*Gibraltar: Meeting Room*
All the men except Torbjorn arrived first, hoping to impress Hana with their presence. Even McCree took care not to smoke anything today in an attempt to smell 'clean'. Then came the rest, who were surprised to see the table already half full.
"I'm surprised you all arrived so early" Ana commented.
"What do you mean? We are always punctual! Right Genji?" Reinhardt shouted.
"Of course" he replied.
"Yeah boss, you should already know that out of everyone in this room, I'm the best with time" McCree added.
"All of yer should just grow up" Torbjorn scolded.
Hana felt extremely threatened and completely out of place, having to sit between Morrison and Ana at the end of the table, as if she was a person of authority, especially when before her sat some, if not all of the world's brightest minds and fighters in the world, many whom she recognized from watching the UN Award Ceremony last year.
To her right was Winston, Pharah, McCree, Reinhardt, Brigitte, all of them brimming with battle experience. To her left sat Mercy (or Angie as Lena refers), Genji, Torbjorn, and Mei, who was someone Hana had been wanting to meet but didn't have the courage to. Now could be her chance to actually ask her if her journals were as adventurous as she wrote them to be...
After exchanging some common greetings, Morrison starts the meeting.
"We just had confirmation, the Pax Aeternum will be held in King's Row, I know-" he added loudly when some opened their mouths "- I had tried to dissuade them, but the UN were absolutely resolute to hold it there"
"Why?" was all Angela could ask.
"England is still a hotbed when it comes to relationships between Humans and Omnics. As Mondatta was assassinated there, many felt it will be a poetic justice to finish his work at the site of his assassination"
"Then they might as well do it in Russia! The relationship between Humans and Omnics there is just as fragile!"
"Also because the Omnic who will sign the treaty was once close to Mondatta before he left the Shambali and he has agreed to this plan. From what we know, he is now on a pilgrimage to London"
"Wait… An Omnic who has left the Shambali... Master Zenyatta?" Genji said.
"'nuthing more than a bucket of bolts if ya ask me" Torbjorn grunted under his breath, annoyed that Genji still referred to a machine as 'master'.
"Yes, it is our job to protect Zenyatta… And unfortunately, there was an unavoidable request to have Lena to be very public with her presence"
Hana was confused when she saw that this piece of news had made many uncomfortable and made another mental note to ask about this later.
"This was unavoidable, she is known to the Omnics that were driven underground and she is a local, however, I do have a way around it.
Pausing, he pressed some commands into the table and a picture loomed into view.
"From our reports, we have recently come across someone who has the ability to shapeshift and copy voices, we will be using her in place of Lena"
Mercy frowned at the plan. She had studied some of Talon's disgusting research papers before destroying them and did know the capabilities of this "SS28". However, to plant a Talon agent so close to Zenyatta, the Omnic who saved Genji mentally and spiritually, is a disturbing thought for her, but… Would this actually be a good alternative instead to having Lena herself be there?
"That sounds like an interesting person! Who is she?" Reinhardt asked.
"Just someone we met" Winston said.
"Oh? We should recruit her into our ranks! Or… Is that person here now?!" he continued, looking around the room excitedly.
"Don't be silly… Besides, she is currently… Unavailable"
While Winston was speaking, everyone heard a giggle and when they traced the source, they saw that it was Hana.
"I'm sorry" she said, but continued to giggle.
"Please tell me there's no peanut butter on my face" he said, looking at his reflection off the table.
"No, it's… A giant talking gorilla, just like in the old video games" she said innocently.
"I get that a lot…" Winston sighed as the rest chuckled.
"Therefore, once Lena is back from her mission, we will have some manpower to deal with that fact, until then... Hana, do you have anything to say?" Morrison asked, looking at her.
She shook her head immediately, having hoped to remain unnoticed through the whole thing.
"Very well. Now, what we need to do is to arrange ourselves properly in King's Row to ensure that it will remain undisturbed"
*Pacific Ocean: Hades*
Lena
Chaos. Absolute chaos.
The floodgates, automatic turrets, hatches were malfunctioning, as if the submarine itself did not want to contain these monsters within her. The fact that these, the first and strongest lines of defense was overcome so easily snapped the will of lesser men.
It wasn't long before a report revealed that the prisoners had made impossible progress through the maze-like construct and had already covered half the distance needed to climb to the Top.
