Disclaimer: I don't own SOTET, it belongs to Square/Tri-Ace.
A/N: MARIA RETURNS MUAHAHAHA! I hope this part was okay, cause it sounds a little tooo cliche for me.
Part 17
Maria merely laughed at his attempt of insulting her, taking out her gun and aiming at his left shoulder as a playful attack.
He was ready now and dodged the crimson light soaring through the air, his swift speed, enough to make the fastest creatures envious.
"You'll have to do better then that, scum." He spat at her, "Lower then the soft Aquarian worms and I thought no one could be so low and weak that they would be no other then yourself." His tongue lashed out in harsh words.
She stood there, awaiting his attack, "Please, your move. Don't insult me with those words that are so meaningless to me."
He raised his claw, his blade alike, rushing towards her with speed that were much more then his normal. There was more then just his strength flowing through his veins, pushing his forward. It was the strength he wanted from the love that he shared with Sophia, that he hadn't been aware of when she was alive.
He raised his blade, about to slam it in front of her but he missed, jumping overhead as she slid beneath him and he turned, to slash her back.
She choked forward, turning back to him, "That was ok." That dark crimson liquid dripped from the wound upon her back but she would not be beaten.
Maria, aimed quickly and shot, hitting him between his shoulder and neck. Only missing her target just slightly.
"I miss calculated the additional speed you apparently gained just now. We'll see how you fair when I actually figure it out and I won't miss again." She said most confidently.
He smirked, "That is only what you'd like to think."
He swiped is blade against the ground twice sending two waves rushing toward her, 'Double Slash.'
She was not as quick as he was, only being able to dodge the first, only to be hit by the second. Her body rolled quickly, rising on one foot. A red line of targeted vision was pointed at Albel. She released the trigger without hesitation and hit him in the other shoulder.
He staggered, glaring, "Damn you woman." He skidded toward her, pausing for a moment to laugh at her while in close range just before his blade fell through the fabric of her clothing.
She smirked, "Yes…that hurts so much." The sarcasm dripped in her voice, the back of her uniform cutout now. Her back glowed of the black alteration symbol seething with power. The white marking of connection swirled around the edges, showing the endowment of Sophia's life force in her body.
She turned her head at him while he stopped in surprise that it had not affected her body. She lifted her gun, touching it to his temple. Her voice activating the transfer of energy into the gun, "Energy Burst." She licked her lips, smiling at the darkened effect in the skies, pushing the massive force onto Albel's body.
He was crushed beneath the force of directly aimed light pulses. He fell back upon the first wave, the second made him cringe his back into an arch. He had enough pride to naw his bottom lip so that he would not cry out in the pain.
As she walked closer to him, a slow moving large indigo, jolting sphere was shot from her weapon. It moved with inching movements before it touched his body. He was forced to the ground, he tried struggling but there was no way he could move. At first everything seemed slow and he seemed stuck to the spot.
She laughed, "Do not think about trying to escape my Gravity Bullet. It will not enable you to move as long as I have my attention upon you."
His breathing became brash filled with gasps, his lips bent in anger. The power that Maria now had was greater then any he had face; he almost feared that it may have been greater then the strength that he had with Sophia.
She sauntered up to him, "Very interesting. I see you are a live; your reputation is worth all the credit that the people have passed to you in the past. You are your name in strength." She kneeled over him, whispering in his ear, "Now, I'll make you suffer." Her last words were a breathy hiss.
He did not flinch at her words, but mumbling in his attempts to distract her, "I am suffering you maggot, the air expelled from your lips is torture enough, having to enter my nostrils."
She kicked his body, calling the small glowing bots to her whim. The buzzed around him lightly, nipping at his wounds, a taste of what minor pain was like before she gave the word.
"Radiation Bots, sulfur in-." Her voice had been cut off by other words speaking from her lips.
"No!" A soft familiar voice called. It entered his eardrums so warmly, almost a long memory that had almost disappeared.
Maria growled, "How dare you use my body!"
"How dare you take my life," the soft whine said.
If one had seen this picture, it would have seemed as if Maria had been talking to herself.
"Return to me control of my body and words." Maria commanded to herself.
"No, I read in your memory banks and everything! And I still have until dawn before I go away. So don't try and tell me what to do."
Albel tilted his head, seeing the internal battle fought. There was still time and the other consciousness was buying him more, leaving Maria defenseless and distracted. Her mind seemed torn and he would take this to his advantage.
"Just a little longer and you 'will' go away," she snarled in response. The grip upon the handle of her gun, tightening as it slipped with moistness.
He coughed, "Sophia…?"
"The one and only!" A chipper Maria voiced answer. She smiled, clasping her fist in front of her almost like triumph.
Still he looked confused, lying as he bided his time, saving his energy for a final attack that would surely finish her off with the minor help of his wench.
She laughed, but her speech sounded out echoing from Maria's tone, "I'll explain later, promise. Just win, please."
Maria reiterated her control over her body, "Sophia will you shut up and leave my body be. You may do as you wish with your own but in mine you will not act in such a shameful manner."
Her arm fell down from the tightened fist that Sophia had so done.
She fought for control of the body once more but Maria in her own body seemed so much more difficult. She was loosing and she gave as much time to Albel as she could but now there was almost nothing left and she would have to wait until she could do anything.
