Readers, please excuse the much delay update. Had a respiratory sickness for a week and had two Wisdom Teeth removed last Friday. I'm back in the game once again, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 10
Freedom
Hanzo sat close to his brother in the common room of their current assigned housing quarters. He remembers the layout from when they were here healing after the events that happened in Hanamura, their rescue and recovery thanks to the agents of Overwatch. Their room was built to hold at least four beds, but the twin brothers slept in the same bed during their time at the base, never leaving one another's side. Genji simply drank his vitamin drink supplied by their adoptive mother Angela when they were examined earlier. The youngest child still waking up to the morning hours after their late-night brush with danger, but it didn't seem to affect his thought much. He simply looked around their housing quarters with curiosity. The last time Genji was here at the base, he was pumped full of so much medication, nothing seemed familiar but in a sense, it almost did. Once all the children were cleared after their examination, they were free to wonder the base if they were out of the medical ward for the incoming injured. The boys were stationed at their current location, Lucio and Jesse left not too long ago to grab some extra pillows and blankets. Hanzo didn't understand why they would when they had all they needed with the beds already provided, but he didn't want to question the more seasoned housemates of their plans. Genji stood up from the couch, deciding to explore their quarters a little. Aside from the beds and spacious bathroom for two, lockers and storage containers were littered on the walls. Very organized, cleaned and shined like brand new. Whomever were the owners seemed very methodical in their cleaning rituals, but it mattered not to the smaller Shimada brother. Part of the brothers training back in Hanamura was to clean to dojo after their training, so routine was nothing short of second hand to the two boys. Though, Genji tried his best to use his training to get out of cleaning, usually causing the brothers to scuffle and bicker with one another. Never the less, they got their job accomplished, even if it took most of the day. Genji stopped I front of one of the storage lockers and looked up to see the name associated with the owner, but the name plate was too high for him to make out.
"Brother, could you read this to me?" Genji asked as he hopped in place, snapping Hanzo out from this thought's. The elder Shimada shook his head slightly, snapping out of his thoughts briefly Hanzo stood and made his way towards his brother. Peering up, he could make out the name that his brother wished to know.
"This locker belongs to a "Reaper". I am unfamiliar with this person, and it sounds like a funny name as it is." Hanzo spoke, his brother seemingly bouncing on his toes to still try and peer for himself.
"It does sound like a funny name, but I like it. I bet the person who it belongs to is cool." Genji pondered aloud, the door to their quarters slid open smoothly with a rush of air. Both brothers peered at the entrance to see Lucio carrying a stack of blankets in front of him, almost blocking the boy's view as he strolled inside with Jesse right behind. The southern teenager carrying thick pillows under his right arm with ease, he now sported a fully wrapped left hand all the way up to his elbow. His sprained wrist and torn up arm finally caught up to the boy when he woke from their arrival, Gabriel noticed the swelling and blood as the child slept on their journey to Gibraltar. The boys went towards the center of their common living area where couches and lounge chairs decorated their quarters. Shortly after, the girls began to pile in one by one; Lena holding Hana's hand as they both entered, carrying their blankets and pillows. Next came Fareeha skipping along to finish the trail as the door slid closed right behind her, Hanzo and Genji seemed confused at the random get together.
"Alright now, we got all we need to make ourselves a decent lookin' fort, let's get this show on the road." Jesse smirked, tossing his pillows in front of him on the floor, Lucio smirked as he quickly began to construct their "home base" living. Hanzo simply tilted his head as everyone except the Shimada brothers began to work in unison without speaking to one another. Genji looked with wonder as the other children began to construct what looked like a make shift castle. The couches and lounge chairs used as their foundation; pillows and blankets were stacked and drawn above the couches to make a make-shift roof for their large confined area. Roughly twenty minutes later, though unprofessional, the make-shift fort was complete and ready for use. Hanzo smiled at the pride everyone took to make such a fuss all over something so small in his eyes, but they enjoyed themselves none the less. "Boy howdy, this was a lot more work here than it was at the house." Jesse wiped the brow of his forehead with the back of his good hand. Lucio crawled inside the small entrance, followed by the girls who carried their own items inside. Genji needed no invitation as he followed close behind, Hanzo made his way towards the entrance, stopping as he noticed Jesse struggle to keep his leather cowboy hat balanced on his head. With his injury, the boy winced in silence as he tried to do everything with his good hand only. Hanzo said nothing as he stood in front of his housemate, grabbing Jesse's hat, and helping the southerner adjust his head gear. Jesse stood still as Hanzo adjusted and balanced his hat just right, stepping back once he was finished.
