Breaking The Habit

by TheTwoDevils

Chapter 1: ARMY TWINS - Part 1

Notes:

Welcome to the story! It is written in an alternating point of view way, like the roleplay that it was. This is our first story on AO3 so we're only getting to know how all of this works.
It's written by 3 people, with only 2 points of view at any given time though, and 2 out of the co-authors are not native English speakers.
This is a work of fiction, and does not reflect reality, especially considering it's a HTF fanfic.
Character's are OOC, some more than others.
We do not own the characters, they are owned by Mondo Media, we only own the plot.
Leave kudos and comments and all, thanks! A&M

"Oh God, it's finally finished."
That was the first thought to cross Flippy's mind in the evening. This run really got him, just as he thought he was used to the harsh training. He felt like he couldn't even take one more step. He opened the tent flaps and fell right onto his bed.

After a while, he turned onto his bed to have a bit of fresh air. It had been over a year since the two brothers had enrolled in the army, and nearly every day had been training. Usually, Flippy didn't mind, but sometimes the exhaustion took him without warning. As he lay there, staring at the top of the tent, he heard noises from outside and then a rustle.

Maybe Fliqpy. They'd been sharing a tent from the very first day. Flippy sighed, too tired to roll over and see.

***

"You, what's up bro? You liked the training?" Fliqpy shook the tent pole as usual, knowing it annoyed Flippy, "I found it sort of refreshing. Nothing better than a few miles of running, right?" He threw his jacket off and fell onto his bed next to his brother, giving a sigh of satisfaction.

***

Flippy groaned and rolled to his side, back facing his brother,
"Cut it out Fliq...You're too noisy..."
The idea of throwing something at Fliqpy crossed his mind but he was too tired to fight. His legs and arms felt like iron and the mattress below him felt like it was covered in glue.

***

"Cheer up, Flip! You'll be grateful when we get to the front for real!"
He paused for a moment,
"Fuck this, I can't sit still."
Fliqpy fell off the side of the bed and started doing press-ups. He finished his round of 30 and sat back on the side of the bed.
"I am so pumped after this run."
He hit his brother's shoulder playfully, but at the limit.

***

"Ugh, seriously?"
Okay, maybe the idea from before wasn't bad after all. Flippy rolled to his other side to glare at Fliqpy, grabbing the cushion, and he threw it, putting in all the strength his tired body could muster. He really didn't want to play right now. A chuckle escaped his lips at the sight of the pillow hitting his brother right in the face.

***

"Not so harsh, princess delicate!" joked Fliqpy, seeing his brother's 'attack'. He was in the mood for laughing, so he took his own pillow and exchanged the favour.

***

Flippy managed to grab the pillow and throw it back at Fliqpy and sat down with a sigh and a smile. Fliqpy really knew how to flip his mood around.

He chuckled, seeing the light in his brother's eyes. He was always so energetic.

"If you're so excited, you can run five miles again. You look like you're up to the task."

**

"I'll pass," said Fliqpy, and they both started laughing. Their laughter started to fade when they heard sirens in the distance.
"Oh, shit!"
Fliqpy jumped from his bed, pulled his jacket on, grabbed his rifle, spare ammo, and bag of supplies.
"We're being attacked."
"Why now?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
The two yelled, panicking as they ran out of their tent, seeing hostile aircraft above them.

Flippy was following his brother close. The noises were so loud, he had to stop his hands from protecting his ears.

An airplane noise, even louder than the others, was heard above their heads. It was an enemy's plane.

Flippy's eyes widen in horror as he saw an object fall from the bottom of one of them.

 

"BOMB !"

 

He cried and ran to his brother to pin him to the ground, at the same moment when the bomb touched the ground.

 

.............

 

The two fell to the ground together, trying to protect themselves as they felt the impact in their bones. As soon as the wave was over though, Fliqpy got up and dragged his brother up along with him.

"We need to split up and do something ! We can't hide because there are enemies around, we need to try and kill them, before they'll do it to us."

He said quickly and with that handed his brother the ammo he had and ran off in the opposite direction.

 

..........

 

Flippy nodded. After his brother went his own way, he just stood there for a couple of second, his mind finally realizing what's going on. The camp is down, there are enemies and dangers all around. And he just stood there like a sheep ready to be eaten.

He shook his head and focused. They have been trained for this.

He started walking, searching for enemies.

As he walked, an enemy nearly ran into him from a corner. The man's eyes widened as he recognized him. He aimed his gun. Flippy was faster than him. The man fell to the floor, not moving.

Flippy pushed away the thought of having killed someone for the first time into the corner of his mind. It wasn't the right time for that. He continued walking, killing every enemy standing in his way. He saw a lot of death from his side but he pushed it away too. He will deal with it later.

Suddenly, he heard a shot behind him and he was pushed forward with an awful pain exploding in his shoulder.

 

.............

 

Fliqpy ran his own way, searching for enemies, having encountered too many to count, shooting them, keeping a cool head as he let himself be a ruthless killer. He was just a split second away from killing another one, when he stopped. He got a weird feeling in his gut and it knocked his concentration off. And that was enough for the other one to shoot him first. He fell to the ground, with an awful pain in his chest. But then the other soldier just ran off, probably scared off by someone else, since he didn't finish him off.

He thought this was it. He was gonna bleed to death right there. But that feeling hit him again and he somehow knew he had to find his brother. He got up, and with one arm tightly gripping his chest, and a loaded rifle in the other one, he started walking slowly searching for his brother.

 

.........

 

Flippy fell flat to the ground. Even if it wasn't fatal, the bullet wound was hurting and didn't allow him to use his left arm. He heard the enemy who shot him walking close, certainly to check if he was alive. Flippy closed his eyes, allowing him to walk closer. When he heard the footsteps being less than one meter away from him, he opened his eyes and aimed a bullet right into the guy's heart. He got up on his feet as fast as he could while the body fell to the floor.

He felt like his guts were crushed below an unknown force.

His brother.

Where was his brother?

He forgot about the pain in his arm and started running, searching for Fliqpy.

When he finally saw him, his heart skipped a beat.

Literally.

His brother was hurt. And it looked like he didn't hear the enemy behind him, aiming at his head.

Flippy quickly slid to his knees, teeth gritted when the shock got to his injured shoulder. He aimed in the split of a second, held his breath and fired.

The guy fell. Flippy sighed with relief, panting.

....................

Fliqpy heard an enemy behind him, but before he could shoot him a bullet flew by him and did it for him. He saw his brother on his knees, with his rifle up and panting.

"Flippy !"

He yelled and ran over to him.

"Oh god we need to get out of here."

He helped his brother up and helped him walk toward a medical point, where they could get help. He could taste the blood in his mouth but he didn't care, he blanked it all out and just concentrated on getting himself and his brother to safety.

.......

"Fliqpy... you're hurt... God you're bleeding !"

Flippy felt himself start to panic when he saw the blood dripping from his brother's chest. He kept on walking straight to the "safe" point. No place is truly safe at times like this, but there they could find medical help. He snapped out of his scared thoughts when he heard a bullet fly right next to his ear. He turned his head to the soldier who did this, but he only saw a man falling, his brother already having taken care of him.

They had to go to the medical point. He just had to stay focused until then.

The first thing Flippy did when they got to the safe place was force his brother to sit down. He didn't let him have any choice and he walked off immediately, to search for any available doctor to patch his brother's bullet injury in the chest.

............

Fliqpy sat down as his brother walked off looking for help. If they were alone they probably wouldn't be able to survive, but together they were stronger. Soon when two medics arrived, they took care of both himself and his twin. It turned out the bullet went clean through his brother's arm, that's why he bled a lot, but it was stuck in his chest and they needed to take it out. God, he already knew this was going to be so painful, but he sucked it up and stayed quiet, his pride giving him the bravery. He lied down and let them do their job, while his brother sat next to him.

.................

Flippy knew his brother was strong, but he couldn't help but feel a bit scared. A bullet in the chest isn't your everyday illness, even more when it's taken care of in the middle of heavy combat. He was still hearing some gunfire outside, worrying about enemies getting in. The doctors couldn't give Fliqpy anesthetics because they were keeping it for serious cases. So they had to extract the bullet from his brother's chest and he would have to take all the pain.

Flippy gritted his teeth at the same time Fliqpy did just at the thought of how painful it would be. He was very lucky to just have a few stitches and a bandage around his arm and not going through this hell of a pain.

..........

When they were taking out the bullet Fliqpy kept quiet, only hissing through gritted teeth sometimes, but he sure was relieved when they've finished and bandaged him up. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach, there was just too much going on, but he knew he had to get up and get to work. Being injured, didn't give him an excuse right now, so he decided if he can't take part in the combat, he'll regroup with the logistics and help with the distribution of supplies.

