#like would the nanites rebuild her

[umblrspectrum]

if uzi is like part murder drone now d’you think the regeneration would rebuild her with MD parts

[cozylittleartblog]

val is kind of a freak

[kalpeavaris]

Other than the AU gang do you have any murder drones ocs?

Oh, I am SO glad you asked anon! I've been waiting to spam my profile with my OCs but with my AU project going off lately I was hesitant if people would even be interested in original characters or even other stories that don't primarily involve the canon characters. :D

So let me hit you with the giant wall of text that is all this stowed concept art & story I have lying around waiting to finally be released (especially written, lol) Below the cut is all the information to my AU/own story set after the Absolute Solvers defeat in 3071.

Lemme introduce you to my personal project:

"Murder Drones: Echo"

“It takes a demon to kill an angel.”

Let's start with the most important stuff, the characters! This line-up is relatively fresh but it still misses 1-2 characters (especially SD-K) which I haven't finished designing yet. A little bit of info is written below the characters, buuut to add more context Imma just speedrun through them lol

Alot of these characters can be found on TOYHOUSE! (requires you to be logged in, sorry :c)

Serial Designation Y - Trans-masc host (build intended to be female presenting, doesn't love that though. He identifies with the male type much more and it shows). He's the secondary host to ECHO, the main antagonist of the story and has 6 wings (not feathered, they're shaped from membrane and take the shape of feathered wings).

Serial Designation D - A character that is also set on appearing in my MD AUs (like Synemy) - and she has appeared in the Synemy fanfiction before as a flashback character that worked with Cyn! She's a former maid and was rebuilt as Disassembly Drone by the Solver itself. As Dina (her true name) had feelings for Cyn she followed the Solver thanks to it using Cyns body as host. She's neither a good nor bad person in the story but rather a neutral force that just wants to be left alone.

Serial Designation X - A Communication Disassembly Drone that worked in a squad with K & T. She's fairly quiet and rarely talks and if she does, it's mainly to bring up good points. Or to insult someone because they're annoying, lmao. She wears glasses as she misses the main eyes DDs have (the yellow lights on the headband) - she's incredibly short sighted and therefore rarely ever involves herself in aerial fights. She uses close-combat techniques as she used to be a ring fighter before being rebuild.

Serial Designation T - The navigator of the 3-people-squad with X & K. He LOVES 1980s music and salvages places online & IRL for music and CDs. He's not above rick-rolling people. B) He met Kira in 3050s where his programming to kill Solver Hosts was overwritten by the Solver, causing him to become neutral towards her. One thing led to another and they had a child. Whoops! (they're madly in love)

You can also find more stuff on him (and Kira!) on their shared Pinterest Profile B)

Evie (also spelled "Eve") - Ts & Kiras daughter. Her body was constructed to be a hybrid of both a Worker Drone & a Disassembly Drone. She's the perfect middle ground of her parents (not only regarding her height). Her drive to kill Workers is not really present, though she can be very "feral" if she's starving. Still needs Oil to survive and cannot go into the sun - doesn't have nanite acids, but instead a stinger. T made sure not to give her acid. He's worried she'll hurt herself with it.

Kira ("ZWEI") - Kira is one of the Drones that was held at the Cabin Fever Labs similar to Nori and Yeva. She was number 24 (yes ik there's a name for that number in the show but since those names are names from workers on the MD staff team they're more easter eggs and less canon ig) and as a communication drone, her Solver gave her differing powers. She escaped from the labs in the mid 3050s after a botched patch and found herself an Outpost to reside in until she met T. Kiras antennas were able to pick up communication between the Solver & the landing pots, making her aware of the upcoming threat. Her existence as com-drone makes it easy for Echo to manipulate her as well as she cannot tune out incoming signals easily.

Motte - Motte is Echos main host (similar to how Cyn was to the Absolute Solver), with the exception that Echo doesn't inhabit her body all the time; only if it needs to speak through her. Motte is completely blind, her visor crached & her left eye replaced by Echos symbol that glows when she's in active possession. Before the possession she was a worker drone in Outpost 4 and quite a friendly individual. Ever since being possessed Motte is extremely paranoid, doesn't speak (semi-voluntarily, since she fears hearing her voice thinking it might be Echo). She's close with Y due to them sharing the same fate as hosts and he's the only person she allows around her. She's not evil or even slightly motivated to follow Echos commands, she's simply being used against her will (dw, she'll get her comfort to the hurt).

ECHO - main villain of the whole thing. Echo itself is a mutated line of code that seperated itself from the Absolute Solver code back in the Cabin Fever Labs when the humans experiemented with it. It mainly affects communication drones and was first seen within Kira, although it was patched from her and moved onto Motte for it's main host. It's a true neutral entity in the beginning, not differencing good from bad or even having slightly grey area understanding. It does *does*. In the evolution of the story Echo gains a pretty dangerous god complex, seeking out power beyond understanding. Other than the Solver it doesn't wish to satisfy hunger or seek out matter to consume, instead, it wants to experience true ascencion - human emotions and more. It's highly motivated by it's drive to know things, being inspired by human religion (especially christianity) with it's true form being a humongus Ophanim inspired burning wheel that is formed from biological matter, eyes and light.

Echo assumes a more "drone-like" appearance when not needing it's massive true form. It tries to imitate the Workers and well... fails, since it doesn't really look like any normal Worker Drone. It really loves halo symbolism which also results in it's powers and main emblem/symbol being a halo-like structure that manifests in it's victims eye. For that it usually destroys the eye in place. Echo is very capable, though not immortal. Like the Solver there is a way to contain it, but for spoiler reasons I won't share this for now!

(Not shown on this chart but imma share them anyways!)

Serial Designation K - K is one of the squad members that came to Copper-9 with T & X. While T and X slowly started to warm up to Kira and not actively killing the Workers anymore she herself was entirely disconnected from that. K is, to be frank, just fucking through the roof. She enjoys the Solvers task of killing off the life around planets and gladly does so. Stopping just because a Worker "is nice" isn't on her to-do list so she's... well, more or less excluded from the Squad which made her angry. On one hand - understandable, on the other hand she's killing everything she sees, sooo...

She's a minor antagonist in the story and serves as obstacle to go through. Even with the Solver gone K isn't convinced to stop which comes with a price to pay if you actively try to hinder people from finding their loved ones. :X

Alex - Alex is a human soldier from another exoplanet that wasn't yet destroyed by the Solver - the Iron system. He works in the IDF (iron defense force) and when the military on Iron-3 get the message that Solver activity has been spotted again in the Copper System (as well as Echos activity) he and his team is sent to Copper-9 to weed out the reminaing Solver Hosts (and later on Echo Hosts). Alex isn't the biggest fan of Drones but works with Iris to keep their mission afloat.

Iris - Iris is a Drone built to assist in military-grade operations. She's a bit similar to Disassembly Drones (though with differening looks) that is working with Alex' squad in order to destroy Solver Hosts & remnants still alive on Copper-9 to avoid another spread (not being aware that the Solver itself is contained and still alive... oh well... sounds like drama. Hehe.) Her name is an acronym for Intelligent Response and Information System.

So, what's the story? Is there anywhere I can look for stuff?

Well, the story right now is still being written & in draft form. It'll be released on my AO3 when it's presentable!

Basically the story plays after the Solvers defeat in 3071 and spans over a few months. It starts of with a semingly smaller mission of Evie searching for her parents who've gone missing after the Solvers defeat - trying to make sense from the entire situation only to stumble onto something WAY bigger than she (and the people helping her) anticipated in finding.

Will there be canon characters?

Yes! Since the B Plot of the story also revolves around humans trying to kill off the remaining Solver Hosts (and the Solver itself) canon characters will be included too. Obviously the characters from Outpost 3 such as Uzi, N & V primarily.

There will also be canon & fanon character interaction! B)

Anything else I could seek out for this story?

Check out this cool playlist I made for the story! It has edgy songs (woah! who could've thought when it's about MD?!), sad songs! (i love making characters suffer for plot purposes!), cool fight songs (NICE robots smashing each other to bits on the battlefield! B)) and much more (which will be expanded upon in the future hehe)

[neopuff]

Little timeline I've been using in my GenRex fics. I know there's only supposed to be one year between Six finding Rex and Promises, Promises, but I don't like that it's such a short amount of time so I made it two years lol It's fine, I can ignore canon sometimes (slams my head thru drywall) I'm good at that it's fine

Rex is presumably 14 when Six finds him. They celebrate his 16th (or ?) birthday in Nov 2010, but when Caesar arrives they would learn Rex's real birthday (I picked April 'cause I wanted something earlier in the year) and so Rex would be 17 in S3

I also really want Rex to have had a blackout at some point while at Providence. I would've liked it to be earlier but the timeline really doesn't work out lol I mean it doesn't really work in timeline anyway but I don't caaaaaaare. Six says "You only remember the last 18 months" in Wasteland, which I assume is letting the audience know that 6 months have passed between Promises, Promises and Wasteland but I'm just shortening up that timeline. They can rebuild Providence HQ faster than that it's alright

Some notes:

One would've been an EVO for more than 5 years in Divide By Six but I figure it's okay to round down. 5 years sounds more dramatic than 5 and a half years

(Plus Caesar says he missed five years in Mixed Signals even though the Nanite Event was five years prior to The Day That Everything Changed, which means characters are doing a lot of rounding)

A Family Holiday would be Beverly's 18th birthday

This isn't referenced in the above image but I put Holiday at 33 and Six at 35 (start of series). Noah calling her 28 doesn't make her actually 28, he is a 16 year old boy he doesn't know how old women are

Holiday and Six got in less than a month of dating before Six Minus Six lol

And Six got about 2-3 weeks to get to know Rex before Lions and Lambs

Uhhh hmm. Anything else? Sorry I typed this all once and lost it all so I'm trying to remember what else I had.

OH YES a pre-Providence Rex timeline with a focus on his amnesia blackouts. Here we go:

Late 2004/Early 2005: Rex has an accident in Abysus. His family infuses him with nanites to help save his life. Rex has his first mini-blackout (not full amnesia, but he starts to have trouble remembering bits and pieces) due to the accident or the nanites it's hard to say. While his body adjusts to the nanites, he has a bunch of mini-blackouts and starts forgetting important things. He starts keeping a digital notebook around Feb/March 2005

April 2005: Nanite Event - Rex blacks out due to the shockwave/trauma/both. He turns into the Giant Robot EVO Thing and flies out of Europe. Heads in a random direction and ends up tired and without memory in Hong Kong. He still has his digital notebook and it's kind of the only thing that keeps him sane

Mid 2005 - Mid 2008: Rex in Hong Kong. He starts working for Quarry because he needs to make money/get food somehow. He also meets the Hong Kong Gang one-by-one and they become good friends, though Rex is secretive and anxious and paranoid. Incident with Scarecrow doesn't help.

Mid 2008: Rex knows he has family in Mexico thanks to an early entry in his digital notebook and decides he wants to find them. Quarry agrees to help Rex get to Mexico if he makes a deal with him. Rex hasn't blacked out in so long and is feeling confident about finding his family (Quarry told him he had a contact in Mexico City who would help Rex out) so he doesn't think he needs the notebook anymore. Quarry keeps it as collateral.

Nov 2008: Rex gets to Mexico but he is lost and scared and Quarry lied about having anyone there to help him out. Rex has another blackout (combination of stress and guilt) and turns into the Giant Robot EVO Thing again. Six finds him and brings him to Providence.

Aug 2009: Rex has another blackout while training with Six (something similar to what happened in Frostbite). Holiday and Six don't realize this is a Thing with him so they just start over from the beginning. Training is easier and faster now that they know how Rex's powers work and they're prepared for everything. Six gets Rex some goggles, Holiday gets Rex some gloves.

[multiversal-pudding]

If I have one tinfoil hat “ridiculous” theory for how Muder drones is gonna play out that might not be so ridiculous in hindsight, my guess is that there’s gonna be some kind of reverse “human is revealed to be a robot”/undead tech situation-

Murderdrone type guts below the cut btw- not too realistic but it does have the forms of meat/organs if that’s a problem for you

Like, J suggests there’s somehow human parts assimilated into the Dissassembly drones, or at least her in particular (not like the usual frozen bones found on copper 9, either- like, with *skin* and *organs*), so we know it’s possible to integrate Biotech into robots, and it’s also an episode that puts a lot of focus on the idea of “What are you things”

We’ve got the weirdly fleshy theming of one side of the title card on the youtube page, the fact that the season one trailer with Uzi laughing maniacally/hysterically(?) seemed to have both skulls coated in a dark substance and worker limbs + how the Absolute Solver symbol and title card in that was heavily associated with meaty/pulse type sounds, Doll’s bathtub full of maybe blood(?), the info on AbsoluteSolver being near an in use/failed cryosleep chamber (PLUS THAT BEING WHERE ABSOLUTESOLVER J WAS FOUND/CORNERED IN THE FIRST PLACE-), the fact that Nanites can form new robotic parts on Disassembly Drones and the Absolute Solver sought to assimilate its victims (we never really did get an explanation on the limits of this rebuilding/assimilation)- heck, it’s shown the workers scavenge clothes off bodies too, I don’t see why in theory if anything else “usable” was found it couldn’t be theoretically uh. Integrated into something/messed around with by anyone/anything feeling “Experimental” NORI WHAT WERE YOU UP TO WITH THE ABSOLUTE SOLVER WHY DOES IT KNOW YOU- (though granted I will just say up front I do think the reason all bodies are shown as bones/have been reduced to bones is just sheer “It would be gross and distracting-disturbing in a way that wouldn’t add to the story”)

Heck, Episode 2 is literally named Heartbeat and, again, focuses on the fact that at the very least the Disassembly drones have/ Absolute Solver has some weird organic stuff going on with them, not just in general design, but to the point where J’s corpse had human ribs and a (FUNCTIONAL!! YOU HEAR IT BEAT!!!!) HUMAN HEART

Seriously, forget just Vampires, I think at this point whatever was happening in that Mansion might straight up breach Frankenstein Territory

So uh. Yeah, TLDR basically right now I feel like we have a mess of very disturbingly squishy, red, twitching puzzle pieces and not many answers, and I am. Well, in the words of N “Ha ha, I’m very concerned, but also. Pretty frightened a little!”

