Omega [REDUX]
Chapter 17
Applause.
Flourish.
Cheers.
Anna stood upon the podium with her teammates, the last one along the line of delegates waiting to receive the medal honor. But first, they were treated to an obligatory applause session. Anna would have rather gotten the ceremony over and done with, but she couldn't deny that the applause felt good. It made her feel like she actually achieved something.
Her bodice felt uncomfortable; the burns on her body still hurt, and had to be bandaged, so the uniform didn't feel quite right on mostly-bandaged skin. The straps of fibre hurt the valley between her breasts, tightening and loosening with every small movement she made, alongside every other bandage attached to her body. But for now, that sensation was forgotten in the face of what stood before her.
The parade square had been filled with the rest of the recruits, all cheering for their friends daring escapades and acts of valor. It was the only time Anna had seen such unity amongst the recruits; other times, they wouldn't hesitate to take each other out in a simulated exercise, but now that that was out of the way, she was glad to see the other side of the academy. They were one and united, all dressed in the same military uniform, yet unique in their own special way.
Anna felt she might actually belong here, for once. She might actually have a home.
"Never thought I'd be up here," she said to Merida, who stood beside her, looking equally abashed at the applause they were receiving. "Thought this was for all of the pro soldiers."
"You are a 'pro soldier'," came Merida's response, even though she kept her head straight and left the smile on her face untouched. "As far as we're concerned, the academy recognizes us as such."
"That's true."
"Then again, you actually have surpassed every single one of us in combat proficiency, barring Elsa. We all have to buck up," Merida joked as the applause died down and the audience stood patiently at attention, "else we'll get our asses handed to us if you get transferred."
"I'd never transfer out of Valkyrie," Anna replied. "You guys are the best."
"You might not have a choice in the matter," Merida replied, "but thanks, nonetheless."
"Don't mention it. And on the contrary, I probably will have a choice in the matter."
"Is that so?"
"Hans grants me a few personal requests every now and then."
Merida nodded knowingly, then motioned for Anna to keep a straight face as General Hans stepped up to the podium to deliver his address. The applause rose in volume as he nodded to the crowd, along with the cameras that that were angled towards his spot on the stage. Anna caught sight of the black lenses of the cameras, and swallowed involuntarily out of nervousness, shifting her position to stand up straighter.
The bandages tightened. Anna winced as tendrils of pain shot through her skin, and fought to keep a straight face.
"Recruits," Hans said, shifting inside his suit as he looked down at the script before him, "today we mourn the events that took place, at the SunTec Convention Hall yesterday, at around 1300 hours."
He let the words hang in the air a little while before he continued. Anna felt a lump in her throat.
"We stand here to remember those who fell to the forces of evil, a reminder that our safety and comfort must never be taken for granted. A reminder for us to strengthen our resolve against that which threatens our family, friends, and livelihoods. These people will never truly die, for they retain a special place in our hearts.
"Let us observe a minute of silence for those fallen."
As per the established protocol, Anna stood at attention with the rest of the recruits on the podium, looked straight ahead and drew her right hand into a crisp salute. Her heart ached as she remembered those who fell that day, civilians she had witnessed being gunned down in cold blood. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she fought to keep them from rolling down her cheeks. She had to be strong, especially right now; she couldn't risk crying in front of such a huge audience.
In the distance, she caught sight of a lone figure on the balcony above the parade square, looking over the gathering of recruits and straight back into her eyes.
Elsa?
The left hand of the figure came up, and swung from side to side, and through Anna's blurred vision it seemed she was waving at her.
Anna definitely couldn't respond viscerally, most certainly not during the minute of silence they were giving, or anytime soon for as long as she was on the podium. So she smiled back, and quickly wiped it off her face before anyone caught her being potentially disrespectful. The waving stopped, an indication that her gesture had been acknowledged.
"Thank you," she heard Hans intone into the microphone. "Even as we mourn those who have passed on, we must also give credit where credit is due. Today we commemorate the valiant actions of the recruits standing before you. These recruits, in their actions during yesterday's events, embodied the values that we seek to inculcate in each and everyone one of you, that of the FIRE values. Fortitude. Intellect. Responsibility. Enterprise."
