บท 18: War Time Prep
Waking up groggily I tried to remember a dream I had but sadly it was already gone. Taking off my sleeping mask I rub my eyes and do a little stretch.
"Yawwh" Yawning out I remembered my sleep last night.
Last nights sleep wasn't that great, as I often woke up to Lena giggling to something on her phone. Every time I asked she just said "Oh it's nothing go back to sleep."
Frowning slightly I look over to see Tracer dead asleep. 'Know what I have an idea.' smirking I came up with a prank for Lena as she kept me up most of the night.
'Should I go with the whistle?' Shaking my head at the thought I tried to come up with something better. 'Hmmm maybe ohhhh I know!' chuckling evilly I exited my bed as quietly as I could.
Going to a near by drawer I searched for the Permanent Marker. Shuffling through random objects I came across a black sharpie. 'This is what you get for being mean last night.' I grinned and uncapped the marker.
Approaching Lena who was practically dead to the world I gently grabbed her face and slowly began to draw a mustache on her. Being extra careful to not wake her, I added a monocle and a goatee. Nodding to my handiwork I capped the marker.
'Now I need a way to wake her up...' I thought as I stood next to Lena only for something to happen. Feeling a tug on the hand that was holding her face a moment ago, I looked down to see a sleeping Lena holding my arm.
Eyes opening widely I tried to pry her hand off of me only for her to grab my other hand as well. Freaking out slightly I tried to calm down.
'Ok Ruby don't freak out, stay calm, stay calm!' I intensely thought as Lena slowly began to role over, thus causing me to go with her. To make sure I didn't fall on top of her I had to get on the bed, ending up in a very well.... Precarious position.
Barely, I saved myself from falling on Lena. Hovering over Lena with our faces almost touching I blushed ferociously. 'What am I doing!?' I thought as I tried to free my hands from Lena.
With a little difficulty I broke free from her grasp and got off her bed. 'Why is my heart beating so fast...' Shaking myself out of my stupor I grabbed my clothes and made my way to the shower.
Taking a cold shower I dressed quickly in a outfit that I got from Rienne before I joined Overwatch. It was a white hoodie with my rose emblem sown on in a red fabric on top of the hood. The inside of it was red with some silver designs here and there.
Putting on some stockings and then putting on some jean shorts I exited the bathroom. Going to my room I saw Lena waking up. Blushing slightly as I remembered what happened earlier, I quickly went and grabbed my shoes.
"Yawwh" Lena yawned out as she woke up from her nap. Rubbing her eyes she looked around the room and saw me preparing to run away. "Oh mornin love, like the outfit."
Turning towards her I looked at her sleepy face and quickly looked away. 'Nope!' I thought as I quickly used my semblance to fly out of the room, leaving behind a trail of rose petals in my wake.
"What was that about?" Lena asked to herself as she started to get dressed.
Entering the commons room in a flash with a slight blush on my face I shook my head. 'Nope nope! Ruby we have more important things to do, like fighting Null Sector!' Finally the blush disappeared as I began to think seriously again.
'Null Sector is going to be difficult to fight. They were one of the most radical omnic groups if I remember correctly, and have an unreasonable amount of troops. It will be like fighting a grimm horde with a knife...' I thought as I began to prepare some hot chocolate for myself.
Ignoring whatever was going on in the room, I prepared my hot chocolate and some strawberries. Sitting down at the table near the TV I turned on the news. Surprisingly the commons room was empty this morning.
'Guess that argument everyone had caused some issues.' Taking a sip of my hot chocolate I heard footsteps.
Looking towards the noise I saw Lena herself, but instead her face was graffitied with permanent marker. "Pfft" I tried not to laugh as I looked at Lena. Completely forgetting about what happened earlier I pulled out my scroll and took a picture.
"Oi what's so funny?" Lena asked as she saw me take a photo of her. Replying I said "Oh nothing, don't worry about it."
Lena stared at me suspiciously and decided to check a mirror to see what was wrong. Looking in the mirror she saw my handy work. "Ruby!" Lena shouted as she blinked over to get a wet towel and wipe it off.