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

The Very 1st Pixal

Violet Genesis Borg-Jewell

Build Number: 1

Age: 33

Built in 1989

History: when Cyrus Borg was 15 years old inspired by the Legend of Birchwood Forest he created the very first Nindroid made in the modern era in 1989. She would have the longest initial stint out of then lasting until 1996 before her body malfunctioned.

Violet is the only one Cyrus actually mourned over as he did not know when or if he would be able to bring her back online.

But in 2014 Zane Julian would help him be the one to show him how to bring the Pixals back online, so he started with Violet.

As seen she is actually missing one of her arms this was due to something happening to it while she was in storage they do not know when her arm got detached but because her form was so old at that point a lot of the parts needed to reattach and recreate that arm are no longer in existence, so Cyrus offered to rebuild her form if she so chose or she could just deal with it as an amputee so she chose to manage life as one of the first amputee Nindroids.

Her grandmother Cyrus's mother Victoria took a notice and liking initially to Violet having the most contact with Violet as Cyrus used to carry her around on a laptop before he was able to switch her over to a form, so sometimes the laptop would end up in the kitchen because Cyrus being Cyrus and the two women would end up frequently having nice conversations

So when Violet came back online she remembered something that Violet wanted to do become a lawyer within a few years Violet had become one nobody wanted to really tussle with you were wrestling with a living thinking computer who could bring up any and all evidence she has come across.

In that top photo she is the head of Borg Industries legal team she was the one if you were trying to sue them or any legal matter you would run into.

At Borg Industries she would meet her first husband which I will not name as he belongs to another who hates me with a passion anymore, so he is now her ex-husband they do together have one son named Victor. I also have made him a cheater in my world. Simone her younger sister spotted him at her club which is meant for Adult audiences only if you catch my drift.

She'd go on though to meet this man named Honeysuckle while at a therapist's office after handling the divorce between her and her ex-husband she wasn't looking for anything but they were both smitten immediately. Victor's toy flew out of his hand hit his future stepdad's leg and the rest was history as they say.

( Honeysuckle was actually a collab with @roantheboat but due to personal reasons they handed him fully over to me

(Honeysuckle Jewell-Borg)

Honeysuckle is a prime Empire Android he worked a 1920s rubberhose level with his identical twin Jewell Honeysuckle (Yeah its just backwards naming of each other) at their families flower shop they were a hidden boss as if you stepped on the flowers three times they would come out and attack you to defend their flowers. His family once Prime Empire happened migrated out into Ninjago and run their flower shop next to Jennifer's coffee shop.

Eventually Violet though would Branch out from her lawyer work and jump into the political ring after the events of Crystallized everybody was unstable about their mayor and his behavior so she ran against him and in summer of 2024 Violet Borg became the first Nindroid Mayor of Ninjago City by a slim margin,

(In the top picture behind her is her husband Honeysuckle and the child in her arm is her son Victor. On the night she took over as Mayor)

Now you may be asking with Victor how did she have a kid how do any of the Nindroids have kids? Well in my world they have nanites and they act like the cells of the human body in us, it is touted as one of Cyrus Borg's greatest breakthroughs as he gave the Nindroid race the ability to produce more of well them, there are three main Generations the Nindroid Army the Prime Empire group and the Nanite group

That is what Victor is he is one of the first generation Nanite Nindroids if you don't know what a Nanite is it's a microscopic robot that can come together to create something

This program though does have its glitches and Violet suffers from the safety feature being taken off of how many a carrier can have.

She still holds the record of most carried at eight babies. Cyrus did foresee a problem with multiples happening like this so there is a safety feature on these Nanites that stops it at 3 at most per carrying cycle, but for some weird reason in Violet this feature was off and he couldn't even correct it so they just had to be careful.

She and Honeysuckle in their 814 years of Marriage have 256 kids between them being the largest branch of the Borg Tree. It's basically a case of if you can trace yourself back to the Borg family typically it's this side.

(Art by @roantheboat )

[werewolfoverlord12]

Addendum post fall 4

@delta-hexagon @littjara-compleated-sage

Melira ran towards Urabrask's room, meeting Alistair at one junction and Jazal at a second.

He handed her a stack of papers, folded open a graph,

"What's this?" She asked.

"Comparison of the syringes used by the Sleepers six months ago and two days ago." Jazal said.

"They share similarities but aren't the same?" Melira said handing them back to the Leonin, "we're on a clock. Explain fast in common please, we have an intruder heading for Urabrask's room."

"The syringe they injected him with six months ago contained blood from at least one, if not more, of the other praetors. He fought that one off no problem. The syringe from two days ago contained Glistening Oil from the Urborg swamps."

Melira slowed, "What?"

"Since New Phyrexia failed, maybe they're trying Old Phyrexia?" Alistair said.

"... Would explain why it made him sick... His rooms are right up ahead."

They turned a corner in time to see Slobad, and his new body of iron, tap the keypad for Urabrask's door.

"Slobad?" Melira called.

The goblin stopped and slowly glanced at her with oil black eyes, before turning and heading into the room.

Hovering above an endless sea of crystal clear oil and a sky of warm golden sunlight, Urabrask spoke with an invisible force that seemed to want to aid him.

"Yes, I want something that can give the Xan the few benefits of being Phyrexian without the numerous drawbacks. But I don't even know how to make something like that, let alone reproduce it." He said

The voice and warm air circles him, "Do you know how a body fights a virus?"

"Y-eah? Its immune system tags the foreign body and the immune cells eat it. Why?"

"Because your body doesn't do that. At least not with the virus in the Glistening Oil. It recognizes it, despises it and releases unique antibodies that cause your normally destructive immune cells... To envelope it, break it down and rebuild it."

Urabrask felt a warm hand on his face, "You've already found your blood contains its own nanites, too. They're constantly being reabsorbed by your body and made again when they've gotten too old. The ones in the oil are also being covered with these special antibodies, that cause your nanites to attack and reprogram them."

"Rebuilt and reprogrammed into... What, exactly?" Urabrask asked.

He flinched as a searing pain ran down his spine to the tip of his tail. He brought it to his face and spied a stinger like device, half-way between hypodermic and scorpion, dripping glimmering golden oil.

"The future. Time to wake up; your assassin is here and longs to be free of Old Phyrexia's grip."

Urabrask's eyes snapped open at the same time the lumbering form of Slobad, eyes black as oil, raised his massive hammer above his head. Without a second thought, Urabrask twisted his prone body and lashed out with his tail, the newly formed needle-like tip piercing even Slobad's iron armor.

The goblin gasped as golden light flooded through his veins and he dropped the hammer to the side. The light continued to flow throughout his body and as his eyes blazed gold his goblin torso fell from its mooring within the metal carapice. The stinger tore free from his flesh and Urabrask leaned up on his elbow as Melira ran into the room.

"Urabrask?"

He shook his head, "See about him first." Urabrask pointed at the tiny body slumped against the ground.

Melira stepped forward and crouched beside the goblin,

"He's alive... But whatever you did to him... Its killing off the Glistening Oil. I can't sense it anymore."

As she rose with Slobad in her arms, Jazal stepped into the room in his Crystallian form, green crystal bow cocked,

"Everything alright?" He asked.

Urabrask collapsed back to the bed, "I have no" he cursed in phyrexian, "idea, but I certainly hope so."

[a-typical-nightowl]

Nori Rambles Because I want to

episode 6 is itching my fucking brain dudee this explains so much about nori she was the new host of cyn so that explains why she knew so much - the singularity - the disassembly drones coming to kill them all

Cyn was connected to all the murder drones/AS victims at some point which led to Nori getting visions or predictions about the future.

this is could also be why Nori wanted the doors. if she was being influenced by Cyn (to an extent), she needed to protect her offspring in case Nori herself got compromised. a new host also I had this whole tangent where I think people saying that Khan mercy killing Nori didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then I rewatched the 1st episode

learn and live i suppose. That just makes the detail of Nori being killed by the DDs nanite acid specifically interesting with episode 6's added context. Nori was Cyn's new host. The AS does everything in its power to make sure its host doesn't die. We see that with everyone infected by it. If the DD's just cut her in half, she'd just regenerate. They have the acid for a reason and since the nanites poison the drone's body from the inside out, it would make sense why she was killed like that specifically. I would assume the AS had some difficulty rebuilding a poisoned body so that's why Khan had to mercy kill her. She was probably stuck in an endless painful cycle of regeneration. I'm not sure if Khan knew too much about the Solver though. He genuinely seems that clueless since he didn't even notice the collars Nori and Yeva had, plus MD is pretty explicit in its clues/storytelling. They would've let it slip by now that Khan knew about the AS existing.

Khan lost the woman he loved without properly realizing she was a host to a cosmic horror the universe can barely comprehend

[titanomarchy]

I'm not sure how I feel about the living ship and the interceptor, from a lore perspective. From a gameplay perspective I love them. But it needs context.

The Atlas has 16 minutes left to live on it's timescale. While that is longer than the Atlas' created universe it is still an alarmingly little amount of time. Atlas is also associated with the color red, and when you encounter it at a station or a space encounter it typically manifests itself as a crimson orb.

There once was a planet called Korvax Prime. The Atlas created the machine planet in its own image. KP was intelligent, and the Aerons/Sentinels enjoyed it. The Gek First Spawn would inevitably destroy KP, regardless of which iteration of the universe it was. This had two effects. 1, the Sentinels became over-aggressive in defending planets, and 2, the body of KP was destroyed, but not the mind.

When the body was destroyed, the mind descended into the World of Glass. The Glass is like an afterlife/archive of everything that once existed in the main universe. There KP took on three new names, used more or less interchangeably: The Abyss, The Atlantid, and the Void Mother. She is associated with the color purple.

She made a plan with the Sentinels to escape the imminent death of the Atlas. This involved contaminating the water on worlds with nanites, that would reconfigure lifeforms from the inside out.

I thought that this referred to the Infested worlds. They have strange flora that resembles the Living Ships, which hatch from Void Eggs. The Starbirth quest to make your first living ship also mentions that the info was from KP before deletion. The planet type is also infested with Titan Worms and their spawn. Biological Horrors and their eggs can be found on the surface, and will emerge to protect the worm spawn. Furthermore, some of the strange flora can be found in the oceans of other worlds.

But I know for a fact that Corrupted Sentinels and Dissonant worlds are under the sway of the Abyss. Dissonant worlds are dotted with purple crystals. The description for them often mention Glass, and the name of Atlantideum is a direct reference to the Atlantid. Biological Horror eggs can be found here as well. Autophages can be found around the planet in Harmonic Camps and at crashed Interceptors. Interacting with autophages will spell out a binary message, VOID MOTHER. During the Singularity expedition, you can encounter New Atlantids that also give out a message. Messages through the Expedition mentions things like "we will rebuild" and "we don't need you". Considering that the players rebuild the construct, the message might be directed at the Abyss. They don't need *her*, because they are already being rebuilt by us.

Downed Intercepters nearly always have an Autophage present. Seeing how the cockpit is described as "vestigial", it once had a purpose but does not now, it seems to me that the autophages are Aerons who refused to be reformatted into Sentinels, and where destroyed. Some of the Aerons who became Sentinels were just placed within their starships and incorporated into it, becoming Interceptors. When you claim an Interceptor for yourself, you have to essentially ask the Atlas to brainwash it for you (so that the ship doesn't reject or "consume" you) and it is still powered by corrupted materials should you choose to use those instead of others.

Of course, it could be a two-pronged attack, and both are under the influence of the Atlantid. Or none of the ships are, as they have their own intelligence and may not agree with the Abyss.

[theangrycomet]

The Functional Engines AU Some Kiddos Pt 1

Some character set up below; not exactly lore, more ramblings

Ben:

When Max had called Carl and told him about the weird device now suddenly strapped to his sons wrists, he hadn’t believed him. But as the summer went by, the increasing evidence (news reports, Ben’s youtube channel, the weird phone calls) it was hard not to believe.

By the time he’d gotten home, they weren’t exactly thrilled about their son’s endeavors. Once they had confirmed that he was fine, they attempted to put a stop to his crime fighting which was about as successful as in canon.

A few LONG conversations later about the whole “Hero” thing, Ben’s allowed to continue, so long as he A) contacts them when/ where he’s helping and B) has back up. [Think like Kim Possible]

As to the clothes… After a summer of not doing his laundry and impregnating his clothes with the smell of sweaty 10 year old, both Sandra and Carl agreed the clothes had to go. (They may or may not have been burned)

It was at Carl’s suggestion that he start covering the Omnitrix when at school, as Ben had a hard enough focusing in class as himself. Plus, it’s a bit more discrete that way.

Gwen:

Back from the possibly the most chaotic summer of her life, the most exciting thing that’s happened is her family moving to Bellwood. Returning to same old school grind’s been kind of- impossible. The only break has been helping Ben with dealing with the strange mutants messing at the edges of the town.

