*France: Outskirts of Annecy*
Quillion and Amelie silently scanned the skies for the shuttle, both of them privately handling the rage that is still steadily building up since the incident the night before, the only time they spoke was how the Omnic knew her. Frustratingly, all she could theorize was only because of her infamy in the criminal world, it could've been anyone, especially without Talon's protection.
Despite the rage, he had to force himself to reserve some clarity. Though they had lost a home that they rightfully made their own, they must not charge in with a mind that is bent on revenge. This must be a mission to cut off whatever ties she might still have to the underworld so that they could rebuild, not to start another war that could take years to finish. All he could hope is that Amelie is on the same page.
For now, they must answer the first question. What is HLC?
To do that in an optimum time requires the resource that Athena can provide. A simple question that could be easily answered by a call. Strangely though, not only was it Athena who answered their call, she refused to respond to any of their questions, instead demanding to know their location before cutting off.
"Athena has never acted that way before… Almost desperate or urgent" he thought.
That in itself is extremely puzzling. Talon was destroyed and the world was at peace, so what would she even be distressed about? Can an AI even feel stress?
"There. Something is wrong" Amelie said, looking through Widow's Kiss at a shuttle coming closer.
"What?"
She passed him Widow's Kiss and, looking through the scope, he was surprised to see that not only was there no pilot, the shuttle was covered in scorch marks. Pulling out the pistol that he took from the police car, he prayed quietly that he did not need to use it as the shuttle landed with a loud thud in a clearing, crushing some trees in the process.
Looking at it carefully, he confirmed that it is indeed Lena's shuttle, evident by the pattern, model, and the unique paint job that she had added on years ago. When the ramp finally groaned open, no one was there to greet them, there were no 'heya' or even a Blink sound, just an emptiness that demands caution.
He gripped his pistol tighter and made a move to walk up the ramp but found himself hesitating, fearing at what he might find. Thankfully, Amelie saw and took charge, striding up the ramp first, she peeked in with her weapon at the ready, and when she saw that the coast was clear, she beckoned him to move closer.
The shuttle was hauntingly quiet and empty, saved for the engine, even the interior looked decolored. Normally there would be some supplies stacked on the shelves, a row of fire extinguishers in a tidy feeder, and pictures stuck to the walls, but now it is the complete opposite. Blank grey walls and dangling wires from the ceiling greeted their eyes, as if everything that was once in here had been sucked away.
The mystery did not last long however as Athena finally spoke.
"Hello Quillion, hello Ms Lacroix, please come in quickly, we do not have much time" she said from one of the speakers.
"What happened here?" Quillion asked from the door, both of them refusing to enter.
"We were attacked but emerged victorious"
"Attacked?" he asked in disbelief, looking at Amelie whose expression remained unchanged "From who? Is everyone alright?"
Before Athena could answer, both of them saw a pale face sticking out from the corner. The first thought that crossed his mind was "Stupid, bullets can't hit ghosts", but before it could register to the rest of his body, he fired a round at it.
"Drop your weapon!"
He immediately dropped his pistol like hot coal, not only because it was an order, but because it was Amelie who gave it. Putting down Widow's Kiss, Amelie kneeled to the ground and opened her arms in invitation.
"I am sorry about my friend. Come out, I promise that we will not harm you"
A rattling sound came from where Quillion shot at and the pale face reappeared, pointing what looked like a pistol that was trembling so violently that it seemed to be a danger to her more than them.
"H-How can I be sure of that?" the girl gasped out. It was then Quillion made a shocking discovery.
"Wait… Hana? Hana Song? Lena's friend?" he called out in disbelief.
"Wh-Who are you? How do you know Lena?!"
"We had a transit in Korea last year, remember? You guys ordered the chicken legs and it sent me to the toilet for the whole day?"
It took her a minute to register his words.
"T-Tim? Is that you?" Hana squeaked, finally recognizing him past his new hairstyle.
"Tim?" Amelie echoed confusingly.