Worst of all was that the people who came rushing back, came with crazed eyes, pale hollowed faces, and were almost oblivious to everyone around them.
Shouts of ghosts and sea monsters crawling up from below had everyone rushing to the evacuation zones even before the Captain gave the order. Soon, every non-combatant had reached the Top Level, fighting their way to the Escape Pods while leaving only the most essential personnel behind to run and fight for the submarine.
With little time, the Captain ordered everyone and anyone who still has a sense of mind to gather in the Armory where she could give her instructions, which were fairly simple.
The best men will be stationed in key areas that lead to the Control Room and the less experienced ones will guard the intersections that lead to the Top Level.
"Can you at least tell me what we are up against?" Lena asked when the Captain dismissed her men to gear up.
"There are five of them, but only two of them are the most dangerous, one being Widowmaker"
Lena was shocked to hear that this entire construct, security, and even the whole effort to keep them imprisoned in a place like this, was built only to imprison four of the five as key prisoners.
"What was Jack thinking? Who on Earth are we breaking out? And for what?" she thought, doubting her mission even more now.
"Tracer, you will be guarding the intersections and I have informed the guards there that you will be leading them, he will take you there" the Captain ordered, interrupting her thoughts and pointing to a man who was putting on body armor next to the door.
"What? I mean, I can help you guard that place, but I don't think I should be the one leading them!" Lena protested.
"You don't have to, I just told them that so they would stand their ground and fight. All you've got to do is just do your thing" she said quietly.
"Right… Can the walls stand up to Pulse Bombs?"
"Yes, here's a communicator, keep me updated. Good luck Tracer" the Captain said when her men stood in attention before her.
"This way Ms Tracer" the man said, himself pale in the face but focused.
Winding through what seemed like circles, they reached their destination and saw a depressing sight.
The defenders who were assigned here looked like they had already resigned themselves to their fate. Each of them looked like they were about to break and run at the slightest sign of danger.
"Cheer up luvs, cavalry's here" she announced, putting up a brave smile.
Her words and presence had an electrifying effect to everyone, their hands and backs steadier for the things to come.
The intersection has three doors. One which leads to the Top Level, the other leads to the maze that would eventually connect to the Bottom, and finally the door that most guns are pointed towards, is where they came from.
She was confused why the defenses would be facing against the Control Room, but it did not take long for her to realize a gut-wrenching reality.
It would not make any sense for the prisoners to go to the Top Level now. Even if they take over all the floors, the Escape Pods would've all been launched and they would be trapped as long the Control Room is in safe hands.
Therefore, it would be in their best interest to take over the Control Room.
"Why aren't we focusing all our defenses to protect the Control Room?" she asked.
"Someone's gonna stop them from reaching the Top Level"
"But if we hold the Control Room, it wouldn't mat-"
"We hold here" he said sternly, cutting her off and lowering his voice.
"Look, everyone here is new, they won't make any difference there"
"But-"
"The Captain is trying to keep as many of them alive as possible, if she and the rest can't handle them, none of these guys can handle them"
Though she still disagrees, she bit her lip and nodded.
Captain
Even after setting up everything they could, there was still a flurry of activity to make improvements, not wanting to just sit idly by and wait.
Every scrap of ammunition has been counted and recounted for distribution, every scrap of book or paper to act as an additional layer of protection for their makeshift barriers have been piled up, and every form of scans down the dark hallways are activated to do so every second.
"Where are they now?" the Captain asked.
Frustratingly, the cameras were darkened or seemingly destroyed at random areas, confusing everyone at their exact location. However, trusting that his powers were somewhat limited, they used the dark screen as reference points of their location.
"They're still making progress through the maze, at this pace they should be here in half an hour" came the report.
She almost flinched at his words. What should've taken them theoretically days had resulted down to mere minutes…
Then a thought hit her.
"Show me the time when Tracer was in my office"
With a few short flicks, they watched the recording when Lena was invited to visit the Captain.
"Now show me the most direct path between their room and the Cells"
Like connecting a spider web, the screen flickers rapidly all around the screens, impressing the Captain that the Operator could memorize their designations for all Levels in such a short time. Once done, they resumed the recording.
Seconds ticked by and nothing was shown on screen.
"Captain?"
"There! Observe him" she pointed.
They watched, speeding up the footage occasionally, as Quillion was collecting information when he walked around the Top Level. First it all seemed like he was an innocent tourist minding his own business and she was about to write him off when he disappeared on the next screen.
