Falling Leaves 39 ??

  At what cost—- At what cost—- all this destruction—- all this death—- all for what?

  Sachi and Ikigai, Akuji and Danya, Ari, even the Belles.

  What is all this fighting for? I joined Sachi and Ikigai's cause of capturing Danya, betraying my comrade—-

  Ari—- eh—- what the hell, who am I to talk about cost—-

  I gave up my integrity to become another slave. To be bestowed this new life—- I could lose any moment battling with these cosmic entities.

  Peter turns to Akuji and L'automne's battle.

  These two are engaged in a dance of blades, where only one can walk out from—-

  He then looks down at Kiyoko's body.

  The ones hurt, trying to protect the ones they love—-

  His thoughts then change to L'abeille. Memories of her tears in the Astral Realm flood his mind.

  The ones yearning for something that they can never achieve on their own—- bound by their love and duty—-

  He looks back at Akuji, memories of first meeting him at Pierre pour les maudits.

  Even him, his only goal I remember was to find Danya—- not to participate in this—-

  Another one driven to protect someone he loves.

  He closes his eyes, thinking of Ari. Flashbacks of their battle in Forêt sans ame.

  Her words replay in his head.

  "I didn't put myself on the brink of death just for this!"

  "I trusted you—- I trusted you, I protected you—- and this is how you repay me!"

  Ari—- I have to make it up to you—- I was foolish—- I wanted to know more about Azazel—- to free my soul—- I didn't want to betray you—-

  He grabs his head. "AUGH!" He screams as L'automne and Akuji continue to battle. Red, white and yellow light shines over him from L'automne's beams.

  He curls into a ball, tears falling from his face.

  "I'm disgusting! I broke my own code—- and for what!" He punches the wooden floor.

  Another memory comes to his head, the time when he was alive on Earth.

  The moment of his comrade Lev's death in the battle of Crimea.

  The sight of seeing Lev filled with bullet holes, bleeding out as other soldiers rush past him.

  Leaving a comrade behind—- no—- I can't—- I can't do that again—-

  Peter looks up, gritting his teeth, tears still streaming down his face.

  He watches Akuji duck and slash through L'automne's beams.

  He gets close, landing a punch on her jaw, causing her to stumble back. He rushes forward, not letting her catch herself.

  L'automne's eyes burst open. She slams her staff on the ground, still disoriented.

  Wind and leaves surround the two, a suction of wind pulling Akuji back.

  L'automne stomps her foot forward, charging. She jumps in the air, swiping her staff. The wind blows Akuji towards her.

  Akuji clenches his jaw. He slashes his sword, timing the very moment he was about to collide with L'automne.

  The blade barely misses. The tip of the blade cuts through L'automne's stomach, leaving a scratch. Blood leaks out.

  They both land on the ground, charging at each other once more, not letting up.

  He shakes from the pressure the two are emitting. "These two—- are on a complete different level—-"

  "B-but I need to find a way—- I need to help—-"

  ————————-

  Back at the refuge, Ari and Reine Abeille continue to battle.

  They're both in the air. Ari uses high pressure beams to propel herself in the air, using her sword to flow like a stream of water, attacking L'abeille.

  Reine Abeille's honey staff clashes with Ari's blade. Small droplets of honey fall from her staff from the impact, rising and landing on Ari's face.

  The honey burns her. She hisses. She doesn't let up her attack. She positions her feet at L'abeille's torso as their weapons lock.

  Water beams fire from her soles, propelling her further into the air, sending Reine Abeille towards the ground.

  Reine uses her wings to create force, moving out of the way of the beam. She buzzes them, instantly rushing towards Ari, causing a sonic boom in her wake.

  Ari lifts her sword above her head as Reine approaches. High pressure water surrounds the blade. She crashes down towards L'abeille, leaving a trail of water behind.

  They both clash in the air, causing a shockwave across the refuge.

  "Tch!!!" Ari grunts.

  "Just—- just disappear!" Reine shouts.