"Long story… What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I… I was flying the shuttle then there was a loud alarm then there was a lot of twisting and turning then there was a lot of shouting and Lena and Lox were trying to avoid some kind of missile attack and the door opened and I saw Lena being sucked out and she came back in and-"
"Stop! Breathe…" he instructed as her face grew ever paler "I'm going to come in now alright?"
Walking in as quietly as he could in case she shoots at the slightest bit of sound, he made his way towards her and gently pulled the pistol away.
"Alright, start from the beginning, slowly" he said, motioning Amelie to come in as the ramp began to close.
*5 minutes later*
"I already said we do not need to go back to Gibraltar!" Amelie snarled.
"They're hurt, we need to make sure they reach HQ safely" Quillion countered.
"Then drop me off somewhere!"
They argued quietly in the corner as Hana could only watch. Normally when couples argue, it will be uncomfortable, but to see such a beautiful pair bickering like this was a much needed familiar and comforting sight. Just like some dating simulation games she played, Tim is the low income protagonist, evident his cashier's clothing and the woman was the coveted model that he had to work hard to earn her attention.
"Look, I promise that we won't stay there long alright? The moment we know who and where HLC is, we are gone"
Amelie paused at those words and her features softened.
"You haven't made a promise in a while" she said.
"Cause I always have to keep them" he smiled, glad that she is calming down.
Hana felt her heart skip when both of them seemed to move closer to one another. She had absolutely zero experience in dating and only seen reactions like this in her games. First a fight, then reconciliation, which would ultimately lead to a hug or a kiss. Her eyes were glued to them and when the scene was about to reach its climax, the sound of a door slamming shut pulled them back to reality.
"HANA? LOX?"
Lena stumbled into view, her hands over her ears and her eyes frantic.
"Who are you? What's going on?!" she shouted and tried to walk towards them, only to topple after a single step.
Seeing this, Quillion was by her side immediately, catching her before she hit the ground.
"What is wrong with her?" Amelie asked, surprised to see Lena so unstable.
"Why is everything spinning?! Why can't I hear anything?!" Lena shouted, clutching her ears so tightly that it almost looked like she would tear them out.
"Her vestibular system must've been damaged" he said, trying to sit her down to the ground.
"The what?"
"The thing in the ear that helps you balance, without it, you'd feel you're falling even if you're lying down"
"Can it be fixed?" Hana asked fearfully.
"I'd be surprised if Overwatch can't" he said confidently.
"How are you so sure?" Amelie asked, stepping back slightly when Lena puked all over the floor.
"Because I used to tear mine apart whenever I use my Battle Rage. Sucks to be a prototype" Quillion said, pushing Lena against the wall to try to calm her down.
"How could you tear yours if it only includes adrenaline?" Amelie wondered.
"Your body will tear itself apart whenever it moves that fast, the ear is just something the military overlooked"
"What's going on!?" Lena shouted, the words fused as a question and demand.
Pulling out the sketchbook from his pack, he quickly scribbled on it and forced Lena to read it.
Ears ruptured. Deaf. Going back to HQ
"I'm deaf? No I can't be! Who are you?!" she shouted, terrified at this revelation.
Temporary. Rest.
"NO!"
She pushed his hand away and tried to get up, only to drop back down to the floor. Panicking, she tried to Blink away, causing her to crash into the wall.
"What can we do?" Hana asked, tearing up as Lena Blinked into the wall again.
"Athena, is there anything to help her rest?" Quillion called out.
"Unfortunately all First Aid Kits have been sucked out of the shuttle"
"We need to knock her out" Amelie said, adjusting her grip on Widow's Kiss and aim the butt of the weapon to Lena's head.
"Wait! Just… Give me a minute eh? Hana, take… Take Amelie to check up on Lox alright?"
"Oh… Okay?"
"You got one minute" Amelie said after a pause, looking at him knowingly.