...........

Flippy opened his mouth to protest when his brother stood up. Only to shut it a second later. Fliqpy had this look on his face. The look that told him he couldn't convince him to sit still, to not make his injury worse, anyway.

He sighed, got up and followed him, helping with distribution of supplies.

By doing it, he always had his hand close to his riffle, and always an eye on the entrance. Not knowing what's going on was killing him. At one point, he just couldn't keep on going without knowing what was happening outside, if they were losing or winning. So he got to the entrance, his rifle out and ready, and tried to get a glimpse of how far was the fight.

........

Fliqpy spotted his brother making his way towards the exit of the bunker to see how things were and followed him. And the results were looking good. The troops were all over the area, hidden and ready, and not many enemies were remaining. There were no more plains in the air either.

But then he saw something that made him freeze. A pile of dead soldiers on the side, who's bodies would be burnt in a few minutes. There was no time to bury them, they had to win, help the injured, and move their camp to a different position and rebuild it. There was simply no time to deal with the corpses in any other way. Taking advantage of the fact that his brother was looking at the fighting area, he grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

"Lets get back to work"

.......

Flippy was filled up with hopes. They were winning ! All the troops had to do, was deal with the remaining enemies, and that was it. Fliqpy was right, going back to work was a better option. By that, they would help, and moving to another place would be faster. Piece of cake. And with a bit goofy smile, he got back to work, lucky for him, his brother got him away, before he saw the pile of corpses, leaving the thought he pushed away earlier in the corner of his mind, he sure wouldn't want it to get out now.

...........

3 days later, Fliqpy was feeling a bit ill, but that was the routine for him. He voluntarily went back to training, after they rebuilded their camp, a few miles down south from where they were attacked. He was just in the middle of his run, when his brother caught up to him.

...........

"Hey bro ! Are you okay ? I mean, since the attack you look more tired than before. Even if you came back to training you always look more down than before by the end. "

Flippy was smiling but his eyes were showing a bit of hidden concern. His brother was a bit of a proud man and he just wouldn't show his weaknesses, but sometimes it could lead to his downfall. So when Flippy saw him being a bit less energetic after that last accident, he couldn't help but feel worried.

...........

"Don't worry, I'm just fine bro."

Fliqpy replied. Obviously his body was affected by the injury, and he just couldn't forget about the pile of corpses he saw the other day, but he knew he had to suck it up and carry on. This was their life after months of training, and he liked it in a way. At least he could wear himself out during training. To prove himself, he sped up to the front of the group and ahead of his brother, while quickly adding,

"Watch out with that arm of yours."

...........

Flippy chuckled. Fliqpy just liked to do that sort of thing. And he knew that Flippy wasn't the best at long run. He was more of a sprinter. Even with this demonstration, he couldn't shake off the feeling of something being wrong with his brother. He was feeling it in his guts. At the end of the run, a panting Flippy came to his bro to challenge him to a shoot-off between two big breaths and checking discretely on him at the same time.

.............

The two headed for the shooting area and prepared themselves for the shooting. They decided on seeing who scores more points in three shots to three boards each at a different distance. Flippy went first, and Fliqpy knew the pain in his shoulder made it hard for him to hold the rifle. Similarly for Fliqpy, it made it hard for him to keep his posture after the chest injury, and keep his mind focused. They were done and they went to check the scores. To their surprise it was a perfect draw.

"I'm still better than you."

Fliqpy teased as he walked off.

"Oh, you wish."

Flippy added. Neither of them really was any better when it came to shooting. But they kept on arguing either way. When someone called them over to the headquarters. Well, they must have a new mission. Fliqpy had a bad feeling about it...

.........

Flippy entered the tent first. He was surprised to see higher ranks. He just thought they will see their corporal. After all, they are just privates.
Flippy didn't know how to act. He just stood there, next to his brother, the gazes of the people in the tent on them. He was intimidated. Those peoples were on the battlefield for a longer time than them, and they must have seen more attacks, maybe some more deadly. When he glanced at his brother, he found him straight up with a calm and confident face.

..........

Fliqpy was confused but decided to keep his cool and stood straight at attention, keeping his emotions on a short leash. He knew straight off the bat this was more than any normal mission. The ranks of the people surrounding them were too high for it to be a normal one.

"Okay, you probably already know it, but you will have an important mission to do, both of you." one of the officers started.

" We want you to go back to where our old camp was and search through the bodies of the enemies that are still there. I doubt they'd remove them, it would cost them too much time. All we need is intel. You'll depart tomorrow, from the landing zone at 7am."

The two saluted and were about to head out, having their instructions given, when he resumed speaking.

"But watch out. The enemies might get the same idea."

And that was enough to get Fliqpy thinking. Just how bad could it get?

.............

While they were back in their tent to pack up some stuff, Flippy finally let out a question that was in his head for some time after their call at the head quarter.

"Why do you think they're sending us ?"

He closed his bag of ammo at this thought said out loud. Then he turned to his brother who was finished too, waiting for his response.

"It's just... we're only privates. Did they choose at random ?"

................

"It's a possibility that they looked for low ranked soldiers on purpose. But If that's the case we don't want to know the reason."

Fliqpy replied as he zipped his bag up ready for the next day.

"We should rest now, it's an early start tomorrow."

He laid down on his bed and his brother did too. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Not with all the thoughts in his head. It was obvious that they chose them purposely. And whatever the reason was, it was bad. This whole situation was just hopeless. He was lying in bed, not sleeping but thinking of ways he would protect the two of them, if something was to happen. But his mind was blank and he got only frustrated at his incompetence...

.............

Flippy was staring at nothing. Laying in bed, what his brother said keeping him up. He was having a bad feeling with this mission.
Maybe they knew it was nearly impossible and didn't want to send higher ranks or good soldiers if they have to die there. Maybe they just want to be sneaky so they sent only two soldiers.
Maybe, maybe, maybe...
This little game kept on going for a while at night. He could hear his brother moving in his bed, not sleeping either.
At one point, Flippy just sighed and sat on his bed. He needed a walk to wash all these thoughts out of his head. He wouldn't be efficient tomorrow if he missed out on too much sleep, and it was going to be a busy day.
Flippy gout out of his bed, under the curious gaze of his brother and walked out of the tent. Before exiting, he turn around to face his brother.

"Hey, I can't sleep. I'm going out a bit, I need to take a walk. Care to join ?"

.........

"Sure.."

Fliqpy replied and walked out together with his brother. The two walked in silence for a while, to clear their minds, knowing they don't need to say a word, both of them were thinking the same thing. Fliqpy wasn't surprised his brother couldn't sleep either, so it was probably a good idea to walk around and get some fresh air.

.........

The fresh air of the night sent a shiver down Flippy's spine. He didn't notice that the tent was so warm inside until he stepped outside.
After walking a bit around the camp, both of them sat next to the training place.
Flippy was looking at the stars, forgetting a bit about tomorrow's mission. He lied down, thinking about the past time he and his brother did that. Everything was calm. And the atmosphere was as refreshing as the air, getting the bad ideas out for some times.
When he turned to face Fliqpy, he noticed the tired and concerned look on his face. So he whispered a question, not wanting to disturb the silence too much.

"Hey. How are you ?" Then he smiled "Don't worry too much about tomorrow. It'll be just fine. They sent us because we were the best !"

Okay it was a half lie, but just saying it helped him too.

..........

Fliqpy replied with a full of confidence smile. The two got up and walked back to their tent. But Fliqpy himself knew he was lying. He just tried to comfort his brother. It felt awful to not know the details, and just remembering the grim expressions of the faces of the officers in the headquarters, was enough for him to get even more worried and frustrated. But he pushed it all aside. Truth be told, even if there was a reason as such for them, two privates, to be chosen for a high level mission, they knew they had to get back. They will have to trust each other, and do their best to come back either way. The reasons weren't important. The outcomes were. And with that thought he smiled wider as he sat on his bed opposite his brother.

"Let's get some sleep eh Flips ? Night."

He said and layed down.

"Night"

His brother did so too. And to their own surprise they actually fell asleep.

..............

Flippy growled as his brother shake him awake.

"Hmmm.... not now Fliq'... let me sleep a bit more..."

He turned away from him and started dozing off again. Until a pillow in the face finished the job waking him up.
Flippy glared at his bro before the memory hit him. That was the day. He stood up and equipped rapidly under the gaze of his already prepared brother.
The two of them exited the tent and ran to the meeting point where a helicopter was waiting for them.

..............

The two hopped in, and the helicopter took off. Fliqpy was holding a map of the area, having all the danger zones and points where bombs were dropped marked with a marker, he studied it to find the best way to get all the information they need.
The two sat down opposite each other, Fliqpy still lost in the map studying, while Flippy felt sleepy so he laid down to just rest some more.

