Sea of Memory
"I'm telling you Jack, she's out there! We have to find her! We owe that to him."
"I know you were good friends with Gerard, but there's no sign of her. There's nothing..."
"There's always something."
"Look at the reports yourself. Every team I've sent out can't find anything... It's been over three weeks Gabe... I'm sorry, I can't put any more resources into this..."
"Fine. I'll find her myself."
"I won't stop you... though I wouldn't get your hopes up... at this point, it's likely that Amelie's dead."
Watchpoint Gibraltar- The next morning
Jack Morrison stood in Winston's office, his rifle leaning against the desk while he looked out of the window, watching the sun rise. It was still early, so he considered that he was the only person awake at the moment.
In all honesty, Morrison couldn't sleep. Reaper wasn't the only person with secrets. Not even Ana was aware that him and Reyes knew Amelie killed Gerard. At first, they kept it a secret, hoping that they could find her and bring her back. In the end though, he gave up. He failed her. Morrison knew that was one of the many factors that caused Reyes to turn on him.
He could at least find some comfort in the fact that Reyes never stopped looking for her, though it didn't make him feel any less guilty. Perhaps he could have stopped Amelie ever becoming Widowmaker if he'd just kept looking.
"You're up early."
Morrison was dragged back to reality by Ana, who joined him in the office. She walked up and stood next to him, watching the sun rise.
"What's up?" She asked.
"I'm fine."
"Jack, you've never been good at hiding that something's bothering you. Probably why you wear that mask now."
Morrison sighed. "I knew Ana. When Gerard died both me and Reyes knew Amelie killed him... We kept it a secret from everyone. I put everyone in danger by not revealing it was Amelie. You nearly died because you didn't know..."
"Were you sure it was her at the time?"
"It was damn obvious. No sign of forced entry, blood on the door, a single stab wound..."
"You did what you thought was right at the time. Maybe you'd do things differently now if you could, but it doesn't change the past."
Jack let Ana's words sink in, speaking up again once he had time to think.
"I failed her Ana."
"No you didn't..."
"I gave up on her. If I'd kept looking maybe we'd have saved her from what she became... Reyes was right, I'm wasn't the right person to be strike commander."
There was a short silence between the two, before Ana broke it.
"You were most definitely the right person Jack. Gabriel didn't always think before he acted, Venice was a clear example..."
"If I'd lead Overwatch better, maybe he wouldn't have turned on me."
"You two were good friends, he could have just as easily spoken to you about it. I think there was far more behind what happened back then. You need to stop blaming yourself for it and move on... Even if you don't think it, you're the best person to lead Overwatch right now."
When Ana was finished speaking, she placed a hand on Morrison's shoulder, before walking out and leaving him to his thoughts again. He still wasn't sure about the idea of leading Overwatch again, though he definitely had food for thought now.
Time passed and the sun continued to rise up. Once it reached 7:00, people began to wake up, heading over to the mess hall to find something for breakfast. Winston was the first one in the hall, wanting to get on with what he had planned for the day. He had told himself that he wouldn't have any bananas today, a plan that lasted about five seconds as soon as he entered the mess.
Reinhardt was next in, followed closely by Torbjorn and Brigitte. McCree was next, then Zarya, DVa, Lucio and Mei. They all went to the kitchen one by one and found something to eat, either a bowl of cereal or some toast.
Angela and Fareeha were next to enter the hall, the two holding hands as they made their way to the kitchen. Genji and Zenyatta were outside meditating at this point, so no one expected the two to join them. Hanzo was also no where to be seen, so most people considered they wouldn't see him till later.
After a short while, Lena arrived in the hall, quickly finding herself a bowl of cereal and sitting with Angela and Fareeha.
"Where's Amelie and Sombra?" Angela asked, surprised that they weren't with Lena.
"They weren't quite ready, so I told them where to go and left them to it."
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on them?" Fareeha replied, not sure why Lena wasn't with them right now.
"Yes... but I don't want to just be following them around all the time. It won't help them trust us if they feel like we don't trust them." Lena paused to eat a mouthful of cereal. "By the way, have you two planned a date yet?"
