Chapter 9
Really? You're doing that off-screen?
"…and then she threw that one 'Sun' reporter to the ground with some sick judo move, even though that guy was easily twice her weight."
Fareeha was in the middle of non-chalantly recounting the turn of events that happened just a few minutes prior to Emily. The redhead was intently listening, nodding here and there, clearly impressed. She even took some notes, probably for her next story.
"Would you stop it already…"
Angela on the other hand seemed to be about ready to sink into the floor, looking to the side with slightly blushing cheeks.
"So then one of those 'Daily Mirror' paparazzi's tries to flee, but Angie kicks him square in the groin before he can manage to-"
Lena interrupted.
"Girls! Hana's coming over. She'll pick up some pizza on the way! You gals want anything?"
The little Brit had been pacing around, talking on the phone for quite some time while the rest of them sat at the dinner table in Lena's small apartment. They were drinking Baileys with Belgian chocolate flavor while discussing this and that.
Fareeha and Angela looked at each other for a moment, but Emily took the initiative.
"I'll take a medium sized one with salami and champignons!"
"We already had dinner, but we could share a turkey breast salad. Right, Liebling?"
Fareeha's mouth opened and closed. In the end, she just nodded under her girlfriend's scrutiny.
It's so painfully obvious who's in charge in their relationship…
Emily almost giggled.
"Okay! You heard that, Hana?"
Lena wandered off again, recounting the order to the Korean girl on the other side of the call. Emily found herself excited to meet even more Overwatch agents after already meeting Pharah today. She had properly introduced herself earlier and seemed to be a really nice girl.
Right now, Angela was scolding Pharah about telling all those embarrassing details to her. Emily would've never guessed how their relationship looked like. Then again, even though it was massively popular, she never was a fan of Pharmercy fanfiction. The whole concept struck her as merely nice to look at, but ultimately too easy of a ship.
Turns out I was right. I mean, they really are a couple! Where's the fiction in that?
Emily tried to write something about them, but it hadn't been fun to ship a couple without any inherent friction. She watched them for a while before Lena finally returned, sitting down beside her. Emily felt a hand on her leg, caressing it intimately as Lena went for her own glass of Baileys. The squabble on the other side of the table seemed to have stopped, as Angela threw in a question.
"So, what happened this morning? I heard from our dear Genji that nobody got hurt, even though Widowmaker was involved."
The doctor sounded biased in the way that she couldn't believe such an encounter was possible. Emily found herself strangely ticked off by that attitude while Lena apparently needed to down another glass before she saw herself capable of properly answering that question.
"The long and short of it? Widow forced herself on Emily over there to fuck with my head."
Their guest's eyes got a lot bigger. The couple looked at each other in awe and downed their glasses, too, in quick succession. As Fareeha poured more for them, Angela continued.
"That's… highly unusual. There is always an assassination when Widowmaker works alone."
"Well, not this time. Just some run-o-the-mill sadism, heh!"
Lena sounded a bit self-deprecating there and Emily didn't like that. She brought her chair closer and laid an arm around her girlfriend, earning a thankful look.
Fareeha seemed to be confused.
"But that doesn't fit. She's only supposed to feel emotion when she kills someone, right?"
"It could simply be that a loophole emerged in the conditioning. Maybe Widowmaker began to feel things in regard to Lena and her surroundings, since dear Lena clashes with her a lot when she happens to be killing people."
"That makes sense I guess? Associating good feelings with Tracer."
Lena laughed bitterly at the dialogue on the other side of the table.
"So then she comes along and decides to torture me for fun? Good feelings my arse!"
She rolled her eyes and downed another glass. The Baileys was empty by now, so the host left the side of her girlfriend on the search for something else to drown in. Emily just started talking with a loose tongue, thanks to the alcohol.
"Widow does beat you one on one every time, though, in a sense that she never fails an assassination. That's what she loves about you. When she got nothing to kill, she probably craves to best you in any way she can."
Even if that means just reading about it.
She didn't quite realize at first, but the three of them looked at her with a mix of surprise and confusion. Partly because Emily hadn't really participated in any discussion before. The redhead blinked a few times and felt her cheeks grow hot.
Crap, I didn't think! I just blurted that one out, didn't I?
Her eyes darted around between them. Emily made a small, nervous laugh in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
"T-That's just a theory though, haha! A really stupid one, probably nothing…"
Lena had found a bottle of Plymouth Gin and poured herself a glass. She stared at Emily for a long time. Then she downed her glass and poured another.