"This is gonna be disgusting..."

...............

Flippy yawned. His eyes were closing by themselves.
He woke up when Fliqpy hit him in the shoulder, carefully hitting the not injured one.

He got up, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at his brother and had a glance to the map he was studying.

The pilot said that they need to jump with a parachute because it will be too noisy to land if there were enemies down there.
Flippy took a parachute and couldn't resist the temptation and give his brother a little... push, to help him jump out. While they were falling, Flippy was chuckling at his brother's face and the adrenaline. He was so excited to start the mission.

.........

Fliqpy couldn't help but laugh when they fell out of the airplane. It felt amazing, but they had to open their parachutes soon enough. They started to slowly drift towards the ground where they landed, and took their parachutes off. They quickly packed them into their bags, and took off by foot. Soon enough they saw their destination. What was left from the camp and the forest after the attack, all ruined, almost unrecognisable, and a whole lot of corpses, and pieces of human bodies, they had to check over.

"Remember I said this will be disgusting ? That's exactly what I meant..."

Fliqpy said as the two stared at the scene.

"I'll check the people, you dig under the ruins" he added, not wanting his brother to be traumatized by the corpses, and got to work, keeping quiet in case there would be enemies nearby, although the place seemed completely abandoned, but they couldn't take anything for granted.

Chapter 2: ARMY TWINS - Part 2

When they arrived at the place, Flippy's jaw dropped. There were so many corpses. Both enemies and allies. He didn't notice it when they left the camp.
He nodded with a blank stare at his brother's order, walking in the direction of the ruins.
He searched some fallen tents and ruins, ignoring the bodies as much as he could but he didn't find anything so far.
At one time, his eyes met the empty ones of a corpse. This one was a young man. He must have been the same age as him and his brother. As he approached to close his eyes, a thought came to his mind.
This corpse could be his brother or him.
Almost immediately, Flippy threw the thought in the corner of his mind with the others that were bothering him.
Suddenly, he heard a noise to his right. He focused and took out his rifle.

 

"Fliq' ?" he whispered.

 

It wasn't Fliqpy. It was an enemy.
He shot. Not even paying attention to aiming. He just shot in the direction of the man before he got the chance. Flippy watched the man fall on the ground, growling in pain. He hesitated and shot him again, headshot, finishing him off. Then he turned around to search for his brother to tell him about what's just happened.

 

..............

 

Fliqpy walked his separate way, rolling corpses over etc, not paying attention, he just blocked everything out. He heard a noise and turned to the side. He aimed his rifle but saw nothing.

 

"Who's there ?!"

 

He asked firmly into the emptiness, but was greeted with silence. Before he knew it, someone grabbed him from behind. He dropped his rifle, and someone hit him hard on the back of his head and he slowly passed out as they dragged him away. He only just managed to snap the thin chain with his dog tags on it and let them fall, without the enemies realising, as a sign for his brother. He could only hope he'd see them and get the message.

 

..................

 

Flippy came back to where he and his brother separated.
Because the scene shocked him a bit, he was able to see that some corpses have been moved, probably by Fliqpy. So he went in the direction of the trail, his rifle up and his mind focused, glancing sometimes behind himself to not take another bullet in the arm.
The silence was nearly as unsettling, as the unmoving environment. He knew enemies were there, but none were giving up their positions.
Flippy started panicking when he figured out that he wasn't finding his brother for a longer while. He really had a bad feeling about it and all he wanted was to call for him. But he couldn't. The enemies will know where he was.
A sparkle on the ground caught his attention. After taking a quick look around, he knelt down to pick it up. It was pair his brother's pair of dog tags. His eyes immediately filled with panic. Where was he? Why were his dog tags here? It seemed like the thin chain was. Forcefully snapped, maybe he was attacked ?
A noise close to him made his head snap up, only to see a rifle hitting him harshly on the side of his head. The force of the blow pushed him to the ground as the pain was burning the left side of his head.
His vision was blurry and he could feel a bit of blood pouring down the place he had been hit as he weakly tried to get up.
A second blow took him on a one-way journey to black out land.

 

..............

 

Fliqpy growled in anger, his eyes shining in madness after receiving yet another hit. They dragged him into one of the buildings and tied him up with ropes, then started interrogating him using brute force. He gave up on counting the number of blows he received, as he felt blood trickling down his head, from various scratches and his split lip and nose.

 

"I won't tell you shit!"

 

He kept on playing tough the more they interrogated him, when his brother was pushed through the door. 

"Well, now we have them both."

One of the enemies said. There were only three in total.

"Don't you dare touch him !"

 

.............................

 

When Flippy regained consciousness, he figured out that he was dragged by someone. His hands were tied up behind his back and his rifle and his brother's tags have disappeared. 
His head was in pain and he could feel a wet trail on his left cheek. 
When the man who was dragging him saw he was awake, he pulled him harshly up onto his feet and pushed him with his rifle to make him walk.
They finally entered a building. There were sounds of hitting, growls and quiet groans of pain. 
The guy shoved him in a room. There, was his brother. He wasn't looking good. At all. When Flippy saw the two guys in blue uniforms next to him, he understood. They wanted information.
The enemy forced him to kneel in front of his beaten up brother, he tried to fight it but the man was stronger than him, and Flippy was the one who took two strong blows on the head recently. 
The one who dragged him here went to talk with one of the enemies who were in the room. He handed him a couple of dog tags. By looking at his naked neck, Flippy realised he must have taken his pair too while he was unconscious, as well as his brother's. The enemy smiled and looked at him, then at Fliqpy.
He came behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, making him tense slightly. The two others came behind Fliqpy and kept him still. Flippy tried to keep a straight face but he was slightly panicking inside.

"So... You want to play the strong man hm ? But, you will have to give us what we want. If you don't want your brother to get a bullet in the head."

Flippy's eyes widened a bit at the feeling of cold metal of the gun on his right temple. All he did was shake his head slightly in fear. If the enemies wanted any information, even if he didn't know what it was, it must be bad news if they told them what they wanted to hear.

............

"Let us go, we're only privates ! We don't know anything !"

Fliqpy added seeing his brother's panicked face. Who was he kidding ? He was panicking himself, he just didn't show it.

"Oh, you must know something!"

The guy added and stood behind him. Fliqpy had no choice but to play dangerous. He had an idea of what will happen beforehand, so he had a hidden dagger in his sleeve. He let it fall and cut the ropes, unnoticed by others.

"So, what will it be ?"

The soldier urged. Fliqpy needed a distraction, to make his final move, But didn't know what to do!
He looked at his brother with a blank expression, and then got an idea, although it was a longshot. He grinned.

"What are you grinning at?! "

One of the soldiers asked him harshly and hit him in the head with his rifle. To that, Fliqpy bursted out laughing.

"What's so funny ?!"

He repeated himself.

"You still don't understand?! Why should I give a shit about him?! Kill him if you want I won't tell you shit !"

Fliqpy said to everyone's shock.

..............

Flippy was so surprised by what his brother just said that he even forgot to hide his shock. Confusion and a bit of hurt was all over his face.
It... it had to be fake. He didn't know why he would say that otherwise. Flippy trusted his brother more than anyone. So he kept a hurt mask on his face, even going so far as making his eyes a bit watery. It's not like he could do much more about it. 
The guy lowered his gun a bit.

"So you don't care ?"

He slowly took out a knife.

"Let's see..."

And he stabbed Flippy right in his injured shoulder. Flippy, taken off guard by the sudden pain let a little squeak of pain and surprise escape his lips, before gritting his teeth, when the enemy took out the blade. The guy was watching Fliqpy all that time, searching for any trace of a reaction.

...............

Fliqpy had to play along, he cocked an eyebrow and smirked a bit. But he could almost feel a slight burn in his own shoulder, and the guilt for letting them do this to his brother.

"That's fair enough, so we will just kill him"

The three soldiers turned to face flippy, who looked absolutely terrified, and the one aimed his gun at him. But that was just what fliqpy wanted, the distraction he needed. He put a finger to his lips gesturing for flippy to stay quiet, and took out a knife and a grenade. He swiftly stabbed the guy with the gun in the neck, causing a fountain of blood, took his gun and shot the second one in them head. The third one however manged to grab him, but he simply grabbed his jacket and threw him over his shoulder, before stabbing him in the throat then the heart. He made sure they were done, and untied his brother. He activated the grenade and the two ran out of the building, hearing the loud explosion just when they turned the corner.

...............

When they got away from the building and reckoned it was far enough, Flippy stopped, panting. 
Fliqpy was covered in blood, and so was he. He managed to wipe some blood off his face.

"God... That... That was close..."

