Back with another chapter. ...The year fucking sucks.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing but my OCs.

I gave a sigh as hot water ran down my body. "My god I missed this…" I muttered, giving my hair a good scrubbing.

After we got rid of the Reds, and took their jeep, I went back to the base and took a well-deserved shower. The water felt amazing against my skin. I don't care if there's only one other person in the base I am taking my sweet ass time. I scrubbed my hair with shampoo before I put in conditioner – my hair is short now, so it felt weird that I could just scrub my hair like I would probably rub someone's head like that.

Still, I scrubbed myself good. My hair is blonde on my legs and such…but it took a lot of willpower to not shave them. You could barely see the hair than when I last saw them.

I got out of the shower after turning it off and dried off. I put on some clothes and brushed my hair a little.

I then walked out of the shower, sighing as I had a towel around my neck to keep my shoulder drew. "That's SO much better…" I muttered.

No person around, so I headed off to my room. In the sanctuary of it, I laid on the bed. Even if it wasn't comfortable, it's better than nothing. I missed having a bed. And other things. I miss my electronics. I won't get them back, but… well, can't mourn about the past forever. I did a lot of moping around for a while in the past. It may be early, but…I think I can fancy a nap.

I turned on by back, putting a towel over my pillow to absorb the moisture and pulled the sheet over me.

Sighing in content, I closed my eyes.

~o~

The brightness of the city isn't all that impressive to look at. I sat at the edge of the building, swinging my leg a little. My form fitting uniform and helmet are black, so not a lot of people would notice much. A lot of people are more concerned with what's in front of them than what's around them.

I looked back at a couple of Lozano's gangsters behind me, lying dead. At least I made their deaths quick. I looked back out. Those two would have all the fun inside the building, with me taking care of a couple that stayed on the roof. Still…

I got on the radio. "Siris, how are things?"

"So far so good. It probably won't be long until Ortez and Gates retrieve Gabriel Lozano," a man's voice answered.

"All right then," I nodded back. "Sombra out."

I turned off the radio and I went back to waiting. Patience is a soldier's best friend, even if the war the three of us were in was hellish. We managed to get out of that with our lives…but the war affected the three of us pretty bad. Not sure how badly effected Sam or Issac are, but it'll take us a while to recover. Or…we may never recover at all.

I gave a sigh- the back door was suddenly kicked open and I looked down from my perch to see the two of them coming out.

"You said comms were useless!" Issac exclaimed at Sam. He has our target over his shoulder, a bag over his head and knocked out, before the larger man turned to him with a look.

"I meant downstairs!" Sam said, stern.

"Useless!"

Sam then threw our target onto the ground, ass first, against the wall. Oh boy, here comes another fight.

"That doesn't mean removing your earpiece!" The black tuxedoed and green tied man said, holding up a finger and trying not to get TOO angry.

I rolled my eyes- but I noticed the bouncer coming up to them with a pistol. The two of them were oblivious in Isaac's rant, glaring at each other to notice. I got out my gun too, with a silencer on it, about ready to blast his brains out-

But Siris beat me to it, dealing two shots onto the bouncer. It got their attention, looking over at Sirius and the bouncer, the latter falling to the ground dead. The purple clad Asian stepping over him and removed his sunglasses before giving them a 'well?' gesture.

"Hey Siris…" Issac greeted tiredly.

Really? That's all he has to say? Sirius basically voiced out my thoughts.

I rolled my eyes and I jumped down, using the ladder and parts of the building to slow my decent, landing by them. "Aww… you got him before me," I said, hands on my hip.

"So you got out?" Sam asked me.

"Yeah. I ain't waiting in that club like a date after you two left," I said. While it was nice to be Sam's 'date', but there were a lot of leery men that had their eye on me, so I had to leave. Any that made a mistake to follow me to the bathroom are currently out on the women's bathroom floor. "Anyways, what happened this time?" I got to the point of the argument, arms crossed. The one thing that never changed was at the fact that they couldn't get along.

"Why weren't you on comms?" Sirius then asked Issac.

"That is…" He raised his finger…before rotating it and pointing at Sam, "TOTALLY his fault."

"Don't you…!" Sam began, and another argument was going to begin if Siris didn't hold up his hand to stop them, with a firm, "STOP."

I sighed. "Let me guess: miscommunication, right?" Not that I would blame them – the music is too loud on te ground floor.

