Disclaimer: No I do not own Gunslinger Girl. Raphael and his other aliases yes but the rest of them no.

"Guys I am really, really sorry about a while ago."

"We don't blame you Raphael, you were really mad about this whole thing since the beginning." I told him.

"I am especially sorry to you, Henrietta; I did not mean to make you cry."

"Raphael, it's ok, I was just a little shocked." I said.

That's the 1st thing he said right after he killed those 3 people and as soon as we met up with him again. He looked very sorry about his actions but the handlers were not going to just let him off the hook just like that.

"Act like that later and I will not hesitate to have you shot, Raphael." said Jean.

"I will not do it again, I promise."

Chapter 17 Contrappeso

The Stand-off

The rest of the trip was silent. Everybody seemed focused on what was going to happen next. Raphael just stared blankly at the dark scenery outside his window. Triela tried to get his attention by leaning on his shoulder but Raphael just wrapped his arm around her and continued looking out the window. Rico got better, she won't be among the assault team anymore but she will provide support as a sniper from another building. Joze just held me as he and Jean and Hillshire discussed on plans as they looked at a map. Eventually we got to the place. At first glance it looked like a normal Roman office building but when the demolition team tried to blow an entering we realized that this building is more that what is seemed.

"It looks like we'll need to go through the front door." Declared Joze.

It had been decided; Hillshire and Rico who are both injured will stay behind. Jean will also stay behind to coordinate everything. The rest will join section 1 and be the assault team. The fights were similar with the ones in the old factory. The enemies were armed with a mix of AK 47s and M16s. With Raphael and Joze on the lead we breezed through the enemies. We went from one floor to the other pretty quickly until we reached the 20th floor. Joze sprinted up the stairs and in front him was a door probably leading to the building's old conference room. Joze rushed in when suddenly I heard several gunshots that did not sound anything like the Ingram MAC-10 sub-machine gun of Joze. Joze literally flew out of the door. Raphael threw a smoke grenade into the room and dragged Joze closer to the stairs.

"Damn, it's him alright." Raphael said as he looked at Joze's injuries.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Hollow point Nighthawk rounds have gone through Joze, and delivered enough momentum to fling him backward. There is only one Nighthawk around that can do that and it's Judas Benoit's."

Triela reached us and said. "What happened?"

Raphael said, "Joze is badly injured, Henrietta take Joze back, he'll die of his wounds if he does not seek medical attention quickly."

He did not need to tell me twice. With all my strength I yanked Joze on to my back and carried/dragged him away from the violence.

"Henrietta… what are you doing?" Joze mumbled.

"Joze just hold on, I am going to save you."

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I looked at the door; the smoke was clearing up slowly. I looked at the stairs; Henrietta was still struggling to bring Joze. Triela suddenly said:

"Raphael, let's go."

But before she could run into the slowly fading smoke I got hold of her hand and said:

"Triela assist Henrietta."

Triela looked at me and complained. "Raph, I am not going to leave you to fight this guy alone."

"If you accompany me, you will leave Henrietta under fire. Just look at her, she can't fend for herself now."

"Raph… how about you."

"Come back with reinforcements as soon as Joze is stabilized."

She said ok, and we kissed goodbye before she went to catch up with Henrietta. I took a deep breath and turned around. The smoke was gone and at the end of the room stood… Judas.

"That's a pretty girl you have there, quite a prize…" Judas said as soon as I entered the room.

"You waited for me to enter? You would have caught me off guard if you just stormed out of this room." I said as I readied my rifle.

"And spoil the suspense? You know that's not my style Lance… or should I say Raphael."

"Shut up and start shooting."

"Like what I said, you found yourself a pretty girl. What would she do if she finds out Lance?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

And with that I started firing my rifle. Unfortunately Judas knew too well that that was going to happen. So he turned a table over and caught the bullets. He dove from one side and fired three shots. I hid behind a pillar but the bullets chinked the edges of the pillar sending rocks at me at high velocity. Damn I forgot about his gun.

"You should be accustomed to my modified Nighthawk by now Lance. It packs more of a punch than any conventional gun."

I ignored his speech as I tried firing at him again. He hid behind a wall and replied.

"Is this going to be a back and forth battle because, I was prepared for a swift fight till the death not something like this."

I continued ignoring him. This is what he really does. Even in a firefight he is still talkative. Heck he was thrown out of Dorado Espada because he was too much of a loud mouth. Suddenly something rolled beside me. It was an HE grenade! I tried diving out of the way but I was too late. I was singed all over.

"Hey Lance… you still alive?"

"Yeah, I am, you still s%ck at your lobbing."

"Haha, that's my boy still alive and cocky just like his teacher."

"No way, you were never a good teacher Judas."

"Well then where did you get the attitude… and the good looks?"