As the adrenaline came down, he managed to breathe better. He looked at his brother.

"Thanks..."

He smiled a bit, his mind still totally foggy.

...............

Fliqpy didn't reply. He looked down at the ground leaning on his legs, feeling worse than ever.
How could he do it ?! How could he let his own twin brother be hurt this badly, and still look at him heartlessly ?!
It was such an awful feeling, he buried it deep within his mind, and then stood up, not letting his emotions win. He helped his brother, bandaging his shoulder.

"Let's get moving."

He said after finishing, and held his rifle, that he retrieved, tightly as he walked off, his brother following close behind. He called in for a helicopter and the two headed for the pick up point, to get to the camp.
But as much as this situation shook him to the core, and scared the living daylight out of him, he still kept his cool. He knew what he had to do once he got back to the camp...

................

 

While they were waiting for the helicopter, Flippy handed his brother a clean wipe.

"You have blood on your... everywhere. If the helicopter pilot would see you like that, he would think you're a moving corpse."

Flippy was feeling phantom pain all over his body. He felt exhausted even if he wasn't the one to take all the blows. He put a hand over his now bandaged shoulder that hurt when he moved too much.
Still, he was worried about Fliqpy. When he stepped for the first time inside the room, he looked pretty bad. He didn't know how many times he has been hit before he arrived because he was unconscious. Even if his brother was still playing a bit cocky and okay, his posture and the bruises on his face were telling otherwise.
When the helicopter arrived, the pilot looked at them with a horrified look.

"Holy fuck you guys, what happened to you ?!"

 ...................

"You don't wanna know"

 

Fliqpy said and glared slightly at the pilot. He then put the tissue away not bothering to clean himself up, and helped his brother to get inside, before making him lay down.

 

"Get us to the camp, and hurry the fuck up!"

 

He yelled, clearly annoyed, to the pilot who just did his job and the machine moved up towards the air.

 

"Rest up, bro. You should"

 

he said and pulled a beret on his face, while half leaning against the side of the helicopter. But he did it purposely. He used the beret to cover the few tears that rolled down his cheeks.

 

.............

 

Flippy nodded and said weakly something along the line of "you should too" before sitting down, his back pressed against the wall, his eyes closing slowly.
Strangely, this relatively quick part of the mission felt like hours. But if he would have to look back at his day, it would be something like walking through a fog. Started off with him being rather sleepy, then the adrenaline rush kicked in, his brother disappeared, and they almost died. And now it suddenly all went back to the sleepy fog, like a carousel ride.
While he was dozing off, Flippy chuckled quietly at this thought. And just before his eyes closed for a good old helicopter nap, Flippy mumbled out:

 

"Thanks... for saving my life bro...."

 

The death and the blood, pushed in the far corner of his mind, out of reach.

 

...........

 

Fliqpy sat there, but couldn't sleep, he was silently crying, especially after hearing what his brother said. He couldn't help the guilt he felt deep down. But just as they were descending, he wiped his face off with his sleeve, rubbing some of the blood off too, and put on the professional mask of a soldier. He gently nudged his brother to wake up and the two walked outside.

 

"Go to the infirmary, I'll be there in a moment, I just need to deal with something right now."

 

He said and walked off his own way. He went to the headquarters and without a warning just walked right in. Everyone just stared at him in shock.

 

"YOU."

 

He said loudly pointing at the officer who was in charge of their mission.

 

"You did this PURPOSELY! You sent us, to see what will happen! You KNEW there were enemies there, but you wanted to be sure, so you haven't risked any skilled soldiers, NO! You sent TWO PRIVATES to their DOOM!

 

He stopped for a moment before continuing, walked up to him and grabbed him harshly by the collar.

 

"YOU ALMOST KILLED MY BROTHER!!!"

 

He yelled when something completely unexpected happened. The officer struck him in the head so hard he fell to the ground and his vision went blurry, his ears ringing and his balance was off as the world swirled around. Just when his brother walked into the tent after hearing his voice.

 

...........

 

Flippy was just very, very confused seeing the scene in front of him. He heard his brother scream with an angry tone, and just before he entered the tent to see what was going on, his vision went a bit blurry for some reason and then his brother was on the ground in front of an officer.
The only reason Flippy could find, was that his brother was angry that they failed at their task, and he collapsed because of his injuries.
Flippy quickly went to his brother's side and helped him stand up. Then he looked at the officer who had a look of cold anger on his face.

"I'm sorry for what happened, sir. The mission has failed and we got injured pretty badly. I'm gonna help him get to the infirmary and then I'll come back to give you the full report."

With these words, he quickly exited the tent before the officer could respond, holding his brother firmly, to make sure he didn't move, and took him to the infirmary.

As soon as the medic finished taking care of his injuries, his shoulder and his head, and started looking over his brother, and Flippy got out of the tent and got back to the headquarters. There, he explained what happened on the mission. He clearly saw that the officer was still a bit angry at whatever Fliqpy did or said before he got to the tent. 
After that, they gave him some new dogs tags, for both of the twins.
Flippy quickly came back to the infirmary, nearly bumping into his brother who was heading out. He gave him his new dog tags and they both went to their tent in silence.

 

---

 

(couple of weeks timeskip)

 

---

 

Fliqpy couldn't get the guilt out of his mind and developed quite an obsession. He ate very little to none, and lost weight dramatically, and started training double as much as he usually would, doing extra laps of running, press-ups and sit-ups. No one really paid attention to him though as he didn't drag any to himself. After that incident he also grew distant to his brother, feeling the guilt of what happened. He was motivated to get stronger at all costs. 

Until one day, he had no food once again, and was doing yet another five mile run, while his brother was doing some shooting. At the fifth mile, his starved and overworked body gave in at the immense pressure of him pushing himself further and further, and he passed out cold in the middle of the training track.

...............

Flippy was a bit worried about his brother. Since the mission, they didn't spend much time together anymore. He was alway training and he became more skinny than he has ever been. Flippy always tried to find a reason for all these changes. When he tried to talk to him about it, he dodged the questions and said he was busy as an excuse to get out of it.
One day, as he was at the shooting field, training, when suddenly his vision became blurry and his balance dropped, making him totter a bit, missing the target altogether. A soldier next to him noted he suddenly became unwell, and grabbed his arm to help him stay up.

"Hey man, you okay ?"

"Y-yeah... Th... thanks."

Flippy shook his head and moved his arm away from the soldier. He had to find his brother. He had a bad feeling. 
Fliqpy said he was doing some running, so Flippy ran as fast as he could towards the running track, a mile long loop around the camp. After a bit of running without stopping even once, worry fuelling his strength, Flippy finally found his brother unconscious in the middle of the path, alone.

"Fliqpy !"

He tried to call him but he wasn't responding. Flippy knelt next to him and shook him. His brother's face was drained of all it's colour and he looked exhausted. Flippy, a bit panicked decided that the best thing to do was to take him to the infirmary. So he got together all the stamina he had left, grabbed his passed out brother onto his back, and ran straight to the infirmary.

.................

Fliqpy wanted to get up so much as he laid on the grass, and the group left him behind, but he just couldn't! He found himself so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, he was breathing harshly, unable to get oxygen into his body while his heart raced in an unsteady beat, and he felt sick to the pit of his stomach for some reason. It wasn't long before his body failed him and he passed out cold. He was stuck in darkness, no colours, no sounds, no smells, only emptiness of his mind. When he woke up he felt weaker than ever, pain all over his body, in every muscle and joint, he found it easier to breathe as he had the oxygen mask on. But then he saw his brother sitting by him with his head lowered.
How could he explain himself now? The doctors most likely knew everything and told Flippy. But he wasn't planning on telling him anything, he just wanted to get out of there and dodge the confrontation before his emotions would take the best of him.

..............

How could he not notice?!
How?!
His brother wasn't doing okay and he didn't do anything! Every time he saw him skip a meal he just thought that he will eat later! Every time he pushed him away he just thought that he had more important things to do! The signs were right there and he ignored them!
He ignored the odd feeling in his stomach with excuses and now his brother was in the infirmary.
As he was blaming himself, his eyes recorded some movement in front of him. When he quickly looked up, he saw that his brother was finally awake. 
A wave of relief filled his entire body. He smiled weakly, not knowing exactly what to say, he didn't really want to say anything either. He just wanted to hug his brother tightly, but he didn't know if he could with the oxygen mask in the way. His brother's eyes were on the ceiling, he too was silent.

"The... the Sergeant came a little earlier. He gave us a week to rest. We're going home tomorrow."

................

Fliqpy couldn't believe it ! They were actually going home for a week ! He couldn't really reply, but he was sick of it, so he took the oxygen mask off and got up ignoring his brother.

