Null Protocol || Ramattra x Reader

Chapter Twelve

Her knees were a little more wobbly as she whispered, "I was just teasing."

"You wanted to know how Zenyatta and I differ and that is your answer: I am no longer complacent with disrespect from humans." Any good will she thought she built up with him disappeared in that moment, the bite of just the word 'humans' reminding her of her place, and she offered a small nod.

"Sorry. I reckon I'm just used to people having a sense of humor, but I forget you ain't always capable of telling the difference."

"You forget yourself, human. You are and always will be beneath me, and my helping you in any respect is solely to gain from keeping you alive for the time being." He returned his attention to the boulder, slamming the hammer into the saw so it cut off a sheet of ice. "You are getting too comfortable with me."

"I'm only getting cozy because you're reciprocating." He pointedly ignored her gaze on the back of his head. The only reason she could see him lashing out was because he started to realize that maybe he wanted to be relaxed around her too, so he flipped a 180 so she wouldn't catch on or start to think that maybe they were closer than he wanted her to. "What's so bad about being friends with a human anyhow?"

"I am not my brother and I do not see the use in being friends with my oppressors." He wanted to leave it at that, but she stepped closer and fiddled with her empty jacket sleeve, gaze imploring despite him blatantly avoiding it.

"You're telling me you ain't never believed y'all could attain peace with peaceful actions?" It was the belief the very monastery was built on, and if he was a monk there at one time, he had to believe that too.

"You humans love to pry," he growled, swinging the hammer at the ice so it released a loud bang that echoed around the cave and made her grimace.

"What happened to being merciless and merciful?" She stumbled back as he abruptly turned to her, and she would've fallen if he didn't reach out to grab her by the front of her jacket.

He held her up as he studied her, eye lights glinting off the sweat rolling down her forehead, and she held onto his wrist joint as she scrambled on slick ice to get her feet under her. "Are you incapable of shutting your mouth?" She froze solid as his hand tightened on her jacket. "You prod and prod until you procure an answer, and while that may have worked in your rinky-dink little town back home, you are in the real world with a very real threat that intends on taking your life. Yet you do. Not. Stop. Talking. You are teasing your killer and you expect to be unscathed afterwards?" He tch'd, the sound more of a hiss than a tongue click, and he pulled her closer so she was looking him right in his beady red eyes.

The fear that had been missing for some time now returned to her face, and he ignored the part of him that wanted to drop the issue. He needed to make an example. "Do not forget I will gladly die in this cave if it means silencing you forever. Do I make myself clear?" She nodded immediately and he gently set her back down, looking down his metaphorical nose at her as she swayed unsteadily on her feet. He just noticed her face was paler than before when she crumpled to the floor.

He lurched forward to scoop her up before she hit the hard ground, gasping out a, "Human!" as he cradled her limp body. Her eyes had rolled back, and he hurried over to the spot she was sitting before to lay her carefully on her back, using her toolkit to elevate her feet. "Must you faint so dramatically?" he muttered in a tight voice, holding his hand over her lips to feel air fan against them – she was still breathing. "Perhaps I scared you to death- well, metaphorically." He chuckled to himself almost nervously, studying her stiff, fearful expression as an uncomfortable emotion rose up in his gut.

Her fear didn't produce a warm feeling anymore, and if he didn't know any better, he'd guess he had an aversion to seeing her so scared. He recalled a flood of relief running through his system when he got there in time to save her from the snow leopard – not that he could explain why. Even the excuses he'd been feeding her didn't feel right anymore, and he knew it was more than his own survival that spurred him into keeping her alive – he'd actively encouraged her when she fell into despair when he had no reason to, leaving only genuine desire to lift her spirits as the sole motivation...only to then bring her right back to that negativity pit he helped her crawl out of by threatening her after she teased him – a sign he knew meant she was feeling better – like he wasn't capable of being soft. Or perhaps it was the emotions he'd never felt before that set him off.