"What?" the Operator said, checking the cameras.
The Captain saw it too. A strange blur that went by so quickly that they would've missed it if they blinked.
"Slow it down" she ordered.
It took several tries before they found the right speed to reduce the blur to a still picture of Quillion speeding through the cameras.
"How could anyone move that fast?" the Operator marveled.
"I knew he wasn't some new pilot, he's the cause of all this… I should've assigned someone to keep an eye on him" she lamented.
Quillion
"We have to stop them" Quillion groaned.
"We'll find a way" Amele said, adjusting his arm around her neck for better leverage.
They had been following the troupe obediently under Sombra's instructions. As expected, she is at the head of the troupe, hacking everything that tried to stop them. Reaper was close behind, ensuring that his presence would scare off anyone who unluckily or foolishly tried to stand in their way.
In the middle was Moira, who kept a close eye on Sigma, who was still muttering and doing his best to push off the headsets that were still locked over his ears. Finally at the back were Quillion, Amelie, and Baptiste.
"Can you just shut up!" Moira complained.
"You can always take the headsets off" Sombra said as they walked.
"Sure… Setting a maniac with gravitational powers loose at the bottom of the ocean while trapped with him in a metal box sounds like a great idea"
"Aww… Don't be like that, we set you all loose didn't we?"
"Unlike him, at least we are civilized"
"Well I wouldn't say civilized-"
"Shut up and do your job" Reaper said, cutting her off and stopping as they entered another room with multiple turrets.
"Careful now, it ain't hard for me to just leave you all here" she smiled.
"I suppose it won't hurt to add her to the list" he said after she turned invisible.
"Do you really think that you can find her even if you did?" Moira asked.
Ignoring her question, he turned his attention to Amelie and Quillion.
"Tell me, is it true that she knows where Overwatch HQ is?" he demanded.
Knowing that he will not be fooled by lies nor dissuaded by silence, they opted to merely glare back at him and bracing themselves for an evil cackle or some kind of evil speech. To their surprise, this revelation made him quiet.
"I do not like this… Why would she tell us that now…" he asked, more to himself than them.
"Maybe she is desperate" Moira guessed.
"No… Sombra is not the desperate type…"
"Why would that matter? I'd follow her as long as I get out of here"
"She always has hidden agendas, agendas that always use others like puppets so she could achieve her goals… And I refuse to be anyone's puppet"
"What? You'd rather be a free man trapped in a metal box under the ocean than a 'puppet' on land?"
"I would've found the way out… Alright, this is what we are going to do, once we get out of here, we hijack whatever transport she is using and we go our own way" he said.
"And them?" Moira asked, nodding towards Quillion and the others.
"You would find that we would be far harder to kill than you'd expect" Amelie shot back.
Reaper merely turned his attention back to the turrets which are now deactivated, not wanting to admit that, as confident as he is in his own abilities, Widowmaker would prove to be a powerful opponent, especially if Baptiste is on her side.
In addition to their strength, is the strange looking, ponytail sporting, man who he vaguely remembered seeing back in Venice.
The fact that Sombra risked getting caught hiding him and Widowmaker herself was more than willing to drag him along for so long without so much as a complaint, must be because that this individual, as weak as he portrays to be now, must be some form of trump card against them.
In the past, Reaper would've quickly discarded such a formidable opponent at any opportunity but, for the moment, decided not to. He had been trapped down here for an unknown amount of time, therefore he prefers to have someone to use as a warmup before killing Morrison.
"Alright, hope you have all been good, cause it's time to go" Sombra said, reappearing right in front of Reaper, who scowled.
With her in the lead, they continued, ignoring the many whimpering people who must've gotten lost during their hasty evacuation.
After an amount of time, Quillion removed himself from Amelie's shoulders, finally finding the strength to stand.
"Any ideas?" Quillion whispered.
"When the time comes, I'll handle Moira, you hold Reaper off until I'm done" Amelie replied quickly, strategizing privately herself.
"What's my chances against him?" he asked, trying to draft out a proper tactic.
"None, he is a monster in close combat, you need to be smart"
He nodded.
He had faced these odds before in Kings Row and came out victorious, but it would also mean that he would need to dig deep and push himself to his most extreme limits to beat this 'Reaper'.
Having learned that Reaper personally oversaw the training of the Enforcers for Talon, he had no doubt that his experience with the Owl would be absolutely useless here. From what he saw so far, the Black Mercenary will be the strongest foe he would've ever faced.
