𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 - the time to let go

━━━━━━━

𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐒 𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐃 beneath her feet as she made her way away from the woman she had left on the ground. She could still smell her blood; she could still hear the sound of the droplets of liquid falling from the torn flesh on her legs and she could still hear the out of tune beating of the woman's heart as it struggled to keep her alive.

She felt no guilt. That woman was the cause of far too many misfortunes and it was time to put an end to it. If anything, she was proud of herself; she didn't kill the damn woman. She wanted to, God did she want to, the unruly wolf that she kept on a leash behind her ribcage practically begged her to and yet, she didn't.

And that in itself was an achievement. Not that it mattered all too much; the woman would die the second the building came down.

A clatter rang through the dark and dingy cavern that made her ears perk up; the sound of grunts and groans followed made her sigh; she had told Matt to not get his ass handed to him and yet as she rounded a corner there he was, on his ass, Elektra standing above him with a malicious and accomplished smirk adorning her bloodied lip as she gripped her weapon tightly. Clearly he had done such a good job at getting through to her, Olivia thought to herself as a small huff passed her lips, just knowing that yet another fight was going to occur.

"Joining us, Wolf?" Elektra hummed as she stepped away from Matt, her eyes somehow glinting in the dark as she stared at the wolf.

Olivia hummed as she tilted her head -If you hadn't noticed, that was a trait of hers and she hated it, she thought it played far too into the whole 'dog' thing- "Well, I'm still a little pissed that you stabbed me."

"How was the wolfsbane?"

"Delightful, thank you for asking."

Had anyone other than the three bloodied up idiots already in the room heard their conversation, it would have honestly sounded like a kind, everyday conversation; not a conversation about Olivia's encounter with being poisoned. Such everyday things.

Surprisingly, Elektra let out a small chuckle as she faced the Hale in front of her. Olivia rose a brow, her gaze slowly sliding behind the women's shoulder and locking onto Matt as he held his side, blood sliding through his fingers and down his suit.

Elektra eyed the wolf in front of her, noticing her eyes drifting past her. Such little time they had spent together and yet she could tell that the wolf cared for Matthew, just as he did her. After all, just moments prior he had pleaded for Elektra to stay away from the wolf.

Something stirred within the woman dressed in red and like the flip of a switch, her mouth curled up in distaste, and her arm that was still gripping the blade lashed out.

Olivia quickly bent backward and just narrowly avoided her neck being sliced from her body, a grunt fell from her lips as she stood straight and her brown eyes glared at the woman. "So much for the chat."

A claw riddled hand swiped at the woman who quickly stepped back and narrowly avoided her second encounter with claws tearing through her flesh.

The two jabbed at each other numerous times, actions and punches so fast that even if Matt could see, he was certain he wouldn't be able to decipher their movements. He could feel every vibration from their swiftly moving feet, every gust of air that parted ways for their limbs and Elektra's weapon.

Olivia hoped that by stalling Elektra long enough, Matt would be able to recover enough from the blade that had pierced his side to hopefully bring the Elektra he once knew, back.

The wolf wasn't certain if the man could bring her back. After all, he had just been stabbed by her; not exactly a good sign.

Though he didn't want to admit it, Matt felt the same; could he bring Elektra back? Could he really bring his friend back from the edge that she was so close to falling from? Or, had she already fallen? He didn't know. What he did know was that her heartbeat hadn't wavered as it had done in their previous encounters.

Her heart would shudder with every beat of his voice and now it was beating steadily. Each time the woman dressed in red announced that she couldn't return to the woman she once was, her heart didn't stutter. The thought that she would never be the person he once knew made his shoulders slouch and his heart sink.

He mentally swatted the thoughts away after hearing a grunt of pain fall from the wolf's lips as the blade grasped in Elektra's hand nicked her side. He grit his teeth and pushed himself to his feet despite the pain, and readied himself for further combat.

Olivia let out a small sigh of relief as she saw Matt drag himself upwards. With a quick nod from the Devil, Olivia heaved her arm forward in a heavy punch and sent Elektra flying towards Matthew.

As the devil engaged in combat Olivia couldn't help but sigh, she could hear the sadness and fear in his voice as he tried to coax Elektra to leave with them, to go back to her true self but the woman just wasn't listening.

The wolf watched on as the two did their dance of punches and swipes and was ready to pounce at a moment's notice as the two slowly began to tire.

