I Had Strings...
Talon base- Austria
The Talon base was bustling with activity, people moving from one side of the facility to the other as quickly as they could. It was a special occasion, a meeting of the leaders of Talon was planned and this base was selected for it. The base was hidden well away from any prying eyes and far away for anyone to stumble across it. Anyone who ever did simply disappeared, never to be seen again.
Inside the base, Talon personnel entered and exited rooms and opened doorways leading to more sections of the base. However, one door was never touched, no one daring to enter.
This was the personal quarters of Widowmaker. Her quarters were quite well equipped compared to other quarters in the base, most soldiers simply being given a small bed while scientists were given a small room.
Widow's was equipped in a way that made it seem like a hotel room. Personal bathroom, comfy bed, even chests of drawers and a mirror. Talon gave her a surprising amount of home comforts as well as space to relax. She also had free movement all over the base.
Widow had similar quarters throughout Talon facilities all over the world. This wasn't Talon being nice however, something Widow suspected for a long time. Talon gave her a surprising amount of freedom as well compared to the other Talon operatives. Reaper was high up in Talon so of course he had a lot of freedom. Sombra could find dirt on anyone so no one wanted to start bossing her around. Widow only had her training, no real reason to give her this much freedom. So why exactly did she had this room? Why was she given so much space?
These were just a couple of the questions that had recently started to plague her mind since King's Row. Her head was starting to ache again since the images appeared, so she tried to take her mind off it. Now Widow stood in the shower, her head against the wall as cold water hit her and ran off her body. Widow preferred cold showers, her cold skin meant that hot water always made her feel uncomfortable. Even warm water felt like it was burning her, even though it could never harm her. However, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her to turn the temperature up.
Without thinking, Widow reached for the controls and turned the heat up. Within a few seconds, the water became much warmer and Widow began to feel a slight tingling on her skin. There was no burning sensation, instead it felt nice... like life itself was returning to her. Her head ache was also clearing, the pain seemingly being reduced by the warm water. She moved her head back from the wall and let the water run over her hair. She simply stood there, a slight moan escaping as the warm water continued to work its magic.
"You know, your incredibly beautiful Amelie."
Widow turned around at lightning speed, her arms raised ready to attack. She heard someone speak, yet no one was there. As she analysed the room for a few more seconds, a sudden wave of pain hit her head, causing her to collapse to the floor as images flooded her mind again.
"Gerard, at least let me put some clothes on, we're going to be late." Amelie said, leaning back into her husband as he kissed her neck.
Widow could see herself, only it wasn't her. She had nothing but a towel on and a man was wrapping his arms around her. He was wearing a tuxedo, clearly they were preparing to go out for the evening. They seemed close... very close.
"Well, I wouldn't complain if we were, there's a big distraction here." Amelie laughed as Gerard continued his assault on her neck.
"Well, you did promise your friend we'd be there in a hour."
"That I did. I really need to stop making those promises don't I?" Gerard smiled at Amelie, who simply smirked at an idea she had.
"Tell you what. How about you let me put my dress on. Then if you can keep your hands off me for the night, I'll show you something amazing when we get back." Amelie winked at Gerard.
"Is that a challenge Mrs Lacroix?"
"Yes it is, Mr Lacroix. You up for it?"
"I do love a challenge." Gerard gave Amelie a kiss on her neck. She quickly turned around, leaning into a large kiss before playfully pushing him away, giving him a sly smile before returning to her preparations for the evening.
Widow returned to reality, breathing heavily as she went over what she just saw. That was Gerard, no doubt about it. That was a memory of her old life... a life before Talon.
Widow stood up, turning off the shower and drying herself off quickly. Once she was dry, she put on her outfit and tied up her hair, before walking out of her room. Only one person knew of her current situation, she needed to speak to them, urgently.
Fortunately, they were at the base as well.
She wasn't able to get more than ten steps though, before someone called out to her.
"Ah Amelie. How are you feeling today?" It was Moira. Widow could not stand how she called her Amelie. That was the name of a dead woman... or so she thought.
"I don't feel. That's the point isn't it?" Widow said calmly. She really didn't want to talk right now. Her mind was playing tricks on her and she didn't want Moira of all people seeing.
