Simone had been under the assumption that preparations for the incoming demon attack were making everyone busy, but she was wrong. After the council had a timeline to work from, things got twice as bad. There was no free time whatsoever as everyone made sure that they were ready. And the colder the days got, the closer it came to snow, the more possessive Gabriel seemed to become. Her stuff had been completely moved into his room, and he seemed to always be touching her whenever they were together. But it wasn't until Mei had informed them that the snow would fall soon and it was decided to move the soldiers, that Simone started to worry about it. The city seemed almost deserted as more and more people loaded with supplies walked through one of her portals. They were going to set up camp away from the cities, to combine the two armies into one cohesive unit before the demons arrived. When everyone had gone through, Gabriel grabbed her wrist. Simone looked up at him in confusion, whispering his name softly.
"Please don't change your mind." She pleaded, laying her hands on his chest.
"You know why I need to come with you." His arms wrapped around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"I know." When he let her go, she took him by the hand and pulled him through the portal after her. The other side was a little chaotic, tents being set up, supplies being stored, many people running around trying to make the temporary camp. Simone had to open another portal, letting through the Overwatch soldiers. It got a whole lot more intense after that. Simone was a little lost among all of the running around and the loud noises. She was able to greet many of her old friends as they went about their business, but there was too much to do for anyone to say more than a simple hello. It was only when it started getting dark when the large camp settled down.
Jamie and Mako had dropped off her armor, and she was able to try it on for the first time. Fareeha, Hana, and Satya were there to help; as well as to give their unbiased opinion.
"For two blacksmiths, they certainly did make a fashionable piece." Hana commented, admiring the clawed finger gauntlets. Satya gave the armor a once over before glancing at Simone with a raised brow.
"It looks similar to someone else's armor. Did you request a matching set, or is it coincidence that you are going to match Reaper?" Simone realized how right Satya was, and laughed.
"No, they must have done that on their own. I love it though." Wearing the silky silver undershirt, and black pants that had been delivered with the armor, the other women helped fix the pieces into place. It was deceptively light, and allowed easy movement. Pulling out her wings, she was happy to see that the back plate left plenty of room for them to flex and spread.
"Impressive." Satya complimented.
"Yeah, but she looks like an angel of death." Hana gave a mock shudder.
"What?" Simone looked down at herself.
"I think she means your wings." Fareeha spoke a little cautiously, as if trying to make sure she didn't upset Simone.
"They have gotten darker."
"You were aware that they were changing. The black armor also makes them seem darker." Satya explained.
"It's not bad, you look amazing! It's just a little intimidating. If I didn't know you were totally nice, that is." Hana waved a dismissive hand.
"Isn't that the point?" Sombra's voice caused them all to give a start. Sombra smirked as she sliped fully into the tent.
"It's war, she wants to look tough and scary." She said with a roll of her eyes. Hana stuck her hand on her hip and glared at the necromancer.
"Then I guess you'll do fine. That shade of purple would scare anyone away." Hana snipped.
"Girls, play nice." Fareeha scolded, stopping the comments before they caused any problems. Sombra brushed a hand over her offended hair and scoffed.
"I was only stopping by to warn you that Gabe is headed this way, so this little party should dissipate. He gets cranky when he's tired." Hana made a face and ran out of the tent, causing Sombra and Satya to laugh. The others followed suit, saying their goodnights and leaving Simone alone. She was about to start removing the pieces of armor when Gabriel came into the tent. He stopped, looking her over. She bit her lower lip and gave a self conscious pose.
"Well?" He came up, circling behind her, running a hand carefully over one spiked gauntlet.
"It is well made." He commented, taking off his mask and brushing her hair from her neck. He placed a small kiss just behind her ear.
"I meant me." Simone huffed. She felt him smile against her skin.
"You're well made too." A single bubble of laughter escaped at his attempt at a joke.
"Gabriel." She groaned.
"You are ridiculous." He didn't reply, as he started to unlatch pieces of armor. Simone helped, and soon all of the armor was placed out of the way. Gabriel extinguished the torch and the tent went dark. Simone couldn't see very well, Gabriel leading her to the small cot, taking off his heavy cloak as she climbed in. When he didn't follow, instead, setting on the very edge she reached out, placing a hand on his back.