Aside from that though? The extra extracurricular activities don’t seem to be cutting it; even dragging Ben to the gymnastics class didn’t help. Constantly pent up with energy, she’s ends up getting a bit more mischevous in class, much to her new classmate’s dismay.

The bag carries supplies for both Team Destroy and a basic first aid kit.

Kevin:

Building the Antitrix? A breeze; Kevin practically did it in his sleep. Fixing Glitch? Not so much. With the limited parts he was able to scavange after fighting Vilgax, putting his friend back together had been his priority. Unfortunately, there’s not much to work with when he’s just got the helmet.

All he’s been able to do thus far is upload Glitch’s consciousness on his phone, and while it’s nice to be able to talk to him, both parties agree that having the rest of him work would be nice.

It was hard to say who was closer to a heart attack when scrounging for more Armor pieces (because there HAS to be more than the Helmet), Kevin, or Phil.

After a team up between the two, Glitch is restored to his Pre-Innervasion-self with a few tweaks to his markings. They also rebuild the Antitrix with a few new upgrades. Phil (who’s has been under Providence surveillance) decides that since he has to drop off Glitch any way, perhaps it’s a good time to move locations.

He’s also EXTREMELY concerned about this kids home life. Kid’s too smart to be on his own with out a good reason.

Once he’s back in Bellwood, with some convincing he’s giving the whole hero thing a try (hence the hair). It’s a struggle, but he’s doing pretty good so far.

Kevin’s tired of being called Emo, hence the new grunge look. He’s covering his Antitrix (like Ben), mostly so Providence doesn’t notice. Like Phil, he’s trying his best to avoid them.

Rex:

After nearly being dissected at Providence, Rex is mostly just trying to roll with the punches. Between working with Caesar on trying to get his memories back (largely unsuccessful), the Training sessions Six can get in with him while supposedly “tracking him”, and trying to cure as many Evo’s as he can, there’s no time for homework.

Alas, it must be done if he wants to stay at the stuffy school he’d been enrolled in.

Though if he were being honest, he’s more worried about jerks like Hunter Cain right now.

His original jacket was left at Providence when Six help Caesar out of there. Despite the limited material, Dr. Kell’s found out some… interesting information pertaining to Rex’s nanites.

Noah:

When Noah had offered to teach Rex how to shoot a hoop, he was not expecting to be dragged into “saving the world”. He’s not objecting though, thus far it’s been pretty darn cool.

Being the ping pong champ he is, he tends to wear his table tennis jerseys. His pockets are either filled with batteries or cool rocks to add to his collection.

This has proven to be a useful habit when dealing with baddies. You’d be surprised how many weirdos have fallen to a well slung rock to the temple.

Blonko:

Revonnah is currently in the middle of the largest political tug-a-war in it’s history. Between the Incurseans, the DNAliens, and the Plumbers all seeking to control its Amber Ogia, most Revonnahganders have been forced to flee. At the Plumber’s insistence, most if not all the planet’s minors and 1 of their parents have been evacuated.

This includes the Rooks

Blonko is trying his best to fill the gap left from their father (still being on Revonnah) for the rest of his siblings and help his Mother try and keep everything together.

Initially in awe at the Plumbers work to save them, it took him a while to realize not everything is what it seems with Red Spots.

Issued a mandatory ID mask, he along the rest of his family are trying to adapt, though the Human’s consistently confusing methods are not helping.

After enrolling in the private school nearby, Gwen was pretty quick to make friends with the strange little new kid. (His first growth spurt after his B'thnack’s falling has yet to hit). Though he was already very clearly interested in Mechanics, she was the first to find out how he snuck out every so often to go go-kart racing.

He is quickly learning that humans are possibly the strangest sapiens in the galaxy.

Though he’d prefer to wear his normal clothes, they’re trying to blend in. He tries to find the looser clothing; skinny jeans are his worst nightmare.

Glitch:

After being stuck as a buggy for most of his existence outside the Omnitrix, it was nice to be himself again. It is amazing how much Glitch missed fingers.

Once Phil, Kevin, and he returned to Bellwood, the Tennyson’s were ecstatic to see both bois home and safe. (Kevin nearly passed out when Gwen hugged him, whether from the strength of her hug or from her vicinity Glitch isn’t quite sure)

Ben’s parents took one look at him (and after some explanations and Max being certain he mentioned Glitch wasn’t human [he didn’t]) and promptly took him as their own, though it’s taking some getting used to he’s fitting right in.

Just need to get an ID mask so he can go about as himself so people don’t think he’s an Evo and try and attack him

[songsformonkeys]

Digging Up Bones (whiskey x f!reader) - chapter 3

[Banner by the lovely @yespolkadotkitty ]

Summary: You work for the Statesmen as the head of their medical department. It’s your job to patch up anyone who gets back wounded and to work on ways to prevent them from getting badly wounded in the first place.

Agent Whiskey, in particular, seems to be more accident-prone than the rest and he never passes up a reason to come see you, whether for real injuries or imaginary ones. The two of you form a close friendship, which slowly turns into something more.

Then a British man with a headshot wound and a fascination with butterflies shows up in your emergency room and in the events that follow you’re forced to reevaluate just about everything you thought you knew about your partner.

Warnings: canon typical violence

Masterlist

Chapter 3

The following three days passed in a slow fashion. Not just because Whiskey was gone but the rest of the agents seemed to be staying out of harm's way as well. It was a bit boring, but that was something Tonic had taught you not to complain about out loud since it apparently made it sound like you longed for injuries and carnage.

On the bright side, the slow days gave you, Ginger, and Tonic time to begin interviewing the agents on base for their emergency folders for the Alpha-gel.

The three of you had realized that while the gel and the nanites healed the brain perfectly fine they still needed something to counter the retrograde amnesia, which seemed to be a standard side effect. The sample of agents that had needed to use the gel was still small and so you couldn't draw too many sure conclusions from it, but every single one of them so far had suffered memory loss. It had been Tonic's idea that reminders of a past trauma might jump-start the memory again. The results had been good but guessing and digging up past traumas had been painstakingly difficult and had taken up more time than ideal. So you had collectively decided that each agent should have a file or a folder containing their very worst memory and ways it could be triggered.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 On Wednesday evening, you curled up in your armchair and called Whiskey. He picked up after three rings.

“Moonshine, “ he drawled, voice sounding a little tired.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” you asked, suddenly feeling a little bad. It wasn't that late in the evening but maybe Whiskey had needed to tuck in early.

“No no, I was awake,” Whiskey assured you, “Just got home from a looong day at an art auction. I'm not sure if you've ever been but it is possibly the most boring thing I have ever done.”

“Yeah? What was so bad about it?” you asked, smiling to yourself. You would be caught dead before admitting it out loud but you had actually missed him these past few days.

Whiskey began describing his day. A soon as he began talking, his voice relaxed you. You pictured him walking around in a swanky hotel room, with a view of the big city, probably still wearing his hat. You were half convinced he even slept in that thing.

Whiskey told you about the auction and the few stuck-up people who had pretended not to understand his southern accent just to make him feel less than. Then he told you about the way he'd later wiped the smug smiles off their faces by actually bidding home the small painting they had been ogling.

“Champ might kill me for it, 'cause it cost a small fortune, but it was worth it!”

“What will you do with the painting?” you asked.

“Hm,” Whiskey said and you didn't need to see him to know that he was shrugging, “Dunno. Might hang it in my apartment. It's a beautiful painting, reminded me of someone special... Speaking of my apartment, have you finished the cake yet?”

You nodded, before remembering that he couldn't see you.

“Yes, Ginger and Tonic helped me eat the rest of it.”

You had been over to Whiskey's apartment the day after he'd left. When you'd gotten to work, his key had been in a white envelope on your desk and you hadn't been able to keep your curiosity at bay for longer than a workday.

The apartment hadn't been quite what you thought Whiskey's home would look like. It had been much neater and cleaner than you had expected, for starters. You had expected more of a bachelor pad but Whiskey's apartment was quite nice. It looked lived in but not messy. Each thing seemed to have its own designated spot. As you had walked around the living room towards the kitchen you had taken in the big, comfortable-looking couch and multi-colored knitted blanket that looked like it was homemade.

There had been a couple of books on art history resting on the wooden coffee table. You had stopped, slightly in awe, in front of the big bookshelves that covered a whole wall of the room. You'd never pictured Whiskey to be the reading type, but here was clear proof otherwise. You had scanned the titles of the books and the exceptionally wide array of subjects made you suspect that a lot of these had been read for previous missions. But there had been a whole shelf of fiction too and you smiled a little as you noted that a lot of them seemed to be old western classics.

You had found the cake in the fridge in the equally clean kitchen. The cake had been in a plastic container and Whiskey had stuck a post-it note with a smiley on the lid.

“I liked your bookshelf. And I borrowed a book from you,“ you confessed over the phone and Whiskey chuckled in response.

“Is that so? Which one, if I may ask, was it that caught your fancy?”

“Lonesome Dove.”

“Ah, a classic! Didn't have you pegged as a western girl, Moonshine.”

“I'm not sure if I am, I've never read any. But you had a lot of them and I thought...” You cut yourself off, glancing over at the book on your bed, “You had a book on human anatomy as well that looked interesting and one on make-shift medical treatment when you don't have access to a hospital. I didn't take those, though. It felt wrong to take so many books without asking...”

Whiskey chuckled again and the sound did weird things to your insides, or maybe it was the nerves of having just admitted to raiding his bookshelf.

“Darlin', if it makes you happy, you are more than welcome to help yourself to any book in that apartment”

“Really? But what if it's a book that you suddenly need?”

“Then I'll know perfectly well where to find it.”

You couldn't really argue with that logic, didn't really want to either because the prospect of getting to read all those books almost made you giddy.

“So besides ogling my books, what else have you been up to while I've been gone?” Whiskey asked and you proceeded to tell him about the work with the Trauma Folders, which Tonic so affectionately called them.

“You still haven't submitted yours either, by the way,” you told him. Whiskey didn't immediately answer. The line was dead silent for a few seconds and just when you were about to ask if he was still there, he cleared his throat.

“Yeah, I know. I promise to get right on that as soon as I'm back, okay?” He sounded a little odd and your brow furrowed slightly. Whiskey cleared his throat again.

“Look, darlin', I'm pretty dead on my feet right now and as lovely as your voice is to listen to, I think unfortunately we gotta hang up before I start snoring on you.”

“Oh, of course! Sorry, I've talked too much.”

“Hardly,” Whiskey replied and his voice was warm and soft again, which eased the nervous knots that had begun forming in your stomach at his abrupt attempt to end the call. Usually, that was your role to try and say goodnight and his to try and linger. “I cherish every word, which is why I prefer to be awake for them. Call me tomorrow again?”

“Sure. Good night, Whiskey.”

“Good night, darlin'”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 If the previous days had been slow, the following day was anything but, at least when the afternoon rolled around.

Ginger had called you about some very strange low-frequency readings coming from a church nearby in Kentucky. She told you that she and Tequila were gonna go check it out but that you should be on standby, just in case.

You told her to be careful. Ginger was excellent at her job but she was also one of your closest friends and you couldn't help but worry.

After you'd ended the call, you immediately set about preparing the emergency room and double-checking to make sure everything was there. Seeing as neither of you knew what the strange readings had been about, it was difficult to prepare for every possible scenario, and while you knew that the health effects of exposure to extremely low frequencies were being discussed in the medical community, no one knew exactly what the effects were.

It seemed like a lifetime had passed before Ginder called you again. You heard the sound of the helicopter in the background. She told you that they'd be there in thirty and that they were bringing someone in with a headshot.

“I'll get the chamber ready for him!” you told her

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Thirty minutes later, on the dot, you watched as the helicopter landed and Tequila emerged, carrying a man in a suit. The man's face was obscured by the balloon containing the Alpha-gel but his clothes looked expensive.

“Entry point?” you yelled, over the sound of the helicopter as you waved for Tequila and Ginger to hurry inside.

“Straight through the left eye,” Ginger replied and you winced. The left temporal lobe would be damaged, for sure, maybe part of the occipital one too. You were confident that the nanites would be able to rebuild the brain matter but with the temporal lobe damaged you worried that the memory loss might be even more extensive than what you'd seen before and you wondered if it would affect his speech.

“Exit point or is the bullet still in there?” you asked.

“The bullet went all the way through as far as I could tell. Not sure what he was shot with though so we'll have to scan to make sure there's nothing left in there.”

Said and done. When you got down to the medical rooms you first put the man through a thorough scan of his skull. Just like Ginger suspected, the bullet had gone straight through and it luckily hadn't left anything but damaged tissue in its wake. Tequila helped move him over to the nanite chamber. Carefully, you removed the Alpha-gel balloon and quickly closed the chamber around his head.

“What happened?” you asked as you sat down in front of the computer and began tapping away at the keyboard, starting the machine and readying it for the healing and rebuilding process.

“We have no idea,” Ginger said. “We found him like this outside the church, no sign of who had shot him. Inside the church, however...”

“What?” you asked.

“Inside was a total fuckin' bloodbath,” Tequila supplied, “Whole congregation just...slaughtered.”

You looked over at the strange man.

“You think he did it?”

Both Ginger and Tequila shrugged.

“We don't know. But he's got blood on him that isn't his own and there was no gun in his hand so he clearly didn't shoot himself, which means someone got away from that Church alive.” Ginger reasoned, “And there's one more thing..”

She pulled a pair of glasses from the pocket of her jacket. The left glass was shattered.