Moira simply raised her eyebrows at the reply. "Widow isn't one for talking I suppose." She thought to herself. "I don't suppose you've seen Gabriel around have you?" She asked.
"Non." Widow replied, simply turning her head to acknowledge the other woman.
Moira simply nodded. "Very well, I'll let you be on your way. If you see Gabe, tell him the meeting's starting soon." With that, Moira walked away, arms folded behind her back. She had a strange presence around the base. If you knew her, she seemed to get along with you well enough. However, for the most part, she kept to herself, which made the Talon troops nervous.
As Moira left, Widow continued to head to her original destination. She hoped that no one else would bother her for the rest of the day.
A short walk away and another small room could be found. A purple glow could be seen from under the metal door. Sombra had set up her 'office' as she called it, a large computer dominating the small room. There was a bed as well as a desk, along with a metal chair that was sitting against the wall, out of the way. Sombra was sat on an office chair, busy typing away and looking through various documents. Reaper was standing nearby, not paying attention to what Sombra was doing.
"I'm sure she's fine Gabe." Sombra said, opening a virtual file with her fingers, only to flick it away a couple of seconds later.
"No, something was definitely bothering her when she boarded the shuttle." Reaper replied, watching the virtual file being flicked into a virtual bin.
This was a side of Reaper people didn't see, the one that cared about someone. The only two people he ever opened up to was Sombra and Widow, the three of them talking in private very often. Sombra had even given the three of them a nickname, Team Talon. These were the only two people Reaper let use his real name. Well, them, Doomfist and unfortunately Moira.
Reaper respected Doomfist, but he never saw him as a friend, more a polite co-worker. Moira on the other hand... well let's just say she wasn't his favourite person at Talon, not since the Swiss base anyway. He simply tolerated her at best.
"Maybe she took a heavy hit, she was fighting Amari wasn't she?" Sombra suggested. Reaper simply shook his head, clearly lost in thought. "Relax Gabe, I'm sure she's fine."
"Sure who's fine?" Both Sombra and Repaer turned to the door as Widow walked inside.
"Gabe here thinks there's something bothering you." Sombra explained, turning back to her large computer screen.
"I'm fine." Widow replied, her voice cold as ever.
"Are you sure?" Reaper asked. He considered himself a very good judge of character, especially where Widow was concerned. "You really don't seem it."
"I'm fine Gabe." Widow answered back, perhaps a little more aggressive than she needed to. "Sorry, I just took a hit at King's Row. It's just put me in a bad mood." Widow tried to explain, rubbing her head slightly in an attempt to cover up the real reason why she was so on edge at the moment.
"See, I told you." Sombra spoke up, addressing Reaper. "Taking a hit to the head can make anyone grumpy." She joked.
As Reaper grumbled at the joke, Widow passed on Moira's message. "By the way, Moira's looking for you. She says that meeting's going to start soon."
Reaper simply groaned. "Great, at least two hours of sitting in a boardroom with her."
"Yeah she scares me a little." Sombra stated, not looking away from her screen. "She doubles checks everything I go near in case I bug something. Talk about paranoid. Wonder what she's hiding..." Sombra trailed off, imagining what dark secret Moira could be hiding.
"I'll be back later I guess." Reaper said, walking out of Sombra's room. Once he was gone, Sombra broke the silence once again.
"Okay. What's really up with you?" Reaper might of been right, Widow was a bit off right now. However, the reply she gave caught her off guard.
"We need to talk." Sombra knew what that meant. She turned around and saw Widow. She was scared, something she shouldn't be feeling. Sombra stood up, walking over to the door.
"Okay. Sit down." She said to Widow as she locked the door. Widow obeyed , sitting down on Sombra's chair and calming down slightly as she heard the door lock engage. Once Sombra looked the door, she pulled over the other chair, sitting in front of Widow and leaning forward.
"What's happened?" Sombra asked.
Widow breathed in heavily before she answered. "I... I had a vision. I saw something from my past." Sombra looked away for a few moments, taking in what she just heard. "I didn't know who else to talk to. No one else knows... do they?" Widow trailed off, slightly concerned.
"No, I'm still the only person." Sombra answered, calming Widow down again. Sombra had managed to get Widow to open up to her after a similar issue six months ago. Widow's took a number of hits which allowed her conditioning to degrade. Sombra explained a lot of things concerning her conditioning since then, how it worked and how it would break down.