  Ari adds more pressure to her sword, causing both of them to crash to the ground. They land on another mushroom house full of a family of spider spirits hiding.

  The spirits scream. "NO, SPARE US, SPARE US PLEASE!" as debris fills the air.

  Ari ignores them, sticking out her palm. Water starts to circulate around it.

  Reine's eyes widen. She stumbles back, crossing her arms.

  "Kōatsu Mizu Bīmu!" Ari shouts. A high dense beam of water fires from her hand, hitting Reine straight on, sending her flying back.

  Ari immediately gives chase. The beam shoots, aiming for one of the giant blue mushrooms.

  Reine grits her teeth, extending her stingers, twirling, cutting through the beam. She then flies up to the cap of the mushroom.

  Ari jumps, shooting beams from her soles once more, following Reine.

  She makes it to the cap of the mushroom, its blue light shining on them both. Reine buzzes, floating above the surface, smiling.

  "Bien, Bien! Fox." She says, clapping.

  "I'm shocked you can still keep up with me. Especially when I'm in this form."

  Ari huffs, clenching her sword. "Shut up! Just because you have some fancy transformation doesn't mean a thing!"

  Reine chuckles.

  "Oh is that what you truly believe? Well I guess I'll just have to demonstrate the difference."

  "I do have to make sure you pay for the embarrassment you caused me in front of the Grandeurs and my fellow Belles."

  Water surrounds Ari as she's about to charge.

  "I couldn't care less about anything you went through—- now again, shut your mouth."

  "Oui, you don't have to care, Fox, but the end remains the same. I'll have you suffer for the depth of my humiliation—-" Reine says, landing on the mushroom. A grin contorts on her face as her stingers on her fingers combine, turning into blades.

  Ari takes a deep breath.

  "Stay calm—- her power may have increased, but the effects of the Kitsune Elixir can still give me a chance here—-"

  She pours more energy into her blade. The water surrounding it grows larger and flows faster.

  Reine Abeille sprints towards Ari. "Hehe~ Come on little fox, let's play a game!"

  Ari dashes forward as she begins to flow like water once more, her movements fluid.

  Reine leaps in the air. Golden honey seeps out of her blades, coating them. She rapidly slashes them in the air, firing waves of honey slashes towards Ari.

  Ari slashes and dodges the best she can, the speed of the projectiles increasing with each one.

  She slashes a final honey slash. Reine appears before her. She cocks back her right stinger blade, launching it towards Ari.

  Ari dodges at the last second, the tip scraping her skin on her cheek.

  A burning sensation pulses from the cut.

  Reine then uses her left stinger to catch Ari in the motion of dodging.

  "No—-" Ari mutters. She flicks her tail as a bubble forms behind her, floating backwards.

  The bubble pops instantly. She transports out of the way before she could be impaled.

  Ari pants. Sweat and water droplets run down her face.

  Reine giggles, honey droplets seeping from the stingers, dropping onto the mushroom.

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  The droplets twist and turn, transforming into miniature wasps.

  They surround Reine, circling around her, the buzzing saturating the air.

  Ari clenches her sword, putting her hand on her face.

  "I haven't worn this in a while—- it'll probably risk everything—-"

  She looks at Reine wearing a large grin on her face as the wasps swarm her.

  "But—- I can't afford to die here—-"

  She thinks back to years ago, the golden mask Shun gave her, an artifact that fused with her, preparing for the Cursed Backwoods.

  "If I wear it and mix it with already being under the effect of the Kitsune Elixir."

  "It's not a guarantee I'll survive tha-"

  "Stop daydreaming, fox!" Reina shouts, flying towards her with her wasps.

  "Oh screw it!" She forces all her energy into her palm, visualizing herself into a water droplet.

  The tips of her hair start to glow a light blue. A shining golden fox mask appears on her face, covering the top half.

  Waves of water surround her, encasing her in a spiraling orb.

  "Interesting." Reine says, pausing her flight.

  The orb instantly disperses, water splashing across the mushroom.