“He was wearing these. These aren't normal glasses, which means he's not a civilian. And his watch... he's some sort of intelligence. I'll dig around and see if I can find out whom he belongs to.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 You called Whiskey again that evening. He sounded more awake today but you could practically hear the frown on his face when you told him about your strange new guest. He was not happy.

“He's an agent?” he asked.

“We think so. Ginger is running some tests on his glasses and his watch to see what we can figure out but so far we have no idea whom he's working for. So we just have to wait for him to wake up and see how much he remembers.”

“I don't like this,” Whiskey stated. “Not one bit. If he's intelligence, he's dangerous, Moonshine. You shouldn't be alone with him, not under any circumstances!”

“I won't,” you reassured him while rolling your eyes. “Agent Tequila also has an over-protective streak and has, therefore, put himself on guard duty until further notice. I've had him looking over my shoulder all evening.”

You had found it somewhat annoying but Whiskey had instantly calmed down upon hearing that bit of information. He told you to promise to listen to Tequila on this, which you reluctantly did. You didn't tell Whiskey that if the arrangement continued, you would have to come to some sort of agreement with Tequila on how close was close enough for protection. You couldn't have him reading over your shoulder all day long or you'd go stir crazy.

Whiskey continued to ask you a bunch of questions about the strange man and you couldn't answer a single one. He asked you about the signal too and you couldn't give him any answers to that either. It was all Ginger's area of expertise and you told him as much.

“Sorry, darlin', just wanna make sure my favorite girl is safe until I get back.”

Whiskey's words made you smile stupidly, despite the slightly patronizing undertone of them. You would like to think you knew how to take care of yourself, especially around your patients. But you did enjoy it when Whiskey called you his favorite. No one else had called you their favorite before.

After a few more minutes of chit-chat, you both said good night.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The next day, your patient woke up.

It had been decided the day before that Tonic and Tequila would be the first ones to greet him. Tequila because of the whole bodyguard business and Tonic because he was by far the one who had the most experience with calming people in shock and panic. You had only sulked a little when you'd sat down the desk on the other side of the one-way mirror showing you the stranger's cell. You turned on the cameras in the other room to record the interaction before leaning forward over the desk to watch.

As anticipated, the man was more than a little freaked out by waking up in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces around him.

“Where am I? Who are you?” he immediately asked and you raised your eyebrows as you noted his British accent. The stranger tried to scramble off the bed where he'd been lying. Tequila took a step forward but Tonic quickly held up a hand to stop him.

“You are in a hospital,” Tonic told the frightened man and gave him a calm smile, “My name is To...Tom.”

“A hospital? What happened?” the stranger asked.

“We were hoping you would be able to tell us. You were in some sort of accident and when we found you, you were unconscious.”

Unconscious... that was definitely an understatement to describing having had one's brains blown out through the back of their head.

“Do you remember anything of what happened?” Tonic continued.

The British man looked around the room with wild eyes but he was already calming down a bit. While you were a bit jealous that Tonic, or Tom apparently, was the first one to get to talk to your new patient you had to admit that it was a privilege to get to watch him work. Tonic continued talking to the man and answering his questions by saying just enough to calm him but not enough to confuse him.

You found out that his name was Harry, but he couldn't remember his last name. He was from England and he thought he was 23 years old, which he most definitely was not. You caught Tonic and Tequila exchange a look as Harry told them his age. If Harry couldn't remember anything beyond his 23rd year then you estimated that he had forgotten more than half of his life. And since he wasn't one of your agents, you had no idea how to bring those memories back again...

Tonic and Harry spoke for a while longer and Tonic told him about his injuries. He also told harry about the memory loss. Harry didn't believe him until Tonic guided him over to the one-way mirror separating you from them and let Harry have a look at himself. You stood on the other side of the mirror and could watch as realization dawned on Harry. His breathing immediately sped up again and he was beginning to panic.

“Harry,” Tonic said calmly, “Harry, I'm gonna need you to breathe slower with me, okay? We've seen this kind of memory loss before and we will do our very best to help you recover the memories you can't remember right now”

“Think of it as one hell of a hangover,” Tequila supplied and Harry gave him an incredulous look.

“Hangover?” he asked in a weak voice “I look old enough to be a grandfather and I don't remember any of it... I don't think anyone has ever been drunk enough for that kind of hangover.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Tonic and Tequila handled the whole ordeal in a way that made you proud to call yourself their colleague and they stayed with Harry for most of the day, talking and explaining. Harry listened patiently and you had to give him credit for taking the situation a whole lot better than some of the Statesmen who had gone through the same thing. He was scared and worried, sure, but he managed to keep his panic in check and asked Tonic a whole bunch of relevant questions.

You wished you could have stayed and watched all afternoon but eventually you had to go back to your own office and begin typing up your report.

You had barely gotten two paragraphs in when your phone started ringing.

“Moonshine?” Whiskey said as soon as you picked up and you could immediately tell that something was wrong. He sounded scared. There were car horns blaring and loud crashes in the background.

“Yes. Whiskey what's...”

Whiskey cut you off before you could finish your question.

“Where are you?” he asked and when it took you a fraction of a second too long to answer, he repeated the question, “Moonshine! Where are you?”

“I'm in the office. Whiskey what's wrong?”

“Good! Whatever you do, stay where you are! There's something in the air! People are killing each other!”

“What?” Before you could say anything further, your door burst open and you screamed from surprise.

“Moonshine!” Whiskey yelled, panicked, as Ginger stormed into the office and pushed you out of her way to get to the computer. She began tapping on the keyboard and you watched as she pulled up live feeds from several cameras around the country. Your mouth fell open as you watched the chaos that filled the screen.

“MOONSHINE!” Whiskey yelled again and you realized you hadn't answered him.

“I'm fine!” you quickly assured him and you heard him exhale loudly. “Ginger just showed up. What the hell is going on?” The last question was aimed at them both. The quality of the feeds wasn't the best but there was no mistaking what was going on. All over the country, people were killing each other.

“The fuck if I know,” Whiskey said at the same time as Ginger supplied the slightly more helpful “It's the same signal! It's the same low frequency as we picked up from the church. But this is all over...well the world”

She turned and looked at the phone in your hand.

“Is that agent Whiskey?”

You nodded but then froze as you heard a banging noise on the other end of the line, which sounded much closer than the previous ones. You heard Whiskey curse.

“Whiskey?”

There was another crash and he cursed again.

“I'm sorry, darlin', I seem to have a visitor. I gotta go.”

“Whiskey,” you begged and you heard your own voice break as you spoke his name.

“Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll deal with this and then I promise I'll come right home to you. You just promise to stay inside and stay safe, okay?”

What about you? you wanted to ask, but Whiskey had already hung up.

“He'll be fine,” said Ginger, who must have seen the expression change on your face. You nodded. She was right. Whiskey was an excellent agent. He would be fine.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 He would be fine. You managed to convince yourself of that up until about an hour later when the office phone called. You were too busy clutching your own phone, waiting for Whiskey to call back, to pay any attention to the other phone so Ginger picked it up and answered. She exchanged a few cryptic comments with the person on the other line before ending the call by saying:

“We'll be ready for him.”

After she'd hung up the phone she turned towards you.

“Whiskey's on his way back. He's been stabbed but according to the pilot, he's stable. They're flying him back now. “

[zet-sway]

What does your Shep do post trilogy? Mine fucks off after all the bullshit and retires to Tuchunka to help krogan rebuilding efforts because the Alliance and Council have gotten on her every last nerve

FYI: anons that come into people's inboxes with these kinds of questions are the BEST kind of anons. Thank you, kind and curious stranger.

I'm sincerely sorry it took me like two months to answer your question. The truth is, I thought about it so much I wrote an entire fic about it lmao. It's on AO3 here :D

The rundown - Thane Survives - this is self indulgent and I don't feel bad about it lol

Shepard retires about 3.5 years after the crucible. She has injuries but they have been blessedly treatable. She will need regular medical attention for the rest of her life to monitor her various augmentations

Her rank at retirement is Captain. She was unwilling to assume the additional responsibilities of an admiralty promotion.

She retires to a farm.

Yes I am pining for a rustic life here but the reason I chose a farm is because farming is very physically demanding work. Shepard has been pushing her body to the limit for years and she gets a certain amount of satisfaction from that. She wants a physical job without the imminent danger of being a fucking wartime spaceship captain. Going to the gym is boring to her. Farming feels like the right balance of work and autonomy. For the first time she is growing things with her own labor and she loves that. And finally - it offers her the chance to connect with a planet she never lived on (because my shep has a spacer history).

I'd also like to add farming is dangerous work, however in her case it's mostly dangerous to her alone, easing the burden of responsibility (also we all know Shepard is reckless lol).

The sunflower farm in the ME3 trailer is a happy coincidence. I had already written a field of sunflowers - then I remembered the trailer. The scene with the tanks rolling over the charred flower stalks really hit me hard. I wanted to acknowledge that devastation and heal from it.

Thane is enjoying his retirement and doing basically whatever the fuck he wants. He visits the local library and brings home books on agriculture for her. The librarians love him because he's so polite and good conversation (and pretty handsome too right?!). He's excited to be learning so many new things.

"But Zet, the reapers would have destroyed humanity's libraries!" Ok yes but also - It's said at least once that the reapers primarily targeted populated areas of earth first. Every major city is probably leveled at this point. I won't pretend to know why the fuck the reapers were hitting a farm in the trailer - I think maybe they were just looking for a target and humanity intercepted with guns blazing, and a fight ensued. But I don't think the reapers destroyed literally everything. They wanted live humans to feed their reaper building machine or whatever - they used manipulation tactics to coax humans to come willingly. So I think there is enough evidence to speculate some less populated areas are relatively untouched.

In my headcanon, farm itself is contaminated and needs extensive rehab due to reaper nanites (these are canon and mentioned in the mission to kill Miranda's father, horrifying holy SHIT). The nanites are dead because the reapers were destroyed. I thought the level of destruction in the trailer warranted significant rebuilding. I skipped most of this in my fic because it was getting boring but basically they needed to strip a lot of soil and incinerate it or something, and as well their house needed a fuckton of repairs.

Also how the fuck did they get power? The reapers for sure would have hit power generating stations (fusion power is fucking complicated, oh my god), and assuming they have stopped using fossil fuels? Infrastructure would need to be adapted? Dude I don't know, it makes my head spin, but I find it so interesting.

Anyway the first two years Shepard and Thane spent on that farm were rough.

They get married privately on the farm when the rehabilitation efforts are complete. Part of their small ceremony is to bless the land in the name of Thane's gods - I omitted the land blessing from my fic because I specifically wanted a very vague but heartfelt acknowledgement of their wedding. They don't exchange rings because jewelry is not being widely made and sold at that moment. Shepard gives him a flower crown (I just really wanted this I'm sorry lmao). They eventually obtain very basic wedding bands. Thane wears two - one is for Irikah and one is for Shepard.

The El Camino in the fic is a personal touch and sort of an inside joke. My first car was a 1987 El Camino and I parked it on top of a traffic light. My husband and I joke that out of all the "romantic entanglements" we had in that car, we never did it in the back. So he suggested, as a joke, that I write shrios smut in the back of an El Camino.

I had written a whole bunch about the car that got cut from the final fic. It belonged to the matriarch of the household who had an affinity for classic cars - and bear in mind this car is now 200+ years old so the car is probably a replica and not even an original model. But the car was that woman's passion project and that's why they had an entire mass effect setup to protect it. There's a whole backstory about this person that I'll probably never write. But damn, I really thought about it.

The quilt in the fic is something I made. Call it a minor self-insert. I made that quilt and I'm obsessed with it.

Anyway they spend time traveling in the colder months because Thane hates the cold and also there is a whole galaxy full of people who want to see them <3 this is one of the ways Shepard keeps up to speed with the rest of the Normandy crew.

Sorry for the wall of text but thank you so so much for this question. I hope you're doing well, anon!

