[color=silver][color=silver] [h3]Day 2[/h3] [hr] The Darcsen awoke without much difficulty after Ines spoke life into him. One simple whisper of his name and he found his eyes fluttering. He held onto the covers for a bit, just enjoying the time he had to relax before turning over to watch Ines stretch. It made him blush, probably from all the invested feelings he had in her, but it wouldn't stop him from thinking about what he had to do today. He started to drift into his thoughts of the past and pondered how the gang was. There was nothing so critical at this moment as the safety of the squad, but then again there wasn't much that was going on. He didn't even know how long they were going to stay in the Inn and as he sat up he wondered and wondered. Maybe he spent too much time thinking bu- Ines gave him one last indication and as she did he darted eyes to her and gave her a warm smile and wave as she left. Just like that it seemed his thoughts on what would happen if... if she died came to mind. No. She was strong. she wouldn't let herself get harmed so easily, right? Then again... Mila... Melanie... They tried so hard. Death came for them so effortlessly. Sure he had been the one to pull the trigger on Melanie, but it didn't change the fact that it was either him or her. It didn't change the fact that her death came swift and his would have been just as quick if she had corrected her aim. This war was awful, but he understood it. He knew that more than anything it was a necessary means to an end that would ultimately determine newfound peace that would otherwise be impossible to obtain. There was going to be power struggles forevermore so allowing himself to be weighted down by the deaths of others was wrong, wasn't it? Life was very much so about survival and he had lost friends before even in combat with the police. Then again, he wasn't so personal with some of them and as it was none of them he felt something deep with. Wagner? Melanie? It was awful. They were both women he wanted to love and get to know, in retrospect, but he never could now. The tragic fate of Wagner weighed on him constantly as he remembered how pointless it all was. He pushed so hard to save her but in the end she just had shrapnel embedded into her in too many places with a depth that was uncomfortable. Well, it wasn't pointless in the moment. It just hurt to know that no matter how hard he pushed she died anyway. He was too late. Her death came immediately and he had no say in it. It was a failed task to start and this was where he ended up. He got out of bed and got fully dressed, taking a minute to look in the mirror with his new uniform to wonder how much he liked it. It was good, to be sure, but the last thing he needed to worry about was military fashion. Stepping out and looking over the squad after arriving near them had put a smile on his face. Everyone was safe and that was good. There wasn't much more to say for the time being but right now he needed a smoke break. As he moved to step out of the Inn, he heard a familiar song being played with hand placed on the door. Was that?... [hr] [center][h3] Die Forelle [/h3] [/center] Franz... couldn't help himself. The Trout? Who in the world?- He marched off to find the source, following those beautiful melodies until... Senja played with vigor as she followed every note delicately on her violin. Her fingers graced her uniform as she kept her eyes closed. So focused in playing the music yet so far gone from reality that her smile pierced his heart in the mist of war. He had not seen her before and yet this short woman ensnared him. What was it that was so alluring? She was of favorable size, that uniform was so beautifully made and maintained. What was it that was so alluring? Well he could see it as she turned with fluttered eyes flashing those beautiful blue eyes behind that long emerald hair. Her smile could have killed a tiger as it stabbed him in his heart. From this angle it really all poured together. Imperial, but not full blooded. She was wearing a federation uniform from the north... She must have been born from a family on the border up north. How... familiar. Still, he didn't want to fill himself with thoughts of inc- Face slammed into the chest of another woman as he had turned to exit the room in haste. He bounced back, blinking with worry as he regained himself. [color=#407db9]"Erm, apologizes. I was just trying to l-" [/color] [color=#C4AEAD]"Hush."[/color] [color=#407db9]"Hush? Do you- hey!"[/color] As Anneli grabbed his arm she walked him closer to Senja, elbow locked to his own. Carried back toward the siren he found himself unable to resist, even the few attempts to break free were denied by Anneli's incredible strength! He was trapped! And yet... he didn't want to go. The way she memorized it all... her looks... and then she spoke after she finished her song. [color=#50c878]"Hi."