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Description
The underbrush scratched at Weiss's legs, tearing his clothes across Anemonae's trail. The dense forest darkened as he ventured further inside, an ever nocturnal shroud blocking the sunlight. He blindly stumbled through the wooded path, and collapsed into an open clearing, stunned by the suddenly bright moonlight.
Samaiel and Anemonae stood before him, their eyes locked: they were blind to Weiss's presence. Samaiel's ghostliness was accented by the pale moonlight which seemed to seep through his body. Holding him close, Anemonae's body began to take on the same ethereal appearance, however, it was a bit less pronounced.
Weiss struggled to rise to his feet. Pain shot through his left leg, mercilessly bringing him back to the ground. He couldn't move: his leg was broken.
"Anemonae!" he cried desperately, though she completely ignored him.
"How unfortunate," a cold voice whispered into Weiss's ear. "You're going to lose her. Again. And believe me, Weiss, she's not coming back this time."
Weiss struggled to turn around, only to see Samaiel towering above him, with his long white mane flowing behind him.
"Foolish girl," he muttered. "She never did get over her all-consuming love for me. She's so vulnerable right now... so willing to die with him..."
"You did this! You made some kind of... illusion, and now..."
Samaiel chortled to himself, a fiendish smirk spreading across his face. "No, Weiss. The situation has simply worked to my advantage. You see, Anemonae did, in fact, employ the services of my..." He paused, almost as if catching himself. "She employed that child to bring..." he indicated the other Samaiel. "That thing into this world. And now, she's completely off of her guard, so if you'll excuse me..."
Samaiel stepped over Weiss and approached Anemonae and his ethereal doppleganger. "What a lovely display," he said with a heavy dose of irony. "I believe I may shed a tear..."
At the sound of Samaiel's voice, the pair snapped out of their trance, the other Samaiel placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"You!" he growled. "Leave us! This is not your affair!
"Ah, but it is, and on multiple counts. I am Death, after all, the very one who you and Anemonae seek. Aside from that, you are a reflection of my past self. Consequently, this is certainly my affair."
"You arrogant beast..."
Samaiel laughed. "You're speaking for the both of us, then. That look in your eyes... you wish to engage me already, don't you?"
The pale reflection drew his sword. "Damnable fiend! I'll kill you where you stand!" He lunged at Samaiel, who quickly stepped to the side as he kicked him violently. The doppelganger flew a great distance before crashing into the ground. Gasping, Anemonae made to run to his side, but he raised his hand in protest.
He rose to his feet, shrouded in a pale glow. He raised his sword gracefully as the air around him quivered like water. Samaiel stretched his hand forward. Blood seeped from his palm, converging into the massive sword that was the Scythe of Death. It was enormous, easily as tall as he was, and its blade was massively wide. It was covered in veins which ran along a skin-like tissue. The blade split down the center, revealing rows of jagged teeth, from which a long tongue flicked to and fro. This demonic face's "chin" curved into the head of the scythe. Demonic wings emerged impressively from Samaiel's back as a hellish aura covered his body.
"Well then," he said, "Let us dance."
The black-haired Samaiel vanished instantly, leaving a watery blur behind him as he dashed towards his dark nemesis. Samaiel struck back hastily, barely parrying the sudden blow, and tossed him high into the air with his right hand. He launched himself into the air in pursuit, biting his enemy with the mouth of the sword and slamming his body into the earth.
The ghostly Samaiel kicked his enemy off, lashing his sword with expert precision and slicing his cheek. Dancing gracefully, the doppelganger slashed with a fierceness like no other, keeping a close range to Samaiel and preventing him from getting a move in edgewise. As the sword moved through the air, a series of trails distorted the air behind it. These distortions hovered in the air, unmoving. He drove Samaiel into the streams of light, causing them to cut him wherever they touched his skin.
Samaiel scowled. "What is this? Why do your strikes linger so?"