The others would've probably been reluctant to drink gin on a workday, but this evening was special in a bad sense.
Used pizza cartons were piling in the garbage bin some ways away. Multiple empty bottles of Baileys, Plymouth Gin, Bacardi rum and cola stood in the middle of the dinner table. One more bottle with the label 'Nut-Nougat Vodka' was about halfway done. Lena told them it was a gift from Zarya and insisted that the stuff tasted surprisingly good. Emily had to concur, even if her sense of taste had probably degraded somewhere between her last Baileys and second rum-cola.
"Sho, I told 'im to get shtuffed and give Emily her damn job back, darnit! It turned out…"
Lena was in the middle of colorfully recounting her heroic tale in the offices of the Evening Standard. The couple on the other side of the table listened intently, with Fareeha nodding away at one point or another and Angela consistently waking her back up again. Hana was sitting at the far end of the table, wearing blue jeans and one of the pink bunny t-shirts she sold as merchandise on the side. She was watching, too, but seemed to be immensely annoyed at something while brooding over her glass of vodka.
"But… I kinda wrecked that Shoki… Shokwoi… Sho… fancy wood door to his offish. That thing cosht a fortune!"
Fareeha blinked a couple of times, as if she needed to readjust her sight.
"How…", the Egyptian yawned in between her words, "…did you get out of that one?"
"Mishter fancy pants offered to lemme do an interview inshtead of payin'!"
"So, you agreed to do ze interview? No vay!"
Angela seemed to slightly slur her speech and fall back into German pronunciation when she was getting drunk. Other than that, she seemed to be at full attention, as expected of a doctor.
"Yesh! Emi is going to ashk me shome queshtshnsh… hic! Aren'tya, lovely?"
Lena was grinning over both ears, leaning onto the redheaded reporter, giving her a sideways look full of innuendo. Emily just sipped on her vodka and looked mightily uncomfortable at the prospect. Then, suddenly, something roared incredibly loud.
"GRARGH! I can't STAND it anymore!"
Emily spat out her vodka, soaking Fareeha in it who perked up herself from another little nap. All of them looked to Hana, who seemed to be altering between being angry and sad.
"Wat iz ze matter, Hana?"
"You all make me SICK being lovey-dovey like this while I have to sit here alone!"
There was a moment of absolute silence. Finally, Lena cracked up.
"You want a girlfriend!"
"W-What if I do?!"
Angela already giggled along.
"Wouldn't a nice boy do, too?"
Hana's head turned red as a beet as the table erupted with stupid laughter. A mix of drunken embarrassment and anger was fighting over control within the small Korean before she ultimately stood up and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
The four of them took a minute to calm down from that little episode. In the end, Fareeha and Angela excused themselves. Although it was more like Angela excusing them, since Fareeha seemed to barely manage to stay awake. The two of them departed soon after, leaving the two hosts with an angry Korean in their bathroom. They stood in front of it, not sure what to do.
"So…"
"Yeah."
Finally, Emily had a particularly stupid idea while leaning against her girlfriend. This would be an excellent opportunity, given her goals.
"She's… lonely, right?"
"Probably."
"Even though she's pretty cute. You think she's cute?"
Lena blinked a few times and made sure her hazy mind hadn't misheard.
"Well, uh… yeah. She's shmaller than ush, she hash to be!"
They giggled about that for a moment. Emily was looking for eye contact and she got it. The redhead tried to be as seductive as she possibly could be, caressed her lover's stomach and collected her courage to whisper the unthinkable.
"Wanna do her?"
It was a delight to watch Lena's poor, drunken head struggle over the temptation.
Hana had hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
It wasn't fair! It simply wasn't!
Of course, Hana had all kinds of fans, but they were almost all men! And she didn't want some boy… she wanted what Lena and Fareeha had! She wanted someone soft and delicate to be intimate with, someone that had an easier time understanding her.
Even then, she didn't want to break her fans hearts, so she kept it to herself. So many young boys were totally into her and what she represented for Korea. However, that wasn't what's bothering her at all.
Hana took her smartphone out and checked her messages with one particular contact, like she always did. These days it only served to break her heart.
Read. Not answered.
She almost cried. The girl she liked seemed to be more distant by the day, and she could only make drunken guesses as to why.