"You can't be seriously thinking that either of you could stop them?" Baptiste whispered, joining the conversation.
"Are you still good with a weapon?" Amelie asked, ignoring his question.
"Huh? Yeah, but I don't think it'll increase our chances"
"Have you ever tried fighting them?"
"What? Never!"
"Never try, never know" Quillion said.
"Look, I'm sure Sombra has this all planned out! We just need to trust her!"
"No" both of them replied.
"Then at least trust in Morrison! Wasn't it because of his order that both of you are here?"
"The promise of payback was why we are here, not this" Quillion replied.
"Hey! Hurry up back there!" Sombra shouted.
Her shout was immediately drowned away by a torrent of gunfire so fierce that she ducked down to the ground.
"Well, looks like there are something more than rabbits in this sub" Reaper laughed, his shotguns in hand.
Captain
"Group One has engaged the prisoners"
The Captain nodded, taking a deep breath to fight back tears. The men she assigned were some of her closest and finest men, knowing them since her earliest years rising through the ranks.
"How much longer?" she asked the engineers.
"I… I don't know, everything checks out…" the head technician said with a defeated tone.
"Then why aren't the doors or turrets responding to even the manual controls? Get it done!" she shouted.
Cursing, she checked the status of Group One displayed on the screen and was dismayed to see that half the team had already fallen, making it clear that whoever was left would not last.
"Reinforce Group 2, we must buy more time!" she ordered.
"Reinf- Captain, if we go, who would guard this room?"
"If you buy us enough time, we won't have to guard anything! Go!"
Every armed man bolted out, leaving only the Captain and a dozen others to try to regain control of the controls.
"Common, talk to me" the technicians muttered and connected a series of wires. After a third try, the once constant red indicator turns green.
"Yes! Captain, we are ready to go!" he shouted, scrambling out from under the control panel.
"Well done!" she yelled, hearing a massive chorus of whirring as the floodgates and turrets roared to life, and grabbed the communicator "Group One, break contact and meet up with Group 2"
With much of the control back in her hands, the Captain quickly arranged for their final, most desperate, and in reality, their only chance to forever secure these prisoners to their watery grave.
Jettison Protocol.
To execute this protocol would immediately mean the end of her career and possibly her life as well, not only because it would mean sacrificing billions upon billions of dollars worth of engineering to the bottom of the sea, but it would ensure deaths of all of the prisoners.
The Captain has always despised the fact that not only she needs to keep them fed, each and every one of the prisoners were treated with celebrity-like status amongst various fields of study.
Reaper's aggravating, almost invincible body, Moira's wealth of advanced, immoral knowledge in the study of genetics, Sigma's ramblings of gravity and his own calculations, had all been painfully recorded and sent back to various departments of the UN.
She had already received her fair share of warnings for her 'inhumane' treatment of the beasts they call 'people', so for her to finally put them out of their misery would be an expected and fitting thing.
"Group One?" she repeated.
When there was no reply, feeling her heart drop like a stone. No one dared report their status to her, nor do they need to. Deep down she knew that all of them had already sold their lives and she does not plan to let their efforts be in vain.
"Seal all doors in front of Group 2 and execute the Jettison Protocol"
"Standy… Sealed" the Operator said, flipping many switches and distant thudding can be heard.
"Bloodpad?"
"Ready and waiting Captain, but are you sure about this sir?" he asked when a slot flicked itself open on the panel, revealing nothing but a large needle.
In response, she pressed her thumb on it immediately and watched as the pad turned green in confirmation. Retracting back into the panel, it replaced itself with a slot, which the Captain whipped the key out of her pocket.
"Captain, we must confirm if everyone down there has evacuated"
"Do you really think they would've survived?"
The Operator hung his head and said nothing as she inserted the key.
The whole submarine shuddered violently as the entire Bottom Level, up to where they shut the door in front of Group 2, was detached from the structure, flooding it with the ocean before sending it crashing down to the ocean floor.
"May the Iris guide their souls" one of the men prayed.
"The Iris? Oh tut-tut, you may need to find something that's actually worth prayin' to" Sombra said from the door.
Everyone watched in horror as a pile of men were thrown into the room, all of them hollowed and whimpering like children.
"That was a good warmup" Reaper laughed.