"Are you not going to sleep?" He didn't answer, but his body grew tense. Simone sighed.
"We are surrounded by our allies, and yet you are still worried?"
"I'm going to keep watch." Gabriel finally replied. Simone bit her lower lip before turning over, her back facing him.
"Alright. You keep watch. I'll just get a good night's rest, over here, all by myself." It didn't take very long before he laid down next to her, pulling her close. Simone smiled softly, closing her eyes.
Purple lights flickered like fireflies. They drifted, growing closer and closer together until they formed one solid growing figure. One that was vaguely familiar to Simone, though she was having trouble remembering. The lights spun around her, forming the purple skull right in front of her.
"Looking for me?" A body materialized, the glowing skull painted on their face.
"Sombra!" The necromancer smirked and held up her hands in a flourish. Magic strings fell from her fingertips and tiny skeletons started popping out of the ground at their feet. The strings attached themselves to the skeletons and then the bones started to dance. Simone laughed, giving Sombra a suspicious glance.
"Remember your promise. You're not allowed to do anything silly with my body." Smiling, she looked back down at the skeletons only to gasp, jumping backward. The skeletons had become demons and instead of dancing they were clawing, struggling to get closer to her as the magical strings held them back. But Sombra wasn't the one controlling them. Long skinny fingers, a wide smile of yellowing teeth, and a mass of evil intent was now in front of her. Simone stood straighter, the fear of the demons gone, replaced by anger. She was now sure of two things, the war; everything that was going to happen was the doing of this one figure. And that she needed to speak to Sombra.
Simone woke up, setting up quickly. She tried rolling out of the cot, but was flipped over, Gabriel on top of her.
"Good morning." She said, a little breathless.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Gabriel asked, leaning closer into her.
"I needed to talk to Sombra." He cocked an eyebrow.
"Why Sombra?"
"I don't know. I think I need to ask her about her magic." She shrugged her shoulders. He kissed her forehead softly.
"Can it wait? Your wings haven't even been groomed." She smiled, biting at her lower lip. But she never got a chance to decide how to respond, as they were interrupted. Amelie ducked her head into the tent and called Gabriel. The tone was troubling enough that Gabriel was up and putting on his mask in a flurry of smoke. Grabbing her cloak, Simone followed. Several others were coming out of their tents, everyone seeing the tiny flakes of white float down, the ground already showing signs of the snow sticking. Mei looked into the sky, the clouds dark and heavy.
"Tomorrow. The snow is going to fall through till night, and everything will be covered." Mei warned. Gabriel pulled Simone close, dipping to whisper in her ear.
"The grooming can wait. Go find Sombra." Simone nodded.
The arrival of the snow seemed to change the atmosphere of the camp. Everything was much more somber, as they were literally on the eve of war. Simone had only a little trouble finding the necromancer, pulling her aside so she could talk to her.
"I need to know about your magic." Simone started. Sombra gave her a look that was ridiculously similar to the one Gabriel gave her.
"My magic?"
"Necromancy in general, I guess. I need to know how it works."
"Is this about the contract you made with me? If you're all worried about tomorrow…" Sombra held up her hands, wondering how to continue.
"No." Simone gave a huff.
"I had a vision last night. You were in it; with dancing skeletons and then it wasn't you. I believe that your magic, or at least how it works may be important." Sombra listened to the explanation before laughing.
"Okay, first of all, necromancy shouldn't be used for silly things like dance performances. It's serious stuff. But it's not really that complicated."Sombra gave a dismissive wave.
"I need to form a contract with a person, like I did with you. It's permission, I guess, to use their bodies. Then I use my magic to summon their bones, creating undead soldiers or really whatever I need them for."
"But how do you control them?" Simone asked.
"They just do what I want. Like my will or something. They aren't puppets where I have to control every little thing they do." Simone frowned, things connecting in her mind.
"Puppets?"
"No, I said they weren't like puppets." Sombra sighed.
"No… but…" Simone decided to start over.
"You were in my vision. You called the bones and then controlled them. It took the appearance of puppets, because that's how I would imagine your magic to work. But then it changed. The skeletons turned into demons and it wasn't you that pulled the strings anymore. I felt that if I talked to you about your magic I would figure something out."