Once they were out of the way, he took a deep breath. For a split second, he hated himself. He should've just allowed Amelie to knock Lena out, but just because he wanted to avoid hurting her, he sent them away, only because he knew he had to do this. The regretful image of her face when he drove his knife into her Chronal Accelerator, how she curled up on the ground as her body began fading away, or whenever she was in one of her episodes, he could only stand or walk away, and worst of all, he was the one responsible for Emily's passing. Any other person would immediately cut off all ties to him, but she was part of the rescue team for him and Amelie, she still performed CPR on him in efforts to keep him alive, to visit him alone at the waterfall, and even asked him to watch over Amelie.
With all that stacked against him, there is only one inevitable truth.
He owe her one.
Grabbing her, he tried to unbuckle her harness but it was difficult because everything was out of place, meaning she must've thrown it on clumsily. However, the decision to grab her so suddenly was a painful mistake. Whether she thought she was being attacked or panicked, he does not know, but his face was whipped to the side and blood flowed from his nose when she struggled against him.
"Common Lena, calm down" he growled.
A Blink threw them both slamming up at the ceiling and they found themselves dangling from one of the many cables that was dangling down, which led to more panic.
"Athena! Are these wires important?!" he yelled, pulling out the same knife that he used to disable her months ago as Lena became more entangled.
"No"
With a rush of his Battle Rage, Quillion grabbed Lena and slashed, cutting the wires and her harness in one swift motion. He let out a loud 'oof' as he made sure to cushion Lena's fall. Now he had taken away her ability to Blink, he was finally able to restrain and drag her to where his sketch book is.
Stop
"I need to get out! Let me go! Angie!" she yelled but when she turned her head, she almost vomited again as the strange spinning sensation became even more violent.
Immediately he laid her down to the ground and held her head in one position firmly, not letting go until she fully registers the words that he wrote in front of her.
I am Quil
Keep head still to stop spin
Thumb up if you understand
Very slowly, she raised a thumb.
Deafness temporary
He lifted his hand away from her when she regained control of herself, so much so he allowed her to move her head slightly as she tests how literally every hair of adjustment of the head results in an uncontrollable spin. To help her relax, he held her hand to give her an 'anchor' to hold onto as she turned to look at him properly.
"Quil? Is that really you?"
Yes, like the ponytail?
"No"
He laughed and sat back, taking the time to retie his hair in a somewhat elaborate fashion to keep things light for her.
"This is how it feels like for you? The dizziness?" she asked too loudly.
Yes
"Did you get used to it?"
No. Rest. I'll let you know when we are near
Around the corner, Lox smiled to see that Quillion does not seem to harbor any ill feelings for Lena even after she left him in Paris, especially after meeting him only once after months of… Whatever he was doing in Malaysia. If it were him, he would've been pissed off or something.
"Looks like she calmed down" Hana said.
"Yeah… Why's she here?" Lox asked quietly, indicating Amelie, whose face is unreadable as she looked at Quillion and Lena, her hand stroking a piece of object in her hands.
"Dunno… They came in together"
"Ahem… So… You're the Widowmaker right?" he asked.
"No. My name is Lacriox" she said, her eyes still at Lena, causing Lox to gulp.
"But we are no longer enemies right? All cool?"
Even when she nods her head, he was still very uncomfortable that her gaze did not shift in the slightest, like a predator that spotted her prey. Or something else…
"So… We will reach HQ in…" he continued, glancing at the timer that Athena had set up "3 hours if the wind is good… You want to sit down?"
*India: Shambali Temple of Suravasa*
Ever since Satya Vaswani rebuilt the Shambali Temple here, the locals have called the event Stone by Stone, a symbol of respectful merging between the old and the new, understanding and unity. This symbolic significance has attracted hundreds of pilgrims to visit, meditate, and reflect, seeking a peace that others could not provide.
However, it has also attracted the attention of tourists, many who are only curious to try out the food that the Shambali monks provide or are only interested to study the structure, as it was crafted by a world-renown Hard Light Architect.
Today another fleet of busses have entered its vicinity and hundreds stepped out and the first thing that greeted them were the Omnic Monks who were waiting with food. Its original purpose was to grant it to those who need it, but they never denied it to those who want it.