It's no damn use! Game over…
Hana was frustrated, but resigned herself to unfulfilled desires in the end. She'd have to bottle it up to avoid looking like a total jerk in front of her friends again. It took time for that to sink in, until Hana finally stood up. She was a bit wobbly on her feet from all the alcohol, but managed to go over and unlock the bathroom door with a sigh.
"Sorry girls, I was a bit gloomy… there?"
Emily and Lena stood in front her, as if they had waited for her to finally leave the bathroom. They looked like a pair of conspirators, which sent a nice chill down her spine. Before she really understood what was going on, Lena was already pulling her into a small hug, prompting a squeak from the Korean. She felt a feminine body lightly lean against her back soon after. Hana blinked a lot, looking back and forth.
"Girls…?"
A soft voice whispered into her right ear from behind, triggering a wave of goosebumps.
"It's okay Hana. You don't have to feel lonely tonight."
She felt kisses to her neck and watched as Lena nuzzled their noses together with the sly smirk of a teasing friend. The poor girl was completely overwhelmed and found herself breathing ever harder, being sandwiched by two absolutely gorgeous girls.
J-Jackpot!
Her neural implant was buzzing. A new message. Sombra quickly conjured a holo screen.
[15.10.] Sica: "I was thinking bout the SomVa part in last chapter! that was totally heartbreaking! theyre coming back together are they? please please please! u know how much I love them… 八(＾□＾*)"
[16.10.] Sica: "hiya sagri! u still workin on chapter 13? cant wait! ✧( ु•⌄• )"
[17.10.] Sica: "is everything okay? u dont answer anymore… (｡ŏ﹏ŏ)"
[23:46] Sica: "sagri pls answer… I miss u so much…"
No goofy smiley at the end, huh. She's probably pretty lonely right now, isn't she?
The hacker stared at the chat log and felt incredibly guilty. She hadn't talked to Sica in days, consumed by her current quest. Normally they would chat for hours on end about their ideas for stories and proofread each other's chapters. Even though they never actually met and Sombra knew that Sica belonged to Overwatch, she was the closest thing the Mexican girl ever had to an actual friend. Not just a colleague or puppet like all the others.
Sombra started to hurriedly tap away at the holo screen.
[23:48] Sagrada: "I'm so sorry Sica! Please don't be sad, I'm just busy these da
Hammond grabbed her at the sleeve and pulled her back into hiding, behind a tent. The holo screen vanished before her eyes, the text unsent.
"What the fuck are ye doin'?!"
He hissed at her, totally annoyed that she wouldn't pay attention.
"Locating the target, what do you think?!"
Sombra lied, cursing herself that this particular princess had to enroll in the British army.
Her highness couldn't stay at home, oh nooo… had to accompany a peacekeeping mission to India. Great stuff.
They both grumbled amongst themselves in this humid night within a giant tent city for military personnel. The shocks of the omnic wars were especially felt in this region, hence the large presence of force in the former member of the commonwealth.
"Two more tents… be careful, she's trained and armed, unlike our last target."
"She got a bodyguard, too? Still feel that fuckin' cowboy's punch. Can't believe you let that shmuck go…"
Her eyes suddenly flew open. She breathed hard, as if she had just woken up from the most exciting dream.
Oh god, that was so weird! And exhausting… and hot! It was like god-mode or something! I dreamt I was… like…
Hana heard some lewd sounds to her right. The hairs on her neck stood at attention.
I didn't dream, did I?
Hana whirled to the side. Lena was lying next to her, probably just as naked as she was, or so Hana assumed with the blanket blocking sight. Her colleague had the most blissful expression on her cute face. Hana just blurted out what came to mind, being used to weird situations and all.
"Oh nonono. This has to be VR! I forgot to take the thing off my head, didn't I?"
"Hmm? O-Ohhh, you're awake, luv!"
The Brit was flustered all over, lying on her back. Hana occasionally looked to her colleague's heaving breasts with perverse curiosity. Without thinking too much, she put her small hand on one of them and squeezed it for good measure. Lena panted accordingly.
"Nope, that… feels VERY real. And sooo soft! Oh my gosh Lena!"
Lena giggled while Hana nibbled on her lower lip.
"Thanks!"
"Why'd you never let me touch your boobs before?!"
"I never knew you like that kinda thing! Plus, you never asked?"
"Ah, Shi-bal... team communication is failing me."