Scrubbing roughly she noticed that it wasn't disappearing. 'Uh oh...' I thought as I saw her visibly getting angry. "You know Ruby, it's not nice to prank someone, especially if that someone still has an IOU from the other person..." Lena threateningly said to me.
"Waitwaitwait! It was just a prank!" I hurriedly said hoping to convince Lena to let it drop as I waved my hands around.
Lena acted like she took a second to think about my fate and then smiled. "Hmmm well if it was just a prank then I guess I will forgive you, but you will have to owe me another one."
'What how is that fair!?' I thought as I glared at Lena.
Lena seeing my glare Lena thought out loud. "Well if you don't take the offer I guess I will just have to claim that IOU that you owe to me."
Hearing Lena's other option I decided to just owe her another one. Exasperatedly I murmured with trouble "Fineee, I-I owe you another one."
Lena visibly cheered up after hearing my words. "Great love! Now then let's get ready to talk to the others about Null Sector. You bring them here, and I will get this marker off of me."
Hearing Lena's words I nodded and grabbed the cup of my hot chocolate. Walking over to the sink I was preparing to poor it out but I was interrupted. "Oh yeah love leave that for me."
Shrugging my shoulders I exited the commons room in search of Anna, Mercy, Reinhardt, McCree, and Torbjorn. The reason for these people was that everyone in the list were the originals who fought Null Sector, while Anna was needed to convince Jack of letting us go.
Sadly after thinking about going without telling Jack I noticed that we could get put in jail for life, so we needed a tree to hide under. Luckily if Jack was anything like Ironwood I would be able to convince him, albeit with some difficulty.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts I went off to grab the others I was looking for.
*30 Minutes Later*
"Ruby, might I ask what was so important that you had to take us all from our own doings? We are all pretty busy right now." Anna asked me as Torbjorn grumbled in agreement.
Reinhardt, Mercy, and McCree chose to simply nod to Annas words as I led them to the commons room.
Fiddling with my cloak slightly I responded. "Well there has been a big issue recently that Lena and I want to make known. Sorry if I interrupted your work..."
Reinhardt laughed slightly, patted my shoulder, and boisterously said "Worry not little Rose, for we will hear what this issue is!"
McCree hummed in agreement while Mercy smiled in a supporting manner. Torbjorn once again grumbled in agreement. Anna simply sighed as Reinhardt had already decided that they will all go. "Oh well, just don't take too much more of our time." Anna begrudgingly agreed.
"Oh well if you want I can hurry up our walk over?" I asked Anna and the others.
Anna gave me a questioning gaze, while the others were intrigued. McCree decided to voice everyone's question.
"What do you mean by that?" McCree asked as he tipped his hat slightly downwards.
Thinking for a moment on how to explain it I said "Well my ability can let others travel with me, and by doing so we can make the trip quite a bit shorter."
Mercy looked intrigued as Torbjorn was still just as confused. Reinhardt had a slightly worried face and Anna and McCree shrugged their shoulders. "Well little Rose, if you are sure you can do it go ahead and show us!" Reinhardt cheerfully shouted out.
Grinning slightly I stopped everyone and asked them to all hold onto my shoulder. Everyone complying I began to push aura into my semblance. 'I couldn't do this so easily before, but now with my larger soul it will by easy as cake.' I thought as I poured aura into my semblance.
Petals of different colors started drifting off of everyone until I suddenly shouted "Alright get ready!"
Everyone's grip tightened at my words as I charged forward, transforming into a large cloud of petals. Flying at speeds that seemed to blur reality, we abruptly entered the commons room.
Turning off my semblance I landed on my feet and did a little peace sign. As for everyone else, it seemed only McCree landed on his feet. Mercy was acting like she was sick, as Reinhardt was laughing away.
Anna helped up Mercy, as torbjorn just sat upwards and said "Ruby please don't drag me with you again. I felt my life flashing before my eyes."
"Hehe, sorry I forgot that most people aren't used to traveling that fast..." I nervously chuckled out as I looked to Mercy, who was turning green.
Scratching my head I shrugged my shoulders and walked to Lena who was just watching this all unfold. Approaching her I whispered "Ok I want you to start this off talking about how London is your home."