"Gotta say, these ain't too bad" Baptiste commented, biting into a pita bread stuffed with curry.
"When did you become such a glutton?" Sombra sighed.
"Give me a break! I've been living off grass when Talon was around, now that they're gone, time to live a little!"
Climbing the stairs with the crowd, their eyes checked the areas for guards and were relieved to see that there were none, therefore an escape will be quite easy. At the top of the stairs, the crowd is being divided into two lines, one for the pilgrims and the other for the tour.
"At least others are wearing your colour" Baptiste laughed quietly, spotting a group with multi colored hair, one with a similar style to Sombra's.
Rolling her eyes, she joined with the rest of the pilgrims and accepted the plain clothes that the monks were handing out and threw them on, whilst Baptiste joined the tour, who will walk alongside the pilgrims, but will be a floor above them.
The purpose for two pathways is to give the pilgrims their space while allowing the non-believers a chance to study how this faith operates. Either way, Sombra was annoyed at how many people still follow this cult, but comforted herself with the knowledge that soon she will expose this fraudulent organization to free her people from oppression.
All she needs is this last key piece of information.
Despite that, she grudgingly admits that the Pilgrim Path is somewhat peaceful. Despite hundreds of people, it was relatively quiet and their hoods emit a sense of unity. The path was fully lit by thousands of candles, illuminating the walls with a soft, steady glow, allowing the meditation of the various paintings of Omnics and Humans joining efforts to rebuild the world.
The walls were so convincing that Sombra stopped to test them. With a flick of her finger, the painting changed slightly, confirming her suspicions and respect for Satya Vaswani. The stone walls, candles, paintings, are all Hard Light material, and must be controlled locally somewhere further down this hallway.
Further down the path, she noticed that people began bowing their heads as a faint chanting can be heard. Deducing that she is getting closer to some holy site or the centre of the temple, she was about to follow suit when a monk stood in front of her.
"Are you lost my child?" it asked.
She looked up and saw that this was one of the older models, almost pre-Omnic Crisis. It is a head taller than her and has adopted the classical Shambali attire. Meditation beads revolved around its back in a slow and methodical pattern, its palms were joined together in front of its chest, and white robes that reached all the way down to the ground.
"Yes, I came to seek guidance" she lied, trying to sound like a humble pilgrim.
"There is no need to fear, all are accepted here within the presence of the Iris" it chuckled and motion for her to follow "However, this path is only for pilgrims, the tour line is over here"
"I can make my own way, just tell me where to go" she said, her fingers waving under her robes, inserting commands into the Omnic.
"Indeed, please follow me" it replied kindly and started moving to one of the many staircases that connected both the Pilgrim and Tourist paths.
"Huh? I said you can just tell me" she asked, hiding her confusion as she tried hacking it again, this time with a stronger code.
"My compliments, your codes are formidable, however there is no need for that"
"This is not possible" she thought, trying another string of code "How could this old model have this kind of firewall?"
"Please, follow me" the monk said again and held out a hand in an attempt to show forgiveness, which she interpreted as an attack and accidentally tripped over her robes in an effort to back away.
A loud clattering sound came from the stairs, attracting the monk's attention. Looking at the source of the noise, she deduced that Baptiste threw himself down the stairs to give her a chance to escape.
"Are you alright?" the monk asked with genuine concern, not knowing that Sombra had taken off her robe and turned invisible.
"Yeah… Just tripped, sorry about this everybody" she heard Baptiste say.
Dashing through the gaps between people, Sombra pushed down the rising panic that is growing within her. How could these monks resist her hacks? Who or what had supplied them with such powerful systems that even she could not penetrate?
Jumping down a flight of stairs, her shoes echoing loudly and confused everyone who heard it, but she did not stop until she saw another Omnic Monk. This time she used both hands and looked at the holoscreen to make sure that she did not make a mistake.
"What…?" she thought to herself, horrified at what she saw as the Omnic began looking around curiously as its sensors were alerting it of a hack.
