What should I be doing? Something productive. What am I doing? Making myself cry while writing this.
I hope you're ready for angst and pain, because that's the only thing in this chapter. Well, that and Sombra's strange insults.
The first time Sombra lost her family, she was Olivia.
Some of the details were fuzzy, others seemed to be perfectly recorded in Sombra's memory, replaying over and over, like some sad form of torture.
She couldn't remember the date. Her Mama's and Papa's last words to her were a mystery as well. What she had for dinner, the weather, all erased from her mind.
Everything else, though? It was all still there.
The smell of blood, so thick and metallic that Olivia could barely breathe. The gunshots, loud, loud, loud, making her ears ring and ring until she couldn't even hear her own screams. The blood leaking from her parents' corpses, staining the carpet until the red seemed to burn Olivia's irises, and she had to look away. The cramps from being stuffed into a closet, a desperate attempt by her parents to keep her safe from the attacking Omnics.
The closet kept her hidden, but sometimes, she wished it hadn't.
0o0o0
The second time Sombra lost her family, she was Sofia's Daughter.
No one could remember her name. How could they? Her tias tried to take care of everyone, but there were too many kids wandering around the little makeshift orphanage. Too many hungry stomachs to feed. With all of that, how could they be expected to remember her name? Olivia didn't care. It felt nice, being referred to as Sofia's Daughter. It kept a little bit of her Mama alive.
She had stayed there for five months, enough time to lull her into a false sense of security. So it caught her off guard when the building exploded. Olivia was playing in the yard when the attack happened. How could the Omnics resist a house full of defenseless children? All it took was one bomb for the building to go.
It was all too familiar; the screaming, the smell of blood, the ringing in her ears. And the pit of dread in her stomach, the pain of losing another family.
The fire brigade showed up quickly, but they couldn't save a building that was already gone. They couldn't save lives that were already lost.
Once again, Olivia was the only one to survive. And once again, she sometimes wished she hadn't.
0o0o0
The third time Sombra lost her family, she was Kid Number 23.
It was a real orphanage this time, but the conditions weren't much better. If anything, they were worse. Hundreds of kids were stuffed in the building, all of them hungry, but there was never enough food to feed them all. Several had already died of starvation.
Their names had been taken away. Reduced to a number so the staff could keep track of them all. Olivia was 23. The numbers were tattooed on to her wrist, along with a barcode. They would scan it every day, so they could make sure she was only fed once. If they tried to give the children three meals a day, they would run out of food far too soon. So everyday, she got a piece of bread and a bruised apple. It was enough. (It had to be.)
Olivia's senses were sharp, which is why she could smell the smoke before anyone else. Warning others was fruitless. They paid her no attention, chalking it up to the overactive mind of a child.
By the time they found out she was right, it was too late.
Olivia had long since run from the building. Curled up in an alleyway a mile away, she hoped the smell of smoke would not reach her. It didn't. But she knew the building was gone. The people around her whispered about it. It was started by one of the staff, they said. Valencia Diaz. She had set fire to the building, because they had run out of food, and a quick death from a fire would be better than the slow death of starvation. It was a noble act, if a little misguided.
Olivia kept listening. 'No survivors' the people said in hushed tones.
Olivia sometimes wondered if it would be better if that was true.
0o0o0
The fourth time Sombra lost her family, she was Niña Milagroso.
It was an apt description. Three times she should have died. Three times she got lucky. She was a miracle child. They said she must have a guardian angel.
Olivia knew this wasn't true; if she had a guardian angel, they would have killed her out of kindness. Death was better than the life she lead.
A street rat, orphaned, stealing to survive. Food stands were her targets. Grab apples, bread, anything she could get her dirty hands on.
Marco and Andre helped her. They had formed their own little group, all of them splitting their spoils in hopes of no one dying.
They were like her. They had lost everything too. They knew the pain it caused.
They should have known better.
All it took was two bullets to kill them. It was a theft gone south. Andre had grabbed an orange from a street vendor. How could they have known the vendor would have a gun?
They ran, but Olivia was the only one who got away. He yelled after her, telling her that he would hunt her down and kill her like her worthless friends.
Olivia almost hoped that he would succeed.
0o0o0
The fifth time Sombra lost her family, she was Pink.
Olivia had long since adopted her color scheme, and it earned her the nickname. Everyone in Dorado knew about the hacker, the gangster, the one named Pink. Some laughed, the idea of a neon pink gang member comical to them. But those that had come face to face with her-they were scared. She was the best of Los Muertos, the most powerful. And she knew it. She flaunted it.