Ramattra ran a metal hand down his face, releasing a deep sigh as he glanced towards the still very stuck Nemesis arms to refocus himself. It would take some time to get them free, surely enough time to figure out what had his emotions going haywire, and after making sure (Y/n) was okay, he returned to the boulder to keep trying. It was rather akin to meditation – mindless work that gave him a chance to just think – and he ran over what led him to having such an emotional outburst so uncharacteristic of him.

He was known for his anger – it was what sparked fear in the humans he fought against – but to let it slip out when all the human did was tease him? No, the issue stemmed from within him. He was growing attached to her. The thought produced an audible scoff, the disgust with himself pushing him to slide the saw more roughly through the ice. He wasn't using the tool correctly to make her happy, only to speed along the process, and the sizable dent in the dull side of the saw didn't influence him to change how he utilized it at all.

How could someone like him grow fond of a human in the first place? They were the oppressors, the ones he fought against at every opportunity for liberation of his people, yet in this situation, the girl held no power at all. She passed out at him yelling at her, for Iris' sake. And with her recent blood loss, lack of food and water, and steadily dropping body temperature, she could hardly fix him as is, let alone do anything against him. But why did that spur him into caring for her instead of crushing her when such an easy opportunity was presented? Even if he'd come around to seeing her as more than just her species, she still posed a risk to his people, so why was he having second thoughts about what he needed to do? If he could quickly and efficiently dispatch a threat as dangerous as a snow leopard, then surely he should be able to do the same to a human girl.

He rubbed his temple, the circling thoughts stuck in an infinite loop that didn't progress towards an actual answer – but maybe he didn't want to know. Zenyatta told him once that when an answer escaped you, it typically meant it wasn't one you were ready to hear, but Ramattra just called it denial.

He wasn't sure how he'd react when he stepped into the Shambali Monastery and saw his brother after all this time, and while he predicted Zenyatta would welcome him with open arms, it still felt surreal. Zenyatta was the one who knew him best, but that was the version of him from years ago. Since then, Ramattra had made waves under Null Sector's banner while Zenyatta still clung to the same ideals that got them nowhere back then and was still getting them nowhere to this day. He expected Zenyatta to rebuke him for his violence against the humans but all he was met with was his brother's tranquil words about missing him – like their years apart had only been a day or two. Zenyatta didn't know why Ramattra was really there, Nameless made sure of it, but going behind his brother's back – even for such a cause – didn't sit right with him. Maybe that was why it bothered him so deeply to contemplate killing a human he'd deemed insignificant not that long ago.

Ramattra finally chipped away enough at the giant boulder to wrench one of the arms free, walking it over to set beside (Y/n)'s toolkit, and he scanned the mechanic with a displeased hum. She should've been awake by now. He bent down, feeling for her breath before placing two cool metal fingers against the side of her neck. She was breathing and her pulse was steady, if faint, and her skin was only a shade lighter than her usual (s/c) color. Why was he so worried about her anyway? Why did panic grip him so tight at the smallest indication she wasn't okay? He didn't even think before he caught her when she fainted, and he barely stopped to consider what she would think of him when he worriedly went looking for her after waking up without her by his side. It was like his mindless actions were most honest of all, revealing something he wasn't ready to hear – or perhaps he was just in denial.

"Human." She stirred, opening her blurry eyes to see him before she pressed her lips together and turned on her side to face away from him. That stung, and he let out a low, disgruntled hiss. "Are you okay?" She made a sleepy sound he couldn't decipher, pulling a sharp click from his voicebox. "Why do I even bother?" He stood tall, pausing before he returned to the boulder. She was spent on energy, the only hope she had left of replenishing it being sleep, so he supposed he should leave her to do just that while he worked on getting his Nemesis arms. It was only too bad he'd break down into rust by the time he managed to chip away at the boulder enough with her tools to free them both.

"Sleep well, (Y/n)." He wasn't sure why he said it – it wasn't like she could hear his well wishes anyways – but it felt right, and without the actual risk of her hearing that uncharacteristically soft note in his voice, somehow he felt comfortable being honest with himself. And with his back turned to work on his escape from this cave, he missed her eyes slipping closed as a small smile took shape on her lips.