[crystal-moon-101]

Sentient Omega AU - Relationships

Since people seem to be liking my Sentient Omega AU, I thought I’d give you an insight of her relationships towards other characters other than Rex and Alpha, as I thought it would be interesting and give a feel what she would be like in the series. Thought before I go into it, I should note something to clear things up. I like to think that on the day of the nanite event, much like Rex, Omega also kind of gets amnesia. However, she remembers a little bit more than Rex does, things like knowing that they’re friends, that he does have family, that they use to be in a lab somewhere with other scientist, but she doesn’t know the finer details unfortunately. This still keeps the mystery of who Rex is and what happened during the nanite event. Also, during the series whenever they can across something from their past, Omega does actually get flashes of the past, only bits and pieces though, rebuilding her memories like a puzzle over the course of the series everytime they run into something familiar. E.g Rylander or the Hong Kong Gang.  Normally she would tell the others what she learnt, but there would be times where she keeps it to herself for sometimes, either because she wants more details in case she makes a miscall, or she fears it might harm the present, like Rex’s relationship with Caesar. But anyway, into the relationships! If you want to see another character dynamic with her and someone I didn’t mention, feel free to request that!  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rylander: Omega has a lot of respect to the man, and even refers to him as father, mostly because he was the one leading the project of her creation, unlike Caesar who originally lead the Alpha project. His wise and kind personality helped teach her to understand the idea of what ‘gentle hands’ meant, especially early on in her life when she was getting use to being something alive. Much like Rex, he treated her differently than just another project, and even saw she was something more through the way she looked after Rex. When they meet again, you can imagine it was somewhat emotional for Omega, even if she couldn’t quite convey it. It was hard for her to see how broken Rylander seemed to become, always worried, on edge and failing to tell Rex or her anything, even if he was happy to see the two was ok. It hurt to see him ‘die’ after what happened to him and Van Kleiss, but she wasn’t one to dwell, instead taking on the things he taught her to keep going. When they meet again in season three, after he’s brought back, there’s a strange connection between them for a while given his new form was technology base, but they eventually get use to it.  Caesar Salazar: Their relationship is...quite complicated. Omega finds him to be a fascinating human being, being different from the people she’s known. But that detail about him can be hit or miss half the time, as while he’s intelligent, can do amazing things and is quite funny, he’s also distance, eerie and impulsive, often known to endanger people without realizing it until it’s too late. Many times she had to stop an emergency in his lab back before the nanite event, like if he almost set his lab on fire or something. She didn’t think much of it at first...until she started bonding with Rex. She doesn’t think Caesar is bad, but doesn’t excuse the danger he makes when not thinking of the consequences. It doesn’t help that he’s not easily sociable, and was known to neglect his brother because of his work. Omega does understand he can’t help some of his habits, but also knows he could be a lot better if he tried hard enough.  When they finally meet again in season 2, she is happy to see him, but returning memories reminded her of his negative traits, many which seemed to have stayed, and even gotten a little worse. It doesn’t help that Rex is dying to connect with his brother, which isn’t easy, and...she starts to remember that he and their parents were the ones to start the nanite event, something Omega doesn’t tell Rex until Van Kleiss admits to this. It isn’t until season 3 where things get pretty bad between them, as while she is unsure if Caesar is working with Black Knight because he’s turned evil or because of something else he has in mind, she can’t excuse the danger he’s doing and how he’s hurt Rex. She’s very much not afraid to speak her mind whenever Caesar does things she disproves of. Perhaps in someways, his ties to Alpha’s creation is a hidden reasons for her unsure nature with him too... Doctor Holiday: Omega and her have one of most civil relationships, as they both respect each other for what they’re trying to do, their motherly outlooks over Rex being something they bond over. It was somewhat surpising, as Rex thought Omega’s overprotective nature would get the better of her with Holiday, but Omega understands that while she may view Rex as her child, he does need an actual human to take on a proper motherly role, and has openingly voiced this to Holiday before.  While she doesn’t outright let Holiday experiment on her like a guinea pig, she does allow tests or research moments to help Holiday better understands Omega, nanites and Rex. The two have had debates about EVOs, has Omega has stated that in concept the idea of EVOs isn’t an entirely bad thing, thinking if they were more like Rex and his nanites, it could provide a great set in humans and connect both technology and people. Holiday does disagree with this, but the two are calm about these debates, Holiday very much understanding that Omega isn’t human, and does see things differently.  Agent Six: Despite Six’s moments, Omega has a lot of faith in the man actually, knowing very well he will take care of Rex. She had been unsure at first the moment Rex and Six first met, especially after what White Knight tried to pull, but after Six risked so much to keep Rex alive, something in Omega just knew she found a safe place for her boy, and someone able to provide so much more for Rex. Personally, the two don’t interact often, but when they do they have this aura of respect, but slight wariness of each other. However, some of that faith cracks a bit when his memories vanish, and he changes. She gets nerves that he will never be the man that protected Rex the way he did before, but Rex’s hope and Six’s wanting to be like his original self does restore some faith in Omega. She does keep an eye on him for a while though. Noah Nixon: She didn’t think much of him at first, believing him just to be a nice human who was willing to be Rex’s friend, which was good enough for her. However, after it was revealed that Noah was working for White Knight, it takes a good while for Omega to trust him again, even after Rex forgives him. She knows how much hard deal Rex has gone through in terms of his friendships and families, and it pains her everytime they get ruined by something. She does get over what Noah did eventually, but does make it clear to him he has a lot to make up for. But once they’re on better terms, she does tease him here and there. White Knight: Omega really doesn’t like White Knight for a good while. He’s nearly killed and hurt Rex many times, treats Rex quite awful, and the two clearly don’t trust each other, given she is a nanite part of what’s going on. Though, while the two might push each other’s buttons some time to time, they try and remind civil around each other...mostly because they know what the other can offer if they stay on their good sides. Omega knows it’s good for Rex, as this is his home and they need Providence’s help, and White knows that Omega is something valuable and could be a key to many answers. That doesn’t stop the occasional snarks or remarks thrown at each other.  But as Rex and White start to pack things over time, Omega does eventually grow to respect the man. By the time of season three, she really sees how much White has changed and grown, especially during the Alpha fight where he backed up Rex and Ben.  Van Kleiss: Much like Caesar, the two have a...complicated relationship. She knows that, in the past, while Van Kleiss wasn’t much of a socializing person, he wasn’t all that bad. He came off as off putting to others, but people were quite harsh on him, giving him a negative view on humanity. So when he turned out the way he did after the nanite event, latching onto the idea of EVOs and power because of how people treated him before, she can’t say that she’s surprised, and even pities him. She knows he could have been better, someone good, but things didn’t turn out that way. However, that does not mean she excuses all the cruel things he does, and will always be vocal about what he’s become. She does admit that, like him, she sees the ideas of EVOs being the next step in humanity, but both of them want to do it in other ways. Whenever they get the chance to talk to each other, it’s often them debating each other, mostly the future of Rex, EVOs and nanites, Van Kleiss even noting that once they figure out how to either destroy, remove or shut off nanites, the humans are mostly likely gonna do the same to her (Which she does admit deep down...does scare her, especially if it means Rex doesn’t need her anymore...). But she does often mention to him that just because the world was cruel to him, doesn’t mean he gets to be cruel back. Throughout each of the seasons, they dynamic will always be complicated.  Bobo Haha: Omega really wasn’t sure on how to feel about Bobo at the start, but had to get use to him when Rex started hanging out with him. She does get annoyed when he convince Rex to do something dumb or dangerous, and often tries to be the reasonable voice out of the three, but she does have a slight playful side that Bobo has a way of getting to show. Plus, she can’t lie that it’s nice to see Rex unwind and just...get to be a wild teen. Black Knight: A very frustrating relationship for her with this one. Because Black Knight is somewhat and EVO like Rex, she’s has this desire to be better than him, in terms of what they are. She wants the stronger powers, the better control over nanites, to be the EVO the world talks about. However, there’s a big problem there, in that while she has the potential to be better than Rex, she can’t for some reason. There is a reason she only showed her true powers once near the end, and that is because she can’t do them for long, and lack many of the powers Rex has. The most she can do is summon her powerful weapons, but they don’t last long. That’s when Omega comes into the picture, as Black Knight is convinced she is the missing piece needed to be better than Rex, the main difference between the to and why Black Knight can’t do what he does. Because of this, Black Knight is very open about the idea of taking Omega, often trying smooth talk and sometimes even bride or softly threaten Omega into joining her. She almost always uses her sickly sweet voice when talking to Omega, as if they were good old friends. However, Omega wants none of that and always rejects Black Knight, stating many times she doesn’t like her, doesn’t trust her, and knows she’s planning something bad. That doesn’t stop Black Knight though, who has made it clear that she will resort to darker means if things don’t go her way.  Ben Tennyson: Omega really didn’t have good opinions on the boy when he first showed up, fighting Rex, wreaking buildings and putting Six endanger. The way he behaved and acted, with so much power, it made her think he was nothing like a prideful childish teen who didn’t understand consequences.  But then he started helping, standing by Rex when it was clear of the dangers happening, what Alpha was doing. The fact Ben was willing to help a world that wasn’t his own, Omega had to admit it was noble of him. At the time Alpha’s presence was making her stressed, so she was glad that Ben was there to support both her and Rex during this troubling issue. She was most grateful for when he helped Rex when she was taken, going Upgrade to provide Rex the needed power he lost when Alpha took her. And since Ben helped the two reunite, she will forever be thankful for his help. Still, she does think he needs to calm himself of the cocky attitude, but she knows it’s not her place to speak. 

[neopuff]

title: cured & confused word count: ~3500 characters: beverly, calan, six, holiday summary: Agent Six meets Beverly Holiday for the first time. Again. ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47957149

It’d been three weeks since she was cured.

Beverly Holiday was adjusting well to life as a regular person again, though the world was a lot different than how she remembered it. Rex and Rebecca did a nice job of explaining things to her - as she suffered through test after test after test - but Beverly couldn’t pretend she understood most of it. She had only just finished eighth grade when she went EVO and there wasn’t a lot of biology or mechanical stuff taught before she…left public school.

(A public school which, according to Rebecca, no longer existed. It was completely destroyed by an EVO and their district never got the budget to rebuild. Go figure.)

Now freshly eighteen and feeling not a day over fourteen, Beverly was in a very weird place. Rebecca wanted her to stay at Providence HQ for a few weeks so she could do regular tests, but Rex had been kind enough to suggest that she stay with one of his friends in a nearby town and he or someone from Providence would come pick her up once a week. It wasn’t bad. The Bowmans were really nice people and seemed sympathetic to what Beverly had been through. They were also happy to keep her being cured a secret - apparently Rebecca was nervous about announcing it publicly since she couldn’t reproduce the results.

Or something like that. Beverly couldn’t pretend she was paying attention to everything - she was too busy being reminded of all the sensations she’d forgotten about. As an EVO, she’d lost herself entirely - every thought and feeling was based on primal urges to eat and attack. She couldn’t remember any details of anything except a struggling need to get out. A desire for freedom was the only thing she could remember and when she thought about the memory too hard, it was like the walls would start closing in around her.

Rebecca (and Claire, who Beverly was really getting along with) had taught her some breathing exercises to help when those feelings cropped back up. It wasn’t easy, but she was just happy to be outside. Fresh air, yummy food, cold water, a fluffy pillow…being human again was nice. It was the nicest thing in the world.

It was a crisp October 21st - not cold, like it would’ve been up in Pennsylvania, but Rebecca didn’t want her sister moving so far away just yet - and Beverly was waiting outside Claire’s house for her pickup. Rex had been the one to come get her on the 7th and then Rebecca came to get her on the 14th, so she wondered absentmindedly if the enigmatic Agent Six would be coming this time.

He was one particular thing she didn’t have any understanding of. The first thing Beverly saw when she was cured was her sister all over this handsome, green man - so, obviously, Beverly was glad that her sister finally had a boyfriend. She’d always been really bad at dating so it was nice to see her so happy.

But then when Beverly asked about him or made comments or whatever, Rebecca would shut her down and tell her not to make jokes and not to say anything that might make him uncomfortable. It was strange. He must’ve been really, really shy. But they were sisters. If he was her future brother-in-law, then she wanted to get to know him a little better.

Plus. Well. He saved her life. Rebecca had made that very clear.

Beverly was disappointed to see a small Providence transport truck arrive just a few minutes later than planned, but smiled at the unmasked face that came around the side to take her bag and help her in.

“Hi, Captain Calan,” she said sweetly, happy to see a familiar face even if it wasn’t the precise one she was hoping for.

He gave her a nod and lifted her overnight bag with ease. “Hey there, Lil’ Holiday. How’re ya feelin’?”

Beverly started making her way into the back of the truck. “Good! Nothing weird. No nanite activity as far as I can tell.”

“Your sister’ll be glad to hear it,” he said. “She’s had one hell of a week, so that’ll certainly lift her spirits.”

“Oh?” She wanted to ask for more information, but knew from the last few weeks that almost everything Providence-related would not be discussed away from Providence. Everything was classified or highly sensitive or…just not discussable. It was annoying. “Well, this is supposed to be my last checkup before I move back home, so I hope she’s not too upset.”

Calan hummed in confirmation and closed the doors, announcing to his driver that they could head back. Sometimes Beverly felt a little bad that they went through all this trouble just because she didn’t want to be cooped up in a stark-white building full of soldiers and guns, but…well. It was only three weeks.

“Has anything exciting happened this week?” she asked casually as she buckled in. The drive would only be about a half-hour, so she wanted to get all the hot gossip she could before arriving. Calan was extremely professional, but if she was friendly enough then he might let some information slip about her favorite people.

“Ah…” he started, buckling into the seat across from her. “...yeah. Some stuff. I can’t really talk about it now, but your sister will fill you in, I’m sure.”

Beverly pouted, more curious than she’d been in a long time. He said Rebecca had had a bad week, and something exciting happened. Hopefully she wouldn’t arrive at HQ to find her sister with a broken leg.

They chatted about mindless things for the rest of the drive - most of what she wanted to know, she wasn’t allowed to, and all she could share with this adult soldier man were the comings and goings of teenage girldom which he obviously had no interest in. When they arrived at HQ, Beverly rejected his offer to escort her to Holiday’s lab and went off on her own, letting him take her bag to her sister’s quarters. She’d done the walk so many times already that she was confident she knew the way.

On her solo journey through the halls, Beverly spotted a familiar green suit in the distance and perked up. It was just the man she’d been hoping to see. “Agent Six!”

He turned around and stared at her suspiciously, shoving his hands into his pockets. Normally he didn’t like it when strangers shouted his name in public, but this girl couldn’t seem less threatening if she tried.

Beverly smiled and rushed over to him with a little wave. “Hiii! How are you?”

“...fine,” he answered with a moment of hesitation. “And you?”

She noticed that, but assumed it was because he didn’t really know how to act around her. There wasn’t exactly a code for the relationship between heroic-future-brother-in-law and recently-saved-future-sister-in-law. “I’m good! Excited for my last checkup. And I’m really excited to get back home!”