Anna caught Ursula scowling in some obscure corner of the audience, and an immense surge of pride filled her. Even then, she tried not to make it too obvious on her face.
"These valiant souls will be awarded the medal of honor, for going above and beyond their call of duty to assist and protect civilians, and quell the Empyrean threat in the face of utmost danger."
A scream. Anna's head jerked ever so slightly before her self-control reeled her back. Screaming? Her eyeballs scanned the area, looking for the source of the sound, but found nothing that indicated such a phenomenon.
She looked at where Elsa had been standing. She was still there, albeit alone. There was no cause to scream either; there didn't appear to be any significant source of distress or danger. Anna cocked an eyebrow, and pushed the thought out of her mind, assuming that the problem must have already been resolved out of sight.
"These recruits are…"
The same scream. Anna's eyeballs darted around the parade square in response, but found nothing. Something wasn't right. She was sure she heard something, and while she was willing to accept that she might be hearing things, the fact that she had heard the exact same sound twice, in close proximity, made that extremely unlikely.
Hans had already stopped speaking, and was beginning to pin on the medals to the other recruits in line. The scream came again. Anna didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the crowd, but something was definitely off today. The scream wasn't just persistent, it sounded familiar, like she'd heard it before, and she couldn't put her finger down on it.
Merida nudged her as Hans got nearer and nearer. "What's wrong?" she whispered.
The scream came again, visibly louder; Anna almost jumped upon hearing it. Her skin crawled. "Anna!" Merida whispered sharply. "What's going on?"
"Do you hear that?" Anna said. "Someone's screaming."
"Screaming?" Merida cocked an eyebrow. "Not that I can hear. You sure you aren't just hearing things?"
"Maybe," Anna replied, though she could feel her own heart rate racing.
Hans finished with the rest of the recruits and walked up to her. His face wore a curious expression. "You okay?" he asked softly, beginning to pin on the medal.
"I'm… fine," Anna managed. "I'm just a little unwell, I guess."
Hans finished with the medal, securing the pin firmly and stepping back. "Relax, soldier. Nerves can be a difficult thing sometimes."
The crowd began to applaud once more. Along with the other recruits in the line, Anna stood to attention and saluted. The nagging feeling in the back of her head got stronger as the scream came again. Her whole body was now on alert, tensed for action, pretty much ready to pounce and attack. But she could not find the source of the scream. The applause and cheers around her merged into a single, rising, confusing crescendo that blotted out her thoughts, the whining sound at the back of her head getting louder and louder. The scream reached her ears again and again and again, now seeming to circle all around her, coming from multiple places at once, never the same place at the same time. Anna held her stance and her right hand in salute with great difficulty, swallowing to control the chaos inside her mind, though her eyes must have betrayed her emotional state.
"All recruits, your schedule for today has been wiped; normal lessons will resume by tomorrow." The cue from the emcee mobilized every other recruit into a stream of chatter and general chaos. Anna's head twitched; she couldn't take whatever was going on around her very well any more.
"Hey," Belle nudged her as the rest of her team moved up to surround her, aware of her distress, protecting her from whatever that might come her way. "You good? You don't look like it."
"I'll be fine…" Anna stuttered back, "I just… need some rest." Almost embarrassed to do so but far too perturbed to care, Anna broke free of her friends, making a brisk walk straight towards the dorm room they shared. Past the chaotic, noisy parade square into the quiet, albeit dimly lit walkways of the rest of the school, hoping that she would find solace in the silence.
But she didn't. There was no silence.
Only more chaos.
If there was one area that only served to creep her out even more than she already was, it was the corridor to her dorm. The screams reverberated off the walls back into her own ears, though she couldn't they echoed off the corridor walls or the walls inside her own head. Flashes of gunfire seemed to blot vision, causing her to flinch as she stumbled down the walkways towards the elevator. Her world caved in all around her like a landslide; her breathing became labored, her head began to spin and her skin began to crawl again.
Stop screaming stop screaming please stop I beg you please stop I'm begging you—
The black, flashing cloud of chaos cleared from her head just a little. Enough for her to breathe. Enough for her to regain the strength to walk straight again.
