There is nothing left of you
I can see it in your eyes
Sing the anthem of the angels
And say the last good bye
~Anthem of the Angels, Breaking Benjamin
Smoke rose off of the battlefield, and ashes seemed to rain from the sky. Nine looked around. Had they done it? Had they really defeated Setrakus Ra? He could see the others, just barely, rising out of the gloom. He let out a laugh. They had finally done it! They had defeated the Mogodorians, and Setrakus Ra! They could go home to Lorien, after all these years. He turned to them relieved. Sarah holding on to John as she limped towards him smiled."We did it!" She smiled "We did it!" She leaned up and kissed John on the cheek. Nine rolled his eyes, grinning. Johnny was lucky to have found a girl like her. Now that he though of it, where was everyone else? "Ella? Marina? Five? Six? You alive?" He yelled into the smoky battlefield. He heard the resounding yes's from around the battlefield. All except one.
"Six? Babe? Where are you?" He called, quickly feeling his head and heart going into panic mode. Six? Where was she? Where? He turned to John, and the panic must have been evident in his face, because John fired up his lumen, and shot it though the smoke. He nodded curtly, then ran through the smoke, looking for her. His mind raced. Where had he last seen her? Where?
There was a figure lying on the ground, dyed blonde hair streaked with soot. No. No. No no no no no no NO. "Six?" he asked. The figure twitched slightly. Oh no. He sped to her side. "Six, babe, talk to me" he pleaded. He turned her onto her back, and placed her head in his lap, gently brushing her hair away from her face. "Sweetheart, please, talk to me" he repeated. Her gray eyes looked into his. Tears were running down her face. This wasn't right. Six never cried. Six was always strong, always so strong, She had taken on Setrakus Ra alone, twice, and had lived to tell the tale. She had survived for years in a mogodorian prison. She was invincible. She couldn't die. Not now. They were so close to getting back to Lorien, to that happily ever after.
"Hey Nine" she said, her voice barely a whisper. She was alive! Thank the Elders! He felt his heart rising in his chest. "Hey Six, how you feeling?" He asked, smiling down at her. "Not so good, I'm afraid" she whispered back, her lip trembling. He finally inspected her injuries. She had been hit badly by a Mogodorian cannon. Blood was seeping out of her midsection, and he could see her torn muscles, broken bones, and he forced down the vomit that was coming the back of his throat, her internal organs. "Geez, babe, look what you've done to yourself" he chastised her gently. "Yeah, but this proves that I'm more of a badass then you are" she grimaced through the pain. He shook his head in disbelief and sighed. "Guess it does. But let's not make this a regular thing okay?" he asked. Six looked up to him. "I'm okay with that" she said, her eyes sad. "but I don't think I'm going to be able to make it regular thing". Nine felt his heart drop. "Don't say that. You're going to be fine. Marina and Johnny will fix you up". Then at the top of his lungs "MARINA, JOHN, OVER HERE". He held Six closer to him. "You're going to be fine. Just wait till Marina and John get here. They'll fix you in no time" She laughed wryly, then began coughing up blood. He held her up, her head resting on his shoulder as he supported her back. "You're going to be absolutely fine". "MARINA, JOHN, GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE ASAP" he screamed into the darkness. Six snuggled into his chest. He could feel her breaths against his ragged t-shirt. "You're really warm" she mumbled into him. Any other time, he would've teased her about it, but he didn't want to try and make light of it. After Marina and John got here, and healed her up, he would, but not before.
"Nine, I'm scared" Six whispered into him, her tears warm against him. "Don't be. Because you're going to be okay, I know it" he reassured her, while trying to assure himself. "Hey Nine?" she asked. "I'm here". She raised a trembling hand to his cheek, he freed one hand from supporting her and caressed it. "I love you" she said, smiling gently. She is so beautiful, Nine thought to himself. How the hell did he get a girl like her? "I love you too" He whispered back. She nodded slightly, her breaths beginning to accelerate. "I know" She gave a sigh, and she didn't breathe again.
"Six? Sweetheart, speak to me" He held her tighter. He desperately searched for signs of life. He began feeling for her wrist, then her neck when that failed, then her wrist again. "Babe, no, don't leave me like this" he begged her. He tilted her head back, then pressed his lips to hers, forcing air into her lungs, then put his head against her chest for a heartbeat. He didn't see John's blue lumen racing towards him, or see Marina and John's figures coming up closer. He didn't see Marina collapse in front of Six's body, didn't see John fire his lumen miles through the sky. He didn't see Sarah having come upon the scene, begin crying into John's shoulder. Ella, in her shock, reverted back to her six year old self, sobbing into Marina's chest. He didn't see Five in the distance, silently breaking down alone.
He continued cpr on Six, relentlessly tirelessly, as if it could bring her back. Suddenly he became aware of the rest of the Garde's presence. "John, please?" he asks, his voice breaking, looking at John, begging him with his eyes. John shakes his head. "Nine, I'm sorry, she's gone" He says, tears rolling down his cheeks. "DON'T SAY SHE'S GONE! You haven't even tried yet!" His anger ripping out of him. John shakes his head. "Could you try? Please?" He asked, hoping that maybe, just maybe John's Legacy could bring her back. Oh please let it bring her back.
He cradled her head in his lap, stroking her hair. "Hey, Six, John's going to heal you. Just like I said he would" He said softly, looking down at her pale face. Her stormy eyes were more of an ethereal silver, staring unseeing at the stars above. John pressed his hands into her wound. He began sweating, pressuring himself to heal Six. Nine's eyes never left Six.
"Nine, I'm so sorry" John said staring at his hands. "She's not coming back". John stepped back, to shield himself from Nine's wrath, but it never came. Nine again cradled her in his arms. He kissed her cold forehead. "Night, Angel" he whispered into her hair.