"We haven't really had a chance to." Angela admitted.
"Well, why not go on one tonight? There's plenty of places in town."
Before either Angela or Fareeha could reply, Sombra and Widow appeared, Widow looking slightly nervous as she stepped inside the hall. As they entered, everyone turned to acknowledge the two ex Talon agents, before going back to their own conversations. Everyone except Zarya, who didn't take her eyes of Sombra.
Sombra did her best to ignore Zarya, yet she knew she couldn't ignore her forever. Eventually, she'd have to face up to Zarya and honestly, that fact scared her a bit. For now, both her and Widow grabbed something to eat and sat down with Lena, guessing that she was the one who'd been told to keep an eye on them.
"You two okay?" Lena asked, giving Sombra and Widow a welcoming smile.
"Yeah, we're okay." Sombra answered, Widow simply nodding in agreement. Lena could tell that Widow was still worried about being here. After all, people still didn't fully trust her, of course she'd be worried about them. It was Angela that managed to get Widow to say something.
"Amelie, can I ask you something?"
There was another small nod from Widow.
"Genji's master, Zenyatta, is currently at the base. He had an idea that may help you."
Widow looked up from her food, which was a couple of slices of toast. "What is it?"
"He suggested that you sit with him today and meditate with him. He thinks it may help your memories to return."
"Do you think it'll help?" Widow asked, after taking a bite from her breakfast.
"It think it might. Zenyatta has helped a lot of people find peace, including Genji. I think he'll be able to help you relax and feel more comfortable."
"There's something else isn't there?"
Angela didn't answer for a second, not wanting to upset Widow. "Can I be honest with you?"
Widow nodded again.
"You need to forgive yourself Amelie..."
Widow looked down, guilt quickly consuming her. "How can I? After everything I've done, all the innocent lives I've taken..."
Widow wasn't able to finish, as Angela placed a hand on top of hers. "Amelie... Zenyatta has forgiven you for what you did. Lena has forgiven you and I can tell there's many more here who are willing to give you a chance. You weren't to blame for what Talon forced you to do. You need to stop blaming yourself Amelie... You need to forgive yourself."
"She's right." Sombra added. "You're not the same person who did those things. The fact me and you are here proves that. While meditating isn't exactly my thing, it sounds like it'll help you. Just, give it a go, you might be surprised."
Widow didn't reply for a while, thinking over the idea while everyone ate. Once people began to leave the mess hall, Widow gave an answer.
"Okay. I'll try it."
Lena now placed her hand over Widow's. "Do you want me there with you?"
"Yes... I'd like that. Thank you Lena."
One hour later
Widow was walking through the base towards where Zenyatta was, Lena following alongside her. Sombra had decided to stay in her quarters, wanting to organise the files she had on Talon. Widow didn't really mind this, after all, Sombra had done a lot for her over the past few days, so it wasn't unreasonable that she had a break from it all. Besides, she had Lena keeping an eye on her.
Widow didn't know why she trusted Lena so quickly. With Sombra, it took her a long time just to get her to talk. Angela was quicker due to the fact that she was helping Widow recover and that she knew Sombra was bringing her to help. As for Fareeha, she didn't really know what to think about her. She didn't hate her, that she was sure of. However, Widow didn't fully trust her yet.
Lena was different. There was something that made Widow feel safe around her, or at least safer. Perhaps it was because Lena was more than willing to help her recover, despite the fact that they were arch enemies more than a week ago. Or maybe it was due to how Lena was able to reassure her and keep her calm during all of this.
Whatever the reason, Widow had opened up to Lena, telling her what was going on inside her head, how she was scared about coming to the base and then convinced her that there was nothing to worry about. Now she just hoped that her memories returned, even if she didn't want them all to return.
After a short walk from the mess hall, the two reached their destination, the cliff near Winston's lab. Zenyatta sat with his back to the two women, looking at the view in front of him. Instead, the two were greeted by Genji, who sat further back from Zenyatta, waiting for Widow to join them.
Once Lena and Widow were close enough, Genji stood up, greeting them with a bow.
"Greetings Amelie and Lena. I hope you two are well."
"Hey Genji. Is Zenyatta ready?" Lena asked.