Lena nodded seriously and motioned for everyone to sit down on the couch, which they all happily obliged to.
"Ehm Ehm! I have called you all here to discuss an issue that we all know of... Null Sector." Lena coughed out gaining the attention of the room.
"Null Sector, a group of radical terrorist, who are killing innocent people just trying to live, who are destroying one of the largest cities in the world. And yet we are doing nothing except sitting back and watching." Lena continued on, causing everyone except Anna to look down in shame.
"This group of radicals, they are stripping away peoples homes - my home... Are we, Overwatch, really going to just stand by and watch as they do this? Weren't we founded on the very ideal of helping those in need?" Lena asked to the room.
Reinhardt's eyes seemed to gloss over as he remembered something. Mercy looked down in shame, while McCree and Torbjorn nodded in agreement to Lena. Even Anna seemed to agree with Lena.
'She's doing it!' I thought as I watched the mood of the room change from one of shame, into determination.
Lena then said "We must do something, because that's just what we are supposed to do. We can't let Null Sector destroy London. I called you all here, as I think it's time we do something about it."
Anna's eyes hardened while Reinhardt stood and shouted "I too agree with little Lena here! We have been doing nothing for far too long, far too many people have been hurt due to this. I stand by Lena."
Torbjorn nodded solemnly and said "I too stand with Lena."
This seemed to surprise Anna. Mercy smiled angelically and agreed as well.
"I too believe that we must help. I didn't join Overwatch just to watch people die, I joined to help." Mercy said aloud to the room as she joined Reinhardt and Torbjorn.
'Next up is McCree.' I thought as I stared expectantly to McCree. McCree seeing my gaze looked down.
The thing was is that McCree wasn't apart of the original group to fight Null Sector, as he was Blackwatch, but this time I think we needed someone like him on the team. I thought to myself as I waited for McCree's answer.
"Thing is, I can't exactly help out. Part of Blackwatch, and unless Jack approves, well... It's a no go for me." McCree looked somber as he said that.
I smiled assuredly to McCree and gave him a silent thank you. Last up is Anna, who had a steel gaze in her eyes. Seemingly gathering her thoughts, Anna looked towards us.
"You know this goes against the law. Jack has his hands tied, this is why we can't go. It's not that we don't want to help, its that we cant. The United Nations even now are blocking Overwatch from intervening." Anna spoke out to the room, causing everyone to look down once again.
Inwardly I was thinking about how much Anna reminded me of Weiss's sister, Winter. Fiercely loyal, determined, strong. 'We can't back down just yet.' I thought as I hardened my will to speak out against Anna.
Stepping forward so I stood in front of the group I spoke up. "Anna, I know that I haven't exactly been apart of Overwatch for long, but I have experienced something like this, and I know how this will end." This seemed to gain Anna's attention.
"We must help people, no matter who tries to stop us. I have always wanted to help people in need, and I am not letting such a small thing such as permissions stop me. I know that you want to help Jack, but we need to help London first. Jack well... He reminds me a lot of somebody I used to know." I continued as I began to think back to James Ironwood.
Memories of how I failed Atlas and Mantle flooded through my mind. Even memories of things that Mason saw while watching the show flashed into my head. Becoming slightly sad I shook away my thoughts and continued onwards.
"That somebody made the mistake that Jack is about to, and that is abandoning the people. I don't want to see Jack end up like that, and neither do you. We need you Anna to help convince Jack to let us help." I pleaded to Anna, as the whole room fell silent.
My silver eyes stared into Anna's brown ones. Anna seemingly broke, and looked away. Shaking her head she stood and walked to the door of the commons room and said.
"I will... Talk to Jack about this." And with those words she began to walk away but stopped and called my name. "Ruby, I... I will try my best, so make sure you all don't mess this up as well."
Smiling I nodded to the leaving Anna and waited for her to leave the room. Waiting for a moment, the room went silent only for it to be broken by Lena and I.
"Wahoo! We did it!" I cheered out and jumped upwards. Lena whooped and cheered with me "Lets go! We actually convinced Anna!" She shouted out while jumping with me.