Lena looked kinda ill to her, with her head being sweaty and flustered and all. Hana blinked a few times.
"I don't, uh… want to know what's going on right now, do I?"
"Oh, I was… uhm… kinda jealous of you two yesterday? Emi was veeeenhh…."
Her hazelnut eyes rolled around in their socket, prompting the squirming Brit to recollect herself for a second there in order to continue.
"…v-very eager to settle my fears"
Now the Emily-sized tent in the blanket finally made sense. Hana felt a bit stupid not to have realized before and was strangely turned on by watching her colleague being pleasured. What Hana could see of the time travelers body was shining nicely in a thin film of sweat, making her that much more appetizing to look at.
"What do ya say, Hana? Ready for round seven?"
"Seven?! I remember… like… two! We did it for that long?"
Lena laughed heartily.
"You were practically insatiable! We had to take turns."
It wasn't news to her that she was sexually frustrated, but that much?! Hana blushed hard. That didn't get any better when someone gently moved up her body, prompting the little Korean to shiver with delight. She still found a way to giggle stupidly, though.
"Hey! Help, I'm getting ganked!"
Emily emerged from below the blanket, smiling impishly at Hana from above. Lena's juices were still shining on her lips. Her hair was fairly disheveled from all the diving.
"We were at eight, Lena! It's my turn! I don't know what 'ganked' means, though. Is it something naughty?"
The redhead looked at her with happy puzzlement. The urge to explain nerd vocabulary was strong in Hana, but her curiosity as to how those shining lips might taste this fine morning was stronger.
Two weeks later.
Widow sat with her legs crossed at their dining table, reading an old-fashioned print newspaper. Talon's top agents had a little kitchen to themselves in the bowels of the facility. It looked rather sterile with white tiles and metal furnishing. At least apart from the colorful party decorations. Sombra had taken it onto herself to 'liven things up', as she called it.
"So, why are we still keeping that monkey around?"
Her voice was particularly disinterested today.
"He's… useful."
While Widow was reading, Reaper cooked. He was making tortillas today. Apart from his usual attire, the black clad killer wore a black apron with a white skulls motif on it. The caption 'Best Teamleader' was printed on the front in letters that were usually found on the covers of a metal albums.
"He's making a mockery out of Doomfist. He's a dumb monkey, playing African hero."
"If this were a game, that sure would've been a stupid marketing move."
They gifted him that apron on his birthday. It was another one of Sombra's ideas, and since Widow wasn't planning to go buy a present herself, she just went with it.
"That wandering flea zoo is nothing like Akande. When will you finally pick him up, anyway?"
Widow had an accusatory tone about herself, even while managing to sound disinterested. It was an art form in and of itself. Reaper growled somewhat agitated, but was generally used to Widow's bickering.
"As soon as Sombra gets through Helix security."
"Where is she, anyway? Not that I'm complaining."
"Some kind of self-proclaimed mission."
"Again?"
Reaper turned around with one plate and placed it in front of Widow. Naturally, he wouldn't eat himself, with the souls of his enemies sustaining him or something stupid like that. Reaper just liked to cook.
"Yes, again. You two behave very strange, lately."
"Her? Agreed. Me? Nonsense."
"When was the last time you smiled outside of work?"
Widow raised an eyebrow, catching Reaper looking over her shoulder. She quickly folded the paper to hide whatever article she had been secretly smiling over. If gazes could kill, Reaper wouldn't exactly be dead because he's not really alive in the first place, but you get the point.
"About that Tracer girl again, huh."
"That's none of your business!"
That article had indeed been about an interview conducted by the Evening Standard with Tracer. Widow had found herself practically absorbing the information. She never knew that Tracer's favorite animals were bunnies! Or that her favorite color was orange!
Reaper was the opposite of impressed.
"You should've offed her months ago when you had the chance."
"Why should I? She's not my target."
"She's hindering our missions."
"Your missions. I don't miss my targets when I'm working alone."
Widow's voice grew spiteful. She hated to be questioned. As long as she didn't get an order to assassinate, she would or would not kill whoever she damn well wants. Reaper just stared at her while sitting down on the opposite side of the table.
"That girl is going to be the end of you. You behave like a spoiled child when it comes to her."
"You're being ridiculous, Gabriel."