"Calm down I'm okay now." he said as he sat up and leaned forward feeling his body resist. He didn't realise just how bad it got. He knew it was hard to sleep because he was hungry, but now it was so much worse, like his body snapped. He didn't know what to say, when he did one spontaneous action.

He hugged his brother tightly and whispered softly,

"I'm sorry... For everything..."

................

At first, Flippy was surprised by his brother's action. Fliqpy wasn't usually one to open up about his feelings like that. 
After one or two seconds he wrapped his arms around him, hugging him back.

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry about it. We're going to go home and you'll have some rest there."

He brushed his hand against his brother's back soothingly, happy to see him opening up a bit, but sad because he was truly in a bad condition. This week at home will do them both a lot of good.

Chapter 3: HOLIDAYS AT HOME

Notes:

So, the twins are back home, we find out more about their family life and whatnot. Twin will both find the battles they have to fight in order to keep sane. Enjoy. A&M

Flippy knocked on the door. His brother was just behind him.
They heard some noises inside and the door opened, being replaced by the smiling face of their foster mom.

"Oh, you're already here! We thought you would arrive later! Anyway, come in! Dad's in the kitchen, he wanted to bake something for your return !"

Flippy chuckled and gained a quick hug from his mom, his brother too.

"Go put your bags in you room ! God, Fliqpy you look exhausted, we'll have to put some meat on those bones." she said pinching some skin of his arm.

Both of them climbed the stairs and went in their bedroom. It was a big one that they shared since they were children.
Flippy remembered one time when they both wanted to have their own room, but their parents were tired only thinking building a wall to separate the two rooms. So they stuck with it.
Flippy put the bag on his bed before he fell next to the bag with a sigh of relief.

 

...................

 

Fliqpy fell on his bed too. He felt happy and sad at once, not knowing what to think. After all he could not hide his state in front of his foster parents, and he could easily count his ribs, and all his muscles were popping out, visible like his skin was stretched over him. And it was his fault they were sent for a compulsory break home. He made his brother worry about him too, while striving towards becoming stronger to protect him. The last time he couldn't, now he knew he will do anything, if need would come, so he couldn't rest, he would keep on training this week off too, as much as he could.
The two got changed, and Fliqpy made sure to wear some baggy clothes to hide his skinny body from his parents, and they both walked down the stairs towards the kitchen.

 

................

 

A nice smell of cake escaped from the kitchen, as they stepped inside. Their foster father was in front of the oven, checking the cake, to make sure it wasn't burning.
Flippy approached the man, making him jump in surprise when he touched his shoulder.

"Oh, it's you! You scared the daylight out of me!"

Their foster father then chuckled at himself before pulling his sons in a big hug, both of them. He soon released them and gave them a pat on the back.

"Let me see you a bit. Wow, look at them! Strong boys!" he paused a bit. "Tell me, we are happy to have you back at home, but your mother was worried that it was because you were hurt or something like that, that's what they told us."

"Oh, we had a harsh mission a couple weeks ago. We figured out we needed a little break to be more efficient when we get back."

That wasn't truly a lie. It was only the half of what happened. Flippy knew his brother wouldn't want to worry their foster parents so he decided to not force him to hurt his pride and answered for them both.

 

..........

 

Fliqpy stayed slightly behind, afraid that his foster parents would see his skinny body. In the army the thick clothes would never let it be seen, but not here. When they finally sat by the table to eat the food he realised something even worse. He wasn't hungry, not even able to eat the food. He chewed slowly, picking at his food, feeling sick. He knew if he ate more he would be sick.

"Fliqpy, honey why won't you eat ?"

His mother asked him surprised.

"I'm... not hungry..."

He said and glanced at his brother searching for help, but he was also clueless. Should he say the truth ? Maybe it would be better if he would but he just couldn't bring himself to it, as he still felt the need to train more. His body was so used to the starvation, he started to feel sick right this moment but didn't show it, and they didn't even get to the desert.
His parents questioning gazes were still on him, when without a word he just walked away from the table up to his room.

..........

Flippy didn't know how to react. Their parents were exchanging worried glances.

"Ummm... We... had to ration out the food at the camp, I guess he isn't used to eating a lot for now."

Of course, after saying that, his mother insisted that he'll eat some more, but the excuse looked like it calmed them down a bit. Flippy felt bad, this time really lying to them, but he didn't want them to worry too much, and his brother to distance himself from them because he was uncomfortable.
When he finished, he got out of the kitchen while his parents insisted to do the dishes without his help.
He went to his room and silently closed the door behind him. His brother was on his bed. Flippy just repeated him the lie he had fed their foster parents, followed by a question.

"What happened ?"

He knew he was supposed to ask a question more of the line of "are you okay ?" or something like that, but his brother was obviously not. And it would just end up with a lie from him, just like one he just gave their parents.

........

"Sorry,... I've been sick... I... I can't eat... " Fliqpy mumbled out and sat up.

"I don't know if I should lie to them... I feel... I don't know... Forget i ever said it..."

He was tripping over the words, looking more than pale again. He stood up and wobbled, when his brother caught him.

"Woah, watch out !"

Flippy said and his brother regained his balance.

"S-sorry..."

He apologised quietly leaning on the wall.

"What the fuck is going on with me today ?!"

He cursed at his own weakness and incompetence. Seems the drastic changes he went through, from starving to eating too much and then throwing it right up, affected his body more than he thought.

"Fliqpy, tell me if something is going on."

Flippy insisted but his brother already knew what to say.

"Don't worry. I have a week to recover. I just wander... Should we tell them the truth ?"

He asked as Flippy questioned the reasons and morality of their answer.

.......

Flippy sighed.

"I really don't know... I don't want to freak them out by saying we nearly died and you started overworking yourself. But at the same time, it feels very wrong to lie like that, especially when they are so happy to see us again."

He put his arms behind his head, tapping the floor with the tip of his left foot, not knowing what to do. 
He sighed again and closed his eyes.

"Right now, all I want is you getting better. I just want you to be happy again, like before, even if it's a selfish thing to say"

..................

"Flippy, listen to me ! I'm FINE! I got a bit worn out, there's NOTHING wrong !"

Fliqpy started to get mad at his brother.

"I'll leave the choice to you. Do you want to lie to our parents like that? Those that took us in when we had nowhere to go as orphans ?! I... I just don't want them to be worried about me, there's nothing to be worried about, but they're worried by not knowing. It keeps on nagging on me, that feeling that we're not honest, even if it's in their best interests. What do you think ?"

..............

Flippy took a step back at his brother's outburst. He rubbed his arm at the place he had been shot with guilty eyes glued on the floor.

"Yeah... you're right. We should tell them."

Then he put his hand on the handle.

"I'm gonna go speak with them. Stay here and rest a bit, I'll be right back."

And he exited the room. When he entered the hall, he took a big breath before entering the living room, from were a delicious coffee smell was escaping.

...............

Fliqpy sat on the bed but he couldn't take it. Why was everything so complicated ?! He didn't need anyone to be worried about him. He needed to be stronger and stronger and stronger, to keep his brother safe. He didn't have time to rest.

He couldn't stand the wait when his parents were talking with his brother about this. He put his training clothes on and walked right out of the house, running off before anyone could stop him, to have a jog around the town.

.............

After a long talk, Flippy finally left the living room. His parents have been much more understanding than he thought they'll be, even if they seemed worried. He was happy about telling them the truth. 

When he came back to the bedroom, he found it empty. His brother wasn't there, his shoes and training clothes gone too. Flippy sighed. 
He sat by the window, lost in his thoughts. His gaze was running through the forest beside the house. A nostalgic smile came to his lips. He and his brother had played so much in this forest! 

Then, an old memory hit his mind. He got up and ran down the stairs, giving a small, "I'm out for a walk !" To his foster parents before exiting to house. 
He was walking in the forest, slowly. A lot of memories were flowing through his head. And then he finally reached the place he was heading for. 

The old hut that they built back when they were little. They used to call it the headquarters, and it was next to the river that cut the forest in half.
Flippy carefully entered and sat in the middle. This place was so calm and peaceful. He felt disconnected from everything else, like he was in another dimension. He felt like he was where he was supposed to be.

.............

Fliqpy ran through the forest. 

Away from the city and all the noises, trying to calm his nerves. He felt a bit sick, after the food he ate, but since he already threw up, he wasn't particularly concerned.
At some point he spotted something by the river that he hasn't seen in a long time.
Their old headquarters. The hut they used to play in. He walked slowly inside and to his surprise, his brother was there. He didn't know how to feel about it, so he walked over to his brother and asked him.

"Well, what did they say?"

...........

Flippy gave him an absent look.

"They said that they were proud of us for getting out of this mess alive and they'll alway be there if we need them. Dad said he was going to give you a smaller portion of food next time so you can slowly get used to eating a bit more."