[/color] [i]Oh no...[/i] [color=#407db9]"Hi."[/color] [color=#50c878]"Can we talk?"[/color] [color=#407db9]"Oh, um... sure. I'm Franz."[/color] [color=#50c878]"So I've heard!"[/color] Senja giggled. Franz felt his face burn red as he remembered just how loud Ines was... sigh... did she have to scream so loud? Not that he didn't enjoy it but- [color=#50c878]"I'm Senja. My friend here is Anneli. We thought you looked a little lonely, so, how would you like to spend the day with us?"[/color] [color=#407db9]"What?"[/color] [hr] [hr] [h3]Day 3[/h3] [hr] [color=#115DA8]"YOU SON OF A BITCH! GET OUT HERE! COME ON! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?!"[/color] A blast from his rifle and frantic dancing in the middle of nowhere. Blazing hatred pouring through his veins while feeling completely out of control of his situation. Dashing left to right he noticed the shotgun peaking out of the corner and dives to cover. The blast left Franz holding his ears, fighting off visions of the nightmares as he cocked rifle and peaked over a knocked over barrel to fire. Once more the man he was fighting went into cover and Franz found himself right back to not knowing where to look. "Go on then you bloody pansy! Give it your best!" [color=#115DA8]"Dammit! Dammit! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"[/color] Franz began to cry, planting his back against a few more barrels and adjusting himself as he tried to calm his mind. What was happening? [hr] Franz awoke quietly in the morning, unsure of where he was for the moment. Fingers glided to his pants and with a tightening they were on. Anneli and Senja were still asleep, it seemed, but that was fine. He left the nords to take their rest after their activities last night. Truth be told, he was still a little stressed from Anneli's interesting plays but more than anything he was happy that he got to spend time with the two. But no- [color=#50c878]"Franz?"[/color] Franz stopped. Seemed as though one of them was up, at least. Still, he recognized that voice. With a smile he turned to her. [color=#407db9]"Yes, Senja?"[/color] The shorter woman walked to him from the bed, placing his coat on and fixing his uniform for him before taking a step back to admire her work. Every wrinkle had been worked out. The proper placements had been corrected and the mask had been strapped carefully onto his right side. [color=#50c878]"There. Have fun."[/color] [color=#407db9]"I did."[/color] Franz chuckled, moving to the door before being grabbed and pulled back to the bed. Well, a little talk wouldn't hurt... [hr] After another delay Franz was outside the room and enjoying a smoke outside with a rather upbeat attitude. There was nothing quite like it, really. The entire time spent at the Inn had been quite the fever dream and he didn't know why such a bizarre twist to his life had come. In all honesty, he thought about maybe just asking Senja if she wanted to just leave. Take Anneli along, of course, but see what the northern lights were like. See how much that Imperial village up on high liked having another Imperial in their ranks. It wouldn't have been fair to the squad or even Markus, but it would have been nice to live in this dream forever. Still... Something was off about this morning. Nightmares had ceased, but the image of that man persisted quite heavily as he stared off into that distance. It was odd. Here he had had nothing but good thoughts and dreams and yet... and- and ye- [b][i] That whistle! BANG![/i][/b] [hr] He couldn't remember where he was, but that taste was death. But wait! Senja! He reached down to his side, looking exactly where Senja had placed his mask and slammed it on, strapping down and screaming in fear as his body remembered this feeling all too well. How could this be? HOW COULD THIS BE?! Franz stumbled as he went back for the entrance, but he heard the step just as he did. Turning to the figure he listened to him chuckle. [color=red]"I know what you're wonderin' 'What's all this then?', 'Who the bloody hell are you?', 'Are the girls going to be safe?', 'When will this fucking stain leave me alone?' Well... I've got an answer for you."[/color] With that the man in the mask cocked his shotgun, another chuckle leaving him as the gas roared in as a flood behind him. [color=red]"Come get me sweetheart."[/color] [hr] The gun play was calculated as Franz bolted at the man and dived to avoid shot after shot. Where the frantic Franz scrapped across the ground like a wounded animal the man in the mask calmly walked the outskirts of the building, taking a potshot with his shotgun every time Franz dared to challenge him. [color=red]"I can do this all day sweetheart."