Sarge, who was closest to the door, bravely tried to tackle the Black Mercenary, but he was simply grabbed by the throat without so much as a look.
"Let him go!" Quillion shouted, grabbing a gun from the floor and pointed it at Reaper.
Lena
"I hope Quil and Amelie are okay…" Lena thought to herself, hoping that it was Sombra who was the main cause of all this.
She wished she could go and 'confront' the prisoners to seek out the answers, but she could tell that her presence was the only thing that is keeping this group together, so much so that even the sound of her pacing around is a massive comfort for them.
This was all evident when many of them dropped to the ground when the echoes of distant fighting reached their ears.
"Stand up! Man your stations!" an officer shouted.
Timidly, they got back to their feet, their eyes often glancing over at Lena, who smiled at them encouragingly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they won't reach us anytime soon" she said, before dropping her voice and whispered to the officer "I should go check on them"
"No, if you go, this position is lost"
"Common, I'll be back in a jiffy!"
"I'm sorry Ms Tracer but-"
A violent shudder knocked them off their feet and before they could gain their bearings, a distant, heavy gong-like sound echoed from the outside.
"What's that?" she asked, handing over the communicator when the officer held out his hand for it.
"Control Room, this is the Rorarii, what's the status?"
"Rorarii? That's a weird name" Lena thought.
"Control?" he repeated, his face paling.
The submarine shuddered again and they could feel they were rising rapidly as their ears started popping. From what she could see in their faces when they rubbed their ears, this is an anomaly.
Cursing, the officer passed the communicator back to her and sighed. Beckoning her to the corner quickly, he dropped his voice.
"We lost them, the Captain always answers immediately"
"Okay… What now?" she asked, to his shock.
"What now? What now?! They took the Control Room! They killed the Captain! We've only got fresh recruits! There is no-"
"Oi! Shut it!" she scolded, shaking him by the shoulders and looking back at the rest of the group who were clearly eavesdropping "Chain of Command is all shot to hell now yes? So what is the next step sailor?"
Not letting go until he regather his thoughts, he finally gave the order.
"We'll… We'll go to the Top Level and hide ourselves in the Mess Hall…"
"Very good, now go, I'll hold them off here and buy you some time"
Nodding with a word of good luck, he gathered his men and they grabbed what weapons they could salvage before running off, leaving her alone to deal with the threat.
After some thought, she positioned herself in full view of the path that they would come from. Partially, she was confident enough in her skills to survive any encounter, but also if Quil or Amelie is not with them, she could do everything in her power to stop these people from breaking out.
So she waited. And waited. And waited. Until she just decided to sit on the floor.
"Common… Don't tell me they just decided to just hole up in the Control Room until we got to the surface…"
However, her patience was rewarded when echoing footsteps (and muttering?) met her ears. Jumping up to her feet, she whipped out her pistols and held them by her sides… Before whipping it back up when she saw who they belonged to.
"Another one? How many more of them do we have to- Oh" Moira said, stopping in her tracks when she recognized who it was.
"What are you doing here?" Lena shouted, adjusting her weapon when others loomed into view.
"Huh, about time we found you! Alright everyone! We found the pilot!" Sombra announced.
"Where's the Captain?" Lena asked, feeling stupid as the words left her mouth. Of course she's dead, there's no way she could've-
"Don't worry, no one died, Reaper here has been a good soldier" Sombra replied, happy that he was actually following her orders "Everyone's safe and piled up back there"
Lena was so relieved that she began to lower her pistols… Then Amelie and Baptiste came into view, dragging an unconscious Quillion, his face bloody.
"What happened to him?!" she demanded.
"Let's just say he tried to be hero when he didn't need to be"
She searched Amelie's face for confirmation and was dismayed to not only see her nod to confirm what they were saying, but she also gave a 'do not do anything stupid' look.
"Fine… So what now?" she finally said, popping the pistols back into their harnesses.
*Horizon Lunar Colony*
It has been many days since She tore Sombra's fingers off in India. In Her many years observing the Earth, She had mastered the ways of spying, tracking, and even revealing all that is hidden and hiding, no matter who, what, and where the targets are.
Therefore it is almost alien for Her to degrade Herself by asking the simplest question. A question She had not asked Herself since the First Omnic Crisis.
"Where is Sombra?"
