeks, he had lost track of time already. The few, scarce moments he didn't spend tied to those damned machines, he spent locked up in a cell fortified by layers of concrete and metal.

It was morning already, and the same pair of talon soldiers came to him and carried him to the experimentation room, as expected. Nathan caught a glimpse of the data being displayed in the scientists' monitors before being tied down again. Then he realized, they were trying to isolate his super soldier serum from his blood, but to no avail. He figured they were trying to boost their soldiers even more than before. Power hungry maniacs... He thought.

More days passed, and his complexion became pale, and bruised. He felt lucky Talon was still even feeding him, so at least there was that. Then eventually, the soldiers stopped coming every morning to carry him to the room. Instead, a new pair of soldiers came in, and carried him to a different room. "Aw, where did the last two goons go. I was getting used to them, and I didn't even get their names." Aura joked, trying to seem confident, but was terrified inside. The soldiers simply grunted and carried him in silence. Aura spoke up again. "Why the change in routine?" He asked, in a more serious tone.

The soldiers simply looked at him for a moment, until one of them decided to speak up. "The scientists' experiments hit a dead end. Those damn chemicals of yours are way too unstable to replicate, so we've been tasked with taking you to the interrogation chamber." The soldier said.

The trio entered the room. It was dark, with only a strange chair in the middle and a desk in the corner. He was sat and tied down unto the chair, and the soldiers left without a word. A bright light was forced unto his face, and the interrogator stepped out of the darkness, holding a baton.

"I'll ask only one question... where is the new Overwatch base?" The interrogator said, breaking the silence. Aura seemed confused. "New base?"

"Yes, their new base. After Sombra broke Pulse out and kidnapped you, we returned some time later with a larger squadron, and the base was deserted. So... where is the new base!?" The interrogator shouted, slamming his baton near the Overwatch agent, attempting to intimidate him.

Aura raised an eyebrow at the statement. The fact that Overwatch would change Watchpoint seemed a given, but it was still new information for him. In fact, he truly didn't know where his allies were currently stationed.

"That's a surprise even for me. I don't know." Aura said flatly. The interrogator didn't seem to believe him.

"Liar. You are an Overwatch agent, and you have knowledge of your Watchpoints' locations. Now tell me where your allies moved to..." The interrogator growled.

"I'm telling you, they moved after I got captured, so I don't know where they are." Aura said, but the talon agent didn't seem quite convinced.

"So, you want the hard way, huh..." The interrogator said coldly, striking Aura across the arm with his baton.

Aura wouldn't have it. As soon as the interrogator headed to the desk to grab a new weapon to hurt him with, Aura attempted to break free, managing to get one arm free. Without warning, the interrogator turned around violently and shot him in the chest. "You try to make a move, and you die." The interrogator said coldly, as more talon soldiers emerged from the shadows, aiming their rifles at the Overwatch agent. Of course there was more soldiers watching him. Stupid. He settled back down, feeling defeated, as a few soldiers approached his chair and restored the restraints, even tightening them. Whatever slither of hope he had left was shattered.

The interrogator walked up to him, holding a crowbar, patting it in his hands menacingly. Aura could only glare back and growl. "Do. Your. Worst."

Days of interrogation passed. When he refused to tell Talon about the whereabouts of Overwatch, he was beaten, bruised and cut with progressively worsened weapons. When they realized they wouldn't get a location out of him, they tried to get intel on the agents themselves, to which they also failed. He endured over a week of torture, with each day becoming even worse than the last. With each day, various bruises, cuts and wounds accumulated on his skin, and on the last day, when Talon finally gave up with the interrogation, he could barely walk or stand, collapsing as soon as he was forced up by the soldiers.

He spent the next few days in his cell. Occasionally some of the talon staff would leave food for him, but he stopped trying to eat. He just wanted it all to end.

Hours passed by, until it was midnight. All this time, Pulse had only been able to watch in horror as Talon tortured his best friend, though at that point he doubted Nathan would want anything to do with him. He decided to pass by his friend's cell. As soon as Nathan noticed his friend-turned-enemy, he sat up, and a look of fury settled on his face, his eyes igniting with energy.

"You... You BASTARD! Look what they've done to me... because of you..." Aura said, as Pulse simply watched in silence just outside the cell's reinforced glass wall, his mask hiding any trace of emotion. The Overwatch agent tried to get up to face his opponent, struggling and collapsing unto his knees multiple times before reaching the wall, putting his hands against it to support himself.

"I thought we were friends, Anthony. When I found out you were a Talon agent I was heartbroken, but... I somehow still felt that there was hope for you. But after all this, it's clear you're just another villain in this goddamned war. And now, I'm stuck here, in this cell, being tortured and tormented every day, because of YOU! I want to make that very clear... this... IS ON YOU!" Aura shouted in rage, accusing Pulse of all the atrocities that had been committed on him. He stopped his ranting, tears flowing down from his eyes, and a few forced, audible breaths.

"Why, Anthony... Why would you do this? I... I wish I could turn back the time, go back to the times when there was promises of always having each other's backs, or lazy video game hangouts, but I guess everything's different now, right?" Aura said, unimpressed, sighing deeply and letting his face rest upon the glass, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Pulse said softly, causing the other agent to look back up at him.

"That's all you have to say? That you're sorry?" Aura asked, annoyed. The talon agent simply kept staring firmly.

"The council has decided that the experiments and the interrogation have been unsuccesful. Now they're debating over your fate. Many of them are arguing that they should kill you. I hope, that for your sake, the punishment they decide for you isn't too terrible..." Pulse stated flatly, walking away from the cell. Although the helmet hid it, streams of tears were starting to form on the talon agent's face.

