Weight of the World Pt. 3

"Alex, please..." Holiday said. "Neither of us are able to continue this fight. It's pointless."

"Pointless, huh?" Her voice cracked with frustration as her fists clenched. "Seven years, Judy. Seven fucking years of planning, waiting, and training just for this moment, and you're calling it pointless?"

"N-no... I just—"

"Tell me, Judy... Do you even feel a shred of guilt for what happened? For what you and Nel did? I wake up to my two best friends, fighting against me. My squad... dead, just like that. And you have the gall to tell me that my hatred, my anger, isn't justified?"

Those words sent a chill down Holiday's spine. There was a certain tone of despair and rage, but also confusion—a hopeless voice left to wander a world of black and white, without even so much as a clue as to what truly transpired. But she knew that Frankenstein wouldn't care about the answer. Nothing could quell her rage, now more than ever.

"I'm sorry..." Holiday mumbled.

"Hah... Hahaha~" Frankenstein laughed bitterly. "Sorry? After all these years, after everything that has happened, that's all you have to say? Do you remember the Eos Squad? Their faces? Their names?"

"...Of course I do."

"Think of those faces. Think about whenever they came up to you for advice, or whenever you and Nel would take them out for lunch. Think about all the times you called out their names with a smile on your face. They trusted Nel. They trusted you. And now they're gone. Why is that...?"

Over the past seven years, that was the question Holiday asked herself the most, particularly in regard to her late captain. Why is she here when Nemesis is dead? Likewise, why is Frankenstein here while the rest of her squad is gone?

Holiday let out a shaky sigh. "I don't have an answer to that... but what I do know is that the only reason I'm standing here now is because Nel isn't. I don't plan on letting her sacrifice go to waste. So, as much as you want me to, I can't die just yet. I'll live on and shoulder your blame."

"Blame? Hah. We're both adults now, Judy. Blame is a child's word. All I want is to kill you, because if I don't... then I'll keep remembering those harrowing moments. Of you. Of Nel. I just want to forget about you, and what better way is there than to completely erase you?"

"...All I have to say is that I'm sorry and I regret everything. But that's not enough for you, is it? So... Come at me. I'll take all the anger you have left. It's the least I can do for you."

"Heh. Trying to act like you're doing me a favor, huh? Maybe this time... you'll know what it feels like to lose everything, because after I'm done with you, I'll end Calypso myself!"

Holiday ducked under a wild punch, but Frankenstein was relentless. Her fists were a blur of fury, each blow charged with raw, seething anger. The sinister grin on her face clashed with the sadness that twisted behind her eyes, and it made every strike cut deeper into Holiday’s heart.

"Come on, Judy! Is that all you've got? You didn't hesitate back then! Or maybe you're just scared, huh? Scared to finish what you started? Huh?!"

Holiday's hands trembled, though it was not out of fear. She didn't retaliate—not fully like she should've. Instead, she deflected blows, doing just enough to keep Frankenstein at bay.

Frankenstein lunged forward once more, putting everything into her next strike. Holiday crossed her arms in front of her face, blocking it as she slid back.

"Why won't you hit me?" Frankenstein asked. "Why aren't you fighting back?! I'm right here, Judy! Kill me like you killed them!"

"You wouldn't understand, Alex. We had no choice. It wasn't—"

Holiday threw her arm forward to parry Frankenstein's fist. She then lifted her knee at an angle to block a kick.

"It wasn't your fault?" Frankenstein growled. "Is that what you were going to say?! You don't get to say that!"

The fight continued with no signs of an end. No powers, no augmentations—just the fists of those with broken souls. Holiday barely managed to stay on her feet when Frankenstein landed a clean hit across her face, sending her stumbling.

Blood dripped from Holiday's lip as she wiped her mouth, struggling to rise. She knew she could end this fight—she should. But seeing the torment etched in Frankenstein's every move, her grief surfacing with every strike, Holiday couldn't bring herself to harm her.

"Alex..."

"What’s with that look on your face...? Why do you get to be sad?"

Judan's heart clenched. She couldn't answer. She didn't have the words.

"Nel... You... I lost everything because of you!" Alexandria roared, her fists swinging again.

"My squad... My life... My sanity!" She threw another punch, and another.