"Okay, start from the beginning. Tell me exactly what's happening." Sombra opened a virtual notebook, the screen appearing at the end of her fingers.
Widow breathed in again, thinking back on the last few days. "Well, it started during the King's Row mission. Everything was alright until Ana appeared. We fought for a long time until she landed a heavy blow on me. That's when I started having images flash in my mind. Then Ana said something... and I answered back... but it wasn't me."
"What did she say?" Sombra asked, moving her fingers and typing down a few things that Widow said.
"She said..." Sombra swore she saw a tear from Widow, though she didn't comment on it. "She said Gerard was a fool to have ever loved me..."
"That probably triggered your response." Sombra stated. She could tell Widow was dwelling on Ana's words. She quickly took Widow's hands in her own. "Hey, she's wrong. Talon is to blame, not you." Widow simply nodded, continuing with her story.
"After the mission, I had another vision. This one was clearer though, I could make out what was happening and being said." Widow smiled slightly as she recalled the memory but it quickly disappeared. "What do I do? I've not had this happen for a while and never this bad."
Sombra thought for a moment. "Well, I need to do a little research to see how bad it really is. I don't think it's too serious yet, but better safe than sorry. For now, I'd get some rest. Both of us are being reassigned to another base soon, something to do with Talon's latest plan, so keep out of the way and keep your head down. Come see me again after we've arrived at the second base and I'll see what I have. Okay?"
Widow nodded. "Okay. Sombra, thank you."
"No problem." Widow stood up, quickly leaving.
Once she had left, Sombra went over to her computer and opened two different files. She had a good idea what was happening but didn't want to tell Widow until she was absolutely sure.
One file was all of her notes and memos about Widow's issues. She added the notes she just took down to the notes already present, underlining part of it as she did so. Once that was done, she opened up the second document, reading the title, as she did every time.
Medical reports for Amelie Lacroix / Widowmaker
Last updated 5 years ago
This file was where it all started for Sombra. She thought back to when she first started to work with Talon, remembering how she became involved in all of this.
Flashback- shortly after Sombra joined Talon.
"Yes!" You can't keep anything from me." Sombra was quite pleased with herself. A month after joining Talon and she had finally managed to crack into their systems without them knowing. She now had access to a number of top level documents. She wanted to know more about the people she was working for and now she had the ability to find out any dirty secrets they were hiding.
She scanned across all the files, looking for any that gained her immediate interest. There were so many, so she decided to just take the files regarding the highest ranking people in Talon. There were folders for each person. Doomfist, Reaper, Moira, along with a number of other people she had and hadn't heard of.
Once she was done copying those files, she planted her backdoor into the Talon system. Just before she logged out however, one other file caught her attention. Widowmaker.
Sombra copied the file, always wanting to know more about Talon's best assassin. She never could get her to speak much, so to gain some leverage against her would be a bonus.
With the last file copied, she logged herself out, leaving no trace that she was in Talon's system. She leaned back in her large chair, deciding which file to read first. After a few moments, she decided to read Widow's, thinking she'd learn why she was blue, among other things.
However, upon opening her file, she found a lot more than she bargained for. She was greeted with video after video. Sombra looked for the oldest one, playing it first.
"Your husband is never coming for you!"
"Your lying! He will find me!"
Amelie was covered in her own blood, beaten without remorse by three Talon soldiers. They were torturing her, trying to break her will.
"That's what we're counting on, Mrs Lacroix."
They went back to beating her, recording every last detail. Turns out they sent this video to Overwatch to provoke a response. It worked, as three Talon bases fell within the next two days, all according to plan the report said.
Sombra continued to play video after video, skipping over some that were just too graphic to watch.
"How sick are these guys?" Sombra asked herself, as she continued to read and watch every file she could, stopping video's again and again.
Eventually, she came across one video named 'mission 0.' Like every other file, she opened it.
"Good soldiers follow orders, don't they?" A man in a white coat asked Amelie.
"Yes sir." Her reply made her sound just like a soldier, except more robotic. The torturing had worked, something inside of her had snapped.
"You know your mission?"
"I am to infiltrate Overwatch and eliminate the target. Once completed, I am to return to Talon at the earliest opportunity."
"Good. One more question. What do good soldiers do?"
"Good soldiers follow orders."
