This wasn't supposed to happen.

A scream was ripped from Leonhardt's throat as he rushed forward, swinging down his staff to mix the Abyss monster in front of him with the dirt, then he dropped. He did not need to see if the monster had died or not. He made sure the force of his arts were more than enough to split a person's skull open.

He grabbed on to the person in front of him, a wound made from a tentacle puncturing through both flesh and bone in the right knee, and a large thorn sunken deep into his chest. Gingerly, he held on to the person's clothes, then brought the person closer. He attempted to hold back more of his tears, but failed miserably.

Leonhardt screamed as if he was the one in pain. As if he was the person who had taken the wounds that were meant for him.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

The cuts on the person's face were deep. The light drizzle in the air mixed with the blood, causing it to drip from his face. The smell of iron was strong in the air. The blood was flowing everywhere. It was on his face, on his clothes, on the ground, on Leonhardt's hands.

"No..." Leonhardt managed to force out. "Please, no..."

He looked at the thorn and contemplated taking it out. But no, it would simply cause more blood to leak from the wound. No medics would come to save them, they were on their own.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

The fight against the Abyss. Every operator knew it was coming. The warning signs had been there. Yet this... this? No one was prepared for this. Even after all the intense training they had undertaken. Even after most of them were able to go one-on-one against the walking Catastrophe, Skadi herself, for a few minutes. One of the elite soldiers made to fight against the monstrosities from the Abyss.

It wasn't enough.

Within minutes there were casualties. An elite like 12F went down in the next five. Soon, the battlefield was littered with casualties. Most on the side of Rhodes Island.

The operators of Rhodes Island were barely holding on. Even with the combined might of everyone, the morale boosts from Elysium and Mrtyle, it wasn't enough.

Leonhardt himself was not sure if those two were still alive, even though they were placed at the very back of formation.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

And now, he felt as if his heart had been ripped into two.

What was the point of trying anymore. What was the point of this fight. This struggle. Nothing can be gained. More people will just be lost. Just like Ayer-

No, please no.

Leonhardt grabbed the person's hand gently, feeling around for a pulse. Fresh tears emerged once he felt it. But it was faint. It was too faint.

He was alive, but only for now. Perhaps for the next few seconds, the next few minutes, or the next few hours.

But he wasn't dead. He wasn't dead-

But soon, Leonhardt's mind whispered to him, like an unrelenting poison. Soon, he will die and it will be because you couldn't hold his back. This is your fault. Your fault. Yourfault. YourfaultyourfaultyourfaultYOURFAULT.

Leonhardt cried out again, waving his staff in the air. Not only did he learn arts that allowed people to be protected from the harmful effects of Originium for a while, he learnt some that would allow people to not be found. Become invisible, for a set period of time. Unless they were actively looked out for in the battlefield. In that case, they were goners.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

All the training. The suffering they had undertaken to this day. The final battle. They felt proud of themselves.

Pride has always been the downfall of many.

Now, it had caused the downfall of Rhodes Island.

A cure for Oripathy? This dream will never bear fruit. In the end, there would be no one to present the cure to.

Everyone would perish.

Old memories of promising to be together forever flashed through his mind. He wanted to let out another scream.

He knew those dreams would never be realised, for the two of them would now be split apart.

This wasn't supposed to hap-

The person in Leonhardt's arms moved slightly, coughing. More blood poured from his mouth. But he was moving. Breathing. He was alive.

"Ayerscarpe!" Leonhardt exclaimed. Tears fell even harder, Leonhardt couldn't understand how he was still able to cry.

Ayerscarpe took in a deep, shuddering breath. He raised his hand and clasped Leon's hand, the one with the staff.

It was as if he took an eternity to do it.

His hand felt too cold.

"Ayerscarpe," Leonhardt said again, the name felt like sand on his tongue. Despite everything they had been through together, all he could say was just his name. He prayed his emotions were conveyed from his tone.

Don't leave me, please.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"There you go..." Ayerscarpe said, his voice sounding too hoarse. He opened his eyes. His yellow eyes looked dull, not like the bright topaz colour from just a few hours before. They looked more grey. Darker. They couldn't seem to focus on anything properly.

"H-Huh?" Leonhardt asked, his voice now nothing but a whisper.

"Your nose." Ayerscarpe gasped. He closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, praying his pain would lower, even if just by a little bit. "You scrunch your nose... whenever you feel.. sad."

Leonhardt felt like shattering. He couldn't even speak properly.

"Oi... Wright," Ayerscarpe said. "Stop it... Stop... thinking like this."

"No."

"Stop."

"You can't m-make m-me."

Leonhardt cried again, even harder than before.

"Yes, I can." Ayerscarpe opened his eyes and smiled. His smile was small, he never liked doing it much. Yet here he was, giving Leonhardt the most gentle and precious smile in the entire world. The love that he felt for his dearest friend, ever since childhood, every emotion that he had felt over the years were conveyed in that one smile. The amount of love Leonhardt could see in it made him want to scream until he couldn't anymore, because he only got to see it when Ayerscarpe was on his deathbed.

