Something Different

Ketti: -holds up hands- I swear I'm not dead. I've just been busy, and my muse is stubborn. Here's a story that I had a dream ti inspire. I rather like it, but I'm not sure how to continue it, so until I do... One shot.

Seras woke to the sound of her alarm like she did every morning. Blinking sleepily at the flashing number on the wall, the blonde tugged her blanket up to cover her face only to have it yanked back by mechanical arms and slid under her bed. Squinting in irritation, she huffed and sat up before her bed slid into the wall from under her.

They never let her get extra sleep.

Grabbing a fresh set of clothing from her dresser, Seras opened her bathroom door to perform her morning ritual; use the toilet, brush her teeth for one minute exactly, then shower for twelve and a half minutes. Toweling her hair, she stepped onto the air vent and tossed the cloth over the shower bar as a breeze started under her feet. Once dry, she dressed with efficiency, casting a dispassionate gaze over her grey shirt and pants before pulling her hair back in her signature spiky ponytail and smiling at the mirror.

She almost believed it was a real smile, today! That was encouraging progress.

Yhe overhead light turned off and she blew a puff of air at her bangs before nodding and exiting the bathroom, the whine of the air vent starting up again in warning at her back.

The lights on what she affectionately referred to as 'the runway' in her room turned out as she approached the far wall until she was left in near darkness with the only light outlining the shape of a door in the wall. Closing her eyes to focus, she stepped forward and felt the welcoming pressure of air folding in around her, almost hurting as it shoved at her exposed skin. The change in the air announced her arrival and she finished her stride to stand ramrod straight, arms at her sides, in line with her four brothers in the briefing room.

Catching sight of flaming red hair in her peripheral, her smile softened without her notice, becoming more genuine. For a moment, oh so brief, but still there, she felt the warmth of a hand clasping her own and squeezing before she was released as the Captain turned to face them. He squinted a little in their direction, but seemed to shrug it off as he gestured sharply to his left, and in synch, the siblings turned, each taking a step into the wall of pressure. Seras sat at her desk with practiced grace.

"You've all done quite well on your exams," Teacher praised as she looked up from her desk, rectangular glasses slung low down her nose, green eyes kind, but distant. "There's not much else I can teach you, graduation is coming." A far away look creased her face with fondness, "I still remember your first lessons. Why, you barely came to my knees! Now look at you, all grown up and ready to take on the world." A vibration ran through the desk and she cleared her throat, "Ahem, yes, well. How about a review?"

Five faces gazed solemnly at her without complaint and Teacher tapped her pen against the side of her book in thought. "Let's go over the basics," she decided with a chipper smile, "and assign points, like the old days. Won't that be fun?"

Seras flashed a tentative smile at Teacher, having taken lessons from the woman for nearly thirteen years, it was hard to keep the 'proper distance' now that she was older.

"To whom do we owe our lives?"

"Forty-two." Answered the raven haired brother to her left.

"Very good, Kris! Now, who can tell me the official name?"

"Trogeon Technologies." Her brother on the far right spoke up, faint stubble casting a shadow across his skull. He refused to let it grow, so much so that Seras had actually forgotten what color it was.

"Thank you, Anton. Who remembers our core mission?"

"To protect the president." Seras offered.

"To keep political stability by thwarting high profile assassinations." Her beloved red headed brother spoke up next.

"Good, Seras, Drew, those are both acceptable answers. Anyone else?"

"To wipe any trace we exist out of the media if we're too slow. To remember that even if we wished to leave, the tracking chips embedded in our hearts will betray us, and if we turn traitor, will self destruct and end us from within."

"A bit morbid, but yes, very good Trent, thank you."

Teacher rolled her chair back from her desk and slid the white board aside to reveal an old chart littered with gold and silver stars. Picking up her ratty sticker pad, she pulled out the last five stars to put one under each name.

