[color=papayawhip]Taka's body shook, with her head bent towards the ground before her and her fingers clutching almost painfully at the damp cave soil. For the moment, she was oblivious to the scene around her as she stared fixated on the ground. A steady stream of moisture emptied from her eyes, running it's course down her face and falling slowly from her chin. She felt so far away, as if the cries uttering from her own mouth weren't hers but some other strange, unfamiliar sound. Her arms trembled as a moment of clarity washed over her, one of pain and remembrance. A steady, whining beep played over and over again in her mind, only broken at timed intervals with a squishing eruption that made her shudder. The hollow pain inside of her stomach grew until it encompassed everything she was, pain, hurt, loss.

[i]Beep... Beep.. Beep..[/i].
                                       [b]Pop.[/b]

A moment later it all wasted away into a dull ache, she was somewhere else again. She wasn't here, she was back in prison, dreaming. No, she was back with Taki on the criminal's ship. Or was she at home, on her planet, sleeping soundly in a smoothly polished shell bed, wrapped up comfortable in sea-cloth woven blankets next to her sister. Her sister... and just like that it came back, flooring over her. An insurmountable pain she couldn't explain, that she had no words for. A pain so strong it physically hurt, why did she have to remember these things. It was cruel, forced to relieve those experiences, the kind of loss you can never come back from. It was as if a piece of her own soul had been taken from her, she felt cold.

Taka struggled to her knees, her trembling arms shaking as she fumbled for her "Law Breaker". Such an innocent name, playful even. How had she blocked it out, all of this overwhelming agony. Somewhere in the distance a mechanical voice droned on, leading to an escalation of shouts, but she didn't hear any of that. There was only the total, all consuming silence, and suffering. [color=seagreen]"Taki.."[/color] She cried, her hand shaking as she pulled back the hammer. 

[color=seagreen]"Taki.. why Taki.. you said... you.. y-"[/color] her mumbling was caught off as the sobs came back with renewed vigor. She choked down air in between the forcible wailing, sucking in a breath as she could manage. Everything hurt, but it felt so dull to the pain of losing Taki. It was so strong, so intense. 

[color=seagreen]"Stop-it-stop-it-stop-it-stop-it!"[/color] She cried, moving the gun violently towards her skull. It made a resounding thud as it cracked against her head, but that pain was trifling compared to what she was feeling. She swung again, chanting her mantra of insane distress. Pleading, begging for it to go away as if it were some evil spirit that had beset itself upon her. Taki was dead. She was gone forever. Her remains were burned. Yet she lives on through the stains unable to be erased from the ships interior, forever a part of that awful place. Forever trapped in a dark world, all alone, and Taka had let her go. 

[color=seagreen]"NO MOOOORE,"[/color] She shrieked, shoving the cold steel between her teeth, it rattled with the intensity of her shaking hand. She didn't want to hurt anymore, She wanted to be with Taki. Yes, she promised they would be together forever, that nothing would keep them a part. This pain was a reminder of that broken promise, how Taka had let her sister down. If only she'd been better, waited like they were supposed to do. If only.. if only she didn't feel this way. Her finger hovered over the trigger, her mind oblivious to the events transpiring around her. Shouting, commotion, pain. Only pain. Taka squeezed her eyes shut, her muffled sobs barely audible over the roar of gunfire and yelling.

[color=lightcoral]"Oni please,"[/color] A sweet voice pleaded. A small, childish hand fell over Taka's own, it felt chilled, cold like death. Taka opened her eyes, staring at the apparition.

[color=lightcoral]"I'm right here so don't be so sad okay?[/color] The child asked with a loving smile. Taka slowly removed the gun from her mouth.

[color=seagreen]"B-but, but.."[/color] She blubbered incoherently. Taki was dead but... Taki was right here.

[color=lightcoral]"You have to get up Oni, there are bad things here,"[/color] The young girl said worriedly, vainly trying to push her sister up.