She narrowed her eyes and tenderly gripped the wrap-like tortilla filled with salad and chicken filet stripes as if she would strangle it any moment now. He just lowered his head a bit while still staring at her, like he couldn't believe that retort. With his following sentence, he grew ever more accusatory and started to count the offenses on one hand.
"Remind me: Upon reading about Tracer and her new girlfriend in the newspapers; Who was it again that stole out of the complex, broke into Tracer's home a second time, forced said girlfriend to pose for photos that implicated an affair, then went to an old-fashioned photography shop to have them developed because she's clearly tech-illiterate and finally distributed copies of those photos to the whole tabloid media? Out off sheer spite?!"
Widow twitched. There was an awkward pause in their conversation, because it was true. Widow had been surprised back then how eager Emily was to play along with her petty plan. On top of it all, it had actually been fun to pose with her little fan for those photos. The tiniest hint of a blush appeared on Widow's cheeks as she stared at her meal.
"I am not tech-illiterate. I just thought it would… look more artistic with an old camera."
"Artistic, huh?"
Reaper sighed. He tried to think how to best put her predicament into words.
"Look at yourself: You're losing your cool. I'm not gonna recommend you for re-conditioning, but this has to stop, or it will come back to hurt you."
She stared at him for a long while. Reaper was saying what her consciousness had been telling her all this time: That she was behaving like a petty child. Widow closed her amber eyes and opened them again shortly after.
"Understood."
Then, as if nothing had happened at all, she took a small bite out of her wrap-like tortilla. Widow seemed cooler than before, back in control of her emotions. The small blush quickly subsided. Reaper leant back into his seat, satisfied with this outcome.
"How's the meal?"
Pretty good.
"Dreadful. Go die in a fire."
Widow narrowed her amber eyes. Reaper withstood it for a moment before letting his head hang with depression. His gaze fell upon a brochure containing a list of burn centers in England.
"You just want to ruin me…"
Lena was down on her knees. Not because she wanted to, but because she needed to.
"That's not true. I want to preserve you."
Amélie caressed her cheek and gripped her chin to make her look upwards. Lena was crying and leaning against the blue hand, feeling it cool her blushing cheek. A sensation of incredible powerlessness coursed through her,
"Preserve me?"
"Oh yes. In time, you will recognize your place, ma petit imbécile. I will preserve you until you realize that I am superior to you in every... single... way."
Amber eyes were staring down into hers. They were shining with mad, twisted determination to see the deed done. Lena shivered, yet continued to ease her head into Widow's soft hand, like a dog wagging its tail, enjoying being petted by her owner. Amélie smiled at this.
"That's what you want, too, isn't it? All that's left is to accept it. You will feel so... much... better when you realize your place in life."
Amélie joined her down onto her knees. She squished Lena's head between her hands, while the supposed hero couldn't dare to do so much as lift a finger. Amélie's grin went right off the crazy scale. Her face grew more accented, larger, towered over her with demonic arrogance. Her hair erupted into flames and snakes and shades.
"You will surrender to me. You will be mine. And you will love it!"
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
Lean screamed bloody murder, breathing approximately 300 times a minute. Sweat was glistening on her forehead, sitting on her bed and frantically looking into every corner of the room.
Suddenly, a zombie like person got a hold of her! Lena hit her in the head multiple times, but it wouldn't let go!
"Owwwwww, stop iiiiit~", the zombie whined, prompting Lena to stop. She blinked a few times, looking down to get a better look. Emily was sniffling against her chest, snot running out of her nose while she stubbornly refused to let go of her girlfriend's waist. Her sleepy eyes were very wet from being punched on the head. Unsurprisingly, she cried a little. Lena was pretty strong after all.
"Holy shit, s-sorry Emi!"
Her girlfriend refused to let go, even as Lena dragged her to the bathroom. Emily didn't really seem to be awake. Maybe part of her consciousness was hit back into sleep or something.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry luv!"
"Whaaaaaah…"
At least she wasn't really crying, just whining pitifully.
"You… you shouldn't surprise me like that! I've got some dumb reflexes from doin' hero work, you know?"
"Owwwww…"
It was no use talking to her in this state, so Lena just hurried up, opening her little medication cabinet. Angela had hounded her to keep one around and stocked up, just in case. Some bandages and other stuff fell out as she was searching, distracted by sleepy Emily clinging onto her.
"There we go! Good ol' Japanese healing oil. Mum always used that when I came home with bruises."
