Fraction

Fraction Chapter 38 - Tango with the Reaper

Edward looked down. Leo's mind was racing. "He never realized what he was carrying on his shoulders all this time." He thought, "Will he continue to carry it? Or will he pass it on to someone else?" Rosa looked like she was beginning to regret her decision. She looked concerned... "You can't drop the weight of the sky on someone and then wonder if it was a good idea." Leo thought. Nevertheless, the truth was out in the open. He did not want Edward to give an answer in a hurry. The Children of the Crystal. The war. The President. The High Priest. None of it mattered at that moment. What mattered was Edward's choice. Despite his swelling impatience, he waited for the answer. "Do you want to continue existing?" Perhaps he was not supposed to answer that question yet. The silent screams of the incalculable dead were ripped to shreds by the shrill cry of the alarm. The room turned red. "Leo! This alarm!" Rosa shouted. Edward looked up at Leo's face. There was no grin. "THE CONTAINER!!!" Leo shouted as he jumped forward and crashed through the closed door.

The wailing continued. Edward and Rosa ran after him. When they reached the container holding Robert, the sight that greeted them was like a rendition of death itself. There was blood all over the floor. Sapphire stood crying, her legs quivering and blood gushing out from her neck. She seemed to be stretching her arms towards the container. The container itself was perfectly undamaged. The plasma within the container was almost half empty. "What is the meaning of this?!" Rosa shouted. Edward was frozen in place. He did know what to make of it. He looked at Leo. For once, they were on the same boat. "You lied to me..." Sapphire said between sobs, "You... told me my dad didn't kill my mom... that it wasn't my fault they're both dead! YOU LIED TO ME!!!" Rosa drew her sword. "Sapphire, stop what you're doing right now!" she said. "Or what?!" Sapphire shouted back, "You're gonna cut my arms off too?! You should have let him kill me! I deserve to die! We all do!" Leo held Rosa's sword. "Don't." he said, "Cutting her up won't halt her powers. We both know she can't be stopped like that."

Edward stared at the plasma inside the container as it was mysteriously being drained away. The very hourglass of death. The moment Robert woke up, that would be the end. They would all die. The situation had not changed at all between the conference room and the hall. The question was still the same. "Do you want to continue existing?" He fell to his knees and started crying. Sapphire paused for an instant. Edward was crying. Leo turned around and looked at him. "I don't know if I'm a bad person for saying this..." Edward said in a broken up voice, "But I don't know any of the people who died... and I understand why they died... but... I... don't want to die! I don't want to die! Please save me, Leo! I'm scared!" Leo closed his eyes and nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, Rosa noticed a bubble bursting within the plasma. Her eyes widened. Without even thinking, she jumped and pushed Leo out of the way of the beam.

The beam of fire shot through her stomach. She didn't even bleed. Nothing spilled out of the gaping hole. Everything in its path had been vaporized and anything around the circumference had been cauterized. The container shattered. "My, my..." Rob.E.R.T. said, "To keep me bound for such a duration of time... I must congratulate you... Especially you. Leo." Leo got to his feet and ran to Rosa. "You... fool..." she said, "Why are you- looking at me- go fight the enemy..." Sapphire fell down unconscious. Edward stared in horror.

He was going to die. This was the end. Rob.E.R.T. looked at him and grinned. "That was a pretty neat trick you pulled on me back then..." he said, "But you can't fool me twice. It was fun while it lasted... goodbye. This completes my contract. Now... however shall I end this? Quick and painless? Or shall I do the typical villain thing and take my own sweet time charging up a powerful attack to level the whole place? Hmm... the second option sounds like two birds with one stone." He raised his arm and began condensing a huge amount of energy on his palm.