  Ari steps forward, now with three tails, each of them glowing light blue at the end tips. They each flow like waves of water.

  The blue light from the surface of the mushroom enhances the color of her hair and tails.

  "Well, it seems you had another form down your sleeve too." Reine says.

  "Perfect. Killing you while you're using everything you have—- I couldn't ask for anything better."

  "Struggle for me!" She says gleefully.

  Ari aims her sword at Reine, not saying a word.

  "Hm?" Reine hums. She blinks. Instantly Ari moves at greater speeds, appearing behind her, slashing her blade.

  Reine ducks on instinct, buzzing her wings, flying forward. She turns her body to face Ari, swiping her hand. "ORDRE D'ATTAQUE!!" She shouts, sending her wasps to attack Ari.

  The wasps surround Ari. She stomps her foot, slashing in every direction. The wasps are chopped to pieces. Honey spills out of them. Ari raises her sword as a cyclone of water surrounds her.

  It washes away the surrounding honey. She then steps forward, jumping through the cyclone, the water from it absorbing into the sword.

  Reine flies back into the air, hardening her stingers. She dives, bolting for Ari.

  They both clash. Ari ducks and dodges all of Reine's stabs and slashes, strands of her hair falling off. Ari retaliates, slashing her blade. Sharp waves of water reach Reine's skin.

  Reine instantly moves her stingers, blocking Ari's slashes. Ari then jumps in the air, extending one of her tails, trying to wrap it around Reine's neck.

  Reine jumps back quickly, floating into the air. The sound of the buzzing echoes. She circles around the mushroom. Aiming her stingers at Ari, she buzzes her wings, causing the momentum to spike. She charges at Ari like a meteor.

  Ari quickly swings her sword upwards, creating a water wall, dashing to the side. A quick flashback replays in her mind of when she did the move with Shun.

  Reine crashes into the water wall. The impact causes her entire body to shake. "Gwah!" She hisses.

  Ari stabs her sword into the mushroom. Light blue spores start to emit from the hole.

  She aims both her palms toward Reine.

  "Baburu Kōsen!" A barrage of rapid-fire bubbles shoots from her palms, surrounding Reine.

  Reine sucks her teeth. Honey pours out of her exoskeleton. She twists and spins, causing the honey to surround her like a tornado.

  She blocks and pops the bubbles as they make contact with the honey. She stops twirling as she transfers the swirling honey around her stinger.

  She points it at Ari, firing the blast of honey at her. One of the bubbles pops behind Reine.

  Ari transports behind it before the blast can hit her.

  The honey swirl pierces through the mushroom, causing the cap to crack. Blue shining spores erupt in the air, gleaming off of Ari's bubbles.

  Reine quickly turns around, slashing her stinger blade. Ari pops another bubble, transporting and appearing next to her.

  "I won't play these stupid games!" Reine shouts, slashing at Ari again. Ari disappears again as another bubble pops.

  "STOP!" Reine shouts, saliva flying out her mouth.

  In that moment, Ari appears behind Reine once more, jamming her knee into her back. The force causes both to crash down to the mushroom.

  More spores erupt as they make impact.

  Ari jumps off her back, landing on her feet. Reine skids, spitting up purple blood.

  Ari pants, returning into a battle stance. "I only have a few more minutes to sustain this—-"

  She holds up her sword. Reine's body trembles. She buzzes her wings. She launches into the air.

  Looking down at Ari, she aims her wasp tail at her. Barrages of honey like bullets fire out like a machine gun.

  Ari instantly makes another water wall to try to slow the bullets down. They rip through the wall, impaling Ari's shoulder.

  "GWAH!" She shouts, falling down to her knees. The honey burns through her skin. The wound continues to open. Blood leaks out.

  More bullets fly her way. Ari quickly flicks one of her tails, firing another bubble off the mushroom.

  She quickly transports as the honey shoots through the mushroom.

  She falls from the air as she can hear the buzzing quickly following her.

