Null Protocol || Ramattra x Reader

Chapter Two

"It must be nice to be an omnic," she said, offering a small smile hidden behind her bandana. "Not having to deal with the cold or achy limbs, I mean." Each step through the snow took double the effort of a regular step, and that was walking behind the Ravager, stepping into each hole he'd made with his much larger, metal feet. Ramattra stayed silent, gripping his staff tighter. He reminded her of a shepherd guiding the way, the glowing scepter in his hand lighting the path ahead of them. Ravagers were vicious war machines, not necessarily tactical geniuses – not that Ramattra couldn't be both, of course, as omnics were as diverse as humans when it came to interests and abilities. She knew so little about his model that curiosity took hold of her despite how stupid it would be to bother him with questions.

So instead she observed him through her fogging goggles. He stood at an impressive 6'4"/193 cm with all the intimidation of a war machine, colored in deep purple and black with silver metal ribs enclosing his chest. A tan scarf wrapped around his neck with two tails trailing down to the snowy floor, shirt sleeves that went over his shoulder plates and upper arms, and he wore brown pants over his thighs that strapped around his hips. The staff was curved into a hook at the top, inside of which was an orb that glowed purple with little nanites floating around it. His 'hair' was corded electrical wires, face plate narrow with thin slits for eyes, and a sharp frown-shaped slit where his mouth would be. Everything about him screamed dangerous, and ignoring the paranoia scratching at the back of her mind, she treated him with the same kindness she would any other omnic. Just because he was built for war didn't mean that was all his purpose would ever be, and Zenyatta would want her to keep an open mind – especially when it came to another welcomed into the monastery.

"Thanks for coming with me!" (Y/n) had to shout to be heard over the raging wind, each gust blowing her towards the Ravager with gusto, and she would've faceplanted into his back if not for her feet being planted in a foot of snow. "I appreciate the company and the light!" She pointed to his staff, forcing cheer into her tone as she took in quick pants of cold air. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she struggled to keep up with his fast pace, but she couldn't completely attribute it to the exercise.

"Save your breath, human." Ramattra's voice was deep and dripping with vile disdain, sending a chill down her spine as he spat the word 'human'. There was no friendliness to it, like it went against everything he stood for to even think of aiding a human let alone actually be forced into it against his will.

(Y/n) shuddered, nodding even though his back was to her. Every alarm bell in her mind was going off but it wasn't like she could run off, not with the first flurry of snowflakes descending from the dark sky, so she looked on the bright side: despite his hatred for humans, he was guiding her through the mountains back home. Clearly he wasn't all bad if he was still willing to help her in spite of his hangups. "Well, thanks anyways." He made no comment to indicate he heard her, so she kept her head down, taking the first opportunity since arriving at the monastery to go over what she learned.

"Zeny said most omnics operate the same way, differing more in purpose than actual wiring," she muttered quietly to herself. "So his teachings should extend out to the omnics back home, right?" Zenyatta was a humanoid model of omnic while the ones in her hometown were more similar to the first models developed by Omnica resembling the traditional robot. If anything, Zenyatta's model was more complex, so the simple models back home would probably be a cakewalk, and if any newer model visited, she'd be able to show off the skills Zenyatta taught her. "I hope I'll make him proud," she mumbled, smiling at the thought. "He did explain what makes them sentient, so in theory, I could use that to figure out what makes them tick." She glanced up and off to the side, missing the subtle tilt of the Ravager's head. "Aurora activated a part of them that granted sentience, like a switch inside got flipped. If I alter that part of their circuitry, I alter what makes them alive. And if I were to switch off that sentient part of them, they'd just be robot shells – they'd 'die', assuming it never got switched back."

His fingers flexed on his staff, spinning it in his hands before making it disappear, like he de-summoned it from existence, and (Y/n) blinked in surprise as the two of them were left in near total darkness. "Uh, Ramattra?" He didn't answer, turning to her slowly with his fingers curled into tight fists. She took a step back as she caught a glint of his lights for eyes, which were pinned on her and glowing with an unnerving intensity. Something in her told her to run, that she wasn't safe, and she swallowed thickly as she took another step back. He stalked towards her, urging her to backpedal faster. "Whoa, hey!" She tripped and fell back into the snow with an 'oof!', and she stared up in horror as the Ravager stopped in front of her, his whole body rigid and coiled like he was just holding himself back from annihilating her.

"You think we will fall at your feet, human?" he spat coldly, freezing her to the ground with fear. "That you can simply rip our sentience from us as if it were never there at all? Your kind does nothing but take, creating us to be your servants then slaughtering us when we become aware of your torment." Each word was delivered with a mouthful of spite, and she inched backwards on the ground to get clear of his fury. He took slow, menacing steps after her, like she was his prey caught in a trap she had no hope of escaping. "You thought you could wipe my kind out, push a single generation species to the brink of extinction, with no consequences?" He clapped his hands together, two giant arms appearing out of his back while his legs were encased in a much bigger, sturdier shell as he crossed his regular arms in front of himself, standing at least a solid foot taller than before as he towered over her.

Her mouth dried up as she gaped at him. "What...?" She'd never seen a Ravager modified like this before, and with a start, she realized he was going to kill her – and she could do nothing but lay in the snow, too frozen with fear to do anything about it. Her gut had been right and she'd ignored it like a fool.

"My brother housed a pathetic human and expected me not to know of it," the Ravager sneered, the giant extra set of hands tightening into fists. "A human that sought only to learn about our kind so she could destroy them." His tone had dropped to a low, seething hiss, and he rose his head to glance back the way they came – the glow of the monastery long gone by now – before pinning his murderous gaze on (Y/n). "Well, what he does not know, he will never find out."

She willed her body to move and it finally answered, getting her feet under her so she could sprint away. She fought for every step through the snow, well aware of how close on her tail he was by his heavy footsteps, and she could hardly breathe through the chilly air as she pushed herself further, faster, harder. Everywhere she looked was nothing but snowy mountain, and with the sheer distance back to the monastery, there was nowhere she could go to escape her fate.

Then, partially hidden by the snowfall and barely more than a shadow against the landscape, she spotted a cave. It was carved into the edge of the mountain, snow above the entrance that the smallest shift in the rock would cause to fall and cover it, and further above that she spotted the faintest flash of movement.

Her eyes widened in horror. "Avalanche!" Her heartbeat in her ears prevented her from even hearing the rush of snow, and now with no choice but to hide in the cave she spotted, she forced herself faster with everything she had. Avalanches moved fast, able to bury you in no time at all – and able to creep up on you without you ever realizing – and even if the Ravager failed to kill her, being swept into the snowy current would do the trick.

The beginning of the avalanche racing down the mountain pushed some of the snow built up at the cave entrance into the way, and (Y/n) vaulted over the pile, sliding across slick ice that lined the stone ground. She turned back in time to see Ramattra still chasing her, right on the threshold of safety when the worst of the avalanche rocked into the snow at the top of the cave, shoving it down and onto him. He growled as he fought to get free from the white powder, not noticing the giant ice block following the snow right above him. He looked up just in time to see it careen over the lip, crashing down right on top of him.

(Y/n)'s breath came out in a strangled gasp as she screamed, "Ramattra!"