"He is. We can start as soon as Amelie wants to."
Widow breathed in. "Let's get it over with."
Genji nodded, sensing that Widow was slightly on edge. "Very well. Will you be joining us Lena?"
Lena turned to Widow, seeing a small nod from her. "If that's okay with Zen, then yeah."
Genji walked over to Zenyatta, speaking to him quietly before returning to his own meditation. Zen began to float shortly afterwards, turning around and hovering over to Widow and Lena.
"Greetings. How are you two today?"
"We're good thanks." Lena answered, noticing that Widow was still slightly nervous.
"Wonderful. Shall we begin?"
Widow instinctively turned to Lena, seeing her give a reassuring nod. "Yes. Let's begin."
Zen motioned to the grass behind him. "Come, sit with me."
Zen and Widow moved to the grass, the two sitting down with their legs crossed. Lena sat slightly further back, though still in view of Widow in case she needed her.
"How are you feeling?" Zen asked Widow, placing an orb of harmony on her.
Widow flinched slightly as the orb appeared next to her. However, once she felt it's healing properties, she relaxed slightly, letting it do its job. "I'm fine."
"No. How are you truly feeling? I sense disquiet in you."
Widow turned her head to Lena, wanting some reassurance from her before she answered.
"It's okay luv, he's here to help you."
Widow took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know how I feel. I'm worried about remembering the past but at the same time, I want to remember..."
"I see. Do you find it difficult to open up to people?" Zen asked, seeing how she struggled to answer without reassurance.
"It's how Talon conditioned me. Talon wanted to repress my emotions and they succeeded to an extent. After what they did to me, I found it difficult to trust people. I was afraid they'd do it all over again, so I kept to myself. I've never really opened up to people about what I'm thinking or feeling before, partly because for a long time I simply couldn't feel anything. When I started to, I kept it hidden so I wasn't reconditioned. Only Sombra managed to get me to open up. Only she knew what was really going on. I just couldn't trust anyone else. Probably why I was so cold and full of anger."
"I see that you trust Lena though."
Widow smiled slightly. "I don't know why I do... I just feel like I can open up to her. I feel like she's there to help..."
"Is it because me and Ang are good friends?" Lena asked, glad that Widow felt the way she did.
"No, I don't think that's why. If that were the reason, then I'd trust that other woman, Fareeha, in the same way... I'm still not sure what to make of her. I just know she isn't a threat to me. It could be because you're so willing to give me a chance, to help me when we've fought so many times."
"Possibly, but we cannot confirm that." Zen replied. "I've heard good things about Miss Oxton from my student. Perhaps these good qualities were a factor that helped you trust her."
"Maybe... So, what do you need me to do?" Widow asked, changing the subject.
"I want to help you relax. I believe that the more relaxed you are, the easier it will become for you to remember. Let's try some breathing exercises first. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Free your mind from any distractions."
Widow closed her eyes, focusing on breathing in slowly and then breathing out. She repeated this for about two minutes, simply listening to the birds chirping in the area.
"How are you feeling now?" Zen asked, as Widow continued to focus on her breathing.
Widow had to admit that this helped a bit. It had been a long time since she just stopped and relaxed, not having to worry about anything. At Talon, she always had her next mission or another target a few days away. This was a change of pace, one that she liked.
"A bit calmer actually. I've never just stopped before... I've always had something to think about or something to do. It's... nice."
With Widow relaxing, Zen decided to move on, trying to help with her memories.
"Have you ever tried to think back on your life before Talon?"
"Yes, quite often. Though every time I tried, there was nothing there... It was just blank. Eventually some parts became hazy, rather than completely blank."
"Okay. Let's us try again now. Try to focus on this period of your life. Find a memory and focus on it. Let it return to you."
Widow did just that, thinking back to her time before Talon. She tried very hard to think, yet nothing was coming through. She couldn't find a memory that she could latch onto.
"I can't remember..."
"Do not try to force yourself to remember. It will not return if you are forcing it back into your head. Relax and focus on one memory at a time, then let it return on its own."