"Everything will be fine."

"No!"

"Yes."

"NO!"

"Yes."

Ayerscarpe tightened his grip on Leonhardt's hand.

"Everything will be fine."

"How?!"

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Regrets."

"H-Huh?"

Ayerscarpe stared deep into Leonhardt's eyes, as if he was trying to find out all of Leonhardt's feelings. Well, any that he wasn't showing to him in that one moment.

"Do you... regret... anything?" Ayerscarpe asked.

Leonhardt grew silent and thought over his life.

They had promised that no matter what, they would lead a life with no regrets. So that if one passed before the other, the pain would be lesser.

"N-No..." Leonhardt started. Would the pain truly have been lesser had he not done everything he wanted to do with Ayerscarpe before this battle?

"But, now... it-it should ha-have been m-"

"No."

Ayerscarpe cut off Leonhardt's sentence with as much sternness as he could muster. It was not much. He could feel himself wishing to dose off into an endless slumber. But he fought the feeling off, to make sure that he would be able to comfort his best friend before he died.

"I just... saw that monster first," Ayerscarpe said. "Not your fault... you took care... of that flying one... anyways..."

Leonhardt thought to himself. It had happened mere minutes ago, but he had forgotten about that flying beast.

He had seen a white creature with a bunch of feelers but no wings up in the air. From the angle Leonhardt was looking, it looked like it was about to dive-bomb Ayerscarpe. So he swung his staff once with as much force as he could, and it fell to the ground, splattering into pieces. After that, he heard a thud and saw a much larger Abyss creature in front of Ayerscarpe, sinking that thorn into his chest. Ayerscarpe managed to push it off but laid still on the ground after the struggle.

Leonhardt felt as if his mind was about to snap again.

"That was nothing," Leonhardt sobbed. "Nothing compared to this."

Ayerscarpe sighed. He released his grip on Leonhardt's hand and cupped his face instead.

"Somewhere in your mind..." Ayerscarpe murmured. "You know... there was nothing... you could... have done..."

"No!"

"You just... hate the fact that... I'm leaving you... early..."

Leonhardt's whole body was shaking in agony. He knew. He knew. But he felt as if he could have done something, anything.

But he had to accept reality.

"... Yes," Leonhardt finally said, holding onto Ayerscarpe's hand, while still holding onto his staff.

If he lets it go, they would die immediately.

A part of him wanted to let go. If Ayerscarpe was going, then he might as well join him. Without his friend, what else was there to live for?

But that one promise from years ago stopped him.

"We'll make sure, that no matter who dies first, the other will live on. See all the things the other didn't see, experience the things the other didn't do, feel all the things the other couldn't, so the other can be satisfied as well. Then we'll share all of our experiences together in the afterlife and continue to be friends there."

That one promise held him back.

Neither of them were religious, but they liked the idea of a place people go to after death takes them. It would mean they would be able to meet up with each other again. They wouldn't be separated forever.

Even then, would there even be anything to do but delay death after this battle?

The screams of those fighting. The crying of those dying. He could still hear them all.

What would happen after this battle?

Leonhardt was scared to know. If the Abyss was this strong, he did not think any other country would be able to fight off the hordes of monstrosities. He prayed that there would still be survivors after this massacre.

"Wright," Ayerscarpe said, staring into Leonhardt's eyes with resolve.

"H-Huh?"

"You will survive..."

"I don't thi-"

"The Abyss monsters... they're getting bored... so they'll leave..."

"How on earth d-do you know?"

"Listen... they're bored... they're moving slower... Skadi said... they would simply... leave and come back... in a few months..."

Leonhardt looked around the battlefield and found out that his words were true. A significant number of monsters were gone. Some were still fighting the last remaining members of Rhodes Island, but they seemed more sluggish. As if the euphoria they had felt from first escaping the Abyss and charging right into a bloodbath had dissipated. Some were even stopping in the middle of their fights and attempted to run off, but they got cut down by their assailants.

"You're right..."

"Yes... so... help the survivors... a Catastrophe Messenger... knows best on how... to help survivors... in the aftermath... of a Catastrophe..."

Leonhardt nearly wanted to laugh.

The Abyss could never be compared to something as minuscule as a Catastrophe.

But still... he felt as if he found a new purpose.

"And y-you?"

"I will die here..." Ayerscarpe said, wincing at the sight of tears once again appearing in Leonhardt's eyes. "And I'll wait for you... in the afterlife... and we'll meet when you die... and I'll brag to everyone... about how my best... best friend helped... the survivors of the battle..."

Ayerscarpe tried to lift himself up but started to cough, blood leaking from his mouth once more. Leonhardt grabbed onto him and slowly, carefully, lifted him up until their noses were nearly touching.

"I'm so proud of you... Wright..."

