Regina, if nothing else, was cool in the face of danger. She would take on any mission, no matter how absurd, with quiet confidence and poise behind her soulless stare. She was the one whose stoic nature kept the rest of the squadron calm, even charging headfirst into seemingly inferior odds. She was the strong one. She was the one whose perfection made her a role model-the role model of Osnen. The one to follow, whose example one should follow. Proof that perfection was attainable, if not on the runway or socially, then on the battlefield. Regina had accepted that role with silent strength as always, knowing full well that the responsibility of the army's success often rested on her shoulders. She didn't have to fight adversity, as she never knew it. Every mission was completed without aplomb or accolade, merely another job to complete as an office worker might look at another form to fill out.
This wasn't normal. She wasn't supposed to fail.
Yet there she was, barely standing as she watched the very much not dead rebellion surround them both. One such 'freedom' fighter nudged her arm, a harsh glare in his eye. "Oi. He said drop it, tin can." Another, harder push, one that nearly sent Regina caroming to the ground. Her teeth ground harder, her eyes squeezed shut as she continued to fight the intrusive thoughts. The endless deluge of reminders that she had failed. One of the most important jobs of her five-year career. And she'd missed. Twice. And compromised their safety. And now Anke was...Regina bit her lip hard, the pain sending a jolt through her as she tasted blood. It wasn't right. It had to be some horrible, dark dream. Just like all the others. Except this time she was going to lose everything. Not just her family, but Osnen. Her arm and leg. Anke. And she could barely even move her body, let alone make a play to stop it.
By the time she opened her eyes again, the scene had changed entirely. Four bodies laid on the ground, lines of blood leaking from their foreheads. Anke herself pinning the leader of the group to the ground, pistol to his head. Anke's lips were moving, speaking towards Regina...but she heard nothing. Just the dull roar of the battlefield in her mind and a high-pitched ringing she couldn't place. The enemy was compromised. She had to recover herself. Recover the position. For Osnen. For Osnen. "For Osnen...." Regina spoke quietly, her voice still high-pitched and airy from panicked breaths. "Must...for Osnen...." Her subconscious slowly brought itself to the forefront, replacing the internal panic that had threatened to remove her from the equation entirely. She dragged her leg forward, then took a frenzied leap, landing square on the man's shoulders and provoking a pained grunt from the man.
She didn't care. All threats to Osnen must be eliminated.
Regina's right hand flew to the pistol in Anke's hand, ripping it right out of her grasp as she dragged herself to a better vantage point. She propped herself onto her metal arm as well as she could, driving the butt of the pistol straight into the back of the man's skull. Again. Again. And again. Her gaze was steel-cold, but began to waver as she heard the pained cries of the rebel. "Die." Whack. "Die." Whack. "Die, die, DIE!" Again and again until blood began to spatter onto her face. At some point, the pistol slipped out of her grip; yet her fist continued to strike again and again, until the painful aches finally forced her to stop. Her fingers had worn themselves raw; a bit of her own blood mixed with the blood and sinew of the now motionless man beneath her. Tears mixed themselves in with the gore that streaked across her face, but she couldn't remember ever beginning to cry. She slowly sank down once again, her forehead buried into the man's back. She could feel Anke nearby. Still she did not speak. She had done what she could for Osnen. That...was what mattered...right? "...I need to go back to the carrier..." Try as she might, she still felt nothing in her left side. She just wanted to go back. Be safe....and away from whatever just happened. Away from those dangerous thoughts and feelings.
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