Last [E]xecution

farewell [C]ruel world

2B knelt there. She knelt there panting, her body drenched in sweat and tears flowing off her cheeks. Blood and tears dripped onto A2's body from her face.

It was over.

It was finally over.

A2 could barely move but she didn't have to. Looking at the sword out of the corner of her eye, she saw it had gone into the floor. A2 was still recovering from all her damage. Still unable move so she couldn't avoid the sword strike.

Which meant 2B missed.

No way an executioner like 2B would miss her mark like that. At least not on accident. Why did 2B choose to miss? 2B was dead but she could've taken A2 with her if she had just chosen to impale her sword into A2's head.

Why did 2B miss?

Who knows? Who cares?

A2's body may not be able to move much, but she didn't need to. She only needed to put her hand on top of her chest...then materialize a sword right in her grasp, one 2B had impaled herself on.

Playing possum. Oldest trick in the book. She was A2 the Executioner Slayer. She defeats vastly superior executioners through wit and cunning. And 2B was just another executioner. Once again dead by hand. Once again outsmarted by A2.

2B choked up some blood, the sword going right through her black box. Tears poured out of her eyes. All those months dreaming of avenging 9S, going through everything. And it all led up to this: nothing.

Her death was the same as her life: absolutely meaningless.

"Nines..." she whimpered. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't do it. I'm so sorry."

A2 lay there for a moment while her muscles recovered. When she could finally move, she shoved 2B off of her and to the ground. Immediately A2 got onto 2B and with her one hand began plunging her sword into 2B's chest.

Over and over and over again.

"Anemone!" A2 screamed as she kept plunging the sword into 2B. "Pascal! Number 4! Number 16! Number 21! 9S! You hear me! This for them! THIS IS FOR ALL OF THEM!"

All of them. Al her friends. Everyone who suffered thanks to the machinations of YorHa. Everyone who died thanks to the machinations of YorHa.

This was for all of them.

This was for herself.

She kept stabbing and screaming. She screamed and stabbed. She kept screaming until her voice was hoarse. She kept screaming until her screaming devolved into sobbing. Uncontrollable sobbing.

"Number 4..." she choked. "Number 16...Number 21...Anemone...we matter..."

They matter. They weren't just tools to use then dispose of. They matter, damn it!

She didn't know why she was like this. She hasn't cried in forever. Ever since she crawled out of the ruins of Mount Ka'ala. She hadn't cried in so long. Not one drop. Why would she? Tears were for the living. And she was not alive. She was just the husk of what used to be Number 2. Yet, at that moment, everything she felt burst forth like it had been held back for years.

She just kept stabbing and stabbing...and stabbing...and stabbing...

And...and...and nothing...

Finally, she just lay her head down to continue sobbing. All those years of pain and suffering led up to this.

But...what the hell even was this?

A2 gritted her teeth. Gritted her teeth so hard that she was surprised they didn't break.