"I know we're not meant to form emotional attachments, children, but I'll miss you when you're gone. I mean, you'll have exciting missions to go on!" Teacher was clearly flustered, not wanting to sound as though she doubted them, like she expected them to fail. Seras gave her a reassuring smile even as the desk buzzed.

A moment of silence passed, and Seras glanced sidelong to her left at Kris. Fond memories of him helping her with flashcards brought a soft light to her blue eyes. He was always better at math than her.

A bell chimed, and Teacher jumped a bit in surprise. "Well," she spoke a bit awkwardly, trying to keep the emotion from her voice, "good luck with your training, soldiers."

With a salute, all five figures stood and turned an about face to take their positions at the shooting range. Seras' hand hovered over a selection of different caliber weapons before settling on her trusted handgun. There was a click overhead and Seras leaped to the side, somersaulting over the gun counter to crouch beneath it, firing one quick shot at the paper target's heart, she dove forward and flipped into a one armed handstand, trusting instinct rather than sight – I do not aim with my eye, I aim with my mind. I do not fire with my hand, I fire with my heart – to pop a bullet into the small robot like device that had fired at her back. She still had four rounds left.

Falling back, using the momentum to roll to her feet in one fluid move, she felt a gun barrel pressed against her temple and she felt the air shiver in anticipation before she stepped to the side and rammed the butt of her pistol into the back of her assailant's skull just as the gun went off, the bullet going wild. She knew better than to waste ammunition.

Clammy hands grasped her ankles and she grunted in surrender. She kept forgetting to check her feet for secondary attackers. A buzzer sounded to announce her defeat, and she engaged the safety before dropping the gun, arms crossed as she stood in place, listening for the signals of her brothers failing or passing their reflex training.

Another buzzer sounded a moment later and Anton appeared at her side with an amused light in his grey gaze. "Remember to look where you land," he chided gently and she laughed sheepishly, nodding. "I know, I know. I'll do better, or I'll die." It was as simple as that, really. Glancing slyly to her right, she flashed her brother a quick grin, "Still, I beat Drew learning our reflex shot at the rear, so all in all, I think I'm doing alright."

A calloused hand tousled her hair before a third buzzer sounded and they both looked up to see their red headed companion join them with a smear of yellow paint across his chest. Seras bit her lip to resist the urge to point and laugh. Training was serious, she and Anton were already pushing the acceptable behavior boundaries, so while Drew would laugh with her, they'd get a stern talking to about it later. Glancing down at her feet, she shifted her weight and nudged her captor's wrist with her heel. The pressure of clamping fingers around her skin eased and she wriggled her toes, feeling the small rocks embedded in the dirt through her slippers.

A moment passed when two near simultaneous chimes rang out, signaling Kris and Trent's success.

The shift change bell rang again, and Seras took a step, landing next to Drew as usual. He had a change of shirt in hand, she noted from her periphery, and swiftly exchanged the yellow marred one for crisp grey like her own, dropping the soiled one carelessly at his feet.

Captain spoke up from his position at the wall, a frown tugging his lips. "I was hoping for better from you," he scolded, and the three failures kept stony expressions in the face of his chastisement. Clucking his tongue he flicked his hand dismissively, "For a change of pace, this next session involves live fire. If you are too slow you will be hurt, there will be no pulled punches this round."

Captain waved a hand at the wall, the screen lighting up to reveal a lush jungle, the sound birds twittering sweetly through the overhead speakers.

The Captain snapped his fingers and Seras' pupils dilated until she was half blinded by the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Then she felt grass pricking at her thin slipper soles, and she ducked as the air whistled behind her; grass puffed up to her left as the bullet dug up the ground. Scuttling like a crab, she shifted until she was behind the tree and glanced up to the platform. Miscalculating, she realized a second too late that what she thought was solid wood was in fact the shadow of it and she couldn't help but scream as she fell backwards, arms pin-wheeling in thin air. Panic numbed her senses, and she couldn't get her bearings to shift again.