His reflection smirked. "Behold, the dance of the shattered sky. Where my blade cuts, the space around it will not return until one of us perishes!"
"So, you have a few tricks up your sleeve…" Samaiel stretched his right hand, palm forward, towards his enemy. "Rot!" A foul, almost liquid aura burst from his palm, catching the arm of his adversary. The black-haired Samaiel screamed, and tore the sleeve from the coat, revealing a mass of bubbling decay that was once his right shoulder. With his left hand, he grasped his sword and easily sliced through the rotting flesh as his arm fell to the ground.
"It's going to take a lot more than a missing arm," he groaned, "to kill me."
An enormous white aura gathered around his left hand, engulfing his sword. Samaiel's own dark aura whirled around him violently, exploding behind him as the two warriors rushed toward each other.
The two auras erupted as their swords met, each hacking mercilessly at the other, sparks flying from the chipping blades. Weiss could no longer make out their forms, he could only see the sparks that flew from their blades as the black and white auras collided. Anemonae was on her knees, watching helplessly, knowingly. All at once, the auras stopped, the mouth of Samaiel's sword crushing his opponent between its teeth and pressing him into the ground.
"You are truly pathetic…" said Samaiel, standing over his reflection with a cruel look in his eyes. "Did you honestly believe that your makeshift body could stand against me? You couldn't even kill an earthworm." Before he could answer, Samaiel gave his reflection a swift kick to the head, knocking him into a state of unconsciousness.
Samaiel turned to a shaking Anemonae, who stood frozen in fear. "What's the matter, my dear? Surely you didn't believe he, a man crafted from little more than mud and bonemeal could have any real power?"
"You weren't supposed to get involved," Anemonae protested weakly.
"Ah, but I did." He spoke with a condescending grin. "You certainly didn't use very good judgment, did you?"
Tears started to flow from Anemonae's eyes. "No… Samaiel…"
"All it took was a little push to set you off the edge. You wanted so badly to die with him… Unfortunately, I cannot allow that."
"But… why not?" she cried. "I'd be out of your way, wouldn't I?"
"Your soul would remain free, Anemonae. You and I would both know that you would be able to guide your… friends…" As he trailed off, his gaze turned to Weiss. He strode over to the boy, grasping his hair and forcing him to his feet. Weiss tried not to put pressure on his broken leg, but just the movement of being lifted brought on fresh waves of pain.
"Isn't it sweet?" Samaiel exclaimed, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "He came to pay his last respects!" He released Weiss, who winced, expecting to fall to the ground. However, he was held fast in the air, unable to move. His eyes were fixed on the trembling girl before him.
"Actually," Samaiel continued, "he just might enjoy this."
"What?"
"Just think, Anemonae, of everything you've done for him."
"No…"
"You brought him through the realm of darkness. You brought May, as well. Then you dragged them into the Museum, where both of them nearly perished at the hands of the curators. You then sent them off to get you the Scythe of Life… a futile effort, if I do say so myself."
"It's not like that!" Anemonae exclaimed. "I told them I could take them home at any time!"
"Oh, of course, and leave them with the guilt of leaving you behind. You are a mistress of manipulation, Anemonae." He put an arm around Weiss's shoulder, still staring at Anemonae. "What do you say, Weiss? Should I end this quickly, or should I make this a performance? I should think it only fair that you choose how to damn the one who damned you…"
Weiss couldn't say a thing. Between the pain in his leg and the crushing force which held him aloft, he could do nothing more than utter a small groan.
"Very well, then," Samaiel said, "A performance it will be."
He calmly approached Anemonae and embraced her. As he thrust his lips upon hers, her eyes grew wide with terror. Weiss could see the pure essence of Anemonae's soul slowly flow into Samaiel's mouth. She tried to struggle, but could not escape his vice-like grip. Long, black claws protruded from Samaiel's hand, and he drove them into her back, tearing at her spine. Her essence exploded, rushing into Samaiel's body from every pore in her body. She screamed horribly, desperately, a sound that would stay with Weiss forever.