There was only one file left. Sombra opened it, reading the title.
Medical reports for Amelie Lacroix / Widowmaker
The file stated everything that happened to Widow after the last video. She had returned to Talon two weeks later. Two days after her return, Amelie fell apart, closing up and not speaking to anyone for days. Talon noted how she didn't even react when she was called Amelie, how her personality had taken a complete turn. She lacked any emotion, feelings or mercy for anyone. Amelie was gone.
After three weeks, Talon scientists manage to recondition her to a more helpful personality, thus Widowmaker was born. They made sure to repress her memories, implanting the idea that Gerard died in an accident, making sure that Widow stayed loyal to them.
The file went on, explaining the changes to Widow. The neural reconditioning, how her heart rate and skin temperature were lowered, her reactions increased, her eyes changed so they worked more effectively than human eyes. She became the perfect assassin.
There was one thing that stood out however. A warning that was written at the bottom.
Although Widowmaker's memories seem repressed, there is a chance that the conditioning may deteriorate, resulting in a repeat of Incident 314. If any signs appear of her old memories returning, it should be reported immediately.
Sombra put her hands through her hair. "And I thought I had a messed up past." She said to herself. She almost couldn't believe all of that happened to her. Talon were known to be cruel at times but all of that was inhuman.
"Interesting reading material you have there Sombra."
Sombra spun around in her chair to face the door, seeing Reaper standing there. What amazed her was that the door was locked, meaning he found a different way in.
"Reyes! This isn't what it looks like!"
"You sure about that? And how do you know my real name?" Reaper stared down Sombra, who was leaning as far back in her chair as possible, cursing to herself that she let Reyes' name slip.
Sombra considered her reply for a second. "Okay, it is what it looks like... but, we can forget this ever happened right? I can get anyone on this planet to owe you a favour, just say what you need." Sombra was terrified. She knew what Reaper could do, even without reading his file. She thought she was dead, so she was desperate.
Reaper walked towards her, grabbing another chair and sitting down in front of her, the back of the chair in front of him, his arms folded over the top of it.
"Look, I never read your file, I'll delete it, I'll delete all of them. I'll get you anything you want on anyone, I'll do anything! Just, don't kill me, please..." Sombra knew she couldn't win against Reaper in a fight. Anyone who stood up against Reaper usually ended up dead, so begging was basically all she could do.
Reaper stared at her for what felt like an eternity. She considered he was staring straight into her soul. Finally, he spoke. "You'll do anything?"
"Yes. Anything." Sombra didn't like where this was going. She thought he was about to tell her to sleep with him but, to her surprise, he didn't.
"You've read Widow's file, yes?" Sombra nodded. "I'm going to have you moved to active duty. You'll be paired with Widow and myself on a number of missions. Get to know her. Get her to trust you."
Sombra was baffled. Why was Reaper asking her to do this? "Why?"
"Because I have a plan. That's all you'll know until you prove yourself to me. Oh and feel free to keep the files, even mine if you want to." With that Reaper turned to a cloud of smoke, departing through a vent at the top of the door. Sombra was left alone, amazed she just escaped death.
"Getting to know the emotionless assassin. Sure. How hard can it be." She said to herself, turning back around and saving Widow's file to a more secure location. She quickly went to wipe Reaper's file as well. At the last second, she decided to keep hold of it. After all, he did say she could, maybe she'll read it in the future... the far future.
Present day
Getting to know Widow was a very difficult task. Back then, she never spoke to anyone outside missions, even Reaper. So Sombra had to be persistent. In the end, she managed to get her to talk on a dropship, shortly after a mission. She did this three times before Widow and her finally had something resembling a normal conversation.
Clearly though, her actions had worked. Widow trusted Sombra a lot to tell her about her visions.
Reaper had also explained his side of the story, or at least part of it. He knew that Widow's conditioning would one day break down. He wanted Sombra to get close to her so it would be easier to identify when it finally did so. When she asked why though, Reaper simply stated that he had his reasons but preferred that Talon didn't find out. The one thing Sombra realised was that Reyes didn't know just how bad it was. She never told him however because she wasn't sure of his true intentions.
Reaper's loyalty to Talon was in question... then again, Sombra wasn't exactly clean herself, so she never asked again, trusting Reyes. Since then, Sombra, Reaper and Widow has become good friends, another thing Talon was unaware of.
