Beep…….Beep……Beep……

Coming into awareness, it's hard to focus on anything but that noise. Existence has been a realm of dreams and un-importance, so after a while of that blurring together it's hard to realize when you have come back. At first, at least, it becomes quite urgent once you've realized this was not a one night rest in your bed.

The first feeling that tells you off is the difference of where you are used to sleeping, before all else, before any injuries or probing. Belle is coming to that realization. She wonders why it feels so much warmer here, and why her bed has sheets, before more and more questions prod in her mind. Why does everything hurt? Why is everything sore? Why is she so dizzy? Why is the back of her neck so cold, and also so inflamed? Then it prompts her to think of possible situations, in the span of seconds, which causes her to dip into her memories and actually, finally recollect. 

She remembers being out trying to defend another war-zone from falling to the coalition, some ground near one of her bases, then all of a sudden she looked up and one of their mechs were right above her. Most of the mechs in the coalition look the same, they are distinct, sleek and black with no visible seams or screws or patchwork. All the lights on them are a steady, bluish white, unlike the yellowing lights of the resistance. A stark contrast in general, they are efficient and new and always repaired with the finest readily available parts. Belle isn't sure why she's going over this, they've always just sort of creeped her out. Aside from being scared of mechs in general, the resistances at least…there's something human about them, like a customized wallet or an outfit, all of them were fitted to match their pilots. The coalition’s mechs all look the exact same. There's no face or person to their acts, it's like it's carried out by a robot, nobody knows why but usually it's just chalked up to and assumed everyone in the coalition who pilots a mech is only renting it from them. Regardless, that's not- important, Belle reminds herself. The thing saw her and smacked her a few hundred yards away into the air. Wait. 

How is she alive?? She tiredly opens her eyes, it feels like all the life's been drained from her, she wants to keep laying down but this feels more pressing than more sleep is worth. She could've sworn she was done for, the last thing she remembers is puking her guts out after hitting that tree…

While her eyes are opening she tries to feel her body out. Shift just a bit. Open and close her hands. She realizes, though, doing this sweep that her arm is gone, the one she had just repaired, what the hell happened to it!? She tries harder to open her eyes and look over but then she realized just how casted-up she is- she cant even turn her head-

“HhnNhg-“ sounds out, coughing a bit. Her throat feels like hell. She can't open her jaw, there's not enough room in the cast to allow for movement. She notices the feeding tube stuck in her nose, now, too, this has felt so long to her despite only being a few moments. Why did they take her arm off? If, they somehow, found her and she's in a ward it should've been repaired quicker than she woke up. Or maybe someone stole it and scrapped it- god damned recruits she worked her ass off to afford that arm! It wasn't even her fault or even the wars fault she lost it her parents set her up for some weird science test the coalition funded so they could get a paycheck-

“NnHn- ghN-“ she tries to be a bit louder, her eyes fluttering, her breathing gets a little more desperate with the exerted energy. She hates feeling trapped like this. She cant move anything beyond her fingers. It doesn't help that she can hardly even look around, she's positioned just to where she can only see the ceiling and the top of the wall. Christ, they better not have stolen her arm, especially if it was Herce, she's going to make a scene if she sees Herce with anything suspicious. She almost makes another noise but then, thankfully, someone walks up to them. Thank god, it had only felt like it was a few seconds but she was going c-

She was…

“…”

Her eyes widen as she stares at the doctor or, nurse or, whoever looking them over. That is NOT the outfit rebel medics or doctors wear, that, is-

“Hm…” the doctor hums, looking Belle over, shes gone pale but that doesn't seem to be of much concern, “Call her up, it looks like that rebel soldier she told us to look after is awake sooner than we thought.”

“Hh-nn- hhH-“ Belle wheezes out, terror has been draped over her like a veil since realizing where this is. She wasn't picked up by her fellow rebels, not at all, she should have realized that even the ceiling is too sterile- she's been captured! God DAMN it, no! Why is- she's just a foot soldier why would they keep her alive!? She doesn't know anything important! She's a dumb-ass! Her only skill is running out in a fodder formation she just, thought, maybe she'd do something useful with her life if she helped something good- she's not important! She hears a radio click and some yelling on the other end then quiet, then…

The doctor and some other person chatter about something, the one that's not the doctor and looks more like…riot-y? Is this a cop? Belle assumes it's a cop, walks up to her. She glances over. He says one more thing to the doctor then turns back to her.