Showing up on the screen, the Omnic's software were guided by a string of commands and patterns that she had never seen before. Deep into the system, she quickly realized that almost alien like symbols were the root cause of it, and only after it meshes together does it translate into 0s and 1s.
Cursing, she disconnected from the monk and kept running. She must at least take a screenshot of what they came for before any alarms can be raised. Following the chanting, she skidded down another flight of stairs by the handrails and saw it.
The Statue of Aurora.
*Outside the Temple*
Two brothers stepped out of the car, their eyes staring at the temple excitedly and accepting all who offered them refreshments. They have dreamt about this moment for weeks and to finally be here is a heaven-sent opportunity, as the temple was also almost entirely constructed by Hard Light technology, therefore any repercussions will be less severe.
Pulling out a book, they once again look at the reward that was offered to them for her capture, a sum that would not only pay off their debts, but their entire family's, and even so they will have enough to feed their children. Finally they can put an end to their many years of invaluable, but silent service from the government and focus on building their children's future.
Popping in a couple of pills, they steadied themselves for the task at hand, flipping the page to study the only known picture of the one who calls herself Sombra, an old photograph that has been shown by a terrorist who attacked London a few months ago.
Knowing what their target is capable of, they spared no expense for non-electronic/Hard Light gear. Bullet proof vests, knives, clubs, pistols, chloroform handkerchiefs, and even a stun grenade. After a brief buddy check, they nod to each other and climb the stairs.
*India: Shambali Temple of Suravasa*
Baptiste climbed back to the tour line and walked on, his mind buzzing with concern at Sombra's weird reactions. He hypothesized that, as unlikely as it is, either her fingernails were malfunctioning, made a mistake, or run out of power since the last EMP bomb. He tried to find a place to contact her but it proved exceedingly difficult, as the bathrooms that he came across were either full or occupied, and there were not many corners or pillars to hide behind.
All he could hope is that she either gives the signal or they would rendezvous outside near the busses. Problem was, they have not set a time for either scenario, all he could hope for is he will be able to guess their next course of action based purely on the last few months of going on missions with her.
After reaching the last platform, he looked down and could not help but be in awe at the beautifully crafted statue of Aurora herself. Listening to the tour guides, he was impressed at the idea that a single Omnic was able to achieve sentience all by itself, but was also disappointed that the knowledge of where she came from or who her original manufacturer was lost in history.
The platform formed a full 360 degree ring around the statue so that everyone will be able to appreciate its beauty from every angle, and as expected, everyone was only focused on the front. He, however, moved to the back and sighed in relief when he looked down.
After the troop of monks walked past, Sombra reappeared in a shimmer, hanging off one of the orbs that levitated behind the statue, her fingers working quickly. Seeing that this may take some time, he leaned against the railing and waited, trying his best to look natural so no one would be interested to go over to him.
He was studying the crowd and allowed himself to relax. This has got to be the easiest mission he had since he decided to help her. Normally he had to do the heavy lifting or read so much material that it matched his studies in medical school. Finally, after months of hard work, all he needs to do now is just to be a lookout due to his 'lack of the required skills'. Furthermore, he does not need to constantly look over his shoulder for any highly trained killers with the latest technology coming after him, or fear the whirling noise of a gauntlet charging, only annoying, ambitious groups who were all amateurs in comparison that he needs to watch out for.
Speaking of which, he spotted two men down at the pilgrim line who were acting suspicious. Though they wore the pilgrim robes perfectly, it was their posture that caught his attention. Whilst everyone else were hunched over in humbleness and meditation, these men are obviously stiff and their eyes were darting over to the darker corners of the room.
Dropping a coin down, Sombra looked up to see Baptiste nodding off to the side and a fist protruding two fingers. Cursing, she began taking risks in the hacks to find the source code faster. At first it looked like a regular Hard Light language, however, since the monks have a completely different code, surely they would source it from the statue. After the third error, she punched the statue in frustration and, to her horror and everybody else's surprise, a hollow gong resounded from it.