People thought she was heartless, unloyal, only out for herself. But she wasn't. Los Muertos had her loyalty, they deserved it. She owed them, and was going to repay it.
Los Muertos had found her, had given her a home. Or, at least, they had given her a blanket and occasional food. But that was the closest thing Olivia had had to a home in a long time.
In return, she helped them. Hacked whatever they needed her to. It was a small price to pay for survival.
And she loved it.
Olivia loved the hacking, the adrenaline it gave her. After being helpless for so long, how could she resist taking power? She could bring cops, politicians, CEOs, anyone to their knees. Find their secrets and release them. It was addictive.
And dangerous.
But with skills that surpassed those of trained hackers, Olivia was untouchable. Until she wasn't. Until she stuck her nose where it didn't belong, and paid the price.
The price was her identity.
Olivia had to die. It wasn't something done for the sake of drama, it was done for the sake of survival. Killing Olivia was a necessity. If the girl stayed alive, it was only a matter of time before she, and everyone around her, died.
So Olivia died, leaving behind nothing but a shadow. Nothing but Sombra. All ties were cut, all bridges burned. Los Muertos was nothing but a memory to her now. A fond memory, but a memory nonetheless.
That was how it had to be
Sombra thinks that maybe dying as Olivia would have been better.
0o0o0
Not again.
Never again.
Those were the thoughts running through Sombra's mind as she ran through the battlefield, bullets flying past her, some grazing her. The pain was numbed by sheer determination.
It was all too familiar. The gunshots, him falling to the ground. Everything in her life imploding, somehow all at once, and also in slow motion.
Just a little bit further. He's right there. Come on Sombra. COME ON OLIVIA!
Sombra reached Reaper, his form trembling and vibrating, the nanobots trying to reform and heal him. There was no time to think, so she didn't. Instinct took over for her. This had happened enough times for her to know she had to prevent it.
A rock nearby, it could provide cover. She dragged him towards it, crouching down beside him. "What are you doing?" His voice had always been raspy and thick, but right then it was downright inhuman.
"Oh, I'm looking for butterflies! What do you think I'm doing?" Sombra's words were quick, seeming to morph together in a fit of panic.
"Well it seems like you're being an idiot!" If he wasn't gasping for breath on the floor, already ten steps into death's door, Sombra would have slapped him. "You should be getting to the ship!"
"And you should shut up, but here we are." Gabriel made a noise, and Sombra couldn't tell if it was a laugh or a cough.
She wasn't sure exactly what knocked him down, what brought him so close to death, but she could feel the blood staining her hands. She didn't even know he had blood anymore. "Where are you hurt?"
"Get to the ship, Sombra. That's an order!" His voice was loud. It was going to draw attention to them. After glancing around to make sure no one had heard, she started to find the source of the blood.
"Good thing I never follow orders then." Sombra couldn't tell if his responding growl was caused by anger or pain, and she didn't really care.
Her hands raced over his body, looking for the wound. Brushing over his stomach, she felt a bullet hole. Her hands tore open his cloak to get a better look.
There was purple goo surrounding the damage, bubbling like mad. Poison, probably. "For once in your life, could you actually listen to someone?! Get. To. The. Ship!"
"I'm not losing another family! I've already lost too many!" Gabriel stiffened, perhaps in shock at the words she hadn't actually meant to say, perhaps at the pain as she pressed a finger to his wound. "What kind of poison is this?"
Garbled sounds fell from his lips and Gabriel began to seize and thrash wildly. "What? No!" Sombra grabbed her med kit, rifling through it for something, anything she could use to fix this.
There was a small bottle of disinfectant. It was supposed to be used to make sure cuts didn't get infected, not to help with poison, but there was nothing else that might help. Unscrewing the cap, Sombra poured about half the bottle onto Gabriel's stomach. The purple goo began to bubble faster, and Sombra wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a really, really bad thing.
"AARRGGGHHHHHH" The scream caught her off guard. Gabriel clutched a hand over his stomach, body shaking.
"Gabe? Talk to me! I swear if you don't talk to me I will personally throw you into an ocean and leave you to be eaten by sharks!" Sweat mixed with her tears, and she worked to hold herself steady, to hide the crack in her voice.
She couldn't lose another family. She couldn't. She wouldn't! Not. Again!
Gabe had stopped thrashing, and Sombra took that as a good sign. He was breathing heavily. He was alive. "I-What… How did you...?" There was pain the the words, and Sombra did her best to ignore it.
