It didn't hurt, or at least Sienna didn't think it did. What happened again?

It was wet.

'Is is supposed to be wet?' Sienna asked herself, feeling her lips fail to move, watching Winston fall slowly, slowly through the air as he landed in front of her.

Staggering backwards, something hard collided with her back and suddenly all her strength was gone.

Gasping for air that became harder and harder to inhale, growing patches of black made their way across her vision, shifting and dancing as if in celebration.

Tears streamed down her face.

Ah, that's why it's wet.

An eternity passed, before smoke pricked at her eyes, and Sienna began to move. Or rather, her body did.

A leather-clad hand pressed against her neck, and pain broke through the thick haze of her mind. Unable to scream, Sienna's eyes clenched shut, paralysed.

The world span, nothing making sense but the flashing colours and blurred faces in and out of the dark.

Something was shaking her, and squeezing her tightly, but all that got through was a muffled cacophony of thumps... And a dark, pulsing haze that creeped further and further into her vision with every heartbeat as her eyes opened slightly.

She could see white - a mask? - above her, billowing smoke, dark smoke. It was... Chipped? The cracks in the white smooth surface that leaked darkness were all Sienna could focus on, as it... he?... moved closer and closer to her, her body being squeezed tightly.

Suddenly, it wasn't dark anymore. It was bright, bright white, as the bone mask pressed softly against her forehead.

It took all her strength, but something was driving her to move closer.
So lightly that Sienna couldn't even feel it herself, her fingertips touched the side of the mask's face for a moment, before painting it red as her arm lost strength and fell limp to her side.

This is it, is it? The end?

Sienna could feel something tugging her.
Time was slow, but all she could think was

How disappointing

/

They hadn't been quick enough. By the time Winston landed, shield up and red fury raging inside him, the bullet ripped through her skin, missing her head by inches.

It was a horrific sight, and for a moment even Winston stopped; halted by the sight of Sienna's wide eyes, crimson blood dripping splattered across her face, stumbling backward.

Ripping out the golden dagger pinning her hair, Widowmaker's furious eyes were gone in a split second, darkness covering her escape. Genji was there instantly, darting through the rafters and disappearing after her -

But none of that mattered as Reaper caught Sienna's body in his arms, cradling her with one hand underneath her soft, limp body, seeing more blood than he knew a human even possessed.

And it terrified him.

The man he had wanted to kill for years stood defenceless, facing away from him, an open and easy target - but as he pressed his hand against Sienna's open wound, stemming the endless flow of crimson blood, he didn't care.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

She was just bait.

She existed in his life only to draw in the man he wanted to kill. The man in front of him.

She didn't mean anything to him... but she meant everything.

More than any stupid kill. More than his own life, surrounded by his enemies, having betrayed his only allies.

His muscles were taught, twitching as adrenaline screamed through his veins, sparking embers of a fire inside him that had been asleep for far, far too long. Forcing himself to slow down, to calm himself, Reaper closed his eyes tightly. The darkness they saw was comforting, but even more comforting was the frantic yet strong beating of Sienna's heart, pulsing against his hand on her shoulder and neck.

Pressing more tightly against her skin, Reaper looked down at her pale face, desperate to feel her strong heartbeat despite her quickly paling skin.

Gunshots echoed in the rafters, the barking commands of a soldier, the roars of a furious beast, the tiny drip, drip of Sienna's blood on the floor; it was all there. But above all, her breathing, beginning to slow and stagger.

'No. No. This is not happening.'

Reaper's eyes were open instantly, hands frantically darting over her, losing her pulse for a second as inexplicable terror ripped through him.

'You are not leaving me today, Girl. I..'

Reaper's voice was restrained; the sound of a heart watching itself be crushed into a million pieces.

'I...I can't...'

Unable to force the words out, Reaper leaned forward slowly, carefully touching his forehead to her own. Feeling her shake in his arms, something built up inside the man. His mask was only a centimetre thick, but at that moment, he didn't want anything else other than to feel her skin against his, free and warm.

People were getting closer, but all he could see was her, that girl, the pawn in his plan, the one who patched him up day after day, the one who truly saw something better in him... the one who didn't mean anything to him.

'What bullshit.'

Shaking in agony, Reaper pulled her tighter into him, as something ghosted over the side of his face. Lifting his head from hers, a pair of dark, pained eyes saw straight through to his, touching his very soul, exploding the fire inside him to life.

Burning from the inside out, he caught her hand as it slid from his cheek, his own hidden eyes widening as hers fell shut. Her trembling body shook harder, as Reaper realised it was his own arms, wracked with exhaustion, shuddering at the sight held in his hands.

Legs suddenly giving way, the shadowed monster dropped to one knee, shattering the tiles below him - but none of the Overwatch team would forget the horrific howl, stricken with grief and anger that ripped like a hurricane through each and every body in the room.

Shadows pulsed around the pair, spiking in angry daggers as Reaper's huge frame kneeled over her body, one hand cupping the back of her head, lying in her own blood. Every second that passed felt like a thousand, every drop of her blood that fell to the floor looked like a gallon.

With every moment, the darkness became indefinitely bigger, cleaving the air like blades, ready to consume them both. And Reaper would let it.

But someone stood in front of him. Looking up slowly, feeling every individual muscle pulling against him, the light was almost blinding, golden and clear. He knew her, didn't he?

Her lips moved fast, but her voice was lost in the vacuum between them.

Hollow and cold, Reaper felt nothing anymore. 'Why stop it? Why bother at all?' he murmured, staring emptily towards her as she moved closer, light enveloping him, pushing back at the darkness like a shield to the dragon's fiery breath.

The white light cut through the slow silence, as Reaper watched the woman's hands touch Sienna's wounds.

Then, as sudden as it had disappeared, it was back.

'-alive, Gabriel. Can you hear me? Gabriel? Gabriel! She's alive. She's alive.'

Her heartbeat.