Of course, both of them looked away. Why I still work together with them, I'm not sure.

I took off my helmet and gave a look at Siris. There are times where I can manage to defuse the argument but…this doesn't seem like one of those times.

The purple clad man shook his head and pointed at Isaac. "Look, if you want me out here doing recon, then you need to LISTEN to me when I talk to you!" He said.

"Or at the very least, clarify," I added. "I'm not saying it's your fault – either of you – but…" I sighed. "We're supposed to be partners."

"And partners communicate," Siris finished.

We waited a few beats before Sam sighed. "Right."

We looked at Isaac, who looked at us before rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay?!" he said. He doesn't sound sorry, but then again, this is Isaac we're talking to. "Now, can we please get this asshole in the car and away from the scene?"

And sometimes, he poses a point.

"Yeah," Siris nodded. "Let's go."

With that, we headed to the car parked near the building and out of sight.

"I hate night clubs…" Siris muttered.

"We all do, Mason," I said, hands behind my head. "We all do."

"Sombra, remember," Sam said as he caught up to us, "Codenames."

I rolled my eyes a bit. "Yeah, sure. Try not to get TOO into it, Locus."

"Eh, he probably will," Isaac shrugged.

"Felix…" Sam began.

"You two hush up," I said, tired. "Let's just put him in the trunk and get the fuck out of here."

"Right, right, sorry," Isaac said, rolling his eyes. "Don't get your panties in a wad."

Asshole.

After all of these years, we still haven't gotten along. There's something about him that isn't right…

But, maybe I'm overthinking it.

Besides, we would be making money by putting a person like Gabriel, the son of Rueben Lozano a crime lord of a sort, in jail for the offenses he did.

As soon as Gabriel is put into the trunk, we got into the car and we drove off.

I opened my eyes, staring up at the ceiling.

…How long did I slept?

I sat up, grunting as I stretched my limbs, then sighing, lowering my arms. I sat there as I processed that I'm awake…but also the dream I had.

Another dream with the two Mercs… but with their real names. They're the exact opposite of how they're portrayed in season eleven of the show… is that before they became mercenaries? And who was that guy in purple with the robot leg with them? With…us?

Though, for some reason my mind was mostly on one thing: Locus' name is Sam? Fucking. Sam? That's…that's honestly something I didn't expect. Sounds normal.

…Then again, he WAS normal before the war. A lot of people were before war. And it isn't as likely to recover from. War is horrible – it takes years of help and therapy to at least get a semblance of normal…but they are never truly okay, in a sense…

I had never been to war, but both of my grandpas were in different wars. I can't imagine what it was like…then again, I never asked. And I would never want to.

TV may not show a LOT of gruesome detail, but war is hellish – for the people who fought in it, as well as the citizens affected by it.

Though…why did I dream about those two again? That's something I don't get. I never knew about their real names until now… I never met them. Are they my memories…or did something happen that I ended up having these 'memories'?

I'm not too sure…but I better not think too much on it. Time. What's the time? I looked at the clock.

…It's off.

Sighing, I got up and got my helmet. It has a built in clock, so I'll be sure to know what time it is. I put on my helmet and checked.

…It was 12 when I got out of the shower. So I only slept for two hours. Huh. Whatever, I had my nap, I better go and do something more productive now.

I took my time to get into my armor, carrying my helmet out of my room as I headed outside. Not sure on what Church and Simmons are up to right now, so I better check on them.

As I walked by the bathroom, I heard…crying?

Oh yeah, it's crying. I got close to the door and knocked. "Uh… are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine!"

I frowned at the tone. "You don't sound fine. Do you, uh, do you want to talk?"

"No…" …It feels a bit pathetic to hear him like that. I mean… men are allowed to cry, right? Everyone cries.

"Um…we don't have to talk face to face," I said. "We can talk with the door as a barrier."

"I said I'm fine!"

"I only asked because I'm concerned, man," I said. "Do you- do you need a hug? Someone to let you cry over your shoulder? Talk to me man!"

"Can…can you go away? Please?" I gave a concerned look. It doesn't feel right to leave him in there to cry… still… some people need space, right?

"…Well…all right. If you say so," I reluctantly said before backing away. I seriously hated to leave him like that...but, in all honesty, what could I do to help him?

