Ashley hurdled over Verena's mace, rolling on the ground to regain her composure, though she had landed on her injured shoulder, and that didn't feel too good.
She had to fight through the sparks of pain that flickered through her arm as she swung her knife on it's chain, wrapping it around Verena's mace so she could stop her mid swing before it crashed down into Harley's branch.
He was perched in a half dead tree with his war lute, having built it to resemble a structure of a crossbow, it was definitely a long distance weapon, though it has already proven to be useful as a shield against Verena's mace.
It had hardly been three minutes since the fighting commenced, with Julia taking on Peace, which was a surprise to Ashley considering she was severely outmatched, though her quick reflexes seemed to at least keep herself from getting injured as she was forced into a difficult defense considering Peace dually wielded her wrist spikes. At least Julia had two Sai blades.
Ashley was suddenly jerked forward by Verena's momentum, and almost fell headfirst into the tree if she didn't release the handle for the chain.
The mace had collided with the branch Harley was on, snapping it apart into splinters so Harley fell to the ground.
"TRADE ME!" Julia suddenly shouted and Ashley hardly had time to look up and grab the sai blade out of the air so she could take Peace's attack, stepping between her and Julia.
Julia suddenly ran into one of the bushes and disappeared for a moment.
Ashley had to hold into the hope that she wasn't abandoning them as she heard Harley struggling behind her to keep up with Verena, who had lost her mace, though was still trying to engage in hand to hand combat.
Ashley had just twisted Peace's arm behind her, trapping her wrist between the spokes of the Sai blade, when it happened.
She had glanced over to where Harley and Verena had been, and only then did she realize that they were standing next to a pressure plate.
She was about to yell out as Harley's heel went down on top of it.
It was almost as if Peace herself was watching, wanting to see what was going to happen. But nothing did.
Suddenly Julia emerged from the bushes, and sprung onto Verena's back, Ashley's chain for her blade in her hands as she basically took a piggy back ride on Verena's back, wrapping the chain around her torso.
Peace broke free the instant Julia had Verena wrangled with the chain, shoving Ashley to the ground, using one of her legs to smash into her knee, shattering something.
Ashley crumpled just as Julia put the other end of the chain around Verena into a black box.
The electricity that sparked through the air was visible as it crawled over and around Verena's skin, her face twisting in agony as her voice box seemed to break. Her mouth ajar but no sound came out before she fell in a heap on top of Harley.
Harley did scream however, and he struggled for a second before he pulled himself out of underneath Verena, his hair like it had just had been inside of a static ball.
Peace burst out laughing at the sight, but when a canon went off announcing Verena's death, she snapped back into attention, her face a look of pure outrage that could terrify even the largest most muscular person in Panem.
She flung her wrist with a snap, sending out the spike like a throwing knife so that it implanted into Harley's chest.
Ashley's mouth dropped open as she watched Harley look at the blade, pulling it out of his chest.
Blood ran down his chin as he looked back up at Peace, a small grin on his face.
"Are you going to want this back?" He asked before he flopped backwards.
His canon didn't go off just yet, and that seemed to be what Peace was waiting for because she didn't move either.
Julia's eyes were frozen on Harley before she ducked as Peace threw another wrist knife, which luckily only grazed her arm as she moved.
Julia tackled Peace, sending both girls sprawling on the ground in a struggle of limbs as Ashley made her way to Harley's side.
"There you are mi amor." Harley whispered, his eyes half closed as a tiny trail of blood spilled from the corner of his lips. Ashley couldn't even start to argue about that word's meaning as she tried to apply pressure to his wound.
"Why did you take it out!? Now you're going to bleed to death and . . . And then. . I'll be mad . . And I won't be able to copy your homework and . . . We can't argue and we won't be able to have sleepovers and and . . . Harley Gonzalez Ridge why do you have to leave me?!" Ashley's voice cracked as her words became jumbled with the thickness of her emotions.
Tears flowed freely down her face as she tried to stop her nose from running. It wasn't even from the pain in her leg from being broken. That paled in comparison to losing her best friend.
The smiling Harley who would run around and tease her messy hair.
The Harley who would playfully boing her curls to distract her when she was trying to focus.
The Harley who kept her company when she was bored even if it meant he had to cancel other plans.
The Harely who always dropped whatever he was doing to come to Ashley's side whenever she needed him, or even if she didn't need him.
But now . . . She realized she would always need him.
He had become a part of her so that life without him seemed bland, and quite frankly, terrifying.
"Shhh sh sh, I knew this would happen one of these days." Harley murmured, lacing his bloodstained hand with Ashley's so that he could try to give her a reassuring squeeze.
"I- it was supposed to be me- I was supposed to protect you- not the other way around- you weren't supposed to die-" Ashley continued to try her best to refuse what was eventually going to happen.
"Mi amor- my love- it will be alright." Harley sighed, heaving a heavy breath as he pulled the hand that was entangled in his own up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand, offering her one last smile before his eyes glazed over, his canon like a tearing gap into Ashley's heart.
While she heard nothing, even Peace and Julia, who were still fighting, paused as the heartwrenching sob rang into the air.
Peace used the distraction to punch Julia in the face so she was severely disoriented.
Leaving her on the ground she made her way over to Ashley, who was in no way noticing her presence, leaving a soft kiss on Harley's forehead as she closed his eyelids.
Peace had lost both of her wrist spikes at this point, though that didn't stop her from picking up the small redhead girl by her tangled hair.
The thirteen year old didn't struggle as she was half carried half drug over to the edge of the pathway, peering over the ledge where the lava was several dozen meters below.
"Let's see if you can survive this fall, maybe you'll pull one like your father did and live- I guess we will find out." Peace's garbled laugh pierced through Ashley's ears, making her fist clutch the chain she had scooped up.
Right as Peace dangled her over the ledge, Ashley wrapped the chain around her neck, saying through a scowled expression of pure brokenness, her green eyes like a burning flame of revenge.
"If I go down- you're coming with me."
Peace didn't have time to pull Ashley back to the ledge before she slipped from her fingers, lurching after her as the chain pulled her down.
Both girls hurdled through the air a couple feet apart, though Ashley didn't hear the curses Peace was hurling her way.
She peacefully closed her eyes, satisfied. Her body was like a broken form of elegance as the wind whipped her curls every which way, over her face and it was almost as though she were drifting to sleep as a serene calm overcame her.
Even if she hadn't been able to save Harley.
She had been able to save Julia.
And so now she could die a hero.
Like her father.
A hero.
Boom
Boom
-Agent Bay