Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base, Mars
December 21st, 2552
9:12pm
Celestina leaned against her leather chair, wishing she could get some proper sleep. However, the past three months had been hell for her, to the point where she checked herself back into therapy. She fixed her gaze onto the holostill she was holding, unable to keep the occasional tear from falling. The holostill was of the Spartans from Alpha who had been deemed "too valuable" and were pulled out of the company way before Operation: PROMETHEUS, all dressed up in their uniforms. This was one of the three holostills she had on her table and they were the most precious things in the world to her.
"You looked beautiful in your uniform on that day."
She so desperately wanted to ignore that voice. She knew the presence in her office was not real. It had never been. There would be no point in engaging in conversation.
But her emotions got the better of her. Again. Without glancing up, she said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, princess. Don't I get a smile for that?"
"You're just a part of my imagination."
"Ouch," "Jun" said, placing one hand over his heart. "Such a heart-breaker, aren't you, Celest?"
She sighed heavily at that. "Stop it."
"Can I tell you something?
"I'd rather you didn't," She said dryly, leaning over to put the holostill back in its place.
The hallucination made himself much more comfortable on the leather sofa, one leg over the other. "Why did you leave the program? You potentially ruined a chance for us to team up again."
"I'm not listening to you."
"You decided that I wasn't important enough, right? Shame, though. I really thought we had something special. Can't believe we lasted all this time." He said, the sarcasm seeping through his once-loving tone.
During that time, she had been holding a folder. At the last sentence, she slammed the folder onto her table and shot up from her chair. "Don't give me that. I know that this isn't Jun talking. You're just a figment of my imagination! How else can I punish myself for not saying how you meant to me more?" She made her way around her table and to him. "It was Jun who suggested that I leave the program. He knew what it was doing to me. He knew that it was not meant for me, no matter how damn good I was at my role. He wanted me to be safe. He wouldn't say such things to me."
This hallucination of Jun was wearing a black t-shirt, combat pants and boots, as well as a smirk on his face. He leisurely got to his feet and stood in front of Celestina. "I never loved you, you know,"
That felt like a knife straight to the heart.
"I always considered you a burden. A mistake. Taking your hand during that paradrop was the worst thing I ever did. It got me stuck with you for the rest of my life."
New tears were forming in her eyes at that. "Don't say that... It's not true! You'd never say that!"
"Ohhhh, but it's true, my little crybaby," He taunted in singsong, cupping both her cheeks. "You were nothing more than a simple past time for me."
In a fit of rage, she pried his hands away from her face and delivered a tight slap across his face. In retaliation and with much swiftness, his strong hand had a grip on her neck.
"Listen to me, you little bitch," Pure hatred was coming from the hallucination right now. "It's aaaaall over now and you need to get that into your skull. You might wish that you could get one last chance to tell me how much I meant to you but you're not going to get it. Not now, not ever.
Celestina had her hands on his one hand, trying her hardest to get it off her neck. "Jun, please...!"
"You're all alone, princess, just like you're suppose to be." So saying, he tossed her to her desk, with Celestina managing to stay on her feet by twisting her body and grabbing the edge of her desk.
As she attempted to catch her breath, she turned her head to him, only to find that she was the only one in the office. She scanned the area and found no one else.
Never had a hallucination been so violent with her. Sure, there was yelling, but never physical abuse. The whole situation made her skin crawl and her blood run cold as ice.
She knew for a fact that she needed to be stronger in order to beat these hallucinations. She knew that it was going to take a lot of work and a lot more time but it had to be done.
Celestina just wished that it didn't have to hurt so much.
A/N: Definitely one of my favorite chapters in tackling Celestina's problem!