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She didn’t hold back the scream. Her Symphogear had lasted until the exact moment of impact as her back broke through the crumbling wall, preventing her spine from breaking, but it wasn’t there to protect her limbs as they followed through milliseconds after. Falling to the ground, her body screaming in pain, it took everything she had to keep breathing and force her eyes open. It did not look good. It looked a lot worse than she could have imagined.
As the dust settled she could see out to the battlefield. She watched as Tsubasa gave up more and more ground, unable to hold her position without support. She tried to take a deep breath to satisfy her lung’s demands, only to start coughing from the dust she swallowed. This was probably the end of the line for Maria Cadenzavna Eve.
She dimly heard Tsubasa’s strained voice yelling for her over the communicator as her senses started to return. Her eyes drooped closed as the ringing in her head began to subside, allowing her to think a bit more clearly. She forced the cogs in her brain to start turning.
She couldn’t reactivate her Gear. Her sync rate had been forced well below the limits capable of activating a Symphogear. In fact, she was lucky the Airgetlam had held out as long as it did. Opening one eye she could tell the red haze of anti-LiNKER was still in the air. Many thanks to the latest variation of Noise they were facing, which had the capabilities of producing the most potent anti-LiNKER to date.
So no chance of being able to reactivate her Gear anytime soon.
That left the traditional method of running away. But her limbs flared in pain at every attempt to move them, preventing any extraneous movement.
She opened her other eye to focus on Tsubasa fighting in the distance. There was no chance of Tsubasa being able to make it through that mob to rescue her. Not with Tsubasa’s current low sync rate.
And there was no chance of backup either as the rest of S.O.N.G’s assets were engaged in an even larger battle across the city.
So this was her fate.
A heated argument filling her ears was what brought her attention back the communicator.
“This is an order; you have to get out of there.”
“I am not leaving. Not until I get to Maria.”
“Tsubasa! You’re not thinking clearly. If you do that we lose you both!” She’d never heard the Commander so angry before.
“She’s not dead yet!” Tsubasa’s voice was breaking. “I’m staying until we both get out of here.” She could tell Tsubasa was struggling, her breaths straining between each word. In the distance her moves were frantic and uncontrolled.
It was suicide for Tsubasa to stay.
“Don’t.” Her lips had started moving before she realized it. Her throat cracked as it was put into use.
“Maria?!” There was so much hope in Tsubasa’s voice now. She hated that she was going to take that away.
“Don’t, Tsubasa. The Commander is right. Don’t waste your life trying to save me.” Her voice was slow and quiet; she couldn’t manage much more than that.
“Waste my life?! Maria, my life will be wasted without you. I would give my life to save you!”
“Please…” It was all she could do to beg Tsubasa to leave.
“I can’t.” Tsubasa was choking back a sob.
She watched in horror as Tsubasa put everything into the next advance. Slashing wildly, dangerously, and without abandon. All in an attempt to make it through to her.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She wasn’t ready to watch another’s life end to protect hers again.
But against all odds Tsubasa made it through throwing a katana at the last Noise in the way. She could do nothing as Tsubasa made a headline towards her.
Tsubasa skidded to a stop in front of her, and immediately dropped down to hold her. The pain searing through her body was forgotten against the warmth in Tsubasa’s arms.
“Why?” She had so much she wanted to say and tell Tsubasa, and she cursed herself for wasting time asking a question she already knew the answer to.
“Because I can’t watch as another person I love dies in front of me as I live on.” Tsubasa’s voice was resolute now, a strong contrast to her own cracking voice. “This time I have the chance to make things different.”
“That’s selfish.” She couldn’t look away from Tsubasa’s eyes even if she wanted to. She felt a dampness running down the side of her face. Were those her own tears? Or were they Tsubasa’s as they began to fall on her face? “Now I have to watch us both die here because of me.”
“I’m sorry.” The Noise were getting closer now. “But I’m not going to let you die here.” A solemn smile spread across Tsubasa’s face. She felt Tsubasa’s hand caress her cheek and wipe away the tears that had fallen.
She knew immediately what Tsubasa’s intentions were.
Tsubasa was going to sing.
Now more than ever she wished she could travel back in time. Not even twenty four hours ago to when they were cuddled together under a thick blanket on the couch. With Tsubasa teasing her for having to wait so long for her hot chocolate to cool down before she could drink it. Everything was perfect in that moment.
“You can’t. Your sync rate is too low; it’ll put too much strain on your body. You won’t be able to get to a hospital in time. Tsubasa, pleas-” Her own words were cut off as Tsubasa placed a gentle kiss on her lips. They didn’t have time to be kissing with the Noise surrounding them, but this would be their last kiss.