It was over. Samaiel stood, triumphant, over the pale, broken body of Anemonae. He lazily waved his hand at Weiss, causing him to fall clumsily to the ground.
"Good luck," he said as he walked into the darkness of the forest.

. . .

"Here he is!"
Penelope found Weiss collapsed in the grass. "Hey," she said, "are you alright?"
Weiss sat up slowly, barely able to maintain consciousness. "My leg," he groaned. "I think it's broken."
Penelope leaned over to examine the limb. "You got that right… Yikes. That's pretty bad. What happened?"
"I was blinded by the moonlight for a moment… and I tripped. It seemed like I just twisted it, but then Samaiel came and dropped me on it-"
"Samaiel? That's… the guy who thinks he's Death, right?"
Weiss shook his head. "I'll explain later."
"No, keep talking," Penelope said quietly. "Tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave any details out, even if it's hard to think of them." She placed her hands gently on his leg, lightly prodding around for the break.
"I ran in here," Weiss said. His words were slurred, as his mind was dulled with pain. "I saw Anemonae with that man… I mean… the other Samaiel… He asked Anemonae to die with him… but then the real Samaiel showed up, and…" He shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense, does it?"
"No, it's fine. Keep going."
"Okay… Well, Samaiel came, and he beat up the other… one… and then he killed-"
Weiss yelped in mid-sentence as a sudden pain shot through his leg. It felt terrible, but as it faded, the pain was duller than it was before.
"Wh-what… What did you do?"
"I set the break," said Penelope matter-of-factly. "Sorry to surprise you like that, but if you were expecting it, the pain would be a lot worse. Now," she said as she rose to her feet, "We just have to find a splint somewhere around here, and we can get out of-"
She gasped as she saw Anemonae's body lying broken on the ground.
"Oh no… Anemonae… Samaiel killed her, didn't he? That's what you were saying…"
"Yeah," Weiss muttered. "But… I'm sure she's not gone…" He said this to reassure himself as much as to tell Penelope. "I mean, she died once before, and she was able to contact us through… her spirit or… something like that…"
Penelope took a step towards Anemonae, then retreated, changing her mind. "I… Is that so?"
"Just leave her alone, please…"
"If you say so…" She looked above her and grabbed a branch, snapping it off. She tore a few strips of fabric from Weiss's shirt and used them to tie the branch to his broken leg.
"You… know what you're doing, right?" Weiss asked tentatively.
"Yeah. First aid's my specialty." Penelope chuckled. "You know, you're lucky I'm around. I doubt Manfred would have been any help. Oh, speaking of, we found the station. Manfred's there now."
"What? Station?"
"Yeah. The transmission I was picking up was from a small experimental outpost here in the forest. It's not much use to us, but it's attached to a tram station that leads right to the main labs. It's a bit of a walk from here…" She tied one final knot in the fabric, finishing the makeshift splint. She got to her feet and reached down to him. "Here," she said, "Take my hand."
Weiss slowly rose to his feet, putting an arm around her shoulder for support.
"Now," said Penelope, "Try not to put any weight on that leg. Use me instead of your bad leg, and walk with the other, okay?"
Their movement was difficult and slow at first. Weiss often stumbled, and although the splint was helping, his leg still caused him a great deal of pain. Eventually, they made it back to the small building where a little tram sat waiting for them, along with a sleeping Manfred who lay beside it. After a somewhat forceful awakening from Penelope, the two helped Weiss into the tram.
Weiss collapsed onto a cushioned bench, and his friends sat beside him. A screen at the front of the tram displayed the logo of the Materas Laboratories, then a map. According to it, they were about an hour from the main labs. All at once, Weiss found himself completely exhausted. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he was able to nearly instantly fall asleep. The two others soon followed suit.