Emily looked up to a happy Lena. The bright light in the room made her eyes squint. She still sniffled a bit.
"Thaz gonna burn, isn't it…?"
"Yup! It's gonna cool right after though."
"If you're lyin', I won't eat you out for a week…"
Lena laughed nervously as she undid the cap. She hoped she had remembered that right. Too much was at stake...
"Aren't I supposed to be the one with the nightmares?"
Emily was back to her friendly-teasing self, gently caressing Lena's flank as they were lying around in bed again. It was still dark outside, but there was enough moonlight so they could see each other.
"Maybe you infected me?"
"Then we can share the suffering, how romantic! Do you remember what happened?"
Lena was nibbling on her lower lip, hesitating to answer that question. Emily didn't press it either though. She waited patiently.
"It's... about Widow."
"Again?"
Ever since the second breaking in, Lena seemed to have completely lost her cool. She was paranoid nowadays. Emily barely kept Lena from boarding up the windows. Instead, she had an alarm system installed in the apartment. That still wasn't enough though. Apart from the nightmares, Emily had to constantly reassure Lena that everything was okay and that she still loved her.
She couldn't say 'more than anything', though. That place belonged to Widowtracer, no matter her own good.
"Yeah…"
"What did she do?"
"It was as you said two weeks ago. Dream Widow… she wanted nothing more than to make me realize how inferior I am. She was menacing… and scary."
Emily kept caressing, inching closer to hug her. Lena buried her head on her girlfriends shoulder and shivered. It was incredibly unlike her, to say something like that. There was a sense of solemnity spreading in Emily, being trusted with these feelings.
"I… I was so scared…"
It made a bit of sense now, why Lena would lash out at something clinging to her, if that dream really haunted her that much. She gave Lena time to calm down. They didn't talk for a while.
"Widow really isn't that scary, if you think about it."
"Huh?"
Lena tried to look up from the shoulder, a bit surprised.
"When she first went after me, it was really scary. I thought she would kill me. Then she laughed a lot because I threw myself at her feet."
"You did? You never told me…"
Emily scratched the back of her head and smiled shyly.
"It's a bit embarrassing… I just kinda figured she liked people that way, given how she behaves around you? Maybe she evolved a full-on fetish? Either way, after standing on my head for a minute, she became increasingly… err…"
It was a bit hard to describe. The word eluded her. Lena's eyes were looking upwards, stuck to her girlfriend like glue. This whole situation felt like a therapy group of Widowmaker survivors.
"…normal, I guess? We just talked. She even smiled a little."
A shiver went through Lena, who didn't really knew what to make of all this.
"There used to be a gentle woman in there…"
"I think she's still there. She didn't seem like she wanted to kill me or anything. I don't think she wants to kill or hurt you, either. She just wants to feel… fun, I guess? In the only way she knows."
"…apart from killing people."
"Y-Yeah, apart from that. She's mostly tsundere though."
Lena arched an eyebrow.
"Tsun-what-a-majigger?"
Emily's eye twitched. Sica was rubbing off on her.
"…forget that one."
They continued their sleep soon afterwards, still entangled with each other. Lena wouldn't have it any other way, even after their talk.
That nightmare must've really been something… I wish I could've seen it.
Emily cuddled herself into Lena and closed her eyes, thinking about what she achieved these past weeks, warming her girlfriend up to the idea of threesomes and making her understand Widow's motives.
Still, there was a lot of monumental work ahead of her. And then there was this odd feeling in her stomach, as if something dangerous was brooding outside.
The next few days and weeks… they'll probably be the most exciting and exhausting of my life.
Emily shivered in anticipation.
2 months later.
"Well, that wasn't as exciting or as exhausting as I thought."
Sombra was standing on the deck of a medium sized yacht, dressed in lofty black and violet summer dress. A light, translucent fabric spun into something scarf-like that spiraled around her arms and neck, ending in similarly translucent gloves. An alternative design of her hacking gear, of course self-made. She put her sunglasses into her hair and looked annoyed out into the sea.
"These guys weren't worth a dime. Never seen such pushovers!"
The 'great' ape was shoving a pen and a piece of paper in the face of a poor, trembling kid, 18 years old at most. Hammond was wearing a colorful blue Hawaii shirt and an inflatable swimming ring with a yellow duck head in the front. Also, sunglasses, of course.
"Come on, princeling. I ain't got all day. Put a signature here, here and here!"
