The Strongest Level 5

Ever wary of his dwindling power supply, Accelerator took a gamble. Consciously dropping his 'shield', he instead directed all his resources into his attack. He was vulnerable now. It was a risky strategy. One that could easily end his life. But as long as his enemy still lived his shield would only delay the inevitable. What little battery remained wouldn't be enough to escape in any case. Better to risk it all on one attack.

Come on, you crazy freak! Accelerator urged Loraine as 'she' charged for him. The distance between them shortened.

He waited.

She was less than 5 meters away.

Still he waited.

Less than 2 meters.

He didn't move.

She was within arms reach.

Now!

Accelerator focused all of his computational ability on the attack. Thrusting out his arm he clawed at Loraine's face. He ignored her attack. The only thing in his mind was the kill.

If he made contact, it would be over.

The distance between them continued to shorten and she was a bit surprised that he had yet to move in an attempt to stop her. However, he then moved as she entered the reach of his arms. This battle was over but not for who she had expected. All it took was just one touch. She jumped back from his touch and that probably spared her life but it was still all the touch Accelerator needed to claim victory over her.

She cried out, clutching her head as she collapsed. Her ears were ringing and her entire body hurt and was numb at the same time. It hurt to breath and she could feel her heart beating irregularly inside of her chest. Her eyes closed but they soon reopened. The one known as Loraine was no longer the one in control of Milo Lorelei. Now it was one of his youngest personalities. A young boy by the name of 'Mikael' was now in control and it certainly wasn't a good time for him to have taken control.

Mikael cried out, tears coming to his eyes. He was only about 10 years of age and he had never before been called out during a fight so he had never before experienced such excruciating pain before.

"It...h-hurts..." he whined, unable to even move because of the pain that was coursing through his body.

He coughed and his eyes widened at the sight of the blood that came from him as he did so. Why was he like this? What had he done wrong? His eyes soon fell upon Accelerator. Was that his attacker? Mikael, unlike Milo's other personalities, had no memory of what happened before he was called out. That made this experience even more horrific for the young boy.

"It...h-hurts..."

The honest fear quaking in that voice stopped Accelerator in his tracks. The Milo he had been fighting up until now had no fear. Was this another trick? Standing over the fallen boy, Accelerator frowned down at him.

"What the hell is this? Grovelling on the floor like a worm. At least have some dignity before you die." He snarled. Still, this didn't feel right. Had this been before that 'incident' he would have finished Milo off without a second thought. However, since that day he had been developing something of a 'conscience'. That seed of doubt had been planted, and now it was taking over. Accelerator gritted his teeth. He would crush that conscience here and now.

He raised his fist, staring down at Milo as he prepared to put him out of his misery...

(( Sorry that it took so long to reply. :C ))

Mikael looked up at Accelerator as the other looked down upon him. His eyes were wide with fear and they only seemed to widen more when Accelerator told him to have some dignity before he died. Die? Mikael didn't want to die yet. His mind was currently that of a young child and every child faced imminent death was, of course, afraid of it. He trembled, unable to move his body in order to get away from the one who would surely kill him.

"P-please...I d-don't want to d-die..." he told Accelerator weakly.

He watched as Accelerator raised a fist. That fist would be the end of him and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't move and, thus, he couldn't get up to flee from him. Mikael was in a great deal of pain but it seemed to be fading. His body was either going into shock or recovering from the attack. He couldn't tell which. All he could do to avoid death was to plead with Accelerator but there was no telling that it would even work.

"I'm s-sorry...I d-d-didn't mean to d-do wh-whatever it was th-that I-I have done..." he added, his last effort to avoid being killed.

"I'm s-sorry...I d-d-didn't mean to d-do wh-whatever it was th-that I-I have done..."

Accelerator's fist stalled and he growled in strangled shock. It wasn't unusual for his enemies to beg for their lives. But looking down on the pathetic wretch of a boy in front of him Accelerator couldn't help but recognise in his fragile, pale form something familiar. Like a shadow of his former self. The boy that had made the world his enemy.

For a second he could have sworn it was him cowering in terror.

It wasn't unusual for his enemies to beg. And the outcome was always the same. He prepared to bring his hand down.

Beep beep.

The warning of his choker's battery sounded. His time was up. Lacking his ability Accelerator's punch would scarcely have the force to knock the boy out, let alone kill him. Still, realising his position, the Esper threw his entire weight behind that single right straight.

Mikael was unable to take his eyes off of the first that would surely be the end of him. He didn't understand what he had done wrong. The boy had just woken up to see that he was being beaten and hurt by someone he had never seen before. It made no sense. What had he done to make the other hurt him so badly? What had he done to deserve death? He had no memory of it and that almost scared him more than Accelerator did.

The boy could see that his attempt to plead with Accelerator had failed and that his time on this Earth was now up. He would die here on an unfamiliar street and his killer would be some strange boy he didn't even know but had somehow angered. He closed his eyes and waited for death. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad? At least he wouldn't be suffering from his injuries anymore.

He could hear the swing of Accelerator's fist as it made it's way through the air. Time seemed to slow, giving Mikael's life enough time to flash before his very eyes. It was a short life but every memory he had always seemed to start and end so suddenly. Was was that? Mikael didn't know but he wanted to. However, it didn't seem like he would get the chance to investigate the matter.

Accelerator's fist made contact with Mikael's face...hard. It sent the boy flying. He was extremely still for a few moments after that. However, he then began to moving, slowly rolling over and pushing himself to his feet. He put a hand on his head. It throbbed horribly. His vision was blurred and he had ringing in his ears. Milo was back in charge. He had lost a decent amount of blood and knew that he had to attend to his injuries before he bled to death.

He'd accept defeat but only because he had been unprepared for such a strong Esper. Accelerator's blood-lust far surpassed his own. Milo hadn't been prepared for such a thing but next time would be different. He wouldn't lose so easily the next time since he would be better prepared for a fight with Accelerator. Mikael observed Accelerator for a moment before making a break for freedom. Running put a strain on his battered body but he could deal with it for a little while. All that mattered was escaping while he was still able to.

His speed was affected by his injuries but he had speed enough to still challenge even the fastest of runners. The only problem would be that he wouldn't be able to run for very long, not while his body was in such poor condition.

(( Sorry that it took so long. I tried to make it up to you by posting something that's a tad longer than I normally post. :3 ))