Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Month 0

Tala Nicole Dimaapi Valdez, or rather, Neon, was duelist number 18, recently recruited by Valorant, the young woman, just 19 years old, has bioelectric radiance powers, such powers paved her way into the Valorant protocol, being warmly received by everyone, The young woman's recruitment was of great help in advancing the development of the portal.

The young woman was assigned to be Sage and Reyna's apprentice, Sage is the leader of the medical sector, commander of the sentinels and second in general command, while Reyna is the commander of the duelists and the one who maintains a positive score in the missions, most of the Reyna's assignments in task forces always end well and with advantages for alpha land, the older women welcomed Neon with open arms, the trio shared many happy moments, they were like a family, and of course, they helped Neon with her training, each with their own way.

But just like any other agent, Neon also had her constant fears and nightmares, her safe haven was always her mentors, but after another night of nightmares, Neon leaves the comfort of her room in search of her mentors, Sage or Reyna, finding both in the garden together with Astra, Neon hated having to socialize with people other than her mentors when she was like this, in this state... fragile, but it was too late, Astra came to her, patting her on the shoulder, which resulted in a shock to her Gauntlet, Astra screamed Along with Neon, Sage and Reyna ran close, only to be hit by a shock wave from the Filipino agent. Reyna saw everything go blurry, but she noticed her student's body gradually losing color and disappearing, she couldn't move, but she watched Astra in a trance state looking up, soon after everything went out.

. . .

Reyna woke up to a bright light, she was on a stretcher, the noise of the equipment irritated her, but she just closed her eyes and took a deep breath, widening her eyes and sitting on the stretcher quickly as she remembered neon, the brunette looked around and saw Astra approaching with a somewhat nervous face.

The young controller got close enough and took a deep breath – Well...Neon disappeared...-

When Reyna heard this, she felt like something got stuck in her throat, what do you mean her student disappeared?! – What are you talking about Astra?! How did it disappear!? -

- Calm down – The controller spoke quickly, before the atmosphere worsened - She didn't...disappear, you understand? She electrocuted my Gauntlet, and that kind of made it end up somewhere else -

- What place? We can track her - The brunette with purple eyes spoke as she tried to get off the stretcher, but was stopped by Astra

- Calm down, I need to clarify some things, I saw her, in astral mode, I saw her, her body kind of went back in time , to the beginning -

- What do you mean...to the beginning? -

- This is a bit confusing, but she went back to being a baby, or rather, a small cell in development – Before the young woman had even finished speaking, Reyna jumped up and grabbed Astra's shoulders

- So she died?! -

- No darling, she's here – Sage's soft voice calmed Reyna, the sentry approached and held Reyna's hands, giving her a kiss afterwards – We don't really know how it happened, but it's as if my body had absorbed the cell, so... I'm kind of pregnant with Neon -

The purple duelist kept her mouth open for about 10 seconds, she was trying to process everything, Sage and Astra were already getting nervous, but the nervousness disappeared when the duelist she crouched down in front of Sage and placed a kiss on the sentry's still flat belly – We will be mothers... – The duelist spoke while crying and had a smile on her face

. . .

Reyna and Sage were in the room they shared, the sentry was combing Reyna's hair.

- You know, this wasn't the way I expected to be a mother, but I'm still grateful, in a way, we know about everything about Neon's past, and she doesn't have the best memories. – The Mexican said.

- Well... we'll give her new, happier memories

. . .

Everyone at HQ was informed of what happened in the same week, leaving them in disbelief, especially Neon's best friend, Jett, both girls did everything together, and now Jett didn't know if she was sad about not seeing her friend for a few months, or glad the girl wasn't dead.

Chapter Text

The second week of the first month was a bit chaotic for everyone. After explaining what happened to Neon, questions arose, often too intimate for the couple. And, well, Reyna was never good at holding back, so the duelist would often respond rudely with a "none of your business" and pull Sage away. At times, Sage was grateful for this. After all, she didn't want to hear questions about how she and Reyna made a child. People seemed like they hadn't heard about what happened to Neon.

But the real trouble began when the morning sickness kicked in, at first, it was just a faint discomfort, nothing too bad, but little by little it turned unbearable, Sage could barely keep any food down, and Reyna, in return, was going out of her mind with worry, Sage had to step away from her work as a healer, since most of her days were spent hunched over the bathroom, throwing up until her stomach ached, It took its toll: the sentinel lost weight, her face grew pale, and dark circles showed under her eyes. Reyna couldn’t stand watching her girl suffer like that, so she turned to someone she never imagined she’d seek out again—Viper. Their history was complicated, especially since she was Sage’s ex. They’d clashed more than once, though on the battlefield they always managed to keep things professional. But now, Reyna felt she had no choice but to ask for Viper’s help, knowing she was the only one with real knowledge about remedies, antidotes, and poisons.