Description
The underbrush scratched at Weiss's legs, tearing his clothes across Anemonae's trail. The dense forest darkened as he ventured further inside, an ever nocturnal shroud blocking the sunlight. He blindly stumbled through the wooded path, and collapsed into an open clearing, stunned by the suddenly bright moonlight.
Samaiel and Anemonae stood before him, their eyes locked: they were blind to Weiss's presence. Samaiel's ghostliness was accented by the pale moonlight which seemed to seep through his body. Holding him close, Anemonae's body began to take on the same ethereal appearance, however, it was a bit less pronounced.
Weiss struggled to rise to his feet. Pain shot through his left leg, mercilessly bringing him back to the ground. He couldn't move: his leg was broken.
"Anemonae!" he cried desperately, though she completely ignored him.
"How unfortunate," a cold voice whispered into Weiss's ear. "You're going to lose her. Again. And believe me, Weiss, she's not coming back this time."
Weiss struggled to turn around, only to see Samaiel towering above him, with his long white mane flowing behind him.
"Foolish girl," he muttered. "She never did get over her all-consuming love for me. She's so vulnerable right now... so willing to die with him..."
"You did this! You made some kind of... illusion, and now..."
Samaiel chortled to himself, a fiendish smirk spreading across his face. "No, Weiss. The situation has simply worked to my advantage. You see, Anemonae did, in fact, employ the services of my..." He paused, almost as if catching himself. "She employed that child to bring..." he indicated the other Samaiel. "That thing into this world. And now, she's completely off of her guard, so if you'll excuse me..."
Samaiel stepped over Weiss and approached Anemonae and his ethereal doppleganger. "What a lovely display," he said with a heavy dose of irony. "I believe I may shed a tear..."
At the sound of Samaiel's voice, the pair snapped out of their trance, the other Samaiel placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"You!" he growled. "Leave us! This is not your affair!
"Ah, but it is, and on multiple counts. I am Death, after all, the very one who you and Anemonae seek. Aside from that, you are a reflection of my past self. Consequently, this is certainly my affair."
"You arrogant beast..."
Samaiel laughed. "You're speaking for the both of us, then. That look in your eyes... you wish to engage me already, don't you?"
The pale reflection drew his sword. "Damnable fiend! I'll kill you where you stand!" He lunged at Samaiel, who quickly stepped to the side as he kicked him violently. The doppelganger flew a great distance before crashing into the ground. Gasping, Anemonae made to run to his side, but he raised his hand in protest.
He rose to his feet, shrouded in a pale glow. He raised his sword gracefully as the air around him quivered like water. Samaiel stretched his hand forward. Blood seeped from his palm, converging into the massive sword that was the Scythe of Death. It was enormous, easily as tall as he was, and its blade was massively wide. It was covered in veins which ran along a skin-like tissue. The blade split down the center, revealing rows of jagged teeth, from which a long tongue flicked to and fro. This demonic face's "chin" curved into the head of the scythe. Demonic wings emerged impressively from Samaiel's back as a hellish aura covered his body.
"Well then," he said, "Let us dance."
The black-haired Samaiel vanished instantly, leaving a watery blur behind him as he dashed towards his dark nemesis. Samaiel struck back hastily, barely parrying the sudden blow, and tossed him high into the air with his right hand. He launched himself into the air in pursuit, biting his enemy with the mouth of the sword and slamming his body into the earth.
The ghostly Samaiel kicked his enemy off, lashing his sword with expert precision and slicing his cheek. Dancing gracefully, the doppelganger slashed with a fierceness like no other, keeping a close range to Samaiel and preventing him from getting a move in edgewise. As the sword moved through the air, a series of trails distorted the air behind it. These distortions hovered in the air, unmoving. He drove Samaiel into the streams of light, causing them to cut him wherever they touched his skin.
Samaiel scowled. "What is this? Why do your strikes linger so?"
