The Art of a Monster

CH. 37???/???/2017

"Your death will be art." Stefano said as he took out his dagger and pointed it towards Sebastian.

"It's time to put a signature on it." He finished before disappearing. When he reappeared, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Sebastian shot him.

"You're going to need more than that to kill me." Stefano said as he teleported behind a wall and waited. He took his dagger and cut into Sebastian's arm the moment he saw Sebastian in front of him before teleporting again. The pain in Sebastian's eyes was marvelous.

"Hold still for the camera." Stefano said as Sebastian turned to face him. The camera flashed and Sebastian was caught in the picture.

"Perfect. Frozen in time." Stefano said before grabbing Sebastian's shoulder as the box faded away. He didn't waste anymore time and stabbed Sebastian while admiring the pain in Sebastian's face.

"Your death will be my masterpiece." Stefano finished before pulling out the dagger and disappearing. Stefano could feel his sanity fading away more and more with each second. Time was running out. He reappeared to see Sebastian with a crossbow. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by smoke making him cough.

"Smoke?! Really?!" He said irritability as he brushed it off. He saw Sebastian inject something into his arm healing him.

"Cheater. Act of a coward." Stefano mumbled under his breath as he aimed his camera. Sebastian shot it out of his hand before he even had the chance to take the picture.

"Dammit!" Stefano shouted as it flew across the gallery. Sebastian didn't waste anymore time. He pointed his gun and fired. Stefano did a quick yelp as he fell back onto one knee before a harsh grunt from the sharp pain in his eye. Sebastian was pushing Stefano's patients. He could feel the remaining sanity disappear as he put his hand over his eye. He wasn't Stefano now. He was now the monster within him. Stefano was just a character in the back of his mind. He had no control of his body now.

"I've had enough of this." Stefano said as he stood back up. Blood covered the right side of his face.

"Prepare To Die!" He finished as Aperture ripped off the wall behind him. Stefano's fake eye was glowing blue and his body was covered in what looked like blue flames. Aperture's tentacles moved around slowly with anger at it waited for Stefano's command.

"There will be nothing left of you when I'm done." Stefano hissed before he disappeared. Aperture furiously slammed his tentacles towards Sebastian over and over, missing each time. Sebastian was too fast for it. Stefano was growing impatient with Aperture.

"I'll take care of you myself." He said as he reappeared and cut into Sebastian's shoulder. His determination was on fire when he heard Sebastian shout in pain.

"Ha! How much more could you take." Stefano said confidently as he dug his dagger deeper into Sebastian's other shoulder. Sebastian gritted his teeth and managed to grab an axe. He quickly hit Stefano's leg. The pain was enough to get Stefano to remove his dagger while he yelled in pain.

"You're going to pay for that!" Stefano shouted as he disappeared. The gash from the axe was pretty bad. He was now at a disadvantage. He'll have to finish Sebastian off fast.

"Philistine!" Stefano growled as he reappeared and charged toward Sebastian. His leg was burning but he didn't stop running until he grabbed Sebastian's arm. Stefano quickly thrusted his dagger into Sebastian's gut. Surely he couldn't survive that. Stefano pulled his dagger out and stumbled back before teleporting again. His leg couldn't bear to run anymore. He looked and saw Sebastian take another shot before hiding from Stefano's gaze.

"Stop running! Your death is inevitable!" Stefano shouted as he teleported after Sebastian. His leg couldn't bear running anymore. He was finding it difficult to stand. Sebastian was starting to lose him as he went from one wall to the next picking up bullets from the tables. Stefano couldn't keep up.

"Bleed for me." Stefano whispered before throwing his dagger at Sebastian. He quickly turned a corner missing the blade by a hair. Sebastian came back around and shot Stefano. Stefano stumbled back from the painful impact of the bullet. Sebastian fired one more time. Stefano felt the burning pain surge through his body. He was losing the strength to stand. He tried to keep his balance but fell back onto the hard wood floor. The air was knocked out of his lungs and his camera was out of reach. Crimson was taking over the colors in his vision. He lost. He knew he lost. Stefano looked up at Sebastian and took a painful breath.

"I had so much left to create." He stated as his sanity started to return. There were so many pieces of Valeria left to make into reality. The vision of their world wasn't complete.

"You've destroyed my legacy." He added as a knot in his throat started to tighten. He couldn't believe that this was the end. His vision grew slightly blurry from the tears forming over his eyes. He smiled a little.

"Look at me. You made me into a masterpiece." He said at the thought of becoming art like Valeria. It was truly a bittersweet ending. His smile slowly faded as he looked away from Sebastian and towards the ceiling of his final resting place.

"Must record it. If only I had my camera. Where did it go?" Stefano finished. He laid quietly as he waited for death to take him. He couldn't stop thinking about Valeria. Her bright green eyes, her long black hair flowing in the wind, her fair skin in the sunlight. Her laughter and grace. He could almost feel her red velvet lips against his. Stefano felt his anger grow. Sebastian looked so much like Jack. He destroyed the art Valeria was in. He destroyed Valeria's heart. Everything Stefano had left of Valeria was gone. His anger was overflowing.

"Still time " Stefano said before he grabbed his camera.

"For one last photo." He finished as he aimed his camera towards Sebastian. He then heard a loud bang and felt a sharp pain in his head before everything went dark and silent.

Stefano woke up in a bed with a short headache. He felt different. He sat up holding his head and looked out the window. It was night with a full moon. His curiosity took hold of him and he left the room. Some of the art in the house was familiar. He stepped outside and saw a dead tree with a rose vine climbing up the trunk and onto the branches. He looked around and realized that the house and plants sat on a hill. There was an abandoned town on the land in front of the hill and pieces of the land floating in the distance. It was so much like Union. The blood trails reflected the moonlight. Pieces of the dead trees appeared to be silver. He wondered what place he was in. Stefano then heard a voice. It was humming a song he knew so well. One that he fell in love with when Valeria shared it with him. Serenade for Strings at C Major. Stefano recognized the voice and followed it. He walked down the trails of blood till he reached a familiar scene. A crimson shore with its red waters reaching out to the white sand. There was someone walking along the shoreline. Her long black hair flowed elegantly in the wind. Her eyes were green like her emerald necklace. She wore a blue dress with black tights and heels while holding a bloody white rose in her hands. Stefano's heart stopped when he realized who it was. The person stopped and grew silent before looking at him. It was indeed her. She dropped the rose and rushed towards him as he did the same. They embraced each other not wanting to let go.

"I missed you Stefano. I missed you so much." Valeria said trying not to cry.

"Oh Valeria, I thought I would never see you again. The monster inside me, I couldn't stop it. It consumed me. I'm sorry, please forgive me." Stefano begged. They let go and Valeria gently placed her hands on the sides of Stefano's face.

"Of course I do. I always will. We are safe here. The monsters that were in our hearts are gone. They cannot harm us anymore. We are free at last." Valeria said. Stefano felt like he was going to cry from the joy Valeria's words gave him. He smiled at her before they kissed. Such a thing that he longed for for what felt like centuries. He walked along the shoreline with her. They were reunited at last. At last, they could do the things they always did in life. In a place that they could create. Together.