Author's Note: My current go-to characters plus some perfectly angsty music equals this:

Fragment number two.

...

There was so much blood. Way too much. Delta didn't even know a tiny Roselia could have this much blood in his body. It puddled on the ground where he lay facedown, slowly expanding, and with every second it got wider, Delta's heart sank lower until it reached the tips of her claws.

With a cry, the Skarmory sprang to his side and bent her crane-like legs until she was more or less his level. Gingerly, so as to not hurt him further with her sharp feathers, she turned him over so that he was lying the right side up. Only then could she see his injuries: angry gashes and cuts criss-crossing his belly and chest - the leaf adornment he wore had even been torn to shreds. Not only were the gashes large, they were also obviously deep because they were bleeding profusely, painting his green skin red. His blood now also stained the feathers with which she had turned him over, making them look as if they were the very object that had wounded him.

It was a Garchomp that had done this. She had used their significant weight difference to her advantage, inflicting enormous damage when she Body Slammed him to the ground under her; Delta herself had heard the cracking sounds. Even then, she wasn't finished yet - keeping him pinned under her foot, she had put her scythe-like claws to work, ripping and cutting and tearing at him from point-blank rage, splattering red everywhere. By the time the Garchomp had mostly been drained by the Leech Seed and Delta had driven the nail home with a barrage of Steel Wings as sharp as throwing knives, he was broken, bleeding, and deep in a sleep from which there was little chance of return.

Now, Delta put her feather to his neck. There was a pulse, but it was faint and irregular. Tears gathering at her eyes, she gently positioned him so that he was lying on her lap. Her voice cracked when she croaked out his name.

"M-Marius?"

No response. She tried again: "M-Marius?" She traced a feather gently on his bloodied cheek, then his bloodied forehead. "M-M-Marius?"

His eyes flickered open. They stared into hers.

Delta let out a cry in relief and finally let the tears fall. She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes.

She suddenly felt something soft against her cheek. She opened her eyes again to see that he had reached up with his blue rose, the slightly less injured one, and was now trying to brush her tears away. His petals, although they reeked of blood, felt heavenly against her metal cheek. A small smile decorated his pale face.

But there was something wrong. Tears were also welling up in his eyes, and although he was still smiling, there was something different about his tears from Delta's. They seemed to be those of sadness.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly said, his voice more of a raspy croak than the one she had always heard and loved.

Delta touched his rose, careful not to damage it with her sharp feathers. "Huh? Wh-what for?"

"Delta... I don't know if I c-can get through this..."

Delta couldn't believe what he was saying. "Wh-what do you mean?!" she cried. "What do you mean by that?!"

"It... it hurts... so bad..."

"Aah, w-well then, we'll get back a-and get you fixed up immediately..." She started to stand up, lifting him up in her wings, only to earn a cry of pain from him. She was shocked and sat back down.

"D-don't... just don't..."

Delta brushed away a tear. She was completely at a loss for what to do. She knew he needed medical attention immediately, but there seemed to be no way to get him back to the city without worsening his injuries.

"Th-then what do I do?!" she cried, sounding almost angry. "Wh-what do you want me to do?!"

Marius' voice was alarmingly softer when he spoke again with difficulty. "Please... just stay with m-me until it's over..."

"Until it's over? Wh-what are you saying, M-Marius?!"

Delta actually knew what he was saying. He had lost a lot of blood - probably too much. Perhaps he could no longer be saved. Perhaps it was too late. Even Marius himself seemed to believe it was too late.

Delta actually knew what he was saying - she just didn't want to believe it.

"P-promise me you won't go." His voice was now a mere raspy whisper. "P-promise me you'll stay..."

Delta didn't reply because she had burst into a fit of sobs. She had never felt more helpless in her life. Here he was, lying on her lap, dying, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

"Delta... p-please don't cry..."

But Delta had to. "I w-wish you hadn't saved me!" she suddenly burst out, tears running down her metal face in streams. "If y-you hadn't g-gotten b-between me and that Garchomp, this w-wouldn't have happened!"

Marius extended his arm again and once more, Delta felt the softness of rose petals against her cheek. If anything, it only made her even angrier. How could that Garchomp have had the heart to destroy something so delicate?

"I do not regret what I've done," he said quietly, "e-even if it ends up c-costing me my life. Th-that's because I love you, Delta. I w-want to protect you. I w-want you to a-always be safe. I w-won't let a-anyone hurt you. I'm w-willing to do this. Everything b-because I love you..."

His face softened; his rose shook. "P-please don't cry... it tears m-me up to see y-you sad..."

Delta held his rose against her cheek and looked down at him tearfully. He looked almost sad.

But he was sad for her, not himself. He had been willing to sacrifice everything. He had taken all those vicious slashes. He had endured all that pain. For her, everything was for her. That was how much, Delta realized, he loved her.

And Delta also realized that the only thing left to do was show him that she loved him, too.

Delta closed her eyes, letting the last tears fall, and took a deep breath. She had done this thousands of times before, but this was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done. She opened her eyes again and smiled wanly through her tears.

"D-don't worry, M-Marius. I won't leave you," she whispered, holding him close.

He was surprised, but a wan smile quickly decorated his pale face. Delta thought it was the nicest thing she had ever seen.

"If it's t-true that n-now is y-your time, I have n-no choice but to let you go. D-don't worry about me, not now, and also n-not when y-you're sleeping. I'll c-continue to p-pursue our dreams. I'll d-do it for you. For us. Y-you just h-have a n-nice rest, okay?"

She whispered, "P-please know that I love y-you very much, Marius. It w-won't be easy to live w-without s-someone you love, but I'll remember th-that you're shining on in a better place."

This time, he was the one crying. "Th-thank you... Delta..." he rasped. "I... l-l-love..."

Delta waited, but nothing else came. This time, she felt nothing. No pulse, no breath. He was gone.

Death had been unfair enough to steal him away in the middle of saying that mainstream three-word phrase, but Delta replied with that mainstream four-word phrase despite the fact that he wouldn't be there to hear it. "I l-love you, too, M-Marius..."

And only then did she let the tears fall again.

He was gone.