  She reaches in her pocket, grabbing the Kitsune Elixir. She opens the capsule. "I know I only said a sip! But I need this right now!"

  She drinks a swig of it, closing it quickly. Her body glows blue as her wound closes.

  Her water magic starts to grow unstable as a sudden sharp headache hits her.

  She closes her eyes, hissing.

  Waves surround her as she's falling. Reine appears before her. "You don't get to run away that easy!"

  She aims her tail at her once more. Yellow light emits from it. Ari grits her teeth, encasing herself in an orb of water. She places the Elixir back in her pocket. She then instantly bursts out of the orb before Reine could fire.

  Crashing into Reine, she uses her soles to summon beams of water enhanced by the elixir, pushing them across the refuge. The surrounding area blurs.

  "What the hell?!" Reine shouts as she's forced to the mountainside.

  Ari grabs her by the face, throwing her down towards the rocks.

  Reine catches herself in the air with her wings, sharpening her stingers once more.

  She drops to the ground, digging her stingers into the stone, rapidly slashing and throwing stones at Ari as she falls.

  Ari braces her sword, cutting every stone that comes her way. Pebbles bounce off her face.

  The stones stop firing as Reine appears in front of Ari, face to face, grinning.

  They make eye contact. Reine throws her stinger, ripping through Ari's side. "AGH!" she screams. Blood leaks as her battle kimono rips.

  Reine spins, landing an axe-kick on top of Ari's head, sending her crashing down to the rocks.

  Ari lands on the ground, bouncing and rolling. She hisses in pain, clutching her wound.

  Reine looks down, laughing. "Dust to dust—- don't you think it's time for that?"

  The sky trembles once more. The entire area quakes. Reine turns to the giant pink flower in the distance as it begins to pulse pink energy.

  "Malika—- she's still about to wake up—-"

  "I need to end-" before she could finish, Ari slashes her sword down her back.

  "AHHHUGH!" Reine screeches as purple blood erupts, raining down on the ground. She drops to the ground face first, her head bouncing off the stone.

  Ari too drops on the ground, panting. She drops to her knees as blood leaks out from her wound.

  She quickly stands up, grabbing her sword, positioning herself.

  Reine claws the ground, forcing herself to stand. She hunches over. Purple blood drops from her back.

  They face each other, both damaged.

  Reine surrounds her stingers with golden honey once more.

  Ari surrounds her blade with waves of water.

  Reine prepares to attack as Ari does the same, holding her sword.

  "BEGONE!" Reine roars, firing a barrage of slashes and stabs towards Ari. Each slash radiates a giant dose of honey that ripples off each other.

  "SEIGAIHA!" Ari roars, mirroring Reine's moves, firing barrages of slashes and stabs, causing deep blue waves and ripples to radiate from her blade.

  Both of their attacks clash relentlessly, destroying the surrounding landscape. Stones start to break apart. Water and honey splash everywhere.

  Blood starts to leak from Ari's mouth. Her mask begins to crack. "No—- not now, I need to keep going!"

  Her battle kimono starts to rip from the pressure.

  "There's no way, even with two sips of the elixir and the mask! I still can't overpower her!"

  Ari's mask begins to crack more.

  Reine grits her teeth, the sharp pain from her open wound coursing through her body.

  The clash starts to cut through the very earth itself, creating a crater beneath them. They both start to fall into it.

  As the last ripples connect, it bursts, sending them both flying back. Ari's mask breaks, causing her two extra tails to disappear into particles of blue energy.

  She rolls on the ground, barely conscious. "I- I lost—-" she mutters to herself.

  Reine rolls back, landing on her knees. She tries to push herself back up, but her body gives out. Her head drops to the ground.

  "I can't fail here—-"

  "I have to redeem myself—-"

  She forces herself to stand, using her stinger blade to support herself.

  Ari's ears wiggle. "She's not—- done—-"

  She too forces herself to stand, using her sword to support herself.