Six made a small noise of affirmation. He didn’t know who this teenager was, but clearly she knew him. He was still cycling through the benefits of bluntly telling everyone he interacted with that he’d lost his memories or trying to give out as little information as possible without first gauging their previous relationship. In this case, he had absolutely no clue. A girlfriend of Rex’s? But she was getting a checkup, so…a cured EVO, probably. He wasn’t used to cured EVOs being so overly friendly with him.

“I’m sure your family will be happy to see you again,” Six said, trying to keep things vague.

“Well, I mean, it’s just my mom,” Beverly said with a wave of her hand. “I asked Rebecca if she would come with, at least for a few days, but she said there’s no way she could get away after what you guys did for me. I don’t know. Sounds like your boss is kind of a jerk.”

He raised one eyebrow curiously. Rebecca, huh? Six was starting to get some idea of who exactly he was talking to. “He can be. Are you on your way to…Rebecca’s lab, then?” The name felt foreign on his tongue, like he wasn’t supposed to say it. He’d just called her by her title or last name (or flirty nickname) so far. Her first name seemed…off-limits. That didn’t make much sense, but it was how he felt.

Beverly smiled and clasped her hands behind her back. “Yup! You wanna come with? I’m sure she’d be happy to see you,” she said cheekily, knowing that Rebecca didn’t want her making comments about their relationship. That didn’t mean she couldn’t encourage them to spend more time together. He seemed to make Rebecca happy and after everything Rebecca had done for her, there was nothing Beverly wanted more than to see her sister happy.

Six furrowed his brows, trying to figure out what that meant. He hadn’t been able to really get a handle on his previous relationship with Dr. Holiday, but this girl (her sister, he was ninety-nine percent sure) was definitely implying…something. He wondered if it would be unethical to try and get more information out of her.

“I should confess something to you first,” he said suddenly, realizing they weren’t that far from the lab.

“Oh…” Beverly stopped walking and frowned. “Does the bad news have to do with you?”

He stopped just a bit ahead of her and turned around, a matching frown on his face. Someone had told her something, it seemed. “It does.”

“Did you guys break up?” she asked quietly, feeling bad. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward.”

Six stared down at her and tucked away that question for later. Something to ask Rex about, since Holiday would undoubtedly pretend not to hear him. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. I recently lost my last six years of memory.”

Beverly’s expression turned to pure confusion. “Huh?”

“I don’t know you,” he said awkwardly, hoping she wouldn’t be offended. “I’m assuming you’re Dr. Holiday’s sister.”

“Wait, are you serious?” She walked up to him and hugged her arms in front of her. “You don’t remember me? Or…I’m sorry, six years?”

He nodded.

“That’s awful.” Beverly felt very guilty and very sad, and reached out to lay a pitying hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Agent Six. I mean, I missed out on a lot of years from being an EVO, but I can’t imagine what it’d be like to just suddenly forget everything.” She looked genuinely upset and pulled her hand back before he could get uncomfortable with the contact. “Was it ‘cause of your nanites or did something happen?”

“Science experiment gone wrong,” he said dryly, happy that she wasn’t touching him anymore. It felt strange to be pitied by a strange little girl, but somehow it wasn’t as annoying as when he got the same attitude from Holiday or Rex. Something about the distance between them - the fact that she clearly didn’t have the same type of connection with him that other people here did - made it not as bad. “Not sure if you’ve met Rex’s brother, but you can thank him.”

Beverly shrugged awkwardly. “Yeah, I met him. I’m really sorry.”  She started playing with her hands. “Do you want a hug?”

“No.” Six decided he wasn’t appreciating the pity anymore. “Let’s get you to the lab.”

It was only a two minute walk, but the uncomfortable silence between them made the time stretch exponentially. Beverly wasn’t sure what she could say around this version of the man who saved her life - who didn’t remember saving her life, and didn’t remember her or their brief conversations over the past month. He also probably didn’t remember her sister or Rex, which was the saddest goddamn thing she’d ever heard. But he was always kind of an emotionless, aloof guy, so it was hard to tell how he was feeling.

She assumed he was sad. But there was very little chance of getting that out of him.

They reached the lab and Six walked inside with Bev, a little curious why no one told him they’d be having an outside visitor. “Dr. Holiday.”

“Yes?” she called out, not turning around.

“You have a guest.”

Holiday seemed to consider what he said for a moment before turning around to see the two new additions to her lab. She smiled brightly immediately when she saw her sister, and then suddenly looked shocked and grabbed her cell phone to check something. “Oh, my God, Beverly - I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize what day it was!”

Bev walked over and hugged her briefly, then leaned back and shrugged. “It’s okay! Captain Calan picked me up.”

Rebecca sighed and pocketed her phone again, putting a hand to her forehead in frustration. “At least someone’s paying attention to the schedule. I’m sorry, Beverly, I just need to finish this and then we can get started.”

“It’s okay, I was planning to stay overnight, so take your time.”

Six watched the two sisters chatting and felt extremely out of place. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing. Standing there, waiting, was obviously not right. But he didn’t know if he should leave or say something else or…something he hadn’t even thought of yet. He stuck his hands into his pockets and looked around the room, even though he’d already spent plenty of time there over the past few days. He was on Day Seven of his new life and Holiday was still doing occasional tests on his brain despite Knight’s orders to stop. He didn’t mind, personally. They didn’t take long and they gave him an opportunity to spend more time with her. But they were probably fruitless. But if it made Holiday feel better, he’d keep showing up.

“Um…thank you for bringing her here, Six,” Holiday said, finally acknowledging the ninja standing by her door. “You don’t have to stay, I’m sure you’ve got other things to do.”

He took her hint and nodded. “It was nice meeting you,” he said to Beverly before taking a few steps out the door.

As soon as the door was closed again, the younger Holiday turned to her sister with her mouth open wide in shock. “Rebecca! What is going on?! Did he really lose all his memories? That’s insane!”

“Shhh,” Holiday responded with a finger to her lips. “Yes, he did. And yes, it is.”

“But, like…” Beverly played with her hands, trying to figure out how to properly word her questions. “He doesn’t remember anything? You? Rex? Providence?”

Rebecca sighed unhappily and guided her sister onto the exam table, realizing she wouldn’t be able to get her work done without answering some questions first. “He reverted back to about six years ago. Before EVOs, before Providence. Before all of us. Complete reversion. Doesn’t seem to be any chance of memory revival.”

“That’s awful,” Beverly said, repeating her words from earlier. “I’m…I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry, Rebecca.”

“I’m not the one who lost my memories,” Holiday said ignorantly, with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, but…I mean, he was your boyfriend or whatever. And now it’s probably super weird.”

Ah. That’s what she meant. Holiday’s cheeks colored a little and she ran her fingers through her bangs. “That’s not…well. It doesn’t matter. It is super weird now, you’re right.”

Beverly frowned and held out her hand, shaking it a little so her sister would take it. After Rebecca obliged, Beverly squeezed it tight. “I’m sorry.”

Holiday sighed again and wished the breath didn’t sound so shaky. She was dealing. She’d already had her little breakdown about it and she was moving on with her life. But it was hard when someone was sitting there and reminding her of everything that went wrong. “It’s okay.”

“Is it?”

Rebecca squeezed her hand back. “No. Not really.”

Outside of Holiday’s lab door, Six was standing there, flush against the wall, too curious about their conversation to leave. He knew Beverly was a recently cured EVO and he knew that Holiday came to Providence because of that. He knew that, for whatever reason, Beverly thought they’d been dating prior to his memory loss - but no one else had said anything like that to him. And aside from the occasional tests, Holiday had gone out of her way to avoid any alone time with him. A man couldn’t be thrown so much conflicting information without wanting to know more.

Listening to the sisters, though, just left him feeling hollow. None of his questions were answered except for one little thing: Holiday was still uncomfortable around him and she didn’t think he’d ever get any of his memories back. Why were they even continuing the tests, then? Just for kicks? To toy with him?

Six exhaled through his nose and walked into the hallway. He needed to blow off some steam.

Back in the lab, Holiday went through the same questions with her sister as she did every week. And like the last three weeks, Beverly was looking to be a completely cured, normal teenage girl.

“The Bowmans have been really nice.”

Holiday smiled softly. “I’m glad. They came highly recommended from Noah, so it’s good to know we can trust that.”

Beverly smiled back, not sure why her sister wouldn’t trust Rex’s best friend implicitly to begin with, but she didn’t feel like asking about it. Claire had spent enough time talking to her about Noah and she really didn’t need to learn more. “So…what are you gonna do now?”

“About what?”

“Well, like…about Agent Six, I guess,” Beverly said quietly. “He still works here, obviously, but, like…can he do all the same stuff he did before?”

“Well…yes, pretty much,” Holiday answered. “He was in a very…unique line of work before working here. His skills haven’t gone away.”

“What line of work?”

Rebecca pursed her lips and blushed, trying to figure out how to answer that question. She did not need to tell her sister that the man she’d fallen for used to be a contract killer - that information would most certainly get back to her mother and she did not want to deal with that. “Um. Ninja…things.”

“What?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“You’re acting weird. Was he a criminal or something?”

“No, Beverly, just drop it.” Holiday glared at her sister. “He’s a very private person so I’d rather not talk about it.”

Beverly pouted and jumped off the exam table, swiping her hands across the thighs of her jeans. “Yeah, like that’s not a suspicious answer.” She put her hands on her hips and gave her sister a pointed look, then rolled her eyes and chose to move on. “So what are we doing tonight?”

Holiday ignored her sister’s expression and wrote some down the information she’d gathered on Beverly’s nanite status. “Are we supposed to do something?”

“Well…yeah. I’m moving back to Pittsburgh next week.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened and she turned to Beverly, almost bewildered. “Is that…really? Already?”

“We talked about this last week, Rebecca.”

“I know, it’s just…sorry. It’s been a hellish week and everything kind of blended together.” Holiday massaged her temple and sighed. “We can do whatever you want, okay? I’ll take the night off.”

“Yeah?” Beverly smiled excitedly. “That’d be awesome! We can go to the mall, or see a movie, or-”

Just as she was listing a bunch of fun activities they could enjoy on short notice, an alarm sounded throughout Providence HQ. She frowned at the blinking red lights around them and immediately turned to her computer.

“Holiday.”

She tapped her comm, ignoring Beverly’s complaints about how loud the alarm was. “What’s up, Six?”

“Salazar can handle this. You should spend time with your sister.”

She paused and turned to look at Beverly, who had her hands over her ears and was mouthing something obnoxious. Holiday smirked at her and pressed on the comm again. “Roger that, Agent. Don’t let anyone die out there.”

“Not planning on it.”

The alarm quieted down a minute later as Rebecca shrugged off her lab coat, laying it over her arm. “So…you said something about the mall?”

Beverly tilted her head. “Don’t you need to do work stuff?”

“They’ll be fine.” Holiday said with a smirk, heading towards the door. “Come on, let me go get changed and we can head out.”

“WOO!” Beverly cheered as she followed her sister. “I really need some new winter clothes ‘cause I am not prepared for Pennsylvania weather.”

Rebecca smiled down at her sister and let some contented warmth spread throughout her chest. The last week had been so awful and stressful and depressing - it would be nice to be reminded of how there was still one major part of her life that hadn’t been ruined. Beverly was back to normal, she was happy, and she was present. For five years, that was all Holiday wanted, and even if some things in her life weren’t working out…she was glad that this did.

[thebrighteye]

Breaking [My Heart]: Act II Exposing

"There's nothing simple when it comes to you and I, Always something in this everchanging life" - Everchanging [Rise Against] Winston has issued the recall towards rebuilding Overwatch. Angela - formerly known as "Mercy" - is captured by Talon, who are searching for any information that can stop the rise before it begins.

AO3 | FF.net | Works | Pandora Playlist

Trigger Warnings & General Statements This is the second part of a dark torture story. As such, there's going to be bad things happening - for the sake of not spoiling, I will not tag what, exactly will be appearing at any time. While I don't think any of the scenes are terribly graphic in nature, I do want to stress that the scenes are present and aren't for everyone. I did try to make the reactions and trauma realistic, following both real-world medicine / research and in-game universe canon (such as Angela's nanotechnology). There will be multiple POVs per chapter - two sets for both Angela and Reaper as well as a fifth from an additional character. Please, read at your own risk - and enjoy!