Enough for her to notice the person trailing her.
What he or she might want with her, she had absolutely no idea. Was it to do with the incident at the convention hall? More soldiers or assassins from Empyrean out for her? Were the other medal-receiving recruits in danger too? A flood of fear engulfed her, but her rational mind clamped down on her panic, forcing her to tackle the situation rationally. She needed a plan of attack, or at least a way to defend herself, and she couldn't do that without knowing more about who was trailing her.
Anna tilted her head just a little, catching sight of the figure's feminine shape. What she didn't see was if the figure was armed. Her stalker remained undeterred, continuing to walk towards her. Anna was far too exposed in the corridor to do anything about it. Anna's mind mentally labeled this particular figure 'X', so that her brain could free up space to process information faster, a tactic taught to her by Elsa during her training.
Her only chance was to make it to the elevator in time to escape. But that would force whoever her stalker was to close in on her. Anna considered herself decent in close-quarters combat, or at least better than her other forms of combat. Her ideal course of action was to escape, but if X got close enough, she might still actually stand a chance.
The elevator was a few hundred meters away. Anna counted on X not making a move, and not knowing that Anna had already noticed her, for her plan to work. Anna quickened her pace, feigning a bout of dizziness to assist the facade. It seemed to be effective; X matched the increase in speed, confirming Anna's suspicions that she was being followed. She drew her right hand to her chest, bringing her left hand with it to complete the illusion of soothing a wrist clamp, when she actually clenched her right hand into a fist.
The elevator door was already open. Anna stepped inside. She watched X turn into a blur of motion to close the distance. She hit the door close button, hoping desperately she did it in time.
She didn't. X slid in between the closing gap, and the doors slid shut behind her.
So it's come down to this.
Anna swung, her knuckles connecting with skin on her stalker's face, the sensation coursing through her nerves as she brought her left hand up to continue the assault. Her attacker reeled, but with seemingly amazing reflexes, brought her own hands to deflect Anna's punch, throwing a palm strike at Anna. The strike connected, knocking Anna back roughly into the metal wall, leaving her in pain but undeterred.
Anna rebounded off the hard metal surface, lunging at her attacker with her elbow; cold hands pushed her attack away, her momentum redirected back into the metal wall. Anna refused to let up, lashing out with her leg, connecting powerfully with one of her attacker's limbs, potentially the shin, given the sound of the resulting grunt. Recovering, she took a swift jab towards X, only to be blocked by what seemed to be superhuman reflexes. No one she'd faced had ever been that fast.
"Stop!" a faraway voice in her head shouted. Anna blocked out the sound, trying to power on through, sending blow after blow at the figure shrouded in white before her. The response from her adversary was equally tenacious; her blows were deflected as quickly as they were thrown. She kept going, refusing to allow X a chance to retaliate. She didn't know how good her adversary was, and wasn't about to find out anytime soon. If anything, at the rate her attacks were being blocked, Anna wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.
Anna let fly another punch; X blocked the attack and pushed her arm upwards, leaving Anna's torso dangerously exposed. Anna realized she'd made a potentially fatal mistake, but her adversary merely shoved Anna back, giving her time to recover and deliver another blow. Something about that small exchange nagged at her, but the adrenaline washed away the doubt, compelling her to continue her assault.
The elevator doorbell ringed ever so cheerfully; Anna swiped at her attacker, forcing her to put up her hands, leaving Anna available space to deliver a kick to X's torso, sending her tumbling out of the door into the marble square, sliding along its smooth surface on her back.
"What the hell are you doing?" the same faraway voice yelled.
"Who are you?" Anna commanded of the figure. "What do you want with me—"
Pain sliced through her forehead, and she curled up reflexively; it was a tactical mistake. Her attacker lunged, dealing palm strike after elbow strike all across her head and torso, knocking her to the ground.
"Don't make this any more painful for you; I guarantee this will hurt you more than it hurts me." The sight of a glowing blue edge caught her eye, and sent a chill down her spine. Ascendant. This was Empyrean work after all.