“Marc Wenden, you have committed the crime of treason of the highest offense. Your rights, citizenship, and freedom have been forfeited in…”

Belle blinks as it continues. It kind of just ends up getting tuned out. Oh. Looks like she may aswell have died, then. It would have saved her the extra trouble later. God damn it…

Belle starts to feel a numbness form in her chest, it's cold, mentally she starts to prepare herself for her life to be a series of being dead-named and misgendered and abused and jailed till she gets the chance to off herself. In the background there's the small wish that the tree would have just split her in half. The lull of her tiredness starts to call her again. Maybe she should just try and enjoy rest while she still can…

…

All of a sudden the door is flung open, it hits the wall with a thud and the same woman that retrieved the soldier in the first place comes through the frame in a hunch. She straightens up, fixes her hat and straightens her coat, then glares at the two in the room, who have jumped and straightened up. The Officer scowls and growls under her breath.

“What the hell are you mouth-breathers still standing around here and looking at me for? Scram! Get out of here!” She yells, pointing at the door. Immediately they start to shuffle out, nodding at her on the way. She slams the door behind them and glares at Belle. Immediately she stomps over there, and sits on a definitely too small stool to get a better look. She reaches past the cast and anything that shouldn't be touched so she can jerk Belle's face towards her vision.

“HrRk-“ Belle gurgles out, her jaw still locked in place her eyes widen and she looks at- th- the-

She lets out a scream as she realizes who she's looking at. Oh god- oh shit- what the fuck!? Is that, her!? Why the fuck is she here! She's justasoldier what the fuck!? This is like if the devil itself just appeared to fuck with some random atheist in the middle of a holy war-

Or so she thinks. After a bit of sizing her up and down her expression twists and she lets go of Belle's face.

“It IS you-“ she says, sounding angry but in the way a parent would talk to a child coming home late, “what were you THINKING!? Do you have ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN?!” 

She pulls out a passport, an id, and some documents, birth certificates and such, then haphazardly throws them at Belle with an exaggerated anger in her motions, like someone handing money to someone they already paid. She whimpers, no clue what's going on.

“MARC WENDEN?! HAVE YOU BEEN GOING AROUND MASQUERADING AS A MAN TO GET AWAY FROM ME?! THIS BIRTH DATE DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!” She leans in, yelling in Belle's face. Belle is about to start crying, she never asked for this, this feels like a nightmare, this can't be real can it-?? 

“Christ- you stupid bitch- I should strangle you! I thought you were DEAD, PAULA! WHAT IS THIS!?” She rips off part of Belle's facial cast and lets her jaw free, her long glove crinkling with the motion and barely pinching the material like it's filthy. She drops it onto Belle's chest with a look of disgust. Her jaw hurts like hell, she lets a sob out, still unable to meaningfully move or really do anything- she doesn’t know who the hell Paula is or why in gods name the highest ranking officer in the coalition is sitting here yelling at her like she knows her unless this is some- bizarre torture tactic-

“IdonHtknohohOw- I-“ she blubbers out before a loud growl sounds from the Officer, she just wanted to lay back down-

“Oh my GOD you are lucky I can't slap you right n- j- SHUTUP!” She yells out, letting a relieved sigh out as Belle quiets down. Her expression keeps switching between a half snarl and a cold glare of disappointment, there's a line on her forehead that always creases when the snark picks up. You can see the lines on her face that have formed between the constant switching, visibly wrinkled with time. “I can't even hear myself THINK. The last time I saw, you, you…”

The officer looks down, seemingly completely out of it for a moment, like she's left her body. There's a disturbing emptiness ill befitting someone with power, like hers. The intensity in her stare is almost enough to burn a hole into the sheets she's looking at. She shakes her head.

“HOW ARE YOU ALIVE!?” She screams, banging her hand down on the medical bed all of a sudden. It shakes the whole thing.