"There, that should be satisfactory to your needs." Hanzo stated with a small smirk. Jesse wiggled his head slightly, surprised his hat didn't fall like it normally would.
"Mighty fine work you did there Shimada, thank ya kindly partner." Jesse tipped his hat in gratitude, Hanzo returned with a slight nod of his head before Jesse lead them both to the entrance. Both boys knelt and crawled through the blanket covered entrance to already see the other children sitting around conversing with one another. There was a small lamp in the center that illuminated the whole inside clearly enough to make everything accessible to the eyes. Lena was brushing Hana's hair slowly as they talked, Genji sat in from of the youngest girl as they made small chit chat with one another. It seemed like Genji sensed her stress and tension, he's been in the same situation before and knows the feeling of having your heart beat against your chest without any explanation.
"So, this is part of the sleepover that was disturbed?" Hanzo questioned as he made his way towards his brother, sitting silently on his knees as Jesse took his spot between Lucio and Hanzo.
"Well, it was supposed to be before all of that happened." Jesse trailed off as he looked down at his bandage, he could still wiggle his fingers freely, but his knuckles to his elbow was still painfully tender. The southern boy looked over to his sister Lena, still sporting a bandage on her cheek. It put a foul taste in his mouth knowing his sister, or any of their family members were harmed in this sudden attack. It made Jesse feel weak, and that was a feeling he was made to feel before being rescued by Gabriel and sent to live with Jack, Jesse was nothing but a punching bag all his life. There was a knock at the entrance of the living quarters, all the kids froze in their actions momentarily. As if they forgot that there was an outside world beyond their make-shift fort. Hana instantly turned and hugged Lena in reflex, less scared but more worried.
"Children? May I come in?" The voice registered in their ears and a deep collective sigh echoed in the fort. To everyone's surprise, Genji happily spoke up to their guest.
"Master Zenyatta! Please, come join us." With little hesitation, the door opened and shut just as quickly, the light hum of Zenyatta's levitation echoed in the room as if he were the only Omnic in the room. The monk peered at the make shift fort and gave a light chuckle.
"Am I to presume the collective group is currently sheltering in this confined space?" Zenyatta spoke, hearing muffled chuckles from the center of the fort. "Well now, I'm glad to see everyone's spirit is still as high as I last remembered it mere hours ago. It was pretty scary and hectic, was it not?"
"Yes, Master Zenyatta." Genji replied once again, the other children simply nodded. Feeling sheepish to reply and relive the actions that happened not too long ago. Zenyatta nodded to himself openly, slowly hovering around the fort at his leisure. Shuffling could be heard from the inside of the fort, it seemed like the children were readying themselves for some well needed rest. Hanzo and Genji included as the brothers laid on their backs next to one another, spare blankets passed around between the group as everyone made themselves comfortable. No words needed to be spoken, their bodies were already pushed to their limit. "Can we still have our talks Master Zenyatta? I really liked them." Genji yawned; sleep taking over his little body faster than he expected.
