Secrets and Sins Part 2: Finding Mary

Chapter 23

~Beatrice~

“We have to destroy it.”

Beatrice’s heart cracked at the statement, she refused to accept it.

“No Ava.”

“Bea. Those tarasks are going to kill so many people in our world, innocent people, and they’ll just keep coming with the door open like it is.”
“We have to.”

“No Ava.” She tried desperately to keep a lid on the panic, on the despair.

“Beatrice.”

The sister warrior’s emotion spilled over, “I can’t lose you again!”

Ava was quiet for a moment and then changed tact.

“Bea please, can you hold me?”

Beatrice let out a sob, but gathered the younger woman up in her arms, hugging her tightly, she couldn’t deny Ava that. There was a long pause while they just held each other, neither wanting to broach the topic of what needed to happen next.

Eventually, Ava spoke up again, “Lilith can you…can you take it out please?”

The sister warrior tensed, hating that this had to happen. Why couldn’t they just be happy together?

“It’ll be okay Bea, I promise.” The Halo bearer whispered.

“I’m going to start now.” Lilith murmured gently from behind Ava, starting the process of cutting out the powerful relic.

“Another battle suit bites the dust ae?” Ava giggled, voice only just betraying the pain she was in as Lilith’s talons dug into her skin.

"Hey…"

“Ava.” Beatrice swallowed thickly, she had to make these last minutes count.

"Beatrice?"

“It’s nearly time and I…” The sister warrior took a shuddering breath, tears running down her cheeks.
“...I just want you to know how much I love you. You incredible, brave idiot.”

Ava offered her a dazzling but heartbreaking smile.

“Beatrice, I’m so glad I got another chance to be with you. I know it was only a short time, but God knows we lived. I really fucking love you, don’t you ever forget that.”

The sister warrior returned the smile as best she could, before bringing their lips together in a loving embrace.

Their last kiss was over far too soon, Beatrice nodded at Lilith who freed the Halo from Ava’s flesh. The younger woman’s agonized cry tore her heart to shreds and then Ava was gone.

"Beatrice…wake up."

A hand touched her shoulder, and a burst of sleep-addled panic threw the sister warrior into action. In the blink of an eye, she had hand on her assailant's throat, fingers clawed, ready to break their windpipe. She could still smell the sickly scent Ava's blood and feel the weight of her lifeless body.

"Beatrice!" The person choked out, their hand clasping her wrist in an attempt to pry it away.
"It's me…please?"

Beatrice blinked; she recognized that voice. Blinking again, the face in front of her came into focus.

"Oh my God, Hans! Are you alright? I'm so sorry." The sister warrior quickly released the bartender, remembering where she was as the memory of last night came flooding back.

Gasping in a breath, Hans rubbed at his neck, "That's…that's okay."
"I shouldn't have surprised you. I was just worried. You were crying out in your sleep."

Beatrice shuddered, recalling her vividly unpleasant dream, "I was having a nightmare." She murmured, looking around what she assumed was Hans' bedroom.

He must have carried me in here when I was half delirious earlier.

"Oh, about…you know…that?" Hans gestured at her abdomen.

Thankfully, her wound wasn't feeling too bad, as long as she stayed fairly still and kept her movements slow and restricted. Under Beatrice’s instruction, Hans had managed to remove the bullet without fainting and with minimal retching, the sister warrior was kind of proud of him actually. Between them both they had cleaned and bandaged the wound as well as they could with the very basic first aid kit. Beatrice knew she wasn't out of the woods yet in terms of infection. In fact, the sooner she got some antibiotics into her system, the better, but at least the sister warrior wasn't bleeding out in a ditch somewhere.

I owe him…big time.

"No, it wasn't about that…" Beatrice paused, trying to decide how much to actually tell her friend about her and Ava’s secret life, "Hans, I owe you an explanation for last night…but I really need you to keep it to yourself. Ava and I…our lives depend on it.”