Viper was carefully dripping a single drop into a small vial, every movement slow and precise… until the sudden creak of the lab door nearly made her spill everything. She turned sharply, ready to unleash a cloud of poison at whoever dared to intrude, but her scowl only deepened when she saw who it was—Reyna. What on earth was the Empress doing here?

“What do you want? Better yet, how did you even get in?” Viper asked coldly, watching as the duelista stepped closer. The Mexican’s face, however, looked more worried than defiant.

“I need your help, that’s what matters,” Reyna said, her tone urgent as she approached. Viper only scoffed under her breath and turned back to her work.

“It’s about Sage.”

The words froze Viper in place. It wasn’t a secret that she still harbored feelings for the sentinel, though she did her best to keep them hidden.

“You know what happened with Neon, don’t you? We thought Sage deal with the nausea, but she’s been so sick, Viper. She can barely eat. I didn’t come here to fight—I came to ask for your help. You’re the only one who can prescribe something that will actually work. I know you have a degree in pharmacy.”

Viper let out a heavy sigh and finally turned her gaze back to Reyna.

“Take her to the infirmary. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

Relief softened Reyna’s features, and she gave a small, grateful smile.

“Thank you,” the Empress whispered before leaving the lab and heading back to Sage’s room.

Reyna had taken Sage straight to the infirmary and refused to leave her side while they waited for Viper, Sage was so exhausted she barely protested about Reyna barging into the scientist’s lab. For a brief moment, with Reyna there, the nausea seemed to ease a little, enough for Sage to catch her breath. She couldn’t help but smile faintly as she listened to Reyna speaking softly to Neon, still growing inside her. The duelista was already scolding the baby, and it made Sage’s chest warm. The reality of being pregnant still hadn’t fully sunk in—but Reyna’s sudden question pulled her back from her thoughts.

“Do you think she’ll still have blue hair?” Reyna asked, her hand resting protectively on Sage’s stomach.

“Maybe. It’s probably tied to her radiance,” Sage replied, her voice tender. “But… I’d love it if she had your purple hair, love… or your eyes.”

Sage cupped Reyna’s face gently, and the gesture made them both lean closer until their lips met in a slow, lingering kiss. For a moment, the world quieted—until the sound of a pointed cough broke the spell.

Viper stood at the doorway, her expression unreadable, though her eyes betrayed more than she wished.

“Let’s get this over with,” the scientist muttered as she walked over. She would never admit it out loud, but watching the two together stung. Even so, deep down, she wanted the best for Sage… even if that “best” came in the form of an arrogant, irritating duelista.

Viper worked in silence, drawing Sage’s blood and running a series of tests. After all, this was the first pregnancy inside the base, and she needed to be absolutely sure everything was stable. Brimstone would have to bring in more equipment—an ultrasound machine, monitors for fetal heartbeat, and…

Why was she caring so much?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sage suddenly leaned forward, retching. Reyna rushed to steady her, holding a bin as Sage coughed and gagged miserably. Viper froze for a moment, then quickly searched through the supplies until she found something safe enough for both Sage and Neon. She handed the sentinel the small dose with a glass of water.

Their fingers brushed as Sage took it, and Viper felt an unwelcome shiver run up her arm. She said nothing, simply watching as Reyna whispered soothing words in Spanish into Sage’s ear, her hand rubbing slow circles on her back.

Viper took that as her cue to leave—until Sage’s voice stopped her.

“Viper… thank you,” Sage said with a soft smile, nudging Reyna to echo her gratitude.

Reyna hesitated, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, but she eventually gave a small, reluctant smile.
“Sí… thank you. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I… I just did what was necessary,” Viper replied, her tone clipped. After a beat, she added, almost against her own will, “If you need… I can take care of the check-ups in the future.”

She wasn’t sure why she said it—but she knew it was the truth. If complications arose, someone had to step in. And she wasn’t a monster, no matter what the others thought.

“That would be wonderful,” Sage answered, her smile so radiant it almost forced Viper’s lips to twitch upward. Almost. Instead, the scientist simply nodded once, turned on her heel, and left the couple in peace.