[/color] [color=#115DA8]"GO TO HELL!"[/color] [color=red]"You first."[/color] Another bang and Franz was sent reeling. The ground beneath him turned to ash as the wails of fallen soldiers echoed in the mist. Franz used shattered glass as a mirror as he pressed himself against yet more cover, spotting the shotgun aiming right at the reflection of the glass in his hand and tossing it aside as the pellets destroyed what remained of that shard. [color=red]"Bloody well say 'pull' if we're going to play clay pigeon you muppet!"[/color] Franz shifted in his spot, there wasn't anywhere to go! Shit! Wait! The knife! The knife that's it! Lets see how smart you are you masked fuck! Franz shifted to the left side of his cover, taking his spare knife and thinking to his past. [hr] [color=gray] [color=#407db9]"Markus?"[/color] "Franz, I wanna show you something. It won't take long. You see this?" Markus pulled out a standard throwing knife, flipping it in his hand as Franz stepped closer to the cornfield outside the Daiko Farm. The young man watched Markus flip the blade casually with his hands tucked into his pockets. A moment later and Markus moved into position, arcing himself back slightly and tossing forward with a step dug into the dirt path. Over the corn and into the head of a scarecrow [color=#407db9]"Whoa! Markus! How'd you land that?"[/color] "Practice, brother. Go ahead. Give it a try." With a light pass Franz caught the knife by the handle and closed an eye, shuffling his feet for a moment before taking a double step and wildly throwing the knife. As it cut through wind it bladed a corn crop and missed the target completely. [color=#407db9]"Shit!"[/color] Markus laughed, grabbing Franz by the shoulder before the boy could run off to grab the knife. "Don't worry about that, Franz. Here. Try again. Grab it by the blade this time and don't rush it. You can't just force it to happen. Only take a step if you need to readjust but remember every step you take is going to fuck up your throw so limit it. It's a knife not a javelin." Franz slowly took his advise, readying himself and taking a step forward with his arm wildly cocking back for a throw before Markus caught his arm. "Franz." [color=#407db9]"What?"[/color] "You can't do that. Here, take it slow. Cock back." With slight irritation the man listened, cocking back his arm hard and feeling Markus adjust his position. "You don't need to throw all of your weight into it. You're just going to hurt your arm doing it that way. Take a breath and hold it." Holding his breath he cocked his arm back proper, using his other forearm as a gauge as he took a step forward and threw his arm forward. "Now!" Before the arc completed Franz released the blade, exhaling upon release and watching the blade fly straight and true before hitting the right arm of the scarecrow. Still, not bad. "Not bad at all, Franz. Just work on keeping yourself straight and we can see just how far you can throw. Good boy." [/color] [hr] Franz poked his rifle off to the left side, dropping it and stepping to the right side where he took a diagonal step while the blast went off in the other direction. He took a mental note of the man's exact location before breathing in and planting his foot into the ground. Arm finished cocking back and a moment later it launched horizontally. Using his momentum he dived to the right, rolling into cover as he pulled out his spare knife and ran back for his rifle as he heard the blade connect. [color=red]"AAGH! BLOODY HELL!"[/color] Blood spewed from the chest of the man in the mask as he felt where it had landed. Had Franz angled it just a little better it was plausible that it would have struck him right in his heart, but for now that bought the soldier all the time he needed to pick up his rifle and go on the offensive. Blast after blast drove the shot-gunner away, running while crouched to avoid what he could before a bullet snagged him in the back and threw him to the ground. [color=#115DA8]"Fuck with me? YOU WANT TO FUCK WITH ME?! COME ON! COME ON!"[/color] BANG! BANG! BANG! The shuffling of feet as he closed the gap! BANG! BANG! BANG! [color=#115DA8]"COME ON! FIGHT ME! FUCKING FIGHT ME! YOU WANT ME?! COME AND FUCKING GET ME, 'SWEETHEART!'"[/color] Even as Franz fired as quickly as he could from the hip to keep the man from loading a shell. He watched the man squirm, crawl with hands and feet slapping at the ground to generate any kind of lift. Blood trailed the ground but did little for Franz in the poor visibility of the smoke. Not long after the man had escaped to a building behind and Franz was left running to catch him off guard. With a side step right he sprinted with rifle held tightly in one hand and knife in the other. [color=#115DA8]"Come on... come on... come and fucking get me... I'm ready... I'll cut your throat out before you can pull that trigger!"