Immediately the pilgrims looked up at the statue and some took off their hoods in awe. That was when the men spotted the woman with the similar hairstyle to Sombra's and immediately pounced on her. Baptiste watched helplessly when the crowd began screaming as the girl went rigid and a sack was thrown over her head.
Curious, Sombra stuck her head out again at the commotion and was pleased to find that all the monks are now making their way towards the source of the noise, buying her more time.
At least, that's what she thought.
"We have to help her!" Baptiste said, jumping down from the ledge.
"What are you doing? Get back up there and watch my back!" she hissed.
"We can't just let them take her!"
"It'll be fine alright? The monks will take care of it"
He looked and saw that the men were now pointing weapons at the nearest monk, who had its hands up and backing off as it tried to negotiate with them.
"They can't! We need to do something!"
"Shh! Just wait for a minute okay? I almost got this" she said, twisting what looks like a virtual valve.
A gunshot echoed in the room and Baptiste could not restrain himself anymore.
"Oh forget this" he said.
"Bap!"
Initiating his Exo Boots, Baptiste launched himself into the air towards the would be captors. A gunshot rang out and the crowd ran for the exits, the monks formed a literal wall of metal to protect as many people as they could as Baptiste tackled the one holding the girl.
As the fight escalated, so did Sombra's efforts to hack into the mainframe of the statue, using riskier and riskier hacks in desperation, but it was difficult she was almost deafened by the huge bang of what sounds like a flash grenade.
"Why did he have to go and be a hero?" she thought bitterly.
Trying again after her very first five-in-a-row failed hack, she utilized one of her most complicated programs and after multiple keystrokes, she finally cracked it open.
"Yes!"
However, her victory was cut short as the image of The Iris appeared, staring at her.
"Hello Olivia Colomar, I've finally found you"
She froze in fear as hundreds of questions shot through her mind. The Conspiracy? Here? Was the suitcase a trap all along? Why The Conspiracy using the voice of a woman? How does it know where to find her?
"Our offer still stands Olivia Colomar, you and Jean-Baptiste Augustine can still join us, we are all one within The Iris"
"Shut it Conspiracy, you're nothing more than a system to be taken down" she snarled, taking screenshots of every new page that she unlocks, regardless of its importance.
"And how do you plan to do that?" IT asked and when Sombra did not answer, IT chuckled "Very well, you have always preferred your method, let me respond in kind"
Before she could fully register what The Conspiracy meant, her left hand was magnetically jammed into the statue.
"Let me go!" she yelled, trying to pull herself free but her fingers are firmly locked in place.
Sombra could feel all her firewalls being torn down one by one, all her files becoming exposed. She tried to teleport away but her systems are no longer responding.
"I commend you Olivia, you truly deserve your reputation as the master of digital languages, I doubt anyone on Earth would be able to go through the first wall"
She pulled out her machine pistol and attempted to break her fingernails with it, but itself was jammed onto the statue when she tried to hit them.
"Do not worry, once I… Ahh… You know where we are… But you don't know what to do about it do you? Unless… Oh goodness… So this is why you thought you have a chance against us"
"Like you said… Master of digital languages'' Sombra panted, tugging at her hand again, hating that her upgrades have engraved the hardware into her bones.
"This is your last chance Olivia, join us and together we will accomplish great things"
"Nah, that's too easy, I prefer a challenge" she replied, putting up a brave face against her sworn enemy.
"Then allow me to make it more challenging for you"
A loud hum sounded and a blood guttural scream came from behind the statue, forcing Baptiste to abandon the fight. Kicking the man into his partner, he ran around the corner and was shocked to see Sombra rolling on the ground, howling in pain as she clutched her left hand.
He quickly dropped down to his knees to help, but not before his eyes followed the trail of blood that led to the statue, where what looked like fingers with purple polish were stuck on it.
Hey all, hope everyone is doing fine so far
Just a little update for the uploading schedule, my workload had starting to kick up again so the posting may become slower in the following weeks, I'll definitely update as time goes on.
Thanks for reading and I'll see ya in the next one :)
PS. Thanks for the reviews, always great to read them :D