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The battle with Adriel didn’t go as well as it was expected. Ava killed him, she used most of her strength on it just to start jumping with happiness. “Did you see that? I told you I would be the last Warrior N-“ The Halo Bearer turned around just to see Lilith, Mary and Camila crying around a body in the floor.
Ava felt her heart stopping. It couldn’t be. She ran towards them, they made her space and she saw her, blood all around her body in the floor, it was coming from her stomach. The Warrior Nun shaked her body “C’mon Beatrice! Wake up!” Camila hugged Ava gently to stop her from shaking Beatrice while both of them sat in the floor.
“I’m sorry, Ava” she started shaking her head “No, no, no, no, no” but Camila only tightened her hug “I’m sorry” repeated. Lilith and Mary also hugged her, they all were crying, Beatrice always had a spot on their hearts.
At that moment, Ava exhaled deeply. “Let me go one second” her cracked voice made the other look at her while making her space. “Are you sure?” Mary asked. “Yes, please, I just need a minute”
The OCS nodded and woke up. “Wait!” The nuns looked at Ava. “Thank you for being there” All of them gave her a soft smile and went inside a building, where they started remembering good moments with Beatrice, since the day she invented Cruella de Jesus’ name to the day she snaked out dessert for last Camila’s birthday.
Meanwhile, Ava sat Beatrice down and hugged her. Tears in her eyes, she sat back-to-back with her and interlocked their arms. She exhaled again. “In this life or the next” Loud groans were coming from Ava, while the Halo started shinning in her back. As the seconds were running, the groans became screams, and she could feel the hotness of the Halo burning her back.
Closing her eyes, she used the rest of her strength to make a last push, a push to the Halo, who was now entering Beatrice’s back while Ava’s screams started to vanish, and her body relaxed. Keeping herself sat thank to the physics. Both, Ava and Beatrice’s body, where holding the other one by their arms, even if none of them was awake nor… alive?
Inside the house, Mary interrupted the OCS. “I’ll check how is Ava doing” She opened the door and saw both bodies sat down, Ava was unconscious, and Beatrice started shaking. “What the heck?!” Mary screamed running towards them. Camila and Lilith followed her.
The OCS separated both of them and saw the blood coming out of Ava’s back, right where the Halo left its Path. “Ava! What did you do!?” Mary sat down putting Ava over her while Lilith and Camila looked at Beatrice’s back just to find out she had the Halo inside and her body was reacting to it.
Camila looked worried at Lilith, both of them were kneeling on the floor, holding Beatrice. “Is it normal that she shakes that much? Not everyone can have the Halo” Lilith shook her head and looked at her. “I don’t know, I have never seen how is it put”
But then, they had their answer. Beatrice opened her eyes and started screaming, feeling her entire body burn, feeling every hair, every water drop, every centiliter of her blood. “Beatrice!” the three of them screamed at the same time. The sister started to calm down and looked at Lilith and Camila, her breathing was still heavy. “What happened?”
The OCS didn’t say a thing, they were thinking what to explain first and Beatrice was getting nervous. The Halo started shinning and Lilith felt it’s energy, she knew what would come next if she didn’t calm down, the same as Ava did. “Calm down Beatrice! You have the Halo!”
Beatrice was surprised and tried to calm herself down. “What do you mean?” Lilith gasped and put herself to a side, letting Beatrice see Ava being between Mary’s arms. The sister stood up and ran towards her, throwing herself to the floor. “Ava! Ava!”
Mary looked at her. “I’m sorry Beatrice. But I’m glad that you’re alive” Beatrice didn’t listen to her and put her arms on Ava’s shoulders. “Ava! Ava!” And Ava listened. She opened her eyes and started breathing fast. “Beatrice! I can’t move!” Like the day that Ava took the diary and she wasted her energy, Beatrice put a hand on her knee. “Do you feel my hand?”
Ava started crying. “No.” Beatrice hugged her “It’s okay Ava.” When she broke the hug, she looked at the last Halo Bearer with tears in her eyes “Why did you do that? You could’ve died” and Ava tried to smile “Because you only lived once and I did it twice, now we’re even.” Beatrice smiled at her. “Actually, you lived three times with this one.” Ava laughed softly “Right.” She looked at Mary, who was still holding her. “The new Warrior Nun is smart, isn’t she?”
Mary nodded with a smile. “It wasn’t that complicated to be smarter than the last one.” Ava pretended to be offended. “Hey!” and the OCS laughed with her. “I’m happy to see you again, Ava” Camila smiled at her, squishing her hand. And then Ava looked at Lilith. “I guess you don’t want to kill me anymore” Lilith laughed, all of them were mesmerized, it was the first time they saw her laugh but she realized and changed it to a worried face. “So, you can’t move now?”
Ava’s face also changed “No…” and looked at Mary “I’ll have to be spoon-fed again”. Both of them smiled remembering that time on a town where Mary helped cooking in a restaurant, but Ava couldn’t because she has never cooked.
The OCS carried Ava to the car. Mary held her shoulders, Beatrice hold her tights and Camila hold her legs while Lilith opened the car doors. “I feel like a princess” laughed Ava and all of them shook their head while sitting her down.
Mary sat on the drive’s seat, next to Lilith. In the back, Camila was in the left window, Beatrice in the center and Ava in the right window. Beatrice looked at Ava, who was looking through the window. “Ava.” Beatrice almost whispered. “Mhm?” Ava answered and Beatrice gave her a worried smile. “Are you okay?”
The last Warrior Nun smiled, it was a sincere smile and Beatrice was mesmerized by it. “Yes, I am.” The new Warrior Nun then got reminded of Ava’s biggest fear. It wasn’t to be quadriplegic again, it was to be alone, and she knew she wouldn’t be alone. With a big smile, she put her head on Ava’s shoulder. “Hey, get away from my shoulder.” Beatrice looked at her “Sorry.” And Ava smiled “I was joking, come here.” and Beatrice rested her head again. "I'm sorry for failing my promise." Beatrice asked what she was referring to. "I wasn't the last Warrior Nun." Beatrice got int a confortable position "I'm actually glad about that." the last Halo Bearer whispered "Me too." and Beatrice felt asleep after some minutes.
When Mary arrived, Mary realized all of them where asleep, all except Ava. “You didn’t sleep?” Mary asked. “No, I’m too happy for that.” Mary was a bit confused. “We just saved the world.” Mary made an understanding face “I literally forgot about that.” Ava laughed “Me too. I was actually smiling for something else.” Mary raised an eyebrow, waiting Ava’s explanation. “We have finished our last fight, we don’t need to be together anymore but I feel like we will.”
Mary smiled and Lilith turned around “In this life or the next.” Mary looked at her “That was lame, Lilith.” Camila laughed and Beatrice woke up “What’s happening?” Beatrice asked. “Beatrice took ‘In this life or the next’ in the literal way.” Ava joked and all of them laughed together, feeling free for the first time, being together because they wanted to, being who they want to be, a family.