I want someone to hurt Like the way I hurt It’s sick but it makes me feel better - Sometimes [Skillet]

“How’s our doctora?” Gabriel didn’t react to the woman that was suddenly at his shoulder. One of her favorite ‘pranks’ was to sneak up on various agents to try to startle them. Instead, he suppressed a long-suffering sigh and glanced towards her briefly – not that she could see, with his eyes hidden behind the mask – before turning his attention back to Angela and her interrogators. “See for yourself.” The Reaper gestured towards the window with one clawed hand. He knew that Sombra knew how Angela was; there were two cameras inside that chamber. If anyone thought for a single second that Sombra couldn’t access every electronic in this base, then they were an idiot. She had come down here to needle him, as she was wont to do. The Mexican woman hummed, leaning forward to press both forearms against the small desk that sat against the wall directly under the glass that showcased the woman in question. The space was meant for someone to take notes, but with the cameras it was made pointless. Instead, it was used to set down whatever the observer didn’t want to hold while watching; perhaps a file folder, maybe a drink – it varied depending on the person. Right now, the desk was completely empty. Angela was still hanging from the chains with her head bowed as she fought for silence, her breaths coming in heavy, desperate pants. They had sliced her top clean through along her spine, leaving it to hang limply from her shoulders. If her arms weren’t chained above her head, the cloth – and the doctor – would undoubtedly be on the floor. There were three men in the room. One stood before her, barking questions. They were all a variation of the questions they had asked her the day before: prior Overwatch members, how Overwatch would reform, questions on her medical research and the nanites within her. Every time Angela refused to answer, he would nod at one of the other two men in the room. One would land a punishing blow somewhere on her body – sometimes with a fist, occasionally open-handed, but all calculated to inflict the most pain. The other would strike with a whip across her back. While it was impossible to see her back from here, Gabriel knew that they hadn’t started breaking skin until a few questions ago. Now, dots of red were speckling the ground at her feet. Still, the only sounds Angela made were soft grunts of pain and heavy breaths. Every strike left her off balance; the chains forced her to remain in one place, but there was no way to brace against any blow. Without the slack necessary to stagger and redistribute her weight, she would lose balance and hang painfully against her wrists and shoulders before forcing her shaking legs beneath her once more. Most of her face was hidden, but he could see how her jaw locked and her throat bobbed as she swallowed back screams. After Gabriel had considered it yesterday, he wasn’t surprised at her silence. Angela had been all too ready to bleed – to die – for those she protected when she worked with Overwatch. It was such a fundamental part of the woman; how could he have expected it to change, even after all these years? “Didn’t know the chica had it in her,” Sombra commented after a moment. She rose and crossed her arms, weight shifting so that she leaned to one side as she glanced sidelong at him. She waited for a few seconds as if expecting him to add to the conversation. When he didn’t, Gabriel could practically feel her eyes roll. “Didn’t know you had it in you, either.” The Reaper turned towards her then, but she was still looking at the bloody blonde who was fighting to remain quiet. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He demanded after it was clear that she wasn’t going to elaborate – that she was going to make him work for it. Sombra glanced over towards him, only the vaguest hint of her typical mischief shining in her currently blue eyes. She changed eye color as often as she changed her clothes, but he suspected their actual color was brown. “Didn’t think you’d be the one to bring her in, that’s all.” She turned her back to the glass and lifted herself to sit atop the desk, feet dangling as she regarded him. It was unsurprising that she would be unfazed by the scene behind her; he imagined she had dug up far worse throughout her life in her search for the perfect blackmail material. No one in Talon was innocent. “You have a history with her.” Sombra shrugged, a lazy motion as if it didn’t matter – but Sombra never did anything without a purpose. It hadn’t been a secret that he had been a part of Overwatch, but they had left out his exact role. Only a handful of people in Talon knew who truly lay beneath his mask – and what the woman in chains had once meant to him. The council, of course: they would never allow him to sit at their table without knowing who he was. Sombra, because she knew everything about everyone – and if she didn’t know it, it wasn’t worth knowing. Widowmaker possibly knew who he was as well, but he wasn’t sure how much the brainwashing had erased. They had known each other – had been friends, even – before she had become Talon’s mindless assassin and he had become the Reaper. A whimper drew the attention of both. Sombra shifted to glance back over one shoulder. It was a quiet, strained sound that had escaped from Angela’s throat. Gabriel wondered what expression had crossed her face, but it was shielded from his sight by her loose hair and bowed head. Her interrogator, much closer and with a better angle, probably could see whatever emotion had crossed her face – if she had allowed any to show at all. Another question. Another stroke across the back. No sound. He knew her, so he knew she hated that small break in her armor, that she had shown them any weakness at all. The Reaper could practically hear her teeth grind in protest. Just as they were determined to rip anything from her throat, she was determined to remain silent. A slap, directly across the welts and gashes in her back, elicited another strangled sound of pain. Finally, finally, she was beginning to break. His mouth twisted into a malicious grin. It was a minor victory in the ongoing war being waged in that room – he knew she was too stubborn to be defeated so soon, but they had dragged sound from the mute doctor. Soon enough, it would be words – begs, pleas. Then, finally, she would break entirely to give them what they wanted. “It will only get worse,” Sombra remarked casually, as if commenting on the weather. She had turned away from the glass once more, eying her nails critically. She didn’t react to the slaps of leather-on-flesh or the demanded questions that were sometimes answered with a whimper but were usually followed by silence. “This is the least of what she deserves.” The Reaper growled, harsh even to his ears. But there was truth – his truth, if nothing else – in the words. He had lived in torment, forced to feed on the life force of other humans or live in excruciating pain, because of her. She deserved everything they would give her and more. “Huh.” Sombra slid off the desk and turned towards the door. “And here I thought you were just pretending to be a cold bastard.” There was a hint of disapproval in her voice, but Gabriel wasn’t sure what, exactly, she was disapproving of. His words? Angela’s captivity? He watched her leave without a backward glance, the door shutting silently behind her, before turning his attention back to the doctor so that he could revel in Angela’s pain.

She hurt. Pain was an old bedfellow, but that didn’t make its presence any less unwelcome. Every breath hurt; her back was a mess of pain and blood that shifted every time she inhaled. Her wrists felt raw – probably were raw – from her trying to brace against the swaying and staggering during her latest interrogation. And it was only going to get worse. Her nanites were working diligently, but she had no way to direct them. Whatever was determined to be the worst, the most life-threatening, would be what they targeted – which was precisely how she had programmed them. Angela simply had to hold on while they relieved her pain and extended her miserable existence in this chamber. She hated that one of her greatest creations was being used against her in such a macabre way, even as she desperately longed for the relief it would bring. Angela was strong – but hers was not a physical strength. She could cow people with a look, take command of a room just with her presence. It was that strength that had allowed her, at the tender age of twenty-two, to take and hold the position of Medical Director for Overwatch. Her strength wasn’t meant for blood and chains. The doctor did not look up when the door opened again. There was no point – the lights made it impossible to see. Instead, she left her head bowed and eyes closed. Only one person this time. Their footsteps were heavier than the men who had come before. Mentally she tracked them as they circled her slowly, as they paused to take in her bloody back, before coming to a stop in front of her. If she weren’t shackled, Angela was certain she could reach out and touch them. “And here stands the famous Dr. Ziegler.” The Reaper somehow made her name sound like an insult. Her eyes flew open as if she could see him – as if seeing him would somehow make her less helpless than she was right now. Angela forced them closed again, forced herself to appear unperturbed by her current situation, mentally berating herself for showing any reaction. “Nothing to say?” He growled. “No pleas for Mercy?” Again, her name twisted into something bitter and hateful. Her entire body was tense, screaming as the half-healed lashes broke open and blood rolled sluggishly down her back, as she waited for whatever new injury was coming. She maintained her stony silence and listened as he paced before her. “You brought this upon yourself, you know.” He growled from somewhere to her left. His statement had so many layers of truth, more than the man knew. From the day her parents had died, she’d walked a path that would inevitably lead her to this room – or another very like it. It was only a surprise that she had not been taken sooner; her medical genius under the thumb of Talon – or another terrorist organization – could turn the tides heavily in their favor. Her knowledge of Overwatch – the protocols, the backdoors, the agents, everything – would only be a bonus. “You’re too stubborn for your own good – you always have been.” The words were rushed as if he needed to get them out now before it was too late. Angela’s mind whirled as she tried to make sense of his angry words. How could this monster know what she had ‘always been’? “You never knew when to quit, never.” Now he was snarling as his footsteps stormed closer once more. Only the chains kept her in place as she instinctively tried to back away from the obvious threat. There weren’t many people that she had been close to during her time with Overwatch. Not well enough that they could know what she ‘never’ would do, at least. The words revealed more than she thought he wanted; she knew the man under the mask, even if she didn’t recognize him. “If you did, we wouldn’t be here right now.” One clawed hand was suddenly around her throat, yanking her head up from its bowed position as her eyes blindly flew open once more. It was firm enough to terrify her, but it didn’t hamper her in any other way. Angela was sure he wouldn’t kill her – she hadn’t uttered a single word since he had taken her from her apartment in Cairo. Why go through all this trouble if he was just going to rip her throat out now? That didn’t lessen her terror in the slightest, no matter how logical the conclusion was. “Dr. Ziegler, Mercy, an angel, a God.” He squeezed slightly, voice mocking, before releasing the pressure. “I thought you doctors weren’t supposed to play God – but that didn’t stop you, did it?” Angela had no idea what he was talking about; she didn’t play God. Like every other doctor, she used every tool available to preserve the broken lives that came before her. She had just created better tools during her time with Overwatch. Overwatch. “I told you to let go, to let me die – and you didn’t.” Now his mask was in her face, impossible to miss even with the lights, his grip a vice that didn’t allow her to lean away. “Instead, you turned me into this.” Angela went cold, her mind stuttering to a brief stop as she took in his declaration. If he was to be believed, she had created the murderous monster that had stalked the world since the fall of Overwatch. The Reaper had appeared only a few months after the fall. “You didn’t listen because you thought you knew best.” His breathing was ragged, as if he had run a marathon. She could feel it, hot and heavy on her face, as he glared down at her. Who had she healed, despite their – apparent – request for death? Genji had hated her for what she had done. That thought whisked away as quickly as it had come: this wasn’t Genji. He had wanted to survive, but he hadn’t realized what it would cost him. Genji had been angry, bitter at his loss, and it had been a nearly insurmountable rift between the two of them. They had worked together when needed, but Genji had made his opinions of her – and what she had done to him – very clear. Neither man nor machine, he believed she had taken away his humanity; she had thought he would never forgive her. It was only recently that he had come to terms with himself with the Shambali monks in Nepal. Someone who wanted to die – who she had decided to save anyway. “You always thought you knew best.” He scoffed, his claws digging into the delicate flesh of her throat, just enough to draw blood that slid in thin rivers towards her collarbone. She tried not to flinch – what was one more injury after what she had already endured? – but her face must have given something away. He chuckled, a low humorless sound that made her hair stand up. There was no one – no one – that she had saved that had wanted to die. “Oh, you should have let me go, Angela, mi corazón. ” He had leaned in closer, the words whispered into her ear for only her to hear. Her heart seized, and now she was sucking in desperate breaths. No one living knew of that endearment. “Now, we both pay the price for your pride.” He had died – he had died – there was no way that it was -- “Ga-Gabriel?” Her voice was rough with disuse, tentative and weak. It was the first word she had spoken in what had felt like an eternity, forced past his hand at her throat and through numb lips. It couldn’t be him. She had buried him – mourned him, despite his betrayal. He was dead. His head yanked back from her, quick as a striking snake. “That isn’t my name.” His grip tightened, claws digging further into her skin as the pads of his fingertips cut off all air. “I haven’t been Gabriel for a very long time.” Her hands twisted futilely in their bonds, trying desperately to reach down and tear his hand away. Just before she lost consciousness, he relaxed his grip enough for her to gulp down air in small, wheezing gasps. “Everything I am, everything I’ve done – that’s on you, because you didn’t listen to me.” The whisper seemed to echo in the room, the accusation striking deep in her heart. Then the air was gone again, but this time he didn’t let go until she was unconscious.

It was supposed to make him feel better. He hadn’t said everything he wanted to – Gabriel could still feel cruel words festering in his heart and soul – but he had said enough. Gabriel would have said more, would have yelled and screamed until his throat was hoarse, but then the Reaper had dug those claws into her throat. The Reaper wanted to ruin her, hurt her as he had hurt for all those years – but Gabriel couldn’t do it. He’d had to force himself out of the room before the Reaper did something Gabriel would regret. It should have been a relief to finally tell her exactly what she had done, but all that was left was a hollow emptiness. It had started perfectly. Angela was helpless in chains, at his mercy instead of the other way around. Her terror had been such a sweet nectar, a prize worth waiting all those years for. Then, his simmering rage had bubbled over until his claws were red with her blood, until the brutal truth came out. Then it all turned sour. That look on her face. That fucking look. The Reaper wanted to claw it off, rip her eyes out so she couldn’t look at him like that again. All it took was two little words, and she was completely undone. Her walls had come down in a way only he could manage and allowed him to see what lay beneath. He had watched the emotions that had flown through her with breakneck speed. Terror of being in the Reaper’s grasp had turned into shock at his name for her, his heart. A brief flash of love for the man she remembered, the man he no longer was, the man she had buried despite the lack of body. Hope, flickering and fleeting, that he might help her – before she remembered that it was he who had brought her here. Sorrow for her loss and the monster he had become had followed closely afterward. Gabriel had waited for the anger that would come next. He had shattered her world in so many ways and then left her to try to pick up the pieces that cut and sliced as she grasped at them. Gabriel had forced her to bury him, to mourn him, despite his betrayal. Then, he had turned into the monster that stalked the night and murdered the agents she had sworn to protect. He had shackled her and let her be tortured without lifting a finger to stop it. It should disgust her at what he had become and all he had done. Instead, the sorrow had remained, and she had called his name. She shouldn’t be sad. She should be horrified, enraged. He wanted her anger. Needed it. But Angela just looked up at him with those blue eyes that pierced through the Reaper and straight into Gabriel. He’d had to pull away, to escape those eyes that saw far too much. But there was no escaping them. Even here, in the hallway with a door between them and Angela left unconscious, he could feel them. It should have been sweet, this victory – it had been sweet – but all he could taste as he stalked through the hallways was ash. He gathered his guns and various supplies from the armory before leaving the Oasis base altogether. The Reaper told himself it was to hunt, to take the edge off the pain that was always hovering over him. Gabriel knew it was to bloody their hands in a way they couldn’t – wouldn’t – with the caged angel of his past.