Torbjorn smiled slightly, while Reinhardt approached us and pulled both of us into a big hug.
"Gah!" I choked out as Reinhardt pulled Lena and I around while boisterously shouting "Haha! You actually convinced Anna!"
Mercy smiled like a mom watching her children, while McCree smirked and began to walk away.
Still choking due to the lack of air I pleaded for Reinhardt to let me go. "Plea-s... Ca-nt, breathe!"
Looking over at Lena I even saw her soul float away. 'Noo! Don't die on me yet Lena!' I thought as I struggled to breathe.
Mercy seeing this quickly separated Reinhardt from us, causing both Lena and I to drop to the floor and gasp for air.
Reinhardt scratched his head and chuckled out. "Haha, I apologize I seem to forget my strength some times."
Gathering my breath I murmured "Don't- worry- about- it." I breathed in air between each word.
Taking a minute, I gathered myself and stood. Helping Lena up we stood in front of Mercy, Torbjorn, and Reinhardt.
Lena taking initiative said "Well I believe that we convinced Anna, now we just gotta wait for Jack. I-I wanted to thank you all for choosing to help, it means a lot to me."
I smiled and put my arm around her neck. "Ha don't worry I know we are awesome. Jack will agree, I promise!" I said while smiling to Lena.
Lena smirked and just enjoyed the moment before getting serious again. "Alright well now that we have that solved, I guess we outa prepare? Torbjorn love, if it's not too difficult can you prepare some armor for us?"
Torbjorn grumbled and said "More work... Fine I will prepare something for us, come by later tonight to get it." and with that he left.
Lena looked to Mercy and told her "Mercy, I don't really know what you should do, but I guess its just getting some medical stuff ready incase we need it."
Mercy nodded and parted ways after saying her goodbyes. Lena then looked to Reinhardt.
"And for you big guy... Get ready to look awesome for when we save Kingsrow." Lena cheerfully told Reinhardt.
Reinhardt laughed out. "You got it! We will be like knights in shining armor, going to slay the evil enemy! Everyone will cheer our names as we gain glory!"
Smirking at his response I watched him trail off about glory and honor, until he finally got tired and said his goodbyes thus leaving me with Lena.
Lena stepped away from me and plopped down on the couch. Sighing in relief she thanked me.
"Jeez love, that was nerve racking wasn't it?" Lena tiredly asked me while patting the spot next to her on the couch.
Sitting down on the couch I too sighed in comfort. Hearing Lena's question I leaned back into the cushion of the couch and giggled slightly.
Giggling I agreed and said "Heh it was a little nerve racking, but I think I experienced worse."
This seemed to draw whatever energy Lena had left to look at me with a questioning glance. Realization appeared on her face as she remembered something.
"Oh yeah love, when talking to Anna you said you experienced something like this before. Right?" Lena asked me.
Thinking for a moment I nodded to Lena, but inwardly I was debating something. 'I haven't known Lena for long, but I trust her... I think I waited long enough to tell her, tonight I will tell her the truth.'
Taking a moment I answered Lena's question about James. "Yeah, I-well... I experienced something like this before, it just didn't turn out as well."
Lena saw the mood change around me and patted my shoulder.
"Sorry love, you don't have to answer my question if it brings up bad memories."
Listening to Lena, I smiled gratefully but shook my head. "No I think it is a story that is important, we might learn something from it..."
Stopping I thought if I really wanted to tell her. A thing that Ruby and Mason had in common, was keeping something harmful close to the chest. A bad habit, but it is how it is. Feeling Lena's comforting hand on my shoulder I hardened myself so I could tell her the story of Ironwood and later tell her the story of my life.
"Well it all started when I arrived in Atlas, and spoke to the General. A strong man with the name of James Ironwood...
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GaZe_Zero
GaZe_Zero Longer chapter today! Chapter releases might slow down this week, or be unstable as I have a lot of tests I need to take. I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter, as next chapter Ruby comes clean with her identity. (Maybe she will finally feel like she belongs in Overwatch?)
Anways see ya next chapter :P
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