[color=seagreen]"But.. you.."[/color]

[color=lightcoral]"Oni, pleeease!"[/color] Taki whined, her little legs digging in the dirt as she tried to budge her sister.

[center][color=slategray]"Oni, pleeease!" The same voice echoed, an echo of a memory long since past. A young child, confined to a wheel chair begging her old, able bodied sister to retrieve a wrinkled purple fruit from a tree swaying in the breeze. "Pleeease Oni?!" The girl asked again, her eyes seemingly on the verge of tears.[/color][/center]

Taka stood, earning a frantic smile from her sister, [color=lightcoral]"We've gotta leave! Away from the thing that hurt you!"[/color] Taki declared, continuing her attempts to push her sister towards the mouth of the cave. Taka stumbled towards the opening, seeing the faces of the others, locked in a duel of man versus machine. Lasers ripped past her, and mechanical bodies rose and fell around her, and yet she just stumbled towards the snow flurries dancing in the mouth of the cave. [i]'Is it cold?'[/i] her mind wondered passively. Taki skipped in front of her, taking one of her hands and dragging her off to the side of the cave. Taka's mind didn't process the turn adequately, and she collapses in the snow instead.

[color=lightcoral]"You should show that metal meanie your toys!"[/color] The child version of her sister said with vehement excitement. Taka nodded absentmindedly, shrugging off her backpack.

[color=lightcoral]"Oh no, your gun!"[/color] Taki exclaimed, skipping back into the fray of the battle. Taka's head shot up, her eyes wide with worry. However, a very slight smile curved at the edges of her lips as she watched the tiny form dance through the danger, seeming ignored, or unseen by the others. But that would be silly. Taka let out a quiet chuckle as she reached into her backpack and pulled out the fat block that was the [i]Pow-Pow Charge[/i]. She began assembling integral functions and attaching wires, careful not to disturb the mixture too much as she connected it to a live wire. 

[color=lightcoral]"Here ya' go!"[/color] Taki said, holding out a gun that was much too large for her small hands. Taka smiled, taking the weapon and holstering it easily, before turning back to her work. A bit of Taka's tongue remained clenched between her teeth as she worked.

[color=lightcoral]"Is it going to make a big boom?"[/color] Taki questioned with utter excitement as she peered over Taka's shoulder.

[color=seagreen]"..uh.. yea.. totally,"[/color] Taka responded, attempting to match her sister's energy. Taki skipped around her, crouching in front of the device.

[color=lightcoral]"Is it gunna' be pretty?"[/color] She asked, staring at the internal components with wide eyes.

[color=seagreen]"The prettiest,"[/color] Taka answered once more, though more of her focus was devoted to her task.

[color=lightcoral]"Oh! no-no-no! That one goes here see?"[/color] Taki said, pointing a thin strip of blue sheathed wire. Taka paused, examining the suggestion. Taki was right. Taka let out a soft chuckle, she had near prematurely detonated the device. The blast wouldn't have been anywhere near as big, but it would have been enough to turn them both into chunks. Taki laughed with her, her tone devoid of any underlying tones of worry or nervousness. Taka's otherwise nervous laugh, turned into one of mirth simply from the pretense of her sister enjoying herself so much.

[color=lightcoral]"Not much longer now, your friends are doing a good job!"[/color] Taki stated, still crouched in the snow.[/color]   

[center][hider=Author's Note][color=skyblue] 
Nobody else can see Taki, she's not real. All of her actions, even the appearance of her picking up items, are all fabricated by Taka's mind. If you've ever seen fight club, you'll have a better idea of how this is accomplished for Taka. Take the gun retrieval for instance, the weapon never left Taka's hand. Everything that happened with Taki bringing her the pistol was, of course, imaginary. Concerning the dialogue, when Taki speaks it is actually Taka speaking to herself. When Taka speaks as Taki, her voice is a higher pitch, and sounds much more childlike. When she speaks for herself, it's a little more normal, but still sounds rather like a crazy person speaking.[/color][/hider][/center]