Damn... This what an embarrassment... Leone fell on her knee, puking out blood that has gathered itself in her stomach. One would think having 9 holes in your stomach would take care of it for her.

Her wound was mortal and she was very much aware of it. The damn minister got her good. She really didn't see that one coming, especially from a fat sack of shit such as him. Good thing he wasn't smart enough to shoot her in the head. This might have stopped her from feeling the joy of smashing his ugly face into the floor and splattering his brain all over the floor. Still, she's lost both her Teigu and enough blood to make most people downright drop on the ground, roll over and die.

But she's hardly a normal person.

No, she still had one more thing to do. After all, the mission is not over until she reports back.

A smile appeared on her face as she thought of that stupid rule Akame made up. Stupid but effective. She couldn't even count how many times hearing that phrase in her head brought her back into reality just in time to save her from a lethal strike of an enemy she thought was defeated already. And after all, she can't let anyone think she didn't finish the mission because she hasn't reported back.

Leone grabbed one of the pieces of rubble next to her and pulled herself up. She almost fell after making another step, but only barely caught onto another piece of rubble. Her hand was pressed against her blood covered stomach, as if she was trying to ease the pain. It didn't, but it gave her some strange sense of comfort. Human mind is a strange thing... She felt that the cloth she used to limit the bleeding has already been soaked to the point that it was just a dead weight now so she just dropped it down to the ground.

She continued to slowly push herself forward through the ruined halls of the palace. She could see the light already. It was so close, and yet every step filled her with pain so great it made her question whether she should take another one each time. Her strength was being drained from her body, left behind in a form of a long trail of blood. God damn it... I won't make it out like this... I have to stop the bleeding somehow... It wasn't really a mystery for her as to how she should handle it. She just wasn't very fond of the idea.

Still, it was the only way available for her to stop the bleeding and actually make it out of this place alive.

She stopped and after taking a deep breath reached her hand out towards the wall. She felt a wooden surface of a torch in her palm and pulled it down on the ground. It was hard to keep it in her hands for too long. She did the same with a shield that was attached to the wall as a decoration. It was a bit harder, but with some effort and a bit more pain she's managed to rip it out and allowed it to fall right on top of the torch.

With another deep breath she attempted to calm herself before what is to come. While the metal was heating up she fell on her knees beside the fire. The carpet in the hallway started to catch fire. Guess throwing the torch on it wasn't the best idea... I've gotta hurry up with that... Or that palace will become my grave and I fucking refuse to be buried in the same one as that shit-head of a minister... The upside -or downside, depending on how you look at it- of the burning carpet was that it made the shield heat up faster.

Once she was sure it was hot enough, Leone grabbed it, hissing in pain as her hands burned on contact. She knew it's about to her worse though, she she just swallowed it and with no hesitation pressed the red hot metal to her bleeding stomach.

The pain was horrible. Her mouth opened slightly, trying to let out a scream but it was immediately stopped when Leone clenched her teeth. She will NOT scream because of a wound that slime ball gave her. And she will NOT cry, as much as she wants to right now. This would be the ultimate humiliation for her. Knowing she will die because of him is enough as it is. But screaming and crying like a baby because of it? That's off limits. At least until she's back with the others. Then she will cry. Maybe.

The fact that she didn't even know if any of them are alive filled her with worry. For all she knew, she might be the last living member of Night Raid.

The thought echoed in her head as her skin burned under the touch of hot steel. Even if she makes it back on the surface, will she still have anyone to report back to? Nejada can drop dead at any moment after she used up Susanoo's Trump Card. Who's to say her life force hasn't depleted in the middle of battle? And Akame? Tatsumi? The last time she saw the two of them they had the emperor and his Teigu out to get them. Not a favorable mach up if she's ever seen one.

They can all be dead, and all her efforts to come back to them for one last goodbye are for nothing.

Damn, if that's true I'm definitely gonna cry... The shield dropped to the floor again as her hands stopped supporting it. They couldn't anymore. She looked at them, seeing the terrible burns that now covered them. Shame I don't wear gloves. She laughed at her thoughts. Those burns were nothing compared to what was on her stomach though. But there wasn't much time for her to admire her own handiwork. It was getting hot here.