Widow didn't quite know how to do that, yet she tried her best to listen to Zen. She found something that she managed to latch onto, then focussed on it. This time, she didn't try to force it back, letting the haze clear on its own. After a short while, Widow began to smile, as the memory became clearer.
"Have you remembered something luv?" Lena asked, noticing the smile Widow had.
"Yes. I remember the day Gerard proposed."
Flashback
Amelie and Gerard had been seeing each other for quite some time now. Gerard always tried to find time to come to her ballet shows, always apologising whenever he wasn't able to. He'd recently missed one such show and so he'd taken Amelie out for dinner as an apology.
"So, have I made up for missing your show yet?" Gerard asked, as the two of them finished off their meals.
"Well, you're almost there." Amelie playfully returned. "Perhaps after dessert and another drink." She gave Gerard a wink.
As the waiter appeared to take away the empty plates, Gerard asked him to bring them the dessert menu, along with two more glasses of red wine. Once the menu appeared, Amelie began to examine it, carefully choosing what she wanted.
"So, have you been up to much while I've been away?" Gerard asked.
"Not really. I went out with some friends on a shopping trip to the city. Nothing too interesting really. How was your trip?"
"Extremely fun." Gerard sarcastically replied. "If you think your week was uneventful, you should have sat in one of those meetings I had for an hour."
"That bad?" Amelie asked, raising an eyebrow and chuckling slightly at Gerard's over exaggeration.
"There's only so long I can listen to Jack go on about the state of the world. It hasn't changed since the last time. Don't get me wrong, it's very important work we're doing, yet sometimes I feel like we do a little too much by the book."
"I'm sure there's a good reason Jack does it that way. Besides, you can always talk to him about it." Amelie said, passing the menu to Gerard once she'd decided what she wanted
"Oh, me and Gabriel brought it up afterwards. Jack understood what we meant, in fact he agreed with some of the things we said. However, he said that it was protocol and that he'd rather not have other people sticking their noses in and telling us things we already know. They all hoped your doing well by the way."
"Nice to see someone thinks about me." Amelie said, once again playing with Gerard.
"Oh, you know I always think about you when I'm away. In fact, there's something I want to ask you."
Gerard stood up and walked to Amelie's side of the table. Amelie didn't realise at first what he was doing, until he knelt down and pulled out a small box. He opened it, revealing the most beautiful diamond ring she'd ever seen.
"You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen and I couldn't imagine my life without you. Amelie, will you marry me?"
Amelie had her hands over her mouth and tears of joy in her eyes.
"Oh my... Yes! Yes, I will."
With that, Gerard stood and placed the ring on her finger, the two sharing a long kiss as the other diners applauded them.
"I love you Amelie."
"I love you too Gerard."
Present day
Widow opened her eyes and looked down to her hands, running her fingers over where Gerard placed the ring all those years ago.
"I lost my engagement ring after I returned to Talon. I don't remember what happened to it..."
"What about your wedding ring?" Lena asked softly, standing and sitting back down next to Widow.
"I know where that is... I had it with me when I returned to Talon. It was the only thing they let me keep. I never could bring myself to wear it after... so I left it at my home away from them."
"Wait, Talon let you have a house?"
"Talon gave me a lot of freedom." Widow said, leaving out the reason why they did so. "It's an old chateau in France owned by my family. Chateau Guillard. Since my parents passed away, I own it now... There's a few things I'd like to get from there... personal things."
"How about we ask Winston to send or a team for it once were done? I'm sure he'd understand if you explain it to him."
Widow thought over the idea, looking up and seeing Lena giving her a warm smile. "I'd like that. Can we continue?" She asked Zen, who had remained quiet during the conversation.
"Of course. Simply close your eyes and focus again."
Widow did just that, focusing on another memory. She once again latched onto it, focusing on it and letting the haze clear. It took longer this time and not all of the details came back.
"This memory isn't complete." She said. "I can only remember some parts of it..."
"The Human mind works in mysterious ways. Perhaps the memory is not yet ready to fully reveal itself. What do you see?"
Widow focused on the details she had. "I think it's my wedding day... no it is my wedding day. I can't remember the exact date but I can see myself in a wedding dress. Long, white... I look beautiful. Gerard looked so handsome in his suit. Jack, Gabriel and Ana were also there. They all traveled from the Swiss base to be there..."