I turned, looked back to the bathroom for a moment…and reluctantly moved my head forward. I walked off.

~o~

Okay, so nothing really happened much after I got outside. Church explained to me that they were spying on the Reds earlier…before Church decided to mess with Simmons by saying a few things about him without directly mentioning the said maroon soldier with us.

Even if most people thought it funny, it was kind of a dick move though.

I mean…if I were in Simmons' shoes, I would probably fell incredibly hurt if anyone says that about me. But I'm not Simmons though. I have long given zero fucks about everything by now.

And I think being around these guys are changing me. And not in a good way. I need to find a good book or something. To at LEAST get a semblance of normality. Or something.

But, for once, there's a bit of peace here in this goddamn canyon. I guess I can take a bit of time to reflect. It's been…a while. I honestly don't know how long we've been out here. We're on a different planet so time flows differently here than on Earth. How many years went by there? How many birthdays have come and gone? I may be 24 without realizing it. What have I been doing in my life up to this point? What indeed? I don't know anymore.

So far, I had been through a lot. And somewhat seen a lot. I also survived things that normal people would have died against. The Reds and Blues went through these as well…yet those guys are some of the luckiest sons of bitches in the universe. But how far would they go until their luck runs out? How long until…?

I shook my head vehemently.

Jesus, I've been going down the pessimistic road a lot of times lately, haven't I? At least it wasn't as bad as back before I got here. So many idiotic things happening in my timeline that it's harder and harder to believe in my own race anymore. I mean, sure there are people out there who are genuinely good folks…but other people need to get their heads out of their asses. Is that too much to ask for?

I want little to nothing to do with the world. Why should I be a part of a world, nay, a society that wants my generation to fix up the mess that the older generation had created. And there are a LOT of people that are much too reliant on the government to fix the problems…but those people expect too much. There are a lot more that I could think of but I don't remember most of it. Or I give zero fucks about it. I don't know.

Thinking about this is not going to be good for my mental health. Any more than what I'm going through at this rate.

I stood up and walked back to the base. I think doing the training that Tex drilled into me would help me vent.

I just hope that I wouldn't have to go to therapy after this.

~o~

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

I blinked. Church just approached me and said that. It doesn't even sound like a question.

"Uh…sure?"

"Yeah, okay, Simmons has been pretty moody and a bit…needy. He's worse than Tucker and Caboose. So, I want you to baby sit him."

I made a face at that. I had been trying to talk to Simmons for a while, but…well, the time where we were in that nexus (or janitor's closet) merely puzzled me some more. Not to mention the time we spent in that desert for a while. What the hell happened to him that made him scared of women?

"Uh…that, may be a problem," I said.

"Why not?" Church asked.

"He seems to have gynophobia." At his stare, I deadpanned, "Fear of women."

"Seriously?" Church asked, incredulous. "He couldn't be THAT scared of Tex…or hell, even you."

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Church. I am such a sarcastic asshole, aren't I?

"I think it runs deeper than that," I said. I held up a hand. "I mean…we all have lives before we were forced to be here."

"Oh, so you think he has a shitty past?" Church asked with a look.

"I think all of us or at the very least, most of us have a shitty past. I tried talking to him but he would hardly do that."

"Perhaps you should try talking to him at a distance," Sheila spoke up. We looked at her. When did she come up to us? We didn't even hear her. "People with gynophobia would like to talk to you at a comfortable distance first. Even if they know the root of it, it isn't easy to get rid of."

I remembered a character from Tales of the Abyss who also had a fear of women – but his was more…morbid. Guy was buried in a pile of his dead sister and maids…that must have been horrifying, waking up to have them on top of you, dead. Even worse, he was six when it happened. If that's not fucked up, I don't know what is.

I shifted my eyes to the ground at the reminder. "Yeah. I guess I was going at it wrong." I shifted my eyes up to Sheila. "So, any other advice?"

"Try not to make any contact without their consent. It will be a slow process but being social with him could help him in a long run."

"Hmm…well… these things take time after all," I agreed. "All right, I'll babysit him. Thanks Sheila."

"Of course," the tank nodded at me. For an AI, at least she isn't so bad.

At least she's nicer than Tex or Omega. Hadn't met the others yet but…we'll see.

"I'm off," I said, "So where's Simmons right now?"

"Locked up in Caboose's room," Church said.