She pushed herself up and seeing the fire has started to, run towards the single ray of light she could still see. The heat was making her already hot body feel even hotter. The oxygen around her was being depleted and she could definitely feel it.

Doing her best to ignore the pain, she jumped straight through the wall of fire that has formed itself in her way. Suddenly the floor under her started to crack, threatening to pull her back down where the minister's body is slowly rotting away. Just before the floor directly under her fell down, she managed to grab onto a ladder that would take her back to the surface. Her hand almost lost it's grip on it as the pain from the burns started to spread.

She ignored it though. She had to.

The thick smoke started to cloud her eyes but she still climbed up as fast as she could. The fire has reached the ladder just as she got to the top of it, slightly burning her legs. She smashed the trapdoor above her into pieces, and started to climb up, all that was left now was using the rubble to get up to the surface.

Adrenaline was rushing through her body as she continued to climb in the tight space. The oxygen that flowed through the destroyed trapdoor became a fuel for the fire underneath her, making it grow further. It reached her legs again, giving her yet another burn to the collection.

She felt nothing though. Adrenaline in her body has pushed her to move faster instead. Her hand has finally reached out into the world above, but she couldn't see the light anymore. The thick black smoke was the only thing she could see. Holding onto the ground above she pulled herself between two pieces of rubble. They started to scratch against her burned stomach, damaging it further and bringing her pain even the adrenaline rush she was in couldn't completely nullify.

Pushing through that, Leone just barely managed to get to the surface, bursting from underneath the earth. She immediately fell to the ground. The rush of adrenaline was over now, and the full extant of her injuries has hit her like a shot of pure ethanol. Despite her best efforts a weak cry of pain escaped her lips. Her hand moved to her stomach, but as soon as she touched she realized it was a mistake. The whole area was covered in huge blisters full of blood and pus. The moment she touched them, her whole stomach flared up in even more pain. Shit... I don't have time for this crap! Clenching her teeth and hissing from pain, she forced herself to stand up, but only managed to get into kneeling position before she had to catch her breath.

She started to look around as her pants became heavy. The area was flat, surrounded by a crumbling ice wall. She could see people encased in the ice. Soldiers, civilians, revolutionaries, imperials, man, women, adults, children... Only Esdeath could do something like that. And that means she is or at least was here.

There was no doubt in Leone's mind that she will not live through an encounter with Esdeath in her state. That and she doubted to live through one even if she was at full strength. Luckily she quickly learned that she won't have to. Esdeath's decapitated body was laying next to her, with her head smashed into pieces a mere meter away. She couldn't help but smile. We did it... The revolution was over. They won. All those sacrifices were not for nothing... But were they worth it? Slowly, her happy smile melted down.

For her it didn't really matter anymore. She was going to be added to the list of those sacrifices soon anyways. Whether it was all worth it in the end or not will be left to the history. Still, the question of whether lives of your friends and your own meant anything is not something she can just get out of her head.

The pain was slowly dropping down to a manageable level. It was still extremely bad, but at least she could get up. She did just that, but not before spotting Akame and Tatsumi a couple meters away from her. Instinctively, the first thing she did was look for sighs of breathing. She quickly saw that both of them are alive, though it appeared they are unconscious. A hint of a smirk appeared on her face as she examined the position they were in. Kneeling on the ground, with their arms and heads limply draped on one another. It looked like they were kissing too. Soooo~ Akame finally decided to act, huh? Or did Tatsumi finally realize it? Well, either way...

She didn't finish the thought. There was a couple more details that have escaped her thanks to her own state. Primarily their expressions. Despite the seemingly romantic position she found them in, both had pain written on their unconscious faces and tears streaming down their eyes. Akame also had some strange black mud occasionally pouring out of her.

There were some strange red marks all over her body, and even without Lionel, Leone could feel malice coming off of them. It was like a horrible stench filling the air around her. The occasional twitch from her body told her that even despite being unconscious, she is still very much in serious pain.

Tatsumi on the other hand was... Different. Scales all over his arms and legs, big-ass claws on his hands and... A tail. Tatsumi grew a fucking tail...He looked more like one of Stylish's experiments then a human. If it wasn't for his aura remaining mostly the same, she would start to seriously question if it was really him or not.