"Is there anything else?"
Widow continued to focus on the memory. "The rest of it is really hazy. I can see us placing our rings on the others hand, me and Gerard cutting our wedding cake, then I can see Gerard carrying me into our home. We were so happy. I never wanted that day to end."
She opened her eyes once she was certain nothing else would return. Shorty after, Zen removed the orb of harmony from Widow.
"I believe we should take a break for a bit. It would give you and Miss Oxton the chance to speak to Winston."
The two women silently agreed to this idea, standing and saying their goodbyes to Zen and Genji. They then did the short walk to Winston's lab, hoping that he wasn't too busy right now.
Sombra's quarters
While Widow and Lena were with Zen, Sombra had gone back to her room. She was sat on the bed, organising the files on her computer and digging up anything she could find on Talon. There were a lot of files to go through and not all of them had relevant or up to date information.
After she'd deleted some of the irrelevant information she had, the door to her room opened. She expected it to be Widow or even Tracer. However, as she looked up, she came face to face with Zarya, who looked less than pleased to see her.
"Um... hi." Sombra awkwardly said, closing down her computer.
"We have a problem." Zarya returned, clenching her fists together as she spoke.
Sombra knew why Zarya was here. She wanted the information on Katya Volskaya gone. She knew she needed to tread carefully.
"Okay. I'm guessing this is about the information?"
Zarya simply nodded.
"Right... Well, since I'm here, why don't I just delete the data and we call it quits?"
Sombra didn't actually plan to delete the data when she first acquired it. In fact, she had hoped to keep it and use it for some favours when she needed them. However, that was before she turned on Talon. Realistically, Zarya wouldn't stop until the data was gone and she knew she couldn't win a fight against her. So she decided it was best to let it go.
However, Zarya wasn't satisfied with that suggestion. "The thing is, you still know... and it's very likely you've made copies."
"I haven't."
"Can you prove it though?"
Sombra had alarm bells going off in her head. She honestly couldn't prove she didn't copy the information and she could tell the situation was about to escalate.
Zarya slowly stepped forward, speaking as she did.
"I will not let you endanger my country."
"I don't want any trouble. I'll delete the data..."
"It's too late for that now."
Zarya moved quickly, trying to grab Sombra. She had already anticipated this and rolled of the bed, activating her cloak soon after.
Zarya took a guess where Sombra was and managed to land a hit on her, forcing her cloak to disable itself. However, Sombra still was moving fast and Zarya wasn't able to grab ahold of her.
Sombra sprinted out of her room, Zarya a mere few seconds behind her. With Zarya now out for her blood, Sombra headed towards Winston's lab, hoping that someone would be able to talk her down. Fortunately for her, someone was watching.
"Zarya, stand down. Sombra is not a threat." Athena ordered, closing one of the doors between her and Sombra in an effort to protect her.
"She is to my country!" Zarya returned, catching the closing door in time and forcing it back open. With Sombra still threatened, Athena was forced to call in backup.
"Attention all agents, Zarya is attempting to attack Sombra! Immediate action required!"
Winston's lab
Just before the situation with Zarya and Sombra escalated, Lena and Widow were in the lab, speaking with Winston, Morrison and Ana, who just happened to be present at the time.
"I'm sorry Lena, it's just too dangerous to send out a team to collect these things." Winston said, after hearing the suggestion from Lena.
"Luv, you know I wouldn't ask unless I was certain it would help. Amelie says that these things are personal to her. Maybe they'll help her..."
"Lena... Talon probably know about this place. They likely have people watching it in case Amelie returns to it..."
"They don't." Widow interrupted. "I kept it a secret. Talon knew I lived somewhere in the general area, but I never told them where exactly."
"They didn't ask?" Morrison said, somewhat surprised by this.
"Non. Talon gave me a lot of freedom. If I asked them to take me somewhere when I wasn't on duty, they simply did it."
Morrison nodded slowly, having a very good idea why Talon gave her that much freedom. Winston meanwhile thought over Lena's idea once again, however he still wasn't satisfied it was safe.