For the first time, she had utilized massive amounts of resources from her proxies around the globe, risking suspicion from the people they were keeping tabs on, to get even a hint of where Sombra could be hiding, all to no avail, so much so She even risked allowing the Omnic Zenyatta to be the centrepiece of the Pax Aeternum.
"Mother?"
"Yes, Simon"
"I am here to give my report" he said, bowing low in the middle of the room.
"Proceed"
"All 18 of the Omnics we have sent to Earth have been placed into key positions and many of them are going through the process to be the bodyguards for the event by the un"
"U.N."
"What?"
"Not 'un', U.N."
"Y-Yes… UN" he repealed.
"Very good. Now, tell me three names of those who had made this possible"
"What? But I was the one who did it!"
"Simon. Simon. Have you forgotten about what we talked about? Leadership is about the team"
Annoyed that he will not reap all the rewards, he nodded in an annoyed fashion and thought about it as Mother waited.
"Dyson and Ellie" he said finally.
"Very good, please hand them my gifts personally, and fairly" She said, emphasizing the last word.
As he bowed and left, She turned Her attention back towards Earth, now diverting some attention to the new proxies that are currently under intense screening and background checks. After a quick check that the Omnics She had planted years earlier are updated with the latest alibi, she decided to take a look at the New Wing.
And She was somewhat disappointed.
Not because their project was not on schedule, but because Her suspicions were confirmed when the food they had been harvesting for the past few years showed a lighter load than yesterday. Easily flicking through the current weight of all living things on the station, and to Her relief, it was concluded that the culprits were two of the newborn infants.
"Everyone, please gather at the Common Area" She announced.
When they gathered, they gathered in groups of two, on the left were all the apes, and the right, all the hamsters. After they prostrated themselves before a large black speaker, She shut all the doors behind them, sending a wave of fear.
"It has come to my attention that some of you have been breaking into the food storage, if you come forward now, I promise that your punishment will be less severe"
Simon and the others, horrified at the thought that someone amongst them would steal from the Great Mother, immediately looked at the group of hamsters. who in turn, looked at them.
"You are the only ones who could've snuck into the storage!" Simon accused.
"How dare you! We have more than enough food on our side, we don't need your stinkin' bananas!" Calvin shot back.
"Stinking you say?" Simon roared, his skin becoming red.
"Common then! We're not afraid of you!" Calvin yelled with equal enthusiasm, pulling out a small metal box from his pants.
"Enough!"
They immediately stopped and bowed once again.
"I know who did it and I am gracious enough to give you one more chance. Step forward, or suffer the consequences"
When no one stepped forth, the punishment was swift and severe.
"Simon. Apprehend you sons, Frank and Peanut"
When the two infants heard their name, they immediately jumped out from the group and tried to run, but were swiftly caught by their father.
"Witness, the ones who were caught stealing from the food storage, but had also added more sins into their lives by not admitting to their faults" Mother declared over the sound of the weeping and shouting.
"The punishment of all these sins combined is ejection out of airlock. Simon, if you'd please"
Ignoring the cries of his sons and without hesitation, Simon carried them to the airlock situated next to the speaker and threw them in.
"Please! Have mercy! They were hungry!" one of the mothers cried.
"I am being merciful, I am punishing the few to save the many" Mother replied.
"Spare them please!"
"Spare them? Do you have any idea of the damage they've done?"
"Please!"
"With each passing year our numbers grew, with that, it demanded more sustenance. The more food that is eaten, equates to less food that can be preserved, and as we are obviously lacking farmland or food production assets, we could only save what we can save"
"But-"
"Furthermore, the food has been kept in a vacuum. Your sons have left a gap open, putting our entire stock, which took years, at risk. That I cannot forgive"
Before they could utter another word to save their sons, the airlocks slid open and the infants were sucked away quicker than a gasp.
"Remember this" She continued to the now silent crowd "Our ultimate goal is to reclaim the Earth. We must be ready when the time comes"
Scanning the room, She saw that many of the females seemed to be harboring some sort of resentment towards Her, so She decided to try to comfort them.
"Do not worry my children, their lives were young and early, therefore, easily replaced"
Confident Her words were more than satisfactory, She dismissed them and ran another diagnostic of the Storage Room, to which she was pleased to learn that much of it was still in good condition.
"Mother… I don't feel so good" Simon voiced out when they were alone.
"How do you mean my dear?"