Damn, same old Judas, Words before bullets. Unfortunately it's words he can back us since all of a sudden we both caught each other pointing our guns at each other simultaneously but when I pulled by trigger click click. Aah no ammo! Judas smiled and put three bullets into my shoulder. All three bullets went straight through me like hot knives through butter and like Joze the momentum sent my shoulder and everything else attached too it (like the rest of my body) into a wall.

"Does it sting?" Judas said as he reloaded his gun in plain sight.

"It almost hurt." I said as I forced a smile on my lips.

"Well that's what you get for counting my shots and not counting your own. I am guessing that that was the last magazine you brought?"

He wasn't guessing, he knew that I have been using my rifle since I got here. He knew that I only brought seven magazines with me and he knows that that was my last.

"Well that's too bad, this is my last magazine too, but as you can see it's still full." He said as he pointed at the Nighthawk in his hand referring to the magazine he just crammed inside.

I was not down yet; I pulled by Desert Eagle and my USP .45 ACP tactical and started firing. He ran for cover as soon as my hand darted for my holster.

"A .45 caliber pistol? That's new, Desert Eagle that's typical Lance but that USP tactical is so not you're style."

"Could you focus on the fight Judas, you're starting to get on my nerves." I shouted as I started firing again.

He dodged the shots and fired a couple of his own. I dove under a nearby table and felt one of the bullets breeze past my cheek. Fhew, that was close.

"Speaking about nerves Lance, you know what is getting on my nerves? The thought that you're reinforcements could come anytime. That's why I am willing to throw a monkey wrench in this equation we have here. Now you have to kill me before you're reinforcements arrive because if they do come here then… I'll tell them the wonderful story, which is how Lance came to be Raphael."

He got me right there. I just realized how much of a threat he was right not. I rolled out of the table and stood up.

"You wouldn't!" I shouted.

"You know I will Lance. Imagine what they will think. Imagine what they will do. Will that girl of you're still love you Lance? Will she still love you when she realizes that she loved Raphael when you really are Lance Kane?"

I felt my spine shudder but it did not stop me from shooting at him again. I grazed his arm but the rest of the shots missed. He has the home court advantage; I couldn't hit him. He was also right. I need to kill him before everyone gets here. I need to before Triela gets here!

"That's the determination I want from you Lance. Yes rush, be clumsy. Make every 5 of you're bullets worth one of mine. I don't have much left Lance and you know that. I can tell you've been counting them since I reloaded a new magazine."

The gunfight went on. Neither side getting any damage. I was in a hurry to finish this but how do I kill someone who knows me too well. Suddenly he runs into a clearing and points his gun. I jumped from my hiding spot and point both guns at him. He pulls the trigger but instead of bangs I heard clicks.

"Oops, there goes my last magazine."

"For someone who lectures about counting one's own rounds you sure s#ck at counting."

"I am sure I have another bullet somewhere here. There you go! 1 bullet left." He said triumphantly after going through his pockets.

"So you put you're self at risk of being shot, to realize that you're out of ammo and now you're using diversionary tactics to give you more time before I kill you?"

"No I am waiting for that flash grenade on the desk beside you to go off and deal maximum blinding effect that's all."

What flash grenade! I was too late off course. As soon as I saw the grenade everything was white. I was badly disoriented. I could here movements from Judas but I could not tell where they were coming from. When suddenly bang Judas spent his last bullet sending it through my left arm, and threw my right arm. The force caused my arms to flay and me to fling both my pistols. When I came to my senses I was not able to catch the right hook punch coming my way wham I was on the ground. I kipped up and assumed a fighting position just for the sake of hinting that I was willing to fight but then he said:

"Wait, hand-to-hand combat? You've got to be kidding me Lance. You know I don't do that, especially with people like you."

With that he drew a katana from a nearby coat of arms hanging from the wall and unsheathed it. I pulled both of the combat knives in my holster one on each hand and ran towards him. He gave a downward slash and I caught the blade by crossing both my knives into an 'X'. The force sent me into a kneeling position.

"How do you expect to fight me with those knives Lance? Better yet, how do you expect to kill me in time?"

I grinned at him and gave him a legsweep from the kneeling position. I then grabbed the other katana on the coat of arms and unsheathed it as well.

"Actually I was just trying to get a hold of this." I said.

We had both of our swords poised as we prepared for the epic battle. I have had experience at fencing but if the rumors were true, Judas went to Japan specifically to train with the katana. In short I had a hard fight on my hands. I gave a horizontal slash for his stomach but he was able to parry that quite easily. I tried to do a thrust but he was also able to parry that. He went for a stab but I was able to block it. With his follow through though I was not so lucky. He followed the stabbing motion with a slash and he delivered a cut to the side of my abdomen.

"You're no good at this are you Lance." He said as both our swords were crossed for a moment.

"I am no good but I still stand a chance."

With that I, suddenly gave up the crossing of swords making him stumble forward and I grabbed his arm and threw him over. He crashed on a table but as I jumped into the air and tried to bring my sword down on him he rolled out and I nearly had my sword stuck to the table. He got up, smiled and said:

"That's pretty impressive but can you block this."

He went for a slash for a neck, followed by one to my legs before going for a straight stab and finishing it of with bringing the blade down on my shoulder. I blocked the 1st, 3rd and 4th in the end I received a cut on my leg, I blocked the last blow with the back of my blade and went for a strike to the neck but he easily parried it, in the end I only managed to hit him with the flat of my blade. If I was going to survive this I had to get out of this tight corner. I decided to jump onto a table perform and flip over him and attack him from behind. Unfortunately it only looked good in my imagination. I got on the table and performed the flip, but as I did he was able to give me a slash across my back.

"Ouch, now that should hurt. Don't try to be too flashy Lance. I could read you're tricks like a book."

I was frustrated. I pointed my blade at him and tried a straight thrust. He parried the move and sent it into a wall. My sword got lodged into the wall. He kicked my in the gut sending me back. When I got up I realized that I did not have my sword with me anymore. It was still on the wall! Judas looked at the sword stuck on the wall and looked at me.

"In a gentle man's game I am suppose to take the sword out and give it to you."

I knew he had no intention of doing that so I once again took my combat knives out of their sheaths.

"That's right Lance. Too bad for you this is not a gentleman's game. So I am going to just let you fend for yourself."

With that he lifted his sword in the air and ran towards me. He gave three slashes and I was only able to block 2. The other one slashed my arm. I stepped back and tried to dash towards him knives out when it happened… he lowered his blade and drove it into me. Gasp he impaled me from the chest…

"Cough, cough." I went as I tried to speak.

I felt blood just pour out of my mouth; it was like vomiting it and drooling it in the same time. I heard Judas's laughs slowly blur as my vision blured as well. I started thinking to my self. 'Damn this is the end. The final chapter of Lance Kane, I won't be able to stay for the epilogue ha-ha cough, cough. I was never prepared for this day. Where should I start saying goodbye? Goodbye Dad, goodbye mom, bye to my 2 sisters I don't know how will Paul and Shawn explain this to you but I guess it's goodbye to those two nuts too. Goodbye SWA, goodbye Henrietta, goodbye Rico, goodbye Claes, goodbye and I love you Triela. That does not matter anymore; when you guys come here Judas will tell you everything. I could imagine it now I would be a lonely corpse abandoned and hated by all for being deceptive. Yes, even you Triela, you will turn you're back on me leaving me like this never caring if we really were destined. I am destined never to be with you again.'

But at that thought I felt a new source of energy surge through my body. My eyes cleared up again and I was able to lift my head up. I looked at Judas and he stared at me as if I just came back from the dead. Suddenly I saw it, my sword it is just within my reach! I pulled it from the wall and with all the strength I had left I thrust it into Judas's chest impaling him as well.

"G-gasp… how?" he said as blood trickled from his mouth as well.

I still managed to make a smile before twisting the blade making the sharpened edge face the left side and with one slash I drove it out of Judas's body nearly cutting him in half and in the process severing his right arm. He fell on the ground in pieces. I stumbled to a nearby wall to support my self; I still was able to mumble:

"So long ssh#le!"

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With Henrietta and Jean behind me I raced back up the stairs as I thought to my self. 'Raphael please still be alive. Please still be alive.' I could say that I was pretty quick since I left the others far behind. When I burst into the room I saw a mangled corpse on the ground. For a while I thought it was Raphael and my body shuddered. However, when I faced the left side of the room there was Raphael leaning on the wall grinning at me. He looked pale but that is to be expected. He killed Mr. Benoit!

"Raphael you did it!" I shouted.

"Yah, hurray for me." He said as he maintained his wry smile and limped towards me.

I saw a hilt on his chest but at first I thought that it was just a knife. So I asked to make sure.

"Raph you have a knife on you're chest."

He had trouble talking but he was able to say, "Yeah… a knife."

Suddenly he stumbled giving me a side view of him. It's a sword! And it's protruding from his back! I couldn't hold my emotions.

"Raphael! O my god!" I screamed at I rushed to his side.

He just looked at me and said, "I am fine relax."

I shouted out, "Are you crazy? You're far from fine. Y-you have a sword driven through you!"

I made a move to call for help but he grabbed my arm. By then I was afraid to make a move, I might yank him and make him fall forward and increase the damage.

"Don't leave me Triela… don't leave me." He sputtered.

"Raphael what should I do then? I don't know what to do!"

"Take it easy, I just need a seat," he fumbled his way on a table and sat down.

Then he looked at me. He held my cheek and started saying.

"Triela… Triela… Triela I…I."

"Raphael don't force you're self." I said

But he still chose to try and give his message.

"Triela I… I love… you."

With that his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed on the floor. I don't know what happened next since it seemed that my head got lighter as I saw him with his blood pooling on the floor, before I knew it I blacked out.