"Okay. I'm off. For real this time." And I left.

It took me a few minutes to get up to Caboose's room. The first time I came here was when we all retired on our 'first day'. Despite Mikey's condition, his room is, well, clean. Cleaner than Lav's room at any rate.

I knocked on the door. "Hey, are you in there?"

"Ah! Wh-What do you want?" Simmons yelped out- and did his voice crack?

"Church told me to baby sit you. Sorry, his orders," I answered.

"W-What? Why would he send a woman to do this?"

"Uh…" What should I say to him? Church's exact words about him? "Maybe…he doesn't want to put up with you right now."

There was a whine behind the door. "Why would he do this?"

"Church is…not really good with people," I answered to the best I could. "He doesn't…exactly like me as well. Hell, he doesn't even like our other teammates too."

"…He doesn't?"

"No. Sure he's lazy most of the time…but he can also get angry as well. But most of the time, he's a huge dick. More than most of the time. Nearly ALL the time. I can't…exactly respect someone who doesn't respect me back, you know? Or treat their subordinates like they're nothing but, well, tools that can be tossed aside." I shook my head. "That's my general opinion." There's no way that I can simply give Simmons more development from this. It would have been nice if words WOULD have a good impact on some people. But not quite so…

I looked up. "But, I'll be watching over you for a little bit." Or until Simmons decides to head back to Red Base. "So, uh…bear with me for a while."

"Uh…I don't- I don't know if…"

"You seem to have gynophobia," I said. "But I'll respect that. Some women are scary." I nodded.

"Well…exactly!" Simmons agreed. "Especially those girls in high school!"

"They're the worst, aren't they?"

"Yeah!" There was a pause until he asked, "Uh…do you have problems too?"

"Well…pretty much," I nodded. "I was mostly bullied because I was the 'odd' one during my school years. Not only by the girls but also by the boys too."

The door then opened – but to a crack. "…How did you go through that?"

I looked over at his face. He has his helmet off and showing his face. It's been a while since I've last seen his face without his helmet.

"Well…it's a small high school, and a small county…but it was full of red necks most of the time. And I've gotten to the point that I just don't give a fuck anymore. If that made any sense."

Simmons huffed. "Well, at least you're lucky. I didn't ask to be in the women's league." Wait, what? "I just want to be a mathlete!"

"…What's a mathlete?"

"Wha- you never heard of that?" Simmons asked me, incredulous.

"Uh…either my school never has those or I just don't give a fuck about what goes on," I said.

Simmons stared at me. "…Huh. And here I thought I was anti-social. Or at the very least, not exactly talkative to most people."

"Not that I'd blame you," I shrugged. "Technically, I keep to myself and not talk to people." I looked away. "Not unless I was curious about what they do." I looked back at him. "Sorry that my life isn't…exactly AS shitty but my life isn't perfect too. Even I have family problems. But…none of them would interest you in the slightest."

"Yeah…sorry."

"I understand," I nodded. I tried to think of something else to talk about…but I'm not getting anything. I bit my lip a little…before something came to mind. "…So, someone recommended me to play Undertale. Where can I download it?"

Simmons blinked at me. "You want to play that?"

"Yeah. It seems interesting."

Several hours later, the game has me emotionally wrecked. Especially when you have your character hug Asriel around the end of the game.

Never before had I loved video game characters such as these.

I literally gave Simmons the stink eye when he told me about the Genocide Run. I ain't doing it. No siree.

Goddammit Simmons.

~o~

A few more days had passed after that. I kept a bit of a distance from Simmons so that he would be comfortable around me.

It was pretty okay so far…

But during those days, I had more of those dreams again.

In one, there were corrupted members of the police force that cleared out Gabriel's criminal record. Felix…or Issac suggested a ransom. Not only did that fail…but it turns out that Rueben is a piece of shit father. On one hand, I was just as shocked by Locus killing someone in cold blood…but then again, Felix and Mason – Siris' real name – revealed his real name and a wife. So, he did that to make sure that Gabriel didn't rat him out to get his father's 'love'…

And in another, Rueben's men and himself arrived. It was not only rather epic…but…also rather dark as well. Especially…

Um…anyway, aside from those dreams, I got to learn a bit more about Simmons than I thought possibly. His dad was rather hard on him through his time growing up. I didn't ask about what happened to his mother, but I still listened. His father is one of those types that wanted Simmons to be what he isn't. So, it was mostly the reason why he wanted attention from his previous superior officers…but they all said that it's disruptive to the force and he bounced around for a while until he ended up here. It was mostly the reason why Simmons pins for attention from Sarge – he just wanted love and support, something his father didn't give him growing up.