He went back to staring at nothing, listening to the water running. His head was blank. He just... wanted to stay here a bit longer. Here everything was fine.

...............

"You like it here don't you ?"

Flippy only nodded at the question. Fliqpy realised how his brother felt, so he decided to let him be.

"If you want to chat, I'm there for you alright ?"

He said and his brother looked back at him and smiled.

"Sure." 

He replied and stared into the distance again. Fliqpy quietly walked out and ran off. After another hour or so of running, he got home.

"Mom, dad I'm home !"

He yelled through the house and his mum walked in front of him.

"Where have you been ?"

"I've been running. Flippy wanted to be alone for a bit in our old headquarters by the river." he said as he took his shoes off and was about to walk upstairs when she stopped him.

"Will you eat dinner with us ? At least a bit."

She looked at him concerned.

"I'm not really hungry..."

Fliqpy mumbled out, but then she carried on.

"Well then have this."

She added and then handed him a chocolate protein bar. Fliqpy smiled and took it, thanked her, and walked upstairs to his and his brother's room. He knew he wouldn't be able to eat it and he would just throw it up again. His body could not accept any food at all, he felt weak, but just couldn't do it. And it didn't matter. He'd pull through it all somehow. He wouldn't pass out like he has before, he would be stronger. For the time being he hid the chocolate bar in a shelf away from others so they'd think he ate it, and started his strength workout, doing press-ups, sit-ups and other exercises.

................

When Flippy realised it was starting to get very dark outside, he finally got out of the old hut. He stretched his muscles because he hasn't moved for a while, totally lost in his thoughts. He decided to jog on his way back, to not go out of shape.
When he entered the house, his mother told him off for getting home late. He only gave her an apologetic smile and went to eat dinner. 
He instantly realised his brother's absence. His father told him that Fliqpy said he wasn't hungry. Flippy just nodded and changed the subject. 
When they finished, his mother insisted that he didn't have to help her cleaning up the table, so he just went to his and his brother's room. 
The first thing he saw was his bro training again. Flippy didn't even know if he has eaten anything. 
He didn't want to confront him about his problem, but at one point he would have to, before he seriously hurt himself by pushing his body to his limits like that. 
Suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

"Hey bro. Wanna watch a movie tonight ? You have trained a lot, you need a reward."

...........

"Sure, why not."

Fliqpy replied, trying not to sound suspicious. He had to just live a normal life, even if he wanted to train. They began to choose a movie. They went for one old horror movie and watched it together, until late night. Fliqpy didn't know how to feel about anything anymore. His parents knew and he still couldn't do much to make them feel any better.
He had to stay strong, protect his brother, and get him home alive for his parents.

............

The movie was... Good. It was scary but there were clearly better horror films than that. Flippy yawned. He was alway a sleepy person, and even if the film kept him interested, his eyes were closing against his will. Soon enough, he fell asleep on the sofa, missing the end of the film. He had fallen asleep in a sitting position, without a care about if it was the right place to do so, or if it was a good position to sleep in, hugging a pillow and with a little smile drawn on his face as he started dreaming.

..........

Fliqpy didn't even bother to watch the movie until the end, when he saw his brother asleep. He decided to take him to bed. In his current form, his brother felt like a feather, and he easily carried him to their bedroom. He tucked him in his bed, and covered him with the duvet. Then he felt something weird. He felt dizzy and weak, and fell to the floor when his stomach started hurting. He couldn't get up. He curled up in a ball on the floor, holding onto his stomach for dear life, cursing at himself in his mind. He didn't know what was going on, but then it eased a little. He got up, found the chocolate bar and decided that's better than nothing. He forced himself to eat it but soon regretted it. He started throwing up, the sweet taste irritating him, and when he got back to bed he felt dizzy and cold, started shaking, not knowing what was going on... 
Water. 
That's it! 
He must've been dehydrated! He got to the tap and drank the water slowly. Only a few sips, but that was all it took to make all the difference. He felt much better.He got to his bed and laid down. He realised it was a problem, he couldn't eat anything or drink too much, his body just rejected it. It could be a downfall, but he knew he just had to pull through. It was only a week at their parents' house anyway. And the last thing he wanted was getting them worried. Soon enough he fell asleep.

.............

Flippy woke up very early next morning. The sun wasn't even up when his eyes suddenly opened.
He sat quickly, his gaze flying through the room, panicked.
When he saw his sleeping brother, he calmed down a bit.
Everything was fine.
It was just a nightmare.
It's okay.
He concentrated, calmed his breathing, closed his eyes, chasing the lasts ribbons of the nightmare left in his mind.
He slowly got up, not wanting to disturb his brother.
He silently went down the stairs and prepared himself a coffee. He knew he won't be able to go to sleep after this.
The silence of the house calmed his nerves. He drank his coffee, leaning on the counter, waiting for the sun to come up and the house to wake up.

...............

Fliqpy woke up to the sunshine outside and realised he slept for longer than he has before. Seems he was exhausted yesterday. He saw his brother was gone, so he got up, put some day clothes on and walked downstairs towards the kitchen where he saw his brother and parents. They seemed to be having a fun morning.

"Morning Fliqpy sweetheart !"

His mum said when she saw him coming.

"Hey mum..."

He replied and took a glance at his smiling dad before exchanging a bumpfist with his brother.

"How was the movie yesterday boys ?"

Their dad asked and the two looked at each other and grinned.

"It was... Boring." Fliqpy replied and his brother chuckled.

"Yea, he carried me to bed !" Flippy added and their parents laughed a little too.

But then Fliqpy felt that urge to occupy himself with something, and as usual it would be training.

"I'm gonna go... For a walk." he said as he walked away from the others.

.............

Flippy quickly put his coffee cup down on the counter, a bit too roughly, but nobody noticed. Fortunately, after the mug having been emptied and filled a bunch of times, Flippy had just finished his last coffee before trying to catch up with his brother.

"Hey, mind if I join ?" He said, stepping outside just after Fliqpy. "Want to do some running ? It'll be a shame if I get rusty after this week of break"

Flippy hoped he would say yes. Even if he didn't like running very much, he felt like his brother would be better if he had someone to walk or run with.

.............

"Yes, if you're ready to train hard."

Fliqpy replied, he didn't really mind if his brother tagged along. He didn't know how different their stamina was at that moment.
The two started running towards the forest, along the river and did a few miles before they got to an area with no trees. There Fliqpy started doing his strength training and other activities. Flippy followed him and the two were exhausted by the time they finished. But Fliqpy wanted to do more running on their way home and Flippy had no choice but to agree.
Once again Fliqpy didn't feel so well. He was dehydrated again, and he knew he needed the water. Without it, his body was overheating and his heart was beating too fast. His muscles were hurting and cramping for a while now, and his face was pale, from the lack of food. At some point he fell over his own feet and landed rather unfortunately, cutting his whole leg on pieces of glass.

..........

"Fliqpy !" Flippy screamed when he saw his brother fall.

He ran to his side and shook him a bit. When he saw his face drained from any kind of color, he bit his bottom lip. He composed himself and drew out a straight face.

"Don't move."

He put his hand on his brother's chest to pin him down while he was trying to get up.

"You will only be hurting yourself more if you move. I'm getting you back home. Don't protest or say you're okay, because you're obviously not."

He said with a very serious expression when he saw his brother opening his mouth to protest, trying to get up.

Flippy tried to remember his lessons of first aid. He took off his t-shirt and wrapped it around the injury. Then he helped his brother up, with him leaning on Flippy, and headed home as fast as he could.
His mother opened to them and her face went pale when she saw Fliqpy. Their father got them inside and made Fliqpy lay down on the sofa. Their mother got some bandages and wrapped the injury after disinfecting it. Their dad then gave Fliqpy a glass of water and a spoon of sugar. Flippy just stood aside, watching with worry in his eyes.
At one time, both of their foster parents got out of the room for different reasons. Flippy then sat on the floor next to the sofa.

"Why are you doing this ?"

he softly whispered after long seconds of silence.

"You don't have to. You don't have to train like that or starve yourself. So... Why ?"

..............

"I... Don't know...."

Fliqpy just barely whispered. It's like his body gave up on him. He didn't want to tell his brother about how he felt after the last mission. He'd rather keep it to himself, and get stronger to be able to help him.

But he was still too weak.
He was too weak!
How could he be too weak?!
After all this work, training and suffering, he was still too weak!
Why ?!!!

He couldn't get his head around it! What was it that he was missing?! After a battle with his own thoughts he only laid there and looked at his brother.

"But... What would I do... Without you, huh..."

He raised his arm just for his brother to grab in a reverse handshake and he smiled a bit. But just a moment later Fliqpy's hand slipped from his grip as he fell asleep, exhausted.