"Of course, little Genji, we will continue our talks when things are more settled. I will converse with your parents to see when they will permit me to continue our talks. Until then, rest. I shall watch over you." Zenyatta spoke softly, his sensors could already tell the heartbeats were calm and the collective breathing settled to a steady rhythm. The Omnic monk hovered over to the entrance of the living quarters door. Slowly lowering himself closer to the floor to meditate, one of the monk's orbs slowly hovered its way through the entrance of the fort until it reached the inside. Instantly, the orb began to glow with a bright yellow aura as it reached the top of the blanket tent top. The bright glow dimmed slightly, but illuminated enough to make the inside visible even under the sleepiest of eyes. Back in the medical ward, Mercy was sitting behind her desk filling out charts for the wounded, the names all too familiar of her neighbors that were caught in the crossfire late last evening. Many of these people were kind and warm hearted, she had known some since making that home her safehouse with Jack many years prior to the two agents adopting the children. They were good people, innocent, and now the majority dead or missing, but in Mercy's experience, most likely they were dead all the same. The doctor put her clipboard down and rested her hands on her face with a heavy sigh. She was in no different of a position with her own injuries taking their toll on her body, thanks to Satya's assistance, she was able to clean her wounds and redress without complications. Heavy footsteps echoed closer to her desk, the exhausted doctor looked past her fingers to see a blurred vision of Soldier 76 standing in front of her desk, visor off with two cups of steaming brew in his hands. Mercy gave a weak, but genuine smile as she straightened herself in her chair.
"How bad is it Angel?" Jack made his way to the side of Mercy's desk, sitting on the corner as he handed his wife her steaming cup of cocoa. The soldier took a sip of his own black coffee, greedily, as if he craved for the bitterness.
"Jack, please don't ask what you already know. We barely got out ourselves, did you honestly think others would be so fortunate?" Mercy took a sip of her drink, smiling only briefly at the comfort it brought to her. "I broke the news to Satya not too long ago before trying to find some piece. Her parents didn't make it out, their house was obliterated during the air raid…" Mercy trailed off, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face. Jack sucked his teeth in disgust, shaking his head as he looked down at his cup of black brew.
"H-how did she take it…?" The veteran soldier was almost scared to ask.
"Not well at all, she almost seemed to know earlier that it was a possibility. But I'm sure hearing it in person crushed whatever fleeting hope she might have had. Oh Jack, everything is so messed up right now." Mercy sighed as she stood from her chair with her drink, stretching slightly as her achy joints popped with sweet release of air. Jack stood on his own again and placed his hand on Mercy's hip, pulling her close as their bodies connected softly with one another. Mercy instantly pressed her head to Jack's solid chest and rested, her breathing tame and tempered now that she was somewhat distracted by the only good she saw in her office. "I should try to find her, she ran out of here upset, and she doesn't know the base layout at all."
"I saw her and Jamison together in the cafeteria, he was watching over her." Jack replied, using his free hand to rub his wife's side gently, feeling the bandage outline under her doctor's coat. Mercy snickered lightly.
"I can't tell if that's a good thing she's alone with Junkrat or not." The two laughed together at the thought, the slight distraction was a brief relieve for the stress they were under. Still, the momentary laughter didn't linger long as the silence once again fell upon the two. Too much to contemplate of recent events and new ones that seemed to arise. Jack looked at his wife, he could see Angela already pushed past her limits. She was worn, withered, and running on empty. Her reserves were admirable to continue to work and treat her patience that came in, even though many fatalities occurred on her operating table. Hours spent and still Angela continued to push herself to the maximum to make sure her staff had adequate hands on deck. Jack held onto his wife tighter, rubbing soothing circles on her back softly to massage any kinks and knots that were felt from her strict posture. He could still feel some tension from his wife. "Jack…" Mercy whispered softly into his chest. "I know it's probably too soon to make this decision. B-but…" It wasn't like Mercy to stumble over her words, but Jack already knew what the question might have been bouncing around in her head.
"Angela, there's no need to ask for my consent. Whatever you decide, I trust your judgement no matter what it be. I know it's sudden, but I'm sure Satya would blend in with our family like the others have before her." The response made Mercy look up into Jacks eyes, his tired bags shinned with residual dirt from the debris from the multiple explosions from their house. Angela reached up with her hand to brush his soot covered cheek, smearing the dirt somewhat with her fingers.
"Are you sure? I…" Mercy's words were cut off with a swift, yet tender kiss to her lips as Jack hummed with delight. Breaking the kiss, the soldier gave a deep sigh as he rested his forehead against hers.