No wonder he does what he does. Damn…that's just…messed up.

None of them seem to want to talk about their feelings as much in the show – hell, not all of them do. Says that it's…sissy.

A while back, I had asked Sheila about that. Her answer is that they may have to be forced to take on the 'toxic masculinity'. Where young boys were forced to be 'manly' and not talk about their emotions as much. That ended up doing much more harm than good in a LOT of them – they have no other way to release their aggression healthily and are merely expected to not have much interaction with their children and so on. I have no idea what's wrong with our world but…I guess I would be no better myself.

I don't 'hate' women – I kind of ended up having some rather mean ones in my life. I was mostly sheltered and don't have a lot of things at first. There are a few that are genuinely nice… but from what I had seen on TV, women can have the capacity to be bad. Evil even.

Women have every right to do what they can do, and shouldn't be limited to what society expects them to do. Same thing with men. I know my own limits. Society is fucked up. Why should I be a part of something like that?

I try to be polite, I try to not be racist. Being polite can go a long way at times. So can kindness. But of course, there's THIS happening. Way to go people. Way to fucking go.

If I ever have kids, I hope I don't screw up as royally as a lot of them fucktards. If I have a son, I should let him be what makes him comfortable, what others think be damned. If I have a daughter, same thing.

…And I seriously need to stop venting mentally. I need to talk to Sheila more. She's rather wise for an AI.

Anyways, a few days has passed. While I was making my rounds, I saw Simmons running off towards Red Base. Oh, looks like it's time for him to go back.

I honestly felt bad that we duped him. He thought that he had us all fooled but…he really didn't.

Still, I better head back for a bit of confirmation. As I entered, I found Church. "Hey," I greeted.

"Oh. Have you seen Simmons?"

"I saw him heading back to Red Base," I answered.

"Oh, well that's just great. There goes my fun."

"You're a real prick, you know that?" I asked with a look.

"Hey, I don't see you have any 'fun' ideas!"

"You think of my idea of 'fun' is boring," I pointed out. "Besides, at least I'm doing a few other things than stand around and talk." Like the training that Tex had drilled into me.

"Whatever."

I decided to change the subject. "So why did Simmons leave?"

"Well, as I was going to give him orders, I called in Command and low and behold, there's Vic. Or Vic junior as he calls himself."

Hmm…time for a chance to point out something. "Didn't you say that Vic has a vasectomy?"

That made Church pause a bit. "…I did. How did he even have kids?"

"Good question," I shrugged. "If he had some semen taken out before that, it would make sense I suppose. But…does he have a family?"

"…That's a good question," Church admitted. "But we're not THAT morbid to ask a man about his family life. Or how his great, great, great, great, great grandpa was able to have kids."

I put my hands onto my hips. "Hmm…" I could tell Church the truth…but he may end up not believing me. On the other hand, there would be a really, really slim chance that he does. What to do…?

I honestly don't know. I wish I had Tex with me, but she isn't here, so…man. The choices.

…But considering my experience thus far, fuck it. I'll tell him.

I looked at him and opened my mouth-

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" We both jumped at the scream…and in comes…Simmons? Wha?

He hid behind the wall, shaken. "Oh shit, oh fuck!" He exclaimed. "She's here!"

"Who's here?" I asked him.

And the place shook.

"What the fuck was that?!" Church exclaimed in surprise.

I ran to the entrance and peeked out…

And I paled. Oh no.

No.

It can't be!

I moved my head back. "…We're fucking screwed."

It's that bitch that we saw those months ago, in that nexus. She's here.

I gave Church an evil eye. "I hope you're fucking happy."

"Hey, it's not my fault that this happened!" Church exclaimed before another explosion rocked the base. "Oh shit!"

And…cliffhanger! It looks like the peeps of Blood Gulch have something to deal with now. And a Freelancer isn't going to help them now.

A true test for them all. Will they survive? Or die? Will luck pull them through or will they somehow bullshit it? Who knows! I had her around for a while so it's time to put her into action!

Leave a review if you like! Or not. Up to you.