Chapter 4: RETURN TO THE BATTLEFIELD - Part 1

Flippy was looking at the land below him. The motor of the helicopter was loud, but in a way, the sound was entering his head and felt like a lullaby. His eyes closed one time, then a second. He shook his head. He didn't want to sleep.
The week of holidays was finished. They were heading back to the camp.
The day after Fliqpy got injured, their foster parents had him remove his shirt to see if he had any injuries there. Flippy will never forget how slim his brother was. You could count his ribs without a problem, it was down right terrifying.
Their parent were as shocked as he was. Then a torrent of worry and schooling flowed on the living room.
Fliqpy stayed silent to all of his parent's words. Flippy was very uncomfortable. He was blaming himself so much for not being able to help his brother nor noticing it was that bad.
The night after it, Flippy got another nightmare. A worse one than the night before. He woke up only two hours after falling asleep and stayed awake the rest of the night. After it, Flippy started to sleep late. He would go to sleep very late, wake up in pure terror after a bit of rest and drank coffee after coffee to not fall asleep again before the sunrise. He had gone to a point were he stopped sleeping. He would just stay in bed, looking at the ceiling and finally go to the kitchen to drink coffee when he was sure everyone was asleep, especially his brother.
For the rest of the day, Flippy watched over his brother, making him stop when he was training too much or make him eat a bit.
Sometimes they split up, usually when Fliqpy wouldn't want to listen to him, saying it was okay. Those time, Flippy just went to the old headquarters next to the river. He used to sit next to it or inside of it and just relax.
Because he didn't sleep as much as he needed, he sometimes dozed off in the day. It never last long. Every time he closed his eyes he saw horrible scenes about war and his brother. So he woke up jumping, slightly panicking.
To his knowledge, neither his brother nor his parents noticed for now. He was very cautious about not getting caught, doing his little nightmarish naps when he was alone. They didn't have to worry about him, he could handle it. His brother was a bigger priority.

 

..............

 

Fliqpy felt bad. He still couldn't eat, his body was hurting dramatically making it difficult for him to concentrate. His body refused food, so he drank water with sugar instead. It was as if his body started consuming itself. His leg healed well, but there'll be a scar left. Not that he cared about that. He was lying down in the helicopter, as usual curled up, to ease the pain in his stomach. He got told off by his parents about how he is harming himself, how he is irresponsible, and of course they questioned why did he do this. Seeing them cry and the expression on his brother's face were more than proof that he caused them pain. He tried to be strong to protect the family he loves, and instead it turned the other way around. He couldn't forgive himself. Another thing, was that his brother had visible shadows under his eyes. It was clear he wasn't sleeping well. And again, Fliqpy knew it was his fault, and his brother very likely had nightmares. He caused all the trouble. He didn't really know what to do about it, but it had to change. He couldn't protect him during that fateful mission, and his brother lived through a trauma. It pained him to see him in such state. He still wanted to get stronger it was his goal, to never let this happen again.
As soon as the helicopter landed he and his brother reported to the headquarters and went to their tent, where Fliqpy laid down while his brother made him drink all the remaining water with sugar. Here in the camp he had to eat properly. He had to try at least. But the stomach pain didn't leave him as he stayed curled up on his bunk.

 

...................

 

Flippy watched his brother curled up on his bed, lost in his thought.
The night was about to get down. The sun was getting lower and lower. Flippy stepped out of the tent to watch the sun go down.
They were back in war, the place they dreamed so much when they were little. He smiled a bit at this thought. This was his life. He didn't know what he can do except being a soldier. Protect his country. Protect his family. Protect his brother.
Flippy stayed outside even after the sun was gone for some time. He only got back in the tent because his brother called him, worried about not seeing him coming back. In his own way of course.
Flippy laid in his bed, staring at nothing. He was listening to his brother's gentle breath as he slept. Here, there was no coffee to help him stay up, so he just had to focus.
Even without sleeping, that night was a nightmare. He stayed up as much as he could, but there were still some moment where he dozed off, just before having his eyes wide opened at the horrible image that just past in front of his eyes.
He got up a short while before the regular hour to do so in the camp and stared at the dawn. Light was helping him shake off sleep a bit.
The day went as usual. Training and training. Flippy started to eat a bit more without realising it, to get the energy that sleep wasn't giving him anymore.
At one point, his brother had been called at the headquarter. Flippy was wondering what was happening, he was hoping it wasn't something bad.

 

..............

 

Fliqpy walked into the headquarters alone in the morning, awaiting the instructions. He already knew that the officer didn't like him, but he didn't care much. He had every right to do what he did last time. The same officer walked up to him with a cold glare, which Fliqpy returned.

"You will go for a mission tonight"

He started off plainly.

"It's a solo Mission, no comrades. We need you to be an individualist, fast, efficient and unspotted. And your job is to spy on the enemy's camp and find some intel on their prisons and systems as well as the structure of the camp."

Well that was surely far from a walk in the park.

"Your time limit is 48 hours. Pack your bags, you're leaving at sunset."

The officer added and Fliqpy could tell he hated him. He must've done it purposely, choosing him to go to that mission all alone. He headed for the exit when the officer stopped him.

"And one more thing. Tell your twin brother I need to see him here tomorrow. It's not a mission."

The last words were a relief for Fliqpy. He couldn't stand the thought of his brother going on a mission without him. And anyway the officer liked his brother, he just hated him, and only him. But he was going to prove the whole world wrong, he would come back from this mission.
When he finally got to his tent he saw Flippy waiting for him.

"What did they say?"

He asked straight away. And Fliqpy had no choice but to tell him, whether he liked it or not.

"I've got a mission. Alone."

............................

 

Flippy was on the verge of telling that they were a good team, and worked well as a two, before a thought hit him like a bullet.
They weren't.
Fliqpy was always trying to protect him, getting him away from trouble. Last time, if he wouldn't have been there, the enemies wouldn't have a pressure point on him.
He was a burden.
Flippy was worried about his brother going alone on mission but there was probably a reason. He sighed.

"When will you leave ?"

 

...........

 

"I'm leaving today at sunset."

He answered plainly and walked into the tent. He took out his weapons and ammo out onto his bed, cleaned his rifle, then packed his bag. But of course, he left his rations on the table, not bothering with them. To him, food was a burden, and now food was the last thing he cared about. His brother was just staring at him and sitting on his own bed. Fliqpy didn't like this one bit. He didn't want to leave his brother all alone in the camp. He needed to protect him. And he was scared. Whatever this mission was, it was bad, since he knew the officers hated him for the last thing that happened. But he didn't want to worry his brother by telling him that.

"Oh and one more thing, you have to go to the headquarters tomorrow, but they said it's not a mission. "

 

...............

 

Flippy just nodded. His gaze fell on the bags with rations on the table. By a quick look at his brother, he understood he wasn't paying attention to it.
Flippy stood up and took one, handing it to Fliqpy.

"It wouldn't be a good thing if you pass out while you're out in the field, all alone. "

Fliqpy carefully took the food after staring at him for a bit. He put it to the side of his bag. Flippy came back to his bed, wanting to help but he couldn't really do anything, his brother didn't need it. He zipped the bag and stood up. Flippy looked at him with an absent gaze, rubbing his eyes without paying attention.

 

..............

 

Fliqpy then took his water bottle and went to refill it, and added some sugar to it like his father told him to. It was an okay way of dealing with everything. He returned to his tent and found his brother asleep. He smiled a bit and covered him with a blanket, before heading out for a jog. He couldn't stand still, and the lower the sun got, the more nervous he was. It wasn't a regular type of mission, not even close. There had to be something about it they didn't tell him.
But he brushed that thought aside. He returned to his brother, who was still asleep, so he left him a note before departing.

"I'll see you soon bro."

 

...............

 

Flippy was in the old headquarters in the woods. He had the feeling he was there for a while, listening to the birds chirping and the water flowing.
Then he felt something wet on his hands. He thought it was just water and he wiped it off on his pants but it didn't seem to come off.
He looked down and froze at what the liquid actually was. Blood. His hands were entirely red and more blood was dripping down to the floor. Flippy screamed and tried wiping it off again, without result.
He dashed outside to the river and put his hands in the water. The blood was creating a little red circle around his hands. The red grew larger and larger, until the entire river turned red. Flippy, panicked, still trying to get it off by rubbing his hands together as much as he could. Surprisingly the birds didn't stop chirping. The sound of the singing birds was even getting louder every second.
Suddenly, everything stopped. The forest was filled with a complete silence. Flippy immediately stopped rubbing his hands at the strange, brutal and suffocating silence. He felt like someone was standing behind him.
He turned, only to see his brother, standing there, wearing only camo pants. He was incredibly thin, he looked like a skeleton who was wearing a very tight skin suit. He had a cold, almost hating look on his face.