But it was him. Even with some extra bits that was still her little brother. Or at least a part of him.

Quickly getting over her surprise at seeing the two of her unofficial younger siblings in a state like that, Leone quickly gathered herself and ignoring her own pain yet again rushed to help. It was immediately obvious to her that she has no way of being any help to them whatsoever. She is more competent with medicine then most, as are... or rather were... all members of Night Raid but her 'expertise' extends only to treating stuff you can find commonly on a battlefield. Cuts, broken bones, lost limbs, stuff like that. Usually without the use of hot iron.

She will need to take them to a professional, preferably that doctor who was given Stylish's Teigu after the sucker was killed. Guy became something of a Teigu expert after that, regularly checking on Revolutionary Army's Teigu users, Night Raid included. Apparently Teigus are something of a passion of his. Some even say he hopes to create a Teigu himself one day, or at least something like one.

She could guess that the problem with both Tatsumi and Akame had something to do with their respective Teigus. The scales on Tatsumi's body reminded her a lot of Incursio for one thing, and the aura Akame's 'tattoos' gave off was very similar to that of Murasame. There was something strange about it though. Normally, Murasame would appear as nothing more then a sword as far as auras, killing intent and all that stuff are concerned until Akame herself would start to emit them. But those marks were constantly oozing with malice and killing intent, but neither focused on anything around. They were focused on Akame herself.

And it wasn't like just any killing intent she felt before. It was like hundreds- no, thousands of voices screaming in anger, calling for revenge on that one girl.

It was more then a little unsettling. Leone felt sick when thoughts of what Akame must be going through right now passed through her head.

She picked Murasame up from the ground and hid it in Akame's sheath just before picking the girl and boy holding her up. She threw them both over her shoulders and started to move towards a huge hole that has formed in one part of the ice wall.

If the weight of the two was bothering her, she didn't show it at all. Her desire to make sure at least these two get to have some form of normal life outweighed that by far. Still, she was severely slowed down by her own wounds, only barely managing to run forward. Sprinting was out of the question. She already felt like her stomach was slowly being ripped apart by her movement.

Once on the edge of the arena Esdeath has formed, Leone jumped down onto the streets. Some people were startled by that, but they quickly went back to what they were doing and ignored her. They had bigger concerns then some girl carrying people on her back. She wasn't the only one anyways. There were more people carrying their wounded loved ones, looking for help. Houses around the area were devastated. Dead bodies were lying everywhere, with those alive searching through them, hoping to not see any familiar faces.

The fall of emperor's Teigu was devastating, as much as Tatsumi tried to stop it. He probably saved thousands of lives anyways, but it was simply impossible to save everyone. And he almost died himself on top of that.

Leone was pretty sure his survival had a lot to do with his new form. Nobody could just survive what Tatsumi did.

She turned in the direction of the closest camp of Revolutionaries inside of the capital. Nejada should be there, and she should know how to get the doctor here. Leone started passing through the back alleys, trying to get there faster and lessen the strain on her body. It would be hard to help them if she drops dead half way there.

With how big the Capital was it's hard for anyone to really learn it's entire layout, if not downright impossible. She did however learn how to navigate around it effectively. Her time in slums helped her with that a lot. All she needed to know is where the camp is and she could get there from any part of the city. Having a skill like that has proven itself useful during her many interactions with law enforcement and now it definitely saved her a whole world of pain caused by exhaustion and her wounded stomach.

She was within eye range of the camp within ten minutes of nonstop running and she honestly couldn't tell for sure how much more she could actually take. Probably not much.

The guards posted at the entrance immediately pointed their rifles at her and pulled out their swords. "Bold!" One of them shouted. They obviously didn't know who she is, and since she had no visual indicators that she is with the revolution, they resorted to checking her with a call sign.

If she didn't know it and wouldn't stop at the sight of having rifles pointed at her they would open fire. "Pigeon!" She shouted back. They lowered their weapons, but still held them ready. They kept their eyes on her until they saw Nejada approach her. "Boss!"