Strong arms caught her just before her skull connected with the root of the tree and she trembled upside-down in frightened shock. Peeking up over the swell of her breasts, she saw red and relaxed.

"Idiot," he scolded gently, and she laughed weakly in agreement. "Sorry."

"Captain's not going to be happy about this," he continued and she winced as she nodded, palms reaching down to the grass to support her weight as her brother released her and she flipped instantly to her feet. Leaning against his side, the test thoroughly failed, Seras peeked through her lashes to observe her target gazing back down at them, a walkie talkie in hand as he reported back.

Sighing heavily, she wrapped Drew in a tight hug, cheek pressed against his throat, mildly annoyed at his growth spurt to be taller than her when they used to be the same height. "Thanks."

A sharp whistle sounded and Seras released the red head as she took a step back, halting in the proper position; in line, arms at sides, gaze straight ahead.

"That was a spectacular failure." Captain barked, "does anyone care to explain to me why it failed so badly? Hm?"

Seras looked down at the floor for a moment before raising her hand, speaking when nodded at to continue. "I apologize, Sir, the shadows from the leaves gave the illusion that the platform was wider than it actually was."

"That was your first mistake," he growled snappishly and she nodded meekly, hand once more at her side, "you should have relied on lessons to know that the platforms are never as large as they appear. Your second mistake was making noise. Your third was panicking." Captain's gaze slid towards Drew, and he scowled, "We're not forgetting your breach of conduct, either. What were you thinking, revealing yourself like that?"

From the corner of her eye, Seras saw Drew standing tall in the face of the reprimand. "I apologize, Sir, but I had already silenced my target when I heard her scream. It was… instinct." He offered with a forced smile in apology for his actions in saving his sister from a painful, if not extremely harmful, meeting with the forest floor. The whole point of their training was to complete their tasks solo, so the enemy would nevr know their true numbers.

The Captain glared at them in aggravation, hands behind his back. "There is no excuse, you are all old enough to know better. Family ties are a liability to the mission. I expected better of you."

A cold hand landed on Seras' shoulder and she stiffened in alarm, eyes widening. "Your punishment has been decided by the board; you will both spend time in isolation to rethink your attachments now that you are of age to perform your duties without them. As for the rest of you," he addressed Seras' remaining three brothers, all silent and stone faced like the good soldier she's supposed to be, "you have received preliminary missions to prepare for the real thing."

Seras heard no more as she was lead out of the room through a door, Drew through another. Her stomach growled as she walked, head bowed in submission. The cold of the corridor seeped into her slightly damp slippers and she shivered, goosebumps rippling across her arms.

A door opened with a hydraulic hiss, revealing a dim grey light and a single hard chair. Her home away from home, she mused with a bitter twist. Never once looking at who was beside her, not wishing for a further black mark, she stepped obediently into the doorway.

Startled beyond words when she felt a plastic wrapped rectangle pressed into her hand, she kept her face smooth as she slid the granola bar into her waistband before taking her place on the chair as the door closed behind her. Seras caught a glimpse of blonde hair so like her own through the crack as the female employee left. Seras didn't know her name, she didn't know anyone's name, only their rank by their uniform, but she had a sneaking suspicion the woman was related to her somehow. She was always sneaking Seras small things like granola bars or her hairband when she could get away with it. Seras bit back her smile as she turned her head to the monitor where her lesson was waiting on pause, the red letters flashing on the screen.

"Resume."

Blood.

Screams.

Pain!

Red, black, white, blue… so much blue. She was drowning in it.

Seras woke with a start, falling from the chair in an ungainly heap. Her stomach roared in protest and she curled into a small ball, head down and facing the floor. This was the longest stint she'd ever spent in isolation with only the video lessons spelling out her duty in life as company.