His reflection smirked. "Behold, the dance of the shattered sky. Where my blade cuts, the space around it will not return until one of us perishes!"
"So, you have a few tricks up your sleeve…" Samaiel stretched his right hand, palm forward, towards his enemy. "Rot!" A foul, almost liquid aura burst from his palm, catching the arm of his adversary. The black-haired Samaiel screamed, and tore the sleeve from the coat, revealing a mass of bubbling decay that was once his right shoulder. With his left hand, he grasped his sword and easily sliced through the rotting flesh as his arm fell to the ground.
"It's going to take a lot more than a missing arm," he groaned, "to kill me."
An enormous white aura gathered around his left hand, engulfing his sword. Samaiel's own dark aura whirled around him violently, exploding behind him as the two warriors rushed toward each other.
The two auras erupted as their swords met, each hacking mercilessly at the other, sparks flying from the chipping blades. Weiss could no longer make out their forms, he could only see the sparks that flew from their blades as the black and white auras collided. Anemonae was on her knees, watching helplessly, knowingly. All at once, the auras stopped, the mouth of Samaiel's sword crushing his opponent between its teeth and pressing him into the ground.
"You are truly pathetic…" said Samaiel, standing over his reflection with a cruel look in his eyes. "Did you honestly believe that your makeshift body could stand against me? You couldn't even kill an earthworm." Before he could answer, Samaiel gave his reflection a swift kick to the head, knocking him into a state of unconsciousness.
Samaiel turned to a shaking Anemonae, who stood frozen in fear. "What's the matter, my dear? Surely you didn't believe he, a man crafted from little more than mud and bonemeal could have any real power?"
"You weren't supposed to get involved," Anemonae protested weakly.
"Ah, but I did." He spoke with a condescending grin. "You certainly didn't use very good judgment, did you?"
Tears started to flow from Anemonae's eyes. "No… Samaiel…"
"All it took was a little push to set you off the edge. You wanted so badly to die with him… Unfortunately, I cannot allow that."
"But… why not?" she cried. "I'd be out of your way, wouldn't I?"
"Your soul would remain free, Anemonae. You and I would both know that you would be able to guide your… friends…" As he trailed off, his gaze turned to Weiss. He strode over to the boy, grasping his hair and forcing him to his feet. Weiss tried not to put pressure on his broken leg, but just the movement of being lifted brought on fresh waves of pain.
"Isn't it sweet?" Samaiel exclaimed, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "He came to pay his last respects!" He released Weiss, who winced, expecting to fall to the ground. However, he was held fast in the air, unable to move. His eyes were fixed on the trembling girl before him.
"Actually," Samaiel continued, "he just might enjoy this."
"What?"
"Just think, Anemonae, of everything you've done for him."
"No…"
"You brought him through the realm of darkness. You brought May, as well. Then you dragged them into the Museum, where both of them nearly perished at the hands of the curators. You then sent them off to get you the Scythe of Life… a futile effort, if I do say so myself."
"It's not like that!" Anemonae exclaimed. "I told them I could take them home at any time!"
"Oh, of course, and leave them with the guilt of leaving you behind. You are a mistress of manipulation, Anemonae." He put an arm around Weiss's shoulder, still staring at Anemonae. "What do you say, Weiss? Should I end this quickly, or should I make this a performance? I should think it only fair that you choose how to damn the one who damned you…"
Weiss couldn't say a thing. Between the pain in his leg and the crushing force which held him aloft, he could do nothing more than utter a small groan.
"Very well, then," Samaiel said, "A performance it will be."
He calmly approached Anemonae and embraced her. As he thrust his lips upon hers, her eyes grew wide with terror. Weiss could see the pure essence of Anemonae's soul slowly flow into Samaiel's mouth. She tried to struggle, but could not escape his vice-like grip. Long, black claws protruded from Samaiel's hand, and he drove them into her back, tearing at her spine. Her essence exploded, rushing into Samaiel's body from every pore in her body. She screamed horribly, desperately, a sound that would stay with Weiss forever.