[/color] He growled, slamming down foot after foot as he rounded the corner and bellowed a battle cry! One corner later and he was wildly driving his knife into the air, looking around for the body. Where? Where?! Where?!?! Franz frantically checked everything behind that building before he heard it yet again. Footsteps! Right! Swinging his body right he fired! Nothing! To the left! Swinging left he fired in motion! Nothing! Fuck! Back peddle! Step after step and Franz was listening to everything. Footsteps left! Fire! Right! Fire! Left! Fire! Left again! Fire! Behind! Fire! Fire! Fire! [color=#115DA8]"YOU SON OF A BITCH! GET OUT HERE! COME ON! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?!"[/color] A blast from his rifle and frantic dancing in the middle of nowhere. Blazing hatred pouring through his veins while feeling completely out of control of his situation. Dashing left to right he noticed the shotgun peaking out of the corner and dives to cover. The blast left Franz holding his ears, fighting off visions of the nightmares as he cocked rifle and peaked over a knocked over barrel to fire. Once more the man he was fighting went into cover and Franz found himself right back to not knowing where to look. [color=red]"Go on then you bloody pansy! Give it your best!"[/color] [color=#115DA8]"Dammit! Dammit! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"[/color] Franz began to cry, planting his back against a few more barrels and adjusting himself as he tried to calm his mind. It was too much! How could he still be standing? How could he still be this fast?! Anger and fear wrecked havok on his body with blood punching his system with brass knuckles! That's it! Live or die! With a battle cry Franz charged the position of the soldier, hip firing to throw off his aim. He stopped halfway and took a steady position, avoiding getting shot by the abrupt movement and blasting the masked man's right shoulder clean off. But Franz couldn't control himself! Fixing his bayonet he saw nothing but blood seeping into his vision! This ends now! Thunderous feet cracked the very terrain in his charge! His voice ripped at the mask with his battle cry striking fear into the man as Franz closed the gap! [b]STEP! STEP! STEP![/b] [i][b]STAB-BANG![/b][/i] [color=#0f5397]"DIE! DIE! DIE!"[/color] Blood poured violently as Franz carried the other all the way back to the Inn with a loud slam as he pinned the man against its walls. Ripping the blade from the body with a foot slamming against his chest to gain leverage the soldier removed his knife from his rifle and toss the gun to the side. With a kick he kept the soldier from moving, kneeing him in the face three times over before picking him up and throwing him back against the wall! Pulling his other knife out he drove both into his legs and ripped his mask off, grabbing him by his hair and slamming his face against the wall! Slam! Slam! Slam! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! [color=#0f5397]"FUCK WITH ME?! FUCK WITH ME?! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!"[/color] Throwing the Imperial against the ground Franz ripped the knives out of his legs and picked his gun back up, punching hole after hole into the Imperial until the gun clicked empty. Using the stock he punched the cranium, digging and digging with every strike against the forehead. [color=#0f5397]"HOW MANY NIGHTS WILL YOU TAKE AWAY FROM ME?! HOW MANY LIVES WILL YOU TAKE AWAY FROM ME?!"[/color] Tossing the gun aside he dropped onto the man and stabbed him in the chest over and over. [color=#0f5397]"WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME?! ANSWER ME!!!"[/color] It wasn't apparent to Franz at the time, but he was coated in blood. There was a bloody mess in his hands and uniform as he endlessly struck the man beneath him. As it turned out, there was no nightmare man who had come from his dreams. There had simply been an Imperial soldier who tried to save his own life by taking a fed's mask. There was simply a man who tried to kill Franz so he could rescue his own friends. He held no shotgun, instead using a revolver which Franz had perceived as a greater weapon. And even now, with Franz grabbing the man's revolver and bashing his head with it Franz had no idea where he was or that it wasn't real. He was living in a nightmare, screaming in blood curdling rage as he demanded a corpse answer him. He was none the wiser, and a victim of this war. [hr] [i][color=#407db9]All alone... [/color] [color=#115DA8]Sad in the dark...[/color] [color=#0f5397]Why wouldn't it stop?[/color] [color=#0d4a86]Would it ever stop?[/color] [color=#0b4175]Is there anyone out there?[/color] [color=black]Help me... please...[/color][/i][/color][/color]