"Why didn't you help me Flippy? You could've. But you just stood there, watching me die. Why did you do that Flippy?"

His voice was raspy like two rock rubbed, one against the other. He took a step towards Flippy.
Flippy, still on the ground, moved back.

"You were such a burden for me. You are so weak and stupid. And I kept on it. But you broke me. You left me all alone."

Fliqpy took one more step. Flippy moved back too. And he felt the ground disappear from underneath his hand, making him fall right into the red river.
It was far deeper than he thought. Blood was everywhere. It was entering his lungs and his vision blurred with the red colour as he was drowning. He tried to stay above the water but waves pulled him down. Just before his head went under the bloody waves for the last time, he heard his brother's voice whispering in his ear.

"I hate you..."

Flippy was suddenly on his bed, sat up. His breath was sharp and fast. He held one hand on his throat to help him breath, after he drowned in that nightmare. His eyes were searching for his brother. At this time he should have been asleep in his bed. Seeing him sleeping peacefully and unharmed always helped him calm down.
But he was nowhere to be seen. The panic was rising far too much in Flippy's mind. He saw a note on the table. He got up and brutally took it. His eyes widened as he read. They filled with tears as the panic was beginning to be far too high for a human being. His knees gave in and he just fell to the floor curling up, laying on the floor in a sobbing and panicking mess with the letter crushed in his hand.

 

.........................

 

Fliqpy was out in the forest for eight hours by now, it was the middle of the night. He sat on the ground, holding his rifle tightly, he felt cold as he shook and could easily see his breath even in the darkness with some moonlight. He heard some noises again, and it could be an animal, but it could as well be an enemy. He hid behind the tree and waited for it to come closer, but it was a false alarm. Just a rabbit.
This happened all the time, he was slowly getting paranoid, every sound made him jump. But he had to stay ready. He was also a little worried about his body getting hypothermia or something. He was too slim, so he had almost no protection from the cold, and was shaking pretty badly, although he tried to control it. But he was ready for anything, he knew it. Hours passed, as he watched the sun rise slowly, he had an idea of where the exits and entrances in different buildings are, and how they all work with a password. He knew he had to try and sneak into the camp under cover and look around to gain more information, but it was too early for that.
Snap of a twig.
Another alarm went off in his head as he gripped his rifle tighter and was ready to shoot. He thought it would be another animal, but this time it was the real enemy. After hours of waiting he finally found not one, not two, but three of them, together heading for just where he was. He couldn't take them down without dragging attention to himself with the noise made, but he had pretty much nowhere to run or hide either! What was he supposed to do?!
The footsteps were getting closer as he finally decided to take a risky option, but pretty much the only one he could. He quickly pressed his body against the tree and let the three soldiers walk past him, before he swung his rifle and hit the first one with it, and then stabbed the second one in the neck. But when he turned to the third one he wasn't there. Where was he gone?!
Behind....
He quickly turned around but it was too late. The third one had a gun aimed at him and shot him swiftly in the stomach. He couldn't do anything about it, but stumble a few steps backwards while holding onto his wound. He held his gun up but couldn't aim well with all the pain coursing through him. The enemy swung his rifle at him but he quickly dodged it and replied with a knife attack, which just grazed the soldiers arm, but before Fliqpy could even regain his balance, the other one knocked him out unconscious with his rifle. And the last thing he thought about was his brother...

 

.................

 

Flippy was sitting alone at a table. It was breakfast but he was just staring at his food.

"Hey, can I sit here ?"

Flippy nodded at the question and a solider sat next to him. Usually his brother was in front of him, the empty seat just made him more worried.

"Man, are you okay ?"

"Yeah"

Flippy knew he looked like a mess. Last night had been hell. After a while of crying, tears just wouldn't come anymore. Then he started to calm down. But breaking down had exhausted him, and the fight against sleep was starting all over again.
His eyes were red with deep shadow under them and his hair was all over the place.
Flippy took his fork and began playing with his food. He wasn't very hungry for now, all the thoughts in his head were distracting him too much.
It was when the soldier next to him looked like he was going to insist with his question that he started eating.
The silence continued at the table while the two were eating.
Suddenly, Flippy felt a pain in his abdomen. He took a breath and immediately put his hand tightly where the pain came from, bending in two and nearly smashing his own head in his plate.
He heard the guy next to him asking questions and panicking, but he didn't care enough to listen to him, all his attention was on the sudden pain in his stomach. His ears picked up a lot of movement and commotion in the big dining room and he felt the dozens of eyes on him but he didn't care either.
His vision blurred suddenly and he felt himself fall. He tried to grab something to help him stay sit but his hand only grabbed air before he felt, the floor getting in contact with his side.
He heard people talking and panicking and hands lifting him off the floor. He was still conscious but everything was blurry around him, and he finally closed his eyes.

 

....................

 

Fliqpy got out of the cell and locked it behind himself with the dead guy inside, hoping no one will see the difference and won't see through him. He tried walking as calmly as he could down the hallways, towards the exit. He finally saw the door, and still nothing happened. He must've felt lucky. Just as he walked outside and the orange coloured setting sun was seen, he walked through the camp, until he thought no one was watching. He slowly walked into the forest and towards the pick up point. But he froze when he heard the sirens go off in the whole camp. They found him and were chasing him. He broke into a run, while taking the jacket off and tying it around his waist, to cover up the stomach wound even if it wasn't going to do much good. He took out a radio and switched it on.

"HQ, I need backup, right now! I need the helicopter to pick me up from the pick up point by the -" he was cut off when he suddenly tripped over a root. He scrambled himself to his feet, but saw that the radio was smashed to bits on a rock.

"Son of a bitch..."
He cursed under his breath. He held his arm around his stomach, while he kept on running further. He could already hear the voices close by, soldiers chasing him. But he kept on going hoping that they won't find him at the pick up point since it was quite far, and they didn't know which direction he went in. After roughly twenty minutes he got there and fell right over. He was so exhausted, he could feel himself almost passing out. His body was overheating from the fever and yet went pale from blood loss. Not mentioning he had no water and food for about four or five days now. He rolled over onto his back and took the knife out. When he saw black spots before his eyes, he cut his hand to keep awake.
Then in the sky he saw the helicopter. His rescue! He had to show them where he was since he didn't have time to do it before the radio broke. He could fire the flare, the bullet that explodes in the air like fireworks, to make them notice him. But it came with risks. The enemies would see it and know his position, he didn't know if the rescue squad would make it in time. And he didn't know if they'd even see it! The uncertainty was huge, but it was his sole option. Now or never, life or death. He took the flare gun he always held hidden in his trousers and thought of his brother, as he leaned against the tree for support. He raised his arm and fired the flare, before falling to the ground. The last things he saw was the bright explosion in the air.

 

................

 

Flippy was in the middle of training when a solider ran up to him, panting. Flippy stopped to listen to him. The soldier said that he was wanted at the infirmary. He said that his brother was there. He must have said something more, but Flippy wasn't there to listen.
He was running as fast as he could to the infirmary. He didn't know if he has ever ran this fast before.
When he arrived at the place, he immediately entered. His eyes were scanning the place, searching for his brother. When he finally saw him, his heart stopped. He was there. He was alive. Connected to a lot of machines and asleep, but alive. He approached him, very slowly, like he was scared that he will disappear if he'll go too fast.
When he knelt by the bed, he carefully touched his hand. It was warm and solid. It wasn't a dream. A smile came to his lips for the first time since days. He felt himself shaking, he took his brother's hand into his own and brought it to his forehead. His vision went blurry as his cheek were starting to get wet.

"You're alive... Thank god you're alive..."

His voice was weak and a bit shaky from all the emotions. He felt so relived. He knew he was alive. And now he came back, like he said he would.

 

...................

 

Fliqpy was drifting in and out of consciousness. He felt the people drag him into the helicopter. Screams and voices. Shots fired. He felt it when he was carried on a stretcher. Shouting and commotion. Pain when his wounds were taken care of. He felt the warmth once he was covered with the blankets in the infirmary. But he was still unconscious, he just couldn't wake up. Or did he simply not want to wake up ?
After some more time, which Fliqpy didn't remember much from, he woke up. He didn't know if it has been a day or a week, but the first thing he felt was his brother's hand on his. He saw Flippy sitting by him. God, his brother was always there for him. Whenever he needed it, while he always caused him all the suffering. Not to mention how worried he must've been, Fliqpy just couldn't bare seeing him like this sometimes. He couldn't speak much because of the oxygen mask, and he couldn't move much either with all the IV tubes running into his arms, but he only gripped his brother's hand to let him know he was grateful to see him.