  "I will—- I will kill you here—- you're a danger to everything Malika stands for—-" Reine says, her voice low and weak.

  She presses forward, forcing honey to seep out of her stinger.

  Ari takes a deep breath, forcing the little energy she has left. She threads two fingers of her right hand through the gap of her left, locking them in a tight grasp.

  Her hair starts to flow. "Genwaku Mu—-" she says weakly.

  Mist emits from her, surrounding her and Reine.

  "This again?! No! I won't fall for your trick-" before Reine could finish, she looks up in the sky.

  "Blue?—- it's blue—- just like what I saw in the Astral Realm—-"

  A bright sun shines on her as the earth's warmth hugs her skin, the same exact feeling she felt in the Astral Realm. She's reliving the bliss and warmth of the blue skies she longed to see.

  Tears form in her eyes. "No—- not again—-"

  She turns back to where Ari was standing. She's no longer there. A woman with long pink hair, brown skin, with pink eyes stands there in the ocean below.

  She wears a black robe with pink streaks adorned across it. Two giant black and pink butterfly wings sit on her back.

  "M-Malika—-" Reine stutters.

  Malika smiles. "Abeille, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

  "No—- this can't be—- this can't be real!"

  "The fox is playing with my head again!" Reine shouts.

  "I have to, I have to get rid-" Reine mutters

  "It's okay." Malika says with a soft smile.

  "You've done enough. Merci, take a rest."

  "Please."

  Tears continue to fall from Reine's face, dropping into the water.

  "But—-" Reine whimpers.

  Malika smiles. "You did just fine, believe me. Please take a rest, Abeille."

  Reine looks down at her palm. The sharp pain from her back is gone. Not a single wound shows.

  She balls her palm into a fist, clenching it. "I can't just rest. I failed you! I failed the Belles! I just can't let you all down!"

  Malika continues to smile as she begins to fade.

  Reine's eyes widen. She begins to chase Malika. "No, no, don't leave again! Please!"

  "Abeille." Malika says softly.

  "Au revoir, ma douce reine."

  Reine's illusion shatters. She stands above Ari, aiming her stinger at her.

  Tears run down her face. Black rings surround her eyes. Everything remains silent as she stands frozen.

  Ari collapses in front of her. "That—- should have—- done it—-"

  Reine's stingers break apart, turning to dust.

  She stumbles back, looking into the sky.

  "I—- need—- to rest—-" she whispers to herself.

  "Yes—- rest—-"

  Her body starts to shake as wasps start to form around her.

  Ari closes her eyes. "No. I thought she would have given up from that!"

  She then hears something pop open. Ari opens her eyes to see Reine's skin burst open, leaking out blood and golden honey. The wasps surround her, stinging her.

  She drops to her knees. "Bon—- Voyage—-" she says weakly and broken.

  Her skin continues to burst open, leaking out purple blood, tears of blood mixing with her real tears.

  A wasp stings her neck. That's the best part to burst. Purple blood leaks out. She falls over as her body is riddled with holes.

  Ari watches in shock. "What- did she just?!"

  She tries to stand as she watches the surrounding wasps all fall to the ground, turning to dust like Reine's stingers.

  She crawls to Reine's body, sitting up to look at her face.

  Purple blood continues to run down her face. Her eyes are lost of all life, blank.

  "Suicide—-" Ari mutters. She places her hand on Reine's eyelids, closing them.

  "Even though you were an enemy—- it's a shame that you were carrying all that pain—-"

  She hisses in pain, clutching her side once more.

  "If—- there is a next life for us spirits—- I do hope you find peace—- and are able to live for yourself."

  Ari collapses, falling into Reine's purple blood next to her body, unable to sustain consciousness.

  In the distance, Soleli watches over Mothpéra and Danya's battles. Her chest tightens. A wave of sadness washes over her.

  She turns to the direction of the broken down refuge where she last left Reine.

  "L'abeille—-" she mutters.

  BELLES MAUDITES: 1/4 L'abeille Méchante: DEAD ( X )