Sombra shook herself back to reality, reading back through the file she had open. "Incident 314... What is that?"
Sombra began typing into the Talon system, thanks to her back door, looking for anything related to it. Fortunately, there was only one result.
Incident report- Incident 314.
Last updated 5 years ago.
The file had the highest level of security on it, exactly the same as Widow's medical report. Clearly important. Once again, Sombra opened it. To her surprise, it was very short.
Incident 314- Widowmaker's memories returned for an unknown reason, assumed to be a failure in her conditioning. This resulted in her going on a rampage, killing several personnel before finally stopping and being detained. Asset too valuable to terminate, so reconditioned. Since then, no reported issues.
Conclusion- considered to be a defect in original conditioning. Original conditioning did not take into account biological and cybernetic upgrades performed on her, so likely cause. Widowmaker status now green, clear for service and fully loyal again.
Note- it is unknown why Widow snapped and began killing. Perhaps reaction to realising what had happened to her. Suggest monitoring.
"So, this has happened before... how did I miss this?" This told Sombra one thing though. Widow needed to get out and soon. She needed a real doctor that understood this, among other things. Sombra had been planning for such a situation. However, she considered she had at least another six months before it got this bad. She needed to update her plans and fast.
"Right. We're being transferred to another base soon for a mission. Widow could get away then... it's risky though... what other options are there?" Sombra began typing, thinking of every option she had. If the process followed what had happened before, Widow would snap at some point. Sombra knew the situation wasn't at that point yet.
But time was running out.
Talon board meeting
The high up members of Talon had all assembled in the board room, specially created for today's session. The meeting included a number of high level agents, major investors for Talon and the leader of Talon himself, Doomfist.
Some of Talon's investors weren't present today. Whenever Talon refered to 'investors' they actually meant CEO's of companies, as well as some other wealthy individuals who agreed with the goals of Talon.
A few minutes before the meeting started, Reaper walked in, not bothered about the attention he gained as he aggressively pushed open the door.
"You seem to be in a great mood today Reyes." Moira said, who was sitting at the board table, waiting for the meeting to start. Reaper simply looked over to her, not bothering to reply as he sat down. There was a pile of paper in front of her, clearly something she was going to bring up in the meeting.
A few moments after Reyes sat, Akande entered the room.
"Good afternoon." He said as he sat down. "Everyone who's coming is present, so let us begin. I want to start with the recent failure regarding Project Indigo. British special forces assaulted and captured the cargo vessel that was transporting the girl involved with Indigo. How exactly did they find that information out?"
"One of our sources in the UK stated that the intel came from King's Row." The man who spoke up was a Talon commander, with reports on intel and military operations in front of him. He wasn't very clued up on Talon's affairs, he just simply drew the short straw today.
"Has that source found out anything else?" Doomfist asked.
"No sir. In fact, we lost contact with that source over 5 hours ago. With all the police activity in the UK right now, it's likely they've been rumbled."
"That's... inconvenient... but sources can be replaced." Doomfist was disappointed with the situation. His attention returned to his previous question. "So how exactly did the intel on Indigo get out?"
The commander thought for a moment. "Perhaps one of the captured troopers broke?" The commander suggested.
"No chance." Reaper answered. "No one at King's Row knew about the cargo vessel but me. No way did anyone..."
"Actually..." Moira interupted "I put a file on the mobile battle computer that mentioned the cargo vessel. Guess the British put the rest of it together."
"Why would you put a file about Indigo on a computer destined for a battle zone?" Reaper asked, baffled by Moira's decision. "That's sloppy for you."
"Actually, I intended for such a situation to happen." Everyone was now staring at Moira, waiting for her explanation. "You see, I had the pleasure of visiting Project Indigo a few weeks ago. I wanted to check on it's progress. To my surprise the team had picked itself a subject, the girl, Jessica... or something like that. They said she was perfect for the role. However, I could tell that she was faking. She hadn't been indoctrinated like the science team though. So, I saved Talon about three months work and a large investment doomed to fail."
"So, instead of simply telling us this, you decided to lose us a cargo ship and all its personnel. On top of that, our link with Vishkar has probably been compromised." Reaper's words were met with nods across the board table, apart from Doomfist, who suspected Moira had something in place.