While Hammond made sure that another piece of the plan was put into place, she created some holo screens to monitor their situation. They needed to get off this yacht at some point and Hammond couldn't swim. Without big effort, the hacker turned the boat on and steered it in the right direction. As she was doing that, an alert in the lower corner of her screen caught her attention.
New messages.
Sica: "Hows chapter 14 coming along? Please please tell me ur working on it! It was so mean of you to leave sombra hanging last chapter!"
Sica: "And dont u dare ignore me again! Ill fite u! (⁎˃ᆺ˂)"
Sombra chuckled.
I didn't deserve it any other way. I'm still sorry that I barely talked to you the last months.
She wouldn't write that, of course. That would just be pathetic.
Sagrada: "Coming along great! Sorry that I'm such a lazy bum ^.^"
Sica: "UR HERE! thats so rare!"
Sagrada: "got a lot to do at work, you know me…"
Sica: "u sure its not just that ur gloomy about Miji again?"
Sombra froze in a comical way, as if somebody had thrown a rock at her and she needed to properly process what the fuck just happened.
How does she always figure me out?!
Sagrada: "I'm sorry Sica, you know I don't like being second."
Just thinking about it made her angry, but her plan was finally nearing its end. Surprisingly though, Sica took a lot longer to respond than normal. Something was up. Sombra raised an eyebrow and patiently waited for the 'Sica writing…' sign to vanish.
Sica: "Sagri, its hard for me to understand… im just doin this for fun. but… in case it changes anything, youll always be my number one! you dont need to beat Miji. I love your stories! I enjoy talking to you a lot! I really like you the way you are Sagri! I like you a lot! I "
Sombra blinked a few times. Sica had ended as if there would've been more, but erased it and forgot the 'I' at the end. The sound of the waves, the yacht engine and of a gorilla's fist hitting somebody's face all went straight past her. She tried to think of a response, but found herself rereading the text over and over. Sica, hyperactive as ever, just began writing again.
Sica: "I wish we could just ignore the rankings and have fun together… I miss u so much these days. I just want the old Sagri back..."
Sombra looked around the yacht, at the host and all his innocent party-friends dressed in fancy summer clothes. The princeling apparently made the wrong decision of trying to argue his way out of signing the document for them. He was subsequently beat up by Hammond.
What am I even doing?
Her mind was racing, bending, turning, trying to justify her own actions. For a moment, Sombra feared for her sanity. Then it all came back to her.
"Sombra?"
The small hacker had almost started to relax. She bolted back up with attention.
"Si?"
"This other author… Miju. She's leagues ahead of you."
There was a condescending smile on Widow's lips.
"Maybe you can learn something from her."
Sombra trembled. Sica had almost managed to make her falter, but now her blood was boiling again with pure, virile hatred.
Sagrada: "I'm sorry Sica. I can't. It's almost done."
Sica: "Sagri, please
Her friend was a fast writer, but Sombra just swiped the holo screen before she could read any more. The hacker was positively fuming, turning to Hammond and the little princeling. Damning the consequences, she shoved the gorilla out of her way and took his place in the lap of the guy. Without hesitation, she threw a punch at his face so hard, his nose gave way with a sickening crunch. Then she threw another. And another.
After she made sure that not even plastic surgery could save his looks, Sombra grabbed him by the neck with her blood-stained fist and smashed his head against the railing. Her voice was dangerously, uncharacteristically calm.
"Can you hear me, gringo?"
The princeling nodded. It was indiscernible whether he was crying or not. Tears would've mixed with blood on his swollen face by now.
"If my amigo here hasn't made it clear by now, you all are fucking pawns in my game. Your fates are nothing to me."
Sombra was seething with hatred. Up until now, the innocents on the boat were mainly afraid of the strange gorilla-man. That changed.
"You got two choices: Sign it or die."
Ah, Shi-bal. ~ Ah, shit.
I believe the weird nature of this story is getting to me. Even the narrator is becoming increasingly empathetic with the characters! Not really reliable anymore, is he?
In my last story people didn't want me to write a threesome between Widow, Tracer and Hana. This time I just felt like it. I hope that wasn't a mistake! ... It sure was lots of fun to write. ≧ヮ≦
Alas, all the players are finally revealed! And Sombra just declared herself game master. Have you seen it coming?
As always, please feel free to comment dearest reader (✿◠‿◠)