It was over. Samaiel stood, triumphant, over the pale, broken body of Anemonae. He lazily waved his hand at Weiss, causing him to fall clumsily to the ground.
"Good luck," he said as he walked into the darkness of the forest.

. . .

"Here he is!"
Penelope found Weiss collapsed in the grass. "Hey," she said, "are you alright?"
Weiss sat up slowly, barely able to maintain consciousness. "My leg," he groaned. "I think it's broken."
Penelope leaned over to examine the limb. "You got that right… Yikes. That's pretty bad. What happened?"
"I was blinded by the moonlight for a moment… and I tripped. It seemed like I just twisted it, but then Samaiel came and dropped me on it-"
"Samaiel? That's… the guy who thinks he's Death, right?"
Weiss shook his head. "I'll explain later."
"No, keep talking," Penelope said quietly. "Tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave any details out, even if it's hard to think of them." She placed her hands gently on his leg, lightly prodding around for the break.
"I ran in here," Weiss said. His words were slurred, as his mind was dulled with pain. "I saw Anemonae with that man… I mean… the other Samaiel… He asked Anemonae to die with him… but then the real Samaiel showed up, and…" He shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense, does it?"
"No, it's fine. Keep going."
"Okay… Well, Samaiel came, and he beat up the other… one… and then he killed-"
Weiss yelped in mid-sentence as a sudden pain shot through his leg. It felt terrible, but as it faded, the pain was duller than it was before.
"Wh-what… What did you do?"
"I set the break," said Penelope matter-of-factly. "Sorry to surprise you like that, but if you were expecting it, the pain would be a lot worse. Now," she said as she rose to her feet, "We just have to find a splint somewhere around here, and we can get out of-"
She gasped as she saw Anemonae's body lying broken on the ground.
"Oh no… Anemonae… Samaiel killed her, didn't he? That's what you were saying…"
"Yeah," Weiss muttered. "But… I'm sure she's not gone…" He said this to reassure himself as much as to tell Penelope. "I mean, she died once before, and she was able to contact us through… her spirit or… something like that…"
Penelope took a step towards Anemonae, then retreated, changing her mind. "I… Is that so?"
"Just leave her alone, please…"
"If you say so…" She looked above her and grabbed a branch, snapping it off. She tore a few strips of fabric from Weiss's shirt and used them to tie the branch to his broken leg.
"You… know what you're doing, right?" Weiss asked tentatively.
"Yeah. First aid's my specialty." Penelope chuckled. "You know, you're lucky I'm around. I doubt Manfred would have been any help. Oh, speaking of, we found the station. Manfred's there now."
"What? Station?"
"Yeah. The transmission I was picking up was from a small experimental outpost here in the forest. It's not much use to us, but it's attached to a tram station that leads right to the main labs. It's a bit of a walk from here…" She tied one final knot in the fabric, finishing the makeshift splint. She got to her feet and reached down to him. "Here," she said, "Take my hand."
Weiss slowly rose to his feet, putting an arm around her shoulder for support.
"Now," said Penelope, "Try not to put any weight on that leg. Use me instead of your bad leg, and walk with the other, okay?"
Their movement was difficult and slow at first. Weiss often stumbled, and although the splint was helping, his leg still caused him a great deal of pain. Eventually, they made it back to the small building where a little tram sat waiting for them, along with a sleeping Manfred who lay beside it. After a somewhat forceful awakening from Penelope, the two helped Weiss into the tram.
Weiss collapsed onto a cushioned bench, and his friends sat beside him. A screen at the front of the tram displayed the logo of the Materas Laboratories, then a map. According to it, they were about an hour from the main labs. All at once, Weiss found himself completely exhausted. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he was able to nearly instantly fall asleep. The two others soon followed suit.