"Leone, what-!?" Her eye widened when she noticed the wound on Leone's stomach. She knew a mortal wound when she saw one. "Leone, you..." Her metallic hand formed a fist.

"Mission completed boss..." Leone said, smiling sadly. "Esdeath and Honest are dead, Emperor incapacitated and his Teigu destroyed. We won." Upon hearing it, the revolutionaries gathered around them started to cheer loudly. Not Nejeda though. She had her eyes locked on Leone's wound. She knew more then well enough that she doesn't have much time left. And she's powerless to do anything about it yet again. "Now, about these two." Leone snapped Nejeda out of it before she started to think too much. "Can you get that Teigu doctor here? As you can see they are not exactly as they were when the mission started."

"And what about you?" That was a stupid question and Nejada knew it. "Not even going to ask for help?" Leone could hear the sorrow and pain in her voice.

"Well, I guess I could use some painkillers. Should keep me awake until they wake up."


Hours later the doctor has finally arrived. He was in another part of the capital, treating wounded revolutionaries and civilians. The moment he heard about Akame and Tatsumi he rushed out as fast as he could, but it still took him a long while before he finally got to the camp where they were being held.

And his diagnosis?

Tatsumi's life was not threatened in any way, in fact he was better then ever as far as physical condition was concerned. At least if you ignore the fact that his body has merged with his Teigu to the point you could say that now he is Incursio. Or rather the Danger Beast that it was made out of. His bones and muscles were now stronger, his senses sharpened beyond what is humanly possible and he even gained something akin to a healing factor. And he grew a tail... There were also changes on the inside. His organs were rearranged, their shapes changed, made more effective and efficient. He even had some entirely new organs not seen in humans that were also added. All Tatsumi really needed was rest, but with Tyrant's strength as his own, even that won't be long. The worst is probably behind him already. Having so many changes done to your body in such a short period of time was surely not a pleasant experience.

Akame on the other hand... Was not going to be so well...

Back when the doctor was starting his career as Revolutionary Army's Teigu doctor, he had all of Night Raid participate in tests made on their Teigus. He wanted to see how they work, how they affect them and in Murasame's case - how it kills. He had them kidnap some of their targets instead of outright killing them. Then strapped them to his equipment and had Akame execute them, or just give them Murasame to see the process of it rejecting a potential user. Whatever he found out from those tests he left between himself and Akame. Until now that is.

Because now, he has found large amounts of Murasame's poison stored all over Akame's body. It has filled nearly every available space it could, be it inside organs, blood vessels or muscles. It was causing a constant stream of pain, occasionally peaking so high, doctor's equipment started to go over the scale.

According to him, Akame is showing symptoms all victims of her swords do -be it from a cut, or attempted use- but extremely slowed down and intensified by a ridiculous margin.

He naturally tried to remove at least some of that poison, but quickly learned that it brings no effect and only causes more pain to Akame as painkillers are completely ineffective. Whenever he would poke her with needles or open her up to get the poison out, it would simply move somewhere else as if it was alive.

In the end, doctor confirmed that the poison is slowly killing Akame, giving her a month of life at most based on how the stronger bursts of pain intensify and affect her body. A month, provided she doesn't kill herself in the meantime, which is a very likely possibility. Right now all he could do is keep her asleep with drugs to limit the pain she is experiencing while he tries to come up with a solution. There are drawbacks though. Akame is showing all the signs of someone having a nightmare, a pretty bad one. And she is being trapped inside of it by people trying to help her on top of that.

Her case seemed helpless, and both Nejada and Leone knew this. They knew just how powerless they are and there's not a thing they can do to even ease Akame's pain a little bit.


A puff of smoke left Nejada's lips as she threw another burned cigarette into the ashtrey, immediately grabbing another one. She's already went through several boxes but it was still not enough. She knew smoke can't fill the hole that's been growing in her chest ever since Sheele's death, but they sure can help her with not thinking about it too much.

Smoke filled her lungs again. She left it there for a few seconds, letting some thoughts fill her head in the meanwhile. Despite her best efforts, they started to affect her.