"I'm sorry Amelie, we just can't risk sending a team right now. If there's even a chance Talon know, we could be walking into a trap."
"But Winston..." Lena began, being interrupted before she could finish.
"How about I send a scouting team in a few days time? That way, we'll know if Talon have a presence in the area or not."
This wasn't exactly what Lena or Amelie wanted, yet they both understood why Winston was being so cautious. However, before anyone else could speak up about the situation, Athena interrupted them.
"Attention all agents, Zarya is attempting to attack Sombra! Immediate action required!"
"Where are they now?" Morrison calmly asked, moving and picking up his pulse rifle that was sitting nearby.
"Sombra is currently heading towards the lab. Zarya is close behind her."
As soon as Athena answered, Widow reacted. She quickly moved towards Morrison and took his pistol, fighting him away as he tried to stop her, before running off to find Sombra. It happened so quick that no one else could react to stop her.
Morrison cursed to himself, seeing visions of how this scenario could end. He, along with Lena, began to run after Widow, hoping to stop it escalating any further.
Meanwhile, Sombra had gotten closer to the lab and now could be seen from the window. She stopped once she ran around the corner, hugging the wall tightly as she caught her breath.
After a few seconds, Sombra carefully peered around the corner, trying to see where Zarya was. She suspected that she was somwhat quicker than Zarya, so she should have had some distance from her. However, when she looked, there was no sign of Zarya.
Sombra didn't relax though, guessing that Zarya had taken another route. She quickly looked back and checked that Zarya wasn't in front of her. Instead, she saw Zen and Genji, who'd stood up and began making his way towards her.
However, as Sombra looked to her left, she saw far too late that Zarya had found a way behind her, over the building and down the stairs next to her. She grabbed Sombra's neck with one hand and picked her up, slamming her against the metal wall.
"Now I have you." Zarya taunted, as Sombra desperately tried to free herself from Zarya's grip. She even attempted to reach for her translocator, yet she was not able to find it in her jacket. Fortunately for her, Genji had reacted to the situation.
"Zarya, Sombra is not our enemy." Genji said calmly, unsheathing his Dragonblade in case he needed it.
"She's a threat to my country!" Zarya returned, tightening her grip slightly as she stared down Genji.
"Let her go."
"Or what? You'll attack me?"
"No, but she likely will."
Zarya turned to her right, coming face to face with the barrel of a pistol. It's owner had no visible emotion on her face and she had one goal in her head.
Protect Sombra.
"Let. Her. Go." Widow said, venom in her voice as she aimed at her target. She wasn't thinking about what she was doing anymore and was just reacting to the situation she found herself in. Luckily for Zarya, Widow was just managing to resist the urge to fire.
Zarya didn't respond, simply holding Sombra while a small crowd assembled around them, made up of DVa, Lucio, Reinhardt and McCree. She knew that without her shields, a bullet from the pistol would kill her, yet she was determined to make sure her country was safe.
"Zarya! Stand down now!" Morrison shouted, while Lena moved next to Widow, trying to get her to lower the gun but not being able to get through to her. She was too focused on Zarya, watching her like a hawk.
Upon hearing Morrison, Zarya admitted defeat and released Sombra, who started coughing as she hit the floor. Lena now placed her hand over the pistol in Widow's hand, managing to get her to lower the weapon and then pass it back to Morrison.
"Lena, go get Sombra checked over. Take Amelie with you."
Lena helped Sombra to her feet, signalling Widow to follow her. Widow reluctantly followed, staring at Zarya for a short time before finally moving. She only moved two steps before she stopped, turning her head back to Zarya.
"Be grateful that I didnt shoot. If you ever do anything like that again, if you threaten me or Sombra again, I won't hesitate. Keep that in mind."
Widow stood for a moment, expecting a smart remark from Zarya. When none came, Widow turned her head away and walked off after Lena and Sombra. Once they had left, Morrison spoke to Zarya, while Genji placed his blade away.
"Care to explain yourself."
"Sombra is blackmailing an important figure in Russia." Zarya quickly replied, trying to justify her actions to the visibly angry Morrison. "That information could cripple my country if it ever went public."