They'd never left her this long without food before. Was it extra punishment? To prove a point? Keeping herself huddled in a pathetic ball, she carefully slid her hand to her waistband where the other half of her granola bar pressed to her hip. Eating slowly, oh so slowly, she slid the wrapper back into her waistband before pulling herself up by the chair to stare bleary eyed at the toilet tucked behind a half wall meant for modesty. She'd learned as a child that the toilets were there for two reasons; one was the obvious waste receptacle, the other was to provide clean drinking water as a painful reminder what could happen if she were caught by the enemy. If she lived long enough to see a cell, that is.

Casting a furtive glance over her shoulder at the smooth wall where she knew the door to be, she bit her lip, and resolved to wait one more day. She still bore the scars of the extra punishment for escaping before her lessons were done. It created the mental stigma to never disobey orders, she knew she was expendable.

Groaning under her breath at how weak and stretched she felt, she forced herself back up into the chair. This was the seventh time she would watch the video and the questions at the end, the answers a rote memorization.

"My life is not my own. I belong to the people. I live to protect the client. Death will only claim me if I'm too slow. Never hesitate to take a bullet for the client, their life is more important. The mission is everything."

The mission was more important than family, more important than the threat of being captured, more important than death.

The mission was life. The only reason she or her brothers existed at all.

Half delirious with hunger, flesh hanging loosely on her arms, Seras blinked to find herself on the floor, an unanswered question flashing across the screen.

How long was it now? Had she really messed up that badly? Tears couldn't come, she felt too dry and weak, despite the water from the tank. Breath rasping against her dry lips, she pressed her feverish cheek to the cool tile. She'd have to… have to what? There was something she needed to remember, something important. Before she died in this room.

The thought of death plucked her mental strings and she gasped, eyes widening. Surely this was a test? To see how long she could last before she disobeyed orders to save herself. Muscles trembled as they tensed and relaxed in spasmodic twitches. She didn't want to die!

Surely… surely they'd understand? Cringing and huddling closer to the floor, Seras envisioned the look on the Captain's face as he proclaimed her a failure. But… But, she reasoned helplessly, they'd put her back together before breaking her again. She could do this. It had never been taken this far before, but… she could survive this. She could. She had to.

The force of the air pressing around her made her gasp, the air being pulled harshly from her lungs as she retched, on hands and knees as the world swam around her.

A commotion of voices beat at her senses, and it took everything she had not to black out. Hands grasped her arms so tightly that she squealed in pain. Lifted harshly into the air, Seras' head lolled before her hair was dragged upwards and blue eyes met glaring amber.

Confusion overtook her like a blow to the guts. Who were these people?! She didn't recognize them! Panic licked at her nerves, waking her further to realize that something was terribly wrong.

"Vhat's this?" The voice was deep and grating, the heavy accent making her heart quicken in alarm. "I thought the place vas abandoned. Yet here is a mousie for us to claim as our own."

Laughter met these words, and goosebumps rippled across Seras' skin as she realized exactly what had happened. Fear pulled at her, threatening to drown her, but she fought it off, straining to keep her mind as clear as she could get it. Silence seemed to be the best option as the grip on her hair pulled, turning her face at different angles for the leader's inspection.

"I had heard," he mused, "that they vere vorking on a project, but I had not thought it to be viable yet." A gloved finger trailed down her cheek, noting her ill state, "Girl!" The commanding tone made her eyelids flicker, "How old are you?"

Seras stared blankly at him, allowing her weight to be held up with the too-tight grip on each arm by his men on either side of her. All she needed was a second, just that split moment in time, when nothing organic was holding or touching her and she could escape. Her toes curled in anticipation against the floor.

A harsh slap made her gasp as her head rocked back, still held by her hair, it sent a jarring force through her neck and jaw. Blonde strands pulled from the roots as he released her to shake the loose hair from his white glove in disgust.

"I asked a question, girl." He growled, amber eyes flashing red. Seras was pretty sure it was a trick of the light, or a hallucination. Red eyes weren't a thing.