Lubbock's goggles hanging around her neck suddenly felt as if they were choking her. "Damn it..." Her metalic hand pressed against her lost eye on instinct. We won, right? She asked herself. Then why? Why does it feel like that? Why does it feel like I'm the biggest loser in the world!? Her fist slamed against the table, breaking it along with the ashtray on it. She stared at her handiwork for a while before sighing and grabbing another ashtray from her drawer and leaving it on her prosthetic hand.

It started to get really hard to clear her mind of thoughts of her dead subordinates... Her friends. People she's shared years of her life with, people she laughed and despaired with, people she loved... People that were now gone.

The fact that she will be joining them soon enough somehow brought her relief. She genuinely hoped it would be sooner rather then later.

It was cowardly way of thinking and she knew it. After all, she had new duties now. People like her were needed in rebuilding this Empire, but... Ignoring that, what was left for her in life? Almost all people she called friends are dead and out of three that are alive one is going to die the moment her willpower runs out, another one is slowly and painfully approaching her death, and the last one was fused with his own Teigu and she didn't even know for sure if it was still him in that body or something else.

Is this how the world will repay them? Is that their reward for all they went through? Or is it their punishment? Because it sure as hell felt like one to her.

A tear rolled down her face. First one in years.


For hours after doctor left to get some sleep, Leone kept sitting next to Akame's bed. She was barely feeling her body anymore because of the sheer amount of painkillers she's taken. Probably more then she should, but it's not like it mattered in her case. As long as she could keep going until she can say goodbye to at least one of them, it's fine with her.

She sighed, gently squeezing Akame's hand. It didn't bring the girl on the bed any comfort, her face still twisted by nightmares she is dealing with. They were away from all the celebrations going on all over the Capital, so the only thing that can be heard in the room are her pained pants and occasional weak scream. God damn it... She's suffering so badly and there's nothing I can do for her... Haven't felt this powerless in a while...

Her eyes turned to Tatsumi, who's bed was across the small room. His face was illuminated by moonlight, showing his calm expression, completely mirroring Akame's pain filled features. "Akame..." He said, still fast asleep.

Leone smiled at that. It was good that at the very least there was one good thing that happened since their 'victory'. She's been silently observing the two obliviously dancing around each other for a while now, even hoping to see Mine try to get in on it. But knowing how that particular romance ended, at least having these two admit how they feel about one another is something to be happy about. That, and they will need each other. Akame especially will need all the support Tatsumi can give her if she is to have any chance at surviving the ordeal she's found herself in.

Her eyes moved towards the moon shining through the window.

She stared at it for a long time, not letting go of Akame's hand for even a moment. At some point she noticed tears rolling down her face on her own reflection in the window. She couldn't even tell when she started to cry though. Between now and the moment she took her last dose of painkillers she felt absolutely nothing.

With her body at least. Her other senses could still pick things up. And now, they were doing just that.

Someone was looking at her. Someone who was close to her. In more then one way.

Turning her head to the side, she was met with Tatsumi's eyes focused on her. They had a predator-like look to them now, but there was still so much warmth behind them. She couldn't see that when he was unconscious, but now all the small doubts about his merging with the Tyrant that she started to have ever since hearing about it from the doctor were gone now. That was Tatsumi, and no one would convince her otherwise. "Hi there." She said, getting rid of her tears.

He smiled gently. "Hi." He got up and without a word hugged her. And after a day like hers, that's just what she needed. She just closed her eyes and for a change, she cuddled into his chest, quietly letting go of her worries and relaxing for this short moment. After all, it was probably her last opportunity to do so. "I'm so glad you're al-" He suddenly tensed up.

Leone could tell what happened. He could feel death reaching for her.

Tatsumi slowly pulled away and looked down at her stomach. He grabbed the cloak she has covered herself with and moved it out of the way. "Leone..." He started trembling.

Well, I guess my time has come... She got up as well. "Tatsumi..." There were many things she wanted to say right now, so many things she's never told to him, but somehow nothing could leave her mouth. Save for one word. "Goodbye..." She placed her hand on his shoulder as one more tear left her eye.

That's what she was waiting for all this time. That is why she's endured all that pain. All to say that one word. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you Akame but...I can't can't keep this up anymore... I'm so sorry... To both of you...

With that final thought, this cat left for her last walk.


Song of the day: Three Days Grace - Time of Dying