With a sudden and swift movement, Elektra sent Matt crashing to the ground. He laid panting as his breaths escaped his throat in heavy bursts.

His ears pricked at the sound of Elektra's blade skillfully slicing through the thickness of the air. His breath hitched, ready for the hit to come but it never did.

Instead, he heard Olivia bolt towards him and catch the blade in a bare hand with a deep growl of pain. He could smell the metallic liquid that gushed out of the wolf's palms and dripped to the dusty ground below her.

The blade tore the flesh of her hand as she clutched it, she could feel the crimson liquid flowing down her hand and wrist, eventually finding a home on the ground. With teeth gritted in pain, she pulled and freed the weapon from the red woman's grasp and quickly jolted her sliced hand forward, smashing the hilt of the weapon forcefully against Elektra's forehead.

Olivia couldn't stop one side of her lips from twitching upwards as she watched the woman fall to the ground in pain. The wolf quickly dropped the sword with a hiss and her healing allowed her palm to slowly seal the slice in the center. Within a minute or so all that would remain of the wound would be the smear of wine-red blood.

The sword fell with a clatter and shook Matt out of his slightly shocked state; had Olivia left with the others, he would have a sword sticking out of him. He once again lifted himself from the ground and stood on weakened legs as his head twitched to the side.

With a small, defeated sigh Olivia stalked closer to the woman on the ground. Elektra's eyes were fierce and alight with anger as she watched the wolf prowl closer.

Olivia crouched down and her voice left her lips in a whisper, the words genuine. "I'm sorry we couldn't help you."

And with that, Olivia grasped Elektra's head, ignoring the pain that erupted as the woman's nails dug into her skin as she attempted to pry the hand away, and slammed her head into the ground; Elektra falling limp as her consciousness left her body.

The wolf wasted no time in scooping the woman up and hauling her over a shoulder. "Do you think we'll make it?" She quietly questioned Matt as her body turned in his direction.

Matt sighed; did he think they could make it, no, not really and he knew that the wolf didn't think so either. But for Elektra, for their friends and for themselves they would try. "I don't know... But we gotta try."

"Well then Daredevil, lead the way."

Matt followed her order and immediately picked up his feet. The two didn't make it far before both of their ears picked up the sound of the bomb ticking its final tick.

And then chaos erupted.

The whole place shook and shuddered. The pair could hear the glass of the windows above shattering to pieces. The ground rumbled, shaking the two on their already weakened and unsteady feet but it didn't deter them.

Matt continued to limp his way forward though deep down he knew it was futile.

Olivia staggered onwards, her vision slowly clouding with dust even though she too, knew they wouldn't make it.

Debris and rocks fell from above, smaller pieces pelting them, the larger pieces being kind enough to fall further from them. As Olivia looked around her breath hitched and thick dust settled in the back of her throat causing her to splutter slightly; the wolf felt useless. What could she do? The building was already on a fast and certain path to crushing them. There was no way they would make it.

A large rumble that shook her entire body broke her out of her mind-numbing realization, her eyes drifted above Matt's form and locked onto the large piece of the cavern ceiling that was less than second from falling and crushing him.

Matt swallowed harshly, he too could hear what was happening above him, and by the sound alone he knew that he wouldn't be fast enough to move. His eyes slowly closed and his head drifted downwards as he waited for the inevitable.

It didn't come.

Instead, he was thrown to the ground, his head smacking the hard ground beneath him as Olivia hovered above him just mere milliseconds before the rock fell.

Olivia couldn't think of anything else to do. Had she have pushed him; it wouldn't have been far enough. So instead she placed Elektra on the ground and out of the way of the large chunk of rock that threatened to squash the devil and sprinted forward. She had gripped his wrist so hard that had she of tensed, it would have snapped.

She had thrown him to the ground and threw her body over him, knowing that whilst she wasn't exactly Luke Cage, her body could handle it... for a while at least.

The rock fell and collided with her back; forcing her further down as her arms buckled slightly and brought her nose to nose with Matt. Their shaky breaths melded together and mixed with the dust in the air.

The wolf's teeth were gritted so hard her jaw hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her back; sharp and jagged rocks were piercing her skin as she tried to keep herself up. The hands that were either side of Matt's head shook like a leaf in a hurricane as they struggled to support her body.