"I don't know! I just poured a bottle of disinfectant on it!" She looked down at the wound. It was healing rapidly, his nanobots working again. "We need to get onto the ship!"
"Oh, now you want to get onto the ship?"
"Once I know you're not dying, I am going to slap you so hard you'll be passed out for weeks!" Gabriel laughed, and Sombra did too. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or the thrill of being alive, but the situation was almost funny.
Plus, if Sombra didn't laugh, she would start sobbing, and that was the last thing she wanted.
"I don't know if I can walk. You're going to have to help me." Sombra nodded at his request.
Everything was getting cold, and her whole body ached. Probably from the adrenaline withdrawal she was most definitely experiencing. "I'm going to lift you up, okay?" She slid her arm underneath his. "I can't carry you, so you're gonna have to help. One… Two… Three!"
She pulled, and he grunted in pain as they managed to get him onto his feel. Sombra held her arm around his back, supporting as much of his weight as she could. The battlefield was empty now, everyone having left.
What if the ship left without us?
Sombra didn't let herself think about that. They would cross that bridge if they got there. "Gonna start walking now, okay?" Gabe nodded. "Come on, we can do this. We're soldiers! I'm an awesome, beautiful hacker, with the best hair in the world and you… you're a brooding edge dork who insists on fighting with two shotguns and dressing like the grim reaper. Is there anything in this world we can't do? I didn't think so." Sombra continued to ramble. It was a nice distraction from the pain.
She wasn't sure how long they had been walking before the ship became visible. All she knew is that her legs were seconds away from giving out. Actually, her legs were less than seconds away from giving out, as she immediately collapsed. The world spun, and the last thing she saw was Widowmaker dragging her towards the ship. The world faded not long after that.
0o0o0
When Sombra woke up, it was to the sound of loud beeping. Right next to her ear. Constantly.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
She groaned, and instantly someone was next to her, shuffling around and asking questions about 'how are you feeling?' and, 'do you know what happened?'
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Glancing to the source of the noise, she saw a machine monitoring her heart rate. She wasted no time in shoving it to the ground and breaking it. At least the beeping stopped.
"I… Uh… maybe I should leave you alone now?" It was a nurse speaking to her. He looked young, and she vaguely recognised him from around base.
"Unless you want to end up like that," She pointed to the broken monitor, "then I think that's the right move."
The nurse nodded so violently that Sombra half expected his head to go flying off. "Uhm, Mr. Reaper is awake… if you want to see him… if you don't then I won't tell him you're awake."
"Tell him if he doesn't get his butt in here right now I will find him and murder him with his own teeth, and then eat the teeth."
"O… kay?"
He left the room. A few minutes of silence passed before the door opened, and Gabe walked in. "I hear that you're going to use my teeth to murder me, and then eat them?"
"That was only if you didn't come here. But you did. So you get to keep your teeth. For now."
Reaper nodded. "Remind me to schedule a psych evaluation for you." Sombra only stared blankly at him. "Are you waiting for something?"
"Yeah. A 'thank you.'. Or maybe a 'thank you for saving my life. I am now forever in your debt, oh dear and wonderful Sombra.'"
Gabriel scoffed, sitting at the edge of her bed and crossing his arms over his chest. "You disobeyed my direct orders twice. I don't think that's worthy of a 'thank you.' If anything, that's worthy of a month of cleaning the bathrooms as punishment."
"If you even think of doing that, I will chop all your toes off and force you to eat them. Slowly."
"I really need to get that psych evaluation done as soon as possible, huh?" His military-trained reflexes allowed him to doge the pillow chucked at his head.
Sombra grumbled at him, turning to face away from him, while burying her head into a pillow. "I'm going back to sleep so I don't have to deal with you anymore. I would say 'goodnight,' but I'm mad at you, and hope you have a terrible night. So… terrible night. I hope you dream of scary clowns and wet the bed in fear."
He stood, and Sombra was 99 percent sure she could hear him roll his eyes. His footsteps faded, walking closer towards the door, before they stopped. "Thank you, Sombra." Before she could respond, he left the room.
Sombra's eyes opened wide. "Well, you're welcome, Mr. Edgedork. I know you'll find some way to repay me. Like making me dessert for a month. Yeah. That's what you'll do. Imma make sure of it," she muttered, right before drifting off to sleep once again.
Reaper is an Edgedork and you cannot change my mind. Comment if you liked it! Or even if you didn't! I just love to hear what you think. Bye my Lovelies!