“I-I don't knowwhatyou'retalking about Idon't kn-know y- I- I'm just- I don'tknow-“ Belle can barely speak through her struggling breaths, moving this much is making her realize just how bad of a shape her body is in. “I'm just a soldiermy nameisBelleI'mjust- a soldier-“

“Why are you lying to me, Paula?” She lets out following a resentful, low laugh. “You can't even get your names right! First it's Marc, now it's Belle, whatever this game you're playing is its OVER. I cant fucking BELIEVE you hid from me I. THOUGHT. YOU. WERE. DEAD. YOU. IDIOT!” She says in a spaced out, matter of fact yelling tone as her hand twitches, clearly eager to handle her in some way if not for all of the medical equipment. Belle only really know processes the name shes been calling her- who the fuck is Paula-?

“I'm- I'm notPaula! I don't know who that is! I…” Though…she thinks if, if someone as high ranking is this thinks shes, someone important maybe that's a way out?? Maybe she can lie- she-

“What??” Penelope says, with a look of disgust on her face. “Why are you still lying?? You've been caught, dumb-ass. I'd recognize my shit idiot girlfriend anywhere, especially after all the heartbreak you gave me after disappearing! What the hell's wrong with you?!” She leans in even closer. “Do you have any idea how much trouble this is gonna be to explain to Them after the last time you fucked up? Do you know how pissed They'll be to hear you're alive? The EXCUSES I’m going to have to make for you!”

“Who!? I-whoarey-what!?” Belle whines out, not being able to wrap her head around any of this. Has she just gone insane? Is this hell? Did she say girlfriend?? Is this some kind of bizarre torturous afterlife? She feels like she's going to pass out, shewants to go back to base- she wants to chat in the cafeteria and go to her room where it's quiet- how did she end up back somewhere so scary…? Her thoughts are disrupted by another growl.

“Did you hit your fucking head or are you just intentionally trying to upset me? I can't even tell anymore- god I- I can't believe you! Little shit…” She groans and holds her head. “You're lucky I don’t just leave your ass here to die but- I LOVE you- and I CARE about you- unlike you seem to want to show ME- so I am going to fix this. I am going to fix this and give you the chance to make this up so we can be together again.”

Be together-? Love?? She tries to steel herself or do anything but all she can do is dizzyingly run over ‘holy fuck whats happening’ over and over in her head. She tries to, shakily ask what she's even talking about, but she's interrupted.

“Obviously you're not going to work with me here- I mean seriously, the rebellion? Are you stupid? How did you even end up there with that trash! I-“ she lets a low growl out. “You're lucky we live in a civil society and we have ways of fixing these problems, but god it’s hard to not be disappointed at how fucking stupid this is. Whatever tantrum this was or act of defiance this was, is over.” Her voice is a bit shaky and in disbelief, laced with anger. She's talking down at someone like she finally caught them after a particularly long segment of trying to chase them around the house when she was not in the mood to play.

Belle wants to yell out ‘I don't know what you're talking about!’ but frankly, she's terrified. She feels like this woman is one second away from reaching over and snapping her neck at any given second. Every time her hands twitch she flinches.

“ANYWAY.” She says, roughly placing her hand on the bed-rail. “Paula. My dear. As always, I will fix this, like I do everything, for everyone…” there's resentment in her tone, she grits her teeth and looks to the side, “Just don’t cause anymore fucking issues, you've done more than enough. I'll be taking you home when you're healed and I'll start getting you ready. Just know I didn't want this, you forced my hand. If you can't prove to me you wont stop just- running away and disappearing then I’ll find a way to make you stay.” She finishes, with a scowl, and stands up. She dusts herself off, angrily grabs at and picks up the old documents she threw at her, and starts walking away. Belle is left looking mortified.

“I...I, I…” she doesn't even know what to…do. Say. Anything. This feels unreal. She hears her yelling at someone about burning something outside but it starts to tune out as she stares at the point between the wall and ceiling again.

What has she gotten into…? She…hahah...she just wanted to help the resistance…

…

She's still so tired though…she doesn't know if she can stay awake much longer…

…

…