"Yes, good girl, just do as I say. You have no power of my body." Maria brushed her hair back, turning to the fallen form of her prey.
Albel had quickly rolled away in her distraction why speaking with herself. He was low on energy but the fury within him that he had slowly ebbed away at him was no blaring within his body. Many thoughts halted his mind; the small talk with Sophia had reminded him too much of what pain he had denied himself.
His crimson eyes had lusted for blood, desire of revenge and hatred. He knew what had to be done, he wanted what had to be done, and to avenge what was so dearly his. There was a smirk, deep within a grimace toward the mere sight of Maria now. But the knowing that she would soon get her just desserts taunted him.
He had moved silently, tactfully, placing himself just behind her without her awareness. He stepped back so that he could get higher in the air for the blow he was going to put upon her.
His speed had increased in addition to his heightened senses in this vision of blind and seething fury. This is what he would bestow upon her, his prey for what she had done to him. The long realization that it took him to find what he had was ripped from his grasp and there was no redeeming herself. And he stepped swiftly toward her form.
Maria shifted her eyes just in time to see him but a brief sage green flashed in the pupils of her eyes. Her arms went down, limp and the power glowing upon her back shined of connection over alteration.
He held his katana blade high as he leaped into the air. The force of the combined weight of the blade and falling gravity brought enough power to the edge to slice her back open.
His attack would be merciful, only giving her a pleasantly painless death, only because she temporarily housed his love's soul.
A smile that could have only been Sophia's aimed at him, nodded at what he would have to do. She would have to experience death once again, softly mouthing, "Remember me." And that was all there was before his skilled had slashed silently and quickly.
Maria's body hit the ground long after it had died. In the space, a long encrypted circle of symbology surrounded the body.
Albel moved away, standing now just outside the cold and dead body.
And the flash of light radiated, glowing off the walls. The black circle of alteration swirled, locking in the white as it sunk into the ground.
His eyes widened as he watched Sophia's consciousness slip away from him, death to her once again but this time he would cause it. He jammed the edge of his blade within the most outer edge of the pattern, standing over it.
His dark hair hid his eyes, bowed. A small tear ebbed out of his eye though he no more would fall; this was truly a first for Albel the Wicked. Even a single drop of salt water falling from his eye was more the enough to show he had actually take this person to heart.
Like water, when his tear fell upon the edge of the circle, it was absorbed like liquid, sending small waves into the other parts of the seen ivory circle.
The ebony hissed at the tear, slinking away from the tint until it had completely separated. The pale circle edged to go beneath the original form of which the consciousness originated. Sophia's body laid, the rays of light reflecting off her form.
The darkness had sunk and Maria's body lay limp on the ground, the true color of human blood seeped from her body.
And the body breathed; the light dissipated; and the wounds wracked upon the form were too, now alive and exiting from her body. She was dying.
And now he would have to relive her death once again…
Albel's head rose, turning to leave. A voice called out to him.
"And your not even gonna help your favorite wench?" Was spoken to him, a laugh expelled from her lips followed by a cough of tired fatigue and pain.
He did not turn, now knowing the true feeling of paranoia that one must feeling of hearing voice after one's loved one has died. He mumbled, "So this is denial… How aggravating."
"I am certainly not!" She said, trying to get him to turn. She was really going to die again if he wasn't going to help her.
He started to walk away, "Just leave me alone. I don't want to hear your voice anymore. It's admittedly painful to listen to because your dead..."
She took a last conscious breath to speak to him, "Please…Albel…turn around. I love you…"
Her eyes closed, watching him step away in disbelief of her life.
Albel walked down the marble steps, "Bah, worm…died." Though a haunting feeling of regret tugged at him. That voice sounded so real, but it would not keep his heart void of feeling that she was now dead.
He walked back, going to check, just to convince himself that Sophia was dead on last time.
He saw her form, leaning her head to one side. Curious though, he walked up and noticed that she was still warm, though should have been cold. Her head was propped against the wrong side then, which it had been originally. He put his ear beside her head and her breathing was soft but slowing by the moment.
"Damn it. Wench was alive and now she's going to die once more. This Apris god or what not must make a decision on which to keep her alive or not."
Her eyes fluttered a bit, mumbling, "Took you long enough." A cough coming to her lips, blood staining the edge of her dress.
He picked her up, "Woman, where did you put your staff?"
She had gone silent, which worried him more now that she would not speak. Her body was loosing heat quickly. He moved back to Arias, knocking on the many doors of the headquarters that was once for the Crimson Blade.
A subordinate answered and Albel gruffly said, "Get a doctor, she's dying! NOW! OR I shall have you life."
They quickly took her in, putting her in a bed and tending to her wounds. A symbological doctor walked in.
Albel paced outside the door, waiting for an answer. Hours passed but he would not sit, nor would he notice the time until someone came to tell him of the news of her condition.
Various doctors would come in and out until finally one stopped. She held out papers of different patients, reading off Sophia's condition.
"Sir, I'm sorry. We are doing all we can be she's not going to make it. We're sure she's going to die in the process and we might have to perform something quite dangerous…but there is always some good news…"
"What is it!" He cut her off, asking of urgency.
A/N: Yeah... I still like the idea of killing off Sophia... Thanks for the reviews. I luff you all. By the way, hope you liked the cutoff. I'm almost 3/4s through the next part so WOO for me.
Thanks for reading.