(Play the song now, only if you want too of course)

Rina woke up to sounds of a fight. She jumped off the small cot and ran to the door, even on her tiptoes she could hardly see anything out of the small window. The room reminded her of a cell, from one of those old movies Steve had shown her. She couldn't see anything through the window but the sounds of fighting still remained.

She knew better than to yell, so she only watched as the sounds of the fight got closer. But as soon as it sounded like it was right in front of her the noises stopped. She was about to return to her cot when a flash of red hair and a metal arm caught her eye.

"Mama! Papa! I'm in here!" She cried, banging on the door to get their attention.

The two adults stopped in front of her door but they didn't seem to hear her cries,

"Where could she be?" Natasha asked

James merely shrugged,

"Maybe she's this way" he said pointing down the hall

She hit the door harder, the tears coming faster,

"No, Papa! I'm in here!" She shouted as the two figures continued on down the hall.

She continued to sob as she slid to the floor, the weight of being left behind too much for her to take.

"They left me, they left me" she sobbed

She held her face in her hands, they are never coming back she thought, I'm going to die here. The sobs raked through her body, she was a shaking and crying mess when she heard,

"Ekaterina?"

She thought her head was just messing with her but still, she hoped against hope that someone was looking for her, so she called out,

"Mama?"

She sobbed and bolted upward. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tried to shake the nightmare out of her mind. She got up and grabbed the stone from the floor and marked another tally on the wall. 182 marks. It's been roughly six months since she last saw the ghosts that haunt her dreams. She could only dance with her ghosts for so long before she woke up. Despite the nightmares, she loved sleeping because it was the only place were she felt safe, free of all sorrow and pain. It was where she could see her family and she never wanted to leave. But despite her wishes, she woke up every morning and they were gone and she was alone again.

She imagined that the guards would be coming for her soon like they did everyday so she changed into the workout clothes that were left for her. She was tying the laces of her shoes when they came for her.

It was always two figures in full black combat gear and black face masks. They stood at the door and waited for her to follow them. They lead her down various hallways to the training room where Maxim, who was also dressed in workout clothes was taping his hands before starting to hit the punching bag. This workout room was bigger than the one at Stark Towers, it was more intense looking with the dark walls and no windows.

She immediately began stretching, her legs, then her arms and anything else she needed. She went behind the punching bag to hold it steady for him.

They didn't say anything for a while, the only sound filling the room was of fists hitting leather. Rina couldn't stand it, it never used to be this awkward between them, they used to talk about everything.

"How are you?" She asked softly, not knowing what else to say

Maxim didn't say anything only hit the bag harder. Rina waited, she knew he would crack, if there was one thing she knew about for certain was that he had a temper and broke easily.

"Maxim" she started but he kicked the bag and the momentum knocked her backwards where she fell to the floor.

She scoffed and got up, "I just wanted to talk" she said quietly.

He scoffed and sent another punch to the bag, the force made the chains creak from the force.

"I told you to run and not look back" he said facing away from her, peeling the tape from his hands,

"You know what they want to do to us! You should have stayed gone, Ekaterina!" He turned back around to face her and she saw that his face was red and she flinched slightly as his voice got louder.

She didn't know that he cared that much. He wasn't really one to express his feelings and this place had taught her to hide hers as well.

She tried to meet his eyes but he wouldn't look at her. She walked towards him,

"I tried. I really did. I had to come back, I couldn't let him hurt them" she admitted quietly, not sure who else could be listening.

He scoffed,

"You need to put yourself first Ekaterina Nikita. I swear you'll be the death of us both" a slight smile had appeared on his lips which made her grin. Maybe he wasn't as mad as she thought.

"I haven't let you down yet" she teased, giving him a playful nudge on the shoulder.

He stumbled back like she had actually punched him and held his shoulder like he was in pain,

"You wound me" he said mockingly

Rina laughed but stopped as soon as the door swung open.

Both children straightened up and stared straight ahead, eyes glued to the wall in front of them, neither moved as Alexi walked into the room.

"Are you ready for training?" He asked but both kids knew that they didn't have a choice, it was either do as he says or die, they had seen others make that mistake.

"Get into the ring. You'll be fighting each other today" he said simply before going to sit on the bench near the ring.

Rina and Maxim looked at each other, confused. They had never fought each other before. They always fought Hydra agents or other teachers.

Rina was the first to move, she knew better than making him ask twice. She ducked into the ring and Maxim soon followed. She got into a fighting stance and he mirrored her. She looked into Maxim's eyes but she couldn't read him, the sadness from before had returned but there was something else's as well but she couldn't place it. Alexi's voice interrupted her thoughts,

«начать!» (Begin!)