"Aren't I the one who's supposed to be sad?! So why... Why are you looking at me like that?!"

The blows weakened, but Alexandria didn't stop. Her knuckles were bloody, and each punch bruised her further. She didn't care. Through her words and strikes, it was clear that she was no longer fueled by her anger. Instead, it seemed more like despair.

"You were always like this! Always had that look on your face even when you knew you could've prevented it! The story of your fucking life, always too late and living to regret it! Why now, huh?! After seven years, why are you only just now showing it to me?! You don't get to be sorry!"

She swung.

"You don't deserve to!"

She swung harder.

"JUST DIE!"

With all her remaining strength, Alexandria pulled back for one final strike. Judan blocked it, but the impact sent shockwaves through her arms, as though they were splintering under the pressure.

Alexandria's breaths came in ragged gasps, her body trembling with exhaustion. The moment Judan saw her face, the chains around her heart only tightened. Alexandria's eyes were red and filled with tears that she could no longer hold back.

"Why now...?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Nel had died... but you were still here, weren't you? So why didn't you come sooner? What took you so long? Why... did you leave me... all alone...?"

She dug her claws into Judan's jacket, sobbing, and her cries sounded exactly the same as Judan remembers—the cries of a lost little girl.

The weight of seven lonely years of sorrow and anger crushed her as the memories flooded back. Of Nelia, of Judan, and all the times they were a family. Every laugh, every smile, all lost in an instant, and the emptiness that followed had consumed her.

Alexandria's screams echoed in the desolate ruins of the hangar, a haunting sound that filled the empty space with grief that had been buried for too long. It was painful, it was unbearable, but for the first time in seven years, she was finally able to let it all out—she was finally able to cry.

Judan slid her hand in front of her mouth, breathing erratically as her eyes became wet with tears.

"A-Alex..."

Her knees buckled, and they collapsed together onto the ground. Alexandria clung to Judan's jacket before throwing her arms around her neck, wailing. It had been so long since she felt the warmth of her once-best friend, but it only made the coldness she'd been living with all the more unbearable.

"I'm sorry," Judan muttered.

"...Shut up. I... I won't forgive you..." Alexandria grunted. "I'll never... forgive you..."

"I don't care. I'll say it as much as you want me to. I'm sorry for messing with you so much when we were younger. I'm sorry that I wasn't always there for you. I'm sorry for leaving you on your own for so long. I'm sorry... for everything. I'm so... so sorry..."

"J-Judy... Please, just... stop..."

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm sorry..."

Alexandria tightened her hold around Judan's neck, her grip trembling with both rage and sorrow. Judan, in turn, gently placed a hand on her head, softly stroking her hair.

The storm clouds above finally began to clear, the rain easing with them. Yet the two remained, locked in a silent embrace—just like they had so many times before, until their tears had dried out.

Alex rested her head on Judan's shoulder as the clouds continued their aimless journey, revealing the darkness of the sky they had seen so many times. But there was one subtle difference. A star, so small yet so bright, glowing in the blackened canvas.

"Alex... Come with me," Judan said.

"...Huh?"

"Come with me—with Calypso."

Alexandria paused for a moment, before she scoffed. "What's this now? You, of all people, should know how absolutely ridiculous that sounds, Judy. I'd be marked as a defect as soon as the sun rises. Why would I give up my life of luxury to be chased and hunted forever?"

"I just thought..."

"Thought what? That we could be together again? Just like the good ol' days? Quit kidding yourself."

Alexandria lifted her head and stood. She reached her arms up for a stretch, letting out a prolonged moan.

"Like I said, I haven't forgiven you. I still hate you and loathe you. But..." She turned around with a frown, though it wasn't as menacing as before. "At the very least, I'll least tolerate you."

Judan froze upon hearing those words. It felt as though the chains that weighed on her heart for so long had suddenly been lifted, and she was finally able to breathe. She dropped her head and let out a chuckle.

"I guess that's better than nothing. Well... I guess this is goodbye, Alex."

"For now, anyway. Like I said, I haven't forgiven you. So... W-watch yourself..."

Judan cracked a smile as she watched Alexandria limp away as quickly as she could, clearly embarrassed. It wasn't the outcome she was expecting, but she couldn't be more glad that it ended like this.

"Then... See you later, Alex."