"Actually Reyes, this works to our advantage." Moira now stood up, walking around the table with her paperwork in hand. "Talon's objective is to instigate conflict. We are succeeding with this goal, yet Overwatch continue to be a thorn in our side. Let them have this minor victory, it is simply a minor setback. I've been doing some research and I've found the perfect subject for Project Indigo."
Moira picked out a piece of paper, placing it on the table.
"I present our new agent. Angela Ziegler. We capture her, condition her the same way we did with Widowmaker, then send her back. Overwatch won't be able to stop her. They don't have the stomach to stop her."
"And how exactly are you going to capture her? She's always surrounded by Overwatch agents?" Reaper asked, not fully convinced. Moira simply smiled.
"I know of a weakness. I'm putting a team together to get her attention. She'll react recklessly, they always do. Once we have her, we exploit this weakness. Also, by capturing Zeigler, I will be able to further my project of enhancing our troops. Her knowledge of nano tech will be invaluable for our cause."
Doomfist nodded, clearly agreeing with Moira's thought process. "Very well Moira. Proceed with this operation. How about the Vishkar issue?" He asked, suspecting she had thought of that as well.
"Simple, we send Reyes here over to one of Vishkar's facilities. He goes in, shoots the place up and steals something very valuable. This'll get some of the heat off them. I'd suggest killing off someone who's important in the company, that way, it'll hopefully throw the intelligence agencies." Moira had considered everything, Doomfist thought.
"Very well. Moira, continue with your operation. Sombra and Widowmaker will be transferred to your facility. Once their current mission is complete, they're all yours. Reyes, prepare yourself a team for a strike on a Vishkar facility, I'll personally prepare a plan of attack and identify targets."
With that, Moira and Reaper left the board room, while everyone else remained, finishing off the meeting. Reaper hated to admit it but sometimes Moira had some good ideas, she just didn't inform anyone of her plans half of the time. She also got him out of a two hour meeting, so she wasn't fully bad.
"You're reckless sometimes, you know that." Reaper said to her, as they left the boardroom.
"I prefer being called a chancer. With a little risk, the reward is far greater, you should know that." Reaper simply grunted in reply. He knew she was referring to him. Sure, he had extraordinary abilities thanks to her, yet it came at a high cost for him. Her methods weren't exactly ethical either, though he didn't really care about ethics as much anymore. As they separated, he wondered how far she would truly go to complete her objectives.
Later that evening
Widow had done exactly as Sombra said, staying in her quarters and keeping out of sight. She had kept herself occupied as best she could, reading one of the books she kept in her room. Unfortunately for her, she had read all the books here at least once, so it didn't keep her interest for very long.
After reading a few chapters, Widow decided to simply sleep until she was transferred. She placed the book back with the others and set her alarm clock for an hour before she left. This way, she'd be out of sight and she would avoid any more visions. Or at least that was what she hoped.
Widow was in a deep sleep, but her mind continued to work, causing her to toss and turn under the covers. Her breathing had gone from steady and calm, to heavy and erratic. If anyone saw Widow, they would see in seconds that it was no normal dream...
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Widow called out, for there to be no reply.
Widow was standing alone in a large room, cloaked in darkness. She looked around, trying to focus on something, anything... but she couldn't see anything. After a few minutes, she decided to walk forward, expecting to walk straight into a wall. To her surprise, there was no wall.
"How large is this place? Where am I?" There was nothing here. No one here. Just the dark and herself.
After walking for a short while, she finally saw someone. It was a woman, curled up into a ball to hide her face. Widow walked up to her, prepared for any situation.
"Hello." The woman didn't answer. "Are you okay?" The woman slowly looked up at Widow. As she did so, Widow was left speechless.
She was looking at herself, at Amelie. She looked nothing like her. Her skin was not cold like her own. Her eyes were still normal, not golden like they were now. Even her hair was different, shorter than it was now. Widow had simply let it grow. Amelie's was far shorter in comparison.
As she stared at Amelie, she spoke to her. "Help me. Please, help me."
Widow kneeled down next to Amelie. "Tell me what's happened."
"Someone's trying to kill me." Before Widow could reply, another person spoke up.
"That would be me."
