The rain pounded on Elucard’s shoulders. Weighing him down like, dragging his mind through the tar of his own thoughts.

I am the only one who is taking this mission seriously. No one cares like I do. They think it’s a game… it’s not! Had Quinn not been so careless he would never have gotten caught!

Elucard turned to watch Mave and Essie carry Quinn’s tired and beaten frame. How many more rests were they going to take? How many more times will Mave find an excuse to dawdle while Koda suffers in the hands of his enemy?

“Hurry up!” Elucard shouted. He sneered as Timber and Corso passed by him. Timber was trained better than this. How could she be so sloppy? Clearly Corso distracted her. The harekins had been nothing but a distraction.

Elucard stroked his brow and shook his head. These thoughts—these ideas, how did they wriggle their way into his head? Like a termite or a worm burrowing into an apple. Images of his fist smashing into Blayvaar’s face flashed before his eyes like the crack of lightning. Shadows of his hands choking Wiccer flickered on the ground. Legion, Essie, Jetta… even Jetta. He would kill them all. He had no choice. It was a mentality. His drive. His way of life. It was a stake through the heart of everyone he cherished—everything he cherished.

What could he do? Even now he was in a downward spiral. Mave had been—perhaps still was—his friend. Why did he not trust her, why did the mission drive a wedge between them?

He looked back to Mave. His eyes were blank and emotionless. Darkness swelled in his heart. He knew the levy would break. He knew he would shatter her world before he could stamp out this fire. It was always just a matter of time before he destroyed everything. After all, the Black Rabbits excelled at destroying lives.

Mave halted and gently leaned Quinn against a rock. She faced Elucard and growled, “Alright mate, I get it. We are the aces of the sky, but you are the aces on the ground. Will you lose the attitude already?”

Elucard narrowed his eyes, but let her continue.

“We need to rest, a couple days at the most. Quinn is in rough shape. Corso and Timber just came back injured and tired. We aren’t golems, we’re living beings. We can’t survive this death march. We need a break!”

Elucard moved in close to Mave until he could see his own soulless reflection in her eyes. “Keep. Moving,” he sneered.

Mave nodded, lightly at first, but as she turned she nodded more aggressively. “Okay, okay. You want to do this, Freewind? We can do this.”

With that Mave reeled around and unloaded a strike across Elucard’s jaw. The weight of the impact rocked Elucard off balance, and if it wasn’t for his training, he would have tumbled head over heels down the hill behind him.

Elucard wiped the blood from his lip. He popped his jaw and smirked. “I’m not going to fight you, Mave.”

Mave raised her fists and bounced on her feet. “That’s too bad, Freewind. Then this will be a quick beating.”

Mave threw a quick jab to test the water. Elucard moved his head to the side. Mave threw another jab with her other hand and once again Elucard avoided it.

“I have your number now, elf,” Mave said with a grin.

Elucard chuckled as Mave tossed another jab, he continued his pattern to dodge it. However, Mave was ready. She shot a lightning fast uppercut into Elucard’s chin. This time Elucard was taken off his feet and landed on his back.

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The harekins cheered and the Anti-Rogue operatives gasped.

Elucard laid in the mud, dazed. The darkness continued to swell in his heart, clouding his mind and eyes. More games, more delays. He would have to make an example out of Mave.

With a single heave, he jumped to his feet and dropped into an aggressive fighting stance.

“Let me warn you, Mave, you do not want to do this,” Elucard said.

Mave cracked her knuckles before itching forward. “This is exactly what I want!”

Elucard's face morphed into a cold glare. He dashed forward, ducking under another jab, and thrust his elbow into Mave’s gut. As she doubled over, Elucard lashed his elbow up, catching the rabbit under her jaw. Her head reeled back from the blow, but before she could recover, Elucard spun on his heel and sent a hard kick to the chest.

Mave flew backwards and crashed to the ground, stunned.

“Stay down,” Elucard said. The rest of the team looked on. Curious of how Mave would react.

Mave pulled herself to her knees, panting for air. “I acknowledge you're a good fighter, Freewind, but we Silvertails are made of harder stuff.” Mave wobbled as she found herself on her feet.

Elucard sighed. Springing forward, he launched a series of strikes at Mave. Blood and spit sprayed across the ground with each concussive blow.

Mave bucked left and right from the cracks of a fist or kick, until she could take no more. She whipped out her hands and grabbed Elucard by the cloak and slammed him on the ground. Both of them were now at the edge of a sharp downhill. The rain picked up, slicking the grass, and hampering their vision and hearing.

Mave leaped onto Elucard, pushing his head into the thick mud. With that, she laid into him, smashing her fist over and over into face.

Not again. A drop of blood rippled Elucard’s thoughts. Blayvaar.

“You bastard! You did this to yourself!” she screamed.

Elucard grabbed her fist and kicked her off of him. He spat a glob of blood into a puddle. “You think I don’t know that?” He drew a dagger and gripped it tightly in his hand. “You don’t think these thoughts keep up at night? That these memories don’t torture me!?” he roared and rushed forward.

Mave’s eyes widened and reached for her saber, but it was too late. Elucard snaked around her and pushed his blade against her throat.

“You don’t think I suffer for my actions every day? I do, Mave… I do.” whispered Elucard into the harekin’s ear.

Mave swallowed hard. The blade’s edge dug deeper into her fur. Blood began to trickle down her neck. It was only the Black Rabbit's fine control that prevented the blade from cutting any deeper.

“It’s over, Mave,” Elucard said. “Please, let it be over.”

I don’t want to use another friend, he told himself. This can’t be the end…please don’t let it be the end.

Elucard shut his eyes tight, his throat grew tight and he fought himself not to sob. Every nightmare he had since his encounter with the Collector now barged their way into his head at once. He tried to scream, but something took his hand and pressed his blade deeper against Mave’s fur.

Mave stole a glance at the hill’s edge behind her and smirked. “I don’t give up that easily—” Mave shouted as she pushed herself and Elucard backward over the grassy ledge. Both went crashing, rolling, and tossing down the hill.

Elucard landed under Mave with a thump. However, he felt a sharp pain lance through him. His eyes glossed over and his cheeks quivered. He pushed the harekin off of him and grunted as he tried to stand up. He felt woozy. Light headed. He fell back to his hands and knees. A warm liquid soaked his sleeve and trickled over his hand.

Mave leaned back and looked at her blood stained hands. “Elucard?”

The elf huffed and coughed in agony. “M-Mave…y-you’ve stabbed me.” Blood bubbled down the sides of his lips. His vision blurred and all grew dark. He gingerly pawed the dagger’s hilt, the blade jammed in his neck.

Mave cradled Elucard in her arms. Thinking quickly, she tore a strip of her cloak and applied pressure to relieve the bleeding. “Essie!!!” she called out at the top of her lungs.

“M-Mave… I-I’m sorry… I-I’m so… sorry…” Elucard repeated and repeated. He knew his last moments had arrived and Alanna was to finally lay his soul to rest. All he could do was beg for forgiveness to those that he wronged. The list was long and he had so little time. So… very… little time…