"We will rebuild when the time is right, for the meantime Winston think's its best we lay low while another safehouse is built. Now that we know this woman Sombra knows of our connection, things might be tricky if it spreads to our enemies." Jack closed his eyes, rethinking his encounter with the purple wearing Hispanic woman. Her abilities didn't sit well with the veteran, her tactics were ruthless and well planned. Aside from psychological warfare, information warfare was just as powerful against an enemy if not more. Jack knew better with his time in the military and with Overwatch. "If everything goes well, the news of the twins being nowhere near the casualty list will make it around to our enemies. Hopefully, that'll keep our enemies search elsewhere for the meantime." Both veteran members continued their soft embrace with one another, the silence together was enough to recharge their drained batteries. Elsewhere in the Gibraltar base, Satya hid herself in a storage room, sitting on a storage box silently crying to herself. Jamison sat next to her, softly rubbing her back with his mechanical hand right hand. They spent a good half hour in the room in silent as Satya wept, even though Jamison was there comforting her, she tried to be polite and silent her sobs as much as she could. The news of her parent's death finally settled, after reading their names on the casualty list when it was delivered to Mercy during their rounds helping the injured. Jamison simply kept quiet, he didn't know the hardship of losing a close loved one. His own mother dies during child birth and it's just been himself and his father ever since. The silence was a little too much for the energetic boy to deal with, even trying to keep still was a challenge itself.
"Ya know, pretty girls shouldn't cry. It's not attractive…'ist what my old man always says." Jamison smirked, seeing Satya look at him with a raised eyebrow, confused and torn with her emotions.
"You shouldn't tell such lies. It's not becoming of your character." Satya wiped her eyes once more, blowing her small nose on the bandana that Jamison gave her when he finally caught up to her.
"I'm not telling lies love, just telling the truth. If I told lies, my old man would tear my hide something wicked." Jamison snickered at his statement, Satya simply shook her head slowly. Jamison hopped down from the crate, landing on his feet, wobbling slightly on his peg leg to maintain his balance before offering his hand to the girl. "Come on, let's get you something to eat, you're probably hungry after a long day." There were no lies in his words, Satya was exhausted and now mentally drained as well. She placed her hand on the cold metal of Jamison's hand and gripped firmly, slipping off to fall lightly on the ground next to the Australian boy. As the two made their way to the storage room door, it slid open on its own with Roadhog standing on the other side; looking around before looking below to see his son and the girl from before. He lifted his meaty hand to give a wave two the two.
"Junkrat, it's time for your medicine." Roadhog's deep voice echoes inside his mask as he tilted his head, thought the two couldn't see his eyes, his gaze stayed on Satya and her tear stained face. "Everything ok? Is Junkrat bothering you?" The stocky man questioned without hesitation. Jamison crossed his arms over his small chest and faked pouted. Satya raised her eyebrow at Jamison's nickname his father addressed him by, it was the same name Mercy said before when they first met the pair hours prior.
"Awe pops, I haven't even shown her my cherry bomb collection yet. Don't be a spoil sport." The interaction between the two made Satya smile and snicker softly as she covered her mouth with her hand. Roadhog smirked behind his mask, making 'oinking' noises as he moved out the way so the two could walk out of the storage room. "Satya hasn't had something to eat yet, can I take my medicine in the cafeteria? I'd like to take her there at least." Roadhog shifted his pants up in his spot, making sure they sat comfortably on his hips before heading and grabbing the two children by their middles to lift the two onto his meaty shoulders. He knew when his son was trying to be a nice kid (for once), and decided to give him some leeway. The veteran soldier started to escort the two children on his shoulders towards the cafeteria.
"Today's special is beeferoni casserole and garlic bread, I had 4 plates before they cut me off." The man's belly jiggled with every step he took, Jamison tapped Satya's shoulder over his father's head for attention. When she peered over at the boy, Jamison was puffing his face to imitate his father's large figure, causing the girl to smirk and hold in another laugh silently. "Junkrat, I'll call Mei while you two eat, you need your medicine." Roadhog said sternly, causing Jamison to frown slightly and look away to his side. He simply nodded and patted his father's head, letting him know he understood and will comply. The news and sudden mood change in the boy caught Satya's attention, but she would ask later when they were alone. The three made their way to the cafeteria where it was busy with Overwatch soldiers new and old alike, and everyone got out of Roadhog's way when he walked anywhere near food.