Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: My full apology is on my profile.

I also edited Chapter 11 so if you wanna check that out, you can do it after or before, whatever you'd prefer.

~Thursday, September 21 2017~

She looked at the area surrounding her and her companion from their place on top of the hill. Big beautiful cherry blossom trees loomed above them, the glow from the setting sun left everything in an amber tints, with a few pinks and oranges mixing in. The fireflies were lazily flying around, the insects sang their last daytime songs and the lake at the bottom of the hill reflected this image perfectly. This is...

"Beautiful. So very beautiful." He, her partner, whispered.

"Took the word right out of my mouth." She told him, smiling at the the scene. He closed his eyes and sighed. She frowned.

"What?"

"Glor'iflag, I mean you. You are beautiful."

"You're just exaggerating." she said as she pushed his shoulder. "There so many pretty girls out there, definitely prettier than me." She said with a laugh.

"No one's more beautiful than you because they are not you. They do not have your crystal azure eyes or your cute button nose." He grabbed her hand and continued. "They do not have your soft winter skin or can copy the way your midnight locks flow. No one has the same determination as you or your amazing personality or can crop the English language like you can...they can never be beautiful because they are not you."

"Okay Shakespeare, calm down. I'm not beautiful. I may have some good looks but nothing beautiful." she said as she laid back on the grass, looking at the lilac colored clouds. She could hear Star scoff on the sidelines.

"So you do not notice how everywhere we go in our civilian attire almost every male looks after you as you pass. You may wear sunglasses but they can tell by the way you hold yourself. You are beautiful and you do not even know it." he said as he switched positions so that he was on his stomach and leaned down so he hovered above her face.

"I'm a hero, I have a city to protect. I don't have time for dates." He placed a gentle hand on her cheek and rubbed it. Their faces only inches apart.

"Can you make time for me?"

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered, looking down which was hard as their noses were barely a centimeter apart.

"Someone was bound to do it. I just want it to be me before the others come to their senses." And with that he kissed her. It was simple, nothing rough or too dramatic but it was so...filled with emotion. She could feel how nervous he was, how much it took him to do this...how much he really liked her. And she realized she liked him too, so very much. Slowly her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him even closer (if that was possible) kissing him back. It lasted for a few more seconds before Starbolt pulled back. "Why are you crying?" he asked, voice filled with worry. She brought a hand up to her eyes and noticed that she was indeed crying. She let out a laugh.

"I don't know!" she explained with a smile. They laugh for a few moments before they went back to kissing. She suddenly stopped as the temperature dropped. The next thing she knew, she was a few years older and all alone, the redhead no where in sight.

"You should know better, Richelle." the scenery melted away to black nothingness as a deep, smooth voice said from behind her. A kick to the back and she was on her knees.

"I thought I taught you better." A punch to the face, she was on her back.

"Everything you do for them doesn't matter." Kick to the ribs, she was on her side.

"This pathetic bond you hold towards them is only holding you back from your true potentional." She was lifted up by her hair and slammed into something, maybe a wall, multiple times. Then she was dropped. Hard. She bit her lip to hold back a groan, blood filling her taste buds. "So severe it." A remote control with only one button slid infront go her. Her breath was labored and she was wondering why she had no strength. Her clothing, a black chemise, was tattered and her mind was foggy. She felt chills go down her spine as the man gently pulled her hair to the side and breathed his hot breath on her neck.

"Just press the button and the weight of having to take care of those untrained...unworthy brats will all disappear. You can be gone with the burden of a bat, of a hero." then he whispered especially low near her ear. "You can be my little Ravager again." There was suddenly light and about more than fifty computer screens lit up before her, each one containing the faces of one member of both the teams she lead. "Just the slightest pressure," his pulled her person close to his muscled chest, grip around her tightening. Red x's quickly started to cover the faces. "And they will be no more."

Richelle sat up in a panic, panting and covered in sweat. It took her a while to calm down and recognize her surrounding. Though her window told her it was early in the morning, she still looked towards the clock for the proper time. 4:35 a.m. She sighed, getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom.

When she looked in the mirror she saw a sight that shouldn't have suprised her but still did. Her normally pale skin was now chalk white, clammy with sweat. Her eyes wear blood shot, making her blue orbs pop out more than usually. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was tangled and fuzzy like a wild lion's mane. All and all, her appearance resembled that of a drunk vampire. She shook her head and started to strip of her clothes. She turned on the shower and after she was sure it was well adjusted, she hopped in.

