I weave my way through the crowd looking for my companions. I can't find them anywhere. Part of me starts to lose hope that I will find them in this crowd of moving bodies. Still, maybe that's a good thing, if I can't find them maybe she can't either.

Then I spot a glimpse. So quick I think I've seen wrong. But I change direction anyway. I find myself running into Tony.
"Oh, hey," he says upon seeing me. "I haven't seen you since we got here. Where've you been?"

I ignore his comment and look at our immediate surroundings. Nothing. She's nowhere to be seen. I look at Tony finally, "Where is she?"

Tony looks around before returning his confused gaze back at me. "You okay Raph?"

"Where is she?" I insist urgently.

"She just went into the hallway for some water, relax," Tony answers, gesturing towards the hallway.

"How long ago?" I question. My gaze moves to search the crowd in the direction of the hallway.

Tony gives me a confused look. "I don't know, a few songs ago," he answers in an equally confused tone.

I snap my head back towards him from looking towards the hallway. "And you didn't think that was odd? It doesn't take that long to get a drink of water." My tone grows more desperate with every sentence.

"Raph," Tony starts, finally seeming to take my tone seriously, " what's going on?"

I look back towards the hallway, hoping to see her in the crowd. "That little devil is here and she's after Halo, we have to find her," I explain. I turn my gaze hack to him. "Now," I emphasize the word to prove my point.

Tony nods, finally catching onto the situation. Together we rush to the hallway. There is absolutely no trace of her. Or Scarlet. My eyes scan every inch for any clue, desperate.

I see shadows flicker over the window. My heart drops. We're probably too late.

I take off towards the doors going outside. I burst through the doors, Tony right behind me. I see Seraph fall to the ground, Scarlet standing over her. The she devil looks down at Halo, turns to smirk at me, and walks away.
My heart nearly stops. Scarlet wouldn't just walk away, even if others came to join the fight. Not unless she's already won. I take off, my feet pounding against the pavement to get to the crumpled form in time.

There's a growling pool of blood on the ground around her. Her breathing is becoming more labored. Her dress is soaked. The knife I gave her is on the ground next to her. I don't need to ask what happened, I know. And it's my fault.

I fall to my knees next to her body. She can't focus on me, I can tell from the way her eyes are glassy and move around frantically.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

She blinks. I don't know if that is in acknowledgement of my presence or not, but I'd rather hope. "You were right," her tiny house voice barely reaches my ears. "My commitment would be the end of me."

I shake my head, "That's not what I meant."

"Promise me," she continues, ignoring my comment, "promise you'll take care of him."

I nod my head, whispering a faint, "Of course." I reach to grab her hand. As I do my fingers brush against something. With my other hand I pull it up to get a better look at it in the dim night light. It's a single red crystal like pendant on a silver chain. I've heard about these. They're supposed to be homing beacons of sorts for severely injured Righteous in the field. It sends a message to their realm for emergency help. It's her only hope.

As Tony struggles to silently say a goodbye I take the pendent in both hands and twist it. It starts to glow. I know she probably will never forgive me for this. I know if I do this she will never be able to come back. Not easily at least. But I have to, it's my fault she's here. I won't let it be my fault that she dies. i twist it again and the glow starts to pulse. I lay it on her chest and stand up. I pull Tony with me as I stand back.

We stand there and wait. Tony can't see it, to him she probably just disappears. But I see the two rescue Righteous descend. One picks her up while the other guards. And the three of them ascend into the night sky.

I pull Tony away. "I'm sorry," I tell him. I know how he feels about her. He probably thinks she died.

He turns to me in shock. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

I put my hand on his shoulder to try and offer some comfort. "Come on," I tell him and start to lead him away.

"I'm alone now," he whispers, probably not even aware he said it.

I shake my head. "No," I say, "You'll never be alone. I promise. She did her job and protected you, to the very end. Now it's my turn."

"Will we ever see her again?" He questions quietly.

I feel a sad smile form on my lips. "You probably will. But I can never go where she is now." I turn to look at him, "Say hello for me, when you see her again."

He nods numbly.

I smile one last time and lead him away from the school. I get him back to his home and cleaned up and in bed. Hopefully he'll just sleep off the shock and think it was all just a bad dream in the morning. Once he's settled I find my way to the roof. I take off my restraining vest and dress shirt and let my wings stretch again. I sit on the roof and look up into the night sky. The starts look back at me, flickering and winking in the dark abyss. I pick a random star I choose to imagine as her.

"I'll take care of him, I promise," I swear to the star. "I promise he will never be hurt like this again."

The star winks in response. I smile, feeling as though she heard me. I summon my equipment and find a patch of bare skin on my arm. Carefully I add another design to my collection of tattoos. I pen the words, "She came and loved and losses and left." Under them I put tiny angel wings that match hers. When I'm done I wave away my tattoo stuff and look back up at the vast night sky. I find the star I'v decided is her and let a single tear escape my eyes.

I never would've dreamed that I could ever care for a Righteous. Let alone consider one a friend. But somehow she managed to make the impossible happen. I'm so proud of what we've both become. And I wouldn't change any of it for the world.