Leonhardt forced himself to not cry. Somehow, he didn't. He figured it was because he ran out of tears.

He smiled at Ayerscarpe with as much love and care that he felt for his friend.

"I'm proud of you t-too. The best bodyguard... the best friend I ever had."

Ayerscarpe smiled again. He felt at peace.

"Thank you... for everything... Wright..."

With that, he breathed his last breath and fell still. His eyes were closed, and a gentle smile still stayed on his lips.

Leonhardt, strangely, could not feel much. It looked as if Ayerscarpe was sleeping after all. But with the amount of blood on his hands, his clothes, he knew better.

He did not know how long he stayed like that for, holding onto Ayerscarpe's corpse as if his life depended on it. He could not bring himself to let it go.

Soon, he felt something different in his surroundings. He tore his gaze away from his friend's peaceful face and his eyes widened.

The Abyss monsters were all gone.

There were some operators left alive. Some were sitting on the ground, others were lying down, and the rest were standing up and shouting the names of others who hadn't been seen taken down. To find any other survivors.

Leonhardt stopped casting his arts.

Piercing yellow eyes immediately honed onto him, their owner rushing forward with incredible speed. It was a miracle how he was still able to stand, given how much the person had to move to swing his sword and throw his poison bottles at the monsters.

"Leonhardt," Thorns said. He looked down and he stiffened, staring at the lifeless body of Ayerscarpe.

"Guess both of us got left alone by our friends, huh."

"Wait... you mean-"

"Yes. Elysium is dead too."

Leonhardt couldn't believe his words. The two Iberians were always close. He did not think that Thorns would allow any monster to go within a ten mile radius of Elysium.

Well, others had thought similarly with him and Ayerscarpe.

"Some of the healers are alive as well," Thorns continued, ignoring the tears in his own eyes threatening to fall. "Come on, you need treatment. Then we need to get moving."

"Moving? Where?"

"Somewhere far away from here. We need to regroup, and completely rethink this whole strategy. We don't know if or when the Abyss monsters would come back, so we better get out of here while we still can."

"What do you mean?"

"One quick checkup." Thorns said. "That's all everyone who's still alive gets. Then we hit the road."

Leonhardt couldn't hear anything but his rapidly increasing heartbeat for the next few moments.

Hit the road.

Then...

Then he would have to leave him here-

Leonhardt noticed a change in Thorns. No longer does he have his usual nonchalant look on his face. There was so much sadness in his eyes, his posture was slouching slightly.

There was also a blue flag hanging from his shoulders. It was in tatters, and some parts of it were brown, possibly from when it dropped onto the ground. Even though it looked as if it was about to fall into pieces, Thorns kept a hand on it, holding onto it gently.

Leonhardt pointed to it.

"Is it... his?"

"Yes. If you wish... take whatever you want to remember him by from him. Then we'll go."

Leonhardt stared at the flag, the only remaining piece of his dear Liberi friend. Then he looked down at Ayerscarpe's body.

He set it down as gently as he could, wiping away the blood on Ayerscarpe's mouth. Then he leaned forward and touched his ear, unclipping the ear piercing he had gotten to match with Leonhardt's own many years ago.

His sword was broken in pieces, plus the bag he used to hold his daggers was in tatters, along with the special gun he used to control them. Leonhardt left the bag and gun alone. He stared at the sword a while longer, before taking it, planting its broken blade deep into the ground beside its owner's body.

Thorns nodded in approval and looked at Ayerscarpe's body, muttering something in the Ægirian tongue Leonhardt couldn't comprehend.

The two set off together to the make-shift camp, the sounds of Warfarin's orders at the rest of the remaining medical team getting louder. The survivors were starting to get rowdy, with some who still had the energy offering to carry the operators who couldn't.

All of them lost something that day.

They were going to prepare themselves. They will hold off the Abyss next time. For their fallen, they will defeat the Abyss in their honour.

Today was the day of the end of Rhodes Island, but the beginning of the End of the Abyss.

Leonhardt took a deep breath and took in the landscape, wanting to memorise the battle that had taken so many from them.

He looked up at the sky, free of any birds and the monsters from the Abyss. The sun had been setting near the start of this fight. Now, it was rising.

The start of a new day.

Wait for me, Ayer. I'll join you soon.

__________

(Huge thanks to LackOfGlitches  for helping me with beta-reading this! Without his help there would be like ten mistakes sprinkled throughout this one-shot, including me spelling oripathy as oriopathy. Man my memory is terrible.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! This is my favourite piece of fanfiction that I've written ever and I'm really proud with how it came out! I've been thinking of making a sequel, but it's hard to think of one. Well, it'll come when it wants to I guess.

Bonus note for more angst: I posted this fic on Ayerscarpe's birthday :}

This is how I treat my third favourite operators-(both bunnies share the same slot! I can't choose one over the other. They're an amazing set no matter where they are <3)

Thanks for choosing to read 'Split', and I hope you have a great day/night!)