Soulless Beauty Aorta

FORGET ME NOT - GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO

Black Rose launched herself toward Mary, only to be stopped by the metallic, echoing clang of a round shield floating in front of her, slamming against it as Mary backed away. The shield dematerialized as Mary made a solemn plea, "Rose, I don't want to fight. Look around, we're both falling to our deaths. What difference will this make?" "I DON'T CARE!" Her mind completely broken and beyond reason, Rose sprang toward the false savior of humanity once again. "YOU COWARD!!" Sighing and closing her eyes, Mary put forward a closed right fist, before opening it as her shield appeared in front of her palm.

Again and again, they clashed, Mary deflecting each hit as her shield orbited her body at subsonic speed, acting as an impenetrable wall, "Please stop, this won't change anything!" The tears flowed from both women as they continued the struggle.

After more and more hits, Mary paused before doing something unexpected; she slowly closed her hand, and lowered her arm, allowing her shield to dissipate for good. A heat flared up one final time in Black Rose, and she flung her body forward, arms outstretched, screaming. As she flew through the air on her "wings", seemingly weightless due to the platform falling beneath them, time seemed to crawl to a halt. Rose thought back on all she'd experienced. A rude awakening, reintroduction to the girl who loved her, all the death, all the destruction. Rose still blamed herself.

She grabbed Mary by the throat in mid-air, the momentum slamming the two to the ground. Rose lifted herself to her knees, straddling and strangling Mary, the platinum armor plating of her body cracking under the pressure of Black Rose's grip.

With little effort, Rose stood up, lifting and holding her prey by the throat out in front of her. Mary made no movement, hanging limp. She struggled to look down at Rose, her eyes trembling as her grimace twitched and forced itself to deform into a faint smile. Gasping for breath, she forced out a single, strained sentence "I'm so proud of you... darling" An instinct burst to life, deep in Rose's shattered soul as her eyes shot wide open in shock. Mary's neck snapped.

Rose's colors and shape immediately returned as she dropped the body and fell backwards, her arm of light disappearing. She looked down at her hand, covered in blood. The platform slammed into the ground, followed by the rest of The Shell.