When she came out, her appearance had improved drastically. She walked into her bedroom and quickly changed into light blue fancy yet casual dress. She continued with her daily routine - makeup, hair, shoes, (and contrary to popular belief) eating - and then she was out the door by 5:15 to her first class of the day.

X

"Inadequate." A strong, calm voice said. "Again"

And then once again she's running. Running running running, it seems like it goes on foreve-

"Gah!" She cried out, clutching her side immediately once the slashed through. Not too deep to be critical but definitely deep enough to be bothersome. She feels like she can't breathe.

"Keep going!" The voice barks out. Instantly she's running again, feet pounding against the floor, jumping over obstacles dodging designed attacks. She tries to stall as she knows what's coming next. As if they could hear her personal thoughts, four robot warriors are set down in her path. Drawing out her blades, prays to whoever is up there to pity her this time around. One of the four advances on her, weapons drawn and within the next second they're clashing, the sound of metal echoing throughout the clock tower.

Their blows are almost evenly matched. When they strike, she counters. They swing, she ducks. And so the dance continues at that pace until miraculously she manages to penetrate its armer right through the 'heart', effectively shutting down the machine. She's able to take a short breath before the two other robots take its place and charge her. The battle resumes. The robots take advantage of her small hesitation and one is quick to kick her swiftly in the gut. She uses the momentum to tumble back, regaining her breath then spring back up. The robot who didn't kick her wastes no time to be all up in her space again, trying to punch her in the face. She blocks with her forearm then grabs the others arm and flips it right into its partners form, knocking them both down. Bringing her blades together, she gives out a cry as she runs up and slams her weapon into the enemy. And with that the enemy has been terminated. She slumps against her swords, trying to bring air back into her lungs. She looks across her battlefield, taking in the damage she had inflicted. Three mechanical bodies...wait. Three!

Suddenly there're feet on her back, not only knocking her away from the two bodies but also her protection. She had lost. Again.

She waits for the man's rough voice to sound through the room but...nothing. She looks wildly over in his direction, just to see him standing there with his hands behind his back. He's also waiting. But his waiting means something way worse than a reprimand is to come. Something more fatal. Gulping she looks up only to gasp and roll away in time for the sword to meet steel instead of flesh. Getting up she starts to run, run to safety, run anywhere away from her death.

But she's just...not...fast enough. The robot yanks her backward and throws her to the grown. She scrambles to get up on shaky legs. He stalks towards her while she in turn backs away slowly, not wanting to make a sudden move and end up losing a leg.

Breathing. Panting. Sweating.

Silence.

The predator has stopped moving and for a faint second she thinks

I'm going to die.

The robot jerks forward, sword raised and she's just frozen. Unable to move, unwilling to avoid the inevitable. As the blade swings down, there's a hand on the back of her shirt, a voice in her ear but she can't hear the words above her own screams. Well at least she didn't lose her leg. She lost her eye instead.

Her eyes snap open sharply as she tries to will mouthfuls of air into her body. She feels utterly numb, the pins and needles encasing her whole being. Slowly she begins to feel the sticky fabric of her shirt to her chest, clumps of hair stuck to her forehead and the bile slowly climbing her esophagus.

Realizing what's about to come, the teen jerks herself out of the bundle of sheets, races to the connected bathroom and launches herself headfirst into the porcelain god.

"Damn...and that jerk chicken was really good." she mutters to herself after she flushed the toilet. She rises slowly to brush her teeth, eye avoiding the mirror in front of her.

Once she's done she tears off the drenched sleep shirt and hops in the shower, turning the hot water up. She gives out a sigh of relief immediately when the stream hits her back. Her eyes are closed, her head tilted back. She wishes she can just stay in this warmth forever.

But then she snaps back to reality, grabbing the soap and cleansing herself. If she hesitates before washing her side, the so be it. Reluctantly, she does leave the shower. She walks straight past the mirror, straight past her dresser and straight into her bed.

Curling up into herself, she clenches her eyes shut tight and wills herself to fall back into a normal state of nothingness. They have training in the morning, bright and early. Team sparring is the first category on the schedule.

And like hell she'll fail again.