Matt's jaw tightened as he smelt the metallic twang of blood as it left the woman above him; he couldn't believe she had used her body to shield him. His ears were flooded with her pained grunts and short breaths and he couldn't help but wish she had left with the others.

He swallowed as best as his dry throat would allow. "We- were not gonna make it."

"I know." Olivia's eyes flooded; she was helpless, hopeless. She as well as many who knew her considered her to be reckless; throwing her life on the line for others. If you had to ask her, yes, she would do it all again; she would stay and fight for the city, for her friends. But she was scared and so was he, she could almost feel his heart pounding beneath her. She didn't want to die. She didn't want Matt to die. Her breath left her in a short burst, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, okay? None of this. You- you've done so much for us, people you don't- didn't know." His mind drifted to the conversation they had before getting on the elevator that delivered them to their inevitable end. "I meant what I said before, I'm glad you came, even if this is how it ends." He paused and swallowed, trying to clear the tightening in his throat. "It's okay, you can stop."

Olivia shook her head and her eyes clamped shut as a growl of agony left her lips, more rubble landing on her back and digging into her slowly shattering spine; she could feel her arm's giving up on her. "I can't, I can't."

Her eyes flew open as Matt brought a hand up to her face, holding her cheek as a sad smile crossed his lips. His voice was a ghost of a whisper, his soft and grief-filled voice coaxing her gently. "It's okay. Just let go."

A small, rumbling beat passed before the wolf brokenly nodded, it was more so to soothe herself; telling herself that it was okay, it was time. It was over.

Slowly she lowered herself down, coming chest to chest with Matt; his heartbeat caressing her ear.

Before everything collapsed and their bodies disappeared in a cloud of rocks and dust.

⋆⋆⋆

Horror.

Pure horror was painted across Jessica's face as she watched the building tumble down. She didn't blink, she couldn't; not when flames erupted and not when windows shattered. She was scared that if she closed her eyes for even a moment, she would miss her friend crawling her way out just like she always did.

She'd make it. Jessica knew her best friend would get out. She had to; she promised, what about Derek? Her uncle? She had to get out.

But she didn't.

And for the first time in a long time, she couldn't hold it together; she fell to her knees, ignoring the pain that flared in them and let the tears stream down her pale face.

⋆⋆⋆

The precinct was in utter disarray and every time an officer came anywhere near the group; all it took was one haunting look from Jessica to make them scatter.

Jess could almost hear her heart pounding away in her chest. Each step closer to the room that held their friends made it shudder and push against her heaving chest in protest. She felt sick.

She was the last to enter the room and though she knew it was futile, she still looked back, hoping to whatever God that she didn't believe in that Liv and Matt would be trailing behind, flirting or insulting each other, she honestly didn't care.

But all that met her glossy eyes was an empty corridor.

She could feel the weight on her shoulders as she dragged her head to face the occupants of the room. Standing there with hopeful looks were Matt's friends, the ones Olivia knew. Jessica didn't know who they were but as a beat passed, the two realized that neither the wolf nor the devil had made it and they crumbled.

A gut-wrenching sob left Karen's lips as she curled herself into Foggy's embrace. They had lost Matt and they had lost Olivia; a woman who barely knew them, a woman who risked her life for them and their friend.

Foggy almost choked on the guilt that clawed at his throat; he knew Matt, and he knew his best friend would have stayed until the very end, and all because he and Karen had gotten Olivia to promise she would bring the devil home, she too was gone

Jessica lifted her gaze from the tearful duo and settled on Trish and Malcome. She hastily moved forward and into Trish's arms, gripping her tightly as a bundle of tears left the P.I's eyes and buried themselves into Trish's shirt.

"Liv?" Trish muttered with a spark of diminishing hope into her friend's hair, and when the P.I shook her head Malcome wrapped the two in a hug, bringing them both towards his chest as they grieved for their fallen friend.

The room was silent, in mourning.

The only sounds to be heard were the light splashes of tears as they landed on various surfaces, the sniffles and coughs of those trying to gather themselves and failing repeatedly, and the hammering of heavy hearts was the symphony of the final tune to their silent send of.

And yet,

Little did they all know, that across the city, in the midst of the dark and gloomy night, two beaten, bruised and bloodied bodies lay soaked to the core with the pouring rain beating down on them; one a wolf, the other a devil.

Both with hearts barely beating.

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28-06-2020

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙊𝙣𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨.

𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙜𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚!!

𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙡𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥!