Chapter 16

Keeping up with Cassie and Charles was no small feat for Elizabeth. The two seemed undeterred by anything blocking their path. The ground was slick from the rain, and then there was the various debris scattered about from the wreckage of downed Interceptors. Worst of all was the bodies they had to pass continuing on towards the faltering flank. Charles and Cassie were able to maneuver through or over everything while Elizabeth breathed heavily trying to keep up.

These two were world ranking Pandora and although Elizabeth had bested Charles in Spireach it was not because she was better. Her Limiter, Andre was the deciding factor in that fight and without him Charles would have dispatched her with ease. She prayed Andre was safe as he assisted the opposite flank knowing that he could hold his own without her. She focused on the two ahead of her almost running into them as they came to a stop. Cassie spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"No! Elizabeth, this…" Cassie trailed off. Charles stared ahead silently her mouth tight. Elizabeth took a few deep breaths letting her heart calm from the running.

"What is it? How bad?" The blonde Pandora asked. Charles looked at Cassie and shook her head.

"It's not the flank…Elizabeth, I'm so sorry." Cassie answered sadly. Elizabeth's eyes opened wider and she pushed past the teal haired Pandora covering her mouth with her hands as she saw what they had seen. Side by side, Arnette and Claire lay on the ground covered in blood. Neither one moved or showed any signs of life, but stared lifelessly up towards the sky.

"Arnette!" Elizabeth screamed running frantically towards her friend's body. She slid on her knees in the mud collapsing next to her and grabbed her head cradling it in her arms. Cassie and Charles approached slowly lowering their heads respectfully. Charles knelt down beside Claire touching her next near the scythe wound Arnette had delivered.

"She's dead." Charles confirmed and Cassie nodded once.

"Wake up! Wake up Arnette!" Elizabeth cried rocking the body of her friend. The deaths until now were difficult, but she had been able to keep her emotions in check. Bottling it up and keeping her pain hidden allowed her to appear calm and unshakable. Seeing Arnette's blood soaked body finally snapped her façade. The loss of another one of the girls she had grown up with as a Pandora was gone. First, it was Attia and now Arnette was too much for Elizabeth to bare.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth." Charles said. Cassie reached out touching Arnette's hand and wrist. She then placed her fingers on the red heads neck and closed her eyes looking away. Cassie swallowed hard and pulled her hand back.

"She's gone." Cassie said holding back her own tears.

"No!" Elizabeth wailed burying her face in Arnette's hair. Charles knelt down beside Elizabeth and reached out brushing her hand over Arnette's face. She closed the Pandora's eyes and rested her hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"She took that one with her. The wound in her neck is from her scythe. They killed each other." Charles explained. Cassie nodded looking over at Claire's body nearby. She reached over and closed Claire's eyes as well.

"Arnette…achieved what she set out to. She avenged Attia." Cassie said.

"At what cost? We're killing each other! Pandora shouldn't kill Pandora!" Elizabeth yelled angrily running her fingers through Arnette's hair. Charles and Cassie could only watch on silently as Elizabeth lost herself in the emotions she had been hiding for far too long.

Varen and Charon's attention wavered simultaneously breaking apart from one another. Varen put his hand over his heart gasping for air. He fought to stay on his feet as the nightmare he already experienced played itself out once more. His connection with Arnette was gone. The absence of her presence could only mean one thing, just like with Chiffon in Spireach. The very event that sent him into a tailspin of turmoil and doubt. His greatest fear was coming true once more. He let someone get close to him again. For that, she was dead.

"You!" Charon roared turning her head towards Varen. Her voice was full of rage and her black hair whipped through the air as her head snapped towards him. Arnette's death had brought him nearly to his knees and she could have finished him easily, but hadn't. Her body movements looked like his and she was in no less pain. Within the helmet Varen's eyes widened as he took a few deep breaths.

"She did it…she killed Claire didn't she?" He asked out loud. He wasn't asking to anyone in particular, but simply voicing his thoughts. It was a small shred, but he could feel the relief knowing that she hadn't died for nothing. Claire hadn't killed Arnette without resistance. He closed his eyes and forced a small smile.

"No! I'll kill you all!" Charon screamed acceleration forward slashing her katanas wildly at Varen. He brought Rin's and Ticy's blades up blocking her attacks as quickly as he could. The armor enhanced his strength and speed to the point where he could battle against Charon evenly. The fury behind her attacks now pressed him back regardless of that equality in power they now shared. He let the pain of losing Arnette, Attia, Ticy, and Chiffon course through him and bit down riposting her attacks and pushing her onto the defense. The swords in his hands vanished and he punched both hands forward.

"Divine Trust!" He called as bladed tonfas appeared making Charon twist her body awkwardly to dodge. Words began to fill Varen's mind as he thrust the tonfas at Charon repeatedly making her change her defensive stance to adjust against the new weapons. Many of the words were foreign to him, but others were familiar. Divine Trust was one such familiar set that he knew of. The volt weapons of Ingrid Bernstein.

Charon dove backward gaining distance between herself and Varen. She came to her feet only to be sent flying sideways through the air. Her breath was knocked from her lungs and her armor cracked near her ribs as she sprawled across the mud. She crawled to her hands and knees trying to regain her breath looking over at Varen who held a meteor hammer in his hands. She had to roll sideways to avoid Attia's weapon as he slammed it into the ground where she had been.

"Chains of Binding!" Varen called sending the girl diving away once more as four long chains snaked out from his back crashing down at the Novaborn. He could barely keep up with the names of volt weapon flooding his mind. It threatened to overwhelm him as he continued to barrage Charon with the chains. As a spray of mud and water rained down Charon charged forward, katanas leading the way aimed at Varen's throat.

"Infinity Fang!" Metal plates formed around Varen's gauntlets and greaves that he used to knock both katanas aside. He spun kicking Charon hard in the opposite side as before spinning her through the air again. Her faceplate dematerialized leaving her staring up at him hatefully. Her mouth hung open as she sucked in gulps of air.

"Your fate was sealed long ago Justicar! You're destined to die here and now!" Charon yelled getting back to her feet. Genetics Pandora and Chevalier alike stepped back in fear as rifts began to open in the air around them. Countless tears in the very fabric of the air appeared as Charon narrowed her eyes.

"Not this time." Varen answered letting the helmet of his armor disappear so he could look at Charon eye to eye. More rifts opened in the air all pointed at him from which he knew what would come. Spectral blades commanded by Charon that even he could not provide enough energy to deflect with his shield.

"It's not your choice to make. Bladestorm!" Charon shouted to the sky and a stream of katanas sailed from the rifts towards Varen.

"I trust you." Varen threw his arms in front of his body hearing a woman's voice for the first time in his mind. A mixture of gasps and cries echoed from everyone nearby as the spectral blades impacted into Varen sending an enormous cloud of dirt and debris into the air. Charon stood her ground holding her main hand katana aimed at Varen directing the onslaught of weapons at him. She lowered the blade and the rifts closed leaving the dust and mud to settle.

"No one can escape destiny." Charon said at last. Her face turned to shock as she saw two faint blue glowing objects within the smoke and dust. Her chest rose and fell quickly as a new feeling began to fill her body. A foreign emotion that until now she had not experienced, but as more of the debris settled she could no longer control the rapid beating of her heart.

"Not possible…that's not possible! You can't!" Charon protested. Blue flames encircled Varen's eyes. Eyes that she could see between the enormous clawed gauntlets wrapped around his arms he used to shield himself with. Sister Margaret's mouth hung open staring in disbelief. Michelle had to force herself to breath having been holding her breath the whole time. She watched as the Justicar stood straight bringing the clawed gauntlets down into a ready position.

Charon's entire body trembled from the sight. Although everyone watching saw Varen clearly preparing to engage Charon, from her viewpoint it was much different. Whether terror or something else effecting her mind she didn't know, but what she saw before her was more frightening than anything in the world. Glowing eyes, Anti Nova, the weapon of Maria Lancelot, and a smiling face. Charon backpedaled crying out as Chiffon Fairchild charged her.