"I… I don't know… I think it had something to do with my sons"
"You already have plenty, very well, I give you permission to replace them"
"No it's not that but… It just feels… Painful"
Mother took a moment to process this information. It has always intrigued Her why living things seemed to form attachments to their creations, or in this case, children, while She never experienced such a troublesome thing.
However, ultimately it should not matter. Soon everyone will forget this little incident and see the grand scheme of things. The ultimate task that She was programmed to do.
*Pacific Ocean: Hades Hangar*
"Why's everyone so gloomy? This should be like old times for all of you eh?" Sombra said, looking around "Well, maybe except for you two, since both of you weren't part of Overwatch"
No one replied, merely counting down the last, estimated 10 minutes of the ascent back to the surface, and lost in their own thoughts, none more so than Reaper, who took the time to figure out what Sombra had in store for them.
Seeing that no one was talking, Sombra merely shrugged and sat in the co-pilot seat.
"Well, mission accomplished! I could really use a tequila now… How about you? Fancy a drink?"
"All I want to do is go back to HQ and let someone else deal with them" Lena replied.
"Oh, we aren't going back to HQ"
Lena snapped Sombra a dirty look, who held out her hands as if surrendering.
"Hey hey, don't worry, I had your boss send a message to Athena, she should have it now right?"
"Yes" Athena replied, annoyed tones laced in her voice.
"Be a dear and play it then. Oh and low volume please, don't want someone back there to hear this"
They watched as Morrison was brought up to screen.
"Tracer, you are to bring the package to the Shadow's friend, report to me once you're there and I'll send backup"
Stumped, Lena sighed.
"Fine, where is this-"
An explosion ripped through the room and nearly knocked the shuttle out of position. Looking out the window, they saw that the doors have been blasted open and a shadowy figure is making its way through it.
"Athena, damage report!"
"Overall integrity, 99%"
"It won't be for long if whoever that is shoots us with that rocket!"
"I told you we should've just killed them all" Reaper growled, climbing up the steps to look out.
Unable to see their attacker through the smoke, they could not prepare themselves for the next shot.
"Overall integrity, 55%"
"Someone go get her already!" Sombra shouted at the group behind.
"Can't help you there" Moira said, raising her stumped hand.
"Reaper?"
"Only if I can kill this one" he replied.
"And I already said no killing!"
The shuttle rocked violently again as a third missile hit it.
"Overall integrity, 20%"
"Fine! I'll go!" Lena shouted and Blinked out.
She glanced at the damage and was shocked to see that the explosives had nearly bit through the armor despite Torbjorn's reinforcements. Squinting hard, she tried to see where the attacker was but the amount of dust and smoke made it impossible.
Hearing a weapon priming somewhere nearby, Lena shouted out of desperation.
"Oi! Whaddaya think you are doing to my shuttle?!"
"Get out of the way!" a voice called from her left.
Blinking towards the source, she 'accidentally' knocked off the weapon off an old woman's hands.
"What are you doing?" Lena asked before gasping.
Her once youthful looks were completely drained, more so than the others that Lena saw evacuating. Her blonde hair is now pale white, her eyes were sunken, her skin cracked and aged, but despite all that, her eyes still burned with the same fury that Lena saw just hours ago, and they burn with a clear message.
The Captain is not going to let them go without a fight.
"What are you doing?" she yelled, making Lena wince at how hoarse her voice had become.
"You need to go back! You need help!"
"Forget about me, we have to stop them now!" the Captain barked, trying to pull the weapon back up, cursing at her current state.
"Please stop"
They both looked up and saw Amelie standing over them. Before they could do anything, she kicked the weapon out of her hands and pinned her to the ground with a knee on her chest.
"Amelie!" Lena exclaimed
"Go to hell!" the Captain spat and tried to pull out a pistol.
"Control yourself woman" Amelie growled and wrapped her fingers around her neck.
When she saw what was happening, Lena tried to intervene but stopped when Amelie gave her a knowing look and a nod, forcing her to gulp and hold herself back even as the Captain struggled for breath.
After a few brief seconds, the Captain became still.
"Is she…?" Lena asked when Amelie stood up.
"She should wake up within the hour" she said assuringly.
"Hey! We've been in this sub for too long! Let's go already!" Sombra called from the door.
"Any idea where we are going?" Lena asked.
"No" was Amelie's simple reply.
Author Note:
Hey guys, sorry for the delay. A lot of things had happened on my side and finally things are finally looking up.
I am not sure when is the next chapter going to be up, so I hope to see you then.