Widow shot up, looking straight at the new individual. Once again, it looked like her, more like her than Amelie. Her skin was cold like hers but her hair was shorter and in a different style to her own. Her eyes were not gold either, instead, they were dark red.
Amelie tried to crawl back slightly, clearly in fear, but was stopped as webs shot up from the ground. They ensnared her legs and arms, leaving her unable to move.
"Who are you?" Widow asked the unknown woman.
"I have no fixed name." The red eyed Woman said, walking towards Widow. "Though, I like to call myself the Spider."
The Spider walked straight up to Widow, who didn't move. She had no idea what this was, but she was determined not to be intimidated by this version of herself. The Spider now placed one of her arms around Widow, walking her away from Amelie slightly.
"Now Widow, I know all about you. How you want to know who you really are. How you want to remember what really happened to Gerard." Widow stopped in her tracks. The Spider had her attention. She turned to face Widow, stroking her left cheek as she spoke again. "I can help you, show you who you truly are."
"Don't listen to her!" Amelie shouted out. She was quickly silenced, as a web covered her mouth. Another one wrapped itself across her forehead, pulling her head down to the ground. Amelie was left crying, fearing for her life.
Widow could do nothing but watch. It was like something was dictating her every move. "I know what your thinking. Why would you listen to me? She's clearly human and I'm clearly cruel and cold. Well, I'm not. I simply want to help you. The truth is that Amelie here is the real threat."
The Spider walked behind Widow, keeping an arm around her at all times. She leaned in close, whispering into Widow's right ear. "I will show you everything you want to know and more... if you do one thing for me."
Widow wanted to know her past, she needed to know. Yet this Spider clearly had another motive. "What do you want me to do?"
The Spider simply smiled, turning both of them to face Amelie. "Simple. Kill her." Upon hearing this, Amelie desperately tried to break free, her cries of fear muffled by the web covering her mouth.
"Why? She's my past." Widow stated.
The Spider's head was almost touching Widow's, her physical proximity was making Widow very uncomfortable. "Look at her Widow. She's weak, pathetic. She can't do anything except cry and scream in fear. Her emotions make her vulnerable. All she's doing is simply holding you back."
"She's scared. Anyone would be in her position." Widow explained, surprised that she actually said that.
"You wouldn't be. Me and you are so much stronger than her. We're braver, more cunning. She has nothing to give this world anymore. Amelie's time has come Widow. So go over there and choke the life out of her! End her miserable life! Then I will show you... everything."
The Spider purred the last word into Widow's ear. Widow hated this. She felt like something was trying to drag her over to Amelie. Even with this invisible force, Widow was able to resist the Spider's snare.
"I...I can't. She's me, my past. Killing her would mean I'd forget it all." Widow almost screamed it out.
"One of you must kill the other Widow. I'm simply making sure the right person survives." Widow simply stared forward. She couldn't kill herself... could she? What if The Spider was right. Maybe she could show her what she needed to know. All she had to do was kill one person.
"I...I don't know." This was the truth. Widow was so conflicted right now. It felt like something was edging her on, telling her to do it. However, there was another voice in her head, telling her not to listen to the Spider.
"Tell you what Widow." The Spider said, walking in front of her. "I'll give you some time to think it over. You'll find your way back to me once your ready. In the meantime, I'll keep Amelie company."
The sadistic smile the Spider gave almost sent a shiver down Widow's spike. The Spider now turned to Amelie, walking over to her before lying down on top of her.
"Ah Amelie. What shall I do with you..? I have an idea to pass the time, what to hear it?"
The Spider leaned to Amelie's ear, whispering to her. Amelie simply whimpered, fear in her eyes. Widow could do nothing but watch as The Spider began to work. Widow's vision started to blur and all she could hear was the muffled screams of Amelie as she left this world.
Widow suddenly sat up in her bed, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. She never experienced something like that before. In fact, Widow didn't even know if she even had a dream before. There was no way she could sleep now.
She looked over to her alarm clock and saw that she had little over an hour and a half before she awoke anyway. So she got up, walked over to the shower and switched it on. She never bothered wearing any clothes to bed, so she just stepped inside. Once again, she slowly turned up the temperature, letting the warm water energise her body.
"I'll just read something, or get ready really slowly... Yeah, I'll be alright... just need to work out what that was." Widow said to herself, thinking she must be losing her mind. She had to work this out and soon.