Licking dry lips, she presented the intruder with a strained smile before looking down meekly. Mute.

Hissing in aggravation, a gloved hand slid around her throat and squeezed. She kept calm, counting in her head until he released her in disgust. "Vhat is your name?"

Silence.

A literal punch to the gut had her doubling over and coughing up a small amount of blood. Staring dazedly at the red smear on the pristine white floor, Seras heard a high pitch whine in her ears. Closing her eyes for a moment, she imagined the training forest and felt the air tug at her ankles, but it stopped a moment later.

She was grounded.

She knew it wouldn't work, but her addled mind had wanted to try.

"Vhat vas that?" The leader questioned harshly, suspicion clear in his tone. He must have seen her pant-legs shift in an invisible wind. Seras held her tongue, knowing he would hit her again.

Nothing happened for a long moment, then perfectly black and shiny boots appeared in front of her. "If you vill not talk here, ve have no choice but to take you vith us." He sounded a little too happy about that and Seras' skin crawled as something occurred to her that she'd never thought to consider before; she was female. An obvious point, but… her captors were men. Surely… surely not?

She had received sexual education, of course, when her monthlies started, and had been debriefed on such things, but no one had ever een suggested it as something that might happen were she taken hostage.

Panic and fear ate at her, making her want to curl up into a tiny ball and cry, but resolve hardened her jaw as she swore to find an escape. Her entire life was spent training for the mission, including means to thwart capture. She wouldn't break so easily. So what if she was hungry, so what if she was outnumbered, she was Seras Victoria. Victory was the only option.

They would not win.

Even though the base was captured, she held hope in her heart of hearts that her brothers had escaped this fate. Drew…. He had always been quicker to save his own skin, he must have escaped at the first sign of something going wrong. She had naively assumed that it was a test, when in all likelihood, the invasion had been too quick when her elder brothers were off on their preliminaries. It must have been a massive assault to overcome the defenses, enough so that a team wouldn't be sent in to recover what was left.

She wondered briefly how the intruders had missed her on the security feeds, but perhaps they had been disabled before the enemy got too deep in the base. Perhaps the monitors were destroyed? She wished they had thought to send her a bloody message, she wouldn't have waited so long to escape had she known.

To her vague knowledge, the staff were trained to more or less set the base to self destruct should it be captured. She was pretty sure there were bombs in the floor, and knew there was a kill switch on the power. The enemy must have had some idea, then, to keep the power going and the base intact.

She was pulled from her musings when her feet clipped the edge of the door and she winced. Dried blood was spattered in macabre paintings as she looked up; the main corridor doors had been melted and cut open like a messy safe cracker's desperate last measures.

She was running out of time. She needed to figure out a means of escape before… She wasn't sure, but a nagging fear warned her that she needed to hurry. Something about the men holding her was unsettling her nerves, it was the same with their leader.

A side corridor gave her an idea, and Seras sucked in a breath through her teeth before going completely limp, allowing her legs to slide across the red marked floor. The men holding her grunted in annoyance and shook her before lifting her higher. In that moment she pushed with all her might into a flip, her sleeves slipped through their fingers as she startled them into releasing her involuntarily. Relying on years of gymnastic training, she performed a perfect split in mid air to kick each man in the side of the head, sending the one on her right flying back into the corridor so that she had some empty space. Landing on her feet, she heard the gunshot before she felt it, a fire exploding in her ribs as the cold air rushed in and pulled her away. The pain had fragmented the image she held in her head, and for a moment she was lost between. Floundering, she latched onto an image of a church she had seen once, and she fell with a choking gurgle of a scream to the steps in a bloody heap.

Convinced she was about to die, but smug in her escape – she wouldn't

be responsible for leaking secrets! – and wanting to look at the stars, a sight she rarely got to admire in person, she forced herself to roll and, instead of the welcoming twinkle of light in the darkness, she was met with glowing red eyes and gleaming white predatory teeth.

"Well, hello there."