"So, instead of coming to Winston, or me, about this, you decided to confront her first."
"Yes."
"So how exactly did it escalate into strangling her?"
Zarya could tell that her rash decision had just backfired. She knew she had to try and get out of this situation. "She wouldn't give it up."
"Actually, Sombra stated that she would willingly delete the data moments before Zarya attacked." Athena interrupted, exposing the lie the moment it left Zarya's mouth. She quickly regretted attempting to deceive Morrison, as he became visibly frustrated by it.
"So, now you're lying to me." Morrison took a few steps forward. "Do you have a problem with authority Zarya?"
Some members of the small crowd began to murmur amongst themselves, most notably McCree, who saw where this was going and expected Morrison to explode.
"Not at all." Zarya said, Seeing Winston approaching from the lab.
"Well, you were present when Angela explained the situation to us. She very clearly said not to do anything that could aggravate Amelie. So what do you do? You decide to attack Sombra, which obviously would do exactly that! So, either you're deaf, or you're just plain stupid!"
Everyone was slightly taken back by Morrison's bluntness, yet they understood why he was in such a mood. Zarya didn't know what to say. She realised that she'd acted too rashly.
"I... I didn't think..."
"Evidently. You put everyone at risk for your own agenda. We don't need a reckless gun running around. If you can't listen to orders, then this isn't the place for you."
Zarya lowered her head. "I have to protect my country."
Morrison sighed. "I get it. Every one of us has our reasons for being here but the way you acted today put everyone in danger. You're lucky Amelie didn't fire, she very easily could have. I guess you have a lot to think about."
As Morrison began to turn away, he was stopped by Zarya.
"What about Sombra?"
"I'll deal with it. Dismissed."
Zarya just nodded and she, along with the rest of the crowd moved away, going back to whatever they were doing. Morrison turned and walked towards the lab, stopping as he reached Winston.
"Still need a commander?"
"You'll do it?" Winston replied, surprised by Morrison's comment.
"Someone needs to keep this lot in order."
"If I'm honest, I thought you'd be a lot tougher on her."
"I didn't need to be. She seemed to get it. Besides, I'm sure Angela will give her a piece of her mind when she finds out."
Medical bay- Five minutes later
Angela was busy in the medical wing, checking over the equipment that had been set up before they arrived. However, while Angela worked, she found herself being easily distracted by Fareeha, who had decided to keep the good doctor company for the day.
As Angela finished checking over a piece of equipment, Fareeha walked up behind her, placing her arms around her and kissing her neck. This worked all too well and Angela found herself instinctively leaning back and closing her eyes.
"Faree, I have work to do." Angela struggled to say, as Fareeha kissed up her neck and stopped under her ear.
"I'm sure everything is good to go. Besides, you could do with a break."
Angela turned herself around, looking straight into Fareeha's eyes. "Maybe I do. Have anything in mind?"
"I can think of a few ideas."
The two women became detached from their surroundings for a few moments, forgetting that they were still at the watchpoint. As they shared a number of kisses, they were soon brought back into reality by the sound of Lena.
"Ang! You in here?"
Angela forced herself away, giving Fareeha an apologetic look as she walked to the door of the medical wing.
"What's wrong Lena?"
"Zarya just tried to choke Sombra to death."
Angela quickly went into her doctor mode, guiding Sombra over to one of the beds and sitting her down. She had her own opinions about this, yet she kept them to herself for now.
Widow walked into the room a short time after, passing by Fareeha, who decided to let Angela work. Widow instinctively looked around for any potential threats, relaxing slightly when she found none.
"Do you feel any pain?" Angela asked Sombra, as she lifted her head slightly and analysed her neck, finding a few bruises from where Zarya handled her.
"A bit." Sombra replied with a croaky voice.
"Can you breath okay?"
"Yeah. As I said, it's just a bit sore."
Angela nodded. "Fortunatly it's nothing serious. I should have some cream that'll take down the bruising. Lena, could you get her a drink of water?"
Both Lena and Angela moved to find what they were looking for, leaving Widow and Sombra alone. Widow walked over to Sombra, checking over the bruises on her neck.
