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[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeqGuaAl6Ic[/youtube][/center]

Small fragments of rock and dust were sent through the air as a stray bullet struck the piece of rubble that Daniel was positioned behind. This momement of respite allowed his hearing to gradually get back to normal, although the ringing still made it near impossible to hear anything beyond his own thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder if that vision of Elizabeth had been real or merely a figment of his imagination. No, it was definitely her. There was no way his mind could construct such a vivid vision and besides, the words she spoke were definitely hers. Even in death, she was his guardian angel. He would keep her promise cause in the end...he couldn't really ever say no to her.

It was difficult to put his interest in the apparent squabbling between the two sappers, though if he could hear what was being said he would have told them both to knock it off. One observation he made was quick to put him on edge. There was a considerable amount of women now filling their little rubble pile, and even worse was that two of them bore shock-trooper equipment. One seemed to have more than one screw loose and the other seemed riddled with anxiety and uncertainty. It did not give him great confidence to be fighting near them when they charged the trench-line again.

Though a sea of calm was present in his features, he could feel the rapid beating of his heart in his chest. Was it fear? Anticipation? Excitement? He couldn't place it, though it coursed through his very blood and made the skin on his fingers twinge. Was it because he now had to fight to keep a promise rather than to simply kill and survive? Ever since Elizabeth passed away he cared for very little beyond what served him best at the time. However, her ghost had put the smallest crack in that hard shell he made...a chance for others to break through to him.

Since he was unable to properly hear orders, he instead watched every movement Jean made like a hawk. Through doing this, he could see the terror that gripped the young lance corporal's heart. Daniel had no words of comfort to ease the horror nor advice to push past it. Nothing beyond ending this battle as quickly as possible was going to help. Daniel's eyes narrowly as he watched the Darscen's hand raise and quickly moved into a position to move. The coils of muscle within his legs bundling up and ready to spring forward the moment that hand dropped. He had resigned himself to doing the terrible things that this war would require, so that others wouldn't.

Dirt was kicked up into the air as soon as the signal was given. A hailstorm of machine gun fire lit up the path forward for the charging infantry. Instead of rushing ahead this time, he took up a position alongside the lance corporal. If he would stop for any reason Daniel was determined to kick his ass all the way to the trench. A responsibility now rested on his shoulders and Daniel would be damned if he let Jean get out of it. The various aches and pains of his body were washed away with the tidal wave of adrenaline that pumped into his body. Every broken piece of his heart...every scar on his body...he did not suffer through them to die in a place like this. We was going to live if only in defiance of every challenge life sent his way.

Daniel slide across the mud into a foxhole next to the lance corporal. He managed to check the chamber of his rifle before the order came that he had been waiting for. A glance at the beserk shock-trooper was enough to tell him what to do as he ripped the explosives off a couple dead imperials and threw them into the trench. Explosions rocked the fortification kicking up a black cloud of wood, dirt, and blood. Unsurprisingly, the berserk woman was the first to rush in with Daniel quickly following suit. The ringing in his ear had mostly faded leaving behind only the somewhat muffled sounds of combat. The instincts of his training consumed him as an imperial rifleman peeked from cover. Daniel snapped his rifle against his shoulder and lined up the cross-hairs with his target's chest. He wasted no time pressing his finger against the metal trigger and felt the familiar feeling of the weapon press into his braced shoulder. The shot tore through the air and ripped into the imperials chest before making a clean exit into the dirt wall behind him.[/color]


[b]"IF YOU KILL THE PUPPIES, THE BITCH TEARS YOUR THROAT, IMPS!"[/b]

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Those words bore through the clog in Daniel's hearing straight into his mind, pushing every other sound out with its sheer ferocity. The full and sudden return of his hearing went unnoticed as he glanced at Mila in almost complete disbelief. That was when he heard the battle cry of an Imperial charging from his blind spot. Quickly, he pivoted his feet and pushed off his toes as the sharp blade shot past where his chest had been. Daniel's weapon was dropped to the ground as he reached with his left hand and grabbed the Imp's right arm and used the soldier's momentum with his right hand to lift him off his feet and slam the bastard on his back. Daniel immediately jumped onto the soldier, straddling his waist and locking his legs with his own, and tore his weapon away from him. Then he latched his hands on his neck and began to squeeze, his thumbs purposefully digging into the soft flesh.

The Imperial reached and clawed at his arms and chest in panic while falling just short of Daniel's face. Blood began to seep from his neck as Daniel's thumbs dug deeper. While the soldier struggled to breath, Daniel lifted his head and began to smash it against the ground to the sound of cracking bone. Within seconds the last signs of life disappeared from the soldier and with one last desperate attempt to pull away Daniel's fingers...his life was ended. Daniel let out a loud exhale as he removed his hands from the corpse's throat now covered in blood and dirt. He stood up and picked up his rifle before plunging the bayonet into the Imp's chest. The lack of reaction was enough to confirm his death. He felt nearly nothing from taking this life but the age of the man struck him. The Imperial had to be no older than he was. Daniel quickly took his mind off it. It was us or them, and right now he had to make sure it was them.
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