"ANNA!" the single, unmistakable voice rang out. Anna jolted, feeling every sensory sensation rush back into her, the adrenaline slowly draining from her overworked muscles, gazing back at Elsa, who held the same glowing blue edge, body poised defensively, bruising visible across whatever skin was exposed.
Wait, what—?
"You need to calm, down," Elsa forced out the words as clearly as she could as Anna pushed herself to her feet, hands trembling as she realized what she'd done, only for her legs to turn to jelly and give way, her head spinning from sensory and emotional recoil. The world blurred around her just for a moment, and then she felt toned but gentle arms break her fall.
"Wha—?" she stammered as she felt Elsa draw her into an embrace, and then she couldn't hold it in anymore. She began to cry. Again. Just like that moment in the dark room in the convention hall. With Elsa. All over again. Tears rolled down her cheeks involuntarily, her chest thrusting involuntarily with every anguished sob that she emitted, her arms wrapping themselves around Elsa, her friend's presence providing solace and comfort that she needed oh so bad.
"Shh…" she heard Elsa coo into her ear, pressing her cheek upon Anna's. "I'm here. Calm down. Everything's alright."
"I thought—" Her own sobs cut off her speech, her fingers clutching at the fabric of Elsa's clothing.. "I thought you were some attacker, and I legitimately tried to kill you—"
Her body racked with sobs again; she found herself half crying and half coughing as Elsa tightened her embrace, using one hand to ruffle Anna's smooth red hair, massaging her scalp as she did so. It was a strangely intimate gesture, and seemed to quell whatever Anna was feeling inside; she felt her pulse slow, her blood stopped pounding and she melted into Elsa's embrace, savouring the soft, cool sensation of Elsa's skin. Elsa breathed into her neck; the warm, ticklish sensation soothed her nerves.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered into Elsa's shoulder.
"It's okay," Elsa responded, caressing the back of her neck to calm her, and boy was it working. "PTSD does things to people."
"PTSD…" Anna said, half dreamily, exhausted from the turn of events, leaning into Elsa as she lay there. "How do you…?"
"I suspected you were affected," Elsa said, running her hand through Anna's hair again, "when I saw you twitching on the podium. I only realized how serious it was when we were in the lift. PTSD does things to people. A lot of things."
"So many people died, Elsa," Anna said, nuzzling her head against Elsa's shoulder, half out of fear, half out of desire; the emotions blurred together, and she couldn't tell which from which. "I—"
"We saved as many as we could." Elsa pushed Anna off and looked deep into her eyes. "We did what we were supposed to do, and you should be proud." She tapped the medal on Anna's uniform lightly. "You did well. We all did."
They sat there for a while, gazing at each other before Anna broke the moment, turning away, embarrassed, again. Elsa took her face and, almost hesitantly, pressed her forehead against Anna's. Anna sighed, and they sat there for a while again. For a moment, there was only bliss.
"Your face," Anna gasped when she opened her eyes, moving a finger to caress the bruise where she had struck Elsa, and she recoiled in pain. "Sorry!" she blurted out, instinctively moving her hand away, inwardly cursing herself. Goddammit, what else did you expect from that?
"It's cool," Elsa replied, bringing up her own hand to her face, almost to protect it. "I'll be fine. I've had a lot worse."
Anna had broken the moment. Again. For probably the third time today. Her face began to burn.
Something rushed through Anna once more, this time overriding her will entirely, compelling her to move forward and plant a light kiss upon the bruise on Elsa's cheek. Her friend froze for a short while, then raised an eyebrow.
"They say it makes it better," Anna said softly, turning away abashed, her own face burning up. It was a lousy excuse, but it was a meaningful attempt at salvage.
"Yeah, I think I've read that somewhere before." Did she actually buy into that? "I'm sure it's fine."
She felt Elsa take her hand. "You need a shower," Elsa went on, concern apparent in her voice and the small smile on her face. "You're distressed and tired. Go wash up and take a rest."
Anna nodded, returning the smile and pushing herself to her feet, leaving a bit too relieved from their encounter, eternally grateful that after all that, Elsa didn't hate her.