It only lasted a few short seconds. “I have to. You and I both know that you can survive this much better than I.” Tsubasa moved to prop her up against what remained of the wall. “I will break if I go through losing someone like this again.” Much was being left unsaid between them.
Tsubasa’s hand was still caressing her cheek. Tears continued to fall from her eyes. “Don’t do this to me.”
“Shhhh…” Tsuabasa’s forehead came to rest against her own. “You will survive this, I know you will.”
In that moment she watched, powerless, as Tsubasa steeled herself, and turned to face the Noise upon them.
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When her relationship with Tsubasa had started getting serious, she had once asked, or rather forced, Yukine Chris to tell her about Tsubasa’s first Zesshou. The girl had been reluctant to say anything, but eventually told her one thing.
“When she sang, it was like time stopped.”
Looking back, Chris had never been so wrong. Time did not stop.
Time ceased to exist entirely.
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Flashes of their relationship ran through her head.
Their first kiss. It had been after a long concert, both collapsed on a sofa in the dressing room. She hadn’t noticed Tsubasa was staring at her the entire time until Tsubasa had said she was beautiful. Next thing she knew soft lips were pressed against her own.
The first time they had been caught, like teenagers, making out. They were in the middle of some S.O.N.G celebration or other when she had dragged Tsubasa aside, into what she thought was a closet no one would enter, and hungrily went after Tsubasa’s lips. She was just thankful they still had all their clothes on when Chris opened the door looking for fireworks of all things.
The first time Tsubasa comforted her after a nightmare. It was the anniversary of Serena’s death, a day she never escaped nightmare free. She awoke crying and distraught but in the warmth of Tsubasa’s embrace, who had cradled her throughout the nightmare and sang soft lullabies until she finally returned to sleep.
They weren’t going to have any firsts together from now on.
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Each step, each word, each breath, brought Tsubasa closer to her last. She sat there watching, trying to burn into her memory what that voice sounded like, what Tsubasa looked like, everything about Tsubasa in this moment. Because she wanted to hold onto this memory until she herself drew her last breath.
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When everything settled the battlefield was clear, silent, and unmoving. All that was left was herself and Tsubasa’s slumped form in the distance.
“Tsubasa? Tsubasa! TSUBASA!” She screamed out as loud as she could, willing Tsubasa to answer.
When Tsubasa didn’t answer she begged her body to start moving. Crawling forward she focussed on putting one arm in front of the other to drag her body toward Tsubasa. Excruciating pain came from her right leg; looking back she saw how it was twisted in the wrong direction. She ignored it as she kept dragging herself forward across the empty battlefield.
“Tsubasa?” She shook the body in front of her as she reached it. “Tsubasa, please answer me!” She shook harder, not wanting to accept her worst fears.
“…Ma..ri..a..” Tsubasa’s voice was barely a whisper, but her eyes finally opened as the blood ran down her face.
She somehow moved herself up right as she cradled Tsubasa in her lap. Tsubasa’s hand reached out into the air and she grabbed it, pulling it close and holding it to her face.
“I’m here, I won’t leave you.” Despite the blood, despite how broken their bodies were, despite everything they were facing, she still loved Tsubasa more than anything in this moment.
“I know…you won’t.” A short chuckle, coming out more of a strangled choke, followed Tsubasa’s words. “It’s funny…”
“What is?”
“You really do…” Tsubasa suddenly started coughing until she was moved upright more. “…get hungry when you sing.” The faintest of smiles formed on Tsubasa’s face.
She couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped between her tears. “That’s a really weird thing to say, Tsubasa.”
Tsubasa’s smile grew a little larger. “I know.”
“I’m…going to miss you Tsubasa. More than anything else I am going to miss you.” She was trying so hard to hold back her sobs, and failing.
A small nod came from Tsubasa, who took her time to reply. She was content in holding Tsubasa like this; she didn’t want to face what will come after yet.
“…Maria?” Tsubasa’s eyes were looking right at her now.
“Yes?” She wanted to hold Tsubasa closer, but she knew it wasn’t possible.
“Will you…sing for me? I really want to hear your voice…until the end.”
“Yes.” In Tsubasa’s final moments she would do anything for her. “What do you want to hear?”
“Anything…I just…want to hear you…sing.” Tsubasa’s breaths were getting more ragged and further apart.
So Maria Cadenzavna Eve sang.
She sang and held onto Tsubasa. She sang anything she could think of: her own songs, Tsubasa’s songs, their duets together, old childhood rhymes and nurseries they both enjoyed.
When the evac helicopter landed behind her, she was still singing. It had been long after she watched Tsubasa’s chest rise for the last time, but she still sang.
As boots crunched against the debris approaching her, her head dipped to rest against Tsubasa’s forehead as she whispered her last words to her.
“I will always love you.”