Aura simply sighed, at this point, it didn't surprise him that Anthony would just leave him. Nothing really did surprise him anymore.

With shaky legs, he walked back to the sad excuse of a bed that was inside the cell, lying down, and trying to get more rest. A few hours passed. It was very early in the morning and the sky was still dark. The halls were empty, but he still felt someone watching him. He looked at the glass wall, finding a dark, feminine silhouette looking right at him. A couple of purple flashes sparked on the other side of the glass, and the door suddenly opened. The figure promptly walked in; it was none other than Sombra.

Aura recognized her almost immediately, and he felt enraged. He got up abruptly, trying to punch the woman in front of him. Sombra easily dodged his blow, and the Overwatch agent collapsed unto the ground, overwhelmed by his wounds. "Calmate, I'm not here to hurt you." Sombra said, confusing the agent.

"Wait, you aren't?" Aura asked as he slowly got off the ground. Sombra offered him a hand and helped him up.

"Of course not. Come on big guy, sit down." Sombra said as she helped Aura back into the bed.

A = Aura S = Sombra

A: "So, why are you here?"

S: "To talk."

A: "I don't think Talon would approve of this."

S: "They don't have to. I hacked the cameras. They're now playing a loop of whatever was happening here five minutes ago. Considering you sat down here without moving for over two hours, I'd say it will look pretty believable.

A: "Wait, so you're going against Talon?"

S: "Well, here's the thing. I have loved being able to use Talon's great reach and power to reach my own goals and all, but that usefulness is starting to run out, and I want out. When it does run out, I want Talon gone, and I think you can help me out with that."

A: "Hold on... You want to DESTROY Talon? But... you even helped kidnap me! I'm here because of you!"

S: "Eh, just keeping up appearances, following orders, being a good girl so that it's even more surprising when Talon crumbles down thanks to me. It really was nothing personal, in fact, it could even be convenient for me."

A: "How would this be beneficial to me, or to you, or anyone, really?"

Sombra didn't respond. Instead, she brought up a hologram of some brand new Talon schematics.

S: "Because of this."

In the hologram was what appeared to be implants of some sort. It looked like a pair of triangular metal sheets that would be implanted on somebody's temples.

A: "And that is... what, exactly?"

S: "Talon has already decided what they're gonna do to you."

A: "That would be?"

S: "You're essentially becoming Widowmaker 2.0, and these bad boys are a part of the process."

Aura's eyes widened in horror at the prospect. It made sense, in a way. If Talon couldn't get anything useful out of him, then they would take advantage of the situation and brainwash him. Of course they would. Still, it didn't make the idea of being brainwashed any less terrifying.

S: "Don't worry. I'm coming up with a plan to help you out of this. Though I'm afraid you will have to get brainwashed for that to happen."

A: "Why? Why are you helping me with this?"

S: "Because Talon will be so certain of your loyalty once you're brainwashed, that it will be devastating when you recover and unleash your rage unto them. And besides, its a nice thing to do."

A: "Sigh, fine. Tell me more about this."

S: "They're calling it the 'Ion' project, or the Rebirth project. They're planning on numbing your emotions and hiding your memories, so that they can add their own little fake story, which they're already working on by the way, and make you believe you're a talon super soldier or whatever. It's a similar process to what they did with Widowmaker. The only differences are that you won't turn blue, since you're not a sniper, and instead of a full reconditioning, they're using these implants to keep your emotions and past memories suppressed, making it so that only what they tell you sticks. Again, more brainwashing. It will achieve a similar effect to Widowmaker, but with these implants, they have to spend less time and money on reconditioning. However, that's actually good for us."

A: "Why?"

S: "Because it means that what will be keeping your brain together is tech, and that is hackable. It's pretty new tech at that, but I'll find my workarounds in time, and when I do, I'll be able to deactivate them. This is part of the plan I've been coming up with. Unfortunately, you might have to spend a couple of months as Talon's new favorite toy while I figure it all out, and also to gain their trust, in a way. But, soon, I'll start to weaken the effects of the implants, so you might experience quick flashbacks or small bits of emotion you won't be able to understand initially. When the time is right, I'll be able to shut those things off, and you will remember your past, even this conversation. Although its not guaranteed that you will remember everything. Those implants are a special wall of security to make sure there are no mishaps, but even with the shortened reconditioning Talon has planned for you, it could make it hard to remember a lot, especially from earlier on in your life. But, I imagine you will remember enough to want to crush some Talon skulls."

A: "Right... So, when will the time be right?"

S: "You'll see... Oh and one more thing, even if you remember enough before I turn off those implants, just play along with what Talon says. You'll be able to turn against Talon all you want when those things are shut off, but until then, I really do need you to keep up appearances."

Aura huffed, unsatisfied.

A: "What will you do until then?"

S: "Well, apart from gaining more info on the tech that Talon's gonna use on you. I'll send data about Talon ops to Overwatch. Talon's gonna have a much tougher time if their enemy knows what they're doing early. Oh, and about Pulse. I know you two were really close, and I know you're obviously upset with him. But trust me, even if he doesn't show it, he feels extremely guilty about what's happening to you, and he was really hesitant to kidnap you in the first place. If that's any consolation..."

The fact that Pulse at least felt bad for what he did made him smile slightly. Sombra stood up from where she was sitting and started walking towards the glass wall.

"By the way, you might wanna lie down again. As soon as I'm out of this room, the cameras are going back to normal. It would be best if you were in the same pose you were earlier. Buena suerte, amigo." Sombra said, giving her goodbyes, and the lights quickly flashed. After that, she was gone, the cell door was closed, and the cameras were working, as if nothing ever happened.

Once a few minutes passed, Aura stood up again, sitting down on his bed, and putting his hands on his face, sighing heavily.

"I'm so fucked."