Traversing The Universes (Non-AnaVerse Oneshots)

A Different War

"Laurel, what's the matter?" she asks. Laurel points at a spot on the paper.

"Germany's declared war on us."

August 18, 1916

It has been just over a month since the Germans ceased their offensive on Verdun. There has been an influx of customers to Nicolette's shop since the beginning of the war, over a year ago. They have mostly been repairing uniforms for the soldiers.

"Nicolette, should I wash out this blood stain?" Hera asks from her workstation. Nicolette raises her head from her work, glancing first at Hera, then at the rack of clothes they still have left to fix, and then back at Hera.

"Make a pile and we'll wash the blood out if there's time," she says. Hera nods and sets the jacket aside, before moving on to the next one. Nicolette goes back to her work, carefully stitching up the worst of the holes. The bell rings as the door opens, and she lifts her head again. There are soldiers standing there, but not in our uniforms, nor our allies'. Nicolette's mind races over who they could possibly be. The uniform looks familiar. Hera shrieks, drawing the men's attention. All three whirl and aim their guns at her, and she cowers behind her workspace.

"Quiet!" one of them cries in German. Hera cries, and Nicolette quickly stands up. Hera doesn't understand German, nor speak it, but Nicolette does.

"Please, she doesn't speak German!" she says, also speaking German. The three men turn on her, guns aimed at her chest.

"Stay back and be quiet!" one of the Germans spits. Nicolette raises her hands in a surrendering motion and nods. She notices one of them has a tear in his uniform, and she can see a nasty gunshot wound through it. It looks infected.

"Just tell me what you want," she says slowly. One of the soldiers mutters something to the one beside him, and he nods. One of the Germans breaks off from the rest and goes to Hera's workstation, yanking her up by her arm and pushing her toward Nicolette. Nicolette stands in front of her, remaining calm.

"Your military retreated from here a month ago, meaning they either left you behind or you deserted. Tell me what you want," she says. The injured man sways, but rights himself and checks out the window. He looks to the clear leader of the trio, who then returns his focus to Nicolette.

"You are going to let us stay here," he says forcefully. Nicolette nods slightly, simply wanting to keep Hera safe. She's slowly formulating a plan, but it requires an opening to be executed.

"Hera, hand me some of the clothing, but keep it hidden," she whispers under her breath. She can't look to see if the other woman heard her, but Hera follows her instructions. The coat is made of a heavier material, which is perfect for Nicolette's plan.

"Get behind the counter when I move," she whispers again. Hera nods. As the trio's leader turns his head slightly to address the uninjured soldier, Nicolette jumps at him, throwing the coat over his head. She moves aside as his gun goes off, before grabbing the barrel and shoving it into his gut. She rips it from his hands as he stumbles backwards, and aims, firing at the uninjured soldier first before turning her aim on the injured one. He's barely able to hold the gun up at all, and she realizes that he's clearly weak, not to mention young. Soldiers on both sides are becoming increasingly younger over time as more and more men die. She's certain that if she had any brothers, they would be serving by now.

"Put the gun down," she says in firm German. The boy shakes his head, eyes flickering to his leader. Barely looking at him, Nicolette knocks the butt of the rifle against the man's head, and hears him hit the ground.

"Where did you learn to do that?" the boy asks. Nicolette smiles slightly, putting the gun down as she sees her own country's soldiers approaching from outside.