Null Protocol || Ramattra x Reader

ACT 1 | ☙Chapter One❧

It was something Zenyatta immediately pinpointed inside her, calling her commendable for not letting the past affect her so. "I wasn't around for the bloodshed," she had replied. "I grew up in a small town that stayed out of the majority of the Crisis and my dad built his mechanic legacy on fixing broken omnics." She got lucky – her whole town did – and as such, she didn't understand how humans and omnics couldn't get along. She'd heard all the stories, been told tales of what happened during the violent Omnic Crisis and witnessed the fallout growing up, but being so far removed from it made it impossible to grasp humans hating omnics and vice versa for any legitimate reason.

"It is always possible to change our biases, however unlikely we may deem it so," Zenyatta hummed, glancing her way with a look she couldn't place. The Ravager glared at her – no actual change to the plate over his face dictated the action but she could feel the heat from the look on his otherwise cold exterior – and she shivered.

"Well, I ain't trying to create any problems, and I've drawn this goodbye out long enough as is." Zenyatta could feel her unease as she smiled unevenly at him. "I reckon I should probably skedaddle."

"Are you sure you do not wish to stay?" He gestured back towards their sleeping quarters. "We will always have room for a guest such as yourself." The idea was tempting, but she shook her head.

"I only packed enough supplies to be here a couple weeks and it's a day's walk back to town." She rifled through her toolbag, finding a single day's worth of food and water that would last her the trip into town, where she'd be able to resupply before heading back home. Initially, she planned to leave with a couple days' supplies just so she wouldn't have to rush on her way back, but upon arriving, she enjoyed the monastery and the omnics in it more than she expected. She was only leaving now because she had no choice. The omnics – predictably – didn't have food this far up into the mountains, and since human guests were rare in the omnic safe haven, she planned accordingly.

(Y/n) stooped down to grab her large winter coat off the floor where she'd dropped it to say goodbye to Zenyatta, throwing it on and putting up the fluffy hood with fur along the trim. She zipped up her toolbag before slinging the generous straps around her shoulders so she wore it like a backpack, then found her thick mittens in her jacket pockets and slid them on. Her sweatpants were more than warm enough in the monastery and doubled as great insulation out in the frigid cold of the Himalayas, and her winter boots kept her feet from soaking due to the thick fur along the top of them preventing snow from getting in. She laced them up tight, securing her soft bandana around her neck so she could slip it over her mouth and nose once she left, and strapped her winter goggles around her head.

Now set for the winter weather, she offered a handshake to the monk. "Thank you again." Zenyatta chuckled quietly, opening his arms for a hug that she willingly accepted.

That familiar warm feeling enveloped her like he was blessing her with harmony for her perilous journey back home, and she relaxed in his robotic arms as he spoke. "You are very thankful for that which you were always bound to receive. Harmony follows you, and your path is paved only with good intentions."

"Isn't that what the road to evil is paved by?" She pulled back to send him a questioning look, and he nodded as he interwove his fingers again.

"But yours are pure in goal, seeking to learn only so that your knowledge may grow and you may more suitably aid those which you are learning about." He rotated his wrist, the joint she fixed all the proof he needed. She'd spent half of her time learning about the omnics and the other half offering her services as a mechanic to fix anything they needed, claiming it was so her presence would be useful instead of just a hindrance.

Almost all of them had some sort of trivial injury relating to their time outside the monastery, and while she didn't pry for where they stemmed from, she had to wonder if most of them were caused by humans' mistrust. "People fear that which they do not understand," Zenyatta had commented while she was treating a particularly nasty injury for an omnic that severed the circuitry to its eyes, turning it blind. She hadn't understood him then, wondering why people wouldn't then be curious and strive to learn so they wouldn't be afraid, but the monk had stayed silent.

"Well, that's the idea, at least." (Y/n)'s smile wasn't very confident as she adjusted the straps on her shoulders. "Pops will love the extra help around the shop though, I do know that." She stepped back towards the exit out of the monastery, taking in the warm, yellow glow on the intricate stone structure one last time.

"Peace be upon you, (Y/n)." Zenyatta held his hand out, palm towards her with his thumb, index, and middle finger up, the other two down, and rotated his arm in a circular motion.

She copied the odd wave, smiling as he chuckled. "And upon you, Zenyatta." She hesitated for a moment, and sensing her discord, he again held out his arms for a hug. Wrapping her arms around him tightly, she whispered, "I promise I'll visit again sometime."

"Or perhaps we will see each other again when our fates and paths intertwine once more." He made it sound mystical, and she smiled at the thought.

"I'd like that." She gave him one more squeeze before stepping back, thankful he wasn't the type to judge. It felt hard to say goodbye to someone she'd grown rather fond of over the past couple weeks, but maybe she wasn't the only one who'd grown attached.

"See ya, Zeny." (Y/n) waved once more, hearing him call goodbye before he returned to his brothers, pausing to speak to the two omnics talking heatedly about something. Her gaze lingered on them for a beat, curiosity burning at what they were saying, but knowing that was likely a question she'd never have answered, she turned instead to leave the monastery, thoughts only on the journey ahead of her as two red lights burned into her back.