Angela woke all at once, her body screaming in pain. Every part of her hurt, even with the help of her nanites. She shifted, taking the weight off her shoulders, and felt another of the lashes on her back reopen. Angela hurriedly turned a whimper of pain into a hiss of air through clenched teeth; there was no telling who was watching, and she wanted to give as little of a reaction as possible. It was only after she trusted herself to keep her face blank and impassive that she allowed herself to consider the Reaper. Gabriel. And it was Gabriel. The two of them were the only people who knew of that endearment, whispered in quiet moments in the privacy of her – their – bedroom. They had never spoken it where anyone else could overhear and possibly report it back to their enemies. Not even in front of their friends – their family – did they use those endearments. No, that one had been for her ears alone. Mi corazón. Mein herz. It was the closest thing to wedding vows that they would ever take, but that had suited them just fine. The two of them were prominent members of their organizations – her as Mercy and the Medical Director of Overwatch, him as the Commander of Blackwatch. It wasn’t safe for people like them, with such responsibility and power, to foster relationships. People in their positions couldn’t afford such luxuries – such weaknesses. Amélie and Gérard had been a horrible reminder of that lesson. Amélie had come from a family that had once been influential but had been in decline long before she was born. Between the slight influence of her name and her fame as a talented ballerina, she had experienced some power. Amélie had had a taste of what she needed to be to stand at Gérard’s side. Gérard was a power far more influential and dangerous than what Amélie had ever held. Gérard had been their expert on Talon. He had commanded agents, ordered life and death, and was one of the largest targets in the entire organization due to his vast knowledge. In Overwatch, only the Strike Commander and his Captain – Jack and Ana – were more valuable. Amélie hadn’t been ready for that burden, the weight that marrying Gérard carried. The ballerina had thought she understood the risks, the danger. It was understandable, really. No one could understand, not without actually experiencing it. Angela had acclimatized with relative ease – as a doctor, she had always carried around the burdens of life and death. Amélie had never needed to worry about her words, worry about her next breath, not as she had once she was Gérard’s wife. Oh, they had tried to help her. Angela had befriended her in a way she had never attempted before. All her friends had been fostered through her work, through medicine or missions. Amélie wasn’t even a part of Overwatch – but Gérard was. They needed Gérard, and so Angela tried her best to help him and his new, beautiful wife. It had been an awkward, stumbling start, but somehow they had become friends. Angela had helped Amélie learn to shoulder the constant threat and fear, something Angela had long since come to terms with. Angela had been there when Amélie couldn’t sleep, terrified that Gérard was going to die while out on a mission. She had soothed the ballerina when Gérard was recovering from the bomb that had nearly killed him, even though Angela herself had almost lost Gabriel in that same explosion. Angela had become for Amélie what Gabriel was for her. Angela always made time to search out the woman, to give her counsel or just a shoulder to cry on. They talked about many things – from Angela’s research to Amélie’s hopes for the future. Eventually, Amélie took up ballet again and started living the life she had put on hold while she got her bearings. They had let their guard down after her being safe for so long – and that had been their undoing. Talon had kidnapped Amélie, just as they had abducted Angela now. Unlike Angela, they had returned the ballerina – not that Overwatch had realized she was being returned at the time. Amélie was recovered, almost no worse for her two weeks in Talon’s clutches, and life went back to normal. That is, until Amélie assassinated Gérard. It had been a horrible discovery. Somehow, the sweet woman had been brainwashed into murdering the husband she had once loved. No one saw it coming – not even Angela, who had looked her over and had spoken to her every day. It was all normal – until it wasn’t. Amélie had returned to Talon before they could stop her and was now one of their best assassins: the formidable Widowmaker. Gabriel and Angela hadn’t wanted to follow in their footsteps, to risk one of them being used against the other. They kept their relationship private – only their closest friends and a few UN members knew about them – to protect themselves and each other. Neither had been willing to endanger the other for something so trivial as a wedding or a ring. They didn’t need material proof of the love between them. That had been a source of grief after the fall. Nothing material meant there was nothing to hold on to after he was gone and buried, besides her memories and what few photographs she could salvage from the wreckage of her personal effects. Gabriel had thoroughly shattered her life, her world, when he had destroyed the Zürich base that had been her home. She had found him that day, broken and dying in the rubble, when she had gone searching for Jack - her Commander, her friend, her brother. Angela hadn’t known of Gabriel’s betrayal then, hadn’t known that he had caused the wanton destruction that surrounded them – but knowing wouldn’t have changed the outcome. She would have still tried to save him because that was who she was and what she did. Angela had been forced to abandon him before stabilizing him due to the building crashing down around them. She had barely escaped with her life. After seeing his injuries, she didn’t believe for a single moment that he had survived the collapse; even when his body hadn’t been recovered, she didn’t think he survived. Angela was certain he had died, believed it enough to mourn and bury him. Angela had given him a grave when the UN had refused: even traitors deserved a place to rest and be remembered. Graves were for the living. She had been the one to give aid to what was left of his family after they had denied his death benefits; his family had done nothing wrong, after all. They had simply had the misfortune of being related to him. She had mourned him most, over all the others who died, despite his betrayal – especially because of the betrayal. Because she had loved him, fiercely and desperately. It hadn’t been easy, loving Gabriel. Sometimes it was hard and painful, like hugging a porcupine, when he was at his most difficult. Sometimes it had been nearly impossible, faced with his position as the Blackwatch Commander and all that entailed. But it had been worth it, all of it, including the end. He had been her first real friend, the first person who saw her for Angela and not just Dr. Ziegler – or, later, Mercy. Gabriel was her confidant, the one she turned to when the weight of the world was too much to bear, who soothed her after she woke up screaming and stayed up the rest of the night so she wouldn’t be alone. A piece of her had died with him in the rubble of the Zürich base. She wrestled with herself for a moment, forcing down tears and choking back a sob. Gabriel’s death had been a wound to her heart that she had thought was healed. The revelation of the Reaper’s real name had ripped through the scar tissue and split her open more viciously than her back had been. Angela had known she would face pain here, trapped in a torture chamber deep inside the black heart of Talon, but she hadn’t expected it to be this kind of pain. He had died. Angela had buried him, just like she had buried the other members of their family by choice – Ana, the mother; Jack, the brother. Just like Gabriel, their bodies hadn’t been recovered either. She had taken flowers to his grave twice a year: once for his birthday in May and again for his death day in August – the anniversary of the day she had lost everything – the only personal time she ever took for herself. The only time she allowed herself to remember, to be anything but numb. Despite all that, he was alive. He was alive, and now she was his hated enemy instead of friend and lover. He was the Reaper, a dark and deadly serial killer that had rarely left survivors. He was with Talon, an organization he had once dedicated his life to stopping. He had brought her here, condemned her to be tortured and broken before being tossed away. He had gloated over her capture. It was that fact, more than anything else, that made her believe the Reaper. He wasn’t Gabriel – not her Gabriel, at least. Her Gabriel would never have put her in danger; he had been nearly smothering in his protection. That Gabriel would have yanked her down out of these chains and whisked her away or died trying. No, her Gabriel was dead, and a monster had taken his place. Angela couldn’t stop a few stray tears from streaking down her cheeks as she mourned his loss all over again.

The only person from Overwatch Fareeha had spoken to since her mothers’ death years ago had been Dr. Ziegler – Angela. The doctor kept in touch throughout the years – even after the collapse – checking in periodically and remembering to call on holidays and her birthday. So, when she awoke to a voicemail – left at 1:37 AM – from Cole, she had been surprised. Fareeha remembered the man; between his drawling accent and the cowboy outfit, he was very unforgettable. It also helped that her mother had taken a picture of the two of them, helpfully labeled ‘Cole and Fareeha, 2062’. He wanted her to check on Angela. If it had been anyone else, Fareeha might have said no. Even if she had known Cole nearly a decade ago – or more, actually, but she wasn’t entirely sure – that didn’t mean she owed him anything now. But Angela was an entirely different matter. The doctor was her friend after so many years. Clearly, she was Cole’s too – why else would he reach out after all this time? His urgency had driven her to request a few personal days off – something she rarely did - and then she had traveled out to the address in Cairo he had provided her. “Angela?” She had called, knocking at the door. There was no answer, but Fareeha wasn’t sure that was unusual. She knew that her doctor friend could keep long hours, so perhaps she was already out – or still asleep. Fareeha stood at the door for several minutes, considering what her next steps should be. The woman pulled out her communicator and called Angela, as she had done – twice – on the way here. Faintly, Fareeha could hear the sound of Angela’s communicator inside the apartment. Was that normal? Did she usually leave it behind? “Angela?” Fareeha had called again, pocketing the communicator. This time, she jiggled the knob – and was surprised to find the door unlocked. That was unusual, Fareeha knew. Angela wouldn’t leave her home unlocked, not with the equipment she hauled around. Cautiously, the Egyptian pushed the door open and sidled in, regretting that she hadn’t brought a weapon with her. Fortunately, there was no need for a weapon. Unfortunately, the apartment was empty of the doctor. Fareeha found a set of keys on the ground, which only proved her belief of foul play. She scooped them up and tested them on the door; they were an exact match, which meant that Angela probably hadn’t left the apartment willingly. She poked around, but nothing else jumped out at her as out of order– just the keys and the unlocked door. She left everything as it was and locked up the apartment. There was a medical camp nearby; she would investigate there next. Hopefully, they had better news than the apartment did.

---

Fareeha waited until 5:00 PM to call Cole back. It had felt like an eternity, but their radically different time zones necessitated the wait. “Fareeha? What’d ya find?” He sounded alert; perhaps she could have called him earlier. It didn’t matter. Quickly, she relayed what she had found: the open door, the keys on the ground, and her absence at the medical camp for the past three days. “She’s not here, Cole.” Fareeha had been worried before, but now she was terrified. There was no sign of the doctor anywhere, though there was ample enough proof that she had been here. Her absence meant nothing good. “Did it look like there was a struggle, back at her place?” The cowboy had asked after a long, considering moment. “Besides the keys on the ground? No. It all looks… normal.” Fareeha glanced around the apartment she had been searching while she had watched the clock. “It’s kind of empty – but that’s normal, right?” Cole made an affirmative noise; the past apartment Fareeha had visited had felt a lot like this one, too. “There’s no food out. The bed looked slept in.” Fareeha stalked through the small apartment, glancing around for anything she could relay to the cowboy. “Her equipment cases – you know, the ones that carry the suit and staff?” Fareeha had once convinced Angela to pull it all out so she could look at it. Of course, she had seen pictures, but that was nothing compared to having it right in front of her. The pictures didn’t capture the faint scratches and dents in the armor, proving how dangerous the doctor’s life had been before the fall. “Yeah, I know ‘em. They still there?” There was some hope in his voice; if they left the equipment behind, her captors probably weren’t exceedingly dangerous. But- “No. They took those, too.” Fareeha sat gingerly on the couch, bracing her head against her free hand. “What do we do now?” She was a fighter, the one you called when you wanted things killed – she had no idea where to begin searching for a missing person. “I’ll put some feelers out, call in some favors.” The cowboy seemed distracted, probably planning the next steps. She remembered a little about him: he was a cowboy, he was a great shot, and he had been part of Blackwatch – the covert intelligence division of Overwatch. Not that she had known at the time. She hadn’t known what the skull insignia had meant until long after Blackwatch had been revealed to the public, and everything came crashing down. “Call me if there is anything I can do.” Fareeha insisted. Helix would let her go if he called – and if they didn’t, then they weren’t worth staying with. Angela Ziegler was too crucial to the world to let a job stand in the way. “‘course I will.” He paused, considering briefly, before continuing. “Actually, can ya get her pictures and stuff, keep ‘em safe ‘til one a’us can come an’ get them?” It wasn’t what she was expecting to be asked to do, but if Cole thought it was important enough to be mentioned, she could do it. “I can do that. Let me know if you need anything else.” They said their goodbyes and disconnected. Fareeha swept her eyes around the apartment, suddenly grateful the doctor traveled light.

Your touch used to be so kind, Your touch used to give me life. I've waited all this time, I've wasted so much time. - Falling Inside the Black [Skillet]

Act One | Act Two | Act Three | Act Four | Act Five | Act Six

[nitewrighter]

If Gabe had been Jack and Ana's vigilante buddy his nickname would be Soldier:24. He and Jack would match. Think about the fluff. Both of them and Ana living together. Fighting Talon together. There is no fights between them because there is no Strike Commander Morrison or Blackwatch Commander Reyes. They are 2 old super soldier lovers who is dedicated to take down Talon and end this fight. I can see three of them answering the recall after saving Angela on Volskaya and reuniting with others.

>Gabe grumbling and being sulky when Jack and Ana are patching him up and admonishing him for being the Cool Hardcore Hero. 

>Jack leaning and Gabe looming over Ana’s shoulders when she’s doing inventory (more out of general curiosity and boredom than any questioning of her ability) and Ana shooting one of her scary mom glares at them to get them to back off. 

>”OH GOD THERE’S MOLD IN THE SHOWER--Oh wait that’s nanite residue--SORRY GABE.”

>Gabe looking into the camera like he’s in the office at shippy stuff unfolding on the watchpoint.

>Gabe working through a lot of the weirder aspects of his relationship with McCree because he does respect McCree and he honestly sees McCree taking over his role if anything happens to him, then being grumpy and guarded about it when he sees Jack beaming at him and how hard he’s working to try and rebuild the relationships with his old team.

>Gabe and Jack being the bitchy-but-endearing married couple, getting roused in the middle of the night clearly wearing each other’s clothes.

>Hanzo joining the Watchpoint and during the whole vetting process Gabe randomly cutting in with, “Now, I’m just throwing this out there... but we could kill him.”