Rina didn't move, she remembered that Maxim always attacked first so she wanted him to come to her, she knew she could win that way. And she was right, Maxim came running at her and she dodged the punch he threw at her right shoulder. She sent a kick to his side and punch to his cheek but it didn't do anything more than make him mad, he yelled in irritation and sent a kick which she ducked and kicked his feet out from underneath him. Once he was on the ground she tried to pin his arms but he was stronger than her.

After a few moments of struggle she knew she would lose so she kneed him in the groin and while he recovered from that she got up. She quickly looked over at Alexi who was only watching with an unimpressed look. She knew she had to impress him or they both would be punished.

As she blocked Maxim's attacks she thought of what to do. But as she had been thinking, Maxim sent a punch directly to her nose. She heard a loud crack and knew it was broken. But it had given her enough time to form a plan. Something in her mind clicked and she knew what to do.

She blocked his punch before sending her own that hit its target on his shoulder. She then sent a poorly aimed kick to his side with the intention of him catching it. Which he did, he smiled thinking that he was about to win but looked scared when she smiled back. With her foot in his hands, she used him as a step stool and wrapped her thighs around his neck, her momentum knocking him to the ground where she pinned him. She knew Maxim wouldn't be able to get out of her hold but he didn't tap out so she held it, she glanced over at Alexi, he was now standing at the edge of the ring, a smirk on his face.

"Good, Ekaterina" he said smiling at her before turning his gaze on Maxim, his smile fading into a scowl,

"I expect better from you, boy" he snarled getting into the ring. He held out his hand to Ekaterina, she took it and got up, standing next to him. Alexi crouched down next to his son who was still on the floor, his cheek starting to bruise from where she had hit him. Alexi reaches out and traced the outline of the bruise almost in a loving way before grabbing the boy by his hair and forcing him to stand,

"You disappoint me. How can you expect to be the next Red Guardian if you can not control the asset?" He spit at the boy, who was still being held by his hair to face his screaming father.

The boy didn't say anything only allowed his father to continue yelling at him. Ekaterina has not missed this, Alexi would often be the hardest on Maxim and her so they had both learned from an early age to detach from their emotions and take the yelling, beatings and anything else that would be thrown their way.

"Do you have anything to say?" The man snarled

The boy met his father's eyes,

"No, sir" as all he could say without his voice breaking

Alexi rolled his eyes,

"Pathetic" was all he said as he released the boy from his iron grip, letting him fall to the floor.

The man watched the boy writhe on the floor before saying,

"You are not yet ready" he then turned to Ekaterina, who did not flinch as he approached her,

"But you? You are ready for the final test"

She internally cringed as he smiled but outwardly she kept her face emotionless as she stood tall and nodded, accepting her fate.

Alexi began walking toward the door, she followed behind only pausing once she got to the door, turning around she say Maxim now standing in the middle of the ring, she gave him a small wave which he returned before walking out the door. She had to walk a bit faster to catch up with the man's long strides.

He led her down hallways she had never been down before,

"You know, I had hoped that you and my son would be doing this together but I suppose one asset is better, there can be no distractions that way" he said to her

She didn't know what to say. The Red Guardian never talked about anything personal. She was about to argue when he stopped in front of an unmarked door. He opened it and walked in.

Inside the room she saw four Hydra agents behind a figure strapped to a chair. The figure had their wrists and ankles bound to the chair and a bag was covering their face. Bruises covered the man and blood was running from the cut on his collarbone. But Rina recognizes one thing about them. The symbol on the jacket. A bird. It was the SHIELD logo. Her heart dropped to her feet.

She kept her face blank as she took it all in. What was a shield agent doing here? She looked up at Alexi a confused look on her face.

"Our agents have gotten as much information out of him as they could. We no longer have any more use for him" Alexi said like it was simple.

She still didn't understand,

"What do you want me to do about it?" She didn't know what was happening, she wasn't trained in torture, why was she there?

He simply handed her a gun and she understood. She weighed her options she could probably only take out two agents before she was overpowered, she could shoot Alexi and then deal with the agents or her final option was to kill the agent.

She was too young to make this decision. She is only thirteen, she should be a kid, not the judge, jury and executioner to an innocent man. She thought back to what Bucky had told her that day in the garden, that who they are and who they need to be to survive are different but this wasn't a life or death situation,he was wrong, she is a bad person. She is nothing but a monster with a choice to make; whether or not add more blood to her already crimson hands. But her mind was made up.

She felt the guns weight in her hand before raising her arm up and firing off a single shot.

Bang

Ok I know I said I wouldn't update but I needed a break from studying! The song greatly inspired this chapter (I absolutely love Florence and the Machine) Do you guys listen to the music in books? I always do. If it's something you guys want more often I'll add songs to all of my chapters!! The next chapter will be about the Avengers so get ready for that! Have a good day/night!
Xo,
Renee