"WE MUST ALL BE INSANE TO RACE RECKLESSLY ABOUT IN A WORLD FILLED WITH WITH SO MANY SHARP AND POINTED DANGERS. THAT'S JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE."
in which valentina popov discovers her true identity and tries to reconcile with her nightmares.
first bo...
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ACT I, part i, chapter one : don't look back
: ̗̀➛
12:04 PM. APRIL 9th, 2014.
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"VALENTINA, prosnis'! Prosnis'!" Valentina, wake up! Wake up! A blonde woman yelled at the sleeping woman. Through the windows, a fire was burning the Red Room Academy.
Natasha Romanoff, earlier that day, had released every file related to HYDRA and the academy was no longer a secret to the world. Most of the higher ups, including Madame B, had already shot themselves after destroying any physical documents that weren't on the internet by this point. To be even more thorough, carbon monoxide was slowly seeping into every room in the compound so anyone who wanted to stay alive needed to get out—fast.
Valentina shared a room with a woman named Yelena. They were some of the top Black Widows of the academy and were given special treatment but not enough to be spared from this massacre. The brunette finally awoke from a nap, her heterochromia eyes wide, sensing a huge amount of danger. She looked over at her fellow comrade, "Chto proiskhodit?" What's happening?
"Oni razrushayut vse. Nam nuzhno vyyti...seychas!" They're destroying everything. We need to get out...now! Yelena shouted, pulling Valentina out of her bed.
After grabbing a few of their weapons and putting on their suits, they exited their room. Even though the fire was nearing as they looked to their left, the gas could kill them at any second as well. There was no time to get others.
It was about saving themselves.
Well, for Yelena, it was about saving Valentina. She had to get out. She had to find out the truth about her life.
To their right, a bit of moonlight shone through: it was the dance room and it seemed like that was going to be one of the last things to be destroyed.
Now that she really thought about it, Valentina found it odd they didn't send her on any missions today or tonight for that matter.
Why would she though? There was never any reason to question Madame B. She learned that a while ago.
Everything seemed out of her control. At least, more than usual. All she lived for was burning to ashes and all she could do was watch. What would come next? What even is the point of escaping this mess if she doesn't know what her next mission is? She would have nothing to comply with.
"Net vremeni mechtat!" There is no time to daydream! Yelena snapped at the brunette who was just staring at the growing flames in the near distance. "Valentina!" Tired of yelling, the blonde snatched the woman's hand and dragged her towards the dance room. Valentina almost fell over with how hard she was pulled, at least it snapped her out of an almost fatal trance.
This was the only place she ever liked, at least remotely. Even if doing pliés and grand battements at the barre was another way of training to kill someone, there was still a beauty to it.
It was obvious that Yelena was more concerned with getting out of this place than her partner.
The floor they were on was higher than she expected. The fall could mean death if they didn't land right but she couldn't die in this hellish place. They couldn't die here. Not here. Calling out Valentina's name, Yelena motioned for her to come to the window to analyze the situation. They both looked up at the ceiling as it creaked above them. No doubt it could come crashing down on them at any given moment.
"Ty pervyy." You go first.
Valentina shook her head, staring at her friend as if she were insane, "Kakaya? Net!" What? No! She exclaimed, "My oba ukhodim. Ya ne ostavlyu tebya." We both go. I-I'm not leaving you.
The worry in her eyes made Yelena's heart ache. They both knew the probability was high for Yelena not making it out but she made an unspoken promise to an old friend and she was going to fulfill it. She had a stern look on her face as tears welled in her hazel eyes, "Okno slishkom malen'koye." The window is too small. She explained, "YA ne sporyu s toboy. YA vybroshu tebya iz etogo okna, yesli ya tozhe. Idti! Seychas zhe!" I'm not arguing with you. I will throw you out this window if I have to. Go! Now!
The brunette stood her ground, turning her back towards the window that would grant her freedom. She couldn't do this. If she wasn't alone before, she would officially be once she hit the ground below.
Yelena placed her hands on the sides of the stubborn woman's face and brought their forehead together, "Eto vasha missiya seychas. Ostav'te menya. Pokin' eto mesto. Ne oglyadyvaysya nazad. Ty namnogo bol'she, chem oni skazali tebe, Valentina. But' svoboden. Uznayte pravdu." This is your mission now. Leave me. Leave this place. Don't look back. You're much more than what they've told you, Valentina. Be free. Discover the truth. Her voice began to crack, not wanting to say goodbye to the little girl, now grown woman she had looked after for so long. It was harder than anything she had ever done in her life. "YA tak sil'no lyublyu tebya, moya sestra." I love you so much, my sister.
Placing a quick kiss on her forehead, Yelena roughly turned Valentina around and pushed her out of the window. As the glass crashed, she immediately formed her body into a position where she could tuck and roll onto the ground. Her harsh landing caused a sharp pain to shoot through her foot and ankle. She would get through it though. But before she could even turn around to see if her friend had made it out, she heard the sickening crash of that ceiling.
Don't look back.
So she didn't. She would follow her orders and not look back—ever.
She wouldn't even shed a tear.
All she had now was her guns and a knife. As the woman walked towards the Maryina Horka forest, a new pain entered the back of her leg. A gunshot wound. She refused to drop to the ground though. Instead, she pulled out her gun and shot behind her. Twice, for good measure. A body in the distance made a thump signaling that she made her shot.