"Like what?" Sombra asked.
"I think the demons are being controlled. If you can summon the dead, maybe someone is behind these demons."
"What are you going to do now that you know?" Sombra asked. Simone brow furrowed, as she once again got lost in thought.
"I think I might have a plan. But I need to to keep this to yourself until I know for sure."
"Of course. I can keep a secret." Sombra smirked. Simone thanked her, letting her go back to what she was doing. Now she only had to finish her plan before tomorrow morning and hope it would actually work.
Simone was sitting beside one of the cam fires, wrapped in one of Gabriel's spare cloaks when Jack sat down next to her.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked her. She looked over at him, confused by his question.
"Because it's cold." She answered hesitantly, as if unsure how she should answer.
"Not…" Jack sighed.
"I meant why are you here? You should have stayed behind." Simone groaned, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
"That's not fair. Both you and Gabriel have to accept the fact that I'm going to fight alongside you."
"You're my sister, I'm allowed to worry about you. And if you were still a part of Overwatch, I wouldn't have let you come along." Simone glared at him, and let out a huff.
"I would have liked to see you try."
"Simone…" Jack started, but she cut him off.
"Ana's not threatening to lock Fareeha away. It's okay to worry about me; but you have to trust me to take care of myself. I'm not completely useless."
"It's…" Jack shook his head, unsure what to say. Simone laid her head on his shoulder.
"Shouldn't I be the one worried anyway? You are my baby brother." She smiled. Jack barked out a laugh.
"I hate it when you call me that."
"I know. And I take great pleasure in doing so." Simone spotted Gabriel from across the fire, entering their tent. She gave Jack a kiss on the top of his head and followed Gabriel. As she entered the tent, she saw him sitting on the makeshift cot, his mask in his hands. She cocked her head, troubled by his expression. Standing in front of him, she let him wrap his arms around her hips, face pressed into her stomach. Running a comforting hand through his hair, she pushed the cloak off of her shoulders, bringing her wings forward to surround him. They stayed that way, completely silent for a long while.
"I had a vision of you." She spoke softly, scratching his scalp lightly as she talked.
"A few weeks before I even met you. It's what caused Jack to contact you."
"What did you see?" He asked, his voice muffled against her middle.
"Your eyes." She smiled softly to herself as she remembered.
"I saw your eyes and I knew I wanted to see the rest of you." He looked up at her, brow cocked almost in disbelief. She placed a soft kiss on his nose. He pulled her slowly towards him until she was straddling his lap, his hand sliding up her back into the soft down of her wings.
"And that's why you agreed to do the bonding?"
"No. It wasn't just what I saw, it's what I felt." Simone continued, steadying herself with hands on his shoulders.
"I felt safe, happy...I felt the same as I do now."
"And how is that?" Gabriel asked, the question coming out in a purr as he looked up at her.
"I love you Gabriel." That answer clearly wasn't the one he was expecting. He stiffened, his brows pulled low.
"Don't say that." He whispered, letting his head fall.
"Don't tell me that right before we are to go to war." Threading her arms around his neck, she hugged him close.
"I love you. I'll tell you now, and tomorrow, and the day after. I'll tell you after we win this war, and every day for the rest of eternity. I may even tell you several times a day, so you have to get used to it." He growled, his grip on her tightening.
"People are going to think I've gone soft." Simone chuckled, resting her cheek on the top of his head.
"Why? Because you have a wonderful and supporting bondmate who is madly in love with you, and constantly tells you so?"
"No, because I would say it back." He said quietly. Simone's chest hurt, she was so happy her heart was threatening to explode.
"Tomorrow…" He started, but she cut him off. Squeezing him tightly one last time, she stood.
"I'm getting ready for bed, and getting a good night's rest. Tomorrow is going to be busy, so I suggest you do the same. Then, afterwards we can finish this conversation." Gabriel gave her a frustrated look, but she ignored it as she took off her shoes and got ready to sleep.
"You can't…" He tried again, but was once again interrupted.
"Goodnight Gabriel." She kissed him before slipping between the covers behind him. He gave another frustrated growl but soon laid down next to her. He didn't try arguing again.