"What did you do that caused her to do this?" Widow asked.
"I have something on Volskaya... She already tried to kill me once because of it." Sombra admitted, coughing a few seconds later
"Why didn't you just delete it then?"
"She never gave me the chance... By the way, thanks for coming to help me. Nice to see you care."
"You're welcome."
Sombra smiled to herself, as Angela reappeared with a tube of cream. Lena also returned a few seconds later, giving Sombra the glass of water while Angela applied the cream to her neck.
"This should reduce the bruising and take down any swelling. You may feel a tingling sensation but it's nothing to worry about. Just the cream doing its job."
Sombra nodded her head slightly, feeling the pain in her neck reduce almost instantly. "Wow. This stuff works quick. What is it?"
"Biotic cream, least that's the name Lena suggested. It works in a similar way to the biotic tech, yet on a much smaller scale. I mostly use it for bad cuts and bruises, as well as a way to reduce any inflammation." Angela explained, as she continued to apply the cream.
While Sombra was being tended to, Lena walked over to Widow, noticing that she was staring off into space. She gently tapped her arm, snapping Widow out of her thoughts.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine... I was just thinking to myself."
"Wanna talk about it?"
She didn't answer.
"Luv, you know you can talk to us. What's wrong?"
Widow sighed. "I could have killed her..."
"But you didn't."
"You don't get it Lena. I didn't think about what I was doing, I had no contol over my actions. I just had one goal in my head and one target in front of me. I became Widowmaker again, making sure I completed my mission no matter what... That's what I am, engineered and trained to be the perfect killer. If she didn't let go of Sombra, I would have fired. She'd be dead..."
"I'm not too sure about that luv."
"I'm sure of it. That's why I was so worried about coming here... I don't what to hurt anyone but I could very easily end up doing so. I couldn't even just walk away. I had to threaten her, I had to get my point across. That's the old me. Talon's Widowmaker. The person that has to have the last word, the person that has to accomplish her goal. The person filled with hate and anger..."
"So why didn't you shoot Zarya? Why did you give her the chance to let Sombra go?"
Widow paused for a moment, thinking of the reason why. "I... I don't know. I had the urge to, my instincts were screaming at me to do it... yet I didn't."
"So you didn't shoot Zarya, despite having every opportunity to do so. Let's try another question. Why did you react the way you did?" Lena asked, continuing with this train of thought.
"Because Sombra was in danger." Widow replied, giving Lena a question look at what seemed to be a stupid question.
"Okay. So why did you feel like you needed to protect her the way you did?"
"Because... Because..." Widow had to think for a moment. Now that she thought about it, she usually reacted to her orders. However, this time no one had given her any orders. Back at Talon, she never reacted the way she did to any potential attacks or threats. She was calmer, never just running off like she did. So why did she do so today? Then it hit her.
"Because Sombra is my friend... I trust her with my life."
Both Sombra and Lena smiled upon hearing the answer. "So, you didn't kill Zarya straight away and you reacted to protect your friend. Is that what Talon's Widowmaker would do? Would she have resisted the urge to kill like you did?"
Widow stopped and thought again. "No. She would have just killed her..."
"So perhaps you're not as programmed as you think. You're still your own person Amelie and you can clearly control your actions, even if you think you can't right now."
"Lena's right Amelie." Angela added, as she finished applying cream to Sombra. "As you recover, I believe you will gain better control over your actions and the programming will disappear. The fact that you resisted the urge to kill today means that you're getting better."
See, you just need to work on your people skills, that's all."
Widow found herself chuckling at Lena's lighthearted joke. She also realised that Lena and Angela had a point. Ever since she began to remember her old life, she found herself doing things differently. This was one such situation, not immediately shooting someone when she had the chance. She still didn't understand everything that was going on inside her head and she didn't know if she ever would. Yet, maybe she did have more control than she realised.
"Lena?"
"Yes luv?"
"Is there a gym here? I feel like I need a distraction."
Authors note
Hey everyone.
So I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. There's going to be a bit of a gap between this chapter and the next. Don't worry, I'm still working on the story, I just won't be able to upload for a couple of weeks.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you in the next one folks :)